Wedge LIVE Has Moved!

Exciting news! The Wedge Times-Picayune has moved from Blogger to WordPress. Same address, new platform: head to wedgelive.com for continuing coverage. If you had previously subscribed to receive new posts via email, you will need to re-subscribe (subscription form is located on the right-hand sidebar).

Group Plans "Legal Action" Against Mpls 2040

Every great battle to keep more people out of a neighborhood ends in a frivolous lawsuit. The heated debate over the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan is no exception. The city's long-range plan is intended to help Minneapolis equitably accommodate the next 20 years of population growth by legalizing more homes across all parts of the city.

As things stand, it's currently illegal to build anything that's not a single-family home in most parts of Minneapolis. The 2040 plan was initially lauded by supporters for proposing to make it legal to build "fourplexes everywhere," but the city has since scaled back on that first draft. Despite the changes, a group called Minneapolis for Everyone remains staunchly opposed to the plan, equating it to a secretive scheme to "BULLDOZE" entire neighborhoods.

Credit: Tony Webster

On October 3, Minneapolis for Everyone sent an email announcing that "our friends at Smart Growth Minneapolis" were ready to initiate a "legal action." The group is demanding the City Council stop moving forward on the comprehensive plan, "until environmental impacts have been properly reviewed and the comprehensive plan is properly adjusted and planned for." In urban planning circles, "environmental impacts" is a technical term used by angry neighbors when they really just want to say, "Minneapolis has too many people already."

Inclusionary Zoning Debate Kicks off at City Hall

Read the report.

The Minneapolis City Planning Commission held a preliminary discussion about inclusionary zoning on Thursday night. Inclusionary zoning is a requirement that new apartment construction include a certain percentage of affordable units.

Until a permanent policy can be adopted, City Council President Lisa Bender wants to implement an interim policy alongside the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan. As outlined in a staff report, "The interim inclusionary housing ordinance would apply only to projects that propose a substantial increase in the allowable residential development capacity."

Rebecca Gagnon: Wrong for Minneapolis School Board

It has nothing to do with schools, but here's an under the radar story from last year that explains what's wrong with Rebecca Gagnon, who is running for re-election to the Minneapolis school board. It's a story about billboard regulations. How does a school board member get mixed up with billboard regulations? Up until this year, Gagnon had been the school board's representative on the City Planning Commission.

Irene Fernando for Hennepin County Board, District 2

It will be no surprise that I am endorsing Irene Fernando over Blong Yang for the open seat on the Hennepin County Board in District 2. There are many reasons you should vote for Irene Fernando, which you can read in the second half of this post. You're fortunate if you have the chance to vote for her. But first, I have unpleasant memories of Blong Yang in his previous job that I must share with you.

Quick Takes on the Revised Minneapolis 2040 Plan

Some news and notes in the wake of the city's revised draft of Minneapolis 2040

Mark Haase for Hennepin County Attorney

Wedge-brand apparel is available in the Wedge LIVE! store;
criminal justice reform is available on your ballot.

Mark Haase is running against longtime incumbent Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. If you're overlooking an important local race in 2018, it's probably this one. This one has the highest stakes. Elected prosecutors have a lot of power, and a lot of discretion in how they choose to use that power.

Over-Processed Minneapolis 2040 to Begin Next Step In Process

Lisa McDonald, a spokesperson for a group opposing the Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan said at a press conference earlier this week, "the City has failed to engage the community in any meaningful way." McDonald, who is also a former Minneapolis City Council Member, claimed Minneapolis officials "wrap their work in secrecy" and that there hasn't been an "honest accounting and summary of what citizens really said in online comments, emails, and meetings."

At a meeting of the East Harriet Farmstead Neighborhood Association yesterday, McDonald called City Council President Lisa Bender a "weenie" after Bender answered McDonald's question about an $80,000 PR contract. McDonald wasn't happy with Bender's explanation that city departments have the authority to enter into contracts under $100,000 without council involvement.

Here's a true thing: the city has published every written comment received about Minneapolis 2040 on their website. Every single comment. It's also true that Minneapolis 2040 has been a well-publicized and exhaustive multi-year process. My summary:

Dave Hutch for Hennepin County Sheriff

Dave Hutch is available on your ballot. "WEDGE" hat is available in the Wedge LIVE store.

Hennepin County Sheriff is a non-partisan office. But that only applies to what's printed on the ballot; the candidates really do have political affiliations.

