U & I Cafe
Reprinted from Pioneer Press
PAYNE AVENUE GETS A GATHERING SPOT
WOMAN INVESTS TIME, MONEY TO CREATE COMMUNITY CENTER THAT WELCOMES ALL
SEBASTIAN LUPAK, Pioneer Press
"We're very proud here, very proud," says Kristin "Murph" Dawkins, speaking, as she often does, in the first-person plural. "We are East Siders. There is a strong sense that this community is going through tough times, but that we still want to be here."
St. Paul's East Side has seen its share of tough times in the past 20 years, taking major economic hits from the closings of such institutions as the Hamm's/Stroh's brewery and the Whirlpool plant, as well as cutbacks at a longtime 3M facility. Adding to community frustration over the years were persistent problems with drug use, prostitution and absentee landlords.
But in recent years, the neighborhood has been fighting back. Now Dawkins, a 51-year-old community activist who has lived on the East Side for about 10 years, wants to "recapture a long-term sense of building something with our own hands, as did the first immigrants in the 1800s."
That's why she bought a run-down, onetime saloon at 858 Payne Ave. in July and is working to convert it into a combination coffee shop, restaurant and community center.
She used her life savings, paying $120,000 for the building and spending somewhere between $60,000 and $100,000 to fix it up. She's also set aside $50,000 for start-up costs.
"I am a frugal person," Dawkins says. "I saved so much now, and given the economic times, the best investment seemed to be in real estate."
A GATHERING PLACE
She sees her investment generating wealth for the whole community: "With this coffee shop I will not be competing with -- but helping to support -- other merchants from the East Side."
The food, for example, will come from the Eastside Thai Restaurant across the street and a nearby Mexican bakery. Dawkins also wants to use the upstairs kitchen for the community, where local gardeners can bring in their produce and prepare it the way they want.
She insists that Payne Avenue needs "its own coffee place," rather than a chain operation. "If you go with these big commercial chains, money leaves the neighborhood," she says.
"But I am re-spending it in the local food stores or the hardware store up the street. It begins to recycle. Every dollar spent in my shop will be spent over and over on the East Side, multiplying the economic impact for the local community, instead of going into the corporate world."
To be sure, Dawkins is taking a financial risk, given recent business failures on the street: a couple of restaurants, including one serving Cajun and New Orleans-style food, as well as a bingo parlor.
"A number of people think that I am crazy," Dawkins says. "I don't feel too worried. ... The Cajun restaurant that closed was not marketing to the people who live here but, rather, trying to attract people from other communities to come here. At the bingo hole, the prices were a little higher than people who live here could really afford."
Dawkins, on the other hand, aims to please the local folks with choices and prices: "Lots of people have already told me what kind of soup they like, and what kind of sandwiches they like, and whether they prefer mustard or mayonnaise."
THE U AND I CAFE
There is still a lot to be done, but Dawkins wants to open before the end of the year. And again she's turning to the community, employing several homeless people from the area for renovation work.
"They are going through a little bit of the tough times," she says. "Now they are learning new skills, taking pride in their work, becoming more responsible."
Dawkins also wants the place to function as an East Side museum, reflecting the history of the Swedish, Irish, Polish and Italian immigrants' struggle.
"Neighbors have been bringing 100-year-old artifacts," she said. "There are old books, photos, old kitchen equipment, laundry baskets, serving spoons and basins."
As early as 1890, the building was listed in the city directory as a saloon owned by Magnus Lindgren. In 1903, the Hamm's Brewery used it as an outlet for its beers, and during Prohibition, it became one of the area's many speakeasies, Dawkins says.
Since the early 1970s, the place had been exclusively residential -- until last year, when it was closed down by police because the last tenants "had a bit of a drug problem," Dawkins said. When she learned that the owner was ready to sell the building, she jumped at the opportunity.
Dawkins has had a bit of a problem naming the place, with many of the old-timers joining the debate. The issue was settled, however, when workers rehabbing the building discovered the original wood siding and a painted-on advertisement reading, "The U and I Cafe -- Famous for Italian Food."
"It didn't take half a second for me to say, 'That's the name!' " she says. "And, of course, I will serve Italian soups and sandwiches."
