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Editorial
A potpourri of opinion
Friday, March 12, 2010
Bill will provide needed control of deer
Most of us love wildlife, but respect for wild animals doesn't mean letting them get out of control.
That's what's happening with the state's blossoming deer population, growing because of too little pressure from natural predators or hunters.
Thursday, lawmakers gave first-round approval to a bill that would allow the secretary of the state Game and Parks Commission to extend deer season by issuing executive orders.
It would also allow owners of at least 20 acres, and members of their immediate families, to have an unlimited number of free permits to kill does during special seasons set to pare the herd in some regions.
It would also allow hunting within 100 yards of a home or livestock feedlot, rather than the current 200 yards.
It would also allow the state to issue permits to landowners to kill mountain lions -- ironically, probably the deer's top natural predator.
Deer overpopulation results in disease and causes millions of dollars in motor vehicle damage as well as injury and death to motorists.
The bill, LB836, should be passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor.
Funds should be used for original purpose
It's almost an insurmountable temptation for government to keep its hands off a pot of taxpayer dollars, but Nebraska lawmakers should be congratulated for doing just that -- this time.
It was tempting to use money from corn and grain sorghum checkoff dollars, designed to raise money to support the ethanol industry, to help solve the state's water problems.
Under the plan, more than $7 million would have been raised from the checkoff to deal with water issues, beginning in 2013.
The water issues, of course, must be dealt with. And, with the changing energy industry, who knows how long using the checkoff dollars for ethanol will remain appropriate.
But elegant solutions to federal funding needs -- gasoline taxes for highway construction and maintenance, air ticket fees for airport improvements, for example -- shouldn't be detoured for other uses out of simple expedience.
Law gives judges valuable tool, leeway
The final form of a bill to allow underage drinkers' drivers licenses to be suspended makes more sense than an earlier version that would have made such a move mandatory.
LB258, given final approval and sent to the governor, allows judges to suspend drivers licenses anywhere from a month to a year, depending on how many minor-in-possession convictions the teenager had.
Critics of the earlier plan had a point when they noted that some teens might be convicted just for being at a party, even through they may not have been drinking.
Still, judges have an important tool to use to get their point across to underage alcohol scofflaws.
Forget about daylight on the way to work
Don't forget to set your clock ahead one hour before going to bed Saturday night, as the nation "springs forward" into Daylight Saving Time.
DST has been expanded earlier in the spring and later in the fall in an effort to save energy, but we will sure miss the light in the sky on the way to work in the morning.