On Monday, August 2, 2004, at 08:21 AM, Jason C Stone wrote:
Dorie, perhaps we could rally around a group created to deal w/the situation.
http://www.citypeace.org/promise/
Isn't that Don Samuels monprofit founded with Target's exit payment?
Cute website, but these ideas have already been tried and failed over the last few decades. Instead of yet another round of hot dogs and chips we need some real "weeding and seeding", things like real penalties for criminals and job opportunities for our youth beside the gangs. The website makes no mention of these strategies, so I'll decribe them.
Weeding:
Recently our mayor promised to take legal action if neccessary to make higher levels of government (the Metropolitan Airports Commission) live up to their responsibility to mitigate aircraft noise. Meanwhile, our police arrest criminals only to have higher level government bodies (the Courts, County Jail, and State prison system) turn the same felons loose. Our mayor and council needs to be just as vigilant in making these governments fullfill these responsibilities as he is in pressuring MAC. If they refuse to respond, we can apply pressure- there is no reason we cannot take prisoners our underfunded county jail refuses over to the governors mansion and award their custody to the governor. We also provide considerable free security services for the federal government, perhaps we should withhold such support until we receive funding for more cops, etc. to fulfill all those unfunded homeland security mandates the Bush administration.
Seeding:
A few weeks back people formed a line over a block long to apply for jobs at the soon to open Northside CUB store. Yet several of our council members are bound and determined to bulldoze our north riverfront industrial area with it's thousands of jobs and replace it with more luxury husing that will maybe underemploy a few groundskeepers.
Every other city has an "economic development" type agency.... except Minneapolis. We should be chasing down jobs with as much fervor as any small and dying prairie town.
There it is, a neat and simple paln to save Minneapolis with no bus tours or additional nonprofits required. Fat chance it'll ever get anywhere...
hangin' on in Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
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