Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder today declared a financial emergency in Detroit, the climax of the fiscal crisis that has engulfed Detroit.

Snyder speaking during a live broadcast town hall meeting on the campus of Wayne State University said it is time for people to come together and get the city from its current economic malaise.

Snyder said he already has a "top candidate" to take the job of emergency manager and that there are other candidates as well. The governor would not name names.

With the declaration of a financial emergency, the city of Detroit has 10 days to appeal to the state, during which a hearing will be held, according to Snyder.

The State Emergency Loan Board will eventually select the Emergency Manager for Detroit, Snyder said.

"This is not the time for fighting and blame. I want to solve it. I want to help you solve it. So people can have a great quality of life, Snyder said. " I would appreciate your support on this."

The governor said he's been meeting with ministers in the city as well as other civic leaders and called them "very good meetings. People in the neighborhoods know what's best for the community."

Carol Goss, CEO of the Skillman Foundation asked the governor about citizen participation in the event of an emergency manager. Snyder said there will be opportunity for Detroiters to engage the process without defining what that process will be.

Peter Hammer, a law professor at Wayne State University Law School asked a pointed question about why the governor would be having a town hall on an emergency manager for Detroit, when there are other regional issues like transportation.

"He artfully dodges the question," Hammer said about Snyder.

"The root cause of the problem are the segregation of race and wealth and until you address the segregation of race and wealth you are not going to have a viable formula to address the financial well being of the city," Hammer said "To not mention race in the discussion about Detroit and its financial crisis in the context of the region is just irresponsible."

Hammer said what does not work is " A narrow financial plan that seeks to balance revenues that does not solve deep structural problems. Other communities have looked at regional revenue sharing and revenue sharing formulas."

Hammer said there should be investment in human capital, invest in children, something that's been absent in the conversation.

Bankole Thompson is the Editor of the Michigan Chronicle. He is the author of book series on the Obama presidency. His book "Obama and Black Loyalty" published in 2010 follows his recent book "Obama and Christian Loyalty" with an epilogue by Robert S. Weiner former White House spokesman. Thompson is also a Political News Analyst at WDET-101.9FM Detroit (NPR Affiliate) and a member of the weekly "Obama Watch" Sunday evening round table on WLIB-1190AM New York and simulcast in New Jersey and Connecticut.

As the possibility of an emergency financial manager looms over the city, Detroiters have taken to social media to suggest potential candidates.

Lately, the Twitter world has been a buzz with residents throwing out the names of individuals they only wish would be sent to take over the local government.

Some of the requests have been unexpected, while others spur possible conspiracy theories.

Perhaps the most standout suggestion is former President Bill Clinton. Many would love to see the powerhouse politician pay a trip to the Mitten State to help its largest city resolve its biggest challenges.

Clinton may be known in infamy for narrowly escaping prison time, yet that doesn't stop residents from making him one of their top fantasy prospects.

Others have even joked that the Pope's resignation is a sign that Governor Snyder might have summoned the Vatican leader to another calling.

As Detroiters and the world alike watch the clock with anticipatication, social media users will undoubtedly continue to give suggestions for candidates they only hope would assume the role.

Friday at noon might still be too far away for some who early anticipate Governor Snyder's possible announcement. Until then, the ideas will continue to roll in on fantasy financial managers.

Who's your #dreamEFM? 

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Will Detroit get an emergency financial manager?

That question might be answered sooner than previously expected.

Mayor Dave Bing has announced that Governor Rick Snyder will come to Detroit on Friday, Mar. 1 to respond to the city's current financial situation.

It is expected that Snyder will reveal whether or not he accepts the recommendation of the state-appointed review team. Declaring Detroit in a state of "financial emergency", the team suggested that a manager is needed to remedy the city's challenges.

Mayor Bing expressed his willingness to accept help from the state, explaining that he feels the city cannot come out of its current condition by itself. He answered "no" when asked about the possible naming of an EFM, asserting that it is Snyder's announcement to make.

If the governor appoints an emergency financial manager, the city has the legal right to appeal his decision within 10 days. They may also request a hearing to review the findings of the state-appointed team.

One major concern that an EFM would face is the mounting disapproval of residents and community leaders alike.

While some argue that it's what's needed to improve the city's finances, others don't want to see the officials they voted for lose their power. There are individuals who don't want to witness a takeover, citing other possible solutions. At the same time, many think it's the quickest resolve.

