Steve Jecha's Blog

July 2011 Lake Harriet Bandshell Schedule

2011-07-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

Here's the schedule for the remainder of July 2011 (all concerts at 7:30pm unless indicated):

Everyone have fun tonight:

13-Jul	Wednesday	Theatre Latte Da
14-Jul	Thursday	Robbinsdale City Band
15-Jul	Friday	New Primitives
16-Jul	Saturday	The Minneapolis Pops Orchestra
17-Jul	Sunday 2:00	Magic Mama
17-Jul	Sunday 5:30	The Minneapolis Pops Orchestra
18-Jul	Monday	Brio Brass
19-Jul	Tuesday	Bob Frey
20-Jul	Wednesday	Machinery Hill
21-Jul	Thursday	Rhonda Laurie
22-Jul	Friday	Minnesota Sinfonia
23-Jul	Saturday	The Minneapolis Pops Orchestra
24-Jul	Sunday 2:00	Stephanie Pauline, Joe Uveges & More than Music
24-Jul	Sunday 5:30	The Minneapolis Pops Orchestra
25-Jul	Monday	Israel Scout Friendship Caravan
26-Jul	Tuesday	Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis
27-Jul	Wednesday	Hopkins Westwind Concert Band
28-Jul	Thursday	Classic Big Band
29-Jul	Friday	The Willie August Project
30-Jul	Saturday	The Minneapolis Pops Orchestra
31-Jul	Sunday 2:00	Dean Harrington and Friends
31-Jul	Sunday 5:30	The Minneapolis Pops Orchestra

Lake Harriet Bandshell 2011 Schedule

2011-05-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

Yep, time to post the schedule for this summer's Lake Harriet Bandshell music. Whether you have lived in the Twin Cities metro for years, or are just in town for the weekend.....take in a show at the Minneapolis bandshell (it's free and gives you a great feeling about life in Minneapolis) and then wander off to one of the many, many great restaurants (or ice cream at Sebastian Joe's). Great for a date, great for just a night of relaxation. Not much in life is free anymore! All concerts at 7:30pm unless noted:

Sailboats, water and music.....

30-May	Monday 6:45	r'nt with Lonnie Knight	Aren't Funk, Folk or Jazz
31-May	Tuesday	The Mystic Order of Reverb and Twang	Rockabilly, Rhythm and Blues, Surf
1-Jun	Wednesday	Dan Newton's Café Accordion Orchestra	French Cafe Music
2-Jun	Thursday	Linden Hills Chamber Orchestra	Light Classical and Contemporary Orchestra
3-Jun	Friday	Alison Scott	Piano Pop, Soul, Rock
4-Jun	Saturday	Matt Moberg	Folk Music Mixed with Pop
5-Jun	Sunday 2:00	Davina and the Vagabonds	New Orleans Juke Joint Jazz & Blues
5-Jun	Sunday 5:30	Inver Hills Community Band	Popular Hits, Marches, Broadway, Movies
6-Jun	Monday	Divine Diva Dames	Specializing in Jazz, Blues & Broadway
7-Jun	Tuesday	Richfield Symphonic Band	Classic and Contemporary Concert Band Music
8-Jun	Wednesday	1st Things 1st	Classic Vocal Swing with Horns
9-Jun	Thursday	Seward Concert Band	Song and Dance with Winds
10-Jun	Friday	The Smarts	Original, Witty Jazz/Pop
11-Jun	Saturday	Tim Fast	Natl Touring Acoustic Singer Songwriter
12-Jun	Sunday 2:00	Sumunar Gamelan and Dance Ensemble	Traditional/Contemporary Indonesian Music and Dance
12-Jun	Sunday 5:30	Minneapolis Police Band	Marches, Broadway, Classical, Recognizable Favorites
13-Jun	Monday	Calhoun Isles Community Band	Concert Style Community Band
14-Jun	Tuesday	Minnesota Association of Songwriters	Songwriter Showcase
15-Jun	Wednesday	Star of the North Concert Band	Concert Band Music
16-Jun	Thursday	Kairos Dance Theater	Dance & Jazz: Food for the Soul
17-Jun	Friday	Twin Cities Hot Club	Hot Acoustic Jazz from Paris
18-Jun	Saturday	Hayseed Cree	Classic Rock Originals and Covers
19-Jun	Sunday 2:00	Cantus	Men's Vocal Ensemble
19-Jun	Sunday 5:30	Ticket to Brasil	Bossa Nova, Brazilian Jazz, Samba
20-Jun	Monday	Minnesota Freedom Band & Freedom Jazz	Wild Midwest Hoedown
21-Jun	Tuesday	Standing Waves	Original, Intelligent Alternative Folk-Rock
22-Jun	Wednesday	Patchouli	High Energy Folk Meets Flamenco
23-Jun	Thursday	Tom Feldmann	Resonator Blues and Gospel
24-Jun	Friday	Minnesota Sinfonia	Professional, Classical, Fun
25-Jun	Saturday	Pictures of Then	High Art Disguised as Folk-Rock
26-Jun	Sunday 2:00	USAF Heartland of America Band - The Noteables	Jazz Ensemble
26-Jun	Sunday 5:30	The Tex Pistols	Gritty and Real Country Roots
27-Jun	Monday	South of the River Community Band	65 Member Concert Band
28-Jun	Tuesday	Twin Cities Show Chorus	Women's Barbershop Acapella Chorus
29-Jun	Wednesday	Capri Big Band	Popular Favorite Big Band Selections
30-Jun	Thursday	Minneapolis Southside Singers	Over 55 - Spirituals, Patriotic, Show Tunes

Aren't Funk, Folk or Jazz

Rockabilly, Rhythm and Blues, Surf

French Cafe Music

Light Classical and Contemporary Orchestra

Piano Pop, Soul, Rock

Folk Music Mixed with Pop

New Orleans Juke Joint Jazz & Blues

Popular Hits, Marches, Broadway, Movies

Specializing in Jazz, Blues & Broadway

Classic and Contemporary Concert Band Music

Classic Vocal Swing with Horns

Song and Dance with Winds

Original, Witty Jazz/Pop

Natl Touring Acoustic Singer Songwriter

Traditional/Contemporary Indonesian Music and Dance

Marches, Broadway, Classical, Recognizable Favorites

Concert Style Community Band

Songwriter Showcase

Concert Band Music

Dance & Jazz: Food for the Soul

Hot Acoustic Jazz from Paris

Classic Rock Originals and Covers

Men's Vocal Ensemble

Bossa Nova, Brazilian Jazz, Samba

Wild Midwest Hoedown

Original, Intelligent Alternative Folk-Rock

High Energy Folk Meets Flamenco

Resonator Blues and Gospel

Professional, Classical, Fun

High Art Disguised as Folk-Rock

Jazz Ensemble

Gritty and Real Country Roots

27-Jun

Monday

South of the River Community Band

65 Member Concert Band

28-Jun

Tuesday

Twin Cities Show Chorus

Women's Barbershop Acapella Chorus

29-Jun

Wednesday

Capri Big Band

Popular Favorite Big Band Selections

30-Jun

Thursday

Minneapolis Southside Singers

Over 55 - Spirituals, Patriotic, Show Tunes

RIP - Macho Man Randy Savage.....

2011-05-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, been a long time since I blogged on here. Lots of other stuff going down and the blog just wasn't high on the priority....and now, with the passing of Randy 'Macho Man' Savage I have a few minutes to post. The Macho Man passed away yesterday in a solo car accident. If you don't know who 'macho man' was, he was a professional 'wrastler' who made his name in the WWF (World Wrestling Federation....later changed to the WWE because the World Wildlife Foundation had dibs on the acronym 'WWF'...some history for you). To get a flavor for what the 'macho man' was about.....here is a short video:

Wrestling fake? No way....it was all real and Randy "Macho Man" Savage played a big role in the Wraslin world. Heck, he even had his own action figure.....so you know he was real.

While I was not a big WWF fan as I had kind of 'grown out' of the watching a bunch of steroided guys curse each other with ridiculous plot lines; I grew up with Vern Gagne's AWA, a midwestern wrestling organization run out of Minneapolis. In fact, back then the show was local and every Saturday, a bunch of buddies and I would run over to the Channel 11 studios where they would tape their promo shows.....after waiting in line for an hour or so we would be let in and - like a Who concert - fight for front row festival seats with the others who had come up to be part of the studio audience crowd.

Mean Jean Okerlund would do the interviews, Roger Kent was ring side, and Marty Miller was wearing the stripes in the ring.....we saw all the AWA legends; Bockwinkle, Da Crusher, Jesse "the Body" Ventura, Vern Gagne, The 'High Cryers' - Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell, Jerry Blackwell, Adrian Adonis, Mad Dog Vachan, Sheik Adnan Al Kasey....jeez, this list could go on for a while.

Was I a big wrasslin fan? Nah...or, er, maybe...ok yes. What I did enjoy was the humorous characters that they would conjer up and then the corny soap opera story lines of good verses evil played out on the TV set each week leading up to the 'big match' at the Minneapolis Auditorium. It was entertaining for a kid and provided several years of entertainment. Much better to have kids yelling on weekends at 'wrasslers' than out getting in trouble of one kind or another.

So thank you Randy 'Macho Man' Savage. You entertained a certain demographic in this country....what demographic that is is somewhat hard to define! You came on the scene just as I was losing interest in the turnbuckle soap operas, but you were mighty entertaining and you sold a lot of Slim Jim's. You provided many folks with interesting memories as you played out your role in the ring.....and to all you doubters out there......Wrasslin ISN'T fake!

Here is another deceased wrestler....Captain Lou Albano with Cyndi Lauper...enjoy:

High Five Homes - Further Evidence of Minneapolis Equity Losses Through Taxation

2010-12-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

In a prior post, I noted that the Minneapolis Property Tax increases are stripping the equity out of Minneapolis homes. Yes, real estate has struggled over the past several years, but to those who tax, they seem to not understand that they are destroying home values....and thus hard earned equity... of Minneapolis residents just as fast as the soft market.

This conclusion comes from virtually all buyers of homes buy on what they can afford in a monthly payment under a mortgage. When property taxes are increased one of two things happen, 1) buyers must pay more in monthly payment for principle, interest, insurance and taxes (PITI), or 2) sellers must drop their price, thus losing their equity, in order to attract a buyer who can afford the monthly mortgage. With wages flat or decreasing over the last decade....something has to give....and it is #2 that is occurring. With increased property taxes, homeowners are having their equity stripped by local government that has shown it cannot manage itself.

With that, I have pulled southwest Minneapolis homes to show the destruction that is occurring due to increasing property taxes and call them the High Five homes in honor of our politicians who refuse to make the difficult decisions. Here they are:

HIGH FIVE HOME #1 - 4528 Fremont Avenue South
Original list price: $1,795,000
Property Tax Assessment: $1,509,000
Date Sold: 12/16/10
Sold Price: $1,190,000

HIGH FIVE HOME #2 - 5132 Bryant Avenue South
Purchased in 2003 for $555,000 with taxes of $4,198
Owner put $100k plus into gourmet kitchen, central air, and more.
Original list price (2010): $719,000
Property Tax Assessment: $600,000 with taxes of $9,060 (double 2003 taxes)
Date Sold: 11/1/10
Sold Price: $545,000

HIGH FIVE HOME #3 - 4225 Linden Hills Blvd.
Original List: $1,125,000
Property Tax Assessment: $955,000
Date Sold: 6/14/10
Sold Price: $865,000
Property taxes 2003 were $4,946, property taxes 2010 are $15,473

HIGH FIVE HOME #4 - 4328 W Lake Harriet Parkway
Purchased in 2007 for $875,000
Assessed at $647,000
Date Sold: 9/27/10
Sold Price: $512,500

These are all upper bracket homes. While some may say, "Hey, if you can afford to live in that house, you certainly can afford to pay more." and this is often the position of our city leaders. This is a ludicrous justification for increased taxation. People who live in these homes lose jobs, have businesses that are struggling, or have other major expenses. They have budgeted to live in their homes just like anyone else based on their incomes. They are not ATMs that can be freely accessed for cash.

Would you want to buy a house in Minneapolis knowing that it was going to lose value due to local government not being able to manage and reign in spending? Our Minneapolis government is taxing people 100-200% more than they were just seven years ago....yet it isn't enough. Something needs to be fixed to save property values in the city and make the city attractive for home ownership. Otherwise, we are following the vicious tax and destroy equity circle that has destroyed cities like Chicago, Detroit, etc.

Time to slow the destruction of home equity and house values in the city. It starts with responsible government spending.

So, another High Five goes out to Betsy Hodges, Scott Dibble, RT Rybak, and others. Please stop taking equity from Minneapolis homeowners.

************************************************************

NOTE - Why the High Five jab? For new readers here, in 2009 on this blog I posted that a candidate for 6th District Park Board was not a property owner in the 6th District of Minneapolis. I pointed this out because he was not a property taxpayer, yet as part of his campaign he felt that property owners should be paying more taxes and that he had no empathy for the already 100-200% increases property owners had seen over a few years. Subsequent to that blog posting, that candidate had a 'renters High Five' to celebrate that they don't pay property taxes at a campaign event with fellow renters Betsy Hodges and Scott Dibble. Thus, the High Five real estate award was created. That 'high five' is on record in the Ethics fine file found by clicking here.

Outdoor Ice ---- Fun while being outside in Minneapolis

2010-12-27T09:29:00.000-08:00

Minneapolis has 32 outdoor rinks open this year. With the snow and early cold....most rinks are open. If you are looking for a place to skate, click here for an updated list of rinks and their conditions.

Whether you play hockey, figure skate, speed skate, or just enjoy the feeling of steel running on ice.....get out to the parks this winter and have some fun on the ice.

The Park Board has done a great job flooding and clearing the mounds of snow at most parks and as a result, great ice conditions this year!

The Effect of Higher Taxes....Destruction of Minneapolis Home Values

2010-12-27T07:57:00.000-08:00

HIGH FIVE Home of the Month - Thank you Scott Dibble, Betsy Hodges, and RT Rybak

No doubt the Minneapolis housing market has slumped like the rest of the housing market across the United States, but gasoline has been thrown on the fire by our local politicians that have refused to make the hard choices of cutting spending - and rather have decided Minneapolis home owners are ATMs that can absorb unbelievable property tax increases. As I have discussed earlier, increased property taxes already effect the strained budgets of homeowners in the city; but the more devastating effect is that they destroy property values in the city. The result....though your home is dropping like a rock in value....the city has to increase your taxes.....a vicious circle that with each tax increase your hard earned equity is taken.

HIGH FIVE Home of the Month - 4831 Penn Avenue South, Minneapolis

This home was purchased for $901,000 in 2005. The owner put another $100,000 into it. In 2002, this property's taxes were $7800. Next year.....$15,392.

The result.....this home just closed last week for $520,000 (less $10,000 more for sellers costs towards closing). The city assesors have it at $880,000. Not only are taxes double.....the home has lost half of its value in five years.

High five that one. While there are threats to raise taxes again next year due to out of control spending....I suspect a petition drive will come forth to remove people from office. Anyone who watched the recent City Council meeting understand that citizens from across the city are fed up with government that is uncapable of tightening its belt and making difficult decisions.

NOTE - Why the High Five jab? For new readers here, in 2009 on this blog I posted that a candidate for Park Board was not a property owner in the 6th District of Minneapolis. I pointed this out because he was not a property taxpayer, yet as part of his campaign he felt that property owners should be paying more taxes and that he had no empathy for the already 100-200% increases property owners had seen over a few years. Subsequent to that blog posting, that candidate had a 'renters High Five' to celebrate that they don't pay property taxes at a campaign event with fellow renters Betsy Hodges and Scott Dibble. Thus, the High Five real estate award was created. That 'high five' is on record in the Ethics fine file found by clicking here.

The Pay It Forward Project.....Get on the Bandwagon

2010-12-14T10:51:00.000-08:00

As we all know in Minneapolis, the Dome has fallen, the MLK Park Tennis Dome has also collapsed. Over 18 inches of snow has fallen. Combined with drifting, snow is as high as three feet in areas. Ugh.

However, this snowfall gives us an opportunity to do good deeds for others this holiday season and I am putting forth the 'Pay It Forward' project and challenge readers of this to join the "project" this holiday season (only 10 days left!).

Here is where it all started. Last night, as I was making some curried Tilapia, taters, and sugar snap peas the phone rang. The fetching Mrs. Jecha was on the line - her Honda Odyssey had gone through a three foot drift at the intersection down the block and was stuck.

My son and his friend Andy began the rescue mission. I turned the burner off and pulled on the jacket to wander down the block in near sub-zero temps. Mrs. Jecha was excused to head back to the warm house and the three of us began digging out snow from under the carraige. After several attempts of wheel spins that did not succeed. A couple of people came out from their home (yes....they threw jackets on and ventured out into the cold to help a stranger). Two pushes and we were free. The strangers and Andy were thanked and they were on their way.

Today, I paid it forward. I wandered over to a (real estate) client's home to shovel out their sidewalk as they have relocated to the south. A 70 year old plus guy next door wandered out....his driveway had been nicely cleared, until the plows came by and dumped a three foot wall of iced, salty, mushy snow that had frozen into a block. Backbreaking for a scrappy 47 yr old like myself....devestating for an elderly gentleman. He offered to pay me to remove it and I refused...forty five minutes to an hour later...the ice had been chipped away and he could again move in and out of his driveway again. My deed had been done and I wished him a Merry Christmas. I chatted with a guy down the road who was working a snowblower and plow and asked him what his going rate was for his two person crew.....right now demand is so high it is $195.00 per hour. Wow...I got cheated!

Got me to reflect on one of my neighbors stopping by and shoveling the huge clumps of snow the plow left in front of my house where my sidewalk meets the street. Thanks neighbor...I paid your favor forward also.

For the next week, I will carry a shovel in my car and will assist - time allowing - anyone that is trying to shovel out - especially the elderly. Wish 'em a Merry Christmas and ask them to 'pay it forward' to another stranger, or friend.

I reflect back to my trip to Sweden last October and the Swedish hockey and bandy families that took time to make the trip special for our kids. Need to pay that forward one day.

Its out there....and we need more of it.

You have 10 days.....join the 'Pay It Forward' project. You don't have to shovel....there are many things you can do....just look for the opportunity. Make the world a better place....or at least the Twin Cities a better place!

Please email this to friends, post to your facebook, and let me know in the comments how you have joined the 'project'. Merry Christmas.

Minneapolis Hockey works on expanding throughout the city......Patch.com article highlights.

2010-12-13T08:09:00.000-08:00

Hockey is an arms race....

It's somewhat unfortunate that while all other sports do not have field costs or facilities costs, hockey is one sport in the state of Minnesota where families are expected to pay to play. Today, it costs $1,000+ per kid to put them on the ice, not to mention the driving commitments and out of town tournaments.

Over the past twenty five years, this has lead to decreasing numbers of Minneapolis high school hockey teams. Where we once had 8-10 high school teams in the city, the Minneapolis Public Schools now hosts one team....the Minneapolis Novas.

Hockey is expensive and many families opt not to play. The Storm Hockey program's motto has been, 'any Minneapolis kid that wants to play hockey, can play hockey.' We provide financial assistance to families when needed so that their kids can enjoy the game.

Today, hockey is on the rebound in Minneapolis - with over 640 association players playing (not to mention a great Park & Rec program that also has many hundreds of participants). High end high school hockey will be back soon and will also reflect the diversity - both economic and ethnic - that the city of Minneapolis has. Minneapolis Storm hockey provides over $15,000 in financial assistance to members that cannot afford to play.

Want to help a kid financially play hockey in Minneapolis? Contact me to find out about how you can sponsor a player.

Enjoy the read:

CLICK HERE

This Was Way Too Good Not To Repost - Minneapolis Citizens Day of Infamy - December 7, 2010

2010-12-08T09:55:00.000-08:00

I pulled this from the e-democracy.com forums. A great 'parady' of the day of infamy.....December 7th. A poster named Jim Graham posted this and his suggestions for the city hit squarely at the mismanagement of the City of Minneapolis over the last fifteen years. Enjoy:

FROM: Jim Graham

To paraphrase a famous speech about another sneak attack and another infamy that seems to fit today: Yesterday, December 7th, 2010 - a date which will live in infamy - the people and Neighborhoods of the City of Minneapolis were suddenly and deliberately attacked by forces of its own Imperial Mayor and supporting Council Members of the City of Minneapolis.

The Neighborhoods were at peace with that Mayoral Empire , and, at the solicitation of the Mayor and Council, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the City of Minneapolis. Indeed, after years where the Mayor and Council had pledged to support NRP and community participation, and had sworn they would leave the final amounts of NRP funding alone they have commenced destroying the last vestige of that Internationally acclaimed program . Destroying it for no other purpose than to destroy any semblance of Participatory Democracy in the City of Minneapolis.

Only months after setting up the shill NCEC program they began throwing the last bombs to destroy the NRP program. The Mayor and his colleague delivered to our Neighborhoods a formal commitment to continue the NRP funding already allocated. And, while this commitment stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing NRP program and TIF districts, it contained no threat or hint of the final attack to utterly destroy NRP and any semblance of real community input into the City of Minneapolis.

