Still haven’t heard Loup-Garou? What better chance than this Saturday for FREE over in Superior?

First of all, you can find the full summary and the proposed ordinance here.

The primary purpose of this ordinance is to acknowledge that it has become a business to convert single family homes into multi-tenant boarding homes in a way that maximizes income for the business owner.  That business model also puts stress onto the neighborhood because these homes and these lots were (in many cases) not designed to hold 5 or 6 college students each with their own car.  This business model is at the core of the student / resident conflicts.

The problem is not students, rentals, or renters.  I personally believe that we should have more of each in Duluth.  The problem is that when a person converts a 3-br single family home into a 5-br apartment building, they are maximizing income and externalizing the costs onto the rest of the neighborhood.

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Imagine only needing a hair dryer or a few candles to heat a building in Minnesota!  This is the Passive House approach which uses simple, low-tech solutions like super-insulation, rigorous air sealing, and high-performance windows to reduce a building’s total source energy consumption by 90%. Over 20,000 Passive House buildings have been built worldwide and the Bagley Classroom at UMD follows this standard.

Several Passive House buildings in Minnesota will be open for the International Passive House Day tours. See the link below for a database of projects. The UMD Bagley Classroom at 703 Oakland Circle in Duluth will be open for free tours every hour between 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, Nov. 13.

passivehouse-international.org

Chip Cravaack news release:

NORTH BRANCH – The week after edging out Minnesota’s longest-serving Congressperson in state history, Congressman-elect Chip Cravaack has named Senator Rod Grams as his interim chief of staff.

“Senator Grams brings a wealth of knowledge expertise on Washington D.C. and the 8th District to our team,” Cravaack said. “His previous experience serving the state of Minnesota will be invaluable as we prepare to hit the ground running on behalf of all the residents of our district.”

Senator Rod Grams was elected to Congress in 1992 and then to the Senate in 1994.

Cravaack also announced that campaign consultant Tony Post will oversee the transition. Campaign communications director Kyler Nerison will continue in that position during the transition.

The Christmas City of the North Parade has its own website now at christmascityparade.com. This year’s parade will be on Friday, Nov. 19, at 6:20 p.m. and should end around 8 p.m.

The website seems to be missing the most important thing, however. I can’t find Merv Griffin’s “Christmas City” song on it anywhere. So here it is.

What: Tinsel Fairies, Circadian Nations, Electric Graveyard Afterlife, Indulge, and Poetry Motel.

When: Friday, Nov. 12 at 10pm

Where: Norm’s Beer and Brats: 1901 Broadway St., Superior, WI

$5 cover. Proceeds go to support the “Oil and Congress Don’t Mix Campaign” and the “Citizens for Corporate Accountability” 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

The Twin Cities based band Cloud Cult and special guests Fort Wilson Riot will be playing an all ages show November 20th at The College of Saint Scholastica. Doors open at 7:30pm and the music starts at 8:00pm.

These eco-friendly artists are sure to deliver a high energy show that won’t disappoint! Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at St. Scholastica, The Electric Fetus or online at http://www.css.edu/Administration/Student-Activities.html.

YOUTUBE

Who: Ryan Van Slooten & Tony Bennett of Cars & Trucks
When: Saturday, Nov. 13
Where: Beaner’s Central
Time: 8:00 p.m.
$5 Cover

This show is really best described by Kenny Loggins.

So I was just reading this story from the News Tribune about changes in the Duluth Park system:

Duluth park plan says smaller is better

It mentions a number of potential changes to improve the park system. But one caught my eye. The article mentions the possible elimination of something called “Scott Keenan Park.”

So, I have a few questions. First, where is this park? Second, has anyone told Scott Keenan that his namesake park might be closing?

Reading the DNT yesterday I was dismayed to learn that the Duluth City Council is planning on another ordinance that will drive up rental costs, take units off the market, and generally make it harder to be a non-homeowner in Duluth.

There is no draft of the proposed ordinance available yet, so we are dependent on the DNT’s reporting of the plan, but it seems that the City Council wants to:

• Impose a conversion fee on any non-rental being turned into a rental property;
• Require an inspection of any property to be converted (the city admits it is years behind in inspections, so this would mean a longer delay on new rentals coming to market);
• Restrict occupancy to 1 person / bedroom (meaning a couple with 2 children would require a 4-br house);
• Fine landlords who do not provide off-street parking.

As a renter in Duluth I am pretty upset that my rent will go up due to these new rules (unless my landlord turns the front yard into a parking pad), and that somehow people think making it more expensive to live in town will reduce overcrowding in student housing.  My wife and I live in a nice 2-br house, but it would be illegal to have her sister live in our spare bedroom when she is out of college for the summers.  Does that make any sense to anyone?

The 300-foot rule already restricts the available rental housing stock in Duluth, driving up prices, do we really need to make it worse?

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Alakef has been roasting specialty coffees in Duluth, near the shore of Lake Superior, for 20 years! Come and enjoy coffee, cake and snacks, roasting demonstrations (by Ezra Bennett) and live music provided by Musicality.

Friday, Nov. 12, 3-6pm

Due to circumstances out of Late Night Kirby’s control, Rogue Valley will NOT be performing tonight.

We are working to bring them back up next semester. Sorry for any inconvenience.

One summer night in 1992, when I was 19 years old, I came home from doing something forgettable and found three of my friends waiting for me. They said I should grab a flashlight and come with them on an adventure.
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Local storyteller extraordinaire Elizabeth Nordell is organizing the following exciting events. Be sure to put them on your calendar!
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The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre  is the greatest producer of comedic talent in America today and the Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company brings the very best of our theatres in NYC and LA directly to you.

