Blogger Says: Got'cha

Detroit police officer and political blogger John Bennett brought controversy into the Michigan Secretary of State race by posting photos on his Detroit Uncovered site accusing Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey and Daniel Baxter, Detroit's director of elections, of illegally using city-issued cars to attend a campaign event on Sunday.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in Ms. Winfrey's bid to become the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State this year. She is opposed for the nomination by Wayne State Law Professor Jocelyn Benson. Four Republicans are currently in the race as well to replace our current Secretary of State Terry Lynn Land.

Metro Times - News Views: Blogger says: Got'cha

Suspect Arrested in Double Murder Case

Detroit Police Chief Warren C. Evans announced an arrest this afternoon in connection with a double homicide that happened earlier this month on Glastonbury Street, which is approximately five miles north of the Warrendale neighborhood.

Derrick Smith, 42, was arrested in California by the U.S. Marshals Service in response to a series of tips that the police received from residents. He will be extradited back to Michigan to face trial on murder charges.

Video from the Chief's press conference is available below.



I commend everyone who involved in putting this individual behind bars.

Job Posting: U.S. Bureau of the Census

It's 2010.

Among other things, this means that the U. S. Census Bureau is hiring temporary, part-time workers to help with the constitutionally mandated, once a decade census. These short-term jobs offer good pay, flexible hours, paid training, and reimbursement for authorized work-related expenses, such as mileage incurred while conducting census work.

Best of all, census takers work right in their own communities.

More details about these jobs are available here.

Job Posting: Historian

I throughly enjoy posting about job openings that come my way, even when it's for something that isn't actually in the Warrendale neighborhood.

After the efforts to redevelop Kosciusko Elementary, there has been a lot more people with an interest in historic preservation reading this blog.  Therefore, I thought it would be appropriate to pass along news of an opening for a historian at the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office.

This person will assist in processing project information for review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended.  This position will be responsible for timely reviews of Weatherization Assistance Program projects for compliance with Section 106.

A master's degree in history, art history, museum studies, anthropology, American Studies, architectural history, historic preservation, or archival management is required for this job.

Additional details about this position are available here.

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.