LES Rates Stable, for Now

By: Mr. Wilson on November 21, 2006
The good news is, LES hasn't asked for a rate increase for next year. Last year's 4.5% rate increase, along with a group of new fees, has improved LES' bottom line. The bad news is, they will probably ask for one next year. One item worth discussion is LES' advertising budget. The Lincoln Employers Coalition wants it cut. The current advertising budget is $400,000, and it is mostly directed toward informational and educational advertising. (i.e. "Here's how you can save money on your electric bill...") Trying to pare down $400,000 in an almost $200 million budget seems a little silly, but I suppose the group figures it has to start somewhere. Fair enough. Still, spending less than $2 per Lincolnite for informational and educational advertising doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Perhaps what the Lincoln Employers Coalition needs to do to convince me is to speak in terms of what they would cut (and what they would leave), rather than in dollar figures. Then I could be a better judge. What's your take on it?

Falling Leaves

By: Mr. Wilson on November 20, 2006
The leaves are falling off my oak trees. They aren't just trickling down, they're virtually gushing. That is good news. Not because I'm a fan of raking leaves; quite the opposite. Rather, it's good news, because this means I can get the leaves cleaned out of the gutters before mid-winter, when I have a tendency to put these things off. And that tends to result in clogged gutters come springtime, which results in a wet basement, which results in a very cranky Mr. Wilson. So here I am, sitting at the kitchen table -- oh, did I mention I took this week off work? -- watching leaves come pouring down. Each time one hits the ground, I let out a little cheer. Of course, I still have to go clean them up. Maybe tomorrow...

Where’s Wilson? A Game of Twenty Questions

By: Mr. Wilson on November 19, 2006
I call this game Where's Wilson? It's a very simple, Twenty Questions-style game. I am thinking of a place somewhere in Lincoln. Your task is to figure out where I am by asking questions. Here are the rules:
  1. I will only respond to yes/no questions. Be sure your question can be answered with a simple yes or no.
  2. Each person should only ask one question at a time. If a single person asks more than one question at a time, I will only answer one. (It is fine if several people at a time ask one question each.)
  3. A guess ("Are you at 27th and A?") counts as a question
  4. Please number the questions so that it is easy to follow along and see what questions have been asked.
  5. You have twenty questions to figure out where I am.
Ask away!

Adventures in Customer Service

By: Mr. Wilson on November 19, 2006
Compare and contrast these three customer service experience The Missus, Robbie, and I had today: 1. We had photos taken today at a place that advertises that you'll be in and out with your photos in "about an hour". We have had photos taken there before, and we have been pleased in the past. Today, though, was different. Troubles began after the photo session was completed. We were told we could come back in 15 minutes to pick up our photos. Great! We hadn't had lunch yet, so we went and had a leisurely lunch. Lunch took about 30 minutes. When we went back for our photos, they weren't ready. They had had to "restock the machine", whatever that means. But we would have our photos "in about 15 minutes". Fine, we could wait 15 minutes. So 15 minutes later we went back. The photos weren't ready. We told them to give us what they had finished, and we would pick up the rest later. The woman went in the back to fetch our photos...and came back 10 minutes later, supposedly with our entire order. As we walked to our car, The Missus happened to look at the photos. The first one was great! So was the second one, except it wasn't a photo of any of us. We stormed back in, only to be brushed aside. Long story short (too late!) we left dissatisfied, angry, and frustrated. What would have prevented all of that frustration? If the woman had simply said, "I'm sorry, our machine is down right now and we're so busy I'm not sure how long it will take us to catch back up. I don't know how long it will take. Would you like to wait, or would you prefer to come back another time? I apologize for the trouble; please accept this coupon for free services on your next visit." Would that have been so difficult? 2. We spent a lot of time at Westfield Gateway today. The Missus and Robbie investigated the family lounge for the first time. The Missus was incredibly impressed. Comfortable chairs, private nursing booths, changing stations with individual Diaper Genies and heated wipes... In short, Gateway's family lounge is top notch. Two thumbs up for Westfield Gateway! 3. The Missus ran into a problem with a prescription at Hy-Vee. I'm fuzzy on the details, but the basic story is that it was a messy case of computer error, forcing the pharmacist to have to go back to the original paper copy of the prescription from over a year ago. But that isn't the story. The pharmacist was so concerned about getting things right that long after The Missus had left the store, the pharmacist (a) called the on-call doctor, (b) called the insurance company, and (c) called The Missus at home to let her know that all the loose ends were tied up. How's that for service? Now, is there really any question which businesses we will eagerly patronize in the future, and enthusiastically promote to our friends and family? I wonder how much extra business they will see as a result.

