Almost a week has passed since the I-35W bridge
collapsed into the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. There are still
victims to recover and causes to be figured out, but some things are now
pretty clear. Politicians, both large and small, contractors, and others
somehow involved in the bridge are working very hard to divert
responsibility for this collapse.
In reality, they are all responsible, as are all the
rest of us...the citizens of Minnesota. The time has passed for passing
blame back and forth in hopes of escaping responsibility. The time has
come to take some steps forward. Here is a list of modest proposals for
doing just that:
-
Immediately cease work on all new capital
infrastructure projects, and freeze their fiscal assets, reserving
them for repairs of this bridge and other faulty infrastructure that
has been neglected for years. That means the Light Rail extension,
the Twins Stadium, and many other new projects. They can wait. The
Vikings stadium? Never mind that. Tell the Vikes they can play in
the Dome or take their second-rate team to Los Angeles, which would
be happy to have them.
-
Put the I-35W bridge replacement on the fastest
track possible. Use a standard, redundant design, and get this vital
link replaced. Don't dither and dawdle.
-
Hire the best bridge and roadway inspectors in the
nation and do a thorough, complete assessment of all bridges,
large and small, in this state. Immediately repair or replace
dangerous bridges, then perform all needed maintenance on the rest
to prevent further deterioration.
-
In other infrastructure areas, inspect and repair
storm sewers, water mains, sanitary sewers, and all other government
owned and maintained infrastructure, bringing everything up to
acceptable standards for long-term usability.
-
Political leaders of both parties must stop worrying
about fancy plaques on new things. Instead, they should worry about
their actual job, which is to manage the public monies and maintain
the cities, roads, streets, and more that we have all paid for over
the years. Those who do not heed this advice will be voted out of
office in the next election by frustrated and angry constituents.
Count on it.
-
Once all infrastructure is brought back into order,
then new projects can be reconsidered, but only insofar as they are
useful, feasible, sustainable, and self-supporting.
We've neglected the Twin Cities for far too long. We're
closing libraries, schools, and failing to meet the needs in some
neighborhoods for effective police and fire protection. We do not need
new edifices just now. We need responsibility. Let's Get 'R Done!
8/6/07
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Me!
Well, I headed down from my home in Saint Paul to Le Sueur to have a
look at a 91 Volvo Wagon (how quaint, eh?). I bought it, and my wife and
I started back to the Cities, in the teeth of a pretty good
thunder-boomer. This was Monday, 4/30/07.
Now, driving a 15-year-old Volvo you just bought for an hour and a
half is a little daunting in any situation. You're listening for ugly
noises you didn't notice when you test drove it, trying to figure out
how to tune the radio off 107.1 (I'm a guy, and Joy talking about
frustrating sexual problems just isn't my thing), and trying to see how
to operate the cruise control and the wipers. Add to that a lot of
visible lightning ahead and impending darkness, and it's tough on a
61-year-old codger.
I'm not a night person in the first place, so I don't do a lot of
driving after dark, so I hadn't really noticed the white lines on our
freeways here. I noticed on Monday, though...or I should say that I
didn't notice. They were invisible in the rain.
Up 169, then on to 494, to 35E. Not a reflective surface to be found
anywhere.
Bott's Dots. That's the ticket. For all you MNDOT folks out there
reading my blog, and I know there are lots of you. Bott's Dots.
Never heard of 'em? They're little white mounds you stick on the
white lines. They rise above the puddling water and mark the lanes so
drivers can see them. It takes a lot of them to cover the freeways, but
California does it. A lot of states use them.
Bott's Dots. Think about it, MNDOT. Consider the number of early
morning commute hours that would be saved by folks not skidding into
each other when it rains. Get some. Stick 'em down on, say 94 between
Hudson and Minneapolis. See if they don't cut down on wrecks. I'm
betting they will.
5/3/07
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Stillwater commuters and truckers are going to be annoyed as the
dickens for the next few months, as Highway 36 is completely closed
between White Bear Ave. in Maplewood and Hwy 120 in North St.
Paul.
It's annoying to have your favorite commute route closed, but the
payoff is substantial. The stretch being closed has long been a
bottleneck, with too many lights and too much cross traffic.
Published detours are fine, although the cleverest of drivers will
find unpublished ones and save a lot of time and hassle. If you're
facing this commute, I suggest having a look at Google
Maps and figuring out something better than the 7th street detour or
using 694 to bypass the closure.
