[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
www.mplsobserver.com
Vol. 1, No. 43
June 24, 2002

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THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER:
* Times Square on Hennepin?
* Joe Duffy's Blind Spot
* Sidewalk Caf�s to Get a Boost
* New Hope for Personal Rapid Transit?
* Local Schools Get $500,000 to Teach Humanities
* Selling Women for a Good Cause
* "Grandma" Cheney Comes to Town
Plus: Back in the day, City Council actions, Mary Jo Copeland's gift, the librarian's life, a love story with roses, and who kidnapped the police chief?


TIMES SQUARE ON HENNEPIN?
Hennepin Avenue's emerging Block E has been called a lot of things during its long planning and construction phase, but it's safe to say nobody's compared it to Times Square. Nobody, that is, until a national billboard company began trying to sell advertisers on a localized version of New York City's famous entertainment district.

As Amy Kamenick reports in The Business Journal (www.bizjournals.com), the Phoenix-based Clear Channel Outdoor is planning to construct and sell 31 giant billboards on Block E buildings. "All of us see Block E as a destination where signs are part of the entertainment people will come to see," said Clear Channel's Lee Ann Muller.

The company estimates some six million people would view the ads each year, which would generate an estimated $2.5 million in revenue for the company. But Seventh Ward Council Member Lisa Goodman is skeptical. "I do think that it adds to the urban experience of downtown," she says of the planned billboards, "but if it looks like the exaggerated billboards on Target Center, I don't know why you'd want to replicate that."

JOE DUFFY'S BLIND SPOT
Did the city get its money's worth in Joe Duffy's City Hall corruption investigation? Probably not, says council vice president Robert Lilligren.

SIDEWALK CAF�S WOULD GET PERMANENT WITH NEW LAW
Council members Lisa Goodman (7th Ward) and Gary Schiff (9th Ward) are working to make sidewalk cafes more permanent-at least until winter hits.

NEW HOPE FOR PERSONAL RAPID TRANSIT?
The local inventor of a controversial Personal Rapid Transit system is nearing the end of a $1 million fund-raising effort and hopes to build a working prototype soon.

MARY'S GIFT?
"This has all the appearance of a business deal whereby both Eagan and Mary Jo Copeland stand to make money from trafficking in bodies of color. The project will count on counties to terminate parental rights and supply kids through court-ordered residencies so The Gift of Mary can rake in as much as $30K per kid per annum. The institution, in turn, will spend an appreciable amount of that money with Eagan businesses."
--columnist Dwight Hobbes, writing in Insight News (www.insightnews.com), on Mary Jo Copeland's Eagan orphanage plan

FIVE LOCAL SCHOOLS TO RECEIVE $500,000 HUMANITIES GRANT
The Minnesota Humanities Commission and Cargill have selected seven Minneapolis schools to participate in a four-year, $500,000 program focusing on the humanities.

ISN'T THERE A LAW AGAINST THIS SORT OF THING?
Developers of a new Web site are helping to raise money for a gay youth center by auctioning off women.

.. . . AND WOULD YOU PLEASE KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN
There are few institutions more noble and democratizing than the public library, but that doesn't mean it's an easy gig. Here's a recent rundown of incidents at some local branches:


Central
May 7: computer hard drive theft
May 15, 16, 17, 23, 31: intoxicated patron
May 22: Internet viewing violation
May 23: attempted theft of library material
May 23, 24: sleeping and threatening security staff

East Lake
March 2: alcoholic beverages on library property, intoxication
April 11: wallet stolen
April 13, 22: intoxicated patron
April 23: disorderly conduct
April 23: cooking in meeting room kitchen

Franklin
May 18: library materials in toilet with feces and graffiti on wall

North Regional
May 14: bicycle rack fire
May 22: gunshots at Fremont shopping center, MPD called; youths throwing rocks at building

Northeast
May 22: purse stolen from YMCA located in restroom waste basket; library CD stolen from case
May 23: library CD stolen from case

Southeast
April 20: hubcap stolen off vehicle
May 3: intoxicated and disruptive patron
May 8: sleeping in library

Walker
May 22: graffiti on interior statue

Webber Park
April 30: handle and lock removed from exterior compressor fan electrical control panel

COMMUNITY SUMMIT
The city will hold the first in a series of "Community Summits" on diversity issues Thursday, June 27, at Mondale Hall, University of Minnesota Law School, 229 19th Ave. S. from 5 to 8 p.m. The summit will focus on "issues concerning people of African descent," including community/police relations, jobs and employment opportunities, community building, health, economic development, and youth issues. The summit is free and open to the public. A light meal will be served. To reserve a seat, call Lolita Moreno 673-2582 or 673-3012.

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AND NOW WE'RE ON TELEVISION, TOO!!!
See firsthand why none of us ever went into TV as a career. Tune in to The Minneapolis Observer on MTN cable channel 17 Sunday nights at 8:30 for news, weather, and sports with a Minneapolis perspective. This week a new show, featuring a conversation with 11th Ward Council Member Scott Benson.
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RAVES, RANTS, AND OTHER CONSIDERED OPINIONS
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IT'S JUST MY OPINION, BUT . . .
Somebody's kidnapped my police chief, and I just want to say thanks. But who's that guy in Robert Olson's uniform?

In the weeks since Mayor Rybak boldly announced he was going to bounce the police chief, Olson has been turning up at community forums, glad-handing with Somali activists, yukking it up over donuts with R.T., and generally behaving like somebody not named Robert Olson. So, I'm suspicious, but not unhappy. Here's a chief who is dealing straight up with the weirdness around the Abu Jelani shooting (albeit to the satisfaction of few among the Somali leadership) and seems more than willing to enter the much-belated dialogue around police behavior that has been dividing this city for years.

Was it the shock of Rybak's intentions that drove Olson to become someone new, or the surprising relief at finding advocates on the Council unwilling to pull the plug on his contract, or was it just aliens eager to study the humanoid police chief form? For whatever reason, I have to say I'm pleased with the results.

P.S.: Just a note to acknowledge how wrong I was last week about Jesse's political intentions (for those who didn't pay attention, I predicted rather boldly that Minneapolis' favorite son would dive gleefully back into the gubernatorial race and body slam his weakling opponents). Apparently that's not going to happen, but with Jesse you never know. A friend of mine last week suggested that a new candidate may soon appear on the scene, a large man in a mask, purporting to be Candidate X, challenging any and all to a cage match to the death--or an election. This is Minnesota. It could happen.
--Craig Cox

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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, Laine Bergeson, Chris Dodge, Mark Engebretson, Tim Herwig, Leo Mezzrow, Sarah Wash
Occasional research assistance: Martin and Nora Cox
Online technical assistance: Christopher Pollard

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