Lincolnite

Several Lincoln soccer teams are headed to the State Tournament next week. The brackets aren't available yet, but they should show up later today. Assuming I'm determining wildcard slots correctly, Lincoln's teams in the tournament should include:

• Lincoln East boys
• Lincoln Southeast girls
• Lincoln Southwest boys
• Lincoln Southwest girls (wildcard)
• Lincoln Lutheran boys
• Pius X boys (wildcard)
• Pius X girls

Overall the State Tournament field appears extremely balanced this year. And I really mean that. Nearly all the match-ups fall squarely into the "it could go either way" category. I will be officiating at the State Tournament but I won't announce my game assignments here. I will be at several of the matches (even if I'm not reffing), so if you're at Morrison Stadium let me know and I'll try to find you to say hi. I may even have a free pass or two to hand out.

It's kind of news that Sam's Club plans to build a second store near Walmart at 87th and Highway 2. We've actually seen hints of that for a while, but we can consider it official now. In addition to that, it seems we can consider it official that Costco is coming to Lincoln. The Developer of Appian Way confirmed that both Sam's and Costco were vying to be Walmart's neighbor. That jives with what the rumor mill has been saying for some time. That begs the question, where will Costco build? I have to think that either South 27th or North 84th (in Colleen Seng's favorite shopping center) are the most likely candidates. There's also that big patch near 52nd and O that needs some lovin'. Does that area match Costco's target market, though? Holler if you've heard more recent scuttlebutt. I'm always up for a good rumor.

Mayor Chris Beutler is back for four more years after yesterday's election victory. He pulled in just under 65% of the vote, while Republican Tammy Buffington managed 35%. When you look at Buffington's campaign, 35% is a huge and depressing figure. Poor Ms. Buffington was out-funded, out-prepared, and out-classed at every step of the way. Her campaign was, to put it bluntly, embarrassing. That over one-third of voting Lincolnites think she should lead this city is horrifying. That she was the best candidate local Republicans could come up with is unfortunate. To be clear, I don't intend to pick on Tammy Buffington as a person. She could be delightful and brilliant for all I know. But she sure didn't show any of that during her campaign. Congratulations to Mr. Beutler. Lincolnites have a generally positive attitude these days in part to his leadership on a variety of exciting projects and activities around town. But be aware: there are some rocky times ahead. Beutler faces some nasty budget problems and it's all but certain that we will have to deal with a tax increase, a drastic cut in services, or both. We'll hear more about that reality soon. Prepare for it.

I typically don't give endorsements to political candidates and today is no different. But I do strongly encourage everybody to get out and vote. Today is election day, so go do your thing. Pretty please?

Yesterday was darn near perfect for the Lincoln Marathon and Half-Marathon. It has been said many times but I'll say it again anyway: there were ten thousand participants. Ten thousand! That's crazy, and by crazy I mean really awesome. My mother and sister walked the half-marathon. But to be honest I have a hard time calling their 13:01 pace "walking". I dread the next time I go hiking with those two. They finished in 2:50. Our very own Fletch clocked in at just under 1:52. Good work, Fletch! What do you say about doubling that distance next year? As for me, I was but a mere spectator. I grabbed my donut at Lamar's and watched most of the field go by. Then I hopped on my bike and rode Downtown to see my mom and sister finish. On the way I ran across a bit of a motorist revolt at 10th and K. A woman got out of her car and yelled about her frustrations. A nearby police officer then ... well, "put her in her place" is probably the polite way to describe what happened next. It was a beautiful moment. I tried to snap the woman's photo so that I could shame her here, but she dove back into her car. Most drivers seemed to take the delay in stride. I'm not sure why folks try to drive through the marathon route. It just plain can't be done for much of the morning. And given the amount of press coverage and the electronic warning signs around town nobody can plead ignorance. A friend of mine had the right idea: he went to work two hours early so he would avoid the traffic. That means he was at work at 6am on a Sunday, but you do what you've gotta do. Now then, many folks have been asking me if I'll ever participate in the marathon or half-marathon. I'm about 90% certain I will run the half next year. I would love to run the full but ... well, without going into the oddities of my body I'll just say that I don't think I would live through the experience. The half, though, is doable. I'm normally more of a half-mile kind of guy than a half-marathon so the challenge will be fun. I look forward to training for it. I'll probably run on behalf of a cause so look for me to come begging about eleven months from now. But back to yesterday. Good work to all the participants, and a huge thank you to the event organizers. The Lincoln Marathon is an event we can all be proud of.

