[Mpls] Parks debate

[List Manager]

Trying to keep all sides from getting in a food fight...

> I found Jason's comments on Carol Kummer not accepting funds donations
from park
> board contractors such as attorneys to be as usual condescending if not
rude.  I
> appreciate Carol Kummer's comments as a positive and deliberative
approach.

The rest of this post was solid and substantive; questions to a candidate, a
key purpose of the forum. But let's keep the style evaluations out if
possible. Believe me, the debate will quickly become one of attitude, rather
than issues, quickly.

That said, I appreciate all the candidates and constituents who are engaging
each other substantively.

David Brauer
List manager 

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[Mpls] Big egos, big spending, big taxing: It must be Minneapolis

[Victoria Heller]

Today's Pioneer Press

"To pay for the new library and other system improvements, Minneapolis
residents voted to raise their property taxes by $140 million. A private
campaign is raising an additional $15 million, Ulseth said. The library is
scheduled to open in the spring of 2006."

[VH]  The first sentence should read.

To pay for the new library ($90.5 million) and other system improvements
($49.5 million), Minneapolis residents (completely unaware of the City's
financial condition) voted to raise Commercial, Apartment, and Residential
property taxes by $140 million, PLUS INTEREST.

Read it and weep
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/10822429.htm

Another businessperson who won't be paying for the monument
Vicky Heller
North Oaks and Cedar-Riverside


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[Mpls] Teacher pensions + other SW Journal stories

[David Brauer]

As promised some weeks ago, the Southwest Journal has finally unleashed its
take on the teacher pension issue. If you have a few hours before the Super
Bowl, you can read it here:

Main story:
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/news/news01.txt
Sidebars:
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/news/news02.txt
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/news/news03.txt
Chart (pdf file, more readable than on the main-story page)
http://www.swjournal.com/content/current/news/pension-charts.pdf

Other stories of note...

Higher city sales tax to fund cops?
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/news/news09.txt

Did the city try to weaken neighborhood consultation?
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/neighbors/neighbor02.txt

County seeks Minneapolis haz-waste collection site
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/news/news10.txt

Rybak, McLaughlin to debate
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/news/news06.txt

New I-35W bus lane would triple ridership, study says
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/news/news07.txt

STRIDE hosts 8th Ward transportation debate
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/news/news08.txt

Spanish & English: Windom school finds symbiosis
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/neighbors/neighbor01.txt

Isles restoration, diseased elms top Park Board list
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/news/news05.txt

Underage booze: most SW places pass city check
http://www.swjournal.com/articles/2005/02/04/neighbors/neighbor09.txt

Comments welcome, to the forum and/or to me.

David Brauer
Editor, SW Journal & Skyway News

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Re: [Mpls] Library Wing Thing

[md]

Before they tacked on the Wing thing...my first impression of the 
New Central Palace was that the structure lacked imagination, 
with the exception of the parking ramp that's off to an angle
it looks pretty much like the old library supersized! 

Yes, the stone comes from a Minnesota quarry, and the glass
has a definite water theme and they've used C.A.P. Turner columns...

Even though the Wing is not finished yet,  I doubt that 
gilding it over with shiny galvanised metal (why not use gold leaf?) 
and adding supports to it will make it less of a blight on the atmosphere 
or less of a symbol of excess and waste.

Although Cesar Pelli has designed office towers and banks,
he has never designed a library.  But Cesar Pelli does have
offices in New York and Connecticut and he is very urbane,
charming, sophisticated and Argentinian/European.
 
A runner up in the library design competition, Jeff Scherer,
of Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle, worked on the Stillwater
Public Library, the St. Paul Public Library, the Hosmer Library,
the Detroit Lakes Public Library and others around the
country and has won awards for it ...
but gosh darnit he just wasn't European enough.

Scherer actually lives in Minnesota and his office is in only 
in the Mill City Museum, (which his firm restored)...what a hick!


Madeline Douglass
Kingfield


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[Mpls] Tony Scallon's charter school questions

[Jason C Stone]

Tony, if your objectives include 1) educating public officials (or future 
public officials) and 2)
lobbying for the needs of charter school children and youth, I encourage you to 
give me a call so
we can get together for coffee and discuss charter schools further.  As with 
most important
issues, e-mail is no substitute for some good personal conversation.  If you'd 
like, I'll respond
to your questions on the List after we've spoken personally.

You'll find that I am quite supportive of public education and happy to talk 
with you, as I've
always said both on and off-list.  I am not however, interested in being your 
target simply
because I threaten the positions of your friends or the status quo of a Park 
Board known for
insider dealing and political gamesmanship.

Kind regards,
Jason Stone
Diamond Lake
Candidate for Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, District 5
http://jasonforparks.com


--- TONY SCALLON <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> I think the first point of ethics Jason Stone and Scott Vreeland should 
> recommend is
> to respond to all constituents even those they dislike or disagree with.
> 
> I am a constituent of the 5th park district.  My schools ( MTS) are in the 
> 3rd Park District.
> Scott ignores my school.  Jason refuses to answer my question and instead 
> insults me by
> describing my comments as one sided heckling.
> 
> I found Jason's comments on Carol Kummer not accepting funds donations from 
> park
> board contractors such as attorneys to be as usual condescending if not rude. 
>  I
> appreciate Carol Kummer's comments as a positive and deliberative approach.
> 
> The questions I have asked that Jason refuses to respond are:
> 
> How is the Park Board going to serve the 5,000 students who are in charter 
> schools
> and alternative schools? 
> Why do charter and alternative school students not have
> equal access to Park Facilities?  
> Why do charter and alternative school students
> not have equal access to the School Patrol run by the Park Police?
> 
> Read the article about a MTS charter school student 
>
http://www.startribune.com/stories/526/5219971.html
>  Notice he is playing in a 
> private school gym despite there being public gyms including the Park Board 
> and the YWCA are within several blocks of the school.  Yes, MTS school pays 
> rent.
> 
> Even if you do not like my comments, these are real questions.  Please place
> responding to all constituents on your list of ethics.
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> 
> Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn 
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Re: [Mpls] Council committee passes anti-idling ordinance

