Cool Warrendale Thing: Kosciusko

I posted before about the efforts to renovate and reuse the long-shuttered Kosciusko Elementary School (20220 Tireman St.) as a community center. The Detroit Community Design Center, which is a part of the University of Michigan's College of Architecture and Urban Planning, held a series of community meetings. All of this was done in partnership with the City of Detroit, with support from the Michigan Historical Center.

Over the course of several meetings with neighborhood stakeholders during the summer and autumn of this year, they were able to ascertain the needs of the Warrendale community. They then worked with residents and others to design a concept to adapt this vacant school into something that would meet those needs.

While the architects are still finalizing their plans, and things can still change going forward, I am proud to be able to discuss at least the preliminary details.

One of the shortcomings of the Warrendale neighborhood is that there is a shortage of quality child care facilities relative to the sheer size of its population.  This is why the preliminary plan envisions reusing some of the space on ground floor as a child care facility.  An independent, licensed day care facility would then rent this space in a redeveloped Kosciusko Center.

Also on the ground floor, these conceptual plans call for some of the old classrooms to be made available as office space for either non-profits or local business start-ups.  Each of these tenants would pay some type of rent, which is crucial in covering the utilities and other operating expenses for the building.

A fitness center is tentatively planned for the old gymnasium.  This space could also be repurposed as a banquet facility, if the need arose.

The old auditorium is reimagined as rehearsal and performance space for local artists.  It could also be used for lectures or meeting space for various community groups.

The second floor of this facility is imagined as supporting counseling and guidance resources for troubled or at-risk youth. It would also potentially have a computer lab, library and production studio.

The outside of Kosciusko is almost as interesting as its interior.  Besides having a separate play area for the day care center as well as a football field and community garden area.

Finally, the entire area would be connected to the proposed greenway project that is likely to move through the Warrendale neighborhood.

I need to emphasize, of course, that all of this is still preliminary.  However, the early signs for this project are extremely encouraging in my opinion.

As always, as more details become available, they will be reported on this blog.  Until then, Kosciusko Elementary and its potential reuse as a community center is your Cool Warrendale Thing of the Week.

With that, I'd like to open this up for discussion. What do you think of efforts to reuse Kosciusko Elementary as a community center?

Please post your thoughts in the comments section below.

Interesting Emails

I had an interesting email conversation with two retired police officers about the current state of the Detroit Police Department.  With their respective permissions, I'd like to share excerpts from those conversations with you today.

David L. Malhalab, a retired sergeant from the Detroit Police Department, commented in an email that:

DPD can't do the job of protecting residents - their leadership, their low hiring standards,  lack of personnel, poor equipment and low morale - are difficulties they can't overcome unless they get an infusion of money and personnel. Detroit needs a former Police Chief Bratton of LAPD to come in and clean house.

Mr. Malhalab remarks about former Chief William J. Bratton of the Los Angeles Police Department inspired me to reach out to Thomas E. Page, who began his career with Detroit Police Department before moving to the Los Angeles Police Department where he retired as a sergeant and officer in charge of the LAPD's Drug Recognition Unit.

I asked him if he thought Detroit needed a police chief like Bill Bratton.

For the most part I agree with David. As I think I've said before, I don't know if the DPD can be saved.  I really do believe it should be shut down and merged into the Wayne County Sheriff's Department.  Tear up the union contracts that make seniority the prime qualification for elite assignments, and that also prevent civilianization of jobs that sworn officers shouldn't be doing (e.g., directing traffic at Tiger games).  Above all, the police need to be held accountable.  Does anyone blame the DPD for the persistently high crime rate and the abysmally low clearance rate?  No, they don't.  Nobody holds their feet to the fire and says do something!  And that's really what Bratton did.  The underlying philosophy of Bratton's style (really all he did was  rename the old LAPD style of broken windows policing) is that police CAN do something about crime.  What I do disagree with David about is the need for more personnel.  The DPD needs better personnel and better utilization of that personnel.

Chief Bratton's reputation for holding his police officers accountable is legendary.  During his tenure, it was fairly common police stations to have a board listing each officer along with the number of arrests that they've made, number of citation issued and so on each month.

Registration Extended for Detroit College Promise

The deadline for seniors to apply for the Detroit College Promise scholarships to January 15, 2010.  There are currently over 475 Detroit Public School students registered online for this scholarship.

