June 3, 2025 • 31 mins
Also, this post includes my mini-rant about the ROI from our taxes around here.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Scott Vordiez in addition to witty banter on this program
from nine to eleven. Lucy, you also hear her in
the morning on kfab's Morning News with Gary Sadelemeyer doing
Time Savored traffic updates. And I think that you would
be particularly qualified to weigh in on this story, Lucy.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hmm, okay.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I think you're gonna do better on this one than
having to guess at my stupid movie references or anything
like that.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I like guessing at your stupid movie references.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
And I'm sure you will have another opportunity to do
so sooner rather than later. We have about a week
until we have a brand new mayor. Brand new mayor.
He's still I met him, you know. He came into
the studio about a week and a half or so ago,
still had that newly elected mayor smell. But he hasn't
(00:55):
been sworn in yet, and he I think it's gonna
be late on the afternoon or evening of Monday, this
coming Monday the ninth, I think, so a week of
to day is Johnny Wing's first full day as mayor
of Omaha. K E TV News Watch seven said, here
(01:18):
you go, here's your day one responsibility. Here are your
marching orders. The story here from k E TV says,
we're taking a look at the roughest spots on the
roads that the city of Omaha is responsible for. Now,
that's that's a little different. Too often you drive around
(01:41):
this town. And I was talking about this with Mike
McKnight from WWT six news as we were hanging out
together socializing on Saturday night judging a mustache contest. Yes,
that's what Mike and I do on our one Saturday
night a year with not every Saturday night. I do
(02:02):
it every Saturday night. That's a great time. The mustache
is for kids charity fundraiser to raise over a million
dollars for kids' charities. Those guys are amazing. Mike McKnight
is particularly qualified to judge the contest as he has
a mustache. I am generally muss dashless.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Did you put a fake one on? No? Why? Well?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
I figure that this is they want a lot of
different viewpoints, including from those unmustached Americans otherwise not as
girls like me, So they want a different view Anyway,
I'm talking about this with Mike the other night. We
were talking about how there are so many roads under
constructions that it seems like no one is talking to
(02:50):
each other about what roads are going to be all
torn up, what cones are going up where? And it's like,
all right, we're gonna close this intersection. You like, all right,
I'll take this road and then you go over to
the next road over and that's also under construction. It's like, well,
what are you guys doing. Is Omaha closed for the summer?
It's like, sorry, Omaha's closed. Moose out front should have
(03:11):
told you. There's your eighties movie reference for this segment
of the radio program, I warnt it's vacation. It's vacation.
You should have just said the vacation part. You can't
even break the skin with that. Yeah, I can't break
the skin and cause a serious infection. It's a magnum
pi the it's it's not just the city of Omaha roads.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I know all these roads are in the city of Omaha.
But you've got your roads, you've got your highways. That's
a state thing. And you've got your interstates that's a
federal thing. And is it true that some of these
like Dodge Street, is that a US highway? That's like
(03:53):
the Feds or is that a state or is that
a city of Omaha? Or does it depend on where
you are on dodged where that designation is? Do you know?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I do? I believe anyway, I believe that Dodge Street
from the river to Highway thirty one where it is
Highway six, and then I guess Highway six is picked
up again right around Nashland. But Highway six is a
state or a state road or a federal road, and
(04:25):
so that's why it changes names. Right, So that's like
l Street and center.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
And then when you look at Omaha on a map
and you're like, just come down Dodge Street and someone
says they're come from out of town going, I don't
see a Dodge Street. I see like the Grand Road
of the Republic or something or whatever it's called on
some maps.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I think that's only over in Council Bluffs.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Now it's in Omaha. It's got a different designation once
in a while that no one here has any idea.
In fact, if you're in Omaha and someone's like, do
I just come down thirty one and take a right
on six and then go up Highway ninety two, You're like,
are you even in Nebraska? I don't know what roads
are you talking about. You know, Dodge Maple, two hundred
(05:08):
and fourth Street, I know those. I don't know what
highways you're talking Anyway, A lot of times, a lot
of these roads will be under construction at the same time.
But that's because the Feds are working on one, the
state's working on a different one, and then the city's
working on that one. And apparently none of them talked
about it because they're all closing are like the same vicinity.
(05:30):
So ketv here says, we're looking at the roughest spots
on roads at the City of Omaha is responsible for,
says our team dug into the International Roughness Index data
from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics as of the
most recent year available, twenty twenty three. The International Roughness Index.
(05:55):
What's that? I guess it just means whether or not
the road is a quality road. They talked to the
city engineer for Omaha. That's Austin Rouser says, well, Omaha
doesn't use that data because it measures what he refers
to as ride quality, not road quality. What's the difference
(06:17):
if you drive over a road and it's a rough
ride and the road is not quality. Isn't it all
the same thing? Anyway? Here are the top three spots
that k ETV in the International Roughness Index has said
are the three roughest roads in Omaha. Fiftieth in Center
(06:42):
number three?
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Is it? It's none like the best road ever, But
I don't know that I would rank it as number worst.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Right, It's like Saddle Creek and Center in that area.
There's a lot of traffic through that area. You got
High V over there, not far from Garrats.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
It was just friends. I was just on a road
the other day that I had not been on in
a long time, and I thought, what is happening here?
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Where was there?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
I don't remember?
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Well, thanks for cheating in it. Sorry, Well you only
go like two places? Can't you just trace? Retrace your steps? Now?
It's funny here because it says an International Roughness Index
score of one hundred and seventy is considered poor. The
IRI for fiftieth and Center again, one hundred and seventy
(07:32):
is a poor street. The score for fiftieth and Center
is five hundred and eight.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
But are you talking about just the intersection? I mean,
how do they put the parameters on it? From what point?
