Re: Bus Driver Beating
My eldest daughter is a new bus driver. She is just 5'2" and 110 lbs - guess how big of a person she could physically handle? I suppose there is a certain amount of security gained by the presence of a bus or LRT operator. However, bus drivers are usually pretty busy paying attention to their driving to have a whole lot of time for security duties. To what extent are operators trained for, capable of, or expected to perform security duties? I was thinking more along the lines of security measures, like real, trained security personnel, used to protect both riders and operators. Just curious and posing the question. Dave Stack Harrison John Ferman Harriet Avenue Kingfield Neighborhood Minneapolis Ward 10 Pct 10 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Bus Driver Beating
Thursday, during daylight hours, an MTC bus driver was severely beaten by a young man in south Minneapolis. Television carried the story (thank you WCCO) and KNOW ran a 15-second sound bite on the arrest. But our wonderful Star Tribune carried not even one word. Doesn't that just make one wonder how much is not thought important enough to report either. Jack Ferman Minneapolis, MN [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: Bad DFL caucus rules
As a practical matter - unless some delegate can convince a majority of delegates that the caucus system is sorely broken I doubt constitutional fiddling would get to first base. This years city convention has much business to conduct and given the pre-convention rhetoric going around it could be a long one. Any one remember the convention when Sharon Sayles Belton was endorsed for the first time - it adjorned at around 2 or 2:30 am. Dennis Hill's response is essentially correct: the change that David Brauer suggests would take an amendment to the Minneapolis DFL Party's constitution. There are three ways to go about proposing such an amendment: First, through the existing Constitution Commission, which is currently reviewing the constitution with a view toward a comprehensive overhaul. That Commission can propose an amendment for consideration at the upcoming City Convention in May, but it is more likely that it will identify multiple possible solutions to each problem identified, and then seek input from delegates at this year's Convention without a formal vote, so that the new Commission that takes office at the Convention can frame proposals based on that input. Those proposals would then be circulated for comment through the senate-district organizations, and offered for a vote at a special City Convention this year or next year or at the regular biennial Convention in 2003. Second, through the incoming Constitution Commission, whose members will be elected at the upcoming ward conventions and will take office when the upcoming City Convention adjourns. Any amendment proposed through the new Commission can be considered at the regular biennial City Convention in 2003, or at a special City Convention before then. Third, by a motion from the floor at the Convention, if the Central Committee indicates in issuing the call that the constitution may be considered. The Central Committee will be meeting on Monday the twenty-second, and I will be preparing the agenda today and tomorrow, including a proposed call. I will be happy to work with anyone who is interested in proposing an amendment so that it can be brought before the Central Committee. BRM Brian Melendez (Ward 3), Chair, Minneapolis DFL Organization E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] Ph. 612.336.3447 Fax 612.336.3026 -Original Message- From: David Brauer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 10:24 AM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Bad DFL caucus rules Lots of meat in Fredric's recent post, but I'm only going to touch on a couple of things: First, the item about Barb's list mishap is toward the bottom of: http://checksandbalances.com/MN/players-page/pp001221.htm. There is also an interesting item on Lisa McDonald gunning for union support via city low-voltage wiring inspection...see "Over Extending Authority" at http://checksandbalances.com/MN/players-page/pp001227.htm. Second, Fredric hits on a longstanding major gripe of mine: that the DFL locks in its 2001 delegates at its 2000 (presidential or legislative year) caucuses. This means any candidate not organized two years before election day (i.e., many non-incumbents) can't influence the party endorsing process by getting their grass-roots supporters to become delegates. (St. Paul, on the other hand, picks new delegates during the city election year.) Although at the major-office level, the DFL endorsement process is wheezing like a dying man, it still has great influence at the council level. It has always seemed to me a violation of the DFL's alleged grass-roots ethos to lock in its selectors so far in advance. I suppose the argument FOR doing so is that attendance is higher during even-numbered years. But in a state that's justifiably proud of its same-day voter registration, it seems ridiculous to shut down city council delegate selection 11 months before a city election year even begins, and 21 months before the election itself. (I've always hoped some new Democratic voter who just hit town arrival would sue the party for disenfranchisement, since the rule is also in effect a residency requirement mandating that you live here in February 2000 to decide the party's nominee in 2001. But I admit this is only symbolic, since the party has wide latitude to make its own rules.) I've always believed these restrictive rules exist to protect incumbents and insiders who show up annually. I think it is one reason the DFL is not as in touch with the electorate as it should be. I'm pondering offering a resolution at my local caucus to change the practice. Of course, one resolution at one caucus won't do much. Anyone have advice about how to make a bigger impact? David Brauer King Field - Ward 10 John Ferman Harriet Avenue Kingfield Neighborhood Minneapolis Ward 10 Pct 10 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Chief Olson
