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Veterans First… Then the Restaurant Dress Code Controversy · The KFAB Comment Line with Jean Stothert

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Today, I have a very special guest. Beth Kramer is
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: with me today. I've known Beth for a long long
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: time that Beth is the executive director for at Ease USA,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: and you know, we've had Beth a couple calls in
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: the last week, one yesterday about veterans and about the
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: services that are available in Omaha for veterans. Yesterday was
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: specifically about homeless veterans and unsheltered veterans. But I wanted
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: you to come on today and as executive director of
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: ad Ease, to talk about ADES USA And this was founded,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: I believe in two thousand and nine, but it's committed
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: to providing access to confidential trauma treatment for active military
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: veterans and frontline healthcare workers suffering from PTSD or post
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: traumatic stress syndrome. And there's a lot of need for
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: that in the city of Omaha, and I really wanted
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: you to talk a little bit about it today. So welcome,
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: thank you.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Thank you for having me on. Always good to hang
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: out with Eugene, because we've done.
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: It quite a bit of a blessing. Yes we have.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: I think we first met when it was about two
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: thousand and six with a campaign when I was running
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: for the Nebraska Legislature.
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: Remember that, Yes.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: I did, and that was fourteen votes.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: I lost by fourteen votes. But you know, I always
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: tell people when I'm talking about running for political office,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: I said, when you run for a political office, you're
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: one of two things is going to happen. You're gonna
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: win or you're gonna lose. And there's no second place.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: I mean, you don't talk you know years later and go, well,
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: I came in second place for the mayor's race. You
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: win or you lose, and that's all there is to it.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: But we've known each other for a long time. But
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: what a great organization this is and you're the one
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: that really got me involved with it. We could talk
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: about that, but just tell us about Addies. It's called
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Addis USA. Is it a national organization? And how did
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: it start in Omaha.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: It's actually a great story. Scott Anderson, who is a
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: marketing EXEUS executive turned counselor here in Omaha, had a
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: client whose son was serving overseas and unfortunately her son
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: did not make it back. But in his discussions with her,
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: discovered that she had developed secondary PTSD and did not
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: have any assistance and Scott is a go getter and said,
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: we've got to fix this. And so he put together
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: a group of volunteers and they said, what can we
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: do to help? And they discovered that if we all,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: if they pulled their resources and they they all had
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: a vast amount of knowledge on nonprofits and fundraising, and
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: they put together Adies USA to offer mental health counseling
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: for At the time, it was active military veterans and
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: their family members, because if someone has post traumatic stress,
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: it doesn't impact just the veteran, It impacts the entire family.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, it does in the area that it serves. And
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: I'll let you talk a little bit more about the specifics,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: but it's not just Omaha, right, I mean it is.
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: It's wide range.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: So we serve the entire state of Nebraska and four
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: counties in western Iowa, so that it's the Omaha metro area. Obviously,
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: most of this population of Nebraska's on the eastern part
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: of the state, but we have fifty three therapists across
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: the state. All of our therapists have to be able
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: to offer telehealth and when someone calls in, we try
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: to match them with a therapist that fits them. If
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: they speak Spanish, if they are a loved one versus
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: a veteran. We try to make that so that it's
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: comfortable and accessible for everybody.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: And we said at the beginning, or I said, it
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: was founded in two thousand, Is that correct?
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: Correct?
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: So how has it grown over the years?
