This is a dark day in Duluth's history. Closing libraries???? These cuts are impacting our young more than anything, they're losing safe places to go, to read, to learn about the world around them. I remember when the city of Salinas, Calif. closed all of their libraries. There was a hue and cry, and people there scraped together the funds to re-open the libraries. A city without libraries in the United States of America? This is sad, to me, that's the beginning of the end, and this kind of action is going to have an impact far into the future.

i don't live in duluth anymore but from an outsider's point of view, ness seemed like a good thing. do duluthians think he's going too far to balance the budget? is he actually a bad thing?

Claire, if you have any ideas for keeping the branches open, count me in.

this is indeed bad...

Yeah, if there's anything to be done, count me in. The library book sale is coming up next week, and I suppose I could buy $50 worth of books instead of my usual ~$30, but I don't think that would make much of an appreciable difference...

letters to the editor, calls to the mayor, calls to the councilors, make a site (savedpl.org) and collect signatures. We need to make as much noise as possible, I have already started my calls.

I've got an idea. How about we make it easier for businesses to open up in Duluth. That way we'll have more revenue for things like libraries.

I know. I'm crazy.

Before Don Ness was mayor he always talked about ways to keep the younger people in the city.The problem was most people got their degree and moved to Minneapolis or somewhere else to get jobs.
It of course would be great to get more businesses in the city. But, closing the libraries and other community services will only be another reason for businesses not to come to Duluth. By Ness taking steps like this, he is going to turn Duluth into a ghost town.

Closing libraries is truly the saddest news of the year. All of this is because of the unions and the health insurance companies. It is horrible that the effects of the health care industry are now effecting us all in this way. Part-time workers and temps everywhere... What a future we are leaving for the next generation and young people of this country. Too bad neither candidate is addressing the real issues.

And... what kind of world do we live in where we have to pay $300 million to close schools and can't afford libraries.

When you contact your councilor/mayor let them know you want to preserve services AND that you are willing to pay for it. They don't often hear the second part.

By a rough calculation, the city needs to take in an extra $20 a month from every Duluth household (not counting very low income households). That would cover the current $6.5 million city budget shortfall. This isn't reaching for the stars, just routine maintenance. Or neglect it, and get the civic equivalent of a thousand dollar car. Either way you pay.

Close down the fucking Aquarium before you close down a LIBRARY! Aquarium, fish and lots of plastic crap. Library, books, newspapers, the world. I just feel like the tourist stuff is left untouched, while the services for the young and the poor is being cut. I'm pretty pissed about this, as you can see, my local library just about saved my life when I was a kid and needed to get away from my much-too-boisterous family and read in peace. I know so many people who tell me the same thing, that libraries saved their lives. I feel a letter to the powers-that-be and to the editor coming on. I urge everyone for whom libraries provided a refuge when they were young and I KNOW you are out there, to write to our city leaders and to the DNT and to express their views. Our kids's futures depend on it. I told my kid Mt Royal is shutting down for the rest of the year. She is devastated. If I'd told her the Aquarium was shutting down, she'd shrug her shoulders, it'd be no big deal.

How long has that library been in Mount Royal?

I was pretty sad to leave Duluth for Superior when I got married, but as I continue to watch the politics in Duluth, I'm actually relieved I don't live there anymore. I actually have a lot of sympathy for Don Ness. The city can't operate on a continuous deficit, the police and fire unions (and retirees) have his hands tied, and he's expected to find a way out of this without cutting jobs and closing services. I agree that it's a sad day when libraries are closed, but I doubt people would be willing to live with tax increases every year to keep things going. Good luck, Duluthians. I think you're going to need it.

That really blows for Duluth--any time a town loses access to an information/community hub like that, it's a shame.

And I don't want to dog on the aquarium, but I do think that attracts less repeat business than the libraries, as far as the locals go, at least...

This makes me want to go into my library over here in Ashland & give it a hug. Or a donation or something. If anything ever happens to our multi-county library system over here, I'll go bonkers.

I love it! exactly what we conservatives have been saying all along is actually happening now. and now even the undecicive liberals cant trust each other. if you want real change with real results, all you stupid voters in Duluth should of voted for Bell. Ness and his Beaners and Pizza Luce' hippy thinking is going to get us in real troble. The library closings will be nothing compared whats coming.

umm, hate to burst your "i told you so" bubble but something tells me that things like this would have happened regardless of who was in office. Bell just would have made the cuts and closing a lot sooner than Ness did. Blaming the voting populace is misdirected as the majority of the problems stem from the ineptitude and corruption of past administrations (Fedo, Doty, et al) that weren't voted in by the people you blame.

umm claire, before you go spewing off about the aquarium you'd better get some facts & numbers straight. maybe do some research. most folks who complain about the aquarium have no clue about what's going on. the $300,00 we get from the city (now $200,00) comes out of the TOURISM TAX. that won't help the library because the library is not a TOURIST ATTRACTION. the revenue generated is around one million and a large chunk of that goes back into the local economy via payroll & local vendors. not to mention all the money that the TOURISTS spend on hotels, resturaunts and other TOURIST ATTRACTIONS. it would also cost about a million dollars and take about a year to close it down. minimal staff would still have to be employed because you can't just euthanize all the animals and fish, shut off the buildings utilites and say good riddance. the state bonding issue would leave a bad mark on duluth and when asking for further bonds and the legislature would probably say fuck off. which is really what i want to say but i'm much more civil than that.

