Monthly Archives: July 2008

Brooks barges in

Posted on July 9, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Where were Bob and Kwame? The scene couldn’t have been more Detroit, more Wayne County: I’m standing on a barge docked at the mouth of the Rouge River opposite Zug Island. The huge black blast furnaces of … Continue reading →

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Watson to the nth

Posted on July 8, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell JoAnn Watson has had enough. So have I — enough of her holier-than-thou chatter. The Detroit city councilwoman was upset that the city’s law department hired two lawyers to help besieged Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick keep the … Continue reading →

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Sugar-coating the buyout

Posted on July 7, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell It’s hard for newspapers to cover their own industry. It’s even harder for them to report news about their own newspaper. Maybe that’s an excuse the Detroit Free Press could trundle out for running today’s (July 7, … Continue reading →

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Right after all

Posted on July 6, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell   News in late June that the Detroit Free Press will print its last editions of the Community Free Press on Aug. 1 stunned the reporters, editors, photographers and myriad freelancers who’ve diligently worked to make those … Continue reading →

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Where did turkeys go? Gleaners asks if Conyers’ staff helped needy people

Posted on July 5, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell [donation] One more in a series of articles I wrote for the Detroit Free Press about the way U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. handles business in his congressoinal ofices. This story appears with permission of the Detroit … Continue reading →

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Fourth of July revery

Posted on July 4, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell What if we lived in a country where companies could ban employees from voting? How democratic would that be? Well, it hasn’t happened. But it could. And there is an industry where political activity already is looked … Continue reading →

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Cart before the nag: Kwame’s innocent until…

Posted on July 3, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Reading the Detroit Free Press, you’d think Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was already behind bars, convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in the text message scandal. Maybe that’s where the paper’s staffers would like him to … Continue reading →

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Kwamegate vs. Sludgegate

Posted on July 2, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell There’s a thing in architecture called perspective. Look at a five-story building by itself, without comparison to other structures, and it looks big. Stand beside it, and it seems gigantic. Build a 60-story tower next to it, … Continue reading →

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Fantasy JOA for Detroit?

Posted on July 2, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell In January, joelontheroad.com broke news about the start of a possible Joint Operating Agreement between my blog and the Detroit News and Free Press.     I didn’t get much response.   In fact, the only response … Continue reading →

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Embarrassing John Conyers?

Posted on July 1, 2008 by admin

  By Joel Thurtell   Sam Riddle thinks the FBI wants to embarrass U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. He’s convinced that’s why the feds reportedly are investigating the congressman’s wife, Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers.   No, Sam, I don’t … Continue reading →

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