It will be recorded that the time between the taking of TIFF funding for the Target Center and the announced surprise tax increases makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many months or even years ago. During the intervening time the City Government of Mayor Rybak and certain Council Members have deliberately sought to deceive the people of Minneapolis by false statements and expressions of hope for continued funding and participation.

The attack yesterday on the Neighborhoods and NRP program has caused severe damage to people of the City of Minneapolis. I regret to tell you that very many and most forms of Participatory Democracy have been lost. In addition, Neighborhood programs such as Crime & Safety and Housing have been reported torpedoed without recourse by this underhanded attack. Nine years ago the Imperial Minneapolis Government launched an attack against full NRP funding. At the Legislature they attacked NRP.

They subverted Neighborhood support for continued NRP funding by using agents with conflicts of interest to change Legislation so that the continued Neighborhood TIF support would be in the control of themselves and go to pay for their own mismanagement of the Target Center.

They set up the NCEC so as to employ cronies who were directly opposed to Neighborhood interests . Yesterday they began their final attack to centralize all power in the hands of the Mayor and Council. And this morning they plan to vote on the final destruction of the staff of Neighborhood organizations and programs.

The Mayor and Council has therefore undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Minneapolis area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the City of Minneapolis have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our City. Therefore, I ask that the citizens of the City of Minneapolis to mobilize in order to curtail the these attacks on Neighborhoods and to put limits and restraints on the power of these supposed public servants who treat Minneapolis and its Neighborhoods as nothing more than chattel to be done with as only they chose.

I ask that we answer in the only way we have at our disposal. That we petition for Minneapolis Charter amendments so as to:

1. Limit terms to two years.
2. Limit tax increases to no more than national inflation rate without a referendum from the voting citizens of Minneapolis.
3. Require annual audits from an independent agency.

Our City is in dire peril, we are under attack from a City government that fears the Citizens and will do any thing within its power to cover up years of mismanagement. That City Government is in a state of war with its own citizens. We must all mobilize to address this problem and save our City. If we all work together I have every confidence we will prevail.

Jim Graham, Ventura Village

"The government, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it." Abraham Lincoln

We are just ATMs.....so Just Tax.....

Worried About Your Equity in Your Minneapolis Home? Thank Your City Council and Mayor

2010-11-29T09:55:00.000-08:00

Being in the real estate business, one becomes very aware that the vast majority of buyers of homes buy their homes based on cash flow....essentially, what can they afford to pay each month to cover their mortgage, insurance, and property taxes?

The City Council and Mayors office are essentially tapping the equity of Minneapolis home owners rather than make the difficult cuts needed. Many homeowners, including yours truly, have received over a 300% increase in property taxes over the last ten years while incomes have remained flat. What does this do to the homeowner?

In addition to increasing their monthly payment, when they go to sell their home they are finding out that their equity has been stripped by the City of Minneapolis and their mishandling of city finances over the past 15 years. Because people buy on a monthly payment amount they can afford, the taxes are now taking up a larger part of that monthly payment. When you consider that incomes haven't risen but taxes have....something has to give when you go to sell your home. Yes, it's your equity.

This is another reason why I harp on electing politicians that have little empathy for property owners because they aren't one themselves. They kill your personal cash flow and when you go to sell your home, they have also swiped much of your equity.

I again request that difficult decisions get made. The Federal government is freezing wages....the local government should too....for five years. Also renegotiate pensions and benefits until they are inline with the private sector.

In the past, working for the government was seen as security. A lower wage, a pension, and low probability of losing your job. Somewhere that got lost. Recent statistics show that pension and salaries are almost $10,000 more than the private sector. Time to dial things back to where they should be and stop punishing home owners for the excesses of our government.

I see that even DFLer & Minneapolis Resident Carol Becker (Minneapolis Board of Estimates & Taxation) is denouncing the tax increases now that she has lost her job and is seeing what destruction it causes to families' cash flow that are currently living here, as well as to families' equity and net worth when they decide to move on to some other place. Visit the e-democracy forums for more. Neighbors around my home are not very happy either. When is our city government going to serve the taxpayers?

Depeche Mode - Policy Of Truth
Uploaded by Stella78. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Suburbs Rock 1st Avenue.....

2010-11-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

The Suburbs got back together for one of their semi-annual gig weekends at First Avenue and last night I had to go take them in with a bunch of college friends.

We were introduced to the 'Burbs in the early 80's while attending Saint Olaf College. Our sophomore year, they came to campus and played a great show in the cafeteria. Problem was, the campus was a dry campus...but the 'burbs brought their cases of beer anyways. After trashing a cafeteria conference room they were banned from playing Saint Olaf ever again.

My senior year, I was the concert coordinator at St. Olaf and for our Senior Graduation week I booked the 'Burbs again. Administration wasn't all that happy....but I told them it wasn't on campus....it would be at the Calhoun Beach Club. So, the Burbs rocked it out there until the Police showed up (in fact, I can recall Beej saying "The neighbors want us to turn things down.....but we aren't gonna let the neighbors tell us what to do....we'll let the police do that." Show ended not too long after that.

Fast forward to last night. The 'Burbs were missing guitarist Bruce Allen who passed away last year and bass guitarist Michael Halliday was also missing. The 'Burbs put on an 'OK' show but missing Halliday's energy on bass took some away from it. They opened with "Waiting" and played many of the 'classics'. What was disappointing is their encore....instead of having Beej 'Drinking with an Angel' or playing "Drinking"....they played some goofy mellow song in a big group hug moment with warm up band "The Suicide Commandos".

I came to do some slam dancing and was left a bit flat by some of their song selections. Would rather have seen a little more of the songs from In Combo...but we did get some of the good slamming songs out - Tape Your Wife to the Ceiling, Cows, Goggles On, Baby Heartbeat.....and others. I don't know if it is just an act or not....but Beej looked pretty toasted all night. Not sure if he could have belted out another song as he vacantly stood staring and drueling at the crowd for an uncomfortable two minutes at the end of the gig.

Not the best 'Burbs show ever....but they are getting older too. Today, my body is sore....my ears hurt. Can't wait until I'm 70 and slamming to the 'Burbs with my replaced hips and hearing aids turned off. 'Burbs forever!

Best Bar Band ever??? You decide

The 39 Steps - The Guthrie Delivers

2010-11-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

My trip to the Guthrie earlier this year to see Street Car Named Desire was a little depressing....it was Tennessee Williams, so what could I expect. Acting was good and the show was good, but just not my cup of tea.

Well, it was time to head back down to the Guthrie to see The 39 Steps. The show is about a 'low level' secret agent who finds himself accused of a murder he didn't commit and on the run through most of the show. The main character, Richard Hannay, tells his life story through an Alfred Hitchcock meets James Bond meets Maxwell Smart thriller that is full of laughs.

This was my cup of tea and I loved it.

The show has four actors in it. The lead, Richard Hannay (played by Robert Berdahl) plays himself throughout the whole show; while the other three play multiple characters (sometimes playing two at once) throughout the show (Sarah Agnew covers the women's roles while Jim Lichtscheidl and Luverne Seifert play the other roles. The latter two are appropriately called "Clowns" in the program. Though they never really play the role of a clown in the show....their crazy and funny antics throughout make it quite appropriate to call them that.

In the end, the mystery is solved and Hannay goes free. Not before he has to run all over England and Scotland trying to get away from the law. From shacking up with a farm family, to getting caught in a traffic jam of sheep, to climbing out of a window of a train and escaping police, to disguising himself as a Scottish dancer (this was too funny to explain here....you have to see it) - Hannay exposes a covert group called The 39 Steps and saves England from losing state secrets to a foreign country.

Go see it if you like fun theater that doesn't make you work too hard mentally...this is the kind of theater I enjoy. You will get a good chuckle out of it and also see some great acting in pulling off some of the stunts. The show runs until December 19th on the McGuire Proscenium Stage at the Guthrie.

Another Great Restaurant Review - KinhDo, Uptown Minneapolis

2010-11-20T09:10:00.000-08:00

So, the fetching Mrs. Jecha and I took our kids to Kinh Doh last Friday prior to going to The 39 Steps at the Guthrie.

I love Kinh Do. Great Vietnamese food that is priced fairly. While I go for the curried chicken...my wife is a big fan of the Moo Goo Gai Pan or Beef/Broccoli.

The staff is always very friendly and they serve you quickly. Always good. Looking for a great meal
tonight....head on down to Kinh Do.

We Are Just ATM's To Our Elected Officials! 16.2% Increase in Taxes For Minneapolis Homeowner.....

2010-11-17T22:57:00.000-08:00

High Five this one Scott Dibble and Betsy Hodges!

Yep, just received my tax statement from our local government.....a 16.2% increase over last year. One might look at it and say that if it was a one time hit....grin and bear it. I could do that. It is not a one time hit.

Since I bought my house in Minneapolis in 2001, my taxes have increased by 300%. YES, 300%. Today, figures came out that showed the average household income has dropped by 5% over the last decade.

Unfortunately, Minneapolis. This is what happens when you elect people to office who are 1) Renters in your District who have no empathy for property owners (see Betsy Hodges, Scott Dibble, and Brad Bourn - you will recall these three in legal documents covering Bourn's ethics problems high fiving each other at a campaign event because they were renters who aren't subjected to the taxes they are wacking homeowners with?), and 2) receive much of their campaign money from unions and thus are beholden to keep removing money from property owners pockets and placing it into the union coffers (which ultimately feeds their campaign contributions....beautiful!).

The most recent budget put together by RT Rybak made no serious attempt to reign in spending. How about I once again give a few suggestions:

1) Cut jobs, a lot of jobs.
2) Of the administrative jobs you don't cut....call over to Coleman in Saint Paul and merge all administrative departments. Cut your administration in half.
3) Of the other administrative jobs you don't cut.....call over to Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board and find some economies of scale through laying off people and combining services.
4) RENEGOTIATE ALL PENSIONS NOW!

Yes, you may not get elected next time as your campaign contributions may dry up....but who do you serve? The citizens/taxpayers or the employees' unions?

Next, stop carping about the loss of LGA (Local Government Aid). Rybak blamed Sharon Sayles Belton his first five years in office. When that one ran out, he decided a Republican Governor would be his next target for the city's financial problems (despite the DFL controlling the House and Senate). I can't wait for the next one where Dayton will be Governor.....but the strawman will be the Republican House and Senate.

Roll up your sleeves and make the Draconian cuts. Every private industry in the country has done it over the last eight years.....why won't our government look out for taxpayers and run more efficiently.

Off the soapbox......

GOP takes Minnesota House and Senate

2010-11-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

After 40 years of DFL majorities in these chambers, Republicans have stepped to the forefront with majorities in both the house and senate.

A good thing?

I would say yep, absolutely. With this change, however, it changes my perspective on the outcome of the Governor's race.

While I had supported Margaret Anderson Kelliher, I could not support Mark Dayton. He has a lot of money to buy him the Senate seat, State Auditor seat, and quite possibly Governor. But his record has been pathetic. Even he himself admits that he has done a poor job for Minnesota.

With the decision between Emmer and Dayton, I had to cast my vote for Emmer. I did this because I did not want to see a DFL Governor with full DFL House and Senates. Plus, I grew up with Emmer and he is a good guy. We have already seen in Washington what happens when one party controls everything....an impending train wreck.

With the house and senate in GOP hands I now feel that if Dayton wins it is not a bad thing for the state. Government works best when one party doesn't control all the chips. Yep, people complain about gridlock and animosity....but that's politics. America progresses forward at a slow and conservative pace when all both parties have leverage at the bargaining tables.

All I can say is that if Emmer wins the recount and Republicans control the two branches....they are on notice. Washington has shown what happens when those with full control get greedy with their power. Americans were disgusted and they let everyone know in last nights election. Republicans can govern over their platform - but if they want to delve into currently less important issues like gay marraige, abortion, etc. rather than figuring out how to cut spending, cut taxes, balance budgets, and increase employment in the state....their time as the majority will be limited....and their exit from the majority will be brought by the voters.

Kelliher Steps Aside - Park Board Down to Three Candidates

2010-10-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

Margaret Anderson Kelliher has decided to withdraw as a candidate for the Minneapolis Park Board Superintendent. A good move.

I like Margaret. I got to know her and her family on a hockey trip to Sweden where I took 30 kids on a cultural trip in 2007. Great folks. I donated to Margaret's campaign for Governor and am disappointed she did not get past the primary.

I don't think that being the Park Board Superintendent would have been the best thing for her and for Minneapolis. Margaret would have brought great experience in working with the state government for funding and she definitely was vested in our community. But, the Superintendent job is a 'CEO' position where she did not have the experience from a leadership or a parks background. Her getting the job over candidates with that leadership and 'running a park system' experience would have reeked of political cronyism - whether it existed or not.

With that said, the Park Board is down to three candidates. All appear to have some question marks. Have to agree with Commissioner Bob Fine, who feels that the Park Board should hold off and extend the Superintendent search until after Minneapolis hosts a late October convention for Park Board Superintendents from around the United States. Probably a good idea.

I did note that the pay rate being offered is in the $130-150k range. That's more than the campaign promise made by Commissioner Bourn to keep it within 5% of the Mayor's pay. What the Board is also finding is it is very difficult to attract top talent at that pricepoint. If they are really, really good.....they can make more money elsewhere. Park Board should review the compensation to see if that is one of the reasons why they are getting a very limited number of candidates that are qualified and quality. The Superintendent manages over 600 employees and a $60million+ budget. What do CEO's of private sector companies with similar size earn?

Fire Them......Fire Them All!

2010-09-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

Republicans, Democrats, Independents.......Fire them all.

Congress needs to go. In the grandest form of 'kicking the can down the road', our Congress has decided to adjourn.....without passing a budget for this year.

The basic role of the Congress is to pull together budgets and approve. Is the process so broken that they can't handle their most basic task and main role in governement? Is the spending so out of hand that everyone is throwing their arms up until there is a huge financial collapse?

This should be a major eye opener for Americans. It is time to throw this group out. All of them.

I don't like Mondays....but Tuesday November 3rd the house and senate need to be cleaned.

Another Restaurant Review - Fusion -Minneapolis

2010-09-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

The fetching Mrs. Jecha and I went out on the town last Friday night and we decided to wander into Uptown for dinner.

Uptown has a bunch of great eateries...we chose Fusion located at Henneping and Lagoon. The Restaurant boasts of its Sounds, Styles, and Swank. Music was very cool and the Betty Boop cartoons playing on the screen over the bar were....unique.

This restaurant has a nice vibe to it and the food was good. The menu had Miso Salmon and other steak and poultry options. The menu also has "small plate" options. Almost like appetizers and very yummy. I wasn't that hungry, and Mrs. Jecha never is a big eater at restaurants, so we opted for three small plates:

Mediterranean Plate - bread triangles with lumps of goat cheese, nutty hummus, and olive tampanade. Yummy....we both agreed the Hummus was the best.

Chicken Lettuce wraps - four lettuce leaves with a chicken mixture...sorry, best description I can come up with. Very good, but not exceptional.

Thai Chicken Satays - Very good. Served with sticky rice. If you like curry and peanut sauce...these will hit the spot.

Overall.....a very nice evening and night out. Lots of options on the menu and you can even sample some Sake if that's what you like!

Dog Park at MLK Park? Ridiculous Arguments......

2010-09-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

Park Board commissioner Brad Bourn has found himself in the middle of some racial tensions with regard to adding a dog park to Martin Luther King Park in Minneapolis.

I fully back Commissioner Bourn on his support for this dog park for several reasons and agree with his leadership on this issue. According to a recent SW JOURNAL article by Jake Weyer, there were several arguments brought forth by a group objecting to the dog park at a recent meeting. They include:

1) MLK Park is "Sacred Ground" as it honored Martin Luther King and it shouldn't be desecrated with a dog park....ummm...does that mean that the Park system should cease developing services at Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun, Pershing Park, Audoban Park, Whittier Park, Coyle Park, Longfellow Park, Fuller Park, Harrison Park...etc, etc. Over twenty of our parks were named to honor the deceased who had a big impact locally, at a state level, or at a national level. MLK park is not 'sacred ground'; it is a park that honors a great person - just like all of our other parks dedicated to deceased citizens.

2)Dog's were used in King's time to attack black protesters and thus a dog park would be bad at the park. Really??? Are we going to ban drinking fountains at the park as water was used to break up civil rights demonstrations? Are we going to tear out baseball fields and batting cages at the park because baseball bats were also used by rednecks in the 50's and 60's against minorities? So, Fluffy and Bobo cannot run in a fenced in area at a park because some guys in Alabama 'sicked' their German Shepards on civil rights protesters? Come on...was this serious?

3) That children have not obtained the "Dream"...and thus dogs should not be allowed to obtain their "Dream". Really...can't make this stuff up. That person must not know that an African American is currently our President, that in business, government, schools, sports, etc. the "Dream" is being lived by many. That person should have walked out the door and watched kids of a dozen different ethnic backgrounds utilizing MLK park for baseball, soccer, football, and more (as well as sharing drinking fountains, restrooms, and the wading pool). Execution isn't perfect and there will always be more to go, but somehow, when we look around us the "Dream" is being achieved by many. MLK would be proud of the amazing progress made over 50 years. Don't punish Fido over something this pathetically silly!

For pete's sake, this 'dog park' is going to be placed in a 'bowling lane' wide, obscure area of the park that NO ONE uses!

In the end, it comes down to this: Martin Luther King is a name on the park and memorializes this great American. Martin Luther King's vision for America was a society that was a just, equal society that was color blind. Those ideals are not just shared by one ethnic group...but all of us in the 'Melting Pot' we call the United States. The job of the Minneapolis Park Board is to provide services and opportunities to citizens who utilize their parks. It is their job to maximize the user friendliness of our parks, whether it is Lake Harriet, Harrison, Longfellow....or, Martin Luther King Park.

When Minneapolis Park & Recreation changed the name of Nicollet Park to MLK Park they did it to honor the man. He was a great American, and a hero. They didn't do it to give one ethnic group say as to how the park should be managed to best serve the citizenry. Commissioners Mary Merrill Anderson and Annie Young should have supported Commissioner Bourn and local pet owners as moving this city and this country forward requires people to have enough courage to do the right things for all.

Martin Luther King would never have wanted an ethnic group, whether African American or other, to obstruct progress and services to the community - especially when those services are offered in a just and equal way to each and every citizen regardless of the color of their skin, gender, orientation, age, or family status as the Dog Park is. Time for those objecting to the Dog Park to really look at the America MLK wanted and move forward on that path as their current position holds no rational position to what the man stood for.

I've always loved the dalmation in this video....

125 50th Street West, Minneapolis, MN

2010-09-09T11:05:00.003-07:00

Click here to view the Virtual Tour

This beautiful 3000 square foot home has 4 bedrooms and 3.00 bathrooms. It is located at 125 50th Street West in Minneapolis, MN.

A Chance to Sound Off on Minneapolis Property Tax Increases

2010-08-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

Ooops......ha!.....you missed it.

Yep, quietly on August 25th there was a meeting to allow citizens to vent on the upcoming property tax increases (just like the ones we have had every year for the past decade). At first, when the Mayor got into office he blamed Sharon Sayles Belton for having to tax us to death. She was the perfect target....she ran the city, and the city, just like today, was not able to keep up with all of the expenses and graft. That lasted for the first five years of the decade.

Then we could no longer blame Sharon Sayles Belton. Tim Pawlenty became the next target. "He's mean, he's evil, he is cutting our Local Government Assistance (LGA)". Thus, we have to increase your taxes because the Republican in the Governor's mansion is bad (no mention of DFL controlled bodies that have gone along with this, of course as they too know that there is no money in Saint Paul for handouts). LGA has been cut because the state DOES NOT HAVE ANY MONEY TO HAND OUT! They are cutting - both the house/senate and the Governor - and doing what needs to be done to run the state when revenues have fallen off of a cliff. Always a straw man....Sayles Belton, Pawlenty, whoever gets elected in November.

Now, in Minneapolis, it seems that the Mayor and City Council haven't got the memo that the state HAS NO MONEY and in turn, Minneapolis HAS NO MONEY. The current budget utilizes property owners as ATM machines for the city - while the budget doesn't cut a single employee. In business, wages and benefits are your biggest expense, and the one that you can most easily control when times are tough (layoffs, pay cuts, etc.). Where is our Mayor going to the employees of the city and asking them for a 10% across the board pay cut rather than laying off 500 of them? This is what happens in private sector business. Where is the Mayor stating all city employees need to accept no pay raises for three years.....or we have to lay off another 500 of you....this is what happens in private sector business. Its not about being mean or evil, it is about surviving until times are better.

Here is all I ask from here on out as our city and state go through financial turmoil. For every dollar that you ask in increased taxes, two dollars comes out of expense cuts - staff, programs, services (and don't talk about early retirements or not filling positions that become open). Somehow, in the private sector businesses can cut their staff by twenty percent, tell their employees to 'pick up the slack' or more layoffs may have to come down to balance the budget and remain in a surplus position financially and twelve months later find out that their business runs much more efficiently on fewer employees. Time to give this speech. With unemployment near 10%, there are a lot of people who would like those city jobs - even at a 20% decrease from what is currently being paid.