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: Oh? Well, this is I will say since COVID in particular,
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: is it has just really grown. I think people are
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: there's been a huge push not only by the VA
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: but the community in general to have an awareness of
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: mental health issues. In twenty twenty two, for example, we
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: had fifty five clients. In twenty twenty five, we had
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: three hundred and seventy eight clients, and all of those
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: three seventy eight received five hundred and five points of service.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: So we had two hundred and sixty six people doing therapy,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: but they might have also been doing one of our
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: wellness programs. And that's the other thing that we've done
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: in the last two to two and a half years
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: is we have expanded how we've reached out to our
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: military connected families. You know, no one wants to just
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: necessarily go in and rip the band aid off everyone.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: We can talk about their mental health issues. Correct, Sometimes
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: they need just a step in and a segue into
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: that and to have some trust in an organization. So
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: we have started offering peer support and wellness programs so
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: that military connected families can learn who we are, understand
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: that we provide quality programs, that we're one hundred percent confidential,
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: and that they can trust us. So if they maybe
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: come in and do yoga, they say, oh, well, they
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: also offer these other services. This is a good organization.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: Maybe I'll look into therapy.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: And at easy USA. It does not replace services that
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: are provided by the VA. Right, I think our listeners
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: might be saying, well, what about the VA and how
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: do you work with the VA. But it's more that
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: this fills the gap for the services or that the
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: VA doesn't provide, or if they just feel hesitant to
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: go to the VAS. AM I not correct with that.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: You are correct.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: So we have been privately funded until this last year,
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: and we actually have a staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: grant from the VA. So we have two revenue streams.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: But we do fill that gap for folks who either
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: don't want to go to the VA for whatever reason.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: There's lots of them out there. A lot of times
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: with the mental health counseling. It may be three months
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: or more to get into a counselor, and so we
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: get all of our therapy clients in with a counselor
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: within ten business days. We are also on a sliding
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: scale fee, so there is you know, we'll take insurance,
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: but if someone can't pay for that therapy, we cover it.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Our goal is to remove barriers. We do through the
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: the staff, Sergeant Fox Grant do suicide prevention activities that
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: we provide services that for folks who don't currently go
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: to the VA and help them maybe transition into some
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: services at the VA they can use. But a lot
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: of what we offer yoga, for example, we're offering acupuncture
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: in Lincoln. We're working with Hetera to provide equine therapy.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: Those are services that the VA does not offer, and
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: so we are providing wellness and pure support that you
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: wouldn't necessarily get at the VA.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: And you know, I dealt with this personally with mental
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: illness with my previous husband that I think everybody knows
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: battled with mental illness and ended up dying of suicide.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: People that are dealing with mental illness, it's so difficult
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: sometimes for them to admit that they have an issue
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: to seek help. Even when they know they need help,
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: they don't want to do it. I mean, and I
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: think that's it's so important, especially for our veterans, that
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: we're out there putting their lives at risk, most of
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: them for us, that they have these services that are available,
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: and I'm so grateful that we have this type of organization.
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: I have to ask you a question as far as
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: family members, I know at Ease provides services for family
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: members too, correct, correct, that's a VA. I was thinking
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: that I don't know if the VA provides the services
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: or if family members are eligible for VA services.
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: The VA provides limited services for family members. I don't
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: I will be honest, I don't know the specific says
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: to what all they provide, but from at Ease's perspective,
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: we will. We provide marriage counseling. We have a what
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: we call it a tribe that is for spouses and
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: caregivers and it's a it's a peer support group for
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: spouses and caregivers every week and it's virtual, so we
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: get folks from across Nebraska. We also have someone from
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: the East Coast who has joined that that that Tribe
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: group so we make sure that those family members can participate.
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: They We've got one couple and they come to yoga together.
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: It's there one night a week where they get to
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: spend some time together. Frankly, a lot of times with
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: these service members, it is the spouse that gets that
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: service member into counseling. So if you can get the
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: service member to go to our camp, recharge in June,
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: or come to yoga, then that gets them into our system,
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: if you will, and makes them more comfortable with taking
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: that next step if they need it.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: And let's talk just a little bit about PTSD. I
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: know everybody has heard that's a you know those letters,
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: and they know what stands for post traumatic stress disorder.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: Let's talk a little bit more about actually what it is.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, it's a mental health condition, but there are
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: so many different levels of it and some with some
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: it is so serious. It really interferes with their ability
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: to function and for their ability to work, and for
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: their ability to communicate with people. And that's something I
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: think that at Ease is aware of and when deciding
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: what your client's treatment is, there's so many different levels.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: Talk a little bit about just what PTSD is, and
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: then also those that are experiencing PTSD, they are at
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: such a higher risk for drug addiction, alcohol abuse, eating disorders,
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  Speaker 1: higher risk of suicide. All of those things play into PTSD.
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  Speaker 2: So PTSD is a reaction to a traumatic event, and
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  Speaker 2: for some people, as you mentioned, it is a very
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: It impacts everyone differently. You may have an employee in
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: your office who is a veteran that is in a
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: cubicle and if you just had a rear view mirror
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: in front of his computer so he could see behind him,
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: no issues. A lot of people have impact of trauma
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  Speaker 2: that can set them off, but they have managed to
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  Speaker 2: control it, to mask it, to be productive members of
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  Speaker 2: our community. We have had clients in the past who
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: truly will not come out of their home and to
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: get them out and into the world because they may
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: be driving down the street and they see a bag
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: of trash along the road and you and I see
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: that as a bag of trash. A veteran who has
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: been in combat may see that as a roadside bomb,
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  Speaker 2: and so you know, it is flagging all of those
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: potential triggers.
