Lincolnite

I've focused a fair bit on bad economic development news lately, so here's some good news: the Planning Commission has approved nine potential West O projects. The projects may or may not happen, but it's good to see some action happening along the huge stretch of land declared blighted last year. In other news, I heard that children living in a new development around 84th and Highway 2 will go to Calvert Elementary -- at 45th and Calvert, over four miles away. So much for neighborhood schools.

I haven't talked about our adoption in a while. When I thought of this topic, I figured it would make a good post to generate some feedback. One of the things about open adoption is that there is a very good chance that we will either speak with or meet the birth mother prior to the adoption taking place, or perhaps even before she makes her decision about who she would like to be her child's adoptive parents. Let's say you're going to meet the birth mother for the first time. She is pregnant, and she is trying to decide if you will be the person the child inside her calls mom or dad. What questions would you ask the birth mother? What would you tell her? The Missus and I have obviously thought a lot about those questions. But there's no way we have thought of everything, and frankly, there aren't many resources describing what to do at this sort of a first meeting. So I wonder, dear reader who probably has no plans to adopt, what comes to your mind?

This is one of the coolest ledes I've read in a long time:

Capsaicin, the stuff that turns up the heat in jalapeños, not only causes the tongue to burn, it also drives prostate cancer cells to kill themselves, according to studies published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research.

As a big capsaicin fan and prostate cancer opponent, this makes me very happy. Plus, there's just something cool about the notion of suicidal prostate cancer cells. Hmm...band name?

I was a huge fan of Press Your Luck back in the day. Sadly, host Peter Tomarken was killed in a plane crash Monday. In honor of Tomarken, read about Michael Larsen, the man who took Press Your Luck for $110,000 by paying attention.

The land north of Van Dorn between 9th and 10th Streets is about to get a facelift. I've been waiting for the empty lot that currently fills a portion of that block to fill in; I had no idea plans were in the works to redo the entire block. The block is much better suited for commercial use than residential. Hopefully the developers give the building(s) a nice look that fits into the neighborhood's low-key character.

It's hard to disagree with John Camp's assertion that "Lincoln is a difficult place to do business" after the City Council voted 4-3 to go with Mayor Seng's 175,000 square foot restriction on big box retail at the Prairie Village North development. The developers followed the rules and even offered up extras (like covering $5 million in upfront infrastructure costs). The City, in return, changed the rules half-way through the game and sent the developer back to the drawing board. Mayor Seng's latest rationale for her preferred size restriction is many anchor stores in Lincoln's "neighborhood centers" occupy 52 to 72 percent of the total retail square footage. A 175,000-square-foot store would fall within that range in Prairie Village North. There is not, of course, any actual such restriction in City ordinance, the Comprehensive Plan, or elsewhere. Mayor Seng is imposing a false requirement on developers constructed on a whim in reaction to a development she doesn't care for. If Colleen Seng wants to enact some sort of "maximum ratio" for anchor stores, so be it. But she needs to have the integrity to write it down where developers can see it before spending hundreds of thousands of dollars following false leads and being strung along by the City. And for that matter, Seng's Magic Ratio needs to be vetted in the appropriate manner, before the public, the City Council, the Planning Commission, and others. It doesn't matter what you think about Wal-Mart. It doesn't matter what you think about a 230,000 square foot development at 84th and Adams. And it doesn't matter if you like Mayor Colleen Seng or not. This situation is a perfect illustration of the unreasonable hurdles we ask investors to clear before we allow them the "privilege" of doing business in Lincoln. The City of Lincoln continually changes or muddies the existing rules in the middle of the process, or enforces odd and unreasonable rules, leaving investors scratching their heads. Such behavior is self-destructive and it needs to stop. It is not too much to ask for a community to clearly outline its expectations of investors, and when those expectations are met, to welcome those investors -- whether they be Wal-Mart, a restaurateur, or a homeowner -- with open arms. Instead, we stand guarding the front door with our arms crossed, asking of each investor, "What makes you think you're good enough for the likes of me?" Is it any wonder they bristle at our attitude?

