My "North Minneapolis Gloves"

About a week ago, I found out I'm not the only one who uses this trick. See, I have a really beat up pair...

...of gloves that should have been thrown away a long time ago except, well, the thing is...I just don't throw away gloves. Even mismatched gloves get tossed in a "glove box" for those really filthy jobs which also have to be performed in cold weather. And then when you lose or misplalce your good gloves...well, time to forage around in the glove box.

But sometimes I have other reasons for wearing my beat up gloves, besides hard and filthy work. A pair of gloves like those pictured above says: I don't have any money. I'm not worth robbing.

Last week, a friend of mine said she uses the same trick, only in her case it's a "North Minneapolis coat."

Now, you might be wondering why I'm sharing my trick on the internet. Well, as one harsh critic of my blog put it so well, "Thank God for the digital divide, huh?"

Read more!

Insight About Insight News, Foreclosures, Hatin' On Councilman Don Samuels, And More!

Skrenes Family Photo

This is probably like "inside baseball" to a lot of folks, but I may as well complete the historical record about Insight news going after Jeff Skrenes (pictured above, as a child) over some comments Jeff made in a Minn Post article. The comments were about some unexpectedly positive side effects of the foreclosure crisis hitting North Minneapolis...

Here's a recap of the story. First, some U of M college students were doing an article for some kind of intership-slash-journalism-class, and they asked me for some North Minneapolis insights and contacts. So I helped hook them up. The article took forever to come out but it finally did. The headline was horrible, but the article itself was wonderful.

Some of the things said in the article included pointing out something both obvious and positive: because of the foreclosure crisis, hookers and drug dealers are getting booted out of the neighborhood because their crappy slumlord housing is gone, HOORAY.

This isn't anything which hasn't been said before and, in fact, it has been said by many people. But Insight News launched a harsh critique aimed at Jeff Skrenes and Don Samuels for daring to have anything positive to say about POOR WIDDLE HOOKERS AND DRUG DEALERS being forced to leave the neighborhood.

After the article appeared, Jeff and Samuels had a good-natured disagreement over who was the intended target of the critique, and who was just "collateral damage." (Kind of like Jeff, above, after childhood eye surgery and, oh, look...Big Bird has a bandage, too)

Insight News has been pretty consistent in its dislike of Don Samuels, so when Samuels says one thing, you can expect Insight News to say the opposite.

Here's where it turns into "inside baseball." Jeff Skrenes sent an email requesting to publish a rebuttal to the Insight News article. And here's what Insight News did: they published Jeff's email, which was REQUESTING a chance to rebut, and was not the rebuttal itself. Now, you have to ask yourself: was that just SLOP, or was that deliberate?

The votes were counted in a recent round-robin discussion, and the verdict came back, and it was an overwhelming consensus of opinion:

SLOP!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeff published what he wanted to say on (of all places!) his Facebook profile, but not everybody has access to that, so I'm going to publish what Jeff said, here on Johnny Northside. (Finally)

Here it is, unedited, though I've added some extra paragraph breaks.

(Jeff's text follows)

Recently, two articles have appeared in local Minneapolis media around the foreclosure crisis. One touts some positive developments that have come about as a result of the foreclosure crisis, and another article offers a countering opinion.

http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2009/02/03/6336/are_foreclosures_helping_to_improve_minneapolis_north_side

http://www.insightnews.com/index.php?id=4046:samuels-foreclosure-crisis-improves-neighborhood-safety&option=com_content&catid=1:commentary&Itemid=4

I was quoted in the first article and called to task for my comments in the second. What follows in this note are some of my thoughts about where north Minneapolis stands in light of the housing crisis, and where we may be heading.

First, the title of the original article, "Are foreclosures helping to improve Minneapolis' north side?" is frankly, terrible. It makes it appear as if Councilmember (CM) Samuels, Hawthorne residents, developers, and I have all been wiping our foreheads in relief, saying "Thank goodness this foreclosure crisis came along just in time. What a relief!"