Registration takes only a few minutes.  For detailed instructions on how to register, click here.

The Detroit College Promise is providing an unlimited number of scholarships to seniors at Cody High School (18445 Cathedral) in 2010.  Each scholarship is good for $500 per year for up to four years.

The only requirements to qualify for the scholarship are being enrolled at Cody High School from December 1, 2008 through graduation and being a Detroit resident during this time.  More details about this scholarship are listed on their procedure page.

DPS: Worst Test Scores Ever

The Detroit Public Schools posted the worst scores on record in the most recent test of students in large central U.S. cities.  The test for urban districts is part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress test given to school districts nationwide.

Please allow me to repeat this so that it truly sinks in: the Detroit Public Schools posted worst scores on record.

This is nothing, if not frustrating.  Unfortunately, however, I have to admit that I was not surprised when I heard this news.

Over the years, I have heard teachers demand that they should receive some of the highest pay and benefits in the nation while insisting that they have absolutely no responsibility for how their students perform.

Over the years, I have heard parents talk about their children's school as if it were a daycare center rather than one of the most important places that they will ever enter.

Over the years, I have heard students talk about the Detroit Public Schools as if it were either a social event or simply a place to hide at.

The news that the Detroit Public Schools posted the worst test schools on record is frustrating, but not surprising.  The full magnitude of this can be summarized by a quote from Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council on Great City Schools, a Washington, D.C.-based coalition of urban school districts.

There is no jurisdiction of any kind, at any level, at any time in the 30-year history of NAEP that has ever registered such low numbers.  They are barely above what one would expect simply by chance, as if the kids simply guessed at the answers.

The news that the Detroit Public Schools posted the worst test schools on record is frustrating, but not surprising.  For anyone who is interested in reading more about this story, it is available at Crain's Detroit Business.

Best Quote in Weeks

Sonny Eliot from WWJ-AM gave what has to be one of the funniest and most insightful quotes that I've heard in weeks.  As part of his regular weather report, he added:

It's 52 degrees in Three Rivers; that's the highest temperature in the state. Three Rivers--that's where they started a new business, making the front ends of horses. Then they ship them to the Detroit council chambers for final assembly.

I love that quote.  It seems totally appropriate.

40th for Detroit Strip Clubs

It's amazing what a blogger can learn about his or her own web site, simply by using Google Analytics.

For example, I discovered this morning that there are more than 1.2 million web sites out there that talk about strip clubs in Detroit - and that the Warrendale (Detroit) Blog ranks number 40 for the search term "Detroit strip clubs".

Really?

Number 40 out of 1.2 million?

I blogged several months ago about the efforts to curtail - or even eliminate - strip clubs from the Detroit city limits.  I argued then and continue to believe that this is a really stupid idea.

In my opinion, the only thing that needs to be done about the various problems associated with strip clubs in Detroit is to enforce the rules that have been in existence for decades.  Adding new rules - when the existing ones are largely ignored - simply will not do anything but drive out those who currently comply with the rules.

And somehow, this made my blog the 40th most popular with Google for the phrase "Detroit strip clubs".

Of course, the simple fact that I'm a pervert might have had something to do with it as well.

Candidate Forum this Wednesday

There will be a candidate forum this Wednesday, October 14, from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at the Edison Branch of the Detroit Public Library (18400 Joy Rd.).  It will feature candidates for the Detroit City Council as well as the School Board and the Charter Commission.  Everyone in the Warrendale neighborhood is invited to attend.

This event is sponsored by the Cody/Rouge block clubs.

Transit Candidates Forum

The TRU Detroit City Council Candidate's Forum is this evening, Thursday, October 1, at the Considine Recreation Center (8904 Woodward Ave.).  This forum will start at 6:30 p.m. and will focus on mass transit.  It is sponsored by Transit Riders United, which is a leading advocate for mass transit in Detroit.

For those not familiar with the Considine Recreation Center, it is on Woodward Ave.; approximately 3/4 of a mile north of W. Grand Blvd.  If anyone is interested in taking bus from the Warrendale neighborhood to this forum, which is oddly appropriate for a forum on mass transit, it will take approximately one hour to complete your trip.  I recommend the Crosstown bus to Woodward and then transferring to the Woodward bus to go north.

