Now, after Gov. Rick Snyder pulled the Belle Isle lease deal over City Council’s inaction? Now, after Mayor Dave Bing said he would be forced to close 50 city parks this coming season because the cash-strapped city could not afford to (barely) maintain both Belle Isle and the parks? Now, Council President Charles Pugh wants … Continue Reading →
Hard to know whether to laugh or cry: One day after city officials told members of their Financial Advisory Board that Detroit could run out of cash as early as next month, union officials and a few stalwart citizens used another City Council meeting today to share their financial acumen with whoever happened to be … Continue Reading →
The repeal of Public Act 4, the controversial emergency manager law, has labor unions, politicians and self-appointed defenders of democracy dancing in the proverbial streets. Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Snyder, the bailout team at the state Treasury and a handful of EM’s installed around the state are pondering what to do now, whether to push new legislation to clarify … Continue Reading →
Here’s hoping, cuz Hizzoner says in e-mails obtained by The Detroit News that he has “no intentions of ever residing here again. I’m often thought of as a Detroiter, but I am not. My life, family and residency is in Texas.” Unless, of course, the disgraced former mayor’s home ends up being a cell somewhere in … Continue Reading →
The resurrection of the Detroit’s science center is another step closer to reality. The DTE Energy Foundation said this week that it has committed $250,000 to the effort to reopen the Museum District site on John R as the Michigan Science Center. “We appreciate DTE Energy Foundation’s quick response to our funding needs,” Tom Stephens, chairman of … Continue Reading →
An old contact from my days as a European correspondent reached out with musings prompted by Thursday’s column. His wisdom should be required reading inside Cadillac and across the big offices atop General Motors Co.’s Renaissance Center, starting with CEO Dan Akerson. Here, in its entirety, is Mark R.’s take on Cadillac Global 4.0 from his … Continue Reading →
The only surprise in the Financial Advisory Board’s warning that Detroit is running out of time in its pathetic effort to restructure government is that it’s a surprise … to anyone. Dysfunction reigns: if Mayor Dave Bing and his administration can summon the moxie to press ahead with reform, they can’t make the politics work … Continue Reading →
Good to see at least one Michigan lawmaker has the gumption to challenge the Treasury Department’s slow-walk on details behind the Delphi Corp. pension scandal. Rep. Dave Camp, the Midland Republican who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, issued a statement today saying documents obtained by congressional investigators show that Treasury officials — not … Continue Reading →
Mary Kramer, publisher of Crain’s Detroit Business, and I will be sharing the “big chair” on 760-WJR starting at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow, Oct. 2, as we co-host the Paul W. Smith Show while the Big Dog is out on station business. Mary and I have been regular contributors to his show, in my case dating back at least to 1999 … Continue Reading →
A Dayton congressman and the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, are upping the pressure on the Treasury Department to produce documents detailing the feds’ involvement in a series of decisions that “encouraged” the quasi-governmental Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. to seize the assets of Delphi Corp.’s salaried pension fund. … Continue Reading →