Tomorrow's announcement is slated to take place around noon in a town hall style forum at Wayne State University. Stay tuned to the Michigan Chronicle for further details.

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(DETROIT) -- A tax preparer from Detroit is facing charges for allegedly preparing false tax returns.

The Justice Department issued a release on Wednesday stating that Matthew Bender is charged with 16 counts of assisting in the presentation of false tax returns to the IRS, and one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/28/matthew-bender-detroit-tax-fraud-false_n_2780833.html?utm_hp_ref=detroit

During last December's right-to-work showdown in Michigan, a vocal African-American presence stood out among those opposing the ultimately successful Republican effort to pass the anti-union legislation into law. State Sen. Bert Johnson (D-Detroit) filibustered for over 45 minutes on the floor of the legislature in protest, and several African-American activists were led away in handcuffs at the huge rally held at Lansing's Capitol building.

Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/african-american-uaw_n_2763344.html?utm_hp_ref=detroit

According to the Detroit Financial Review Team, Detroit’s financial situation is so grave that there is an expected cumulative deficit in excess of $100 million by June if no financial countermeasures are adopted to stop the depletion of cash.

The anticipated unanimous report from the six-member review board created under Public Act 72 of 1990 (Local Government Fiscal Responsibility Act) is widely seen as the final act before Gov. Rick Snyder appoints an emergency manager for Detroit.

“While the mayor and city council deserve credit for considering and, in some instances, adopting difficult financial reforms, those reforms are too heavily weighted toward one-time savings and apply only to non-union employees who represent only a small portion of the city’s overall wage and benefit burden,” the report said.

State Treasurer Andy Dillon said, “This review team spent two months pouring over the city’s finances, taking careful consideration of both long and short-term issues, including recent actions by the administration and city council.

While we appreciate the steps the city has taken over the past number of weeks, key reform measures have not occurred quickly enough, if at all. The team collectively believes the city needs assistance in making the difficult decisions necessary to achieve the significant reforms that are so crucial to the city’s long-term viability.”

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing fired back at the review report saying his administration has a plan.

“Certainly I am not surprised by the findings of the state’s financial review team. My administration has been saying for the past four years that the city is under financial stress,” Bing said. “If the governor decides to appoint an emergency manager, he or she, like my administration, is going to need resources, particularly in the form of cash and additional staff. As I have said before, my administration will stay focused on the initiatives that most directly impact the citizens of Detroit: public safety, public lighting, transportation, recreation and neighborhood blight removal.”

Gov. Snyder, instead, offered a broader response to the city’s fiscal crisis, citing the many structural issues Detroit is facing, such as population decline over the decades. Many moved out for lack of quality services.

The governor also mentioned how the city is behind in its technology infrastructure, which also affects how the financial apparatus of the city operates.

During an exclusive interview Snyder said the city should find a system that works instead of the current ailing system that is part of the overall structural problem Detroit has.

“Instead of saying we are going to modify this (system), stop and bring in something brand new. And they may ask people to change how they’ve been doing things for 20 or 30 years, but we know what works, because it’s working in other communities,” Snyder said.

The governor noted that instead of operating as a city with a million people, Detroit should make decisions as reflected in the latest census report which showed the city’s population dwindle to around 700,000.

Snyder still maintained that even though some are expecting him to make a decision in a week about Detroit’s fiscal crisis, he has 30 days to make that decision.

In the world of social networks, innovation can quickly change the field of frontrunners -- remember LiveJournal?

We just saw it again as Google+ overtook Twitter to claim the No. 2 spot behind Facebook. And the new kid is already better than Mark Zuckerberg’s baby for small businesses, professional firms and entrepreneurs, says Alex Hinojosa, vice president of media operations for EMSI (www.emsipublicrelations.com).

“I knew Google+ would attract a big following because it really lends itself to business uses and SEO,” says Hinojosa, who has witnessed the value of Google+ grow exponentially in the daily operations of his PR firm.

A new Global Web Index study show Google+ grew to 343 million users globally in December, or about 25 percent of global internet users. Facebook still accounts for 50 percent of the pie.

“Facebook continues to go through self-imposed changes that are seeing mixed responses from longtime users,” Hinojosa says. “The new No. 2 has much, much more to offer than simply being an alternative to the big dog.”
Hinojosa reviews the merits of Google+ as a business tool, and why he believes the social network will continue its meteoric rise:

• Power: Google+ may be the new kid when it comes to social media – it’s not even 2 years old yet -- but Google has become synonymous with anything online. The “new kid” offers something that no other social media platform can: Google power.

