WCCO speaks to ‘girlfriend’ in Jamar Clark case

This raises some questions about the prevailing narrative in the Jamar Clark case. WCCO’s Reg Chapman spoke with the woman who has been referred to in many reports as Jamar Clark’s girlfriend — a characterization she rejects: “She says the investigators’ description of her role that evening is wrong. She was not dating Clark, and there was not a domestic dispute. … ‘I didn’t call and say, “Come and shoot him,” or none of that,’ RayAnn Hayes said. ‘They have no reason to come and be combative at all, because they didn’t get a call like that. Not from me.’ … Hayes says she’s worried for her safety, and didn’t want her face shown on camera.”

There are probably liability reasons for the argument, but this not exactly the kind of support you’d hope for from your employer. In the Pioneer Press, Josh Verges writes: “St. Paul Public Schools said in a court filing Thursday that a Central High School teacher is to blame for any injuries he suffered Dec. 4 while intervening in a student fight at the school. … Science teacher John Ekblad alleges the school district, Superintendent Valeria Silva and assistant superintendent Theresa Battle failed to protect him despite knowing the school and the student who attacked him were ‘dangerous.’ … In their response to the complaint, the school district asserted that any injuries Ekblad sustained ‘were due to, caused by and solely the result of (Ekblad’s) own carelessness, negligence, fault and other unlawful conduct.’”

At last, Minneapolitans will be freed from the terrible burden of deciding: Paper or Plastic? The Star Tribune’s Erin Golden writes: “The Minneapolis City Council voted Friday to ban plastic bags, with some exceptions, starting June 1, 2017. … In addition, customers might find themselves charged a nickel for paper bags, though businesses will have an option to eat that fee themselves. … The plastic bag ban, which passed on a 10-3 vote, was drafted by Council Members Cam Gordon and Abdi Warsame, who said they’re looking to change consumers’ habits in order to get the city closer to its zero-waste goals.”

University of St. Thomas law professor Mark Osler is on today’s New York Times opinion page, explaining what he sees as “Obama’s Clemency Problem.” He writes: “In the spring of 2014, the Obama administration announced an initiative to consider granting clemency to thousands of federal prisoners serving what Mr. Obama called ‘unjust’ sentences for low-level drug crimes. Federal prisoners were notified of the project, and more than 30,000 responded by submitting surveys to begin the process. … Despite the relatively high number of commutations that Mr. Obama has now granted, there are still more than 9,000 pending commutation cases, many of the sort singled out in the 2014 initiative as potentially worthy. So why has the president acted on so few?” 

In other news…

Who feels bad for the health insurance industry? “Losses widen for health insurers in Minnesota’s individual market” [Star Tribune]

Did the Lex get a bad rap? “Black club owner says city of St. Paul is discriminating against him” [City Pages]

Mumps outbreak in North Dakota. Yep, mumps. [AP via WCCO]

A story about mussels, but not the invasive kind: “Minnesota Zoo Helping DNR Raise Endangered Animals for Release in Waterways” [KSTP]

Getting to be that time of year: “Twins Announce Plans For 2016 Home Opener” [WCCO]