Local & State

Discrimination — whether in America or his native India — is wrong, but despite established laws to the contrary it still goes on today in both countries, said a retired Indian professor.

Construction on the 47,000-square-foot former auto dealership building at 800 West Broadway, the site of a new education and career center, is expected to begin this summer and be ready to open by the fall of 2016. Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) and other officials presented their plans Tuesday at the Capri Theatre in North Minneapolis.

Hundreds of Black women and girls representing the Black Women’s Roundtable descended on the nation’s capital last week to petition the Senate to confirm U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch as the next attorney general.

Tawanna Black has been the executive director of Northside Funders Group (NFG) since 2013. Although NFG has been around since 2008, she is their first executive director.

Recently, Minnesota was found to have about a $1.9 billion budget surplus, setting off a scramble of groups and individuals from all parts of the state seeking their share of the bounty.

The American Legion’s principle mission, since 1919, is to sponsor programs that improve life circumstances for veterans through such means as scholarships, help with homelessness and more.

Is Minneapolis big enough to have two cable systems? CenturyLink says yes, and hopes the Minneapolis City Council will approve their proposal sometime this month.

Comcast currently has a cable franchise to serve Minneapolis until 2021, and there has been only one company serving the entire city since 1983. CenturyLink late last year announced that they would seek approval to operate cable service in the city as well through its Prism TV, which currently operates in 14 markets across the country.

The City of Minneapolis recently announced the launch of a new program that aims to provide wheelchair accessible taxicab service to the public. Watch the video report about the program by Hannah Flood of Murphy News Service.

For more than two generations and across both Twin Cities, a father-and-son team have provided haircare services to Minnesotans. The MSR sat down with Eddie Withers, Jr. to discuss how this journey began, how his business is going currently, and what wisdom he has to offer to aspiring barbers.

The City of Minneapolis may get at least $50,000 worth of free cable services and equipment, thanks to a new deal with Comcast. According to Comcast Vice-President Mary Beth Schubert, the deal, which was recently approved by the Minneapolis City Council, is like similar others “in a number of different areas within our service area.”

Mature adults should make exercise part of their daily routine, states Heritage Park YMCA Director Henry Crosby. The facility he manages is well positioned to help make this happen for Northside residents.

Among the nearly 60 recommendations of President Barack Obama’s 21st Century Policing Task Force is the need to foster stronger relationships between police and the community. The president established the group in mid-December. Locally, some police officers have long recognized the value of such positive police-community interactions.

Well before recent police shootings involving Black males in Minneapolis and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the task force’s March 2 report “[called] upon law enforcement to embrace the mindset that they are part of the community [and] put in place programs designed to promote positive interactions between police and communities.”

Deb Meyer presented a free “Special Presentation” on the use of quilts by slaves seeking their freedom via the Underground Railroad, but without Black involvement.