Lincolnite

Today is your last chance to play Common Answers. Go play now!

Knights Clothing is closing. I saw an advertisement saying as much the other day, but for some reason I thought it was old news. I guess not. Knights has been around Lincoln for over 55 years. That's a not-too-shabby run. I remember shopping there with my mom a couple decades ago. Knights was always on our list if we were running around town shopping for clothes. Here's wishing the best to the owners as they move on to the next stage of their lives.

Expect to hear a lot from Citizens FOR Jobs and the Lincoln Haymarket Arena in the coming months. And expect me to pick on them over those months, at least if they keep spreading dubious "facts" about the arena. Consider the number of jobs they claim the arena will create. I've picked on this before, but it bears repeating. The group claims: "In the future, the Lincoln Haymarket Arena will add more than 1,000 permanent jobs at the arena and in the surrounding retail, commercial and residential area." There are several problems with the number, but let's focus on three. First, note that "jobs" is a fuzzy term. What is a job? Is it an FTE? Any position that earns any money? Without a good definition the term has little "punch" and supplies very little value to the discussion. Second, we don't know what sort of assumptions have been made to generate the "more than 1,000" value. Starting assumptions are extremely important. Assumptions about what is possible very often differ substantially from what eventually transpires. The assumptions that drive these figures almost always overestimate the good and underestimate or bury the bad. As long as the assumptions are transparent we can deal with that and make decisions accordingly. If the assumptions aren't made known the figure is worthless. Last, note this wording carefully: "the Lincoln Haymarket Arena will add more than 1,000 permanent jobs at the arena and in the surrounding retail, commercial and residential area". It does not say "the Lincoln Haymarket Arena will add more than 1,000 permanent jobs to the community". In other words some of these jobs -- we have no idea how many -- will simply be transferred from one area of the community to the other. That's a hugely important distinction. Some of these jobs will no doubt be truly "created" in the sense that they would not have occurred had the arena not been built. But others -- some? many? most? -- will not. If Cheesecake Factory comes to town because of the arena, then we can say those jobs were "created" by the arena. If, on the other hand, Cheesecake Factory would have come here regardless, then the arena does not get to take credit for creating those jobs. However, due to the wording noted above the arena supporters still get to count those jobs toward their total. Further note that the same is true for the arena's overall economic value to the city. Some economic value will be "created" by the presence of an arena and surrounding developments. But not every dollar that ends up in the arena and its environs will in fact have been "created" by the arena. Some of the money will simply be transferred from elsewhere. That restaurant that could have gone in at Fallbrook will instead go in the Haymarket; the apartments that could have gone into Antelope Valley will instead go into the Haymarket; and so on. The exact same thing happens with every major development around town: some new economic value is created, and some of the economic activity could just as easily have located elsewhere. I've stated this before but I'll say it again: don't misinterpret these sorts of comments as indicators that I'm rabidly anti-arena. I'm not. I simply demand honesty and transparency so voters can make the best decision possible. Once the formal anti-arena groups really get going -- I'm sure we'll hear more from them very soon -- I will probably pick on them just the same. That's what I do. Now you folks get to do what you do so well: argue amongst yourselves 😊

I'm curious what you folks think about Senator Rogert's fireworks bill making its way through the Unicameral this session. In short: it would make certain larger shells legal; bottle rockets and night parachutes would remain illegal; metal-handled sparklers would become illegal; and fireworks would be legal to use and sell on more occasions. Or put another way: bigger booms in the air, fewer burns on the ground, and more opportunities to blow stuff up. My views on fireworks are wildly conflicted. I grew up loving fireworks, and after high school I ran a few fireworks tents. That experience, for various reasons, made me completely ambivalent about the fireworks aspect of Independence Day. Within just the past two years I have started to become more of a curmudgeon, viewing the whole exercise as a giant, wasteful barrage of foolishness and -- all too often -- incivility. I've become a party pooper. The youthful side of me thinks the bigger booms would be awesome; the cranky old man side of me wishes people would be satisfied with snap pops, parachutes, and sparklers, with the big stuff reserved for big shows. To which the youthful side of me says: I'm not ready to be "that guy"! Anyway, a big chunk of this discussion may be moot because Lincoln's fireworks regulations will still trump state law. Lincoln is always going to be pickier about fireworks than the state as a whole. Of course we all know that on July 3 and 4, City regulations are a joke. So although legally these changes may not directly affect us, practically speaking they will. Where do you folks come down on this? Bigger booms for all? Fireworks are the devil's tools? Commence ranting and raving.

