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KEITH A. OWENS Senior Editor SAMUEL LOGAN Publisher 1933-2011
e-mail: newsdesk@michronicle.com June 14-20, 2017
CATHY NEDD Associate Publisher
Page B-4
JOHN H. SENGSTACKE Chairman-Emeritus 1912-1997 LONGWORTH M. QUINN Publisher-Emeritus 1909-1989
Speed demons increase car fatalities By Linda Simmons The fast and furious, most reckless drivers cannot ease the pain of family and friends who suffer the loss of loved ones tragically killed, or severely injured in car related accidents. Many speed showboaters couldn’t care less about endangering the lives of others, anytime and anyplace. Unfortunately, these adrenaline junkies get off on high-powered cars like Dodge Challengers SRT Hellcat, Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack, Ford Mustang GT, Chevrolet Camero SS, Kia K900, Ford Mustang Shelby, Hyundai Genesis, Chrysler 300, and so on. Depending on the features, these high performance muscle cars, can hit 60 mph in 3 to 5.5 seconds Lead-foot-speeders say what’s the point in driving muscle cars if you can’t burn rubber, do donuts, drag race, speed and floss. There are no-holds-barred to where they flex their muscles, including parks, schools, neighborhoods and during rush hour traffic. Bullying other drivers, tailgating, running stop signs and red lights, gives them a feeling of power. In short, their “get-the-hell-outof-my-way” attitude makes them feel like kings of the streets. “There is no other feeling like pushing the pedal to the medal, revving up the engine and flying in the wind. It’s like rebelling gravity,” says 25-year-old J Wo, the owner of a boosted up Impala. “The euphoric feeling is very powerful.” Ian, 32, states, “I love the adrenaline rush and intensity of speeding in my muscle car, but I hate the stupidly of speed demons driving reckless in neighborhoods where kids play in schools, parks and residential areas. I would never speed unless it was totally safe to.” Retired police officer Marsha S. states that during her 30 years of service, she’s
never seen such total disregard for the speed limit and safety for others. Recently, Dr. Timothy Careathers, Wayne County Community College professor, lost the apple of his eye, Angel Careathers, his 21-year-old granddaughter, along with her 21-year-old fiancé Zachariah Garrison. While parked at a public park to walk their dog, a 36-yearold speed demon hit a curb, causing the airborne car to land on theirs, killing them instantly. Their sisters seated in the back were seriously injured; the dog was unscathed but brokenhearted. Dr. Careathers states that he’s praying for the families, but insists that thefullest-extent-of-the-law is implemented. Detroit’s Grand River is a hot spot for speeders. Recently, a speed maniac crashed into and killed an elderly man who was driving too slowly on this street. Also, a drag racer crashed into a hair salon; fortunately no one was injured. Michigan accident statistics are currently being counted for 2017; 2016 was reportedly the deadliest in years. The Office of Highway Safety Planning reported in 2016, 306,779 auto accidents across the state. 78,371 people were injured in car crashes over those 12 months, and there were over 1,047 fatalities. This is the first time Michigan traffic deaths hit the 1,000 mark since 2007, and is expected to rise. Moreover, the crash reporting units state that fatalities are increasing nationwide. Experts say that the increase in car crashes and fatalities is due in part to lower unemployment rates, lower gas rates, more cars on the road, texting while driving, talking on cell phones and speed demons. Let’s not lose our streets, neighborhoods, schools and parks to speed bullies. We never know who will be hit, injured or killed next.
