Unintended consequences: School districts left holding the bill after PCA cuts
By Sharon Rolenc, TC Daily Planet
School districts across the state are grappling with budget shortfalls. This coming July, the hole in their bucket is about to get bigger. As eligibility guidelines for the state's Personal Care Assistance (PCA) program become more stringent, Minnesota schools will lose, by conservative estimates, an additional $10 million dollars in funding
Books making a difference for women in prison
By Mary Treacy, TC Daily Planet
"I needed to write to express my gratitude towards ya'll at the WPBP. The empowerment the women here at the ....in the past six months has been noticed. All of the ladies I happen upon who have a glow mention ya'll. I hear,'It's the book I'm reading.' I was changed by a book...I'm sharing it with my family." It makes a difference."
World's Toughest Rodeo at the Xcel Energy Center: Say your prayers, Clovis Crane
by Bobby Kahn, TC Daily Planet
It was apparent that it was some of the contestants' first time at this particular rodeo, as there was some confusion as to what side of the pyrotechnics they were supposed to come out on.
MUSIC | Twin Cities hip-hop awards celebrate the diversity of local hip-hop
by Justin Schell, TC Daily Planet
What counts as the mainstream of hip-hop in the Twin Cities, the Rhymesayers-Doomtree-Heiruspecs segment of artists who get airtime on The Current and play stages like First Avenue, the Cedar, and even the Guthrie regularly, is precisely what doesn't count as mainstream hip-hop in all but a few other scenes in the country. Each of the past five years, the Twin Cities Hip-Hop Awards, for better and for worse, have revealed how much more hip-hop there is in the Twin Cities and tries to bring all the artists and fans together for at least one night.
MUSIC | Peter Wolf Crier and Retribution Gospel Choir at the Cedar Cultural Center: Loud and in love
by Kyle Matteson, TC Daily Planet
Peter Wolf Crier had one of the biggest touring years of any Minnesota band in 2010. Last summer they were asked to open for the Heartless Bastards, followed by a fall jaunt with Midlake and Rogue Wave, only to cap off the year touring with fellow 89.3 The Current favorites Dawes. At that point I figured that they would be done with touring and start working on their second record, but not so fast. I didn't realize they hadn't really toured on the west coast, so one last tour with Duluth's Retribution Gospel Choir seemed like a perfect way to end the amazing run they've made in support of their debut album.
THEATER | Gonzo Group's No Exit: A hell of a show
by Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
Hamil Griffin-Cassidy, producer of the Minneapolis cable access show Freaky Deeky, talks about the freedom of "the cable-access aesthetic": if something looks great, everyone's impressed. If something looks crappy, hey, what do you want? It's cable access. Companies producing Jean-Paul Sartre's 1944 play No Exit have a similar freedom: hey, what do you want? It's hell.
THEATER | A moving and entertaining Winter's Tale at the Guthrie Theater
by Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
With its lucid, compelling, gleefully entertaining presentation of a classic story, The Winter's Tale has it all. It's only February, but I'm going to call it: this is one of the shows of the year.
THEATER | Workhaus Collective's Little Eyes at the Guthrie Theater: See ennui, hear ennui, speak ennui
by Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
For a reality check, I just called my aunt Judy, an actual resident of suburbia. I asked her to imagine that "one day your doorbell rings, and it's a weirdly jolly man in a suit, with a camera around his neck and a briefcase in his hand. He tells you he's on assignment from the mayor of Lino Lakes, and he wants to photograph the outside and inside of your house for an exhibit at the library. He'd also like you to put on an apron and pose for a photo, and he'd also like to photograph your children."
Videos feature history, culture of St. Paul's West Side Flats and District Del Sol
By Maria Almli, TC Daily Planet
Community leaders and members from St Paul's West Side gathered at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church January 25 to preview a series of videos that chronicle the history of the West Side Flats and District Del Sol. This little known history is being brought into the spotlight by a collaboration between the Chicano Latino Affairs Council (CLAC) and the Minnesota Humanities Center. David O'Fallon, the director of the Minnesota Humanities Center, and Hector Garcia, executive director of CLAC, introduced the videos. Samuel Verdejas, founder of the West Side Cultural Center and Minnesota Cinco de Mayo celebration, community activist Gilbert de la O, Don Luna of the St Paul Police Department, and Michael Medina of Medina Architects were among those featured in the videos.
