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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.06.23 PacketCity of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 HRRC III. MJ Lamon Staff Liaison ☒ ☐ ☐ 6/23/2015 Approval of Meeting Agenda Approve the meeting agenda for the regular meeting of the Human Rights and Relations Commission. Information / Background: None. Attachment: Meeting Agenda 1 AGENDA CITY OF EDINA, MINNESOTA HUMAN RIGHTS & RELATIONS COMMISSION June 23, 2015 I. CALL TO ORDER II.ROLL CALL III.APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA IV.APPROVAL OF May 26, 2015 REGULAR MEETING MINUTES V. COMMUNITY COMMENT During “Community Comment,” the Human Rights & Relations Commission will invite residents to share relevant issues or concerns. Individuals must limit their comments to three minutes. The Chair may limit the number of speakers on the same issue in the interest of time and topic. Generally speaking, items that are elsewhere on tonight’s agenda may not be addressed during Community Comment. Individuals should not expect the Chair or Commission Members to respond to their comments tonight. Instead, the Commission might refer the matter to staff for consideration at a future meeting. VI.Guest Presenter: Bill Neuendorf, Economic Developer VII.REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS A. Work Plan Updates B. Website Proposal VIII.CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITION IX.CHAIR AND COMMISSIONER COMMENTS X. STAFF COMMENTS XI.ADJOURNMENT The City of Edina wants all residents to be comfortable being part of the public process. If you need assistance in the way of hearing amplification, an interpreter, large-print documents or something else, please call 952-927-8861 at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. 2 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 HRRC IV. MJ Lamon Staff Liaison ☒ ☐ ☐ 6/23/2015 Adoption of Meeting Minutes Approve the minutes for the regular meeting of the Human Rights and Relations Commission. Information / Background: None. Attachment: Draft meeting minutes from HRRC meeting; Attendance Roster 3 MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SCHEDULE MEETING OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELATIONS COMMISSION May 26, 2015 at 7:00PM City Hall, Community Room I. CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order at 7:04 pm. II. ROLL CALL Commissioners answering roll call were Chair Arseneault, Burza, Gates, Kennedy, Seidman, Weinert, and Winnick. Staff present: HRRC Staff Liaison, MJ Lamon. Absent members: Sanders. III. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Seidman motioned to approve meeting agenda. Commissioner Kennedy seconded. Motion carried. IV. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES Seidman motioned to approve the meeting minutes from the April 28, 2015 HRRC meeting. Commissioner Winnick seconded. Motion carried. V. COMMUNITY COMMENT None. Commissioner Tian arrived at 7:06 pm. VI. REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. New member Intro Commissioner Rinn introduced herself to the commission. Commissioner Vecchio-Smith arrived 7:09 pm. B. Work Plan Updates a) Community Outreach: Commissioner Burza, Chair of the Working Group, has met with the working group to create goals of Community Outreach initiative. The group has decided a flyer is ineffective and they want to reach out in alternative ways. The group will find ambassadors throughout diverse community groups who can promote the meeting. The Working Group will do “field trips” to these locations to update everyone on the goals and hope to get better participation. 4 Next meeting is on Friday (May 29). Group is still looking at holding the listening session meetings in the fall. b) Human Rights City Designation: Commissioner Sanders is stepping down from Human Rights City Designation working group. Commissioner Winnick has offered to join the working group. Next meeting is on Saturday (May 30) for the dry run of the presentation. First presentation date is set for Wednesday (June 3) next week at the Minneapolis rotary club. Group will first explain how communities in the metro area have human rights commissions, history of human rights, what human rights are and lastly what the Human Rights City designation is and the HRRC’s goal to obtain status. HRRC had discussion about City Council awareness of HRRC interest in achieving Human Rights City Designation. It has been noted Human Rights City Designation is on our approved work plan. c) Affordable Housing: Summary handout from Joyce Repya on our current state of affordable housing was presented to the HRRC. The HRRC provided comments for the Vision Edina strategic vision and hoped to convey the message to address more of the affordable housing plans. Some of the HRRC comments were incorporated into Vision Edina and were approved. More recent developments in Edina had to receive variances but neither included affordable housing. Currently there are several pending projects which will all include affordable housing. Committee’s recommendation is to keep the HRRC updated on development action in the City and bring attention to City Council. HRRC would like to invite Bill Neuendorf to a future meeting to get a better picture of all the development in the City. d) Blog/Website Maintenance: Commissioner Tian reported on his scan of the HRRC website and noted several items that are no longer relevant or are in need of updating, including the Senior Assessment Study, the Proposed Constitutional Amendment Statement, committee picture, and adding links to our page such as to HRRC blog posts. HRRC requested to bring website proposal back to the next meeting. Blog: Commissioner Tian wrote Tom Oye summary which was posted. Student Commissioner Weinert’s Human