Lincolnite

If I were ever to be elected to public office, I think my least favorite task would be helping to craft the budget. It doesn't sound like much fun in a good year, and it really doesn't sound like fun In These Economic Times™. Then again I love a good challenge and few things are more challenging than dealing with a dicey budget situation. What budget-related topics do you want Nebraska's senators to focus on during the upcoming debate?

Don't forget, today is election day. Go vote! (Please!)

We Nebraskans take our license plates too seriously sometimes. Remember how much vitriol there was when we dropped county numbers for a few counties? So keeping in mind that none of this really matters in the big scheme of things, check out our options for our next license plate: I count one legitimate option, one clipart option that's so boring it will induce an epidemic of drivers falling asleep at the wheel, and two brain-bendingly bad options that look like they were pulled directly from default templates from a 1995 version of MS Paint. Come on, DMV, this is the best you could come up with? I strongly -- strongly -- doubt that. Vote carefully, Lincolnites. And by that I mean: For the love of God, please vote for the bird because it's the only reasonably respectable option. Remember, we're stuck with these things until December 31, 2017. UPDATE: Added a link to the DMV website so you can vote.

The 6,500-ish Lincoln Marathon runners packed Lincoln's streets for hours yesterday. The Wilsons took a walk up 48th Street to watch the herd. I was amused by the drivers at 48th and Pioneers who seemed certain that if they just waited long enough, they could eventually squeeze through the intersection. Yeah, not so much. The temperature was probably just a tiny bit too warm as the morning progressed, but honestly, who can really complain about yesterday's weather? It made for an amazing atmosphere, which the winners enjoyed:

“Lincoln has such a great reputation, I had to run here, and I had a ball,” said Matt Dewald, a Vermillion, S.D., runner who won the men’s marathon in a near-record time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, 37 seconds. “The cops were great, the guy riding a bike alongside was phenomenal and this city made me feel like running my best,” Dewald said. The same feeling hit women’s marathon winner Ashley Tousley. “I had so much fun here,” the Des Moines, Iowa, native said. “Friends had been talking to me about running here, and it was perfect. I’ve been in the lead of the Des Moines marathon twice, but got sick both times and didn’t win. “This is my first win and I feel great. Must be my day and my kind of town,” said Tousley, who will graduate from Drake Law School in two weeks.

I really enjoy being part of the crowds that watch the marathoners every year. This year The Wilsons sat on the curb outside LaMar's, munching on donuts. (Nope, I didn't feel so much as a twinge of guilt!) At that point, roughly 5.5 miles into the race, most of the runners were still capable of smiling. And there were lots of smiles. There was also a woman dressed like a cat, and a man running while carrying what appeared to be a very heavy hiking backpack. Odd! The decline in National Guard runners was noticeable; I remember seeing only one such runner. The Missus used to run the marathon so she knows plenty of regular runners. Unfortunately, a couple got shut out this year thanks to the record number of sign-ups. I wonder what can be done about that? The start could be staggered more, but that won't do any favors to Sunday morning traffic. Organizers could flip-flop the two halves of the race, but that would make the 1/2 marathon route the less scenic and varied portion of the race. I wonder if that would negatively affect sign-ups? Did any of you folks run in yesterday's race? Were any of you trapped for ages in traffic?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the saline wetlands... Lincoln's favorite insect, the salt creek tiger beetle, is back in the news. Admit it, you thought we were done with that issue, didn't you? Did you slip into the "if I ignore the problem, it will resolve itself" mentality? I have to admit I did, though I do snap out of it when I drive up North 27th Street (which isn't often). I have a difficult time feeling sorry for the little critter. On the other hand, I'm all for preserving at least some saline wetland habitat. Not necessarily for the beetle, mind you, but because I think it's a good thing to keep some of these habitats around. I wonder where the City Council candidates stand on this issue? Sure it's not the most critical issue. Yet wouldn't it be interesting to know who belongs to the "plow 'em under" mindset, who thinks we should save species at (virtually) any cost, and who waffles in the middle without actually taking a stand?

Unlike a lot of folks, I don't have a big problem with money in political elections. (My problem with politicians and money comes after they've been elected.) So when I see an article that describes how much City Council candidates have raised, I find it interesting, not worrisome. The one number that really jumps out at me, however, is Jayne Snyder's impressive $35,000 self contribution. Yowza! I don't have any problem with her spending her money however she likes, but dang, that's a lot of cash to be putting toward a seat on the City Council.

