This was saved as a draft and I have not been to the blog for sometime. I just read what I had to say and decided to publish it pretty much as it is (in otherwords I decided to at least attempt to spell check)
Not sure how to start this so I will just jump in........
I can't say enough about the wonderful people I have met here in Hawaii. I am trying to figure out how in the world I missed this place. With all the places in the world I have been including here two times, how could I have missed what Oahu has to offer or has something changed? Me or it.... Both previous experiences all I wanted to do was leave, now all I want to do is stay. By my previous post you know we are not staying in Waikiki, we are in Diamond Head. Waikiki is actually nice, I know the locals hate it and call it the concrete jungle etc., etc., but frankly I like it. Maybe I would not like it as much if I were actually staying in the middle of it but I remember it from previous times, and concrete jungle was very accurate then. Now it is green, charming, still some local color, it is not all Fende, Prada and Gucci. There are still ABC Stores and Aloha Sushi (This is a fabulous concept, fast food sushi, fresh and cheap) The Tiki Torches (gas now) going at night, palm trees, green grass and a warm welcoming atmosphere. Whats not to love? Expensive? No not really.
We did go to the Big Island, nice......maybe a bit boring. Except Hilo, it was a wonderful small city on the "rainy coast" but charming and real. Kona, not so much charming or real. Kona is more like a generic suburb you would find in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis....on and on and on. Kona is fine if you want to scuba, snorkel and rest. We visited Mauna Kea at 13,500 feet to see the observatories, now that was very cool or should I say cold. There was a bit of snow on the ground the temperature was 30F. We also visited the Volcanoes national park, not too much see, at least not much more than what you would see in Yellowstone. Some steam coming out of the ground and more lava fields, well most of the island is raw lava fields so you don't need to go to the park to see it. We were told to see flowing magma you had to rent a helicopter in Hilo. I would love to see magma flowing into the sea but my limited experience in helicopters was enough for me to have zero interest in that idea. In the end, two days was enough of the Big Island.
Aloha is a strange word and it has so many different meanings but they are all good, Hello, Goodbye it was fun and I look forward to seeing you again, Sure let me get that for you, Sure I will let you in this line ahead of me, I am happy to wait for you to cross the street, Sure I will give you room to change lanes in this bumper to bumper traffic, Have a wonderful day, Is there anything else I can get you, it goes on and on and on but again it is all good. People here say, "where is your Aloha?" when someone is rude or impatient. I wish I could clone this attitude back home. In Minneapolis it is hey a-holA way too much, well I will take the Aloha back home with me, maybe it will spread even just a bit.
There is a catch: The traffic here is horrendous, going 4 miles in rush hour (7:00 AM - 9:30 AM and again 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM) can easily take over an hour, how is this possible? This is what Bangkok is like. How can the stewards of a place that is so incredibly wonderful have messed this part of this place up so royally? Truly, I can't find anything else to complain about here except it is an 8 hour flight from Minneapolis.
UGH.............. 8 hours to Minneapolis, I get to do this one more time. This is Sunday night and Wednesday I have to board that plane back half way across the Pacific and half way across the US to Minneapolis. I am told there has been a little snow, maybe none of it stayed but you know it had to be cold for it to happen at all. I am not sure I am ready to go yet, but then maybe I never will be. We can't live in Paradise right? If we did it would no longer be paradise, it would then be home and for some reason the two cannot be the same right, or can it?
We are going for a nice walk in the balmy night to contemplate the culture shock of going home and to work.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Aloha
Here I am in Hawaii for a month of rest, relaxation and recharge.
As those of you who know me know, (that sounds weird but how else would I say that?)this has been on horrid year for me. On April 1st my Mom died after a long slide and incredible pain associated with osteoporosis. Add to that neglect. Now, don't get me started on this, I am still pissed off enough at a certain family member that could have helped but choose to sit by and withdraw, that I am afraid I will write something I might regret in 20 or 30 lifetimes.
Then 22 days later Dad who was in relative good health, followed Mom. His death is even more tragic, all he asked for was a little help from that same certain family member and that never happened either. So again, don't get me started.
