Metro Transit resumes 12-minute light rail departures as hiring, ridership pick up

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As Metro Transit approaches August, typically among its highest and most event-driven ridership months, the Green Line and Blue Line will resume their more-frequent schedules, with trains running every 12 minutes for much of the day.

Metro Transit announced Tuesday that the more frequent light rail service will start Aug. 17. Several bus routes will get more runs too, including the Orange Line from Burnsville to Minneapolis and the Route 80 between the Sun Ray and Maplewood Mall transit centers. The new schedule “will remain in effect for the foreseeable future,” said Drew Kerr, a spokesperson for Metro Transit, who noted route schedules are adjusted quarterly.

More than 200 bus and train operators have been hired so far this year, which the transit authority said is on pace to reach last year’s hiring record. Also helping matters is ridership, which is up 9% for the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. Light rail and bus rapid transit services are leading the way, with Green Line ridership up 17% and BRT up 21% collectively. Average weekday ridership this year exceeds 143,500 passenger trips.

Starting Aug. 17, light rail trains will run every 12 minutes between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily. Currently, trains run every 15 minutes.

Weekday midday trips on Route 80, operating along White Bear Avenue between the Sun Ray and Maplewood Mall, will run every 30 minutes rather than hourly.

On weekdays, Orange Line buses servicing Burnsville, Bloomington, Richfield and downtown Minneapolis will run every 10 minutes between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. northbound and 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. southbound, up from service on the 15-minute marks. On Sundays, trips will run on a 15-minute schedule.

More services to roll out

Other changes are intended to improve the speed and reliability of Route 4, which connects Bloomington and South Minneapolis to the Silver Lake Shopping Center in St. Anthony, largely along Lyndale Avenue. Buses on that corridor will serve fewer stops and benefit from bus lanes and traffic signal technology, according to Metro Transit.

Pending approval from the Metropolitan Council, Metro Transit this fall will begin taking feedback on a service improvement plan, Network Now, outlining changes that could be made through 2027. Three new bus rapid transit lines will open next year, including the B Line between Uptown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul, and the Gold Line between downtown St. Paul and Woodbury.

State Fair Express Bus Service also will be expanded this year, with Metro Transit driving fairgoers to and from six park & rides across the metro. Fairgoers are also encouraged to use the Metro A Line and Routes 3 and 61 to access the fairgrounds. For more information, visit metrotransit.org/state-fair.

The transit authority still is recruiting frontline workers, including transit operators, bus, rail and facilities technicians, police officers and community service officers. Wages for all positions represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) will increase 4.5% on Aug. 1. After that date, starting wages for transit operators will be nearly $29 an hour while starting wages for technicians will start at more than $39 an hour.

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Jace Frederick: Tony Finau is the face of the 3M Open, and the tournament is better for it

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He sat at the podium Tuesday and lauded the strength of this week’s 3M Open field while generally pumping up the tournament.

“I feel like each year we’ve gotten a better field,” he said. “This year maybe is our best, and if that trend continues, this is going to be a premier tournament for a lot of years on the PGA Tour.”

No, that was not executive director Hollis Cavner, or even tournament director Mike Welch — the men whose job description revolves around organizing and selling Minnesota’s lone PGA Tour event.

It was Tony Finau, the No. 19-ranked player in the world who won the 2023 3M Open and has played in the event each year since its inception in 2019. And, somewhere along the way in those five years, Finau became the face of the tournament.

It’s not like a Genesis Invitational, which Tiger Woods officially hosts, but it almost feels that way. Finau is an unofficial spokesman of sorts who consistently speaks highly of the golf course and the way the tournament is run. It’s well known by now that Finau’s wife and family children travel with him each year to Blaine. They all stay together in a house on a pond and fish after Finau is done practicing or playing for the day.

Finau has been heavily featured across the tournament’s promotional materials in the past. That such a popular, accomplished player is so committed to the event that possesses such an undesirable spot on the PGA Tour calendar — smack dab in the middle of The Open and the Olympics this year — has been a Godsend for the event.

Finau’s win here two years ago was heavily featured in the popular Netflix series Full Swing, which only added notoriety for the still-young tournament.

The 34-year-old’s efforts, whether intentional or not, to raise the tournament’s profile have not gone unappreciated by the local fan base. Through his commitment to the 3M Open, Finau has become a fan favorite around these parts.

“I feel the support. The fan base here, I feel like my fan base has really grown,” Finau said. “This is a very special tournament to me and to our family. I think our series on Netflix had a lot to do with it as well and maybe the growth of the tournament. Hopefully it continues to grow.”

