Lincolnite

I'm glad to hear the new location for Matt Talbott Kitchen hasn't been a problem for most people. It would have been a shame had the Antelope Valley Project torpedoed such a community asset. Matt Talbott's former location sure looks weird these days. Have you been in the area? The strip between Vine Street and P Street sure doesn't look like it used to when I lived at 23rd and T. Hopefully it's all for the better -- and worth the expense. Time will tell.

While most of Lincoln is focused on a certain big sports event in July, one major event has been left to lurk in the shadows. The poor Cornhusker State Games, normally a highlight of July around here, has been bumped up to June. And from what I hear, it's suffering mightily as a result. I've heard that soccer, for example, only has 30-some teams registered. That's really, really low. Are any of you planning to participate in any of the CSG's many activities? Are any of you not going to participate because of the date change?

Lincoln is updating its comprehensive plan and long-range transportation plan. If this sounds familiar, it's because we've been here before. This process repeats every five years. I don't have much to say about the process or the plans at this point. There is a meeting on Tuesday (PDF) and some other public meetings upcoming, so keep an eye on those. And I'll have plenty more to say about these planning topics over time. (Such as: let's get started on the damn south and east bypasses!) You know, these planning exercises would be so much more fun if we actually had the money to do all the things we wanted to do.

The Wilsons went to Stransky Park last night for their Thursday night concert series. Last night's performers were bands from Academy of Rock. There's some pretty good talent among those performers. The real entertainment for The Missus and me was watching all of the teen concertgoers. To say we were amused would be an understatement. I'm just not around teenagers very often these days -- at least not off the soccer field -- so it's easy for me to forget just how goofy teens can be. The uneven growth patterns. The I'm-trying-so-hard-to-be-unconventional clothes. The look-at-me-but-don't-look-at-me behaviors. The raging hormones. And to think I used to be one of them. But I digress. I love Stransky Park, and the concert series is a great thing for that neighborhood. Bravo to the organizers for putting the event together.

The Missus has been beaming about two free activities for kids in Lincoln she recently discovered. The first is the Lincoln Libraries Summer Reading Program. Robbie is all signed up and ready to read. Yesterday, The Missus took Robbie and our niece to the sprayground at Trago Park. Apparently the kids had a blast. Not only that, but apparently the scene was perfect: beautiful weather; kids playing; and a healthy public space atmosphere that drew a variety of people to the area to sit, play, or study. What free family-friendly activities have you discovered around Lincoln?

One of the things I like about Lincoln is that it's big enough that you aren't constantly surrounded by the same people everywhere you go, yet you're likely to run into somebody you know with regularity. I know plenty of people dislike that latter point: they feel like they always run into people they know. They can never get away! Where do you stand on that issue? Do you like that you can go about your day around town and pretty much be assured of seeing somebody you know, no matter where you go? Or do you wish you could be more anonymous in your own town?

I've been meaning to get to Ba Lee 1 (downtown at Centennial Mall and O) for a while now. Mr. T is a regular (read his review) and he always speaks positively of it. I finally went with him last Friday at lunch. Wow. The worst thing about Ba Lee 1 is the prices. They're too low. There's no way they can stay open very long if they're only charging $2.75 for those sandwiches (and $0.75 for pop). The sandwiches are big and they're awesome. They would be a bargain at $4.00, if not $5.00. Since I want to continue enjoying these sandwiches for a long time, I hope the owners raise prices a hair to give themselves a little more breathing room in their operating budget. Maybe they could even afford to spruce up the joint a bit with some fancier menus and decorations. Ba Lee 1 gets two solid thumbs up from me. I'll be back.

If you're a political numbers junkie, you will want to check out the Journal Star's analysis of the arena vote. There are few surprises: support tended to come from precincts with more money, which in turn corresponds with south, east, and northwest portions of the city. Young voters didn't show up to the polls -- a potential liability for supporters -- but older voters picked up the slack and voted yes anyway. I also have some thoughts about arena spokesman Dick Campbell's interpretation of the data, but work calls. I may come back to that later today if I have time.

Speaking of summer beginning, the Friday Nights Live [PDF] concert series at Southpointe begins tonight. You can bet your biscuits we'll be there tonight, and most every Friday night throughout the summer. We've been going to FNL since Robbie was an infant. There's no good reason to stop now. Come say hi if you're out there. We usually hang out in the vicinity of Pier One. And don't forget that Jazz in June starts on Tuesday. The Darryl White Group kicks off this year's five-week season.

It seems folks have lots of different opinions about when summer begins. When do YOU think summer starts?

