Finding a Green Way to Govern

The City of Minneapolis is the first city in the US to go on record formally supporting President Barack Obama’s policy directive to the Department of Homeland Security to defer deportation of undocumented children.   I am very proud that the City has taken this action in support of a policy that will positively impact the lives of many members of our community.

With my strong support, the Council has unanimously passed a resolution supporting a US Constitutional amendment that would make clear that corporations are not persons.   This amendment would help regulate the toxic and out-of-control corporate spending in our political processes, spending that I believe directly threatens our democracy.  The Council has also gone on record in our Federal Legislative Agenda supporting transparency in corporate political spending on elections. The Supreme Court's 5-4  Citizens United decision opened up a flood of unregulated corporate funding that essentially gives moneyed interests the power to buy candidates and elected officials at the federal level.  The Supreme Court's recent decision to apply Citizens United  to corporate spending on political races in Montana - despite a law from the early 20th Century that banned such spending - makes clear that few if any safeguards from corporate control of our democ...

The City has just announced that the Sabo Bridge over Hiawatha Avenue has reopened.  Here's the press release: Sabo Bridge re-opens to bicycle and pedestrian traffic Temporary supports will be in place until permanent repairs can be made June 1, 2012 (MINNEAPOLIS) The Sabo bike and pedestrian bridge, which has been closed since a pair of support cables broke loose in February, is re-opening this afternoon to foot and bike traffic. Structural support was added underneath the bridge deck in the days following the bridge’s closure. After an evaluation of the bridge, engineers determined that with a few modifications to the support structures, the bridge could be reopened to bike and pedestrian traffic. In the last few days, crews have adjusted the temporary supports and the tension on the bridge’s cables to allow for it to be reopened. Meanwhile, the City is awaiting a report on what caused the cables to break loose in the first place. The Sabo Bridge is a 215 foot-long c...

Minneapolis has coasted down to the #2 spot on Bicycling Magazine's Top 50 Bike Friendly Cities list, from being named the best bike city last year . This is a good thing, in my opinion.  It encourages us to keep working, stretching, trying new approaches, implementing the recommendations in the bike plan. Also fun: the Bi cycle Advisory Committee is called out as one of the things that makes Minneapolis a great bike city.

The city has lost a landmark: Walker Church burned down on Sunday after being struck by lightning.  It's a devastating loss to the members of the Walker community, many of whom put hours and hours of their own labor into maintaining the 100+ year old church.  It's also a blow to the many community groups who used the building for office and meeting space, including Communities Unitied Against Police Brutality and Occupy MN. I'm writing about this because it's also a loss to me and my family.  Though I'm not a member of Walker, it's the church my father served until his death in 2005, the church that filled to capacity for his funeral.  My sister and mother - clearly singing her heart out - appear in the Star Tribune's front page photo of the Walker congregation. Walker was a beautiful building.  The sanctuary had a stage, seating and acoustics so good for live performance that a group of friends and I organized a short-lived cabaret there in ...