To what point.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Well, they have it, actually they specifically say fifty to
twenty three Center Street, but that sounds like a guy's yard.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
He's been rallying hard for that designation.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Yeah, so I'm just I'm just saying approximately, all right,
Like the next one is seventy one, ninety eight, I'm
just gonna say seventy second. And okay, is that so
fiftieth and Center that's number three, number two, seventy second
and Sorenson Parkway with a score of five hundred and
forty five.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yeah, that whole area military seventy second, that could all
be reworked.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Yeah, that's where Sorensen and Military run into UH Maple,
which is also radial and UH sixty four right, and
then there's Crown Point and I don't I don't know
where anything is.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Over there, and don't forget Fountain On Boulevard, the three way.
Weird intersection there makes.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
My head hurt. Yes, that whole area is the Bermuda Triangle.
But seventy second and Sorensen is considered to be the
second most rough road in Omaha, and then number one
with an index of five hundred and eighty eight. Again
one hundred and seventy is bad. This has got a
(08:58):
five hundred and eight eighty eight. So apparently if you
drive over this area, your car will be swallowed up
and you will never be heard from again, or the
road will be so rough you'll have to get your
tranny fixed, which I don't know if you can say
that this month. Thirty seventh in Ames.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
But it's not even a main thoroughfare, is it. It's
right there by the school.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
It is if you live in the area of thirty Well,
Ames is a major road through northeast Omaha. Thirty seventh isn't.
But if you know, if you're.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
On Okay, So they're talking about Ames, Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Yeah, thirty seventh and Ames on a like specifically thirty
seven oh two Ames Avenue. Or is someone over there
right now saying like, oh, that's Mike's house. Hey Mike,
it's the matter with your street. He's like, I know,
I pull out on my driveway and here it is
thirty seven o two Ames Avenue is the roughest road
(09:56):
in Omaha. So they said, all right, all right, mayor Ewing,
here are the road you said you wanted to improve
road quality. Here are the three worst spots. In Omaha,
and I look at this list and I say, yeah,
I mean Center, sorens and Ames. These are all major
(10:17):
roads around Omaha, so I don't take exception. What are
we going to do about it? I've also driven on
and around each of these areas recently. None of them
could stick out as being any worse than many other
roads around town. But I thought, we already are doing
(10:38):
the bond issue, which has been underway now for a
few years, which is going to repave all of Omaha's
roads from now until the end of time. Haven't we
already done that with like especially thirty seventh and Ames.
Haven't we already done that? Fiftieth and Center we haven't
done that. Well, k ETV talked to Austin Rauser city
engineer and said, what are you doing about this? He says, well,
(11:00):
the improvements are scheduled at fiftieth and Center Street this summer,
and then he said panel repairs are scheduled for Sorensen
as early as next year. Panel repairs is that where
he put down like just a piece of sheet metal
or something on the road, and then Ames Street is
(11:22):
due to be repaired in the next one to two years.
Ewing said. He told k E TV I was in
another major Midwest US city recently vacationing before taking office.
(11:44):
He didn't name the city, but he said I was
there and I didn't spot a single pothole when I
was there. All Right, Well, what else in this ban
of you know, the climate in Omaha experiences where you
have all four seasons in the same day. What other
city would that be that would be comparable to Omaha.
(12:08):
I mean, you can't go out to Colorado because that's
a different climate. Des Moines, sure, maybe Cheyenne. Uh So
you're looking here, I'm looking at the same latitudinal band
here of Cheyenne, I suppose. I mean, you could be
across Nebraska like North Platt, Grand Island, Carney. Now you
(12:28):
get over into Iowa, you're in Des Moines, Chicago. But
if you're in a lot of areas of Chicago, you're
that's a different climate than Omaha, but you have a
lot more traffic in a lot of those areas, and
every place else, like the quas cities of Iowa, that's
not going to be And if you go north or south,
you got a different climate there. And then I look
(12:52):
at some of these areas and go, where's John Ewing
going on vacation? Don't say des Moines. No one goes
to des Moines on a long vacation, no offense. That's
a day trip. I'm curious, maybe a weekend.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
What I'm curious. What is driving this this need to
find the answers to this because we have been in
this well, I've been in this town my whole life.
You have been in it most of most of my life.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Then we've never seen anything with any mayor, with any
city council truly improve.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
So well, I mean, nothing's gonna happen, and it's not
gonna be his fault anymore than it was Stothard's faults
or the mayor before her. Fahie right, Vase.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
You know that there are a few mares between those.