MN VOICES | Muralist on a mission
By David Jarnstrom, TC Daily Planet
It never gets old for muralist Jimmy Longoria—watching harried Minneapolitans freeze in their tracks to bask in the radiance of what used to be just another drab city wall. Even on the bleakest of mid-winter days, it's hard not to be uplifted by the visual lithium emanating from the Chicano artist's urban canvasses. They are bombastic explosions of color and texture-exclamations of positive energy in some of the city's toughest neighborhoods.
Blog wars, talking babies, and the Minneapolis Public Schools
by Sheila Regan, TC Daily Planet
The ongoing feud between Northside bloggers John Hoff (aka Johnny Northside) and Donald Allen, who runs Independent Business News Network, another blog, continues this week. Hoff questioned the Minneapolis Public Schools contracting Allen $15,000 for video and production work. Hoff embedded a captured video from Allen's YouTube account, claiming it was outrageous that Allen should get money from MPS.
MUSIC | Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt at the State Theatre: A private conversation
by Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
Characteristically, the two outwardly modest (inwardly, I suspect otherwise) performers declined to slap their joint tour with the label of "a very special evening with" John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett. In point of fact, though, it was indeed a very special evening with these two great American journeymen.
BOOKS | Stephen Elliott's The Adderall Diaries, February's Books & Bars selection
by Courtney Davison, TC Daily Planet
Stories of sex, drugs, and murder are usually best left to reality TV. Rarely does one pick up a book with the notion of being tantalized by such sensational subject matter.
THEATER | Shirley Valentine, you can't be serious! I am serious, and I'm at the Jungle Theater
by Matthew A. Everett, TC Daily Planet
There's absolutely nothing wrong with Shirley Valentine. The script by Willy Russell holds up remarkably well for being over 20 years old. The character of Shirley is charming and funny, and Cheryl Willis' performance is equally winning. If you're looking for an evening of theater that goes down easily and leaves you with a happy feeling, Shirley Valentine at the Jungle Theater is a perfect fit for you.
MOVIES | Oscar nominees enjoy Beverly Hilton lunch: Where everyone is equal for the day
by Barb Teed, TC Daily Planet
Chanhassen Dinner Theater alum Amy Adams, nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category, said she had a chance to meet real life Charlene Fleming, the character she portrays in The Fighter. "She was awesome. Charlene told me not to wear fishnet stockings but unfortunately [Director] David O. Russell disagreed, so I wore the fishnets."
FRONT ROW SEAT | When does a negative review go too far?
by Jay Gabler • After my decidedly negative review of Workhaus Collective's play Little Eyes was published, I received an e-mail from a reader. The reader expressed two basic concerns: (1) It's not appropriate to use my aunt's idea of what's realistic to judge the quality of a fictional stage production that employs deliberately absurd storytelling techniques; (2) the tone of my review was unnecessarily glib, and lacked consideration of the degree of time and attention devoted to Little Eyes by everyone involved with the production.
MUSIC | The Decemberists and Mountain Man at the State Theatre: Return to glory
by Kyle Matteson, TC Daily Planet
I'll be frank with you: the Decemberists and I have had a fairly rocky relationship over their 10-year career.
THE OPTIMISTIC PESSIMIST | Oscar-nominated animated shorts are charming and moving
by Jim Brunzell III • Last week, I talked about two Oscar-nominated films, Biutiful and The Illusionist. Now this week, there are a whopping fifteen Oscar-nominated films opening. The films are not feature length, thank goodness: there are three sets of short programs opening this weekend, two at the Lagoon Cinema and the other opening at the Riverview Theater. So to get ahead in your upcoming Oscar pools, it would be wise to try to catch these films in their limited runs.
THEATER | A sizzling Doubt from Ten Thousand Things
by Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
Though it's only six years old, John Patrick Shanley's play Doubt: A Parable has already become a contemporary classic. I attended Ten Thousand Things' new production of the play on Saturday with my friend Sarah Harper, an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota, and she said that not only had she seen the Oscar-nominated 2008 film adaptation, the play had been staged by her high school. Saturday's performance took place at the Minnesota Correctional Facility for women in Shakopee—it will be presented to the public starting February 11 at Open Book—and it's a perfect choice for this company, which specializes in up-close, emotionally-charged theater.
