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Check the Mail
If you are a property owner in Lancaster County, within the next week you should receive in the mail a preliminary property valuation. Emphasis on the word “preliminary”. Final valuations will go out in June.
I checked my information online to see where my property stands. Apparently my home’s value has increased about 10% since I purchased it in March 2004. I’ll have to check the real estate section of the newspaper to see how accurate that is. It doesn’t sound unreasonable. It does seem weird that the value of the land my house sits on increased 14% between 2008 and 2009. Again, I’ll have to do some research to determine if the new value is fair.
What do you expect will happen with your property’s value this year? What should happen?
Door-to-Door Counting
It doesn’t really seem like it has been almost ten years since the last census, but here we are quickly approaching 2010. Pretty soon we’re going to have to figure out what we will call this current decade.
About 100 people will be hired in the Lincoln area to help with the census. That sounds like an interesting job. I’ll bet you get to meet a crazy cast of characters. And the pay isn’t bad: $11.50 per hour. I wonder with how much respect door-to-door census personnel are treated. Do folks tend to treat them like telemarketers, or do they actually get a little respect?
In 2000 my roommate and I were visited by a census employee, a friendly older gentleman who seemed to take his job in stride. The questions he asked were quick and simple. I felt guilty that we hadn’t turned in our forms on time. I found them several months later in a “to-do” pile. Oops.
Have any of you worked for the census before? How was it?
Better Late Than Never
[Editor’s Note: This entry is behaving very strangely. It should be posted in DMB Sports Report, and the author should be listed as DMB. For some reason when it is set up that way, commenting becomes disabled. Weird. -bcw]
Nebraska got a great win the the Gator Bowl on New Years Day over Clemson 26-21. Nebraska was down 14-3 at the half 21-10 in the 3rd quarter but battled back to win their first new years day (or later) bowl game since 2000.
Nebraska will be losing some key people on the team, namely Joe Ganz. Nebraska will also take a hit at WR after Nate Swift and Todd Peterson have used up their eligibility. The one underclassman NU has to worry about leaving is Suh. Suh is projected right now as a late 1st round pick. Before those predictions came out, and during bowl practices, Suh has said he’s 99.9% sure he is coming back for his senior year. Now after having time to think about it and then his Gator Bowl performance, will the money be too much of a draw to come back? We will soon know, as deadline to apply for the draft is soon approaching. If Suh comes back he will anchor a Dline that will be cut in half by graduation (Potter & Steinkuhler). Murillo is a big loss in the secondary but there is depth behind him.
The biggest replacement though will be Joe Ganz. Who will come out of the three-headed race between Patrick Witt, Zach Lee or QB recruit Cody Green. Unless Cody comes in and blows out the competition, I foresee a redshirt season for him. So its either Patrick Witt or Zach Lee, my money is on Witt at this point but it will be one of the more fascinating things to watch this upcoming off season.
Smaller is Better
Unlike Neal Obermeyer, I generally support Sen. Mike Friend’s proposal to shorten the Unicameral session. Currently, sessions are 90 days in odd-numbered years, and 60 days in even years. Friend would knock that down to 60/40.
I don’t know if 100 days over two years is the right number, but I like the basic idea. The less time the Unicameral is in session, the fewer opportunities they have to get themselves in trouble. But that idea is subject to diminishing returns as sessions get shorter. At some point the sessions get “too short”. I don’t know where that point lies.
One of my primary concerns with regard to session length is preserving opportunities for public input and reaction. If the sessions are cut too short, we risk creating an atmosphere that encourages rushing, and when rushing occurs lots of problems develop: laws are less carefully crafted; the public has less opportunity to track the legislative process; lawmakers vote on legislation they aren’t familiar with; and so on.
Neal’s cartoon mocks the notion that State Senators might have a life outside the legislature. Intentionally or not, his cartoon makes an argument for the professionalization of the Unicameral. Nebraskans, however, have long supported “citizen legislators”. Indeed, anti-professionalism sentiment is largely what drove the push for term limits in the Unicameral. The same sentiment has kept Nebraska’s legislative pay low for so many years.
