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NEWS & VIEWS

Mount Clemens boy charged with bringing knife, ‘hit list’ to school

By Steve Neavling

SHUTTERSTOCK

Measly increase set for minimum wage in Michigan unless courts side with workers

Workers were promised a minimum wage of $12 an hour. It never happened.

A 10-YEAR-OLD MOUNT Clemens boy is accused of bringing to school a knife and a “hit list” containing the names of children who bullied him.

The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office said the juvenile asked a fellow student at Prevail Academy in Mount Clemens to hold down another boy while he stabbed him with the knife. That student retrieved the knife and gave it to an adult when he was picked up from school.

The juvenile was charged with solicitation of assault with a dangerous weapon, a felony that carries up to four years in confinement, and a misdemeanor count of having a weapon in a weapon-free school.

During the student’s arraignment in Macomb County Juvenile Court on Wednesday, Referee Linda Harrison issued a $500 personal bond. When he is released, the boy will be required to wear a GPS tether and be under house arrest. He also is prohibited from contacting witnesses or anyone on the “hit list.”

“The juvenile who gave the knife to an adult is a hero,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said in a statement Thursday. “He saw something and said something which saved lives.”

Lucido is giving the first-ever Macomb County Prosecutor’s Hero Award to Prevail Academy for the actions of the student. The award is intended to honor schools in Macomb County where a student or staff member reports on weapons, violence, or threats to school administration or police.

By Steve Neavling

MICHIGAN’S MINIMUM HOURLY

wage is set to increase 23 cents on Jan. 1, far less than voters were promised in 2018.

The current hourly minimum wage of $9.87 is set to increase to $10.10 an hour in the new year. For tipped employees, the rate increases to just $3.84 an hour.

But if lobbyists and Republicans don’t get their way, the minimum wage could soon increase even more.

At issue is a 2018 petition initiative organized by One Fair Wage that sought to raise minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2022 and increase annually with inflation. The coalition collected hundreds of thousands of signatures to force the Legislature to either adopt it or send it to voters in the next general election ballot.

The Republican-led Legislature adopted the bills in September 2018, but quickly weakened the legislation in a controversial switcheroo that landed in court.

Under the weakened bills, minimum wage would increase to $12 by 2030, as long as unemployment is low.

But in July 2022, the Michigan Court of Claims ruled that the Legislature violated the state constitution by weakening the initiatives.

The decision has been appealed.

If the case is not overruled, the minimum wage will increase to $13.03 an hour and $11.73 for tipped employees.

Groups such as Save Michigan Restaurants and the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association have urged the Legislature to slow the minimum wage increase, saying a significant hike would be difficult for small businesses to afford.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

Detroit is getting a direct ight to Iceland

By Randiah Camille Green

ICELAND’S HOT SPRINGS, Northern Lights, and rugged waterfalls are calling Detroit’s name.

Starting May 18, 2023, Icelandair will offer a direct flight from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Keflavík International Airport in Reykjavik.

The non-stop flights will leave from DTW four times a week at 8:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays through Oct. 30, 2023. Returning flights will depart Iceland at 5 p.m. and arrive in Detroit at 6:25 p.m.

Sure you can see the Northern Lights in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but the flight from Detroit to Reykjavik is only six hours — the same amount of time it takes to drive from Detroit to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

“Thanks to Icelandair, the beauty of Iceland is now a short flight away from Detroit,” said Chad Newton, CEO of the Wayne County Airport Authority, in a press release. “At Detroit Metropolitan Airport, we know our customers have a choice when they fly. We believe nonstop flights to Iceland and the opportunity to connect to exciting cities throughout Europe are two more reasons travelers will choose DTW.”

If an Iceland adventure sounds good to you, you may want to hop on booking a ticket soon.

Warming shelters open in Detroit as homelessness rises

By Steve Neavling

THE CITY OF Detroit has opened warming shelters for those seeking to escape the winter weather as homelessness increases for the first time since 2016.

Three shelter are available to Detroiters seeking warmth this year.

The shelters also provide hot meals, showers, sleeping accommodations, and housing assistance services.

“Winter weather creates additional challenges and risks for Detroiters, and the City of Detroit and its partners are dedicated to providing not just an escape from the cold, but also housing services that can help them in the longer term,” Terra Linzner, homelessness solutions director for the Detroit Housing & Revitalization Department, said in a statement Monday.

The shelters will be open through March 31 and are supervised to ensure the safety of residents.

The warming centers offer an additional 135 overnight shelter beds, 100 of which are for families with children.

Overall, homelessness is on the rise for the first time since 2016, when 6,643 residents stayed in Detroit’s emergency shelter system. That number dropped to 3,428 in 2021 but has reached more than 4,530 this year.