A FITTING NICKNAME
Dawkins' nickname, "Murph," seems apt for someone who hasn't been afraid to challenge the status quo by asking a lot of questions. The nickname comes from her childhood -- and her favorite nursery rhyme: "Who put the overalls in Mrs. Murphy's chowder? Nobody knows; ask louder, louder, louder. ..."
And she has -- pushing for such community projects as a monument in Railroad Island that honors police officers or two ongoing projects: a bike path connecting the East Side with downtown, and efforts to develop the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary on Lower Phalen Creek.
"She has been successful in all she has been doing so far, so I wouldn't want to bet against her this time," said her brother, Andy Dawkins, a former state legislator from St. Paul who now directs the city's code enforcement efforts.
"She has a business plan, stays in touch with community's development, realizes that it needs a bit of Hispanic touch, African-American touch, Hmong touch. She will make this place a stop-off for lots of people."
Andy Dawkins added, "She believes in making the world a better place and believes that people can control their destiny and that the world belongs to the active."
Her busy pace proves the point. By day, she is the vice president for international programs at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a nonprofit organization. After hours, she serves as president of the District 5 Payne-Phalen Planning Council and treasurer of the Friends of Swede Hollow. She also sits on the executive committee of the East Side Neighborhood Development Co.
And then there's the community center.
"It's great to have someone fixing it up and turning it into a business," said Mark Kowalczuk, president of the Payne-Arcade Business Association. "Dawkins is a very motivated, good-hearted person, and she is prepared enough to pull it off successfully."
Greg Copeland, an East Side activist who also chairs the city's Republican Party Committee, says he supports many of her efforts but has had a run-in or two over the years.
One involved her support for a bingo parlor on Payne. Copeland says he opposed risking planning council funds on the short-lived venture. "I am glad that this time she's investing her own money in serving coffee and not risking public funds on gambling."
They also disagreed over a controversial hire to run the council, Robert Greenberg, a political activist who once threw a cream pie in the face of a state senator inside the Capitol. Dawkins backed the hire; Copeland did not.
"We can disagree, but throwing pies is not the way to do politics," he said.
Curt Milburn, project director of the Phalen Corridor redevelopment initiative, agrees that Dawkins has incredible energy: "I appreciate how much she does for the community. She does not always support all redevelopment ideas, but I praise her willingness to engage in dialogue."
YOURS, MINE, EVERYBODY'S
At 858 Payne Ave., a.k.a. Murph's Place, Dawkins envisions several community attractions above the cafe -- children's arts programs, Internet access, a library and a piano -- and two apartments for rent.
Dawkins wants the building to be a nurturing place for activism, for neighbors to "come and think about the neighborhood's future -- how we can work together to live out our dreams."
And the Chicago native wants to reach out to everyone: the white working class, the Southeast Asian immigrants, the growing Hispanic population, as well as African-Americans who moved here from such places as Gary, Ind., or Memphis, Tenn.
"Very often, people introduce themselves (by) their job: 'Hi, I am so and so, and I am a doctor,' " Dawkins says. "But here, people will say: 'Hi, I am so and so, and I am from Railroad Island, or some other small neighborhood within the Payne Avenue district. Together, we are East Siders."
With Kristin Dawkins, it's always back to such first-person plural references.
She points to her Payne Avenue work-in-progress and says: "It isn't just mine -- it's everybody's."
Sebastian Lupak can be reached at slupak@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5452.
PAYNE AVENUE GETS A GATHERING SPOT
WOMAN INVESTS TIME, MONEY TO CREATE COMMUNITY CENTER THAT WELCOMES ALL
SEBASTIAN LUPAK, Pioneer Press
"We're very proud here, very proud," says Kristin "Murph" Dawkins, speaking, as she often does, in the first-person plural. "We are East Siders. There is a strong sense that this community is going through tough times, but that we still want to be here."
St. Paul's East Side has seen its share of tough times in the past 20 years, taking major economic hits from the closings of such institutions as the Hamm's/Stroh's brewery and the Whirlpool plant, as well as cutbacks at a longtime 3M facility. Adding to community frustration over the years were persistent problems with drug use, prostitution and absentee landlords.
