Republicans Hit St. Paul

By Claire Kirch -- Publishers Weekly, 9/3/2008 7:10:00 AM

The Republican Convention taking place in downtown St. Paul this week has impacted daily operations at the Minnesota Historical Society Press, which is housed at offices at the Minnesota History Center a few blocks away from the convention site. Alison Aten, MHSP's publicity manager, reports that only four of the press's 12 employees are coming to work, with the other eight working from home. “We got a remote access desktop program last week; it gives us access to our network,” she said, admitting that the RNC provided the press with impetus to make its network available from remote locations. Aten also said that armed guards are posted at the building's entrances this week, all personnel must show their security badges to gain entrance to the building, and mail is going out once a day, instead of twice a day.

In other news, Amy Goodman, author and host of Democracy Now!, which airs on Pacifica Radio Network, and two show producers, were released late Monday night, after being arrested in downtown St. Paul while covering a protest that erupted in violence. Goodman has been charged with obstruction of the legal process, and the two producers have been charged with rioting.

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