Lincolnite

The State is officially closing its doors, as first reported over on Star City Scene. Drat. The State's unique approach to showing movies sounded great when it first opened, but the venue never caught on with Lincolnites. Even adding a variety of other events -- concerts, comedians, and so on -- couldn't save it. Who wants to take the next try at that location?

Yeah yeah, the economy is in the pooper. What what better time to build a new arena? No, seriously. Better we plan this thing in lean times because it will help keep our plans humble. If we can make a big project work in lean times, it'll soar when we're fat and sassy. Fortunately, the Huskers are on board. We have Tom Osborne's word. I'm not sure next spring's vote would have passed if Osborne had committed to fixing up Devaney. Actually, even now I'm not nearly as confident in the vote today as I was a few months ago. I think it will pass, but that could easily change if bad local news were to emerge in the spring. Two additional Haymarket-related notes. First, have you seen the latest renderings of the arena and surroundings? Slick! Second, there's talk of moving events like Ribfest down to the arena. For general festivals and events that's great, but for something like Ribfest that's a perfectly good way to kill the lunch crowd. I wonder what proportion of Ribfest's business comes from lunch?

The Huskers may not be aiming for a national championship in football this year, but plenty of other Nebraska schools are in the playoffs. Wayne State, Chadron State, and UNO are all the beneficiaries of former Husker coach Bill Callahan's unwillingness to recruit in-state and continue the storied walk-on program. Go Nebraska!

How many of you read Mayor Beutler's piece in Sunday's Journal Star? If you haven't read it already, it's worth a few minutes of your time. The piece is too short -- likely for space reasons -- but it contains some interesting segments. In fact, Mayor Beutler appears to concede several points to critics of the Antelope Valley Project. For example:

• On money: "By not offering clear explanations of the numbers up front, the public became justifiably skeptical about cost management."
• On $200+ tour guides: "[I]t’s important to recognize that expertise needs to match the task to save money."
• On misleading promises: "Government must be more careful about expectations and clearly communicate ALL the possibilities."

Perhaps even more notably, Mayor Beutler acknowledged that Phase II of the project won't happen any time soon: "Phase II of the project will have to wait until we address other pressing needs, such as road building and infrastructure development to encourage future growth." That line surprised Deena Winter; for me, it was a tremendous relief to read those words. Many pieces of the Antelope Valley Project are "nice to haves", not "must haves". Meanwhile, high-priority projects around town are suffering. Phase II of the AVP includes projects that are even farther from "must have" status. We could shelve them for a decade and few people would miss them. I hope we begin to see some real changes from City Hall following the publication of this piece. Mayor Beutler will need to take a proactive approach if he wants to ensure the upcoming arena vote goes his way.

You auto racing fans may be interested to know that Lincoln has been chosen as the site of the 2009 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships. The event will be held in September at Airpark. I have to admit I have never heard of the SCCA. Who are they?

Since 1944, SCCA [Sports Car Club of America] has championed one mission: To bring motorsports to the masses of American men and women who are passionate about automobiles, speed and competition. From National Championships to regional events, whether professional or amateur, we exist to organize, support and develop auto racing at every level and provide an outlet for you to get out of the armchair and into the action. So, whether your passion is autocrossing, rallying or road racing as a professional or as a weekend warrior, SCCA wants to help you fuel your passion.

Mark your calendars.

I've often felt that one of the great things about Lincoln is that we are a very unpretentious city as far as fashion and everyday dress goes. This is based on anecdotal experiences and observations of folks around town. But now there is further evidence:

America’s capital of cosmetic surgery is San Francisco — not Los Angeles — and Sacramento ranks No. 3, according to the September issue of Men’s Health Magazine. Honolulu is second and Los Angeles trails at No. 48, ranked on a per-capita basis by factoring in regional rates for common procedures and culling information from plastic surgeons, cosmetic dentists and people who admitted treatment. Residents of Lincoln, NE. apparently like themselves the way they are; the metro area comes in dead last at No. 100.

Pretty cool eh?

