Monday, May 31, 2010

Despite two pending court cases, Harbor Shores,
the largest ever development on Lake Michigan, will open on August 10

Recent Propaganda in the Herald Palladium


Golf-glorification filled last week’s Herald Palladium pages - - Whirlpool’s company paper. National tournaments on the Jack Nicklaus course at Harbor Shores; details of the events reported as if the elite were expecting the second coming. See article below to experience trumped-up sensationalism: more brain-washing of readers to legitimize the biggest lakeshore development in Michigan. Maybe biggest in all the Great Lakes. Stolen land?* Readers will forget that fact when they see quotes from famous golfers anxious to get to Harbor Shores. The propaganda will make them forget the pending court cases. (Info - savejeanklockpark.org)

Under the guise of assisting people in poverty, the most outrageous lies are from Joe Steranka, CEO of “PGA of America.” Reminiscent of Steven Colbert’s “truthiness,” he claims that having tournaments at Harbor Shores will spread the PGA core messages of charity, job creation, and environmentalism. What planet is Steranka on? No Benton Harbor residents have meaningful jobs at Harbor Shores (Whirlpool promised 2,000), the development has destroyed countless plant and animal species, and much, much more. Golf course chemical runoff is the number one cause of Great Lakes pollution. Blatant lies from PGA of America and Steranka. (PGA contact info below in bold)

Charity? Whirlpool and the PGA will do absolutely nothing to improve Benton Harbor, a city with not one decent, maintained public park or playground for children. Not one museum. Almost no jobs. More people living in poverty than any city of it’s size in the US. More misery and suffering than one can contemplate.

Further points:

--For two years Whirlpool Corp. has stolen a half million dollars worth of water from Benton Harbor for the Harbor Shores development. Whirlpool has polluted precious public Lake Michigan shoreline.

--Harbor Shores may straddle three communities, but African-American Benton Harbor is the one being decimated.

--Golf courses nationwide are failing; the sport is on the decline.

--By the 2012 PGA Tournament, the elite will have driven all residents out of Benton Harbor, many into prisons. There has been a set-up going on for decades to destroy the lives of residents.

--Nicklaus’ involvement has assisted in Whirlpool’s land heist from poor people.

There couldn’t be a stranger juxtaposition. One of the wealthiest, antiquated old white boys’ clubs, imposing a golf course (of ALL things!) on one of the most impoverished, oppressed African-American communities in America. A community which has lived through the decay of their city. This gentrification is masqueraded as charitable, and reveals complete disregard, disdain, and disrespect for Benton Harbor.

Think of what the absurd amounts of money sited in the article below could do for Benton Harbor.

The old boys’ club brings its’ aging skeletons to roam Jean Klock Park, holding golf clubs for their dying sport, to haunt and oversee the land they stole from the public.

This is nothing short of the raids that occured in the Old South when similar men dresssed in white and took the land.

* “Perhaps some of you do not own a foot of ground, remember then that this is your park, it belongs to you. Perhaps some of you have no piano or phonograph, the roll of the water murmuring in calm, roaring in storm, is your music, your piano and music box... The beach is yours, the drive is yours, the dunes are yours, all yours. It is not so much a gift from my wife and myself, it’s a gift from a little child. See to it that the park is the children’s.” -John Nellis Klock (Mr. & Mrs. Klock deeded a half mile of lake Michigan frontage to the City of Benton Harbor in 1917, in memory of their deceased daughter.)

Please contact Ellison and Steranka and inform them about some of the story behind Harbor Shores, and any other information you’d like them to have.

