SNG newsletter, January
SNG NEWSLETTER, JANUARY 1, 2008
Happy New Year From the Board of Directors and Volunteers of the Seward Neighborhood Group!
I. Calendar of Events, Jan. 1 to Jan. 15 – SNG Board of Directors, Jan. 2 – Community Development Committee, Jan. 8 – Environment Committee Meeting/Retreat, Jan. 13 – Crime and Safety Committee, Jan. 14
II. Longer Term Calendar, Jan. 16+ – SNG Board of Directors, Jan. 30
III. Other News and Items of Interest – Winter Fun at Matthews Park, Jan. 25 – City’s Comprehensive Plan Draft ready for review – New Internet based discussion forum for Seward Neighborhood Issues – ‘A Brush With Kindness’ Program Applications Available for Spring Repairs – Lead Abatement Grants available – Environmental News
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Calendar of Events, Jan. 1 to Jan. 15
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SNG Board of Directors, Jan. 2
Seward Towers East, East Franklin and 30th Avenues.
Please enter on the north side of the building. Just inside the airlock, take the door to the left which says ‘Advantage Center’. Walk the long hallway and within the office at the end, take the stairs to the second floor.
Board meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month. With no meeting held in December on the day after Christmas and with a large amount of current business to discuss, two meetings in January were considered necessary. A second January meeting will be held on Jan. 30.
Residents and others who live, work or own property in Seward are invited to attend as the meetings are open to all. For the minutes from past meetings, please go to the SNG website at www.sng.org.
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SNG Community Development Committee, Jan. 8
7:00 PM to 8:45 PM
Matthews Park, 2318 28th Ave. S.
Planned Agenda:
-Discussion whether SNG should request the City to make the Hub of Heaven Garden site available for housing. Alternatively, the Garden can be purchased by the SNG and operated for use by residents as gardens.
-Several neighborhood organizers are negotiating to lease space for a medical clinic oriented to serving an East African population. Update.
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SNG Environment Committee Meeting/Retreat, Jan. 13
1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
At 2536 38th Ave S, Phillipp Muessig’s house
Agenda:
-Green Building and Remodeling: the MN Greenstar program.
-Planning next year: An Energy Fair in early November of 2008?
-Comment re the Midtown EcoEnergy Project?
-Report on the Climate Change Innovations 2007 grant project.
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SNG Crime and Safety Committee, Jan. 14
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Matthews Park, 2318 28th Ave. S.
Shane Morton, from the City of Minneapolis, will attend the January meeting of the SNG Crime & Safety Committee, to discuss issues of pedestrian/traffic safety. This discussion will be the first item on the agenda.
Mr. Morton asked that a summary of topics be sent to him in advance of the meeting, so he can prepare. Volunteer Kathy Sikora has taken the concerns discussed in the “Danger on Franklin” Seward E-Democracy topic, along with suggestions from those on the Crime and Safety Committee email list. All are welcome to attend.
To be placed on the Crime and Safety emailing list and receive information related to crime in the neighborhood, please email Bernie at bernie@sng.org. You may also request that you be included on the email list for Community Development Committee meetings and notices. _________________________________________
II. Longer Term Calendar, Jan. 16+
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SNG Board of Directors, Jan. 30
Seward Towers East, East Franklin and 30th Avenues.
Please enter on the north side of the building. Just inside the airlock, take the door to the left which says ‘Advantage Center’. Walk the long hallway and within the office at the end, take the stairs to the second floor.
No meeting was held in December but with the large amount of current business to discuss, a second meeting in January was deemed necessary.
Residents and others who live, work or own property in Seward are invited to attend as the meetings are open to all. For the minutes from past meetings, please go to the SNG website at www.sng.org.
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III. Other News and Items of Interest
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Winter Fun Event at Matthews Park, Jan. 25:
Matthews Park Benefit Concert with Music by the Fireroast Mountain Boys
6:30-8 p.m., 2318 29th Ave. S.
(For the whole family)
Bring the whole family to Matthews Park to enjoy music by the Fireroast Mountain Boys. Their music is original, eclectic, jazzy, folksy and often danceable. All proceeds will benefit Matthews Recreation Center. Suggested donation of $5 per person – more if you can.
