Detroit: Now under emergency management

Ok, so of the banks listed, two of them would be within the Wayne/Oakland/Macomb counties that would constitute Detroit and Suburbs. (And only one of them in Detroit proper, which was what I was meaning.)

8/28/2009 First Independence Corp. Detroit Mich. $3,223,000
4/24/2009 Birmingham Bloomfield Bancshares, Inc Birmingham Mich. $1,635,000

So a grand total of a little shy of $5 mil. That is a significant difference from "banks that were bailed out with trillions of dollars" wouldn't you agree? It just shows how poorly researched and far off base the parent article is.

well i would've expected that from eric holder:D (he has no skin in the game), but not from you. this money was stolen from the people of the great state of michigan. i would want it back, and i'm not even a resident. part of what the blame game is, is investigation into impropriety and illegalities that lead to all of this. it's also rooting out the corruption in detroits government that facilitated this.part of ensuring this wouldn't happen again is to dress down (at very least) the culprits that did this.
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But this wasn't really an issue that happened within Detroit. It was an issue that happened nationally. And I DO want those bastards dealt with. But I fail to see how it's a Detroit issue. It's nothing unique to Detroit. In fact, we just went over how Detroit didn't have any banks significantly in this game.

well it's certainly my fear... i just can't help but believe that the place will be looted for what left remains of value and most of what federal assistance, will be asked for and received... i'm hoping for the best like you, but expecting the worse.
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Yeah, even if that does happen, I don't think the thieves can take care of it any worse than the people already have for the past few decades. This place is already looted. There isn't much that is significantly worse than the current status quo.
 
Kevyn Orr arrived in Detroit three months ago, clear-eyed, focused and radiating certainty: He could, he would convince creditors and unions to understand, and to agree, on a settlement that avoids bankruptcy.
Now he’s betting that his Wednesday city bus tour of Detroit can jolt hard-nosed creditors out of balky reluctance and into accepting his offer of a settlement: More or less, 10 cents on the dollar. Call it Orr’s Inferno.
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Detroit News has the article.

Interesting plan, for sure... Show off exactly why creditors would be lucky to get 10 cents on the dollar from Detroit...
 
@ilwrath:
Bit off topic but I was thinking of paying your city a brief visit next month or the month after.

Assuming this isn't a completely stupid idea, is there anything slightly off the obvious tourist big-ticket list that you'd recommend seeing?
 
Assuming this isn't a completely stupid idea, is there anything slightly off the obvious tourist big-ticket list that you'd recommend seeing?
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Well, visiting the metro Detroit area certainly isn't a stupid idea... Now, I wouldn't recommend hanging out around Cass after dark, but that's completely different.

I'm not really sure what is seen as Detroit's obvious big-ticket list... It probably includes this one, but certainly a visit to the Henry Ford Museum / Greenfield Village in Dearborn is worthwhile for a good flavor of Detroit and greater Midwest US history. It's a beautiful grounds to explore everything that shaped the Midwest. The Village is set up largely as a small 1900-1920's Midwest city, with Edison's lab, an early machine shop, a bike shop, and many others... All vehicles on the grounds are of the period. You can get a tour in a Model T, hop on an old bus, or take the Edison or Torch Lake steam train. (Occasionally, they fire up the GE Diesel or another train engine, as well.) There are also volunteers in costume who are townsfolk, riding antique bikes, working old farms or early houses, etc.

Personally, I think Detroit's best view is from the water. (Of course, that may just be because I'm a river rat, but most pictures of downtown Detroit are actually taken from Windsor, Ontario...) Anyhow, a Detroit River dinner cruise is nice local thing to experience. The Detroit Princess and Diamond Jack boats both run pretty regularly. The Friendship from Portifino in Wyandotte is nice, as well, though I might be slightly biased, as it's docked a couple blocks away from my house. :D

If you're interested in the ecology of the Great Lakes, we have some pretty good Metroparks, too. They typically have an educational building, as well as some kid-friendly activity areas and bike and foot paths through nature. So if you need a place to stretch and run around, there's a wide selection of them.

There are tons of other hidden gems around... Detroit is actually really good at hiding things. Word of mouth advertising is pretty often the only advertising they get. I tried to pick a few broader things that highlight the local area, but is there anything in particular you'd be looking for?
 
Thanks. Some good food for thought there.
 
Leaked emails show that bankruptcy was the goal even back to the start of the year.

