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The process of deciding the fate of streetlights has actually been put into effect in a few cities across the country like Santa Rosa, California, Colorado Springs, Colorado and Rockford, Illinois which have gone partially dark because they too were also cash-strapped but not to Detroit’s extent.  With nearly 40 percent of its existing 88,000 street lights not working anyway and since the city can’t afford to fix them,  the initiative would save nearly $10 million a year. The responses to the move have been both good and bad.

One eco-friendly, preservers of the night group, The International Dark-Sky Association, which has a large chapter in the U.S., contends that much outdoor lighting is not only wasteful, but counterproductive. It cites poorly placed street lights that blind drivers as much as help them, or misplaced safety lighting that creates sharp contrasts that can hide intruders rather than expose them.  Nighttime lights have been implicated in some environmental problems, such as confusing birds and bats.

Then there are more who worry that in large cities like Detroit which has one of the highest violent crime rates in the country, law breakers will have a field day in the dark.  Merchants and residents worry that in the dark, neighborhoods will become havens for street crimes and drug gangs and that these areas will then continue to decay.

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The boy’s 14-year-old sister found him hanging from a bunk bed with a belt tied around his neck. She alerted her mother and called 911. Then the Mom took the son down with the assistance of a neighbor.

Police are still investigating the child’s death, but they say that the cause of death is likely as it appeared: a suicide. Autopsy results are pending, according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office.

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The boy, who has not been named, was reportedly bullied at school and was also particularly troubled over his parent’s separation. Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. said that the boy had told his parents that he wanted to harm himself. The Mother also told police that the child was being counseled by the family’s pastor.

“It’s just a tragedy on so many levels,” Chief Godbee Jr. said Thursday, calling the situation “unfathomable.”

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As unfathomable as it may be that a young child can actually have the wherewithal to carry out such a horrible act, it is something that all parents should take very seriously:

Experts say children that young may not understand the finality of death, but they need to be taken seriously when signs of depression arise.

“Any time a child makes a threat or engages in talking about suicide, it should always be taken seriously,” said Polly Gipson, a child psychologist at the University of Michigan and at U-M’s Center for the Child and the Family.

“We shouldn’t think that because a child is a child, there’s no way (he or she) can act on those behaviors.”

In December, Gov. Rick Snyder (R-Mich) signed anti-bullying legislation. Last fall, the Detroit City Council approved an ordinance that makes bullying children in person or online a misdemeanor.

A council member was particularly upset by the tragedy:

Detroit City Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins, who sponsored the ordinance, said the boy’s apparent suicide shows the need for a stronger response to such mistreatment.

“For a 7-year-old to lose his life in any form is heartbreaking. But to imagine a child that young, who is so sad, that believes his only option is to do this? Heartbreaking is not a strong enough word,” she said.

In case you think that this 7-year-old’s case is an exception to the rule, please consider some figures cited by the Detroit Free Press:

In 2010, a medical examiner ruled the death of a 6-year-old girl in Oregon a suicide, according to news reports, which say the girl hung herself after her mother sent her to her room.

Of the 36,951 suicides recorded in the U.S. in 2009 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 265 involved children ages 5-14.

Some may also think that today’s kids are “soft” or that they get upset over the “smallest things,” but of the 265 kids who took their own lives in 2009, we truly cannot simplify these deaths as issues of mental and emotional toughness.

With young people being beaten over “Twitter beefs” and having their brutal attacks posted on WorldStarHipHop, we have to consider that bullying and the emotional trauma that comes afterward is ratcheted up several hundred decimals. (Or can be re-tweeted to the entire school several hundred — or thousand — times)

This 7-year-old’s death is not the time for parents and those of us older than the age of 30 to beat our chest over the toughness of our childhoods. Instead, we have to take child bullying and depression very seriously so that another 7-year-old will not feel that he is not “tough enough” to enjoy his precious young life.

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Sherry Willis of Detroit says she felt uncomfortable when federal prosecutors were questioning her during the jury selection process.

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Perhaps it was because the prosecutors were uncomfortable with her. In court documents obtained by WXYZ, the prosecutors said Willis didn’t make eye contact and that she had tattoos. “They were just gawking and looking at me,” Willis said. “So I just turned my attention over to the judge. And I didn’t look at the defendants or the prosecutors.”

