More than art: FLOW Northside Arts Crawl promotes healthy eating

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This year’s FLOW Northside Arts Crawl brought more than just great art. Organizers promoted healthy eating as one of the main messages of the festival.The event, held on July 26, transformed over a mile and a half of West Broadway into a dynamic and culturally diverse artistic spectacle. The art crawl was comprised of 25 sites and featured 300 visual and preforming artists from the Northside community.The arts festival had its common sights, such as art installations, live mural paintings and free Pedicab rides. But unlike most art crawls, it also provided access to healthy, locally grown fruits and vegetables, which organizers said was an intentional push to encourage healthy eating in an area that has historically had poor access to fresh produce.“We don’t always think about what we’re putting into our bodies,” said ShaVunda Horsley, a member of the Not Bad Rap hip-hop collective who performed and spoke at the crawl. “I’m very amped to bring what I have studied about food justice and food access into my community.”The group hosts lectures, workshops on spoken word and hip-hop, and conducts cyphers (a group freestyle of poetry preformed in a circle). Continue Reading

The unintended consequences of technology on our brains

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This is a strange post for a blog that promotes broadband and technology, but I ran into an article in the Huffington Post that did all of the research that I’d like to do on the impact of technology on our brains and skills and who we are – 8 Ways Technology Makes You Stupid. OK they did half the research I’d like to do because I know there are some positive impacts of technology as well. Continue Reading

The one where I pick on the disabled

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I was at a meeting a while back about a new parking policy in downtown Saint Paul. The city was changing its policies about handicapped parking. Until very recently, anyone with a handicapped parking placard on their dashboard was allowed to park for free all day downtown. Continue Reading

Sumer Spika: Home care workers unionize to bring dignity to work we love

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On Tuesday, July 8th, I was proud to be part of the group who celebrated turning in thousands of cards signed by Personal Care Attendants (PCAs) and other home care workers from across Minnesota expressing our interest in forming a union. The move not only triggered the largest union election in Minnesota’s history, it was the first step in improving our state’s home care system so it works for those who need services and values the work of those of us who provide the services, some 90% of whom are women.If you talk to the thousands of home care providers who signed cards, you will hear that same number of unique and powerful stories. There is, however, a common thread that helps illuminate why this is such a powerful movement: we love providing care for the seniors and people with disabilities who we serve.For me, it is all about a gorgeous 6-year-old little girl named Jayla. She was born with a genetic disorder called Opitz Syndrome, has a pulmonary hypertension, and is deaf. She requires breathing treatments, help with toileting, and help doing many other daily activities. Continue Reading