cbsnews.com - AP - August 3, 2014

TOLEDO, Ohio - Residents of Ohio's fourth largest city are now being warned about potential hazards from taking a shower.

The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department said late Saturday that, at the urging of the Centers for Disease Control, it is advising that those with liver disease should avoid showering. This applies only to those who get their water service from the city of Toledo's water treatment plant.

The department now also says that those with sensitive skin may want to avoid showering because the water could cause irritation, reports CBS affiliate WTOL in Toledo.

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National Wildlife Federation CEO Collin O’Mara checks out the algal bloom in Western Lake Erie near the water intake facility for the City of Toledo during a visit to the site with local and national officials and local media. Toledo Free Press photo by Sarah Ottney

toledofreepress.com - August 3, 2014

The City of Toledo issued an urgent water advisory early Saturday morning. The advisory is still in effect as of Sunday.

City of Toledo residents and regional residents (including portions of Lucas, Wood, Fulton and Monroe counties) who receive water from the city are asked to not drink city water until further notice, including water that has been boiled. Water should also not be given to pets.

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Of 178 homes whose water was shut off last week, 79 had restarted their supplies, triggering $21,750 in fines on top of what the residents already owed. Photograph: James Fassinger

The beleaguered city says a water shutoff is essential to recoup $89m in overdue bills. But the decision has outraged thousands of Detroiters – who have taken matters into their own hands

theguardian.com - by Jon Swaine - July 21, 2014

When the coast is clear, and the trucks from the contractor shutting off water for the city of Detroit have rolled away, the men with water keys come.

They offer residents whose supply has just been shut off a tempting deal. For $20, they will use their tools to turn the water main back on immediately, and illegally, sparing the household the agonising days spent without showering, cooking or flushing that have already been endured by at least 16,000 of their neighbours so far this year.

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Eric Thayer/Reuters

Some run dry—and others pay $30 for plumbers to illegally turn the taps back on.

theatlantic.com - by Rose Hackman - July 17, 2014

When the water trucks arrived near Arlyssa Heard’s home on the west side of Detroit at the end of June, the 42-year-old single mother of two said it felt like the entire neighborhood was being taken over. . .

. . . It may not have been a police crackdown, but what she witnessed was definitely a crackdown of a sort. Since last year, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has been turning off water at the homes of customers behind on their bills.

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evergreencooperatives.com

The Evergreen Cooperatives of Cleveland, Ohio are pioneering innovative models of job creation, wealth building, and sustainability. Evergreen’s employee-owned, for-profit companies are based locally and hire locally. They create meaningful green jobs and keep precious financial resources within the Greater University Circle neighborhoods. Worker-owners at Evergreen earn a living wage and build equity in the firms as owners of the business.

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A 2011 photograph from Wisconsin shows what damage the larvae of the emerald ash borer are doing to ash trees in the United States. Credit John Ehlke/The West Bend Daily News, via Associated Press

nytimes.com - by Maggie Koerth-Baker - June 30, 2014

This past winter was the coldest Detroit had experienced in 36 years. Across the upper Midwest, cities shivered, and more than 90 percent of the surface area of the Great Lakes froze solid.

It seemed like ideal weather to kill an unwanted insect. But it did little to stop the emerald ash borer, an invasive Asian beetle that is devastating ash trees from Minnesota to New York.

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usresilienceproject.org - October 31, 2011

U.S. Resilience Project (USRP) reports are designed to showcase how public policy can benefit from private-sector best practices in security, business continuity, risk management, and disaster preparedness.

Harness the Power of Intelligent Networks and Social Media

The focus for national preparedness should be on creating situational awareness, enhanced decision-making and rapid response; Platforms like the U.S. Resilience System, that are based upon distributed intelligent social networks and crowd-sourcing, can enable far more agility and adaptability than a highly structured, hierarchical capability with significantly better outcomes at far less cost. Exploiting U.S. leadership in this area has the potential to create significant engagement in preparedness, disaster response, and regional resilience building.

Detroit laid out its blueprint Friday for how it will emerge from the largest municipal bankruptcy ever. 
Joshua Lott / Reuters

nbcnews.com - by Patrick J. Rizzo - February 21, 2014

Detroit revealed its historic plan to emerge from under $18 billion in debt Friday, laying the groundwork for what’s expected to be a long, bitter battle with creditors, retirees and bondholders over the biggest municipal bankruptcy ever.

