Burn more garbage in Mpls? Hennepin County is going to the Minneapolis City Council for permission to burn more garbage at the downtown HERC incinerator, reports the Star Tribune. On June 22, the Minneapolis Planning Commission denied Hennepin County’s request to raise the allowable daily tonnage from by 21 percent. The Planning Commission said it could not be sure that there would be no adverse public health effects. The burner won City Council approval by a 7-6 vote back in 1987, and today’s council is not expected to be much friendlier.
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News Day: Burn more garbage in Mpls? / One more hat in the ring / Keeping teens out of jail / Danger from IE / more
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News Day: Central Corridor starts / Police & crime / New hope for old homes / Trouble on the farm / more
Central Corridor starts Downtown St. Paul will see streets dug up, starting Monday, so that utility lines can be moved before construction of the Central Corridor light rail line begins next year, reports the Star Tribune. Street closings and restrictions will begin on 4th Street between Minnesota and Jackson streets.
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Patriotism, pollution and Prairie Home Companion
The Twin Cities fireworks displays are great, unless you’re a timid dog or a human being with asthma, in which case – not so much. According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, particulate matter levels were elevated to “orange alert” levels because of all the fireworks, so people with sensitive lungs and hearts should not exert themselves. (By tomorrow, the level should be back down to yellow alert.) Continue reading
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Torture continues — in and by the U.S.
Over at National Public Radio, Ombudsman Alicia Shepard is taking plenty of reader/listener criticism for her defense of NPR’s refusal to call torture by its name. The issue continues to be relevant, because torture continues, in Guantanamo and in the United States.
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News Day: Unemployment up / Latest student test scores / General Mills: How do they do it? / Excel Dairy still making people sick
Unemployment up – slightly June unemployment (seasonally adjusted) rose to 9.5 percent, up from 9.4 percent in May in the official figure. The U-6 figure, which includes discouraged workers and those who are working part-time because they cannot find full-time jobs, rose from 16.4 percent to 16.5 percent.
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News Day: Senate race ends! / Fletcher vs. investigators on Strike Force / PiPress layoffs / 100 torture deaths? / more
Senator Al Franken It’s all over – the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Al Franken won the election. Then Norm Coleman conceded. Within a few hours, both Governor Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie had signed the election certificate. A veritable tornado of tweets followed every minute of the events. By my count, Minnesota Independent and MinnPost each have 19 articles, and that’s where I stop counting.
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News Day: Franken, Coleman, Pawlenty and the Supremes / Unlicensed in St. Paul / Mortgage relief – finally / more
©Ramin Khojasteh - Fotolia.com
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News Day: Policing smarter / Minneapolis redevelopment / Vallay Varro / Honduras coup / more
Soja Andrzej - Fotolia.com
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Summer reading – Latehomecomer, Ordinary Ways
Murder mysteries are my usual summer reading fare, but this vacation was different. I had a stack of books on my table, some waiting for months, and memoirs won out.
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Honduras Coup
UPDATED 6/29/09: See Nicanet for reporting from Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and summaries of global press coverage, and NACLA for additional analysis. Highlights:
As of 11:15am, Caracas time, President Zelaya is speaking live on Telesur from San Jose, Costa Rica. He has verified the soldiers entered his residence in the early morning hours, firing guns and threatening to kill him and his family if he resisted the coup. He was forced to go with the soldiers who took him to the air base and flew him to Costa Rica. He has requested the U.S. Government make a public statement condemning the coup, otherwise, it will indicate their compliance. He said that he has not resigned and that until his term ends in 2010 he remains president of Honduras.The Honduran Foreign Minister and the ambassadors to Honduras from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua were detained by the military. The ambassadors, after suffering physical mistreatment by the military, were set free but the Foreign Minister, Patricia Rodas, remained in military custody.
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Mary Turck