Latest Blog Posts
Lincoln’s Best Slice is Twice as Nice
I found out today from Jeff Korbelik that Yia Yia’s has updated its menu. That caught me by surprise, considering that Yia Yia’s isn’t the sort of place that screams “change”. If anything, Yia Yia’s is all about not updating just for giggles. I mean, check out that interior!
From the looks of it, Yia Yia’s new menu does a good job of keeping the old around, while adding some new and worthwhile options to the mix. I can’t wait to try The Polynesian ("marinara and bbq sauce with cranberries, jalapeños, black olives, pineapple, bacon, pepperoni, cream cheese + provolone"). I’m also a sucker for a good baked potato, and Yia Yia’s added some options there as well.
The timing of the menu change (and Korbelik’s feature) is interesting. Downtown Lincoln’s dining options have really taken off over the past couple years, including a couple new pizza options. Was Yia Yia’s business starting to slip a bit, I wonder? Or did owner Nader Sepahpur just feel the time was right to do a little sprucing up?
As long as he’s in the change mode, I wonder if I could talk him into opening a second Yia Yia’s location in College View. Just think of all those hungry vegetarian Seventh Day Adventists! The beer selection might not go over as well in that neighborhood, though…
Next Day Delivery
It seems that despite earlier reports (rumors?) to the contrary, next-day mail delivery will not go away after upcoming changes to local postal services. Our mail will head up the road to Omaha to be processed and postmarked, but Lincoln-to-Lincoln mail will still be delivered the next day. Supposedly.
There are many things wrong with the postal service and I don’t pretend to have any answers to the big questions it faces. I do, however, think it’s a shame that they haven’t already moved to mandatory multi-unit boxes (or whatever they’re called) rather than door-to-door or streetside delivery. Dropping off mail at every address in town is remarkably inefficient. Think of the millions that would be saved in fuel costs alone! Then again, millions are mere pennies (so to speak) compared to USPS’s overall situation.
All of these changes at USPS make me wonder if they’re second-guessing not closing down the Haymarket post office to make way for the arena. After all, there’s a nonzero chance that facility will be kaput within the next five or ten years. For once USPS could have been ahead of the curve rather than behind. Alas, it was not to be. Instead, that building is left to sit in the shadow of the latest and greatest developments going up.
How symbolic.
This Morning’s Audio
Here’s the audio from my appearance with Leigh Esau and Joan Kinsey on the Jack & John Show this morning. It was a blast, as always. Thank you, Jack and John, for having us on the show. And thank you Leigh and Joan for joining me on relatively short notice.
I like to think that we made at least a little bit of difference. The Missus was approached this morning at the Y by a woman who said she had heard the show. She had pondered forster parenting for a while, but she hadn’t quite been able to pull the trigger on getting licensed. After listening to us on the radio, she decided to give it a try. Thank you, anonymous woman, for taking that next step.
Remember folks, if any of you are thinking about getting into foster parenting or if you want to support foster children in some way but you aren’t quite sure how, I’m here to help.
I’m On the Radio
I will be on Jack & John (KLIN 1400AM) tomorrow morning starting around 8:00am to talk about foster parenting and related issues. Also appearing will be Leigh Esau and Joan Kinsey, both of whom are passionate foster parents.
Please tune in! And remember, even if you don’t have a radio or you’re out of KLIN’s coverage area, you can listen online.
20 Questions: WIL-Replacement Edition
Mr. T is AWOL today so that means no Where In Lincoln post. But that doesn’t mean we can’t all have a little fun! It has been waaaaay too long since we last played so you may be a bit rusty. Let’s review the rules:
- The answer is related to Lincoln.
- The questions should be worded so they generate a yes/no answer.
- Each person may ask one question at a time. After your question has been answered, you may ask another one.
- Ask your question as a comment to this blog post. Do not ask your question as a reply to another comment (i.e. a “nested comment").
If you haven’t played before, here are some examples to review: Snow Day Edition; Winter Solstice Edition; Mr. Wilson’s Vacation Edition, Nikkidemas Asked For It Edition..
Ask away!
Check inside for a list of the questions asked so far. Solved! Check inside to see how the answer was reached.
Heroes of Polar Plunge 2012
A bizarre assortment of freaks turned out for the Polar Plunge in Lincoln yesterday morning. This included the fruit of the loom guys, gnomes, bikini babes, cross dressers, superheroes, Austrian musicians, pirates, and various other weirdos. It was all to benefit the Special Olympics Nebraska. Good going all!
At Least Somebody Loves Them
Lincoln’s favorite roadway design has won an engineering award. That’s right, you haters out there. At least somebody loves the roundabouts outside Memorial Stadium.
I don’t have a big opinion of the roundabouts myself. I like roundabouts in general and in the right circumstances. I haven’t traveled in this specific area very much, though, and not at all during periods of heavy traffic flow, either before or after the installation of the roundabouts. (Driving through them when there’s nobody else around, as I’ve done to date, isn’t particularly exciting.)