Property tax owners have solely been asked to carry the water for the city's out of control budgets for the last decade. Home values are at the same level or below where they were in 2004 and declining rapidly as tax and levy increases eat up buyer purchasing power, but the taxes are more than doubled. Property owners have seen their incomes stay flat or barely rise over that time period.

Meanwhile, we have elected members representing our community 'high fiving' each other because they rent in Minneapolis and don't have to deal with the tax burden they are inflicting on property owners (don't believe it?....CLICK HERE). I guess we brought this on ourselves when we voted for folks who had no personal stake in financially managing the city.

Yes, the August 25th meeting showed up like a stealth bomber conveniently dropping its payload before anyone knew what was going on. November 18th and December 23rd are two additional dates and information will be forthcoming as those dates near.

Final Lake Harriet Bandshell Schedule

2010-08-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's official. Summer is coming to an end. Only a few weeks left of great, free tunes at the Lake Harriet Bandshell.

7:30pm Monday-Saturday - 2:30/5:00pm on Sundays

Here is the schedule for the rest of the summer:

Aug 24 The Toonies’ ENVIRO-Show Interactive Family Fun
Aug 25 Patchouli Modern Folk Rock
Aug 26 Sean Goffin & Cool Blue Oasis Original Pop Rock Acoustic Music
Aug 27 The Melvilles Rock, Pop, Country, Folk - Cool!
Aug 28 Honeysuckle Hot Club French Gypsy Jazz
Aug 29 2:00 Detroit Don King Blues, R&B, Jazz
Aug 29 5:30 Jack Pearson Folk, Original Songs and Stories
Aug 30 Brio Brass 35 Piece Rockin' Brass Band
Aug 31 Bob Frey Singer-Songwriter, Contemporary American Folk
Sept 1 1st Things 1st 1940’s Musical Review
Sept 2 Sound of Simon Simon and Garfunkel Tribute
Sept 4 Erin Rogue Irish with a Twist
Sept 5 2:00 Kevin Anthony & the Twin City Playboys A Blend of Texas and Louisiana
Sept 5 5:30 Spruce Top Review Eclectic Urban Acoustic Folk
Sept 6 5:30 Lynhurst Minneapolis Sibling Pop Rock Trio
Sept 11 9/11 Tribute Remembering September 11th

Enjoy!

Great....our property tax dollars going to pay for zombies?.....$165,000.00

2010-08-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Is it April 1st?

I woke up this morning to see the StarTribune report on a $165,000 'settlement' to seven guys who dressed up like zombies and lurched around downtown Minneapolis in 2006 protesting....of all things, consumerism.

The Star Tribune Article is here.

What the h....e... double hockey sticks is going on?

Our property taxes have seen 8% increases year after year - with the exception of next year.....where they will only have a 6.5% increase. In the meantime, our tax dollars are going to pay for Zombie settlements? Apparently jailed for two days for being 'zombies'.....meaning we also picked up the tab for their incarceration.

Our city has a long history of this crap:
* $400,000 to guy shot with a bean bag by police (2006)
* A guy gets kneed to the gut by a cop = $1,000,000 (2004)
* A guy gets tasered, kneed, and punched at a traffic stop = $235,000 (2010)
* Officer beats the tar out of a bike rider = $70,000 (2010)
* Guy stumbles into police raid and gets clobbered = $495,000 (2009)

Seems the best way to make money these days is to have a run-in with the Minneapolis Police. But it just isn't the police....

* $500,000 to scuzzbag real estate developer because of council persons misconduct. (2010)
* $740,000 bias lawsuit to a group of police officers. (2009)

I am sure there are a bunch of other settlements and awards out there. While I am a huge supporter of our police department and our officers, seems like there are some accountability problems in the city. Time to deal with it....or, just keep paying out all of these taxpayer dollars and just keep increasing our property taxes...we are just an ATM for the city anyways.

the Zombies:

Street Car Named Desire - Guthrie Theater.....

2010-08-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

Tennesse Williams' classic Broadway play, Street Car Named Desire is playing at the Guthrie.

I took it in with my daughter, son, and the fetching Mrs. Jecha last Saturday night. The tickets were free as part of the Minneapolis School's Project Success Program. My last trip to the Guthrie was at the old Guthrie on Hennepin. Saw the play "Pravda" about 20 years ago. It was bizarre, it had no meaning, outside of topless women on swings swinging from the rafters like a Vegas Strip dancing gal show....the Guthrie disappointed! I swore that I would not take in a Guthrie show again and pledged myself to 'shallower' entertainment at the Children's Theater (where I had season ticks before I even had kids!) and taking in Broadway musicals when they came to town.

Hard to give an outstanding review to Street Car Named Desire. The acting was outstanding, the storyline was dark and depressing. A mentally ill woman (Blanche) from a 'moneyed' family shows up at her sister's two room home in New Orleans to hang out indefinitely as she has outlived her welcome in the town of Laurel, Mississippi. Her sister, Stella, has married "down" - a Polish guy who has a temper and is pretty.....coarse. Stella's in love, but it is not the greatest setup in the world as she is beaten by her hubby (Stanley), but keeps coming back to him (classic abuse scenario).

Meanwhile, Blanche is trying to figure out life and finds one of Stanley's friends (Mitchell) as her potential ticket to security....but, he also is coarse and 'beneath' her. She begins to see that Mitchell may be the man for her, but her past, uncovered by Stanley is one of seedy rendevous with the men of Laurel, MS and a 17 yr old student whom she taught (she lost her job as a teacher as a result of this). Mitchell leaves her. Stanley continues to verbally assault Blanche and then finally rapes her. Blanche's mental health, suspect throughout the early scenes of the play, falls completely apart as she imagines a relationship and is literally in another world at the end of the play.

The final scene, Blanche is removed from the home and taken to an institution while Stella sobs ("am I doing the right thing") and Stanley, though supportive of Stella, appears relieved to have her out of the house.

Pretty dark....depressing. I frankly couldn't stand up and applaud the cast - though they deserved it with their acting as it was excellent - the show just left me feeling flat. Having a family member who has struggled with mental illness and who I have had to seek assistance for in the past, I could feel Stella's emotions. She loved her sister but had to move on with her life ---- even if it was one that was not pleasant (Stanley was not the nicest of fellows) it was a life that she had chosen. I guess I wasn't alone, as half of the place couldn't rise from their seat.

They say that Tennessee Williams wrote this play about his sister, who was mentally ill and who ultimately was institutionalized and lobotomized. Fortunately, today, there are drugs available that can make mental illness more liveable and those who suffer from it not have to get lobotomy's or find themselves receiving electro convulsive therapy (ECTs). Had Williams lived today, his play would not have been written as his sister probably could have been effectively treated.

In the end...I am a simple guy....I would rather walk out of the Chanhassen Dinner Theater humming "Almost Paradise" from "Footloose", than depressed and worn out from 'A Street Car Named Desire'. With that said, the Guthrie was amazing and this show was a night and day improvement over my "Pravda" experience from a couple of decades ago.

Oh no.....here we go again....Rybak proposes 6.5% Tax increase

2010-08-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

Citing pension obligations and other intiatives, RT Rybak has proposed another 6.5% increase in property taxes. Hello??? Property values have dropped by over 30% in most areas of Minneapolis, and up to 80%+ in others.

Steve Brandt's StarTribune Article Click here

Taxing those that are left standing just kills property values and causes property owners and families to retreat to the suburbs. What is Rybak's vision for the makeup of this city? Does he want families to live here? With a marginal school system, below average athletic fields and facilities for kids, taxes through the roof, and streets that struggle to be plowed unless we have had 2+ inches of snow.....ugh.

I respect and give Rybak credit for suing the unions and winning in order to get restitution from those unions for overpayments made by the city (has anyone in the media followed up on the collections process? Or are we going to take the court victory and assume that the money will actually be received from the unions?). While the unions have funded Rybak's campaigns in the past, will he stand up and renegotiate contracts....or will he keep using Minneapolis residents as a bottomless ATM machine?

Where are Hodges and Dibble on this issue? You'll recall that they had a high profile "renter's high five" (Click Here for a link to that high profile "high five") with regard to my assertions last year that property owners/taxpayers are already overburdened and cannot sustain continued tax increases (it is rumored that Dibble once was a property owner and property tax payer but due to high taxes and a mortgage payment he had to give that up...don't know if that is the case or not...but a rumor). Pretty insensitive of our community leaders who rent to think it is funny that property owners are getting stuck with their constant increases. According to the article, Hodges has "no major concerns" with regard to the budget.....well of course not....if you aren't directly affected by the taxes why would you have any concerns? Let those that choose to own property here pay it!

Minneapolis needs to look into a crystal ball at other cities that have gone down this same path - taxing constituents to oblivion while not making the difficult decisions to cut anywhere and everywhere......Detroit, New York, San Diego, San Jose, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Chicago, Baltimore........none of these cities had the courage to attack spending and as a result are in an endless tailspin to bankruptcy.

So RT, Betsy, Scott.......roll up the sleeves and stop believing that taxing your property owners is your way out of this. Stop kicking the can down the road by using your constituents as a bottomless ATM machine. No layoffs??? Every private sector company has been shedding staff over the last few years as a result of the economy....yet this budget does not shed staff? No renegotiation of all union contracts??? It has been the easy way out for years to just tax the property owners. It's time to take the hard way and make many very difficult decisions.

In a future post I will go over the enormous tax increases that have hit Minneapolis taxpayers over the last decade and how that has dramatically harmed property values and lead to flight to the suburbs.

Off the Grid - Cleansing the Soul in the BWCA......

2010-08-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

No cell phones, computers, televisions, no boat motors, cars, people.

It had been almost 18 years since my last visit to the BWCA. Kids, youth hockey, a cabin...all seemed to come before a good BWCA soul cleansing. About a month ago, the fetching Mrs. Jecha and I found we had a week open and decided to run for solitude in Minnesota's great north. For those who are unfamiliar with the BWCA - it is one of the few places left in America where you truly can get away. Cell phones don't work and it is so pure you can drink water straight from the lakes. In many ways, it is a 'working vacation', as you do have to work to enjoy the solitude that comes with it.

The US Forestry Service provides permits to almost 70 different entry points into the BWCA. Access is limited to those with permits in order to assure the wilderness is not overrun by humans. Because of our late decisions, most prime entry points had been taken. Going in through Ely was hopeless....Tofte had a few sites, but limited Lake options. We opted on Entry Point 49, Skipper-Portgage Lakes, located approx. 40 miles up the Gunflint Trail north of Grand Marais. There were reasons why this entry point was still open....which I will go into in a minute.

We brought our Kevlar canoe up to the BWCA and rented from a great outfitter, Rockwood Lodge and Outfitters. The proprieters, Mike and Lin Sherfy, were wonderful. Lin seemed to handle a lot of the administration and on-site people management, Mike handled the equipment (Canoes, paddles, etc.) and fishing information. They were great and I would recommend utilizing them if you are looking for a lodge to stay at on the Gunflint.....or planning on accessing one of the local entry points into the BWCA.

We planned out an ambitious route. In through entry 49....several portages to Rush Lake, then forward on a circular route over six days. Well, things changed....this was a vacation. First, we paddled from Rockwood across Poplar Lake to the entry point portage......360 Rods (that's somewhere around a mile). Sound easy? With heavy food packs and a canoe.....and up and down hills, it was a gruelling way to start in 80 degree plus heat. We learned why entry point 49 is not as popular as some of the others pretty quickly! Thank goodness no biting flies or skeeters on the trail. We continued on through a walk through portage, and a 46 rod portage to our destination lake.....Rush Lake. The first campsite on the lake was our goal, but as we came around the island the sight of canoes already parked there deflated that idea. We would take the next site down....about a mile paddle. Once again, the site was taken.

I believe this was fortunate for us in the end, but a pain, as we were beat and it was now carrying into late afternoon. We decided to move onto Banadad Lake, a narrow, two mile long lake. As we turned the bend at the end of Rush Lake and approached the portage, 30 yards to our left was a foraging bull moose in a small bay. Wow. Seeing one of these animals at this distance was almost scary. We watched him for a few minutes then continued to the short (20 rod) portage into Banadad Lake. We decided the first campsite we would take and settle down. We had carried in Ribeye steaks and fresh peapods.....dinner hit the spot after an exhausting day. No good food pack trees to hang the pack to keep the bears at bay, so we placed the pack under the canoes with lots of 'paddle alarms' to wake us up to chase off any intruders.....no problems....Morning broke and we were greeted by the sight of a deer swimming across the lake....taking a shortcut. We utilized this site as our base for the next day and fished the area. Fantastic northern and smallmouth bass fishing. We had a fish dinner after a full day of fishing in preparation for the next leg of our journey. The campsite was a dissapointment as it sat on a steep granite ledge with minimal flat spaces to cook and eat at.....several times our water jugs or other piece of equipment would roll down the slope towards the lake. It worked for our day and a half, but it was time to move.

The next leg would take us through almost 600 rods of portages to get to the next campsite. As Mrs. Jecha and I sat in our tent ready to go to bed, I suddenly had a change of heart on our trip plan. Banadad Lake had exceeded my expectations for beauty and an abundance of fish. Why kill ourselves? We had heard there was an awesome campsight located about a mile further west on Banadad that was on an island. "Let's go there and spend two nights and then return through Rush Lake". All bodies (my son, Anders and his friend Andy were with us) were still a little sore. That and the fact that we had two gorgeous days with great fishing and food was all of the encouragement needed to change our plans. We had seen no one, and literally felt it was "our lake".

Camp broke and we took off down the lake to "the spot". Our hearts sunk as we turned the corner and were greeted by a single canoe at the campsite. Dang......but wait! A voice shouted out, "we are leaving in a few minutes if you want this site." There is a BWCA God! We paddled up, thanked the couple, and took on this site. It was everything we had heard about it through BWCA blogs. Large flat area for cooking, campfires, and playing cards, granite slope to the lake, a path to a westward facing granite cliff where one could sit and contemplate life or read a book in solitude, a couple of good pad spaces for the tents. Swimming off of the site was great with a few "jumping points" that wouldn't mangle your legs with underwater jagged rocks. Fishing continued to be awesome. I highly recommend this location. A few paddlers came by the next day as they worked their way to the portage.....let them have their workout....we were officially kicking back! At 3 am, Mrs. Jecha and I got up to utilize the facilities...perfectly clear night....the stars were amazing...the shooting stars of the Perseid meteor shower even more amazing. Jo's baking cinnamon rolls (rolling them out and cutting them on a paddle, no less) and garlic cheese biscuits on the stove also had to be a highlight!

For you fisherman that may be wondering what to bring....here is what was very effective for us: Lazy Ike's seemed to be the best Smallmouth lure. I landed about a dozen smallies with it and had about a dozen spit it out! I lost the lure near the end of the day when I let it 'troll' right next to the boat so I could look at its 'action' I watched three smallies appear from the depths and one snapped it right of my line.....dang. On a whim, I had purchased a three pack of Storm artificial crayfish. I know smallies like crawdads....just didn't know if these would be effective. They were very effective for both northern and smallmouth. I also utilized Storm artificial minnows and jigs with Berkely Gulp Chartreuse tails. All were very effective on both Smallmouth and Northerns. Casting towards the shorelines or along the shorelines and quickly jigging to avoid snags. Catch of the week? Andy caught a pair of pants....yes...in the BWCA....a pair of pants. We took a campsite vote and it was declared that he had to wear them for his final portage out...he refused! The Sherfy's at Rockwood stated that Rush and Banadad always produce fish and they have folks come all of the way from Texas every year to fish those lakes.

Time to move on for our final night. We decided we would head back to the Rush Lake site located on the point that had canoes at it the first day. This site was also a positively reviewed location and if open we wanted it. We got to the site and it was great. This area had suffered burn down several years ago and nature was rebuilding, but the site was once again great - elevated cooking, card playing area, with a ginourmous white pine that provided both shade and sitting area on its amazing above the granite root system. Tent pads were decent....but had a few of that big pines roots running through it that would stick right through our thermarests. The latrine had a million dollar view.....overlooking Rush Lake from the Apex of the campsite. Dinner was curried smallmouth bass with curry cous cous....delicious!

Morning came and the early rising Mrs. Jecha came to the tent and said it looks like rain and maybe we should break camp. So, my guess is it was 6:00am (we had discarded all watches to ensure BWCA simplicity and living off of the sun's location) and we began ripping down our camp. After hot coco and oatmeal we were in the canoes and paddling back to that 360 rod portage (it is a tough up and down portage, but no boggy areas or difficult areas to traverse). Two portages and we were there. The boys seemed like they had more energy and aggressively attacked the portage - so much so that Andy lost it on a downhill and found himself "turtled" on his back with his pack preventing him from getting up!

18 years it had been.....I am in love again with the BWCA....hopefully it will be only one year before my next visit! If you can get yourself around the first portage, this entry point is worth the price of admission as the lakes are great.

Minnesota Does It Again! "Ladies Nights" are now Banned!!!!

2010-07-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Ladies Night's at bars have been banned. Doesn't the Minnesota Department of Human Rights have better things to do? Clearly our government is too bloated when this is what they are working on:

(Newser) – The Minnesota Department of Human Rights has filed gender discrimination charges against five Twin Cities bars, alleging that they violated the rights of men everywhere—by holding ladies’ night. “Gender-based pricing violates the Human Rights Act,” the commissioner tells the Star-Tribune, vowing to pursue every complaint received about on the matter. The state tried a similar crackdown back in 1994, but most bars shrugged and kept the cheap drinks flowing.

“It isn’t a matter of wanting to discriminate. If you’ve got 200 ladies, you have 400 men,” says a Tavern League of Minnesota official. “This is just a marketing niche.” The previous head of the Human Rights Department said he too sees no problem with the promotion. “It is on its face discriminatory,” he said, “but on a practical level, it’s a little bit of ‘Who cares?’”

Read more: http://www.newser.com/story/92213/minnesota-declares-ladies-night-illegal.html#ixzz0uzSsKa6k

OK MN Department of Human Services.....time for you to go after every establishment in the state that discriminates against younger people by providing "Senior Discounts" to seniors. Here are a few places you need to go after immediately and site:

*Movie Theaters
*Golf Courses
*Restaurants
*The Science Museum of Minnesota
*The Minnesota Zoo
*Minnesota Resorts
*Hotels

In fact, just visit the AARP website (http://www.aarp.org/benefits-discounts/) and begin going after all of the national chains offering senior discounts.

In the real estate business, we learn that not only is gender a protected class, but age is as well and you can not discriminate. If Minnesota is going to attack "Ladies Nights" at bars....they need to go after every outfit offering a "Senior Discount" as that discriminates against younger patrons.

It is time for the State of Minnesota to cull the departments that are unnecessary. The tax reciepts just are not there to support folks that go around siting bars for "Ladies Night" discrimination. Bring back the "Ladies Nights"....or immediately start siting folks for age discrimination!

I won't hold my breath on this one!

Minneapolis Parks for Sale??? Strib Article Gets To Heart Of Park Board Money Crisis

2010-07-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

When I ran for Minneapolis Park Board Commissioner one of my main themes was that the Park Board needs to become more entrepreneurial - a position criticized by my opponent who ultimately won. You see, the Park Board has an obligation to run a quality park system in a time of declining home values (down 30%....which means property tax reciepts will lag behind).

Alas, today the StarTribune has Commissioners Erwin, Fine, and Vreeland trumpeting a new era for the Park Board - One that continues to provide great services to Minneapolis residents while becoming more entrepreneurial and privatizing. You can read the front page article here.

Here are some real suggestions for the Park Board - You can hire me anytime as the Director of Entrepreneurial Ventures:

Reapproach Lowes or Home Depot - Lowes offered Minneapolis' Park Board $25,000 in goods for maintenance of Minneapolis' park centers. All they asked for return was a small plaque at the park thanking Lowes for the donation. Minneapolis Park Board turned them down as they didn't want to put a corporate plaque up at their parks. Geesh....ask any taxpaying property owner in Minneapolis their thoughts on this one. Go back and get the money and put the damn plaque up.

Minneapolis Sailing Schools - Minneapolis sailing school has equipment that is old, beat up, and in disrepair. Sell the sail space on the parks sailboats in order to not only keep maintenance of the fleet down....but also you could generate additional funds to keep park centers open.

Recreational Program Uniforms - Each neighborhood park in Minneapolis offers sports programs to kids. Get one or two corporate sponsors (like Target....or Walmart if Target doesn't want to participate) to cover the costs for the jerseys in return for logo advertising on the team jerseys.

Sponsor a Lifeguard - Minneapolis has nice lifeguard chairs at beaches that are sitting empty this year. Why? No money to pay them. Approach smaller businesses in the area to "Sponsor a Lifeguard". In return, you could have a small, but visible sign on the lifeguard chair that says, "Lifeguard sponsored by our neighborhood friend, XYZ Company".

