In St. Paul, the only reason the office vacancy rate is holding steady between a quarter and a third is because the state of Minnesota rents as much as they do. \u00a0Crime is rising, the tax base is shrinking, middle and working-class parents are fleeing the school system, the Midway and Frogtown are about to get a few islands of gentrification plopped (for a while, anyway) amid long stretches of government-imposed blight, taxes are up and “services” are down, the foreclosure crisis has gutted Frogtown, the North End and the lower East Side, property values are in the toilet and will stay there because of the City Council’s vacant building policies.<\/p>\n
But we’re free of candy cigarettes, dammit!<\/p>\n
A back-in-the-day soda shop in St. Paul has been busted for selling cigarettes — made of candy.<\/p>\n
Lynden’s, on Hamline Avenue near Cretin-Derham Hall High School, said a city inspections official came in last week and gave the shop a warning and added that a misdemeanor citation — with a $500 fine — would be next if the non-carcinogenic confections continue to be sold.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And how was it that the City of Saint Paul was caused to spring into such decisive action?<\/p>\n
“Somebody from Bloomington called and reported us,” Lynden said. “The whole thing is pretty weird.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The folks at Lynden’s should have donated more to the DFL, apparently.<\/p>\n
UPDATE: Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:<\/p>\n
The City of St. Paul is looking out For The Children, as usual.<\/p>\n
Best comment on-line: \u201cIt\u2019s true, candy cigarettes are a gateway drug to real cigarettes. I used to eat Gummi Worms and now I crave night-crawlers!\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe Doakes<\/p>\n
Como Park<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Strooth. \u00a0I started eating Lemonheads. \u00a0I became a huge Evan Dando fan.<\/p>\n
(#forgottennineties)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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