Nothing could be farther from the truth. The title also does a disservice to the wonderful success stories told throughout the rest of the article. Hawthorne is turning around an area filled with problem properties, foreclosures, and crime. Our residents who have had the courage to stand their ground have my absolute support and they deserve every bit of it. I believe CM Samuels is one of the many politicians in north Minneapolis who truly "gets it" and even though he does not represent the Hawthorne neighborhood, I am proud to have him as a partner in this fight. There are few developers who have done more for our community than the Ackerberg Group, and the Minnpost article does their contribution justice as well.

I just wish I could have spoken with the editors before this went online, so I could have said, "It's PERFECT! Just one thing...CHANGE THE DAMN TITLE!"

The Insight News article is, in my opinion, nothing more than a desperate swipe at CM Samuels in an attempt to drum up support for an opponent - any opponent - of his in the upcoming 2009 city council elections. I should say that I have great respect for Insight's editor-in-chief, Al McFarlane, and all he has done for our community. But I can't even call this article "bad journalism" because labeling it as such would do a disservice to journalism itself.

On top of its politically-based attempt to create ire over a well-written but poorly-titled article, it brings up a neighboring conflict in Jordan that has only tangential connections to the issue at hand. Then it doesn't even get those facts right.

But what I want to focus on in this note are what I see as positive outcomes from the crisis we are in. Once again, I must state that I am not happy about this crisis, that I have spent the past nine years of my life working against housing and mortgage injustices, and I remain as dedicated to this issue as ever. One thing I've said though, is that a positive aspect of the housing problems we face is that "drug dealers tend to get bad mortgages."

I can think of three houses in Hawthorne off the top of my head (2942 Aldrich, 3020 6th, and 614 23rd) that are owned by drug dealers, have been open sores on the face of our community, and are now in foreclosure. Oh, and 3101 6th and 3119 4th were open-air drug market apartment buildings that were lost to foreclosure, vacated, and then demolished. I made various trips to these two buildings in an attempt to connect tenants with housing services that would help them through what is surely a difficult process. In turn, I was verbally assaulted, had my pamphlets torn up in front of my face, and left reeking from the haze of pot that hung thickly in the air.

One year ago, the Hawthorne EcoVillage, a development project centered around 31st Ave N and 6th St N had no fewer than nine properties with open-air drug dealing and prostitution. Now there is one. It was raided once again tonight by Minneapolis' Finest, and our efforts have cut into the owner's illicit revenue to the point where a foreclosure will force him and his tenants out by the spring or early summer. Out of the nine properties where problems were rampant, two landlords evicted problem tenants and put in new renters, one was purchased from a slumlord and demolished, and six went into foreclosure.

At our February Hawthorne Crime Prevention and Family Safety meeting, a map was passed around that plotted crimes that had been noted by the Minneapolis Police Department in Hawthorne during the previous month. There were three crimes on the borders of the EcoVillage, but NOTHING inside it.

This is a marked difference over last year, and I claim it as a tremendous success on behalf of the neighborhood. There is no way around it; foreclosures forced drug dealers out of the area faster than the police and our city departments could have addressed the issues. This is not a knock on the city at all, just the reality of what has happened.

In Hawthorne, we are drawing a line in the sand. We are standing together as a community and saying, "This behavior will not be tolerated. If you engage in behaviors that harm our neighbors, we will bring the full force of our community to bear, and we will emerge victorious." I've been asked "When you kick these criminals out of your neighborhood, where will they go?" "Not Hawthorne," is my immediate response.

And I call upon our neighbors in the Near North, Willard Hay, McKinley, and Jordan neighborhoods, all the way to the cities of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center to do the same. Stand against illegal and illicit behavior and make it known that criminals are not welcome here or anywhere.

I could write an equally long missive about the devastating effects of foreclosures on communities and families, and perhaps I may. But the question at hand is whether there are positive aspects coming from the problems we face. Although I wish as much as anyone that we were not facing such a crisis, the unequivocal answer is that yes, some good things are happening and they will be part of a transformative time in north Minneapolis.

(Here Jeff's text ends)

HERE'S JOHNNY AGAIN:

I'll add one thing in closing: Insight News consistently misspelled "Hawthorne," which is kind of ironic: word is many years ago the Hawthorne Neighborhood helped to kick in some dough to assist in getting that publication off the ground. Now a community newspaper which could be an asset is acting like a sad and sorry rag with a near-sighted agenda, blinded by unreasoning hatred for Don Samuels.

Jeff phrases things delicately and politically. But I call 'em as I see 'em.

Read more!

North Minneapolis Greenway Document (In PDF Form)

Flickr.com Photo

Somebody recently emailed me a copy of a document about the North Minneapolis Bikeway/Greenway Alignment. Now, normally I like to use the Johnny Northside PDF support site for documents tinged with tasty controversy and skanky scandal, but I'm not opposed to simple information distribution...

So if you want a copy of this document for your very own, go to this link:

http://sites.google.com/site/johnnynorthsidesite/north-minneapolis-greenway

If you print out a hard copy, be sure to recycle.

On a side note, here...Grand Forks, North Dakota has a Greenway because, back in 2000, a certain ultra-conservative (expletive) city councilman was out of town on vacation and, oh gee, somehow the Greenway proposal ended up in front of the city council for a vote. (WHOOPS!!! How did that happen?!)

After debate, compromise and political manuevering, the Greenway passed by a single vote which was, by my reckoning, my vote.

I have always thought that if nothing else I did in Grand Forks had any meaning or lasting impact, that single vote would have been worth all my efforts. So just hearing the word "Greenway" always makes me feel happy. The folks from the neighborhood who have worked on this project for many years...they're doing a great job, and all their effort will pay off.

Read more!

Stupid North Minneapolis Home Repairs FESTIVAL!!!!!

Photos By Jeff Skrenes

Hawthorne Housing Director Jeff Skrenes took these photos a few days ago while looking at houses with Connie Nompelis, preservationist and rehab enthusiast...

Jeff was going to send me a commentary about the pictures, but I was in a hurry to get the photos up and, in any case, this is clearly a case of "stupid is as stupid looks like." And, yes, these photos are ALL FROM THE SAME HOUSE.

From top to bottom; check out that old, hand-milled post on the porch...trapped inside some new support, trying to keep the old porch up without bothering to perform a more extensive repair, then the whole thing was painted over because (as every slumlord knows) a lot of paint covers a multitude of home repair sins. I THINK that's what's going on.

Second, note the florescent light fixture...like a drowning victim frozen in a layer of ice. Note how it is safely snuggled inside fiberglass insulation, too. The wood divider in the middle doesn't even line up, and that problem (things not lining up) plagues almost the whole interior of the house. It's like a guy with one eye, half an arm and part of a saw remodeled the interior, then looked at it with his head turned sideways and said, "Good enough, considering I'm being paid in beer."

Check out the cupboard in the next photo. Tell me what do you KEEP in a cupboard like that? I'm thinking...rifle, rake, bathroom plunger and some shameful pornographic items you want to hide waaaaaaaaaaaaay over on the left.

The next photo is where I could really use Jeff's knowledge base. Is that closet really about a foot deep, or is that an optical illusion? Also, the surface of the counter...is that linoleum or just a really unfortunate tile job?

Just when you think the worst is over...check out that plastering job in (I think) one of the bedrooms. What is that pattern called? "Wavy White Gravy?" It reminds me of cake frosting applied by somebody who didn't really know how to frost a cake.

The last photo shows the front of the house. Note how the number "413" is on the house TWICE. OK, what's the point of THAT?

Connie talked to me on the phone last night and told me something like "as much as I am shocked by these words coming out of my mouth" the whole interior should be gutted and started all over again. There is, Connie said, not one thing worth saving.

But I'm thinking...I don't know, those light bulbs on the counter may still be good. Might want to check that.

ADDENDUM: This post changed from its original content because some people are soooooooooo sensitive. But if those folks are feeding me great info, I'll just have to compromise my artistic integrity.

Read more!

Continued Progress On The Bryant Ave. N. "Gremlin Rehab"

Photo By John Hoff

Progress continues on that house on Bryant Ave. N. which is being rehabbed by mysterious gremlins who can never be caught in the act. Recently, a new porch roof was added. The supporting beams are--I am assured by Peter Teachout--obviously a temporary state of affairs. Also pictured is...