Sell Stuff - A statue is mentioned. How about the $50-100k of granite sitting stacked behind Parade Ice Garden where it will never be utilized and currently is buried in weeds. Garage sale....sell stuff you don't need or won't use in the next 3-5 years.

Movies in the Park - A great service to Minneapolis residents started a few years ago...Movies in the Park...a big blow up screen like a drive-in in the park! Sell sponsorships to local businesses for that week's movie in the specific neighborhood. Cover the cost of the movies and maybe will leave some extra $$$ for park center maintenance.

Push moneymaking services harder - The golf courses, from the revenue side, always are pushing product through emails. Take it a step further for revenues - Canoe rentals, boat rentals, etc. Start marketing - use Groupons or Crowd Cut email offers to provide discounted use of some of our park items that we currently rent....but never market. Bringing people into our parks brings revenue to our privatized restaurants or the local economy.

I could go on for a while, but Minneapolis does need to add someone to staff that covers entrepreneurial expansion (and also grant writing!) in order to maintain services. It would be literally the only position on the Park Board that pays for itself. Time to be creative. Things aren't going to get better for several years...bills must be paid, services must be maintained at a high standard. Taxpayers pay a considerable amount of money - more than any of our Twin Cities suburban neighbors - and we need to see a quality product that is run efficiently and smartly.

I am glad that the Minneapolis Park Board is moving down the path that I presented in my campaign. Like it or not, it is the future and so we might as well embrace it and have fun with it. Be tasteful, yet entrepreneurial!

Squeeze and English Beat Rock the Minnesota Zoo

2010-07-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

It was 1983....There I was in Daytona Beach on Spring Break where I unwittingly found out that I would be adding two favorite musical groups to my "play list". Wandering down the beach past inflatable Miller High Life and Old Milwaukee beer cans located at each hotel pool (free samples too!) I made my way to the plaza for that evenings concerts. The warm up band was an unheard of band out of Athens, Georgia called REM. The headline act was THE ENGLISH BEAT. REM was awesome and I bought their Chronic Town EP record...they went on to become one of the greatest rock/alternative bands of the 80's and 90's. The English Beat was even cooler....kicking out their "Specials-like" ska style of music. Pounding bass, jamaican raps, and clean guitar and vocals. I was hooked.

Fast forward twenty seven years later to the Minnesota Zoo last Thursday evening - Front row seats at the Minny Zoo with a college buddy, Win Mitchell, the fetching Mrs. Jecha, and my daughter Katie. Front row seats there are great, but you have two options - stay in your seat and see nothing but people's butts dancing in front of you, or get up and dance and claim your space....we chose the latter. Check out the first video at the bottom....the missus and I are in front of the beat - I am wearing the yellow striped t-shirt.....but the dude dancing for a large portion of the video is nothing less than awesome....anyone know him???

The Beat warmed up for Squeeze in what would turn out to be two great performances. Last year, I saw the Beat at the Zoo and they left me disappointed - not playing the greatest song ever written, I Confess, and also missing on a few others. Tonight the play list was perfect for their hour set - Tears of a Clown (#6 UK), I'll Take You There (#1 US Dance, #22 US charts), Can't Get Used To Losing You (#3 UK), I Confess (#47 UK), Save It For Later (#54 UK), General Public's Never You Done That - Tenderness (#27 US) -I'll Take You There (#1 US Dance, #22 US charts), and closing with the Beat's classic Mirror in the Bathroom (#4 - UK). Dave Wakeling is a great song writer and always puts on a great show with his band. The band looked like they were having a great time, and the sold out crowd did too. The Beat broke up in the mid - 80's with Dave Wakeling & Ranking Roger running off to form General Public while other members went off to form the Fine Young Cannibals (She Drives Me Crazy, Suspicious Minds, Johnny - Won't You Come on Home)

Squeeze came on and kicked right in with Black Coffee In Bed. Tilbrook's voice hadn't changed and these guys were very, very good musicians. Though Squeeze had limited pop success in the United States, they were sensations in the UK - They too played all of their best....they sprinkled in a couple of newer songs - which were good, but they gave the packed house the meat they came for with their top hits in UK - Take Me I'm Yours (#19), Goodbye Girl (#63), Cool For Cats (#2), Up The Junction (#2), If I Didn't Love You, Pulling Mussels From A Shell (#44), Another Nail in My Heart (#17), Hourglass (#16), Annie Get Your Gun (#40)...and several more big ones. They closed with Tempted (#41 on UK charts....#8 on USA charts with an MTV boost!). The album version was sung by Paul Carrack who was with Squeeze for a limited amount of time, but Glenn Tillbrook belted it out with style and the crowd ate it up. Christopher Difford's Cool For Cats and deep British accent was....pretty cool. As Squeeze stated....in their 37 years of playing together, they had never played in a Zoo....but they were greatly appreciative of the sold out crowd of 1,500 and their rocking support.

What a night.....the Minnesota Zoo hit a home run with both of these groups. Some folks I chatted with who came for the Squeeze concert left as big English Beat fans. English Beat fans left as Squeeze fans. Those that loved 'em both left with a greater appreciation of both of the groups. Can't wait 'til they return!

Enjoy these vids...as these songs if you have never heard them are worth adding to your IPod:

Lake Harriet Bandshell Schedule.....August 2010

2010-07-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

Here's the bandshell schedule for August. For July's schedule, CLICK HERE

Aug 1 2:00 The Capri Big Band Big Band Music
Aug 1 5:30 Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Full Symphonic Ensemble
Aug 2 Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra Diverse Styles Arranged for Mandolins, etc.
Aug 3 Brianna Lane Americana Singer/Songwriter
Aug 4 Celebration Iowa Singers & Jazz Band Song, Dance, and Jazz Band Favorites
Aug 5 Brian Kinney Band Renowned Twin Cities R&B, Funk Band
Aug 6 Gypsy Mania Hot Club Hot Club Swing Jazz
Aug 7 The Smarts Original, Witty Jazz/Pop
Aug 8 2:00 Davina and the Vagabonds New Orleans Juke Joint Jazz & Blues
Aug 8 5:30 MN Bluegrass & Oldtime Music Association MBOTMA Presents Great Local Bluegrass
Aug 9 Wendy's Wiggle Jiggle & Jam! Fabulous Fun, Music for Families
Aug 10 Mari Harris and Party Time Down Home Great Entertainment!
Aug 11 Batak Music of the World
Aug 12 6:00 Butch r Baker & the Candlestyx Woodstock Revisited, Peace, Love & Music
Aug 13 Alison Scott featuring Kevin Bowe Piano Pop, Soul, Rock
Aug 14 Michael Monroe Acoustic Performing Artist
Aug 15 2:00 Kenwood Symphony Orchestra Classical and Pops Orchestra
Aug 15 5:30 Jill Holly Singer-Songwriter, Folk-Rock Originals
Aug 16 Classic Brass Inc. Fun Brass Quintet and Percussion
Aug 17 Honeywell Concert Band Interesting Concert Band Mix
Aug 18 The Willie August Project Nationally Acclaimed Melodic Jazz
Aug 19 Machinery Hill World Folk with a Twist
Aug 20 New Primitives Reggaefied, Afro-Caribbean, World, Rock
Aug 21 Westbank School of Music Professional Musicians, Diverse Music
Aug 22 2:00 MN Bluegrass & Oldtime Music Association MBOTMA Presents Great Local Bluegrass
Aug 22 5:30 Zed-Leppelin Nation's Premiere Led Zeppelin Experience
Aug 23 Rich Lewis Band Acoustic Rhythm and Blues
Aug 24 The Toonies’ ENVIRO-Show Interactive Family Fun
Aug 25 Patchouli Modern Folk Rock
Aug 26 Sean Goffin & Cool Blue Oasis Original Pop Rock Acoustic Music
Aug 27 The Melvilles Rock, Pop, Country, Folk - Cool!
Aug 28 Honeysuckle Hot Club French Gypsy Jazz
Aug 29 2:00 Detroit Don King Blues, R&B, Jazz
Aug 29 5:30 Jack Pearson Folk, Original Songs and Stories
Aug 30 Brio Brass 35 Piece Rockin' Brass Band
Aug 31 Bob Frey Singer-Songwriter, Contemporary American Folk

Another SW Minneapolis Restaurant Review - Cafe Ena......

2010-07-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

Approximately four or five years ago, Cafe Ena opened up at 46th and Grand in Southwest Minneapolis. The fetching Mrs. Jecha and I took in the restaurant at that time and were terribly disappointed....so much so that the Missus did something I have never seen her do in 30 years ---- she returned her entree to the kitchen and told them she wasn't interested in trying anything else. Wow....

Fast forward to last Saturday's stormy evening. We were looking for a place to eat on OpenTable.com and Cafe Ena showed up....should we venture back? Our next door neighbors had told us the restaurant was one of their favorites. It was time to put aside our past with Cafe Ena and give this "Latin Fusion" restaurant another shot.

I am overwhelmingly glad we did. Everything was amazing.

Because of the oncoming thunderstorm, no one was sitting outside so they allowed us to hang out at a table and have a carafe of Sangria. Excellent start.

The atmosphere inside was great - candles going - quiet clamor of the kitchen - and rain hitting the windows. Food was even better.

We started off with the guacamole - whether you like guac.....you have to try this. Absolutely exceptional. We also tried their Mussels which also was exceptional.

On to the main courses - our party ordered the scallops over a coconut risotto (Conchas), Corvina (a Costa Rican mild fish) over a coconut risotto (Bahia), the special of the night - blackened grouper, and the fetching Mrs. Jecha ordered the Filet Mignon. All courses received rave reviews.

Dessert was simple - Churros....with chocolate sauce and a scoop of cinnamon ice cream.

FINAL THOUGHTS - One of the best dining experiences I have had in Southwest Minneapolis in recent years. These restaurants are why Minneapolis is such a great place - no Applebees, no TGIFs....just original restaurants with awesome eats.

Cafe Ena's website -

Thank You Jon Gurban

2010-06-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

Today is Jon Gurban's final day as Superintendent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

Jon has been the superintendent of the parks for the last six years and has built and maintained a park system that has a 95%+ satisfaction level from Minneapolis residents.

Thank you Jon for your services to the residents of Minneapolis.

The Email - Honesty in politics......a thing of the past

2010-06-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in a prior blogpost, I would post – in its entirety an email that has been forwarded to me from Brad Bourn to Rep. Hornstein and Sen. Dibble. In this letter, Commissioner Bourn outright lied to these DFL reps about not only my positions, but of Meg Forney’s positions by somehow twisting and associating Meg Forney with this blog.

Perhaps I am naïve and a purist, but I still believe that politicians should be honest. Dishonesty catches up to a politician sooner or later. As I stated on this blog during the campaign, Commissioner Bourn and his positions were the most negative in the campaign. Combined with his recent ethics fine, dishonesty (both in this email, during the campaign, and in front of the Office of Administrative Hearings while under oath), and libeling and smearing other candidates; I believe I am vindicated on my opinions. Here is the email with my opinions thrown in:

RE: BRAD BOURN – Park Board

From: Brad Bourn (bradbourn79.msn.com)

Sent: Wed 10/21/09 9:33pm

To: fhornstein@msn.com; scotofmpls@aol.com

Representative Hornstein & Senator Dibble,

I write you to urgently request you reconsider your neutrality position in my race for Park Board.

I was asked by so many people to run for Park Board because I believe our parks are for everyone. Our city’s parks play a critical role in socially investing in our community. I have been running a traditional grassroots campaign to improve youth programming for diverse communities, encourage community gardening in our parks, make our playgrounds tobacco free, increase park services for renters, the LGBT community, homeless/highly mobile citizens, and preserve our current governing structure.

I have been running a positive issue driven campaign that has made me a viable candidate for Park Board. In recent days, alarming statements and positions have come from my opponent that has made it even more critical for the support of progressives everywhere.

My opponents have officially joined forces under Ranked Choice voting and are encouraging each others support. In their campaign websites, my opponents have taken alarming positions:

- Only property owners are qualified to hold office.

** This is lie and libel #1 by candidate Bourn. I never stated this. I did however point out that Bourn was a renter eager to raise taxes on his constituents and as a renter he has absolutely no grasp or empathy with property owners in Minneapolis who had seen astronomical property tax increases….and Brad wanted to tax more.

- Wealthy communities are entitled to more and better services than diverse communities and communities of color.

** This is a lie and libel #2. Nowhere in my blog or in my campaign positions was this my position. The classic implied ‘race card’ being played which has become so popular in ‘progressive’ circles – don’t like the National healthcare plan….racist; you are a tea partier…racist; you support Arizona’s law to protect their border, tax payers, and citizens from crime….racist. It might surprise some that there are people like myself that believe in a society that is color blind – and gender/orientation blind for that matter - and doesn’t divide and pit one group against another for political gain. Commissioner Bourn also sent a smear postcard out implying race issues in the final days of the campaign.

- Our parks should be privatized and sponsored by corporations

**Twice during the campaign I had to scold Candidate Bourn for twisting my belief that the Park Board should expand on already existing or new partnerships under a discreet policy. While Bourn would characterize my position as “selling the Stone Arch Bridge to Red Bull”. The Park Board already works with corporations and receives sponsor money. As far as privatization goes, our parks already have privatization going on with the restaurant concepts taking place and EXPANDING under Commissioner Bourn. Commissioner Bourn seemed to miss the point that his obligations are to the taxpayers to provide a cost efficient park board that minimizes stress on taxpayers pockets – it is not about protecting union jobs because they bought his allegiance through campaign contributions - but providing service and product to your constituents efficiently.

- Park services and ground level (union) employees should be cut to cover the excessive fringe benefits and salaries of executive level management of our parks.

** Lie and libel #3. This blog supported a) insurance packages for commissioners (heck, we pay them virtually nothing for a lot of time and gas to travel to meetings as Commissioner Bourn is finding out) and b) paying the Superintendent a market competitive wage. Never was that linked to firing ground level employees. I do not believe that Commissioner Bourn has proposed a removal of all 'excessive fringe benefits' for Commissioners to the Park Board. Currently the Park Board is in the search process for a new Superintendent. Will see how Commissioner Bourn’s campaign promises pan out there.

I believe our Parks are for everyone. I am confident that the people of Southwest Minneapolis will reject these outdated, regressive positions. (**umm….like managing the parks in a business like fashion to provide quality product for the taxpayers’ money?) However, it is more important than ever that true progressives (**umm….yawn…”progressive” is so passé and overused) and Democrats everywhere unite to get our shared value and message to the voters and people of Minneapolis. I am shocked that such values would be advocated for in a park board race. (** umm…like what values? Values that imply racism of others? Values that twist or lie about other candidates positions? One’s that lie to voters, State Senators/Representatives, and under oath to the Office of Administrative Hearings? Values that not only lied about my positions in the campaign, but wrongfully linking Meg Forney to my positions and lying to others that those were her positions? Are those ‘progressive’ values?).

I humbly ask for your endorsements and your assistance in getting our message out to voters. I understand and respect your personal relationship with one of my opponents but I urge you to put personal relationships aside in favor of our clear shared values. You are my elected representatives, progressive DFL leaders, and your support is critical to advocate for our shared goals. I ask for you to join my DFL endorsed, progressive, grassroots campaign.

Both of my opponents positions I mentioned can be verified at www://stevejechaforparks.blogspot.com. (** Alright Commissioner Bourn….start verifying both my positions and Meg Forneys….and don't twist positions as you did during the election.)

Sincerely,

Brad Bourn

612-423-9901

In closing this blogpost, I think it is important to point out that Commissioner Bourn smeared Meg Forney throughout this email by trying to associate her with dishonest and libelous comments made by Bourn about this blog. I never met Meg Forney until after I had filed as a candidate for Park Board. I found her to be energized and positive and that’s why I supported her – some of her positions were very different and opposite to mine. But, she had served the Parks positively on committees over the years, showed her commitment to the parks, and showed honesty and integrity throughout the campaign. Like myself, she did not deserve to be smeared through lies and libel by Commissioner Bourn. I am still waiting for my apology from Commissioner Bourn and I would bet Forney is too. Commissioner Bourn is a young politician and hopefully some of the lessons learned here get learned and he begins to understand the finer art of diplomacy, honesty, and integrity into the future. I hope for and support him on that path.

July 2010 Lake Harriet Bandshell Schedule

2010-06-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

Looking for the June schedule? See my prior posting.

July 1 Mary Klueh & Friends Original Folk, Rock, Country
July 2 New Roots Duo Instrumental, Melody Driven, Roots Based, Pop
July 3 Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Full Symphonic Ensemble
July 4 2:00 Retro Groove Classic Rock, Pop, R&B from the 60's & 70's
July 4 5:30 Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Full Symphonic Ensemble
July 5 Amy & Adams Eclectic, Folk Rock, Tin Pan Alley, Bluegrass
July 6 Dan Newton’s Café Accordion Orchestra French Café, Latin, Swing
July 7 Kevin Anthony & the Twin City Playboys A Blend of Texas and Louisiana
July 8 Kenwood Slim Road House Piano Blues
July 9 Minnesota Sinfonia Professional, Classical, Fun
July 10 Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Full Symphonic Ensemble
July 11 2:00 Classic Big Band & the Nostalgics Classic Big Band Swing Music
July 11 5:30 Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Full Symphonic Ensemble
July 12 Zurah Shrine Band Concert Band
July 13 River City Jazz Orchestra Big Band Jazz
July 14 Israel Scout Friendship Caravan Israeli Musical Variety Show
July 15 Southwest Journal 20th Anniversary Southwest Journal Celebrates 20 Years
July 16 Minnesota Sinfonia Professional, Classical, Fun
July 17 Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Full Symphonic Ensemble
July 18 2:00 Minnesota Jazz Orchestra Big Band Swing Music
July 18 5:30 Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Full Symphonic Ensemble
July 19 St Louis Park Community Band Concert Band
July 20 Minnesota Songwriters Showcase Top Minnesota Singer-Songwriters
July 21 Civic Orchestra of Minneapolis Orchestral Favorites
July 22 Hot Swing Combo Swing Jazz, Hot Jazz
July 23 Dean Harrington Trio Hot Club Jazz
July 24 Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Full Symphonic Ensemble
July 25 2:00 Hopkins West Concert Band Standard American Band Music
July 25 5:30 Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Full Symphonic Ensemble
July 26 Brooklyn Community Band Concert Band
July 27 Wayne Hamilton Acoustic Pop Music
July 28 Theater Latté Da Contemporary and Classical Musical Theater
July 29 Nigel Egg Acoustic Blues from and Original
July 30 Rhonda Laurie & Sidewalk Café Jazz Standards a la Gypsy Jazz
July 31 Minneapolis Pops Orchestra Full Symphonic Ensemble

http://www.gopherhomes.com

Lake Harriet Bandshell Events This Summer 2010 - Repost

2010-06-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

By popular demand....I am posting the Lake Harriet Bandshell schedule for this summer. I have had numerous folks tell me they rely on this blog for the schedule....so we will update and keep it fresh!

June 16 Paula Lammers and Cloud Nine Swinging Little Big Band
June 17 Divine Diva Dames Swinging Jazz, Broadway, Blues, Inspirational
June 18 Jim Pellinger Original Alt, Folk, Pop, Rock
June 19 Sumunar Gamelan and Dance Ensemble Indonesian Gamelan Music Plus Dance
June 20 2:00 Will Hale & The Tadpole Parade Rock Concerts for Kids
June 20 5:30 Ticket to Brasil Bossa Nova, Brazilian Jazz, Samba
June 21 Minnesota Freedom Band Concert, Jazz, and Marching Band
June 22 Bend in the River Big Band Swing to Contemporary to Jazz to Originals
June 23 Medalist Concert Band Concert Band
June 24 Kairos Dance Theater & Irv Williams Dance & Jazz: Food for the Soul
June 25 Minnesota Sinfonia Professional, Classical, Fun
June 26 The Tribute to Pink Floyd Tribute to the Legendary Pink Floyd
June 27 2:00 Diedrich Weiss Singer-Songwriter, Poignant and Lively
June 27 5:30 Robbinsdale City Band Marches, Show Tunes, Light Classics
June 28 Karl Commers' Neil Diamond Show Tribute to the Legendary Neil Diamond
June 29 USAF Heartland of America Band Concert Band with Broad Musical Range
June 30 Minneapolis Southside Singers Community Chorus

July schedule to come in a future post. Enjoy the shows!

Footloose.....Chanhassen Dinner Theater...what a show!

2010-06-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

As a birthday gift, my daughter took me out to the Chanhassen Dinner Theater this evening for Footloose.

It was really, really good. I hadn't been to the CDT for twenty years (saw West Side Story back then) and didn't know what to expect. The music, acting and dancing was fantastic and fun.

Basic story about a young kid with some pain in his life, and an old man with some pain in his life....and how they grow out of that stage and move on with life....plus a couple of little love stories intermingled in.

80's music including Footloose, Deniece Williams' 'Let's Hear it For the Boy', 'Almost Paradise' by Mike Reno and Ann Wilson, Bonnie Tyler's 'Holding Out For A Hero', and a bunch of other songs. Some 80's classics.