The last of the six persons wrongfully convicted in the 1985 Helen Wilson murder has been freed. Now what? I'm certain we will hear from the six soon enough in the form of lawsuits against the State. After all, Attorney General Jon Bruning and others have stated quite clearly that this miscarriage of justice was no simple accident. Rather, government agents bullied and lied in order to gain convictions. Shame on them. Six people paid for their sins with their freedom, while you and I will no doubt pay out of our pockets. But there's an even larger issue here. There is no way this is the only case of wrongful conviction in Nebraska. And I'm not just talking about cases in which reasonable people may have come to an incorrect -- but defensible -- conclusion. No, it's a near certainty that there are people sitting in jail right now who not only did not commit the crimes for which they were convicted, but who were convicted thanks to misconduct on the part of their accusers. The question we have to ask ourselves is: What are we going to do about it? I'm not intimating that the problem is widespread in Nebraska. I only suspect the number of such cases is greater than zero; beyond that, I couldn't begin to guess. (We are nowhere near the standards of Texas justice, for example.) Yet one failure of justice is one too many, especially if the State is in a position to do anything about it. I would be tickled to see Nebraska initiate a program to more actively pursue and remedy wrongful convictions (not to mention preventing them in the first place). And to head off the straw man arguments, no, that doesn't mean giving everybody a new trial or permitting unlimited appeals. How should Nebraska apologize to the six wrongfully convicted persons in the Helen Wilson case? What steps can we take to prevent future wrongful convictions and to remedy the mistakes already made?

My dad is 60 years young today. I can hardly believe it. It wasn't all that long ago that age 60 was firmly in the "old" category in my mind. But these days, watching my dad ref soccer and play with his grandkids, 60 just doesn't seem as old as it used to. If you happen to know my dad, be sure to wish him a happy birthday today.

University Place residents are celebrating the November 18 opening of Heartland Pantry, Hy-Vee's new small-store concept that replaces the former Hy-Vee at 48th and Leighton. It's a fun story: The store the neighborhood had come to rely on packed its bags and headed a few miles down the road. Nearby residents fear for their neighborhood, so they rally the troops and engage in a campaign to save their strip mall. Regional corporation hears their cries and decides to use the location as the first location for a brand new store concept. It's the stuff of Disney, I tell ya. In other Uni Place news, I noticed that El Chaparro is now located just south of 48th and Leighton. I assume that's the same El Chaparro as the hole-in-the-wall at 13th and F. How long has it been there? I've driven up and down 48th Street several times this fall, but Saturday was the first time I really paid attention to the sign. That building has held so many restaurants over the past few years that I can never keep track of what's in there.

Now that Nebraskans have outlawed affirmative action programs, lots of changes will need to be made to programs throughout the state. Maybe. There's still a chance that a lawsuit questioning the validity of some petition signatures. If those signatures are declared invalid, it will be like the vote never happened. Except the vote did happen. Nebraskans want AA dead, that much is certain. If the vote is wiped out, Nebraskans won't be happy. The petition process should free be from shenanigans. The lawsuit should go forward and any law-breakers should be punished. If necessary, there should be a new vote. But if Tuesday's vote is wiped out, it will only delay the inevitable. In the process, it'll hork off a sizeable chunk of the state and we'll just have to go through this all over again. I can't imagine a second vote will come out any closer.

As a state Senator, I was a bit of an admirer of Ernie Chambers. I can't say I'm a fan of his current role as litigant and appellant. I can't wait to see what trouble Mr. Chambers stirs up once he is officially out of office.

I've made three trips to Omaha in the past three days. Why do drivers insist on camping in the center lane on the 3-lane portions of I-80?

State Auditor Mike Foley has turned into a bit of a folk hero of late. Now there's talk he may get involved in Lincoln's Antelope Valley Project, either by invitation or on his own volition. I can't help but think his input would be welcomed by a substantial number of Lincolnites. If he were to conduct an audit, and if he were to issue a mostly positive report, it might give the City a small boost going into next year's arena vote. But if he were to issue a negative report ... Well, I suspect we'd hear a few discouraging words from a whole host of folks.

There's a reasonable chance that Barack Obama won Nebraska's District 2 (Omaha), meaning that for the first time in history, Nebraska's electoral vote could be split. Sure, one electoral vote isn't much, but it's still a big deal. It is a big deal because Nebraska gained attention from the two major party candidates during the election. And it's a big deal because Republican state politicians may soon take steps to ensure it never happens again. I have never liked the all-or-nothing approach to electoral vote distribution. Those who like the system used by most states tend to be those who benefit most from it -- Republicans in Nebraska, for example, and Democrats in California. But on what grounds? Surely not on fairness or justice grounds. The current system is far from the principle of "one man, one vote". Perhaps on the grounds that "to the winner go the spoils". But the winner of what? The definition of the parameters of the contest -- and thus, the definition of "winner" -- is an arbitrary act. If we aren't going to abide by "one man, one vote", we ought to at least prefer rules that keep us close to that principle. How do you like Nebraska's (and Maine's) system? Is it fair? Right? Should we keep it? Or perhaps we ought to scrap the Electoral College altogether?