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  Speaker 1: And it just sets off a whole reaction.
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  Speaker 2: That's correct, and the other part of the trauma for
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: particularly female veterans, is the military sexual trauma. And you know,
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: you don't have to be in combat to have experienced that,
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: and it that is another thing. You know, again, we
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: can trigger some of our current veterans and active even
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: active duty folks.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: And I think with mental illness. Like I said, I
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: experienced it personally, but many think that there is a
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: stigma that's associated with it or they're ashamed of it,
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: and that's why they just don't want to go out
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: and get help. And I lookt at EASE as an
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: organization that really removes the barriers for treatment.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: Right. Our goal is to make sure that everybody gets
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: the help that they deserve. Our job is to honor
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: those military connected families because they do so much and
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: they've done so much for our country. And so we
• 12:45
  Speaker 2: remain again one hundred percent confidential. We don't share any
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: of their information outside of our organization, and that's just
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: basically for outcome reasons. But our goal is to if
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: someone needs help and they are struggling from trauma, moral injury,
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: or any type of suicide, suicide prevention is huge. That's
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: the cornerstone of our organization. Our goal is to get
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: them in and get the help that they need and
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: that they deserve.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: So what message would you have as executive director in
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: being involved with at ease, What message would you have
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: right now for the veterans that are listening, We're here.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: If you need help, we are here for you. We
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: will do whatever we can and work with you in
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: whatever level of care that you are comfortable with. If
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: you are an employer or a coworker, or a spouse
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: or caregiver and you know a veteran or active duty
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: service member that truly is struggling and is on edge,
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: give them our flyer, send them to our website, give
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: us a call and just ask what we can provide,
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: and we are happy to give you some information about
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: our services. We will remove any and all barriers to
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: getting that individual the care that they need and deserve.
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: So that's what I was going to ask you. What
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: you know, if veterans are listening to this and they
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: need help, how can they get a hold of you?
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: They can call us at five three, one, two four
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: seven for zero for zero. Our website has all of
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: our programming on it and that is at ease USA
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: dot org. We are on Facebook, We're on Instagram and Twitter,
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: though I don't do any of that, I am not competent,
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: but I would suggest follow us maybe just you know,
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: follow us on one of those social media and see
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: what we've got going on, and maybe there will be
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: something that is attractive to you that draws you to
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: seek help.
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: And if you're not military and you're listening to this
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: and you want to help, and you're not involved with
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: with veterans, but you just really like what they're hearing
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: and they want to help, what can they do.
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: Well, We've got a couple events coming up. We have
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: a golf outing on May eighth, So if you like
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: to golf and want to support a good cause, we
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: hope you'll come on May eighth. Last Saturday, we just
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: did a maaj On fundraiser which was a huge success.
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: We have a five K coming up and that is
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: a friend raiser. We're actually going to have yard signs
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: that you can put the photo and the name of
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: a loved one who's in the military and honor them,
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: and they'll be along the route and you can take
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: those signs home. Our luncheon is coming up November fourth.
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: Will Summers is our keynote speaker and our Chamber President,
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: Heath Mellow is our honorary chair. Oh good, and we
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: have Will Sommers is one of the twelve Green Berets
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: who went into Afghanistan on horseback and the movie Twelve
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: Strong May was created based on that story. So he's
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: our speaker in November.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: Oh, that ought to be good. I've been to the
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: event and the luncheon and it's held down at CHI
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: at the our convention center, and your speakers have always
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: been just great. I mean they really they really make
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: you feel what's going on with them and how how
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: great a need there is to have something like this.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: One last question for you, what is Is there any
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: involvement with at ease, with the Douglas and Sarpy County
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: jails and Veterans Court.
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: There is.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: We have a lot of folks and back to earlier comments,
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: sometimes that trauma gets some of our military folks into
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: legal trouble and they may end up in jail, they
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: may have some kind of legal issues. Sarpy and Douglas
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: County both have a Veterans Treatment Court, and that gives
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: veterans the opportunity they apply to be part of that program,
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: and it gives them an opportunity to go through that
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: program and after I think it's eight I don't want
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: to see the timeframe on it. But at the end
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: the judge will either reduce or dismiss all of the charges.
