Carol Schrader

If you haven't checked out the Aksarben Cinema that recently opened in the trendy Aksarben Village development... you ought to!

After the flick, cross the street and pop into Jones Bros Cupcakes. The light food menu is great and the cupcakes are magnifique... culinary works of art.

But don't take my word for it. The restaurant's owner, Bill Jones, has been getting great word of mouth advertising since the place opened last May. But now the word is out to the entire country.

Jones recently booked a flight to L.A. to be on the Food Network's, Cupcake Wars. At that time, that's all he knew about the show. He knows a lot more now. He didn't win, but number 2's not bad.

READ MORE...

If this guy's as good as he sounds, Omaha and Gretna Nebraska will become beneficiaries of a real "out of the box" thinker... someone Nebraska's Larry the Cable Guywould say... is a Git 'r Done kind of guy. Even though Rod Yates corporate HQ is in Arizona, he come back to Big Red country with real street (or should I say field) "cred". Ye, he's a former Husker. Back then, the split end was hired by coachin icon Tom Osborne to paint his house during the summer.

Seems the commercial real estate guy sought out local Omaha developer Frank Krejci. Krejci owns the floundering Nebraska Crossing outlet mall along I-80 near Gretna and recently acquired Crossroads, Omaha's second-oldest shopping mall in a bankruptcy sale.

Both shopping centers are on life-support and Yates and Krejci have plans are now on the table to rejuvenate, expand and re-invent both makes to the tune of,around $160 million. Yates is reportedly smart, energetic and, from all appearances a good fit with Krejci.

All the best to the both of them! Success for this partnership will be great news for the Omaha Metro. We need more of this the kind of economic redevelopment... that keeps every body's property values and pocketbooks in good shape.

Read More in today's Money section of the Omaha World-Herald

Crossroads & Nebraska Crossing

Forbes has put Omaha-Council Bluffs atop its list of the nation's fastest- recovering major metropolitan areas.

The leader in financial news reporting says, "According to our research, the city has hit upon a formula to weather the economic downturn better than any other in the country.''

What local economists have been touting for some time appears to be true. Having a widely diversied economy that does not depend on the manufacturing sector for its economic well-boing has paid off. "And while the city has a big stake in the financial industry--a factor that nearly spelled ruin for metros like New York--it doesn't specialize in the types of institutions that took big risks and chased exotic financial structures." Forbes.com continues, "Instead, it's home to roughly 30 insurance companies and regional banks like Mutual of Omaha."

Add to that a low unemployment rate (even though there have been lots of layoffs), stable housing prices and a relatively low home foreclosure rate.

In reporting on the Forbes.com release, the Omaha World-Herald notes: "The Forbes study is consistent with a Brookings Institution study that ranked the Omaha metro area 10th among those least hit by the recession. Another study by Moody's had Omaha and Lincoln among the first metropolitan areas moving into recovery. Forbes appears to rank Omaha higher than Brookings does because Forbes relies more heavily on housing measures."

To see the Forbes biggest rebounding metros, go to: http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/19/cities-recovery-unemployment-lifestyle-real-estate-top-ten.html

Stateline.com discusses the Moody's findings in 11 states emerging from recession: http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=435215