[Mpls] This Week in The Minneapolis Observer
T H E M I N N E A P O L I S O B S E R V E R A Weekly Digest of All Things Minneapolitan www.mplsobserver.com Vol. 2, No. 45 June 30, 2003 This is preview issue of The Observer highlights some of the stories covered in this week's digest. To subscribe to the full-meal deal ($12/yr.), just hit 'reply' and we'll set you up. Thanks. ** THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER: * New Coalition Seeks to Stop Guthrie Demolition * Wells Fargo Attacked for Alleged Predatory Lending Practices * Cub Foods Set to Lease Northside Target Space * Ordinance Would Limit City Immigration Enforcement * Who Ya Gonna Call? Mold Busters? * Surveying the Surveillance Downtown Plus: Gay pride, circa 1973; Al Sharpton on the Target controversy; Library Board cracks down; the urge to transplant; and signs of a shifting political tide. ** NEW COALITION SEEKS TO STOP GUTHRIE DEMOLITION Just when you thought the Guthrie's move had become inevitable, a new group is moving to stop it. The Historic Guthrie Preservation Coalition has hired a Connecticut-based consultant to study possible alternatives to demolishing the theater, which the neighboring Walker Art Center wants to use for garden space. As Scott Russell reports in the Southwest Journal (http://www.swjournal.com), the group is looking for potential tenants outside the Twin Cities to take over the space. The coalition, which includes SavetheGuthrie.org, the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, hopes to convince the Walker to save the 1960s-era theater for its marvelous acoustics and intimate concert setting--an argument that so far has not swayed officials there or on the city council. The overall thrust is to build the kind of public support that will convince the Walker that the Walker itself is better off preserving what I think is one of their most important pieces of art, rather than destroying it, said coalition member and former city council member Dore Mead. Walker Art Center administrative director Ann Bitter said the museum has worked closely with neighborhood coalitions and is not likely to be swayed by the reuse argument. Our intention is to go forward with demoing the Guthrie and developing our garden. If in the meantime they come up with another use, we of course would look at it, she said. But, she added, I can't see us changing our minds on this subject. WELLS FARGO ATTACKED FOR ALLEGED PREDATORY LENDING PRACTICES Citing abusive lending practices, a national advocate for low-income families has launched a campaign against Wells Fargo Mortgage. CUB FOODS SET TO LEASE NORTHSIDE TARGET SPACE Target officials have announced that they have reached terms with a Cub Foods franchisee to lease the former Target store on West Broadway in North Minneapolis. ORDINANCE WOULD LIMIT CITY IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT In a move challenging the priorities of the U.S. Justice Department, the city council's Health and Human Services Committee last week approved an ordinance that would limit the involvement of the city in immigration law enforcement. WHO YA GONNA CALL? MOLD BUSTERS A Minneapolis nonprofit has developed a new set of inspection standards to help the construction industry fight mold-related damage claims. ** The Minneapolis Observer is published 48 times/year by Independent Media, L.L.C. ©2003 Independent Media, 4152 Snelling Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55406; www.mplsobserver.com. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Independent Media. Subscriptions: $12/yr. To unsubscribe, send us an e-mail ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and we'll get you off the list and refund the unused portion of your subscription. Editor: Craig Cox Deputy Assistant Senior Executive Editor: Sharon Parker Contributing writers: Chris Dodge, Leo Mezzrow Equine consultant and coffee shop correspondent: Nora Cox Perspective: Martin Cox Thanks to: Sarah Farley, Sue Herridge, Betty Tisel *** Fight media consolidation! Support the independent press! Pick up your neighborhood newspaper! ***
[Mpls] Mpls School District Spending
TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Mpls School District Funding
I apologize for the recent blank message. Here is what I meant to say. An important article appeared in Saturday's Star Tribune comparing the operating costs of the Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts. On one side of the Mississippi River this week somber Minneapolis school leaders approached a budget full of deep cuts including layoffs, larger class sizes and wage freezes . . . Across the river, St. Paul school officials seemed calmer . . . The big difference in their budget cuts has a lot to do with big differences in how the two districts spend money. One eye-popping statistic: Minneapolis spends 70 percent more than St. Paul for administrative costs. One statistic I would have liked in the article is a comparison of test scores between Minneapolis and St. Paul students. Maybe the significant differences of administrative costs and smaller class sizes are worth it if Minneapolis kids are testing better than St. Paul kids. Here is the link: http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3961121.html Bill Dooley Kenny TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Big-Box Retail
On 6/29/03 8:11 PM, Anderson Turpin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Mark Anderson reply: I've been in the business world for 25 years, and I've seen over and over again that big companies pay higher wages on average than smaller companies. Do you have any statistics, or even anecdotes, that would indicate that for 25 years I've been living in a fantasy land? Do you have any basis for this comment at all, beyond your prejudice against big companies? If my experience is correct, then your objective of higher paying jobs should lead you to begin shopping at only big stores. Robin Garwood provided evidence of higher wages at smaller stores when he described his and others' experiences with natural foods coops. He said folks there can earn as much as $28K a year, which is a bit more than $13 an hour, plus he had health care coverage. Other than maybe unionized grocery stores, no big box retailer offers that kind of salary and benefits. If all I shopped at were big box stores (or chains, which aren't the same thing), I wouldn't care what happened to the other stores. I do shop at smaller stores also, such as auto mechanics, restaurants, convenience stores, and gas stations. It would be nice if they continue to exist. But I'm already patronzing those stores. I don't see any point in helping a store survive if I wouldn't otherwise shop there -- what's the benefit? Tax base. If you take two plots of equal size, one with a single big box and the other with numerous smaller retailers, which is going to provide you with more tax base? The smaller stores will. Their property values are still appreciating, whereas many big box sites are seeing depreciated values as Vicky Heller has pointed out with the Target sites. You also get more individual income tax collections because you have more owners realizing profits within the state and more business income taxes they're not large enough to do the kinds of off-shore shenanigans that many of the largest corporations are doing. And while folks like to talk about Jerry's Foods not seeking a TIF subsidy, that's the exception and not the rule. Both times that Supervalu tried getting in on Central Ave. NE this year with a Cub Foods, the primary roadblock in addition to neighborhood opposition, was the lack of opportunity for a TIF subsidy. So supporting locally-owned small businesses and helping them thrive helps offset the need to increase your income or property taxes. That's your benefit and that's why you should give stronger consideration to shopping at locally-owned businesses instead of just chasing the lowest price. What people aren't realizing is that we're going to pay for our city's and state's government programs regardless of whether it's as a consumer or as a taxpayer. Me personally, I'd rather it be as a consumer. It makes more sense to me to help create more jobs through supporting locally-owned businesses than to have my tax dollars be spent on government programs for the jobless. While those programs are needed and important, we need to realize that our shopping habits of constantly seeking the lowest price at the expense of supporting our communities are part of what creates the need for those government programs. Mark Snyder Windom Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] RE: Parkway Closures Last Yesterday