The Upright Citizens Brigade Touring company will be in Duluth on Sunday November 14, 2010 at the Teatro Zuccone in Downtown Duluth. Show is at 7pm with a special opening performance by the Renegade improv team at 6:30pm. Tickets are $12/advance or $15/door.

The Upright Citizens Brigade will be hosting a workshop from 2-5PM on Sunday Nov. 14 and there are a limited number of spots open. The workshop is $30.00. Please contact Crystal at 218-336-1416 if you are interested in this workshop opportunity.

Discuss.

Word is in from our two favorite Duluth nurses in Haiti, cholera is spreading quickly after the rains. Please check out their blog at peacelovehaiti.blogspot.com to see pictures, hear stories, and help any way you can. Julie ended up in a ditch last night when her tower of cots collapsed. No pictures of that though!

What is open in Duluth on Thanksgiving? We used to travel to the TC to go to Dunn Bros. for coffee (they were open until noon), reading the Black Friday ads, then down to a casino for a magnificent dinner buffet.

Where can I snag some coffee and dinner in Duluth on this most Thankful of Days?

This video appears to be from the early 1970s. Watch the high-pressure air send Denny’s hairpiece flying! (Plus bonus footage: A Jack McKenna forecast.)

YOUTUBEYOUTUBE

Sarah Krueger and Russian Bride will be taking the stage at Fitger’s Brewhouse this Thursday, Nov. 11, starting at 10pm. Be there for good music and good times!

Videos for both via northshoresessions.com :

The Friends of the Library are holding their “Littlest Sale of the Holidays” again this year:  Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 7-8, 10 am-3 pm at the Duluth Public Library, 520 W. Superior St.  Shop for new and like-new books for adults and children.

I’ve seen several references to Cravaack living in an outer ring suburb, and the implication that this is inappropriate. It appears he lives in Chisago City, which, while perhaps being a Cities outer ring suburb, still falls into the 8th Congressional district. If, indeed, this is in the district, then what’s the point, really, of implying he is inappropriate to be the district’s rep?

I suppose it’s been conventional that the rep comes from Duluth or the Range but from the geographic perspective, any resident of a district should be eligible to be elected as long as they meet other legal requirements, no?

To imply that someone who lives on the outer edges of a legally defined district should not be its elected rep seems specious to me. That’d be like saying a person who comes from Maine or Washington State or some such location distant from the geographic or population centers of our country should not be able to be elected president.

This is why it is important to pay attention to who gets to draw the legislative districts–there is real power in being able to carve up districts to benefit your party, especially given the information that is available via databases about demographics, voting patterns, income, etc.

I’m not a partisan of Cravaack and did not vote for him, so I am neither defending nor attacking him–just wonder if the PDD community has any thoughts on the idea that a representative should come from a particular part of district to represent it.

I come to you from my tree stand near Cotton. Curious how you Northland hunters do this opening weekend 2010.

I harvested a small buck and have seen a few doe. But otherwise pretty quiet, hence the reason I am posting while I try to pass the time.  I know it’s ideal to have snow opening weekend but this weather makes it easy to sit up in this tree longer.

Be safe and good luck!

Have you recently looked out into the evening sky to be welcomed by what would seem to be a search beacon?

I don’t know that I have ever witnessed it while I have lived in Duluth, however, years ago, it was common practice to hire a “searchlight advertising” team help promote your special event.

This new searchlight seems to be something altogether different.

Of course, some might applaud the re-opening of the London Road McDonald’s, and it might even be searchlight worthy, but it seems that the searchlight that is emitting from McDonald’s is permanently fixed on top of the building. WTF?

(Admin note: According to McDonald’s Duluth-area supervisor, the light is not permanent. It will be in use for about 30 days.)

Are we to expect that this light will constantly beam into the sky, luring unsuspecting folk to this establishment? Forever polluting our night space?

When I look out toward the big dark lake, that’s all I care to see … black … nothing else … thank you very much.

I suggest that we begin here, with a letter-writing campaign urging that they turn that damn light off.

At UMD Chemistry Building, Room 200, 7:30 pm on Thursday, Nov. 11.

Climate Change: The Evidence and Our Options
Lonnie G. Thompson
The Ohio State University
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From Star Tribune/Hot Dish Politics:

[T]he president called at breakfast Wednesday morning … Staffers who were gathered with Oberstar at the Duluth Holiday Inn heard Oberstar tell Obama, “Mr. President, I want you to know that while my service in Congress has ended, my commitment to public service has not, and I’m ready to assist your administration in any way.”

To which, the president reportedly replied, “Let’s let the dust settle and talk again.”

Word is that this is the final stretch to get Google Fiber here. Community involvement MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE! They want to see support from ALL fronts…You can make a difference. And this is the last lap! Click on Speedy to join a group we know Google is watching. Let them know how you’d use a Gig connection. Google indexes ALL INTERWEBZ traffic related to this so make some noise .. raise the roof .. . WORD .. as they say.

Last night at the Brewhouse I mentioned to Cody, the guy next to me at the bar, that I liked the comic on the cover of this week’s Transistor, even though I have to admit that I don’t understand it.

He told me he understands it perfectly, then started talking about fractals and how the comic is referring to a famous Japanese picture and so on. Maybe it was the Starfire Ale, or maybe I’m just stupid, but no matter how hard Cody tried, he couldn’t get me to understand this comic.

Obviously there’s a play on the phrase “Gales of November” going on. There seems to be some roller derby girls surfing. That’s about all I can make of it.

Can anyone explain this comic in a way that I’ll understand?