Trash Haven Hook Fish & Chicken Closed Until They Can Comply with Licensing

Blog Post and Photo by Nomi Passenger

In a previous post I shared photos taken from my cell phone of the major trash problem at Hook Fish & Chicken on West Broadway and Fremont.  I also sent the same pictures to Minneapolis 3-1-1 to report the trash problem. 

As you can see in that previous post a commenter asked if I called 3-1-1 and I shared the first response I received from Nicole in the business licensing department which was:

"I was out on Friday 5/11 and spoke to an employee, the owner was not in, and told them the trash needed to be picked up by a waste management company immediately and that they needed to clean up the lot as well. I left a voicemail to the owner as well and if there is no resolve to this issue within the next 3 days they will be cited, and keep getting cited until the issue is resolved. Please feel free to contact me with any concerns at the information listed below.  Thank you...:"

The commenter's inquiry prompted me to follow up with Nicole and ask for an update.  Here's what Nicole had to say:

"The business has cleaned up the trash, and I am requesting them to spray everything down as well, because of the smell. The business is currently closed until all licensing requirements have been met. I am going to require the business to sign Conditions with the City stating they will keep the property picked up and maintained trash service, with possible extra pick up days to be required. Please let me know if you have any other concerns or questions. Thank you,..."

I've got an email back to her to find out if there were OTHER licensing problems besides the trash.  Magic 8 Ball says "highly likely".

Metlife Award For Neighborhood Revitalization Case Study Becomes Available, Oh My Word, That's Like The Kind Of Headline Mortgage Geek Jeff Skrenes Would Write...

Photo (EcoVillage In 2008) and blog post by John Hoff

I guess it had passed between my ears a while ago that Hawthorne EcoVillage won an award from Metlife for the incredible crime reduction that took place, what some policy wonks referred to as the "18 month EcoVillage Miracle."

The award was in 2010, or heck maybe it was early 2011 for the 2010 time period. In any case, it was a couple years ago. But the case study, authored by one Chandra Conway, was published in January of this year and didn't really hit my radar until somebody studying the "EcoVillage miracle" sent me a link today. I would have thought ubergeek "Hawthorne Hawkman" would have written about a report of this nature, but searching his blog and the rest of the internet leads me to conclude our North Minneapolis grassroots blogger media has not obtained the actual case study, though Jeff did write about the award itself, click here.

This case study is an incredibly frank document and makes mention of the colorful tactics used to turn the EcoVillage around. It names myself, Jeff Skrenes and Peter Teachout and discusses some of the tactics we used. Jeff gets the lion's share of the credit but this is, after all, a geeky document written by geeks, for geeks, and mostly about geeks. So I forgive Jeff for speaking to the author of the study about his, oh my god, SPREAD SHEET. (Finger down throat gesture)

It's a fantastic case study and my name is spelled right. Bring on the movie version, I say.

The Leaning Tree Of NoMi On Newton Ave. N.

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

Located at 2637 Newton Ave. N., this tree survived the North Minneapolis tornado one year ago, but leans at such an angle it appears ready to fall over. And yet it survives and inspires. I just wanted to share this image with readers, with thanks to the owner of the house for sparing this interesting tree from a chainsaw.

Dear Hook, WTF??!!??

Cell phone images and blog post by Nomi Passenger


The other day the dumpster at Hook Fish & Chicken, corner of Fremont and Wbro, was piled high. It caught my attention.  Today, four days later, the dumpster is spilling over and piling up on the ground.

To this I say Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. 

What gives, Hook?  Can't afford your Allied Waste service anymore? This would never fly in Edina, Plymouth,  or Golden Valley.  

Readers, I implore you, take a moment and give a call to Hook Fish & Chicken. Ask for the manager. Tell them you don't appreciate them literally trashing up our neighborhood and we won't sit back and let them do so. 612-521-3333.

While you're at it, give a call to Allied Waste and tell them we don't appreciate them allowing trash to accumulate in their dumpster either. Terrible advertising for their business. 952-941-5174.

(Do Not Click "Read More")

Sixth "Watchful Weekend" Weapons Arrest: JAMES HENRY HORSHAW, DOB 8/26/93

Stock photo by NoMi Passenger, blog post by John Hoff

JAMES HENRY HORSHAW, DOB 8/26/93, was booked into the Hennepin County Jail on a probable cause "weapons" charge at 10:16 PM.

There is a JAMES HENRY HORSHAW who has a criminal record, but that guy's birthday is listed in online court records as 4/23/66.

