Flint Water Crisis: 1,000 Days Later

Brian Manzullo of the Detroit Free Press reports:

Though Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder touted the efforts made to heal Flint - "we've made progress, but our work is not done," he said Tuesday during his State of the State address in Lansing - city residents are still unable to drink tap water without a filter due to the lead contamination that began when the water supply was switched that day in 2014.

Read the full article here.

St. Joseph in the House

Desperate Michiganders are turning to arcane ritual and St. Joseph — the Biblical contractor — to sell their houses.

Zlati Meyer of The Detroit Free Press reports:

"Our sales on the St. Joseph kits increased over 227% between July of 2008 and June of 2009," according to Leann Cooper, a spokeswoman for Michigan Church Supply of Mt. Morris, near Flint, one of the nation's largest religious-goods stores. "Since June 2009, the sales have decreased about 25%, but remain much higher than before the real estate crunch."

Home sellers are counting on the statues to help them beat the odds: Metro Detroit houses that sold in January had been on the market for an average of about 100 days, according to Realcomp, a Farmington Hills-based multiple listing service.

How is St. Joseph supposed to work? Bury the figurine upside down in the yard of the house you want to sell.

Some say the little fellow should face east. Others say a prayer, asking for a quick sale. Another school of thought adds a candle and oil.

Kildee for Governor?

The news that Lt. Gov. John Cherry is dropping out of the race to be Michigan's next governor has increased speculation about Dan Kildee entering the race.

Chris Christoff and Kathleen Gray of the Detroit Free Press report:

"Meanwhile, former Genesee County Treasurer Dan Kildee said he is thinking about the governor's race.

“'Obviously, this is something I’m interested in and very passionate about,' Kildee said. 'I feel strongly obligated to think about this.' 

"Kildee was contemplating a run for governor last year, but said his decision against the run was contingent upon Cherry’s ultimate decision. Now that Cherry is out of the hunt, Kildee may be back in. He just quit his job as treasurer to form a think tank geared toward land use.

“'I’ve gotten a ton of phone calls over the last couple of days,' Kildee said. 'Some of the people who were harder to get a hold of last year are calling me now.'"

Tigers Close In on Division Title

The Tigers can clinch their first division title in 22 years today. Go here for the Detroit Free Press live blog of the game against the Twins, which is getting started right about now.

UPDATE: Tigers lose 8-3. Detroit still has a two-game lead with three games left.

UPDATE: 4-1 Twins in the 5th.

UPDATE: Not good...Tigers down 3-1 in top of 4th. Twins have two on with no out.

G.M. Invests in Flint

Tim Higgins of the Detroit Free Press reports:

General Motors Co. will invest more than $21 million in the Flint Assembly Plant to produce the 2011 Chevrolet light-duty crew cab, the company announced this morning.

The investment will include renovating the existing heavy-duty assembly process and new machinery and tooling for light-duty trucks.

Beaver Flees Violence...in Canada?

It appears the Detroit River beaver we've come to love may have swam over from the Canadian side of Lake St. Clair where beavers are known to hang out, according to John Hartig, the Detroit River refuge manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"Why this beaver made the journey to the Detroit Edison intake canal is a mystery," writes John Gallagher in The Detroit Free Press. "It may have faced danger at its earlier site or simply gone in search of food. There are poplar trees at the Edison site, which happen to be a favorite source of bark for beavers."

Wait a minute. This beaver faced something so dangerous in Canada that he moved to Detroit? Man, there must been some craziness going on at the beaver lodge for this guy to give up free healthcare and the lower drinking age, eh?

Albom Takes Off the Gloves

I'm really shocked. Twice in one month. (Hell, twice in one decade would be a record.) It's another Mitch Albom column I like:

"Kill the car, kill the country. Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. Bob Corker, your names will not be forgotten. It’s amazing how you pretend to speak for America when you are only watching out for your political party, which would love to cripple unions, and your states, which house foreign auto plants.

