july 2006 uptown neighborhood news

By Mary Ann Knox

If you can’t think of something interesting to do over the next six weeks, you are just not pay-ing attention. As the summer unfolds, Minnesotans need to be outside. There are plenty of outdoor activities scheduled to entertain you – snooty art shows, funky film festivals, silly cars, old-fashioned summer fun, loud music. Who needs a cabin Up North! The city is the place to be. Let’s take a look at some of the offerings, arranged by date of occurrence:

BRYANT SQUARE PARK ICE CREAM SOCIALWednesday, July 12 6 to 8 p.m. Bring friends and family and come on down to the park to meet your neighbors, listen to live music, try your hand at carnival games and enjoy some pizza and ice cream! Other activities include face painting, art projects, moonwalk and much more! This is a fund rais-ing event for the Bryant Area Recreation Council, which sup-ports sports and other programs at the park. Small fee for food and some activities.

For More Info:Bryant Square Park3101 Bryant Ave. [email protected]

MINNEAPOLIS AQUATENNIALFriday, July 14 to Sunday, July 23Thomas Beach, Lake Calhoun

The Ten Best Days of Sum-mer! I guess they don’t use that tagline anymore, but that’s how I knew it when I was growing up. This citywide event is cel-ebrating its 67th year. Featuring Minnesota’s largest parade and free outdoor concert and the fourth largest annual fireworks show in the U.S., many of the fun events are held at Lake Cal-houn: the milk carton boat races and sandcastle building compe-tition, art fair at the beach. You can even leave some blood on Thomas Beach if you are feel-ing up to it (it’s a blood drive).

Friday, July 14 Youth Sailing Regatta8 a.m. to 5 p.m.Thomas Beach, Lake CalhounCome and cheer on these young Aquatennial sailors as they take to the lake.

Summer Fun in the CityFestivals galore for your summer pleasure

By Gary Farland

On April 29, ECCO resident Alison McGhee won her fourth Minnesota Book Award for her novel All Rivers Flow to the Sea. It won in the Young Adult Fic-tion category and concerns how 17-year-old Rose flounders to find purpose in her life after her sister is rendered comatose by a car accident. The award was granted at an awards ceremony held at the Women’s Club of Minneapolis that was hosted by Cathy Wurzer of Minnesota Public Radio and Television.

Alison has lived in Uptown since 1986, and now lives with three children, a poodle and a nervous cat. She grew up in the northern part of the Adiron-dack Mountains on a non-working farm with her father (who worked for a dairy-farm cooperative), mother and three siblings. She has a cabin in Ver-mont and visits her parents who still live on the farm. The place she grew up and her family life are often reflected in her books. She went to Middlebury Col-lege in Vermont and next lived in Boston typing papers for col-lege students while developing as a writer.

Alison’s novels previously won the Minnesota Book Award with Rainlight in 1999 and Shadow Baby in 2001. She won in the Children’s Picture Book category in 2003 with Count-down to Kindergarten. She was also a finalist for the award with her second children’s picture book Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth and with her young adult novel Snap. These and other publications have won many other awards as well, including Shadow Baby being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. She has published dozens of short sto-ries, poems, essays and book reviews. One can read one of her short stories, Joseph is Fall-ing, on The Rake magazine website in the August 2005 archive.

Alison has written her next novel, Falling Boy, which is set in Uptown. It is a story about a 17-year-old boy who is a paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair. It will be released next March and the theme is similar to her previous novels,

in which a young person copes with tragedy. Alison has a very poetic style, often returning to the same thought like a refrain in a song. Each time she does, another aspect of the central event is revealed to the reader. She would like to write a com-edy, however, and her books do contain many humorous asides, especially in Shadow Baby.

Alison loves Uptown for being such a great walking neighbor-hood and having proximity to shopping and nature. She also likes the mix of people but is afraid that the rising real estate values will reduce the diversity. She is also afraid that develop-ment will kill the character of the neighborhood.

Alison is a professor at Met-ropolitan State University, working half-time as the coor-dinator of the creative writing program. She teaches intro-duction to creative writing (fic-tion, poetry and memoirs) as well as advanced classes. She has taught at a number of col-leges, such as Carleton, and likes the diversity of the stu-dents at Metro State. They have an average age of 33, are usually working with families, and often are the first persons in their families to go to col-lege. They often go on to writ-ing careers but mostly want to write for personal enrichment. Alison also teaches in Vermont College’s MFA program in writing for children and young adults.

Alison is a self-disciplined per-son, as her athletic physique, very busy life and voluminous accomplishments testify. She advises that the successful writer is one who shows up at her station each day. She has a sign in her office that says, “Write a little every day, with-out hope and without despair.” She used to have one that said, “A diamond is a piece of coal that stuck with the job.” She says that to be good at anything you have to just keep plugging away at it. Her motivation is that she wants to write beauti-ful books but they are never quite what she wanted, so she keeps at it. She credits her mother for being her example of having self-discipline. She also doesn’t like a lot of labeling of persons or the setting up of false categories.

Alison says that writers need to love words and must be avid readers themselves. They need to love to put the words togeth-er to achieve the best order and that great writing has both insight and good construction. She feels that an artist reveals to the reader what he already knows but can then see in a dif-ferent way or with greater clar-ity –– the perspective has been pivoted.

Alison has concerns for the country and world, and feels that we are in a crisis but that change provides opportunity for improvement. She feels that those people wanting power have been at it for many years and that only now are others waking up to it. She feels that we used to have at least semi-active political parties but that they were lulled to sleep with apparent comfort.

We will all be waiting for the new novel set in Uptown to come out and see if we recog-nize anyone in it. Perhaps we will eventually have a movie set in Uptown directed by Altman and starring Alison and her cast of many characters.

ECCO resident Gary Farland has read and enjoyed many of

Alison’s books.

Covering the Neighborhoods of CARAG and ECCO in the Uptown Area July 2006 • Volume 2, Number 7

Housing and Real Estate .................. 4

Crime News ................................................. 5

CARAG Report .......................................... 6

ECCO Report ............................................ 8

Dear Dave .................................................. 10

inside

Photo left: “...and bombs bursting in air....”

ECCO Resident Alison McGhee Wins Fourth Minnesota Book Award

Photo by Jeffrey Farnam Award-winning writer Alison McGhee

SuMMER Fun continued on page 2

VOLUNTEER WRITERS WANTEd!

Do you know the Uptown area? Would you like to work with the UNN? We welcome volunteers to help our Board of Direc-tors run the paper.

We always need tips and feature stories We seek someone to cover Crime and Safety, Government and Elections, Books, Sports, Schools and Parks. Any time commitment and any level of expertise is welcome. Call 612.259.1372 or email [email protected].

Photo by Kay Nygaard GrahamHere’s a blast from the past! Can you identify what year this classic first won top honors in the Aquatennial’s Sandcastle Contest? Get ready for this year’s winners in the August unn, along with pics of all the rest of your favorite Beach Bash events.

� • UPtOwN NEiGHbORHOOD NEws JUly 2006

Friday, July 14Pirates’ Treasure Hunt Summer Science at the Bakken Musuem10 a.m. to 5 p.m.3537 Zenith Avenue SouthExperiment with science activi-ties using maps, compasses and orienteering skills to solve a pirate’s mystery.

Sunday, July 16 All events 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Thomas Beach, Lake Calhoun• Xcel Energy Sandcastle Com-petitionGet out your shovels and pails and join one of the Aquaten-nial’s signature events. Or, just take a tour of the shoreline of sandy masterpieces.• Cub Foods Art Fair @ the BeachShop along the shoreline of Lake Calhoun and see the handiwork of local artists.• Kemps Milk Carton Boat RacesCome and watch as creative carton contraptions take to the lake.• Memorial Blood Centers Blood Drive• Star Tribune Beach Bash

Monday, July 17 Summer Sounds6 p.m. to 11 p.m.Calhoun Beach Club

For More Info: Downtown [email protected]

4th ANNUAL FALLOUT ART FEST• Indie Film FestFriday, July 217 p.m.Independent film showcase. • Art Fest Saturday, July 22 noon to 10 p.m. Art Fest near Minneapolis Col-lege of Art and Design. On Ste-vens Avenue between 26th and 27th streets. Features indoor and outdoor music stages, an indoor art gallery, and interac-tive art booths.

The Fallout Art Fest will fea-ture interactive booths with artists making, showing, and selling work, in addition to the Fallout Urban Art Center Gal-lery. There will also be an inter-active mural and mosaic project sponsored by the Fallout. Face painting, masks, clay projects, painting, sculptures, glass blow-ing. The Fallout is sponsored by Source MN, a faith-based non-profit organization which seeks to empower youth to build strong foundations for healthy futures.

For More Info:The Fallout2609 Stevens [email protected] 462.3873. www.falloutminneapolis.com

BASTILLE dAY Sunday, July 16noon to 10 p.m.4th annual Block Party at Bar-bette (1600 West Lake Street).

For More Info:Barbette827.5710

UPTOWN ART FAIRFri., Aug. 4, noon to 7:30 p.m.Sat., Aug. 5, 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.Sun., Aug. 6, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The 2006 Uptown Art Fair is soon upon us. It’s an event that inspires a love/hate relation-ship with local residents. A lot of activity is crammed into our little intersection over there. It is a nationally known and much awarded event that fea-tures hundreds of artists. It has been lauded by the art festival industry, ranked the ninth best in the nation, and the best in Minnesota.

Choose from a variety of cre-ative and original works of art including sculpture, painting, photography, woodcarvings, glasswork, jewelry, multimedia compositions and more. Over $2.5 million of art is sold dur-ing the festival, ranging from quality reproductions and lim-ited editions to one-of-a-kind treasures. A highly competi-tive, juried art show, the art fair receives over twelve hun-dred applications from which a panel of judges selects 350 of

the country’s best artists. Enjoy food and drinks from 20 dif-ferent vendors, children’s art activities and evening enter-tainment.

An average of 350,000 people attends annually making it the second in statewide event attendance behind the Min-nesota State Fair. 87 percent of those attendees come by car, so we all walk there (or leave town). That is approximate-ly 304,500 cars added to our streets, alleys and driveways! Saturday and Sunday, buses are offered between the southside art festivals.

For More Info:Uptown Association1406 West Lake Street, Suite 202823.4581 www.uptownminneapolis.com

LORING PARK ART FESTIVALSat., Aug. 5, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.Sun., Aug. 6, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Artists for Artists LLP, an orga-nization of three experienced artists, produces the Loring Park Art Festival. The juried festival is a two-day event in Loring Park, located on Oak Grove Street and Hennepin Avenue near downtown Min-neapolis.

The art festival consists of 135 visual artists displaying their original work in 12x12 booths, strolling musicians, scheduled stage performances, children’s activities and food booths.

The art work presented will be from a variety of media including: painting, photogra-phy, printmaking, handmade paper, wood, jewelry, sculpture,

SuMMER Fun continued from page 1

CLARIFICATION TO JUNE STORY ABOUT WINE TASTING BENEFIT

All ticket proceeds go directly to the neighborhoods. NO expenses are taken out for the event. Hennepin Lake Liquor, Campiello and Maserati of Minneapolis cover the expenses of the event. The cost of putting on the event is probably in the area of $5,000 to $5,500. The tent and table rental is around $3,300, and the rest is for the permits, Campiello extra staffing and appetizers.

Due to the increasing costs (bigger tent, more tables, costs of mailing) water was sold at the event this year, with profits from the water sales going toward expenses.

This year, as in past years, no expenses are taken out of the ticket sales. All ticket proceeds flow directly to the neighborhoods.

