Patrick Larkin

East Side Review readers: I am quite sad to be announcing that I will be moving on from the East Side Review, after three years of dutiful service.

Shots took down heavily armed, drunken man with mental health issues
A Ramsey County grand jury has found that two St. Paul police officers will face no charges after shooting a man to death during a tense standoff at his rental house on the 400 block of White Bear Avenue last March.
“The Grand Jury determined that probable cause did not exist to charge either Saint Paul police officer with a crime,” a statement from the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office reads. 

Firefighters block Minnehaha to prevent cat-sicle

On a particularly frigid January day, a small, 6-month-old gray tabby cat named Foxy was inspired to escape out the front door of its home in the 900 block of Minnehaha Avenue.

How do you act when confronted by a cop? How do police think of their job since police brutality has become such a hot topic? Do police treat black teens fairly?

Jane Prince helps broker deal
In her first week on the job, Ward 7's new council person, Jane Prince, has already helped cut a deal to give six properties in Dayton's Bluff's historic district a fighting chance.
The solution, she said, was simple: get the interested parties together for an in-person discussion.

East Side youth-based farming nonprofit Urban Roots will get a big nod this month from the Minnesota Wild, the state’s professional hockey team.

The organization applied for and won a grant to be the team’s “Charity of the Month.”

East Side stops added to plan
East Side residents could one day use a bus rapid transit line to go to jobs in Cottage Grove.
By the same route, southwest suburbanites from Newport all the way down to Hastings could easily travel into the East Side to visit restaurants or go to school at Metropolitan State University, or commute to work in downtown St. Paul. And from there, they could link up with other transit lines such as the Green Line light rail route between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

St. Paul has birthed what are perhaps the first bilingual Karen-English children’s books.

Though modest, 170 ballots cast shows a big uptick in community engagement for the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council, says the council’s director, Deanna Abbott-Foster.

For the first time in years, the council’s seats will all be filled.

New Ward 7 council member’s eyes are to children
Starting this week, a significant chunk of the East Side will have a new city council representative.
Long-time Dayton’s Bluff resident Jane Prince will step into the shoes that were for over 17 years filled by Kathy Lantry, who’s now the city’s Public Works director.