Southside Pride

	Phillips/Powderhorn Nokomis Riverside

May 2013

Riverside :

The public is invited to celebrate the reopening of the Roosevelt Library, at 4026 28th Ave. S., on Saturday, June 1, after a 15-month renovation and addition of a 500-square-foot multipurpose community room. Ribbon-cutting will be at 9:30 a.m. Doors open at 10 a.m. The building was completely renovated, with a focus on accessibility and technology upgrades. There will be an iPad pilot program aimed at finding out how viable it is to check out iPads to the public as a supplement to traditional desktop computers. To use an iPad, patrons will log in with their library card and PIN (Personal Identification Number), as they do when using a desktop computer at the library. iPad usage time limit is two hours.

FLA grades candidates

BY DAVID TILSEN AND DEB RAMAGE

The Minneapolis Farmer Labor Association sent a document to nine declared candidates for mayor of Minneapolis. The first two pages comprised a State of the City, setting forth our urgent view of what needs to be done.

Revolution in the DFL

By Ed Felien

Dan McConnell

There has been a revolutionary takeover of the Minneapolis DFL by Dan McConnell, Business Agent for the Building and Construction Trades Council. He has changed the rules of the game. He has decided there will be no discussion of ideas at the City DFL Convention. He has decided who will sit on the Rules Committee, what the rules will be and what the agenda for the Ward and City conventions will be.

We are witnessing a revolution.

McConnell has decided he is tired of lakeshore liberals debating Prospect Park intellectuals about the meaning of truth and justice. He wants to be done with this nonsense. He wants to get things done. Eliminate the platform. No one reads it anyway. And since there is no State Convention this year, and therefore no State Platform, there is no one to listen to the well-intentioned pronouncements but other delegates to the City Convention.

Arrest in homicide

On April 23, Minneapolis Police officers made an arrest in the death of 45-year-old Minneapolis resident Jimmie Herron.

Just before 1 p.m. on March 4, patrol officers in the 3rd Precinct responded to a report of a fight outside of Denny’s restaurant in the 2700 block of East Lake Street. When officers arrived, they found Mr. Herron, who was complaining of a pre-existing medical condition after being involved in a physical altercation. The other party involved in the fight had left the area and Mr. Herron did not want police service.

Andrew Johnson almost wins DFL endorsement

BY ED FELIEN

The 12th Ward Convention on April 27 at Roosevelt High School had more than its share of fireworks. Sitting at the back, I had a great view of Tony Scallon, the Little General, commanding his troops, checking his precinct captains and regulating enthusiasm. He is a consummate political artist and a joy to watch.

The hungry insurgent

BY CHARLEY UNDERWOOD

I know a couple who had very different ideas about financial security. Things came to a head the day the wife was down in the basement making soap to save a few cents on their tight budget, when the husband came home with a luxury car. He had forgotten to ask for her input. They are divorced now, of course. The gap was simply too great.

Stop N Frisk

BY TONY BOUZA

Cops need to be free to act on suspicious circumstances; yet, citizens have a right to go their untrammeled way. The law grants police the power to stop, question and frisk a citizen provided probable cause exists to indicate a crime has been, is about to be, or is being committed. The key is “articulable grounds”—i.e., there must exist describable evidence to justify the action.

Jobs Now report sounds alarm on Minnesota’s economic recovery

BY RICHARD TAYLOR

“Wake up, Minnesota! There is no excuse for the alarming gap between earnings and basic needs that JOBS NOW’s meticulous research reveals—especially not in one of America’s traditionally most enlightened states.”

- Barbara Ehrenreich, author of “Nickel and Dimed”

It’s easy to rummage around newspapers to find out that the national unemployment rate is 7.7% and Minnesota’s 5.5%. Harder to find is a richly textured portrait of our state’s employment climate that sheds light on such key factors as: the ratio of job seekers to job openings; the full-time/part-time distribution of openings; the share of part-time openings offering health insurance; the share of openings requiring a four-year degree and other key variables such as median wage rates.

Mexican Teachers’ Day

BY SHIRLY YOUXJESTE,

“Take a bus or taxi to the Aurrerá supermarket on Jacarandas Avenue. Walk from there because we have the streets blocked.” With these words my contact told me how to get to the starting point of Wednesday’s teachers’ march in Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico. The teachers’ encampment occupies about five blocks of streets in an outlying area that is home to the state education and health departments and the offices of the CETEG, the dissident (and numerically strongest) faction of the teachers’ union. May 15 is Teachers’ Day in Mexico. It’s a frustrating day:

The right to refuse to kill

BY POLLY MANN

POLLY MANN

“The Right to Refuse to Kill.” It’s such a simple phrase and yet one so seldom heard, except perhaps at St. Joan’s Catholic church, where the parents of an infant being baptized are informed that the child, any child, any adult has that right. It’s also the name of a chapter in “Peace Be With You,” a most interesting book written by Eileen Eagan, a co-worker of Mother Teresa and an associate of Dorothy Day.

