Plan for Rouge Park to be Presented on May 8

For several months now, students and faculty members from Lawrence Technological University Design Studio have been working on a master plan for Rouge Park in Detroit. This builds on planning that the non-profit Friends of Rouge Park have been working on since May of 2010.

After several meetings with community stakeholders as well as surveys to gauge what residents want from their park, they are ready to present their plan. This will happen on Wednesday, May 8 at 6 p.m. in the Don Bosco Hall (19321 W. Chicago St.).

This presentation is open to the public. Everyone with an interest in Rouge Park is invited to attend.

Abandoned Boat on Minock

Abandoned Boat on Minock St. - Photo by Frank Nemecek

I have seen some weird things in and around vacant houses in the Detroit area. However, it always amazes me when I see something like a boat that is nestled in between two vacant houses on Minock Street, south of Paul Street.

The boat is in less than ideal condition. It's missing its motor and has clearly seen better days. It could probably be salvaged, though.

The truly interesting thing, at least in my opinion, is that this is the sixth year in a row that I've seen a boat in this condition mysteriously dumped somewhere in the Warrendale neighborhood. The boats never have a motor and rarely have a trailer.

It's as if someone has this vast supply of boats in bad condition. They pull out the motor and a few other things, dumping what's left in Detroit.

Job Fair at Quicken Tomorrow

Quicken Loans, Title Source and our family of companies are hosting a career fair in the Qube Building (611 Woodward Ave. in downtown), which was formerly known as the Chase Building. The career fair will take place tomorrow. It will be open to veterans and U.S. military families only from 10 - 11 a.m. It will be open to the general public from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Through this career fair, the Quicken family of companies is looking to hire 500 team members for several areas of the company including technology, servicing, operations, mortgage banking, and more. There are a lot of open positions they need to fill. We want this career fair to be huge, and an opportunity to showcase all the great things that are going on in Detroit to everyone who walks through the door.

Every applicant who attends will meet with a recruiter and explore available opportunities that best fit their experience and career goals. Applicants will also be given a tour of the Quicken Loans office.

Parking for applicants will be available in the Compuware garage

Featured Place to Live: 6300 Evergreen Ave.

6300 Evergreen Ave. - Image from Google Streetview

The Featured Place to Live in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood is 6300 Evergreen Ave. This charming bungalow at the northeast corner of Paul and Evergreen was built in 1950. It features three bedrooms and one bathroom in its 768 square feet of living space as well as a two car detached garage at the rear of the 5,227 square foot lot.

This home is close to shopping, nightlife, transportation, and other great destinations. In addition to everything else, this reasonably priced home also features a full basement that is partially finished. It is brokered by Pinnacle Real Estate & Investments. You can reach them at (313) 268-3340.

The asking price for this home is only $24,900. This means that with, as little as 5% down, this can be your home with a mortgage payment of only $110 per month - much less than renting an apartment.

6300 Evergreen Ave. is your Featured Place to Live in the Warrendale neighborhood of Detroit. Additional information about this home is available here.

Blocking Bulk Trash Pick Up

I have to admit that I am more than a little annoyed with this guy on Ashton who left his car parked in front of trash pile on bulk pick up day. In doing so, he prevented the City from picking it up. This, of course, means that it will sit there for 3 more months unless someone hauls it to the DPW Service Yard (12255 Southfield Rd.).

Idiot Block Bulk Trash Pick Up - Photo by Frank Nemecek

10 Things Detroit's Emergency Manager Should Do

I would like to welcome Kevyn Orr to his new job as emergency financial manager for the City of Detroit. I'm not thrilled that the City of Detroit has an emergency financial manager. However, I believe in making the best of things. Therefore, I want to share with him, and everyone else, the following 10 suggestion as to what he should do over the next eighteen months that he will serve in this capacity.

#1. Don't Take It Personally.

You are going to be called a lot of names in the coming days by a lot of different people, Mr. Orr. Much of the name calling will come from people who have their own agenda to serve. Some of it will come from people who are mad about the condition of their hometown and need to vent. Others are frustrated at how little their elected representatives listen to them and fear that an emergency manager will listen even less. More still will come from people who are simply piling on.

No matter what you do in this position, Mr. Orr, please don't take any of it personally. Turning around one of the most troubled cities in the industrialized world is a big job with tremendous consequences. We don't have time for anyone to take these things personally.

#2. Bring Back Warren Evans

Former Chief Warren Evans

Crime is rampant in Detroit. It is quite literally destroying our city as residents, businesses, and visitors flee for their own safety.

When Warren Evans was chief of the Detroit Police Department, violent crime dropped dramatically and police response times improved by 29% in less than a year. Plus, he did it all while reducing the amount that DPD spends on overtime by almost $7 million. He was so much better than either of the police chiefs that Detroit has had since then that it's not even funny.

I don't think there is anyone else who is as prepared to hit the ground running as chief of police for Detroit.

Some critics will argue that Warren Evans was too much of a showboat to be in a high-ranking position. He did, after all, have a pilot for a reality television show. However, as far as I'm concerned, if he can effectively reduce crime and improve police response times then he can be on whatever television show he wants.

#3. Fire Ralph Godbee

Ralph Godee resigned as chief of the Detroit Police Department last year. However, according to a report from Fox 2 News, he is still on the payroll as a DPD employee. Neither Mayor Dave Bing, Mr. Godbee, nor anyone else have refuted their report nor offered any explanation as to why someone could still be an employee of the department long after resigning.

For all of these reasons, as well as the fact that he was flipping incompetent as a police chief, Ralph Godbee should be fired immediately. Whoever decided to keep him on the payroll long after he resigned should also be fired.

Novi Police Officer Involved in Warrendale Shooting

An unnamed officer from the Novi Police Department was involved in a shooting this morning. It's not clear as of this moment if there were any casualties.

Investigators are looking at 2 different scenes. The first is in the Warrendale neighborhood. The other is on Plymouth Rd. and Piedmont St., just west of the Detroit Police Department's Northwestern District.

http://m.clickondetroit.com/news/Novi-police-officer-involved-in-shooting-on-Detroit-s-northwest-side/-/16732600/19408920/-/103hkj/-/index.html


Update @ 11:07 p.m.

WXYZ-TV reports that police officers opened fire on the suspect, while they were in Warrendale, after the suspect tried to run over a Novi police officer in an effort to escape arrest. The suspect then fled our neighborhood with the police in pursuit. The chase later ended at Plymouth Rd. and Piedmont.

Their full report is below.