A legal analyst for WXYZ says that if the prosecutors didn’t feel comfortable with Willis, it is their right to dismiss her. But Willis isn’t buying it. She feels her race is what made the prosecutors uncomfortable.

“I thought it was supposed to be a jury of your peers, but the (other prospective jurors) were from all over the place; there weren’t many Detroiters, and most of them were Caucasian,” Willis said to the Detroit News.

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The 64-year-old resident, who was not named, heard two men braking into his home (pictured and taken by Detroit Free Press) around 5 a.m. this morning, according to a Detroit Police Department official. The homeowner fired at the intruders, killing one and wounding his wife. The other intruder escaped. But cops followed a trail of blood to the residence of the second suspect. No more information about either man is currently available.

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The homeowner’s wife is in temporary-seriously condition. Police are currently investigating the incident. Detroit homeowners have been fighting back against home intruders. Just a month or so ago, a 75-year-old man shot and killed a teenage intruder. “It was either him or me,” he told a local TV station.

Go to Detroit TV station WXYZ for more on this story.

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Eight months ago, her husband, Brandon Johnson, was shot dead several doors away from her apartment inside the complex. Hawkins, who carries her 40. caliber pistol with her whenever she steps outside of her apartment, says that the violence her 481-unit complex endures is a reflection of what is going on in the city.

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She told the Detroit News that many outsiders, especially those from outside of the city limits, do not know the real Motor City:

“You hear people who come in from the suburbs to go to Comerica Park or the casinos talking about how much they love Detroit,” she said. “But they don’t see the real Detroit: Open drug dealing; rapes; murders. People shouldn’t have to live like this. It’s like we’re hostages in our own homes.”

That Hawkins, who has lived in the apartment complex since 1988, is strapped with a gun to her hip, in plain sight, whenever she leaves her apartment is a very telling reality. She says it is because the police are not a very reliable source of protection. Yet, this calls to question the issue of gun rights. Is it a necessary “evil” that Hawkins has to protect herself with a gun in a gang-infested area? What us know what you think.

Go to The Detroit News watch Hawkins talk about her experience living in the MLK apartments.

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Now, in many respects, it is just a wreck.

And many are wondering if there needs to be a cultural change at the very top of its political power structure to turn things around.

Simply put: Does Detroit need a White mayor?

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Detroit News opinion writer Nolan Finley posed this question to his readers this weekend in his weekly column. As a native Detroit who grew up in the city up until age 18, I have heard friends and family  grumble about what they feel has been the disappointing performance of its Black politicians. Especially ex-Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the past few City Councils. The most complimentary remarks many locals have of the current mayor, Dave Bing, is “at least he’s not Kwame.”

But as the city continues its rapid downward spiral with under Black leadership, some wonder if a White mayor can get the Motor City revved up again. The White man some feel can win the mayor’s office is Mike Duggan, CEO of Detroit Medical Center.

Here is a snippet of Finley’s column based on a few interviews he conducted with some of Detroit’s most influential personalities:

“The right white mayor can win in Detroit,” says radio host Mildred Gaddis, who stopped short of saying Duggan is that candidate. “I think he is masterful, he has a reputation as a go-to guy, and he’s skillful at locking down community support. He’s made a lot of friends in Detroit.”

At the barber shop Friday, I ran into state Rep. Phillip Cavanagh, whose father, the late Jerome Cavanagh, was Detroit’s next-to-last white mayor. He likes Duggan’s chances, saying his presence in the race will discourage many other would-be mayoral hopefuls.

“He’s a force to be reckoned with,” says Cavanagh, whose Redford Township district was redrawn deeply into Detroit. “He’s got the reputation of being a turnaround expert, and that’s what Detroiters are looking for. And he certainly knows how to put together a political organization.”

That’s for sure. Duggan was the underboss of the Ed McNamara political machine in Wayne County, and orchestrated his own election as county prosecutor. The outfit produced former Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former Attorney General Mike Cox. But it also gave us Kwame Kilpatrick and Azzam Elder.

When Duggan left politics to head the DMC, he took the guts of the machine with him. So it’s intact and available to help move him into City Hall.

What do you think? Would Detroiters be open to a White mayor? The metro Detroit area is one of the most racially divided communities in the country and a White candidate would have to possess an Obama-like persona to win over Black voters who have been lambasted by racially divisive politics of its past leaders.

