The Afternoon Setting Up Shop at Midtown Crossing

A treasured Omaha retailer is bringing its patented blend of wit, panache and "browse-ability" to Midtown Crossing at Turner Park.

The Afternoon is set to open a 2,500-square-foot store near 32nd and Farnam streets this fall, expanding its Omaha presence just in time for the holidays.

The Afternoon boasts a wide range of inventory -- everything from art and housewares to jewelry, books and games. Price tags range from 25 cents to $10,000. The store's arrival in Midtown Crossing represents a homecoming of sorts. The Afternoon originally opened as an art gallery near 40th and Farnam streets in 1962.

The Afternoon's Midtown Crossing store will sit next to Delice European Bakery and Café. Vist their Web site.

Traffic Calming Changes Made in Midtown

The city of Omaha Public Works Department recently made a handful of traffic calming changes to Leavenworth Street, from 54th to 60th streets.

These changes, while only cosmetic, will make this stretch of Leavenworth Street inherently safer, according to city traffic engineer, Todd Pfitzer.

The changes are made up of three main components:

• Reducing four lanes of traffic to one eastbound lane and one westbound lane.
• Adding a center turning lane.
• Implementing a bike lane on the north side of the street.

"A three-lane section provides advantages from a safety standpoint by improving the sight distance for left-turning vehicles. This tends to reduce angle and rear-end collisions on these corridors," says Pfitzer.

While not in the Destination Midtown boundaries, changes like this go hand-in-hand with Destination Midtown's 2010 Strategic Plan for balanced transportation.

Creighton University Welcomes New Class of Freshmen

For the second consecutive year, Creighton University will welcome more than 1,000 freshmen to campus, most of who moved into residence halls on Aug. 21. The combined undergraduate, graduate and professional school enrollment will mark a major milestone for Creighton - the largest student population in the University's 132-year history at 7,385.

More than 130 student volunteers helped make the process as simple as possible. The operation is carefully choreographed, with street traffic controlled, in cooperation with the city, volunteer movers lugging personal belongings up as many as nine flights of stairs, and all done with a celebratory spirit and song. Past move-ins have been chronicled in blogs and in higher education publications by parents who raved about the surprisingly enjoyable experience.

Student organizers have also planned a full week of activities, including the president's picnic, a president's fun run, an ice cream social, University welcome, free movies, a parent orientation, a dance, lip sync contest, a carnival, a Native American Welcome and Cedar Ceremony, and more.

Midtown Spotlight is on Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands

Since beginning services in 1973, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands has made the difference for thousands of children in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. Their mission has stayed the same throughout the past 51 years; to help boys and girls reach their potential through professionally supported one-to-one relationships with measurable impact. Professional staff carefully recruit, screen, train and supervise community volunteers to help ensure children benefit from the guidance, support and friendship of caring adults and positive role models.

They believe that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters live in single-parent and low-income families, or households where a parent is incarcerated. Big Brothers Big Sisters is a donor and volunteer supported mentoring network that focuses on making meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers ("Bigs") and children ("Littles").

By providing a system of ongoing evaluation and support, Big Brothers Big Sisters is proven by independent studies to help families. This system improves the odds that Littles will perform better in school, avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others.

Community-based mentoring is the traditional Big Brothers Big Sisters relationship. The program matches a professionally screened and trained adult volunteer or married couple (Big Brother, Big Sister or Big Couple) with a child to participate in community activities they both enjoy. Other programs under community-based mentoring include mentoring children of prisoners and Latino mentoring programs.

The majority of the children that enroll in the program live east of 72nd Street. Midtown residents -- from medical students to retired individuals or couples -- can mentor children who live near them or in neighborhoods that are not far away.

"Midtown residents know the importance mentoring can have on a child's life and might consider becoming a financial supporter if they don't have the time to be a mentor," says Jim Fredrick, marketing coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands.

Currently, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands is conducting a volunteer recruitment campaign to help start more success stories in our community. They are looking for men, women, and married couples to become a special friend to a young boy or girl. Children are ready to be matched with a new Big Brother, Big Sister or Big Couple. Getting started is easy, simply call (402) 330-2449 or visit their Web site.

Currently, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands is serving 65 Littles in the Midtown area and there are 14 children that are ready to be matched with a Big Brother, Big Sister or Big Couple.