from:"Laura Waterman Wittstock"

Re: [Mpls] Bonding for pensions in Mpls.

2004-12-29 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

What we are hearing in this message are the tectonic plates groaning as
the new pushes over the top of the old in the DFL framework. There are
differences, significant ones in some cases, that mark a generational
change in how city business is done. Clearly, Rep. Kahn's last sentence
is the significant one - "need serious opponents..."

Indeed, yes, that will likely happen. The last mayoral and city council
election swept change into city government. More is coming. But things
can only go so far without examining rationally what construct and
functions will make Minneapolis stronger and better. Just electing new
people will not get the city where it needs to go.

These are very hard and in some cases dangerous questions because they
put people's jobs on the line. Of one thing I am confident: we cannot
go back to the old system and survive the world going past us.

I hope the voters will not have to have secret decoder rings to parse
out what the political sides are really saying when they go on the
attack. Even in abrupt change, there should be clarity.

So does the city charter need another nail in it? Enough of those and
we will be back to pre-charter when the State called all the shots. I
can't imagine the voters want that.

Best,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast
And a strong supporter of Phyllis Kahn, by the way
On Wednesday, December 29, 2004, at 01:56 AM, Phyllis Kahn wrote:
My major effort will be to repeal the language in state law that
allows bonding for pensions without a referendum. The need for a vote
of
the people for this form of fiscal irresponsibility will at least
entail
public discussion of this issue.

Of the eight council members voting against the partial solution,
three are not running again and apparently have little interest in long
range solutions. The other five (Ostrow, Samuels, Schiff, Zimmerman and
Goodman) and Mayor Rybak need serious opponents who will take them on
on
this issue.

On Wednesday, December 29, 2004, at 12:39 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:

Can you provide the list more details about this? Has there been any
coverage in the local papers?
With all due respect, you have accused the city council of doing
something prima facie stupid, but you haven't given us any way of
checking your facts about the MPRA pension plan offer.
Also, it would be nice to know what is the legal status of the
bonding. According to your message, it sounds like the bonding WAS
legal, but you are arguing (it seems reasonably) that it should not
be.

Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.migizi.org
http://laurawatermanwittstock.blogspot.com/
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Re: [Mpls] RE: Should the Mpls Schools be operating a radio station at all

2004-12-28 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Friday, December 24, 2004, at 02:44 PM, Ray Marshall wrote:
I can see the value of the Department of Transportation broadcasting
traffic
information. But at a time when low power broadcasting is just about
to
come into its own, maybe the issue should be changed into an
investigation
as to why the Minneapolis Schools have a radio station at all.
Through circumstances beyond my control, I wound up as a child in
Honolulu. When I entered high school, the principal, Mr. Charles Henry,
was diligently and relentlessly holding raffles, fairs, and all kinds
of fundraising efforts to buy a school "radio" system. It was a PA
system on hormones, but over it we "broadcast" the daily news, did a
weekly news roundup, performed a monthly radio play, and interviewed
guests from all over the city. We also learned to go out and appear on
the new "live" television and made appearances to promote school events
on real radio stations. Our "engineers" also learned how to use and
repair the equipment. We thought we were engaged in real radio. We were
learning real journalism. Mr. Henry was our station manager and teacher.

Let no one doubt the value of radio in the hands of educators.
The lesson was learned so well that when MIGIZI first began, we
replicated Mr. Henry's curriculum - teach all aspects from producing to
managing and let the students produce to the best of their ability.

Our youngest intern - 16 years old - came straight from a
recommendation by KBEM staff. We accepted her. She is now a non profit
executive for a very large enterprise.

One of our higher ed interns is now a talent on one of the major U.S.
networks.

In between these two are hundreds of other examples that demonstrate
the power of using radio to teach young people. My concern is that
Minneapolis Schools under uses this great resource. It is one of the
best teachers the district has.

Best,
Laura
Southeast Minneapolis
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.migizi.org
http://laurawatermanwittstock.blogspot.com/
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Re: [Mpls] Relentless in searching for good mpls food.

2004-11-29 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Sunday, November 28, 2004, at 06:01 PM, Gina Palandri wrote:
3. An El Norteno, bless those 2, they work so hard, have no
employees, and are still open. The food is good, the wait is
terrible. I try over and over to eat there. I have waited and dined
there and it took about 3 hours. Great flan, great guac..but 3 > hours??

Wasn't going to respond on this discussion, but whacking El Norteno is
not a good thing. I work near El Norteno and have been going there
since they opened. The sisters supply all our Mexican food for Indian
month celebrations (May of each year) and deliver massive quantities on
time and the taste is so good the tamales fly off the tables before any
other food we offer.

We have had catered board meetings, gatherings, staff events, and just
business lunches at El Norteno. No three hour waits, not bad food ever,
and we will keep going back. Our returning guests from out of town
request that we go there again and these are people from Seattle,
Washington, D.C., and New York City!

So I don't know what caused Gina's experience. But years of patronage
and excellent service is my El Norteno experience.

Best,
Laura
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.migizi.org
http://laurawatermanwittstock.blogspot.com/
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Re: [Mpls] Mayoral Election (was choosing the next Mayor)

2004-11-19 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Friday, November 19, 2004, at 08:05 AM, Margaret Hastings wrote:
The first term of Mayor Rybak has proven to be (in my opinion) more of
a
Public Relations campaign then anything else.

Perhaps I am in the mode of anybody but Rybak. But in the forthcoming
year, I
do hope that there is a challenge that prompts the Mayor to be a bit
more
responsive to all of his constituents.

Also, I look forward to hearing the Mayor's response in the upcoming
campaign
to the question "Do you support public funding for a stadium?"

Mayor Rybak had the monumentally difficult task of walking into the
maws of the debt plus decreased revenue with less ability to bring in
new sources. This "perfect storm" as some described it has been raging
in the City. Far from being public relations, countless hours of
financial and budgetary work had to be done - real hard work - to guide
the City back toward some semblance of stability and the ability to
meet obligations and pay off the debt.

One thing I would like to see happen - whether anyone runs against the
Mayor or not - is a return to the issues, an understanding of where we
are as a city, and journalism that gets at those questions. We can ask
about support for a stadium, but along with that, let's invest some
time as citizens of the City to better understand what we have been
facing.

Changing seats in local government, i.e., the propensity to drive out
incumbents and put in new candidates is not a bad thing. It can signal
a direction for change. But once that happens, time is needed to make
the correction asked for. There is still a lot for our first term Mayor
to do.

On the other hand, if all we as citizens want is the status quo, then
we are at odds with our own interests. We can't both balance out
revenue versus spending needs for vital services and keep everything as
it was or is and not see that there is a price to pay for that dual
thinking.

It is misplaced to accuse the Mayor of facile pursuits when he is doing
what we elected him to do - and magnificently, I might add. He has
great opposition. But nonetheless, in balance, he is moving us toward
solutions.

If someone else wants to come along and say, "I can do better than
that," fine. That is the democratic process. But inferred is a
difference between competently doing the work of government and
political positioning. I give a lot of credit to the Minneapolis voters
to know the difference.

Best,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.migizi.org
http://laurawatermanwittstock.blogspot.com/
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[Mpls] RE: Samuels Endorsement

2004-10-28 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

CORRECTION
I mistakenly referred to Olin as the unknown. Thanks to sharper eyes 
than mine, the error was seen.

Apologies to all.
Thanks,
Laura
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Re: [Mpls] Samuels endorsement

2004-10-28 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Thursday, October 28, 2004, at 01:14 PM, WizardMarks wrote:
Loki Anderson wrote:
Don Samuels doesn't respect the DFL endorsement process, what a
suprise. I assume this means that he won't be seeking the endorsement
should he run for re-election next year.

Dennis Plante Responds:
Why would the DFL Party "cut-off its nose to spite its face" so to
speak, by NOT endorsing Don Samuels if he chooses to run for
re-election and seek the DFL Party endorsement?

The DFL Party endorsed the other guy because for many DFLers, Samuel's
was an unknown, for the most part. I think it fell under the heading
of "better the devil you know than the devil you don't know."

WizardMarks, Central
The endorsed DFL candidate was Olin Moore, staff in U.S. Rep. Martin
Sabo's office. He wasn't an unknown to the many, many people he helped
via Martin's office. And he is not an unknown in the party.

However, the winner of the council seat in the election was Don
Samuels. I don't believe he sought DFL endorsement. Does someone know?

From the MN Public Radio Site:
Olin Moore,32, has spent many of his years in DFL politics. Moore
worked for congressman Martin Sabo for nine years. Moore is the
DFL-endorsed candidate. And his experience positions him as the
political insider. Moore knows that his opponent's supporters question
his ability to relate to the concerns of people who live in
impoverished inner city neighborhoods.

Moore lives in the northeast part of the ward just down the block from
a small, but thriving, commercial corridor filled with restaurants,
bars, artists' studios and coffeehouses. Moore used to live in a
neighborhood across the river in north Minneapolis and he says he's
well aware of the differences between the two areas.

Don Samuels, 53,is a neighborhood activist who was quoted widely in
news reports in 2000, after a young boy was shot and killed in a park
near his home. After a riot broke out a few blocks from his home in
2001, Samuels worked with his neighbors to organize a community group
to address crime and livability issues.

Samuels immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica in the early '70s. He is a
former executive at Hasbro toy company and a self-employed toy
designer. Samuels is also an ordained minister. After placing second in
the ward primary, Samuels picked up endorsements from several of his
former challengers including members of both the Republican and Green
parties.

Best wishes,
Laura
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.migizi.org
http://laurawatermanwittstock.blogspot.com/
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Re: [Mpls] Strib endorses Henry-Blythe, Lee, Miller

2004-10-25 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Saturday, October 23, 2004, at 12:04 PM, Anderson & Turpin wrote:
On Tuesday, October 19, 2004, at 09:21 PM, Ken & Karla wrote:
[KB] An endorsement isn't "telling you how to think", it's telling
you what they think and why ... same as if somebody is sitting across
the table talking with you. They give their reasoning (we hope), you
listen or read, and you accept it or don't or take part and leave >
part.
Laura Wittstock replied:
I just think they published the draft and should have thought it over
another day. It was not one of their better moments.
Mark V Anderson said:

As far as I can tell, Peggy Flanagan was endorsed by the DFL simply
because
she is an Indian, and apparently talked a good game. She doesn't seem
to
have any distinctive plan, and very little experience in or knowledge
about
education. If the Strib really did endorse her earlier, as someone
else
said, I'm glad to see that they at least fix their most egregious
errors.

The DFL endorsement is a ballot vote. The delegates listen to the
candidates, ask questions, and vote their endorsement. Flanagan won
endorsement by a wide margin. She went on to win the second highest
number of votes for school board in the primary.

It is erroneous to state that the DFL "simply" endorsed Flanagan
"because she is an Indian." Almost never is there a single attribute or
issue that garners an endorsing majority of the votes.

Individuals may well vary in why they will vote for a particular
candidate, but groups endorse when the candidate's positions and the
group's agree on key points.

Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast

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Re: [Mpls] Strib endorses Henry-Blythe, Lee, Miller

2004-10-20 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Tuesday, October 19, 2004, at 09:21 PM, Ken & Karla wrote:
[KB] An endorsement isn't "telling you how to think", it's telling
you what they think and why ... same as if somebody is sitting across
the table talking with you. They give their reasoning (we hope), you
listen or read, and you accept it or don't or take part and leave > part.
The person across the table is not repeating the message times the
distribution of the newspaper that day, nor is the person asking you to
believe he or she is more credible. The editorial staff is telling
readers what to think in a way. Readers are supposed to ignore the fact
that Peggy Flanagan got the second highest number of votes in the
primary. Ignore this, the newspaper is saying, and vote for another
candidate.

