Latest Blog Posts
38 and Counting
Wow, 38 comments. That’s a record. Sure, it’s mostly the same few people going back and forth, but at least there’s an exchange going on. To the participants: thanks for keeping it (mostly) civil. I’m glad to see that folks with *ahem* vastly different opinions make Lincolnite a destination.
More on the Smoking Ban
The Omaha World-Herald has a good piece online about the financial impact of Lincoln’s smoking ban. I also found an online version of the report (PDF) by UNL’s Bureau of Business Research. I want to add a couple thoughts to my earlier post.
Most importantly, I can’t think of any good reason why the Journal Star would have left out of its article the fact that according to the analysis Lincoln “lost” over 600 jobs as a result of the smoking ban. 600 jobs is a lot of jobs. I put “lost” in quotation marks because it’s not that our employment numbers went down, but that they did not rise as quickly as they “should” have, statistically speaking. You will have to read the report for yourself to decide if you agree with the methodology that arrived at that conclusion.
Incidentally, Tobacco Free Lincoln regards the loss of 600 jobs as “modest”. They have an odd definition of modest. The resulting financial impact of 600 fewer jobs is in the millions of dollars. I tried to calculate the effect, but the report doesn’t define what a “job” is. For illustration purposes though, if a “job” is a full-time (2,000 hours annually) position paying $7.00/hour, the loss of 600 such incomes comes to $8.4 million. Extrapolate from there as you will.
A New Skyline
Today’s feature in the Journal Star talks a bit about the proposed high-rise for the former Star Ship location on Q Street. I’m skeptical about the likelihood of the project ending up as grand (pun intended) as the city’s vision, but dang, wouldn’t that be awesome? A new 25-story high-rise would be a huge boon to Downtown, and to Lincolnites’ faith in the city’s economic development efforts.
Wash any skepticism from your mind for a second and think about it…
A Bad Nebraskan
Am I a bad Nebraskan for not being giddy about President Bush’s call in his State of the Union Address for substantially more biofuels? Nebraskans are supposed to be singing a happy song because ethanol is great for the state. But I’m just not sold on ethanol, or at least not corn-based ethanol. Ethanol is more expensive per mile, and producing it takes a ton of water. Plus, diverting so much acreage to energy instead of food (or from other crops to corn) will raise food prices on countless products.
I want to be pro-ethanol. It’s the Cornhusker-y thing to do. But somebody is going to have to convince me.
Now, if President Bush had said “We need to make substantial investments in nuclear power to ensure low-cost, safe, environmentally-friendly energy for decades to come” I would have fainted. Then I would have applauded like mad.
The Smoking Ban’s Costs
In news that really oughtn’t come as a surprise, a local study found that Lincoln’s smoking ban caused a drop in income for many local businesses—bars, in particular. The study’s findings give lie to the claim by some of the ban’s supporters that there would be no such drop.
The ban’s supporters will argue that the improved quality of life was worth every penny. And they are right, for their definition of “quality of life”. Me, I include an individual’s fundamental right to do what he chooses to his body under my definition of “quality of life”, so I would argue that the costs far outweighed the benefits. If I had my druthers, the “ban” wouldn’t have been a governmental ban, but one driven by consumers. The current rush by businesses to ditch trans fats is a good example of a consumer-driven ban that’s working extraordinarily well. (Let’s not get into the matter of whether it’s a good idea to drop trans fats in favor of that scorn of the 90’s, saturated fats.) I still believe a coordinated drive by consumers could have forced most local businesses to halt smoking on their premises within a matter of months. We were very near the tipping point at the time the ban was passed. Alas, we’ll never know for sure.
Paying for the Arena
Consider the following two facts about Lincoln’s proposed arena:
- The entire arena could be paid for with a .5% increase in the local sales tax.
- The entire arena could be paid for with approximately $1,000 from every single Lincolnite.
Discuss.
Hy-Vee in the Tank?
The Hy-Vee deal near 48th and O Street might be in the tank after the City Council nixed additional funding for extending 50th Street. The street extension was seen as critical to the deal. No word yet from Hy-Vee on their next move.
If Hy-Vee does bail out, anybody got any great ideas for what should take its place?
Some Restaurant Updates
The Missus and I tried to meet some friends at Doughboyz on Saturday night, but a sign on the door says it is closed indefinitely. Anybody out there have the details on this one?
I noticed a job posting for a new Fireworks location in southeast Lincoln. (The Wal-Mart area, perhaps?) Now Fireworks and The Oven will both have locations outside the Haymarket. Hmm…
Ate with my parents at Paul’s BBQ (48th and Pioneers) recently. I really enjoy that place. Famous Dave’s it ain’t, and I like it that way. It has an almost small town charm to it. It’s simple, it’s clean, and the food is tasty. It’s a success story for a local entrepreneur, and the restaurant is a great addition to the College View neighborhood.
Backup Plan
I had every intention of letting Snowgate drop, but yesterday the Journal Star printed a letter from Roger Figard, the embattled and embarrassed man formerly in charge of the city’s snow-removal duties. It took a lot of guts for Mr. Figard to write the letter, and not just because it is always tough to say “I screwed up”. The letter also fills in “the rest of the story”. In short, Mr. Figard was distracted by his daughter’s health issues and he had to be out of town.
Fair enough. I’m certainly not going to criticize Mr. Figard for putting family first. However one does wonder how many other major city functions could fall prey to the same case of bad timing. What happens if the head of payroll, or StarTran, or sewage services finds himself or herself in a similar position? The public needs to be able to have confidence that all major services will continue uninterrupted and at full quality even in the absence of the person in charge. Snowgate puts a dent in that confidence. Likewise, heads of those major services need to be able to vanish from the workplace at a moment’s notice in order to take care of pressing family concerns, and they need to know that the services will continue at 100% even in their absence.
Managers around the city should take a look at their situation and ask: what would happen if I disappeared for a week? Are you confident the people and services you manage would continue to receive a passing grade?
Edited to add: And now that I think about it, doesn’t this put more of the blame for Snowgate on Karl Fredrickson? Isn’t it his responsibility to ensure that a backup plan exists for when one of his managers is absent?
Friday Five
For today’s Friday Five, here are five topics (among many) I would like to ask Lincoln’s mayoral candidates about:
- What is Lincoln’s greatest asset, and how will you take advantage of that asset if you are elected?
- What is your favorite local business? Why? What lessons can other local businesses learn from that business?
- Which Lincolnite do you admire most, and why?
- Tell me about the Antelope Valley Project: what has been completed, what is currently being worked on, and what comes next. What will you do to manage the Project if you are elected?
- You are mayor and Lincoln faces some sort of catastrophe. Who do you turn to for advice, and why?
Dare I Say It? I Agree with Ernie
I love Ernie Chambers for the role he plays in the Unicameral, but I don’t often agree with his legislative priorities. This session, though, two of his bills sound like winners to me. The first would provide the public with more information about disciplinary action against public employees. The second would, in certain situations, restrict information available to the public about a person’s arrest record.
The devil is in the details and when Senator Chambers is involved anything can happen, but I like the general ideas in Chambers’ bills. I’ll be keeping an eye on these two.
Beutler, Svoboda, Yant Do a Q&A
The three candidates for mayor—Democrat Chris Beutler, Republican Ken Svoboda, and Independent Roger Yant—stood before the Lincoln Independent Business Association for a question and answer session yesterday. One thing is becoming increasingly clear: the candidates are veritable carbon copies of one another on many of the issues. That demonstrates just how dissatisfied Lincolnites are with Lincoln’s current direction, and how united they are in searching for somebody who can offer things like “bold vision” and “strong leadership”. It also demonstrates that if you like Lincoln’s current direction, or if you support an alternate proposal for the community’s future, you’re out of luck.
According to Deena Winter, Ken Svoboda came out on top as the strongest speaker; Chris Beutler knows the issues but is long-winded; and Roger Yant came across as the least polished. The other major differences among the candidates were ... uhh, well, that’s pretty much it. Looks like Lincolnites may end up voting based primarily on the candidates’ peepees—party and personality—unless real policy differences emerge between now and voting day.
As it stands right now, here is my simplified scorecard:
Pros:
- Beutler: Outsider with experience; has put proposals on the table; decent speaker.
- Svoboda: Republican taking on an unpopular Democrat; good presence; experienced in City issues.
- Yant: Outsider; long history of trying to improve city.
Cons:
- Beutler: Long-winded (eek, John Kerry?); limited experience at City level.
- Svoboda: Member of City Council that’s often seen as part of the problem.
- Yant: Inexperienced; unpolished.
Lincoln Airport Numbers Down
It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most of you that the Lincoln Airport’s passenger numbers are down over the past year by 6 percent. Meanwhile, Eppley’s numbers continue to rise. There’s a very simple reason for Lincoln Airport’s decline: flights tend to be cheaper out of Omaha than out of Lincoln, and many people in the region are all too happy to drive to Omaha to save a few bucks.
Is that a problem? Should Lincoln be worried? Maybe. I don’t think it is panic time, but neither is it a good time for us to sit back and let the numbers slip away year after year. As Lincoln has learned well, “sit back and watch” is not a good economic development strategy.
In a Fog
The Journal Star is running this image alongside articles related to the 2007 Unicameral session. Any chance somebody at the LJS chose the image as a metaphor for the 2007 session?
Well, OK, probably not. Nonetheless, it’s fun to think about all of the ways this image could be interpreted.
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