Friday, May 25, 2012
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Growth and Justice

Growth & Justice is a progressive economic think tank committed to making Minnesota's economy simultaneously more prosperous, fair, and environmentally sustainable. Dane Smith (pictured) is the president of Growth & Justice.

Recommended reading: Ember Reichgott Junge on charter schools, and John Watson Milton on Senate Majority Leader Nick Coleman Sr.

By Dane Smith, Growth And Justice

For lovers of Minnesota, for history buffs and for students and practitioners of public policy, I highly recommend two outstanding books released this week.MORE »

Closing the skills gap in the Phillips neighborhood

By Dane Smith, Growth And Justice

One of the most unforgettable economic policy statements I ever heard came from a presidential candidate in the early 1990s who explained that we had lots of people who needed work, and lots of work that needed to be done, and that we ought to get those two problems on the same page.

And so it is with the “skills gap” and the “equity gap” in Minnesota.MORE »

Top 10 facts about our LOW taxes

By Dane Smith, Growth And Justice

The week when federal taxes are due predictably generates fist-shaking by the various forces for individualism and small government, and increasingly, counter-demonstrations by the "99 percenters'' who favor a stronger public sector and more fair economic outcomes.MORE »

Hard work paying off for public schools, despite rising poverty and inequality

By Maureen Ramirez, Growth And Justice

More good news for Minnesota and for the thousands of public school teachers and leaders who have been working so hard for so many years to improve achievement and attainment in our education system. High school graduation rates have risen over the last decade, even though our public schools are working with an increasingly poor and economically distressed student body every year.MORE »

Before you buy the story about Minnesota's high taxes, read this

By Charlie Quimby, Growth And Justice

One of my pastimes is following coverage of tax issues across Minnesota, which means every so often, a letter to the editor like this one pops up in my email. Here's the money paragraph:MORE »

Five reasons for optimism in 2012

By Dane Smith, Growth And Justice

Five reasons, small and grand, for optimism in 2012:MORE »

Know exactly where you rank among the 99 Percent (you may be surprised)

By Dane Smith, Growth And Justice

One of the best things coming out of the 99 Percenters movement is an increasing public awareness of exactly who gets how much in our increasingly unequal nation.MORE »

Channel that "99 percenter" energy by linking to the SKILLS@WORK movement

By Dane Smith, Growth And Justice

Protesting the increasingly unfair advantage of the top 1 percent (arguably, economic conditions have gotten at least marginally better in recent decades for a somewhat larger 10 percent at the top) underlies much of the new energy around politics and policy these days.MORE »

Wave of innovation in Owatonna schools more important than referendum loss

By Dane Smith, Growth And Justice

As Owatonna high-schooler Jarrod Neuharth described his project designing parachutes from scratch _  learning how to sew from his grandmother, rustling up help from a local shoe-repair shop, linking up to a NASA project _ I got the sense that we might be seeMORE »

Achievement gap: Time for a metrowide approach

By Dane Smith, Growth And Justice

A long-overdue campaign to promote the Twin Cities as one of the nation’s premier places for doing business and living well was launched last week by a new group of business and civic movers and shakers under the label Greater MSP (www.greatermsp.org).
MORE »

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• May 30: We Are Sabathini exhibit ($25)
• June 1: Museum Magnet closing celebration ($25)
• June 16: World Refugee Day ($25)  
• June 29-July 1: Chalchiutlicue ($25) 
• July 21: Rondo Days ($25)



• North Minneapolis block party celebrates, remembers. Keith Ellison skips rope!
• Northside tornado "treecovery." Thanks to generous donors, more trees are being planted than were lost.
• Ice House Plaza opening marks a new era on Eat Street. Things are hopping at Nicollet and 26th.
• Feeding the poor: But is it healthy food? Cynthia Boyd reports.

Free Speech Zone

The Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, and announcements. The opinions expressed in the Free Speech Zone and Neighborhood Notes, as well as the opinions of bloggers, are their own and not necessarily the opinion of the TC Daily Planet.
FREE SPEECH ZONE | Michael Cavlan For US Senate 2012 Update
FREE SPEECH ZONE | Will the MPCA "Citizens' Board" side with citizens and the environment?
FREE SPEECH ZONE | Hmong students at Henry High collect 530 postcards to save school buses
FREE SPEECH ZONE | Continental Congress 2.0 This July 4th!
Keith Ellison-Muslim in Congress

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