Readers Write (June 2): Aquatennial cuts, iPads in St. Paul schools, Minneapolis schools and parks, the Legislature, pedal pubs

Civic-minded individuals at one time were entrusted with the responsibility to help make our communities a special place to live — to make our Twin Cities a livable and vibrant home and not just a simple place for commerce. The cuts to the Minneapolis Aquatennial ("Aquatennial fest trims its sails," May 30) are another sign of the failure of the current group of civic leaders, who don't seem to understand the heritage they were chosen to promote and preserve. The Minnesota Orchestra fiasco was the first example in which greed was placed ahead of the community interest. Then, it was the scrapping of the free Holidazzle parade. A failure to promote Aquatennial events to improve participation is a flaw in management, not a reason to eliminate activities. Time for those who lead to look inside their own minds to see why their type of thinking doesn't always translate into the public good.

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We think the Minneapolis Downtown Council is making another big mistake in "trimming" the Aquatennial festivities by removing the milk-carton boat race and the sand-castle competition. These are not expensive events, but they allow for young participation and creative participation. I know they are not downtown, but they are in beautiful parts of our wonderful city, and it spreads the joy.

"Another big mistake," by the way, refers to stopping the Holidazzle parade and putting in its stead a "European Christmas market." Get real — this is Minneapolis, not Europe, and we loved the Holidazzle. It was the most fabulous part of Christmas, and our city was proud of it. Perhaps this Downtown Council should ask some of the people who live in Minneapolis and surrounding areas what they love about our ongoing festivals before trimming to suit a few.

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After 55 years, the Aquatennial has been condensed to events that people stand around and watch — e.g., the parade, fireworks and water-ski show — while eliminating the events that people actually participate in, e.g., the milk-carton races and the sand sculptures? Why?

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Having deployed and supported laptops and tablets in a variety of educational and corporate settings, I think iPad deployment, at least in the context of troubled St. Paul schools, remains a very bad idea ("St. Paul students finish up Year 1 of iPad plan," May 31). Electronic whiteboards and closely managed devices can be useful in the hands of a well-trained teacher, but tablets? Kids who take school seriously will use resources to their benefit, but in many cases already have or can find what they need. Kids who don't take school seriously will find ways to exploit these toys (instant messaging, games or worse) and/or lose or abuse them. Not to mention the total cost of ownership. Information technology time burned on this hassle will distract from other challenges like enabling teachers.

There is no magic, no technical fix for kids being disengaged and/or teachers being overwhelmed. Poor performance in school is a people problem, not an engineering challenge. Tablets are merely tools, and only useful educationally to those who can and will use them as intended. I expect issues with this entire process. I did from the start.

According to "Mpls. schools line up sports funding plan" (June 1), the Minneapolis Public Schools would like to enter into a relationship with the city's Park and Recreation Board to access Park Board facilities. I can only imagine this would mean less access to such facilities for all children who are not Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) students. This comes in the same school year that MPS decided to enforce a rule keeping private- and charter-school students from MPS sports. Does this mean MPS is looking for a monopoly on access to sports and sporting facilities in Minneapolis? Will Minneapolis families who would like their children to play sports in Minneapolis be forced to attend the city's public schools? Since Minneapolis families are guaranteed a spot in their neighborhood school only if they apply and accept admittance to MPS in kindergarten, is MPS forcing families who would like their children to play sports to attend its schools starting then?

In her May 30 commentary "These 'low-level' crimes hurt our neighborhoods," Minneapolis City Council President Barbara Johnson argues for the enforcement of lurking and spitting laws in the city, as opposed to repealing them. She says spitting "is a disgusting habit." I intend to watch the Minnesota Twins on TV. Based on the past games I've watched, I expect to see persons spitting dozens of times. I can't really imagine Minneapolis police enforcing the no-spitting laws during the game. But I don't want to hear about anyone being exempt. Unless we intend to enforce the no-spitting law at Target Field as well as other parts of the city, I support repealing the law.

I realize that excess rhetoric on all sides is a common part of politics. However, the recent Democratic talking points that state House Republicans are both "obstructionists" who won't compromise and at the same time "failures" who couldn't enact their own entire agenda (over the wishes of the Senate and governor) seems a little much.

With all the consternation in St. Paul over political and legislative issues, one might hope that the ideals of Thomas Jefferson might be more fully embraced rather than those of Alexander Hamilton. Note — What, Why and How are not the same.

I think the pedal pubs look like fun if you're on one with friends, but my personal experience while at a bar with friends when one arrives is different. I'm sure the bar owners like them because they come in and normally order drinks (but also normally don't tip the bartenders, I've been told). They also tie up the bathrooms so the regular customers can't use them for about half an hour, nor can the regulars easily get a drink for half an hour. Though I guess that's better for the bar owners than just coming in, using the bathroom, hanging around until their friends finish their drinks, then moving on.

Also, going down University Avenue at the speed at which 8 to 10 people can pedal is not the best for traffic congestion any time of the day. But again, looks like fun if you're on one!