Lincolnite

Users of Lincoln's extensive bike trail system will enjoy hearing that Lincoln has received $300,000 in state funding for the Cavett Connector Trail project near Cavett Elementary. It's a relatively limited victory for trail users, but it does provide a link from, say, the 27th and Highway 2 hub to Yankee Hill Road. That's worth something, I suppose. My big question is why the state is chipping in $300k for what amounts to a residential trail. Isn't this a strictly local project? In any event, it's nice to see more and more of Lincoln's trail system coming together. Check out Lincoln's trails plans (PDF).

So much for that little experiment. After a short three weeks, Delta is pulling the plug on its Atlanta and Salt Lake City flights from Lincoln Airport. I doubt the news itself comes as a surprise to most of you, though the short lifespan of the routes is a bit odd. Poor Lincoln Airport. It just can't quite seem to find an identity. What I'm not able to put my finger on -- and what you may be able to help identify -- is the cause. Is it a leadership/personnel problem? An airline problem? A market problem? But maybe that's putting the cart before the horse. What is Lincoln Airport's identity?

The Wilsons watched the first six innings of last night's Lincoln Saltdogs game at Haymarket Park. What a great facility. Why haven't we gone more often? Last night pretty much had it all for Robbie: he got to cross a bridge and walk right over top of a moving train; he got to watch a baseball game; he met Homer; he met Ronald "Old" McDonald; he ate pizza and a snow cone; and he saw his former daycare provider and her kids. What more could a kid want? This was only my second Saltdogs game, but it was such a relaxing and enjoyable experience hopefully I'll be back more often. Heck it almost -- almost -- made me miss my umpiring days. But then again, no. Relaxing on the berm, not squatting behind the plate, is definitely the best way to watch baseball.

The City's Independence Day celebration will be held at Oak Lake again this year. That to the consternation of "traditionalists" who think the festival should return to its previous location at Holmes Lake on the other side of town. I ask you, Lincolnites: which is the better location for the festivities, Oak Lake or Holmes Lake? I don't have a dog in this fight. As much as I love a good community festival, Independence Day for the Wilsons has always been more about spending the day with the family around home. I do have a bias toward Holmes Lake, but that's only because I have spent much more time there and I love many aspects of the park's recent facelift. What's your druthers?

And so it begins. After yesterday's 4-1 vote, Lancaster County will begin trying to sell Lancaster Manor. I have tried to follow the issue of Lancaster Manor's status and future, but I have to admit I still don't know exactly what to think. There are advantages to either County or private ownership. There is certainly a lot of passion out there from folks who want to keep the Manor a County-owned facility, and that's great. But it's somewhat difficult to determine how much of that passion is driven by facts and how much is driven by inertia. Many of you no doubt have very strong feelings on this issue, and I'm sure some of you have done your homework. Did the County Board make the correct decision yesterday? Why or why not?

Love it or hate it, it appears you don't have to go to Argentina for some stimulus. According to this report from 10/11, the federal stimulus project has created over 100 jobs here in Lincoln so far. Wouldn't it be great if there was a way one could easily keep track of all the stimulus funds deployed in Nebraska? Well there is: The State of Nebraska has set up a fairly nice Recovery Nebraska site where one can actually subscribe to an RSS feed. Lincoln also has its own recovery web page here, but its not as stimuluating as the state site.

Congratulations to Lincoln's Heartland Big Brothers Big Sisters for winning the national group's agency of the year award! That's good stuff, folks. Keep up the good work. Are any of you big brothers or big sisters, or have you been in the past? Please tell us about it. Who knows, you might help recruit a new volunteer or three.

