[Mpls] This Week in The Minneapolis Observer

[Craig Cox]

T H E M I N N E A P O L I S O B S E R V E R
A Weekly Digest of All Things Minneapolitan
Vol. 1, No. 24
January 28, 2002

This is a preview issue of The Observer. To subscribe to the full-text version ($12/48 issues) e-mail us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and we'll set you up. Thanks.

**********************************************************

THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER:
* Mr. Rybak Goes to Washington
* Downtown's $2 Million Parking Question
* Somalis Pan Propaganda Flick
* Terrorists at the U?
* Rash of Assaults on Local Cabbies
* Gore-Nader Redux in U.S. Senate Race?
Plus: Moby's door, the $700 solution, Newbie council member quiz, car wash patriotism, remembering Malcolm Moos, the problem with precinct caucuses, and R.T.'s blind spot.

**********************************************************

MR. RYBAK GOES TO WASHINGTON
Our new mayor rubbed elbows with the Beltway elite--including Dubya himself--last week at the Conference of Mayors in D.C., and the experience was decidedly mixed.

FREE PARKING
A survey by city Public Works officials last summer revealed that about 4 in 10 metered parking spaces downtown are taken every day by people with disabled-parking permits, costing the city nearly $2 million in annual revenues.

SOMALI LEADERS PROTEST BLACK HAWK DOWN
Concerned that the new film Black Hawk Down will create a backlash against the Somali community, members of the Somali Justice Advocate Center protested the opening of the blockbuster film at the St. Anthony Main movie theater January 18.

MOBY'S DOOR
With Block E rising at last from the ashes of what was once a grittier Hennepin Avenue, Skyway News reveals the location of a piece of Minneapolis drinking history: the door of Moby Dick's.

ANTI-TERRORIST LEGISLATION WOULD AFFECT FOREIGN STUDENTS
A bill requiring the University of Minnesota to monitor all international students is causing concern on campus and among civil libertarians.

CAB DRIVERS TARGETED IN RASH OF ASSAULTS AND ROBBERIES
In an eight-day period earlier this month, five cab drivers were robbed and assaulted after picking up fares downtown and on Lake Street, according to police reports.

DFL-GREEN FEUD BREWING OVER SENATE RACE
Local DFL heavyweights gathered with Green Party leaders last month in an effort to mend some bridges in the wake of the Green's recent electoral successes, but the gathering may have done more harm than good.


CITY SETTLES 'SERIOUS' OSHA VIOLATIONS
In July of 1995, the state Department of Labor and Industry cited the city's solid waste and recycling division for a number of "serious" violations of federal Occupational Safety and Health Agency rules. Six-and-a-half years later, the city finally prepares to settle.

MORE ABOUT OUR NEWBIES
We continue to be excited--and nosy--about the seven new City Council members. Our latest findings now take the form of a quiz:
1. Which two members are lawyers?
2. Which three publically profess their living arrangement with a "partner" rather than a spouse?
3. Which one has a degree in Women's Studies?
4. Which one worked as Crime Prevention Specialist with the Minneapolis Police Department? BONUS: Two other council members in recent years won election after working as a Crime Prevention Specialist. Who are they?
5. Which one has a serious interest in opera and beer?

(Send your responses to us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Winners will receive our genuine respect, not to mention the satisfaction of a job well done. We'll print the answers next week.)

_________________________________________________________
RAVES, RANTS, AND OTHER CONSIDERED OPINIONS
_________________________________________________________

IT'S JUST MY OPINION, BUT . . .
The mayor's 90-day workplan, released two weeks ago, rightly focuses on the priorities he and his campaign emphasized in the months leading to his surprising landslide in November: housing, rebuilding trust in City Hall, fiscal discipline, and environmental protection. But there are rumblings afoot that could dramatically derail the Rybak agenda, and they have nothing to do with who winds up running the MCDA.
The rumblings I speak of are emerging in pockets of Cedar-Riverside, Whittier, Field-Regina-Northrop, Windom Park, Armatage, and the near North side, where persistent ripples of burglary, assault, and car theft may signal the beginning of the next inevitable wave of recession-induced crime. Say what you will about CODEFOR and Chief Olson's aggressive crime-fighting strategies, but much of the drop in crime here and elsewhere can be attributed to booming economic times. And with the Bush recession creeping slowly and steadily throughout the land, we're seeing a rash of bankruptcies, layoffs, hiring freezes, and hopelessness--the traditional recipe for crime.
Add to this the fact that thousands of people will be dropped from the welfare rolls this summer in accordance with Clinton's celebrated welfare reform legislation, and what our new mayor is left with is a burgeoning population of desperate people with no way to make ends meet--and a looming public safety crisis that could make the affordable housing shortage seem mild by comparison.
Back in the mid-'80s, Police Chief Tony Bouza famously ignored the growth of the Minneapolis gang culture and will forever be pilloried for his hubris. Here's hoping that Rybak doesn't make the same mistake.
--Craig Cox
________________________________________________________
BACK TALK
_________________________________________________________
Evaluating Our New Lobbyist
The section on how to evaluate our new lobbyist ("How to Evaluate the New Lobbying Firm," Jan. 21) may be a bit misleading based on our confusing list and the fact that we are still writing and refining the Minneapolis Legislative Agenda. For example, with regard to bonding requests, the Planetarium and the Empowerment Zone are on the priority list. The Guthrie, Shubert, and American Indian Business Development Center are projects sought by other groups that we support, but they are not on our priority list. It may be unfair to evaluate the success of a lobbyist on all the issues that we include on our supported list. The lobbyist's time should be spent on the priority items. The final version of the Legislative Agenda will be presented for approval to the Council at its next meeting.
--Council Member Scott Benson (11th Ward)
Chair, Intergovernmental Relations Committee

**********************************************************
The Minneapolis Observer is published 48 times/year by Independent Media, L.L.C. ©2002 Independent Media, 4152 Snelling Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55406; www.mplsobserver.com. No part of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Independent Media. Subscriptions: $12/yr. To unsubscribe, send us an e-mail ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and we'll get you off the list and refund the unused portion of your subscription.

Editor: Craig Cox
Associate Editor: Sharon Parker
Contributing writers: Nora Cox, Mark Engebretson, Tim Herwig, Leo Mezzrow, Sarah Wash
Occasional research assistance: Martin and Nora Cox
Online technical assistance: Christopher Pollard
Thanks to: Karen Olson and Julie Ristau