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Chris Savage (aka Eclectablog) posted this on February 1st, 2012. 
It just goes on and on and on again…
Decision to close Highland Park school not made by Emergency Manager Jack Martin Contrary to what some outlets have reported, the decision to close Barber Focus school was NOT made by new Emergency Manager Jack Martin
During a parent meeting on Monday, superintendent Edith Hightower announced that Barber Focus School would merge with Ford Academy. The decision to close Barber was made prior to Martin’s arrival without his knowledge, contrary to other published media reports.
At the meeting, tempers flared with one attendee saying, “I’m sick of them in Lansing sending these black men in here to take over”, before being escorted out.
Martin told parents that the school district wasn’t going to be dissolved so long as attendance doesn’t drop any further.
But he reassured parents that the entire district would not shut down — if enrollment is contingent with current figures.
“If we tank on enrollment this year like we did last year, then I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Martin said. “If everybody decides they want to go to Detroit, we can shut the doors and turn out the lights.”
Huffington Post Detroit reports that there is also talk of “plans to demolish three currently empty school buildings: Willard, Ferris and Midland.”
Much more after the jump. [...]
Chris Savage (aka Eclectablog) posted this on December 30th, 2011. If you followed my writing about Ace the pit bull from Detroit, you know that there are as many as 50,000 stray dogs in Detroit, most of them pit bulls. Detroit Dog Rescue (DDR) puts the number at 50,000-100,000. The Detroit Animal Control Center simply cannot handle even a portion of this number of animals. Dogs that are brought there are held for four days to give the owner a chance to show sufficient proof that the dog is theirs and take it home.
Most dogs go unclaimed and are euthanized, over 90% according to DDR.
This week, dog rescuers in southeastern Michigan got some nearly miraculous news. A benefactor in California has given Detroit Dog Rescue $1.5 million to build a no-kill animal shelter in Detroit.
An anonymous California donor has given a fledgling animal rescue organization in Detroit a $1.5-million gift toward building the city’s first no-kill shelter, the group said Thursday.
Detroit Dog Rescue, founded nine months ago by TV producer Monica Martino and hip-hop artist Daniel (Hush) Carlisle, received the gift in the form of stock options last week from the woman, who was moved by a news report showcasing their work in finding and rehabilitating some of Detroit’s thousands of stray dogs.
DDR spokesman David Rudolph said the donor tracked the organization’s work after seeing it on TV in May, and decided to make the donation after watching the group deal with Ace — an emaciated pit bull found outside a north side hardware store in early November.
The Detroit News reports that the donor “is suffering from a life-threatening illness and wishes to remain anonymous.”
According to their Facebook page, DDR is hoping to have the shelter open by the end of 2012.
Here’s a bit of coverage by NBC:
Great news for a great organization and a chance at life for thousands and thousands of stray dogs in Detroit. You can learn more about DDR and their work and make a tax-deductable donation at their webpage.
Image courtesy of Detroit Dog Rescue.
Cross-posted from Eclectablog.
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Patrick Diehl posted this on December 28th, 2011.
My friend Chris Savage at Eclectablog has been making a compelling case against Governor Rick Snyder’s Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) law, Public Act 4 of 2011, which allows Snyder to install dictators in Michigan cities to nullify contracts, fire elected officials, reverse agreements with unions, sell off or privatize community assets and otherwise kill representative democracy.
In his latest post, Chris makes the case that “emergency managers do not solve the systemic problems that bring cities and school districts to the crisis point. They are simply a band-aid on a gaping wound, temporarily staunching the flow while private businesses reap profits and anti-union forces play out a long-awaited plan to rid the state of public employee unions.”
The Detroit Public Schools and the cities of Flint, Pontiac and Benton Harbor already have state-appointed EFMs. Snyder administration officials have threatened to appoint one to run Detroit – which faces an accumulated deficit of more than $200 million and a $45 million cash shortfall by April – and the city’s mayor, multimillionaire Dave Bing, has stated publicly that he wouldn’t mind if Snyder appointed him to the post.
I’ve opposed Snyder’s power grab from the beginning. Snyder administration officials love to point out that they’ve only strengthened something that was originally signed into law by Governor Jim Blanchard back in 1988. And they claim that contrary to media and Internet claims, Snyder doesn’t have the authority to remove local elected officials at will – an EFM fact sheet put out by the state insists that “local officials can only be removed from office if they refuse to provide information or assistance.”
I’d laugh if this weren’t so serious.
Earlier this month, Congressman John Conyers (D-Detroit) asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to review the law’s constitutionality in an attempt to block the governor from installing a manager in the D. And Conyers – who thinks the law is “being applied in a discriminatory fashion” in Michigan municipalities with large African-American populations – appeared at a press conference with celebrity activist Jesse Jackson to promise civil disobedience and protests against Public Act 4.
My friend [...]
Chris Savage (aka Eclectablog) posted this on November 8th, 2011. This little guy is “Ace”. Ace was found near an Ace Hardware store in Detroit last Friday, unbelievably emaciated and near death. He was turned over to Detroit Animal Control who operate under a Detroit law that says they must hold him for four days unless the owner retrieves him. After that, he will be euthanized because adoption of pit bulls to non-owners is not allowed in the city.
Ace’s story has taken off like wildfire. A Facebook page was created. The page had around 4,000 likes this morning. As I type this Tuesday evening, it has almost 7,300 (300+ just while I was writing it.) An online petition was put up. It currently has over 5,700.
