Lincolnite

Another day, another car dealership moves to Lincoln's edge. This time Meginnis Ford is moving from its home at 66th and Q to 33rd and Yankee Hill. That places nearly all of Lincoln's new car buying options near one end or the other of 27th Street. I suppose that's a good thing from a shopper's perspective. But from a neighborhood beauty perspective ... yuck. Car dealerships have always seemed unsightly to me. They can be a real turnoff to my perception of an area. Maybe it's just me. Let's say Meginnis's current location will be up for grabs for absolutely anything once the dealership moves. What should happen with that space?

If you're looking for Star City Shores and you ask Google to help get you there, you're going to be hugely disappointed (click to see a larger version)

Some people see government as an extension of "us". Others see it as some sort of external "them". And of course there are plenty of folks who have it both ways depending on the circumstances. Lincolnites apparently viewed the City as "them" when we decided to make the City responsible for sidewalk repair. Until that time homeowners were responsible for the maintenance. Trouble is, we didn't really gain very much. What we saved in direct costs to individual homeowners we now pay in taxes and inferior sidewalk conditions around the community. Which brings me to Dale Gardner, the squeaky wheel profiled by Deena Winter in today's LJS. He rightly points out that there are many sidewalks in his neighborhood that need repair. He thus complained to the City. And the City ... well, they haven't done a whole lot. Why not? Money. There isn't nearly enough money in the budget to fix all of the sidewalks that need to be fixed. And who is to blame for that? Got a mirror handy? I'm sure we could probably find some efficiencies that could save a couple thousand dollars here and there. Great, let's go recoup that money. But it still doesn't come close to closing the funding gap. So how do we address this unfunded mandate we've given to the City? Do we shift the burden back to homeowners? Give the City an influx of cash to address the issue? Give up and gradually allow the sidewalks to deteriorate?

I don't know where the best location is to locate a proposed Haymarket parking garage, but destroying a perfectly viable business like Barry's (9th and Q) sure doesn't sound like a good idea. Barry's is a bit of a landmark. A parking garage? Not quite the same. One of the "down sides" to the leading location -- south of the Creamery Building -- is that it isn't central to the Haymarket action. I don't see how that's a bad thing. Parking should be on the periphery. Core locations in the Haymarket should be filled with businesses, museums, and open space. Besides, one would think having a parking garage outside the center of activity would be a boon to the City's slightly goofy trolley or streetcar vision. Anyway, it's great that we're already having to think about a new parking garage. The Haymarket garage on 9th Street wasn't built very long ago. Likewise the Market Place garage on 10th Street. That we're having to think about this again already is good news for Downtown.

The City didn't get all 50 feet it wanted, but the developers of a hotel / apartment / parking garage project around 10th and M did offer up 30 feet which was good enough for the City Council. To that I say: fantastic! There remains quite a bit of work to be done before the first dirt is turned, and as we learned with Catalyst One -- aka Project Blacktop -- it ain't over 'til the building is built. But this is a step forward rather than a step back. I'll take it. Incidentally, it's great to see some development Downtown south of O Street. Other than the big church renovation a few years back -- I always forget the name of that church -- south Downtown doesn't seem to get much love. And yet there are plenty of opportunities for growth there.

• I've been fighting a cough for ... what's it been, 10 days now? Yeesh. It's much better now -- I don't have to throw my entire body into the effort any more. Unfortunately, I coughed so hard last week that on Saturday morning I woke up with a badly pulled muscle in my back. So what did I do? I went and reffed three soccer matches over the weekend. Yesterday's match in Omaha was particularly ow-inducing. I should treat my body better.
• I missed most of Saturday's Husker football game. Was there really booing directed at the home team? Sometimes I really hate Nebraska's "fans".
• The Missus and I took Robbie to Where the Wild Things Are on Sunday afternoon. It was a gamble. We had done our research and we knew that Robbie, at 3.5 years old, might not "get" it. He didn't. Nevertheless, I'm glad we went. I thought the movie was excellent. It is a daring interpretation of Maurice Sendak's book, respecting the original work while creating in its own right a new and memorable story about childhood. Not everybody was a fan. The mom and two kids behind us (ages 8 and 10, roughly) summed it up thusly: "That was stupid". I can understand why a person would not like the movie, but stupid it is not; that all three concurred with the "stupid" assessment says far more about the culture of their household than it does about the movie.

What did you do this weekend?

Planning to go to or come from Downtown next Friday? Has Star Tran got a deal for you! Next Friday bus rides are free. Climb aboard!

It's not really clear to me if Mike Johanns was in the right to torpedo $300 million in federal highway funds. It sounds to me like he was in the right. The $300 million would have come from TARP funds. Yes TARP, the funds that were supposed to help banks. Not that the disconnect between the intended target for funds and the actual target slows down Congress's spending very often. Democrats think he was foolish, obviously. Vic Covalt says "When given the chance ... Mike Johanns sided with Wall Street and against Main Street Nebraska". It's not clear to me where Wall Street comes into this discussion, but whatever. It's a very short quote extracted from its context. Who knows what he was getting at. So I ask you folks. Was Johanns right to display some fiscal principles? Principles are a rare, rare sight in Congress. On the other hand Johanns (allegedly) singlehandedly hosed Nebraska out of more than $60 million. Expensive principles.

