Reading this Wall Street Journal piece about “pranksters” causing “mischief” in Detroit’s abandonded buildings totally pissed me off.
It sounded more like wanton destruction for the sake of destruction to me.
The article details how this group used sledgehammers to break down this wall and push a truck out of a fourth story window in the old Packard plant (a site we’ve previously highlighted on this blog). They even videotaped their caper.
I don’t fault people for wanting to go inside and explore these old structures - I’ve done it myself. But wrecking …

By now you have probably heard, police have found ten bodies inside and east Cleveland home.
The resident, Anthony Sowell, was arrested by Cleveland police earlier this week after a short manhunt. Sowell, a convicted rapist, was found not far from the home.

He previously served 15 years for rape and was being monitored by police when he was accused of raping and strangling a neighborhood woman he lured into his house with an offer of alcohol.
For days, investigators have been dismantling Sowell’s home, finding remains throughout. Neighbors reported a foul smell, …

The city of Youngstown is experiencing another arson spree, this time though the crime is personal for many city activists.
A historic mansion in the Wick park neighborhood was burned a few weeks ago, according to the Youngstown Renaissance blog.
Instances of Arson are familiar in the city, however, many city boosters are outraged because there was talk of renovating the particular house and the Wick Park neighborhood is the site of an ongoing revitalization campaign that is seen as crucial to stabilizing downtown and Youngstown State University area.
The fire was part …

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this Wall Street Journal article that traces the story of one home in the Motor City - and through that house, decades of history and change in the neighborhood and the city overall.
Spend a few minutes reading about 1626 W. Boston Boulevard, in Detroit’s Boston-Edison neighborhood, from its auto-industry origins to a subprime borrower.
-KG

I saw an interesting ad recently, previewing the Sundance Channel documentary Brick City.
The show will focus on Newark, New Jersey (a city that while not in the Rust Belt, has certainly had its share of problems), Mayor Cory Booker, and other city officials and residents, such as the chief of police, a gang member, and a youth counselor.
You can watch a number of clips from the show and read a bit about it on the web site.
We’ve written about Mayor Booker and his efforts to turn the city around on …

The Associated Press reports federal officials are evaluating a prison in rural Standish, Michigan, as a possible site to hold Gitmo prisoners.
It’s not surprising to me that officials would head to an economically depressed state to try to do this.
Youngstown famously became associated with prisons, some of which were privately run, moving into town in the wake of the loss of steel jobs.
Opinion amongst locals on the prison is mixed, the AP reports.
Some think it would make the area a terrorist target. And surprisingly, union workers at the prison don’t …

Block Watch organizations across the county are latching on to a new powerful tool: social media.

The Associated Press reports block watch organizations are increasing utilizing tools like Twitter and blogs.

The article follows a Columbus lawyer who tweets about suspicious vehicles and break-ins to protect his crime-ridden Old Oaks neighborhood.

The strategy has payed off for Mr. Vickers. Neighbors report criminal activity has dwindled and the streets are safer.

I hesitate to even post this story, it is so violent, depressing, and hopeless.
At a recent cookout in East Baltimore, a dozen people were shot - which in itself is bad enough - but is part of a larger wave of violence that swept the city recently.
“The shootings on Conkling were not related to the shooting on Ashland, which might have sparked the shootings at Baltimore and Bond, which might have led to the shootings on Comet, which might have been retaliation for a shooting six months ago which was …

Last month, 66-year-old Robert Brundage was riding his bicycle home from a Jobs with Justice meeting at the library in Toledo’s Old West End neighborhood.
Around 6:30 p.m., he was knocked off his bike by a 15-year-old who lives nearby; the teen stole Brundage’s bicycle. Brundage died.
Brundage was well-known to many in the city - he was often seen riding his bike, or attending board or other meetings for the Collingwood Arts Center, the Toledo Poetry Foundation, the Urban Coalition, the MultiFaith Council of Northwest Ohio, Toledo Area Jobs With Justice …

This Associated Press story highlights the problem of fire - by arson or by accident - in vacant homes, increasing as does the foreclosure crisis.
It focuses on the sad story of one homeless man squatting in one vacant home in Flint.
-KG