What over-the-air channels should a guy be able to get in Lincoln? I hooked up an antenna to the television last night just to see what I could get. I ended up with 8 (including 8.2), 10 (sometimes), 51, and a couple odd religious channels. I had assumed I'd be able to get NET and perhaps an Omaha station or two. No?

Senator Mark Christensen wants you to be able to kill somebody if they break into your home, workplace, or occupied vehicle, even if you face no physical harm or you can escape. It might be fun to watch the debate on this one. Expect hysteria on both sides. The bill itself can be found here.

The City Council has said yes to the plan for the half-block bounded by 13th, 14th, and Q Streets. The developers have purchased the building that currently houses Valentino's, Quizno's, and Chipotle, which they plan to demolish. Could this thing actually happen?

It's time for another Common Answers contest! Go play now!

It's great having a police chief with a sense of humor.

I had lunch with my father at the brand-spankin'-new Cheesesteak Grille at 16th and Old Cheney, in the former Mi Guadalajara location. We both had a steak philly with peppers, onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, and cheese, plus fries. The sandwich and fries were both good. I grabbed a couple photos: They're obviously just getting up and running -- walls are a bare, freshly-painted white, for example -- but I admire that they've chosen to offer basically one item. Too many start-ups try to please everyone. One piece of advice I will offer them: don't be so stingy with the fries. Oh, and I would really love it if they could offer something other than a bulky styrofoam container for diners who aren't taking the food to go. I know reusable plates will increase their dishwashing budget, but I'm pretty sure I actually heard Mother Nature whimper when they handed me my food.

I always enjoy running games here on The Lincolnite. I'm considering running another Common Answers contest next week. Does that sound like a winner of an idea? If I do it, what topic should I do? Do you have any question suggestions?

That's it. LPS's snow day budget has been spent. You all know what I think about that so I won't bother saying it. However, a question came to mind this morning. And this is a serious inquiry, even though given my earlier comments about snow days it could be interpreted as snarky. It's 100% snark-free. Here it goes: How many kids in Lincoln have suffered frostbite, hypothermia, or other cold-related calamities as a result of walking to or from school? I doubt such data are kept, but it sure would be nice if they were. Those data, if they exist, could help improve discussions about LPS's weather-related closings policy. Broader data about injuries, traffic incidents, and so forth would also be useful, both for "bad weather" days and good weather days. But again, I'd be surprised if such data exist in any useful form. A guy can hope, though.

Schools have long been accused of "grade inflation", the process by which it takes less and less effort to receive the same grade. I think we're going to now have to use the term "weenie inflation" to describe how LPS administrators are becoming bigger and bigger weenies in the face of inclement weather. Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of unpleasant components to today's forecast. But calling off classes? Let's review:

• The forecast high is 18 degrees;
• Two to four inches of snow are expected throughout the day;
• The wind is forecast to be light this morning, 5-10 mph by midday, 15-25 by late afternoon, and 25-35 tonight.

I totally agree with preemptively canceling after school activities. That makes perfect sense. But wasting a whole day of instruction because it's going to get chilly late this afternoon and tonight? It seems so wasteful. This is a perfect example of an occasion where a half day would make sense. Or at least a teacher and administrator work day. Say what you will about the kids, but there's absolutely no reason why the adults shouldn't report to work. After I saw that classes were canceled for the day I began to reminisce. I can think of only one day that classes were canceled due to (forecast) cold when I was a kid. The forecast called for windchill values of -60 to -70. That's cold! But as I remember it, the wind hardly blew that day and the sun shone throughout. The forecast was a bust. Though it was still plenty cold -- below zero, I'm sure -- I played outside with my friends. It's hard to play basketball when the ball won't bounce and you're so bundled up you can't even raise your arms to shoot. I should really stop ranting so much about LPS's cancellation policies...