Lincolnite: Lincoln's Online Community

Daisy Photo

December 16, 2004 at 12:24am By: Mr. Wilson Posted in 625 Elm Street

I don’t know why, but I feel like posting a photo of Daisy today. So here she is.

Speaking of Daisy, I took her in this morning to get her hair cut. She wasn’t all that shaggy, but it had been two months since her last trim. With Christmas coming up we wanted her to look extra-nice for the inevitable barrage of photos as she shreds the piles of wrapping paper and boxes.

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A New Hotel for Downtown Lincoln?

December 15, 2004 at 6:20pm By: Mr. Wilson Posted in The Lincolnite Blog

The Lincoln Journal Star is reporting that John Q. Hammons, owner of the local Embassy Suites, is going to build a new hotel in Downtown Lincoln. The (supposed) site of the hotel is the block surrounded by 17th, 18th, P and Q Streets. If true, this is fantastic news for Downtown Lincoln. Although to be honest I think the choice of location is a bit odd. Who wants to stay in a hotel in that part of Downtown? Parents of UNL students coming to visit?

One aspect of the story really worries me: nobody has told the current property owners on that block about the plan. At least one property owner, interviewed by the LJS, may not be a willing seller. As the LJS implies, that may not be a problem:

As part of the Antelope Valley Project, the city could use its power of eminent domain to acquire the land, if negotiations failed.

That, my friends, is crap. It’s also true. Although the Supreme Court has clamped down on abuses of eminent domain in recent years, abuses still continue across the country. Eminent domain is supposed to be used only in extreme circumstances. Over time, however, more and more communities have abused their powers on behalf of “community improvement” projects like sports stadiums and concert halls. Landowners are rarely compensated well when they are kicked off their property.

This story will be fascinating to keep an eye on.

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Shh!

December 10, 2004 at 9:39pm By: Mr. Wilson Posted in 625 Elm Street

Do you ever get frustrated by people who think that speaking on a cellphone requires increasing the volume of their voice by no fewer than 30 decibels? Or, more generally, does it just irk the heck out of you when people yammer away on a cellphone in a place where you’re forced to listen? Would you like to do something about it? The Society for Handheld Hushing has some tools for you to use in your (futile) quest.

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