Where I Hang My Hat(s)

Woonsocket, RI
Condotopia in Woonsocket: Editorial from the Providence Journal - Friday, February 18, 2005

Things are bursting out condos in Woonsocket, and one reason may not be hard to find -- a few miles to the northeast, housing prices are booming in the Boston metro area. That's good news for Woonsocket, and all of Rhode Island.

Four completed projects have produced 287 condominiums, three projects with up to 42 condominiums are being built, and four projects with 148 condominiums are being planned. None of these condos are "affordable" units, subsidized by the state's taxpayers -- although to many refugees from the housing crisis in Massachusetts, they may seem that way. More than two-thirds of the completed condos have been sold to former Massachusetts residents -- newly minted Rhode Islanders...

...The infusion of residents downtown should support more and better shops and restaurants than the current tattoo parlors and other small enterprises. This, in turn, will make the city even more attractive to potential Rhode Islanders from north of the border.

It should be noted that 10 of the 11 projects are rehabs of old mills or other historic structures, including a courthouse and a police station. Several of the developers either have secured or are applying for state historic-preservation tax credits, without which the developments -- and their expected local and state economic spinoff -- might not be financially feasible...

Well, thank goodness none of the new units are "affordable"! It would be a real travesty to have low income residents living in beautiful new apartments, wouldn't it?

Also, note the comparison of "better shops and restaurants" to "tattoo parlors and other small enterprises," in which I read "local, ethnic, and struggling businesses." I've heard ProJo was conservative; this editorial proves it.

Minneapolis, MN
This looks to be an awesome event on March 3rd, found through OutFront MN:

Quadriga and Workplace Alliance sponsor "Is your Passport Current? Societal Reactions to GLBT People from the Holocaust to the Present", featuring discussion and a presentation by GLBT historian J. Nicholas Tretter, GLBT Collections Specialist at the U of M offering a historical examination of the plight of GLBT people during the Nazi Holocaust, and how the extreme bigotry of that time may inform our current situation, at Trikkx Nightclub, 490 North Robert Street in downtown St. Paul from 5-7 p.m. Free and open to the public. Contact: (612) 822-0127 x111 or wpa@outfront.org.

I can personally vouch for the expertise and sheer generosity of J. Nicholas Tretter and the Tretter Collection at the U of M. He helped me with a research project, producing a fantastic male shower room scene lunchbox from the Vietnam War era.

Check out the always fantastic "Feminist Finds Issue" of the Minnesota Women's Press.

Washington, DC
As always, the National Building Museum provided an entertaining visit on Saturday. I've never seen it so crowded, especially with energetic tykes so into science and engineering. It almost made me not hate kids.

And, finally, my local record stores churned out a pretty good selection this past weekend. Herman's Hermits and the Distillers top the list.