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. 29 March 3, 2003
This is a preview edition of The Observer. Check out a sample issue at www.mplsobserver.com and if you're interested in subscribing ($12/yr.), just hit 'reply' and we'll set you up. Thanks. ********************************************************** THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER: * Guthrie May Have to Wait Two Years for State Money * City DFLers at Odds Over Early Elections * Johnson Lee: No Regrets * Anti-War Protesters Arrested at Quarry Mall * University Dean Receives Social Justice Award Plus: A mayor's life, kidnappers afoot, Loring Park squirrels, and a political quiz for Republicans. ********************************************************** GUTHRIE MAY HAVE TO WAIT TWO YEARS FOR STATE MONEY The Guthrie Theater's proposed $125 million riverfront complex will get no state funding this year and may not see any state help until at least 2005. The delay, Guthrie officials say, may jeopardize the entire project. Despite supporting the theater's $35 million request during his campaign, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been forced to put the Guthrie and other state bonding projects on hold because of the state's $5.5 billion budget deficit, said his spokesperson, Leslie Kupchella. "It's not realistic given current budget restraints," she told the Skyway News (http://www.skywaynews.net). Guthrie spokesperson James Morrison said the delay would drive up the cost of the project and could threaten some of the $90 million the theater has already raised from private donors, whose pledges were contingent on state support. "How long can you string along the private-sector investment in this project?" he asked. "There are a lot of competing projects in this community for private donations." The legislature last year passed a $24 million bonding request for the project, but it was vetoed by Gov. Jesse Ventura. In February, Pawlenty unalloted $2 million that had been approved for the Guthrie's project planning. Still, Morrison is confident the deal can get done. "If the government were to take up the $350 million capital projects vetoed during the last session and add $1 billion to this amount, the [borrowing] would still be less than the legal cap of 3 percent of the state's operating budget," he said. CITY DFLERS AT ODDS OVER EARLY ELECTIONS Local DFL solidarity was again evident at the State Capitol last week, as State Representative Phyllis Kahn introduced a bill that would force the city of Minneapolis to hold new city council elections this November. DESPITE CONTROVERSY, JOHNSON LEE HAS NO REGRETS Fourteen months into her term, Fifth Ward Council Member Natalie Johnson Lee has moved from the "assessment" phase to one in which she is "ready for anything." ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS ARRESTED AT QUARRY MALL Two anti-war activists leafletting outside Rainbow Foods at the Quarry Mall in Northeast Minneapolis were arrested February 23 for trespassing. ********************************************************** 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: Jeanne Anderson, Stephen Eisenmenger, Mark Plenke ******************************************************* 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
