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The 38th Annual Mayday Parade and Festival was wonderful fun and a great success. The only thing that was missing was the presence of Mayor Rybak.
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Put them on a shorter leash!
BY ED FELIEN
 Dogs make wonderful pets. They are, generally, affectionate and loyal, but they need to be kept on a short leash. Otherwise they can knock down small children and tear up the neighbors’ gardens. And they might run off onto some merry misadventure because they smell some message in the air or sniff something left on a fire hydrant.
The same is true for our elected officials. They are, during an election year, affectionate and loyal, but when elections seem distant they sometimes smell something in the air that sends them off chasing wild and expensive dreams.
When the Village of St. Anthony Falls began more than 150 years ago, the citizens appreciated the value of democracy and the need to rein in elected ...
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ChuckTurchick missed R T Rybak at the May Day Parade on Sunday, May 13, so he wrote him this letter:
Dear Mayor Rybak:
We missed you at the May Day Parade today. I thought you never missed this event—or at least you always had about a dozen or more supporters marching and waving "R. T." signs. It would have been a wonderful opportunity to take sort of a victory lap for your success on the Vikings stadium vote.
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How the deal went down!
BY ED FELIEN
What happened? Did anyone get the number of that truck that ran us over?
In the last moments of the legislative session a stadium bill came crashing down the highway hell-bent for destruction, and it was going to run over anything that got in its path—the Open Meeting law; the Minneapolis City Charter; the Minnesota taxpayers; the merchants and customers who buy things in Minneapolis all became roadkill!
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The media
BY TONY BOUZA
“If I had to choose between government without newspapers, and newspapers without government, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter.” Thomas Jefferson
A free press is the most important institution in a democracy.
While in public life I was frequently embroiled in heated controversies that prompted many to ask me, “Is the press fair to you?”
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Minneapolis Public Schools
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Bernadeia H. Johnson, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools |
On Tuesday, April 17, the Minneapolis Board of Education approved a new two-year labor contract with the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) that supports and advances student achievement. The teachers’ union and MPS reached agreement on key issues such as providing students with more time to learn, allowing teachers more time to effectively prepare for classes each day and establishing a more collaborative and focused professional development plan.
This contract is only one cornerstone of our reform efforts to turn around underperforming schools and improve academic outcomes for all students. We take the challenge of educational improvement seriously and are launching some substantial revisions to our structure and practice to build momentum for increasing success in our most struggling schools. This work includes focused instruction – what we teach, how we teach and how we measure student progress; teacher evaluation that is both supportive and meaningful; partnering with successful charter schools like Harvest Preparatory; and utilizing instructional time, including summer school, more effectively.
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“NO to Stadium Tax Scam” rally on May 23
The stadium is not a “done deal.” However, there are only a few days left to stop it.
Zygi Wilf, billionaire owner of the Vikings, can’t get any money from Minneapolis unless the City Council votes to approve the deal. Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) Committee votes on Thursday, May 24, at 10 a.m. and the full City Council votes on Friday, May 25, at 9:30 a.m. Both votes are in Countil Chambers, Room 317, City Hall. No public comment will be allowed but the presence of those opposed is important.
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The hungry insurgent
If you have decided to try gardening for the very first time and you are not sure where to start, this month’s column is for you. For a change I have a good amount of expertise, since I myself am a fairly recent gardener and I remember most of my mistakes. Here are my suggestions.
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Living easy (and healthy) in the summer
BY RAINA GOLDSTEIN
BUNNAG
 Record breaking high temperatures in the winter and spring caught many of us off guard. The warming trend is predicted to continue this summer with even hotter days. While not everyone can agree on what is causing the scorching weather, many of its health implications are immediate and undeniable and affect us all.
To prepare you for the hot months ahead, I consulted with Steve Zuckerman, MD (Minneapolis) and Ian Kenning, MD (Healthpartners – Nokomis Clinic) on how to say safe and healthy. Get ready for a great summer and protect yourself with these tips:
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The end of an era
BY ED FELIEN
The H. Larson Studio has been a trusted institution in South Minneapolis for more than a hundred years for family portraits, high school graduation photos, weddings and special occasions.
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The slickest stunt at SeaWorld
by Jim Hightower
Let me tell you a corporate morality tale that I call: “The Shame of Shamu.”
Actually, Shamu is not the cause of the shame. After all, that’s just the generic name given to the killer whales kept in captivity as the star attraction at three theme parks operated by SeaWorld Inc. The shame belongs to the corporation, which not only profits from its exploitation of the whales, but also manages to dodge paying even a penny in national or state income taxes. Based in Orlando, this giant outfit pocketed record profits of $380 million last year, but paid zero taxes on it.
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May
Riverside Community Calendar
ANNOUNCEMENTS
“The Compassion-ate Rebel Revolut-ion: Ordinary People Changing the World,” authored by a Seward resident and SNG history committee member Burt Berlowe, has been honored as a finalist in this year’s Upper Midwest Book Awards. Finalists were selected in various literary categories from over 200 entries from throughout the Midwestern Uni-ted States. The book features real-life stories of more than 60 everyday heroes who are positively transforming the world around them as part of the largest social change movement in history. It is the second volume of the compassionate rebel series. The first volume, published a decade ago, was a finalist for the national Nautilus award. More about the book and online purchasing information at www.compassionaterebel.com. The book is also available at Boneshaker Books in Seward, Mayday Books in Cedar-Riverside, Northern Sun Merchandising in Longfellow, the Seward Co-op and Magers and Quinn bookstore.
Autographed copies can be purchased directly from the author at bberlowe@comcast.net or 612-722-1504.
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| Riverside Religious Calendar |
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Two thousand five hundred kids in the metro area are without a home. Join Lutheran Social Service to strike out youth homelessness. Tickets ($30) for the July 19 St. Paul Saints game will include an infield reserved seat, silent auction and other activities and a dinner of hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled chicken, baked beans, cole slaw, etc. Out of each ticket $9 is donated directly to the LSS Metro Homeless Youth Program. Buy tickets by June 25 at www.lssmn.org/strikeout.
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May 2012 
