Hey Omaha, it’s Chris.
The Flatwater staff will be kicking back this Thursday so we’re sending this week’s Omaha newsletter a little early. And man, I am so excited about our story this week.
I met Mel and Mary Ann Beckman on a frosty January day a few years ago. Some people had gathered inside Holy Family Catholic Church for a meeting of the Nebraska Criminal Justice Review. Mel and Mary Ann, both in their 80s, started the group decades ago to advocate for incarcerated people but also support their loved ones.
Through the years they’ve taken on poverty and violence. Mel, a quiet former priest whose main gig was fixing up houses in Bemis Park, even showed up on an FBI list of political dissidents for protesting junior ROTC programs.
There have been steps forward and backward. Uplifting moments and heartbreaking ones. But, as longtime Omaha World-Herald columnist and current intrepid Flatwater correspondent Erin Grace writes, they have tried to make the world a better place. And they’re doing it together.
You can read Erin’s story here (or click on the photo above).
If you like reading stories like these, consider donating. The Flatwater Free Press is nonprofit, freely available to all, and powered by reader donations. Our big fall fundraiser is underway, and that means you can have your donation matched dollar-for-dollar, thanks to our nonprofit board of directors and other local donors. Thanks for the support!
— Chris Bowling, Flatwater Free Press
Infinite pot of goodness
I get lots of emails from readers and followers this time of year asking me for restaurants that would be good for a big group or a family to dine out, and eateries open on Thanksgiving.
The restaurant I’m reviewing this week, Hotpot 88, checks both those boxes and several others. If you haven’t tried hot pot before, it’s an ancient staple of Chinese cuisine where diners get a bubbling pot of hot broth and cook a variety of meat, vegetables and seafood in the broth.
Sauces for dipping the finished food are abundant. The variety of ingredients to cook at Hotpot 88 impressed me, as did the selection of broths and meat — and perhaps the best news for some: this is an all-you-can-eat experience.
Check it out, read the review, and, of course, happy Thanksgiving.
Sarah Baker Hansen is an award-winning writer who has covered Omaha’s food scene for more than a decade. She posts restaurant reviews and food news on her blog, sarahbakerhansen.com.
Let’s be real, I’ve been into the musical Wicked ever since the soundtrack was first introduced to me in the fourth grade. Now, 20 years later, I’m still extremely into Wicked. The lyrics are permanently ingrained into my brain. You can imagine how excited I was to finally see the movie this weekend in Aksarben.
A primer for non-musical folks: Think of Wicked as the prequel to The Wizard of Oz, the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) and Glinda. The movie, which covers Act I of the musical, follows the two witches at school and their rocky start as roommates.
I loved everything about this movie. The dancing was entrancing, the scenery and costumes were beautiful, and the singing had my heart soaring. But one of the fun bonuses was counting the Omaha references sprinkled throughout the movie. The Wizard himself is Omaha’s own, flown into Oz via hot air balloon. I won’t spill any more details, but see how many Omaha references you can catch.
Wicked has been the soundtrack to many of my formative moments. I blasted “Popular” in the family minivan. I cried the first time I saw Elphaba fly on Broadway in high school. Wicked is my go-to road trip music — ask FFP reporter Yanqi Xu about the time ex-Reader reporter Bridget Fogarty and I serenaded her on the six-hour drive back from Tulsa (and her shock that we knew every single word). I will for sure be seeing the movie a second (and maybe third?) time this week with my sisters in Texas.
If you want to see the movie, you’re in luck: There are multiple showings every day at ACX Aksarben Cinema where I saw it and many other theaters in town.
— Natalia Alamdari, Flatwater Free Press
The sleuths at UNO’s The Gateway, following a story on “improper purchases” that led to frozen funds for six UNO organizations, may have found the smoking gun. Or rather, the smoking… uh… well… you’ll just have to read the story to figure out the rest.
State Sen. Mike McDonnell, a Republican representing South Omaha, is running for mayor and identified the streetcar and public safety as top issues, KETV reports. McDonnell recently switched parties amid friction with state Democrats. He’ll challenge fellow Republican and incumbent Jean Stothert who’s seeking a fourth term as well as Democrats Jasmine Harris, a nonprofit leader, and John Ewing, the longtime Douglas County Treasurer.
Next year will mark a half-century in the Douglas County Public Defender’s Office for its elected leader Tom Riley. He talked to Molly Ashford at the Omaha World-Herald about how politics has obstructed criminal justice reform.
(You may need a subscription to read the World-Herald’s story)
A 14-year-old boy was killed in west Omaha after being struck by a car while trying to cross Dodge Street, KETV reported. Since the beginning of October, at least three Omaha pedestrians have died.
Due to Omaha’s lack of affordable housing, newly homeless people outweigh those who are chronically homeless, a city official said at a public presentation. The city has seen success with a “hotels to housing” pilot program, WOWT reported.
A pair of Omaha doctors and Burberry evangelists are the face of a holiday ad campaign for the luxury fashion brand. The drip is enviable.
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