Best Pizza in Michigan

Gracie See Pizzeria (6889 Greenfield Rd.) has been nominated for Michigan's Best Pizza by Channel 4/WDIV Detroit. This is a great example of investigative journalism, if I may say so myself.

However, they need your help to ensure that they maintain their lead in the on-line voting. Please vote early and vote often by casting your ballot here.

The staff at Gracie See are promising a crazy party if they win. I would like to see that happen.

Again, the on-line ballot is available here.

Save Rouge Park. Again.

Rouge Park, which is the largest municipally owned park in the United States, is currently slated to close on Thursday, July 1 due to budget cuts. As a result of this, grass will no longer be cut in the park, trash will no longer be collected, no maintenance will be performed on any of the facilities, and all programming in the park will end.

It is widely expected that the lack of grass cutting, trash collecting, and maintenance will have a severely adverse impact on the 457 homes that are immediately adjacent to Rouge Park as well as the approximately 3,000 other homes that are within a 500 foot radius of it. All of this, of course, is in addition to the loss of recreational opportunities for all Detroiters.

From an economic standpoint, one should point out that allowing the park to become a blighted area will have a detrimental impact on Detroit's budget in th long-term. The 457 homeowners who are immediately adjacent to Rouge Park pay an estimated $1.1 million in property taxes. If one includes those homes within 500 feet of the park, that total jumps to $7.8 million. If a significant amount of homeowners are forced to abandon their homes as a result of this blight, the City of Detroit will have to make additional cuts next year in order to accommodate for that drop in tax revenue.

As a result of this proposal, the Friends of Rouge Park have organized a rally in opposition to this closure. It will happen on Monday, June 28 at 5 p.m at the Brennan Pools in Rouge Park. The pools are located just south of Plymouth Rd. in the park. A map is available here.

Health Care Forum for Senior Citizens

There are still many questions about how the health reform bill passed by Congress will impact individuals' health care coverage.  To address provisions of the bill, the City of Detroit Senior Citizens Department and the Detroit Area Agency on Aging will host its next My Healthchoice luncheon seminar on Thursday, June 17 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Northwest Activities Center (18100 Meyers).  The seminar is entitled Now That the Health Reform Bill has Passed, What Does This Mean for Me?.

This luncheon will include presentations by Adult Well-Being, the American Cancer Society, American Association of Retired Persons, MMAP (DAAA), Hospice, Detroit Medical Center, Visiting Nurses Association, as well as the Wayne State University Institute of Gerontology.  They will discuss the various programs and services offered for seniors with attendees.

This event, including lunch, is free and open to the public. For more information, or to RSVP by June 10, please call (313) 224-5444.