Planters on Suburban

The District 1 Community Council worked over several years with businesses along Suburban Avenue to have new lighting, trees and sod, and planters installed along the boulevard. With the construction of the new Aldi's Grocery Store at Suburban and Ruth, two of the planters are right where the new entrance to the parking lot will be.

The planters will have to be moved during construction, but the question is where they will be put once construction is finished.

Aldi's will be landscaping between its parking lot and the sidewalk along both Ruth and Suburban. That landscaping will include the same kind of hybrid elms that the city planted on the south side of suburban. Do neighbors want the planters put on the boulevard in front of the landscaping? Or is there somewhere else along the street that you would like to see the planters replaced?? For sure, the city will put new sod along the boulevard here, but there won't be trees on the city property - just on the Aldi's property.

No matter what, the city will make sure that the irrigation system remains. But if you have a preference of where to put the planters, let the Council staff know by commenting here, emailing our office (district1council@aol.com) or calling (651.501.6345).

Annoyed by all those phone books??

If you would like to get yourself removed from the lists for delivery of phone books, check out this site www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/stop-yellow-pages/

I don't know about you, but there are only so many phone books that I can actually use! Think of all the trees and energy we could save, too!

Thanks to Eureka Recycling for letting us know about this site!

Holiday Crime Prevention Safety Tips

Overview

Take a moment to go over some safety tips before the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. During the days before the holidays, you will have more valuables in your home than usual. Remember that you aren’t the only one doing your holiday shopping at this time of year. Burglars and thieves are always on the lookout for a good “bargain” too. Protect your home, yourself and your family.

At Home

Many people like to keep their presents or gifts displayed in the home before and after the holidays. It gives most of us a warm feeling to enjoy the holidays this way. However, the time we spend shopping and visiting makes our houses vulnerable during the holiday season.
· Don’t keep presents near windows where they can be seen from the street, especially after they’ve been unwrapped.
· Never hide presents in the garage! Garage locks are usually the weakest locks you have. A second story closet or attic equipped with a good lock is usually your safest storage area.
· Break up boxes, especially for purchases like TV’s, stereos, or electronic equipment and put them in fold inside-out so items that came in boxes are not visible when recycling.

Handling Money

The tendency to carry large amounts of cash is greater during the holidays than any other season of the year. Use checks or credit cards whenever possible. But if you must use cash:
· Don’t leave cash lying around the house. Keep all money in a safe place.
· Plan your shopping so that you only take approximately the amount of money you’re going to spend.
· Don’t flash your money in public. Keep your bills flat in a wallet so that you can count them without taking them out of your wallet.
· Don’t carry a purse. Keep your wallet and keys in your coat pocket.

Your Car

Holiday purchases left unattended on the back seat of your car invite theft.
· Never leave your car unlocked!
· Pick up major items at the end, rather than the beginning of a shopping trip – most stores offer to hold your purchases at will-call until you are finished shopping.
· Lock all purchases in the trunk of your car, or as a last resort, under a blanket on the car floor.
· Immediately remove all purchases from your car when you return home.

Getting Deliveries

Packages left on door steps are even easier to steal than those left in cars. Don’t give a thief an easy opportunity.
· Schedule deliveries for times when you’re at home.
· If you can’t be home when deliveries are made, make arrangements to have your parcels delivered to a neighbor.
· If you or your neighbors observe any delivery person doing anything that appears to be suspicious, ask to see their identification or call the police.

When Away From Home

If you leave your home for the holidays, especially for any length of time, call the Saint Paul Police Department Community Services Unit at (651) 558-2350 and ask for a House Watch. We can arrange for someone to check on your house. Or tell a neighbor how long you’ll be gone and where you can be reached. Ask them to check your house every day if you’ll be gone for several days at a time. Leave lights and radios or televisions on timers or ask your neighbor to switch them on and off periodically.

On Demand Video with Foreclosure Information

Hennepin County, through its Public Affairs and Taxpayer Services departments, in partnership with Minnesota Home Ownership Center, is now offering its web-based, mortgage foreclosure workshop in Spanish. Other workshops are available in English. The new workshop is intended for Spanish-speaking homeowners and renters worried about foreclosure. The workshop includes information about the foreclosure process, rights during foreclosure, and available assistance. The video is easy to access over the internet, offering valuable information that is available anytime of day. While the workshop focuses on Hennepin County , its information is relevant to residents in other areas in Minnesota .

