The above picture is  what is seen at night looking west a half block west of MacKubin on Maryland Ave West toward Dale St.

Getting a little closer to the Railroad Bridge near Kent St and Maryland Ave West.  There’s no light except for the occasional car that passes by.

Looking east near Danforth on Maryland Ave West.

The ability to keep the street lights on some city streets can pose a hazard to those driving a car, motorcycle, or a bike at night. Can you see the pillars of the overhead Railroad bridge? No?

8 Years of Mayor Melvin Carter III has produced Darkness

Took a walk down to Conny’s Creamy Cone on a Summer Night. The stark darkness between MacKubin St and Danforth St on Maryland Avenue is uncanny. I took the photos above.

This is not a recent occurrence. All throughout his tenure as what Mayor Carter says and what is, are two different things.

Nearby Marydale Park had it’s lights extinguished over at least a year or so. It seemed like there was no interest in turning the lights back on. There was a man living in the park that entire time. He lived near the raised railroad tracks in the park in a make shift shelter through a winter and a half. He moved his make shift shelter down to Lake Loeb the polluted lake in the middle of Marydale Park.

The benches and picnic tables and grills seem like they may have been new in the 1960s or even before that. Nearby Como Park has had updates nearly every year. Marydale Park not so much. They do have a Kato pitch there where you can see Hmong Americans kick a wicker ball like a cross between Hackey Sack and Volleyball.

There was a time during Mayor Carter’s second term that the lights around Lake Como and the walking trails around Como Park were not lit.  There were a lot of complaints but eventually their lights were turned back on but Marydale, not so much.

Copper thieves you say? Maybe it’s a lack of good paying jobs, or the good businesses have left the city that people have to resort to stealing catalytic converters or stealing copper wire from street lamps? The manufacturing base left a long time ago. Toro left, the 3M Headquarters relocated to just over the St Paul and Maplewood border and all it’s former plants are now parking lots.

Where’s that Billion Dollars worth of investment in St Paul Melvin Carter mentioned in the LWV Forum?

Downtown St Paul is a ghost town. Junkies and thugs hanging around bus stops looking to buy and sell drugs.

The Veterans Center in the US Bank building’s corner at Minnesota & 5th still has the stickers of the US Army, USMC, US Navy, US Coastguard, and the US Air Force on the windows but the center has been vacant for a very long time.

When was the last time there was a Parade down Rice Street or White Bear Avenue? When did we last have Official Fireworks on the 4th of July from the City of St Paul? In 2017 when Mayor Chris Coleman was mayor. Since then there hasn’t been enough money to do it.

Yet there’s money for college savings accounts, or savings accounts, or the $500 a month to a handful of people to study if Universal Basic Income can work here. There was also money to pay off medical debt of people who could probably get another person or company to pay it off. These are not functions of government. They are functions of Vote Buying. If we had a Law and Order MN Attorney General, Mayor Carter might be in prison for influencing the vote by giving money to people who otherwise might not vote.

Remember the 1% sales tax to fix roads in St Paul? Mayor Carter was bragging about using that money to re-sod a rec center.  The road construction in downtown St Paul looks like state money by Governor Walz.

Arcade, Dale St and soon to be the entire stretch of Rice street have or will get road diets. Main arteries that had 4 lanes of traffic will have 2 lanes and a seldom used middle lane. Maryland Avenue between Johnson Parkway and Greenbriar was supposed to be a 6 month trial but now it’s permanent and the road diet goes all the way down to Arkwright on Maryland Ave East.

Then there’s the threat to clear cut century old trees on Summit Avenue for a bike trail that isn’t needed. Adam Dullinger could be a project manager for that he seemed like he wanted to leave the company that he works at to making more bike lanes and connections. His comments at the LWV forum seemed like he wanted to work for Mayor Carter if he wins a 3rd term.

Max Sanders never asked a question about that project. A project the city can’t afford to do because we don’t have the money for it.

The Maryland Supermarket has had 1000s of calls about shots fired, 2 murders, car accidents, speeding, and drug dealing. Oh you’re not suppose to bother the St Paul Police about guys selling drugs in handshake sales through car windows that drive up. A landlord nearby called to complain about the narcotics sold there and was told by the St Paul Police that he should stop bothering them unless there is a shooting. Interesting as they also have had a St Paul Police Camera Pole at that property all summer long. Is someone in Chief Axel Henry’s Police Force on the take? St Paul had that reputation about 100 yrs ago. The recent “Blue Surge” there is just a show, they aren’t serious about arresting any of the drug dealers there because there have been no arrests nor has the store been shut down either. The dealers will still hang around and then when the night comes on they are back to selling drugs. Wondering what Mayor Carter and Councilwoman Kim might say about that? The Fentanyl task force is being successful?

If you vote for any of the DFLers running in this race, there’s 4 of them, then you can expect more of the same you are voting for more darkness, or…

You can vote for Mike Hilborn the only REASONABLE choice in this election. He’s the light in the darkness like in the photo below.

this post was not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. This is not an endorsement, it is a REASONABLE Suggestion to vote for the only sane choice in this election, Mike Hilborn, is very REASONABLE. The ideas of the others is very unreasonable, insane, and more of the same status quo. No one believes the claims of violent crime going down. They have just re-classified crimes or redefined them. If you disagree they will fine you when the City Fine Ballot question passes, so vote NO on that and to deny St Paul Public Schools more money for a school district with a declining enrollment because the schools are unsafe because the School Board removed SROs. Remember Devin Scott was murdered on their watch at Harding High School.  Also don’t rank your votes either. It should be 1 person 1 vote. — admin