Detroit Reads For The Week
There's been an influx of articles penned about what caused Detroit's troubles since the city succumbed to the woes of a potentially long municipal bankruptcy proceeding, but plenty of stories streamed out of here long before! Why not take a look at some?
This is something new that will run occasionally. If a current story stands out, sure, it'll be considered for future use. Have any suggestions? Give us a shout on Twitter @ryanfelton13 or @aaronkfoley.
Metro Times – "Underwater"
Just because there are a lot of people who fear even uttering the "B" word, it may still be unavoidable.
A year ago, Metro Times' News Editor Curt Guyette took a look at the possibility of Detroit filing for Chapter 9 protection at a time when the idea was completely off the table, at least, in the limelight. Emails later obtained by a litigious activist revealed officials began floating the idea as early as the beginning of this year. Nonetheless, Guyette's deep dive into a potential bankruptcy proceeding is an interesting read; a good look at a time when the state said it couldn't happen. (e.g., When Governor Rick Snyder took office in 2011, he told reporters "Detroit's not going into bankruptcy...bankruptcy shouldn't be on the table." Times change.)
Sports Illustrated - George Plimpton recalling his time with the Detroit Lions.
I cleared my throat and began the signals. The count begins with three meaningless numbers. I have a sort of New England cosmopolitan accent, often mistaken for an English accent, and the Lions delighted in imitating my signal calls—"fawty-fowah! fawty-tew!" I'd hear them yelling in the shower after practice—so I avoided such numbers. I had a harmless non-accent number ready at hand to start the series: 16.
Entertaining from start to finish: Plimpton writing about a brief stint with the Detroit Lions back in the '60s where he showcases what it'd be like for the average person trying out for a professional sports team. It didn't go so well.
Crain's Detroit Business - "Aluminum Bottleneck: Coke's complaint: 12% of global stockpile held here, boosting prices"
In July, The New York Times reported about a systematic dance performed by Goldman Sachs to raise the cost of aluminum, which the company stores in a couple dozen warehouses it owns throughout metro Detroit, by simply slowing the delivery process to soda manufacturers and more. Crain's Detroit Business delivered the story more than two years ago when Coca-Cola filed a complaint alleging Goldman purposely created the issue to artificially raise prices. Reuters followed with a report soon after. Goldman's move, the Times reports, is entirely legal, and some argue cost consumers more than $5 billion since 2010.