VOICE OF DETROIT: The city's independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

 Detroit mother Maryanne Godboldo receiving a Human Rights Award from actors Danny Masterson and Ethan Suplee at the CCHR International annual human rights awards banquet in Los Angeles on Feb. 13, 2012.   Former Human Rights awardees include members of Congress, state legislators,
psychologists, medical doctors, attorneys, whistleblowers, civil and
human rights activists. The Citizens Committee for Human Rights’ website is at http://www.cchr.org/.

From the Justice 4 Maryanne Godboldo Committee, Feb. 23, 2012 

On December 12, 2011 Judge Gregory Bill signed an order affirming the decision of Judge Ronald Giles’ ruling to dismiss the criminal case against Maryanne Godboldo. 

Actor Danny Masterson of CCHR (center) with (l to r) Attorney Byron Pitts, Penny Godboldo, Maryanne Godboldo, and Attorney Allison Folmar

From the date of December 12, the Wayne County prosecutor’s office had 21 days to appeal Judge Bill’s decision.  The Prosecutor’s office missed the deadline.  On February 6, 2012 the Wayne County Prosecutors office requested that the Michigan Court of Appeals allow them to appeal Judge Bill’s ruling, despite the fact that the Wayne County Prosecutor missed the deadline.  

 Wayne County Prosecutor’s application to appeal was filed almost 30 days after the deadline.  The Prosecutor’s Office has not provided the Court of Appeals with an explanation for their failure to meet the deadline by the Michigan Court rules.  The Wayne County Prosecutor’s office claimed to be too busy to adhere to the deadline. 

Because of the late filing, counsel for Maryanne Godboldo, Byron Pitts and Allison Folmar intend to fight the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Application to Appeal. 

For further information, go to: http://justice4maryanne.com/. Also click on http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/12/13/double-victories-for-maryanne-godboldo-and-family/ for most recent VOD story on Maryanne’s case. Put “Godboldo” in VOD search engine to read numerous other stories on her case by Diane Bukowski.

Updates on her legal situation will be announced here as soon as VOD speaks with her attorneys and Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s office.

Angry DTE customers march outside HQ Feb. 17, 2012

By Diane Bukowski 

February 20, 2012 

DETROIT  —  Bishop William Starghill told VOD Feb. 17 that he and other pastors from western Wayne County had scheduled a meeting with DTE representatives for that day, to follow-up on issues raised by hundreds of protesters who occupied DTE’s downtown lobby for an hour January 26. 

(Story at http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/01/29/angry-protesters-occupy-dte-headquarters/.) 

Bishop William Starghill of Face-to-Face Outreach Ministries in Inkster leads chants

“We were supposed to meet with Mark Cousino and staff,” Starghill said outside the headquarters, as hundreds of protesters rallied again, chanting, “DTE, pay your taxes,” and “No more shut-offs!” Cousino is president of DTE Biomass Energy, a division of DTE Energy. 

“We had an agenda set up for the meeting, but when they found out we were bringing our membes too, they canceled,” Bishop Starghill said. “However, we will not be moved. Pastors representing the 99 percent and our supporters are going to present the names of 1500 customers who are in shut-off status or close to it. We are demanding no shut-offs, bill reductions, and assistance on payments. DTE can certainly afford it. Their CEO Gerard Anderson made $8.5 million last year.” 

DTE CEO Gerard Anderson

According to a public website, Anderson lives at 191 Orchard Hills Ct, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. This is also the address for the two-acre Frank Lloyd House Palmer House, located on a secluded forested site in suburban Ann Arbor.

DTE Energy also reported revenues last year of $8.9 billion, up from $8.6 billion the year before. Their 2011 operating earnings were $633 million, compared with 2010 operating earnings of $607 million. (Click on  DTE Energy Reports Solid 2011 Results for DTE’s full release.) 

Protesters carried large placards with the names of the 1500 needy customers listed. Bishop Starghill presented the list to a DTE representative outside the building. Neither the Bishop nor any of the protesters were allowed inside this time. 

Part of the two-acre Frank Lloyd Wright Palmer House where DTE's CEO apparently resides

Alejandro Bhodipa-Mejia, press spokesman for DTE, said, “DTE has looked into the cases and is investigating each and every one of the names provided and the circumstances of each account. We don’t have a timeline for completion.” 

VOD asked why DTE with its substantial revenues and profits cannot forgive the bills of the customers involved, or at least establish income-based, affordable rates. 

Bhodipa-Mejia quoted from a public utilities report, “Private individuals and corporations cannot, between themselves, enter into a contract to oust the state of its power and authority to regulate rates and prevent unjust discrimination.” 

Sylvia Young's house on Bangor, where her three toddlers died in a fire after DTE shut off power in 2009; youth outside include those who tried to rescue the children

He said DTE held 170 customer assistance events last year, helped The Heat and Warmth Fund (THAW) and other non-profit agencies raise $123 million to assist low-income customers, and takes 6.5 million customer calls every year asking for help. 