This show is going on through the end of July and, on Tuesday and Wednesdays a kid is free with a paid adult ticket. Can't beat that! Highly recommend as we both enjoyed it!

Breaking - More on campaign 2009

2010-06-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have received a document from the ethics hearing in the Forney vs Bourn case where Park Board Commissioner Brad Bourn was ultimately fined $1,600 and called "not credible" by the committee panel hearing the case.

The document is an email from Bourn to Senator Dibble and Representative Hornstein. It appears to seriously libel both myself and Meg Forney.

I thought it was quite interesting that an anonymous poster came here a little over a month and a half ago and tried to rationalize Bourn's misconduct during the campaign. Now, with this document, it becomes a little more evident that the commenter was trying to rewrite comments and history in light of this document coming forth in the hearings.

I will post the email and its libel in its entirety later this week when I have time to break it down....but at first glance it shows additional misconduct by Commissioner Bourn. Stay tuned.

Rut Roh Raggie - Did Park Watch Members Pay Commissioner Bourn’s Ethics Fine?

2010-06-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

The rumor bouncing around the DFLs' City Endorsing Convention was that Minneapolis Park Board Commissioner Brad Bourn had at least part of his $1,600 ethics fine paid for by members of a group called Minneapolis Park Watch. Let’s hope this isn’t true and here is why:

It is one thing for an individual to make a contribution to an individual’s campaign during the campaign. It is something totally different when an individual has someone else pay off their ethics fine after the election and campaign is completed. What is the potential ‘quid pro quo’ when this happens?

In this case, if Park Watch members did in fact pay money to Commissioner Bourn to pay off his ethics fine, what are they expecting in return? What are the political interests of Park Watch members? What are the property holdings of Park Watch members that they may want Park Board votes or influence? Although Park Watch has identified their mission as one to have a better running Park Board, their actions have often not followed their mission. It is one thing if an individual with no hard political leanings gave the money…it is another thing if it is someone who wants to steer Park Board votes in a certain direction as members of Park Watch have over the years.

Again, this was the rumor. Minnesota’s bribery statutes are fairly strict and if in fact Park Watch members did give money to Bourn to pay off his ethics fine, the Park Board should immediately ask him to step aside as Chair of Ethics while things are fully investigated. If money was received, what was promised or has already been given in return in votes or favors?

Louisiana has a law that doesn’t allow third parties to pay off ethics fines. Minnesota should move to this also as it is becoming ‘par for the course’ for politicians to cheat and just write it off as a campaign expense. A quick google of Governor candidates (or the current Gov.) and their fines shows that breaking the rules is just part of the game:

RT Rybak – Fined $26,000

Margaret Kelliher – Fined $9,000

Governor Tim Pawlenty – Fined $100,000

Matt Entenza - Fined $28,000

Tom Emmer - Fined $750

Heck, it seems that you gain some ‘street cred’ as a politician if you get fined! Kind of like Rap Stars having to do jail time in order to boost their street cred and album sales (i.e. Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Tupac Shakur, 50 Cent, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard).

Having politicians pay out of their own pockets would cease this conduct pretty fast. Is it any wonder that Americans are frustrated with the hypocrisy of the system?

A little Konvict music for ya....

New Jersey Governor Pushes Annual Property Tax Increase Tax.....Let's get this in Minnesota Too!

2010-05-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

New Jersey's Governor is proposing a cap of 2.5% per year on property taxes for owners of real estate.

This is great, and here is why we need it in Minnesota: Many people within our government seem to feel that property taxes are an ATM with unlimited funds in them. Instead of running efficient government, they can put through any program they want and do it on the backs of the property holders.

Just how bad is the property tax in Minneapolis? It has been pointed out in a prior blog post that two of our Southwest Minneapolis representatives, Betsy Hodges and Scott Dibble, do not even own property in the District yet are the ones who have input on our property taxes (and they have increased astronomically). Both of them thought it was so funny last fall that I pointed out that they might not have empathy for those who have seen 100%+ tax increases in the last decade. In fact, at a public campaigning event they joked and high fived each other (CLICK HERE for the 'high five' post) over the pain many in Southwest have taken on while they rent.

A cap on property taxes forces government to be efficient. It forces government to make hard decisions. It forces government to live within its means. It forces government officials to appreciate those that pay their taxes rather than not having empathy for the property owners who pay their wages and for their programs.

I ask Governor Pawlenty to propose the same...2.5% cap. The only additional caveat I would request is that those retired persons over age 65 have a freeze placed on their property taxes until they sell their property, or until they die. They are usually fixed income and raking them over the coals with increases is not the best way to treat them.

Property tax law should not be a shell game between mil rates set by cities, percentages set by counties, and bonding issues tacked on top. People should know what they will pay when they buy a home....and what the max is that their taxes can go up. Pretty simple concept....and fair.

If Minneapolis needs to be a place where young families want to move. An unfriendly tax policy hurts property values as well as the makeup of our communities. Bring on the 2.5% cap here in Minnesota!

Minneapolis Wins A Pension Battle.....

2010-05-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

With states and local governments out of money, and property owners 'taxed out', this is a very positive outcome for the city of Minneapolis. Like in Greece, and more and more everywhere in the world....there is no money.

Unfortunately, governments - from local, to state, to federal - provided pension plans that they did not fund properly. Seems politicians greased the state worker pension plans but did it on the backs of future taxpayers.....not on a 'pay go' system. The system is out of money.

Under the lawsuit, the pension overestimated the cost to the City of Minneapolis by $50 million! Minneapolis caught it and wants their money back. As a taxpayer, I am glad our city is fighting for funds that shouldn't have been paid out.

Good for RT Rybak and Betsy Hodges who worked through this. I feel bad for some of the pensioners, but the whole set up was not funded properly and there isn't the money to fund on a go forward. I did like RTs comments on the Attorneys wasting a lot of money on this....the article doesn't go into who those attorneys were, but I bet they won't be donating to RTs campaign the next go around!
UPDATE - The law firm was Rice, Michels & Walther...plus they flew in an attorney from Florida. Brian Rice was one of the attorneys according to court documents. He donated $20,000 to the Park Board Independence fund last year. Now understanding this, I understand the jab at the attorneys better. Funny how the world works.

The big question....are they really going to collect all of that money??? The city can't....the pension fund has to! This should be interesting.

The Order from Judge Posten can be found by CLICKING HERE

From the Steve Brandt and the StarTribune:

Judge tells Minn. firefighters to pay back pensions

Under the order, 563 beneficiaries of a firefighter fund must repay an average of about $43,000 each

By Steve Brandt
The Star Tribune
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge has ordered two Minneapolis pension funds to recover about $76 million in overpayments to retired police and firefighters or their spouses.

Under the order, the 860 retired police officers or their survivors must repay the city an average of $60,000 each, and 563 beneficiaries of the firefighter fund must repay an average of about $43,000 each.
City officials who have warned that the funds were headed toward insolvency hailed Monday's ruling by Hennepin County District Judge Janet Poston. But it's a further blow for the retirees who rely on the funds, which have been closed to new hires since the mid-1980s.

"I am upset over the unfairness of it," said Marlies Mack of Columbia Heights, widow of a slain officer.
"It's not over," warned police retiree and former City Council Member Walt Dziedzic. "It's a shame after all those people gave all they had for the city for all those years. I'll trade them the two bullet wounds I've had in my leg and all the operations I've had since, for my health."

There was no immediate word Tuesday from officials of the two funds on how they'd try to collect the overpayments. They could, for example, seek to reduce future benefits for a time. Poston gave them until June 4 to devise a method and said they must start collecting July 1.

Under state law, the money won't be returned to the city, but will be applied toward reducing the deficit in each pension fund, thus reducing future city payments.
Poston ruled last November that the funds overcharged the city by including certain fringe benefits when calculating the pay level on which individual pensions are based. Pensioners already were steamed about that order, which their funds plan to appeal.

That ruling saved the city at least $10 million annually going forward. But it cut police pensions by 12 percent or about $427 monthly, and firefighter pensions by 9 percent or about $340 monthly, effective Jan. 1. Poston's new order requires the funds to make plans for recouping overpayments back to the year 2000.
The pension issue veered into the political arena last winter when city police and firefighter political funds sent a letter to past DFL caucus attendees ripping Mayor R.T. Rybak for their pension cuts during his run for party gubernatorial endorsement. Rybak fired back Tuesday.

"The members of these funds should be upset at the lawyers who have made excessive amounts of money to give them very bad advice," Rybak said. "These lawyers have dragged the funds' members through years of litigation to defend a practice that Judge Poston has once again ruled is improper. Her ruling strikes the right balance between our obligation to pay our retirees as much as they have earned and doing justice for our taxpayers."

Walter Schirmer, executive secretary of the firefighter pension fund, said it plans to huddle with attorneys on the ruling next Monday. Larry Ward, president of the police fund, couldn't be reached.
The city's push to force a recalculation of police and fire pensions is part of a larger city strategy of trying to cope with burgeoning costs for its three closed pension funds and keep current on contributions to statewide funds for younger city employees. Its levy for older pension funds is projected to zoom from $15 million this year to $50 million in 2015, consuming large shares of anticipated property tax increases.
Betsy Hodges, who chairs the City Council's budget committee, pushed for pension changes. "It's another good outcome for the city," she said of Poston's ruling. "At this point, the members and the boards of those funds have a lot of decisions to make by June 4."

According to pension fund valuations, the average police pension was $47,467 in 2008, with surviving spouses averaging $26,818. The average retired firefighter drew $43,553, while survivors got $24,150. Unlike many pensions, which are based on the highest salaries a pensioner was paid, those of police and fire retirees are based on the pay of a top-grade patrol officer or firefighter, regardless of rank.
Poston said the city can't reclaim overpayments directly but that the pension funds have a fiduciary duty to collect.

Lake Harriet Bandshell Events This Summer 2010

2010-05-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Lake Harriet Bandshell Concert series is out. This is worth taking in at least a couple summer evenings this year. Its a cheap date. Parking around Lake Harriet is free, the concert is free, and you can get food at the bandshell or bring your own.

As long as they are diverting airplanes from flying right over the bandshell these concerts are a pretty nice slice of Minneapolis Summer.

May 31 r’nt (Carl Franzen, Nathan Shuts, Taras Umrysh) * Acoustic Originals
June 1 Richfield Symphonic Band Alive, Entertaining, Inspiring
June 2 Tom Feldmann and the Get-Rites Original Blues, Gospel, Country
June 3 Linden Hills Chamber Orchestra Light Classical Favorites
June 4 Tim Fast Nat’l Touring Acoustic Singer Songwriter
June 5 Glacier Jazz Festival Local Jazz Artist Showcase
June 6 2:00 Inver Hills Community Band Broadway, Swing, Light Pop, Patriotic
June 6 5:30 Apollo Male Chorus Apollo Male Chorus Presents: “America Sings”
June 7 Cooker John Real Slide Blues
June 8 The KGB Band Blues, Classic Rock, and Originals
June 9 South of the River Community Band Community Band Playing Concert Favorites
June 10 Seward Concert Band Americana Favorites
June 11 The Mad Ripple Hootenanny Songs. Stories. Shenanigans.
June 12 Twin Cities Hot Club Hot Club Gypsy Jazz
June 13 2:00 Star of the North Concert Band Adult Contemporary Concert Band
June 13 5:30 Minneapolis Police Band Show Tunes, Marches, Patriotic Tunes
June 14 Southside Big Band Classic Big Band, Swing, Jazz
June 15 Calhoun Isles Community Band Concert Style Community Band
June 16 Paula Lammers and Cloud Nine Swinging Little Big Band
June 17 Divine Diva Dames Swinging Jazz, Broadway, Blues, Inspirational
June 18 Jim Pellinger Original Alt, Folk, Pop, Rock
June 19 Sumunar Gamelan and Dance Ensemble Indonesian Gamelan Music Plus Dance
June 20 2:00 Will Hale & The Tadpole Parade Rock Concerts for Kids
June 20 5:30 Ticket to Brasil Bossa Nova, Brazilian Jazz, Samba
June 21 Minnesota Freedom Band Concert, Jazz, and Marching Band
June 22 Bend in the River Big Band Swing to Contemporary to Jazz to Originals
June 23 Medalist Concert Band Concert Band
June 24 Kairos Dance Theater & Irv Williams Dance & Jazz: Food for the Soul
June 25 Minnesota Sinfonia Professional, Classical, Fun
June 26 The Tribute to Pink Floyd Tribute to the Legendary Pink Floyd
June 27 2:00 Diedrich Weiss Singer-Songwriter, Poignant and Lively
June 27 5:30 Robbinsdale City Band Marches, Show Tunes, Light Classics
June 28 Karl Commers' Neil Diamond Show Tribute to the Legendary Neil Diamond
June 29 USAF Heartland of America Band Concert Band with Broad Musical Range
June 30 Minneapolis Southside Singers Community Chorus

Gulf Oil Spill Has Some Lessons For All - Galveston Oil Museum

2010-05-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

At the end of March, my family and I vacationed down in what could be considered the 'Oil Capital' of the United States; Galveston, Texas. While Houston typically is associated as the oil town, Galveston really is the front lines for offshore drilling in the gulf.

While on vacation, we took in the oil museum: the Ocean Star Offshore Oil Rig in Galveston. It was very cool, an actual oil rig set up on the waterfront. Inside the oil rig, a three story museum and learning area. Outside was complete with helicopter, escape craft, rigging and more. While the museum is financed by major oil companies and their donated equipment, it gave a great perspective into how undersea oil is found, the process for drilling, different types of offshore oil rigs (including excellent models of the rigs), life on a rig, etc. Katie and I even got to dress up as oil workers.

A few things that I found very interesting were:
1) Where do oil rigs go when they are done using them? Many are brought to shore and dismantled, but more and more are sunk in areas where there is potential to create a man made artificial reef. These sinkings have been very successful in providing new habitat to fish and other sea creature. Click here to learn about the Rigs-to-Reefs program.
2) Who is the biggest marine hydrocarbon polluter in North America? Well, that would be mother nature herself. Oil seeps through fissures on the ocean floor. A lot of oil. Makes sense, oil is lighter than water, and when given a chance it makes a run for the surface. Here's some trivia - it is estimated that every four years 'oil seeps' off of Santa Barbara, California emit more oil than the Exxon Valdez. About Oil Seeps Click Here.

3) Who works on the platforms? You would think BP, Shell, or Conoco; but most of the rigs have smaller contracted firms that do all of the work. The big companies put the money up to drill and sell the oil, the contractors work and service the rig.

So, what can we learn from the current catastrophe in the Gulf? Well, first we can better prepare. Like Katrina and the last administration, people are starting to blame the current administration. This was an accident and from it we will learn how to handle one of these better in the future if one happens. Blaming administrations is ridiculous - for Hurricanes or for oil disasters. Move on, fix it, and figure out how to better handle if anything like this happens again.

Until an alternative to oil is found and mainstreamed, onshore and offshore oil drilling is here to stay. It is estimated, just off the shores of the United States there is enough oil to match what we currently import from Saudi Arabia for the next 30 years. When we find the alternative, wars and the pollutive effects of carbon fuels can go away. Until that time, our addiction keeps us married to it.

The Last Hike - Tettegouche State Park and the Baptism River

2010-05-02T06:41:00.000-07:00

Today I did not go solo on my hikes. The fetching Mrs. Jecha accompanied me on a moderate hike into Tetteguche State Park. The park has over 23 miles of hiking and the Superior Hiking Trail runs through it. We weren't going to cover all of that in an afternoon.

The waterfalls of the Baptism river are much more powerful than what I had seen at Gooseberry Falls the prior two days. The river sports three waterfalls, the High Falls, the Two Steps Falls, and The Cascades. From the Ranger station, we took off up the East side of the Baptism River. The water was high and running hard and that had brought out the fishermen. I stopped one of the fisherman to find out what the attraction was and he said the Steelhead were running. They would hang out in calmer eddies just after the falls areas. The hike, including going up and down access points was approximately two miles in and two out. If you wanted to cheat a little, you can drive your car further into the park and shorten your hike and trail difficulty down to about a third of a mile. We weren't there to be wimps.

The High Falls was worth the hike. These falls are the highest falls in Minnesota. They are also wide enough that they are pretty impressive with their power. You can access below the falls and also climb the trail to the top of the falls and a cable bridge to take you to the other side. If you are hiking the Superior Hiking Trail, the trail comes right through this point. On our return loop, we hiked down to the Two step falls. Equally beautiful, but not as impressive as the High Falls.

On our way back, we stopped at Gooseberry Falls. JoAnne had never hiked the Gitchee Gummie Trail and I took her out there. The weather was much nicer and hanging out on the overhangs of the cliffs was relaxing. Be nice to spend a warm fall day just reading and snoozing out there high over the lake. The trail took us back along Nelson's Creek which was running hard due to the prior day's rains.

We logged about six miles of hiking in today and that will be it for the week. Its gorgeous here on Sunday morning on the lake. We stayed this week at the Grand Superior Lodge north of Two Harbors. Good food and excellent access to great hiking.Our room sits about thirty yards from the waterfront and with a cracked window at night the sound of the waves on the lake was pretty peaceful. Time to load up and head back to the cities in a few hours. It is pretty amazing that we live just 3-4 hours away from this yet don't take advantage of it as often as we should.

Sing the songs that remind you of the best times....

Can't We Find Some Sort of Minnesota Nice middle ground for this Arizona thing?

2010-05-01T09:28:00.001-07:00

I am up here on the north shore of Lake Superior enjoying a beautiful morning and prepping for an afternoon hike with the fetching Mrs. Jecha. I have not seen any illegal immigrants from Canada but will report them if I do.

While sipping my morning coffee, I have CNN chatting in the background about how the recent, stringent, Arizona Immigration Law is causing protests and a lot of unrest. My StarTribune tells me that my Mayor, RT Rybak has placed a ban on city workers traveling to Arizona for official business – this on the heels of Chris Coleman, St. Paul’s Mayor placing the same restriction on St. Paul employees.

As Minnesotans, we need to step back and look at what is going on in Arizona and not paint this on political ideologies. I am disappointed in both of our Mayors and I will give my suggestions for them after I give my thoughts on what Arizona is experiencing:

First, Arizona has 1,000 immigrants cross its border with Mexico daily. Unfortunately, due to their financial situation when they enter the United States, they become an immediate drain on the social systems in place in Arizona. Hospitals, which do not turn away patients, accept them and either the state pays, or individuals pay through cost shifting to insurance policies. Taxpaying jobs get taken and no taxes get paid. Finally, much of the cash made gets sent back to families still living in Mexico – not used in our economy. Not to mention increasing drug smuggling of some of the immigrants crossing the border. Arizona is on the front lines and they can no longer sustain it. I view Arizona’s law as a desperate shout out to the United States that they can’t go on financially like this and it is wrong for us up here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes to be making moral judgements on Arizona.

(sarcasm button on)
Now, our Mayors in Minneapolis and St. Paul protest this law by boycotting travel. I have a few better ideas:

1) The ‘keep it in their backyard’ idea – Instead of political grandstanding with boycotts, let’s put our money where our mouth is and help Arizona. Let’s cut Minneapolis and St. Paul police forces by 75% and send the money to Arizona for law enforcement to handle the 1,000 immigrants entering daily. Let’s have Hennepin County and Ramsey County hospitals shut down operations by half and divert those funds to Arizona – yes, we will not be serving our populations, but we should all share in the pressures put on AZ’s system. Finally, cut our financial assistance payments to Minnesota families in half and send that money to Arizona to support Arizona’s illegal immigrant population.
2) The ‘bring it to our backyard’ idea – Beginning today, Minneapolis and St. Paul should charter four airplanes to shuttle immigrants from Nogales, AZ to Minneapolis. We could get a great deal on planes as most of the US Commercial airplanes that are ‘mothballed’ are parked between Tucson and Phoenix. By bringing them here, we put our money where our mouth is and pay for hospitals and human services directly with our new residents (thus decreasing middlemen and potential corruption in sending money directly to AZ). Through the state, we could increase income taxes on Minneapolis and St. Paul residents to pay for unemployment benefits of our citizens who are impacted by this decision. Minneapolis and St. Paul could both increase property and sales taxes threefold on residents to help pay for taking this financial burden off of the backs of Arizonans. Sign me up! (sarcasm button off)

America was built on immigration. If you are reading this, you most likely descended from an immigrant. Immigrants are what makes our country great. But, a legal and simple process needs to be in place to allow this. Too many immigrants walk across the border and sidestep process, or even come here on legal visas and then stay after they expire. Many don’t pay taxes for their labor – it is questionable whether many of them even want to become a citizen. At the same time, you have to be very wealthy to become a citizen, needing attorneys and money for other expenses involved to get your citizenship. Arizona has told the US Government – either do something about this or we have to do something. It is time for the US Government to act.

Finally, civil rights. Critical to our lives here in Minnesota and the United States. Some have argued that the Arizona law allows law enforcement to collar anyone they think may be illegal. I am not sure if that is the intention, and wouldn’t support if it was as this would lead to legalized civil rights and privacy breaches. Racial profiling is wrong and I would be surprised if this is what the scrivners of the law actually intended. However, we should not prejudge a law based on the talking points of politicians or major media.

