The Rake Magazine

Category: Blog Post

  • Can Behavioral Targeting Regulations Balance Privacy and Free Speech?

    How do you feel about ads being served up to you according to your web surfing history? On one hand, it only goes to prove Big Brother is watching (as if we didn’t know that). On the other hand, the ads you see are more likely to suit your interests, which might not be a bad thing in the long run — unless you’re surfing a lot of porn at work. 

    Here’s an email I received on the matter from MediaPosts’s MediaDailyNews. 

    Monday, April 14, 2008 by Wendy Davis

    It puts civil libertarians in a difficult position, but the fact is
    privacy rights and freedom of speech often end up colliding with each
    other. Newspapers print pictures of people who don’t want their photo shown,
    political campaigners ring people’s doorbells seeking votes, and Web
    sites post the purchase price of home sales. Generally, these
    activities are permissible in the
    U.S., because First Amendment freedom of speech principles outweigh
    whatever privacy interest people think is being compromised.

    On the other hand, courts have also upheld restrictions on speech —
    especially ads, considered "commercial speech" — in the name of
    protecting people from intrusion. Consider the do-not-call list. The
    Federal Trade Commisson had to
    defend the registry against a First Amendment challenge in federal
    court and, at one point, was banned from creating the registry.
    Ultimately, the 10th Circuit decided that the agency could go forward
    with the registry, but this outcome
    wasn’t certain when the case first began.

    Now, this clash is coming up again with behavioral targeting — serving
    ads to people based on their Web-surfing history. The Newspaper
    Association of America late last week filed comments with the FTC
    arguing     that any rules impeding newspapers’ ability to serve ads to readers would violate newspapers’ First Amendment rights.

    Courts have long said that the ability to advertise is a First
    Amendment right, but there’s obviously far less precedent about whether
    serving ads based on people’s Web-surfing history violates other
    rights. Privacy advocates are calling
    for limits, saying that at a minimum, companies shouldn’t deploy
    behavioral targeting without consumers’ consent — with some advocates
    arguing that consumers should explicitly consent via opt-ins.

    Much of the legal restrictions might end up turning on whether people
    have a reasonable expectation that their Web history is, or should be,
    confidential. On one hand, everyone who stops and thinks about it must
    surely know that all clicks
    leave a digital trail. At the same time, many users simply can’t fathom
    that anyone else — ISPs, ad networks, etc. — actually collects that
    information, much less analyzes it and then sends ads based on it.

    Of course, one way Web companies can help insure people know that
    clickstream data is being collected is by posting clear, easy-to-read
    privacy policies. And, under the circumstances, asking people to
    consent to behavioral targeting,
    either by opting in or not opting out, doesn’t seem like the kind of
    restriction that would necessarily violate the First Amendment.

  • It's Time We Rethink Our Standards

    FILM

    Standard Operations Procedures

    How much of a story can be told by looking at a photograph? What is
    considered fact and proof? Is seeing truly believing? The documentary
    film Standard Operations Procedures breaks apart these questions by delving into the lives of soldiers stationed at Abu Ghraib prison, in Iraq. Academy Award winning director Errol Morris
    used photographs and stories of American soldiers to depict the stained
    and corrupt system within the interrogation centers in the Middle East.
    We all remember the horrific photos
    that leaked into the media, and as you may anticipate from the brief
    synopsis, the documentary is far from a romantic comedy. Ironically,
    the film opens with a photograph of a golden sunset in Iraq, which
    stands in stark contrast to the rest of the film’s morbid and
    disturbing tone. Within the first ten minutes my weak stomach got the
    best of me, and I had no choice but to direct my eyes to the dim lights
    positioned on the walls of the theater. —Hannah Simpson

    7:30 p.m., Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-375-7600; free with cost of gallery admission.

    LECTURE
    Minnesota’s Labor Movement

    Learn all about Minnesota’s Labor Movement in the last two centuries. The 2008 David R. Noble Lecture, presented by the Minnesota Historical Society, features Professor Peter Rachleff tonight for a “The Making, Unmaking and Remaking of Minnesota’s Labor Movement in the 20th and 21st Centuries.” Rachleff, professor of History at Macalester College in St Paul, has long been active in labor solidarity.

    7 p.m., Minnesota History Center, 345 Kellogg Boulevard.

    BOOKS & AUTHORS
    The God Strategy

    David Domke, best-selling author and professor, will discuss his new book The God Strategy at the University of Minnesota Bookstore today. No, this isn’t a book on how to find god, or how to make peace with your god(s); it’s a book on how religion became a political weapon in America — far more interesting, no? "The God Strategy concludes that U.S. politics
    today are defined by a calculated, deliberate and partisan use of faith
    that is unprecedented in modern politics. Domke’s work documents how
    this occurred, who has done it and why, and what it means for the
    American experiment in democracy."

    4 p.m., University of Minnesota Bookstore, Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-625-5549; free.