He did not have figures on the current number of DTE customers in Michigan in shut-off status, but said he would provide them later. He denied DTE has any tax delinquencies and said the company paid over a billion dollars in federal, state and local taxes last year. 

However, the Wayne County Treasurer’s website indicates that DTE owes $1,353,931.78 in personal property taxes applicable to its address at 2000 Second, for the year 2005. Under current state law, such a delinquency would mean the resident of the address involved would have been foreclosed on and had its property sold at auction by now. 

“I just bought a house, and to think that if I don’t pay my property taxes, I will lose it, angers me when I see DTE get away with not paying their taxes,” said protester Dannette Hollingshead. 

Keith Owens, press spokesman for the Wayne County Treasurer’s office, has not yet responded to a phone call and emails sent to him asking him to verify DTE’s delinquency, as well as provide data on DTE’s tax status on its other sites in Wayne County.

 “WE’LL BE BACK!” protesters chanted angrily as they left.

Protesters carried signs with names of 1500 customers facing shut-off

Mitt Romney will be appearing at a Detroit Economic Club event at Ford Field on Friday, February 24. The event begins at 11:30 a.m. A large crowd, as well as local and national media, is expected. We will be there starting at 10:30 a.m. with “No War with Iran” and similar signs and fliers in an attempt to counter the war mongering and fear mongering that has been going on lately. Signs provided or bring your own.  

Car pool: Leaving from Royal Oak at 10:00 a.m. Park in the parking lot of an abandoned bank on the southbound I-75 service drive. It is 50 feet south of 11 Mile. The bank is just north of Belle Tire. Reply to this email if you’d like to carpool: detroit.alerts@organizerweb.org     

Feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions.  

Chuck Altman and Rich Peacock,
on behalf of 11th Hour for Peace 

Event Details: http://www.econclub.org/Meetings/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=94a72719-71f7-4019-b89e-f8da5cccafd8

p.s. Price: $45 DEC Members; $55 Guests of Members; $100 Non-Members (though we have no plans of purchasing tickets and going in)

New D-DOT CEO Ronald Freeland (at mike) and Mayor Dave Bing show off new buses Feb. 22, 2012

Detroit route cuts and lay-offs still to go into effect 

By Diane Bukowski 

February 22, 2012 

DETROIT – Two days before public hearings on drastic cuts to Detroit bus routes and jobs, Mayor Dave Bing announced the city’s acquisition of 46 new buses, funded with federal dollars given to Detroit. He also introduced a new D-DOT CEO, Ronald Freeland, of the private start-up company Envisurage, Inc. 

During the press conference, held at the newly re-opened Shoemaker Terminal on Detroit’s east side, Bing admitted that he supports Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan for a Southeast Michigan Regional Transit System (SMRTS) which would include Detroit. 

Ronald Freeland and Dave Bing Feb. 2, 2012

“I have bought into Gov. Snyder’s plan, which would include the counties of Wayne, Oakland, Washtenaw and Macomb,” Bing said. “But we have to fix the problems we have in D-DOT first, so D-DOT can be folded into the new system. We are still looking at a reduction in routes, and lay-offs are still part of our fiscal stabilization plan.” 

Hearings on route reductions and the lay-offs of 78 D-DOT drivers and   mechanics are set for Friday, Feb. 24. (Click on http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/02/16/drastic-detroit-bus-cuts-finally-acknowledged-hearings-feb-24/  for hearing schedule and other issues.)

Bing said only 15 of the buses will be on the road by the end of this month, with the remainder expected to be in service by May. He said that the delay is due to “training” drivers to operate the new buses, which have GRS tracking systems and other devices. Buses marked “Training” and “Shoemaker Terminal” could be seen cruising around the site. 

NEW D-DOT CEO PART OF ANTI-WORKER ENVISURAGE CO.

Ronald Freeland

According to his bio, Freeland had been Vice-President and Mid-Atlantic District Director at T.Y. Lin International, a private global, multi-disciplinary engineering services firm since Aug. 2010. T.Y. Lin International has offices in Rochester, N.Y., where Envisurage CEO Mark Aesch spent the last seven years as CEO of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transit Authority.

Freeland’s bio also says that he has “more than twenty-five years of experience in the transportation industry in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., including projects involving railroads, motor carriers, automakers, and highway authorities He served as the Executive Secretary of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) since February 6, 2007.” 

Mark Aesch, Envisurage CEO and Freeland's real boss

Freeland said he would be working as part of the Envisurage team. Mark Aesch is CEO of that company. VOD asked Freeland about the Envisurage work order published in VOD’s first article on the cuts (click on http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/02/09/bing-to-slash-bus-routes-d-dot-jobs-feb-24-contractor-gets-big/),   It denigrated D-DOT workers essentially as lazy and inefficient and said significant staff and route reductions would have to be made. 

