STATE OF CITY ADDRESS Growing city, new future

Omaha has a strong economic engine, with great success stories to share.

New business developments, a changing riverfront, a downtown revival, westward development - these elements show Omaha is a city on the move.

Mayor Jean Stothert's State of the City address last week reflected the city's forward momentum. The energetic economy helps the city government invest more in public priorities.

Stothert pointed to key efforts to boost public safety, including a better-organized police force and appropriate increases in the number of local first responders. She described an initiative that helps young people at risk of gang involvement build job skills.

Stothert's speech contained something else that matters to an ambitious, forward-looking city: a dash of swagger about Omaha's civic vitality. The ability to speak unapologetically and without reservation about all that Omaha offers businesses and residents is something the region needs to hear. It's vital.

"What's more important is how we see Omaha," Stothert said. "How do we perceive the city that we call home? Our self-identity is strong."

Confidence in the direction of a growing city creates an important, healthy dynamic. It gives leaders the gumption to consider the next steps in Omaha's ascendance, including, as Stothert discussed, faster and better bus service.

This civic confidence also allows the city to address its flaws. Among them, a dated policy that forces property owners to pay on their own to upgrade unimproved streets. Stothert's compromise is worth adopting, as is the approach to sharing more information on which streets are affected.

Omaha and its city government face challenges, of course. There's still a set of street bonds to pass, pensions to address and work to promote economic advancement for citizens in all parts of the city.

But the city's eyes are on the right prize, aiming to compete with larger peers that attract and retain talented workers. That's the state of cities with futures that are bright.