Lincolnite

Apparently I'm not the only one complaining about College View's new aesthetic unpleasantries. (I first griped back in May.)

Now, I'm not a drinker and I'm certainly not one to defend the acts of idiocy that far-too-often accompany the use of alcohol, but I wouldn't mind seeing alcohol sales at Pinewood Bowl, as approved by Parks & Rec. Now the matter goes before the City Council for final approval (or to get shot down). It's not that I support alcohol sales just because. Rather, it would be nice to see new types of performances -- concerts, in particular -- at Pinewood Bowl. No offense to the musicals that perform each year, but I hardly think they utilize Pinewood Bowl to its full potential. And frankly, Parks & Rec needs money right now. If they can pick up some extra income by bringing in a couple concerts and permitting the well-regulated sale of alcohol ... well, that hardly sounds like a bad thing to me. Am I missing any good arguments to the contrary?

Have you ever been on the prowl around Lincoln and you saw something the City needed to fix -- a pothole, graffiti, or perhaps tall weeds? Now there's an app for that. The Journal Star profiled the app today. Unfortunately, the article does two things the Journal Star loves to do with these sorts of stories: it never actually names the application, and it doesn't give a direct link to the app or its online cousin. How annoying! Fortunately I don't suffer from the same shortcoming as the LJS. The Android application is called Lincoln Action Center and it is available in the Android Market. No worries if you don't have an Android device, you can still report and track issues online. Don't use the app for emergencies (duh!), but it could really come in handy for noting minor issues around town. The ability to link the issue with GPS data and a photograph really helps the City nail down exactly what's going on and where it's at. The next step for this sort of service would be to make the reports available to the public. Perhaps the public could even help moderate the reports to help prioritize the big issues and bury the non-issues. Have you used the app or the web-based equivalent? What changes or additions would you like to see?

Whoda thunk it'd be so hard to start up a pumpkin patch in Lancaster County? Certainly not the Kadavys, although they know better now. It's unfathomable that it took the couple so long -- and so much blood, sweat, and tears -- to get permission to sell gourds. It would be nice if the agencies involved in the hold-up would self-evaluate to try to figure out why it's so hard for an entrepreneur to set up shop around here. It doesn't get much more basic than selling a fruit that isn't even intended for consumption. The start-up process simply should not be that difficult. Anyway, good on the Kadavys for sticking it out. And good luck to them this fall and beyond.

Lincoln's Capital Humane Society is moving to a new facility at 70th and Highway 2. That's a significantly higher profile location than their current digs on Park Boulevard. And that's the point, of course. Although building just outside Home Depot's front door isn't cheap, it will help CHS improve their visibility and thus further their mission. And by the way, Buddy here would really like to go home with you.

Sunday was a big day at 625 Elm Street. Huge, even. Sunday, you see, the was the day the first black squirrel arrived. You might recall that I first sighted black squirrels in my neighborhood back in December. I predicted they wouldn't make it the 1/3 mile to our house for some time, if ever thanks to nearby cats. I was wrong. The first time I saw the squirrel it was hanging out with two of its more traditionally-hued cousins. I would describe their activity as some sort of game of tag. Then again, I'm no squirrelologist. This morning it was being chased around my neighbor's roof by another squirrel. I guess yesterday's game of tag left some hard feelings. You're probably dying for some black squirrel trivia. Black squirrels are actually a subgroup of eastern gray squirrels. They are native to parts of Canada and the northern and eastern United States. Lincoln's population of black squirrels was apparently introduced artificially, though I have no idea when or by whom. The black squirrel is the mascot of Council Bluffs, where they have lived since the first half of the 19th Century. Perhaps that's where Lincoln's population originated. Black squirrel sightings aren't quite "common" in Lincoln, but it seems populations have spread across the city. I'm aware of sightings or thriving pockets at:

• South College View, from Pioneers to Highway 2 and 48th to 56th
• The South Bottoms
• Near South
• East of Holmes Lake
• Near the Governor's mansion
• Near Southeast High School and extending north toward Campbell's Nurseries
• 20th and Superior
• Havelock, along Touzalin Ave

...in other words, they're pretty widespread. Well, welcome to my neighborhood, guys!