You can tell Finau is rooting for the 3M Open, because he feels a part of it. That was evident in the “we” he would occasionally use Tuesday to describe the event. That cannot be something he often says about the tournaments in which he plays.

“Yeah, not a lot, not a lot,” Finau admitted with a smile. “3M has been great to me. It’s really a staple tournament for me. I think I’ve played just a small part in helping this tournament grow, so I do feel like a little bit of a ‘we’ when I talk about this tournament, because I do feel connected in a way to Blaine, to Minnesota and to this golf tournament. I just think I always will. It’s a special tournament for me. It is my third victory on the PGA Tour, but it almost seems like it was my first, you know? I don’t know why, but it’s just a special place for me to be a part of.”

That win in 2022 was the first of consecutive victories for Finau. It was a springboard that seemed to shoot him up into another stratosphere of players. He hasn’t forgotten it. Finau said it’s “all good vibes” every time he’s back in Blaine.

His family members, he noted, “just expect that we’re going to be here.”

“I don’t know that we even had a conversation,” Finau said. “We know pretty much every year this is probably going to be on the calendar. Just one of those premier tournaments that we enjoy as a family.”

The more he uses words like “premier” to describe the tournament and treats it as a must-stop event, the more other high-end players may raise their eyebrows and wonder what all the fuss is about in Minnesota and, in the process, raise the image of the tournament as a whole.

“I hope that’s the case,” Finau said. “Being a PGA Tour member for 10 years, I know how important every golf tournament is. To help this tournament kind of grow in just a little way that I have, it’s been an incredible thing for me.”

Regardless of the stature of the 3M Open, fans attending this week, and in years to come, can count on Finau teeing it up at TPC Twin Cities.

“It’s a golf course that I enjoy, it’s an area that I really like, and a tournament that I just love playing every year,” Finau said. “So I see myself being here many years to come no matter my results and my outcome. It’s just a place that I love to come to and my family loves to come to, and we enjoy being here. … I’ll be here to support it no matter what.”

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You can pretend you’re on an African safari at this new glamping resort in New Jersey

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Sarah Kuta | TravelPulse (TNS)

Want to feel like you’re on safari, without leaving the country?

Head to Savannah Sunset Resort and Spa, a new glamping experience that’s now open at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, which is about halfway between Philadelphia and New York City.

The exclusive overnight experience is situated within Six Flags Great Adventure’s 350-acre Wild Safari area, which is home to more than 1,200 animals.

“Spending the night in the comfort of a luxurious glamping suite, surrounded by more than 1,200 animals, right in the middle of a safari, in New Jersey, is unreal,” says Staci Wheeler, marketing manager for Six Flags Great Adventure. “Savannah Sunset Resort and Spa is both exciting and serene. Surrounded by 350 acres, guests can imagine themselves on African safari when, in fact, they are less than an hour from New York City.”

Choose from one- and two-bedroom glamping suites at Savannah Sunset Resort & Spa. (Six Flags Great Adventure/TNS)

Guests can check into 20 one- and two-bedroom glamping suites, which can accommodate between two to six guests and feature customized furnishings, Gilchrist & Soames amenities and décor made from organic and natural materials. Some of the glamping suites have private verandas that offer panoramic views of Wild Safari.

Overnight visitors can also relax in the safari-inspired spa, dine at a private restaurant and enjoy other VIP experiences, like chauffeured access throughout the resort and opportunities to feed the giraffes. Visitors can also take the first “Safari Off Road Adventure” tour of the day, which involves riding in an open-air, off-road safari vehicle to see animals like African elephants, Siberian tigers, lions, red kangaroos, white rhino and bears.

Overnight guests at Savannah Sunset Resort & Spa can participate in off-road adventures at Wild Safari. (Six Flags Great Adventure/TNS)

Travelers will also get a limited-edition “Save an Icon” collectors pin from the Wildlife Conservation Network to commemorate their story. Six Flags Great Adventure has donated more than $100,000 to the Wildlife Conservation Network over the last five years via the pin program.

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For an additional fee, guests can also book exclusive outings like the “Meet the Giants” tour or the “Lions, Tigers and Bears – Oh My” tour.

“Our full Savannah Sunset Resort and Spa team is dedicated to making every guest experience personalized and unique,” says Elizabeth Bransky-Cannata, manager of Savannah Sunset Resort and Spa. “Some guests have traveled from as far as Europe, others live close by in Philadelphia or New Jersey. What they all seem to have in common is a love for animals and a desire to experience something that is one-of-a-kind and totally unique.”

©2024 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Jewel shines anew as mental health care champion and multimedia artist

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Jewel’s career includes making one of the top-selling debut albums in music history, writing the best-selling poetry book of all time, and performing for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican and for President Clinton at his second inaugural ball.

