Topics about Hamtramck , but occasionally other stuff.
Hamtramck_Guy
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Posts by Hamtramck_Guy
Local Yemeni-Americans to protests homeland’s government killings
Mar 19th
Number of View: 612
Some Yemeni-Americans plan to protest this weekend in Hamtramck against the Yemeni government’s crackdown on protesters, but others in the community support Yemen’s leaders. And tonight, a senior official from the office of the U.S. Ambassador to Yemen will be in Dearborn to meet with local Yemeni-Americans, say local leaders.
The rally is set for 2 p.m. Sunday on Joseph Campau in Hamtramck, which is home to a sizeable Yemeni-American community. It comes after a violent crackdown today by the government that resulted in the deaths of 46 protesters in Yemen……….. More >
Are EFMs a cover for union busting?
Mar 18th
Number of View: 1071
Yesterday, Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law a bill that gives emergency financial managers (EFMs) sweeping powers when dealing with financially troubled cities and school districts. In response, more than 5,000 protesters rallied at the state capitol, some calling for Snyder’s recall.
Under the new law, an EFM, which could be a corporation, has the unilateral power to nullify union contracts, fire elected officials and administrators, dissolve cities, close or sell school buildings, convert public schools to charters, and merge cities and school districts with neighboring jurisdictions. The democratic will of the people living within a city or school district under an EFM could be completely ignored.
Snyder and State Treasurer Andy Dillon claim that appointment of an EFM would only be a last resort. If a city or school district misses a payday or ends a fiscal year with a deficit that is at least five percent of the budget, a state financial review is triggered, which can result in the treasurer ordering steps to be taken to avoid financial collapse. Currently, the Detroit Public Schools (DPS), and the cities of Benton Harbor, Ecorse and Pontiac are operating under EFMs. EFMs previously administered the cities of Flint, Hamtramck, Highland Park and Three Oaks, along with the Inkster school district. According to Dillon, at least 10 cities and school districts are in financial trouble.
This number could easily grow under Snyder’s proposed budget, which would cut $470 per pupil for K-12 education and significantly reduce revenue sharing for cities. Under these often dire circumstances, the threat of an EFM is likely to force major employee concessions during union negotiations………………………………………… More >
Under the Eagle closes
Mar 17th
Number of View: 3052
Zoom Terenia Peczeniuk has closed Under the Eagle, her Polish restaurant in Hamtramck, after 37 years.
After 37 years of serving Polish classics from pierogi and stuffed cabbage to dill pickle soup and potato pancakes, owner Terenia Peczeniuk has closed Under the Eagle restaurant in Hamtramck.
She has a tentative buyer for the building and has been taking home many of the photos, paintings and clippings that decorated the walls.
At age 62, her hands have given out, and she is having surgery, she says. “I made everything. Every day, I make the soups, the meats and the stuffed cabbage and pierogi. Everything was made here, with my hands. It was all from scratch. That is why it was good.”
After her recovery, she hopes to work part-time. “I miss my customers, and I am sure the customers will miss the food and maybe me, too.”
Hamtramck mayor Karen Majewski says the city “is always changing, evolving and growing. Businesses come and go, and people come and go. But we will certainly miss Under the Eagle. … Terenia and her husband worked hard and made a difference in the city.”
What you should know about radiation
Mar 15th
Number of View: 420
Japanese workers are scrambling to control a nuclear plant after a fire that may have burned several fuel rods. Officials said that the readings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant Tuesday morning were not at levels to cause “harm to human health,” but anxiety about impending disaster persists. Here’s more on radiation sickness and how to combat it…………………….. More >
Michigan must shake loser mentality
Mar 15th
Number of View: 393
Daniel Howes
Could it be too late for Michigan, just like it was for two of Detroit’s three automakers?
The hot rhetoric and growing backlash against Gov. Rick Snyder’s agenda — and its variants across the Great Lakes states — are nauseating evidence that when craven politicians and noisy interest groups face a choice between continuing decline and uncomfortable change, they’ll opt for decline because it’s easier than doing the math.
They get to keep their exemption(s) and their tax breaks, their corporate welfare and their closed union shops, their campaign contributions and their elected offices, even if keeping it all means that the Michigan malaise is here to stay. And if coveted employers and young people don’t stay, well, that’s an unfortunate byproduct of shortsighted self-interest.
Lots of words come to mind to describe this soil-thy-nest school of economic illiteracy, but the one that best blasts through the fog of nostalgia and cluelessness is this: loser. As in, won’t work; more of the same; entitlement enters a death spiral of its own making……………………. More >
John Conyers worries Michigan’s new EFM law could unfairly target black communities
Mar 14th
Number of View: 575
By Darrell Dawsey
U.S. Rep. John D. Conyers (D-Detroit) is criticizing a proposed state law to drastically strengthen the powers of emergency financial managers, calling it unconstitutional and saying it implicitly targets minority communities.
March 11, Michigan Messenger: The takeover provision of the legislation – allowing the dissolution of locally elected bodies — implicitly targets minority communities that are disproportionately impacted by the economic downturn, without providing meaningful support for improved economic opportunity.
The bill — which will give EFMs in troubled municipalities and school districts the power to void collective bargaining agreements, sell off municipal assets and dissolve elected bodies — has been approved by the state House and Senate. Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to sign it into law this week.
Conyers isn’t alone in questioning whether the bill could have racial motivations or unfairly impact cities with heavy black populations, such as Detroit. Political website Crooks & Liars wondered much the same thing in contemplating how the new EFM law could play out……………. More >
Strapped cities look to share services
Mar 14th
Number of View: 377
It took six years, $1 million in startup costs and a lot of persuasion before Eastpointe, Roseville and St. Clair Shores agreed to share emergency dispatch services last year.
But the payoff — efficiency and long-term savings — far outweighed the pain, resulting in a 25 percent savings in St. Clair Shores alone, officials say.
“It’s a very difficult thing to do,” said Ben Hughes, St. Clair Shores city manager and chairman of the South East Regional Emergency Services Authority, formed in December.
“This particular effort started with nine or 10 communities.”
Consolidating services isn’t a new concept in Metro Detroit. But it’s taking on greater urgency this year as city budgets stretch to the breaking point and Gov. Rick Snyder uses state funding as a carrot to encourage communities to work together…………………………. More >
Give Emergency Financial Managers ‘emergency’ powers.
Mar 12th
Number of View: 403
ADRIAN, Mich. — Michigan residents have known since long before November’s election that the state faced a budget deficit of almost $2 billion. Schools knew there would be per-pupil funding cuts. Cities anticipated revenue sharing reductions. The city of Hamtramck even requested bankruptcy protection at the same time it was giving union employees raises. Even before the election, there were 68 municipalities on the state’s “fiscal watch list” and 38 had worse stress scores than Hamtramck…………. More >
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