If those of you who are reading this have not lost both your parents, let me tell you it is worse than you can imagine. Not a day goes by that I don't wish I could pick up the phone and call just to chat. And if anyone tells you it is easier if you are prepared, from my perspective, it is, the sudden unexpected one was much much harder.
Anyway, here I am trying to figure out what my place in the world is now. Why do I matter and what exactly does matter? I know I can't run from the world but I still think I am going to give it a go just to make sure.
I have rented this wonderful little cottage makai of Diamond Head. It was origionally the guest cottage of a famous Hawaiian family but the main house has been mostly demolished in preparation for a fantastic rebuild. This cottage was totally remodeled in the last two years with impeccable taste. Two bedrooms, one bath, kitchen and living room. The bath and kitchen have stone counter tops and floors and wonderful lighting. The rest of the house has new windows, french doors in each bedroom to private decks and another set of french doors from the living room to another deck. The Audio Visual equipment is top notch stuff with plasma screen TV and great sound on the CD/DVD player. Since there is a lot of land here there is also a nice little stone patio ringed by Tiki Torches. There is no water view but this privacy is worth not being able to see the water. The cottage is built on the side of a hill and part of one deck hangs out over the ravine that runs from the top of Diamond Head to the Pacific Ocean. Howard's cousin Karen moved here 37 years ago to teach school for a year and of course, being the wise one, she stayed, met and married a great guy named Eric. Eric was born and raised here and is 100% Japanese. Interesting that he has a name like Eric and a sister Susan and a brother Robert all 100%Japanese, I guess when they were born they had to assimilate as much as possible. I don't think the Japanese were all that welcome during the 50's. I have spent about 3 days of my first week with them. They are wonderful guides to the Hawaii that tourists don't see. Last Sunday they took me to a potluck, what a hoot that was. All the ladies in Hawaiian muumuu's and a lot of the men in Aloha shirts. This was Karen's church Choir group annual potluck. What an incredible bunch of folks, they all were so nice that I even agreed to help stuff envelopes last Tuesday at the church.
Last night Karen and Eric came over here for dinner. I brought my cooks books written by the Blanchards. I love those and the ingredients are easy to find here being this is another tropical climate. (I have written more on this twice and each time it was deleted by my hitting the wrong key, so this is the end of this topic for now. )
Today we went to the Aloha Stadium to the flea market, it was mostly new stuff. Frankly it was similar to Berlin New Jersey in some ways, a whole ton of the same thing over and over but without the cheesesteaks. Tomorrow is all used stuff so I am going back. Eric and Karen have taken me to little out of the way places that most people would never find. Of couse the normal stuff as well, today we went to Kmart and Boarders. Now that may sound awful but let me tell you, when you need Tiki Oil, where would you go, and the most recent issue of Travel and Leisure, again where?
You know you are in a different world when even the Boarders most currnt issue of Travel and Leisure is October. I think my December issue has probably arrived at home. The store employee did not seem at all surprised that last months issue was the only one they had.
As those of you who know me know, (that sounds weird but how else would I say that?)this has been on horrid year for me. On April 1st my Mom died after a long slide and incredible pain associated with osteoporosis. Add to that neglect. Now, don't get me started on this, I am still pissed off enough at a certain family member that could have helped but choose to sit by and withdraw, that I am afraid I will write something I might regret in 20 or 30 lifetimes.
Then 22 days later Dad who was in relative good health, followed Mom. His death is even more tragic, all he asked for was a little help from that same certain family member and that never happened either. So again, don't get me started.
If those of you who are reading this have not lost both your parents, let me tell you it is worse than you can imagine. Not a day goes by that I don't wish I could pick up the phone and call just to chat. And if anyone tells you it is easier if you are prepared, from my perspective, it is, the sudden unexpected one was much much harder.
Anyway, here I am trying to figure out what my place in the world is now. Why do I matter and what exactly does matter? I know I can't run from the world but I still think I am going to give it a go just to make sure.