But let's not forget to subtle dub Dobb PJ. Morgan. Yeah, Oil,
there's a few mares.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Never changes.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Alice emails Scott at kfab dot com of a couple
of guys standing there doing road construction and one's looking
at the other one and says, all right, you see
those vehicles taking an alternate route over there. We need
to start construction over there too. That's kind of how
it seems around here. Sometimes we're talking about how KETV
News Watch seven is handed. John Ewing, the mayor elect,
(14:12):
his homework, says, here are the worst roads in Omaha,
and again fiftieth and Center seventy second and Sorensen thirty
seventh names are considered to be the three worst areas
of Omaha roads in the entire metro on the roads
that the City of Omaha is responsible for, not state highways,
(14:32):
not federal interstate interstates. So Lucy and I are talking
about this, she goes, I just don't understand why you
know the roads are so bad around here. Well, it
has to do with a range of factors. And we've
talked about this before, and everyone sounds like an excuse
to anyone who's running for office, Right, you got the
(14:54):
mayor and then you got the competitor, and the challenger
always comes out and says, well, I'll tell you what,
if we use a differ if it makes a concrete
that'd probably work. If we if we don't use as
much salt on the roads, or if we use more
salt on the roads, if we use sand set of salt,
and we use that different solution for all this, And
if the plows do this, and if we put a
(15:15):
dome over Omaha and you know, eliminate the freezing temperatures
followed by eighty degrees the next day, then maybe we
can you know, like, look, it's it's just kind of
how it goes. We're going to have some bad road
situations around here, but there's something else here. I was
(15:37):
thinking as the state legislature is once again gotten together
and said, all right, each of us was elected or
re elected because the people of Nebraska said, yeah, property
taxes are really high. We'd love for you to do
something about it. So we got down here and we said,
all right, boys won't play on girls sports teams. Well,
(15:59):
looks like we took care. Where are that issue? And
people are like, no, property taxes, oh, property taxes. I
thought you said bathrooms. And so once again the unicameral
has done nothing on the number one issue that is
causing people to not be able to afford to stay
in their homes. Now on the issue of property taxes,
(16:22):
what does this have to do with the roads? I'm
getting to it. Stop giving me that. Look. It used
to be that people said, yeah, the taxes, especially the
property taxes in Nebraska are pretty high, but you got
a good quality of life and all the rest of
this stuff. Well, now I have to look at this
(16:44):
in terms of where is the return on my investment
with all that I'm paying in taxes. And that's the
property taxes, that's the sales taxes, that's the restaurant tax,
that's the gas tax. That a lot of this comes
back to the local communities, that's the wheel tax, and
(17:05):
all the rest of this stuff. I look at everything
I'm paying and I go where exactly is the return
on my investment. I'll pay a little bit more if
I have good quality schools, if I have good quality roads,
if we have no major public safety issues. And I
(17:27):
look around my beloved hometown of Omaha. I'm sorry. I
can't say those things anymore. Now. People say, all right,
then move someplace else. Well, every place else is worse,
But I mean, I live here. I want to live here.
I want to fight for my community. I don't want
(17:51):
criminals thinking they can get away, literally get away with
murder in our community, especially if they have their twelve
year old brother pulled the trigger. I don't want people
just ignoring everything from traffic signals to speed limits flying
around this town all the time. I want the schools
(18:12):
to stand up and say, Okay, your kid is having
a problem in this class with another student who's threatening
your kid and the teacher and everyone. So rather than
make your kid the problem and move him, we're going
to do something meaningful for a lot of these kids
who are causing problems in the classroom. Doesn't matter what
(18:35):
age they are or any other demographics that might be
checked off. We're going to deal with the problem. And
that's what we need to do here. And we're going
to make sure that we're doing the best we can
with what the climate delivers us with potential road issues.
(18:55):
I don't see these things anymore. I mean, where is
the return on my investment? I think everyone would be like, yeah,
but property taxes are high. But you know, in exchange
for that, you get this, this and this. You know,
good safe area, quality schools, nice people and all that.
I don't know what's happened here to Omaha, but I
(19:17):
sadly see a lot of that slipping away. And I
think the number one reason why that's happening is because
I'm old. And that's what everyone says when they get old.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Not this time. I don't think it's your age. I
think that, yes, you are getting old, but you're old too,
but it's it has changed.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Yeah, I know, and we're saying that because we're old.
I don't know that that means we're wrong, but it
does mean we're old. Scott Fordes News Radio eleven ten
k FAD get some of the feedback here and like
this one from Andrew says, Omaha has become anti family
(19:56):
is what This email from Andrew says said to Scott
a k fab dot com in the Zonker's Custom Woods inbox.
Andrew says, Omaha has become anti families. Scott think it
through transgender flags everywhere. George Floyd riots poor schools, tests,
rising property taxes, families move out. That's from Andrew. All right,
(20:19):
transgender flags everywhere. I don't know that. I see transgender
flags everywhere, and I don't care. If you have a
flag out, I'd like to see an American flag. If
you choose to fly the there's no such thing I
(20:40):
don't think as a transgender flag. But if you fly
the rainbow flag, fine, I don't I don't care. It's
your home. You fly whatever flag you want. If you mean,
if it's a Colorado Buffalo's flag, I mean, someone's got
to move. But you know, other than that, I don't care.
(21:00):
I'm not gonna move if someone's got a transgender flag
on their home. George Floyd riots. We had our riot
in our community. And as much as I was incredibly
sad from my town that night, that wasn't my town.
(21:21):
My town was the next morning when people were downtown
helping clean up, that was Omaha. Poor schools. Tests. Yeah,
but the school. It's different than when we were going
to school. Because when we were going to school, if
you were a bad kid, it didn't want to be there, Fine,
(21:41):
get out. You could actually do that, it was amazing.
Or if you were in school but you weren't exactly
on a track with the rest of the class. It
wasn't like the teacher was going to say, all right,
let's hold everyone back on this lesson because there are
a few kids who either can't grasp it or don't
(22:03):
speak the language, and so let's just slow everyone down.
They didn't do that. They say, all right, you need
to be in this classroom. You need to be in
this classroom, and it seems like your behavior is such
that you shouldn't be anywhere near here, get out. And
so then you had this weird combination of students who
kind of actually felt good about being there most of
(22:26):
the time. Yeah, we were students. We didn't want to
be in school, but it was known that you had
to do your best or face consequences at home, and
the parents would help you face those consequences. This is
not the case. For example, story here from a middle
school in Charlotte, North Carolina. There was a girl at
(22:49):
a middle school who kept getting in fights with everyone,
so they brought mom in to have a conversation with
her about the daughter keeps fighting with everyone. How do
you think the rest of this story win?
Speaker 2 (23:01):
What happened?
