Mark Maynard | 2010 | December

Bank places Dave Curtis’s entertainment district up for sale

By Mark | December 23, 2010

It’s being reported tonight that the Washington Street buildings owned by Dave Curtis – the ones housing his bars, the Savoy and Pub 13 – are up for sale. The following clip comes from AnnArbor.com:

The recent closings of two downtown Ypsilanti bars took a permanent turn this week after the lender listed both the Savoy and Pub 13 for sale.

Michigan Commerce Bank is asking for $990,000 for both properties, which share a liquor license, said listing broker Jim Chaconas of Colliers International.

Both bars were operated by David Curtis, who closed them in late November amid what Curtis described as a dispute with DTE Energy over his utility billing. The businesses were $30,000 in arrears, according to DTE — though Curtis said a malfunctioning meter caused the massive underbilling.

But other debts appear to have mounted, resulting in the lender seeking a new owner for the businesses, which have anchored downtown Ypsilanti’s entertainment district…

According to the report, Curtis owed $44,632.99 in back taxes, interest and penalties (for 2008 and 2009) at the point DTE cut the power and things started unraveling on him. The report also says that Curtis bought the Pub 13 building in 2002 for a mere $150,000, which makes the asking price of $450,000 seem just a tad bit steep. (It’s not as though properties have been appreciating much in Ypsilanti these past eight years.) The listing agent says that’s what the building is appraising for, and the liquor license is apparently included, but I think it’s more likely that the bank is just trying to get back some of what it’s owed. (My guess is that Curtis leveraged the building considerably, borrowing heavily against it for improvements and the like.) At any rate, I don’t think it’s likely to sell any time soon, at least not at that price. Most likely, it’ll go to auction in the spring… What do you say we pool our money and buy a bar, Ypsilanti? We better act fast, though, before the Maurers snatch it up.

I don’t know what he paid for it, but the individual asking price for the Savoy building is $565,000… Together, the two buildings (which share a liquor license) are 21,000 square feet.

Posted in entrepreneurism, Ypsilanti | Tagged Colliers International, Dave Curtis, DTE, Jim Chaconas, Maurer Management, Michigan Commerce Bank, Pub 13, Savoy, Washington Street | 61 Comments

Spending my night learning about James Couzens

By Mark | December 22, 2010

My friend Dave in Seattle mentioned to me a few days ago that he’s been reading a biography written in the 1950’s on former Detroit Mayor and U.S. Senator James Couzens (1872-1936). The book, “Independent Man,” sounds incredibly interesting, and I’ve been spending my time this evening reading up on Couzens, who, prior to going into politics, was a partner of Henry Ford’s. The following synopsis of his career comes from the University of Michigan, where, in the 1920’s, Couzens funded the creation of a 260-person nursing dormitory and teaching facility, which continues to be used today.

…James Couzens 1871-1936, U.S. Senator, industrialist, and philanthropist. Couzens was born in Ontario, Canada and moved to Detroit in 1887. He entered into partnership with Henry Ford in 1903 and served as vice president and general manager of the Ford Motor Company. In 1919 he sold his interest to the Fords for $35 million. As mayor of Detroit from 1919-1922, he installed municipal street railways. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1922-1936. He acted with the Progressive Republicans, advocating high, graduated income taxes and public ownership of utilities. He established the Children’s Fund of Michigan with $10 million, gave $1 million for relief in Detroit, and began a loan fund for the physically handicapped. His support of the New Deal cost him the senatorial renomination in 1936…

According to my friend Dave, Couzens didn’t like the fact that the University of Michigan chose to name the facility that he funded Couzens Hall. At any rate, I find his story fascinating mainly because, at least from what I can tell, he was a sane Republican who did what he thought was right, even though it cost him his Senate seat. I’m a sucker for stories like that. I’ve yet to read the book, but here are a few highlights from Dave.

…He was one of the founders of Ford Motor Company. He managed the business end of things while Ford worked out engineering problems. His story is fascinating. He was the one who started the $5 work day at Ford and he was a very outspoken advocate for providing people with work, living wages, and pensions. He later became the mayor of Detroit and then a US senator. He fought battles with the Treasury Secretary over financial policies that he saw as potentially leading to bad financial trouble, which it did. He fought with Hoover over providing relief and gave the basic outlines of Social Security and the New Deal years before the crash or FDR. He fought Henry Ford on the purchase of Muscle Shoals and argued that the project should be under Federal control, leading to the TVA. He later donated all the money he had made from Ford to children’s hospitals in Michigan to help crippled children. The most amazing thing is that HE was the guy that made Ford, not Henry. Henry was a smart guy, but had no idea how to run a business. Very interesting history. Both of them were no bullshit Detroiters that said what they believed. There is one funny story in the book about the formation of FMC. John Dodge is negotiating the price of parts from his shop (he was also a FMC founder) and Couzens jumps up and tells him to go to hell! Crazy John Dodge who use to shoot up saloons in Detroit with his brother! I think there is something in the water in Detroit…

So, that’s what I’m doing tonight – I’m reading Independent Man on Google Books, and wondering why we don’t have Republicans like Couzens today.

