[Mpls] Money Trails
Voluntary recusal would be a great start. David Brauer Kingfield Mandatory recusal. You take money from an interest group to fun for office, you cannot vote on projects for them. Make it law. And cannot take a job from them for 10 years after leaving office. Wendy Pareene So. Mpls REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Former North Mpls State Rep Randy Staten-Return to Public office???
© Rake Publishing, Inc. | visit www.rakemag.com December 2005 Free the Jackson Five! Busted and Disgusted Randy Staten has redeemed himself. Will he try to return to politics? People are talking about whether Rev. Randolph (Randy) Staten will run for his old seat representing North Minneapolis in the Minnesota House of Representatives. If he did, and won, he would become Minnesotas version of former Washington mayor and convicted felon Marion Berry: a political player who went through a very public crash-and-burn, followed by a triumphant return to prominence. African-Americans are a forgiving group (just ask Bill Clinton), but would black Minnesotans re-elect a man who so publicly betrayed his community? Staten was one of the first African-American recruits for the University of Minnesotas football team in the early 1960s. After a cameo appearance in the National Football League, he returned to the Twin Cities and dabbled in Republican Party politics. Then he found a home in the DFL and in 1980 became the states lone African-American legislator. Staten used his natural eloquence and visibility to push for programs to help his economically challenged district. Along the way, however, he made powerful enemies who were waiting to pounce on any misstep. Staten was soon tripping up all over the place. He faced criminal charges for writing eighty-two hundred dollars worth of bad checks to finance a drug habit. Then he was accused of filing late and incomplete campaign expense reports with the Minnesota Ethical Practices Board. After narrowly dodging expulsion, he became the first legislator in state history to be publicly censured. He eventually did jail time. By the late 1980s, Staten found himself, in a phrase, busted and disgusted. He refused to fade off into oblivion, however, and instead took to heart advice from Broadway lyricist Dorothy Fields: Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off. And start all over again. Like other disgraced politicians before him, it was religionmore specifically, the black churchthat provided a road map to redemption for Staten. He eventually became an ordained Baptist minister. Since then, Rev. Staten has reconnected with many of the North Siders who once shunned him. He is now chairman of the Coalition of Black Churches and spokesman for the African American Leadership Summit. He led the successful fight to block David Jennings permanent appointment as superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools. (Incidentally, Jennings, a former Republican speaker of the House, was one of Statens chief tormentors during his 1980s fall from grace.) The major local dailies regularly look to Staten for quotes, and even his detractors concede that he is extremely articulate and knows how to play a political crowd. Booker Hodges believes that a run by the sixty-one-year-old Staten for his old House seat would be a huge mistake. Randys time has passed, said Hodges, who is a columnist for the Minneapolis Spokesman-Recorder and a member of the rising generation of North Minneapolis political leaders (he recently made an unsuccessful run for a seat on the Park Board). It would open up a lot of old wounds. Many of us have not forgotten the shame he brought on our community. We need to bring up some young peoplesome new blood. Hodges then went one step further. Randy and the Coalition have follow-up problems, particularly on economic issues confronting our community. Its easy to put up your hands, whoop and holler, and sing We Shall Overcome. What has he done to help the brother in the street? There is no question that Staten has pulled off a Lazarus-like resurrection. Both Don Samuels and Natalie Johnson Lee courted his support in their battle for the Fifth Ward City Council seat. Certainly, one could understand why a Staten candidacy might appeal to some North Siders, especially those struggling to move past criminal convictions and/or overcome their own personal demons. However, while the number of those folks may be greater in House District 58B than other parts of the Twin Cities, they are still not the norm in that part of town. And, more important, they historically do not turn out in great numbers to vote. Most of Statens past and future constituents are job-holding, tax-paying, drug-free, law-abiding citizens. Hodges is rightfor many of these folks, the old wounds run very deep. They might be empathetic to Statens midlife religious conversion and be impressed with his political savvy, but still find it difficult to completely forgive him, or to trust him with one of the few reliably African-American seats in the Minnesota Legislature. Getting the solid core of 58B to give him another chance is probably a political miracle that even the resilient and charismatic Rev. Staten would be hard-pressed to pull off. http://www.rakemag.com/stories/section_detail.aspx?itemID=13386catID=152SelectCatID=152
[Mpls] Time for shelter providers to step up
In todays Strib Article on the City Council allowing for flexible shelter hours, it refers to one shelter provider saying it would require fundraising for more staff and other expenses. and goes on with If the City Council's action is motivatd by a desire to keep homeless people safe...he supports it. But he would not be pleased 'if the main reason is to remove homeless people from pubic view, especiallydowntown. The City Council did not vote for this in order to shove people experiencing homelessness out of sight...as some sort of devious way to avoid helping people. Let's stop putting our public servants in a double-bind yes-but sort of situation. They responded to the research, lobbying, dialouge not only with the Decrim Task Force (half of which was people who had or were currtently experiencing homelessness), they were responding to the recs of the Community Advisory Board on Homelessness, the Downtown Businessess, the Police--- (Deputy Chief Lubinski was concerned for