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Cuzzy’s: The Review

March 29, 2010 by seanolsen 0 Comments

Took the family to Cuzzy’s for dinner yesterday.  We arrived shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.  The bar was nearly full, and the dining room was about half-full (by the time we left, almost every table was filled).  The interior is little changed from the Pauly’s days.  The most notable change to the decor is the addition of a row of tables in the bar underneath the TVs.

I had the stromboli, my wife had the Brick House burger, and our daughter went with the Mac-and-Cheese option from the kids menu.  Positive reviews all around on the food quality.  The stromboli was very tasty.  The crust had the right thickness.  The sauce was good, although my wife definitely noted the onion and garlic involved.  The only minor complaint would be that the Canadian Bacon was in there as a big piece.  It would have been a little easier to eat had it been chopped up a bit.  For dessert, we shared a piece of the chocolate cake.  Again, very solid.  Rich and decadent, just how it’s supposed to be.  Our server was friendly and attentive.

All in all, a very good first experience.  We’d like to see some additional entree options on the menu — the core of the menu today are the burgers, pizzas, and sandwiches.  Most of the entrees seemed to be on the specials menu.  Additionally, only two dessert options at the moment — the chocolate cake and a turtle cheesecake.  Looking forward to more choices on that front. 

I just hope the community continues to embrace the restaurant, and that the restaurant is able to deliver good food consistently.

Chaska
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Kunze to challenge Kohls in 34A

March 16, 2010 by seanolsen 0 Comments

Received this notification from Leanne Kunze campaign.  I’ll have a lot more to say on this between now and Election Day, but Leanne is an excellent candidate who deserves your attention and your vote.

CHASKA – Leanne Kunze of Laketown Township on Saturday received the DFL endorsement to challenge state Rep. Paul Kohls, R-Victoria, for his District 34A seat. She was nominated at the District 34 DFL convention at Chaska Middle School East.

Kunze said she was honored to receive the endorsement but hesitated because Kohls and his wife are family friends.

“This was a hard decision to make. I had initially thought about running while Rep. Kohls was traveling around the state on an exploratory run for governor. Paul and Kelly are family friends and I don’t want this to get personal,” said Kunze. “But we need to make sure Minnesota is on a path where we can protect working families, fight for property tax fairness and ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are protected. I was extremely disappointed in Paul’s recent partisan vote against protecting the most vulnerable in our society, including 8,000 veterans.”

Kunze said it isn’t about partisan politics to her. “People in our community aren’t Democrats and they aren’t Republicans. They are moderate, independent-thinking people. They want someone that will be consistent with what they think is right for the community.”

Kunze said she would arrive at the capital with a very specific agenda. “The challenge our state faces requires leadership that is looking to get things done instead of fighting partisan battles. We need to make sure we are investing in education so students can get a world-class education, we need to properly fund local governments so property tax increases aren’t required in order to maintain local communities and we need to ensure that working families have strong opportunities to make their lives a little better.”

A longtime resident of Carver County, Kunze has worked as a child-protection social worker and has been a labor advocate. She is a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church. “My faith and experience working with the public has led me to heed the call and ensure that Minnesotans continue our trend of looking out for our neighbors as much as we look out for ourselves. Only when we move forward together will we all be successful.” Kunze said.

Kunze is a 1989 graduate of Holy Trinity Catholic High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology at the College of St. Catherine. Kunze is working on her master’s in public affairs at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota.

Kunze and her husband Tony have two sons, Tyler and Ethan.

Chaska, State Legislature
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Cuzzy’s is open

March 16, 2010 by seanolsen 0 Comments

The Chaska Herald is reporting that Cuzzy’s opened last night with a limited menu.  Full menu service begins on Thursday.

Chaska, Downtown Issues
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Cuzzy’s opening next week?

March 12, 2010 by seanolsen 0 Comments

Latest word has Cuzzy’s Brick House opening next week, pending deliveries of supplies and furnishings.   A substantial portion of the old Pauly’s staff has been retained, and training of the staf has been going on this week.

Chaska, Downtown Issues
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Responding to Paul Kohls

March 2, 2010 by seanolsen 0 Comments

Rep. Paul Kohls responded in last week’s Chaska Herald to the two letters to the editor I submitted regarding his proposal to sell the Metrodome for $1 and the Spending Accountability Amendment.  Unfortunately, Rep. Kohls chose to use his response to gloss over the core criticisms I leveled against his proposals and was shall-we-say “creative” in his interpretations of what I in fact said.

Metrodome:  Kohls claims that his proposal to sell the Metrodome for $1 is a “serious” one.  Well, sure it is.  If the Vikings were interested in such a deal, we should certainly take them up on it.  But we know that’s never going to happen.  No one in the leadership of either party in the State Legislature have embraced the bill.  Governor Pawlenty doesn’t support it.  And the Vikings aren’t interested.  So what’s the point?  It’s a proposal that was dead on arrival.  

The reality of the situation is that if you’re not willing to spend public money on a stadium for the Vikings they are going to leave.  That’s a perfectly defensible position, especially given the budget mess we find ourselves in.  But if that’s your position, then come out and say it instead of proposing bills that have zero chance of being enacted.  This proposal is an attempt to have it both ways.   If Paul Kohls want to be “serious” about a Vikings stadium then he needs to make a hard decision instead of being a publicity hound:  either give a firm ”No” to the team or put some real work into finding a solution for a rational level of public participation in building a new facility. 

Spending Accountability Amendment:  Kohls insinuates that I favor tax increases instead of spending restraint.   Nothing could be further from the truth.  My letter in fact called for spending restraint — noting that all areas of the budget (including K-12 education) were likely going to have to be cut in the next biennium.  My issue with the Amendment is that it ties the hands of the Legislature.  Instead of having future spending decisions tied to the revenues of two years ago, legislators should have all options at their disposal to deal with budget problems. 

That’s what we pay them for, after all — to make hard decisions.  Rep. Kohls, apparently doesn’t feel that the Legislature can be trusted with that responsibility.  If that’s the case, then perhaps Kohls should step aside, as we need a better class of legislator who is up to the challenges of the day and interested in real-world solutions instead of soundbites.

State Legislature
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Flippe-Floppe Hoppe

March 1, 2010 by seanolsen 2 Comments

State Rep. Joe Hoppe voted today to uphold Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s veto of a fix to the General Assistance Medical Care bill.  Hoppe was one of 38 Republicans who voted in favor of the bill last month.  All 38 changed their mind, leaving House Democrats four votes shy of the number needed for the override.

State Legislature
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