Walking up Woodward to the coffee shop on Mack, mind snacks competed with Detroit’s weather version of March Madness as the wind juked me with a snow assist. Yep, it was a Gortex-layer-over-polar-fleece day. As the coffee drip trickled into the cardboard pots (should have called ahead) I mind snacked on the prison-cell wisdom of knocking out pushups, dips and row machine weights at the Boll Y. A fella never ...

Tom Barrow, president of Citizens for Detroit’s Future, called on Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon March 26 to immediately resign his office now that he has formally declared his candidacy for the mayor of Detroit, according to a press statement. “The recently announced Detroit One Crime Abatement Strategy — in coordination with the Detroit Police, the FBI, ATF and State Police — demands that Sheriff Nap ...

As Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) Kevyn Orr assumes civil powers in Detroit, local corporate media has launched a campaign to tell us all how glad we should be that such a fine person now has charge of everything. They have shared a “glimpse” of his personal life, detailed facts about his career and generously overlooked embarrassing tax questions or potential conflicts of interest. They have assured us ...

Sheriff Benny Napoleon announced he will run for mayor March 27. He has been the front runner in most polls. Some residents question his record in Detroit. Does Benny Napoleon have a chance of winning? ...

Several groups across the state have joined Detroiters in challenging the new emergency financial manager (EFM) law in federal court. Support mounted after the March 14 appointment of bankruptcy attorney Kevyn Orr as EFM of Detroit. “We’re looking at legal challenges in federal court and we expect that the Sugar Law Center or other groups will be filing such a challenge,” Attorney John Philo of the Sugar La ...

Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) board has employed a consulting company to reduce its workforce by 80 percent. While workers face massive cuts, the DWSD board is covering the costs of the consultants’ meals, wine, malt liquor, steak dinners, airfare in and out of the city, and hotel accommodations, according to documents obtained by this newspaper. ...

Mind snacking while walking to the Y, I glance over to the Elmwood Grill where there are normally a plethora of marked and unmarked Detroit police cars, hmmm, there are a couple of blue state police rides decorating the street. It hits me. All critters mark their territory. State boys are now running Detroit. Get used to it. I step up my pace — can’t put the mind snack down. Are we on the cusp of neo-martia ...

After three long years, the case of Aiyana Stanley-Jones will finally be argued before a jury. During a March 8 pre-trial hearing, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray-Hathaway denied a motion to dismiss all charges against Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley in the shooting-death of the 7-year-old. In a military-style raid on the Jones’ near east side home May 16, 2010, Weekley shot into the hou ...

The appointment of Kevyn Orr as the emergency financial manager (EFM) of Detroit is a sad day for democracy. There is a growing understanding that the financial crisis justifying this move was manufactured by the withholding of state funds, the drive to protect the $474 million paid to banks and the desire to wrest control of the city away from its people and put it into the hands of the corporate elite. ...

Mayor Dave Bing’s incompetence makes a case for his removal from office. He has betrayed city residents and acted against their best intersts. His decision to cede his responsibilities and accept Gov. Rick Snyder’s appointment of an emergency financial manager; his refusal to join Council in fighting the state takeover and his decision to work with the governor sparked several acts of civil disobedience thr ...