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Volume 76 – Number 22
February 6-12, 2013
Emergency manager coming, but when?
By Bankole Thompson
Detroit City Council’s refusal to approve a State of Michigan proposal to lease Belle Isle and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s an- instead demand more answers from Gov. Rick Snyder, nouncement last week of presents a challenge for plans to close 50 parks in families in the city who the city instantly grabbed once looked to those attention in the New York parks for their recreTimes as well as other ational needs. It renational publications. At mains unclear whether the same time the revthe parks targeted for elation of shutting down closing are in highly 50 of the 107 recreation populated neighborparks also heightened Bankole hoods; the absence of the conversation around an emergency manager Thompson recreational facilities is a recipe for crime. for Detroit, underscoring the dire straits the city is in. With the city’s ballooning The mayor’s announcement, deficit and cash flow issues, an apparent response to the some are contending that an CHRONICLE SENIOR EDITOR
Jesse Jackson
Daniel Syme
Rev. Jackson, Rabbi Syme set for historic forum The Detroit College Promise and the Rainbow Push-Citizenship Education Fund will host a national forum on Feb.12, 6:30 p.m., at the Detroit Historical Museum with the theme “Re-Education of America in the Age of Obama,” a timely and historic conversation between Rabbi Daniel Syme and Rev. Jesse Jackson
Anthony Williams
emergency manager is the route to cure Detroit’s fiscal crisis in order for the city to avoid bankruptcy. Under the new EM law, PA 436 of
WHAT’S INSIDE Loyola High School holds MLK Day of Service (Page A-2)
Debt ceiling games could end with court action (Page A-3) In the debate over whether the president should simply pay bills owed by the United States, missing is the key aspect of whether the courts would back him up.
Halting homicide (Page B-1) Stop the blame game. That’s the message of Luther Keith, the executive director of ARISE Detroit! — a 400-member neighborhood advocacy organization.
Housing Development in Highland Park nears completion (Page C-1) Highland Park is currently undergoing its own Cinderella transformation. Benefitting from the Obama administration’s stimulus package, the city is wrapping up construction on its Neighborhood Stabilization Program II.
Remembering Marvin Gaye (Page D-1) One sure sign that a recording star is an icon is that their work is beyond time restrictions. The music, like the overall impact of the artist, is forever. Such is the case with Marvin Gaye.
michiganchronicle.com
2012 becomes effective, March 27.
For
instance,
Rev.
Bertram
See manager page A-4
By Patrick Keating CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
THE ROSA PARKS stamp was officially unveiled by the U.S. Postal Service at The Henry Ford Museum on Monday. Leaders and members of the Michigan Congressional delegation, including Senator Carl Levin, Congressman John Conyers Jr. and Congressman Gary Peters were in attendance. — Henry Ford Museum photos
Detroit celebrates
Rosa Parks at 100
By Bankole Thompson CHRONICLE SENIOR EDITOR
Rosa Parks, the mother of the Civil Rights Movement, would have turned 100 on Feb 4. The courageous woman’s refusal to give up her seat to a White man on a municipal bus led to the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott, which launched the Civil Rights Movement and placed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. into the national spotlight.
SPECIAL BLACK HISTORY REPORT
others participated in wide ranging discussions about the impact Mrs. Parks had not only in this country, but around the world as well.
According to Andrew Arena, executive director of the Detroit Crime Commission (DCC), the mission of the DCC is to look at criminal enterprises that are flying under the radar, and which law enforcement can’t get to, as well as quality of life issues around the city. Arena, former director of the Detroit FBI Office, said the DCC came up with two programs to address those. The first is criminal investigations. Crime commissions are nothing new, Arena said. Chicago has had one for almost 100 years, New Orleans for almost 60. The Detroit Crime Commission got its start two years ago, when some local businessmen and attorneys who took a hard look at crime and quality of life issues in the city, asked various law enforcement agencies what they
President Barack Obama, in a proclamation to mark the day, applauded Park’s courage. “Though Rosa Parks was not the first to confront the injustice of segregation laws, her courageous act of civil disobedience sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott — 381 days of peaceful protest when ordinary men, women, and children sent the extraordinary message that secondclass citizenship was unacceptable,” read the proclamation.
Mrs. Parks’ memory and indefatigable spirit were the focus of her birthday celebration at the Henry Ford Museum where the bus that symbolizes her resistance to racism is stationed as a histori- JULIAN BOND, deputy of the Civil Rights Movement and former chairman cal exhibit.
“Rather than ride in the back of buses, families and friends walked. Neighborhoods and churches formed carpools. Their actions stirred the conscience of Americans of every background, and their resilience in the face of the board of the NAACP, speaks at of fierce violence and On Monday, civil rights leaders from the commemoration of Rosa Parks’ intimidation ultimately led to the desegregaaround the country 100th birthday. tion of public transporas well as observers tation systems across of America’s long battle for equality came to the Henry Ford to celebrate Mrs. Parks’ our country. legacy in the same year as the 50th anniver- “Rosa Parks’ story did not end with the boysary of the historic March on Washington. cott she inspired. A lifelong champion of civil Julian Bond, former chairman of the See ROSA PARKS page A-4 NAACP, historian Douglas Brinkley and
ANDREW ARENA (left), Detroit Crime Commission executive director and former FBI chief, talks with Ellis Stafford, operations director. – Andre Smith photos could do. Arena, then special agent in charge of the Detroit division of the FBI, was one of the people they spoke to. “I remember my advice to them was ‘we can use all the help we can get, if you guys are willing to fund something like this, as long as you define the mission and the goals and basically a lane within which this organization would work,’” he said. He also recommended that they speak
See CRIME page A-4
Pact to pledge Michigan companies join initiative aimed at stemming rising obesity rates By Jackie Berg SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The average workplace isn’t what it used to be. It’s becoming a much “bigger” place, according to experts who agree that significant increases in the number of sedentary jobs is contributing to Michigan’s growing obesity pandemic. “On average, Michigan workers sit an average of 9.3 hours per day,” said Tricia Keith, SVP, corporate secretary and services, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
$1.00
Curtis Ivery
Former FBI chief, others wage battle on elusive crime
See FORUM page A-4
On Jan. 22, faculty, staff and students at Loyola High School fanned out across the city to soup kitchens, schools, homes for the elderly and Focus:HOPE, making an impact not only on the lives of young men, but on their families and people throughout the neighborhoods.
Charlie Beckham
Given recent research showing that sitting just 6 hours a day cuts five years off life expectancy, there’s
real cause for alarm. Add Michigan’s rising obesity rates to the mix and you have the makings of a healthcare crisis, according to a group of business leaders supporting MI Healthier Tomorrow, a campaign launched by the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) to encourage overweight Michigan residents to shed 10 percent of their excess body weight. Today, more than 30 percent of Michigan’s workforce is obese. Left unchecked, the statistics are projected to reach 50 percent by 2030. Obesity-related costs in Michigan are staggering. In
See PLEDGE page A-4
MARK PETROFF (left), president and chief executive officer, Marketing Associates; Tanya Heidelberg-Yopp, senior vice president of community and diversity, Compuware Corporation; Stephanie Stevenson, AVP of compensation and benefits, Quicken Loans; Tricia Keith, SVP, corporate secretary and services, Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan; and Donna Rodman, 4 x 4 plan coordinator, Michigan Health & Wellness. — Paul Henning photo