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For great posts about the business of art, check out The Artsy Shark HERE!
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Testimonial from Jannie Ledard
By Hannah West, 12 contributed posts
View all Hannah West's posts.
I am humbled and very grateful to have received this lovely testimonial from Jannie Ledard.
I have recently asked Hannah to update and redesign my website. I was indecisive about choosing a style that would speak to me. Hannah made it very easy. She patiently explained the different approaches. Being an artist herself, she knew how to choose the perfect words to express my vision. When I posted my new website on FB, I received endless written and oral compliments!
I highly recommend Hannah for her artistic taste and great professionalism!
It was a joy creating a new website for Jannie's beautiful glass art. I hope you will take a moment to visit it and see her work and mine: https://www.jannieledardglassart.com/
February 22nd, 2017 | Tags: Art Marketing, artist website, assistance, blog, Classes and Workshops, compliments, computer, copyright, copyright issues, design, drive traffic, guru, help, increase traffic, instruction, internet, issues, Jannie Ledard, marketing, metadata, more visitors to my website, new website, news, promotion, search engines, SEO, Social Media, social networking, teacher, testimonial, testimonials, tutoring, Uncategorized, web designer, website, website for artist, website redesign, websties for artists, WordPress | Category: Art Community Posts, Artist Posts, by Hannah West, Classes and Workshops, Glass Art, Local Supplies and Services, Resources, Reviews, The Business of Art, to Artists | Comments are closed
Why "Psychological Androgyny" Is Essential for Creativity
By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 1597 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts.
About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
"Creative individuals are more likely to have not only the strengths of their own gender but those of the other one, too."
By Maria Popova
Despite the immense canon of research on creativity — including its four stages, the cognitive science of the ideal creative routine, the role of memory, and the relationship between creativity and mental illness — very little has focused on one of life's few givens that equally few of us can escape: gender and the genderedness of the mind.
In Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention (public library) — one of the most important, insightful, and influential books on creativity ever written — pioneering psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi examines a curious, under-appreciated yet crucial aspect of the creative mindset: a predisposition to psychological androgyny.
In all cultures, men are brought up to be "masculine" and to disregard and repress those aspects of their temperament that the culture regards as "feminine," whereas women are expected to do the opposite. Creative individuals to a certain extent escape this rigid gender role stereotyping. When tests of masculinity/femininity are given to young people, over and over one finds that creative and talented girls are more dominant and tough than other girls, and creative boys are more sensitive and less aggressive than their male peers.
Illustration by Yang Liu from 'Man Meets Woman,' a pictogram critique of gender stereotypes. Click image for details.
Csikszentmihalyi points out that this psychological tendency toward androgyny shouldn't be confused with homosexuality — it deals not with sexual constitution but with a set of psychoemotional capacities:
Psychological androgyny is a much wider concept, referring to a person's ability to be at the same time aggressive and nurturant, sensitive and rigid, dominant and submissive, regardless of gender. A psychologically androgynous person in effect doubles his or her repertoire of responses and can interact with the world in terms of a much richer and varied spectrum of opportunities. It is not surprising that creative individuals are more likely to have not only the strengths of their own gender but those of the other one, too.
Citing his team's extensive interviews with 91 individuals who scored high on creativity in various fields — including pioneering astronomer Vera Rubin, legendary sociobiologist E.O. Wilson, philosopher and marginalia champion Mortimer Adler, universe-disturber Madeleine L'Engle, social science titan John Gardner, poet extraordinaire Denise Levertov, and MacArthur genius Stephen Jay Gould — Csikszentmihalyi writes:
It was obvious that the women artists and scientists tended to be much more assertive, self-confident, and openly aggressive than women are generally brought up to be in our society. Perhaps the most noticeable evidence for the "femininity" of the men in the sample was their great preoccupation with their family and their sensitivity to subtle aspects of the environment that other men are inclined to dismiss as unimportant. But despite having these traits that are not usual to their gender, they retained the usual gender-specific traits as well.
Illustration from the 1970 satirical book 'I'm Glad I'm a Boy! I'm Glad I'm a Girl!' Click image for more.
Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention is a revelatory read in its entirety, featuring insights on the ideal conditions for the creative process, the key characteristics of the innovative mindset, how aging influences creativity, and invaluable advice to the young from Csikszentmihalyi's roster of 91 creative luminaries. Complement this particular excerpt with Ursula K. Le Guin on being a man — arguably the most brilliant meditation on gender ever written, by one of the most exuberantly creative minds of our time.
September 29th, 2015 | Tags: advice to the young from 91 creative luminaries, basis of creativity, book review, characteristics of the innovative mindset, creative process, creativity, gender-specific traits and creativity, how aging influences creativity, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, psychological androgyny, the psychology of discovery and invention | Category: Art Matters..., Inspiration, Musings, Reviews, to Artists, to Parents | Leave a comment
11 Art Destinations That Double As Therapeutic Retreats
Found at The Huffington Post | By Priscilla Frank
There are many reasons to see art — to get a taste of something beautiful, to engage in new ways with today's pressing questions, to escape to another era of the past, to see for a moment through another person's eyes. Yes, there are probably infinite reasons to spend some one-on-one time with an artwork or four this holiday season, but today we're focusing on one reason: healing.
Art can reveal, shock and delight, that much we know — but sometimes it has the ability to go deeper than the senses, to shift something inside us that is hard, if not impossible, to pinpoint or explain. For some, art has a certain spiritual or therapeutic power to change the viewer just by holding them in a certain time and place. Experiencing art can often be more otherworldly than a church, restorative than a yoga retreat, soothing than a day at the spa. We've compiled a list of 11 art destinations that, more than the average museum, intentionally cater to both the senses and the soul, in one way or another.
Check one out if you're feeling particularly tapped out this holiday season, or whenever you want to treat yourself to a transcendent aesthetic experience. Behold, 11 art spots that will please your senses and soothe your insides. Let us know what we missed in the comments.
1. Rothko Chapel
Visitors at the Rothko Chapel, Houston, 1977. Completed in 1971, it was designed in collaboration with American painter Mark Rothko and contains fourteen of his black paintings. (Photo by Romano Cagnoni/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)Where: Houston, Texas
What: Founded by Houston philanthropists John and Dominique de Menil, Chapel is a non-denominational sanctuary combining the powers of spirituality and art. It is part spiritual retreat, part modern art museum, part human rights center, featuring a series of dark purple and black works by Mark Rothko.
Vibes: "We are reasserting man's natural desire for the exalted, for a concern with our relationship to absolute emotions," wrote Barnett Newman, whose sculpture "Broken Obelisk" sits outside the chapel.
"[The paintings are] sort of a window to beyond," explained Suna Umari, whose worked at the Chapel for over 30 years. "[Rothko] said the bright colors sort of stop your vision at the canvas, where dark colors go beyond. And definitely you're looking at the beyond. You're looking at the infinite."
2. Salvation Mountain
Where: Niland, California
What: Leonard Knight's adobe clay masterpiece, which is 50 feet high and 150 feet wide, revolves around the simple idea: "God Is Love." The outsider art mecca features paintings of trees, sculpted flowers, biblical quotes, bluebirds and a giant red heart, made from over 100,000 gallons of donated paint.
Vibes: "The resulting lumpy, undulating structure, saturated with biblical verses and sayings, is a testament, as its name implies, to Knight's religious salvation," said Sam Lubell of The New York Times. "But it seems more inspired by Candy Land and LSD. Swirling and striped reds, whites, yellows, greens, aquas and blues surround you."
3. The Lightning Field
Where: Catron County, New Mexico
What: The piece of land art, made by sculptor Walter De Maria, features 400 stainless steel poles with pointed tips arranged in a rectangular grid amidst a vast New Mexican vista. The sculpture, which is meant to be both walked through and viewed, interacts with the surrounding landscape, creating an immersive experience best seen at sunrise and sunset.
Vibes: "Seen from the porch, the rods marched away in phalanxes to the south. As the sun sank over our right shoulders, the metal spikes started to glow in the golden light. Their pointed tips took fire first, like candles, but soon the spikes themselves lighted up, top to bottom, as if glowing from within," wrote Cornelia Dean in The New York Times. "For me, it was as if a piece of formal music, a Bach invention, perhaps, had taken material form and was playing before my eyes, not my ears."
4. The Great Gallery of Horseshoe Canyon
Where:Canyonlands National Park Maze District, Utah
What: This remote Utah canyon is known for its collection of Barrier Canyon Style rock art — a distinctive style of pictographs and petroglyphs thought to be over 6,000 years old. The mecca of ghostly figures has been dubbed The Great Gallery, though the space feels more like a forbidden sandstone temple.
Vibes: "They were strangely shaped with neither arms nor eyes and standing up to 4 feet high," said David Kelly in The LA Times. "One figure had feathers dangling from his arms. There were insect-like creatures and butterflies. Were they men, spirits, symbols? No one knows, so scientists refer to them as anthromorphs and describe the art as Barrier Canyon style, after the original name of this place."
5. Storm King Art Center
Where:Hudson Valley, New York
What: 500-acres of hills, fields and endless green expanses serve as home to 100 massive sculptures, yielding an adult art lover's version of a giant, zenned-out playground.
Vibes: "The view made me think that Ralph Waldo Emerson, an inspiration to the Hudson River School painters (whose work Storm King's founders originally intended to house here in the 1960s), must have been nearby when he wrote: 'The health of the eye seems to demand a horizon. We are never tired, so long as we can see far enough,'" wrote John Motyka.
6. 'Twilight Epiphany'
Where: Houston, Texas
What: This site-specific installation is James Turrell's 73rd "skyspace," which performs with 40-minute light shows that lead up to sunrise and follow sunset, with slight variations depending on the weather and season. LEDs sync up with the changing colors of the sky, yielding a magical experience that feels like looking out unto infinity.
