Whirlpool, Rep. Fred Upton, and former Gov. Granholm knew just what they were doing when they force-fed state "financial mngr." Joseph Harris to Benton Harbor, Michigan. No more self-determination for Benton Harbor. The city is run by this outsider who has no interest whatsoever in the lives of residents. Harris is paid $132K per year to make certain BH is turned into corporate la-la land...Harbor Shores, Harbor Town...and corporate playgrounds don't include the land in it's wondrous natural beauty, only manicured, chemicalized, and covered with cement. Harris's only supervisor is now Whirlpool, although they make sure his paycheck comes from BH taxpayers. BH City Commissioners know this.
Today's Detroit Free Press: Council feuds with emergency manager
The Benton Harbor City Commission can pass resolutions to hand over power to Mayor Wilce Cooke, but it will have no effect, emergency financial manager Joseph Harris said Wednesday.
The commission passed a resolution on Monday establishing an administrative emergency and giving Cooke authority over the city. It said Harris gives preferential treatment to white contractors and meets with local white officials while refusing to meet with black officials.
Said Harris: "I could not care less what color a local official is. It matters if I can communicate with them."
Showing posts with label Gov Granholm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gov Granholm. Show all posts
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Is the rumour true that Harris is moving to Benton Harbor? And that, in reality, he's Whirlpool's hatchet man, working to dissolve every Benton Harbor department? Will Whirlpool replace BH with Harbor Town? Has this been in the works for decades, hence the most innocent and juvenile convictions in the state? Will this MONUMENTAL MISCARRIAGE of justice ever be prosecuted?
9 Benton Harbor officers face layoffs this week
By Julie Swidwa H-P
Wed., Sept. 15, 2010
BENTON HARBOR - Nine Benton Harbor patrol officers can expect to find layoff notices in their mailboxes this week after a unanimous vote by the union Monday to refuse a 25 percent pay cut.
Emergency Financial Manager Joseph Harris said three will be called back to fill grant-funded positions, resulting in a net loss of six full-time patrol officers. Harris said some of them will be offered part-time jobs...
always positive wrote on Sep 15, 2010 1:36 PM:
" Now this is when whirlpool should step in and help fund their ailling city of choice. Oops. They only want tax breaks from their hometown city of choice. The amount of tax breaks certainly would make a BIG difference. "
Rick wrote on Sep 15, 2010 1:52 PM:
" Instead of laying off police officers and closing the fire dept, why dosen't Harris stop the city trash pick-up which has made the owner of Industrial Sanitation rich. "
BH Resident wrote on Sep 15, 2010 3:38 PM:
" Why is Whirlpool giving money to the County and not to the BENTON HARBOR POLICE DEPT? And the city wants to allow Whirlpool to build down town. That's crap. Whirlpool doesn't give a darn about BH. "
Concerned wrote on Sep 16, 2010 5:10 AM:
" Harris is cutting every employee he can. But he is not cutting is own over a $100,000 a year or the City manager and his high paid assistant. That is a real concern to me. If the City is so broke then HOW does he justify his salary and having a City manager and a assistant as well. Harris is taking over every department and running them himself. To me he is going about this all wrong. He was brought in to manage the money and help to guide the City. But is has taken of the role of GOD over the City. Something is wrong with this picture. Or is he actually making the City FAIL on purpose. We better ask that question very soon or it will be GONE "
IN the KNOW wrote on Sep 17, 2010 12:22 AM:
" Ok who is behind the Township water plant? None other than Jim Boothby and his wife. WHY? They do not wish to be a part of the community any more. If people would only look at what is happening you can see for yourself. St Joe needs more capacity. Benton Harbor was able to get the grant and St Joe could not. So why was there a new connection pipe put under the river a few years back to join Benton Harbor and St Joe. The real reason: so that St Joe can get water from Benton Harbor when they run short. Why? So that in time the water plants will be under an authority much like the one in St Joe now and the townships. All but Benton as Benton wanted to be on their own and used The Benton Harbor situation to scam the voters. I am hoping that once all the new pipes and valves and such is placed and the total costs are figured the citizens will be outraged that they were scammed. This whole area is going to be in time a Water Authority and a New town in time watch and see what I say. There is a reason for what is going on and why it is happening. But that reason has not been made public as of yet. The talk of combined Fire services is only the start of things to come. St Joe is land locked and no way to gain land for future expansion and more tax base. Benton Harbor has the land and the river front and that will be the driving force to make the changes in the future. Why do you think Whirlpool decided to build there??? You answer that one HARBOR TOWN "
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/09/15/local_news/1922291.txt
9 Benton Harbor officers face layoffs this week
By Julie Swidwa H-P
Wed., Sept. 15, 2010
BENTON HARBOR - Nine Benton Harbor patrol officers can expect to find layoff notices in their mailboxes this week after a unanimous vote by the union Monday to refuse a 25 percent pay cut.
Emergency Financial Manager Joseph Harris said three will be called back to fill grant-funded positions, resulting in a net loss of six full-time patrol officers. Harris said some of them will be offered part-time jobs...
always positive wrote on Sep 15, 2010 1:36 PM:
" Now this is when whirlpool should step in and help fund their ailling city of choice. Oops. They only want tax breaks from their hometown city of choice. The amount of tax breaks certainly would make a BIG difference. "
Rick wrote on Sep 15, 2010 1:52 PM:
" Instead of laying off police officers and closing the fire dept, why dosen't Harris stop the city trash pick-up which has made the owner of Industrial Sanitation rich. "
BH Resident wrote on Sep 15, 2010 3:38 PM:
" Why is Whirlpool giving money to the County and not to the BENTON HARBOR POLICE DEPT? And the city wants to allow Whirlpool to build down town. That's crap. Whirlpool doesn't give a darn about BH. "
Concerned wrote on Sep 16, 2010 5:10 AM:
" Harris is cutting every employee he can. But he is not cutting is own over a $100,000 a year or the City manager and his high paid assistant. That is a real concern to me. If the City is so broke then HOW does he justify his salary and having a City manager and a assistant as well. Harris is taking over every department and running them himself. To me he is going about this all wrong. He was brought in to manage the money and help to guide the City. But is has taken of the role of GOD over the City. Something is wrong with this picture. Or is he actually making the City FAIL on purpose. We better ask that question very soon or it will be GONE "
IN the KNOW wrote on Sep 17, 2010 12:22 AM:
" Ok who is behind the Township water plant? None other than Jim Boothby and his wife. WHY? They do not wish to be a part of the community any more. If people would only look at what is happening you can see for yourself. St Joe needs more capacity. Benton Harbor was able to get the grant and St Joe could not. So why was there a new connection pipe put under the river a few years back to join Benton Harbor and St Joe. The real reason: so that St Joe can get water from Benton Harbor when they run short. Why? So that in time the water plants will be under an authority much like the one in St Joe now and the townships. All but Benton as Benton wanted to be on their own and used The Benton Harbor situation to scam the voters. I am hoping that once all the new pipes and valves and such is placed and the total costs are figured the citizens will be outraged that they were scammed. This whole area is going to be in time a Water Authority and a New town in time watch and see what I say. There is a reason for what is going on and why it is happening. But that reason has not been made public as of yet. The talk of combined Fire services is only the start of things to come. St Joe is land locked and no way to gain land for future expansion and more tax base. Benton Harbor has the land and the river front and that will be the driving force to make the changes in the future. Why do you think Whirlpool decided to build there??? You answer that one HARBOR TOWN "
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/09/15/local_news/1922291.txt
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Whirlpool Corporation in Benton Harbor, Michigan and Gov. Jennifer Granholm are continuing to steal land from the residents of Benton Harbor. BH is under severe
police/court repression, and suffers severe poverty - mostly as a result of the world's largest appliance manufacturer outsourcing jobs. The following article, with commentary in caps, reveals some of the ways Whirlpool cheats the people and steals from the people of Benton Harbor.
Negotiating the next step for BH, Whirlpool
In split vote, commissioners approve talks about incentives for company's downtown development; Gov. Granholm here today to make announcement about project
By John Matuszak, Herald Palladium
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
BENTON HARBOR - City Commissioners voted 7-2 on Monday to approve a resolution supporting negotiations of financial incentives that could be worth $50 million for Whirlpool Corp.'s downtown development.
ANOTHER STUPID MOVE BY BENTON HARBOR COMMISSIONERS. IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE AN HONEST GOVERNING BODY IN “WHIRLPOOL/UPTON COUNTY?”
City Manager Ron Carter Jr. told commissioners that he and Commissioner Marcus Muhammad met twice with state officials to come up with the incentives that could assist Whirlpool's $85 million investment, which the company announced last week.
THIS IS NO INVESTMENT FOR THE CITY OF BH. IT SHOWS HOW WHIRLPOOL KEEPS TAKING AND TAKING AND TAKING FROM BH.
He said the resolution only gives him the authority to negotiate with Whirlpool and does not commit the city to anything. Any incentive would have to be approved by Emergency Financial Manager Joseph Harris, the commissioners and state authorities, Carter said.
HARRIS IS ANOTHER WHIRLPOOL PUPPET.
He was adamant that the city must proceed with talks or the whole deal could go down the drain.
"If we say no, they will go to another city," Carter warned.
THEY SHOULD START PACKING, THE RESIDENTS WILL HELP THEM MOVE. WP PAYS NO TAXES OR WATER BILLS TO THE CITY OF BH, IN WHICH THEY RESIDE.
That wasn't good enough for Commissioners Juanita Henry and Dennis Knowles, who voted against the resolution.
THEY ARE BOTH CORRECT. IF JUSTICE HAD BEEN SERVED, ALL 9 WOULD HAVE VOTED AGAINST IT.
Knowles called the proposal a "Trojan horse" that wouldn't create any jobs for Benton Harbor residents.
CORRECT. NO JOBS FOR BENTON HARBOR. YOU ARE RIGHT, MR. KNOWLES.
Henry objected to giving her nod to incentives without having more information.
THE INFORMATION WE NEED IS PROOF THAT WHIRLPOOL PAYS TAXES AND WATER.
"It's crazy to vote on this without talking about it," Henry said. "Don't give them a blanket approval for everything."
WHIRLPOOL ONLY TAKES, AND DOESN’T GIVE BACK.
Voting in support of the resolution were Commissioners Byron Joseph, Duane Seats II, Marcus Muhammad, David Shaw, Eddie Marshall, James Hightower and Mayor Wilce Cooke.
SHAME ON ALL 7 COMMISSIONERS.
Muhammad said it wouldn't be intelligent for a city struggling with a budget deficit to turn its back on a major corporation such as Whirlpool, and that the community should pull together to negotiate the best deal it can get.
"Whirlpool is not your enemy," Muhammad said. "Our ignorance and our disunity is our greatest enemy."
WHIRLPOOL IS OUR ENEMY. IT IS YOUR IGNORANCE THAT IS YOUR GREATEST ENEMY, MR. MUHAMMAD. WHIRLPOOL ARE THE OPPRESSORS.
MUHAMMED HAS CHANGED HORSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WHIRLPOOL RACE. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO HAVE HONEST REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE IN “WHIRLPOOL COUNTY” WHERE THE CORPORATION "CONTROLS" GOVERNING BODIES AND EVERYONE ELSE. REMEMBER, A FEW YEARS AGO CEO JEFF NOEL SPOKE AT UOFM BUSINESS SCHOOL AND ADMITTED EXACTLY HOW THEY TAKE OUR LAND.