I just think they published the draft and should have thought it over
another day. It was not one of their better moments.

Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis
and a Flanagan supporter

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Re: [Mpls] Strib endorses Henry-Blythe, Lee, Miller

2004-10-18 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

It is incredibly curious that the second highest vote getter in the
primary is not good enough for the Star Tribune -- and for the
flimsiest reason of age equals lack of experience.

And, the Star Tribune goes beyond not endorsing her. It gives advice on
her career as well:

"At age 24, she has impressive political savvy and experience. With a
little more life and work experience under her belt, she should
definitely continue to pursue elected office."

A word of advice to the Star Tribune editorial page staff - you are
neither Dear Abby nor can you tell Minneapolis voters that they were
wrong in giving Peggy Flanagan the second highest number of votes cast.

Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis
On Sunday, October 17, 2004, at 10:17 PM, List Manager wrote:
Can't access the story yet.
Dayhoff, Schapiro and Flanagan left out in the cold.
David Brauer
List manager

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Re: [Mpls] Walker Library task force meeting this evening

2004-10-13 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, October 13, 2004, at 08:49 AM, Dorie Rae Gallagher wrote:
The Walker library task force will be meeting from 4:30 to 6:30 this
evening at Walker. This meeting is to discuss the mix-use development
for a new library. The library board picked members who were
supposedly open to all suggestions, but a couple will sway in the
direction told, the Mayor and the two Council have already expressed
their wish for multi-use and have used their power to obtain
it...giving it a slanted task force to start with. No neighborhood
groups were asked to participate nor some of the people who have
really worked within the system to preserve the libraries.
I'm reluctant to ever wear an official hat, but this is an exceptional
occasion. The library trustees voted, prior to the vote in city council
to deny sale of the bonds for the Walker roof, and certainly prior to
the formation of the Walker task force, to fix the Walker roof and take
a longer view on other options.

So to say that the library board picked members who "will sway in the
direction told," is to say that they are inclined to stick with their
prior decision to fix the roof.

It is quite erroneous to suggest that the library board has taken a
position other than its stated one. There may be several who would want
to characterize the trustees as going in one direction or another, but
the library board is on record with a position.

The work of the task force is to assess the feasibility of other
options. In my mind that is good public policy formation. Why close the
door to answers before any consideration? What is to be gained by not
knowing?

The worry is, and the council agreed to this, that the findings be
brought forward in time to go ahead with the roof in 2005. So that
option is not foreclosed.

This is a measured and considered course of action which will benefit
the city, not detract from it. It is a gross distortion to call the
task force "slanted," or to suggest that the neighborhood
representative was selected sans neighborhood organization input. Input
is what this process is all about.

Best wishes,
Laura
trustee of the library board

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Re: [Mpls] Re: Lawn Sign Theft

2004-10-08 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Friday, October 8, 2004, at 08:58 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Phaedrus has depicted the Democratic Party's increasing tendency to
demonize any opposition with such phrases as "Anyone not voting for
our candidates is supporting evil."
Mr. Halfhill of Loring Park quotes something in the same sentence as
the Democratic Party. I'd be interested in seeing where this quote is
taken from.

Certainly Kahn' actions were in no way as serious a moral and legal
violation as accepting a bribe, as shown by the fact that the law
treated it as only deserving a $200.00 fine instead of a prison term.
But there is a sense in which Kahn's actions strike at the very
concept of what a free and fair election requires. A free and fair
election requires that neither the state, nor rival candidates, nor
anyone else, CENSOR, the views of any of the candidates by preventing
the voters from hearing or reading ANY of these views.
"Strike at the very concept of what a free and fair election requires?"
Take a listen to Nina Totenberg's excellent piece this morning on MN
public radio concerning use of the Secret Service and local police
officials to keep unwanted people out of rallies and appearances.
Rallies, maybe, but threatening citizens with jail to keep them out of
appearances I think more aptly strikes at the very concept of what a
free and fair election requires.

And analogy is found in the ethical requirements imposed on
scientists. In science, as opposed to previous fields of human
intellectual inquiry, the researcher must carry out careful
experiments and REPORT the results of those experiments so that other
scientists may REPEAT the experiments, thereby CHECKING the results
that were originally reported. In science, falsifying the results of
an experiment is considered so serious a moral violation, in that it
strikes at the very requirements for carrying out scientific research,
THAT THE GUILTY REASEARCHER IS NEVER ALLOWED ANY EMPLOYMENT IN SCIENCE
AGAIN!
Did John Najarian finally retire?

But on the other hand, Kahn's actions strike at the basic
requirements for a free and fair election. And since the increasing
tendency of Democrats to demonize their opponents seems to have warped
Kahn's judgement, perhaps it is time for her to retire from the
political battle. There is little chance of a greater evil Republican
winning office in 59B.
And now it is the "basic requirements" for free and fair elections,
followed by more demonizing by Democrats (although not ascribed to the
party this time). I just get the willies when these words that came
into usage with the rise of fundamentalist participation in elections
got coupled with Internet based communication. It is darned easy to
say, "spew" and "evil" and "demon" and "vicious" and any number of
other terms when attacking another person or in this case, another
party. And I say to myself, but I am a Democrat. My parents were
Democrats, as were all four of my brothers. None of them and certainly
not me uses any of the words listed. The word "demon" has no meaning to
our non-Christian family. Neither does "evil." We always identified
that word with the religious belief in the dichotomy of good and evil.
You may be interested to know that a holistic cosmos can't use
dichotomies very well.

So, knowing it is not going to go away, I would just put in a plea to
be more civil.

Thanks,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis
and supporter of Phyllis Kahn
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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http://laurawatermanwittstock.blogspot.com/
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Re: [Mpls] Lawn Sign Theft

2004-10-06 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, October 6, 2004, at 12:32 PM, phaedrus wrote:
Well, the Democrats are doing a good job of uniting me
with the Republicans on at least one issue.
I got back from my sister's wedding Monday night to
discover that my lawn sign supporting Tom Taylor for
State Representative District 59A had disappeared.
I'm reasonably confident that it was not a Valdis
supporter. I suppose it could just be local kids, but
given the vitriol directed at Greens from Democrats
over the past 5 years or so, I'm guessing it was
probably a Dem.
Having had all my bicycles and tools stolen in a
couple break ins during the past couple months, I
initially blew a gasket.
I've calmed down a bit now, and have settled on simply
calling the police, asking Tom for a new sign, and
buying a cam to survey the front yard for the next
month.

The cam is a good idea. The slam is not.
Shoot first, accuse later.
Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis

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Re: [Mpls] Kahn's Crime

2004-09-28 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

Thank you Jeremy for stating this clearly. I just finished listening to
the Clinton autobiography. The raw edges had worn down around his
impeachment for me. But, listening to the details again, I was just
appalled at what our country had come to at that point in time. There
was no impeachable offense. But there was an impeachment.

As for Representative Kahn's crime. Yes, she did the wrong thing. She
admitted guilt. She make the proper plead.

Do we just forget it? No we do not. I have not and will certainly never
take any literature and I am sure this lesson has been drilled into
just about everyone.

But efforts to drag Phyllis Kahn down a partisan path of high minded
talk coupled with low minded punishment is just not acceptable to me.

Best,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis

On Tuesday, September 28, 2004, at 12:00 PM, Jeremy Wieland wrote:
Atherton says..."I also believe that Ms. Kahn's reelection will
accurately reflect the ethical standards of
the DFL. It's not as though they couldn't
replace Ms. Kahn with a more palatable candidate."
Whoa Cowboy. You don't get to throw bombs at folk's heads and expect
to
walk away untouched. One, Phyllis did her time. Two, good people
sometimes
do really dumb things. She broke the law, but let's not start
accusing her
of systematically silencing speech or writing love sonnets to Satan.
As for
replacing her, like it or not, she is the popularly elected person
from the
DFL to run for that seat. Yanking her off the ticket in favor of
someone
appointed by a DFL committee is about the least democratic thing I can
think
of to do. Got a problem, show up at your caucuses in two years and
challenge her.

As for calling DFL supporters unethical, which is exactly what you've
done,
put a cork in it. This is not a forum for base attacks, and if you
can't
speak your mind without personal attacks I recommend you evaluate your
own
life choices.

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Re: [Mpls] Controversial school thoughts and questions

2004-09-23 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, September 22, 2004, at 02:11 PM, Victoria Heller wrote:
1. How many male teachers are employed by MPS?  What is the ratio of 
male
teachers to female teachers?

I ask this for several reasons:  1) the best teachers that I had in 
Jr. and
Sr. high school were men, 2) based on my limited exposure to current
teachers, many of them are women who don't like boys, or men for that 
matter
(nothing to do with sexual preference by the way), 3) wondering if 
there is
a link between the increasing number of horrible, violent crimes being
committed by adolescent males.
I believe you when you say that the best teachers you had were men. 
However, to say many women teachers don't like boys or men is quite 
astounding.

Is there a link between the increasing number of crimes by adolescent 
males? Well, the number is decreasing. This is a function of 
demographics primarily. Why it happens is more a result of capitalism 
than women teachers who don't like boys.


3.  Do young boys these days really choose "music and art" over rough 
and
tumble physical activities.  The boys I knew would jump out of second 
story
windows to avoid the piano teacher.  I'm also wondering if we have 
"drugged"
children into submission with Riddlin and the like.  How many MPS 
students
are taking prescription medications for "behavior" problems.
My ten year old grandson is on his elementary school's chess team. His 
team placed third and second in successive years at the city wide 
school tournaments. He reads a lot and is very familiar with art and 
classical music. After school he plays football and basketball and 
soccer. I don't think there is anything wrong with him. But on the 
other hand, I don't extrapolate his profile on to all boys in 
Minneapolis public schools.

Ritalin and Adderal are serious drugs and very controversial. They are 
stimulants, which if given to normal children would over stimulate 
them, not drug them into submission.

6.  Milton Friedman said that public schools are structured as 
"socialist
organisms" and therefore incapable of teaching "capitalist values."  
Agree
or disagree?
Friedman is one of my favorite punching bags. What an ultramaroon, as 
Bugs Bunny would say. He is so irrelevant to today's economic issues. 
Here's the deal. Think of musical chairs. Imagine all the little 
elementary school children around the country. Have them in a big 
stadium with 20% fewer chairs than children. Start the music. When it 
stops, all the children have to find a seat for their future. Well, you 
know what, according to Uncle Miltie, 20% of the children will not find 
a seat and he will say it is their fault. Just not quick enough.

So do we teach capitalist values in schools? You bet we do.
7.  At today's cost, if constant, MPS will spend nearly $200,000 per 
child
K-12.  What should society expect in return for that expenditure?


If constant.  If constant. If constant.
Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis

Laura Waterman Wittstock
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Re: [Mpls] Geese

2004-09-15 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, September 15, 2004, at 11:21 AM, Annie Young wrote:
I have been bringing this topic up for several weeks now.  We have put 
"decoy" swans in front of our building and out in our little wetland 
in front and have no more goose problems.  Unfortunately, there are 
probably not enough swan decoys around to ward off the thousands of 
geese we have.
I too look forward to anyone's suggestions about our urban "goose" 
farm.
We can probably come up with a new version of "The Swan Song" here in 
Minneapolis if we put our minds to it. :-)
Annie Young

What kind of decoys do we need to keep people away from the geese?
Best,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis


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Re: [Mpls] NCLB is anti-civil rights wine in civil rights wineskins

2004-09-09 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Thursday, September 9, 2004, at 12:35 PM, Anderson & Turpin wrote:
  As I said before, it's the Left who has the greater
concern of closing the "gap" (versus simply increasing academic 
achievement
of those "left behind").  If we could get consensus among the Left that
closing the "gap" should be the second step in the NCLB program, 
instead of
the immediate focus on that problem, I would think the Right would 
agree.
Both sides do want to improve the results of the schools.  Why can't 
we use
the NCLB to get there?

