Lincolnite

At first I was going to play the world's tiniest violin for these tailgaters who will soon lose their party space to a new hotel, retail stores, etc. In the battle between "people getting drunk and fat" and "real economic development", I've got to take the latter. But not so fast. Tailgating is an important part of the game day experience, and a good game day experience is, in a very real way, important to Lincoln's economy. So while I'm most certainly not going to support holding up development efforts just so we can keep a few empty parking lots for use seven times each year, Lincoln really ought to think about what we can do to improve game day. Which brings me to... Centennial Mall, which just happens to be a hot topic these days. It's not as close to Memorial Stadium as would be ideal, but it's not too far away. Can I get an amen on at least considering how we might use Centennial Mall to boost the Husker game day experience?

Presumably LPS is going to have to carefully ration its nickels and dimes as state aid will probably drop after the legislature does its business. Which begs the question: What should LPS cut? And don't just yell out "There's too much bureaucracy! Cut the red tape!" That's lazy and lame. There may well be too many administrative costs, but specifically which administrative costs are excessive? Which administrative costs should be cut? Should salaries be slashed? Positions eliminated? Entire departments be scrapped? It all sounds easy until you remember that much of the bureaucratic nightmare that is modern public education is required by state and/or federal requirements. I have quietly lobbied for a few years now against public school athletics programs. Don't get me wrong, I think athletic activity and team participation is hugely important for kids. I just don't think it belongs in schools. Fully explaining the transition process and what sports teams would look like ten years from now is beyond the scope of this post, but let's just say I think it's doable. It's not an ideal solution -- the status quo is not ideal either -- but it would certainly save a lot of taxpayer dollars. So being as specific as you can be, what would you cut?

I'm still not sure it was worth the expense -- I'll be happy to be proven wrong -- but today will mark the grand opening of the "big X" roadway of the Antelope Valley Project. It's a huge milestone made all the cooler by the fact that it's 9 months early. Between this and the announcement that the flood management portion of the project is 99% complete, we're finally getting to a point where we can aaaaalmost see the light at the end of the tunnel. Then we'll really discover what a quarter billion bucks bought us.

While reading about the woman chosen to design the new Sheldon, I couldn't help but notice that there's often a disconnect between the sort of architecture that architects and artists love, and the sort that average Joes love. It's not a perfect relationship -- some buildings are universally reviled as ugly, while others are (nearly) universally loved for their beauty. But there's definitely some kind of relationship there. I suppose that's true of all art. There are plenty of famous artistic works that few average Joes would fawn over if they didn't know they were supposed to fawn over them. The Mona Lisa comes to mind. In any event, I can't wait for the new museum's design to be revealed. I predict Lincolnites will be aghast at the site of it. "It's completely contradictory to the Haymarket's character!" they (we?) will shout. The letters to the editor in the Journal Star will be filled with diatribes about the pointlessness of contemporary art, and then by counter-diatribes about the boorish, backwards ways of Nebraskans (and so on). It will be quite a show. Come to think of it, I'm going to be devastated if the designers have come up with something that doesn't offend at least a few sensibilities. Arguably they will have failed if they don't stir up at least a tiny tempest. You must have to be a bit of a sadomasochist to be a prominent architect; you've got to be willing to piss off others and you must be willing and able to take the resulting heat. That sounds like the start of some grad student's dissertation.

OK, I don't actually need my bathroom "pimped", but we are looking for a nice remodel. Our bathroom has been an eyesore since we moved into this house. We're finally going to do something about it. Can you help The Wilsons find a good person (or people) to do the work? Our to-do list includes:

• Install a shower head (currently just a bathtub)
• New bathtub
• Possibly tile the shower. Or we may just go with a surround. We haven't decided.
• Remove a half wall thingy and move the electrical outlet that's currently on it.
• New cabinet.
• New lights.
• New toilet.
• New flooring.
• New paint.

So yeah, that covers just about everything. We won't necessarily have a pro do all the work, though. I can handle painting walls and putting in a toilet, for example. But if somebody wants to do it all and the price is right, then they can have it. Actually, except for putting in a shower I could probably do all the work myself. And I may. But frankly it's probably more economical for a guy like me to recognize my weaknesses and thus to hire out most of the work. Our budget is modest but realistic, and the bathroom is fairly small. This isn't some sort of marquee job involving renovating an 800 square foot master bath. Just a nice simple job. If you know of somebody -- whether a company or an individual -- who might be interested (and who would like the publicity of being seen here), please leave a comment. Or I can be contacted directly at mrwilson at lincolnite dot com. Thanks for the help, folks!

Yesterday my father and I discussed the new hardware store that's slated to open in the former Hy-Vee at 40th and Old Cheney. We began talking about all the hardware stores that have come and gone over the years in south Lincoln. We came up with a pretty sizable list. But one hardware store stumped us. What was the name of the hardware store that used to be located in Briarhurst Plaza where Earl May and Dietze Music (and a couple other businesses) currently reside? Was it an Ace? True-Value? Baker's? Something else? Oddly enough we were able to take ourselves on a virtual tour through the old store -- we covered everything from the location of the key-making machine to the distinctive hardware store smell -- but we couldn't come up with the name. Help! And while you're at it, feel free to reminisce about hardware stores around town that stick in your mind. Edited to add: I should clarify that I'm not talking about the most recent hardware store tenant. I'm talking about the hardware store that was there around the mid- to late-80's. Maybe the most recent hardware store (True Value) was just a slimmed down version of the old store, but I was thinking they were different animals.