Benton Harbor's incentive package, if approved, would include:
-- A tax abatement of personal property taxes on equipment and other inventory.
-- Vacating River Road, which borders the campus site, and selling the city's interest in the vacated portion to Whirlpool at its appraised value. Carter said the road would be used to expand Riverside Park, which Whirlpool had donated $350,000 toward previously.
NOT TRUE, CARTER. THAT WAS OBAMA STIMULUS MONEY, 7 MILLION.
-- An extension of the existing Renaissance Zone area for 12 years, and borrowing funds from the state under the Urban Land Assembly program to assist in acquiring land for the project. The city would be reimbursed by Whirlpool.
WHIRLPOOL WOULD GET 85 MILLION TAX FREE AND INTEREST FREE - BENTON HARBOR GETS NOTHING.
-- Using tax increment revenue generated by the project for the cleanup of what is now a brownfield site.
-- A tax abatement through the establishment of a commercial rehabilitation district.
-- Expediting zoning requests while protecting the city and assuring consistency with the city's master plan.
WHIRLPOOL’S TAKOVER PLAN.
Carter said he previously met with a senior Whirlpool executive, and was told the company would be adding jobs in Benton Harbor. The company previously said that no new jobs would be created.
THERE WILL BE NO JOBS FOR THE PEOPLE OF BH.
Whirlpool will also be paying taxes to the city, paying for water service, and spinning off jobs from the money spent by employees working downtown, Carter said.
THERE IS NO BUSINESS DOWNTOWN. WHO’S GOING TO FORCE WHIRLPOOL TO PAY TAXES AND WATER?
"Don't throw the baby out before the bath is full," Carter said in urging a yes vote.
WE NEED MORE INFORMATION, CARTER.
Last Thursday, Whirlpool officials announced their plan to consolidate many of its 15 offices scattered around the area over the next five years into three sites. They will construct a three-building campus along the St. Joseph River in Benton Harbor that will house 1,000 employees, and will renovate its Tech Center on Upton Drive in St. Joseph and the Administrative Center on M-63 in Benton Township.
NO JOBS FOR BENTON HARBOR - 85M FOR WHIRLPOOL.
WHIRLPOOL IS STEALING PRIME LAKEFRONT PROPPERTY, SURROUNDED BY WATER.
Whirlpool, the world's largest appliance maker, employees about 4,000 people in Berrien County.
The resolution noted that Whirlpool had evaluated numerous sites for the office complex, some in other communities, before committing to Benton Harbor. The resolution also pointed out that St. Joseph and Benton Township have offered incentives of their own.
WHIRLPOOL: STOP OUTSOURCING JOBS.
The plan is also contingent on receiving state incentives.
WHO CARES?
Gov. Jennifer Granholm is scheduled to make an announcement in Benton Harbor at 2 p.m. today about the Whirlpool investment.
JENNIFER GRANHOLM: GIVE BACK THE MILLION DOLLAR HOME YOU RECEIVED FOR FREE FROM WHIRLPOOL.
Prior to the governor's visit, she will be addressing the Michigan Economic Growth Authority meeting in Lansing, where a number of economic development projects will be up for approval, including the Whirlpool proposal.
jmatuszak@TheH-P.com
police/court repression, and suffers severe poverty - mostly as a result of the world's largest appliance manufacturer outsourcing jobs. The following article, with commentary in caps, reveals some of the ways Whirlpool cheats the people and steals from the people of Benton Harbor.
Negotiating the next step for BH, Whirlpool
In split vote, commissioners approve talks about incentives for company's downtown development; Gov. Granholm here today to make announcement about project
By John Matuszak, Herald Palladium
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
BENTON HARBOR - City Commissioners voted 7-2 on Monday to approve a resolution supporting negotiations of financial incentives that could be worth $50 million for Whirlpool Corp.'s downtown development.
ANOTHER STUPID MOVE BY BENTON HARBOR COMMISSIONERS. IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE AN HONEST GOVERNING BODY IN “WHIRLPOOL/UPTON COUNTY?”
City Manager Ron Carter Jr. told commissioners that he and Commissioner Marcus Muhammad met twice with state officials to come up with the incentives that could assist Whirlpool's $85 million investment, which the company announced last week.
THIS IS NO INVESTMENT FOR THE CITY OF BH. IT SHOWS HOW WHIRLPOOL KEEPS TAKING AND TAKING AND TAKING FROM BH.
He said the resolution only gives him the authority to negotiate with Whirlpool and does not commit the city to anything. Any incentive would have to be approved by Emergency Financial Manager Joseph Harris, the commissioners and state authorities, Carter said.
HARRIS IS ANOTHER WHIRLPOOL PUPPET.
He was adamant that the city must proceed with talks or the whole deal could go down the drain.
"If we say no, they will go to another city," Carter warned.
THEY SHOULD START PACKING, THE RESIDENTS WILL HELP THEM MOVE. WP PAYS NO TAXES OR WATER BILLS TO THE CITY OF BH, IN WHICH THEY RESIDE.
That wasn't good enough for Commissioners Juanita Henry and Dennis Knowles, who voted against the resolution.
THEY ARE BOTH CORRECT. IF JUSTICE HAD BEEN SERVED, ALL 9 WOULD HAVE VOTED AGAINST IT.
Knowles called the proposal a "Trojan horse" that wouldn't create any jobs for Benton Harbor residents.
CORRECT. NO JOBS FOR BENTON HARBOR. YOU ARE RIGHT, MR. KNOWLES.
Henry objected to giving her nod to incentives without having more information.
THE INFORMATION WE NEED IS PROOF THAT WHIRLPOOL PAYS TAXES AND WATER.
"It's crazy to vote on this without talking about it," Henry said. "Don't give them a blanket approval for everything."
WHIRLPOOL ONLY TAKES, AND DOESN’T GIVE BACK.
Voting in support of the resolution were Commissioners Byron Joseph, Duane Seats II, Marcus Muhammad, David Shaw, Eddie Marshall, James Hightower and Mayor Wilce Cooke.
SHAME ON ALL 7 COMMISSIONERS.
Muhammad said it wouldn't be intelligent for a city struggling with a budget deficit to turn its back on a major corporation such as Whirlpool, and that the community should pull together to negotiate the best deal it can get.
"Whirlpool is not your enemy," Muhammad said. "Our ignorance and our disunity is our greatest enemy."
WHIRLPOOL IS OUR ENEMY. IT IS YOUR IGNORANCE THAT IS YOUR GREATEST ENEMY, MR. MUHAMMAD. WHIRLPOOL ARE THE OPPRESSORS.
MUHAMMED HAS CHANGED HORSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WHIRLPOOL RACE. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO HAVE HONEST REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE IN “WHIRLPOOL COUNTY” WHERE THE CORPORATION "CONTROLS" GOVERNING BODIES AND EVERYONE ELSE. REMEMBER, A FEW YEARS AGO CEO JEFF NOEL SPOKE AT UOFM BUSINESS SCHOOL AND ADMITTED EXACTLY HOW THEY TAKE OUR LAND.
Benton Harbor's incentive package, if approved, would include:
-- A tax abatement of personal property taxes on equipment and other inventory.
-- Vacating River Road, which borders the campus site, and selling the city's interest in the vacated portion to Whirlpool at its appraised value. Carter said the road would be used to expand Riverside Park, which Whirlpool had donated $350,000 toward previously.
NOT TRUE, CARTER. THAT WAS OBAMA STIMULUS MONEY, 7 MILLION.
-- An extension of the existing Renaissance Zone area for 12 years, and borrowing funds from the state under the Urban Land Assembly program to assist in acquiring land for the project. The city would be reimbursed by Whirlpool.
WHIRLPOOL WOULD GET 85 MILLION TAX FREE AND INTEREST FREE - BENTON HARBOR GETS NOTHING.
-- Using tax increment revenue generated by the project for the cleanup of what is now a brownfield site.
-- A tax abatement through the establishment of a commercial rehabilitation district.
-- Expediting zoning requests while protecting the city and assuring consistency with the city's master plan.
WHIRLPOOL’S TAKOVER PLAN.
Carter said he previously met with a senior Whirlpool executive, and was told the company would be adding jobs in Benton Harbor. The company previously said that no new jobs would be created.
THERE WILL BE NO JOBS FOR THE PEOPLE OF BH.
Whirlpool will also be paying taxes to the city, paying for water service, and spinning off jobs from the money spent by employees working downtown, Carter said.
THERE IS NO BUSINESS DOWNTOWN. WHO’S GOING TO FORCE WHIRLPOOL TO PAY TAXES AND WATER?
"Don't throw the baby out before the bath is full," Carter said in urging a yes vote.
WE NEED MORE INFORMATION, CARTER.
Last Thursday, Whirlpool officials announced their plan to consolidate many of its 15 offices scattered around the area over the next five years into three sites. They will construct a three-building campus along the St. Joseph River in Benton Harbor that will house 1,000 employees, and will renovate its Tech Center on Upton Drive in St. Joseph and the Administrative Center on M-63 in Benton Township.
NO JOBS FOR BENTON HARBOR - 85M FOR WHIRLPOOL.
WHIRLPOOL IS STEALING PRIME LAKEFRONT PROPPERTY, SURROUNDED BY WATER.
Whirlpool, the world's largest appliance maker, employees about 4,000 people in Berrien County.
The resolution noted that Whirlpool had evaluated numerous sites for the office complex, some in other communities, before committing to Benton Harbor. The resolution also pointed out that St. Joseph and Benton Township have offered incentives of their own.
WHIRLPOOL: STOP OUTSOURCING JOBS.
The plan is also contingent on receiving state incentives.
WHO CARES?
Gov. Jennifer Granholm is scheduled to make an announcement in Benton Harbor at 2 p.m. today about the Whirlpool investment.
JENNIFER GRANHOLM: GIVE BACK THE MILLION DOLLAR HOME YOU RECEIVED FOR FREE FROM WHIRLPOOL.
Prior to the governor's visit, she will be addressing the Michigan Economic Growth Authority meeting in Lansing, where a number of economic development projects will be up for approval, including the Whirlpool proposal.
jmatuszak@TheH-P.com
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Harbor Shores Demonstration Reported by WSJM FM/AM and WNDU-TV
Andrew Green Reporting
Benton Harbor activist Reverend Edward Pinkney says that his plans for a mass demonstration to protest the Harbor Shores development on the day of its grand opening are coming together. Pinkney's hoping as many as five-thousand people show up on August tenth...although he'll be happy with a few hundred. Speakers from out of town have been invited in for the day, and protesters will march from city hall over to Jean Klock Park starting at ten AM. Pinkney says that he's disappointed that Harbor Shores isn't creating more jobs for Benton Harbor residents:
Pinkney's also planning to protest at Lake Michigan College on the night of the golf course's grand opening. An event is planned there with Jack Nicklaus and others coming to town for the day.
[Time and place of demo below]
Andrew Green Reporting
Benton Harbor activist Reverend Edward Pinkney says that his plans for a mass demonstration to protest the Harbor Shores development on the day of its grand opening are coming together. Pinkney's hoping as many as five-thousand people show up on August tenth...although he'll be happy with a few hundred. Speakers from out of town have been invited in for the day, and protesters will march from city hall over to Jean Klock Park starting at ten AM. Pinkney says that he's disappointed that Harbor Shores isn't creating more jobs for Benton Harbor residents:
Pinkney's also planning to protest at Lake Michigan College on the night of the golf course's grand opening. An event is planned there with Jack Nicklaus and others coming to town for the day.