--Earl Ellison, Pupblic Relations, PGA, eellison@pga.com

--Joe Steranka, CEO, PGA of America
100 Ave. of the Champs
Palm Beach, FL 33418, 516-624-8400
PGAfeedback@turner.com



Putting Harbor Shores on the map

With Senior PGA Championships, Nicklaus, others hope to build a reputation for great golf
By Darren Phillips - H-P Sports Writer, Thurs., May 27, 2010
BENTON TOWNSHIP - A golf course that isn't 100 percent open yet in two years is going to host one of the biggest events of senior golf - twice.
...Through a video feed from Parker, Colo., the organization Wednesday announced the 2012 and 2014 Senior PGA Championships will be played at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores, on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course that straddles Benton Harbor, St. Joseph and Benton Township.
Additionally, KitchenAid, a Whirlpool brand of kitchen appliances, will be the title sponsor of the Senior PGA Championship...
Local officials and community members listened to the announcement made from Colorado Golf Club, the site of this year's Senior PGA Championship, via teleconference at Lake Michigan College's Mendel Center...
"We are always going to have a mix of great traditional sites, but we have an opportunity to identify the next generation of major sites," said Joe Steranka, the CEO of the PGA of America...
Nicklaus feels the opportunity to host such events has helped build a tradition at Valhalla, and the same can be done at other new courses such as The Golf Club at Harbor Shores...
...It's got some great holes. The seventh, eighth and ninth holes play into the dunes of Lake Michigan, there are some beautiful trees, and we have two rivers that run through. We have some spectacular holes on it. I think people are really going to enjoy the golf course. It's going to be a testing golf course from the back tees."
The official grand opening ceremony for the course is planned for Aug. 10, with Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller joining Nicklaus for a charity event titled Champions for Change...
Dates for the 2012 and 2014 tournaments have not been announced... The past few championships have had a purse of $2 million, with $360,000 awarded to the winner.
Steranka feels Harbor Shores can effectively broadcast some of the PGA of America's core messages. The PGA of America is part of We Are Golf, a coalition of national golf organizations promoting the sport's economic impact of job creation, the human impact of charity and its environmental impact.
"Those three messages about just how good our sport is are capsulized at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores," Steranka said.
"It's going to be a great platform for a major championship, but also a great platform for our sport and our industry to share that message." dphillips@TheH-P.com Full article: http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/05/27/local_news/1456348.txt

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Golf gods on hand for grand opening

[Golf Devils on hand for grand opening]

Commentary in brackets

Famous golfers Watson, Miller to join Nicklaus, Palmer for 18-hole skins event for opening of course
By Ben Sanders - H-P, Thurs., May 20, 2010
BENTON HARBOR - Jack Nicklaus will be on hand for the Aug. 10 grand opening of The Golf Club at Harbor Shores. And three famous friends will join him.

[They are bought and paid for by Whirlpool.]

Nicklaus, who designed the course, will play with golfing greats Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Johnny Miller in the Harbor Shores Champions for Change Golf Challenge.
It will mark the first time the foursome have played together competitively.
The day will begin with the foursome giving a golf clinic at 9:30 a.m. The golf challenge will begin at 10:30 a.m. in an 18-hole "scramble skins" format, a type of match play.

[Protesters will be there at 10am to begin the golf challenge.]

The golfers, who have won a combined 199 PGA Tour events and 35 major tournaments, at 7:30 p.m. will participate in An Evening for Champions, a roundtable discussion at Lake Michigan College's Mendel Center,
"I consider Arnold, Tom and Johnny among my closest friends in golf, so I not only look forward to getting together with them again but also having them with me as we celebrate the opening of The Golf Club at Harbor Shores," Nicklaus said in a news release. "The Harbor Shores Champions for Change event is a great opportunity to highlight how golf is being used as a vehicle for social and economic revitalization, particularly in the Benton Harbor community."

[We wonder if Arnold, Tom, and John are part of JNicklaus and Whirlpool stealing land from the people of BHarbor. The rich steal from the poor.]

A limited number of tickets for the event are available at www.HarborShoresChampions.com. The cost is $50 for the clinic and golf challenge...

[What kind of person would buy a ticket to consort with thieves?]

"We are truly honored to have four golf legends on board to celebrate the opening of this world-class resort golf venue and help us spark revitalization efforts throughout the community," Harbor Shores Managing Director Mark Hesemann said in a news release.

[They have no intention of revitalizing the community. None whatsoever. These are empty words to deceive people. They have been propagandized into thinking this is a good project - some still may believe it, likely most don't.]