...the sign out front. I've said before how I have mixed feelings about that sign.

Non-Profitsville continues to take shape under our noses, and just blocks from the planned "World's Largest YWCA."

Oh, gee, I just realized...

The YWCA would be ANOTHER non-profit, right?

Yup, welcome to Non-Profitsville.

Read more!

South Hawthorne Community Garden Is Coming Together

Michael Klick sent me an email asking that I spread the word about progress with the "South Hawthorne Community Garden." The photo above was taken by Kevin, a neighbor who is on board with the project, and shows where the garden will be located.

Mike says...



We have the approval to use the lot at 2123 6th St. North for our community garden! Things are falling into place very nicely. We will have an initial garden meeting at the next Environmental Committee meeting at Fairview Park on Monday March 30th at 7pm. We will dicuss the garden and the garden building days that we will need to have to build the garden. This is tenatively
scheduled for the middle of April. maybe the 18th.

It is exciting news. We already have six people committed to the garden and have room for more people. We are also going to need able bodies with wheelbarrows and shovels to help fill the raised beds with the two dump truck loads of dirt we are getting hauled in.

Spread the word.

Read more!

So Low Foods Wins A New Customer

So, a few nights ago when me, Jeff, Connie, Megan and Demetri were all meeting for food and drinks and drinks at some Russian restaurant ten feet into the suburbs, I wanted to show Connie some of the great deals I get at the So Low store at Emerson and Lowry...

See, Connie is totally into frugality, a student of the writings of the "Simplicity Movement" which, oddly enough, thrived during the economic boom times of the Clinton Administration with publications like "The Tightwad Gazette" and (must I go out of my way to mention?) "The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving" by John Hoffman. So I knew Connie would totally get into the deals at So Low, which I had already blogged about.

So there I was at the table, and when the subject of So Low came up, quite naturally in the course of the conversation, I reached in my pocket and pulled out the brie cheese. Ninety-nine cents, can you believe it? And it turned out Connie had sought out So Low in the wake of my blog posting and found the cheese section all by herself, where (the truth be told) she was apparently involved in some pretty serious looting.

Megan was all, like, "You walk around with brie cheese in your pocket?" And I told her, no, it was a "demo item" I brought with me for purposes of illustration, kind of like the little eco-soaps from Mystic Lake, see previous post.

I've been around salesmanship my whole life, so I find it quite natural a person might have "demo items" in their pocket. Take, for example, my cousin who we'll call "Rory." One time, when I was in about 5th Grade, Rory and my shockingly-hot other cousin, who we'll call "Jane," came to our oh-so-rural farm for a visit.

So Rory was settling in for the night, and he started pulling some items out of his backpack and dumping the items on my rolltop desk--half a dozen men's belt buckles, some quite ornate. I remember there was one made to look like scrimshaw, with a whaling scene like you might find in Moby Dick. And I was all, like, "Why do you have so many belt buckles?" And Rory said, "Um, they're sort of associated with my job. I sell things."

"You're a salesman?" I asked.

"You could say that," Rory shrugged.

"You sell BELT BUCKLES?" I asked.

"No," Rory sighed. "I sell...what goes WITH the belt buckle."

I thought about that for a moment. I was only a 5th grader, after all, and not even all the way into 5th grade, just STARTING 5th grade. So I replied, "You sell belts?"

Rory looked at me and said, "You're so innocent! Don't ever change." And he gave me about a dozen really cool belt buckles.

So it doesn't strike me as odd, at all, that people walk around with "demo items" in their pocket. It's really just a matter of what they're trying to sell.

Oh, by the way, once my father figured out Rory's lifestyle, he pretty much ended the family reunion and threw Rory out of the house, and Jane for good measure. Which was too bad. They're both cool, interesting people and a lot of fun. But my father was the kind of guy who made Old School look like New Wave.

Read more!

Kicking Around Ideas To Help The Neighborhood (Gift Baskets To Welcome New Residents)

For the past month or so, some of us have been kicking around the idea of a "gift basket" to welcome new residents to our neighborhood. So some of the discussion has involved what, exactly, would go in the baskets?

