I'm tired of the Nicollet Island/DLS stuff too. But I must say this before I let it go. Ive noticed a tendency on the part of the athletic facility supporters to omit (or look past and remain silent on omissions contained within supporting statements) crucial facts regarding the situation when it is in their favor to leave them out. Maybe Ive missed the posts from the DLS supporters that say - yeah, they should have a CAC on the front end and I’ve asked them to do that - or – yes the statute of limitations did certainly expire but we still think it is best for the community – or – the MPRB did live up to the bargain by granting the easement on Grove but this improves the neighborhood for all-. Its not really fair play; I guess that’s OK, in many cases that’s how things get done…but for me it renders the -this is for the poor children do good mantra- somewhat disingenuous. Ive noticed that DLS supporters (and their Strib pals) tend to keep propagating the misinformed view that this is a DLS –vs- Island residents issue only, and that is simply not true. As Mr. Clegg posted some time ago, neighborhoods up and down the river have passed resolutions against this proposed land use. This tendency to go along with favorable omissions goes hand in hand with Brother Michael playing the race card on Island residents early in the game. Please. There may be racist Island residents but that is not what this is about. And DLS supporters know that and let it slide. Repeatedly in my estimation.
And what about the disenfranchised, ethnically diverse, poor kids who attend DLS and play tennis. They apparently aren’t as important as the diverse, underserved throngs of poverty stricken Minneapolitan children who play soccer and football. The proposed reciprocal agreement posted by Mr. Johnson states: » Relocate and construct at least three (3) tennis court facilities on property selected and owned by MPRB. The places on the Island that I had heard as potential sites for the tennis court appear to be filled with auxiliary parking. So it is OK for the tennis kids to ship off to play but not the football kids? I guess they will leave out tennis from their Gym curiculum and add more football. My best friend was the captain and quarterback for DLS when we were both in high school. I went to many games and afterwards everyone came back to DLS and had a great time and ate pizza. It was a good time and enjoyed by all. I wonder if they still do that? I dont see why not. Nothing seemed wrong or missing or absent from the DLS experience when chowing pizza and talking about the game. So is it really about the kids or about the prestige of DLS? Seems to me that giving away public land when there are working viable alternatives requires careful study and following the true process/spirit of a Citizens Advisory Committee. It’s sad that will probably not happen. If it was, then no matter how the decision came out, you could say it was fairly done. As it stnads now, regardless of the outcome, shame on the MPRB for their shitty process that cheats all of us. Just because you can Get-R-Done does not make it right, and I wish someone whose land use priorities differ from mine (DLS and athletic field supporters) would have the courage to stand up and say that. Ryan Curry NIEBNA -I live on the East Bank. __________________________________________________________________ Switch to Netscape Internet Service. As low as $9.95 a month -- Sign up today at http://isp.netscape.com/register Netscape. Just the Net You Need. New! Netscape Toolbar for Internet Explorer Search from anywhere on the Web and block those annoying pop-ups. Download now at http://channels.netscape.com/ns/search/install.jsp
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