HEADLINES
Negative press distorts true support for anti-bullying program
by Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent
Shannon Drury is just one of many parents who, despite negative publicity, are indeed thrilled that three Minneapolis schools are being considered for the controversial Welcoming Schools pilot project. Because the project focuses on family diversity and bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, attention has focused on parents who have moral or religious objections to the curriculum — with little focus on the majority of parents who support the project.
Ethnic media at the NCMR: Outsiders?
by Joel Grostephan, TC Daily Planet
At last weekend’s National Conference for Media Reform, Anthony Advincula sounded dismayed as he opened an ethnic media forum. “We’re competing with Arianna Huffington next door,” he said to an audience of about 30 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. “Hopefully we won’t have outsider status next year.
A 40th birthday blowout for the Electric Fetus
by Justin Schell, TC Daily Planet
Even among the many storied independent record stories in the Twin Cities, the Electric Fetus—which turns 40 this week—stands out. From its 1968 founding on the West Bank through its 1972 move to 4th and Franklin to the present, the Fetus has cemented its place as one of the best music stores not only locally, but nationally.
Minnesota’s slip toward mediocrity: less investment, less return
by Jeff Van Wychen, Minnesota 2020
Minnesota’s national ranking on key performance indicators has declined in recent years at the same time that the state has decreased its public investment relative to other states.
INSIDE THE DAILY PLANET
Views and Reviews
Music note: True Colors Tour spotlights the gay (19)90s
by Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
I can’t claim that it was a deliberate choice to wear my I LOVE THE 90S Power Ranger t-shirt to the True Colors Tour—a rolling revue benefiting the Stonewall Community Foundation—but it was the right choice, and not only because the shirt’s lime-green color jived with the sartorial palate employed by most of my fellow concert-goers at Target Center on Monday night. For better or for worse, headliners Cyndi Lauper and the B-52s have settled comfortably into the sound of pop music circa the early Clinton Administration.
Theater note: Sherlock Holmes on the prowl in Pig’s Eye
by Rebecca Mitchell, TC Daily Planet
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure is certainly not the finest play ever written, but it is a fun and intriguing escape.
Music note: Jistoray shoot from the hip
by Dwight Hobbes, TC Daily Planet
I remember walking away from the Nomad World Pub a couple years ago, absolutely convinced that Jistoray play some of the finest low-key music the Twin Cities scene has to offer.
Dancers rouse audiences to fight environmental racism
by Susan Budig, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Ananya Chatterjea is looking for a response. When her dance company performs at the Southern Theater this week, Ananya hopes their show, Daak: Call to Action, will, in fact, motivate its audience to take action.
NEW IN VOICES
Hire your own cop!
by Steve Clemens, Special to the TC Daily Planet
For the past twelve years, AlliantACTION has vigiled in front of Alliant Techsystems (ATK), Minnesota’s largest arms merchant. After being spun off from Honeywell who grew tired of the protests from the Honeywell Project, ATK first located in an old Honeywell facility in Hopkins, MN. The weekly vigil by local activists started in 1996, focusing on ATK’s manufacture and sale of anti-personnel landmines. After a significant victory in court in 1997, when 79 people were acquitted of trespassing charges under a defense claiming international law, the Wednesday morning vigil continued to grow in size.
NEW IN BLOGS
The Perfect Time to Fall in Love . . .
By Rosemary Ruffenach, Rosemary Writes
“There is someone out there for everyone,” began the essay. Yeah, yeah. “It was the perfect time to fall in love,” Emma’s memoir continued. I sighed. The memoir assignment routinely elicited tales of teen-age love lost, as well as of childhood accidents, disastrous first jobs and best friends gone missing. However, in the next sentences I realized this story was different. It was the perfect time for love to appear, said Emma, because right then her problems were so gigantic that it seemed they would never get better. Drugs? Abuse?
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