Latest on Kwame Kenyatta

Thank heavens for the Michigan Citizen and reporter Diane Bukowski.  She dug up some dirt on everyone's favorite councilman, Kwame Kenyatta, out of whose committee came the permit allowing Kem's advance crew to tidy up Cass Park this morning:

“Kwame Kenyatta brought me the check from the Wisdom PAC, saying it was his PAC ...”

So I thought I'd go check out what is allegedly the councilman's PAC at the state election website.  The latest records at the elections bureau showed unpaid PAC fees of $2,500, so the elections bureau refused Wisdom PACs request to dissolve itself two years ago.  But somehow, as Ms. Bukowski reported, the PAC is still able to funnel money, more money than is owed to the state elections bureau, even though it is not in good standing with the state, unless they've paid up before I posted this. 

How could this even be possible, you might ask?  Welcome to Detroit.

Current city council member Kwame Kenyatta also channeled money from his Wisdom PAC, largely funded by Sun Valley Foods, to several board members.

But, Really: What is a Day?

Kemistry Records and Project Producers, LLC, were granted a permit to shut down streets around Cass Park this Sunday, August 28, but that didn't stop them from starting the closures a day early.  I guess somewhere between the lines of the council petition was some just-add-lemon-juice invisible ink extending the definition of "August 28" to include most of August 27, but I haven't yet found that part:

Kenyatta, reso. autho. Petition of Kemistry Records (#1055), requesting to host a walkathon and concert performance, "Mack and Third", at Cass Park on August 28, 2011; with temporary street closure of Temple Street between Cass and Third; Ledyard between Third and Cass; and Second between Temple and Ledyard.

Nothing there allowing street closures on Saturday, eh?

The event organizers went with a Detroit-based Warren, Michigan-based company for the tents.  Organizers have already closed off southbound Second Boulevard from Temple and have blocked eastbound Ledyard traffic with a hundred-foot-long canopy.  I'm just wondering who will have the pleasure of sitting in that shaded area come Sunday.

And Then the KEM Circus Rolled into Town

KEM's back! 

He was here in 2009 to promote an album -- I mean, "help the homeless" -- and he's here again "to help the homeless."  Actually, he's here to promote another album.

In 2009:

Event organizers whitewashed Jim Lawton's sculpture Pink Landscape:  Three Trusses Plus (which the city had recently refinished).  Through the efforts of onemorespoke, the sculpture was again refinished in 2010.

Event organizers whitewashed community murals installed to prevent graffiti.  And. . .the graffiti's back.

Event organizers cut down park trees to improve their sitelines.

Event organizers hired private security to patrol city streets and to harass neighborhood residents.  Folks were prevented from coming and going for the weekend, prevented from walking their dogs, getting groceries, leaving the house.  Private security even prevented folks from going to church on Sunday.

The 2009 event collected canned goods and left them in the park overnight to be pilfered.  KEM got a Grammy nomination, though, so it was totally worth it.

In a functional city with rational, intelligent leadership, these sorts of abuses would have been stopped and then prevented from happening again.  Not in Detroit, though; city leaders are anything but intelligent or functional about the use of public space.  Just say "help the homeless" and you can do pretty much anything, even whitewash a city-owned sculpture as a means to promote yourself.  Those morons who whitewashed the Joe Louis fist should have thought of that.

Over the objections of neighborhood residents, Kwame Kenyatta and Dave Bing pushed KEM's event petition through committee and granted a permit.  Here we go again.

Stay tuned for updates.