Columns

Sitting is an art that isn’t getting passed along. People these days feel as though they have to be doing something.

Last week, I was pleased to see my fentanyl sentencing enhancement pass on Final Reading as part of Senator DeKay’s LB 795, with a vote of 32-14-3. As a reminder from my Week 4 newsletter, LB 817 aligns the weightbased penalties for fentanyl distributors/traffickers with those currently in state statute for other exceptionally hazardous drugs including methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.

Last week, I received an email from a reader who shared his thoughts on my column that appeared in the Feb. 12 Courier, in which I criticized the NFL halftime show. The reader suggested that I should have done more research on the topic I was writing about, and the letter made me question whether other readers might have similar concerns.

Is this what all of us 75+ year-olds, and those yet to-be, have to look forward to? This is something that happened at an assisted living center. The people who lived there had small apartments, but they all ate at a central cafeteria.

Last week, I talked about our “nature” of bringing nature indoors with us. I talked mostly about animals.

A couple of weeks ago, I did something I have not done in my more than 25-year career in media. I took a full two weeks off. No phone calls, no writing, no checking emails - a total vacation. And it was amazing!

1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons.

Capitol Update: Strengthening Accountability, Supporting Families, and Protecting Rights It's hard to believe February is already here. By the end of last week, the Legislature completed Day 17 of the session, and the pace at the Capitol has picked up quickly.

On the final day of September this year the retina of my right eye just decided to come loose. The retina is that part in the back of the eye that contains the nerve endings sensitive to light. There are two kinds of nerve endings, the ‘rods’ and the ‘cones’. The rods are sensitive to low light and peripheral vision, and the cones have three kinds of receptors for detecting red, green and blue wavelengths of light. They are also responsible for sharp details. If the retina becomes detached…you have no vision! Trust me I speak from experience!

This week, the Judiciary Committee held hearings on LB817 and LB818, two bills I am carrying to strengthen Nebraska law on issues affecting public safety. Fentanyl use results in far more overdose deaths than all other drugs combined; however, under current law, fentanyl dealers are subject to lesser sentences than those for dealing methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.