• Overwhelming advantage: “Google loves its newest offspring and it favors any post, article, picture and link posted on Google+,” Hinojosa says. “If you post a link on your Google+ about asthma remedies, and one of your connections is logged in to Google+ and searches for asthma remedies, your post will show up high in his Google search results.”

• In action: Let’s say you own an art gallery full of nature photos. Your website for promoting the gallery highlights “mountain photos,” “wildlife photos,” and “waterfall photos” and you’ve created matching URLs for each page, such as bobsnaturephotos. com/waterfallphotos. Now you head over to post your newest update on Google+. You post a message about the waterfall, then you add the link to your waterfall page, bobsnaturephotos. com/waterfallphotos.

Now, whenever one of your connections types “waterfall photos” into a Google search, whether it’s days, weeks or months later, there you are on page 1 of the results. Your post shows up, your profile picture shows up, and your link shows up.

“Once upon a time MySpace was king, but over a period of about a year the world made a seamless transition onto Facebook, which may very well see a mass exodus of users,” Hinojosa says. “If your business or employer is not already on Google+, it’s time to make the move.”

Alex Hinojosa is the Vice President of Media Operations at EMSI Public Relations, where he oversees the creative process and execution of print (traditional & online), radio, TV and social media campaigns. He has an extensive background in radio, working as a national talk-show host and executive producer for CBS Radio, Clear Channel Media & Entertainment and ESPN in major markets. Alex is also a (social) media coach and fill-in talk show host for Genesis Communications Florida. 

Detroit is going through a historical shift both in terms of governance and quality of life, regardless of how that movement is viewed by the many different voices within and outside of the city.

The Detroit that once was and is glorified by those who saw the city evolve in many phases before and after the 1967 rebellion, is not the Detroit that is evolving before our eyes now because the present political and economic dispensation offers a different climate that is now forcing city hall to change the way it does business.

Things are changing, but what hasn’t changed is the spirit of Detroit and the resilience that has kept many Detroiters loyal to their city, steadfastly believing that it can return either to the golden age or become a more advanced urban center where city services are delivered in a timely fashion with the requisite leadership. What has changed recently, as a pattern in the course of the big debate that is being held about an emergency manager and where Detroit is headed in the future, is the silence of the men and women we often refer to as the civic leaders of this city. Individuals who brand themselves as gatekeepers and who are often quick to put anyone in check who takes Detroit for granted seem to be missing in action.

I haven’t heard any word from these individuals sometimes defined as the conscience of the community about what they think should be done in the context of the financial crisis that has this city’s future held hostage as well as the services that should be delivered to residents and businesses invested in the city.

The deafening silence is even more notable in the clergy, which traditionally has been outspoken on the issues that impact this community.

Recently, at the Philadelphia Airport while heading to Washington, DC, I met one of our local area ministers who is deeply involved in the political process. He expressd his view about the silence of our ministers and he basically agreed that the silence is notable given the past advocacy of religious leaders who have demanded political accountability in the city.

But now that the city is going through a new phase of governance structure and a financial malaise, all of which will affect the people of Detroit, it makes you wonder why those who are supposed to be speaking out are keeping quiet.

Why is this a concern? Because in the past we’ve seen what happens when civic leaders galvanize around an issue and stake a position on the most important matters of great significance to the city.

I don’t want to buy into the idea that some have already aligned themselves with certain forces of power and thus cannot speak their conscience about what they see inherently troubling about Detroit’s political leadership. I don’t want to buy into the idea that those who have for so long been at the forefront of issues that this city has been grappling with all of a sudden have abdicated the role that has made them voices in the city.

Perhaps one of the few ministers who has tried to stir a healthy debate and take a position on the financial crisis facing Detroit has been the Rev. Bertram Marks of First Community Baptist Church. The minister and trained lawyer has not only been speaking out on how he strongly feels about an emergency manager for Detroit and the Belle Isle proposal question, among other issues, but has also been writing guest editorials in newspapers to circulate his thoughts.

Marks understands that his obligation is not only to the duties confined within the four walls of First Community Baptist, but also to the larger community and for posterity.

