Lincolnite

I'm all for the swift completion of roadwork, but is it the state's job to define the specifics of local street repair contracts? Omaha Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh thinks so. His LB 838 would require counties, cities, and villages to include incentive and disincentive provisions in road construction contracts; and it would require "minimum" lane closures with penalties of $1,000 per day for "improperly closed" lanes. I have no problem with the state mandating these sorts of things for contracts involving state roads. But what business is it of the state how Lincoln -- or any other locality -- manages these matters in its own contracts? This bill sounds like the punitive project of a guy who thinks he could build a road in a day. I picture Sen. Lautenbaugh sitting in traffic, hands tightly gripping the steering wheel in anger and frustration, sweat beaded upon his brow, swearing under his breath at those good-for-nothing road crews. "I know!", he exclaims one day. "I'll pass a one-size-fits-all law. That will fix everything!" But I digress. Yea or nay on this one, folks?

ESPN doesn't care for Devaney:

Speaking of horses … some might say they would be the easiest form of transportation for getting anywhere close to the Devaney Center when so many people converge here. In the midst of the former state fairgrounds, Devaney is surrounded by bottleneck-creating obstacles: overpasses, drainage ditches, buildings, houses and fences. It's too cold up here for an alligator-filled moat, or they might have that, too. Built in 1976, Devaney isn't going to win any arena beauty contests. However, it's what's inside that counts. And Saturday, that was a whole lot of red-clad fans -- just a couple hundred short of a complete sellout -- and a so-far unflappable team led by those six seniors.

And speaking of the arena, here's the ballot language:

Shall the city of Lincoln, Neb., issue its arena bonds in a principal amount not to exceed $25 million for the purpose of paying a portion of the costs incident to acquiring, constructing, equipping and furnishing the Lincoln Haymarket Arena and related facilities and improvements, such bonds to be dated at the time of their issuance, to become due and payable on such dates, to bear interest at such rates and to have such other terms as may be fixed by the city at the time of their issuance, and to be payable from the income, proceeds and revenue of the Lincoln Haymarket Arena and related facilities and improvements, from state appropriations under the Convention Center Facility Financing Assistance Act and/or other state sources and from other available revenue, income and receipts of the city, including certain city sales, use, occupation and/or property tax revenue, fees or receipts, sufficient to pay the principal of and the interest on said bonds as they become due and payable, provided, however, that approval of this bond issue will not cause any increase in the property tax levy millage limit of the city?

Bleh. Legalese is lame enough as it is, but do they have to add insult to injury by pretending there's no such thing as a semicolon? What an unreadable mess. Here's Mr. Wilson's abridged version: If you vote yes, the City is on the hook for $25 million. But don't worry! We won't use property taxes to cover that amount. Please ignore the remaining $300+ million -- which could affect your property taxes -- which shall remain hidden behind this curtain over here. One last thing: Surely I'm not the only one who thinks the initial arena designs are kind of funky (in a good way). Does anybody out there agree with me? Hat tip: Deena Winter.

Nebraska's gambling hypocrisy continues with the announcement that Mega Millions is coming to the state on March 20. For those of you keeping score:

• Gambling on sports: bad.
• Gambling on horses: good.
• Bingo: bad.
• Scratch-off cards: good.
• Poker: bad.
• Keno: good.
• Slots: bad.
• Multi-state lotteries: good.

If you are looking for a textbook example of "do as I say, not as I do" in state government, this is it.

it is now legal -- with City approval, of course -- for neighborhoods to paint pretty pictures in the middle of their intersections. It's kind of a cheesy gimmick, but I suppose it could turn out well in the hands of some good artistry and an appropriate location. Actually, I would be much more supportive if I knew that these works would age well. I have found photos of this sort of work in new condition, but I haven't really come across any photos after, say, three to five years. It would be a shame if these works were a gem for a neighborhood for a year or two only to have them become an eyesore (or a maintenance liability) over the long haul. Then again, that's true of lots of these sorts of projects. I'm not sure there's a good way around it.

It's that time of year again! Soccer season fires up just six or seven weeks from now, so it's time for me to put out the word that we are always looking for new soccer referees. Whether you want to ref youth, high school, college, or adult amateur games (or better yet, all of the above), we would love to have you on board. You don't need soccer experience and you don't need to know the rules to apply. We'll get you all trained up and ready to go. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you are interested or if you would like more information.

Ever since Fireworks opened in its new east Lincoln location on 84th and Old Cheney, I have heard grumbles of discontent from customers. Most of the complaints focused on the service, but food would show up now and then as well. The Missus wanted to go to Fireworks last week. I nearly protested, but then I thought better of it. I wanted to give the restaurant a try for myself. I'm glad I did. We had a delightful experience early on Friday evening. Service was prompt and friendly, and the food was very good to excellent. Apparently others thought the same; the main dining room, bar, and waiting area were all full when we left. That means that after a couple years of iffy experiences, both Fireworks and Lazlo's (owned by the same parent company) are on my good side again. I'm glad. I don't like being frustrated with local businesses that really ought to know better. Hmm, perhaps the Fireworks and/or Lazlo's folks can help some local Mexican restaurant chains (*cough* amigosd'leon'stacoinn *cough*) figure out how to regain their footings. A guy can hope.