The 120-page 'plan of adjustment' could change radically as negotiations with more than 100,000 creditors move forward. It must still be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes.

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(CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)

CLICK HERE - SUMMARY OF THE PLAN (2 page .PDF file)

CLICK HERE - Detroit Plan of Adjustment (120 page - Scribd)

Protestors in Detroit last month objected to plans to cut pension benefits of city workers and retirees.

cnn.com - by Chris Isidore - July 18, 2013

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Detroit filed for bankruptcy Thursday, becoming the nation's largest public sector bankruptcy. The move could slash pension benefits to city workers and retirees, and leave bond holders with only pennies on the dollar.

The bankruptcy was filed by Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr and approved by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. Snyder said the financial condition of the city left him no choice.

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detroit.cbslocal.com - by Matt Roush - May 6, 2013

CHICAGO — At Monday’s American Wind Energy Association conference in Chicago, leaders of the newly-formed Michigan Energy and Technology Center (METC) announced their multi-faceted plan to generate economic activity in the Great Lakes State.

METC is a consortium comprised of officials from Michigan State University, the Grand Rapids sustainable energy construction firm Rockford Berge, Consumers Energy and other Michigan-based clean technology and services companies. Their mission is to accelerate the global market growth for clean technology and services.

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Image: FarmedHere is the nation's largest indoor organic farm

inhabitat.com - May 27th, 2013 - Bridgette Meinhold

The nation's largest indoor organic farm is now churning out greens and herbs to supply the Chicago area with fresh, local produce. FarmedHere recently opened up a new aquaponic and aeroponic farm in a 90,000 square foot post-industrial building in Bedford Park, IL. They grow arugala, basil, mint and other micro greens, which are then sold in Whole Foods stores in the city. We've been writing about indoor vertical farms for years and now they really do exist!

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Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert Township, Michigan.  Alamy

huffingtonpost.com - May 6, 2013

Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in southwestern Michigan was taken offline Sunday after operators discovered a leak from a water tank. . .

NRC officials estimate "79 gallons of 'slightly' radioactive water" flowed into Lake Michigan over the weekend, explained Michigan Radio. Officials reportedly don't know exactly how radioactive the leaked water was.

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neighborhoodscout.com

Even the most dangerous cities in America can have relatively safe neighborhoods, as there is more variation in crime within most cities than between cities. But using exclusive data developed by NeighborhoodScout, and based on FBI data from all 17,000 local law enforcement agencies in America, we here report those specific neighborhoods in America that have the highest predicted rates of violent crime per 1,000 neighborhood residents of all. Violent crimes include murder, forcible rape, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. These neighborhoods are the epicenters of violence in America, where social issues are likely to ignite into violence and spread. See our FAQ on how we rank the most dangerous neighborhoods

Click on any neighborhood name in the link below to view the neighborhood map and full profile.

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/neighborhoods/crime-rates/25-most-dangerous-neighborhoods/

submitted by Gary Vroegindewey

http://detroitworksproject.com/for-detroit-to-work-we-need-action-today/

The Detroit Works Project was introduced in 2010 as a process to create a shared, achievable vision for Detroit’s future to improve the quality of life and business in Detroit.

It began with a series of meetings to engage residents in the process. Initially we heard from nearly 10,000 of you who told us for Detroit to work, action is needed today while we continue to plan for tomorrow.

As a response, Mayor Dave Bing introduced the separation of the Detroit Works Project into two tracks in July of 2011—Short Term Actions and Long Term Planning.

As city officials continued to spearhead Short Term Actions, they worked to realign some city services and leverage available resources to make improvements in neighborhoods based on market conditions.

The city of Detroit is moving towards a land deal with Hantz Farms, an urban agriculture venture with big plans and lots of critics with in the urban farming movement. (Flickr: MattBerggren)

submitted by Theresa Bernardo

huffingtonpost.com - July 7, 2012

Detroit's urban farmers have been waving their pitchforks indignantly over it for years, but a controversial agriculture deal between the city of Detroit and a wealthy investor looks like it may finally be heading to market.

The Detroit Free Press reports that mayor Dave Bing's group executive for planning and facilities, Karla Henderson, is close to finalizing a sale that would allow the Southfield-based financier John Hantz to transform 175 acres of vacant east side lots into a commercial lumber farm.

The mayor hopes to close on the transaction -- estimated to be in the realm of $600,000 -- with his business, Hantz Farms, when city council gets back from its summer recess, according to the Free Press.