Star Tribune
Minnesota cannabis program rejects crop of social equity applicants
“It’s the only course left with these clients,” Moss said. “My clients are Minnesotans who didn’t have a lot of capital to begin with, and now I’m asking them to spend all their resources for litigation. How many of them are just going to shrug and be like, ‘I guess we’re out’?”
Jen Reise, a Twin Cities cannabis attorney, described the rejection notices some of her clients received as “terse” and lacking details on what caused the rejections.
“When I look at their paperwork, it’s either not clear to me what they did wrong,” Reise said, “or they had some very minor paperwork error which, in my mind, should have generated a deficiency notice that they would have had two weeks to fix.”
Reise said she hopes the OCM will open another window to allow the rejected applicants an opportunity to fix any problems.
The law does not allow for an appeal process for rejected applicants, OCM spokesman Josh Collins wrote in an email. He said approval letters are expected to go out to successful applicants and the lottery will be scheduled soon. Additional lotteries for cannabis business licenses are expected to be held in coming months.
Both Reise and Moss said the rejection of so many applicants raises questions about the OCM’s vetting of applications.
Later, the restaurant’s website read: “We have made the difficult decision to again suspend service. It pains us we won’t be here for our loyal customers, downtown neighbors and regulars… We wholeheartedly thank you for your support! We look forward to seeing you and serving you again soon!”
Manager Abraham “Brian” Ali talks with customers while cooking at Mickey’s Diner in St. Paul on Tuesday. (Leila Navidi)
On Tuesday, Hashish said the GoFundMe money was used to help pay for a new hood and air-conditioning system, a new grill and other improvements to tables and seating. But he didn’t have much detail about what finally convinced the owners to hand over operations to him, other than to say, “there are a lot of young people who were willing to put in the energy cleaning and getting it ready.”
No longer open 24 hours, Hashish said the diner is open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Its menu is mostly the same, with the addition of halal and kosher items.
At Mickey’s Monday morning, cook Brian Ali — Hashish’s brother — and server Elisha Cook were busy filling plates and coffee cups for a steady flow of diners. Customer Frank Durkin said he’s happy the restaurant has reopened. He’s happier still that Ali is doing the cooking. He followed him over from Mickey’s By Willy.
“I’ll keep on coming down to see Brian, if he’s working,” Durkin said.
Joe Spencer, president of the St. Paul Downtown Alliance, said Mickey’s reopening was a happy surprise and a needed burst of energy for downtown.
The Legion of Boom era for the Seahawks really sent my NFL interest into overdrive, and as the team I grew up with, they’ll always have a special place in my heart. But I’ve found the further I get into professionally covering sports, the harder it is to watch them as anything but an objective viewer, so my I take my fandom energy elsewhere: movies (Star Wars and Marvel are big for me), TV, music, etc.
Mayor Jacob Frey and others are calling on the Minneapolis teachers’ union to cancel an upcoming seminar featuring a speaker who has openly expressed antisemitic views.
Taher Herzallah is scheduled to speak at a Friday event called “being an educator in a time of war & genocide” at the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59 office. The event sponsored by MFT Educators for Palestine.
Frey, who is Jewish, said on social media Tuesday night that the group should cancel the seminar with Herzallah, who has called Jewish people “enemy number one.”
“Students should be learning to make friends with everyone — not everyone but Jews,” Frey said. “We must support our Minneapolis Public Schools as a place of unity and caring. There’s no place for hate of any group.”
Herzallah is the director of outreach and grassroots organizing for American Muslims for Palestine, which the Anti-Defamation League has called one of the most influential, active anti-Israel groups. He is also a member of the Columbia Heights Park and Recreation Commission and ran an unsuccessful campaign for the Anoka County Commission earlier this month. He is also a PhD student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
He said last year “Anybody who has any relationship or any support or identifies themselves as a Jewish person or as a Christian Zionist, then we shall not be their friend. I will tell you that they are enemy number one and our community needs to recognize that as such” according to a video posted by Canary Mission, which documents “hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses and beyond.”
Herzallah did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday.
The president of the teacher’s union, Marcia Howard, said the union plans to have members of the group and those with concerns to meet and discuss the issue today. The union has a joint executive board meeting Wednesday night, but Howard said leadership should empower them rather than come down like an iron fist.
