Author Archives: admin

Measuring the Rouge

Posted on December 10, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell On an overcast morning last month, as I followed Mapquest to a bridge on Military Street spanning the Lower Rouge River in Dearborn, I did a very un-Mapquest thing — hopped my car over a curb, stowing … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventures on the Rouge, Lakes and streams | 1 Comment

Canada’s view of the Ambassador

Posted on December 9, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Before you read this article, I wish you would do a little field work. Please hop in your car and drive to Windsor, Ontario. If you don’t want to put money in Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel “Matty” … Continue reading →

Posted in Me & Matty | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Off guard: The Free Press and the leakers

Posted on December 8, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Several weeks ago, I began writing an essay about the case of former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino, who’s suing my former paper, the Detroit Free Press, to force Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Ashenfelter to name the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bad government, censorship, Joel's J School, Subpoenaed reporters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ford, GM and the other arsenal

Posted on December 7, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Remember, too, that Detroit helped rescue America as the Arsenal of Democracy in World War II … Now, when our automakers and autoworkers need a hand up, will America really turn its back? — Detroit Free Press, … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto bailout, future of newspapers, Joel's J School | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

HEY, AMERICA: IT’S A LOAN

Posted on December 5, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Can we get something straight between Detroit and America? What the newspaper industry is seeking in Washington is a loan,  L-O-A-N, as in something you borrow and then pay back — with interest. This is not a … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto bailout, future of newspapers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Still Matty’s park

Posted on December 4, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Amazing how people, especially legally-trained people, can take a picture that is perfectly simple and turn it into a mind-dizzying maze. I watched something like that happen Thursday, December 4, 2008, in Detroit’s 36th District Court when … Continue reading →

Posted in Me & Matty | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Notice to quit

Posted on December 4, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell An October 3, 2008 letter from Detroit city attorney John Nader to Dan Stamper, president of the Detroit International Bridge Company, explains the city’s position in trying to get the bridge company, aka Ambassador Bridge, to take … Continue reading →

Posted in Me & Matty | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bye-bye Matty?

Posted on December 3, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell David Josar of the Detroit News called today to say he’s mentioning me and my blog in a story about the city’s attempt to evict Manuel “Matty” Moroun from Detroit’s public Riverside Park, whose boat launch the … Continue reading →

Posted in Me & Matty | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Jeff Daniels: “Unplugged” gets new urgency

Posted on December 3, 2008 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Censorship wears many guises. Sometimes, it masquerades as a beneficent desire to save a writer from his or her own poor judgment. So it happened that Mark Twain long ago submitted his work to his wife for … Continue reading →

Posted in censorship, People, retirement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sales soar once readers get wind of book

Posted on December 1, 2008 by admin

As far as I know, the taboo word “fart” appeared in the Detroit Free Press for the first time in this story I wrote for the January 24, 1992 Freep. I’m re-running this article, with permission from the Free Press, … Continue reading →

Posted in censorship, People | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment