[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. 26
February 11, 2002

This is a preview edition of The Observer. To subscribe to the full-text edition ($12/48 issues), just hit reply and we'll set you up. Thanks.

**********************************************************

THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER:
* City Hall's New Gender Gap
* Somali Activists Protest Firings
* A Two-Year Term for New Council Members?
* Qwest's Long Distance Quest
* Nickle and Dimed at the Budget Debate
* The Future of Bus Transit
Plus: The hippie groove at Hidden Beach, R.T.'s receptionist problem, remembering the Swedes, Brian Herron's real legacy, and waltzing in Loring Park

**********************************************************

CITY HALL'S NEW GENDER GAP
Fresh from an election landslide in November and well-positioned to become a major player in City Hall, 7th Ward Council Member Lisa Goodman has seen her bid to become Council vice president go down in flames and watched a once woman-dominated City Hall suddenly taken over by a bunch of guys. But if she's feeling bitter, she's not showing it publicly.

SOMALI SECURITY GUARDS PROTEST FIRINGS
Somali community activists and the Service Employees International Union gathered January 31 to protest the firings of two security guards by a firm bidding to provide public housing security.

BILL WOULD FORCE COUNCIL ELECTIONS IN 2003
State Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Minneapolis) has introduced a bill that would mandate new City Council elections in 2003, two years earlier than scheduled.

QWEST'S LONG DISTANCE QUEST
The state's largest telephone service provider is preparing to re-enter the long distance market, sparking concerns about monopoly.

THE UNKINDEST CUTS
Last week's budget meetings at City Hall offered a glimpse of just how dire the city's financial straits really are.


.. . . AND SPEAKING OF BUDGET CUTS
Mayor Rybak took one on the chin last week after he recommended cutting the receptionist position from his office staffing budget.

DRAKE HOTEL REOPENS, BUT NOT AS A SHELTER
The Drake Hotel, for many years a shelter of last resort for homeless families, reopened January 18 as a short-term, affordable housing alternative.

NEW TECH CENTER OFFERS COMPUTER AND JOB SERVICES
Waging war on the so-called "digital divide," the Employment Action Center at 9th St. and 20th Ave. S. last month opened a new computer lab.

BUS RAPID TRANSIT PLAN TAKING SHAPE ON NORTH SIDE
Hennepin County officials met last month with North Side residents to discuss a Bus Rapid Transit plan that would make it easier to get to out-of-town jobs in the northwestern suburbs.

**********************************************************
The Minneapolis Observer is published 48 times/year by Independent Media, L.L.C. �2002 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: Nora Cox, Mark Engebretson, Tim Herwig, Leo Mezzrow, Sarah Wash
Occasional research assistance: Martin and Nora Cox
Online technical assistance: Christopher Pollard
Thanks to: Erik Riese

*******************************************************
Fight media consolidation! Support the independent press! Pick up your neighborhood newspaper!
*******************************************************