If you thought the boxing match between Millard and Omaha in 1971 was big, then grab a ringside seat for the match between Omaha and Elkhorn.
Meet the two contenders…
Name: Omaha
Nickname: The Big “O”
Height: 1272 ft above sea level
Weight: 390,000 people
Age: 150 years old
Reach: 116 square miles
Ringside manager: Mike Fahey
Secret Weapon: “It’s still a secret.” - anonymous
Name: Elkhorn
Nickname: Those rich snobs out west
Height: 1170 ft above sea level
Weight: Approaching 10,000
Age: (was offended that I asked)
Reach: 3.7 square miles
Ringside manager: Phil Klein
Secret Weapon: “We have the highest household income in the state, and we’re not going to be told what to do by the poor schmucks of Omaha. We’ll buy our way out of this fight.” - anonymous
Las Vegas has not placed odds on this fight as of posting time, but if I were a betting man, I would say Omaha is the slight favorite.
What are your thoughts?
ryan, ur population stats arent quite right, omaha has almost 405,000……and soon to be 415,000…….
Personally, big whoop.
I live out near the front lines of this battle, but when I took a look at the suppliment map someone posted in an earlier blog, since where I live isn’t affected, I just lost all interest.
I’m not that good on odds-making (And these are not official.) but I’d probably have to put these odds:
Omaha: -150
Elkhorn: +125
(Explanation: These are Sports Book based. Basically, betting on Omaha, you need to wager $150 to win $100. For Elkhorn, you’d win $125 [plus your original $100] if you bet $100.)
I’m gonna go ahead and put my money on Omaha for this one. I mean we just have that whole “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” thing going on if you think about it. We seem all nicey nicey like we just wanna make friends with Elkhorn then BAM! we take em out and make em part of Omaha. Besides Steve’s from Elkhorn so it’s extra funny. And why the hell is Matthew Lyttle posting on our blog?
That’s some good stuff there. It’s going to be damn hard for Elkhorn to win this one unless they’re able to find a sympathetic judge. It’s kind of a crap situation. Can’t really blame Fahey or the residents of Elkhorn for their respective actions. Still, my money’s on Omaha in a knock-out unless the city gets DQ’ed for hitting below the belt.
Where’s Don King when you need him?
woah. This is getting serious… should I be ducking punches? (Considering I live in one of the contenders.) Can we double team Elkhorn? Like in WWF? Where is the break away chair? I am going to knock the snobby, garbage pick-up bumming, stuffing out of them!
The War of Eastern Aggression is on, and Elkhorn is going to get served.
I take the Yankees in overtime. I’m aware that they aren’t yet in the fight, but with A-Rod AND Jeter on their team, it’s hard to imagine they won’t make a late appearance. Fehey doesn’t stand a chance, unless of course he starts shooting up with some steroids.
What?
It’s interesting Lyttle Matthew “lost all interest” when he found out he wouldn’t personally be affected by the annexation. This is a clear indication of a shallow thinker, one who’s self-interest is at the heart of every decision he make. But, for those of you who read his “columns” - this sort of behavior is probably not a surprise. Oh, and by the way, Lyttle Matthew, thanks for the gambling lesson.
Sure the yanks got A-Rod, and yeah we all know it’s not that hard to buy an MLB championship.
But any team that is willing to pay Jeter money, even if it does lead to success, doesn’t deserve our allegience.
I’ve got UT Longhorns and the Whitesox filing amicus briefs on behalf of Fahey and the Big City. Judge rules for Fahey and the City, Friend gets an automatic DQ from unsportsman like hackery, Fahey goes on to win the election in a blowout.
I didn’t lose all interest, Matt. If I did, would I have commented on this? It just doesn’t bother me as much. Well, that, and I can’t really vote for the Mayoral election. I’m just outside District 6.
(The way I see it, this is Fahey’s “February Surprise.”)
But as far as a shallow thinker, well, it takes one to know one. I’m surprised you mentioned my “Columns,” since you’re the first to mention them in over, say, a month.
As soon as there is something noteworthy to talk about from your columns, I’m sure people will talk about it.
Abbey, I’ll have to admit, I stopped reading his “columns” nearly as soon as he began writing them, as I find his use of our dear language aplorable.