Vibes: "If you take a photo of the sky in this skyspace, the color you see in the opening is not actually going to show up in your camera because in fact it is not there," Turrell told Here Houston. "We do create the world in which we live to a much larger extent than we are willing to take responsibility for."
7. The Dream House
Where: TriBeCa, New York
What: The collaborative Sound and Light Environment, made by composer La Monte Young and visual artist Marian Zazeela, lives on the third floor of a TriBeCa building, housing within it "a time installation measured by a setting of continuous frequencies in sound and light." The very long term, ongoing exhibition opened in 1993 and runs until 2015.
Vibes: "Visiting The Dream House can be a baffling, delirious experience," wrote The Observer's Andrew Russeth. "The room is soaked in purple light. Huge speaker stacks emit a constant, potent drone, which music critic John Rockwell called a 'cosmic throb.' It is often very hot, but it is not uncomfortable. There are pillows, and you can recline, letting the sound work on you. It's really something."
8. The Integatron
Where: Landers, California
What: In 1957, believing that he was following orders of visitors from planet Venus, George Van Tassel built a structure supposedly capable of rejuvenation, anti-gravity and time travel due to the intermittent magnetic fields inside the space. The large white dome now serves as a site for quartz sound baths, where visitors can recline in the acoustically perfect sound chamber and feel the vibrations of musical quartz bowls.
Vibes: "It's 105 degrees outside, and sunlight is streaming in through 15 windows ringing the rotunda," wrote The LA Times' Scott Gold. "Somehow, it is not hot, not in here. The notes clash over your head, some in breathtaking harmony, some in startling dissonance. Just when you're starting to see patterns in the grain of the wood in the soaring ceiling, it's over. There is silence, and no one moves. The acoustics are so good you can hear a man swallow from across the room. It has been either the shortest or the longest half-hour of your life."
9. The Isamu Noguchi Playscape
Where: Atlanta, Georgia
What:Noguchi constructed this severe, minimalist playground in 1976 in Atlanta's Piedmont Park, discarding prescribed methods of "playing" for something more imaginative and exploratory. The avant-garde sculptor toys with the space between art and experience, equipment and sculpture, object and landscape, seriousness and play, letting each viewer — kid or adult — encounter the unusual art experience in his or her own spontaneous way.
Vibes: "Kids are challenged to decide how to creatively play with these oversized objects," said Robert Witherspoon of the City of Atlanta's Public Art Program. "It's not scripted what to do on the climbing cubes, play mound, and jungle gyms — you have to improvise."
10. International Car Forest of the Last Church
Where: Goldfield, Nevada
What:Artists Chad Sorg and Mark Rippie have turned the desert into a museum, installing over 40 automobiles tipped on their heads and stacked on top of each other, like a set of rotting Hot Wheels for the gods.
Vibes: "The dream project of two Nevada artists, the International Car Forest of the Last Church looks more akin to a druidic henge of junkers than any Christian chapel," reads a description from Atlas Obscura
11. The Chinati Foundation
Where: Marfa, Texas
What:In 1986, artist Donald Judd opened a contemporary art museum with permanent and public exhibitions which are linked to (and inseparable from) the surrounding landscape, turning the entire city of Marfa into a dreamy space somewhere between an artistic fabrication and real life. It includes John Chamberlain's mangled automobiles and Judd's maze of 100 milled-aluminum boxes, each the same size yet with slightly different interiors.
Vibes: "It takes a great deal of time and thought to install work carefully," Judd wrote in his first catalogue. "This should not always be thrown away. Most art is fragile and some should be placed and never moved again. Somewhere a portion of contemporary art has to exist as an example of what the art and its context were meant to be. Somewhere, just as the platinum iridium meter guarantees the tape measure, a strict measure must exist for the art of this time and place."
December 26th, 2014 | Tags: "art and healing", art and travel, art destinations, installation art, therapeutic art | Category: Art for Healing, Art From the Heart, Art Matters..., Musings, Reviews | Leave a comment
News from Light Garden
Flowers of Hope
Artists' Reception
at Roxy Ann Winery
was amazing!!
Great friends, good food, drink
and lots of fun!
Thank you to everyone who came out to support the artists!
The votes are in!
Melanie Dines'
Fuchsia Panel
won the
It was a close call between many panels
but Melanie's panel won by one vote.
Thank you to Brenda
and everyone at Roxy Ann
for being part of our program!
Fall Class Lineup
Fused Glass: Dichroic Jewelry
One Saturday Afternoon
Grab attention with beautiful dichroic glass jewelry you make yourself! Cabochons for necklaces or earrings; they all will dazzle your friends!Learn to cut them so they come out perfect every time. Compatible glass and lots of dichroic glass is included.
Make several pieces for $55
Glass Fusing Basics
October 11th & 18th
Two Saturday Afternoons
Learn one of the fastest growing mediums in glass! In this two week class you'll complete a 4″ tile and a small fused & slumped plate. Covers firing programs, volumn control, prepping kiln shelves and ware and much more!
All supplies are included.
Painting with Frit
One Saturday
10a-12pm
Learn to use frit, hand pulled stringers and confetti to quickly add dimension and a painterly quality to your fused glass art.
Find out how easy it is to develop your sketches from photos and other inspiration. These panels can be a great reference guide for future projects.
All frit, confetti, stringers, glass and lunch are included.
Glass Fusing Basics or equivalent is required.
Flowers of Hope Fusing Workshop
Even if you've never done any glass fusing before you can make an 8″ x 8″ fused panel to donate to Flowers of Hope.
$10 buys you a base piece of glass, access to all frits, stringers and noodles, hanging hardware and firing. Come in and try your hand at fusing and find out how easy and fun it can be. You'll also be doing a wonderful thing for a woman going through a tough time.
TRY FUSING! Workshop
The same class only you get to keep it! Learn about using frits, stringers and noodles in this easy workshop! $15
October 18 10am-12n
November 15 10am-12n
Is there a class listed on our website that you would like to take that isn't scheduled yet? Send me an email and let me know. That's how I know when to schedule our classes. If you have 5-6 people we can schedule private parties.
click here to check out our classes
Need a Kiln? Rent one of ours!
Bring in your fused work and we will fire it for you!
Projects small enough to fit on a 7″ shelf: $ 5.00
One or more projects on a 13″ round shelf: 8.00
Fuse + Slump on 13″ shelf: 12.00
Projects on a 20″ shelf: 11.00
Fused + Slump on a 20″ shelf: 14.00
Long Bubble Squeeze add 3.00
Morning Workshops:
Come join our morning workshops on Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 10a – Noon. Use our tools and workshop space. $10 for 2 hours! Call to reserve your space. You can do a Flowers of Hope panel during any of our workshops…or a "Try Fusing" panel to get you started in fusing. You can also schedule bigger projects. Contact us for more information.
September 21st, 2014 | Tags: Classes and Workshops, dichroic jewelry making, fall 2014 classes, flowers of hope, flowers of hope fusing workshop, fused glass, glass art, glass fusing basics, glass kiln rentals, jessica carrara, light garden glass art, painting with frit, review | Category: Art Benefiting Community, Art Community Posts, Art for Healing, Art Forms, Art From the Heart, Art Matters..., Artist Posts, Benefits & Charities, by Jessica Carrara, Classes and Workshops, Classes and Workshops, Cultivating Your Talent, Glass Art, Reviews, to Artists, to Parents | Leave a comment
2014 Au Naturel Reception and Awards
Artists pictured left to right:
BACK ROW: Lisa Taylor (Dublin, CA), Andrea Moni (Irvine, CA), Ben Rosenberg (Portland, OR), Deborah Shapiro (Tigard, OR), Patrick Kernan (Portland, OR), Georganne Watters (Rhododendron, OR), Bethany Rowland (Portland, OR), Reed Clarke (Portland, OR), Evan Degenfelder (Lebanon, OR), Joseph Besch (Portland, OR)
MIDDLE ROW: Michael Kelly (Beaverton, OR), V.E. Long (Angwin, CA), Soo Ock Ryu
(Katy, TX), Ellen Soderquist (Dallas, TX), Alexandra Becker-Black (Portland, OR)FRONT ROW: CCC's Kristin Shauck, Founding Director of the Au Naturel international competition and Charles Froelick, the 2014 Au Naturel juror and owner/director of Froelick Gallery in Portland, OR.
ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: James Archer (not shown, Portland, OR), Annie Heisey (not shown, Portland, OR)
The opening reception of Clatsop Community College's eighth annual juried art exhibit, Au Naturel: The Nude in the 21st Century was held Thursday, January 30, 2014 in the CCC Art Center Gallery.
This year, artists from 28 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands submitted nearly 800 images for consideration. After careful deliberation, this year's juror, Charles Froelick chose 57 works of art representing 45 artists from 17 states in addition to artists from Canada and Germany.
Seventeen of the selected artists were present for the reception, including artists who traveled from California and Texas. During the opening reception, juror Charles Froelick gave a gallery talk and awards were announced, including cash prizes, purchase awards, and three workshop awards, which are supported by submission fees paid by all artists who entered the competition. The Bridgewater Bistro, Clemente's Restaurant, and Dairy Maid generously provided hors d'oeuvres and Erickson Floral Company provided a stunning bouquet for the reception. Thanks also to the Astoria Coffee House and Bistro, the Fort George Brewery & Public House, and the Cannery Pier Hotel for their support.
This year's Au Naturel exhibit will remain on display in the CCC Art Center Gallery, 1799 Lexington, Astoria, through March 20, 2014. All visitors are invited to cast a vote for the People's Choice award, which will be announced at the close of the exhibition.
