The list's Presidential debate
Since I opened up limited discussion of the Presidential election, several members have posted inappropriately. Is is disheartening, and, frankly, childish. I have issued warnings, and will continue to do so. However, since many members ARE following the rules, I want to reiterate and amplify them so the discussion can continue without future silly or inflammatory posts. 1. Posts about the presidential race must be explicitly tied to an issue specific to, or particular to, Minneapolis. It is your responsibility to make the connection. 2. NO ATTACKING EACH OTHER PERSONALLY. A basic list rule (#5 at http://www.e-democracy.org/mpls-issues): "One-on-one arguments, disagreements, and disputes of a personal nature must be taken off list." If you find yourself typing another member's name in a list message, ask yourself: "am I responding to their issue position, or am I attacking their behavior?" If the latter, you have two choices: EMAIL THEM DIRECTLY or EMAIL ME DIRECTLY (if you feel they have violated a list rule). Sending this type of message to the entire list is not only a massive (and whiny) waste of bandwidth in the lives of our 400 members, it is a rules violation. 3. Related: As passions have risen, the language is getting ugly. Rule #4 states: "No insults, threats, and inflamed speech for the sake of personal argument are allowed." Criticizing the positions of others, and the actions of public officials, is perfectly ok. Labeling members as this or that -- especially without any supporting evidence -- is not. 4. Complaints about how this list is managed MUST come to me, not be posted to the list. As I have said before, the list does not exist to debate the list. This is not to cover-up -- if you are unsatisfied with my management, I will forward your complaint to Steve Clift, my board chair at E-Democracy, which is my governing group. (Steve is also a list member so he follows the discussion, at least its less frivolous parts.) There is an appeals process exists as a check on me. PLEASE everyone -- the recent discussion has hit some low points for this list. I still believe we can live within rules that focus our discussion on substance, not spats. David Brauer List manager, Mpls-issues
The list's presidential debate
Last one of these on this subject, I promise. Holle asks: The story that makes me "breathless" is that thousands of Minneapolis citizens have contributed to a completely independent grassroots third party campaign that is now making national news. Is it irrelevant to this e-mail list when a real popular movement for justice and democracy emerges in Minneapolis? Or are we only concerned with what the policymakers are doing at City Hall? Minneapolitans are doing thousands of things they are all breathless about. I'm sure thousands of Minneapolitans are breathless they bused to the airport yesterday to listen to George Bush. They feel they are taking personal freedom back and restoring morality to government. Thousands of Minneapolitans are breathless that they vote for Al Gore, continuing hard-won economic prosperity and restoring the place of government as a protector of the public commons. My point is: there's a lot of righteousness out there, and Minneapolitans -- like folks nationwide -- are doing their thing for national causes. This is all well and good - great, even. It is not appropriate for Minneapolis-issues, however. Our place is to give primacy to LOCAL issues, LOCAL concerns, LOCAL impacts. We are, as I have said before, a parochial forum by design. This is not to slight the bigger picture. But we are a place to bring the local picture into sharp focus. This has nothing to do with a particular ideology. No other internet forum is doing this for Minneapolis. That's why E-Democracy and myself are so protective of the space, and will continue to be so. Think globally, but talk about local stuff. David Brauer List manager, Minneapolis-issues
Boundaries
There are a number of unanswered questions in this morning's story about Steve Bosaker in the Star Tribune, but there are two very troubling issues to me...both involving boundaries. 1. Why is the Star Tribune giving front page treatment to an alleged incident involving a person who in their own story is reported to be the lowest profile chief of staff ever. If this needs to be in the paper, so be it, but this is far, far out of proportion. In all the time Bosacker has been in Ventura's office I cannot think of a single time when he has been anything other than the consummate behind the scenes implementer. He has never sought the limelight, his personality has never been an issue one way or the other, and there is no reason why he should be considered so public a figure today. Jesse has no boundaries. Steve does. 2. As the facts behind this alleged incident come out, it is important to quesion the role of using police undercover agents to entrap Minneapolis residents. I'm not a cop and their jobs are hard enough. But in the late 70s and early 80s there was a great debate in this town about police raids on gay bath houses. My recollection of those debates was that eventually there was a clear consensus that the best way to address issues of vice was for the police to deal with straight forward enforcement. I hesitate to post this because, as I said earlier, I feel this incident was WAY overplayed in this morning's paper. But there are serious personal and policy questions that should be considered here. And I feel one of the most decent people in Minnesota public life is being hung out to dry this morning. R.T. Rybak East Harriet
Response to Star Tribune
