Latest Blog Posts
A Missed Opportunity?
Did the Lincoln Board of Education miss an opportunity to earn some new respect from Lincoln’s taxpayers when it unanimously voted to approve a 5.7% larger budget at a time when the City is facing a $1.5 million (formerly $6 million) shortfall? I don’t know the answer to that, though I do suspect that the road for the next school bond issue—whenever it comes—just got a little bumpier.
At least LPS scores well with parents.
I’m Back. What Did I Miss?
Hey there, Lincolnites! Did ya miss me? Yeah yeah, be honest; you didn’t even notice I was gone, did you?
I spent the weekend reffing soccer at the 2008 U.S. Youth Soccer Midwest Regional Championships in Rockford, Illinois. I ended up staying a day longer than anticipated because I managed to snag a semi-final assignment. I managed to avoid infuriating too many participants, and I also caught the eye of a few folks in the reffing community. With a little hard work I hope to be able to take another step or two up the ladder next year.
It was nice to sleep in my own bed last night after spending five nights in the dorms at Northern Illinois University, which you may recall was in the news earlier this year. I didn’t have time to see much of the campus, but the parts I saw were very pretty.
So what did I miss while I was away? George Carlin is dead. crossbow- and axe-wielding marauders are taking over the streets of Lincoln. Anything else?
It is all downhill from now. Sigh.
From the Journal Star:
Police say a man shot at his neighbor with a crossbow after they argued over the breed of a dog Saturday.
....Police believe alcohol was a factor in the incident....
Gosh, you think so?
Where in Lincoln is this?
Hmmm, this one may have been too easy. The Beer Orkid dude got it right. Congratulations The Beer Orkid dude!
Hagel for Obama’s VP? Not going to happen
I had to chuckle upon reading all the latest local buzz about Senator Hagel as a potential running mate for Barack Obama. Love Chuck or hate Chuck, I credit this local excitement to a lot of wishful thinking mixed with the fact that he is truly Nebraska’s only national caliber politician right now (sorry Ben), and Nebraskans love the idea of a Nebraskan in the white house.
But now even CNN is getting into the act. No doubt this has been the strangest and most exciting election year in a long time, but I can’t see an Obama/Hagel ticket happening by any reasonable stretch of the imagination. For all the obvious reasons, as well as because Chuck and McCain are very close friends. I will literally eat my shoe if Obama chooses Hagel as a running mate.
Having said that, I am Hagel fan and was looking forward to voting for him had there been a Hagel vs. Bruning showdown in the primary. I believe Hagel would make an excellent Secretary of State or Defense in either an Obama or McCain administration.
Help Out Iowa
As some of you may know, I am a University of Iowa Alum, and am proud to have spent a good four years in Hawkeye country. UI, Iowa City/Coralville, and basically most of the state have been rocked these past few weeks. Yesterday the UI Foundation established a recovery fund. I know that a lot of Lincolnites have ties to Iowa. Over to you.
From President Sally Mason:
To University of Iowa Alumni, Friends, Contributors, and Hawkeye Fans across the world:
Your University is facing what may be the greatest challenge in its 160-year history. Many people have contacted us asking us how they can help, and in response we’re offering a way to do so from wherever you may be.
Unprecedented flooding throughout Eastern Iowa has already impacted our entire arts campus and much more—including beloved landmarks such as the Iowa Memorial Union, the UI Museum of Art, our music and theatre buildings, and Hancher Auditorium. Although it appears the flooding on campus has crested, the high water will still inflict significant damage to the more than 16 UI buildings that took on water. The Iowa River is slowly receding, but it will take months and years for the campus to fully recover.
You can help by making a gift online today to the UI Flood Relief Fund. Please go online to http://www.givetoiowa.org/floodfund to lend your support. Gifts of all sizes are needed and appreciated, and our first priority is to assist UI students and employees who have been displaced from their homes by the flooding. After addressing these most immediate human concerns, we will use contributions to the fund (as available) at my discretion to address other areas of flood-related need throughout the campus.
I encourage the UI community and Iowans generally to help –- whether through volunteering or other sharing of resources –- as they can with the relief efforts for those parts of the state most affected by the flooding. A good place to start in assisting our friends in Johnson and Linn Counties is by visiting www.corridorrecovery.org.
The University of Iowa community has always been far larger than our physical campus, and the Hawkeye spirit has overcome many challenges in the past. I am confident this University will emerge stronger than ever before. UI students, faculty, staff, and community members showed tremendous teamwork and resolve in last week’s massive sandbagging efforts. If you’d like to join them in helping us rise above this crisis, please visit http://www.givetoiowa.org/floodfund.
Our heartfelt thanks for all of your encouragement, and for your ongoing generosity.
ON IOWA!
Sally Mason
President
The University of Iowa
P.S. For the most up-to-date information on the UI and the Flood of 2008, and for a large gallery of photos, visit the University’s flood information web site at http://uiflood.blogspot.com/.
Celebrate Lincoln
This summer’s now annual Celebrate Lincoln festival starts today. I also noticed that today’s lunch is also the only freebee (you get free food tickets upon purchasing the entrance fee at the door). Sounds like its worth checking out.
