Re: [Mpls] Ventura Village gives support for worthy projects and organizations, while denying it to "problem organization"

[WizardMarks]

Before the mayor even suggested it, I was sitting at Black Mesa Coffee 
with a friend who has been through the Phillips wars for many years. We 
had gotten together to argue about possible scenarios for MPL just for 
the mental exercise. We seated ourselves to look out the window at 
Franklin Library. We waved at a couple of cops walking by. We watched 
mamas with their kids examining climbing and rocks and flowers--when 
you're two, this is very important work. All was calm, quiet, peaceful 
and lovely to look at with some exceptions. It was blinkin'' middle 
class. There were sidewalk, umbrellaed tables outside Maria's and Black 
Mesa and folks were taking lunch.
When I think back to the days when a visit to the Indian Center or 
Franklin Library or the drug store or POP or the now missing Super 
America was a delicate proposition, and now sit here drinkin' coffee 
like a bleedin' toff, it blows me away, even though I was there for 
several years paying attention to what happened, and playing a small 
part to bring about change.
There's the Franklin Theater, coming along finally, though it needed 
tons of torque to get off the ground. A commercial bakery is framing in 
a large building that takes up about 2/3 of a block face.
The little strip mall I'm sitting in is a sweetie of a spot, with an art 
gallery and a store to buy presents for special folks you want to honor 
or for holidays and birthdays.

What I see as the lesson is that Phillips was just too big for volunteer 
citizens to get their arms around it. When it split into four, Phillips 
began to rebloom.

Is there danger in Phillips. Of course there is and it is nothing to 
play with. The cops have staked a claim with their strip mall outpost at 
the behest and financial support of the the residents.  It's a different 
and more open world than it was 10 years ago. It is awe inspiring and it 
took hundreds of folks thousands of hours volunteering to get to this 
point. Considering the median income of Phillips as of the last census 
(www.pnn.org), its beyond fabulous, its astonishing.

Try it sometime, you'll like it.

JIM GRAHAM wrote:

An interesting neighborhood meeting took place this week in the Ventura
Village Neighborhood. The advertised, monthly, neighborhood-wide meeting
highlighted the range of neighborhood support for different organizations
attempting to do business here.

WM: Now hearing Brother Graham deliver the jist of a neighborhood 
meeting is a fabulous note to come home to, along with Christianson 
being chosen by Ms. Sheehey to work for the city is terrific.
Great Friday!

WizardMarks, Central



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