Area track and field personalities to be honored By Dr. John Telford Former old Miller High and U-M star Aaron Gordon and I founded the Detroit Track & Field Old-Timers, Inc. in 1991. Since then, the group has honored many old-time area track & field athletes at its annual dinners and donated thousands of dollars to interscholastic and age-group track programs in DPS and in and around the city. Interna- John Telford tional and All-American speedsters the organization has lauded over the years include Kettering’s Deon Hogan, Pershing’s Darnell Hall, old Eastern’s Lou Scott, Northern’s Marshall Dill, Pershing’s Wendy Truvillion, Pontiac and the Detroit Varsity Club’s Hayes Jones, Downtown Judy Brown, the Detroit Track Club’s Jim Bibbs, Northwestern’s great “Gray Ghost” Henry Carr, Central’s Cliff Hatcher, old Chadsey’s Karen Dennis, and Denby Tars Ronnie Phillips and Yours Truly. Native Detroiters who did their interscholastic running elsewhere include Chronicle Senior Editor Keith Owens and track historian Keith McClellan. This year’s dinner will take place on Friday, June 25, at 6:00 p.m.in the Barth Hall of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul at the corner of Woodward and Warren Avenue. The ticket price is $25 ($45 for two), which includes dinner, dessert, and a complementary wine table. There will be free and ample parking, and tickets will be available at the door. Honorees this year are Martin Crane, Eliot Tabron, Dennis Holland, Frank McBride, Jill Washburn, Allan Tellis, and Bruce Waha. In addition, there will be a special tribute to Ella Willis, the first African-American woman to ever win a marathon--a lady who should be in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. Local high school stars will also be special guests. Marty Crane coached 83 All-State athletes at Flint Beecher High School, where his teams won 10 state, 13 conference, and 19 regional titles. Detroit Murray-Wright alumnus Eliot Tabron was Wayne State’s last track All-American, and he was threatening my quarter-mile mark there when he transferred to MSU and attained world ranking in the 400 meters with an MSU mark of 45 seconds flat. At the time of his transfer, WSU had de-emphasized its historic and celebrated track program, which the Old-Timers organization has been trying to get restored and get a track fieldhouse built on the campus. (I’m on that WSU committee with Darnell Hall, WSU athletic director Rob Fournier, Lisa
Howze from the Mayor’s office, old Chadsey High trackman Elliott Hall, Coleman Young, and Old-Timers president Randy Williams.) Dennis Holland was a star quarter-miler and long jumper at Redford High, and his 26’3” college jump for WMU remains the longest in state history--only five inches short of the immortal Jesse Owens’ world-record leap. A fond memory I have of Dennis was taking him and another Detroit high school star to a big all-comers meet in Dayton. I was teaching and coaching at Southeastern High School that year, and I was attempting a brief comeback. I won the open quarter-mile and then took the two kids and another local runner onto a relay team with me. Representing the Detroit Track Club, we beat all the college and club teams in the last race of the meet-the mile relay--in a huge upset, and brought home four gold medals. Frank McBride, who coached me in that brief comeback, succeeded legendary Coach David L. Holmes at WSU in 1958 and did him proud. An Olympic Trial finalist at 1,500 meters in 1952, McBride--who was a superb motivator--piloted WSU teams to seven conference titles. Jill Washburn, a state cross-country champion, has held the mile and two-mile marks at Rochester High for thirty years and is in the school’s hall of fame. She was an All-American at Michigan State. Northwestern High School alumnus Al Tellis, a past Old-Timers president, ran with me at the Penn Relays for WSU in 1954 and succeeded me coaching champions at Pershing High. He was also instrumental to bringing girls’ track to DPS. Old Detroit Cooley High School and WSU shot putter Bruce Waha--in his nineties now--coached Redford High School track and cross-country teams to championships fourteen times. Then he went to Howell High and his teams there won five more titles. His 54year track-coaching record is 404 wins and only 13 losses, and his 22-year cross-country record is 397-17. Detroit has many old and many upand-coming new young track & field stars who are yet to be honored by the Detroit Track & Field Old-Timers. Come to the DT&FOT Dinner on June 23 to support the grand old All-American and Olympic sport of track & field here in our town--and enjoy a very good meal. . Dr. John Telford was an NCAA and NAAU All-American quarter-miler in 1957, his senior year at WSU, when he went unbeaten representing the U.S. team in Europe. Hear him Sundays at 3:00on NewsTalk1200, and get his five Detroit-oriented books at Barnes & Noble or at amazon.com. A recent pro bono Superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools under state-imposed emergency financial management, he can be contacted at (313) 460-8272 or at DrJohnTelfordEdD@aol.com. His website is www.AlifeontheRUN.com.