Rich Stanek is the Trump-supporting, ICE-cooperating, Republican incumbent, who once admitted to using racial slurs while on the job. The admission about racial slurs came in a deposition when he was sued for police brutality (the case ended in a settlement). In 2006, Stanek used $30,000 in sheriff's office training funds to produce a "not-so-thinly-veiled campaign video," depicting events in the aftermath of the I-35 bridge collapse. In 2016, Stanek sent officers to North Dakota to assist in putting down the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

Dave Hutch is the DFL-endorsed challenger, a Metro Transit Police sergeant who works on the north side and surrounding suburbs. His official bio includes humanizing details like the fact that he lives in Bloomington with his husband and his dog. Left out of Dave Hutch's bio is the fact that he is not Rich Stanek, who, I should reiterate, is a pretty bad guy who supports Trump and a bunch of other hateful policies.

Angela Conley for Hennepin County Board, District 4

There's a lot of talk this year about Hennepin County never having had a person of color serve on the board. It's a big deal, if not surprising. It needs to change. But if you haven't entirely tuned into the campaign in District 4, you might have the false impression that the arguments here are entirely about identity. They're not.

Where is everyone going to live?

The forces of the housing status quo are sharpening their knives in advance of the release of Minneapolis 2040 Draft 2 ("Ban Cars Boogaloo," as Lisa McDonald might call it). As we begin a new chapter in this never-ending conversation, let's go back to the beginning.

First, you should know that the current zoning code in Minneapolis basically allows one of two things:

1. Big buildings and big developers
2. Tearing down a single-family home to build a single-family mansion

We're missing all those homes in the middle ("the Missing Middle"). That's why the battle over fourplexes is relevant. Fourplexes are the homes we used to build, but don't anymore because we made it illegal nearly everywhere. People still live in them. (Some say it's an alternative lifestyle, as documented by the Star Tribune.)

Local Elections are Happening in 2018

We're less than two months from election day on November 6. As you're likely aware, this is a pretty important national election. A great way to get involved during this critical time is with a local campaign. Turning out voters for local DFL candidates (as the Democratic Party is known in Minnesota) means you've likely turned out votes for Democratic candidates all the way up the ballot: for governor, the state legislature, and US House and Senate races.

If you live in Minneapolis, the most consequential 2018 races are for offices in Hennepin County. If you care about policing, there's the sheriff's race. If you care about criminal justice issues, there's the county attorney. If you care about housing, transit, health care, and human services, there are two competitive races for the Hennepin County Board, which controls a massive budget of $2.4 billion (for context, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey recently proposed a 2019 budget of $1.6 billion). You should find a reason to feel strongly about one or more of the candidates below. They need your help over the next two months.

Minneapolis 2040 is back!

Minneapolis 2040 is back! In just a few weeks a second draft of the proposed comprehensive plan will be released by the city. This is a big important document guiding future decisions on street design, housing, land use, and job access.

Neighbors Sue to Stop Apartments at 36th and Bryant

The immediate neighbors to a recently approved 41-unit apartment project at 3612/16 Bryant Ave S have notified the City of Minneapolis of their intent to file a lawsuit in order to stop construction. [Read the complaint.]

The apartments, located near a transit and commercial corridor at 36th and Bryant, were approved by the City Planning Commission on April 23. Neighbors of the project, led by Steven Verdoorn, appealed that decision to the City Council. That appeal was denied in May. Verdoorn is also one of the plaintiff's behind the lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that the apartment proposal approved by the city council "represents a substantial change in the character of the neighborhood and is a substantial detriment to neighboring properties." There are three four-story buildings directly across the street from the site. There's a seven-story building a half-block north.

The complaint also alleges, among other things, that the city "abused its discretion" because "the density approved was more than three times the maximum required by the comprehensive plan."

My statement on the legal process to defend Wedge LIVE!

Wedge LIVE! anchor and managing editor John Edwards (and his newsbike).

Hi! I'm John Edwards. For the past four years I have been producer, writer, and all-around content creator for Wedge LIVE, a hyperlocal news source based in the Wedge neighborhood of  Minneapolis (Twitter , Facebook , YouTube , wedgelive.com). In addition to general political coverage and analysis focusing on Minneapolis and St. Paul, I report on local housing and zoning issues in detail: attending neighborhood meetings, livetweeting planning meetings, and producing video content that I hope is both entertaining and educational.

On August 10, a longtime Minneapolis elected official named Carol Becker, who I have at times been critical of, filed multiple applications with both the state and federal government in an attempt to secure rights to the name "Wedge Live."  I believe this was an effort to shut down my platform and steal the identity by which the community has come to know me. Lacking a clear understanding of trademark law, I was initially afraid I'd had my identity stolen out from under me.