I got an "honorable mention" in the Star Tribune endorsement for Senate District 62 on Saturday. The Strib endorsed Julie Sabo, and went on to say: Her most interesting challenger is the Independence Party's Steve Anderson, 30, a computer programmer who wants government to foster more innovation in addressing social problems. It's a worthy notion, and Anderson is an affable advocate, but he has made odd choices in stressing so-called personal rapid transit and decriminalization of drugs. The Republican candidate, 33-year-old Kelly Bailey, has offered an incoherent political philosophy and an anemic campaign. I would respond that my choices of emphasis reflect the areas where new approaches offer immediate and drastic improvement over current policy. PRT, unlike conventional bus and train transit, is an on-demand transfer-free system, which means riders can walk into a station anytime day or night and get a ride non-stop to their destination. The construction and operating costs are a fraction of those for light rail. We could have subsidy-free transit that would be as fast and convenient (in many cases) as the automobile. That's a recipe for substantially reducing our auto dependence and replacing it with cheap, energy-efficient transit. I believe that our current prohibition of drugs does little or nothing to alleviate the problems of drug abuse, but it creates a black market that's a direct cause of much of the violence in our cities. These deaths are easily preventable. Because of our "zero-tolerance" approach, we don't even allow marijuana for medical reasons, where it could literally make a life-or-death difference for cancer and AIDS patients. This is an area where a policy change (that the democrats and republicans are unwilling to consider) could make a drastic difference on crime and health care. If I had such simple, exciting innovations that would solve the affordable housing crisis, or create peace in the middle east, I'd be promoting them. I don't. But I do have solutions in transit and drug policy, and an abiding commitment to seeking creative new solutions in all areas. I hope district 62 voters find that an approach worth voting for. -- Steven C. Anderson 612-722-6658[EMAIL PROTECTED] The Independence Party Candidate for Minnesota Senate, District 62 http://www.SteveAnderson.org/
Online Mug Shots
On November 1, Ross Kaplan wrote: "The focus of the Fulton Safety Committee meeting Tues. night was whether to post, on the Fulton Neighborhood Web site, a photo of an individual suspected in more than 16 local burglaries and miscellaneous stalking incidents. The group consensus was to wait for the police to give their ok; the police are concerned that putting the photo online will taint future lineups. In the mean time, the suspect is at large (free on too-low bail) while the police look for him in connection with other charges." As chairman of the committee in question, this case presents a dilemma. A suspect with a long criminal history, including felony convictions in Hennepin County for stalking offenses, was arrested on September 1 and charged with two felonies, including 2nd-degree burglary. Bail was initially set at $100,000, but a judge lowered it to $20,000, despite the objections of the prosecutor. The suspect was released on bail pending trial and is not under court supervision. The 5th Precinct continues to investigate other crimes tied to this suspect. The police have reason to believe that this suspect, who according to Inspector Morris is a registered sex offender, may have had other motives besides burglary for breaking into homes. As of Tuesday, a warrant for the suspect's arrest on additional charges was pending. Police reportedly did not know the suspect's whereabouts. The dilemma here is that the police investigator has asked us not to distribute the suspect's photo around the neighborhood or on the internet because this could compromise or derail the investigation of these other crimes. However, I believe that the judge has placed the community's safety in jeopardy by allowing this suspect to be released so easily and I think that circulating the photo and the police report would give neighbors an opportunity to watch for this suspect in case he returns to stalk any of the burglary victims. The committee decided to distribute and post the suspect's photo after the police investigation was completed. In effect, we decided that cooperating with police was more important than immediately notifying the community of a potential threat. I support this decision because our long-term, ongoing partnership with the 5th Precinct has served the neighborhood well, but I am angry that the court has forced us to make this choice. If this suspect is convicted and sentenced, I can guarantee that the court will hear from the community about the impact of this case. 5th Precinct SAFE issued a crime alert in August in regard to the string of burglaries tied to this suspect. SAFE has been very forthcoming and cooperative in supplying information and in helping us understand the constraints involved in this situation. The prosecuting attorney has also been helpful in keeping us posted on the status of this case. In this as in so many other instances, I believe that the problem lies with our courts and our system of sentencing guidelines, which often fail to protect the public from the actions of repeat offenders. Dave Delvoye Fulton neighborhood Ward 13 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get your free Web-based E-mail at http://www.startribune.com/stribmail
Re: City Council 2001 -
