News Cut: April 8, 2008 Archive

Protect your brain

Posted at 7:55 AM on April 8, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Is caffeine the miracle drug?

A North Dakota study on rabbits says a cup of coffee a day protects a vital barrier between the brain and the blood supply, protecting the central nervous system from the harm of chemicals in the blood.

Maybe coffee will soon be reimbursable by your FLEX plan.

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Twins stadium name

Posted at 9:44 AM on April 8, 2008 by Bob Collins (14 Comments)

The Minnesota Twins have a noon news conference today for "a major announcement about their new ballpark." This sound suspiciously like the unveiling of the name, by virtue of corporate sponsorship.

The betting line appears to be Land o' Lakes Park or Land o' Lakes Field.

Carter Hayes, on the blog SBG Nation, says he searched the WHOIS database and found that landolakespark.com and landolakesfield.com have been registered by the Twins vice president of technology.

Target Field and various concoctions of Best Buy (HDTV on sale now for $800 Park?) have also been registered, but apparently not to anyone publicly associated with the Twins.

I checked for a Wells Fargo Field, but the domain is not registered. Besides, wasn't that once Twins owner Carl Pohlad's competition in the banking business?

If it is Land O Lakes Field, how do we refer to it in the shortened form. In Cleveland, one headed to "The Jake" (then Jacobs Field). In Minneapolis, we go to "The Dome." We can't very well say, "it's a nice day, let's go to 'The Lake.'"

By the way, have you seen the Twins ballpark Web cam?

Update 12:24 p.m. - The "big" announcement turned out to be a deal with Delaware North (owners of the Boston Bruins and widely regarded there as some of the cheapest ownership in sports) to provide concession services. I imagine there's more than a few honked-off media people who were lured to attend the big announcement only to find out it wasn't worth the paper on a press release. It's one of the no-no's of the business.

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The chemical question

Posted at 11:24 AM on April 8, 2008 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

Since word leaked out a couple of years ago that chemicals once manufactured by 3M are infiltrating the water supplies in parts of Dakota and Washington counties, many people who live there only want to know one thing: is the stuff killing me and the kids?

A report issued by the Department of Public Health today (pdf here) doesn't answer the question.

MPR reporter Lorna Benson, who's responsible for much of the news coverage of this issue, says there doesn't appear to be much new in the document.

The report says incidents of cancer in the area are "similar to the rest of the state or slightly lower." According to an MPR story last month, a study of cancer rates among 3M workers is "inconclusive."

Elevated levels of the chemical have been found in peoples' blood in Oakdale and Lake Elmo, but while the Health Department says it may not represent a health risk, none of the language in the report is so declarative as to make many people sleep better, and it even conflicts with the headlines of a year or so ago, such as "3M Chemical Levels Safe In Water," or "Suspect water in east metro safe to drink, agency says."

And there's this continuing advisory (link insertion is mine):

Nevertheless, those who may be especially concerned with their continued exposure to low levels of PFCs through drinking water (even at levels below the MDH HRLs or well advisory guidelines), such as pregnant women or parents with infants, can take additional steps to reduce exposure by using bottled water for drinking, cooking, or making formula, or by using point of use filters to treat water used for these purposes.

Here's Lorna's take on today's report:

"If you're fascinated with detective work, the report offers a pretty comprehensive review of the the PFC investigation so far. It lists countless details on the contaminated landfills in Oakdale and Lake Elmo and theories on how the chemicals spread into the nearby groundwater and drinking water. But if you're desperate for firm answers on the health risk of drinking water containing PFCs you'll have to wait - probably for quite some time. Health studies to date, conducted mostly by 3M, have mainly focused on laboratory animals or exposed workers. Scientists still know very little about how PFC exposure affects vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children. Minnesota lawmakers passed a bill last session that sets up a biomonitoring program to track PFC exposure in east metro residents. That study gets underway this summer. But it is limited to 200 residents and it has been criticized for only including adults. Some have predicted a potential explosion human studies as university researchers and graduate students become more aware of the PFC issue. Still, any findings from those projects would be many years away."

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Polar bear politics

Posted at 10:52 AM on April 8, 2008 by Bob Collins (11 Comments)

A tale of two cultures.

In Minnesota, polar bears and gorillas get the cold shoulder.

In Germany, a polar bear enthralls a nation.

They're so cute, right? Be sure to read the part where Mom ate two of her cubs yesterday.

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Cheap Joe a no go

Posted at 11:28 AM on April 8, 2008 by Bob Collins (9 Comments)

I had anticipated a line at the closest Starbucks today. They were giving away free coffee nationwide from 11 to 11:30 as part of its effort to "reconnect" with the customer. With the money saved from one free cup of coffee, you can pay for the extra gasoline tax on two or three fill-ups.

