Omaha, NE

Alegent health treated almost 2,000 people last year in their oncology center, and are proud to be a leader in cancer treatment in Omaha. Because of this commitment, they are hosting a Relay For Life Auction, going on until tomorrow! So head on over there and place a last minute bid. Every penny goes to cancer research and treatment, so your money will be well-spent.

Don’t know much about Alegent, or about Relay For Life? Well, follow the links my friends, and see why this is a great cause to get involved with.

hey all. hope you’re all having a great weekend. i’m copying a post my friend Kelli wrote a day or two ago, because I feel we all need to hear what she has to say. Check it out.

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“Searching For Change”

Today I met with our staff, had a brief meeting and then went with a field officer into the village of Mbatwe. This village sits near the Beira airport, a few hundred yards from the runway. Although only a small handful of planes land here each week, it is safe to say the people living near the tarmac haven’t ever traveled.
The village was clean - much cleaner than I remember last time. The homes are tidy and the sand outside is swept carefully. The trash is piled in neat pyres and burned in the evenings, leaving the morning air thick with a plastic odor. There were more latrines dug and being used and a few community wells that seemed rather well protected and maintained.
Walking through the village, you got a sense of well-being and pride. Children chased us everywhere we went, playing tag and begging to have their photos taken. Women and men of all ages waved at us as we walked by. They were picking rice in their paddies, mashing corn in large wooden mortar and pestles, washing their laundry in buckets.
But when our field officer walked us a bit deeper into the village, the children who had been relentlessly following us suddenly fell away. Home after home we visited with people who were dying of HIV. Their bodies mere skeletons and their souls quickly fleeting. They told us that although they’d done what we’d asked - been tested and enrolled in the free antiretroviral program - the drugs had stopped. The hospital is temporarily out of stock, leaving thousands in these villages without the drugs they need to stay alive. With a two-week gap in coverage, God only knows how the virus mutates and then becomes impossible to treat. Simply, these people are dying and there is no one willing to care for them. Stigma surrounds their tiny huts. The system — widely touted — is failing them.
You grow a certain thickness of skin in this work. You have to. But today was just brutal. The last family we met with was a woman who had three girls aged 7, 3 and 1. The mother is HIV-positive and was told not to breastfeed. Her youngest is dying of malnutrition. Without her antiretrovirals, she is too lethargic to consider how to solve this problem on her own. Her neighbors are looking the other way. I sat, holding the three-year-old, and couldn’t believe how a child of just 15 pounds could have survived this long. We split a protein bar, the only food we had with us, among the four and watched as even the one-year-old carefully ate every morsel. I couldn’t hold back my tears. I won’t ever be able to describe the desperation I felt in this moment — or how this mother must feel watching her children die at her feet because she too is succubming.
I don’t know what to do for Mozambique, Mbatwe or even this family. I don’t know how to stop a disease that is wiping entire generations off the map. I don’t know how to draw attention to this problem or what to do with the attention if I had it. There are no simple solutions with HIV in Africa. But I know today, more than ever, I won’t stop fighting for the solutions.

~kelli

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check out Care For Life if this story moves you like it did me. it’s not where she works, but an organization she partners with, and any aide they receive will help out people like those Kelli is helping right now.

Omaha, minimum wage, farmer’s market, Joan Jett, Cake

Did you all hear about the female hammerhead shark that gave birth back in 2001, causing tons of questions to the scientists over at the Henry Doorly Zoo? They had kept her separate from all the male sharks of her species, and so were wondering how the hell a baby shark was made. Well, they’ve figured it out.

This amazing shark had a birth scientists call parthenogenesis, or “virgin birth”. It’s when female DNA combines to produce an egg. While it’s been known to happen in other amphibians and reptiles, no one has ever shown documented proof it happened in sharks. Until now.

The baby that was Jesus-style created is not alive, however, having been killed by another fish shortly after birth. Which may or may not be saying something about what males of a species think of women doing this sort of thing on their own. In any case, the scientists are going to be looking further into the possibility this sort of thing is possible in other types of sharks. It’s only a matter of time before they move on to mammals.

Omaha, Henry Doorly Zoo, hammerhead shark, parthenogenesis, virgin birth, DNA

Omaha has long held its own in the fashion world, with its indie rock subculture and Saddle Creek Records fame. And with so many different types of fashion popular today, Omaha has much to choose from when it comes to fashion. Thus, a weekly column is born.

Straight off the streets and onto the web, I’ll be bringing you shots of actual Omaha residents in all their fashionable glory. Not only that, you’ll also get some hints as to the “whys” and “how to do it yourselves” of the outfits, thanks to the lovely ladies of the Icon Studio for Hair. Having been open only three years, the four stylists at the Icon boast an impressive 20 years of stylist experience between them, and host an impressive client list. These ladies are a perfect companion to this type of column and are super excited to join in the fun.

Look for the regular “fashionable Omaha” column every Wednesday from now on.

Omaha, Icon Studio for Hair, fashionable, indie culture, Saddle Creek Records

Some of you may already know this, but the Homey Inn made Esquire’s list of best bars in the nation. In honor of this strange event, I’ve decided today to list out my top ten bars in Omaha. Purely subjective, these are the bars I’ve spent the most time in, with reasons for loving them. If you don’t see your favorite on the list, add it to the comments. This list is NOT in order of favorites, however, as I don’t think I could rank them that way. It’s just a list.

