A week for a week

I am an 84-year-old former hockey mom who reads the Pioneer Press sport’s page, first thing in the morning. After seeing the photo of the Wild’s team captain lying injured on the ice, I was drawn to the headline in the Jan. 3 Pioneer Press, “Spurgeon will miss multiple weeks.” The NHL Department of Player Safety gave a three-game suspension to Nashville rookie forward Zach L’Heureux, “who ran Spurgeon into the end boards from behind.” It was  L’Heureux’s 12th suspension of his hockey career.

When asked if the punishment fit the crime, General Manager Bill Guerin said, “that’s a question for the league.” But he added, “they get their player back in three games. Ours is out two to three weeks.”

I ask, why not prohibit the offender from playing until the injured player returns? That may have some impact on “cheap shots.”

Jane Murphy, St Paul

Downtown, first things first

I just took the survey regarding the $600,000 set aside for the design of a new outdoor seating area with estimates of the final cost once a design is chosen. This project is to be funded by the new 1% sales tax in St. Paul.

I have worked downtown full time since 1988. I walk the skyway and sidewalks every day.

In my view before millions of dollars are spent on dog-relief areas and pergolas we need to address the homeless, the panhandlers, and crime and drug use this new space will attract.

The mayor and city attorney and county attorney neglected these issues for way too long and now we sit with a 45% vacancy rate. This cannot be fixed with converting office buildings to apartments.  We need workers and businesses back downtown. That starts with feeling safe and not harassed. It has improved, but I drive by the light rail station at Fifth and Cedar everyday and it is still not safe. This new park is a half block away.

In my opinion, the mayor and deputy mayor need to direct the city attorney to meet with our very qualified police chief Axel Henry and his street cops and make sure they know if arrests are made the assailants will be charged, and the city attorney then needs to charge these individuals and repeat offenders. We need to then meet with the judges to make sure the proper sentences are handed out for these charges.

In my opinion, until the police are supported, and charges are made by the city attorney with consequences, our downtown will not fully recover, and this new space will be yet another gathering spot for loitering, crime, drug use, and public urinating.

Patrick H. O’Neill, Jr., St. Paul

No do-over after fraud attempt

Two special elections; one legitimate and the other one not.

The legitimate special election is to elect a replacement for an office holder who sadly passed away. Condolences to her family and friends who held her close.

The illegitimate special election is for an individual who purposely attempted to defraud the electorate by claiming a false residence and almost got away with it.  Such fraudulent behavior should not be rewarded with a do-over. In the case of this disqualification, the office should simply be awarded to the person who finished second in the election and avoid the expense of a special election as well as the time and expense of the electorate to go to the polls a second time.

David Hobbs, Newport

Fixed, not criminalized

When I retired to St. Paul, I had a sense I had come to a caring place. A city that is concerned about rent stability. A city that wants workers to have timely payment of their salary. A city with officials who support ordinances that do these things. I liked it.

But I was shocked recently to discover St. Paul lacks one of the most basic tools for enforcing its ordinances – the “administrative citation.” Apparently, in St. Paul the only way we can go after someone who is flouting our laws is to send in the police.

Now, I have deep regard for our police, but it is not appropriate to ask them to enforce some things, like cleanliness in a child-care center, or a leaky roof in a rental facility, or unpaid salary at a gas station. Police action results in a misdemeanor and a criminal record. These are matters that should be fixed, not criminalized.

Virtually all city charters allow a direct approach – city to offender – with an “administrative citation” that imposes a warning or fine. Minneapolis. Rochester. Duluth. Mankato. You name it, they all have it. But not us. St. Paul is an outlier.

The matter is coming up before city council in January. Since it is a change to the charter, it requires a unanimous vote. Since powerful interests oppose it, it is not a clear shot. Drop a two-liner to your council member, and urge them to support the administrative citation. We need it.

Mark Nygard, St. Paul

Wrong guys

If the Democratic Party has only two white, middle-aged men to choose from they are in bigger trouble than many of us (independents) contemplated. Wisconsin is now Trump territory; how could their man possibly help the nation? Here in Minnesota, our guy almost lost our state, and there are some local elections taken from Democratic hands over the past few years and have now remained with Republican/Trump loyalists. From Duluth to the Canadian border, Minnesota is mostly red, also much of rural southern Minnesota. I would say that both these men are failures and if the Democrats put them in charge nationally, it bodes for further, future failures for Democratic candidates at all levels.

Jerry Carroll, Roseville

Deals

With all this talk of someone we know wanting to make Canada the 51st state of the United States, it got me thinking.  Let’s reverse this. I certainly would not mind if Minnesota became the 11th or 12th Province of Canada. We would finally get Universal Health Care and Gun Control.  And wouldn’t it be great if California, Oregon and Washington State and some of the other blue states followed? Isn’t that what some of the red states like Texas and Florida want as well?  A red-state-only paradise? As Doug Ford of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada has just said, “I’ll make him (Donald Trump) a counter-offer. How about if we buy Alaska, and we’ll throw in Minnesota, Minneapolis (sic), at the same time?”

Regina Purins, St. Paul

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