But no, there were four people in the store; all of them appeared to be homeless.

The company unveiled a new "everyday" blend that tasted -- and this is an unscientific opinion from someone whose taste buds have been miscalibrated from years of abuse -- like every other cup of everyday coffee. Oh, and it came without the cardboard protective wrap, which helped my fingers reconnect with pain.

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How bad? Real bad

Posted at 11:57 AM on April 8, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)

Realtor and blogger Teresa Boardman has "the numbers no one wants published."

Thirty percent of the properties on the market are in foreclosure.

And she reveals:

Banks really are dropping their prices and starting to actually sell off the properties they own. I am noticing that when my clients make offers on these properties they often end up in multiple offer situations. Some of the banks are dropping their asking price every week or two until they start getting offers. They then wait until they collect a few offers and start working with the best one, taking care that each buyers knows he or she is in a multiple offer situation and can raise their bid.

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Profits over principle?

Posted at 3:32 PM on April 8, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)

A principled stand is bad for business. That's the message one can take away from Trek Bicycle Corporation's announcement today that it is suing Minnesotan Greg LeMond, three-time winner of the Tour de France, because, basically, he won't shut up about the use of drugs in his sport.

According to the article on the MPR Web site:

(Company president John Burke) said throughout the company's relationship with LeMond, the cyclist would renege on promises, like saying he would curb his comments about doping and focus more on the brand.

But then he also said:

"Doping is a very important topic for our industry. We never discouraged Greg from speaking out about doping in cycling. We know there is a difference between attacking an issue and destroying reputations. Greg's public comments damaged the LeMond brand, and our reputation with retailers and consumers."

When it comes to juicy scandals, you can't beat this sport. And LeMond has been in the thick of it, accusing bicycling god Lance Armstrong of using drugs, and then saying Armstrong threatened him.

He also testified at a hearing over race winner Floyd Landis' two positive doping tests, despite claims that if he did, Landis' manager would reveal that LeMond was sexually abused as a boy.

Meanwhile, cycling as a sport is synonymous with blood doping. The maker of the banned substance even sponsored part of the tour.

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Diversity at the University of Minnesota

Posted at 7:53 PM on April 8, 2008 by Bob Collins (2 Comments)

It's often difficult to make a casual -- very casual -- stroll through sections of the University of Minnesota and not find yourself thinking, "this place is really white."

Questions about diversity have dogged the institution for some time. When the General College was closed and folded into the College of Education, diversity -- or the lack thereof -- was often at the heart of the protests against the decision.

"It is not acceptable for students who enter General College to graduate after six years at about a 30 percent rate," University President Robert Bruininks said in 2005. "And if they're students of color, it's about a 20 percent rate. We need much higher levels of success for the students who enter the University of Minnesota."

How has that worked out?

"The six-year graduation rate for students of color for 2007 was 48.6 percent," Vice President and Vice Provost Nancy 'Rusty' Barceló, of the U's Office for Equity and Diversity, told me today. "In 2005, it was 47.3. So we went up a little bit, but the four-year graduation rate in 2007 was 31.3 percent and in 2005 it was 23.8 percent. So I think we're doing some things; it certainly isn't where we want to be. The broader university wants to raise it above the 60-percent level but what's important is we're beginning to see more students who start their sophomore year, staying through their sophomore year. That becomes a real good indicator that these students are going to see their way through the institution."

According to a University of Minnesota Daily story on diversity at the U last month, the number of students of color on campus has increased 20 percent since 2002, an indication perhaps that the university wide commitment to diversity was not "a bluff," as one opponent of closing the General College alleged.

Barceló's hiring in 2006 was part of Bruininks' plan. (Also see my interview with Darlyne Bailey, the dean of the College of Education)

Still, the U clearly has its work cut out for it. Today, for example, a press release from Penn State University trumpeted the fact that it and Michigan, are the only Big 10 schools whose graduation rate for African Americans is near 70 percent. A story in the Journal of Blacks in Education put the U of M's rate near the bottom.

Though we didn't talk specifically about the report (I hadn't seen it at the time we talked), Barcelo has worked to address the concerns of parents and community leaders, especially in the Twin Cities. She says the U is working harder to recruit a more diverse student body. "There was this concern that we'd see this drop-off of underrepresented students (with the closing of the General College). For this year, there are about 28,000 applications to the University of Minnesota, 7,200 were underrepresented students and of those, 2,200 were actually admitted to the university."

Read and listen to the interview with Vice President and Vice Provost Barceló below the fold

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