NEWS, STORY IdEAS ANd LETTERS TO ThE EdITOR [email protected] UNN, 711 West Lake St. #303 Minneapolis, MN 55408 (612) 259-1372

EdITOR Mary Ann Knox

MANAGING BOARd Appointed/Elected Reps: Gary Farland, Chair (ECCO) 824-6744 Ralph D. Knox, Secretary (ECCO) Carrie Menard (ECCO) Anna Matthes (CARAG) Kay Nygaard-Graham, Treasurer (CARAG) 825-3637 Jill Bode, Vice-chair (CARAG) Volunteer Members: David Peterson Mary Ann Knox

AdVERTISING Anna Matthes 824-6183 [email protected] Ads are due by the 17th of each month (if you don’t have it in by then, call anyway)

PhOTOGRAPhERS Anthony Acker, Jeffrey Farnam, Kay Nygaard-Graham, Anna Matthes

NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION CARAG/ECCO Circulation: Bill Boudreau 825-0979

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Gary Farland, Gay Noble, Aaron Rubenstein, Michelle Saari

CONTRIBUTING COLUMNISTS Al Olme, Dave Veeser

GRAPhIC dESIGN & PROdUCTION Kelly Newcomer 824-1092 [email protected]

MINNEAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL Tenth Ward Ralph Remington, 673-2210 [email protected]

CRIME PREVENTION SPECIALIST Tom Thompson 5th Precinct SAFE Unit, Sector 2 3101 Nicollet Ave Minneapolis MN 55408 Serving the neighborhoods of; CARAG, East Harriet, ECCO, Kingfield, Linden Hills, Lyndale, West Calhoun

5Th PRECINCT COMMUNITY ATTORNEY Lisa Godon 673-2005

Uptown Neighborhood News reserves the right to refuse publication of articles or advertisements as it sees fit. But we will see fit to publish most things, don’t worry. Copyright © 2006. Uptown Neighborhood News.

Uptown neighborhood newsUptown Neighborhood News is a monthly publication of Calhoun Area Residents Action Group (CARAG) in cooperation with the East Calhoun Community Organization (ECCO). UNN covers the news of and is delivered free to households within the area bounded by Lyndale Ave. S. and Lake Calhoun, between Lake Street and 36th St. W. Extra copies are distributed to busi-nesses in the Uptown area, along Lake Street, and Lyndale and Hennepin Aves. Circulation is 5,100, with a pass-along readership of 10,000. Publication and distribution is near the first weekend of every month. Subscriptions are available for $30 per year, prepaid. Send check to: UNN, 711 W. Lake St., Suite 303, Minneapolis, MN 55408.

Contributors are area residents who volunteer their time to bring the news of the area to resi-dents. Articles, letters to the editor and story ideas are welcomed and encouraged. The editor reserves the right to edit for length, clarity, relevance to the area, or other reasons. Editorial and advertising guidelines are available. Please contact the editor:

SuMMER Fun continued on page 12

JUly 2006 UPtOwN NEiGHbORHOOD NEws • �

By Mary Ann Knox

I was going to tell you that, when I walk in Lakewood Cemetery, besides seeing all the interesting history, I often see a red fox! One day I was walk-ing in a roadway, and a fox fol-lowed right behind me, down the middle of the road, about ten feet behind me for about ten minutes. I kept looking over my shoulder, and it kept on coming. I was puzzled but very much amused by that fellow. Eventu-ally, it veered off into the grassy area, and I continued on my way.

But now, I have a much better wildlife story. Previously, besides the “normal” bunnies and rac-coons in my yard, my most exciting visitors were a couple of mallard ducks in my tiny pond. That was quite thrilling. But as my neighbor says, we now have a story that puts the mallards to shame! Last Saturday morning, the same neighbor called me to suggest I look out my kitchen window to see the deer that was sleeping under my witch hazel bush, between our houses! Indeed, I was quite stunned to see a young male deer curled up there. As he became aware of all the flurry in the two kitchen windows, he got up and moved to my back yard, where he stood for a while as we all scrambled for cameras. He cooperatively posed for some pictures before he took off east along West 33rd Street, running past some non-plussed coffee drinkers at the Urban Bean. Here are the pic-tures to prove it!

Speaking of the urban Bean, owner Greg Martin has been sprucing up the place this spring, and it shows. He’s spon-soring the trash container at the bus stop across the street to encourage people not to litter in the neighborhood. Too bad that last crash in the intersection dented the front window. As I watched it, I was sure the small truck was going straight inside the coffee shop, but with a quick reaction and skilled driving, the driver managed to skid along the edge of the building on the sidewalk, creating only dents and skid marks on the newly painted building. Will you peo-ple please slow down on Bryant Avenue? This is a once-a-week occurrence at 33rd and Bryant.

We like our excitement in the form of deer sightings rather than upended vehicles.

Speaking of Urban Bean again, they were closed for two days for the shooting of a TV com-mercial. In case you wondered what all the hoopla was.

There is a rumor that the city is investigating overhead sema-phore lights along West 31st Street. Those are the big ones that hang over the intersection, as opposed to the current poles on the corners. Some residents are wondering if this means the city is viewing 31st Street as a major traffic corridor, rather than the neighborhood street that we like to believe it is.

Christine Ziebold and her husband John Carpenter were delighted to welcome Matthias Florian Carpenter into their

lives on April 26. John, Christine and Matthias live in Uptown’s first and only low emission solar energy household. Congratula-tions to Christine and John on their beautiful baby boy!

You all heard about the Galac-tic Pizza (2917 Lyndale Ave.) super hero delivery guy, right? Cameron Evan, dressed in his usual pizza-delivery super hero uniform, chased down a robber who had stolen a purse from a woman walking in the Wedge. Other passersby helped get the purse back from the dastardly robber who ran off.

There is a rumor that a big box CVS Pharmacy will be part of the Lyndale Avenue portion of the proposed GRECO devel-opment. There has not been a lot of attention paid to this, but is this the reason behind the county trying to widen Lyn-

dale Avenue into five lanes? To encourage more traffic on a wider road to justify enough cars going by to convince a big box retailer to locate here to pay big property taxes? Call me cyn-ical, but can it be? Let’s stop this –– unless I’m wrong and you all need a giant CVS on the corner. I think we need to walk across the street more easily than that roadway will allow.

Apparently, the Bryant Lake Bowl may also move into that new GRECO construction, into a new site constructed on the site of the former gas station at Lake and Aldrich.

If you hear about things around Uptown, I want to know about them! Email me at [email protected].

Divine LiturgySunday 9:30 amFr. Harry Pappas

(612) 825-9595www.stmarysgoc.org

Greek Orthodox ChurchST. MARY'S

3450 Irving Ave. South (overlooking Lake Calhoun) 612-850-0325Exterior Painting Interior Painting

Exterior Wood Restoration Wood Finishing

Licensed & Insured

Professional Quality Work

Heard Around uptown

Photo by tony AckerWho “Photoshopped” this deer into my urban garden?

Photo by tony AckerIn an intersection frequently interrupted by car crashes, this young buck passed through unscathed. Hope he made it somewhere safe!

Photo by Kay Nygaard GrahamEnvironmentalist Matthias Carpenter

I Was Promoted and Got a RaiseBy Norman Riger

My poem was printed in the Uptown Neighborhood News

and readers learned about my opinions and views.

I never requested money and received no pay.

I was happy to publicize what I had to say.

By now my fame must have spread far and wide.

The result left me completely satisfied.

Now it is time to ask for a higher payment rate,

for writing that is obviously always great.

Doubling the amount is what I’ll ask for.

Perhaps, next year I’ll request even more.

If you see this poem in print, I’ll feel like a hero.

Even though the doubling of nothing is still zero.

My mood will improve and I will feel great

When my compensation is figured at twice the rate.


By Al Olme

The gecko says, “Easy to use, no middleman, could save you hundreds.” At the moment GEICO doesn’t sell real estate but that doesn’t mean big insurance companies and financial institutions don’t want to. That’s a different column; we’re talking about “disintermediation” and right now it has the real estate industry in a bit of a tizzy. Simply, it means, “eliminate the middle man” and on the surface that seems like a good thing but the issue is complex and the answer could be even more complex.

Look around the neighborhood, how many signs do you see that say “For Sale by Owner,” or signs that are clearly from companies that specialize in providing support for home owners who want to save money by selling their own homes? Why is this happening and what’s good and bad about it?

This has to run to opinion for a moment but one of the main factors has to be the empowerment that folks feel from the Internet. That might sound a bit funny but it’s no secret that anyone can DIRECTLY sell anything to anyone else anywhere in the world if they can agree on price and terms. I sometimes buy parts for my motorcycle by mail order. Once I’m dealing with mail order anyway, I don’t care if the vendor is in Frankfort, Tennessee, or Frankfort, Germany. The credit card companies take care of the currency exchange and provide

pretty good security (no time to explain here but look into “one time” credit card numbers). I order and the stuff shows up on my doorstep. What is involved is “one-to-one” marketing where the principals in the transaction deal with each other without the intervention of one or more agents. Does that sound like a private home sale? It should. Our Seller lets it be known that his home is for sale. Buyer expresses interest, confirms that the home is right for him and makes an offer. Buyer and Seller agree on price and the deal is done.

Simple isn’t it? Well, it would be, but …. The reality is that the transfer of “real property” is much more complex. It is a government-regulated activity and, frankly, if you don’t have a certain level of familiarity with what needs to be done, you can find yourself in legal trouble pretty quickly. To avoid the complexity of real estate transactions and the hassle of selling our homes, we employ the “Real Estate Professional” who offers to guide us through this complex and emotional process; but it costs us about six percent of the home’s sale price. Now let’s be fair, that six percent pie gets carved into several pieces but it still all comes out of your sales proceeds. From the Buyer’s standpoint, it seems that a Realtor’s services are free but when you think about it, the fees are just built into the price of the home you are buying. OK, if we want the services that a Realtor can bring to the process of selling and buying a home, it’s reasonable and fair that he gets paid. He can only

afford to do the things that you can’t or don’t want to do if he can make a living doing it.

The question is why should he be paid based on the price of your home? Is it harder to sell a $500,000 home than it is to sell a $200,000 home? Any Realtor will tell you, “sometimes.” The truth is that many factors contribute to how easy or difficult it is to sell a home. The condition of the property, amenities, location, layout, age, location, style and, oh yes, location all bear on the final effort required to sell a home. The fundamental tasks involved in selling any home are the same. Now it bears saying that almost all Realtors will spend extra time and money selling a home that is more expensive over one that is less expensive. This is particularly true in the $1 million plus bracket, but for the homes in which most of us live ($200,000 to $600,000) the strategy is pretty much the same, so why should the guy with the $600,000 house pay three times as much for the same work by the Realtor?

There is a surge of new real estate folks out there who do their work for a flat fee. That is, they will list your home in the MLS, promote it, handle all the legal items; all the stuff that any other Realtor would do but they do it for a flat fee that is agreed upon up front! Most of these folks are forward thinkers and more active that Realtors that have done the same thing in the same way for decades. They leverage the Internet and have pretty much abandoned older ad mediums like the big newspapers because they don’t work and are ridiculously expensive. Many of these new breed Realtors will also deal with you on an á la carte basis, charging only for the basket of services that you need. If you already have a buyer and you want someone to do the paperwork so all the legal “T”s are crossed and “I”s dotted, you can have that done without buying the whole “listing package.” Again, it’s a flat fee, not based on the price of your home and usually thousands less than a regular commission. Be smart; explore your options and

decide how much work you are willing to do to sell your home. Flat fee, full service realty may be the way you want to go.

I’m planning a mortgage column for next month and I’d really like to hear from folks who have used or tried to use on-line mortgage services like Ditech or similar. If you have that experience, please give me a call at 612.759.4666 or send an e-mail; I need your input.

If you have a real estate related question send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll try to answer or get you started in the right direction toward an answer. If your question is of general interest maybe it will be the subject of a future column.

Al Olme is a licensed Real Estate Agent working primarily in the ECCO and

CARAG neighborhoods. He is not a legal professional.

If you have a legal or financial question you should seek the help

of a professional in the field.

housing & real estateWill You Buy Your Next home From an Animated Green Lizard?

