Gardens As In Heaven
Sometimes new things can happen in places only when the old things have passed away. Katherine Yung writes in the Detroit Free Press of Charter One Bank’s initiative to offer support to Detroit’s growing urban farming movement. $100,000 will be awarded to farmers and vendors through Charter One’s Growing Communities program to “expand local food sources in … Read more
anarchy
An 84 year old security guard was shot to death last night outside the church he was watching in Detroit. Here’s the story from the Free Press. Authority. An elderly man. Guarding a church. Attacked. Shot. Dead. In the video one man says ‘anarchy’. He says it is the one word no one want to use in … Read more
Destroying Detroit
Fascinating. Doing research, I found this GQ article from last May of the ongoing demolition project of Detroit’s abandoned houses. I like Howie Kahn’s description. It reads the way most of Detroit looks to me. The video’s the work of Tim Hetherington (1970-2011). Fascinating.
A Detroit Sketch
The young man in white shirt and tie was quietly working on a sketch. Rochelle Riley of the Detroit Free Press writes about her conversation with him at the office this week on National Take Your Child to Work Day. She sees in him “Detroit’s future sitting at a conference table”. Through his young eyes and in Riley’s words read … Read more
Something has got to change in Detroit, but …
Late yesterday I posted the Detroit Free Press’ editorial view of the consent agreement being proposed for the City of Detroit by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. Here is a helpful overview from Steven Yaccino of the New York Times of this very sensitive issue for Michigan and its largest city. Yes, it is money, but it’s also … Read more
Hope for Detroit?
Detroit has been for some time a city in trouble, especially financial. Such as in its borrowing: Detroit’s current debt-to-net assets ratio is 33:1. Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press writes “Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed consent agreement to straighten out Detroit’s finances is also the radical change the city has needed for years. It’s … Read more
Detroit Churches Closing
Shortage of clergy, money and parishioners = 50 closed Detroit churches The Archdiocese of Detroit is expected to announce this month its plans to close 30 suburban and as many as 20 urban parishes. To put this in perspective, the Archdiocese included 112 parishes in 1988. The closings will mean about a third of them remain. Many … Read more
I Am Young Detroit
People tell us that if life gives you a lemon, make lemonade from it. To some, okay, maybe a lot of people, Detroit is a lemon. Crime. Poverty. A remarkable post-urban landscape that makes us shudder. But underneath the darker currents of Detroit runs great opportunity for creativity, innovation and hope. People who are attracted to this … Read more
A Turtle Christmas
Christmas Eve of the worst Christmas. It was only right that I would be in the Detroit Kmart store that night. We had a tank of turtles to feed. The season had been too busy to realize we had run out of their food and as I closed up the corps building I felt guilty. … Read more
Detroit Bankruptcy?
See today’s Detroit Free Press for the latest on talk of bankruptcy for the city of Detroit. Right now it appears the city will be out of money in April. On top of that chances are the State of Michigan will appoint an emergency manager just as it has for Flint, Pontiac and Benton Harbor. Columnist … Read more