1. Today (the Friday of Memorial Day weekend)
2. Today after you've finished work/school
3. Tomorrow (the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend)
4. Monday (Memorial Day)
5. June 3 (last day of school for LPS)
6. June 21
7. Other

My vote goes for #2. Once you've said adios to work or school and said hello to Memorial Day weekend, that's when summer begins. But that's just me. When do you think summer begins?

I ran a hill workout this morning at Holmes Lake. The damn dam nearly killed me. There was a lot of gasping and wheezing; I thought my end was near. Adding to my sense of dread were no fewer than twenty-five of these beautiful, but forbidding, birds: Now I've seen plenty of turkey vultures in Lincoln over the years. You can find them soaring over various parts of town pretty frequently. But the sight of twenty-five of them all hanging out together was pretty cool. Even if they were just waiting for me to die so they could perform a sky burial on my remains. Turkey vultures weren't the only birds on and around the dam this morning. Two hawks tormented a group of starlings, and vice versa. Several male red-winged blackbirds swooped around me. A western meadowlark (Nebraska's state bird!) was convinced I was chasing him, though in reality he was just too dim to land anywhere except directly in front of me. And there were various geese and ducks on and around the lake. All in all the birds were a great distraction from what turned out to be a taxing workout. Do you have any bird stories from around Lincoln this spring?

The Lincoln Children's Museum's newest exhibit encourages kids to learn about sound. I'm sure Robbie will have no troubles being noisy. It's a boy's specialty. I remember a significant event in my life that taught me about sound. It also got my name put on the chalkboard at school. I was in third grade at Calvert. It was lunchtime, and recently we had learned about sound in class. As we sat in the gym-slash-lunchroom -- this was prior to the big remodel -- we discovered that the metal lunch tables made great testing grounds for learning about sound. Tapping and banging and experimenting commenced. We were in our own little world, my friends and me. We had no idea how much of a ruckus we were causing. Apparently plenty of other people were loud and crazy that day in the lunchroom, too. The principal was furious, and he let us know it. (I feel awful, I can't remember if Mr. Hobbs or Dr. Rutledge was at Calvert at that time. Even though I clearly remember an angry authority figure yelling at a lunchroom full of kids, I can't remember which authority figure it was. Stupid memory and its crazy tricks.) The principal had written a handful of names on the board in the lunchroom. The names represented the noisiest of the noisy. The people on that list were to tell their teachers, after lunch, that they had been busted. My name was on the list. I was crushed. I never got my name on the board! I had let so many people down. I was the good one! Didn't they know that we were learning? We weren't being naughty, we were being scholarly! We were conducting science! But no. Our explanations went unappreciated. My day was ruined. Believe it or not, having my name put on the board that day didn't ruin my academic career. In fact, that was the only time I ever got my name put on the board. It was the one black mark on my record. The experience was educational for me. I learned that the sounds we generate may be louder and more obnoxious than they appear. That's not a bad lesson to learn on its own, but there's more. I also learned that sometimes, as a parent, I need to take an extra second or two to try to understand why my son is being an obnoxious little hooligan. Maybe he's being naughty. But maybe -- just maybe -- he's learning about the propagation of sound waves through various media, or something equally admirable. If getting my name on the board helps me better appreciate my son's curiosity, I'd say it was worth it.

The Haymarket Arena vote is finished; the Five Guys buzz has died down; now what? Why, it's the return of Lancaster Manor, of course! Hunter Management was supposed to close on the property by June 1. Surprise surprise, it isn't going to happen. We're going to hang on to Lancaster Manor a bit longer, maybe until mid-October. Sigh. Will this open a whole new round of battles to keep Lancaster Manor in public hands? I guess we'll wait and see. But note that the head of the union that represents some employees said, "I think maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel if Hunter Management can't fiance the sale. ... If they can't get that financing, we question the other parts of the contract." It's likely nothing will change other than the date that Lancaster Manor is turned over. But you never know.

The City Council has talked about forming an arena reporting committee to counter "disinformation" and to ensure all arena-related information coming out is "crystal clear", according to Doug Emery. According to Jon Camp, "a reporting committee could ensure transparency and address complaints that arose during the campaign about how some things were handled." That sounds great. But how much transparency would Lincolnites actually perceive if Jon Camp were the Council's representative on said committee, as Mr. Emery has proposed? Jon Camp is Mr. Haymarket. Will that suggest to Lincolnites that his perspective on the committee is a tad skewed? It's hard to argue that Mr. Camp's experience wouldn't be relevant to the committee. He's plenty solid there. But it's that experience that will no doubt taint his contribution, at least in some Lincolnites' mind. Then again I'm jumping the gun a bit. I don't have any idea who else would be on the committee. Maybe it won't be comprised entirely of the usual suspects and maybe its composition really will send a message of transparency. Maybe.