[Michael Thompson]

I tend to look at the anti-idling ordinance from a bit larger Minneapolis
perspective, seeing it as evidence of a more insidious problem that the
citizens of this city are facing courtesy of the city council.

I don't know of anyone who "likes" trucks idling. The neighborhood residents
don't like it, I'm sure the truckers would rather not let their trucks idle,
the businesses, for the most part, would rather have quieter neighborhoods,
too. All in all, truck idling is a somewhat noisy and smelly proposition.

Nevertheless, trucks idling, for reasons given by some posters here, is
simply a necessary evil. If we want commerce (which I believe is not a value
to the Minneapolis city council beyond talking points), we really don't have
much of a choice. If we want fresh veggies and meat and dairy, then it's a
trade off.

This ordinance appears to be another in a series of ordinances that follow
the logic of "If we don't like it, let's ban it" without really looking at
the ramifications toward business and freedom. The "If we don't like it,
let's ban it" argument is a subset of the "If it's a good idea, it must be a
law" standard operating procedure that Minneapolis and the Minnesota
legislature has been employing for many years. The "If we don't like it,
let's ban it" perspective is a slippery slope that the city council simply
cannot seem to see beyond their nose. Smoking in bars, leaf-blowers, and now
idling trucks are all examples of things that people simply don't like, so
they've gotten the city council to ban them (or work toward banning them)
because sacrificing freedom is an acceptable trade-off for personal comfort.
The problem is that it hurts the rest of us who feel perfectly capable of
making our own decisions and who understand that, if we want business to
thrive, some things (like idling trucks) are going to have to happen. If my
house was near a truck idling area, I either wouldn't have purchased the
house in the first place, or I'd move if it was such a problem. But I
wouldn't whine to the city council and expect commerce to dance around my
personal sensitivities.

Mike Thompson
Windom

- Original Message - 
From: "Dyna" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Dan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: 
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2005 1:13 AM
Subject: Re: [Mpls] Council committee passes anti-idling ordinance


> >  I wrote Gary Schiff about the issue, and his attitude is
> >essentially that truckers should get out of the city.
>
> First, let me apologize for our young Democratic Farmer Labor
> endorsed Council Member; He is still a bit inexperienced and has yet
> to fully appreciate the fine agrarian and working class traditions of
> our party. Gary seems to look at flour mills and factories and see
> condo conversions where we more experienced DFLers see jobs. Now of
> course Gary's vision would be fine and dandy, but for the problem
> that the citizens will have to work somewhere like those factories to
> earn the money to buy his dream condos.
>
> But if Council Member Gary Schiff and his fellow Council
> Members really want to cut idling they should start by setting a good
> example with our own fleet. Has not every citizen seen Minneapolis'
> city vehicles idling for what seems like eternity?
>
> Let's start with the big iron- we own a locomotive and
> towboat powered by decades old diesels with no pollution controls
> whatsoever. These are huge engines, with each cylinder as big as a
> big diesel trucks whole engine, and they have at least 12 of those
> cylinders. The 2007 truck diesels will emit less than one hundreth of
> the fine particulates  that the pre-emmissions controlled diesels of
> decades ago did. Thusly our city's locomotive or towboat when idling
> emit more fine particulates than a thousand idling 2007 diesel
> trucks. And those big engines idle a lot- they're so hard to start
> that as a general rule they are not shut off until they return to
> their Port of Minneapolis home.
>
> There are ways to clean up our city's biggest moveable
> polluters. New locomotives cost over a million dollars and I hate to
> think what a new towboat would cost. But several retrofit
> technologies exist that could clean up these monster diesels. These
> diesels engines are still produced, so it's possible to install much
> of the latest pollution control equipment on older models such as
> ours. Their are also several ways to reduce idling such as
> "smart-start" technologies that start the engine up when it or the
> cabin  are getting too cold then shut the engine off again when their
> warm again. Diesel or propane fueled heaters are also available that
> much more cleanly keep the engines and cabs warm without idling.
> Another option seen on many new passenger locomotives is a smaller
> "pony" diesel generator that provides heat, lighting, etc. while the
> train is parked allowing the much larger propulsion diesel to be shut
> off.
>
> How many diesel trucks does our city own? Hundreds, and many
> spend as m

Re: [Mpls] Council committee passes anti-idling ordinance

[Dennis Plante]

Has anyone researched the alternatives available to truckers?  What is the 
nearest rural rest area at which they are able to sit idling to wait for the 
business they're unloading at to open in the morning?  How large of an 
inconvenience is it to have to do so?

What hours does the new ordinance actually cover?  If it is only until 
5-6am, then indeed truckers would have the ability to idle at an outlying 
truckstop and still beat the rush-hour traffic into the city in the morning 
to unload.  Quite often, the motivating factor (for a trucker) to idle 
overnight at a place of business is to be "first in-line" for unloading the 
next morning.