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: We work very closely with Starpy County Veterans' Court. We
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: mentor we offer peer support services. We have a peer
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: support specialist who goes into both Douglas and Starpy County jails.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: So when those incarcerated veterans get out of jail, they
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: have a resource. We can help connect them. We can
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: get them resources that they need to get them into
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: a place where they can get a job again be
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: productive members of society because their incident with trauma should
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: not completely end the rest of their life.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and I think you said this before, but really
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: a main focus is suicide prevention and it is so
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: common with those that were in the military and those
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: suffering from PTSD. So once again, if they want to
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: find out more about Eddie's USA your website.
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: It is at ease USA dot org.
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: And anybody that has any other questions feel free to
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: call in. Beth, thank you so much for being here today.
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: I really appreciate it. You know, I didn't want to
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: mention this, but you asked me a while ago to
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: serve on this board. And when I no longer was
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: going to serve as mayor for the next four years,
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: I told people, I'm not out there looking for something
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: to do. I'm not out there looking for a board
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: to sit on. You know, I'm gonna enjoy life the
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: way it is. And yet when you asked me about
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: this one, I jumped at it because I felt like
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: this is so important and I'm not sure I've been
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: helping you that much, but I mean, really, but I
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: mean your Beth just kind of takes things by the
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: bowl by the horn and gets things done. But it's
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: so important, and I'm glad we have an organization like this.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: And once again, at eas USA is not an international
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: national organization.
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: We are local.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: We are very very local, and so all of the
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: fundraising goes basically to this area includes all in Nebraska
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: and western Iowa where the largest concentration of our clients
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: are living in the Omaha metropolitan area. Correct, and so
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: what a great organization. Thanks so much for being here today.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: Good to see you always, nice to see you. Good,
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: thank you, thank you.
• 19:14
  Speaker 4: The kfab comment line. Your host the show, Jean Stouth.
• 19:18
  Speaker 4: My name is Peyton Hilock. Good morning, Gen, Good morning.
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: I just have to tell you something. This is so funny.
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: One of the things that I get to do, and
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: I mean it is it's so fun for me to
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: do because I'm not mayor, is take care of my
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: little kindergarten grandson every Wednesday afternoon. And I really mean
• 19:36
  Speaker 4: this because when I was mayor, I think there were
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: so many things my grandsons did that I was not
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: able to go to. I have two grandsons that are
• 19:44
  Speaker 4: in Cincinnati, one is eight and one is five, and
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: then I have two here in Omaha.
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: One is eight and one is six. And I want
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: to talk about the six year old today. He's the
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: one I take care of. He goes to Millard he's
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: in kindergarten and they get out every wee Wednesday at
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: two thirty, so they get out early. And my daughter
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: and son in law, they work at Union Pacific. They
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: can't get home in time for a two thirty dismissal,
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: so I really I get to take care of him.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: On Tuesday yesterday, the kid wore me out because the
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: weather was so nice. He wanted to play ball out
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: in the backyard for two hours, and he finally said, Grandma,
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: you're really bad at this. Let's go in and watch
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: a movie. So we did after a while. But my
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: daughter is good for her. She's trying to teach both
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: of my grandsons how to be kind, and she's always
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: telling them, now, that's not a kind word. You need
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: to treat people kind. They will treat you kind and return.
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: So he knows Max. Max is his name. I call
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: him Maximus. Max's is his name, and he's so smart.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: He has such a good vocabulary. But on Wednesdays he
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: knows that Grandma's coming. So he said to my daughter,
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: yesterday morning, she sent me a text and she said,
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: you got to hear what Max said this morning, and
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: she said, Max said, I'm going to tell Emma today
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: that she has.
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: A really big head.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: And my daughter says, I said, Max, that isn't very
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: nice of you. You need to only be kind to grandma,
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: and she said. Max then looked very very confused, and
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: he said, I am being kind. It's a compliment. I
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: wanted to know that she I wanted her to know
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: that she had a big head. It's a big compliment
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: because it holds her big brain. And my daughter said
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: her response to him was, maybe you should just stick
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: with telling her she's smart.
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: But I mean, what these kids say is so funny.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: But he did tell me yesterday that I had a
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: big head, so I took that as a conflict.
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: At least, you know, it means you have a big brain.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah that's what he thinks. He goes, oh, no, this
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: means she has a big brain, which I thought was
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: so funny some of the things he said to me.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: He was in a taekwondo when he was in a
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: contest this past weekend, and I asked him about, you know,
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: his belts that he has, and he told me he says, well,
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: I'm a black belt, and then he said, well, technically
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: I'm really a white belt because it's a black belt
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: in junior. But his vocabulary just amazes me. But I
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: thought that was pretty funny that he said I had
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: a big head. But that means I had a big brain,
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: So that's all good.