Detroit has not had a White mayor since 1973, when Coleman A. Young was voted into the Manoogian Mansion. If Mike Duggan proves to be a truly serious contender, would Detroiters give him their vote?

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President Obama is scheduled to attend two invite-only events at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Wednesday afternoon and a dinner at the Metro Detroit home of businesswoman Denise llitch.

“I’m honored to have been asked,” by the Obama campaign to host the event, she said of the dinner she and husband,  Jim Scalici, are sponsoring at their  Oakland County home.

Read more in the Michigan Chronicle

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Work is already under way to gather the required signatures to place the proposal on the November 2012 General Election ballot, according to Citizens for More Michigan Jobs (CMMJ), the statewide developer group proposing the eight casinos.

Read more in the Michigan Chronicle

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DEARBORN, Mich. – Michigan State Police and Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) officials are trying to determine how an electronic road was changed to display a racist message about Trayvon Martin. The sign, which was located along I-94 along the border of Detroit and Dearborn, said “Trayvon is a Ni**er” and was discovered just before 1 a.m. on Monday morning.

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“We were first notified at about 12:05 a.m. of the inappropriate message,” said Rob Morosi, an MDOT spokesman. “Immediately we dispatched crews to verify that the message had been changed and it was removed by 12:45 a.m. and replaced with the proper message.

Morosi said that someone hacked into a portable electronic sign that was attached to a trailer and was able to change the message. He said that the person who changed it was able to access the password controls to make the quick change.

“The sign is there as part of a big project we have at the I-94/M-39 interchange,” Morosi said. “Calls were coming in from motorists who were shocked, disturbed and every emotion you can imagine. The portable sign has a panel that was broken into. The message was changed and the keyboard was actually stolen.”

Read more on TheGrio

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Foreclosure initially forced Hollis from the home where she’d spent six decades of her life, then federal officials wouldn’t let her move back in because of its dilapidated condition. That’s when Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom and his charity stepped in, and convinced volunteers and businesses to do the same.

“God bless everyone who had a hand in this,” Hollis said, tears swelling in her eyes, after she re-entered the home.

One of her first tasks: Trying out the new stove to bake sugar and chocolate chip cookies, which she lifted off a tinfoil-covered baking sheet using a new spatula and carefully placed into a tin.

Albom and his charities helped renovate Hollis’ house after buying it from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Albom spent $30,000 – much of it out of his own pocket – on the project, and more than 100 volunteers spent months putting in new flooring, drywall, appliances and even a portion of the roof.

“I promised Texana that all she has to do is just stay alive and give us another 101 years,” he said after pushing Hollis up a newly constructed wheelchair ramp and into the gleaming home. “She will never lose this house again.”

When asked about the changes inside the house, where rooms were painted in soft shades of blue, green and yellow and decorated with welcoming bouquets of flowers, he jokingly answered: “It would probably be easier to tell you what’s old.”

Hollis was evicted Sept. 12 and her belongings placed outside after her son failed to pay property taxes linked to a reverse mortgage. HUD foreclosed on the home. Two days later, the federal agency said she could return – but then blocked her from moving in after an assessment determined the house was unsanitary and unsafe.

Hollis’ son took out the reverse mortgage for the $32,000 assessed value of the property, an option that HUD permits for the elderly. HUD took control of the mortgage after the amount paid to the family exceeded the value of the house in 2006.

Nedal Tamer, whose construction business did much of the work, said the structure was in “terrible” condition but underwent a successful remodeling thanks to many businesses and individuals who stepped up. Guardian Alarm, for example, installed security and medical monitoring systems for free that typically cost around $750.

The result was emotional for everyone who watched as the happy centenarian returned to her home.

“God is so good,” said Hollis, who is now looking forward to her next big day: Her 102nd birthday next month.

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A 75-year-old Detroit man killed an intruder inside of his home on the city’s Westside, Channel 7′s ABC News Detroit reports. Willie White and his wife have lived in their home for more than 40 years and he wasn’t about to let some brazen criminal rob him of his property or sense of security.

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The Channel 7 Detroit has more:

”If he was brazen enough to come and kick my door in, he’s brazen enough to do me in,” says the 75-year-old White. “I didn’t realize until the police was there that he did have a pistol.”