Well, I spent an afternoon walking around Calhoun and talking to people about what they thought about closing the parkways around Calhoun, and Lake of the Isles and part of Victor Memorial Parkway the last Sunday of each month. WOW. It was really odd to walk around Calhoun and hear no vehicles, blaring radio, bass beats, and/or loud motorcycles yesterday! Have to say I personally liked it. Have to also say that of the users I talked to, only one out of like 75 people didn't! Course, I didn't get to talk to the folks that could not drive around the lake when the wanted to. They probably had a different opinion. One critique I would have of the event would be that most folks didn't know about it. Although announcements appeared in the Star Tribune and SW Journal as well as a mailing, it sure would have been nice if we could have gotten the word out more. Better signs in the parks would be a good idea and hopefully will happen before the next event next month. I will look into it. Well, with all the questions Park Police and Concessions folks were answering, hopefully, more folks will know about it in the future. Just wanted to ask the list group if anyone else walked around the lakes or up on victor memorial yesterday and had any thoughts and/or suggestions?!? Sincerely, John Erwin City-wide Park Board Commissioner TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Mpls School District Funding
on 6/30/03 8:01 AM, Dooley, Bill at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: One eye-popping statistic: Minneapolis spends 70 percent more than St. Paul for administrative costs. One statistic I would have liked in the article is a comparison of test scores between Minneapolis and St. Paul students. Maybe the significant differences of administrative costs and smaller class sizes are worth it if Minneapolis kids are testing better than St. Paul kids. Here is the link: http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3961121.html The Strib did a good job with this idea. I, too, would have liked test scores, but there were several other stats missing: * Demographics of both districts * a comparison of class sizes (didn't see St. Paul figures). * Comparison of teacher pay (since Minneapolis's average $53,000 salary is listed as a factor). A few specifics I thought were interesting: 1. Minneapolis costs are higher because of lower class sizes (again, didn't see St. Paul's) and more school choice. Voters have signed off on the class-size thing (even though it's now being reversed somewhat), and I suspect they would also pay for more choice - but we haven't really had that debate explicitly. 2. Administratively, the city paid a lot more for transportation; its bus drivers are district employees, unlike St. Paul's. It also buses kids more (see choice, above), or did until this year. The district cut $4 million in '02-'03 - which the story mentions, but is not factored into the larger analysis, which is a year or two older. 3. However, Minneapolis principals work 52 weeks a year - more than St. Paul's 45 - yet both are paid about the same ($95,000-$100,000). 4. Part of the Minneapolis's higher costs are for deseg. 5. It was interesting that special-ed costs were similar. So as a reader, I was left wondering exactly where the fat is. (This is not to say there isn't any.) We pay more for lower class sizes, more choice, desegregation, and our own bus drivers. With the exception of the last one, I think most voters would support that. Again, I think the Strib's analysis helped inform citizens. So my question is, what should we do that's different? I know there are list members who don't think small classes are important, and don't like SLCs, so I'd especially like to hear from those with other ideas. David Brauer King Field TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] pride
I only saw the front of the parade, but it appeared that cross traffic interrupted the smooth flow. Was cross-traffic allowed throughout the whole parade and, if so, why? Regards, Jason Stone | Hale __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] NRP Policing Set Aside vote coming Monday
On Monday, June 30, the Neighborhood Revitalization Program Policy Board will vote on Council Member Ostrow's proposal to allocate $1 million of its Phase II funds to a reserve fund for community oriented public safety activities. I am probably going to vote against this but I would appreciate any and all feedback or discussion. On the list. Cam, I hope that you will reconsider your vote and vote to support the measure. NRP is about improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods. With the massive cuts that have happened to our public safety the quality of life is in jeapardy. I know that restoring efforts to CCP/SAFE and other crime fighting entities will help to restore a feeling of safety that I know has already started to erode in my neighborhood of Central. By restoring funding to departments like CCP/SAFE not only is an element of safety restored but there is also the community building aspect that they help to foster. Karen Forbes Central Neighborhood TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] NRP Policing Set Aside vote coming Monday
--- Karen Forbes wrote: NRP is about improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods. [TB] I'd always thought NRP was centered around maintaining/improving the quality of the housing stock which is why over half of the money is required to be spent on housing/housing related items. Quality of life is much more than police or public safety services that the proposed set aside is for. We have a difficult enough time trying to comply with the housing requirement, partly because the good folks at City Hall want to direct money to places they don't have other funds for (many of which are good programs). I'd like to see NRP money be spent on improving and maintaining the quality of our housing stock and not be mandated toward other areas. If this is truely a neighborhood impowerment program, we shouldn't be mandating money away from the focus of the laws that set up the program. Terrell Brown Loring Park terrell at terrellbrown dot org __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] a tasteless sign at Pride?
Hello All, Yesterday was the MOST fun I've had in a Pride parade. My partner Gary Schiff, council member for the Ninth Ward, and I rode in a Mini Cooper. Gary waved, and I held and waved a sign. As folks have pointed out on the list, the sign had a tasteful side and a less tasteful side. The tasteful side said Thank You Supreme Court. When the crowd saw that side they cheered. The less tasteful side said, Goodbye Strom Thurmond. When the crowd saw that side, they screamed loudly and cheered wildly! So, what exactly was it that Terrel Brown disliked, the sign or the audience reaction? By the way, you can see a photo of the tasteful side in the Pioneer Press on page b3 (not available online that I could find). The STRIB should hang its head for not running a photo of the parade or a story on the local festival. All they ran today was an AP story on festivals around the country. They ran gay stories all week, but apparently took Sunday off. Jim Berg Corcoran Neighborhood __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] a tasteless sign at Pride?
