A Modest Proposal: Detroit's Convention Hall

This past week's article in Crain's gives an update on the provincial brinkmanship preventing anyone from resolving the region's (alleged) need to expand its convention facility, most notably for the Auto Show. Cobo's footprint is too small -- remember when Coleman wanted to building out over the river? So, may I suggest starting from scratch? There's a whole bunch of assembled land over in Rivertown for the casinos that were never clustered there. It's a blank slate, so why not build a brand new one-level facility which everyone agrees is optimal, like Chicago's McCormick Place (top) and NYC's Javits Center (bottom), both of which are off the beaten path, away from the heart of their respective downtown. Building a new Cobo in Rivertown would justify adding spurs off of both 375 and the People Mover, and could even rejuvenate the railroad tracks which pass under Jefferson by allowing people to take a train downtown from Oakland County (which might help sell Brooks). Development would fill in to the east of the RenCen and, as a bonus, you could re-develop the current Cobo site. As for who owns what, why not create a commission like the Port Authority, with voting reps from each investing/stakeholder: each county, the City and the State. If they don't trust each other enough, they could create a 425 zone, where all the stakeholders actually own the district. And with the authorizing legislation, why not toss in a provision for another casino/hotel to help pay for the thing?

Discuss.

Non Sequitur of the Day: #6

"upset"

discuss.

Non Sequitur of the Day: #5

"Since OJ had Isotoners. . ."

Discuss.

Adventures in Civics: Water Bill Veto Override

Right now, somewhere deep inside the bowels of the White House, I imagine there is a 26-year-old General Counsel-slash-Under-Secretary of the Interior (an undergrad of Liberty Unversity and a DKE, as well as Regent Law School), frantically trying to figure out a question of first impression: how the president can undermine the veto override with a signing statement. BTW -- all of Michigan's representatives voted to override, even the Republicans (which includes Knollenberg)! The batteries in their discipline collars must've run out.

Non Sequitur of the Day: #4

"...pretty persuasion..."

"Take off your uniform" WTF?!

Let's recap: Musharraf already was a general who overthrew an elected government. He never resigned his commission, but he did take the uniform off to self-appoint himself as "Chief Executive" and then "President." He's held fake elections, but his biggest prop-up came from the U.S. post-911 under the classic "(alleged) enemy of my enemy is my friend" approach. So now that the civilized, pseudo-democratic suit-wearin' president thing hasn't been working out, he does a re-coup, v2.0. And the best W can come up with is, "Take off your uniform?" From a classic recovering narcissist with a fondness for uniforms, it's sadly not surprising.

Non Sequitur of the Day: #3

Post-election edition: "mancrush"

Non Sequitur of the Day: #2

"negative campaigning."

Discuss.

A Modest Proposal: Re-purpose Tiger Stadium

So, it appears that Tiger Stadium is finally, maybe, circling the drain, with the bid proposals out for demolition. Not having heard much lately from the Ernie Harwell group, I ask: Why can't Tiger Stadium be the new home of the Red Wings? Gut the interior, build whatever you want on the inside, create a bunch of parking decks around the outside (all the better to capture revenue with), and you might have yourself a west anchor for development between there and Comerica Park. You could even move the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in to create some year-round revenue. There has to be a bunch of redevelopment tax incentives laying around that would make it work. A crazy idea, you say? Perhaps, but what a statement it would make. For some reassurance, check out how they built an oustanding spaceship of a football stadium inside the teeny footprint that is Chicago's Solder Field here and here and here. Discuss... or is it too late?

It's the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. . .

. . . which makes it Election Day. The flag is out, I've done my time at the polls in the seasonally horrible weather, so I get to write about our dysfunctional little city one more time. (Why couldn't the global warming have held out for another week?) I've been doing some writing elsewhere on the Internets with my takes on the election: here on the Birmingham Buzz, and here in the Eccentric (toward the bottom of the page). If you couldn't figure it out amidst my dense, yet persuasive, political prose, I urge you vote for Shelli Weisberg, Gordon Rishchler, Scott Moore and Tom McDaniel. GOTV, people.