Re: [Mpls] Is it True?: If McLaughlin win Jackie Cherryhomes will become his Chief of Staff
On 10/21/05, Shawn Lewis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > After the mayoral forum last night at the Mpls Urban League, > two different attendees informed me that if Peter McLaughlin > wins the election, He will make former City Council > President, Jackie Cherryhomes, his new Chief of Staff. I > don't know if this true or not? Isn't it a felony for a candidate to promise specific individuals staff positions prior to an election? From http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/211B/13.html _ 211B.13 Bribery, treating, and solicitation. Subdivision 1. Bribery, advancing money, and treating prohibited. A person who willfully, *directly or indirectly*, advances, pays, gives, promises, or lends any money, food, liquor, clothing, entertainment, or other thing of monetary value, or who offers, promises, or endeavors to obtain any money, *position*, *appointment*, *employment*, or other valuable consideration, to or for a person, in order to induce a voter to refrain from voting, or to vote in a particular way, at an election, is guilty of a felony. This section does not prevent a candidate from stating publicly preference for or support of another candidate to be voted for at the same primary or election. Refreshments of food or nonalcoholic beverages of nominal value consumed on the premises at a private gathering or public meeting are not prohibited under this section. [emphasis added] _____ Am I missing something? -Michael Libby, Cleveland neighborhood, North Minneapolis. REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] RE: Another DT restaurant closes
On 10/20/05, Michael Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Here is a link to the BLS data on (un)employment in metro areas. Oops!. Here's the link I spoke of, but forgot to include: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/metro_09282005.pdf > Scroll down. You'll notice that Minneapolis/St. Paul shows marked > improvment in unemployment rates for July/August 2005 over July/August > 2004. It also shows a shrinking of the civilian labor force in that > time--meaning that if the number of jobs remained constant, the number > of jobs per worker went up. Minneapolis and other Minnesota data is on page 8 of the PDF file. -Michael Libby, Cleveland neighborhood, North Minneapolis. REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] RE: Another DT restaurant closes
On 10/20/05, Andy Driscoll <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > What claptrap. Lovely opening. > Restaurants are opening and closing all the time and we have > more restaurants than we could possibly support in this metro area in any > event. We have more restaurants than we could possibly support? Then why is the city of Minneapolis promoting the building of new ones like the ones in Block E. The several new restaurants in Block E (including one, I believe, that has an upscale version of the Olive Garden menu) have been subsidized by the taxpayer. I doubt Olive Garden had the City spending six million dollars to move a theater out of the way so they could locate their restaurant where they wanted--as did the Hard Rock Cafe. I think the most likely reason Olive Garden went down was that a much nicer restaurant opened in Block E with a similar menu (see: http://www.bellanottempls.com/ for more info). Bellanotte has a patio and a gorgeous space overlooking fountains and pleasant sidewalks Hmmm. Where would I rather spend my hard-earned money? The place with discounted parking in the basement or the place across the street from an abandoned building (aka Shubert Theater, which to this day appears to be nothing more than an empty building). Tough call! > For most good restaurants, the smoking ban has boosted business. > Alcohol sales dip when smokers can't smoke. Alcohol sales slumps in bars is > hardly something to cry about. So you admit that your goal in promoting anti-freedom, anti-smoking ordinances was not just to limit exposure of willing participants to second hand smoke, but to have a negative impact on alcohol sales? > Moreover, a quick check of the economic barometers will reveal that all > business everywhere is down. The economy is back in a slump. Jobs are scarce > - and getting more scarce as time goes on. When all this happens you can > watch a geometric increase in what are already pockets of poverty in the > shadows of affluence in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Wow. Here is a link to the BLS data on (un)employment in metro areas. Scroll down. You'll notice that Minneapolis/St. Paul shows marked improvment in unemployment rates for July/August 2005 over July/August 2004. It also shows a shrinking of the civilian labor force in that time--meaning that if the number of jobs remained constant, the number of jobs per worker went up. The Strib is running an article today online that is headlined "Storm Fail to Hamper Economic Activity" Highlights include references to retail sales being up and new home construction being up. (http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5679440.html) Do you have better data to support your assertion that we can blame the economy in general at this time and not the smoking ban? Earlier you said that restaurants and bars were opening and closing all the time and that the Olive Garden closing was not notable. Now you say it's the economy's fault that the Olive Garden is going out of business. Meaning that any increase in restaurant closings (which you just said wasn't happening) is not the result of tinkering with the marketplace by imposing Prohibition style laws on consenting adults, but rather a consequence of an economic slump (the existence of which you haven't given any evidence to support). So which is it, nothing to see here or the economy? Or you don't care either way because you hope to see all businesses that ever allowed smoking or sell alcohol go out of business? -Michael Libby, Cleveland neighborhood, North Minneapolis. REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Building A Better Bike Path
On 10/18/05, Matty Lang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> (dreaming of the day when we'll be debating the merits
> of expanding bicycle lanes to accomodate congestion on
> the paths).
Why?
We have a superb infrastructure for biking already--goes by the name
of "roads" mostly.
While I very much like the Greenway and other bike paths in the city,
if you actually want to get somewhere (which is what I think Gary
Hoover was talking about, and which is what a "Transportation" bill
should be about), the roads are perfectly adequate!
I detest bike lanes, especially the ones in downtown Minneapolis. Who
in their right mind designs a system in which cars turning left need
to look behind themselves, to the left, to ensure they do not cut off
a cyclist? I run into this (almost literally) every day.
In my experience 99% of Minneapolis motorists are fantastically
courteous to cyclists. I almost never feel any threat from simply
riding on the roads in the "vehicular" fashion. Sure, I need to drive,
er, ride defensively. But that's par for the course when using the
roadways.
The only motorists who've ever yelled at me have *all* done so when I
was riding legally, following the rules of the road. And from their
comments it is clear they think I do not belong on the road with my
bike ("Not a car!" is a pretty clear statement).
Therefore, because many drivers already have this idea that bikes
don't belong on the roads, I have to conclude that continued attempts
to segregate bicyclists from other road users is
counterproductive--especially in Minneapolis, where it has resulted in
insanities like the downtown bike lanes. Reworking existing roadways
with an eye to making them more bikable would be very productive
however.
So while I'm happy to see that there is interest in promoting cycling,
I'm not a fan at all of spending large sums of tax money to build more
bike lanes and bike paths (except as part of our park systems where
the excellent recreational bike paths we have seem to be money well
spent--just like the money well spent on soccer fields, playground
equipment, and baseball diamonds).
Bike lanes give motorists the idea that bikes aren't full users of the
roads. Bike paths even moreso. And bike paths pose a unique set of
safety hazards because they tend not to follow the normal patterns for
traffic flow. Plus, they're often crowded with roller bladers, dog
walkers, and just plain pedestrians. And they're posted with a speed
limit of 10 MPH, which is ridiculously slow for any cyclist over the
age of ten. While I'm aware that the Greenway is being used
productively as a "bike highway" the general approach of segregating
cyclists simply makes it harder for bikes to use the roads when they
need to.
One thing we could do for free is change the anti-bike clause in the
traffic code that requires bikes to stay as far to the right as
"practicable". This simply promotes the idea that bikes are
second-class road users--not to mention that it's confusing, since it
clearly is not intended for us to ride in the gutter, or so close to
parked cars that we are in danger from opening car doors. Just give us
the right to a whole lane, unequivocally. Is it possible for
Minneapolis to do this, or does state law override? I know when I've
been in San Francisco they have signs reminding everyone that cyclists
are entitled to full use of the lane. Seems like a good example to
follow. We do have some "Share the Road" signs here (which show the
car passing awfully close to the cyclist, by the way), but it's a far
cry from simply giving cyclists a full legal right to be first-class
road users.
-Michael Libby, Cleveland neighborhood, North Mpls
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Re: [Mpls] RE: BRT and Lowry Avenue North
> Has anyone actually heard of any reason given for > why Lowry would be preferable to West Broadway for a BRT route? I can think of one, but it doesn't require any special effort. Run a real bus line along Lowry from parkway to parkway. The route there now is a "get-people-to-work" bus that doesn't even run on weekends. If you don't work 9-to-5 or you want to use the bus for anything besides work, this bus system is fundamentally broken, and that sort of thing is just a symptom of it. > BRT is proposed to run on Lowry Avenue North and on West Broadway. > This is not a case of "them vs. us". The redevopment of Lowry Avenue > will be from the city limits to the city limits, east to west. The > west end, 94 to Wirth Parkway will Phase One. The Lowry Avenue > redevelopment project is not a myth, nor is what is being proposed, > including BRT, a secret. There have been numerous opportunities for > public comment from start, to date, as the project has gone forward. I am not sure why this particular piece of mass transit needs a fancy acronym. The existing transit options on that corridor are not even being used to their fullest potential. And if the BRT proposal includes crossing the river, is this just another weekday-workday plan or is it going to be a serious effort to provide transit options? FWIW, I can't find the plan. www.lowryave.com links to the Henn Co site, but it comes up 404. Anyone happen to know the latest and greatest URL? -Michael Libby (Cleveland/North Mpls) TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] more on surveillance
http://www.dcwatch.com/issues/privacy07.htm has an excellent write-up related to a proposal to implement cameras in DC. While I disagree with some small pieces of the author's positions the key points he makes are salient: 1) Cameras are not effective in fighting crime 2) Cameras are a diversion from more effective crime prevention techniques 3) Cameras can be used to invade privacy (and here is where we diverge somewhat-- I don't believe we can expect to be "anonymous" or "private" in the midst of a large public area)-- the concern that the tech will be expanded to thermal scanning, infrared, or facial recognition is of concern, however) 4) Cameras are subject to abuse While I consider 1 & 2 to be of great importance, especially in a time of belt-tightening, we need to be wary of false efficiencies, the abuse is of concern... and the public's ability to see how these cameras are being used-- not just when the"tapes" turn up at trials, but all day, every day-- is the only deterrent to some of the known and recurrent abuses that already occur with existing camera systems. The cameras are already everywhere (in the hands of private corporations, located on private property). Will be allowed to watch too? -Michael Libby, Cleveland neighborhood/North Mpls TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Target Downtown Surveillance / North Target
On Wed, 4 Jun 2003 17:49:16 -0500 Michael Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I doubt there are any legal issues to solve, Channel 5 TV has had a > web cam pointed at Nicollet Ave for a few years now. I remember trying > to use it to watch the BioWhateverItWas protest and police action. Apologies... this cam was at www.channel4000.com, which I believe is or was associated with WCCO (channel 4), not channel 5. The cam is gone now-- at least I can't find it at this time. I assume it's a casualty of the fading of the web cam fad. -Michael Libby, Cleveland neighborhood, North Mpls. TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Target Downtown Surveillance / North Target
apolis? And what makes them so much worse than Target? [back to Tim] TB> It's been suggested that the output from these cameras could be TB> made available on the internet... I think that maintaining the TB> web bandwidth to broadcast all these camera video streams could be TB> costly for the city. More costly than the FOIA requests I (or others) might make? If I am being photographed by my government when I am on Nicollet Mall (where I walk frequently), then I have as much right to review that information as I do to review my FBI file or any of a host of other government documents, no? The enemy of democracy is a government that operates behind closed doors. And from a practical standpoint, I doubt these cams would generate that much traffic. If the system is already going to be digital, the cost to host these kinds of images where the public can view them would not be prohibitive in the least. Perhaps we could go to Target with tin cup in hand for this aspect of the project as well? In spite of all this, I do think BigBrotherCam is of dubious value. I doubt it will have any real effect on crime and I do think at some point it will be abused (in much the same way "undercover" cops are reportedly infiltrating peace and justice organizations). However, any such abuse would just be part of a larger pattern of abuse, so it is not the cameras (in my mind) that are the issue, but the abuse. The police already seem to be abusing the real civil liberties of the people of Minneapolis, so why the outcry when they start abusing "rights" we don't actually have? -Michael Libby, Cleveland neighborhood/North Mpls. NOTE: In Minneapolis dancing on the streets is illegal. I quote from the City Code: "427.240. Dancing on streets. No person shall dance or engage or participate in any dancing upon any public street or highway in the city... except at a block party." In Minneapolis, you may bring your gun to church, but you may not dance on the streets. TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] Mpls tech issues
I am simply amazed. 1) Rep. Kahn is still trying to pimp WiFi in the parks and public spaces. I already have wireless internet with me everywhere I go: it's a $3/mo service add-on to my cell phone. The best part is I need no big heavy $1000+ laptop to use it. Of course, as a cell phone add-on it's somewhat limited, but I could have very well written this email using it, so it's not just a toy feature. I'm pretty sure I'm a bigger geek than Rep. Kahn. Even so, I strongly disagree that one red cent of Minneapolis tax-payer money should go to providing wireless internet access free of charge in Minneapolis' public spaces. We're laying off schoolteachers and cops for cripe's sake! Half of our kids don't graduate, now how the heck are they supposed to able to be out buying laptop computers, wireless network cards, and all that on minimal wage service industry jobs. I'll tell you what: if I showed up at the park nearest my house trying to play on an expensive laptop computer I'd spend most of my time worrying that someone was going to come over and laptopjack me... either that or they'd see me as an easy panhandling mark, considering the park's proximity to a liquor store. If Minneapolis and Minnesota want to be techno-progressive, now is the time for us to take a public stand in favor of Free Software (that's free as in free speech, not as in free internet access in the parks-- see www.gnu.org for much more information and www.debian.org for an entire operating system made of Free Software). The savings on license expenses alone have the potential to make up for Brookfield's loan defaults (did they ever pay up, btw?). I don't see any reason why the City of Minneapolis couldn't simply offer the "node" rights to a private firm or even a set of firms to provide wireless access for a fee. Barring that, many cell phone companies offer data services. I think there aren't many in this area, which kind of tells you that maybe there isn't as much interest in it here. How about this vision I'm having of more people driving around yakking on a cell phone in one hand, coffee mug in the other, pistol under the seat, laptop propped against the steering wheel, now they'll be able to what, surf porn, while waiting in rush hour traffic or road construction? Will they instant message the finger to the guy who just cut them off? 2) Target and BigBrotherCam. Wow! In the city of Minneapolis the police have been known to interfere with the right of citizens to photograph and document police activity. I think before the police get more cameras, us regular folks should be allowed to use our own. And so Target, who can't afford to keep their crummy North Side branch open, can afford to donate surveillance equipment for the purposes of trying to make downtown Minneapolis competitive with the Maul of America? *boggle* I like the ideas of Steve Mann and his use of wearable computers to "Shoot Back" (see http://wearcam.org/shootingback.html)... and I hate to say it, but Mann's cyborg projects would definitely benefit from public wireless access. It's not that I have my dander up over my right to walk around downtown unobserved-- more like, why should the few watch the many when things would be so much more interesting if we empowered the many to watch whatever they felt like they should watch? If there are cameras downtown (and there's already so many I'm surprised to hear we need more), I at least want to watch too! I certainly hope we'll be seeing a web cam site for these things, I suggest the URL: http://www.bigbrotheriswatching.ci.minneapolis.mn.us. :) -Michael Libby, Cleveland neighborhood. TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Who's Responsible For Our Traffic Control Mess