Except this is bringing the canister of Anthrax to the biochemical 
treaty table. Do or die solutions are not the answer either. There are 
a lot of "ifs" in the Anderson proposal. Education should not be the 
result of a left and right agreement. Definitely I am on the left, but 
my work over the last two decades has been to increase academic 
achievement in the American Indian population. And it is far from 
simple, as suggested by the writer.

Policy change, district change, school building change, parent change, 
societal change and private sector change are all in the mix. In the 
end, though, we have to ask, "how does this help the student?" That is 
the real test that counts.

Best,
Laura
Southeast
Laura Waterman Wittstock
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Re: [Mpls] NCLB is anti-civil rights wine in civil rights wineskins

2004-09-09 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, September 8, 2004, at 08:34 PM, Michael Atherton wrote:
I should make clear what I mean by "hardly anyone knew,"
I meant the general public and parents.  Are you claiming
that previously, any randomly selected set of parents,
anywhere in the country, would have been able to compare
the scores of schools and the students in those schools by race?
I don't think so.
There might be a lesson here. It is doubtful -- very doubtful -- that 
any parents or the general public were so stupid (or more to the point 
even allowed) to think the performance of schools as seen by the test 
scores of students was the way to select a school for their children. 
We live in an age of absurdity that would seem very strange to parents 
from 100 years ago.

A compact of trust was strongly suggested in the education experiences 
of parents of that day. Rich parents placed their children in exclusive 
schools. Poor parents placed their children in the closest public 
school. Indian parents saw their children removed to far away federal 
boarding schools.

The duties of citizenship were hammered into the public and boarding 
school populations. Segregation for African Americans was pronounced in 
the South and tolerated in the North. Pockets of brutal prejudice and 
hatred were practiced in mining towns, big cities, the far West, and 
anywhere near an Indian reservation.

In other words, the high choice parents and the general public have 
today make the misbegotten NCLB possible. But it is an illusion of 
choice and a house of cards that will soon fall of its own weight. Our 
current Federal and State administration knows so little about 
education it is appalling.

Best wishes,
Laura
Southeast Minneapolis
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Re: [Mpls] NYT Charter School report

2004-08-19 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Thursday, August 19, 2004, at 08:56 AM, Michael Atherton wrote:
Charter schools are accountable, not just in theory, but in reality.
The MPS can withdraw a charter that it grants, as it has done
in the past (although not necessarily in a fair and prudent manner).
Jeanne Massey wrote:

HOWEVER, I also think we need to be cognizant of the
"privatizing" agenda charter schools increasingly serve and
in the shifting of public moneys to less than accountable schools.
Here's that word again, "privatization."  Please explain
how PUBLIC charter schools serve this hypothetical agenda.
How are charter schools less accountable than other public
schools?
While it is true charter schools are public schools, nevertheless a 
subtle difference is inherent which in practice can widen to leave 
parents, teachers, and students with less accountability.

The term "charter" implies contract rather than mandate. Normally a 
document conveying legal status from a state empowered to grant such 
status, charter schools may be 501(c)(3) organizations and thus 
regulated by the nonprofit laws of the state and if tax exempt, by the 
regulatory powers of the Internal Revenue Service. Almost any 
configuration is allowed, however, except for profit charters. 
(However, for profits may manage the programs).

Charter schools can be former public schools, former private schools, 
and new schools but not home-based schools.

So Ms Massey is correct in saying there is the possibility of less 
accountability. The boards of charter schools are required to have a 
majority of teachers  in the governing body, unless the requirement is 
waived. And the organization must be configured as a non profit or 
co-op.

This is definitely not the same as a school board elected by the public 
in an open and regulated election process.

None of this means that a particular charter school will become less 
accountable. It does mean that the representative governing body, a 
public body, elected by the voters, is absent in a charter school. The 
charter school board members are not required to present their 
credentials and run for office in an open process.


Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis


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Re: [Mpls] Neighbors fight back against LRT parkers

2004-08-17 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Monday, August 16, 2004, at 04:25 PM, Michael Atherton wrote:
I just don't get this and it's probably because
I'm an L.A. expatiate, but why should anyone
have any justification for getting upset about people
parking legally on public streets in front of their
houses? Must be a Minnesotan thing.
You know it. My friend lives on 45th off 9th Avenue in New York City.
Parking is out of the question, period. The indoor garage is about
twenty bucks a day. Otherwise, don't plan on parking in front on a
regular basis. It just won't happen.

We are having a period of adjustment in sparsely inhabited Minneapolis.
But as I've said in a previous post, I live in the university area and
we here have experienced parkers who come to your quiet residential
street, park, get out, throw stuff on the ground, and walk away,
backpacks on.

What do we do? We get out there and pick up, clean up, and wish these
people success in their college pursuits.

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Re: [Mpls] Library Must Cut Expenses, Blaming Pawlenty Only Goes So Far

2004-08-11 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Tuesday, August 10, 2004, at 08:07 PM, Dr. Vinny wrote:
Bottom line, Ms. Wittstock appears to be living in a fantasy land, 
where Tim Pawlenty will suddenly abandon his no-tax pledge and raise 
taxes so the library board can get more LGA. Sorry to burst your 
bubble, Ms. Wittstock, but that's not happening.
Personal attacks weaken your position.
Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock



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Re: [Mpls] MPLS Libraries need to look to Suburbs, Small Towns for Financial Guidance

2004-08-10 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Monday, August 9, 2004, at 08:08 PM, Dr. Vinny wrote:
As you well know, the Minneapolis library system has been cutting
hours and services for the past two years, due partly to decreased
funding.

But the fact is, at least part of the cuts are because the library is
resistant to change. One change they could and should make is to hire
teenagers to do the shelving and circulation desk duties afterschool
and on weekends. The advantages are twofold: the kids get valuable
work experience and extra money, and the library can greatly reduce
their payroll expenses, because you don't have to pay kids much more
than the minimum wage.
I can't tell you how big a debt we (the big we of society) owe
organized labor. We are reminded of our historical debt in the
twinkling bumper stickers "from the people who gave us the weekend." It
isn't a stretch to say that a good deal of affordable suburban housing
would not have been built without buyers with wage levels negotiated at
the bargaining tables in America's cities. Workers of all kinds have
laws protecting them today based on the safety and security concessions
won by organized labor for everyone in the workplace.

So to say the library is resistant to change and a change to be made is
to hire high school kids at low wages might sound good on the surface.
But another drift from organized worker's rights is alarming to me. It
seems we have become bored with the issues of worker security and
instead grasp for the laissez faire solution too quickly. The reality
is that without unions Maquilladora style squalor typifies unfettered
capitalism in free markets.

Organized labor is under attack. Union membership has shrunken to a
shadow of its former strength. We need unions in this country if we are
going to successfully navigate the information age and retain
leadership in goods and services worldwide. I think there is a price to
be paid in the long run. All capital and no labor makes for a bad
tasting societal stew.

Yes, it would be easy to hire kids. I don't think the library is
resistant to change in that regard. I can't speak for the library, but
I would personally very strongly oppose efforts to gut the unions and
take back hard won labor rights for workers. The issue is not reducing
payroll expenses. The issue is state government reneging on a major
quality of life and free education promise to the citizens of
Minnesota. Lose that and it will be extremely hard to get back.

I say the governor does not get off that easily. He has to answer for
his disregard of libraries.

Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
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Minneapolis, MN 55406
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Re: [Mpls] Study Finds Minneapolis Reads More

2004-08-06 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Thursday, August 5, 2004, at 03:15 PM, Dorie Rae Gallagher wrote:
No, No No .!!!..The mayor, city council , library board and staff,
along
with the state...all had a part in this..you're not going to get off
that
easy! It is true what you say, but decisions were made that gave
preferential treatment to some, at the expense of others.
Yes, yes, yes. The mayor and city council gave no deeper cuts to
libraries than to others. The losses from the state were passed on at
the same percentage levels.

The biggest losers were union members and other staff that lost jobs.
It was and continues to be a devastating loss.

If there was any preferential treatment, it was to the idea that no
libraries would be closed. The library trustees said they would all
stay open. That decision caused the most loss of jobs.

There were no winners in this budgeting exercise.
We are on the same team. Shooting at each other isn't going to bring
the money back. We have to work together and convince the source of the
funds (the state) that the citizens of Minneapolis want their library
funding restored.

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Re: [Mpls] Study Finds Minneapolis Reads More

2004-08-05 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Tuesday, August 3, 2004, at 06:52 PM, Dorie Rae Gallagher wrote:
I bet USA Today did not know Minneapolis has closed many of the 
libraries
50% of the time to plum the downtown library nor are a lot of people 
in the
city actually aware of that fact. They just keep asking for money for 
the
Planetarium while the neighborhoods can't get books on Saturdays. This 
is
true dismantlement of equality. Pretty soon, we... can be like Texas!
That's Republican Texas. And Republicans in MN State government (the 
leg and the governor) have cut aid to Minneapolis, thus forcing the 
reduced hours.

If you want your libraries back, elect Democrats. Pass it on.
Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis
Laura Waterman Wittstock
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RE: [Mpls]: Tragic "misplanning" by Metro Transit

2004-08-02 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Monday, August 2, 2004, at 02:55 PM, Jason C Stone wrote:
It looks like a pretty glum situation right now, but the city still 
has an opportunity to make it
right.  It doesn't take a genius to recognize that people would like 
the capability to park near
transit stations.


--- Gina Palandri <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
 However that's not related to my original issue, being;
Minneapolis homeowners are losing their neighborhoods and streets to 
LRT
riders.  I am a person who even has a garage, and still see why this 
was
a horrible failure on the part of Metro Transit.

Southeast Como residents have known for years that their city streets 
are parking lots for UM students who can't buy space or can't afford to 
park in the UM ramps. It's a pain, to be sure. But if the U can't build 
its way out of the need for more parking space, how could the transit 
authority?

The city streets are public and thus students or commuters are able to 
park there. I'm frequently irritated when I have to park away from my 
house, but I don't mistake the street for my personal property.

There must be some middle ground here.
Best,
Laura
Southeast and jonesing for speed bumps on my block
Laura Waterman Wittstock
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Re: [Mpls] Application Fees

2004-07-28 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, July 28, 2004, at 09:42 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
As a renter I never paid an application fee for a background check
without
also signing a lease agreement.

If a landlord wants you to pay an application fee, but doesn't want to
sign a
lease agreement based on the information you provide on the
application form,
it is quite reasonable to suspect that the landlord has no intention
of being
your landlord and is merely picking your pocket. If a wannabe renter
reports
sufficient income and otherwise meets the criteria, why not rent to
them on
the spot?
So many of the people I work with -- clients, students, other members
of the Indian community, have been repeatedly discriminated against.
The only conclusion I can draw is that these experiences are in large
part based on status and class. They are denied rentals, pay fee after
fee with no result, and lack sufficient representation to assure less
discrimination.

Some people, like Doug Mann, have different experiences. That's fine.
But the problem does not get fixed based on the anecdotal observations
of a number of people.

Landlords come in all types of personality and deviations of mental
health. Tenants do too. It is only through appropriately applied
regulation and community norms and expectations that more people find
the housing they need and landlords have reasonable expectations of
financial return on their investments.

Tip either side of the balance and bad things happen. We have to deal
with discrimination against people who because of their racial
background or economic status are vulnerable to landlords who want to
express their social views through their business dealings. These
people have to fear consequences or be able to respect order in
society. Otherwise, discrimination just goes on and on.

Yes, there are destructive tenants. Yes, there are people who skip out
on the rent or do any number of horrible things in their rented space.

