Bing teases upcoming announcement of 'huge' help from White House

[begingri]

Leonard N. Fleming/ The Detroit News

Detroit— Mayor Dave Bing said today that a major announcement would be coming from the White House in 45 to 60 days to help the troubled city but was mum on the details.

"It's coordination, collaboration from different federal agencies," Bing said after giving remarks at a media event at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. "The funding is primarily here. We've got a lot of money that's been allocated to Detroit that I don't think we've done a good job of allocating it where it should go."

Bing said it's "hard to say" what kind of impact this will have on the city but declared that "it is huge."

"The president is very serious about helping the city of Detroit," Bing said. "I think we're going to see something significant in the city of Detroit in terms of change."

Bing was among a contingent of mayors from around the country meeting in Washington Monday with President Obama and members of his administration.

One area the mayor would like the president to help Detroit with is battling adult illiteracy rates, which are keeping generations of the uneducated out of the job market.

"The problem that we are having in our school system didn't start two years ago, five years ago," Bing said. "It's been 30 or 40 years. It's been a long-term process."

Continued at: http://detnews.com/article/20110621/METRO01/106210397/Bing-teases-upcoming-announcement-of-‘huge’-help-from-White-House#ixzz1PwRYATI6

[Hypestyles]

Detroit needs direct federal assistance in all forms, along the lines of Reconstruction after the Civil War.. education reform, job training & placement.. infrastructure projects that can put the able-bodied into mainstream employment..

[Richard]

The jobs would come if they would open the door.

IMHO There have been many cities in the US that have received federal funds after natural disasters in order to get back on their feet,because of Detroit's past involvement in this countries success in eliminating an overseas tyranny this country does owe a debt to her and maybe now is the time to pay that and put the recent past history behind her,because I have seen the progress in the past couple of years of those in the trenches in spite of all the negative odds going on around them,from an outsiders point of view I would say give her what she needs to get the job done, with no regrets, it would be a wise investment from a countries stand point.

For the last 6 months I have had to compile reams of good things happening all over the city in order to prove to funders that everything negative that they read and see does not make up the city,and there are people that do care about what is happening around them.

[Fnemecek]

What I want to know is:

• Will this "huge" annoucement mean that the police are more likely to show the next time there's a shooting across the street from me?
• Will this "huge" annoucement mean that EMS is more likely to show up on time when one of my neighbors needs an ambulance?
• Will this "huge" annoucement mean that the street lights in my neighborhood will all be on?
• Will this "huge" annoucement mean that someone is going to do something about the potholes in our streets?
• Will this "huge" annoucement mean that I will no longer have to pay taxes that are double national averages?

I hope I'm wrong. However, if the past two years is any guide, I regret that Mayor Bing and I have a fundamentally different definition of the word "huge."

[Richard]

Fnemecek all valid questions, you could send a email to the source [[pres) you might be as surprised as I was when I received an answer in the past,it does not cost but a few minutes of time.

[thatguy123]

along the lines of Reconstruction after the Civil War.. education reform, job training & placement.. infrastructure projects that can put the able-bodied into mainstream employment..

wow you have a skewed view of history if you think that is how the Reconstruction Era went. That is probably the last thing you would want, unless you are the type of person that enjoys military occupation, sharecropping and being taxed into poverty.

[canuck]

Is this the first time a president promises a plan to help Detroit? If so, this is an occasion like no other to bring in folks with ideas on planning a new civic environment that woill benefit not only Detroit but maybe new mushroom cities in China, India Brazil, etc... American know how is a term I would like to hear again. It is becoming rarer. There is enough talent in the US to effect big changes on the way we design cities, and Detroit may be poised for greatness on a level heretofore unknown, if the cards are wellplayed. If we look at the balancing act of defense budgets and social/health issues on your homefront; isnt there a whole lot of opportunity in making people's lives more agreeable and fulfilling if the energy and money is spent on urban renewal and better education, safety and transit?

From the moment I got interested in Detroit's problems, I realized that this was a city that not only needed but deserved a helping hand because as many others have pointed out, its people contributed to the modern world we know in a big way. If all the factors that brought demise on Detroit knocked it out bad, this does not mean it is not worthy of outside help. Better late than never in this case.

[BrushStart]

Any wild speculation on what this "huge help" is going to be? Will it be in the form of transportation infrastructure, housing, education, or some other type of intangibles, like economic or trade policies?

[BrushStart]

Okay, well, here's my [[unrealistic) Uncle Sam wish list:

• Regional subway system
• Detroit-region Aerotopolis
• Declare Detroit a "Free Trade" zone
• Open-border between Detroit and Windsor
• NASA spaceport at City Airport
• State-of-the-art K-12 schools
• $1 billion dollar endowment for Wayne State
• The best teachers in America
• The best urban planners in America
• The best architects in America
• A new bridge to Canada with moving pedestrian walkways
• Bicycles for everyone
• Candy and toys for all the children
• A "Spirit of Detroit" statue the size of Lady Liberty in Gibraltar Bay

If we got all those things, I'd be happy.

[401don]

Okay, well, here's my [[unrealistic) Uncle Sam wish list:

• Regional subway system
• Detroit-region Aerotopolis
• Declare Detroit a "Free Trade" zone
• Open-border between Detroit and Windsor
• NASA spaceport at City Airport
• State-of-the-art K-12 schools
• $1 billion dollar endowment for Wayne State
• The best teachers in America
• The best urban planners in America
• The best architects in America
• A new bridge to Canada with moving pedestrian walkways
• Bicycles for everyone
• Candy and toys for all the children
• A "Spirit of Detroit" statue the size of Lady Liberty in Gibraltar Bay

If we got all those things, I'd be happy.

While admirable, think more on a scale of adding a petting zoo to the Lafayette Veggie Garden.

[Gregg8]

How about renovating the Michigan Central Station into a combined Police HQ and Amtrack terminal, along with getting the already planned 'High Speed' Detroit to Chicago Rail improvements under way.

Oh, and funding for police and teachers, too.[[among other things)

[English]

Okay, well, here's my [[unrealistic) Uncle Sam wish list:

• Regional subway system
• Detroit-region Aerotopolis
• Declare Detroit a "Free Trade" zone
• Open-border between Detroit and Windsor
• NASA spaceport at City Airport
• State-of-the-art K-12 schools
• $1 billion dollar endowment for Wayne State
• The best teachers in America
• The best urban planners in America
• The best architects in America
• A new bridge to Canada with moving pedestrian walkways
• Bicycles for everyone
• Candy and toys for all the children
• A "Spirit of Detroit" statue the size of Lady Liberty in Gibraltar Bay

If we got all those things, I'd be happy.

You for the win! Thanks for the giggle -- love the idea of Jetsons walkways on the Ambassador [[or the new bridge?).

Seriously, if they'd just let us have the regional subway and the free trade zone, I'd be very happy.

[Goose]

rumor has it that funding for a robocop statue twice the size as originally planned is going to be announced....

thats HUGE!!!!