Latest news with #LeirionGaylorBaird
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$1.3M in Lincoln pandemic funding interest will support training for skilled workers
The City of Lincoln and a coalition on Thursday announced that $1.3 million in interest from the city's share of federal pandemic funds will help provide scholarships and other support for Lincoln residents seeking to train for various skilled worker positions. Shown here is an apprentice at Lincoln's Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center. (Courtesy of City of Lincoln) LINCOLN — The City of Lincoln will direct $1.3 million in interest from federal pandemic funds to a workforce initiative that provides scholarships for budding electrical, auto service and HVAC techs. Financed from interest accrued on the city's American Rescue Plan Act dollars, the program, announced Thursday, is designed to help underemployed and unemployed Lincoln residents train for jobs in high-demand fields. It also seeks to remove barriers by providing support such as gas money, child or elder care, uniforms and tools. 'This initiative positions Lincoln to lead the region in building a high-demand, high-wage and high-skilled 'future-ready' workforce,' Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said in a news release. Dylan Wren, the city's workforce administrator, estimated that more than 300 positions are open in the city for electrical, automotive and HVAC technicians. Roy Lamb of the Lincoln Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center said the need for electricians nationally is projected to grow 11% annually over the next decade — creating opportunity for workers in that area to command high wages and benefits. 'The need for skilled labor has never been higher,' Lamb said. Ron Runyan, owner of Vision Mechanical, a commercial HVC, plumbing and mechanical services company, said trade schools and apprenticeship programs are vital to developing a capable workforce. 'While technology is revolutionizing areas like diagnostics, system design and fabrication, it's the hands-on expertise of trained professionals that ensures we continue to experience the comfort and reliability that HVA services provide,' Runyan said. Jon Kisby of Southeast Community College, Milford Campus, said the community college was prepared to equip industries with the skilled workforce they need to build and maintain the city's infrastructure and transportation projects. The initiative is part of the city's broader effort to strengthen workforce development, which has included more than $12 million in direct funding through ARPA over the past three years. Lincoln officials named a coalition of local organizations partnering on the future-ready workforce program: Southeast Community College is to offer training for technicians in the electrical, automotive and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) fields. American Job Center is to provide case management and performance tracking for participants. Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development is to build connections with local businesses that can offer jobs. International Brotherhood Electrical Workers Local 265 is to provide electrician apprenticeship and journeyman training. City of Lincoln will identify gaps in the job training pipeline, funding opportunities and community resources. Lincoln Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Center is to manage apprenticeships for program participants. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nebraska Supreme Court to weigh part of handgun restrictions lawsuit against Lincoln
Local restrictions on handguns are at issue in a lawsuit headed to the Nebraska Supreme Court. (Courtesy of Aristide Economopoulos/NJ Monitor) LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on whether a group of gun owners needs to run afoul of Lincoln weapons ordinances and an executive order by Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird before suing the city for enacting them. The Nebraska Firearms Owners Association, with help from the now-Texas-based Liberty Justice Center, sued the Cities of Lincoln and Omaha in December 2023, claiming in separate lawsuits that the cities had overstepped their legal authority to regulate guns under state law. Both lawsuits make similar but slightly different arguments based on the passage of Legislative Bill 77 from 2023, then-State Sen. Tom Brewer's law legalizing concealed carry of handguns without a permit or state-mandated training. A section of that law curbed the authority of cities governed by home-rule charters to restrict guns more stringently than the state. Both Omaha and Lincoln had used that bit of local control in the past to regulate guns and gang violence. After LB 77 became law, both cities tried to maintain bans on handguns in city parks and buildings and onto trails. Gaylor Baird and Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert defended the measures as necessary for public safety. Lincoln City Attorney Yohance Christie has argued that the mayor and city took action to preserve the safety and quality of life in Lincoln and complied with state law. Omaha City Attorney Matt Kuhse had argued Omaha acted legally. Christie had no immediate comment Monday through a spokesman. A district judge in Douglas County prevented Omaha from enforcing Stothert's gun-related executive order until the case can be heard, likely sometime this year. The Lincoln case has been bogged down in procedural questions. The question in the Lincoln case that the Supreme Court agreed this month to take up is whether a lower court erred in saying the Nebraska gun owners lacked legal standing to sue the city until a member is prosecuted for violating the order or ordinances. Lawyers for Liberty Justice Center argued in a filing that they should not have to wait to be prosecuted because the existence of the order and ordinances has made gun owners change their behavior in places governed by the city's approach. Patricia Harrold, president of the Nebraska Firearms Association, followed through on her testimony to the Omaha City Council that her organization would not let the cities flout the 2nd Amendment or state law. 'The laws and constitutions of Nebraska and the United States apply in Lincoln and Omaha just like they do in the rest of the state…,' Harrold said. 'They are entitled to exercise their right to keep and bear arms.' Jacob Huebert, president of the Liberty Justice Center, said in a statement that his team looked forward to proving that Nebraska's 2023 law prohibits local governments from restricting the 'right to carry … statewide.' 'We are pleased that the Nebraska Supreme Court considered this case important enough to review immediately, and we look forward to holding the mayor and the city accountable for their overreach,' Huebert said. The state's high court has yet to set a date for the hearing SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
