Posts Tagged ‘Nov 22’
Phillips Community Clean Sweep – Year 19
Setting up for Clean Sweep in the Welna Hardware parking lot at 2428 Bloomington Avenue. Photo: Courtesy of Phillips Community Clean Sweep By JANA METGE, Phillips Community Clean Sweep Coordinator Phillips Community Clean Sweep held another successful event this year on Saturday, October 8th. The annual Clean Sweep is planned and organized by the four Phillips neighborhoods together with the City of Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling Department. Thanks to Welna Hardware for hosting the breakfast donated by Allina Health, and supply pick up. Thanks to Involve MN and CityJoy for donating lunch, and to Sarah, our new Stewart Park Director, for hosting the lunch and Resource Fair. Participants in the Resource Fair were American Indian OIC, Open Arms of Minnesota, Midtown Greenway Coalition, Phillips Neighborhood Clinic at St Paul’s church, Southside Green Zone, Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts, and KRSM Radio, who spun tunes during lunch. Thank you also to our planning team: Joel and Amy from Banyan Community, Nat and Caroline from American Red Cross, Donna Neste, Pete Eichten, Jana Metge, Brad Pass, Mark Welna, Sarah from Stewart Park, Steve from Ventura Village, Michelle Howard, Abdul Mohamed, Jamie Mendoza-Bremer, and Chuck Steddom. Thanks to all the Phillips neighborhoods and Wellington, Allina Health, Open Arms of Minnesota, CityJoy, Involve MN, Thrivent, and LHB Architects for the support to make this event possible. And thanks to Michelle Howard, Minneapolis Clean City Coordinator. Thanks to all the volunteers (Catherine, Joanne, Susan, Banyan youth) who helped during the event, and to Somali TV for the coverage! Mark your calendar for the 20th Anniversary of Phillips Clean Sweep on the 2nd Saturday in October, 2023!!
Who Will Lead Us?
.Joshua Lewis. Photo: Courtesy the author By JOSHUA LEWIS The Dirty Side Deal to the Inflation Reduction Act is a potential parasite, infecting the blankets we need to stay warm, smog in the air we need to breathe, oil in the water we need to drink, poison in the food we need to live, and damage to the shelter we need for protection. The IRA side deal works against our ability to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change, by creating a parasitic feedback loop; that both adds carbon to our atmosphere, and creates communities of power that will be opposed to moving towards zero emissions. The IRA is a necessary step in the right direction. The side deal is a step back. While mostly positive reviews have come out of the IRA being signed into law, not enough attention is being put on the side deal put forth by Senator Manchin (D). Significant facts to consider are:Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC)(established in 1988 by United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization) declared that we need to reach a 45% reduction of gas emissions by 2030, and zero emissions by 2050 in order to avoid the most devastating impact of climate change. Extraction of gas and mining projects will increase carbon emissions, destroy wildlife landscapes, and work against both our local and specifically our global emissions goal set by the IPCC. Investing in fossil fuels builds up a socio-economic infrastructure of communities, wealth, power and voters that will be incentivized to oppose mandates that curb fossil fuels impact on the climate. Thus- We must ask- are other options possible?Won’t America invest in her spacious skies, amber waves of grain and fruited plain?Won’t America invest in her people, her infrastructure and renewable energy manufacturing? During WWII brave decision makers and soldiers fought a great darkness and led the world with hope.Won’t America be the light house needed to preserve her [...]
Peace House Community: To the Unsung Heroes
Marti Maltby. Photo: Courtesy the author. By MARTI MALTBY Today I attended the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits’ annual conference, and I got to see four people receive Unsung Heroes awards for work they have done to improve their communities. As you would guess, these individuals go about their volunteering quietly, but their dedication and concern has inspired others. I love the idea of unsung hero awards, because so much recognition goes to people who are already well known, or whose work is plain for all to see. With few exceptions, Nobel prizes, academy awards, and many other awards go to well-known individuals, while few “everyday people” are recognized or rewarded for what they do. I think that’s a shame, because so many people work so hard to maintain sanity and stability for themselves and those around them, without the advantages that the big names have. Yes, it would be fabulous if a scientist found the cure for cancer, but they would do that only if they had a well-funded laboratory and a quiet space to think for years at a time. Single parents who keep their kids in school, fed, clothed, and safe from drugs and gangs would usually love to have just one evening of peace and quiet to think. I can think of several people who I would nominate to receive an unsung hero award. At the last Ventura Village Neighborhood Association meeting, one of the Board members ended the meeting by thanking all the volunteers for doing “the most thankless volunteer duty you will ever do”. That sounded about right. Ventura Village/the Phillips neighborhood is at the top of the list for crime and at the bottom for wealth in Minneapolis, but many who live here are determined to stay, to make things better for their neighbors, and to keep plugging away, whether they get properly recognized or not.A few years ago, I met a single mother who suffered from schizophrenia, and who was raising a son who had fairly severe autism. I only spoke with her for [...]