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Mom is now arrested, accused him, accused of attacking two
administrators at the middle school. Is said, Hey, we got
a problem here. We want to know why your daughter's
fighting so much. My daughter's fighting so much, you know that,
And she fought the school staff who had a problem
with her daughter fighting all the time. The days of Hey,
(23:26):
you want me to call your mom or dad down
to the school and have them deal with you. No,
please don't tell my dad. Those days are gone. It's
not the school's fault. They're the ones who have to
deal with all of it. I do believe there are
lots of ways the schools can do better and don't.
(23:48):
And then rising property taxes. That's the last of your
misnomers here, Andrew. We don't have rising property taxes. We
ad out of control property value. So you have the
people in charge of the property taxes. In some instances
they actually lower your property taxes. But then here comes
(24:10):
to valuation. Oh, your home hasn't been assessed in ten years, Well,
it's probably quadrupled in value. So rather than a common
sense stairstep approach to get you to where your valuation
should be and put you someplace where you couldn't possibly
sell your home for that amount of money, instead they
just jack up the assessment of your home and so
(24:31):
now you're paying lower property tax rates on a higher value,
which means your property taxes go up. It's a fun
little game we play here in Omaha, and we play
it all the time, and it's not just Omaha, it's
across the state of Nebraska. There was one man who
was trying to do something about it, and he died.
Douglas County assessor, Walt Peffer. I'm still mad at him
(24:51):
for dying. He was a very good man and I
miss him. And he had solutions in place, and I
don't see anyone picking that up. We have a new
county assessor. Where are you. You're alive, do something if
you need to know the plans. I'm sure Walt saved
them on a hard drive somewhere. If not, I'll email
(25:13):
them to you. He sent them to me. I have copies.
So look, I love Omaha. Kind of hard to tell, Scott,
didn't you just say that this is the worst place
on earth?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
No?
Speaker 1 (25:28):
I didn't say that. I said I would be fine
paying the property tax and the other taxes I do
if I saw a return on my investment, If I,
the taxpayer, are running a business and said, all right,
my taxes go towards public safety, doing something about the homeless,
(25:49):
clamping down on those people who are very dangerous drivers
around the community, making sure we have good schools, making
sure the roads are good quality. Where is the return
on my investment? I don't see it. Speaking of the
homeless situation, we've got a letter here to the radio
station that says please do not It has her name
(26:12):
and says, please do not publish my name or contact me. Well,
thanks for the letter. Yeah, well, I won't read the
entire thing. She says that there's an issue, and I've
called the mayor's hotline several times, and the standard response
(26:32):
that it's on public property and unless someone gets hurt,
there's nothing we can do. Well, what's going on. It's
a guy who's there at the intersection of about seventy
second and Grover So right off I seven or eighty
and seventy second Street, and this individual stakes out the
corner and this intersection been there for about a year,
and he menaces those who drive by. He curses, he
(26:55):
shouts nonsense at them while they're stopped at the light.
He curses at kids in cars. He angrily waves signs
filled with profanity and endearing slogans such as just shoot me,
you blanken cowards? And isn't there something we can do
(27:17):
about this? And apparently no, there is something we can
do about it, but there's nothing we will do about it.
You know, I love raising a family. Here. My family
is I've got a daughter heading off to college in
(27:37):
the fall. She's not exactly raised, but you know, she's
not a little kid anymore, which I hate. Her little
brother still needs he still needs a good strapping now
and then, except I'm not the one to do it
because he's as big as I am now and I'm
kind of afraid of him. But you know, these kids
(27:59):
are pretty well. But have you ever had to lay
down the law for your family and basically have a
family team meeting and say, listen, no one in this family,
I'm looking at my wife. I put the hammer down
the other night. I looked at my wife, I looked
(28:22):
at my daughter, and I looked my son right in
the eye because he's my height, which I hate. And
I said, no one in this family is too good
not to eat the heel of the bread. We've got
a brand new loaf of bread that's just gone here
in the bread door, bread drawer, and it's right next
(28:43):
to two plastic packages where an entire loaf of bread
used to be, and now there's only one or two
lowly dwindling heel in there, bread heels. You know what
(29:03):
the heel of the bread is?
Speaker 2 (29:04):
You know, think you just described your family reunion at
the end.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
No, just a bunch of heels, Yeah I did, But no,
the heels. That's uh yeah, that's the you know, the
the first slice of bread you would get in a
slice bread package, and then the last one the heels
the bread, which is all you know, one side of
it's all crust. And apparently my family's all decided that,
(29:32):
from little Lord funt Roy up to a Princess number one,
Princess number two, that when they're making a sandwich or
some toast for themselves, I understand the heel of the
bread maybe not as good as the rest of the bread.
Maybe it's not, maybe it's not. Certainly doesn't toast up
as well. But apparently they all have decided they're too
good for the heel of the bread. And you know
(29:54):
who's gonna eat it? Dad? Dad will eat.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
A will make you feel good, worst crappy piece of bread.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
I did. No, I didn't eat the worst crappy piece
of bread. I eat both of them. Made a sandwich
with the bottom heel and then the top heel and
some various meats and cheeses and condiments in between. I said, look,
I'm eating bread. You know what this is? You know
what this part is here? It's bread. You know what
this part is here? Also bread? It's all bread, and
(30:23):
no one in this family is good, too good to
eat the heel. You guys got that, they'd already put
back on their various air pods, and.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
You know how to get the girls to eat it?
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Phones out and they're started ignoring me. But I think
that I got my message across. How do you get
the girls to eat it?
Speaker 2 (30:40):
It's fewer calories, it's the thinner.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Is that true?
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Can you do you have eyes? Yes, it's thinner than
the bread. I suppose it's less calories.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
There you go. It's good for you because you talked
to any of these people who are losing a lot
of weight, they'll say, yes, we eat a lot of
bread carbs. That's that's how we lost all this weight.