    MUSIC
    Ryan Montbleau

    The 2007 Boston Music Award Best Local Male Vocalist winner Ryan
    Montbleau     will be in sharing his song with Minneapolis this evening. Montbleau serves up some jazzy vocals, stemming from a soulful of zydeco. The man can sing. And his guitarwork leaves nothing to be desired. Go check him out.

    8 p.m., First Avenue, 701 First Avenue North, Minneapolis; 612-338-8388; $9.

  • The Emperor Has Underwear. . . and Maybe a Pair of Socks

    What you drink from matters. No question.

    Good coffee will be ruined by a Styrofoam, waxed, or plastic vessel (and here, I include all those plastiform travel mugs distributed by SA). Water leaches toxins from petroleum-based bottles. Anything out of an aluminum can tastes like. . . .aluminum can. Chunky little Chinese bowl cups somehow make tea taste better. Wide cappuccino mugs with plenty of room for foam are a must. And decent wine glasses do improve the wine drinking experience.

    To a point.

    Take it from me, a woman who sat through most of a demonstration staged last night at Solera, by the legendary stemware producer Georg Riedel (pronounced REE-dle, rhymes with needle). I left early — truth — because I had a conference for one of my kids. But I was glad to go. For 45 minutes, we’d been swirling, pouring, sniffing, and experimenting with three nice wines and five different "glasses" (explanation of quotes below) and I was rather tired of the process. It was a little Montessori and, frankly, sucked every ounce of enjoyment from the experience of simply drinking the wine.

    Georg is the 10th generation principal of his family’s Austrian glass-blowing business. They actually started, back in the mid-1700’s, making windows. But after World War 2, the Riedel family was forced out of their native Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). And in 1957, Georg’s father, Claus, had an opportunity to buy a business that made high-quality stemware. But rather than just carry on in the tradition of the company — making glasses that were aesthetically pleasing or in keeping with current decor — Claus came up with a whole new paradigm.

    He developed what his son — Georg — calls "the concept." Simply put: that the size and shape of a glass matter when it comes to drinking wine.

    I don’t know about Claus, but Georg is a born salesman. And by this I mean, he can make it seem imperative that you have what he sells. He’s canny. Self deprecating. He talks about how he "complicates" the lives of the people he meets by alerting them to their need for better wine glasses. How clever is that? He cops to the fact that he is adding a layer of cost and effort onto what is for most of us a simple, pleasant pursuit. And yet, he manages to make this sound like a gift!

    During yesterday’s presentation, Riedel the 10th was suave in a very European high-buttoned coat. He warned us charmingly (he nearly won me over with this) about the volume of wine we were about to drink and cautioned drivers against over-indulging. He talked about the rising alcohol content of wines and the unfortunate practice of chaptalizing (adding sugar during fermentation) that has become standard because modern drinkers seem to want ever bolder and bigger wines.

    He told us that the word "flavor" actually means the combination of smell and taste. This is only marginally accurate. It is one definition (third on the list in most dictionaries). But I’m willing to give him credit, given that the sensory experiences (smell and taste) certainly are connected where wine is concerned. And I, for instance, am a person more reliant upon the former than the latter.

    "In every handmade glass is the breath of a human being," Georg said. And I have to admit, I swooned.

    But then, we were led through a complicated dance that involved tasting white wine from a Riedel Chardonnay glass, then from a plastic cup, and then from a cheap, wide-mouthed glass. And this is where Georg lost me.

    Of course, the wine tasted awful from the plastic cup. There were, to my mind, many reasons. Plastic has an odor, even a distinct taste. It’s flimsy and unsatisfying to hold. I associate it with keg parties and hospital water jugs. However, Georg Riedel insisted the only problem with the plastic cup was that its mouth was too narrow to allow for proper aromatics.

    Once we’d poured the wine into the wide-mouthed glass, we were instructed to sip again. And here, he told us there was just too MUCH aroma escaping, it wasn’t being funneled to the nose properly. This, too, he said, ruined the wine. All around me, I saw heads nodding.

    But I was thinking, Balderdash. (Actually, I was thinking something else, but this is a word more in keeping with the refinement of Riedel.)

    After the white wine had been swirled, poured, and disposed of, we started in on the red. This was served in a Riedel Burgundy glass — a beautiful, bulbous thing (in the middle above) that Georg told us is large enough to hold a bottle and a half. Now, put aside the risks inherent in giving people glasses so large that a moderate serving of wine looks like a pathetic dribble. The fact is, we drank a lovely French pinot noir from the Burgundy glass and it was very nice.

    Then, we were told to pour our Burgundy into the Chardonnay glass — which Georg told us is similar to many other manufacturers’ red wine glasses — and take a sip. "Do you taste that? It’s too acidic!" Georg cried out, and the people around me were nearly weeping with gratitude as if someone had finally confirmed what they always knew. Stemware really does matter! Hallelujah!!

    I, on the other hand, drank my Burgundy from the wrong glass and I thought it was just fine. . . .except for the little bit of white wine residue.

