Commentary ............................................2 Livin’ Small ......... .......... .......... .......... .......... . 3 Crime & Safety ......... .......... ......... ..........5 CARAG Report .......... .......... .......... .......... .8 ECCO Report ....................................... .....9 Calendar...................................... .......... ...... 10 Covering the Neighborhoods ofCARAG and ECCO in the Uptown Area March 2008 • Volume 4, Number 3 inside Photo (left) by Kay Nygaard-Graham “Resurrection” -This bronze relief can be found on the gate near the entrance to Lakewood CemeteryUpton Arts And Crafts Gt OnnBy Kelly Newcomer Uptown artists, Jen Krava, Brenda Senechal and Julia Kumba YingHua Curran are taking their handmade work directly to the buyer with inter- net sales through a we bsite called etsy.com. It’s kind of like Ebay, but it’s only for hand-made arts and crafts. These savvy uptowners are also get- ting out in the community and networking to get people to their websites through face-to-face interactions at local craft fairs and shops. Photo by Westy Copeland “Peace with Birds,” acrylic painting by Westy Copeland on exhibit in the Intermedia Arts exhibit 55408 beginning March 14. This is an example of the type of item she offers as prints and on cards at area art and craft fairs. Photo by Bruce Cochran Skijoring: Jim Benson and company, of Blaine, Minnesota, finish the Skijor- ing event with a healthy lead at 7:52.6. Complete Loppet results are available at www.onlineraceresults.com. By Aaron Rubenstein As is often the case, there is quite a bit of Uptown business news. Res- taurants first: Southwest Minneapolis Latin res- taurateurs Hector Ruiz, his wife Fr nds, N g bors Support Fam y D sp ac d By F r By Scott Schiefelbein N Stor s And R staurants Op n ng Anyone who has spent time at Bry- ant Square Park over the past few years has seen the family of Kesha Cooper. Her children are regulars at the park, attending community events, participating in many ofthe activities offered there, and just spending time with friends. If you don’t know them by name, you may know them by sight. Corey Dawson, 17, and Domi- nique Dawson, 16, tower over the other kids their age (and most adults), and James Dawson, 14, is quickly catching up to them in height. Tyesha Cooper is a whirl- wind of energy, with a big smile when you can coax it out of her. She seems to be everywhere, rid- ing around the neighborhood on a bike one minute, running back and forth to the wading pool in the summer the next, and somehow always in the park building when- ever one wanders in. The boys all attend Southwest High School and Tyesha is a student at Jeffer- son Community School. Sadly, on the night of January 29 the family was almost pulled away from the neighborhood where they are so active and which has the family members were injured, but nearly all their possessions were lost. The most devastat- ing result of the fire was that the family found themselves without a home. Lacking insurance, they had no way to replace what had been taken from them. They spent a few days with relatives and then moved into a hotel with some help from the Red Cross, but that assis- tance didn’t last long. Fortunately, Dominique’s football coach at Southwest High School, Sean McMenomy, opened his home to Dominique and Corey. When the offer was extended to include the rest of the family, Kesha and Tyesha joined the brothers. James is staying with family in Faribault. Erin Ungerman, and his father Loreto Ruiz, are betting on a tri- fecta. Their newest Mexican gour- met restaurant, Indio, will open in mid-March at 1221 West Lake Street in the space formerly occu- pied by Pizza Nea. They also own El Meson at 35th and Lyndale, a Spanish/Caribbean restaurant they bought nearly five years ago, and Cafe Ena at 46th and Grand, a Latin fusion restaurant they opened in May 2007. Iyou would like to help the amily with the expenses osettling into their new home, please send donations ocash or git cards to super- markets or department stores to: Kesha Cooper C/o Bryant Square Park 3101 Bryant Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55408 Pann ng Commss on Snds Caoun Squar Back To Dra ng Board Cites Insufficient Amenities By Aaron Rubenstein The city’s Planning Commission voted 7-0 on Feb- ruary 25 to lay over Calhoun Square’s redevelop- ment plans to March 31. Most members expressed concerns about the plans—particularly that the level of amenities is insufficient to warrant the requested zoning exceptions. They also expressed concern about the number and size of variances requested to allow larger individual stores. Calhoun Square is requesting nine zoning approv- als for the redevelopment and expansion project. The two most significant are a conditional use permit for a planned unit development (PUD) and a variance to increase the gross floor area of individual retail and service spaces from the maximum of 4,800 square feet. PUDs are intended to provide flexibility with larger projects “to obtain a higher quality of development HowGreenIsYour Business?Let everyone know in the UNN Earth Day Special Edition. ONliNe pge6New pge7CAlhOUN pge7FiRe pge6lopp t l ad rs
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Covering the Neighborhoods of CARAG and ECCO in the Uptown Area March 2008 • Volume 4, Number 3
inside
Photo (left) by Kay Nygaard-Graham
“Resurrection” -This bronze relief can befound on the gate near the entrance toLakewood Cemetery
Upton Arts And Crafts Gt Onn By Kelly Newcomer
Uptown artists, Jen Krava, Brenda Senechal and Julia Kumba YingHua
Curran are taking their handmade work directly to the buyer with inter-net sales through a website called etsy.com. It’s kind of like Ebay, but it’sonly for hand-made arts and crafts. These savvy uptowners are also get-
ting out in the community and networking to get people to their websitesthrough face-to-face interactions at local craft fairs and shops.
Photo by Westy Copeland
“Peace with Birds,” acrylic painting by Westy Copeland on exhibit in the Intermedia Arts exhibit 55408 beginning March 14. This is an example of the type of item sheoffers as prints and on cards at area art and craft fairs.
Photo by Bruce Cochran
Skijoring: Jim Benson and company, of Blaine, Minnesota, finish the Skijor-
ing event with a healthy lead at 7:52.6. Complete Loppet results are available atwww.onlineraceresults.com.
Photo by Naomi Oshiro
The family faces the future with smiles. (From left: Corey Dawson, Kesha Cooper,
Tyesha Cooper, Dominique Dawson)
By Aaron Rubenstein
As is often the case, there is quite abit of Uptown business news. Res-
taurants first:
Southwest Minneapolis Latin res-taurateurs Hector Ruiz, his wife
Frnds, Ngbors SupportFamy Dspacd By Fr By Scott Schiefelbein
N Stors AndRstaurants Opnng
Anyone who has spent time at Bry-ant Square Park over the past fewyears has seen the family of Kesha
Cooper. Her children are regulars
at the park, attending communityevents, participating in many of
the activities offered there, andjust spending time with friends.If you don’t know them by name,
you may know them by sight.Corey Dawson, 17, and Domi-nique Dawson, 16, tower over the
other kids their age (and mostadults), and James Dawson, 14,is quickly catching up to them in
height. Tyesha Cooper is a whirl-wind of energy, with a big smilewhen you can coax it out of her.
She seems to be everywhere, rid-ing around the neighborhood on
a bike one minute, running backand forth to the wading pool in thesummer the next, and somehowalways in the park building when-
ever one wanders in. The boys allattend Southwest High Schooland Tyesha is a student at Jeffer-
son Community School.
Sadly, on the night of January 29
the family was almost pulled awayfrom the neighborhood wherethey are so active and which has
become such an integral part of their lives. The apartment wherethey had lived for the past six years
was destroyed by a fire. None of
the family members were injured,but nearly all their possessionswere lost. The most devastat-
ing result of the fire was that thefamily found themselves without
a home. Lacking insurance, theyhad no way to replace what hadbeen taken from them. They spenta few days with relatives and then
moved into a hotel with some helpfrom the Red Cross, but that assis-tance didn’t last long.
Fortunately, Dominique’s footballcoach at Southwest High School,
Sean McMenomy, opened his hometo Dominique and Corey. Whenthe offer was extended to include
the rest of the family, Kesha and
Tyesha joined the brothers. Jamesis staying with family in Faribault.