Additionally, before the festival I was not able to find reference to it in the Strib online list of festivals. Perhaps I missed something? In reference to my previous post, I've already heard back from a list member that throughout the parade, cross-traffic was permitted. I have never seen similar policy applied to any other parade. It was extremely disruptive to the flow. Regards, Jason Stone | Hale --- Jim Berg [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello All, Yesterday was the MOST fun I've had in a Pride parade. My partner Gary Schiff, council member for the Ninth Ward, and I rode in a Mini Cooper. Gary waved, and I held and waved a sign. As folks have pointed out on the list, the sign had a tasteful side and a less tasteful side. The tasteful side said Thank You Supreme Court. When the crowd saw that side they cheered. The less tasteful side said, Goodbye Strom Thurmond. When the crowd saw that side, they screamed loudly and cheered wildly! So, what exactly was it that Terrel Brown disliked, the sign or the audience reaction? By the way, you can see a photo of the tasteful side in the Pioneer Press on page b3 (not available online that I could find). The STRIB should hang its head for not running a photo of the parade or a story on the local festival. All they ran today was an AP story on festivals around the country. They ran gay stories all week, but apparently took Sunday off. Jim Berg Corcoran Neighborhood __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Re: Mpls digest, Vol 1 #1583 - 16 msgs
Dyna Sluyter wrote: With road building Republicans in power and the Princess of Pavement at the wheel of the Highway Department, anything is possible... David Piehl adds: I agree with Dyna's assessment of the current Republican state government as multimodally challenged, i.e. they seem to think cars are THE form of transportation for everyone.the problem right now, though, is that Mayor Rybak is not taking a stand agains more urban highways, leaving us more vulnerable. Further, projects like the widening of Lake St to eight lanes and the I35W Excess project, (which adds space for additional lanes on 35W) are promoted by another democrat, Peter McLaughlin. It's a disturbing non-mass transit trend coming from the folks who usually talk a lot about the virtues of mass transit. David Piehl Central __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Debating $1 million from NRP to police
I just wanted to clarify some information in today's Strib article regarding NRP. It is reported that, The handful of such [neighborhood] groups that have responded generally favor the plan. This does not match the information provided to me and indicates more support IMHO for the idea than may actually exist. In my official board packet I found copies of 13 written responses on the proposal from neighborhood organizations and one from the chief of police. The chief and 5 'hoods we clearly in favor, five were clearly opposed, with one offering what I read as conditional opposition and two with conditional support. As one who does not support the proposal in its current form, I may be seeing more opposition than others might, but, even in the best case for the supporters, it still appears to be 7 for and six against by my count. It should be an interesting discussion this afternoon or early evening. The meeting starts at 4:30 p.m. in the Henn. Co. Gov. Center Conference Room C - 2350. And thanks for all your comments off list on this one. They have been very helpful. in cooperation, Cam Cam Gordon Seward Neighborhood, Minneapolis, Ward 2 SD 59 (612) 332-6210, 296-0579, 339-2452 TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] a tasteless sign at Pride?
Shame on Terrell Brown for expressing a personal opinion regarding the sign that Council Member Schiffassociated himself with this weekend.Freedom of speech, tolerance to other ideals (regardless of what they are)and non-conformity to a specificway of thinking, is exactly what got us to the place we're currently at. I am saddened by the fact that Senator Thurmond passed w/o havingmade aPUBLIC 180 degree about face on his position regarding civil rights. I am however, not ready as a person to rejoice in the death of ANY individual. Separate the issues for a moment. We ALL should be happy with, and celebrate the progress that's been made over the years in the area ofcivil rights (although there's still a long way to go). However, to use the crowds reaction at a Gay Pridefestival as a litmus test as to whether or not a sign reading "Goodbye Strom Thurmond"is tasteful or not, is, in my opinion,somewhat biased. Dennis Plante Jordan Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Debating $1 million from NRP to police
Cam Gordon is correct on the neighborhood pro-con count contained in the NRP board's packet. For my article, I checked with the NRP office earlier in the week, when the count was 5 for and two opposed. I thought I had checked the packet, but I must have rechecked my original pile of resolutions. Steve Brandt Star Tribune TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] a tasteless sign at Pride?
The practice of free speech is often tasteless and worse, deadly. Codifying the obvious is a dirty job, but in this case Terrell had to do it. Good on him. Strom Thurmond was 100 years old. One cannot get too excited over the fact that he died. It was somehow much worse in my mind that Katherine Hepburn also died at 96. Fantasy is such fun, but there is more likelihood that you'll win the lottery than it ever was that Thurmond would do a 180. It was tasteless, but it also played to the crowd, who have a big interest in civil rights. Of course it was biased, this list is about biases. WizardMarks, Central Dennis Plante wrote: Shame on Terrell Brown for expressing a personal opinion regarding the sign that Council Member Schiff associated himself with this weekend. Freedom of speech, tolerance to other ideals (regardless of what they are) and non-conformity to a specific way of thinking, is exactly what got us to the place we're currently at. I am saddened by the fact that Senator Thurmond passed w/o having made a PUBLIC 180 degree about face on his position regarding civil rights. I am however, not ready as a person to rejoice in the death of ANY individual. Separate the issues for a moment. We ALL should be happy with, and celebrate the progress that's been made over the years in the area of civil rights (although there's still a long way to go). However, to use the crowds reaction at a Gay Pride festival as a litmus test as to whether or not a sign reading Goodbye Strom Thurmondis tasteful or not , is, in my opinion, somewhat biased. Dennis Plante Jordan Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection http://g.msn.com/8HMYENUS/2734??PS= with MSN 8.TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
RE: [Mpls] a tasteless sign at Pride?