Harbor Shores Marketing Director Ron Eng said discussions have taken place with CBS about filming the event, which could be aired before the 2011 Masters.
All 18 holes of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course are scheduled to open to the public by July 1.

[Please make sure to mark your calendar for the mass demonstration, August 10, 10am.]

Friday, May 21, 2010

Accusations fly over delays in golf course water payments delays

[How Whirlpool Continues to Steal Water]

[commentary in brackets]

By Evan Goodenow, Herald Palladium
Thurs., April 29, 2010

BENTON HARBOR - No smoking gun or leaky water pistol was revealed Wednesday over the water bill payment delays by Harbor Shores golf course developers to the city.

[No smoking gun. The commissioners dropped a bomb on Harbor Shores and Whirlpool.]

The City Commission's Planning and Economic Committee members were told by Deputy City Manager Darwin Watson that the one-year delay in the payment of $142,646 was due to the stroke and subsequent death of former Utility Services Foreman Ed Ward in 2008.

[Totally untrue. If someone died in our house, our water would be cut off.]

Watson said there was a communication breakdown during the transition period before the hiring of Michael O'Malley, water filtration plant superintendent.

[No breakdown - Whirlpool was stealing water.]

Watson said former City Managers Dwight "Pete" Mitchell and Richard Marsh filled in as utility services director for about nine months until he took over in December. Watson said neither Ward or O'Malley were to blame.

[Mitchell, Marsh, Watson, and Ward are/were in the pockets of Whirlpool and Harbor Shores.]

"Something catastrophic happened," Watson said. "You've got lag times. It's not that anybody didn't know what we're doing."

[There is no lag time when you're paying bills. Residents don't get any lag time. Why should Whirlpool?]

However, Commissioner Duane L. Seats II criticized O'Malley's oversight, noting an approximately $20,000 water payment from St. Joseph Township to the city has been delayed about a year because O'Malley hasn't sent paperwork to the township.

[Residents of Benton Harbor are requesting interest and a late fee on the payment we have not rec'd from St. Joseph township.]

"I'm behind on that," said O'Malley, who said he had to leave the meeting early to attend a baseball practice.

Seats said the payment delays were unacceptable, given Benton Harbor's dismal finances and the state financial takeover.

"It's looking like nobody knows nothing about anything," Seats said. "This is the job that pays your bills and you tell me you've got to go to baseball practice."

[Thank you, Commissioner Seats.]

Watson said Harbor Shores - a $500 million, 530-acre residential and retail project that includes an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course set to open in August - had commission approval to use the water and is no longer using it.

[They did not have commissioner approval to use the water for free. Stealing is
against the law.]

The bill was paid in April 2009, O'Malley said last week.

Watson said water for the course is now coming from the Paw Paw River, but Commissioner Dennis Knowles expressed skepticism about the project, which is backed by Whirlpool Corp.

"I strongly believe there was some skullduggery involved with this project," Knowles said. "You're talking about a multibillion-dollar-a-year corporation with a golf course in our city that we're really not getting any benefit from, yet you give them free water."

However, Wendy Dant Chesser, president of Cornerstone Alliance, one of the nonprofit organizations leading Harbor Shores, said the golf course no longer gets city water.

[Wendy is a main spokesperson for Whirlpool; anyone in that position has the Whirlpool version of "truth." What she's not saying is that Harbor Shores is now pumping water from Lake Mich. - for free.]

"If Commissioner Knowles has information otherwise, we need to sit down and discuss it," said Dant Chesser, reached by phone after the meeting. "We've been forthright and absolutely transparent in our usage."

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Benton Harbor: Whirlpool Plans to Incarcerate Kids - Carter Plans to Give Them Jobs (2nd article)

Commentary in brackets

Police patrols added in Benton Harbor
[Ethnic Cleansing continues]


By S. Aiken, HP
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
BENTON HARBOR - Berrien County sheriff's deputies and state police will work extra patrols in Benton Harbor to help city police keep the peace during the warm weather months.
[They will not be there to help, but to destroy the morale of the people. BH has become a police state.]