I'm having a difficult time getting too worked up over swine H1N1 flu. I probably should be more concerned, but I'm not. I am fascinated by watching the spread of the illness, and the reactions from politicians around the world are a hoot. Nothing gets knees a-jerkin' like a good (perceived?) crisis. Not to say that we should just sit back and mock this little bug. It has killed people, after all. Still, the mortality rate is extremely fuzzy right now. "Normal" flu (whatever that means) kills a fraction of 1% of infected persons in the United States. The current outbreak may or may not have a rate substantially higher than that; we just don't know. At least all of this attention has allowed people to get treated early, an action which so far seems to be squishing the bug pretty easily. Now that Nebraska has its first confirmed case of swine H1N1 flu, and now that Nebraska has declared a state of emergency, how long will it be before we follow Texas' lead and shut down events across the state?

The high school soccer season has flown by, and it's already time for Districts. District assignments came out yesterday (boys, girls). Wild card points are always a hot topic this time of year. On the boys side, it looks like any Lincoln team that wants a trip to State will need to win its District. Southwest and East are 6th and 7th, respectively, so although they certainly aren't locked out of a shot at a wildcard, the way this season has gone in Class A, they're best off getting the job done at Districts. Pius X isn't sitting too bad at #4 in Class B, except that South Sioux City and Columbus are #1 and #2, and they're both in the same District. One of those two is very likely to secure the wild card. On the girls side Southeast and Southwest are sitting pretty well at #2 and #4. They oughtn't rest easy, of course, but generally Class A girls have been more predictable than the boys this year so LSE and LSW are a bit safer. In Class B you have to go way down to #9 to find Pius X, the first Lincoln team. There's no free ride for them. Overall the toughest District in the state appears to be B-4 on the boys side (Blair, Columbus, Columbus Lakeview, Columbus Scotus, Schuyler, South Sioux City). There are a lot of uncertainties, though. This is perhaps the widest-open field I've seen in my career. Lots of teams have a good shot at going all the way -- and I'm not just saying that.

Downtown is a hot topic in Lincoln. It has been for decades. For better or worse, we have put a lot of resources into "protecting" and improving Downtown, with mixed results. A group of Downtown-oriented organizations hosted a City Council candidate forum yesterday, and 10/11 caught the candidates' answers on video. The three short videos are definitely worth watching -- both for the candidates' answers and for how they present them -- so give yourselves 15 minutes or so to check them out.

Mr. T pointed me to the Daily Nebraskan's overview of Lincoln's cheap tacos. I'm not sure how much faith to put in the article, though. This line blew me away:

They come with packets of Heinz mild sauce, which adds some nice spice.

"Heinz mild sauce", "nice", and "spice" do not belong in the same sentence. I haven't done the cheap taco thing in years. I used to love hitting up George's Red Pepper Grill (RIP), Crawdaddy's (RIP), and Knickerbockers for their $0.25 goodies (with mofo salsa, of course). My record was 17 tacos, I think. Do you concur with the DN's assessment? Who has the best cheap tacos in town?

We've got Ken "The Hammer" Svoboda telling his tale in the Journal Star today. And then we've got the Nebraska Democratic Party and their anti-Ken website. From a voter perspective -- and particularly from a middle-of-the-road voter perspective -- which approach is more compelling? Ken's "I'm a victim" approach, or the anti-Kens' disembodied bobble-head, mocking approach?

Ready to escape Lincoln? Delta has two new flights for you from the Lincoln Airport, one to Atlanta and one to Salt Lake City. I'm not sure I have ever flown on Delta. How are their flights these days?

Whenever people complain about the stink of a dead skunk on the road I just close my eyes and take a long, deep breath. I have never been able to smell skunk. Not to the extent most of you smell it, anyway. If somebody tells me there's a strong skunk odor in the air I can occasionally detect something, but it's not especially unpleasant. So watch out for all those skunks crossing the road. But if you do hit one I'll still be your friend, even if everybody else avoids you.

Meatball noted and I was able to confirm that the Williamsburg Hy-Vee is about to expand. That in itself isn't so surprising. What is surprising is that it means the long-running rumors were actually true. How often does that happen? The expansion will add some 15% to the store's area, bringing it to about 82,000 square feet. New features will include an in-store Caribou Coffee and an expanded alcohol section that will have its own entrance, just like the store on North 84th Street (and O Street?). Along with the VA regional office, that makes two fairly substantial bits of news for Williamsburg in recent days. Maybe the area is getting a little momentum.