Let's not forget to add Gary Schiff's name to the list. He's running for the Ward 9 seat. Cara Letofsky Date sent: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 00:12:20 -0600 Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: "Cameron A. Gordon" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Re: City Council 2001 - I have also heard that Park and Rec commissioner Dean Zimmermann may be thinking over a run in the Six Ward In message [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Sorry if I am being redundant. Here are some more names that I have become aware of... Interestingly, there seems to be a lot of angst and discontent within the populist in the direction the city is going and many seem to be clamoring for a new direction. I love democracy!!! Cheers! Darren Pierson Brian Hanninen (ward 2) - lawyer Cathy Teenbroeke (ward 6) - gay, affordable housing activist Dean Kallenbach (ward 6) - gay, ? Juan Linares (ward 6) - hispanic, community organizer Michael Guest (ward 9) - DFL, Green Party, Progressive MN Scott Benson (ward 11) - gay, ROAR, lawyer 5th CD chair -- is in for sure Tom Streitz (ward 11) - legal aid lawyer, ROAR, neighborhood school issues Bridget Reilly (ward 12) - county worker Neil Ritchie (ward 10) - former candidate Doug Kress (ward 10) - way to grow ED Greg Abbot (ward 13) - lawyer, former City DFL chair From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: City Council 2001 - an office-space odyssey Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 19:11:58 -0600 Other names: 6TH WARD Jonathan Palmer, SSCO Chair Jim Graham, Master Plan guy, Ventura Village Annie Young??? (Just a rumor, she can confirm or deny) Connie Sheppard Ward 6 - Ventura Village YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. _ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. In peace and cooperation, Cam Gordon 914 Franklin Terrace Mpls. MN 55406-1101 612 296-0579, 332-6210, 339-2452 Seward Neighborhood, Ward 2 = "Significant, enduring change will require an institutionalized shift of power from corporations and government to ordinary Americans." - RALPH NADER www.jimn.org/gpm/gpm.html (MN Green Party) www.mngreens.org www.votenader.org
Re: Flyers and Kiosks
Rosalind Nelson defended the idea of flyers and more kiosks i agree about kiosks except i would like to get a better price than what lyn-lake paid for them. a possibility might be having americorp kids build and install them. or some such thing. maybe a local version through the youth coordinating board. make mac boston actually do some work and instill in young people the idea that work is good and that getting someone else to write your term papers is not self-enhancing. as to who cleans the kiosks: given the state of the city we all might think of taking the initiative our- selves in our respective neighborhoods. there used to be a national campaign against litter that used a logo of a hand dropping paper into a wire basket. the words they used we're "Pitch in". at home here in minneapolis we had a "spruce up your city" program with a spruce tree as a logo. there are still a few of the signs attached to light standards around town. we don't need new ideas or new signs. we need leaders with memories and vision who aren't afraid to speak up or get their hands dirty. and in deference to susan young who did a study for her bosses who love nothing more than to spend our money, we don't need to study the issue of "who picks up after whom" one second more. we just need to get to work. tim connolly ward 7 --- Rosalind Nelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Some of us like rock bands, new age spiritual events, and neighborhood garage sales. We live here too. We pay taxes too. NRP events and community meetings are important, but so are the many other ways that people in a city gather together with others and keep themselves entertained. If we had more kiosks instead of less, you might be able to find the poster listing your important community meeting. As far as responsibility for cleanup, it would be interesting to find how this works in other cities that already have a large number of kiosks. I can try to find out how Madison approaches this. Rosalind Nelson Bancroft From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Flyers and Kiosks Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Regarding flyers and kiosks: The Lyn-Lake Association has had two kiosks on either side of Lyndale Avenue just south of Lake Street for several years. Part of their original purpose was for posting monthly Lyn-Lake arts calendars for public use. They ended up being big-time graffiti magnets and coated many layers deep with flyers, stickers, and posters for rock bands, New Age spiritual events, and neighborhood garage sales. I don't believe I've ever seen a single NRP event or important community meeting posted on them once. And if more such kiosks were erected, whose responsibility would it be to keep them cleaned up? Valerie Powers Tenth Ward __ Do You Yahoo!? From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer. http://experts.yahoo.com/
Re: Flyers and Kiosks
