We look forward to sharing some recent and upcoming activities in the neighborhood including events, news, opinions, and more. July was hot and lacking rain. There was smoke in the sky, forcing us inside, but there was also community being made, day by day.
What’s news in….
in Minneapolis
City Council
Hennepin County presented the Lyndale Ave reconstruction conceptual design to the Climate & Infrastructure committee on July 9th, and the project was then voted on by the full council on July 16th. After an extended discussion, the council approved the design (8 ayes to 4 nays), and the resolution passed by the mayor’s desk such that it was officially approved! Thanks all for your continuing advocacy and interest on this project. While it has been called a compromise, it is definitely a project that created many lessons learned that will hopefully make future projects function differently, but continuing advocacy will be necessary regardless, which was made clear by the somewhat coincidental timing of the smoke settling on Minneapolis the same day as the city council hearing.
At the same council session, the motion to approve a test trial for Skydio in Vetaw’s ward failed city council vote. The vote was 6 to 6, meaning that the trial of this specific drone use did not pass.
Democracy Defense
Monarca is hosting several upcoming events around the metro area associated with the upcoming midterm elections. There are several ways to get involved through Monarca, but their will be a democracy defense training on Monday August 31st in Whittier at Calvary Church (2608 Blaisdell Ave).
in Whittier and nearby
Community Safety
Gun violence continues to be a challenging issue for residents for obvious reasons, and the perception of safety is a controversial and divisive topic, but there are some opportunities to voice your opinion. Whittier Alliance hosts Community Safety meetings a few times per year where residents, members of the government, and police get together to discuss things. A meeting was held back in July, but keep an eye out for future meetings. If you have an opinion on this topic and would like to be part of a discussion, this is a good opportunity. We will attempt to keep the Discord updated with future events, but it is also always a good idea to reach out to our Council representative at [email protected] to let them know that we would appreciate their attendance at these meetings.
Upcoming Events
WSN events:
- Saturday August 1st (technically yesterday) – Really Really Free Market
- Location: Whittier Rec Center (425 W 26th St), outdoors unless there is bad weather which then it will be hosted inside the rec center
- Time: 1:00pm-4:00pm
- Note: This event occurs on the first Saturday of the Month
- Click here to sign up to support the event as we are always looking for helpers
- Sunday August 2nd – Urban Design Meeting
- Location: Bob’s Java Hut
- Time: 3:30pm-5:00pm
- Note: This event occurs on the first Sunday of the Month
- Sunday August 9th and Sunday August 23rd – Whittier Organizer Meeting
- Location: Whittier Alliance Office (10 E 25th St)
- Time: 1:00pm-2:30pm
- Join us as we chat about ways to collaborate and organize in our community!
- Sunday August 2nd, August 16th, and August 30th – Coffee Club
- Location: Bob’s Java Hut
- Time: 3:00pm-5:00pm
- Note that when this coffee event overlaps with the Urban Design meeting, its possible coffee club starts around 2pm instead of 3pm
- Saturday August 22nd – WSN Monthly Tech Meeting
- Location: Whittier Alliance Office (10 E 25th St)
- Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm
- Sunday August 23rd – WSN Monthly Bike Ride
- Location: Meet at MIA/Washburn Fair Oaks on 24th St
- Time: Meet between 9:45am-10:00am, depart @ 10:00am, return to neighborhood between 11:00am and 12:00pm
WSN Adjacent Events
- Thursday August 27th – Whittier Alliance Monthly Board Meeting
- Location: Whittier Alliance Office (10 E 25th St)
- Time: 6:00pm-8:00pm
- More details – there is a virtual/hybrid option as well
- Sunday August 9th – Whittier Alliance Trash Pickup
- Location: Whittier Alliance Office (10 E 25th St)
- Time: 10am-11am
- Sign up here
- Saturday August 1st – Whittier Block Party
- Location: Whittier Rec Center (425 W 26th St)
- Time: 1:00pm-4:00pm
- Local Organizers are hosting a block party in conjunction with the RRFM, and we are so appreciative of their hard work. Please consider stopping by to hang out on the 4th!
Reminders and Connections
We are always looking for more neighbors who are interested in participating or starting events like the coffee club or bike ride. In the past we have hosted one-off like events for other activities such as crafting clubs, book clubs, videogame nights, movie nights, and more. If you are interested in participating in something like this, please feel free to reach out to a WSN organizer for assistance, or feel free to use the WSN discord as a means to organize around your specific interest.