“I don’t think any responsible management team looks to get rid of workers,” Freeland responded. “But we need to look at what kind of transportation is needed in a smaller Detroit, and how many employees would be needed. Some might have to be laid off.” 

He said he plans to meet with Henry Gaffney, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Div. 26, who represents D-DOT drivers, in the next two weeks. He has made no arrangements to meet with Leamon Wilson, President of AFSCME Local 312, representing bus mechanics.  

DETROIT SPENT AT LEAST $13.8 MILLION FROM FEDS ON BUSES

New bus interior

Bing said the city purchased the new buses from Gillig. Gillig is a California-based company now owned by the multi-billion dollar investment fund Henry Crown & Co. of Chicago, whose chief competitors include the likes of the infamous Carlyle Group. Before his death, Henry Crown was reputed to have ties with the Chicago mob. 

Gillig buses cost at least $300,000 each for normal diesel-powered buses, according to an article on the Ann Arbor Transit Authority’s Gillig buses. That means that the city of Detroit used federal funding of approximately $13.8 million for buses, and additional federal funds to upgrade D-DOT terminals and facilities, all of which will likely become part of a new regional transit system. 

But that is not the worst of this scenario.

DEMS SPONSOR ANTI-DETROIT REGIONAL TRANSIT BILLS 

State Rep. Bert Johnson at forum against PA4 Feb. 21, 2012

A set of six bills pending in the State Senate and House, sponsored by a bi-partisan crew, would create a regional authority with a ten-member governing board that includes only one representative appointed by the Mayor of the City of Detroit, despite the fact that D-DOT is the largest system in the region, with 48 bus routes that serve 138 square miles in Detroit and an  estimated 140,000 people each day.

Sponsors include Senators Tom Casperson (R-UP), Bert Johnson (D-Detroit, Highland Park),  Michael Kowall (R-Oakland County),  and Rebekah Warren (D-Washtenaw County).

State Reps sponsoring a virtually identical House bill include a shocking number of Democrats. They are Vickie Barnett (D-Farmington Hills), Tim Bledsoe (D-Grosse Pointe),

State Rep. Fred Durhal campaigns against PA4 in Benton Harbor

Charles Brunner (D-Bay County), Phil Cavanaugh (D-Redford, Livonia, Dearborn Hts.), Bob Constan (D-Dearborn Heights), Brandon Dillon (D-Grand Rapids), Fred Durhal (D-Detroit), Andrew Kandrevas (D-Downriver Wayne County),  Marilyn Lane (D-Macomb County, part), Ellen Lipton (D-Huntington Woods), Lesia Liss (D-Warren, Centerline), Matt Lori (R-Constantine), Rick Olson (R-Saline), David Rutledge (D-Ypsilanti), Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City), Dian Slavens (D-Canton), Thomas Stallworth (D-Detroit), Jon Switalski (D-Warren), and Jim Townsend (D-Royal Oak).

The SMRTA would be funded in part by an increase in motor vehicle registration fees, tax levies, bond purchases and other arrangements approved by the board, which will disproportionately affect the poorest residents of Michigan. 

Gov. Rick Snyder and Mayor Dave Bing cuddle it up

Snyder earlier touted this plan after SMART (the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation) ran into problems related to its non-compliance with federal requirements guaranteeing the rights of workers whose systems receive U.S. funds. After its unions complained, SMART laid off workers and cut routes. 

The groups Transportation Riders United (TRU) and MOSES are also pushing the bills. TRU was set to go to Lansing in their support Feb. 23, a day before hearings on the bus cuts.

The legislation includes Senate Bills 909 through 912, and House Bills 5309-5311. (Click on  Regional Transit Authority 2012-SIB-0909[1]) 

Gov. Snyder's chief of staff Dennis Muchmore and Rev. Chas. Williams II at PA4 protest outside Snyder's home Jan. 16, 2012

“We need quality transportation, and this bus rapid transit is that opportunity,” the Rev. Charles Williams II of Historic King Solomon Baptist Church, president of Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES), told the Detroit Free Press Feb. 2. 

Johnson, Rev. Williams, and others among the bills sponsors have campaigned vociferously against Public Act 4, the emergency manager act which currently threatens the city of Detroit. But they have said nothing about the threats these regional transit bills pose to Detroit’s citizens and workers. 

Sec. 5 of Senate Bill 909 says: 

“(1) An authority shall be directed and governed by a board consisting of all of the following:

• (a) One governor’s representative appointed by the governor.
• (b) Two individuals appointed by the county executive of a  county within the public transit region that has a population of not less than 1,200,000 and not more than 1,500,000.
• (c) Two individuals appointed by the county executive of a county within the public transit region that has a population of not less than 800,000 and not more than 850,000.
• (d) Two individuals appointed by the chair of the board of county commissioners of a county within the public transit regionthat has a population of not less than 330,000 and not more than 380,000.
• (e) Two individuals appointed by the county executive of a county within the public transit region that has a population of not less than 1,800,000 and not more than 2,000,000. One of the 2 individuals appointed under this subdivision shall be a resident of a city within the public transit region with a population of at least 600,000.
• (f) One individual appointed by the mayor of a city within the public transit region with a population of at least 600,000.” 

