Tag: Dave Bing

Got kicks? Every Detroit student who shows up on the cash-crucial Student Count Day will be able to answer "yes" thanks to a donation from Bob's Classic Kicks in midtown.

BCK, 4717 Woodward, made an arrangement with the school district to give away a free pair of black leather Nikes to every student who comes to class on Oct. 3, the day when students are counted and their numbers used as the basis for per-pupil funding from the state and federal government.

The more bodies in class, the more money schools have all year.

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via The Detroit News

The Target Fireworks will go off as planned this month, but the cash-strapped city will get help from county and state authorities to help keep downtown secure, Mayor Dave Bing said Wednesday.

Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and the Michigan State Police have committed to helping with public safety and offsetting security costs estimated at about $700,000, Bing said in a statement. This year's fireworks are set for June 25.

"After assessing the considerable public safety costs, we have reached out to and received the support of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb sheriff's offices and the Michigan State Police to help ensure that this year's fireworks display would go on as scheduled," Bing said.

Bing added the city will need help with other big downtown events.

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Is there anything that Bing and the city can do without using other peoples money?  Amazing.  Target decides it wants to get some advertising by propping up an event in a war zone, and the public gets stuck with paying for their zookeeper.

Mayor Dave Bing and Gov. Rick Snyder met today in Bing's office with LaHood; businessman Roger Penske, chairman of the M-1 project; and several members of the Michigan's congressional delegation to discuss the issues.
....
Penske said he was "very excited" about LaHood's comments that he is in favor of the project. "We have to be sure we have all the technical information available to us," he said. "There's a concern, potentially, about who's going to run this."

Penske said it was clear the federal government wants a regional transportation authority [think bridge] to help with the project.

Investors with the M-1 group submitted their plans to federal officials in April. Group officials said they had raised most of the $137 million needed to build the line and pledged to pay 80 percent of the annual cost of operating it through 2025.

The rail line would extend 3.3 miles from downtown, north to the New Center Area.

Can y'all get over the size of the stones on those like Roger in the Billionaire Club walking around with their hand out for taxpayer money?

Mayor Dave Bing announced this morning the firing of two executives within Detroit's fire department. The firings were at least in part the result of systemic department resistance to a police investigation into the coverup of a wallet's theft during a smoke alarm call.

All crimes committed by city worker's are supposed to be reported to internal affairs within the Police Department. The Fire Department failed to do so and Bing and the Police Department only became aware of the theft after a reporter from Fox2 in Detroit contacted them. Oops.

Detroit Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb is the brightest of those lights. Since being appointed in March, Mr. Bobb has tackled the seemingly hopeless disaster that is the Detroit Public School System with inspiring vigor.

In just a few months, Bobb has slashed a $430 million deficit nearly in half by eliminating bloated staffing and uncovering fraud. Bobb has cut 181 positions out of the 231 person curriculum department, terminated half of the district's assistant superintendents, and dumped eleven of the 21 "executive cabinet" members.

Bob hasn't just juggled numbers and laid off unnecessary personnel - he's aggressively tackled fraud and corruption. In the past two weeks, Bobb uncovered over 250 non-existent "ghost workers" on the payroll and suspended seven more employees accused of theft and embezzlement after investigations were initiated under his watch.

And Mr. Bobb isn't finished yet. He plans on privatizing the district's transportation services, is considering additional privatization, and will close 29 schools this fall.

Cold hearted? Only if one believes that a school district's primary job is to employ adults and coddle unions instead of putting resources into educating children. The kids and taxpayers of Detroit should hail Bobb as a hero.

And Mayor Bing should take notice. The Mayor started out on the right foot by rejecting the perk of the Manoogian Mansion, opting to rent out the building for the benefit of taxpayers. Bing then suggested that the City's grossly inefficient public lighting department be outsourced, only to back away when confronted by union intimidation. Let's hope the Mayor regains his nerve.