If you're wondering -- just as I initially wondered -- whether any of this is legal, here's what a law professor said about Becker's actions in the Star Tribune: "That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works. You don’t get to steal someone’s brand out from under them by filing an application for registration — especially one that doesn’t have any use for it yet." While she has temporarily withdrawn her applications, Becker has vowed to do this all over again in six months  (and has started comparing me to Nazis on a local internet forum).

Becker has put forward competing explanations for why she's doing this, sometimes saying that acquiring the name would be a good business opportunity: “I think they’re worth money and I think I could make some money off of them."  At other times she's said she wants to use it as leverage to force me to change how I operate Wedge LIVE!: “I don’t know any other way to get through to [Edwards]."  Becker has also used language indicating that she is just one person among a larger group seeking to take my name:  "Becker repeatedly used the word 'we' while describing her efforts to file the business and trademark registrations."

I believe this, or something similar, is likely to happen again. If it's not Carol Becker, it will be someone with similar aims. So I have begun a legal process. While I will continue to make jokes about this ridiculous situation, I'm also taking my position very seriously. I will do everything in my power to defend myself. I will not leave myself vulnerable to a person, or group of people, with the money and motivation to engage in an unlawful effort to shut down the platform I've spent more than four years building.

SUPPORT WEDGE LIVE!

I'm starting this fund because people have asked me for a way to support Wedge LIVE! during this time (aside from a monthly Patreon contribution). I don't entirely know what to expect from the legal process ahead, but I want to be prepared for it. To everyone who has asked how they can help: Thank you.

Read my complaint against Carol Becker.

Local news coverage of this situation:
Tony Webster
Star Tribune
City Pages
Pioneer Press
Pioneer Press
Star Tribune, Letters to the Editor

The Shape of the Minneapolis Inclusionary Zoning Debate

City Council President Lisa Bender

Inclusionary zoning is an umbrella term for a wide range of policies designed to encourage or require the inclusion of affordable units in new housing construction. Here are three example scenarios from yesterday's presentation to the Minneapolis City Council's Housing Policy and Development Committee:

Carol Becker vows to come back to take "Wedge LIVE!" in 6 months

Maybe you've heard: a local elected official named Carol Becker is "behind an effort to file business and trademark registrations for Wedge LIVE!" (which is me, the guy you're reading right now). Becker currently serves as President of the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation. This appears to be an unlawful effort to shut down speech she doesn't like.

After a weekend of backlash, Becker indicated in a forum posting that she will temporarily back off. She said she "will be back in about six months" to try and take possession of the name "Wedge Live."

It is my intention to take steps in the meantime that would prevent her from doing that. Here's a countdown clock so we can all prepare.

Countdown to CarolCountdown

MN House 62A Endorsement: Jen Kader

My first impression of District 62A candidate Jen Kader has stuck with me since watching her at a candidate forum back in January. Jen is among a handful of first-time candidates competing in 62A, and she stood out as far and away the most prepared person on that stage. It's the mark of someone who has been working on -- and passionate about -- the issues since long before she considered becoming a candidate.

St. Paul City Council, Ward 4 Endorsement: Mitra Jalali Nelson

I got up early last Sunday and traveled from the Wedge to St. Paul's Ward 4 to spend the morning with City Council candidate Mitra Jalali Nelson. The next day I watched her answer questions at a 90-minute forum. I worried this was too much time to spend, and in such a short period, with a stranger I met on the internet who only wears pink pants.

But I learned a few important things. Mitra is unreservedly pro-city, pro-housing and pro-transit. She's a renter who chose her apartment because she wanted to live on the light rail in a vibrant neighborhood. She wants a city budget that invests in people -- in things like rec centers -- rather than hiring more cops. She's called for funding the remainder of the St. Paul bike plan. She feels a sense of urgency about passing a minimum wage ordinance right away, without exceptions or carve-outs, because "it's time to pour cement under our feet of sinking wages." She's thoughtful, she's compelling, she's experienced. I understand why such a broad and diverse coalition of people have been drawn to help get her elected.

Meet the Wedge: Mitra Jalali Nelson

Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to speak with Mitra Jalali Nelson, who is running for City Council in St. Paul's Ward 4. I came to St. Paul loaded with the ultimate gotcha question, which turned suddenly into two gotcha questions. By the end of the interview Mitra had got gotten. Below is that portion of our conversation (read my endorsement of Mitra here).