Who would...

...actually get the baskets, how would the baskets be funded, who would deliver the baskets...these are secondary discussions. THE REALLY FUN PART IS WHAT GOES IN THE BASKETS!

One idea centers on "green" house cleaning supplies, since people moving into a new house will be needing cleaning supplies, and North Minneapolis is trying to become "green" in large and small ways. Pictured above is an idea I had for the basket: eco friendly bath soap and hair care products. This stuff came from, um...Mystic Lake. I was out there with a friend of mine who was on a three day binge of drinking and gambling, leaving me to occupy myself watching television and reading, ho hum, not risking so much as a nickel.

Some people who read this blog think I'm a lot of fun. They're so wrong.

While there at the casino, I couldn't help but notice how many gambling-themed movies were on the television. Coincidence? Or conspiracy? Thank goodness for the splendid buffet at Mystic Lake, or those three days would have REALLY been a waste.

Fortunately, I managed to enrich myself with bathroom toiletries, including some of the stuff pictured above, which means I walked away a winner, unlike my friend. Now some of my Mystic Lake parting gifts are sort of like demos to show what I think should be inside the theoretical neighborhood gift basket.

But our Hawthorne Neighborhood Association Housing Director, Jeff Skrenes, was all, like, "What are we going to do, steal soap from Mystic Lake for the gift baskets?" And I was all, like, "It's not STEALING, they GIVE that stuff to GUESTS. If I grabbed a bunch off the maid cart, THAT would be stealing."

Anyway, the photo above shows the "demo items" on a restaurant table, after I gave them to real estate agent and rehab enthusiast Connie Nompelis. After Connie got home from a night of drinking with me and Jeff--with a designated driver, which she didn't even gripe about, just handed over the keys like a responsible citizen--Connie woke up, didn't remember a few things, and in her purse found...HOTEL ROOM TOILETRIES!!!!

Yeah, I think we've all had nights like that. Did I ever tell readers the story I call "The Night I Invaded Mexico By Accident?"

No, I have not. And we're not going there.

ADDENDUM: Megan Goodmundson was there with me, Jeff and Connie. I shouldn't neglect to mention Megan, who is full of great information about the Jordan Neighborhood but can you get anything out of her? Not until she puts more money into her prepaid legal plan, she says.

Read more!

My 311 Trophy Building

The graffiti on this building is visible on West Broadway, and has been since...well, since I started hanging around in North Minneapolis. So about a year. Well guess what? Nobody...

...had called this in to 311. I had often wanted to make the call, but the building was in a scary location, and the number (partially broken) wasn't very visible from the street. But a few days ago I was, like, what the heck...I'm going over there, I'm getting the number, and I'm calling it in. I honestly expected there would already be a report, given the prominent location and how long the graffiti had been there. But there was not report.

Well, there is now.

When people talk about West Broadway, and how rundown it is, and how it needs to be revitalized...they're pretty much talking about buildings like this one.

Wow, what a 311 trophy. I wonder where I can get it stuffed and mounted?

Read more!

A Window On Stupid Home Repairs In North Minneapolis

Continuing a tradition of publicizing "Stupid North Minneapolis Home Repairs," here's one from the Eco Village area...

I must have walked or driven by this one a hundred times, and then one day I realized...good grief, what were they thinking when they covered that window and patched on the siding?

Yeah, no sense giving tenants a lot of windows...they'll just run more heat.

Read more!

JNS BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Kennedy Holdings LLC versus Evanner Haymon, Lawsuit Documents In PDF Form

Today, somebody paid a visit to both Hennepin and Ramsey County District Court, and obtained the documents in regard to the Kennedy Holdings versus LLC lawsuit. Here's a little summary of the case...


(Of course, if you want to just skip ahead and read the source documents, unfiltered by my commentary, copy and paste this URL to get to the Johnny Northside PDF support site)

http://sites.google.com/site/johnnynorthsidesite/evanner-haymon-lawsuit-docs

The case went like this: Evanner Haymon--whose claim to fame in North Minneapolis is ownership of 3020 6th St. N., described by one police official as a 1990s-style smokehouse for crack consumption, recently the subject of a police raid--also owned a residence at 7720 Edgewood Drive, Moundsview, Minnesota. He made out a promissory note on January 20, 2006, to Violet Woods. The note was secured by the "Moundsview property."

Haymon defaulted on the loan, not making monthly payments. Kennedy Holdings came to own the note, and sued Haymon, who made "no answer" in court. In delightfully understated lawyer language, the legal paperwork describes Haymon as "occupation unknown." Kennedy Holdings, on the other hand, is described as dealing in "the acquisition and sale of real estate."

In the documents, two different home addresses appear for Haymon: 2942 Aldrich Ave. N., another North Minneapolis property known to be in foreclosure and--this is kind of a surprise--4171 Xenwood Ave. S., St. Louis Park, MN, 55416.

The case was resolved pretty easily: Haymon made no answer in court, and judgment was by default. The case took place in Ramsey County but--apparently because Haymon has property and income in Minneapolis--the judgment was filed in Hennepin County.

It may not be terribly exciting, as far as legal cases go. But to those of us who are fighting to create a better world in North Minneapolis, and are faced--time and time again--with a crack house in the middle of our Eco Village project--this lawsuit against Evanner "The Devil" Haymon is FASCINATING.

Read more!

No New Drive-Throughs On West Broadway (For Now)

The Hawthorne Neighborhood's Housing Director, Jeff Skrenes, went to City Hall a couple days ago to take care of the kind of bread-and-butter livability tasks we expect from him; in this case testifying against a variance for a drive-through restaurant on West Broadway.

(I know what you're thinking: isn't this the kind of dry-as-unbuttered-toast article we can get from reading "The Bridge" newspaper. Well...yes. But every now and then I make an effort to eat my journalistic vegetables)

Anyway, Jeff provided information for the following narrative about the Marathon station at 1120 W. Broadway...


Background: the owner of this gas station has developed some significant planned changes to the facility, which even he admits is (currently) an eyesore. In general, the neighborhood is supportive of these changes, with the exception of the drive-through. There are several reasons why:

1.) Safety. The drive-through would be exiting just before the Fremont/Broadway intersection. Cars park on the left-hand side of the street, there is a slight decline slop at that point, and a large church obstructing sight lines of vehicles coming from the drive through. Combine those factors with the knowledge that drivers are often going 40 mph in a 30 mph zone and then speed up when they see the light about to change. It is not uncommon to see cars whiz through the intersection at 45-50 mph.

Add to that mix a family leaving the drive-through, putting drinks in cup holders, opening sandwich wrappers, looking for French fries, etc....it's a series of traffic fatalities just waiting to happen.

2.) Long-term zoning. The current owner claims he wants to open his own drive-through restaurant and not another chain. But once the zoning variance is changed, he could decide to open up such a franchise if his own business isn't doing well, or sell to one of these chains.

(What DON'T we have on Broadway? Arby's, Hardees, and White Castle, I guess)

3.) West Broadway Alive Plan. The new drive-through is in direct contradiction to the plans for Broadway adopted in 2006 by the city council after much neighborhood buy-in. This is the first time a proposal has come forth that is contrary to what residents have expressed as their plans for the neighborhood. Approving their request would have sent a signal to many throughout North Minneapolis that the city was only paying lip service to their desires and contributions.

So here is what happened at the hearing. The business owner had the approval of the Jordan Area Community Council and applied for the zoning variance. A previous committee granted all of the variances he was asking for, including the drive-through. But it was a close vote. In a wonderful show of citizen activism, members of the Old Highland area scraped together the $350 needed to appeal this decision. (Old Highland is not an official city neighborhood, they're in the Near North Neighborhood and recognized by the city only as a part of the Northside Residents' Redevelopment Council/NRRC)

The presenter on behalf of the business owner started off by showing the plans, which on paper look pretty good EXCEPT FOR THE DRIVE-THROUGH. This was to be expected, but the surprising part was when the presenter said the plans ALL COMPLIED WITH THE WEST BROADWAY ALIVE VISION. The council members on the Zoning and Planning Committee (Samuels, Schiff, Goodman, Colvin-Roy, Gordan, and Remington) had some great questions for the business owner. Primarily, Schiff mentioned that the alleyway would be used as an entry point for the drive-through, and this kind of thing has never, ever been granted by the City of Minneapolis before. He wondered why we would do so, now.

