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tuesday, October 21, 1980
lincotn, nebraska vol. 105, no. 42
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Youngberg, Hampton disagree on radial options
Youngberg says
radial defies logic
Editor's note: The Northeast Radial is a
roadway designed as an outlet to Northeast
Lincoln. Three plans have been proposed
for the roadway. The first, called the no
build plan, calls for not building the road
way at all. The second, the 19th Street
plan, places the radial through 19th Street.
And the third, the 22nd Street plan, calls
for building the radial through 22nd Street.
Both stories were written by Maureen
Costello.
City Councilman Eric Youngberg thinks
UNL students are being misled about the
effect the Northeast Radial will have on
the UNL campus.
In the Sept. 26 Daily Nebraskan, it was
reported that if 17th Street was used for
the radial, parking for Cather-Pound,
Neihardt, and Abel-Sandoz residence halls
would be reduced and the intramural ath
letic field near Cather-Pound would "be
eliminated.
Youngberg said no 17th Street alterna
tive exists, and if the 19th Street option
were implemented, approximately one row
of parking and one-fourth of the athletic
field would be taken.
"1 think UNL can replace a row of park
ing and a fourth of a baseball field a little
easier than we can replace the Malone
neighborhood," Youngberg said.
In 1967, when plans for the Northeast
Radial were initiated, auto sales were on
the increase, cars were larger, urban sprawl
in Lincoln was rampant, bus usage was de
clining, there were vacancies in central Lin
coln, and gasoline was thirty-five cents a
gallon, Youngberg said.
Today, with plans for the radial still
moving along, auto sales have decreased,
cars are smaller and developers can't sell or
pay assessments on land they have devel
oped,. he said.
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Photo by Mark Billingsley
Eric Youngberg
Currently, the city can't buy enough
buses, buses are used 30 percent more;
vacancy in downtown Lincoln is less than
1 .5 percent and gas (the last time Young
berg checked) was $1.20 a gallon, he said.
Yet Lincoln still plans to build a six
lane divided highway that "defies all logic
and reaspn," Youngberg said.
When the radial was planned, there was
a concern to keep the downtown viable.
The Chamber of Commerce thinks this de
pends on an efficient expansion of streets
to lessen the time it takes to travel down
town, Youngberg said.
Maybe even more frustrating than
knowing Lincoln doesn't need the radial is
knowing that the radial doesn't go any
where, he said.
In 1977, the radial was cut in half and
"dead ended" at 27th and Fair Streets, he
said.
"A six-lane highway doesn't just dead
end. This is just the beginning. If this much
of the radial is built now, it will continue
further east later," he said.
Continued on Page 6
Hampton favors
22nd Street radial
City Councilman Joe Hampton said he
thinks there are many advantages to a 22nd
Street Northest Radial option.
Unlike City Councilman Eric Young
berg, who favors the 19th Street option,
Hampton said he favors a plan that would
put a radial through 22nd Street.
From 22nd Street west, the bulk of the
land in the corridor planned for the radial
is owned either by UNL, the city or private
commercial operations, he said.
"Little is left in private residential own
ership, and generous benefits will be avial
able to them," Hampton said.
An owner has to do what he feels is
best for his property, Hampton said. But
he 1 said he thinks enough money will be
available that land owners will sell their
land.
But if the 19th Street option is used, he
said, the city won't be able to offer enough
money to land owners to encourage them
to sell their property.
"There is no way they are going to re
lease their ground to the city for the price
being offered to them," he said.
He said that Commonwealth Electric
and a concrete plant are in the middle of
the 19th Street option, and to get control
of the businesses' land, the city would have
to file condemnation actions in court. He
said he thinks the court would award the
companies the same amount that is now
projected for the entire project.
. Hampton said the 22nd Street radial
would allow UNL to close 16th and 17th
streets and would enable long-term growth
for UNL. Hampton said the only logical
way for UNL to grow is east to 20th Street
on land they now own.
The radial also will give new access to
the Fairgrounds and to the Bob Devaney
Sports Center, Hampton said. He said the
radial will eventually extend to the inter-
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Photo by Mark Billingsley
Joe Hampton
state, creating integral access off the inter
state to downtown.
