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Nuclear disasters brought to you by Bechtel
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We almost lost our water
BY ED FELIEN
There was an “unusual event” on March 6 at the Prairie Island nuclear plant that seems to have escaped the local media but caught the attention of newspapers in western Wisconsin, the Sacramento Bee and San Francisco Chronicle in California and the Miami Herald in Florida.
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Chumped!
BY ED FELIEN
We got chumped!
The new Viking stadium is a good deal for Zygi Wilf, and it’s even a good deal for the State of Minnesota, but it’s a bum deal for the City of Minneapolis.
Zygi has agreed to put up $427 million. A new stadium will probably be worth more than a billion dollars to him in increased revenue from luxury boxes and in the market value of the team. And the great thing for Zygi is that he gets to use other people’s money to pay for his share of the costs. He gets to sell the naming right to the stadium, which is probably worth $8 million a year and collect parking fees for Viking games which could be another $3 million.
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Empty storefronts on Lake Street
BY ED FELIEN
Last fall Sam Newberg of Joe Urban, Inc. gave a presentation to the Longfellow Business Association on the high vacancy rate of business properties on East Lake Street.
Some of the conclusions to his analysis were that Target, Cub and Rainbow occupy a quarter of all commercial space available on East Lake Street; that there is about 933,000 square feet of retail space and 15% of that is vacant; and, that the highest area of commercial vacancies are between 28th Avenue and 38th Avenue and those blocks are 27% vacant
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Bechtel is in charge at Prairie Island
BY ED FELIEN
A year ago Bechtel announced it had been “selected by Xcel Energy to provide engineering, field engineering, and construction services at the utility’s Monticello and Prairie Island nuclear generating plants in Minnesota.”
Bechtel was the principal force behind a conglomerate that bought the Cochabomba, Bolivia, water supply and then raised the rates by 35%, depriving poor people of water. Demonstrations and protests in January 2000 eventually drove Bechtel out of Bolivia. That mass movement contributed to the 2005 election of left-wing populist Evo Morales as president.
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Rybak wants to eliminate
citizen review of the police
BY ED FELIEN
I first became interested in city politics in 1971 when a young, unarmed man was shot to death by the police. His crime: possession of marijuana. A grand jury was investigating to see if excessive force was used by the officer. Some of us decided to stage a large march from his West Bank apartment downtown to City Hall and lay a wreath at the door of the grand jury room. It was solemn and majestic on a cold February afternoon. After we placed the wreath we decided to go downstairs and talk to Mayor Charlie Stenvig, an ex-cop and reactionary conservative, and ask him what he thought about the incident.
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Strength training: An all-in-one workout
BY RAINA GOLDSTEIN
BUNNAG
 Choosing a new exercise program can be overwhelming. With fads like Zumba, pilates and boot camp classes all promising body changing results, it is hard to know the best options. In our fast paced society, we often search for quick fixes with immediate results. When it comes to finding a fitness plan we may have different goals, e.g., losing a few pounds, increased energy or toning our arms for bathing suit season. No matter what the goal, there likely is not an easy solution.
Sorry, just telling the truth. A fitness program requires consistency and hard work to get the desired results.
One type of exercise that is often overlooked (although tried and true) is strength training. Strength training uses weights and body resistance to build muscle. Many people think that strong muscles are just for athletes or for those wanting to bulk up. However, strength training touts a long list of health benefits and is even included in the Center for Disease Control’s recommendations for daily exercise.
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The hungry insurgent
BY CHARLEY UNDERWOOD
Are you one of those folks who believes that the hard times are still ahead, that the mayor is going to get you to pay for a new billion-dollar sports palace, that the Congress is going to buy you a new three-trillion dollar war—who notices that gas is getting expensive, that the climate is changing, that lots of mortgages are underwater and that your retirement plan has mostly disappeared? And you wonder: How am I going to eat? I want to write a column for you.
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From where I stand
By Polly Mann
Whenever I attend a presentation and realize it’s going to be a “power point,” I am tempted to leave. I’ve never quite brought myself to do it, but then, I’ve never been sitting someplace where I can slip out unnoticed. These are, without doubt, the most uninspired, dull, non-productive meetings I’ve ever been to. A friend to whom I was fulminating about this said he used them, they were fine, and I should (in effect) loosen up.
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SELF International and Sabathani to host a free day of science fun for grade and middle school students
BY STEPHANIE FOX
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Christine and the Horizon Girls: left -Kobi Gregory, center - Christine Spiritwolf, right - Imon Robinson |
A South Minneapolis non-profit organization, SELF International, Inc., has teamed up with Sabathani Community Center and the Science Museum of Minnesota to create an event aimed at students who may not have had the opportunity to explore cutting edge science or to talk with scientists and science educators.
SELF International (Science, Education, Literacy, Fine Arts) began as a collaboration with a network of micro clinics in Ghana and a plan to use science education to lower the rate of infectious diseases in that country. But when funding for that project dried up, the local organization saw that there was a need in Minneapolis for science education to prepare the next generation for careers in science, engineering and technology. SELF’s long-term plan, said Executive Director Bonnie Everets, is to target interested students who might not otherwise have to chance to learn about science and to get them interested in science during their early years in school.
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100% renewable
BY ED FELIEN
A study released March 13 is claiming that wind and solar can supply 100% of Minnesota’s electricity by 2050. According to ”Renewable Minnesota” by Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D., President, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research; Christina Mills, J.D., Staff Scientist/Policy Analyst, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research; and M.V. Ramana, Ph.D., Princeton University, “Minnesota has the ability to meet current and future electricity demand, using only in-state renewable energy resources.
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Attack of the billionaires
 It was a total lockdown. As jet after jet swept in surreptitiously with top brass and political decision-makers on board, every entrance to the site of the super-secret Coachella Valley planning summit was secured and patrolled by armed guards and helicopters.
This was not a clandestine gathering of America’s allies in Afghanistan, but a pow-wow of some 300 über-rich corporate plutocrats and their political hirelings—all intent on obliterating President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign with an unprecedented deluge of viciously-negative attack ads. Hosted by the billionaire Koch brothers [Charles and David] at the posh Renaissance Esmeralda golf resort in California’s Palm Springs desert in early February, the confabulees were mobilizing and monetizing what Charles Koch called the “mother of all wars.” That would be their self-proclaimed war to enthrone their ilk over workers, consumers, the environment—and democracy itself.
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March
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Peace Vigils on the Bridge
The Wednesday vigils throughout March are dedicated to speaking out against the threat of a U.S. war on Iran. Join any of the vigils to SAY NO! to a new U.S. war, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River between Minn-eapolis and St. Paul. The vigil is sponsored by Twin Cities Peace Campaign and Women Against Military Madness. The special March emphasis against a war on Iran is endorsed by Anti-War Committee, Minnesota Peace Action Coalition and Veterans for Peace. For more information call 612-522-1861 or 612-827-5364.
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March 2012 
