Como press from 2010- 2011 |
2010- 2011
2011 - Neighbors of Note, Southwest Journal
2011 - Students make progress toward 15th Ave mural
By Ian Taylor, Minnesota Daily (11/1/11) excerpts - "Adam Arling and Ryan Pusch along with other University of Minnesota Student Neighborhood Liaisons are on a mission to change the walls alongside the railroad tracks on 15th Avenue Southeast into a mural representing the members of the community. The liaisons envision the mural on the bare, concrete walls between 8thStreet Southeast and Rollins Avenue — where the railroad runs above the street. Arling, who has lived in Southeast Como for the last four years, remembers how he felt about the walls when he first moved into the area. “When I first came … it seemed like I was entering a neighborhood that didn’t seem to own the wall in the way they could,” Arling said. . . ." ". . . Arling said the Good Neighbor Fund agreed to support the mural, but only if the project was approved by SECIA, the City of Minneapolis, the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association and the property owners in both neighborhoods. James De Sota, SECIA’s neighborhood director, said property owners in the Como area will vote on the project at about 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 16 at Van Cleve Park. When SECIA’s board voted to send a proposal to the Good Neighborhood Fund there was a unanimous vote in favor of it, but De Sota said there were some members who had reservations. He said there are concerns about how the wall would be maintained after its completion and that some people just don’t like the idea of murals because “they think they’re tacky.” De Sota said that even if the project doesn’t get approved, it did get the community involved. “I think the liaisons have done a great job … to try and get a sense of the community and display that. The main goal was community building, and I think it accomplished that,” he said. Unlike Como, the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood was involved later on in the project’s development. Melissa Bean, executive director of the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association, said MHNA was not a part of the project in its beginning and at this point considers the mural “a Como project.” . . ." |
2011 - Representing the student bloc: Cam Gordon
By Nick Sudheimer, Minnesota Daily (10/12/11) excerpt - "From a small wooden table in a corner of Muddsuckers Coffee Shop in Southeast Como, Minneapolis City Councilman Cam Gordonsipped on a cup of coffee and waited to see if any of his constituents would show up for his Tuesday “office hours.” It’s a typical Tuesday morning for Gordon. At 55, he is in his second term as councilman for Ward 2 — one of the two city wards in Minneapolis that encompass the University of Minnesota community. Consisting of a unique blend of students and permanent residents, Ward 2 has among the lowest voter turnouts in the city, in large part because students simply don’t vote. Voter turnout in the 2009 city elections was dismal in student-dominated precincts of Gordon’s ward, from 10 percent in Southeast Como to just 2 percent in the Superblock area. “It’s been a challenge,” Gordon said. “One of the challenges isn’t just the low voter turnout — it’s the temporary nature of the individuals here.” . . ." |
2011 - Finance & Commerce’s Week in Review (Oct. 22-28)
Finance & Commerce (10/22/11) excerpt - ". . . Recycling on steroids. Steve Halgren shouts over the din of the front-loader, backhoe, conveyor belts and wood grinder inside a hangar-like building on the eastern border of Minneapolis. “They’re dropping the recyclable commodities down, as you see. We’ve got cardboard, metal, this is ground-up-wood … and at the very end is the concrete,” says Halgren, listing the four major materials recycled at the facility. The audience for Halgren, president of the waste management group at Veit Specialty Contracting and Waste Management, is a small group of young contractors on a tour of the Veit facility set up by the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota (AGC of MN). They watch as the materials are dropped into open stalls from the long “pick/sort line” suspended above the facility floor like a triple-long construction trailer at the Como Recycling Transfer Facility at 1025 33rd Ave. S.E. Veit has been recycling material at the facility since 1996. Since installing the pick/sort line in 2008, Veit has greatly increased the percentage of recyclable commodities that leave the building. In 2010, the facility recycled just over 70 percent of the construction debris it took in, said Russ Reger, Veit’s vice president of roll-off operations. The company is on track to match or exceed that percentage in 2011. . . " From http://finance-commerce.com/2011/10/finance-commerce’s-week-in-review-oct-22-28/ |
