Policy and a Pint: The Mortgage Meltdown (May 15)
Everyone knows the mortgage market is in crisis - and that it's dragging down the rest of the economy. But what caused it? How can we get out of it? And how can homeowners - and potential buyers - in Minnesota protect themselves?
Richard Todd from the Federal Reserve will help explain how we got here, and personal finance writer Kara McGuire from the Star Tribune will be on hand for practical advice for owners, buyers, sellers and renters alike.
Board member Jennifer Godinez awarded Humphrey Public Leadership Award
Congratulations to Jennifer Godinez, executive director of the Minnesota College Access Network (MCAN)! Jennifer has been selected to receive a 2008 Hubert H. Humphrey Public Leadership Award, honoring her contributions to the common good through public leadership and service. Read more about the award and this year's recipients
Support the Citizens League (for free!)
The Citizens League has registered with www.goodsearch.com and www.goodshop.com. Use GoodSearch as your internet search engine, choose the Citizens League as your designated cause, and we receive $0.01 for each query. Likewise, visit any of hundreds of online retailers, including Amazon.com and Travelocity, and the Citizens League receives about 3% of your purchase - at no extra cost to you.
Citizens League strongly opposes use of Fiscal Disparities for MOA Expansion
The Citizens League has urged the Minnesota House and Senate not to use the Fiscal Disparities pool to subsidize the Mall of America Phase II, yet it appears that legislative leadership is committed to a subsidy package that includes fiscal disparities to subsidize a large ramp with "free" parking for $200 million. This would violate the fundamental purpose of the pool, set a very bad precedent and increase property taxes on everyone else in the region to subsidize one development. Read the Citizens League's letter advising House members to oppose this proposal.
Citizen Involvement Survey
Through the MAP 150 project, the Citizens League has been testing and carefully observing how citizen involvement processes work. An extensive literature search seems to verify much of what we are learning. (It also verifies that the Citizens League is on the cutting edge of understanding citizen involvement processes.) Please help us add to that understanding by taking a short survey online.
Two versions of the survey have been prepared -- one for the public, and one for public officials. The results will be tallied and compared and posted online at www.map150.org.
Your contribution is important -- please take a few minutes to complete this multiple choice survey -- and pass it on to others! Click here for more information and to take the survey.
The Citizens League public policy work online
Check out the new Public Policy section of the Citizens League website. This section is a gateway to all of our policy work. Here, you can view the current work of study committees, see progress on policy advancement, and much more - and learn how to get involved in all of this. You can also find this section under the "What We Do" heading in green, above.
Project One-Pagers
Want to know more about the Citizens League's current projects, but missed the Policy Open House? Learn about various projects - including study committees, convening efforts, and policy advancement work - and how you can get involved. Click here to view the one-pagers, which were on hand at the Open House on February 28th. Also, check out the Policy Open House webpage to view presentations given, summaries of the activities, and other information from the event.
Policy Blog
Urban Partnership Agreement could bring Lakeville into the Metro transit system
Citizens League Opposes Fiscal Disparities Exemption for MOA
This Opportunity for Health Care Reform Cannot Be Missed
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Press
Lori Sturdevant: Citizens, officials: Can you still dance together?
Opinion: Don't draw subsidy from the 'fiscal disparities' pool
Don't miss this chance for Minnesota health care reform
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E-mail Digest
Join us for Policy and a Pint: The Mortgage Meltdown next Thursday, May 15
Citizens League Opposes Fiscal Disparities Exemption for Mall of America expansion
Register now for May 5 transportation events and May 15 Policy and a Pint
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