This means that the Detroit representative will be vastly outnumbered on the board, even when certain matters require a super-majority (4/5) vote. Those matters include placing on the state ballot the levy of a special tax assessment and its amount, and approval of a motor vehicle registration fee hike and its amount. 

Where is Detroit's power now?

The only three matters requiring a unanimous vote are construction of a rail passenger service, “a determination to acquire an existing public transit authority or agency,” and having state voters decide if the regional authority would assume responsibility for the acquired agency’s debt, “swap losses” (on debt interest), pensions, health care or other existing post-employment benefits. 

No mention is made in the bills of dealing with unions representing transit workers in Southeast Michigan. 

The bill specifies that its provisions supercede those of local governments. One glaring problem is the fact that the City of Detroit charter requires a vote of the city’s people before any assets of D-DOT are sold or transferred. That requirement, which also applies to the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department, was already ignored by Mayor Bing and the City Council last year when they sold off the Oakland-Macomb County Interceptor without a popular vote. 

DWSD worker Andrew Daniels-El holds city charter at rally Jan. 28, 2009

Only a simple majority of the board is required to approve contracts (which are not subject to set-asides for minority vendors unless required by federal law), rates, routes, and bond purchases (not backed by the authority; payment of bond principal and interest  would come from individual agencies’ revenues, e.g. those of D-DOT.) 

Both the Senate and House Bills were referred to committee Jan. 26, 2012. Given the make-up of the sponsors and support from Snyder and Bing, they are virtually assured of passage.

STAND UP FOR DEMOCRACY/AFSCME COUNCIL 25 FLIERBUS CARAVANS FROM DETROIT AND FLINTDETROIT BUS DETAILS

CLICK ON PA4petitionflyer02_28_2012[1] to print out copy of flier above.

PA4 BUSES FROM DETROIT AND FLINT

 CLICK ON PA4Detroitbus02.29.2012[1] AND PA4Flintbus02.29.2012[1] TO PRINT OUT FORMS TO BE FAXED IF YOU WANT TO TRAVEL ON BUSES:

DETROIT BUS DETAILS

FLINT BUS DETAILS

 

Union and community members from across Michigan massed at the state capitol in Lansing April 13 of last year to oppose passage of PA4

By Diane Bukowski

February 21, 2011

Al Garrett, President Michigan AFSCME Council 25

DETROIT – Michigan AFSCME Council 25 President Al Garrett says there is now hope on the horizon for the state’s beleaguered cities, particularly Detroit and other majority-Black cities facing Public Act 4 takeovers. 

“Roughly 210,000 petition signatures for a referendum to repeal Public Act 4 in this November’s election have been collected so far,” Garrett told VOD. “We will be delivering the petitions to the state board of canvassers in Lansing February 29.” 

Volunteers are feverishly meeting at AFSCME halls across the state to verify the petition signatures before they are submitted, Garrett said. A total of 161,000 certified signatures is necessary to place the issue on the ballot. 

“This shows the citizens of Michigan are willing to stand up and fight to maintain Michigan as a state with democracy,” Garrett said. “It was nothing but sweat equity that went into the collection of these petition signatures. We paid no one to collect them. Our AFSCME halls across the state from its southern to its northernmost boundaries have been focal points for the campaign. We are quite satisfied with the massive response.” 

 

Youth join city workers rally Aug. 20, 2009

Garrett said Stand Up For Democracy and AFSCME Council 25, which has 60,000 members across the state, plan to turn the petitions in 30 days ahead of the deadline to get the referendum on the ballot. According to the State Constitution, once the state board of canvassers certifies the petitions, Public Act 4 will be frozen. Michigan Attorney General Rick Schuette said earlier that he has not decided whether PA 4’s predecessor, Public Act 72, would be restored.

 Some experts have said that PA 72 no longer exists and cannot be put back in the state’s law books. This could mean a host of developments. 

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge William Collette

First of call, Ingham County Circuit Court Judge William Collette has already ruled that everything done by Detroit’s emergency review teams, appointed Dec. 1 and Dec. 21, by Governor Synder, is null and void because they violated the state’s Open Meetings Act by meeting in secret. 

He also ruled that Highland Park schools’ emergency manager Jack Martin must step down because his appointment was likewise based on secret meetings. 

Garrett said the lawsuit contending that EM review teams must be subject to the Open Meetings Act originated in AFSCME Council 25’s offices. It was filed in the name of AFSCME organizer and Highland Park school board member Robert Davis. 

