John C. Portman, Jr., chief architect of the Renaissance Center, reflects on iconic complex
40 years later Page C1
POWERED BY REAL TIMES MEDIA
Volume 80 – Number 44
michiganchronicle.com
July 12-18, 2017
Goodbye and hello.
Michigan Chronicle finally moving to new Paradise Valley location on Friday By Keith A. Owens Senior Editor
Two days and counting. Because come Friday? July 14? The Michigan Chronicle is moving outta here, folks. And this time we mean it. We’re also pretty happy and excited about it. But we wanted you, our loyal readers, to hear about this from us first so that come next Monday? You don’t make the mistake of coming down here to 479 Ledyard expecting to see any one of us because won’t be nothing left of us except the dust we shook off our shoes on the way toward the future.
See MOVING page A-4
Wayne County Treasurer works with entrepreneurs and nonprofits to prevent foreclosures Multiple homeowners receive monetary gift to pay taxes Wayne County Treasurer Eric R. Sabree is pleased to announce that his office has accepted payments and donations from private donors to help taxpayers save their homes from property tax foreclosure by paying off their 2014 taxes. “Our office has worked diligently to educate the public about ways to avoid property tax foreclo- Eric R. Sabree sure. Recently, we had over 2,700 people in owner occupied properties who owed less than $1,000 on 2014 delinquent property taxes,” said Sabree.
See STOP FORECLOSURE page A-4
WHAT’S INSIDE
WTH again! Donald Trump … really? By Roz Edward Donald Trump, arbiter of many things fake, has leveled false charges, wasted tax dollars and our time by proposing and assembling one of the most ludicrous and dangerous commissions on policy in modern times, the Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. Trump announced the formation of the Advisory Commission on Election Integrity (since the concept of integrity is apparently foreign to Trump, this is not a word he should use). The fraudulent commission, headed by Trump's second in command Mike Pence, requested voter information on individual voters in all 50 states, including names, home addresses, voting histories, party affiliations, dates of birth, felony convictions and the last four digits of voters’ Social Security numbers. Michigan, along with 29 other states, has agreed to partially comply with the Commission’s request and provide only the voter information that is legal to disclose. Michigan will provide the Commission only with the information that is publicly available on the state’s 7.4 million voters, which includes voters’ birth years but not their full dates of birth. Johnson also will not provide any Social Security information or driver’s license numbers, both protected under state privacy laws. Since a growing number of states (16) and Washington, D.C. are refusing to comply in any manner with the severely misdirected edict, calling it intrusive and recognizing this slippery slope into more flagrant forms of voter suppression. “The Advisory Commission on Election Integrity is just another form of voter suppression packaged in a different way. To request Michigan voters’ full birthdates and drivers’ license numbers is outrageous, and actions like these have the potential to
invoke fear and suppression amongst voters. This suppresses their rights as participants in the electoral process and could potentially lead to lower turnout numbers for future elections. Voting is our right and it shouldn’t be threatened by the risk of exposing our personal information. Hence, the reason why privacy laws are in place,” explained Wayne County Clerk, Cathy M. Garrett. Garrett is also secretary to the Board of Election Commissioners and is responsible for administering the statutory obligations of all federal, state and county elections conducted in Wayne County. “At this most critical time in our nation’s history, it is important for all of us to stand like a rock, to defend and protect our freedom and democracy. Michigan should join the [16] other states along with the District of Columbia in non-compliance with this bogus request regarding voter data information,” said Detroit Branch NAACP President Rev. Wendell Anthony. “California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia have all indicated their intentions not to comply. It is also most interesting
that Kansas, the home state of the vice chair of this commission, Kris Kobach, has also rejected and indicated their non-compliance. Even Texas has joined in the chorus of those who refuse to submit to this unconstitutional violation of citizen’s privacy, laws and election integrity.” Michigan’s response is, however, less intense and pales in light of Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann’s reply to the administrations reprehensible request. Hosemann, who is also the conservative southern state’s chief elections officer said in a statement that his reply would be, “They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi is a great state to launch from.” Rev. Anthony, the renowned national civil rights advocate and leader of the largest NAACP branch in the world, said he had also hoped for a more stringent response to the Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. “[While] we applaud the action of Secretary of State Ruth Johnson to partly deny this presidential request, it would have been preferred that Michi-
See VOTER
SUPPRESSION page A-4
City’s affordable housing stock rising Michigan Chronicle Reports
A series of oil paintings from Torri Smith, Detroit artist and architect Page D-1
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Bedrock and the City of Detroit recently announced an agreement which will result in an estimated 700 affordable housing units. The residential housing will consist of new construction and the preservation of existing affordable housing that would have likely converted to market rate. The agreement reflects the City of Detroit’s and Bedrock’s commitment to the redevelopment of the greater downtown area as an inclusive, mixed-income community that provides quality housing opportunities for all. “It is important that a wide range of housing options, including affordable ones, are available in Detroit’s growing marketplace. Jobs and economic opportunity for Detroit ers has been part of our mission since we started investing in Detroit seven years ago,” said Dan Mullen, president, Bedrock. “We are excited to further ramp up our commitment to invest in quality, affordable housing options to Detroiters representing a broad economic spectrum.” Over the next several years, Bedrock plans to develop up to 3,500 residential rental units in the city. This agreement,
which was submitted to the Detroit City Council, provides that one out of every five, or 20 percent, of those units will be affordable housing for households whose income is 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) or less. The affordable units will be
primarily located in the greater downtown area, where affordable housing options are needed to ensure downtown and Midtown remain accessible for people of all incomes.
See AFFORDABLE
HOUSING page A-4