The county and Whirlpool Corp. each contributed $50,000 to pay for the sheriff's patrols, the fifth year of the combined law enforcement effort, Sheriff Paul Bailey said.
[These contributions are to protect golfers and the wealthy from an unknown monster. This money could have created jobs for BH teenagers, many well below poverty level.]

Every weekend, the sheriff's department will have two patrol cars, each manned by two deputies, on patrol in the city, Bailey said.
[They will concentrate on the golf course.]

The patrols will stay in Benton Harbor unless called outside the city temporarily for an emergency, Bailey said.

State police First Lt. Willie Mays, commander of the Bridgman post, said troopers will work extra patrols in Benton Harbor during the week to augment the sheriff's department effort.
[They want to convince Berrien County that BH is super, ultra dangerous. Law enforcement will surround the golf course.]

Mays said state police may also add patrol cars on weekends as needed.
[If golf is being played.]

Benton Harbor Police Chief Roger Lange said the added officers, along with the department's reserve unit, will boost manpower to its highest level in a long time. [The morale of the people hasn't been this LOW in a long time.]

"It gives use extra officers and extra cars for more visibility and proactivity," Lange said.
[To proactively feed more people to the prosecutors and judges of Berrien County Court.]

http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/05/12/local_news/1415637.txt


30 days, $200K: Carter challenges groups to raise money for job programs


By Evan Goodenow, H-P
Friday, May 14, 2010
BENTON HARBOR - The view looks bad for kids looking to get paid this summer.

With money tighter than ever, City Manager Ronald Carter Jr. on Thursday stressed teamwork to youth group organizers in finding money for summer jobs and recreational programs. Carter said the goal is to raise about $200,000 in taxpayer and private money in 30 days, which would pay for about 100 part-time, minimum-wage jobs.
"Youth programs are critical. It's something that we absolutely must do," Carter told an audience of about 25 organizers and youths at City Hall. "I know it sounds like a lot of money, but trust me, we can do this."
The effort comes at a time of record youth unemployment for people between 20 and 24 years old. Between October 2007 and December 2009, the number of employed teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 dropped nearly 25 percent and nearly 11 percent for 20- and 24-year-olds, according to a January study by Andrew M. Sum, a Northeastern University economics professor who analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers.
The youth unemployment rates were a higher percentage than the 16 percent rate for all workers during the Great Depression. The 49 percent unemployment rate for black teens was 3.4 times as high as the 14.1 percent unemployment rate for all black people in December of 2009.
Summer employment for teens dropped below 33 percent last year, a record low despite states receiving federal stimulus money.
The U.S. House has approved $600 million for summer teen jobs, but Senate Republicans - and three Democratic senators - on March 9 blocked a separate $1.3 billion proposal to create 500,000 summer jobs.
Benton Harbor is seeking money for 200 summer youth jobs from the state, but has not received an answer, said City Commissioner David Shaw, who was reached by phone after the meeting.
Carter acknowledged the challenge is particular difficult in nearly all-black Benton Harbor, where the destitute city was financially taken over by the state April 1. However, Carter said organizers can capitalize on festivities surrounding the Aug. 10 opening of the Harbor Shores golf course.
Carter said some 10,000 people - including a dozen NBA players he invited - are expected to visit for the unveiling of the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. Workers will be needed to spruce up the city for that and related summer events.
Carter emphasized strict accountability on spending, saying his office will oversee payments and the need for collaboration to avoid duplicating efforts.
Jobs will include cleaning and maintaining city beaches and parks, cleaning illegal dump sites, making banners and signs for summer events and overseeing youth sports teams. The deadline is next Friday to apply for money.

http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/05/14/local_news/1423727.txt

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Ethnic cleansing continues in Benton Harbor. Whirlpool needs the area "cleaned up."
What's wrong with human suffering and destroying lives (not to mention the Great Lakes and environs) so rich white men can play golf?

Here's a dated article from Time on America's drug war: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985050,00.html It's all still true. Over half of US prisoners are in for drugs. Our national madness: 1 in 100 Americans are incarcerated - more than any country on the planet. Research this issue and what you find is mega-corruption on many levels. There are good films on the topic - American Drug War: The Last White Hope (2007) is one worth watching.


