Happy Halloween

I want to take a moment to wish everyone in the Warrendale neighborhood and beyond a safe and happy Halloween. There are spectacular spooky things happening at all of the area bars and even more happening throughout Detroit.

Today has all of the makings of a great Halloween - even we don't have the best weather at the moment. (The weather forecast claims that the skies will clear in time for trick or treaters. I'm not sure if I believe it, though.)

Anyway...

Enough about the weather in Detroit. Back to my original point.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Statistics and Sweetest Day

I knew that today is World Statistics Day. That was no surprise to me at all.

I even posted on Twitter about today being World Statistics Day. This, after all, is a day that was created by the United Nations and is recognized in more than 130 countries. This is a day to highlight the idea that better day means better decisions.

There’s a 100% probability that today is World Statistics Day.

— Frank Nemecek (@fnemecek) October 20, 2018

I knew all about World Statistics Day.

However, until several of my friends and family members posted on Facebook about romantic getaways and Sweetest Day in general I had completely forgotten that today is also that "holiday" that candy makers in Cleveland invented 96 years ago.

This fact that I remembered World Statistics Day but forgot about Sweetest Day probably says more about me than I really want to admit.

Happy Sweetest and World Statistics Days, everyone!

9 year-old receives citation for saving her grandmother

A 9-year-old resident Jada Anderson, who is a third-grade student at the Warrendale Charter Academy, received a citation for saving her grandmother's life. She was at home with her grandmother on August 13 of this year when she collapsed.

Jada Anderson could have panicked like most 9-year-old would have done in such a situation. However, she remained calm, called 9-1-1, and administered CPR on her grandmother.

WXYZ-TV has more on this story in the video embeded above.

John James puts Nazi swastika in new campaign ad

Republican candidate for the United States Senate John James released a new campaign ad this week that is entitled "Ready to Serve." The ad has appeared on television in the Detroit media market and presumably elsewhere in the state. It's also available on YouTube here.

The thing that is profounding troubling is that there is a Nazi swastika hidden in this campaign ad. The Nazi symbol appears 11 seconds into this 30-second video on the bulletin board that appears on the screen.

I have to ask: why in the world would someone like John James - a Republican candidate for the United States Senate - put a Nazi swastika in his campaign ad?

Members of my family served in the 13th and 101st Airborn Divisions of the U.S. Army during World War II. My family fought the Nazis in Europe. They parachuted into Normandy, France on D-Day; survived the Battle of the Bulge and a Nazi prisoner of war camp.

When they defeated Adolf Hitler and Nazis in Europe, they came home to Detroit to raise a family and live the American dream. They never expected to see Nazis show up in Michigan.

They certainly never expected to see a Nazi swastika show up in a campaign ad for a Republican who wants to serve in the United States Senate.

All of this begs the question: why in the world John James and his campaign for the U.S. Senate chose to include a swastika in their commercial?

I reached out to the John James campaign for a comment earlier today. As of posting this, I have not received a response from them.

If and when John James or his campaign reply with an explanation for the Nazi swastika, I will provide it on this blog in a follow-up.

Update @ 7:26 p.m.
I want to acknowledge that Chris Savage of Electablog published a similar story to mine one hour and 56 minutes before I did. I did not see his story before publishing my version of it. However, I believe it's worth noting that he did independently notice the swastika in that commercial for John James before I did.

Friends of Rouge Park to meet tomorrow

The Friends of Rouge Park, a nonprofit advocacy group that works for the betterment of the largest park in Detroit, will have a general membership meeting tomorrow evening. The group will meet at 6 pm at the Westside Christian Academy (9540 Bramell St.), which is near West Chicago and Outer Drive. Their meeting is expected to last approximately one hour.

The agenda for this meeting includes board elections for the group as well as:

• Opening of the Sorensen Interpretive Trail;
• Goals for 2019; and
• General updates on Rouge Park.

Anyone who is interested in the preserving and protected Rouge Park in Detroit is welcome to attend this meeting.

Gabe Leland indicted on bribery charges

Gabe Leland at a Warrendale Community Organization meeting
Photo by Frank Nemecek

According to a published report in The Detroit News, Gabe Leland has been indicted on bribery charges by a federal grand jury. Leland has represented the Warrendale and surrounding neighborhood as a state legislator and city councilman for more than a decade.

Leland allegedly received more than $15,000 in cash and services in exchange for his help with a real estate deal, according to this indictment. The full story is available here.

On a personal note, I have known, trusted, and supported Gabe Leland since the beginning of his political career. I've always found him to be a hard-working public servant who has done much to help the Warrendale neighborhood. I'm both shocked and disappointed by this news.

I will have more on this story as it continues to develop.