Around 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, Mr. White heard someone breaking into his home through the side door. He grabbed his rifle that was loaded with one single round and just as an intruder was entering the kitchen, White pulled the trigger.

The 18-year-old would-be robber died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

“I didn’t have any other choice,” White said about killing the young intruder.

Go to Channel 7 Detroit for the rest of the story.

D’Andre Lane has denied wrongdoing and pleaded with the public to find his daughter, Bianca Jones. He insists he was carjacked Dec. 2 and that thieves drove off with the girl strapped in her car seat.

But Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Lane’s story is “totally inconsistent with the facts.”

“An entire region worried, waited and willed Bianca’s safe return,” Worthy said Wednesday. “The facts in this case will show that she is never coming home. … Fathers killing daughters is rare. It is hard to protect loved ones when the murderer is family.”

Lane, 32, was charged with first-degree child abuse and murder during a felony, which carries a mandatory punishment of life in prison. Worthy said there was nothing unusual about the time it took — three months — to act on the warrant requested by police.

She acknowledged that the case relies on circumstantial evidence, especially with no body, but said it can be “just as good as direct evidence. Some would argue even better.”

The prosecutor said Bianca was abused on the day of her disappearance. She declined to elaborate. Police Chief Ralph Godbee said investigators will follow up on any tip to find Bianca’s remains.

Meanwhile, the girl’s mother, Banika Jones, wants everyone to keep looking for Bianca.

“I have to believe that Bianca is alive until I have something that shows me different. And, as of this time, there is no proof that my daughter is not alive,” Jones told Detroit TV station WDIV.

Lane is in the Oakland County jail in an unrelated matter and won’t appear in court until Thursday. His lawyer did not immediately return phone messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

In the days after Bianca’s disappearance, Lane often spoke to reporters, acknowledging he was under scrutiny by police but saying he was more concerned about finding Bianca.

“Please, please don’t stop looking,” he said on Dec. 8.

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A 36th District Court judge determined Thursday that there was enough evidence to send Joshua Smith’s case to Wayne County Circuit Court.

Smith faces an adult charge of first-degree murder and using a firearm during a felony. Arraignment is set for March 15.

Police say Tamiko Robinson was shot to death Feb. 27 at her home following an argument with the teenager. A shotgun belonging to the boy’s stepfather was used in the shooting.

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An officer said Smith told investigators he was tired of being called names.

The judge denied a request by defense lawyer George Chedraue to have his statements to police suppressed because of his age.

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In a city with persistent economic problems, owners are abandoning their dogs because they can’t afford to keep them and illegal dogfighting operations are cropping up. Loose dogs rounded up and housed in city shelters are often euthanized if they go unclaimed for days.

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It’s all too much to take for rapper Dan “Hush” Carlisle and TV producer Monica Martino, who co-founded the nonprofit Detroit Dog Rescue in 2011.

The group’s mission is this: Round up all the dogs and find them homes. For the dogs that take a little longer to find a landing spot, Detroit Dog Rescue wants to build a shelter designed to comfortably house them.

Either way, no dog dies.

It may sound like pie in the sky, but consider this: Carlisle and his team of four full-time employees, two part-timers and various volunteers have taken 200 dogs off the streets since DDR was formed last year. In December, an anonymous donor from California transferred $1.5 million in valued stock options to the group toward its planned no-kill shelter, which the nonprofit says would be the first of its kind in the city.

“It’s a homeless epidemic of these animals,” said Carlisle, who under the stage name “Hush” has accompanied Eminem on tour and opened for Snoop Dogg in London.

Bruce King, who oversees Detroit’s animal shelter program, says the city captures 3,000 to 5,000 dogs annually.

Carlisle and his crew have spent many of their days scouring Detroit, including regular sojourns through some of the city’s worst neighborhoods, in search of dogs in need of food, shelter and a little affection.

“Other organizations – they’re focused on everything from a deer to a bird to a ferret to a rabbit, a lizard, an alligator. You name it,” he said. “But we are Detroit Dog Rescue. We are focusing solely on the homeless dogs.”

His re-election campaign is launching a new television ad in the state on Friday highlighting the revival of General Motors and Chrysler following a multibillion-dollar federal bailout.

