Latest Blog Posts
Children’s Zoo Wins an Award
A hearty congratulations to the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, which won one of six prestigious National Awards from The Institute of Museum and Library Service. The Children’s Zoo may be tiny, especially in comparison to its much-larger cousin in Omaha, but it is a tremendous community asset. Good job, folks!
Heat Over Snow Removal Puts City Employee on the Hot Seat
If you were left cold by the city’s sub-stellar snow removal performance last week, you may be warmed to know that changes have been made. And not just small “we’ll do better next time” changes. Public Works Director Karl Fredrickson actually yanked oversight of street maintenance away from City Engineer Roger Figard and assigned it to Antelope Valley Project manager Wayne Teten instead. “We will have new direction in street maintenance,” according to Fredrickson. Talk about a vote of no-confidence in Figard. Ouch.
One gets the feeling that this shake-up is about bigger things than just this one event, and that it was a long time coming. Or perhaps I’m over-analyzing.
In any event, I have had only limited interaction with Wayne Teten, but the interactions I had were positive. Short story even shorter, I requested information about the Antelope Valley Project a couple times, and I received prompt and thorough replies each time. That doesn’t say much about his ability to manage his new 135 full-time employees, but it’s a positive data point nonetheless.
A School Security Proposal
It’s awfully annoying to me as a taxpayer to see a regular stream of articles describing school break-ins and the items stolen each time. I wonder how much it would cost to set up a small network of webcams at each school that broadcast live video, 24/7. Then anybody, anywhere could check in on the schools and report trouble as appropriate. With some basic equipment and a little programming skill, a security system could be assembled on the cheap. Or we could unleash some very angry, underfed dogs in the hallways of the schools every night and weekend.
BB Gun Vandals on the Loose
It must be very annoying to walk outside in the morning to find out that your car has been shot up with a BB gun. The only vandalism my car has ever experienced was having its plates stolen. (They were found a couple weeks later in an alley in a town in Kansas. I actually got a phone call from the town’s police chief to see if I wanted them back.) Have any of you been victims of the latest rash of BB gun vandalism? Would anybody be opposed to punishing the perpetrators by allowing their victims to shoot at them with BB guns?
Live Blogging - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
I’ll be live blogging throughout tonight’s broadcast of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which features Lincoln’s very own Fullerton-Machacek family. Which other Lincolnites will we see? Where will the EM:HE crew go around town? Let’s find out together!
Friday Five
Today’s Friday Five is a simple game. I will name the features at (or near) each corner of an intersection except one. Your job is to tell me (1) what’s at the remaining corner, and (2) which intersection it is. I will go clockwise around the intersection, but I won’t necessarily start at the same corner every time.
Example:furniture / bulls eye / chicken Answer: Best Buy (48th and R)
- burritos / onion rings / groceries
- movies / campers / pancakes
- dirt / barber / bank
- yoga / gas / popcorn
- phones / cars / insurance
Lincoln’s Top Online Yellow Pages Searches
Here’s an interesting Top 10 list: Lincoln’s top 10 yellow pages headings in 2006 on windstreamyellowpages.com. The numbers in parentheses are the national ranking for each heading:
- Restaurants (1)
- Apartments (60)
- Employment agencies (41)
- Tattooing (>130)
- Heating and Ventilating Contractors (54)
- Doctors offices and clinics (2)
- Insurance Brokers (12)
- Hotels (28)
- Hospitals (9)
- Movie Theaters (17)
Most of the items look reasonable enough, but what’s with #4? Are Lincolnites obsessed with tattoos relative to the rest of the country?
A tip o’ the hat to Simon for the list. Thanks, Simon!
Bundles of Cash
Dang, the LJS is committing highway robbery with its upcoming Bundles of Joy insert. The annual BoJ insert features photos of babies born in Lincoln in the past year. They will print a photo of your precious little one for the low (ha!) low (ha!) price of 40 bucks. Ouch. But how can you not send in a photo of your child when you have grandmas and aunts and friends of friends harassing you about it? It’s extortion, I tell ya.
Anyway, look for Robert when the insert comes out. He’ll be the cute one. 
Live Blogging on Sunday?
A family of seven with lots of love but very little space in their house and who, as a result, have been living separately for years, will finally be reunited.