All the talk about the tragic, “tough choice” to declare bankruptcy was a lie. There was even discussion of how to present it, so that local politicians would take as little heat as possible. One email from Jones Day lawyer Dan Moss to Orr notes, “Making this [bankruptcy] a national issue is not a bad idea. It provides political cover for the state politicians.” The same email also notes that a successful Detroit bankruptcy, and the requisite destruction of living standards, will open up further patronage jobs for Snyder and Bing—“Cabinet, Senate or Corporate”—once their terms are ended.

Jones Day was involved in the discussions on Detroit's bankruptcy, and knew it was the end goal. As such, they positioned themselves to be hired by the city as its “restructuring consultant” to a tune of millions of dollars, and now stand to make even more. One estimate placed the legal costs for Detroit's bankruptcy at around $100 million, of which Jones Day now will most likely make a significant fraction.
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Well, I think any time you put a bankruptcy lawyer in charge of your "restructuring" it's a pretty good bet that the restructuring will involve bankruptcy. :D
 
But the Red Wings got a new taxpayer funded arena!!
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Well, that one is pretty far from approved, in reality.

I'm somewhat of two minds on this one. On one hand, the city gets a new arena, and another draw to start expanding the stadium / theater district. It really needs this. The Red Wings current home (Joe Louis Arena) is about ready to be condemned. Honestly, I'm not really sure how it has passed previous inspections. The halls are way too narrow and congested, too few fire exits, steep and crumbling stairways everywhere, etc... I'm guessing the only reason the rink isn't already closed is because the city doesn't want to lose the team (and very fat associated income) to the suburbs. There are no other suitable arenas with an ice surface configuration available in the city.

Should the JLA be closed, I suspect the Wings would play at the Palace of Auburn Hills until getting a new home of their own. It is a very nice arena (the current home of the "Detroit" Pistons) and does have an ice surface configuration, as well. (It was the home of the now-defunct Detroit Vipers.)

So, the Ilitches and the City of Detroit both want the Red Wings to stay in Detroit, but the only practical way to do that is a new arena. The Ilitches are willing to put a lot of money into a new arena, making it a rather sweet deal for the city, if the city actually had any money at all. Denying it may be penny wise and dollar stupid to the long term tax base of the city.

Of course, throwing any taxpayer funds at it at a time like this has a terrible perception. A lot like flying in to Washington on your private jet while asking for a bailout. :/
 
ilwrath said:
Of course, throwing any taxpayer funds at it at a time like this has a terrible perception. A lot like flying in to Washington on your private jet while asking for a bailout. :/
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It shouldn't be that controversial. If the enterprise is viable, they should be able to repair and/or rebuild their current arena or build a new one. If they can't afford it then they aren't a viable business. Since sports teams aren't actually producing anything it's kind of a waste of resources to prop them up.

On the other hand, if the league needs teams to have a product to sell and the TV carriers need sports and the vendors profit from the teams' presence then there should be a way to build a consortium to fund the project without public money. If the city kicks in a percentage for a new arena then they should at least maintain that ownership share and get a cut of all games and rentals and vendor income (outside of regular taxes which would be owed anyway) and a contract for the team to stay long enough to recoup the investment or to forfeit the team if they attempt to welch.
 
FluffyMcDeath said:
It shouldn't be that controversial. If the enterprise is viable, they should be able to repair and/or rebuild their current arena or build a new one. If they can't afford it then they aren't a viable business. Since sports teams aren't actually producing anything it's kind of a waste of resources to prop them up.
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Well, certainly there's no conversation of the city of Detroit propping up the Red Wings. I believe the Red Wings net profit exceeds that of Detroit's tax collections. And I'm not even sure I'm saying that tongue-in-cheek. The advantage, of course, of keeping a successful team in a region is the net effect it has on the region. People going to the Joe don't just buy a ticket... They need parking. They go to the bar after the game. They go to the local restaurants, etc. Local businesses wouldn't survive that area without the Red Wings. Therefore, it makes good sense to make sure they don't move.

If the city kicks in a percentage for a new arena then they should at least maintain that ownership share and get a cut of all games and rentals and vendor income (outside of regular taxes which would be owed anyway) and a contract for the team to stay long enough to recoup the investment or to forfeit the team if they attempt to welch.
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I believe the city was to get the entire ownership of the arena, and the rights to use it or sub-lease it to any events they choose, collecting all money from those events, with only the provision that the Red Wings would get first rights to set their schedule. (And the Red Wings, would, of course, collect their gates.) There were also the standard clauses about moving, lockouts, league collapse, etc. As I said, it is a pretty sweet deal for the city...
 
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