 

Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, first victim of PA 4, leads march last year

Secondly, with possibly both PA 4 and PA 72 off the books at least until November of this year, it is likely that the appointments of other emergency managers under PA4 may also be invalidated, in Benton Harbor, Detroit School District, Flint, Inkster school district, Muskegon Heights school district, and Pontiac, where the current EM has put all the city’s assets on the auction block.

 “It pretty much says to our folks that we don’t have to be victims,” Garrett said.  “If we are willing to stand up and fight, we can win. This whole campaign has given our membership more resolve. Even though we have yet to hear from President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder about violations of the National Voting Rights Act under PA 4, the people have spoken, and they will be heard.” 

Gov. Rick Snyder earlier told U.S. Rep. John Conyers and others in a meeting that he planned to mount a legal challenge to the PA4 referendum. Garrett said that attorneys from both AFSCME Council 25 and elsewhere are preparing to fight any challenge. That is why the petitions are being turned in 30 days earlier, to permit time for legal maneuvers. 

Garrett said Council 25 has amassed a large database from the PA4 drive, which will be used in an upcoming campaign for a Michigan constitutional amendment to guarantee the right of workers and unions to collective bargaining. (See Labor Notes story below).

For further information, go to http://laborweb.afscme.org/sites/MI_C_25/index,cfm, Contact information for the organizers is available in the postings at the beginning of this article.

 For a recap of developments so far in the EM war on Detroit and the state’s other majority Black cities is available in the Final Call article by this author, at http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/02/20/final-call-michigan-gov-accused-of-disenfranchising-detroit-other-majority-black-cities-in-the-state/.  

 http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_8621.shtml

Youth from By Any Means Necessary and Occupy movement brought large delegations to march against PA 4 which converged on Gov. Snyder's house Jan. 16, MLK Day, 2012

FINAL CALL NATIONAL NEWS

By Diane Bukowski, Contributing Writer
Updated Feb 20, 2012 – 3:37:35 PM

DETROIT – Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s blitzkrieg move to take over the city of Detroit, the world’s largest majority-Black city outside of Africa, and disenfranchise its residents under Public Act 4 has not slowed down, despite mass efforts to stop it, according to opponents.

Under PA 4, appointed emergency managers (EM’s) have the unilateral power to strip municipalities of all their assets, remove elected officials, raid treasuries, abrogate union contracts, take over pension funds, and even dis-incorporate cities.

Gov. Snyder and State Treasurer Andy Dillon have targeted majority-Black cities and school districts almost exclusively. So far, EM’s are running Benton Harbor, Detroit schools, Flint, Highland Park schools, Inkster, Muskegon Heights schools, and Pontiac. Although at least 80 communities across Michigan are in deficit, predominantly White communities do not face the PA4 lash, say critics.

Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson is a chief leader of fight against PA 4

“It was the law in the United States that Africans were three-fifths of a person, that we could not vote, could not own property,” said Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson during a public hearing Dec. 1, the day Gov. Snyder announced the first step in the takeover process, a 30-day “initial review.”

“It was against the law for us to escape from slavery, but it was the unpaid slavery of Africans on which this country was built,” Ms. Watson declared. “We have the right to self-determination and freedom, the right to control our own destiny. No way in heaven are we going to let somebody come in from Lansing and take our city.”

Ms. Watson, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, most council members, and UAW President Bob King denounced Gov. Snyder’s move at a press conference that evening. They called on Gov. Snyder at least to repay $220 million the state owes Detroit under a previous agreement, which would staunch the city’s expected deficit of $150 million.

Youth in Benton Harbor rally against Snyder's appearance there

Gov. Snyder has refused to do so, despite the state’s recent announcement that it expects to end its fiscal year with a budget surplus of up to $1 billion. The surplus resulting from cuts in revenue-sharing funds to municipalities, aid to the schools, and public assistance.

The statewide Michigan Forward organization has collected over 190,000 petition signatures to repeal Public Act 4, which would, once verified, stop Gov. Snyder’s move in its tracks until the Nov. 2012 election. But Gov. Snyder has told U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit) and others that he plans legal action to block enforcement of the referendum process.

Masses of people have turned out for public hearings, rallies and marches. Black elected officials across the state have brought pressure to bear on Gov. Snyder.

Slavemaster Snyder targets majority-Black governments in Michigan

“It is our understanding if you choose to appoint an Emergency Manager to oversee Detroit, that would mean that approximately 50 percent of all the African American citizens in the State would be living under the authority of unelected managers,” Congressman Conyers and 65 elected officials wrote Gov. Snyder on Dec. 15.

Rep. Conyers also wrote U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Dec. 2 asking him to begin an investigation of violations of the national Voting Rights Act in Michigan. To date, according to a Conyers’ aide, Mr. Holder has not even sent a courtesy response. Instead of visiting Detroit as part of his campaign kick-off tour in January, President Barack Obama went to well-to-do, majority-White Ann Arbor. Mr. Obama has made no statement denouncing the takeovers in Michigan.