Jim Berg wrote: As folks have pointed out on the list, the sign had a tasteful side and a less tasteful side. The tasteful side said Thank You Supreme Court. When the crowd saw that side they cheered. The less tasteful side said, Goodbye Strom Thurmond. When the crowd saw that side, they screamed loudly and cheered wildly! So, what exactly was it that Terrel Brown disliked, the sign or the audience reaction? It's not so surprising to see something tasteless at a Pride parade (Gay culture has always pushed cultural boundaries), it is a little surprising to one of our city councilmembers expressing such an opinion, even if he is Gay. In my book, publicly endorsing the death of another person will always be tasteless. I think that Councilmember Schiff should consider apologizing, he wouldn't want to be seen as being as coarse as Representative Lindner would he? ;-) Michael Atherton Prospect Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] a tasteless sign and car at Pride
In an admission of guilt, On Monday, June 30, 2003, at 10:32 AM, Jim Berg wrote: Yesterday was the MOST fun I've had in a Pride parade. My partner Gary Schiff, council member for the Ninth Ward, and I rode in a Mini Cooper. Gary waved, and I held and waved a sign. That was not a Mini you drove, that was a BMW 1 series badged and styled to look like a poor carcature of a real Mini. In a hostile takeover, BMW took over Britain's last major carmaker, Rover, and the revered Mini car and brand with it. They sliced up Rover and with it Britain's motor heritage by taking the Mini brand name and turning their legions of lawyers loose on the myriad small businesses that had supported the Mini in the aftermarket. And in the unkindest of all cuts they stopped production of the real Mini. This act of automotive homicide provoked protests all over Britain. In Britain today no Labour Party officeholder would dare be seen in a phony BMW mini like Council Member Schiff rode in. In the street rioting a while back the phony BMW minis were the most frequent cars torched. To this day working class Brits are taking out their revenge on the phony BMW mini and they are frequently vandalised. The Mini clubs refuse to accept the phony BMW mini, and refuse them admission to their events. Despite these measures, the yuppie owners of the wannabe mini try to sneak in anyway, so we are forced to use creative methods to keep these status seekers with more money than brains out of our rallies and off our e-mail lists. A real Mini is 56 inches wide and a phony BMW mini is a gross 67 inches wide, so the rally entrance gate it made about 64 inches wide to keep out the wannabes... As folks have pointed out on the list, the sign had a tasteful side and a less tasteful side. The tasteful side said Thank You Supreme Court. When the crowd saw that side they cheered. The less tasteful side said, Goodbye Strom Thurmond. When the crowd saw that side, they screamed loudly and cheered wildly! I saw the sign and was hoping you wouldn't use it. I also saw your tasteless attempt to sneak up front with the Wellstone Green Bus and successfully set a pick on you. I realize Council Member Schiff is still rather young and maybe a bit too full of partisan enthusiasm, but how would he have felt if a fundy group had put up a mocking Goodbye Paul Wellstone sign at one of their events? Sadly, this is not the first time I've had to take our youthful DFL Council Member to task for his sins of inexperience. Gary, your ward is quite close to the St.Paul Ford Assembly Plant. They make a pretty respectable pickup there, the Ranger. It has a nice big open bed for you to sit in so you won't have to try to poke your head through that tiny little sunroof. It also runs on ethanol and is great for parades as it has a cooling system that won't quit and can pull up to 6,000 pounds of float. And it's built by some of your constituents! Keeping a real '66 Mini Cooper S alive in Hawthorne, Dyna Sluyter TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] NAACP branch membership rejected deal for Parent Information Centers
At the Minneapolis NAACP branch meeting on June 28 the membership approved a motion by Evelyn Eubanks to back out of the deal to set up Parent Information Centers. The motion cited a conflict of interest due to the NAACP's obligation to oversee the implementation of the agreement to settle the NAACP's educational lawsuit against the state. The deal to set up Parent Information Centers gave the NAACP a role in providing services for the State Department of Education which the settlement agreement requires the state to provide. A ruling from the chair, Albert Gallmon, that the motion was out of order was overridden by a two-thirds supermajority. -Doug Mann, King Field Educationright.tripod.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Public safety and guns
Interesting post from the gentleman who set up a nice gun-law straw man to knock down. The conceal-carry law is one month old. Wheres the bloodbath? I havent predicted such a thing, and I havent heard others do so. However, hes made it clear that the gun lobby thinks any law that doesnt immediately cause a massacre is a good law. I have higher standards. The experience from Texas has been one of a gradual worsening in the behavior of permit holders -- not sudden massacres. From January 1, 1996 to April 30, 2000, 3,370 gun permit holders were arrested for serious crimes, including murder, sexual assault and impersonating a police officer. By August 31, 2001, that number had jumped to 5,314. Thats quite an acceleration. I hope that doesnt happen here, but it isnt surprising to me that the longer the law is around, the more people have a chance to get permits, and the more often they get in trouble. Its also very clever of you to demand that we come up with evidence that is hidden by law from the public. You cite crimes committed and say that not one was committed by a permit holder. And how do you know? Its not public information, thanks to our legislature. It was reported in a Brooklyn Park newspaper that on April 21, 2003, a 31-year-old Brooklyn Park man was arrested after pointing his gun at a victim and threatening to kill her. He was arrested later with his bullet-proof vest, gun, ammo, and PERMIT TO CARRY. Good reporting on the newspapers part. But just try asking the sheriff whether someone charged with a crime has a permit to carry. You wont get it. How convenient for the gun lobby. Tim Grant of Concealed Carry Reform Now testified before a Senate committee this year about how his stepfather was rescued from a would-be carjacker by unarmed bystanders in a grocery store parking lot. Did he say how happy he was about the rescue? No. He complained that the bystanders werent armed. I am not making this up. We will see more guns brandished in traffic, which is a decline in quality of life for everyone. We will see a few kids get hurt when they find guns left accessible by gun-toting adults. We will see a few people commit crimes or do dumb things with guns. However, the gun lobby has made it extremely difficult to trace any bad outcomes to this new law. The state isnt tracking accidents, near-misses, or suicides with guns purchased for the purpose of carrying. So, if only a FEW people die or are permanently disabled because of this gun law, I guess thats okay with gun folks. I am following with interest Minneapolis efforts to find money for public safety. There is lots of money available to process conceal-carry permits, and presumably also to handle permit holders arrests and court cases when they commit crimes. This is the price of our new corps of vigilantes. Heather Martens Kingfield TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] School / Park / Library budgets