I have rented this wonderful little cottage makai of Diamond Head. It was origionally the guest cottage of a famous Hawaiian family but the main house has been mostly demolished in preparation for a fantastic rebuild. This cottage was totally remodeled in the last two years with impeccable taste. Two bedrooms, one bath, kitchen and living room. The bath and kitchen have stone counter tops and floors and wonderful lighting. The rest of the house has new windows, french doors in each bedroom to private decks and another set of french doors from the living room to another deck. The Audio Visual equipment is top notch stuff with plasma screen TV and great sound on the CD/DVD player. Since there is a lot of land here there is also a nice little stone patio ringed by Tiki Torches. There is no water view but this privacy is worth not being able to see the water. The cottage is built on the side of a hill and part of one deck hangs out over the ravine that runs from the top of Diamond Head to the Pacific Ocean. Howard's cousin Karen moved here 37 years ago to teach school for a year and of course, being the wise one, she stayed, met and married a great guy named Eric. Eric was born and raised here and is 100% Japanese. Interesting that he has a name like Eric and a sister Susan and a brother Robert all 100%Japanese, I guess when they were born they had to assimilate as much as possible. I don't think the Japanese were all that welcome during the 50's. I have spent about 3 days of my first week with them. They are wonderful guides to the Hawaii that tourists don't see. Last Sunday they took me to a potluck, what a hoot that was. All the ladies in Hawaiian muumuu's and a lot of the men in Aloha shirts. This was Karen's church Choir group annual potluck. What an incredible bunch of folks, they all were so nice that I even agreed to help stuff envelopes last Tuesday at the church.
Last night Karen and Eric came over here for dinner. I brought my cooks books written by the Blanchards. I love those and the ingredients are easy to find here being this is another tropical climate. (I have written more on this twice and each time it was deleted by my hitting the wrong key, so this is the end of this topic for now. )
Today we went to the Aloha Stadium to the flea market, it was mostly new stuff. Frankly it was similar to Berlin New Jersey in some ways, a whole ton of the same thing over and over but without the cheesesteaks. Tomorrow is all used stuff so I am going back. Eric and Karen have taken me to little out of the way places that most people would never find. Of couse the normal stuff as well, today we went to Kmart and Boarders. Now that may sound awful but let me tell you, when you need Tiki Oil, where would you go, and the most recent issue of Travel and Leisure, again where?
You know you are in a different world when even the Boarders most currnt issue of Travel and Leisure is October. I think my December issue has probably arrived at home. The store employee did not seem at all surprised that last months issue was the only one they had.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
More on MNDOT and the I 35W bridge
Yesterday was an especially wonderful day me. First it was by birthday but that was not the good part. The wonderful part was that I received an invitation by Diane Hofstede, our city council member, to attend and participate in the Figg Bridge Design Charette. This was an all day event where the designers of the new I35W bridge presented the options and allowed us to discuss it, lobby each other in the room and then vote for our preference.
This was a rewarding experience especially for me since I have been all over the board on this thing. First I was curious, then anti bridge, then came acceptance of it being built and back to wanting something spectacular and back again to disappointment that it would be boring and finally to acceptance and now at least partial excitement. Do I need meds or what???
During the emotional roller coaster one of my fears has been that we would pull the typical Minnesota thing and miss the last field goal and end up with a boring bridge. I went to some meetings that confirmed my fears so I was against building it at all. I still think there are other options than rebuilding but the "not build" discussion never happened so I decided I might as well get used to that and see what they intend to build. Then they unveil this slab of BORING concrete. I wanted something like the Golden Gate. A monument to what I don't know but something beautiful that people would recognized like the Golden Gate, or the Sydney Opera House, or the Sears Tower, or the Empire State Building, the Guggenheim in Bilbao but no, this is Minnesota, we only deserve a slab of concrete. I think I need to clarify here, yes 12 folks were killed on that bridge. This was a direct result of neglect by our lovely Republican mentality of "cut everything we can, keep all the money we earn, screw everyone else as long as I get mine, government is a bad thing" mentality. People are killed everyday in our nations cities and I have yet to see a memorial to them, also innocent victims. So I ask, if there is to be a memorial to the lives lost on the bridge, why is there no memorial to the victims of violent crimes in our cities?