Posted in Detroit, Michigan, Politics | Tagged Children’s Fund of Michigan, Couzens Hall, Dave Morris, Detroit, FDR, Ford, Ford Motor Company, graduated income tax, Henry Ford, Hoover, income tax, Independent Man, James Couzens, John Dodge, light rail, Muscle Shoals, New Deal, philanthropy, politicians with integrity, sane Republicans, social security, streetcars, TVA | 9 Comments

So there’s apparently such a thing as a furless furry

By Mark | December 22, 2010

Things must be slow at my friend Joe’s shop, Hugh, tonight. He just sent me the following video, which I’m having some trouble interpreting. As best as I can figure, a new breed of furless furry has been discovered… Anyway, if you’re in Detroit, I’d appreciate it if you’d swing by Hugh and check on Joe. I’m worried about him.

Posted in Other, Uncategorized | Tagged a cry for help from a friend, costumes, deer, Fortean, furless furry, furries, furry, Hugh, Joe Posch | 11 Comments

The 2010 census and what it means to Michigan

By Mark | December 21, 2010

The results of the 2010 Census were made public today. Among other things, it was revealed that the U.S. population grew 9.7% over the course of the past decade, which is the slowest rate of growth since the Great Depression. That, of course, is an average, and some states did better than others. While several states barely grew at all, only one actually lost population over the past decade. Can you guess which one it was? If you said Michigan, you’d be right. Ours was the only state in the entire nation to lose population. (Even Louisiana, which lost thousands of people in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, didn’t fare so badly.) And, as a result, not only will those of us remaining have to pay more in taxes, to make up for those who have left, but we’ll have less representation in Congress. Our House delegation, it’s being reported today, will drop from 15 to 14. Here, on that subject, is a clip from AnnArbor.com:

…Results of the 2010 census show the number of Michigan residents fell by 0.6 percent since 2000, officials said. As a result, the state’s U.S. House delegation will decrease from 15 to 14. That continues a decline since 1970, when the state had 19 representatives…

The state’s loss of a seat will add further intrigue to the process of redrawing congressional districts, which takes place after every census. The task is handled by the state Legislature, which will be under Republican control for at least the next two years. The incoming governor, Rick Snyder, is also a Republican…

If you’ll remember, the last time this happened, in 2002, our Republican legislature chose to collapse two Democratic districts into one, pitting Congressman John Dingell, of Michigan’s 16th district, against Lynn Rivers, of Michigan’s 13th. While it’s unclear at this point as to what will happen this time, there’s no reason to think that another Democratic Congressperson won’t be sacrificed in the electoral Thunderdome. I suspect that the Republicans would like to get rid of John Conyers, but, as I understand it, that would be difficult to do under the Voting Rights Act, as his district is mostly minority. I need to look at the map and see if it’s feasible, but I’m thinking that maybe it’ll be Gary Peters of the 9th against Sander Levin of the 12th. Regardless, it’s bad news for the Democratic party in Michigan.

[Tonight’s post is brought to you by Anthony Weiner, his former roommate, Jon Stewart, and the first responders of 9/11.]

Posted in Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged 2010 census, 9/11, Anthony Weiner, census, first responders, Gary Peters, Great Depression, House, Hurricane Katrina, John Conyers, John Dingell, Jon Stewart, Louisiana, Lynn Rivers, Michigan's 13th congressional district, Michigan's 16th congressional district, population decline, redistricting, Sander Levin, Thunderdome, Voting Rights Act | 13 Comments

Chris Hedges on the death of the liberal class

By Mark | December 20, 2010

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges on Thursday’s unreported protest at the White House, his new book, Death of the Liberal Class, and Obama’s Faustian bargain with corporate power. (It’s grim stuff… To be honest, I wish I’d watched 30 Rock reruns instead.)

Part-two of the interview can be found here.

update: Speaking of Democracy Now, Amy Goodman also had a good segment today featuring feminists Jaclyn Friedman and Naomi Wolf on the sex crime allegations against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. If you have a moment, I’d highly recommend watching their debate.