A really bad photo of Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak
I went to the “State of the City” address at the Capri Theater in north Minneapolis this morning. The bulk of the talk centered on reinvesting in north Minneapolis, where foreclosures and racial disparity in unemployment numbers, far outpace the rest of the city. Here are a few items that were talked about.
- A Green Homes North program that would build 100 green homes in the next five years in north Minneapolis on city-owned vacant lots.
- When LRT comes to the Northside, the best area would be from downtown, through Olson Memorial Highway (Hwy 55) towards Theodore Wirth Parkway and out to the suburbs. This route, out of others discussed, would have the least negative effect on neighborhoods that would have to be “torn up” to make room for LRT.
- As part of a bigger picture for public transit in north Minneapolis, Mayor Rybak proposes streetcars could run down West Broadway as another transportation option. They hope to be included in the next round of funding from the Obama administration.
- A $250,000 grant from UnitedHealth will be used to transform the old library on Emerson into a workforce center
I read this and all I thought was “JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS JOBS! EVERYBODY JOBS!”