Next is the Third Ward Summit and Linda Figg of Figg Bridge Design and Jon Chiglo of MNDOT are there to present the concept of the new bridge and thoughts that went into it. I will have to say Jon Chiglo was incredibly patient in answering the relentless questions of why it has to be so BORING. Finally he made a statement that at least made sense to me, at least it was a thought process about design rather than just being cheap. I don't agree but at least it was thought out or at least they found a way to make it look thought out. Jon Chiglo said, with all the other art on the river; the Stone Arch Bridge, Guthrie Theater, Mill City Museum, Third Ave Bridge and Hennepin Ave Bridge, anything dramatic would over power the rest and fight the rest for attention. Okay, at least they appear to have thought about this and I will not have any effect in changing this line of thought. So it is what it is. Who said that Joan???
Then I get the invite to help select the subtle design elements of the bridge. Okay here is my chance to either shut up or put up, I put up. I counted at one time 54 folks in the room and many were non voters so in the end about 40 of us decided the finer details of the new bridge. Linda Figg did a great job, listened to what everyone said, answered questions when they were asked of her, otherwise the presentation, discussion and voting appeared to have no predetermined outcome. Needless to say they had their own preferences but still we were the ones to vote and make the final decisions.
Fox9 news interviewed me and of course typical of them, took the most sensational quote and used it. How did we end up with a media that no longer cares about facts and substance and only about sensationalism? This is the second time they have interviewed about something and then chopped until they had something sensational they could use. If asked I won't let them interview me again, lesson learned. A reporter from the Star Tribune also quoted me incorrectly. I was making a case at one point for a solid wall barrier rather than open railing on the bridge for two reasons. 1-Are you going to be viewing the river in heavy traffic, changing lanes and at 60 miles an hour? I hope not. 2-MNDOT has shown a complete lack of understanding that things need maintenance so why put up something that will be rusted and ugly in a short time? However after listening to other participants I changed my mind and said so publicly, but still they printed that I was for the solid wall. I guess I have to write a letter to the editor for that one. You sure can't believe what you read in the papers can you? I think it is all sensational BS.
In the end the bridge will be sleek, unobtrusive, with a lot of curves and hopefully some nice lighting to enhance the gentleness of it.
I just wonder what Jon Chiglo is thinking? Does he really feel his department is doing a good job or does he simply believe he is doing that best he can with the resources he has? I would love an honest conversation with him.
FYI: Still the signs downtown directing us to HWY 55 do not exist.
Last night we had a fundraiser for Diane Hofstede and the array of people who came was very interesting. We had 125-150 in our home for a couple of hours drinking, eating and talking. I asked our Senate Majority leader, Larry Pogemiller to check into this sign issue downtown even though it is not his issue, he promised he would. No one seems willing to take responsibility for this and it really is a problem that has a simple solution. The city says it is the responsibility of the county since the signs go on county roads, the county says it is the responsibility of the state since it is marking a state highway, how the hell does anyone ever get anything done, this I want to know? I should just get back to selling houses and forget this community agitation thing.
This was a rewarding experience especially for me since I have been all over the board on this thing. First I was curious, then anti bridge, then came acceptance of it being built and back to wanting something spectacular and back again to disappointment that it would be boring and finally to acceptance and now at least partial excitement. Do I need meds or what???
During the emotional roller coaster one of my fears has been that we would pull the typical Minnesota thing and miss the last field goal and end up with a boring bridge. I went to some meetings that confirmed my fears so I was against building it at all. I still think there are other options than rebuilding but the "not build" discussion never happened so I decided I might as well get used to that and see what they intend to build. Then they unveil this slab of BORING concrete. I wanted something like the Golden Gate. A monument to what I don't know but something beautiful that people would recognized like the Golden Gate, or the Sydney Opera House, or the Sears Tower, or the Empire State Building, the Guggenheim in Bilbao but no, this is Minnesota, we only deserve a slab of concrete. I think I need to clarify here, yes 12 folks were killed on that bridge. This was a direct result of neglect by our lovely Republican mentality of "cut everything we can, keep all the money we earn, screw everyone else as long as I get mine, government is a bad thing" mentality. People are killed everyday in our nations cities and I have yet to see a memorial to them, also innocent victims. So I ask, if there is to be a memorial to the lives lost on the bridge, why is there no memorial to the victims of violent crimes in our cities?