Trafficking post is still in the back log. Committee discussed that to be effective on posting, a commissioner who is in charge of an event should ensure a blog is written ASAP following the event so we can submit timely posts after an event. e) Edina Community Council: Commissioner Winnick provided the Edina Community Center pamphlet which describes the scope of resources and services available through the Edina Resource Center for our information and review. C. Edina Mail Correspondence HRRC reviewed April correspondence. At the April meeting the HRRC decided to send out approved response letter; the letter has been sent and no reply was received. In 5 response to the correspondence, HRRC discussed having a presenter come in to talk about an appropriate strategy for addressing potentially discriminating issues as they arise; possibly at our July or August meeting. Commissioner Kennedy to pursue possible guest speakers. Commissioner Burza suggested to invite author of the correspondence to Community Conversations. Commissioner Burza and Chair Arseneault to work on this follow up communication to the author of correspondence. D. Committee/Working Group Roster Tom Oye Award: Sarah Rinn (Chair), Jan Seidman and Steve Winnick (committee members) Bias Offense Response Plan: Tiffany Sanders (Chair), Jan Seidman and Pat Arseneault (committee members) Affordable Housing: Steve Winnick (Chair), Tony Tian and Maggie Vecchio-Smith (committee members) 25th Anniversary of ADA Commemorative Event: Maggie Vecchio-Smith and Sarah Rinn (Co-chairs) Days of Remembrance: Ellen Kennedy, Jan Seidman and Jasna Burza (committee members) Human Right City Designation: Ellen Kennedy (Chair), Steve Winnick, Leslie Lagerstrom, Colleen Feige, and Rachel Carlson (committee members) HRRC will need a representative for the Edina Community Council for a three-year term. Commissioner Winnick’s term is ending May 2015; the new three-year term will start in September of 2015. VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITION No discussion. VIII. CHAIR AND COMMISSIONER COMMENTS Commissioner Kennedy thanked HRRC members who attended the World Without Genocide fund raising event. The event was successful and the guest speaker well received. Commissioner Vecchio-Smith would like to look into working with the Edina school group Parent Community Events on having hard conservations with people as part of the 2016 work plan. Commissioner Tian would like to work with the colleges and universities in the twin cities area as we consider events for our 2016 work plan, as he is aware of university-sponsored events that would be of interest to commissioners. 6 Chair Arseneault advised that she attended the Transfer of Memory Exhibit sponsored by the Bloomington Human Rights Commission and was extremely impressed with the presentation. IX. STAFF COMMENTS Staff Liaison Lamon reminded the Commission that her summer schedule will be changing to Tuesday and Thursdays. Staff Liaison also pointed out that language on the HRRC bylaws under Working Groups outlines that the commission needs to notify the public of the formation of a working group and allow at least 14 days for residents to come forward with interest. X. ADJOURNMENT Motion was made by Commissioner Kennedy to adjourn the May 26 meeting. Commissioner Seidman seconded. Meeting adjourned at 9:22pm. Respectfully submitted, ____________________________________ MJ Lamon, HRRC Staff Liaison Minutes Approved by HRRC June 23, 2015 __________________________________________ Pat Arseneault, HRRC Chair 7 J F M A M J J A S O N D Work Session Work Session # of Mtgs.Attendance % Meetings/Work Sessions 1 1 1 1 1 5 NAME TERM (Enter Date)(Enter Date) Arseneault, Patrice 3/1/2018 1 1 1 1 1 5 100% Davis, Laura 3/1/2018 1 1 1 3 60% Kennedy, Ellen 2/1/2017 1 1 1 1 1 5 100% Sanders, Tiffany 2/1/2017 1 1 1 3 60% Seidman, Jan 2/1/2016 1 1 1 1 1 5 100% Winnick, Steve 2/1/2016 1 1 1 1 4 80% Tian, Tony 3/1/2018 1 1 1 3 60% Vecchio-Smith, Maggie 3/1/2017 1 1 1 3 60% Burza, Jasna 3/1/2016 1 1 1 3 60% Bigbee, Arnie 2/1/2015 1 1 2 40% Gates, Nicole 9/1/2015 1 1 1 1 4 80% Weinert, Katrina 9/1/2015 1 1 1 1 1 5 100% Liaisons: Report attendance monthly and attach this report to the Commission minutes for the packet. Do not enter numbers into the last two columns. Meeting numbers & attendance percentages will calculate automatically. INSTRUCTIONS:Counted as Meeting Held (ON MEETINGS' LINE)Attendance Recorded (ON MEMBER'S LINE) Regular Meeting w/Quorum Type "1" under the month on the meetings' line. Type "1" under the month for each attending member. Regular Meeting w/o Quorum Type "1" under the month on the meetings' line. Type "1" under the month for each attending member. Joint Work Session Type "1" under "Work Session" on the meetings' line. Type "1" under "Work Session" for each attending member. Rescheduled Meeting*Type "1" under the month on the meetings' line. Type "1" under the month for each attending member. Cancelled Meeting Type "1" under the month on the meetings' line. Type "1" under the month for ALL members. Special Meeting There is no number typed on the meetings' line.There is no number typed on the members' lines. *A rescheduled meeting occurs when members are notified of a new meeting date/time at a prior meeting. If shorter notice is given, the previously-scheduled meeting is considered to have been cancelled and replaced with a special meeting. HUMAN RIGHTS & RELATIONS COMMISSION 8 2015 Meetings and Events Day Date Event Time Location Tues Jan 27 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Community Room Tues Feb 24 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Community Room Tues Mar 24 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Community Room Thurs April 9 Human Trafficking 6:30 pm City Hall Lobby/Chambers Sun April 19 Days of