Tom Barrow, C.P.A., is a life-long Detroiter who started his own accounting firm. He ran against Mayor Coleman Young in 1985 and again in 1989. He ran against Dave Bing in 2009. Barrow is a 2013 mayoral candidate. He challenges the notion of a city financial “crisis” and believes much of fiscal woes are due to poor administrative oversight. Barrow says he would undo much of the outsourcing, privatizing and ...

“We’re fighting for ourselves and our civil rights,” Helen Moore of Keep the Vote/No Takevoer, announced to the group of students, parents and public education advocates on the bus upon reaching the nation’s capital the morning of Jan. 29. Turning to the students who attend Detroit Public Schools and the state district Education Achievement Authority schools — including Mumford, Cody, Central and Henry Ford ...

Do you think there is a link between the closing of neighborhood schools and the rise in crime? There are no more Boys & Girls clubs, so now robbing is a plot to come up. What else are they going to do? Real talk; if Daddy lost his job and Momma struggling, they do not see any hope. The kids are taking what they can get. — Tayari Sanders ...

At a time when local corporate media is trying to justify the destruction of democratic processes by ridiculing citizens, it is important for us to lift up the many ways people are advancing democratic dialogue here in the city of Detroit. Such an opportunity happened Monday night as the Riverfront East Congregational Initiative (RECI) gathered to talk about land use and economic development. In spite of th ...

The city of Detroit still owns and manages Belle Isle — for now. A few hours after Detroit City Council postponed a vote on the lease of Belle Isle Jan. 29, the state withdrew its offer. The following day the governor threatened the appointment of an emergency manger was inevitable. Council won’t take up the issue again for a few weeks, but it’s unclear what, if any, action will then be taken. ...

Last month, former Corporation Counsel Krystal Crittendon, announced she would run for mayor of Detroit. Crittendon rose to public attention after questioning the legality of the city of Detroit’s financial stability agreement with the state of Michigan. Crittendon, who has worked for the city for 18 years, was first appointed Corporation Counsel in 2008 by interim Mayor Ken Cockrel, Jr. She was twice reapp ...

After a year-long recovery effort, the Detroit Works Project has released a comprehensive document that provides a framework for the complete reorganization of the city of Detroit. The Detroit Future City strategic framework plan outlines citywide initiatives in five major areas: economic growth, land use, land and building property assets, city systems and neighborhood revitalization. ...

Due to the rising in homicide rates in the city, many Detroiters have obtained or are considering obtaining a CCW permit. Do you think this helps or adds to the crime problem? Why? ...

The Detroit Works Project (DWP) launched a new format for its public information campaign about its strategic framework for the redevelopment of Detroit. The most recent newsletter says, “We know that Detroit Future City is an extensive document, so we would like to highlight smaller sections of the framework to make it easier for you to become familiar with the different strategies.” ...

Jesse Long-Bey, longtime Michigan Citizen editor, was admitted to the hospital in early December after a month-long illness. He had suffered a stroke in December 2009 and was in a coma for 30 days but recovered. Jesse was in Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak when he died Jan. 21, 2013 the day of the first Black President Barack Obama’s second inauguration and of the national Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday ...