Free Republic

Kevyn Orr has agreed to step down as Detroit’s emergency manager, saying in a letter released Tuesday that the city will no longer be in a financial emergency once it exits bankruptcy. Orr also told Gov. Rick Snyder in his letter, dated Monday, that he has implemented the city’s two-year budget that reflects the elimination of about $7 billion in debt through the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. […] Orr—a turnaround expert who helped steer Chrysler through the automaker’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy—had been the official face of Detroit government since he was appointed in March 2013 by Snyder. …

DETROIT -- Lions running back Reggie Bush, who has been outspoken about the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, continued his outspoken nature Sunday when he wore a shirt reading "I Can't Breathe" during pregame warm-ups Sunday. Bush wrote the message -- in black ink on his blue shirt -- signifying the last words of Eric Garner, the New York man who died while being placed in a chokehold as he was being arrested. Bush wore the shirt a day after Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose wore an "I Can't Breathe" T-shirt in pregame warm-ups prior to his team's game Saturday night...

An open carry group in Michigan has done a remarkable thing.  True, they built on the accomplishments of a great many before them.   They have made the open carry of long guns in Detroit cool and hip on an MSNBC video. Here is a link to the video: The video is done by Ronan Farrow, featuring 22 year-old activist James Baker.  He is well spoken, photogenic, and persuasive.  He and a couple of other people formed the group, Hell's Saints, in July of 2014.  He comes across as cool and hip.  He narrates much of the video.   He reminds...

City officials say power has been fully restored to government buildings, schools and other facilities after a major cable failure caused parts of the city to go dark. The city announced at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday that all customers affected by the outage had their power back.

Detroit — A widespread power outage Tuesday has caused evacuations of buildings throughout the downtown, including Joe Louis Arena, Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, the Detroit Institute of Arts and some buildings at Wayne State University. Most of Detroit's municipal power grid has gone down, cutting electricity to public buildings in the city, officials have said. Police, fire, school, and jail buildings have lost power and traffic lights aren't working, a city spokesperson said. Some people are trapped in elevators throughout Detroit, according to Detroit Fire Chief Jack Wiley, and fire crews are working...

The shooting happened just after midnight, back on May 16, 2010. A SWAT team had conducted a raid to search for a murder suspect. Weekly ended up being first through the door. There was even a film crew on hand to film for a reality show about murder investigations. Weekley says that another SWAT member had thrown a flash-bang grenade, which temporarily blinded him. That’s when he fired the shot that killed Aiyana who was asleep on the couch in the front room of the house. Doubling down on this claim, in court he actually testified that Aiyana’s grandmother had...

The far left Eclectablog repeats what is becoming a recurring drum beat in public education in Michigan – poor people can’t afford school choice. If Detroit serves as an example, statewide statistics show that not only can poor families afford school choice, they often times prefer it. There are 51,083 students from Detroit attending charter public schools, which exceeds the 49,172 Detroit students who attend Detroit Public Schools. And about 89 percent of Detroit charter school students are eligible for free-or-reduced lunch status compared to 82 percent of DPS students, according to an analysis of data from the Center for...

Bankrupt Detroit’s thousands of empty buildings are being flogged at rock-bottom prices — and Chinese investors are answering the siren call of unbeatable deals. With family homes regularly selling for around $10,000, the beleaguered Motor City is now the number-four destination for Chinese housing investors in the U.S. Bigger spenders have already snapped up some of Detroit’s most iconic commercial buildings. “There are factories, commercial real estate and upscale areas around Detroit with proximity to good schools that are worth investing in,” said Wang Ning, deputy manager in charge of international business at China online real estate agency SouFun. The...

About 25 members of the pro-affirmative action group By Any Means Necessary -- also known as BAMN - broke out with chants of "Minority enrollment's been going down, open it up or we'll shut it down" and "We don't need another committee, open it up to Detroit city," during the University of Michigan's Board of Regents meeting Thursday afternoon. The chants quickly turned physical as the protester pressed forward toward the regents. Security responded and the group continued to press forward as multiple protesters were forced to the ground after refusing to back down and move their protest out of...

Muslim groups have stepped up efforts to co-opt protests over the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., with a drive to equate the teen’s death to the death of a radical Islamist shot during an FBI raid in 2009, a Washington-based security watchdog group is warning. Using social media, conference calling and traditional outreach methods, leaders of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) are portraying Brown and Detroit mosque leader Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah as African-American victims of police targeting, according to the Washington-based Center for Security Policy (CSP). In a conference call organized by CAIR-linked "Muslims for...