Yeah- the aquarium is an entirely different kettle of fish! I'm willing to pay my fair share for libraries and other city services. Raise my taxes (property taxes, that is) an additional .5 to 2% just for ancillary services like the library and parks. Businesses could step up to the plate and pay an additional 6%. Ever since Reagan, we've destroyed market capitalism by skewing the burden onto the middle class and poor, while letting wealthiest off the hook. For those of you who say I'm fomenting class warfare- sorry, that war is over and the rich people won. Time to bust the myth about who is doing the heavy lifting in our economy. (If you still haven't figured it out, it's the working class!)

my question is if the "i told you so's" were so certain that they were going to tell us so, why didn't they do more to prevent things from happening?

If Bell would've done it better, why didn't you do more to elect him? The "not enough money" argument is a pretty crappy scapegoat excuse. It's true that the DFL holds a majority in this city, but it's a slim majority. Remember the margins by which Bergson won his election. Rather slim, wasn't it? The misstep of the conservative step was not building on that slim difference to sway the populace into Bell's camp. The conservatives have only themselves to blame in this situation. They allowed an opportunity to slip away from them. Nothing like blowing a one run lead by letting your go-ahead batter strike out when the bases are loaded.

wait...by NOT striking out the go-ahead batter when the bases are loaded.

Let's teach the Firefighters the Dewey Decimal System and have them shelve books when their are no fires!

I actually think that's a great idea SF. In fact, this could be used in number of different areas to save some money. Let's get our teachers to run sanding trucks as a start.

Again...does anyone know when the Mount Royal Library opened?

Wel, after Fedo and Doty screwed over the city for 20 years, not much to do about it now.

All Doty seemed interested in was building a golf course - anyone want to speculate how much his kickback was going to be?

This 'employee retirement health care' thing is such a crock. Sorry, the city can't afford it - give it up and renegotiate, or have fun trying to get your health care from the city's bankruptcy administrator.

"All this is because of the unions and the health insurance companies"-Andrew O. Hey Andrew , areas with higher union membership have a higher quality of life and a higher average wage. With more unions we'll have a larger tax base to pay for city employee benefits.I agree that health insurance companies suck. Only single payer insurance for all will solve the health care crisis. And public health programs actually have 1/10th of the administration costs as private plans.One other thing about unions- they're a democratizing force in the workplace. That's why authoritarians hate them.

Danny:

"The Mt. Royal Branch Library opened in 1998 following the closing of two old, small Carnegie buildings: Woodland Branch Library and Lester Park Branch Library."

this from the library website

Sell the aquarium to Red Lobster, let them do what they will with the building and the fishes, and turn yet another library or school (public building) into apartments for low rent, muah, ha, ha ;) Looking forward to a new varied menu at good 'ol Red.

Joking aside, I think zra is right in that Ness' hands are tied. Anyone in office would probably have to do the same thing.

The collective intellectual value of the branch libraries will be sadly missed, but I certainly got by when I was young and forced to go to the main library to read.

I'm not sure why they would sell books, though. They'll eventually just have to buy them again, or continually make use of interlibrary loans.

Also, our public transit system is the envy of many other cities. Maybe, just take a bus downtown if you want to learn.

P.S. I should remind people that ever since I grew up in Duluth, they would, and still continue to, drop schools for living space. Maybe that's the future of the branch library buildings?

Bell lost the election, both times, because, he does not posess the most critical skill to get elected in our current society: The ability to look good on television.
It is pretty sad that our political leaders are chosen this way. One wonders how the great leaders of the past would have done. Would Washington, Jefferson or Lincoln looked good on television?

You forget Benjamin Franklin :)

I forget my history lessons, but wasn't he seen as some stupid backwoods American when he was in France? I have no official record of that, but I seem to recall people of europe viewing him as "unkempt". He refused to where a wig in court sessions, or something.

Not photo friendly, apparently.

Uh, Bell lost the election because not enough mouthbreathers responded to his racist dogwhistle. And his secret plan to improve the city seemed to involve giving business whatever it wanted, which has been tried (and failed) at the national level for the past 8 years, with many of those years having Republicans control all three branches of government, and it just didn't look great enough to vote for, hard as he tried blowing that dogwhistle.

It is pretty childish way to argue to brand anyone who you disagree with as being racist. Race is not the issue here. Besides, race problems in Duluth stem more from a lack of diversity in different races than people actually being truely racist.

The Mayoral office is a Non-Partisam position. So party politics should not be a part of the decision. With that said, we have had a Democrat as the Duluth Mayor for over 30+ years. Using your logic, we should be an island of Utopian bliss.
The extreme end of both ways of thinking does not work. If socialism worked the Soviet Union would still exist and China would be a different place.
Could someone explain to me what good the 4 years of the Bergson administration do for the city?
I actaully like have people from both sides in power to have some balance and keep things running on an even keel. The fact that we have had a democrat as mayor for so long is the biggest issue with me.

Gary Doty was not a Democrat. He used the label, but none of his policies were even close to a Democratic position. He opposed gay rights, and refused to acknowledge the GLBT events in town. He did not embrace diversity. He was a pawn of monied interests. I agree that the office of Mayor should be non partisan. But, don't assume that because Doty called himself a Democrat that he really was one. There is very little in what he did that resembles Democratic policies on any level. Sure, he let the union contracts ride, even when he knew we were running out of money and couldn't afford them. But, he did that to get AFSCME support at election time.