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Wednesday 23 October 2002 21:53, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Ever notice how poorly designed/operated out city traffic control system > is? No. I never did notice this. Is it something that other cities our size are getting right and we have completely screwed up? I haven't noticed the difference, but I don't get out much (and when I do I love taking advantage of mass transit in other big cities-- so much less time spent being lost or fighting traffic and so much more time to enjoy the scenery and people watch and stuff). > You can probably travel around any part of the city and find several > locations where the signal timing, lack of light coordination, lack of a > "Left Turn" function just make no logical sense at all. Signal timing and light coordination? Aren't the signals *meant* to stop people every once in a while? And a left turn function, wouldn't that require a whole separate lane down the middle to actually work? Most of the major thoroughfares where this might be useful don't have room for another lane, do they? > City politicians can pursue any agenda's they wish, but first and > foremost must be in making sure the infrastructure of the city, > including traffic control and management is consistent, adaptable, and > meets the growing needs of a major metro city. The next time your out > and about in your car, pay attention to not only traffic control at your > corner, but 1-2 blocks ahead and behind, see how it all connects good or > bad; then call your Councilman and ask him/her what they will do about > it. I won't be out or about in my car any time soon because I gave that up. But if you insist, I'll call my council[person] (or just cc her on this email) and ask her to please work on making sure the buses and trains get the support they need to actually be a workable piece of our infrastructure. As I understand it, these are amenities that most world-class cities have these days and our bus system seems to be barely holding the fort and our train system is (as yet) non-existent. Additionally mass transit enfranchises large segments of our population: the handicapped, the elderly, youth, and those whose wages won't stretch to cover car payments/repairs and insurance. Also, I am certain that drunks on the bus are annoying, but they aren't killing 45,000 of their fellow U.S. citizens every year. Auto-centric city planning disenfranchises all of these people and adds an unnecessary level of danger to all our lives. I'll also ask that she do her level best to stop encouraging driving with proposals like mandatory garages on new home construction. Encouraging car ownership by designing the city around cars simply, ahem, drives up the cost of living. Now with places like Stone Arch being allowed to define "affordable housing" using prices that are equal to 50% of 50% of the residents gross income, I'm not even sure how the majority of us will be able to afford both housing and automobiles. I guess if the City has leftover money from revenues directly related to transportation I would encourage it to put them towards mass transit first, then work on minor issues like signal timing and left turn lanes. The only place in the city I've ever had trouble driving (when I was doing that) was the side streets in the Uptown area. It seems like everyone there must own a car-- and they all seem to be taking full advantage of city-subsidized parking on the streets, rather than providing themselves with off-street parking. -michael libby (cleveland/north mpls) Michael C. Libby [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.ichimunki.com/ http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE9t/mk4ClW9KMwqnMRAu3MAKCdNocUq0muV3Xe5v4TogIM+Y37DQCgjdR2 kCinvzo9rQuLibYc4C5DIhw= =7AQB -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Your Minneapolis Public Library
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Tuesday 22 October 2002 19:03, WizardMarks wrote: > What R.T. Rybak and the city council propose to do to your public > library in the name of keeping taxes low is a sin and a shame and they > should all be held to account for this travesty of the "budgeting > process." I am not going to hold RT Rybak accountable for the current budget problems. He hasn't had time to make a dent in the problems left for him by predecessors who handed him a dying Target Center, a Brookfield default, and an overwhelming pension situation. Ditto any new members of the council. We elected these people to help solve the problem while keeping taxes stable. > for a $1.5M increased budget over 2002. The proposed budget did not > allow for the library to receive any increase over last year's > allocation. This is not money for the new library. This is the cost of > day to day operations. This is the books, etc. This is people's jobs. Yet the Library Board spins this as a "loss". It's not. They then come out with a bunch of very dire sounding measures they will have to take in order to deal with this "loss". Now let's look at this "loss". In 2001, according to the annual report on the Library's own web site, they were given $18.8 from the City budget. (Although the proposed city budget had planned to give them $20 million-- is there a missing $1.2 million out there?) -- They say they received additional revenue from other sources to bring their total revenue to $23.5 million. They only spent $20.5 million. They ended the year 2001 with $3 million in hand. Nevertheless, in 2002 they were given a 9.9% increase from the City. Let me repeat that, it's important: in 2001 they had $3 million left over, but they got an increase of almost 10% anyway. Now they are asking for another increase: 6.8% (assuming they actually get the $22 million the City budget had planned to give them in 2002-- I don't have time to try to reconcile the many different library budget numbers I've seen for 2001, let alone track down partial 2002 spending to see if it's on track). > part-time employees. We would lose no fewer than 52 employees. Monday is > the busiest day of the week at all community and district libraries. If Monday is the busiest days for all those libraries then why in the honking heck is the Library Board floating closing them on Mondays to save money? If they want to close down for a weekday, how about if someone down there actually takes a look at usage patterns, and proposes closing on the day with the least traffic? > Here is the cost to you to maintain the library's budget request for > 2003: It is 1/3 cent per $1,000 of your taxed real property. I'm being > taxed at $118,000 in 2003. That means my additional tax to support > running the library for the full $1.5M is forty cents. Actually, based on dividing $1,500,000 by 382,000 citizens, if the cost were borne evenly, this increase amounts to $3.90 per person. But of course, expressed via property taxes the burden of this increase is shifted to businesses and the wealthy. But businesses will just put any increased tax expense back into their prices, or they will leave town. Ditto, apparently, the rich folks (some of whom have recently declined the Library Board's excellent offers to come join us here in the City of Lakes). -michael libby (cleveland/north Mpls) References: MPL Annual Report: http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/basics.asp City 2001/2002 Budget Info: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/citywork/city-coordinator/finance/services-budget/budget-book2002.html Michael C. Libby [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.ichimunki.com/ http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE9tpW/4ClW9KMwqnMRArfdAJ9Qpop7gRMWcwSxbW5bqtqe+1ExvACgm37H 2rJeQEVTBIhdO1zL7dVRldg= =pO7S -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Light rail farecard machines to be in three languages? Free riders??
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Monday 21 October 2002 15:26, Jennifer Lovaasen wrote: > For us, it's a wise business decision to include other languages. The > 2000 census estimates that about 84,000 people in the seven-county area > speak Spanish at home, nearly 40,000 speak Hmong and about 21,000 speak > African languages, including Somali. > The final decision has not been made yet. The issue will be addressed > by the Metropolitan Council's Transportation Committee, which meets > Monday, October 28 at 4:00 p.m. at Mears Park Centre, 230 East 5th St., > St. Paul. Members of the public are welcome to comment. Considering the overall expense of the project I have to question the motive to save money by eliminating one of the (likely) smallest line items in the budget. I think Minneapolis is short about 100,000 residents. I don't really care where they come from, as long as they come and join us. In fact, I think it'd be quite impressive if I heard more than two "foreign" languages every day (if I don't hear Spanish and what I believe is Somali on the bus, there is a possibility that I got on the wrong route). I applaud the notion of offering signage and other information in three languages. I can't make it to the meeting, but please consider this a voice in favor. -michael libby (a resident cleveland/north mpls and a 7 days-a-week bus rider who doesn't think he can stand waiting until April 2004 to ride the train to the airport) Michael C. Libby [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.ichimunki.com/ http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE9tJ6P4ClW9KMwqnMRAvkiAJ471vbF0J4EeMBH7noc7dQmLENtmACffk0O sC8F8aTfh1adOjtCKxOfAhY= =V1RG -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Bulldozers & Affordable Housing (was Re: [Mpls] ... next block e?)
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Friday 18 October 2002 16:36, Tim Bonham wrote: > "Eager to bulldoze"? Seems like a bit of revising history > here! As I recall it, the city fought this in Court for several years. > And the whole thing was started by a lawsuit from some residents (and > community organizations), not the city. You caught me, Mr. Bonham! Please accept my apologies for distorting the story. This was due to in part to unintentionally selective memory and just plain ignorance on my part. I have done my research now. > They won the lawsuit, and now people are not happy with the result? The NAACP was a party to the original lawsuit. However, when the bulldozing had started, they were the ones filing for an injunction. Why? Because promised replacement housing was not in evidence. If one of the parties to the settlement was upset with the outcome and tried to halt it, I'd say this qualifies the city for the tag of "eager" with respect to the bulldozing. > What a surprise. How is that a surprise? > Maybe they should ask themselves that old political question: > Are you better off now than you were before this lawsuit? Perhaps the real question they should ask is: have years of allowing the DFL to have dominant control over the City made the City better off? Hint: possible answers may be gleanable from the results of recent local elections. The city has been good at bulldozing... not so good at planning and getting new buildings up. This could be why Minneapolis was only able to grow its population by 3.9% from 1990 to 2000. In that same period Hennepin County managed 8.1% grwoth (Minneapolis being the major drag here), but statewide the growth was 12.4%, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA had growth of 16.9%. (These are all numbers straight from www.census.gov). In that same decade the number of housing units available DECREASED by 2.4%, which I'd like to say is the result of some "smart growth" and increased density, but which more likely reflects the fact that owner occupied occupancy went up 4.5% (meaning: more people bought houses and condos because of great mortgage rates and a booming economy). In fact the number of renter occupied units went down 2.3%, which means that in all likelihood the people who could least afford to get squeezed in the housing market were forced out of town. (These numbers are right out of the Mpls 2001 State of the City report) That the City of Minneapolis was, for all intents and purposes, showing stagnant growth during an incredible boom to the metro area speaks volumes about the approaches taken during that period. I am heartened, however, to see so many developments of fairly dense housing going on-- so I'm hopeful that the statistics I've quoted will be much improved in 2010. I'm glad to see so much building going on in the warehouse district and the St. Anthony Main area. And while I wish I could afford to live there, I am not going to hold grudges against those who can. And although I'm not big on subsidizing development (preferring rent coupons and the like instead), I can say that I prefer to see housing built rather than stadiums and chain stores, even if the housing is not affordable to all. And let me just comment on rent coupons a bit further. What these would do is help prevent further lawsuits like Hollman by taking certain developments and, instead of requiring the developers to offer "affordable" housing units and all the red tape that goes with that (and I'm curious how well people think this actually works anyway), it allows residents to be able to afford to live where they choose, so that the promise of a truly mixed income rental population is much more likely to be a reality. As long as we're using tax money to attempt to manipulate the housing market, I think we should look at options that increase personal choice in housing, minimize bureaucracy, maximize family stability, and decentralize poverty. I think rent coupons does this better than any other proposed solution I've heard of. Just look at Mr. Goray's post about how can he get part of his duplex declared affordable housing. If his tenants qualify for that, they would qualify for rent coupons. His dilemma would be an open and shut case. Social engineering that gives immediate benefits to suppliers on the assumption that the suppliers will pass those benefits along to consumers is inherently less efficient than simply giving similar benefits directly to those consumers. It's an old technique called "cutting out the middle[person]." - -michael libby (cleveland/north mpls) ++ Michael C. Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> public key: http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt web site: http://www.ichimunki.com +
Re: [Mpls] library delayed, next block e?
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Thursday 17 October 2002 23:22, Mike Nelson wrote: > Sorry to hear of your disappointment with the interim site, but there > is just as much if not more carpeting at this site than in the old > library. I realize that, but the old site had plenty of tile... as such the floor was finished. The interim floor is unfinished. > Carpet is nice as it helps deaden a room acoustically, but beyond that > I fail to see any real benefit from it being installed in a temporary > space. For whatever reason, the interim space feels "loud" to me, and I normally don't hear that well. I guess years of working in skyrises has me expecting that cheap sectional carpet to be in a place like that rather than an unfinished floor. I fully understand that carpet is harder to clean and things like that. And really, my first day there was one of the first days the location was open. My comments were not entirely fair. And I certainly didn't want to slight the library staff-- who are amazingly helpful and friendly and I can barely imagine how hard this move has made their jobs. > The library is facing serious budget cuts, and this may be a good > place to save money. I'm pretty sure I find it confusing to hear the words "save money" in association with this project. I've seen a lot of new tech appearing at the new library, none of which looks that affordable to me. What happened to the old auto-checkout machines that I never saw anyone use, and why were they replaced with new ones that I expect will also be largely unused? Have these machines reduced the need for checkout staff in any measurable quanity? I really have to say that I doubt it. I'm also very concerned that the Library (and all City government) is spending a lot of money on newer computers and Windows and other proprietary software license fees when there are Free Software alternatives (please see http://www.gnu.org or http://www.debian.org for more information on Free Software). As an observer I don't get a lot of information about this stuff (and I do try to dig for it, but my free time is limited), so I'm sorry if I'm going off half-cocked here, but I have to question this stuff because I think there are affordable, sensible solutions that have additional long term benefits. > The word slipshod suggests carelessness and negligence. > The only evidence of this I have seen is in the deplorable working > conditions imposed on some of the employees that the public doesn't see, > a subject I won't get into right now. Again I want to sound as though I'm badmouthing the employees! I'm pretty sure that the people who've had to do the actual work of packing/unpacking, setting things up, dealing with an 400% increase in the need to help patrons find stuff, learning the new setup, etc... that those people are being stretched to their limits. I haven't got a single complaint about the librarians and other staff. > Please keep in mind the fact that this place is temporary, and most of > the people involved have never had to move a library of this size. > They are doing their best, and most are anything but careless or > negligent. Most of those people probably weren't the decision-makers who chose to move to an interim location before plans for the new location were even finalized nor-- as I understand it-- financing fully secured. > Things could be worse. In St. Paul, everyone, including the children, > was just S.O.L. while they renovated their central library. They saved a > LOT of money by not having an interim site. And I have to ask: in St. Paul had they actually gotten building plans and financing together for the new building before they went and closed the central library? My reference to Block E was deliberate. I consider that whole thing from 1987 to present a bona fide fiasco. I ride the bus past another location (the Hollman site) where the City was eager to bulldoze, but seems to be way behind schedule on replacing the homes they destroyed. I live less than a mile away from a large field of grass on a major intersection, for which I've seen development plans, but for which no development *at all* has actually been done. I don't think I'm off-kilter to worry that my beloved Minneapolis libraries will have similar problems, when they start to throw up red flags like being months behind on getting plans for the new building drawn up (the MPL site says these schematics were planned for Summer 2002). -michael libby (cleveland/north mpls) p.s. list-members: please don't "cc" me when replying on-list to a post I've made. I don't need two copies of the same message. Thanks. :) ++ Michael C. Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED
Re: [Mpls] Library director hire delayed by pay
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Thursday 17 October 2002 06:25, List Manager wrote: > "According to Anita Duckor, the key library trustee involved in the > search, neither Amdursky nor Holman was willing to accept the job for > $120,000." So they're going to violate the spirit of the law to pay someone even more than this? Forget it. No wonder they have a budget shortfall of $1.5 million. They are way overpaying somebody... never mind the kind of pension that probably goes along with a $120k annual salary. Thanks for the massive future payments, but no thanks. Find someone a little less qualified who will do the job for the legal rate or get the law changed. Frankly, I think it's a serious case of Enron-itis when the executive can demand this sort of salary while there are discussions of how many hourly staff to cut because the budget is getting tight. When the per capita average earnings of Minneapolitans goes up to even 50% of this salary, then I might consider it appropriate. Until then, this is just trickle-up economics all over again. -michael libby (cleveland/north mpls) ++ Michael C. Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> public key: http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt web site: http://www.ichimunki.com ++ -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE9rraJ4ClW9KMwqnMRAgQnAKCEEJqSIYN4XJn5bcs9O62RJWwhagCaAoCb 7Afq40SR1Cnbm6XkH7R5VmE= =e+JI -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Crime and housing affordability: Denial?
