Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/author/erik-anderson/page/2/)
What looked like bad news for the Como Park neighborhood is looking better, thanks to the efforts of local residents. Earlier this summer, two recreational facilities appeared to be on the chopping block: the Northwest Como Recreation Center and the Como Park pool. Now it looks like both are safe, at least for the time being. St. Paul’s 2008 budget calls for significant cuts. Continue Reading
Seward area roaster fined by city
Many people love the scent of coffee in the morning — some can’t start their day without it. For some Seward neighbors, however, the odor — in this case, of coffee beans roasting at MorningStar, 2309 Snelling Ave. S. — has been a nuisance for more than a year. In our August issue, The Bridge reported that MorningStar was to have installed, by July 16, an afterburner that would mitigate the odor, in accordance with an agreement with the city. More than a month and a half later, as this issue went to press, the afterburner had still not been installed, according to MorningStar’s owner, Jose Vido. Continue Reading
This from the folks at the City of Minneapolis:
The community is invited to a visioning session, hosted by the City of Minneapolis and the Central Avenue Small Area Plan Steering Committee, as part of the planning for Central Avenue, on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Salvation Army, 2727 Central Avenue NE. The goal of the session is to engage the public in developing long-term visions for Central Avenue. This meeting is the first of a series of public meetings designed to assist in rethinking the avenue. This initiative is an update to the City’s “Making Central Avenue Great” plan, adding a future land use plan, giving detailed scale and massing preferences for new development, and incorporating additional Central Avenue planning documents. Continue Reading
Urban League initiative seeks community solutions to Northside woes
The Minneapolis Urban League, with the leadership of its president, Clarence Hightower, is in the midst of developing and establishing a massive community-wide program designed to have a lasting impact on Minneapolis North Side’s homicide rate and, by extension, the entire community. The initiative is titled “Mending the Nest,” taken from an old African proverb that says, “When the nest is broken, few whole eggs remain.” The implication is that to make whole the broken conditions that fester in the community will require collaborative efforts by the entire community, along with the cooperation of the city as a whole. Citywide support is considered necessary because cancerous conditions cannot be contained or isolated in a given sector of the city for long before they spread. When Hightower initiated the program, he made two important acknowledgements: First, the nest (community) is broken, and second, fixing it will require new energy and a departure from the conventional civil-service, human-relations remedies. He cited the following facts as evidence that the nest is broken:
1) There were 44 deaths due to violence in the community in 2006. Continue Reading
Officials recognize diversity as essential to the school’s success
Over the past few years, the Spokesman-Recorder has published several news stories, commentaries, and In Our View editorials critical of both St. Cloud State University and the City of St. Cloud, questioning their commitment to provide a safe, welcoming environment for students of color. Recent developments give us reason to hope that meaningful changes are underway to address these concerns. This week and next we feature interviews with SCSU officials about efforts they are making to transform both the image and the reality of diversity on campus and in the surrounding community. Continue Reading
Employment program helps family man leave drug dealing behind
Misfortune occurs in each of our lives. However, depending upon our perspective, misfortune actually can be a blessing in disguise. In Arron Barker’s life, a series of unfortunate events occurred. As he looks back on the events one-by-one and then as a whole, Barker believes that what happened in his life happened for a good reason. “The bad things that happened to me were a wake-up call to guide me in a new direction and offer me the good life that I should have been living all along,” Barker says. Continue Reading
Earth Day comes once a year on April 22. First celebrated nationally in 1970, the purpose of Earth Day is to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the environment. A variety of activities take place across the country, including organized efforts to pick up trash. For the past several years, as part of the Minneapolis Park Board’s watershed cleanup project, Standish and Ericsson residents have picked up trash along Minnehaha Creek and around Lakes Nokomis and Hiawatha. These efforts are all well and good, according to Standish resident Roger du Bois, but not nearly enough. Continue Reading
St. Helena Catholic Church (3204 E. 43rd St.) will hold its Autumn Daze Festival on Sept. 14–16 this year. As always, neighborhood residents are invited to come and enjoy rides; games of chance, games of skill, and children’s games; lots of food; live and silent auctions; quilt bingo; and many other activities. The festival runs from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday. Continue Reading
What looked like bad news for the Como Park neighborhood is looking better, thanks to the efforts of local residents. Earlier this summer, two recreational facilities appeared to be on the chopping block: the Northwest Como Recreation Center and the Como Park pool. Now it looks like both are safe, at least for the time being. St. Paul’s 2008 budget calls for significant cuts. Continue Reading
Seward area roaster fined by city
Many people love the scent of coffee in the morning — some can’t start their day without it. For some Seward neighbors, however, the odor — in this case, of coffee beans roasting at MorningStar, 2309 Snelling Ave. S. — has been a nuisance for more than a year. In our August issue, The Bridge reported that MorningStar was to have installed, by July 16, an afterburner that would mitigate the odor, in accordance with an agreement with the city. More than a month and a half later, as this issue went to press, the afterburner had still not been installed, according to MorningStar’s owner, Jose Vido. Continue Reading