Doty was a democrat in name only. He got the labor endorsement (his dad was a union boss) when the local DFL was trying to figure out what to do with the recently acquitted Fedo. During his entire tenure, Doty worked hand-in-hand with the Chamber of Commerce and greased the wheels for all manner of Republican causes. He's a conservative Baptist for crying out loud! As for Bell being a racist, only he in his heart-of-hearts knows. But during the mayoral campaign it did not help his case to refer to recent arrivals to Duluth (aka- not white) as the reason for increasing crime and other "problems" that the city faced. But back to the issue at hand. Neanderthal governor Ventura wiped out the state's rainy-day fund because he didn't want to pay so much for the license renewal for his Porshe. Republican governor Pawlenty (bought and paid for by the anti-government group called the "taxpayers league.") eliminated almost all of the Local Government Aid the State used to provide to balance the needs of non-metro cities with that of the Twin Cities. In addition, the State changed the way it required individual cities do their accounting, thus forcing the city to add cost projections of retiree health care costs to the annual balance sheet. Yes, we do in fact owe that debt, but it is the way it is reflected in our accounting (think accrual versus cash) that has caused the huge disparity between revenue and expenses. So here we are with a shortfall forcing Mayor Ness to come up with some way to balance the budget. Tragically, all of our leaders need to worship at the anti-tax (aka anti-government) altar of the Chamber of Commerce and the Republicans. Balance my ass. Until we shame and/or deport every stupid fucking republican in this country into oblivion, so-called "balance" will only lead us further down the path of 3rd world status.

Name one country, region or city that has actually prospered by increasing taxes?
The problem with Duluth is that at one time we had 100,000 people in the city and now we have 80,000. With a declining population, people expected to keep the same level of services as before.
It really does not matter if one is a Democrat, Republican or a Neanderthal. We are all in this together and need to work together for what is best for our community.
If you increase taxes too much, businesses will not locate here. They will go someplace where the taxes are lower.
Actually, if you look at things, the USA is winning the global war of success.
Watch the Olympics this week. Do you see very many signs in the background not written in English?
3rd world status? Hardly. We actually have a system of laws that do get followed most of the time.
Look at Africa, most of the countries there are doing poorly because of governmet corruption.

Race, really, seems as good a place to start as any, no?

And Doty was in office for 12 years, lummox.

01110100 01110010 01101111 01101100 01101100

Troll? That's Great.
Highest and best use of the aquarium is to give it to UMD as a research center for fresh water issues and a home for the Blue Heron (I can't wait to see what happens when you all read this).
Duluth could become the Woods Hole of fresh water.

It was pretty childish of Bell to have said a racist thing that I, and the facts, disagreed with.

And what we need are more, and better, Democrats. Count me among those who is thrilled to see the DNC finally lurching into a more progressive era after years of playing to the middle (read: the right) and losing. Conservatism is a degenerate philosophy destined for the ashpit of history. Good riddance.

Tax the rich and give me free health care. That's what I want and it looks like I'm going to get it, too. You can refuse the free health care the Obama administration is about to offer you if you want. But after the Bush administration gave the rich and the corporations everything they wanted, you can only say the USA is currently winning the global war of success if you have no sense of irony whatsoever! Christ!

another armchair quarterback who know's what's best for the aquarium. bone up on yer facts carla. you can't just "give" the aquarium away. it's way more complicated than that. jeebus h christ on a cross i am so sick of this shit. stick to slinging hash why don't you.

Yes. UMD clearly needs more handouts.

The highest and best use of the Aquarium would actually be...an indoor water park for humans. How cool would that be?

It already has the plumbing and infrastructure. People (tourists and locals alike) LOVE indoor waterparks, especially in cold climates.

Sheez, C-Freak, sounds like you've been spending too much time over at DCB or something, jumping down people's throats just b/c many of us think the Aquarium is a boondoggle and you may not. Whatever. Anyway, I admit it, I don't know shit about the aquarium, and I don't care to know about it. I've been there twice, I think. My earlier "spewing" if you will re-read it a little more carefully, has more to do more than anything else with my distress over *essential* services being cut that will have an impact upon this city's poor and its children. I regard the library as an essential service. You may not. And of course, yes, we're comparing apples and oranges here -- essential city services vs. tourist attractions. OK, so we can't close down the Aquarium. Fine. But I will reiterate that it's a sad day in this city when we cannot provide essential services to our youngest and to disenfranchised residents. But years of 'let's throw money at this!' and 'let's throw money at that' will do it. Plus, Tim K has it right, about state aid going to the Cities, while the non-metro areas scramble for crumbs. Ironically, Mlps has a brand spanking new, multi-million Main Library downtown that is the envy of bibliophiles everywhere, while Duluth cuts hours and closes branches.

es·sen·tial
–adjective 1. absolutely necessary; indispensable: Discipline is essential in an army.
2. pertaining to or constituting the essence of a thing.
3. noting or containing an essence of a plant, drug, etc.
4. being such by its very nature or in the highest sense; natural; spontaneous: essential happiness.

Sorry, but, I think you guys are taking my comments out of context. Probably, because I just typed a couple of quick posts and I did not frame them in the right context. Things which are true in Duluth are not true in the rest of the world and vice versa.

The race thing. You have to look at race issues differently in Duluth than in the rest of the country. Why? In Duluth minorities are a smaller percentage than in pretty much the rest of the country. When minorities only make up 10 percent or less of a population the issues of racism are different than someplace where the minorites are 40% or higher. In Duluth it is possible to go through one's entire day and not see a non white person. People are then prone to being racist because they never encounter anyone different from them. That is a lot different that when a society puts down almost half of the population because they are a different color.
Often I go places in Duluth and there are a couple of hundered white people and one or two people who are not white.