    There are many things I love about Riedel stemware. It is lovely and stately and makes a thrilling sound when you clink in toast. I’ve no doubt it improves wine marginally (marginally!) to be able to stick one’s entire nose in the glass. It’s on sale at Target, for God’s sake, where you can get two bottom-of-the-line glasses for $25-30, which is not, actually a bad deal. But I do not believe, nor have I seen any evidence, that the average wine drinker must buy a different shaped glass for every varietal he or she may drink.

    As I said, a master salesman is someone who comes up with a product and convinces you that you absolutely must have it. He is the emperor who convinces you he is well dressed when he appears stark naked. Or, in the case of Georg Riedel — who has some very good points to make among all the flim-flam and twirling fire — a pair of boxers and maybe a couple woolen socks.

  • The Idiots at My Work

    When I’m not at home taking care of my son, I work as a laborer at a Twin Cities garden center. Compared
    to a professional/corporate office job, things work a little
    differently in the manual labor world: at any given moment during my
    shift, I can announce to the entire crew that I have an impending bowel
    movement on deck and they will soundly applaud. Down in the blue collar trenches—where the necks are thick and teeth are optional—the workers can be an unsavory bunch. And sorry to say, but I’m like the king of the "yardies". So let me tell you about the idiots at my work.

    The other day I was teaching a nice 16-year-old high school kid named Daniel how to properly load a cart. It was Daniel’s first day, and he was twitchy with awkwardness. I was doing my best to make him feel comfortable, when up walked my dumbass co-worker Bucko. With
    his wild thicket of hair, sleeveless t-shirt showcasing his hairy
    shoulders, and mouth-gaping stoned expression, Bucko has the general
    appearance and demeanor of a retarded Grizzly Bear. After
    a decade long binge of narcotics and beef jerky, he has fried the link
    between his brain and mouth and says whatever is on his mind. Bucko looked at pipsqueak Daniel and said to him, "I love boning Asian chicks."

    Daniel was so mortified that he practically broke out in a full body rash. I sent him to get some water and, hopefully, avoid a lawsuit. Then I gave Bucko a fiery reprimanded, telling him his comment was highly inappropriate. Bucko just gave me blank stare. He scratched at his nuts and asked, "Why do you hate freedom?"

    I walked away befuddled. When
    I got to the employee lounge, I came across a squirrely looking dude
    named Rafalski hunched over in the refrigerator tearing through
    people’s lunches. He methodically dismantled every lunch bag, Tupperware, and take-out box. But shockingly, he just ate the meat in the lunches. Rafalski peeled back the bread of a sandwich, slid the deli meat in his mouth, and then put the bread, lettuce, and tomato back. He unfolded a tortilla shell, picked through the beans and veggies, and slurped up the chopped pork. When I loudly cleared my throat, he abruptly stood up. Rafalski looked at me with weird googley eyes and wiped his mouth.

    "What?" he shrugged, the carnivorous pile spilling from his cheek. Then he gave me the finger and walked off the job in the middle of his shift.

    Exactly.

     

  • Joan Ida: From Hong Kong to Forest Lake

    Joan Ida, former pastry chef at Goodfellows, and more recently executive chef at Tria in North
    Oaks, is back in the area after a year of opening Western restaurants in Hong
    Kong — and about to open a new restaurant in Forest Lake. "It was a great
    experience," reports Ida. "I got to travel and see all of Asia."

    I can’t read
    Chinese, so I have no idea what the picture above says about her, but one Hong
    Kong dining website reported that she led a team of chefs at Piccato, an Italian restaurant,
    where her menu included "pancetta wrapped-prawns with balsamic sweet onion,
    capers and sultanas, bruschetta with tomatoes, sweet clams, and white bean
    puree…lobster cioppino with black pepper croutons…8-hour osso buco with wild
    mushrooms and truffled risotto… and Barolo braised beef short rib with white
    beans, pancetta and artichokes."

    Her new venture, The Lake House, scheduled to open in early May in Forest
    Lake, is going to be a lot less gastronomical. Ida promises "comfortable
    American food, very recognizable wonderful food that you would find at a lake,
    like crappies like my mom made, dipped in Ritz cracker and fried." Walleye will
    be on the menu, of course, along with Northern Minnesota style porketta, pork
    slowly roasted with harlic and herbs and a nice crispy skin, served with fresh
    green beans and a gruyere potato gratin; and maple black pepper duck breast
    with cherry chutney and spoon bread.

    The lakefront restaurant will have an
    outdoor veranda and two 21-boat slips. "You can be on your pontoon in the
    middle of the lake, make a call and place your order, and we can give you your
    lunch." Ida says the ambience at the 250-seat restaurant will be "refined
    casual" and promises that the pricing will be very moderate — "I want everyone
    to be able to come more than once a week."

    General manager will be David Harvey, formerly of the
    California Café, Morton’s, and Temple.

  • Aveda Knows the Key to Beauty Is Water

    Most of us associate Aveda with beauty and fabulous smells — and rightly so — but they don’t stop at shampoo and facial cleansers. One of the most effective hair, body, and skin care treatments doesn’t come in a lovely 16-oz Aveda bottle. It’s water, and
    you drink it. Of course, Aveda knows this, so they’re doing their share to raise money to bring clean water (and beauty) to the world. This month, they’ve been on a mission to raise $2.3 million for clean water rights.

