[Mpls] This Week in The Minneapolis Observer

[Craig Cox]

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
Vol. 1, No. 17
December 10, 2001

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THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER:
* Downtown Projects Will Get No Help from Jesse
* An Energy Co-op in Phillips?
* Anger Management Program Has County Officials Steamed
* U of M Stargazers Focus on Controversial Arizona Telescope
* Celebrating Nellie Stone Johnson
* The Case for Blowing Up the Metrodome
Plus: Those treacherous fire poles, Scott LeDoux's pretty face, the $34,000 stop light, and abolishing high school.

(This is a preview edition of The Observer. To subscribe ($12/48 issues), e-mail your request to [EMAIL PROTECTED])

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DOWNTOWN FUNDING REQUESTS WILL GET LITTLE HELP FROM JESSE
The city's three major state funding priorities will get little support from the governor when the Legislature convenes next month. But it may not matter.
In an interview with David Brauer in the Skyway News (www.skywaynews.net), Gov. Jesse Ventura said he'd oppose state funding for the Guthrie and Shubert Theaters and showed only lukewarm support for a new Planetarium. "I would say [a Planetarium] is probably a good idea, but I'd tend to be cautious," Ventura said, noting that he'll give priorities to infrastructure-related projects.
On the proposed $10 million appropriation to help fund the Guthrie's new riverfront facility, the governor noted that he'd vetoed a $3 million request last year and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. "It's entertainment, the entertainment industry," he said. "You get the same people that tell you 'don't build a stadium with public money,' then turn around and say, 'but we need money for the Guthrie Theater.' "
Ventura is even more adamant in his opposition to funding for the Shubert facility, ridiculing the decision to move the theater in 1998. "If they hadn't moved it, they'd probably have the money," he said.
Of course, with the governor's approval rating sliding precipitously of late, his blessing may not be as important as it was last year. Indeed, Ventura noted that his veto of the Guthrie appropriation was overridden last year and could be again. "I'm the most overriden vetoed governor in history, so [legislators] can override me."

ENERGY COOPERATIVE ON THE DRAWING BOARD IN PHILLIPS
The Green Institute has launched an initiative that would create an energy cooperative in the Phillips Neighborhood, reports Abdel Shakur in Southside Pride (www.southsidepride.com).

FUNDING CUTS MAY CLOSE NATIVE MEN'S ANGER GROUP
A budget shortfall at the Division of Indian Work (DIW) is threatening to end an 18-year-old anger management program that, despite its successful track record, has few supporters.


MAYBE THEY SHOULD USE THE STAIRS
"It is a great old station. But there are a lot of injuries associated with sliding down the pole. The new stations are only one story."
--Station 14 firefighter Jean Kidd on plans to build a new fire station on Lowry Ave. N., in North News

U OF M ASKED TO QUIT CONTROVERSIAL ARIZONA TELESCOPE PROJECT
Arizona environmental and Indian rights activists recently met with University of Minnesota officials in an attempt to dissuade them from signing on to a telescope project they say harms the environment and threatens sacred Indian ground.

CELEBRATING NELLIE STONE JOHNSON
More than 300 people gathered November 29 to formally dedicate the Nellie Stone Johnson Community School and celebrate the 95-year-old activist's life and work.


SNAPSHOT
Sunday, 4:20 p.m., 31st St. and Nicollet Ave.
We're hanging out in the Radio Shack on Nicollet when a couple of 30-something rogues enter, ostensibly to check out the cell phones, it seems. Soon, however, the big bald-headed guy is drawn to a pile of remote control contraptions across the room. "Fuck," he says, apropos of nothing, as he picks up a bright yellow remote control boat that would wow any 10-year-old. "Look at this. It won't do what it says on the box, you know," he assures his friend, who grunts absently. The big guy turns the boat over in his meaty paws, thoughtfully. "It's tough, though."

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RAVES, RANTS, AND OTHER CONSIDERED OPINIONS
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IT'S JUST MY OPINION, BUT . . .
The decision last week by the Osseo school board to trim their budget by instituting a four-day school week and drop recess for grade schoolers no doubt presages a similar revolution brewing in Minneapolis schools, where district officials and the school board are grappling with what could be as much as a $25 million budget shortfall next year.

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The Minneapolis Observer is published 48 times/year by Independent Media, L.L.C. �2001 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
Associate Editor: Sharon Parker
Contributing writers: Mark Engebretson, Leo Mezzrow.
Occasional research assistance: Martin and Nora Cox
Thanks to: Adam Shinbrot and Sophia