I'd like to suggest here, that there is already a group, called Youth Build run from Summit Academy by Louis King in place to do that sort of thing. Americorps is a good suggestion and those youth, combined with Youth Build could do that I would think and have a good time in the bargain contributing something positive that everyone would see. I like it, it's got a good beat and you can dance to it. Wizard Marks, Central timothy connolly wrote: Rosalind Nelson defended the idea of flyers and more kiosks i agree about kiosks except i would like to get a better price than what lyn-lake paid for them. a possibility might be having americorp kids build and install them. or some such thing. maybe a local version through the youth coordinating board. make mac boston actually do some work and instill in young people the idea that work is good and that getting someone else to write your term papers is not self-enhancing. as to who cleans the kiosks: given the state of the city we all might think of taking the initiative our- selves in our respective neighborhoods. there used to be a national campaign against litter that used a logo of a hand dropping paper into a wire basket. the words they used we're "Pitch in". at home here in minneapolis we had a "spruce up your city" program with a spruce tree as a logo. there are still a few of the signs attached to light standards around town. we don't need new ideas or new signs. we need leaders with memories and vision who aren't afraid to speak up or get their hands dirty. and in deference to susan young who did a study for her bosses who love nothing more than to spend our money, we don't need to study the issue of "who picks up after whom" one second more. we just need to get to work. tim connolly ward 7 --- Rosalind Nelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Some of us like rock bands, new age spiritual events, and neighborhood garage sales. We live here too. We pay taxes too. NRP events and community meetings are important, but so are the many other ways that people in a city gather together with others and keep themselves entertained. If we had more kiosks instead of less, you might be able to find the poster listing your important community meeting. As far as responsibility for cleanup, it would be interesting to find how this works in other cities that already have a large number of kiosks. I can try to find out how Madison approaches this. Rosalind Nelson Bancroft From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Flyers and Kiosks Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Regarding flyers and kiosks: The Lyn-Lake Association has had two kiosks on either side of Lyndale Avenue just south of Lake Street for several years. Part of their original purpose was for posting monthly Lyn-Lake arts calendars for public use. They ended up being big-time graffiti magnets and coated many layers deep with flyers, stickers, and posters for rock bands, New Age spiritual events, and neighborhood garage sales. I don't believe I've ever seen a single NRP event or important community meeting posted on them once. And if more such kiosks were erected, whose responsibility would it be to keep them cleaned up? Valerie Powers Tenth Ward __ Do You Yahoo!? From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer. http://experts.yahoo.com/
nic-lake
as i walked through the tunnel from city hall to the henn. cty. gov ctr. yesterday thinking of redevelopment at nicollet lake i happened across a new installation of wing huie's lake street project just about to be mounted on the walls. i've seen many of these photos a number of times. they bespeak of the diversity that is lake street. wing happened to appear and we talked briefly about development on lake street. the word "colonialism" was broached. maybe i am toally out of touch with the reality of today's marketplace but some of the numbers tossed out in yesterday's strib article truly astounded me. like the village green proposal for lyn-lake it seems like we are looking at bringing a whole new economic class into these neighborhoods and i wonder what impact that might have on the current residents and the city in general. there are undoubtedly smarter people out there than i and i hope some could give me some reassurance that we are just not going to displace people who will have no place else to go. any help? tim connolly ward 7 downtown __ Do You Yahoo!? From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer. http://experts.yahoo.com/
Was Meadowbrook, now more
In a message dated 11/1/2000 7:37:42 PM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes, in part, regarding earlier suggestion to sell Meadowbrook Golf Course: It's a beautiful course, and my kids and I have taken golf lessons there for very affordable prices. So when people say that the taxpayers don't derive benefits, I have to disagree. Most folks can't afford to shell out $40,000 to join a private club like Minikahda, so if they like to golf, they golf at municipal owned courses (Hiawatha, Theodore Wirth or Meadowbrook in Minneapolis; Fred Richards or Braemar in Edina) or county owned courses. I think these municipal courses are a wonderful thing, comparable to lakes, parks and public swimming pools. Am I missing something? First off, I'd suggest that most taxpayers dervie no benefit from public golf courses other than some largely unuseable green space value... naturally the golfers using the facilities enjoy them and support the concept-- but what percent of Mpls. households are 'golfing households'? I think there is ample justification for the parks being supported by the public because they are available to and used by more of the public, less so for stand-alone public swimming pools when we have all the city lakes (although they have experienced deteriorating quality in recent years-- for swimming, fishing, canoeing, etc.). [Swimming pools in public schools make more sense, and they can also be opened to the general public during non-school use periods, with a reasonable userfee that provides a contribution toward upkeep and maintenance-- similar to gymnasiums in public schools that should be open to the public as school scheduling permits.] The above golf course argument sounds strikingly