Lincolnite

I really feel for the individuals and families that lost everything in Tuesday's house fire near 15th and D. The fire began when a 7 year-old boy, supervised by his mother, accidentally knocked a firework onto its side and leaves were ignited under the house's porch. The accident is especially ironic since the boy and his mother were being careful to place their fireworks on a sheet of plywood to ensure that they fired from level ground. I haven't seen any information about a support fund for the affected individuals yet. If you hear of something, please post details here. In the mean time Red Cross is providing aid.

Today is our third anniversary. Why The Missus continues to put up with me I'll probably never understand. But she does, and for that I am thankful. In three years we have made some pretty decent headway on our to-do list together:

1. House
2. Dog
3. Kid #1
4. Kid #2

Looks like we need to update our list or we'll soon run out of things to keep us busy. Lots of folks out there are looking for the secret to the perfect marriage. We aren't perfect, but I will tell you what has worked well for us so far. In short, we communicate well. We talk a lot on pretty much any topic you can think of. Drugs, sex, rock and roll, the quantity and nature of Robbie's poop over the past 24 hours -- we cover it all. We even managed to always have something to talk about while we were holed up in Boston. Have you ever spent eleven days in almost constant contact with your spouse? (Outside the honeymoon period, that is.) There are lots of opportunities to drive each other mad. But I think The Missus and I came out liking each other even more, and amazingly, even after being together for nearly ten years, I think we learned some new things about each other. On top of it all, though, we are best friends. We were best friends from the very beginning. That's what keeps us so strong. I don't think every successful couple has to be best friends, but our relationship fits our personalities very well. When we first began dating I often mused on how different we were, and that we proved that opposites attract. I even did a psychology project on the topic. Today I see that we are not opposites at all; we are surprisingly similar. She, the daughter of liberal New York Jews, and I, the son of conservative Nebraska Christians. Whodathunkit? And of course many of you have been pretty important in making The Wilsons who we are today. So to you, I say thanks. And to The Missus: Happy Anniversary.

State Senator Marian Price wants automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in every Lincoln Public School building. The Board of Education recently rejected the idea on a 4-3 vote. The Board didn't like the installation costs ($140,000+), maintenance costs, liability issues, and so on. AEDs are proven to help save lives in critical scenarios. I wonder how many lives could potentially be saved by following Senator Price's plan? My gut tells me it's probably quite a bit less than one life per year, but I could be wrong. How much are we willing to spend per life saved per year? It's a valid economics question, even though it does make you feel a little dirty for thinking of a life in terms of dollars. One hundred forty grand doesn't strike me as an obscene cost, but by the time you factor in hidden and ongoing costs, maybe it's not worth it any more. I don't know.

Shame on Councilman Ken Svoboda for using a shady return address on graduation cards his campaign sent to Lincoln's high school graduates. The cards featured a return address of city hall. I'm a little surprised his campaign was dumb unwise enough to let that sort of a thing slip. If you're working on a campaign you've got to know that sort of thing isn't kosher.

Neighbors might not like the idea of the area housing industrial uses, but I think it's great that somebody is already proposing a 300,000 square foot warehouse near 25th and Saltillo Road to take advantage of the future South Beltway. The Beltway needs to be as much an economic engine as a transportation corridor.

Cheers to Jessie Lierz and Paige Bakula, both age 11, who want parks designers to remember big kids, too (last letter):

We would like to express our feelings about the new Roberts Park equipment. We are very displeased with little slides, swings, and no basketball court. Our new park is very small and the builders think there are lots of kids around the age of 2-6 that can play with the equipment. We would like the builders to know that there are a lot of kids around the age of 8-13 who can’t play on the equipment. We would like bigger slides, so it would be more fun for us older kids. We would like one of the swings to be higher so we aren't scraping our feet and touching the ground. We would like our basketball court back, and we would like the baseball diamond that they told us we would have. We would truly like bigger and better equipment for our park. Plus a new bike rack.

Good letter, kids. Good luck to you.

It is rare indeed to see the government complaining that its vehicles aren't on the road enough.

I was right, there really haven't been many tornadoes this year. It's not a bad problem to have, but it has made this year a bit dull for those of us who love a good storm.