Scott Voices, News Radio eleven ten kfab
Scott Vordiez in addition to witty banter on this program
from nine to eleven. Lucy, you also hear her in
the morning on kfab's Morning News with Gary Sadelemeyer doing
Time Savored traffic updates. And I think that you would
be particularly qualified to weigh in on this story, Lucy.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hmm, okay.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I think you're gonna do better on this one than
having to guess at my stupid movie references or anything
like that.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
I like guessing at your stupid movie references.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
And I'm sure you will have another opportunity to do
so sooner rather than later. We have about a week
until we have a brand new mayor. Brand new mayor.
He's still I met him, you know. He came into
the studio about a week and a half or so ago,
still had that newly elected mayor smell. But he hasn't
(00:55):
been sworn in yet, and he I think it's gonna
be late on the afternoon or evening of Monday, this
coming Monday the ninth, I think, so a week of
to day is Johnny Wing's first full day as mayor
of Omaha. K E TV News Watch seven said, here
(01:18):
you go, here's your day one responsibility. Here are your
marching orders. The story here from k E TV says,
we're taking a look at the roughest spots on the
roads that the city of Omaha is responsible for. Now,
that's that's a little different. Too often you drive around
(01:41):
this town. And I was talking about this with Mike
McKnight from WWT six news as we were hanging out
together socializing on Saturday night judging a mustache contest. Yes,
that's what Mike and I do on our one Saturday
night a year with not every Saturday night. I do
(02:02):
it every Saturday night. That's a great time. The mustache
is for kids charity fundraiser to raise over a million
dollars for kids' charities. Those guys are amazing. Mike McKnight
is particularly qualified to judge the contest as he has
a mustache. I am generally muss dashless.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Did you put a fake one on? No? Why? Well?
Speaker 1 (02:26):
I figure that this is they want a lot of
different viewpoints, including from those unmustached Americans otherwise not as
girls like me, So they want a different view Anyway,
I'm talking about this with Mike the other night. We
were talking about how there are so many roads under
constructions that it seems like no one is talking to
(02:50):
each other about what roads are going to be all
torn up, what cones are going up where? And it's like,
all right, we're gonna close this intersection. You like, all right,
I'll take this road and then you go over to
the next road over and that's also under construction. It's like, well,
what are you guys doing. Is Omaha closed for the summer?
It's like, sorry, Omaha's closed. Moose out front should have
(03:11):
told you. There's your eighties movie reference for this segment
of the radio program, I warnt it's vacation. It's vacation.
You should have just said the vacation part. You can't
even break the skin with that. Yeah, I can't break
the skin and cause a serious infection. It's a magnum
pi the it's it's not just the city of Omaha roads.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Now.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
I know all these roads are in the city of Omaha.
But you've got your roads, you've got your highways. That's
a state thing. And you've got your interstates that's a
federal thing. And is it true that some of these
like Dodge Street, is that a US highway? That's like
(03:53):
the Feds or is that a state or is that
a city of Omaha? Or does it depend on where
you are on dodged where that designation is? Do you know?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
I do? I believe anyway, I believe that Dodge Street
from the river to Highway thirty one where it is
Highway six, and then I guess Highway six is picked
up again right around Nashland. But Highway six is a
state or a state road or a federal road, and
(04:25):
so that's why it changes names. Right, So that's like
l Street and center.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
And then when you look at Omaha on a map
and you're like, just come down Dodge Street and someone
says they're come from out of town going, I don't
see a Dodge Street. I see like the Grand Road
of the Republic or something or whatever it's called on
some maps.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
I think that's only over in Council Bluffs.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Now it's in Omaha. It's got a different designation once
in a while that no one here has any idea.
In fact, if you're in Omaha and someone's like, do
I just come down thirty one and take a right
on six and then go up Highway ninety two, You're like,
are you even in Nebraska? I don't know what roads
are you talking about. You know, Dodge Maple, two hundred
(05:08):
and fourth Street, I know those. I don't know what
highways you're talking Anyway, A lot of times, a lot
of these roads will be under construction at the same time.
But that's because the Feds are working on one, the
state's working on a different one, and then the city's
working on that one. And apparently none of them talked
about it because they're all closing are like the same vicinity.
(05:30):
So ketv here says, we're looking at the roughest spots
on roads at the City of Omaha is responsible for,
says our team dug into the International Roughness Index data
from the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics as of the
most recent year available, twenty twenty three. The International Roughness Index.
(05:55):
What's that? I guess it just means whether or not
the road is a quality road. They talked to the
city engineer for Omaha. That's Austin Rouser says, well, Omaha
doesn't use that data because it measures what he refers
to as ride quality, not road quality. What's the difference
(06:17):
if you drive over a road and it's a rough
ride and the road is not quality. Isn't it all
the same thing? Anyway? Here are the top three spots
that k ETV in the International Roughness Index has said
are the three roughest roads in Omaha. Fiftieth in Center
(06:42):
number three?
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Is it? It's none like the best road ever, But
I don't know that I would rank it as number worst.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
Right, It's like Saddle Creek and Center in that area.
There's a lot of traffic through that area. You got
High V over there, not far from Garrats.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
It was just friends. I was just on a road
the other day that I had not been on in
a long time, and I thought, what is happening here?
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Where was there?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
I don't remember?
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Well, thanks for cheating in it. Sorry, Well you only
go like two places? Can't you just trace? Retrace your steps? Now?
It's funny here because it says an International Roughness Index
score of one hundred and seventy is considered poor. The
IRI for fiftieth and Center again, one hundred and seventy
(07:32):
is a poor street. The score for fiftieth and Center
is five hundred and eight.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
But are you talking about just the intersection? I mean,
how do they put the parameters on it? From what point?
