•
VOL. XVI NO. 2fl An Informed People.' is A Fret" People MAY 15 ·21. 1994
Citizen Empow rment for a Clean Enviornment (CECE) chief
Vallory Levi-John on peak during a community meeting.
Detroit citiz
By RON SEIGEL
� eC?jal_!o the Michl an Citizen __
DETROIT - In the 60's there
were charges that "urban re­
newal" represented "Black Re­
moval," forcing African
Americans (and poor people of
all races) from their homes, de­
stroying neighborhoods and
neighborhood ties and eliminat­
ing Black business and insti­
tutions.
In 1968, in response to De­
troit city wide protests, the
Michigan State Legislature es­
tablished bodies in each urban
renewal area called citizen dis­
trict councils, representing the
residents and giving citizens in­
put in planning their community
and having a say in the future
development of their commu­
nity.
The state 1a w did not provide
funding and cities traditionally
funded them.
wo
By KWAMENA AINOOSON
5 ecla' to the Mlch_lgan C.!.!!zen __
Gomoa Akwakron celebrates
colorful f tivals in the months
of July and August. It is during
this p riod the people take stock
of th ir p t performance and
decid on n w strategi for the
community. It is on such occa­
sions funds are a1 0 raised for
various proj initi t d or be­
i ng undertaken.
N w chi fs are enstoo1ed dur­
ing festiv Is and it is during
thes tim the p ople are
obli to pay hom ge to their
chi fs. hiefs th t hav not lived
up to ctations and asp�ra­
tio of h i r electora are Im­
peach ; a pro that might
r ult in th ir d toolm nt th
ub u nt y
However, according to the
Mayor's Administrative As is­
tant Angela Brown, th city pro-
poses to change t hi
arrangement, subject 0 city
council approval.
IF THE
CITY council
rejects the cuts,
Archer would
have an oppor­
tunity to veto it.
According to
Brown, the
Mayor's plan
would:
• Eliminate
all funding for two distri
ci1s - Medical Cen r
Woodbridge.
• Slash funding for existin
district councils. According a
report by the Planning D p rt­
ment, different council would
receive a different rate 'of fund .
with Elmwood repr en in h
.P. group ay developer offering 80 piece of ilver
Story and photo by
JERYL BARGINEAR
tax-base."
"WE ARE BE G offered 8(}
job - 80 pi of sil r - to
accept this. Thi is going to influ­
ence the h Ith of our children,
our seniors, people in this com­
munity with b thing problem
- and this will not id us in
doing anything about our d te­
riorating tax-ba e," McLean
said.
HP residents filled th center
to capacity and clamored hom
their concerns with questions
like, "Where do you liv ," they
asked of the two suburban busi­
nessmen, and "Who tand to
benefit from the incinerator."
William Boyd, owner of CO­
GEN, stated that he r ides in
St. Clair, Michigan. His respons
was met by a barrage of boo's,
uhoo's and ahh's, but h went on
to say that, "his wife grew-up in
Highland Park."
There were five major issu
on the agenda for discu ion in­
it' b)' Hi nd P r ' Direc­
tor of Development, Dennis
Evans, and facilitated by Jerome
P. Barney, Attorney at Law.
THO E ISSUES WER�:
n
cOUDell
t
�
LANSING - Democre and
union leaders are ting a bit
easier following 1 t week's spe­
cial election that restored the
55-55 balanc of power in the
Hou .
Hou e Republicans have h ld
55-52 advantage since late
January and ntly u ed that
control by passing a bill toou law
and fine ache satrik .
The po ibility of the
picking up a 56th t 'm de
many D mocra and union 1
ers fearful of n v n furth r Re­
publican agenda, aid Bill
Ballenger, political nalyst nd
editor of th newsletter "I i e
Michigan Politics."
B II n raid th anti-strike
legi I tion i wa definitely a
move toward a major power pI y
that Gov. John Engler and Re­
publi ns hav talk d bout do­
ing for 20 y rs.
ing # " matt r of right," but
woul h v to d mons rat they
we doing a good job.
o ILMA L
RA VJTZ s ted h agr with
evalu ting district councils indi­
vidually on rform n .
HIGHLA D PARK - CO-GEN
official , the proposed manufac­
turers of a controversial medical
wast incinerator, were all but
tarred and f thered by a fiery
crowd during n 'informational
m ting' on Thursday, May 5 at
the Blackwell Cen r.
Saying 80 job - like 80
pieces of silver - could not buy
their approval for a proj ct pos­
ing a health threat to the com­
munity and its children,
Highland Park citizen voiced
their opposition to the proposed
medical w st inciner tor.
"Ladi and gentlemen, make
no mistak about it. Thi brand
new technology - as it's being
called - is a medical waste in­
cinerator and the State recog­
nizes it as being such," said
Jimmy McLean, chief coordina­
tor of Citizens Empowerment for
Cl 1\ En . (CECE),
the group leading opposition to
the incinerator. .
"Thi is being offered to this
community as a viable technol­
ogy which will help stabilize our
lowest at $49,000 and Jeffer­
son/Chalmers the high st at
$ 2,000.
• ndertake a new arrange­
'merit n xt y r, where district
councils would not recei fund-
•
However, other district coun­
cil members say that di trict
councils are supposed to be a
watch dog for th peopl in th ir
areas against city officials. They
charge that if the city d ni s
funding to cer­
tain coun il it
disapprov of,
all th coun il
will afraid to
challenge wh t
city official y.
Rohlann Cal­
lender, Di or
of the Univer­
sity City "A"
Citiz ns Distri
Council quot d
Ravi z as stating th r sh uld
"a balan of pow r" tw,n
city coun il nd th M yor .
Callend r said that i titu-
tions r pr nting h peopl
al 0 provided ry b l-
ance of power.
He dded tha if a
The hi torieal lack of en­
for men of pollution control
permits,
• Environmental raci m,
h lth problems emi ions may
cau ,
• Transport and storage of
hazardou waste, and
• Tax-b depreciation.
John P. Cieslak, Director En­
gineering Sales of the Illinois­
based firm, B ic Envirotech,
the manufacturers and vendor of
. the proposed solid waste boiler
equipment, opened the discus-
sion.
"The terms solid waste boiler
and cogeneration is the ult of
a 20-y r development process
where we now d ign, engineer
nd install 150 different type of
boil rs burning tires, wood
waste, ewage ludge and agri­
cultural by-products," he said.
His company has burned regu­
lated medical waste at ten facili­
ties in the U.S. and 15 faciliti
ou id th country.
C . to do thO , ·w
had to in nt b nd new type
of combustion ystem, and we've
participated here in Michigan
with the Department of Natural
Resou (DNR) and the U.S.
Environm ntal
A ncy (EPA), in
ta ndards for the
chin
Pollution
tting n w
type of m -
o
o
C C 0 CIAL T A
Sharon r butted Cieslak by ex­
plaining to th public that Michi­
gan's incineration law of
compliance are f bly enfor •
allowing compani to burn n
exorbitant amount of eontami­
ria for up 0 two-hours daily,
S'ee CO-GEN, B8
Democr t
e
regain
bala ce
en house
By KYLA KING
the
were evaluated on their per­
form nce, "the Planning D .
partment would get zero."
Obaahenma Arne nab E.P. Omar