Signing On premieres Saturday
by Sara Chars, TC Daily Planet
Signing On, premiering on February 12 at St. Catherine University, is a documentary featuring the unrecognized healthcare needs of the deaf community in a predominantly hearing world. The inspiration for the film came from Anita Buel, a breast cancer survivor who lived in the only world she knew - American Sign Language (ASL). After an interview with a local TV station made her a contact for deaf women across the country, she was overwhelmed with requests for help and information. Recognizing how important an informative, bilingual documentary would be for both deaf women battling breast cancer and their doctors, Anita and co-producer Nancy Meyers made this film.
MOVIES | 83rd Academy Awards Governors Ball preview
by Barb Teed, TC Daily Planet
The Governors Ball is the first party on the roster for post-Oscar festivities. Some 1,500 guests will wine and dine on food headed up by Master Chef Wolfgang Puck and Executive Pastry Chef Sherry Yard. Attendees will enjoy floral arrangements by florist Mark Held. Home entertaining is by Moet & Chandon.
MOVIES | Gwyneth Paltrow to sing live on Oscar night
by Barb Teed, TC Daily Planet
Gwyneth Paltrow will perform "Coming Home" from the film Country Strong on stage at this year's Academy Awards, telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer announced.
NEW IN BLOGS
FRONT ROW SEAT | Dunn Bros. rebranding: Boring in black?
by Jay Gabler • Dunn Bros., the Minnesota-based company that's the ninth largest coffee chain in the country, is apparently rebranding—or, more precisely, repackaging. Change is good, but I'm not sure about this particular change.
POKING AROUND | Hubert H. Humphrey: Documentary generates memories and invites discussion
by Mary Treacy • Though I know it dates me, I am forever proud to boast that I cut my political teeth handing out Humphrey campaign posters at the Union Hall in Highland Village. From the first Union member's positive response, I was hooked. I trailed the Smiling Warrior through that Senatorial run, then lived and politicked in DC during some of his finest hours in the Senate. As director of a national student organization with an aggressive human rights agenda I swelled with pride as Humphrey inspired youthful activists to believe in the political process - and to act on their beliefs.
TC JEWFOLK | Blogging from Haiti: Why I do what I do
by Sam Usem • Since graduating from college a couple of years ago I have found myself doing some very strange things. Farming and setting up medical clinics for orphans in Honduras, hitchhiking in California after busting a knee in the back country, guiding high-schoolers on canoe trips in Canada and most recently directing development projects in Haiti.
HINDSIGHT | HF 192, another conservative policy that fails Minnesota
by John Van Hecke • This morning, a Minnesota State House of Representatives committee considers HF 192. Sponsored by State Representative Keith Downey (R-Edina), this bill is an all-out attack on Minnesota's working families. It strips many worker protection measures and turns Minnesota into a "Right to Work" state.
CRAZY BOY FARM | 6th Annual Minority and Immigrant Farming Conference
by Amy Doeun • This weekend we had a real treat, the 6th Annual Minority and Immigrant Farming Conference. This is my 3rd year attending and each year it gets better. The Minnesota Food Association (MFA), our training organization, is one of the co-sponsors of the event. Glen Hill, executive director of MFA told me that the USDA told him this was the largest gathering of its kind in the country.
SINGLE WHITE FRINGE GEEK | Fringe 2011: Happy birthday to my Fringe sidekick!
by Matthew A. Everett • I suppose most people wouldn't call their Mom their sidekick, but for as long as I've been blogging about the Fringe, Mom's been seeing Fringe shows with me. This will be Fringe #9 for Mom, and she has seen a lot of shows in the previous eight years. And she's looking forward to seeing a lot more.
SINGLE WHITE FRINGE GEEK | My play Leave—Things that make it real
by Matthew A. Everett • Seeing the set for my play for the first time always blows my mind.
SINGLE WHITE FRINGE GEEK | My play Leave—First impressions
by Matthew A. Everett • Before one of the runthroughs the other night, one of the actors wandered by wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist. I did a doubletake until I realized, "Oh yeah, that's his first costume."
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