[Time and place of demo below]
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
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
Thursday, April 22, 2010
"I work for Lansing," Harris said in a voicemail. "I don't dictate what happens."
State financial CPA and Granholm's man in Benton Harbor apparently cannot act without her say-so. Joseph Harris, in BH for about 3 weeks, has little control over the job he's being paid (by BH) $11K per month to do - maybe it takes $11K to have complete control over an employee. The following Herald Palladium article on Harris, journalistic integrity intact, is a breath of fresh air. Comments at end.
Stood up?
Financial manager's absence at Tuesday meeting viewed as snub; Harris says Lansing wouldn't allow him to attend
By Evan Goodenow, Herald Palladium, April 21, 2010
Benton Harbor - When appointed by the state in the financial takeover of Benton Harbor, Emergency Financial Manager Joseph L. Harris promised transparency, not invisibility.
So some of the Benton Harbor residents paying Harris' $11,000-per-month salary wondered why he didn't show up for a Tuesday public meeting at City Hall.
"No one was looking for him to be a messiah, but at least someone to say, 'I'm coming here to help you,'" said meeting moderator Dr. Donald C. Tynes, a member of the NAACP Benton Harbor/Twin Cities chapter. "When you had your chance to say hello, you let it go."
NAACP member and meeting organizer George Moon said he never spoke to Harris directly, but was told by Ivy Gill, City Manager Ronald Carter Jr.'s secretary, that Harris would meet with residents. Gill refused to comment, but Harris on Monday denied agreeing to meet and said organizers needed to get approval from his bosses in the state Department of Treasury.
Harris said it was irresponsible for organizers to announce a meeting was being held when it hadn't been approved by the state, but said he would attend. But on Tuesday Harris said his bosses vetoed the meeting.
"I work for Lansing," Harris said in a voicemail. "I don't dictate what happens."
Those who do made a bad call, said some of the 40 people who attended the approximately two-hour meeting. Treasury officials said on April 1 when they appointed Harris he would have a public meeting several weeks into his tenure. That would allow him time to develop drafts of budget balancing and financial recovery plans, which he has until July 1 to complete for Treasury officials.
However, Harris met with about 100 bigwigs at an April 8 invitation-only gathering in which he announced that city employee layoffs would be necessary to deal with a $300,000 projected shortfall in this fiscal year and a $1.4 million shortfall in the upcoming fiscal year.
Residents on Tuesday expressed frustration that Harris could make time for the private gathering but not for them.
"He's just a free agent collecting $11,000 a month," said resident Catherine Barnaby. "He's for us, supposedly, and he won't meet us."
Barnaby questioned who Harris was accountable to as residents read copies handed out at the meeting of a Sunday Detroit Free Press article story about Arthur Blackwell II, the Highland Park emergency financial manager accused of embezzlement.
The article detailed how Treasury officials allowed Blackwell to keep his job despite learning he had written himself checks from the financially hurting city's coffers without state approval. Blackwell wasn't fired until the Free Press began investigating.
Treasury officials and Harris weren't the only ones criticized at the meeting.
Berrien County Commissioner Marletta Seats said Gregory G. Roberts, Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm's special adviser and Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships director, has been acting as a gatekeeper for Harris in violation of the separation of church and state.
Roberts was assigned by Granholm to help oversee state efforts to improve conditions in Benton Harbor after the 2003 riots.
Seats, the mother of takeover critic and Benton Harbor Commissioner Duane L. Seats, said she has been steered to Roberts when calling the state about Benton Harbor issues.
"I'm elected by the people and I've got to go through the church? Not me," she said. "I'm an evangelist too, but there is a separation."
Roberts said while he regularly confers with Harris, Deputy Commissioner for Local Government Services Valdemar Washington and State Treasurer Robert J. Kleine are Harris' bosses.
"My role is a dual role. Not just working with faith-based leaders, but with community leaders like in Benton Harbor," said Roberts, when reached by phone after the meeting.
"She clearly does not have all of the facts. She's looking at Greg Roberts through a portion of the lens."
Roberts said most residents will eventually appreciate Harris - Detroit's auditor general from 1995 to 2005 - due to Harris' financial acumen.
For now, residents like Willie Lark, owner of Lark & Sons Barbecue, remain skeptical. Lark said he resents that while the state appointed Harris, residents of the nearly broke city have to pay him.
"If I send somebody to work at Lark's, I'm paying them," he said. "If you send somebody to Lark's, you need to pay them."
COMMENTS: Harris says he works for Lansing -- why isn't Lansing paying him? He's losing the peoples' trust and will have to work to attain it (if he cares). He met with Whirlpool bigwigs, but not residents - that says it all. Harris is a pawn in "corporate fascism" (total merging of government and business interests). Detroit tried to get rid of Harris - Mayor Dave Bing finally did. Goodenow reports the Free Press investigated another financial manager; how about the HP investigating? Start with Whirlpool. Granholm adviser Greg Roberts was assigned to look out for Whirlpool's best interests and their takeover of BH. (The faith-based part of his job has absolutely no place in government.) Ms. Seats has the facts on Roberts - she went to high school with him.
State financial CPA and Granholm's man in Benton Harbor apparently cannot act without her say-so. Joseph Harris, in BH for about 3 weeks, has little control over the job he's being paid (by BH) $11K per month to do - maybe it takes $11K to have complete control over an employee. The following Herald Palladium article on Harris, journalistic integrity intact, is a breath of fresh air. Comments at end.
Stood up?
Financial manager's absence at Tuesday meeting viewed as snub; Harris says Lansing wouldn't allow him to attend
By Evan Goodenow, Herald Palladium, April 21, 2010
Benton Harbor - When appointed by the state in the financial takeover of Benton Harbor, Emergency Financial Manager Joseph L. Harris promised transparency, not invisibility.
So some of the Benton Harbor residents paying Harris' $11,000-per-month salary wondered why he didn't show up for a Tuesday public meeting at City Hall.
"No one was looking for him to be a messiah, but at least someone to say, 'I'm coming here to help you,'" said meeting moderator Dr. Donald C. Tynes, a member of the NAACP Benton Harbor/Twin Cities chapter. "When you had your chance to say hello, you let it go."
NAACP member and meeting organizer George Moon said he never spoke to Harris directly, but was told by Ivy Gill, City Manager Ronald Carter Jr.'s secretary, that Harris would meet with residents. Gill refused to comment, but Harris on Monday denied agreeing to meet and said organizers needed to get approval from his bosses in the state Department of Treasury.
Harris said it was irresponsible for organizers to announce a meeting was being held when it hadn't been approved by the state, but said he would attend. But on Tuesday Harris said his bosses vetoed the meeting.
"I work for Lansing," Harris said in a voicemail. "I don't dictate what happens."
Those who do made a bad call, said some of the 40 people who attended the approximately two-hour meeting. Treasury officials said on April 1 when they appointed Harris he would have a public meeting several weeks into his tenure. That would allow him time to develop drafts of budget balancing and financial recovery plans, which he has until July 1 to complete for Treasury officials.
However, Harris met with about 100 bigwigs at an April 8 invitation-only gathering in which he announced that city employee layoffs would be necessary to deal with a $300,000 projected shortfall in this fiscal year and a $1.4 million shortfall in the upcoming fiscal year.
Residents on Tuesday expressed frustration that Harris could make time for the private gathering but not for them.
"He's just a free agent collecting $11,000 a month," said resident Catherine Barnaby. "He's for us, supposedly, and he won't meet us."
Barnaby questioned who Harris was accountable to as residents read copies handed out at the meeting of a Sunday Detroit Free Press article story about Arthur Blackwell II, the Highland Park emergency financial manager accused of embezzlement.
The article detailed how Treasury officials allowed Blackwell to keep his job despite learning he had written himself checks from the financially hurting city's coffers without state approval. Blackwell wasn't fired until the Free Press began investigating.
Treasury officials and Harris weren't the only ones criticized at the meeting.
Berrien County Commissioner Marletta Seats said Gregory G. Roberts, Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm's special adviser and Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships director, has been acting as a gatekeeper for Harris in violation of the separation of church and state.
Roberts was assigned by Granholm to help oversee state efforts to improve conditions in Benton Harbor after the 2003 riots.
Seats, the mother of takeover critic and Benton Harbor Commissioner Duane L. Seats, said she has been steered to Roberts when calling the state about Benton Harbor issues.
"I'm elected by the people and I've got to go through the church? Not me," she said. "I'm an evangelist too, but there is a separation."
Roberts said while he regularly confers with Harris, Deputy Commissioner for Local Government Services Valdemar Washington and State Treasurer Robert J. Kleine are Harris' bosses.
"My role is a dual role. Not just working with faith-based leaders, but with community leaders like in Benton Harbor," said Roberts, when reached by phone after the meeting.
"She clearly does not have all of the facts. She's looking at Greg Roberts through a portion of the lens."
Roberts said most residents will eventually appreciate Harris - Detroit's auditor general from 1995 to 2005 - due to Harris' financial acumen.
For now, residents like Willie Lark, owner of Lark & Sons Barbecue, remain skeptical. Lark said he resents that while the state appointed Harris, residents of the nearly broke city have to pay him.
"If I send somebody to work at Lark's, I'm paying them," he said. "If you send somebody to Lark's, you need to pay them."
COMMENTS: Harris says he works for Lansing -- why isn't Lansing paying him? He's losing the peoples' trust and will have to work to attain it (if he cares). He met with Whirlpool bigwigs, but not residents - that says it all. Harris is a pawn in "corporate fascism" (total merging of government and business interests). Detroit tried to get rid of Harris - Mayor Dave Bing finally did. Goodenow reports the Free Press investigated another financial manager; how about the HP investigating? Start with Whirlpool. Granholm adviser Greg Roberts was assigned to look out for Whirlpool's best interests and their takeover of BH. (The faith-based part of his job has absolutely no place in government.) Ms. Seats has the facts on Roberts - she went to high school with him.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The city of Benton Harbor is being forced to pay state
financial manager Joseph Harris $11K PER MONTH
Please call Gov. Granholm and demand Joseph Harris be taken out of Benton Harbor immediately: 517-335-7858. Fax: 517-335-6863
Ron Carter, excellent city manager of Benton Harbor, is waiting to see if his salary will be cut by 50%. It's already happened to the mayor and all commissioners. He'll find out today, and if it's so, BH may lose a city manager who's already taking the city out of the red.
It doesn't take a Mensa member to see this as part of a much larger Whirlpool plan to ruin BH at any cost - human or environmental.
It should be noted that Granholm's Joseph Harris is only an accountant; Ron Carter has an MBA.
Is the inequity in this situation jumping out at you? How destructive
and unjust can a governor be? Does Whirlpool mean that much to her?
The people elect a city commission to help in their struggle with Whirlpool, and the state takes over the city.
financial manager Joseph Harris $11K PER MONTH
Please call Gov. Granholm and demand Joseph Harris be taken out of Benton Harbor immediately: 517-335-7858. Fax: 517-335-6863
Ron Carter, excellent city manager of Benton Harbor, is waiting to see if his salary will be cut by 50%. It's already happened to the mayor and all commissioners. He'll find out today, and if it's so, BH may lose a city manager who's already taking the city out of the red.
It doesn't take a Mensa member to see this as part of a much larger Whirlpool plan to ruin BH at any cost - human or environmental.
