Detroit activists call for UN help as city shuts off water for thousands

AlJezeera ^ | June 22, 2014 12:51PM ET | by Peter Moskowitz @ptrmsk

[Dallas59]

Detroit has too much of some things – stray dogs, abandoned houses – and not enough of others, such as residents who pay their water bills.

The latest sign of Detroit’s decline came from the city’s water department, when it said in March it would begin shutting off water for up to 3,000 homes and businesses a week in an attempt to stop the utility from sliding even further into debt.

The announcement sparked outrage among activists groups, who say the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) is going after the city’s most vulnerable citizens to shore up its bottom line.

[Dallas59]

There’s a river nearby. Take the bus, fill up your empty wine bottles and malt liquor cans and there you go.

[cripplecreek]

From what I’m reading, this is an attempt to sweeten the pot for private investors who are considering taking over the water department. They naturally don’t want to take on thousands of non payers and their debt.

[MeshugeMikey]

Obama's Red Lines are likely more meaningful?

Ive seen kids who were raised...by people who drew hundreds of lines in the sand and the results are not ever pretty.

Maybe the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation can hep..

[Chode]

but the hair hatted hooligans can pay for day weave and nails and drugs and booze and smokes but not water... feh

[Dallas59]

And...

[lostboy61]

Why they not call the boy King in D.C. he spend that much on his airplane and golf every week.

[cripplecreek]

A story from Detroit. It appears that many of these properties having the water cut off are vacant anyway.

Detroit water department plans to cut service to deadbeat customers

The Local 4 Defenders first exposed how the water system is owed $118 million in unpaid bills.

Now, it appears the they're doing something about it. In an effort to collect on those unpaid bills, crews are hitting the streets and cutting services to as many as 3,000 customers a week.

"A lot of these outstanding bills are attached to vacant homes that at some point may be torn down or demolished, or what have you. But, what we're trying to do is clean that piece of it up," said Darryl Latimer, of DWSD.

[OldSmaj]

Detroit activists call for UN help as city shuts off water for thousands...

Good.

Maybe the stinking UN can use some of that billions of my damned tax money that was ripped off from me and every one else to pay for their water.

The low-life pieces of gibsmedat shit are getting it one way or another.

(Although I really don't think the UN will get involved with the gibsmedat bunch...as they have their hands full with a crap load of other gibsmedat trouble in the world.)

That we've paid for, too.

FUBO.

FUUN.

[Jim Robinson]

Just another democrat success story.

[kiryandil]

"...it would begin shutting off water for up to 3,000 homes and businesses a week...

That's gonna leave a mark...

[nuconvert]

How dare you turn off the utilities to people who don’t pay their bills. lol

[MeshugeMikey]

I found this comment rather telling as per corruption within the ranks.

I live in Pontiac and a couple years ago, the city replaced the old water meters w/ “smart” meters that supposedly measure actual usage. The technician from the water department replaced the meter in the basement & as he was leaving, handed me a homemade business card & said “If the water ever gets shut off, just give me a call & I can hook it back up for you.”(no doubt for a fee). Now, I’d given him no indication that we couldn’t pay our water bill so this was obviously a side hustle that he’d developed on his own. Something tells me that some of the same nonsense goes on down in Detroit.

Detroit THE Destination City for the DREAMERS!!....that should solve everything......

[jughandle]

Welcome to the real world, Detriot. We shut utilities every day to those who haven’t paid a bill in months. They square up and we turn them back on. That’s life.

[skinkinthegrass]

present location: public housing?Do they have Covered wagons, provisions (ebt cards), water, Protection (firearms),
Oxen to pull the load (public tran.) and a trailboss (0'Dumd@$); Destination (public housing) ..
4 outa 7, keep 'em there, import more parasites.

[Chode]

yup...

[cripplecreek]

If I don’t pay my electric bill, they shut off my power.

[cripplecreek]

Bill Schuette has charged a whole slew of city inspectors with fraud over the last few years. 7 Detroit electrical inspectors at one time last fall.

[Mears]

The U.N.?

Weird

.

[grania]

A MODEST PROPOSAL

Why not take all of those Central Americans who crossed the border to Detroit? They can stay there or go home. Let the teenagers take care of the young ones.

A bunch of kids from Central America couldn't do any worse running a city.

[MeshugeMikey]

With corruption that deep its s shame that it cant be harnessed to create enough Electric Power to run a Well and Pumping Station