    See below: 

    NEW YORK (April 2008)–Aveda’s
    2008 Earth Month     campaign boldly declares the urgent need to protect clean
    water rights across the globe-and empowers Aveda network professionals and
    guests with tools for creating change and making a difference. Building on the
    record-breaking success of Aveda Earth Month 2007, this year’s campaign
    launches strategic global and local projects to help provide clean water to
    those people most in need around the world.

    Aveda’s fundraising goal for 2008 is
    to raise $2.3 million     during the month of April for global and
    local organizations working to support and preserve clean water. Targeted
    projects include:

    • Brazil: the development of sustainable water
      systems, medicinal gardens, and the prevention of illegal fishing and logging
      on indigenous lands.
    • Bulgaria: training and resources for local
      farmers in Bulgaria to convert to organic farming
    • India: the building of sustainable water
      systems in nine villages, where local youth will be trained in the installation
      and maintenance of hand pump wells.
    • South Africa: projects to help
      protect local communities from high levels of uranium discharged into their
      drinking water supply from a mine upstream.

    In 2007, Aveda exceeded its Earth Month
    goal of $1.8 million by raising $2.1 million for clean water projects around
    the globe. Aveda continues its campaign for clean water in an effort to make a
    sustainable positive impact and to set an example for environmental leadership
    and responsibility. Over the past nine years, the Aveda network has raised more
    than $8 million for environmental and social causes through its Earth Month
    campaigns.

     

    GLOBAL PARTNER. For the
    second consecutive year, Aveda has joined with Global Greengrants Fund as their
    exclusive global Earth Month partner to provide grants for community-based
    water projects around the world, with a special focus on regions where Aveda
    sources ingredients. An international organization dedicated to environmental
    justice and sustainability, Global Greengrants Fund provides small grants to
    grassroots organizations working for clean water, clean air, sustainable
    livelihoods and healthy communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America and island
    nations around the world. Select local fundraising efforts along with sales
    from the limited edition Light the WayTM Earth Month candle will help support
    Aveda’s donation to Global Greengrants Fund. www.greengrants.org

     
    LOCAL ACTIONS. LOCAL RESULTS.  In addition to
    global-scale Earth Month projects, Aveda’s network will embark upon local campaigns to support regional partners. During the month of April, Aveda
    Salons, Spas, Experience Centers and Institutes will hold fundraising events
    that directly support a local partner working to support clean water.

    LIMITED EDITION CANDLE. Aveda’s 2008
    Earth Month campaign also includes the launch of a limited edition Light the
    WayTM soy wax candle, made with an aroma of certified organic Bulgarian lavender
    oil. By purchasing the $10 Earth Month candle, consumers will support Aveda’s
    donation of $700,000 to Global Greengrants Fund as part of its global efforts
    to help make clean water a human right and to support of grassroots clean water
    projects for those people most in need. 

    Light the WayTM also sheds light on the
    importance of ingredient traceability from soil to bottleTM and Aveda’s
    ingredient sourcing partners globally. The Company’s partnership with the Enio
    Bonchev Distillery     to source the certified organic Bulgarian lavender oil
    in the candle is an example of benefit sharing-at both ends of the supply
    chain-while caring for the Earth.

    Light the WayTM also features award-winning
    environmentally responsible packaging    : the candle is contained in 95%
    post-consumer recycled (PCR) glass and the outer carton is printed with soy ink
    on 100% recycled sheets of carton stock previously used by Aveda to prepare its
    printing press. Called "make-readies," these sheets of paperboard are typically
    thrown away-or at best recycled. In Aveda’s environmental commitment to "reuse
    and recycle," all Light the WayTM candle packaging is made of 100%
    "make-readies." This packaging received an AmeriStar Award and 3M Integrity
    Award (by the Institute of Packaging Professionals, IoPP) for its innovative
    and environmentally-conscious design.

    SUPPORT ORGANIC FARMING FOR CLEAN
    WATER.
    In addition to funds raised by the candle, support of organic farming also
    helps protect clean water. Organic farming helps protect clean water by
    reducing contamination of ground and surface water from chemicals and
    pesticides. 

    • Conventional
      agriculture is responsible for 48% of stream and water pollution.*
    • Organic
      farming reduces agricultural water pollution.
    • Organic
      farming reduces local and regional ground water pollution.
    • 90%
      of Aveda’s essential oils and 89% of Aveda’s raw herbal ingredients are
      certified organic.

     
    * U.S. Environmental Protection
    Agency, "Rivers and Streams," in National Water Quality Inventory: Report 2000

     

  • SaveWCAL Wins a Victory for Public Radio Supporters and WCAL Donors

    Despite strong opposition, St. Olaf College sold its WCAL 89.3 FM radio station and Rochester’s KMSE 88.7 to MPR for a reported $10.5 million four years ago. Unfortunately — or fortunately, depending on who’s doing the talking — St. Olaf College was holding about $3 million in endowment funds for the station at the time of the sale. Three years later, SaveWCAL attorney Michael W. McNabb requested that the Rice County District Court declare the sale void due to the conflict with donors. Since then, the details have been under investigation, pending a report from Special Master Judge Gary J. Meyer.