zed what would have passed as our red light district(s)... and look where that crime went: into neighborhoods, yours, and a couple on the south side. Wouldn't it have been better if they'd left it where it was, centralized in a mostly non-residential area? As I recall, prior to 1987, Block E was a place that generated some 50% of the police calls for the city. This was the reason they tore it down. But the crime did not go away, it just moved. And it's not that I think ready access to drugs and sex is a good thing (although I suppose Walgreen's and marriage seem to be civilized solutions), I'm saying that no amount of trying is going to make the trade in either one go away. We've had a drug war for 30 years now and the U.S. has tripled it's prison population in that time. Yet I would have an easier time finding dope in this town than a nice place to live that's actually affordable. I'm clearly proposing that the City contain these crimes somewhere other than your neighborhood, but not in any else's neighborhood either. I've also said over and over that, legalized and regulated, these two businesses would be no more annoying to live near than Walgreen's or a doctor's office. But for some reason the only politicians that get elected are the ones who promise to do something about drugs and prostitution under the general "tough on crime" rubric. It's time to stop framing the issue as tough-on-crime/not-tough-on-crime. It's time to start looking for a new definition of crime, so that we can focus law enforcement on the task of locking up those criminals who are actually a danger to others (i.e. murderers, robbers, drunk drivers, etc). With decriminalization, you might still live next to some unruly folks, but they wouldn't be operating a store off the front porch at all hours of the day and night. So, unless you agree with that approach, I have to ask again. What exactly do you want the city to do? And what evidence do you have that it will solve the problem, rather than relocate it? -michael libby (cleveland/north mpls) ++ Michael C. Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> public key: http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt web site: http://www.ichimunki.com ++ -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE9rKZk4ClW9KMwqnMRAmI8AJ9+VpEduZZSEHJ/IyrmGB21H5McSACfUsbm WFUTa3fMxUHt+mwbOM/ydOw= =gB// -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Garages
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Monday 14 October 2002 17:09, Victoria Heller wrote: > Since the City is already in the parking business, and since the City > owns the streets, I think the City should paint parking spots on every > block and auction them off annually to the highest bidder. The strategy > would be a new form of public-private "partnership." I am aware of at least one neighborhood in St. Paul which does something very much like this. They have permit-only parking so that only residents are allowed to park on that street... not sure if they have provisional permits so that residents can have guests or what. But considering that the streets are a public good that certain people (i.e. those driving cars and wishing to park them on the streets) are using more than others, I see no reason why the city shouldn't issue an on-street parking pass for certain high-demand areas or all areas for that matter-- this isn't much different than the temporary use license that occurs with parking meters. Why should my tax money subsidize what is essentially a large parking lot? Or can you assure me that the City takes in enough money from various auto-related use taxes (license tabs, gas tax, etc) to cover all of the expense of providing free parking to everyone? -michael ++ Michael C. Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> public key: http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt web site: http://www.ichimunki.com ++ -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE9q1uR4ClW9KMwqnMRAsLYAJ4+VmQv+/dawDHlYouEgT5seJdIUQCfS9Z8 ENCLHG2IoBg3nen88hPezK0= =Tc9J -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Police on the Northside and the SOUTHSIDE
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Sunday 13 October 2002 22:09, dyna wrote: > All this set Stephanie back less than $100,000- what will that > kind of money buy in Minneapolis' overheated housing market? It may not buy much of a house, but it will buy you an easy/fast commute to one of several hundred thousand jobs. It will get you nearly instant access to a large number of high quality libraries, museums and art galleries. It will save you 4 hours driving should you want to watch a Gopher, Viking, Twins, T'Wolves, or Wild game. It puts you next to the Mississippi, which has miles of great parks along it. It puts you in easy reach of hundreds of restaurants (much better selection than choosing between Torgy's and the A&W in Glenwood). In Minneapolis, I can shop at Rainbow if I want, but I can also buy all my favorite weird foods at the Wedge or Whole Foods (which I suppose is actually in SLP) or a wide variety of ethnic groceries... even Kowalski's has a pretty good selection. I can go to night clubs easily, take a huge variety of classes at the many local educational institutions. Now, if you can tell me that Glenwood has libraries that even come close to touching Minneapolis Central (even the slapped together interim location with its lack of stacks)... if you can point out to me where in Glenwood I might get a bite of Ethiopian food for dinner... if you can tell me where I'll be able to buy a decent variety of cheeses and wines... if you can introduce me to an employer who can offer me a job as interesting as the one I've got that won't require a 50% cut in pay... > Pulling into my driveway I was greeted by a couple junkies > trying to subtly park their late model car in front of my house. That > clinched it- I, like many folks, I will be retiring within a few > years. We're not stuck in Minneapolis- we can spend our pension > checks anywhere. Hmmm. Looks like hard work and careful saving can pay off. Retiring to Glenwood sounds grand, it's not a bad place... but I've been here and there, and there is no here. > Most of our city fathers and mothers don't have to rub shoulders with > armed drug dealers while transferring buses at Franklin and Chicago > or Broadway and Lyndale. As long as the tax base exists to fund their > city government and positions, they pretty much don't care. Well, considering the potential deficits on the horizon, I'd say the tax base no longer exists. The citizens certainly get it, and voted in some new management. Crime is a hard one to solve. We can't realistically compare Minneapolis to Glenwood in that regard. What we can do is compare Minneapolis to other similar cities. We can start with St. Paul. We can then look at places like Cleveland, Detroit, Portland, Seattle, Kansas City, St. Louis, Dallas/Ft. Worth, [list cut short]. How are we doing to other places with similar population bases? Are you telling me that none of those cities have their own Jordan neighborhoods? > I think we need to send a message to Minneapolis city > government where it hurts- in their property tax receipts. Unless > Minneapolis finally performs their duty to provide all neighborhoods > equal protection under the law, we need to make our housing and > business investments elsewhere. OK. But I think you're letting your experience in one small part of Minneapolis cloud your judgement. Certainly what you've described is horrible conditions. But it's not nearly so bad even a few miles away from there where I live. Your $100K would buy you a decent house in my neighborhood, and I've never knowingly witnessed any of what you describe as a daily ordeal in your neighborhood. My neighbor just had her car broken into, but that's one such experience in the four years I've been here. My biggest problem used to be kids playing football in my front yard. I put in a garden to prevent that and now I have some grass out there where it's supposed to be. What Minneapolis needs is an (un)official red light district, but that hasn't been tried. Ongoing efforts to turn downtown into a suburbanite-friendly shopping mall preclude it. So where else to sell drugs and sex? In neighborhoods... and we all know which neighborhoods that means. That you are stuck in one is unfortunate, but most of Minneapolis isn't like that. While I certainly can't naysay Glenwood (a great town in which I've spent many happy times of my life), I certainly wouldn't write off Minneapolis. What I'd really like to know is what you expect Minneapolis to do... post police outside these houses all day every day? Tear down these houses? Crime is highly mobile, and any such efforts are not likely to reduce crime, only to displace it. That was the whole fallacy that tore down Blo
Re: [Mpls] Should the city require new houses to have garages?
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Saturday 12 October 2002 21:24, List Manager wrote: > The City Council is considering it... > > http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3361908.html I can't quibble with the requirement to add basements... but only if that requirement includes drain tile or other anti-flooding measures. Talk about a disruptive, expensive add-on! But I am absolutely opposed to the garage requirement. Having been inspired by Gary Hoover to return to a car-free state, I am thinking that my garage, and especially my driveway, is wasted space... maybe if I had a fleet of bikes like Gary does it would be worthwhile. :) This is a very bad proposal, as it encourages further entrenchment of the automobile. Let's let the free market take care of this. If consumers want houses with garages, then they'll buy houses with garages. This proposal seems likely to raise the cost of housing, which is the last thing North Minneapolis needs right now. It also encourages car ownership, which encourages dirty air, traffic accidents, noise, littering, and shopping at large one-stop style commercial centers, such as malls-- most of which lie outside the city limits (and therefore takes money earned by Minneapolis citizens and put it into the sales tax coffers of first-ring suburbs). What we need is more ways to encourage and enable people to *buy* housing. So in that respect, I think we should focus on getting more townhome/flat-style condo zoning or zoning for other multi-family larger dwellings to increase density and lower the barriers to ownership by reducing unit prices. I believe that denser housing is good for local small business, which requires a certain critical mass in order to maintain a revenue stream-- it certainly works in your larger cities like NYC, SF, and Chicago. And locally owned/operated small business is good for a neighborhood, since it keeps people (and money) in the neighborhood, instead of driving out to the mall and spending money at corporate outlets. At the same time, we need to work with Metro Transit to improve the quality of the North Mpls bus lines, so that people can live here without cars. I have been riding buses in this city for 20 years, and the 5 into North Mpls is by far the worst (but I'll save that screed for some other day). I have to say Vicky Heller's postings about the population levels of the city as a whole, and Dyna Sluter's analysis of just the corner where Dyna lives have me convinced that the City needs to work hard to get people to move in, and stay in (for working and shopping and playing). And just to provide some balance in favor of garages, it seems to me that apartment buildings, townhomes, etc, can actually offer garage space more efficiently than single family dwellings can, so if you're looking for a place to force the garage issue, start with them. -michael libby (cleveland/north mpls) ++ Michael C. Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> public key: http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt web site: http://www.ichimunki.com ++ -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE9qOrZ4ClW9KMwqnMRAqSTAJ4vTKvtTNBpg87PF1LOIqzxLwVqWQCeIJVp xn0FKNoBdRt9n9luRDYzjRg= =m6lA -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] An Additional Library Board Budget Meeting
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Thursday 10 October 2002 17:29, Gibson, Kristi wrote: [regarding a possible $1.5MM budget shortfall in the MPL] > Therefore, the Library Board will need to enact one or more of the > following service reductions for 2003: [dire acts deleted for brevity] Could someone from the Library please detail what technology spending looks like for the Library? I've seen a lot of (new) fancy automated checkout machines that certainly cost more than the expense of a checkout clerk's annual salary (I also rarely see them used, which is the real problem). I've also noticed that the library seems to be running fairly recent releases of Microsoft software... so I have to ask if the collection management software the library uses is dependent on Windows, or if the book database isn't on some serious hardware and most of those windows machines are simply clients. If the latter is true, there is almost no justification for the expense of licensing Windows for any new client machines (for instance, the ubiquitous "internet terminals"), if you ask me. In my home I run only Free Software (that's free as in freedom, see http://www.gnu.org/ for more information), and I am able to run a lot of pretty fancy software, all of which cost me nothing but download time to acquire and all of which I am allowed to reprogram (as I am given the source code) and all of which I am free to share with my neighbor. It don't get any better than that! Obviously existing seat licenses and hardware are paid for and no effort should be exerted to replace them until necessary, but hopefully the replacement cost of technology is considered carefully in the ongoing tech strategy. A partial migration to Free Software should be strongly considered at least as a pilot test, so that a real world study of the costs and other factors can be compared somewhere besides a financial planners spreadsheet. Looking at the 2001 Annual Report I do not see a single line item that would appear to contain this sort of technology expense, so maybe you've got $1.5MM hiding in there somewhere. But it appears as if the only real place you're going to find a cushion the size of $1.5 million is in staff expense, so whatever solution you settle on pretty much has to have its largest impact in that area. Too bad, librarians are people I'd like to see stay employed, it's one of the professions I respect the most. I'd suggest no libraries open on Sunday as first step. Why should just a handful be open on that day? Doesn't make sense to me... I don't think one of my nearby libraries is even open on Saturday! Next, is there a community library that is significantly less visited than the rest, or could be somehow folded into a nearby facility? As I've never managed to make use of it myself, I'd suggest Webber Park (although maybe if it were open on Saturdays I'd find it more useful). North Regional isn't far away, and isn't a library going in at the Grain Belt brewery site? That's not too far away either. The collection itself seems like a bad place to cut spending, unless there are creative ideas that could lower spending without reducing overall effectiveness. Perhaps certain popular books could have shorter loan spans? No renewals on videos? Less duplication of the collection across branches, especially in the periodicals department (so many periodicals have web versions these days... and there's plenty of internet access to be had at the library)? I'm just throwing out ideas here. -michael libby (cleveland neighborhood/north mpls) ++ Michael C. Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> public key: http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt web site: http://www.ichimunki.com ++ -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE9pjPa4ClW9KMwqnMRAtaoAJ9K0DbCYklbWQzOLW6rSURX5q1YTQCePa6d 4SfZWbTCaBWgsHO/1RbpMOU= =0+iy -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] library delayed, next block e?
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 Article in Strib online (http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3356163.html) says the library board has voted to delay a vote on the design proposed by Pelli. Someone explain to me why we're in the process of tearing down a working facility without a plan for its replacement. How many years will the library block sit as a surface parking lot while this gets hashed out? As a weekly user of the central library I am, so far, very disappointed in the interim location. I know it's been only open a week, but it didn't even have any carpeting! When there is no solid plan for getting a new facility built, any interim solution should be as permanent-quality as possible, and this certainly includes finishing the floor. Hopefully signs and other helpful amenities will improve in the near future as well. I'll be very disappointed if the rest of my daughter's childhood memories of the library are of some slipshod "interim" library. At least the children's section is carpeted, and rather presentable. Maybe having gone there a few weeks prior to 3rd floor being open unfairly raised my expectations. I guess I should be glad at the delay, because I'm not thrilled with the design myself. But depending on how radical the changes to the proposed design are this could take a while... and what do you want to bet more rounds of designs cost money? -michael libby (cleveland/north mpls) ++ Michael C. Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> public key: http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt web site: http://www.ichimunki.com ++ -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.7 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQE9pXIu4ClW9KMwqnMRAvshAJ9WbxFxAG9MbuwyTzbbo4w11Uso8QCgtcsl d5fdEqY7UWuR536tmrRKeCQ= =xlbP -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Board of Estimate announces move to Lyndale Farmstead
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Friday 16 August 2002 14:33, Brian Rice wrote: > About two weeks ago I enrolled in > the Forum. I'd heard about it from State Representative Phyliis Kahn and > Park Commissioner Annie Young, two committed public servants whose > opinions I respect. I thought I would become better informed and find > some thoughtful and well reasoning minds. For the most part I have been > disappointed. Members seem to instantly write about things of which they > know little, form opinions with very little reflection and occassionally > descend into a smug state of snideness as evidenced below. Both Ms. Kahn and Ms. Young have been on this list longer than I have (several months now) and I've never seen either of them take the list to task in this way, nor do they seem to have given up on the list. Personally I think two weeks is a bit scant to make such a broad judgement. I respect the Mayor and his opinion and he vetoed this proposal. So unless you want to assert that the Mayor is not "thoughtful" or "well reasoning", you might want to recall that he and his agent both posted emails to the list on this topic that were informative.. One also should note that at least one Park Board member voted against over-riding the veto, and stated his reasons quite clearly on this list. So while it is unfortunate that the list is an open forum with its share of rants, raves, and just plain bizarre, it's also got some real meat to it. It's certainly keeping me better informed than the combined efforts of the City Pages, the Pulse, and the Star Tribune (I gave up on TV news over a decade ago). >I also > think that to understand the issue Forum members should have the > financial analysis that the Park Board staff prepared. Contrary to many > statements made on the issue, the planned Park Board headquarters will > be revenue neutral. In fact, the Park Board has already received several > inquiries from both public and private entities about leasing space in > the building. Should that occur the the building will serve as a profit > center. First you say the new HQ is "revenue neutral", then it is a "profit center" two sentences after that. Which is it? And can you explain how the Park Board, which can't seem to run concession stands at a profit, is going to run an entire office complex at a profit? How much do they stand to lose when rents they expected to collect are in default? It seems like a common enough practice among other tenants the city takes on. Personally, I am not interested in any agency of the government at any level making any revenues that are not related to license or usage fees directly related to the programs they administer or from taxation. This is not the purpose of government, for better or worse. In fact, I find it alarming that this is somehow legal under the Park Board's charter. Who knows what's next? Will they be buying up the industrial real estate just north of their new HQ to develop luxury condos? (Yes, hyperbole, but just how slippery is this slope?) I certainly hope the Park Board will give priority to other City and County agencies, then to park-related non-profits, before renting to just anyone. I'd have to agree that no city agency should be leasing under any circumstances. How it even got to such a state is beyond me. The timing of the switch, however, is unfortunate-- and the whole deal didn't seem to be subject to a lot of public input. In fact, the research seems a bit slim on their side as well as ours. Shouldn't they have proposed a couple of different sites? Researched their rental options? Gotten bids from building management corporations for partnerships which give the park board priority tenant status in a building but relieve them of the job of being landlords as well? So, here's my hope: the Board listens to the Mayor's proposals and takes them seriously, since they also involve saving money (as the Board purports this deal will do). As to getting City government into that part of North Minneapolis, that part I actually like quite a bit. > I've > represented the Park Board for nearly 20 years, the acquistion of the > Riverfront property for a headquarters and operations facility is the > smartest thing I've seen the Board do. Really? That's a pretty sad commentary on the park board for the last 20 years then. I also think that your close involvement with the Board is clouding your judgement. I can already hear the coins filling your coffers as legal documents related to this purchase and the subsequent activities require legal review. Seems like a very big conflict of interest to me. > the Hennepin County Government Center. That decision, however, was > trashed by the talk show predecessors of Jesse Ventura (and perhaps the > sa
Re: [Mpls] mayoral veto
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Tuesday 13 August 2002 19:29, timothy connolly wrote: > In this case it doesn't matter. Either way the Mayor > comes out looking good. And why shouldn't he? By adding to the public debate on this he's made it much more difficult for the Park Board to go ahead and override the veto and not have to explain themselves at the next election. Seems to me this raises the awareness, and therefore accountability (in both directions-- after all, it puts him on the hook for the stuff mentioned in the release). He's drawn up some good ideas for saving money (at least they look good to me)-- some of which may actually increase police efficiency. I think it's bizarre that the parks wouldn't simply be patrolled as part of their respective wards. Even if they do override this veto, it looks like he's gotten a good agenda some airtime, where-- again-- constituents will have seen and heard about it, so that the Park Board can't just turn a blind eye. Thank you, Mayor Rybak! -michael (Ward 4, North Mpls) ++ Michael C. Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> public key: http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt web site: http://www.ichimunki.com ++ -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE9Waiw4ClW9KMwqnMRAjeUAKCAP1tnvMQPPNIWrJwJeK8ewo6qowCgnnOJ TzAgllZ0fePMLKpPeYeQpCk= =otTw -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
[Mpls] re: Officer Schmidt and Martha Donald
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Friday 02 August 2002 16:11, James E Jacobsen wrote: > If you look at it from a statistical view, > first, She had a gun,Doesn't mean she is a criminal, > maybe 20% chance. 2nd. She shot a cop. Definite > criminal act 100% chance 3rd.She shot > below the vest. Implies premediated. 80% > chance 4th.She could have been blowing weed and didn't mean to do it >20% chance Total percentage 220% divided by 4 gives > 55% chance it being a criminal act and that's being generous. Jim // Please have some respect for the dead! I find no evidence at this time to support any of the above statements regarding Ms. Donald. You have no evidence that she was holding the gun that shot Officer Schmidt. Nor do you have any evidence that Ms. Donald fired the first shot in this incident. And you can't possibly know what she was thinking (or if she was really even in control of her behavior) and why she did what she did. Even I, a hardened skeptic, am willing to let the police finish their investigation and then telling their side of this story before jumping to my own conclusions anyway. What do you hope to accomplish by maligning Ms. Donald at this time? Even if she is guilty of heinous crimes against humanity, she's already been given a death sentence. Why not let her rest in peace? -michael (north mpls, cleveland neighborhood) p.s. I believe the posting limit for the list is two per day, please respect that. It's hard to enjoy the list when the volume gets beyond where normal humans can read the postings and still have time for anything else. ++ Michael C. Libby <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> public key: http://www.ichimunki.com/public_key.txt web site: http://www.ichimunki.com ++ -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE9Sx674ClW9KMwqnMRAr2LAJ9oS2swl/6GGJhy1Mpq3K73ikRX7wCgkPB9 4uPYTQoRJ/aRIAS3VrJBccE= =5edS -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Rybak on Twins stadium
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On Friday 19 July 2002 07:34, List Manager wrote:
> "We have support all over this community," the mayor tells Sid Hartman,
> adding that more legislative changes are needed than just letting
> Hennepin County into the financing.