That’s the description of this Sunday’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition broadcast featuring the Fullerton-Machacek family from Lincoln. I’m thinking about live-blogging* the show. I’ve never done live-blogging before, but it could be fun, and this would be a perfect time to try it out. Would anybody join in?
* I’m not sure if it would be easier to post live updates here in the blog (where non-registered people can post comments) or in the forum (where only registered members can post). It’s possible that instead of live-blogging we’ll actually be “live-foruming”, but that lacks a certain je ne sais quois.
Bumpity Bump Bump Bumpity Bump, Look at My Suspension Go!
I’m not typically one to pile on Lincoln’s snow removal crew. In fact, more often than not I wish they would do less snow removal, not more, especially in residential areas where the plows are known to create more problems (e.g. blocked driveways) than they solve. But their latest efforts have really disappointed me. Public works director Karl Fredrickson claims that ”all of the arterial streets had been plowed four times” by Tuesday. Given the back-breaking state of many of Lincoln’s arterials, that’s awfully depressing to hear.
Fredrickson blames the meteorologists, and he has a point. Ken Siemek and company really goofed, and they continued to misread the storm even as it progressed. While it was obvious to everybody and their dog that the storm was putting down more than “2 to 4 inches”, every weather source I checked continued to present a remarkably inaccurate picture of the situation.
Still, it would be nice to hear Fredrickson say “You know what, you’re right. Some of the roads do suck right now. Here’s our plan...” Instead, he acts like there isn’t a problem at all. Many Lincolnites have unrealistic expectations in regard to snow removal, that’s true. But Karl Fredrickson’s message to the public is insufficient, and he deserves the heat he gets as a result.
While Beutler Hits the Issues, Svoboda Hits Below the Belt
Mayoral candidate Ken Svoboda caused a little trouble recently with a telephone poll that Democrats allege was a campaign maneuver, and thus subject to specific laws. Svoboda’s camp says nope, it was just an internal campaign poll. They’re probably both right.
Apparently one of the questions says Chris Beutler is “friends with Don Wesely”, which the Dems perceived as an implied political attack. Svoboda’s response: “Since when is that a negative?” Fair enough, Ken, but answer me this: Since when is that relative to this spring’s mayoral race?
While Chris Beutler has been sticking to the issues, Svoboda wants to be petty. That’s one demerit for you, Ken.
Stuck in Traffic
Yeesh, I had hoped to have several posts up by 8:00am this morning, but a traffic tangle on South 27th Street gave me some unexpected relaxation time on the bus. I’ll have some new stuff up soon.
Friday Five
Five observations as 2006 closes:
- Blue Orchid got off to a rocky start, but overall it has had a great year. It is widely regarded as one of Lincoln’s best restaurants, and for good reason. Congratulations to Witawas Srisa-an and Malinee Kiatathikom on their success.
- Lincolnites got to show off for the cameras a few times this year. In the spring, a few Lincolnites became a few million dollars richer and they performed admirably on the national stage. I know I got a kick out of watching the press conference when they all took their turn at the microphone. This fall, one Lincoln family was blessed with a new house, thanks to Extreme Home Makeover. I can’t wait to watch the episode early next year.
- The Douglas 3 is gone, and the Star Ship is just days from demolition. In their place we’re told two new jewels will rise. I’m crossing my fingers.
- Between Mike Spadt’s shenanigans and the Verizon bidding kerfuffle, public confidence in local government took a hit this year. How will that play in the 2007 elections?
- Lincolnites gave $250 million to LPS, saw their property valuations jump, and recently got news that we’re in for a rough ride in upcoming budget cycles. I suspect Lincolnites aren’t feeling especially charitable right now. Look for some fiscal fireworks in 2007.
Baby Blues is Coming to Town
It’s not quite the edgy strip of the future that I had hoped for, but Baby Blues is coming to the LJS comics on January 1. At least it’s something different, even if BB is 16 years old and likely a bit stale by now.
The Oven is Adding a New Location
Fresh from the rumor mill, I heard today that The Oven, one of Lincoln’s best restaurants, is expanding to a second location. The new location will be in the 70th and Pioneers area, near Venue. Let me emphasize that this is just a rumor at this point, but it seems to be a fairly reliable one. If true, chalk up another victory for locally-owned restaurants.
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