    Here is an update email I received last month from SaveWCAL:

    Northfield, Minn.-A Special Master report submitted on March 7, 2008 to the Rice County (Minn.) District Court is an important victory for supporters of and donors to public radio station WCAL and St. Olaf College, according to Ruth Sylte, the president of SaveWCAL, an organization representing the donors to WCAL.

    "It is a very good day for supporters of public radio and thousands of SaveWCAL supporters!" said Sylte. "The report confirms that listener donations and support do matter."

    WCAL 89.3 FM was the first listener-supported radio station in the U.S. and a founding member of National Public Radio (NPR). Until its controversial sale, the station broadcast for more than 80 years from the St. Olaf campus in Northfield, Sylte explained. WCAL’s major assets-a 100k watt C-1 FM license, Rosemount broadcasting tower and translator station KMSE 88.7 in Rochester-were sold on November 21, 2004 over the objections of thousands of donors and listeners for a reported $10.5 million by its trustee, St. Olaf College, to Minnesota Public Radio (MPR).

    The Special Master’s Report, containing more than 130 separate Findings of Fact and making Recommended Conclusions of Law on the subject of the Petition and Amended Petition filed by St. Olaf College regarding the WCAL charitable trust, includes the following highlights:

    • The report recognizes that the WCAL donors created a charitable trust throughout more than 80 years of support to the station. This is exactly the position that SaveWCAL has advocated since the beginning of the current proceeding and, indeed, since October 5, 2004 when the organization specifically asked the Minnesota Attorney General to intervene in the sale of the trust’s assets and the Attorney General declined. In fact, Special Master Judge Gary J. Meyer (ret.), specifically noted in his Memorandum that:

    "The Attorney General notes that St. Olaf has not formally petitioned the court regarding the proceeds of the sale of WCAL assets to MPR. But St. Olaf takes the position that none of the proceeds of the sale are subject to any restriction and that St. Olaf is entitled to use the proceeds for any purpose it desires. Thus, it is unlikely that St. Olaf would ever bring a petition asking for direction from the court regarding these funds. Although the Attorney General clearly could have, and perhaps should have, brought a petition to the court, they have not done so. Instead, the court is left with the current petition, which, in the interests of justice, must be expanded to include additional funds not specified in the petition."

    • The report also finds that the assets that currently comprise the trust are far greater than what St. Olaf College had represented to the court in its Petition and Amended Petition. St. Olaf claimed that it held $1.36 million in the WCAL endowment and that it should have unrestricted access to approximately $860,000 of that amount with approximately $500,000 restricted to "Core WCAL Activities." The Special Master has found that the WCAL charitable trust has assets in excess of $5 million and that the use of those assets should be restricted to "Core WCAL Activities."
    • The Special Master did not include the value of WCAL’s FM license as an asset of the trust claiming that "it is impossible to discern from the record what assets were purchased with which funds or, most likely, combination of funds."

    Sylte pointed out that the report fails to recognize the fact that the license itself would have been lost long ago but for the support of WCAL donors. In order to renew its license, St. Olaf had to demonstrate to the FCC that the station was serving the public interest. It was able to do so, Sylte asserted, only because of the magnificent support of the WCAL donors. Indeed, the Special Master’s Findings of Fact states:

    "WCAL and St. Olaf had agreed on a goal of decreasing the St. Olaf cash contributions to WCAL and of eliminating them by 2005. From 1993 to 2004, St. Olaf’s contributions to WCAL decreased from $350,000 (which was 21% of the 1993 WCAL operating budget) to $130,000 (which was 5% of the 2004 WCAL operating budget)."

    As another example, Sylte related that the station would have been completely lost in 1924 if supporters had not raised the money to save WCAL after the College announced that it did not have the funds to operate the station. The station would have been lost a number of times without the donations of listeners, without which there simply would have been no license and therefore no assets for St. Olaf to sell in 2004.

    Sylte also pointed out that St. Olaf College attorneys, in an attempt to prevent information that SaveWCAL supporters (or any member of the general public) might find from reaching the Court and the court-appointed Special Master, have been denying unrestricted public access to the college’s archives, in direct conflict to the college’s stated policy, since December 7, 2007.

    • The report also does not address the trust status of the building in which WCAL was housed that was built, not with funds from St. Olaf College, but solely from the donations of WCAL listeners.

    The submission of the Special Master’s report is yet another step-a large one-in SaveWCAL’s lengthy and continuing journey of more than three and a half years to obtain justice on behalf of the tens of thousands of WCAL donors, living and deceased, who gave millions of dollars to build and maintain a "unique and priceless public radio station" for more than eight decades, said Sylte. "The process is still continuing. We will continue to advocate that the WCAL charitable trust also includes the proceeds from the sale of the broadcast license. "

    "Our efforts remain grounded in a deep affection for the college." added Sylte. SaveWCAL’s primary goal has been to preserve the WCAL station and/or its charitable trust, preferably to spiritually, financially and educationally benefit its historical home institution, St. Olaf College, she said. "What we have achieved thus far," Sylte continued, "benefits St. Olaf by assuring its donors that they have a right to be heard and that their intentions should continually be honored."