But in recent years, the neighborhood has been fighting back. Now Dawkins, a 51-year-old community activist who has lived on the East Side for about 10 years, wants to "recapture a long-term sense of building something with our own hands, as did the first immigrants in the 1800s."
That's why she bought a run-down, onetime saloon at 858 Payne Ave. in July and is working to convert it into a combination coffee shop, restaurant and community center.
She used her life savings, paying $120,000 for the building and spending somewhere between $60,000 and $100,000 to fix it up. She's also set aside $50,000 for start-up costs.
"I am a frugal person," Dawkins says. "I saved so much now, and given the economic times, the best investment seemed to be in real estate."
A GATHERING PLACE
She sees her investment generating wealth for the whole community: "With this coffee shop I will not be competing with -- but helping to support -- other merchants from the East Side."
The food, for example, will come from the Eastside Thai Restaurant across the street and a nearby Mexican bakery. Dawkins also wants to use the upstairs kitchen for the community, where local gardeners can bring in their produce and prepare it the way they want.
She insists that Payne Avenue needs "its own coffee place," rather than a chain operation. "If you go with these big commercial chains, money leaves the neighborhood," she says.
"But I am re-spending it in the local food stores or the hardware store up the street. It begins to recycle. Every dollar spent in my shop will be spent over and over on the East Side, multiplying the economic impact for the local community, instead of going into the corporate world."
To be sure, Dawkins is taking a financial risk, given recent business failures on the street: a couple of restaurants, including one serving Cajun and New Orleans-style food, as well as a bingo parlor.
"A number of people think that I am crazy," Dawkins says. "I don't feel too worried. ... The Cajun restaurant that closed was not marketing to the people who live here but, rather, trying to attract people from other communities to come here. At the bingo hole, the prices were a little higher than people who live here could really afford."
Dawkins, on the other hand, aims to please the local folks with choices and prices: "Lots of people have already told me what kind of soup they like, and what kind of sandwiches they like, and whether they prefer mustard or mayonnaise."
THE U AND I CAFE
There is still a lot to be done, but Dawkins wants to open before the end of the year. And again she's turning to the community, employing several homeless people from the area for renovation work.
"They are going through a little bit of the tough times," she says. "Now they are learning new skills, taking pride in their work, becoming more responsible."
Dawkins also wants the place to function as an East Side museum, reflecting the history of the Swedish, Irish, Polish and Italian immigrants' struggle.
"Neighbors have been bringing 100-year-old artifacts," she said. "There are old books, photos, old kitchen equipment, laundry baskets, serving spoons and basins."
As early as 1890, the building was listed in the city directory as a saloon owned by Magnus Lindgren. In 1903, the Hamm's Brewery used it as an outlet for its beers, and during Prohibition, it became one of the area's many speakeasies, Dawkins says.
Since the early 1970s, the place had been exclusively residential -- until last year, when it was closed down by police because the last tenants "had a bit of a drug problem," Dawkins said. When she learned that the owner was ready to sell the building, she jumped at the opportunity.
Dawkins has had a bit of a problem naming the place, with many of the old-timers joining the debate. The issue was settled, however, when workers rehabbing the building discovered the original wood siding and a painted-on advertisement reading, "The U and I Cafe -- Famous for Italian Food."
"It didn't take half a second for me to say, 'That's the name!' " she says. "And, of course, I will serve Italian soups and sandwiches."
A FITTING NICKNAME
Dawkins' nickname, "Murph," seems apt for someone who hasn't been afraid to challenge the status quo by asking a lot of questions. The nickname comes from her childhood -- and her favorite nursery rhyme: "Who put the overalls in Mrs. Murphy's chowder? Nobody knows; ask louder, louder, louder. ..."
And she has -- pushing for such community projects as a monument in Railroad Island that honors police officers or two ongoing projects: a bike path connecting the East Side with downtown, and efforts to develop the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary on Lower Phalen Creek.
"She has been successful in all she has been doing so far, so I wouldn't want to bet against her this time," said her brother, Andy Dawkins, a former state legislator from St. Paul who now directs the city's code enforcement efforts.
"She has a business plan, stays in touch with community's development, realizes that it needs a bit of Hispanic touch, African-American touch, Hmong touch. She will make this place a stop-off for lots of people."
Andy Dawkins added, "She believes in making the world a better place and believes that people can control their destiny and that the world belongs to the active."
Her busy pace proves the point. By day, she is the vice president for international programs at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a nonprofit organization. After hours, she serves as president of the District 5 Payne-Phalen Planning Council and treasurer of the Friends of Swede Hollow. She also sits on the executive committee of the East Side Neighborhood Development Co.
And then there's the community center.
"It's great to have someone fixing it up and turning it into a business," said Mark Kowalczuk, president of the Payne-Arcade Business Association. "Dawkins is a very motivated, good-hearted person, and she is prepared enough to pull it off successfully."
Greg Copeland, an East Side activist who also chairs the city's Republican Party Committee, says he supports many of her efforts but has had a run-in or two over the years.
One involved her support for a bingo parlor on Payne. Copeland says he opposed risking planning council funds on the short-lived venture. "I am glad that this time she's investing her own money in serving coffee and not risking public funds on gambling."
They also disagreed over a controversial hire to run the council, Robert Greenberg, a political activist who once threw a cream pie in the face of a state senator inside the Capitol. Dawkins backed the hire; Copeland did not.
"We can disagree, but throwing pies is not the way to do politics," he said.
Curt Milburn, project director of the Phalen Corridor redevelopment initiative, agrees that Dawkins has incredible energy: "I appreciate how much she does for the community. She does not always support all redevelopment ideas, but I praise her willingness to engage in dialogue."
YOURS, MINE, EVERYBODY'S
At 858 Payne Ave., a.k.a. Murph's Place, Dawkins envisions several community attractions above the cafe -- children's arts programs, Internet access, a library and a piano -- and two apartments for rent.
Dawkins wants the building to be a nurturing place for activism, for neighbors to "come and think about the neighborhood's future -- how we can work together to live out our dreams."
And the Chicago native wants to reach out to everyone: the white working class, the Southeast Asian immigrants, the growing Hispanic population, as well as African-Americans who moved here from such places as Gary, Ind., or Memphis, Tenn.
"Very often, people introduce themselves (by) their job: 'Hi, I am so and so, and I am a doctor,' " Dawkins says. "But here, people will say: 'Hi, I am so and so, and I am from Railroad Island, or some other small neighborhood within the Payne Avenue district. Together, we are East Siders."
With Kristin Dawkins, it's always back to such first-person plural references.
She points to her Payne Avenue work-in-progress and says: "It isn't just mine -- it's everybody's."
Sebastian Lupak can be reached at slupak@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5452.
posted by Bob at Tuesday, October 10, 2006
39 Comments:
Dip it in honey, roll it in sugar and serve it up at the U&I with a cup of brew! Some may choke a bit getting it down and digesting it.
Murph has it going on! Thumbs up Murph. Whats taking so long to get the place done, I'm all excited and I'm not an East Sider!
My question is how she is excluded from having to hire licensed contractors for these permits on a building that had a code compliance like the rest of the neighborhood. I guess it helps to have family running the building code dept. Kinda like favoritism alittle????
Not only has she got the juice at the inspections department, she gets grant money to do it, and has the district council pulling the building permits for her. Not a bad setup. What else do all these insiders own on the east side?
Where do you get information that Murph has received grant money?
Not hard to invest money in your community when you get a building handed to you and then given grant money to fix it up.You can't afford not to invest in that community.I'll do it.Any more buildings being given away and money to rehab them?
I liked the story.
Thank you Murph if you read this stuff.
I will try a dinning experience at the U & I when it's open.
Thanks for posting this story Bob.
There are two apartments to rent too. Let's see how that goes?
No apartments to rent I don't think. She says in the story that she is going to use the upstairs kitchen to prepare food or something. What the hell though, the tenants don't need a kitchen. they can pay to eat downstairs in the cafe.