Actually, the only thing I don’t like about driving in that area is that when you leave the parking lot just north of Memorial Stadium, you can’t turn left (southwest) onto Salt Creek Roadway, and you can’t (legally) do a u-turn at 14th Street. That means I usually have to do a loop through Downtown rather than just going straight over to 9th Street as I’d prefer. Bleh.
I’ve Really Got to Stop That
Dear Self,
Please stop reading the comments on articles over at JournalStar.com. You know how it causes your brain to seize up, and the frustration, anger, confusion, and complete loss of hope for the future of humanity you experience while reading the comments only puts you in a sour mood. And don’t get yourself started thinking about all of the spelling and grammar errors!
Instead of torturing yourself by reading the comments, how about doing something more productive with your time? Possibilities include:
- Smash your head against the basement wall to create holes for the egress windows you plan to install
- Count the number of hairs on Daisy the Wonder Schnoodle’s back
- Eat gravel
- Engage in omphaloskepsis
Please, Self. I beg you.
Yours,
Me
Run for the Bridges
Fans of Wilderness Park should keep March 17th circled on their calendars for the upcoming Run for the Bridges benefit trail run. A marathon, half-marathon, and 6-mile run will be held to raise proceeds for the various bridges that need repair work throughout Wilderness Parks. The registration deadline is March 7th.
The run starts at the day camp area at 1st and Park, and will then go south past Old Cheney. Timing chips will be donated by the Lincoln Track Club. All entrants will receive a string bag for participating in the run.
This sounds like a pretty cool, low-key event. Even though there will be timing, in events like this walkers are encouraged, and I imagine that many of the runners will join just to help benefit the cause and not for competitive reasons. Hopefully by then the trails will be reasonably dry!
You’ll Be Shocked
You’ll be shocked to hear that Whole Foods is the grocer being discussed to go in to the new LPS project at 59th and O Streets. That was one of the worst-kept secrets in recent memory in Lincoln.
The only remaining question, I suppose, is will it actually happen? Momentum seems to suggest that yes, it will. But we’ll see. If nothing else we now have solid evidence that Whole Foods is shopping in the Lincoln market, and we have a rough idea of the sort of location they’re looking at. Even if this particular project doesn’t work out—and I’m not aware of any good reason to think it won’t—we can be fairly certain Whole Foods is going to show up somewhere eventually. That’ll make many locals giddy.
Eye Witness
I don’t know all the facts of the case. I wasn’t on the jury. I didn’t investigate the case. I wasn’t there at the time of the crime.
But after the conviction of Armon Dixon based largely on his selection out of a photo line-up, this MSNBC piece seems relevant.
What’s Your Tax Druthers?
Which would you rather pay: property tax or sales tax?
Mayor Beutler wants to lower your property tax rate in exchange for raising the sales tax rate by a portion of a cent. A 3 cent deduction in the property tax rate (ten-ish percent) would save the average homeowner about $45 per year and cost the City about $5 million. Meanwhile, a half-cent increase in the sales tax would bring in about $19 million annually.
One of Beutler’s goals with the suggestion is to provide property tax relief, since that’s such a popular refrain among voters. I’m not so sure they meant “provide property tax relief ... while charging me more for everything I buy”, but perhaps I’ve misunderstood them. Voters are pretty goofy, after all. It’s not clear just how much extra a person could be expected to pay under an increased sales tax plan, or how regressive or progressive it would be relative to the property tax. Anybody who buys anything pays sales tax; anybody who owns or rents property pays property tax. Both scenarios cover pert near everyone.
One of the “special projects” that could be funded if extra revenue were generated is the South Beltway. I would argue that the South Beltway should be filed under “mandatory projects” rather than “special projects”, but let’s not get wrapped up in semantics. The point is that we could, hypothetically, find ourselves able to pay for things we aren’t otherwise able to afford. Important, necessary things. I’ll gladly pay a couple extra cents on my weekly Oso Burrito trip if it means making those projects happen.
On the other hand, there are of course no guarantees right now that any extra revenue wouldn’t go toward what might be called in voterspeak “red tape”. I’m not exactly sure what that would look like, but if Lincolnites think that’s what would happen, it would be poison to Beutler’s plan. Perhaps he could pinkie swear that all the projects paid for by the extra revenue would be awesome.
Is the tax swap a good idea in your eyes?
Ivanna Sample Some
Ivanna Cone is hosting a fundraiser for the William G. Lauer Foundation on February 28 from 6pm to 9pm. The foundation supports individuals living with ALS in Nebraska. For a $10 donation, attendees get to sample 30 flavors of ice cream. Last year’s event raised over $2,000.
Ivanna Cone offers the best ice cream in Lincoln, but the toughest part of going there is deciding which flavor of ice cream to order. At the fundraiser you won’t have to decide—try ‘em all! That’s my kind of fundraiser.
The Blogs
-
The blog that covers everything Lincoln
-
The home of the Wilsons
-
In which Mr. T mutters and muses
-
Local and national sports chatter
The Blogroll
The Archives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004