The Bridge -

• Hard Times will reopen Saturday, Dec. 15
  by Jeremy StrattonWest Bank cafe emerges sparkling from 'bureaucratic red tape'

  Four months after closing for what was expected to be a month-long renovation, Hard Times Café, 1821 Riverside Ave., will reopen at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15, the cooperative announced in a news release last week.

  “For 15 years, the West Bank landmark has hosted students, artists, travelers, bohemians, immigrants and regular people in need of strong coffee, a huge menu of vegetarian or vegan fare and an atmosphere unlike any other,” states the release. “Pay at the counter, sit down and when your name is called, you’d better pick up your food or face the cook.”

  While that process will sound familiar to anyone who has known the café, the remodeled restaurant may look different. After at least $150,000 in city-mandated renovations and work by contractors and dedicated Hard Times workers, “The floors are so polished I could see my face in them,” said Susannah Dodge, who manages the property for her father, Peter Dodge, the owner of the building that houses Hard Times.

  “It looks beautiful,” said Dodge. The entire kitchen was renovated, she said, including a new ventilation system, piping, sinks and a dish washer, as well as façade improvements, wall coverings and a “fake ceiling” to cover exposed ventilation.

  Dodge said her father assisted financially because, “He absolutely loves Hard Times; he hangs out there everyday,” she said. “He thinks the business model is excellent and should survive.”

  In addition to the landlord’s contributions, Seward Cafe loaned Hard Times $10,000, said Hard Times cooperative member Troy Pieper, calling Seward’s help “one of several outpourings from people in our community.

  “Hard Times is fortunate to be a part of the community it is,” said Pieper in an email. “Without [the community’s] support, we might never have been able to open again.”

  Dodge credited Hard Times cooperative members for the work they put into the renovations. “I was really impressed by how much they work there,” she said. “They are so committed to that place.”

  Ward 2 Council Member Cam Gordon was also glad to hear of the café’s reopening. “I’m looking forward to eating there again and looking forward to them doing a great, booming business,” he said. Gordon will resume holding his monthly “office hours in the ward” at the cafe every first Tuesday from 9:30–11 a.m. (The open hours have been held across the street at Mapp’s Coffee and Tea during Hard Times’ closing.)

  Apparent miscommunication with the city and contractor’s delays dragged the renovations out to four months, during which Hard Times workers went without pay. The lack of income was particularly difficult for longtime Hard Timer Brian Monroe, who underwent treatment for cancer during that time. A benefit at Bedlam Theatre drew a large crowd and brought in thousands of dollars to assist Monroe and his two daughters.

  A note posted in the café’s window during the closing cited “bureaucratic red tape” for the delay, and Dodge said that poor communication on the part of the city’s inspection department meant that café was not aware of the full extent of the work, planning and permits required until August, as the work was about to commence.

  In October, city representatives told the Minnesota Daily that Hard Times had been told of the requirements in March. Dodge credited Gordon with bringing the two sides together in an attempt to expedite the process (Gordon said he did make one call to the inspections department, but he downplayed the alleged act of diplomacy.)

  With the work and bureaucratic wrestling behind it, however, “the café will again provide folks with gypsy stew, tempeh reubens and coffee that can defend itself,” states the Hard Times release.

• Coyle Center Girl Scouts featured in New York Times
  

  Local Bridgeland girls got some national coverage in the New York Times. In his Nov. 28 article To Muslim Girls, Scouts Offer a Chance to Fit In, Neil MacFarquhar featured Girl Scout Troop 3009, which meets at the Brian Coyle Center in Cedar-Riverside.

  MacFarquhar noted that the Girl Scout Council in Minneapolis has made a concerted effort to recruit minorities, and that there are approximately 280 Muslim girls in 10 predominantly Muslim troops in the city.

  The print and online articles feature photos of the girls and Troop Leader Farheen Hakeem, in and around the Coyle Center.

• Minneapolis School Board adopts wide-ranging strategic plan recommendations
  

  At its Dec. 11 meeting, the Minneapolis School Board took a strong step forward in its strategic planning process, unanimously adopting a set of recommendations put forward by its strategic planning consultant, McKinsey and Co.

  The recommendations were the result of a strategic planning process that began last spring, as McKinsey undertook comprehensive research to determine how to turn around the troubled Minneapolis School District, which has been plagued by a persistent racial achievement gap, low test scores, declining enrollment, inequitable programming between schools and financial shortfalls.

  Bernadeia Johnson, chief academic officer for the Minneapolis School District, said the overarching goal behind the recommendations was to have “every child college ready” by the year 2012. She set specific targets for what that would mean: 80% of all Minneapolis students would achieve proficient scores on state tests in math and reading, 80% of students would reach the threshold scores on college entrance exams, and the race and income achievement gap would be reduced by 75%.

  Reaching those targets, Johnson said, would require a three-pronged approach: increasing equity, expectations and achievement; strengthening relationships; and focusing resources. The specific recommendations adopted were as follows:

  —To raise academic rigor for all students
  —To identify and correct practices that perpetuate the achievement gap and institutional racism
  —To develop and highly effective principal corps and make sure they have the capacity to form and lead outstanding instructional teams
  —To develop a high performing teacher corps and provide professional development and support for teachers
  —To set clear expectations for all staff, rewarding success and removing low performers when necessary
  —To transform relationships and partner with families
  —To establish supportive partnerships with city, county and state agencies and members of the business community
  —To restructure the lowest 25% of schools and increase flexibility and autonomy for both the lowest and highest performing schools
  —To create and sustain a positive financial position

  The recommendations drew strong praise from many of the audience members who made public comments at the meeting, including Minnesota Commissioner of Education Alice Seagren, Mayor R.T. Rybak, state senator Patricia Torres Ray and First Ward Minneapolis councilperson Paul Ostrow.

  Commissioner Seagren, who emphasized that she was also speaking on behalf of Governor Pawlenty, praised the plan for emphasizing reforms designed to improve achievement. “With this proposal, the Minneapolis district has an opportunity to blaze a new path,” she said, adding that “the governor and I will stand by you.”

  Rybak also strongly praised the plan and committed to supporting its recommendations with city resources. “You are not in this alone,” he said. “Everyone has to be aligned to address the needs of kids in this community.”

  While there was general support for the recommendations presented, School Board Director Chris Stewart expressed strong concern that the recommendations were too general, and didn’t include enough specific targets and details. “Raising expectations and academic rigor for all students—what’s the opposite of that?” he asked. “Not raising expectations and academic rigor for all students?” Director Lydia Lee said she regarded the recommendations more as presenting a direction for the district, rather than as a strategic plan.

  With the board’s unanimous approval of the recommendations, Johnson said the next steps would be for the district to begin work in January to outline the specific actions that would be taken to achieve those recommendations. Those steps, she said, would be voted on by the board in March.

  In other school district business, the board narrowly voted down a proposal to change the way that school board members are elected, a proposal widely known as the “Davnie Bill,” for its author, Seward-area state senator Jim Davnie. The bill, which was passed by the Minnesota legislature, would have increased the school board from seven to nine members, with six being elected from each of the city’s park districts and three servin