D orr-Long before
there w a Barden Com
municatio and Bing Steel
there Ed Davi , one time
owner of the n tion' first
Black-owned n w car dealer-
hip, and Sidney B rthwell,
one time owner of the largest
Blac -owned drugstore chain
in the country.
Detroit bo ted n bun
dance of hotel , insur nee
companies, grocery store ,
nightclub , and other Blae -
owned b in es, But dis
a ter came di gui ed a
progress in the late 1950's.
Official cho e to to run 1-75
. alongside Hastings Street, the
mecca of Bl ck b in es in
Detroit.
Oakland Univer ity
economist Karl Gregory id
there were other rou to be
taken but any other be ide
Hastings would di rupt white
busines e. Florist Edgar
Brazelton believ the route
was taken pwpo ly to destroy
Black busin •
"It had too much con
centrated Black power," he
said.
Secretary Richard Austin
disagree with this theory. "I
believe that the planners were
trying to seek the very best
location for the flow oftrafflc,"
Austin said.
Thi "location" was the
beginning of the decline of
Blackbpai
Weed&Seed
gets new lease
on life In LA
LOS ANGELEs-city
leaders, including Mayor Tom
Bradley, in Los Angeles
agreed to give the controver
sial federal program "Weed
and Seed" a new lease on
life-by renaming it. The
leaders emerged to announce
the new name of the program,
"Community Project for Res
toration."
The change followed city
leaders rejecting the police
department's ability to apply
for $800,000 in Weed and
Seed funds. President Bush
offered $19 million in Weed
and Seed fund to Los Angeles
after the April unrest to "weed"
out the "bad" elements in
South Central and "seed" in the
"good" elements such as drug
education and child care.
"The weed portion of this
program has been im
posed ... with the purpose of in
carceration not rehabiliation,"
says Mark Ridley-Thomas,
community leader. "The
people of South Central and
Pico Union are not 'weeds' to
be pulled out of their com-:
munities and put into jail."
Ridley-Thomas called the
development "a major victory"
and said the council will put off
applying grants "until we have
built the level of consensus be
tween the council offices, the
chief of police's office, as well
as the community. "
Detroit retail
construction
to tart
DETROIT-Construction
for a retail strip et to be near
the Virginia Park subdivision
will begin soon. The River
bend shopping center will fea
ture a Spartan grocery, a Perry
Drug Store, a Blockbuster
Video outlet and a Ftrst of
America bank branch, said the
project's developer, Michael
Curls.
There is still room for four
more stores, Curls says, in the
47,000-square-foot center.
--_ ----
drive of
What next?
By JEFFREY A. SCHOENBORN
C.pH.1 NftV. Swvll»
IANSlNG-A tax on the illegallyac
quired assets of drug dealers will be
pushed in the new year by the director
of the state's key substance-abuse
agency.
"If we placed a tax on all dJ'u8-re
lated activities, we could help finance
our education and treatment
programs," said Karen Schrock, diJec..
tor of tbe Michigan Public Health
Department's Center for Substance
Abuse Services.
This idea for making drug dealers
pay for � problems their merchandise
creates would have to be approved by
the Legislature and governor before it
becomes reality.
Schrock aid this new angle for at
tacking drug dealers would not legalize
controlled su tances.
SHE SAID other tates have a
drug-dealer tax, and one that she finds
particularly successful is North
Carolina's controlled ubstance S1amp
program.
"It' imilar to a tax on a pack of
cigarettes," said H. Phil Bridges, a
spokesman for the North Carolina
Department of Revenue.
For possession of drop that are sold
by the gram, such cocaine, $200
tamp for each gram must be affixed to
the illicit substance. For drop sold by ,
the dose, like LSD, each stamp cos
$400. A $3.50 stamp must be pur-
chaaed for each gram of marijuana Pos
. aessed.
Bridges said when the law that in
dudes the controlled substance 11Imp
was passed in 1989, most people in
North Ca(olina dfsmi9ted it because
obviously no one would buy them
wluntarily.
He said the program's deaf&ncrs and
supportera never intended drug dealera
to purchue tbe ltampa, but when
caught in poaeaaJon of fWdt Iubltan
eel, the tax mutt be paid.
-THE BEST PART of it from the
atMDdpoint of • civil law violation,"
Bridges said, is that wbe� • penon
gets convicted ,of a aime or oot, they
still owe the tax."
There is also a 100 percent penalty
levied for oot purchlsiDa the tamps.
The seized 11 of • drug dealer
are generally UICd to ply the tax. The
controlled substance stamp program
generated IOOre than sa million
ince i inception, and is NIl by a taft'
of only 16 employeta.
State and local police nd in
North Carolina recdve the bulk of the
funds. Schrock said abe would like to
see a similar program in Michigan that
would add to the S82 milllon in state
moni her depu1me �II for
ubltance b education, prevention
and treatment propms throughout the
tate.
She id there still not enough
money to offer care for all who need it.
/
VIOLATORS WILL RISK ar
re t, jail and h ving their license
uspended under the Commercial
Motor Vehicle Safety Act, he id.
When pulled over by law enforcers
and having detectable leve of alcohol
in their body, drivers must abandon
their commercial vehicles at the ide of
the road.
This also ppU to drivers with
.015 blood- lcohol level , which
Woell said is one of the lowest detec
tion levels.