When he writes pigs are slaughtered, men are gnashing their teeth and women are weeping. . . he makes my eyes bleed. (TY LB)
Suffice to say, he’s proved himself completely irrelevant. Nothing is worse than irrelevance, not even hatred.
Lyttle, Matthew, it takes one to know one? Are you like, 11? Certainly someone who thinks as highly of himself could come up with something more creative than a “nan-a-nan-a-boo-boo.”
One last thing, I’m rubber you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off me, and sticks to you!
Now that, my dear friends, is comedy!
Noteworthy? Apparently, accusing your party of trying to reinstate the Draft, and having the proof to back it up isn’t that “noteworthy.”
i feel someone around here is a little misinformed, republicans wont ever get why the democrats brought that up on the table, no matter how many times we tell them
Matthew, I don’t know why you are calling this Fahey’s ‘February Surprise’. It is actually Elkhorn’s February Surprise. They made a preemptive strike against Omaha. Fahey and the city had no choice but to respond. If Fahey didn’t respond, Friend would really be on his case.
Secondly, this will be a non-issue in the Mayor’s race. Most Omaha voters either don’t care about or support annexing Elkhorn. If Dave Friend tries to make this an issue, Fahey can run tv commercials asking Omaha if they want a mayor that is for economic growth or a mayor that wants to stunt Omaha’s growth. Almost every person that I know that lives east of 72nd Street is laughing at Elkhorn. The residents of Elkhorn will finally have to come down from their high horse.
If this does become an issue in the mayor’s race, it will benefit Fahey.
Well, chief, I could’ve sworn Omaha got their bid in first. I can understand it being a “non-issue”, if Omaha wins the annexation, the new Omahans won’t be able to vote in March. But, then again, word can travel fast. They may not be able to vote, but…
I called it “Fahey’s February Surprise” because first off, I thought Fahey/Omaha filed first. But more importantly, Elkhorn isn’t vieing for the Mayor’s office against Fahey. I really don’t think that this annexation thing is going to benefit Fahey, since over the past week, many comments in the “Public Pulse” section of the World Herald regarding this issue have been against it. (Check it for yourself if you want.)
And Mike, (And this’ll be the last of it from me.) two bills, one from each house of the 108th Congress (2004 session), is all the information I needed to make my accusation. But, then again, if you had read my column, you’d have already know about this.
Ok, instead of “noteworthy”, how about worthwhile? Because Matthew, I’ve read your columns before, (and I do read them occasionally) and I see you as nothing but a ditto-head for FOX news. If I wanted that steaming GARBAGE, I’d listen to the real thing, not your “columns.”
I KNOW there were the bills introduced by democratic congressmen, i acknowledge this, but you dont realize the reasons why they put the bills up for debate. They wanted to bring it into view rather than just keep hearing BushCo saying no it wont happen. They werent trying to get the draft reinstated, they were just trying to get the topic on the table so it would be discussed in a reasonable manner, anyway back to Omaha, the world herald is OBVIOUSLY biased towards this annexation thing. Who knows the reason, but i highly doubt they are only getting anti-growth letters in. I am sure they are getting plenty of letters for the annexation, they just wont print them because the OWH is as backwards as everything else in this state.
Listen, the draft is not a party issue. Simply we are running out of men but we have plenty of toe tags. There are many countries that we could and should invade if we hold true to the reasons for going into Iraq. Yet in Iraq we have so much of our man power tied up, we can not enforce any other type of regulations around the world. George himself said there will not be a draft to fight the war in Afghanistan or Iraq, leaving the possibility to hold a draft for a war in some other country. We are coming up on the two year mark for our combat in Iraq, don’t you think our boys over there deserve a little more than a little R and R? The reason why they get shipped right back to the front line is because we are stretched thin. How is that for nation security? Not that long ago we shifted 1300 (roughly) COMBAT troops from the DMZ in Korea to Iraq. I think that this is a very good sign that things are getting hairy, when this is the first time we have reduced the number of troops in Korea…ever. Not only are we reducing troop size there but we are doing it at a time when Korea is getting witchy.
Supply and Demand
I am very impressed with how this post went from Elkhorn to the draft. You know, not many other groups could make that transition so smoothly.
