We Really, Really, Really Thank You, Carz Nelson!

This February 2024 issue is the first in several years that Carz Nelson’s byline has not appeared in the alley pages. Carz let us know she has to step back from volunteering with the alley.

Carz served on the Editorial Leadership Committee (ELC) since its beginning in 2019. On top of ELC duties – which are significant – Carz faithfully produced the Library News feature in the alley. (Not to worry – Ari Baum-Hommes from our beloved Franklin Library has graciously volunteered to take over Library News).
Additionally, Carz found time to produce notable features for the paper, including a pandemic lockdown piece on “learning pods” for school aged children in September 2020; a moving tribute to Bob Albee and his contributions to our Phillips Community after his death in 2020; the Bridge Fest, celebrating the long awaited opening of the new 24th Street bridge over I-35W in October 2021; the Never Homeless Before 1492 art installation on the Wall of Forgotten Natives in November 2021; the fate of Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction and Uncle Edgar’s Mystery bookstores, from their building being destroyed in the George Floyd uprising in May 2020, to the opening a new location in the Fall of 2022.… Read the rest “We Really, Really, Really Thank You, Carz Nelson!”

Library News: Feb ’24

By ARI BAUM-HOMMES
All information listed here is accurate as of January 12, 2024. For the most recent information, check out the library website at www.hclib.org.

FRANKLIN LIBRARY HOURS
Monday 9 AM to 5 PM Tuesday 12 PM to 8 PM Wednesday 12 PM to 8 PM Thursday 12 PM to 8 PM Friday 9 AM to 5 PM Saturday 9 AM to 5 PM Sunday 12 PM to 5 PM

PROGRAMS FOR YOUTH AND FAMILIES:

Homework Help
Find homework resources for K-12 students online and at all our libraries: history, language arts, math, science and more.
Franklin Library
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3:30-7:30 PM
Saturdays, 1-5 PM

STEAM Workshops for Youth
Drop in for fun and creative STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) experiments and projects! Materials provided. Led by Franklin Library’s Teen Tech Squad.
Wednesdays, 5-6 PM

Way to Grow
Way to Grow connects parents of kids 0-8 to a culture-to-culture family educator to help with resources and provide support and education.
Franklin Library
Tuesday, February 6, 3:30-5 PM

Young Achievers
Open to all teens who want to learn about various arts and media (including video projects, skits, and poems)! Young Achievers supports members to be a positive voice for their generation and community.… Read the rest “Library News: Feb ’24”

Letter to the Editor

Resistance is a Human Right

News outlets have been referring to Israel’s attacks on innocent Palestinians as “self-defense” in response to the Hamas attack of October 7th. On October 7th, 1,200 Israeli settlers were killed. In response, Israel has killed 25,000 people and counting, two-thirds of which are women and children.

How can Israel claim “self-defense” when the numbers of Palestinians murdered appears to be rising exponentially, and when the vast majority of those killed by Israel are innocent families? In so-called self-defense, Israel is bombing schools and hospitals, and blockading humanitarian aid to civilians who have no food, water, or electricity coming into Gaza.

After Israel’s 75 year long land grab occupation and apartheid regime, it is hard to see Israel displacing Palestinians from their land and massacring them as self-defense. If anything, it makes sense that after 75 years of home theft, land theft, blockades on food and water, controlled movement, check points, degradation, and so many other human rights violations, Palestinians rose up and fought back in self-defense.

Anything Israel has done since October 7th has been an escalation of a colonial project they already had underway.

-Whitney Wildman
Minneapolis, MN

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