A gentle reminder:

Lincoln vendors can begin selling fireworks today from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM, and tomorrow from 8:00 AM to Midnight. Happy shopping!

Robert had a great first week at home. He had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday at which we found out he has grown to 9lbs 14oz and 23 inches at six weeks old. He eats like a horse and he belches like his dad. He shows better and better head control every day, and he loves to talk to anybody who will talk back. These days I'm working with him on three things: grabbing and holding onto objects; following objects with his eyes; and pushing himself up with his arms when he is on his stomach. He is making slow but steady progress on all three. Just for fun, here's another video I shot while we were in the hotel in Boston: The in-laws are headed to town this weekend for their first visit with Robert, and my mom and sister are throwing a shower on Sunday. That means I will probably only get to hold my kid during 3:00 a.m. feedings. I'll probably also have to cut back on the cuteness. I can play the role of funny daddy when just The Missus and Daisy are around to witness it, but no way am I doing my (awful) Kermit The Frog impression in front of the in-laws. On second thought, I say that now, but kids have a way of getting you to behave in ways you never would have expected.

The North Forty golf course is disappearing, and developers want to built it up with homes and stores, including a large grocery store. Which is great, except the land is currently zoned agricultural. The developers probably don't face too many hurdles getting the residential portion of their plan built, but the commercial side could be tough. The two east corners of the intersection of 84th and Adams are already zoned for commercial use, and the city's land use plan would have to be modified. Mayor Seng already infamously shot down another project across the street; will she have any desire to do the same here? Some property owners are complaining that they paid a premium to live near a golf course, and that their property values will drop if the course disappears. Boo hoo. I don't mean that to sound snarky and uncaring, so let me clarify. The premium they chose to pay is above and beyond what their property is actually worth. I have no desire to involve government in protecting that sort of "luxury tax". It's a bonus, not a given. If developers were planning to put in a toxic waste dump on the corner, then I would feel the adjacent property owners' pain. Such a plan would drop their property values substantially below the "real" value, and that could be seen as unfair. I view the present case as little different from the good neighbors moving out, and annoying neighbors moving in, pink flamingos in the yard and all.

Now that the City of Lincoln has State Fair Park within its grasp, it made me think: if Lincoln were to have the opportunity to do whatever it wanted to State Fair Park, what could it do? Five suggestions:

1. Build a NASCAR track, home of the Cornhusker 400. Scoff if you will, NASCAR-haters, but it wouldn't surprise me if a track were both more sustainable and more profitable than an events center.
2. Hand it over to developers for a planned, mixed-use development.
3. Six Flags!
4. Give it back to nature. Bulldoze the entire park, add a few ponds and wetlands, and turn it into the world's largest urban prairie park. Don't forget the prairie dogs.
5. Turn it into a business park, complete with hotels, a golf course, and other business-friendly amenities. Devote a portion of the space to incubating new businesses. Build a business/economics-focused magnet high school. Partner with local colleges and universities to develop an apprenticeship program in coordination with the businesses housed in the park.

After spending time in the Boston area, I have a proposal for a new traffic law in Lincoln: The Law Certain crosswalks should be designated as "priority" crosswalks. At priority crosswalks, vehicles must yield to any and all waiting pedestrians. Emergency vehicles on a call are exempt. Priority crosswalks may be designated in one of two ways: (1) by white lines or similar markings on the pavement, designating the crosswalk path; or (2) by bright yellow pedestrian crossing signs, accompanied underneath by a sign with the text "Yield to Pedestrians". Crosswalks accompanied by traffic signals do not apply. In limited cases vehicles should also yield to bicyclists. These include situations where a designated bike path crosses a street, but where there is not an accompanying traffic signal. In those cases, the priority crosswalk must be identified with a sign showing a pedestrian and a bicyclist, and the accompanying text should read "Yield to Peds and Bikes". The Rationale Pedestrians rule in Massachusetts, and it was incredible to see how drivers humbled themselves to their walking superiors. You might think traffic would be excessively hindered by this sort of situation; in my experience, you would be wrong. Lincoln has long been perceived as a city hostile to pedestrians. I believe strongly that we need to change that situation.

The Downtown Lincoln Association would like you to take a survey about condo living Downtown. Head on over to take the survey.