In the end, boycotts of travel to Arizona by city Mayors is wrong unless they have lived in the shoes of Arizona residents. Minneapolis and St. Paul’s Mayors need to step back and rescind their ‘boycotts’. Let’s stop politicizing and let’s start problem solving. Arizona has sent out their ‘S-O-S’; will Washington respond with a solid bipartisan plan or will they continue to divide on political issues? As I sit here typing and listening to President Obama talk to U of Michigan grads I hear him stating that we must look at the opinions of others and that the time for divisiveness must stop. Let's follow that advice and start locally with this Arizona boycott and our Mayors.

Another Day In Hiking Paradise........Gitche Gummie Trail.....Gooseberry Falls

2010-04-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

Got up and got some CE Real Estate credits this morning and then set out on the trail again. Today, I was going to take in Wolf Ridge just outside of Castle Danger and walk about five miles along the ridge and back. I had a change of heart as I was walking out the door.

Last night it rained and today it has rained off and on. I decided that I would return to Gooseberry Falls and hike the Gitchee Gummie Trail located on the North/East side of the park. With the rain, I figured the falls would be rocking and I had always taken in the South/West side of the falls. I wasn't disappointed.

Before getting on the Gitchee Gummie Trail, I took in the lower falls trail located on the north side of the lower falls. The sign as I entered stated, "WARNING - Keep Children At Hand". I soon found out why. They have built a fabulous catwalk that leaves you overlooking the falls on the edge of a 50-60 foot sheer granite cliff. Its safe, sturdy, and has railings; but take two young siblings throwing swings at each other or pushing around, and a serious fall could easily happen. The lower falls are beautiful from the several vantage points that you get as you traverse along the cliff. Definitely worth it.

The Gitchie Gummie trail was a little different than the lakeview trail I took the prior day which took me along the Gooseberry river right to the lake. Here, you have to climb a bunch of switchbacks (this was nothing compared to the Devil's Staircase on Scotland's West Highland Way!) to find yourself at the top of a ridge. The trail continues towards Lake Superior where you get a great look down at where Gooseberry River flows into Gitchie Gummie. I estimate the cliff that overhangs this area is 100-150 feet above the water below. The round trip hike was about two miles and I wasn't ready to quit so I took off under the highway and back up to the Fifth Falls. Even with a constant drizzle, it was wonderful just to be outside.

Gonna have to add the Superior Hiking Trail to my 'Bucket List'!

2010-04-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

This morning I spent about four hours hiking trails around Gooseberry Falls and the Superior Hiking Trail. Gooseberry, in itself is a wonderful wayside rest created back in the 1930's by the State Highway Department. Over the years, Minnesota's Park System has taken over and it is gorgeous.

The park was mine today, literally. In four hours of hiking the trails around the park and north of the park on the Superior Hiking trail, I saw two people. The hike took me first from the falls, down to the lake on the lakefront trail. After spending time down on the Lakeshore, I completed the loop back to the main visitor center and then about 45 minutes inland up the Gooseberry River. The highlight of the hike was the Fifth Falls. No people, peaceful, yet noisy with nature's power.

Which takes me back to the 'Bucket List'. Before I hit 55, meaning in the next eight years, I want to hike from Duluth to Thunder Bay, Ontario on the Lake Superior Trail. I have hiked the Scottish Highlands, the Swiss Alps, Bavaria, Northeast Florida Coast, Appalaichan Trail, Redwood forests of California, etc., but I have never taken enough time to appreciate what we have right here in our backyard in Minnesota - probably one of the top five hiking trails (the Superior Hiking Trail) in the world. I have done a disservice to myself by spending such little time on it. Hiking from Duluth to Thunder Bay is not only an exercise in appreciating beauty, but also a challenge to a body and knees that seem to cooperate less as I get older!

Do you have a favorite hike on the Superior Hiking Trail? Write about it in the comments so others can appreciate or plan.

Why Was This in My Southwest Journal This Week?

2010-04-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

Picked up my Southwest Journal and there is this Letter to the Editor in there: Click Here

The letter from Arlene Fried is somewhat bizarre in that it seems to want to slam Meg Forney for filing a complaint against Brad Bourn for campaign law violations. Meg Forney did nothing wrong in filing her complaint, yet the letter states that the SW Journal missed it that the panel decided that Meg would have lost anyways and that she couldn't "blame" that for her loss. Huh?

Not true.

As I mentioned in a posting on this blog right after I found out that Meg Forney had filed a complaint - the law was pretty clear, but the panel would wimp out for obvious reasons. The panel would have had to call a new election. Think about it, a special election for a Park Board seat? That's a huge waste of money. I knew, and I am sure that Meg Forney knew that it was a longshot that a panel would actually enforce the law due to practical purposes (a major reason why I did not participate or bring additional complaints against Bourn for his smear mailer against me). Sure Meg Forney would have liked to see a panel enforce the law as written and have the seat forfeited as the law states....but practicality of the panel outweighed enforcing the law.

Unfortunately, it just makes bad campaign behavior and the consequences just another campaign expense.

Here are the facts for the letter writer:

* Meg Forney ran a clean campaign (and doesn't deserve your taunts)
* Brad Bourn didn't run a clean campaign and received one of the largest fines ever handed out to an individual by the Office of Administrative Hearings (a pretty big statement in itself)
* Brad Bourn probably was dishonest to the panel (based on their opinions that his testimony "lacked credibility" or "was not reasonable or believable"). Was his testimony under oath? If so, is this OK to the letter writer as long as the end justifies the means (a little Machiavelli for ya!)?
* Meg Forney was not dishonest to the panel and had enough conviction in her position that she did not seek an attorney (another campaign expense for Bourn as he needed an attorney).
* The Panel never determined whether Forney would have won or not, just that they could not determine how severe the vote tampering was through the mailing pieces.
* Meg Forney was exercising her rights as a citizen to hold candidates responsibile for their conduct. If no one steps up like Meg Forney did, campaigns would further tilt towards the wild, wild west as cheating in the fashion that took place would just be amplified and tested by candidates with each election.

Why should a citizen who essentially 'whistle blows' on a candidate's misconduct be smeared in a letter to the editor of a paper? Why the anger? Shouldn't we applaud that person for making sure that through the decision that was made, future candidates for offices cannot break campaign laws wantonly? Is Arlene Fried's position the DFL's position in that those who speak up regarding candidate conduct get intimidated against or smeared (I have not heard the DFL, or Frank Hornstein or Scott Dibble for that matter, come out with a statement regarding the conduct noted to date by the panel - the candidate was a DFL endorsed candidate and there should be some sort of minimum conduct expectations for candidates...shouldn't there be?)?

Too many questions....too confusing of a world....how bizarre....

So What Up With That GM Loan Payoff?

2010-04-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Last December I posted on General Motors and their utilizing a bunch of high school Pirates of Penzeance rejects to promote their vehicle, The Volt. It was silly, a $42k car that no one is going to buy being promoted by a bunch of goofy dancers. Bailout money poorly spent.

Yesterday, while reading my StarTribune (yes, despite my threats to cancel my subscription, the Sports section remains relatively unbiased and the paper is still great as a fish wrapper and bird cage liner! That and their crossword puzzles and Variety section are entertaining), I was drawn to an advertisment on the back page of the Strib from GM stating they had 'paid their loan to the government in full - with interest'. Great, I thought. Manufacturing is so critical to a solid ecomony and if GM is making it back, this would be good news.

I have done some research and found that this is just another unfortunate head fake. GM paid back $6.7 Billion dollars. We, the taxpayer, gave them $50 Billion in 2009 alone to keep their doors open; and the company lost $4.4 Billion in the first quarter of the year. It appears that the payback was utilizing unused TARP funds (taxpayer dollars) to pay off the loan and then PR it like GM is on the rebound. We even got to see the CEO on TV commercials bragging about this payoff.

But it appears to have been a sham. Paying off a taxpayer loan with taxpayer money is nothing more than a Ponzi scheme that would make Tom Petters blush.

Now, granted, as part of the $50 Billion we floated GM we (the taxpayer) get warrants in the company and can sell off the stock. But, GM was never worth more than $23 Billion dollars when publicly traded and is a damaged brand that would be lucky to fetch $12 Billion when they try to go public later this year. As we taxpayers own 60% of GM, we might get $7 Billion back on our $50 Billion bridge loan. I'm not so sure that's a good investment. Oh, and keep in mind, that investment actually is China's investment...as they have covered our overspending over the last 15 years through buying our Treasuries. Thanks China!

So why have we been essentially lied to? Yes, this $6.7 Billion loan was paid off, but we paid off our own loan. Kind of like paying off your Visa with your Mastercard and then bragging about how you have just improved your debt situation. I don't like Ponzi schemes and this one will go down as one of the larger ones ever. If the public offering fails this fall, it is time for the taxpayer to pull the plug on GM. Losing American owned industry sucks, losing American jobs sucks, ridiculously subsidizing a bad and unfixable business model is worse.

Got me a Chrysler....it seats about twenty....so come on, and bring your bailout money!

Minneapolis Park & Rec News

2010-04-09T12:39:00.001-07:00

Below are links to news releases prepared by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s Public Information and Marketing Office.

2009 Superintendent’s Report highlights MPRB’s park stewardship, broad public support

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1194

Volunteers honored for contributions to Minneapolis parks

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1195

Minneapolis Parks marks Arbor Day celebration at Jordan Park

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1196

Celebrate spring and summer with special events at Minneapolis rec centers

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1197

Rec Plus 2010-11 School year program registration begins April 19

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1198

MPRB Adult Golf Schools ready to tee up at Columbia, Hiawatha learning centers

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1199

MPRB offers junior golf camps for youth 17 and under

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1200

Kids, put those golf lessons to good use on MPRB Junior Golf Leagues

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1201

LPGA*USGA Girls Golf of the First Tee of Minneapolis

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1202

MPRB offers adult, youth sailing lessons at Lake Harriet

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1203

This summer, get into the “swim” of things

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1204

“Music in the Parks” series tuning up for summer concerts

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1205

Explore Minneapolis parks and lakes this spring by day by or night

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1206

Explore the May flowers that sprung from the April showers at the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1207

Greenway’s Viking 5K “Gridiron Gallop” fun run/walk is June 20 around Lake Nokomis

http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=52&prid=1208

Get outside....

Wish the Fat Guy some willpower........

2010-04-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

I just returned from vacation on the Texas coast. I knew there was something wrong when I went out to do some wave crashing in the ocean and the lifeguards raised the blue flag (signifying marine life issues for swimmers) and called all other swimmers out of the ocean because they thought they saw an Orca. Heck, even the jellyfish ran from me.

I am twenty pounds over my divorce weight - a weight that my wife and I determined when we got married that gives the other side 'grounds'. She has held up her end of the bargain...I haven't. Time to get to work.

So today it starts....excercise and diet changes. My goal will be twenty pounds in forty-five days.

I love a glass of wine with dinner....gone.
I love a beer right before I go to bed....gone.
Late night snacks.....gone.
Pizza and other fatty dinners....gone

Carrot sticks....yep.
Fruits and veggies....5 times a day.
Salads....yep.
Excercise every day.....yep.

Intestinal fortitude....let's hope.

So, its time to walk down to Lake Harriet and run/walk around the lake. While I will not give my weight....I will give my progress. Please hope that I can get under my divorce weight and I hope I have your support!

Wish me luck. With this post I begin the trek to lose twenty in 45!

Weird Al "FAt" | Music Videos | SPIKE.com

kare11.com | Twin Cities, MN | 1 dead, several still missing in Mpls fire UPDATE: Worst fears Confirmed

2010-04-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

kare11.com Twin Cities, MN 1 dead, several still missing in Mpls fire

Prayers and thoughts go out to the missing. Southwest Hockey Association, in order to keep hockey affordable to inner city youth, runs approximately seven charitable gambling (pull tab/bar bingo) sites in Minneapolis. McMahon's Pub was one of those sites.

As I write, at least one SWHA employee and several family members of another employee appear to be on the missing list. They lived over the Pub in apartments. Please keep them in your thoughts today and pray/hope that they are somewhere safe and not victims of this already tragic fire.

UPDATE: Our worst fears confirmed, as a SWHA employee and a SWHA employee's mother, brother and three children all perished in the fire. Terrible news.

“a miscommunication under some unusual circumstances.”

2010-03-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Recent article by the Southwest Journal. I have highlighted the sentence, "The judges ruled Bourn’s testimony wasn’t credible when he said he overlooked the mistake." Reader is to develop their own opinions, as I am done opining on this topic.

Bourn hit with $1,600 fine for false campaign claims

UPDATED March 22, 2010, 11:49am

By Cristof Traudes Southest Journal

A state panel has fined Brad Bourn $1,600 for knowingly and incorrectly declaring support from two Southwest legislators during last fall’s campaign.

Ruling on a complaint filed by Meg Forney, the runner-up for Bourn’s District 6 seat on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the judges said Bourn never received written permission from state Sen. Scott Dibble and Rep. Frank Hornstein to list their endorsements. Their names appeared on a flyer sent to about 3,000 Southwest voters a week before the Nov. 3 election.

Because of the legislators’ popularity — both were elected with overwhelming margins — the judges said getting either legislator’s endorsement could have boosted Bourn’s win. He received 48 percent of first-round votes, compared to Forney’s 36 percent.

According to court documents, Bourn asked for Dibble and Hornstein’s support on a number of occasions, but they each time told him they would not make an endorsement in the Park Board race. A few times, they told him they wanted to help him, but “upon reflection,” Bourn said at a January hearing, he never received their written permission.

The judges ruled Bourn’s testimony wasn’t credible when he said he overlooked the mistake. Whether Bourn would have lost the election without the listing, however, the judges couldn’t decide.

The judges dismissed two additional complaints from Forney. Also dismissed was a complaint Bourn himself brought forward claiming Forney’s website incorrectly listed endorsements from supporters in her 2005 campaign.

In an interview with the Southwest Journal, Bourn said he would not appeal the amount.

“We’re just going to accept it and move forward,” he said.

He called the situation “a miscommunication under some unusual circumstances.”

Forney afterward said she wishes Bourn were more apologetic. The fine is severe, she said, and reflects the seriousness of his actions, which she believes were deliberate.
"It wasn't a matter of who's winning or not," Forney said. "This is just wrong."
In 2005, Commissioner Carol Kummer was fined $600 for knowingly using the initials “DFL” on campaign material despite never having received the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s endorsement.

FINDINGS OF FACT....High Fives......

2010-03-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

The MN Office of Administrative Hearings has released their findings of fact in the Forney vs Bourn case. You can read by CLICKING HERE.

Some fascinating workings into the backside of campaigns and behind the scenes in the DFL. I didn't realize I was such a big part of the thought process of the machine. Kind of Flattering.

Here are a couple of gems, that were not honest portrayals (should we be surprised), that were provided at the evidence hearing by Commissioner Bourn:

12. During the campaign, Steve Jecha, another candidate for Park Board, made some comments suggesting that Bourn should not run for Park Board because he rented an apartment and did not own property. Others, including Bourn, Senator Dibble, and Representative Hornstein, disagreed with Jecha’s comments and attempted to distance themselves from his statements. At one time, Senator Dibble and Representative Hornstein believed that Forney was coordinating her campaign with Jecha.

NOTE - I never said Brad shouldn't run because he was a renter. I stated that because he was a renter, he has no empathy for property owners in District 6 who are exhausted from never ending property tax increases. This was in response to Bourn stating that he was all for raising property taxes on District 6 property owners at the StarTribune Editorial Board meeting. This was another dishonest characterization made by candidate Bourn. Bourn was referring to this blog post, click here, and he was not being honest with the panel.

13. During the afternoon of October 22, 2009, Bourn talked to Senator Dibble at a campaign event at Martin Luther King Park in Minneapolis. The two discussed the comments made by Mr. Jecha about Bourn not owning property in the City. During the conversation, Bourne asked Senator Dibble about his request for endorsement and Senator Dibble replied that he and Representative Hornstein were “working on a plan to help him.” Bourn asked again for Senator Dibble’s endorsement and Senator Dibble replied, “Let me talk to [Forney] first.”[10]

NOTE - Once again, what is the big deal regarding my comment that he is a renter in our district and has no empathy with those property owners in District 6 who have seen huge tax increases - while the candidate advocates that we need to be taxed more?

14. On the evening of October 22, 2009, a campaign event took place at Linden Hills Park. Forney, Bourn, Senator Dibble and Representative Hornstein were present at the event.[11] At one point, Senator Dibble, Representative Hornstein, Bourn, and City Council Member Elizabeth Hodges were joking with each other about renting homes and running for public office. Hodges and Senator Dibble also rent their homes, and the group exchanged “high-fives” in celebration of renters.[12] At some point during the evening, Senator Dibble and Representative Hornstein told Bourn that they “had a plan to help” him and that they were “excited to help” him.[13]

NOTE - Wow, high fives? Shame on Hodges and Dibble. Downright petty and arrogant. I voted for you folks. I will be waiting for my apology.

15. On October 23, 2009, Senator Dibble and Representative Hornstein met with Forney and discussed the campaign and how they could help her distance herself from Jecha, who they believed had espoused ideas antithetical to the DFL platform.[14]

NOTE - This blog post (click here) on October 21st must have shook up the machine. It was a good move for me and a good move for Meg Forney, but clearly made the DFL unhappy. If feeling that District 6 residents are exhausted from constant property tax pressure (from losing jobs, to seeing neverending property tax increases, etc.) is 'antithetical to the DFL platform', I'm guilty - as are virtually all of my neighbors. I am disappointed in Representative Hornstein - who I voted for and who's son had a very positive experience in our hockey program and was the beneficiary of my literally thousands of hours of volunteer work on his behalf. Apology would be appreciated.

There is more good stuff in the report, but let me make these two final points:

1) I ran because I truly care about our kids and our parks. I want better fields and facilities for our kids. I wanted better parks. I wanted to do things without further stressing an exhausted tax base in District 6 (e.g. a neighbor of mine just sold his house for $750k because he could no longer meet the $20,000+ of property taxes - the city has assessed his home at almost $1.2million - and to think that these taxes may double over the next eight years is mind boggling and people are being taxed out of their homes....high five that one Betsy Hodges and Scott Dibble). That is my party affiliation.I am not a Republican or a Democrat. I do not put a political ideology before my core moral compass. I am disappointed in how this Finding of Fact exposes how those in our community do place their political ideology above kids and our parks. This is the Parks & Recreation for cripes sake, not the US Senate. Let's get back to that. This report shows some pretty disappointing behind the scenes stuff and dishonesty. I guess that is politics.....and that is why 'I'm out'.

2)Commissioner Bourn was found guilty of 211B.02. The report shows it was not an accident and that it was not 'trivial' (it was done in the final days where it couldn't be reversed and it affected voters). 211B.17 (FORFEITURE OF NOMINATION OR OFFICE; CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE NOT FORFEITED) appears to apply here. Who's responsibility is it to enforce the law, and will they do it?

This is my final post on this matter. As I stated in an earlier blog post, I was very disappointed with the local media (Strib), and after reading the OAH report, elected DFL leaders from our district. The chapter in my book on running for an office can now be complete! Council Member Hodges, Representative Hornstein, Senator Dibble....I call upon your leadership to undo this circus that you participated in and attend the next Minneapolis Park Board meeting and demand that Commissioner Bourn resign. This will be your test to see if your core moral compasses come before political ideology. Also, I do believe I am owed an apology from the three of you and you can call me any time.

I can ride my bike with no handlebars.....

211B.02, 211B.16, 211B.17 - I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV

2010-03-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

This post is a follow up to yesterday's post:

Based on the StarTribune article referenced in the prior blog post, I have come to the conclusion that 1) the candidate knew what he was doing (wasn't an accident), 2) the violation of 211B.02 was not trivial - as it is acknowledged it had an effect on voting - the question is unknown as to how much of an effect which is irrelevant to the law.

Make your own conclusions with the law:

211B.02 FALSE CLAIM OF SUPPORT.

A person or candidate may not knowingly make, directly or indirectly, a false claim stating or implying that a candidate or ballot question has the support or endorsement of a major political party or party unit or of an organization. A person or candidate may not state in written campaign material that the candidate or ballot question has the support or endorsement of an individual without first getting written permission from the individual to do so.

211B.16 PROSECUTION.
Subdivision 1.

[Repealed, 2004 c 277 s 13]
Subd. 2.

[Repealed, 2004 c 277 s 13]
Subd. 3.County attorney authority.

A county attorney may prosecute any violation of this chapter.

211B.17 FORFEITURE OF NOMINATION OR OFFICE; CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE NOT FORFEITED.
Subdivision 1.Forfeiture of nomination or office.

Except as provided in subdivision 2, if a candidate is found guilty of violating this chapter or an offense was committed by another individual with the knowledge, consent, or connivance of the candidate, the court, after entering the adjudication of guilty, shall enter a supplemental judgment declaring that the candidate has forfeited the nomination or office. If the court enters the supplemental judgment, it shall transmit to the filing officer a transcript of the supplemental judgment, the nomination or office becomes vacant, and the vacancy must be filled as provided by law.
Subd. 2.Circumstances where nomination or office not forfeited.