The Au Naturel exhibit is free and open to the public. The CCC Art Center Gallery is located at 1799 Lexington Avenue, Astoria. The gallery is open Monday-Friday, 8am-6pm and Saturday, 11am-4pm; Sundays and holidays by appointment only.
Annie Heisey, of Portland, OR, whose work was selected for first place in the 2012 competition, won first place again this year for her mixed media piece Haunted. As second place, Mr. Froelick selected a graphite drawing entitled Subtle Drama by Susan Boehm of Lake Geneva, WI. Nick Reszetar of Milan, MI, was awarded third place for his conté on mylar piece entitled Javon Twice.
Charles Froelick speaks to a gallery full to capacity of visitors attending the reception.
All of the artists selected to participate in the 2014 exhibit were invited to submit proposals for the solo show and workshop awards, which were reviewed by the art faculty. From among these submissions, V.E. Long of Angwin, CA, was chosen for the solo show award as well as a workshop award. V.E. Long's solo show entitled Cakes, Nudes, and Bowling Balls will open the CCC Art Center's 2014-2015 exhibition season next fall.
Cynthia Lahti of Portland, OR was also selected to teach a workshop that will focus on the creative process, experimentation, and risk-taking, which will be held during the next academic year (time and date to be announced). Ellen Soderquist of Dallas, TX was selected to teach a workshop entitled Gesture: The Essence of Figure, which was held Friday, January 31, 2014.
View images of the award-winning artwork as well as those of this year's exhibit and prior exhibits at www.aunaturelart.com. Visitors to CCC also have the opportunity to view the purchase awards from previous Au Naturel exhibitions in the Dora Badollet Library, 1680 Lexington Avenue, Astoria. Library hours are: Monday-Thursday, 8am-6pm; Friday, 8am-5pm; and Sunday, 12pm-5pm.
February 14th, 2014 | Tags: Astoria, Au Naturel Award, au naturel exhibition, Au Naturel Show 2014, Au Naturel: The Nude in the 21st Century, Clatsop Community College, Oregon | Category: Art Forms, Art Matters...to Everyone!, Art World News, Contributed Posts, February Events, February Events, Figurative Works and Nudes, March Events, March Events, New Works & Announcements, Reviews, to Collectors, to Parents, to Residents, to Visitors | Leave a comment
Great Article About Eve's Artwork
By Eve Margo Withrow, 60 contributed posts
View all Eve Margo Withrow's posts.
About the author: Using mixed water media and collage, I paint surrealistic impressions reflecting the essential feeling ingredients of an experience. My clay sculptures explore natural processes of life from organic form to perspectives gained while navigating the flow of human experience. See Eve's listing at the Southern Oregon Artists Resource to learn more and make contact.
IN THE PLAZA GALLERY
By Dick Warren
Hold on to your hats! The Plaza Gallery is showing the work of Eve Withrow, perhaps the most dynamic, exciting painter in the Valley.
The exhibit is not for an afternoon's rest, but more like a roller coaster or windstorm. The wonder is that Eve has a secure hand on everything and the threat of chaos is carefully controlled. Using water media, a delicate medium, and collage, she somehow manages to create images in color and line in particular, at their strongest and most expressive.
The paintings are anything but delicate. The fact that finally they are secured within their frames is testament to her statement that her art is to "finally remind us of the benevolent patterns of the Universe". The compositions somehow hold together in their frames.
Eve is familiar to many at the Manor. She has been painting and teaching in the Valley for some time. Her work is highly regarded all over the West where she has exhibited constantly. Eve is a director of the successful Art and Soul Gallery in Ashland, and has been in the Members Gallery at the Rogue Gallery and Art Center in Medford for many years.
Eve will talk about her work at a reception on Wednesday, June 5 at 5:00 p.m.
June 14th, 2013 | Tags: abstract, angel, artist, creative facilitator, Eve Margo Withrow, Medford, news, Oregon, Painting, sculptural ceramics, spiritually inspired, Stream of Creativity | Category: Art Forms, Artist Posts, by Eve Margo Withrow, Ceramics, New Works & Announcements, Painting, Reviews, to Collectors | Leave a comment
Taste of Summer: Jacksonville PResents Plenty for Arts & Culture Lovers today from 11 - 4!
Begin with lots of art & activities on the lawn of Jville's historic courthouse!
Anne Brooke, founder of the Art Presence Art Center, is setting up tables on the lawn in front of the gallery where kids can play with different mediums to whet a personal taste for creating art. Kids who complete a work of art get a free ride on the Jacksonville trolley! The gallery's current exhibition is a beautiful show of member works called "Coastal, By-the-Sea" with – you guessed it – a seashore theme. There will be additional children's games & activities, face painting, Wildlife Images and much more!
"Nautilus," handpainted silk wall hanging by Judy Elliott on display at Art Presence
On the other side of the historic Jacksonville Courthouse, SOAR member Cathy Gallatin and her chalk artist compadres have begun the process of creating five chalk art masterpieces! We'll post shots of their progress throughout the day…
Chalk artist Cathy Gallatin and Britt Festival staff member Sara King Cole setting up some shade for the day.
We'll post shots of the progress of Cathy's chalk art piece throughout the day!
Chalk artists setting up their grids early this morning.
Cross the street to enjoy today's specials at the C Street Bistro, a fabulous house smoked pork chile verde torta ($8) or a classic Caesar salad ($6). Chef Paul Becking, who earned his degree in art, was trained by culinary icon Julia Child and his pulled pork is the talk of the town! Take advantage of the great price on this special version today only and see a classic piece of metal sculpture by Jacksonville artist Cheryl D Garcia.
If you're coming from the other side of town…
There will be live music on Third Street, where Art Presence and SOAR member Judy Elliott will be demonstrating the art of handpainting silk in her booth, filled with her handsewn kimonos and Happi coats (the hip-length version of a kimono). Also showing his beautiful black and white photography is Ron Moore. You can see more of her gorgeous silk wall hangings at the Art Presence Art Center.
Judy Elliott of Dragonfly Designs West shows her newest Kimono…
One of the silk pieces Judy will be transforming into a wall hanging beofre our eyes today!
Judy models her newest Happi Coat
There will also be live music on California Street next to Pico's and on the Courthouse lawn throughout the day, and additional food vendors, including the Frau Kemmling Schoolhaus Brauhaus and Front Porch Barbeque.
Walking across town, you can enjoy many beautiful antique and classic cars parked along California Street, Jacksonville's main drag. Don't forget to stop in to some of our wonderful retailers, including Willowcreek Gifts, now under the new ownership of Jo Parker.
A few of the classic cars parked on California Street today
WillowCreek Gifts owner Jo parker welcomes you!
Once you've gotten to the other end of town, stop in at the GoodBean to cool off with a famous Jacksonville Thrill (or another of their lovely hot weather coffee and tea beverages) and see stunning forals in watercolor by Jacksonville artist Elaine Frenett, a watercolor piece by the artist who started the GoodBean's art tradition 20 years ago, Wynn Pedersen, and another wall hanging by Judy Elliott called Tropical Splendor. The GoodBean, previous winner of the Best Coffee in Oregon competition, is sponsoring this years event, and the judges are in town for a practice session leading in to the June 22nd preliminary competition, also at their Jacksonville cafe.
Elaine Frenett's spectacular watercolor florals at the GoodBean
Tropical Splendor, by Judy Elliott, at the GoodBean
Best Coffee in Oregon judges at the GoodBean to do a practice tasting for the June 22 preliminaries, to be held at the GoodBean
From 11:30 – 2:30, enjoy some homemade strawberry shortcake, a Taste of Strawberries, and old-fashioned strawberry festival at the Jacksonville Presbyterian church.
The featured "taste" is a wine walk from 12-4 pm, where for $25 you can taste the finest offerings from local wineries at various businesses and locations around town. Participating wineries include 2Hawk Winery, Adit Public House, Belle Fiore Winery, Caprice Vineyards, Cliff Creek Cellars, Daisy Creek Vineyard, Dancin vineyards, Devitt Winery, EdenVale Winery, Grizzly peak Winery, LaBrasseur Vineyard, Ledger David, Pebblestone Cellars, Quady North Winery, Serra Vineyard, Soloro Vineyards, South Stage Cellars, Umpqua Tasting Room, Valley View Vineyards and Weisinger's Winery.
So, join us in Jacksonville to enjoy a day of arts and culture as we celebrate a new season of the Britt Music Festival together!
Updates coming soon…have to get back out there and see how everyone's art demonstrations are coming along!
[liveblog]
C Street Bistro, chockers full of happy patrons…
People getting their Wine Walk tickets…
This time juggling with two partners…and a very good (and loud) band next to them. NIce work with many distractions in play…
As always when Jacksonville hosts a citywide event, gussied up ladies are seen strolling around in their finery.
Our neighbor Josh juggles with a partner
Wow! Judy sure is making quick work of her lily pond scene…
Jaime Bryn's guitar is starting to take shape!
Taylor Conlin is painting kids with painted faces. Kids are having their faces painted right around the corner!
Cathy Gallatin's piece is coming along fabulously!
JN Garrett is making beautiful progress on her chalk piece, too…
Laila Dzene's chalk art in progress, and looking great! They're having a little lunch break with food from C St. Bistro as we post these shots…
These young ladies rock the house!
Kathleen Hoevet discusses her photography with visitors to the Art Presence Art Center gallery
FREE TROLLEY RIDE FOR A BUNCH OF KIDS ALREADY!!
Anne Brooke encourages the kids trying their hand at watercolors.
Fun with art! …and balloons…but he didn't seem quite as excited about that as he did working on his creation…
Art Presence member Randall Grealish and his lovely wife Tara watch their nephews making art…
What could be better than kids making art on a summer afternoon with finished pieces drying already?!
