Feb. 20

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dn the

dailynebraskan.com

wednesday, february 20, 2013 volume 112, issue 105

Inside Coverage

The anouncer Assistant coach doubles as jokester and mentor

10 Can I get an upvote? Diverse Reddit content, groups attract students

You can find me in the club

OPEN FOR

DEBATE

5 Checking the score Obama launches new college assessment site

2 The tough side of the court Sophomore Emily Cady plays tough inside for NU

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The new Haymarket night club, 10 Below, has its grand opening on Friday night. The club’s hallmark feature is its ice bar, which the owners said is an absolute anomoly in the Lincoln nightlife scene. “We have super exquisite bottle service,” co-owner Maddy Gruber said on Friday. “People come here for the bottle service.”

Members of the Revive campaign, Sierra Allen, internal vice presidential candidate, Zach Stull, presidential candidate and Sam Adams, external vice president candidate, answer partyspecific questions asked by the Innocents Society at the Innocents Society Debate in the Nebraska Union on Tuesday.

Engage party members Jeff Story, external vice president candidate, Eric Reznicek, presidential candidate, and Kaitlin Coziahr, internal vice president candidate, respond to questions asked by moderators at the Innocents Society Debate in the Nebraska Union on Tuesday. Party members addressed their platforms by answering general questions and partyspecific questions.

ASUN candidates face first round of questions in debate STORY BY CO N OR D U N N P H OTOS BY KAT BUC H A N A N

T

he Innocents Society at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln held the first Association of Students of the University of Nebraska elections debate Tuesday. Three moderators asked Revive Party, Engage Party and Sense for ASUN a series of questions on their platforms, as well as controversial campus issues such as the privatization of the University Health Center and increasing student fees for organizations on campus. When asked if it supports or opposes health center privatization, Engage executive candidates said outsourcing the health center to Bryan Health is fiscally responsible as long as Bryan Health maintains the same services and student fees. Revive Party’s external vice president candidate Sam Adams, a junior economics and finance major, said Revive also sup-

Sense for the ASUN party members answer questions put together by the Innocents Society at the Innocents Society Debate in the Nebraska Union on Tuesday. From left: Sarah Cast, internal vice president candidate, Blake Rostine, presidential candidate and Anders Olson, external vice president candidate.

ports privatization because the health center is “deteriorating” and will eventually need replacement. Blake Rostine, a junior German and political science major and Sense candidate for ASUN president, said there needs to be more discussion about how Bryan Health plans to operate the health center. He said he is concerned Bryan Health will not continue free HIV testing for students. The moderators also asked the three parties if they would work to increase or decrease student fees for organizations like the University Programming Council and Daily Nebraskan. Revive said it plans to administer surveys to the students in the fall to ask them which organizations should receive more or less funding. “We aren’t going to make these decisions on our own,” said Revive internal vice presi-

dent candidate Sierra Allen, a junior marketing major. Engage executives said they would support fee increases for the organizations as long as the organizations are using the money for all their programs approriately. Sense executives said they do not support decreased funding for the DN. “The DN employs over 100 students, and it’s a great resume builder for those students,” Rostine said. “Decreasing funding for the DN is a terrible idea.” The moderators also asked the parties which pieces of legislation in the Nebraska Unicameral they feel have the most impact on students. Engage and Revive said they believe Gov. Dave Heineman’s proposal to freeze college tuition for in-state students at the

DEBATE: see page 3

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Failed tax reform sparks new bills DANIEL WHEATON DN Responding to a failed attempt to pass tax reform, Sen. Paul Schumacher has introduced bills to keep the conversation going. Instead of jumping ahead with a plan, Schumacher’s bills access current problems. One bill would create the a task force called the Tax Modernization Commission to study tax reform, and another bill would require the Nebraska Department of Revenue to report on its findings more closely and require the Revenue and Appropriations committees to talk about current tax exemptions to see if they are working. The discussion would allow the committees to choose which exemptions could be eliminated without causing too much economic harm. Schumacher’s bills come after Gov. Dave Heineman’s plan to reform taxes failed. Tax exemptions were the focus of Heineman’s plan; Heineman claimed too many tax exemptions impede economic growth. “We’d like to get a handle on these numbers,” Schumacher said during the hearing. He said the state might not be in its current position with taxes if the long-term effects of tax exemptions were considered previously. The plan would analyze property taxes, income taxes, the sales tax base and tax incentives. He explained that because of the Nebraska Advantage Act, the state spends up to $235,000 per job in tax incentives to keep jobs in Nebraska. The act has been on the chopping block as well, and a bill has been introduced to end the act in 2018. These incentives and the ongoing debate over tax exemptions have remained a contentious subject in the legislature. Teaming up with Sens. Beau

tax: see page 3

Cadillac Lofts offer car-themed housing James Pace-Cornsilk DN

@dailyneb facebook.com/ dailynebraskan

The old 1960s Cadillac jutting out from the second story of a downtown building is not a museum or funhouse. It’s a decoration for Lincoln’s newest downtown housing project. The Cadillac Lofts, located at 1226 P St., are modern, micro-lofts where the decorations in and outside the building pay respect to the building’s previous life as a Cadillac dealership. “We wanted the units to be a little bit higher end,” said Ken Fougeron, operations manager at Speedway Properties, the real estate investment company that owns the lofts. “So it’s like the Cadillac of downtown living.” In addition to the red and white car perched above the entrance, the second- and third-floor exterior walkways, not visible from the street, are lined with Cadillac hubcaps, Cadillac photo-

graphs and other memorabilia. “It’s just been fun seeing it transform from what it was to something a little more vibrant,” said Brett Harris, leasing agent with Speedway Properties. Speedway Properties bought the building in December 2009 from the previous owners, who owned a tuxedo shop and W.C.’s. The building was originally constructed in 1909 for H.E. Sidles to sell Cadillacs as well as Buicks. In addition to peddling cars, up until the 1940s, the top two floors were the Delamar Hotel, or Delamar Rooms, depending on the time period. Now, the top two floors echo their early 20th century purpose with 21 new apartments, each one lined with brick and outfitted with granite counter tops. The apartments range in size from 472 to 521 square feet and in price from $750 to $850. Four apartments have been leased so far, and another six are in the process

kaylee everly | dn

Cadillac Lofts are now open for lease in downtown Lincoln. of being leased. The old decorative Cadillac was found in a town along the

Minnesota and Wisconsin border, according to Smith. The car was in poor shape when Speedway

Properties bought it, said Harris, which is why it did not cost them much. Speedway Properties had it restored back to its classic color, inserted a steel frame into the cab and hoisted it up via forklift to its second-floor home. The rest of the Cadillacthemed memorabilia came from another owner of Speedway Properties, much of which was purchased on eBay Inc., or donated from the Speedway Motors Museum. But getting the car into the old building was not an easy task, according to Harris. “There are always challenges when turning old buildings into apartments,” Harris said. A lot of structural work had to be done, not only to support the car but to renovate the exterior walkways on the upper floors. While renovating this old

cadillac: see page 3


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