It should be noted that Granholm's Joseph Harris is only an accountant; Ron Carter has an MBA.
Is the inequity in this situation jumping out at you? How destructive
and unjust can a governor be? Does Whirlpool mean that much to her?
The people elect a city commission to help in their struggle with Whirlpool, and the state takes over the city.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Michigan's recent history of state financial takeovers is more than discouraging. Under Gov. Granholm, Hamtramck, Highland Park, and Pontiac all experienced takeovers where the financial managers harbored hidden agendas involving embezzlement. In Highland Park, for example, the city eventually got the gov. to remove two of these people; the replacement, Mr. Blackwell is currently on trial for stealing $300,000.00; Blackwell's replacement, Mr. Cooper was recently caught having written a $13,000.00 check to himself. A cynic might wonder why the gov. continues to appoint people with criminal intentions to conduct her takeovers.
The following article includes commentary clarifying some important points reported by the Herald Palladium in "Whirlpool fashion." It's not an exaggeration to say there exists a "Berrien County state of mind," instilled through many decades by the corporation. Exceptions, of course, can be found, but the Herald Palladium is not one of them. In fact, the HP might be Whirlpool's most important propaganda tool.
TAKEOVER (with commentary)
Governor approves state manager to take control of Benton Harbor's finances
By Evan Goodenow, H-P
March 26
BENTON HARBOR - Years of money mismanagement and last week's inability to make payroll led Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm on Thursday to reject Benton Harbor's appeal of a takeover by a state emergency financial manager.
COMMENT: More than enough money was available for payroll. This is just one excuse the gov. is using to justify a takeover.
"A local government financial emergency exists in the city of Benton Harbor because no satisfactory plan exists to resolve a serious financial problem," Granholm wrote in a letter to Mayor Wilce L. Cooke. "The fact that Benton Harbor city officials were confronted by the imminent risk of payless paydays a mere two days after the city's (appeal) hearing is the latest indication of a financial emergency in the city which city officials do not appear to have the ability to address without outside assistance."
COMMENT: City mngr. Ron Carter and a majority of city commissioners have made it clear they have the ability to address all financial issues, and that the state need only provide a 5 million dollar loan. (A drop in the bucket to aid a municipality.)
The rejection comes after Granholm's Feb. 26 declaration of a financial emergency in Benton Harbor. The declaration was in response to a Jan. 27 report to Granholm by a state financial review team.
Granholm outlined the team's findings in her letter:
-- A 13.1 percent increase in the city's general fund deficit for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
-- Eight years of tardy audit reports to the state Department of Treasury.
-- A steep decline in the city's money on hand from $1.7 million in 2006 to $315,000 last year.
-- An inability to make minimum contributions to city worker pension funds.
-- Annual bank overdraft charges of $80,000 to $100,000.
City Manager Ronald Carter Jr., appointed Dec. 28 after about two months as a consultant, contends a takeover is unnecessary due to his financial recovery plan and reforms made in response to the team's findings. However, Carter never challenged the majority of the findings at the March 17 appeal hearing. Granholm noted Carter's comments in her letter.
COMMENT: At the appeal hearing Carter may not have challenged findings, but he explained that he works daily on a 62 point plan to make the city solvent. What's important is that the takeover is unnecessary, that Carter's plan is being implemented, and that the governor's not-so-hidden agenda is to help Whirlpool take even more BH lakefront land for the massive Harbor Shores development.
"I find them to be an honest assessment of what has transpired," Carter said at the hearing. "I do believe that a financial manager is a prudent next step for the city of Benton Harbor."
The emergency manager will be appointed by the Local Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board, which consists of State Treasurer Robert J. Kleine, State Budget Director Bob Emerson and Department of Energy Labor & Economic Growth Director Stanley "Skip" Pruss. The board is expected to meet next week, and an emergency manager is likely to be on board in mid-April, according to Terry Stanton, a treasury department spokesman.
COMMENT: We can all say goodbye to Benton Harbor High School, the Water Dept., lakefront property, the beach, downtown, and goodbye Benton Harbor.
The emergency manager will have sweeping powers, including the right to hire and fire, renegotiate labor contracts and sell properties. But until the manager takes over, Carter, Mayor Cooke and city commissioners have full autonomy, Stanton said.
"I'm not saying (Carter has) tacit approval to do whatever he wants, but there's no requirements beyond what an individual in his position normally does," Stanton said.
Carter, Cooke and Commissioners Juanita Henry, Dennis Knowles and Marcus Muhammad didn't return calls for comment Thursday, and Commissioner Eddie Marshall refused to comment. Commissioner Duane L. Seats II, who took office in January along with Knowles and Muhammad, expressed frustration that the new commissioners and Carter weren't given more time to reform Benton Harbor.
The city has a $4.1 million overall deficit and has had decades of high poverty, unemployment and political turmoil.
COMMENT: Small deficit for a municipality which the gov. could easily grant a loan for. Whirlpool and the state owe at least that much to Benton Harbor for many years of
many injustices.
Seats said he hopes the emergency manager takes the ideas of Carter and commissioners seriously "with the goal of a clean, safe, stable city."
COMMENT: Good point. However, if the state took Carter/commissioners seriously, there would be no takeover.
Noting Michigan's projected $1.5 billion shortfall for the next fiscal year, Seats accused state officials of hypocrisy.
"It's like a cocaine addict telling someone smoking cigarettes they're in bad shape," he said. "How can they tell us we're in bad shape when they're in financial chaos?"
However, unlike the federal government and Benton Harbor, states are legally forbidden from running deficits, meaning Michigan has been forced in recent years to cut services and workers. If those difficult decisions need to be made in Benton Harbor, city commissioners need to support them, said Commissioner Bryan Joseph, a takeover supporter.
COMMENT: Joseph is aligned with Whirlpool.
"It's obvious we need help, and we can't afford to fight this," said Joseph, who blames the city's financial woes on Cooke and some current and previous commissioners. "The sooner we embrace the emergency manager the sooner we can get on the road to recovery."
COMMENT: Joseph knows BH residents will never support a takeover.
Joseph and Commissioner James Hightower both urged Carter and the commissioners not to make any major moves until the emergency manager takes over. Both said the city can't afford to pay both an emergency manager and Carter, who earns $95,000 annually.
COMMENT: Outrageous. A competent city manager may get fired? For a financial mngr. who, if Michigan's takeover history tells us anything, may move in to write huge checks to her(him)self and/or take lakefront land for Whirlpool.
"I don't feel we'll need a city manager," Hightower said.
Commissioner David Shaw said he supports the takeover but wonders what the emergency manager's deficit elimination plan will be.
"Is he (or she) going to bring in new ways to bring in revenue or is the plan to sell off the assets of the city?" Shaw asked. "How long will it take, and will they include the commission in decision-making?"
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/03/26/local_news/1304353.txt
The following article includes commentary clarifying some important points reported by the Herald Palladium in "Whirlpool fashion." It's not an exaggeration to say there exists a "Berrien County state of mind," instilled through many decades by the corporation. Exceptions, of course, can be found, but the Herald Palladium is not one of them. In fact, the HP might be Whirlpool's most important propaganda tool.
TAKEOVER (with commentary)
Governor approves state manager to take control of Benton Harbor's finances
By Evan Goodenow, H-P
March 26
BENTON HARBOR - Years of money mismanagement and last week's inability to make payroll led Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm on Thursday to reject Benton Harbor's appeal of a takeover by a state emergency financial manager.
COMMENT: More than enough money was available for payroll. This is just one excuse the gov. is using to justify a takeover.
"A local government financial emergency exists in the city of Benton Harbor because no satisfactory plan exists to resolve a serious financial problem," Granholm wrote in a letter to Mayor Wilce L. Cooke. "The fact that Benton Harbor city officials were confronted by the imminent risk of payless paydays a mere two days after the city's (appeal) hearing is the latest indication of a financial emergency in the city which city officials do not appear to have the ability to address without outside assistance."
COMMENT: City mngr. Ron Carter and a majority of city commissioners have made it clear they have the ability to address all financial issues, and that the state need only provide a 5 million dollar loan. (A drop in the bucket to aid a municipality.)
The rejection comes after Granholm's Feb. 26 declaration of a financial emergency in Benton Harbor. The declaration was in response to a Jan. 27 report to Granholm by a state financial review team.
Granholm outlined the team's findings in her letter:
-- A 13.1 percent increase in the city's general fund deficit for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
-- Eight years of tardy audit reports to the state Department of Treasury.
-- A steep decline in the city's money on hand from $1.7 million in 2006 to $315,000 last year.
-- An inability to make minimum contributions to city worker pension funds.
-- Annual bank overdraft charges of $80,000 to $100,000.
City Manager Ronald Carter Jr., appointed Dec. 28 after about two months as a consultant, contends a takeover is unnecessary due to his financial recovery plan and reforms made in response to the team's findings. However, Carter never challenged the majority of the findings at the March 17 appeal hearing. Granholm noted Carter's comments in her letter.
COMMENT: At the appeal hearing Carter may not have challenged findings, but he explained that he works daily on a 62 point plan to make the city solvent. What's important is that the takeover is unnecessary, that Carter's plan is being implemented, and that the governor's not-so-hidden agenda is to help Whirlpool take even more BH lakefront land for the massive Harbor Shores development.
"I find them to be an honest assessment of what has transpired," Carter said at the hearing. "I do believe that a financial manager is a prudent next step for the city of Benton Harbor."
The emergency manager will be appointed by the Local Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board, which consists of State Treasurer Robert J. Kleine, State Budget Director Bob Emerson and Department of Energy Labor & Economic Growth Director Stanley "Skip" Pruss. The board is expected to meet next week, and an emergency manager is likely to be on board in mid-April, according to Terry Stanton, a treasury department spokesman.
COMMENT: We can all say goodbye to Benton Harbor High School, the Water Dept., lakefront property, the beach, downtown, and goodbye Benton Harbor.
The emergency manager will have sweeping powers, including the right to hire and fire, renegotiate labor contracts and sell properties. But until the manager takes over, Carter, Mayor Cooke and city commissioners have full autonomy, Stanton said.
"I'm not saying (Carter has) tacit approval to do whatever he wants, but there's no requirements beyond what an individual in his position normally does," Stanton said.
Carter, Cooke and Commissioners Juanita Henry, Dennis Knowles and Marcus Muhammad didn't return calls for comment Thursday, and Commissioner Eddie Marshall refused to comment. Commissioner Duane L. Seats II, who took office in January along with Knowles and Muhammad, expressed frustration that the new commissioners and Carter weren't given more time to reform Benton Harbor.
The city has a $4.1 million overall deficit and has had decades of high poverty, unemployment and political turmoil.
COMMENT: Small deficit for a municipality which the gov. could easily grant a loan for. Whirlpool and the state owe at least that much to Benton Harbor for many years of
many injustices.
Seats said he hopes the emergency manager takes the ideas of Carter and commissioners seriously "with the goal of a clean, safe, stable city."
COMMENT: Good point. However, if the state took Carter/commissioners seriously, there would be no takeover.
Noting Michigan's projected $1.5 billion shortfall for the next fiscal year, Seats accused state officials of hypocrisy.
"It's like a cocaine addict telling someone smoking cigarettes they're in bad shape," he said. "How can they tell us we're in bad shape when they're in financial chaos?"
