MN Senate Tightens Media Credential Rule
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As the 2015 session got underway, one of the Minnesota Senate’s first acts was to approve a rule change that tightens up who can get a media credential.
Transportation, budget will be focus of 2015 legislative session
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The Minnesota Legislature’s 2015 session convenes Tuesday, with passage of transportation legislation and a state budget at the top of the agenda. Transportation – including mass transit as well as highways and roads – is seen as the major unfinished priority from 2014. Move Minnesota, a coalition of groups that includes organized labor, is pushing for a comprehensive transportation legislation that includes:
Reliable roads and bridges
Greater accountability and transparency
Better transit access
Safe, convenient bike and pedestrian choices
“If Minnesota does not fix its transportation system, our economy and ability to create and retain jobs will be at risk,” the coalition said. “Our economy is one of the fastest growing in the country, yet the cost of fixing and upgrading our transportation system cannot be met with current funding. Making smart investments in transportation will ensure Minnesota can compete for jobs and businesses.”
Lawmakers also must pass a two-year budget to fund health, human services, education and many other needs. Continue Reading
Minnesota Republicans solve education
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I’ve written before about the challenges that Minnesota Republicans face, politically. I am pleased to report that they are being triumphantly met, via the MNGOP Solution Center. I’m sure I’ll be coming back to this glorious endeavor, from time to time; for today, a few notes about GOP solutions on education, to the admittedly limited extent that my puny left-wing intellect can process such breakthroughs. Continue Reading
2014’s lesson: Take action. Lives depend on it.
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December has been a terrible month for human rights—from the U.S. Senate’s report confirming the use of torture, to the slaughter of Pakastani school children, to two grand jury decisions not to indict police officers for the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Overall, 2014 has been an extremely troubling year. Some human rights abuses garnered a lot of attention; many did not, taking place under the radar of the media and public conversation. Let’s consider a few examples, and let them serve as a call to action. Continue Reading
Minnesota’s broken transportation funding system
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Not only is Minnesota’s infrastructure in badly need of repair but so is the system set up to pay for it. But it is not just Minnesota; the entire process for how America pays for roads, bridges, and other forms of infrastructure is vastly outdated, reflecting a carbon-intensive consumptive model of the world. For that reason, whatever the Minnesota legislature likely does this session when it comes to infrastructure and transportation funding, it will be outmoded from the start. Continue Reading
The birds, bees & buffer coalition: Will pheasants find friendly habitat in the 2015 session?
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Governor Dayton’s Pheasant Summit generated some fascinating copy, including an interview with Minnesota Ag Commissioner Dave Frederickson in which he talked about just abolishing laws that require buffer strips regulations to be enforced because preserving water quality and habitat just creates too many hard feelings. Continue Reading
Let your voice be heard: End the high costs of prison phone calls
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Did you know that more than 15,000 children in Minnesota may not have the chance to send holiday greetings to their parents? This is because these children have an incarcerated parent. Due to the high costs of prison phone calls, it is difficult for many of these children to remain in contact with their parents during the holiday season. The harsh reality is that a 15-minute collect phone call received from a loved one who is incarcerated can cost roughly $6.45. Further, these children may also miss the opportunity to visit and spend quality time with their parents, since prisoners are incarcerated an average of 100 miles away from home and their families. As you can see, phone calls are truly a vital source of communication in order for families to remain connected. The Campaign for Prison Phone Justice seeks to ensure that children and families can remain in contact with their incarcerated loved ones by advocating for the costs of prison phone calls to be capped at a reasonable amount. Continue Reading
A rural take in defense of Rep. Jean Wagenius
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A farmer friend emailed us yesterday:
Jean Wagenius has been a friend of family farmers in the last two years(and for that matter for a whole lot of years that she has served in the legislature) that she chaired the environment and agriculture finance committee on a number of issues, naming two of which are pollinators and “Forever Green”. She has been a strong defender of environmental review and gets that rural citizens should have rights to have a say about air and water quality in their community. Republican leadership acts like they are going to be bi-partisan but actions are louder than words. Continue Reading
Crop insurance: Good enough for Monsanto, good enough for sustainable agriculture
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From the fact-is-stranger-than-fiction department: In 2007, Monsanto talked the USDA’s Risk Management Agency into giving farmers a discount on crop insurance premiums if they planted the company’s triple-stacked GMO corn. Reportedly, some reviewers of the proposal raised concerns that the premium subsidy would unfairly benefit a single private company. Continue Reading
NYPD Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos: Two more victims of the system
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On December 20, 2014, the sick, corrupted system that passes for justice in this country claimed two more lives.