As third party who drives through both places every day, here is a little observation. There is a common perception that people are inherently stupid. They will believe anything that is pretty much in their self-interest. (like privatizing Soc Sec is a good idea, but that is for another debate) The residence of Elkhorn are not thinking about the long-term impacts that this venture will have. This annexation will have big long-term benefits for both the people of Elkhorn and Omaha. Why is Elkhorn afraid of being “over run”? Hell, back east in Jersey all you have to do in many urban areas is walk across the street and you are in a completely different town. Is Elkhorn that afraid of urban growth? It is important to keep in mind how much Omaha has grown in the last 5 years, let alone 10. I wouldn’t be surprise to see Omaha out by Valley in 20 years. Elkhorn does have valid concerns about the city services, so that really can become a big issue in the April election. If it does, that hurts Fahey. Voters tend to care more about quality services than economic progress. This issue could potentially come back to bite Fahey in the ass. The idea is great, but the timing is not. This type of issue should have been brought up after he re-election. Feedback is always welcome.
I’m sure Fahey would have loved to wait until after the election to annex Elkhorn. The problem was Elkhorn acted first by annexing several sub-divisions. Thankfully for Omaha, Elkhorn’s annexation process takes a little longer than Omaha’s process. If Elkhorn was able to annex these sub-divisions and reach 10,000 residents before Omaha could annex Elkhorn, then Omaha would be screwed.
Some of the sub-divisions that Elkhorn wants to annex don’t want to be annexed. How is that for irony?
Elkhorn threw the first punch and Fahey was reacting. You have to wonder if those Republicans in Elkhorn orchestrated this to happen right before the election.
actually, i attribute all this happening to the world herald. If it wasnt for their story that they printed, none of this would be out to the public and Fahey wouldnt have had to act on it until after the election. I know it was exciting news, but the public didnt need to know about it until everything was detailed. If you cant tell by this and my earlier post, i dont personally hold the OWH in the highest regards, especially since EVERYDAY they have atleast 3 anti-growth articles in the public pulse.
Ok, i just went to Elkhorn this sunday, and would somebody please do them a favor and annex it now!!!
When Elkhorn is annexed, it will remain distinctly Elkhorn, will be thought of as Elkhorn, and will feel like Elkhorn when you are there. How would annexation do them a favor exactly? we annexed Millard, and its still, well… if you’ve been there you know. Annexation won’t change the flavor of Elkhorn.
Elkhorn to exercise ‘Nuclear Option’
Democrats running scared… Efforts to expand blue island in totally red state seem doomed… Read all about it:
http://feedlot.blogspot.com/2005/03/elkhorn-annexation.html
we love getting links, and let people plug their opinions and sites unless they are doing so for personal profit (which you don’t seem to be doing).
Still. Calling the OWH pinko when dealing with local issues….mesrepresenting seriuos numbers of facts (like the number of Republicans on the Omaha City Council actually being a majority!) and such are just kind of making you look silly.
If your blog is a parody it went over my head. If it is really what you think you need to at least try operating in reality land for a few posts.
I think every bit of information on that blog was either completely untrue, or stretched beyond belief to create negative impressions. I would hardly call areas east of 72nd street a “sea of blue”. Even though just about every voting district voted democratic, doesnt mean that they are all democrats. A lot of districts just narrowly went to kerry or other democrats. Fact is, the most exciting things in omaha are occurring east of 72nd street. West Omaha has had its 15 minutes of fame and now its time to focus on older neighborhoods and downtown. How can someone talk bad about the qwest center as well? Did anyone read the study that found that qwest is ranked 17th in the WORLD with attendance? Thats a pretty big accomplishment, and if you are going to “blame” this success on democrats, then i guess go ahead, even though it was republican hal daubs plan. Fahey has also been very fiscally responsibe through his term as mayor. You forget that it was daub who had all these dreams for omaha and followed through with them, without knowing how to pay for them. Fahey is just cleaning up all of his mistakes. A word of advice to the author, next time you write an article, check your facts before you spew out crap, base things off stereotypes, and make yourself look like a moron.