Cam Gorden (Green Party) pointed out that in the summertime, vehicles idling in the drive through would have their exhaust fumes going directly into any open windows in the church very close next door. And though there have been meetings where Lisa Goodman was CLEARLY NOT CLUED IN TO NORTH MINNEAPOLIS ISSUES, she was on her game this day.

Then it came time for public input.

All the speakers except one were against the drive-through. Hawthorne Housing Director Jeff Skrenes emphasized the unsavory traffic situation, saying, "It's not a matter of IF we'll see accidents. It's a matte of WHEN, and how bed they'll be, and how many before we're back here trying to undo what could be prevented today."

Jeff reminded the committee that there were several exceptions here that would not be granted anywhere else in the city. Combine that with the proposals contradictions to the West Broadway Alive plan, and how upholding the zoning variances would send the message to north Minneapolis that their opinions are secondary and also that residents have lower standards or deserve to have lower standards imposed upon them. Jeff submitted the Hawthorne neighborhood's letter of support of Old Highland's appeal for the record.

Public discussions were closed and the city council members voted. But city council members can't JUST vote. They have to each give their own narrative of why they're voting the way they are. Remington said he couldn't help but notice the racial disparities in the speakers (African or Middle Eastern businessmen, African Americans in favor, what people opposed) but he was going to vote to uphold the appeal. Jeff says it is worth noting that the Hawthorne board is racially diverse, and voted unanimously to support Old Highland.

Don Samuels spoke out very strongly that we need to support a vision for good business on Broadway, and that "right now the number one business on West Broadway is heroin." He said if we only support the kinds of businesses that are currently there (such as drive-throughs) then that dynamic will never change.

The committee voted unanimously to uphold the appeal. No new drive-through's on Broadway!

Well...for now.

Read more!

JNS BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Kennedy Holdings LLC versus Evanner Haymon

I can't take credit for digging up this information, but I am also unable to credit the person or persons who forwarded me the info, at his/her/their request.

The house at 3020 6th St. N. has been a pretty constant subject on this blog, including the recent police raid which turned up crack cocaine. Well, it turns out the owner of the property--which is in an advanced state of foreclosure--is being sued by an entity called Kennedy Holdings, LLC.

According to Hennepin County civil court records...

...Evanner Haymon, the owner of 3020 6th St. N., is being sued for $41,835 by a creditor called "Kennedy Holdings LLC."

So the question becomes...who is Kennedy Holdings? That part is actually kind of mysterious. Here's what my oh-so-anonymous informant tells me:

Kennedy Holdings LLC shares overlapping telephone number, address, and email info with "Paragon Home Mortgage," "Delaware Funding" and "Delaware Funding II," as well as "Superior Financing." All of these entities appear to be operated by Jason Benjamin Heroux, whose date of birth is February 28 1970.

Here are more details of the paper trail.

Case numbers:
27-CV-09-580
62-CV-08-11825

Kennedy Holdings LLC
8053 E Bloomington Fwy
Minneapolis, MN
952-465-1111

A "jason@kennedyholdingsmn.com" is listed as the contact for:

Superior Financing
952-465-0123 Office
Jason Heroux
Jason@kennedyholdingsmn.com

The same phone number (952-465-1111) is also listed for:

Paragon Home Mortgage
13100 Wayzata Blvd #390
Minnetonka, MN 55305
Telephone: 952-465-1111
Fax: 952-746-2554

www.kenedyholdingsmn.com is registered to:
heroux, jason jason@phmgroup.com
kennedy holdings, LLC
1750 deaware
st. paul, Minnesota 55118
612-875-9843
952-400-8746

"phmgroup.com" is most likely Paragon Home Mortgage

The person listed above also owns this domain:

delawarefunding.net

Jason Heroux lists 1750 Delaware as an address, so "Delaware Funding" makes sense as the name of a company.