Next is the Third Ward Summit and Linda Figg of Figg Bridge Design and Jon Chiglo of MNDOT are there to present the concept of the new bridge and thoughts that went into it. I will have to say Jon Chiglo was incredibly patient in answering the relentless questions of why it has to be so BORING. Finally he made a statement that at least made sense to me, at least it was a thought process about design rather than just being cheap. I don't agree but at least it was thought out or at least they found a way to make it look thought out. Jon Chiglo said, with all the other art on the river; the Stone Arch Bridge, Guthrie Theater, Mill City Museum, Third Ave Bridge and Hennepin Ave Bridge, anything dramatic would over power the rest and fight the rest for attention. Okay, at least they appear to have thought about this and I will not have any effect in changing this line of thought. So it is what it is. Who said that Joan???
Then I get the invite to help select the subtle design elements of the bridge. Okay here is my chance to either shut up or put up, I put up. I counted at one time 54 folks in the room and many were non voters so in the end about 40 of us decided the finer details of the new bridge. Linda Figg did a great job, listened to what everyone said, answered questions when they were asked of her, otherwise the presentation, discussion and voting appeared to have no predetermined outcome. Needless to say they had their own preferences but still we were the ones to vote and make the final decisions.
Fox9 news interviewed me and of course typical of them, took the most sensational quote and used it. How did we end up with a media that no longer cares about facts and substance and only about sensationalism? This is the second time they have interviewed about something and then chopped until they had something sensational they could use. If asked I won't let them interview me again, lesson learned. A reporter from the Star Tribune also quoted me incorrectly. I was making a case at one point for a solid wall barrier rather than open railing on the bridge for two reasons. 1-Are you going to be viewing the river in heavy traffic, changing lanes and at 60 miles an hour? I hope not. 2-MNDOT has shown a complete lack of understanding that things need maintenance so why put up something that will be rusted and ugly in a short time? However after listening to other participants I changed my mind and said so publicly, but still they printed that I was for the solid wall. I guess I have to write a letter to the editor for that one. You sure can't believe what you read in the papers can you? I think it is all sensational BS.
In the end the bridge will be sleek, unobtrusive, with a lot of curves and hopefully some nice lighting to enhance the gentleness of it.
I just wonder what Jon Chiglo is thinking? Does he really feel his department is doing a good job or does he simply believe he is doing that best he can with the resources he has? I would love an honest conversation with him.
FYI: Still the signs downtown directing us to HWY 55 do not exist.
Last night we had a fundraiser for Diane Hofstede and the array of people who came was very interesting. We had 125-150 in our home for a couple of hours drinking, eating and talking. I asked our Senate Majority leader, Larry Pogemiller to check into this sign issue downtown even though it is not his issue, he promised he would. No one seems willing to take responsibility for this and it really is a problem that has a simple solution. The city says it is the responsibility of the county since the signs go on county roads, the county says it is the responsibility of the state since it is marking a state highway, how the hell does anyone ever get anything done, this I want to know? I should just get back to selling houses and forget this community agitation thing.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
More on MNDOT and their plan to control us
One thing that I have noticed is that MNDOT has become an agency of our government that is determined to force us to hate them. I can say this, they are incredibly successful at this at least, if nothing else.
Okay so you all know our bridge feel in the river due to neglect, right?
They held one community meeting after another to find out what they can do to make our lives easier during the time of adjustment. No bridge over the river means all those folks from Apple Valium that need to get to Blaine are driving through our peaceful riverside neighborhoods desperately trying to not get shot in the big bad city and still find their way back to the sameness of the burbs.
One of my comments at a "forum" that actually drew applause from the audience was "please fix the signs" "Especially if you are in downtown Minneapolis and want to find I94 going east or Hwy 55 going east, there are NO signs. Now you may think I am exaggerating...well I am telling you drive it, there are NO SIGNS AT ALL." Applause.
