Author Archive
COMMENTARY Saving the Phillips Pool to Save Lives
By State Senator Jeff Hayden Minneapolis “The City of Lakes.” Minnesota “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” Behind all those images of sky blue sparkling waters, there is a startling fact: Minnesota has the highest drowning rate among African-Americans in U.S. The drowning rate for Native Americans is third highest in U.S. One reason is the lack of opportunities for inner city youth and adults to learn how to swim. In fact, the only free indoor public swimming pool in the city of Mpls. is at the Phillips Community Center and the only pool in the Phillips community. Unfortunately, the pool has been closed since Boys and Girls Clubs lease ended in 2008. The Mpls. Park and Rec. Dept. planned to infill with dirt and cap with concrete in 2010. Thanks to an outpouring of support from the community and advocacy from interested organizations, the pool was saved from demolition. However, before the pool can be reopened to the public, it needs extensive [...]
Rep. Ryan”'s Bill is Robin Hood in Reverse: “Rob from the POOR and give to the RICH”
By Donna Pususta Neste Wisc. Rep. Paul Ryan sponsored a budget bill in the federal House of Representatives last year that would have: increased military spending, cut taxes for millionaires, raised Middle ”“class taxes plunged millions more into poverty by cutting SNAP (food stamps), the Women Infants and Children Nutrition Program (WIC), the Low Income Tax Credit all other Federal Gov”'t-funded nutrition. (more…)
Time Won”'t Wait
By Peter Molenaar Gone is the brush pile which housed the winter”'s flock of sparrows. It was a cold day then. Does the city inspector harbor a mean spirit or merely a sense of duty? It is warm today. The sparrows are sampling freshly strewn seed. And so”¦ Will the Occupy Movement return as a visible hub around which broader movements revolve and develop? It depends. Occupy has yet to formally resolve its internal debate on the question of tactics. Should we publicly disavow actions of a provocative nature? Or should we consent to the concept “respect for diversity of tactics”? It would seem that common sense dictates two things. Don”'t pull stunts which satisfy the agents of reaction. Don”'t pull stunts which alienate potential allies. What then is the difficulty? “Respect for diversity” does have a nice ring to it and there are kind hearts among us who prefer to avoid [...]