Recent Housing Sales (Various closings in the last 30 to 60 days)

Sale Cost per Days on

Address Price Sq. Foot Market

Single Family

3547 Aldrich $ 270,000 $ 186.21 167 3315 Dupont $ 323,000 $ 209.74 15 3145 E. Calhoun Pkwy $1,085,000 $ 274.54 18 Average Single Family $ 559,333 $ 223.50 67

Condo

3019 Bryant # 4 $ 84,900 $ 229.46 7 3540 Hennepin #108 $ 149,900 $ 315.58 93 3140 Bryant #2 $ 159,900 $ 199.25 28 1413 W. 34th Street # 1 $ 171,900 $ 245.57 93 3540 Hennepin #111 $ 190,900 $ 272.33 81 3129 Fremont Ave #6 $ 231,900 $ 193.25 117

Average Condo $ 164,900 $ 242.57 70

Fun Facts

Single Family homes on the market 15 Average Days on Market 43 Average Size 3 bedroom/2 bath

2,136 finished Sq. ft. Average Year Built 1914 Average asking price per SQ FT $267.19 Average asking price $570,813

Condos and Townhouses on the market 64 Average Days on Market 54 Average Size 2 bedroom/1 bath

1,316 finished Sq. ft. Average Year Built 1914 Average asking price per SQ FT $279.46 Average asking price $367.811

Local housing Sales Info

Comprehensive Top QualityReal Estate Services

Pay based on the services you receive, notthe price of your home.

Sellers can save Thousands!Rebates to Buyers!

Your Choice:Full ServiceList & support your FSBOPaperwork Onlya’la Carte Services

Al OlmeReal Estate Consultant14 year ECCO resident612/[email protected]

Showcase of Homes Realty


Crime News from 5th precinctECCO and CARAG crime statistics from April 2006

crime & safetyCrime Map GlossaryThis is not all encompassing, but a gener-al “layman’s” guide to interpreting what some of the crime map symbols mean.

LARCEnYLarceny is basically Theft. This could be shoplifting, theft of a bicycle, theft of personal prop-erty where force against you is not used.

BuRGLARYBurglary is entering a dwelling/residence/garage/business, etc. This has to be entry to a pri-vate location without permis-sion. It does not matter whether it’s entry through an unlocked door/window or breaking the door down to gain entry.

ROBBERYRobbery is basically a person-on-person confrontation with force/weapon or threat of force/weapon used. This could be things like someone demanding money with a gun/weapon/etc, someone hitting/kicking you to get money, or a purse being ripped off someone’s shoulder.

Crime news and Safety Tips from Tom Thompson

presents

ROBBERY IN PAINTER PARKOn June 13, at about 10:23 p.m., a reported Robbery of Person Aggravated (with weapon) took place near and in Painter Park. Three victims were robbed dur-ing this event. It is not known if the victims were together, sepa-rate or even knew each other.

Victims were robbed at gun-point by a group of approxi-mately 10 to 12 black male teen suspects. The loss was cells phones and cash. Victims were struck several times by the sus-pects. Victims declined medical attention and were given blue cards.

ROBBERY IN ECCOOn June 20, at about 2:40 a.m. on the 3000 block of Irving Avenue South, a Robbery of Person Aggravated took place. A victim was walking in the alley when three male suspects assaulted him with a knife. Suspect 1 is described as a light skinned black male in his early 20s about 6 feet tall, suspect 2 was described as about 5’9” tall, in his 20s and clean shaven, sus-pect 3 was described as a dark skinned black male about 6’2” with a goatee and unshaven.

REMEMBER THESE TIPS TO STAY SAFE:• Be aware and call 911 with suspicious person calls, if you see suspicious activity/persons.• Keep an eye out for people on the street before exiting your

home/vehicle.• When you get into your car, lock your doors and do not just sit in the vehicle parked.• Don’t carry excessive extra cash, credit cards or other items.• Write down the numbers and contact information of all your credit/debit cards so you can call and cancel them immediately should they be taken/lost. Keep this in a safe location.• If confronted by some-one, comply with what they demand.

ThEFTS FROM MOTOR VEhICLESTheft from vehicles continues to occur much too frequently in the 5th Precinct. Last week, 20 of these crimes were reported to police. In the last month, about 80 thefts from vehicles occurred! We are working hard to stop these crimes, with some good arrests, but we need your help as well. Please take all laptops, iPods, purses, wallets, back-packs, CDs and any other valu-ables out of your vehicle when you get home. Only bring with you what you need for the trip you are going to be making. Do not leave any valuables in your car, even for a walk around the lake.

CARAG CRIME & SAFETY COMMITTEEMeets the second Tuesday of every month, at 6:30 p.m. Call Scott Engel, 823.2520 for more information. Public welcome.

NATIONAL NIGhT OUT TUESdAY, AUGUST 1Here’s a new idea for NNO this year – improve safety on your block by distributing free gun locks. As we all know, unsecured firearms can lead to tragedy. For a limited time, the Min-neapolis Police Department will deliver gun locks to event organizers, to distribute on NNO. These locks can be used to secure handguns and rifles and come with a set of instruc-tions and safety tips. If you have questions or would like gun locks delivered to you, please contact Lt. Greg Reinhardt, 612.673.3587 or [email protected].

SECONd ZEBUhR MURdER SUSPECT ARRESTEdMPD Homicide Investigators announced on June 5 that a second suspect in the murder of Michael Zebuhr has been arrested. Zebuhr was murdered on March 18 in the area of 3116 Girard Avenue South. Authori-ties in Sierra Vista, Arizona, arrested Donte Lamar Jacobs, 17. Jacobs turned himself into authorities and is being held in an Arizona facility awaiting extradition to Minnesota.

CRIME ALERT INFOIf you would like to have emailed information about crime news and safety tips, sign up at: [email protected]

SUMMER SAFETY TIPSFor Teens:Observe Mpls. Curfew rules. Monitor your own children, and work with other parents too.

For Bikes:Lock up your bike to a statio-nery object. The best device is a hardened steel U-shaped lock. Make sure both wheels are locked and remove accesso-ries. License your bike for $10 from Park Police, bike shops and where auto license tabs are sold. A rider in an accident may be identified by the license. Engrave Operation ID number on the bike frame.

For Lawn Mowers:Keep your mower in a locked garage. Engrave an Operation ID number on it.

In Your Yard:If you are working in the yard, lock the house and garage. Don’t leave ladders in the yard that can be used to gain access. Keep shrubs and fences to a height of three feet or less. Light the exterior of your home.

In Your Home:Pin open windows. Don’t adver-tise your vacation plans. Have a trusted neighbor cut grass and pick up mail. Use light timers inside your home to go on and off at different times.

RAPESBoth rapes in the area were acquaintance rapes.

LYNDALE

LAKE STREET

31st STREET

32nd STREET

33rd STREET

34th STREET

CONAR’S WAY

35th STREET

36th STREET

HENNEPIN

HOLMES

HUMBOLDT

IRVING

JAMES

KNOX

ALDRICH

BRYANT

COLFAX

DUPONT

EMERSON

FREMONT

GIRARD

CALHOUNPKWY

E.

May 1-31, 2006

Crimes ECCO CARAG

Homicide 0 0

Rape 1 1

Robbery 1 5

Agg Assault 1 1

Burglary 5 14

Larceny 21 33

Auto Theft 6 8

Arson 0 0

TOTAL: 35 63

Symbols on map and numbers in ECCO and CARAG may not match, as statistics overlap at neighborhood borders.


Monthly neighborhood Meet-ing Minutes June 20Subject to Approval at the July CARAG Meeting

Board Members Attending: Jill Bode, Rick Bojko, Cindy Chris-tian, Thatcher Imboden, Ellan Meyer, Bill Morton, Aaron Rubenstein and Howard Ver-son. (Absent: Kay Nygaard-Graham)

Welcome: The CARAG Board is made up of volunteers who also volunteer time on other neighborhood committees and organizations. Scott Engel, the CARAG community coor-dinator, can be reached at 612.823.2520. CARAG is a democratic organization; mem-bership and voting privileges are open to residents, property owners, and business owners in the neighborhood.

Approve Agenda & Minutes: Motions were passed to approve

the agenda and the May meet-ing minutes.

Treasurer’s Report: (Cindy Christian) CARAG has $7302.30 in the operations account and $7089.14 in asset accounts. For the Hennepin-Lake Community Wine Tast-ing Benefit, CARAG sold 110 tickets, generating an income for CARAG of $2750. As dis-cussed in prior meetings, one CD was closed, and two new CDs were opened. A 2006 spending report and a proposed 2007 budget were presented; this will be discussed at future meetings.

The UNN bank account has a balance of $2083.65 as of April 30. The April issue saw a net loss of $115.46, but that month included several one-time expenses.

Bryant Square Park: (Julie San-din) The park’s ice cream social will be Wednesday July 12, 6 to 8 p.m. There will be live music, pizza, games, activities and, of course, ice cream.

Pizza Luce Block Party: (Aaron Jaszewski) Pizza Luce will host a Block Party, on Sat-urday, August 12, from noon to 10 p.m., with food, live music and lots of children’s activities.

Midway Greenway Open Spac-es Plan: (Chris Shaw) Twelve

possible open spaces adjacent to the Greenway have been identified, and the Midtown Greenway Coalition is asking neighborhoods to support a res-olution affirming that this open spaces plan is desirable. The motion failed on a 12-12 vote.

nRP updates: (Cindy Chris-tian) The Housing and Economic Development Com-mittee recommended approval of a scope of services providing up to $6000 of NRP funding from Strategy 10.3 “Break In Lake” for an improved land-scaping design for the median at the Lake/Lagoon/Dupont intersection. Approved unani-mously.

The committee also rec-ommended an NRP Plan Modification reallocating approximately $81,000 from Strategy 1.3 “Housing Preser-vation Program” to Strategy 2.1 “Rental Property Improvement Program.” This serves as the required 30-day public notice; a neighborhood vote will occur at the August CARAG meeting.

The Livability Committee rec-ommended the use of up to $4000 of CARAG NRP fund-ing under the existing 15.2 Pub-lic Gardening contract to fund a feasibility study for a garden store co-op. Approved by a 6-1 board vote.

The SPACE committee rec-ommended approval of the “Schools” Scope of Services providing $5000 in CARAG NRP funds under Strategy 21.2 “Schools” for literacy edu-cation and outreach for Joyce Preschool. Approved by an 8-0 board vote.

City Council Member Reming-ton’s Report: (Ralph Reming-ton) The Uptown Small Area Master Plan Steering Com-mittee held their first meeting, with the next meeting sched-uled for July 12, 7 to 9 p.m. All welcome to observe. This group is not defining the plan, but the process by which the plan will be developed.

Southwest Corridor LRT: (Thatcher Imboden) Thatcher recommended approval of a let-ter to be sent to the Southwest Transitway planning organiza-tions expressing the desire for improved transit connections through Uptown. Approved unanimously.

Lake Street Reconstruction: (Gay Noble) Progress continues on the planning process. There will be an extended discussion of the plans and issues, includ-ing alternatives for 5-lane inter-section configurations, at the next CARAG transportation committee meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, July 5, 7 p.m., at Bryant Square Park.

Lyn-Lake Business Associa-tion: (Bill Morton) The Lyn-Lake Business Association continues to struggle to find a funding source to implement their streetscaping plans as part of the upcoming street recon-struction.

Zoning: (Aaron Rubenstein) Brief Updates: No update on Calhoun Square. The Mid-town Greenway Land Use and Development Plan draft is still not available for public review. AfterBar, a new restaurant pro-posed for 913 W. Lake St, plans to seek a full liquor license as well as a conditional use per-mit to serve food until 4 a.m. There will be a public hearing on these applications after they have been filed with the city. The developer of the GRECO project near Lyn/Lake is plan-ning to attend the July CARAG meeting to discuss the project. A new second alternate is need-ed to represent CARAG on the Uptown Small Area Plan Steer-ing Committee, as Jill Bode was appointed to the committee by CM Remington. The Zoning Committee recommends that Howard Verson be selected as he was the next-highest vote getter at last month’s meeting. A motion to appoint Howard passed unanimously.

Adjourn: Motion to adjourn passed unanimously.

Calhoun Area Residents Action GroupCARAG reportThe CARAG Board meets the third Tuesday of each month, 7 PM at Bryant Park

Community Center, 31st and Bryant. All CARAG residents are welcome and urged to attend.

LAKE CALHOU

N

Lake St.

36th St.

Hennepin

Ave

.

Lyndale

Ave.