This story doesn't match up with the other one, this one says she is investing the other one said the East Side Development was. I thought I also read that this project has been underway for more than a year and the other story said there would be affordable apartments upstairs and this story says the kitchen will be up ther. So which story are we to beleive? Both stories admit she is receiving favoritism as far as building codes and permits, theres not one private restaurant owner that would get away with hiring people off the street to do repairs, I think it is great that she is but don't understand why the rest of us can't do the same then. I am sure there is a good reason though, probaly like we don't have family running the east building inspections dept. am I right? In fact the city would have torn it down for us by now!
You people are angry with Andy Dawkins Murphs brother, so you pick on Murph.Sad...
Murph is doing something positive with this building and for the East Side.
I join the other posters in stating I am excited about this resturant.
U & I Cafe is not an a project of ESNDC. Murph bought the building with her own money from a seller who was more than happy to sell. Murph heard that the owner was looking for a buyer and she contacted him after this point.
There were two moderate rent apartments planned for the renovation and a community kitchen on the second floor.
As for ESNDC funding the project, Murph applied for BIF funds exterior improvements. This is what Mike Taube was discussing in his letter. Same funds that have been discussed on SPIF for bar owners. I don't think Murph ever received the funds due to time constraints. Not the issues raised by Taube.
I love how people talk about insiders. Murph may be related to someone that was once on the inside but all committees and organizations she's a member of are open to any neighborhood volunteer. Being president of one of these organizations in a distressed area isn't fun - it requires a commitment to the community and helping others by attending MANY meetings and spending much of your personal time with out any financial rewards.
My personal time a few years back was to leave my kids and break my hump on cleaning and improving investment property that I planned on renting out. It started out great but then Dawkins took that away a few years ago. Hey Murph want to buy some more rental properties that I would gladly sell to you? After the dirty deeds handed out by the vague laws boasted upon by your brother and enacted upon by his crew of egotistical modern day Jesse James, I'm sure someone in your "position" wouldn't have any problems with the city. Nobody wants to invest in St. Paul anymore because of the job that the city has done on affordable housing. So don't even hand me any more fairy tales. I've seen the pictures, can read between the line and I can't wait to see the ending.
"she heard he was looking for a buyer" Just as Magner knew Nancy wanted to sell her home. Had to sell is more like it. Forced to sell is even more like it.
You damn right we pick on her. She gets favored treatment because of who she is or who her brother is, and everyone else in the same position gets crushed, and you have the nerve to try and "guilt" people who complain. Would you be so excited if it were you who had your life ruined by these people? You're a piece of shit...sitting back in a a cushy lifestyle completely willing to let everyone else suffer and be harmed so long as it doesn't touch you.
I wonder how long she had to wait for this guy to get so desperate that he "wanted to sell." The point is: UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS DID HE WANT TO SELL?
Thank you Bob for this wonderful story about the future of Murphs Cafe.
I am having trouble understanding the anger directed at Murph.
Maybe if you people had been more invovled in the communities your rental properties were in you would have understood the neighbors concerns. And done what good neighbors do. Be respectful of each other.
Murph is involved and investing in the neighborhood.
Put me on that list of patrons to be.
I think there is only one person on that list - the same one singing the praises here!
And how do I know if you aren't the only poster who comments here.
You don't know. I don't know. that's why anonymity doesn't work.
The only people with any credibility here are the people who use their real name.
You people have a reputation of being threatening. I don't blame others for responding to you anonymously.
It'a the "you people" that tips your hand. I'm as harmless as a kitten.
Have you ever known a liberal to ever not use the "get to know your community and understand your neighbors" statement. Especially here! I've gotten to know all the dark corners of the city.
I don't care if you post here and sell it like you're an army. My interest is not in protecting the government unless it's a soldier defending our country or our president being blamed for everything yet again. I can be as anonymous as I can. I think I'll be anon-anonymous. That should doubly make you anon-annoyed.
Threatening huh? How threatening would you be if the government was violating your civil rights and destroying your business?
I don't think anyone is directing anger at Murph, I think they are upset at the percieved situation of unfairness.
