News you can use

Saturday is School Choice Day in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. If you’re the parent of a student, you have the opportunity to send your child to either the public school in your neighborhood or a magnet school. You also have the opportunity to send your child to a charter or a private school. Both school districts, and metro-area charter schools, are planning one-stop information fairs where, they say, you can find out all you need to know about schools where you might want to send your child. MORE »

The new Seward Co-op, in its bright, green building at 2823 East Franklin, will open for business on Thursday, January 8 at 10 a.m., with a ribbon-cutting, give-aways and general celebration. The $10.5 million store doubles the retail space of the old store, with 13,000 square feet, and also has a community classroom on the second floor. The building includes Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles and the Co-op is hoping to earn a LEED gold rating. MORE »

Two opportunities to speak out on budgets, local and state:

The Minnesota Coalition for a People’s Bailout and the Welfare Rights Committee are organizing a campaign to demand a “People’s Bailout” of increased and extended aid to the poor, protection of public education funding, and no layoffs. The campaign kicks off with a protest at the state capitol on Tuesday, January 6 at noon, during the opening session of the state legislature. MORE »

As the economy reflects the deep freeze and darkness of December, gift-giving goes beyond family and friends to give back to a hurting community. From the United Way’s Give 5 Now campaign to Second Harvest and foodshelves, there are many ways to give. Here are four smaller places where your dollar can make a big difference. MORE »

Money is tight this holiday season. Whether simply cutting back on gifts or thinking about shaping your dreidel out of those leftover Thanksgiving potatoes, most Twin Cities residents are scoping out ways to save. Fortunately, there are plenty of activities about town that will get you in the spirit of the season without landing you in debt. MORE »

Last month, I wrote an article about volunteering opportunities in the Twin Cities for the Thanksgiving Holiday. I listed several opportunities that I found on volunteering Web sites such as volunteermatch.org for people who wanted to volunteer for Thanksgiving. MORE »

Set your clocks for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 17, 2008. This Wednesday, full-power TV stations in Minnesota and 28 other states will voluntarily participate in a nationwide analog shut-off test. The FCC is organizing the nationwide soft shut-off, which will last for five minutes at 6:30 p.m. local time. MORE »

Although winter is not yet officially here, with snow on the ground and temperatures dipping into the teens, Minnesotans face another season of high heating bills. MORE »