There will also be a ‘Fire and Ice’ Skating Party for the whole neighborhood from 6 to 8 p.m.. Bring all your friends and family to the Matthews skating rink for a bonfire on the ice while enjoying hot dogs and hot cocoa. All Ages are welcome and the cost is free! We hope to see you there!
For more information, please call Matthews at 612-370-4950.
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City’s Comprehensive Plan Draft Ready for Review
Share your ideas on how Minneapolis should look, feel, and function in 2030
The public is invited to provide input on “The Minneapolis Plan for Sustainable Growth,” the City’s comprehensive plan. This major update to the City’s comprehensive plan looks ahead to 2030, describing how the Minneapolis of the future will look, feel and function.
Beginning Dec. 1, 2007, a working draft of “The Minneapolis Plan for Sustainable Growth” will be available online at www.minneapolisplan.info and in public libraries for review and comment. Comments can be submitted online at the Web site above, emailed to planupdate@ci.minneapolis.mn.us, or mailed to: Haila Maze, Senior City Planner, Minneapolis Department of Community Planning & Economic Development, 350 S. Fifth St., Room 210, Minneapolis, MN 55415.
The City will also host a series of five meetings in January 2008 to give people more chances to share their thoughts on the plan. The meetings held closest to Seward will also be the first ones:
Jan. 8, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
North Regional Library, 1315 Lowry Ave. N.
Jan. 12, 10 a.m. to noon
Lake Hiawatha Community Ctr, 2701 E. 44th St.
The comprehensive plan provides a policy framework for all planning, zoning and development decisions made by the City of Minneapolis. State law requires the City of Minneapolis to update its plan periodically. The most recent major update to the comprehensive plan was completed in 2000 with various amendments since then. This effort to refine the plan will be completed in 2008. More information is available online at www.minneapolisplan.info.
Four ways to participate in the update to the city’s comprehensive plan—The Minneapolis Plan for Sustainable Growth!
1. First, read the plan on-line at www.minneapolisplan.info and fill out the on-line survey.
2. Second, view a copy of the plan at one of the city’s public libraries or at Room 210 in City Hall.
3. Third, attend one of five open houses scheduled during the month of January. (Look for details on the website: www.minneapolisplan.info
4. Fourth, use the 45-day public review period for the plan, which runs January 1 thru February 15, 2008, to communicate your comments. The email address for the comprehensive plan is planupdate@ci.minneapolis.mn.us.
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New Internet based discussion forum for Seward Neighborhood Issues
There is a new way to be involved in Seward Neighborhood—The Seward Neighbors Forum. This is an online discussion forum (either or both Web or email) for the discussion of issues related to the Seward Neighborhood and events in or near the Seward Neighborhood. The is a project of Minnesota e-democracy in cooperation with the Seward Neighborhood Group. Go to
http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls-seward/ for more details.
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A Brush With Kindness Applications Available for Spring Repairs
A Brush With Kindness is a program which paints, landscapes, and does minor repairs to the exterior of homes for low-income residents at no cost to them. In particular, it focuses on those homeowners in difficult circumstances; the elderly, the disabled, and single-parent households. Applications are being accepted now for work to be done in the spring of 2008. For more information call 612-788-8169, or go to: http://www.tchabitat.org/content/category/6/33/28/
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Lead Abatement Grants available
Do you live in a home or apartment building built before 1978? Do you see chipping or peeling paint? If so, your family could be at risk for lead poisoning. You may qualify for free services. Contact Sustainable Resources Center at 612-872-3282 for more information.
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Environmental News (reprinted by request of the SNG Environment Committee)
Café Scientifique: Looking at Lichens. Jan. 8, 6 p.m.
Kitty Cat Klub, Dinkytown, Admission $5
We’ve all seen lichens growing on rocks, trees, or buildings. Yet their unusual and complex structure often goes unnoticed. Though they appear to be a single entity, lichens are actually complex and versatile organisms. Bell Museum Curator of Lichens, Imke Schmitt, will discuss
the evolution of lichens, which species provide food, medicines and clothing dyes, and which help out nature by cleaning the air and adding color to the landscape.
