‘Commentary’ Archives
“Democracy” and Bees
My butternut squash plants have commenced to flower and set their early fruit. Like all curcubits (squash, melons, cucumbers, gourds, pumpkins) they are monecious, meaning the male and female aspects are embodied in one plant. However, the flowers themselves are not hermaphroditic. The male and female blooms are separate. The males reveal in morning, only to fade before the day is done. By then bees will have gathered the pollen, and the sperm contained within. Nectar laden females flower the following day, blossoms adorning the miniature fruits with their ovaries and eggs. Joyous bees appear positively ecstatic! But what? Market forces, the profit motive, and corporate domination are killing off our bees. I have in hand two letters from Susan Allen, my state representative. She writes: “Thank you for contacting me to share your support for Governor Dayton”'s proposal for a minimum 50-foot buffer strip along waterways”¦to help increase water quality in our [...]
A Historic Decision! COMMENTARY: Mpls. School Board made a magnanimous commitment of money and intent to youth and the Phillips Aquatic Center partnering with the Mpls. Park Board
BY DENNY BENNETT, Minneapolis Swims, Board of Directors, president Tonight was historic. The in a most selfless and noble act, the resolution below was passed by the Minneapolis School Board. Historic, selfless, noble? Really? Yes, really! First, let me begin by saying tonight caps years of efforts by Minneapolis Swims to convince MPS of the virtues of swimming, and why Phillips, of all places, was the one neighborhood that most deserved a gift from the coffers of the MPS treasury. With MPS firmly entrenched in the philosophy of not investing capital in properties they do not own, and many budget fires of their own to put out, we resigned ourselves to not ever receiving capital dollars from MPS toward this project. Of course, once it is built, we need to make sure it is sustainable, so we were quite pleased to get MPS to agree to a five-year commitment to contribute $150,000 toward operating costs. Over the past year, our fundraising efforts gained momentum and [...]
COMMENTARY: The City Says “NO” to our Efforts to Clean Up Air Pollution and to Seek a Better Future for East Phillips
By Carol Pass, Chair, East Phillips Improvement Coalition, EPIC. In spite of their continuing rhetoric about ”˜equity”', the City of Minneapolis is rapidly moving forward with their long-hidden plans to intensify the air pollution and traffic congestion problems of what has become known by area residents as the “Intersection of Death”, 28th St. and Cedar Avenue South, with its dangerous, toxic and foul-smelling air, its numerous massive and unsightly trucks, its impossible traffic congestion and its many nearby families with children and several ethnic daycare centers. The Ways and Means Committee of the City Council voted Monday, June 15th, 4 to 1 with one abstention to approve the intensification of these problems and on Friday, June 19th, in a 10 to 3 decision the City Council followed suit, in spite of the many letters, petitions and loud protests of your neighbors and many area organizations. The Back Story: Last November the East [...]