Tim -- Thanks for commenting on the posts of Rich McMartin and Jack Ferman. What really scares me is that there are probably many others in Minneapolis who would echo their sentiments. So what is the problem - if no one likes Olson and he is dumped what makes anyone confident the next chief would be any better. My point is the MPD has come a long way. Did I infer anywhere that the MPD is perfect - I do not believe so. And the sad truth is that I might have been among them if it hadn't been for my move this past year to the Phillips neighborhood. Prior to that move I lived in SW Mpls. and didn't have a clue as to what was coming down in "poorer" neighborhoods in Mpls. From that sheltered vantage point I simply couldn't 'connect the dots,' so to speak. CODEFOR is just the sort of Orwellian policy that we must be vigilant about because of the legitimacy it lends to police actions that are abusive -- which have, and do, occur, regardless of whether Charlie Stenvig -- or Charlie McCarthy in St. Paul, now THERE was a character who loved taking the law into his own hands! -- or Chief Olson is on the watch. There is a young black "salesman" who stands on the corner of 16th Av. and 25th St., near where I live, almost every day -- late at night and in the early morning hours -- looking for and waving down those who look the most likely to be interested in his product(s). Because I've seen him and his associates on or near that corner for many months now, I'm perplexed as to how he continues to get away with what he's doing without getting busted. I assume that either a) he's an undercover cop, b) he has bought off the neighborhood MPD patrols, and/or c) he has bought protection from someone else in the MPD. Yet, right down the block from my home, there is a single mother with 5 daughters ranging in age from toddlerhood to teenager, whose home was literally broken into by five MPD cops who refused to show their badges, and who, in fact, claimed they did not have their badges with them because they were doing CODEFOR work, nor would they show a search warrant when asked for one. They said they had received an anonymous call about the home at this address being a front for drug dealers -- simply not true. They ransacked this woman's home for over an hour, all the while making terroristic threats, terrifying her and her children. And I want to assure you that this sort of action by the MPD is not rare in my part of town. Why does this happen in Phillips? Why does it NOT happen in the Linden Hills or East Harriet neighborhoods? Connect the dots... poverty = powerlessness = easy prey. These people, for many of whom English is a second language, are the least likely to understand the U.S. justice system, least likely to know their rights as citizens, and least likely to have the financial means to go to court to sue their case against an organization that claims to "serve and protect" them. Needless to say cynicism abounds in my part of town regarding the agents of civic obedience. Wake up my fellow citizens of Minneapolis: the truth is that ALL of us have seen a steady erosion of our civil rights over the last decade, but it has been in small enough increments and in "other parts of town" so perhaps we have not noticed like we would if there are had been an all-out assault. AND, it's taking place in neighborhoods that many people find easy to ignore. Am I saying that real crime does not exist in Minneapolis? No. Am I saying that a consortium of actions and services need to be brought to bear against the underlying causes of a lot of this crime? Yes. Is one of those actions CODEFOR? A resounding NO is my answer. My urgent, my fervent hope, is that enough of us will wake up, in time, in all the various racial communities, in all the various faith communities, in all of the various social service communities, to help our neighbors, and ourselves, reclaim not only our rights, but our dignity, and our lives. Jenny Heiser East Phillips Ward 6-8 timothy connolly wrote: A couple comments relative to posting by Rich McMartin and Jack Ferman. I too remember the days of Charle Stenvig. Just another evening I ran into the Police Chaplain, Terry Hayes, at GJ's on Hennepin. I was surprised to see him there with some officers. I would have thought he was long since retired. I remember that he used to hang out around midnight at the old Fair Oaks Motel with the guys from the infamous TActical Squad soaking up free coffee and pie. They never paid much attention to me. I was just the guy who cleaned the kitchen and cafe. But I paid attention to them or rather the things they said. A cruder, more racist bunch of knuckle draggers...well you get the picture. I remember how they laughed telling stories of how their dogs, Rex or Caesar,etc., took bites out of this and that niggers ass down at Lake Calhoun. Mind you this was on 4th of July night. Ah, America! Ain't it great. Some things don't change much.
