Pribek

This is from a Detroit News story…

Mayor Dave Bing said Wednesday he “absolutely” intends to relocate residents from desolate neighborhoods and is bracing for inevitable legal challenges when he unveils his downsizing plan.

In his strongest statements about shrinking the city since taking office, Bing told WJR-760 AM the city is using internal and external data to decide “winners and losers.” The city plans to save some neighborhoods and encourage residents to move from others, he said.

“If we don’t do it, you know this whole city is going to go down. I’m hopeful people will understand that,” Bing said. “If we can incentivize some of those folks that are in those desolate areas, they can get a better situation.”

“If they stay where they are I absolutely cannot give them all the services they require.”

O.K. Detroit is in rough shape. Half the population has fled. Lots of vacant lots. So, why not concentrate the remaining population to better areas and have less area for city government to cover?

But, how do you get it done?

He said there’s no timeline, price tag or estimate on the number of people who would have to be moved, but said federal funding would be needed.

Ahh…the old “federal funding would be needed” deal.

So…who gets the land from which people are displaced? And…what happens to that land?

It could be an eminent domain thing, I guess but, usually that is a case where government intends to build a bridge or highway or something. It doesn’t sound like they are wanting to re-develop these areas.

Or, does the federal government acquire the land? I suppose they could do that under any number of scenarios but, what would they do with it?

A lot of times the term “rewilding” is used in conjunction with some type of population control theory. And when I say that, I see it coming from environmentalists and conspiracy theorists. Anyway though, we’re talking about an area where people have been leaving in droves so, it doesn’t really fit either paradigm to a T.

But, if the fed comes in and does a land grab around an urban area and, in essence, does “rewild” it; does that set a precedent?

From ClickOnDetroit…

Diners at a metro Detroit restaurant got more than a full plate Sunday when a man walked in with a 5-inch knife in his chest.

Warren police said the 52-year-old man called 911 at about 10 p.m., saying he had been attacked in Warren but had just walked a mile to the Brayz’s Hamburgers in Hazel Park.

Restaurant employee George Mirdita said the man walked in, ordered a coffee and said he was waiting for an ambulance to come.

“It was like out of a movie,” Mirdita said. “It kind of freaked us all out here. Then, the customers realized it and they were all turning their heads in disgust.”

I’ve seen something similar happen. Early 80s, I was in a power trio and we were playing at this biker bar in Woodward, Oklahoma called John Boys. A guy came in there wearing a Stetson, seemed out of place in this place. He was sitting at the end of the bar drinking a Budweiser and got up, walked to back of the joint where the bathrooms were and there was a scuffle between him and a biker. I was watching all of this from the stage.

Anyway, the cowboy came back up to the bar and he had a knife in his back! He pulled the knife out, it was a hunting knife, pretty good sized. Threw the knife on the floor, sat down and finished his beer and then, got up, walked out like nothing happened!

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