Remembrance 1:00 pm City Hall Lobby/Chambers Mon April 20 BC Member Annual Meeting 5:30 pm Centennial Lakes Tues April 28 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Community Room Wed April 29 Volunteer Recognition 5:30 pm Braemar Golf Course Tues May 26 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Community Room Tues June 23 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Community Room Tues July 28 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Community Room Tues August 25 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Community Room Tues Sept 1 Work Session w/ City Council 6:00 pm Community Room Tues Sept 29 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Community Room Tues Oct 27 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Community Room Tues Nov 17 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Mayor’s Conference Room Tues Nov 24 Regular Meeting 7:00 pm Community Room Thurs Dec 10 Regular Meeting (Televised) 7:00 pm Council Chambers *Canceled Meetings are crossed out. 9 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 HRRC VI. MJ Lamon Staff Liaison ☐ ☐ ☒ 6/23/2015 Guest Presenter None. Information / Background: Bill Neuendorf, Economic Development Attachment: None. 10 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 HRRC VII.A. MJ Lamon Staff Liaison ☒ ☒ ☐ 6/23/2015 Work Plan Updates None. Information / Background: a.Community Outreach (Burza) b.Human Rights City Designation (Kennedy?Winnick) c.Affordable Housing (Winnick/Vecchio-Smith) d.ADA Event Proposal Attachment: None. e. Tom Oye Award Procedure Review 11 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 HRRC VII. B. MJ Lamon Staff Liaison ☐ ☒ ☐ 6/23/2015 Website Proposal None. Information / Background: Commisisoner Tian will present changes to the HRRC website. Attachment: None. 12 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 City of Edina • 4801 W. 50th St. • Edina, MN 55424 HRRC VII. MJ Lamon Staff Liaison ☐ ☐ ☒ 6/23/2015 Correspondence and Petitions None. Information / Background: Correspondence received since the last HRRC meeting. Attachment: Correspondence. 13 1 MJ Lamon From:Lisa Schaefer Sent:Wednesday, June 17, 2015 10:15 PM To:MJ Lamon Subject:Fwd: Staff Liaisons for Human Rights Commission - question Begin forwarded message: From: Patricia Fenrick <pfenrick@edenprairie.org> Date: June 17, 2015 at 12:00:21 PM CDT To: Michelle Tesser <michelle.tesser@falconheights.org>, "'Pearson, Lorinda'" <LPearson@ci.bloomington.mn.us>, "'roger.pohlman@ci.red-wing.mn.us'" <roger.pohlman@ci.red- wing.mn.us>, "'jdahl@chaskamn.org'" <jdahl@chaskamn.org>, "'jhenthorne@cityofrichfield.org'" <jhenthorne@cityofrichfield.org>, "'lschaefer@edinamn.gov'" <lschaefer@edinamn.gov>, "'Breanna Erickson (berickson@stlouispark.org)'" <berickson@stlouispark.org>, "'Lori Dreier (ldreier@stlouispark.org)'" <ldreier@stlouispark.org>, "Rolson@shoreviewmn.gov" <Rolson@shoreviewmn.gov>, Kari Collins <kari.collins@ci.roseville.mn.us> Subject: Staff Liaisons for Human Rights Commission - question Greetings, I’m writing with a topic that I hope will interest your Human Rights Commissions. The Eden Prairie Human Rights Commission, through a Native American organization called “Healing Minnesota Stories” is learning about an opportunity to effect the art in the Capitol building. Minnesota’s State Capitol artwork tells a narrow and incomplete version of our history and has offensive images of Native Americans. Further, the art does not reflect our state’s current diverse population. I would like to host a representative from Healing MN Stories to share his presentation of Capital art and the challenges with it to our Human Rights and Diversity Liaisons to see if our commissioners could support this issue. I think it is important and relevant – particularly timely since the Capitol is currently under renovation and this is the prime time to raise the potential for change. Please see the attached document for more information or their website at https://healingmnstories.wordpress.com/capitol-art/ Would you respond back if you would be interested in hearing the presentation? Thank you. Patricia Fenrick 14 2 Human Rights and Diversity Commission Liaison Community Services Coordinator City of Eden Prairie pfenrick@edenprairie.org 952-949-8394 “If you want to make a difference, the next time you see someone being cruel to another human being, take it personally” – Brene’ Brown 15 INFORMATION ETHICS SPRING 2015 • Vol. 24, No 1 16 Editor: Robert Hauptman ADVISORY BOARD Sanford Berman Edina, Minnesota Kathleen de la Pefia McCook University of South Florida Juris Dllevko University of Toronto Ken Himma Seattle Pacific University Marva DeLoach Larry R. Oberg Diablo Valley (California) Willamette University, Community College Emeritus M. Sandra Wood Penn State, Hershey PUBLISHER Steve Wilson Business Manager: Adam Phillips; Assistants: Shelia Baldwin, Janie Sheets McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers The Journal of Information Ethics is published twice a year—spring arid fall — by McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640. Rhonda Herman, president. Robert Franklin, founder and editor in chief_ Steve Wilson, vice president and editorial director. Karl-Heinz Roseman, director of sales and marketing. Kathi Price, finance officer. Kim Hadley, general manager. Subscriptions $120 U.S. institutional, $40 U.S. individual, $135 international institutional, $55 international individual. Single and back issues $75 institutional, $30 individual. All prices postpaid. Address subscription inquiries and back issues requests to McFarland at the above address, by telephone at 800-253-2187 (orders only), by fax at 336-246-5018, or online at www.mcfarlandpub.com. Contents of this journal are available in ProQuest products. This issue is also available with all major ebook sellers, including Amazon (ISBN 978-1-4766-2189-0). Editorial correspondence should be addressed to Robert Hauptman, PO Box 32, West Wardsboro VT 05360 <hauptman@stdoudstate.edu>. Proposal guidelines may be found at www.journal-info-ethics.com. Indexed or abstracted in Current Contents (Social & Behavioral Sciences Citation Index), Ethics Index, Information Science Abstracts, Library Literature, LISA, PASCAL, The Philosopher's Index, Research Alert, Social SciSearch, and Sociological Abstracts. ISSN: 1061-9321 ©2015 McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Member (&—IELJ Council of Editors of Learned Journals 17 Not in My Library!: "Berman's Bag" Columns from The Unabashed Librarian, 2000-2013 Sanford Berman. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2013. 197 pp $35 As the subtitle suggests, this book is a republication of Sanford Berman's articles in The Unabashed Librarian. The foreword is by Maurice J. Freedman, former President of the American Library Association (ALA) who describes his long professional association with Berman. Freedman points out that Berman's main focus has been on cataloging practices at the Library of Congress (LC), but Berman's writings cover a wide range of other topics relating to infor- mation ethics, including whistle-blowing, library censorship, rights for library workers to speak out (which led to the title of this book), ALA's Banned Books Week, library censorship in Cuba, intellectual freedom rights of poor people, and so forth. The rhetoric of the library profession is very strong regarding intellectual freedom, anti-censorship, giving access to all points of view during controver- sies, etc. Such rhetoric culminates in the expansive term, "free flow of infor- mation." In an age of a so-called "information explosion," factors such as 130 Journal of Information Ethics, Spring 2015 18 budget restrictions, lack of personnel, and lack of shelf space all combine to make it impossible for individual librarians and library associations to live up to this rhetoric in its totality. Within such a setting, Not in My Library! can be viewed in terms of Berman's heroic efforts (an idealistic pro-active, persistent, high-energy individual) to try to make librarians live up to their intellectual freedom rhetoric as much as possible. This situation is essentially a struggle between a single individual (with some followers) against large institutions with an established bureaucratic hierarchy. Along this line, Berman has been in a running battle to have LC give greater access to library patrons/users by means of improved cataloging services and practices. On page 184, he acknowl- edges that after many years of making numerous recommendations and sug- gestions to LC, at least 80 of his specific ideas have been accepted, with the result that some catalog entries seem closer to accuracy and the truth. For many persons, this situation might seem to constitute a great personal achievement and victory. But in Berman's case, LC officials rejected many more of his sug- gestions than they accepted, and some of his letters did not receive replies; his conclusions about LC are as follows: "...I now disgustedly accuse LC of wanton unresponsiveness, bibliocide-by-cataloging, and a monumental lack of colle- giality.... I couldn't contain my unease and disappointment any longer" (p. 185). At first glance, the contents of this book might seem to place too much emphasis on cataloging issues, with some nitpicking and hair-splitting over specific terminology. But Berman's text also discusses other topics and issues that are important for librarianship, academia, and information ethics. For instance, although the ALA's Banned Book Week might appear to be an effective anti-censorship effort, Berman describes it as a "sham" (p. 49) and a "fraud" (p. 133). To some degree, books that ALA claims to be banned are, in effect, merely challenged (usually by individuals or groups of a religious or politically conservative stance), while books that are effectively banned from libraries are not considered for inclusion in this ALA event. Berman is also outspoken on the subject of whistle-blowing, government secrecy, and repression. His chapter, "No to Government Secrecy and Repres- sion" (pp. 165-167) constitutes a strong defense of PFC Bradley Manning. Berman warns that a strong government stance against whistle-blowers might hamper the exposure of corruption and abuse of power by powerful government officials. In the chapter "Cuba Libre" (pp. 62-64), Berman discusses the situation in Cuba in which about 75 dissidents, including some so-called independent librarians, were prosecuted by the Cuban government. He mentions that ALA did not speak out against this apparent negation of intellectual freedom, and he remarks that "...the American Library Association fumbled this issue..." (p. 62). A major effort by Berman has been to get LC to institute a catalog heading Reviews 131 19 for "Genocide" for a specific aspect of history in Armenia. In the chapter "Genoceide' or Merely 'Massacres'? — The Politics of Subject Cataloging" (pp. 98-100), Berman notes that it seems improper for library officials to determine their catalog designations and terminology based on specific government res- olutions rather than on professional choices based on historical reality. The scope of Not in My Library! is quite extensive, as indicated by the more than 40 chapters (i.e., reprinted articles). A possible glaring omission might be the topic of political correctness, which does not get a listing in the index. Even though there is no specific bibliography section of the works cited and/or dis- cussed, the index, and notes in the text, are filled with numerous bibliographical references that are important for studies in information ethics. McFarland & Company has done a valuable service for librarianship and academia by bring- ing Berman's work to a larger audience than that of The Unabashed Librarian readership. In this regard, sooner or later, Not in My Library! might be regarded in the history of librarianship as an appropriate tribute to an ardent advocate and champion of intellectual freedom —Gordon Moran Gordon Moran was an independent scholar, a prolific author and a longtime contributor to JIE. He died on December 24, 2014. 