To what point.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Well, they have it, actually they specifically say fifty to
twenty three Center Street, but that sounds like a guy's yard.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
He's been rallying hard for that designation.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Yeah, so I'm just I'm just saying approximately, all right,
Like the next one is seventy one, ninety eight, I'm
just gonna say seventy second. And okay, is that so
fiftieth and Center that's number three, number two, seventy second
and Sorenson Parkway with a score of five hundred and
forty five.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yeah, that whole area military seventy second, that could all
be reworked.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Yeah, that's where Sorensen and Military run into UH Maple,
which is also radial and UH sixty four right, and
then there's Crown Point and I don't I don't know
where anything is.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Over there, and don't forget Fountain On Boulevard, the three way.
Weird intersection there makes.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
My head hurt. Yes, that whole area is the Bermuda Triangle.
But seventy second and Sorensen is considered to be the
second most rough road in Omaha, and then number one
with an index of five hundred and eighty eight. Again
one hundred and seventy is bad. This has got a
(08:58):
five hundred and eight eighty eight. So apparently if you
drive over this area, your car will be swallowed up
and you will never be heard from again, or the
road will be so rough you'll have to get your
tranny fixed, which I don't know if you can say
that this month. Thirty seventh in Ames.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
But it's not even a main thoroughfare, is it. It's
right there by the school.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
It is if you live in the area of thirty Well,
Ames is a major road through northeast Omaha. Thirty seventh isn't.
But if you know, if you're.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
On Okay, So they're talking about Ames, Okay.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Yeah, thirty seventh and Ames on a like specifically thirty
seven oh two Ames Avenue. Or is someone over there
right now saying like, oh, that's Mike's house. Hey Mike,
it's the matter with your street. He's like, I know,
I pull out on my driveway and here it is
thirty seven o two Ames Avenue is the roughest road
(09:56):
in Omaha. So they said, all right, all right, mayor Ewing,
here are the road you said you wanted to improve
road quality. Here are the three worst spots. In Omaha,
and I look at this list and I say, yeah,
I mean Center, sorens and Ames. These are all major
(10:17):
roads around Omaha, so I don't take exception. What are
we going to do about it? I've also driven on
and around each of these areas recently. None of them
could stick out as being any worse than many other
roads around town. But I thought, we already are doing
(10:38):
the bond issue, which has been underway now for a
few years, which is going to repave all of Omaha's
roads from now until the end of time. Haven't we
already done that with like especially thirty seventh and Ames.
Haven't we already done that? Fiftieth and Center we haven't
done that. Well, k ETV talked to Austin Rauser city
engineer and said, what are you doing about this? He says, well,
(11:00):
the improvements are scheduled at fiftieth and Center Street this summer,
and then he said panel repairs are scheduled for Sorensen
as early as next year. Panel repairs is that where
he put down like just a piece of sheet metal
or something on the road, and then Ames Street is
(11:22):
due to be repaired in the next one to two years.
Ewing said. He told k E TV I was in
another major Midwest US city recently vacationing before taking office.
(11:44):
He didn't name the city, but he said I was
there and I didn't spot a single pothole when I
was there. All Right, Well, what else in this ban
of you know, the climate in Omaha experiences where you
have all four seasons in the same day. What other
city would that be that would be comparable to Omaha.
(12:08):
I mean, you can't go out to Colorado because that's
a different climate. Des Moines, sure, maybe Cheyenne. Uh So
you're looking here, I'm looking at the same latitudinal band
here of Cheyenne, I suppose. I mean, you could be
across Nebraska like North Platt, Grand Island, Carney. Now you
(12:28):
get over into Iowa, you're in Des Moines, Chicago. But
if you're in a lot of areas of Chicago, you're
that's a different climate than Omaha, but you have a
lot more traffic in a lot of those areas, and
every place else, like the quas cities of Iowa, that's
not going to be And if you go north or south,
you got a different climate there. And then I look
(12:52):
at some of these areas and go, where's John Ewing
going on vacation? Don't say des Moines. No one goes
to des Moines on a long vacation, no offense. That's
a day trip. I'm curious, maybe a weekend.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
What I'm curious. What is driving this this need to
find the answers to this because we have been in
this well, I've been in this town my whole life.
You have been in it most of most of my life.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Then we've never seen anything with any mayor, with any
city council truly improve.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
So well, I mean, nothing's gonna happen, and it's not
gonna be his fault anymore than it was Stothard's faults
or the mayor before her. Fahie right, Vase.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
You know that there are a few mares between those.