By Aaron Rubenstein

The Steering Committee for the Uptown Small Area Plan convened for its first meeting on July 13 at Grace Trinity Church. City Planner Amanda Arnold explained that the committee will play an advisory role in the planning process. A handout distributed at the meeting notes that Steering Committee mem-bers are expected to advise on the planning process, commu-nicate with appointing organi-zations, help engage the public in the planning process, advise on the plan’s contents and bal-ance various views.

The 17-member committee is comprised of two represen-tatives from each of the four neighborhoods surrounding the Hennepin/Lake intersection, six members appointed by Coun-cil Member Remington (who chairs the committee), and rep-resentatives from the Hennepin Avenue Business Association and the Midtown Greenway Coalition. The Uptown Business

Association and the Midtown Community Works Partnership have not yet appointed represen-tatives to the committee.

Planner Arnold told the com-mittee she expects the planning process to take about 12 months, followed by a six-month process for city adoption of the plan as

an official part of the city’s com-prehensive plan. That could be followed, she added, by a four- to five-month zoning study to implement parts of the plan.

The committee spent a consid-erable amount of time discuss-ing the proposed boundaries for the small area plan. City staff recommended the follow-ing boundaries, based in part

on public input at an April 22 community meeting: Bry-ant Avenue on the east; 31st Street on the south (except 32nd Street between Fremont and Holmes); East Calhoun Park-way on the west; and, on the north, 28th Street between Bry-ant and Humboldt, and The Mall from Humboldt west to

the Parkway, plus the properties along Hennepin Avenue from 28th Street to the north side of Franklin Avenue.

Committee members discussed altering the eastern boundary to stop at Colfax or Dupont or to extend it to include the Lyn-Lake area. There was also dis-cussion about the Hennepin “spine” north to Franklin, and

about adding properties along Hennepin from 32nd to 36th streets. The committee voted to recommend including the southernmost four blocks of Hennepin in the study area but did not make a recommenda-tion on the study area’s eastern boundary.

The small area plan Steering Committee will meet again July 12 at a to-be-determined location. City staff will start a six-week process of writing a request for proposals for a plan-ning consultant for the project, after which there will be a 30-day period for consultants to submit proposals. The planning process will start in earnest fol-lowing selection of a consultant.

Follow the progress of the study at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/planning/uptown-plan.asp

Aaron Rubenstein is chair of CARAG’s Zoning Committee, and is one of CARAG’s repre-

sentatives to the small area plan Steering Committee.

uptown Small Area Plan underwaySteering Committee to play advisory role

Steering Committee (as of June 13)

City Council: Ralph RemingtonEast Isles (EIRA): Gabe Keller (rep.)Renee Gust (rep.)Monica Murphy (alt.)Dominic Sposeto (alt.)Lowry Hill East (LHEnA): Steve Benson (rep)Sue Bode (rep)Ken Kalina (alt)Helen Williams (alt)Leslie Foreman (alt)ECCO:Lara Norkus-Crampton (rep)Tim Prinsen (rep)Ruth Cain (alt)Bruce Grimm (alt)CARAG:Aaron Rubenstein (rep)Keith Sjoquist (rep)Alex Woehrlin (alt) Howard Verson (alt)Hennepin Avenue Business Association:Michael McLaughlin (rep)uptown Business Association:No representative chosen yetMidtown Greenway Coalition:Leslie Modrack (rep)Midtown Community Works Partnership:No representative chosen yetCouncil Appointees: Jill BodeCaren DewarThatcher ImbodenJennifer SchultzPam PriceRoger WormStaff and Technical Advisors:CPED Staff:• Amanda Arnold, Principal Plan-ner, 612.673.3242, [email protected]• Paul Mogush, Senior Planner 612.673.2074 [email protected] Office• Lisa Miller, Policy Aide for CM Remington 612.673.3314 [email protected]

Steering Committee members are expected to advise on the planning process, communicate with appointing organizations, help engage the public in

the planning process, advise on the plan’s contents and balance various views.


Calhoun Area Residents Action Group711 West Lake St., Suite #303

Minneapolis, MN 55408(612)-823-2520www.carag.org

Email: [email protected]

PUBLIC NOTICE

CARAG will consider an NRP PlanModification at the 8/15/06 meeting. Theproposed Plan Mod reallocates approxi-mately $81,000 from CARAG NRP ActionPlan Strategy 1.3 “Housing PreservationProgram” to Strategy 2.1 “Rental PropertyImprovements Program” to fund additionalexterior home improvement loans for rentalproperties and condos with four or moredwelling units in CARAG.

On the Agenda...- Council Member

Remington’s Report

- Zoning & Development Updates

- NRP Project Updates

- And More!

ninth Annual CARAG Garden Tour

An exploratory committee made up of neighborhood resi-dents, including Kelly Cey-nowa, Stephen Eisenmenger, Ellan Meyer, Mary Ann Knox and Gay Noble, has been talk-ing with neighbors and others in CARAG, East Harriet Farm-stead and ECCO about opening a Garden Store Cooperative at the current Greenstone Nursery location. After losing their part-ners this past year, owners Dan and Julie Ziegler are looking to lease the space. The exploratory committee is currently in nego-tiations to take over the space and business.

Antonio Rosell of Community Design Group (www.c-d-g.org) and Angela Dawson of the Northside Food Project (www.northsidefoodproject.org) have been hired to determine the fea-sibility and development of the cooperative. For the success of developing a cooperative at this site, the exploratory committee will be conducting a feasibility study that would include three products: community visioning and market research, a business plan, and a membership devel-opment plan.

Prior to developing the fea-sibility study, the committee envisions the potential for a community-based garden store providing standard, unusual, heirloom and native vegetable, herb, and flower seedlings in the early spring to bedding plants in

the spring through the summer. The cooperative would continue the lucrative flower arranging and flower bouquet cash and carry business year-round. The committee is thinking to expand by offering Christmas trees, a small farmer’s market, winter hydroponically grown vegeta-bles and herbs, and a Commu-nity Supported Agriculture (CSA) drop-off point. The cooperative would also include community programming centered around gardening. Along with being a commu-nity-owned enterprise, the exploratory group envisions additional community benefits with a “walkable” garden store at the site specific to the 36th and Bryant greenhouse space. On a larger scale, the coop-erative would be an economic development model that could be duplicated citywide.

The committee hopes to be offering memberships some-time this fall. Currently, capital and donations are being sought for the feasibility study and the lease on the building. The group looks forward to questions and input from people interested in becoming members at the upcoming community visioning sessions. For people interested in making start-up donations, please contact www.gardenstore-coop.org.

Community at Work: Residents Organize Member-Owned Garden Store Cooperative

neighborhood life

Photos by Kay Nygaard-Graham

If you noticed straggling groups of neighbors wandering the streets a few weeks ago, it was gardeners peeking into each other’s yards. The CARAG Livability Committee sponsored the annual visit to about 30 gardens. This popular event is a great way to get ideas and inspiration for local gardeners who appreciate all the beautiful gardens in this area.

Clockwise from Below: Asiatic lilies; exotic backyard pond; hollyhock doll; Steven with his dog, Martial; enticing stone path.

Photo by Jeffrey Farnamunknown dog at Lake of the Isles Dog Park.

dog Park Portrait

18,


ECCO BOARD MEETInG MInuTES FOR June 1 ,2006

Board Members Present: Bruce Grimm, President, Carrie Men-ard, Jim Stamen, Tim Prinsen, Bruce Sabatke, Matt Carter, Debbie Jans, Ruth Cain, Ted Ringsred

Others Present: Gael Ellis, NRP Coordinator; Ralph Rem-ington, Councilperson; Sharon Eiden Cornejo, Resident; Joanne and Darrell Savage, Residents; Mike Sclecht, Resident; Jeffery Farnam, Resident; Jake Weyer, Southwest Journal

Welcome: Bruce Grimm, President, called the meeting to order, welcomed board mem-bers and others, and initiated introductions.

OPEn FORuMNeighbor Sharon Eiden Cornejo spoke on her thoughts on the Hotel Uptown project. She felt that the project being referred as a boutique hotel was a sales tactic as an eight- story, 80- to 90-room hotel with 10 to 24 condos is not small. It would impact traffic because of Lake Street being a one way; it would affect the ECCO neigh-borhood. The zoning would go from OR1, to a C3A, affecting light and air on the surround-ing properties. This would be right up to the property line at 3029 Holmes; it would block out light and air on the north side of the building, making it difficult for the landlord to rent those units. It would shadow residential properties and it is not in scale to other properties in the area. It would block Cal-houn Square, and although not a fan of that project, she felt the community has an obligation that that project is protected. There are possibly two other hotels in the works, would there be a need for a third? She stated that hotel ventures are risky. A bank will not approve just a hotel project; that is why they are adding condos. Hotels run at a 75 percent occu-pancy, which would mean with 85 rooms, 23,268 people would need to pass through the door. As a business traveler, she is the kind of person that the devel-oper would like to see use the hotel. She stated that she has stayed in hotels like that, and they do not work for business travel, as business travelers like to be within walking distance of where they need to be for meetings and convention cen-

ters. She felt the project should be voted down.

Ralph Remington, Councilper-son, stated that the developers should not be surprised that the neighborhood is not support-ing the proposed project. He had also stated that it has to be wanted from the community or it is not going to happen.

Tim Prinsen, Board Member, stated that this is an early stage for developers and whatever they are saying is considered final. The developers came at a very early stage, something that has not been done before.

Debbie Jans, Board Member, stated the Board was very clear from the first meeting that it could be no more than five sto-ries.

Bruce Grimm, Board President, asked if the developers should be invited either to a board meeting, or to a zoning meet-ing, then a board meeting, to review concerns.

Approval of May Minutes and June Agenda: Minutes and agenda were approved.

Zoning Committee updateCarrie Menard reviewed the minutes from the Hotel Uptown meeting as Zoning Chair Lara Norkus-Crampton was out of town.

1. Curt Gunsbury and inves-tors are in a very preliminary stage of planning a boutique style hotel in Uptown. Curt grew up in a resort, and his life dream is to start a hotel in an area he loves and would like to bring people to that area. His family has 30-plus years in the business.

2. They feel it will be a won-derful amenity for Uptown. The hotel would be on Hol-mes, a quiet street. Close to lakes, shops, restaurants, all in walking distance. It will not be a national brand. There are currently no hotels in the mar-ket. The closest hotel currently is the Sheraton on Lake Street. They feel it will fit a need in Uptown.

3. They are coming to the neighborhood in the very preliminary planning of the structure. The plans primarily subject to the square footage to achieve the project.

4. They see this project as a potential “base camp” for integrating visitors into the best that Uptown, its Lakes and Minneapolis have to offer. They would like to see a coffee shop or small bar in the lobby. Perhaps they would have an artist stay for free, to showcase their art, sculpture, poetry, music, etc. They would like to

have concierge that is unique to what Minneapolis/ Minnesota has to offer. They see it as fun, interesting, urban, with its own design that would fit the com-munity. They see lots of natural light, displays of art and pos-sible gallery space in the hotel. They would like the lobby to have a library feel. There would also be meeting space.

Current State of Plans and Sites, presented from architects from u+B Mark Burgess.1. Three lot vs. five lot scenar-ios. The area is from 3009 Hol-mes to 3027 Holmes, behind Suburban World between 31st and Lake streets. Five lots are available. There is no Eminent Domain. The plans reflected a three-lot option, with under-ground parking and 95 feet, one inch in height (eight sto-ries). The five-lot option would have underground parking and stand 87 feet, one inch in height. (As a point of reference, the Edgewater is 84 feet) They would have 80 to 90 hotel rooms and 10 to 24 condos, depending if it the three- or five-lot plan.

2. “Massing” drawings: these are flexible, they did not include design work, and they are test fits.

Questions for the neighborhood to consider from the investors.1. Do you view parking as an added amenity for the neigh-borhood?

2. Do you view the hotel as an added amenity for the neigh-borhood?

3. What vision do you have for what this block might look like in five years, ten years, lon-ger?

4. What is the best way to work with you on this project?

Concerns and responses1. Close to R1 zoned prop-erties. (Single-family homes). They felt that a hotel would be an amenity, and they would make it blend into the neigh-borhood.

