Minneapolis Insanity

You have to wonder about the sanity of the Minneapolis City Council. If they aren't trying to ban circus animals from their borders, or replica guns, they are cracking down on an disabled retiree who doesn't keep her home to their liking (HT Mitch)

Diana Slyter is a retired postal worker who lives on a fixed income and has multiple sclerosis. Lately, she has felt like Public Enemy No. 1. Slyter, 57, owns a home in the Hawthorne neighborhood of north Minneapolis. She has been a bulwark of decency as the block she lives on has been invaded by hoodlums and drug dealers. But in the eyes of the city, there is a bigger problem than criminals: Peeling paint.

Take a look at the picture of Ms. Slyter's home. See the window on the left...the one with a 2X4 running through the middle of it? Ms. Slyter had to put that there to keep her drug dealing neighbors from breaking into her home!

Nick Coleman did a bang up job (yes you read me right) with this column - pointing out the lunacy of a city that is more intent on enforcing building codes than they are catching the drug dealers and gang bangers.

But when you see a retired woman on a truck trying to reach the top of her house
with a paint brush in a neighborhood where drugs are being sold on the corner,
something is out of whack. Slyter isn't the person who most needs cracking down
upon.

Do yourself a favor....go read the whole column. This is exactly the kind of reporting that the Star Tribune needs to be doing.

Every neighborhood has a home like Ms. Slyter's. The next time you walk past the one in your neighborhood - stop by and say hello and see if there is anything you can do to help. You just might find a new friend and a new attitude.

Embarrassing

Mayor RT Ryback is embarrassed. Not because the crime rate in his city is skyrocketing. Not because the citizens of his city are DEMANDING more cops on the street. No, Mayor Ryback is embarrassed because the state is "doing nothing" in the wake of the St. Anthony Bridge collapse!

Headed to a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting this weekend to talk about
the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said he
found himself filled with dread and embarrassment.

"I'm going to have to walk in there and tell them that our state is doing
nothing" on bridge repair, he said. "Other states are taking this seriously, but
our state, where people died, is doing nothing."

Doing nothing eh? I thought that the state was going through and reinspecting and repairing all fracture critical bridges in the state. I know that the state is working on cleaning up the debris so that reconstruction of the bridge can get going. Apparently that is not enough for the Boy Mayor of Minneapolis.

Last week, the U.S. Senate approved an extra $1 billion bill for bridge
repair. But the end result of the Minnesota Legislature's special session last
Tuesday was a narrowly targeted bill that mainly delivered about $157 million to
the flood-ravaged southeastern corner of the state.

A moment of clarity

That was far less than what Gov. Tim Pawlenty had suggested was in store
when he stood near the fallen span and predicted a special session that could
include a gas tax increase, a transportation bill, a bonding bill and property
tax relief.

So why couldn't Pawlenty and DFL leaders make it happen? Taxes, as has so
often been the case, proved a major stumbling block. Even though Pawlenty said
he would consider a nickel-a-gallon increase, he wanted an offsetting cut in
income taxes.

The next paragraph in the story shows where the blame truly lies in this story.

Even though Pawlenty said he would consider a nickel-a-gallon increase, he
wanted an offsetting cut in income taxes.

That would have provided money for roads and bridges, but would have
reduced funds for health care and schools -- unacceptable to DFLers.

Apparently, the Boy Mayor is not happy that his city was "ignored".

"Nobody's saying there shouldn't have been flood relief," Rybak said. "But how
could we not do anything for bridges? When you step back, it's shocking."

Let's see......we are re-inspecting bridges, we are cleaning up the debris and rebuilding the new and that is "shocking"? Maybe it is shocking...it's shocking that the Governor is actually leading the state instead of deferring his authority to the Legislature.

Here is a thought for Mayor Ryback...why don't you take care of the problems in your city. Put cops on the street...get the criminals off of the street and let the Governor take care of his problems. It's his responsibility to get the bridge rebuilt - something he is doing. Until you start doing your job, your criticisms of people who are doing their jobs only make you look like a partisan hack.