The Lincolnite Blog: Lincolnite: Lincoln, Nebraska's Online Community

Another Bond

February 28, 2006 at 1:23pm By: Mr. Wilson Posted in The Lincolnite Blog

The City Council last night voted to place another bond issue before voters. This time it’s a $2.7 million project to purchase 130 acres of green space adjacent to the South Beltway. The land will resemble the narrow green strip that follows Highway 2 from 17th to 56th Street.

I can’t help but be disappointed. In earlier discussions Lincolnites had set their sights high, proposing to extend Wilderness Park around the city as a massive and unprecedented green belt. The South and East Beltways were the perfect routes for this massive urban woodland. The bond issue that will go before voters in May is a joke in comparison.

The costs of the earlier grand vision would have been astronomical, of course, and it’s nowhere near certain that enough land could have been easily acquired to make the project worthwhile. But boy, wouldn’t it have been fun to try? I think Lincolnites could have latched onto that vision far more easily than they’ve latched onto the vision of a revitalized Antelope Valley, a renewed Downtown, or even a new convention center.

Permalink

Just Decide

February 28, 2006 at 1:21pm By: Mr. Wilson Posted in The Lincolnite Blog

Douglas Theatre Company President David Livingston just wants the Lincoln City Council to make up its darn mind. I can’t say I blame him. I often feel the same way about our noncommittal City Council.

In this case, Livingston simply wants the City Council to say for certain whether the city’s theater policy is going to stick around for good. Councilman Jon Camp’s halfway solution—scrapping the current policy in seven years—has yet to be voted on. Even if it passes Douglas will have no guarantees. What’s to prevent the council from extending the restrictions indefinitely? Ultimately the theater policy is driven by the government’s fear of its constituents’ decisions. It’s all too paternal for my tastes.

More broadly, David Livingston has hit upon a frustration many Lincolnites have with the City Council. The Council, for whatever reason, is terrified of commitment. It’s not that I want seven inflexible automatons, but is it too much to ask for them to make up their minds now and then?

Permalink

Mayor Seng’s Nicknames

February 27, 2006 at 1:24pm By: Mr. Wilson Posted in The Lincolnite Blog

I attended a gathering last night and somehow the conversation suddenly shifted to Mayor Colleen Seng’s many nicknames. Some of the nicknames included: