Lincolnite

Last night's public open house at Memorial Stadium marked the first time (I think) that UNL and City officials have confirmed that the Huskers will play at the Haymarket arena. Well, ok, they didn't technically confirm it. But they came as close as they're going to come without all the contracts being signed. The next step will be waiting for more details to be released. How will alcohol availability be handled? How much flexibility will each of the parties have in scheduling events? Who will control the box seats? And so on.

The Wilsons stopped by Gateway last night, and I went in with yesterday's questions on my mind. In particular, I was thinking about Dave K's suggestion that Whole Foods would make a good replacement for Steve and Barry's. I don't think it would work. The logistics are all wrong. Which is too bad, because Dave K's idea is pretty good. I think there is a reasonable alternative. That is, move Circuit City into the Steve and Barry's spot and place Whole Foods in the former Circuit City location. Who's with me? Yeah it'll never happen, but these "what ifs" are always fun to think about.

The latest Haymarket plans will be on display tonight at Memorial Stadium from 5:00 to 7:30pm. Do you plan to go?

Yikes, Gateway Mall sure is in trouble now that Steve & Barry's is closing. The mall has already seen several tenants pack up and move away, and now a relatively popular anchor tenant is pulling up stakes. It's a bit of a shame. Westfield has really been sprucing up Gateway since it bought the mall several years back. What sort of anchor tenant do you think would be a good fit to replace Steve and Barry's? What changes would you like to see Gateway make to help business pick up again?

1. Outside temps 60 degrees or lower
2. Windows open
3. Ceiling fan on low
4. Blankets / comforters to suit

Oh boy, I love sleeping in the kind of weather we had last night. Raise your hand if you followed this recipe and slept like a log last night!

Is Governor Heineman chicken for refusing to take a stand on the Affirmative Action ban that will appear on November's ballot? Chicken or not, is his silence wise? I'm really surprised that ban opponents -- not to mention the state Democratic party -- haven't made a bigger deal out of Heineman's hush hush attitude. It seems like a missed opportunity to get in a few easy jabs. Maybe everybody is too distracted by the national party conventions right now.

I don't know about you, but I was pretty surprised to read that Lincoln's summer weather was just a hair above average this year. I would have guessed temps were below average overall. As the article notes, I probably think that because there weren't many "blazin' hot" days, and more importantly, there really weren't any extended series of really hot days. The weekend of the Cornhusker State Games was probably the longest stretch of unpleasant hot weather we saw, and that stretch only lasted a few days. I wonder if perhaps lower average relative humidity levels could have also contributed to the feeling that the summer was cooler. Does anybody know if those averages are tracked, and where they can be found?