The Return of Light Rail
It looks like light rail is going to be back in the news for a while, now that Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey is pushing the topic. Fahey wants to start with a rail system in Omaha’s downtown, with a long-term goal of connecting to Lincoln via a route that would probably follow I-80. Keep dreamin’, Mayor. An intercity light rail system is a long, long ways from viability in Nebraska.
That being said, I have no problem with planning ahead. I think it’s plausible, if not likely, that some sort of rail system will one day link Omaha and Lincoln, and that such a system will (eventually) be a wise investment. So let’s do plan for that day so we are ready when it arrives. But let’s not rush ourselves just so we can emulate somebody else. Trying to pretend our circumstances are different than they really are is nothing but a recipe for disaster.
I can’t see myself riding a train to Omaha in the near future except as a novelty. What would it take for you to use a train between the two cities with any regularity?
Deena Winter, You Make Me Laugh
Dear Deena,
I always look forward to reading your columns. They are almost always informative—at least when City happenings give you something to inform us of. (Let’s face it, Lincoln ain’t Gotham.) What I really love are the little bits that make me laugh. Take today’s column, for example. You could have played it straight. You could have said
The Lincoln Fire Department asked for $200,000 to replace a bad roof on Station 1. During the debate, Councilmember Robin Eschliman suggested an innovative solution, using equipment on sale for $3.99 at Menards. Ultimately, the Council approved the money, with Jon Camp casting the lone negative vote.
But that would have been boring. Instead, you gave us this gem:
However, contingency funds have been used for nonemergencies before. ... Heck, the council even spent $17,000 in contingency funds to build itself a private bathroom in 2000. And Camp voted “yes” on that expenditure.
Zing! I love it. I can just see Mr. Camp’s crimson face as he scribbles a mustache on your photo while eating his morning All Bran.
Anyway, Deena, keep up the good work. And please, keep the giggles coming.
Passive Aggressive in Lincoln
Midwesterners are masters of passive aggressive behavior. It runs rampant in my quintessentially midwestern family, for example. I know I’m guilty of it now and then. My in-laws, on the other hand, have no use for passive aggressiveness. They’re from New York. If you deserve to have your head chewed off, they’ll chew your head off. Who needs passivity?
Anyway, I mention all this because I was the victim of some neighborly passive aggressive behavior the other day. I woke up to find three tree limbs lying in my yard. They had obviously been cut. Apparently they had hung too low over the sidewalk for the deed-doer’s tastes, so he or she went to the trouble of sneaking out in the middle of the night to perform some amateur bonsai action on my maple tree.
Oddly enough, I had spoken with my father just two days before about the low-hanging limbs. They weren’t so bad in dry weather, but when the leaves were wet, the branches really drooped. My dad has some good saws, so I asked if he could bring them over some day so that we could do some pruning. Apparently my arborist neighbor couldn’t wait that long.
Why couldn’t the mystery trimmer have just said something? I don’t think we give off a “don’t bother us” vibe. And we are outside all the time, so there are plenty of opportunities for a quick “Those limbs are getting low. Would you mind trimming them back?”
Who am I kidding? We passive aggressive types would never go for that. We wouldn’t want to be confrontational; that’s just rude.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go set up some more annoying limbs and install a camera to catch the anonymous snipper in the act. Then I’ll track him down and leave a nasty note on his front door. That’ll teach him! Passive aggressivity to the rescue!
Download the Fox
Firefox 3 was released yesterday. I highly recommend checking it out, whether Firefox is currently your primary browser or not. If you’re one of those poor souls still using Internet Explorer 6, now is a great time to ditch that terrible excuse for a web browser and upgrade to ... well, to anything else. You’ll be glad you did.
Total Blowout
No words need be spoken. Sorry la-la land. This was a complete and total slaughter. There is no question that Paul Pierce must be series MVP. What a great way for KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen to win their first championship.
Photos, Photos, and More Photos
Yesterday I posted a whole bunch of family photos to my Flickr account. Three of the recent sets include: Robbie’s 2nd birthday; our recent trip to Albuquerque; and Father’s Day. Some sneak peaks:
Riding on dad’s shoulders:
Fascinated by Grandpa Rick:
Cousin Sam shows off his six-pack:
Pulling Up on the Reins
Could it be? Could the City finally be getting cold feet over TIF? If so, it’s a happy day.
Not that I’m purely anti-TIF. TIF has its place. I’m just glad to see the City Council exercising a little judiciousness, and I hope to see more of it.
Not Voting
The City Council has approved a recusal ordinance, meaning that Council members who feel they have a conflict of interest—but who haven’t been excused from voting by the Accountability and Disclosure Commission—can skip a vote. It’s a win for helping individuals avoid the appearance of impropriety, but it may also open the door to a new type of political shenanigans. A Council member could, for example, skip voting on a politically sensitive topic by making a tenuous claim of conflict of interest. Or somebody could try to pressure a Council member into abstaining from a vote. And so on.
By the way, several commenters over at the LJS are a little confused about all this. For example, “Outside the Box” said, “Why not address the real problem: If you have a financial interest with the city, you cannot be on the council.” The thing is, conflicts of interest aren’t just about having a direct or even indirect financial interest in something. Consider, as an example, the case of a Council member who attends a church that has an issue before the City Council. Vote for and be seen as an instrument for the church; vote against, and risk being ostracized by other church members.
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
- 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