Re: Electric Car Shuttle System
Methinks we already have the system envisioned below - they are called taxicabs. Perhaps we need a system of cars that are available for people to move across town once they are at work: Does anybody know of such a system in the world? -Original Message- snip Jack Ferman Minneapolis, MN [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: Property Taxes
One of the things that annoys me more than anything else whenever the taxes subject comes up, be it income property or sales, is that the debaters seldom, if ever, equate taxes with services expected. Some folks want nice pathways around the lakes to walk, jog, bike, or blade on - other folks want clean well-swept streets - still others want well-lite alleys - the list goes on and on. So lets see the tax issue and the services issue intertwined in an intelligient manner. Now for my property tax beef - it lies in the way the city assessor establishes property market values. In the olden days (before their new shiny computers, anyhow) the assessors had to go look at properties, building improvement permits, and other comerable properties with eyes in order to have a basis for market value. Nowadays, it is all computerized to such an extent that if the house up the block from you sells (for an inflated price, say) the valuation of all other houses are upped within milliseconds from the time the sale hits the recording entry. Is this bad? My suspicion - during the past two market value cycles the properties the assessor used to judge our house were different - secondly, on the last cycle my personal windshield inspection revealed that two of the comparison properties had had building improvements which may have driven their sales at increased prices. These two instances, suggest to me that the 'process' is unfair, that objective standards are nedded, that the assessor had too much lattitude. Of lesser gripe - when I asked the assessor exactly how their 'system' worked I got much mumbo gumbo. Were I a shrewd accountant or money lawyer I suppose the mumbo gumbo would have been intelligible. Adam writes: I'm really tempted to vent on these admitted liberals writing in to complain about the property tax increases. Your votes and your support have served to amplify an ongoing problem - I would say crisis. As Steve Minn pointed out, we haven't even seen the bill for the new library. Actually, it was this admitted liberal who pointed that out. It's good to restrain one's gloating - for I think that lust to gloat is what has kept city Republicans an (electorally) endangered species. As I admitted in my original post, I'd always love my tax bill to be lower - that doesn't make me a hypocrite, just human. But unlike most Republicans whose rhetoric I hear/read, I consider what we get with taxes - you don't always go with the low bidder and you don't always prosper in a low-tax climate. (Sorry, I don't equate my tax level with "freedom," as many GOPers do.) That's not to say there isn't much stupid spending I wish my DFL council hadn't done - you all know about those silly TIF deals. However, I have yet to see conservatives such as Adam make a convincing case that they could both restrain spending and intelligently encourage city development through reasonable public investments. Simply put, the city GOP hasn't even come close to offering a palatable alternative - instead, we get mini-Rod Gramses clearly not in tune with city voters. It's no fun having to vote for reckless spenders, but the GOP in the last several years has only offered the alternative of feckless social conservatives and fiscal unsophisticates even more out of touch with the city public than the institutional DFL is. There's a reason the last two non-DFL council members have been independents, not Republicans. David Brauer King Field - Ward 10 Jack Ferman Minneapolis, MN [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Street Leaves Again
A day or so ago RTB posted a message about leaves and algae blooms in the lakes. Offline, I corresponded with RTB and promised I would examine a storm sewer outfall during my next walk. This afternoon I examined the outfall on the north side of Lake Harriet. At the time a park board was working to reinforce the shoreline berm against washout and had been dredging around the outfall. I asked whether a big slug of leaves had been there and the crews answer was 'no.' So, if leaves have been entering the storm sewers during the past leaf fall, it appears that not many have reached the lakes. I suspect the leaves that have entered the storm sewers are sitting down there rotting away - next spring when the snow melt-off and rains flush the sewers I would expect that juicy, nutrient-rich brew to enter the settling ponds. Look for lush growth. Would it be against any rules to sprinkle some of my surplus Gray Conehead wildflower seeds (year 2000 harvest from my front yard) around the edges of the settling ponds. They make for heavy masses of yellow flowers from August through September. Jack Ferman Minneapolis, MN [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: storm water run-off