The drivers would abandon their
vehicles and be termed "out-of-ser
vice" for at least 24 hows •
"If you're going to be driving a
truck, b or any other vehicle, you
shouldn't drink at all," said Secretary
of State Richard Austin.
- --- ----
ieally become property of the police
department that makes the arrest.
If a portion of that money went to
the state to support education and treat
ment, many law enforcement asencies
would suffer.
Benton Harbor Police Chief Cyril
FUller said many mailer depar1ments
would not be able, to upport drug en
forcement units if some of their civil
forfeiture money were deducted.
U TIN HIS departmen
has inv ted lnte inte t in im-
plementing the uti-drunk drivin
legislation of 1991 and that Michl
jud are "dead rio" enforc-
ing the new la .
Woell d Michigan S Police
tatistics 100 good far, with a 14
percent decrease in alcohol-rei ted
talities, but he said they could be
misleading inee they don't include the
alcohol-related ccidents that are
bound to occur during the holiday
season.
The 22 chapters and seven com
munity ction teams belonging to
Michigan's Mothers Against Drunk
Drivers upport the tate' anti-drunk
driving legislation, MADD Executive
Director Beth Goodman d.
JOY. JOY. JOY. - Darnella Sanders, a recent inducteelnto the International Afro-American Sports
Hall of Fame (for excelling In amature tennis). is surroundecby her handmade .Joy Dol •• Sanders
began making the dolls In July and has made over 100. The Afro-Centric dolls come with different
costumes and sells for $10-$25. Potential customers may contact Sande at (313) 399-7384.
By AMY YUHN old. She said the visible red ribbons
C.plt., N..v. .vII» tied to cars driving down the highway
remind other drivell DOt 0 get behind
lANSlNG-'Tis the season to be the wheel if they have been drinking.
jolly, and many holiday revelers tum to ' "The organizeJS felt there was a
a bit of the bubbly to lift their spirits. need to remind the national community
But several groups across the state not to drink and drive," Frank said. "At
are pushing for holiday party-goers to one point in our history, the December
be more responsible when they drink. holidays were the most deadly for
Karen Schroclc, c . e of drinking and drl· "
rvi in hile no
i c n p m t 0 Pu ic tics are ere
Health, said her office works hard to fatalities occwring during the holiday
discourage drinking and driving season, the Michigan State Police
throughout the year, but the efforts arc reported some 635 alcohol related
especially stepped up during the fa1Blities in 1991---almost half of all
holidays. fa1Blities on the road.
"It amazes me, when you work in There arc many thinp party-givers
this field, how much alcohol . as-. and party-goers can do to avoid drink
socia ted wi th everything," Schrock i08 and driving. For example, Schrock
said. said her office suggests non-alcooolic
The Center for Substance Abuse party drinks, which can be just. fes
Services is working with Mother's tive as the spiked ones.
Against Drunk Driving (MADD) on ,Servinghigh tarchfoodslikepizza
the annual red ribbon campaign, which or potatoes can help to absorb some
kicked off this year on Nov. 23 with a alcohol.
rally in Lansing. But the best suggestion is to select a
Sandra Frank director of the mid- designated driver who is respoDS�ble
Michigan MADD chapter, said the red for getting everyone mUle safely.
ribbon. campaign is about eight years
ax for illegal drug
"THERE'S NO'I1IING WORSE
than havUlg someone come up, ready
for treatment, and have to tum them
away," Schrock said.
Using a program like controlled
substance tamps in Michigan to pay
for non-law enforcement drug
programs likely would cut into the
funding of this state'a police agencies.
Under Michigan's civil forfeiture
law, foW¥l1o be related to
,drug activity are seized, and automat-
"IT WOULD just hamper youref
fom to enhalre drug enforcement,"
Fuller said. "None of the < mall) agen
,des have enough money to do the job
now."
Fuller said although the tate ought
to be careful where lMney is being
taken from, more money hould be al
located for education.
"PAucation is going to contribute
mere to ending the drug problem than
law enforcement, " � police chief said.
Lawmark r
fin for af
ey h. f Y
Y violation
By ANDY HALLDOR ON
C.plMl,... wvII»
LANSlNG-Whether i about cars,
motorcycles, four-wheelers, or just
plain bikes, la�rs are triving to
out do one another in puing fine-en
forced ety laws they say will save
lives.
But regulatory boo continue to
thicken, the roost dangero\S thing on
the roads may be the government itself,
critics y.
In recent years, la mandating t
bel child safety sea and helrne for
motorcycl and recreational vehicle
drivers have wept Michigan.
But the Department or State, a
primary backer of those laws, . n't
. topping there, said .David Kilgren,
director of the depar1ment's legislative
division.
mE DRIVE IS on to make seat
belt violations a "primary offense,"
well as mandating helmets for all
moped riders and young bicyclers, he
said.
Consider the ibiliti:
- A $100 fine for allowing a child
I than 4 yea old to ride a bicycle or
be passenger witbout an approved hel
met, costing about $30.
- Being pulled over and ticketed a
minimum of $40 for not wearing a seat
belt, or for having a front-seat or minor
passenger without a seat belt. (under
current law, pollc::c can fine unbuckled
motora only if they are topped for
another reason).
- Fin for driving a moped
without a helmet.
All of the above were State Depart
ment- upported bills proposed by the
outgoing Legislature. None were
passed, but upporte said they will
work to re-introduce the bills in the
Legislature.
"We definitely upport them, it's
just a matter of getting them through
the Legislature," Kilgren said.
Viol onaA7