Erin Ungerman, and his father
Loreto Ruiz, are betting on a tri-fecta. Their newest Mexican gour-met restaurant, Indio, will open
in mid-March at 1221 West Lake
Street in the space formerly occu-pied by Pizza Nea. They also own
El Meson at 35th and Lyndale,
a Spanish/Caribbean restaurantthey bought nearly five years ago,and Cafe Ena at 46th and Grand,
a Latin fusion restaurant they
opened in May 2007.
I you would like to help theamily with the expenses osettling into their new home,please send donations ocash or git cards to super-markets or departmentstores to:
Pannng Commsson Snds CaounSquar Back To Drang BoardCites Insufficient Amenities By Aaron Rubenstein
The city’s Planning Commission voted 7-0 on Feb-ruary 25 to lay over Calhoun Square’s redevelop-ment plans to March 31. Most members expressed
concerns about the plans—particularly that the levelof amenities is insufficient to warrant the requestedzoning exceptions. They also expressed concern
about the number and size of variances requested toallow larger individual stores.
Calhoun Square is requesting nine zoning approv-
als for the redevelopment and expansion project. Thetwo most significant are a conditional use permit fora planned unit development (PUD) and a variance to
increase the gross floor area of individual retail andservice spaces from the maximum of 4,800 square feet.
PUDs are intended to provide flexibility with largerprojects “to obtain a higher quality of development
How Green Is Your Business? Let everyone know in theUNN Earth Day Special Edition.
Space Is Limited, Make Your Reservation Today: Contact Susan Hagler, Advertising Sales Representative,612.825.7780 or [email protected]
Uptown Neighborhood News is a monthly publication of Calhoun Area Residents ActionGroup (CARAG) in cooperation with the East Calhoun Community Organization (ECCO).UNN covers the news of and is delivered free to households within the area bounded by Lyn-dale Ave. S. and Lake Calhoun, between Lake Street and 36th St. W. Extra copies are distrib-uted to businesses in the Uptown area, along Lake Street, and Lyndale and Hennepin Aves.Circulation is 5,100, with a pass-along readership of 10,000. Publication and distribution isnear the first weekend of every month. Subscriptions are available for $30 per year, prepaid.Send check to: UNN, 711 W. Lake St., Suite 303, Minneapolis, MN 55408.
Contributors are area residents who volunteer their time to bring the news of the area to resi-dents. Articles, letters to the editor and story ideas are welcomed and encouraged. The editorreserves the right to edit for length, clarity, relevance to the area, or other reasons. Editorialand advertising guidelines are available. Please contact the editor:
NewS, TiPS & leTTeRS TO The [email protected], 711 West Lake St. #303Minneapolis, MN 55408612.259.1372
CONTRiBUTiNG PhOTOGRAPheRSBruce Cochran, Kelly Newcomer,Kay Nygaard-Graham, Naomi Oshiro
CONTRiBUTiNG wRiTeRSErika Backberg, William Boudreau, BruceCochran, Westy Copeland, Mary Ann Knox,Jen Krava, Kelly Newcomer, Aaron Ruben-stein, Scott Schiefelbein, Brenda Senechal,Julia Kumba YingHua Curran
MiNNeAPOliS CiTY COUNCilTenth WardRalph Remington, [email protected]
CRiMe PReveNTiON SPeCiAliSTTom Thompson, 5th PrecinctSAFE Unit, Sector 2, 3101 Nicollet AveMinneapolis MN 55408Serving the neighborhoods of;CARAG, East Harriet, ECCO, Kingfield,Linden Hills, Lyndale, West Calhoun
5Th PReCiNCT COMMUNiTY ATTORNeY
Lisa Godon 612.673.2005
Uptown Neighborhood News reserves the right to refuse
publication of articles or advertisements as it sees fit.
But we will see fit to publish most things, don’t worry.
925 West Lake Street, Mpls., MN 55408HOURS: Mon.-Sat. 10:00am-5:30pm
Open 6 Days a Week • 612/821-6463Serving Uptown Since 1945!
Once You’ve Seen The Latest Stock ofCool Light Bulbs From Mohn Electric You’ll Think You Were Born Yesterday .
Today’s redesignedcompact uorescentlight bulbs are re-defning lighting ora new generation osavvy consumers.Reduce your carbonootprint withoutbreaking a sweat. CFLlight bulbs are 3 timesmore efcient thanincandescent bulbsand last up to 3 timesas long. Take that
global warming!
Please Recycle Responsibly: www.greenguardian.com or 1.877.630.0668
All CFLs 20% Off!
Sustanabty, enrgy Rductons and a Fr Bag Livin’ Small
culate the accrued savings can befound at the Challenge website
(see end of article). If you want toknow how much energy you use,and calculate how much money
and carbon emissions you couldsave by making some small chang-es in your life, go to the website
and sign up. It will automaticallycalculate your current usage, basedon your input of yearly electri-
cal and natural gas usage, vehiclemileage, etc. After completing thesurvey, you can also calculate how
much you have already saved byprior changes to your energy-guz-zling lifestyle. The average Min-
nesotan’s carbon footprint is over2 tons per year. The Minneapolissavings of 2 million pounds is the
equivalent of removing the emis-sions of about 225 cars from the
roads for a year.
The block club of 3100 Colfax
Avenue South had an organizingmeeting last fall, and 10 of the 12households at the meeting have
signed up, promised to reduceenergy use, and saved an estimated48,522 pounds of carbon output,
for a savings of $4,032. They arethird on the list of block clubs inMinneapolis who have organized
in this way.
Leader Rebecca Miller organized
the meeting and found that resi-dents of her block “were interestedand motivated to make changes.”
Her household lives an environ-mentally-aware life already, but
Miller received some good infor-mation from the meeting, andappreciates the “60 Simple Ways to
Save Money on Your Energy Bill”that was supplied at the meeting.
If you want to organize such ameeting on your block, a guest
speaker from the Alliance for Sus-tainability will come to the meet-ing to give you information, tips,
and advice. Sign up to host a blockparty at either of the addresseslisted below. A party kit will be
sent to you to help plan the meet-ing: it contains a leader guide, andto do lists for all households to
post on their refrigerators. Takethe challenge––it’s quick, simpleand makes a difference. Maybe
CARAG and ECCO can lead theneighborhoods of the city.
Tips to get started:
• Fight vampire energy. Resolveto unplug appliances and elec-tronics when they are not inuse. Phantom load, or vampireenergy, is the energy drain thatoccurs when appliances andelectronics––like cable boxes,computers, cell phone chargers,etc.––are left plugged in when
By Mary Ann Knox
Ngborood Sustanabty
Confrnc
The Alliance for Sustainability is
sponsoring a Neighborhood Sus-tainability Conference at Augs-burg College on Saturday, March8 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. It’s
free; to get more information, andto register in advance, visit theAlliance website (end of article).
Small group sessions will discussgardening, rain barrels, native
plants, public transportation, solarprojects, local food, peak oil, airquality and many more topics.
Learn about grant opportuni-
ties to fund grassroots projects inthe areas of energy, water quality,
waste reduction, graffiti preven-tion, transportation and Climate/ Energy Citizen Partnerships.
Keynote Speaker will be Jay Wall-jasper, Senior Fellow at Project forPublic Spaces, and Executive Edi-
tor of Ode magazine, previously of the Utne Reader and author of The
Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-It
Yourself Guide to Placemaking.
The mission of the Alliance is tobring about personal, organiza-tional and planetary sustainabil-
ity through support of projects
that are ecologically sound, eco-nomically viable, socially just and
humane.
ha You Takn T
Mnnsota enrgy
Cang?