Six arrested in BH drug busts

Herald Palladium, Sat., May 15, 2010
BENTON HARBOR - Four people were arrested on drug charges after police served search warrants at four residences in Benton Harbor this week, the Berrien County Sheriff's Department reported. Two other people were arrested on unrelated warrants during the drug busts.

The narcotics unit, along with road patrol, Benton Harbor police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency made the arrests at 1172 Columbus Ave., 1002 McAllister St., 607 McAllister St. and 862 Lavette Ave., police said.

The search warrants were the result of investigation into citizen tips regarding possible illegal drugs at the residences. Police said they seized suspected cocaine and marijuana, $424 in cash and other evidence of drug trafficking.

The following people were arrested for investigation on the listed charges: *******, 36, of **********, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and maintaining a drug house, all second offenses; ***********, 22, of *********, possession of marijuana and maintaining a drug house, both second offenses; **********, 34, of ************, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and maintaining a drug house; **************, 29, of **************, possession of cocaine, second offense; and ***************, 24, of ************, felony warrant for probation violations and bench warrant for contempt of court.

A Watervliet woman at one of the houses was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant for driving with a suspended license, police said.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Homeless Court-Watch Program


The Benton Harbor NAACP has been working with the homeless in a combination court-watching program. It has been a great success.

There is also an effort to take the court system to the neighborhood. We want court sessions for the homeless defendants convened in a homeless shelter to resolve warrants and misdemeanor offenses without jail sentences.

The NAACP would like to build strong relationships between the courts, local shelters, service agencies, prosecutors, and court-appointed attorneys. It seeks to resolve the problems that homelessness represents with a practical solution.

The NAACP proposal is for the prosecutor and the defense attorney to review the cases before the court hearings. The court sentencing for fines, cost, and custody would be substituted by participating in agency programs. The program is designed for efficiency. The majority of the cases would be heard and resolved. The people would be sentenced in one hearing. The initial referrals to a homeless court would originate in the shelters and service agencies.

This program is designed to counteract the effect of criminal cases pushing homeless defendants further outside society. This program combines a progressive plea bargain system, an alternative sentencing structure, assurance of no jail and proof of program activities to address a full range of misdemeanor offenses. It brings homeless people back into society. The homeless need justice too. --Rev. E. Pinkney, 269-925-0001

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Workplace Racism and Sexism Out of Control in Benton Harbor

Dawson Manufacturing in Benton Harbor, Michigan
is a workplace steeped in racial abuse.

The most recent, blatant racial attack was the
hanging of a noose in an area where 15
African-American employees could see it.

(A similar incident: 2 weeks ago, a man
living 1/2 mile from Dawson found a noose hanging
in his backyard. He's not a Dawson employee.)

Black workers are the brunt of racist jokes
and sexual attacks on a daily basis. White supervisors
constantly touch black female employees inappropriately.
Dawson's owner, Mr. Bob Trived, simply fires female
employees who complain. Trived has fired over 10
employees for reporting racial attacks of various
kinds to the EEOC. (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

For African-Americans living in Benton Harbor, life
can be very difficult. A culture of fear has been
created in the city. It makes it possible, and even
tolerable, for a business to make a noose and hang
it in plain sight. In 2010.

Another Benton Harbor company with serious racist workplace
violations is Autozone. Supervisor Brian Waldschmidt uses the "N" word
regularly, and his Tennessee home office Supervisor, Gary
Bailey, protects him from any charges. Waldschmidt
told an employee of Indian descent to "start
'dressing black' so people won't think we're racist."

Whirlpool's racist and sexist workplace behavior
is well-known. It creates an atmosphere, especially
in the majority African-American Benton Harbor, where
inhumane treatment is tolerated and even encouraged.

Anyone can contact these companies and demand
the end of workplace racist and sexist abuse.
Thank you for any effort you take in this matter.

Dawson Manufacturing
1042 North Crystal Avenue
Benton Harbor, MI 49022-9266
(269) 925-0100

Autozone
www.autozone.com
1681 Old State Highway 139
Benton Harbor, MI 49022-5715
(269) 925-2288