HEADLINES
MicroGrants: The Joe-Schmo way
by Rachel Dykoski, TC Daily Planet
Joseph Selvaggio has a knack for finding people in need and granting them opportunities to be their best. For the last 30 years, he’s spent a fortune of donated funds on those who need them most. He officially began MicroGrants to partner with people of potential in 2005. These grants are akin to the efforts and achievements of Muhammad Yunus, bank and micro-credit developer and 2006 Nobel Prize winner.
Spirit in the House festival puts spirituality at center stage
by Dwight Hobbes, TC Daily Planet
Arts experiences don’t come much more intriguing than Spirit in the House: Interfaith Spiritual Performance, a ten-day event using varied genres to express and explore spirituality—without confining “spirituality” to “religion.”
Ellison, Walz sign on to Net neutrality bill
by Andy Birkey, Minnesota Monitor
If the telecommunications industry has its way, it’ll be in charge of what Internet users can and can’t see. Web sites that pay a premium will get direct access to readers, while blogs and personal Web sites will be relegated to the “slow lane.” That discrimination by telecoms would be undemocratic, Net neutrality supporters say.
Proposed “public gathering” permit faces opposition: public hearing May 21
by Dennis Geisler, Southside Pride
Minneapolis City Council Member Paul Ostrow’s (DFL-Ward 1) registration plan for public assemblies during September’s 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul has met opposition from even his Council colleagues, who also happen to be part of the Free Speech Work Group that Ostrow chairs.
INSIDE THE DAILY PLANET
A Festival of Nations travelogue—Part 1
by David Sterling, Asian American Press
In 1956, Minneapolis born Lew Ayres (1908-1996) traveled the world to produce a film at his own expense on the religions of the world. His purpose was to promote better understanding between the peoples of the world to in turn promote world peace. That film, “Altars of the East”, is available today on video tape and disc. Check your local library. Lew wrote a companion book by the same title, which reads like a travelogue.
A Festival of Nations travelogue—Part 2: A tossed salad of humanity
by David Neyman Sterling, Asian American Press
The Festival of Nations 2008 was held at the St. Paul River Center. Organizers of the event say that attendance at the event was up from previous years, and the success of the event was evident in the smiles on the faces of those that had a chance to pay the Festival a visit.
Education Department findings on Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy contradict published reports
by Andy Birkey, Minnesota Monitor
The Minnesota Department of Education released findings in the review of Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), the majority Muslim elementary school that became a target of conservative Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten. She claimed that TIZA was “an Islamic school, funded by Minnesota taxpayers” and that its activities violated separation of church and state concerns.
NEW IN VOICES
Vengeance is poor public policy
by John Van Hecke, Minnesota 2020
Like Governor Tim Pawlenty, wealthy industrialist playboy Bruce Wayne has it all wrong.
NEW IN BLOGS
What’s troubling about the charter school debate: The hate
by Marcia Lynx Qualey, 5/19/08 • The Minnesota Department of Education on May 19 issued a report clearing Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy of the major allegations leveled against it and requesting that the school address smaller areas of concern.
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