"Corker, you’ve got Nissan there and Volkswagen coming. Shelby, you’ve got Hyundai, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. Oh, don’t kid yourself. They didn’t come because you earned their business, a subject on which you enjoy lecturing the Detroit Big Three. No, they came because you threw billions in state tax breaks to lure them.

"And now — this is rich — you want those foreign companies, which you lured, and which get help from their governments, to dictate to American workers how much they should be paid? Tell you what. You’re so fond of the foreign model, why don’t you do what Japanese ministers do when they screw up the country’s finances?

"They cut their salaries.

"Or they resign in shame.

"When was the last time a U.S. senator resigned over the failure of his policies?

Yet you want to fire Rick Wagoner?"

The Paperless Newspaper

Do you look forward to reading the old-school paper edition of the Detroit Free Press every morning with your coffee? Well, prepare yourself for a new morning routine and consider investing in a laptop.

J. Linx writes:

"On top of everything else, the WSJ is reporting that the Detroit Free Press and its partner paper, The Detroit News, may stop home delivery everyday but Thursday, Friday and Saturday. An abbreviated print edition would be available at newsstands on the other days. Readers would be directed to an expanded digital version."

A First Time for Everything

I never thought I'd live to see this day...a Mitch Albom column I actually like. It's a miracle.

Talk to The Experts

Michigan to the rest of the country: Been there, done that.

Spring Training

Detroit Tigers pitchers and catchers reported for spring training today. We can now officially erase the Lions from our minds.

Photo via (Julian H. Gonzalez/Detroit Free Press)

Texting and Privacy

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is probably wondering just how the Free Press got a hold of his text messages, and the rest of the country is suddenly worried about their own privacy.

The telecom companies promise that they don't store text messages. Well, that's not very reassuring, given their track record.

"Phone companies are supposed to deliver our messages, not spy on them," says Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, a civil liberties organization not to be confused with the Detroit newspaper that broke the Kilpatrick story. "But at every turn, these telco giants trample on basic constitutional principles of privacy and free speech. When you break the law you should face the consequences."

And just how damning are the text messages that the mayor exchanged with his chief of staff Christine Beatty? Remember, they testified under oath that they were not having an affair.

"I'm madly in love with you," Kilpatrick wrote on Oct. 3, 2002, according to the messages obtained by the Free Press.

"I hope you feel that way for a long time," Beatty replied to the mayor. "In case you haven't noticed, I am madly in love with you, too!"

On Oct. 16, 2002, Kilpatrick wrote Beatty: "I've been dreaming all day about having you all to myself for 3 days. Relaxing, laughing, talking, sleeping and making love."

Detroit and The Wire

Fans of The Wire, the critically acclaimed HBO crime series set in Baltimore, are probably thinking the situation in Detroit with embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick sounds eerily familiar, especially if they happened to catch the trials and tribulations of Herc (above) in Episode 39: Soft Eyes.

Confused about the morning schedule for the Mayor, officer Thomas "Herc" Hauk waits by the truck, loses patience and goes looking for Lieutenant Hoskins, who heads the security detail. Opening doors in his search for his supervisor, Herc is surprised to encounter Mayor Clarence Royce on the receiving end of a robust act of fellatio, courtesy of his secretary. Stunned like a cow with a sledgehammer, Herc stares at the sight for a moment before slamming shut the door. In that moment, the Mayor sees him...Driving Royce, Herc catches the Mayor's eye in the rear view, certain now he's doomed for what he witnessed...Herc seeks out Carver to get advice on how to handle his embarrassing situation with the Mayor, convinced he'll never make rank now. "This is way beyond my pay grade," says Carver, thinking about who to consult...Herc gets advice from the politically connected and astute Major Stanislaus Valchek, who has a different take on Herc's predicament. The Major would like to be in Herc's shoes: "Kid, careers have been launched on a helluva lot less. Just shut up and play dumb."

For more evidence of life imitating art — or perhaps it's the other way around — read the deposition of Officer Walter Harris, a former member of the mayor's security division, as he describes his very Herc-like experiences with Kilpatrick. It's available at Detroit Uncovered about halfway down the page in the right-hand column.