20 21 Ron Erhardt State Representative District 49A Hennepin County Minnesota House of Representatives COMMITTEES: LEAD, TRANSPORTATION POLICY AND FINANCE STATE GOVERNMENT FINANCE TAXES June 3, 2015 Sanford Berman 4400 Morningside Rd Edina, MN 55416 Dear Mr. Berman: Thank you for contacting me to express your support for SF 1703/HF 1858, legislation establishing American Indian and Indigenous Peoples Day. I appreciate your input and share your support for this measure. SF 1703 passed the Senate State & Local Government Committee on March 23, and is still alive for the 2016 legislative session. HF 1858 was referred to the House Government Operations & Elections Committee, where it did not receive a hearing this past session. That said, it also remains alive for the 2016 session. Be assured that I will keep your support in mind should this measure reach me for a vote next year. Thank you again for writing to express your support for this issue. Sincerely, \•,-\ Ron Erhardt State Representative 4214 Sunnyside Road, Edina, MN 55424 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. St. Paul, Minnesota 551 55-1 298 01, Email: repson.erhardt@house.mn (952) 927-9437 (651) 296-4363 22 23 6-9-15 Edina City Council Edina Human Rights and Relations City Hall 4801 bh, 50th Street Edina, MN 55424 Dear Neighbors, Why can,t WE do th Impatiently, Sanford B-rman 400 Mo ingside Ro Edina MN 55416 95 925-5738 St. Louis Park mandates affordable housing units 41 HOUSING from B1 housing in our community. "The way the market has changed, I couldn't afford to buy my house in St. Louis Park today," Brausen said of the home he bought 18 years ago. St. Louis Park's policy will require any city-assisted rental project of 10 units or more to make 8 percent to 10 percent of its units afford- able to families making less than $51,960 a year. For-sale developments must include at least 10 percent of units that are affordable to fami- lies making $65,800 or less. "Affordable housing in St. Louis Park means your average St. Louis Park fam- ily can afford to live in some of the new high-end develop- ments in the city," said Coun- cil Member Jake Spano. "We want to make sure all sorts offolks have opportunities to enjoy living in St. Louis Park." State law requires cities to provide affordable hous- ing opportunities. The Met- ropolitan Council establishes how much affordable hous- ing the region needs over- all, and allocates a share of that need to communities throughout the region so they can plan for sufficient land to make affordable housing pos- sible. State law does not give authority to the Council to "force or compel the building of affordable housing," said Met Council spokeswoman Bonnie Kollodge. St. Louis Park has been working on its inclusionary housing policy for several years, said Council Member Anne Mavity. "Things take a while to come to fruition, but I'm so excited about this," she said. John Reinan • 612-673-7402 ME T R O S TAR T R IB UN E T U ES D AY , J UN E 9, 2 015 Affordable homes for workers is city's goal St Louis Park policy mandates percentages for developments. By JOHN REINAN john.reinan@startribune.com Developers who get a helping hand from the city of St. Louis Park will now be required to give one back. mite city has adopted anew "indu- sionary housing" policy requiring developers who get financial aid from the city to include affordable hous- ing in their projects. That includes tax increment financing, or TIE, a popular funding mechanism that allows tax revenue generated by a new development to be reinvested into it. The City Council approved the policy last week. Although many cities in the metro area encourage the inclusion of afford- able housing in city-assisted projects, relatively few require it, housing pol- icy experts said. Minneapolis has a long-standing inclusionary policy, requiring two out of every 10 units on city-assisted projects to be affordable for households earning less than half the median income in the metro area. Tim Brausen, a St. Louis Park City Council member, said that the city's booming housing market of recent years was almost completely • focused on luxury and near-luxury apartments and condos. "Even though we added hundreds of new units in the past five to 10 years, we hadn't added any affordable housing. It's clear the need was there," he said. "The question was, how were we going to address it?" Brausen said affordable housing is important to maintaining the vitality of the city. "The bottom line is, people who go into affordable housing — that's a family of four living on $52,000," Brausen said. "That's not people making subsistence wages. These ate working people — our firefight- ers, our teachers — that really need See HOUSING on B2 24 25 Berm4 dina, MN / 5-19-15 "Comment Enabled" American Librar:cus 50 E. Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 Dear Colleagues, Mass incarceration. Stop-and-frisk. "Broken windows" policing. War profiteering. Science denialism. AIDS denialism. Climate change denialism. Anti-vaccine movement. Microaggression. Stereotype threat, Native American Holocaust.. Armenian Genocide denialisq,- Wage theft.. These topics appear frequently in the media. And libraries have materials on them. But they .cannot be found by subject- searching library catalogs because • the Library of Congress has failed to create and assign appropriate subject headings, even though they've ben formally recommended.. If you agree that such rubrics would contribute to public debate and policy- making, please contact LC's Cataloging Policy & Support Office (Washingtohl_ DC 20540-4305);. 