Leid Stories - 10/30/13

2013-10-30

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Detroit: America’s Test Case in Large-Scale Urban RemovalAn all-out legal battle in federal bankruptcy court in Detroit could set in motion an extreme form of urban warfare – a systematic, forcible emptying of the cityin order to reinvent it to suit social, political and economic interests that envision a “different” America.Gov. Rick Snyder’s appointed emergency city manager, ...

Detroit: America’s Test Case in Large-Scale Urban Removal

An all-out legal battle in federal bankruptcy court in Detroit could set in motion an extreme form of urban warfare – a systematic, forcible emptying of the cityin order to reinvent it to suit social, political and economic interests that envision a “different” America.

Gov. Rick Snyder’s appointed emergency city manager, Kevyn Orr, is asking the court to approve a bankruptcy filing to restructure and discharge the city’s $18-billion debt. But bankruptcy will be a lethal blow to city workers, small businesses, pensioners and an already overburdened, dwindled population of 700,000.

Mike Nicholson, general counsel for the United Automobile Workers union (UAW), which forced the governor by subpoena to testify, discusses the legal challenge to bankruptcy. Elena Herrada, an elected school board member and longtime community activist, provides a detailed account of what’s behind the bankruptcy push.

Now, it’s Detroit. Soon, it could be Oakland, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

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