“With cold weather already here, the City of Detroit has activated warming centers and respite locations to ensure that everyone has a safe place to stay warm,” Denise Fair Razo, the city’s chief public health officer, said in a statement. “We are once again working with our community partners across all neighborhoods so Detroiters who are experiencing homelessness or loss of heat in their residence have a place close by to stay warm.”

The warming shelters are: • Cass Community Social

Services

Address: 11850 Woodrow Wilson

St., Detroit 313-883-2277

Facility open for: Families and single women • Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries — Mack Warming Center

Address: 11037 Mack Ave.,

Detroit

Phone number: 313-331-8990

Facility open for: Families and single women • Detroit Rescue Mission

Ministries - Third Street

Warming Center

Address: 3535 Third Ave.,

Detroit

Phone number: 313-993-6703

Facility open for: Single men

More information about shelters and warming centers is available by calling 313-305-0311.

Homeless cats and dogs to get new shelter in Detroit

By Steve Neavling

CONSTRUCTION OF A new $6.6 million animal control headquarters and shelter in Detroit will begin in January, city officials announced last week.

The 30,000-square-foot shelter with offices and a veterinary clinic will be located at Ferry and Russell near Wayne County’s new criminal justice complex.

The fury guests are expected to be welcomed into the facility before the end of 2023.

The building was expected to open in spring 2023, but construction was delayed due to a change in the contractor team and some design modifications, city officials said.

“The new facility reunites Animal Care and Animal Control in a combined operations location to better serve Detroiters and their pets,” said Denise Fair Razo, Detroit’s chief public health officer. “The team is excited to move into new quarters with more than 200 kennels, a veterinary clinic, call center, adoption areas, outdoor kennels, pet exercise area, quarantine and isolation areas. This will allow us to provide enhanced service in all areas of animal welfare. We appreciate the support of Detroiters, including rescue groups and especially our elected officials who have championed this effort.”

The new building will provide nearly twice the space as the current headquarters and shelter, with more than 200 kennels, compared to 86 in the current facility.

The new facility will also feature larger outdoor areas for dog runs and a modernized veterinary clinic.

“No one is more eager to complete this new facility than we are,” said Brad Dick, group executive of Detroit’s services and infrastructure. “The new Animal Control facility will increase capacity and enable animal control officers to continue ensuring the safety of Detroit residents. It is critical that we get this right and now that we have the right contractors in place, we are ready to begin construction just after the holidays and honor the City’s commitment to enhance animal welfare for residents and their furry friends.”

Detroit has come under fire for the conditions of its current shelter.

“The new facility will be the culmination of a series of major improvements made within Animal Care and Animal Control in recent years,” said LaJuan Counts, director of the Demolition Department. “This updated expansion plan allows us to completely address the challenges the current facility now faces. When this new shelter is completed, the DACC staff, as well as residents and animals, will have the improved facility they deserve.”

The city provides temporary homes for cats and dogs. Still, thousands of abandoned cats and dogs roam Detroit on any given day.

Students, parents seek class-action lawsuit status against Oxford schools

By Steve Neavling

A LAW FIRM representing 19 students from Oxford High School is seeking class-action status to include every student in the district in a federal lawsuit claiming their constitutional rights to safety and education were violated.

The suit, originally filed in June, seeks to force policy changes at all schools in the Oxford Community School District that students and parents say are essential for a safe and effective learning environment. The lawsuit does not seek monetary damages.

Sophomore Ethan Crumbley, 16, pleaded guilty on Oct. 24 to murder and terrorism charges in connection with the shooting that killed four students and wounded seven others at Oxford High School.

Grewal Law PLLC filed a motion last week requesting class-action status. If approved, the suit would seek a federal court order requiring the district to enforce and update safety procedures and protocols at all of its schools.

“Oxford Schools shockingly failed to meet the basic expectation of a safe learning environment on November 30, 2021, and since then they have continued to leave students and parents completely unsure if they will encounter violence at school despite the massive wakeup call this tragedy provided,” Grewal Law attorney Scott Weidenfeller said.

The request was filed on the same day that two former school board members said the district failed to implement its threat assessment policy that they say would have prevented the mass shooting.

“With new accusations this week by former school authorities that virtually no effective safety efforts had been implemented by the district, we are even more confident that our lawsuit seeking court-ordered violence prevention plans is vital to the future protection of every student in the district,” Weidenfeller said.

In the days before the shooting, school officials failed to intervene despite a pattern of troubling behavior by Crumbley. He told his mother he was seeing demons. A day before the shooting, he was caught at school searching for ammunition on his phone. And on the day of the shooting, a teacher spotted an alarming drawing in which he depicted a person who had been shot and the words, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”

Crumbley’s parents James and Jennifer Crumbley were charged with involuntary manslaughter and are awaiting trial. But on Tuesday last week, the Michigan Supreme Court sent the case back to the Court of Appeals to consider whether there is enough evidence for the Crumbleys to stand trial.

