Crime Woes May Be Part of Fahey Speech

By Karen Sloan, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Jan. 16–Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey will deliver his sixth state of the city address Wednesday at Creighton University.

Fahey spokesman Joe Gudenrath said this year’s address will focus on the city’s financial outlook, economic development and improving neighborhoods.

His comments on neighborhoods will address, among other things, crime and public safety, Gudenrath said.

North Omaha is a likely topic, given that the area experienced a wave of violence late last year.

Nine people were injured in shootings over a five-day period in mid-December. Six of those people, including a 15-year-old who died, were shot in northeast Omaha.

In response, the city installed speed bumps and rerouted traffic on 29th Street near Pleasantview Homes, part of an effort to help deter drive-by shootings.

The annual speech was initiated in 1996 by former Mayor Hal Daub and has continued each year during the Fahey administration. While Daub delivered his speeches at the City-County Building, Fahey has moved the address to different locations around the city since 2004.

“This is part of the mayor’s ongoing effort to bring city government out into the community,” Gudenrath said.

The 2004 speech was delivered at the Burke High School library, and the next year it was given at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

Last year, the speech was at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Fahey touted a number of potential projects in that address, including a downtown ballpark for the Royals and a new streetcar system. He also spoke about the city’s need for diversity and tolerance.

Business and community leaders, elected officials, faculty and students are expected to attend this year’s 10:30 a.m. speech at Creighton’s Lied Education Center for the Arts. The public is invited to attend, but seating is limited.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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