By David Hertz

Flu vaccine shortage leads some to cancel clinicsMacalester College, health care provider HealthPartners and the University of Minnesota have canceled clinics for walk-in flu shots due to a shortage of seasonal flu shots. Focus on producing the H1N1 vaccine has created the shortage, representatives of HealthPartners told the Star Tribune. At a seasonal flu clinic at Macalester College this week, planned to run from 11:45 a.m. – 2 p.m. Wednesday, closed at 1 p.m. because of a shortage of vaccine shots. There will be another clinic next week.

Twin Cities to introduce green
buses

The Twin Cities will replace some of its older buses with new gas/electric hybrids with $1.1 million of federal stimulus spending. The money will be used to replace 35 older diesel buses, according to MinnPost. About half the replacements will be green buses.

U of M sues over Central Corridor rail line

The University of Minnesota sued the Metropolitan Council this week claiming a need to protect its science labs from environmental damage that could be caused by the Central Corridor project. The project will create a light rail line on University Ave., connecting St. Paul and Minneapolis for transit riders. The U of M argued in the suit filed on Tuesday that the city underestimated the potential interference the rail line could cause to many research facilities near the planned route.

U of M researchers try to remove THC from cannabis plants

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have isolated the genes in cannabis plants that produce THC, the substance which gives marijuana its potency as a drug, in an effort to make a drug-free cannabis plant. Professors working on the project said such a plant could remove the controversy around the use of cannabis plants for other things, like rope or oil, according to MinnPost. Understanding THC could also lead to improvements in medical uses of marijuana, researchers said.

Police start bait bike anti-theft
program

Police at the University of Minnesota adopted a novel strategy for catching bike thieves this month: let them steal. Under the new program, police set out a few bait bikes, with attached GPS systems, among ordinary student bikes, and wait for the bike to be moved, MNDaily reported. As soon as a bait bike is moved, they can track it by GPS to the thief and make an arrest. The program is meant to deter thieves from stealing a bike, since taking any bike could lead to an unpleasant encounter with the University police. Thefts are down in September, 15 so far compared to 40 last year in the same month, though police say it is too early to tell if the program is having the desired effect.

RNC protester sentenced for
breaking windows

A protester at the Republican National Convention was sentenced this week to 120 days in the Ramsey County workhouse for breaking a window, the Star Tribune reported. The man, a California resident, was convicted of first-degree criminal property damage. In addition to the other punishment, he was fined over $10,000 toward repaying the damage to the window.

Gun scare at St. Paul college ends
quietly

Police responded to reports of a gunman on the campus of St. Paul College on Wednesday, but failed to find a gun, according to the Pioneer Press. After several hours on lockdown, the campus was opened again later the same day. One student, found by the police in his home, is considered a person of interest, although he has not been arrested.

Four Minneapolis public schools closed to save money

The Minneapolis School Board voted this week to close four public schools and turn four magnet schools into neighborhood schools to save money on transportation, the Star Tribune reported. Currently, students have a wide range of school chocies, but the cost of busing students from all over the city to many schools tops $33 million annually. By closing the schools and limiting the number of choices students have, the city hopes to save $8.2 million in transportation costs.

Police make arrest in 30-year-old
murder case

After more than 30 years, St. Paul Police found DNA evidence sufficient to arrest a man in a murder that occurred in the city in 1977, the Star Tribune reported. A fingerprint match to a suspect, Richard Humbert Ireland, Jr., was found in 1983, but not until the new DNA evidence was uncovered could the police arrest him.

New class web pages to go online this fall

Macalester administrators are planning to create four unique web pages for each year of students, to be launched this fall. The pages would hold information specific to each class, allowing a senior to quickly get information without being bogged down in information intended for freshmen. Each website would have a calendar, where students could see what events aimed at their class were coming up, and a blog, where they could ask class specific questions and be answered by student workers or staff members. “If you ask we’ll post a response, and we’ll just tell you,” said Michael Klitzke, Residential Hall Director for Bigelow, Wallace, and 30 Mac, and the man behind the project. “You won’t have to go to five different offices to find an answer.” The goal for completion of the project is November, Klitzke said, although there is no official deadline.

Julian Bond, NAACP chairman, is coming to Macalester

Julian Bond, the chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, will speak at the dedication of Markim Hall on Oct. 1. Bond will speak on Civil Rights Then and Now, and receive an honorary degree. The civil rights advocate helped to found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1960 and was elected to the Geogria House of Representatives in 1965. He has served as chairman of the NAACP since 1998.

MULCH Farmers Market on
campus today

MULCH will hold its annual farmers market today from noon to 3 p.m. The student organization grows produce on campus near the German House, and delivers it to the student body, usually through Café Mac. “[The market] is just a nice way to sell directly to the students,” said long time member Allison Stewart. The event may include produce from community gardens at St. Catherine University as well.

–DAVID HERTZ