The radial also will alleviate traffic flow
on Holdrege Street, he said. He added that
Holdrege Street was designed to carry
8,000 to 9,000 cars, but now carries an
average of 14,000 to 15,000. All arterial
streets are operating at or above designed
capacity, he said.
Hampton said he thinks ending the
radial at 27th Street is a mistake. The city
owns 95 percent of the land needed for the
radial from 27th Street to 48th Street and
85 percent of that is already cleared, he
said.
"There will be a point in time when the
traffic buildup will have no alternative but
to go into the neighborhoods," he said. "If
neighborhoods don't want the radial, they
must be willing to accept more traffic.
"The vitality of any economy or society
depends on the strong efficient means of
carrying out trade, commerce and traffic.
Most backward, struggling areas have an in
adequate transportation system."
Continued on Page 6
Retailer: Doctors' scrub suits are a 'hot item'
By Kathy Harmon
Picture this . . . your time has come . . . time for the
old tonsils to come out. Your surgeon comes in wearing
cut-offs and a white T-shirt. Why? Because all the scrub
suits suddenly have disappeared.
It may sound like fantasy, but if the disappearance of
the outfits used by doctors continues, it may not be far
from the truth.
According to Doris Michelsen of Dory's Inc., manufac
turer of the suits, they are a "hot item" right now. So hot,
in fact, that Michelsen has branched off into the retail
business.
The company recently advertised in the three area
college newspapers, and the response for the suits was ex
cellent, she said. Sales reached about 1,000 from the ad
which ran consecutively for a few days, she said. They
-- sitfqicsi &iov1 -VV
were advertised for $18 for top and bottom, and pur
chasers could choose from blue, jade green and misty.
Michelsen said she cannot explain why people would
want the suits.
'No shape or fit'
She described the suit as "not having any shape or fit
. . . just a V-neck pullover shirt and drawstring pants that
hardly stay up."
She said some of the outfits are reversible if they are
ones actually used in hospitals.
Michelsen said the suits take about five minutes to
make. Her Omaha business has grown in the last three
years from a sheet mender and recycler in her home to a
full-fledged surgery suit manufacturer and use of about 30
machines, she said.
The company recently began to sell to many well
known retail outfits in Omaha and demand is up, Michel
sen said.
She said the only problem with new suits is that cus
tomers really prefer those that look used. She said some
customers even ask for the most-faded versions or ask for
patches to be sewn on the new models to give a worn or
"authentic" appearance.
She said the suits are sold to hospitals in large quanti
ties of about 10,000 for about $12.
Michelsen said one reason the suits may be so popular
is their connection with doctors, who have traditionally
worn them.
The shabbier, the better
Whatever it is, Michelsen said, business is good. All the
suits are saleable "and the shabbier, the better," she said.
The director of Linen Service for several Omaha and
Lincoln hospitals has another version of the suit dis
appearance mystery. Kasmer Konczak said the trend
is hurting his business and making it harder to keep hos
pitals supplied.
"We can send the hospital a six-day supply, then
suddenly they will run short and we will have to find
more just to keep them in suits," Konczak said.
He said the fad is not limited to the Omaha-Lincoln
area.
"It is all over the country. I belong to a laundry associ
ation and all the directors have the same disappearance
complaint. Even though they are selling at retail, people
don't want to pay the price if they can get one for less or
for free."
The director said that one of the largest manufacturers
that supplied him last year went into business to produce
the suits for a retail market.
Some hospitals are even making them in ugly colors so
they won't be as popular, according to Konczak. He said
University Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, has begun to out
fit surgeons in an "ugly pink" to discourage theft. He said
writing the hospital's name on them has only made the
suits more valuable.
"It's a big problem for us," he said. "We can't keep up
with the demand."
One Linooln hospital reportedly may try to make the
most of a good thing-by offering the surgeon outfits for
sac in their gift shop.
Anorexia Nervosa: Self starvation can lead to more than a
thin body. The first story in a two part series on a dis
ease that severe dieters may fall into appears
today Page 7
Lights, Camera, Trauma: Heavy themes dominate the
films Ordinary People and Stardust Memories, but re
viewers find them to be among the year's best
efforts Page 8
His Decision: Head Coach Tom Osborne says Jarvis Red
wine will have to decide whether or not he's ready to
play Page 10