Latest Blog Posts
Paul’s on Pioneers
Jeff Korbelik’s favorite barbeque appears to be headed to the former laundromat at 48th and Pioneers. Paul’s BBQ, originally run by Paul Nevels out of the back of a truck (?!) at a service station at 40th and A, is moving in. I had the building pegged as an excellent spot for a restaurant, what with its decent location, ample parking, and big windows. I’m excited that a “little guy” is going to give the location a shot. I have never eaten Paul’s BBQ, but you can be assured I’ll stop by as close to opening day as possible.
Antelope Valley’s First Big Project?
Could a new four-story retail and residential building at 17th and O, where the Images II building currently stands, be the first big Antelope Valley project to come to fruition? The project matches goals for the area according to the Downtown Master Plan and the Antelope Valley plan, so it would seem the project shouldn’t run into any hurdles from the government. The big question is: can that part of Downtown support 40 condos right now? I suppose the best answer is: somebody has to be the first to redevelop the area.
Cover-Up in Lincoln
If you’re a property owner in Lincoln, prepare for a cover-up. Of graffiti, that is. The City Council passed an anti-graffiti ordinance yesterday, which means:
- Minimum fines for graffiti deed-doers are now $200
- Property owners have 15 days to cover up graffiti on their property
- Property owners can hire the city to remove the graffiti
- Property owners can pay $50 to ask for an extension or exception
Just for fun, if you happen to see any graffiti on public property that isn’t promptly removed, send me a photo. I will post the photo here and submit a letter to the city to help ensure that our public areas set a good example.
A Grocer Discovers Airpark
Well whaddaya know, it took a long time, but a grocer has finally discovered Airpark. The independent grocery store, owned by the gentleman who owns the Crete Foodmart, will be about the size of the Hy-Vee at 70th and O.
Too Blue?
Grace Safarik thinks Sunken Gardens had “entirely too much dark purple foliage” and was “more appropriate for a funeral than a wedding.” I had noticed that the Gardens were a little darker than usual this year, but it wasn’t a problem for me. Your thoughts?
Quick Reactions to Mayor Seng’s Comments
Yesterday Deena Winter’s article in the Journal Star was an interview with Mayor Seng. A couple quick reactions: (The questions are bold, Mayor Seng’s responses are in italics, and my comments are in regular text.)
What criticism of you and your tenure as mayor is most unfair?
People complain about the strangest things these days. It’s very difficult to pick out one single thing. There will be people that will complain about my hair and there will be people who will compliment my hair, which has absolutely nothing to do with being mayor. ... the smoking ban, guns.
Hold on a second, did Mayor Seng just say that the smoking ban and the recent concealed carry kerfuffle have “absolutely nothing to do with being mayor”? Or did Deena Winter really butcher what Mayor Seng said by inserting an ellipse in a bad spot? If it isn’t the latter, then Mayor Seng has some bizarre ideas about what criticisms are fair and and which are unfair.
Do you think some of the criticism of you is age or gender-based?
Yes. It has been, and we’ve noticed that on e-mails that come in. Do they criticize Tom Osborne because of his age?
Sorry Mayor Seng, but don’t even try to flatter yourself with a comparison to Tom Osborne. Osborne’s situation is far removed from yours.
That said, I don’t disagree that some of the criticisms sent Mayor Seng’s way are unfairly related to the combination of her age and gender.
Is there anything you’d do differently if you had a chance to do it over again?
No. I didn’t ever plan to be mayor. I wasn’t ever sure I’d be on the City Council. I might have been on City Council earlier if I’d raised enough money. I might have raised more money for the mayor’s race.
This, in my opinion, is a terrible answer. Given an opportunity, among a completely benign audience of one polite reporter, to own up to one mistake—any mistake—she made as mayor, Seng weaseled out. Tacky.
Have you or your administration been a barrier to growth?
People have wanted to say that, for as long as I know, about Lincoln government. If you’re in it to do a quick and fast (project) to make a buck, then yes, you might think that.
Her answer doesn’t really do anything to address why developers so often negatively compare doing business in Lincoln to doing business elsewhere. Surely there’s something deeper going on that could be addressed, even if it’s something as small as changing perceptions. Gallup wasn’t in it for a quick buck; neither was Tractor Supply Company; nor Wal-Mart; nor were several other companies that Lincoln lost out on or said no to. What of them, Mayor Seng?
Will NU beat USC?
The team looked good last Friday.
Uhh, what? She knows the Huskers are a college team that plays on Saturdays, right? (I’ll just let this one slide as a Bushism.)
If there’s one thing you would change about Lincoln, what would it be?
Have more north-south roads go all the way from the city limits on both sides.
I agree. But I wonder: if that’s the one thing she could change about Lincoln, why didn’t she do more to north/south transportation during her tenure?
What is Neal Obermeyer (a freelance political cartoonist for the Journal Star) going to do without you?