I wouldn't presume to suggest any of these, since my loyal readers
would probably not thank me for directing traffic to the very detours
they have discovered. Suffice it to say that there are excellent routes
around the closure that have not appeared in the media.
I rarely use that stretch, except for my frequent trips to Mills
Fleet Farm, and I know an excellent route that avoids the closure. I use
36 primarily to get between White Bear Ave. and points west. It's my
favorite freeway in the Metro. I suppose I'll benefit from all the folks
taking alternate routes.
I will give this tip, though, to folks who elect to go West on 694.
Get off on 61 and go South to 36. You'll have a few lights, but it's a
lot quicker than the surface streets suggested by some media outlets.
Sometime in 2008, we'll have our favorite highway back, with many
improvements. Until then, we'll just have to grit our teeth and find new
roads to use.
4/30/07
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Just in case you haven't been paying attention, new regulations for
air travel to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean take effect today. If
you fly to any of those areas, with the exception of the U.S. Virgin
Islands, without your passport, you're going to have a tough time
getting back into the United States when you return.
There's nothing new about this, but some folks are bound to be caught
short-handed when they fly back. Oh...you'll eventually get back into
the USA, but it's going to be painful if you don't have that passport.
It takes a bit of time after you apply for your passport to actually
receive it, so think ahead if you're planning a trip this Spring or
Summer and apply now. If you don't, plan on extended delays when you
arrive back home. It definitely won't be fun.
1/23/07
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Rumors of a possible merger of Northwest Airlines and some other
national airline are everywhere these days. With NWA in bankruptcy, it's
a logical question. But, is it a good idea? How would it affect us here
in the Twin Cities?
We've all heard the jokes about NorthWorst Airlines. Most of us who
fly NWA understand those jokes all too well, too. Every time a holiday
comes up and I have to book a flight to Los Angeles or Florida to visit
family, I have to hold my nose before clicking the [Book It] button on
my travel website.
Lost luggage, delayed flights, mechanical problems....I've
experienced them all on NWA. Still, it's the most convenient way to get
where I need to go, so I hold my nose, hope for the best, and go ahead
and book the flight.
Frankly, I'd like to see a merger, perhaps with American Airlines, my
other choice of airline when I fly. AA would love to get their hands on
the NWA routes to Asia. I'm not so sure they'd have much use for a hub
at MSP, though, since they already have one over in Chicago. That might
be a problem.
Oh, well...it's not something I have any control over. Right now, I'm
holding my breath (and my nose) hoping that my Christmas Eve flight to
LAX leaves on time. I'm hoping that my luggage arrives at LAX at the
same time I do. That's the best I can do right now.
12/14/06
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Well, that "bomb" full of shrapnel found in a rental car at
MSP the other day turns out not to have been a bomb at all, but a
scientific instrument used to record water temperature in rivers. In
fact, it had been in the Mississippi River doing just that, until it was
retrieved by a staff member from Oregon State University, then forgotten
and left in the trunk of the rental car.
The Bloomington PD blew up the "bomb" and life went on at
the airport as usual. Still, this does bring up a point that should be
considered by folks who tote around unusual stuff. Not everyone
recognizes everything. If you have something like this, made of pipes,
and studded with electronics, you might want to clearly label it for
what it is, then remember to take it out of the trunk of your car.
11/28/06
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By now, everyone's heard about the six Muslim imams who got tossed
from a U.S. Airways flight to Phoenix. Details vary from story to story,
but the essentials seem to be that three of them stood up in the plane
and started their evening prayers, in Arabic, of course. As you might
expect, and as these imams should have expected, this raised concerns
and all six were escorted off the plane. All were released, after
questioning by authorities.
Here's the deal, as I see it: A lot of folks pray on airplanes, most
often before takeoff and after landing. It's a pretty common deal.
Generally, though, they keep it to themselves and don't stand up and
start praying in loud voices in a foreign language.
No problem. Praying is a good thing. However, we here in the USA are
more than just a little skittish these days about Muslim prayers in
Arabic. "Allahu Akhbar!" is not a comforting term to us
just now. I'm sure Muslims are allowed to say their evening prayers
silently if they're in a public place at prayer time.
So, this was a show on the part of the three imams, I'm pretty sure.
They were testing the waters to see if we really believed in that
"freedom of religion" thing.
