Lincolnite

I overheard a couple bits of buzz about Panera Bread this weekend. First, it sounds like the aim is to have the new Downtown Panera open in June. The speaker didn't sound completely confident they would make that date. Given how quickly some of these chains can open a store, June sounds perfectly realistic to me. As for the Southpointe store, it will see a fairly major facelift in the near future. New carpet, new paint, new furniture, new awnings ... you get the idea.

That's right, Lincolnites, we're all a bunch of tree huggers. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Lincoln has now been a Tree City USA for 32 consecutive years. Speaking of the National Arbor Day Foundation, if you join they'll send you ten free trees. That's not a bad return on your investment.

Think you don't like Time Warner Cable now? Get ready for bandwidth caps that could push your monthly internet bill to $150 for "virtually unlimited" use. This while Time Warner's costs to supply bandwidth to users are actually decreasing. Verizon FiOS, where are you?

Sorry soccer fans. UNL put a quick end to the possibility of Memorial Stadium hosting World Cup matches. Maybe next century.

The Missus tells me she saw a sign on the former hardware store in Briarhurst Shopping Center at 48th and Highway 2 indicating that Dietze Music would soon be moving in. Presumably they will close up their current location in the triangle at 56th, Old Cheney, and Highway 2. The new location should give them more space and better visibility. As a nearby resident, I'm just glad to see something fill the space so soon. Parents take note: if you want to get rid of your kid for half a day, you will soon be able to send him to Dietze for music lessons followed by a trip next door to LearningRX for some brain training. And best of all, there's a bike path nearby so you don't even have to drive. It's perfect!

Could it be true? Could Centennial Mall finally get some lovin' thanks to a $2 million pot of cash we just happen to have lying around? The Mall has needed repairs and updates for as long as I can remember. Hopefully that fact has an impact on how we decide to renovate the area. That is, keeping it simple is going to be much cheaper and easier to maintain in the long run than trying to knock anybody's socks off. How about some simple paths, plenty of grass, some native plants, and ample formal and informal seating options?

Recently there has been quite a spate of news about the pending death of the newspaper. Could the New York Times be bankrupt as soon as this summer? Regardless of what your opinion is of the political slant of the Times, the possibility that such a well-known institution could be facing bankruptcy is a startling one. As noted by sites like Newspaper Death Watch, already a number of major dailies have either moved to online-only editions, gone under entirely, downsized delivery services, or have taken other significant measures to save costs, including our own Journal Star and World-Herald. The current economic situation only further batters an industry which has suffered over the years from web 2.0, craigslist, and so on. Predictions of what could happen to the newspaper industry vary, but many commentators seem to think that the landscape will be quite different in a few years. Technology will continue to change the industry, and the move towards “social journalism” is already happening. What are your own thoughts about the future of the industry? What will the Journal Star and World-Herald be like in 10 years? Any predictions?

Since Friday I have been down in Dallas participating in the Dr. Pepper Dallas Cup. It's a huge soccer tournament featuring teams and referees from across the U.S. and around the world. I will be down here through Wednesday. On Friday and Saturday I was invited to participate in a pro referee clinic. Although it was just ten hours of classroom time, it was by far the best referee clinic experience I have ever had. The clinic was mostly led by World Cup referee Brian Hall. It's amazing how much information one can absorb in very little time when it is presented by an excellent teacher. The teaching approach used during the clinic represents a pretty dramatic shift for U.S. referees. USSF is now pushing a criteria-based approach to instruction; that means that going forward there will be fewer "gray areas" and more absolutes when it comes to officiating soccer. It's a move that will not be noncontroversial among referees, but after spending the weekend digging deep into the new approach, it's easy to see how it is better not just for referees, but for the game. On Saturday morning I participated in a fitness test. I did ok, but it's becoming more and more obvious to me that I have reached the age where I will have to work harder and harder to meet the standards I set for myself. In the 12-minute run I went 2925 meters. Not bad -- better than I expected, actually, considering how I felt -- but below the 3200 meters (two miles) I would like to see. In the 50 meter sprints I averaged around 6 seconds; I averaged around 26 seconds in the 200 meter runs. I wasn't displeased with my times in the 50 and 200, but I was disappointed in how hard the sprints were for me, and how crappy they made me feel afterward. (My hamstrings are still sore as heck.) Regardless of my times, I want to be in good enough shape that I can run sprints like that without feeling like my legs are going to explode. I think it's time for some good interval training and ladders... My first match was yesterday, an AR on a U15 match featuring teams from Dallas and Mexico. Today I have three games, including an AR, a 4th, and a middle. Tomorrow brings one game, and Wednesday two (including a middle on a game that features a team from Trinidad and Tobago). Temperatures down here are perfect for this sort of tournament -- 50's to 70's through the week -- but the wind yesterday was killer, and it's not supposed to be much better today. That's my update for now. I will try to check in again tomorrow, hopefully with some actual Lincoln-related posts.

Don Walton has an interesting column this morning, providing a good, helicopter's view level of the political landscape in the state for the next few years. I'd say its a pretty accurate one. Basically, he predicts that most of the state's higher offices will be locked up by current politicians. Its no secret that Jon Bruning has an eye on the governor's office, one he should be competitive for, and Mike Foley as a candidate makes sense too. I'd like to hold out for Mike "the Executioner" Flood, however. Flood has proven to be a very effective, moderate, and charismatic state lawmaker with a strong command of Nebraska policy issues. I'd much prefer to see him as governor than Bruning. Bruning - the idealogue that he is - would probably be better off in the house representing the state in its congressional delegation. The only problem with that is that our district is locked up by Jeff Fortenberry, who has also proven to be a very solid representative. Its too bad Bruning can't somehow try and bid for Lee Terry's position.

Lets hope that this weekend was the last touch of winter we'll experience this year. But in addition to this late bout of winter, did you also know that four tornadoes touched down around the state over the weekend?

Not sure whom to vote for? Three local organizations have some suggestions for you:

• Lincoln Independent Business Association
• Lincoln Chamber of Commerce
• Lincoln Neighborhood Alliance

Despite all the griping you might hear locally about Lincoln not being "business-friendly", we must be doing something right: we are the fifth best place for businesses and careers, sez Forbes Magazine.

Three years after we first heard about it, could we finally see development on the block south of the Gold's building currently occupied in its entirety by a parking lot? It's possible. Of course, major Downtown projects have a long, sad history of coming in far (far) below expectations -- or not happening at all -- so forgive me if I don't jump up and down just yet. Still, just for the record, here's what the $45 million project might include:

• A hotel
• 120 residential rental units
• 500-600 vehicle parking facility
• Restaurant/entertainment complex

Not bad, right? I'm particularly intrigued by the fact that the residential units are rentals, rather than owner-occupied units. I suspect there's a very good market for that, especially being right next to the 11th Street bus stop. I'm also generally interested in the fact that the development occurs in the oft-forgotten south side of downtown. It's not on P or Q Street, it's not in the Haymarket, and it's not near Antelope Valley. That makes it a bit of an outcast. Not in a bad way, I don't think. Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers. I will be extraordinarily pleased if digging begins within a year.