the suffering of people when I heard her speak to supporting this issue), and to countless others over the years. As Council Person Niziolek said This was a no-braineras Council Person Lisa Goodman told me I don't know why this did not happen sooner. Well folks, you have to walk your talk when you claim to be an advocate. ..a nd you have to talk to the people who shape our public policy...and not bash them when they listen to the advocates and advocacy groups that seek change. Shelter providers need to step up and work to get some money--- churches have lots of money--- the Council of Churches raised a lot of money for Katrina...I think they and other sources can raise a bit of money for shelters. I am not ok with abdicating responsibility by trying to paint the City Council as having some ulterior motive. Having it both ways never sat well with me i.e. Public officials don't care about homeless people, they don't listen to us and then when you get what you say you want you accuse them of some ulterior motive. I communicate regularly with Michael Stoops, Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. He was suprised that a city the size of Minneapolis did not already have daytime shelter hours. So, shelter providers should not see this change as some radical change to the world. Again, it is time to step up and figure out how to how plan programs and funding for services. The second guessing to me is simply a way to avoid the responsibility to start making day hours available to people experiencing homelessness. Having been a shelter advocate I know the need and I know that it must happen. Margaret Hastings Kingfield REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Twins stadium is a trojan horse
The Hennepin County board wants to impose a local sales tax without voter approval to pay for a new Twins stadium. It's a tiny tax. It's for the baseball fans. Right? The stadium deal will set a precendent. If Hennepin County can hike a local sales tax without voter approval today for a stadium, why not again tomorrow for something else? And why should other local governments have to get voter approval to do a sales tax hike to pay for sports facilities, schools, more cops, etc? Getting behind a public ownership proposal is a way to oppose the deal without really opposing the most critical part of the deal, which is to strip away our right to vote on proposals to hike local sales taxes. Many politicians apparently fear that taking a clear position against a local sales tax hike to pay for a stadium will get the Twins fans mad at them. -Doug Mann, King Field REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] class size - student achievement number of cops - crime
Mark Renner wrote: What David Tilsen just pointed out (a good point) is another reason I would love to see more support for community ed programs. More opportunities for students to connect meaningfully with an adult and other students who are probably not feeling as motivated in school (which are appropriately worried about test scores and achievement). Mark Anderson chimes in: Absolutely! Why are our sports programs tied to our schools? Schools are supposed to be where kids do academic stuff. Sports are incredibly distracting and cause the sorts of problems that David Tilsen referred to. What's wrong with our sports programs being part of park programs and private clubs? I think most people agree that sports are over-emphasized in the schools. Why should the schools have teams at all? It's fine to have intramural sports (that anyone can join), but the school should not endorse any team as representing them. I know sports teams are very important to some people, so it would be hard to dis-engage them from the schools. But we should definitely start down that road. Rick Kuhlmann writes: I am somewhat confused. Mr. Renner writes that schools are appropriately worried about test scores and achievement. So why would you agree with Dave Tilsen? If the schools require a higher grade average than the state does to participate in, and this goes for all After school activites, is that not a good thing? You cannot say that it is appropriate then agree with Tilsen. To Mr. Anderson's comments: Do you believe in just the basics in education? If so we could really trim the budget! No after school activities including all clubs or competitive programs (Inculding Debate or Speech). No band, orchestra, choir, drama, art, shop...ok enough. I think you miss the mosaic that is the high school environment. But if we did do that we would have a lot of space to develop community ed programs in remodeled band, shop, music and art areas. Also a few years ago about $250,000 was spent to hire McKinley Boston (I hope I spelled it right) to study the possibility of moving all middle school sports to the Park Board. Maybe others on the list can remember more of the details but my impression was that Mr. Boston did a good job of detailing the issues. The outcome was that the list of to-do items was about 8 pages long. Nothing has happened. If it was such a good idea don't we think it might have had some effect? Na. It would have meant the MPRB would have had to begin putting together competitive teams based on tryouts and cutting players who did not play as well as others. This is something that would go against the grain of the MPRB. Would you not agree that having a higher grade average requirement takes the emphasis off of athletics and puts it back in the classroom? I feel that Minneapolis is doing a good job of de-emphasizing sports. For example, starting next year there will be only two boys hockey teams. One will be a combination of Southwest, Washburn and Henry. The other will be South, Roosevelt and Edison. There will, of course, no need for as much ice time for these teams leaving the city free to rent out even more time to suburban schools and teams. They will play in other conferences so the city will be devoid of any hockey related competition in the city. And you know, I am reminded of story I saw printed in the U of M Education department magazine (They send it to grads of Education) about Henry High School. A number of years ago Henry was in danger of closing. Teachers and staff were exhausted. Drop-out rates were very high. Any achievement was barely noticeable. Then came the International Baccalaureate program. The rest is recent history. Rick Kuhlmann Hale Page Diamond Lake REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Doug Mann quoted in Nation's Restaurant News