Judy finished these two incredible silk wall hangings today!
Looked like she might make a sale at the end of the day, too.
Laila's finished chalk art
Jennifer's (almost) finished chalk art – and can you believe this is her first?! Well done, Jen!
Cathy's larger piece looks great, but will take longer to complete. She's still working out there and it's 6:40. I hope she's got water…better go check on her when this live blog is done…
Taylor's finished chalk art
Jaime touches up the border on her finished chalk art
Another portion of Cathy's original chalk masterpiece in progress
Laila and Jennifer put the finishing touches on their pieces
7pm –
Laila's Jacksonville scene with classic cars – finished and signed!
Jennifer's finished portrait of Anne Brooke painting – finished and signed!
Taylor's kids with faces painted – finished and signed!
Jaime's rockin' guitar players – finished and signed! Jaime was hired by the Britt to do another piece of a saxophone at a later date when they saw this one – nice work, Jaime!
Tired and well-roasted from working on a 96 degree day, Cathy is presses on to finish her centerpiece with Laila's help.
Late passers by stop to admire the finished work
Cathy puts the finishing touches on the wine glasses and Laila paints outlines for definition
It was hot, there was art, and wine, and summer dresses, and a lot of wonderful people in Jacksonville today. Everyone I spoke with had a great day. I hope you were one of them, but if you couldn't make it this year, I hope you will come join us to celebrate the opening of the Britt Festival's 2014 concert season! Signing off for tonight…
Morning after update, with the largest piece of chalk art completed and signed…Click any image in the post to see a larger view – view this one first, and then stop at the courthouse to see all these lovley chalk art pieces before they're gone! Many thanks to the Britt Festival for this artistic addition to their opening celebration festivites – a fabulous taste of summer by Cathy Gallatin.
A Taste of Summer, by Cathy Gallatin
June 8th, 2013 | Tags: 2Hawk Winery, Adit Public House, art activities for kids, Art Exhibition, Art Festival, Art Presence Art Center, artist demonstrations, arts & culture, arts and culture, Belle Fiore Winery, Britt, Britt Festival, britt festival opening celebration, C Street Bistro, Caprice Vineyards, chalk artists, Cheryl D. Garcia, childre, children's activities, classic car show, classic cars, Cliff Creek Cellars, daisy creek vineyard, Dancin vineyards, Devitt Winery, Edenvale Winery, face painting, free, Grizzly peak Winery, Jacksonville, Jacksonville trolley, Julia Child, kids, kids activities, LaBrasseur Vineyard, Ledger David, live music, music festival, opening celebration, Oregon, Paul Becking, Pebblestone Cellars, Quady North Winery, Serra Vineyard, Soloro Vineyards, South Stage Cellars, strawberry festival, strawberry shortcake, Taste of Summer, Taste of Summer Festival, Umpqua Tasting Room, Valley View Vineyards, Weisinger's Winery, Willowcreek Gifts, wine walk | Category: Art Benefiting Community, Art Community Posts, Art From the Heart, Art Matters..., Art Matters...to Everyone!, Art Presence, Festivals & Events, Festivals & Events, Gallery Exhibits and News, June Events, June Events, Reviews, to Parents, to Residents, to Visitors | Leave a comment
Elements Show at RGAC
Hannah, editor of Art Matters! writing…I went to the Rogue Gallery and Art Center this afternoon to attend a meeting of southern Oregon arts leaders. It was a fabulous time of exchanging ideas and affirming our mutual desire to bring our arts community closer together and make a greater case for the value of art to the broader community. You'll be hearing more about the ideas we've had and what we're planning soon…
After the meeting adjourned, I stayed a little while longer to look at the Elements show, and I have to say that I did not know that fiber arts could be so very well done, so truly artful. The quilted pieces on display range from intricate embroidery to painted silk, from garments to wall art, and from abstract to landscape to figurative. Definitely a fabulous display of the broad range of creativity possible with fabric, needle and thread! This show will only be up for another week, ending next Friday, so I strongly recommend you go see it soon if you haven't already. You'll be glad you did!
Here's a quick look around the show…
Elements "Title Wall"
Every one of these works deserves a close-up examination…
The felted piece (irregular edges, left) is really interesting
Incredible variety in work with quilted fabric
Fabulous garmet designn
More diverse treatments in subject, technique and style
Cool garment piece flanked by a landscape in painted silk to the left and a lovely abstract on the right
Brooke is such an asset to the southern Oregon art community, and it's always wonderful having the opportunity to spend time talking art with her
April 5th, 2013 | Tags: Art, brooke nuckles, Brooke Nuckles-Gentekos, display, embroidery, exhibition, fabric, fiber art, garment design, High Fiber Diet, needle arts, quilting, Rogue Gallery, Rogue Gallery and Art Center, show, wall art | Category: April Events, April Events, Art Community Posts, Art Forms, Fashion Design, Fiber and Textile Arts, Gallery Exhibits and News, Reviews, Rogue Gallery & Art Center, to Collectors, to Residents, to Visitors | Leave a comment
George Heymont: Suffer The Children
By The Huffington Post, 165 contributed posts
View all The Huffington Post's posts.
Although the plots of many musicals have been built around love stories and comic devices, a growing number can be identified as "message" musicals. Whether commenting on religious persecution, racism, controversial medical issues, interfaith, interracial, and same-sex relationships, the creative teams for many shows have given their audiences new opportunities to discuss the political issues of the day. Here's Rose Marie Jun (known primarily for her role as Sally Rogers on The Dick Van Dyke Show) performing Harold Rome's "Sing Me A Song With Social Significance" from 1937's Pins and Needles, a musical revue performed by members of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU).
On August 1, 2001, the DREAM Act was introduced by Senators Dick Durbin and Orrin Hatch. Since then, immigration reform has faced a rough and rocky uphill battle.
Less than six weeks after the bill's introduction, the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon sent the nation into a tailspin of paranoia, xenophobia, and most particularly, Islamophobia.
As the United States launched wars against Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States Armed Forces offered many immigrants a path to citizenship (according to Wikipedia, in 2009 an estimated 29,000 members of the military were foreign-born immigrants who were not yet American citizens).
On April 23, 2010, Governor Jan Brewer signed Arizona's controversial SB1070 into law, making it a state misdemeanor for an alien to be in Arizona without carrying the necessary identification documents on his person.
Although the House of Representatives passed the DREAM Act on December 8, 2010, it failed in the Senate.
In July of 2011, the California DREAM Act provided access to private college scholarships for state schools to students who were illegal immigrants.
In August of 2011, the state of Illinois authorized a similar plan for legal as well as illegal children of immigrants.
During a Republican Presidential primary debate on January 23, 2012, Mitt Romney concisely described his plan for dealing with illegal immigration using the politically loaded term "self deportation."
During 2012, Glenn Beck tried to stoke conservative outrage with frequent references to the phenomenon of anchor babies.
On June 15, 2012, President Obama made the following statement about immigration reform.
Barely six weeks into 2013, Bay area audiences witnessed the world premiere of a fascinating new musical that deals with immigration reform. How did the project come about?
Following passage of the California DREAM Act, the Marsh Youth Theatre in San Francisco embarked on creating a new piece of musical theatre which focused on undocumented students living in the Bay area who lived under the constant threat of deportation. Using the methodology and techniques of the Voice of Witness Education Program, members of MYT's Teen Troupe gathered oral histories for In and Out of Shadows from people in their own social circles as well as those referred to them through community organizations such as:
AB540 Clubs at City College of San Francisco
SOMCAN (South of Market Community Action Network)
Leadership Public Schools in Richmond
ASPIRE (Asian Students Promoting Immigration Reform and Education)
J. Adan Ruiz as Juan in the Marsh Youth Theatre's production
of In and Out of Shadows (Photo by: Katia Fuentes)Backed by additional funding from NALAC (National Association of Latino Arts and Culture) and the Creative Work Fund, the show's musical score (composed by MYT Director Emily Klion and George Brooks) was inspired by the sounds of jazz, hip hop, and Mexican mariachi music. As director Cliff Mayotte notes: "For many of the performers in this production, these stories are not disembodied tales, but accurate reflections of their day-to-day experiences. There is real power in being able to tell your own story and real power in bearing witness to the person telling it."
Bianca Catalan and Angelina Orrelanos are two of the
teenagers in In and Out of Shadows (Photo by: Katia Fuentes)Playwright/poet Gary Soto was tasked with transforming the oral histories collected by the students into a piece of theatre about the experiences of undocumented teens living in the East Bay communities of Richmond and Pinole. As he recalls:
"As a Mexican-American author of 40-plus books, I have a large readership among Latino youth (arguably the largest in the country) and have visited more than 400 schools during the last 20 years. Elementary through college, students know something about my writing. The focus of my visits has been schools in the San Joaquin Valley (which houses a large undocumented workforce in rural labor). I've also visited lots of schools in the Los Angeles basin and am aware of the struggles among urban youth. For several years I was a board member of the CHA House, an educational program that brings youth from their small hometowns (Coalinga, Huron, and Avenal) to study at UC Berkeley. I have never asked, but I suspect that about half of the parents of these children are undocumented.
In and Out of Shadows is not dumbed-down theatre; it's really clever theatre. There's music, there's dance, we have a squirt gun incident, and we'll be throwing candy into the audience. It was worrisome to me that some groups weren't represented because they wouldn't come forward (not one Chinese student was interviewed). There may be risk, but we don't think La Migra (the border patrol) would show up to gather up some of the kids and parents in the audience."
