Don't Waist Millions of Tax Dollars Moving Saddlecreek Rd

Don't be fooled by the UNMC rhetoric machine. Taxpayers must say no to this costly idea. Hi Tech office buildings can built at any time west of the UNMC campus without moving Saddle Creek Road or tax payers spending $15million dollars or displacing the few retail/food chain business left in Midtown Omaha. Moving Saddle Creek Road will do nothing to address the rare street flooding in this location, which I live near. Cleaning trash out of the storm drain in-takes would. One of the proposed plans is to actually move the street up hill out of the old creek bed. We can not make water flow uphill and the current road bed can not be built over. Underneath there are very large pipes that carry combined storm and sewer water. A second plan is to move the street 20 feet from it current location and create a large storm water ditch in place of the old street. Why would I as a tax payer agree to spend $15 million to move a street 20'? Sounds like a boondoggle when trash and weeds grow on Midtown streets and parks grow shaggy and unkept due to city neglect.

As determined by the Combined Sewers Omaha study of the Saddle Creek watershed, no "flood control" is necessary on this part of Saddle Creek Road and no project is proposed to address any street flooding on this part of Saddle Creek Road. I have sat on the Saddle Creek Basin panel, representing my midtown neighborhood, and it was determined no flooding solutions were necessary from Dodge Street to Leavenworth Street.

Catholic Church Bans St. Patrick Day Celebrations. WWSPD?

Leaping leprechauns! What's this world coming to? Not to mention what would St. Paddy do!

Don't do it, don't even mention it, or you know what.... If you do, choose your layer of h.e. double hockey sticks (snakes included)! Yes, reported in Omaha World Herald, "the Archdiocese of Omaha has instructed churches not to hold Masses in St. Patrick's honor." No special prayers or services in honor of the Irish saint on his holy day due to the fact that his 'Saints day' falls during the Roman Catholic holy week before Easter Sunday. How absurd is what I am thinking. Isn't there room for everyone in the Holy Week tent?

Fortunately the last line of the news story sums up what most of us will be thinking on that day, "To be honest, I'm more worried about the cold weather than Holy Week."

Knocking about Portland

Visiting Portland Oregon, this time for a real visit, and spent most of my day wondering around all aspects of the city center and riding various forms of public transportation. Near the end of the day I took the west lightrail line to Orenco Station (pictures to come later), a new Urbanist development often written about in various media as an example of Transit Oriented Developement (TND). On the ride back from Orenco I found myself wondering off inside my mind. I realized that not only would it be great to live in a city where the public transportation system worked and was more developed but that I had also engaged in 6 forms on public transit in one day. In the order that they occured, car, jet, light rail, bus, foot, streetcar in one day. Today, as I think of it, I could have hopped a public bike to ride around and have taking a ride on the Portland Tram and I could have probably set a life time record. I wonder if Portland has a ferry system.

In Portland, all public transit seemed to be running on about a 10 minute skedule. It made for easy access to all part of the city. Well off to check on Art museum and then off to some city parks with hopefully a view of Mount Hood.

Change We Can Believe In...

Attended the first ever Nebraska Democrats Presidential Caucus today at Norris Middle School. I decided to get their early because I was never contacted back about volunteering to help at the caucus today and figured there may be a need.

At 9:10 I joined a long procession of cars parking in "the field" down hill from the school. The streets were already filled with parked cars and it was 9:10a.m.! The announced registration start time was 9:15. I was WOWed before getting out of my car.

After the chaotic registration process, we slowly began filling the gym. I got in fairly quickly since there was hardly anyone registering with a last name starting in "N-P". Yip skip. I got my blue slip and went into the gym. The Obama side was already 1/2 full and it was only 9:20. Eventually the gym was filled to standing room only and the gym floor almost completely packed with Obama supporters. The atmosphere was festive and even included 3 attempts at the wave on the Obama side. Dueling chants from the supporters of Hillary vs. Obama rocked the rafters of the gym. Some of the people sitting next to me in the Obama section new a few of their neighbors in the "uncommitted" section. They began chanting their names one by one. "Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe" and Joe finally gives in to the pressure and joins the Obama team. The Obama folks roar with approval. Next, "Tom, Tom, Tom" and so on until a hand full had changed sides.

Finally it was time to count the votes. B. Obama 1062 and H. Clinton 326. The counting on the Obama side took quite some time to execute. The folks in the bleachers made the most fun during the count. Starting at the top row and far facing right side the first person started the count "one". As the count proceeded people began shouting and standing as the announced their number. As the husky voice announce "100!" the crowd erupted in cheers. The count continued, "200! (cheers), "300!!" (cheers), "400!!!" (cheers) right on down to the end somewhere around 450 in the bleachers.

At about that time a lady slipped in the side door next to my end of the bleachers. She had on a pink head band with a large plastic pink gem off to one side. She started in about 'Obama being a Muslim and Muslims blew up the World Trade Towers on 9 11' blah blah blah believe everything you read on the internet. The crowd started chanting "shut up, shut up, shut up." I yelled down to the people by the door to "kick her out if she is not registered!" I don't think they heard me. One guy then stood up and yelled, "be quiet while we be AMERICANS". Then last but not least a slim young female hipster appears from the crowd wearing a pink t shirt . On it is printed "CODE PINK". She shoves the woman through the doorway that she came in. The woman tries to come back in and is stopped by "Code Pink". Code Pink then slams the door in her face and holds it shut. The crowd erupts in cheers! The evil doer has been defeated by a member of the Hall of Justice. Way to go.

The first round counting wrapped up, one more chance was given to the undecided to join another group of voters, then the count finalized, delegates elected and as we all left we turned in our blue slips as ballots. What an exciting event!