State lawmakers opt for income tax cuts over property tax relief

State lawmakers went home recently, ending a 90-day session marked by reductions in spending and borrowing from cash reserves to close a projected budget gap that once topped $400 million.

Hard to believe that just a couple of years ago, the state was sitting on a huge surplus of cash. It was enough to set legislators dreaming big dreams, like digging a massive lake between Omaha and Lincoln and financing new marinas and other tourism amenities.

But that was then and this is now, and the STARWARS initiative (standing for "Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainabil...