Lincolnite

A while back when The Missus and I dined at Bread & Cup we had the chance to chat with owner Kevin Shinn. One of the topics we touched on was the arena being built a mere block from his front door. "Are you excited?", I asked. "Yes, but not for the reason you might think." Mr. Shinn explained to us that he was excited for all the extra bodies in the neighborhood not because they represented a huge boom in business, but because they meant that he could be pickier about his customers. He had learned over time that he couldn't make Bread & Cup exactly what he wanted it to be because there weren't enough customers who shared his vision. He compromised on a few things because, well, the alternative was to go out of business. Thanks to the arena and its related development, more bodies in the area means less compromise. The customers win because there will be more restaurants with more specific target audiences. Shinn and other area business owners win because they can narrow their businesses' scope (if they choose to). With that in mind, I was very pleased to read that Shinn is opening a new restaurant in The Railyard called Jack & June's. It's fantastic that a local small restaurant owner feels comfortable enough to run not only one business that reflects a vision of his, but two, and in a very competitive space. I can't wait to see what Kevin Shinn and Jack & June's have to offer.

The Journal Star has run a couple articles recently ("State law makes it difficult to get money for pothole damage; Taming the Wilderness: Couple volunteers time to keep park tidy) that talk about maintenance issues around town that are victims of the City's slacking off. Reactions were predictable and, in general, wrong. Folks love to complain about pothole-filled streets; crumbling sidewalks; unmowed parks; weedy medians; and so on. They aren't wrong to be disappointed. It is frustrating to see these problems around our community, and it does reflect poorly on our City. We've got it pretty good here in Lincoln, but it's obvious that we could do better. There's nothing wrong with having high standards for ourselves. Likewise there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to get our money's worth. We pay taxes for all this stuff after all. A lot of taxes: sales taxes and property taxes and arena taxes and so on. It's pretty dang annoying to fork over thousands of dollars each year, only to find uneven sidewalks and substandard streets in front of your home. So the predictable component of the reactions is that people want the City to do more to benefit them personally in some way. Where they go wrong is in asserting that the problems they see are somehow "the City's" fault. That may be true in a very shallow sense, but it is more true to see that it is our fault. We are all responsible for which and how many problems get addressed. Folks like to talk as though "the City" is some sort of rogue entity with a penchant for neglecting the people who live within its boundaries. That line of thinking is the path to frustration. "The City" is not a unified entity. It is a collection of people and departments, each with their own responsibilities and priorities and budgets. If you think about "the City" as a single thing when you're trying to get a problem addressed, you're practically guaranteeing failure. There are two causes to all of this, and two related solutions. The causes are resource prioritization and/or limited funds. The solutions are resource prioritization and/or increasing funds. It really is that simple.

What is the most thankless job in Lincoln? There are probably many candidates for that title, but surely one of the front-runners is Mike Davis's new position as head of StarTran. Davis recently replaced Larry Worth. StarTran is under-funded, under-utilized, and under-understood by Lincolnites. It's the butt of jokes and the frequent target of calls for cutbacks. Not that there is much to cut back, mind you. StarTran's routes and schedules aren't exactly world class. With all that being said, why would Davis -- or anyone -- want to take on such a challenge? I can't speak for Davis, but if it were me I'd say that it's because the challenge is difficult but doable. There are lots of good opportunities for StarTran, and all that local sarcasm and cynicism toward the department isn't as entrenched as it may seem. Given enough time, a guy with some ideas and the skill to pull them off could really do some good. That's not to say Larry Worth lacked any of those qualities. I didn't care for several of Mr. Worth's approaches to the department, but in general I understood why he made his decisions. What Mike Davis has that Larry Worth didn't is newness and a fresh, outsider's perspective. Those qualities have a limited lifespan of course, and they can be liabilities if wielded incorrectly. For now they're good things. For now. Perhaps ten years from now Davis will have transformed his position into one that gets a bit more credit. It will be no easy task.

Following the successful facelift of nearby Clocktower a few years ago, it now sounds like Piedmont is about to be prettied up thanks to a new owner and a couple million dollars. Located just north of Cotner and A, Piedmont Shops has been around for a while and its age shows. The shopping center was neglected by earlier owners. As a consequence occupancy rates are low, the awnings and exterior are dated and, from what I hear, there are oodles of subtle-but-major problems lurking inside. I spent a lot of time at Piedmont during my youth. My mom and grandma both spent a lot of time shopping at Ben Franklin back in the 1980s. That was one errand I didn't mind being dragged along on; a scoop of candy corn or one of the other bulk candy selections was a sufficient bribe to keep me happy. Even better, Gateway was frequently our next stop and that meant lunch at Bishop Buffet. I digress. I'm very curious to see what sort of businesses Piedmont Shops can hold onto. I could see a small hardware store being successful. A couple restaurants are almost a must because of the traffic they can generate. We should have a good idea of how well it's doing a year or so from now.

The Missus and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary with a trip down to Brownville where we stayed at the River Inn Resort -- more a bed and breakfast than a "resort" -- and ran in the Freedom Run. I wasn't sure what to expect from the River Inn. The accommodations turned out to be quite nice, although the RV park adjoining the boat is still a disaster following the flood from a couple years ago. The rooms aren't very large, but you wouldn't expect them to be since, y'know, you're on a boat. The rooms are nicely decorated and well kept. Breakfast featured mixed fresh fruit, eggs, hash browns, bacon, and a muffin. The Missus and I ended up eating with a Swedish family who were in the midst of a driving tour of the U.S. The weather for the Freedom Run could not have been more perfect for the few hundred participants. The course was flat as could be. The Missus and I ran the 10K, a nice happy medium between the other options (5K and 1/2 marathon). The Missus wound up finishing second in her age group. Our pre-race meal the night before was at Hickory Road BBQ [Facebook] in Auburn, about 8 miles away. We had intended to eat in Brownville but everything -- and I mean everything -- was closed, apparently in anticipation of the long list of festivities planned for the Fourth. Hickory Road was packed with locals so we definitely stood out. I ordered the Big Mouth Brisket Sandwich (pictured above), which featured brisket, sausage, and grilled jalapenos. Mmm, it was tasty. We followed dinner with a pleasant walk around town. The River Inn Resort is the second bed and breakfast we've tried. We recommend it. You may recall that we also highly recommend Pine Crest Farms up between Valparaiso and Ceresco. Guys, a friendly hint: take this opportunity to make a phone call and set up a reservation at one of these B&Bs.

Nathan "Shane" Walton was murdered this week, and yet there's surprisingly little reaction from Lincolnites. Local media have mentioned the case here and there. It seems like there would be more hullabaloo over such a brutal assault in the middle of a street. What does it take to get people fired up over a murder? This case would seem to have several factors that would increase local interest: it occurred out in the open on a public street; it was brutal; the victim had a low IQ; the victim had no known ties to gangs nor any indication that he "deserved" this end because of his actions or affiliations. If you have any relevant information for the investigators, please call Crime Stoppers at 402-475-3600. Two people (or more) need to face the consequences for their actions. Don't let them get off free.

The Journal Star's Jordan Pascale posted some reactions he has received following Mayor Beutler's State of the City speech. One of them complained about the roads in the Country Meadows neighborhood off 66th and Highway 2. I scoffed. I thought, "What a knucklehead! Those are private roads, not City roads!". I pulled up Google Streetview so I could better see for my own eyes how bad these private roads are. Oops. That's not a private road, and it is pretty bad. It's not hard to see how living in a neighborhood like that might make a person bitter about how local road money is spent. (And for the record I had my neighborhoods confused. Pheasant Run, at 66th and Old Cheney, is the neighborhood with the private roads.)

Mayor Chris Beutler gave his State of the City speech today. It can be summarized thusly: (For best results play from 0:18 to 0:31. YouTube won't let me set those time constraints for you. Sorry.) That's not a criticism of his vision, by the way. He's right: it will take money. Where's it going to come from? For starters, look for that local option sales tax to show up on ballots in the near future.

The lunch previously scheduled for yesterday will now happen today. Meet up at noon at Shen Cafe for good food and good conversation. Please join us!

I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of the nifty Civic Plaza coming to 13th and P and the durn thing isn't even built yet. It has been associated with miscommunication, misinformation, missed deadlines, and missed opportunities. And now there's a new chapter to add to the saga. The City wants to include a sidewalk cafe along the east edge of the plaza, along the wall of the building that currently houses Bison Witches. That sounds like a great idea until you consider that it involves $100,000 in City money paying for improvements to a private business. Plenty of folks are fired up over the proposal. The $100,000 would come from City keno funds and it would go toward construction of the outdoor seating area and for fixing up the ugly wall on the Plaza's east side. The keno funds are designated for "special" projects. Given the importance the City has placed on this plaza, there's no doubt it fits the bill. The trouble, of course, is that the money is almost literally going into private pockets. Granted, the City does benefit. The more active the plaza is, the better. And tidying up that horribly ugly wall can only be a good thing. Yet there are oodles of spots around town that would benefit from public monies paying for private improvements. What makes this spot so special that it deserves $100,000? Deena Winter wondered out loud if Monte Froehlich's bailout of the City a few years ago has anything to do with it. Froehlich owns the ugly wall and the building it's a part of. Frankly, considering how much of a disaster that situation was, scratching Froehlich's back wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. That doesn't make it right, but public dollars have been used for worse purposes. I'm less worried about the $100,000 than I am about the precedent this continues. This proposal is a last-minute extension to a project that the public had already assumed it had signed off on. We thought we were good to go, yet now the City says "Hold on! For a few more dollars we can do even better." Can you think of another situation where that has happened lately? How about those two extra parking garages down in the Haymarket? This trend should concern all of us. We're being sold on projects at one level, only to have additional pieces tacked on later. That's not to say the "extras" are bad. More parking in the Haymarket is a good thing, as is a more attractive Civic Plaza environment. But after a while you have to start to wonder. It's possible, for example, that the City is deliberately leaving these things out of early discussions in order to help sell the projects. It's also possible that the City is lousy at planning and these add-ons reflect things that should have been part of the original proposal. Take the ugly wall. Did nobody consider that having that ghastly backdrop might be a liability to the Plaza? At this point I'm just ready to get the Plaza done. It should be something we're excited about -- and it was, at one point -- but at this stage it's becoming a punchline. Worse, this latest proposal means it may become a symbol of politically-motivated handouts (even if that's not what's really going on). I would love to hear what you folks think about it.