I am not saying that I am a proponent of this ordinance and yes, I do 
believe that many of the council members have developed a "fiefdom" 
mentaliy.  However, the inconvenience (to the trucking industry) may not be 
as large an inconvenience as we initially think.  As for not buying a house 
in a neighborhood where trucks idle overnight - I doubt very seriously that 
anyone would view a prospective property to purchase in the middle of the 
night.  Consequently, you might not become aware of the issue until the 
first night you tried to get a good nights' sleep...

dennis plante
jordan
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RE: [Mpls] Council committee passes anti-idling ordinance

[Gregory Luce]

Dennis Plante wrote:

What hours does the new ordinance actually cover?

[Greg]:

The text of the proposed ordinance is pasted below my name.  It applies only
to "residentially used areas" between the hours of 10:00 pm and 6:00 am, so
truckers and anyone else can idle to their hearts content outside of that
time and outside of residentially used areas.  I'm not sure what is
considered a 'residentially used area' and how fine a distinction needs to
be made in some cases.

I'm not sure it would apply to the Kemp's Dairy on West Broadway, a facility
that Dyna brought up in her post.  My guess--with homes across the
street--is that it would prohibit idling and operation of mobile
refrigeration chillers at that facility during the hours of 10pm and 6am.

Though I disagree with Dyna on the scope of the ordinance--and I belive the
ordinance is more a 'livability' ordinance than one of environmental
concern--she does ask some good questions about city policies in general.
I'd be interested to hear about the emissions from the city's various diesel
engines and if anything is being done to address them.

I'd also like to hear if both sides tried to engage in community mediation
before reaching the solution of a new ordinance.  Seems that would be the
logical first step.

Gregory Luce
St. Paul

389.30 Definitions. The following terms whenever used in this article shall
have the
following respective meanings:

Mobile Refrigeration Unit: A refrigeration chiller powered by an auxiliary
engine or
electric motor that is mounted on a truck body or a trailer container for
the purpose of
providing chilled air to the contents of the truck container or trailer.

Section 2. That Section 389.100 (a) of the above-entitled ordinance be
amended
by adding thereto new subdivisions (7) & (8) to read as follows:

389.100. Prohibited acts. (a) The following acts are not allowed in the city
and the
causing thereof are prohibited:

(7) Idling of Buses, Trucks, Tractors, Truck-tractor, Trailers and
Semitrailers,
as those terms are defined in Minnesota Statute 168.011, while stopped,
standing or parked in a residentially used area between the hours of 10:00
p.m. and 6:00 a.m. except as provided for under permit in section 389.70,
in compliance with traffic signals or signs, at the directions of a police
officer or while buses are in the act of loading or unloading passengers.

(8) Operation of a mobile refrigeration unit while stopped, standing or
parked
outside of an insulated building in a residentially used area between the
hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

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Re: [Mpls] Minneapolis Bonding Requests/Colin Powell Boondoggle

[Eva Young]

Eva Young wrote:
Actually, I'm skeptical that Powell would have
supported an organization that undermines Jewish
parents by attempting to proceletize to their kids,
when their kids go to participate in socer games which
are not promoted as evangelism opportunities - but
rather as soccer games.  I don't think it was the gay
issue that would have upset Powell.
WM: Proselytizing is, by definition, undermining a different faith, 
whether it's done in the name of Christianity's however many sects, 
Judaism, Islam or whatever. From the way Urban Ventures web reads, it's 
all out in the open about what they are doing. Powell must know about it, 
it's on the web in his name.
I would have trouble believing that Powell would approve of the practice 
that Liz Greenbaum described on this list:

<>

Eva Young (from a previous post)
I'm curious whether Marks is saying that Gutzmer is a
liar then - because that's what is being said, if this
story isn't true.
WM: I am not calling Walter a liar. But I clearly remember that Walter was 
in tough emotional straights at the time. He was under pressure from 
several directions. His perceptions were pretty whacko at times.
This is just saying that Walt Gutzmer was too demented at the time to 
distinguish reality from fantasy.   If you look back through the archives 
of this list, Marks has made different claims about this flyer/article in 
different posts.  This is the first time, Marks has claimed that 
Gutzmer was not able to produce the article 10 years ago.  I've talked with 
Gutzmer, Jana Metge, David Piehl, Corine Zala and Karen Forbes about this 
flyer - all have confirmed talking with Gutzmer at the time this happened 
about this flyer.  I happen to believe Walt Gutzmer on this issue, but I 
have not seen the article that got sent, so can't speak from first hand 
knowledge of this.

It's not only that Walter cannot produce the article and never could, but 
that no one can produce it. If no one else can produce a like article from 
UV, then it's very possible it was a personal offense sent just to Walter 
by someone working for Urban Ventures. It may not have been UV making that 
statement, but an individual in their organization. Walter nor anyone else 
ever asked UV to explain the article or ask how it wound up in his board 
packet, so blaming the organization is a knee jerk response. There are a 
veritable host of hateful, self righteous people loose in the world and 
many of them are more than willing to try to make someone miserable just 
for a lark. There are enough people working for UV that they could well 
harbor such a one.
The article was not by Urban Ventures - the article was from a publication 
put out by the Central Community Church - which was a project of Art 
Erickson and Ralph Bruins - and had a supposedly arms length relationship 
with Urban Ventures.  The article was about how gays should repent and 
become straight.  That's what Walt Gutzmer told me, and that Jana Metge 
corroborated.