Playwright, poet, and author Gary SotoIn and Out of Shadows is filled with stories about kids who didn't want to change their name when they snuck across the border, teens who went on vacation in Mexico and were stopped by immigration authorities when they tried to reenter the United States, and those whose families consist of documented and undocumented immigrants. From the hard-working Filipino-American mother who is arrested and threatened with deportation after her employer is investigated for failure to pay his taxes to the affable jock from British Columbia, the evening is peppered with Tagalog, Spanish, Spanglish and other languages commonly heard in the Bay area.
Louel Senores and Deanna Palaganas (Photo by: Katia Fuentes)
Whether one focuses on the young man with no skills (other than his abundant charm) or the girl who wants to become a doctor; whether one looks at the pair of boys who want to become DJs or the Indonesian girl who tells her friends about her native country, as the students struggle to prepare their personal statements for an AB 540 conference at UC Berkeley, they share what it was like to have to be sedated with cough syrup or crawl through sewers in order to enter the United States.
And what do these children look like when they become adults? Here's the founder of Define American, Jose Antonio Vargas (who, in 2008, was part of the Washington Post's team of Pulitzer prize-winning journalists who covered the shootings at Virginia Tech), as he recently testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
In an op-ed piece published in The New York Times, Vargas stressed that:
"There are no words to describe just how much stress and heartbreak my immigration status, and my choice to go public with it, has caused my grandmother. Because of her I almost did not speak out about being undocumented. But it was also because of her — and my grandfather, who died in 2007, and my mother, whom I have not seen in almost 20 years — because of all their sacrifices, that I will be able to speak in Congress. I am here because of them."
To read more of George Heymont go to My Cultural Landscape
April 2nd, 2013 | Tags: California DREAM Act, Contributed by Huffington Post author, Gary Soto, George Heymont, immigration reform, In and Out of Shadows, Jose Antonio Vargas, Marsh Youth Theatre, San Francisco, theater | Category: Activist Art, Art Benefiting Community, Art Forms, Art From the Heart, Art World News, Cultural Exchange, Huffington Post Art News, Mentoring Young Artists, Reviews, Theater | Leave a comment
Au Naturel Awards Highlight Artists' Reception
The opening reception of Clatsop Community College's seventh annual juried art exhibit, Au Naturel: The Nude in the 21st Century, was held Thursday, March 7, in the CCC Art Center Gallery.
Artists pictured left to right: Denise Weir (Edmonds, WA), Jim McComas (Superior, CO), John Whitehouse (West Linn, OR), Bethany Rowland (Portland, OR), Sebastian Hyde (Oakland, CA), Lisa Ackerman (Astoria, OR), Jessica Marshall (Corvallis, OR), Paul Rutz (Portland, OR), Alexandra Eyer (Gold Beach, OR), Rhoda Draws (Mill Valley, CA), Ted Chilles (Portland, OR), Patrick Kernan (Portland, OR), Jessica McCoy (Claremont, CA), Rob Bibler (Salem, OR) with CCC's Kristin Shauck, Founding Director of the Au Naturel international competition. Photo by David Homer.
This year, over 600 images were submitted for consideration by artists from 26 states and Canada, Mexico, China, Morocco and the United Kingdom. The 2013 show includes 52 works by 47 artists from 16 states and Canada.
Fourteen of the selected artists were present for the reception, including artists who traveled from as far away as San Francisco and Claremont, California, and Superior, Colorado. This year's juror Clint Brown, Professor Emeritus at Oregon State University, gave a gallery talk. During the opening reception, awards were announced including cash prizes, a purchase award, a combined solo show and workshop award, and four additional workshop awards. Awards for this competition are supported by submission fees paid by all participating artists. Bridgewater Bistro and Clemente's Restaurant generously provided hors d'oeuvres and Erickson Floral Company provided flowers for the reception. Thanks also to the Astoria Coffee House and Bistro and the Cannery Pier Hotel for their support. A No-Host Post-Reception party at the Astoria Coffee House and Bistro was held immediately following, and on Friday, March 8, Mr. Brown gave a presentation titled "Nude vs. Naked" to an audience of students, faculty, staff and community members.
This year's Au Naturel exhibit will remain on display in the CCC Art Center Gallery, 1799 Lexington, Astoria, through March 28. All visitors are invited to cast a vote for the People's Choice award, which will be announced at the close of the exhibition.
For the first time in the history of the Au Naturel competition, an artist has been awarded first place for the second time. Michael Reedy, of Ann Arbor, MI, whose work was selected for first place in the 2009 competition, won first place again this year for his mixed media piece Expulsion. As second place, Mr. Brown selected a conté, pastel and charcoal drawing entitled The Source by Robert Bibler of Salem, OR. Grace Benedict of Lafayette, IN was awarded third place for her colored pencil drawing entitled Cradle. All of the artists selected to participate in the 2013 exhibit were invited to submit proposals for a solo show award. From among these submissions, Paul Rutz of Portland, OR was selected by the art faculty. In conjunction with his solo show, scheduled to open the 2013-2014 exhibition season, Dr. Rutz will also lead a workshop instructing participants in his unique approach to artmaking.
In addition to cash prizes and the solo show award, multiple workshop awards were announced. Jessica McCoy, Assistant Professor at Pitzer College in Claremont, CA was chosen to lead a workshop on color theory, and Jennifer Cutshall, an accomplished mural painter in Portland, was chosen to lead a workshop that will deal with abstraction of the figure. Grace Benedict, who teaches at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN and Cathy Locke, who teaches in the graduate department at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, were both invited to teach workshops in the coming academic year. Cathy Locke's graphite drawing on mylar titled Torso 4 was selected for this year's purchase award by art department faculty and will become part of the College's growing permanent collection.
To view images of the award winning artwork as well as those of this year's exhibit and prior exhibits, visit www.aunaturel.com. Visitors to CCC also have the opportunity to view the purchase awards from previous Au Naturel exhibitions in the Dora Badollet Library. For library hours, call 503-338-2466.
The Au Naturel exhibit is free and open to the public. The CCC Art Center Gallery is located at 1799 Lexington Avenue, Astoria. The gallery is open M-F, 8am-6pm and Saturday, 11am-4pm; Sundays and holidays by appointment only. Please note special Spring Break hours from March 25 through March 28 of 11am-4pm.
Please direct inquiries to Kristin Shauck, 503-338-2472; [email protected].
March 18th, 2013 | Tags: Art, Artists, Astoria, Au Naturel show 2013, awards, CCC Art Center Gallery, Clatsop Community College, exhibition, hon ors, international, Oregon, Reception, review, winners | Category: Art Education in Schools, Art Matters..., Art World News, Cultural Exchange, Honors, March Events, March Events, Reviews, to Parents, to Residents, to Visitors | Leave a comment
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Your DONATION helps fund watershed management projects in the North Saskatchewan River watershed in Alberta.
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Apr 13, 2022 - Health
World surpasses half a billion confirmed COVID cases
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a February summit in Brussels. Photo: Johanna Geron/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Confirmed COVID-19 cases have now surpassed 500 million worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
State of play: The actual number of cases among the world's population of 7.9 billion is believed to be much higher, but many are going unreported — and experts are concerned this will worsen as testing is scaled down in some countries, including the U.S., the New York Times reports.
There's been an issue throughout the pandemic with lower-income countries having limited public health resources and a lack of coronavirus vaccine access — particularly in Africa, where 21 countries had vaccinated less than 10% of their populations as of February, according to the World Health Organization.
Why it matters: WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stressed that the world is still in the grip of the virus' acute phase. But this could end by the middle of 2022 if 70% of the world is vaccinated, he said.
Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington who previously worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the NYT that a lack of tests creates a "dangerous" situation.
"If you don't test, then you don't know what variants you have," Mokdad said.
The big picture: Although coronavirus cases have been trending downward in recent weeks in the United States and across the world, half of U.S. states are seeing infection numbers rise again, with the Omicron subvariant BA.2 accounting for almost three out of every four cases, Axios' Tina Reed and Kavya Beheraj write.
By the numbers: In the U.S., 82.1% of the population has had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, CDC figures show.
About 65% of the world's population has had at least one dose, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford. In low-income countries, that figure falls to 14.8%.
As of Wednesday, nearly 500,364,000 COVID infections have been confirmed worldwide since the pandemic began, along with nearly 6.2 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins. The U.S. has recorded nearly 80.5 million cases and over 986,400 deaths from the virus.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Time OutTakes features 7 tracks that have never been heard before. These newly discovered recordings feature wonderful performances that are every bit as compelling as those on the original Time Out. We discovered that during the original 1959 sessions the Quartet also recorded "I'm In a Dancing Mood" and an unlisted trio jam with a major drum solo that included snatches of the melody from "Watusi Drums." Two tracks from Time Out, "Pick Up Sticks" and "Everybody's Jumpin, " were achieved in one take so no alternates exist to include here. These 7 new performances (and bonus track) are fascinating finds.Chris BrubeckWe've all heard Dave Brubeck's Time Out - but never quite like this. You'll hear Dave Brubeck's signature pieces afresh and anew. Listening to this album will make you rediscover why you fell in love with The Dave Brubeck Quartet featuring Paul Desmond, Joe Morello and Eugene Wright. This is mesmerizing music.Kabir Sehgal, Grammy Award Winning ProducerOnce the Dave Brubeck Quartet released Time Out in 1959, the world of jazz was never the same. Every note of the seven original compositions soared with wild originality and trained musical genius. "Take Five" became the best-selling jazz single of the twentieth century. I've often wondered how this work of genius came to fruition in the studio? How did Brubeck develop such chemistry with alto-saxophonist Paul Desmond? Now the mysteries are solved with the historic release of Time OutTakes (alternative takes to the masterpiece that blew the hinges off the doors of jazz). What a high privilege it is to be able to be in the studio with the quartet as they innovate using 9/8, 5/4 and 2 bars of 3/4 alternating with 2 bars of 4/4 on such classics as "Blue Rondo a la Turk" and "Three to Get Ready." All listeners of Time OutTakes will experience the Cold War era jazz revolution as it unfolded. What joyous music for the ages!Douglas Brinkley, CNN historian and Grammy-winning jazz producer.