[Excerpt from] Dining and diversity: catering to a multicultural clientele: as the U.S. population becomes increasingly diverse, training servers to be sensitive to the distinct desires of different groups becomes more important than ever Nation's Restaurant News, Sept 19, 2005 by Paul Frumkin http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_38_39/ai_n15631748#continue ...Cultural history and perception also form an important element in how different ethnic groups assess the dining experience. We put too little attention on the fact that until 1963 blacks couldn't sit down in a restaurant and be accommodated in all 50 states, Fernandez says. As a result blacks today tend to be less patient with long waits than other groups are. But that's because they often found themselves waiting for the wrong reason--nobody wanted to serve them. Many people just don't recognize how those little slights were used against blacks in this country for years. An informal study carried out in the 1980s appears to bear that out. Devised by Doug Mann--who at the time was a server at an Atlanta outlet of a family restaurant chain and now is a candidate for the Minneapolis City Council--the study reveals that black customers are more sensitive to the speed of service and may interpret delays as discrimination. Mann conducted a study of 3,000 customers over a six-week period that appeared to demonstrate that blacks were quicker to reduce the size of their tip than white guests if they had to wait past a certain point for their food. All customers who waited 10 minutes or less for their food paid at least a 15 percent tip, Mann says. No one who waited more than 20 minutes left a tip. However, Mann adds, blacks were less likely to tip than whites if they had to wait more than 10 minutes and less than 20. And, he says, the longer the wait, the bigger the tipping gap. [end of quote] At least one of my co-workers in the above-mentioned Atlanta restaurant refused to serve blacks at all, and most gave blacks low priority (often translating into extra delays in food service). I noticed the same thing going on at many other restaurants. I was working two full time jobs and dined out on a daily basis for about 6 months during that time period. And I have seen blacks getting the same treatment as 2nd class customers in Minneapolis during the past 20 years. Serving a diverse clientele (i.e., being forced to serve blacks) remains a big challenge in the restaurant industry because many servers still don't want to serve black customers, or generally don't want to serve them as well as whites. However, I saw those attitudes change among a group of waiters who I worked with in Atlanta. When table service improved and racial differences in tipping declined, most of the waiters came around to the view that it was not in their interests to discriminate against black customers. Racial discrimination is, in itself, a factor that lowers the overall quality of service that can be provided to a majority of customers. For example, a waiter might seat and serve fewer than the optimal number of clients in their section in order to avoid serving black customers, which can lead to bottlenecks and delays in the kitchen during rush periods. In my experience there also seems to be a negative correlation between the intensity of racial discrimination and the quality of service, with racial discrimination being less intense, even nonexistent in well-managed restaurants where service is consistently good. On the other hand, where sweatshop conditions prevail, lousy service and racial discrimination against customers go hand in hand. -Doug Mann, King Field REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Twins stadium is a trojan horse
This right to vote on local sales tax is less than 20 years old and was put in place by state legislators for political reasons and can be taken away by state legislators for political reasons. What is the legal, constitional, or moral reason the approval mechanism for a local sales tax be different than that of property taxes? Also if enough people disagree with any tax increase you do have a say - vote out those who approved the tax increase and vote into office candidates who promise to repeal the tax. Dean E. Carlson Ward 10, East Harriet - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Monday, December 5, 2005 8:29 am Subject: [Mpls] Twins stadium is a trojan horse The Hennepin County board wants to impose a local sales tax without voter approval to pay for a new Twins stadium. It's a tiny tax. It's for the baseball fans. Right? The stadium deal will set a precendent. If Hennepin County can hike a local sales tax without voter approval today for a stadium, why not again tomorrow for something else? And why should other local governments have to get voter approval to do a sales tax hike to pay for sports facilities, schools, more cops, etc? Getting behind a public ownership proposal is a way to oppose the deal without really opposing the most critical part of the deal, which is to strip away our right to vote on proposals to hike local sales taxes. Many politicians apparently fear that taking a clear position against a local sales tax hike to pay for a stadium will get the Twins fans mad at them. -Doug Mann, King Field REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] aol
I must correct a number of errors in Mr. Halfhill's post about aol. I lived and worked in that area for 35 years. First, Dulles and Langley are 10-15 miles apart. Second, Langley does not provide a residence to the thousands of CIA employees. Most of them cannot afford to live in the area where homes cost in the millions of dollars. Robert F. Kennedy's home is/was just about a mile away from the CIA Headquarters. Most CIA employees live in the far suburbs where government salaries can still purchase a house. There are a lot of employees who commute for more than 90 minutes each way and who live in places like West Virginia; Fredericksburg, VA; and Hagerstown and Columbia, MD. The internet, in the 70s, was known as DARPAnet. DARPA was the Defense Advanced Research Projects A. ( I'm not sure what the A stood for). Members of DARPA were, besides government agencies, many Ivy League colleges. I got into computers as a programmer in the 70s, and I can remember some of us (government employees) logging onto the net to play games at the MIT site because they had the best games. I think the Universities were involved because they were helping develop this new technology that has become so useful to us today. As far as Dulles being the corporate headquarters of AOL: There is a corridor that runs from the Washington, DC, suburbs around Falls Church to Dulles Airport. It is known as the Dulles corridor, and it is the Silicon Valley of the DC area. It is filled with high tech companies, so AOL being headquartered there is no big deal. Other companies in that area with a large presence include General Electric, TRW, SRA, Lockheed-Martin, and many, many more. WorldCom was headquartered there in Herndon. In the middle of the corridor is Reston, VA, one of the first new towns created from scratch and a model for many other new towns built after that. The internet was not begun by AOL. Before AOL was Compuserve and Prodigy, all PC-based. Those of us who used Macintosh computers were very frustrated by the inattention paid to Macs. Then AOL came along. It was developed on and for Macintosh users but supported PC capabilities. Over the past 5-7 years, AOL forgot about its Macintosh roots and has moved much more strongly into the PC market. It used to be that the Mac upgrade always came out first, followed by the PC version a year or so later. Not any more. Not only did AOL forget its Mac roots. It has forgotten its USA roots. All customer service is now handled out of India, primarily New Delhi. It's why I cancelled my AOL membership after 10 years. When things went wrong, I could only speak to people in India who kept saying, No problem, but could not do anything to solve the problems I was experiencing. AOL did not create a suburb called Dulles. Those of us who lived near Dulles Airport always used that term to refer to the outer ring of suburbs such as Sterling, Herndon, Chantilly. It is a shorthand way of referring to the area, much like we refer to Northeast to mean Northeast Minneapolis. According to the article quoted, Lydia Howell did most of her research in the encyclopedia and the internet and then made some rather large assumptions, trying to find something scary to report. It's obvious she hasn't lived or worked in the area and really does not know the area at all. Dottie Titus, Jordan neighborhood REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Hiawatha Flats/Klodt
We shouldnt minimize the reality that contributions from developers to government officials can create a conflict of interest. But as to Klodts development of the Hiawatha Flats site, contributions aside, is, in my view and the view of many residents, the wrong type of development for the Tiro site and is not at all similar to the 46th St. Master Plan, approved by the city. I wont just get over it as one forum contributor suggested! We can agree that cleaning that eyesore of a site and changing the zoning from industrial to residential is a positive thing and good for the community. The large part of the community realizes that development will be substantial and dense along Hiawatha Ave., especially the East side due to the transit oriented development strategy of the city and we accept that. However, simply because the city wants high density does not mean any high density. We can do density in a more thoughtful and appealing way. The flats project has the appeal of a barracks. One building (3-5 stories) stretches for the entire block, abuts the railroad (which realistically is not going away any time soon). You can put all the bells and whistles on that façade but you cant mask its mass and coldness. As this project is slated to be 100% rental, perhaps the developer isnt as concerned with how appealing the structure is. As the younger Klodt member said at a LCC Community meeting, and I quote we plan to hold onto this building for around 39 years, which is what we usually do, and then they might be converted into condos. This was in response to a question posed about the possibility of some of the project being condos and having a home ownership component. Which I think would have made this project much more palatable for the community as a whole. Additionally, the transit-oriented component to this project is off. I urge any citizen to try walking from the site, how about on a day like today, cross 6 lanes of traffic, and for good measure, try this at night with inclement weather. It can take 2 light cycles and that is for an able bodied person on a good day. Something needs to be done about that! I urge our community to demand that our elected officials consider thoughtfully and carefully new high density plans. M. Brady Hiawatha Resident REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Money Trails
There are non-trivial First Amendment problems with this proposal, not the least of which is defining what an interest group is. Should someone who takes support from, say Progressive Minnesota, be banned from voting on the whole range of public issues that PM has taken a position on? The better approach is public financing of local elections, so that candidates do not have to deal with interest groups as a prerequisite to running. You could structure it very much like the state system, hopefully more robust, where once a candidate reaches a certain triggering threshold of small, individual contributions, they qualify for public funds -- and the candidate's acceptance of such funds would bind them to an overall limit on the amount of money to be spent in the race. That limit could be waived if another candidate in the race refused to agree to public funding and/or a spending cap. I know this idea is a hard sell during tough financial times for the city, but it's the only viable alternative to developer-financed local elections that I see. On Dec 5, 2005, at 5:12 AM, Wendy Wilde wrote: Voluntary recusal would be a great start. David Brauer Kingfield Mandatory recusal. You take money from an interest group to fun for office, you cannot vote on projects for them. Make it law. And cannot take a job from them for 10 years after leaving office. Greg Abbott Linden Hills REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] RE: Trojan Horse?