2. The amount of traffic and congestion. They feel with the entrance on Holmes and the parking provided, it would not make a significant difference.

3. How will parking be han-dled? There will be two park-ing spaces per condo, and one per hotel room, which is more than needed. They possibly may use the empty spaces for public parking.

4. Number of people coming in and out.

5. Shadowing. There are plans to have the stories set back.

6. What if it fails? They will be made and sold as condos.

7. Where was information obtained on room cost? They have been working with demo-graphic studies.

8. What would be built in the space if the hotel were passed on? Currently zoned as a R1, it may be condos; a parking ramp would have to be an R4.

9. The architecture will be visually dominated? Would you be able to see the hotel from Lake Calhoun? With the set backs and structure they felt that it would blend. It was stat-ed that you would be able to see it from the other side of Lake Calhoun.

10. There are possibly two other hotels from other devel-opers. Carl was not aware of any other plans at this time.

11. Who are the investors? They would like to remain anonymous at this time, but will come forward as soon as the process starts.

12. When do you see it as com-pleted? They would like to see it completed spring 2008, with plans being finalized over this summer, and start and finish 12 to 13 months afterwards.

City Councilman ReportCM Ralph Remington reported.

1. The first meeting of Steer-ing Committee was June 13th from 7 to 9 p.m. at Grace Trin-ity Church on West 28th Street. Anyone can observe.

2. The City Council approved 11 to 1 instant runoff voting. This would be just for city votes.

3. Reviewed blogging request allowing City Council Mem-bers and their staff to have a Blog page. Ralph feels that this is what Democracy is about. Councilman Don Samuels feels that it is not needed.

4. Breakfast with Ralph is the third Monday of every month (July17) at the Egg and I. June’s topic was on Heritage Preser-vation.

5. Questions:

Tim Prinsen, Board Member, was curious to the selling of parking lots. This is an area of Public Works but they officially are not for sale.

Ruth Cain was curious about the City Council voting for more money for staff. Ralph replied that certain money is allocated for the budget. Some districts use no money. Others have constant activity. There was $83,000 left over; Rob Johnson

had waited to divide the money, it had been voted to reallocate the money to the city debt.

She was also concerned about the City Council voting in favor of personal loans. This came from Councilman Don Samuels applying for a loan that is already in place for city employees and did not know that elected officials were not eligible. The Council members had agreed that that loan should include elected officials.

Neighbor Jeffrey Farnam is con-cerned of vehicles speeding in alleys. Alleys should be an access for neighborhood residents. You cannot use an alley as a street, and maybe we should look at pedestrians. Alleys are used as a getaway.

Cynthia Stokes-/Minneapolis Pops OrchestraThe ECCO board has donated five hundred dollars (and more) in the past few years toward annual fundraising for the Minneapolis Pops. There was discussion of the discretionary amount in the budget could be used somewhere else, there was nothing that was known of. A motion was made to contribute five hundred dollars again this year. The motion was carried.

Elect new ECCO SecretaryA motion was made and passed to have Carrie MenardCar-rie Menard serve as the secre-tary, until the next election in November.

nRP update NRP Coordinator Gael Ellis had hoped to have the Participa-tion Plan Agreement, but would have to table it until August. This would outline the plan for Phase II. After there is an agree-ment, it will go through the city then the Vision Committee, by September.

Wine Tasting EventThe annual Wine Tasting was at Campiello’s on June 14, 2006, from 6 to 9pm. It is sponsored by Hennepin Lake Liquors and Campiello’s.

ECCO Super SaleThe annual ECCO neighbor-hood 34th annual Super Sale was Saturday, June 3rd, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The next Board Meeting will be Thursday August 3rd. There will be no meeting in July.

East Calhoun Community OrganizationECCO reportECCO meets the first Thurs- day of each month, 7 PM at St. Mary’s Greek Ortho-dox Church, 34th & Irving.

All ECCO residents are welcome and urged to attend.

LAKE CALHOUN

Lake St.

36th St.

Hennepin Ave.

Lyndale

Ave

.


Get to know a little bit about your neighbors who serve on the ECCO Board. Each month, we will feature Board members. They welcome your advice and your help in trying to improve ECCO. When you see them on the street, stop and say hello.

By Mary Ann Knox

Like many others on the ECCO Board, Bruce Sabatke enjoys being involved in the neighbor-hood, and feels he is connected to the issues. “I’m a neighbor-hood kind of person.” He served on the board in the past, and is in another two-year term now. Issues for him include the usual list: crime, overall development, housing, and “the environment is always in question.”

If pressed for a main issue, he would say that we need to take a strong look at development strategies. “We’ve lost some of

our balance in terms of resi-dential integrity.” We are being bombarded with development proposals, he thinks, and while change is inevitable and not a bad thing, the impact of all this development can be frightening. Traffic will be part of ECCO’s NRP study, and he says it is going to be a challenge. He asks, “what if we all leave our houses at once, or all turn on air conditioning at once, or all flush the toilets at once? We’ve reached development saturation. Traffic at the Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street intersection is extremely high.”

While praising the increasingly multi-cultural population here — on a recent walk around Lake Calhoun, he heard five languages besides English — he worries that the high condo prices will cause this area to lose its family orientation. “There has to be a healthy balance.”

Bruce and his wife Mary have lived in the area for almost 30 years, and raised two daughters here. After 10 years in CARAG, they moved up the hill to Irving Avenue in the early ‘80s. He says they are working at being empty nesters now, except for two cats.

Retired from a career as teacher and social worker with the Min-neapolis Public School system, Bruce cites a need for a strong public education system as inte-gral to building a strong city and society.

His retirement has seen him slow down from a long distance runner to a walker. His compet-itive bike riding past has given way to leisurely rides. He says this slower pace has caused him to gain some mindfulness and that he has smelled the roses. But what will surprise you most of all is that he thinks he is los-ing his hair too quickly!Photo by Jeffrey Farnam

The East CalhounCommunity Organization

will not havea July meeting.

The East Calhoun Community Organization (ECCO)

meets the first Thursdayof each month at

7:oo p.m.St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church

35th & Irving Ave. South

The next ECCO meeting will beThursday, August 3, 2006

Joyce United Methodist Church31st and Fremont • (612) 823-0537

www.JoyceChurch.org

Open Hearts Open Minds Open Doors

Worship at 10:30 a.m.

Everyone welcome regardless of age, race,nationality, creed, sexual orientation, income or ability

The Joyce Food ShelfThe Joyce PreschoolWorship Handicapped Accessible

LYNDALE

God doesn’t reject people.Neither do we.

No matter who you are, or where you are on your journey you’re welcome here.

810 West 31st Street, Minneapolis612-825-3019www.lyndaleucc.org

Never place a period where God has placed a comma.

Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.

Bruce Sabatke

By Aaron Rubenstein

Mayor Rybak has nominated East Calhoun resident Lara Norkus-Crampton to serve on the city’s Planning Com-mission. It is expected that the City Council will vote on the nomination within the next few weeks. Norkus-Crampton is currently on the ECCO board and is chair of ECCO’s Zoning Committee.

The Mayor is apparently look-ing to have a wider range of views on the Planning Com-mission. Norkus-Crampton describes herself as “a supporter of controlled growth”.

“Having the input of a com-munity person in the planning process hopefully will bring about a more collaborative relationship between the city and neighborhoods,” she said,

“and that would be my goal as a planning commissioner.”

Norkus-Crampton is a nurse and has owed a duplex in ECCO for 12 years. “I’m greatly honored by the opportunity to serve the city,” she said about her nomination.

ECCO RESIdENT TO SERVE ON MINNEAPOLIS PLANNING COMMISSION

By Aaron Rubenstein

The City Council will con-sider in July the request of an East Calhoun resident for the city to vacate seven feet on each side of the public right-of-way for 34th Street between Hum-boldt and Irving avenues. The right of way currently extends eight feet beyond the sidewalks –– into what appears to be pri-vate property. The city’s Plan-ning Commission voted June 12 to recommend approval of the vacation, in spite of a planning staff recommendation to deny the request. The matter will go to the City Council’s Zoning and Planning Committee on

July 13 and to the full Council on July 21.

Duane Thorpe, who owns property and lives on the affect-ed block, is requesting the vaca-tion. Thorpe has also applied for a building permit to construct a new dwelling unit attached to the rear of former Council Member Dan Niziolek’s resi-dence at 3401 Irving. The prop-erty’s zoning allows for duplex residences. The proposed right-of-way vacation would affect the required setback for the new dwelling unit and the permitted depth of the front porch. The ECCO board voted to not take a position on the matter.

Request for Vacation of 34th Street Goes to Council Committee

Profile of ECCO Board Member Bruce Sabatke

10 • UPtOwN NEiGHbORHOOD NEws JUly 2006

Dave Veeser lives in Minneapolis and is the resident advice colum-nist at www.personaladvice.net. Requests for advice can be sent to [email protected] or USPS in care of this publication.

Afraid to Report a Crime Dear Dave: A few days ago I was looking out my kitchen window and I saw some guys smash my neighbor’s windows. They then hopped in a truck in the alley and sped off. I couldn’t see much because it was dark. The next day they came back, driving through the alley slowly, hanging out their truck win-dows laughing and pointing to what they had done. This time I was able to see their faces and get a license number and make and model of the car.

The problem is, I’m afraid to

report it. I don’t think they saw me watching them, but I’m still afraid to tell my neighbor or the police. I don’t want them com-ing back and smashing my win-dows, too! But I know I’ll feel really guilty if I don’t. What do I do? –– Scared in the City

Dear Scared: Listen to your guilt; it’s your conscience crying out! You need to ask yourself, “What if I, or a loved one, had been the victim of this crime?” I’m sure you would hope if there had been a witness, he would come forward. Not only did you witness a crime, but you also have evidence (the descrip-tions of the perpetrators as well as the vehicle) that may lead to the capture of the culprits.

If you are worried of reprisal from the hooligans involved, you can always call the police anonymously to relate the infor-mation you have. You can leave your tips (in Minneapolis and Uptown) at 612.692.8477.

If you’re still not convinced of what you should do, here is what the 5th Precinct’s Crime Preven-tion Specialist Tom Thompson had to say on the topic: “When community members do not come forward, we are all mak-ing our neighborhoods less safe. We need to work as team, police

and community, to help reduce crime.”

“Community members are the “eyes and ears” of the police department. We rely on resi-dents to take an active role in helping us police their commu-nity.”

“As a police department we respond to crimes, but we also try to work pro-actively to reduce the likelihood of crime. In order to do that, we need res-idents to come forward and help us solve existing crimes to get the criminals off the street, and reduce the chance of that person victimizing another resident.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself! So, put this newspaper down (after you’re done reading it cover to cover, of course!) and pick up that phone and call.

Don’t let the next victim be on your conscience; break the chain of crime!

Can This Marriage be Saved? Dear Dave: I have been married for 25 years. It has been a difficult marriage, and we split up briefly about 4 years ago due to his infidelity. He has always attempted to minimize

his behavior and when we rec-onciled even made out later that it was up to me to woo him back. Anyway, what I’m writ-ing to you about is the pattern of non-communication which has always been part of our relationship and which I cannot cope with anymore. When he is angry with me, which is often, he stops talking to me, refuses meals and absents himself from my company. I usually respond in kind until he eventually comes around. This is affecting my mental health. The thing is, I’m 47 on my next birthday and I feel I’ve wasted my whole life on this relationship, always hoping things would get better, and now I want to find a way to either end the marriage or make things change. The children are now 19 and 13, and they, too, are fed up with our behavior. What do I do? –– Exhausted

Dear Exhausted: Yikes, you two seem to be caught in a dysfunctional little dance. Your spouse has a pattern of detach-ment, and not taking respon-sibly for his action, and, worse, trying to assign blame to you.

For your part in this, you volley right back; fighting silence with silence (re: “I usually respond in kind”). Silence must be fought with communication! I think

it’s time you lay down the law with your spouse. Tell him you have reached a breaking point, and the only hope the two of you have is to participate in couples counseling; if not for yourselves, then for the children.

