Mark Maynard | 2011 | June

Democracy Now on the court case against Michigan’s Emergency Financial Managers

By Mark | June 23, 2011

Yesterday, a lawsuit was brought by Detroit’s Maurice & Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice, challenging the legality of Michigan’s Emergency Financial Manager Act, which, as you will recall, gives the State the power to fire locally elected officials, replacing them with appointees (Czars) empowered to sell local assets, invalidate agreements, and disband unions, among other things. You can read more about the case, which was brought on behalf of a number of plaintiffs, including Kym Spring of Grand Rapids, and Edith Lee-Payne of Detroit, here. The following clip concerning the case comes by way of today’s Lansing State Journal:

An effort to topple the state’s emergency manager law began Wednesday in Ingham County Circuit Court.

Twenty-eight citizens statewide – many of them union members and teachers – filed a lawsuit claiming the months-old law gives Gov. Rick Snyder and his appointees vast, unlawful power over financially struggling cities and school districts.

Snyder and State Treasurer Andy Dillon, who helps direct the appointment process, were named defendants in the suit that is now before Judge Rosemarie Aquilina.

“This law violates one of the basic principles of democracy, where people get to vote and no one can impose a dictator on them,” said Bill Goodman, an attorney of the Sugar Law Center of Detroit, a nonprofit that filed the lawsuit on behalf of the 28 citizens. “It’s a power grab by Lansing politicians”…

In addition to getting a small amount of coverage in Michigan, the case was also covered by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez on yesterday’s edition of Democracy Now, which you can see here.

For those of you who don’t plan to watch the video, here’s a quote by Sugar Law’s John Philo:

“…Well, what the lawsuit’s about is we’re putting in front of the court to make the decision of whether or not local citizens have a right to a democratic form of local government, whether local citizens have a right to elect their local officials, because as it stands under this law, the governor and the state legislature is saying we do not. They’re saying that we can have a new form of government in which they appoint your local government, which is one person, and that that person is not accountable to local electors, to local citizens. There’s no right of petition. They have no voice. It takes away entirely their role in what we consider a democratic system. People assume they have a right to a democratic form of government in this country, at all levels—at the federal level, at the state level, at the local level. This is the first experiment that we know of where we’re bypassing that entirely…”

We haven’t talked about it in a while, but the Democracy Now video also reminded me that, according to the EFM legislation, corporations, and not just people, could be appointed to take over municipal governments and school systems said to be failing. Here, with more on that, is an earlier exchange between Amy Goodman and Naomi Klein on the subject of the Michigan law.

NAOMI KLEIN: So it starts with the school boards, and then it’s whole towns, whole cities, that could be subject to just being dissolved because there’s an economic crisis breaking collective bargaining agreements. It also specifies that—this bill specifies that an emergency manager can be an individual or a firm. Or a firm. So, the person who would be put in charge of this so-called failing town or municipality could actually be a corporation.

AMY GOODMAN: Whose government they dissolve, a company takes over.

NAOMI KLEIN: A company takes over. So, they have created, if this passes, the possibility for privatization of a whole town by fiat. And this is actually a trend in the contracting out of public services, where you do now have whole towns, like Sandy Springs in Georgia, run by private companies. It’s very lucrative. Why not? You start with just the water contract or the electricity contract, but eventually, why not privatize the whole town? So—

AMY GOODMAN: And what happens then? Where does democracy fit into that picture?

NAOMI KLEIN: Well, this is an assault on democracy. It’s a frontal assault on democracy. It’s a kind of a corporate coup d’état at the municipal level.

update: It’s been brought to my attention that, although there was wording in earlier versions of Michigan’s Emergency Financial Manager Act that would have allowed corporations to serve as Emergency Managers, the final wording of the legislation that was passed into law makes it clear that only individual human beings can serve in that role. Hopefully that’s of some consolation.