Run the numbers, there are not enough rich people to tax and pay for health care.

In regards to this subject's main post, here is the definition of PATRON:
a person who is a customer, client, or paying guest, esp. a regular one, of a store, hotel, or the like.

Sounds to me like somebody is not spending enough time at the library.

There are plenty of rich people and corporations who pay little or no taxes. If the tax code were written in a more progressive manner, I would pay less than say Dow Chemical- which got a freakin' refund last year! The GAO recently concluded that almost 60% of corporate entities paid no taxes in 2004 (year the study was done). And NO, they weren't counting non-profit organizations and institutions that are already exempt. It was for-profit corporations! WTF!!

No, C-Freak - you are wrong. It could be given to UMD

If you are a white person in a white area and blame crime on "people who don't look like us," then you have blown a racist dogwhistle. If it was done "innocently" (i.e. with an old-fashioned ignorance) then it still makes you a prejudiced knee-jerk xenophobe. If you are running for Mayor and stand to gain if your remarks motivate a white majority to turn out and vote their fears of brown people, then you are ipso facto being racist, even if you have black friends. In other words it is the same old conservative baloney no matter what regional white power structure you inhabit. And it's too bad because everyone seems to think he's a nice guy and a great humanitarian but I am so glad we could give the smackdown to that sort of garbage. I don't worship Ness but he was so obviously the most progressive choice and I respect that he has to make some hard decisions.

Did Bell actually say "people who don't look like us"? What was the exact quote?

uhh, carla: c-freak knows a little more about what she's talking about concerning the aquarium than just about everyone here. i'd quit while she's ahead. that's an argument you just can't win.

Danny, what's your problem--you're debating vocabulary now? "Patron" is the commonly accepted term for a person who uses a library. If you click around the Duluth Public Library website, you will see references to "patron account" etc. When I worked at a library in college, "patron" was the term we used there. If you google "library patron" you get 78,800 hits. What do you suggest using instead of "patron"?

If your problem is with the "paying" part of your definition, library patrons *do* pay for services rendered, largely through taxes, and to a smaller extent through overdue fines, donations, etc. I for one would happily pay more taxes or would make a donation directly to the library if it meant keeping the branch libraries open, and I think there's a lot of other people in Duluth who feel the same way. I don't think there's anyone arguing that we should have everything we want without paying for it.

Danny,

Go outside. Turn off your computer. Talk to a real person - face to face.

Love,

Your Mom

Sonya. Lighten up. I was just teasing my lady Claire a bit.

As I recall, Bell said something about gangs composed of minorities moving into Duluth and raising the crime rate.
Bell did not intended to say minorities were the problem, but rather the criminal element of the gangs. The TV soundbite made it sound more like he was blaming the minorities.

It's true that there is no way to save money now with the aquarium. So there is nothing to do about it. But, it should have never been built in the first place. It has not added money than it has taken away. It is just one of the many bad decisions that have led us to this point.

How much of the library's budget is spent on purchasing movies for it's collection? Should a library really be spending money on a copy of a movie that can be rented elsewhere, for a buck or two? I know it is popular service, but libraries are for books. Last time I was up at the Mt. Royal library I saw more people borrowing DVDs than books, quite a sad sight.

Sorry, Danny, your silly "teasing" went over my head, perhaps b/c I find it difficult to take you seriously. I reiterate, libraries provide *essential* services, talk to half the published writers in this world and you might begin to understand the importance of libraries to them. But then again, you might not.

PS -- Sonya is correct. I know a lot of librarians all over the US, they *all* without exception call the people who enter their buildings "patrons." And, yes, Danny, they do provide *essential* services. Danny, you might think you are really clever, but, sorry, you're not. Your mom is so right, you should turn off your computer and take a breather. It'd do you some good to get some fresh air.

Claire...shoot me an email if you've got a chance:

dannydoesduluth@live.com

The Aquarium is owned by the State of Minnesota, not the City of Duluth. In exchange for the $16 Mil. to build it, the City had to guarantee an operating subsidy to the GLA. Not the City's call on selling or closing something it doesn't own. If the City refuses to pay the op. subsidy, the City defaults on a $16 mil. loan from the state.

The City cannot file bankruptcy with more than $40 million in the CIT. No bankruptcy Law, or judge would allow such to happen.

The City's share of the property tax levy doesn't begin to cover the City's health care cost for one year. Cost is $16 mil. City takes in about $12 mil. from this rev, source.

The City's economy is defined by it's political culture. The culture has been governed by the majority party, which has been df LLL for a long time.

A simple accounting of the facts and votes cannot be disputed. I am a hardline liberal, but it is nonsense to blame conservatives for the State of the Duluth economy when it has been our party in control.

Let's face it, there has been years and years of terrible financial decision making. The Labor Unions have a great burden to bear. It has been their negotiating and contracts that have put us in the potion we are in.

The State will be coming in to take over Duluth before long-we will be governed from the TC soon.

It is indeed an imperfectduluthday.

The Aquarium is owned by the State of Minnesota, not the City of Duluth. In exchange for the $16 Mil. to build it, the City had to guarantee an operating subsidy to the GLA. Not the City's call on selling or closing something it doesn't own. If the City refuses to pay the op. subsidy, the City defaults on a $16 mil. loan from the state.

The City cannot file bankruptcy with more than $40 million in the CIT. No bankruptcy Law, or judge would allow such to happen.

The City's share of the property tax levy doesn't begin to cover the City's health care cost for one year. Cost is $16 mil. City takes in about $12 mil. from this rev, source.