But that is not sufficient reason to discriminate against all potential
tenants who the landlord eyeballs as not deserving of living in her/his
property.

I think we can all make a good start by expecting landlords to do a
better job of reducing the discrimination complaints and perceptions.
They hold the key to the rental space. They have to behave better in
this city. We expect them to.

So look around the kindergarten classes this fall. Who are the
potential landlords? Don't know? Then teach peace and tolerance to
everyone. It works.

Best,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast
With grandkids in Marcy School where peace abounds

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Re: [MPLS]: Minneapolis Public Education

2004-07-12 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

John M O'Neal wrote:
Those of us who are in touch realize that we live in a global
economy. Those of us who are in touch realize that, in Minneapolis,
we have, at least, significant communities of Lebanese, Mexican,
Southwest Asian, Somali, and Vietnamese immigrants as well as
established African-American, European, and Native American
communities.
On Sunday, July 11, 2004, at 07:03 PM, Michael Atherton wrote:
So what does this imply? We had an international city in 1910,
maybe just not quite as diverse.

Just a couple of reminders about 1910:
Women did not have the right to vote.
Racial segregation was in place.
Ethnic segregation (Jews, other Eastern and Southern Europeans) was in
place.
American Indians were not citizens and thus could not vote.
Immigration laws prevented Africans, Asians, (including South Asia and
the Middle East), Mexicans, Central and South Americans from
immigrating whereas Western Europeans were welcome.
19th Century Minnesota handbills printed to recruit immigrants were in
German.

(Wir Stammten aus Deutschland nach Hausen Minnesota "We originated out
of Germany and have come home to Minnesota")

"Minnesota Territory, for example, established Eugene Burnand as the
territory's first Commissioner of Emigration in 1856. Burnand, from an
office in New York, advertised Minnesota through pamphlets, immigrant
newspapers, and persuasive speeches made to newly-arrived immigrants at
the ship docks. Through his work, Burnand brought many new immigrants
to the territory, particularly individuals of German extraction."
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/mnstatehistory/german_migration.html

--
"Not quite as diverse" is an understatement. Minnesota fixed it to be
that way. It is safe to say that Minnesota has never had the diversity
challenge it is now experiencing and the Minneapolis public schools are
at a most critical period of change.

19th Century education has got to give way. It will give way. It has
given way to some degree. The number one lesson in all of this is that
public education cannot be done on the cheap. When all we had to do was
turn out kids to factory or farm work, big classrooms, less than a full
year of school, no technology, and minimally prepared teachers were
okay. (well, probably not okay, but that is what we did).

We now have to turn kids to information work, knowledge work, and
service work. How does having crowded classrooms, nine months of
school, and teacher front, kids in rows make that happen? It doesn't.
Major system reform is needed and that costs money.

We at the top of the global society in order to maintain our position
have to educate our young (all of them) to assume the summit. That
includes learning sharing, kindness, generosity, tolerance, and
helpfulness. Get the picture?

Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast

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Re: [Mpls] Racism & Minneapolis Public Schools

2004-07-07 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Tuesday, July 6, 2004, at 07:53 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Last evening I was a guest on Voices of the African American community
on
KMOJ, hosted by Spike Moss. And I have been invited back to
participate in an
on-air discussion of educational issues within the next few weeks.

I believe the Minneapolis school district can rapidly close most of the
academic achievement gap between whites and African Americans by
making some
changes in how education is done in the schools.

Black and white education gap issues may be relevant in Charleston or
Memphis, but in Minneapolis the gap is economic and multi cultural. The
painful process of gaining recognition for the issues of SE Asians,
Latinos, American Indians, Africans, and immigrants from other
countries will greatly challenge the next superintendent.

It is true that we are a long way from recognizing either the causes of
the gap or the strategic direction to take to raise the achievement
levels of all who are on the bottom line. It is not helpful, in my
mind, to talk only of a gap, as if when the bottom line meets the top,
we will be successful and happy. The top line does not define the best
that we can do in our schools.

And it is short sighted to think that if we change the one factor:
race, we will close the gap. Of all the factors affecting academic
performance, race is the most difficult to isolate. Which is not to say
that it does not exist. But of the factors we do know something about:
economic disparity, neighborhood, health, housing, parents' educational
background, place in sibling order, gender, resources of the schools,
counseling availability, teacher quality, class size, amount of time
spent on academic tasks, and on and on, give us plenty to work on in
terms of improvement.

"Nickleby" (NCLB) is the most cynical model for addressing the gap. Get
rid of it. Short changing schools is the biggest factor that can swing
change on an ongoing basis.

The hardest thing to do, because it takes public will and courage on
the part of the elected school board, is to "make some changes in how
education is done in the schools," as the writer suggests above. We are
instead confronted with a flavor of the month approach and various of
the school sites experimenting with the most vulnerable school
populations in an effort to meet the Nickleby demands.

Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Re: [Mpls] Smoking: What IS the regional solution?

2004-06-25 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Friday, June 25, 2004, at 02:47 PM, Ken Jorissen wrote:
Does personal choice preclude something being considered a "public
health
issue"? What is the definition of a "public health issue"? I am
surprised to
learn that I am operating without a good definition. I've been trying
to come
up with one but it keeps either getting invaded by concepts that
should be
separate or just leads to needing more definitions.

Public health is the organised response by society to protect and
promote health and to prevent illness, injury and disability. (National
Public Health Partnership 1997)

I think the confusion comes in part from separating society from
government, as if these are two different authorities and further, that
they are in many instances counter to one another. Societal mores are
not all enacted into law, but customs and laws are traditionally
closely allied, especially in the western traditions ("By Laws" and so
forth).

Reactionary conservatives have done a great job of planting an image in
many minds that somehow our government and our society are separated.
True the administration and enforcement of laws, and the enactment and
interpretation of laws fall into categories we know as government. But
that representation is not out of step with societal views and mores.

At the edges of every society there are strongly held views but these
minorities do not have enough momentum to upset the large middle. Rap
artists have a better shot at mainstream society than anarchists or
religious extremists.

I worry about the voting numbers going down in democratic societies. It
means to me that people are voting without voting --- that tolerance
for all kinds of formerly fringe views has gained acceptance in the
broader milieu of comfort, leisure, and consumer choice.

The silent killer is the gathering of wealth into fewer and fewer
hands, not the big brother nation.

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Re: [Mpls] Smoking: What IS the regional solution?

2004-06-25 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Friday, June 25, 2004, at 09:26 AM, Victoria Heller wrote:

The smoking ban controversy IS a property rights issue. It
boils down to a conflict between the "Nanny State" and "Private
Property
Rights".
So the assertion is bans attack property rights, whether smoking or
anything else. And this would be in regard to the ability to possess,
buy or sell the property, but most particularly about the right to use
the property in any way the owner wishes.

Would there be any issue if the owner of contiguous property were
making meth-amphetamine and selling it for example?

Presumably in a free market, the manufacture and sale of
meth-amphetamine would be allowed on private property.

Regulating people out of business is a government "taking" -
equivalent to
the abuse of eminent domain powers. Such acts on the part of
government
require "just compensation" to the harmed parties.
And a ban on meth would amount to government "taking."
The regional solution is to do nothing. Let free markets and freedom
of
choice prevail.
Sounds like San Francisco in 1849, or maybe Milton Friedman's beloved
Hong Kong before the avian flu hit. You can bet your booties they
banned.

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Re: [Mpls] 9,430 people leave Minneapolis

2004-06-24 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Thursday, June 24, 2004, at 06:33 AM, Victoria Heller wrote:
Can anyone else see a trend here? Have you noticed all of the "for
sale"
and "for rent" signs around town?

To solve your financial mess, you'll need to reverse this trend.
Perhaps
City officials (and journalists) should conduct "exit interviews" with
the
people and businesses who seek greener pastures elsewhere.

It would be nice to know the reasons behind the exodus:
Is it rampant crime?
Is it intrusive government?
Is it oppressive taxation?
Is it lack of employment opportunity?
I don't think leaving Minneapolis is always attributable to negative
factors. If the question is regional migration (not leaving the area or
the state), then lots of reasons come to mind:
Trading up living space.
Moving closer to a new job.
Moving closer to preferred schools.
Moving closer to relatives or friends.
Moving from renting to buying and preferences for space, land, etc.
Moving for school or training.

Older cities like Minneapolis do get surrounded by expanding suburbs.
That's true all over the country. What's the answer? Regional
metropolitan areas? Super cities?

It is very complex.
Yes, there are some people who say they are leaving because of crime,
intrusive government, etc., but they generally will have a plan that
makes economic sense for them, too. So it is not a case of people
abandoning their homes and fleeing. There are not long lines of the
oppressed slowly moving west on 394.

Best,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis

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Re: [Mpls] Mayor Rybak's honest assessment of budget issues

2004-06-23 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, June 23, 2004, at 09:57 AM, Victoria Heller wrote:
Minneapolis taxpayers should keep a copy of this statement handy when
they
vote for things like the new $100 million glass palace library. How
much do
you think it will cost to heat and cool this greenhouse? Where will
the
money come from?

I maintain that if Minneapolis voters had been told the truth about the
mountains of debt they faced, they would have lived with the old
library for
a while longer.
The discussion on the new library began in 1989. Public input,
research, deliberation, study and tons of planning went into the
decision to place the question of funding a new library with capital
improvements to all the branches. That passed with an approval of about
70% on November 7, 2000. The voters of Minneapolis said yes in a big
way to a new library.

The "mountains of debt" come to an annual $5.25 per home owner (home
valued at $103,500) in 2001, going to $58.69 in 2005 and at that level
until 2030.

Or do your own math on your home in 2005 by multiplying the assessor's
estimated market value by .000567083.

Money to operate the library comes from various sources. The portion Ms
Heller is likely referring to, property taxes, is $11.6 million this
year, about half of the library's $21.1 million operating budget.

As we move into the 2006 opening date of the new central library, there
will be no increases because a cap of 8% has been placed on property
tax over five years. The library will get 4% for operating and 4% for
the referendum -- unless the tax formula is changed. The expectation is
that it will not.

However because the taxes we get back - called local government aid -
have gone down dramatically, all city services, including libraries
have had to shrink their budgets.

The cutting of government aid came after the referendum, after the new
building was underway. Should we have known? Maybe. Could we have
known? Not likely. Bonding to pay for large civic projects, like a
library system that will serve the public for generations is a good way
to spread the cost over time and among large numbers of people.

But when the governor and legislature cut $2.8 million out of the 2004
library operating budget, this shortsightedness gives no time to make
up the difference and forces less access to the libraries on the people
of Minneapolis.

It does no one any good to think the new central library building is to
blame for mountains of debt nor to think the voters of Minneapolis were
duped into voting for the referendum.

Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis
DISCLOSURE: Mayor's appointee to the Minneapolis LIbrary Board

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Re: [Mpls] Cool transit idea

2004-06-21 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Monday, June 21, 2004, at 03:44 PM, Kathryn Rosebear wrote:
I agree with the need to educate our citizens that pedestrians do have
the right-of-way at crosswalks and intersections. The reality is that,
in almost every instance, drivers do not yield right-of-way (and I
think
right-of-way is technically something you "yield" rather than "have")
for those on foot. My personal experience is that the more aggressive
drivers not only do not yield, but can be quite rude when I enter the
street instead of waiting for them to go through an intersection.
This is a great observation. I've seen it time and again in my
neighborhood. Many times when I stop for pedestrians in my neighborhood
two things happen - they hesitate because they can't believe it and
cars behind me try to pull around and run through the crosswalk.

A driver nearly struck a blind man crossing in the crosswalk because he
was angry with me for stopping. He swerved around me and missed the
pedestrian with inches to spare. He just kept going but he slowed down.
I think he was experiencing an adrenalin rush.