Eric Oines writes:
These are not the same folks who believe that Eva and other GLBT folks are 
trying to "destroy the traditional family", at least not in my experience.

EY:  It's the leadership in UV that I have trouble with - Art Erickson and 
Ralph Bruins.  Part of the reason I have issues with them, is their efforts 
to exploit anti-gay animus in the neighborhood.

I'm sure some of their staff are nice people.  Erickson and Bruins were 
both promoting Basim Sabri's Motel Central (Marks was also actually) - 
Sabri was indicted for bribing Brian Herron to try to get the Motel Central 
built.  In fact, I talked with some of the Urban Ventures staff - and asked 
them directly about this issue.  At this time, the staff told me that while 
both Ralph and Art were big supporters of Sabri's Motel project, that the 
staff felt UV should stay out of it.

Eva Young
Near North
Minneapolis
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com
"You do not have the right to never be offended.  This country is based on 
freedom, and that means freedom for everyone - not just you!  You may leave 
the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc., but the
world is full of idiots, and probably always will be."  --Article II of the 
Bill of Non-Rights.  

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Re: [Mpls] Library Wing Thing

[WizardMarks]

At the time Pelli was chosen, the only thing Rockcastle Sheerer did not 
have was experience with so big a project. Personally, I think 
Rockcastle did a lovely job on Hosmer, but I can understand the 
committee's choice of someone with the experience of creating a big 
building from the underground up.
Libraries are in a funny position at this particular point in time. The 
more grandiose technocrats are declaring that books will become a thing 
of the past and libraries will switch to CDs and DVDs for all print. The 
Director of the San Francisco library so believed this notion that he 
threw away something like a million or two books, some priceless. (He 
got fired for that.) However, trying to design for changes that are 
inevitable and unknown has got to be one big headache. It's an easy 
thing to be a Monday morning quarterback, but it was by no means easy to 
give clear direction to Pelli.. It's also one thing to remodel Hosmer or 
unmuddle St. Paul PL and quite another to start from scratch.
Whether Pelli was Argentinean or extra terrestrial had nothing to do 
with anything.

WizardMarks, Central
md wrote:
But Cesar Pelli does have
offices in New York and Connecticut and he is very urbane,
charming, sophisticated and Argentinian/European.
A runner up in the library design competition, Jeff Scherer,
of Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle, worked on the Stillwater
Public Library, the St. Paul Public Library, the Hosmer Library,
the Detroit Lakes Public Library and others around the
country and has won awards for it ...
but gosh darnit he just wasn't European enough.

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Re: [Mpls] Council committee passes anti-idling ordinance

[joan thom]

For those of you who need further info on why Kemps has there lot where it is. 
The Neighborhood and those of us that live close by went to the City and said 
YES we want this parking lot! Now our council members who don't believe in very 
Livable wage jobs within the city are trying to drive them out or what. 
Yes one of these JOBS allows our house to live on ONE income and make the 
decision to retire within city limits after 30 years with a good pension. I 
know not to many people can say this.

Council Members this New ordinance needs to be amended. So that Kemps is Grand 
Fathered in.
The Suburb of  Woodbury has no problem with Thermo kings running to keep 
all of the Milk Cold while waiting to be delivered. Or maybe our Council Member 
enjoys spoiled milk.
Joan Thom
Hawthorne  

  .

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[Mpls] Re: Should Minneapolis DFL Delay Endorsements?

[Tim Bonham]

An interesting notion put forth at the end of Booker Hodges's latest
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder column:
"I believe that the Minneapolis DFL should not endorse candidates in this
year's mayoral, 8th, & 5th ward city council races until after the primary.
Endorsement in these races would do nothing but divide the community and the
party."
Bill Dooley
Kenny - Ward 13
This is a common ploy by newspapers & other media.
They would much prefer that their own editorial endorsement be the major 
one in the race, instead of the endorsement of several thousand DFL 
delegates.

The Strib tried this a few years ago, when they refused to publish 
endorsements (except their own) in the voters guide.  If they couldn't stop 
parties & other groups from making endorsements, they could at least try to 
keep people from finding out about those endorsements.  That didn't last, 
either.

And this isn't even getting into the discussion of the financial 
self-interest the media has in encouraging such intra-party battles.  Just 
like their preference for primaries over precinct caucuses -- they sell 
lots of ads for a primary, but not for precinct caucuses.

Finally, it isn't the endorsement that "divides the party"; that happens 
when a losing candidate decides to run against the endorsed candidate 
anyway.  If the party was already evenly divided, there would not have been 
any endorsement, since a super-majority 60% vote is required to 
endorse.  Saying the party endorsement causes the division is rather like 
saying women in 'provocative' clothes cause rape!


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Re: [Mpls] Minneapolis Bonding Requests/Colin Powell Boondoggle

[WizardMarks]

Eva Young wrote:
Eva Young wrote:
I would have trouble believing that Powell would approve of the 
practice that Liz Greenbaum described on this list:
WM: Nonetheless, all you have is speculation. That and a buck 
eighty-three will get you coffee is some places.

Eva Young (from a previous post)
This is just saying that Walt Gutzmer was too demented at the time to 
distinguish reality from fantasy.   
WM: No, and never put words in my mouth. When one is extremely stressed, 
paranoia seeps in and even innocent writing/speech takes on a 
sinisterity it does not merit. When one's whole group--the names you 
mention below--are determined to make a monster out of an organization, 
they will construe everything as supportive of their position, or if not 
supportive, then it will not be included in the oeuvre of accusations 
and rumors.

