For the record :
The Republican National Convention cab fare increase was proposed by Gary Schiff and backed by Cam Gordon. The proposal was rejected by Barbara Johnson, Paul Ostrow, and Diane Hofstede. The Minneapolis Shadow applauds the rejecters and jeers the supporters.
However, Minneapolis will now rank 5th highest among 20 cities in cab costs. Remember, public transportation costs are one of the livability factors of urban areas.
BTW, the increase will be in place before the convention. Screw the Republicans anyway.
Jul 31, 2008
Police Discrimination Settlement… No Vote..No Deal..Let the Trial Begin
The spineless rubberneckers on the “silly council” decided not to make a statement at all on the settlement offered regarding the police discrimination lawsuit. This equals an impasse so the trial will move forward.
Analysis:
This problem should have never gotten this far. If there are problems in the department it is the job of the “elected” to make sure the problems didn’t continue and get to this point. If there isn’t a problem then it should have been dealt with and never should have reached this point.
The council needed to take a position on this issue. Instead of being mute they needed to either back the officers or the police chief. Once again, politics is trumping the best interest of the city. You can’t tell me that nobody knows who is really right on this issue, because there has been plenty of time to investigate it. If no independent investigation has been done to find the truth, then that is another problem. If the city loses this, and it is decided that there has been wrongdoing by the department; the chief, the council members, and the Mayor SHOULD all those their jobs. If the city wins this, and it is found there was no wrongdoing by the department; the officers SHOULD pay for all the expenses related to the lawsuit and lose their jobs. The council members and the Mayor SHOULD be held to tough public rebuke for not having taken care of this problem sooner.
Analysis:
This problem should have never gotten this far. If there are problems in the department it is the job of the “elected” to make sure the problems didn’t continue and get to this point. If there isn’t a problem then it should have been dealt with and never should have reached this point.
The council needed to take a position on this issue. Instead of being mute they needed to either back the officers or the police chief. Once again, politics is trumping the best interest of the city. You can’t tell me that nobody knows who is really right on this issue, because there has been plenty of time to investigate it. If no independent investigation has been done to find the truth, then that is another problem. If the city loses this, and it is decided that there has been wrongdoing by the department; the chief, the council members, and the Mayor SHOULD all those their jobs. If the city wins this, and it is found there was no wrongdoing by the department; the officers SHOULD pay for all the expenses related to the lawsuit and lose their jobs. The council members and the Mayor SHOULD be held to tough public rebuke for not having taken care of this problem sooner.
Jul 30, 2008
Minneapolis Police award winning embarrassment
The Minneapolis Police award the officers involved in the mistaken raid on the wrong home. See the details at http://www.startribune.com/local/26083024.html?location_refer=Minneapolis:highlightModules:4.
The Minneapolis Shadow believes that it is correct to award officers’ that get shot in the line of duty. I can’t imagine how tough it is to be a police officer and I have the utmost respect for the police, and thank God they are out there. However, this is a total and complete blunder by the administration, and a good example of one of the major problems facing Minneapolis. As the story goes Chief Dolan didn’t speak with the family, but did spoke with Hmong community leaders who were mostly understanding of the awards. Not speaking to the family before the awards were handed out is the wrong thing to do. He might not have been successful in getting the family to talk with him or getting them to understand, but it should have been attempted. Be it the Mayor, City Council, County Board, State Representatives, or whoever from Minneapolis; it seems that the idea of talking with certain community leaders is what they always do instead of talking directly to the people themselves. Most of the time I find that so called “community leaders” really don’t have the backing of the majority of a group of people to begin with. On the national scene people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are looked upon as “community leaders” and end up speaking for black people. I have found that most black people don't think the same way these two do, and therefore aren’t a true representation of their beliefs, needs, wants, and desires. The “elected” need to be more careful who they are putting in front of the line of communication, especially in a situation such as this. Why allow anyone else to speak for the people who are most directly concerned? Talking to just the “leaders” is either an attempt at putting forward just a token effort, or is just plain misguided.
