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. 32 March 24, 2003
This is a preview of this week's Observer. Check out a sample issue at www.mplsobserver.com. To subscribe ($12/yr.), just hit "reply" and we'll set you up. Thanks. ********************************************************** THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER: * Fire Department May Need Suburban Help * Does Burning Trash Equal Renewable Energy? * Fine Line Set to Reopen in Early May * Selvaggio to Study Regional Philanthropy * You Are What You Read Plus: Color-blind at MIA, mediation blues, remembering Wally Karbo, a lesson from the Republicans, and faith in a seed. ********************************************************** FIRE DEPARTMENT MAY NEED SUBURBAN HELP Fire Chief Rocco Forte is negotiating agreements with nearby suburban fire departments to help maintain response times in the face of a 7 percent budget cut and the loss of 50 firefighters. "Realistically, our worst-case scenario contingency plan could be our every-day working plan," Forte told Scott Russell in the Southwest Journal (http://www.swjournal.com). Though the department has always been able to call on suburban firefighters to help out during particularly large fires, Forte is pushing for "automatic aid" agreements that would allow the closest fire rigs--suburban or city--to respond to blazes. "It erases the lines," he said. Fire chiefs in Richfield, Edina, and St. Louis Park each have said they were open to such an agreement, but firefighters union president Tom Thornberg said he doubts any local department has the resources to share: "Everyone is going--'Do we have enough to take care of ourselves, let alone helping out the other community?'" The move is just one of many Forte is considering during the current budget crunch, brought on by an expected $21 million cut in local government aid proposed by Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty. Forte is also cutting the number of firefighters on each rig and has even proposed selling corporate sponsorships of fire trucks. The union is lobbying for a false-alarm fee and a quarter-percent city tax to shore up police and fire department budgets. "We are trying to open doors we have never dreamed of before," said Thornberg. "Anything we can do to save jobs and staff rigs adequately." DOES BURNING TRASH EQUAL RENEWABLE ENERGY? The downtown trash burner, which emits neurotoxic mercury and cancer-causing dioxin, would be designated a "renewable energy source" under a bill currently moving through the state legislature. FINE LINE SET TO REOPEN IN EARLY MAY The Fine Line Music Cafe, scorched last month by an ill-advised pyrotechnics display, is taking the opportunity to renovate and is scheduled to reopen in early May. SELVAGGIO WILL STUDY PHILANTHROPY Project for Pride in Living founder Joe Selvaggio has been awarded a one-year, $100,000 fellowship to study philanthropy in the region, reports Mark Anderson in Finance and Commerce (http://www.finance-commerce.com). ********************************************************** 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 ******************************************************* 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