2011 - Neighborhood groups lack student involvement
By Anissa Stocks, Minnesota Daily (11/1/11) excerpt - ". . . . While ties to the student population have steadily increased over the past five years, the neighborhood groups still say there’s room for improvement. “It’s more twisting arms getting people to run for [seats], to be honest,” said James De Sota, neighborhood director for the Southeast Como Improvement Association. SECIA currently has two students who serve as general members on its board. But it lost a student representative last fall and is looking for a replacement. As a three-year term, the seat can be a big commitment for some,, De Sota said. “Every year is a new process,” he said. “It really is a block-by-block experience in the neighborhoods surrounding the [University].” . . ." |
2010 - U neighborhoods escape mortgage crisis trends
By Kyle Potter, Minnesota Daily (2/9/10) excerpt - ". . . While he acknowledged that the mortgage crisis affected the neighborhood, Southeast Como Improvement Association neighborhood coordinator James De Sota said foreclosures still haven’t been a big issue in University neighborhoods. “It basically went from none to some,” he said. “It was never as widespread here as it was on the north side of Minneapolis.” SECIA works to maintain the houses and environment in the neighborhood, which is one of the hot spots for students who want to live off-campus. De Sota said SECIA didn’t feel the need to invest in a program to counter foreclosures as other neighborhood organizations have done, because the numbers were so low. He speculated that just seven houses in the area remain vacant. . . ." |
2010 - Best Candy Shops And Confectioners In The Twin Cities
WCCO - TV November 6, 2010 excerpt - B.T. McElrath ChocolatierThis is a line of handcrafted infused chocolates created by artisan chef Brian T. McElrath who decided he loved making chocolates better than cooking main courses which he did for 17 years. He has added century old flavors like chili, lemon, salt, lime, coconut, passion fruit, ginger and even sweet potato to his creative chocolates. They can be found at supermarkets, and department stores and even the Walker Art Center, the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Weisman Art Museum. link to full article |
2011 - Noise reports plummet as U, city form partnership
Noise reports plummet as U, city form a partnership: Noise complaints are down to single digits this year after 100-plus calls in 2009.By Sarah Nienaber, Minnesota Daily, March 30, 2011 excerpt - It’s a quiet day in the neighborhood, thanks to a partnership between the University of Minnesota, the city of Minneapolis and community stakeholders. Violations from noisy and unruly assemblies dropped immensely from 2009 to the present. Southeast Como’s violations dropped from 148 in 2009 to just three through the first week of March. . . |
2011 - Neighborhoods vie for historic status
"Neighborhoods vie for historic status: Minneapolis is taking stock of historic sites, including some near the University campus."By Evelina Smirnitskaya, Minnesota Daily, March 7, 2011excerpt - Michael Trittipo has spent roughly a quarter of a century in his home in Southeast Como. The house on 19th Avenue Southeast does not stand out among other buildings, and from the outside, it looks like "just another house on the street" he says. But for Trittipo, and the neighborhood as a whole, it has a very special value. Hubert H. Humphrey, who went on to become a U.S. senator and later vice president, lived at 890 19th Ave. SE while he was mayor of Minneapolis in the mid-1940s. . . . |
2011 - Ridesharing has come to Como: The new car-sharing service is targeted toward student use
"Ridesharing has come to Como: The new car-sharing service is targeted toward student use." by Evelina Smirnitskaya, Minnesota Daily, January 24, 2011 excerpt - Out-of-the-way errands and lack of transportation are common problems for urban residents, but a new ridesharing program coming to the Southeast Como neighborhood could become a solution. Southeast Como Improvement Association is sponsoring an HourCar — a rental car sharing service — to be stationed at Van Cleve Park starting this week. HourCar, run by Neighborhood Energy Connection, a local nonprofit organization, is aimed at promoting energy efficiency and reducing pollution. . . |
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