In a trial for a violation of this chapter, the candidate's nomination or election is not void if the court finds that:

(1) an offense, though committed by the candidate or with the candidate's knowledge, consent, or connivance, was trivial; or

(2) an act or omission of a candidate arose from accidental miscalculation or other reasonable cause, but in any case not from a want of good faith;

and the court also finds that it would be unjust for a candidate to forfeit the nomination or election.

None of these findings is a defense to a conviction under this chapter.

**********************

We will have to wait until the final order is posted to get exactly what the panel put in the report. However, the question is, will Minnesota enforce the law?

ain't no party....ain't no disco

ENDORSEMENTGATE...the final chapter - StarTribune Finally Catches Up on Bourn Misconduct - Bourn Fined $1,600 By State For Campaign Violations

2010-03-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

Vindication.... there have been people who have ripped this blog for making sure that the conduct of Commissioner Bourn would not be swept under the rug and that he should be held accountable. As I have stated on this blog, our political system today is very broken because candidates believe they can do things without any recourse. Today, the StarTribune's endorsed candidate has been fined $1,600 by Minnesota's Office of Administrative Hearings - the entity charged with investigating campaign misconduct.

Yes folks, all along you heard it right here on this blog. As mentioned early in this blog, the panel would wimp out. Based on the Star Tribune's article (CLICK HERE), the panel found that Bourn "knowingly made false claim" and that the claim "likely influenced some voters".

The Matrix provided on the MN OAH website (click here for the matrix) calls for a higher fine and/or forwarding to the District Attorney. The election was very close, votes were taken, and why would the panel give the benefit of the doubt to the candidate that they have now stated....cheated?

At the same time that Commissioner Bourn sent out the postcard that caused him to get fined, he sent out a postcard smearing me. The panel noted that Bourn's endorsement postcard was intentional. I could have filed a complaint against Bourn, but chose not to....and the fine would have been much higher. I do commend Candidate Forney for holding candidates accountable for their misconduct.

Double vindication. According to the StarTribune, the panel also dismissed the insulting and ridiculous claims made against Meg Forney - who ran a clean campaign and was always pleasant to deal with. This blog has also received criticism for pointing out that these claims were only done to muddy the claims against Bourn filed by Forney. Let me be clear...although Bourn will not do it, he should step down and Forney should be named Commissioner.

With that said, Commissioner Bourn is my commissioner and it is time to move forward as politicians typically don't step down. What he did was wrong. While Commissioner Bourn has "accepted the ruling", a formal apology to all of the candidates who were effected - not only by his false claims noted here, but by his smear postcard against me that he sent at the same time - as well as an apology for his misconduct to his constituents in a mailing - would go a long way towards rebuilding bridges.

The article from the StarTribune is as follows:

Minneapolis Park Commissioner is fined $1,600 for false claims in election.
A judicial panel found Brad Bourn falsely claimed endorsement from state legislators.

By Steve Brandt, Star Tribune
Posted on-line March 19, 2010 8:37 p.m.

Minneapolis Park Commissioner Brad Bourn has been fined $1,600 for falsely claiming that he had been endorsed by two southwest-area legislators during his successful run for his seat last fall.

The order, issued Friday by a panel of three state administrative law judges, came in response to a complaint by Meg Forney, who finished as the runner-up for the open park district seat.

The judges concluded that Bourn knowingly made a false claim that Sen. Scott Dibble and Rep. Frank Hornstein, both DFL-Minneapolis, had endorsed him, and didn't obtain written permission before using their names. The judges said the claim likely influenced some voters in the heavily DFL district, but they said they couldn't conclude that Forney would have won without the claim.

"It's just so terribly sad that the voters have been deceived," Forney said. "We as candidates need to be accountable, and we also need to police our own backyard. I hope he'll learn, and the voters will hold him accountable."

The panel rejected his complaint that Forney improperly claimed endorsement by a public employees union and falsely implied she'd reeived certain endorsements that were from her 2005 campaign. ###

Something Fishy is going on in Minneapolis....

2010-03-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

I wake up.... groggily head to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Grab my toothbrush, throw the paste on, and then start brushing. I take a big mouthful of water only to suddenly realize it tastes like dead fish!

I regain my composure. Head to the shower. As the steam fills the shower chamber, I am overcome by the smell of....dead fish.

My day has now officially started as a bad day! Down to the kitchen where I grab some ice and a glass of water.....fish.

Decide that fishy tasting coffee isn't on my wish list for the day and decide to walk over to Brueggers for a Hazelnut coffee. They get the same water as me, but maybe theirs is filtered. Can officially say that the Hazelnut out aroma'd any potential fish smell. My day is saved.

So what gives? Every year at this time, Minneapolis' water turns fishy for about a week. Minneapolis claims that the water is completely safe, but that you can only get 90% of the smell and taste out of the water. Minneapolis recommends that you pour the water into a pitcher and place in your 'fridge for a while. The result is that some of the odors will naturally disapate (either that all of your food located in your 'fridge will gain a little fishy taste!).

The fishy water comes every time at this year when the snow melts off. Apparently the systems are overwhelmed by much of the organic changes happening when moving from winter to spring. For now, get a Brita filter and that should handle it!

Rolly Polly Fish Heads....Bill Paxton's screen debut:

KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - Group aims to bring hockey back to city schools

2010-03-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - Group aims to bring hockey back to city schools

Minneapolis Hockey Featured on KSTP 5 News

2010-03-11T20:43:00.000-08:00

In conjunction with their coverage for the Minnesota State Hockey Tournament, KSTP sought to do a story about positive things going on with "city hockey". Minneapolis once dominated hockey circles and over the years, things slipped. Two years ago, we decided to aggressively build hockey in the city.

A few things that we did were 1) become a community partner with the public schools, allowing us to send flyers home in backpacks, and 2) work closer with Park & Recreation on facility usage as well as outdoor ice.

Our MPLSHockey.com initiative has paid off. Today, we have over 300 mite (ages 4-8) players and we have been growing at a 20% clip at that age level. At our current clip, Minneapolis hockey will rebound over the next six or seven years as we bring larger numbers of athletes in at the high school level.

View the story by CLICKING HERE

Hockey heals......

2010-03-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

Great story on US Veterans from Iraq/Afghanistan and how hockey has helped them recover.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You only get what you give.....

State High School Hockey Tourney Starts on Thursday!

2010-03-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest high school events in the country fires up on Thursday (Wednesday for Class A).

If you have never taken in a State Hockey Tournament it is pretty amazing. Packed stadium....tons of electricity....bands....cheerleaders....and kids leaving everything they've got on the ice.

Tune in or head down to the rink.

Want to predict who will win? Join the pool:

CLICK HERE

Once you get your password, reclick on the above link and it will take you right to the brackets.

Good luck!

vive la vida....and vive l'hockey

City Pages Smears Minneapolis Park Board's Gurban

2010-03-05T19:43:00.000-08:00

Hey, who said being the "CEO" is fun?

The City Pages this week did a smear hit piece on the Minneapolis Park Board Superintendent Jon Gurban. The Park Board, in a 6-3 vote, has voted to remove Gurban at the end of his contract in June or July and begin the search for a new "Super".

The article states this, but then goes on to paint Gurban as a tyrant with a short fuse (in fact the image at the beginning of this article is courtesy of the City Pages). The article describes how Gurban became the Superintendent and the controversy it created - and no one can deny that it was a contentious moment in the history of the Park Board.

The article quotes some of the following people to build the case that Gurban is a horrible person: Arlene Fried (a park activist that is well known for not liking Gurban), Jason Stone (like me, a candidate that lost in the last election....and one who appears to have had a run-in with Gurban at a local meeting), Mary Barrick (a retired assistant to the prior Superintendent who for some reason did not see eye to eye with her new boss), Anita Tabb (Current Park Board Commissioner who ran unopposed in the recent election), and Joyce Murphy (a park activist upset at the Park Board's decision to buy the West River Road property ; as well as trumping up that Gurban blew up and intimidated a lady at a community meeting...despite that lady saying she did not feel intimidated by Gurban). Perhaps we should ask those who had a positive experience with Gurban to post in the comment section and maybe the CityPages will do an article on all the people who like and have benefitted from his work.

The article, written by Emily Kaiser, unfortunately is filled with bias in the writing...something a writer always should avoid - especially when many of those interviewed seem to have axes to grind with the Superintendent. For instance:

- Gurban turning red and shaking his finger in someone's face.
- Gurban getting angry and "bellowing" at a poor 75 year old Ted Wirth.
- Gurban, a tall Minnesotan can seem intimidating to those who cross his path.
- Gurban becoming upset

All of these and more in the article are descriptions given by people who, frankly, do not like the Superintendent for one reason or another; or are embellishments by the author. Is it possible that these descriptions may have been embellished a little? How does Kaiser know Gurban 'bellowed' or shook his finger in someone's face? Going further, look at the image used by City Pages for the article.

Shameful.....

Here is the deal to those that hate Jon Gurban. He is done. He is leaving. What is the point of smearing him after the fact? How deep is this anger? Why must you print or have yourself quoted in an article chock full of heresay that does nothing but damage a person's future - a person who is no longer part of the Park's future?

For the record....here is what Jon Gurban has done in his year's as Park Board Superintendent:

Treated youth athletics and activities as equally important to our community as the Parks, Conservation, and environment.

Received job reviews that were very FAVORABLE. So Favorable, that his contract was renewed several times.

Didn't close down ONE park center in Minneapolis while our counterparts in St. Paul have been shutting them down left and right.

Statistics I received from a survey done of Minneapolis residents show that under Gurban's watch, 97% of respondents say the parks “meet the needs of their household.” 99% of respondents say the park system is a “unique and valuable asset.” 99% of respondents say the parks “play an important role, benefit the public good and are low cost." and when asked to rate the value residents feel they get for their tax dollar the following results: 9% said excellent value, 73% said good, 5% said fair, and 13% were unsure (who can say this about ANY government run entity!!!).

Thank you Jon Gurban. For caring about kids and the environment. Being a CEO isn't easy and unfortunately, it is not a popularity contest. Having been there I know. People with pea-shooters constantly sniping at you - both from within an organization and from outside. Your job was to serve your community and you did (oh, and that turf field that folks complained about in that article....our kids are using it and I wish it was the start of better fields and facilities for all of our kids and hope a new Superintendent carries on the same passion for kids athletics and activities). Good luck in your future endeavors.

For those who hate Jon Gurban or how he became Superintendant....time to have a little class.

In closing - I recently read that a Board member (don't recall who) stated that when they were running there was a demand for change and that is why they had to remove Gurban. I ran in the last election. There was NO demand for change from folks I talked with except for a small group that would corner me at meetings. What I found is that Minneapolis residents were completely ambivalent to the issue - a sign of 'if it ain't broke....don't fix it' - and they were very pleased with our Park System.

A little "Yellow" in honor of Yellow Journalism

A Look Into Minnesota's Future.....A Speech Minnesota Should Hear

2010-03-03T14:29:00.001-08:00

As our Minnesota government heads into their budgeting....they can either keep spending money we do not have, or, take a lead from New Jersey. Taxing more won't work - no one has any money and unemployment is high. Government has never, ever had to take hard budgeting cuts in order to survive like a private sector company. Well, its coming. Minnesota elected officials - from Governor Pawlenty to the House/Senate, should take note and start governing for this future.

http://njn.net/television/webcast/ontherecord.html

Listen to this whole video. Understand why there is no money. Understand that Minnesota needs to slash a lot of jobs and programs.

Here is a snippet of the transcript:

In the time we got here, of the approximately $29 billion budget there was only $14 billion left. Of the $14 billion, $8 billion could not be touched because of contracts with public worker unions, because of bond covenants, because of commitments we made accepting stimulus money. So we had to find a way to save $2.3 billion in a $6 billion pool of money.

When I went into the treasurer's off in the first two weeks of my term, there was no happy meetings. They presented me with 378 possible freezes and lapses to be able to balance the budget. I accepted 375 of them.

There is a great deal of discussion about me doing that by executive action. Every day that went by was a day where money was going out the door such that the $6 billion pool was getting less and less. So something needed to be done.

People did not send me here to talk, the people sent me here to do. So we took the executive action we did to stop the bleeding.

As we move forward, and we evaluate what we need to do three weeks from now in our fiscal year 2011 budget address, you all need to understand the context from which we operate.

Our citizens are already the most overtaxed in America. US mayors hear it all the time. You know that the public appetite for ever increasing taxes has reached an end.

So when we freeze $475 million in school aid, I am hearing the reverberations from school boards saying now you are just going to force us to raise taxes.

Well there is a 4% cap in place as you all know, yet school boards continue to give out raises which exceed that cap, just on salary. Not to mention the fact that most of them get no contribution towards the spiraling increase in health care benefits.

Now, we are going to reduce spending at the state level. And we are going to continue to reduce it because we have no choice but to do so. Our obligation to you is twofold. One, is to let you know that. So I'm' letting you know that.

Second to work with the legislature to give you the tools helping you to reduce spending at the municipal level. Now the pension and benefit reform package that was passed unanimously in the senate this week begins to give you some of those tools.

But it is only a beginning.

Do we need to change some of the rules of arbitration to level the playing field to allow municipalities and school boards to have a more level sense of collective bargaining?

I think the evidence of ever increasing raises being given to public sector workers as a result of the arbitration system tells us that we do. [Applause From Mayors]

But you have to stand up and give the support to the legislators in this building to get them to do that. I can guarantee you this, that more pension and benefit reforms which I will consider arbitration reform to be one of them, are things that when they come to my desk, they will be signed. [Applause From Mayors]

Because we can no longer continue on a path where we say we are going to reduce spending at the state level but we are not going to give you any tools to do that at the municipal level and the school board level.

By the same token I am tired of hearing school superintendents and school board members complain that there are no other options than raising property taxes. There are other options.

You know, Marlboro, after a two year negotiation, they give a five year contract giving 4.5% annual salary increases to the teachers, with no contribution, zero contribution to health care benefits.

But I am sure there are people in Marlboro who have lost their jobs, who have had their homes foreclosed on, and who cannot keep a roof over their family's head there is something wrong.

You know, at some point there has to be parity. There has to be parity between what is happening in the real world, and what is happening in the public sector world. The money does not grow on trees outside this building or outside your municipal building. It comes from the hard working people of our communities who are suffering and are hurting right now.

I heard someone in the legislature say two days ago that they wanted no fare hike in New Jersey Transit, no cuts in service, and no cuts in subsidy. And I was thinking to myself, man I should have made this guy treasurer. [Laughter] Because if you can pull that one off, you're obviously magic.

This is the type of awful political rhetoric that people sent me to this city to stop.

I would love to be able to do that, but I can't. I would love to tell you that municipal aid will stay level, but it's not. And it's not because we don't have the money. So you need to prepare. You need to prepare for what's coming down the line because we have no choice but to do these things.

And so we need to get honest with each other. In this instance, the political class,for which unfortunately all of us are a member of, the political class is lagging behind the public on this. The public is ready to hear that tough choices have to be made. They're not going to like it. Don't confuse the two. But they are ready to hear the truth.

In fact, they find it refreshing to hear the truth.

They are tired of hearing, don't worry I can spare you from the pain, because they have been hearing that for a decade, as we have borrowed and spent and taxed our way into oblivion.

We have done every quick fix in the book that you can do. And now we are left, literally holding the bag.

Leadership should be about making tough decisions. I'm not hear to tell you that anything you are going to have to do as mayors, council people will be easy. But I firmly believe after spending the last year traveling around the state of New Jersey, talking to regular citizens, that this is what they are expecting us to do.

They are also expecting us to ferret out waste and abuse. But they also know that old song that waste and abuse is going to balance the budget is an old and tired one, and it's not going to.

Now we are going to have a fight about COAH. And I have engaged in that fight and I have engaged in it directly. Not only will I be fighting COAH, I will be fighting the courts too. [Applause From Mayors]

That's OK.

We need to understand we are all in this together. And you know, all of you know in your heart, what I am saying is true. You all know that these raises that are being given to public employees of all stripes, we cannot afford. You all know the state cannot continue to spend money it does not have. And you all know that the appetite for tax increases among our constituents has come to an end.

And so the path to reform and success is clear. We know what it is. We just have to have the courage to go there. What we are doing is showing people that government can work again for them, not for us. Government has worked for the political class for much too long.

There's no time left. We have no room left to borrow. We have no room left to tax. So we merely have room left now, to do this. We are all reaching the edge of a cliff. And it reminds me a bit of that part of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where the had a seminal decision to make. So what did they do? They held hands and they jumped off the cliff.

We have to hold hands at every level of government, state county, municipal, school board. We have to hold hands and jump off the cliff.

I firmly believe we will land and we will be fine. It does not mean it will not be a scary ride on the way down. And it does not mean there won't be moments of fear and moments of apprehension.

But for certain, the troops of the decades of overspending and overborrowing and overtaxing have gained on us. So the ruination of New Jersey's economy, and of the quality of life we want all our citizens to have, is certain if we do not take this course.

It's time for us to hold hands and jump off the cliff. It's time for us to do the difficult things that need to be done and to stop playing the petty politics of yesterday, of lying to the people telling them they do not have to pay for it because someone else will.

We are going to make the leap because that's what people elected me to do. We are going to make the leap because it is the responsible thing to do. We are going to make the leap and we are going to do it together because that is what leadership demands for us. That is what the responsibility of the offices we hold requires of us.

Forget about the next election. Forget about the next editorial in the newspaper, and forget about the next angry letter or phone call you are going to get from someone who wants something for nothing.

One thing is certain. The alternative will lead to certain defeat. And so it is time for us to show courage, and resolve. And we can do it because we are from New Jersey. And I have never, in all my travels around the country, met a group of tougher people than we all have the opportunity to lead.

Even if the sky is falling down.....

Sad Day For Southwest Minneapolis Eating.....

2010-02-22T11:54:00.000-08:00

A few blog posts ago I spoke about why Minneapolis is so wonderful with its dozens of unique restaurants.

Well, as many may have heard, last week a bad fire took away two of those restaurants, Heidi's and Blackbird located near 50th and Bryant Avenue South. Both were great little restaurants with strong followings. The fire also took out Patina, a great shop with unique gifts, houseware, and books (my daughter and I loved going there).

We wish the owners and the staff the best as they rebuild and reopen in the future. It would be a shame to have lost these great restaurants long term - the owners of Heidi's have posted on their website that they will be back and Blackbird Cafe's Facebook Fan page also vows their return.

We will be waiting and salivating.....

She's Back ---- Sade

2010-02-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

I don't really post much on musicians....just use their songs at the end of my blogs, but this musician is one of my favorites and one I have never tired of listening too. If you never were into her much...a new chance to jump on the bandwagon.

Back in the mid-80's Sade was the bomb. Her songs were cool and mellow. She also looked great in a pair of blue jeans.

Well, after an 11 year hiatus, she is back and at the top of the charts in the UK. Only a matter of time before she gets some play over here. However, the US never picked up on her as much as she was tops in the UK. Here is her new single, and the one that launched her career in the 80's......

Like a fine wine....

Laughing with another girl...playing with another heart:

Bravo to Tim Pawlenty - and cut more....

2010-02-17T09:54:00.000-08:00

No one likes to see the cuts that Governor Pawlenty is laying down in his current budget. The Star Tribune today reports "Budget Ax Will Spare Few Areas".

Strib Article - click here

DFLers claim you can't just cut....you need to tax! Who do you tax? Why do you tax?

It has been proven time and again (JFK, Reagan, Bush) that when you lower tax rates, tax reciepts GO UP! When people have more money in their pocket to put into investments or in their own business, they make more money and end up paying more in taxes.

But here is why - whether you are DFL or Republican - no one should be fighting a fiscally responsible path for the state: WE HAVE NO MONEY TO SPEND. Our Federal government just increase their debt limits to $14.6 Trillion (yes, that is your great, great grandchildren's money we are spending). China is scaling back buying our Treasuries in the last month...

States and cities are going bankrupt as we speak due to politicians (both parties mind you!) not making the tough decisions they needed to make years ago. New Jersey's governor declared a financial emergency today, California begged the US government for a bailout and still can't get their ship in order, Detroit is a train wreck.

Chew on this, here are the budget gaps of the worst states in the union (Per MSN Money):

California has struggled immensely from the housing meltdown, and state lawmakers face voter-imposed restrictions, including requirements that all budgets and tax increases pass the Legislature by a two-thirds majority.

Arizona's lawmakers relied on one-time fixes to balance the state's budget instead of making long-term changes.

Rhode Island faces the highest unemployment rate and the highest home foreclosure rate in New England. It also has high taxes and lacks high-tech jobs.

Michigan has been slammed by the meltdown of the U.S. auto industry, which has lost thousands of jobs.

Oregon's leading industries, including timber and computer-chip manufacturing, have been hit by the recession, and the state relies on a voter-imposed revenue cap, which forces the state to give taxpayer rebates when times are good but leaves it unprepared in bad times.