similar to that of a father/mother that wants to take the kids to professional baseball/football/basketball games and therefore endorses public funding for sports stadium(s)- private team ownership/salary issues aside. The fact remains that much of the population in Minneapolis either isn't that interested in sports, and/or can't afford to attend the games anyway (also there is great competition for discretionary income via numerous leisure/recreation options). Taking a family of five to professional sporting events (with a hot dog/drink, etc.) costs anywhere from $75 - $250, a cost not affordable for many city residents... it could just as well be $40,000... well almost. Meanwhile those same residents will be experiencing dramatic increases in their property taxes or monthly rent payments over the next decade-plus, due to City development policies (excessive use of TIF and excessively large amounts of subsidy per project) and poor fiscal management practices (i.e. Internal Services deficits due to inadequate transfer pricing, growing social programs that necessitate annual cuts in basic services, etc.). I think this argument (excessive government involvement in things beyond basic services that it can't afford) is also valid for municipal-supported golf courses- it's another unecessary public subsidy (especially when Meadowbrook isn't even located within the city limits) that doesn't provide a public return commensurate to the assets involved. And when the combined results of all these government excesses and poor management result in financial harm to our lower-moderate income residents and elderly on limited fixed incomes, the arguments become more than a tax-cutting diatribe! They question the very logic of all this DFL overspending in recent years. As Barret Lane and Lisa McDonald have stated in several previous posts, it's time to prioritize what we want to spend our tax dollars on in Minneapolis because we can't afford everything on the menu! CM Lane has even asked list members for suggestions... I wonder what the response has been? M. Hohmann 13th Ward
Re: MPD: State Economic Affairs
In a message dated 11/2/00 11:19:39 AM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: My name is Lyno Sullivan and I am the Independence Party State Senate candidate in District 56. Over 10 years ago I worked as a consultant to Minnesota government and recommended that the State consider Zeos, Lyno, it should be obvious to the voting public that 3rd party candidates, particularly those of the Independence Party, are concerned with the economic well being of our state, enough to view policy as a viable means to foster its growth. It should also be obvious that it is time to elect persons who have the best interest of the people, and industries, at heart. Good luck in your campaign. I look forward to working with you in the St. Paul. Robert Anderson Minneapolis http://www.egroups.com/group/anderson4rep
Re: Online Mug Shots
"Sounds like there has been no arrest, no charges-- what of procedural due process? If this man turns out to be innocent, does he then have the right to sue the Fulton group for defamation of character and libel, etc.?" --M. Hohmann No, he was charged, and already has several felony convictions on his record -- see Dave D[elvoye]'s more detailed post. Also, if I recall from my law school days, defamation requires a reputational injury. This character has no reputation to injure; quite the contrary. There may be some close cases with respect to defamation, but this guy, and this case, isn't one of them. Ross Kaplan Fulton Neighborhood __ Do You Yahoo!? From homework help to love advice, Yahoo! Experts has your answer. http://experts.yahoo.com/
Re: Democrats vs. Progressives - in Minneapolis
In response to Steve Anderson's post: 3rd parties do not necessarily equal progressive parties, nor are all 3rd party candidates that you mention progressive candidates. A few examples: Pat Buchanan. Enough said. Jesse Ventura, an avowed centrist and Independence Party standard bearer. He is not supporting either Ralph Nader nor Al Gore for president, as they are both too far left. Mary Mellen, the Independence Party candidate for State Rep in 62A that Steve mentions. She is anti-choice on women's right to choose and supports a 24-waiting period. She is against gun control and even supports a conceal carry law. And she doesn't report to have any history of work around progressive issues. While I enjoy the fact that progressive 3rd party candidates can engage in electoral battles in Minneapolis without threatening to elect Republicans, let's recognize that not all 3rd party candidates are progressive! Cara Letofsky Seward Senate District 62 Date sent: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 09:35:14 -0600 Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: "Steven C. Anderson" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject:Democrats vs. Progressives - in Minneapolis Hi folks, I'm one of the many who've enjoyed the "guilty pleasure" of seeing the national presidential debate slip into this forum, but I agree that we need to keep a local focus. So lets start talking about local races! In Minneapolis legislative races, we have at least two progressive challengers to DFL supremacy in myself and Holle Brian. Other independence candidates, while not identifying themselves as across-the-board progressives, are nonetheless very outspoken on some key progressive issues: Mary Mellen is very outspoken on being able to buy non-genetically engineered food and other environmental issues, while 5th CD congressional candidate Rob Tomich has spoken out in favor of