City Council Candidate Forum Tonight

All eighteen of the candidates for the Detroit City Council will appear at a forum this evening, starting at 6 p.m. This event will happen at the Greater Grace Temple (23500 W. Seven Mile), which is approximately four miles north of the Warrendale neighborhood.

The moderators for this event are Huel Perkins from Fox 2, Angelo Henderson from WCHB and Stephanie Davis from WWJ.

This forum will be streamed live on MyFoxDetroit.com.

Redeveloping Kosciusko: The Options

The Detroit Community Design Center and the City of Detroit's Historic Designation Advisory Board convened the second of four meetings yesterday evening that are designed to solicit community input regarding the potential redevelopment of the historic Kosciusko Elementary (20220 Tireman St.). This school has been shuttered for years now.

The first meeting was designed to identify the strengths, weaknesses and desires of the Warrendale neighborhood. This included strengths such as the diversity of our neighborhood, Rouge Park as a destination point as well as our proximity to health care, nightlife and retail.

During the second meeting, the Detroit Community Design Center presented a series of 16 design options. Each option was designed to maximize one of our strengths, address one of our weaknesses or otherwise meet one of our desires. Some of these options included:

• Targeted residential use for artists or senior citizens;
• Business incubator space;
• Cultural center;
• Music education and performance space;
• As well as several other options.
  

Residents were then invited to vote on what elements of these 16 options they liked the most. Design elements that involved the arts seemed to be the most popular as were those that involved child care.

Architects from the Detroit Community Design Center will next refine their ideas based on the community's feedback on their 16 ideas. This will then be presented at the third meeting, which will happen on Monday, September 21 at 6 p.m. in the Don Bosco Hall (19321 W. Chicago St.). Everyone is invited to attend this meeting, even if you weren't able to attend the first two meetings.

Number 1, Baby

I just discovered that if one searches for Jeri Ryan on Google Blog Search, my post from last Thursday (More 7 of 9) comes in as the number one item out of the 45,782 blog posts that it finds.

Number 1. Out of 45,782.

I'm pretty sure even Jeri Ryan herself would find that to be at least mildly cool.

Blogs Get Makeovers Too

It's been awhile since I've made any changes to the layout of the Warrendale (Detroit) Blog. It's been well over a year since my most recent round of "freshening up" and that's an eternity in internet time.

The most important parts - the news about Warrendale and the surrounding neighborhoods - remain unchanged. The new masthead is perhaps the most noticeable change. It's a photo of Rouge Park on a foggy November morning.

One of the reasons for this change is that people now read blogs in a variety of different ways. Some readers subscribe to email alerts, such as the 26 people who get daily alerts from Feedblitz. Other readers prefer to follow it - and usually several other blogs - on Google Reader or another RSS feed. My changes, of course, do the best to accomidate for this, which is why one will notice Google's "Join This Site" as well as the RSS feeds in the right-hand column.

As always, if you simply prefer to bookmark and visit this page directly, you will continue to find the same quality content that I've been posting since way back in 2005.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts about these changes. Please take a moment to look around and leave a comment.

Redeveloping Kosciusko Elementary

The Detroit City Planning Commission and its Historic Designation Advisory Board received a grant from the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office to do adaptive reuse studies for two closed Detroit Public Schools. Simply put, they are looking for new uses for this vacant and historic building.

The Planning Commission, in turn, has contracted with the University of Michigan's Detroit Community Design Center to manage a process to come up with a community-driven design for new facility uses.

On the west side, the school building selected is Kosciusko Elementary (20220 Tireman St.) which was built in 1955. The Community Design Center has scheduled a series of four community meetings to gain neighborhood input on potential new uses for this building. The ultimate goal is a design plan for the chosen reuse option, to be completed by University of Michigan architecture students who will be led by architect and faculty member Dr. Craig Wilkins.

The first community meeting will be this coming Monday, July 27 at 6:00 pm in the Don Bosco Hall (19321 W. Chicago St.). Refreshments will be served. Everyone from the Warrendale neighborhood is invited to attend.

Additional meetings on this topic are scheduled for:

• Monday, August 24 at 6 pm;
• Monday, September 21 at 6 pm; and
• Monday, October 19 at 6 pm.
  

Each of these meetings will be at the same location, the Don Bosco Hall.

I should caution everyone that simply because we as a community come up for a plan for reusing Kosciusko, that does not necessarily mean that funding will be available to implement whatever plan people come up with. However, a plan such as this is the first step in the process.