    The parties now await instructions from Rice County District Court Judge Gerald Wolf regarding how the hearing on the St. Olaf Petition and Amended Petition will proceed. Judge Wolf, who is presiding over the case, has the authority to accept or modify the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and proposed Order. A hearing is expected to be scheduled soon.

    BACKGROUND / TIMELINE

    • In August 2004 St. Olaf College suddenly announced that it would sell the license and Rosemount broadcasting tower of WCAL 89.3 FM radio station-the first listener-supported radio station in the USA-and its translator station, Rochester’s KMSE 88.7, to MPR for a reported $10.5 million. In spite of strong opposition, including a petition to St. Olaf with more than 5,000 signatures and unsuccessful pleadings before the FCC, the station was sold to MPR and ceased broadcasting as WCAL/KMSE on November 21, 2004 – just three days after the 82nd anniversary of the station’s official founding.

    • At the time, St. Olaf College was holding at least $2.96 million in endowment funds for the benefit of WCAL radio station.

    • On December 28, 2006 St. Olaf College filed a Petition in Rice County (Minn.) District Court seeking a release of all restrictions on two categories of gifts in the WCAL charitable trust endowment that it now classified as the restricted non-endowment gifts and the undocumented gifts. When the gifts were made, the College placed the gifts in both categories in the WCAL endowment. It asserted in its Petition that the donors of the gifts in the first category did not specifically direct St. Olaf to place their gifts in the WCAL endowment. As for the second category, St. Olaf claimed that it was not able to find documents to explain the decision the College made to place the gifts in the WCAL endowment. The College asserted that total market value of the gifts in both categories as of April 30, 2006 was approximately $961,000.00.

    • On January 12, 2007 the Minnesota Attorney General’s office responded to the filing in a letter to St. Olaf College, raising some technical questions about the Petition. This caused St. Olaf to request a continuance of the scheduled hearing and the hearing was rescheduled for March 8, 2007.

    • On February 27, 2007 SaveWCAL attorney Michael W. McNabb sent a five page Letter Memorandum to the Rice County District Court to inform the Court of issues related to the Petition filed by St. Olaf. The letter stated, "A thorough investigation will reveal that the court has the facts and the law to declare that the assignment of the license for 89.3 FM to MPR is void on the grounds that (1) it was a breach of its fiduciary duty as trustee for St. Olaf to create the circumstances which rendered it impossible to honor the intention of the donors and (2) St. Olaf failed to obtain the authorization of the court to terminate the charitable trust as required under Minn. Stat. 501B.41 subd. 2 and therefore St. Olaf did not have the lawful authority to assign or sell the assets of the WCAL charitable trust.

    In the alternative, the court could declare that the WCAL endowment fund (all $2.9 million) and the $10.5 million received from MPR constitute part of a continuing charitable trust and that pursuant to Minn. Stat. 501B.31 subd. 2 the trust must be administered to accomplish as nearly as possible the intention of the donors. "

    • On March 6, 2007 just seven days after McNabb sent his Letter Memorandum to the Rice County District Court, St. Olaf College suddenly submitted an Amended Petition which completely removed St. Olaf’s previous assertions of the WCAL charitable trust funds as a "charitable trust". Also removed was one exhibit previously submitted by St. Olaf after an heir of the donor notified the Attorney General and Court that what St. Olaf had presented in its Petition was not the wishes of the donor.

    • On March 8, 2007 SaveWCAL attorney Michael McNabb received the permission of the court to participate in the hearing. Additional hearing sessions were held on April 13 and May 25.

    • On October 16, 2007 Rice County District Court Judge Wolf issued two Orders. The first Order and Memorandum indicated that the Judge is reserving a decision on the St. Olaf Amended Petition pending the result of a full investigation by a special master appointed by the second Order to, among other things, "investigate and determine the amount of assets and donations that are attributable to WCAL…" without limitation. The order also confirmed the standing of SaveWCAL as a representative of the WCAL donors. It should be noted that SaveWCAL was the only party in the case to request that a special master be appointed and that a full investigation take place.

    • On October 22, 2007 Judge Gary J. Meyer (ret.) accepted the appointment of Judge Wolf as Special Master for the St. Olaf College Petition. The Special Master was instructed to report his findings and his recommendation to the Court within 60 days of his appointment. The Special Master was also instructed that he could request additional time in order to complete the investigation. On December 17, 2007 Judge Wolf issued an Order extending the deadline for the Special Master to submit his report and recommendations to February 15, 2008. On February 15, 2008 Judge Wolf signed another Order extending the deadline for the Special Master’s report to March 15, 2008.