You guys are right. I propose, that since we're going to start having a lot of referendums, that we have a vote next time it snows. I want my street plowed first. Then, we should have a referendum for turning the street lights on. Sometimes, its actually light out and the lights are on! Outrageous. As a community, we should be able to gather each day and make this decision. Talk about democracy in action!! Nevermind these pesky elections each November, we don't need the nanny state telling us what to do - we're all adults. Should we have a referendum on the referendum on the referendum? I'm not sure. Lets vote on it. . . All in favor say aye. Jared Chester Outside Minnehaha Methodist waiting to cast the next ballot. REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] class size - student achievement number of cops - crime
--- Rick Kuhlmann [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I am somewhat confused. Mr. Renner writes that schools are appropriately worried about test scores and achievement. So why would you agree with Dave Tilsen? If the schools require a higher grade average than the state does to participate in, and this goes for all After school activites, is that not a good thing? You cannot say that it is appropriate then agree with Tilsen. I was agreeing with the importance of afterschool programs or sports leagues as a source of mentors or simply positive adult contact. Schools need to be focused on teaching and learning, but I don't think that should extend to denying after school classes to students who don't get a certain grade average. having a safe and fun place to go after school is important and certainly is better than going to an empty house to watch tv or play video games. I seem to remember studies in juvenile delinquency support this, but I don't remember for sure. As far as academics goes, many schools or youth agencies run homework help or other studying groups after-school, for those who could use more help. It isn't just sports and games anymore. __ Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less. dsl.yahoo.com REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Twins stadium is a trojan horse
This has the ring of truth to it. Another Bush-Pawlenty type trick to make the poor pay most of the taxes, and give it to the rich. Pretty much the way it was everywhere before the French and American Revolutions. We didn't start with a formal aristocracy, but they're working on one now. --David Shove Roseville On Mon, 5 Dec 2005 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The Hennepin County board wants to impose a local sales tax without voter approval to pay for a new Twins stadium. It's a tiny tax. It's for the baseball fans. Right? The stadium deal will set a precendent. If Hennepin County can hike a local sales tax without voter approval today for a stadium, why not again tomorrow for something else? And why should other local governments have to get voter approval to do a sales tax hike to pay for sports facilities, schools, more cops, etc? Getting behind a public ownership proposal is a way to oppose the deal without really opposing the most critical part of the deal, which is to strip away our right to vote on proposals to hike local sales taxes. Many politicians apparently fear that taking a clear position against a local sales tax hike to pay for a stadium will get the Twins fans mad at them. -Doug Mann, King Field REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
RE: [Mpls] Hiawatha Flats
Tony S. asks: I believe the density of the Klodt development is good. I am not commenting on the design. I would like to note that several commentators have suggested opposition to the R-5 zoning, which I believe is consistent with the planning study of the area. I would appreciate hearing from Mr. Brauer his views on development in the Hiawatha corridor. While I'm not intimately familiar with Hiawatha's development plan, in general, I support greater density in transportation corridors, though that's not a blank check since the devil is so often in the details. However, my views aren't that important in the current discussion; I think the views of the neighbors and elected and appointed officials matter much more. One thing I know from my time in journalism is that the current Planning Commission is strongly pro-density and hardly anti-development. That makes it more significant that six of them voted against the Klodt project in committee, with only Carol Kummer voting for it. Greg Abbott writes, of Wendy Wilde's suggestion for mandatory recusal when an official receives a direct or indirect political contribution: There are non-trivial First Amendment problems with this proposal, not the least of which is defining what an interest group is. Should someone who takes support from, say Progressive Minnesota, be banned from voting on the whole range of public issues that PM has taken a position on? Me again: I think this is a red herring. PM is a broad-based group with broad-based interests. To me, that differs significantly from a single developer with a single significant interest. However, I agree generally with Greg, which is why I proposed voluntary recusal rather than mandatory. I'm not sure exactly where to draw the line, but I feel Ms. Kummer's vote was clearly on the wrong side of it. Also, a member of Park Watch informed me offlist that Billy Weisman's contribution was $5,000, not $10,000 as I earlier stated. My apologies for the error. There was some additional analysis that Weisman's share of the reform effort's money was far lower than that of Klodt's for the Board majority; I hope the details are shared with the list. David Brauer Kingfield REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Local holiday fundraising query
--- Forwarded message follows --- Date sent: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 14:57:16 -0600 (CST) From: Mayor R. T. Rybak [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:City of Minneapolis Mayoral Update To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message from Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak December 5, 2005 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE! I hope that this Thanksgiving was a happy one for you and your family. As we enter the holiday season, I want to repeat an idea that we debuted last year about how I can help raise awareness for holiday gift ideas that benefit our community. There are many community groups and non-profits in Minneapolis that will be selling items this holiday to raise money for their efforts - and I would like your help in gathering a list of these together that I will send as an e-mail update in the coming weeks so that when people are looking for creative gift ideas this year, they can consider purchasing something out of the ordinary mall finds and pick something that will delight their family and friends but also help our community. For example, last year we were able to promote several neighborhood associations that were selling items as fundraisers, several holiday craft fairs and bazaars that were community based, and several non-profits who had items for sale to benefit their awareness and fundraising. If you know of similar community efforts or local arts organizations that are selling unique items this year, please e-mail them to my staff who will be gathering this information. The e-mail address is: [EMAIL PROTECTED] I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and we can support these local efforts together!! You have subscribed to receive e-mail updates from Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak. To unsubscribe or update your City of Minneapolis subscriptions list, click Update Subscriptions [ http://www.govdocs.com/servlet/GovDocs/multi_subscribe?code=MPLS ]. If you have problems reading this message or updating your subscriptions list, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] [ mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ] for assistance. --- End of forwarded message --- ^ ^ ^^ Steven L. Clift- - - W: http://publicus.net Minneapolis- - - - E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minnesota - - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667 USA- - - - Skype/MSN/Y!