Gov. Snyder moved to the second step of the EM takeover process Dec. 21, announcing a 60-day review.

Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor addresses Jan. 2 rally; attorney Jerome Goldberg is at his right Photo/Dale Rich

Wall Street’s Moody’s and Fitch Ratings agencies have said that an EM takeover of Detroit will cause the banks to call in $400 million of outstanding city bonds immediately, one-third of the city’s budget.

“The state appointment of an emergency manager would in turn trigger a termination event (default) under the city’s swap agreements,” Moody’s said Dec. 13. The “swap agreements” relate to $1.5 billion in pension obligation certificates the city borrowed in 2005.

Detroit is paying $579 million on its debt to the banks in the current fiscal year. The city’s total outstanding debt is an estimated $12 billion, including pension obligations.

During a rally of 2,500 Jan 2, attorney Jerome Goldberg, of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition proposed a moratorium on Detroit’s debt service. Detroit Mayor Frank Murphy campaigned for a 10-year moratorium during the Great Depression, in order to feed the city’s starving masses.

“Detroit has lost one-fourth of its population, because of the criminal, illegal and fraudulent practices of the banks,” Mr. Goldberg said. “Eighty-seven percent of Detroiters who bought homes have been victims of racist, predatory mortgages which resulted in foreclosures. We want to recover the billions the banks have stolen from us.”

Edith Lee Payne as a young woman at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Aug. 28 March on Washington/ Photo by Rowland Scherman

On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Jan. 16, over 3,000 marchers from all over the state converged on Gov. Snyder’s home in an exclusive gated community near Ann Arbor.

“The EM law desecrates the memory of Dr. King and all he died for,” said marcher Edith Payne, who marched with Dr. King. “Our government needs to obey U.S. and state laws, and Public Act 4 violates those laws.” Ms. Payne is one of the litigants in a lawsuit against the act, which Gov. Snyder has stalled by getting the state Supreme Court to override the Ingham County Circuit’s right to hold an initial hearing on the suit.

Marchers chanted, “Who who who are we? We are the people’s army!” “Dictators and Snyder say good-bye, we’ll run this state and occupy!” and “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!”

Bishop Walter Starghill and members of Face to Face Outreach Ministries at Jan. 16 march on Gov. Snyder's house

“Other cities with financial problems way worse than Inkster, like Allen Park, have not faced EM takeovers,” Bishop Walter Starghill Jr. of the Face to Face Outreach Ministries in Inkster said. “We want elected officials, not anyone who does not know Inkster and what it can be. We want our share of the state surplus.”

Some of the young participants from Occupy Detroit and By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) began an occupation blockading the entrance to the compound. March organizers announced the end to the march at that point, but young people continued to rally.

Mari-Cruz Lopez of BAMN read parts of Dr. Martin Luther’s speech to the Aug. 28, 1963 March on Washington.

Mari Cruz Lopez reading Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s' words during march on Snyder's house

“When the architects of our Republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir,” Dr. King declared. “Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’

“But we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us on demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. … there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”

Petitions to overturn PA4 can be picked up at AFSCME Council 25’s office at 600 W. Lafayette in downtown Detroit. For further information, contact the office of Councilwoman JoAnn Watson at 313-224-4535, AFSCME Council 25 at 313-964-1711, Moratorium NOW! at 313-319-0870 or go to http://michiganforward.org.

FCN is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties. Original content supplied by FCN and FinalCall.com News is Copyright 2012 FCN Publishing, FinalCall.com. Content supplied by third parties are the property of their respective owners.

Some of 3,000 marchers who converged on Gov. Rick Snyder's house on Dr. MLK Day, Jan 16, 2012

By Congressman John Conyers, Jr. 

Conyers to Hold Forum on Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law   

(DETROIT) – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-M14) will host a Democratic Judiciary forum concerning the legal implications of the Emergency Manager Law.  The forum will start at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February, 21, 2012 and will be held at Soul Harvest Ministries in Highland Park.

 Currently, there are six emergency managers in place under the Michigan Emergency Law (Benton Harbor, Ecorse, Flint, Pontiac, Detroit Public Schools, Highland Park School District) and a review for an appointment is ongoing with respect to the cities of Detroit and Muskegon Heights. 

Due to the controversial nature of the law, several lawsuits have been brought challenging its constitutionality, and a petition drive is pending which would suspend the law subject to a statewide referendum in November. 

Congressman Conyers addresses rally against PA 4 Jan. 2, with City Council members JoAnn Watson, Kwame Kenyatta and Brenda Jones to his right

At the same time, other states such as Indiana are considering adopting emergency manager laws similar to Michigan’s statute. This forum will consider a range of issues, including the EM law’s possible impact on voting rights, representative form of government, and the right to contract; as well as the legality and appropriateness of effort in Lansing to reinstate the law notwithstanding the referendum process.  Witnesses will include preeminent constitutional, voting rights, and bankruptcy legal experts as well as representatives of impacted communities, safety officials, and unions. 

