Reading the Highland Villager #48

[Basically the problem is that the best source of Saint Paul streets & sidewalks news is the Highland Villager, a very fine and historical newspaper. This wouldn't be a problem, except that its not available online. You basically have to live in or frequent Saint Paul to read it. That's why I'm reading the Highland Villager so that you don't have to. Until this newspaper goes online, sidewalk information must be set free.] 


Total # of articles about sidewalks: 13
Total # of articles about sidewalks written by Jane McClure: 10 


Headline: What’s a stadium worth to county?; Locals weigh the benefits of Vikings’ move to Arden Hills
Reporter: Kevin Driscoll

Short short version: Article on the stadium talks and history of its political shenanigans. Includes quotes by local representatives critical of Arden Hills site plan.

Headline: End of the line; Ford will close plant for good Dec. 19
Reporter: Jane McClure

Short short version: Article on closing of St Paul Ford plant. Includes bittersweet history.

Headline: City Council rejects plan for $3 million Pelham development
Reporter: Jane McClure

Short short version: Report on recent City Council vote siding with the (Union Park) neighborhood council against the Port Authority and Planning Commission plan to build a light industrial park at Pelham Boulevard [behind the Rock-Tenn factory]. There was a community meeting on the development Article includes quote the industrial developer/property owner: “I’m investing my own money in this, I’m convinced that it will be successful, and that these people will be happy when its done.” [Note to anyone talking to a reporter: never use the words “these people” or “you people” to describe anybody.] Also, quote from CM Stark about how the real issue is the office park’s setback from the street in an area near the LRT line. [The proposed plan was surrounded by a giant moat of parking, like all the previous crappy suburban St Paul Port Authority developments in the city. –Ed.]
 
Headline:  Griggs Street bikeway to benefit from $400,000 in traffic calming; New traffic circles, corner bumpouts, Dunning Field bike path proposed by city
Reporter: Jane McClure

Short short version: Description of proposed Griggs “bike path” recommended by the Planning Commission’s Transportation Committee. The “bikeway” [the Villager staff still don’t know how to refer to a project like this] will connect the Summit and Minnehaha bike lanes and have traffic circles instead of stop signs, “share-the-road arrows or ‘sharrows’”, bumpouts, and signage. The frontage roads on either side of the freeway are the biggest challenge. Article includes some speculation about further plans for a Hamline bikeway and a bike lane “paralleling” Lexington Parkway. [The real question is what is going to happen once the St Paul DOT gets their hands on this project. –Ed.]

Headline: City favors rezoning Hague lot for Mississippi Market parking
Reporter: Jane McClure

Short short version: Report on the tearing down of a house to expand the parking lot at the Selby-Dale co-op. [NOTE: The house has since been torn down. I wonder how many parking spaces this store has compared to The Wedge on Lyndale Avenue, which must do 5X the quantity of business. –Ed.]

Headline: Right-of-way maintenance fees still prompting debate
Reporter: Jane McClure

Short short version: City Council has ratified its right-of-way maintenance fees, including a fee for dealing with ash borers.

Headline: Council agrees to sell part of Finn to adjacent homeowners
Reporter: Jane McClure

Short short version: There’s a bit of a dead end street that has been blocked off since the 1980s. The City Council just voted to give it to the homeowners.

Headline: New plug-in options available for St. Paul HourCar drivers
Reporter: Jane McClure

Short short version:Two new plug-in electric cars are part of the HourCar program. Purchasing the cars was funded in part by Xcel Energy.

Headline: St. Paul unveils solar panels on RiverCentre parking ramp
Reporter: Jane McClure

Short short version: An 82 kw panel is now on the roof of the convention center parking ramp thanks to Federal stimulus money.

Headline:  St. Paul postpones decision to West End pet boarding bid
Reporter: Jane McClure

Short short version: The City Council has tabled a request by a pet groomer to add animal boarding. People are worried about the sound og dogs. Includes the following sentence: “’I’m begging you to please help me,’ [the pet groomer] said, adding that she would ‘hug and kiss’ the council member if she could.”

Headline: Wings parking expansion fails to fly [Ladies and gentlemen, your Villager Pun of the Month award winner!]
Reporter: Jane McClure

Short short version: The Planning Commission voted down a plan for a parking lot expansion at a credit union on West 7th Street because they don’t need the extra spaces. If the credit union finds more tenants for their office building, the Commission may revisit the issue.

Headline: Spatula is passed to new generation at historic Ran-Ham eatery
Reporter: Morgan Smith

Short short version: Article on new owner of The Copper Dome, who is only 25 but has worked at the restaurant almost his entire life. Article includes detail that the restaurant does not accept credit cards, but does take cash or checks.

Headline: District 197 voters to decide $3.5 million levy referendum
Reporter: Kevin Driscoll

Short short version: Article on a proposed tax levy for the West St Paul / Mendota Heights / Eagan schools, which looks likely to pass according to a [half-assed] poll.