Tagged: omaha

The Douglas County Board is starting the process of putting together a 2012-2013 budget.

Douglas County’s new fiscal year begins July 1. Chairman Marc Kraft says everything is on the table, including a tax increase, because the county has limited sources of revenue. “The major challenge is that we have limited ability to create income sources. Most of our income comes from either grants or from property taxes, and a small amount comes from fees we charge.”

The current fiscal year budget of $311 million contains no tax increase. Kraft says the county board has worked to make services more efficient and cost-effective.

With Nebraska’s primary election approaching, the candidates for the Second Congressional District are talking jobs, the economy, and federal spending.

The primary election is next Tuesday. Second District Congressman Lee Terry is running for his seventh term in the U.S. House. Terry’s campaign chairman, Dave Boomer, says the Congressman is focusing his campaign on spending and fiscal accountability.

One of Terry’s opponents is financial adviser Brett Lindstrom. Lindstrom says he’s focused the issue of leadership, and the U.S. unemployment rate. Lindstrom says that rate doesn’t take in to account the number of underemployed Americans.

A conference bringing together entrepreneurs, innovators, and ideas begins today in Omaha.

Omaha-based Silicon Prairie News began Big Omaha in 2009. Now in its fourth year, the conference has grown to a three-day event with more than a dozen speakers.

Dusty Davidson, co-founder of Silicon Prairie News, says the conference is about highlighting entrepreneurial success stories, both in the Omaha area and nationwide. This year’s speakers include business journalist Antonio Neves, the founder of education website www.donorschoose.org, and a co-founder of social networking site Pinterest.

The Omaha, Bellevue, and Papillion Fire Departments have announced a mutual aid agreement.

The automatic mutual aid agreement begins at 10 AM Wednesday. It means the closest fire department will respond to an emergency, regardless of jurisdiction. For example, if a Bellevue resident with an emergency lives closer to a south Omaha fire station, that station would respond first.

The cities previously had an agreement for mutual aid by request. Omaha Fire Chief Mike McDonnell says the move will improve response times, make each department more efficient, and save taxpayers money.

The annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting brought visitors from all over the U.S., and the world, to Omaha.

Berkshire Hathaway hosted a series of events in Omaha for shareholders during the meeting weekend. Saturday’s meeting brought at least 35,000 shareholders to downtown.

Dana Markel, executive director of the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau, says hotel occupancy jumps 30 to 40 percent during the Berkshire meeting weekend.  She says no other event in Omaha compares to the shareholders meeting when it comes to national and global exposure.

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett says he’s “feeling terrific” following his diagnosis of stage one prostate cancer.

Buffett’s cancer was among the first round of questions fielded Saturday morning at Berkshire’s annual shareholders meeting. The 81-year-old Buffett announced last month he had stage one prostate cancer, and will begin treatment in July. He told shareholders that he has four doctors, who’ve told him he won’t need to be hospitalized or take a day off work.

Among the topics Buffett discussed was the European banking crisis. He characterized the American banking system as being in “fine shape,” but says European banks are struggling.

A recent study by Gallup found that U-S businesses lose more than 150-billion dollars each year due to employees’ health-related issues.

The city of Omaha, an elementary school, and 13 businesses recently completed a 12-week wellness challenge. The program, called the Weight No More Wellness Challenge, sought to get participants exercising regularly and eating healthy.

Deb Gray is a wellness consultant with Complete Nutrition, the company that sponsored the challenge. She says programs promoting health and wellness are important not just for individuals, but for an entire community as well. Gray says workplace wellness programs create a culture of accountability and support.

Two Omaha schools are among the Department of Education’s green ribbon schools.

Lothrop Magnet Center and Miller Park Elementary received the designations last week. The Department of Education says green ribbon schools are those that practice sustainability, implement recycling and other environmentally-friendly programs, and promote health.

Pam Galus of Lothrop Magnet Center says the school participates in several environmentally-friendly activities, including composting of plant materials, recycling, and collecting eyeglasses.