We really do believe it. Everyone should believe whatever thing they
are able to believe, as far as I'm concerned. I get worried when folks
stand up and start praying aloud. Quite frankly, if some evangelical
Christian stands up on the plane before takeoff and starts praying in a
loud voice, I'm going to want him taken off the plane, too. I haven't
seen that happen, of course, since Christians generally follow Jesus'
advice to pray silently in public places. But, if it did happen, I'd be
suggesting that the guy get tossed off the plane.
My rules about flying these days are:
1. Get on the plane.
2. Stow your carryon luggage.
3. Sit down.
4. Shut up.
Those seem simple enough. Your rules may differ, somewhat, but I'm
betting they're pretty much the same as mine.
11/21/06
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Sunday saw an unusual occurrence at an Uptown gas station in
Minneapolis. A woman, filling her gas tank returned to the driver's seat
to warm up as the tank was filling. When she got out after the pump shut
off, a spark from her finger ignited fumes, causing a minor explosion
and fire. There were no injuries, and the fire was quickly extinguished.
Here's the deal: During the Fall and Winter months, it's really easy
to build up a static charge on your person. Sliding out of a car
seat...even just petting a cat, can build up enough static electricity
to make a pretty darned good spark.
Sometimes, it's amusing, for sure. My cats can't figure out why they
keep getting zapped as I pet them. It doesn't bother them all that much,
but they can't figure it out. I even zapped my wife the other day when I
bent down to kiss her as she sat in her recliner. Snap!
At the gas station, though, stray static electricity can be
dangerous. Most experts advise that you stay with the pump, and that's a
good idea, as far as it goes. Still, here in Minnesota, standing outside
when it's really cold just isn't all that much fun, and most people get
back in their cars. Fortunately, there's a very easy solution to all of
this:
Before touching the fueling nozzle, ground yourself by touching any
metal part of the gas pump itself. I usually touch the side of the pump,
away from the hose and nozzle. Do this before pumping gas and before
removing the nozzle from your fuel inlet. It only takes a second and
eliminates all risk of a static spark igniting gasoline fumes.
11/15/06
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I was surprised to see that Minnesota's measure to dedicate gasoline
taxes to roads and transit passed. Ill-worded, it opens the way for
every penny of your gasoline taxes to go to mass transit. That probably
won't happen, since the electorate would rise up en masse and
vote all the bums out who did that.
Still, it's a worrisome measure. Without caps on transit spending,
it's very likely that spending on transit will creep higher each year,
leaving our roads to fend for themselves. Transit's a good thing, no
doubt, but it never pays for itself, meaning that we drivers end up
subsidizing the riders, and in a big way.
Since we're in Minnesota, the land of two seasons, Summer and
Construction, loss of any highway and road maintenance funds is a
daunting proposition. I envision smaller vehicles that sip fuel
disappearing into the potholes that will result from a decrease in road
maintenance spending.
Then there's the transit thing. Have you looked at a Metro bus lately
as it drives by? I have. They're empty, except for a couple of hours a
day, and except for a couple of people on their way to some daytime
appointment. Empty. Same thing with the Hiawatha light rail cars.
Sure, they get some ridership during rush hour, and that's good. The
rest of the day? Well...have a look for yourself the next time a train
goes by. Wave at the two people on their way somewhere.
That's why we have to subsidize transit, rather than making it pay
its own way. Shortly, light rail will get extended into Saint Paul,
destroying University Avenue businesses and carrying nobody to places
they don't want to go in Saint Paul.
Meanwhile, folks who work in our downtowns will be driving in from
the outer suburbs, trying to find a place to park, dodging the light
rail, then driving home again after work. The folks who work downtown
don't live anywhere near there, for the most part. They drive to work.
Solutions? I have few. For one, we might want to replace those big,
empty, stinky buses with 15-passenger vans, except during rush hour. For
each route, measure ridership against the time of day. If there are two
or five people on the bus, dump that bus and substitute a fuel-efficient
van. Duh. The light rail? Same thing. Measure ridership. If nobody's
riding the train during non-peak hours....don't run the stupid train.
Duh.
Transit's a great idea. Now, all we have to do is get people to use
it. How? Beats me. People hate riding slow buses. Who can spend an hour
getting somewhere they can drive in 10 minutes? They can't use light
rail if it doesn't go to where they need to go from where they need to
start.
