Finally! High Tech Meters That Take Plastic Arrive In Minneapolis

Flickr.com Photo, San Francisco Parking
Meter That Takes Plastic As Well As Coins

Can anything be more annoying than Minneapolis parking meters which only take quarters? Oh, yes...

...I almost forgot: young men who stand on street corners for hours on end, openly dealing crack, while dedicated real estate agents try to sell numerous vacant houses in North Minneapolis. THAT is more annoying. But I digress and, besides, vigilant North Minneapolis citizens are putting a stop to open air drug markets.

I have another blog devoted to the issue of predatory towing, and recently posted there about some "high tech" parking meters in Minneapolis which take plastic and not just coins. (Click here for that blog post) San Francisco already has high tech meters, and one of the San Fran meters is pictured above.

I still need to go play with the new Minneapolis meters, personally, and find out if the meters take more than just quarters, but the fact the meters take plastic is--woo woo!--very exciting.

Since this concerns a City of Minneapolis issue, and not just the national issue of predatory and abusive towing, I wanted to make sure regular Johnny Northside readers know about this blog post regarding high tech parking meters in Minneapolis...especially since a push will be needed to get more.

A lot more. We need to replace ALL THE OLD CRUMMY METERS THAT ONLY TAKE QUARTERS.

So try out the new meters in Stadium Village near U of M, which have arrived thanks to Ward 2 City Councilman Cam Gordon, Green Party, and let's all push for more of the high tech meters throughout Minneapolis and not just in the Stadium Village test area.

My Little 311 Triumphs

Photo By John Hoff

It's very satisfying to call 311 and then, a few weeks later, to see tangible results...

Below is 811 4th St. SE, with its cool "Marcy-Holmes" neighborhood sign. Ever since Gopher Laundry and Cleaners closed, it has been a magnet for graffiti and now appliance dumping. Whether the city comes out in a month, or the owners of the property take care of the mess...I'm confident I'll see results. 

Above is the wall of Stub And Herbs in Stadium Village. There was some graffiti up there at roof level, and I called it in. Instead of just removing the graffiti, the owners painted the whole side of the wall and added an attractive ad for "Surly Brewing Co." 

CALLING 311 is fun. A day without calling 311 is like a day without Facebook. 

(Do not click "Read More") 

Harvard Market East (They Was Robbed)

Photo By John Hoff, September 3

So right in the middle of all this RNC 2008 stuff, one of my favorite stores got robbed. I was just about to buy a can of Full Throttle Energy Drink (the manufacturers of the beverage can feel free to send me a free case of their product for mentioning it on my blog) but the door was locked and police were inside...

A reporter from the Minnesota Daily covered the robbery in this article, but while I was hanging around there I picked up a few more details.

1.) It was an older guy, not a young hoodlum.

2.) The robber only got a couple hundred bucks, since employees at the store are trained to "drop" excess money into the inaccessible safe.

3.) It has nothing to do with the robbery, but the owner is thinking of closing and opening up in a different location. GOOD GRIEF!!!! We only have this one grocery store in Stadium Village since the OTHER Harvard Market closed. (Click here for article) What are students supposed to do?

It's All A Conspiracy

Oh, wait, I have an idea...let's just have the students live on restaurant specials instead of frugally preparing their own meals from groceries. I swear, it's almost like somebody is PLANNING this, kind of like the way the movie theater at Mall of America just HAPPENED to be closed for renovations during RNC 2008.

Yes, that works out nicely. Instead of watching a movie for the few hours they are in the Mall of America, the richy rich Republican delegates can just shop, shop, shop.

Heavy sigh. I still love this little store. In fact, instead of buying one energy drink, I bought two because I knew they'd lost money during the robbery...not to mention sales lost while the store was locked down...and I wanted to support the store. But I have to wonder when the day will come the store won't be there for me.