The Untold Stories Of Extraordinary Black Fathers
News Briefs - Original 06-17-2013 Hits:206 
AJ Williams, Chronicle Web Editor
For entrepreneur William K. Middlebrooks, the only difference between living an ordinary life and an extraordinary one is your willingness to do the extra in everything that you do. It's a lesson Middlebrooks says his father instilled in him growing up, and one that served as a source of inspiration for a compilation of wisdom he and marketing executive Leslie M. Gordon recently released on the role of fathers in the African-American community. Part chapter-memoir, part call-to-action and part inspiration, the book, "Dare To Be Extraordinary: A Collection of Positive Life Lessons from African American Fathers," recognizes and honors the wisdom and teachings of African-American fathers passed down to sons and daughters, one summary reads. Continue to the Huffington Post...
Read moreFather’s Day Gift Guide: 10 Presents Inspired By Celebrity Dads
News Briefs 06-14-2013 Hits:191 AJ Williams, Chronicle Web Editor
Still haven’t found the perfect gift for Dad? With just a few days to go, get some inspiration from your favorite celebrity fathers and find a present that your pops will love. Here are our picks for the can’t-lose gift for your dad or gramps. - See more at: http://cocoafab.com/fathers-day-gift-guide-celebrity-dad-edition/?slide=1#sthash.c1MegEGp.dpuf
Read moreDetroit Vs. The Creditors
News Briefs - Original 06-14-2013 Hits:311 AJ Williams, Chronicle Web Editor
Kevyn Orr, Emergency Manager, Meets With Detroit Creditors To Avoid Bankruptcy DETROIT, June 14 (Reuters) - Detroit's creditors will begin to learn on Friday morning what they can recover without driving the financially troubled city into bankruptcy when the city's emergency manager unveils his restructuring plan. Manager Kevyn Orr has dropped hints that creditors would fare better by compromising now rather than in court should he opt to file what would be the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. He has begun laying a choice before creditors: Work with him by accepting cuts to what they are owed, or face the prospect of a Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceeding where they might have little influence on the outcome. "I have a very powerful statute," Orr said at his first meeting with the public on Monday, referring to Michigan's new emergency manager law. "I have an even more powerful Chapter 9. I don't want to use it, but I am going to accomplish this job. That will happen." Orr, the bankruptcy attorney Michigan officials tapped in March to run the city as emergency manager, has summoned public labor unions, bondholders, bond insurers and others to a Detroit airport hotel to present a 200-page restructuring plan. With Michigan's biggest city buckling under more than $15 billion of debt, high unemployment and a sinking population base, Orr has contended Detroit is on an unsustainable path and that there is a 50/50 chance of a bankruptcy filing. It would be a first for a major U.S. city as New York, Philadelphia and Cleveland all avoided formal bankruptcy filings, noted Jim Spiotto, a municipal bankruptcy expert at law firm Chapman and Cutler. "The perception in the market today is that major municipalities don't file for Chapter 9," Spiotto said. "They are a safe investment and they will find a way to refinance and restructure....
Read moreMichigan Senate Passes Gregory Bill to Eliminate Property Tax Loophole
News Briefs - Original 06-13-2013 Hits:368 
Amber Bogins
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The Michigan Senate voted today to pass Senate Bill 114, legislation sponsored by Senator Vincent Gregory (D–Southfield) that would eliminate a loophole that allows building owners to use occupancy rates to avoid paying property taxes. This bill will ensure property taxes are equal for all office building and commercial park owners and maintain vital funding for public safety and other government services. “Without the passage of this legislation, some property owners have been able to use this loophole to dramatically reduce their property taxes in lean times—and keep them low when their property values should have gone back up,” said Senator Gregory. “All building owners deserve a level playing field and should not be paying tax rates that are inconsistent with their competitors. More importantly, property taxes are a vital source of funding for our local governments, and this loophole has been allowing property owners to withhold funding that they are expected to pay for police officers, fire fighters, infrastructure and other universal community services.” During Michigan’s economic struggles over the last few years, owners of large commercial office buildings began having their property taxes reassessed—and ultimately reduced—based on their dwindling occupancy rates. These reductions in property taxes have had an adverse effect on local governments that rely on property taxes to provide local police and fire and other vital services. “I appreciate Senator Gregory’s efforts to address this problem and help local governments like ours recoup the money we are owed to provide the services businesses and residents alike depend on,” said Irv Lowenberg, Southfield City Treasurer. “Everyone in our community has equal access to police and fire, and everyone should be contributing equally to maintaining them.”
Read moreMichigan Senate Passes Gregory Bill to Eliminate Property Tax Loophole
News Briefs - Original 06-13-2013 Hits:2125 Amber Bogins
The Michigan Senate voted today to pass Senate Bill 114, legislation sponsored by Senator Vincent Gregory (D–Southfield) that would eliminate a loophole that allows building owners to use occupancy rates to avoid paying property taxes. This bill will ensure property taxes are equal for all office building and commercial park owners and maintain vital funding for public safety and other government services. “Without the passage of this legislation, some property owners have been able to use this loophole to dramatically reduce their property taxes in lean times—and keep them low when their property values should have gone back up,” said Senator Gregory. “All building owners deserve a level playing field and should not be paying tax rates that are inconsistent with their competitors. More importantly, property taxes are a vital source of funding for our local governments, and this loophole has been allowing property owners to withhold funding that they are expected to pay for police officers, fire fighters, infrastructure and other universal community services.” During Michigan’s economic struggles over the last few years, owners of large commercial office buildings began having their property taxes reassessed—and ultimately reduced—based on their dwindling occupancy rates. These reductions in property taxes have had an adverse effect on local governments that rely on property taxes to provide local police and fire and other vital services. “I appreciate Senator Gregory’s efforts to address this problem and help local governments like ours recoup the money we are owed to provide the services businesses and residents alike depend on,” said Irv Lowenberg, Southfield City Treasurer. “Everyone in our community has equal access to police and fire, and everyone should be contributing equally to maintaining them.”
Read moreTo Host 26th Annual Pancake Breakfast
News Briefs - Original 06-13-2013 Hits:184 Amber Bogins
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On Saturday, June 22, 2013 from 9 to 11:30 am the Cass Tech Alumni Association will hold its 26th Annual Pancake Breakfast. Hundreds of alumni and supporters attend every year. This annual breakfast serves as a forum to share information, network, acknowledge distinguished alumni and top achieving students as well as have fun and raise funds to support the students of Cass Technical High School. Cass Technical High School’s String Quartet will provide classical music as the entertainment for the breakfast. For more information about how you can participate in Cass Tech Alumni Association’s 26th Annual Pancake Breakfast go to www.casstechalumniassociation.org or call 313.963.9988.
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