Minneapolis Metblogs » minn_jasond

348-SNOW works. But this is a definite improvement.

minn_jasond — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 18:34:30 +0000

Facing facts…it snows here. Sometimes a lot. The snow emergency is a good idea so we can still get fire trucks and ambulances down the narrower streets. I don’t even want to think about how many times I’ve been towed over the years, but most of the time it was just my failing to remember to move my car at a specific time to the other side of the street.

The city now has snow emergency reminders and tools galore:
Snow Season Parking Information - includes current snow emergency status and loads of related snow-related ordinances and tips

Learn When a Snow Emergency is Declared - links to pages where you can subscribe to email alerts, cell text messages, or receive an automated phone call when a snow emergency is declared.

This one is really cool…Street Lookup: Snow Emergency Parking Rules - you can enter an address or neighborhood and it tells you where you can park on the various days of the snow emergency. slick.

Duplex & double-bungalow owners will be getting a stormwater fee rollback

minn_jasond — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 18:16:09 +0000

I own a duplex in South Minneapolis. I love it there. I love the location and the house. I love having neighbors in the house that are willing to let my doggie out for me if I’m going to get home late. Sometimes the things you get nicked for are a bummer though.

The city used to bill the stormwater and sanitary sewers as a single item on your water bill based on how much water you used. Beginning last March, sanitary sewer was still billed based on water usage but the stormwater portion is now based on an estimate of how much runoff-generating hard surface there is on the property.

Seems fair to me, but my bill went up quite a bit. I’m a little hazy on how the calculations worked things out but it turns out that duplex owners were being charged disproportionately. They’ve adjusted things now and we’re more in line with what a single-family home pays. Another part of this system that seems really good is that property owners that have lots of hard surface runoff and no water use (like parking lots) now help pay for the stormwater sewers. (via Southwest Journal)

Turn right on red? Fine. Go ahead.

minn_jasond — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 18:02:43 +0000

Finally! I remember when I moved to Minneapolis (about 10 years ago) how surprised I was at how many intersections prohibited right turns on a red light. I discovered at one point that pretty much all it took to get a “no right on red” sign installed was a call to the city requesting it. Once installed they very rarely came down whether or not there was any discernable improvement in safety or traffic.

Well, it turns out they don’t improve safety much if at all. They do, however, cause traffic slowdowns and backups. (No kidding.) Minneapolis currently has more than 500 of these signs posted throughout the city. Many of them will be coming down. City traffic engineers are beginning a 5 year study of the more than 800 intersections with signals reviewing light timing, intersections design and the need for the signs.

An interesting note from the end of the Southwest Journal article about this…“Reducing right-on-red prohibitions isn’t a new phenomenon, and one reason resonates even today: the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo spurred national interest in allowing right turns at red lights to conserve energy.”

Forgive me for posting about the weather…

minn_jasond — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 15:24:10 +0000

But I’m posting about the weather. Unbelievably spolied by the mild weather we’ve had so far the past few months, I was shaken awake last night by random alley debris flying into the side of my house. The wind last night was unreal. I guess it’s still pretty unreal compared to what it’s been like outside lately. I get the feeling we’re ramping up to the usual weather this time of year. The forecasts are saying we’ll get another little taste of warm before the week’s over, but I won’t be very surprised if it’s followed by white stuff.

Prince demolishes his house in Chanhassen

minn_jasond — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 23:08:27 +0000

If you can stomach C.J., here’s a bit from the Star Tribune.

“I know somebody obtained a demolition permit,” Chanhassen building official Steve Torell said Monday. “I saw [the house] earlier last week. I wasn’t here Friday, so I don’t know if it’s down or not, yet. It is tough to see back there.”

Sunday I could not see the house but did notice construction vehicles on the property. I went to check it out after receiving this anonymous e-mail on Saturday: “What purple wonder multimillionaire is destroying his current home to build a new house. What purple wonder decided to fire his entire security staff (due to the construction) with no notice and paid not one thin dime of severance, as we enter the holidays!” The e-mail claims some of those fired have worked for Prince for 20 years. That’s hard to believe, because he doesn’t keep people around that long.

Another claim is not borne out by city records. Torell said no permit had been taken out to build another home there.

A better mass transit system (that we already had…)

minn_jasond — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 08:50:54 +0000

JasonT’s post longing for a good metro subway or rail system got me thinking about this subject again. I’ve looked into it a number of times over the years because it always seemed crazy that all of the streetcars that once ran throughout the Twin Cities just vanished one day. The streetcars were, in fact, directly responsible for a great deal of the growth of Minneapolis and St. Paul in the early 20th century. Ironically, the photo I put in this post (the thumbnail links to a larger version) is on the very same corner that our new light rail line terminates in downtown Minneapolis.

I wasn’t terribly surprised to learn that the downfall of the streetcar system here was accompanied with some controvesy and corruption. There is even talk of General Motors and the mob conspiring to purchase and scrap the streetcars serving Minneapolis-St. Paul. The following contains a good deal of info that I’ve pulled from the Minnesota Historical Society and other sources along with some of my own opinions and observations.
(more…)

Charlie Bethel’s Gilgamesh…Go See It.

minn_jasond — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 04:34:51 +0000

Just go see it. Trust me. It’s going on Mondays and Thursdays October 3-27 at 7:00 pm (6:00 doors) at the Bryant Lake Bowl Cabaret Theater. This is a great room to see a show like this in. Small, intimate and attached to a great bar. That aside, you will love this show. The man is amazing. This is a Fringe Festival extension and has received nothing but rave reviews.

New Art Show @ Rosalux Gallery Opening Next Week

minn_jasond — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 04:20:59 +0000

Shawn McNulty & Dave Whannel have a new show “MASS TRANSIT” at Rosalux Gallery opening next Tuesday (10/4). There’s an opening reception a week from this Saturday (10/8) from 7-11 PM at Rosalux.

These are both really cool local artists definitely worth checking out. Rosalux is at 1011 Washington Avenue South in Minneapolis.

Minnesota Rollergirls Seaon Opener This Weekend!

minn_jasond — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 12:45:43 +0000

The Minnesota Rollergirls - our very own roller derby league - has it’s season opener this weekend (Friday, 9/30/05) at Roy Wilkins Auditorium. This promises to be really cool as Roy WIlkins can hold a lot more people than the roller rink in Coon Rapids where last year’s bouts were held. As usual, there’s halftime rock ‘n’ roll. This week it’s the Menstrual Tramps.

There’s ticket info on the Rollergirls’ website along with outlets for pre-sale and such.

OBEY Sightings

minn_jasond — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 04:19:29 +0000

Shepard Fairey was in town for the opening of his show at OX-OP on Washington Ave. and coincidentally a number of OBEY pieces popped up around town. I was thrilled that one of the larger ones happens to be in a nice spot up the street from my house. It should stay intact for quite some time.

Robot Love
has a nice page with a few more photos than I have.

Urban guerilla art is always temporary. Keep your eyes peeled for these as you’re around town. The OBEY campaign is one of the first and only of this scale and is a classic piece of modern pop culture.