Yesterday morning we sprang a surprise on our boys. We woke them at 6:30, shoved them into the van, and told them to prepare themselves for a long drive. Thanks to a surprise addition to the van they were too distracted to ask many questions. We hit the road and drove east. It wasn't until we were in Des Moines that they figured out we weren't in Nebraska any more. (Leaving Nebraska is a big deal for our foster boys. It's the first time we've had permission to take them over the border.) Finally, as we pulled through Adventureland's gates our youngest foster son said "Hey look, castles!" as he pointed at a sign. That drew our oldest's attention and he slowly read the first word he saw there: "Ad ... ven ... ture ... land. Adventureland? We're at ADVENTURELAND?!". Cue pandemonium. I wish I had caught the reaction on video because it was sweetly hilarious. I can't believe they obediently sat in the car for three and a half hours and the secret held the entire time. I would love to recount the entire day with photos. Unfortunately, I really oughtn't share photos of our foster boys and they are in every single good photo. I could blur them or something, but that just feels weird. So here I sit, a couple dozen photos at my disposal and with none to share with you. Drat. Overall our experience was similar to last year's trip, but with two extra boys plus my sister's family and my parents. The weather was near-perfect; the crowds were small; the rides were age-appropriate; and the damage to my wallet was minimal, even with an initial fill-up with Lincoln's criminally-priced gas. Robbie (age 5) upped the ante this year by trying out two roller coasters. (The verdict: he liked the Tornado, but the Dragon was too violent for his small frame.) Our youngest (age 4) was a stud, giving all kinds of rides a try, and the oldest (age 8) turned out to be a ride fanatic. Adventureland may not be the most thrilling amusement park out there, but at our family's current stage it's perfect. It's so clean that the only thing I saw a sweeper sweep off the path was a leaf. The employees are very friendly. Most of them are retired folks and their personalities range from kind grandmother to sarcastic old man. (Sample quote: "You can hold on to the bar if you want, but that's for sissies.") Prices inside the park are inflated, of course, but only just. For example a 7" pizza was $5; that's reasonable to me. I wish I had paid attention to bottled water prices because that can be a good indicator of overall value, but we took our own (empty) water bottle into the park for refilling. I've been to Adventureland twice now, and both times have gone very well. I look forward to continuing our new annual tradition next year.

A quick and simple question for your Friday morning: LPS has no district office and a patch of prime real estate on O Street. Should they keep the land and rebuild on the same location? Or should they sell the land -- it's probably worth in the vicinity of $4-$5 million -- and move to what will probably turn out to be a less desirable location? The central location is great for employee and community access. On the other hand, nothing LPS does with that property will ever come close to the property's true economic value. From that perspective it's better as retail or (tax-paying) office space. I'm torn, but I'm leaning toward selling the land and moving elsewhere. What say you?

Got a hankerin' to dissect Lincoln's budget and find programs to cut to save some cash? You're in luck. You can check out 224 budget items and their costs and ... well, if you're lucky you'll figure out how to rescue the City's budget. I haven't had a chance to dive in too deeply yet so I'm not sure if any surprises lurk within. Can you find any easy cuts? Any that will make a dent?

The local Tea Party's prayers were answered yet again. Not long after a local porn shop went up in flames, Lincoln Public Schools District Offices followed suit. Area libraries and public health centers better check their insurance policies. In all seriousness, the loss of LPSDO is a Very Bad Thing™. No backup plan can account for the loss of an entire administrative facility. And even if there were some sort of magical plan to mitigate a disaster of these proportions, no plan ever proceeds flawlessly. Poor Superintendent Joel is going to earn every penny of his paycheck in 2011. And 2012. And then some. While browsing news of the fire one question leapt out at me: why did the building that houses LPS's most valuable non-human assets -- data -- not have a fire suppression system? That's not an accusation, mind you, nor is it rhetorical. It seems like a pretty big oversight, but it's such a substantial oversight I can't help but think it was deliberate. It's going to take a long, long time for this loss to fully sink in. There will be good news ("the computer backups worked!") and bad news ("...but the last update was three years ago"). My one suggestion for LPS is to be very upfront and honest about everything. They could, for example, start a blog and give a small team of people free reign to publish updates on ... well ... everything. I know I for one would appreciate that. And by the way, I'm going to stop commenting on the status of buildings. Yesterday afternoon as I drove down O Street I commented to The Missus that LPSDO was a pretty bleh building. Fewer than twelve hours later ... poof. But my record isn't all bad. Several weeks back I commented on the former Homer's building right next door to LPSDO, and the next day it was announced that the building would receive a full remodel.

A reminder that if you happen to stop by the Friday night concert series at Southpointe this summer, be sure to look me up and say hi. My family and I attend most of the concerts throughout the summer, including tonight's appearance by D'Funk, weather permitting. We typically sit in the grassy area south of the stage, over by Pier One. We also hit up many of Lincoln's other summer concerts (Jazz in June, Stransky Park) and hot spots, so if you see us around come on over and say howdy. Or 'sup, or whatever your greeting of choice happens to be.