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michiganchronicle.com
Volume 79 – Number 19
January 20-26, 2016
Black designer shines at Toyota
WHAT’S INSIDE Delegation headed to Holy Land (Page A-3) Rev. E.L. Branch, pastor of Third New Hope Baptist Church, is preparing to lead a group of local and national African American pastors to Israel. They leave on Jan. 25 and return on Jan. 31.
By Freddie Allen NNPA News Wire Senior Correspondent
‘White privilege’ still a reality (Page B-4) Rev. Wendell Anthony asserts that “the failure of our justice system to view all Americans through the same lens of justice continues to rip at the very core of our nation’s spirit.”
Comcast makes bold new move (Page C-1) Comcast has embarked on an ambitious and extensive network building program called a proactice build. The cutting edge cable company is taking the initiative of upgrading the core of the network in Detroit and extend plant services downtown and in Midtown.
Michael Strahan's latest venture (Page D-1) Former pro football player Michael Strahan is a man on the move, continuously. In addition to co-starring with Kelly Ripa on “Live with Kelly and Michael,” he oversees a line of clothing and this summer will begin hosting the revival of “The $100,000 Pyramid.”
Faith-based community offers help for city of Flint (Page D-5) As the water crisis continues to make headlines nationwide, many in the faith-based community have decided to take action by setting up stations where people can drop off bottled water.
Rob McConnell, the manager for body engineering at the Toyota Technical Center, said that he often draws inspiration from the fashion industry.
Flint residents protest poisoned water supply – Andre Smith photos
Flint, the inevitable tragedy
By Keith A. Owens SENIOR EDITOR
Marvin Gilliam sits comfortably in his living room, not appearing particularly concerned or worried about the Flint water crisis that has been dominating local, national – and even international – headlines in recent weeks and months. Although the Gary, Indiana native has been a resident of Flint for more than a half century, Gilliam takes the longer historical view of the situation when he talks in his slow, carefully deliberate, and exceedingly polite tone about an event that has further devastated his already devastated community beyond a level that most would have even believed possible. “This is not something that happened suddenly,” he said. “This is a rape of a community that is basically naïve and has been in a state of shock and they have not recovered,” from the demise of the auto industry upon which Flint so heavily depended for so many years. “Things are not as frantic as you may think. This is a natural progression of when things start to go bad. This is just like your car. See, if one thing starts to go bad, just keep on driving it. And then something else gonna go bad. And then just keep on driving it. And then something else gonna go bad. And then pretty soon, the car is gonna stop. Now the question is, can you repair it? Or must you replace it? What makes y’all think that ain’t the situation here in Flint?” Outside a fire station on a bitter cold Saturday, a steady traffic stream of humanity could be seen going in and out of the doors to grab cases of bottled water and filters to deliver to nearby cars. The question of how such a governmental failure could have occurred weighs heavy. But inside that fire station, Flint residents were fo-
McConnell said that, in a lot of ways, fashion designers are engineers.
cused on more immediate concerns as they were given patient instruction on how to install the new filters and how to test their own water quality to make sure they weren’t still being poisoned. Not far away, filmmaker/activist Michael Moore held a rally downtown in front of City Hall that attracted an estimated 200 people, not all of whom were fans. Without the benefit of a microphone, a megaphone or a sound system it was difficult to hear Moore’s words. But what could be heard by those close enough to hear was vintage Michael Moore. “My friends, can I just define the word terrorism? I mean, the state has poisoned 102,000 people … Do you realize that international terrorist organizations still haven’t figured out how to do that? Right? ISIS wouldn’t know how to poison 100,000 people. But the governor of Michigan did it with the stroke of a pen. To save $15 million that is now going to cost $1.6 billion to fix.” Michigan’s 34th District State Rep. Sheldon Neely, who was standing nearby circulating among the crowd of protesters, wasn’t quite so vitriolic, but he was no less angry and certainly no more forgiving. “The response from Gov. Snyder and the State of Michigan has been anemic at best. The biggest response we’ve had has been from the generous people coming together throughout the country and the world to help support us. But the response from the state is lacking. “I think Gov. Snyder should resign. Make it easy for the people. I think he should move forward and do the right thing. This is an emergency management failure that he has to own.” Speaking of spectacle, it would be difficult not
See FLINT page A-4
Rob McConnell “It’s all connected. You gotta pull from a lot of different places to get your inspiration, your ideas,” said McConnell. “You gotta come up with something new. That means you have to look outside the box.” McConnell said that he gets excited about the fashion industry and how we can marry the fashion industry to the development and design of the vehicle and how we can execute it through engineering. McConnell discovered that he was passionate about design at an early age, as he played with Matchbox cars, Hot Wheels and Legos. He also competed in the Boy Scouts’ pinewood derby. “That’s engineering and that’s design,” said McConnell. “That’s the biggest challenge that we have when we’re kids, realizing that this excitement may actually lead to bigger and better things.” For McConnell, those bigger
See McCONNELL page A-4
Mayor Duggan, Chief Craig launch crime fighting initiative at neighborhood gas stations By Adriane Davis
said. “Thanks to the commitment of these Detroit gas station owners, Project Green Light Detroit will give our officers immediate access to video and information that might otherwise take hours to gather.”
Mayor Mike Duggan and Detroit Police Chief James E. Craig, along with several gas station owners and community members, recently unveiled Project Green Light Detroit, a pilot program aimed at providing greater safety and security at neighborhood businesses throughout the city.
To monitor the video feeds from the partnering businesses, the Detroit Police Department has established a Real Time Crime Center that is staffed around the clock by Crime Intelligence Unit personnel that has access to live video feeds from each gas station.
For the pilot phase of Project Green Light Detroit, which runs through February, the city has partnered with eight gas station owners who have committed to do the following at their own expense: • Install a number of high-definition video cameras inside and outside their establishment, sufficient to cover all areas of the property.
$1.00
“A little secret, hopefully no one is recording, but me and my wife sit and watch ‘Project Runway,’” McConnell told a small group of black journalists at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. “Yeah, I’ll admit it.”
The sworn and non-sworn DPD personnel are utilizing increased technology to identify suspects and solve and reduce crime.
Mayor Duggan and Police Chief Craig
• Provide DPD with real-time access to their cameras at all times
• Install at least one highly visible green light on their establishment, along with a sign indicating it is a Project Green Light Detroit partner.
• Install enhanced exterior lighting systems that brightly illuminate the property on all sides.
“We are going to form every partnership and use every tool we can to drive down crime in our neighborhoods,” Mayor Duggan
If a crime does occur at a partnering neighborhood business, the high resolutions cameras will allow Real Time Crime Center staff to get clear images of suspects’ faces and clothing, as well as vehicles and even license plate numbers, all of which can be quickly relayed to units in the area.
See GREEN
LIGHT page A-4