If you look back through the archives of this list, Marks has made 
different claims about this flyer/article in different posts.  
This is the first time, Marks has claimed that Gutzmer was not able to 
produce the article 10 years ago.  I've talked with Gutzmer, Jana 
Metge, David Piehl, Corine Zala and Karen Forbes about this flyer - 
all have confirmed talking with Gutzmer at the time this happened 
about this flyer.  I happen to believe Walt Gutzmer on this issue, but 
I have not seen the article that got sent, so can't speak from first 
hand knowledge of this.
WM: Precisely. All of us talked to Walter, but no one saw a flyer, 
magazine, newsletter, poster, secret e-mail, post-it note, or anything 
else. Since you were not there for any of this long, long string of 
events, maybe talking about it as a third hand story is not the best 
approach. That I did not include everything I thought about is probably 
true. The point being...?

The article was not by Urban Ventures - the article was from a 
publication put out by the Central Community Church - which was a 
project of Art Erickson and Ralph Bruins - and had a supposedly arms 
length relationship with Urban Ventures.  The article was about how 
gays should repent and become straight.  That's what Walt Gutzmer told 
me, and that Jana Metge corroborated.
WM: But Jana never saw it either, according to you and to her. Believing 
Walter and subscribing to his viewpoint without any proof whatsoever 
strikes me as silly.

EY:  It's the leadership in UV that I have trouble with - Art Erickson 
and Ralph Bruins.  Part of the reason I have issues with them, is 
their efforts to exploit anti-gay animus in the neighborhood.
WM: Give us one other credible instance of them supporting "anti-gay 
animus" in Central, just one. Further, Art Erickson and Ralph Bruins are 
two very different people. Considering the way that you and others have 
dinked around blabbing Ralph's past, and that he has been treated like a 
leper by those who keep his past of 25 years ago ever present in the 
dialog, I'd say Ralph has a very good case against those folks, you 
included. Ralph is a teddy bear, and elderly man with a wife and family 
who goes to work every day. Art Erickson is the big bahooba at UV.

I'm sure some of their staff are nice people.  Erickson and Bruins 
were both promoting Basim Sabri's Motel Central (Marks was also actually) 
WM: Sorry, I never promoted Sabri's motel. I just hung around to watch 
the silliness, the angst, the anguish, the threats to Sabri and 
Herron--all that jazz.

- Sabri was indicted for bribing Brian Herron to try to get the Motel 
Central built.  In fact, I talked with some of the Urban Ventures 
staff - and asked them directly about this issue.  At this time, the 
staff told me that while both Ralph and Art were big supporters of 
Sabri's Motel project, that the staff felt UV should stay out of it.
WM: Proving exactly what? Art had been promoting a hotel, as had others 
in the neighborhood, long before Sabri was on the scene. I never cared 
one way or the other about a motel, hotel, bed and breakfast, or inn. I 
did once say that I thought a residence hotel would be a good addition 
to the neighborhood. Sabri had no interest in a residence hotel. He was 
interested in getting maximum return out of his piece of land up against 
the freeway and no more than about 100 yards from the freeway exit. 
Isn't that what developers do?

To be utterly clear, the bribery script was written by the FBI, Herron 
wore a wire and delivered his lines because the FBI had given him no 
choice (and you don't turn down those crud-balls and walk away). Sabri 
must have been asleep at the wheel that day because, on the FBI tape 
entered into evidence at trial, Sabri clearly says to Herron, "You've 
never talked to me this way before." Since Herron has not spoken to 
Sabri since the making of the tape, all the supposition of what Herron 
would have/could have/might have offered Sabri is just speculation.

Herron had promised constituents and others (like Zala) that if the 
neighborhood was opposed to the hotel, he would not approve i

[Mpls] Minneapolis office vacancies have gotten worse - OVER 26 MILLION SQUARE FEET!

[Nick Frank]

Vicky Reports " Collier-Towle Real Estate in Minneapolis shows vacancies 
for the
nearly 26 million square feet of office space available downtown .the
amount of sublease space bumps the vacancy rate up to more than 21 percent.
That's more than four times the rate for what's considered a stable lease
market." (MPR early 2003)"

The 26 million square feet referred to the article is the TOTAL office space 
not the vacant portion.

Your subject line completely misrepresents the facts and severely undercuts 
the arguments you are trying to make.

Sincerely
Nick Frank
Elliot Park
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[Mpls] Library Wing Thing

[Steve Cross]

*WizardMarks said:*
"Themore grandiose technocrats are declaring that books will become a 
thingof the past and libraries will switch to CDs and DVDs for all print."

I recall a statement by Microsoft's Bill Gates sometime a long time 
ago.  It was something to the effect that, "Books are extremely tough 
competition for computers.  They are compact, cheap, and require no 
user's manual."
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Re: [Mpls] Library Wing Thing

[Elizabeth Wielinski]

 Was downtown and checked out much of the new architecture, the 
library, the Walker and the Guthrie.  I think we now have some great 
venues for extreme sports.  Bungee jumping off the wing, tire swing 
river dive off the Guthrie and Monster Truck Limbo at the Walker.  
Let's just hope access to these facilities is difficult for those with 
lots of nerve and not so much common sense.