Children learn by example; don’t let them continue the pattern in their own relationships. You owe it to them to either fix this relationship, and start setting a healthy example, or step away. And, if you do step away, I sug-gest you seek additional coun-seling or therapy to remedy the issues that have allowed you to stay in this environment so long. You must break the pattern of dysfunction. If you need coun-seling here in Uptown, you can call the Neighborhood Involve-ment Program at 612.374.4601. They do couples, family, and individual counseling.

And, as far as feeling as though you have wasted your whole life, I’d have to strongly disagree, no experience is wasted if you have learned from it (counseling will help you with that), and more importantly, you have two beau-tiful children to be proud of.

So, good luck, and let me know how things work out.

dear dave

By Michelle Saari

“Life is like a painting, and I choose to take the painting and create something more abstract, not conservative.” Like an “abstract painting,” Debra G’s style, education, experience, musical influences and person-ality come together to create a work of art. Music lovers find depth, talent, and personality in this artist, a self-proclaimed “risk-taker” who likes change and possesses a sense of adven-ture.

South Minneapolis is currently home to this 27-year-old Osh-kosh, Wisconsin, native. Debra G grew up with interests in music and drama, and pur-sued formal music education in Wisconsin before relocating to Minnesota in November 2001. While in Oshkosh she pursued higher education for vocal per-formance/opera. In the sum-mer of 2000 she was cast as the lead in an opera in Italy, and throughout her career won state, regional and national awards for her operatic talents. The gnawing sense for “something more” out of her musical pur-suits, and a passion influenced by such powerful female artists as Ani DiFranco, India Arie, Fiona Apple, and Erykah Badu,

motivated her to pick up a gui-tar and start writing music. Her first demo, “Sapphire Skin,” was released in 2002, followed by a self-titled project in 2004. Debra G got her feet wet in the local scene by playing “open mics” four nights a week –– eventu-ally, that grew into more oppor-tunities.

Debra G describes her song-writing process as a way to “make sense out of life” and “get the angst out.” Aside from her solo work, she was in the band Enchanted Ape from 2003 to 2005 before jumping on board with Copasetic in August of 2005.

When making the decision to front a band, Debra G wanted to find a sound that was more of a funk/rock interest. Copa-setic is definitely both, and is described as “Incubus meets Tool meets Aretha Franklin.” Copasetic is made up Debra G, James Smola, Jon Manning and Joe Diaz. The combination of their fun energy and musical talents creates an infectious vibe in their sets.

Copasetic has played 20 ven-ues to crowds of upwards of 500 people over the past eight months, and they show no signs

of stopping.

When asked about the challeng-es of being a female musician in the Cities, Debra’s response is “females in the local scene do not always get taken seriously.” It seems that anyone who is familiar with Debra G’s music or has taken in one of her sets would find it hard not to take her music seriously.

Whether it’s her solo project or she’s funkin’ it up with Copa-setic, Debra G’s energy, talent and passion for music are not to be missed. She is a fun, cre-ative, genuine and all around warm personality. Debra G can currently be heard performing work from her own acoustic project as well as in her band, Copasetic, both locally and regionally.

To find upcoming Copasetic shows, and to hear a sample of their work, go to www.myspace.com/copaseticgrooves. Listen to Debra’s acoustic music and check out her schedule at www.myspace.com/debragmusic.

Uptown resident Michelle Saari is a Ph.D. student and a rabid

music fan.

Local Funk-Rocker is Multi-Talented Singer, Writer

Photo provided by Debra G.Debra G performs lead vocals with Copasetic.

JUly 2006 UPtOwN NEiGHbORHOOD NEws • 11

The Magic of ArtUptown Art Fair

2006Uptown Art Fair

Schedule

August 4-6, 2006tep right up ladies and gentleman. It’s that time of year again; the Uptown Art

Fair is right around the corner. So please let us share some important information about this year’s Fair.

To our new residents of the area, the Uptown Art Fair is now in its 43rd years. With what started as a neighborhood art sale, the goals of the Uptown Art Fair have been consistent throughout the years. Improving the Uptown area with lighting and beautification programs, funding for extra security and making the area friendly and safe for all visitors and residence are still the top priorities. The money raised from the Uptown Art Fair goes towards these goals in hopes of making Uptown more magical than it already is.

During the set-up and tear down of the weekend, we ask for your patience and understanding. The Uptown Art Fair takes nearly 1,200 people to make the event successful. With one full time position and six interns, the Uptown Association staff relies on our volunteers. Sometimes mistakes happen, sometimes things get messed up, and not all volunteers know everything that needs to be known about the Fair. If during the Fair you have concerns, observations or problems, call the Art Fair Headquarters at 612.823.4581. We will do everything in our power to make sure that the Fair is neighbor-friendly.

Listed below is a schedule for the Uptown Art Fair events, time-lines and contact numbers for your easy reference.

We hope you have the chance to wander the streets and enjoy the festivities of the Uptown Art Fair! It’s sure to be a magical time.

Thursday, August 38:00 AM - 5:00 PM Satellite and equipment11:00 AM - 9:00 PM Artists Load in - The Mall OnlyFriday, August 46:00 AM - 12:00 PM Artists and Fair load in and set-up12:00 PM - 7:30 PM Art Fair Official Hours

Saturday, August 510:00 AM - 7:30 PM Art Fair Offical Hours

Sunday, August 610:00 AM - 6:00 PM Art Fair Offical Hours6:00 PM - 10:00 PM Artists and Fair take down and load out

Monday, August 78:00 AM - 5:00 PM Clean-up Completed

SUptown Association 612.823.4581Art Fair Information Line612.673.9081

Calhoun Square812.824.1240

Minneapolis Police/Fire Dept911

Uptown Association office is located at 1406 W. Lake StreetSte. Lower Level CMinneapolis, MN 55408

Uptown Art Fair Phone Numbers

1� • UPtOwN NEiGHbORHOOD NEws JUly 2006

fiber, mixed media and glass. Within these categories will be a variety of styles from tra-ditional to abstract in a variety of price ranges, with the goal being “something for everyone.” Loring Park, with its beauti-ful ponds and formal gardens, makes an idyllic setting for art and music and the Loring Park Art Festival offers the greater metropolitan community an opportunity to enjoy this oasis just west of downtown Minne-apolis.

Admission to the festival is free. Festival attendance has reached levels of 10,000 visitors in the past. Regular bus routes run past the park and parking is nearby and convenient for festi-valgoers.

For More Info: www.loringparkartfestival.com

12Th ANNUAL ARTCAR PARAdE• The ArtCar Workshop Saturday, July 1510 a.m. to 1 p.m.Free admission. At the Mid-town Public Market, Lake Street and 22nd Avenue (between the Midtown YWCA and the Light Rail Station). Come and help paint an ArtCar!

• ArtCar ParadeSaturday, July 2210 a.m. Staging2 p.m. ParadeParade starts at 2 p.m. at Lake and Grand. Cars cruise around the corner to Intermedia Arts, where they will park in the lot and on the street from 3 to 5 p.m. Look for street performers, ice cream carts, mosaic work-shop for kids and other activi-ties. Expect the unexpected as our favorite wheels return and new upstarts join the fray. Driv-ers and ArtCars are revving their engines and ready to burn rubber –– at a speedy 10 mph.

The Minneapolis ArtCar Parade is a highly successful annual parade organized by a grassroots affiliation of artists who creatively alter cars and

other wheeled vehicles for dis-play and everyday use. ArtCars — often humorous, sometimes surprising and always inven-tive — spark a creative impulse. The ArtCar Parade helps bring people together to create, partic-ipate and enjoy as a community. It has become a phenomenon in the Twin Cities and beyond. An ArtCar arouses interest and inspires imagination in people of all ages and backgrounds.

For More Info:Intermedia Arts871.4444www.intermediaarts.orgwww.artcarparade.com

MINNESOTA FRINGE FESTIVAL Thursday, August 3 to

Sunday, August13Various locations in uptown and Lyn-LakeAcadia Café, Bryant Lake, Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis Theater Garage and other sites around the city. Fringe Night-cap will feature neighborhood venues each night. An annual event celebrating its 13th run, the Minnesota Fringe Festival is the largest non-juried perform-ing arts festival in the United States. With 903 performances from 172 companies, the Fringe continues as one of the top sum-mer events in the Twin Cities.

The Fringe is an eleven-day performing and visual arts fes-tival that features drama, come-dy, dance, musical theater, Kids Fringe, Teen Fringe, solo per-formance, sketch comedy, pup-pets and more.

Fringe Festivals stand for inno-vative, new and challenging performances, mostly theatrical, dance, and puppetry, but also visual, film and children’s.

The Fringe Festival phenome-non began when the first Edin-burgh International Festival, in 1947, rejected eight theater companies. Instead of giving up, they set up their own festi-val on the fringes of the larger one. The idea spread around the world. In the United States, there are Fringe Festivals in New York, Orlando, Seattle,

Houston, San Francisco, Phila-delphia, and Minneapolis where it arrived in 1993

Fringe buttons are mandatory for admission. Fringe buttons are $3 each and good for discounts at select businesses during the Fringe and at participating arts organizations throughout the year. Tickets to each Fringe per-formance are $12 for adults, $5 for kids 12-and-under, with a $2 discount for students, seniors and MPR members. The Ultra Pass (unlimited Fringe pass to all shows) is available for $135 plus a free button. Punch Cards (five shows for the price of four) are $45 each. Advance tickets can be purchased beginning June 26 through Uptown Tix 651.209.6799 or www.uptown-tix.com.

Volunteers are needed to help in the box office, as usher or gen-eral help; out of town artists are looking for homes to stay in. If you volunteer, plan to spend three shifts of one and a half hours each. Your reward is one free ticket to a show for every shift you work.

For More Info:Minnesota Fringe Festival528 Hennepin Avenue, Suite 503872.1212www.fringefestival.org

For several years I have been pleased to place about 500 small American flags on the lawns of ECCO homes each 4th of July. Each flag had a small card that had my name and phone number and my company name as well as a short message that made it clear this wasn’t an ad but something that I just did because I wanted

to do it. Most folks loved the idea and I received a lot of positive comments and calls. Last year I got the usual positive calls and a few complaints. I have no wish to make anyone unhappy but I still want to share our flag with my CARAG and ECCO neighbors.

If you’d like a FREE 3x5 foot American flag, on a pole that attaches to your home, call me or send me an e-mail. I’ll provide the flag, pole and bracket and even help you put it up. THERE IS NO COST. I’m doing this because I love to see the flags in the neighborhood each 4th of July.

Al OlmeReal Estate Consultant14 year ECCO resident612/[email protected]

Showcase of Homes Realty

SuMMER Fun continued from page 2

Photo by Anna Matthes“The Aero Car” driven by Kansas artists Dave and Irene Major from the 2005 Art Car Parade.

JUly 2006 UPtOwN NEiGHbORHOOD NEws • 1�

July 14 - 16

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W W W . 2 6 2 6 W E S T L A K E . C O MLyn-Lake Intersection Street design and LivabilityBy Gay Noble

Hennepin County Commis-sioner Gail Dorfman and Hen-nepin County Engineer Jim Grube met with representatives of the neighborhoods abut-ting the Lyn-Lake intersection to discuss the future design of Lyndale Avenue between 29th and 31st Street. The CARAG, Lowry Hill East and Lyndale neighborhoods passed resolu-tions expressing concern over the five-lane street design cur-rently being proposed by Hen-nepin County for that portion of Lyndale Avenue.

At the meeting, representatives voiced concerns about the pro-posed street design negatively impacting livability, with a wider street, narrower side-walks and a longer unprotected crossing for pedestrians at the Lyn-Lake intersection. Steve Benson from Lowry Hill East neighborhood pointed out that the proposed design “increased the street width by 20 percent while reducing the sidewalk width by 25 percent.” Dan Niziolek commented that “we compete with the suburban malls, we should consider this intersection an urban mall with sidewalk widths that are com-fortable enough to encourage people to walk down them.”

Representatives also expressed concern that the buses would be slowed down with the new design, and because of the nar-row lane widths bicycles will have no room to ride, other than to occupy a full lane.