4400 Mornpgside Road Edina, MNi/55416 952 925-5738 26 27 The only "miracle" is that any California Indians remain alive. VATICAN CITY Sainthood approved for Juniper° Serra The Rev. juniper° Serra, who has been inching closer to sainthood for decades, received official approval from the Vatican, to the delight of his supporters, who regard him as a legendary spiritual leader, and the dismay of many American Indians, who say he represents the worst abuses of the colonial period. Serra fans in San Francisco were ecstatic when a Vatican panel signed off on Pope Francis' desire to canonize Serra in a special mass during the pope's visit to Washington, D.C., in September. Serra's elevation seemed assured after Francis said in January that he wanted to make him a saint. But there remained the formal approval of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the iden- tification of a second miracle. THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015 • STAR TRIBUNE A7 28 1492 It is 1988. "If they need a saint, they should canonize Bartolome de Las Casas," Ed Castillo, a Cahuilla Indian and historian, tells the audi- ence at a colloquium discussing the recent beatification of Junipero Serra and his role as fine- , f forced labor, forced conversion, and con iFINAL DAY ! founder of the California Missions—a system o confine- ment. The Vatican beatifies Serra in spite of LA the strong opposition of many descendants of U Di I KI the "mission" Indians and others. What Is It Like to Be Discovered? by Deborah Small with Maggie Jaffe MONTHLY REVIEW PRESS • New York 29 5 -8 -15 Senator Amy Klobuchar 302 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington DC 20510 Senator Al Fran ken 309 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington DC 20510 Representative Keith Ellison 2263 Rayburn House Office Building Washington DC 20515 Secretary of State John Kerry U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520 Ambassador Samantha Power United States Mission to the United Nations 799 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Senators Klobuchar and Franken, Rep. Ellison, Secretary Kerry,: Ambassador Power , and President Obama, Once a Spanish colony, Equatorial Guinea in West Africa is now an independent, oil-rich country whose half million people languish in poverty and repression while a dictatorial elite--the Obiantfamily and its entourage--enjoy lavish lifestyles and unlimited power thanks to: enormous payoffs by ExxonMobil. In James North's enclosed review, "The Resource Privilege," he observes that author Ken Silverstein (The Secret World of Oil) "shows how the US government has been complicit in looting Equatorial Guinea." North also mentions other malfeasance by Big Oil, often abetted by our government. (If I'm not mistaken, WikiLeaks cables revealed that our government actively interceded on behalf of Chevron after an Ecuadorean court awarded g9.5 billion to some 30,000 largely indigenous plaintiffs as compensation for the damage wrought by Texaco (bought by Chevron) having dumped 18 billion gallons of drilling waste in their habitat.) 30 thank in ce f r your detailed replie Sanfor erma Author Spanish Gui ea: an Annotated graphy (1961) Berman: 5-6-15 What I'd appreciate knowing from each of you is: +What is the U.S. government doing to: isolate dictators like Obiang and ensure that oil revenues actually benefit the citizens of resource-rich nations such as Equatorial Guinea? +Why has it taken so unreasonably long for the SEC to finalize "publish what you pay" regulations authorized by Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act? +Why did our country apparent1 intervene'uto deny justice to. the 30,000 Ecuadorean ose environ ‘..t has been devastated by Chevron? +Why did our diplomats in Haiti not lo ago. oppose raising the laughably low min'mum wage there at e behest of American garment companie ? WHOS side are we o mighty multinational corporations a ,ar—poor pe ) ple ii places lik quatorial Guinea, Ecuador, and Haiti who re s mply struggl ve? 4400 Morn ngside Road Edina, M 55416 952 925 5738 31 44 The Nation. Cofan indigenous women stand near a pool of oil in the Amazonian region of Ecuador in 2005. The Resource Privilege by JAMES NORTH H ow much are we in the West responsi- ble for the oil dictatorship in the West African nation of Equatorial Guinea, as well as for other corrupt, vicious regimes in the Global South that are like it? ExxonMobil is the single largest ex- porter from Equatorial Guinea, and the oil giant pays the family dictatorship of Teodoro Obiang without any qualms. But the usual reaction from the West is simple: such cor- ruption is indigenous to the Third World, and since there is little or nothing we can do about it, our responsibility is sharply limited. Some of this moral complacency is based on simple ignorance about just how badly the oil giants behave. With The Secret World of Oil, the veteran investigative reporter Ken Silverstein offers a major correction, explain- ing all those things that can't be learned in the annual reports of ExxonMobil and Chevron. His fast-paced, colorful expose looks closely at the fixers and traders who are indispensable in oil, which is still the world's most crucial industry. He also investigates the American law firms, lobbyists and PR agencies that protect and whitewash the pe- troleum dictatorships. Silverstein somehow persuaded these normally secretive people to talk frankly, and he even got Ely Call, a notorious Lebanese-Nigerian fixer, to take him to a high-level meeting at a New York hedge fund that canvassed ways to fob off two dirty secondhand refineries on a Middle Eastern nation. In the course of his investi- gations, Silverstein learns that old-fashioned bribery has taken on new forms. "You used to give a dictator a suitcase of dollars," Calil James North has reported from Africa, Latin America and Asia for four decades. He lives in New York City and meets at @jamesnorth7. The Secret World of Oil By Ken Silverstein. Verso. 