John Bennett for City Council

John K. Bennett is a Detroit police officer who is perhaps best known for his FireJerryO.com web site that, in turn, morphed into DetroitUncovered.com after Jerry O. (a/k/a - former police chief Jerry Oliver) really was fired. His web site was repeatedly named "Best Local News Site" by the Metro Times readers poll.

Of course, before any of that happened, John K. Bennett was a police officer who had a distinguished career with the Detroit Police Department, receiving several commendations for outstanding service. He holds a bachelors degree in public administration from my alma mater, Wayne State University, as well as a masters from Eastern Michigan University.

John K. Bennett's years as a Detroit police officer, his academic background and his track record in investigative reporting are all things that, in my opinion, will serve him well on the Detroit City Council.

I am pleased to join the Detroit Fire Fighters (IAFF, Local 344), the Detroit Police Officers Association, the Detroit Police Sargents & Lieutentants Association, the Retired Detroit Police & Fire Fighters Association, Teamsters Joint Council 43 and many others in endorsing John K. Bennett for City Council.

David Cross for Detroit City Council

David Jonathon Cross is a self-employed attorney and real estate developer. His years of experience in this field give him the kind of expertise that is largely vacant from city government at the moment.

More information about him is available on his campaign web site as well as on his Facebook page.

I am pleased to join the Detroit Free Press in endorsing David Jonathon Cross for the Detroit City Council.

Lisa Howze for City Council

Lisa Howze is the only certified public accountant in the City Council race. In a city that is dealing with both a crush tax burden and staggering budget deficits, I believe there is a certain value to having an accountant on the City Council.

Lisa Howze has 14 years of public accounting and client service experience, which includes creating budgets, reviewing contracts, analyzing financial results, performing financial as well as operational audits, and managing client expectations. During her tenure with Arthur Andersen LLP, once a “Big Six” accounting firm, Howze worked on the City of Detroit audit engagement.

Lisa Howze has made crime, education, housing, jobs, mass transit and neighborhood stabilization key parts to her campaign. More information about her is available on her campaign web site. I am pleased to join the Detroit Free Press in endorsing her.

Saunteel Jenkins for City Council

Saunteel Jenkins spent her professional career serving the community. She is the director of the residential treatment program at Mariners Inn, a shelter and treatment center for men who are homeless and drug addicted.

Prior to her current position, Saunteel Jenkins was a National Business Development Director for Platform Learning, a private education company that provides free tutoring to low-income children in under performing school districts. While at Platform Learning, she worked with school districts in Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, New York City and Tampa. In Detroit, she made free tutoring available to thousands of children in under served communities and schools.

Saunteel Jenkins' long career of service to the community also includes working with the Boys and Girls Republic as an adolescent therapist, Detroit Edison as a community educator, Healthy Start, an infant mortality reduction program and Focus: HOPE Food Program.

Also an entrepreneur, Saunteel Jenkins is the founder of Petite Sweets, which is a dessert catering company that she started in her home. It grew to supply multiple companies, as well as five gourmet grocers and convenience stores.

One of the greatest highlights of Saunteel Jenkins' career was serving as a policy analyst and chief of staff to the late Maryann Mahaffey, President Emeritus of Detroit City Council. During her six year tenure in Maryann’s office, Saunteel served as a liaison to the business community. She also worked on issues including affordable housing, predatory lending, the ethics ordinance and the casino agreements.

Saunteel Jenkins has made improving police services and creating new jobs a key part of her campaign for the City Council. More information about her is available on her campaign web site. I am proud to join the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO in endorsing her.

Roy McCalister for City Council

Roy McCalister, Jr. brings an astonishing level of experience to his campaign for the Detroit City Council. I am proud to endorse him.

As a police officer, Roy McCalister rose through the ranks to become Commanding Officer of the Homicide Section for the Detroit Police Department.

As a soldier, Roy McCalister served on active duty and reserves in the U.S. Army. He was a part of the Army's Criminal Investigative Division and was responsible for interrogating some of Saddam Hussein's top aides during Operation Iraqi Freedom and helped to train the Iraqi police force.

As a candidate, Roy McCalister has made edcuation, mass transit and public safety key issues in his campaign. He also has a strong focus on historic preservation; understanding that it can be a key ingredient to creating jobs and improving tax revenue.

