If folks have actually been to some of the meetings where these “hecklers”
have been (not just the one on the Loppet Foundation question but the six
or so meetings total that have been disrupted) you would have found that
the folks disrupting the meetings are not there protesting some noble cause
– they are trying to get money out of the Park Board. It is three people
and their friends/relatives who have been yelling and trying to shut down
meetings.

Hashim Yonis, who was convicted of ripping off park users, a man
who was let go from a civil service job and a woman who currently works for
the Park Board but has been demoted twice. The woman who is currently
working for the Park Board is demanding 3/4 of a million dollars. Yonis
wants his job back and compensation for the time he was removed from his
position. The other guy wants money also. There are lots of issues we need
to work on, racial equity being one of them.  But folks need to understand
who these hecklers are and what they are after.  I wish the StarTribune
would explain this next time they report on Park Board meeting disruptions
because this needs to be kept in context.

Carol Becker
Longfellow