Before spending that fuel tax money on transit, those in charge of
such things really need to take a closer look at the transit system. Is
it being utilized? If not, figure out why. If you can't get riders, then
shut the darned route down. Could you use smaller, more fuel-efficient
vehicles that cost far less to buy than a huge metro bus? Then do it.
11/9/06
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So, yesterday, election day, I gassed up both of my vehicles just
around noon at the Holiday Station on McKnight in Maplewood. The price?
$2.05 9/10. Good deal, I thought. Later that day, around 7 P.M., I
happened to be driving by the same station, on my way back from the
local Kentucky Fried Colonel store.
As I glanced at the price board at that same Holiday station, I saw a
new price: $2.29 9/10. What the heck? The price had jumped 24 cents per
gallon in just 7 hours. What the heck?
Then I remembered that it was election day. For better or worse,
there was no reason to keep gas prices low any longer. Whether the GOP
won or lost the election, the oil companies could go right back to their
price-gouging and record prices.
They were hoping for a GOP sweep, of course. That's why they kept the
prices low during October and the first week of November. But the
election's over. Everyone has voted. Time to jack the prices back up.
How high will they go? I'm expecting $2.50 or so by the end of the
week. Drive on.
11/8/06
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The Hiawatha line is getting a slippery solution to a problem that
has plagued it from the beginning. Apparently, it's squeaky, and that's
annoying folks along the line. On curves, the wheels rub against the
tracks and cause a loud, obnoxious squeaking sound.
Metro Transit officials think they have an answer, though: Grease.
They're planning to apply Teflon™ grease to the offending sections of
track, in an attempt to mollify locals who have been complaining about
the noise.
Will this fix the problems of light rail in the city? Who knows? But,
the squeaky wheel is definitely getting the grease.
10/5/06
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By now, everyone has heard about the problem being caused by Muslim
cabbies at the Minneapolis St. Paul airport. It seems that some of them
are refusing to carry passengers who have alcoholic beverages with them.
The solution the airport seems to have come up with is to have those
cabbies use a different colored light on their cabs so that cab starters
can tell which cabs won't carry alcohol. That seems stupid to me, and
I'll explain why.
Taxicabs are part of our transportation system. Most of that system
is classified as "common carriers" and rules apply to that
class of businesses, which include train and bus lines. Common carriers
may not refuse passengers based on things like race, national origin, or
religion. I consider taxicabs to be in the same category, and so do the
taxicab laws in most jurisdictions.
Apparently that is not the case when it comes to MSP. And that's a
shame. Folks fly into MSP from all over the world, and expect to get in
a cab to finish their journey. We all expect a cab to be available to us
when we arrive at any airport.
Well, with roughly 75% of all cabs in the Twin Cities being driving
by Somali immigrants who are Muslims, this problem promises to become
larger and larger over time. These Somali cab drivers have little power,
politically or economically, but they have found a way to control the
Airport Authority rather than the other way around. This refusal to
transport passengers who are carrying alcoholic beverages is a wedge
issue. If they're successful in discriminating in this way, they will,
no doubt shove that wedge further and further into the crack they've
created.
It's time for MSP to hold the line on this issue. Tell the cabbies
that they are required to take all fares to their destination,
regardless of this issue. Nobody's forcing the cabbies to drink alcohol.
Cabbies who refuse a passenger should be immediately sent to the back of
the taxi waiting line. No questions. No appeals.
Further, the taxi license number for that driver should be noted. If
the driver refuses a second passenger, he or she should lose airport
privileges for a period of time. It's that simple. The problem would end
forthwith.
Taxi licenses are a privilege, not a right. By applying for and
receiving a taxi license, the company and driver are essentially
agreeing to carry passengers to their destination at the price set out
in the rules. That's it. They get to carry passengers and make a
living.
If this jurisdiction does not have a rule requiring that cabs accept
passengers, regardless of anything short of abusive behavior, then it
should establish that rule immediately. Until then, all passengers
should counter this whole thing by refusing to ride in cabs which have
the colored light that indicates a refusal to carry passengers with
alcoholic beverages.
10/2/06
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A pair of brothers from Saint Paul have begun their journey by canoe
down the Mississippi river. Joe and Ben Palmquist intended to start
their journey at Lake Itasca, but the waters were too low, so they began
in Bemidji, instead. They began their paddle, both in a single canoe, on
August 27. As of today, they have reached Minneapolis and are now in the
river for real.