The City's economy is defined by it's political culture. The culture has been governed by the majority party, which has been df LLL for a long time.

A simple accounting of the facts and votes cannot be disputed. I am a hardline liberal, but it is nonsense to blame conservatives for the State of the Duluth economy when it has been our party in control.

Let's face it, there has been years and years of terrible financial decision making. The Labor Unions have a great burden to bear. It has been their negotiating and contracts that have put us in the potion we are in.

The State will be coming in to take over Duluth before long-we will be governed from the TC soon.

It is indeed an imperfectduluthday.

Is it a great burden to require an employer to provide fair wages? Is it a great burden to demand that an employer provide affordable healthcare for all workers? What about ensuring that workers' rights are upheld?

This is what the union is for - to ensure that the workers who take care of you in this city are also taken care of. To state that the unionized city workers - your friends and neighbors - are the sole cause of the economic problems in Duluth is ludicrous, at best.

I don't disagree that the retiree health care caused us to have some major financial difficulties, but to put all the blame on the unions is simply false and a continuation of the anti-union sentiment prevalent in the conservative side.

Before Don Ness and Herb Bergson were ever elected into office, the problem of Duluth's financial solvency was evident. Even 10 years ago, there could have been arrangements made to slow the drain of the budget.

Unfortunately, those days are past and now we are faced with immediacy and hard choices.

I do not belong to AFSCME and I don't always agree with their politics, but I understand their frustration.

To put the burden and the blame of the city's financial debt on the backs of the workers is unfair and unnecessary when there are cuts that could be made elsewhere.

And your city workers - again, your friends and neighbors - are lambasted by people like you, Factcheck, for only trying to ensure that they can support their families.

The last time I looked in the Bible, it still said for us to help our neighbors. This includes, IMHO, supporting them in their fight for fair wages and benefits.

*off soapbox*

AFSCME is responsible for the city's debt...how? Fedo's indicted/acquitted ass set that shit up.

Face it, most of us work jobs where we're not at liberty to negotiate how much our employers pay us or give us in benefits. some of us are lucky in the fact that we get paid according to our skills. Basically, we're stuck with what our employers give us...good or bad.

Like it or not, unions were established for a reason, and those reasons, though they may not always be apparent still exist.

Regardless of Fedo's intentions when he set up the retiree health care situation, it exists. It's the fault of his and subsequent administrations for not ensuring that program was funded. We're left to clean up the mess.

While I'm all for preserving jobs, I'd like to point out that city jobs are paid for through the taxes of Duluth citizens. And, as there are 20,000 fewer citizens now than a few decades ago, those who are left pay more and more to employ the city workers. So preserving their jobs ultimately means greater financial sacrifices for people who don't work on the city payroll. There's going to be a sacrifice one way or another, it's just a question of who will be making it -- and whether or not the choice is sustainable. You may save those union jobs this year, maybe next year, but eventually the city infrastructure will topple if Duluth citizens continue infighting rather than trying to look at the bigger picture -- which I think Don Ness is trying to do.

mary: can we eliminate your job for the same reasons as you gave for Ness' elimination of city jobs?

Seems realistic. The city's got 20,000 less citizens than a few decades ago, therefore there's less responsibility on your employer to provide whatever services it does to residents of the area.

When things slow down at my job, my hours get cut. My hours get cut, It's harder for me to provide for my family.

mary, it's easy to advocate the elimination of what you seem to be defining as "excess workers" when the excess workers aren't you. That's right Christian of ya. Neighbor.

Affordable Health Care? Please. City Employees enjoy the Cadillac of Health Care, I know, I formerly had that Health Care, barely a nickel spent out of pocket, while single families and fixed income folk can barely afford co-pays.

Please save the rhetoric and stick to facts. There is little left that can be cut from the City Budget except employees. Mary makes a very valid point, how can we lose population and not downsize in terms of service.

The walk-up call is here. Duluth cannot expand it's tax base while raising taxes. It is unfortunately time to face some serious problems. Duluth cannot provide core services and continue high union salaries and benefits for he masses.

Again, you can debate the issue as long as you want, but look at what the majority of Duluthians are saying about the issue. There are very few citizens willing to support high salaries and benefits for a select-few. The political pressure on AFSCME, and very soon, the firefighters union will defeat any efforts made by these few and elite. Very few people in this City enjoy the benefits these people receive.

It is sad that Duluth cannot afford this any longer, but mark my words, this round of layoffs is nothing compared to what is coming. In 2009, the City will be laying off many more. The variable taxes, such as tourism and sales is going to continue to dwindle with the economy for the foreseeable future, thus lowering available revenue for the City. Last week's administration bombshell is just the beginning.

finally! someone who takes the time to FACT CHECK before they rant about something! thank you. move along now please....nothing to see here but a bunch of dumb fish and plastic crap......

For some reason, the people who were so creative in getting the aquarium built (lobbying the state, forming authorities, creating legislation) declare themselves to be utterly baffled by the insurmountable problem of closing it. Obviously, they could close it if they wanted to. They (meaning Harold Frederick, Monnie Goldfine, Bruce Stender, Jack LaVoy, etc.) could make a few phone calls and get the state to pass legislation forgiving the debt.

Maybe I'm missing something but the Aquarium hardly seems like the thing putting the city in this bind.

I support unions but I really think the city unions are ruining the place.

I almost wish the city would declare bankruptcy so all union contracts would have to be re-negotiated.

(Just wanted to clarify that I'm not the same Mary as the other one posting in here. Carry on.)

