Borrowing Other Strategies in the Fight Against Sign Spam

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman

Ed Kohler at the Deets had an excellent post about combating sign spam.  In that post, various exchanges between the Hardest Working Lazy Guy blog and a sign spammer were documented, and elevated almost to an art form.  So when I came across the RCK Soul Food sign spam that was littered across NoMi this week, I looked to see if they had any online media that would allow for a similar exchange.

Yes, they do.

I posted a comment about having removed their litter ("Your illegally placed sign spam at the corner of Broadway and 94 has been removed. Please take down any other items."), and since my Facebook and Youtube accounts are linked, several friends saw the comment and removed even more sign spam.  The author of the video responded to my statement by saying..

Proposed Housing Changes Especially Harmful to NoMi

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photo from Johnny Northside.

Proposed changes to home mortgage guidelines could have far-reaching and unintended effects on the housing market in north Minneapolis and communities across the country.  Qualified Residential Mortgages, which have not gone into effect yet, would require lenders to adhere to certain standards when securitizing mortgages for the secondary market.  There are a bevy of such possible new rules, but the most controversial of them would require homeowners to come up with 20% down in order to qualify for market interest rates.

David Stephens, president of the Mortgage Bankers' Association, said the rules "could lead to 'long-term rental entrapment' for 'large numbers' of Americans who would need at least a decade to save for a 20 percent down payment."  According to the Heritage Foundation, only 16 percent of homebuyers in 2010 would have qualified for a mortgage if they had to come up with a 20% down payment.  Contrast that with the American Dream Survey by Trulia, where 47% of renters who plan on buying a home in the next two years say that CURRENT down payment issues are the primary barrier keeping them from buying sooner.

Locally, Alex Stenback of Behind the Mortgage writes that we can have a relatively accessible housing market with easier access to loans based on credit, down payment, and other factors; or we can have a relatively risk-free housing market with higher credit, down payment, and interest rate standards.  We can't have both.

In my corner of NoMi, a 20% down payment requirement would mean...

A Garden With My Name On It

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Anyone glancing at my Twitter feed can tell I'm on vacation this week.  And I'm largely taking a break from blogging while I'm away.  I sent The Deets an account of hotel toilet paper, but that's been the extent of it.  But before I left town, I distributed some trees from the EcoVillage Tree Nursery, and moseyed on over to the community garden by the Bangkok Market.  Our partners at EJAM (Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota) were kind enough to reserve a plot for me, and thoughtful enough to populate it with hot peppers.  They're not the hottest peppers one can find in a seed catalog, but they'll give me a start in learning how to tend these plants.

The peppers also serve as a reminder that even when one takes time to rest, the seeds we plant in our community continue to grow.

(Blogging from Culver City, CA)

Fighting Crime with Hula Hoops

Look at all the people who aren't in the alley...because they got arrested.

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Over the past two weeks or so, neighbors on the 2600 block of 3rd and 4th Street had noticed quite a bit of traffic coming and going from the alley by the castle townhomes.  The activity had all the hallmarks of something nefarious:  someone who was pretty clearly a lookout/sentry, high volumes of cars that never stay for more than a few minutes, and quick exchanges with the long white tee crowd hanging out on either side of the alley.

But what raised my suspicions was something else entirely.  I often walk past here when I go hula hooping at Farview Park.  And on my way there and back many of the neighborhood kids who play in the parking lot will ask to try out my hoop.  I give each of them a turn, and show the kids how to do some of the basic hooping moves.  After a few minutes of this, the sentry would come over and tell me to move along and not play with the children.  Now what's the one reason why someone wouldn't want me hula hooping with their kids?

That's right, drugs.

In case my impeccable logic isn't immediately clear, allow me to elaborate...

Kris Nelson of CURA Passed Away

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photo from the University of Minnesota.

Today I was deeply saddened to receive a phone call from a colleague at CURA, telling me that Kris Nelson passed away in his sleep last night.  Kris had touched community organizations and people's lives in countless ways.  I began working with him during my first summer on the job at Hawthorne, as we studied the pattern of "predatory investors" or speculators and slumlords who bought cheap properties throughout north Minneapolis and caused a large percentage of our foreclosures.

Kris taught me how to examine data that affected our community in real ways.  I learned how to frame questions and how to avoid jumping to the wrong conclusions.  We later worked together on studying how effective NCRC was in our foreclosure prevention outreach work in north.  The strategies that coalition employs are a direct result of Kris sharing his knowledge and leadership. 

Kris also understood that there are many things that neighbors intuitively know about our own community, but when the University of Minnesota puts is official stamp on research about those things, we can use that credibility to bring about true change.  Kris Nelson was "the real deal;" a leader, a servant, a mentor to many, and a genuine friend to communities across the Twin Cities.  He will be missed.

Long Term Problem Properties in Need of Impact Statements

Post and photos by the Hawthorne Hawkman.

Council member Diane Hofstede informed residents at the 3rd Ward CARE meeting that the Northside Food Market owners had not yet submitted architectural plans for how they will comply with the orders to rehab their property.  Instead, their plan appears to be an attempt to sue the city so that they can remain open for "business."  Business in this case means renting out the 466-square foot apartment to whoever will bring in a constant parade of drug deals, and then blame the drug dealing on the bus stop in front of the establishment.  A new round of community impact statements will certainly help keep Northside Food Market shut down until (if ever) the owners come up with a viable plan to address the problems associated with how the place has been run.

Astute readers will notice that the photo above is NOT of the Northside Food Market, but instead a picture of what may be the aesthetic nadir of the Hawthorne neighborhood; 2222 4th St N owned by Mahmood Khan; the property where Annshalike Hamilton's body was found.  Khan has defied both city orders and reasonable housing expectations time and time again here.  For instance, since the restoration agreement (which he has failed to meet) only said "new" carpet without specifying what "new" means, he apparently put in carpeting from a previous unit.  Don't even get me started on the windows.  (There are seven different kinds because if you can believe it, Khan was even less selective about windows than about the carpet.)

The city council will be taking up 2222 4th St N at 1:30 on Monday.  Once again, impact statements should be sent to Diane Hofstede, or people can call her office at 612-673-2203.

What was interesting about this picture was the door, which until this week...

LED Hooping at Farview

Post by the Hawthorne Hawkman, photo by Scottie Tuska.

One of my favorite artists is an illustrator by the name of David Mack.  Mack is most famous for his Kabuki graphic novel series, but also published long exposure photos where he made drawings using light.   Since then, I've been fascinated by the artistic combination of light, motion, and photography, and took my own similar shots at the Chicago Fire Arts Center opening.

Several hula hoopers got together last week and Scottie photographed us with the city skyline in the background.  This was the first attempt at such pictures, and there will likely be more.  The series can be found at his flickr account, and Scottie also has his own blog.