Aimed at calling attention to the environment, their journey is
planned to last until November 21, when they believe they will reach the
Gulf of Mexico. Personally, I think they're being optimistic, but
optimism is the primary goal in such a journey.
Naturally, in the 21st century a blog is de rigueur for such a
journey, and the brothers are no exception. If you're interested in
following along as they make this bold attempt, you can Click
Here to see their blog.
9/19/06
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What happens when 20,000 or so America Idol would-be winners come to
Minneapolis? Well...they mess up traffic something awful, and right at
morning rush hour. That's what's happening right now, as I write this.
And it's not just today. It's the rest of the week. Streets around
the Target Center are being
closed to handle the onslaught of velvet-throated hopefuls, so
you'll need to pick another route through that area for the rest of the
week.
Annoying, huh? Well, get used to it. If either of the Presidential
Nominating Conventions comes to town in 2008, this will be excellent
training for what you can expect, but it will be even worse then...much
worse.
Of the thousands of warblers who turn out to try out, only a tiny few
will be accepted into the show. In the case of the convention, it will
be just one. All that mess for what? Talk to those you know with
influence. Get them to just say no to the Conventions. We can't do
anything about the American Idol fiasco, but there's still time to do
something about the Conventions.
9/6/06
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Now, there's a strange concept, eh? You file onto a plane in
Minneapolis, stow your carry-on bag in the overhead compartment, and
settle in for the long flight. The plane taxis out to the runway, and
off you go...but where are you going to end up? Duluth?
Never in your wildest dreams, right? Uh...stuff happens.
And that's just what happened to 255 passengers on Northwest Flight
44 to London on Saturday. Not only did they end up in Duluth (not that
there's anything wrong with that), but they got to sit on the plane in
Duluth for 10 hours before their flight was cancelled. Then, they got a
flight back to Minneapolis, ending up, not in London, but right back
where they started from.
Terrorism? Nope. Something went wacky in the plane's entertainment
system, and there was a little smoke. The plane had to make the Duluth
landing. Technicians worked on the problem and actually got it fixed
but, by then, the crew was over its time limit and couldn't continue to
make the flight.
Why 10 hours? Well, the passengers would have had to be rescreened,
it seems, so there they sat, going nowhere. I imagine the restrooms got
pretty stinky after awhile, and the plane probably ran out of
complimentary beverages, too.
Now, 10 hours on a plane is bad enough in any situation, but if the
plane's not even in the air, it's intolerable. A few passengers insisted
on getting off around 2:30 A.M., but most, like good Minnesotans, sat
there, and sat there, and then sat there some more.
After being flown back to MSP, passengers were booked into hotels,
then on a new flight leaving Sunday. Northwest apologized. Small
comfort. Still, you don't have to show your passport in Duluth, so it
wasn't all bad, eh?
9/4/06
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Jeffrey Bean, a resident of East Grand Forks, is cooling his heels in
the Polk County lockup this morning after a high-speed chase that left
several Grand Forks and East Grand Forks police prowlers badly damaged.
Unless he can come up with $25 large in cash or talk someone into a
$250K bond, he's going to be cooling his heels there for a while. Grand
Forks, ND and its sister city across the border in MN are short about
eight cop cars.
It appears the gentleman was driving his van while intoxicated, and
was driving with a restricted license. There are some additional
charges, like assault, refusing an alcohol test, and other unspecified
offences.
Bean reportedly fled from officers in Grand Forks, then crossed the
border, but not before crashing into the cop cars, damaging most of them
to the point that they could not be driven.
No quotes are available from Bean.
8/28/06
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UPDATE (8/22/06): Well, the day has arrived, and there are
more details now available. Air Force One will arrive at MSP around 2PM.
The motorcade route is not known, but the best guess is I-494, so avoid
that area from 2 PM to about 2:30.
President Bush will address a function somewhere near Lake Minnetonka
at 2:30, and will then move on to a political fundraiser in Wayzata at
4:30 or so. Figure on Bush leaving there around 6PM, so if you have a
late commute, try to avoid routes on the West side of the loop at that
time.
Watch yourself on August 22. The President is coming to town and
heading for Wayzata to stump for Michele Bachmann at a
four-figure-per-plate fundraiser there. Bush's schedule is never
announced, but a guy's gotta assume that this fundraiser is a
dinner.