There's been a lot of discussion lately about the financial problems facing not just the city of Minneapolis, but the three separately chartered entities that act as quasi-city units: the school system, the park board and the library board. The library board wants to know which of three unpalatable choices we want them to make to save money, perhaps to absolve themselves of taking the heat when cuts are made. The Minneapolis public schools have much higher administrative costs than St. Paul's. The parks have come under fire for suggesting cuts to wading pools and toilet facilities, and are now looking for other places to cut, while spending large amounts of money on a questionable new headquarters building. A writer on this list suggested these 3 entities have become entrenched empire builders, and I quite agree. In fact, I'm going to make some quite unpopular statements here. I think the executives and their armies of assistants in all three organizations are vastly overpaid for what they produce. The library system appears to have an annual operating budget of about $22 million. Given that they are building a new building, clearly there's a bunch of capital program money not mentioned on their website budget page. The library executive gets paid about $130,000 a year. The park system has a budget of about $50 million, and the park board wants to raise the salary of the executive from the $112,000 that the current employee gets to $114,288. They argue they can't attract the right people without doing so. Horse hockey. The school district has a budget of about $676 million and an operating budget of about $462 million -- I'm assuming the difference is capital expense of some sort. The executive got a pay raise from $160,000 to $190,000 on December 18, 2001, but she declined to take it. The Governor of the state gets paid $120,303, and the state's budget is in the billions. There's some law that limits top government salaries, and I believe our 3 little empire-building fifedoms have all gotten exemptions or are working on getting them for their executives. The city of Minneapolis has one or more exemptions, as well. Frankly, the argument that such large salaries are needed does not wash. My father managed a $700+ million budget of a large government entity in another state (which shall remain unnamed) for 20 years. His top salary was significantly less than any of these executives get paid -- he never got paid six-figures (100,000+) for the work. However, you could ask anyone, and they would say he did an exemplary job. Today, that entity's budget tops $1 billion (my father retired about 6 years ago). The Minneapolis public school budget is the only that comes even close in size to my father's institution, and note that the salary was pushing $200,000 in 2001. The Park Board and the Library are pint-sized operations in comparison. What about the rest of the administrative structure? Looking at the Park Board's financials, it appears there is significant overlap and duplication of management at the level just below the superintendent. There are 6 assistants who are paid $94,000 to $96,000, according to the budget, although the budget also lists the superintendent as being $110,000, not $112,000 or $114,000. And those are just salaries -- no overhead or benefits. Each assistant appears to have 1 to 5 directors or managers working for them, typically with salaries in the $75,000 range. The Park Board commissioners are expensed at $10,200 to $11,400 each for the 9 of them. I don't have equivalent budget information for the schools and library. While all three entities have good reasons for being independent of the city -- schools are historically independent in this state, the library is usually a county-level operation and the parks were independently chartered (if memory serves) long ago at their start to prevent them from being killed in the cradle -- there is are a lot of problems with the situation, as well. While cities and counties state-wide are talking about merging and sharing services to save money, we have a separate park police department. Now frankly, I think that's a good thing at the moment, because I can't imagine the Minneapolis police managing the parks. But it's just the easiest example of duplicated services. However, the really insidious and possibly largest problem is from empire-building (if one has a jaundiced eye) or from scope-creep (if one views it as having no personal motives involved). The results are similar: the edges of each organization creep outward to encompass new and larger roles and services. The City, the Library, the Park and the School don't regulate each other, there is no top-level plan or viewpoint except that provided by the mostly uninformed voters. Sure, these entities talk to each other, now and then, here and there. But there's not much preventing them from
[Mpls] pride parade, again...
Second, and so last, post of the day to reply to Dyna. I'm not sure what she's referring to here: I also saw your tasteless attempt to sneak up front with the Wellstone Green Bus and successfully set a pick on you. I'll just say that all the DFLers were together in a group with the Wellstone bus far ahead of us. We hoped to be in front of Howard Dean's contingent, but the Jackie O's got between us and Dean's group. Jim Berg Corcoran Neighborhood __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] School / Park / Library budgets
Annie Young wrote: Wish folks would get their facts straight before they start ranting and raving at us. And I wish folks, especially elected government officials like yourself, would learn to read for comprehension. No where are my facts wrong, not even where you seem to attack them, except perhaps where my source (the Star Tribune) can be blamed. Why does it seem that reactions are in proportion to how much one's ox is being gored? Examples include: The parks have come under fire for suggesting cuts to wading pools and toilet facilities, and are now looking for other places to cut, while spending large amounts of money on a questionable new headquarters building. /As stated many time before - after 120 years of rent it's about time WE OWN IT. And it is not the same pot of money as our programming funds. It's time you own it? Why, just because you say so? Is there something inherently immoral about leasing? The vast majority of corporations lease their office space, you know. Even the large ones. Furthermore, I wasn't arguing against owning your own building so much as THE building you bought -- it's overpriced and at a location that's far more valuable for other purposes than having the Park Board occupy it. Did I say they were from the same pot of money? I was well aware of these arguments about it not being the same money as for programming funds long ago. But regardless of your complaints to the opposite, the plain fact is that the Park Board is spending TAXPAYER dollars on the building. That it's a different pot in your mind, or on Park Board financial papers, is absolutely meaningless in this context. YOU are spending OUR TAX money. It's all ONE POT when it comes to revenue derived from taxes. What part of that do you not understand? Here's the real deal: the Park Board does not need the building they have bought and are spending umpteen dollars on to rehabilitate it into space adequate for their usage. It's a damn trophy, and ego showplace for the commisioners and executives. I don't know who was behind the idea, but it's clear that the push was based on ego, entitlement and arrogance, not on what would be best for the park system and the tax payers. You have stopped serving the public and are now serving yourselves. /At last Wednesday's meeting we directed staff to get the application for seeking to change the salary cap which is state driven by the Governor's salary. We have never even talked about the amount we are seeking we are just checking out the process. Several other Administrator's in this city have been exempted from the state regs. I only report what I read in the newspaper. Take up any accuracy complaints with the Star Tribune. I mention that other administrators in the city have been exempted in my posting -- it's not like I ignored that fact. /We are working hard on the duplication issue but I assure you a crime in the parks will get lots less attention if it is on the list of the City Police to take care of it. I completely agree. It was just the most obvious example, and it is also a good example of the missing-in-action counter arguments to my concerns. If there are good reasons for doing things a certain way, let's have them out on the table for all to see. If someone can present good evidence as to why duplication or salary or whatever should exist, I'll be among the first to change my opinion on the subject. I'm open minded. I change my opinion on things every day as I become more informed and see more of the picture. It sure beats being dogmatic solely for sake of never admitting to being wrong. And then there is the issue of the City Council managing the park system - it's not as if they don't have enough to do already + how fast do you think we would see development around the lakes and other prime park land spaces? That may or may not be danger. I'm certainly not in favor of having the city council manage the park system directly. I'd definitely like to hear what other cities of our size do with respect to parks, however. For example, how do Denver, Portland, Milwaukee and Atlanta manage their parks? I can personally testify that Milwaukee as a nice park system. Let's not be bound by history in our creative thinking to solving the problems that face us today. I'm in favor of holding most but necessarily all of our current parkland as park open space in perpetuity. There surely are other mechanisms for providing that assurance without having an imperial park system. We also are working on more coordinated efforts with the school board especially in the area of youth activities. /Believe me we are trying to get a handle on this duplicative services issue. Good. I'll be pleased when I see actual results. Chris Johnson Fulton TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change