There are many benefits to professionalization, not least of which is the build-up of institutional knowledge and expertise within the legislative body. There are also many pitfalls: look to Congress for myriad examples of how professionalization can breed corruption. The ideal body would be professionalized and corruption-free. Good luck finding one of those.
I wonder what proportion of Nebraskans applaud Neal’s cartoon. It is logically inconsistent to demand our legislators be citizen legislators while simultaneously applauding a cartoon that mocks their desire to do just that. How many Nebraskans realize that by laughing with Neal they are laughing at themselves?
Again, that’s not to say that Sen. Friend’s 60/40 proposal is great. I’m just saying that it wouldn’t make sense for a state in which the “citizen legislator” is king to mock a proposal on the grounds that it will make it easier for legislators to also be citizens. On the other hand, the mockery may make perfect sense for a guy like Neal; I don’t know him personally, but I doubt he would put himself forth as an example of the prototypical Nebraskan on this or pert near any other issue.
Needing Permission
While reading about Mayor Beutler’s legislative priorities for this session, I got to thinking about his desire to allow “cities the size of Lincoln” to create a transit authority. Why should that ability be restricted based on the size of a city? What’s the argument there?
The 18-Wheelers Go Round and Round
Lincoln will soon get a new roundabout on North 14th Street near Cornhusker Highway. The roundabout will be Lincoln’s largest—large enough to handle 18-wheeler traffic. I’m not very familiar with traffic patterns in that area, but apparently there is a disproportionate number of accidents right there.
I’m generally a fan of roundabouts and other “non-standard” traffic management approaches, so I am happy to see this proposal take the next step. If cost weren’t a factor I would like to see many more of this sort of project around the city. Where would your next project be?
“I was just turning around!”
OK folks, it’s time to fess up. Several LPD officers shared some of the lamest excuses for speeding they’ve heard. Frankly, many of them aren’t very lame. You can do better. What lame excuses have you tried when an officer pulled you over?
I haven’t yet been pulled over—which isn’t to say I haven’t deserved it—so I don’t have any speeding excuses to share. However back in my teenage years I found my vehicle stuck in some snow in an area my vehicle oughtn’t have been. While my friend and I tried to dig the car out, a police car showed up. The officer may have been dumb enough to believe my excuse that “I was just turning around”, but I don’t think so. I think he felt it was punishment enough that we should have to try to dig out the car in subzero temperatures with little more than our hands and a couple ice scrapers. Brr.
Former Lincolnite Rabbi Now in Flushing
Many of you will remember Michael Weisser, the former rabbi at Lincoln’s South Street Temple who befriended and converted Larry Trapp, the Grand Dragon of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Nebraska. Rabbi Weisser was profiled in yesterday’s New York Times.
Just Down the Road
Yikes. Our big brother down the road saw 44 murders last year. How many did Lincoln see in 2008? Four?
Sometimes it’s great having a city like Omaha so close. When it comes to news like this, it’s too close for comfort.
The Year in Lincoln
Every blog needs a year-end wrap-up post. Here’s mine.
- January: I saw the future when I noted that modifications to the then-proposed “Safe Haven” law could cause serious trouble. My concerns were validated months later as nearly three dozen non-infants were dropped off at area hospitals.
- February: Mayor Chris Beulter backed Barack Obama. I guess he knows how to pick a winner.
Pretty much everybody in town complained about the City’s snow-removal practices. Some things never change.
- March:
Tina’sLina’s opened and quickly became one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in town.My son spoke his first sentence.
Matt Olberding’s Biz Buzz premiered
- April: Lincoln reached the century mark.
We found out that the Scott brothers will develop the Haymarket arena. If/when it happens.
- May: Mr. T kicked off his Where in Lincoln series.
Lincolnite Akshay Rajagopal won the National Geographic Bee.
- June: Beerorkid discovered that Lincoln now has a “Street View” option on Google Maps. Soon the face of Google was revealed.
- July: Ken Svoboda earned a new nickname,
A bike trail bridge over North 27th Street was announced.
Lincoln got its first bodega.
- August: The Hamann Rose Garden reopened. So did Trago Park.
