www.michronicle.com VOLUME 73 – Number 46★★


After Sherrod, Virginia group offers ‘VORA’ approach to race Ezi Mecha, CEO of Trend-


Krafters, a Virginia-based proj- ect and resource management consulting group that has been promoting Black artists, authors and movie stars, is advocat- ing what she calls a Values-Over-


Ezi Mecha


Race Approach (VORA) follow- ing the Shirley Sherrod saga.


Mecha, a former IBM


consultant, says Sherrod’s incident at the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture, which implicated the White House, is a strong reminder of the need to have an honest dialogue on race beyond the spin room.


“The Shirley Sherrod


incident has given us another opportunity to properly dissect the race issue as we work towards fulfilling the dreams of our founding fathers,” Mecha said. “Like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I want people everywhere to judge my three children, Emmanuel, Tiffany and John-Nathan, by their values, vision and vigor, not by the color of their skin.”


Sherrod is proposing a


Values-Over-Race Conference (VORC) to dissect race and racism.


WHAT’S INSIDE


First Lady tells NAACP not to rest (A-3) Speaking at the NAACP


Annual Convention in Kansas City, First Lady Michelle Obama said that those who struggled and died in battles for freedom, justice and racial equality left a legacy that must me fulfilled.


‘Up for the ride?’ (B-1) A.J. Mueller, the Michigan


Chronicle’s chief automotive photographer, begins as a regular contributor, writing and photographing his journeys behind the wheel.


Michigan Chronicle Show Business Hall of Fame: Roberta Flack (D-1) Entertainment editor-


columnist Steve Holsey discusses the life and career of “singer-pianist extraordinaire” Roberta Flack, who, he says, emerged at a time when virtu- ally everything depended on talent and perseverance, not shortcuts like “American Idol.”


Washington promoted to director of Michigan State Police (D-7)


Col. Eddie L. Washington, Jr. was recently appointed director of the Michigan State Police by Gov. Jennifer M. Gra- nholm. Washington is the 17th director in the 93-year history of the department.


DMC Outlines $500 Million Expansion at ‘Construction Outreach’ (D-7) Detroit Medical Center


(DMC) launched its long- awaited new construction and expansion program during a “Construction Outreach” event that announced the creation of an estimated 5,000 local jobs for the building industry.


SEN. HANSEN CLARKE believes that young people are a key element in the state’s future. ★ Dillon and Snyder are best choices for November Based on their positions on vari-


ous issues, and on interviews with the candidates, the Michigan Chron- icle editorial board believes the best choice among the Democratic candi- dates for governor is current House Speaker Andy Dillon, and the best choice among Republicans is Rick Snyder.


Dillon, who argues that his experi-


ences both in and out of government make him the best choice to be Mich- igan’s next governor, said his number one goal as governor will be jobs.


He said 50 percent of all job loss in


the country in the last ten years has been in Michigan. To fix the state’s drop from a top 20 per capita income state to a bottom 10, Dillon said Mich- igan can build on its assets, includ- ing:


Michigan is number two in the


country in research and development investment.


Agriculture is the state’s second


biggest industry. Tourism. The skilled workforce industry and


existing infrastructure.


welcomes new restaurant


Detroit A new restaurant, the Detroit Sea-


food Market, on 1435 Randolph Street, will open to the public July 29 and promises to create about 40 jobs.


The new restaurant, which occupies


the space of the former Detroit Fish Market at Paradise Valley, is owned in a partnership between Kenny Akinwale and Executive Chef Leonardo Vulagi.


Located in a turn-of-the-century


historic building replete with red brick walls, polished wood floors, 15-foot- high wood ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows, the 7,200-square foot restau- rant is situated in the Harmonie Park, Paradise Valley district of Detroit. Blending the past with contemporary designs, the restaurant seats up to 170 people. Eliciting the feel of sev- eral rooms within a room, diners can choose to be seated in the center of the dining area in large, lemon wedge- shaped booths or in semi-private booths on the perimeter of the space.


The restaurant also features the


www.michronicle.com 6 89076 06419 4


1,500-square foot PV Lounge, whose eclectic feel is reminiscent of New York’s So-Ho District. The lounge fea-


LEONARDO VULAGI, executive chef, opening. —Eric Hobson photo


tures a top shelf bar, $3 appe- tizers, themed nights, including the return of Martini Mondays, live music and some of the top DJs in Detroit.


“Metropolitan Detroiters


want to have an urban experi- ence when they eat downtown. The Detroit Seafood Market is in a class by itself,” said co- owner Kenny Akinwale. “I am so thrilled that Executive Chef Leonardo Vulagi has decided to


is excited about the grand


take this journey with me, as well as for the opportunity to help the city of Detroit create jobs.”


“We are very excited to offer


our guests an enjoyable and af- fordable dining experience,” said Executive Chef Vulagi. “Along with a wide variety of wine se- lections, diners will enjoy such menu selections as fresh sea-


See RESTAURANT page A-4


let every city opt in or opt out. As governor, Dillon would meet on


a regular basis with the Senate Major- ity Leader, the Speaker of the House, and the minority leaders of both chambers.