281 pp. $25.95. tells him; "now you give a tip on your stock shares, or buy a housing estate from his uncle or mother for ten times its worth." The Secret World of Oil focuses on the partnership between ExxonMobil and the family of Obiang's son, an odious character nicknamed Teodorin, and shows how the US government has been complicit in loot- ing Equatorial Guinea. Teodorin Obiang leads a playboy lifestyle that, as Silverstein shows, has been bankrolled by oil money. He owned a mansion in Malibu, California, that he visited on his own Gulfstream jet, and he rolled around Los Angeles in any one of his three dozen luxury cars, including four Rolls-Royces--even though, legally, his visa should have been revoked a decade ago. Only in late 2011 did the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security take action against him by filing a civil asset- forfeiture complaint, but Teodorin had al- ready moved most of his wealth out of the country As Silv-erstein notes, "the US has shown it can take action when it wants to shut down terrorist financing or starve regimes, such as Iran, of investment and trade, but it has done little to stop sitting dictators— especially oil-rich dictators—and their fami- lies from using America to stash their assets." Silverstein keeps ExxonMobil's guilt front and center, reminding us that no one can be bribed without a briber. He points out that Exxon hired a private security firm in Equatorial Guinea headed by President Obiang's brother, a well-known torturer; and he explains how Exxon "sold" Obiang himself a stake in an oil-trading business for $2,300 October 13, 21 that was worth $644,000 a mere six ye later. And while Equatorial Guinea may b sovereign nation, ExxonMobil is an Am( can company—one that should be subj to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. If Justice Department is not enforcing US b American citizens should know about it. B ut let's assume that Exxon is obeyi all US laws. Should the company— yell as all those who own its sto or put its gas in their tanks—still paying oil royalties to the Obiai family? Over the past several decades, t, political philosopher Thomas Pogge, cu rently a professor at Yale, has wrestled wi our moral obligations toward the hundre, of millions of people who live in countri like Equatorial Guinea. Pogge has publish( essays on the subject in World Poverty al Human Rights (2002; a second edition al peared in 2008). Along with an edited collen tion, Thomas Pogge and His Critics (2010), it a fresh look at global injustice that deserv( far wider exposure. Until Pogge, many philosophers- including his mentor, John Rawls—accepte the nation-state as the proper framewor for a moral community and believed the obligations extending beyond national bot ders were much weaker. I may have hu manitarian concern for, say, Marcial Abag. Barril, a brave opposition leader in Malabo Equatorial Guinea's rundown capital. But a an American, my actual obligations towar( someone in Florida should be considerabl) greater. Pogge recognizes that in the ag( of globalization, this geographically limitec view is obsolete. Though the Qing dynast) exploited Chinese peasants in 1690, the Eng- lish philosopher John Locke might have struggled to see his moral connection to the . matter. But when the Xi Jinping government in 2014 denies human rights to the people who made my iPod Touch, I can't escape some responsibility. (Hymns to globalization in the mainstream press often forget to in- clude this expansion of moral accountability.) Pogge's political philosophy is far more developed and persuasively argued than a simple observation that the globe is increas- ingly connected. His analysis of global oil is just one example of his originality. He starts by observing that the international legal order is partly grounded in what he calls "the resource privilege," which is based on the assumption that a group of people (however small) that takes control of a country by any means (however violent) has the legal right to dispose of its oil and minerals in inter- national commerce without any questions 32 October 13, 2014 The Nation. 45 being asked. Pogge points out that if a band of thieves seizes a warehouse and sells off the items inside, the people who buy that prop- erty are called "fences" or "receivers of stolen goods"; while if a band of thieves seizes an entire nation, the people who buy its stolen resources are called Exxon.Mobil, Chevron, BP et al.—and their rights are guaranteed by a system of international law enforced by the rich and powerful countries. The reality, however, is far worse than mere theft. The people of Equatorial Guinea would have been better off if Exxon and Chevron had simply invaded their nation and stolen their oil outright instead of pay- ing a dictator for it. Either way, they would lose the royalties—but by giving money to Teodoro Obiang, Exxon helps to strengthen his family's grip on power and reduces the chance that the country's $14 billion in oil revenues every year will ever provide run- ning water or decent schools to more than a fraction of its citizens. There is another complication. In recent decades, scholars have identified a "resource curse": windfall discoveries of oil and miner- als, which at first seem like good news for poor nations, can actually end up harming them. For instance, countries in the Global South that