Liz Wielinski
Columbia Park
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Re: [Mpls] Re: Should Minneapolis DFL Delay Endorsements?

[Tamir Nolley]

I've been following this thread, and other threads on the city races for a 
while, and there are so may things that are easily forgotten or simply not 
discussed.  
 
No one brings up the fact that Peter McLaughlin is running on an 
anti-progressive "law-and-order" campaign message at a time when this city just 
when through a painful fight over questionable practices by Minneapolis Police 
and another one over the nomination of a new police chief.  
 
Almost everyone seems to have forgotten that Don Samuels has praised Natalie 
Johnson-Lee several times, promised NOT to challenge Natalie Johnson-Lee and 
promised to move in to the new third ward during his initial campaign. Few 
people mention, or perhaps don't notice that he seems to have changed his mind 
for political convenience.  
 
We seem to have all forgotten RT Rybak's campaign promises to limit fundraising 
and to limit campaign contributions, that Gary Schiff and Robert Lilligren once 
ran as progressives, but since getting elected have become "Law-and-Order" 
conservatives...no offense meant to genuine conservatives.
 
and when talking about the council races we only focus on the DFL.  We sort 
of don't talk about how the 5th and 6th ward incumbants are Green (I think 
Natalie Johnson-Lee is one of the best council members this city has ever seen 
and will probably be re-elected, hence my venting in the above paragraph) and 
that there will be more than one political party running candidates, and more 
than one political party represented on the city council.  
 
I think a Green or an independent also has a good chance of winning the 8th and 
3rd ward seats.
 
I see where Booker is comming from, but as I'm (probably) not going to vote DFL 
for my council race (I live in the new ward 1 and I'm not really a big fan of 
President Ostrow) I don't really care whether the DFL delagates delay 
endorsement or not, nor do I care who they endorse. 
 
I'm not one of those people who buy in to the mythology of the "DFL Machine," 
but from what I've heard from many of those who went to the local DFL to 
support Howard Dean or Dennis Kucinich and were systematically kept out of the 
process, the DFL is NOT the place to inact political change.  
 
The vicious partisanship of some DFLers toward elected officials who share many 
of their values but aren't elected within the DFL process (ie. the Delay like 
redistricting fiasco which was so obviously directed at Green Council Members) 
is somewhat baffling to me.

I urge everyone to take an open minded and objective look at the Green, IP and 
independent candidates as well as DFL candidates.  You might find that you 
agree more with the other parties. I'm convinced that Minneapolis can only 
benifit from their greater participation.  
 
Of course, I'm something of a third party partisan with no one really inspiring 
for whom to vote.
 
Tamir Nolley
Holland.
Now in ward 1
 
 
Tim Bonham <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>An interesting notion put forth at the end of Booker Hodges's latest
>Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder column:
>
>"I believe that the Minneapolis DFL should not endorse candidates in this
>year's mayoral, 8th, & 5th ward city council races until after the primary.
>Endorsement in these races would do nothing but divide the community and the
>party."
>
>Bill Dooley
>Kenny - Ward 13
>
This is a common ploy by newspapers & other media.
They would much prefer that their own editorial endorsement be the major 
one in the race, instead of the endorsement of several thousand DFL 
delegates.

The Strib tried this a few years ago, when they refused to publish 
endorsements (except their own) in the voters guide. If they couldn't stop 
parties & other groups from making endorsements, they could at least try to 
keep people from finding out about those endorsements. That didn't last, 
either.

And this isn't even getting into the discussion of the financial 
self-interest the media has in encouraging such intra-party battles. Just 
like their preference for primaries over precinct caucuses -- they sell 
lots of ads for a primary, but not for precinct caucuses.

Finally, it isn't the endorsement that "divides the party"; that happens 
when a losing candidate decides to run against the endorsed candidate 
anyway. If the party was already evenly divided, there would not have been 
any endorsement, since a super-majority 60% vote is required to 
endorse. Saying the party endorsement causes the division is rather like 
saying women in 'provocative' clothes cause rape!


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Re: [Mpls] Council committee passes anti-idling ordinance

[Dan]

389.100. Prohibited acts. (a) The following acts are not allowed in the city
and the
causing thereof are prohibited:

(7) Idling of Buses, Trucks, Tractors, Truck-tractor, Trailers and
Semitrailers,
as those terms are defined in Minnesota Statute 168.011, while stopped,
standing or parked in a residentially used area between the hours of 10:00
p.m. and 6:00 a.m. except as provided for under permit in section 389.70,
in compliance with traffic signals or signs, at the directions of a police
officer or while buses are in the act of loading or unloading passengers.

(8) Operation of a mobile refrigeration unit while stopped, standing or
parked
outside of an insulated building in a residentially used area between the
hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

WOW! The ordinance actually prohibits refrigeration overnight??! All I can
say is WOW!
WO! WOW!!

Dan McGrath
Longfellow
http://www.smokeoutgary.org

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[Mpls] Anti-idling: let's all do it, and more to clean up our air!

[Sean Gosiewski]

Hello Everyone,

I am glad that the issue of idling vehicles has come up on the list serve.

I hope that a solution can be found to help the Kemps plant on West Broadway
to work through any potential problems that might come out of the new
Anti-Idling ordinance.

It is important for all of us- businesses, residents and the City as a whole
to minimize idling vehicles as much as possible. Last week with our three
bad air days in a row, the PCA recommended that everyone minimize
unnecessary idling see- http://aqi.pca.state.mn.us/hourly/ . Our 2 year-old
daughter could not play outside for 3 days because of the air quality
alerts.

