Skip to Content

Eric James

Burnsville, MN
Commenter for
4 years 34 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 09/27/11 at 11:53 am in response to Kids may leave, but rural Minnesota benefits from 'brain gain' among 30- and 40-somethings

This might indicate population stability in terms of absolute numbers but I'm not sure it really yields the value of "life experiences, entrepreneurial skills and networks" that Aamot claims.

Rural cities have not proven to be innovators for our state and they cannot provide the tax base needed to fund anything significant. Otherwise, the tax for a Twins Stadium would not have solely gone upon the wealthy in Hennepin County.

People who embrace their childhood homes are not...

Posted on 05/20/11 at 01:10 pm in response to Scott Bernstein: MSP needs more 'location efficiency,' less out-of-pocket spending on transportation

"Sheryl's" comment is interesting because it reflects a very adversarial sentiment that is often spouted by my fellow suburbanites. It's not that urban housing is actually "condense" but that the perception of urban living, of surrounding density is mentally dense. In fact many urban core lots and houses are on par with suburban tracts. Ironically the horizontally density of many newer suburban divisions are "condensing" into thin but long lots that are no wider than your typical South...

Posted on 06/24/10 at 12:26 pm in response to Lavender 'outs' Lutheran pastor -- by crashing confidential support group

Strangely strange comments going on here.

I'll say this one thing.

The first time that Lavender actually attempted investigative journalism or journalism of a professional nature, it failed at even the most basic ethical tenets.

Let me just whip out the SPJ:

— Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.

—Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.

— Recognize that gathering...

Posted on 06/17/09 at 08:19 am in response to Update: Pawlenty opens the unallotment war -- let the battle ensue

Only Christian Siriano is allowed to use the word fierce, *snap*!

Posted on 06/16/09 at 02:26 pm in response to Above the curve: Star Tribune's website gets a 'B'

The Strib should capitalize on their multipage comments by simply evolving them into a forum. Popping it out into a forum thread will mean more user engagement, not less and you can still allow anonymous users to post willy nilly. With their rate of traffic, a forum is ideal to handle the massive users wanting to make their voice heard.

Nonetheless I agree with Terry, reading the comments is a path to the dark side.

Posted on 02/05/09 at 12:48 am in response to Star Tribune's Peck responds to Guthrie staffer's rip

As Editor of TwinCityScene.com I also have to empathize with Bahan. This line struck me:

"Local theater critics are journalists first. Journalists are storytellers, and there are thousands of stories in this large and active theater community that just aren’t being written."

Storytelling is really expensive, really really really really really expensive. A typical writer will want to devote hours to create their story, to set an atmosphere, cue the players and finish on a...

Posted on 11/29/08 at 12:45 am in response to Minnesota's proposed 'train to nowhere'

I heart comments about planning related activities! I personally am somewhat ambivalent about the Northern Lights Express. From a long-term governmental point of view, it does make sense, there is incredible population and job growth in urban areas most of which will be in the state's metropolitan areas. Long-term investments at this level are cheap and provide coverage for future demand. The MN/DOT road budget ranges from $400-700 million a year with a recent tax kick-in that will...

Posted on 10/26/08 at 05:23 pm in response to Strib editor to columnists: Stop being partisan starting ... now!

It's a love hate relationship with the Strib and I. I can recall as a kid salivating over the Sunday edition each week as it was delivered. My father really enjoyed reading it even though he watched news like a hawk anyway. As I got older I always thought they had a great balance of quick current events front page news to indepth after-the-fact issues. It definitely shaped my world view in my childhood and teenage years so I can't dismiss it so eagerly. But starting a few years ago I just...