Wednesday: Art and taco sale supports Water Walk • What could be more enticing than art and tacos? “Indian Tacos”, that is, made with fry bread and all fixings. Both will be available for the Art and Taco Sale, hosted by the Indigenous Peoples Task Force (IPTF) on Wednesday April 13 from 10-4 at 1335 E 23rd Street. The tacos will be freshly made by Sharon Day, Executive Director of the IPTF and her sister Dorene.
MUSIC | Cut Copy at First Avenue: 2011’s show to beat by Bobby Kahn, TC Daily Planet • Life must be pretty good right now for Cut Copy. The Australian synthpop outfit have played in a bigger venue each time they’ve visited the Twin Cities, and they were recently named as one of the top acts at this summer’s Pitchfork Music Festival. On April 9, they stopped through First Avenue in support of their third album, Zonoscope, which was released by Modular Recordings earlier this year.
New historic preservation guidelines coming by Kerry Ashmore, Northeaster • When are longstanding historic preservation guidelines not good enough?
In the case of the St. Anthony Falls Historic District, which takes in parts of Northeast, Southeast and downtown Minneapolis, the answer appears to be, “When they get too old.”
‘Labor law still matters,’ NLRB chair says by Barb Kucera, Workday Minnesota • While collective bargaining is under attack in many parts of the country, it remains one of the few effective ways to preserve the American middle class, the chair of the National Labor Relations Board said. The NLRB administers federal law safeguarding the rights of private sector workers to organize unions and bargain contracts. Wilma Liebman, with nearly 14 years on the board, is one of its longest serving members. President Obama named her chair in 2009.
NEW IN BLOGS
MN BUDGET BITES | House tax bill provides tax cuts for some, tax increases for others by Nan Madden • An analysis by the Department of Revenue finds that under the House omnibus tax bill (House File 42), the 40 percent of Minnesotans with household incomes $35,561 and lower would see an increase in the share of their incomes they pay in state and local taxes. In contrast, the 50 percent of Minnesotans with incomes $46,045 and up would see a reduction in the share of their household income they pay in taxes…except the wealthiest one percent, who would see a small increase. The 10 percent of Minnesotans in the middle of the income spectrum would see no change.
MN PROGRESSIVE PROJECT | Better stock up on cat food by Eric Pusey • While I’m glad that the government didn’t shut down, I’m really quite worried about the tone President Obama took in the aftermath. First, this wasn’t a victory of any kind. The Republicans forced cuts of $38 billion upon which they piled $150 billion in tax cuts for the wealthiest 5% of Americans (extending the Bush tax cuts). So to keep government running for a little while, we pile an additional $112 billion on to the debt heap? Pointing out the Republican hypocrisy seems rather useless when the Democrats go along with it.
TERESA ON TCDP | Who benefits the most from a short sale? by Teresa Boardman • Anyone who has been a regular reader of this blog knows that I am not a fan of short sales. I have represented both buyers and sellers and have some experience. it isn’t like I am one of those talking heads on the TV who talk authoritatively but they just talk.
THE PERENNIAL PLATE | Spring! Ramps and thank you! by Daniel Klein • Today, the last of the snow in our backyard melted. It has been a long winter – as it usually is in Minnesota (although I’ve only experienced two). This extended period of long-underwear, wool socks, and root vegetable stews is the reason why more people don’t live in here. But as the snow melts and the temperature rises above 32, there is real joy. It’s not just a nice day for us… it’s excitment, anticipation and even a relaxation (of whatever muscles are used in shivering). And for me, most of all it’s the search for wild foods that gets me out walking in the woods.
TRYING TO PAY ATTENTION | Colin Farrell and I disagree about Bruges by Steve Date • In the movie, “In Bruges”, Colin Farrell plays Ray, a rookie hit-man from Dublin. His boss (played by Ralph Fiennes) instructs him to lie low for a couple weeks in Bruges, Belgium after he botches his first job. Ray has never even heard of Bruges, and when he gets there, he’s not impressed, to say the least. Ray’s hit-man supervisor/mentor, Ken, (Brendan Gleeson) tries to get him to relax and enjoy the sights of this beautiful city. But Ray will have none of it. “Maybe that’s what hell is, the entire rest of eternity spent in f***ing Bruges”, he says at one point.
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