On 6/23/03 12:38 AM, "Dyna" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Mark, thank you for helping to edumicate us dumb Northsiders. BTW, > cotton is pretty much picked and processed by machines rather than > humans nowdays.
There was only one Northsider who mistakenly assumed that I prefer organic cotton because I was worried about my own exposure to toxic chemicals. List members can draw their own conclusions. >> I've read that approximately 300,000 farm workers annually are >> diagnosed with illnesses related to pesticides exposure in the United States. > > Given that we have only a few million farm workers it sounds like were > going to be running out of them in a few years... better check your > numbers. At the risk of stating what I should think would be obvious, someone being diagnosed with an illness does not mean they died of that illness or had to quit working right away, but if you want my source, here you go: AFTER SILENT SPRING, NRDC, June 1993, pg.16 US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Neurotoxicity: "IDENTIFYING AND CONTROLLING POISONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM" OTA Document BA-436,Washington DC. April 1990, pg.285. > Price is not a good predictor of quality- look at some of Consumer's > Unions ratings if you don't believe me. Funny, that's where I got the recommendation for the washing machine I ended up buying. I bought it in June of 2001 after reading about the benefits of front-loading washers. I use about half as much water as I did with the old top-loader, a lot less electricity and my clothes are subjected to less abuse, too. Of course, I paid more up front, but I'm figuring between the water, the electricity and the clothes that last longer, I'm easily going to recoup that upfront cost and then some. > Well, sounds like you don't want any more retail jobs, so how about > expanding the rail yards and maybe putting in a big new flour mill, > cereal plant, and wholesale bakery? Please explain how my comments against big boxes translates to "you don't want any more retail jobs" - I've certainly advocated for retail along West Broadway. Just not the idea that getting a few big box retailers in the area is going to solve everything. Again, the local models everyone likes to point to are Grand Ave. in St. Paul, Eat Street in south Minneapolis and more recently, Central Ave. NE. What do those have in common? They don't have big boxes, but somehow, they're still managing to do quite well at attracting shoppers and bringing stable jobs and investment to their respective communities. Anyway, a bakery sounds good, but why not some small retail bakeries like Nan's NE Bakery or Blackey's Bakery? They seem to be holding up pretty well against the big chains. Add in some restaurants, some clothing stores, a tax preparer or accountant, a bookstore, some coffee shops, a card and gift shop, some hair stylists, a bike shop, an antique or art supply store, a copy/printing shop, a florist, a hardware or auto parts store, a video rental store, one or more small (2-3 story) apartment buildings etc. Doesn't that sound good? Know where I got these ideas from? The "Making Central Ave. Great" Plan that was developed for the NE neighborhoods along Central Ave. several years ago. I was given a copy when I became a board member for the NE Community Development Corporation last year. I'm currently working my way through a 70-page MS Word document titled "Commercial Corridor Revitalization Program" that was prepared towards the end of last year. It discusses both Central Ave. and West Broadway, incidentally and it makes a lot of the same points that I've made. > And your beloved little co-op yuppie food store pays squat too. Can you back up that statement? Got a report, a web site, interviews with employees at any of the local ones that you can cite? If coops are such a crappy place to work, how come there is far less turnover at the coops then at big box retailers? I've shopped at Mississippi Market for close to two years now and pretty much all the employees that were there when I started are still there. How many big box retailers can you say that about? Especially ones that aren't unionized? > Mark, we have plenty of empty storefronts on West Broadway and your > yuppie co-op is welcome to them. Just don't expect any city subsidy and > don't expect the city to keep CUB and other competitors out for your > yuppie co-op's benefit. Agreed, there are plenty of empty storefronts on West Broadway where a co-op would fit well. The Eastside Food Coop will be something like 4,000 square feet when it opens this fall, so it's not like a huge amount of space is needed. And as I said, it looks like Cub Foods taking over the Target site is a done deal, so I can hardly expect other competitors to be kept out. By the way, MY coop is over on Central Ave. If one opens on West Broadway, that would be YOUR coop, even if you're not open-minded enough to try checking it out. >> I ask for some good things that might draw people to the Northside and >> this is the best you can come up with? A grocery store that's not open yet >> and an Asian takeout place in the middle of an urban strip mall? > > I realize that's not up to your sophisticated tastes, but hey, we're > just dumb Northsiders. Actually, I was more disappointed that you don't seem to appreciate what you have. Lucille's Kitchen may not be on West Broadway, but it's a Northside institution, nonetheless. Caf� Tatta Buna may not sell a 50-cent cup o' java, but from what I've heard from friends, it's becoming a popular place to catch a spoken word performance on a Friday night. As for Homewood Studios (http://www.homewoodstudios.com/index.html), it's far more than just a place to buy art. It's a place to MAKE art. It's run by my old creative writing teacher at Minneapolis North, George Roberts. They have classes on drawing, writing, tai chi and so on. They offer shows, readings, community dialogues and opportunities for local students at North and Henry to display their work. People really need to check this place out. >> What other good places are there to talk about on the Northside? >> Anyone? > > Sorry, we're just a bunch of dumb hicks who wouldn't know culture if > it ran over us. Don't get us started on the Camden Aurocamp, Soo Line, > Webber Baths, Bassett's Creek, etc.. or we'll talk your ear off though. I think there's more good stuff going on over on the Northside than people realize. Unfortunately, it seems like some of the area's own residents have the hardest time seeing just what some of those good things are. > Mark, thanks for giving me credit for singlehandedly destroying the > Northside by not dumping a couple hundred thousand into an old house > only to have it torched by the gangbangers. Never mind the destruction > I'm causing by not paying inflated ghetto prices at the local convience > stores/fences. You're welcome. However, my point is this: there's lots of complaining about how bad things are economically on the Northside. No jobs, no place to shop, and so on. And then many of those same folks who do all the complaining wonder why few of us in the rest of the city or in the suburbs want to come spend their time or money in Northside neighborhoods. We have people volunteering with JACC, HACC, WBBA, WBAC and so on that participate in this Forum. What are you folks all up to? What kind of vision do you all have for West Broadway and the Northside as a whole? If you're struggling, where or with what? How can we help? In general, I wish more people participating in this Forum would balance their complaints with some of the good things they're working on or see happening. I realize it's human nature to complain, but that doesn't mean we can't also celebrate success. I would point to Jim Graham as an excellent example of balancing. He posts a great deal about the problems facing Ventura Village and Phillips, yet he's also posted a great deal about the improvements that have been made on Franklin Ave. and how that came about. I've learned a lot from Jim that I hope to apply to my own community volunteering. Mark Snyder Windom Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ 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