It has not included cofounding a virtual mental health platform or spearheading an immersive, wellness-focused multimedia extravaganza with 200 drones and a 7-foot-high hologram of Jewel at an Arkansas museum in the Ozark Mountains. Until now.

“This is happening in Bentonville, in the middle of nowhere, and I have gotten more press attention than seems possible,” the former San Diego singer-songwriter said of “The Portal: An Art Experience by Jewel.”

RELATED ARTICLE: MELISSA ETHERIDGE ON LIFE, WORK AND TOURING WITH JEWEL

Billed as an exploration of the intersection of music, mental health, technology and art, “The Portal” opened a three-month run in May at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

“It’s been covered in W magazine and Forbes. The People magazine article about ‘The Portal’ got the most clicks of anything since Queen Elizabeth’s death,” Jewel said. “Wow!”

People and Forbes are among the media outlets that last year also covered the launch of Innerworld, a virtual-reality based wellness center that — depending on one’s ability to pay — is available free or for a monthly fee.

“Innerworld is a mental health intervention platform designed to give scientifically proven results,” said Jewel, who is Innerworld’s chief strategy officer. She cofounded it with Noah Robinson, a clinical psychologist and former National Institute of Health fellow.

“I think this is the first time anybody’s been able to leverage technology for mental health in a positive way,” Jewel said. “Innerworld is also a social platform and it is kind of modeled after my EverydayAngels (fan club) base for people that are like-minded that want to create a safe forum for people to help each other. I’m very proud of what we built and its efficacy.”

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Innerworld is an outgrowth of her Inspiring Children Foundation, the nonprofit Jewel launched 22 years ago, and of Never Broken, a free “emotional destination” website designed to help people use mindfulness exercises to cultivate positive change in themselves.

For “The Portal,” her multimedia art and healing show, Jewel also drew some inspiration from her interpretation of 17th century Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kirkegaard’s “Spheres of Existence.” Kirkegaard believed that human existence revolves around three spheres: the aesthetic, the ethical and the religious. “The Portal,” also the name of Jewel’s new EP, includes a mediative art walk and a culinary component.

“It’s so improbable to get this kind of positive response to an art show,” the Alaska-born troubadour said, “let alone a sincere project about mental health and the three realms, or spheres, of human existence; the inner, outer and unseen worlds.”

“The Portal,” which closes July 28, features several paintings and sculptures by Jewel. It also includes 200 illuminated drones, which are programed to hover in sync to new music by Jewel as part of the museum’s open-air silent disco. the work of 10 lesser-known visual artists, who were handpicked by Jewel.

“It’s a very expensive, because of the drones and the massive nature of this comprehensive museum undertaking, and I didn’t make any money from it,” she said. “It’s still mind-blowing to me that they let me do it, because they didn’t see any of my sculptures until three days before the show opened.”

Jewel spoke to the San Diego Union-Tribune recently from her home in the Rocky Mountains. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

US singer Jewel attends the The Los Angeles LGBT Center Gala at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on May 18, 2024. (Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Q: Except in San Diego, you were an unknown singer-songwriter in 1995 when Melissa Etheridge invited you to be one of the young guest singers on her VH1 “Duets” TV special. How flattered and surprised were you?

A: It was really a visionary thing for her to do, especially as I look back on it. Women weren’t popular in music at that time. Of course, Lilith Fair did well in 1997. But this ‘Duets’ show was two years before that. I was an opening act when I toured in 1995 and no one believed two women could be on a concert bill together. Melissa had a good nose and ear. She picked Sophie B. Hawkins. Joan Osborne, Paula Cole; I don’t think any of us were very popular at that time. And Melissa gave us a sweet gift for being on the show that I still have, a little Tiffany tchotchke. It was incredibly classy of her.

Q: If we go back to 1994, you were part of a vital scene of San Diego singer-songwriters that included Elizabeth Hummel, Peggy Watson, Lisa Sanders, Joy Eden Harrison, Cindy Lee Berryhill, Gregory Page, Steve Poltz, John Katchur, and the list goes on. How important was it to be part of such a tight, supportive musical community?

A: I just heard about the recent Java Joe’s reunion concert (in San Diego) and it featured a lot of the musicians from back then. There was a vital scene at that time and it was really supportive. I remember Stevie Salas helping me out. And Steve and Gregory really helped me. The venues weren’t supportive, but the musicians were. The venues had so much leverage making musicians play for tips. That still makes me mad. I remember being asked to pay $200 to play a gig (as an opening act). I wasn’t looking to be famous; I just wanted to have enough money to eat and to get out of (living in) my car.

Q: Was Innerworld a longtime in the making?