However, unlike the federal government and Benton Harbor, states are legally forbidden from running deficits, meaning Michigan has been forced in recent years to cut services and workers. If those difficult decisions need to be made in Benton Harbor, city commissioners need to support them, said Commissioner Bryan Joseph, a takeover supporter.
COMMENT: Joseph is aligned with Whirlpool.
"It's obvious we need help, and we can't afford to fight this," said Joseph, who blames the city's financial woes on Cooke and some current and previous commissioners. "The sooner we embrace the emergency manager the sooner we can get on the road to recovery."
COMMENT: Joseph knows BH residents will never support a takeover.
Joseph and Commissioner James Hightower both urged Carter and the commissioners not to make any major moves until the emergency manager takes over. Both said the city can't afford to pay both an emergency manager and Carter, who earns $95,000 annually.
COMMENT: Outrageous. A competent city manager may get fired? For a financial mngr. who, if Michigan's takeover history tells us anything, may move in to write huge checks to her(him)self and/or take lakefront land for Whirlpool.
"I don't feel we'll need a city manager," Hightower said.
Commissioner David Shaw said he supports the takeover but wonders what the emergency manager's deficit elimination plan will be.
"Is he (or she) going to bring in new ways to bring in revenue or is the plan to sell off the assets of the city?" Shaw asked. "How long will it take, and will they include the commission in decision-making?"
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/03/26/local_news/1304353.txt
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
What State Takeovers Mean For Our Communities
By Marian Kramer
“In Highland Park, Michigan, the state takeover of our city meant taking away the vote for folks to elect their city officials. It meant the selling off of all of our different assets without the people’s consent, without the vote of the people. It meant the City Council no longer had a decision making role. All decisions were in the hands of the dictatorship of the ‘appointed’ Financial Manager. The Financial Manager only adhered to the Governor and whatever board the Governor set up. It meant there were a bunch of layoffs. We operated with a bare minimal. They contracted out a lot of the work. We only had one or two inspectors for the whole city. They said we were broke, but millions of dollars went out to private contractors. They shut down the only public library in the city. They tried to privatize the water but we won that back. They were going to privatize the management of the water with 80% of profits going to the management company and 20% to the city of Highland Park. It meant that the citizens of Highland Park would be responsible for any financial needs for fixing equipment, etc., not the management, although they were making 80% of the profits. The whole process shows that government and the corporations work hand in hand today and the form of rule in America is not democracy for the people.”
Marian Kramer is co-chair of the National Welfare Rights Organization
http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.03/PT.2010.03.12.html#twohttp://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.03/PT.2010.03.12.html#two
By Marian Kramer
“In Highland Park, Michigan, the state takeover of our city meant taking away the vote for folks to elect their city officials. It meant the selling off of all of our different assets without the people’s consent, without the vote of the people. It meant the City Council no longer had a decision making role. All decisions were in the hands of the dictatorship of the ‘appointed’ Financial Manager. The Financial Manager only adhered to the Governor and whatever board the Governor set up. It meant there were a bunch of layoffs. We operated with a bare minimal. They contracted out a lot of the work. We only had one or two inspectors for the whole city. They said we were broke, but millions of dollars went out to private contractors. They shut down the only public library in the city. They tried to privatize the water but we won that back. They were going to privatize the management of the water with 80% of profits going to the management company and 20% to the city of Highland Park. It meant that the citizens of Highland Park would be responsible for any financial needs for fixing equipment, etc., not the management, although they were making 80% of the profits. The whole process shows that government and the corporations work hand in hand today and the form of rule in America is not democracy for the people.”
Marian Kramer is co-chair of the National Welfare Rights Organization
http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.03/PT.2010.03.12.html#twohttp://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.03/PT.2010.03.12.html#two
Monday, March 01, 2010
Benton Harbor's city commission no longer has a Whirlpool-owned majority. Gov. Granholm is taking desperate measures to carry out a hostile takeover of the city.
The following is an article with Rev. Pinkney's commentary in bold and brackets.
Official: Granholm committed to Benton Harbor
[Gov. is not committed to BH, but to Whirlpool]
Responding to commissioners' criticism of governor, statespokeswoman cites various grants, programs that her administration has pushed
[The Governor has "pushed" only for Whirlpool, it's real estate arm Cornerstone Alliance, and the massive development called Harbor Shores where she will have a Lake Michigan mansion]
By Evan Goodenow - Herald Palladium Sat., Feb. 6, 2010
BENTON HARBOR - When Benton Harbor city commissioners blamed Gov. Jennifer Granholm for Benton Harbor's financial mess, were they throwing rocks at a lame duck or legitimately questioning why the head of a debt-ridden state should order a cash-strapped city around?
[Questioning was legit. because Granholm put on a song and dance about how much she'd help the city, but she's failed to do anything. Her largess has been focused squarely on Whirlpool, Cornerstone, and Harbor Shores]
With Granholm close to deciding on a state financial takeover to deal with the city's $4.1 million overall deficit and what a state review panel last week found was incompetent money management, commissioners lashed out at Granholm at Monday night's commission meeting. Commissioner Duane Seats said $5 million in state taxpayer money that should've gone to the city went to Citizens for Progressive Change, a group of mostly local residents formed in response to the 2003 riot.
[Seats is right on point. BH received no money. "Citizens for Progressive Change" is not made up of BH residents, but people who Granholm assembled for the purrpose of destroying BH so Harbor Shores development could be built.]
"The governor of the state of Michigan has never come to the City Hall, but she comes to churches," Seats said, adding that the city should appeal if Granholm appoints an emergency financial manager to oversee city finances.
[Granholm needs a finacial takeover of the state - she's almost 2billion in the red.]
Commissioner Marcus Muhammad compared a possible takeover to a coup d'etat. At a previous meeting, Commissioner Eddie Marshall, noting the state's $1.8 billion projected shortfall, compared a takeover to alcoholic parents advising their children not to drink.
[Muhammad and Marshall are 100% right.]
Through spokeswoman Liz Boyd, Granholm declined a chance to respond to the criticism.
[How can she respond to truth which she's attempting to hide?]
But Boyd said the criticism was unfounded. Boyd noted that the state is forbidden from running deficits, leading Granholm to make tough choices to balance budgets such as laying off state troopers, reducing Medicaid benefits and increasing employee pension contributions.
[Granholm is worse then Engler, and nobody's worse than Engler.]
Since taking office in 2003, Granholm has had to deal with the collapse of the U.S. auto industry and housing market and the worst recession since 1945. But Boyd said Granholm, whose approval ratings are way down in her last year in office, has steered millions of dollars to Benton Harbor.
[Not to the city, but to Whirlpool and Harbor Shores development.]
In the past two months alone, the state approved the city receiving a $13.9 million federal taxpayer anti-blight grant and $14.3 million in bonding for the water plant upgrade.
"The Granholm administration has been absolutely committed to helping the community lift itself up," Boyd said. "That's always been our goal, and it is surprising that some are questioning our commitment because it's been so strong."
[The residents of BH are worse off now than they have ever been.]
In a 2008 Herald-Palladium op-ed piece, Granholm wrote that Benton Harbor had come a long way since the 2003 riot.
[BH has gone a long way backwards - Granholm has not brought one job.]
She cited state support for summer youth programs, pre-apprenticeship job training, $21 million in tax credits from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority for the Benton Harbor Housing Authority's public housing renovation and MSHDA support for Habitat of Humanity's building of 21 homes.
[The summer "youth program" was designed to help Whirlpool and Harbor Shores clean off their brand new golf course. A lot of picking up of paper, etc. from the ground was what the lucky youths learned how to do.]
Granholm also noted the state Department of Transportation's upgrades in the Arts District and Main Street and the state Economic Development Corporation's support for the Harbor Shores golf, residential and retail development project.
[The art district is all white, no jobs for BH.]
"Although much remains to be done, Benton Harbor is in a far better position today than just five years ago due to a shared vision the community has created for the future," Granholm wrote. [again, worse off than ever because of you
"My goal is to make the state of Michigan the strong and committed partner Benton Harbor needs to transform itself into a place of growth and opportunity."
[Your only goal, guv, is to enrich the corporations and make sure BH gets demolished for your mansion.]
The following is an article with Rev. Pinkney's commentary in bold and brackets.
Official: Granholm committed to Benton Harbor
[Gov. is not committed to BH, but to Whirlpool]
Responding to commissioners' criticism of governor, statespokeswoman cites various grants, programs that her administration has pushed
[The Governor has "pushed" only for Whirlpool, it's real estate arm Cornerstone Alliance, and the massive development called Harbor Shores where she will have a Lake Michigan mansion]
By Evan Goodenow - Herald Palladium Sat., Feb. 6, 2010
BENTON HARBOR - When Benton Harbor city commissioners blamed Gov. Jennifer Granholm for Benton Harbor's financial mess, were they throwing rocks at a lame duck or legitimately questioning why the head of a debt-ridden state should order a cash-strapped city around?
[Questioning was legit. because Granholm put on a song and dance about how much she'd help the city, but she's failed to do anything. Her largess has been focused squarely on Whirlpool, Cornerstone, and Harbor Shores]
With Granholm close to deciding on a state financial takeover to deal with the city's $4.1 million overall deficit and what a state review panel last week found was incompetent money management, commissioners lashed out at Granholm at Monday night's commission meeting. Commissioner Duane Seats said $5 million in state taxpayer money that should've gone to the city went to Citizens for Progressive Change, a group of mostly local residents formed in response to the 2003 riot.
[Seats is right on point. BH received no money. "Citizens for Progressive Change" is not made up of BH residents, but people who Granholm assembled for the purrpose of destroying BH so Harbor Shores development could be built.]
"The governor of the state of Michigan has never come to the City Hall, but she comes to churches," Seats said, adding that the city should appeal if Granholm appoints an emergency financial manager to oversee city finances.
[Granholm needs a finacial takeover of the state - she's almost 2billion in the red.]
Commissioner Marcus Muhammad compared a possible takeover to a coup d'etat. At a previous meeting, Commissioner Eddie Marshall, noting the state's $1.8 billion projected shortfall, compared a takeover to alcoholic parents advising their children not to drink.
[Muhammad and Marshall are 100% right.]
Through spokeswoman Liz Boyd, Granholm declined a chance to respond to the criticism.
[How can she respond to truth which she's attempting to hide?]
But Boyd said the criticism was unfounded. Boyd noted that the state is forbidden from running deficits, leading Granholm to make tough choices to balance budgets such as laying off state troopers, reducing Medicaid benefits and increasing employee pension contributions.
[Granholm is worse then Engler, and nobody's worse than Engler.]
Since taking office in 2003, Granholm has had to deal with the collapse of the U.S. auto industry and housing market and the worst recession since 1945. But Boyd said Granholm, whose approval ratings are way down in her last year in office, has steered millions of dollars to Benton Harbor.
[Not to the city, but to Whirlpool and Harbor Shores development.]
In the past two months alone, the state approved the city receiving a $13.9 million federal taxpayer anti-blight grant and $14.3 million in bonding for the water plant upgrade.
"The Granholm administration has been absolutely committed to helping the community lift itself up," Boyd said. "That's always been our goal, and it is surprising that some are questioning our commitment because it's been so strong."
[The residents of BH are worse off now than they have ever been.]
In a 2008 Herald-Palladium op-ed piece, Granholm wrote that Benton Harbor had come a long way since the 2003 riot.
[BH has gone a long way backwards - Granholm has not brought one job.]
