Lincolnite

I need some dirt. I'm not sure how much dirt I want to bring in, but I think I'm going to start with 10 or 12 yards. That ought to give me plenty to play with for now. The standard supplier for such things seems to be GE Landscape Supply. Can anybody recommend anyone else? I could also use a backhoe. I need to get rid of the remnants of a stump, and I think my only two remaining options are (1) heavy machinery, and (2) dynamite. As much as I would love to go for option #2, I think #1 is probably going to win out. I don't suppose any of you own a backhoe, do you? I suppose it would be pressing my luck even more to hope that you work for beer and pizza...

Lincoln soccer fans have one team left in the NSAA State Soccer Tournament. The boys from Pius X will play in the Class B final at 6:00pm tomorrow. The Pius X girls and Lincoln Southeast girls were both bumped in the semis. The Pius X boys are considered by some to be the best boys team in the state this year, though any comparison across classes is difficult. Even if they are, that doesn't mean they're a shoo-in to win tomorrow. This season has been chock full of upsets and surprising outcomes, and the State Tournament has been no different. Ask the Omaha South or Millard West boys, for example. The two girls finals are tonight at 6:00pm and 8:00pm at Morrison Stadium on the Creighton campus. The boys finals are tomorrow night. Morrison Stadium is a beautiful complex and the weather should be excellent for both participants and spectators. If you're a soccer fan, I encourage you to make the short drive up to Omaha to watch what should turn out to be four good, competitive matches.

I noticed that Mike Johanns received a big endorsement today: The Lincoln Journal Star. Johanns is probably a shoo-in to replace Chuck Hagel this year. On NET Television's Campaign Connection 08, his performance was, in my opinion, the best as well. Having said that, I'd like to see more from Scott Kleeb. Johanns has a big advantage because he is very familiar to Nebraskans, and many will vote for him based on the level of comfort for him that already exists. No one knows much about Kleeb except that he is fresh, good-looking, and part of the Obama phenomenon. Should Kleeb get the democrat nomination, many will look forward to a Johanns-Kleeb debate.

Drat, I missed the one-year anniversary of the announcement that Lincoln Synergy Group had been chosen as the developer for the $180 million "Catalyst One" project at 14th and P. One year ago April 25th, then-Mayor Colleen Seng made the announcement. Since that time ... well, not much has happened. Folks involved with the project have been very, very quiet. Hopefully that means they're hard at work hammering out plans that'll really blow our socks off. Hopefully.

In a bit of good news for supporters of the proposed new County jail, the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the the financing plan. (They specifically did not take a position on whether or not the jail is necessary.) Voters will have their say next Tuesday. County officials have done a really, really lousy job selling this project to taxpayers. The land purchase was ugly. Early cost estimates were ugly. Nobody bothered to consult the Sheriff in the early stages. And so on. Now, County officials have made it clear that voters either approve the financing mechanism on Tuesday, or the County will go behind voters' backs and build the jail anyway while relying on financing that isn't as taxpayer-friendly. With all of those negatives swirling around it, what positives does the jail have going for it?

Texas Roadhouse is coming soon to Apple's Way, the new development at 62nd and Highway 2 that features Lowe's as its anchor. That'll be the fourth barbecue joint within a mile of my house. (The other three are Paul's, Smokehouse Deli, and Skeeter Barnes, with Famous Dave's just a bit farther.) The Lincoln location will be Texas Roadhouse's second Nebraska location. The first is in Omaha. The Wilsons are crossing our fingers that the restaurant will open by mid-June so that we can mark the second anniversary of our trip to the location in Methuen, Massachusetts. You might recall that two years ago we were in the Boston area for ten days waiting for Robbie's adoption paperwork to go through. I can't say I remember much about the restaurant. I do recall that Robbie slept on the table the entire time, and periodically the staff would crank up the volume on the stereo and line dance to a particular country song (I don't remember which one). When Texas Roadhouse does open, expect it to be packed. It's just the sort of place that Lincolnites will eat up (so to speak).

Rob "Wasabi Robbie" Burns dropped by to leave a few comments on a post from April to give us some updates about happenings at his restaurant. I will repost one of his comments here:

We are now open 7 nights a week. Evenings are more dependable for business. I work everyday of the week. EVERYDAY. Anyone else really do that? I need the less busy daytimes on MTW to do paperwork, respond to gossip, and continue upgrades, etc. We will be opening for six lunches (M-S) when I can get dependable daytime help (i.e. my teenage girls to work the front end.) Anyone have experience employing young people or “downtowners” these days. Ask any downtown restaurant operator… Regarding fresh fish, food quality, etc.: We are the only Japanese restaurant in town that JAPANESE people will eat. Ask any of them. ANY. Weather it is Kawasaki personnel or students, or other people. REAL Japanese food is not fancy. Fresh Fish is a matter of management. This is much more difficult than producing sushi. Teaching new personnel who have never been to Japan about the taste, presentation, simple aesthetics is hard. It is more than sandwiches and hamburgers.... Thanks for your interest and concern. We are still alive, and actually doing better a few months ago. The simple move of a few blocks cost us about 35% of our business. People don’t know where we are, and the university staff, faculty haven’t been able to make it the extra blocks during the past cold winter. Hopefully that will change. Thanks again.