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: Yeah, kids are so funny. And I have so many
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: cousins that are so little. They will say the most
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: ridiculous thing to you.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: I know it.
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: They have no filter and they mean it too. I
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: know it.
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: We were playing a video game a couple of weeks ago.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: I'm bad at those. It's one of those interactive ones
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: that a camera's on you, and if you sway to
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: the right, the character on the screen sways to the right,
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: sways to the left, and then he jumps up and
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: down if you jump up and down. So he's jumping
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: up and down. I go, now, not jumping up and down.
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: And he looked at me and he goes, you're so
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: bad at this. And then and then he said he
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: put on something real easy, like candy Land, and he goes, Grandma,
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: now this is your time to shine. And I thought
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: it was so funny coming from.
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: A six year old.
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: I know.
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's too good. He's hilarious.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: But that's Maximus. I have more Maximus stories.
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: We need to hear Maximus stories as we go on.
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: He's pretty good.
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: Let's get into this restaurant dress code here. This was
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: teased a little bit yesterday and Chris Baker and I
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: in the afternoon talked about it a little bit as well.
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: And I'll just give you the headline here.
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: Ruth Chris Steakhouse had something to say about dress code
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: and real quick they just reminded restaurant goers on its
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: website that hats gymware, pool attire, tank tops, and revealing
• 23:27
  Speaker 4: clothing or exposed undergarments are all banned from its dining room. Yes,
• 23:32
  Speaker 4: what do we think about that?
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: And I want to know what our listeners think about
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: that too, because I mean, it is burning up the
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: internet yesterday and today what Ruth Chris did with the
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: dress code. And you know that you just read what
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: they put on their web page and immediately other restaurants responded. Then,
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: So for example, Chili's, they put on their website only
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: dress code, not there's no dress code.
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: You just have to be dressed.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: I know the cheesecake factory put out come as you
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: are just come hungry. And I know that there was
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: something else from Morton's Steakhouse that I read that said
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: they expect you to dress smart casual. Now what the
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: heck is that? Because Peyton, I think your smart casual
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: and my smart casual might be a little bit different.
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: I understand business casual, but smart casual, I don't know.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: You know, if anybody watched The Sopranos, which I didn't
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: watch until recently, all eight seasons, but it reminds me
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: of one funny Soprano episode when Tony Soprano walked up
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: to a kid in the restaurant and he said, take
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: your hat off. We don't sell hot dogs in here.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: It kind of reminded me of that. But you know,
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: I want to know what people think about that. Now.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: I think we've got to be careful with that. But
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: when the airlines came out with come on, people dress
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: a little bit better to fly on an airplane. You know,
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: you need to be comfortable. You don't need to dress up.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: It used to be I'm so old Peyton. When I
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: was younger, women dressed up to go on an airplane.
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: Well, yeah, they also smoked on airplanes.
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: And they smoked on an airplane, and they were like
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: high heels, shoes and everything on an airplane. But I mean,
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: I have sat next to somebody that brought in a
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: pillow a blanket and had fuzzy house slippers on too,
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: and her blanket took my seat which was next to them.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: So I think that there is a there's a reason
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: why restaurants are doing this. If you're going to a
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: find restaurant, and you know, I mean Ruth christ is good.
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: If you've never had their stakes. They're great, Morton's is good.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: A lot of these restaurants are good. But what do
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: people think when they visit those restaurants? Do they expect
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: people to at least not have their pajamas on. I
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: think there's a point to it, But let me tell
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: you a little experience I had that I think you've
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: got to be careful with this too. So my husband, Kevin,
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: and I were down in Miami and we went to
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: a pretty nice restaurant down there in Miami Beach and
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: I had a dress on and he had slacks and
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: a golf shirt on. But I had what would I
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: guess be considered flip flops on. But they weren't like
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: rubber that you'd wear to the beach. They were like
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: pink Patent leather. Yeah, and my husband had a pair
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: of Tommy Bahama leather, which they would consider flip flops.
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: We look pretty nice.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: We went in this restaurant, we had reservations, we had
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: him for months, and they looked at our feet and
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: they said, I'm sorry, you can't come in here because
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: we have a sign on the door that says no
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: flip flops. And I'm thinking, what and they said you
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: could go sit out on the patio on the sidewalk.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: We look pretty good, but what they considered we had
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: on our feet were flip flops. And there was a
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: guy standing right next to me that was checking in
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: that had a Grateful Dead T shirt and torn up
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: blue jeans, and they let.