Posted in Detroit, Michigan | Tagged Amy Goodman, Andy Dillon, Constitution, corporate takeover of politics, coup d’état, Czars, Democracy Now, Edith Lee-Payne, Emergency Financial Manager, financial martial law, Georgia, Ingham County Circuit Court, John Philo, Kym Spring, Maurice & Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice, Naomi Klein, privatization, racism, Rick Snyder, right to vote, Rosemarie Aquilina, Sandy Springs, the Emergency Financial Manager Act, threats to Democracy | 10 Comments

It occurred to me that I’ve never shared the Bar-B-Q Killers with you

By Mark | June 22, 2011

I know I’ve written about it here a number of times in the past, but one of the films that influenced me the most as a young man was a little documentary by the name of Athens, GA: Inside/Out. I distinctly remember going and seeing it, by myself, three consecutive afternoons, at a little art house theater in Washington, DC. I think it was 1987. Among other things, it was directly responsible for my deciding to form a band, in spite of the fact that I didn’t know a damned thing about making music. Anyway, I was thinking about a particular song from the film today, and I wanted to share it with you. It’s a song called “His and Hearse” by the Bar-B-Q Killers. On a very sad note, the singer, a woman by the name of Laura Carter, died in 2002, at the age of 37.

And, yeah, before you start leaving comments, I know she doesn’t look like a woman in this video. I didn’t, in fact, know that she was a woman until years later, when I met some guys in South Carolina who knew her. I was walking down the beach, wearing my Pylon shit, when three shabby looking guys with long hair flagged me down. They’d just recorded in Athens and were big fans of Pylon. Anyway, one thing led to another, and one of the guys asked if I’d seen Athens GA: Inside/Out. I said that I had, to which he immediately responded, “That guy who sings for the B-B-Que killers is a woman.” I would wake up the next morning, to find myself in their motel room, surrounded by empty bottles, somehow wedged into their bathroom sink.

Posted in Art and Culture, Mark's Life, Uncategorized | Tagged 1987, Athens, Athens GA: Inside/Out, B-B-Que Killers, Bar-B-Q Killers, His and Hearse, Laura Carter, Pylon, Wishing Wall | 11 Comments

Is building a new Washtenaw County Rec Center on Water Street a good thing for Ypsi?

By Mark | June 22, 2011

As you know, there’s been some talk of building a new Washtenaw County recreation complex in downtown Ypsi, on the seemingly cursed parcel of land commonly referred to as Water Street. I wasn’t going to post anything about it, as I don’t really have an opinion one way or the other, but, seeing as how a conversation has broken out in another, almost completely unrelated thread, I thought that I should probably start something here, on the front page.

Here, by way of background, is a clip from a mid-April post on AnnArbor.com:

Washtenaw County officials are beginning to push for a new recreation center to be built on Ypsilanti’s Water Street property. The $8 million to $10 million recreation center could spur Water Street development and serve as the centerpiece in a series of area parks linked by the eastern Washtenaw County Border to Border Trail, its planners say.

Last week, the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission discussed the possibility of building the new 50,000-square-foot recreation facility on a parcel of Water Street along the Huron River.

Officials on all sides underscored that the idea is only being discussed, but Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Director Bob Tetens said all the discussions have been positive and the Parks and Recreation Commission “has given the green light” to begin exploring the possibility.

The 38-acre Water Street site is adjacent to downtown Ypsilanti, off Michigan Avenue. Tetens said a recreation center would need 10 to 12 acres of that property, ideally along the Huron River, which flows into Ford Lake less than a mile downstream. The city recently cleared Water Street of its remaining abandoned buildings and Tetens called the property a “diamond in the rough”…

I should probably add that the conversation that has taken place here on the site so far was instigated by the following exchange between myself and Ypsilanti Mayor Paul Schreiber.

MARK: As progress on the Water Street development would change the City’s fortunes considerably, I should probably ask if there have been any developments…

PAUL: Discussions of a county recreation center on about 1/3 of the Water Street property continue, but none have occurred at the city council table. No action will occur in the near future, until commitments are made.

And, here, to give you a flavor for the discourse so far, are a few comments left by readers of this site:

EDWARD:
I didn’t know that the proposed county health and fitness facility would take up 1/3 of Water Street. That’s a lot of land for something that wouldn’t contribute a dime in taxes.

MAYOR PAUL SCHREIBER:
Concerning Water Street, the 1/3 land figure was something I heard, but is just one of the many details that need to be decided. Stay tuned.

ANDREW JASON CLOCK:
So, I was wondering why we haven’t heard any more about Washtenaw Parks and Recreation’s plan for a recreation center on Water Street? Isn’t this something we should be talking about, at least? They are talking about BUYING 10 – 12 acres of Water Street and constructing a huge attraction on it, one that could bring jobs and pedestrian traffic downtown, and so much more.