But let's not forget to subtle dub Dobb PJ. Morgan. Yeah, Oil,
there's a few mares.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Never changes.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Alice emails Scott at kfab dot com of a couple
of guys standing there doing road construction and one's looking
at the other one and says, all right, you see
those vehicles taking an alternate route over there. We need
to start construction over there too. That's kind of how
it seems around here. Sometimes we're talking about how KETV
News Watch seven is handed. John Ewing, the mayor elect,
(14:12):
his homework, says, here are the worst roads in Omaha,
and again fiftieth and Center seventy second and Sorensen thirty
seventh names are considered to be the three worst areas
of Omaha roads in the entire metro on the roads
that the City of Omaha is responsible for, not state highways,
(14:32):
not federal interstate interstates. So Lucy and I are talking
about this, she goes, I just don't understand why you
know the roads are so bad around here. Well, it
has to do with a range of factors. And we've
talked about this before, and everyone sounds like an excuse
to anyone who's running for office, Right, you got the
(14:54):
mayor and then you got the competitor, and the challenger
always comes out and says, well, I'll tell you what,
if we use a differ if it makes a concrete
that'd probably work. If we if we don't use as
much salt on the roads, or if we use more
salt on the roads, if we use sand set of salt,
and we use that different solution for all this, And
if the plows do this, and if we put a
(15:15):
dome over Omaha and you know, eliminate the freezing temperatures
followed by eighty degrees the next day, then maybe we
can you know, like, look, it's it's just kind of
how it goes. We're going to have some bad road
situations around here, but there's something else here. I was
(15:37):
thinking as the state legislature is once again gotten together
and said, all right, each of us was elected or
re elected because the people of Nebraska said, yeah, property
taxes are really high. We'd love for you to do
something about it. So we got down here and we said,
all right, boys won't play on girls sports teams. Well,
(15:59):
looks like we took care. Where are that issue? And
people are like, no, property taxes, oh, property taxes. I
thought you said bathrooms. And so once again the unicameral
has done nothing on the number one issue that is
causing people to not be able to afford to stay
in their homes. Now on the issue of property taxes,
(16:22):
what does this have to do with the roads? I'm
getting to it. Stop giving me that. Look. It used
to be that people said, yeah, the taxes, especially the
property taxes in Nebraska are pretty high, but you got
a good quality of life and all the rest of
this stuff. Well, now I have to look at this
(16:44):
in terms of where is the return on my investment
with all that I'm paying in taxes. And that's the
property taxes, that's the sales taxes, that's the restaurant tax,
that's the gas tax. That a lot of this comes
back to the local communities, that's the wheel tax, and
(17:05):
all the rest of this stuff. I look at everything
I'm paying and I go where exactly is the return
on my investment. I'll pay a little bit more if
I have good quality schools, if I have good quality roads,
if we have no major public safety issues. And I
(17:27):
look around my beloved hometown of Omaha. I'm sorry. I
can't say those things anymore. Now. People say, all right,
then move someplace else. Well, every place else is worse,
But I mean, I live here. I want to live here.
I want to fight for my community. I don't want
(17:51):
criminals thinking they can get away, literally get away with
murder in our community, especially if they have their twelve
year old brother pulled the trigger. I don't want people
just ignoring everything from traffic signals to speed limits flying
around this town all the time. I want the schools
(18:12):
to stand up and say, Okay, your kid is having
a problem in this class with another student who's threatening
your kid and the teacher and everyone. So rather than
make your kid the problem and move him, we're going
to do something meaningful for a lot of these kids
who are causing problems in the classroom. Doesn't matter what
(18:35):
age they are or any other demographics that might be
checked off. We're going to deal with the problem. And
that's what we need to do here. And we're going
to make sure that we're doing the best we can
with what the climate delivers us with potential road issues.
(18:55):
I don't see these things anymore. I mean, where is
the return on my investment? I think everyone would be like, yeah,
but property taxes are high. But you know, in exchange
for that, you get this, this and this. You know,
good safe area, quality schools, nice people and all that.
I don't know what's happened here to Omaha, but I
(19:17):
sadly see a lot of that slipping away. And I
think the number one reason why that's happening is because
I'm old. And that's what everyone says when they get old.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Not this time. I don't think it's your age. I
think that, yes, you are getting old, but you're old too,
but it's it has changed.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
Yeah, I know, and we're saying that because we're old.
I don't know that that means we're wrong, but it
does mean we're old. Scott Fordes News Radio eleven ten
k FAD get some of the feedback here and like
this one from Andrew says, Omaha has become anti family
(19:56):
is what This email from Andrew says said to Scott
a k fab dot com in the Zonker's Custom Woods inbox.
Andrew says, Omaha has become anti families. Scott think it
through transgender flags everywhere. George Floyd riots poor schools, tests,
rising property taxes, families move out. That's from Andrew. All right,
(20:19):
transgender flags everywhere. I don't know that. I see transgender
flags everywhere, and I don't care. If you have a
flag out, I'd like to see an American flag. If
you choose to fly the there's no such thing I
(20:40):
don't think as a transgender flag. But if you fly
the rainbow flag, fine, I don't I don't care. It's
your home. You fly whatever flag you want. If you mean,
if it's a Colorado Buffalo's flag, I mean, someone's got
to move. But you know, other than that, I don't care.
(21:00):
I'm not gonna move if someone's got a transgender flag
on their home. George Floyd riots. We had our riot
in our community. And as much as I was incredibly
sad from my town that night, that wasn't my town.
(21:21):
My town was the next morning when people were downtown
helping clean up, that was Omaha. Poor schools. Tests. Yeah,
but the school. It's different than when we were going
to school. Because when we were going to school, if
you were a bad kid, it didn't want to be there, Fine,
(21:41):
get out. You could actually do that, it was amazing.
Or if you were in school but you weren't exactly
on a track with the rest of the class. It
wasn't like the teacher was going to say, all right,
let's hold everyone back on this lesson because there are
a few kids who either can't grasp it or don't
(22:03):
speak the language, and so let's just slow everyone down.
They didn't do that. They say, all right, you need
to be in this classroom. You need to be in
this classroom, and it seems like your behavior is such
that you shouldn't be anywhere near here, get out. And
so then you had this weird combination of students who
kind of actually felt good about being there most of
(22:26):
the time. Yeah, we were students. We didn't want to
be in school, but it was known that you had
to do your best or face consequences at home, and
the parents would help you face those consequences. This is
not the case. For example, story here from a middle
school in Charlotte, North Carolina. There was a girl at
(22:49):
a middle school who kept getting in fights with everyone,
so they brought mom in to have a conversation with
her about the daughter keeps fighting with everyone. How do
you think the rest of this story win?
Speaker 2 (23:01):
What happened?