[Mpls] Northwest Corridor Bus Rapid Transit
I was recently made aware of the discussion going on about the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project between Minneapolis and Rogers. I noticed that there seem to be some questions about the proposed design, how it might work, etc. Please visit the Metro Transit website at www.metrotransit.org, click on Transit Information, then scroll down to Bus Rapid Transit, where you will see Northwest Corridor. These pages contain some good information about the proposed project. Another good site is www.northwestcorridor.org Molly Grove Community Outreach Coordinator Metro Transit (612) 349-7533 [EMAIL PROTECTED] TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Carol Johnson response to Strib story
Forwarded on behalf of Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Carol Johnson. June 28, 2003 To The Editor: Saturday's A1 article, A Great Divide Between Districts, seeks to explain how Minneapolis and St. Paul schools are facing quite different budget scenarios for the coming year. Regrettably, the story falls far short of that goal. Reporters Allie Shah and Jim Walsh did create another opportunity for valuable community discourse about the priorities Minneapolis and St. Paul residents have for their public schools. In recent years, Minneapolis has prioritized smaller classes, school choice and community schools. We have already begun a planning process to engage the public as we try to simultaneously cut costs and increase achievement for all students. As we embark on this effort we should not assume that two urban school communities that have some similarities would prioritize exactly the same investments. Irresponsible, perhaps even lazy, reporting led to the use of data that lacked analytical context and appeared to be intentionally misleading. This is particularly troubling since readers are left with the impression that Minneapolis Public Schools spends a significant amount more on administration than does St. Paul. In fact, according to data the Star Tribune received from the state (not reported in the story) both Minneapolis and St. Paul spend roughly the same amount for district support services (administrative costs not in schools) of $12.6 and $11.6 million respectively. Deloitte-Touche, the independent auditing firm used by both Minneapolis and St. Paul, continues to report that Minneapolis is lean, not top heavy as the article suggests, spending just four percent on its budget on administrative staff. More than 90 percent of the administrative costs referenced in the story are actually costs related to people who work in the schools with students and families: principals, school secretaries, attendance clerks, security staff and the like. Given the fact that Minneapolis has 32 more schools and transports 8,000 more students, it is only logical that we would spend more on such staff. We recognize that school finance is a complex topic and even well intentioned people can have a difficult time interpreting the data to create apples to apples comparisons. And we are hopeful that Governor Pawlenty's school finance reform effort will demystify this topic. This article would have benefited from such clarity. Our regret is that naive readers may use this information to draw erroneous conclusions about Minneapolis' fiscal integrity. That would be tragic not only for Minneapolis Public Schools, but for public education as a whole. Respectfully, Dr. Carol R. Johnson Superintendent, Minneapolis Public Schools Cc:Maureen McCarthy Lou Gelfand Allie Shah and Jim Walsh TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] GreenSpace Partners Web Site Updates
NEW on the GreenSpace Partners web site for July: *The Dowling Community Garden Celebrates its 60th Anniversary *The State of Community Gardening in Minneapolis *How to use (free) coffee by-products in the garden *Minneapolis Community Forestry Update *A Tour of Chicago's City Hall Green Rooftop http://www.greeninstitute.org/GSP As always, please contact me with any questions or comments. -Corrie Corrie Zoll, Program Director GreenSpace Partners A program of The Green Institute 2801 21st Avenue South, Suite 110 Minneapolis, MN 55407 Telephone 612-278-7119 Facsimile 612-278-7101 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.greeninstitute.org/GSP TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
RE: [Mpls] Carol Johnson response to Strib story
Carol Johnson wrote: Irresponsible, perhaps even lazy, reporting led to the use of data that lacked analytical context and appeared to be intentionally misleading. Boy, if this isn't the pot calling the kettle black I'm not sure what is. The MPS have intentional misrepresented their data on the impact of small class sizes and yet they want to accuse the Tribune of distorting data! That's not to say that the Tribune is the apex of accurate reporting, but if you can expect anything of consistency in the Education Wars it's the distribution of misinformation. It's hard for someone who knows statistics, the history, and the debating points to see through to the truth, let alone the public! I try as best I can to keep things simple and I will try to do so again. More than 90 percent of the administrative costs referenced in the story are actually costs related to people who work in the schools with students and families: principals, school secretaries, attendance clerks, security staff and the like. Given the fact that Minneapolis has 32 more schools and transports 8,000 more students, it is only logical that we would spend more on such staff. So let's get this straight. The MPS have 32 more schools and transports 8000 more students. Ok. This begs the question of how many more students do the MPS have compared to St. Paul. Answer: MPS has 47,661; St.Paul has 44,033. That's a difference of 3628 students, but the MPS has 32 more schools. Let's see, if we just divide 32 into 3628 we get an guesstimate of 113.4 students per school. This would imply that there are some pretty small schools out there. So Dr. Johnson claims that 90% of the administrative costs are incurred in the schools themselves. It would seem that if we reduced the number of schools we could recognize a significant savings, not to mention how we might reduce costs by bussing 4372 fewer students (the excess number of students that the MPS bus). What we should be debating publicly is whether small schools and school choice are things that we can afford during a budget crisis. We recognize that school finance is a complex topic and even well intentioned people can have a difficult time interpreting the data to create apples to apples comparisons. And we are hopeful that Governor Pawlenty's school finance reform effort will demystify this topic. This article would have benefited from such clarity. I've always believed that school finance is intentional complex because administrators don't want you comparing apples to apples, so they're always redefining apples as oranges. Just try asking how the money for class size reductions is distributed. Eck! Our regret is that naive readers may use this information to draw erroneous conclusions about Minneapolis' fiscal integrity. That would be tragic not only for Minneapolis Public Schools, but for public education as a whole. I think that their regret is that public school financing is finally getting media exposure. This would certainly be tragic for the Minneapolis Public Schools Administration. Don't forget that a few years ago they were telling us that Testing would destroy the public schools, now it's beginning to look like their redemption. The more that becomes public about the public schools the more positive changes will occur, that is unless they can keep the public naïve. Michael Atherton Prospect Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Carol Johnson response to Strib story