As the mayor points out, we don’t even have a recreation department. We have almost no recreation facilities, and the ones we have, particularly Rutherford Pool, are in need of major repair or total replacement. WCPR wants to build a modern version of the facility on Washtenaw in A2, including indoor and outdoor pools, weight rooms, exercise rooms, and much more, and make the place a hub for the Border to Border trail, which thousands of people use every year. This project would also bring infrastructure to Water Street (roads, water, sewer, power) making the adjoining property much more attractive to developers. I can’t think of anything better we could possibly do to kick-start a revitalization of Water Street, Downtown, and Depot Town, and give us a viable recreation facility.

Yes, there is the tax issue. As county land, that 10 – 12 acres would not be taxable. But guess what, it hasn’t generated tax revenue in 10 years, has absolutely no prospect of generating tax revenue in the foreseeable future, and it’s purchase cost and interest payments are what are draining our cash reserves. What do we have to loose? Not tax revenue, because again, we haven’t gotten any of that from Water Street in 10 years!

I’m challenging council to bring this issue to the public, either in a council session or a town hall. What is being done to make this deal a reality? If members of council are lining up against it, what is their reasoning, and what, exactly, is their better plan, and why didn’t they bring it up sooner?

I don’t see anything on the horizon that can compare to what the county is offering. This project is a chance for Ypsilanti to get a new start for downtown. Why aren’t our leaders talking about it?

YPSILANTI COUNCILMAN PETE MURDOCK:
The concept of a County recreation facility’s possible location on the Water Street is in the serious discussion stage. The staffs of City and County Parks and Rec are meeting to flush out the details of this possibility. At the moment other than a concept that the City and County Parks and Rec are willing to explore, there isn’t anything more to unveil or discuss. The goal is to have a more detailed plan presented publically to City Council in September that would include issues that are not currently determined, such as the size, location and scope of the proposed facility, the infrastructure needs of the site, and the timing of the construction. When we have more complete information, we will have a real project to discuss.

The fear that some (or all) City Council members are opposed to this project is unfounded and I have spoken to all of them. The City would not have initiated this discussion with the County Parks and Rec if City Council was opposed to the concept. At the moment there are plenty of details to be determined and worked out and then we will have an actual plan to look at to support or oppose. Your attempt here and other places to man the barricades on this issue I sense is a little premature.

EOS:
The City was able to eliminate Parks and Rec because they rely on the Township programs and facilities without contributing to the funding of those programs and facilities. Having the County fund a Rec Center on Water Street makes it impossible to capture taxes to pay off the existing debt, which was the original plan for Water Street. There won’t be taxes on a County facility that can repay City residents. If the County builds a Rec Center at Water Street they should not have to pay for the land. It’s City owned land and the City stands to reap an economic benefit from its development.

I think the new Rec Facility should be built farther away from the pre-existing facility. It should be put in close proximity to a larger portion of county residents. Putting the new Rec Center in Ypsilanti Township would benefit a greater number of County Residents at a significantly lower cost to the County. Really, how much of Water Street do you want to use for parking for a popular Rec Facility?

CMADLER:
“Putting the new Rec Center in Ypsilanti Township would benefit a greater number of County Residents at a significantly lower cost to the County.”

Since you suggest that the City should pay for a county rec center within its borders, I assume that by proposing that the rec center be built in the Township, you would like the Townwship to foot the bill? Did the Township pay for the county’s Rolling Hills Park and Water Park?

As for the City relying on Township Parks & Rec “without contributing to the funding of those programs and facilities”, that’s just a lie. The Township charges a higher non-resident rate for most uses.

EOS:
I’m not sure about Rolling Hills but the land may have been donated. The Whitaker Road library was built on land donated by the Township and 75% of the cost of the building was paid by the Township. I don’t think the City should be able to have the County pay for the land on which they build a Rec Center. It’s not the county’s obligation to bail out city residents for the mistakes made by former elected officials. I think the land for the new Rec Center is in the Township Master Plan and available to the County at no charge.

The Township charges $10 more for classes to city residents than township residents, but class fees pay only a small portion of total costs. The Township has a large staff and significant costs for recreation and parks.

ROLLING EYES:
1. I’ve spent a bit of time researching and, as best as I can discern from County records and media accounts, Rolling Hills was purchased with millage funds and some supplemental matching Federal grants.

2. I read the Ypsi Township master plan and the only reference to a rec center I found was a nondescript thought of having the Township fund their own rec center with a Township millage. Please direct me to your source if I’m wrong.

