Should Minneapolis have trust issues? See a Political Psychologist

The Mayor with his speeding ticket issue, and questionable belief that he didn’t realize the correct amount to send in, may be some cause for questioning if he is really telling the truth. When pressed on the ticket issue by Fox 9 news he was quoted as saying “How did you find out?”. This is a typical response from someone who is trying to hide something. I’m not saying he is trying to hide something or not telling the truth, but it is very curious.

R.T goes speeding thru the wilderness. Somehow thought he’d make it thru..without paying the fine?

The Speedy Gonzales of Minneapolis, Mayor R.T. Rybak, gets a speeding ticket and didn’t pay the entire fine. His license has been revoked since February 14th. He claims that he accidentally paid the wrong amount, and was never notified that his license had been revoked. I find that a bit hard to believe, since the government is so good at that sort of thing (not). However, it does sound like the typical copout that most people give when avoiding something. Too often have we seen elected officials trying to get out from under situations by throwing their position around or taking it for granted that they won’t hear about the problem because of their position. Remember when the Mayor got into hot water for using government employees and resources for his campaign lit? He claimed that it was just a mistake as well.
He did say that he would pay the fine right away, so the Minneapolis Shadow will give him the benefit of the doubt, for now.

Government Arrogance

Last night I attended the Waite Park Community Council meeting. One of the hot topics over the last few months has been the opposition to the Stinson Parkway bike path. Three neighborhood Boards have formally voiced their opposition of the idea of a bike path down Stinson parkway on several grounds. All three have voiced concerns about safety, loss of trees, and loss of green space. These concerns have formally gone to the Citizens Advisory Board, which didn’t pass the motions from the neighborhood groups. This results in basically saying “we don’t care what you think, and will go ahead with our plans any way”. Who are these people serving?
The next level to bring these points to is the Park Board, which has been playing a game of cat and mouse with the issue. The Park Board hasn’t taken a formal position on this, because it is at the stage of being only the recommendation of the advisory council. However, the Park Board has proven itself not reactive to the concerns of the neighbors in similar situations, so there is a lot of mistrust that they will listen this time.
The straw that broken the Minneapolis Shadow’s back was the response received by the representative from the Park Board at this meeting last night whose name is Nick. When pressed with the question on why the recommendations of the neighborhood groups got just dismissed, he responded with “the Advisory Board decided they wanted to move forward, but the opinions are noted in the meeting minutes”. Well that does a lot of good. He also stated “we [the Park Board] are working towards the greater good and know what is best”. Totally outrageous! Government 101 states …. Government for the people, not government knows what is better that you. We are talking about a bike path loop of just a few city blocks long, that doesn’t really fill in the missing link of the Grand Rounds, and there is a lot of opposition from the people affected by the action. They are talking about putting in a bike path that is going over seven or more intersections, poses safety issues, takes mature tress away, takes green space away, and cuts into people’s property. These people’s government is basically telling them that they don’t care what they think. Sounds to me like there is something a major miss here.

Pet Peeve Time

One of my Pet Peeves is people that don’t know how to cross the street at the lighted intersection. I watch people cross in the middle of the block, 10 feet away from the intersection, and against the light. I grimace every time I see this, and think “oh my gosh that person is going to get hit”.
I harken back to my childhood and can hear my mother saying “little Minneapolis Shadow (uh yea) remember to always cross at the light”. I do notice that most of these folks are immigrants. Now before you go ape sh_t on me here; I encourage legal immigration. This isn’t an anti-immigrate rant!! However, I realize that a lot of today’s immigrates are not accustom to the American way of life, and may not understand some of these basic concepts. Where is the nanny state on this issue? Doesn’t the government have a responsibility to tell these folks when they arrive not to cross against the light? Hilary Clinton the other day said that we need to choose a president that will take care of us and our families so why hasn’t “big mama” government told immigrates to cross at the light?
Ok, I’m having a bit of fun with you here. Seriously, we should be setting standards for immigrates to follow upon getting to our shores. We don’t owe these people anything, but a great deal of them act as if we do. Issues such as learning English, treating women with respect, and not expecting a handout are just a small example of ideas that we should hold people up to. We would experience a lot less problems if there were basic expectations that we held people up to. In the long run everyone, even the new Americans, would benefit from simple expectations. Even if it is as simple as crossing at the light!

For the Downtown Business District…It’s time to come and meet your Neighhhhhbors

The business district in downtown is getting increase horse police patrols and beat cops thanks in part to a public-private partnership. Why is the city of Minneapolis teaming up with businesses to provide basic city services? The Minneapolis Shadow loves public-private partnerships, but for crime fighting on the basic level? Seems to me that someone hasn’t been doing his or her job!


“it's usually livability crimes such as loitering, drug dealing, aggressive panhandling and urinating in public that contribute to the perception of an unsafe downtown” Janee Harteau head of the downtown police precinct tells the StarTribune. The Minneapolis Shadow has a few things to point out here.
1) I’m glad someone points out the crime is a livability factor.
2) Downtown isn’t the only place in Minneapolis to enjoy a good pee while checkin in with your dealer on speed dial just to be annoyed by a dude wearing a torn up pair of Air Jorden high tops while you are hanging out with a few buds.
What about the rest of the city? Foot patrols in North, maybe?