The Minneapolis Shadow believes that it is correct to award officers’ that get shot in the line of duty. I can’t imagine how tough it is to be a police officer and I have the utmost respect for the police, and thank God they are out there. However, this is a total and complete blunder by the administration, and a good example of one of the major problems facing Minneapolis. As the story goes Chief Dolan didn’t speak with the family, but did spoke with Hmong community leaders who were mostly understanding of the awards. Not speaking to the family before the awards were handed out is the wrong thing to do. He might not have been successful in getting the family to talk with him or getting them to understand, but it should have been attempted. Be it the Mayor, City Council, County Board, State Representatives, or whoever from Minneapolis; it seems that the idea of talking with certain community leaders is what they always do instead of talking directly to the people themselves. Most of the time I find that so called “community leaders” really don’t have the backing of the majority of a group of people to begin with. On the national scene people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are looked upon as “community leaders” and end up speaking for black people. I have found that most black people don't think the same way these two do, and therefore aren’t a true representation of their beliefs, needs, wants, and desires. The “elected” need to be more careful who they are putting in front of the line of communication, especially in a situation such as this. Why allow anyone else to speak for the people who are most directly concerned? Talking to just the “leaders” is either an attempt at putting forward just a token effort, or is just plain misguided.
Jul 29, 2008
Why not to do business with Minneapolis
All the “Silly Council” wants to do is soak you if you want to do business with or in Minneapolis. Here is a good example of the type of “stick it to them” business approach that the city takes, which you’ll never see unless someone is watching closely.
Take a look at the agenda for the Public Safety and Regulatory Committee Agenda item number one on taxicabs. The time period for the fare increases are during the Republican National Convention.
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/2008-meetings/20080808/PSRS20080730agenda.asp#TopOfPageInstead of being happy to allow the increase in revenue from the activity that the convention brings, such as income from cab rides, they need to raise fares. I find this practice appalling. It is another example of how the city officials purposely go out of their way to discourage business growth, or are just plain stupid when it comes to long term thinking on economic development.
Take a look at the agenda for the Public Safety and Regulatory Committee Agenda item number one on taxicabs. The time period for the fare increases are during the Republican National Convention.
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/2008-meetings/20080808/PSRS20080730agenda.asp#TopOfPageInstead of being happy to allow the increase in revenue from the activity that the convention brings, such as income from cab rides, they need to raise fares. I find this practice appalling. It is another example of how the city officials purposely go out of their way to discourage business growth, or are just plain stupid when it comes to long term thinking on economic development.
Jul 28, 2008
Another couple of KILLINGS in North Minneapolis
First of all, my thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family members who lost loved ones today. It is a very sad occurrence, and my heart goes out to you,
Second, to the community affected, my hope for you is that you are able to find a way to not feel the fear from these types of actions. We need to have a degree of security restored in the areas of our city that are ravaged with violence.
Our city leaders , “elected” politicians , and justice system have let us all down. The number one job of anyone elected to public office is to serve and protect the public, and to that I say the “elected” in Minneapolis are in dereliction of duty. While they celebrate an unearned victory in bring the crime rate down, which it really isn’t, they are actually ostriches with their collective heads in the sand (really I think they hide their heads somewhere else) and won’t deal with the reality of the situation. When are we going to get some real leadership on the crime issue, and get this under control?
Second, to the community affected, my hope for you is that you are able to find a way to not feel the fear from these types of actions. We need to have a degree of security restored in the areas of our city that are ravaged with violence.
Our city leaders , “elected” politicians , and justice system have let us all down. The number one job of anyone elected to public office is to serve and protect the public, and to that I say the “elected” in Minneapolis are in dereliction of duty. While they celebrate an unearned victory in bring the crime rate down, which it really isn’t, they are actually ostriches with their collective heads in the sand (really I think they hide their heads somewhere else) and won’t deal with the reality of the situation. When are we going to get some real leadership on the crime issue, and get this under control?
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