Minneapolis Observer Quarterly - Digest

A year after manhole accident, family seeks answers

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 11:25:15 -0600

The Longfellow man who was severely injured last October when a manhole cover blew off the sidewalk near his home, says the city has done little to prevent another accident from happening.

“The sewer is blowing more now than ever before,” Peter Kadlec told Ryan North in the Longfellow-Nokomis Messenger.

Local school plays to be highlighted by downtown theater producer

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 09:58:57 -0600

Three Minneapolis high school plays have been selected as part of the Hennepin Theatre Trust’s Spotlight Musical Theater program.

The three plays—Southwest High’s production of Hair, DeLaSalle’s Fiddler on the Roof, and Inter-District Downtown School’s The Wiz—are among 24 performances from around the metro area that will vie for Spotlight Awards during a June showcase. The awards will be given for acting, choreography, music, and overall production, reports Anna Pratt in the Southwest Journal.

Library Board likely to close three community libraries

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 08:34:58 -0600

After a summer of community meetings and a futile effort to convince the city to increase its budget, the Library Board is likely to vote to close three community libraries as a way to mend its ailing budget and improve services throughout the system.

More commotion on Nicollet Island

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 08:25:13 -0500

Already faced with the prospect of Friday night high school football games on their formerly bucolic urban refuge, residents of Nicollet Island last month were rudely awakened--several times--by train whistles.

Union hoping to rescue community clinic

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 09:07:57 -0500

A government employees’ union is lobbying hard to save a 40-year-old community clinic that could face closure Monday.

According to a report in Workday Minnesota, the board that governs the Community University Health Care Center will vote Monday on a cost-cutting measure that would dramatically cut staff and threaten the survival of the clinic, which has been serving low-income patients in the Phillips neighborhood of South Minneapolis since 1966.

City issues energy challenge

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 09:25:18 -0500

City officials are promoting a new Web site that will help residents calculate their household greenhouse gas emissions and show them ways to conserve, reports Dan Haugen in the Southwest Journal.

The Minneapolis Energy Challenge begins by encouraging residents to replace five regular light bulbs with more efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). It may seem like a small step, but Judy Thommes of the Center for Energy and Environment, which developed the Web site, said small changes can mean real savings. “They’ll realize every little thing makes a difference.”

Rybak proposes $200 million for public safety in new budget

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 07:24:11 -0500

Mayor R.T. Rybak on Wednesday proposed a 2007 city budget that would include $200 million in spending on public safety--enough to bring police staffing back to 2002 levels while investing in a variety of technology designed to make local law enforcement more effective.

African American and Latino media companies form partnership

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 07:44:41 -0500

Two major players in the local ethnic press--the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and the Latino Communications Network--announced last week that they had agreed to form a new partnership called Voices United.

Lowry Avenue reconstruction threatening small business

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:55:47 -0500

As it has done with its historic makeover of Lake Street, Hennepin County is making life difficult for small businesses on Lowry Avenue. But this time, some of those businesspeople are accusing the county of trying to put them out of business.

U of M students report series of rental scams

Thu, 20 Jul 2006 07:08:14 -0500

University of Minnesota officials are warning students to beware of a widespread e-mail scam that has swindled at least one student out of thousands of dollars.

As Sara Schweid reports in The Minnesota Daily, the scam targets students hoping to sublet their apartments. Typically, they’ll receive an e-mail from someone overseas inquiring about the apartment. Once an agreement is worked out, the person subletting the unit will wire a money order or bank check that exceeds the first month’s rent and ask the student to send them the difference. The check then bounces and the student loses the rent check and the remainder of the money.

Ballpark Authority faces glitch at first meeting

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:36:16 -0500

The county’s new Ballpark Authority ran into a bit of glitch at its first meeting when a charter member discovered she may not be able to serve.

State Rep. Barb Sykora, one of the five appointed members of the agency, discovered at the July 7 meeting that she may not be eligible to serve because state law prohibits legislators from holding other offices. She stayed through the end of the meeting, but did not vote. “I wanted to be here so I can learn everything I need to know,” she told the Southwest Journal.

Longtime Prospect Park nursery school to relocate

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 10:46:25 -0500

Prospect Park Co-op Nursery School, for more than 50 years a fixture in Southeast Minneapolis, will be moving to Longfellow.

As Bill Hoffman reports in The Bridge, the co-op board on July 6 signed a lease to relocate the school from Prospect Park United Methodist Church to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. The board approved the move despite a last-minute appeal by the Prospect Park neighborhood association to mediate the lease dispute between the school and its landlord.

Peter's Grill closes

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 08:18:13 -0500

Peter’s Grill, a downtown Minneapolis institution since Greek immigrant Peter Atcas opened it in 1914, has closed.

The Business Journal reports that the current owners, Daphne King and Cyril Davies closed the popular lunch spot for the July 4 holiday and failed to reopen it. They were not available to comment, but the property manager for the Baker Building, where the restaurant is housed, said the eatery has been experiencing financial troubles. He said a group of investors is interested in acquiring the restaurant, though, and it may not be closed for long.

City considering regulating condo conversions

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 07:29:41 -0500

Even as the city’s red-hot condo boom shows signs of cooling, the City Council is debating whether it should take steps to better protect renters whose buildings are converted to condos.

Ward 2 Council Member Cam Gordon, who is initiating the debate, would like to see the city approve all condo conversions and provide some compensation to renters forced out of their apartments because they can’t afford the high price of the new condos.

An office park at Coldwater Spring?

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 08:09:49 -0500

The National Park Service is considering a proposal to sell the 27-acre site that includes historic Coldwater Spring to a developer who may turn the area into an office park.

The office park proposal is one of several visions for the future of the acreage considered by some to be the “birthplace of Minnesota,” reports Susu Jeffrey in Pulse. Other options include demolishing the 11 buildings on the site and selling it to a university or government entity “with or without (unspecified) conditions” or transforming it into open space or building an interpretive museum at the location.