HEADLINES
Wilder Center paves University Avenue green
by Lisa Peterson-de la Cueva, TC Daily Planet
Here’s a challenge for you to try at your office tomorrow. Fit all of your waste into a five-inch trashcan. Go ahead, walk your recyclables over to the super organized recycling area. Take a look at your lighting situation. Flip the switch on only when it’s not streaming in from the windows. Did you stop for that paper cup of coffee from your morning commute? Don’t do that. And while you’re at it, try biking to work, carpooling, or taking public transportation.
VP or not VP: Times of London profiles Pawlenty as McCain insiders keep touting him for veep
by Steve Perry, Minnesota Independent
By now Tim Pawlenty’s exalted status on the ad nauseam lists of GOP VP contenders is news to exactly no one around here. But in a political press that is equal parts deep-background chats and follow-the-pack regimentation, it’s hard to know whether you’re encountering a consensus about political intel or a very elaborate echo chamber. Until recently Marc Ambinder, the stalwart veep-chaser of the Atlantic, was one of the few journalists to ascribe the Pawlenty talk expressly to McCain campaign insiders.
Meanwhile in Washington–
by Mary Turck, TC Daily Planet
Campaign news continues to dominate MN headlines, with Ashwin Madia changing campaign managers, Michelle Bachmann cozying up to a major supporter with major licensure problems, and everybody talking T-Paw for Veep–or not. The serious business of governing takes second place, but a few major votes must still be counted.
Uninsured and unsure in Minnesota: The Pessimistic Optimist
by Elizabeth Rich, Minnesota 2020
If you asked Brian Dobbs, he would tell you he was a very lucky guy. After years without health insurance, he’s only had to go to the doctor once. And that was during the brief period his employer provided health care. Other than that, Brian has come up with his own brand of insurance…don’t do anything.
INSIDE THE DAILY PLANET
Workers organize at new luxury hotel in Minneapolis
by Steve Share, Workday Minnesota
The employer was bound to a card-check agreement under the terms of financing provided by the City of Minneapolis to help build the hotel. The City provided $6 million in tax increment financing for the $100 million development, which renovated a historic 1930 Moorish-style tower as part of a larger project that includes 136 hotel rooms, 92 condos, and a 17,000 square foot health club.
Artist Scott Anderson paints ’em like he sees ’em
by Staff, Minneapolis Observer Quarterly
“In 2001, after 22 years as a magazine designer, I left my computer to go outside and paint,” says Scott Anderson. We first met Scott when he was still a magazine designer at Request (for Sam Goody record stores), and have enjoyed watching him paint (so to speak) ever since. Currently, he’s working on a series of paintings on location at the site of the new 35W bridge construction (for an MPR interview with Scott at the bridge site, go here). When we ran into him this spring as he was taking down an exhibition of his work at Anodyne coffee shop, we didn’t hesitate to take him up on his offer to grace the cover of MOQ with one of his paintings; look for it on the summer issue, which will be available after June 17.
Minneapolis master plan for bikes
by Sheila Regan, TC Daily Planet
On Wednesday, June 19, about 70 people crowded in a pungent room on the third floor of Minneapolis city hall for the city’s Bicycle Master Plan public open house. Around the room, maps for proposed new trails, and other proposals had sticky notes where bikers could write down comments.
NEW IN VOICES
Classic war propaganda: A case study
by Jeff Nygaard, Nygaard Notes
The Wednesday, May 21st edition of the New York Times had a front-page article labeled “News Analysis” that gets the story completely wrong, even while reporting many of the facts needed to get the story right. It was a fascinating article. Indeed, I consider it a classic example of (intentional or unintentional) propaganda.
NEW IN BLOGS
Jeune Lune: RIP
by Phillip Andrew Bennett Low, TC Daily Planet
I remember watching a young, hapless Luverne Seifert being bounced between three contemptuous French clowns in The Three Musketeers, a foam ass-crack and what seemed like a dozen doors opening and closing at once in Honeymoon China. I remember watching knives arcing through the air above me in The Kitchen. I remember a flying cardboard cut-out of a car in Red Harvest. I remember Steven Epp’s Tartuffe, twisting quick as a snake, snatching an apple with his teeth, and a Golem that was seen more in shadows than substance. I have a recollection of an angelic voice emerging from a living pile of pink feathers in their first opera, The Magic Flute, and one of a roll of toilet paper unraveling in The Government Inspector.
City Hall roof goes green
by Todd Melby, Building Minnesota
The interior courtyard of Minneapolis City Hall and the Hennepin County Courthouse is going green. Scott Helmes of RSP Architects in Minneapolis conceived the project in 2005. When completed in July, the 5,000 square feet of newly inserted plants promise to capture storm water, mitigate the “urban heat island” effect” and other benefits.
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