Is the airport safe? Really?

BY ED FELIEN FAA statement on July 31: “On Friday, July 24, the Federal Aviation Administrat-ion temporarily suspended certain operations on Runway 30-Left and Runway 35 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.” They suspended operations because the heavy congestion was causing planes to intersect each other’s flight patterns while trying to…

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Children in prison

BY POLLY MANN There has been no media attention given to the after-life of President Obama once he leaves the White House.  My hope is that he will continue to make criminal justice a big part of that life, especially the part of the criminal justice system that deals with…

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Queen of Cuisine: Summertime, and the Vita is Dolce

BY CARLA WALDEMAR Arezzo 5057 France Avenue 612-285-7444 arezzoristorante.com Can’t make it to Tuscany this summer? Me neither. But to  savor a taste of the region’s  dolce vita, head over to Edina’s 51st & France (no passport, no euros needed) to inhale its wine-and-dining way of life at Arezzo, boasting…

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Vigil on the Lake Street Bridge

BY ED FELIEN It was overcast with sprinkles last Wednesday, July 15.  Only about 30 people showed up for the weekly Peace Vigil on the Lake Street Bridge. The Vigil started in 1999 when local peace groups decided to act in solidarity with the people of Yugoslavia who were standing…

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The early history of 53rd and Lyndale

BY ED FELIEN Lyndale Avenue used to be called Bloomington Road. The township of Richfield began at Lake Street, and the geographical, cultural, social and business center for the new township was near the site of the flour mill at 53rd Street.  Minnehaha Creek flowed much stronger in the early…

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The new civil wars

BY ED FELIEN There are two raging civil wars going on in the U.S. right now! One is a race war: the white race against everybody else.  And the second is Muslims fighting against the occupation of their home countries by U.S. business interests. At this point, white racist lone-wolf…

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Franklin Avenue, Main Street for Hipsters?

BY ED FELIEN Recently BuzzFeed named Minnesota the Most Hipster State in the U.S., and City Pages named Seward as the most hipster neighborhood.  Would that make Franklin Avenue Hipster Boulevard? BuzzFeed used these criteria to evaluate hipsterness: The Lumberjack Look—New Yorkers try to look like Minnesotans by wearing flannel,…

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Powderhorn Art Fair

The 24th Annual Powderhorn Art Fair is coming up Saturday, Aug. 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 9,  from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Powderhorn Park, 3400 15th Ave. S. Powderhorn Art Fair, one of the finest juried regional art fairs in the country, celebrates…

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Southside Pride soapbox on the Fourth of July

If you see these people, notify the authorities!  They were seen and heard in Powderhorn Park expressing freedom of speech. L to R:  Papa John, Eskit, Bob Carney, Bill McGaughey and Captain Jack BY ED FELIEN There was a small but dedicated crowd gathered around the Southside Pride virtual soapbox…

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What can we do about racism?

BY ED FELIEN There has been a wide ranging discussion about changing the name of Lake Calhoun, and the park board recently asked staff to report on how that could happen.  The lake was named by U.S. Army surveyors in the early part of the 19th century for John C.…

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