Did any of you catch Family Guy last night? Did you notice the Wheel of Fortune clip? In it, Peter got to select prizes with his cash, just like they used to do it on WoF years and years ago. I used to love yelling at the contestants through the TV, "No you idiot! Don't pick the lamp! Pick the juke box! And who goes on a game show to win a couch? You should've chosen the NES you bozo!" Then again, I was probably 8 at the time, so what did I know? I think it would be great if Wheel of Fortune would do a "Flashback Week" once each year where the contestants get to pick prizes like in the old days. Or am I the only one?

As a thought-provoker, Sunday's Lincoln Journal Star article on city personnel wages and benefits was very welcome. I currently know very little about how governments determine personnel wages and benefits. Hopefully the thoughts the article generated in me will spur me to learn more. It would be easy to freak out after reading an article like this, and I fully expect the predictable rants to show up in the Journal Star's letters to the editor throughout the next week or so. I don't think a freak-out is in order. There are way too many complex variables involved for a single day's newspaper coverage to justify any sort of conclusion. That being said, you know there's a serious problem when there exists a widespread belief in two simple truisms about government employment: 1) the pay and benefits are beyond excellent (for most occupations) for the work required; and 2) you practically have to murder somebody to get fired (and even then you might score a nice severance package). Now, if Wal-Mart had that sort of a reputation, fine. But my government? Those aren't the stereotypes I want my tax dollars to support. I grant that relying on stereotypes and generalizations is tricky, but, as I so often say, stereotypes almost always originate in reality. It is extraordinarily unlikely that this is one of the stereotypes that deviates from the usual pattern. Are the city's wages actually "high", and therefore a problem? I think they are. I don't believe that Lincolnites get the bang they deserve from the bucks they pay toward personnel costs. I don't think the separation between what we pay and what we ought to pay is great -- I'm not talking 25% or anything like that -- but it is definitely nonzero. What's my justification for that assertion? I don't have one. It is based on nothing more than a "gut feeling" analysis of the situation. Therefore, I am completely open to changing my mind. I would love to hear reasoned arguments to the contrary. At this point I don't have a proposed solution. I think it would be unwise of me to offer specific solutions to a "problem" that may not, in fact, be a problem. I need more numbers, more comparative data, and so forth. I can, however, offer some general ideas that I'm sure others have already considered, and which ought to always be on the table. One is to decrease the rate at which wages are increasing. Over the past decade Lincoln has rushed to get its wages to "catch up". We've caught up, so we can ease up on the accelerator. Second, we can make pay raises rarer and more difficult. I'm going to ask friends and family members what they think about Lincoln's wages. I'll post back here if they have anything exciting to say. You folks always have exciting things to say, so I look forward to reading your comments.

Ernie Chambers is brilliant. He is a master legislator, and he is dedicated to his principles in a way that few of us comprehend. Nancy Hicks has an article in today's Journal Star titled "The Ernie Factor". I'm not really sure what her purpose was. I think she was trying to build understanding of the Unicameral's reviled enigma. Instead, I think she just provided more ammunition for the majority of Nebraskans, the ones who voted for term limits primarily to give Ernie the boot. Folks like Jim E. McLaughlin:

I'll admit I voted for term limits basically because of one person and his antics. I’m sure it will be no surprise to many when I say it's Ernie Chambers. ... Will Nebraska lose some experienced senators? Of course, but this "career politician" needs to see the door ASAP. Jim E. McLaughlin, Lincoln

Not that Senator Chambers is helping his own cause, of course. His actions and comments this session have, as they so often have over the years, been at times paranoid, hate-filled, and even unapologetically bigoted. One of Chambers' biggest weaknesses is his willingness to flaunt his power. He is a power-tripper. Worse, he is aware of his power not only over the Unicameral, but over Nebraskans generally. He speaks and acts in ways that often seemed designed specifically to get himself airtime across the state. He is an egomaniac. I respect Ernie Chambers' intellect, his legislative prowess, his adherence to his principles, and his willingness and ability to slow or even halt the legislative process. Those are all good things -- even the latter. (Especially the latter.) But boy, I loathe the guy as a man. He is stained by so many of the same sins he calls out in others. Ernie Chambers is Nebraska's Jerry Falwell. Back to the Jim McLaughlins of the state. Where I differ from them is my appreciation of the imperfections of democracy as features, not bugs. I think it is healthy for society that, for example, Ernie Chambers' constituents can elect him over and over if they like, and I don't get a say. I don't want a say. I don't want a say because I don't want his constituents to have a say about my representative. There are other reasons Nebraskans voted for term limits, of course. It would be disingenuous of me to imply that everybody who voted for term limits did so primarily to boot Ernie Chambers out of office. But most of those reasons are, in a word, poor. It took something extra -- the Ernie factor -- to push the vote over 50%. Ernie Chambers has taught Nebraska a lot over the past three decades, and on the whole, he has helped the Unicameral pass better laws. For that I thank him. As for the rest of the Ernie package? Well, let's just say I won't be inviting him to dinner any time soon.