Label: BBKE
Time Outtakes
Artist: Dave Brubeck
1. Blue Rondo A la Turk
2. Strange Meadowlark
3. Take Five
4. Three to Get Ready
5. Cathy's Waltz
6. I'm in a Dancing Mood
7. Watusi Jam
8. Band Banter from the 1959 Recording Sessions


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Carabao Cup: Games to watch out for in Round Three
@Carabao_Cup
Fixtures are coming thick and fast in the Carabao Cup this season, we look ahead to Round Three and a handful of fixtures to watch out for this week.
Luton Town v Manchester United
Sky Bet Championship side Luton Town have put last season's close shave of relegation behind them and are currently joint top of the league standings alongside Reading and Bristol City.
Unbeaten in four games this season and clearly flying under the leadership of Nathan Jones (who returned to the club to perform the great escape), it would be a campaign to remember for the Hatters.
Beating Manchester United in Round Three could be the icing on the cake for their early season start, and with the way both teams are set, you would not put it past Luton Town to progress to Round Four.
The Reds found their first game of the Premier League season to be rather difficult, as they lost 3-1 at Old Trafford to Crystal Palace - with former player Wilfried Zaha scoring a double to sink his old employers.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær, like Mourinho, will be hoping not to be on the wrong end of a giant-killing. We could be in line to see United new boy Donny van de Beek start his first game for the club, after coming off the bench at the weekend to score on his debut.
Chelsea v Barnsley
Frank Lampard's Chelsea side are still putting the pieces together after a flurry of new signings passed through the door at Stamford Bridge. The Blues have spent over £200 million on four players at the start of this campaign, and will see the Carabao Cup as the perfect opportunity to win some silverware.
Coming off the back of a 2-0 defeat to current Premier League champions Liverpool at the weekend, Lampard will more than likely rotate his squad ahead of their game against Barnsley on Wednesday night.
But the rotation will only drive Lampard to want to win more, to show the strength in depth that this Chelsea side have. But their opponents will not lie down and roll over so easily.
We saw it last season when the Tykes were fighting for their lives in the Championship, as they put everything into the final five games which saw them eventually stave off relegation and survive in the unlikeliest of fashions.
A win for Gerhard Struber's side is much needed. Despite winning both games in this competition which has got them to Round Three, they are still yet to pick up a win in league action.
Safe passage to Round Four with a win over Premier League big boys could ignite their season, and all eyes will be on Stamford Bridge to see what happens in this one.
Fleetwood Town v Everton
Carlo Ancelotti's Everton are flying this season. The Toffees are unbeaten in the Premier League thus far, having seen off Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day and followed that up with an impressive 5-2 to victory over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday afternoon.
The blue side of Merseyside have never lifted this trophy; the last time they were in with a chance of winning this competition came back in 1984 but they lost to rivals Liverpool after a second-leg affair at Manchester City's old ground, Maine Road.
This season more than any seems like the perfect opportunity for Everton to pick up this famous old trophy and, under someone as experienced as Ancelotti, you would not put it past them.
But, before they start dreaming of that Wembley date in 2021, they must overcome Joey Barton's Fleetwood Town side who, like the Toffees, have been impressive in league action so far.
Despite losing in the dying moments of their game against Peterborough United at the weekend, the Cod Army were more than worth a point in that game at the ABAX Stadium.
It wasn't to be on that occasion, but that will not see Barton's side fold with self-pity, and you will no doubt see a side raring to cause an upset on Wednesday evening.
Lincoln City v Liverpool
The current Premier League champions Liverpool travel to Sincil Bank in Round Three of the Carabao Cup Thursday night, looking to go one better from their Semi-Final exit last season.
We have seen the quality that Jurgen Klopp's side possess and they have only added more of the same with the additions of Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich and Diogo Jota from Wolverhampton Wanderers so far this transfer window.
A 2-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday further highlighted their strength, and it will be down to Michael Appleton's Imps to show them that they will not be feared, no matter how strong they might be.
Lincoln have won four out of their five games already this season and are looking to become another side to cause a Premier League side some trouble in the Carabao Cup.
They certainly face a different challenge to the one they were up against in the last round, where they saw of Bradford City by five-goals-to-nil, but their application will be no doubt be the same.


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If you are using the IPDB Extractor service you will need to take notes of the passwords you are using.
This process will assume that the backup files in the /home/rsasoc directory. Where noted, the pwd (present working directory) should be /.
Re-configure the IPDB extractor service by following this guide. If not using the IPDB Extractor for Envision, these steps may be safely skipped.


I've been thinking a lot over the last 24 hours if I'm going to blog about what is on my heart right now. But if I don't, then it doesn't seem like I am being complete in truth when it comes to adoption.
I hesitate because I love adoption stories. They are beautiful. I have been a mother by giving birth, and it is amazing to see what the mix of two humans' DNA can bring about. But adoption is as beautiful, with an added mix of mystery that makes it breathtaking. On August 4th in 2006, a woman, unknown to me, endured each labor pain to bring forth a life into this world, a child that would one day be my daughter. Where was I that day, at that moment Iris came into the world? Simply doing the dishes? Putting Will down for a nap? Losing my patience? Talking on the phone? One single moment, lost to me at the time, that will forever change my world, and the world of Iris' birthmother. Amazing.
But that is not my story today. I'm just getting wrapped up in the beauty of it all one more time. I need you to know how much I truly believe in adoption before you read the rest of this blog.
We are in Guangzhou with 5 other families and one of them is struggling. Really struggling.
Their adopted son is 10 (I will call him Alex) and he is not what they expected.
Before I continue, I want you to know that although these parents do not have any children, they have fostered a number of kids, two with severe anger issues. So they are not new to parenting a hurt child.
But this boy is violent. Alex is angry. He says he does not want to come to America. He breaks things. Throws chairs. Is trying to hurt the parents. Has physically threatened another kid in our group.
And these parents don't know what to do. They have been skyping with counselors from the states every day for over a week and they are considering dissolving the adoption and not bringing him home.
I refuse to have an opinion on this situation, because I am not in their shoes. I have not walked a day with them. All I know is it breaks my heart all the way around. Do these people never get to be parents? Can they live with this guilt? And this boy? Does he really want to stay? Or will he be broken from this? Is this trauma or serious mental issues? Could he come to the states and be medicated and all this would change?
There are no answers to these questions, which is really the dilemma for the parents. They seem so broken after only a week with this boy. My heart hurts for them.
This I do know. An orphanage is NO PLACE for a child to grow up. That is the biggest issue here.
Alex has a story. He lived with his parents for 16 months until they found out he had kidney cancer. They left a painful note of love attached to his shirt the day they left him in the hospital because they couldn't afford his medical treatment. They hoped for him to get care and pleaded for someone to help him.
He was sent to an orphanage and they took care of his medical needs. Alex spent years in and out of hospitals in Shanghai – and I will tell you these places are not St. Jude's. The hospitals are frightening. They are filthy. They are not filled with compassion. One woman with us now needed to go for her adopted son last week, and her biological son that came along threw up after he left it was so traumatizing. Only people with great wealth can go to the private hospital in China, the rest go in mass to a huge and filthy place. Especially orphans.
No one stayed the night with Alex in the hospital. No one brought him stuffed animals. No one told him it would be ok. No one held his little hand while he fell asleep at night. No one sang songs to calm his nerves. He. Was. Alone.
I do not know if Alex understands what it means to attach to another human. To bond. To trust. To love.
So Alex may be left behind. Once again. On his own. With no one.
Again, I don't blame the parents. I am not experiencing what they are. I can only see and feel from the outside. And if it hurts so badly from out here, I can only imagine what it must feel like on the inside.
Adoption is more than beautiful. It is necessary. Every child needs a hand to hold. Before it is too late.
I have so much trouble seeing God in these situations. His mystery is lost on me. But then if my capacity for love came from the One that actually IS LOVE, then how much more sorrow does His heart feel?
Prayers for 3 needed in Guangzhou…..
Funny how God works. This message is being forwarded around to some adoptive families, myself included. Please let this family know there are people around the world they have never met praying for them. Congratulations on your beautiful daughter!
I cried. That's is no solace for those left behind in china or any other orphanage around the world. I am not running to adopt at this very moment, but I truly do think about it often. I know in some part that is because of those we know (zabrocki's for one). I will continue to ask God for his direction in this part of my life. For the moment I will stick to mentoring junior high young men at church. I think God is pretty clear on that for me right now.
Again Jenny , thanks for writing!
I know I didn't get all the details on "Alex's" story but quite honestly a lot of that seems pretty typical for those first weeks together. My first weeks in China with my six year old son were tough. He hit, kicked, head butted, screamed and ran away from me. Security was called on us because of his prolonged tantrum. He threw things and was rough with his brother. He too was very clear he didn't want to come home with me. He wanted to go back to his foster family. He was lied to before I got him. He thought his foster family was his bio family. The shock and trauma of helping him see the truth has been very difficult for him. He was beaten in his foster home by his foster grandpa and was allowed to do anything he wanted by his foster grandma. He basically was on his own until he ticked foster grandpa off enough to get hit. The truth is many older kids have these same behaviors. The families who I know who brought older kids home around dealt with the same behaviors. Not all, of course, but the majority do. This is grief. This is trauma. This is what taking a child away from everything they know looks like. There is nothing easy about it but it does get better. My son is home seven months now and the progress he has made has been amazing. He looks nothing like that boy I had in China. I hope these parents hold on because more than likely this is not who this child really is. I am not trying to minimize their experience at all. I have adopted twice and both were really, really hard. But what they are going through now is not necessarily indicative of how this child will always be. Please tell them to reach out to others who have walked this road. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AOK-China-2/ is a good place to start. Most of all, please tell them it will get better!