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: Him in but he didn't have flip flops.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: But he didn't have flip flops on. So Kevin and
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: I were banished out to the you know, to the
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: sidewalk at the outdoor because we had but they considered
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: flip flops on. So I think you've got to be
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: careful with what your restrictions are.
• 27:05
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think for a lot of places, the no shirt,
• 27:08
  Speaker 4: no shoes, no service is good enough. Now I understand
• 27:13
  Speaker 4: high end steakhouses having a dress code, but how much
• 27:17
  Speaker 4: of this is kind of common sense?
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: It seems that to me. But you know, you'd get
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: a place that is really attracts a lot of visitors,
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: like Miami Beach. You do take the chance if you
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: don't have some restrictions of people coming in with a
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: swimsuit on and a towel wrapped around them, right and
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: you know, sand all over them and so I understand
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: that when you are in a more of a resort
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: type place, especially if you are in a city that
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: attracts a lot of spring breakers to I used to
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: live in Galveston, Texas. In fact, I moved to Omaha
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: from Galveston. We were down there for nine years. My
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: kids were born down there. But Galveston, as everyone probably knows,
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: is an island in the Gulf, and there was a
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: huge amount of spring breakers that came down there. And
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: I'm telling you, during spring, I didn't even want to
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: go to the grocery store because a lot of strangers
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: walking around in their swimsuits and they're and no shoes
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: or you know, just a beach towel around them. And
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: so you kind of expect that in an area like that.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: And I guess they want to maintain a certain type
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: of ambiance in their restaurants. But boy, I'm telling you,
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: are projecting image. Maybe that's a better way to put
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: it in their restaurant, like a place like Morton's or
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: a place like Ruth Chris. But I'd really like to
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: know what people think about it, too, because boy, is
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: it tearing up the internet today.
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 28:32
  Speaker 4: Christopher sent us an email and he said, I'm one
• 28:34
  Speaker 4: hundred percent on board with dress codes for nice restaurants.
• 28:37
  Speaker 4: Big difference between going to v Mertz or boiler room
• 28:40
  Speaker 4: and going to Chili's. M there's something nice about taking
• 28:43
  Speaker 4: my wife to a nice restaurant. I don't want to
• 28:45
  Speaker 4: see dirty jeans and ball caps.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: I agree with that. I one hundred percent agree with that.
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: Or going back to with the airlines, I really don't
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: want to sit next to somebody that has a huge
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: blanket and a few pillows and they're GM's on. I mean,
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: it's like, come on, you wantn't to be comfortable in
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: an airplane, but do you really need to.
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: Dress like that? Yeah.
• 29:06
  Speaker 4: Sean Duffy, he's the Secretary of Transportation. During the first
• 29:09
  Speaker 4: government shutdown that was like forty two days, he was
• 29:13
  Speaker 4: telling people, Hey, let's just be better people. Let's dress
• 29:17
  Speaker 4: up to the airport. Let's make it a better environment.
• 29:19
  Speaker 4: I don't know if I've ever seen somebody talk that
• 29:21
  Speaker 4: casually about something. It was kind of interesting to see.
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's his. It was his opinion, but I
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: think a lot of people share that opinion. And you
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: mentioned earlier when people used to smoke on the airplanes.
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: I remember those days, and they used to smoke in
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: restaurants and you I was never a smoker, and you know,
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: to sit next to somebody in a fine restaurant with
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: a table right next to somebody that was smoking can
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: be quite irritating when you don't smoke yourself. So glad
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: that they stopped that.
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I believe that. So we want to hear what
• 29:50
  Speaker 3: you guys have to say about this.
• 29:51
  Speaker 4: Give us a call for zero two five five eight
• 29:53
  Speaker 4: eleven ten, or you can email us at comment at
• 29:55
  Speaker 4: kfab dot com.
• 29:57
  Speaker 3: In the meantime, I'm gonna.
• 29:58
  Speaker 4: Take a little bit of a exit here, but we're
• 30:01
  Speaker 4: gonna stay on the same lane. This is gonna be
• 30:04
  Speaker 4: about the restaurant tax. Okay, and someone here sent us
• 30:07
  Speaker 4: an article coming from the Flatwater Free Press, and basically
• 30:11
  Speaker 4: what's highlighted was Omaha's two point five percent restaurant tax,
• 30:16
  Speaker 4: enacted in twenty ten to address recession induced budget shortfall.
