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Squishy
I was very disappointed in this morning’s Journal Star editorial. Titled “Counseling for gay youths worth funding”, I thought the LJS would take Robin Eschliman and Bob Workman to task for their boneheadedness. Instead, readers were handed an example of weak-kneed journalism that packed as much sting as a glob of Cool-Whip. I wasn’t expecting an all-out assault, mind you, nor was one necessary. But if that’s the best they could come up with, they should not have even bothered stirring up the masses again. At least I can still count on Neal Obermeyer to spice things up.
Eat With Me
I’m going to give the Downtown location of Taco del Mar a try today because I have five buy-one-get-one coupons sitting on my desk. Anybody care to bogo with me over the noon hour?
The Chosen Spot
The Mayor’s arena task force has recommended a location for a new arena behind (west of) Lincoln Station in the Haymarket. It’s a good location, but I’m left with one question: how in the world can the area roads be reconfigured to accommodate 10,000+ arena-goers? Traffic can get snarled today even with just a few hundred Haymarket-goers. Folks put up with massive traffic jams on Husker game days because, well, that’s what you do. But that won’t be tolerated with an arena. It’s a very solvable problem, but I’m curious which options are on the table, and which are definitely out.
Friday Five
It’s the Friday Five, paraskavedekatriaphobic edition. In honor of Friday the 13th, here are five places in Lincoln I’m afraid to go:
- Standing next to the Sower. But if the opportunity arose, I’d do it anyway.
- Robber’s Cave without lights. After being closed for years, who knows what unpleasantries lie in the dark.
- Any Lincoln middle school. Middle schoolers scare the crap out of me.
- Amigo’s. After ragging on Amigo’s for so long, being seen there could ruin my reputation. And besides, who knows what the workers would do to my food in retalliation.
- The kitchen at Lee’s Chicken. Some things are better left unknown.
Long Shot
We are about a month away from election day. The polls say Ben leads Pete 55% to 32%. Does Pete have a shot, or is he dead in the water? If Pete is out of contention, does that mean Ben is unbeatable, or has the GOP just not found the right opponent yet?
Discuss.
(In other news, the Guv leads David Hahn 72% to 18%. Yeouch.)
Three Months and a Week Late?
What’s with all the big fireworks going off right now? What did I miss?
How Much is the Life of a Gay Youth Worth?
Is it worth $1,500 to help prevent youth suicide? Most people, I think, would say that $1,500 is peanuts, and that of course saving a life is worth such a paltry sum. So why are folks’ panties in a bunch over a suicide prevention grant discussed before the City Council and County Board this week?
Because the grant’s target is gay youths. The explicit message from Robin Eschliman, Bob Workman, and others, is that if you’re gay, your life isn’t worth a measly 1,500 bucks. It might “cause grief”, as Ms. Eschliman put it. I’ll bet a dead son or daughter would cause a lot of grief, too, gay or not.
Amusingly, the grant’s funds originate from keno proceeds. No word yet from the “family values” crowd on why it’s OK to celebrate the fruits of that vice while rallying against another.
Draw the Line
If you had to create new LPS student transfer policies, what would they look like? How would you balance the district’s needs to prevent overcrowding, with families’ needs to maintain continuity in their children’s education?
Five Stars
Some of you may have noticed some odd goings-on in the Forums lately. In particular, there are five little stars above each post. If you are logged in, you can rate each post on a 1-5 scale. The feature is part of a project I’m working on for a client. I’d appreciate if you give it a try and let me know how it works for you.
FYI, I don’t plan to keep the rating system around once I wrap up the project for the client. If you want to convince me otherwise, feel free to give it a go.
Vetoed
I have to give Mayor Seng credit: it takes some cojones to veto the recent group home agreement, putting Lincoln at risk of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and perhaps destroying Lincoln’s current zoning restrictions on group homes. That doesn’t mean I agree with her decision, though. In fact, I think she acted foolishly.
Lincoln’s current group home restrictions—they must be at least one-half mile apart if they house four to fifteen residents—are unnecessarily restrictive. The settlement offered to Lincoln—removing the distance restriction on homes with four or five residents—was reasonable. True, it would have created a differentiation between the number of unrelated disabled persons able to live in one home (four or five) and the number of unrelated non-disabled persons able to live in one home (three). But I don’t see that as a problem. The two restrictions serve different purposes, and therefore need not necessarily be identical.
With her veto, Mayor Seng has put Lincoln’s zoning restrictions in a precarious position. Disabled persons are a protected class under the law, so Lincoln will have to make one heckuva case to justify the distance requirement. If the City fails, not only will we face hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and legal fees, we may lose a tremendous amount of local zoning control. Mayor Seng said her actions are pro-local control, and that’s fantastic. But I fear that in the eyes of the courts she will make the City instead appear anti-disabled persons. That’s not a position in which we want to find ourselves.
Make Some Noise
Want a drag strip north of Lincoln? Despise the thought? Either way, go voice your opinion at today’s tomorrow’s Planning Commission meeting at 1:00pm. But get there early; seats may be hard to come by.
Let’s Get Digital
I, for one, would not mind seeing a few digital billboards pop up around Lincoln. They are more efficient for the billboard companies, they are more effective for advertisers, and, once the initial “oooh, ahhhh” factor wears off, they won’t be any more or less of an eyesore than current billboards. My only potential concern is excessive light output, but I’m sure there is model legislation around the country we can mimic to take care of that issue.
Sensational
Don’t let it be said that the Journal Star is above a little good sensationalism. There’s a small chance of snow mid-week. It probably won’t amount to anything, and even if it does, it probably won’t last through the end of the day. But that didn’t stop the Journal Star from running a photograph that implies something a bit more extreme:
[Link updated at 10:20am]
Twenty Percent
This is just a quick note to let all of you winter-haters know that there’s a 20% chance of snow on Wednesday. Commence gnashing and wailing...now.
Friday Five
Goodyear workers are on strike, so here are five things they can do to entertain themselves:
- Count the number of trains that roll along Cornhusker Highway, and have a party for every 100th one.
- Hold a Prettiest Picket Sign contest. Award extra points for Best Use of Glitter.
- Stand guard at Lincoln High in case any rabid mothers try to get into fights.
- Break the world record for most rides on the train around the Lincoln Children’s Zoo.
- Hunt for elk on Superior Street.
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