A: It started with wanting to see if we can solve a complex problem without therapy. I’m not against therapy; it’s just that not everyone has access to it. If you’re going to learn how not to be miserable, then that takes an education. And therapy, at its best, should be a re-education. It’s so expensive and the only people getting access to the best care, the best therapists, are people with money. That’s just unacceptable to me.

Q: If you don’t mind my asking, have you ever had therapy?

A: I have. I was always very skittish about it because when I was younger, I didn’t have access to it. And then, after what I went through (emotionally and in court) with my (long-estranged) mom, my brain had been so messed with … through so much psychological abuse. And I did therapy after my divorce. It caused me to develop tools for myself. I wanted to learn how to identify (problems) and heal inside myself. I think that’s what’s made me so good at behavioral health and building platforms like this.

Q: How different is your impetus for making music now than when you were playing solo gigs at the Inner Change coffee house in Pacific Beach 30 years ago?

A: It’s never changed. I write songs so much more often than I record them or publish them, and that is a shame. I think it’s just a kind of a side effect of being a mom, a full-time single mom. I’ve been thinking recently that I should just record and release songs, just acoustic, on my own. I have so many songs! When ‘The Portal’ launched in May — I’m 50 years old — it really reminded me of the Inner Change and that exciting time of discovery in my life, and I didn’t know I could ever feel that way again.

Q:  A lot of people crave sincerity; others are more cynical and make fun of sincerity. Your 1998 poetry book, “A Night Without Armor,” was infused with sincerity. It became the bestselling book of poetry, ever, and it was also widely ridiculed.

A: My first album, “Pieces of You,” too. It was just destroyed (by reviewers). I was destroyed. The ’90s was not an era of kindness for women in music. I was called a ‘navel-gazing Pollyanna.’

Q: What were the major takeaways for you to have millions of people connect with your book of poetry, and its sincerity, then be ridiculed for it at the same time?

A: When I was playing at the Inner Change, a record company bidding war started up to sign me. And I knew it would be foolish to confuse that competition with me or my talent. Not to say it didn’t have any value, I just felt it was inflated and that I shouldn’t take it personally, because that would be dangerous, when what I was was a folk artist.

I had extreme mental health issues at the time, panic attacks, eating disorders, and I was shoplifting. But I learned to get a grip on those things while I was homeless. What I learned to value was my authenticity. Because nobody then knew the real me. People didn’t know I was homeless and living in my car at the time. And they shouldn’t have known; it’s dangerous to tell people that. But I didn’t want to be lonely anymore, and that meant I had to be willing to be seen. And that sounds odd for me to say, since I’ve been singing on stage since I was 5.

Q: Writing your own songs and poetry were your outlet.

A: Writing, for me, was a choice to be honest, and the people who gave me the courage to do that were Charles Bukowski, Anais Nin, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan. They were the most courageous writers that I’d ever come across. They talked about their faults and what was going on in their lives. So, when I was performing in this San Diego coffee shop scene, I laid it all out. What built me at the Inner Change was that relationship with people of honesty and authenticity.

Most artists used their music, songwriting or fame as a propaganda tool to make themselves seem more perfect than they were. And it would get them put up on a pedestal, and then knocked off to the floor. So, my strategy was like: “What if I just always lead with the truth?” It’s why the paparazzi, for as famous as I was, never bothered me. Because I always beat everybody to the punch; there was nothing to discover about me.

Q: Your debut album was released in 1995, flopped at first, then went on to sell 12 million copies.

A: “Pieces of You” came out at the height of grunge. I saw this graph in my mind:  “Where’s culture, and where am I? Where do I intersect?” I knew where culture was and I knew I had been in pain at a much younger age than maybe a lot of people might go through, moving away from home at 15, being homeless. I had already made a very sharp commitment in my life not to commit suicide. So, if you’re not going to commit suicide, you have to ask yourself: “How do I deal with being miserable if I’m not willing to kill myself? How do I deal with this much pain? How do I deal with the types of conflicts and hypocrisy that are in my own life and in my own personality?” And that’s why I bet on myself.

What happened then is a whole community of people rallied around an unabashed and apologetic authenticity in my music, which to me is very punk rock. I’ve never been a critic’s darling, because I’m unapologetically sincere. I don’t think I’m earnest; I think there’s a difference. Luckily, I had the internet to talk to my fans and tell them I believe cynicism is a cop-out and takes no courage. I created a lexicon with my fans in the ’90s and called it “informed optimism.”

I always thought I was great, and I didn’t care if anybody else agreed with me. I knew what I did every day, just to be alive, took courage. And I was able to communicate that to a group of people around me and we had a relationship because of the internet. The press never did understand it, and that’s OK.