Tag: Debt (page 2)

The union representing Detroit's bus drivers has asked the City Council to put pressure on the transit agency to help stop the spread of bedbugs on buses.

About 50 Detroit Department of Transportation drivers have reported seeing the bugs on buses, and some have been bitten within the past year, said Henry Gaffney, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26.

After receiving a letter from Gaffney in May, DDOT chief executive Ron Freeland said Thursday he asked a maintenance crew to investigate and sent a letter to the union later in the month saying any infested bus would be cleaned.
....

Their bites affect people similarly to that of a mosquito, said Erik Foster, medical entomologist for the state Department of Community Health.

"Bedbugs have been found in public transit, school buses, public buses, airplanes," Foster said.

Rest here.  Photo here.

Can't say that I blame any form of civilization for trying to leave Detoilet.

Detroit - The Westin Book Cadillac avoided defaulting on a $15 million loan this month after a city pension fund intervened, raising questions about the health of a landmark hotel and symbol of the city's economic redevelopment.

The Detroit Police and Fire pension fund made a partial interest payment March 1 after hotel owner John Ferchill outlined the Book Cadillac's financial condition.

The Cleveland-based developer told pension trustees the project has lost $23 million after deals to sell condominiums atop the hotel fell through.  ~Rest here

Yup.  Just like Ferchill Group boasts on its own website.

"The high cost of renovating The Book-Cadillac Hotel required creative financing involving the city, county and state, along with tax credits and other sources that previous developers couldn't handle. The Ferchill Group brought to the table financing tools that Detroit had never used. With the Ferchill team on board, we are confident that we will finally see this project become a reality."

Walt Watkins
Former Chief Development Officer, City of Detroit

Detroit - Part of an $11 million grant intended to provide business attire to 400 low-income job-seekers instead helped only two people, an audit of the city's Department of Human Services has found.

The audit, conducted by the city's auditor general for the period from July 2009 to September 2011, found the department failed to control the operations and finances of a boutique that was to provide the clothes.

The department did not safeguard grant funds or create an inventory for the clothing, the audit found.

Among the most telling findings, which will be discussed today during a City Council committee meeting, is that a third-party contractor advanced $148,000 to a downtown Detroit clothing store and opened an account, but did not include the city on the account.

Rest here

Dave Camp as part of the Super Committee was set up to fail, and he should have known it.  The debt ceiling being allowed to raise only a part of his problem, the honorable Mr. Camp must face down the bullies in the room as an after effect.  Sander Levin and Dave Camp had a peanut butter on my chocolate moment recently.

Camp's point drew the ire of the usually mild-mannered Levin. He grabbed the microphone in front of him and turned to his colleague.

"We can argue ... I'll take back my time," Levin snapped, rapping his hand on the table.

"Your policies certainly haven't worked very well," retorted Camp.

"Let's not argue about the policies because I think you're wrong!" snorted Levin.

"It's a fact!" parried Camp, his voice rising over Levin's. "You promised a 6 percent unemployment rate!"

At that, Levin slapped the table twice and turned toward Camp.

"Focus on the unemployed in the state of Michigan!" admonished Levin.

"I am focused!" Camp replied.

"You're not!" disputed Levin.

"Had we not passed the stimulus bill, we'd be better off," Camp pronounced.

The men stared daggers at one another briefly.

Then they kissed and made up.

Detroit, Michigan, The "motor city",  jewel of the mid-west, manufacturing magnet, and dominator of automotive excellence for multiple decades passed of cancer during the night.  She was 310 years old.

Born in 1701 as a fur trading post, Detroit's history had been vibrant and always interesting.  In the Mid 1700s, Detroit's affair with the British might have been long term but for General Washington bringing her back home in 1796.  In 1805, she became scarred horribly by a fire, yet still had the tenacity to flourish, and the allure to bring more settlers and become incorporated as a city in 1815.

As Michigan adopted its first constitution in 1835, Detroit was honored with the designation as the capitol. A couple of years later, the state was admitted to the union. In 1847, Detroit lost her capitol seat to her daughter Lansing, but remained and served with honor against aggressions emanating from the Brits in Windsor.

Hi Dave, Hi Fred, Have you recognized yet, that you have an impossible task?  Have you noticed that "increasing revenues" seems to be impossible? Does it seem hopeless?

It ought to.

Obviously, as two of six members tasked with the overwhelming task of reigning in an upwardly spiraling debt situation, you hold a great deal of responsibility.  And with only 11 days till the collapse of your hopes to accomplish this without crushing business, and raising taxes on those making over a dollar a year, the realization that there is nothing of which you are aware that will solve this problem, must keep you awake at night.

Therein lays the problem.

You both don't know, because you have failed to listen in the last couple of years, as the good folks who have marched, protested, changed the face of the congress you occupy, have told you how.  It is not a part of your understanding.  were you asleep?  You didn't listen to those folks in 2008 when you had an opportunity to say no to the use of taxpayer funds to prop up businesses that needed to fail.  You didn't listen to good Republicans who now mourn the loss of moral authority with regard to improper payoffs to corporate supporters and masters, which BTW has given the current president cover for his own abuse of our treasury.

And you didn't listen when the majority of the country once again said "NO!" to raising the debt ceiling once again in a way that serves only to feed the beast which will ultimately consume us.