NEWS & VIEWS

While rooting against the other team may be harmless in sports, it is far more caustic for our politics.

SHUTTERSTOCK

The Incision

Michigan, Ohio State, and negative partisanship

Last month, 17 million people tuned in to watch Michigan absolutely stomp Ohio State in “the Horseshoe,” the decidedly smaller and less impressive stadium in which Ohio State dabbles at football. It was a decisive 45-23 victory for the Wolverines, in which three big passing complemented Michigan’s potent ground games to secure victory for the second year in a row — the first in Ohio since 2000.

My love for Michigan football extends well beyond my time on campus in the mid-aughts. I’ve loved Michigan football since elementary school, a space of life when younger, more imaginative minds cast athletes as heroes and sports teams as good or evil incarnate. Which is why, for as long as I’ve loved Michigan, I’ve hated Ohio State.

I want Ohio State to lose almost as much as I want Michigan to win. Not just in T he Game, but in every game. I even root against NFL players who went to Ohio State. I don’t feel that way about every rival. I want Michigan State to lose, sure — but only against Michigan. I root for their players after they leave East Lansing. But not Columbus.

I know my feelings aren’t logical. The fact that, by happenstance, I was born and raised in Michigan is probably the most important reason I hate Ohio State. I like to think that if I were born in Ohio, I’d have seen the light — but probably not. Far too many Ohioans I respect are misguided in this way to think I d have been any different.

Honestly, despite our leg up on academics, better colors, more illustrious history, and better fight song, the two schools are similar (OK, no they’re not … but humor me). Both are large Big Ten schools in the midwest and proud football programs built on historic success.

Freud has a useful term for the rivalry: “the narcissism of small differences.” It’s the similarities that drive the need to distinguish between one’s self. Maybe, or maybe not. Perhaps it’s just the fact that Ohio State is lesser in every single way that drives my need to see them lose. I’m not proud of this. It’s just how I feel.

OK, of what relevance is my hatred for Ohio State to you? Because they suck. But also because sports are often a helpful metaphor for contentious zero-sum competitions that inspire strong emotions. Except for one gigantic difference. It s possible to cover sports like an existential battle precisely because sports are socially and politically inert.

The outcomes don’t actually matter. If Saturday’s outcome went the other way, my day today would be — though slightly less satisfying — altogether no different. Sports offer all of the emotion, none of the consequences. Win or lose, we’ll do it again next year. It’s a harmless spit valve for the tribalism that seems hardwired into us — the seemingly irrepressible human tendency to organize people into us and them.

And if relatively meaningless rivalries can inspire such negative feelings against “them,” imagine what valuesdriven rivalries can do? Unlike sports, in politics, wins and losses have profound, lasting consequences — poverty, inequality, discrimination, and war.

“Negative partisanship” — the hatred for our political “them” — has emerged as one of the most powerful forces in American politics. Pew Research Center has been comparing cross-party attitudes since 2016. They ve found massive increases in the proportion of partisans who believe that members of the other party are at least somewhat more dishonest, immoral, closedminded, lazy, and unintelligent than the average American. The proportion of both Democrats and Republicans who endorse four or more of these has nearly doubled in the last six years.

While rooting against the other team rather than for your own may be harmless in sports, it is far more caustic for our politics. It degrades the entire system. Democracy is premised on the notion that we can persuade one another — that ideas can move us. Engaging in democracy with the goal of winning

By A bdul El-Sayed

people to our side implies maintaining an ability to persuade them. That requires you to believe in their ability to change. Negative partisanship is antithetical to persuasion — antithetical to democracy.

Political scientists John Sides, Chris Tausanovitch, and Lynn Vavreck have documented a phenomenon in our politics they call “calcification.” It s a state of play akin to trench warfare — a civic space where our negative partisanship has stymied any effort at persuasion, where elections are won at the margins of turnout.

And in a calcified political environment, beyond rejecting the other side — it’s only a matter of time until one of the parties rejects the system itself. Unlike sports, there are no objective referees in democracy. We’re supposed to call our own fouls. Negative partisanship leaves us equating hate for the other side as hate for the system itself. That’s already been weaponized for recruitment by Big Liars.

So what are we supposed to do? Look, I find the modern GOP s political goals and beliefs odious — many of them don’t believe someone like me should be in this country, let alone have a platform to air my political beliefs. The issue is whether or not we allow ourselves to return hatred in kind.

And we simply cannot. Democracy itself cannot sustain it. Instead, we must stay committed to winning the future rather than punishing the past. Even if our opponents are from Ohio.

O riginally published Nov. 29 in T he Incision. Get more at abdulelsayed. substack.com.