I would've thought the past referendum indicated a pretty low level of
support from the city as a whole. I would really like the Mayor and the
rest of city/county/state government to just let this go. It's been going
on for years and is a major waste of time/money/energy. If some other city
wants to work with the Twins, let them.
> By the way, Lisa Goodman replaces Rybak and Steve Sviggum as Sid's
> villain. Sid writes that "Lisa Goodman...has sabotaged the chances of
> the Twins getting a stadium in Minneapolis."
Well, hats off to Ms. Goodman then! I'm not so worried about becoming a
cold Omaha as I'm worried about becoming just another bland mid-sized US
city, indistinguishable from most of the others-- let's set Minneapolis
apart by offering something different. As they say in business, "focus on
your core competencies"... that would be things like parks and the arts.
Baseball is a big business. Let them finance their own stadiums on the free
market and make them pay the same taxes the rest of us pay.
In the future, I will be voting against politicians who not only support
"working with" pro sports, but who waste inordinate amounts of
time/energy/money by responding with anything other than a terse "You want
it, you pay for it" when the teams come begging for money. This has been
going on way too long.
We need the energy for dealing with education issues.
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland in North Mpls)
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Re: [Mpls] Re: Block E, a deal undone?
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> Four:Insure TIME SQUARE SIGNAGE on the exterior of
> the buildings.
This is the one piece of this whole deal I've never really understood. In
fact, I'm still quite opposed. This is just light pollution and another
surface being used for annoying advertising, if you ask me. While it might
work in Times Square in New York, this doesn't feel like a Minneapolis
thing to me.
To me adding a bunch of TVs to the outside an already bland building is a
guarantee that the overall experience will just simply be all the more
frenetic and disjointed. Personally I'd much rather see an insistence on
more extensive greenery and flowing water (both of which feature heavily
in buildings like Gaviidae and IDS-- although neither of these is as nice
as the shopping center in St. Paul (name?) that has the little park on top
and lots of flowing water).
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland Neighborhood of North Minneapolis, and in
downtown on a seven-days-a-week basis).
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Re: [Mpls] Block E: An undone deal?
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On Sunday 07 July 2002 10:43, List Manager wrote:
> Speaking of zoning and planning, there's a fascinating story in the
> Strib today about Block E. Seems the finished product is different from
> what developers agreed to with the city (no public restrooms, no
> ground-floor connection between Hennepin and 1st Ave. N., no outdoor
> escalator and differently configured bus shelters).
>
> The question is, what can/should the city do now? Apparently, there is a
> Planning Commission meeting on the matter Monday...welcome back from
> holiday!
Why am I not surprised that 14 years later this fiasco is still fiasco-ing?
Given the limited information I have from this article, if I made the
rules, the McCaffrey personnel who made the changes would lose their jobs.
I'm sorry, but we made a deal and they did not keep to it. I understand
about the escalators and the state building guys, but the rest of this was
completely under McCaffrey's control and they don't appear to have figured
getting our input on changes was important.
More important to me is that there is an apparently complete lack of any
communication back to the City while all this re-planning is going on.
Were we asked if we wanted an enclosed escalator if an outdoor one was not
feasible? Were we allowed to negotiate trade-offs with the tenants?
What sort of options does the City even have at this point? Can we pull
some sort of rug out from under someone, or will McCaffrey just pull a
Brookfield on us?
I am probably going to have to avoid the place to keep from feeling dirty.
If that's my tax money hard at work, I think I would have preferred simply
hiring a few more cops to work the *old* block E.
- -michael libby (Cleveland neighborhood of north Minneapolis)
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Re: [Mpls] June Critical Mass
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On Saturday 29 June 2002 00:36, Jim MCGUIRE wrote:
> I'm not good at estimations, but my best guess is 150-200 riders (no
> arrests).
I saw the ride pass me as I waited for the bus at 7th and Nicollet. I'd say
this count sounds right from my observation. And what a sight! That was
really cool!
Glad to hear the police that followed the group did not arrest anyone. Was
their presence more of a public safety presence, or does the Mass feel
threatened by them?
I have to say I think it's a bad decision to ride against traffic, even
with a large group like that. I don't at all mind the blocked
intersections-- so many drivers willingly block intersections when traffic
is heavy that they should be able to deal with it. But riding the wrong
way seems dangerous and needlessly confrontational.
Either way, what an inspiration!
- -michael libby (cleveland neighborhood of north mpls)
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
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Re: [Mpls] I think I'm missing something
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On Wednesday 26 June 2002 06:43, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Hi list- in the McKenzie report, 52 housing units by the City, however,
> Whittier completed 100plus units with NRP 1, 57% of our dollars. Where
> does this fit in??? I'm confussed, can someone clear this up?? Is the 52
> not part of NRP1??
> WE did alot in Whittier and proud of it. And I think NRP has been a
> great program, it may need tweeking, but much less then the MCDA.
> Clear this up for me please.
52 is the net increase in housing units, not the total number built. Note
that this is in the last five years. According to the report (if I'm
reading it correctly) the last decade saw a decrease of 1,882 units.
So while you should be proud of the work you've done to build housing in
Whittier, it is not keeping up with the number of units destroyed
elsewhere in the city.
If you need a good example of where the missing housing is, I would direct
your attention to the north side (for starters) where almost every block
seems to have a vacant lot or boarded house (and where recently lots of
housing starts have also happened). You might also notice that where once
a huge housing project stood is now a giant construction zone-- work is
actively occurring (but behind schedule?) on replacement housing (that
won't house most of the displaced population, since they won't be able to
afford to live in the mixed income development until after the sheen of
gentrification wears off).
I can also think of a two block area near my house where every single home
was torn down (ok, maybe a couple were moved) to build an elementary
school. This one project easily offsets the 100 units your hard work put
in place in Whittier. Oh, and just kitty-corner from the new school across
Penn & Lowry is another huge empty lot that is supposed to have some
development done, but apparently only the gods know when it will actually
begin. It's been a green field with a sign announcing the development in
it for something like two years now.
It would appear that the previous city administrators were better at
tearing down housing than getting it built. My quick look at the McKinsey
report leads me to believe that this is because the planning and
development process in Minneapolis is so disjointed that even the
flowcharts and diagrams of the process don't make a lot of sense. There is
no central committee, direction, or oversight and this sorely needs to
change. Maybe we need an Office of Homeland Development.
I certainly hope Mayor Rybak is able to keep track of the 50 initiatives he
mentions in his recent post to the list-- they could easily fall prey to
the same problem of decentralized lack of control... I am confident he has
staffers working full-time on making sure this doesn't spiral out of
control (as this is the same problem the previous administrators had).
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland Neighborhood/North Mpls)
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Re: [Mpls] Watching the judges
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On Saturday 08 June 2002 13:23, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Judges in this state are elected, and perhaps
> we need to start making use of this to get rid of
> judges who will not get the crack dealers and hookers
> off our streets. We need to start watching the judges
> and keeping track of their sentencing practices, and
> eliminating the ones who will not do their jobs. Too
> often we see judges running unopposed, and no clue
> from anyone what this judge has or has not done. It's
> time to start holding them accountable.
While I strongly disagree with the premise that judges "who will not get
the crack dealers and hookers off our streets" are the problem--
especially since I'd hate to foster a "just convict them" attitude, that
seems rife for expensive appeals, catching innocents in the cross-fire,
etc.
More importantly, I do not understand how we can hold them accountable when
they run unopposed.
Is it a requirement to be a judge that one hold a JD or be a member of the
MN Bar? If so, this is a primary obstacle to holding these folks
accountable since it severely restricts the number of eligible candidates.
Anyone have more information on how many of these positions there are in
Minneapolis, what they make, responsibilities, etc? What the rules are?
I'd research the issue myself, but I assume *someone* out there has a
solid grasp of the process that can condense it.
And how can we access the necessary records to monitor their actions?
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland neighborhood in north Minneapolis)
- --
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Re: [Mpls] MDC/Most Dangerous Corner/22 & Irving N./Crime Scene
e a
moral right to poison themselves and we do not have a moral right to
interfere with their decision. In fact, our "solution" makes more problems
than the original problem of drug use and addiction does. Because when and
where drugs are/were legal... and by "where" I mean the suburbs where
health-care-having middle-classers can get just about anything they want
prescribed for them by a doctor... when/where drugs are/were legal you
just don't find people from one corner drugstore going to the other corner
drugstore to engage in shoot-outs over territory.
> We can start by eliminating the $186 booking fee the
> county charges the city to book criminals who are
> arrested. That is ridiculous!
Best way to eliminate this fee is to stop using the service-- that's what I
usually do when I no longer feel I'm getting a value for my money. I
recommend the police stick to arresting people who can actually be
convicted of a crime-- this should keep the booking fees down and make
life easier for everyone. I'm well aware this means hooligans will run
wild in our streets, peddling poison to the masses, and causing havoc. The
answer to that is to take the profits out of their business. Then what
will they sell? Protection? I don't know. But the lessons of the 1920s and
Prohibition are clear, it didn't work then and it don't work now.
You can look out your window and see the drug war failing. A whole
generation has grown up during this war and they've been caught in the
cross-fire since the day they were born. How many more?
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland nieghborhood of North Minneapolis).
- --
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Re: [Mpls] Re: Public Art
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On Wednesday 29 May 2002 21:19, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> It is so amazing in a city that has one of the most vibrant arts
> communities in the nation with a plethora of wonderful artists - and
> what the corporate world here wants to fund as public art is a visual
> art equivilant of muzak!!! Truly pathetic...
I have to agree that the Target and Ryan proposals are pretty sad ideas of
what it means for something to be art as opposed to simply a commercial--
I don't mind the works themselves, but I don't really want to see them on
public land. Nor do I want to see corporations given tax money for any
purpose, especially making art.
Given trends in the art world over the last 80 years, a big dog and a
large hardhat are not really much worse than some of what has been called
art-- after all, they're both distinctly reminiscent of all of
Oldenberg's oversized everyday objects and bring also to mind stuff like
Warhol's soup can. And in the end "real" art is there for its own sake--
not to remind people of where to shop. I can't speak to whether most of
this modern art, whether designed by a corporate ad department or a
starving artist was subsidized or not, though. But I can say I think
people overestimate how much money the arts community gets from tax
funding.
If Target wants to build a giant dog, they have a large atrium in the new
store we helped them build where it would fit nicely. I realize that's
subsidized land, but the interior space hardly feels like it belongs to
the public. That's clearly TargetLand. Even the shape and design of their
new store is an artistic expression of commercialism. Which means the
building will always be a Target ad even if the store eventually closes.
But Mary, why so many detractors about Mary? People love the Mary statue.
I work across the street and whenver I go out for a break there are
always people stopped at Mary to take pictures or simply give it a good
look-see. If that's what the people want, well... I can't make their
choices for them. There is lots of art all over downtown and that statue
gets more attention than any of it, from what I can tell. Maybe because,
in spite of being 100% about a TV show, Mary isn't some vague modern art
nonsense that people can't connect with.
- - -- Michael Libby (a Fine Arts degree holder, and a resident of North
Minneapolis' Cleveland neighborhood).
- - --
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Re: [Mpls] Mpls. news in the Pioneer Press
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On Monday 20 May 2002 15:10, Alan Shilepsky wrote:
> I'm thinking as a Hennepin County resident, maybe this is good. If St
> Paul wants to tax itself to get the team, fine by me.
Me too! If they want it let them have it. Can we drop this whole thing
soon? I do hope City Council will interpret the bill as passed by the
Legislature as anti-Minneapolis and forego dragging this whole torture out
further by putting a referendum about it on a ballot.
- -Michael Libby (Ward 4/North Minneapolis)
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Re: [Mpls] lawn care
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On Saturday 18 May 2002 17:08, Barbara Lickness wrote:
> I guess the old saying "think global, act local" is
> the best thing we can do. Minneapolis has started by
> disallowing phosphorus in lawn treatments. That is a
> big success and one we should celebrate.
Maybe next we can start to convince the citizens of the city to stop using
power tools in lawn care! Leaf blowers and power mowers are hardly
necessary on most of the city's small lots. Rakes and reel mowers make
great substitutes.
I especially want to recommend reel mowers (as power mowers are more
endemic than leaf blowers at this point). They are quiet, safer than their
counterparts, and have zero emissions. I've been mowing lawns for about 20
years and I always HATED it. I just picked up a reel mower (at 1/3 the
price of the low-end power mowers, mind you) this season and I can say it
was the first time I ever had fun mowing my lawn.
Now I never had a self-propelled power mower, so the change was from a big
heavy, clunky, dangerous machine that caused me to breathe in noxious
fumes for at least 30 minutes a week to a light, agile, safer machine that
allows me to smell the fresh cut grass and makes an enjoyable whirring
noise.
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland neighborhood in North Minneapolis)
- --
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Re: [Mpls] Downtown mugging
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Very sorry to hear about what happened to you!
On Tuesday 07 May 2002 03:51, Jeff Radford wrote:
> So what can be done? For one thing, I sure saw a lot
> of police activity overseeing the little Mayday
> demonstration that went on downtown last week; even
> the mounted patrol was out in force. There must have
> been one cop for every five demonstrators.
Further evidence that the MPD strategy is more about squelching political
dissent than to protect and serve regular taxpayers. I'm sorry I missed
watching this demo, except that those horse cops make me feel very unsafe.
I'm glad we didn't have them in the days I used to go to protests...
Later, after watching (from inside a business I was working at) the MPD
ride their horses into a crowd of men, women, and children(!) [a group who
was on the sidewalk and harming no one], I pretty much decided my days of
getting "into the streets" were over.
> So how about having some of those officers walking the
> Warehouse District, and every night of the week? It
> may not be as efficient as having them cruise the
> streets in cars, but a physical, viable police
> presence on the sidewalks would sure be reassuring to
> me right now.
