Gregory Luce wrote: I was surprised to see Basim Sabri mentioned as a partner in the Collaborative Village Initiative (CVI), which I presume is the "PPL/Steve Wash/Basim Sabri project" that Barb mentions in her post. snip opponents are using Basim Sabri's name to oppose the project. He (PPL)told me (and he said "you can quote me"): "Basim Sabri has nothing to do with the project and has never had anything to do with the project." I think Barb's use of his name is the result of Basim Sabri showing up at a public Ventura Village meeting and being quite vocal about the project (and, in my mind, to the detriment of the project, as he simply riled up personal animosities). I was at that meeting (Barb Lickness was not) and actually did not know that the man speaking next to me was Basim Sabri--at no time did he say he is part of the project. But, despite nothing to go on except Basim's presence at a public meeting, Barb Lickness labels the project a "PPL/Steve Wash/Basim Sabri project." David Piehl writes: It is certainly understandable at this point that PPL would like to disassociate itself from Basim Sabri, but there is more of a connection than what was noted by PPL. Barb & Greg are correct about Sabri's presence at the Ventura Village meetings (which are documented in the archives of this forum - as well as Basim's support of the proposal), but there is more. When Basim was aggressively trying to move his Lake Street motel proposal forward, one of his tactics was to partner with Steve Wash & PPL in a plan to destroy about 18 existing residential units near the motel and replace them with the "PPL/Steve Wash/Basim Sabri Project" - thus decimating the neighbors' opposition to the motel by destroying their homes and sending them elsewhere. (also effectively destroying affordable housing to build affordable housing, and displacing existing residents) I don't know how much direct awareness PPL had of the issue, but in any event it isn't a very prudent business decision to align or allow yourself to be aligned with an "unknown" party, if that's what happened. Steve Wash, formerly of the Phoenix Group, certainly had ample opportunity to understand Sabri and his motives, since Steve was one of Basim's candidates in the Sabri-engineered takeover of CNIA. It's easy for PPL to now say that Basim Sabri had no involvement in their proposal, but at the very least, they allowed their project to be used by Basim Sabri as a tool to achieve his personal business goals. Now that they and the project are linked with Basim Sabri, it is a good opportunity to more carefully consider the impact of "partnering" decisions in the future. Personally, I think Basim Sabri and Steve Wash's involvement warrents further scrutiny of the project, which is a concept I supported at one time. David Piehl 8th Ward/Central ______________________________________________________________________ The information contained in this message is private and confidential information which may also be subject to the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine. This information is intended only for the individual or entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, distribution or copy of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by return e-mail and destroy all copies of the message. Thank you. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