I think most people know that they are supposed to let people use a
marked crosswalk, but most -- even those who are well-meaning,
law-abiding citizens -- DON'T know that you must yield at any
intersection.
Probably true. But I have to say too that many, many times I have
stopped and everyone both ways stopped and waited, too. We have a lot
of very nice drivers here in Minneapolis.

How did California get all of those Californians to
understand the need to yeild and to be so polite about it? And here,
where we're supposed to be so "Minnesota nice," how did our drivers
become so arrogant?

Having lived out there and having had a mother and a daughter who lived
out there, I know the change came from drivers getting hammered with
tickets until they got the message. (And for other things like getting
caught blocking an intersection). California drivers give way to
pedestrians. It is pretty cool to see.

We can do this here. But it will take time, as it did in California.
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Re: FW: [Mpls] Smoking

2004-06-17 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Thursday, June 17, 2004, at 04:13 PM, Jeremy Wieland wrote:
Big tobacco has no bearing in this debate other than how a ban will
affect
their marketing practices. It is not their marketing practices that
will
cause me to light a cigar when I walk home from work at the end of the
week.
It will be strictly my choice. This is about individual choices and
accountability and acknowledging that if you still smoke, big tobacco
isn't
an excuse anymore.
Perhaps this is right for one individual who has already committed to
smoking. The big tobacco marketing dollar does lean to the new smokers
but not all of it. Try as we might to say we only buy what we choose,
marketing research tells us otherwise. Marketing works and so therefore
it is widely practiced.

-from the World Health Organization
'Cigarettes are possibly the most marketed product in the world.
While there is no reliable estimate of global cigarette marketing
expenditures, it is clearly in the tens of billions of US dollars a
year. In the USA alone over $10 billion is spent a year on marketing
cigarettes, and this at a time when advertising is prohibited on
television and radio, when there are limitations on certain types of
outdoor advertising and sponsorship, and when cigarette sales are
falling. Annual marketing expenditure is over $200 per smoker, and over
46 cents for every pack sold. Promotional allowances, that is payments
made to retailers to facilitate sales, account for 41 percent of the
total expenditure on cigarette marketing." - end quote-

U.S. tobacco promotion dollars spent in 1970 were $361 million when
cigarette consumption was 3,969 per person. Spending in 1999 was $9
billion 575 million when cigarette consumption was 1,975 per person.

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Re: [Mpls] Thoughts on neighorhood smoking issues

2004-06-16 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

Boy, don't we have just the greatest mayor? You can't ask for better
access.

I'm of the view that we should see how it goes. When the airports first
banned tobacco, one had to pass through a blue haze to get into the
terminal and then a similar haze on the way out to the doors.

Maybe its my imagination, but the smoke is definitely less pronounced.
And now smokers do have a designated section, as compared to any open
doorway.

I was out on the board walk in Santa Monica over five years ago and I
noticed no smokers. I stopped for a sandwich and asked the wait staff
about it, he said the whole pier was smoke free. It was just great, and
there was a crowd (on a weekday). It seemed to me people were going out
and enjoying the pier and whoever the smokers were, they were just not
smoking for that length of time they were out there.

Of course I know that as patterns go, there is more smoking in the
north than the south, so I've always taken California models with a
grain of salt, but I think we can do this very well once we get used to
it. And the non smokers will have to be patient through the transition.

Best,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast
On Tuesday, June 15, 2004, at 10:46 PM, Rybak, R.T. wrote:
I could use some advice from list members on ways to mitigate an
unintended consequence of the proposed smoking ban:
After the ban is in place, people at a restaurant or bar who want to
smoke will presumably walk outside to light up...forming the kinds of
front door smoking gatherings you see already outside office buildings.
The groups outside bars and restaurants will probably hang around
longer
because they probably don't have a boss pushing them to get inside.
On or off list: Does anyone have any thoughts about how we can address
this issue?

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Re: [Mpls] some more smoking....and a 3 dollar turn-a-round fee!!!

2004-06-15 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Tuesday, June 15, 2004, at 09:45 AM, Andy Driscoll wrote:
Human nature, history shows - especially the Western cultures - must 
witness
the physical atrocity of disease, war and negligence before taking 
action
that would alleviate the likelihood of recurrence. Then, we often go
overboard, passing laws to prevent the perpetration of the most obscure
crimes and reporting on those crimes as if they occupy 90% of society's
daily life.
So true.
There was an excellent public television program on last night about 
tobacco. It is a fascinating story. Smokers watching it should 
immediately cease using tobacco in the huge numbers the medical 
community did when the first surgeon general's findings came out on 
January 11, 1964. But that is unlikely.

We are here forty years later, still debating the public dangers of 
smoking. It isn't evidence that will change the public will, as it did 
for the doctors.

It is going to be pressure on the economic marketplaces. The cost is 
going to have to be so high that no business will want to take the 
risk. Pretty stupid, huh?

Best wishes,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast


Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
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Re: [Mpls] Smoking Ban

2004-06-10 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Thursday, June 10, 2004, at 10:59 AM, David Brauer wrote:
1. Define air-tightness: Does that mean airlocks? After all, doors to
the smoke-filled room have to open. How to keep the smoke from pouring
out? (Admittedly, there would be less ambient smoke than currently,
but I'm leery that using a term such as "airtight" is overselling the
practical reality.)
Air-tight is not feasible. That would involve an air lock for the in
and out entry. And, unless the ventilation system can cycle in fresh
air faster than the smoke raises the pollution level, the net return
could be toxic to the smokers in the room. Despite smoking, they do
need a modicum of fresh air to keep from looking like carp in the
bottom of a boat.

I think of these rooms as transitional formats -- like CDs. The tobacco
industry already has alternative nicotine delivery products. So
controlling smoke is only the current issue. The long term quest of big
tobacco is keeping enough nicotine flowing in the market place.

So not too far in the future nicotine aficionados will be able to quaff
a beer, have nicotine and a burger fully integrated into the non
smoking population.

That's a no win for the consumer.
Best,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Re: [Mpls] reply to gemgram and griffith

2004-06-10 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Thursday, June 3, 2004, at 12:30 PM, Chris Johnson wrote:
Ed Felien wrote:
Mr. Griffith, I'm sure you remember Mark Twain's comment, "There are 
lies,
damn lies and statistics."  You are correct that the National Cancer
Institute (and the Environmental Protection Agency) say that there 
are 3000
deaths of non-smokers each year from second hand smoke.

From Publishers Weekly:
Who really said, "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics" Mark 
Twain or Benjamin Disraeli?  Disraeli: (whom Twain credits for his use 
of the remark in his autobiography). The quote's misattribution is 
similar to the twisted course statistics often take as they "mutate" 
into bar-chart monsters with slim if any relation to the original 
numbers...


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Re: [Mpls] Warehouse Dist. Nightclubs Out of Control?

2004-06-08 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Tuesday, June 8, 2004, at 04:30 PM, (Bill Dooley )[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:

That's what Dario Anselmo the owner of THE FINE LINE says and he
threatens
to move his establishment if the problems at TABU and DADDY ROCKS are
not
cleaned up. Anselmo says these clubs attract "at-risk people,"
whatever that
means. MPD says the area is adequately patrolled with quick response.
Should
these clubs be required to hire outside-only security? I would hate to
lose
nightclubs merely because a few patrons misbehave.
This is an urban issue that has seen changes in policing practice
elsewhere. In San Francisco, for example, there is a very high premium
on tourism and as part of that, police practice puts a lot of emphasis
on controls and prevention. It isn't pretty sometimes, but it is
effective.

Minneapolis has not crossed that line yet. I won't even pretend any
familiarity with downtown nightlife, but on those odd occasions when I
am downtown late - it seems to be quite wide open. I've seen fluids
being emitted from various orifices, and not a few violent encounters.
Safely in my car, I can just drive on and shudder. Someone I am close
to is one of those "at-risk people" who has gone down to the club scene
repeatedly, despite two rapes and numerous beatings. No arrests and no
prosecutions. She is wiser now but still drawn to the clubs.

I think we in the general society have to recognize that behaviors are
crossing boundaries not previously seen since maybe the wild west days
or the roaring twenties. It isn't that urban populations have not done
this before, it is that we have not seen it in a while, so it looks new.

Sooner or later, Minneapolis police policy will have to lower the bar
on what gets by or we will see more crowd and individual violence
fueled by what the night life has to offer.

Laura Wittstock
Southeast

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Re: [Mpls] Tobacco injuries

2004-06-04 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Friday, June 4, 2004, at 09:37 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
No. There is a question. Fact is, unless someone pokes you with the
cigarette, you are hardly injured and certainly not dead as a result
of smoking.
I've already told you how I was exposed to prodigious quantities of
this secondhand smoke on several occasions with no ill effects to be
found. Normally toxins make people sick or die. It is only by abusing
the definition of toxic that we can arrive at the conclusion that
secondhand smoke is "toxic".
The science on the effects of tobacco is sound and has been replicated
in laboratory studies as well as being demonstrated in statistical
research. But that would make no difference in situations like this
where people, such as this writer, claims no ill effect from smoke
exposure. Citing more studies does not bring more clarity or
understanding. I call this "listening to tobacco." The science on the
one hand always has a weaker voice when the other hand is holding a
cigarette. I think the best we can hope for is cognitive recognition at
some point.

You have no right to tell consenting adults what they may do behind
closed doors when you're not around, as far as I'm concerned.
Here however, we should all agree that consenting adults will be able
to smoke to their hearts content behind closed doors. Tobacco is legal.
Anyone over 18 can buy it.

But what some smokers want is something in addition. They want others
to involuntarily smoke with them. My question is, why do you want to do
that? What is it about smoking that you have to have others inhale when
they are in proximity to your activity?

Got an answer for this?
Best wishes,
Laura
Southeast
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
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Re: [Mpls] Tobacco Scam

2004-06-01 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Monday, May 31, 2004, at 07:13 PM, Michael Atherton wrote:
So here's my solution.  Create rooms to serve as smoking
parlors, lounges, clubrooms, or whatever else you want
to call them.  Insure that there is less air pressure
in these rooms than in other areas using existing
ventilation technology, thus creating a negative
air room.  It will always be possible to insure
that the air pressure is negative enough to keep smoke
within the room and if the exchange rate is high enough
it might be possible to reduce even the exposure of
smokers to secondhand smoke (of course cigarettes might
burn a little faster). Do not provide service in
these rooms to insure that employees are not exposed to smoke.
If you want to do this with class do it with glass walls so that
patrons can see out and others can see in.  We can nickname
them "fishbowls."
Okay, it's the anti-smokers turn.  Shoot!
This assumes that smoking lighted tobacco will always be the U.S. 
preferred method of drug ingestion. It might not. Nicotine water failed 
to get FDA clearance but something like it may become available in the 
future. Other delivery means than smoking could very well be the next 
post public safety phase.

So having smoke scrubbing rooms is both costly and likely to have a low 
return on investment.

I have no doubt that the tobacco producers are working on not only new 
markets for old fashioned smoking but new delivery systems for getting 
the drug into human bodies. Bling. Bling.

Laura
Southeast
Laura Waterman Wittstock
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Re: [Mpls] Who's winning the Tobacco War?

2004-05-30 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Sunday, May 30, 2004, at 02:24 PM, Neal Krasnoff wrote:
"The other unchanged fact is that the community hit hardest by HIV 
continues
to be men who have sex with men (MSM). Last year 48 percent of new
infections occurred amongst MSM, disproportionately among men of color.

Good point, underscoring the fact that opportunistic viruses adapt to 
normal human functions for their propagation.

Laura
Laura Waterman Wittstock
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Re: [Mpls] Who's winning the Tobacco War?

