Lincolnite

Today's editorial in the JournalStar starts out pretty difficult to disagree with. Government should be accessible to the people, they say. Bravo! I think we can agree that accessible government is a good thing. But then the editorial goes the other direction. It proposes drastically speeding up the City Council's ordinance-passing process, squishing something that normally takes three meetings into just one. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. It's a common complaint that government is too slow and too messy. But to see the LJS's editors succumb to the "speedy government is good government" fallacy is disappointing. In fact, speed is a substantial threat to quality, accessible, accountable government. Knee-jerk ordinances will cause far more problems than those that have a chance to sit and simmer for a while. Apparently the LJS favors the microwave dinner approach to government; me, I'll take barbecue every time.

I noticed a commercial for The Mill on TV tonight. I'm pretty sure that's the first time I have ever noticed them advertise in any media other than print. Drooping sales? Proactive marketing? As a non-coffee drinker I have no idea what to think. It was just strange seeing a local legend of sorts advertising. I thought, "What are they doing running tv commercials? Everybody knows The Mill!" Which of course any marketer will tell you is a silly think to think.

[tongue in cheek] Does this mean that I scooped the LJS by three months? And to think they didn't even credit me! [/tongue in cheek]

Boy oh boy, who would have believed that an agency as benign as the State Historical Society could be such a wasteland of fraud and waste. They couldn't even get a simple lease right. You have to wonder how that sort of mess can last so long.

LES wants to take less of your money earlier than expected. Any complaints?

Should Nebraska's public power utilities be able to sell broadband to its customers? On the one hand, there are a lot of similarities between internet access today and power last century. On the other, public broadband would put government in direct competition with private companies. Should LES (et al.) be allowed to sell you broadband? Would you buy it from LES if it were available?

The Foster CARE Closet sounds like a great service for foster parents. I had heard vague mentions of the program, but I had no idea how much it had grown. It's a great example of the power of an entrepreneurial spirit combined with the desire to do good.

You know, you've really got to love the pairing of the literal and metaphorical gray skies over Memorial Stadium these past few days, and forecast through the week. It really adds to the mood. Well I, for one, have no desire to wallow in despair. I'm going to go look at puppies.

I got a kick out of reading Hagar the Horrible in today's Journal Star. It's really an awful comic, and today's strip helps demonstrate just how awful it is. In fact, it's so bad, the editor couldn't even be bothered to read the strip to catch a rather obvious error. Well, maybe not that obvious. The Missus didn't catch it, but I think that's only because the strip instantly lulled her to sleep.

If you had to pick today, which of the four West Haymarket proposals would you pick? Why?

The body formerly known as the Lincoln-Lancaster County Women's Commission is back as the Mayor's Commission on Women, a private group no longer receiving local funds. That should take care of one of the biggest critiques against the old Commission, while allowing the group to do the job that many people say still needs to be done. Meanwhile, look for the Journal Star commenters to sarcastically demand that a Mayor's Commission on [insert group name here] be appointed to provide equal time for their favorite snarky cause.

Apparently a crew will be in town filming scenes for an upcoming JIm Carrey movie called Yes Man. The crew will be at Saturday's game against OSU, and they will also shoot around town. Post your sightings here and we'll take some guesses at which parts of Lincoln will appear in the movie.

If you want to know what's proposed for the West Haymarket, check out the open house next Thursday, October 18, at 11:00am to 1:00pm or 5:00pm to 7:00pm. If you're a critic and you plan to go ask questions, here's some advice: make your questions short, specific, and well-researched. Rambling, factually-inaccurate questions are the hallmark of these events, and they're a waste of everybody's time (including yours). If the folks on hand don't have an answer for you, leave your contact information and request a follow-up call or e-mail. If your question is good, you'll get that follow-up call.

I'm a little confused as to how the proposal to tighten the false alarm ordinance will help prevent incidents like the recent Scheel's gun burglary. Let me see if I've got this:

1. A store is broken into and guns are stolen
2. The security company is slow to call the store manager, who is slow to call police, in part to avoid panicking over a false alarm
3. Police respond quickly ... a half hour too late
4. Police and others respond by proposing an ordinance that makes similar slow responses more likely in the future

How's that again? Don't get me wrong. I'm sure false alarms are a pain in the butt, and they're very expensive to me as a taxpayer. I want to eliminate false alarms. I just don't get how a situation that highlights the problems inherent in trying to prevent false alarms is a poster child for tighter false alarm penalties. Instead, in my mind the Scheel's burglary raises questions about a company's liability when it hires morons to provide security. That's the issue that needs to be addressed. As for a false alarm poster child, how about the business which has already had 37 false alarms this year?

Lovers of Indian food, a new option is coming to town. The Peacock is opening at 27th and Pine Lake, among Starbucks, Chipotle, and Quiznos. Given its neighbors I've got to guess that The Peacock is part of a chain, but I can't find any "Peacock"-themed websites that match the look of the logo on the restaurant's window. Given the work left to be done on the interior, I'd guess a December opening.