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| A Toast to Deception by the Emergency Manager and Flint Officials |
The
process for obtaining a License for Marijuana Caregiver Centers is taking place
as we speak. Fees by law will not be higher than $1000 and through the
referendum process a fair and equitable ordinance will become the law of all
the people. Unfortunately, there are
some members in our community who want to create a problem that does not
exist. There are some in the community
who say that these places bring crime and drive the values of property
down. Under further inspection by
Council staff members of these businesses, these allegations are not true. Recently in January of 2016, Detroit
Police Chief James Craig was quoted on Detroit Speaks with Cliff Russell (WCHB
1200 AM Detroit MI) that the crime numbers associated with these Marijuana
places are not there and, the department has more issues to deal with like murders, car jackings, and mentally ill people that need help instead of jail.
We have African American pastors that own Caregiver
Centers that employ many people. They do not support the 1000 foot requirement
from a religious institution and requesting that this and other provisions be placed on
the ballot for November 2016. Furthermore some of these pastors should know
better and seem to forget the history of the Slave Trade were Black People sold
other Black people into slavery. In this case the pastors support keeping
marijuana illegal to support the for profit prison industry. There are cities like Ypsilanti, Lansing,
Flint, that have many Caregiver Centers in their cities, therefore the
allegations made by community groups regarding these places of business are
unfounded and remind you of the 1939 Reefer Madness movement.
The
Livernois Avenue of Fashion is thriving again with new lights and businesses
that meet the needs of their customers. The
lights took longer than expected because the wiring on the street was over 50
years old. We support the business owners on the Avenue who want the parking
meters removed from the street. They
have caused the business owners to lose customers because of the inflexibility
of the meters and our office is working with the owners to resolve the
problems. We want more people to start voicing their concerns to Wayne County
and Lansing for the condition of Outer Drive from Livernois all the way to Southfield
Freeway. Between Livernois and Wyoming,
the road conditions are atrocious and needs to be paved over immediately. We want
to highlight and give a shout out to the new Hartford Village complex on Meyers
and welcome to our new residents who will be living there.
The
empty land at the State Fairgrounds has a site plan and layout by the Magic
Plus LLC group. We hope that this group can expand their efforts as far as they
can between Woodward, John R, 8 Mile, and McNichols because this area is
begging for redevelopment. The plan is for a movie theater, housing, and a fully modal transportation center
that includes, Amtrak, Light Rail, DDOT, and SMART. On 7 mile and
Woodward a faith based transportation hub in partnership with the Tasty World,
BP Gas Station, Miles Green Acres Compassion Center, and the Perfecting Church will facilitate the connection
between North, South, East, and West distances in the city. We support the participation of the Magic
Plus Group in the re-vitalization of Detroit. We will continue to support the development of a regional light rail system that will rival Miami, Washington DC, and New York rail systems.
This growth within the district may result in the re-activation of the fire house at Curtis and Livernois that is 2.5 miles from Pasteur School into a fully operational fire house. In layperson terms there will be two fire trucks instead of one with a rescue unit. Some of the older firehouses may qualify for a historic grant because of the age of the facility. This means that a Detroit based company like CAASTI Construction Company (www.caasti.com) can redo the interior of fire houses and create job opportunities for carpenters, bricklayers, electricians, etc.
This growth will continue with the additional officers needed at the 12th Precinct because of the redevelopment of the old State Fairgrounds property by Magic PLUS. When this project is completed DPD will be adding at least 10 new officers to patrol the new neighborhood.
The Adams/Butzel Recreation Center has a world class NHL sized
hockey skating rink. It is one of the Department’s premiere recreation centers
in the district. Did you know that African Americans invented the game of
Hockey? (click here to find out) If you want to learn how to
play the game, then this is the place to come. Trainers with professional hockey experience are available to teach you the basics.
We will work to remove one of the Emergency Managers orders regarding the parking tickets. We want citizens to get a 24 hour grace period to pay a $20 fine instead of being socked $45 a pop. Michigan cities like Lansing are forgiving when it comes to parking tickets and people.
Finally, we want to give a shout out to Pastor Oscar King of
the Northwest Unity Baptist Church whose leadership in the District has helped to
make for a better quality of life in our neighborhood and our city.
