[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Rybak and Ostrow's portrayal of council member Robert L's criticisms of the access project as "not based in reality" are ridiculous.WM: That's not accurate. Lilligren is repeating or the author of a belief, the truth of which is unknown and the likelihood of knowing anything is dubious at best (there may be nothing to know). There have been over four years of meetings concerning I35W. In all that time no one has come up with anything that could even be laughingly construed as evidence that any deals or skullduggery have taken place. Since I was one of the people who asked for this (and there had to be quite a few of them because I sure could not have done it alone), I can tell you that this was a grass roots initiative. I personally asked Honeywell to lobby for us. Other people probably did too. I lobbied my representative for it (Linda Wejcman at the time) and my city councilman (Brian Herron) just before the last election each of them won. I lobbied Linda Berglin as well. Central Neighborhood wanted amelioration, I wanted more than just a new suit on an awkward notion (freeways). That there has been a project access committee working for the last 4 years shows that a whole lot of people must have lobbied for this as well.
Lilligren is saying what many of us know to be true.
This is truly a boondoggle for the benefit of politicians and corporations.WM: Yes, this project will benefit corporations--corporations that have invested tons of money over long, long many years in Phillips Neighborhood. Both Abbott and Northwestern Hospitals were created in Phillips: Abbott by one Dr. Abbott, Northwestern as a hospital for poor, mostly immigrant women. Honeywell (erstwhile Minneapolis Heat Regulator) had it's first building on the Southwest corner of Portland and Lake wherein the fabulous damper flapper was created. Later patented, it was the beginning of Minneapolis Heat Regulator. R.W. Sweatt, first #1 guy at Honeywell, built his house in Central and lived there much of his adult life. These institutions are as woven into the fabric of these neighborhoods as is anyone living here today. The same could be said for dozens of much smaller businesses like Ingebretsons or Portland Lake Motors or Hirshfield's or on and on. So, if we're going to go through all the trouble to shake loose money from the feds, they have as much right to benefit from improvements as anyone else, including the 100 year old man in my neighborhood who's lived in the same house his whole life. Over the years thousands of residents in these neighborhoods have worked at Honeywell, Sears, Abbott, Children's, the bus co., all the factories (Minneapolis Moline, Twin Cities Rapid Transit, the railroads) that were once where Hi-Lake Shopping Center, Target, and Cub are (27th and Lake.) have all been part of the fabric of these neighborhoods and are the reasons they originally existed.
To treat them as though they were two-headed aliens from Mars is what is twisted.
It will further rip apart our neighborhoods (poor neighborhoods by the way).WM: When all the businesses now gone were operating at full tilt, people around here had jobs in those businesses, they built their houses and led their lives and most grew and prospered and some did not. The greater parts of South Minneapolis were working class neighborhoods where the working classes were actually working. It really sank into increasing poverty with the building of 35W and 94. That process was followed by red-lining in these neighborhoods. Banks would not give loans for home owners, insurance companies jacked up insurance rates or would not insure. The city of Minneapolis began to neglect this area (wasn't bringing in any revenue). Then the city closed Nicollet. Both the freeway and the closing of Nicollet barred this area from tons of commerce on any small business scale.
WizardMarks, Central
I hope Lilligren keeps on speaking out...
Margaret Hastings
Kingfield
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