South Mpls. on Verge of Getting New Food Co-op and More Jobs

Updated: 07/09/2013 7:49 PM
Created: 07/09/2013 5:07 PM KSTP.com | Print?|? Email
By: Beth McDonough

Minnesotans like to support our own, by shopping local to help the community.

That includes food co-ops. Minnesota has more co-ops than any other state in the country. There are 21 in Minnesota with 11 in the metro. And now, another one is in the works.

It's a major project with a sizable impact on the community. It'll create more jobs and more access to fresh food to a number of areas in Minneapolis that haven't had a full-fledged grocery store in 40 years.

Catherine Preus says she goes to a co-op because her family lives in a so-called food desert, "There's little corner stores, but we don't have fresh stuff." Fresh groceries like produce from local farms.

Preus isn't alone. About 15 percent of the folks who shop the Seward Co-op on Franklin Avenue travel a decent distance to get there. Because of that and the explosion in business, it's more than doubled since 2009. The co-op is adding a second store, "we've become an anchor here, not just an economic anchor, but a social and community anchor as well," say Tom Vogel with the Seward Co-op.

The site is along East 38th and Clinton Avenue. It's right in the middle of four neighborhoods: Powderhorn Park, Central, Bryant and Bancroft.

Mike Stebnitz runs Carrot Initiative, a grassroots group that's been trying to attract a food store for years, "this is possibly going to bring 100 living wage jobs to this community."
The City of Minneapolis defines a living wage as $12.75 an hour. Unlike conventional grocery stores, co-ops are owned and managed by member shoppers. It's estimated for every $1 spent at the co-op, 38-cents is reinvested in the local economy.

At Seward Co-op they believe it's about paying it forward, "people like intimacy and shopping in a community cooperative where they see the same people and know the money stays here in the community," according to Vogel.

What does it take to join a food co-op? We asked and learned it varies from co-op to co-op.? At the Seward Co-op, it's a $75 buy-in.

That's a one-time fee and the membership lasts a lifetime. In addition to getting shopping discounts and rebates, member-owners also get a vote on the board of directors, meaning members get a say in how the co-op is managed.

Click here to find a co-op near you.

Source: http://kstp.com/news/stories/s3092924.shtml?cat=1

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The Slingshot Madman Has Perfected the Zombie Capture Kit

Some people devote their lives to science, some to religion, some to high finance. And then there's Joerg Sprave, who spends his day-to-day creating zombie-killing slingshot insanity. Or in this case, zombie-capturing slingshot insanity, for when you need to to take them in alive undead.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/RYpgFiWGXeo/the-slingshot-madman-forgoes-zombie-kills-for-capture-693145633

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Gunmen attack Sinai checkpoints close to Israel border

CAIRO (Reuters) - Armed men attacked four security checkpoints on Sunday in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, close to Egypt's border with Israel and the Gaza Strip, part of an upsurge of violence there since Wednesday's overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.

Gunmen in pickup trucks exchanged gunfire with soldiers and police in the lawless province in the early hours of the morning, but there were no casualties, security sources said.

Hardline Islamists have launched sporadic attacks in North Sinai since the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 created a security vacuum in the region.

On Friday, five security officers were killed in skirmishes with suspected militants in El Arish, the regional capital.

On Saturday, a priest was also killed there by a group of militants, four other checkpoints were fired upon and an explosion hit an Egyptian pipeline supplying gas to Jordan.

The fire caused by the explosion was under control by early Sunday morning, state media reported. The pipeline has been attacked more than 10 times since Mubarak's overthrow during the Arab Spring uprisings.

It was not immediately clear if the latest attacks were linked to the ouster of Mursi, democratically elected a year ago, by the military after nationwide protests. His Muslim Brotherhood movement has since held its own protests in which dozens have been killed.

On Sunday, the Salafi Jihadi group, one of the biggest Sinai-based Islamist militant groups, issued a statement on a jihadist website saying that "current events ravaging the country" were affecting Sinai.

It also threatened attacks on the "repressive practices" of the police and military forces on people in Sinai.

The group has issued statements threatening attacks on Israel previously, but this was the first known direct threat they have issued against Egyptian security forces.

(Reporting by Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia and Youssef Rostom in Cairo; writing by Yasmine Saleh and Alexander Dziadosz; editing by Mike Collett-White and Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gunmen-attack-sinai-checkpoints-close-israel-border-140956903.html

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Egyptian campers watch events unfold from afar

OTISFIELD, Maine (AP) ? Nearly two-dozen Egyptians who arrived in Maine last month at a special camp aimed at helping Israeli and Arab teens overcome their differences will return home to a country that ousted its leader following the largest demonstrations seen in their homeland.

From more than 5,000 miles away, Egyptians at the Seeds of Peace camp have been trying to stay abreast of the latest developments, including Friday's clashes that killed 30.

Many campers participated in the Arab Spring demonstrations two years ago, but were left to watch as Egyptians took to the streets again last week, leading to the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.

On Friday, Morsi loyalists fought back, leading to the bloody clashes.

Counselor Mostafa Ismail, 22, from Cairo, said people were unhappy with the presidential ballot choices after the Arab Spring demonstrations led to the election of Morsi. He said the country now needs to take a deep breath to ensure history doesn't repeat.

"Egypt is still a baby and the best way to succeed is to take it slow ? baby steps. Because if you try to rush it, it will fall," Ismail said during a break.

Nestled in the Maine woods, Seeds of Peace is now in its 21st year of bringing together teens from countries that are enemies. There are currently more than 200 campers including Egyptians, Jordanians, Israelis, Palestinians, Pakistanis, Afghans and Americans.