single-payer health care. The best part about voting progressive in Minneapolis is that you don't have to agonize over the "spoiler" issue. Unless there's an outstanding Republican in the race (Hi, Terrell!), we can reasonably expect that Minneapolis Republicans will get less than 30% of the vote, so even if the vote between (for instance) Wes Skoglund and Holle Brian was evenly split, and composed entirely of former Democrat voters, the Republican still would not win. Progressives who care about the environment, about gay rights, about the right to choose, about universal health care coverage, and about the racial inequities in the criminal justice system should consider: The DFL has held the balance of power in the state legislature for most of the last 30 years. Are we happy with the result? Or do we think we ought to be doing better than we are? I think we can be doing much better. There are many tough problems out there that evade easy solutions - but there are so many others where the solution exists but democrats and republicans are ignoring it. We know that Canadians, Germans, and the British enjoy longer life expectancies, lower infant mortality, lower health care costs, and greater satisfaction with their health care system than we do here in America - so why is it so difficult for our supposedly progressive DFL to support a single-payer system here? We know that money spent on treatment and education in combatting drug abuse, but that interdiction and enforcement has been largely ineffective. So why can't we treat the drug problem strictly as a medical problem, and eliminate the violence of the black market? We know that even with the best light-rail system we could hope to construct, less than 2% of trips metrowide will be on a light rail system, and we won't substantially reduce our auto dependency, so why isn't the DFL interested in finding new approaches to transit? Democrat committee chairs from Minneapolis have blocked consideration of single-payer health care. They've prevented hearings on Personal Rapid Transit (PRT), while even the Republican-controlled house has allowed PRT bills to advance. We can do better than the kind of leadership the DFL has been providing. We need to. -- Steven C. Anderson 612-722-6658[EMAIL PROTECTED] The Independence Party Candidate for Minnesota Senate, District 62 http://www.SteveAnderson.org/
RE: Streets, traffic neighborhood boundaries
I must admit that I nearly cried when I read this message, for joy that is.
It was an excellent post and I am right on with many of the key points.
Streets, even primarily residential ones, are, in the final analysis, public
rights-of-way and not mechanisms solely provided for the purpose of allowing
individual home owners access to their driveway. Nor are they maintained as
reserved spill-over parking facilities for people living directly in front.
And, while it is commonly said that residents should 'take ownership' of the
streets I think a better call to arms would be for residents become better
custodians of the streets they live. There is a very real, and not just
semantic, difference between the two ideas.
I do believe that there are instances where circulation control is
necessary: to stop serious speeding or cut-through traffic problems,
cruising, drug trafficking or other crimes (around Chicago Lake Liquors or
at 1st Ave S and 28th St E come to mind) and even to enhance the pedestrian
appeal of a commercial area. These interventions can take the form of either
calming or diversion. Calming reduces vehicle speed and may, if traffic
conditions allow, even reduce travel lanes but still lets you go through.
Diversion, like that mess south of Lake, east of Lyndale, does pretty much
what it says and does not allow you to go through.
Done intelligently calming can reduce excessive road speeds while
maintaining necessary capacity ('taking the pledge' 50th Ave in south
Minneapolis is crying out for something like this). Pointless applications
bug me. I happen to live near uptown in the thick edge of the wedge and
travel the nearby neighborhoods regularly. In my travels I have noticed many
patches of utterly useless raised asphalt (were there really once signs that
said 'Hump'?), as well as a few positively goofy round-about like things. It
seems to be straight out of the NRP manual in a chapter entitled 'What to do
after you have plastered the borders of the neighborhood with cute little
welcome signs to create a sense of place.'
Diversion is a more radical solution and should be restricted to serious
instances. Diversion for traffic reasons should be viewed as a serious trade
off between the inconvenience faced by residents suffering the problem
versus the rights of all residents to convenient, flexible access to public
rights-of-way. Diversion in the name of crime suppression can be effective
but it simply treats a symptom. Granted, sometimes symptoms need to be
treated but pushing it down in one place merely means that it pops up in
another. Restricting access in this way also begins the gated community
phenomena.
Our grid street system is designed so that people naturally gravitate toward
collectors and arterials because it is the only way to get anywhere
reasonably quickly. Basically speaking it is hard to get very far if you
have to stop every 660 feet and cross arterials at uncontrolled
intersections. In those relatively rare instances where the system doesn't
function, then calming or diversion should be pursued - but every
intersection does not need to be throated, every car that passes through is
not a crisis, and every street section does not need multiple humps, bumps
or tables.