I am pleased to join AFSCME (Local 3082), the Detroit Police Officers Association, Hood Research and the union employees of Henry Ford Health Systems in endorsing Roy McCalister for the Detroit City Council. More information about him, is available on his campaign web site.

Matthew Naimi for City Council

Matthew Naimi is one of the tireless community activists who work daily to make Detroit a better place. He is also someone that I am proud to endorse for the Detroit City Council.

Matthew Naimi has a proven track record of success as a community activist. He spent the past four years developing the Recycle Here! program for the City of Detroit. Along the way, he worked with non-profits, block clubs, schools, and City Government to create the first comprehensive recycling program in the history of Detroit.

To date, more than 2,500,000 pounds of trash has been recycled because of Matthew Naimi's efforts. He has also launched pilot programs with Detroit's Department of Public Works as well as eductional programs with the Detroit Public Schools.

Because of his experience, Matthew Naimi will make illegal dumping, recycling and urban agriculture a priority on the City Council. His voice and experience, in my opinion, will make for a valuable addition to the City Council.

Matthew Naimi lives in the Midtown area with his wife, Kristen. He previously served as president of the West Canfield Historic District from 2005 - 2007. More information on Mr. Naimi is available on his campaign web site.

Charles Pugh for Detroit City Council

I met Charles Pugh for the first time on May 18, 2005, which was the day that the City of Detroit decided to demolish the historic Madison-Lenox Hotel and replace it with a parking lot. I was the local press contact for the historic preservation groups, which meant that it was my job to remind everyone that there were developers ready to redevelop the hotel, creating jobs and tax revenue in the process. (There is more from that fateful day over on my personal blog.)

I also got to remind everyone that the City of Detroit had recently falsified the inspection reports for that hotel. They argued that the building was found to be in eminent danger of collapse when, in truth, their own records showed that the building hadn't even been inspected.

Charles Pugh was one of the reporters who got the importance of the story. He seemed to understand the value of not only preserving a piece of Detroit's cultural identity, but the importance of jobs and tax revenue that a reborn hotel can create.

Of course, it didn't stop there. When Detroit Synergy launched its Shop Detroit project to encourage people to discover some of the retail options that exist within Detroit, Charles Pugh went out of his way every year to make sure that the project got the media attention that it deserved.


Charles Pugh is also one of a handful of individuals who never let his celebrity status get to his head. Over the past few years, I have seen him on several occasions on Riverfront downtown or at one restaurant or another. He is one of the most approachable people around; always willing to listen to anyone who wants to talk - regardless of whether they're happy or upset with him.

He takes that experience as a reporter and a lifelong Detroit resident into the campaign with him. He has made crime and police response time key issues in his campaign as well as taxes, mass transit and economic development. You can read more about his platform here.

It's for all of these reasons that I join the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Regional Chamber, the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO and others in endorsing Charles Pugh for Detroit City Council.

Evans Becomes Chief of Police

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing fired former Chief of Police James Barren late on a Friday afternoon. Specifically, he did it at 4 p.m. on the Friday before the 4th of July holiday, according to an interview that Mr. Barren gave WXYZ-TV. In the realm of public relations, doing something late of a Friday afternoon is a famous tactic of burying a story since most reporters are gone by then.

Of course, it didn't work. A quick review of Google shows 420 stories about the firing and the fact that Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans has replaced him as chief of police.

Mayor Bing told reporters that this had nothing to do with the shooting last Tuesday of 7 teens at a bus stop in the Warrendale neighborhood. Quite frankly, I don't believe him.

Having worked for a few politicians, I believe this has everything to do with that shooting and - more to the point - the fact that Detroit Police Department still doesn't have any suspects in custody; that their only suspect to date was someone that they couldn't bring charges against due to a lack of evidence.

This is an election year. When things like this shooting make headlines around the year, and solid arrests aren't made promptly, politicians inherently start looking for someone to blame before the public piles the blame entirely them.

Mayor Bing, of course, is a businessman and not a career politician. This, in turn, means that there was likely a senior staff member within the Bing Administration who brokered this deal for Barren to be fired and for Evans to replace him.

Politics. This entire matter is pure politics, in my analysis.

Of course, the fundamental problem is that the next time a crime like this happens - like, say, 4 teens being raped on Detroit's east side - there won't be anyone left for Mayor Bing to fire as a diversion.