• 30:22
  Speaker 4: Was originally intended to be temporary, but has become a
• 30:25
  Speaker 4: permanent major revenue for the city. We talked a little
• 30:29
  Speaker 4: bit about Flatwater Free Press off the air. I have
• 30:32
  Speaker 4: not read anything from them in the past, but that's
• 30:34
  Speaker 4: just the quotation I'm giving you.
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: I'll let you run with that.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: Sure, you know, Flatwater has a lot of reporters that
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: used to be with the World Herald. They're editors with
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: the World Herald.
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: I read it.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: They tend to do stories. They're not reporting the news,
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: but they tend to do stories, and they tend to
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: do a lot of research into the story, whether it's
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: about something with the city development budget, whatever. And I
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: think they're good, They're credible. I will say this, this
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: is that statement to say that the restaurant tax was
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: meant to be temporary is absolutely one hundred percent false.
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: It was not, and you could go on the City
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: of Omaha website. You could look at every ordinance and
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: read the ordinance. True. It was passed in twenty ten.
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: I was on the city Council at the time. It
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: actually was amended several times. I think we started out
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: with about four and a half percent and it went
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: down to two and a half percent because at that
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: time there was a budget shortfall and the City of
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: Omaha needed to put in about thirteen million dollars more
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: into the fire and police pension. Now it did that.
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: Mayor Suttle and his finance team. They're the ones that
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: pushed through the restaurant tax. As a city council member,
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: I did not vote for it because I thought it
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: would hurt the restaurant industry. But at two and a
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: half percent restaurant tax is on prepared food and beverage.
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: It was estimated at that time it was only going
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: to bring in about fourteen million dollars a year. That
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: was the estimate for two and a half percent. Go
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: online and read that ordinance if anybody wants to do that.
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: It never says anything about it being temporary, and it
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: never said anything about all of this money will go
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: into the fire and police pension. All it is an
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: occupation tax. An occupation tax, all of the revenue from
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: it goes into the general fund. What goes into the
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: general fund, then is what the mayor uses to prepare
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: the budget, and it funds all the city departments. So
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: it was again supposed to bring in about thirteen fourteen
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: million the very first year, it brought in almost twice
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: that much. And so my concerns with it harming the
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: restaurant business, the reason I didn't vote for it, were incorrect.
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: But it again it did not ever say all of
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: it was supposed to go in the Fire and Police pension.
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: Either it goes into the general fund, like all occupation
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: taxes do. There was a budget shortfall. It made twice
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: as much as they anticipated it would. They had enough
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: additional revenue to put in the fire and police pension,
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: but they had additional revenue on top of that that
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: just went into the general fund and helped fund all
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: the other departments. Now, look at what the revenue is
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: for the restaurant tax.
• 33:21
  Speaker 3: Now it has.
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: Gone up from that beginning of an estimated fourteen million
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: dollars a year, and I'm estimating that amount of money
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: in to or twenty ten, and now it is bringing
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: in about forty eight million dollars a year. It is
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: the third largest source of revenue that the City of
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: Omaha funds a general fund. The City of Omaha, their
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: primary source of revenue is sales tax, their next is
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: property tax, and the next is the restaurant tax. So
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: to say, you know, you should get rid of the
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: restaurant tax now, I said many times, and I hope
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: Mary Ewing feels the same way. And it would be
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: financially irresponsible to take that almost fifty million dollars out
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: of the general fund now because it would cut every
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: city department if we would have to take that, or
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: we would get rid of the restaurant tax. It's obviously
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: not hurting the restaurant tax in industry, and who would
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: want to do that. And with fire and police being
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: two thirds of the general fund budget, to take fifty
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: million dollars out, fire and police would get hit the worst.
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: And so no, it is not meant to be temporary,
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: but it is a large source of revenue, and like
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: I said, it will as far as I was concerned,
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: it would be financially irresponsible to try to get rid
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: of it, and I wanted to keep it on. The
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: number one tax that people complain about, not only in
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: Omaha but across the state of Nebraska is a property tax,
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: because you still have to think of the restaurant tax.
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: If you don't want to pay it, and you're totally
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: against it, you don't go out to you don't go
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: to a restaurant property taxes. If you own property, you must.
• 35:00
  Speaker 4: The outam here on news radio eleven ten kfab Yeah,
• 35:04
  Speaker 4: I was.