There you have it. Wasabi is still open and chugging along.

Windstream today is holding an event Downtown at Centennial Mall and M Street to showcase its new fastest-in-town 12 Mbps DSL service. The world’s fastest talker, comedian Fran Capo, 37, of Putnam Valley, NY, will emcee the event and will be accompanied by the following:

• Kent French, 46, of Rapid City, S.D., the World’s Fastest Clapper, holding the record of 721 claps in one minute
• Nicky Shane, 47, of Santa Barbara, Calif., the World’s Fastest Harmonica Player, who has been playing since he was 18 and has a plethora of skills as an entertainer
• Mary McVeigh, 26, of Northampton, Mass., the World’s Fastest Juggler, who has been juggling for 14 years and averages 100 soccer ball juggles on her foot in 30-seconds

KTGL will also be on hand broadcasting live. I know I could go for a little 12 Mbps action, but according to Windstream's website the fastest service I can get here at 625 Elm Street is 3 Mbps. Apparently the new speed is either only available in certain areas, or the website hasn't been updated to reflect its availability. The website is also fuzzy about the price. All of the broadband services 1.5 Mbps and faster are available for $20 per month for the first six months. I haven't been able to talk the website into letting me know the price after the six month trial period. (If you figure it out, let me know.)

Matt Olberding has posted a few pieces of information about goings-on in Antelope Valley. Two of the items aren't very exciting, but the third is potentially a big deal for getting Antelope Valley's redevelopment off the ground. The City's Capital Improvement Plan includes $6 million worth of TIF funds for a large office development near 20th and R. Rumors have been swirling that Assurity Life Insurance Co. is looking to build there. Could Assurity be the first big project among the City's hoped-for $750 million worth of private investment in Antelope Valley?

If you like to watch a good online spat, you might want to keep an eye on this Journal Star article about a temporary lull in local abortions. That sort of bait is just far too enticing for the trolls to pass up.

The last public forum for budget-related discussions is tomorrow night at Lincoln High, from 6:00 to 8:00pm. If you have something to say, it's an excellent chance to be heard. I've been told that one of the recent public meetings only had 11 participants. That's an annoyingly low number, but it isn't all that surprising. There are an awful lot of people in this town who seem to enjoy grumbling, but not in the fora where their voices can very directly be heard. It is a very frustrating problem for City officials. Then again, Lincoln's officials haven't exactly bred trust in this sort of process over the years. Take the Comprehensive Plan public meetings from a few years ago. I closely followed the Plan creation process. It was very disappointing to see how few of the public's specific suggestions made their way into the final product. The process felt designed to simulate a participatory atmosphere, rather than actually being participatory. Maybe that's (part of) the reason why more people haven't taken the opportunity to be active in helping to shape the next budget. Or maybe many people are realists, and they know that the thing they most want axed from the budget simply isn't going to be cut. Indeed, there are lots of budget items that will stick around, whatever the public's opinion of them. For example, many items are required by Federal law. In other cases, the public is screaming to "cut the fat", but the budget item is already down to skin and bones. Or maybe folks are waiting around for the next LPS budget meeting. After all, Mayor Beutler has all but said, "They're the ones taking most of your property tax dollar. Quit picking on us and give the folks at LPSDO a good grilling!"

Boy oh boy, what a beautiful day yesterday for a Marathon, no? It almost made me wish I was out there running. Then I remembered that if I actually tried to run a marathon, it would probably kill me. Literally. That sort of takes the fun out of the whole thing. Instead of running, I spent the day working outside. I mowed, played in the garden and cleaned out the garage. My big project was tearing out a rock pathway I had put in a couple years ago. Unfortunately, I put it in very, very poorly. Redoing it will probably take two more weekends, but it will be worth it to have a new path that doesn't look so terrible. We finished up the day with a trip to Lee's, which was packed. Then we hopped across the street to the ice cream stand, followed by a quick trip through Pioneers Park to see the bison. How was your weekend?

Hi folks, sorry there weren't any new posts waiting for you this morning. I began working with a new outfit last week and, well, they've been keeping me busy. Here are some quick bits for the lunch hour:

• Kohl's is coming in October to 27th and Yankee Hill
• City government offices are now BYOBW (bring your own bottled water). Let's be sure not to spend the $9,000 we'll save all in one place.
• Several Lincoln high school teams will be in Omaha next week for the State Soccer Tournament. I'll be there too, so sorry, no commentary from me about the teams.
• The Lincoln Marathon is Sunday morning! I will probably watch parts of it from the area of 48th and Highway 2. If you plan to drive anywhere between Capital Parkway, Highway 2, 9th Street and 70th Street, you had best give yourself plenty of time.