In 1950 America’s richest city was Detroit. Now it is nip and tuck with Cleveland as the nation’s poorest city. Today, in order to get into the sixth wealthiest spot on the list, the once wealthy and powerful New York City must be lumped in with Northern New Jersey and Long Island. By comparison Detroit was clearly better off 65 years ago than New York City is today. In 1950 Detroit relied on the auto manufacturing industry to fuel its economy and “See the USA in your Chevrolet” to keep the cars rolling off the assembly line. Sixty five years...

Here’s Detroit reporter Charlie LeDuff, a truly great writer and character, giving a Detroit squatter a taste of her (his? It’s somewhat in question.) own medicine. A homeowner had allegedly been attacked by the squatter while trying to sell the property, so LeDuff paid a visit: Detroit homeowner Sarah Hamilton wanted to sell her house, but was having some trouble. No, it wasn’t a down seller’s market — it was a squatter. Hamilton had a difficult battle: In the process of trying to get Lynn Williams out her house, WJBK-TV reported Hamilton was threatened with a knife. But things got...

Detroit homeowner Sarah Hamilton wanted to sell her house, but was having some trouble. No, it wasn’t a down seller's market -- it was a squatter... But things got more interesting after WJBK reporter Charlie LeDuff entered the picture. He met with the homeowner and her attorney, and was given a set of keys and the proper paperwork...

Detroit police say a 16-year-old is clinging to life after getting being attacked by a classmate at his charter school, apparently over a pair of shoes. The incident happened Wednesday at Allen Academy on Quincy Street, in a northwest neighborhood off of I-96 near Joy Road. Police say the student, identified in reports as 16-year-old Willie Wallace, was violently attacked by at least one other student. Investigators believe it all stemmed from a previous altercation over a pair of expensive Nike Air Force shoes Wallace was wearing. Wallace reportedly suffered a seizure, fractured skull, bleeding in his brain, and damage...

Twelve dogs, identified by Detroit police as pit bulls, attacked a man some time before 10 p.m. on Pennsylvania on Oct. 2. Police arrived and fatally shot one of the animals, causing the remainder to retreat into the open front door where they lived. DETROIT, MI -- It was about 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 2 when a pack of up to 12 pit bull and mixed-breed dogs mauled 50-year-old Steven Constantine to near death in Detroit. He spent almost a month in Intensive Care. "It was worse than your worst nightmare," Constantine's sister, Katherine Hawley of Shelby Township, told MLive...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)The State of Michigan is ordering a Detroit man to pay tens of thousands of dollars, or go to prison. The reason? He owes back child support for a child that everyone agrees is not his. "I feel like I’m standing in front of a brick wall with nowhere to go," said Carnell Alexander. He says he learned about the paternity case against him during a traffic stop in Detroit in the early 90s. The officer told him he is a deadbeat dad, there was a warrant out for his arrest. “I knew I didn’t have a child, so I...

As this is all they need to know.

A Detroit man, who has been jailed for not paying a child support bill for a child that everyone agrees is not his, now faces a $30,000 charge for the same child. “I feel like I’m standing in front of a brick wall with nowhere to go,” said Carnell Alexander, the man facing the bill. Detroit agrees with Mr. Alexander that the child in question is not his, but insists that he must pay regardless. The state of Michigan said that Mr. Alexander father a child in 1987, and demanded that he pay back child support over two decades ago....

Here's a full length (12:04) version of Papa Was A Rolling Stone by the Temptations in high quality evidently played off vinyl. This longer version has a very long instrumental introduction and a long bridge at the midpoint. The musicianship impresses me. A very haunting melody with a string section and brass, rare in music nowadays. Since I know little about the recording industry, I have to ask the intelligentsia (a big word for FReepers), what techniques were used in the early 1970s to create such a sound. I presume it was recorded in the rather modest facilities of Motown...

Against the interests of Michiganders, Governor Rick Snyder has signed a bill banning Tesla Motor’s direct-to-consumer automobile sales in the state.The original focus of House Bill 5606 was on determining how franchise-dealership fees are charged. Then, right before the vote, an amendment banning automobile sales directly to consumers was added by State Senator Joe Hune. This backhanded maneuver shielded the amendment from public comment and debate. Passed unanimously in the State Senate and with only one dissenting vote in the House, the “anti-Tesla bill” is an economic loss for Michigan. The state will miss out on tax revenue from sales...