The roughest days for the Bing Administration clearly ahead.

Breaking News: Shooting at W. Warren/Southfield

I heard the gun shots. A few minutes later, I heard the news choppers overhead.

Earlier this afternoon, two people wearing masks pulled up in a green minivan to the Shell gas station (17720 W. Warren) and started shooting. When it was all done, at least 5 teenagers were shot, although some reports have put the number of victims as high as 7.

No one is in custody at this moment.

More on this as the story develops.

UPDATE @ 3:59 p.m.
WXYZ-TV is reporting that each of the shooting victims have been identified and the Detroit Public Schools are notifying their parents. The victims range in age from 14 - 17.

UPDATE @ 5:38 p.m.
Both WDIV-TV and WXYZ-TV are reporting that both of the shooters in this case were dressed in black t-shirts and black pants. Assuming that they also wore black shoes, this would likely indicate that they were members of one of the drug gangs that have been operating in Warrendale for several months.

Also, the Detroit Police Department has confirmed that there were a total of 7 victims in this shooting - 3 males and 4 females. 5 of these individuals are students. All of them have been taken to area hospitals for treatment.

There are still news choppers overhead.

UPDATE @ 7:51 p.m.
The news choppers are gone now. WDIV-TV still has one of their vans parked across the street from the crime scene. The police are gone as well.

Other than that one news van, the corner looks so much like it did this morning that it's actually a little eerie. I feel like the place should look different now that 7 teens have been shot at that spot.

The one bit of good news that I can share is that the Detroit Police Department has reportedly found the green minivan that was used in this shooting. It was almost certainly stolen. Hopefully, they'll be able to find a few clues in it to find and convict those responsible for this atrocity.

UPDATE @ 10:58 p.m.
Since my most recent update, I have learned that 5 of the 7 victims in this shooting were students in the summer school program at Cody High School's 9th Grade Academy (7350 Southfield Fwy.). The other 2 teens reportedly were not students.

The Detroit Police Department has reportedly obtained the security tapes from the Shell gas station near where this shooting took place. They hope to find some clues as to the identity of the shooters, their motive for a shooting or both.

Finally, there is at least a rumor in the neighborhood as to the motive for this senseless shooting. I have heard reports that an argument of some sort happened between two of the female victims of the massacre this afternoon and another woman. This other woman than reportedly made a phone call to her boyfriend. That boyfriend then drove to where he knew the two victims would be so that he could settle this grudge with gunfire.

The other 5 victims in this shooting were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Detroit Free Press is reporting a similar version of events, where the shooting was the result of a fight that happen yesterday at the school.

Detroit May Crack Down On Strip Clubs

WDIV-TV is reporting that the Detroit City Council will consider a proposal to ban alcohol from strip clubs in Detroit. The proposed rule changes would also stop lap dancing, close VIP rooms and force topless dancers to wear opaque pasties. It would also require the topless dancers to remain 6 feet from the patrons and on a stage at all times.

Rob Katzman, owner of the Toy Chest Bar and Grille (18728 Ford Rd.) in the Warrendale neighborhood, told WDIV that these potential changes would put nearly all of the clubs out of business. The Toy Chest is 1 of approximately 30 strip clubs in Detroit; meaning that we have 1 strip club every 4.6 square miles on average.

Quite frankly, I think this is an incredibly stupid idea from an urban planning perspective. Vibrant cities have a variety of entertainment options, even ones that some people might think of as morally objectionable.

More importantly, if all of the legal strip clubs in Detroit are driven out of business by excessive regulation then that will simply create a tremendous opening for the illegal strip clubs who will inevitably set up shop. No matter what one might think of the current, legal strip clubs in Detroit, there can be little argument that the illegal ones that appear from time to time are much worse.

These problems, of course, are compounded by the fact that the Detroit Police Department currently has a shortage of police officers to handle their existing case load. There is simply no way that they will be able to respond effectively to the scores illicit strip clubs that we will soon have in our neighborhoods.

I have to admit, though, that I don't think that the Detroit City Council would be entertaining this proposal if it wasn't for the fact that at least one member of the council will soon be under federal indictment on corruption charges. This, of course, puts every member of the council under a cloud - forcing them to appear as upright Christians who can be trusted for another term of office during an election year.