Google's cached page for Delaware Funding lists the following contact info:

Delaware Funding
570 Asbury Street Suite 202
St. Paul, MN 55104
St. Paul, M 55104
Phone: 651-645-2197
info@delawarefunding.com

Delaware Funding II, using the 570 Asbury address, applied for a license from the Minnesota Department of Commerce in June of 2008.

So! What does all this mean? It's not even clear this lawsuit is connected with 3020 6th St. N., or with any North Minneapolis property in paricular...though one gets a strong sense real estate and a mortgage is probably at the heart of these issues. Obtaining the actual lawsuit itself might give more clues, but since this blogger doesn't get paid to blog...that could take a while, unless the document mysterious ends up in my hands.

Anybody who has some insight into what is going on, here, is welcome to comment.

Read more!

Annshalike Hamilton Murder Is Still Unsolved (Police and Media Are In Need Of Information)

Photo By John Hoff 

No, I do not have any new information. But I'm not going to let go of this case, so now is a good time to remind everybody the murder of Annshalike Hamilton and her unborn baby is still unsolved, and the police still need help to arrest the person or persons responsible. The media need information, too, I think...something to spur the media to write more about this murder instead of letting it slip from the mind of the public. 

The photo above...

...was taken on the day of the police news conference at 222 4th St. N., the run down property where Hamilton's body was found. The property is owned by slumlord Mahmood Khan. The person in the picture is Lora Pabst, who covers the crime beat for the Star Tribune. She is also one of my former journalism students from back in the day when I was a teaching assistant at U of M.

I hope there is a day in the very near future when my former student Lora is writing a story about some arrest of a suspect in this case. But I worry that day will never come because the way things are going, the Star Tribune will fold in the wake of bankruptcy before this crime is solved.

Read more!

More Eco Village Progress (Anderson Mitchell Gets The Rehab Contract)

Photo By John Hoff

Word comes from North Minneapolis contractor Anderson Mitchell that he won the contract to rehab 3023 4th St. N., the PPL house in the Eco Village notable for its missing aluminum siding, with "granular siding" visible underneath. (The stuff looks like shingles)

When Anderson called me, I thought at first...

...he'd won the contract to re-do THE SIDING. But Anderson told me, triumphantly, he'd won the contract to rehab THE ENTIRE HOUSE. 

Just a month ago, Anderson was at the Hawthorne Housing Committee, venting about how contracts for construction and rehabs were going to individuals from, for example, the suburbs instead of contractors such as himself in North Minneapolis. But here's an example of Anderson Mitchell getting exactly what he wanted and, I think, what he deserves. 

Congratulations, Anderson! 

Read more!

Trying To "Follow The Money" In The Jordan Neighborhood

Photo By John Hoff

The "Jordan Livability Blog" has come out with a new, detailed post about the situation with Jordan's financial records and what a tangled mess that is...

Click here for a link.

Also, while I was out dining with a couple neighborhood movers and shakers, I managed to learn one member of the Jordan Neighborhood uses a numbering system to refer to the lawsuits, thusly:

Lawsuit One: Ben Myers, attorney, suing over defamation of character. This lawsuit now involves a COUNTERSUIT, as well. Reportedly, two of the defendants (Anne McCandless and Megan Goodmundson) were served with papers at a community cookout. They did not duck service, but actually gave the process server driving directions.

Lawsuit Two: Al "I Am The Community" Flowers suing for violation of his civil rights. I'd be happy to mail Al Flowers three dollars to drop this lawsuit, but somehow I get a feeling that ain't gunna happen. (By the way, does anybody know his actual address? And, no, don't say "Crazy Town, Office of the Mayor")

Lawsuit Three: Members of the "Old Majority" more or less alleging wrongful usurption of power in the JACC organization by members of the "New Majority." (Those are my labels, but they have been used by the Jordan Livability blog, too)

With so many lawsuits pending, it looks like the hit "As The Neighborhood Turns" soap opera is in no danger of being cancelled any time soon!

Read more!