Why the hue and cry? Because there are animal rescuers ready, willing and able to take Ace and rehabilitate him back to health. These are certified, trained dog lovers who have reached out to take a personal interest in helping Ace. The group, the K9 Stray Rescue League, has volunteers speaking with media and working with the Detroit City Council in an effort to resolve this situation in a way that prevents the animal shelter from killing Ace. The Detroit Humane Society and the Detroit Dog Rescue have also offered to rescue him. The Facebook page is filled with offers of people willing to bring this dog in and nurse him back to health.
Right now, things don’t look so good. At a City Council meeting today, City Council President Charles Pugh took up the cause of Ace and asked that a resolution be drafted that would shield the city from any liability and allow Ace to be adopted. Because of a law, an exception will need to be made.
The fate of Ace the dog is still up in the air. Tuesday, Detroit City Council drafted a resolution to save the stray’s life, but it may not be enough.
“It seems like a simple request. If we can make sure that we are not liable for what happens with the dog if we were to transfer it to this rescue league, then why is that such a [...]
Chris Savage (aka Eclectablog) posted this on November 4th, 2011. Back in July, the superintendent of Northville Public Schools used the threat of an Emergency Manager to try to force union concessions.
Now it’s Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s turn. Bing is threatening to bring in an Emergency Manager, too, and for the same reason.
The City of Detroit is sliding closer to insolvency and may soon require the intervention of a state-appointed emergency manager, Mayor Dave Bing told council members behind closed doors, according to sources who were in the meeting.
As pension and health care costs continue to skyrocket, Bing said, the city is quickly running out of money.
Unions, which took 10% pay cuts last year, have refused to accept deep cuts in health care and pension costs.
Yesterday, he made his threat explicit:
Aware that he has sounded this alarm previously, Bing, who says he would consider the job of emergency manager if the state asks him, said: “This is not a ploy.”
He said unions must concede to pension and health care cuts to avoid an emergency manager. “If we don’t get this done, we’ll have to get an emergency manager. … We’ll be out of money,” he said.
And, yeah, just in case anyone is wondering, he’d be willing to BE that Emergency Manager for Detroit. You know, if someone asked him to or something.
Meanwhile, Highland Park schools moved a step closer to the imposition of an Emergency Manager, as well.
Highland Park schools could be Michigan’s second school district to get an emergency manager. The state moved a step closer to that scenario today.
Governor Rick Snyder has appointed a 10-member team to comb through the troubled school district’s finances – and maybe help it avoid a state takeover.
A preliminary review of Highland Park Schools’ books wrapped up late this summer. It found “probable financial stress,” with recurring deficits, and a current deficit of more than 15 percent of the district’s general fund revenues. The state schools chief recommended the second review.
The review team has 30 days to report its findings to the governor.
Cross-posted from Eclectablog.
Chris Savage (aka Eclectablog) posted this on October 25th, 2011. First Lady Michelle Obama made a stop in Detroit Tuesday for a Democratic fundraiser. Appearing at the elegant Book Cadillac Hotel, she was met by a very enthusiastic crowd.
First Lady Michelle Obama
[NOTE: All photos by Anne C. Savage. Please do not use without permission. We're serious about that. Please ask first.]
Before the event, she met with a group of supporters. Democratic supporters waiting to meet the First Lady
One of the people she met with was Angel Edwards, an eight-year old in the third grade. Angel has already published a book called “Angel Food” and was able to show it to the First Lady.
Angel Edwards gets the book she published signed by First Lady Michelle Obama
More photos after the jump.
Chris Savage (aka Eclectablog) posted this on October 22nd, 2011. If there is anyone out there that continues to say that the only reason Barack Obama enjoys such immense popularity among African Americans because he is himself African American, I offer you THIS from Herman Cain’s visit to Detroit:
With the dilapidated Michigan Central Station train depot in the background, Herman Cain made his first visit to Michigan as a presidential candidate and defended his 9-9-9 tax plan as a way to help distressed cities.
“The bottom line, folks, is that 9-9-9 means jobs jobs jobs,” he said to several dozen people gathered in Detroit to hear him speak. “Let’s renew the economy of this nation.”
To be fair, the Detroit News put the number at “more than 100″. They couldn’t say “hundreds” so the next step down is “dozens” and the News seems to enjoy fluffing Republicans as much as possible – so they went with “more than 100″.
Barack Obama’s first rally in Detroit drew tens of thousands. That was, however, in early summer before the election. Maybe Cain is just building up a head of steam or something. By the way, in the 2010 census, Detroit’s population was 82.7% African American.
During his stop, he said that his fabled “9-9-9″ plan would become the “9-0-9″ plan for po’ folk.
Cain took heat over his proposal, which replaces the current tax code with a 9% corporate tax, a 9% income tax and a new 9% national sales tax. Opponents have argued the middle part of the plan would increase taxes on the poor, who currently pay little to no taxes.
But Cain fired back Friday, saying in a Detroit speech that those paying no taxes now would continue to pay zero taxes under his plan.
“If you are at or below the poverty level, your plan isn’t 9-9-9 it is 9-0-9,” Cain said. “Say amen y’all. 9-0-9.”
That’s gonna go over really well with all those Republicans out there who have swallowed the lie that “poor people don’t pay any taxes”, I’m sure.
And, dude, “Say amen, y’all. 9-0-9?” How about “Yay for being poor!”??? Is that what you mean?
Jebus…what a [...]
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