JP, owner of JP’s Restaurant said, “I am concerned that this design will encourage traffic to move too fast.” The CARAG neighborhood has surveyed other small businesses along this section of Lyndale Avenue that have also expressed the same concern.

Gail Dorfman talked about the balance Hennepin County is trying to strike and that, “it is important that we get it right.” She and County Engineer Jim Grube agreed that it is impor-tant to continue to look at that balance and have suggested creating a matrix that will com-pare a five-lane, four lane and three- lane Lyndale Avenue street design that will be pre-sented for discussion at the neighborhoods.

To comment, contact Gail Dorfman at [email protected] or 348.7883.

Gay Noble is CARAG’s represen-tative to the Lake Street Reconstruction Project.

CARAG TRANSPORTATION

COMMITTEEwill discuss Lyndale Avenue widening with the Hennepin County Engineer.

Public invited.

Wednesday, July 5, 7 p.m.Bryant Square Park

By Mary Ann Knox

On June 16, the Minneapolis City Council voted to make changes to the current ordi-nance regarding condominium conversions, and the subject was passed into the Public Safety and Regulatory Services Com-mittee for further discussion.

The Minneapolis Affordable Housing Coalition (MAHC) has been raising the issue of condo conversions for over a year and recently has been working with CMs Gordon, Remington and Schiff on specific changes to the current ordinance that both

preserves the affordable housing stock of the city and protects the rights of tenants and homebuy-ers. Said CM Gordon, “The City currently has a local ordi-nance that regulates condo con-versions, but its enforceability is questionable, and it does not address all of the issues conver-sions present. What we need is a responsible ordinance that will support the positive new hom-eownership opportunities that can be created by conversions, while simultaneously protecting the city’s invaluable affordable rental housing stock and safe-guarding the rights of tenants.”

MAHC has identified four concerns about unregulated conversions. The first is loss of affordable housing units. Min-neapolis has a policy to create more units, but the conversions are taking affordable units off the market.

The second concerns violation of tenants rights –– developers often do not follow ordinances that require notification and adherence to tenants rights. There is no penalty for failure to comply.

The third is that condo buy-ers lack basic protections.

Although recent changes in truth-in-housing inspections now require condo buyers to be told of repairs needed to the building beyond the unit (e.g., roof), initial association fees often are not sufficient to cover necessary repairs to common areas, causing unanticipated expenses to new buyers.

The last is that low-income res-idents are increasingly forced to move away from the communi-ty that they call home in order to find an affordable apartment to rent. This displacement also leads to a loss in economic diversity in an area with many

conversions.

The MAHC has proposed sev-eral specific ways for the city to better monitor conversions: address the loss of affordable housing; establish buy-in from residents before a condo con-version can be approved; offer relocation benefits to displaced tenants; require a better notifi-cation process; require develop-ers to make repairs identified in inspections, and to warrant them for one year; and to create civil and criminal penalties for developers who do not com-ply.

City Council to Consider new Regs for Condo Conversions


Open for Dinner, Lunch and Weekend Brunch

Dine-In | Carry-Out | Private Rooms | Catering

Corner of Lake and Irving | 612.823.0250 | www.amorevictoria.com | Free Parking

Private Dining in our Wine Cellarup to 55 people

North Face May Come to UptownBy Aaron Rubenstein

The North Face, an outdoor clothing and equipment com-pany, may open a retail store in Uptown. The company is working with local developer Michael Lander, of the Lander Group, and the family that owns the property, but it’s not a certain deal yet.

The proposed store would dis-place the UPS Store at 3010 Hennepin and Tibet’s Corner restaurant at 3008 Hennepin.

Michael Lander describes the project as “alive but slow” mov-ing. He doesn’t know when it will happen.

North Face products are sold at many local sporting goods stores. The company also has ten of its own stores around the country. The company makes tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, outerwear, clothing, footwear, luggage and accessories.

The new store would be located in a new, tall, one-story build-ing filling the site. Lander’s intent is to find off-street park-ing nearby. He said a multi-story building is not being considered due to the off-street parking issue and the lack of a demonstrated need.

small news you might usetidbitsPAnERA BREAD bakery/café (3024 Hennepin) closed June 11 after approximately two years in business.

EInSTEIn BROS BAGELS (1513 West Lake Street) closed May 30 and will be replaced by a Blue Sky Creamery ice cream shop.

AMIGO SERVICEnTER (3544 Lyndale) has almost com-pleted construction of two new repair bays. They will soon be adding Saturday hours; start-ing July 15, they will be open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., both for repairs and oil changes. Owner Todd Duvick says he is negotiating to become a distrib-utor of Dunlop tires, which they currently sell.

Amigo’s former second repair shop across the intersection (3601 Lyndale) has been sold and is being expanded. Real estate broker John Gross and his partner, Tony Johannes, a real estate agent, are adding 2500 square feet in the back of the building, with a curtain wall construction. With the current structure, the final square foot-age will be about 5500. Gross wants to retain what he sees as an interesting, and a little iconic, mid-century gas station. The completed building will be offered for lease, and will

be available for occupancy in August. They are hoping for a restaurant tenant, but have not ruled out office uses, either.

STELLA’S FISH CAFÉ & PRESTIGE OYSTER BAR (1400 West Lake) charged sev-eral thousand patrons as many as six times on credit and debit cards for meals eaten –– only once — at the Uptown restau-rant. The restaurant says it was a computer glitch, and is clear-ing up the mistakes. But it may take a while for some of the paperwork and refunds to be processed. People eating there between May 29 and June 4 may have been affected by this error. Stella’s is offering a $25 restau-rant credit to overcharged cus-tomers, and will pay bank fees associated with the mistakes.

Trouble at another Uptown eat-ery. BARBETTE (1600 West Lake) closed for a few days after an outbreak of salmonella. At least 40 customers became sick with stomach upset, vomiting and diarrhea caused by the bac-teria. This rare outbreak may have been caused by improperly chilled carrot soup, but an inves-tigation is ongoing. Owner Kim Bartmann is working with the Health Department, and has purchased a new walk-in cooler, thinking that may have been the problem. The restaurant passed

inspections and re-opened June 14. Community reaction seems to be an understanding that this can happen; patrons say they will eat at Barbette again. A blogger on MnSpeak.com says, “at least they didn’t charge everyone six times for their Sal-monella.” Try the Prix Fixe Monday, with a 4 to 5 course meal and wine for $32.

THE BEAT COFFEEHOuSE (1414 W. 28th) is currently in the midst of demolition and rebuild-ing, in hopes of opening in time for the Uptown Art Fair. Owner Joel Gross (no relation to John Gross, above) says he will run a full service coffee bar, and bring in local musicians and artists for concerts and shows. There may be a room available to rent for special events. The Church in uptown will also meet regularly there. The Church in Uptown is a “spontaneously forming group, joined by unpredictable links, united by their faith in Christ, and drawn to the emergent cul-ture in Uptown Minneapolis,” according to the website (www.churchinuptown.com). For sev-eral years, they have met in vari-ous venues around Uptown, but have been looking for a home, and can now have a regular meeting place once a week. The rest of the week, The Beat will be open to the public.

JOn CHARLES SALOn (1221 West Lake) opened June 10 in Uptown Row. It’s a full service salon that does hair, coloring, facials, manicures, pedicures, waxing, eyelash extensions and artificial gel nails. Jon Charles has been a prominent colorist for 20 years and was a co-owner of the Urban Retreat and Schmidty’s salons in Uptown. He and the staff of nine worked in the EQ Life (a Best Buy con-cept) shop in Richfield until it closed in early April. 724.2444.

Check out the groovy new mural on the east wall, overlooking the parking lot, of the Dunn BROS at Lake and Bryant. It’s bold! It’s colorful! It’s by artist Eric Inkala — who also tends bar across the street at Bryant Lake Bowl. The style is sort of grafitti-esque, sort of something else, and 100 percent fabulous.

LYnDALE unITED CHuRCH OF CHRIST (LUCC) (Aldrich and 31st) is still pursuing a partnership and building-sharing proposal with Salem Lutheran Church (Lyn-dale and 28th), but progress is slow. LUCC is putting the church building up for sale in July to see if there is any interest. They are not prepared yet to sell until they know the partnership building plan will come to pass, however.

JUly 2006 UPtOwN NEiGHbORHOOD NEws • 1�

(Editor’s Note: We will run community event listings every month on this page. Contact [email protected] to submit your event information by the 17th of each month to be included in the next issue.)

visual artsFLAnDERS GALLERY3102 Lyndale Ave. S. • 344.1700www.flanders-art.comGallery hours: Tues to Sat, 10 to 5; Sun 12 to 5. Through July 8, Simon Huelsbeck • Opening July 15, Zoran Mojsilov

InTERMEDIA ARTS/SASE2822 Lyndale Ave. S. • 871.4444www.intermediaarts.orgSat, July 22 –– Thank You, Sandy!: A Farewell Party Celebrat-ing 16 Years with Intermedia Arts • 7 to 8 pm, Tribute to Sandy Agustin (RSVP to Intermedia Arts 871.4444 required) • 8 pm, Late “Thank You” Party. Pay what you can. Post-parade relaxing sum-mer evening of drinks, dancing and drive-in movies in appreciation and celebration of Sandy Agus-tin. Sandy has requested that her going away party raise money for a worthy event – the 12th Annual ArtCar Parade – and we happily obliged!

SOO VISuAL ARTS CEnTER2640 Lyndale Ave S. • 871.2263 www.soovac.org June 30 to Aug 12 –– Untitled 5: SOOVAC’s Annual Juried Show.

book clubsWALKER LIBRARY BOOK CLuBWalker Library • 2880 Hennepin Av. S. • 630.6650www.mpls.lib.mn.usMon, July 10, 6:30 to 7:30 pm –– The World is Flat: A Brief His-tory of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman.

BOOKS & BARS Bryant Lake Bowl • 810 W. Lake St. • 825.8949www.bryantlakebowl.comTues, July 11, 6:30 pm – The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson.

author events OnCE uPOn A CRIME MYSTERY BOOKSTORE 604 W. 26th St. • 870.3785www.onceuponacrimebooks.comSat July 8, 10 am to 4 pm –– Book Fair at State Fair Grounds • Wed July 12, 7 pm –– Kathleen Hills Witch Cradle • Wed July 19, 7 pm –– Barry Eisler The Last Assassin.

SuBuRBAn WORLD THEATER3022 Hennepin Ave. S • 205.4734www.suburbanworldtheater.comMon, July 10, 7 pm –– Tempel Grandin will discuss her new book Animals in Transition.

DREAMHAVEn BOOKS912 W. Lake St. • 823.6070www.dreamhavenbooks.comMon, July 17, 6:30 pm –– Kim Harrison will be reading and answering questions about Fistful of Charms. She is the New York Times best-selling author of Dead Witch Walking, The Good, the Bad, and the Undead, and Every Which

Way But Dead. • Tue, July 25, 6:30 pm ––naomi Kritzer will be read-ing from her new fantasy novel, Freedom’s Sisters.

theaterFRInGE FESTIVAL209.6799www.fringefestival.orgAug 3 to 13. Various locations around Uptown and Lyn-Lake.

IMPROV In THE PARKSLake Harriet Rose GardenEast of the water fountain.www.minneapolisparks.orgSundays through August, 5 pm and 7 pm. FREE. Stevie Ray’s Comedy Troupe. No show if raining. Bring a picnic, blanket or lawn chair.

JunGLE THEATRE2951 Lyndale Ave. S. • 822.7063www.jungletheater.com Through July 30 –– I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright. Starring Bradley Greenwald, directed by Joel Sass.

PAnGEA WORLD THEATER711 W. Lake St • 822.0015www.pangeaworldtheater.orgSat, July 8, 8 pm –– Under The Bridge, written by A-yia Thoj and Saychay Thor. Focusing on divorce within the Hmong community.

musicBARBETTE BASTILLE DAY1600 W. Lake St. • 827.5710www.barbette.comSun, July 16, 3 to 10 pm. FREE –– Bastille Day celebration, fea-turing fire eaters, breakdancing, burlesque, BMX showcase, flea market, beer, live music includ-ing Les Sans Culottes, B Girl Be, Doomtree, and more.