Geoff Batzel
Ward 10
-Original Message-
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Barbara Nelson
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2000 11:10 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Streets, traffic neighborhood boundaries
Call me insensitive, but I think traffic calming has now gone too far
and has become
the triumph of the few over the many, and I am fed up with it.
We need to have viable east-west routes across the
city from border to border so that we CAN patronize merchants in the
city. It's getting so that it's easier to go to the mall of Gargantua
or to Southdale than to get to downtown, uptown, St. Anthony Main, etc.
It's bad enough to have about six blocks of Seward protesting that cars
and trucks are driving on "their" street, but now at least one
neighborhood is
using traffic calming methods on a major thoroughfare. SUre it's
attractive and quaint, but I thought street were supposed to be
practical too.
Whose "brilliant" idea was it to redesign Franklin Ave in the traffic
calming style through the east end of Phillips? That is a major
commercial street and thoroughfare across the city. Maybe the merchants
believe that if traffic slows down enough some of it might actually pull
over and patronize their shops?
Here is my plight, as one example: my dog had a medical emergency and
the cancer
specialist who is treating her is in Kenwood. I'll bet that little
stretch in Phillips cost me five minutes that could have meant death for
my dog (I'll spare you the gory details, but what if it had been my
grandchild?).
The alternative thoroughfares would be 26th Street on the
way over and 28th on the way back. I tried 26th last week and
it too was slow, crowded with
presidential debate
Regarding Rep. Khan's post Algore's representation of himself as the "inventor of the internet" is just another example of his continued fudging of the truth (and I'm being kind here). There have been many things that he has fudged on, and I'm looking forward to electing a representative that can stand on his own principles without having to fudge the truth. Someone that doesn't feel the need to be all things to all people, that is true leadership. To bring it to a local perspective This is the type of leadership that is needed around here, and we have yet to see it from most of our elected officials. Someone that can stand up and tell the people what they believe in and not feel they need to tell people what they just want to hear. True leadership means doing things that may not always be popular, but is in the best interest of the majority of people. This is something that almost all of our elected officials in Minneapolis on the city and state level are lacking. A vote for level headed, clear thinking, fair minded, true leadership is demanded. Steve Sumner SD59 Republican Co-Chair Ward 1 Minneapolis
RE: Was Meadowbrook, now more
About three years ago the SENA NRP group put a shallow trench alongside Minnehaha Creek to catch the storm sewer runoff unless the storm was just too big. It was a good project. Fairly cheap, and reduces the flow of organic matter into the Creek (at least from that source). I heard a proposal to do a similar thing with a chunk of the Hiawatha Golf Course. I don't know how the golf course felt about being told they were getting a water hazard, but a golf course CAN be used to provide "green space" for more than just visual enjoyment. Used smartly, that green space in the Golf Course can be "usable" every time it rains by people who don't even realize they are getting something from it. even if you are a non-golfer like myself. I don't know if the second plan went anywhere, but even the fact that the Golf Course is open, unpaved surface helps with the runoff. Rich Chandler - Ward 9 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2000 12:11 PM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Was Meadowbrook, now more In a message dated 11/1/2000 7:37:42 PM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes, in part, regarding earlier suggestion to sell Meadowbrook Golf Course: It's a beautiful course, and my kids and I have taken golf lessons there for very affordable prices. So when people say that the taxpayers don't derive benefits, I have to disagree. Most folks can't afford to shell out $40,000 to join a private club like Minikahda, so if they like to golf, they golf at municipal owned courses (Hiawatha, Theodore Wirth or Meadowbrook in Minneapolis; Fred Richards or Braemar in Edina) or county owned courses. I think these municipal courses are a wonderful thing, comparable to lakes, parks and public swimming pools. Am I missing something? First off, I'd suggest that most taxpayers derive no benefit from public golf courses other than some largely unuseable green space value... naturally the golfers using the facilities enjoy them and support the concept-- but what percent of Mpls. households are 'golfing households'? I think there is ample justification for the parks being supported by the public because they are available to and used by more of the public, less so for stand-alone public swimming pools when we have all the city lakes (although they have experienced deteriorating quality in recent years-- for swimming, fishing, canoeing, etc.). [Swimming pools in public schools make more sense, and they can also be opened to the general public during non-school use periods, with a reasonable userfee that provides a contribution toward upkeep and maintenance-- similar to gymnasiums in public schools that should be open to the public as school scheduling permits.] The above golf course argument sounds strikingly similar to that of a father/mother that wants to take the kids to professional baseball/football/basketball games and therefore