Event I Save the Date: Central Corridor Community Summit
Event I HIRE Minnesota Town Hall -- Sabathani Community Center
Event I Mad as Hell? Organize for Social Justice
Training I Housing Policy Leadership Training Action Alert I Keep the Buses Running Resource I Community Challenge2 X PRIZE Request for Proposals Resource I Roundtable Resource: The Intersection Between Electoral and Issue Organizing
Article I Twin Cities Mortgage Crises--the Racial Dimension
Article I Is Shovel-Ready Ready Enough?
Job Opportunity I Programs and Outreach Coordinator--West Broadway Coalition
Event I Save the Date: Central Corridor Community Summit March 7 & 8
Central Corridor Resource Center Over the past several years, community members, businesses and organizations have been asked to share their concerns about the impacts of the Central Corridor LRT project. From the loss of on-street parking to missing stations at Western, Victoria and Hamline, to gentrification and increases in neighborhood traffic, the issues are many and very real for those who live and work in the corridor.
The Saint Paul-Minneapolis Central Corridor Community Summit will join current work on these issues with new thinking from the community to create a comprehensive community vision, guiding principles, and action strategies that can be advanced with a unified voice. The ultimate goal is to use the outcomes of the summit to engage elected officials, the Metropolitan Council, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community stakeholders in the development of a written agreement that will coordinate efforts and hold everyone accountable for the future health and well-being of all our communities and businesses within the Central Corridor.
For more information, contact Carol Swenson of the District Councils Collaborative of Saint Paul and Minneapolis at 651.249.6877 or carol@dcc-stpaul-mpls.org. Back to top
Event I HIRE Minnesota Town Hall -- Sabathani Community Center
6:30 - 8:00 pm
Tuesday, March 10
Sabathani Community Center, Minneapolis
HIRE Minnesota aims to unite a variety of community voices in a campaign to grow our economy and produce thousands of jobs for low-income people and people of color in Minnesota. Come to this town hall meeting to learn how you can help HIRE Minnesota seek commitments for new jobs in green sectors and secure major commitments for job training for people of color. RSVP to let the Alliance know you'll be coming! Back to top
Event I Mad as Hell? Organize for Social Justice
May 21-24, 2009
Augsburg College, Minneapolis
Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed (PTO) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to challenge oppressive systems by promoting critical thinking and social justice. PTO organizes an annual meeting that focuses on the work of liberatory educators, activists, artists and community organizers. The theme of this year's conference is Mad as Hell? Now Move (or Draw, or Act...): Organizing for Social Justice. Participants will learn new community-building techniques for social justice, connect to various applied art tactics, engage with best practices in critical education and and learn about social justice in new ways. For more information and to register, click here. Back to top
Training I Housing Policy Leadership Training
The Public Policy Project and Changing the Face of Housing are offering a housing policy leadership training. Housing is a critical human need and public policy decisions have allowed for serious disparities in the availability, access and affordability of housing. This is an exciting learning opportunity for those who want to engage in the policy-making process. The training will give participants the knowledge they need to address housing policies that impact low-wealth communities, people of color and those affected by the nationwide foreclosure crises. The program consists of eight training sessions plus an eight-week applied practice field work experience. The registration deadline is February 27, 2009. Visit the Public Policy Project web site for more information on the training and registration. Back to top
Action Alert I Keep the Buses Running The metro area bus system faces a $45-60 million deficit over the next 2 years. We need to find pragmatic and winnable solutions to this dilemma. Please let our leaders know you want to keep the buses running! Attend a senate transit subcommittee meeting on the transit budget shortfall. Senator Scott Dibble, chair of the Senate transit subcommittee, and guests from the House of Representatives, will be holding community hearings in Minneapolis and Maplewood. Downtown Minneapolis: Wednesday, March 4, 5:00-7:00 pm. A-level auditorium, Hennepin County Government Center, 300 S. 6th Street. Maplewood: Thursday, March 5, 6:30-8:30 pm. City Council chambers, 1830 County Rd. B East. Please call Michelle Diblee at Transit for Livable Communities at 651-767-0298 to let her know you'll attend. Back to top
Resource I Community Challenge2 X PRIZE Request for Proposals
Changing the Face of Housing in Minnesota invites affordable housing, planning and community development organizations to submit proposals for its 2009-2012 Community Challenge2 X PRIZE. The goal of this prize is to inspire a new generation of effective multicultural organizations to have a lasting impact in increasing and retaining the participation of communities of color at all levels of housing production, planning, management, policy and decision-making. The competition will provide monetary awards to top organizations that successfully answer the challenge to create a multicultural organization. The deadline to apply is April 17. Back to top
Resource I Roundtable Resource: The Intersection Between Electoral and Issue Organizing The Alliance recently held an Organizer Roundtable that brought Twin Cities organizers together to discuss the Intersection of Electoral and Issue Organizing. This roundtable was an opportunity for organizers to share their recent successes in electoral organizing – and to discuss how to capture that energy in future issue-based campaigns. Click here to read a summary (PDF) of what was discussed at the roundtable. Back to top
Article I Twin Cities Mortgage Crises--the Racial Dimension
A new report by the Institute on Race and Poverty shows strong racial disparities in mortgage lending in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. In the Twin Cities, like the rest of the nation, people of color receive home loans on worse terms and at a higher cost than white borrowers. Communities in Crisis shows how much race and segregation influence mortgage lending patterns in the Twin Cities and recommends a multi-faceted approach to combating lending disparities. Back to top
Article I Is Shovel-Ready Ready Enough?
The recent frenzy surrounding the formulation of an economic stimulus package has injected a new phrase into the American lexicon — “shovel-ready,” or infrastructure projects that can begin on a fast timeline to create jobs as quickly as possible. But can all the infrastructure projects Congress included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 be truly shovel-ready, complete with plans, environmental review, permits and real estate acquisition? Probably not. This article from Citiwire examines historic examples of successfully fast-tracked projects, and the important lessons that should be applied to projects fast-tracked by the stimulus package. Back to top
Job Opportunity I Programs and Outreach Coordinator--West Broadway Coalition
The West Broadway Business and Area Coalition (WBC) provides services and performs functions with the goal of vitalizing West Broadway, the main commercial corridor of North Minneapolis. WBC is seeking a programs and outreach coordinator who will inform and engage business owners, property owners, community organizations, residents, and other interested parties in the projects, programs, and activities of the WBC. This position will coordinate and support the programs and services of WBC, with the goal of increasing involvement and interaction with the organization. The deadline to apply is February 20. Back to top
To contribute a news item for the next Metro Organizer, please contact Tracy Nordquist Babler at tracy@metrostability.org. Alliance for Metropolitan Stability I 2525 Franklin Ave E, Suite 200 I Minneapolis, MN 55406 I 612-332-4471 | 
