Bottleneck fix: turn (don’t merge)
from streets.mn by Joe Polacek
Merging lanes suggest that drivers can speed off the interstate and onto city streets. This damages conditions on the roads and leaves little space for cyclists and pedestrians. Creating a tighter intersection between street and interstate will show drivers that the roads are separate and that conditions may be different. This allows for streets to be compatible with diverse modes of transportation.
House tax bill boosts property tax refunds for renters and homeowners
from Minnesota Budget Bites by Nan Madden
The bill would boost the Renters’ Credit by 6 percent for this year only: more than 317,000 Minnesota households would see an additional $39 in their refunds. Homeowners would see a 3 percent increase in their property tax refunds. The increase would be done automatically – taxpayers wouldn’t need to submit anything in addition to the usual property tax refund forms or amend applications that have already been filed.
Pine Innovation Center opens its doors
from Pine Poker by Nathan Johnson
Compelled by what’s been erected along the main drag through town? East Central Minnesota has a new business incubator and it’s location is superb at corner of the busiest two cross streets in Pine City, Main Street and County Road 7 (Hillside Avenue).
Lives on the line: Will Supreme Court hold U.S. accountable for the death penalty?
from The Advocates Post by Amy Bergquist
The United Nations Human Rights Committee took an important step last week in holding the United States accountable for its human rights record, and Friday the ball is in the Supreme Court’s court. In a March 27 press conference, the Committee issued its Concluding Observations, following analysis of the United States’ self-report on its human rights record, shadow reports from The Advocates and other civil society organizations, and an interactive dialogue between the Committee and a 32-member government delegation on March 13 and 14 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The artisan and the Schedule C
from Zingy Skyway Lunch by Erik Petersen
I wear multiple hats, systems engineer by day, oddball gunsmith by night. The gunsmithing practice has a heavy focus on the aesthetic. It’s artsy, if anything. And I take my payments either through a card processor or Paypal, which is typical of people in the grassroots arts and craft world. You know, people who turn bowls and make doilies and sell them on Etsy.
Anyway, if you exceed $10,000 in payments, you get a 1099-K from your payment people. For some reason or another Paypal didn’t do this for the longest time, but were brought into compliance I believe by PPACA’s tax regime when it was implemented at the end of 2010.
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