But just because the name coincidence is interesting or it might be the younger guy's father, just because I feel like it, just because it's my "watchful weekend" concerning any and all weapons arrests and I WILL BLOG ABOUT YOUR DOG if your dog's name comes up while I research a "watchful weekend" weapons arrest, here's the criminal record of the OTHER James Henry Horshaw:

(POST IN PROGRESS) The Madness Of Attorney Jill Clark, Part One Of God-Knows-How-Many: Eric Yzaguirre v. Hennepin County, Some Hardworking Social Worker Lady, A Semi-Random Person In County Records, Breann Morris Whose Cosmically Bad Luck It Was To Give Terry Yzaguirre A Grandchild, And Five Unnamed People Who May Or May Not Even Exist...

Stock photo by NoMi Passenger, (this is NOT an image of piece-of-crap Eric Yzaguirre being arrested, oh, how I wish I had something like that) blog post by John Hoff

THANK YOU TO MY hardworking behind-the-scenes contributors and/or co-conspirators who toss informative court documents over my virtual transom.

I am now in possession of the loony toons civil complaint filed in the matter of Eric Yzaguirre v. Hennepin County, and it's an unintentionally amusing work of dark conspiratorial comedy, brought to you by The Madness of Attorney Jill Clark who has made something of a franchise out of representing the troubled Yzaguirre family when Clark's not too busy legally harassing the North Minneapolis neighborhood revitalization movement, representing sex offenders, or bemoaning some difficult-to-pin-down physical malady which impairs her ability to write briefs in a timely manner...

JNS BLOG EDITORIAL: Dear U.S. Bank CEO Richard Davis, Consider Yourself And Your Company To Be OFFICIALLY VILIFIED For Your Banking Practices In North Minneapolis...

Cell phone camera image and blog post by John Hoff, thanks to NoMi Passenger for technical assistance with this image

In a recent STrib article, click here for a link which will eventually transform into a request for you to purchase the article, fat chance, US Bank's CEO Richard Davis defended his company's banking practices in North Minneapolis and was quoted as follows:

"I refuse to have this company vilified as someone (sic) who's (sic) not involved in north Minneapolis, not deeply engaged in the welfare of everyone who lives up there with the branches that we have and the production and performance we have, and have anyone try to cast a claim on this company for one loan when the facts have not been registered accurately yet so far anywhere."

Oh, my word, where to begin? Let's start with the minor and work our way to a couple mega-misrepresentations of the reality we experience daily "up here" in North Minneapolis...

Fifth "Watchful Weekend" Weapons Crime Arrest, JASZARELL LADAWN TALFORD, Who Reportedly Lives At 4501 Camden Ave. N.

Stock photo by NoMi Passenger, Fourth Precinct Thanksgiving dinner, blog post by John Hoff

Jaszarell LaDawn Talford, DOB 7/14/93, was jailed last night, about half an hour before midnight, on "probable cause" weapons charges. Unable to determine if "weapons" means "guns" or if it might mean just a sharp bagel knife, I've decided to err on the side of publication and throw this arrest in my "watchful weekend" blog reporting in support of MPD's saturation patrols for drugs and weapons.

Jaszarell, who (based on my internet search) is likely the only person on the planet named "Jaszarell," has apparently tried to get hired as a babysitter in the past...

Fourth "Watchful Weekend" Gun Crime Arrest, Chris Obrien Shaw, Felon In Possession Of A Firearm, Allegedly...

Creative stock photo (civil war cannon) and blog post by John Hoff

Chris Obrien Shaw, DOB 12/23/83, arrived at the Hennepin County Jail around 4 this morning, and is listed under "felon in possession of firearm." Shaw's address listed on the roster is 4153 Aldrich Ave. N., which is...

Third "Watchful Weekend" Gun Crime Arrest: MATTHEW P. ROBINSON Who Reportedly Lives In The "Moghul Empire of Slum" At 716 21st Ave. N.

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

Matthew P. Robinson, DOB 2/26/93, was received by the Hennepin County jail yesterday at 9:38 a.m. and faces a possible charge of "carry/possess pistol w/o permit in public place, gross misdemeanor, second or subsequent felony." This was, however, a bench warrant...

Second "Watchful Weekend" Gun Crime Arrest, BRION DUJUANT SPILLER

Not sure if I took this photo or somebody else did, blog post by John Hoff

Watching the jailhouse roster like a hawk this weekend, fulfilling a promise to write about anybody arrested for a gun crime who lists a North Minneapolis address, a second fish has been caught in my bloggy net...