She cited state support for summer youth programs, pre-apprenticeship job training, $21 million in tax credits from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority for the Benton Harbor Housing Authority's public housing renovation and MSHDA support for Habitat of Humanity's building of 21 homes.
[The summer "youth program" was designed to help Whirlpool and Harbor Shores clean off their brand new golf course. A lot of picking up of paper, etc. from the ground was what the lucky youths learned how to do.]
Granholm also noted the state Department of Transportation's upgrades in the Arts District and Main Street and the state Economic Development Corporation's support for the Harbor Shores golf, residential and retail development project.
[The art district is all white, no jobs for BH.]
"Although much remains to be done, Benton Harbor is in a far better position today than just five years ago due to a shared vision the community has created for the future," Granholm wrote. [again, worse off than ever because of you
"My goal is to make the state of Michigan the strong and committed partner Benton Harbor needs to transform itself into a place of growth and opportunity."
[Your only goal, guv, is to enrich the corporations and make sure BH gets demolished for your mansion.]
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
When will the people of this area wake up?
Editor, (letter to ed., HPalladium, 2/6/10)
Someone should tell Ron Carter, Benton Harbor's new city manager, that you can't clean a house with the roof caving in. The city's budget problems pale in comparison to the private commercial takeover of the lakefront, its only major asset.
Someone should tell Gov. Jennifer Granholm that if she really wants to fix Benton Harbor she is going to have to risk irritating the mighty Whirlpool Corp., which has been exploiting the city for decades. What would she have to lose, now that she doesn't have to worry about reelection?
Someone should tell Harbor Shores and Cornerstone, Whirlpool's offspring, that they should be careful what they wish for. The more scrutiny Benton Harbor undergoes, the riskier it may be for them. Can they account for all the state and federal money that has been entrusted to them over the years?
Someone should tell the leaders of St. Joe to stop trashing up their streets with Bojangle-eyed gorillas, tearing down their finest buildings and jam-packing their beach with everything but sand and water. The "Twin Cities" are becoming a sideshow in more ways than one.
Someone should tell Art Cotter, the Berrien County prosecutor, to stick to the job he was hired to do and leave the governor, the parole board and corrections professionals to do theirs. Prosecutors are supposed to seek justice, not merely convictions. We pay the price for their mistakes, and the consequences of shoddy law enforcement are far greater than most people realize or can even imagine. Cotter should be held accountable for spending taxpayers' money on things that are not in his job description. The entire county should not have to be held hostage to his inability to grasp the concept or possibility of rehabilitation.
Someone should tell the mad Tea Partiers that they are wasting their energies working against their own interests and for those of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. After all, what do we have Fred Upton for?
And finally, someone should tell the people of Southwest Michigan to wake up before it's too late and stop letting the corporate elite run our lives. In the words of the late, great Howard Zinn, "If there is going to be change, real change, it will have to work its way from the bottom up, from the people themselves. That's how change happens."
Scott Elliott, Benton Harbor
Editor, (letter to ed., HPalladium, 2/6/10)
Someone should tell Ron Carter, Benton Harbor's new city manager, that you can't clean a house with the roof caving in. The city's budget problems pale in comparison to the private commercial takeover of the lakefront, its only major asset.
Someone should tell Gov. Jennifer Granholm that if she really wants to fix Benton Harbor she is going to have to risk irritating the mighty Whirlpool Corp., which has been exploiting the city for decades. What would she have to lose, now that she doesn't have to worry about reelection?
Someone should tell Harbor Shores and Cornerstone, Whirlpool's offspring, that they should be careful what they wish for. The more scrutiny Benton Harbor undergoes, the riskier it may be for them. Can they account for all the state and federal money that has been entrusted to them over the years?
Someone should tell the leaders of St. Joe to stop trashing up their streets with Bojangle-eyed gorillas, tearing down their finest buildings and jam-packing their beach with everything but sand and water. The "Twin Cities" are becoming a sideshow in more ways than one.
Someone should tell Art Cotter, the Berrien County prosecutor, to stick to the job he was hired to do and leave the governor, the parole board and corrections professionals to do theirs. Prosecutors are supposed to seek justice, not merely convictions. We pay the price for their mistakes, and the consequences of shoddy law enforcement are far greater than most people realize or can even imagine. Cotter should be held accountable for spending taxpayers' money on things that are not in his job description. The entire county should not have to be held hostage to his inability to grasp the concept or possibility of rehabilitation.
Someone should tell the mad Tea Partiers that they are wasting their energies working against their own interests and for those of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. After all, what do we have Fred Upton for?
And finally, someone should tell the people of Southwest Michigan to wake up before it's too late and stop letting the corporate elite run our lives. In the words of the late, great Howard Zinn, "If there is going to be change, real change, it will have to work its way from the bottom up, from the people themselves. That's how change happens."
Scott Elliott, Benton Harbor
Saturday, January 16, 2010
JAIL CENTRAL: BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN
Interview with Dorothy Pinkney By Joseph Peery
Joseph Peery: Dorothy, what happens when young people are arrested in Benton Harbor?:
Dorothy Pinkney: They tell them to plead guilty and you’ll just be fined. By hearing this they get excited and think “I can do this, I can say I’m guilty and I’ll go home.” But it doesn’t happen like that. It’s not set up that way. The powers that be know that the poverty level in the city is so high and there are not many jobs. So when they give these young African American guys their jail sentences, they know they cannot afford to pay their sentence. So what do they do? Go to jail. Then the jail becomes overcrowded. I’ve seen so many mothers, wives, girlfriends, packed into the Berrien County Jail just to visit their boyfriends, their husbands, their fathers. It was too much to handle. I didn’t know it was this extreme.
JP: Many families don’t have a bread winner at home. And during winter, there’s a lot of homes that don’t have water or gas. Can you speak to this.
Dorothy: You’re just adding misery to people’s lives. It’s like you take a nail and hammer and you hit that nail. It’s going to pierce the wood, but you keep nailing and hitting and it goes deeper and deeper. There’s so much poverty. The city is being drained.The government doesn’t care. Why do you keep beating someone down when people are saying “we can’t take any more.” Instead of helping, you’re steady nailing deeper and deeper.
JP: What do you feel people in other cities need to do?
Dorothy: I think we can all come together and unite as one, fight for one particular thing, get that accomplished, and then go to the next thing. It’s a slow process but we can do it. It’s never too late.
http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.01/PT.2010.01.12.html#two
Interview with Dorothy Pinkney By Joseph Peery
Joseph Peery: Dorothy, what happens when young people are arrested in Benton Harbor?:
Dorothy Pinkney: They tell them to plead guilty and you’ll just be fined. By hearing this they get excited and think “I can do this, I can say I’m guilty and I’ll go home.” But it doesn’t happen like that. It’s not set up that way. The powers that be know that the poverty level in the city is so high and there are not many jobs. So when they give these young African American guys their jail sentences, they know they cannot afford to pay their sentence. So what do they do? Go to jail. Then the jail becomes overcrowded. I’ve seen so many mothers, wives, girlfriends, packed into the Berrien County Jail just to visit their boyfriends, their husbands, their fathers. It was too much to handle. I didn’t know it was this extreme.
JP: Many families don’t have a bread winner at home. And during winter, there’s a lot of homes that don’t have water or gas. Can you speak to this.
Dorothy: You’re just adding misery to people’s lives. It’s like you take a nail and hammer and you hit that nail. It’s going to pierce the wood, but you keep nailing and hitting and it goes deeper and deeper. There’s so much poverty. The city is being drained.The government doesn’t care. Why do you keep beating someone down when people are saying “we can’t take any more.” Instead of helping, you’re steady nailing deeper and deeper.
JP: What do you feel people in other cities need to do?
Dorothy: I think we can all come together and unite as one, fight for one particular thing, get that accomplished, and then go to the next thing. It’s a slow process but we can do it. It’s never too late.
http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.01/PT.2010.01.12.html#two
Monday, December 21, 2009
Media coverage of Whirlpool workplace racism and Rev. Edward Pinkney's court case
From Santa Barbara to San Diego, or around the world on line join:
SOJOURNER TRUTH with host Margaret Prescod
TUESDAY to FRIDAY 7-8 AM on KPFK 90.7FM and 98.7FM Santa Barbara
On Tuesday, Dec. 22, 7-8am:
Among other topics - Racism at the world headquarters of Whirlpool Corporation; the Governor of Michigan refuses to intervene in the case of Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor who was sent to prison for quoting the Bible, an update on that case.
You can get info on daily programming and more on Twitter at Sotruekpfk
http://www.twitter.com/sotruekpfk or LISTEN ANYTIME or subscribe to podcast at http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/index.php?shokey=sojourner
Join Margaret Prescod Host/Producer Sojourner Truth, Tuesday to Friday 7-8 am Pacific Time, on Pacifica Radio’s KPFK 90.7 FM in Southern California, 98.7 FM in Santa Barbara, and streaming and for pod cast worldwide on the web at KPFK.org
Sojourner Truth brings you news and views on the impact of US domestic and foreign policy, locally, nationally and around the world, and how women, communities of color and others are responding to those policies. The show also looks at the inter-relationship between art and politics and brings you grassroots voices often ignored by the media.
http://www.kpfk.org/programs/142-sojournertruth.html
From Santa Barbara to San Diego, or around the world on line join:
SOJOURNER TRUTH with host Margaret Prescod
TUESDAY to FRIDAY 7-8 AM on KPFK 90.7FM and 98.7FM Santa Barbara
On Tuesday, Dec. 22, 7-8am:
Among other topics - Racism at the world headquarters of Whirlpool Corporation; the Governor of Michigan refuses to intervene in the case of Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor who was sent to prison for quoting the Bible, an update on that case.
You can get info on daily programming and more on Twitter at Sotruekpfk
http://www.twitter.com/sotruekpfk or LISTEN ANYTIME or subscribe to podcast at http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/index.php?shokey=sojourner
Join Margaret Prescod Host/Producer Sojourner Truth, Tuesday to Friday 7-8 am Pacific Time, on Pacifica Radio’s KPFK 90.7 FM in Southern California, 98.7 FM in Santa Barbara, and streaming and for pod cast worldwide on the web at KPFK.org
Sojourner Truth brings you news and views on the impact of US domestic and foreign policy, locally, nationally and around the world, and how women, communities of color and others are responding to those policies. The show also looks at the inter-relationship between art and politics and brings you grassroots voices often ignored by the media.
http://www.kpfk.org/programs/142-sojournertruth.html
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Granholm Wants Her Mansion on the Lake in Benton Harbor
How did Rev. Edward Pinkney learn that Gov. Granholm denied his commutation?
(Commutation would relieve Pinkney of the false charges which he was convicted of.)
He learned of her JUNE '09 decision several days ago. It was through a phone call from atty. Kelly Flint to the state parole board that the governor's decision was made known to Pinkney. Atty. Flint was informed that gov. Granholm's decision was mailed to Pinkney in June. As you can imagine, Pinkney was just a tad interested in the decision, and is certain that the letter never arrived in his mailbox. This shows a total lack of respect for Pinkney by the gov. and the parole board.
Pinkney says Granholm denied his commutation for several reasons.
Berrien County Judge Alfred Butzbaugh is a close chum of hers. Before she was gov., they served on the state bar board together, and as gov. she appointed him chief judge in Berrien Cty.