The Journal Star letters to the editor are almost always good for a laugh. Today's first letter really got me to chuckle:

I am very disappointed that the March 9 Lincoln Journal Star newspaper would have such disgusting pictures of nudity. Why is it important news that we see these pictures and know about the calendar that is being sold with these awful pictures?

There are plenty of more interesting and uplifting stories that could occupy such an important place in the news of this city than that. I am offended to have to see that as front-page news. Linda Elder, Lincoln

The calendar with the "awful pictures" is a fund-raiser for Magnet, town of 85 in northeast Nebraska. They want to build a new community center. To raise money, they are selling a calendar featuring photographs of area men posing in the buff, with their nether regions covered in various creative ways. Well, the men aren't actually naked; they wore shorts for the photo shoot, and the shorts were later edited out. I feel really, really sorry for people who are so uptight that not only are they offended by something this harmless (and humorous), but they also go to the trouble to embarass themselves by writing to the newspaper to complain and agreeing to have their letter printed. If you are, for whatever bizarre reason, unoffended by such debauchery, you can order a calendar by sending $17.50 to: The Magnet Community Foundation, Box 22, Magnet, NE 68749. I apologize for the poor quality of the image. I couldn't find the archived story (or photos) on the Journal Star's website, so I just took a quick photo of the front page of the March 9, 2006 Lincoln Journal Star. Click on the image to view a larger version (pop-up). Update: Another letter showed up in the March 13, 2006 Journal Star:

Half-naked calendar men? How utterly distasteful! I cannot believe that the Journal Star has nothing else to print. How do I explain to my daughters who are 11 and 13 what these pictures depict. They do read the paper for school. If one of those was my father, I would be so disappointed in him. Could this small town not find any other way to raise money? There are so many other interesting things going on in Lincoln, one of them being state tournaments. Do we really need to print such trash? Rolanda Kortan, Lincoln

I knew it. Back when Hy-Vee closed up shop at 40th and Old Cheney Road and moved across the street to Williamsburg I just knew the space would make either a great bowling alley, indoor miniature golf center, or skating rink. It took many years and several failed businesses, but the inevitable has finally happened: A&R Skate Center will reopen in the old Hy-Vee on March 17. A&R had previously been at 710 Hill St. until they lost their lease.

I've posted my review of Doughboyz Bistro. Lincoln's new "fun Italian food" restaurant is worth a visit.

The Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA), Nebraska Coaches Association (NCA), and Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame are getting a new home north of Haymarket Park. The $3.5 - $4 million project will be funded in part by raising entrance fees to NSAA-sponsored championship events by $1.00. The new NSAA and NCA offices don't interest me all that much, but I think giving the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame a permanent home so close to Memorial Stadium and Haymarket Park is wonderful. Plus, the project's location near I-180 on what is now an empty field will make for a more welcoming entrance to Downtown. Lincoln easily could have lost this facility to other cities. It's great to hear that not only are these groups staying in Lincoln, they're making a substantial investment into the community, too. [Disclosure: I officiate soccer for the NSAA and NSAA-affiliated schools.]

The Nebraska state quarter has its very own website. Betcha can't wait to bookmark that URL!

The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce has fired president J. Matt Carlson after only six months on the job. The Chamber cited a "management style ... not consistent with the goals and objectives of the organization." There's no way to know whether that translates to "the guy was a jerk", "the guy was lazy", "the guy was a pushover", or something else. But whatever it means, it's never good to be canned after a scant six months on the job. Nor is Carlson's firing good news for Lincoln. Although the Chamber will insist that this little bit of instability within the organization won't hinder Lincoln's broader economic development efforts, any bump in the road has the potential to cause problems for a community like Lincoln. Here's hoping the Chamber is able to get back on track quickly.