I think this might be my second post but if not blame it on my 'senior moment.' I want to add to Dean's post. Runoff from the streets, parking lots and gasoline stations includes automobile fluids such as anti-freeze, lubricating oil, fuel, and deicing salts. All of these are especially harmful because the natural biodegrading processes of the natural materials are substantially quenched. It is a matter of chemistry. We have two sewer systems. A Storm sewer system. And a sanitary sewer system. The sanitary sewer is a closed system that carries everything from your home or business (toilet, bathtub, laundry, sinks, etc) to processing plants (the largest, by far, in the Pigs Eye/Greycloud Island area south of South St Paul) where it is treated before being released into the Mississippi. The storm sewer system is really nothing more that a rerouting of the streams, brooks, rills, (that would otherwise carry away rain water) into underground tubes that then deposit the water into the nearest stream, lake, river or wetland. As you walk along a lake, river, creek, stream or wetland look for these concrete tubes and wonder about what has been flushed off of the streets and is now coming out into our precious water bodies. Roofs, parking lots, driveways and streets are really part of the storm sewer system, for they collect and channel rain and snow melt into the storm drains and thus into the concrete tubes and thus into our precious bodies of water. (Unless, like the Green Institute, where the parking lot is designed to channel all water to where it will sink into the ground.) In an Urban area such a large percentage of the surface area is roofs, parking lots, driveways and streets that lots and lots of rain just runs off into the storm sewers and steams causing flooding while at the same time not allowing enough water to sink into the earth, so as a result, we have a much lower water table than before the urban build up. Leaves that in years past fell at the base of a tree and decayed now fall onto a driveway and are washed into the street and into the storm sewer and into the nearest lake, steam, river or wetland. Sincerely, Dean Zimmermann Commissioner Mpls Park Board. Dist 3 [EMAIL PROTECTED] 612-722-8768 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Pam Blixt Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2000 6:25 PM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: storm water run-off I have been out of town for several days and missed out on the leaf discussion but... Barb Lickness wrote: Can somebody out there talk about what areas of the city are connected to the sewer system and which ones are not. And maybe how when and why that happened? and Greg Riedesel wrote: I know that St. Paul had interconnecitons between their run-off systems and their sewer systems, such that when it rained a heckovalot, raw sewage was ending up in the Mississippi. They've spent a heckovalot to remove the interconnections. Mpls. spent the same gajillions to separate their sewer system and finished several years ago. The storm sewer map for the City of Minneapolis is an intricate and (only for those of us in water management) endlessly fascinating thing. If you volunteer to spray paint your storm sewers with the image "Don't Dump! Drains to ...) the city will give you a map of your local area so you can spray paint the correct water body on the grate. Various storm sewers drain to the Mississippi, Shingle, Minnehaha or Bassett creeks, or the various lakes and ponds. It all depends on which watershed you are in and it can change, depending on where the city needs to route water due to flooding problems. The system is heavily dependent upon gravity so if you follow your storm sewer down hill you will probably arrive at its final destination. Pam Blixt Nokomis East John Ferman Harriet Avenue Kingfield Neighborhood Minneapolis Ward 10 Pct 10 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Nader and the list
Very well said and it is about time someone did. All of those political thingies belong on either mn-politics-discuss or mn-politics-announce, I am surprised the mple-issues list meister permits it when earlier this year one knowledgeable guy was kicked off for raising global warming issue. I can't believe Annie Young. She and Cam Gordon and Holle Brian have virtually turned this list into a Nader bulletin board and now she is complaining when Myron Orfield and Catherine Shreeve post anti-Nader messages. It is ridiculous to argue that multiple - and breathless - announcements about every Nader meeting and rally that attracts three people are relevent to Minneapolis, but Myron's thoughtful analysis is not. Either eliminate all discussion of the Presidential race or make it apply equally to everyone. Allan Spear Jack Ferman Minneapolis, MN [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Library referendum question
I don't think this is correct. To pass, a minimum number of all ballots cast (yese, noes, blanks) are required. I think the minimum is 50% + 1 . If Keith Ford is reading here, please correct. The Library referendum is counted on the number of people who check yes or no. Blanks don't count. Carol Becker Longfellow - Original Message - From: Rosalind Nelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, October 27, 2000 7:19 AM Subject: Library referendum question A friend asked, if someone leaves the library referendum item blank, is this counted as a No vote or just not counted? Does anyone know the answer to this? Rosalind Nelson Bancroft Jack Ferman Minneapolis, MN [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Not too busy are ya....................