Green Drinks, Jan. 9, 6:00 to 7:30
Common Roots Coffee House, 26th St. E. and S. Lyndale
Environmentally minded folks discuss whatever they like.
Is Minnesota at a Climate Crossroads? Jan. 15, 7 p.m.
Bryant-Lake Bowl, Uptown, $5–10 (pay what you can)
Over the past ten years, winters in Minnesota have been milder than average. Many climate models predict that this trend will continue—a local example of the rise in world temperatures known as global warming. What will warmer winters and earlier spring thaws mean for Minnesota’s natural landscape? Join the Bell Museum for a discussion about how these
changes could affect our state’s ecology, culture, and economy.
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The National Park Service (NPS) presents a three-part series focusing on climate change in our nation, state, and lives:
Climate Change in Minnesota, Jan. 17, 7 p.m.
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
How will climate change affect Minnesota? How do scientists know what will change? Come hear Jeffrey Corney, Associate Director of the Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, describe the changes Minnesota will experience and about the studies which are being done to help create
these future climate models. Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve is home to a rare meeting of three distinct ecosystems (prairie, deciduous forest, and boreal forest) making it an ideal location to observe how climate change will affect these different biomes.
Climate of Conservation, March 13, 7 p.m.
Mill City Museum
In a time of national crisis during the depression and World War II, the
country responded with a unified goal of resource conservation. Learn
about these historical conservation methods along with modern actions we
can use to support a new national priority of conservation in response
to the global threat of the climate change.
For directions and more information on this series, please contact the Nat’l Park service at:
http://www.livetheriver.org/eventList.asp?yr=2008&mo=1 (search“climate”). This site also gives the calendar for National Park Service Mississippi National River and Recreation Area events. Registration is requested for the events above, so please call the Mississippi River Visitor Center at 651.293.0200. These free programs are provided by the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
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Bell Museum (10 Church Street SE Minneapolis). Focus the Nation (Live Webcast)
Jan. 30, 7 p.m., Bell Auditorium, Free
This national, interactive webcast will feature Stanford climate scientist Stephen Schneider, sustainability expert Hunter Lovins, and green jobs pioneer Van Jones. Following the webcast the Bell Museum and University of Minnesota partners will present a panel discussion on local climate change solutions.
Focus Minnesota: An Evening with Will Steger, Jan. 31, 7 p.m.
First Avenue, Minneapolis, Free
On January 31, Focus Minnesota will inspire Minnesotans to discuss global warming solutions. The evening will feature a presentation by explorer Will Steger. Sponsored by the Bell Museum, the Will Steger Foundation, Focus the U, and other collegiate partners.
The State of Our Climate: Policy and Global Warming. Feb. 12, 6 p.m.
Kitty Cat Klub, Dinkytown, Free
How will Minnesota lawmakers address the problems caused by fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions? Last spring Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty asked more than 50 environmental, business, and community leaders to propose climate change solutions for the state. This month the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group will make its recommendations, which will be presented to state legislators for consideration. Join members of the group for a lively discussion on policy making and climate change.
Global Warming and Environmental Equality. Mar. 18, 7 p.m.
Bryant-Lake Bowl, Uptown, $5–$10 (pay what you can)
The environmental impacts of global warming are felt by communities worldwide—from droughts and floods that disrupt food systems to the rising sea levels that can displace entire populations. But will global warming disproportionately affect poorer, less developed nations and communities? How might discussions about global warming and political or economic development take this imbalance into account? Join speakers from the Headwaters Foundation for a discussion about global warming and environmental equality.
Fueling the Future. April 8, 6 p.m.
Kitty Cat Klub, Dinkytown, Free
Despite evidence of global warming and its environmental impacts, our demand for energy is steadily rising. In order to address the problem we will need not one but many solutions—from cleaner, more efficient energy sources to creative conservation efforts. A panel of researchers and business leaders will discuss possible ways that we might fuel the future, such as increasing wind and solar power and generating electricity from microorganisms found in our waste.
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This newsletter was compiled by the SNG with the assistance of neighbors who contributed suggestions and news items. If you know of an upcoming event, meeting or news item that should be included in a future newsletter, please email bernie@sng.org. Thank you!
last revised: January 7, 2008