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Couldn't they have taken the pot out of the tank before getting it fixed? And how much room does 150 pounds take up? I have a hard time imagining that that much weight would only fill half the tank.

I would love to ride my bike behind that car.

Not exactly, Kevin. I'm imagining it's more like having $5 to invest in something, vs. putting in $10 and actually getting $20 to spend on it. Think of it like employer matching for your 401k, but instead of only going up to a certain threshold it only STARTS at a certain threshold.

If I had a dollar for every time we have had a topic about coffee in the last week, I would have enough money to buy a cup of coffee

Not exactly, Kevin. I'm imagining it's more like having $5 to invest in something, vs. putting in $10 and actually getting $20 to spend on it. Think of it like employer matching for your 401k, but instead of only going up to a certain threshold it only STARTS at a certain threshold.

That's not how it's sold. Not to start a transit fight, but one of the main reasons the state "had to" pass funding for the Northstar commuter rail was because otherwise it couldn't get federal funding. As if federal funding is some sort of free money. (Incidentally, now the feds have become quite skeptical about the project, but that's another topic.)

It's all tax dollars, just like you get $20 from your parents no matter how much each chips in. It's just another piece of the endless shell game our government puts on. Transfering tax dollars from one unit of government to another and calling it "investment" or "tax relief." Pffft.

It's all tax dollars, just like you get $20 from your parents no matter how much each chips in. It's just another piece of the endless shell game our government puts on. Transfering tax dollars from one unit of government to another and calling it "investment" or "tax relief." Pffft.

Except in the case of federal dollars, you're staking a claim to money that would be flowing out of state otherwise. I'm not sure about Minnesota's status in particular, but I *think* it's one of the states that pays more to the feds than it gets back. Any help in keeping more of that money in-state is good for the local economy, especially if it's spent on infrastructure improvements. Would you rather have the 'shell game' take your money and give it to alabama or take it and give it to something you might use someday?

how it's* spent. I almost never make the its/it's mistake, but my fingers of fury missed the apostrophe key.

I'm pretty sure we're not giving any money to Louisiana already, so that won't make much of a difference. Plus we're just talking about transportation funding that will be spent on transportation no matter which state it goes to. There's supposed to be other parts of the budget to help out with the cleanup and rebuilding down there, but the budgetmakers seem to have kind of forgotten about all that after the tv news stopped talking about it.

But no, really! Try to say transportation funding directly impacts the gulf coast cleanup! You've got seperate buckets there, and their relative sizes are not the issue here. I can bitch about how one is too small and still kvetsch about how the money in the other one is spent.

Shit, I should have been an accountant.

My whole point was that how much goes into each bucket is a seperate issue from where the buckets go. It's not hypocritical to bitch about congress shorting them on reconstruction aid and still want to reclaim a chunk of transportation dollars. Just because the money all comes from taxes doesn't mean it's all the same once it's in the treasury. Try to run any sort of operation with a budget larger than a few thousand bucks without any real accounting strategies. Seriously, try it. You'll be pissing dollars in no time becuase you have no idea how you're money's being spent. It might seem absurd that money gets differentiated after you pay your taxes, but hey, that's even how corporations do it! And they can do no wrong, right?

Just had to comment - I couldn't force myself to read any more of the City Pages school board article once I read their characterization of Chris Stewart - "he's a conservative African American evangelical . . ."

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I sat through a school board meeting last night, where the board was hit with some harsh numbers. I was surprised to hear that 40% of the homes in Minneapolis are 1-person households. The Strib wrote about the need to close schools. I'm interested in what all the single people/1-person households means for city policy, etc. It's just interesting to think about.

When I closed on my condo, the title company told me everyone that had bought so far was single. Not sure why or if it's still true, but I was kinda shocked.

My guess for policy repercussions would be continued declining enrollment, which I think they already know.

Am I the only one who loves demographic trends?

I love demographic trends too! Glad I'm not the only one.

I couldn't force myself to read any more of the City Pages school board article once I saw Chris Stewart's face.

Yay for demographic trends!

Now is that 40% single people living in single-occupancy units? Or 40% single people living together and alone?

I'm also curious what the student population of the city proper is.

Someone really should study the high percentage of demographic trend-lovers on MNspeak. Are those who are predisposed to love trends drawn here? Or is MNspeak the causation of the trend lovin'?

OBERSTAR YOU GOD DAMN AMBULANCE CHASER! YOU ARE HOLDING HOSTAGE TO EACH AND EVERY MAN, WOMEN, AND CHILD IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA FOR AN UNJUST GAS TAX IN EXCHANGE FOR FEDERAL MONEY TO ROADS AND HIGHWAYS! THIS IS EXACTLY WHY THE VOTERS KEEP ELECTING CONSERVATIVES INTO OFFICE DURING AN ELECTION YEAR CYCLE BECAUSE OF YOUR NANNY STATE, BIG GOVERNMENT, NARROW-MINDED, ANTI-DEMOCRATIC LIBERAL AGENDA THAT NOBODY WANTS IN LIFE; YOU'RE NOT HELPING THE AVERAGE JOE OUT THERE, BUT TO PUNISH HIM AT THE WHEEL FOR SOMETHING THEY CAN'T AFFORD IN THEIR WALLETS!

GOD, I WANTED TO VOMIT TO ANYONE THAT TIRES TO DEFEND HIM ON THIS BOARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess a lot of the students still live at home, Kevin, and it's jerks like you and me that make the 40%!

So then Minneapolis is both old and young. Big U curve!
Shouldn't all those single 20somethings be married and having kids in a couple years, though?

Yeah post it on DeBlog.

I've always thought the best school to close would be Jefferson. If it's possible, the school could sell that land and get themselves some decent one-time funding. Top-notch in-demand location like that.