export oil and minerals are more likely to suffer under dictatorships than their resourceless counterparts. Pogge points out that the "resource privilege" partly explains this paradox; the bands of robbers have strong incentives to seize national govern- ments because they recognize that once they're in power, oil companies will pay them billions, protected by international law. Pogge says that if we in the West look squarely at this truth, we will see our respon- sibility more clearly. I may well have humani- tarian concern for Marcial Abaga Barril and the other Equatorial Guinean people I met a few years ago. But I also owe them, because I am a citizen of the powerful nation that is enforcing this international system of rules— a system that hurts them in ways that are fore- seeable and can be changed. I may not have bad intentions, but in today's interconnected world, I am nevertheless doing my share to• harm other people. Pogge's view isn't socialist or even partic- ularly radical. He himself favors the positive duties of humanitarianism and global egali- tarianism, but he sets those aside, arguing instead that even libertarians and conserva- tives should support what he calls the nega- tive duty not to harm others. He also offers a number of suggestions to reduce this harm. Pogge floats the notion of "Democracy Panels"--impartial, independent boards that would monitor resource-exporting commies and quarantine those like Equatorial Guinea as long as the Obiang family remains in power. He recognizes that such remedies are difficult in theory and even harder in prac- tice, but we can at least start by recognizing that we are each partly responsible for the huge injustices that are occurring. T he Secret World of Oil bolsters Pogge's expanded view of global injustice. Especially valuable is its chapter on oil pollution in Louisiana. Silverstein uncovered the inside story here by using his considerable reporting skills to take advantage of a stroke of luck: a high-ranking oil lobbyist mistook him for another journal- ist named Ken Silverstein (this one the editor of an "industry-friendly" trade journal) and ended up boasting to him about writing laws that should have been the responsibility of state legislators. Big Oil has operated in Louisiana since 1901, leaving behind thousands of sites pol- luted with oil and cancer-causing chemicals. Quite a few landowners, including prominent citizens, have sued to force Chevron, Doom, Shell and BP to clean up the dangerous mess. Silverstein reports that the battle is a standoff; in most places, Big Oil crushes its opposition, but here the two sides and their high-priced lawyers are more evenly matched. The state's right-wing governor, Bobby Jindal, has been keeping mum because he has moneyed sup- porters in both camps. Chevron has also been on trial for poison- ing the rainforest in eastern Ecuador, in the Amazon basin, but here the two sides are not quite so balanced. The case began in 1993, when Ecuadorean plaintiffs sued Texaco— which was bought by Chevron in 2001—in US courts; then it dragged on for nearly two decades, until an Ecuadorean court finally ruled in favor of the 30,000 local plaintiffs in 2011. They've been awarded $9.5 billion to clean up the 18 billion gallons of drilling waste dumped in their area. But Chevron has refused to pay, even suing the Ecuadoreans' lawyers as "racketeers." The company won a preliminary judgment that is currently on appeal. "We're going to fight this until hell freezes over," a Chevron spokesman said. "And then we'll fight it out on the ice." As a result, the Ecuadorean villagers will once again have to postpone construction of a cancer hospital intended to treat the high number of people afflicted with the disease in their area. In the meantime, Chevron—which earned $21.4 billion last year and no longer has assets in the country—can afford to wait. Justice delayed is justice denied. The people who are suing Chevron in Louisiana are at least assured a fair trial at reasonable speed with enforceable verdicts. Ecuador is different: even if the villagers do win some compensation in the end, other victims may understandably hesitate to enter a legal process that could be interminable. Injustice is global, but there is no effective system of global justice to counter it. Once again, the system of international law works in ways that actively harm poor people throughout the world. The Secret World of Oil has one weakness: Silverstein should have reported more about the growing worldwide campaign to "PubL,:, What You Pay," which aims to reduce secrecy in oil and mineral transactions. Section 1504 of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act requires the 1,100 oil, gas and mineral companies listed in the United States to publish how much they give foreign leaders and governments for the right to drill or mine. (Until now, such pay- ments could be kept secret.) The SEC pub- lished specific regulations in August 2012, but Big Oil won a reprieve by successfully challenging the rules in court. Now, the SEC will not issue revised regulations until March 2015—an unconscionable delay. What the world really needs to establish global justice is an International Economic Crimes Tribunal, with the power to extra- dite, try and even imprison those who steal billions. In the meantime, "Publish What You Pay" can only help. Crows —after Crows by Unknown, Japan In perpetual silhouette perform against bronze. As exhausted dancers, undressed behind a scrim, the suggestion of nakedness more erotic than... En masse, they argue and flee between slim sessions of peace. This is existence: pain leashed or unleashed. Wings press against ribs in politesse or unfurl in demonstrations of power. When its over, crows remain as debris, Ebony confetti, wrecking more the wrecked world. PAULA BOHINCE 33