And, approving his commutation would make herself and Butzbaugh look foolish. Apparently, she isn't aware of how foolish she looks in the eyes of Michigan citizens already as another corporate shill, and supporting a Whirlpool-backed judge who states that Pinkney's paraphrasing of Dueteronomy 28 is a threat to him (Butzbaugh) and his family.
Lastly, she needs Pinkney out of the way for a smooth transition to ownership of her mansion on Whirlpool's stolen land in Benton Harbor. Keep Pinkney Quiet By Any Means Necessary is part of the Whirlpool/State of Michigan mission statement.
Hear Pinkney to Pinkney every Sunday from 5-6pm on Blog Talk Radio
www.blogtalkradio.com/search/rev.-pinkney/
How did Rev. Edward Pinkney learn that Gov. Granholm denied his commutation?
(Commutation would relieve Pinkney of the false charges which he was convicted of.)
He learned of her JUNE '09 decision several days ago. It was through a phone call from atty. Kelly Flint to the state parole board that the governor's decision was made known to Pinkney. Atty. Flint was informed that gov. Granholm's decision was mailed to Pinkney in June. As you can imagine, Pinkney was just a tad interested in the decision, and is certain that the letter never arrived in his mailbox. This shows a total lack of respect for Pinkney by the gov. and the parole board.
Pinkney says Granholm denied his commutation for several reasons.
Berrien County Judge Alfred Butzbaugh is a close chum of hers. Before she was gov., they served on the state bar board together, and as gov. she appointed him chief judge in Berrien Cty.
And, approving his commutation would make herself and Butzbaugh look foolish. Apparently, she isn't aware of how foolish she looks in the eyes of Michigan citizens already as another corporate shill, and supporting a Whirlpool-backed judge who states that Pinkney's paraphrasing of Dueteronomy 28 is a threat to him (Butzbaugh) and his family.
Lastly, she needs Pinkney out of the way for a smooth transition to ownership of her mansion on Whirlpool's stolen land in Benton Harbor. Keep Pinkney Quiet By Any Means Necessary is part of the Whirlpool/State of Michigan mission statement.
Hear Pinkney to Pinkney every Sunday from 5-6pm on Blog Talk Radio
www.blogtalkradio.com/search/rev.-pinkney/
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Harbor Shores News
We have some extremely important developments to tell you about. The first is that we are finally a 501 (c)(3) organization which means all donations are now tax deductable! Another development is that we have been assigned a hearing date for the Michigan Court of Appeals in Grand Rapids for Tuesday, November 3rd , of next week. We don’t anticipate that a ruling will be made on that day, and expect that a decision could take up to 6 months. That means that the wait is more than likely not over. We hope that you will please consider making a donation at this time. The fight to return Jean Klock Park’s land to the general public has been, and will continue to be, costly in every way.
On Wednesday, October 21st , representatives from the City of Benton Harbor and Harbor Shores went before the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board (MNRTF) to present an overdue report on the progress of the park improvements, the mitigated parcels and trail way system. The MNRTF Board was the first to approve the conversion and mitigation proposal of the park and was given a slide presentation that showed that the developers did not do what they had promised. It was shown that much more than 22.11 acres of land was developed, and that in essence, all that is left or accessible to the public is the strand of beach. You may view a side-by-side comparison on the new web page “A Strand of Beach.”
The MNRTF Board was not pleased with what has transpired and indicated that the situation had been in part mishandled by them. As a result, the current MNRTF Board and the DNR are requiring some additional review of the conversion and are requiring the developers to answer specific questions that have either went unanswered or have since arisen.
Recently we received a notification of a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) public hearing regarding the paths and boardwalks on mitigated parcels B, C, and D for the conversion of JKP. The permit also calls for the excavation of 1,747 cubic yards of “unsuitable soils” to then be replaced with sand and limestone. The application does not mention any type of remediation for direct contact criteria of contaminated soils and areas; but every replacement parcel for the conversion area of JKP, except for parcel C, does require some form of remediation before they can be safe for public use. You can find a link to the public notice and permit application on the home page of the newly rebuilt website of the Friends of Jean Klock Park at: www.savejeanklockpark.org
The meeting will be held on Monday, November 9, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. at Michigan Works! 499 West Main Street, Benton Harbor, Michigan, 49022.
There has been no decision as yet of the separate Federal lawsuit hearing that took place on August 28th. We will notify you as soon as one has been reached. For more information you can go to: www.protectjkp.com
We will be resuming monthly meetings beginning in November and will send a notice when we have scheduled a time and location. In the meantime please visit our newly restructured website at www.savejeanklockpark.org. While there, we hope that you will make an online donation through the safe and secure PayPal account we have set up.
Thank you for your on-going support and as always we ask that you forward this update to friends and family who also care about our public heritage!
Carol Drake
Vice President
Friends of Jean Klock Park
www.savejeanklockpark.org
We have some extremely important developments to tell you about. The first is that we are finally a 501 (c)(3) organization which means all donations are now tax deductable! Another development is that we have been assigned a hearing date for the Michigan Court of Appeals in Grand Rapids for Tuesday, November 3rd , of next week. We don’t anticipate that a ruling will be made on that day, and expect that a decision could take up to 6 months. That means that the wait is more than likely not over. We hope that you will please consider making a donation at this time. The fight to return Jean Klock Park’s land to the general public has been, and will continue to be, costly in every way.
On Wednesday, October 21st , representatives from the City of Benton Harbor and Harbor Shores went before the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board (MNRTF) to present an overdue report on the progress of the park improvements, the mitigated parcels and trail way system. The MNRTF Board was the first to approve the conversion and mitigation proposal of the park and was given a slide presentation that showed that the developers did not do what they had promised. It was shown that much more than 22.11 acres of land was developed, and that in essence, all that is left or accessible to the public is the strand of beach. You may view a side-by-side comparison on the new web page “A Strand of Beach.”
The MNRTF Board was not pleased with what has transpired and indicated that the situation had been in part mishandled by them. As a result, the current MNRTF Board and the DNR are requiring some additional review of the conversion and are requiring the developers to answer specific questions that have either went unanswered or have since arisen.
Recently we received a notification of a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) public hearing regarding the paths and boardwalks on mitigated parcels B, C, and D for the conversion of JKP. The permit also calls for the excavation of 1,747 cubic yards of “unsuitable soils” to then be replaced with sand and limestone. The application does not mention any type of remediation for direct contact criteria of contaminated soils and areas; but every replacement parcel for the conversion area of JKP, except for parcel C, does require some form of remediation before they can be safe for public use. You can find a link to the public notice and permit application on the home page of the newly rebuilt website of the Friends of Jean Klock Park at: www.savejeanklockpark.org
The meeting will be held on Monday, November 9, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. at Michigan Works! 499 West Main Street, Benton Harbor, Michigan, 49022.
There has been no decision as yet of the separate Federal lawsuit hearing that took place on August 28th. We will notify you as soon as one has been reached. For more information you can go to: www.protectjkp.com
We will be resuming monthly meetings beginning in November and will send a notice when we have scheduled a time and location. In the meantime please visit our newly restructured website at www.savejeanklockpark.org. While there, we hope that you will make an online donation through the safe and secure PayPal account we have set up.
Thank you for your on-going support and as always we ask that you forward this update to friends and family who also care about our public heritage!
Carol Drake
Vice President
Friends of Jean Klock Park
www.savejeanklockpark.org
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Berrien County, Michigan:
1. is headed up by one of the wealthiest right-wing men
in the state and one of the wealthiest, and most
corrupt corporations
(items below are all related to/controlled by 1.),
2. has a court with the most convictions in the state
(highest rate of convictions of innocents and juveniles),
3. has an African-American city being gentrified
brutally and illegally,
4. is destroying endangered plant and animal species
and a Lake Michigan pristine park (stolen land) for
possibly the most massive development on the lake,
5. installs judges having conflicts of interest (investments
in the development) who coldly lock up human beings
after admitting that they're innocent,
6. has a newspaper hiding truth on a daily basis,
7. has a state governor/government which remains mute
on all of the above,
is it surprizing that a black whistleblower has been
imprisoned for writing an article?
1. is headed up by one of the wealthiest right-wing men
in the state and one of the wealthiest, and most
corrupt corporations
(items below are all related to/controlled by 1.),
2. has a court with the most convictions in the state
(highest rate of convictions of innocents and juveniles),
3. has an African-American city being gentrified
brutally and illegally,
4. is destroying endangered plant and animal species
and a Lake Michigan pristine park (stolen land) for
possibly the most massive development on the lake,
5. installs judges having conflicts of interest (investments
in the development) who coldly lock up human beings
after admitting that they're innocent,
6. has a newspaper hiding truth on a daily basis,
7. has a state governor/government which remains mute
on all of the above,
is it surprizing that a black whistleblower has been
imprisoned for writing an article?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
All men--whether they go by the name of Americans or Russians or Chinese or British or Malayans or Indians or Africans--have obligations to one another that transcend their obligations to their sovereign societies. Norman Cousins, author, editor, journalist, professor (1915-1990)
[We suspect that St. Joe residents have been trained to believe they are exempt from the above general moral viewpoint. St. Joe believes it has it's own different and superior "sovereign society."]
The human apartheid that's been going on for years in Berrien County, Mich. and now the destruction of nature should NOT, we repeat, NOT, have been allowed.
Not by the Federal Gov.
Not by the state government.
Not by the governors, past & present.
Not by we the people.
Not by the Dept. of Justice.
Not by the Atty. General of Mich.
Not by the EPA.
Not by the Sierra Club.
Not by the Human Rights Commission.
Not by congress.
Not by the state legislature.
Not by the Detroit NAACP.
Not by the southwest Mich. ACLU.
Not by the Democrats & Republicans.
Not by churches, mosques, or synagogues.
Not by the League of Women Voters.
Not by the Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Masons.
Not by the media which is 100% complicit.
Not by peace & justice groups.
Not by environmental groups.
Not by the Michigan Bar.
Letter to Editor (be prepared to shed a tear and grieve a great loss)
Spirits above will punish the Klock Park destroyers Sat., 3/7/09 herald palladium
Editor,
The rape and destruction of our beloved Jean Klock Park - once the beautiful, natural environment enjoyed by so many over the years and home to thousands of wildlife - has begun in earnest. Park supporters, you will no longer recognize what you see as a result of this week's ongoing, heartbreaking demolition. To those who thought that the parking lot was a barren wasteland before, I would really like to know if you think that the view now is more beautiful? If so, I really feel sorry for you.
To all of you - from the retired judge, Cornerstone and Harbor Shores reps and the Benton Harbor city commissioners, U.S. representative, governor - who were a part of the public lies and deception enabling your greedy access to and disrespect for this once beautiful natural shoreline gem, the spirits from above will provide your due justice. I can only imagine the tears of John and Carrie Klock this week. You allowed your greed to overshadow your moral compass. All of you deserve the same rewards as those who were responsible for the Enron collapse, the Bernie Madoff ripoff, and the AIG debacle that we taxpayers will be paying for in the years to come. We likewise will always be paying for the loss that was JKP.
Also, how many of you are working for Harry Fox from Roseville, Mich.? Did we not have anyone locally who was willing to pull out all of the trees in the park? Were not the jobs for this development supposed to be going to local businesses?