I love your heart. Burdened and like you I am praying for all involved. Lets keep in touch. Iris is precious. Can't wait to watch her journey unfold!!


text:
Southwest LRT: Triage Now, Rehabilitation Later
By Matt Steele on February 11, 2014 in Plans, Transit
It's clear that nothing is clear when it comes to figuring out how freight rail, bike trails, neighborhoods, and our Chain of Lakes can exist in harmony with the planned Southwest Light Rail line. This doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who has remotely followed the development of this line over the past decade.
As the planning process has gone on, it appears we have two sides retreating further to opposite positions:
The public consensus seems to be that nodes like Uptown, Lyn Lake, and Eat Street deserve connectivity to our regional transit network, especially with such a high public investment at stake. It does, after all, seem ridiculous to consider hundreds of millions of dollars for features like a risky shallow tunnel through Kenilworth and viaducts/tunnels to suburban parking lots / unwalkable offices in Minnetonka and Eden Prairie, but not reconsider connecting regional destinations and dense housing nodes to high quality transit.
Planners and officials, on the other hand, have doubled down on a route that was chosen under changed cost-effectiveness guidelines to move suburban commuters and congestion-causers faster and farther at the expense of urban transit users. As Peter Wagenius astutely noted, "There are folks who are extraordinarily invested in validating the process that has brought us to this point." The reality is this is a regressive plan, but it appears we're stuck with it.
The political reality remains that Southwest LRT's path is hung up by two intractable positions. Without canceling the project and starting over, where do we go from here? Here's a comprehensive look at how we can make decisions now that set ourselves up for quality transit in the long term.
If we're going to build light rail in the Kenilworth Corridor, there are a few steps we can take to triage the plan and make it healthier from the start with a better chance for improvements in the long run.
Build a single track in the tight Kenilworth Corridor between West Lake and Penn stations.
At an average speed of 45 MPH (55 MPH max speed plus accel/decel at each end) it would take roughly 2 minutes for a train to get from West Lake to Penn. As long as headways are over 5 minutes (they'll probably be somewhere between 7.5 and 12 minutes) there would not be an issue. Single tracking segments is quite common on many LRT systems around the country, so there's precedent for the type of signaling and coordination necessary to pull it off. The result would be that we can have co-location of freight, LRT, and the recreational trail without risking as much tree canopy or our wonderful Chain of Lakes.
Eliminate the planned station at 21st Street.
The shallow tunnel option would also remove this station, so clearly it's politically palatable in the context of mitigated co-location. Even if we could build it, the reality is that the existing and potential land use around the station node is not conducive to such an expensive investment. This station was planned using questionable numbers and assumptions. If you think the bustling Uptown Transit Station would have only 100 more riders than the isolated 21st St Station in 2030 (as claimed by the LPA decision process), I have a bridge on the St. Croix to sell you.
Build the Midtown Greenway streetcar to LRT spec between West Lake and Nicollet.
The planned "streetcar" is grade separated and will use light rail vehicles. So this isn't much of a stretch from what is planned today, except for stations. Stations west of Nicollet should be built to handle 3 LRV trains rather than single LRVs running in streetcar mode. You'll see why in a minute.
Integrate the West Lake station to accommodate Southwest LRT and Midtown Greenway streetcar.
This has operational benefits in the short term, and network benefits in the long term. In the short term, it means a cross-platform or single-platform transfer between the two services. It also allows Greenway LRT to share an operations and maintenance facility with our light rail system. Turnaround for Greenway LRT/streetcar service can be accommodated by a pocket track just west of the West Lake station (this is the same technique used on the Blue Line when the starter segment opened to Ft. Snelling station, turning around at the pocket track just south of the platform).
Build Arterial BRT on Nicollet rather than a streetcar. For $200 million, it doesn't make sense to install rails that share right of way. It will make it that much harder to build the transit we deserve when we finally realize our densest neighborhoods should have high-speed high-capacity connectivity to Downtown and other neighborhoods.
By triaging Southwest LRT and allowing it to be built now, we will have greater flexibility for transit network improvements in the future. This part of the plan is how we take a flawed Southwest LRT concept and build upon it for decades of transit excellence.
Those who decided on the Kenilworth alignment over the Uptown alignment think buses are good enough. They're not. Someday, when we invest in transit to connect neighborhoods rather than park and rides, we will benefit from taking small steps now to use forwards-compatible.
The planned Green Line to Penn can be repurposed in the future to connect to St. Louis Park's West End via BNSF right of way, and potentially other job centers further west along 394. This would connect a corridor with nearly as many jobs as the proposed Southwest corridor. Not to mention that the 394 corridor actually has higher job density and more walkability than many of the job nodes along the Southwest portion.
What would be done with the Southwest line we're planning to build now? At some point the primary east-west spine along 5th Street downtown will be at capacity with four lines operating as two services (Blue and Green). But I sure hope we see a future with more than four LRT lines connecting the region.
At that point, we'll have to get serious about a second spine for LRT service. Nicollet Ave is an obvious choice, especially the segment currently under consideration for our starter streetcar. If business impacts on Nicollet south of Franklin are a concern, a cut-and-cover tunnel under Blaisdell may be more appropriate. Because of #3 and #4 above, we'll be ready to tie in from the Greenway to the Nicollet corridor to head downtown. And this grade transition would conveniently happen at the site of the infamous Kmart which is on borrowed time. Think of it as 3C by retrofit.
When this is done, we can still accommodate rail service running the entire length of the Midtown corridor from West Lake on the Green Line to Midtown on the Blue Line. Furthermore, we'd have even greater flexibility to extend Midtown service on the west due to #4. Finally, the 3C retrofit would share urban right of way with other services we may want in the future, such as a line up Central Ave to Fridley, or a diagonal to Rosedale, or a line south to Richfield or Southdale.
In this scenario, what would happen to the planned single track Kenilworth alignment between West Lake and Penn (#1 and #2)? It would actually still provide quite a bit of value. It would connect multiple future rail lines that would cross downtown at 5th and Nicollet, allowing them to share vehicles and facilities. This was actually one of the primary marks against 3C in the LPA process, besides trouble interlining with the Green Line. The Kenilworth single-track segment would solve this gap, outside of downtown. Secondly, it would offer flexibility to provide peak-hour express services from Eden Prairie, which was also another knock against 3C back in 2009.
What would Minneapolis get out of this? Options. When we come to our senses, we can build quality transit to Uptown, without risking FTA New Starts funds or the planning process thus far. We'd also have mitigation. As noted, a single track would likely require less destruction of the tree canopy in Kenilworth. It would be easier to keep the bicycle path in the same corridor. And, down the road when we do decide to put transit where it makes sense, Kenilworth neighbors would only have to deal with a dozen or two passenger trains a day rather than hundreds.
To paraphrase Voltaire, we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Yet, at the same time, we can't let the immediate be the enemy of the future. Southwest LRT is being pushed forward through Kenilworth, and there aren't easy answers. But, with a few simple changes, we can make sure our choices now provide the best outcomes decades from now when we have an even more progressive vision for mobility in our region.
About Matt Steele
Matt's passion is fostering resiliency in local transportation and land use decisions. He's at @matthewsteele.
View all posts by Matt Steele →
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30 Responses to Southwest LRT: Triage Now, Rehabilitation Later
Wayne February 11, 2014 at 6:57 pm #
This is brilliant. Serious kudos for coming up with a workable plan to turn swlrt into what it should be in stages. I really hope someone listens to you.
Matt Brillhart February 11, 2014 at 6:58 pm #
It should also be noted (or emphasized) that single track LRT in Kenilworth:
1. Would result in the same number of above ground train tracks as a freight relocation / LRT at-grade scenario.
2. Would not prevent future relocation of freight out of the corridor, whether to SLP or further west of the metro, should either scenario present itself in the future
I really, really like the single-track option to break up the current stalemate and get this thing built, regardless of future fantasy scenarios (and what you've proposed is actually within the realm of possibly, even if decades away). Putting LRT in tunnels through Kenilworth pours concrete over the future of transit in this part of the metro.
Well done! Lets help make it happen.
Nicole February 11, 2014 at 7:21 pm #
This is the best argument I've seen/heard to get past the current stalemate and have a reasonable buildout plan that will actually serve where there are riders. Nicely done. I hope the folks who can affect this are listening.
Matty Lang February 11, 2014 at 7:30 pm #
It should also be noted that a significant portion of the support for the Kenilworth alignment was due to the negative impacts the 3C alignment would have on the Midtown Greenway as a bikeway and urban green space:
1. The walking and bicycle trails would need to ramp up (and back down) to street level in order to allow for LRT trains to make the turn north on Nicollet. This would require a significant amount of heavy infrastructure to accomplish.
2. The Midtown Greenway trench significantly narrows east of 12th Avenue. This makes comfortably accommodating a streetcar line using single track segments where possible along with the walking and biking trails a big challenge. Building to full LRT specifications in the Greenway would probably make comfortable (for biking and walking) colocation even more challenging if not impossible.
Matt, do you envision the Midtown Greenway as a multimodal corridor including rail transit, biking, and walking as part of your proposal? I know there would be opposition from Midtown Greenway folks based on the impact to the corridor as a bikeway and urban green space.