2004-05-30 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Saturday, May 29, 2004, at 08:26 PM, Michael Atherton wrote:
 I don't understand why
people like Network Television, McDonald's, Bowling,
Golf, Spectator Sports, Gay sex, Christianity, etc.
The problem with making moral decisions for people other
than yourself is that if you fail to respect the rights of
others to choose for themselves, you should be willing
to forfeit your right to do the same.
-
It's disingenuous to put smoking, network television, and gay sex in 
the same group of "moral decisions." There is no question that gay sex, 
for example, is not a moral decision. Sex is clearly part and parcel of 
the human condition. Perhaps you are thinking of those who choose not 
to have sex for religious reasons. Otherwise, sex is a natural, normal 
part of human existence. And gay sex is part of natural, normal human 
existence.

However smoking is a matter of health -- public health. Smoking is a 
private choice, yes. But smoking in public where others' health is 
endangered, is not private choice. It is putting the public at risk. So 
if you are in an establishment that can be sued for putting you at 
public risk, then that establishment takes on that risk.

I don't think this is about the question of the right to smoke. There 
is no ban on tobacco proposed. Adults can choose to smoke as a private 
matter. The imperative is we know enough about the health risks and we 
know enough about the business risks that there is not much else to 
debate about in Clean Air Act Minnesota.

We just have to get on with it and do it.
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
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Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
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Re: [Mpls] Re: DFL snubs two on school board

2004-05-20 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, May 19, 2004, at 01:58 PM, Michael Atherton wrote:
Matt Schwei wrote:
I was a delegate at the convention and there were rumors that Ms.
Henry-Blythe had met or had intentions of meeting with Steve
Sviggum to discuss circumventing(?) the Public Employment Labor
Relations Act (PELRA). Ms. Henry-Blythe and other school board
members spoke out against these rumors to the delegation but to no
avail.

I was also a delegate and heard no rumors until Sharon said
emphatically that she has had no meetings with Sviggum or other of the
Republican leadership. She said they probably wouldn't meet with her if
she asked, which she did not.

At that point I realized something had been said.
Sharon Henry-Blythe is a fine person who deserves and gets a lot of
respect. Having seen and experienced her leadership up close, I can say
that with confidence.

There was a big field of candidates and most did not get endorsed. Not
being endorsed in no way takes away from Sharon's character or her
great gifts. I for one look forward to seeing her name at the head of
great projects and initiatives for many years to come.

Best,
Laura Wittstock
Southeast

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Re: [Mpls] Mpls School Board Convention

2004-05-17 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Saturday, May 15, 2004, at 09:00 PM, David Weinlick wrote:
Did any non-endorsed candidate say they would drop out - or does the
fact
that the DFL endorsed for only two of the three seats give those who
declared they would abide by endorsement an "out" to go to the
primary?
That was never made clear. No candidates actually answered the
question as to whether or not they would run if not endorsed--only
whetehr or not they would run against an endorsed candidate. In
theory, this means that any candidate might consider the lack of a
third endorsement to indicate an 'out' to got to the primary.

--
I was at the convention. All of the candidates responded "no" that they
would not run against the endorsed candidates except Denny Shapiro.

However, running without endorsement will require funds most do not
have, thus the edge will go to the incumbent.

--
I think there is significance in this response from the delegates. One
- that education is very important and two - that the next election
cycle for school board incumbents may be even more tumultuous. The
change that came in the mayor's office, the city council, and the
library board (three new elected members last time), points to a period
of settling out and more change rather than less.

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Re: [Mpls] Smoking Ban Disclosure Request

2004-05-12 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, May 12, 2004, at 03:46 PM, Michael Hohmann wrote:

I have a question for list members-
In an effort to get full disclosure-- Are any of the smoking ban 
proponents
posting to this list under contract/subcontract to promote local 
smoking
bans?  Have you received any anti-smoking funding for such efforts 
over the
past decade?  Same question to those opposing such a ban.  If this 
list is
being used to sway public opinion via a paid lobbying effort, I think 
list
members would appreciate knowing it.  Thanks in advance.
Full disclosure. I was appointed to the MPAAT board by Skip Humphrey in 
1999 and served as a volunteer on the board through 2002. I am not paid 
nor have I ever been paid by any anti tobacco sources to sway public 
opinion.

My motives are personal. My father died of lung cancer. He smoked for 
over fifty years. My mother had a chronic lung condition attributed to 
inhaling a lot of environmental smoke.

Best,

Laura
Southeast
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
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Re: [Mpls] Announcment: A Forum on Civility in Politics in Minneapolis

2004-05-12 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Tuesday, May 11, 2004, at 10:59 PM, Chris Johnson wrote:

The Minnesota Compact presents

A Forum on Civility in Politics
Thursday, May 13th, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m.
The Humphrey Forum, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
Minneapolis, MN
with
Vicki Gowler, editor of the Pioneer Press
Anders Gyllenhaal, editor of the Star Tribune
Mitch Pearlstein, President, Center of the American Experiment
Tim Penny, Senior Fellow at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs


The idea of Mitch Pearlstein hosting a forum on civility in politics 
is like having John Gotti host a forum on obeying the law, or having 
Randy Moss host a forum on humility and personal responsibility.

Thanks Chris. I too noticed the lack of balance and sent them a note 
suggesting some names.

Best,

Laura
Southeast
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
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Minneapolis, MN 55406
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Re: [Mpls] Smoking ban in Minneapolis.

2004-05-10 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Monday, May 10, 2004, at 03:55 PM, phaedrus wrote:
* Because tobacco is a controlled substance, I might
be amenable to the idea of requiring that any all-ages
establishments be required to ensure that smoking
sections are 18+ only and that the non-smoking
sections are at least as free of smoke as they are of
auto fumes.
-

We are having this discussion because tobacco is not a controlled
substance.

(5) The term "control" means to add a drug or other substance, or
immediate precursor, to a schedule under part B of this title, whether
by transfer from another schedule or otherwise.

(6) The term "controlled substance" means a drug or other substance, or
immediate precursor, included in schedule I, II, III, IV, or V of part
B of this title [21 USCS Section 812]. The term does not include
distilled spirits, wine, malt beverages, or tobacco, as those terms are
defined or used in subtitle E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 [26
USCS Sections 5001 et seq.].

--The Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Title II of the Comprehensive
Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970

Best,

Laura
Southeast Minneapolis
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
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Re: [Mpls] Smoking ban in Minneapolis

2004-05-10 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Monday, May 10, 2004, at 10:50 AM, MJ Mueller wrote:

Business owners should be free to decide if their clientele is a
smoking crowd or not and should be able to adjust their policies
accordingly. As for workers - working in an establishment that allows
smoking is a choice and there is no argument that will disabuse me of
that oprinion.

MJ Mueller
Seward
Former New Riverside Cafe Worker - Late 70's, early 80's
--

It really comes down to two questions: choice for who? and choice for
what?

Choice for who should be limited to willing adults who form smoking
clubs or something like that. Leave the kids out. But even here the
caveat for the owners is there is no guarantee that a patron or worker
will not later sue on the basis of damage to health and lack of proper
warning. (The term smoking club may be more accurate for businesses
that only incidentally serve liquor, coffee, or food).

Choice for what is more at the heart of things. Is it the pleasure of
smoking? Is it self responsibility for the dangers of smoking? Is it
willingness to hold harmless the business now and forever no matter
what happens?

Business owners are not free to decide. Their liability just goes on
and on. I think at some point we will see business owners unwilling to
take the risk because the cost of covering their liability will cut too
deeply into their operating margins. Going smoke free as a city will
relieve business owners of those added and escalating costs.

Meanwhile the disease chances of the customers and workers who pursued
what they thought was choice will multiply. It is really hard to face a
preventable premature death. Many -- not all -- but enough -- will look
to punish those who put them in harm's way (beside themselves).

We can neither force people to live with their choices nor prohibit
them from seeking damages for the harm they incur through smoking or
environmental smoke.

Why not just limit smoking to home and lessen the liability all around?

Best wishes,

Laura

Laura Waterman Wittstock
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Re: [Mpls] Smoking ban in Minneapolis

2004-05-07 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Friday, May 7, 2004, at 10:39 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

(-Michael Libby, Cleveland neighborhood )

 Of the 3,000 who die each year from ETS exposure, how many live in 
Minneapolis? Maybe a handful.
I expect most people would want to prevent all smoke related deaths, 
not set a minimum of acceptable deaths.

From CDC -

(The 1995-1999 total) reflects the inclusion of 35,053 secondhand 
smoking-attributable heart disease deaths and slightly higher 
smoking-related RRs for cancers, respiratory diseases, and infant 
conditions. The number of smoking-attributable deaths would have been 
greater if smoking prevalence among men, women, and pregnant women had 
not declined since the early 1990s.

We have no recourse for children whose health is impacted by parental 
smoking. I cannot sue my mother because her smoking during my infancy 
may have caused me to require many ear operations as a child and 
ongoing complications as an adult 


Smoking bans are an attempt to regulate consensual behavior on the 
part of adults. Saying that a smoking ban would protect children is 
disingenuous in the absence of more serious sanctions for parents who 
smoke at home around children.
C. United States Supreme Court Case Law
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the harm to be considered
from secondhand smoke includes both present harm and possible future 
harm.

Accordingly, family courts have an unqualified duty to consider the 
dangers of
secondhand smoke to all children within their care, regardless of the 
condition of their
health. In Helling v. McKinney, the high Court ruled that a state 
prisoner’s complaint
stated a justiciable cause of action. The prisoner alleged that the 
secondhand smoke of
other inmates constituted an unreasonable risk to his health, 
involuntarily subjecting
him to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth 
Amendment to the
United States Constitution. The Court held that the prisoner’s claim 
was properly
based upon possible future harm to health as well as present harm.

Because children are like prisoners to the extent they are “captive” 
within the
homes of their parents, secondhand smoke is a danger to those

http://www.law.arizona.edu/Journals/ALR/ALR2003/vol453/Chinnock.pdf.


Personally I think this smoking ban discussion is distracting. Let's 
focus on a far more serious health threat: Motor vehicles. 43,000 
people a year are killed by motor vehicles.
By serious do you mean total numbers killed or more serious threat to 
health?

During 1995--1999, smoking caused an annual average of 264,087 deaths 
among men and 178,311 deaths among women in the United States (CDC 
report).

Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
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Re: [Mpls] Smoking ban in Minneapolis

2004-05-06 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Thursday, May 6, 2004, at 02:35 PM, Jeremy Wieland wrote:
Some service workers are going to choose to work with smoke, others 
are not.  The notion here is let
some people pick their own destiny.  My suggestion does not actually 
fit any
of the concerns raised below.

Smokers are looking for a place where, flat out, non-smokers are not
invited.  We have gay bars and vegetarian restaurants where heteros 
and meat
eaters can still go, they just stick out.

The world doesn't end if we decide that 12 places are smoke friendly 
and you
go there at your own risk.  I don't see that limiting the opportunity 
for
non-smokers to cook or wait tables.  What's more, if you sell permits 
for
smoking it creates a desperately needed revenue source for the city 
while
allowing the municipality to discourage smoking.
If business owners of establishments where the public is invited know 
they will be subject to injury claims they will hesitate to hire even 
willing workers. As we have seen from tobacco suits, former smokers and 
their survivors are winning against tobacco companies. The idea that a 
person is willing and therefore holds others harmless can change over 
time. For former smokers what was not known were the addictive 
properties of the tobacco product. For workers it will be the extent of 
the danger to their health.

The amount of signage, exemptions and assurances that the establishment 
would have to have would never be enough to ward off later suits.

Smoking is a legal activity that those over the age of 18 may choose to 
engage in. This choice will not extend to licensing the smoker to 
endanger others with his or her choice because the public and private 
liability for doing so will be too great. This is not a concept based 
on opinion. This is based on scientific evidence and medical research.

