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Hot Dish 9.19.24

Sen. Smith, AOC tout affordable housing plan as shutdown looms again

By Rochelle Olson

The Minnesota Star Tribune

September 19, 2024 at 1:53PM

Congress, cartoons, caterpillars and he whose name shall not be spoken

By Rochelle Olson

Good Thursday morning, Hot Dish faithful. Four days later and Briana Bierschbach is *still* on maternity leave and so I’m writing two consecutive Hot Dishes this week to fill the yawning void created by her absence. You’re alone this morning with the childless dog lady (me). According to Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders I’ve got nothing to keep me humble because I have no biological children. Wrong. This thing called life keeps me humble every minute of every day. When I went looking for a link to Gov. Sanders’ comments, I found a Steve Sack cartoon from a few years ago. I trust he’s enjoying retirement because his talent for the craft was singular. I was amazed at his ability to render the essence of a person with a pen and paper. I once told him that I wondered what he’d emphasize about my face if he drew me. He said, “Pretty women are the hardest to draw.” I can’t recall precisely what I said but it was something akin to a sarcastic, “Good one, Steve.”

TEAMSTERS NO-GO: The Teamsters won’t endorse either presidential candidate. Former President Donald Trump calls the decision a great honor. ‘’They’re not going to endorse the Democrats. That’s a big thing,’’ he said. The Teamsters’ internal polling of members showed Trump with an advantage over Harris.

The AP reports the decision came just weeks ahead of the Nov. 5 election, far later than endorsements by other large unions such as the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers and the United Auto Workers that have chosen to devote resources to getting out the vote for Harris.

The “Teamsters lack of endorsement also suggests an indifference to the Biden-Harris administration, which signed into law a measure that saved the pensions of millions of union retirees, including many in the Teamsters,” the AP said.

Meanwhile, Teamsters in battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada said they’re endorsing Harris.

HOUSING HELP: Joining forces with AOC, Sen. Tina Smith reveals an affordable housing plan and our woman in Washington has the details. Sydney Kashiwagi writes about the “Homes Act” and how it would establish a housing development authority within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The authority would build and maintain a stock of permanent affordable housing. Smith said housing supply is far behind demand.

OK, but good luck with passage because the House rejected Speaker Mike Johnson’s temporary funding bill Wednesday and so a shutdown is once again looming. (The bill linked it to a mandate for proof of citizenship to vote.) The vote was 220-202, with 14 Republicans and all but three Democrats opposing the bill.

From the AP story: “Next steps on government funding are uncertain. Lawmakers are not close to completing work on the dozen annual appropriations bills that will fund federal agencies during the next fiscal year, so they’ll need to approve a stopgap measure to prevent a partial shutdown when that budget year begins Oct. 1.”

Johnson, R-La., hasn’t revealed next steps.

HE WHOSE NAME SHALL NOT BE SPOKEN: Speaking of Oct. 1. IYKYK. We’re at the point where others have begun countdowns. We shall not. Here in my Hot Dish we adhere to the baseball superstition that you don’t talk about the no-hitter while it’s in progress. So we’re not going to use his name. But if he makes it, he will be a centenarian on Oct. 1.

TAX TIME: Colleagues Greta Kaul and Christopher Magan explain the rite of fall — budgets and property tax levies. They’re going up, of course. They explain how it all works and what to expect in Hennepin and Ramsey counties. As we all know know, your tax bill depends on several factors.

PELOWSKI PONDERING: Retiring state Rep. Gene Pelowski, DFL-Winona, says it would be good for Minnesota if the GOP took back the House or Senate. Thanks to Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, the new outreach director for the state GOP — and possible gubernatorial candidate — for calling attention to the clip. Pelowski, 72, drops his parting words of wisdom after 38 years in the House where he presumably had seniority and power to be the change he wanted to see in the world.

WHERE’S WALZ:

He’s in D.C. this morning for The Business Roundtable’s quarterly meeting and then internal meetings. He’s scheduled to return to St. Paul this evening. He posted on social media a photo of a staff meeting Wednesday. It’s not yet been two months and already it’s weird to see him back at the Capitol.

He also participated in the inaugural welcome of University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham. See Walz here. And he got a hair cut.

ProPublica released its version of the Walz-crisis story, how he struggled to handle the unrest over police violence in 2020 and 2021. Side note: One of the writers is Deena Winter, who will be joining the Star Tribune as the Minneapolis City Hall reporter in just four short days. Yeeeeeehaw. We, and especially me, are excited. (Note: Deena is not childless. She even has a grandson.)

READING LIST

Before transitioning to her new role as an editor, Kelly Smith gives us a story about the financial challenges nonprofits are facing. Increasing costs and dipping donations mean a grim outlook for many.
Former Minneapolis Housing Authority board chair Sharmarke Issa pleads guilty in $250 million Feeding our Future fraud case. The Edina man remains free pending sentencing which will likely be a couple years in prison and probation. Not relevant anymore but why is an Edina man chairing the Minneapolis board?
This Childless Dog Lady wonders how anyone puts a kid through college without an inheritance. Check out Minnesota’s most expensive colleges. My undergrad bill at Hamline was a mere $12K year — a staggering amount back then as I put myself through college.
Read the commentary from Maple Grove resident Jeff Aguy, son of a Haitian immigrant, about the recent comments from the Trump-Vance ticket. Wild to me that Haitian American author Edwidge Danticat was just in town for Talking Volumes. To understand Haitians, go read her book, “The Dew Breaker.” Breathtaking. Check out colleague Erica Pearson’s recent profile of Danticat whose writing is entirely intoxicating.
The woolly caterpillar quandary: I always wonder what to do when I find one on a path or sidewalk. Help it aside? Leave it alone and let nature do its thing? From our weekly Outdoors feature on what’s happening out there, read about the little ones who are everywhere right now.
This story is a feat of reporting by the New York Times. They’ve got sources inside the U.S. Supreme Court providing information that has previously been closely guarded. Here’s a gift link. Further reading is Slate’s take and mea culpa in re the Roberts court.