Quick, somebody give me an excuse to go to Bethany so I can sneak over to the new Bethany Cafe. It is being run by Norma Chapman, formerly of Mexicali Bullfrog fame. I was pretty bummed to see the frog bite the dust, so I'm eager to see what Chapman has cooking this time. Have any of you been to Bethany Cafe since it opened in December? How was it?

Ray Stevens wants to continue The Streak he's on with a third full term as County Commissioner. Don't think Stevens is one of those Party People, he is a Funny Man who thinks Everything Is Beautiful. He loves Power Tools and is never Too Drunk To Fish. Mr. Stevens is In The Mood for at least One More Last Chance before he makes his Great Escape. Of course Jane Raybould, his likely opponent, asks "Can He Love You Half as Much as I?" Ms. Raybould thinks Stevens is a Clown and would love to put him on a Losin' Streak after sending him Where The Sun Don't Shine. The ball is in the People's Court now. Among these two Sex Symbols, will We The People vote for Stevens, or will we send him to the nearest Shriner's Convention?

I hesitate to mention this because I don't want the comments to turn into a frenzy of abortion-related rants. Still, I have to ask... Who in their right mind holds a walk on a January morning?! Brrr.

Did anybody else notice there was still some sunlight at 5:45 last night? Ahh, the return of the sun. Welcome back, sun!

Back on Sunday, January 17 I began a new food experiment. I decided to go vegetarian. I had been cutting back on meat for a couple months. Why not just go whole hog, so to speak? I quickly -- as in, within hours -- realized that full vegetarianism was a stupid idea. It was a completely unsustainable goal. I might make it two weeks, tops. But long term? Not a chance. I love meat loaf and Buffalo wings and ham balls and jalapeno cheddar brats. If my goal were a temporary experiment then full vegetarianism might be ok. But I was after something more lasting, a true lifestyle adjustment. So I modified my plan: I would eat meat no more than three times per week. The adjusted plan gives me much more flexibility when eating out or eating at my parents' house, and it takes pressure off The Missus when planning meals at home. I am now thirty-one meals into my experiment and I'm doing far better than I expected. I have eaten meat just three times so far, for a total of perhaps ten to twelve ounces. Best of all I don't really seem to miss the meat I'm not eating. I've realized that in many cases it's not the meat in a dish that I crave, but rather the flavors that accompany the meat. Take Buffalo wings, for example. It's not the wings I crave, but the sauce. Fry up some breaded cauliflower and spin it in Buffalo sauce and I'd be just as happy. So why did I embark on this experiment? There are a bunch of reasons, actually. A biggie was diet diversification. I grew up hyper-sensitive to bitter flavors and certain textures so my diet evolved to be pretty monotonous. Now that my taste buds have relaxed a bit I can safely explore all sorts of new foods. (I love broccoli now. Whodathunkit?) There's also an ecological component to my decision. Animal agriculture is not exactly Mother Nature's best friend. I'm no eco-freak -- not by a long shot -- but that doesn't mean I don't care about these things. And there is a health angle, of course. As I look around at people just a few years older than me I see a lot of flab. Something magical happens between 30 and 40. I don't want to go there. That being said, I'm not treating this new diet as a weight loss plan. Which is good, since I have actually put on a pound over the past ten days. Anyway, I will try to check in now and then with updates. Hopefully at least some of you find my self experimentation interesting. If any of you have tips I'd love to hear them!

Speaking of public schools, LPS just keeps on growing. I remember when I used to be able to name every school in the city. Not any more. I just can't keep up!

LB 741, presented by Lincoln's Sen. Bill Avery, would prevent school districts from using state aid money for expenses related to lobbyists. I wish I knew Sen. Avery's motives. (The bill's statement of intent isn't particularly enlightening.) If his purpose is simply to ensure that state aid dollars focus on education rather than recycling back into the political process, that's something I can support. But if his purpose instead centers around some sort of misguided anti-lobbying crusade, I'm going to have to disagree. Lobbyists aren't the bad guys they're often portrayed to be. Sure, lobbying can be a dirty industry, but only if the politicians allow it. And in that case it's corrupt politicians, not lobbyists, that are the problem. Nebraska's lobbying environment is, as far as I know, pretty clean. Like I said above, preventing the use of state aid for lobbyists is fine. But attempting to halt all formal lobbying by public school districts would be a futile exercise. School districts will always want to have a set of eyes and ears in the Unicameral. Whether or not you call that person a "lobbyist", a "government affairs coordinator", a "statehouse liaison", or anything else is merely a matter of semantics. LPS will always have some sort of representative present at the capitol acting as a bridge between State Senators and the Board of Education; likewise with other school districts, ESUs, and so forth. And that's a good thing. We want our school districts to be educated on the goings-on in the Unicameral, and we want our Senators to know what our school districts think about legislative proposals. What do you think about Sen. Avery's LB 741, or about the concept of school lobbyists in general?

So Lincolnites, what would you paint in your neighborhood intersection(s) if such a thing were legal? I don't have any brilliant ideas for my neighborhood's streets. I did come up with an idea that could be kind of fun, but it would be very difficult to execute. We could design -- or rather, have designed for us -- a series of ambigrams that correspond to the streets that meet at that intersection. Essentially they would behave just like the street signs at the intersection, but each would be a single image painted in the center of the intersection. I wish I were creative enough to sketch out an example because I doubt I'm being very clear. What would you draw in your neighborhood's intersections?