Hello list, This stadia issue always seems to rankle the rafters and I rarely chime in due to the ossification in the argumentative stances of the participants. In this case I feel the need to come to Gary Schiff's defense in part because I supported him in his run for council and the stadium was an issue that Gary and I did align well on. I'm in favor of providing partial public financing of sports stadia. I might even support some public funding and, of course I think it is reasonable to provide infrastructure improvements to support sports stadia.
Jordan Kushner jumped on Gary quoting a short City Pages piece but he left off the contra-quote from Gary, "I'll fight like hell if they try to put a sales tax on downtown restaurants as part of the proposal." Jordan talked up the Progressive Minnesota angle in the City Pages piece and I must admit I've had a rocky relationship with PM in the past. After donating hundreds of dollars and hours of time to the group and its candidates I didn't ever get notices of the endorsing gatherings. At least now Dan calls me. Gary's point was that Progressive Minnesota "is in danger of becoming known as a unease, anti stadium group rather than being seen as fighting for affordable housing and living-wage jobs and other things that are at the core of our mission." This was driven home last time I talked with Dan and reminded him that I support public financing of a sports stadia. He just thanked me and said "goodbye." I'm amazed at how emotional the stadium issue is for folks. Sports are a part of of our culture. Pro sports help to define us. I know that not everybody enthuses about the Twins, Vikings, Timberwolves, Lynx and that team in Saint Paul that plays hockey or the one that plays soccer somewhere. That's not the point. The arts are a part of our culture. Pro arts help to define us. Not everyone enthuses about the Minnesota Orchestra, the Guthrie, the Walker, Jeune Lune, Children's Theatre, the MIA and those museums in Saint Paul. The point is culture deserves yeast. We need to mow the lawns of our parks and trim the trees on our parkways just as much as we need to provide parking for the Walker or the Orpheum. I believe stadia are a regional issue and we can change the paradigm around which the debate centers but, we need to be able to listen and respond with constructive suggestions instead of constantly tearing down the people with whom we disagree. -- In cooperation, Erik Riese Seward: a great place to live, work, learn, and play! (612) 242-8528 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _______________________________________ 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
