News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Monday December 22nd 2025
Library News
By CARZ NELSON
Things can change fast. For updated information on Hennepin County Library services during the coronavirus pandemic, visit www.hclib.org. All information is accurate as of February 12, 2021.
East Lake Library
East Lake Library, located at 2727 E. Lake St., is open for Grab and Go service Sunday 12-5 PM; Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 9 AM to 5 PM; and Wednesday 12-8 PM.
Franklin LibraryÂ
Franklin Library, 1413 E Franklin Ave., is open for computer use only. Call (612) 543-6925 to make an appointment. The building will remain locked, but staff will let you in at your appointment time. Masks are required and will be provided if you do not bring one. Because of social distancing, staff will be unable to offer computer assistance. You will have access to a desktop computer, Internet, and printing. You will need to bring your own headphones. At this time, Franklin Library is open for computer use ONLY. Other areas and services, including book/DVD checkout, are not available. Returns are accepted during staffed service hours.
Franklin Library Computer Hours Â
Tuesday & Wednesday ”“ 9 AM to 5 PM
Thursday ”“ Noon to 8 PMÂ
Friday & Saturday ”“ 9 AM to 5 PM
Sunday & Monday ”“ ClosedÂ
Hosmer Library
Hosmer Library, 347 E 36th St.,… Read the rest “Library News”
Build Transit For Our Climate
METRO TRANSIT
 By JOHN CHARLES WILSON
At the time I am writing this, Minnesota is having its coldest weather of the season. Please keep that in mind if it is warmer by the time this column is actually in print. Everybody in Minnesota who goes outside knows we have
a challenging climate, to say the least. Extreme cold and snow in the winter, and heavy rainstorms in the summer. However, Metro Transit installs the flimsy “shelters” that often provide little to no protection from wind, rain, and snow, and the heaters are often broken or placed so high they don”™t give enough heat to help anyone.
Even worse than the bus shelters are the ones at Light Rail stations. Those are like wind tunnels when the wind blows parallel to the tracks. The best shelters Metro Transit has to offer are at Northstar stations.
It”™s not like more heat and better shelters are impossible: Winnipeg has fully enclosed shelters with doors, and Chicago provides decent heat at L stations. Some people worry that more comfortable shelters would end up getting taken over by the homeless. Personally, I think that finding homes, or at least decent shelter, for them would reduce the problem considerably.… Read the rest “Build Transit For Our Climate”
Cicely Tyson (1924-2021): And That”™s the Way She Was
MOVIE CORNER
By HOWARD MCQUITTER II
Whether it was screen, television, or stage, Ms. Cicely Tyson shined, breaking way for many more African American thespians, especially for African American women. She refused to be pigeonholed into the usual Black stereotypes of maids or cooks. When looking at her in the earliest of her career, you saw a woman with big beautiful eyes, rich chocolate skin, fronting an Afro – at that time criticized for wearing it even by many Black people, preferring she straighten her hair as was common for Black women of the day.
Tyson”™s first film Carib Gold (1957) came at a time when Black actresses had few decent roles in Hollywood, including talent like Dorothy Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, Ruby Dee, Eartha Kitt, Juanita Moore, Hazel Scott, and Beah Richards. Indeed, Cicely Tyson would become known to all people. How- ever, in Black households she was a household name gracing the front covers of African American magazines Ebony and Jet.
In her lustrous career she appeared in at least 68 televi- sion series, including playing Kunta Kinte”™s mother in the TV miniseries Roots (1977). In 1978, she played Coretta Scott King in the NBC mini- series King, about the last years of the Rev.… Read the rest “Cicely Tyson (1924-2021): And That”™s the Way She Was”
Keep citizen journalism alive!