Seriously, should a library have all of the seasons of "Sex in the City" DVDs as a part of it's collection?

"race problems in Duluth stem more from a lack of diversity in different races than people actually being truely racist."

what?

a rather myopic and short sighted view of history, doncha think? are you aware of why our population of blacks in particular is so low?

while your assessment of one of the ways racism is perpetuated is true (more interaction inevitably causes racism to abate intergenerationally), it doesn't take into account the racism and large-scale violence that caused that population abnormality to begin with. Bell talked about being able to tell by looking at people if they "didn't belong here." everyone who saw it knew what he meant, and i was pleasantly surprised to see they didn't take the bait when they visited the ballot box. his comment, as clueless as it might have been rather than thoughtfully malicious, reflected an all-too-large segment of our local population that hasn't changed their rhetoric much in a hundred years.

"If socialism worked the Soviet Union would still exist and China would be a different place."

a whole lotta countries in Europe, esp. France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland... might disagree with you. that american edumacation is really doin' you fine, eh?

name one country where raising taxes has helped the economy? okay. i'll stick with one i know very well: Norway, where they have just about the highest taxes on the planet. consistently rated high on the happiness scale and with a robust economy. there is always anecdotal discontent, but even the norwegian taxpayer's association couldn't find a solid majority who were dissatisfied with the situation: http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2551432.ece

(one recent cite)

Hbh You are correct. I was only refering to the lack of familiarity with other races that perpetuates the stereotypes and not intending to say that it was the entire scope of racism in Duluth. That one small aspect of racsim explains Bell's "looks different" comment.

Why do we not have more minorites? Simple, our economy has been more or less crappy since the 1920s. No reason for any large group of people to move here after the initial group of western europeans after the latter part of the 19th century.

Norway is not the same as the USA. They have made a huge amount of money from their north sea oil. That income accounts for the services that they are able to provide, which, offset what people pay in taxes. I would gladly pay more in taxes, if I had free education, cheap quality housing, guarantee of employment and free health care. Somehow I suspect, the same would not happen here if we raised taxes.

Raising taxes locally is just going to screw up our local economy. Jobs and people will move to neighboring communities, with cheaper taxes, further reducing the city's tax base.

China and the former Soviet Union are the only fair comparisons to the USA in regards to economic policies as they are the only countries similar to the USA in size, population and distribution of natural resources. Norway has an abnormally high percentage of valuable natural resources compared to the size of their population.

Look throughout history. Capitalism is the only economic system that works.

Ok Claire and all others who keep saying to CLOSE THE AQUARIUM. It's an educational facility!!!! Where else can you see all of the amazing fish that live in our local lakes in their natural habitats? What about otters up close? A bald eagle close enough to see their claws? Have you ever been there Claire? Has your child ever been there? I feel that it is unfair of you to say that children around the area wouldnt care if the aquarium was closed down. I invite you to come talk to one of the thousands of school kids that go to the aquarium every year and send thank you cards about how much fun they had. It's a great facility and I'm getting so upset with some of the people in this city using the aquarium as a scapegoat for the cities money woes. Volunteer operated libraries exist, and that would be a great way for you and your child to enjoy a facility that is a dear part of your childhood. Obviously all that time spent in the library didn't teach you any respect. The aquarium is operated on a very small staff and the education department works extremely hard to produce and execute programs around natural history and freshwater subjects for children and adults to enjoy and experience. Shame on you. I feel awful about the libraries closing as well, but this is a great time to improve the main library downtown and expand their education and youth programs. Don't blame the aquarium for the cities problems...and learn a few more facts before you make such a bold statement. All of you should take this advice if you are bashing facilities, not just the aquarium, without knowing the facts.

Sara K...to answer your first question: In a book. I'm just saying.

Claire: Still waiting for an email from you. I have an "idea".

Danny...wow that's lame! Funny at the same time, but a little bit scary too. You'd rather ONLY see these things in a book an not experience them? Hmmm...

You can also experience those type of things by taking a kayak on the lake, or a zillion other Northland activities which don't require "Paving Paradise and Putting Up a Parking Lot".

The fish tank has been an abomination since day one: Sladegate, the hideous 'architecture', its placement on the bay, the outlandish amounts of money to maintain it (when those who originally planned it 'guaranteed' it would be self sufficient), the constant subsidies which could be used for some of those pesky little things like firefighting and libraries.

Just sayin'.

Sara...I didnt say that you could ONLY see those things in a book. Your first question specifically was "Where else can you see all of the amazing fish that live in our local lakes in their natural habitats?". Well, the answer to that question is "in a book".

So basically your theory is that you need to see these wonderful water-dwellers up-close to really understand them, right? Ok. That's fine. Since this thread has somehow, inexplicably turned into a debate about racism as well, let's use that as an example. Let's say that we want to understand the mindset what led to the Holocaust. Well, using your logic we couldn't ONLY understand that by reading about it in a book. What we would need to do as an educational tool is have all of our little school kids spend a weekend hanging out with a gang of Neo-Nazi skinheads. That way they would truly get an education. I'd love to read some of those thank you cards.

That's right. I went there.

oh, then you've seen a 6' sturgeon face to face while kyaking then. those fresh water stingrays from the amazon must be real good swimmers since you got to touch one on your last trip to the beach. do you even know what a kamloop is?
never mind the long time (8 + years here) employees who put their hearts and souls into keeping the "abomination" alive and running with no pay raises to speak of, living thru "Sladegate" all while being bashed in public not to mention countless blogs & forums by super smart no-it-alls and umpteen lay-offs. nobody seems to care about that - we're expendible. it's just that "fucking aquarium". that "hideous eysore".

just fucking sayin'.

