Neighborhood Watch: Missing links, kid rock and prison lit

A round-up of headlines from neighborhood newspapers

The sign over Northeast’s Hollywood Theater marquee these days is looking a bit like a hockey player’s smile. The ‘Y’ has gone missing, and the other letters look like they’ve taken some punches, too. Residents in the Audubon Park neighborhood, off Johnson Street and 29th Avenue, have been trying for years to get someone to restore the vacant theater, which is currently owned by the city. With 2008′s Art-A-Whirl fast approaching, neighbors want to at least spiff up the exterior with a series of student murals, The Northeaster reports. The neighborhood association is working with the city, Council Member Paul Ostrow’s office, and Edison High School to finish the project before next month’s open-studio tour and festival. This week’s newspaper isn’t online yet, so I’ll add a link when it appears.

Speaking of “missing links,” The Northeaster also reports this week on the latest debate on the Park Board’s efforts to complete the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway. The parkway circles most of the city, but there’s a gap on the east side between the Mississippi River and St. Anthony Parkway. An advisory committee is trying to identify possible routes, but every one that’s been floated seems to draw organized opposition from residents. This time, it’s “Save Stinson,” a group that opposes adding a bike path to Stinson Parkway. The opponents say the corridor already carries too much traffic to safely accommodate bicycles.

Linda Lincoln has a fun story in this month’s issue of The Bridge, which covers neighborhoods along the river in southeast Minneapolis. A teacher at Marcy Open School has started a “school of rock” class, assembling K-8 students into bands and teaching them songs like The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” and Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime.” Says one student: “I need something really fun in school. When I have rock band, I have a place where I can get really excited about something, and that rubs off into my regular day. It really gets you pumped up.” The student rock bands perform from 6 to 11 p.m. this Saturday at the Soap Factory, 518 SE Second St.

Dean Zimmerman, the former Green Party Minneapolis City Council member convicted of taking bribes, is losing weight and catching up on some reading, according to a lengthy prison letter published in this month’s issue of The Alley. He writes: “In my reading I have focused a lot on history. Everything from the early settlement of the Upper Midwest by European immigrants, to the spread of humans out of Africa some 50,000 years ago. The best book I have read is ‘Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies,’ by Jared Diamond.” The letter starts on page 7, and you can read it here [pdf] via the Twin Cities Daily Planet.