Or bikes. More bike cops, please. They are less intimidating to regular
folks. In fact, so unintimidating that I watched a group of daytime
downtowners jaywalk across 8th Street and Nicollet right in front of two
of them (in the last week). And I don't just mean the bike cops were
nearby watching, the bike cops had to swerve to avoid the jaywalkers! As
I'd had the sense to stay on the curb, I was hoping to see the police
wrestle a few arrogrant pedestrians to the ground, mace them, and take
away their sneakers/loafers/pumps. Alas, my fantasies of equal justice
under law were left to fade, although one cop did tell the crowd that the
sign says "Don't Walk". I guess it's a good idea to be white and
well-dressed when breaking the law in plain sight of law enforcement.
But seriously, bike cops are excellent and I would encourage the City to
deploy more of them in the warmer months (when street traffic is
presumably up). On bikes they can cover more ground in the same time. They
have some ability to carry extra tools. They have more mobility, since a
bike can easily go many places a car can't... and they do it less
conspicuously, so they have more of an element of surprise.
Bikes (like beat patrols) also make it a lot easier for the police to stop
and participate in the community, at least say hello, help people, and
generally increase the amount of goodwill. That would be a very good
thing.
- -michael libby (Cleveland/North Mpls)
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Re: [Mpls] Banning SUVs
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On Friday 03 May 2002 13:38, Caffeinate The World wrote:
> --- Emilie Quast <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > AT Fri, 3 May 2002 11:49:01 -0500 (CDT) you wrote:
> > >I'm curious if drug dealing would decrease if we ban SUV's from
> > >entering N. Phillips
> >
> > I doubt it, even if you could do it, but I sure wish the license
> > plates
> > would get published in the newspaper.
>
> In St. Paul I remember they had a website that published hookers and
> johns who were caught in Frogtown. I wonder if that had an impact and
> if such measures might deter people from coming to drug infested area
> to deal and to buy.
And a lot of this type of stuff is being challenged in court by the ACLU.
Personally I feel that this sort of "publishing" is slanderous/libelous
(whichever one is for printed matter, I can't keep them straight) and I
hope our fair city will not engage in it.
Frankly, I think the better solution would be to decriminalize behaviors
that have no obvious victims. Drug buyers, drug sellers, prostitutes and
their patrons... these people are not usually interested in hurting
others, they are usually interested (respectively) in making money,
getting high (an addiction illness that we turn into a criminal offense),
making money, and getting off (probably an addiction illness that we turn
into a criminal offense).
Put the sellers of these two goods and services into storefronts with
licenses, regulations, and taxes to be paid and everybody wins. At least
when you turn drug sellers and prostitutes into legitimate business owners
and employees, you turn any resulting crime into white collar offenses
which don't make the neighbors feel less safe in their homes-- At least
last time I checked no one living down the road from Enron was worried
that the whole shredding thing would spill over into their neighborhoods
and possibly, accidentally shred their children while pocketing their
allowance.
I'm hearing all these complaints about drugs/prostitution. Well, there's
been a Drug War going for almost two decades now and it ain't helping, but
it contributes massively to our prison populations. And we all know what a
timeworn profession prostitution is. If we think either of these things
are going away, we need to pull our heads out of the sand.
While the Feds are interfering with local decision-making surrounding
changes in drug policy (in California, for example). They seem to take NO
interest in Nevada's ranches. So we have an opportunity in Minneapolis,
Minnesota to get at least one street corner problem under control... let's
seize it-- instead of trying to destroy lives with prohibitions. Legalize
prostitution and I bet our convention business would go up too.
- -michael libby (the Cleveland part of North Mpls)
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Re: [Mpls] Chain Restaurants in Downtown
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It's often hard to even tell what is a chain restaurant-- unless it's
something obvious like Copeland's or something you seen on TV all the time
(TGIF, Olive Garden). There's also a big difference between a local chain
(Dunn Brothers) and a national chain (Staryucks). Then there's the
difference between locally owned/operated franchises and truly national
chain stores. After a while it becomes to much to keep track of which is
which.
And oddly enough, the chains also provide variety that we might not
otherwise have, even if the versions of extra-regional food they're
serving are a bit toned-down for a local crowd. Is there anywhere to get
decent Southwestern food downtown that is comletely local? How about
Cajun? How about Italian?
What's more important is that if we continue to try to make downtown a
destination for more than office work (i.e. our sports stadiums and
convention stuff, even the nightclubs, theaters, music venues), then there
is a sizable group who might just be more likely to spend money downtown
if they know they can go there and get passable food without having to
guess about the quality of a local one-off restaurant.
So who knows. I think the balance will work itself out: many of us city
kids don't often choose to eat at chains any more than necessary. And
either way, the City will always have plenty of excellent one-off
restaurants in non-downtown areas.
What I'd like to see is more truly vegetarian-friendly restaurants
downtown-- although probably not Good Earth. :)
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland/North Mpls),
who recommends 13 Moons in downtown (Robbinsdale) for an excellent
locally-owned restaurant experience. At least I assume it's local. Like I
said, it gets so hard to tell.
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Re: [Mpls] Bikes and Dancing
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On Thursday 25 April 2002 16:13, Keith Nybakke wrote:
> >490.160. Bicycle events. No person shall conduct a bicycle event,
> > parade, contest or race without having first secured a permit from the
> > office of the mayor. Approval for such permit shall be granted only
> > under conditions which assure reasonable safety for all participants,
> > spectators and other highway users, and which prevent unreasonable
> > interference with traffic flow which would seriously inconvenience
> > other highway users. (91-Or-065, ยง 8, 4-12-91)
>
> Just what is a bicycle "event"? > Who decides?
> Seems very non-specific and wide open for misinterpretation.
I'd say that an event is something that happens that people planned to have
happen. Especially when they plan to do it together, as a group.
> A bunch of people bicycling together doesn't seem like an event, no
> more than a bunch of people driving together (rush hour) seems like
> an event.
Critical Mass is a planned ride where the whole explicitly stated purpose
is to gather bikers and proceed to bike around as a group. Rush hour is
when everyone happens to use the roads at the same time, but I have the
sense that most drivers would be quite glad to not do this as a group.
Certainly, CM happens through intentional behavior. Rush hour happens as a
result of uncoordinated crowding-- in fact in spite of intentional efforts
to prevent it (carpool incentives, transit options, etc).
> What is it about the Critical Mass rides that makes them an "event"
> and thus a special case under this ordinance?
Nothing. As far as I know, no CM'ers have been charged under this
ordinance. In fact, I have to wonder if anyone ever has been charged under
this ordinance-- and if the law is written poorly, such a charge is a
necessary first step to a legal challenge to a law that may be
unconstitutionally vague.
I certainly wasn't quoting this ordinance to say it *should* be applied to
CM, just that it certainly seemed to me like it could be.
I'm still WAY more concerned that I can be charged with a crime for dancing
in the street in front of my house. But I'm guessing if I'm quiet most
cops won't even know I'm committing an offense.
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland/North Mpls)
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Re: [Mpls] Liquor License Enforcement Procedures
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Gee, all this hard work, and yet the young people seem to be able to drink
themselves drunk, smoke themselves silly, and don't even get me started on
their easy ability to obtain any illegal drug they want (if Keith Reitman
is to be believed there is at least one place where they needn't fear
going drug shopping, well they need to fear for their safety, but not
their ability to find contraband).
What a huge waste of energy!
Where are the parents? Both out working sixty hours a week at their jobs to
pay for that $170,000 home? Where are the examples of responsible
drinking? What about a way to drink with older children (and even adults
aged 18-21) so they can learn to appreciate a drink or two in moderation,
instead of sneaking off with their friends in high school or to
near-campus keggers-- places filled with others who know nothing more than
they do about resonsible consumption. How about taking little more
seriously the issue of drunkenness, especially given our car dependency?
Instead of bars with two drink minimums, why do we not have a
drink-maximum on bar patrons?
Personally, the TGIF story reinforces my belief that all this hullaballoo
about IDs just makes life less civil for responsible adults, does nothing
to encourage parents to demonstrate responsible use to their children, and
generally deprives otherwise honest, law-abiding, and good people of their
livelihoods.
I agree that the original restaurant getting busted four times seems a bit
excessive. After the 2nd time if I were them, I wouldn't serve to anyone
(under 150 years of age) without ID, and if I got a single complaint I
would have happily provided a form letter they can send to the Mayor and
their CM about unnecessary minor-buy stings.
And I'm very concerned with the rumor that police can "flash their badge"
and drink free. In fact, as a citizen I consider that a bribe-- a major
ethical breach on both the part of the recipient and the giver. Is our
police force really so corrupt that they can't buy their own drinks to
maintain an appearance of objectivity? When they're done with Biernat will
the Feds be investigating this, too?
Well, here's hoping that while this is obviously a general issue, I've tied
in enough Minneapolis specific-bits to be more than a fig leaf's worth of
on-topic-ness.
Clearly alcohol prohibition for 18-21 year olds isn't working, and the city
should lighten up its enforcement efforts (or target them a bit more
carefully). Policy makers who espouse these policies but bring about no
real change in the proscribed behavior have failed miserably in their
objectives, and should be canned. They bring a return on investment of
ZERO (not including the massive fines they use to pay their own above
average salaries, those don't count). Time for new people to try new
approaches instead of wasting tax dollars harming (otherwise) innocent
people.
And if someone knows of a Minneapolis specific study that shows that
teenage smoking/drinking/drug-use are down as a result of these
enforcement efforts, I'd be glad to stand corrected that these policies
are working. Given the number of Minneapolis kids I see smoking, I'm
pretty skeptical.
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland/North Mpls)
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Re: [Mpls] Hidden Beach Planning report
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On Monday 22 April 2002 22:55, Annie Young attached a modest Word document
to an email to the list.
I didn't mind the size of the attachment (thank the gods for a cable
modem). However, I am one of those people who does not use Microsoft
products in my private life. Thus I cannot read this document even though
I managed to download it quickly.
If you have material that is relevant to civic process, I would encourage
you to provide it in a platform agnostic format, plain text (with diagrams
as JPG image files) or HTML (I'm told Word can save documents as either
text or HTML). With an HTML document there is unlikely to be a computer on
the Mpls-issues list that cannot read the document-- and then you'd have
something you could post to a link to rather than pushing large documents
over strained modems.
In fact, I encourage our local government to seek non-Microsoft options
whenever possible for any computing needs. I think the City could save a
lot of money over time by looking at alternatives like the GNU/Linux
operating system (more info available at www.gnu.org and www.debian.org,
also www.redhat.com) or a BSD-based Unix like OpenBSD (see
www.openbsd.org)-- especially in our schools, where money is extremely
tight. I'm not saying to immediately retrofit (the money is spent after
all), but when purchasing new systems alternatives really ought to be
considered.
Many cities and countries around the world are taking this step in response
to either financial need or concerns over Microsoft security/ethics. I
hope it is something Minneapolis will consider as time goes on.
- -Michael Libby ( Cleveland/North Mpls )
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[Mpls] Chief Olson and Police (long)
ce during a recent time interval (yes, I'm saying we should be
surveying people who get tickets, get arrested, make 911 calls, go to
community meetings, as many and as randomly selected as possible). I'm
thinking four or five questions, a postcard maybe, a two minute phone
call, nothing more. Standard rote, not expensive to implement or analyze.
We can then link incentive pay to improvements in the results.
The key to performance results is to regularly measure performance.
Right now we have what appears to be no measurement at all. Instead we wait
for the cycle of abuse to heat up, we make a few bandaid measures, and
then we wait for the cycle to heat up again. Ineffective and useless
activity. We need a more scientific approach to solving community problems
and this area is rife for exploration along those lines.
I will be watching my elected officials for a scientific response to the
issues at hand, not to see whether they shed a few crocodile tears, wave
their hands, and maybe take one or two high profile actions. I will be
looking for measured, careful, and above-all measurable responses to this
matter (among others). Too often we let our emotions control our responses
to these things, and that just isn't useful.
I agree we have reason to be upset, but do we have reason to fire the
Chief, or is that just blowing off steam? In the long run have we made
things better for ourselves? Is there evidence that changing police chiefs
results in lower reports of police abuse?
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland/Ward 4/North Mpls)
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[Mpls] redistricting
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I realize I'm not a geo-expert, but something tells me a map that puts
people from the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood in the same voting district as
people living along the 94 stretch in North Mpls is written that way for a
reason. And probably not a good one. Ward 03 -- as given in the final map
from the commission -- is bizarre.
It's especially bizarre for Ward 03 to cross the river at that point, but
not to bring in the residential areas downtown. The people living in the
warehouse district and along the Washington Avenue corridor would seem to
have a fairly strong bond with their neighbors just across the river.
Better at least than they do with the mansion owners of Kenwood and the
Cedar Lake/Lake of the Isles areas.
And on the topic of Ward 07. What the heck? Elliott Park neighborhood is
totally going to get ramrodded on anything by the rich in downtown and
Kenwood! There is a HUGE population of people living just south in/of
downtown who have absolutely no voice in this plan.
I'm having a hard time seeing it on the map Mr. Brauer provided, but it
looks like Seward/Cedar-Riverside is lumped in with the wealthier
neighborhoods to the south and east. Instead, Elliott Park,
Cedar/Riverside, and then south to Franklin... this whole area is split
into FOUR different wards.
Now I wouldn't complain about any of this if the map looked like it was
drawn impartially. But the map is a mess! There is so little consistency
to the shape and size of the wards that one can only conclude the lines
were drawn the way they were with intent. And apparently the intent was to
make sure that sizable numbers of minorities and liberals would be
overwhlemed by moderates and conservatives at the polls.
Well, that's probably enough ranting from a guy stuck in Ward 04.
- -michael libby (Cleveland/North Mpls)
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Re: [Mpls] More Dinkytown coverage
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On Tuesday 09 April 2002 09:25 pm, DUKE POWELL wrote:
> 1. I watched a lot of TV coverage of the riot on the U of M campus. I
I don't watch television much, so I can only rely on past experience and
the reports of citizens. From what I understand the most significant
complaints were not of the type for which one is hospitalized. However,
spraying the eyes of already subdued persons is something I have seen
first-hand the police do. I have also seen them spray chemicals in the
eyes of persons who were not acting in a threatening manner. I have no
reason to doubt that this sort of physical abuse was common during the
hockey riot.
> themselves and/or others. It is not a pretty process; but then it isn't
> supposed to be. It is, however, effective and done in a manner that
> minimizes the risk to the officer, the public, the patient, and the
> drunk knuckle head.
Is shooting someone point blank 15 times a reduction in the risk to the
"knuckle head"? Is a group of bikers such a danger to society that they
must be tackled and brutalized? Are members of the press, attempting to
monitor an out-of-control situation a threat to order, such that they
should be put in pain and have the tools of their trade damaged or stolen?
If the police would stick to beating up on drunk hockey fans, you'd hear
not one peep out of me.
> property from those who wish you ill. The scary thing to me is that you
> all seem to have the ear of the mayor and a significant number of city
> council members.
Yes, the reason for that is that we, the citizens of Minneapolis, voted for
those people to hold those jobs. They work for us. The Minneapolis police
work for us. They are therefore accountable to us.
- -michael libby (Cleveland/North Mpls)
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Re: [Mpls] Critical Media
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On Wednesday 03 April 2002 10:34 pm, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> For those still car-bound, I recommend one simple read: "Divorce Your
> Car" is a short and very informative read. List-members who are
> concerned with urban transportation issues, I urge you to run (or walk,
> or bike) to your neighborhood bookseller (if you have one, otherwise ?)
> and get the book and read it.
Even if you do have a neighborhood bookseller, try the Minneapolis library!
http://mplwebcat.mpls.lib.mn.us/search/t?SEARCH=divorce+your+car
If you don't have a real need to buy a book, conserve valuable resources
(not to mention your hard-earned money) by sharing them. The book above is
currently checked out (and overdue), but you can even reserve books
online, so there's no need to waste a trip to the store or library only to
find the book is not stocked or on the shelf.
And the online catalog at the library makes finding related books really
easy too even when the books are not near each other on the shelves.
