‘Commentary’ Archives
Who is the GEO Group?
from the series Something I Said... By DWIGHT HOBBES Dwight Hobbes President Trump’s order of the day continues to be bald faced corruption. He appointedformer GEO Group executive David Venturella to run ICE. A la one hand washing the other,GEO Group and subsidiaries donated just under $2 million to Trump’s 2024 campaign. GEOGroup, in fact, holds numerous government contracts for detention facilities and saw seriousprofit increases as the administration ramped up mass deportations. GEO was more than $250 million in the green for 2025, up almost 700% from 2024.They certainly aren’t spending that profit on justice advocates, journalists and investigatorsdocumented substandard ICE conditions. Added to which, their snout is deep in Trump’s trough.Half the corporation’s conflict of interest revenue is ICE contracts, a clear all for Trump's massdeportation agenda: it runs nearly two dozen detention facilities and provides transportationservices and electronic [...]
Allina Health: Good Neighbor is More Than Glitz and Glamor
By LINDSEY FENNER I was disappointed to read such a glowing article on the completion of the hospital campus renovation at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in the August issue of the alley. Although I know there are countless workers at Abbott who care deeply about their patients and their neighbors, I question whether Allina Health, who runs Abbott Northwestern, has that same committed care for the Phillips Community -That shiny new Central Utility Plant? Allina violated environmental laws when it started construction on the utility plant without an air emissions permit, and then lied to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency about it. After my reporting in the September 2022 issue of the alley, Allina had to halt construction and they were fined $50,000. -Union workers at Allina Health are always speaking out about the working conditions they endure, and their concerns about staffing levels and patient care. There are worker strikes against Allina almost every year. [...]
A letter to the Phillips Community
Goodbye and gratitude from outgoing PWNO director J Randolph By J RANDOLPH Hello friends, neighbors, and colleagues: It is with bittersweet feelings that I let you all know that, by the time this is published, I will have stepped down as the Phillips West Neighborhood Organization's executive director. As some may know, I have been accepted to a masters program in urban planning at Queen's University Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and I will be moving across the Atlantic at the end of this month to begin this next chapter of my life. With my departure, you may all need new contacts for the organization.● General inquiries/default contact: info@phillipswest.org● PWNO phone number (text or call): (612) 424-0786● Programming, events, communications, and partnerships: EllaKampelman, Community Organizer (ella@phillipswest.org)● Housing programming/resources, renter rights, and environmentalhousing upgrades: Hannah Jerrie, Housing [...]