--- List Manager [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Forwarded on behalf of Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Carol Johnson. June 28, 2003 To The Editor: Saturday's A1 article, A Great Divide Between Districts, seeks to explain how Minneapolis and St. Paul schools are facing quite different budget scenarios for the coming year. Regrettably, the story falls far short of that goal. Reporters Allie Shah and Jim Walsh did create another opportunity for valuable community discourse about the priorities Minneapolis and St. Paul residents have for their public schools. In recent years, Minneapolis has prioritized smaller classes, school choice and community schools. We have already begun a planning process to engage the public as we try to simultaneously cut costs and increase achievement for all students. As we embark on this effort we should not assume that two urban school communities that have some similarities would prioritize exactly the same investments. Irresponsible, perhaps even lazy, reporting led to the use of data that lacked analytical context and appeared to be intentionally misleading. This is particularly troubling since readers are left with the impression that Minneapolis Public Schools spends a significant amount more on administration than does St. Paul. In fact, according to data the Star Tribune received from the state (not reported in the story) both Minneapolis and St. Paul spend roughly the same amount for district support services (administrative costs not in schools) of $12.6 and $11.6 million respectively. Deloitte-Touche, the independent auditing firm used by both Minneapolis and St. Paul, continues to report that Minneapolis is lean, not top heavy as the article suggests, spending just four percent on its budget on administrative staff. More than 90 percent of the administrative costs referenced in the story are actually costs related to people who work in the schools with students and families: principals, school secretaries, attendance clerks, security staff and the like. Given the fact that Minneapolis has 32 more schools and transports 8,000 more students, it is only logical that we would spend more on such staff. We recognize that school finance is a complex topic and even well intentioned people can have a difficult time interpreting the data to create apples to apples comparisons. And we are hopeful that Governor Pawlenty's school finance reform effort will demystify this topic. This article would have benefited from such clarity. Our regret is that naive readers may use this information to draw erroneous conclusions about Minneapolis' fiscal integrity. That would be tragic not only for Minneapolis Public Schools, but for public education as a whole. Respectfully, Dr. Carol R. Johnson Superintendent, Minneapolis Public Schools Cc:Maureen McCarthy Lou Gelfand Allie Shah and Jim Walsh TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls Last week Mr.Jennings stated that they were adding another four admin. positions that had no direct contact with students,hmmm.. I believe the mpls school system has a track record of hiring many more administrators than justifiable, two examples are; Mr.Jennings himself who has no educational backround in either business or education and yet he was chosen to run a school system. How many coo's are there in the state school systems? In speaking with a teacher who was working at Edison for the summer she mentioned that for three hundred students there were eight administrators working the school. I am sure all this will be neatly explained away as always and I don't mean to belittle Ms. Johnson who I believe deeply cares about the quality of education in mpls, I do think she inherited a system of stacking administrators without regard to the cost/benefit of such hirings. I would hope someone could bring in honestly outside folks to assess the situation and adjust it accordingly,perhaps some business group would do this pro bono. Dain Lyngstad Phillips/edina __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest,
[Mpls] Sara Grewing/CA/Hennepin is out of the office.
I will be out of the office starting 06/30/2003 and will not return until 08/07/2003. Please contact Kate Nilan at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or 612-348-2146 with immediate questions. I will answer your e-mail when I return August 7. TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
RE: [Mpls] Public safety and guns
Where in Minneapolis can I sign a petition? Today's Star Tribune article mentions a rally in Eagan and I've seen other references to a petition, but how can I sign? http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3962907.html Paul Barber Loring Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] School / Park / Library budgets
Chris Johnson wrote: The library system appears to have an annual operating budget of about $22 million. Given that they are building a new building, clearly there's a bunch of capital program money not mentioned on their web site budget page. WM: The library successfully floated a referendum two years ago for $140 million; $110 mil for a new central library and $30 mil to bricks and mortar repairs, enlargements, code compliance, and/or refurbishing of 13 community libraries The library executive gets paid about $130,000 a year. Frankly, the argument that such large salaries are needed does not wash. WM: Realistically, the new Director of the library could have gotten more because of the unfortunate position the library is in. In order to bring MPL into the 21st Century a different style, a different set of skills, a different outlook was more than necessary. It was not forthcoming from the library's previous leader, nor could that reasonably have been expected. From my perspective, library systems go through a 3-part life cycle--young, middle-aged, and old. They repeat this cycle on a regular basis, though it's like the ice cap, it moves slowly. When the public library's most avid users say ho-hum, it's one of the omens if you will, that change needs to happen. Since October, 1997, MPL has piloted a change in how libraries function in less fortunate neighborhoods where a goodly percentage of the population is either blue/pink collar or no collar. They have learned some things through that process about some community libraries in the system. When libraries are in the old stage, resistance to change is at its most difficult point. Meanness among staff is working very hard, inefficiencies are justified on an arbitrary basis, the board is at sea trying to figure out the text of what's not being said and which they can usually understand as something else is not right here besides an over-ambitious building program, a deficit, and a stingy state. All those pressures were striking MPL when Ms. Hadley took the job as Director. By the time the paradigm shift is over, she will have earned twice her wages and then some. She is pushing a rock uphill with her nose. She also turned down a higher salary offered her by MPL. The Library is a pint-sized operation in comparison. WM: The issue is not that it's a pint or a quart, the issue is pint or quart of what. (1) The internet, for good or ill, is a reality that libraries can make very good use of and that the citizens can make good use of through the library, even those without the resources for a pc and concomitant expenses. (2) Libraries deal in information. With the population now supporting the library--and that's all of us--having changed so dramatically over the last 20 years or so, libraries have no course but to change. Too, information is outdated so quickly that expensive materials have to be changed more frequently than they had been in the past. [If you don't increase the materials budget, at least one community library gets stuck with the history books, maps, and related material explaining Batista's method of running Cuba as the branch's most current volume on the subject--this has happened.] (3) Public libraries have a further duty to support life long learning for the population and leisure reading and, to a lesser extent, related pursuits like music, art, architecture, engineering, etc. What about the rest of the administrative structure? WM: All administrative structures are more or less arbitrary anyway. That's why one hires a new director from outside the MPL system, (in this instance, and a first here, a non-librarian) so that that person can see the situation with fresh eyes. I don't have equivalent budget information for the schools and library. WM: It's probably on their web sites, but I hate screwing around with budgets. If some costs bug me about the library, I just ask what's going on. The City, the Library, the Park and the School don't regulate each other, there is no top-level plan or viewpoint except that provided by the mostly uninformed voters. WM: Here's a little known secret. On the whole, our city council members, our county commissioners, and our state and federal representatives are generally not enthusiastic public library users. There are, of course, exceptions to that rule of thumb. (I am not implying that they are not readers.) Having a separate library board, at the minuscule cost of something like $650/month/each of seven members, stands us in good stead. Sure, these entities talk to each other, now and then, here and there. But there's not much preventing them from duplicating each others' services and roles at the edges of each's territory. WM: That's a hard case to make at the library. Their mission is to serve the informational, leisure time, and life long learning to level the playing field between the haves and the have nots. Therefore, some
