were there, but no trouble happened. Patricia Torres Ray, Jim Davnie, Gary
Schiff and Karen Clark were there to discuss governmental issues. Torres Ray
said she is overloaded with responsibilities relating to education, so she was
letting others discuss other things. My main takeaway of her talk was that
they will have two focuses: early education and high school. They want to find
ways to engage bored teenagers so that they will work toward some goals or
dreams. She said they are working out ways to include an internship for high
school students so they can find out something about possible adult career
choices. And to make sure they prepare for the ACT which is a required step
for professional training. They are putting the long and seemingly useless
process of testing that is merely recording the fact that students are so
disinterested in the form of education they are getting. She also answered a
question about employer input to say that the perspective has to be wider,
addressing all jobs that will be needing trained recruits in the next decade.
Jim Davnie's biggest responsibility is on the ways and means side. So he
discussed tax reform, fixing the chronic deficit, and sales tax proposals. He
recalled his skepticism about electronic pulltabs and they way they seem to be
failing to provide the chunk of funding in the Vikings stadium project.
Karen Clark only addressed a question about marriage equity. She said she was
hopeful of getting it passed, but she couldn't make a firm prediction.
Lawmaking is full of surprises.
Gary Schiff mostly moderated the meeting. One question to the legislators was
more a city question so he said he'd have to carry that message to the city
council.
There was also a pair of women from welfare rights lobbying to double the base
welfare payment which hasn't changed in 27 years, they said.