The ad notes that none of the Republican presidential hopefuls supported federal intervention and that Mitt Romney once penned a column titled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”

Romney and rival Rick Santorum are locked in a tight contest in Michigan, which votes Tuesday. The contest has become a must-win one for Romney, a Michigan native whose father was an auto company executive and governor of the state.

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She created her own community service project that gave pumpkins to children in the hospital during Halloween. She painted the pumpkins herself and her efforts inspired others in her community to join her project.

The Huffington Post reports:

The project began when Rudolph was driving his daughter home from school one day last fall and she asked him if sick kids in the hospital got to go trick-or-treating. When he said they probably didn’t, Reilly said each sick child should get his or her own pumpkin. At first he brushed off his daughter’s question, but Rudolph ended up discussing it with his wife.

Reilly’s artistic flair kept her going throughout the project, and she painted several pumpkins with her parents each day. Classmates and teachers found out about her efforts, and her Dearborn school, St. Sebastian Catholic School, took up the challenge as well. In October, Reilly and friends donated more than 100 painted pumpkins to Children’s Hospital.

Read More At The Huffington Post

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Here’s an excerpt of the story:

Over two years, neighbors logged hundreds of records about the goings-on around 9210 Lane St., then handed the stack to police.

Alkazoff was sentenced in December to at least three years in prison.

“The switch got flipped,” said Detroit Police Sgt. Brandon Cole, a lifelong resident of the neighborhood. “It went from a dirty secret to a drive-through, and people were leaving because of the drug dealing.”

To learn more on how this Detroit neighborhood fought off a drug dealing thug, go to the Detroit Free Press.

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It appears the shooting took place over a cell phone.

The Free Press has more:

Brown was charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder and felony firearm. Magistrate Steve Lockhart ordered him to stay in jail without bail during a video arraignment in 36th District Court in Detroit on Sunday.

Prosecutors said Heather Brown, 35, drove her son to the home and away from the scene after the shooting. She was charged with being an accessory after the fact.

“She is grossly undercharged to this court’s mind,” Lockhart said today.

Heather Brown is accused of helping her son flee and not assisting authorities apprehend her son, he said.

“It would appear not a reach to feel she knowingly drove an armed individual to shoot up a house,” he said.

Go to the Free Press for more on this story.

Here is a video version of this story reported by WXYZ Detroit

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Tuesday afternoon, the majority of the Detroit City Council did not show up for a critical 1 p.m. meeting. What does that say about the council’s sense of responsibility to the city?

And when a city begins to weigh whether to close all recreation centers where our children find recreation, that city has really hit rock bottom.

MORE FROM THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE: Snyder: ‘We’re Not Running Detroit’

You begin to wonder about those leaders who say they believe in the future of our children, yet want to close centers that provide an environment for children to find a sense of belonging in their city.

Maybe such a decision once decided upon will be a warning signal for parents to move out of the city because Detroit will be tagged as “the city with no recreation outlets for children.”

And that is where Detroit is in its present state, where the city council — the legislative body that is supposed to be the conscience of local government — is considering closing all recreation centers in the name of saving millions of dollars in helping address a ballooning budget deficit.

The council signaled last week that it could close… READ MORE AT THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE!

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By Bankole Thompson, Editor, Michigan Chronicle

In an exclusive agenda-setting interview Friday afternoon, Gov. Rick Snyder said the financial crisis in Detroit is one of his major challenges for 2012.

The governor said helping the city work through its financial mess before April when the city could run out of cash is not about controlling the city.

MORE FROM THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE: Where Are The Adults In Detroit’s Broken Government?

“And I always want to be careful,” Snyder explained. “It’s not about us running the city, but working in an environment that fosters a collaborative partnership arrangement, where we can be a supporting resource.”

Snyder said he understands how politics has been driving the conversation around Detroit’s financial woes, but noted that he chose Detroiters with deep roots in the city to help address the crisis.

The review team includes… READ MORE AT THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE

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Fielder and the Tigers agreed Tuesday to a nine-year, $214 million contract, a person familiar with the deal said. The AL Central champions boldly stepped up in the Fielder sweepstakes after the recent knee injury to star Victor Martinez. A week ago, the Tigers announced the productive designated hitter could miss the entire season after tearing his left ACL during offseason conditioning.

CBS first reported the agreement with Fielder.

The person told The Associated Press the deal was subject to a physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract was not yet complete.