To view the workshop video in Spanish, visit: http://hennepinmn.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=14


To view the same workshop in English, visit:http://hennepinmn.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=12

This posting brought to you from the Minnesota Home Ownership Center.

Council Hosts Food Access Discussion

On Tuesday, November 11, the District 1 Community Council will host a discussion of food access and food security in our neighborhoods. The meeting is open to the public and will take place at 7pm in the Conway Rec Center.

The USDA uses the term food security to assess the availability and accessibility of food to people in a given area. A community is "food secure" when all of its members have access to a culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through conventional food sources. District 1 exhibits some signs of being food insecure. These include:

1. High Prices
Our two supermarkets, Cub Foods and Byerly’s, are both located along I-94 in the northern part of the district. This means that residents in outlying neighborhoods have to rely on convenience stores if they do not drive or cannot afford fuel. In July, 2008, a gallon of 1% milk cost $3.10 at Cub, $3.79 at Byerly’s, and on average $4.01 at local convenience stores. A 1-lb loaf of bread cost $1.45 at Cub, $1.67 at Byerly’s, and $2.01 at convenience stores.

2. Auto Dependency
The 63, 70, and 74 buslines run downtown from the SunRay Transit Center, but these routes are limited and buses do not run at high frequency. The 63K, which continues down McKnight Road to the apartment complexes, does not run at all in the middle of the day. 81.6 percent of renters in District 1 own vehicles, compared with only 58.5 in Hamline-Midway, a district in the center of the metro area. Car ownership and fuel prices make the cost of living higher, which means low-income families may have an even harder time paying for food.

3. Scarcity of Fresh Produce and Other Healthy Foods
District 1 does not have a farmers' market or food co-op, which means that locally produced food is nearly impossible to find. In addition, most convenience stores do not carry fresh fruits and vegetables. Most of the restaurants in the district serve fast food, which contains high levels of calories with little nutritional value.

4. Scarcity of Ethnic Foods
Since 1990, Southeast Asian, East African, and Latino populations in District 1 have doubled and tripled. According to 2000 census data, 11 percent of all district residents were born outside of the United States. The food offerings in the district do not reflect the level of cultural diversity that is present today among residents. The Somali community near the intersection of Lower Afton and McKnight Road is particularly underserved: Only one convenience store, the McKnight Superette, offers Halal meat and traditional East African breads, grains, and flours.

Some proposed solutions to these concerns include:

• Installing a mini farmers' market in the parking lot of one of our local churches
• Creating new community gardens like the Totem Town garden (pictured below)
  
• Organizing groups of neighbors to purchase CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares
• Offering youth nutrition classes or partnering with local youth gardening programs
  
• Opening a food pantry or expanding the services at Merrick Community Food Shelf

Please join us on Tuesday to discuss food access in District 1 and the proposed solutions. We value your input!

Heidi Evans, District 1 Community Council Intern

Energy Efficiency

As November kicks off, Minnesota is already preparing for a cold winter. This season’s natural gas costs are estimated to go up between 30% and 50%, but there are little things you can do in your own home to cut down on energy costs. Along with saving yourself money this winter, by cutting down on energy use you can help Minnesota cut down on carbon emissions.

Half of Minnesota’s carbon dioxide emissions come from residential use. That is, from transportation, natural gas and electricity. Minnesota has also set a goal of reducing our energy use 80% by 2050, which means we have to drastically change our current lifestyles to meet this goal. When residents take individual action, they can make a real difference because there is already a significant impact that comes from residential energy use. Here is the breakdown of how Minnesotan households use energy:

Heating/AC 55%, Lights, electronics 20%, Appliances 15%, Water heating 10%.

Most electricity is generated from coal or natural gas, and the heat from burning those fuels is largely lost. 66% of the energy created for electricity is lost, and as much as 10% of that is lost in transmission of the electricity.

