Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/author/grace-kelly/page/8/)
Coffee is for me, the elixir of the Gods, so it should be no surprise that I had to participate in the grand starting day of the Coffee Party movement, starting at noon at my favorite coffee shop. The Coffee Party has the outrageous idea that government is good and not the enemy of the people. And in fact, we could cooperate and create better government. Continue Reading
Representative Keith Ellison said that it took several bills to push through civil rights and it will take several bills to push through real single payer health care that covers everyone. So I am taking a deep breath and trusting in historical precedent. Continue Reading
Tom Smith is a candidate for the next St. Paul Police Chief. The current St. Paul Police Chief, John Harrington, is retiring. St. Paul police have a positive relationship with the St. Paul community because of their community-policing style. Matt Bostrom, a current St. Continue Reading
“Deposits in the bank of trust” is what the St. Paul police call the long work of building community relationships. From two in-depth interviews that I had with Matt Bostrom, assistant Chief, and todd Axtell, Watch Commander, there are strong themes running through their decisions. And, indeed, many casual conversations with St. Paul police officers back up these common themes of building trust. Continue Reading
“Scrooge Pawlenty” is a Minnesota version of the Christmas Carol featuring Governor Pawlenty, presented on the sidewalk in front of the Governor’s Mansion, last Tuesday. The Welfare Rights Committee and their supporters wrote and performed the play. Continue Reading
Two seeming unrelated stories point to the privilege of those “well off” being protected from seeing the harm that comes from their financial structure and even sometimes directly from their financial decisions. The more remote the harm is from decision making, then the easier it is to make the decision that causes that harm. It is just like dropping bombs.
I have been struck with the side-by-side existence of people rooted in love with people rooted in hate in the very same religions, institutions and even families. So for me, the measure of goodness is whether the actions are rooted in love and compassion. Here is a noble attempt to put all the best universal principles into the Charter of Compassion: Continue Reading
Ramsey County Sheriff Fletcher keeps a database of gang members, called GangNet, where the criteria is so open, that Sheriff Fletcher’s own name should be on the database, since he regularly “associates” with known gang members by talking to them and by arresting them. The qualifying rule is:
Update: Valerie Silva, Charles Hopson, Deborah Henton are the finalists! The St. Paul School board had many positive comments about each candidate; however, it was an easy and almost-unanimous consensus. Public interview times are Valerie Silva – Wednesday at 5 p.m., Charles Hopson – Monday at 5 p.m., and Deborah Henton – Thursday at 5 p.m.
Lamphay Phetpharachanh started out in a family-run Ruam Mit Thai. Eleven years ago, she opened the restaurant in my neighborhood, on Pierce and Selby in St. Paul, and is soon to open the fifth Taste of Thailand restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. She believes in “make it good, make it healthy.” When Lamphay began, she cooked 365 days a year, but now she trains cooks, holding them to her “fresh” standards. Continue Reading