There’s more to see in Detroit than meets the eye Eclectagraphic by Anne C. Savage The following is a guest post by Roger Kerson and is Part 1 of a 2-part series. Roger is a Michigan-based media consultant for labor unions, environmental group and non-profit organizations. He was director of public relations at the United Auto Workers during the GM […]

What the…? Updated below. The day after Detroit’s mayoral primary, pundits everywhere were astonished at his write-in campaign victory. According official tallies immediately after the election, Duggan got an amazing 44,395 write-in votes. Today, however, according to the Detroit News, the Board of Canvassers declared his opponent, Sheriff Benny Napoleon, the victor. According to the News’ reporting, Napoleon’s vote count […]

This court decision “could restore small-d democracy across Michigan” Last night, Rachel Maddow reported on something that regular readers of this blog already know: a recent federal appeals court decision has major implications for the potential striking down of Michigan’s anti-democratic Emergency Manager law. While this news is, in my mind, HUGE, it barely got noticed anywhere including in Michigan […]

Heh, heh… Yesterday’s Detroit mayoral primary saw write-in candidate Mike Duggan come out on top with 46% of the vote (unofficially) and Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon getting around 30% (also unofficially.) The best part, though, is some of the names people wrote in. You can see the full list HERE. Here are some of the most comical examples: Mike […]

Just a totally harmless cloud of heavy metal-laden black dust, no problem at all The large piles of petcoke that have been stored on the banks of the Detroit River delivered a little surprise to the residents of Windsor across the border last weekend in the form of a thick black cloud of dust kicked up by a storm. Here’s […]

Frugality is apparently NOT a job requirement Kevyn Orr scored a pretty sweet deal when he signed on as the Emergency Manager for Detroit. In addition to a car, a driver and a body guard, he’s also got a nice suite in the posh Book Cadillac hotel. This is on top of his $275,000 annual salary. Orr’s contract (pdf) also […]

The DIA is a superhero among museums. But that doesn’t mean it should have to save Detroit. I don’t understand this obsession some people have with the Detroit Institute of Arts selling off the treasures in its collection. Do they think it’s the DIA’s responsibility to save Detroit? Because it’s not. Of course, the people who think the DIA should […]

That must have been one very convincing sales job… Photo by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog Back in January when the Snyder administration was negotiating with Kevyn Orr to become Detroit’s Emergency Manager, well ahead of the city even being declared in a financial emergency, Orr had this to say about Michigan’s newly-enacted Emergency Manager law, Public Act 436 […]

Surprise, surprise [Caricature by DonkeyHotey from photos by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog] Yesterday afternoon, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, with the blessing of Governor Rick Snyder, filed bankruptcy paperwork for the city at 4:06 p.m. An emergency hearing by attorneys representing city pensioners was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. in the court room of Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. The […]

Submitted without comment Michigan Governor Rick Snyder explains his decision to authorize Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn to file for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy for the city:

It was inevitable The Detroit Free Press is reporting this afternoon that Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr may file Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy paperwork as early as tomorrow morning in an effort to stave off multiple lawsuits from various pension groups. The City of Detroit is in final preparations to file for federal bankruptcy as early as Friday morning, several […]