Alex Cecchini February 11, 2014 at 8:40 pm #
I'll give a take:
1. The tracks could exit the greenway to the south just east of the current K-Mart site into a tunnel. This can be built as part of the K-Mart re-do (whenever that happens). The tunnel loops out as necessary and heads up under Nicollet or 1st (despite Matt's option of Blaisdell if Nicollet isn't palatable). This obviously presents challenges to how developable the site is (how far down can you dig), but could be workable without causing massive bike/ped issues in the trail.
2. Full LRT spec wouldn't be necessary east of Nicollet (at least for a long while) for the SWLRT triage. The Midtown line would operate as planned using single LRV on streetcar-grade tracks (which, unless I'm mistaken, share the same width+height requirements as full LRT-spec would anyway). The Midtown proposals already have plans on new retaining walls, etc to accommodate rail in addition to biking and walking. Personally, I think we should question the value of simple greenery (non-functional park space) just because it adds color. The Midtown Greenway adds valuable segregated space that at times feels park-like, but the grade separation's ability to provide high-quality/frequency/speed cross-town transit is extremely valuable. Just my take.
Matt February 11, 2014 at 9:14 pm #
Yep, this is exactly what I have in mind… double track west of Nicollet, single/gauntlet track east of Nicollet. And it is also completely possible with the Kmart redo to swing the LRT around the south and underneath the trench – this would likely be a necessity if we ever wanted to interline a second line south along Nicollet or 35W from 29th.
There's plenty of space in the Greenway trench to have biking, walking, greenery, and transit. The Met Council is already planning on it anyways. And if anything gets in the way, we can hopefully strategically repeal the historic designation of the grade separation (specific bridges and embankments)… Minneapolis loves its greenway, and it's here to stay.
Thanks guys. I have a better understanding now of what you're thinking.
And, oh boy. I forgot about the historic designation of the grade separation. It's been a few years since I've been intimate with all of the intricacies surrounding the Midtown Greenway.
Jeff Klein February 12, 2014 at 9:53 am #
It would be a shame to see bikers fight light rail at every turn. The Greenway is great, don't get me wrong, but I think if cyclists are honest about the bigger vision in terms of making the Twin Cities walkable, bikable, transit-able, dense and vibrant, they should not always put their interests first. Serious rail is such a huge factor that if it takes some changes to the Greenway to make it happen, so be it.
I'm a little concerned about what overzealous self-interest can do, particularly as we build more specialized bike infrastructure. I was disappointed to see that the bike coalition supported a plan on Washington that resulted in a narrowing of the sidewalks.
Adam February 12, 2014 at 11:01 am #
Every time I bike down the greenway, I think there's plenty of role for rail too.
Matty Lang February 12, 2014 at 11:35 am #
I am also disappointed in the Washington Avenue outcome which has way too much car capacity and is much too wide for a downtown setting.
I also am supportive of Matt's "triage" plan for the SWLRT line–it's great. I am in favor of Matt's future plans for LRT extensions. Rail transit ought to be a part of the Midtown Greenway, but it has to be a part of a Midtown Greenway which is also a world class bikeway that makes up an important backbone in the MSP bicycle system.
Much like the ideal outcome for Washington Avenue downtown would not have included an inadequate pedestrian environment in favor of biking or excessive auto infrastructure, rail transit in the Midtown Greenway should not result in the Greenway becoming any less useful or inviting as a major spine of our regional bikeway system.
We need to have it both ways. The MG streetcar plan along with the Kenilworth SWLRT alignment allows for this to happen. I'd love to see a detailed design that shows a 3C (Uptown/Nicollet) alignment also allows us to have it both ways, but I haven't to this point.
Like Fox Mulder always said, "I want to believe."
Jeff Klein February 12, 2014 at 3:27 pm #
I agree with you in an idealized sense, but if it weren't possible I wouldn't hesitate to trade the Greenway for light rail in that trench and a remade Lake st. with protected bikeways (although Lake was just redone without), or even just well-padded bike lanes on 28th/26th.
Bill Lindeke February 12, 2014 at 3:02 pm #
I think it's jumping the gun to think that the bicycle community doesn't support a greenway transit option. Maybe some, but there are lots of diverse opinions out there.
Matt Steele February 12, 2014 at 3:08 pm #
Indeed. I bike the Greenway, too…
Well, we've seen the opposition from bike groups about the SW alignment. Granted that it's stupid for other reasons, but if it *were* the best alignment for the rail I would have no problem removing the bike trail to make progress on transit.
Janne February 13, 2014 at 4:54 pm #
As a person who commutes by bike — often through the Kenilworth and/or the Greenway — I'm torn. High quality (i.e. non-terrifying and speedy) bike corridors are so few and far between, I resent the idea that it's a choice between transit or high quality bike corridors. Especially when we have 94, 394, 494, 694, 55, 52, 169, 100, and… the list goes on and on. Why are WE the ones who have to give up our space?
How is it we can tear out entire neighborhoods to make room for a highway, but when it comes to bikes/transit, we have to choose either/or?
It needs to be both/and.
Elliot Altbaum February 11, 2014 at 9:50 pm #
Thank you Matt for a brilliant long term solution to so many of the current problems of SWLRT. More people should read this to help build a political coalition to see this through.
For those who haven't closely followed the detailed conversations here and elsewhere, this post will likely be hard to digest. Simple visuals would help express the message the argument. Maybe it's just my background as a geographer, but a series of maps would help make this plan much more digestible. All of the triage suggestions could fit on one map. This would make your references to the triage in Rehabilitation more understandable.
I hope the plan comes to pass.
Thanks for the visual. It is all contained in the one map. Seeing it makes the argument even stronger.
Thatcher February 11, 2014 at 9:53 pm #
Matty, the impacts outlined in the original planning process were predicated on what appeared to be the cheapest engineering approach. Some of us thought it was an intentional way to build resentment against 3C.
Another option, potentially, would be to have a T-shaped tunnel in the greenway before the LRT turns north. It would start depressing in the trench west of Nicollet and would drop below the trail. Keep in mind that the trail is already pretty elevated there, so the tunnel doesn't have to get that low. In addition, the tunnel could be T-shaped so that there would be a switch so that the streetcar could continue east (it would drop into and out of the tunnel).
Andrew February 12, 2014 at 10:09 am #
Excellent work. This is exactly the sort of compromise solution I expected the consultants to come up with, instead of the same old plans that already didn't work.
Cameron February 12, 2014 at 1:22 pm #
Big fan of this plan! I actually hope that the Midtown Corridor Alternatives Analysis process takes long enough to where the engineering requirements for this kind of plan could be taken into account. I'd hate to have a Greenway streetcar line built that makes engineering of a Nicollet extension impossible.
Having "LRT-grade spec" doubletrack west of Nicollet would definitely degrade the Greenway experience, as Metro's most recent plans show the need for some form of retaining wall for the entire stretch between Hennepin and Nicollet. (http://www.metrotransit.org/Data/Sites/1/media/midtown-corridor/midtown-november-open-house-maps.pdf) Double track would be nice for that whole segment, but it's really not completely necessary for consistent headways. I think that engineering as much single track as would be possible for 6-7 minute headways would be a pretty good compromise between both ideals.
True, but if we eventually consider moving some or all SWLRT service to the Greenway/Nicollet alignment, and we also want a streetcar/LRT-lite service down the entire Greenway corridor from West Lake to Hiawatha, it wouldn't work… two services would be interlined from West Lake to Nicollet.
Morgan Zehner February 13, 2014 at 8:53 am #
Man alive, this is such a sensitive topic.
How about a tunnel under the Greenway west of Nicolett if we want double track LRT? Double track LRT is a much bigger deal than a single track streetcar. Tunneling under the Greenway shouldn't be that expensive either.
Yay! my photo! I feel complete finally.
Froggie February 19, 2014 at 9:46 am #
If we're going to tunnel, might as well tunnel under Hennepin.
Morgan Zehner February 20, 2014 at 11:18 am #
I don't know. Since the Greenway was a freight rail trench I don't think that it has any infrastructure below it. No electrical conduits, gas lines, and I don't even think that the Greenway has storm water drainage. Negotiating utilities is what can make tunneling so expensive.
Also, there aren't any businesses on the Greenway that would need to get paid off like University Avenue (a policy that I disagree with). I don't think that cramming a lot of stuff in the Greenway right-of-way is the best answer. The Midtown Greenway Coalition's current support of rail in the Greenway is predicated on significant single track, which I think is a good idea.
Not to mention that if we're going to spend $5 million per block redoing Nicollet Mall downtown, we could sure as heck try to do a cut and cover tunnel at the same time. LRT spine below, streetcars (or just people and bikes) above?
Monte Castleman February 14, 2014 at 7:59 am #
This does seem to be a sensible plan- I like the idea of having peak hour service through Kennilworth. Although I liked the Greenway when I finally got a chance to bicycle it last summer I get the point that sometimes a park isn't the best use for a piece of land.
Thinking bigger, I recall there were similar concerns about the time it takes to meander through the Golden Triangle and that Hopkins wanted LRT down Main Street. What about another single "peak period express" track along the trail to Eden Prairie- park and rides bypassing the Golden Triangle- you could use Kennilworth and interline this with the Green line at least as far as the U, providing a sort of commuter rail service to lure surburbanites to leave their cars behind, and also interlining the streetcar to and through Hopkins?
Sara Bergen February 14, 2014 at 5:48 pm #
OK, I sent the link to Mark Fuhrmann at the met council and to Peter McLaughlin. I am sure they will offer a bunch of reasons as to why it is unworkable, but I am willing to be suprised.
Twin Cities Rapid Transit, Southwest LRT, and Prospect Theory | streets.mn - March 10, 2014
[…] cannot fit in the same corridor at grade, and all sorts of irrational work-arounds are proposed. [Matt Steele argues you only need to single track the LRT, and my belief is they could run the occasional […]