Some of your neighbors havetaken the Minnesota Energy Chal-
lenge, with impressive results. TheChallenge is sponsored by TheCenter for Energy and Environ-
ment (CEE), a nonprofit organiza-tion that works to promote publicinterest through the responsible
and efficient use of natural and
economic resources. The Chal-lenge encourages all of us to con-
sider our energy use, to makemore efficient decisions and totake small steps to limit our energy
use. The primary goal is to reduceglobal pollution; the second ben-efit is reduction in energy costs
for your household. Several localgroups have organized: the blockclub of 3100 Colfax, the Bry-
ant Square Park Bike Club, FirstUniversalist Church, CARAG,ECCO, St. Mary’s Greek Ortho-
dox Church, The Bakken Museumand a group called Uptown haveshown an estimated reduction in
total carbon emissions of about 2million pounds, and total cost sav-ings to the tune of $115,000. The
city of Minneapolis group esti-mates a savings of over one-and-a-half million dollars! The Bakken
Museum is first on the business listwith 769,702 pounds of carbon and$47,499 savings. The 3100 Colfax
block club just received a prize of a pizza party from Galactic Pizzafor being one of ten city neighbor-
hoods with the most neighborssigned up for the Challenge.
The formula to define and cal-
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not in use. Some estimatessay vampire energy is costingAmerican consumers over $7billion a year.
• Install water-saving devices inyour toilet and shower.
• Switch to compact fluorescentlights to save energy.
• Turn down the thermostat atnight.
Fr Rusab Bag
The Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency will mail you a free reus-able bag if you complete a quickand simple survey at www.reduce.
org/bags. Supplies are limited.
Alliance for Sustainability:
www.afors.orgMinnesota Energy Challenge:www.mnenergychallenge.org
...And Of T PopCitizens Turned Out In Record Numbers To Speak Up
By Bruce Cochran
This citizen reporter attended three caucuses in the neighborhood and asked three different party people
questions about the election process. Here are the questions and some answers.1-w ul yu v f f yu cul’ v f yu ay’ al caa?2-h ll yu cvc f yu ?3-wa’ ff au ya’ lc?4-wa u a ma f yu?5-d yu u caucu ym a y? y a a ul yu ca?6-h ul yu c ma’ l fa ya lc?
Laurie Hanson (DFL)
1-Abstain
2-I will try to stick to acts and theplatorm
3-All o the candidates are articulate, anddiscuss policy. These candidates are unto listen to.
4-Health Care, Social Security,transportation or Seniors.
5-Caucus NO. Would have primary electionor days so everybody has a chance to vote.
6-I think they are swaying the electioninstead o reporting on the election.
Harry Savage (GOP)
1-Obama
4-Banking System, Federal Reserve needsto be put to sleep, Full pull out o Iraq.,Border security.
5-Caucus YES, More power and controlwith this system.
6-The media has a very big bias towardsHillary and McCain and most candidateswho are bought and paid or.
Kurt Anderson (INDEPENDENT)1-I would vote or both Democrats orMcCain.
2-Inormal conversion, LISTEN and perhapsdierent approach to issues. Being open topersuasion mysel and contributing what Ican to a person’s thought process.
3-Things are dierent across the board.More uniying, not repeat polarisation.
4-Deicit, ederal budget.
5-Caucus YES, chance or people to makedecisions, inspiring and chance to weavesome social abric and get some collectivewisdom.
6-Playing cheerleader and airlyinormative. No big axe to grind this year.
Photo by Bruce CochranLyndale Farmstead Community Center hosted a meeting of the Inde-pendent Party.
Photo by Bruce Cochran
A meeting of the Democratic Party at Joyce Mehodist Church.
Photo by Bruce Cochran
The Republican Party met at St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church.
Raucous Caucuss by Ellen Boroughf
Minnesota’s caucuses on Super Tuesday were, well, raucous. On Wednesday, valiant attendees gatheredat favorite coffee house haunts and shared stories of both horror and glory. So many people! Streets werejammed everywhere. Parking spaces were non-existent. People abandoned cars and hiked as much as
two miles through wind and snow simply to get inside.
Being inside wasn’t an improvement. So many people! Corridors were jammed. People had to hikethrough heat and jostling crowds to find the elevators, the bathrooms. Some of us eventually ended upwhere we were supposed to caucus; others of us weren’t so lucky.
Two of my neighbors, good citizens both, arranged to get to our caucus by Metro Mobility. I kept look-ing for them, but they never showed up. Here’s what happened. Donna is wheelchair bound, and Naomi
will be 90 in May. Their driver picked them up on time but then got lost in all the traffic. After driv-ing around aimlessly, he finally called in for directions. Donna and Naomi arrived about 7 p.m. Naomipushed Donna all over the place, but they couldn’t find anyone who could help them find an elevator or
the room where our caucus was taking place. They finally picked a room, the wrong room, signed in,voted in the presidential preference poll, and stayed to caucus with enthusiastic non-neighbors. Theyhad a grand time, but did their votes count?
One woman had her back up against a wall. She was sobbing. I asked her if she needed any help. “Oh,no,” she said, “I’ve never been to a caucus before.” Out of curiosity, I asked her if she’d ever attend
another. “Oh, yes,” she said, “This is wonderful. I’ll never miss another.”
Those of us who actually got into our caucuses and stayed until the end were satisfied. The coffee housecrowds agreed that the caucuses were run efficiently. Conveners and chairs got accolades. All the partybusiness we needed to get done got done. We got our delegates and alternates elected. We responded
to calls for money and for volunteers. Resolutions, really interesting resolutions, were introduced. Ourgroup was diverse. We were young, old, in between; of different races, creeds, economic and ethnic back-grounds. The room was full of excitement. So many people! So many ideas! Such tangible involvement
in the democratic process.
Oh, yes, our Super Tuesday of raucous caucuses was an evening of horror, but oh! The glory!
Register for Youth Baseballat Bryant Square Park.
For youth ages 6 – 15.Season begins late April. Cost: $25Want to be a coach?Contact the park.
new to the craft scene, makes cus-tom-printed clothes and handbags.She adds minimalistic details to
each article of clothing or purse.Her online shop is http://Article-Clothing.etsy.com. She’s encour-
aged by selling eight pieces sincejoining etsy in October, 2007. Shesays, “living in Uptown gives me
access to really creative stores andpeople. In meeting people through-out the neighborhood, many either
craft themselves or would rathersupport a local artisan than buy ata conglomerate.” Krava is ahead
of the curve technologically whenit comes to getting packages outto her internet customers. “I do
all of my shipping labels online,”she said, “My trusty mail carrierbrings my USPS envelopes and
boxes right to my door.”
Brenda Senechal lives in Whit-tier and is a jewelry designer with
a specialty of creating vibrantly-colored necklaces and bracelets.She states, “being an artist liv-ing in Uptown, I think about the
rich variety of arts that have comeand gone in the area. This is aninspiring community.” To drive
traffic to her site, Senechal relieson “word of mouth, networking,art festivals, business cards, mail-
ing lists and internet posts.” Sheshows regularly at Mezzolago, agallery at 5225 Chicago Avenue
South in Minneapolis, and shealso participates in Gay Pride anddoes some trunk shows (a showing
of her and another crafter’s waresin a home/party setting). Her etsylocation is DancingJems.etsy.com.
Julia Kumba YingHua Curran of the Wedge neighborhood has a
shop called happify.etsy.com fea-turing her screen-printed T-shirts.Her extremely popular “Minneap-
olis City of Lakes” design featuresa happy pirate ship. Another pop-
Photo by Erika Backberg
Erika Backberg’s 24 inch long necklace with vintage enam-el & amber rhinestone flower pendant.
Photo by Jen KravaHand-sewn skirt by Jen Krava with screen-printedtree.
Necklace by Brenda Senechal. Four strands of colored pearls leap
in and through each other, with vermeil (22 karat gold plated onsterling silver), swarovski crystal and cloisonné woven together.
Photo by Brenda Senechal
Julia Kumba YingHua Curran’s “Minneapolis City of Lakes” silver on black t-shirt. Note that the pirate skullis smiling, all her happify t-shirts have a happy mes-sage.
Photo by Julia Kumba YingHua Curran.
The Sandbox playing with stardust
Margaret, 3 3/4yrs, CARAG: Because the news isn’t always enoughand sometimes we need to look a little further down the road at whatthe children see. Email your kids’ art, poetry, short prose etc. to bruce@
satellitedesign.com or UNN, 711 West Lake St. #303, Mpls., MN, 55408 .We’ll showcase one here each month in The Sandbox .
ular T-shirt is poetically described
by Julia on her webpage, “a vin-tage fan produces a flock of birds,its electrical cord reading ‘happify.’