So what, you ask? So, traffic is what. When Bush comes to town, his
entire motorcade route is closed in waves by security. You can expect
traffic on either I-394 or I-494 to slam to a stop shortly after Air
Force One touches down at MSP. Me? I'm guessing it's the roundabout
route on I-494, if only to skip the Lowry Hill Tunnel.
The route will not be announced, for security reasons, but if you
suddenly find yourself in a makeshift parking lot during the afternoon
rush hour next Tuesday, that's the reason.
On a side note, while Michele Bachmann is happy to have Bush's
support, not all GOP candidates in the area are so eager to have the
President on their side. They're watching the national polls with
considerable trepidation, it seems. Nobody seems to be quite sure how
much aligning with the President will affect their chances in November.
Now, take notice: Pay attention to the traffic snarls on Tuesday.
Magnify that by about a factor of 10 to visualize what will happen if
either party's 2008 conventions are held in the Twin Cities. Don't
say I didn't warn you.
8/17/06
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A federal judge gave the go-ahead to NWA Flight Attendants to strike
by denying NWA's bid to block their work action. The flight attendants
plan a series of unannounced and randomly-timed strikes on individual
flights, beginning August 25.
Called CHAOS, this strategy by the flight attendants is a novel way
to disrupt NWA's schedule, without putting all flights in jeopardy. By
creating havoc, the action would destroy passenger confidence in NWA
(whatever is left of passenger confidence) and put further financial
stress on the airline.
How to react to all of this? I don't know. On one hand, I have
reservations booked on NWA for a Christmas trip to California. On the
other hand, I have five fingers.
Seriously, NWA is on the verge of complete collapse. The Twin Cities
does not need a defunct airline as the primary carrier at MSP. We
already have too few choices when flying into or out of the Cities.
Having the Lindbergh Terminal go dark is not something any of us wants
to see.
Looking at the current pay scale of NWA flight attendants, it occurs
to me that there is a compromise to be made here. I think NWA is going
to have to bite down hard on the bullet and work something out with the
attendants. If they don't, you should think about re-booking your
holiday flights...assuming you can get to where you're going on another
airline.
I'm hoping this all gets figured out, somehow. After all, what would
Minnesotans do without NorthWorst Airlines to complain about? It's one
of our state's official pastimes, after all.
8/17/06
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Gonna take the Greyhound bus to Fargo? Need to take the bus from
Fargo to Minneapolis some morning soon? Better get cracking! Greyhound
is dropping its morning runs starting on Tuesday. Ridership is down, it
seems, and fuel prices are up, so you'll have to find another way.
Greyhound says there are only 10 or so riders on that route, and
that's just not enough to make it pay. Too bad for all the folks with no
car and not enough money to rent one, I guess. They'll just have to take
their pick of the cities and stay put, it seems.
8/9/06
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With BP announcing the shutdown of a supply pipeline coming from the
North Slope in Alaska, roughly 8% of the crude oil used by US refineries
is going to be gone until the corroded sections of pipeline are
completed.
As with all cutbacks in crude oil supply, the change will be
reflected almost immediately in prices of gasoline and diesel at your
local quick-stop station. I just paid $3.01 and filled every vehicle in
my household fleet. That won't last, though, and I expect prices to
reach $3.25 by the end of this week.
Conspiracy theories are running wild about this shutdown, but it
looks to this exploring eye like it was just corrosion in the pipes.
Other bloggers have other views.
In any case, to help you find the cheapest prices in the Metro, I've
added a link to Twin Cities Gas Prices.com, which keeps track of gas
prices on a daily basis. Just look at the links to the left, or on the
main Index page.
8/7/06
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Update: Sadly Julie Webster's body has been found in Wyoming. I had
strong hopes that this story would end happily. My deepest sympathies to
her family.
8/03/06
The Deephaven, MN woman who disappeared after heading for MSP
airport is apparently on the road. Her credit card has been used
in Wyoming, and security camera photos show her using the card herself.
Julie Webster, suffering from the early stages of Alzheimers, seems to
have taken the wrong road somewhere and has traveled a long distance
from her original destination.
State police along her route are on the lookout for Julie, along with
the FBI, and it's hoped she'll be spotted soon and returned to her
worried family.
8/1/06
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Have trouble parking in Minneapolis? I know I do. That trouble may
get a lot worse before it gets better. According to this
story, the city is getting ready to offload 9 of its 24 parking
ramps. Three of them are relatively new, built quite recently.