I turn my car off at every red light. Staff from the City of Minneapolis
Public Works and the Minneapolis Park Board also working to stop all
unnecessary idling this year. Xcel Energy has instituted an idling ban for
all of their vehicles. The Minneapolis Schools have a policy to reduce
school bus idling- very important for protecting children from diesel fumes.
Students are still working to ensure that this policy is being implemented
see http://northstar.sierraclub.org/schoolbus/index.htm and
http://southhighsucks.com/dieselfumes.html .

In addition to reducing idling we can all switch our vehicles to drive on
cleaner fuels. For example I buy Blue Planet gas www.blueplanetgas.com ,
which reduces air emissions by 20% Other cleaner burning fuels are listed on
Clean Air Minnesota's web site http://www.mn-ei.org/air/index.html .

Let's also help make less-polluting hybrid electric cars more accessible in
MN by supporting the bills to be introduced by Scott Dibble and Frank
Hornstein to reduce the cost barriers people face to purchase hybrid
electric cars http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5222114.html

Sean Gosiewski, Corcoran Neighborhood
[EMAIL PROTECTED]



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[MPLS] MPRB highlights 2-2-05 part 2

[Elizabeth Wielinski]

5:43 Planning Committee
Action Item 4.1 That the Board Approve the Schematic Plans for the 
Proposed University Rowing Facilities in East River Flats Park
Head of Planning Judd Reitkerk showed a power point presentation on the 
history of the park from the MPRB acquiring it in 1883 to the present.  
the Mississippi Watershed Organization will provide the funding for the 
road, parking lot and storm water filtration system (for the run off 
from the road and lot so as not to feed directly into the Mississippi) 
and the  U of M will build the proposed boathouse.

U of M representatives Joel Maturi and Gina Sullivan ( and 20 others in 
the audience from the rowing coach and team members to Deborah Olson 
who will be raising the $$ for the building) gave a presentation 
including drawings and park schematics of the building.

The university had approached the MPRB about building a boathouse at 
the site in 2001 but plans were never finalized and then there came a 
moratorium on sports facility building.  It has been lifted and thus 
the presentation.
The park has been designed to give a path from the green spaces in 
front of Northrup auditorium all the way to the river front.

The university feels it fits into the MPRB mission by working good in 
the flood plain (how exactly does any building fit in a flood 
plain)
Increasing visibility and making the space more open to the public
Providing opportunities for adult and youth programming (public 
restrooms and public dock not part of boathouse)
Utilizes the river as a focal point for the U of M
and shows a commitment to title IX compliance

The new boathouse would replace the current facilities ( a shed for the 
men and a tent for the women) and provide a safe environment and secure 
storage
There are 80 women and 60 men in the U of M crew program

Mr. Maturi and Ms. Sullivan then went on to describe the programming 
opportunities he U could provide and they were...
Athletic clinics, Swim and rowing classes, overnight rowing camp, youth 
clinics (over 25 sports represented at the U of M) and youth 
scholarships to the previously mentioned clinics.  They could also 
promote internships and volunteer opportunities for their students with 
the MPRB, help the MPRB get access to campus facilities for programs, 
complimentary tickets to things and autographed sports items.  (ALL FOR 
THE LEASE PRICE OF ?  0?)

They were available to take questions after OPEN TIME
6:06 OPEN TIME
Scott Vreeland came before the MPRB to ask them how he could help them 
complete the project at Edgewater Park in NE Minneapolis.  The funding 
for most of the park renovation is available from the MWMO (Mississippi 
Watershed) but they can not fund items like benches, shelters etc... 
and the project needs an additional  $3-400,000 to be completed.  Mr. 
Vreeland would like to see the MPRB finish this project and would be 
willing to help in anyway he could to facilitate that happening.

Presentation by the MPRB on behalf of the JR NBA and JR WNBA 
Organization to Jonah Travis.  He was nominated and won an award as an 
ALL REGION PLAYER (1 of 145 in the region of 575 nation wide)  Jonah is 
a 6th grader at Marcy and participates through Van Cleve Rec +.  He was 
presented with a medal and certificate and there was a Photo Op.

6:16 pmthe boathouse con't
Commissioner Hauser moves 4.1..  a great day for women's sports
Commissioner Dziedzic envisions a grand future on the 
riverfront...mentions a letter from the Prospect Park 
Neighborhood.2nds the motion
Commissioner Berry Graves is glad there will be programming for youth 
but asks about safety are lights, emergency phones, cameras?
   lights and a "blue light " campus phone yes, surveillance cameras 
not in the plan presently as there would be $$$ concerns over 
installation and monitoring
Commissioner Berry Graves believes the cost up front would be cheaper 
than having to add it later after incidents.

Commissioner Erwin states he will need to abstain from voting as an 
employee of the University.  He asked on behalf of Commissioner Young 
if the problems with the neighborhood had been addressed and if they 
were considering a green roof or a solar paneled roof?
He himself was heartened to see the U working with the MPRB and was 
wondering if since they were eliminating green space if they would be 
contributing some in return and hoped they would work on the river with 
the MPRB on the ecology of the Gorge.
{no reply}
Commissioner Kummer liked this design over the previously submitted one 
and hoped they would include as many green features as possible
Commissioner Fine (as a U of M alumni and activist for youth sports) 
was glad to see this be inviting of people to the riverfront
The committee voted to send it to the full board with Commissioner 
Erwin abstaining

Other items passed from committee to full board
6:35 Recreation Committee
Judy and Jay Hoeschler from LaCrosse Wi gave a presentation on the ILRA 
(I

[Mpls] Cabs and Anti-idling ordinance

[David Strand]

There are similiar concerns with cabs idling at cab
stands in downtown but I don't know exactly what can
be done about it.