As a parent I've noticed that as soon as you make the decision to walk,
bike, or even bus somewhere with your kid(s), you end up actually talking
to them more. This is a vast improvement over car rides that consist of
cursing at other drivers, while your kid(s) try to distract themselves in
the backseat.
As a neighbor I've met more people who live near me riding the bus than any
other way (and riding the 5 through North Minneapolis every day is very
educational in other ways).
Don't get me wrong, I find cars to be valuable resources at times-- but I
wish we had something like San Francisco's Car Share program here (see
www.sfcarshare.org for more information). The years I spent without a car
(most of my adult life, in fact) were filled with both good exercise and a
general sense of wonder. There's so much to this great city (both good and
bad) that just whizzes by when you armor yourself in a 2000 pound killing
machine.
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland/North Minneapolis)
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Re: [Mpls] Police Arrest Bike Riders
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On Saturday 30 March 2002 07:40 pm, Cameron A. Gordon wrote:
> Does anyone else question if this is a useful or valuable use of our
> police resources?
I certainly do. I think it's an outrage. No, it doesn't quite reach the
level of killing immigrants, or the way the recent khat raid was handled.
This recent incident seems intended to promote a chilling of political
speech and relatively peaceful protest, though.
This sort of police abuse is indicative of their "use as much force as
possible" approach to any confrontation. They seem to be trained to
escalate as much as necessary to prove to everyone involved that they
(MPD) are "in control". They're not in control, they're out of control.
Hopefully the Mayor can look past his police endorsements during the
election season and work for some change in the department. We all know
there are good cops on the team: this isn't about the street cops. It's a
management decision, and a poor one at that.
- -Michael Libby (Cleveland/North Mpls)
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Re: [Mpls] MPLS Pedophiles using Yahoogroups!
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On Wednesday 20 March 2002 09:55 pm, Thomas Swift wrote:
> They only want to ยchat withย local kids, our kids.
> Why do think that is Eva? How about you Michael Libby?
What about me? You didn't respond to a single point I raised. It's
insulting that you include me now without engaging in one meaningful
exchange with me heretofore.
You seem to be using Yahoo! groups as an excuse to further an anti-gay
agenda without any evidence of wrong-doing. As for me, I don't participate
in witch hunts.
Will your next post about Yahoo! groups focus on the Lesbian Avengers
group that was a little further down the list of Mpls/St. Paul groups,
saying that Yahoo! groups is encouraging terrorism?
If you don't have any evidence of actual illegal behavior, your opinion of
the group is just that, your opinion. Minus the word "gay" and the
description is similar to that of the Boy Scouts (a place for men and boys
to get together for more than just chatting). I could insinuate all day
long that, in spite of a few high profile anti-gay moments, the BSA are
just a cover for their real purpose of getting men and boys together for
sex, but that wouldn't make it true.
> The fact that we have people defending these bastards,
> for whatever reason, sickens me..really.
Watch your tongue! The word "bastard" is a long-standing epithet used to
hurt children whose parents through no fault of the child were not married
at their birth. It is a form of psychological child abuse and a civil
discussion is no place for such filth.
No one here has defended pedophilia that I'm aware of. Are you aware that
the age of consent in Minnesota is 16 unless the adult is in a position of
power over the younger person (MN State Statute 609.345). At age 16 we
still might call someone a "boy" (and they might consider themselves one
as well), but we generally regard them as being capable of making their
own determinations of who to sexually partner with. Without evidence to
the contrary, why should I assume this group is not meant for legal
activities, such as chatting or for people for whom it is legal to have
sex with each other to meet?
Because accusing the gay community of pedophilia, "recruiting", and a host
of other similar practices is a timeworn approach by antigay special
interests to prevent anyone from speaking out on behalf of the homosexual
population, I think it would behoove you to make it clear that you are not
doing the same.
In Minnesota *tonight* some 3,000 kids are without homes. The largest
group of them in Minneapolis. Some of them gay children kicked out of
their homes. Odds are high that many will be approached within 48 hours of
becoming homeless by someone seeking to exploit them sexually. They are
extremely vulnerable. And you want us to spend time complaining to Yahoo!
based on your unfounded accusations against one group they carry, while
the young people who are in real danger *right now* go ignored?
I think I feel a bit sick myself.
- -Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Mpls
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Re: [Mpls] Schiff, Rybak, Berglin selling out on stadium
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On Wednesday 20 March 2002 08:16 pm, Alan Shilepsky wrote:
> I recall years ago walking home up Hennepin one Sunday, seeing about 30
> people milling around the parking lot of a temp agency near the
> Library. I went up and asked what was up, and they told me they were
> waiting for a ball game to end, then the temp agency was going to van
> them over to the Dome to do the clean up work. They were going to get
> less than $10 a hour.
When I was a teen I worked for that agency, doing janitorial stuff at the
Dome. Not a bad summer job (when drunken sports fans weren't standing on
my broom to taunt me), but for adults the job stinks. Those sorts of jobs
force you to come and "sign in", then wait, then travel, then finally you
go on the clock when you get to the site. Sometimes quite a while after
you've shown up to work and sat idle. This is in addition to commuting to
that downtown location.
> Now that we have livable wage in Mpls, tell me, does it pertain to these
> people and to the people who are selling peanuts at the game, or does it
> only pertain to the people who built the stadium.
Seems to me I've seen volunteer groups staffing the concessions
at the Dome. Anyone with the inside scoop willing to illuminate how that
works?
Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Mpls
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Re: [Mpls] MPLS Pedophiles using Yahoogroups!
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On Wednesday 20 March 2002 02:51 pm, Thomas Swift wrote:
> I had no clue as to how many special interest forums
> that Yahoo has going, so today I took a look. From:
> Loring_men_and_boys
Like the boy who cried wolf, if you keep crying "homosexual! special
interests!" at everything involving gay people, you might end up being
ignored. Your accusation of pedophilia may be spot on, but you haven't
given one shred of real evidence to support that. And if you do get some
real evidence, I think it would be best to give it to the FBI, not us. For
all we know the group was started by the FBI and the MPD in a joint
investigation not unlike the "Candyman" operation.
Anyway, children are at much higher risk of injury and abuse of all types
from relatives and acquaintances and even other children, so that worrying
about a few gays on the internet seems like a waste of time. And in a city
where 3,000 children will be homeless tonight, I think we have much bigger
concerns than 124 members of Yahoo! group #7. In fact, I'm very concerned
about this homelessness because kids being homeless for more than thirty
days is the biggest determinant in juvenile prostitution(1).
Now without evidence of actual criminal behavior, what do you want Yahoo!
to do, rely on *your* best judgement as to what groups they should carry
and should not carry? While Yahoo! has a right to determine what groups
they will and won't allow, I think they are rightfully cautious about
being overzealous in policing that sort of stuff. When AOL tried to
protect children from the "EVIL" people not long ago, they caught a lot of
flack from their customers for really screwing it up.
- Michael Libby (Cleveland/North Minneapolis).
- -
1 - Hofstede Report on Juvenile Prostitution in Minnesota:
http://www.ag.state.mn.us/office/Crime/hofstede_1.htm#DANGERS%20OF%20JUVENILE%20PROSTITUTION
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[Mpls] Abu Kassim Jeilani
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Will the City be publishing or posting the results of the Jeilani
investigation, for better or worse in some accessible fashion? Or will
citizens have to live with what the corporate news decides to print?
Has there been any serious discussion about getting some agency other than
the Hennepin County sheriff's to do the "independent" investigation? How
about the Ramsey or Anoka County sheriff's at least?
Caught my eye: I was watching COPS or some such show on Saturday night on
channel 41 or 45 (I was just channel surfing during a commercial) and I
saw some police on that show disarm an obviously upset man, carrying not a
machete, but a shotgun. They tackled him from behind. Perhaps a little
cross-training is in order?
Since the taser is obviously ineffective, how about tranquilizer darts?
They seem to work on all those PBS wildlife shows. Will the makers of the
apparently broken taser be contributing some money to Jeilani's family
because the defect in their product may have lead police to concluce
thatdeadly force was necessary? Does the City at least cover funeral
expenses when the police kill someone?
Eleven minutes is not enough time for a small group of people to decide to
deprive a man of his life, a wife of her husband, and children of their
father. When can we expect not only the results of an investigation, but a
real plan for preventing future similar tragedies?
-Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Mpls
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[Mpls] City Utilities (was: Is water now golden?)
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On Thursday 14 March 2002 01:29 pm, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> For several months now I have noticed that my water bill is more then my
> electric bill. I understand all of the little charges but I'm talking
> about the water and sewer costs. It is safe to say that our water bill
I'm not so worried about the water/sewer portion of my utility bill. I can
control that somewhat through conservation. And in a city with 200,000
homes that $0.43 water testing fee isn't much money every month, and it
apparently goes to the State of MN, not the City.
What concerns me quite a bit more is my solid waste expenses. That portion
of my bill appears to be fixed at around $25. When I compare my garbage
can (usually holding nothing or maybe a couple of kitchen bags--
occasionally I do some cleaning and fill it, I haven't thrown out any
appliances or large items since I've owned my home) to some of my
neighbors (cart overflowing, large appliances, furniture, etc) I shudder.
Why doesn't this system allow for these differences?
I've even heard one person tell me they let a relative throw away large
household goods with their stuff because where the relative lives it costs
extra to throw away!
This current plan provides me zero incentive not to fill my cart to the
brim with garbage every week. Nor is my recycling credit actually based on
how much I recycle thereby encouraging me to recycle. I may as well save
my aluminum cans and redeem them for cash myself-- haven't done that since
I used to dumpster dive for cans near the U (you'd think college students
would be smart enough to figure out how to work a recycle bin).
How about a system based on volume or weight? I know I can get smaller
cart, but will that reduce my base fee? Why does someone who has two carts
only pay $4 more, even though they apparently produce twice as much
garbage?
Do I have a choice of disposal services in the City? Or am I stuck with
this unless City government hears my cries?
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Re: [Mpls] Asset Forfeiture (was "Attorney General Mike Hatch...")
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On Tuesday 12 March 2002 05:45 pm, Victoria Heller wrote:
> property, your ideas, your identity - all of these things are your
> property and are protected by the 5th Amendment of our Constitution.
Ms. Heller, I'm not sure which Constitution you're reading but the one
I've been reading all these years does not state in the Fifth Amendment
that ideas are private property.
In fact, article I, section 8, clearly states that "Congress shall have
the power to ... 8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by
securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to
their respective writings and discoveries:" Without this "exclusive right"
ideas would have no protection at all, as they do not when that "limited
time" expires.
> Property rights secure almost every other freedom we enjoy.
I doubt it. Not when due process or just compensation are all that are
needed to deprive one of them. I'd say our freedoms are founded in the
rule of law, justly applied. Or maybe we've just been lucky for a while.
What the Fifth does seem to preclude are things like asset forfeiture
laws, where the police take, keep, and sell your stuff without your ever
having had due process of law or just compensation. What the ACLU calls "a
license to steal" (http://www.aclu.org/forfeiture/index.html).
Do the Minneapolis police engage in this unsavory practice? I know
nationally it is some problem, has it come here as well? Desperately
attempting to steer this into Minneapolis-specific territory both out of
concern for the list and because I'm curious if the Minneapolis police
force is currently incented to raid citizens' homes to fill City Hall
coffers. I'm not sure how to ascertain this myself, anyone know?
- Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Minneapolis
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
| "even monkeys fall from trees" : "saru mo ki kara ochiru" |
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[Mpls] Re: Police bashing (long)
he insane bear partial
> responsibility for their deaths. These people
> needed close supervision in a supportive setting,
> and instead they wound up being shot to death
> because the police are simply not equipped to
> deal with them. I hope Mayor Rybak and the
> Council can get the police what they need, since
> I'm afraid the other half of the problem won't be
> solved anywhere near as quickly.
Please be careful in enacting more serious controls over the lives of
people deemed to be mentally ill. Once a doctor has determined that the
individual is ill, this diagnosis robs them of their liberty. With mental
institutions the term of incarceration is indefinite and the longevity of
care is determined by those most likely to profit by keeping people
institutionalized. This creates an extraordinary conflict of interest
which is not easily resolved. Besides, mental illness seems to be very
unpredictable and highly resistant to treatment in many cases. Certain
dianoses amount to a life sentence. Without a provable crime justifying
life incarcertation, we are all in danger of permanent loss of liberty
dependent on the decree of a psychologist or psychiatrist.
If this poor man was not known to have violent episodes in the past, but
merely to be insane, then we would have had no right in the past to take
him off the streets for simply being sick any more than we have the right
to lock up AIDS victims for simply being sick.
This morning's Strib article does not indicate such a mental illness in
quotes attributed to family and friends. They do say he had some illness,
but not that he had dangerous episodes before. Was this man known to
police, who might have therefore known better? I haven't yet got a sense
that this is any sort of repeat of the Barbara Schneider incident, where
we might assume that police should have known better, based on prior
interactions with her.
I think it is very unfortunate that this incident follows six months of
targetting the Somali community and other ethnic groups for potential
terrorist links and harrassing them over that. In fact, given recent
deportations, I can see why this community feels persecuted. But let's not
lose sight of this in our zeal to examine these officers' actions on
Sunday. Let's not make them scapegoats for our national mood.
And if I appear to be siding with the police, I am. They are humans,
tasked with way too much to do and given as few resources to do it as
possible, and rewarded poorly for their efforts. Stop policing the heck
out of society and reserve our police force to train for and respond to
incidents such as these, and we'll all be a lot safer, including the
seemingly insane carrying machetes.
Stop overworking our police. And stop pitting them against the community
by telling them to go after every hooker and drug user and broken
tail-light they can find. You put so much pressure on these people it's no
wonder incidents like these occur! I'm surprised they even accept these
jobs given the way we treat them.
- Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Minneapolis
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
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Re: [Mpls] Qwest cuts back on Zipcodes
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On Monday 11 March 2002 01:36 pm, Alan Shilepsky wrote:
> Feeling very inconvenienced, and wondering if Qwest it trying to help
> FedEx or DHL or something,
Or maybe some insane copyright lawyer at the PO decided that they own the
rights to the list of ZIP codes and therefore Qwest would have to license
the list (and most certainly would need to license the software to help
them ensure that they have the *correct* ZIP code for each address).
Or maybe they realized this was costing them money to print and was not a
core competency of their business. And so it got axed.
Or maybe it was an oversight. Stranger things have been known to happen. :)
But to lighten your load. Here's a tool that provides the ZIP code plus
the four digit appendage for not just Minneapolis, but the entire United
States:
http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/lookup_zip+4.html
And if you aren't sure where an address is in our fair city:
http://www.mapquest.com
(MapQuest will provide excellent maps, ZIP+4 AND aerial photographs!)
- Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Minneapolis
- --
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
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Re: [Mpls] NYTimes.com Article: Good (or Unwitting) Neighbors Make for Good Internet Access
n they get books with the tax money
instead? What about those of us who have been paying for internet access
on our own for years? Can I get some sort of tax credit for providing this
service to my household myself? In fact, there's your answer: instead of
providing administratively top-heavy neighborhood ISPs, just have a $10 or
$20 per month credit or deduction (not to exceed the actual amount paid)
to any household paying for internet access.
You could also allow persons such as myself a tax credit or deduction (for
the monthly service and for the initial cost of equipment/installation)
for maintaining a high-speed connection with a wireless node (so that my
neighbors have access through me). None of these tax schemes require me to
attend neighborhood meetings to decide how my tax money is spent. If I and
my neighbors have tax credits and some initiative, then we get to decide
directly how to spend that money.
--Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Mpls.
- -
FOOTNOTE
(1) Please see
http://www.ichimunki.com/cgi-bin/waka.cgi/Fritz%20Hollings/rant/20020228
for a text copy of Senator Hollings recent speech which he states at the
beginning that he aims to assist both high-speed ISPs and media "content"
providers in selling both their high-speed access (which he claims there
is plenty of in many areas) and their content. I wonder when he'll pass
some laws that will help me sell my product that nobody wants.