Sometimes happiness is the birds,
the breeze, the thrill of days so hot
winter cannot be believed.” Julia is
the most successful of the uptownetsy sellers, having sold over 300
items since she started in Decem-ber of 2005. Her T-shirts cost $22each. She states, “As a designer,
I strive to make lovely goods ina socially and environmentallyresponsible manner. I believe that
consumerism can be used for posi-tive change in the world, beauty
has an inherent value, and the
revolution starts with our dailychoices.”
Some uptown artists have internet
Tree Designs jewelry exclusively
in Uptown at Cliché Boutique. Itis difficult for jewelry designers,especially those using beads, to
stand out from the crowd on etsy.com. There are over 100,000 dif-ferent shops and many of them are
beaded jewelry. Unless they have areally unique niche, there is prob-
an environmental activist since she
was six years old. Sometimes it’sthose types of personal stories thatreally draw in shoppers and help
generate word of mouth recom-mendations.
Westy Copeland, of the Lyndaleneighborhood, has already invest-
ed a lot of energy into her artcareer and even accepts credit
cards when she shows at craftfairs, but she notes that justgetting started on internetsales is a huge time commit-
ment. She will have to set up aPayPal account (for acceptingonline payments), get her digi-
tal image files (jpgs) preparedand write up descriptions foreach item. Meanwhile, Westy
is staying busy making herpaintings, getting ready forthe 55408 show at Intermedia
Arts, and showing her printsin shops and art fairs. She willdo well when she gets started
selling on the internet, becauseshe already gets regular phonecalls from repeat buyers who have
remembered her work from an artfair and want to buy her cards andprints.
Kelly Newcomer is an artist in
CARAG who is interested in pro-
moting other uptown artists through
writing.
The generosity of McMenomy
and his wife, Jessica, has given thefamily a comfortable place to stay
While the assistance the family hasreceived has been appreciated andhas eased their immediate physical
needs, it will take time for Keshaand her children to regain thesense of security that comes from
having a place to call home. Whenasked what she misses most, Tye-sha did not mention a memento
or a favorite article of clothing,she answered, sounding exasper-ated, “I lost my house.” Pressed for
something more specific, she sim-ply said, “I do miss my room.”
The family has found a new placeto live, near Franklin and 11th
Avenue South, and they hope tomove in soon. Although they willno longer be living in the neigh-
borhood, they will still be spend-
ing a lot of time here. Corey plansto work at Bryant Square Park thissummer, and Dominique hopes to
join him. Tyesha will continue tocome to the park to participate inafter school activities and to hang
out with friends. Says Kesha of theneighborhood park, “It’s a placewhere I know they’re safe.”
Scott Schiefelbein lives in Uptown
and is happy to have a home.
while looking for a new home.
In addition to the hospitality of the
McMenomy’s, Kesha and her fam-ily have experienced an outpouring
of support from the community.There have been donations of fur-niture and household goods. They
have received help in buying somenew clothes to replace those thatwere lost in the fire. The children’s
schools and sports teams havesponsored a number of fundrais-ing drives and events to help the
family get through this difficultand costly period in their lives. Atthe CARAG Chilly Chili fest on
February 23, a simple coffee canfor donations placed on the sign-intable was filled with nearly $300.
ONliNe fom 1
FiRe fom 1
UPTOWN AREA SHOPSAND CRAFT FAIRS WHEREYOU CAN FIND HAND-MADE WORKS
Cliché Boutique, 2403Lyndale Avenue South; DesignCollective, 1311 26th StreetWest; The Handmaiden’sCraft Fairs www.the-handmaidens.blogspot.com;I Like You, 4222 NicolletAvenue; and Urban EarthGarden Store Coop, 910 West36th Street.
selling on their list of future proj-
ects. Erika Backberg of CARAGneighborhood, an eco-jewelrydesigner, says it’s on her list of
things to do. For the meantime,she’s selling her distinctive Tea
ably already someone doing simi-
lar selling work there. Backberg’sdesigns, a mix of fashion and envi-ronmentalism, are unique enough
to stand out if she ever lists themon etsy. Interestingly, she has been
Books Can B Burnd, Stors Can’tThe Syringa Tree written by Pamela Gien at The Jungle Theater through March 9. For more info. page 11
“Agnew makes this
story as tight and well
paced as as a street
drug transaction.”
By Bruce Cochran
History is alive and well throughthe lost art of storytelling at theJungle Theater. The beauty of
The Syringa Tree lies in its powerto tell a story that engages withthe charm and animation of
Sarah Agnew’s performance.Many characteristics of thisplay provide a context with
which to describe the recenthistory of South Africa. Theend of white rule took a long
time in South Africa becauseit was made up of Blacks,
Coloreds, British, Asians andAfrikaners who all had dif-ferent opinions about free-dom.
The play opens on young Lizzie
(Agnew) on her swing under thesyringa tree. Behind her is a wellaccommodating stage scrim that
could be considered a main char-acter in itself. It is at once beauti-ful and mysterious. Throughout
the play the scrim is discriminatelylit to describe the various moods.It is multi-layered in its ability to
convey grass and shrub, trees andmountains, stone and clay, day-time, afternoon and evening. If
you look hard enough you mayeven make out a drought ravagedlandscape or an ancient cave paint-
ing of the Bushmen, native to thisarea.
Candidly, I was not looking for-ward to an hour and 40 minute
monologue. But before I knew it
Agnew had drawn me into her
1960’s South African world of whimsy, love, happiness, discovery,fear and surprise. This non-inter-
mission play carries you throughcharacter by character without
missing a beat. There are no
dead spaces. Agnew jumpsback and forth between char-acters, creating a world that
requires multiple accentsand body rhythms of over 20different people. Under the
direction of Joel Sass, Agnewmakes this story as tight and
well paced as a street drugtransaction.
If you’ve ever wanted those two
hours back from a bad movie, Irecommend you see this play. Itwill exceed your emotional expec-
tations and pay you back double.
Bruce Cochran lives in CARAG and
likes to tell stories. Some are even
true.
Photo Courtesty of the Jungle Theater
The shuttered Vino 610, the
charming and short-lived winebar tucked between Fuji Ya andIt’s Greek To Me at 610 West
Lake Street, will reopen soon asAronas—a 49 seat Mediterraneanand American restaurant. Owner
Alkis Arambadjis, whose brotherAris is co-owner of It’s Greek To
Me (IGTM) next door, said Aro-nas will be more European andAmerican style than IGTM, with aseafood emphasis as well as steaks,
salads, and sandwiches. He hopesto open Aronas in March.
Five, the stylish and briefly high-flying restaurant at 2917 Bry-ant, has been reincarnated asFive Event Center. The restau-rant closed in January 2007; theevent center opened informally
last May and formally in January2008. Building and business ownerBruce Dachis is booking wed-
dings, corporate events and other
food-focused special events. Thefacility, located in the former Fifth
Precinct Police Station, can accom-modate up to 200 people for seateddinners and 325 people for passed
hors d’oeuvres. Dachis said theonly alteration to his high-style,contemporary, unique facility was
the removal of the wall betweenthe two dining areas.
Namaste Cafe, the delicious Nep-alese restaurant and chai shop at
2512 Hennepin, should soon beserving wine and beer as well. Acity council committee voted Feb-
ruary 20 to recommend approvalof a wine and beer license.
Marla’s Indian & Caribbean Cui-
sine, 1123 West Lake Street, is forsale. Marla Jadoonanan bought the
restaurant and opened it in August2005. She said it’s been for salesince last fall—because she wants
a smaller restaurant and “rents inUptown are getting high for smallbusinesses without investors.” Her
Lake Street restaurant will remainopen until sold.
Jadoonanan bought the formerJamaica restaurant at the corner
of 38th
Street and BloomingtonAvenue a few months ago andrenamed it Marla’s Caribbean
Cuisine.