In December, Representative Conyers wrote the U.S. Department of Justice to ask the Attorney General to review the law’s constitutionality.  That same month, Representative Conyers along with Representatives Clarke and Peters, 55 State Legislators (9 State Senators and 46 State Representatives) and 8 Detroit City Council Members, wrote a letter requesting a meeting with Governor Snyder to discuss the Emergency Manager Law.  

Soul Harvest Mnistries, Highland Park

WHAT:  Forum to Discuss the Legal Implications of Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law 

WHERE:  Soul Harvest Ministries   16300 Woodward                                      Highland Park, MI, 48288 

WHEN:  Tuesday, February 21, 2012.  5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. 

WHO:    Participants 

•  The Honorable John Conyers, Jr , Michigan’s 14th Congressional District and Ranking Member House Judiciary Committee 
•   The Honorable Hansen Clarke, Michigan’s 13th Congressional  District                            
• The Honorable Gary Peters, Michigan’s 9th Congressional District                              
•  The Honorable Bert Johnson, Michigan’s 2nd Senate District
•  The Honorable John Olumba, Michigan’s 5th House District
•  The Honorable Joanne Watson, Detroit City Council 

                                *Other participants to be added* 

Brandon Jessup, PA 4 referendum initiator, with petition at PA 4 rally Jan. 2

Panelists

•  The Honorable Fred Durhal, Jr.,  Michigan’s 6th House District and Chairperson Michigan Legislative Black Caucus
•  The Honorable Thomas Stallworth,  Michigan’s 8th House District
•  The Honorable DeAndre Windom, Mayor, Highland Park, Michigan                               
•  Professor Kenneth N. Klee, UCLA School of Law
•  Professor Jocelyn Benson, Wayne State University Law School
•  Al Garrett, President, Council 25, AFSCME
•   Officer Joe Duncan, President, Detroit Police Officers Association                               
•  John Philo. Legal Director, Sugar Law Center
•  Brandon Jessup,  Chairman, Michigan Forward 

                                *Other panelists to be added* 

Contact: Matthew Morgan – 202-226-5543 DaVonne Darby – 313-961-5670

Detroiters including ex-prisoners support last year's Geogia prison strike

The Georgia prisoners who led the massive December 9^th, 2010, prisoner strike have organized the December 9^th Georgia & International Prisoners’ Rights Movement to challenge the Governor and the Department of Corrections to meet their demands to be paid for their labor, to have decent living conditions, education and medical care, for an end to cruel and unusual punishments, a halt to harsh mandatory sentencing, fairness in parole decisions.

At noon on Saturday, February 18, prisoner families, friends and supporters will hold a mass meeting at Atlanta’s Auburn Avenue Library to organize and launch statewide protests and demonstrations, legislative actions and a national effort to challenge the State’s violations of prisoners’ human rights before the International Criminal Court and the United Nations.

Prisoners were viciously beaten after weeks-long strike

The December 9^th Movement includes black, Latino, white, Christian, Muslim, Rastafarian and other prisoner organizations, along with The Ordinary People Society, The Nation of Islam Southern Region, The Michael Lewis Legal Defense Committee, The National Action Network Southern Region, The Committee to Free Chip Fitzgerald, The Prodigal Child Project, The National Justice Coalition, Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People’s Movement, Project South.  The Steering Committee includes prisoner leaders, Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, Elaine Brown and Charles Muhammad.  Despite that many of the December 9^th leaders have been brutalized and locked in isolation, the Movement has grown inside and continues to petition the Department of Corrections for their human rights.

Dec9movement@groups.facebook.com

PRESS CONFERENCE HELD LAST YEAR TO SUPPORT GA. PRISONERS

Detroit’s Early-Morning Bus Service Faces Cuts: MyFoxDETROIT.com

By Diane Bukowski

February 16, 2012

DETROIT — Fliers have been circulating around the city for the last month asking Detroiters to take up the fight against bus cuts that were planned for Feb. 24.

VOD broke the story in a thorough article Feb. 9. (To read, click on: http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/02/09/bing-to-slash-bus-routes-d-dot-jobs-feb-24-contractor-gets-big/. In addition to the cuts, the article focused on the management contract Mayor Dave Bing awarded to contractor Parsons/Brinckerhoff, which subcontracted to Envisurage, whose CEO is Mark Aesch. 

Mark Aesch

According to Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) International officials, quoted in the article, Aesch was a vicious boss, serving as CEO of the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority from 2004 through 2011. A PB/E work order (copy included in earlier VOD article) said he is moving to cut D-DOT city jobs and regionalize transportation.

