The Morning Report 2/28/08 - Daily Minnesota Political Stories

Top Stories: What’s big, brutal and nearly $1 billion?, Central Corridor light rail is a go, Minnesota jobless rate falls in January, Senate could vote Thursday to oust Molnau, Immigration officials conduct enforcement action in Worthington, MN faces a major shortage of health care workers, RNC protesters to be restricted to single route and area.


Agriculture:

• Calling all 150-year-old farms, Jordan Independent
• Bill to legalize hemp production introduced, Minnesota Daily
  

Best of the Blogs and Think Tank Thoughts:

• The DFL’s deus ex machina and Molnau’s amor fati, Politics in Minnesota
• Molnau’s fate could be determined Thursday, MPR Polinaut
• Novak: Pawlenty not popular among GOP governors, True North
• Save Molnau!, Centrisity
• Ventura to Murphy: Dump Molnau!, The Political Animal
• Coleman supporters defraud local papers with campaign distributed materials, MN Publius
  
• A rebuttal to Neil Peterson’s Strib editorial, True North
• House Republicans purge the infidels, Minnesota Brown
• Largest tax increase in Minnesota history!, Blue man in a Red district
• Comcast blocking: First the Internet, now the public, Free Press.

Business/Economy:

• What’s big, brutal and nearly $1 billion?, Pioneer Press
• State budget outlook expected to go from bad to worse, MPR
  
• Minnesota jobless rate falls in January, MPR
• Blizzard of discontent brewing at DQ, Star Tribune
• Bemidji events center part of Senate bonding package, Bemidji Pioneer
• Some companies rethink the telecommuting trend, Wall Street Journal. ‘Jim from Minneapolis’ called back to the office.
• Proposal to remove ethanol tags from pumps runs out of gas, AP

Congress-Senate:

• Coleman campaign apologizes for newspaper editorials, MPR

Crime/Police:

• Reaction muted after the arrest of New Brighton council member, Star Tribune

Education:

• Tutu may speak in the Twin Cities, KSTP

Health Care:

• MN faces a major shortage of health care workers, MPR

Legislature:

• Senate could vote Thursday to oust Molnau, MPR
• Senate DFLers plan to vote today to oust Molnau, Star Tribune
• Fiery, feisty Murphy has sought Molnau’s head for years, AP
  
• As Pawlenty fumes, DFL turns to the deficit, Red Wing Republican Eagle
  
• Demmer: Dredged up lawsuit is simply dirty politics, Rochester Post-Bulletin
• Why one DFLer flipped on the gas tax, MinnPost
• Political recrimination: Republican Tingelstad on her override vote and its fallout, MinnPost
• Minnesota lawmakers ‘unlikely’ to look to taxes for budget fix, AP
  

Opinion-Commentary:

• Lori Sturdevant: Actually, GOP should be grateful, Star Tribune
• Ruben Rosario: Sen. Craig’s real crime? Forcing us to spend money on legal process, Pioneer Press
• Robert Novak: How not to run for Vice President, Washington Post. ‘The upshot of a busy Saturday [at the National Governors meeting last weekend] was that Pawlenty came across as somebody considerably different from what McCain needs to calm conservatives. He left the nation’s capital as a less attractive vice presidential possibility than he was when he arrived.’
• Mitch Pearlstein: Fireworks in defense of freedom, Star Tribune
• Bonnie Carlson: Travel promotion isn’t a handout, Washington Post. ‘Travel is a $12 billion industry in MN, providing nearly 300,000 jobs. A good portion of that money goes to small businesses in our state, including mom-and-pop operators who are pillars of their communities.’ [Letter to the editor]

Opinion-Editorial:

• Editorial: Pilots at NWA, Delta control fate of merger, Star Tribune
• Editorial: William F. Buckley, the mind and voice, Star Tribune
• Editorial: Actions of Pawlenty, GOP raise big concerns, St. Cloud Times
• Editorial: Unity comes for regional events center, Bemdji Pioneer
  
  

Public Health/Safety:

• Immigration officials conduct enforcement action in Worthington, MPR
• Free tax preparation help available, Pioneer Press
• Group seeks pesticide, toy chemical changes, Forum Communications
  
• Bill targets frequent test-takers at DMV, Washington Post. VA considers legislation like MN’s which limits the number of times a test can be taken before an applicant is required to attend driving school.
• Pound seizure bill in Okla. dies in committee, Dolan Media Newswires. ‘Dead dog state’ bill would have required animal shelters to hand over euthanized animals to brokers who supply carcasses to research institutions.

Republican National Convention:

• RNC protesters to be restricted to single route and area, Pioneer Press
• RNC protesters can request permits starting Monday, MPR
  

St. Paul/Minneapolis:

• City wants to cut Lowertown clutter, Pioneer Press
• KIPP Academy to lease Basilica School in Minneapolis, Dolan Media Newswires. San Francisco charter school gets the space.

Technology:

• Grassroots support? Or astroturf?, Portfolio. Comcast acknowledges that it hired people to take up room at an F.C.C. hearing into its practices.
• Allegations fly in FCC hearing aftermath, AP. Comcast acknowledged hiring people to fill seats before a contentious federal hearing on how the company manages its broadband network.

Transportation:

• Which projects get first dibs on transportation money?, AP
• GOP chair summons DFL chair to debate transportation bill, Fox 9
  
• Central Corridor light rail is a go, Star Tribune
• Increase to state gas tax means more money and more road projects in Kandiyohi County, West Central Tribune
• Light rail traffic could mean change for roadway, WCCO
• Contract awarded for rail stations, Star News
• Reality Check: Minnesota’s transportation taxes, WCCO
  

Z-File: Irresistible stories beyond the purview of PIM

• Pawlenty appoints Robert Bly as state’s first poet laureate, Star Tribune