- --
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
| "even monkeys fall from trees" : "saru mo ki kara ochiru" |
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[Mpls] Cafes in the Park (was re: Park Board Decision on DQ)
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On Saturday 09 March 2002 08:47 am, kim bartmann wrote:
> Thanks to lisa mcdonald for mentioning BLB along with d'amico. I'd love
> to see a little patio on the lake where I could have some rose wine and
> a nice snack, and that would definitely make a 'concession' more able to
> make a profit. On the other hand, as we say in just about any business,
I agree, wine and a snack would be excellent. But wouldn't it be better if
it were just legal for us to bring our own wine to the park (and what if I
prefer a martini or a certain kind of beer with my snack)? If it were me,
I might also bring some cheese and crackers and maybe some fruit and have
a picnic. As far as I know, everything on my ideal picnic list is legal to
take to the park except the wine. Am I wrong?
If I'm not, then with a different law, I might also be able to have my
picnic in a park closer to my house. This means less driving around town
and less crowding at Lake Harriet or Calhoun. After all, for me to get to
Lake Calhoun I end up driving several miles and past a bunch of parks. If
I am wrong, please let me know... I'll be having a lot more picnics this
summer! :)
One or two licensed cafes (as a substitute for legalizing the drinking of
wine in parks) seems to ensure that only a few citizens will have this
luxury by restricting it to choice locations where less poor people live
and then further restricting access based on ability to afford the cafe's
prices?
I'm also concerned that public money will be used to provide an excellent
business opportunity without fully recouping the expenses the public
incurred to provide it. Doesn't the park budget, which maintains the
beaches and trails (the reason people are at these lakes), come from
taxes? And the buildings that would house this business (or even the
not-DQ ice cream shop) were built using tax revenues, weren't they? How
will we even know when the City has been properly compensated for the use
of such a location?
- -Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Minneapolis
- --
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
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[Mpls] No wonder unemployment is so high!
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Just heard on the news this morning that unemployment is way up over last
year at this time (http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/1914173.html).
And I think I found one of the culprits... There are laws against hiring
people when your existing employees are unwilling to work. Such laws
hinder economic growth and therefore the creation of jobs. This law
prevents the unemployed from seeking work that others refuse to do. Laws
promoting unemployment should be repealed immediately if not sooner.
- From the City of Minneapolis ordinances, which anyone can view online at:
http://fws.municode.com/CGI-BIN/om_isapi.dll?depth=10&infobase=11490.nfo&softpage=MCCTOC
(This is the "official" site, linked from www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us, by the
way. I think the part I like most is the copyright statement that appears
to be the title of the website. Anyone know where I can get
machine-readable versions of the Mpls Code without going thru this site?)
385.350. Professional strike breakers.
(a) Recruiting prohibited. No person shall recruit, procure, supply or
refer any person for employment who customarily and repeatedly offers
himself for employment in place of any employee involved in a labor
dispute in which such person, partnership, agency, firm or corporation
is not directly involved.
(b) Employment prohibited. No person, partnership, firm or corporation
involved in a labor dispute shall, directly or indirectly:
(1) Employ in the place of an employee involved in such dispute, any
person who customarily and repeatedly offers himself for employment
in the place of employees involved in a labor dispute; or
(2) Contract or arrange with any other person, partnership, agency,
firm or corporation to recruit, procure, supply or refer persons for
employment who customarily and repeatedly offer themselves for
employment in place of employees involved in such labor dispute.
(c) Accepting employment prohibited. No person who customarily and
repeatedly offers himself for employment in place of employees involved
in a labor dispute shall take or offer to take the place in employment
of any employee involved in a labor dispute.
(Code 1960, As Amend., ยงยง946.010--946.030)
- --Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Mpls.
- --
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Re: [Mpls] Brandon Lacy Campos For Minneapolis Public Schools and Caucus Night
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On Wednesday 06 March 2002 03:00 pm, Thomas Swift wrote:
> I feel that this attitude directly bears on the tone
> and direction his proposed guidance of MPS would take;
> I think he has made the substance (or lack thereof
> IMO) of his proposed tenure clear.
I don't think Mr. Campos' email to the list contained any statements about
the WTC/Pentagon bombings. Therefore I'm not sure that his views on the
bombings or the US response to same are relevant to a discussion of his
qualifications or goals with respect to the Minneapolis schools. His email
contains sufficient evidence of his "special interests" on its own. So why
don't we stick to that?
> You needn't take my word for this, check the MPLS
> forum archives.
How about some specific links or quotes?
> A check of the groups listed in Brandon's curriculum
> vitea gives one the impression that his overriding
> "educational" concern has been including more special
> interest propaganda into the schools curriculum.
It sounds to me like he's trying to prevent gay kids from being
teased, tortured, depressed, suicidal, misunderstood, abused, cast out,
and excluded from the educational process. It also sounds to me like he
wanted to make sure that classes like history weren't just the study of
rich white guys. A good move, in my opinion. But the problem with our
schools is not the subject matter.
No matter how much we argue about who learns what about whom it won't
ever make a difference when our schools are little better than prisons for
young people, walled off from productive society into age and
class segregated rooms with arbitrary teacher groups who have seemingly
absolute control over their days but are not held accountable in any real
way when the children do not learn.
> Personally, I find the effect that the invasion of
> special interest politics and "progressive" idealogy
> has had on the schools disgusting and academically
> devistating. I believe that these groups only interest
> in kids are as fodder for the advancement of thier
> social agendas; results to the kids be damned. But you
> may disagree.
My experiences riding the 5 through North Minneapolis and listening to
some of our city's children on their way to school convinces me that the
schools have no hope in the face of poverty and racism and the culture of
violence surrounding many of Minneapolis' "at-risk" kids. To push the
blame onto the schools (no matter who is in charge and what their policies
are) seems bizarre to me.
> Finally, you are correct in that I cannot vote for or
> against MPS board members; but the outcome will effect
> my kids, my wife and I in that we will be charged with
> the support, retraining, counseling, rehabilitation
> and in some cases, life time incarceration, of the
> hundreds (thousands?) of kids that MPS fails to
> educate. They will effect society well across city
> boundries I assure you.
I seriously doubt Mr. Campos' minor influence (if
elected) on our schools will have any lasting effects on larger trends
unless he does something truly unexpected and amazing. (No disrespect to
Mr. Campos intended, even Mother Theresa would have had trouble affecting
the larger society from just a seat on the school board).
My biggest problem is that he's DFL. Now if he were Green or Libertarian,
then I might be able to get behind his candidacy.
> As I said, if you like what you see in MPS and want
> more of the same, Brandon is your guy.
How will I
know if I've found a viable alternative? Not that anyone else has
announced their candidacy to this list, but simply not voting for Campos
isn't enough. We must have someone else to vote *for*, got any
suggestions? In the absence of specific candidates, are there some
positions that candidates should hold that in your opinion will make our
society better?
Got any special insights into what surrounding schools are doing
differently that makes them so successful? I went to a small, private high
school in St. Paul rather than attend Southwest in Minneapolis myself.
Seems to me that the school I went to was a lot more "progressive" and
liberal than MPS will ever be, but they had and still have 100% graduation
and usually 100% of the students went on to college-- this in spite of
some obvious pandering to special interests in the curriculum.
- -Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Minneapolis.
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
| "even monkeys fall from trees" : "saru mo ki kara ochiru" |
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Re: [Mpls] medical marijuana
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On Wednesday 06 March 2002 12:52 pm, Mark Wilde wrote:
> full page ad in the new york times this morning in
> support of medical marijuana signed by a host of
> people nation wide including minneapolis' own state
> representatives kahn and biernat.
Awesome!
> two questions: is this really an issue you want to be
> known for nationally, and want associated with the
> city of minneapolis? and what percentage of their
> constituents a. know about this endorsement and b.
> feel the same about marijuana use?
Yes! and no I didn't know about it specifically. and Yes!
In fact I consider a much broader pro-legalization stance one of several
important factors in whether or not I will support/vote for any political
candidate. Candidates supporting the "war on drugs" get an automatic red X
in my book.
- -Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Minneapolis.
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
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Re: [Mpls] Homeless during the day
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On Thursday 28 February 2002 08:16 pm, Michael Hohmann wrote:
> [On Thursday, February 28, 2002 12:36 AM, Phyllis Kahn wrote: ]
> > A good homeless shelter place is the Library. Is this being considered
> > in the new design?
> I don't think city residents passed a new library referendum thinking it
> would double as a homeless shelter! What is the position of the Library
> Board, management and staff; and most importantly library users,
> regarding such arrangements? How about the City Council and County
> Commissioners?
Exactly. While I'm certain I don't mind the homeless using the library for
its normal purposes, it is no substitute for any serious shelter
solutions. Librarians are not trained social workers. Not that they're
incapable, but had they wanted to run shelters they would have gotten
different jobs.
The plans for the next library should not be somehow encouraging its use
as a homeless shelter. If housing our homeless population is a priority
(which I hope it is), a specific agency to that purpose should be getting
funding to provide a shelter in downtown. This should not be slipped into
the library's mission.
Many of the activities a shelter would be good for-- eating, drinking,
sleeping, loitering-- are all prohibited by library rules. As a patron of
the downtown library I don't mind that there are chess games in that one
section, but the library certainly doesn't need added strain of more
people who are using it only as a shelter.
Besides, about half of the homeless in the state of Minnesota are children
(some 10% of whom are runaways or turned out of their homes)... are they
really welcome at the library and in downtown during the day? Shouldn't we
be doing our best to make sure those that can be are in schools or in a
learning environment at a shelter? Wouldn't sending expose them to all
sorts of new problems, least of which being a risk of getting picked up by
the police for truancy?
Finally, while the library is closed on Sundays, I hear it is still
sometimes quite chilly on that day in spite of the homeless having one
less place to go.
Instead of rolling expanded shelter space into the new library, how about
throwing that into the new stadium it looks like we'll be paying for
against our express wishes? Eh? Homeless access to the locker rooms in the
off-season? Just make sure they have places to sit and the locker room
already has temporary storage for personal belongings, showers... well,
you get the idea.
- -Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Mpls
- --
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
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Re: [Mpls] Dairy Queen
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On Wednesday 27 February 2002 02:34 pm, Annie Young wrote:
> Looking for input about the proposed Dairy Queen concession at Lake
> Harriet and Lake Calhoun. It's on the full Board park agenda Wednesday,
> March 6th. Please feel free to share thoughts and ideas on or offline,
> Annie Young
> Citywide Park Commissioner
DQ doesn't get any points from me for their cookie-requiring website
(where I went to do my research before forming a solid opinion) or the
fact that they are not a local business (although the franchise may be).
They have offices/stores all over the country (from Manhattan to LA).
This puts them in a class with other large corporations with major local
offices or headquarters here. My gut reaction is "why? aren't there any
local shops that would like this opportunity?"
And to that end, my only question is: shouldn't this be a bid process
where the best bid takes the spot? If the Harriet bandshell is going to
host a plain old private business, shouldn't the business simply tell the
Park Board how much the spot is worth to them, and the highest bidder pays
up and moves in?
If DQ has the best bid (and by best I mean "pays the most to the City")
and accepts nominal restrictions that others mention like no neon flashing
signs or other excessive "branding" of the in-park locations (basically
leave them as is) and won't use their park contract in advertising as any
sort of city endorsement then I don't see a problem with them being in
that location.
Personally I prefer the "real" ice cream to soft serve, but I think I
visit the Robbinsdale DQ just as much as I do the Harriet bandshell. I
certainly don't think DQ will (under the condition of not overbranding the
location) change the feel of the park much. In fact, it might be nice to
have a wider variety of treat choices at Lake Harriet. I'm even less
concerned about the Calhoun location, since it is so close to Uptown and
feels a lot different (to me) than Harriet.
- -Michael Libby (cleveland/north mpls, but grew up near Lake Harriet)
- --
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Re: [Mpls] stadium
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Saturday 23 February 2002 09:04 am, James E Jacobsen wrote: >I have never been in the Guthrie. >They want to build a new Guthrie -with some of my tax dollars- >And with a design and expense I am not enthused about. >But I am glad to see them do it. Isn't the Guthrie a non-profit organization? Isn't the latest stadium proposal putting the city/county in for more than half of the investment, to the tune of nearly $200 million? Does the city have a 3% sales tax anywhere in its boundries to support the arts institutions? >I am not into Harley Davidson culture, >Though I don't get road rage when I see Harley drivers on my tax > paid highways. Everyone benefits from roads, no matter what they're driving or riding in. Essential city services like police and waste disposal depend on roads. That motorcyclists can use the roads doesn't prevent anyone else from using the same road. That we all support the building and maintenance of roads makes sense, they are truly a shared resource. And it's important to point out that various taxes (gas tax) and fees (licensing) *are* intended to get users to pay more for using roads more. >But I am glad to see a new stadium for millions of people who do > want to go there. I also like the 'membership' in the national sports > community, --having teams. And if it takes a few cents of my tax dollars > when I eat a sandwich, I won't feel violated. So if we have a new baseball stadium, will we have to have this same discussion again when Red McCombs wants a new football stadium? How many pro sports teams does a metro area need to be a "big league" town? Will a baseball stadium be useful for much other than baseball? I'm guessing not very. At least the Target Center seems to be hosting an event pretty much every day of the week. >I have television. There is a lot on TV that I don't car about > watching, I am not trying to get my least favorite stations taken off > the air. With the exception of two public television stations in the Twin Cities area I'm under the impression that TV is a private enterprise, not subsidized at all. >I prefer sail boating which doesn't take even much gasoline, > thank you. I do go to the library, variously, and will visit the new > library they are working on and which is paid for with taxes from a lot > of people who won't go there. I'd be interested to know how many Minneapolis citizens do or don't use the library (directly and indirectly). Like public schools, not every citizen takes advantage of them, but we all pay for them because it seems to be a consensus that they are a necessity for the ongoing strength of our democracy. >I believe in a balanced society and culture in which reasonable > options are available to people. I wouldn't think to forbid others from > having activities which might not be my cup of tea. No public-financing-for-a-stadium opponents that I've seen (even those of us who don't care much for pro sports) are trying to forbid the building of a stadium. All I'm saying (and all I've seen others say) is that we don't think we should be the ones to foot the bill if a stadium is that important. I've gone to many games (mostly Gopher football) at the Dome, so I definitely hope we have some decent football stadium when this is all over. But for the football and even the baseball games I've been to, the Dome has seemed a fine venue to me. Is the building falling in? If not, why the push for a new stadium? Is it because the owners of the pro teams aren't gorging on enough money for their tastes? Is it because the teams are threatening to leave town if we don't coddle them? In all this I've not seen one solid reason why, when the last lease these teams signed isn't even over yet, we need to take on additional fiscal risk to build a new stadium (and more likely two new stadiums), nor why the people who live and work near the stadium should pay a higher tax rate to help pay for it. If Hennepin County wants to use citizen money to pay for the stadium, tax all of Hennepin County for it. Sounds fair to me. Or better yet, see if you can't convince Anoka and Ramsey county to help pay for it as well. Lots of people will come down from Anoka and Blaine or over from St. Paul to see a game, I'm sure. But will they all really be stopping and eating in downtown Minneapolis? And if those few cents of tax are really so little to ask for, why not just roll that into ticket pricing and have the people who came for the game pay an extra fifty cents or a dollar per seat? The convenience charges a lot of them pay to TicketMaster are much highe
Re: [Mpls] Fw: stadium
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On Wednesday 20 February 2002 01:13 pm, James E Jacobsen wrote:
> Bin Laden would love you guys.
The life blood of a democratic republic is citizens exercizing their right
to speak freely and voting as they see fit on issues of public import.
This in no way compares to religion-based fascism or terrorism. Taking
money from citizens against their wishes and using it to fund private
enterprise on the other hand...
--Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Mpls.
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
| "even monkeys fall from trees" : "saru mo ki kara ochiru" |
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Re: [Mpls] Unofficial list of K-Mart closings
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On Tuesday 19 February 2002 06:29 am, Susan Maricle wrote:
> If the
> Lake Street K-Mart closes, where will its shoppers go?
To the Target on Lake Street? To the Target downtown? To the many other
retail outlets in downtown (don't forget there are both Saks *and* TJ Maxx
in downtown)? To the Maul of America? To one of the many smaller retail
outlets owned and operated by local businesspeople that line the length of
Lake Street? To the shopping district in Uptown? To the Salvation Army or
Savers or other places where consumer goods are re-used rather than
consumed? These are all easily gotten to by driving or taking the bus from
that part of town.