Rta Ns
Things are rapidly changing onthe corner of Lake and Henne-
pin, with some stores in CalhounSquare or its expansion path clos-ing or moving, and two promi-
nent new retailers opening shop inMarch.
The sign has gone up on theVictoria’s Secret building at 3000
Hennepin which formerly housedThe Gap. It will reportedly openMarch 6.
A few doors down, at 3008 Hen-nepin, the new North Face store
will open March 28, according tothe North Face website.
Urban Traveler, a long-time Cal-houn Square tenant, is movingkitty-corner to the former Mozaic
sales center at 1426 West LakeStreet in the Rainbow Building(between MAC Cosmetics and
FedEx/Kinko’s). Aronas will beopen Monday through Saturday.
Menu items will range from $6
to $20 A City Council committeevoted February 20 to recommendapproval of a wine and beer license
for the restaurant (with a 1 a.m.closing time, so it could stay openlater in the future if business war-
rants it).
Alkis Arambadjis has worked inrestaurants since 1976 and will
do most of the cooking at Aro-nas. He grew up in Thessaloniki,Greece, moved to the U. S. in 1976,and came to Minneapolis in 1982
to open IGTM with his brotherAris. Alkis moved back to Greecein 1995 for four or five years and
then returned to the Twin Citiesand worked at IGTM until recent-ly to prepare for opening Aronas.
Alkis said “aronas” is a Greekword meaning a small area wherefisherman hang out, socialize and
fix their boats.
Traveler sells luggage, clothing,
and travel accessories and plans to
open at its new location April 1.
Several new businesses recentlyopened at Lake and Bryant. Jamie
McDonald moved his Sunrise
Cyclery into 901 West Lake Street(on the southwest corner—former
home of Phoenix Games) in lateFebruary and he is open for busi-ness. McDonald, 42, lives on the
historic Healy Block and openedhis bike shop at 3031 SecondAvenue South in 2004 just a block
from his home. He said he movedto the new location because “it’s amuch bigger space” with signifi-
cantly “more biker traffic—“par-ticularly given the Bryant AvenueBikeway and an entrance to the
Midtown Greenway one blockaway. McDonald has worked inbike shops since 1986.
With five plus bicycle shopsalready in the area, one might
wonder what McDonald wasthinking. The answer is that Sun-rise Cyclery’s niche is used bikes.
McDonald sells some new bikesbut mostly used ones; last year hesold 500 used bicycles. (The other
area shops are Penn and Alter-native at Lyn-Lake, Flanders at
27th and Lyndale, Calhoun Cycleat 34
thand Hennepin (recum-
bent and folding only), UptownRe-Cycle at 2327 Hennepin (used
bikes), plus CRC Coffee at 34th
and Lyndale which does some bikesales and repair.)
Shakedown, a new “hippie bou-
tique and head shop,” openedFebruary 25 at 910 West LakeStreet—at the west end of the Cor-
ner Store building. Owner ZachBowman, 22, said he sells cloth-ing, glass art—including pipes and
wine glasses, posters, and stickers.He noted that his store is similarto Third Stone which used to be
located across the street. Hoursare Monday through Friday 10 to10, Saturday 11 to 10, and Sun-
day 11 to 8. Bowman, who lives inDinkytown but used to live in theUptown area, plays guitar and has
been in the jam band music scene“his whole life.” Shakedown is hisfirst store. He said he chose this
location because “it’s a good loca-tion that fits the neighborhood”and its population as well. “Shake-
down” means a vendor area atmusic festivals, said Bowman.
which incorporates high levels
of amenities....” Calhoun Squareseeks a height exception to allowa five-story building at 31st and
Hennepin and a seven-story build-ing on the south side of Lake Streetbetween Fremont and Girard; the
zoning code otherwise permitsfour stories.
The retail size variance requestedwould permit 14 stores up to 9,600
square feet and six stores with nomaximum size limit. City plan-ning staff recommended granting
all nine requested zoning approv-als—some with conditions, such
as limiting the six largest stores to30,000 square feet.
The staff presentation, public tes-
timony, and commission discus-sion took nearly two and a half tense hours—most of the entire
meeting.
City Council Member Ralph Rem-ington told the commission that heand the community are concerned
about the project’s amenities. Hesaid that the proposed Girardpedestrian plaza is not a good or
equal trade off (for a differentplaza approved two years ago as
part of an earlier redevelopmentscheme) and that the project needs
more imagination. “I think theamenities aren’t good enough; weneed to go a bit further,” Reming-
ton concluded.
After he closed the public hear-ing, commission president DavidMotzenbecker quickly moved to
postpone, saying the project isn’tready. “Our job is to steward theland use in the city…this is one of
the key spots in the city. Adequatesite amenities were attempted butnot met,” he said.
At the end of the meeting, therewas discussion about what and
how much direction to give to thedeveloper and architect. Com-missioner Walid El-Hindi said he
would like the developer to focuson the 31st Street loading dockarea, the Girard Plaza design, and
the variances for size of retail spac-es. He added that there’s an impor-tant mix of uses in Uptown and he
wants to keep a mix of sizes, ratherthan see the mall fill up with a fewuses.
When City Planner Hilary Dvorak
asked for more specific suggestionsor direction, El-Hindi replied “I’m
interested in laying down princi-
ples. Specifics are up to the devel-
oper and architect. It’s not our job
to dictate or design.”
Six CARAG residents attendedthe meeting (two spoke before thepublic hearing was closed), as did
one East Isles resident and twoCalhoun Square business owners.One business owner encouraged
approval, the other said he wantsa “prompt decision.” ResidentNancy Sjoquist expressed concern
about what happens to CalhounSquare and Uptown if the projectdoesn’t happen.
Calhoun Area Residents Action GroupCARAG reportLake St.
36th St.
H
e n n e p i n A v e .
L y n d al e A v e.
The CARAG Board meets the third Tuesday of each month, 7 p.m.at Bryant Park Community Center,31st and Bryant.All CARAG residents
are welcome and urged to attend.
Photo by Bruce Cochran
If you had a pulse on Sunday, February 24th, you were probably at the Chilly Chili Fest at Bryant Square Park. Between bowl-fulls of some of the best chili this side of Hennepin Avenue, residents won door prizes, showed off photos and heard aboutupcoming neighborhood events. Many thanks go to chief cooks (and bottle washers) Diana Bogeman, Nancy Sjoquist andothers.
CARAG MONTHLY NEIGH-
BORHOOD MEETING MIN-
UTES for February 19, 2008
DRAFT: Subject to Approval at the
March 2008 CARAG Meeting
Board Members Attending: AnnaMathes (Treasurer; left about 7:15),
Ellen Meyer (Vice President), BillMorton, Kay Nygaard-Graham(President), Dan Qualy, Aaron
Rubenstein (Acting Secretary),Scott Schiefelbein, Howard Ver-
son.
Absent: Jamie Ronnei
Crm and Safty
(Lt. Marie Przynski and Tom
Thompson, MPD Fifth Precinct)
A rash of burglaries through Janu-ary has ended with the apprehen-sion of three juveniles aged 16 and
17. The assignment of beat cops toUptown has resulted in a 43 per-cent decrease in robberies in the
past six months; the beat cops areexpected to continue. The Bry-
ant Avenue Market was the tar-get recently of a burglary and anarmed robbery. Don’t leave vehi-cles running unattended on public
streets, even if locked; it’s illegaland ticketable. Minneapolis hasn’t
been hit yet, but most residentiallocks are vulnerable to key bump-
ing or lock bumping (a $3 key thatopens most brands of locks; googlefor more info).