Nevada has been hit by the downturn in consumer spending, which has weighed heavily on its gaming and tourism industries. Nevada is one of five states without a personal or corporate income tax, so it relies mostly on taxes from gaming and sales to finance most services.

Florida's population is shrinking for the first time since World War II, and the Sunshine State has long banked on people moving there. Constitutional amendments passed by voters also tie the hands of budget makers.

New Jersey has dealt with budget troubles for years. It has the highest property taxes in the nation and has increased sales and personal income taxes to help boost revenue. The financial market meltdown is also pressuring the state.

Illinois' budget gap for fiscal 2010 was one of the three biggest in the country at $13.2 billion. The Land of Lincoln has run deficits every year since the last recession in 2001 and borrows to pay off its bills.

Wisconsin has been hit hard by the decline in manufacturing as a result of the recession.

The 10 states account for more than one-third of the U.S. population and economic output, according to the report.

On the heels of the 10 states are Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, New York and Hawaii.

I don't want Minnesota heading in this direction or being a part of any list. I want our state to say we pay our bills and we run a tight financial ship. I want our Minnesota politicians to call out to the people, churches, foundations, and charities to step up as the government can no longer be everything for everyone in these tight economic times. We need to cut and cut hard. Pain needs to be felt everywhere - from social services to non-job creating business subsidies. Raising taxes is not the path...that only satisfies our government's insatiable appetite for overspending - while taking money out of the free market and sending our economy into a further downward spiral.

Some may not like this post....but a fiscally sound state with businesses to provide jobs for the majority beats a bankrupt state without businesses and a lot of jobs at McDonalds and Subway.

Who Is Against The Lake Harriet Concessions Upgrade?

2010-02-15T20:39:00.000-08:00

When I was running for Park Board last fall, one item that appeared to be a hot potato was setting up a 'high end' eatery at the Lake Harriet Bandshell similar to The Tin Fish at Lake Calhoun and the Sea Salt Eatery at the Minnehaha Falls park.

Both of these restaurant concepts have been massive successes - bringing citizens out to the parks while also being highly profitable for a park system that needs to find ways to bring in revenue.

As someone who lives a block off of Lake Harriet, and someone who has discussed this with neighbors, I find little resistance to adding the restaurant concept to the Lake Harriet bandshell area.

What I understand the complaints to be is that 1) it will increase traffic around the bandshell, and 2)an additional structure would have to be built.

My further understanding is that the structure would match the current architectural style of the bandshell and the bathrooms. So, it comes down to traffic. This would be a complaint of a small number of neighbors in the area....but our parks are for everyone and our Park Board needs to weigh things out and make a decision that serves all of the residents of the city. This objection is like someone buying a house near the airport and complaining about plane noise.....

Perhaps there is more to the arguments and I would encourage them to be posted in the comment section below. But, are those objections secondary to the NIMBY objections.

So, the non-vocal majority says - PUT IN THE LAKE HARRIET CONCEPT. I will walk the lakes more and use the parks more as a result....and the Park Board will make profits that will pay for better fields for our kids. Put it in....two years from now we will look brilliant for showing leadership on this highly successful endeavor. Another potential benefit....if it becomes so successful that people don't want to wait in lines, they will head to some of our great neighborhood restaurants - a boon for local businesses.

I'm hungry.....

One of the main reasons I love Minneapolis.....

2010-02-13T21:53:00.000-08:00

In my prior blog post, I talked about a suburban friend that ventured into Minneapolis and complained about the quality of snow removal on our streets. A valid negative to living in the city.

But, we were going out to lunch......and we were going to one of the many unique restaurants in Minneapolis.

He lives in a world of Applebees, TGIFridays, Fuddruckers, etc. Minneapolis has so many great and unique restaurants that make our suburban friends jealous.

Last night, my lovely wife and I took in dinner at Kings, located at 46th and Grand. Very simple menu....nice wine list...excellent ambience. I had the tater tots with gruyere cheese, seared tuna, and corn/clam bisque. Dang that was good.

These restaurants are now everywhere....all unique...and all something you can't get in the burbs. From Kinh Doh or Chiang Mai Thai in Uptown, to Pepitos (Chicago/46th), to the Malt Shoppe, to Broders Pasta Bar in the Lynnhurst neighborhood, to Ginger Hop or the Butcherblock up in Nordeast......there are so many great places in Minneapolis to eat, and I love that I have those options rather than choosing between some fried food at a Ruby Tuesdays, Applebees, or TGIFs. Our restaurants are worth visiting despite the road conditions!

Do you have a favorite restaurant and unique restaurant in Minneapolis? Add it to the comments below!

Latest Minneapolis City Snow Removal Grade - C+

2010-02-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine stopped by to pick me up for lunch last week. As I got into his car he asked, "What the he**, doesn't Minneapolis clear their streets?"

It was bad, and a little embarassing. We really haven't seen the thermometer go over 32 degrees and as a result, all of those little 1 or 2 inch snowfalls had been accumulating on our streets. One could get lost for a few days if they turned down the wrong street and found themselves in a snow pile in the middle of the road. Alleys weren't much better.

I was prepared to give the City low marks....but with the latest snowfall and snow emergency declared, they have kicked it in to gear. When they get out, they do a pretty good job - both on the alleys and the streets. Over the last three days the city snow removal team has increased their game.

Still, I can only muster a C+ as having to drive down roads that have snow ruts and snowdrifts most of the winter is somewhat embarrassing when one ventures over the border to Edina, Richfield, or Saint Louis Park. I just hope that we get some very warm weather soon to melt much of the snow pack....otherwise, those March Madness snowstorms will make our roads unnavigatable.

New York Times Continues Coverage of Team USAs Trip to Russia

2010-02-10T20:26:00.001-08:00

Yes, the USA National Bandy team has returned to Minneapolis from their trip to Moscow for the Bandy World Championships. In case you missed it, the New York Times did a great article on the lads from Minnesota:

Click Here for NY Times Article

Today, they followed it up with a tourney follow up article. Hat Tip to the NY Times:

America’s Bandy Heroes, Back From Moscow
By JEFF Z. KLEIN

As the United States men’s and women’s hockey teams count down the last days and hours to the Olympic tournament, we heard from an official of another national team, Chris Middlebrook, coach of the men’s bandy team that competed late last month in the world championship in Moscow.

The team was profiled in a recent Times article about the sport, a precursor to hockey. The sheet of ice is 110 yards long by 65 yards wide, it is played 11 men a side, the goalies do not use sticks, the nets are 7 feet high and 11 feet wide, and games are 90 minutes long with the only break coming at halftime. This is what the United States team looked like in a 10-5 loss to Norway, set to a swingy Russian chill-out tune in super-slow motion:

The Americans lost all five of their group matches in Moscow, but they did win the big promotion/relegation match vs. Canada, 9-6, to keep a place in the top grouping at next year’s orld championship in Kazan.

Now then, Middlebrook — a former bandy star at the sweeper/stopper position who is distantly related to Lindsay Middlebrook, a minor league goalie and backup netminder on four N.H.L. teams in the 1970 and ’80s — sent us a note in response to a question we had about Robb Stauber, another ex-N.H.L. goalie. Stauber graciously volunteered to play for the team when one of its regular goalkeepers couldn’t get out of his restaurant job to go to the tournament. A former Los Angeles King, Stauber tried to learn to be a bandy goalie with just three weeks’ notice.

Here is Chris Middlebrook’s account:

Robb was injured in the game vs. Sweden. [Final score, 14-6 for the Swedes.] He left his feet to swat away a ball and came down on his shoulder. He felt and heard the pop in his shoulder. He was unable to lift his arm for the rest of the week. Steve Jecha stepped up big and played very, very well, even though the scores might not indicate so.

Whichever player’s turn it was to sit out got to be the backup goalie for that game. The only backup who got in was our 19-year-old rookie Jacob Blucher (born in Michigan, raised in Sweden), who was the backup for the Russia game. The match was carried nationally on Russian TV. With 15 minutes left we called timeout and put him in at goalie. He had played goal three times before in his life. By this point the Russians had pulled back, although I think he was eager to face some shots. He faced one shot, a flip shot, and it went in over his head. [Final score: 19-5 for the Russians.] What a life experience for him. He handled it admirably.

Daren Richardson played amazing. He was the fifth leading scorer in the A pool, and, as we said, he didn’t even get to play against us. I will be surprised if he does not get offers from some Swedish Eliteserien teams.

As a team we played very well. Our offense was dynamic, which is evidenced by the 22 goals we scored against the A pool teams, including 6 against Sweden. They did not give us these goals. We earned them and most were beautiful.

Defense was as I expected. The other teams were able to break us down as their skill level is so extreme. Even so we were by far the most impressive U.S. team ever.

The Canada game was a battle, as it almost always is. We are a superior team, but they had some very skilled players including their Russian-Canadian, Evgeny Opytov. We were up 8-1 in the second half but they scored on 4 straight corner strokes. We played the last 10 minutes three men short because of penalties. Even so it was a satisfying win, and we stayed in the A pool.

Off the ice was, as always, a great time. There is nothing like being a part of a competitive, meaningful team, particularly when the venue is Moscow. Across the board our boys are a class act and very colorful. It is a joy to be a part of them.

Now it is back to work and family and the ordinary life, at least for the time being. The memories and the feelings live on. How fortunate we all are.

Here’s the overtime goal that won the final for Sweden, 6-5, in an upset of the host Russians. That’s Daniel Mossberg getting the golden goal in the 20th extra minute off a beautiful rush.

About Those Fountains....RT

2010-02-10T06:27:00.000-08:00

RT Rybak wants to put fountains up around town to celebrate and promote art and show that we are cultured here in Minneapolis. Originally, the number was 10 fountains. Due to the economy, now it is four. We are cultured enough...those who love art have many museums to see, art crawls to go to, and outdoor art parks.....let's invest in our youth rather than culture for now.

RT, let's try this. Go out to all of the foundations around town and see if they can bankroll the projects. Take the money you would have spent and spend it on upgrading the fields our kids have to play on - for instance, the soccer field area at Linden Hills park....you know, the field with the metal storm grate right smack in the middle of the field --- just another lawsuit waiting to happen.

Our taxes have gone up over 200% over the last eight years and it sounds like the city needs to double them again due to mismanagement. Please RT, do the noble thing and mothball the fountains. Invest in kids. It will go a long way in your governorship run.

Shame, Minneapolis Park Board Commissioners Vote to Non-renew Gurban's Contract

2010-02-04T09:28:00.001-08:00

Last night, the Park Board Commissioners decided to not renew Superintendent Jon Gurban's contract.

It is too bad. For a government agency, the Park Board runs better than any organization in the country. Jon Gurban was the "CEO" of this organization....and the "CEOs" tend to get the credit or get removed.

It would be nice and easy to say that Gurban's performance demanded this....it didn't. His job reviews were very positive and the prior board of commissioners renewed his contract time and again as a result.

This should be interesting, if you were the next candidate for the job, wouldn't your first question be "Why aren't they renewing the current guy?" When there is little ammunition outside of petty politics, that would give me pause.

People want job security. When a board is much more focused on political maneuvering than getting the job done, we get decisions like this. Why, would anyone take this job when they know that despite their performance a group can take them out to avenge decisions of past boards. Shame.

24 Hours To Moscow......

2010-01-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

Well, its one day until our team jumps on a plane and heads to Moscow. The flight will arrive in Amsterdam on Saturday morning and then on to Moscow, arriving at 3:00pm. A long day of travelling! St. Louis Park's Jon Kesely and BJ Bayers took off last week and went to Stockholm for a week to train with a Swedish bandy team and to take in Stockholm. They will be meeting us in Moscow.

So what is the USA team up against? This is the first time the USA has been placed in the "A" pool of the tournament in five years. The "A" pool is the crem de la crem of the bandy world.

The favorites in the "A" pool are clearly Sweden and Russia. With the exception of the Finland Miracle of 2004, Sweden or Russia have won every other World Championships.

Just how good are these guys? Let's put it this way. In both Sweden and Russia, you are born and grow up in either a hockey town or a bandy town. You have seen Ovechkin, Federov, Lidstrom, or Backstrom dominate in the NHL.....well, they were born in hockey towns. Those Swedes and Russians we will be up against were born in bandy towns.

They are professionals. Though they do not make what hockey players make, these players all play professionally and have contracts that pay in the range of $100,000 to $500,000 per year.

The USA.....we are hobbyists. A bunch of guys that just love to skate and played Division I and III college hockey. We have our first NHLer in Robb Stauber joining our team and sharing the goaltending duties with me.

So, here are the games to watch for the USA.....our first game against Norway may be our best opportunity to win a game. We have always won the "B" pool of the World Championships, but have never won a single game in "A" pool play since we began competing in 1981. Our final game against Kazakhstan will be a long shot, but we have a chance with the right breaks.

This is the best team we have ever put on the ice. Over half of the team has played in the Swedish AllSvensken or Division I levels in the past two years. I am the oldest player in the tournament....with most of the teams average age being in the mid-twenties. As a goalie, I can get away with my age.....but this officially will be my last hurrah as the knees and hips kinda hurt after each training session and game! Note to self - bring lots of Advil to Moscow.

My next post will appear Saturday after we arrive in Moscow and get settled. You will be able to get information on the Championships directly at the following website: http://bandy2010.ru/

Brown Wins Massachusetts.....A Welcomed Result?

2010-01-19T22:41:00.000-08:00

Scott Brown has won what most would have considered an untouchable seat just a month ago. Quite the upset.

As I blogged earlier, it was necessary for him to win. A healthcare plan was being hobbled together that really didn't cut costs, but just taxed certain individuals more while giving a 'free pass' to others. Cases in point: a $60Billion exemption to unions and a complete exemption to Amish for religious reasons.

You can't just carve out and give huge perks to those who you deem are more worthy than others (for religious reasons...or just to buy votes). This flies directly in the face of what Democrats are supposed to stand for - a fair system for all.

But, was this race a welcomed result for the Democrats? Think about it. They have had a filibuster proof congress for the last twelve months....and a sitting president. In poker, this would be called a "Royal Flush". Yet, the Democrats could not get anything substantial passed except for a huge debt bill that provided pork to those who helped them get elected.

There were no excuses for the Democrats not to get anything passed. THEY WERE FILIBUSTER PROOF. Despite this the constant complaint went up that the Republicans were holding things up or causing trouble. Now, without the filibuster proof majority, they have a reason to go back to their consituents and state things would be better if it wasn't for those dang Republicans.

The days of dividing people in politics has to stop. Healthcare reform is a noble goal that should be shared by all. In going back to the drawing board, I ask the Congress to start with simple moves to gain credibility from Americans - pass bills that do not cost the taxpayer a penny, but show measurable success in decreasing the costs of healthcare. Step 1 - Tort Reform.

America is waiting. Republicans, Democrats, its time for both parties to grow up and lead.

Don't go wasting your emotions.....

2010 Bandy World Championships Schedule posted

2010-01-17T08:44:00.000-08:00

GAMES SCHEDULE
January 24
Sunday
14:00-15:00 Opening ceremony
20:30 A USA-Norway

January 25
Monday
17:30 A Sweden-USA

January 26
Tuesday
15:00 A Finland-USA

January 27
Wednesday
20:00 A Russia-USA

January 28
Thursday
15:00 A USA-Kazakhstan

Today I Gave....Twice - To the Red Cross and to Scott Brown

2010-01-15T09:22:00.000-08:00

Today I made a donation to the Red Cross for the people of Haiti and their earthquake aid. While things are serious there, it will become more evident over the next few weeks just how bad and desperate the situation is. Time to be proactive and get some money in the Red Cross' hands so that they can help on our behalf. The beauty of America is that - like with the Tsunami - as a group of people we are the most generous. Not our government which is offering $100 million in aid (which is our money on loan), but the people who support charities for many times more. When disasters hit, eyes turn towards the United States for help. Maybe we aren't as bad as some people in the international community think.

I also made a contribution to the Senate campaign of Scott Brown. I have never made a contribution to a political campaign...other than my own. I try to stay apolitical, however the following sent me over the edge:

Unions will dodge O's health tax - Click Here to Read

As someone pointed out to me....the NY Post is a Rupert Murdoch fishwrapper. So, to be completely balanced, here's MSNBC with quotes from the NY Times and Wash Post:
CLICK HERE

This whole health care debate has to stop. Immediately. Why are unions allowed a seat at the negotiating table and then allowed to get a $60 Billion dollar benefit at the expense of all other Americans?

It reaks of the Cornhusker payoff to get the Nebraska Senator on board (meaning we Minnesotans have to pay unfunded mandates that Nebraska refused to pay) and the 'Louisiana Purchase' (providing the Louisiana Senator with a large slab of bacon for her vote). At the same time, the easiest first step and one that would not cost the American Taxpayer a cent is completely ignored - tort reform. Everyday, doctors rack up unnecessary testing and expenses in order to cover their butts from frivolous lawsuits. Not to mention exhorbitant malpractice insurance costs. Some estimate that this adds 15-20% to our health care costs. It would have been an act of good faith on those in Washington DC to first go after tort reform which would have cut medical costs and not cost the American Taxpayer a nickel (except, perhaps, for the attorneys who would need to file for unemployment benefits). Follow the money.

The debate should be over healthcare and developing a decent plan. Not side deals that benefit one group, state, or party over the other --- at the expense of the American Taxpayer. We all agree that reformation of our healthcare system needs to occur. But, there should not be corrupt deals cut in every direction to get it done.

Enough is enough. I, for the first time in my life, donated to a political campaign. Scott Brown's campaign in Massachusetts. This will send a statement that corrupt side deals cannot be a part of the health care debate. This has gone too far and Americans need to speak up....the best way to do this is to make sure Brown gets elected.

Join me.....donate to the Red Cross by CLICKING HERE
Donate to Scott Brown For Senator by CLICKING HERE

Jecha and Stauber to Represent USA at 2010 World Championships

2010-01-06T14:24:00.000-08:00

Stauber and Jecha to Backstop USA at
2010 Bandy World Championships

Unlikely Duo Come ‘Out of Retirement’ to Take on the World’s Best in Moscow

Unlike Brett Favre and the Vikings last August, there were no helicopter escorts or reporters at the John Rose Oval when the 2010 United States National Bandy team was announced and the two goalkeepers would be Robb Stauber and Steve Jecha. The two old-timers will travel with Team USA to Moscow at the end of January to take on Russia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Kazakhstan; competing in the “A” pool at the Bandy World Championships.

Bandy, a sport which mixes hockey and soccer to create a fastpaced 11 vs 11 game on a rink the size of a soccer field, is extremely popular in northern Europe and Russia – often drawing crowds of 25,000 or more. The Bandy World Championships in Moscow will have ten countries participating in the indoor bandy stadium, Krylatskoye. Bandy is attributed to the ‘European Style’ of hockey and most of the early Soviet Union gold medal hockey teams were made up of superstars from the Soviet Bandy league. The International Bandy Federation is working hard to have bandy added as an Olympic sport at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

So what is bandy? Check this out:

Stauber, well known for his U of M days, Hobey Baker Award, and NHL experience – as well as his goaltending school serving Minnesota youth, Stauber’s Goalcrease - is looking forward to his debut on the bandy stage. “Hockey brought me so many great opportunities to play and see the world. Some of the best lifetime memories I have had were playing in the Junior World Ice Hockey Championships and World Hockey Championships for the USA”, stated Stauber, “To be able to again go against the world’s best is something I look forward to.” Stauber will be the first player in the history of the game to have played in both the Hockey and Bandy World Championships.

Jecha, an international bandy legend who was a USA National Team mainstay throughout the 90’s retired after the 1999 World Championships (Arkhangelsk, Russia). At age 46, he will be one of the oldest players on the USA team. Today, he runs the Southwest Youth Hockey Association and his tireless work is attributed to the revival of competitive traveling hockey in the city of Minneapolis. “I took up bandy in the late 80’s after graduating from Saint Olaf as its clean, free flowing and fast style took me back to my youth days playing pick up hockey with friends at the park.” stated Jecha. Jecha takes a group of Bantam aged kids to Sweden every other year in the fall to play hockey and introduce them to bandy. “Once the kids play their first game of bandy on the ‘big rink’ they are hooked. They always ask if they can just play bandy for the rest of the trip!”

The USA bandy roster includes many other former division I and III players, including Dave Plaunt, Darrin Richardson, and Brent Palmer (Saint Scholastica); Chris Halden, Mike Hosfield, John Arundel, John Kesely (Gustavaus); BJ Bayers (Connecticut); Rick Haney (Harvard); Steve Nelson (Miami of Ohio); Dave Moline, Jacob Blucher, Nick Hauer, Bobby Scott, Jasper Felder, Mikael Sandberg, and Chris Preiss. The team is coached by Gustavus hockey legends Chris Middlebrook and Chris Halden.

The only bandy rink in North America is in Roseville at the John Rose Oval. In addition to winter leagues, a summer 4 on 4 Rink Bandy league is run in the Twin Cities and over the last several years has become very popular with NHL, Division I and III players as a way to skate in the offseason, but not get burned out playing hockey twelve months out of the year. Players interested in trying bandy should visit www.usabandy.com.

This is such an awesome vid....