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| [The cat helping me with the latest Villager re-cap.] |
Headline: City considers eliminating fines for all overdue library materials
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: Mayor Carter is floating the idea of getting rid of overdue fines at libraries. [Seems fine to me. Getting kids to read more is a no-brainer and the people that use libraries -- i.e. mostly poor people -- really do not need more fines in their lives.] 34% of the library cards at the Rondo library are unusable due to fines. [I would sure loved to have fines removed at the UMN library when I was in grad school. I must have paid hundreds of dollars to the library over the years.] CM Bostrom is quoted expressing dismay. Article quotes experts on the subject who say fines are no big deal.
Headline: Memorial bike tour is fueled by love; Mom celebrates son's life with river ride
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: A woman is biking down the river to Louisiana to honor her son who died in the river in Minneapolis last year.
Headline: Council reviews study of $15 minimum wage
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: The City Council will soon decided what they think about the $15 minimum wage and whether or not to have a tip credit and/or index it to inflation or what. There is a big report from a group who studyed the issue, narrowed down th three scnearios.
Headline: Lawsuit claims city broke promise regarding its plans for Pedro Park
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: A group of people who's family donated an abandoned luggage store to the city for a park are suing the city because the plan for the park is not what they had in mind. This all happened back in 2009. There was a plan to make the park larger by tearing down the existing building, but now a developer wants to re-use the building instead. The current park proposal would be smaller. [I am on record as supporting preserving the existing building and using the smaller park idea. I like the old building and don't think downtown needs a larger park really. This is not to mention the financial side of it, and how expensive tearing down the old building and creating a new park would be vs. using it as a positive tax base generation office space density increasing structure. There are lots of things that were in old comp plans that were bad ideas, e.g. Ayd Mill Road expansion, and that should not make them permanent ideas. That said, who knows what promises were made by people ten years ago who are no longer in office... Anyway, it's another Saint Paul lawsuit.]
Headline: West 7th Street readies for the opening of Keg & Case market; Old Schmidt warehouse is transformed into an airy light-filled marketplace
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: An old part of the old brewery is now a market full of shops. Article includes list of the different vendors. [There is no bike parking, because of course it's still Saint Paul we're talking about.]
Headline: Hearing set on Marshall Ave. rezoning; Divided Planning Commission forwards plan to City Council
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: There will be a public hearing at City Council on plans to re-zone parts of Marshall Avenue. Some parts will be upzoned and others will be downzoned. [Also the zoning will be getting a lot more complex, rather than simpler, which is a bad trend in general. I voted against this, mostly because it is slated to be an aBRT transit corridor in the future.]
Headline: St. Paul schools open a new year with renewed, improved facilities
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: Some schools have been made nicer.
Headline: New parking lots paved beside stadium; Neighbors seek dual purpose of space for days with no games
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: The buildings around the under-construction soccer stadium have been torn down and mostly temporary parking lots are being put there. Neighbors are concerned about traffic, parking, and "being overrun with soccer fans." [I do believe that "hooligans" is the correct term here.] Eventually the parking lots should become developed, as is the plan, but the team is requesting a five-year window. Some folks at the neighborhood group want to figure out how to share the parking when there are not games. [I really hope we can get some development in here in under five years.]
Headline: Developer conducts inventory of trees around Ford property
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: The Ford site developer is counting the trees in the area.
Headline: Council ready to approve plan to turn church into arts venue
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: The City Council is going to vote on whether to allow a developer to re-use an old church for concerts, events, and the like. Neighbors are concerned about traffic, parking, and noise. [This seems like a great way to re-use an historic church that could use some restoration and life.]
Headline: St. Paul OKs final regulations for organized trash collection
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: The city is [finally] almost done with the new organized trash system. Neighbors are concerned about costs and the number and size of carts. There is another Saint Paul lawsuit.
Headline: Disc golf expansion, Linwood security receive STAR funding
Author: Jane McClure
Short short version: The part of the Highland golf course that is used for disc golf got money to expand, as did a rec center that wants security cameras. Neighbors are concerned about disc golfers.
Headline: Efforts continue to renovate historic Goodrich Ave. house
Author: Dave Page
Short short version: And old house from the 1850s that is still in the West End area is not yet torn down. It is very small. Neighbors are trying to raise money to save it. [It's a super weird house! I am for saving it if possible. It is really small. People used to live in super small houses. The 1850s was a long time ago.]
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