An easy way for you to take action and make a difference is to make little changes in your household, like using compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL’s), installing a programmable thermostat, getting a home energy audit, and incorporating small behavior changes like shutting off lights, taking shorter showers, and turning down your furnace. If every American home replaced just one light bulbs with a government approved Energy Star qualified bulb, enough energy would be saved to light more than 3 million homes for a year, prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to emissions of more than 800,000 vehicles, and save more than $600 million in annual energy costs (energystar.gov).

A great place for information is the Minnesota Energy Challenge, which helps you evaluate your energy use and gives tips for the future. The average Minnesotan creates over 51,000 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution a year while paying over $6,200 a year for energy. By helping yourselves save money, you are helping to be a steward of your environment and a responsible citizen.

For tips on winter weatherization projects, ways to save money on energy costs this winter and resources for energy efficiency project monies, come to District 1’s Energy Efficiency Tips meeting on November 11^th at the Conway Rec Center at 7 pm. The Conway Rec Center is located at 2090 Conway St, St Paul, MN. Representation from Xcel Energy, the Neighborhood Energy Connection and the Energy Cents Coalition will be present to help you make the smooth transition into the winter months. Join your neighbors in learning about the things you can do this winter to save money and save energy. If everyone does just a little bit, we can make a big difference.

For more information or to take the Minnesota Energy Challenge, visit the credited websites below.

http://www.mncee.org/

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home.index

Special thanks to Neely Crane-Smith at the Center for Energy and Environment.

Keely Gerhold

District 1 Community Council Intern

Illegal Dumping Along the Bluffs

On Oct 11, 2008 two local residents were walking in the woods of the bluffs around the Battle Creek neighborhood. They walked down the bluffs and by the large pipe leading to the head station along Hwy 61 and Pt. Douglas Road. There they were shocked to find PILES of electronic equipment discarded - hundreds of computers, keyboards, televisions, radios, and other electronic items such as fax machines. Many were damaged and lying around, some were loaded in boxes. The residents suspect that people are using this location as an illegal dump, or thieves are using it to unload what they have stolen after taking what they want, or that some recycler was not doing their job of removing materials but was just dumping there. Further down the way from this site, the residents found another dumping ground by an abandoned house. At this location there were hundreds of Yellow Pages books that had been dumped instead of being delivered. Other people had apparently been using this location for a garbage dump, too.
The residents called the Pioneer Press and a reporter went out there and agreed it was appalling and one of the spookiest things he had ever seen. He did some investigating and made some calls. The county purchased the abandoned house and property last spring for $276,000. Since the 11th, the county has started tearing down the house with the goal of turning the property into parkland along the bluffs.

The residents had also reported the dumping to the county who said that the dumping had all happened within the previous 3 weeks. Also, they knew about all the Yellow Books and garbage at end of road. They were going to have all of this removed at the same time the house was demolished. Then, there will be a fence/gate so that no one can even drive on the road. There will only be room for a truck to get to the head station. That way no one can even get in to dump. It will eventually all turn wild. In the long run, the county also wants to remove the asphalt of the old road in this area.

We all know that there are people who use parts of Battle Creek Park as their own personal dump site. Some residents have been such good neighbors that they have collected this stuff and taken it to be properly disposed of. But you can always call the City to get it removed (651.266.8989).

But as residents, you should know that you need to hire your own garbage haulers. If you want to arrange with your neighbors to do this together, that is a good thing. But we cannot have toxic stuff dumped in our natural areas!! Every year we do a Community Clean-up so there is no excuse for dumping in the woods. In addition, for electronics, every retailer who sells this stuff is supposed to take it back for recycling for free, so again, no excuses.

Here’s what the resident who found this mess had to say…“People are treating our natural resources in Battle Creek with disdain and harming the environment and what a message that speaks about the character of people who would stoop to such a thing. SHAME ON THEM. I don't care what the excuse is. SHAME ON THEM. Lazy stupidity and selfishness on their part, because it is not difficult to get rid of any of these items if you make a few phone calls or read your community newspaper. Yes, some of these things cost money to get rid of, but throwing them in the bluffs costs more money in taxes than just taking care of it the right way, not to mention the future legacy of pollution and mess we are leaving the community and the children.”