    Documents submitted to the Rice County District Court Special Master by the various parties (Minnesota Attorney General, St. Olaf College and SaveWCAL) are available for download in PDF format at: http://savewcal.livejournal.com/104585.html

    SaveWCAL is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that grew out of St. Olaf College’s decision to sell essential and irreplaceable assets of the WCAL charitable trust, thus destroying the first listener supported public radio station in the USA-a founding member station of National Public Radio (NPR) and a leading member of AMPERS (now Minnesota Independent Public Radio).

    Since 2004, St. Olaf has been attempting to dismantle the trust and repurpose millions of dollars in funds given to the WCAL charitable trust by tens of thousands of donors over the course of more than 80 years.

    For further information, see http://SaveWCAL.LiveJournal.com

  • Punk Puppets in New Zealand

    HOST A SUMMER SHOW
    Turn Your Backyard into a Theatre for a Night!

    Open Eye Figure Theatre is now booking their 2008 Driveway Tour (June 7 – August 10), and they’re looking for 50 hosts who can offer their yards and gather their neighbors for a half-hour family-friendly puppet show. It’s simple; all you have to do is provide the space and the people — and perhaps some lemonade or cookies, but that’s up to you. The show is free, but you’ll be asked to "pass the hat" for donations after the show. Sound like fun? Send an email to openeye@bitstream.net with "DrivewayTour" in the subject line. The program is available for booking Monday through Thursday evenings, and Saturdays. Some Sundays may be considered. Check you calendar now! 

    MUSIC
    The Unseen

    While they’ve recently been accused of selling out — after airing their videos on mainstream channels (like MTV2) frowned upon by the underground streetpunk scene — The Unseen remain true to their hardcore roots, at least in their music. Hailing from Hingham, Massachusetts, the street punk band features lead vocals by Mark Unseen (ADD Records and A Global Threat), bass by Tripp Underwood, lead guitar by Scott Unseen, drums by Pat Melzard, and rhythm guitar by Jonny (A Global Threat). They’ll be playing the early show tonight with A Wilhelm Scream, In Defence, and Class of 86.

    5 p.m., Triple Rock Social Club, 629 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-333-7399.

    BOOKS & HIKING
    Peter Potterfield’s Favorite Hikes of New Zealand

    Hiking expert and Classic Hikes of the World author Peter Potterfield wraps up an eight-week speaking and slideshow tour this week with a trip to the Twin Cities. Hikers and outdoor enthusiasts alike, will be able to meet Potterfield at local REI stores, to learn firsthand about hiking in New Zealand through his compelling narrative, striking slideshow, and Q&A session. Plus, you’ll be eligible to win prizes from ExOfficio and Eagle Creek – even an all-expenses-paid round trip to New Zealand!

    7 p.m., Bloomington REI, 750 W. American Blvd., Bloomington; 952-884-4315.

  • The Three Pointer: The Last, Best Weekend

    AP Photo by Nikki Boertman

    Game #79, Road Game #39: Minnesota 102, Orlando 101

    Game #80, Road Game #40, Minnesota 114, Memphis 105

    Season Record: 21-59

    1. Wanting It More

    It does not significantly diminish the two wins posted this weekend by the Timberwolves by pointing out that neither Orlando nor Memphis bothered to be particularly resilient or really dedicate themselves to "the old college try." The Magic have a #3 seed in the east sewn up and didn’t seem especially distraught about allowing the Wolves to overcome a 9-point deficit in the final 4:23 of the game. The Grizzlies rested outside sniper Mike Miller (bad back) and benched their top two centers, Darko Milicic and Jason Collins (each DNP-CD) to get a longer look at the small (6-9) youngster Andre Brown in the pivot. Such are the vagaries of late-season hoops. Consider that the previous two years, the Wolves themselves bent over backwards to move the clicker upwards in the loss column.

    By contrast, the Wolves weathered a blistering 3-point shooting performance by Orlando in the first half and overcame the Magic with a balanced scoring (abetted by riding their most highly-touted quintet of the future at crunchtime) and more diligent defense; then blew Memphis out with a franchise-record 43-point first quarter and their most dominating performance of the season on the boards. What these things have in common–the resilience, the ball movement, the rebounds, the defense–is an abiding desire to win. It has been awhile since this team was demonstrably hungier than its opponent for two successive games.

    Let’s focus in on the pivotal movements of both games. After playing cat-and-mouse with the Wolves with a lead that fluctuated from 4 to 14 since the first 90 seconds of the game, Orlando and Minnesota each made key substitutions with 8:18 to go and the Magic up 5, 91-86. For Minnesota, it was Al Jefferson in for Chris Richard, giving the Wolves a lineup that includes their last three first-round picks–McCants, Foye, Brewer–and arguably their top two players this season, Jefferson and Gomes. Somewhat remarkably, despite the frequency with which the Wolves play smallball, this particular quintet does not even rank among the top 20 most-frequent five-man units this season for Minnesota (according to 82games.com), which means it hadn’t even mustered 36 minutes up this point.

