Twin Cities Daily Planet

Recently I’ve enjoyed finding new ethnic markets in the Twin Cities suburbs—but with the price of gasoline spiking, I needed to find an ethnic grocery a little closer to home. I headed up Chicago Avenue toward the Lake Street, then turned east keeping my eyes open for some place interesting. That’s how I ended up at La Alborada Market at the corner of Lake and 19th, a mostly Mexican grocery owned by the Cruz family.

The store was crowded and the parking lot filled—both good signs. Coming here, is seems, is an event for whole families, from little kids to their grandparents. The store is a color festival. It’s painted, inside and out with murals and brightly colored signs. Dozens of piñatas hang from the ceiling. The place is fun.

(Read more here.) 

-Stephanie Fox 

TCDP TOP PICK: There aren’t many who have contributed more, or for longer, to our local dance scene than John Munger, who recently died at the age of 67. Among John’s many activities was writing, and he had contributed to the Twin Cities Daily Planet since 2008. On May 21, the dance community will gather at Patrick’s Cabaret to remember John and to celebrate the life and spirit he brought to us.

- Jay Gabler

NOW HIRING: Publicity intern

The Twin Cities Media Alliance (TCMA) is seeking to hire a publicity intern on a month-by-month basis, renewable each month by mutual agreement. The internship will be 10 hours per week, and a stipend of $500 will be paid at the conclusion of each completed month of work. The intern’s time will be spent on social media promotion for the programs of the TCMA, in particular the promotion of content published in the Twin Cities Daily Planet (TCDP)—a citizen journalism project published by the TCMA. This will involve use of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and possibly other social media tools.

An ideal candidate will be familiar with and active on social media, and comfortable communicating with our diverse constituencies both online and in person. Reliability is essential, and writing and grammar should be strong as the intern will be representing the TCMA/TCDP in writing, to the public, on a daily basis. This internship would be appropriate for a qualified, motivated college-age individual or for a working adult looking to gain work experience in publicity and promotion with a high-visibility nonprofit media organization. The intern will be encouraged to explore, under supervision, new and innovative strategies as we seek to share our programs with as large an audience as possible.

Interested applicants, please send résumé via e-mail to jay@tcdailyplanet.net.

Senate passes driver’s license bill

The Minnesota State Capitol filled with loud cheers and chants of “Sí, se pudo,” (“Yes we could”) Saturday night, after the Senate passed a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. The next step: the bill would need to pass the full House of Representatives before the May 20 adjournment to have a chance of becoming law.  Governor Dayton has promised he will meet with the bill’s supporters if it is passed by the legislature. 

(Read more here.) 

-Lisa Peterson-de la Cueva 

"When I got the assignment to interview Scott, a long time friend of Insight News/Aesthetically Speaking publisher Batala McFarlane, she gave me a heads up that Scott knows something about everything music-related and to be ready for the interview because Scott is quite the multi-tasker. She was right. I had my hands full with this assignment. For those who can keep up, Scott is a wealth of knowledge."

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2013/05/14/jon-jon-scott-all-things-music

TCDP TOP PICK: If goth culture can survive the Dark Shadows movie, it can survive anything. For a decade now, local goths have hosted a prom of their own, and the theme of this year’s dark celebration is “eXorcism.” It’s free to enter—but once you’re in, you may never leave.

- Jay Gabler

"Whether it is a student who is attending a party and drinking for the first time that becomes ill and needs medical attention or a young woman who is sexually assaulted and needs help, current state law discourages that individual from seeking assistance,” said Taylor Williams, student body president on the Twin Cities campus."

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2013/05/17/helping-intoxicated-underage-drinkers-do-right-thing

My name is Tammy Ward and I live in North Minneapolis, in the Harrison Neighborhood. 

I have lived here almost four years and have seen many changes.  Harrison is truly a vibrant and upcoming neighborhood. Change is steadily happening in a positive direction. I decided to show in pictures the eclectic feel of Harrison though murals painted on some of the buildings in the neighborhood.  

(See more photos by Tammy Ward here.) 

-Tammy Ward 

TCDP TOP PICK: The railroad business was one of the great forces that built Minnesota, and black workers were an integral part of that business—from laying the rails on up. On May 19, historians Dave Riehle and James Robinson will lead a tour of St. Paul sites associated with this underappreciated chapter of local labor history.

- Jay Gabler

TCDP TOP PICK: Last week, I met Sibyl Kempson on the day of her arrival from Brooklyn as she began final rehearsals for the preview performance of Fondly, Collette Richland at the Walker Art Center. She’s a petite, exuberant firecracker of a woman, and we immediately dished about arts education policy, the economy, sexism, and a number of other political, artistic, and social topics as we walked across Loring Park to have a drink. Kempson’s work as a playwright on the production marks a departure for the company Elevator Repair Service, which has gained notoriety from their experimental performances drawing from non-theatrical texts, such as novels, written mostly by dead white males. Kempson said director John Collins approached her and said that he was interested in working with a living female playwright, and she “was the gal to do it,” she said.

- read the complete preview by Sheila Regan

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