/AIM: netclift Join Democracies Online: http://dowire.org Start an Issues Forum: http://e-democracy.org/if REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Public hearing about school property tax increase
Public hearing about school property tax increase The public is invited to attend a Board of Education public hearing on the proposed school levy increase for taxes payable in 2006. The school board would like to hear taxpayer concerns about the increase before final levy certification. Click here for more information. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. John B. Davis Educational Service Center 807 N.E. Broadway St., Minneapolis Todd Heintz, Jordan - Yahoo! Personals Let fate take it's course directly to your email. See who's waiting for you Yahoo! Personals REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Public hearing about school property tax increase
Public hearing about school property tax increase The public is invited to attend a Board of Education public hearing on the proposed school levy increase for taxes payable in 2006. The school board would like to hear taxpayer concerns about the increase before final levy certification. Click here for more information. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. John B. Davis Educational Service Center 807 N.E. Broadway St., Minneapolis Todd Heintz, Jordan - Yahoo! Personals Skip the bars and set-ups and start using Yahoo! Personals for free REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Hiawatha Flats
David Brauer writes: However, my views aren't that important in the current discussion; I think the views of the neighbors and elected and appointed officials matter much more. You are so correct David. Development should always include the residents of a neighborhood as much as possible. The residents should be included in every step of the design process. To not do so is both arrogant and not too smart. Neighborhood folks who are intimately involved in that process not only do not oppose development they are willing to fight to get that development built. Unfortunately, we usually see a project that comes to the neighbors late and then attempts to stuff it down those neighbors throats. How incredibly shortsighted. Instead of valuable allies the developer creates enemies. Such shortsighted developers sour the entire City against development and create suspicion about any development. Neighbors really do want the amenities and services that more compact development can bring, they just want to insure it is the type they want to Buy. Attempting to stuff one school bus down their throat when they would have bought a fleet of mini-vans is just not too bright. The place for higher density is logically along commercial corridors and transit ways. The way to accomplish that density is citizen involvement. A good example of this is the Ventura Village Neighborhood. There the neighborhood residents decided that higher density would allow the critical mass necessary to allow for an economic base that would bring the services and amenities that the community wanted. BUT, they did not want to lose the character of their community with its old Victorian homes and duplexes. The answer for them was low profile- high density with in fill, accessory housing, carriage houses in the neighborhood, and four story mixed-use buildings with underground parking along the commercial corridor. Those same neighbors were willing to not just support that development but to lobby and pressure to get it done. When one compares the resulting development that is part of the Miracle on Franklin to any of the other Neighborhood LRT Station Service Areas then it is evident how successful community based land-use master planning can be. Developers need to understand this and include the residents early, and then sign MOU's with the Neighborhood to do that development that the residents help design, and ONLY that development. In exchange the developer gets active support for those projects from the residents. It is as simple as that! - -If developers wish to act ethically and get their projects done. Developers should treat neighborhood residents as if they were valued customers and even more valued partners. It gets present development accomplished and creates a fertile atmosphere for future developments. Jim Graham, Ventura Village If as a community you do not define yourself for yourself, you will be crunched into other people's fantasies of who you should be and lose the whom, who you are. Death strikes more than just a body, sometimes it claims a soul of a community and the body may not know that it is dead and thus continue on for years. But remember crickets, with even a small strike for individuality the individual community may also be reborn, and thereby may come resurrection for that community. REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Twins stadium is a trojan horse
Dean C. scribed in part: Also if enough people disagree with any tax increase you do have a say - vote out those who approved the tax increase and vote into office candidates who promise to repeal the tax. GH here: But voting the politicians out after the fact.isn't that closing the gate after the horse is looseor maybe the Trojan horse is in the stadium? More seriously: My son is doing a report on the Metrodome as a part of Minnesota history. According to the packet of info he received from the folks at the Dome: -- the Metrodome is self-supporting today, with no current public tax subsidy for operations, improvement, or bond repayments. -- 25,000 cubic feet of air per minute are pumped to keep the dome inflated. I wonder what the electric bill is? I wonder how much of that energy is generated from natural gas, or imported from Manitoba Hydro -- the Pitcher's mound at the Metrodome weighs 23,000 pounds. It is raised and lowered by an electric motor -- like a big elevator. Up for baseball, down for football (and tractor pulls, I guess). It takes lots of energy to build, maintain, and operate a place like this. Heating, cooling, and lighting the place must draw plenty of energy. Looking at the energy and resource scenario we face in the next twenty years, such facilities will be obsolete within a decade. Any new huge sports facilities will require huge amounts of energy to build and operate while we very much need these resources invested in more economically