    Well, for the final 8:18 they stayed intact, and the result was a 16-10 margin, including 12-2 over that last 4:23. A primary reason for this disparity was Stan Van Gundy’s decision to sub in Jameer Nelson for Carlos Arroyo instead of Keyon Dooling, giving the Foye-McCants backcourt a substantial physical mismatch versus Nelson (6-1, 190) and Dooling (6-3, 195)–especially when you consider that the Magic flank the beastly Dwight Howard with a pair of 6-10 swingmen (Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu) and throw the 6-5, 220 Maurice Evans in the backcourt as starters.

    Consequently, the Wolves were able to rally despite zero field goals from Jefferson, who went 0-4 from the floor while the rest of his teammates registered 10-18, including 4-4 from beyond the arc, two apiece by Foye and McCants, who played together over the last 17 minutes. For that matter, Foye played the entire second half, and all but 34 seconds of the entire last three periods, leading the team in points (25, on 10-21 FG) and assists (6). With Jefferson otherwise engaged with the giant speciment named Howard, Foye went off for a dozen 4th quarter points, McCants added 8–but more significantly, hit a vital crunchtime trey to bring the Wolves to within a point with 1:17 left to play. This was right after the Wolves looked doomed by a sequence where Ryan Gomes clanked a wide open jumper and Turkoglu drove the left lane for a layup. It was also the last field goal of the game. The Wolves’ defense clamped down, the Magic, worried about Howard getting fouled and missing free throws, chose to have Dooling and Turkoglu miss out side jumpers, and the game came down to a scrum where the Wolves battled for an offensive rebound that eventually fell to Gomes. Howard fouled him with 2 seconds on the clock. Whatever Gomes’s difficulties with jumpers with the game on the line, he’s money from the free throw stripe–swish, and swish. Ballgame, Minnesota.

    Still riding the high of their first road victory of the season against an Eastern Conference team, the Wolves ensured that there would be no drama in the game against the Grizz. They purely and simply blew out Memphis in the first period, led by Kirk Snyder, whose four turnovers and minus -14 in less than 25 minutes of play against Orlando stood in stark contrast to Corey Brewer’s fine outing. Against Memphis, he went hard to the hole, scoring nine points on a putback layup, dunk, and a driving layup, plus three FTs. Meanwhile, the Wolves doubled up the Grizzlies (who made the smallball Minnesota squad look rather large with their pipsqueak lineup) on the boards, 20-10. That set the tone, which had the Wolves racking up a monstrous 21 *offensive* rebounds in the first three periods alone, finishing with 62 boards overall. Four players–Jefferson, Gomes, Snyder and Brewer, had double-digit rebounding totals. McCants was again a deadeye from outside. The final 9-point margin really wasn’t that close.

    2. The Return of Corey Brewer

    How long has it been since you were excited about Brewer’s NBA future–a month? Six weeks? I daresay the same might be said of Brewer’s own outlook. But, as will probably always be the case with Brewer, he rekindled his nearly snuffed confidence with defense on Friday, particularly in the final 6:58 of the second period. It started with a steal of Arroyo and floor length drive culminating in two free throws. Then he went high flying sidewise to block Arroyo’s open court layup attempt a few minutes later, stuck a jumper after that, and filched the ball from Howard and generated another layup in the final minute of the period. Bottom line, in the second quarter alone, Brewer had 8 points, 4 boards (two offensive), two steals and a block. No doubt it helped that he and his former Gator college teammate Richard both had dozens of friends in the stands down in Florida. In any event, shaking off all those weeks of bad ju ju, he carried over the old Brewer hustle into the Grizzlies game and racked up 11 rebounds to give him 20 in less than 52 minutes of play his last two contests, along with four steals. Yes, he can get overamped–he fouled out against Memphis and had moments versus Orlando where he was ball-dogging a player who wasn’t his man–but when that enthusiasm is productive, he can flash back to the steals and blocks and boards rather than those hideous misses that have marred his play before then.

    3. Quick Hits

    Chris Richard also had dug his niche a little deeper as the backup center with a pair of nice games over the weekend. While it remains possible that Richard will become this year’s Bracey Wright–a kid with a flash of promise honing everything he can out of his game who just doesn’t have NBA ability in the long run–his attitude and work ethic have been a joy to behold this entire season.

    Another second-rounder who constantly works hard at refining aspects of his play–Craig Smith–has not been missed at all the past two games, which could help make some signing decisions a little easier in the off-season.

    During the trey for the Milwaukee finale, I’ll announce a couple of playoff games or series in advance that I’ll be covering along with delivering my choices for various awards, and guessing the winners of the first round matchups. If we can keep this beautiful conversation going into the postseason, I’m game.

  • Hillaright and Hillawrong.

    I am not exactly sure what I am trying to say with my headline. While I won’t pick nits with her politics, I fear that if she, my fellow sister, were to gain the white house (I may be the only that holds a candle–for my own reasons) she will raise the CAFE standards even further than 35MPG.

    The Saint in me says she is right.

    The Devil says, "death to her and all her pets."

    Why must she remain so polarizing?