Counc MmbrRap Rmngton
The Uptown Small Area Planwas recently adopted by the CityCouncil. A planning process for
the Lyn-Lake Small Area Planwill start soon and should takeeight to twelve months to com-
plete. The boundaries probablywill be Aldrich, Franklin, 31st andBlaisdell (i.e., Lake Street from
Aldrich to Blaisdell and Lyndalefrom Franklin to 31st). The CityCouncil is preparing to embark on
a street lighting plan. Petitions areout to create a new critical park-
ing area south of Calhoun Square;parking would be restricted from9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday throughSaturday. Amending the liquor
ordinance off-sale spacing/distancerequirement is on hold. Remingtonintroduced city planner Amanda
Arnold, who led the Uptown planand will lead the Lyn-Lake plan aswell. She said letters went out last
Thursday asking the four neigh-borhood groups to each appointtwo representatives for the Lyn-
Lake plan. The first steering com-mittee meeting should be in aboutsix weeks.
lak Strt and lyndaAnu Rconstructon
Hennepin County CommissionerGail Dorfman introduced the two
road reconstruction projects. Shesaid they had hoped the third phase
of Lake Street reconstruction—from Dupont to Blaisdell plus
Lyndale from 29th
to 31st
—wouldbe completed last season, but itwas not and will be completed thisyear. Lyndale reconstruction from
31st to Minnehaha Parkway willfinally start this year—after morethan a decade of discussion.
Don Shaffer of Hennepin Countysaid the Lake Street project will go
more smoothly this year. The con-tractor will start work at the endof March, weather permitting, and
replacement of gas mains will startin the first part of April. Work lastyear was slowed by the organiza-
tion of the utility work.
Nick Peterson, the Lyndale Ave-nue reconstruction project engi-neer with Hennepin County, said
the project is divided into three
phases and they are finalizingplans. In phase one, Lyndale from
38th to 50th Streets will be closedto through traffic for much of 2008. Utilities work will probably
start in April and roadway con-struction will happen from June toNovember. In phase two, Lyndale
from 31st to 38th will be recon-structed in 2009—with two lanesopen at all times. In phase three,
Lyndale from 50th to the creekwill be closed to through-traf-fic from April 2009 to November
2009; the Minnehaha Creek bridgewill be replaced. There will besome minor utility work for phas-
es two and three in 2008. The CityCouncil’s Transportation and Pub-lic Works Committee will hold
a public hearing on the proposed
assessment for paving and light-ing on March 25; there will be a
public information meeting aboutthe project and assessments priorto the hearing and notices will be
mailed by March 11.
Bryant Squar Park
Prformanc Spac
Alex Zachary and Jessica Berg,Minneapolis. Park and Recreation
Board
Alex is a parks planner and Jessica
is the concert and event coordina-tor. The new outdoor performance
space/amphitheater (designed andpaid for by CARAG NRP incoordination with MPRB) will beprogrammed with a broad range
of acoustic music Tuesday andThursday evenings during thesummer (7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. from
the first week of June to the thirdweek of August). Jessica proposeda kick-off celebration to recognize
CARAG’s contributions to thepark—ideally Thursday, May 29.Alex said he wants it to be a com-
munity facility. Everyone was veryhappy and delighted that MPRBwill be programming music twice
weekly at BSP (performers willdonate their time).
lman Cntr
Bk Program
Nathan Magel, Uptown Acad-
emy/Wellstone International HighSchool Volunteer Coordinator.
Magel introduced the schoolprograms (205 at-risk youth at
Uptown Academy and 170 inter-national students at Wellstone)and said he’s looking for both
volunteers—for all sorts of workwith students—and bicycles. TheWellstone School has a bike club
in which they build bikes during
the winter and then donate themto community members.
Agnda
The agenda was approved as
amended (adding Carl Holmquistand a board vacancy).
Mnuts
Minutes of the January 2008 meet-
ing were approved.
Trasurr’s Rport
The CARAG Treasurer’s reportwas approved. The UNN finan-
cial report was acknowledged.
CARAG Offc Spac
The CARAG board met at 6 p.m.prior to the neighborhood meet-
ing to discuss CARAG office spaceoptions. The board voted 4-1 torecommend that the office move
to the Southwest Senior Center,3608 Bryant, at the end of March.A motion to negotiate a lease
with the Southwest Senior Centerpassed with one nay vote.
lak Dstrct Counc
(Carl Holmquist)
The Lake District Council met
January 24 and that preparation of a Lake Calhoun master plan will
start this spring.
Zoning Committee: Aaron Ruben-stein reported that CARAG held
a special neighborhood meetingJanuary 22 to finish discussionof Calhoun Square; the majority
voted to not recommend approvalor denial but to state a number of concerns and suggestions for the
project. The Zoning Committeemet January 29 to discuss Indio (anew restaurant planned for Pizza
Nea’s former space. The commit-tee voted to accept the proposed1 a.m. closing but expressed con-
cern about neighborhood noiseas patrons leave the restaurant.At 1015 W. Lake Street a new
one-story, two-bay retail buildingplanned to start construction thisspring on the Eastar Buffet site.
The developer met with the com-mittee and appreciated sugges-tions made no variances or special
zoning approvals are expected; thedeveloper wants to meet with thecommittee again to present revised
plans. Regarding Bryant LakeBowl (the city proposal to changethe food/liquor minimum ratio
Seen here are Scott Jackson, Trish Pipkin and Mark Hollock, meeting every week at 7:30 pm at Dunn Brothers at 34thand Hennepin. The Socraties Cafe is an open meeting of “recovery philosophers” or so they refer to themselves. Theevening is spent discussing a short list of questions of philosophy that range all over the map from self identity, capitalpunishment, perception and anything else in between. Bring your questions and prepare to engage your mind.
i’m PnkTrfor i’m Spam
(Editor’s Note: We will run community event listings every month on this page.Contact [email protected] to submit your event information by the17th of each month to be included in the next issue.)
VISUAL ARTSFLANDERS GALLERY3012 Lyndale Ave. S. • 612.344.1700www.flanders-art.com
Gallery hours: Tues. to Sat., 10 to 5.Sat. Mar. 1, 6-9 pm – Opening recep-tion Carnival of the Animals. NewPaintings by Bruce Nygren, Exhibi-tion runs thru April 19.
HIGHPOINT CENTER FORPRINTMAKING2638 Lyndale Ave. S. • 612.871.1326www.highpointprintmaking.org
Gallery hours: Mon. to Fri. 10 amto 5 pm and Sat. noon – 4 pm.
Fri. Mar. 14, 6:30-9:00 pm – Free gal-lery opening & reception for Home-town Editions. The exhibit willhighlight work created by Minneso-ta-based artists. Get a glimpse insidethe drawers of HP Editions and anopportunity to see (and in some casespurchase) selected prints from col-laborations with David Rathman,Todd Norsten, Clarence Morgan,Mary Esch and Carolyn Swiszcz. Our“hometown” artists have exhibitedfar and wide and represent the strongfoundation of HP Editions. On viewthru Apr 26.
INTERMEDIA ARTS/SASE2822 Lyndale Ave. S. • 612.871.4444www.intermediaarts.org
Gallery Hours: Mon. to Fri., 12-7 pm and first Sat. 10 am - 5 pm.
Thru Mar. 15 -- Illustrating Action: ARetrospective Exhibit. Santiago Zar-zosa’s paintings for Teatro Del Puebloand Intermedia Arts have given theopportunity to better understand thelives of people in a single image; thefist. It represents the anger and frustra-tion of the people looking for answersand justice. The series of paintingshave covered immigration, identity,justice, law and order. Zarzosa hasshown a commitment to visually com-municate the intrinsic message of theplays year after year.
SOO VISUAL ARTSCENTER-TOOMERGALLERY2640 Lyndale Ave. S. • 612.871.2263www.soovac.org
Gallery Hours: Mon., Wed., Thur.,
Fri. 12–6 pm, Sat. and Sun. 12-4 pm.Thru Mar. 29 -- New Works by Saman-tha French. French’s paintings andmixed media drawings reflect a con-nection to the past and her own mem-ories of life in Minnesota. Her newseries focusing on bathers is her linkto home and the continual search forthe feeling of “sun on your face, warm
summer days at the lake.” Shades of blue dominate her work as gesturalfigures in swimming attire representmemories of her past and a romanti-cized time far before hers with woolsuits, dark eyeliner and bob haircuts.
