I'm Done

I don't know how things are in other places, but the neighborhood association here in the Wedge is a magnet for the unhinged; people who see vast conspiracies and corporate villains behind every Healy mansion. I'm not saying this describes the attitude of all participants, or even most. It's just far higher than what you see in the general population. I had assumed a city department called "Neighborhood and Community Relations" would also be familiar with this dynamic, and be careful not to encourage residents with overactive imaginations. I was wrong.

Tom Lyden, Legend of Local Journalism

Sometimes a series of Vines come together that deserve their own blog post. Our salute to Tom Lyden:

Wedge LIVE! Pledge DRIVE!

The Minneapolis Neighborhood and Community Relations department is spreading rumors about my potential "conflict of interest." This is based on all the pretend dollars I have extracted from my social media empire while serving on a neighborhood board (it may sound like a fishy arrangement, but I assure you there is no "there" there). I have contacted NCR Director David Rubedor, asking him to instruct the person he supervises to stop the rumor mongering. He has declined my request.

NCR's Rumor Mongering

Red squiggly boxes indicate inappropriate tweeting.

In my role as a person with a Twitter account and a seat on a neighborhood association board, I sometimes hear curious things about myself. One of these things involved the Neighborhood and Community Relations department, which oversees and assists Minneapolis neighborhood organizations. This prompted me to do a public records request. Many of the emails obtained in that records request are posted here.

Twitter Is Public.pdf

Below are emails to the Minneapolis' Neighborhood and Community Relations department referencing myself and/or "Wedge LIVE" in 2015, my first year as a LHENA Board Member. This is the case against me, complete with all .pdf and .png attachments. If you see red squiggly boxes around my pdf'd tweets, those were drawn by the Concerned Resident. As you read, please keep in mind this is the person to whom NCR felt it was appropriate to encourage with speculative questions about how I might be using my board position and tweets to enrich myself.

A History of Downzoning

The year is 1995. A landlord is renovating his triplex when a concerned neighbor appeals to the neighborhood association for help. The organization comes to the rescue, deciding¹ that "because the building has been vacant for over a year, the nonconforming use expires and the building should revert to a duplex." The neighborhood was Lowry Hill East. And that heroic concerned neighbor would go on to become the chairman of LHENA's 2004 rezoning subcommittee.

2015 Council Fundraising

2015 Minneapolis City Council fundraising

Minneapolis City Council campaign fundraising disclosures were due on February 1st. The Star Tribune ran an article about Council fundraising on February 5th. Council President Barb Johnson filed her report on February 8th. As a result there's not a single mention of Barb in the story. Pretty clever, Barb, but your tricks don't work on Wedge LIVE.