As far as "you people" being involved in the community, don't make me laugh. Let me tell you something......"YOU PEOPLE" have yourselves to blame for the crappy neighborhoods you live in. "YOU PEOPLE" are the ones that lived there day after week after month after year and watched all the crap develop, and you want someone else to clean up your mess. The mess you civic minded community people cultivated and enabled while you sat and watched with denial and complacency and did nothing. You don't even have the guts to stand up to your own government leaders, instead you believe all this hogwash that buildings cause crime. How many times have you demanded from your council people that the police come to your neighborhood and start arresting people for the laws they break?
You complain about our anonimity, but your just as bad if not worse. You hide behind the same anonimity you complain about by complaining to the city and having them out come out and hold a 3rd party responsible for the actions of other people. You are reaping what you have sewn.....choke on it!
Anyone who has ever blown the whistle on corruption or wrong doing has done it anonymously, and for damn good reason. you guys keep harping both here and over at SPIF about anonymous posters, well just consider this for a moment: Wether you like it or not, there is corruption going on in this town with the inspections department. The corruption goes through the police and fire department and also the city counciland their legislative hearings department. So there are some people who have the evidence and are exposing it. The consequences of that is going to ruin a lot of careers, and it will have an effect on the elections next November. Are you guys nuts or what that you think people should just step foreward with this kind of informtion without any regard to trying to hide who they are or what the effect ofhaving their identity revealed would bring upon them? Would any one of you reveal that information with your name attached to it? You guys are even scared to use your names here!!
7:01 going to neighborhood meetings and talking with you guys is just smoke screen and you know it.I know many landlords that went to that AD Hoc committee.Just as many landlords went as owner occuppied.We were segregated and not able to interact with you folks.Then they took are information and concerns and flushed them down the toilet.
So we've tried that done that.Its your folks way and thats all!!!!!!!!
Their way or the highway!
It's rather amusing, that you are either labeled a property rights person or a landlord, I think there will be strong reactions when the lawsuits get into court and you actually see the people who are labeled as landlords. They make up a variation of backgrounds, ethnics, gender, age and time spent in the occupation. The attorneys will keep trying and labeling to make it stick but it won't because the jurors will be able to identify with them. There are just too many of them like everyone else out there. On paper and on the internet they can have you imagine "Bruce in the overalls, cigar hanging out of his mouth carrying a rusted out wrench"
But that is not what you are going to see. So with that masquerade gone, then the whole sordid, diry stories will be told of each and every deed that they did. As well as all the documentation, proof and damages that these people incurred. The city will be red-faced when quiting time comes around. They will be exposed and the emporer will really be disrobed.
I can't wait for that to happen. These lawsuits have been around for over 2 years now. If there were no merit to them, the court would have dismissed them by now. Like others have said previously, there are way too many people that are all saying the same thing. I doubt they are spending the kinds of money required to keep these lawsuits going this long without some darn good proof. Let the disrobing begin!
How does this go from U & I to a discussion about law suits? Can you please tell me what you are talking about?????????
I'm thinking you're right and enough has been said. If you really want to know anymore about it, go to the home page of this blog and click on "lawsuits" in the right margin under Bob's bio.
However, there are no rules here and you can "drift" off into other discussions that have merit and interest by others using this site. I think Bob also put the Edemocracy site as a link to go to if you're interested in just strictly sticking to the rules of the road set down by a moderator, so that said, have a nice day!
Rules set down by a dictator is more like it. A tin horn dictator at that! I looked at their site the other day, and they were getting scolded by the principal again. They are not even funny to laugh at any longer.
It goes from U & I Cafe to lawsuits because the owner of the U & I Cafe is the brother of the person that is at the center of those lawsuits, and because of the information disclosed by Mike Taub, something about this ownership of a "vacant building" just doesn't smell right. That's not too hard for you to understand is it?