The camp founded by foreign news correspondent John Wallach, who died in 2002, is always held against a backdrop of some sort of events unfolding in the Middle East.

But this session marked the first real-time change in leadership in the 16 years that Executive Director Leslie Lewin has been attending the lakeside retreat.

"I don't think we've ever had a change of leadership while the kids were here, and certainly not in the manner we saw in Egypt over the past couple of days," she said.

Banned from using computers or smartphones, campers awake every day and rush to the camp telephones to check on relatives and to read news stories posted by counselors.

Laila, a 17-year-old returning camper from Cairo, said her parents, brother and sister participated in the protests that led to Morsi's departure.

"It is frustrating to be here while everything is happening in Egypt. I really love being here and wanted to come back for such a long time. But I would also have liked to be with my family," she said.

Sixteen-year-old Habeeba, another returning camper, said the Arab Spring fueled an ongoing push for change in her home country. "It's one big ongoing revolution. We're trying to change things," she said.

Seeds of Peace allows teenage campers to speak to the media and to be photographed. But it doesn't allow their full names to be released to help to protect their identities to allow them to speak freely without the fear of reprisals in their home countries.

Protected by state troopers, they spend three weeks swimming and canoeing, playing sports and engaging in intense dialogue about war and peace with bunkmates from countries they have been taught to regard as the enemy. A ropes course and other activities teach teens to trust each other.

On Friday, boisterous campers played softball and soccer with teams from a nearby camp. In between innings, the Seeds of Peace campers belted out a rendition of "Sweet Caroline," a tradition at Boston Red Sox games.

For the Egyptian campers, however, the homeland was never far from their mind. For them, they'll be returning home to seek a peaceful political change in addition to trying to facilitate peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Monica Baky, 21, another counselor from Cairo, said peace will come as Egypt solves its internal problems, including restoring faith in government and improving the economy.

"I don't think you can make peace with anyone around you, unless you make peace with yourself," she said, repeating a lesson learned at camp. "Before you make peace with people, you have to go to war with yourself. Once that's settled, then the concept of peace and having a peaceful relationship with everyone else, it's just a ripple effect. It's inevitable that it happens."

___

Follow David Sharp at http://twitter.com/David_Sharp_AP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egyptian-campers-watch-events-unfold-afar-064059893.html

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gonna hang out with jonni tomorrow.
animal crossing & jacuzzi-ing, & whatever else~

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Posted on Sunday 7 July 2013.
5 hours ago.

Source: http://ohvember.tumblr.com/post/54817549636

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North, South Korea officials hold talks on joint industrial zone

By Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korean officials held talks on Saturday seeking a way to reopen a jointly run industrial zone, a rare source of steady cash for the impoverished North, a month after their last attempt at dialogue collapsed in acrimony over protocol.

North Korea called for an early restart of the Kaesong Industrial zone, just north of the militarized border, South Korean media reported.

But Seoul's chief delegate Suh Ho sought an assurance from the North that it would not repeat the kind of actions it took in April that led to the halt of the factory project.

North Korea shut down the factories in April, pulling out all 53,000 of its workers and banning South Korean firms from crossing the border with supplies and managers at the height of tensions between the two sides.

The North said the South Korean government and media had insulted its good intentions by saying it only let the project continue because of the money it generated.

"We will focus on the agenda and try to work on building confidence and cooperation starting with small issues and try our best to channel that to bigger confidence and cooperation," Suh told reporters in Seoul before the talks.

The two sides were due to hold more talks later on Saturday.

Earlier this year, North Korea threatened strikes with nuclear and other missiles against the South and the United States after the United Nations tightened sanctions against it for conducting its third nuclear test in February.

The North suddenly eased tensions by agreeing to dialogue last month that would have led to the resumption of high-level talks for the first time in six years. However, plans for that meeting collapsed over a seemingly minor disagreement about who would lead the respective delegations.

The reopening of the Kaesong project is seen as meeting the political interest of the democratic South, one of the world's richest countries, and the economic interest of the reclusive and impoverished North that is incapable of feeding its people.

Experts say the North often alternates between threats of military action and then negotiations in a bid to extract aid. Its long-term aim is to win diplomatic recognition from the United States and to be recognized as a nuclear weapons state.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has pledged to engage the North in dialogue and take steps to build confidence for better ties, but has also vowed not to give in to unreasonable demands or make concessions to achieve superficial progress.

(Additional reporting by Jane Chung and Reuters TV; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/north-south-korea-officials-start-talks-joint-industrial-041921950.html

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FCC approves Softbank's investment in Sprint and Sprint's acquisition of Clearwire

The FCC has reached two very important decisions for Sprint today. The commission has voted unanimously to approve all applications filed by Softbank, Sprint and Clearwire concerning the recent acquisition and investment news.

This means Softbank now has the green light to pour their 22 Billion into Sprint, and likewise Sprint has the go ahead to purchase the 49-percent of Clearwire that they don't already own. Shareholders at Sprint have already approved the Softbank merger, with 98-percent voting yes on June 25.Clearwire's shareholders are set to vote on the deal come July 8, and the Clearwire board has recommended the approval of the sale.

Executives at all three companies were naturally pleased at the FCC decision, stating that these deals will strengthen not only Sprint, but the wireless industry and the U.S. economy as a whole. The three companies hope to have the deals closed early this month. We'll be following to see what, if any, difference this makes for the customers, who have no board looking out for their best interests.

Source: Sprint newsroom

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/rzJO5o2F7lo/story01.htm

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