Snyder, an Ann Arbor-based ven-


ture capitalist, has a 10-point plan to reinvent Michigan. Snyder’s plan, as outlined on his website. calls for:


Creating more and better jobs.


He believes the state needs to culti- vate a thriving and globally competi- tive economy with a diverse business base, which will enable job growth and prosperity.


Reforming Michigan’s tax system Andy Dillon He also said he has a comprehen-


sive 12-point urban agenda plan en- compassing access to jobs, transpor- tation, a good education and health care, and public safety in the neigh- borhoods. He said his administration will have a cabinet-level position re- sponsible for the urban agenda, with meetings every two weeks.


Rick Snyder Dillon sees three big problems for


the state: a complicated tax, a regu- latory environment that isn’t user friendly, and a perception that Michi- gan is a hostile state because of labor tensions.


Dillon also said the regional transit


authority has to happen, but we won’t solve our mass transit problem if we


to facilitate economic growth by being simple, fair, competitive and efficient.


Fixing Michigan’s “broken govern-


ment” by having a solution oriented approach to governing, not a politi- cally motivated one. He also wants to restore ethics, accountability and transparency to state and local gov- ernment.


Creating an environment See NOVEMBER page A-4


that July 28 – Aug. 3, 2010


By Bankole Thompson CHRONICLE SENIOR EDITOR


President Obama comes to town


Friday to tout the success of his rescue of the American auto industry during one of the most troubled eco- nomic times in history. An industry that is not perfect but has done much to build the Black middle class for a very long time.


The White House issued a release


Tuesday evening stating that the presi- dent will tour and speak to auto work- ers at a Chrysler plant in Detroit and a General Motors plant in Hamtramck. The presidential, visit just days before the Aug. 3 primary, provides an insight into how the White House is observing


the elections in Michigan where the race for gov- ernor and the 13th Congres- sional District are up for grabs.


O b v i o u s l y


President Obama will talk about why and how he rescued the auto


and saved thou- sands of


industry jobs


that would have been lost had he not answered the 3 a.m. call from Detroit. To his credit, the president, even though he issued


Bankole Thompson 479 Ledyard • Detroit MI 48201


strict guidelines on the auto bailout as well as tough restructuring, has helped saved an industry that once enjoyed a monopoly in the marketplace in Michi- gan.


Despite what has been done to re-


structure the auto industry to get it on the road to sanity, there are still those who think the bailout was the wrong action to take.


We should have, according to their


logic, allowed the industry to collapse so thousands of families could crash and burn. That is the refrain some right wing Washington lawmakers were singing.


What is clear today is that President


Obama made the right decision to in- tervene and inject the needed blood


313.963.5522 $1.00


Mr. President, Michigan is slipping away COMMENTARY


that allowed for the continued opera- tion of the industry. Now that the auto industry is back on track, President Obama must now focus on helping to stabilize the Michigan economy. Doing so must go beyond what can be done to what needs to be done.


Whether President Obama knows it


or not, the governor’s race in Michigan is partly a referendum on his adminis- tration’s performance so far.


I understand when the president


says that the mid-term elections will decide whether people want to con- tinue the Bush policy or change the course he’s introduced the nation to. But the reality is that the Bush ad-


See OBAMA page A-4


District 13 Needs Congressman Clarke O


ELECTION 2010


ur decision to endorse State Sen. Hansen Clarke to be Michigan’s next 13th Con- gressional District representative over incumbent Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick


was not an easy one. The editorial board of the Michigan Chronicle


pondered for weeks on this decision before we ar- rived at an almost evenly divided vote with a slim majority to recommend Clarke to voters as the suitable congres- sional representative.


Not all of us agree with the majority decision of the editorial


board, but we believe in the democratic process and that the majority opinion holds sway on such matters of crucial importance.


We do not take lightly the value that our read-


ers place on us because of the public service we provide by ensuring that all that is in the public domain is in the public’s best interests.


We understand the complex nature of our role


in the community as an entity between the people and the government, ensuring that our readers see the candidates for who they are beyond the periph- ery.


Leading to the endorsement vote, the Michigan


Chronicle sat down with candidates Clarke and Kil- patrick to have them explain to us what they will do to bring badly needed jobs to their district and this region.


Kilpatrick said that is what she has already See CLARKE page A-4


Reginald J. Eadie, tapped to lead


Detroit Receiving Detroit Receiving Hospital’s Board of Trust-


ees has approved the appointment of Reginald J. Eadie, M.D., to be the next president of DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital. Dr. Eadie, a board certified


emergency


medicine physician, as- sumed his new role on July 26. He succeeds current president Iris Taylor, PhD, RN, who was appointed to Detroit Medical Center (DMC) chief business officer last month.


Dr. Eadie joined DMC


in April 2008 as vice president of Medical Affairs (VPMA) at DMC Harper University Hos- pital and DMC Hutzel Women’s Hospital. In his capacity as VPMA, Dr. Eadie was responsible for managing all issues and processes related to physicians and patients, including quarterly per- formance reports, process improvements, length of stay, medical records management, and quality and compliance.


Reginald J. Eadie See EADIE page A-4


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