City Songs for Loving the Earth: “Wherever we protest we will go planting”*
Late blooming aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) is an important late season food source for bumblebees and other insects. The name “aster” comes from the Greek word for “star.” Photo: Ben Heath By LINDSEY FENNER As I write this in the middle of October, I am surrounded by the last blazing russet leaves of the wild plum and the rich burgundy leaves of the serviceberry. Most of the goldenrod and aster blossoms have turned into fluffy seedheads, all but the aromatic aster, which remains a spangled purple cloud even after snow and a hard freeze. Winter hasn’t quite begun yet, but I am already planning for spring in my garden because I have applied for a Lawns to Legumes grant. Lawns to Legumes is a program of the State of Minnesota’s Board of Water and Soil Resources that provides folks with up to $350 to create pollinator habitat in their yards. Most specifically, these grants are to help provide pollinator habitat for endangered insects like the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis). Why does it matter what you plant in your yard? Surely there are more pressing neighborhood concerns? Because it is still the little things. I cannot singlehandedly solve the homelessness crisis or the opioid epidemic, or stop climate change, or any of the other million big things we struggle with and worry about. But I can take care of this little patch of earth, which also means taking care of everyone who might be passing through it - whether that’s migrating birds or butterflies, nesting bumblebees, or yes, humans too. There are lots of reasons to plant native and pollinator friendly plants. You might want to help save a specific endangered insect, or just love the diversity of insects and birds that these plants attract for nesting, food, and overwintering. Native plants are beautiful in all seasons, and they are usually the most climate resilient plants in your garden. Deep-rooted native plants help reduce runoff and soil erosion, and [...]
November 2022 Events
Picture Gallery of the SoulThrough December 10University of Minnesota Regis Center for Art (East)405 21st Avenue South Free The Katherine E. Nash Gallery presents A Picture Gallery of the Soul, a group exhibition of over 100 Black American artists from the 19th through 21st century whose practice incorporates the photographic medium, including Phillips’ own Walter Griffin. The exhibition honors, celebrates, investigates, and interprets Black history, culture, and politics in the United States. For gallery hours and information on related events, go to https://cla.umn.edu/art/galleries-public-programs/katherine-e-nash-gallery Performers Pedra Pepa (R) and Sam Aros Mitchell (L) in she who lives on the road to war. Photo: Valerie Oliveiro she who lives on the road to war, 2022 installation view. Photo: Rosy Simas she who lives on the road to warThrough December 15All My Relations Arts1414 East Franklin Avenue Free she who lives on the road to war is an immersive installation and dance performance created by Rosy Simas in response to global loss and the collective need to come together in peace and reconciliation. The project takes its title from one of the names of Haudenosaunee historical figure Jigonhsasee, whose wisdom and vision helped Hiawatha and the Peacemaker bring the Nations together as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. she who lives on the road to war is a place for visitors to rest, grieve, condole, and meditate. Installations and performances will be hosted at both All My Relations Arts and the Weisman Art Museum (WAM). For gallery hours and performance dates and registration, visit: https://allmyrelationsarts.com/rosy-simas-danse-she-who-lives-on-the-road-to-waroctober-6th-2022 Thursday Evenings at ASIThursdays, 3 PM – 8 PMAmerican Swedish Institute2600 Park Avenue Free Explore the ASI with free museum admission from 3-8pm! There will be live music on select Thursdays. https://asimn.org Gingerbread WonderlandNovember 2 [...]
Metro Transit: December Disaster!
By JOHN CHARLES WILSON The latest news out of Metro Transit isn’t good. Thanks to a shortage of drivers, one of the worst cutbacks in recent years is coming soon. Unlike past cutbacks, this isn’t due to lack of funding, lack of riders, or a pandemic. It is literally because they can’t hire enough drivers. As of 15 October 2022, Route 27 (26th/28th Streets between Hiawatha and I-35W) has been suspended. People are recommended to take Route 21 (Lake Street) instead. In addition, the following cutbacks in the Phillips community will start 3 December 2022:The Orange Line will be reduced from once every 15 minutes to once every half hour during the weekday midday period.Route 9 is being reduced from once every half hour to once an hour except during rush hours.Route 67 is being reduced from once every half hour to once an hour except during rush hours. Many other transit routes in various areas of the Twin Cities are also being cut. However, the 9 and the 67 are pretty important to Phillips as they run along Franklin Avenue. The 9 provides access to downtown Minneapolis, Saint Louis Park, and the Longfellow area. The 67 makes it possible for people to go from Phillips to Saint Paul. It is hard to imagine what it will be like with these buses only running once an hour.I have information that Metro Transit is raising its starting wage from about $21 per hour to $26.65 per hour. Hopefully, this will help overcome the safety concerns and the better opportunities for Commercial Driver’s License holders that have made it difficult for Metro Transit to hire enough drivers. Driving transit used to be considered a desirable job. It should be once again. The only good news coming this December is the opening of the brand new D Line, which will run every 10-20 minutes and only stop at major intersections. Within Phillips, the Chicago Avenue stops will be at Franklin Avenue, 24th Street, 26th Street, and the Chicago-Lake Transit Center. (I thought this was [...]