The lies and deception are all a matter of public record from the statements that you made in meetings to the permits gained after the fact, inaccurate documents and maps changed after approval. Those lies and the deception to enable your greedy pursuit of the Jack Nicklaus signature golf course while forsaking the beautiful Klock heritage and disrespecting the natural shoreline environment has ensured the karma for your project and this area. Bette Pierman, Benton Harbor
[We suspect that St. Joe residents have been trained to believe they are exempt from the above general moral viewpoint. St. Joe believes it has it's own different and superior "sovereign society."]
The human apartheid that's been going on for years in Berrien County, Mich. and now the destruction of nature should NOT, we repeat, NOT, have been allowed.
Not by the Federal Gov.
Not by the state government.
Not by the governors, past & present.
Not by we the people.
Not by the Dept. of Justice.
Not by the Atty. General of Mich.
Not by the EPA.
Not by the Sierra Club.
Not by the Human Rights Commission.
Not by congress.
Not by the state legislature.
Not by the Detroit NAACP.
Not by the southwest Mich. ACLU.
Not by the Democrats & Republicans.
Not by churches, mosques, or synagogues.
Not by the League of Women Voters.
Not by the Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Masons.
Not by the media which is 100% complicit.
Not by peace & justice groups.
Not by environmental groups.
Not by the Michigan Bar.
Letter to Editor (be prepared to shed a tear and grieve a great loss)
Spirits above will punish the Klock Park destroyers Sat., 3/7/09 herald palladium
Editor,
The rape and destruction of our beloved Jean Klock Park - once the beautiful, natural environment enjoyed by so many over the years and home to thousands of wildlife - has begun in earnest. Park supporters, you will no longer recognize what you see as a result of this week's ongoing, heartbreaking demolition. To those who thought that the parking lot was a barren wasteland before, I would really like to know if you think that the view now is more beautiful? If so, I really feel sorry for you.
To all of you - from the retired judge, Cornerstone and Harbor Shores reps and the Benton Harbor city commissioners, U.S. representative, governor - who were a part of the public lies and deception enabling your greedy access to and disrespect for this once beautiful natural shoreline gem, the spirits from above will provide your due justice. I can only imagine the tears of John and Carrie Klock this week. You allowed your greed to overshadow your moral compass. All of you deserve the same rewards as those who were responsible for the Enron collapse, the Bernie Madoff ripoff, and the AIG debacle that we taxpayers will be paying for in the years to come. We likewise will always be paying for the loss that was JKP.
Also, how many of you are working for Harry Fox from Roseville, Mich.? Did we not have anyone locally who was willing to pull out all of the trees in the park? Were not the jobs for this development supposed to be going to local businesses?
The lies and deception are all a matter of public record from the statements that you made in meetings to the permits gained after the fact, inaccurate documents and maps changed after approval. Those lies and the deception to enable your greedy pursuit of the Jack Nicklaus signature golf course while forsaking the beautiful Klock heritage and disrespecting the natural shoreline environment has ensured the karma for your project and this area. Bette Pierman, Benton Harbor
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Rev. Pinkney Transferred to Jackson Prison
On Thursday, 11/20/07, Rev. Pinkney was moved from Ojibway Correctional Facility (CF) across the Michigan Upper Peninsula to Kinross CF. The following Tuesday, 11/25/08, he was moved again to Cooper Street CF in Jackson.
Rev. Pinkney has received much attention in recent weeks--at the frustration of prison officials--due to: media attention on his Green Party candidacy (BTW he received 3500 votes!), the recent press ban by prison authorities against interviews, the ACLU motion filing with the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the on-going clemency letter drive and online petition.
We're hopeful that this latest move to a facility closer to Benton Harbor means that he is on track for a decision by the courts. In the meantime, please continue to send letters for clemency to Gov. Granholm. According to Attorney Buck Davis, Rev. Pinkney's clemency petition has been transferred from the corrections dept committee to the Governor's office. She can decide whether or not to hold public hearings for clemency. Please push the Gov. Granholm to hold a hearing for Rev. Pinkney!
Please send your letters of clemency to:
Honorable Jennifer Granholm
Michigan Department of Corrections
Office of the Parole Board
Pardons and Commutations Coordinator
P.O. Box 30003
Lansing, Michigan, 48909
Include your name and address.
Read more about the ACLU Michigan motion and brief. Listen to Atty Davis, Mrs Pinkney, and BANCO member Belinda Brown speak about Rev. Pinkney and Benton Harbor on KPFK Pacifica Radio in SoCal.
(For the KPFK interview, go to show "Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod," Tuesday, 11/25/08. After the introduction, Davis begins at 5:30 min, Mrs. Pinkney at 22:00 min, and Brown at 38:30 min)
Rev. Pinkney has received much attention in recent weeks--at the frustration of prison officials--due to: media attention on his Green Party candidacy (BTW he received 3500 votes!), the recent press ban by prison authorities against interviews, the ACLU motion filing with the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the on-going clemency letter drive and online petition.
We're hopeful that this latest move to a facility closer to Benton Harbor means that he is on track for a decision by the courts. In the meantime, please continue to send letters for clemency to Gov. Granholm. According to Attorney Buck Davis, Rev. Pinkney's clemency petition has been transferred from the corrections dept committee to the Governor's office. She can decide whether or not to hold public hearings for clemency. Please push the Gov. Granholm to hold a hearing for Rev. Pinkney!
Please send your letters of clemency to:
Honorable Jennifer Granholm
Michigan Department of Corrections
Office of the Parole Board
Pardons and Commutations Coordinator
P.O. Box 30003
Lansing, Michigan, 48909
Include your name and address.
Read more about the ACLU Michigan motion and brief. Listen to Atty Davis, Mrs Pinkney, and BANCO member Belinda Brown speak about Rev. Pinkney and Benton Harbor on KPFK Pacifica Radio in SoCal.
(For the KPFK interview, go to show "Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod," Tuesday, 11/25/08. After the introduction, Davis begins at 5:30 min, Mrs. Pinkney at 22:00 min, and Brown at 38:30 min)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Land Conservation Information
Bumper Sticker sited:
Saving Land Lowers Taxes
From www.savejeanklockpark.org -
There are 27 golf courses within a 30 mile radius of Benton Harbor, some are exclusive, some are not. Some have closed to become residential properties and some are struggling to keep the courses open. Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses also fail and that is a huge concern. There is no guarantee that this course will succeed and it’s the opinion of many that it will not. Not in this area. To use Jean Klock Park on speculation that the course will survive is not only risky but highly irresponsible. Jean Klock Park should not be sacrificed for other’s lack of vision. Instead it should serve as its own centerpiece as an historical and natural resource.
Friends of Jean Klock Park are joined by the Alliance for the Great Lakes and local citizens and organizations in their effort to preserve the natural heritage of the park.
We are also part of the Defense of Place Michigan coalition of park advocacy groups. For more information about why parks are for future generations please visit www.defenseofplace.org.
Thanks to the sponsorship and support of the Michigan Environmental Council the Friends of Jean Klock Park were awarded a grant from the Great Lakes Aquatic Network Fund (now Freshwater Future) for various expenses.
The efforts of others in the cause to "Save Jean Klock Park" are expanding!
Please visit www.protectjkp.com.
Wall Street Journal excerpt on golf courses:
www.protectjkp.com/golf.htm
Saving Land Lowers Taxes
From www.savejeanklockpark.org -
There are 27 golf courses within a 30 mile radius of Benton Harbor, some are exclusive, some are not. Some have closed to become residential properties and some are struggling to keep the courses open. Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses also fail and that is a huge concern. There is no guarantee that this course will succeed and it’s the opinion of many that it will not. Not in this area. To use Jean Klock Park on speculation that the course will survive is not only risky but highly irresponsible. Jean Klock Park should not be sacrificed for other’s lack of vision. Instead it should serve as its own centerpiece as an historical and natural resource.
Friends of Jean Klock Park are joined by the Alliance for the Great Lakes and local citizens and organizations in their effort to preserve the natural heritage of the park.
We are also part of the Defense of Place Michigan coalition of park advocacy groups. For more information about why parks are for future generations please visit www.defenseofplace.org.
Thanks to the sponsorship and support of the Michigan Environmental Council the Friends of Jean Klock Park were awarded a grant from the Great Lakes Aquatic Network Fund (now Freshwater Future) for various expenses.
The efforts of others in the cause to "Save Jean Klock Park" are expanding!
Please visit www.protectjkp.com.
Wall Street Journal excerpt on golf courses:
www.protectjkp.com/golf.htm
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Write a Letter in Support of Clemency for Rev. Pinkney
Rev. Pinkney's attorney, Hugh "Buck" Davis, asks friends and supporters to write letters in support of clemency to Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.
A note or letter can be as simple as, "I support clemency for Rev. Edward Pinkney."
Sign your name address.
Send letters to:
Honorable Jennifer Granholm
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan, 48909
Please contribute to Rev. Pinkney's Legal Defense Fund for the ACLU's appeal case.
Send donations to:
Reverend Edward Pinkney Defense Fund
1940 Union Street
Benton Harbor, Michigan, 49022
See 10 Reasons to Donate $10 to the Rev. Pinkney Defense Fund
Excerpt from the Detroit Metro Times story on clemency in Michigan (8/22/07):
"In Michigan, any prisoner may apply for a pardon or commutation of sentence to the state's Parole Board, which reviews the applications and makes recommendations to the governor. Public hearings must be held before the board makes a recommendation for executive clemency. Victims, their families or other interested persons who have told the Department of Corrections Office of Crime Victim Services they want information about prisoners — including notification of parole hearings — will receive updates.
If the governor grants a commutation, the prisoner's sentence is reduced to the number of years served and the prisoner goes on parole. If the governor pardons someone, the sentence is effectively voided and the prisoner is freed.
A pardon implies society's forgiveness. A commutation says justice is not served by keeping the prisoner locked up.
Overall, prisoners' requests for clemency from Michigan's governors have had varying success with the last three administrations even as the prison population has grown and pressures to control costs have increased. Granholm, a Democrat in the first year of her second term, has granted 12 commutations and one pardon...In nearly five years in office, Granholm has granted a dozen, all for medical reasons...."
A note or letter can be as simple as, "I support clemency for Rev. Edward Pinkney."
Sign your name address.
Send letters to:
Honorable Jennifer Granholm
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan, 48909
Please contribute to Rev. Pinkney's Legal Defense Fund for the ACLU's appeal case.
Send donations to:
Reverend Edward Pinkney Defense Fund
1940 Union Street
Benton Harbor, Michigan, 49022
See 10 Reasons to Donate $10 to the Rev. Pinkney Defense Fund
Excerpt from the Detroit Metro Times story on clemency in Michigan (8/22/07):
"In Michigan, any prisoner may apply for a pardon or commutation of sentence to the state's Parole Board, which reviews the applications and makes recommendations to the governor. Public hearings must be held before the board makes a recommendation for executive clemency. Victims, their families or other interested persons who have told the Department of Corrections Office of Crime Victim Services they want information about prisoners — including notification of parole hearings — will receive updates.
If the governor grants a commutation, the prisoner's sentence is reduced to the number of years served and the prisoner goes on parole. If the governor pardons someone, the sentence is effectively voided and the prisoner is freed.
A pardon implies society's forgiveness. A commutation says justice is not served by keeping the prisoner locked up.
Overall, prisoners' requests for clemency from Michigan's governors have had varying success with the last three administrations even as the prison population has grown and pressures to control costs have increased. Granholm, a Democrat in the first year of her second term, has granted 12 commutations and one pardon...In nearly five years in office, Granholm has granted a dozen, all for medical reasons...."
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