[Mpls] School / Park / Library budgets
The library system appears to have an annual operating budget of about $22 million. Given that they are building a new building, clearly there's a bunch of capital program money not mentioned on their website budget page. The library executive gets paid about $130,000 a year. The capital program money comes from the Nov. 2000 referendum. That money can only be spent on what the voters voted for, by law. Judith Yates Borger wrote an article for the Pioneer Press about the director's salary, among other things: http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/5786593.htm It was also reported in Library Journal that some candidates dropped out of the running for MPL director because they were expecting a salary of at least $200,000. --Charles Gimon Waite Park (speaking only for myself) TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Critics halt $1 million NRP transfer to police
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3965009.html David Brauer List manager TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] lawsuits against the city
Jean is correct that lawsuits are costing the city big bucks. As I've pointed out previously, lawsuits and claims paid related to police activities cost the city over $13 million in the last five years for which there is data (only partial-year data for 2001), according to information obtained from the City Attorney's office. This, to me, is a monumental waste of taxpayer dollars. However, we need to blame the right folks for this. It is not the people who are suing, who have had their rights trampled, their bodies injured, their personal property stolen or destroyed, who are in the wrong. The finger of blame needs to be pointed at the source of the problem. The real source of these claims is acts by out-of-control police officers, who are then defended by the federation/city attorney and whose misbehavior will then be paid for by the taxpayers. Rarely will the offending officer face any discipline, no matter how egregious the behavior or how much it costs us. Mike Sauro is a case in point, as is Charlie Storlie, a guy who should never have been let loose with a machine gun, according to the current suit against him and the city. The City Attorney's office is NOT quick to settle claims. In fact, knowledgeable attorneys have accused them of a scorched earth policy of forcing people with legitimate claims against the city to go all the way through a trial before they offer a settlement. So it is not that the city is a pushover for these cases. Winning these cases is very difficult, thus not very tempting for most lawyers. Yet, despite the difficulties, people sue so they can attain some measure of justice. One of the main reasons people sue the city is that the supposed control mechanisms for acting on police brutality are not effective. Reporting to the Civilian Review Authority is like throwing your complaint into a bottomless pit--you are unlikely to see any outcome from it. Reporting to Internal Affairs may well result in further harassment or abuse, as a number of reports to our hotline have made clear. Even the family of the nephew of Ms. Kambui, aide to the mayor, is not going those routes. Clearly that family understands that a lawsuit will far more likely result in justice. I should point out that not all lawsuits against the city are for money. The federal multi-class class action lawsuit we have filed against the MPD is not for money. Even the lawyers on the case are volunteers. We are seeking a consent decree to force changes in MPD policies and practices that will decrease police brutality in the long run. This is better for everyone--the people who have been or who could be brutalized, the taxpayers who would pay for brutality incidents, and the police officers themselves, who would benefit from improved relations with the community. This is a community-wide effort to bring about needed changes. We are asking people to come forward and tell their stories for possible inclusion in this lawsuit. If you or anyone you know would like to tell your story, please call 612-874-7867. Michelle Gross Communities United Against Police Brutality At 04:22 PM 6/26/03 -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Today's Star Tribune reported a meeting where police Chief Olson reported, and citizens spoke out against police brutality. At a time when the city has cut many services - and schools, arts organizations, parks, public works, etc. are all facing cuts, it is troubling to read of suits against the police by their own officers and by citizens alleging brutality.Having offers accused of these acts is a serious concern. Also, if we looked back at what such suits have cost the city in the past, I suspect that we'd find that the amount is significant. As a city, we can't afford lawsuits like these. We have better uses for the money! Jean Johnstad Seward TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Schiff
Anybody else think there's something a little oneSIDED when Democrats talk politics at the memorial of a political scientist and get a backlash. Or a DFL council member notes the passing of a leading racist and is threatened with a backlash. Yet a major party of the RIGHT does one outrageous thing after another and is NEVER warned be careful you'll get a backlash. Yes, that is what we've heard over and over: Only Democrats seem to suffer a backlash. Someone EXPLAIN that to me. It makes no intuitive sense. The trouble with the argument that we have an influx of immigrants and that temporarily the library must exceed its core mission is that the USA is made UP of immigrants, most of whom never had any of the services mentioned. My father was an imimgrant who knew not a word of English when he first set foot in this country. No library was providing these needed services when that happened. Therefore, this is a case of someone inventing a need. And that's what some of these public agencies do. They have this patronizing view of some element of society, and they argue that they need extra money because there is some population group that can't cope. Well, when you are staring a deficit in the face, you just might have to learn something yourself. How to make a hard choice. To repeat what I've said all along, the deficits shouldn't be forever (if nothing else, the population should EVENTUALLY learn that the deficits are no accident and vote out the people who keep them coming for their own political agenda). But while they are there, learn to adapt. Do triage. Save the most critical roles. And by the way, a library, if the technology causes accelerated book obsolenscence, should be learning new ways of acquisition. When the cost of acacemic textbooks began its ascent to absurdity a few eons ago, the most astute of my professors adjusted in two ways. They assigned reading out of the reserve library; and they handed out copies of material, not requiring students to buy hardbacks for one quarter's use. I see no reason why librarians can't brainstorm some variant approaches to acquisition. There's no reason they have to just order everything that comes out in the most expensive way. The public will want to borrow it. Up to a point, that has some legitimacy, but I don't see the library jumping on every work of Kathleen Woodiwiss, even though she's a popular local writer. Maybe what the library has to do is pursue the most SIGNIFICANT new releases and perhaps wait for cheaper editions of less significant stuff to come out. I'm still hoping someday I will be able to download lots of books into a portable electronic reader. Think of the trees that might be saved! = Jim Mork Cooper-Longfellow-Minneapolis: A Great Town Whose Best Days Are To Come --- __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
