Issuu

Osi Art Apartments Launches First Phase of New West End Gallery District Money. A5

Michigan Chronicle

Vol. 84 – No. 7 | October 21-27, 2020

Economic Oppourtunity Is A Must A For All Michiganders By Mark Burton, CEO, MEDC As our state continues to recover from the global pandemic, we need creative and collaborative solutions to help us build a more equitable and resilient economy here in Michigan. We at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) remain committed to growing businesses and building resilient communities across the state and doing so in a way that ensures all Michiganders have a path to a better economic future here in our state. Over the past seven months, MEDC led the state in economic development efforts to support small businesses, communities, entrepreneurs and workers with targeted COVID-19 relief efforts. We are proud to have deployed 19 programs in response to COVID-19 working in collaboration with local economic development partners and governmental units at every level to the most Mark Burton pressing concerns of business owners and employees – from cash flow challenges to workforce safety concerns – to help them weather this crisis and come out in a position to thrive on the other side. Efforts like the Michigan Small Business Restart Program that utilized $100 million in federal CARES Act funding to support the needs of those small businesses, startups and nonprofits directly impacted by the virus. Already, more than 11,300 small businesses and nonprofits across Michigan have been awarded $69 million through the program, which included a key requirement that 30 percent of all grants awarded go to minority-owned, woman-owned or veteran-owned businesses. In Detroit, we partnered with the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), to distribute $7.25 million of these Restart grants to more than 900 small businesses with more than 70 percent of the funds being awarded to minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses in the city. This has allowed local small businesses to remain successful and resilient, while contributing to the overall vibrancy of the city itself. It is also an example of our concentrated efforts to support underrepresented businesses, including minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned startups and businesses. With support from a Restart grant, businesses like Skin Bar VII on Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion were able to utilize both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar operations in a way that helps keep its customers and employees safe, while reinforcing that Detroit – and Michigan as a whole – remains open for business. As we move forward, we know that the programs we create, administer and support must enable economic opportunity for all Michiganders and will prove more important and necessary than ever before. As we start the new fiscal year with an economic development budget, signed into law by Governor Whitmer, that reflects these

Michigan Chronicle Endorses

Joe Biden

for President 2020

here are more than seven million reasons to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden to be the 47th President of the United States. Number one, is he is not Donald J. Trump. A close second, however, is as American citizens, we love our country and want to see it exist as a thriving democratic enterprise into the future. None of which will be possible if Trump somehow manages to hang on for another term. The proof is in the more than seven million Americans infected with the highly contagious Covid19 virus and closing in on 300,000 dead from it – in less than a year – due solely to Trump’s deadly negligence and malignant narcissism. Couple that tragedy with Trump’s breathtaking moral turpitude and his arguably being the most incompetent, corrupt, blatantly racist and dangerous man to occupy the White House since the Confederate sympathizer, Vice President Andrew Johnson succeeded Abraham Lincoln following his assassination in 1865, and you have reason enough to furiously reject out of hand the very notion of Trump serving another term as President of the United States. Within the African American community, Biden is best known for his extraordinarily successful eight-year term as the loyal and

trusted Vice President to Barak Obama, the nation’s first African American President of the United States. And now, for selecting the first African and Asian American woman, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) to serve as his Vice-Presidential running mate. Yes, his resume as a veteran politician is impressive. His stable, mature, inclusive and people-centered style of leadership will stand in stark contrast to the utter chaos, corrupt and autocratic style of governing that has been the hallmark of the Trump Administration. Biden will bring a sense of dignity and commitment to public service back to the Office of the President after four consecutive years of debauchery and self-dealing under Trump. As a highly respected elder statesman and leader in both the Legislative and Executive Branches of our federal government, he offers a respite from the chaos and carnage that has so badly traumatized our nation. His experience working on behalf of both the poor and working-class Americans of all races, ethnicities, religions and from every walk of life since his election to the U.S. Senate in 1972, will be crucial in restoring a semblance of balance to the outof-whack politics of Washington, D.C. Through blatant voter suppres-

sion, gerrymandering, dark money and collaboration with Russian spies, the Trump Administration, and his Republican enablers, have seized hold of our government although they represent a minority of the actual Americans in terms of political representation. They have imposed economic and tax policies on the nation that benefit the rich and punish the poor, exacerbating the already gaping inequality between rich and poor and even the middle-class and poor, which continues to be a severe drag on our economy. Trump has also sabotaged Obamacare and at this very moment is in the Supreme Court demanding it permanently destroy the healthcare policy that not only protects people with pre-existing conditions from being discriminated against by insurers but has also provided affordable healthcare coverage to more than 23 million Americans including more than 800,000 Michiganders. In addition, his administration has gone out of its way to undermine public schools, gutted federal aid to the states and so badly eviscerated the Justice Department that no rational citizen dare looks to it for anything approaching justice or equal treatment under the law. And working hand in glove

See JOE

BIDEN page A2

See MEDC page A2

WHAT’S INSIDE

Michigan Chronicle Endorses “YES” Vote On Proposal N For Neighborhood Improvements As Detroiters vote early in person, mail in their ballots, or cast ballots on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, they will have the opportunity to not only shape how America will look for the next four years based on the presidential race, but will also have a say in how Detroit will look – literally – for decades to come.

Detroit Man Opens First Black-Owned Cigar and Hookah Lounge in Inner-City

City.Life.Style. B1

$1.00

While the presidential race is heated, perhaps the most hot-button issue facing Detroiters will be whether to vote “yes” or “no” on Proposal N. The proposal is a comprehensive plan to address what should be done with approximately 16,000 vacant houses, either through demolition or rehabilitation. In essence, it would take down 8,000 blighted homes across the city, while preserving, renovating, and selling 8,000 homes to Detroiters. If approved by voters, it would put the City of Detroit in the position to sell $250 million in Neighborhood Improvement Bonds, to be paid off over a 30year period. The Michigan Chronicle believes that voting “yes” on Proposal N will implement a viable plan, which will greatly improve the safety, value, and aesthetics of our neigh-

The Detroit City Council voted 5-4 in July to place the $250 million blight bond proposal on the Nov. 3 ballot. Since Council’s approval, there have been nonstop conversations and meetings citywide amid individuals, community groups, and other stakeholders, all voicing their opinions about whether voters should vote “yes” or vote “no” on Proposal N.

borhoods. We see the proposal as a way for Detroiters to be hired by demolition and preservation companies in Detroit, when contracted to do the work in neighborhoods across the city. We also see the passage of Proposal N as giving Detroiters preference in the purchase of rehab homes or vacant lots in their neighborhoods.

Some of the “no” voices have pointed to controversies that past city demolition programs have been linked to such as questionable bidding practices, unexplained higher costs, little to no checks of contractors, charges of bribery, fraud, and the failure to have little or no transparency or accountability. Other voices speak out to express how Detroit homeowners have been subjected to overtaxed properties to the tune of at least $600 million, after officials failed to accurately reduce and correct property values on the heels of the Great Recession just over a decade ago. Some voices believe the $250 million bond is cover for another way of scamming Detroit property owners.

See PROPOSAL

N page A2