3. Following that, you said: “It should be put in close proximity to a larger portion of county residents. Putting the new Rec Center in Ypsilanti Township would benefit a greater number of County Residents.” The Township is rather large with winding boundaries. Can you tell me/us where in the Township you foresee a Rec Center being more accessible to “a greater number of County residents.” Can I assume it would be accessible by bus?

4. This gets personal. My kid has, I admit, enrolled in activities at Township facilities. I assumed this was welcome because: A) The Township routinely mails a catalog of programs to my home. B) Half the kids in the class where not from the Township, which seems to make it unlikely my kids class would be viable without the participation of folks from surrounding communities (specifically, in my limited experience, Ypsilanti city, Superior Township, Pittsfield Township, Ann Arbor Township and Ann Arbor city).

5. If we are sucking off your tax dollars, I apologize. We selected the Ypsi Twp programs because they were close to our home and a large number of our kids friends were in the program. Oddly, these friends live outside of Ypsi City but went to Ypsi City schools…

6. Perhaps you’re right. We should trace every dollar and make sure everyone outside of a border pays their full share. Maybe Ypsi should charge Township residents a fee for the Heritage Fest, Elvis Fest, Orphan Car Show… Better yet, maybe we should charge admittance to all the folks east of Prospect who go to Prospect Park or walk to the bus stop or use our sidewalks.

Maybe what we need to make our region great is fiefdoms.

SUPERIOR GUY:
I don’t have the right to judge since I live in Superior Township which has almost no parks of its own, but our family likes to ride our bikes to parks and playgrounds. I can’t say our experience is normal but we aren’t going to Ypsi Twp again. We rode to Loonfeather? first time. The only other people there was a guy getting a blow job in a pickup from what I presume was a hooker. Not a conversation I was ready to have with the kids. Then we tried a ride to the Ford Lake park. A bunch of guys with sticks and a pit bull “fishing” for turtles. Needless to say we did not feel welcome as we went by. In both cases we could not find anyone at the booth or who seemed to be working. We called the county sheriff and they said they would send someone by but we didn’t wait. Seemed like a free for all. Really disturbing use of public space. I’ve gone back alone to see if our experience was normal and each time it seemed like the parks were there for prostitution. I would not want to go back let alone take my family. I hope people in the township care enough to do something about this for their sake not ours. We are done with it. More important things to care about!

Posted in Ann Arbor, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged Andrew Clock, blowjobs, blowjobs in Township parks, Bob Tetens, Border to Border Trail, cmadler, EOS, Ford Lake Park, Loonfeather Park, Paul Schreiber, Pete Murdock, prostitution, recreation center, Rolling Hills Water Park, Rutherford Pool, Washtenaw County, Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation, Water Street, Water Street Redevelopment Project, Ypsilanti Township | 45 Comments

Contemplating the life of Veronica Lake

By Mark | June 21, 2011

It started out innocently enough… I was sitting here, waiting for the storm to begin, and listening to two of my favorite people, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest, discussing one of my favorite films, Sullivan’s Travels, and, then, one thing led to another, and I ended up going one YouTube link too far. Now I’m all depressed.

Here, in case you’re interested it what got to me. It’s the trailer for Veronica Lake’s last film, Flesh Feast.

And, here, by way of comparison, is a scene from Sullivan’s Travels, some 36 years later.

It’s hard for me to reconcile the two… how someone could go from being that bright and beautiful to being so Edith Massey-like… but I guess that’s the kind of thing that can happen when mental illness and alcoholism intersect… Anyway, seeing her in Flesh Feast has sent me spiraling off into a sad kind of place, and, as a result, I don’t think I’ll be blogging tonight about Clarence Thomas and why he needs to leave the Supreme Court, like I’d wanted to. If you’d like to leave comments about that, though, be my guest. I’ll be watching Sullivan’s Travels.

update: Apparently, I’ve written about this before.

Posted in Art and Culture | Tagged 1941, 1977, alcoholism, attractive people, beautiful women, Christopher Guest, Clarence Thomas, Edith Massey, Flesh Feast, Hitler, Joel McCrea, maggots, mental illness, Preston Sturges, Veronica Lake | 10 Comments

We can close Guantanamo, but some things can’t be undone…

By Mark | June 20, 2011

And, yes, this post was motivated in part by the fact that the newly crowned Miss USA was one of only two contestants who believe in evolution. I’m just really tired of living in a country full of stupid people.