Now over a month later, actually almost two months later, guess what they did? You guessed it, they did what they could to confuse folks further. You see access to I94 is on 6th street a one way and access to Hwy55 is on 8th, a parallel one way. Still no signs on 6th directing you to I94 but if you make the mistake of going down 8th, there are signs pointing to the left directing you to I94, however it does not tell you after you follow the arrow that when you get to 6th you have found it and you need to turn right, Oh No, that would make sense and that is not in the lexicon of this department. Does this sound confusing and ignorant, well yes and no. Confusing yes, ignorant no. This is not considered ignorant at least not for a department that is housed in a building in St. Paul with 1200 pound sections of the siding ready to fall on passersby. To them this makes perfect sense. You can still drive down 8th street, enter hwy55 and go over a mile before there is a sign to tell you what road you are on. I am not kidding you. This is a modern American city in the 21st century.
Driving East on I94 in spaghetti junction there is a sign to switch lanes and exit for I35W, and then as soon as you do exit to the other portion of the freeway mess, guess what? Correct, there is a detour sign, back to where you just came from. Of course, makes sense to Who I don't know. Now all of this lane switching in such a congested area is not only stupid but unsafe, are they just trying to piss us off and maybe kill a few more folks? I hope they are not successful in killing more but they have been successful in pissing off some of us anyway.
Now coming in to downtown Minneapolis from HWY55 there were two signs directing you to get in the proper lanes for I35w. One is a huge one that easily covers three lanes of traffic the other is a simple one the size of a no a parking sign. Guess what????....that took a leap of guessing but yes you are right the big one is beyond the little one and the little is the only one covered, the big one is still there, visible from a great distance directing folks to I35w North, as soon as you get ready to make that exit or merge, the orange cones and road closed signs are telling you that you can't do what the sign just told you to do.
This is a grand plan to persuade us by confusing us and irritating us that we need this bridge to be rebuilt and as fast as possible, just in case we all find out that we really don't need it.
Needless to say I am not done on this subject and tomorrow will probably be more rantings and ravings on this topic. All I have to do is get in the car or walk down the street and MNDOT has the ability to piss me to the bone.
Okay so you all know our bridge feel in the river due to neglect, right?
They held one community meeting after another to find out what they can do to make our lives easier during the time of adjustment. No bridge over the river means all those folks from Apple Valium that need to get to Blaine are driving through our peaceful riverside neighborhoods desperately trying to not get shot in the big bad city and still find their way back to the sameness of the burbs.
One of my comments at a "forum" that actually drew applause from the audience was "please fix the signs" "Especially if you are in downtown Minneapolis and want to find I94 going east or Hwy 55 going east, there are NO signs. Now you may think I am exaggerating...well I am telling you drive it, there are NO SIGNS AT ALL." Applause.
Now over a month later, actually almost two months later, guess what they did? You guessed it, they did what they could to confuse folks further. You see access to I94 is on 6th street a one way and access to Hwy55 is on 8th, a parallel one way. Still no signs on 6th directing you to I94 but if you make the mistake of going down 8th, there are signs pointing to the left directing you to I94, however it does not tell you after you follow the arrow that when you get to 6th you have found it and you need to turn right, Oh No, that would make sense and that is not in the lexicon of this department. Does this sound confusing and ignorant, well yes and no. Confusing yes, ignorant no. This is not considered ignorant at least not for a department that is housed in a building in St. Paul with 1200 pound sections of the siding ready to fall on passersby. To them this makes perfect sense. You can still drive down 8th street, enter hwy55 and go over a mile before there is a sign to tell you what road you are on. I am not kidding you. This is a modern American city in the 21st century.
Driving East on I94 in spaghetti junction there is a sign to switch lanes and exit for I35W, and then as soon as you do exit to the other portion of the freeway mess, guess what? Correct, there is a detour sign, back to where you just came from. Of course, makes sense to Who I don't know. Now all of this lane switching in such a congested area is not only stupid but unsafe, are they just trying to piss us off and maybe kill a few more folks? I hope they are not successful in killing more but they have been successful in pissing off some of us anyway.
Now coming in to downtown Minneapolis from HWY55 there were two signs directing you to get in the proper lanes for I35w. One is a huge one that easily covers three lanes of traffic the other is a simple one the size of a no a parking sign. Guess what????....that took a leap of guessing but yes you are right the big one is beyond the little one and the little is the only one covered, the big one is still there, visible from a great distance directing folks to I35w North, as soon as you get ready to make that exit or merge, the orange cones and road closed signs are telling you that you can't do what the sign just told you to do.
