Krystal Crittendon's Lawsuit Thrown Out of Court. Again.

Judge William Collette of the Ingham County Circuit Court threw Krystal Crittendon's lawsuit out of court earlier today. This is the second time in less than a month in which the Corporation Counsel for the City of Detroit has seen her legal challenge to consent agreement between the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan dismissed.

The question on everyone's mind is: will she go for a 3-peat?

Common sense, not to mention a basic understanding of the law, would dictate that she end this. However, those issues have never been Ms. Crittendon's strong suits.

Update @ 2:01 p.m.
Jeff Wattrick posted his own commentary on Deadline Detroit regarding this shocking turn of events. He, however, was able to find the perfect gif image to go along with it. Read his work here.

Zombies Headed for Detroit? Maybe

Stock Photo by Andrew Beierle

There's a rather creative group of individuals who came up with an interesting, if at times controversial idea, about what to do with some of Detroit's vacant land; one that has gained media attention from across the globe. They want to create zombie theme park that they call Z World Detroit. They are still trying to raise the money for this project, but you can see the details here.

I didn't think much about this idea - until I started to hear people complaining about it. People outside of Detroit tend to like the idea. However, some of my fellow Detroiters are less than receptive to it.

Once upon a time, from 2004 - 09, I helped to coordinate a series of pub crawls for Detroit Synergy. The idea of a pub crawl is fairly simple: bring a few hundred of your best friends to a certain local, they pay a few bucks, get a t-shirt or wristband to identify them as being on the crawl, and then the group bounces from bar to bar throughout the night, usually enjoying drink specials along the way.

Each of the pub crawls brought several hundred people to Detroit from the suburbs. Some of those young people ended up moving into Detroit based, in large part, to the fun that they had on the pub crawl. The added business, as well as the new residents nearby, led to more bars and restaurants opening up in downtown Detroit, which created new jobs and tax revenue for a city that, quite frankly, is in desperate need of both.

Pub Crawlers from September, 2007

Yes, there was a lot more to the resurgence of downtown Detroit besides our pub crawls, not the least of which was a little thing called Super Bowl XL. However, the fact that some 20- and 30-somethings suddenly started moving to Detroit because of the work we did had at least some positive impact.

Anyway, my point in all of this is that back in 2004 - 07, I heard the same complaints about the pub crawls that I hear about Z World Detroit today. We were exploiting Detroit, some people told us. We were promoting Detroit as a place to do all of those things that you wouldn't do in your own neighborhood, others complained.

More than one person claimed that we weren't serious about doing anything to improve life in Detroit. We were just some party kids.

Of course, as more and more people who first came downtown for those pub crawls and other events began to move into the city and as more and more was spent in Detroit, those complaints eventually stopped. Today, downtown Detroit has a vibrant nightlife. Pub crawls have become a more or less commonplace occurrence and none of the problems that people worried about ever materialized.

As for the others who organized those pub crawls with me, each of us has moved on to other things, Most of us, though, are still active in Detroit.

Will Z World Detroit yield similar results? Maybe. Maybe not.

It's impossible to predict where this will lead, just as no one would have predicted that a bunch of recent college graduates would want to move into Detroit based on an experience that they had on a pub crawl. The only way that we'll ever know is to let people with a crazy idea give it a try.

Consumer's Guide to Preventing Identity Theft

Identity theft is an all too real threat in the 21st century. Anyone of us can be a victim of it at any time.

Luckily, McGruff the Crime Dog and the National Crime Prevention Council have lots of suggestions as to what you can do to protect yourself from identify theft. Their free booklet Preventing Identity Theft: A Guide for Consumers is available for download here as a PDF document.

Preventing identity theft is your Warrendale Tip of the Week. My thanks, of course, to everyone at the National Crime Prevention Council for making these materials available.

Krystal Crittendon Wants Detroit to Understand Vexatious Litigation

Stock Photo by Patrick Moore

Krystal Crittendon, a long-time associate of convicted felon Monica Conyers and the current Corporation Counsel for the City of Detroit, filed an appeal late this afternoon. She is challenging an earlier decision to throw her lawsuit against the State of Michigan out of court.

This is in addition to a separate lawsuit that was filed by 3 Detroit residents who similarly challenged the consent agreement between the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan.

It would appear that Ms. Crittendon and her associates want everyone in Michigan to understand the proper definition of vexatious litigation.

Happy 4th of July

I want to wish a happy 4th of July to everyone in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood and to all my readers across the internet. Enjoy our Independence Day!

I look forward to sharing more with you tomorrow when I return.

Tip of the Week: How to Spot a Drowning Victim

Stock Photo by Afonso Limo

It's summer in Michigan and that means lots of people will again be taking to beaches across the Great Lakes State. While being surrounded by fresh water is a blessing, one should also be aware that drowning is always a danger.

This is especially important because, as boating and water safety expert Mario Vittone points out, drowning victims rarely look like they are drowning. For more information about what a drowning is really like, please take a moment to read his post here.

How to spot a drowning victim is your Warrendale Tip of the Week.

17-Month Old Girl Found Dead in Her Home. Google Streetview Shows Assault Rifle at Her House

Ziya Turner, a seventeen month old infant, was found dead inside her home on Brinker Street on Detroit's east side. While Brinker Street may be on the other side of the city from the Warrendale neighborhood, any time an infant dies it is a tragedy that touches everyone. As the police and medical examiner continue to investigate her death, a look at her home on Google Streetview may well offer insight into her home life and her family.

This is a screen image of Ziya Turner's home on Brinker Street in Detroit. Google blurred the 4 young men and the young woman who are on the porch of this home. Regardless, one can clearly see that 1 of the young men is brandishing an assault rifle.

Google Streetview image of Ziya Turner's home. Click image for larger version

The fact that an assault rifle was clearly in this child's home offers an insight into her family that can only be called troubling. The fact that this has been visible on the internet all this time, as yet another reminder how ineffective local law enforcement is at securing illegal firearms, can only be called disappointing or worse.