Several teams had shown interest this winter in Fielder, the free agent first baseman who had spent his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers. He visited Texas, and the Washington Nationals also got involved in the discussions.

The Tigers won their division by 15 games before losing in the AL championship series to Texas. With Fielder now in the fold, general manager Dave Dombrowski and owner Mike Ilitch have a team that figures to enter the 2012 season as a favorite to repeat in the division — with an eye on winning the franchise’s first World Series title since 1984.

“Everyone knew Mr. Ilitch and Mr. Dombrowski were going to make a move when Victor went down,” outfielder Brennan Boesch said in a phone interview with the AP. “But I don’t think anybody thought it would be this big.”

The move also keeps Fielder’s name in the Tigers’ family. His father, Cecil, became a big league star when he returned to the majors from Japan and hit 51 home runs with Detroit in 1990. Cecil played with the Tigers into the 1996 season, and young Prince made a name for himself by hitting prodigious home runs in batting practice at Tiger Stadium.

In an interview with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Cecil Fielder said he was “shocked” by the news that Prince was heading to Detroit.

“He’s been there in Detroit most of his young life so I think he’ll be comfortable in that place,” Cecil Fielder said. “I know Mr. Ilitch is probably excited because he’s been wanting that kid since he was a little kid, so he finally got his wish.”

With Cabrera and Fielder, Detroit will begin this season with two players under age 30 with at least 200 career homers. According to STATS LLC, that’s happened only once before. At the start of the 1961 season, the Milwaukee Braves featured 29-year-old Eddie Mathews (338 homers) and 27-year-old Hank Aaron (219).

Fielder hit .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBIs last season. He is a three-time All-Star and was the MVP of last year’s event in Phoenix.

The beefy slugger has averaged 40 homers and 113 RBIs over the past five years. He’s also been among the most durable players in the majors, appearing in at least 157 games in each of the last six seasons.

Fielder hits left-handed, while Cabrera is a righty. Manager Jim Leyland will get to decide where to put them in the batting order.

“I don’t think there’s a better right-left combo in any lineup in baseball,” Boesch said. “I’m sure Skip’s wheels are already turning on how to set them up.”

And to think, the Tigers also have the American League’s reigning MVP and Cy Young Award winner — right-hander Justin Verlander.

Fielder’s deal is only the fourth $200 million contract in baseball history, following Alex Rodriguez’s $275 million, 10-year contract with the New York Yankees, A-Rod’s $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas and Albert Pujols’ $240 million, 10-year contract last month with the Los Angeles Angels.

Among current players, Fielder’s $23.78 million average salary is behind only A-Rod ($27.5 million), Ryan Howard ($25 million), and Cliff Lee and Pujols ($24 million each).

Dombrowski indicated last week he’d probably seek a short-term solution to Martinez’s injury, but he left himself some wriggle room, saying it depended who the replacement was.

Acquiring Fielder opens all sorts of possibilities. For now, Detroit has an opening at DH with Martinez out. But Martinez is in the second year of a $50 million, four-year contract.

One option could be to move Cabrera from first base to third. He played third base regularly for the Florida Marlins before the Tigers acquired him before the 2008 season.

Third baseman Brandon Inge has one year left on a two-year, $11.5 million deal with Detroit.

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Texana Hollis was evicted Sept. 12 and her belongings placed outside after her 65-year-old son failed to pay property taxes linked to a reverse mortgage and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development foreclosed on the home.

Two days later, the department said she could return. But now, HUD said it won’t let Hollis move back in because of the house’s condition. She had lived there about 60 years.

“Here I am, 100 years old, and don’t have a home,” Hollis said, rounding off her age. “Oh Lord, help me.”

Department spokesman Brian Sullivan told The Detroit News that an inspection determined the house “was completely unsuitable for a person to live in.”

“We can’t allow someone to live in that (atmosphere) now that we are essentially the owners of the property,” Sullivan said. “The home isn’t safe; it’s not sanitary. It’s certainly not suitable for anyone to live in, especially not a 101-year-old mother.”

HUD doesn’t want to pay to fix up the house, but Sullivan said the department’s seeking other agencies that might help with the work and get Hollis back into her home.

“We’re not giving up,” Sullivan said. “We’re talking with anybody and everybody about solutions to this situation, but the condition of the property is a challenge.”