This is a grand plan to persuade us by confusing us and irritating us that we need this bridge to be rebuilt and as fast as possible, just in case we all find out that we really don't need it.
Needless to say I am not done on this subject and tomorrow will probably be more rantings and ravings on this topic. All I have to do is get in the car or walk down the street and MNDOT has the ability to piss me to the bone.
Friday, October 5, 2007
What am I missing?
Here we go for another post on my new Blog.
Needless to say something is bugging me and it is this crazy bridge debate we are having here in Minneapolis.
When I say what am I missing what I mean is "why are we rebuilding this bridge in the first place?"I am assuming everyone reading this knows I live in Minneapolis a few blocks from the I35W bridge that fell in the river at the beginning of last month.
At first with the increased traffic here in the neighborhood after that bridge fell, I wanted that bridge rebuilt Immediately. Now I am not sure about that. From what I have been reading there are several examples of bridges or freeways around the country that have been torn down or fallen down and never rebuilt. The resulting construction and development boom have proven, that rebuilding this bridge is a mistake. San Francisco had a bridge or double decker freeway that fell during the last big shaker in 1991 I think and it was not rebuilt. San Fran is not economically depressed and as a result the area where that freeway was has been redeveloped and is now a vibrant community. We could certainly use another vibrant community in NE Minneapolis.
My questions are; has anyone making these decisions ever been to Europe? What European City has freeways running through the middle of them? We are told to save downtown Minneapolis we need these freeways, I just wonder what the European cities did to save their cities? I would say European cities have fared much much (how many times can I say much without the buzzers going off) better than US cities, I wonder why this is? Is it because they have better mass transit and using transit is considered a viable option to owning two or three cars? Is it the chicken and egg thing then? Granted transit in the US and Minnesota leaves a lot to be desired, but with Republicans in control, how can anyone expect anything else. Marie said "let them eat cake" the Republicans say "let them drive an SUV."
The cost for this bridge is now approaching $400,000,000.00 and you can bet by the time it is built that number will be $500,000,000.00
Are you ready for the best part of this. The department that is going to be in charge of rebuilding this bridge is housed in a state building that is literally, and I am not kidding or exaggerating here, falling down. There has been scaffolding around the entrance of the Minnesota Department of Transportation building in St. Paul for over a year so pieces of the building will not fall off on people who are entering the building. An no, they are not working on it now, it is just sitting there because they have no money to fix it. Now let me remind you, this is not Tirana Albania in 1980, this is St. Paul Minnesota USA in 2007. Shocking, well maybe not considering who is running things here. Carol Molneau (I am not sure if I spelled her name correctly but frankly she does not deserve the respect of the time it takes to look it up), with absolutely no experience at managing a transportation department if anything else but she is the Lt. Governor. We also have the wonderful Tax Payers League here that of course wants absolutely no money spent on anything for anyone at anytime for any reason what so ever. They loved that fact that Gov. Pawlenty decided to save money in state salaries by having his Lt. Governor be head of MNDOT rather than sitting around twiddling her thumbs which of course is what she did anyway. Brilliant plan as you can all see, we have bridges falling down, buildings that are unsafe to enter for fear of pieces of it falling on you and a department that is now BROKE. WOW, brilliant move Gov. Pooolenty. When Gov. Ventura left office there was a big surplus of money and a trust fund that is now all GONE.
So the question is, have we all totally lost our minds, have we lost the ability to see things clearly, can we not see the forest for the trees, how many more cliches can I think of that do NOT work here?
I would love comments...
I am told I should save this post before I publish, but I say what the hay, here it is.
Needless to say something is bugging me and it is this crazy bridge debate we are having here in Minneapolis.
When I say what am I missing what I mean is "why are we rebuilding this bridge in the first place?"I am assuming everyone reading this knows I live in Minneapolis a few blocks from the I35W bridge that fell in the river at the beginning of last month.
At first with the increased traffic here in the neighborhood after that bridge fell, I wanted that bridge rebuilt Immediately. Now I am not sure about that. From what I have been reading there are several examples of bridges or freeways around the country that have been torn down or fallen down and never rebuilt. The resulting construction and development boom have proven, that rebuilding this bridge is a mistake. San Francisco had a bridge or double decker freeway that fell during the last big shaker in 1991 I think and it was not rebuilt. San Fran is not economically depressed and as a result the area where that freeway was has been redeveloped and is now a vibrant community. We could certainly use another vibrant community in NE Minneapolis.