If the store is not profitable, it should not continue to operate. If the
store is profitable, then it should stay open. K-Mart (or any large
retailer) can't afford to operate stores at a loss once the store has been
open a couple of years, no matter where they are. And if they want to keep
unprofitable stores open, they'll need to raise prices in order to stay
solvent-- something I suspect would drive a lot of their customer base
elsewhere.
- Michael Libby ( Cleveland, North Mpls )
- --
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
| "even monkeys fall from trees" : "saru mo ki kara ochiru" |
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Re: [Mpls] *Minneapolis* Identity Politics
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On Sunday 17 February 2002 07:10 am, David Brauer wrote:
> [Do we have any solid estimates on the gay/lesbian percentage
> of the city's population?]
Someone please correct me if they have better information or if I have
somehow mangled the numbers in this quick analysis. The information
presented herein relies on data supplied by the US Census
Bureau at
http://www2.census.gov/census_2000/datasets/demographic_profile/Minnesota/2k
h27.pdf and a report by the Human Rights Campaign at
http://www.hrc.org/familynet/documents/L%20census.pdf.
As many are probably aware, the 2000 census was the first to make any
decent effort at classifying gay & lesbian populations (maybe in 2010 they
can start counting transgender and bisexuals, too).
As many are also likely aware, between the well-known Kinsey study and the
National Opinion Research Center study at the University of Chicago, the
gay population as a percentage of the US total population is pegged at
anywherebetween 2% and 10%, depending on how you answer the question, "what
constitutes homosexuality?"
According the HRC literature (derived directly from census figures, I
believe), Minnesota has 9,147 gay or lesbian couples. Not an astounding
looking number in a state with almost 5 million people-- but of course is
only part of the picture (see later).
The Minneapolis MSA (which includes St. Paul) is listed in the HRC report
as an MSA with more than 1 million in population and shows a percentage of
"coupled" households that report as being gay or lesbian at 1.05% (compared
to a national .99%). In Minneapolis, this 1.05% would be relative to a base
of 47,049 married households plus 12,585 non-married partner households
(total of 59,634 households). That's a total of 626 of the 9,147
gay/lesbian Minnesota couples living in Minneapolis proper.
But before I finish, I should probably emphasize that this 1.05% only
counts couples who reported correctly as being same-sex partners. It does
not account for situtations such as mixed-sex couples having one or more
partner who is bisexual or homosexual. It does not account for singles who
are gay or lesbian. It does not account for gay or lesbian children living
with heterosexual parents.
Extending the 1.05% to the total population (and whether this is
appropriate is a whole different question) means that Minneapolis (with a
population of 382,618) has 4,017 identifiably gay or lesbian citizens. But
it is possible that as many as 38,262 people (based on Kinsey's 10%) who
might be identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender live in the
city. But as I said, it's very dependent on how one defines these classes.
To put 1.05% (or 2% or 10%) into perspective here are some other population
percentages from the census report: Black, 18%; Vietnamese, 0.6%; all
Asian, 6.1%; Native American 2.2%; any Hispanic or Latino 7.6%; male,
50.2%; female, 49.8%; 65 years of age or older, 9.1%; married couples,
29.0%; householders living alone, 40.3%; resident owned homes, 51.4%.
So to finally answer Mr. Brauer's question: I could not find any reliable
numbers in one evening of internet searching. But I'm inclined to consider
Minneapolis as slightly above the national average, and then it's up to you
to decide what you think the national average might be (based on your
definition of who you will include in this class of people).
-Michael Libby (Cleveland, North Mpls)
- --
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
| "even monkeys fall from trees" : "saru mo ki kara ochiru" |
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Re: [Mpls] Budget Cuts and civilian police monitoring
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On Tuesday 12 February 2002 09:06 am, Walt Cygan wrote:
> Rather, R.T. and the Chief should ensure that MPD policies and
> procedures are clear and explained to officers properly. Deputy Chiefs,
> Commanders and all levels of the chain of command should be then held
> accountable for training and disciplining officers and their
> supervisors.
On Tuesday 12 February 2002 03:44 pm, Rosalind Nelson wrote:
> Try the Human Rights Watch report:
> http://www.hrw.org/reports98/police/uspo86.htm
Interesting to note that in the Sauro write-up, Chief Olson gave some
insight into why simple oversight by managing officers is wholly
insufficient. From the article: "In an interview with Human Rights Watch,
Chief Olson stated that the arbitration system was perhaps the greatest
barrier he faces in his efforts to hold police officers accountable for
misconduct." Of course we continue to have the courts to settle claims,
but relying on them makes the city seem uncaring and probably results in a
lot of tax money being spent on higher damages and lawyers' fees.
-- Michael Libby, ( Cleveland, Northside )
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
| "even monkeys fall from trees" : "saru mo ki kara ochiru" |
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Re: [Mpls] parking problems
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On Tuesday 05 February 2002 09:00 pm, Many Crows wrote:
> We car pool to the wedge weekly, but this wouldn't work for unexpected
> trips to the hardware store. I wish the neighborhood could find another
> way to solve this instead of knocking down more homes and encouraging
> people to drive.
I certainly don't want to be seen as engaging in automobile apologetics,
but isn't it better that people drive a mile or two to a local hardware
store than for them to drive many miles to a larger store like Menard's or
Home Depot? The impact of the drive is certainly much less.
And supporting a local store certainly makes walking an option in good
weather and with lighter loads. Even if this means extra parking lot for
some customers, I think it's better than the likely alternatives of either
not having a local store or having customers try to find parking all over
a residential area.
- --Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Mpls
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
| "even monkeys fall from trees" : "saru mo ki kara ochiru" |
| public key at http://www.ichimunki.com/public.key |
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Re: [Mpls] Public Schools
(on Mon, 04 Feb 2002 23:28:57 -0600) Alan Shilepsky
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I hope our Minneapolis schools are saying the Pledge every day.
The only pledge I've heard about from my daughter is the "peace" pledge --
which I find ironic given the so-called war the same government that runs
the schools is now fighting.
I certainly hope any move to get school children to pledge allegiance to
the flag is accompanied by posting the Bill of Rights where the children
can read them and a discussion about how "liberty and justice for all"
might be a bit misleading in a nation which jails more of its people than
any other nation in the world (and in which the rate of incarceration has
more than tripled in the last 20 years, see
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/incrt.htm) and which involves blacks
in the "justice" system at over three times the rate it involves whites
(see http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/cpracept.htm).
- Michael Libby ( Cleveland/North Mpls )
--
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
| "even monkeys fall from trees" : "saru mo ki kara ochiru" |
| public key at http://www.ichimunki.com/public.key |
|_Fingerprint: D946FE20 79EE2109 161BFAFB E02956F4 A330AA73_|
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Re: [Mpls] Computers and Schools
(on Sun, 20 Jan 2002 21:55:15 -0600) Eva Young <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Yesterday's paper has an interesting oped about Computers in Schools:
>
> Every school budget is finite. So is every school day. When schools add
> computer instruction, they do so by cutting something demonstrably
> beneficial to young children.
Eva, thanks for the quotes from the article. I think it is important to
point out that this was *not* a StarTribune editorial but a piece written
by Heather Martens and Madalyn Cioci.
And for what its worth, I think they are completely 100% wrong. The
Minneapolis schools have huge problems with basic discipline and
attendance-- and bickering about computer labs is the least of our
concerns. All the DARE nonsense and moral propaganda in the form of "peace
makers" programs hasn't done and isn't likely to do ANY good. Cut that
first. Then look at combining music and gym to have more dance and
theater-- which can be combined with art by having kids make sets, masks,
etc.
And frankly, in a society where computers have achieved some measure of
prominence as a tool and where computer professionals are decently
compensated (and seem likely to continue to be well paid), taking
computers out of the Minneapolis Public Schools is to guarantee that so
many of the state's children most in need of a push will simply be left
behind as their suburban counterparts continue to have wide access to
computers. I'm guessing that even if suburban children don't spend much
time on computers at school, they are more likely to have one at home.
These people want to handicap Minneapolis' kids (thankfully they can't
harm mine, she has a computer of her own at home). To take away a valuable
tool for practicing basic skills and for research and for writing is to
degrade the quality of education for those children.
Are computers being used to help drill spelling or arithmetic? They can
provide accuracy and timing that no human can match. The internet is the
biggest library in the world. I understand that penmanship is important,
but why do writing exercises by hand? Is the point to be able to form
letters or to learn to compose stories and essays? There is a reason most
professional writers use computers these days, they vastly aid
composition. Finally, you can't use a computer if you can't read (although
some operating systems seem to be doing their best to eliminate that
necessity)... using a computer is reading practice! Forget taking the
computers out, are we even using them fully yet?
-- Michael Libby, over North.
__Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}__
| "even monkeys fall from trees" : "saru mo ki kara ochiru" |
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Re: [Mpls] Totally Commercially Funded (TCF) Holidazzle
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Wednesday 14 November 2001 02:51 pm, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > So, what do people think of the fact that the Holidazzle is going to be renamed the "TCF Holidzzle?" You mean it's not going to continue to be an obvious advertisement for the electric company? *grin* Of course, being proud to be an employee of a TCF competitor, I may have to boycott! - -Michael Libby ( Cleveland / "Over North" ) - -- = | My Public Key available from: keys.pgp.com | or http://www.ichimunki.com/public.key | | Its Fingerprint | D946 FE20 79EE 2109 161B FAFB E029 56F4 A330 AA73 = -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE79nou4ClW9KMwqnMRArL/AJ9FUo2KdRCiFaY9acu92ew0uuHljQCfe1q3 NqZ1/yOELLLhVp2SpJoYy38= =ML2l -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Computer lesson
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Friday 16 November 2001 03:31 pm, Robert Schmid wrote: > [on Friday 16 November 2001 03:07 pm, Heather Martens wrote:] > > differences. First, drawing with a drawing program involves using a > > mouse. A mouse is a rather blunt instrument. Six-year-olds can draw > > with it, but what they produce looks like what a three-year-old could > > do with a crayon. Still, we print it out and make a fuss over it as if > I'm not an artist but I have opposing thoughts on this. On the one hand, > I can't draw without a computer. I can do SOME visual art with a > computer. (FYI: I am biased. I have a BFA for which I did a lot of computer-aided art. I may give computers or art or both too much credit. *grin*) Most artists working on computers use a stylus designed to be pressure sensitive and to mimic some hybrid of real world pens, pencils, markers, etc. I don't think children should be using a mouse to draw on a computer. I do, however, think computers can form a valuable part of an art curriculum. Digital cameras allow dangerous chemicals to be avoided yet still to learn about photography (an equal opportunity art form in many respects)-- and more importantly visual self-expression. Plus computers make great photo labs, the effects are widely varied and mistakes can be corrected without wasting more than a few electrons. Also, computers make great typesetting and layout machines. This can be useful to incorporate artwork with text and such. What else can be done? The idea bin runneth over... > > But during my school tours last year, I found that computer use is not > > left up to the teachers. Computer time is a scheduled part of the week, > Well, this is part of an overall problem of trying to dictate curriculum But there must be some guidelines and if one of those guidelines includes computer use (which I support personally), then so be it. Once keyboarding skills have been taught (tough with smaller hands, but a good thing to have as early as possible), given a writing assignment in regular class, it is certainly better to have the student working with a text editor or word processor to produce a paper than to have to write the whole thing longhand. Oh, I suppose penmanship will suffer, but I'd like to see empirical evidence before I worry too much about that. I'd much rather see kids have the ability to make two prints of their work, to learn early on how to edit their work, etc. > limited. It would be interesting to try your experiment again with an > object-oriented language and really robust component library. - Heck, try > using Lego mindstorms, you'll accomplish a similar objective with > potentially interesting effects. Mindstorms are not a bad idea. I've read some success stories with those and there is at least one Minnesota enthusiast organization (they had a booth in the Tech bldg at the Fair). The specifics of a programming class I would leave to the person teaching, and are highly dependent on age of the students (who probably need to be 4th or 5th grade at least, just to have mastered some of the math and logic skills that are inherent in programming). - -Michael Libby (Cleveland Neighborhood/"Over North") - -- = | My Public Key available from: keys.pgp.com | or http://www.ichimunki.com/public.key | | Its Fingerprint | D946 FE20 79EE 2109 161B FAFB E029 56F4 A330 AA73 = -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE79bWG4ClW9KMwqnMRAgPgAJ9pOVFYYaMAV57HB3KVvS/avJ0+4wCfdW1t s67Wi7lEZyC61bEaRPi01vI= =dyba -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] Red light districts
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Sunday 11 November 2001 09:19 am, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > So Scott, next time you're heading out to your garage to confront these > people, I say bring a notebook and pen, go around to the front of the car, > and write down the plate number under the guise that you're turning him to > somewhere. We'll see how fast he hightails it out of there! And he'll > probably think twice about using your garage again! Now if only we had an approach like this that would be effective against the open dealing of drugs on the larger retail corners along Penn Avenue North. Any suggestions? I am tired of being asked if "I'm straight" (which is not a question about my orientation) when I go to the store for a bag of chips. I'm also tired of the subculture that goes along with this criminal enterprise. Knowing that these people are willing to shoot others over business deals does not make me feel safe in the least bit. What if they perceive me to be endangering their business in some way? Of course, I fully expect that if we chase them out of their current locations, they'll show up somewhere else for a while-- and then those folks in that area will chase them out and they eventually end up back here. Wouldn't it be nice if these black-market enterprises were not the province of criminals (and I mean people who commit all kinds of crimes) , but rather well-regulated business people, so that we might have an end to all the nasty side-effects of those markets (litter, gang activity, lost sales tax revenue, harrassment, police behavior, etc) and can deal with those markets and any attendant ill-effects (disease, addiction, etc) more directly? - -Michael Libby (Cleveland/North Minneapolis) - -- = | My Public Key available from: keys.pgp.com | or http://www.ichimunki.com/public.key | | Its Fingerprint | D946 FE20 79EE 2109 161B FAFB E029 56F4 A330 AA73 = -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE77q3R4ClW9KMwqnMRAiWkAJ9BAFPu+RJg8qeHFAyJVj2IPPE7LQCfaobL Kb6hBj/++Ydm7a7VDXHnMyk= =r8aK -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
Re: [Mpls] twins
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On Friday 09 November 2001 03:42 pm, Mark Wilde wrote: > i heard paul wellstone on the radio talking about > busting up there anti-competitive monopoly, and i hope > something comes of it. Personally I hope the senator does something more worthwhile with his time than spend a bunch of time placating MN sports fans with a lot of hot air right before his reelection run. I went to baseball games as a kid. I played in little league. I worked at the Dome as a teenager (during a world series game even). I like baseball games just fine-- I've enjoyed a lot the minor league games I've been to in St. Paul and elsewhere. I even took my daughter to a Twins game at the Dome this summer. Baseball *is* fun to play and watch. But I'm sorry. Major league baseball has been abusing its fans for quite some time. Now, on the stadium issues, they'd like to abuse the taxpayers. I think I saw a letter in the Strib, something about telling the kids who live here now that might grow up to be Major League Players someday how we're sorry for letting their team get away. Tell that to my daughter. Her chances of playing baseball appeared to be zero even before the team left (assuming they are leaving), judging by the number of women in pro ball. Ditto football. Ditto hockey. There is no Title IX for pro sports, and I think fielding an all-male team smacks of discrimination just as much as fielding an all-white team. A separate women's league would at least be a start. At least subsidies for businesses like Target or the arts offer girls and women an equal chance to participate as something other than consumers. It's hard to get behind businesses like the Twins, when they've treated their public the way they have, and when it's really a boy's club anyway. Let them go, I say. Well, I didn't mean to go off on a rant like that. But there you have it. :) - -Michael Libby (Cleveland/North Side) - -- = | My Public Key available from: keys.pgp.com | or http://www.ichimunki.com/public.key | | Its Fingerprint | D946 FE20 79EE 2109 161B FAFB E029 56F4 A330 AA73 = -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE77G3i4ClW9KMwqnMRAsBCAJ9rDljrZ/G1gKG2PsV+8YkkQGyIqgCgoGMg mYgvWELU2LEYBhpewP7GkUc= =HoWg -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
