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. 25 February 3, 2003
This is a preview issue of The Observer. To see a sample of the real deal, visit www.mplsobserver.com. To subscribe ($12/yr.) just hit 'reply' and state your intentions, and we'll set you up. Thanks. ********************************************************** THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER: * Phillips Energy Co-op Launched * The Lost Lock and Dam * State May Mandate City Elections in November * How Healthy Are We, Anyhow? * Citizens' Group Proposes February Gas Boycott * Franklin Avenue Primed for Development, Says Builder Plus: Garage logic at City Hall, affordable housing on Block E, checking your weapons at the airport, remembering the ERA, chef wars, and spending R.T.'s political capital. ********************************************************** PHILLIPS ENERGY CO-OP LAUNCHED The city's first energy cooperative is being launched in the Phillips Neighborhood. As Joel Haskard reports in Pulse (http://www.pulsetc.com), the Phillips Community Energy Cooperative is in the process of signing up members and studying the feasibility of several energy-related programs--including a biomass plant that would generate energy for the neighborhood. The co-op is an initiative of the Green Institute, which runs the popular ReUse Center, at Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue, and Deconstruction Services, a recycled construction materials service, and is funded by a $250,000 grant from Xcel Energy's Conservation Improvement Program. Green Institute executive director Michael Krause calls the co-op an effort to help people save money and have more of a say about their energy costs. "The co-op will democratize critical energy decisions, and give more people greater control over their energy futures," he says. For more information, go to http://www.greeninstitute.org. THE LOST LOCK AND DAM A National Park Service historian who discovered the remains of the first Mississippi River lock and dam in Minneapolis is working with neighborhood groups to turn the site into an interpretive center. STATE MAY MANDATE CITY ELECTIONS IN NOVEMBER Minneapolis State Representative Phyllis Kahn has introduced a bill in the legislature calling for new city council elections in November. HOW HEALTHY ARE WE, ANYWAY? The results are in from Hennepin County's annual health survey, and locals seem to be in pretty good shape, reports The Alley. ********************************************************** The Minneapolis Observer is published 48 times/year by Independent Media, L.L.C. �2003 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 Equine consultant and coffee shop correspondent: Nora Cox Perspective: Martin Cox Thanks to: Michael Krause and Niel Ritchie ******************************************************* Fight media consolidation! Support the independent press! Pick up your neighborhood newspaper! ******************************************************* TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
