Lawmakers say "No" to Neighborhood cuts proposed by Mayor, City Council

Media release from the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization, image from www.nrp.org.  Editorial note:  This post is the press release, largely unedited, from before last night's council meeting.  Results of that meeting may differ slightly from some claims made below.

Emergency meeting draws 65 including 9 lawmakers, 2 City Council members

Find video and plicy analysis by the University of Minnesota further below

Minneapolis MN - 65 people including neighborhood leaders, 9 state lawmakers, and 2 City Council members from Minneapolis turned out to a meeting at Corcoran Park on Sunday, Dec. 12, despite a weekend snowstorm that buried cars, crippled transit, and collapsed the Metrodome.

The meeting was called to discuss a recent proposal by Mayor R. T. Rybak and the City Council to re-purpose Neighborhood Revitalization funds as "tax relief," a move that would require approval by the Legislature.  The City Council voted on the proposal on Monday, Dec. 13, less than one week after the proposal was first made known to the  public by an article in the Star Tribune.

Senator Ken Kelash, Chair of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) policy board, explained that while past mayors and city councils have tried to take control of Neighborhood funding, "this is the first time we've been ambushed, aand that's what this is--it's an ambush."  Representative Joe Mullery called the City's proposal "improper and illegal," adding...

Video Footage from Habitat Week Closing Ceremonies

Post and videos by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council housing director; videos with Jeff Skrenes in them contributed by Habitat staff or volunteers.

With such an extraordinary month, capped off by thousands of volunteers and a visit from  President Carter, Hawthorne still has photos and videos to share from the events of the Habitat week.  Above are several videos from the final day of work.

Former HNC board chair Peter Teachout asked for a statement of his to be read at one of the final events, and I obliged.  Some people have said that the sound quality on that video makes it difficult to hear.  In response, I've posted Peter's speech after the jump.  Peter said...

Habitat Luncheon with President Carter in the EcoVillage (part 3 of video footage)

Post and videos by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director

There will be time to explain in more detail the events of the week, but for now, we want to make the video footage available to everyone. Two things should be pointed out, however. First, President Carter once again praised Hawthorne for being the best neighborhood he's worked in. And second, a slight slip of the tongue by our Mayor needs to be corrected. He accidentally called Valeria, a long-term resident of the EcoVillage "Russian." Valeria is POLISH and darn proud of it. We're grateful for the commitment and hard work of Rybak, but for the sake of Valeria's Polish pride, we have to make that correction here.

President Carter: "We've Never Worked in a Nicer Neighborhood" (part 2 of video footage)

Post and videos by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director

There are two things that stand out about these press conference videos. First, President Carter described the view from Farview Park and lauded our historic housing stock, then stated, "We've never worked in a nicer neighborhood than this one." Granted, this could be like a proud parent who tells their child, "I love you all the same," or a rock singer who whispers to his bandmates, "Which city are we in?" before stepping to the mic and declaring Minneapolis to be awesome. Still, Jimmy Carter said that Hawthorne was the nicest neighborhood he's worked in, and we get to brag about that.

Secondly, Carter is not the bragging type. Knowing that the media (and even the community) tends to focus on the star power of an ex-President, he kept on deflecting and asking if there were questions about Habitat or bringing the focus back to our community or Habitat's work. Here's a man we can admire.

Oh, and he said Hawthorne was the best. Did I mention that?

MetLife Award Presented for Progress in EcoVillage

Post, photos, and video by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director.

The MetLife Foundation yesterday awarded Project for Pride in Living and the Minneapolis Police Department for their work in conjunction with the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council and many other partners in the EcoVillage.  Out of 720 applicants from across 48 states, we were one of only eleven recipients this year.  Steve Cramer of PPL said in his remarks that they had trouble putting together a design for the press release because there are so many partners that we weren't sure how to fit them all on one page.

Many of them are pictured here.

 After the presentation, the first new construction of the EcoVillage, 400 31st Avenue North, was ready for its open house...(more pictures after the jump)

Video Footage from the EcoVillage Hawthorne Huddle