1. The Pit Stop - out on 144th and Maple, this little NASCAR bar hosts karaoke on Saturday nights, and with that having been a secret until now, singing time has been pretty easy to come by. that, and their domestic draws are $1 all night long. so are their cold shots. um, hello???

2. 49er - a staple in Omaha, this bar was once a local dive bar. then the Omaha music scene took over and it’s become the place to see and be seen for the indie rock crowd. it has one of the best juke boxes in town, however, and their purple shot is great for a buck.

3. Sullivans - ah, how I love thee, Sullivans. Great bartenders, karaoke half the week, always someone there you know (if you live in midtown).

4. the Leavenworth Bar - most people don’t know this about me, but I’m a sucker for cheap domestic beer and a decent juke box. This tiny bar has both, and in copious amounts. A great place to go hang out with a few friends when you’re feeling laid back.

5. the Homey Inn - yes, they were on Esquire’s list. But they have champagne on TAP for god-sake. How can I not list them!?

6. The Wine Bar - yes, this is it’s name. It’s a tiny little wine shop in Dundee. With a great selection, half-price bottles on Wednesdays, and a cute little sitting area, what’s not to love?!

7. Dundee Dell - old or new, these two bars (listed as one to keep confusion at bay) are amazing.

8. Upstream - their microbrews leave nothing to desire, and this great restaurant has a location downtown or out West, so anyone can go and enjoy their half-price pints on Wednesdays.

9. Buffalo Wild Wings - yes, it’s more of a restaurant than a bar. But I tend to do more drinking than eating there, so it counts.

10. the Rock Bottom - this interesting bar is located on 84th street and Center, and looks like hell from the outside. Inside you’ll find great staff, cheap drinks and fun karaoke. What can be better?

So what of it? What bars did I miss? I’m assuming quite a few, as Omaha might just have more bars per capita than any other in the nation. What are some of your favorites?

With huge debates still raging over the “one city, one school district” issue, a huge blow was dealt yesterday to those in opposition as the Unicameral passed Legislative Bill 641 through second-round consideration. This could mean that in the near future, OPS will be put back together and a bevy of good will be done for Omaha’s children city-wide.

Can you tell I’m all for the change?

Living in the downtown/midtown area, I see the schools kids in my area have to go to. With a higher percentage of rental properties, there are less homeowner taxes going to the schools per child, unlike in Millard, Ralston, and other suburban areas. Without this money, these kids suffer the under-funding issues kids in ghettos and inner cities suffer all over America. Older textbooks, little to no up-to-date technology at their disposal, and fewer after-school programs and extra-ciriculars in general.

While suburban parents get scared their kids will lose out on their personal laptops (as Westside high school students each have) and all their over-funding, what will really happen is much different. The kids I see every day playing in their yards and on the streets of my neighborhood will have after-school programs such as Family Math Night and Drama Club. They will have textbooks printed in this century (which many do not!), and they will have better funded school lunch programs.

They will be given a chance to become something other than a statistic.

Omaha, one city one school district, Bill 641

Any given weekend night in Omaha, but particularly Sunday nights, will find much of the twenty and thirty-something population on a sand volleyball court. Sand volleyball league play is right up there with Husker love in this town, and if you haven’t played yet, you’re missing out.

I for one had not taken up the sport of drunken sand volleyball until this season, when a few friends and I all decided it would be a great way to hang out, have a few beers, and pretend to be athletic. We assumed most teams would be like us, simply attempting to break out of the dolldrums and patterns our lives had taken on and have a little fun.

And then we showed up for our first game. People, if you aren’t a good volleyball player, your team will LOSE. And lose bad. To Omaha, volleyball is a very serious thing, and we were not at all prepared. So we spend our Sunday nights getting our asses handed to us, rotating in and out of the game to grab a quick beer, and hanging out afterwards nominating the lamp post and the picnic table as players of the game.

And we have a great time.

With a large number of bars in town sporting sand volleyball courts and leagues, there’s no excuse for everyone to get involved.

Omaha, sand volleyball

Did you know Omaha has some amazing artists, and some amazing spaces to show art? I did, but I’ve been discovering most people don’t realize the amazing art-culture that exists in this town. Nor do they realize we have the rare opportunity to see much of this art for free (or super cheap in comparison to other cities). With that in mind, here’s a great list of art shows to see this weekend!

it’s a slow newsday here in Omaha. Just a few stories today to get you started, but more to come later!

As you are reading this, a young family prepares to say goodbye. Today is the funeral for Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Shad Nicks, killed while riding his motorcycle by a 27 year old woman driving under the influence.

Sadly, this isn’t the only hit and run this month in Omaha. Just two days ago police arrested a 17-year old boy involved in a hit and run killing an elderly man.

With this sad wave of accidents of this nature, it begs the question: what are the lawmakers doing to curb peoples’ desire to drive under the influence and/or without a license at all? Some in Omaha are calling for tougher sentences, while some will cite lack of evidence that such harsh sentences actually curb the drunk driving problem happening all over the nation. I have myself known one too many people to drive drunk even after being involved in accidents! If that doesn’t curb the stupidity, what will???

Regardless of the legal outcomes, this family is in mourning. A young man, with a young wife and three young children, has been killed. According to this article, people are invited to show the family their support by lining the funeral procession route and donating to the fund that’s been set up in Deputy Nicks’ name.

omaha, deputy, hit and run, funeral