Flanked by protesters quietly hoisting signs calling for a Gaza cease-fire resolution, the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday approved more than $40 million in spending on parks and streets this year, to be funded by the new voter-approved 1% sales tax that takes effect April 1. The vote proceeded without disruption, a week after a previous public hearing on a state grant was cut short by loud .
The first year of sales tax revenue will fund $10.2 million toward reconstructing Grand Avenue from Snelling to Fairview avenues this year, as well as another $500,000 toward intersection improvements at Grand and Snelling.
Dozens of protesters calling for an end to Israeli military strikes in Gaza forced a sudden halt to the regular meeting of the St. Paul City Council on Wednesday, interrupting proceedings with chants of “Free, free Palestine!” and accusations that the council had turned a deaf ear to repeated calls for a written cease-fire resolution. “You’re scared to go ahead and say what’s right, and that’s .
Council President Mitra Jalali, who has personally supported a cease-fire in Gaza, repeatedly attempted to explain that there was no written resolution prepared.