Regarding small charter schools vs larger k-8 elementary schools there are a few points to keep in mind. One has to do with collateral educational support services. The school library, media center, music instruments, gymnasium equipment, and janitorial services. Consider the library: each school must have a minimum set of books regardless of student body size - so the library is not arithmetically proportional to student body. One could go on to dissect the other things in the list, but you get the point. The problem some people have with the schools are that some people perceive that the schools are failing in their mission. What frequently gets left out of the discourse is that the schools are not in total control of the students. Has a child had a good nights sleep and a good breakfast. Have the parents been fully supportive of their childs homework environment - do they take the child to the library, do they participate. A child is in school for about 6 hours and somewhere else for 18 hours. Well, I could wax on and repeat what other have said numerous times. From my catbird seat, I can say the schools are doing a good job with the raw material they have been given. Although I don't have all the data in the world at my fingertips, I do know that atleast one child out of the 19 in my daughter's first grade last year at Ramsey was held back. As a parent I don't know exactly precisely what the concrete benefits of a small school are (besides being able to be closed down conveniently) separate from small classrooms. There is the community feel, the "knowing everyone" thing, but I mean in terms of the academic experience. Charter schools have a lot going for them, including that they are chosen by parents who took the time to find out about them in the first place. But there are a number of resource difficulties that come up as you go below various plateau's in school size. Also charter schools have one distinct cost that regular schools don't (in general) - leasing their space. And so on - I think it's just like anything else - there are a number of groups of kids who are best served by charter schools, and I'm really glad our greater community includes a huge number of them (and 20 more or so new each year, lately). But for many of us the huge behemoths are just fine, thank you: with their diverse range of people and programs and learning opportunities. The school system prohibits discrimination, and the boy scouts have mandated discrimination. They are responding by tolerating but not promoting that organization, in the hopes of putting pressure on them (along with many other school systems and other groups across the country) so that the boy scouts will cease this amazingly hurtful policy and become open again to all who would benefit from them. And as far as the making change comment, I remember working at McDonalds while I was in High School - I'm sure I didn't always make the best argument for my school either, due to exhaustion, preoccupation, annoyance, boredom. Now the schools have to not only respond to populations affected by every societal ill but also guarantee the performance of its participants in every facet of their lives 24/7? Geesh! No but really, generalizations are hard to respond to effectively. Claire Stokes Hiawatha (imagine if you try shutiing down a 1000 student behemoth that allows failing students to pass..). jon kelland bryant John Ferman Harriet Avenue Kingfield Neighborhood Minneapolis Ward 10 Pct 10 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: library referendum
My problem with the library referendum runs like this. For the past 10-15 years the downtown business interested have been getting tax breaks, year by year and nibble by nibble. We are now at a point where it will be the neighborhood tax payers who will bankroll the downtown library improvements, meant to benefit downtown businesses primarily. Does everyone know that a skyway to a commercial building is in the design? Whenever we in the neighborhoods cry out for something, the downtown business interests lose no time in telling the neighborhoods that there is no free lunch. So I say no free lunch downtown, too and will vote No on the library referendum. Let the downtown interests pay for their new library. The downtown library is hard to get to, there is no parking to speak of, so it can't be said to be of much benefit to the people in the neighborhoods. John Ferman Harriet Avenue Kingfield Neighborhood Minneapolis Ward 10 Pct 10 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: library referendum -- VOTE yes 11/7 --
A new downtown library has the potential to benefit all the residents of the metro area. People outside of Minneapolis have either the Hennepin County, Ramsey County, or St Paul libraries. Those folks do not help with the costs. John Ferman said, among other things: So I say no free lunch downtown, too and will vote No on the library referendum. Let the downtown interests pay for their new library. The downtown library is hard to get to, there is no parking to speak of, so it can't be said to be of much benefit to the people in the neighborhoods. END QUOTE Not only is this not true, it is incredibly shortsighted. It is not THEIR new library, it is our library. Right now, books from the Downtown Library circulate to every part of Minneapolis and beyond. The Downtown Library is a great and easy treat for our family when we drive or ride the bus there. We have never had a probelm parking in the lot right outside the Hennepin Avenue entrance. It provides us --people in the neighborhoods-- with one the greatest benefits of all, books. I just recently tried to use the downtown library, because they would not send certain of their books to a branch library for examination. This is service. I took the bus (round trip fare was $3.00) and looked at their full postage-stamp sized parking lot and also noted the meter rate. My statements about property tax reductions for businesses is very true - in fact the Strib a while back noted that fact as one of the reasons dwelling property taxes are skyrocketing. Let business pay their fair share of any library improvements or do without like so many neighborhood needs have. What no one has proposed is two new libraries: one small business/commercial branch downtown and one major repository outside of downtown, like east of Chicago but west of Cedar. Jack Ferman Minneapolis, MN [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re:
I think this is wrong. The University received its Charter from Congress several years before Minnesota gained statehood. I haven't actually checked the dates, but I do not think there was a state prison too much before 1900. The first prison might have been St Cloud with Stillwater coming in much later. Anyone remember the story of what precipitated the legislative action to ban executions? It seems Minneapolis had convicted and sentenced a guy to death by hanging. When the time came to spring the trap-door the rope either slipped or stretched so the guy landed on his feet under the platform. The officials noting the miscue ordered the sheriff to haul up on the rope and finish the job. There was widespread revulsion all the way to the Capitol. How about the story as to why the capitol is St Paul and not St Peter. ;nuf already. to continue andy's history, (warning, this may be for folklore than history) stillwater got to pick between the prison and the university as a consolation prize--it took the prison--more jobs. mpls, being third on the list, got the leftovers--the university. John Ferman Harriet Avenue Kingfield Neighborhood Minneapolis Ward 10 Pct 10 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
