Quatrefoil Library”™s Prime Timers Book Club continues to meet virtually while the library is closed due to Covid. If you are craving LGBTQ+ book talk, join the club for monthly meetings on Zoom. It”™s easy to join and all are welcome. For more information contact Rick Notch at ricknotch@icloud.com. The club has these terrific books selected for the first half of 2021 (all Book Club dates start at 1:15 p.m.): Feb. 20 – Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski; March 20 – The Storm, One Voice from the AIDS Generation by Christopher Zyda; April 17 – The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.; May 15 – Fashionably Late: Gay, Bi and Trans Men Who Came Out Later in Life edited by Vinnie Kinsella; June 19 – The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez. Quatrefoil Library”™s LGBTQ+ collection is available by drive up order at 1220 East Lake Street. Visit their website to learn more: www.qlibrary.org
For Sale: 1100 E Franklin. The building currently leased by Chase Bank was listed for sale in December 2020, with an asking price of $2 million. The building was last purchased in September 2018 for $618,000 to be the new location of the UnBank branch on Franklin Avenue. The owner Rule Breaker Three LLC, with project contact Gary Dachis (who is the principal CEO of Unbank) lost an appeal after their permit was denied by the Minneapolis Zoning Board because the location did not meet zoning regulations for alternative financial institutions such as Unbank.`The new MN State Sena-tor for District 62, Omar Fateh, has co-authored his first bill. The bill, SF76, would ban state and local law enforcement from participating in Pentagon purchasing programs for military grade weapons and gear.
#ReadingRedlining On January 15, 2021, Hennepin History Museum donated 100 copies of Richard Rothstein”™s book The Color of Law to Little Free Libraries across Hennepin County. This date marked the 54th anniversary of the opening of 35W, an engineering project that connected the metro area while displacing and dividing the communities in its path. Later this year, Hennepin History Museum will open an exhibit on the construction of 35W and the complex history of racism and housing in Hennepin County. They invite you to read the book and share your thoughts using the hashtag #ReadingRedlining. When you”™re finished, drop it off in another Little Free Library near you!
A preliminary Minnnsota Department of Health report showed a 31% increase in opioid overdose deaths for the first half of 2020 compared to 2019. If you are in Minneapolis and would like naloxone (commonly called “Narcan”) to have on hand to reverse an overdose, contact South-side Harm Reduction: Text or call (612) 615-9725, Monday through Thurs-day from 5-8pm, to set up delivery.
Chef Soleil Ramirez, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, has opened Arepa Bar in Midtown Global Market. Arepa Bar features a variety of appetizers, entrees, desserts, and drinks. From Empanadas to Teque-nos (Venezuela cheese sticks), Polvorosa de Pollo (chicken pie) to Arepas (Venezuelan filled white corn pockets, Papelon con Limon (dehydrated cane sugar with lime juice) to Quesillo (Venezuelan flan). Many items are gluten-free, vegan, or vegetarian. Hours: Tuesday ”“ Friday, 11 a.m. ”“ 4 p.m.; Saturday, noon ”“ 5 p.m.; Phone: 612-353-4885; Website: www.arepabarmpls.com. Midtown Global Market is located at 920 East Lake Street in Minneapolis
More candidates have announced they are running for the Ward 9 City Council seat being vacated by Alondra Cano at the end of 2021. Jason Chavez is currently President of MN Young DFL, and a commit-tee policy aide in the MN House of Representatives. Al Flowers Jr is a community organizer and founder of Be Better Foundation, an organization that ad-dresses gun violence in the black community. Carmen Means is a community organizer and pastor who lives in the Phillips neighborhood.
