Tag Archives: Detroit

Faces of Matty

By Joel Thurtell   What a friend we have in Matty. A benefactor, really. After reading the April 11, 2010 Detroit Free Press “I’m a benefit to the city” spread on billionaire trucking magnate Manuel “Matty” Moroun’s land dealings, readers … Continue reading

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Matty’s last grasp?

By Joel Thurtell You can say this about Matty: The guy does not give up. Even if his behavior puts him smack in the Land of Hypocrisy. The latest gambit of Manuel “Matty” Moroun in his long effort to build … Continue reading

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Questions for Mayor Bing

By Joel Thurtell So hizzoner isn’t going to SELL Detroit’s Riverside Park to Matty. Maybe Matty doesn’t need to BUY the park to become its owner. If I recall correctly, Matty didn’t BUY the Michigan Central building. He acquired it … Continue reading

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City may sell Riverside to Matty

By Joel Thurtell Riverside Park is in play. It could be sold to Matty. Mayor Bing is talking about selling the park to the owner of the Ambassador Bridge next door to the park. In my last post, I noted … Continue reading

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Eighteen stories deep

A Short Story By Joel Thurtell The Old Man sat slouched in a tall-backed leather chair. He looked across his glass-topped desk at an array of toys that usually took his mind off anything that might trouble an octogenarian trucking … Continue reading

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Fair to poor

By Joel Thurtell Fair to poor. That’s what I think of the February 5, 2010 Detroit Free Press editorial about the need for a new bridge across the Detroit River. By the way, those are the same words an engineering firm, … Continue reading

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Metro Times reviews ‘Up the Rouge!’

Somehow, we missed a very kind notice of Up the Rouge! Paddling Detroit’s Hidden River in Detroit’s Metro Times newspaper. The review of our book was the lead section of a roundup story by Michael Jackman in the November 25, 2009 issue of … Continue reading

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‘Deadline Now’ and the Ambassador

On December 18, 2009, WGTE-TV in Toledo aired a program called “Deadline Now” hosted by journalist Jack Lessenberry. The topic was the quest for a bridge, or rather, bridges, over the Detroit River. Guests were Gregg Ward, vice president of … Continue reading

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Cronies of the Rouge

By Joel Thurtell I was tromping alongside the Rouge River in Detroit last spring with Sally Petrella, public outreach coordinator for the nonprofit Friends of the Rouge. We were looking for junk cars that people have dumped in the river. … Continue reading

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Mattyville

By Joel Thurtell [paypal-donation] They ought to call it “Mattyville.” A proper place name might help focus the brains of the “protesters” who were kicked out of a recent Windsor City Council meeting for failing to restrain their emotions about a … Continue reading

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