BOOK CLUBSBRYANT LAKE BOWL810 W. Lake St. • 612.825.8949www.bryantlakebowl.com
Tues. Mar. 11, 6-10 pm—Books andBars’ Mar. book is Geek Love by Kath-erine Dunn. Social hour at 6, bookdiscussion starts at 7. You’re welcomeeven if you haven’t read the book.
ONCE UPON A CRIMEBOOKSTORE
604 W. 26th St. • 612.870.3785www.onceuponacrimebooks.com
Tues. Mar. 4, 7 pm -- Twin Cities Sis-ters In Crime. The book for the nightis What Angels Fear by CS Harris.• Wed. Mar. 12, 6:30 pm -- MysteryBook Club. Book for the night is Bar-bara D’Amato’s Death of a ThousandCuts facilitated by Ellen Hart.
WALKER LIBRARY2880 Henn. Ave. S. • 612.630.6650www.mpls.lib.mn.us
Tues. Mar. 11, 6:30-8 pm – WalkerBook Club. Mar. book is Everythingis Illuminated by Jonathan SafranFoer • Tues. Mar. 18, 6-8 pm – Lovein the Stacks: MPL’s Romance BookClub reads Lady Oracle by MargaretAtwood. The main character, Joan
Foster, ironically finds her own voicewhile writing romance novels under apseudonym.
AUTHOREVENTSMAGERS AND QUINNBOOKSELLERS3038 Hennepin Ave. S. •612.822.4611www.magersandquinn.com
Tues. Mar. 4, 7:30 pm – Aryn Kylereads from her dazzling new novelGod of Animals. From an award-winning and talented young novelistcomes one of the most exciting fictiondebuts in years: a breathtaking andbeautiful novel set on a horse ranchin small-town Colorado. A wise and
astonishing novel about the differentguises of love and the often steep tollson the road to adulthood; a haunting,unforgettable debut.
ONCE UPON A CRIMEBOOKSTORE604 W. 26th St. • 612.870.3785www.onceuponacrimebooks.com
Sat. Mar. 22, noon to 4 pm – SixthAnnual Write of Spring. See web sitefor schedule and list of authors.
GETINVOLVED/ COMMUNITYARISE! BOOKS
2441 Lyndale Ave. S. • 612.871.7110www.arisebookstore.org
Sun. Mar. 2, noon – Women’s PrisonBook Project. Help WPBP sort andpackage books to send to prisoners.
BAKKEN MUSEUM3537 Zenith Ave. S • 612.926.3878www.thebakken.org
Tues. Mar. 11, 6-8 pm – Bakken Eve-ning Out. Saints and Scholars: GreenInventors. Did you know that thefather of computer science hailed fromIreland? Join a St. Patrick’s Day cel-ebration of “green” inventors. LiveIrish music, complimentary Irish beerand food samples. Admission $7; freefor members and a guest.
BRYANT SQUARE PARK3101 Bryant Ave. S. • 612.370.4907www.carag.org
Sat. Mar. 8, 12:30-3 pm – Neighbor-hood Potluck. Bring a dish to share,your utensils and maybe even a neigh-bor.
JOYCE METHODISTCHURCH1219 W. 31st St. • 612.822.5288www.joycechurch.org
Sat. Mar. 1, 7 pm – Coffeehouse Event:Free Movie Night! A viewing of Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby,plus community and discussion timeafterward. Beautiful artwork by BethJoselyn will be on the walls, as well asbeing created then and there by her
and any others who want to get theircreative juices flowing. Free.
FOR KIDS& TEENSBRYANT SQUARE PARK3101 Bryant Ave. S. • 612.370.4907www.minneapolisparks.org
Mon. Mar. 31, 11 am – 4 pm – ScienceMuseum and Omni Theater. Comeand explore the wonders of the ScienceMuseum. Enjoy the special exhibit“Animation” that brings cartoonsto life. Hop down the musical stair-way, admire ancient dinosaur bonesand conduct your own experimentsin the lab. Fees include: transporta-tion, admission and an Omni Theatermovie ticket. Bus pickups start at 11
am and returns begin at 2 pm. Ages 6-12; Cost $15.
PAINTER PARK620 W. 34th St. • 612.370.4911www.minneapolisparks.org
Tues. Mar. 4-25, 10-11 am – FairyTails. Are wolves big and bad? Areturtles really slow? Just how wise areowls? What about those slimy snakes?Come and explore the common mythsassociated with common animals. Stu-dents will be able to read stories, playgames and meet a few characters dis-covering just how good, fast and drythese creatures really are. Ages 4-5;Cost $20. • Tues. & Sat., 10 am – noon– Indoor Playground. If your little onehas energy to burn then you need our“indoor playground” complete withballs, toys books and mats. Get to
know other families in the neighbor-hood and meet new friends. Pleasepre-register. Parents must accompanytheir child. Ages 0-5; Free. • Wed.Mar. 12-26, 4-5 pm –naturalist RoundUp. Naturalists will “round up” avail-able kids for fun, hands-on activitiesand games. Topics will be based on thekids’ interest and age. Ages 6-12; Free.
WALKER LIBRARY2880 Hennepin Ave. S. •612.630.6650www.mpls.lib.mn.us
Wed. Mar. 5, 12, 19, 26, 10:30-11 am– Preschool Storytime. An interac-tive experience especially designed forchildren ages 3-5 and their caregiv-ers. Sessions encourage early literacydevelopment through stories, songsand movement. • Thur. Mar. 6, 13, 20& 27, 7-7:30 pm – Family Storytime.Stories are aimed at preschoolers, butall ages & pajamas are welcome! • Sat.Mar. 8, 10:30 am – noon – Second SatSeries. Storytime 10:30 am, Music 11am Craft 11:30 am. March’s theme:Watch out for chemists in the library.• Thur. Mar. 6, 7-8 pm – Boys’ BookClub. Call for current selection. •Thur. Mar. 13, 7-8 pm – Girls’ BookClub. Call for current selection.
THEATERBRYANT LAKE BOWL810 W. Lake St. • 612.825.8949www.bryantlakebowl.com
Wed. Mar. 5, 7 & 8:15 pm – SampleNight Live. Featuring a diverse feastof the best music, performance art,independent film, spoken word, pup-
petry, theater (big and small), jazz,dance, novelty acts, wonder kids,comedians, improv, great local bandsand more! Act I (rated G): 7 pm, ActII (unrated and uncensored): 8:15 pm.A portion of the proceeds will go tocharity. Tickets $15 for adults, $10 forstudents and seniors, $5 children 5 to10, and free for preschoolers on laps.
FIRST UNIVERSALISTCHURCH3400 Dupont Ave. S. • 612.825.1701www.firstuniv.org
Fri. Feb 29 & Sat. Mar. 1, 7:30 pm– The Hero Project. Annual youthmusical. Suggested donation $7 foradults, $3 for students.
These Minnestoa Twins won’t cry foul if you find them cute, but they may stealyour heart when you find out they were born on Valentines’ Day. Welcome to thehomefield of CARAG, Charllie Sebastian Cochran and Jasper Foss Cochran. We’ll
be rooting for you.
Boy-O-Boy,it’s A “Fd Of day Drams”
JUNGLE THEATRE2951 Lyndale Ave. S. • 822.7063www.jungletheater.com
Tues. thru Sun., Feb 1 – Mar 9 – TheSyringa Tree. Local favorite SarahAgnew portrays more than 20 char-acters in this virtoso one-woman showabout the abiding love between twofamilies – one black, one white – andthe two children that are born intotheir shared household in early 1960’sSouth Africa.
SURBURBAN wORlD TheATeR3022 Hennepin Ave 612.822.9000www.suburbanworldtheatre.com
Every Sat & Sun, 9 am –2 pm – Vin-tage cartoons and brunch..