For the business owner, this is a business decision with weighed risks. 
For the individual tobacco user, it is the very difficult choice of 
quitting or continuing. For those within range of the smoker's 
environment, the response will depend on the status of the individual. 
Obviously, children will have no rights except in unusual cases. (There 
are some cases of sick children being removed from homes where smoking 
is relentless and omnipresent).

But for workers, if some do volunteer, the development of the case law 
is unlikely to bar them from seeking recourse at a later time in their 
lives.

Best,
Laura
Southeast Minneapolis
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
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Re: [Mpls] Smoking ban in Minneapolis

2004-05-06 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Thursday, May 6, 2004, at 11:24 AM, Mike Skoglund wrote:
For that matter, given all the arguments that are flying around, are
there definitive answers on (1) health risks of second-hand smoke; or
(2) the effect of a smoking ban on various businesses.
I've always assumed that second-hand smoke has some sort of dangerous
effect, but I don't know for sure. I'd feel more comfortable
advocating
a change in law based on cancer risks than stinky overcoats.

Two snips from the EPA site: (Note - tobacco companies attempted to sue
EPA over this ruling but failed).

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/
etsbro.html#Secondhand%20smoke%20can%20cause%20lung%20cancer%20in%20nons
mokers.

Secondhand Smoke Can Cause Lung Cancer in Nonsmokers
* Secondhand smoke has been classified by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) as a known cause of lung cancer in humans
(Group A carcinogen).
* Passive smoking is estimated by EPA to cause approximately 3,000 lung
cancer deaths in nonsmokers each year.

Secondhand Smoke is a Serious Health Risk to Children
* The developing lungs of young children are also affected by exposure
to secondhand smoke.
* Infants and young children whose parents smoke are among the most
seriously affected by exposure to secondhand smoke, being at increased
risk of lower respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and
bronchitis. EPA estimates that passive smoking is responsible for
between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in
infants and children under 18 months of age annually, resulting in
between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year.
* Children exposed to secondhand smoke are also more likely to have
reduced lung function and symptoms of respiratory irritation like
cough, excess phlegm, and wheeze.
* Passive smoking can lead to buildup of fluid in the middle ear, the
most common cause of hospitalization of children for an operation.
* Asthmatic children are especially at risk. EPA estimates that
exposure to secondhand smoke increases the number of episodes and
severity of symptoms in hundreds of thousands of asthmatic children.
EPA estimates that between 200,000 and 1,000,000 asthmatic children
have their condition made worse by exposure to secondhand smoke.
Passive smoking may also cause thousands of non-asthmatic children to
develop the condition each year.

---
I added this snip because it is a strong personal concern. Children
don't go into bars but they sure do go into restaurants. Their small
lungs are far more susceptible as this quote shows.

Best,
Laura
Southeast Minneapolis

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Re: [Mpls] Smoking ban in Minneapolis

2004-05-06 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, May 5, 2004, at 04:12 PM, WizardMarks wrote:
Jeremy Wieland wrote:
Given that there are smokers, and that smokers seek out smoking
environments, why not either pass an "all or nothing" ordinance, or 
provide
for a finite number of "smoking establishments."

WM: What about established restaurants whose business, built up over a 
couple of generations from virtually nothing to a restaurant that 
supports a family and provides 50+ jobs to the community.

WizardMarks, Central
All smoking or some smoking in places where the public is served both 
expose workers to environmental smoke, a liability for the owner and a 
health risk for the workers.

Establishments of business have to consider the health of their workers 
(and themselves) when deciding whether to allow smoking in their 
establishments. The right of workers to seek damages has been 
acknowledged in case law so the likelihood that more businesses will be 
forced to consider the health of their workers is greater in today's 
environment.

Most discussion around the needs and wants of the customers have to 
take this into consideration. And, so far, the literature is showing 
that public policy and lawmaking around curbing public smoking does 
reduce diseases and deaths from smoking -- and encourages more people 
to quit or not start as well.

Can't wait for Minneapolis to take this up.
Best,
Laura
Southeast Minneapolis
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
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Re: [Mpls] Hostile business environment in Minneapolis

2004-04-26 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Sunday, April 25, 2004, at 05:27 PM, Victoria Heller wrote:

"LGA support to the largest revenue producing entity in the state - 
the City
of Minneapolis,..."

Vicky here:

Why would Minneapolis need welfare (Local Government Aid) if it's 
generating
surpluses?  Producing revenue means nothing if one spends considerably 
more
than one brings in.
LGA is not welfare to Minneapolis. LGA is Minneapolis' own taxes paid 
coming back to the community to support vital public services.

The state has no income of its own except grants from the Feds and 
revenues collected from throughout the state. It then dispenses these 
back throughout the state. (o.k. the odd return on investments).

If the playing field is going to change - i.e. fewer taxes coming back 
to Minneapolis, then as the Gov is saying - local taxes will have to be 
raised IN ADDITION to  the LGA returns. How much is the question.

Last time I looked, Minneapolis was sending in 16% of all the state 
taxes collected. That's a hunk in anybody's book.

But now the burbs and rurals are treating us like undeserving scum. 
Don't you think we should get better returns on our own money?

Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
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Re: [Mpls] PEACE FOUNDATION

2004-04-22 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Thursday, April 22, 2004, at 11:05 AM, Andy Driscoll wrote:

My own concern with the PEACE Foundation site is that, alongside a
list of
very noble community action and coalition issue goals is a very
transparent
paean to Don Samuels as an individual. That personal and political
promotion
effort mitigates severely the more laudable issues focus the site
seeks to
use for coalition-building. It smacks just a bit much as a re-election
promotion and personal glorification effort. Too bad.
Unfortunately, we are awash in hoo haw because of the election year --
not referring to Don Samuels specifically, who I find to be a genuinely
concerned and caring person. He needs to take a sniff test of the
ethics associated with managing his foundation but I've no reason to
preemptively suspect bad intentions.

However, some other elected officials in our fair city are already
parading out the flyers, chest beating, finger pointing, and general
braying that makes the uninformed quite queasy.

I realize these elected officials feel they always have to play to the
galleries and strive for the odd inch of coverage in the Strib, but I
feel pretty creeped out that this is all happening so early.

I think it might be time for the shameless self promotion award to go
out to some of these people who are scaring away new participants in
public service in Minneapolis.

Just a thought.

Best,

Laura
Southeast Minneapolis

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Re: [Mpls] Spring has sprung and so have the thugs

2004-04-21 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, April 21, 2004, at 12:41 AM, Dyna Sluyter wrote:
So on the first warm night of spring these drug dealers, thieves,
gangbangers, etc. come out and ply their sick trades, assuming the
usual "catch and release" treatment if even they get hauled off to
jail. Imagine there surprise when the get cuffed and loaded on a Metro
Transit bus following a police sweep up and down 26th, Chicago, and
all the other notorious avenues. The buses fill up and drive right
into a massive empty hall in our Convention Center complex.

Those who want to get some sleep tonight wisely plead guilty and get
back on the busses for a ride to "Camp Minneapolis" Those remaining
are shown a quick video of their offenses, and most wisely change
there plea and catch the next bus. Those insisting on their day in
court will get it sometime around dawn... there are no plea bargains
here.
There are several countries where something like this does happen
regularly. As long as we tolerate a very skewed economic privilege for
the few while large numbers are left out, we will have subrosa cash
economies that function outside the law.

That's not to say it's okay to be a crook. But we have paid a huge
price in our society to have what we have. Start locking up petty
criminals and the next step is a strongly nationalistic society in
which those we fear will be the police instead of the crooks, or thugs
as it is put.

I'm all for a better criminal justice system that starts with good day
care, goes on to excellent kindergarten preparedness, and full funding
for public schools, and on to great post secondary education. That will
fix those criminals. They won't know what hit them.

Best,

Laura
Southeast Minneapolis

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Re: [Mpls] Tossing bottles/broken glass

2004-04-16 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

This is quite an observation!

On Friday, April 16, 2004, at 02:51 PM, WizardMarks wrote:
All of us who live in this general area (So. Phillips, Central,
Powderhorn, Corcoran) have worked our fannies off to change this stuff
for a very long time.
Another observation: gangbangers throw litter to lead a trail through
the streets to themselves. Any corner where street dealers want to
work, they nest in. Litter, self created, along with urine, condoms,
chicken bones, pizzas, etc. are their nest building materials. It's a
form of urban guerilla warfare.
Except, I'd spell that gorilla. We often feel that we are so distant
from our close cousins in the ape world that we can't possibly have
behavioral crossovers. But I think Wizard is onto something with the
nest building.

When archeologists dig up old living areas, invariably there are refuse
pits. So neatness counted even back then. Yet we know from living
cultures (stilt houses for example) that refuse and dung can also be
used to ward off predators. So there is that nest building aspect.

I guess the question is, what is the behavior we are looking at? It
isn't helpful to me to say people are responsible and they need to fall
in line.

On the one hand small communities of humans always seem to desire order
and compliance so the community can live together harmoniously. That's
what we have to work on in our neighborhoods.

But when community is fractured and neighborhoods lack cohesion and
identity the junk yard dogs move in with their nest building.

Thanks Wiz, for the inspired insight.

Best,

Laura

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Re: [Mpls] Bus Strike Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

2004-04-14 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Tuesday, April 13, 2004, at 05:36 PM, md wrote:

Wasn't it great to hear Peter Bell's cloyingly excessive praise of
Pawlenty's role in resolving the strike?  Maybe he helped, maybe
he didn't...but the brown-nosing was totally unnecessary.
Word on the street is that Bell is up for a bigger job if he does this 
strike right. So maybe it wasnecessary.

Best,

Laura
Southeast Minneapolis


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Re: [Mpls] Walmart & Minneapolis

2004-04-13 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Tuesday, April 13, 2004, at 04:51 PM, Sean Ryan wrote:

Wal-Mart

I for one despise the City of St. Anthony for their willingness to
sell their souls to Wal-Mart in exchange for the almighty tax dollar.
Although the project is not in Minneapolis, the effect of the store
will be felt by all of the small retailers that have led a revival in
NE Minneapolis.

So, if anyone wants to lead a protest, sign campaign or leaflet drop
I am here to volunteer. Let's make Wal-Mart feel like the bad neighbor
they are, bad for Minneapolis and bad for St. Anthony Village.
I doubt we will ever see a Wal-Mart within Minneapolis but they will
infiltrate the naive tax hungry first ring suburbs.

It is consumer indifference that feeds these companies, so check out
your local shops! Local stores give more to the community than any
multi-national corporation can.
Here is a L.A. Times snip I sent to someone off line. Apparently given
a choice, voters aren't always the indifferent consumers they might
seem to be.

The vote was April 6

A bid by the world's largest corporation to bypass uncooperative
elected officials and take its aggressive expansion plans to voters
failed Tuesday, as Inglewood residents overwhelmingly rejected
Wal-Mart's proposal to build a colossal retail and grocery center
without an environmental review or public hearings.

With all votes counted Tuesday evening, 4,575 Inglewood residents had
voted in favor of Wal-Mart's plan, while 7,049 had voted against it.

Wal-Mart hopes to break into California's grocery business by opening
40 such Supercenters statewide. The one in Inglewood would have been
Los Angeles County's first.

-end snip-

Wal-Mart is targeting the cities big time after sucking the life out of
the rural South. This is no small deal for Minneapolis.

Best,

Laura
Southeast and I have never darkened a Wal-Mart door.
Want hardware? Visit friendly Oak's Hardware!
Laura Waterman Wittstock
MIGIZI Communications, Inc.
3123 East Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612.721.6631 ext 219
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Re: [Mpls] Tossing bottles/broken glass

2004-04-13 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Saturday, April 10, 2004, at 02:20 PM, WizardMarks wrote:

For the very poor, totally dissed population, refusing to comply is
their only power--the power to say no to social constraints. It's not
poor upbringing so much as bitterness, bone deep fatigue, and an
exercise of the only power available to them.

