Tag Archives: Detroit

Via Detroit’s ABC affiliate: A former Ford Motor Company contractor says he was fired because he criticized the auto company for having a policy that is pro-gay, according to a complaint filed with U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Thomas Banks of Ypsilanti, who also filed his EEOC complaint against Rapid Global Business Solutions, stated that the companies violated his …

From PETA’s website: With jobs in Detroit disappearing, many residents are struggling. As they’re forced to choose which bills to pay, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has chosen for them―shutting off water and leaving many people high and dry. The department put the shutoffs on a temporary hiatus, but people’s water bills are mounting. So with the help of …

This does not bode well for other cities. Via New York Times: The judge, Steven W. Rhodes, dealt a major blow to the widely held belief that state laws preserve public pensions, and his ruling is likely to resonate in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and many other American cities where the rising cost of pensions has been crowding out spending …

General Motors will now recognize same-sex marriages for the purposes of insurance and pension benefits. “GM will recognize a legal marriage for U.S. employees no matter the state of residence,” the automaker said in a statement. “For example, if a GM employee residing in Michigan, where same-sex marriage is not recognized, got married in New York, GM would recognize that …

“There’s some good things that come out of bankruptcy. One is you get to start over. Bankruptcy lets you be forgiven of your debt. And you do so by getting new management, better management, and by getting rid of unwieldy contracts, contracts that give you where public employees are getting paid twice what private employees are and things come back …

Yesterday the city of Detroit finally declared bankruptcy. The decision, confirmed by officials after it trickled out in late afternoon news reports, also amounts to the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in American history in terms of debt.  “This is a difficult step, but the only viable option to address a problem that has been six decades in the making,” said …

As Pam Geller continues a court battle with the city of Detroit, Chicago’s transit authority has banned all political advertising. Geller’s transit ads have faced legal challenges almost everywhere they have appeared. The CTA said in a statement it allows ads as a way to raise money — not as a way to get a political message out. “CTA buses …

Edward Peters is a Detroit professor and the Vatican’s US legal advisor. He’s also the father of NOM’s Thomas Peters.  This weekend the elder Peters warned Catholic supporters of same-sex marriage that they should not attempt to receive Holy Communion at Mass or else they’ll be “rebuked or sanctioned.” Peters said that Catholic teachings make it clear that marriage is …

Filmed in the ruins of Detroit. Strange even by their standards.

Using 2008 IRS data, Forbes Magazine has created a fascinating interactive map showing which cities are gaining or losing populations and where people are coming from/going to. Detroit, Los Angeles, and Miami appear to be suffering the greatest exoduses, with New York City remaining fairly unchanged. Red lines are outbound, black lines are inbound. You can click on every county …

Click over to IO9 for a slideshow called The Grandiose Decay of Abandoned Detroit. Strangely and sadly beautiful. Detroit proper has lost half of its population since peaking in 1950, although the surrounding suburbs and metro region has continued to grow.

Here’s a grim indicator for Michigan. The Pontiac Silverdome, which when built was the largest NFL venue in the nation, has sold for 1% of its construction cost. In a stunning sign of the imploding economy, Detroit is selling its $56 million sports dome for a bargain basement $580,000. The 80,000-seat Pontiac Silverdome, once home to the Detroit Lions, went …

The auto industry bailout fell apart late last night. A bailout-weary Congress killed a $14 billion package to aid struggling U.S. automakers Thursday night after a partisan dispute over union wage cuts derailed a last-ditch effort to revive the emergency aid before year’s end. Republicans, breaking sharply with President George W. Bush as his term draws to a close, refused …

Detroit has become the latest large city to pass transgender protections. The city council voted 7-1 yesterday to amend the existing non-discrimination laws that already protect gays and lesbian, adding gender identity.