It seems the city believes that selling the ramps will lead to
development of revenue producing business properties in the city, thus
fattening the city purse. Parking? Well, it looks like the theme is
"Let them take Light Rail."
Among the ramps to be sold are the recently-built Mill Quarter Ramp
and the Riverfront Parking Ramp. The St. Anthony ramp is also on the
list. All told, the ramps about to be sold have 5,629 parking spaces.
The largest ramp being sold, the Gateway Ramp, at 400 Third St., has
1,397 parking spots.
Sound like a disaster in the making? It sure does to me. Sure, some
of the spaces will be replaced by the developers, but surely not all of
them. It just seems to me that losing that many parking spaces is bound
to make parking in the city just that much more difficult. But maybe
that's the plan, really. You didn't really want to come into the city,
anyhow, did you?
7/31/06
Comments? Email Me!
Well, if the Democrats hold their convention here in the Twin Cities
in 2008, it's going to be at the Excel Energy Center, according to this
story in the Minneapolis Saint Paul Business Journal. That's not
surprising, since that center seems best suited for such a show.
I'm still against either party holding a convention here. To read my
reasons, Click
Here!
7/17/06
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New Orleans, one of the contenders for the 2008 GOP Presidential
convention, has withdrawn its name from the hopper. Citing the $11
million dollar cost to the region for the convention, they decided to
take a pass.
That leaves Cleveland, New York, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and our own
Twin Cities in contention for the prestigious, yet pricey hosting
honors.
I'm opposed to hosting this convention, for a number of reasons. You
can read my previous article on the subject by Clicking
Here.
7/14/06
Comments? Email Me!
Normally, I don't bother with national news on this blog, but I found
the story about Rush Limbaugh and his secret stash of Viagra to be of
interest. He was coming back from the Dominican Republic, a Caribbean
nation known for its sex tourism, when U.S. Customs found a bottle of
Viagra in his luggage. Trouble was, it wasn't his name on the
prescription; it bore the name of a physician.
Not a big deal. The doc had the prescription filled under his own
name to shield the Rush from possible exposure as a guy with...umm...a
little problem with his plumbing. No laws were broken, yet the story
still is of interest to some.
A guy normally doesn't pack those little pick-me-up pills for a trip
unless he plans on using them while at his destination. That'd be silly.
So, it appears that El Rushbo planned some intimate recreation down
there in the Dominican Republic. I hope he packed his condoms, too. A
guy could get a rash...you betcha!
6/27/06
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Vice President Dick Cheney is coming to town today, June 26, 2006.
He's doing a fund-raiser for Michele Bachmann in Minnetrista. It's an
in-and-out sort of visit. The fund-raiser is at 4:30 PM, so he'll be
arriving at MSP sometime this afternoon.
Pay attention to I-494 and other roads on Monday afternoon and
evening. The route for his motorcade won't be announced but, wherever it
goes, you can be sure the roads will be closed while he's on them. Will
this happen at rush hour today?. You'll know later on.
I mention this only to point out why we don't want either
Presidential Convention to be held here in 2006. Pay attention to the
news tonight and check the traffic reports. You'll see what I mean. Me?
I'll be monitoring my scanner to see just how this all goes.
It's not a political thing for me. It's just that anytime a President
or Vice President is in town, traffic comes to a huge halt. If this
coincides with rush hour...look out!
6/26/06
Comments? Email Me!
Now I've seen everything! The Twin Cities are trying as hard as they
might to entice one or both of our major political parties to hold the
2008 Presidential convention here in the Twin Cities. Mayors of both
Minneapolis and St. Paul are salivating over the possibility. Click
Here for more info.
Well, the mayors may be pining for a convention here. The hotels are
probably pretty excited as well, along with the posh restaurants in both
cities. Sounds good, eh? A Presidential Convention would really put the
Twin Cities on the map, eh?
Word is now that we're a finalist in the competition for the
Democratic Party's convention. R. T. Rybak (I like to call him Archie Zwieback), says, "We haven't had a chance like this in 100 years and
no one will work harder than we will to get one of these
conventions."
As they say in another city (may it be the choice), Fuhgeddaboudit!
You don't want these conventions here, I promise you. You don't want
either of these conventions here. I sure as heck don't want them here.
Here are some of the things you'll get if either convention is held
in the Twin Cities:
