[wacor]

Valis suggested I do something to show the plight of Detroit. I live in the burbs but as the city goes there is a spin off effect to the region.

Detroit has a very corrupt City Council which for those interested I will post some snippets about later on. They did elect somebody from the outside to be Mayor and why a basketball legend (Dave Bing) would want to do this is beyond me. He must be a masochist because we had a supreme court justice (Dennis Archer) who was Mayor and quit out of frustration with the way the cronies had such control of things.

I figured a good start would be something that is a vivid symbol of the deterioration of the city. The Detroit Train Station. I was downtown yesterday to take some pictures of the old Detroit Tiger Stadium which is being torn down. As I drove around it I could see the train station which is only about a mile away so I thought I would go and take some pics.

These are a couple of the pic I took. I did not get out to make a real good attempt as I was alone and this is not exactly a good area for a little white guy to be traipsing around.

This is not meant to be a pity party but just an expose so to speak about a once proud city now in ruins.







If you look near the top somebody has put in lettering "save the depot"

This was like Detroits version of Grand Central Station back in the hey day.

If anybody is interested the following is a six minute You Tube on the history of the place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbtyUsnrY2I



This link shows some pictures of the inside. This place used to be as ornate as any building you might imagine.

http://www.seedetroit.com/pictures/mcsweb/

It either needs to be torn down or refurbished. It is owned by a scum bag developer who also deserves some comments on due to other issues he is involved in. I believe the building a body was found in that I posted about a while back where the feet were sticking thru the ice and homeless ignored it for a week is also owned by the same guy
.

[paisanol69]

This just breaks my heart Bill. What a shame that such a wonderful building, is slipping into total decay. This will be a terrable loss for our childrens generations.

[pyritechips]

Jesus Bill! What a magnificent, beautiful building left to rot and crumble. Is civilization backsliding into savagery? I hope Detroit is not indicative of America as a whole.

[wacor]

Amazing aint it?

It has been that way for at least 20 years. Why they don't force the guy to tear it down is beyond me.

I drove around the same day to some areas downtown I used to go by on a regular basis. I was shocked at how many homes had been torn down. Still though there are a lot of large buildings that are vacant and windows torn out.

[katonca]

What a shame, I guess it's a reflection of a time long gone and it's played out all across the upper Midwest.

[LANMaster]

What can you expect. Detroit is run by the far, far left in this country.
I know I'll catch hell for making this political, but this is what happens when priorities are so askew.

[Wino]

Just wait until Whitaker moves GM HQ's to Texas, then production.

[wacor]

I doubt they will move the HQ. They were being courted by one of the suburbs to move out of the Ren Cen downtown. It was a sweet deal with tax breaks. They turned it down.

[wacor]

Originally Posted by LANMaster

What can you expect. Detroit is run by the far, far left in this country.
I know I'll catch hell for making this political, but this is what happens when priorities are so askew.

Well in this case you would not be far off base to blame it on the liberals. Not entirely the case though. It has a very corrupt city council. The city has an us against them mentality which started in earnest with Coleman Young. He was crooked as all get out and the feds tried to go after him but I think they were leerie of causing a riot if he was booted out.

Right now the feds have the goods on one of the council members for being payed off on a sludge hauling contract. Those who paid the bribes have been convicted or plead guilty. Just a matter of time before Monica Conyers, ex Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Kilatricks old man who received the money get indicted.

The school system has a massive deficit and a history of malfeasance. They finally got somebody in charge that is making the right measures. They still act like their was double the population so a lot of schools needed to be closed.

Then there was a thing over the weekend where a group of people who have oversite on the pension funds spent over $300k to go on trips all over the world. All while destroying records of what exactly was spent.

[TooBad]

Originally Posted by wacor

Well in this case you would not be far off base to blame it on the liberals. Not entirely the case though. It has a very corrupt city council. The city has an us against them mentality which started in earnest with Coleman Young. He was crooked as all get out and the feds tried to go after him but I think they were leerie of causing a riot if he was booted out.

Right now the feds have the goods on one of the council members for being payed off on a sludge hauling contract. Those who paid the bribes have been convicted or plead guilty. Just a matter of time before Monica Conyers, ex Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Kilatricks old man who received the money get indicted.

The school system has a massive deficit and a history of malfeasance. They finally got somebody in charge that is making the right measures. They still act like their was double the population so a lot of schools needed to be closed.

Then there was a thing over the weekend where a group of people who have oversite on the pension funds spent over $300k to go on trips all over the world. All while destroying records of what exactly was spent.

Any idea if they went to New Orleans for training in corruption? I know that Phiadelphia's Mayor Rizzo came to MD to learn how to do it properly.

Long time ago, I lived in Royal Oak and Ann Arbor. I used to love going to Tigers games to see Cash, Calavito and Kaline! Oops, now I have dated myself!

[wacor]

Originally Posted by TooBad

Any idea if they went to New Orleans for training in corruption? I know that Phiadelphia's Mayor Rizzo came to MD to learn how to do it properly.

Long time ago, I lived in Royal Oak and Ann Arbor. I used to love going to Tigers games to see Cash, Calavito and Kaline! Oops, now I have dated myself!

I work and live next to Royal Oak.

Kaline was my all time hero. Cash was a character. Poor ole Stormin Norman, what a way to go.

Rocky had a cannon for an arm. I remember he threw one from the left field corner on a line over the catchers head.

As a little kid the first guy I was a fan of was Charlie "Paw Paw" Maxwell. Now that should date me

As to the original point about New Orleans I think they learned from us. If I can find them there are some You Tube clips of the idiots on the city council a work.

[LANMaster]

Originally Posted by Wino

Just wait until Whitaker moves GM HQ's to Texas, then production.

Your ultra left liberal pals in Detroit would never allow that.

[TooBad]

Originally Posted by wacor

I work and live next to Royal Oak.

Kaline was my all time hero. Cash was a character. Poor ole Stormin Norman, what a way to go.

Rocky had a cannon for an arm. I remember he threw one from the left field corner on a line over the catchers head.

As a little kid the first guy I was a fan of was Charlie "Paw Paw" Maxwell. Now that should date me

As to the original point about New Orleans I think they learned from us. If I can find them there are some You Tube clips of the idiots on the city council a work.

Kaline was my first sports hero, although Deacon Jones was my NFL idol, Norm was a great character and I think I remember that throw from Rocky. Can't remember "Paw Paw" though.

[wacor]

This is a good article about the sad state of affairs.


http://freep.com/article/20090616/CO...+angry+at+city

Paw-Paw would be angry at Detroit antics

BY ROCHELLE RILEY • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • June 16, 2009
My grandfather would have been 104 today.
He missed hearing tales of my recent travels to London and Istanbul and about my covering the inaugural of President Barack Obama. He wasn't here to see my newspaper win a Pulitzer Prize. He would have asked me dozens of questions about the car I'm driving, the house I'm renovating and the little "Last Chance Rescue" dog who rescues me every day.But Paw-Paw, who died in 2000, would have turned up his nose at the tales of so-called leadership in Detroit. He would have been angered by the antics of the former mayor and current City Council who have tried to rule Detroit instead of serve it.

Are the feds afraid of Monica Conyers because of her husband the loony congressman? What are they waiting for.

http://www.freep.com/article/2009061...Monica+Conyers

Guilty plea brings prosecutors a step closer to Monica Conyers

Federal prosecutors forged an important link Monday in a City Hall corruption probe that appears to be closing in on Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers.

[bill.aam]

It goes without saying , that without all the auto industry workers, retail business is also going to suffer....

Retailers Head for Exits in Detroit
Shopping Becomes a Challenge as Auto-Industry Collapse Adds to City's Woes

DETROIT -- They call this the Motor City, but you have to leave town to buy a Chrysler or a Jeep.

Borders Inc. was founded 40 miles away, but the only one of the chain's bookstores here closed this month. And Starbucks Corp., famous for saturating U.S. cities with its storefronts, has only four left in this city of 900,000 after closures last summer.

Story cont..