Civil Rights Coalition demands affordable housing, mortgage access By Charlene Crowell As the Senate Banking Committee turns its attention to reform the nation’s secondary mortgage market, civil rights leaders recently spoke in a strong and united voice. For these national organizations, the housing finance system must embrace -- not abandon-- its obligation to provide broad access and affordability in mortgage lending. In a June 6 letter to Committee Chairman and Ranking Member, Senators Mike Crapo (ID) and Sherrod Brown (OH), were advised that any emerging legislation for the secondary housing finance market must set in place guidelines to protect against unlawful discrimination. Charlene Crowell A second and equally important requirement is for all credit-worthy borrowers have access to the mortgage credit they deserve. Signing the letter was a broad coalition of activists: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, National Urban League, National Council of La Raza, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Fair Housing Alliance, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). Together they wrote, “Any reform of the secondary mortgage market must ensure access and affordability to mortgage credit for all creditworthy potential homebuyers in all regions of the nation. . . Diminishing the role and importance that the secondary housing finance systems plays in achieving this goal will continue to deepen the racial wealth gap that already exists in America today.” The current public policy debate on the secondary mortgage market has its roots in the foreclosure crisis that began in 2007. Lax federal regulation and excessive risk-taking by Wall Street firms led to a housing boom where investors chased profits on unsustainable mortgage loans. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-sponsored enterprises also known as GSEs, followed that market trend, hoping to capture profits for their investors. This led to them facing losses that resulted in their being placed into conservatorship by the federal government. Like many other private firms, the GSEs received a financial bailout from the U.S. Treasury Department to avoid a complete market meltdown. Eventually and as authorized by Congress in the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, a $187 billion taxpayer investment saved the GSEs out of the total of $698 billion in rescue funds. Even today, the GSEs remain under conservatorship. But with the housing market stabilized, multiple calls have urged legislative reform of Fannie and Freddie, despite some reforms already enacted. For communities of color, the next decade is projected to demographically change to majority minority. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard, seven out of every 10 new households formed will be families of color. In addition, the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is tied to several statutory mandates that include requirements for the GSEs to share re-
sponsibility in reaching affordable housing goals, as well as access to credit that is free from discrimination. In a broad sense, today’s public policy housing debate is also an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the past and craft new policies that will avoid their recurrence. “The nation’s housing finance system has never worked for people of color,” noted Lisa Rice, Executive Vice President of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “The system was originally and purposefully designed to exclude these consumers. That construct infused barriers to equal access into the system and those barriers have never been unwound.” “As a result people of color face grave difficulties when trying to access credit,” added Rice. “This means that the Affordable Housing Goals must be strengthened and the resources and resolve to achieve them must be set in place.” “Because the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have a special relationship with the federal government, they also have special responsibilities to the public as well,” said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “Most importantly, part of their business has to be based in low-income communities that have historically been underserved,” Gupta continued. “If Congress decides to overhaul the housing finance system, any entities that take the place of Fannie and Freddie and enjoy the same protections must also meet the same responsibilities.” As the housing market continues to grapple with historical discrimination that resulted in persistent and growing racial wealth gaps, it must also adapt to new 21st Century challenges as well. Many millennials are shunning or delaying homeownership due to heavy student debt. Future policies must find a way to serve a diverse marketplace and protect taxpayers from more financial bailouts. Among remedies offered for thoughtful debate and action include: 1. Enforce the GSEs obligations that guarantee sustainable access to credit and affordable housing – especially for low-to-moderate income consumers living in underserved communities. These are the same consumers who have been left out of the nation’s financial recovery. 2. Authorize the recapitalization of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with guidelines that allow a reasonable economic return. 3. Curb the practice of added costs to mortgage loan originations, fees that add costs to the mortgage origination costs known as loan level price adjustments or LLPAs. These fees lock out 5.2 million potential borrowers due to unnecessarily tight credit restrictions. 4. Fully fund HUD’s Housing Trust Fund. “Access and affordability are central tenants of the nation’s housing finance system. Two others are safety and soundness,” said Nikitra Bailey, CRL Executive Vice President. “Any GSE reform must protect affordable housing goals and advance the GSEs’ duty to serve. All credit-worthy consumer in every region of the nation should have a real opportunity to pursue their homeownership dreams.