I wish he would come up here. We’ve invited him. I think he’d probably be really surprised if he met me.
Hmm, what do you think would surprise Neal about Mayor Seng? It’d be pretty surprising if he walked into her office and she were wearing a bikini. Maybe she’s a huge NASCAR fan. Or maybe she once dated Winston Churchill. Other than that, I just can’t think of many things about her that would surprise Neal.
It’s Game Day
It’s another Husker game day, and chances are my score prediction, like thousands of Husker fans at Memorial Stadium, will turn out all wet:
Huskers: 58
Colonels: 17
Go Big Red!
Friday Five
As a preview for my upcoming series on the Lincoln Downtown Master Plan, I present five features of Downtown Lincoln that are, according to the Plan, “inappropriate” and would be discouraged if they were to be done today:
- Wendy’s, Amigos, and Arby’s (too suburban)
- Nebraska Bookstore (too much blank wall)
- The O Street skywalk (between 12th and 13th Streets) (skywalks are bad, especially ones that draw attention to themselves)
- Tour de Lincoln (amateur art is discouraged)
- The Douglas Grand (too gaudy)
Four and Out
Mayor Colleen Seng won’t run again after serving four years at Lincoln’s helm. The reaction will undoubtedly be mixed; Mayor Seng’s tenure has proven to be very divisive, with the “haters” being the most vocal. Of the pro- and anti-Seng crowds, I will say this: they are both right. Mayor Seng helped move Lincoln forward in some ways, but in others her leadership style was insufficient to help Lincoln overcome the obstacles laid before the city.
This much can be agreed upon: Colleen Seng knows how to cut ribbons.
Now that the campaign for Mayor will be wide open, I hope Lincolnites can get clear answers to some of the community’s most pressing questions. How will the candidates rebuild trust in the Fire Department? How will they improve Lincoln’s business climate? Where will Lincoln get the money to pay for the billions (yes, billions) of dollars of projects planned for the next two decades? And so on.
But that’s all for later. For now, I want to thank Mayor Seng for her service, and for her wise decision to step aside. Even though I’m not shedding any tears over her departure, I honestly hope she remains involved in efforts to make Lincoln a better place.
Comment Spam
By the way, comment spam on Lincolnite finally forced me to require non-logged-in visitors to answer a CAPTCHA before being allowed to comment. Please let me know if you have any problems with the new system.
The Plan
Yesterday I downloaded the Lincoln Downtown Master Plan and the accompanying Lincoln Downtown Design Guidelines. The two documents are filled with lots of interesting (and extremely ambitious) stuff. I think I will try to put together a few posts describing the contents of the documents, peppered with my assessment of concepts big and small. I will probably try to do a five-part series. If you have any topics you would like me to cover, or questions you would like answered, please let me know.
Nealo is Feeling a Little Cornered
Neal Obermeyer’s latest cartoon* touches on a topic I brought up yesterday. Very nice, Neal!
*The cartoon wasn’t online yet this morning, but I assume it will show up soon.
Wanted: One Home for a Mediocre Chinese Restaurant
If anybody out there has a home for Taste of China, Mayor Seng would love to hear from you. Taste of China remains the lone hold-up in the quest to start up the request for proposals process for the proposed Downtown high rise.
In related news, the Douglas 3 should start coming down this fall to make way for the new “civic plaza”. But what’s this?
The civic plaza would be bordered by a four- to five-story building filled with retail shops on the ground floor and possibly offices or housing on upper floors.
I don’t remember that being a part of the plan. I thought the entirety of the Douglas 3 property was going to be converted to greenspace open space. If a chunk of the property is going to be turned into a new building, isn’t the plaza going to be awfully tiny?
Pirogi to the People
A bit of Downtown dining news: looks like a new restaurant is opening between Oso Burrito and Abloom the flower shop (the name of which escapes me right now). A sign for Inna’s Pirogi Cafe popped up recently. Looks like one worth checking out when it opens.
If you’re wondering, a pirogi is a crescent-shaped dumpling of unleavened dough, stuffed with sauerkraut, cheese, mashed potatoes, cabbage, onion, meat, or fruit.
Downtown Differences
Whether or not you like Lincoln’s efforts over the years to keep Downtown alive and kicking, at least some of those efforts have obviously made a difference. I witnessed the perfect illustration on Sunday. I was in Downtown Omaha around 1:00pm on Sunday. Cars were all but non-existent, and I didn’t see a single pedestrian. Not one. Two hours later I was in Downtown Lincoln. Not only was Downtown abuzz, I had a heck of a time finding a parking spot and I almost had to resort to using a parking garage.
I don’t always agree with the methods used to support Downtown, but clearly something is drawing folks to Downtown Lincoln in a way that Omaha can’t match. A downtown district cannot thrive if it’s a 9-to-5, Monday-through-Friday district. Downtown Lincoln clearly is not, and that makes me very pleased.
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