Danny, sorry if I gave the impression that books were not a way of experiencing things. I am a very avid reader and I don't knock libraries at all. They are great. But what the heck??Why are you using the racism discussion to compare these things? And by the way, what is the Holocaust Museum in D.C. then? A waste of money as well since kids can just read about it in a book?? Books are fabulous, again, I love books, but these facilities are to expand education along with books. All of these programs...libraries, aquariums, museums, nature centers...go hand in hand together to educate children. I don't personally have a kayak and can't afford one to go out and see some of these animals up close, so an aquarium is fantastic. I'm just saying.

btw joni mitchell- that "paradise" was a building called the flame and i'm pretty sure it had a parking lot.

There's some stuff about "The Flame" on the News Tribune Attic. I miss it.

Thanks, HBH.

"I know it is popular service, but libraries are for books." lol

"That [North Sea Oil] income accounts for the services that they [Norway] are able to provide, which, offset what people pay in taxes." Wrong, but feel free to keep trolling away.

Sara K -- I apologize if you feel that I insulted the Aquarium, I can tell the place is very near and dear to your heart. I actually *have* visited the Aquarium a few times over the years, and took my kid there with me the first time. It was the weekend it opened, maybe 7 years ago then. My daughter liked the Locks, but didn't really get into the other stuff. She's since gone back with her school, and liked it, though she's visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium several times and *loves* it there.

You may be right that many of us are using the Aquarium as a punching bag, pointing to it as an un-necessary expense that this city can ill afford. And I think the zoo is another un-necessary expense the city can ill afford. But I won't even go there, for fear that some zoo fans will get bent out of shape.

Yes, the aquarium is an educational facility, as is the public library. The point I've been trying to make, though, is a public library is so much more than simply a building housing books, newspapers, and DVDs. I hang out with a bookish crowd and so many of the authors and other booklovers I know have told me how libraries provided them with so much during their childhoods, it was a place of refuge, a safe sanctuary where they could read and learn about the world in peace. I once worked with a very well-known author whose name you would know who told me more than once that she wouldn't have survived her childhood but for the local library in her town, where she could escape from an abusive and impoverished home environment.

So, Sara K, while an aquarium is an educational facility, it's just that. And a library is so much more. And people don't have to pony up $10 or whatever the admission fee is to enter it and take advantage of its resources. Libraries have literally changed people's lives.

And Danny, I have no interest in your "idea" so don't hold your breath waiting for me to "shoot" you an email. It's not going to happen.

I've never been a fan of the Aquarium or some of the other ways we have invested our money as a city . It's not because I dislike the Aquarium it's that I thought there were wiser places to put your assets. To place your equity in something you really didn't need to, instead of placing your money in assets dealing with your susstainability might come back and bite you. That's my problem. I understand bloated gov. I think the fat lady is starting to sing and I'm afraid it's off key. So I don't think the Aquarium is in nature a bad idea just it's presentation to us and money that could have put elsewhere. I also believe that if a policeman wants to stand between me and a bullet with out knowing me he can have a dounut as long as when he gets a call he's there if he can. Same with the fire department and I like water in my faucet. I also think that if goverment employes can have health insurance and now some of them are going where some of us have been or are is the greatest reason for a national health policy that takes care of everybody. These are the people who makes decisions for and are paid by you and they need to do better by us.

My apologies, I did not intend to troll for anything.
I got sucked into this disscussion by commenting on zra's off topic comment about Bell's campaign and as for the other comments, I was foolishly getting sucked in deeper by trying defend my various increasingly off topic viewpoints in the discussion.
So, as I now feel quite silly for falling for the bait. I am through making any further comments on the matter.
Lively political discussion/debate should be done over a pint of beer at the local pub anyway.

Ah yes, before the abomination was built there, the Anchor Inn had a fabulous parking lot too! I loved to paddle past it in my kayak through the crystal clear bay waters and check out their lovely parking lot. As parking lots go, it was abomination-free!
Back then, fire fightin' and library readin' was enjoyed by all. Fish were only in lakes, and on the walls of bars.
Well, off to my log cabin in Ely! ta-ta!

Claire

Thank you very much for your reply. It really made me happy that you apologized and were respectful with your reply. I do agree that paying for a visit to an aquarium is much different than going to visit a library. I am very pro-library. I am a very avid reader and hope that one day my children will be too. It sounds like you definitely do have a soft spot for libraries and I definitely respect that. I really do hope that if Duluth has to get rid of a few libraries that they will work on improving and expanding the main library that is left.

Improvements are being made to the aquarium and I hope that you and your child will be able to visit again some day and really enjoy your visit. It is true that it was horribly mismanaged when it was first opened and the staff is still paying greatly for all of those original mistakes that were made (and they weren't even there to make them!).

Monterray Bay's Aquarium is supposed to be a phenomenal aquarium and GLA can't even be put in the same category with it...anyone would think GLA is tiny and insignificant compared to it! But I'm sure it really did have an impact on your daughter when she visited, and GLA is working very hard to have the same impact on all of the visitors that go there.

Thank you again for your reply, I have a lot more respect for you now. I hope that something can be worked out with the library situation.

Very open-minded of you Claire.

I may no be the sharpest tool in the shed but do Sara and C Freak work at the Aquarium? Or at the very least have family or close friends that work there?