If all of the projects proposed for Downtown Lincoln actually happen -- and that's a big fat if -- Lincoln is really going to look different ten years from now. Consider:

• Lincolnites will vote on a new arena and associated projects next spring;
• Other Haymarket projects, including a hotel project actively moving forward, are also in the works;
• A combination retail, parking, hotel, and apartment project at 10th and M, first discussed several years ago, now appears to be making progress;
• A property owner near 13th and L wants to open his land for redevelopment (though he isn't in any hurry);
• The Catalyst One block is back in the news with two developers interested;
• Let's not forget about Antelope Valley to the east which, if City officials are correct, should start paying dividends over the next ten years;
• And of course there's Innovation Campus to the north.

Is all of that stuff going to happen? Not likely, if history is any indication. At least not as currently proposed. But the sheer number of relatively big projects in the pipeline is encouraging. Also encouraging to me is that two of the proposals are in south Downtown. South Downtown hasn't seen a whole lot of love in recent years. But surely it has plenty of potential; with the capitol to the east, local government to the south, and The Cornhusker to the west, there are lots of opportunities for growth. (I still think we should have more seriously examined the possibility of putting the arena in the area.) But beyond the benefits to that local area, how about the possibility that investment in south Downtown could gradually benefit the neighborhood nearby? I'm really stretching by this point, but wouldn't it be great to see some of those old houses and apartments get some serious fix-me-up treatment? In any event, the Downtown area seems well poised to take advantage of the post-recession recovery. I'm crossing my fingers.

Maybe it has been there for a while, but just this morning I noticed some new commenting guidelines on the Journal Star's website:

Keep it clean. Avoid language that is obscene, vulgar, lewd or sexually-oriented. If you can't control yourself, don't post it. Don't threaten to hurt or kill anyone. Be truthful. Don't lie about anyone or anything. Be nice. No racism, sexism or any other sort of -ism that degrades another person. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK, and forgive people their spelling errors. Let us know if it's getting out of hand. Please use the "Report Abuse" button on offensive comments. Share what you know, ask about what you don't. Give us your eyewitness accounts, background, observations and history. What more do you want to know about the story? Stay focused, and ask questions. Keep on the story's topic. And remember - don't feed the trolls.

How sad is it that they have to post an elementary school-style list like that? I suppose it's even sadder that it probably won't help.

I was up late last night (and early this morning) finishing up a new homepage for UNL Summer Sessions. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. My colleague Josh Heyer did the design and I did the HTML, CSS, and just a touch of javascript. I also snuck in a little easter egg. Can you find it?

Oh so that's how they are going to keep water in the new Antelope Creek channel:

We think there's enough water coming down Antelope Creek year-round to keep a fresh flow in there. But if we need to supplement it, there are wells we can put into it or we can release water from Holmes Lake.

It sure feels like cheating to suck water out of a well just to keep water in the creek. But at least there's a plan to keep all this from turning into a dry ditch, right? It's a little difficult to believe that after all these years the end of the Antelope Valley Project is in site. The flood control portion is practically finished, and the roads will be finished in a couple years. Now, can we please get started on that beltway?

In Omaha earlier today I stopped by the Costco on 120th and Dodge near Millard to stock up on a 6-months supply of shampoo and toilet paper. As Mr. Wilson noted a few weeks ago, it does seem as if Costco will be coming to the LNK. A staff member told me that they have indeed purchased the land here in town. But that doesn't mean we will be swimming in tanker-sized tubs of salsa soon. The staff member also told me that it took them quite a while to get the Millard store built and running, and it might be the same case with the one here. But I would think if they purchased the land they would start building soon. Putting a Costco in town seems to be a great idea because given their reputation, it will definitely draw folks from GI, York, and other communities around and west of Lincoln. I have never been in a Sam's before, but from people I know who have been in both, the majority say Costco is superior. This is good news.

One of the things I really like about State Auditor Mike Foley is his willingness to engage in large-scale public shamings of government agencies. The latest victim: the University of Nebraska and its employees' use and abuse of NU credit cards. Great stuff. In this specific situation it doesn't matter if there are good explanations for many of the purchases or if private funds reimbursed the state. There are oodles of forbidden practices -- such as "pyramiding" charges to avoid spending limits -- that needed to be caught regardless of the legitimacy of the items purchased. Auditing has to be one of the blandest tasks out there. I'm glad Foley's office brings a little spice to the job.

Many of you will surely say "I told you so!" to this: The Downtown D'Leon's has closed. A sign on the door says it will soon reopen with a new owner. It wasn't made clear if that meant it would reopen as a D'Leon's under different management, or if it would open as an entirely new restaurant. D'Leon's very quickly went from a must-visit, locally-owned Mexican restaurant to the sort of place that generates nary a bit of excitement. There are still plenty of locations around town but clearly the tide has turned. Hopefully the business levels out a bit as opposed to completely imploding.