Well, Red and White is now going to install cameras. Not sure it will help much. Still seems to me that cabs shouldn't pick up people who leave no real trace. Every convenience store has cameras, and I seem to think they get stuck up all the time. But I suppose it can't hurt.
Prevention
Speaking of that subject, the glare of publicity about people applying for concealed weapons permits hasn't helped THIS community at all. Seems like, if anything, the rate at which people are getting shot has SPIKED. Of course, this is a crime statistic that tends to be very spotty, unlike some other crimes that go on all the time at consistent levels (burgarly, vandalism, etc) But I sure wish Mr. Lott were here so I could here what runaround he would use for the Minneapolis situation (he's never wrong, just adroit).
Budget
As I recall, when Ventura wanted to make a big political point, the DFL told him that he was putting Minnesota at risk. But all Ventura could see was endless surpluses, so he pushed for the maximum return of the surplus. How anyone can twist that into "overspending" is beyond me. But then politics is more noted for vivid imagination than practically any other sport.
Crime Report
The Uniform Crime Reports are at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/citywork/police/stats/ucr/index.asp. Someone else go there and look at the YTD spreadsheet. I read 47 homicides this year so far. If that is correct, this is one of the worst years so far. Naturally I'm wondering what of several factors is most important. Is our failure to preserve the budget coming back to bite us? By the way, I named Pat Awada because she happens to be the individual that gave the legislature the most aggressive percentage figure for what cities could "afford" to lose. It was meant to be cover for her Republican colleagues as they slashed money going to cities. (And by the way, there are TWO Jordans. One's a neighborhood, the other a suburb. Maybe people using Jordan could clarify which they mean)
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Jim Mork
Cooper Neighborhood
Longfellow Community
Minneapolis, MN
We think. You'll like it here.
And we're more fun than a barrel of Norwegians
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