endorses public funding for sports stadium(s)- private team ownership/salary issues aside. The fact remains that much of the population in Minneapolis either isn't that interested in sports, and/or can't afford to attend the games anyway (also there is great competition for discretionary income via numerous leisure/recreation options). Taking a family of five to professional sporting events (with a hot dog/drink, etc.) costs anywhere from $75 - $250, a cost not affordable for many city residents... it could just as well be $40,000... well almost. Meanwhile those same residents will be experiencing dramatic increases in their property taxes or monthly rent payments over the next decade-plus, due to City development policies (excessive use of TIF and excessively large amounts of subsidy per project) and poor fiscal management practices (i.e. Internal Services deficits due to inadequate transfer pricing, growing social programs that necessitate annual cuts in basic services, etc.). I think this argument (excessive government involvement in things beyond basic services that it can't afford) is also valid for municipal-supported golf courses- it's another unecessary public subsidy (especially when Meadowbrook isn't even located within the city limits) that doesn't provide a public return commensurate to the assets involved. And when the combined results of all these government excesses and poor management result in financial harm to our lower-moderate income residents and elderly on limited fixed incomes, the arguments become more than a tax-cutting diatribe! They question the very logic of all this DFL overspending in recent years. As Barret Lane and Lisa McDonald have stated in several previous posts, it's time to prioritize what we want to spend our tax dollars on in Minneapolis because we can't afford everything on the menu! CM Lane has even asked list members for suggestions... I wonder what the response has been?
mother-child reunion
It's not your routine-type issue for this list, but the recent Strib front-page article on the trial involving the teen-ager who nearly killed her child touches on what seems to me core issues for the city. This sort of stuff happens more than we care to think about in the city. This one made headlines because of shock value but, in my opinion, it wasn't even the worst case of the day, let alone year. We now have open courtrooms in juvenile cases, yet this treatment of kids in chaotic settings gets little media coverage. There is no constituency for reform of a system that desperately needs it. No one talking about intervening in families that are dangerous to kids. At the very least, this plays out in schools, public safety, courts, corrections, the mental health system and quality of life. Anyone want to talk about that? Dennis Schapiro Linden Hills
Re: mother-child reunion
In a message dated 11/2/00 6:21:22 PM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: We now have open courtrooms in juvenile cases, yet this treatment of kids in chaotic settings gets little media coverage. There is no constituency for reform of a system that desperately needs it. No one talking about intervening in families that are dangerous to kids I have not read the Strib report and so my response may seem a bit awkward. I am not even certain which mother-child is referred to. However, the question raises quite a stir. The gist of the post is seemingly indicating a reunion of the "family" here, a fact that begs another question: what would be more appropriate? As I understand it, a child gave birth to a child and, in panic, fear, confusion, or God only knows what ever state of mind, attempts to hide the fact. I will quickly add that I am not trying to trivialize the matter; it is a grave circumstance to me, the father of six, with 19 grandchildren, and myself being sibling to a family of 34 (22 boys and 12 girls), childbirth is serious and sacred. So, let us skull out the options. A. The court could punish the mother with confinement for the "crime" and place the baby in another setting. The net effect being 2 persons in care of the state with uncertain outcomes for each. B. The court could remove the mother from her parents, recognizing the trauma, provide the mother with counseling and training for childcare, eventually allowing the 2 a reunion to grow up together, with the same outcome-2persons in care of the state with uncertain outcomes. C. The court could provide couseling for the entire family (grandparents, parent, and child), allowing for reality to settle in and providing a nurturing environ for both children with minimal financial assistance and a chance at a healthy, normal life. Of the options mentioned, which has the most desirous outcome? Where is King Solomons wisdom when you really need it? More importantly, what set of facts do we tackle first in presenting resolution to problems of this magnitude? Constituency of this nature is encumbent on society generally (is there a village capable of raising a child) however, hard questions must be answered first. What leads to teen sexuality in the first place? We know that to be the source of STD, un-wanted pregnancies, shattered lives, and abandonment, but how do we dis-mantle the machinery that gives rise to it in the first place?? These are hard questions, and cannot be answered without involving all factions (families, communities, schools and other institutions, adolescents). Likewise, we must bring to the table marketing, entertainment, social values, morality, and employment, even before we can begin to address effectively this phenomenon. It can be done but, in today's world, it requires strong, committed leadership and across the board discussion with intent and actions. Robert Anderson Minneapolis IP Candidate, House 61B
