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.

Warren Evans hasn’t been fired - yet

The Dyspathy blog, which is actually one of the best sources of news and analysis for stuff outside of the Warrendale neighborhood, has a post about how Chief Warren C. Evans will likely be fired from the Detroit Police Department in the coming days.

I think this is a real shame. This is partly because I believe Chief Evans has done a good job as chief of police, but mostly because his firing is being done as a political easy out to avoid any serious discussions about changes in the department (e.g., staffing, budget, etc.).

Warren Evans hasn’t been fired - yet

Chase Bank is Hiring

The Chase Bank branch in the Warrendale neighborhood (18016 W. Warren Ave.) as well as several other branches around town are hiring again. They are hiring bank tellers, personal bankers, and several other positions.

Interested applicants are invited to apply on-line at chase.com/careers.

Congrats to Rima Fakih, Miss USA 2010

Rima Fakih, of nearby Dearborn, became Miss USA 2010 last night in Las Vegas. She is the first Arab American and the first Muslim to ever win this title. Her victory has been the cause of much celebration within the Arab American community.

Rima Fakih graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn with bachelor's degrees in economics and business management. She is currently working in marketing for the Detroit Medical Center and plans to attend law school once she completes her reign as Miss USA.

Rima Fakih is the first Michigander to be named Miss USA since Kenya Moore of Detroit won the title in 1993.

My favorite factoid about Rima Fakih, however, comes from this quote in the Detroit Free Press.

When asked how she felt about winning the crown, Fakih said, "Ask me after I've had a pizza."

I have to love a woman who celebrates winning the Miss USA title with a pizza. Maybe we'll get lucky one day soon and see Rima Fakih at Gracie See or one of the other pizzerias in the Warrendale neighborhood.

I congratulate Rima Fakih and her family on this achievement. I wish her the best of everything in her coming year as Miss USA.

Metro Detroit celebrates Miss USA's first Arab-American winner | Detroit Free Press

Ron Scott Is An Idiot

Ron Scott of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality is, in my opinion, an idiot.

When Police Officer Brian Huff was shot and killed in the line of duty this past Monday, and four other police officers who injured in the same incident, Mr. Scott went to the scene and made a series of remarks to the news media. Several media outlets carried his remarks, in which he spoke about police brutality and police officers violating the constitutional rights of young black men.

Since then, there has been a certain amount of public backlash against Mr. Scott. He has since said that his remarks were taken out of context. Quite frankly, I don't have a lot of sympathy for Ron Scott.

There is always a need to police the police department, whether it's in Detroit or anywhere else. Citizen groups, such as the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, have a legitimate role in addressing allegations of police misconduct and ensuring that it never happens in the first place.

However, when a person - any person - is standing at the scene where a police officer has been killed in the line of duty, the only remark that it is ever appropriate to make is to offer condolences to the officer's family. For anyone to make any other comment, is simply inappropriate.

The Board of Police Commissioners, the City Council, and newspaper editorial pages all exist for a reason. They provide citizens an opportunity to air grievances and present arguments, even ones that might be unpleasant to hear. Mr. Scott should have made his comments there and not at the scene where Officer Huff was murdered, especially while his body was still warm.

Mr. Scott has spent much of this week attempting to backpedal. He has repeatedly argued that his remarks were taken out of context. He has pointed out that the first thing he said was to express sadness about the death of one officer and the wounding of four others. He has insisted that his comments about police brutality where made with the best of intentions.

Quite frankly, I don't care. Mr. Scott is still an idiot.

The only thing he should have said at that instant was to express his condolences to the fallen police officers. Everything else should have waited for a better time and place.

Activist clarifies remarks after cop killing | Detroit Free Press

Update - Saturday, May 8 @ 11:38 a.m.
Ron Scott and Detroit Police Chief Warren Evans were on Fox 2's Let It Rip to discuss the shooting of Officer Huff, Mr. Scott's comments, and the response to said comments. Video from that exchange, as well as video of Mr. Scott's comments, are are all available below.