News with attitude, mostly from MN but with occasional forays abroad. From my Minnesota homelessness increasing
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Homelessness in Minnesota increased dramatically over the past three years, according to the October 2009 Wilder Research study. Continue Reading
Haiti/Minnesota: Connections and contributions
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In the midst of the still-unfolding tragedy in Haiti, the latest in a long history of tragedies, we are reminded of the connections that link people around the world. Here in Minnesota, the Haiti Justice Committee has maintained strong connections with Haiti over the years, organizing for both changes in U.S. policy and material support and aid to the Haitian people. (They’ll be meeting at MayDay Books at 2 p.m. on Saturday, open to all.) For additional local activities and prayer vigils, see bottom of article. Dick Bernard, a long-time member of the Haiti Justice Committee, publishes a blog which often focuses on Haiti. Most recently, he wrote about last Sunday’s visit to St. Continue Reading
Haiti: Where to find news, where to send aid
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Haiti was hit by an earthquake measuring between 7.0 and 7.3 on the Richter scale and two aftershocks of magnitude 5.3 and 5.9 on the Richter scale on January 12, with dust from collapsed buildings filling the air for hours afterward. The Presidential Palace and a major hospital have collapsed, together with innumerable other buildings in Port-au-Prince, people’s homes are reported sliding down mountainsides, thousands are believed dead and tens of thousands homeless. Haiti, already the poorest nation in the hemisphere, is devastated.Where to find news:• Haitain writer, human rights attorney and activist Ezili Danto reports on the earthquake in her blog, with frequent updates. I think her reporting is reliable.• Democracy Now interviewed journalist Kim Ives and author Edwidge Danticat on the earthquake and its context.• Daniel Morel has an incredible Twitter photo feed from Haiti at his Twitter account, photomorel• Fairly continuous coverage comes from a variety of sources (NOT filtered or verified) from www.twitter.com/haitifeed and HaitiFeed.comWhere to send aid:From the San Francisco Chronicle, these suggestions for relief donations:American Red Cross (Reportedly has contributed $200,000 to Haiti relief.)AmeriCares Help For Haiti. Goes to their International Disaster Relief Fund. Doctors without Borders – not a Haiti Specific page as of this writing.HaitiArise – HaitiArise has provided education and relief for the past six years. Continue Reading
Adding insult to injury on Central Corridor / Headlines – January 6, 2010
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The St. Paul city council will vote at its January 6 meeting (5:30 p.m., City Hall) on a proposal to impose $2.9 million in additional property tax assessments on business owners along University Avenue to pay to make the street look better after the Central Corridor LRT trains arrive. The University Avenue Business Association is adamant in opposing the assessment as one more blow to business owners already facing permanent loss of on-street parking, years of construction disruption, and other negative impacts expected from LRT. Finance and Commerce quotes University Avenue business owner (and UABA member) Jack McCann: McCann is bracing for assessments of close to $40,000 on his property, which calculates to – as he put it – about $8,000 for every tree he would get. “They are cutting my sidewalk down to 9.5 feet. Continue Reading
MN farming, old and new / And the wars go on / Today’s headlines
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• Minnesota farming, old and new From grain to goats and ginseng, farming includes a variety of crops and strategies. Minnesota’s biggest farming sector is grain farming, which suffered from lower prices and from a wet fall and early snow in 2009.
Minnesota farming, old and new / Today’s headlines
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From grain to goats and ginseng, farming includes a variety of crops and strategies. Minnesota’s biggest farming sector is grain farming, which suffered from lower prices and from a wet fall and early snow in 2009. Last fall’s harvest left an estimated five percent of the state’s corn, with total value about $200 million, still in the fields, according to MPR. Much of it may be salvaged by spring harvesting – if the weather cooperates. North Dakota is in even worse shape, with more than a quarter of the corn crop still in the field. Continue Reading
And the wars go on
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As 2010 begins, wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan continue spinning out of control, and Yemen looks like a third front. Continue Reading
12/28/09 | Hmong refugees forcibly repatriated to Laos / more
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Thailand sent soldiers into a Hmong refugee camp to force 4,000 Hmong back to Laos on Sunday, ignoring U.N. protests and letters from nine U.S. Senators, including both Senator Al Franken and Senator Amy Klobuchar. The Thai forces will first transport the Hmong refugees to a staging area and then into Laos, with plans to complete the entire operation within 24 hours. MOREAlso in today’s headlines:• Mark Dayton talks to Star Tribune about long-term depression, alcoholism, relapse and recovery • Protesters face off with Iranian government – with deadly consequences • First U.S. case of highly drug-resistant TB • Minnesota Olympian Lindsay Vonn injured in Austria – broken arm? MORE Continue Reading
Grocery wars
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“I could care less about a pretty store, employee wages, or any of the other complaints posted here,” wrote a Pioneer Press reader. Continue Reading