Results tagged “twincities”

The Republican National Convention may have ended last week, but lost in the haze of John McCain's acceptance of the nomination was how the final day of the St. Paul protests was marked by a spike in arrests. Police rounded up nearly 400 demonstrators during and after a major protest march, and at least 19 journalists were also arrested--including two from the Associated Press and even a New York-based reporter with the GOP-friendly Fox News. He's just published an outraged account of the experience, and says police misled protesters by telling them to disperse over a bridge, only to block the other side and then arrest hundreds of them en masse.

The Post has a funny editorial today about how St. Paul police could have avoided all "the ugliness that's marred the GOP convention this week" by taking some tips from the NYPD's "effective" management of the 2004 RNC protests. Of course, St. Paul officials did consult with the NYPD before the convention, and their raids on protesters' homes seem partly inspired by the NYPD's pre-convention spying in 2004. But according to the Post, demonstrators in St. Paul are now "pining for the apparently gentler tactics of the NYPD."

No surprises here; more reports of heavy-handed police tactics are filtering in from the Twin Cities, where the NYPD has been consulting with local law enforcement on how to handle demonstrations during the Republican convention. Salon has a long story on police and federal officers ("in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn") raiding houses where protest organizers are suspected of staying, in some cases seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets.

A 21-year-old woman visiting New York City from a small town in Minnesota killed herself Friday evening by jumping from the fire escape of a midtown hotel. The suicide ended a weekend that was the result of winning tickets to Friday night's Z100 Jingle Ball concert at Madison Square Garden. Jennifer Olson was from the town of Eveleth, Minnesota, population: 3,000. She checked into the Night Hotel on 45th St. with her male friend Timothy O'Neill. The two were co-workers at a dental office in Eveleth and O'Neill apparently had a romantic interest in Olson, which was not reciprocal. Nonetheless, she accepted his invitation to go to NYC with him after he won tickets to the concert.

NYC is a two time loser now! After the Republican party decided to have its 2008 convention in the Twin Cities, the city hoped to win the Democratic convention. But now the Democratic National Committee has announced the 2008 convention will be in Denver. Here's DNC Chairman Howard Dean's statement:

The recent Democratic gains in the West exemplify the principle that when we show up and ask for people's votes and talk about what we stand for, we can win in any part of the country. We have a number of strong Democratic leaders in the West who will be a part of showcasing the vision of Democratic leadership for America as we introduce the next Democratic President in the Rocky Mountains.

Recently, NYC had been downplaying our chances of landing the convention, given some fundraising concerns, though Denver's problems seemed bigger (hotel room availability, money, do Democrats really want to go Denver). We guess wooing the Democrats with hansom cab rides through Central Park, dinner at the Top of the Rock, and dinner at Mayor Bloomberg's home fell short, too.

Scott Moore is a very talented illustrator from the Twin Cities. On his Sketch-It blog, he does sketches for $1.00 (payable by Paypal.) To test out his skills, we had him sketch our official feline mascot, Thompson. The results speak for themselves-- absolute perfection. [Via Amit, who had Scott sketch his roommates, $5 well spent!]

As if America didn’t have enough going on today, the 2004/2005 NBA season kicks off tonight with a doubleheader on TNT (how’s that for some election coverage counter programming?). The local teams don’t get started until tomorrow when the rebuilt Nets will take on Shaquille O’Neal and the Miami Heat at the Meadowlands and the Knicks travel to the Twin Cities to take on last year’s MVP and the Twolves. Both the Knicks and Nets will start the season with depleted rosters. Jason Kidd and Allan Houston will start the season on the inured list, ensuring they will miss at least the first five games of the season.

The people of Minneapolis-Saint Paul are being overrun by huge, inflatable game pieces! Voluntarily, though. The Big Urban Game, aka B.U.G., was created by the University of Minnesota's Design Institute, "." People vote for and move different pieces along different routes in the city, with the piece arriving at the final destination in the shortest time winning. B.U.G. pieces move between 6-8PM through Saturday, and then 12-2PM on Sunday, but online voting is all the time.