Lincolnite

Eight days ago the Journal Star ran an article describing the stresses that will be placed on Lincoln's high schools over the next several years as average enrollment in each school crosses 2,000 students. The obvious conclusion is that we're getting very close to the point at which we as a community need to start thinking about a new high school. The need isn't necessarily immediate, but it's clearly looming. Or not. In today's paper [article not yet online], LPS officials are quoted as saying that we're in the clear for the next 5 to 7 years. Well, not really -- it's just that there are other, more pressing needs in that timeframe. It certainly makes sense to prioritize needs, and right now elementary and middle schools are the greater need. But relative to those schools, high schools are a Pretty Big Deal. I can't help but feel like some of the relevant conversations should get going sooner rather than later. Heck, maybe even set a goal opening date to help give the timeline a bit of shape. I'm very curious where LPS will wind up putting the new high school, and what it will be called. This, after all, could be the school that ends the compass-based naming scheme we've relied on for so long. Unless we're going to call it Lincoln More Southeaster. My vote is for Cheney High School, since there's a very good chance it'll wind up in that area. Or we could solve some of the funding issues with Pinnacle Bank High School. The Pinnacle Bank Tellers has a nice ring to it...

Lamenting the state of Nebraska football? Well, keep in mind that the Huskers are doing very well in the other football! Sunday afternoon, Nebraska soccer beat the powerful Penn State 3-2 in double overtime. It looks like a very real possibility that Nebraska will finish first in the Big Ten conference this year. Here are some pics of the game, no doubt a very exciting match. Even Mr. Wilson had to get into the act! Go Big Red!

I'm often asked -- because I so frequently play the role of salesman -- what's so great about Lincoln. And I answer with gusto because I love this place: Schools. Neighborhoods. Safety. Job opportunities. Stability. Entertainment. And on and on. But every now and then I ask myself a similar question. Why am I here? Lincoln is great, but so are a lot of other places. Why do I, a guy who could do his job anywhere in the world with an internet connection, stay? If I'm being honest with myself, the biggest reason I'm here is momentum. I've been here for 32 of my 35 years. Lincoln is my comfort zone and I like being comfortable. I enjoy knowing where everything is. I get a kick out of going to the grocery store and running into the parents of the kid I played soccer with in fourth grade and having a two minute catch-up conversation. I like living within a mile of the two houses I grew up in. Family is a big reason, too. I've always been a mama's boy. We're a mile from my parents, two from my sister. It would be weird if I weren't close enough to have Sunday supper with them a couple times a month. Or if I stopped having lunch with my dad once or twice each week. Still, sometimes I get an itch to see what else is out there. Not because there's anything wrong with Lincoln, and not because I see greener grass anywhere else. Simply because I have an urge to experiment. I do that to myself, y'know. I was a pescatarian for almost two years because I wanted to see if I could do it. I quit a perfectly good job to start down the path that eventually led me to self-employment. All in the name of answering the nagging question of "I wonder what would happen if...". That question is nagging me again. This time it's asking: I wonder what would happen if we moved into the country. Not far away. Just to the outskirts of Lancaster County, say. Get ourselves a small house on a few acres. Maybe get a couple chickens for The Missus and I could start up the beekeeping hobby I've always wanted to try. The whole thing sounds like a fun challenge. Maybe I'll try this experiment, maybe I won't. It's much too early to say for sure. But the question it raises -- why am I here? -- is an interesting one to play with whether I go through with it or not. It's good to be sure you are where you really want to be. So I wonder: why are you here? Why are you in Lincoln doing what you do? What drew you here and what keeps you here?

At $69,000,000, this home is a steal. You may think to yourself: "Sixty nine million?! That's insane!" But come on, look at that horseshoe driveway! And the three car garage! The good news is the owner is willing to negotiate. So there's that.

From the "It's About Time" files comes news that the City plans to install smarter traffic signals along North 27th Street from O to I-80. The goal of the $2 million project -- 90% of which will be paid by the Feds -- is to provide better flow and decrease the number of crashes. Cross your fingers. I for one would be willing to pay up to ensmarten all of Lincoln's traffic signals. They should all be networked and intelligently communicate with one another to adjust to changes in traffic flow, traffic priority, weather, emergency vehicles, and so on. The current setup is rife with inefficiencies that easily cost Lincolnites millions of dollars every year in wasted fuel and lost time. But North 27th is a start. It's better than nothing.

Jeff Korbelik reviewed Aces Haus of Cuisine today. I gave the restaurant a first look back in September. Have any of you stopped by yet? How was it?

Raise your hand if you enjoy having to answer a survey question in order to read an article on the Journal Star's website. Raise 'em nice and high so I can count them. Keep 'em up. That's right. OK, the final tally is... Zero. I swear the Journal Star is actively trying to push people to other news sources. Dozens of ads on the homepage, popovers, and now mandatory surveys. It's a marketing department's wet dream and every user's nightmare.

The City of Lincoln has a new website dedicated to information about bicycling in Lincoln. It contains material about trails, laws, and even bicycle maintenance. In general, Lincoln is an OK place to ride a bike. We're way behind on providing safe and effective bike lanes -- I don't consider the existing bike lanes Downtown to be particularly "safe" or "effective" -- but the city's extensive trails system makes it easy to cover a lot of ground around town. Some drivers are idiots when it comes to accommodating bicyclists on the roads; at the same time, some bicyclists are responsible for building driver frustration because they ride unsafely and/or don't follow the laws. We could do a lot better there. As a runner who regularly uses the trails system, my main request for bicyclists is that they announce their passes with a bell, horn, or by calling out "on your left". It drives me nuts when bicyclists startle slower trail users by silently flying by.

Well would you look at that. The Pinnacle Bank Arena's list of first-year events just got a little sweeter with yesterday's announcement that it will host an NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament regional next spring. I don't think anybody expected that. An opening round game, sure. But a regional? That's a very nice win for the Arena. Now the Huskers just need to do their part to earn the right to play in that regional. If they do, the Arena will be hopping come next March.

I was drafting a post about the absence of news from 10th and M, a block that has seen a couple interesting proposals in the past decade but zero actual action. Instead the block, which sits just south of the Gold's building, remains a boring ol' surface parking lot. And then I saw that news that a new development has been proposed for the block. This time a group from Chicago wants to build underground parking, first floor retail, and student housing. Odds of it actually coming to fruition? Mediocre, if history is any guide. I'm no developer, but I would suggest a tweak to the plan if they want it to be successful. In addition to the retail space, I would add office space on the second floor. Maybe even on the third, depending on the height of the buildings. 10th and M isn't exactly a prime destination right now so the retail businesses would get a nice boost from office activity, both from the employees and the customers/clients/whatever. The more people who get drawn to the area to conduct business, the better. The residential tenants aren't going to generate enough traffic to be of much use. Maybe there would be enough draw from the City-County Building, but I'm skeptical. That's all assuming the project moves forward, of course. We'll see. South Downtown could use the boost, what with the Haymarket and P Street stealing all the attention.

We have a day bed frame that's free to a good home if anybody wants it. We had given it to a family, but they brought it back today because they purchased a new bed. Give me a shout if you're interested. BYO mattress.