CLASSES/ WORKSHOPSARISE! BOOKS2441 Lyndale Ave. S. • 612.871.7110www.arisebookstore.org
Every Tues., 6:30 pm – Ink & Action:Rhetoric For Activism. Class on usingrhetoric to motivate people to takeaction. Held through the Experimen-tal College. For more information orto register, visit www.excotc.org orcontact Jude Ortiz at [email protected]. Pre-registration is requiredand class size is limited. • Every Wed.,7 pm – The Icarus Project Minne-apolis Peer Support And DiscussionGroup. A weekly meeting for peopledealing with their own mental healthissues, whether that’s bipolar disor-der, depression, schizophrenia, anxi-ety, undiagnosed angst. We meet forabout two hours, and it’s somewherebetween a support group and a discus-sion group.
MPLS COMMUNITY& TECH COLLEGE1501 Hennepin Ave. S. •612.659.6000Whitney Fine Arts Theatre, Rm. F2200www.diamondway.org/minneapolis
Wed. Mar. 5, 8 pm – Buddhism in theModern World presented by DiamondWay Buddhist Center. Lecture byMike Freeland, Buddhist Teacher.
REMODELINGWindows and doors. Finish car-pentry. Custom tile installation.
Sheet rock, taping, plaster repair,texturing and painting. Local ref-erences, free estimates. Tom 612-
824-1554
TEMPLE ISRAEL2534 Hennepin Ave. S. •612.377.8680www.templeisrael.com
Sat. Mar. 15, 10:30-11:30 am – SaulBellow, Phillip Roth, and NormanMailer: Novelists of American JewishAngst and Assimilation. Instructor:Dr. Joseph Goldman puts a new spinon Jewish history by emphasizing sci-entists, theologians, artists and businessleaders. Join us for lively discussions of some of the most important events inJewish history. Free and open to all.
TWIN CITY MEN’S CENTER3249 Hennepin Ave. S. #55 •612.822.5892www.tcmc.org
Thurs. 7-9 pm – Addiction Bustersfor Veterans. Are you a veteran deal-ing with addiction? Want to learnand talk about different ways tobattle addiction? All in a safe, com-fortable, confidential setting withother vets? Tommy Jones, AddictionBusters facilitator, will lead this newgroup. Tommy is a Vietnam Vet whostruggled with addiction and its con-sequences for most of his adult life.He shares his knowledge and experi-ence with alternative approaches withall who seek to change their behavioraround addiction. This group will beopen to all service branches, men andwomen, combat and non-combat vets.
WALKER LIBRARY2880 Hennepin Ave S. • 612.630.6650www.mpls.lib.mn.us
Every Wed., noon -2 pm – Conversa-tion Circle: Welcoming New Immi-grants. A volunteer-led opportunityto practice English language conversa-tion skills with other adults. No regis-tration required.
DANCEHAUSER DANCE1940 Hennepin Ave. S. •612.871.9077Fri. Mar. 7, Sat. Mar. 8, Sat. Mar. 15, 8pm & Sun. Mar. 16 at 3 pm – HauserDance Spring Dance Concerts. Ourannual benefit with delicious food anddrink immediately follows the Mar. 8performance. Tickets $16 adults, $13seniors and children, Benefit Evening$25.
Lake Bowl and one other bowlingalley so that all bowling alleys have
50/50 requirement; committeemembers said they want to sup-port Bryant Lake Bowl but therewas not agreement on the issue;
no position was taken as there wasnot a quorum and no board meet-ing prior to city action. Aaron said
he received revised plans for Cal-houn Square this afternoon—revi-sions were based on input from
CARAG and city staff. The mostsignificant change is a larger pub-lic seating/gathering area at the
south end of the first floor with astage and flexible seating.
NRP
(Scott Engel)
A proposal to provide up to $6,500
of CARAG NRP funds for thepurchase and installation of newbenches around the Bryant Square
Park wading pool was approvedunanimously. The issue of NRP’sissue was referred back to the NRP
Steering Committee due to lackof time and will be on the Marchneighborhood meeting agenda.
Busnss Assocatons
(Bill Morton)
The Lyn-Lake Association did not
meet today. Thatcher Imbodenis the new Uptown Associationpresident.
Dan Quay
Dan resigned from the board as heis moving out of the neighborhood.Kay thanked him for his service to
the neighborhood and announcedthat there is an open seat on theboard.
The meeting was adjourned at
8:55 pm.
in the works to allow all bowl-ing alleys to go to a 50:50 food:
liquor ratio, which is beingcrafted with Bryant Lake Bowlin mind.
C. Councilman Remington is
okay with this change, but isgenerally in favor of harmoniz-ing the liquor laws across the
city and perhaps utilizing the50:50 ratio as the standard.
D. Because of the way the lawsare, liquor stores cannot bewithin 2,000 feet of one another
which means there can be noTrader Joes in Uptown. Coun-cilman Remington feels that
regulations should be reviewed/ updated so as to fairly treat bothbars, restaurants and liquor
stores.
NRP Updat
1. A specific proposal will be
reviewed at next month’s meeting.The proposal will identify plans to
spend some of the remaining Phase1 funds on projects that fall withinthe Phase 1 priorities. There willbe a vote next month on the action
to take.
2. For graffiti, it was suggestedthat we contact the owners of rent-al properties and ask them to sign
a letter that would allow clean-upteams to remove any graffiti onthat property. There would be a
system of quick clean up; the focusbeing on rental and commercialbuildings.
3. A proposal to establish a perma-nent Crime and Safety committee
to the board was approved. Elec-tion of committee members wasdeferred until next month.
4. Boulevard Elm Trees
A. A motion was passes toapprove $1,000 of phase 1 NRP
funds for a “tree program” totreat elm trees. The money hasalready been allocated through
Phase 1; but they need permis-sion to use the money. Theprogram would offer matching
funds up to $250 per homeown-
er for treatment of elm trees onthe boulevard.
B. Additional funds may
be utilized in contract withthe Park Board to acceleratereplacement of elms that are
already diseased. The removalof stumps of the old trees wouldbe ground out and a new tree
planted within the year. ThePark Board is supposed toreplace the trees anyway, but
currently, this can take up tothree years owing to a backlogof work and limited funds.
N eCCO Board Mmbr/
N Zonng Car1. Nancy Ward was elevated from
an alternate to a full board mem-ber to fill the position vacated bythe resignation of Heidi Niziolek.
2. Duane Thorpe was electedas the new Zoning Chair as a
replacement for Heidi Niziolek.His duties will include keeping incommunication with everyone and
making sure everyone has theirquestions answered.
laks CoatonMtng Updat
Item moved to next month’s meet-
ing.
UNN Updat
1. Board member Ted Ringsred isnow the new chair. The new edi-
tor is Beth Seth and there is a newinterim editor. There are six boardmembers, three from ECCO and
three from CARAG.
2. There is a need for writers and
people who have other things toput in the paper, i.e. issues.
eCCOnfo Dscussonand Updat
The web page’s software is work-
ing well.
The next ECCO Board Meeting
will take place on March 6, 2008.
CAleNDAR fom 10 eCCO fom 9
CARAG fom 8
Tdbts Be An Angel In DisguiseExpect the best, prepare for the
worst...and get trained! The Min-neapolis Emergency Prepared-ness Office will offer training for
the formation of COMMUNITYEMERGENCY RESPONSETEAMS (CERT) Get the skills
and knowledge required to helpyourself as well as your neighbor-hood prepare for - and respond to
a disaster.
The CERT course will be taught
by emergency responders from the
Minneapolis Fire Department in
three consecutive weekly install-
ments beginning March 29, 2008
(Also April 5, and April 12) from
8 am to 5 pm each day at 4111
Dupont Ave. N.
Training will cover topics includ-
ing the role your team could beexpected to play in 1) disaster pre-paredness, and as a first responder;
2) fire safety including identifyingand reducing fire hazards and fire
supression techniques; 3) first aidincluding CPR, triage, controllingbleeding, shock etc; 4) how to plan,assess and execute search and res-
cue missions; and 5) a tutorial interrorism.
If you or your neighborhoodgroup want to participate or wouldlike more information, contact
CERT Coordinator, Susan Udeat 612.581.9624, or [email protected]. Heck uv a
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