Around the local civic blogosphere

David Bly, Betsey Buckheit, Chip Cuccio, Kathleen Doran-Norton, Citizen Wig.David Bly: 'Art Town' Controversy; "For the Arts Guild to apply its resources to a community wide arts effort will cause it to divert scarce resources but also to change the role it plays in the community. Something it could do but is not now doing. What the Guild has done more recently is to offer arts opportunities to those who enter their world either through membership or participation in their events or offerings. It has done some outreach through cooperation with the schools. It has not found a way to offer support to emerging arts groups with a vision of their own. That's my take on why ArtOrg came to be."

Northfield Planning Commissioner Betsey Buckheit: Who Are We? and a Vision of/for Northfield; Buckheit's report on the 7/12 Planning Commission Meeting includes notes from a presentation by Hazel Reinhardt, former Minnesota State Demographer, "who has been retained as a consultant to update the population projections in our Comprehensive Plan... Ms. Reinhardt questions whether growth in Northfield is merely an extension of growth in Dakiota County and the metro area -- that is, increased suburbanization (the implication of the Comp Plan) -- and suggests that Northfield's growth is for reasons unique to Northfield. This should be a welcome suggestion for many who fear the Burnsvillification of the area." (She links to a blog post by Kathleen Doran-Norton.) The League of Women Voters also has a blog post on the 7/12 Planning Commission meeting, written by Pat Kriesel, LWV Observer.

Chip Cuccio: What's the status of Heywood Park? "We live in the neighborhood which encompasses Heywood Park. As of now, it's nothing more than a wide open grass-covered 7.6 acre field. I'm awfully curious and interested as to where we stand with regard to the status of the park. Some history ..."

Kathleen Doran-Norton: Could be worse; "Gordon Kelly, county planning commissioner, asks: "What could be worse than having a highway commercial zone without a plan?" How about: * Plans which only consider 2 miles on one side of I-35 rather than the entire I-35 corridor; * Committee members selected who are not the chosen representatives of cities and townships and who have not submitted applications to be committee members, but are chosen because they are relatives of commissioners?... "

Citizen Wig: A local retailer goes the extra mile; "My wife Robbie had an amazing experience with Lansing's Hardware recently..."