The preliminary student headcount dropped to about 88,000 this fall – almost 20,000 less than the enroll­ment a year ago. The largest one-year decline in the dis­trict’s history could result in about $53 million in lost state aid. It means deeper cuts in a school system already strug­gling with massive layoffs as part of $522 million in budget cuts over the next two years.

Ending a political soap opera that has consumed Detroit, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to felony charges related to his affair with his former chief of staff Christine Beatty, and will resign as part of an agreement struck with prosecutors.

A subcommittee of the Detroit Board of Education voted last week to remove Joan McCray, the DPS chief financial officer, as board treasurer.

The makeup of much of the Detroit School Board, City Council, the Mayor’s Office and some of those elected to the State Legislature from the city are proof positive that Detroiters are scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to quality elected officials.

Is too much or not enough being made of Barack Obama’s historic rise as the first African American presidential nominee of a major political party?

Politicians, business leaders, newspaper editors and columnists are relentlessly spreading the word that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty’s text message scandal has brought the city to its knees.

The Michigan State Senate is considering a package of bills that would help people who buy their own health insurance in Michigan. For many people, that’s hard to get a grip on. But more and more people are taking on this cost themselves, if not today then perhaps in the future. But it’s not easy. The outdated laws in Michigan do not take into account this fact. So as times change, we need to change, not only with them, but ahead of them. And we need to do it with common sense solutions that work for everyone.

There is no doubt that Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy is a competent jurist, one who understands the law. She has been a judge and prosecutor. That means Worthy has had the opportunity to look at the law from different lenses. When she first cruised into office unchallenged, she was a legal star.

There are people that seem to flow in and out of our lives. At times they are front and center and, well, you lose track of them for a few years although they always stay in your consciousness. Tom Watkins is one of those people.

The recent decision by loan giant Quicken Loans (QL) to move its headquarters and 4, 000 employees from Livonia to downtown Detroit is welcome news for everyone who cares about seeing an upgrade in Detroit. By upgrade I mean attracting more economic development initiatives to the city.