BAnJO DAnCERSWalker Library • 2880 Hennepin Av. S. • 630.6650 www.mpls.lib.mn.usMon, July 10, 2 to 3 pm –– Fast paced music and dance to tradi-tional banjo and fiddle.

LAKE HARRIET BAnDSHELLwww.minneapolisparks.orgNorth side of Lake Harriet. Free concerts. Daytime concerts 2 pm and 5:30 pm. Evening concerts, 7:30 pmJuly 1, Minneapolis POPS Orches-tra • July 2, Minneapolis Pops Orchestra • July 3, Beth Oliveto • July 4, United We Sing • July 5, Justin Roth • July 6, Mary Klueh Band • July 7, Minnesota Sinfo-nia • July 8, Minneapolis POPS Orchestra • July 9, Minneapolis POPS Orchestra • July 10, Rose- ville Community Band • July 11, River City Jazz Orchestra • July 12, Israeli Scouts Friendship Caravan • July 13, Eden Prairie Community Band • July 14, Min-nesota Sinfonia • July 15, Minne-apolis POPS Orchestra • July 16, 2 pm, Jill Holly • July 16, 5:30 pm, Minneapolis POPS Orchestra • July 17, Northern Winds Concert Band • July 18, Stan Bann Big Band • July 19, Beasley’s Big Band Jazz • July 20, Red Rock Swing Band • July 21, Honeywell Concert Band • July 22, Minneapolis POPS Orchestra • July 23, 5:30 pm, Min-neapolis POPS Orchestra • July 24, Brio Brass Jazz • July 25, After 5 • July 26, Medalist Concert Band •

July 27, Civic Orchestra of Minne-apolis • July 28, Wayne Hamilton Blues • July 29, 2 pm, Robbinsdale City Band • July 29, 7:30 pm. Min-neapolis POPS Orchestra • July 30, 5:30 pm, Minneapolis POPS Orchestra • Aug 1, U of M Alumni Band

filmARISE BOOKS2441 Lyndale Ave. S. • 871.7110www.arisebookstore.orgThur, July 20, 8 pm –– Anniver-sary of the 1934 Trucker Strike. A night of Minneapolis labor his-tory plus a labor song sing-along with Andy Gifford, and the film: Labor’s Turning Point.

LORInG PARK SuMMER MOVIESwww.minneapolisparks.orgMondays July 17 through August 21, FREE. 7 pm music. Film at dusk (approx 8:45)July 17, Sullivan’s Travels • July 24, The Lady Eve • July 31, His Girl Friday.

generalInTERMEDIA ARTS/SASE2822 Lyndale Ave. S. • 871.4444www.intermediaarts.orgSat, July 22, 2 to 3 pm –– ArtCar Parade. Parade begins at Lake St. and Grand Ave., turns north on Lyndale and ends at 28th St.

YOuTH FARM & MARKET PROJECTKingfield Farmer’s Market43rd and Nicolletwww.youthfarm.netSundays through August 27, 9 am to 1:30 pm – Farmer’s Market.

TEMPLE ISRAEL2534 Henn. Ave. S. • 377.8680www.templeisrael.comJuly 30 to Aug 2 – Sisterhood Garage Sale • Sun, July 30, noon to 6 pm ($5 preview) • Mon, July 31, 10 am to 8 pm • Tues, Aug 1, 10 am to 8 pm (1/2 price sale) • Wed, Aug 2, 9 am to 6 pm (Bag Day)

BRYAnT SQuARE PARK 3101 Bryant Ave. S. • 370-4907www.minneapolisparks.orgWed, July 12, 6 to 8 pm – Ice Cream Social.

for kids & teensHIGHPOInT CEnTER FOR PRInTMAKInG2638 Lyndale Ave. S. • 871.1326 www.highpointprintmaking.orgCulture Camp for Families: Week-end Workshops, July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 • July 8 at Highpoint! From 9 am to noon • Summer Kids Class: Cloth, Ink, Paper, Clay, Film, July 10 to 14 from 9 am to 3 pm.

WALKER LIBRARY2880 Hennepin Av. S. • 630.6650www.mpls.lib.mn.usKids’ Book Club: Thurs, July 13, 3 to 4 pm –– The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. First published in 1958. In 1687 in Connecticut, Kit Tyler, feeling out of place in the Puritan house-hold of her aunt, befriends an old woman considered a witch by the community and suddenly finds herself standing trial for witch-craft. Club size is limited; please call or visit the Walker Library to reserve your spot!Performance: Sat, July 29, 3 pm. Free. Selection from Illinois Jane and the Pyramid of Peril, a Fringe Festival play. Heroine extraordi-naire Illinois Jane must match wits with odor-endowed villain Pierre LeMalodeur in a furious race to find the Elixir of Life. The play features pirates, an evil mime, booby traps and more. Discussion with actors after performance.

TWIn CITY unDERGROunD405 W. Lake St • 824.2612www.tcunderground.comMons through July 24, 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Free –– Art Poetry and Spo-ken Word.

MInnEAPOLIS PARK BOARDwww.minneapolisparks.org Check out various programs, camps and events for children. Bry-ant Square Park, Painter Park and Lyndale Farmstead Park..Fri, July 14, 9:45 am to 1:45 pm –– The Festival of Fish. Ages 6 to 12. $ 13. The Department of Natu-ral Resources Minnaqua “Festival of Fish” program will bring our state’s diverse people together to celebrate the role fish play in the history, foods, traditions, art, rec-reation and social customs of our many cultures. Learn about fish, fishing and fisheries management and natural resource stewardship in an entertaining and educational setting at Ft. Snelling State Park. Bring a bag lunch. Bus pick-ups begin at approximately 9:15 am and returns will start at approximately 1:45 pm. A signed participant per-mission slip is required. • Thur, July 20. 11 am to 3:30 pm –– Mn. Twins Game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Ages 6 to 12. $18 for admission, bus, hot dog, soft drink and pennant. A signed per-mission slip is required. • Fri, July 28, 10 am to 3 pm ––Grand Slam. $16. Ages 6 to 12. Take a trip to the Grand Slam this summer with your friends. Price includes trans-portation, supervision, unlimited laser tag, mini golf, bumper cars, 4 game tokens, 1 batting cage token and lunch. Bus pick-ups begin at parks around 10 am and return around 3 pm.

classesKITCHEn WInDOWIn Calhoun Square • 824-4417www.kitchenwindow.comThur, July 27, 6 to 9 pm. –– Kitch-en Window’s Single Mingle. Exot-ic Evening (Ages 21-30). $70.If you have yet to meet that special someone and are tired of your usual avenues of pursuit, look no further! Kitchen Window proudly presents the Delicious Single Mingle. Host Chef Beth Fisher has cooked up an exotic menu. Sip on a glass of Ital-

ian prosecco, a delicate sparkling wine. Check your teeth and fluff your hair as you don an apron, as preparing the evening’s feast is first on the list. Dinner starts with tomato orange soup, and then on to the internationally flavored entrée course: Thai coconut chicken and marinated skewers. Cupid’s Choc-olate arrow will finish you off.

ROCKLER WOODWORKInG3025 Lyndale Ave S. • 822-3338www.rockler.comThur, July 13, 12 to 3 pm –– Bowl Turning with Sarge Taylor. $80. If you’ve ever admired wooden bowls and wondered how to make them, here is your opportunity! Sarge will take you step by step through turn-ing your own bowl on the lathe. You’ll learn about stock selection, chucking, and different bowl fin-ishes. At the end of the day, you’ll have a bowl to bring home!

get involvedFRInGE FESTIVAL528 Hennepin Ave Ste 503872.1212www.fringefestival.orgVolunteer to help in the box office, as usher or general help. Plan to spend 3 shifts of 1.5 hours each. Your reward is one FREE ticket to a show for every shift you work. Sign up online or contact: [email protected] or 872.1212.

CARAG STROLL PATROLCall Scott Engel 823.2520 for schedule.

PAInTER PARK370.4911VolunTEEnS. Are you a leader? Get involved in programming at the park. We are looking for ener-getic youth (13 to 17) to help with programs and field trips. Days and times will vary.

uPTOWn ART FAIR1406 W. Lake St • 823.4581www.uptownminneapolis.comVolunteers needed for the Art Fair, Aug 4 to 6. Contact Miranda Kue-nnen at [email protected].

community meetingsHOMETOWn WRITERS GROuPWalker Library • 2880 Hennepin Av. S. • 630.6650www.mpls.lib.mn.usTues, July 11 and 18, 10 to 12 noon.

REnT WISE TEnAnT EDuCATIOn TRAInInGThurs, July 6, 13, 20, 9:30 am to 12:30 pmZion Lutheran Church, 128 West 33rdContact: Becky Cole at 781.3630 or [email protected]. Cur-rent and potential renters can receive free training on what it takes to be a successful renter. Top-ics include understanding leases, landlord/tenant laws, budgeting and more. Upon successful com-pletion of all three sessions, partici-pants will receive a certificate and a year of free support with rental questions. Must attend all three sessions to receive certificate.

uptowncommunityeventscommunity events calendar

Photo provided by Minneapolis ParksLake Harriet Bandshell


STROnG HAnDS - HOT STOnES - WORLD PEACE Barbara Glommen, certified massage therapist. Energy work – deep tissue – relaxation – hot stones. Call for appoint-ment 612.821.1416. PERSOnAL CARE ASSISTAnTPCA needed part time for young college student, Uptown area. PCA must be positive, energetic, and enthusiastic. Male or Female OK. Care Plan-ners Inc. 651.645.9887.

HAnDYPROProfessional Handyman Service. Home repairs and improvement – skilled carpentry, restoration, wood and wall repair, doors and windows, to-do lists and more. Licensed, bonded, insured. Call Carl at HandyPro (www.handypro.com) to schedule a free estimate: 612.823.8128.

ECCEnTRIC REMODELInG JOBSKustom room additions, patio decks, kustom garages, siding, aluminum trim, soffits, gutters and interior painting. Marty 612.724.8819.

BAnD InSTRuMEnT LESSOnSMusic Education degree. 24 years experience. Specializing in playing instruments and teach-ing private lessons. Woodwinds, brass, percussion. Thorough, fun approach. All ages. Refer-ences. CARRIE. 612.822.7742.

CARPEnTERSExperienced. Windows and doors replaced, sills repaired. We build fences and decks, and apply all siding. Finish carpentry. Sheetrock, plaster repair, and texture. Local ref-erences, free estimates. Tom 612.824.1554.

RuBBISH HAuLInG/ TREE SERVICESmall trees cut down or trimmed. Licensed and insured. 612.869.8697.

REDuCE STRESS,Relieve Tension, Release Tox-ins. Grand Opening Discount! 6 yrs experience. Therapeu-tic, Relaxing & Deep Tissue. www.SarahBuckmanMassage.com 612.296.2099.

MASOnRY REPAIRSSteps, brick, stucco, tuckpoint-ing, foundations, basements. 27 years experience. 612.377.3822.

SuPER AnTI-AGInG SKIn CARE PRODuCTS30% off Retail. I’ve used many products out there (Lacome, etc.) and I LOVE this line. Call 612.382.6222 Suzanne.

CLASSIFIED AD SALES 40¢ per word, 10-word minimum. Classifieds must be paid in advance. Please send a check and the ad copy to: Uptown Neighborhood News, C/O CARAG, 711 W. Lake St., Suite 303, Mpls. MN 55408. Ad and payment are due the 17th of the month.

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Flat Fees Are In. Commissions Are Out. Check out our new Homefree program, the no-fee way to sell your home. Call or email me for a brochure or visit www.homeavenue.comFirst-time home buyers my specialty.See ALL the listings at www.homeavenue.com

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651-334-7538 CELL612-824-2171 HOME [email protected]

HOME AVENUEtM A Better Way To Buy And Sell A Home

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A cozy little neighborhood diner minutes from home or work.HOURS: Mon-Fri 6:30 am - 3 pm

Sat. 6:30 am - 2 pm, Sun. 7 am - 2 pm

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Kelly NewcomerDesign & Illustration

kellynewcomer.com

july 2006 uptown neighborhood news

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