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. 2, No. 9 October 7, 2002
This is a preview copy of The Observer. To check out a sample issue, visit www.mplsobserver.com. To subscribe, just hit 'reply' and state your interest, and we'll set you up. Thanks. --The Editors ********************************************************** THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER: * Local Arts Venues Bemoan Tougher Visa Rules * Civilian Review Authority: R.I.P.? * Council Shelves Proposed New Business Parking Plan * Coming Soon: Catholic Talk Radio * Dialogue Strained at First Cop-Community Gathering Plus: Gambling on pull-tabs, waddling across Hiawatha, blaming Wellstone, and stumbling through history. ********************************************************** LOCAL ARTS VENUES BEMOAN TOUGHER VISA RULES The "war on terror" is making life difficult for some local arts venues, and raising larger questions about the homogenization of the culture. As Mecca Bos-Williams reports in One Nation News (www.onenationnews.com), a recent Walker Art Center performance by the Omar Sosa Septet was marked by the absence of Cuban singer Martha Galarraga, who was delayed by federal security checks. The crowd reportedly jeered and hissed when told of Galarraga's visa trouble by performing arts curator Philip Bither, who encouraged those in attendance to contact their elected officials. Before 9/11, arts organizations routinely received visa clearances for international performers in a couple of months; today, a six-month wait is not uncommon. And that makes life tougher at the Walker and other venues. Three African performers traveling from London to St. Paul's Penumbra Theater were pulled off their plane and held for questioning, forcing the theater to juggle its schedule. "What's going on here in our country is really making people from some of these other countries question whether they want to come here at all," said Alison Loerke, an artists' representative. "And, it's got huge implications for the arts and the economy." CIVILIAN REVIEW BOARD: R.I.P.? The future of the much-maligned Civilian Review Authority, created more than a decade ago as a place for citizens to bring complaints against alleged police misbehavior and recently thrown into budgetary limbo, is officially awaiting a recommendation by the city's Civil Rights director. Unofficially, it seems dead in the water. NEW-BUSINESS PARKING PLAN SHELVED The City Council last month shelved a plan to attract new businesses downtown with discounted parking rates. FIRM WILL LAUNCH TWO CATHOLIC RADIO STATIONS Listeners to local AM radio will find a new Catholic presence on the dial with the recent acquisition of two small stations by a Wisconsin-based nonprofit. DIALOGUE STRAINED AT FIRST COP-COMMUNITY GATHERING The police department's new Community Engagement Project met with plenty of skepticism at its first Advisory Council meeting last month, reports Shannon Gibney in the Spokesman-Recorder (www.spokesman-recorder.com). ********************************************************** 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 Deputy Assistant Senior Executive Editor: Sharon Parker Contributing writers: Chris Dodge, Leo Mezzrow Online technical assistance: Christopher Pollard Equine consultant and correspondent: Nora Cox Perspective: Martin Cox Thanks to: David Brauer, Michael Byrd, Allison Jensen, and Gene Martinez ******************************************************* Fight media consolidation! Support the independent press! Pick up your neighborhood newspaper! ******************************************************* _______________________________________ 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