Generally I agree with Wizard but I think a little more reference is
needed on this observation. I do think people litter as a refusal to
comply with perceived authority. However, those that choose this
demonstration of defiance are well represented in the middle classes.
My experience with litterers who come and go from the corner grocery
store and who indulge in university student excesses are in the main
from the middle class.

My explanation is that our society very broadly has given signals of
its acceptance of individuality and satisfying immediate urges. This
propensity has gotten us into trouble from time to time but generally
speaking, Americans highly value individual freedoms and this occurs
across the economic spectrum. Obedience, to the extent that it is
connected to things we may feel interfere with our personal freedom,
does get rejected. I think littering fits into our broad acceptance of
personal freedom and impulse behavior. So rich and poor alike act
impulsively while observing if acceptance occurs in their immediate
environments (family, neighborhood, peers).

Just this morning a very young man faced me across the intersection
near Marcy School, awaiting a red light to change. I was going
straight, he was turning left, but before the light changed he began
moving his front wheels in the direction of his intent. He was talking
on a cell phone and looking forward into blank middle space. So when
the light changed, I just sat there as he hit the gas and screeched
into a left turn. I did make eye contact to try to let him know that he
took an unnecessary chance, but no one was at home. Was that the same
as tossing bottles? Yes, I would say so.

It is real tough for me to say teachers have to change this, parents
are responsible, television is responsible, or any other one thing. An
education effort would help a lot, but it needs to be broad based. The
whole city of Minneapolis would need to take on littering as a major
campaign and work on it. We would have to do this over a period of time
so the "Minneapolis value" of clean streets is broadly accepted.

I'm all for trying, in any case.

Best,

Laura Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis

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Re: [Mpls] Tossing bottles/broken glass

2004-04-06 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Tuesday, April 6, 2004, at 12:13 PM, Emilie Quast wrote:

To state what worries me, in the boulevards broken glass is a hazard
to my
feet in sandals and to my dog's footpads, and ditto for passers-by.
In
the front lawn and boulevards, we have a potentially lethal missle if
glass
isn't picked up before the lawn mower spews it out (at how many MPH?),
plus I like to go barefoot and so does the dog. On the playground, it
WILL
be found--hopefully not in some kid's chin, hand or knee, but that's
where
I expect it to end up.

I'm also in Southeast. We have two family homes on the same block. Not
far from Joe's (Southeasters will know where this is). And so we get a
large quantity of thrown items as people leave Joe's store and start
chucking wrappers, cans, and bottles out the window.

I followed a car once that had stopped and showed the young man the can
he had just thrown out his window. I told him he was to use waste
receptacles in the future. He actually agreed.

But, here's what we do. We pick up constantly 52/12 winter and summer.
We pick up the items tossed in neighbors' yards when we see them. We
pick up items in the street when we see them.

One of my favorite tricks is to pick up the item right after it is
thrown so the tosser can see me picking it up. It is just a mini lesson
that will change the behavior of a tiny few in the future.

That's the deal. It is convenient to have a store in the neighborhood.
But the cost is litter and lots of it.

When UM student party season is in full swing (summer, breaks, and
holidays) we get the cans and bottles but also the poopies. That is
definitely horrible to dispose of.

I'm guessing we will have to organize more pick up details that range
beyond our immediate block. An ordinance would be tough to enforce
where the rate of tossing is so high (at least in my neighborhood). A
citywide campaign would be nice.

Sigh.

Best,

Laura Wittstock

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Re: [Mpls] Urban Ventures Colin Powell Center Sponsor Portrays Central as the "Hood"

2004-04-06 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Tuesday, April 6, 2004, at 11:05 AM, Eva Young wrote:

Some of the pictures are of kids playing in the neighborhood but 
others just show a very negative view of the area.  Included in these 
photos are a photo of a House that had recently burned.

This type of portrayal of these Neighborhoods is not accurate - and 
focuses on the problems without focusing on successes.


Urban Ventures should be seeking private funding for their project - 
in the same way that Mary Jo Copeland is seeking private funding for 
her youth center in Eagan.

How does Urban Ventures numbers for reversing this trend of high 
dropout rates for African American males compare to other programs 
that try to intervene in the same way?
-

There are a couple of good points here.

We have to look, and look well at some of the big ideas that parachute 
into our communities advertised as "help" to focus on long standing 
needs. We have Urban Ventures, and now the Beehive, and the Itasca 
Project. Well meaning? Perhaps. But the big ideas coming from powerful 
individuals also have the opinion that they know better than we do what 
is best for our neighborhoods and our communities.

And, there is the idea to take things private while the public schools 
and the public libraries get cut.

True, they want money thrown at the problem, but with that comes their 
idea of how to solve the problem. They have the answer for us. That's 
the Achilles' heel in all these big ideas.

We have had other big ideas, such as Success by Six. Who knew that the 
agenda was anti-choice?

And any number of apprentice, job creation, job training, youth 
empowerment, etc. etc. ideas coming from places like the Chamber of 
Commerce that were supposed to help kids in the neighborhoods do better.

Today, we have even less distribution of wealth than when these schemes 
were hatched in the 1980s. Today, wealth is concentrated among fewer 
individuals.

But those few think they know what is going to solve the neighborhood 
problems.

Don't want to be today's flavor of guinea pig? Don't want to live in a 
company town?

Then don't let the Colin Powell Trojan Horse into the neighborhood.

Best,

Laura Wittstock

Laura Waterman Wittstock
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Re: [Mpls] W. Harry Davis supports Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center

2004-04-05 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Monday, April 5, 2004, at 08:04 AM, Shawn Lewis wrote:

My deepest hope is that this post truly leads to some thoughtful
discussion on this Mpls Issue List. Thank you.
The new Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center, planned
for the Phillips-Central area of South Minneapolis, can
revive the settlement houses that flourished at the beginning
of the last century. Those settlement houses helped
immigrants, minorities and the poor learn how to enhance
their academic skills, improve their parenting, and help
their children become good citizens.
I know. I was one of those kids.
Here's my short list of reasons not to spend money on the Colin Powell
Youth Leadership Center.

1. I don't believe in naming public buildings after living people.
(I don't much care for naming them after dead people either).
2. We have a perfectly terrific center - the Sabathani Center - great
name, too. Give it the capital support instead of CPYC.

3. With all due respect to Harry Davis, an icon of our community and a
revered person for his courage and leadership, the things he lists are
the things currently done by schools, libraries, and a myriad of non
profit organizations that have decentralized the old settlement house
model to meet the needs of community members where they live. Give the
schools and libraries back the money taken away from them - that's a
better idea.

4. The last thing we need in Minneapolis is a revision of the old
noblesse oblige model of charity. Settlement houses ruled from ten
miles up. No local controls. Don't we want community control and
responsiveness? Don't we want the center to reflect what Minneapolis is
all about, not Urban Ventures or Colin Powell? Colin Powell might be a
perfectly nice person but why would he lend his name to a center in
Minneapolis? Why not Harlem, NY? There is some weird stuff going on if
we have to have an outside eminence gris model to teach kids and
"minorities" how to enhance etc and become good citizens - in
Minneapolis.

Best,

Laura

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Re: [Mpls] Planetarium, Library Cuts but Let's Fund two Stadiums

2004-03-17 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, March 17, 2004, at 12:29 PM, Eva Young wrote:
As far as Pawlenty's claim that if the stadiums aren't here (paid for
by the taxpayers) people wouldn't have anything to do. That's
ludicrous and suggests the Governor has very little imagination.
There are many parks to visit, theaters and concerts to attend, sports
leagues to participate in.

And heck - I can't go to my local library Pierre Bottineau on a
Saturday any more - but Mayor Rybak wants to give a government subsidy
to a Twins stadium?
I know it all sounds like alphabet soup, but the LGA (local government
aid) cuts that forced shorter hours at Bottineau library are not the
same as TIF dollars (tax increment financing) or state bonding funds
for capital projects.

It just isn't possible to take capital dollars and use them for
operating expenses.

Laura
Southeast Minneapolis
(and in fair disclosure - the Mayor's appointee to the Mpls Library
Board).

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Re: [Mpls] Skyway News Cover Story on Crown Hydro

2004-03-17 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

On Wednesday, March 17, 2004, at 12:00 AM, Annie Young wrote:

 And for all those who are concerned about returning the area back to 
an Industrial use - hey, boys and girls - industry on that river built 
this City.  The river is a very useful creature in and of itself - we 
are all here because of it - historically speaking!
Annie

Annie, Annie, Annie -

The Dakota people were on the river when the French came. Trails had 
been cleared. Commerce was going up and down the river to St. Louis and 
on to New Orleans. They just were not called by those names.

Europeans seldom came into wild areas and made anything. They usurped 
and built on existing areas made tenable by Native people.

When we forget that, we forget what not to do in the future.

Thanks,

Laura
Southeast Minneapolis


Laura Waterman Wittstock
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Re: [Mpls] Strom says hardly anyone was taking the bus

2004-03-16 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

David Strom: "We need to find a way to help low-income workers become
less dependent upon government-run transportation, opening up to them
the thousands of jobs available around the Twin Cities. Who among the
working poor wouldn't rather have a car than depend upon the government
to provide their transportation?"

On Tuesday, March 16, 2004, at 09:41 AM, Dan McGuire wrote:

David Strom should scare the livin daylights out of everyone living in
Minneapolis. He and those creating this bus shut-down are very clearly
willing and eager to see the transit system scuttled.
Strom's statement is probably one of the more absurd opinions we are
going to see in a decade. It is quite clear that Mr. Strom has no idea
what it means to be poor and have to balance the priorities of shelter,
food, clothing, and nurturing. Some poor live in their cars but that is
not possible in Minnesota in the winter. Gas is now what, $1.80 a
gallon? Add the cost of the car, the maintenance, the insurance, and
the percent that takes of a monthly budget for a family of four making
$25,000 ($21,249.96 net of taxes) a year is 20%! ($144 for gas, $120
for car payment, $75 for insurance, $11 for maintenance).

Typically for the poor, rent is the biggest item, taking up to 40% of
the month's income. Then utilities and food account for another 40%.
That puts the choice of a car between clothing and nurturing. One
accident. A snow tow. A couple of tickets. Some flat tires. These all
spell ruin for the family.

I won't even go into the "thousands of jobs" he is speaking about. Try
spending an eight hour shift in a factory that fries potato chips all
day or extracts hazardous materials from computers.

Strom is living far, far from reality.

Laura
Southeast Minneapolis

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Re: [Mpls] Transit Strike -- What are your answers?

2004-03-12 Thread Laura Waterman Wittstock

Thomas Searles wrote:

I've checked the Met Council amended budget
for 2003. http://www.metrocouncil.org/resources/AnnualReport2003.pdf
http://www.metrocouncil.org/directions/development/levy.htm
The Met Council had revenue totaling $579 million of which they spent
$218
million on buses, $60 million on other transportation, $102 million on
debt
service, and $71 million on 'pass through', whatever that is. Bus fares
accounted for $72 million of its revenue for 2003 (approximately 35% of
bus
cost portion of total transportation funding.

-end quote --

I suppose another alternative would be to put transit under a combined
county jurisdiction and out of the governor appointed Met Council. As
former governor Carlson pointed out, there has to be good faith
negotiation on the Council side. Taking a political stance is not the
right approach. If the agenda is to get rid of unions, the Met and
governor should try to do it legislatively in the sunshine and not by
the back door method of refusing to negotiate legitimately.

Best wishes,

Laura Waterman Wittstock
Southeast Minneapolis

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