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Mom is now arrested, accused him, accused of attacking two
administrators at the middle school. Is said, Hey, we got
a problem here. We want to know why your daughter's
fighting so much. My daughter's fighting so much, you know that,
And she fought the school staff who had a problem
with her daughter fighting all the time. The days of Hey,
(23:26):
you want me to call your mom or dad down
to the school and have them deal with you. No,
please don't tell my dad. Those days are gone. It's
not the school's fault. They're the ones who have to
deal with all of it. I do believe there are
lots of ways the schools can do better and don't.
(23:48):
And then rising property taxes. That's the last of your
misnomers here, Andrew. We don't have rising property taxes. We
ad out of control property value. So you have the
people in charge of the property taxes. In some instances
they actually lower your property taxes. But then here comes
(24:10):
to valuation. Oh, your home hasn't been assessed in ten years, Well,
it's probably quadrupled in value. So rather than a common
sense stairstep approach to get you to where your valuation
should be and put you someplace where you couldn't possibly
sell your home for that amount of money, instead they
just jack up the assessment of your home and so
(24:31):
now you're paying lower property tax rates on a higher value,
which means your property taxes go up. It's a fun
little game we play here in Omaha, and we play
it all the time, and it's not just Omaha, it's
across the state of Nebraska. There was one man who
was trying to do something about it, and he died.
Douglas County assessor, Walt Peffer. I'm still mad at him
(24:51):
for dying. He was a very good man and I
miss him. And he had solutions in place, and I
don't see anyone picking that up. We have a new
county assessor. Where are you. You're alive, do something if
you need to know the plans. I'm sure Walt saved
them on a hard drive somewhere. If not, I'll email
(25:13):
them to you. He sent them to me. I have copies.
So look, I love Omaha. Kind of hard to tell, Scott,
didn't you just say that this is the worst place
on earth?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
No?
Speaker 1 (25:28):
I didn't say that. I said I would be fine
paying the property tax and the other taxes I do
if I saw a return on my investment, If I,
the taxpayer, are running a business and said, all right,
my taxes go towards public safety, doing something about the homeless,
(25:49):
clamping down on those people who are very dangerous drivers
around the community, making sure we have good schools, making
sure the roads are good quality. Where is the return
on my investment? I don't see it. Speaking of the
homeless situation, we've got a letter here to the radio
station that says please do not It has her name
(26:12):
and says, please do not publish my name or contact me. Well,
thanks for the letter. Yeah, well, I won't read the
entire thing. She says that there's an issue, and I've
called the mayor's hotline several times, and the standard response
(26:32):
that it's on public property and unless someone gets hurt,
there's nothing we can do. Well, what's going on. It's
a guy who's there at the intersection of about seventy
second and Grover So right off I seven or eighty
and seventy second Street, and this individual stakes out the
corner and this intersection been there for about a year,
and he menaces those who drive by. He curses, he
(26:55):
shouts nonsense at them while they're stopped at the light.
He curses at kids in cars. He angrily waves signs
filled with profanity and endearing slogans such as just shoot me,
you blanken cowards? And isn't there something we can do
(27:17):
about this? And apparently no, there is something we can
do about it, but there's nothing we will do about it.
You know, I love raising a family. Here. My family
is I've got a daughter heading off to college in
(27:37):
the fall. She's not exactly raised, but you know, she's
not a little kid anymore, which I hate. Her little
brother still needs he still needs a good strapping now
and then, except I'm not the one to do it
because he's as big as I am now and I'm
kind of afraid of him. But you know, these kids
(27:59):
are pretty well. But have you ever had to lay
down the law for your family and basically have a
family team meeting and say, listen, no one in this family,
I'm looking at my wife. I put the hammer down
the other night. I looked at my wife, I looked
(28:22):
at my daughter, and I looked my son right in
the eye because he's my height, which I hate. And
I said, no one in this family is too good
not to eat the heel of the bread. We've got
a brand new loaf of bread that's just gone here
in the bread door, bread drawer, and it's right next
(28:43):
to two plastic packages where an entire loaf of bread
used to be, and now there's only one or two
lowly dwindling heel in there, bread heels. You know what
(29:03):
the heel of the bread is?
Speaker 2 (29:04):
You know, think you just described your family reunion at
the end.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
No, just a bunch of heels, Yeah I did, But no,
the heels. That's uh yeah, that's the you know, the
the first slice of bread you would get in a
slice bread package, and then the last one the heels
the bread, which is all you know, one side of
it's all crust. And apparently my family's all decided that,
(29:32):
from little Lord funt Roy up to a Princess number one,
Princess number two, that when they're making a sandwich or
some toast for themselves, I understand the heel of the
bread maybe not as good as the rest of the bread.
Maybe it's not, maybe it's not. Certainly doesn't toast up
as well. But apparently they all have decided they're too
good for the heel of the bread. And you know
(29:54):
who's gonna eat it? Dad? Dad will eat.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
A will make you feel good, worst crappy piece of bread.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
I did. No, I didn't eat the worst crappy piece
of bread. I eat both of them. Made a sandwich
with the bottom heel and then the top heel and
some various meats and cheeses and condiments in between. I said, look,
I'm eating bread. You know what this is? You know
what this part is here? It's bread. You know what
this part is here? Also bread? It's all bread, and
(30:23):
no one in this family is good, too good to
eat the heel. You guys got that, they'd already put
back on their various air pods, and.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
You know how to get the girls to eat it?
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Phones out and they're started ignoring me. But I think
that I got my message across. How do you get
the girls to eat it?
Speaker 2 (30:40):
It's fewer calories, it's the thinner.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Is that true?
Speaker 2 (30:44):
Can you do you have eyes? Yes, it's thinner than
the bread. I suppose it's less calories.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
There you go. It's good for you because you talked
to any of these people who are losing a lot
of weight, they'll say, yes, we eat a lot of
bread carbs. That's that's how we lost all this weight.
Scott Voices, News Radio eleven ten kfab
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