- September: Hy-Vee announced that its North 48th store would become a new Heartland Pantry. The neighborhood rejoiced.
Robin Eschliman declared her hatred for upholstered furniture.
An LPD officer killed a man with a TASER while MTV listened in.
One of KFOR’s favorite restaurants closed its doors.
- October: Harris Overpass reopened.
Nebraska had its first DNA exoneration.
The zoo caused a ruckus when it kicked out God.
- November: I liveblogged the election, thanks to KOLN/KGIN.
Mayor Beutler acknowledged that Antelope Valley could have been handled better.
- December: Lincoln officially christened a patch of blacktop on Q Street the Catalyst One Memorial Monument to Failure.
The Husker volleyball team ended the season with a loss that comes as close to a “moral victory” as you can get.
LPS tops the list for having the most schools in the state that “need improvement”. LPS administrators are too busy counting their raises to explain why it’s nothing to worry about.
What did you think about the year that was 2008?
A Nebraska Primer for Floridians
One of my favorite hobbies leading up to Nebraska’s (almost) annual bowl games is watching press outlets do the standard “here’s everything you need to know about Nebraskans” stories for the locals. You know the kind: Nebraskans eat beef; Nebraska is flat; Nebraskans are fat; Nebraskans wear red; Nebraskans don’t know the meaning of “a la carte”; and so on. Most of the stories are trite, but occasionally you’ll find one that’s really amusing.
Laura Capitano’s ”Welcome the loveable Huskers” is definitely in the former category, so normally it wouldn’t be worth mentioning. But then I read the lone comment from a disgruntled Husker fan near the bottom of the page. (Note: The comment is PG-13.) Apparently we’re not all lovable.
Have you found any notable Nebraska stereotypes articles related to the Huskers’ upcoming appearance in the Gator Bowl? So far the pickings have been pretty slim. Not that I’m complaining. At least we’re going to a bowl game.
Now That’s a Winter Storm
Call me goofy, but a tiny part of me wants to see something like the 1948-1949 winter in my lifetime. I don’t really care to see the damage that would come with it so I suppose I ought to be very careful about what I wish for. Still, I’m fascinated by Mother Nature’s power, not to mention Her quirks. Maybe October 1997 was my shot. If so, I suppose that’s ok. I do have a couple good stories to tell about that one. Nothing like 1948/49’s 18-foot drifts, though.
Where in Lincoln, I-Almost-Forgot Edition
Nuts, I almost forgot this morning’s Where in Lincoln post! Never fear, I’m here with it now:
If I’m not mistaken, this edition of Where in Lincoln represents a first. But I’m not going to tell you what sort of first. That’s your job today.
UPDATE: beerorkid correctly guessed the mystery location of today’s photo. It was the interior of the Lincoln Children’s Museum:
Tell Me About Your Holidays (So Far)
I hope the holiday season is treating you well. The weekend went remarkably well for The Wilsons, with oodles of food and plenty of family time keeping us busy. Oh, and there were some presents, all of which were well-received as you can see above.
The best gift-opening story I heard came from occasional commenter and former Lincolnite Christopher. His pre-school-age niece tore off the wrapping paper to reveal a Hungry Hungry Hippos game. “It’s perfect!”, she exclaimed with a huge smile on her face. “It’s just what I always wanted!” She then went over to her father and whispered, with a confused look on her face, “What is it?” Priceless.
Our holiday season isn’t over yet. More family will arrive from Louisiana on New Year’s Day. That means there are still many rounds of Trivial Pursuit and many hands of Pitch and Oh Hell! to be played, many political jokes to be hurled, and many grumbles to be directed at football games. But first, a few days of work. Dang.
Will Drive For Fuel
As part of my day job I work with folks from around the country (and the world). A bunch of folks I work with nearly every day—but whom I have never met—are heading to SXSW this March, and I would like to get down there to visit them. But I figure, why travel alone? If folks from around here are going we may as well carpool. Are any of you planning to hit SXSW Interactive? If so, and if you haven’t made travel plans yet, let’s talk.
Have any of you been to SXSW before? What should a guy expect down there?
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