After hearing about her longtime friend’s eviction, Pollian Cheeks, 68, offered Hollis a room at her home within a mile of Hollis’ house. Hollis, who once taught Cheeks in Sunday school at St. Philip’s Lutheran Church, agreed to the invitation and has been staying at Cheeks’ house in the meantime.

“Polly’s just as nice to me as anybody could be. She goes out of her way to help me,” Hollis said, holding back tears. “It’s just like living at home, but it’s not my home.”

Hollis’s son took out the reverse mortgage for the $32,000 assessed value of the property, an option that HUD permits for the elderly. HUD took control of the mortgage after the amount paid to the family exceeded the value of the house in 2006.

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In Detroit and elsewhere, the murder of Greene has been the subject of whispers and conjecture for years. The family of Greene filed suit against Kilpatrick and the city, claiming that the powers that be squelched the subsequent investigation.

In November, a federal judge dismissed the case. Now he’s releasing the testimony behind his decision. The Detroit Free Press reports:

Chief U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen said he plans to unseal dozens of items, including the sworn testimony of then-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, two former police chiefs and several police executives who were questioned in the case — unless they file objections within 30 days.

It wasn’t immediately clear when the records would be made available.

Rosen said previously he wouldn’t release the testimony of several others, including former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, because they didn’t factor into his decision to toss the case.

Cox lost the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary amid criticism about his handling of the investigation into the Manoogian party rumors. He didn’t take along State Police investigators to his interview with Kilpatrick and declared the rumor an urban legend.

Rosen previously said he also doesn’t plan to release the depositions of Kilpatrick’s wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, who was rumored to have assaulted a stripper at the 2002 party; former Kwame Kilpatrick top aide Christine Beatty; former city Law Department director Ruth Carter; two former Kilpatrick bodyguards, or Darrett King, the man some detectives said they believe killed Greene.

Read more at the Detroit Free Press

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Shelley Hilliard, 19, a transgender woman, was about to be arrested for possession of marijuana Oct. 20 when police offered a way out, according to testimony during a court hearing Thursday. She could set up a drug deal.

With the police listening on speaker phone, Hilliard used her cellphone to call Qasim Raqib, telling him she had someone (an undercover agent) who wanted to buy $335 worth of cocaine and marijuana, according to testimony during Raqib’s preliminary examination Thursday in 36th District Court.

When Raqib arrived at the Motel 6 in Madison Heights 20 minutes later, police arrested him.

As you can imagine, the story does not simply end there. Things took a very ugly turn:

Raqib, 30, of Detroit, was released several hours later. Three days later, the mutilated body of Hilliard was discovered ablaze in the street on Detroit’s east side.

Raqib was charged with the murder. His preliminary exam resumes Jan. 13.

I work with a lot of youth and I can tell you that the “stop snitching” psychology of the streets is still very prevalent. A section of San Francisco has an area where many of those who speaks to the police about crime gets caught up with. Why do you think this is happening and what can be done to stop it? A lot of times when a crime happens in plain sight, no one will talk. The situation may be very innocent, or very sinister- but no one speaks. Police  always say they need people to step forward, yet seem unable to protect those who give information. Why is this happening?

Read the entire story in Detroit News.

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Bing presented a financial and operational restructuring plan update to the council Thursday afternoon. It highlights cost savings from 1,000 imminent layoffs, overdue payments from the Detroit Public Schools district and a corporate tax increase he says will mitigate a cash shortfall.

The 18-month plan calls for $102 million in savings through June and $258 million over the 2013 fiscal year. Auditors had previously warned Detroit could run out of money as early as April.

Bing said members of a state review team won’t uncover any financial issues in the city that his administration doesn’t know about when they meet with his staff in the coming weeks.

A preliminary review last month determined there was “probable financial stress” in city government and that Detroit faces a general fund deficit of about $200 million. The review team is looking into Detroit’s finances – a step in a process that could lead to Michigan taking over the city’s government.

“Do we have financial stress? Damn right we do. We’ve had it since day one,” Bing said.

The review team’s recommendations will be forwarded to Gov. Rick Snyder. City officials have said they want to avoid the need for a state-appointed emergency manager.

City Council President Pro-Tem Gary Brown said he was not as hopeful about the plan as Bing. In the past, including the previous two years under Bing, city budget officials have repeatedly overestimated the revenue coming in to the city treasury, Brown told Bing and mayoral aides.

