www.michronicle.com VOLUME 74 – Number 5 October 13-19, 2010


Snyder, Bernero can’t ignore debate in Detroit


Gubernatorial candidates Rick


Snyder and Virg Bernero not only need to have more than one debate, they should hold one in Detroit, which is not only the state’s largest city, but also the city that most represents Michigan to the rest of the country and the world.


In their Oct. 9 debate, Bernero, the


mayor of Lansing, and Snyder, a ven- ture capitalist, only tangentially talked about Detroit, though both acknowl- edged the city’s importance. Snyder said one of the roles of the governor is to be the cities best partner, and that the right way to putting Detroit on the path to being a great city — and there- fore for Michigan to be a great state


Heath dies


Patricia Elaine


of Stanley Heath, Jr., general manager


Patricia Elaine Heath, wife at


Swanson Fu- neral Homes, Inc., has died. A wake will take


place


Monday, Oct. 18, from 10 a.m.


to 9


Patricia Elaine Heath


p.m. at Swan- son Funeral Home, 14751 W. McNichols.


The funeral will be on


Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 12 p.m. at Greater Grace Temple, 23500 W. Seven Mile, with family hour at 11 a.m. Entombment will be at Elmwood Cemetery.


WHAT’S INSIDE


Will Black voters snub Obama? (A-3) Four weeks before the


much-anticipated mid-term elections, President Obama is on the road trying to rally African Americans and college students who supported him enthusiastically in 2008.


An llitch Pistons purchase could benefit Detroit (A-3) Council President Pro Tem


Gary A. Brown believes an Illitch purchase of the Pistons would put the team in capable hands, and that it creates the possibility of the team return- ing to Detroit.


Conyers continues to fight for jobs for Michiganders


To end the cycle of unemploy- ment, according to Congress- man John Conyers, we must embrace the concept that anyone who wants to work should have the opportunity to do so. As a result, Conyers has introduced H.R. 5204, the 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act, to establish a federal full employment policy.


Supporting our community colleges (A-5) “Too often, community


colleges are treated as an af- terthought — if they’re thought of at all,” President Obama said in a speech at Macomb County Community College last year.


Cindy Pasky Pasky takes reins at


Downtown Detroit Partnership Cindy Pasky, president and


www.michronicle.com


CEO of Strategic Staffing So- lutions (S3), has been elected as the new board chair of the Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP), a private/public part- nership of corporate and civic leaders.


Pasky succeeds Roger


Penske, CEO of Penske Cor- poration, who will continue as a board vice chair. Anthony Earley, executive chairman of the board for DTE Energy, has been elected chair of the board’s Executive Committee.


See PASKY page A-4


FAYE NELSON, president and CEO of the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, is helping with the revitaliza- tion of Detroit.


By Bankole Thompson CHRONICLE SENIOR EDITOR


The Detroit RiverFront Conservancy,


a non-profit group formed as a public/ private partnership in 2003 responsible for developing the riverfront area from the Ambassador Bridge to the east of the Belle Isle Bridge, including maintain- ing the Dequindre Cut Greenway, today stands as a beacon of hope for what the city is rapidly becoming.


There is the downtown RiverWalk that


is family friendly, offers public parks with green spaces and serves as a destination for anyone who is looking for recreation along the river.


Every year, the RiverFront’s signature


event, Riverdays, draws thousands of vis- itors to downtown Detroit on a weekend for a festival of the arts with live enter-


Bankole Thompson COMMENTARY


tainment along the river.


Faye Nelson,


Detroit RiverFront Conservancy presi- dent and CEO and the driving force behind the new ini- tiatives, says the development of the riverfront is critical to Detroit’s growth.


throughout


“Communities this


nation have used riverfronts as a


catalyst for economic development and social benefits for their respective areas, such as Baltimore, Chicago, Portland,


See RIVERFRONT page A-4 —Andre Smith photos


Obama book launch draws heavy hitters to Detroit


Simmons, Steed, LaFayette, Shelton among lineup CBS News polit-


ical analyst Jamal Simmons; Munson Steed, Rolling Out magazine publish- er and director of the Madison Proj- ect in New York; Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Emory University professor of theol- ogy and one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s most trusted aides, who coordinated the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign; Joya Shelton, a California multimedia producer and Claude Similus, one of Haiti’s leading actors are among a list of national speakers in Detroit next week for the release of, “Obama and Black Loyalty” written by Chronicle editor Bankole Thompson.


The book will be released during a reception and town


It’s Your Life Inside this month’s LivingWELL edition


Live it well


— is for the governor to be a partner. Bernero called Detroit the face of


Michigan and said cities need to be “the hub of the wheel, and not the hole in the donut.”


But while such sentiments are true, there should have been more focus on exactly how the next governor would work with Detroit.


But that debate’s over. Time to move


ahead, to the next debate. There should be several debates. Given Michigan’s precarious economic situation, which one or the other of these men will have to deal with over the next four years, to


See DEBATE page A-4


GENERAL MOTORS North America President Mark Reuss announces a $145 million investment to build Chev- rolet’s new small car and Buick’s future compact sedan — the all new Verano — at the Orion Assembly Center in Orion Township.


on the rise Riverfront


Detroit helps keep 479 Ledyard • Detroit MI 48201 313.963.5522 $1.00


Orion plant to build new Buick small car


By Marcus Amick SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE


A host of UAW, state, region-


al and General Motors officials turned out to celebrate the an- nouncement that GM will invest $145 million at the Orion As- sembly Center, to build Buick’s new future compact sedan – the all-new Verano.


The Verano, a slightly smaller


car than the new Buick Regal, is the first entry of a small car for Buick in over 20 years.


GM North American Presi- dent Mark Reuss, who started


his career at the Orion facility working in the body shop, said the investment is an important step for the state, region and country.


“This is very important, es-


pecially when you look at the way America is beginning to buy cars that are little bit different than the way they did it in the past, cars that are fuel efficient, beautiful, a little smaller but just elegant and high quality as the bigger and more expensive cars have been in the past,” said Reuss. “Orion will be job one for


See ORION PLANT page A-4


Jamal Simmons


Munson Steed


Joya Shelton


hall style conversation Oct. 22, 10 a.m. at Wayne State University Law School audi- torium as Democrats face the specter of losing in the highly contested mid-term election.


A roster of national and


local political observers, community advocates, busi- ness and political leaders will gather for the symposium ex- amining the current impact of President Obama’s poli- cies on African Americans on


Bernard LaFayette


a wide range of issues, all of which form the central focus of Thompson’s book.


The book is volume one of


a trilogy on President Obama and Black America.


The interview-based book


features African Americans from all walks of life, from 51-year-old Joya Shelton in California to 14-year-old Tif- fany Agina in Virginia, refer-


See BOOK page A-4


■ iSpy: Parents need to be on the lookout for cyberbullying


■ Taking Care of the Girls: Breast cancer screenings remain critical


■ Fight Fair: The healthy way to fight


LIVING


 How to Live Healthy in a Fast Food Nation


Taking Care of the Girls


Breast cancer screenings remain critical to breast cancer survival


iSPY Parents need to be on the lookout for cyberbullying


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