Eva Young wrote: Folks were giving testimonials about what Urban Ventures had done for them. They showed a very slickly produced video. David Piehl writes: >From my observations over the past several years, generally the people who offer positive comments about how Urban Ventures has "helped" them, now work for UV Eva Young wrote: I'm still not clear on the following: how much have they raised for this proposal, and how much public funding are they asking for. I understand they are asking for public funding for the housing portion, but not the youth center part of this. David Piehl writes: I've heard (maybe someone can help with details) that Urban Ventures is asking the government for $10 million for an endowment fund, on top of other funding requests. If true, this is absolutely bizarre! The taxpayer should endow a private, religious based non-profit?? Sounds like a VERY slippery slope, if you ask me!! Even slipperier when you consider Urban Ventures track record (or lack thereof) of raising funding from private sources (though they've raised a fair amount from suburban churches), or their history of discrimination against gay and lesbian residents. Eva Young wrote: I question whether Urban Ventures is the appropriate outfit to offer this. Central has a large gay and lesbian population, and Urban Ventures leaders -- especially Art Erickson, has been quoted making anti-gay statements in the Star Tribune. David Piehl writes: And don't forget the flyer circulated by Urban Ventures some years ago about the "sin of homosexuality" calling on all glbt residents to "repent". My former neighbor, Jane Strauss, sent her children to an Urban Ventures summer program some years ago that was funded in part by the neighborhood. Jane's summary of the program was "it was supposed to be recreational activities for the kids, instead they fed my kids ham and cheese and talked about Jesus!" Rather inappropriate given the fact that Jane is an observant Jew, and was raising her children as such. I wonder if Urban Ventures plans to include the increasing number of Somalian children, most of whom are muslim, in their program? David Piehl 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