What is right about the left? Let's get way off track. What the heck is someone gonna do come and tell me that I can't do that HA! That's what I say. Ha,Ha, the liberals will hand you all this harmony and community bleck and then if you are not talking their talk, they tap you on the shoulder and say - oh you can talk about that now, we are talking about civil rights from the 60's and how to get our streets safe again. Of course they don't want to stomp on anyone's rights so we won't make the criminals responsible for their actions, they will hold our meetings and plan actions against the possessions of the world inspite of our love for mother earth. They will pat other fellow libs on the back after they concoct their humanistic side and do-gooder story. Then they'll go off and stomp their little libby feet about the president and what he is doing wrong. They'll back him until others start squawking that things are not going well and then they'll stomp and shout, even though they voted to do this also. Yah, the war that you all voted for and now you want to show the world again that we are weak and will roll over and appease the crap out of our country for the sake of being full of love and harmony. It's why our children rule us today and that they have every little demand. It's why these same kids are sitting ducks in our schools because we kicked God out and left the door open for satan. But that is all in the name of fairness to all who don't believe in God. "You People" don't understand "WE THE PEOPLE" and who fought for all these things you are throwing away. Why do you think this country has been so great for the past 200 years? It's not because we had to be fair to everyone that didn't have the right. It's not for the religion(s) that you are fighting for. It's going to be a scary day when and if Hillary is elected. There I said it. This country will take a fall if it ever gets back in the hands of the wishy-washy people pleasin left! Did you all get an eye-full of st.Paul? Can you imagine our country going off the deep end (the left end)?
Then they will picket funerals of our soldiers who died for our country and call it in the name of God! They blasphemize His name for the sake of their depraived minds. Then they showcase Cindy like she has all the answers and wisdom of the earth. Excuse me that's God's job. So, "one who asks" what this has to do with U&I cafe. Is this off course enough for you? Does this disturb you enough because I have the right to say this? Are you annoyed because I can think of other things and sometimes 5 at the same time. Are you angry that I attacked your political party? Do you disagree with me enough to point out my spelling, question my occupation, my beliefs or my getting off the subject at hand?
Now back to U&I. what is a community kitchen? Is she gonna open a soup kitchen? She has the inside scoop ya know and may know what's gonna happen. This town may need a soup kitchen!
Absolutey SPLENDID!!!.....thank you.
So are you saying that we should start investing in soup instead of buildings?
Electromagnetic pulse. I'd stock up on soup and tuna. Iran, Russa, N.Korea, they all want nukes so bad, so they can control. setting off one of these will put the nation in dire conditions. Do you have a plan? Don't count on the government to help or save you? What would you do if all power, including cell phones, cars, electricity, internet, air travel, etc was idle? How would you communicate with your family. Do you think people will be showing community spirit then or pushing and shoving for the last food on the grocery shelves? Planes in mid-air will drop from the sky and there won't be medical facilities or transportation for the injured. Crime will be everywhere by people just trying to survive, feeding their family and keeping them safe. Better buy a gun too.
This is something like Nancy says happens when one is given no other options, but imagine it on a larger scale than one person!
Yeah, better stock up on soup and not buy the buildings because some how you will be made legally responsible for those living there in times of crisis. Those that boast of that economical, fuel-efficiant car, you'd better get a horse too.
Don't buy any bars either. Now Lee Helgen wants to make the bar owner reaponsible if someone comes in and hurts one of the customers. Where does it end? How about Lee Helgen being responsible for something.....like making the criminal responsible instead of law abiding hard working people? What incentive is there to follow the law any more when the law abiding people are the ones punished for the acts of the lawless people?
When are these idiot Council people going to learn? Maybe after the landlords are done mopping the floor with the city, the bar owners will have it out with them too, but probably only after they have closed down another bunch of legal businesses. This looks like another round of lawsuits coming uo the road some day.
Lee Helgen has his head so far up his ass that he can see daylight.This guy really is not in touch with reality.His solution to the vacant and forclosed buildings were to get a tougher inspection like a certificate of occupancy on properties.Ah dah thats what put them on the vacant list in the first place.And then he wanted to be able(the city)to take them from the owners quicker.He belongs in Germany in the 30's and 40's.
Wake up people.This council needs to be removed real soon!!!!!!
Helgen just grandstands on other people's misery. He came on the "gabby line" and said it was "good news" that Jessamine had finally been torn down. I have news for you Helgen.....when the lawsuits finally go to trial and the landlords stomp your sorry butts, you guys are not going to be so arrogant. It should be right around election time too from what I hear.
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