Mayor Bing’s press representative did not see fit to respond to VOD press inquiries, but COO Chris Brown finally acknowledged the cuts to the Detroit News, saying they will involve:

• Discontinuing bus service from 1-4 a.m.
• Route 11/Clairmount weekend service only will be discontinued.
• Route 46/Southfield Sunday service will be discontinued.
• Eliminate Route 78/Imperial Express.
• Route 49/Vernor service will end at the Rosa Parks Terminal in downtown Detroit.

ATU Local President Henry Gaffney addresses 2009 public hearing on bus cuts

According to DDOT, the elimination of service from 1-4 a.m. will save only 6 percent of its daily costs. Brown declined to tell the News about specific staff cuts.

The cuts are to begin March 3 instead of Feb. 24 as originally planned.

Public hearings: FRIDAY FEB. 24, 2012

• Northwest Activities Center, 18100 Meyers from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m.;
• East-side Wayne County Community College (at Interstate 94), 5901 Conner, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.  

A service document detailing all changes and route alternatives can be obtained from the following locations on or after Friday:

• DDOT main office, strategic planning/scheduling, 1301 E. Warren
• Detroit Public libraries
• Community access centers
• Online at www.ridedetroittransit.com. Click on

Occupy Detroit is currently considering protests against these cuts. Stay tuned to Voice of Detroit at http://voiceofdetroit.net for coverage of hearings and announcement of protests, plus financial analysis of the problem.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder hugs Mayor Dave Bing as he presents Damon Keith award to him Feb. 14

D-DOT gets most of its funding from the state and federal governments, and has 16 new buses paid for by USDOT funds in its terminals. It is likely Aesch is moving to takeover D-DOT and SMART, as advocated by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, and establish an authority like RGRTA, at the same time reaping the benefits of state and federal funding.

Snyder gave Mayor Bing the Damon Keith award Feb. 14, indicating opposition to regionalization cannot be expected from Bing.

On February 16, the date listed on D-DOT’s website for its regular monthly “customer comments” meeting, D-DOT riders including several in wheelchairs took city buses to get to the hearing, scheduled for 5 p.m. They were greeted by a notice on the headquarters door that the hearing was canceled, to be replaced with the Feb. 24 hearings.

What would Rosa Parks do?

“I walked all the way from Woodward and Warren to be at the meeting on time,” said D. Griggs, who regularly attends the meetings. “No notices went out that the meeting was canceled. Here we are a week before the cuts are supposed to go into effect, and I haven’t seen anybody mobilize to stop them or offer alternatives. D-DOT is part of the city’s charter, they should not be eliminating it by regionalization.”

Emily Harris has been wheel-chair bound for many years. Referring to friends she brought with her, including another man who is in a wheelchair, she said they are already experiencing terrible service.

“We waited on the Woodward bus for hours. At least four buses passed us up before one stopped and the driver asked the passengers to make room for the wheelchairs. My housekeeper can’t make it on time from where she lives in Hamtramck to my home.”

Antonius Whitley added, “What about the people who go to work on Saturday and Sunday? I have to start from John R and Dequindre. The buses at Woodward and the Fairgrounds are already packed when they leave. People have to squeeze together, and then buses come back to back four at a time.

The mainstream media did not announce the cancellation of the Feb. 16 meeting when it covered the cuts and announced the Feb. 24 meeting.

DDOT customers who showed up for the canceled hearing Feb. 16; (l to r) Emily Harris, Antonius Whitley, D. Griggs, Ella Sanders and William Estell

February 16, 2012

Detroit, MI  — “SAY YEAH YEAH ~ A FELATASTIC EXHIBITION” is the official local artist exhibition for FELA, the Tony Award winning Broadway stage production at the Music Hall. It was designed to help celebrate the creative and social consciousness spirit of FELA Kuti, the Nigerian musical powerhouse and fighter for his people.   

The exhibition contains artwork created with oils, acrylics, photos, fabric and fused glass.  Over twenty artists provided pieces that range in size from about 5 X 6 inches to a towering wall hanging nearly 9 feet tall representing figurative, 3 dimensional, abstract and other styles.  

Fela Kuti

The list of artists reads like a Metro Detroit Who’s Who including Erin Moran, Michelle Smart, Tylonn J. Sawyer, Sabrina Nelson, Timothy Orikri, Tony Roko, Jide Aje, Catherine Peet, Christopher Batten, Omo Misha, Ifoma Stubbs, Robin Sandow, Gigi Boldon, Jeff McFarland, Nivek Monet, Asia Hamilton, Jocelyn Rainey, Tracey Bozeman, Renee Dooley, Lavern Homan, Jessica Caremore and Halima Cassells.  

This Exclusive Exhibition Can Be Viewed 10 A.M. To 8 P.M.,

Tuesday Thru Saturday Through April 9 At The Virgil H. Carr Cultural Arts Center

311 East Grand River / 313-965-8430

http://www.facebook.com/events/183325475106135/