• 35:04
  Speaker 5: Calling in about the addressing up when you go out
• 35:07
  Speaker 5: to a restaurant. I totally agree with it. I also
• 35:11
  Speaker 5: just think in general, people need to dress a little
• 35:13
  Speaker 5: bit better in public. And then one other thing I
• 35:16
  Speaker 5: wanted to ask Gene, is you know you're talking about
• 35:19
  Speaker 5: smoking a restaurant. I remember when that happened. I never
• 35:23
  Speaker 5: understood how the how local governments were able to tell
• 35:27
  Speaker 5: private businesses who could smoke in their business.
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that was quite controversial at the time I recalled that,
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: but I think after a period of time, I think
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: people were appreciative that a step was taken. You know,
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: I brought this up before, but you know, I'm not
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: really a young person anymore. Everybody knows what my age is.
• 35:50
  Speaker 3: I won't go into that.
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: But when I first was a young nurse, they were
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: smoking in the hospitals. Nurses and doctors and patients were
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: allowed to smoke in the hospital. And I know some
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: people look at it as as you know, a right,
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: they're not doing anything illegal. But at the same time,
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: good lord, I mean, should you be smoking in a hospital?
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: And then they set up these puff huts outside the
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: hospital is what they called it, and all the doctors
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: and nurses would go out there and they'd be smoking away,
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: you know, ten feet from the hospital door. So there
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: are some moves that have been taken that I think
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: after time goes by, people appreciate. But it's the same
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: thing with like helmets with a motorcycle. I mean, people
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: some people look at it as as a personal freedom thing.
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: But when your personal freedom is violating somebody else's personal freedom,
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: that's when I think it's okay.
• 36:43
  Speaker 3: To step in. Yeah, that's very that's very true. We're
• 36:46
  Speaker 3: gonna have Jeff here.
• 36:47
  Speaker 4: Jeff, you're on news radio eleven t KFAB with jeanst Author.
• 36:52
  Speaker 6: Yes, you mentioned the pensions on shortfall when you were
• 36:56
  Speaker 6: mayor and console person. Did they ever consider turning the
• 36:59
  Speaker 6: pitch and funds over to the state to manage?
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: You know, I don't. It would have to be an
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: agreement with our collective bargaining units. And you know, I
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: will say the majority, not everybody, but the majority of
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: employees for the City of Omaha are in a union,
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: in a collective bargaining unit. And that makes a big
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: difference because it makes a difference when the mayor is
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: doing and preparing the budget because these employees are under
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: contract and their raises are under contract. But the pension
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: it does say in the city Charter that the pension
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: will be funded and that the employee in the employer
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: will put substantially equal amounts into the pension. And so
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: that means the employee, the union members, and the city
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: will put in basically an equal amount. When I became mayor,
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: the fire and police pension was thirty eight percent funded,
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: and I brought this up previously, but this could really
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: affect the city's bond rating and the bond Raiders, which
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: the city goes to multiple times during the year, but
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: actually presents the city once a year. It's usually in
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: the fall. I did the presentation when I was mayor
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: to the bond Raiders. We go up to Chicago one
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: year or they would come down another year. To the
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: bond Raiders being fully funded. Is at least eighty percent
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: or more now with you know, thirty eight percent. When
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: I left, the fire and Police pension was about fifty
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: eight percent funded. So we made a lot of progress.
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: But at the same time, it's nowhere where the bond
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: Raiders won us yet and that's the main reason why
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: we don't get a triple A bond rating.
• 38:49
  Speaker 3: Yes we have.
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: We thought, I mean we thought, is this a possibility?
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: But I think the unions would would never accept that,
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: And you know, it's it's got to be some thing
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: that is further discussed, because I think another thing I
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: would like to hear some feedback on. Are those public
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: employee unions something that people feel are still important to have.
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: It used to be with this with the public employees
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: that they got low salary but good benefits, and now
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: they get pretty good salary and good benefits too. So
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: that's a subject for another day.
• 39:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 39:23
  Speaker 4: Absolutely, And if you guys have things that you feel
• 39:26
  Speaker 4: about that, go ahead be sure to let us know.
• 39:28
  Speaker 4: You can reach out comment at kfab dot com or
• 39:31
  Speaker 4: tomorrow we'll be live yet again ten to eleven in
• 39:34
  Speaker 4: the morning.
• 39:35
  Speaker 3: You can call us for zero two five five eight
• 39:37
  Speaker 3: eleven ten
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: And thanks for listening and thanks for being with us
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: today