Also I want to add:
Its probably been said on here already, but elkhorn gave up its identity YEARS ago. It once might have been a small, distinct village, but now it is nothing more than suburbia. Places like Dundee and Benson have a distinct feel and style to them. Elkhorn does not. Elkhorn’s main street is a piece of crap, fallen into disrepair because people would rather shop in omaha. Like they say, you cant tell where omaha ends and elkhorn begins. Perhaps they should have focused more on their city than just creating a bunch of omaha-esque neighborhoods a mile away from our city. Also, everything they are complaining about is pure emotion, if they would just look at the facts they would calm down. It isnt like sky scrapers will be going up at 204th and dodge this summer and the gangs of north and south O will be moving their “turf” to elkhorn.
Mayor Fahey gives not one whit about posterity: he wants to get re-elected NOW. It is no accident that he kicked off his re-election campaign by announcing the Elkhorn blitzkrieg. The City of Omaha has a two building skyline. Sure, it isn’t a one-horse town any more, but it ain’t a metropolis, either. There is plenty of room for Omaha to grow up, before it grows out (literally AND figuratively). Besides, there is room to the West south of Pacific street, and even more room to the North, where development is actually needed. This issue gets Fahey’s name in the paper at the expense of the good people of Elkhorn.
FAHEY SUX!!!!!!!!!!!!
ELKHORN WILL NEVER BE TAKEN!!!!!!
OMAHA IS JUST A BUNCH OF WINERS THAT CANT PAY FOR THIER OWN DEBT AND U KNOW WHAT? WE”RE NOT PAYING FOR IT EATHER!!!!
Wow…..talk about ignorant people. First of all get your facts right and quit making assumptions. Not everyone from Elkhorn is a “rich snob”. I graduated from Elkhorn and lived there for more than 10 years and I would like to think I am not even close to being a “Snob”. Elkhorn’s Main Street is pretty historic and meaningful actually, obviously not to you, but maybe to some people who live there and have lived there for 60+ years. And if you can’t tell where Omaha ends and Elkhorn begins you’re apparently not very observant. Come west down Maple street, probably about 5 miles before you even get into Elkhorn there are fields and fields of open land, clearly that is not Omaha. There is a pretty good gap in-between the two cities actually. Omaha can’t even take care of itself how does it expect to take on another several thousand people? I’m not saying that Omaha won’t win, and honestly I don’t really care, I can see both sides. But it is ignorance like this that fills peoples head’s with false perceptions.
Agreeing with Kelsey 100%!! honestly get things in order with yourselves BEFORE trying to add more. ever heard the phrase “biting off more than you can chew” well you can’t even handle what’s in your mouth now so why try to get more?
WE (in elkhorn) have many services that omaha wouldn’t be able to provide us with. one thing would be our garbage companyies. our service takes anything and we can RELY on them to be there. also, we have many many many other things that our community does that we ALL love. if taken over by omaha we will no longer have those and i’m afraid that residents will not be happy at all.
just leave us alone. you don’t need us to be part of omaha. what’s the big deal anyway?
Please, please, stop spending my tax money to fight a losing battle. (By my tax money, I mean the tax money of Elkhorn that will soon be Omaha tax money).
The Nebraska Constitutional Amendment that is used as the basis for the right to annex cities states “the Legislator may provide for the merger or consolidation of counties or local governments”. But it also says it must be approved by a majority of voters in each municipality. (There is no minimum population threshold.) It also states that “Annexation shall not be considered a merger or consolidation for purposes of this section”. Meaning a vote is not required for annexations. But what are mergers, consolidations, and annexations? The only difference in definition is annexation must be adjoining land. But mergers and consolidations in this case are too. Towns and cities don’t merge that are separated by other land areas. So they are essentially the same but one requires a vote and the other does not. The Amendment does not define what the distinction is. The Legislator then defined them by Statute. The Legislator can pass new Statutes changing these definitions at will. So who is protected by the voter requirement can be changed at will by the Legislator. This amounts to a Constitutional change without going through the amendment process. Therefore Article XV-18 is invalid and it should be thrown out. Without it there is no right for the Legislator to make laws regarding mergers, consolidations, or annexations within the Nebraska Constitution. Of course the courts will never do this because every merger and annexation that ever was in the state could be required to be vacated. This is another case of the law being ignored to dilute the vote of the people so they can siphon off money for the states powerful business interest and their politician puppets.