Look, I understand why Time Warner and Comcast are fuming. It sucks to have to pay for a service that your former customers can receive for free elsewhere. They have a legitimate gripe. As a customer, though, I just want my ISP to pump data through the pipes as quickly as possible. I don't want to have to worry about whether or not I can view XYZ website's content under my current cable subscription. Those sorts of considerations are unfortunately becoming more and more the norm. It drives me nuts. I would make the argument that if ISPs aren't careful they will squeeze out their own customers. Although that is somewhat true, in fact many consumers have few options to go elsewhere. Now that I think about it, I wonder if Internet Nebraska's cable broadband service would be hamstrung in the same way as Time Warner's, if Time Warner does cut off certain services. Do any of you know more about how that might work?

Hi all. Sorry about my brief and unexplained absence. It has been a busy, hectic past few days. I haven't paid any attention to local issues since late last week, other than the gorgeous weather we've been having. Did I say gorgeous? I meant blargh. At least my garden is growing well. Too bad the weeds are growing best of all. It may (or may not) take me a little while to get back into the swing of things. I'm tired and drained. On the other hand, it feels like Monday to me. The prospect of a two day week sounds pretty awesome to me. OK, now back to this blogging thing...

Remember that "news" item a few months ago in which Nebraska was deemed happiest state in the nation? Yes, it was truly a really REALLY bad example of operationalizing variables to arrive at a questionable conclusion. But there are some green shoots out there. In the current edition of Business Week, Omaha was named one of the plains' high-tech centers, with Google and Yahoo both with established entities in the area:

Meanwhile, high-tech companies are flocking to the Omaha area, which boasts an abundance of land and power, an extensive fiber-optic network, and a favorable tax regime.

There is definitely a lot of potential for Lincoln to benefit from this growth as well, with the state capitol being the host for UNL and the future research park. We should be pursuing these opportunities ruthlessly. Whether or not we will is another story.

The annual Celebrate Lincoln festival opens today, with today being the only day where you basically get free admission. Quick breakdown of food vendors also available courtesy of the LJS.

Anyone else here tracking the fast-changing story (or stories) about the minister who was recently charged in Council Bluffs for sexual assault? You can access the latest OWH story here and the LJS iteration here. No doubt we can all agree that child sex predators are a despicable lot, but most Lincolnites may pick up on the somewhat striking discrepancies in reported factual background about the alleged perp’s time here in Lincoln. As reported by the OWH:

Umana worked as a Lincoln Public Schools bus driver from 1992 to 1997. In 1993, three students reported they felt uncomfortable around Umana, according to memos obtained by The World-Herald. The students reported he hugged them, said things like “Hi, Babe” and told them how pretty they were. He also kissed one and grabbed at their coats, according to the documents. One girl reported that she told him the bus was cold and he said, “Yes, but you and me are hot.” In 1994, three elementary school students reported Umana grabbed them in inappropriate places. Umana denied the allegations to school officials. In 1997, Umana was terminated.

So according to the OWH, the guy was called out for six alleged cases, in 1993 and 1994, of arguably inappropriate behavior with minors. But in the LJS, it was reported:

Umaña worked as a bus driver for Lincoln Public Schools from 1992 to 1997. Nancy Biggs, LPS associate superintendent for human resources, declined to comment on why he was terminated, but said it had nothing to do with inappropriate touching or behavior with students. “If we thought he shouldn’t be around kids we wouldn’t have allowed him around children,” Biggs said.

All I can say is: Put this story/stories in the "Someone has some serious explaining to do" file.

I don't have a lot of faith in this actually happening, but what the heck: Speedway Properties wants to open a hotel in the Haymarket near 8th and Q. The project would involve The Tool House building, along with a neighboring building that would be torn down. I wish I didn't have to be so cynical about the project's odds, but let's face it, major project proposals in the Haymarket and Downtown have had a very low probability of happening and/or matching the initial grand plan. If it does happen? Three cheers! But I'll withhold my excitement until there's some actual construction. Ditto for the nearby WRK hotel proposal. Of that project Will Scott has said "We're still full speed ahead. We could be looking at demolition within the next few months." That's awfully fuzzy talk for a project that's moving full speed ahead.