productive sustainable infrastructure. The old paradigm views our city as having an infinite cheap energy supply and an infinite dump for our toxic waste. We don't even have to think about it. We can build what we want to when and where we want to. We can also assume that the rest of the planet will surrender their resources so that we can keep living exactly as we are: no change. The planet does not have enough resources or enough waste sinks for us to continue this obscene way of planning for the future. Already Canadians are growing more angry with us for assuming the we have first dibs on their resources -- oil, natural gas, hydro power, water, lumber are a few of these. (NAFTA forces them to sell us about 60% of oil and NG no matter if they need the resources and also see their own NG production peak.) Our resource war with China bubbles up with regard to Iran and the Sudan and Venezuela. Other people in other nations have dreams of using their natural resources themselves. From Bolivia to Nigeria these people question why huge energy resources are sold and shipped to us while they live in poverty without any say in the matter. Never mind, let's just keep doing exactly what we've always done.or not!?!?! The new paradigm is this: we look at our bioregional renewable energy and resource budget. We focus every effort to develop strategies to powerdown and conserve resources. Relocalization and significant local self-reliance will be vital in coming years. Let's raise tax revenue to prepare for the real future, not to try to retreat into the past. pedaling for peace and ecojustice from Lynnhurst -- Gary Hoover REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] hiawatha flats
As I mentioned last november, there were several issues of importance to the community and the planning department...not just height but the massing or wall like appearance of the project, the increase of parking from l.0 to a bump of l.2, feeling by more than one that the 46th street transit corridor planning process was being dismissed and all the time the good residents of the area spent participating in the project would be wasted if the project were approved in its current form. Other issues like the oak tree...the planning commission meeting of that date is occassionally re- played...for a schedule, call city cable (think its 673-2234). This hearing wasn't just about density so if you have the time, watch it (or get the minutes from the clerk). Whether you like the location and size of the Landner and Akerberg projects in uptown, the designs of these two projects are incredible and visually pleasing...the Hiawatha flats architecture looks like the stuff I saw in USSR in '62 and Tito Jugoslavia...Stalinist (I believe one commissioner referred to it as eastern european)...more acceptance if it didn't look like a wall?. best wishes. cheryl luger PS We're having our own little planning process over here in the far hinterlands of 50th and VA stations begining this week...so welcome to the wild, wild west of development _ Dont just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Benchmarking Campaign Finance Reform
Minneapolis needs to seriously consider campaign finance reform, and we'd be well served by familiarizing ourselves with the efforts of two U.S. cities: Portland, OR, and Albuquerque, NM. You may recall that in October 2005, Albuquerque adopted full public financing reform in a decisive 69 percent victory on a city charter amendment. Portland is also a model of campaign finance reform through its Voter-owned Elections ordinance. In both cities, participating candidates receive limited amounts of campaign dollars from a publicly financed fund if they agree to: 1) Collect a large number of $5 qualifying contributions to demonstrate community support 2) Reject private money contributions 3) Limit campaign spending 4) Agree to comply with strict administrative regulations Last week, Connecticut, became the first state in the country to approve voluntary public financing for legislative and statewide races. The impetus came after Connecticut's former governor was sent to prison for accepting lavish gifts from contractors with business before the state. We'll undoubtedly face similar criticism of public financing that leaders in Portland, Albuquerque and Connecticut had to address. The concern centers on whether we can afford to do it. Leaders from Portland and Albuquerque argued that their cities couldnt afford to forgo changes in their campaign systems. Here are a few comments on Voter Owned Elections made by Portland City Council members at its April and May 2005 hearings: On the funding issue... forgoing just one unnecessary tax abatement could more than pay for the costs (of Voter Owned Elections.) Commissioner Sam Adams at April 7, 2005 hearing ** This ordinance addresses a systemic problem that exists when campaign contributions swamp our local political decision making, both in terms of how we get elected, and then the decision making that occurs once we are elected. I believe that Voter Owned Elections will save millions of dollars in unnecessary spending that goes on to satisfy campaign contributors. Commissioner Sam Adams at May 18, 2005 hearing ** I've become convinced that it is a good idea and a wise use of public resources. I've come to understand that our current way of financing political campaigns serve to exclude large numbers of our citizens, particularly women and minorities, from the political process. Our community faces many challenges, and to face them we need good ideas and strong leaders. Effectively limiting access to our political system to those who can raise hundreds of thousands of dollars is unfair and counterproductive. Just as the city needs to reach out to our entire community in its hiring and purchasing decisions, we need to include the entire community in our political process. It's (Voter Owned Elections) the right thing to do, and it's in the entire community's best interests. Commissioner Dan Saltzman at May 18, 2005 hearing Tony Scallon is right that we need ...to deal with the real issues. I hope most would agree that campaign finance reform is a real issue in Minneapolis, and we begin seriously discussing it. Kevin McDonald Hiawatha REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
RE: [Mpls] hiawatha flats
Cheryl Luger writes: the Hiawatha flats architecture looks like the stuff I saw in USSR in '62 and Tito Jugoslavia...Stalinist (I believe one commissioner referred to it as eastern european)...more acceptance if it didn't look like a wall?. The Georgian reference jogged a memory: With the *major* caveat that I've not seen the Hiawatha's design, it's worth noting that Paul Klodt was the developer who built River West, arguably the ugliest - dare I say Stalinist - building on the Downtown riverfront. It's the big wide thing that blocks a good chunk of Downtown's river view. In fairness, I should note city officials - then desperate for Downtown development (this was the '80s), okayed Klodt's design. There's even a story - perhaps apocryphal; I've never confirmed it - the Klodt wanted to build tall, but the city said no, so he built wide instead. David Brauer Kingfield REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Conflict of Interests: What Qualifies and Why Some Double Standards?
