‘Letter to the Editor’ Archives
Letter to community: Arsenic levels map confusing
The April 2019 Alley page 3 shows a map with a confusing description: “Childhood elevated blood lead, arsenic & asthma per 10,000 people.”  It should be clarified to show that the arsenic levels were in soil, not blood. Soil with greater than 95 ppm (or mg/kg) was removed in an extensive project by 2008.   For more information about arsenic, see https://www.mda.state.mn.us/chemicals/spills/incidentresponse/superfund/southmplsressoil My neighbor”'s yard in Seward was removed and replaced with new soil because of arsenic. I agree that children in Phillips bear excess burdens of a contaminated environment. Lead remains a major issue because of lead paint and poor removal practices that allowed lead to go into the soil. Jim Haefemeyer
Frank Reflections: How much more death and destruction will we endure?
by Frank Erickson “Military interventions” are murder! They can never be trusted! How can they be trusted when the factor that puts them into motion is a smaller country”'s lack of relative defense? There is talk of United States “military intervention” into Venezuela. Here”'s an idea: the world powers come together and attack Washington D.C. by a “military intervention” to stop the U.S. from doing all their “military interventions!” Representative Ilhan Omar is strongly opposed to “military interventions” upon smaller defenseless countries. This is very encouraging. Rep. Omar”'s first months in office have been rough. How does a Black Muslim Congresswoman illicit more trouble than two White Christian male politicians who started the Iraq War murdering over 200,000 Muslims? White supremacy runs Washington D.C. and Minneapolis! The Iraq War and those that started it are no different than a war [...]
Letter to the community: Why is YWCA unwilling to have open and fair conversation?
By Doris Overby Midtown COmmittee for due process We have been deeply concerned that the Minneapolis YWCA management and Board chose not to involve the general membership in decision making regarding the new costly pay to park system. We believe that it is now necessary to send this letter to each member of the YWCA Minneapolis Board of Directors. Even more disconcerting is the lack of due process in the YWCA”'s decision to suspend the memberships of Doris Overby and Dick Taylor. Management”'s unwillingness to fairly and openly negotiate a reconciliation has impeded the reinstatement of the memberships. We believe the management”'s decision to suspend without due process constitutes a glaring injustice. We are further concerned that management may have used surveillance cameras to identify a member who was peacefully exercising her First Amendment rights to inform members of the controversy that had developed over the abruptly imposed parking system and [...]