OK Lincoln Marathon and Half-Marathon competitors, it's time to make yourselves known. I would love to cheer you on but I need to know who I'm looking for. Which of you are participating this year, and how might I recognize you? I know Fletch is running the half, with a goal time somewhere between 1 and 3 hours (I made that up). My mother is walking the half, trying to keep up with last year's zippy 13:30 pace. As per my annual tradition I will cheer on the runners while eating a donut outside Lamar's at 48th and Pioneers. Yeah, I'm an ornery son of a gun. I just received an email from my mom with this nifty bit of information. Spectators can track participants using this website. Enter in a bib number or name and you can see an estimate of where they are on the course, based on their times at these waypoints:

• 5K (Sheridan Blvd & Lake St)
• 10K (48th & Hwy 2 on bike path)
• 15K (20th & Pawnee St)
• Half (on Salt Creek Roadway just west of 14th St)
• 25K (27th & Capital Parkway)
• 20-Mile (Holmes Lake Park)

In related news, I'm getting closer to deciding to run in next year's half-marathon. It's a year away so a lot can change, but it sure sounds like a fun challenge right now. My body isn't exactly built for distance -- I've always been a 400m - 800m guy -- but I've had some fun on long runs lately. I even ran 15K on Sunday, my farthest run ever. I'm telling y'all this because maybe that will help me to actually follow through with it. As for this year's race, good luck to all the competitors and remember to have fun. To the spectators, come out in droves. And to the drivers ... have patience, and for goodness sake please turn off your engine while you're stuck for an hour. No sense wasting all that gas.

I hear Hot Wok opened recently in Clocktower Shopping Center at 70th and A. I know nothing about it beyond the name, and my google-fu isn't turning up anything. So I turn to you. Do any of you know anything about Hot Wok? Have you tried it? Heck, maybe I'll give it a go for lunch today. Or tomorrow. Or Saturday. Actually, any of the next three days would work for me. I'll be back with an overview-slash-review if I make it there. In the mean time ... who's got the scoop for us?

The Missus and I spent a couple hours last night enjoying good food and good company at Capital City Grill. We participated in a four-course, Titanic-themed meal and wine tasting thanks to an invitation from the Goulds of Pine Crest Farms Bed & Breakfast. (The Goulds own Capital City Grill's building.) There were about 35 people present. We had never been to Capital City Grill before so our only expectations of the food were based on the restaurant's online menu. Last night's menu was based on the last meal served on the Titanic before ... well, you know. The four courses were Oysters Rockafeller; cream of barley soup; sliced sirloin steak with roasted potatoes and creamed sweet carrots; and Waldorf pudding. It was not a meal I normally would have found myself ordering, but that's half the point of a meal like this. My favorite part was the sirloin, but all of the components were excellent. As for the wines, I'm not the guy to ask about their quality or the appropriateness of their pairings. I don't drink alcohol and my knowledge of wine ends at "fish: white; steak: red". Nevertheless, I drank everything served to me last night. Unfortunately -- or rather fortunately from my wallet's perspective -- I was not converted to oenophilia. The wine fans (read: pretty much everyone else) all seemed to dig the offerings. Apparently Capital City Grill features these special themed meals and wine tastings every now and again. I would love to go back, even though I can't quite appreciate the wine component of the evening. Still, I enjoy trying new things, and I love being among adult conversation that doesn't automatically center around our kids' most recent antics. In addition I want to get back to Capital City Grill to try out their regular menu. That'll have to happen on a kid-free evening so it probably won't occur any time soon, but it's on our list. I hear they are putting a lot of effort into evolving their lunch menu so that's an option as well. Have any of you tried Capital City Grill yet, either for their regular menu or for one of these special events?

Candidate for mayor Tammy Buffington features on her website a video and text referencing $720 million worth of "unfunded liabilities" that Lincoln must deal with. She compares that figure to a $15 million budget surplus during Mike Johanns' time as mayor. You can watch the video below: I can't figure out where her $720 million figure comes from. After reading her "Issues" page, I'm not even sure she knows where it comes from. For example she seems to use the words debt and deficit interchangeably. If she makes that fundamental mistake, and if she doesn't provide any accounting of the $720 million, how am I supposed to trust that the number is legit? I expect more -- significantly more -- from somebody who wants to be mayor. Lincoln has plenty of issues to deal with, many of them financial. Ms. Buffington, tell us something we don't know. Like how you prioritize those problems, or specifically what you intend to do about them. And for goodness sake if you're going to throw around a big number like $720 million at least have the common decency to tell us where it came from. Otherwise it is little more than a bogeyman intended to rile up the most gullible voters. Can any of you, dear Lincolnites, determine where Ms. Buffington's $720 million comes from?

Dear Lincoln City Council Candidates and the Republican and Democratic Parties, Knock it off, jackasses. Love, Mr. Wilson

I posted this on Twitter already but I'll repeat it here for those who didn't see it. It seems a Teavana store is going into Gateway on the corner near Dippin' Dots and Things Remembered. I didn't see an opening date, but typically stores at Gateway don't announce their openings all that far in advance. I would think it'll be open within a few weeks or maybe a couple months. Tea is one of those things I've never been able to get into, but at the same time I've never been presented with an opportunity to explore my options. Perhaps Teavana will offer samples. The Gateway location appears to be Teavana's second Nebraska location; the other location is at Westroads in Omaha.