With all of the talk regarding campaign donations and conflict of interest regarding the Klodt development, I felt like asking a few questions and making some pointed comments on conflict of interest in the development world. I'll preface this by saying that there definite questions regarding the Klodt donations, such as: why the vote was cast, was the candidate aware of the donations, was the candidate partaking in illegal practices, etc. Without having these answers, accusations should be treated as such - since we live in a country where you are innocent until proven guilty. All this said it brings up the question of Conflict of Interest: both ethical and legal. This will be tailored towards development. And I really am looking for honest answers, as I have some thoughts on this, but others' opinions on the matter really help develop your own no matter the direction. 1 A - What is a conflict of interest and how should they be handled for elected or appointed officials regarding development projects that come before a governmental board? Is it campaign contributions, personal friends who do development, living next to the development, etc? 1 B - Is it unethical for a governmental official to act on a development in which they've received campaign contributions from a developer? If it depends, then what does it depend on? 2 A - What is a conflict of interest and how should they be handled for those contacting government bodies regarding development? (Such as residents, business owners/managers, property owners). Is it those who work in real estate who have an interest in the area, is it residents who live a block away who fear property tax decreases, etc? 2 B - Is it unethical for real estate professionals (agents, developers, etc) to be involved in the process, specifically when development occurs in the area they have interest in? Why I ask those questions is because of this: I recently began working at a real estate firm that is involved in development in my area. I've been really active with my neighborhood at varying levels for a long time and have been asked many of times what my conflict of interest is lately. At times, I've felt that people think my opinion shouldn't count on development issues because of my job, even though the developments don't involve my company or its partners. It's really a matter of education, as when I've informed people of the conflict, the issue tends to get resolved. BUT, then I hear people say things like my property values will go down (my perspective is quite the opposite), which to me is a direct conflict of interest - but just because it's a conflict of interest, it doesn't mean one can't be involved and be fully a part of the process. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with a developer and some of its staff donating to a political campaign, specifically if the developer owns significant amounts of land in the jurisdiction or if they live there. It's a grey zone in my opinion, because people like me who've been active and want to see Minneapolis grow and succeed on many levels - who work for a developer/property manager may want to support a candidate who shares (or comes close) their *personal* vision for the city. My decision to support a candidate because of their view may very well line up with how my company feels. But a company obviously shouldn't have their employees contribute if they weren't going to already based upon their own personal interests. I hope we can have a reasonable discussion, one that can highlight disagreements - for I'm trying to see how we can better understand conflicts of interest.because it seems to me that there are too many generalizations being made. Let's be proactive and find specific ways to improve the system. -Thatcher Imboden CARAG REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] City of Mpls Legislative Agenda
ken bradley wrote: Minneapolis Issues Folks, Below is a link the city of Minneapolis 2006 Legislative Agenda. increased transit funding (Bus Rapid Transit), It's not just BRT. The really fantastic thing about this is that the #1 transportation legislative priority for Minneapolis is dedicated funding for transit. As described, the funding would be close to what was proposed in the citizen-drafted Transportation Choices 2020 bill introduced last session. More info is here: http://www.tlcminnesota.org/Events/2005/Legislature/TranspoChoices2020/TC2020-Index.htm A lack of stable, dedicated funding for transit is the #1 reason our public transport system continues to deteriorate. The time is now to fix the problem. David Greene The Wedge REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Twins stadium is a trojan horse
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Getting behind a public ownership proposal is a way to oppose the deal without really opposing the most critical part of the deal, which is to strip away our right to vote on proposals to hike local sales taxes. Where exactly is this right enshrined in our state or federal constitution? I cannot find it. Referendum is bad government. It allows our elected officials to abdicate their responsibility to make good policy based on the common good. Would you like our transit system funding to be dependent on referendum? Oops, I forgot, it is. We have a transportation ballot item next year: dedicating the Motor Vehicle Sales tax to transportation, at least 40% to transit. This form of governing is what got California into the mess it's in. David Greene The Wedge REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