“It (revenue) just didn’t show up as projected,” Brown said. “And we don’t have a system in place in city government to react.”

In particular, Brown said he has reservations about projected savings from reduced overtime, work rule changes and a reorganization of the municipal bus system’s management.

City labor union leaders have been collaborating with the council and Bing to convince the state that an emergency manager is not necessary. Changes to union contracts and the pension system still are needed to eliminate the city’s long-term structural financial problems.

Bing and union leadership are negotiating medical benefits concessions that can save the city $15 million through June and changes to pensions that would bring about $25 million in savings in the 2013 fiscal year. Bing has said he’ll cut 1,000 jobs early this year to save about $14 million.

“A large percentage of the city’s budget is tied up in labor contracts in terms of hourly wages, health care and retirement issues,” said Mike Boudreau, director of Bloomfield Hills-based O’Keefe and Associates financial turnaround consultants.

“There’s no way around that, but I think it’s unfair to put it totally on (the unions). I think the pain needs to be spread around.”

While Bing’s plan focuses on the next 18 months, Detroit’s structural issues also need to be addressed, Boudreau added.

“I think he’s headed in the right direction, but I think it’s missing the mark,” Boudreau said. “They’ve come forward with plans before that didn’t materialize.”

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All four women found dead where African-American. Two of them were found burnt beyond recognition.

Channel 6 Detroit reports:

The chief said at least three of the victims were working as escorts and had posted ads on BlckPage.com, a website which is similar to Craigslist but allows postings for adult services such as escorts, massages, strippers and fetishes. “The link between the three females and this website specifically dealt with prearranged adult dating services,” he explained.

Police stopped short of calling it the work of a possible serial killer, but Godbee warned people using the site to be careful. “We are not passing judgment on any individual who is utilizing this website, yet we felt it was imperative to alert the public that deciding to meet unknown persons via the internet, can be extremely dangerous,” he said.

Read More At Channel 6 Detroit

The possibility that an outside manager could come in — one who would have broader than ever powers under a rewritten state law — has stirred new concerns among financial ratings agencies and business leaders who have fresh investments in the city. City government, meanwhile, is finding itself forced to re-examine services it provides — including buses, health care and street lighting — and shed what it can no longer afford.

This does not sit well with a lot of folks in Detroit. Clearly this shift in economic control could have a national ripple effect.

The state’s moves have set off an uproar. Under Michigan law, a formal review must precede a state finding that a city’s financial circumstances are so dire as to require an outside manager to take over — and many here view that as the state’s ultimate intent. Mr. Bing, a Democrat, and even groups he has sparred with — the City Council and leaders of the city’s 48 unions, whose contracts are the target of much of the cuts — have pushed back, as have residents. The refrain: Detroiters can take care of Detroit just fine, thanks.

What do you think? If a city or a state cannot manage its money right who should have control over it? Post what you believe is best below.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Start Gallery

The musician’s nonprofit organization joined Hartford Memorial Baptist Church on Wednesday to distribute 100 gift certificates for Meijer retail and grocery stores, along with more than 300 gift baskets.

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Kid Rock, who was born Robert Ritchie, grew up and lives in suburban Detroit. He and the Kid Rock Foundation have been honored this year for their philanthropic contributions by Goodfellows Detroit and the NAACP’s Detroit branch.

Kid Rock is known for dabbling in various musical styles, from hip-hop and hard rock to country and Southern rock.

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Demesha Hunt and Renisha Landers had been considered missing by their family since Sunday morning before this gruesome discovery was made.

VIDEO:

On Monday, a 16-year-old boy noticed a relatively new Chrysler 300 parked between two burned out homes on Promenade Street.  He walked up to the car and saw two dead women in the trunk.

Read more at MyFoxDetroit.com

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Members of the Hustle Boys, a gang formed to promote and organize parties at area nightclubs, allegedly charged admission and sold drugs at the parties in addition to trafficking drugs to and from various states.

“The hard work of dedicated FBI agents, Detroit Police, Michigan State Police and other members of the Violent Crime Task Force helped result in these arrests and ultimately making the streets of Detroit safer,” FBI spokesman Simon Shaykhet said Friday.

Read more at detnews.com.

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