Sunday, May 24, 2009

Visions of lots of sewer?

With subscriptions declining, the OWH has turned on the "Exclusive" button, making it sound like other people would be interested in these stories. Some, yes, are interesting. Some are not. So they give you a teaser and say, "check out the rest in the real paper." Someday they'll get that it's not the Internet that's tanking subscriptions, it's the quality of writing. Having said all that, I do still subscribe.
One story that did catch my eye was the new vision for Downtown Omaha. I'll give you more details if you want, but what they are putting down there isn't the important part. The important part is...not mentioned. We have a lot of great things in Omaha, and the new vision has some great ideas: more kid-friendly parks, redeveloping the area between Qwest and the Missouri River, etc. How do you plan on paying for it? I understand private donors, but why can't we tap those private donors to pay for this huge sewer issue that Omaha supposedly has? No one is going to like anything you develop if it's covered in human feces! Instead, I, a person who does not live in the Omaha city limits, gets charged extra by M.U.D. to pay for Omaha's sewer issues. I realize donors won't shell out cash for something that they can't hang a sign with their name on it so millions can see, but we have to get priorities straight. Yes, the ideas laid out are outstanding, but if you don't take care of vital infrastructure, your wasting your money.