My questions are; has anyone making these decisions ever been to Europe? What European City has freeways running through the middle of them? We are told to save downtown Minneapolis we need these freeways, I just wonder what the European cities did to save their cities? I would say European cities have fared much much (how many times can I say much without the buzzers going off) better than US cities, I wonder why this is? Is it because they have better mass transit and using transit is considered a viable option to owning two or three cars? Is it the chicken and egg thing then? Granted transit in the US and Minnesota leaves a lot to be desired, but with Republicans in control, how can anyone expect anything else. Marie said "let them eat cake" the Republicans say "let them drive an SUV."
The cost for this bridge is now approaching $400,000,000.00 and you can bet by the time it is built that number will be $500,000,000.00
Are you ready for the best part of this. The department that is going to be in charge of rebuilding this bridge is housed in a state building that is literally, and I am not kidding or exaggerating here, falling down. There has been scaffolding around the entrance of the Minnesota Department of Transportation building in St. Paul for over a year so pieces of the building will not fall off on people who are entering the building. An no, they are not working on it now, it is just sitting there because they have no money to fix it. Now let me remind you, this is not Tirana Albania in 1980, this is St. Paul Minnesota USA in 2007. Shocking, well maybe not considering who is running things here. Carol Molneau (I am not sure if I spelled her name correctly but frankly she does not deserve the respect of the time it takes to look it up), with absolutely no experience at managing a transportation department if anything else but she is the Lt. Governor. We also have the wonderful Tax Payers League here that of course wants absolutely no money spent on anything for anyone at anytime for any reason what so ever. They loved that fact that Gov. Pawlenty decided to save money in state salaries by having his Lt. Governor be head of MNDOT rather than sitting around twiddling her thumbs which of course is what she did anyway. Brilliant plan as you can all see, we have bridges falling down, buildings that are unsafe to enter for fear of pieces of it falling on you and a department that is now BROKE. WOW, brilliant move Gov. Pooolenty. When Gov. Ventura left office there was a big surplus of money and a trust fund that is now all GONE.
So the question is, have we all totally lost our minds, have we lost the ability to see things clearly, can we not see the forest for the trees, how many more cliches can I think of that do NOT work here?
I would love comments...
I am told I should save this post before I publish, but I say what the hay, here it is.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
What a day to start a Blog!!
Vikings vs. Packers...UGH!!!
Why do we have to endure such un-sportsman like behavior? There was an actual fist fight in the stands toward the end of the game, one Viking fan valiantly trying to fight off several Packer fans.
Howard and I normally ride out bikes to the games but today with the weather we made the trek across the river in Howard's little GTI, paid $20 to park less than a 1/2 mile from our own garage, then we walked in the rain the final 8 blocks to the Hump Dome to watch the Vikings get their hind ends handed to them.
We left the game, a bit before the end but fully after there was no hope left, and had to walk in the pouring rain back to the car, what a fitting end to a disappointing day. What I can not understand is why the Vikings can't get their act together and make us proud, at least for one year?
Most of my posts will be political, I promise!!!
Should I name this blog rants and raves? I am told I can change it at anytime....we shall see!!!
Why do we have to endure such un-sportsman like behavior? There was an actual fist fight in the stands toward the end of the game, one Viking fan valiantly trying to fight off several Packer fans.
Howard and I normally ride out bikes to the games but today with the weather we made the trek across the river in Howard's little GTI, paid $20 to park less than a 1/2 mile from our own garage, then we walked in the rain the final 8 blocks to the Hump Dome to watch the Vikings get their hind ends handed to them.
We left the game, a bit before the end but fully after there was no hope left, and had to walk in the pouring rain back to the car, what a fitting end to a disappointing day. What I can not understand is why the Vikings can't get their act together and make us proud, at least for one year?
Most of my posts will be political, I promise!!!
Should I name this blog rants and raves? I am told I can change it at anytime....we shall see!!!
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