SATURDAY, February 9
HEADLINES
City, neighbors judge—when are convenience stores inconvenient?
by Dennis Geisinger, Southside Pride
The Minneapolis Licensing and Consumer Services Department has intervened in the business of two area convenience stores. It made an agreement with the owners of Market Express at 32nd and Chicago to surrender their business license as of March 31 in order to avoid a revocation process. And the City office also called a recent hearing for the representatives of the SuperAmerica Store at 25th and Bloomington to “step up their management practices,” according to the City.
Xcel: No plans to build new nuclear plants
by Dan Haugen, Minnesota Monitor
Reuters got the story wrong this week when it reported Xcel Energy plans to add capacity by building nuclear power plants. CEO Dick Kelly was quoted saying, “I certainly hope nuclear is part of our answer going forward.” A company spokeswoman, though, says the comments Kelly made at a utility conference Monday in New York were taken out of context.
They know if you’ve been bad or good
by Anne Holzman, Park Bugle
How many of our daily steps around the neighborhood get recorded by cameras?
INSIDE THE DAILY PLANET
Ontario may allow offshore wind farms in Great Lakes
by Dan Haugen, Minnesota Monitor
Ontario is lifting a ban on offshore wind turbines in the Great Lakes, according to a report at RenewableEnergyAccess.com. The Canadian province’s decision to consider applications comes after a study with the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory on wind speeds and the potential impact on wildlife in the region. An Ontario official says the province has already received proposals for 14 offshore wind farms, and there’s growing interest on the U.S. side of the border, too.
St. Paul mom named Science Museum’s volunteer of the month
by Jennifer Holder, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Deb Pleasants is the Science Museum of Minnesota’s featured volunteer of the month. “I am passionate about what I believe in — each person has to give back to the community in order to make the world better,” Pleasants affirmed. “So I try to choose the organization that I give back to that reflects my values.”
Somali health-care center opens on south side
by Jon Collins, Minnesota Daily
The center will help the Somali community with issues ranging from tuberculosis to culturally acceptable birth control.
NEW IN VOICES
The way the camera follows us
by Dave Healy, Park Bugle
Don’t look now but you’re being followed.
Stepping into the post office for some stamps, pumping gas at the corner station, popping into the convenience store, walking down the hallway at school, waiting to catch a bus — in these and a hundred other actions, you’re on camera.
NEW IN BLOGS
Hands-on politics: My first caucus
by Crystal Holzer, Politics from the Precincts
At a little after 6 pm on February 5th my car pulled into the Mounds View High School parking lot. I should have car-pooled. It was already near capacity, and the lobby of the high school was bustling with people trying to find their precinct meeting location. New Brighton (my city) had all four of our precincts meeting in the school’s auditorium.
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