Robbie Crawled!

By: Mr. Wilson on November 17, 2006
Here's a bit of big news out of 625 Elm Street: Robbie crawled! I just received a phone call from The Missus, and she said Robbie spontaneously began crawling across the living room. Granted, he made the trek in reverse (seriously), but crawling is crawling. That totally makes up for the fact that he has kept us up the past two nights for no particular reason (teething?). Way to go, Robert!

Friday Five

By: Mr. Wilson on November 17, 2006
It's a game edition of the Friday Five. Below are anagrams of five Lincoln neighborhoods. Can you figure them out?
  1. THEIR LAND HOGS (as opposed to their water hogs?)
  2. WEE EVIL CLOG (a bad movie about small, vicious wooden shoes?)
  3. HERO AUNTS (a new show on the CW?)
  4. LUST? A VICE. IN PYRE. (a verdict and sentence?)
  5. MOB IN, OUSTS TSAR (the newspaper headline the day after the revolution?)

Realty Trust and the Great Switcheroo

By: Mr. Wilson on November 16, 2006
I have to hand it to Realty Trust. They really know how to play the real estate game. Flash back to January 2005:
Of particular interest has been a parcel on the northeast corner of the intersection of 48th and O streets, where an abandoned Amoco station sits. The city paid $923,000 for the property, which was assessed by the county at $456,000. The parcel was owned by Realty Trust Group, which had a lease agreement with Starbucks that fell through when the city cut off corner access because of safety concerns.
Realty Trust didn't get its Starbucks (or the $3.9 million it initially sued the city for as a result), but it did get a $475,000 premium over the assessed value of its property. Not a bad profit. But it gets better. Now that the O Street widening is finished, only one company bid for a redevelopment contract of the northeast corner of 48th and O. Who is the bidder? Realty Trust. They want to buy back their old property, and they will be able to use tax increment financing to do it. Not a bad deal, if you ask me. Realty Trust hasn't announced their proposed tenants for their project, but I'll give you one guess to come up with a prime candidate. Hat tip: Neal.

Unrested

By: Mr. Wilson on November 16, 2006
Can I redo last night, please? Because I'm too tired right now to be productive. It all began as Robbie's fault. For some reason he just didn't want to sleep. We fed him, burped him, changed him, all to no avail. I laid with him for a couple hours and he slept off and on, but I don't think it was a good sleep for either one of us. Eventually The Missus just threw him in his swing, turned it on, and shut the door. That alone would have been enough, but then I just had to go and have one of my stressful dreams. Last night's dream involved a giant nuclear explosion. It isn't easy panicking about a nuclear explosion, even while asleep. There was also a dream about running up and down escalators the wrong way, in a bad part of town, no less. Tiring stuff. Nevertheless, I'm surprisingly chipper this morning. I expect that to last until about 10. So how was your night?

Building Bridges

By: Mr. Wilson on November 15, 2006
Thanks, bridge builders! You helped Lincoln save over $45,000 in labor costs, and you further demonstrated Lincolnites' commitment to quality trails throughout the city. I tip my hat to you.

Mayor’s Race Notes

By: Mr. Wilson on November 15, 2006
Mayoral Candidate Chris Beutler plans to end his consulting contract with the city prior to next year's election. Beutler is currently paid $62,000 annually for 1,250 hours of work as a fund raiser for Parks & Rec. Expect that contract to get a little attention from his opponents as "excessive". Another candidate, Ken Svoboda, has a $24,000 contract to maintain medians around the city. Svoboda will end that contract as well. Cynical Lincolnites are probably saying: the medians are so poorly maintained, we won't be able to tell the difference! In other Mayor's race news, candidate Mike Deal announced his candidacy in the forums. Mr. Deal appears to be a fiscal conservative interested in finding solutions to Lincoln's money problems. And as long as I'm mentioning all the candidates, don't forget about Roger Yant.

I Smell Pork

By: Mr. Wilson on November 15, 2006
Ben Nelson now sits on the Appropriations Committee. He promises to "work with local officials in Nebraska to 'ensure Nebraska priorities are recognized in the Senate.'" Translation: Ben promises to bring home the bacon. I wonder how he plans to reconcile that with another of his promises, to "identify and reduce needless spending"?
 < 1 2 3 4 >  Last ›