POWERED BY REAL TIMES MEDIA
WHAT’S INSIDE Autism Awareness (Pace B-1) “Despite improved awareness efforts, we recognized the continued need to chip away the social stigmas that surround developmental conditions such as autism,” said Dr. Martin L. Mitchell. Austism affects boys four times more often than it does girls.
Michelle Obama: A ‘tough boss’? (Page B-4)
April 9-15, 2014
michiganchronicle.com
Volume 77 – Number 31
Snyder to use New York model in post-bankruptcy By Bankole Thompson CHRONICLE SENIOR EDITOR
Gov. Rick Snyder laid the cards on the table Monday at Pancakes & Politics after I asked him what a post-bankrupt Detroit would look like in terms of governance and providing stewardship of the city’s Bankole finances.
Thompson
The governor, to the surprise of many in the room, said when current emer-
gency manager Kevyn Orr leaves in October there will be a transition process to decide the next chapter of Detroit. Key to that process, Rick Snyder according to Snyder, will be using a model similar to the one that was used when New York got into financial trouble in 1975. And that was the creation of the Emergency Control Board as an overseer of New York’s finances for decades. Among other things, the board required the city to balance its
budget within three years and New York was required to follow accepted accounting practices. In fact, Detroit’s proMike Duggan tracted financial woes have some common features with New York’s past troubles because Felix Rohatyn, the man who was recruited to save the Big Apple from financial collapse with the creation of the Municipal Assistance Corporation as well as the Emergency Control Board, was the same in-
A new report, “Black Women in the United States, 2014: Progress and Challenges,” reveals a number of positive factors concerning African-American women, but certain negative realities continue to exist.
Celebrities with college degrees (Page D-1) A surprisingly large number of people who have found major success in the world of entertainment have college degrees, some from Ivy League schools, and in many cases the degree has nothing to do with show business.
$1.00
See SNYDER page A-4
By Donald James
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
On Tuesday, April 1, U.S. Rep. Gary Peters convened an outdoor press conference at Gateway Marketplace, located on Eight Mile Road at Woodward Avenue in Detroit to highlight the impact of the New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) program.
Jesse Jackson leads overseas delegation (Page C-1)
The progress of Black women (Page C-3)
Rohatyn, dubbed an urban financial expert, came in and diagnosed Detroit’s financial crisis, working with the Secrest Committee created by Young and led by former Ford Motor Company executive Fred Secrest. Rohatyn would later serve as U.S. ambassador to France under President Bill Clinton, and is now appointed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sit on the board of New York State’s $25 billion
Peters on why NMTC is plus for Detroit
Someone who never worked directly for First Lady Michelle Obama wrote a story in The New Republic that criticized Mrs. Obama — for possessing traits that someone in her position would need and be expected to have. Tonya Pendleton takes Reid Cherlin to task.
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition led a 13person delegation to meet with leading automotive companies in Japan. He says the auto companies “still have a long way to go” with regard to minority dealers, suppliers and advertising agencies.
dividual former mayor Coleman Young brought into town to help him address Detroit’s financial instability in the 1980s.
With a T-Mobile store and Wing Stop eatery serving as backdrops, Peters praised the impact of the New Market Tax Credit and its uti- Gary Peters lization in empowering the city and surrounding community.
PRESIDENT OBAMA speaking at the University of Michigan last week in Ann Arbor about increasing the minimum wage. – Andre Smith photos
Obama: Minimum wage makes sense
By Bankole Thompson CHRONICLE SENIOR EDITOR
Michigan has been thrust to the center of the battle for economic opportunities in the nation as Democrats and Republican fight over who has a better plan for helping working class people. President Obama drew a line in the sand last week when he came to the state to raise the stakes on raising the minimum wage, and casting a Republican
Congress as holding the nation hostage from accessing economic opportunities. Speaking at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Obama said, “In America, we do not believe in opportunity just for the few. We believe that everybody should have a chance at success. And we believe our economy grows best not from the top down, but from the middle out, and from the bottom up.”
crats have always used to argue that their political tent is bigger than that of the Republicans, Obama said, “We want to make sure that no matter where you’re born, what circumstances, how you started out, what you look like, what your last name is, who you love, it doesn’t matter; you can succeed. That’s what we believe.” He also said, “What matters is the strength of our work
Utilizing themes that Demo-
See OBAMA page A-4
“As we are standing here today, we are looking at a revitalized shopping center, which has brought hundreds of jobs, fresh food and economic development to this community,” said Peters. “It is clear that this project would not have existed without the New Market Tax Credit Program, which allows tax credits to come into areas of high unemployment to create projects that will create jobs and create opportunities.” Peters has advocated for the NMTC program since coming to Congress in 2009 by voting for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which increased the NMTC allocation for 2008 and 2009 to $5 billion from $3.5 billion. In 2010, he voted for the Tax Relief,
See PETERS page A-4
WSU’s Wilson ushers in era of diversity and excellence By Bankole Thompson CHRONICLE SENIOR EDITOR
Dr. M. Roy Wilson officially became the 12th president of Wayne State University April 4 at a ceremony hosted by the university’s Board of Governors and attended by faculty as well as regional leaders, educators and heads of colleges in the metro area and from across the country. The event formally marked the beginning of what Wilson calls an era of “opportunity and access” for the university and the community. Dignitaries including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan; Dr. Michael Drake, Ohio State University’s incoming 15th president and the first Black in that role; Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, Blue Cross Blue Sheild of Michigan CEO Dan Loepp, Henry Ford Health System CEO Nancy Schlichting, Faye Nelson, vice
president of public affairs and president of the DTE Energy Foundation; and Juanita Moore, CEO of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, were among a host of business, political and community leaders on hand to witness the inauguration of Wilson, which was officiated by Debbie Dingell, chair of Wayne State Board of Governors. In his presidential address, Wilson struck a chord with the audience in the packed Community Arts Auditorium when he went back to his childhood days, almost choking as he described the challenges of his chilhood and what his parents went through. “My parents did not have an opportunity to pursue a higher education degree. My Japanese mother, particularly, lost her father and brother in World War II and
See WILSON page A-4
DR. M. ROY WILSON, the 12th president of Wayne State University, and wife Jacqueline at a concert the day before the celebration marking the official start of Wilson taking the helm at the school.
April is Autism Awareness Month Autism impacts 1 in 68 children in the U.S. There is help. Learn more at Starr.org