Some of the nastiest air in all of downtown is at the
several locations downtown where cabs continously idle
throughout the day outside hotels.

On Nicollet the problem is compounded by the diesel
exhaust from passing buses.  Why can't we get zero
emissions buses like other metro areas?

Anyway, the idling cabs are one of my pet peeves even
though as a downtown resident without a car I also
love the convenience of being able to walk a few
blocks to a cab stand when the bus system will not
meet my needs due to time constraints, schedules, or
destinations that are relatively inaccessible by metro
transit.

Downtown residents and pedestrians, some auto free by
choice and others by necessity, windup breathing
everyone else's exhaust from the rush hours in and out
of town.

It's interesting that the density that makes a
pedestrian centered way of life so convenient downtown
also draws such large amounts of traffic, and thus
exhaust, that those who emit the least may wind up
breathing in the most.

David Strand
Loring Park




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[Mpls] Zimmermann Will Run in 6th Ward

[Craig Cox]

ZIMMERMANN WILL RUN IN 6TH WARD
Ending weeks of speculation, Council Member Dean Zimmermann said 
Sunday he has purchased a house in the redistricted 6th Ward and will 
run against fellow Council Member Robert Lilligren.

CITY TEACHERS PENSION FUND HEADED TOWARD BANKRUPTCY
The pension fund for thousands of Minneapolis teachers is facing a 
deficit of nearly a billion dollars and could go bankrupt within the 
next decade, reports Scott Russell in the Southwest Journal. And 
legislative attempts to fix it may fall short.

UNIVERSITY RADIO STATION VIES WITH NEW MPR STATION
Staffers at Radio K, the University of Minnesota's radio station, 
heard something familiar last month when the former WCAL began 
broadcasting as the Current: its own format.

FOR THESE AND OTHER STORIES VISIT>> www.mplsobserver.com
--
Craig Cox
Founder/Editor
The Minneapolis Observer
www.mplsobserver.com
612/721-0285
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Re: [Mpls] Council committee passes anti-idling ordinance

[Dyna]

389.100. Prohibited acts. (a) The following acts are not allowed in the city
and the
causing thereof are prohibited:
	Our council members might want to take a look at the state 
and federal level laws regarding safe transport of refrigerated 
foods, rest time for drivers, and the Americans with Disabilities 
Act, etc. before they pass such poorly planned laws that would 
largely be preempted.

(7) Idling of Buses, Trucks, Tractors, Truck-tractor, Trailers and
Semitrailers,
as those terms are defined in Minnesota Statute 168.011, while stopped,
standing or parked in a residentially used area between the hours of 10:00
p.m. and 6:00 a.m. except as provided for under permit in section 389.70,
in compliance with traffic signals or signs, at the directions of a police
officer or while buses are in the act of loading or unloading passengers.
	For a start, our Council Members might wish to note that it 
is a violation of state and federal laws as well as the laws of 
common sense to operate a commercial vehicle with windows so fogged 
up or frosted over as to impair visibility. Thusly the Council's anti 
idling ordinance is preempted and pretty much goes up in smoke for 
most of the winter as drivers must often idle engines to get them 
warm enough to clear windows. The Council Members also seem unaware 
that many elders and people with disabilities have difficulty 
physiologicly coping with extreme heat and cold. It is thusly 
neccessary and required by the Minnesota Human Rights Act and the ADA 
that Metro Mobility, Metro Transit, and other transit and paratransit 
providers idle vehicles so they are not so cold or hot as to threaten 
the health or life of passengers with disabilities. Our upstart 
council is reminded that even Metro Transit preempts them and thus 
another chunk of their anti idling ordinance goes up in smoke.

(8) Operation of a mobile refrigeration unit while stopped, standing or
parked
outside of an insulated building in a residentially used area between the
hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
	One would have thought that such passionate devotes of 
Latte's and organic foods as our Council Members would have 
researched the consequences of their ordinating more fully. Mobile 
refrigeration units have enough power to keep foodstuffs cool, but 
not enough to cool foods from room temperature or even an empty 
trailer on a hot summer day. Suffice to say, if you put 40,000 pounds 
of 40 degree milk in a 20,000 pound trailer that's been sitting all 
day in 100 degree heat you'll end up with 60 degree milk, which can 
be much worse for your health than a bit of engine idling. I won't 
even get into the multi million dollar liability suits possible when 
a dairy or other food producer is forced by our Council Member's new 
anti idling ordinance to deliver spoilt food and a few thousand 
people get very sick from same. That's why there are a bunch of state 
and federal laws and regulations requiring the maintainance of steady 
cool temperatures from plant to store shelves. To keep those foods 
safely and continuosly cool requires running refrigeration units 
continuosly at times. Thusly any responsible carrier of refrigerated 
food will defy our Council's ordinance.

	Our Council Members not having included a severability clause 
in their ordinance their whole poorly researched mandate pretty much 
is toast. If they want a law worth the bother of enacting they need 
to go back to the drawing board and listen to the folks who know 
trucks, refrigerated food safety, disabled folks, etc..

not holding my breath in Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
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