Doesn't matter because both sides in that particular debate are probably a little wrong. Like a lot of issues there's some gray in between the black and white that makes more sense. On one hand the Aquarium has not turned into the cash cow that Mr. Doty and all of the other early supporters claimed it would be. And that has forced the city and the state to sink more money into it than would be ideal.
But on the other hand the city is not currently sinking as much money into it as the Aquarium haters would make you believe. At this point in time I don't think the Mayor had a choice between the aquarium and the libraries. Though I will concede had the aquarium never been built, our financial situation would be better overall. The fact is that ship has sailed, and cutting off the aquarium at this point would not get us out of these financial straits. I also don't agree with those who claim that the aquarium is entirely without merit. It is educational. It is a great place for kids to be educated. With its greatest strength being in education than perhaps those who suggested The U take it over have a valid point.

I wonder how long it will be before the City Administration moves to raid the CIT?

With over $40 million in that account it surprises me that no one in City Hall has made the move to go after that fund.

Danny, let me be brutally honest: I've read a lot of your posts here and elsewhere. I think you get a charge out of messing with people online, trying to play mind games with them, then, when they get angry, you accuse them of not having a sense of humor. I have absolutely no interest in engaging with you, hearing your latest hare-brained "idea."

Sara K. --

Kinda (OK, very) obvious, we're on the same side. I will indeed take the kid to the Aquarium again when we have a chance.

Best,
Claire

Claire,

Untrue, but fair enough. I too have read many of your posts here and elsewhere which is sort of what gave me this idea in the first place. If it's not going to work, then it's not going to work.

Regardless, if that is the opinion you have, it is your opinion.

Thanks for the honesty.

Why do we not have more minorit[i]es? Simple, our economy has been more or less crappy since the 1920s. No reason for any large group of people to move here after the initial group of western europeans after the latter part of the 19th century.

consider it my personal lifelong concern to correct this assumption wherever i find it: http://www.d.umn.edu/~dbeard/CJMM/SundownTownsandMinnesota.doc.

you'll have to delete the . at the end of .doc to download and read this document.

I had no problem with the Flame, which served good food, and used about 1/5 of the footprint of the GLA. Sure, it wasn't the "highest and best use" for the land, but neither is the stupid fish tank.

The original idea was to feature native species, until the managers there figured out that no one would pay upwards of $10 a ticket to see grey and brown fish. Enter the stingrays and other non native species.

Yes, I do know what a kamloops is - and you don't need a kayak to get to places where there are fish; that was merely an example of a way to see species in their native habitat.

I have seen stingrays in the Caribbean, eels in Mexico, whales in Alaska, etc. If I want to go to a world class aquarium, there are fine ones in Chicago, Tampa, and other cities.

What does importing a stingray from elsewhere teach local kids about local fish in their local environment?

I say, gut the thing and turn it into a nominally priced waterpark (with a little space for multi use such as senior center stuff, etc) with free passes for lower income kids (determined through school lunch status or through Boys and Girls Club and other youth groups). Swim on!

"Miss Bakk-Hansen..."

Talk about hot for lecturer.

i'm with adam. hubba hubba.

we gut the aquarium, we owe 16 million to the state.
just sayin'.

yes, gutting the aquarium is the way to go! so cheap & inexpensive! i elect girly from the noth country in charge of the abomination that is aquarium. she's so worldly and what-not. she knows that there is nothing kids can learn about fresh water species from other locals - in relation to freah water species in our area. she's swam with the stugoens fer god's sake! kyaked with the kamloops! and she liked the flame! screw that - girly from the north country should be obama's veep - cause she likes warter parks!

sorry about the typos above. it's hard to type with a cocktail in your hand. you see there's not much involved in taking care of stupid brown & grey fish & a bunch of plastic crap. on that note, fuck it. i'm going golfing.

just sayin'.

Interesting article. I was not aware of the prevalance of sundown town laws in Minnesota.
I actually think it backs up my opinion. Your paper is concurrent to and not contrary to what I stated above. Both the region's slow economy and climate of racism combined to keep minorities from locating in the area.
Why would minorities move to a place where there are few jobs and has a culture of racism?

Joel Sipress gave me permission to copy and paste over here this email he sent to the Progressive Action listserve this morning. I thought he made some excellent points.

I don’t think anyone is saying that there should be absolutely no cuts in city services. I think everyone understands that, at least in the short run and perhaps longer, there will need to be reductions.

What we are concerned about is the total trashing of libraries, parks and rec, and maintenance, particularly when there are certain items that seem to be sacred cows that can’t be touched.

What are these sacred cows?

Well, how about the level of city subsidies to the tourist industry and other business interests. It is my understanding, for instance, that Visit Duluth receives about $1.5 million dollars annually. Even a modest reduction in that level of subsidy to the tourist industry would go a long way to cushion the blow to programs (like libraries and parks and rec) that our kids depend on.

Here’s another one for you—how about planning to retire some of the TIF districts that are no longer needed? A huge proportion of our commercial property taxes are tied up in TIF districts that redirect money out of the city’s general fund (and out of the county and school district coffers, as well) and into a special fund that can only be spent on certain designated “economic development” activities. While many of these TIF districts have served important purposes, Duluth has a habit of keeping them around forever-long after the need for them has expired, and at the expense of the city, county, and school districts’ general funds. So why not incorporate the retirement of some of these TIF districts into the city’s long-term financial planning?

I would be willing to accept some reductions in library hours and parks and rec programs (especially in the short-run) if I knew that everything was truly on the table. To totally shut down library branches and community centers while holding business subsides sacred is simply unacceptable.

See you all Monday at the city council meeting!

Joel Sipress