Jack Mitchell has a good round-up of the latest arena news after attending a presentation by Dan Marvin. One part of his summary caught my attention:

The final component in that formula is state aid, which will come from the turnback tax, which allows the state sales tax on all new hotel/motel rooms within 450 yards of the arena to be turned back to the city over the course of 25 years. The city will be counting on collections of about $25 million dollars from state aid, and they will back it up with a general obligation bond. That’s where we, the voters, come into play. That bond needs to be authorized by a vote of the citizens. The people I’ve talked to associated with the project and in the city’s finance department are very confident that bond can be retired in short order with only the turnback tax, but if there were problems, the city would have to come up with the money to repay that bond in full. Again, everyone involved seems to be very confident that won’t be a problem.

This confidence is exactly the sort of thing Lincoln's voters need to ask questions about as we move forward. Lots and lots of questions. "It won't be a problem" isn't good enough. We need to demand plenty of hard data, optimistic and worst-case projections, and so on. We need to be sure we won't find ourselves in a heap of trouble if, say, we happen to go through another recession or two while we're trying to pay off the arena. To be clear, I'm not saying Dan Marvin should have included all that data in his presentation. You don't want to put people to sleep at a luncheon. We just need to be certain that at some point these answers are put on paper.

Chief Casady takes a look at pumpkin-related crime in Lincoln. The most surprising finding? Pumpkin crime is highest in south and east Lincoln. Whodathunkit? The easiest way to guard your gourds is to keep them indoors at night. But that can get annoying. I wonder if there's a good way to boobytrap pumpkins with mouse traps. Or maybe you could toss in one of those exploding dye packs they use at banks. Hmm, if I had the time and the inclination I think I could come up with all sorts of devious anti-pumpkin thief contraptions. Too bad I have to, like, get work done.

A little birdie dropped me a note today with a few interesting tidbits:

1. The first is half old news and half verification of an all-but-confirmed rumor: Staples (old news) and CVS (confirmed rumor) will soon be built at 48th and O. Let all of the 48th & O jokes and complaints begin.
2. The second rumor is so mind-bogglingly insane I have an extremely difficult time believing it could be true. But heck, it's hump day so why not? OK, ready? The rumor is that Costco, Cheesecake Factory and PF Changs are all going to locate near the Kohl's on 27th and Yankee Hill. I know, I know, the mere notion of three of Lincoln's most wanteds arriving in the same place is enough to send the city into a collective state of euphoria. If it actually happens ... well, good luck fighting your way through that traffic. If you thought the wait at Famous Dave's was long when it first opened... Anyway, I wouldn't publish this if it weren't for the fact that all three of these businesses have been rumored to be looking at various locations in Lincoln for a few years. If there was any truth to that earlier buzz, then there's at least a chance this latest buzz could be true (in whole or in part). On the other hand, this could just be more wishful thinking that turned "Wouldn't it be great if those places opened on South 27th?" into "Some guy told me those places are going to open on South 27th!"

Got any rumors of your own? Today is as good a day as any to share them. But don't just go making stuff up. I mean rumors or buzz you've heard that there could be some truth to. Fire away.

The Lincoln Literacy Council's Scrabble Scramble is coming up on November 1. Don't hesitate -- the registration deadline is tomorrow!

In a classic case of "somebody ought to have seen this coming", local officials are struggling to find a way to address the problem of kids crossing U.S. 34 to get to and from Schoo Middle School. One proposal: build a $3+ million pedestrian bridge. That's a hefty price tag for a solution that may not, in fact, be a solution at all. The problem is two-fold. First, some kids don't use the designated crosswalks. I'll give you a moment to let that sink in. Some middle school students don't follow the rules. Astonishing, isn't it? Second, the speed limit on that portion of the highway is 60 miles per hour. At that speed, any car-pedestrian accident is going to be ugly. A bridge doesn't solve those problems. A bridge requires the kids to cross the highway at a single, designated spot. Since we have already established that some kids refuse to cross where they are supposed to, a bridge doesn't solve the first problem. And if it doesn't solve the first problem, it doesn't address the second problem. Without some way to force kids onto the bridge, it's not a solution. Rather, it just helps adults feel like they have "done something". "So what should we do, Mr. Smartypants?" you might ask. There are several possibilities:

• Increase the number of crosswalks. If you decrease the distance kids have to walk out of their way to get to a crosswalk, you increase the likelihood that they will use it.
• "Force" students to use the existing crosswalks. One method is to use fences. Another approach is to use crossing guards of some sort, perhaps armed with video cameras to catch illicit crossers. I think with a little creativity you could come up with several ideas along these lines.
• Drop the School Zone speed limit all the way down to 35 miles per hour. The sharp slowdown on a four-lane highway will get drivers' attention, and it will decrease both the likelihood and severity of accidents.

Those are just a start. What can you come up with?

Yesterday I had a meeting with some of the folks behind the 2010 Special Olympics which will be held throughout Lincoln July 18-23, 2010. I am very excited about my new role as "Venue Director" for soccer. The job description is a little intimidating -- 24 bullets! -- but I'm thrilled to be able to take on a leadership role for the event. Which brings me to my point. So ... what are you up to next July? Wouldn't you love to volunteer to help out Special Olympics and support Lincoln? You can support the even in ways other than volunteering, by the way. One of the best ways you can show off Lincoln: attend the competitions and cheer on the athletes. Get a group of friends together and adopt a team. Have some fun. Thousands of people are coming to town, so let's help make their trip memorable.