We must have a healthy debate about where Detroit needs to be at this point and examine the current options on the table. The lack thereof is part of the reason the city is in this crisis. Leadership is not and should not be defined by titles, but by the positions that are taken in the public space and how those positions impact the quality of life here.
In the last couple of weeks I have been invited to many meetings and the one thing that keeps coming up is, where is Detroit’s civic leadership?

If you support an emergency manager for Detroit, say it loud and clear. If you don’t support an emergency manager coming to the city, your voice should also be heard. But to remain mute on the question and avoid the very issue that could be a seismic shift for the city is troubling. Silence can be betrayal.

Certainly, Detroit is not monolithic in thought as Rev. Marks has shown in some of his guest editorials. But the essence of different voices speaking to this issue shows an active leadership in play in the city, and sends a message that there is leadership that is both actively and publicly concerned about the future of the city and is doing something about it.

Beyond the Nicodemus-type meetings that are being held to discuss the next chapter of leadership in Detroit lies a deeper responsibility to let the public know about the positions of our many civic leaders. Beyond the secret meetings is an obligation to inform the public about the stance that Detroit’s civic leadership is taking and it shouldn’t just come from one individual.

Detroit has a treasured history, and there are many voices from many different backgrounds and with many experiences that should be contributing to the dialogue. This has never more important than now. So we need to hear from the mosaic of leadership. If not now, when?

The late Whitney Young, the respected leader of the National Urban League, was one of the voices that had a strong influence on President Lyndon Johnson and his administration’s ideas about the Great Society. Young pushed the administration through one-on-one discussions with the president and his insightful writings, including his book “To Be Equal,” to address the growing urban crisis facing Black America at that time. In fact, Johnson’s famous Howard University commencement speech was largely influenced by the writings of Young who spoke so eloquently about the urban crisis.

In our current situation we need more voices like Young, who are genuinely concerned and influencing privately and publicly the right policies to move Detroit forward, not just contentedly sitting around the negotiating table in the corridors of power without offering any constructive dialogue or lasting solution to the compounding financial crisis the city is facing, among other issues.

History will judge this era and those in leadership regarding what they have done to move Detroit to a place where everyone can be proud, and where civic leaders are committed to doing what is expedient, not for themselves but for the people and the communities. And that they can meaningfully enhance quality of life by proposing concrete measures, not just shotgun/press release approaches, in a city where many of our children are dying before their time.

Bankole Thompson is editor of the Michigan Chronicle and the author of the forthcoming book “Rising From the Ashes: Engaging Detroit’s Future With Courage.” His book “Obama and Black Loyalty,” published in 2010, follows his recent book, “Obama and Christian Loyalty” with an epilogue by Bob Weiner, former White House spokesman. Thompson is a political news analyst at WDET-101.9FM (NPR affiliate) and a member of the weekly “Obama Watch” Sunday evening roundtable on WLIB-1190AM New York and simulcast in New Jersey and Connecticut. E-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit his personal page at www.bankolethompson.com.

People complain about the need for more affordable parking in downtown Detroit all the time, but now a neighboring suburban community is also facing scrutiny due to changes in its parking system.

The city of Ferndale, Mich. recently transitioned from parking meters to a new system of parking kiosks and raised rates up to $1 an hour during certain times and at some locations. Hours for parking enforcement have also been extended to 11 p.m. Ferndale city manager April Lynch, told the Ferndale Patch the new rates would encourage quicker turnaround for on-street parking spaces and help fund additional updates to the parking system.

Read at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/ferndale-parking-changes-michigan-free_n_2774319.html?utm_hp_ref=detroit

As black history month comes to a close, 2013's collective homage can be sealed with a shining moment for a pioneer in civil rights.

On Wednesday, feb. 27, the statue of civil rights icon Rosa Parks was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol. President Barack Obama spoke to the crowd and acknowledged the tremendous role the key figure played during the civil rights struggle. The audience included many of Parks' surviving relatives, most of whom currently live in Detroit.

One moment that stole the show was an adorable photo snapped of President Obama with one of the legendary leader's youngest family members. It shows 3-year-old Terrell Anderson Jr. in the arms of our nation's leader as he curiously touches his hair.

The young child may not yet comprehend who he got a chance to spend quality time with on that historic day, the moment he shared with the president is part of a larger one that expands our nation's history. It continues to bring to life the vision freedom fighters like Rosa Parks had nearly half a century ago.

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