Lincolnite

When I first heard yesterday that the NU regents will vote today on privately funding some NU administrators' salaries, I thought to myself that it seemed like a potentially dangerous step. I decided to withhold judgment overnight to give myself some time to think about it. Well, it's morning, and I still don't like it. The plus side seems to be that certain top dogs' salaries will increase without any extra tax dollars, making the salaries more competitive with peer salaries. On the flip side, introducing private funds into the salaries of public employees -- with barely any opportunity for public input -- increases the potential for shenanigans. Even the perception that private dollars are buying influence over the administrators would be damaging to the University. (Sure, that perception already exists, but do we need to make it worse?) This is just a simple, quick look at the proposal. Most of you, like me, have barely had any time to think about this idea. What are your initial impressions?

How many of you have been watching Lincolnite Joseph "Elvis" Hall on America's Got Talent? I see he made it into the top 20 last night. He's lucky. His out-of-breath performance on Tuesday was pretty mediocre. How far is he going to make it?

Last night's public open house at Memorial Stadium marked the first time (I think) that UNL and City officials have confirmed that the Huskers will play at the Haymarket arena. Well, ok, they didn't technically confirm it. But they came as close as they're going to come without all the contracts being signed. The next step will be waiting for more details to be released. How will alcohol availability be handled? How much flexibility will each of the parties have in scheduling events? Who will control the box seats? And so on.

The Wilsons stopped by Gateway last night, and I went in with yesterday's questions on my mind. In particular, I was thinking about Dave K's suggestion that Whole Foods would make a good replacement for Steve and Barry's. I don't think it would work. The logistics are all wrong. Which is too bad, because Dave K's idea is pretty good. I think there is a reasonable alternative. That is, move Circuit City into the Steve and Barry's spot and place Whole Foods in the former Circuit City location. Who's with me? Yeah it'll never happen, but these "what ifs" are always fun to think about.

The latest Haymarket plans will be on display tonight at Memorial Stadium from 5:00 to 7:30pm. Do you plan to go?

Yikes, Gateway Mall sure is in trouble now that Steve & Barry's is closing. The mall has already seen several tenants pack up and move away, and now a relatively popular anchor tenant is pulling up stakes. It's a bit of a shame. Westfield has really been sprucing up Gateway since it bought the mall several years back. What sort of anchor tenant do you think would be a good fit to replace Steve and Barry's? What changes would you like to see Gateway make to help business pick up again?

1. Outside temps 60 degrees or lower
2. Windows open
3. Ceiling fan on low
4. Blankets / comforters to suit

Oh boy, I love sleeping in the kind of weather we had last night. Raise your hand if you followed this recipe and slept like a log last night!

Is Governor Heineman chicken for refusing to take a stand on the Affirmative Action ban that will appear on November's ballot? Chicken or not, is his silence wise? I'm really surprised that ban opponents -- not to mention the state Democratic party -- haven't made a bigger deal out of Heineman's hush hush attitude. It seems like a missed opportunity to get in a few easy jabs. Maybe everybody is too distracted by the national party conventions right now.

I don't know about you, but I was pretty surprised to read that Lincoln's summer weather was just a hair above average this year. I would have guessed temps were below average overall. As the article notes, I probably think that because there weren't many "blazin' hot" days, and more importantly, there really weren't any extended series of really hot days. The weekend of the Cornhusker State Games was probably the longest stretch of unpleasant hot weather we saw, and that stretch only lasted a few days. I wonder if perhaps lower average relative humidity levels could have also contributed to the feeling that the summer was cooler. Does anybody know if those averages are tracked, and where they can be found?

New owner Monte Froehlich will reopen P.O. Pears this fall as an "event-type business". It will be open on game days and for other special events and private parties. It's not quite what Lincoln's Pears-lovers would like to see, but it's a start. I wonder how much of its original character the restaurant has retained given that most, if not all, of its eclectic collection of decorations was auctioned off. And how 'bout the food, will it be the same? If you're curious, plan to find out for yourself around the time of Nebraska's third football game on September 13.

While most folks are focused on that other team, local high schools are gearing up for their football seasons, too. In fact, East kicked off their season last night. I don't typically follow high school football, but I may start this season. One of my cousins is supposed to start for Southwest this year. I may even take Robbie to his first-ever football game tonight as Southwest takes on Fremont. Do you have a favorite high school football team this year? Who is going to take the city championship?

It was just two little slip-ups, easy enough to miss among the rest of the article. But to me, School Board member Keith Prettyman's words speak volumes. From the article: School board member Keith Prettyman suggested if Hunzeker and others "want to play the game of teachers versus roads," they might lose. Do you see it? Several members of my family are employed in education and I was once on my way toward a career in education, so it jumps out to me. "It" is Prettyman's emphasis on "teachers". Not students. Not education. Teachers. Prettyman also frames a revenue loss -- read the article for details -- as being equivalent to 150 teacher salaries. Not opportunities for students. Teacher salaries. I don't think I'm alone in thinking that Mr. Prettyman's focus is misplaced. Frankly, I don't care about teachers, and neither should you, except to the extent they advance student learning and achievement. That's where I care deeply about teachers. If teachers are an end (as Mr. Prettyman portrays them) rather than a means, then we are doing something very, very wrong. Let me strongly emphasize that I'm not saying that teachers are unimportant. Good teachers are not just important, they are critical. But teachers are just one tool we rely on to help educate our kids. We oughtn't focus on the importance of their employment; we ought to focus on the importance of their task. Considering the power of their position, this is especially true for policymakers. (By the way, the whole "tool" metaphor can be taken too far. Many education policies treat teachers exactly as tools -- as script-reading robots, basically -- stripping them of their humanity and their ability to be effective. Don't take my use of the word literally.) The words we use are important. They tell others about our interests and priorities, among other things. Sometimes we goof and use words that imply things we didn't really mean. I'm hopeful that's what happened here. I encourage Mr. Prettyman and other School Board members to work on better framing their words -- and more importantly, their policy decisions -- around the real goals we are pursuing.

Current zoning restrictions in Lincoln all but prevent homeowners from placing small wind turbines on their property. Some people would like to see those rules changed. It wasn't all that long ago that people accepted large television antennas and satellite dishes on roofs and in back yards. Would people also accept the "unsightliness" of wind turbines? Would you? It's probably a moot point for me. I don't think I could get enough wind on my property on a regular basis to justify the cost of a turbine. Nor could most of my neighbors. I could go for some nice solar panels -- or better yet, solar shingles -- though.

The State Fair had a big weekend. I'm not surprised. Combine great weather with the impending move and you've got yourself a recipe for some healthy attendance numbers. Did you go? Are you planning to go? As an aside, have any of you noticed that a good proportion of people seem to think this is the State Fair's last year in Lincoln?