SPOBTS
Running for the number
Huskers Lou Petricca and Tony Smith chase after the four-minute
mile while competing on the NU track team during the outdoor
season. PAGE 9
A&E
Covering the door April 29,1999
Lincoln taverns don’t ask for cover charges
unless they feature a band or dancing, so why is RAY OF HOPE
the O Street crowd so cheap? PAGE 12 Partly sunny, high 65. Partly ctattdy tonight, low 40.
1V1L/I\ UfniNL£il/Ull
FORMER STATE SENATOR DON WESELY is running for mayor in the May 6 election. As state senator, Wesely, a UNL alumnus, said he fought
to pass initiatives to benefit the university.
Don Wesely
values his
experiences
atUNL
Editor’s note: This is the second in a
series of two stories profiling the Lincoln
mayoral candidates. Wednesday s story fea
tured Republican candidate Cindy Johnson.
By Eric Rineer
Staff writer
As an alumnus of the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, former state senator and
mayoral hopeful Don Wesely said he cher
ished every moment of his college experi
ence.
The Democratic candidate and 20-year
member of the Nebraska Legislature often
describes his time as a UNL student as a
transformation - from an ordinary Nebraska
boy to a laid-back, top-flight politician.
Wesely, who is gearing up to defeat his
Republican opponent Cindy Johnson in
Tuesday’s general election, said being a uni
versity student was the most important part
of his life, minus being a parent of two
daughters and one boy: Sarah, Amanda and
Andrew.
“When I entered the university, I was a
typical Nebraska boy who hadn’t seen much
of the world,” said Wesely, who graduated
with a bachelor’s degree in university studies
in 1977.
“By the time I left and entered the
Legislature, I was a completely different per
son.”
This, he said, had to do with the valuable
Please see WESELY on 7
Legislature
proposes
convention
center aid
By Brian Carlson
Staff writer
The Legislature opened debate Wednesday
on a bill that would make it easier for Omaha and
other Nebraska cities and towns to build conven
tion centers.
Supporters of LB382 said the bill was essen
tial for the state’s economic future and represent
ed sound economic policy. But Sen. Ernie
Chambers of Omaha attacked the bill, using his
trademark delaying tactics in his quest to block
the measure.
i>en. Dan Lyncn or Omaha, the bill s sponsor,
said the Legislature must assist in the construc
tion of a convention center so the state can com
pete with cities such as Denver, St. Louis and
Kansas City, Mo., and reap the economic bene
fits of large national conventions.
“If we don’t take an active part in trying to
achieve a convention center in Nebraska -
Omaha in particular at this time - we could lose
an opportunity we might not have a chance to
address again,” he said.
Lynch and other supporters said that while
convention centers themselves may not be prof
itable, they generate considerable economic ben
efits by attracting large conventions. Convention
participants spend money in the community -
for lodging, food and other goods and services -
providing a boost to the local and state
economies and generating additional tax rev
enue.
Under the bill, cities that voted to build con
vention centers would report the amount of addi
tional state tax revenue generated by convention
center activities. Only additional revenue pro
duced by out-of-state participants in such activi
ties would count.
Please see CONVENTION on 7
Public access is outlet for expression
fcfc
(Public access)
allows weird people
like us to get on
TV and have our
own show.”
Allen Erickson
filmmaker and public access
producer
By Josh Funk
Senior staff writer
The First Amendment isn’t always pretty.
Lincoln’s public access television proves that
svery night.
But it does provide a forum for expression that
anyone in the community can use.
Cable channels 80 and 99 simulcast shows as
diverse as amateur wrestling, issue-oriented dis
cussion, experimental video and religious devo
tions.
“You can hear the best and the worst of the area
on the public access channel,” said Ron
tCurtenbach, who has been on public access since
the channel started in 1973.
Viewers brave enough to venture into the upper
range of cable channels may be surprised, or even
pleased, with what they find.
Each of the nine people, ranging from high
school-aged to middle-aged, currently producing
shows stand behind their work as artistic expres
sion.
CableVision community access coordinator
Eric D’Agostino said that anyone can produce a
video, fill out an application and have it aired.
Producers can even use CableVision equipment
after taking a free training course.
The shows cannot be obscene or include any
solicitation, D’Agostino said, but those are the only
regulations.
Read the Daily Nebraskan on the World Wide Web at dailyneb.com
It any material is questionable, it must be
reviewed by the city attorney before airing.
With his long tenure and four shows that each
air several times a week, Kurtenbach is easily the
most recognizable public access icon in Lincoln.
Kurtenbach, who makes his living as a UNL
housekeeper, tapes the show in his own home. He
takes calls on a speaker phone with his phone num
ber taped up in the background for viewers to call.
Though Kurtenbach said his show’s focus was
public affairs, callers often call in with whatever is
on their minds, and sometimes the calls are abu
sive.
One time Kurtenbach said a father and son
Please see ACCESS on 8