Why wouldn’t one have such a right? Today it refers to military conscription, which is, comparatively, quite young, first applied during the French Revolution when even priests were conscripted. Because of the law, Napoleon is reported to have said at one time that he could lose 30,000 men a month. By 1815, the state of Prussia had adopted universal military conscription. The United States legislated conscription in 1862 when the Confederates adopted it. It was followed by the Northern side in 1863. In June 1917, in connection with World War I, a central lottery was established.

Did you know ... ?

BY POLLY MANN

… THAT for the very first time (in my lifetime, that is) The New York Times carried a story about the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine? It is about six pages long, illustrated and entitled “The Resisters” (March 17, 2013), and it begins: “In the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, every Friday is the same march, the same unarmed demonstration, the same retreat from an overpowering Israeli military.” Could this be a way to end the occupation? It is a very sympathetic and moving account of the weekly nonviolent action of the Palestinian villagers.

Minnehaha

BY ED FELIEN

Minnehaha Avenue and Minnehaha Falls are named after the heroine in Longfellow’s poem “The Song of Hiawatha.”

The poem is not nearly as popular today as it was in the 19th century when it first appeared, but the people who ran Minneapolis in those days thought it would be ennobling to name streets and lakes after characters in a poem by one of the country’s most important contemporary literary figures. Since that time we have learned that the poet essentially “borrowed” the story from the Finnish saga “Kalevala,” and many of the patronizing comments about the “noble savage” seem racist by today’s standards.

In the beginning, Longfellow makes the argument that Native Americans are just as worthy of God’s grace as white Christians:

“Every human heart is human,
That in even savage bosoms
There are longings,
yearnings, strivings
For the good they
comprehend not,

Summer meals and classes support student achievement

Bernadeia H. Johnson,

Despite all the love, care and education that parents, schools and the community provide, many children are struggling in school. I am concerned that students fall further behind during the summer months without extra learning and time from all of us. Research shows that achievement increases for students attending summer school. Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) is working with partners and families to offer summer learning opportunities that will help students have a strong and safe summer and prepare for a successful 2013-14 school year.

MPS summer school provides strong academic support and a rich curriculum. Our program for students in kindergarten through seventh grade offers a blended science and literacy model that makes learning fun. We offer math curriculum that builds on school year math learning. Summer school programming also includes social studies, physical education, music, art and media.

Islamophobia

BY POLLY MANN

The excellent 200-page book “Islamophobia,” by Deepa Kumar, could be described as a primer for those of us who have given little thought as to why there is such mistrust of Middle Easterners among us. This fear was exacerbated by the Twin Trade Towers bombing of 9/11 and, subsequently, the word “terrorist” was applied to most Middle Easterners. This book brings together past history and current events as it examines the prevalent myths about Islam which have produced such fear in this country. A summary of the myths follow.

Seward Garden Tour and Tea Party

Seward Neighborhood Group is hosting a Garden Tour and Tea party on June 15. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 on the day of the event. The hosts are looking for two or three Seward chicken farmers to participate in the tour by opening their yards to gardeners and answering questions. The tour is from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 15. If you are an interested chicken farmer call Kerry Cashman at 612-338-6205, x119.

May

Riverside Community Calendar

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Occupy Potluck
Occupy MN Wednesday evening potluck meetings are at 4200 Cedar Ave. S. at 6 p.m. Stopping the expansion of MN Tar Sands Enbridge Pipeline 67 is one focus. This pipeline goes from Alberta Tar Sands to Superior, Wis., and Enbridge is seeking to expand its capacity to carry more tar sands oil than the Keystone XL will carry if completed. A new National Energy Board of Canadia report shows Enbridge has over 180 safety violations at pumping stations on its pipelines. Comments to the U.S. Dept. of State are due by Monday to Enbridgeline-67permit@state.gov. Please write general comments concerning Tar Sands oil coming across MN. Everyone is welcome!

Riverside Religious Calendar

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Human Rights Trip to Israel/Palestine
A trip to Israel/Palestine from June 24 to July 4, 2013, will be sponsored by Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East and led by Don McInnes. Participants will meet with Palestinian and Israeli peace activists and political leaders, Israelis from both ends of the political spectrum, members of Hamas and Fatah, and much more. For more info: www.uujme.org and/or contact Don McInnes, don@3mlaw.com or 617-661-9000.