Detroit Metblogs » det_allan

Trash Fees

det_allan — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 02:08:13 +0000

Today we got a notice about the $300 trash collection fee the city has approved. The letter clearly stated that our property tax millage rate would go down immediately. However, it failed to point out that we’re paying way more for trash collection now than we were under the old system. Our trash collection cost went from $60 per year to $300 per year! I’m still trying to figure out how the average Detroiter is going to be able to pay for this. No wonder 10,000 people leave the city every year….

Doug McIntosh

det_allan — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 02:36:19 +0000

As many of you probably know, I spend many of my Saturdays during the summer volunteering for Preservation Wayne. I received word yesterday afternoon that Doug McIntosh, the president of the board of directors at Preservation Wayne, as well as a principal at McIntosh Poris Associates passed away as a result of a pulmonary embolism. Doug was a strong supporter of Detroit and an active member of the historic preservation community here. He was truly committed to making the city a better place. He devoted a seemingly endless amount of energy to all of his work. He will be missed. My condolences go out to his family, loved ones, and members of his firm.

Freedom Festival ‘06

det_allan — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 18:37:43 +0000

After a trip to Flint yesterday morning for work, my day was largely consumed by finding a viewing location for the fireworks downtown. I watched from the Book Tower last year, but decided to stay on the ground with the crowds this year. I settled on a hill on the east riverfront, in what is now Tricentennial State Park. The location offered unobstructed views of the river, and the fireworks.

Unfortunately soon after the fireworks started, I realized that the smoke from the fireworks was covering up about half of the display, as it drifted right towards me and my friends. I hadn’t even thought of the wind being a factor when I chose the spot. Oh well, it was still a great experience…it’s just that I didn’t get any good photos this year. There’s always next year….

Leaving the fireworks was something else! It took about an hour and a half to get from my viewing location near Orleans and Atwater to my house about 4 miles away. Next year, I think I’ll find a less populated spot for the show….

30th Annual Tug Race

det_allan — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 06:41:42 +0000

It was a great day for a tugboat race! Today was the 30th annual International Tugboat Race in the Detroit River. I rode aboard the Magnetic, a working tug from 1924. The tug was one of the smaller boats there, so we really rocked back and forth in the wake of the other larger tugs. It was a great way to cool off on a hot summer day, to say the least! Several times the waves rolled right over the stern of the boat, soaking the shoes of everyone who was standing at the back of the boat.

Thanks to everyone who cheered us on from the sidelines! The Magnetic didn’t win any awards this year, but there’s always next year….

Super Bowl Wanderings

det_allan — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 02:54:10 +0000

I spent a good portion of the last four days taking in all the sights and sounds of the Super Bowl. Downtown hadn’t looked that good in decades! It was a sight to be seen, with all the spotlights lighting up the entire sky. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen so many people downtown at one time. I had a lot of fun wandering through the Winter Blast and taking photos of the festivities.

Things went much better than I had expected. People seemed to be really enjoying themselves. My only real complaint was the DDOT shuttle service. I did not appreciate waiting nearly 2.5 hours in the parking lot at Fort & Cass for the Northland shuttle bus on Saturday night. Apparently four times as many people took the bus down as they thought were going to. It just goes to show that Detroiters would use mass transit if they’d build a decent mass transit system here!

Of course now it is all over. While I was glad to see all the activity downtown, I am glad to see things returning to normal.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

det_allan — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 06:24:34 +0000

With the Super Bowl approaching a lot of abandoned buildings in Detroit are disappearing these days. The Sanders Building is only the most recent major building to succumb to the wrecking ball, and the adjacent Donovan Building is soon to follow. As an architecture student it is always difficult to watch buildings like this fall, since I am being trained to come up with creative solutions to problems. When I drive around the city I often look and under-utilized buildings and wonder how they could be reused. While preservation is not always an answer, I get upset when I see buildings like these fall for a parking lot.

Those Bright Orange Houses….

det_allan — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:50:52 +0000

Taking the Lodge to Detroit several times per week, I

Noel Night

det_allan — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 08:11:18 +0000

Saturday night was the 33rd annual Noel Night. Seeing as how it was my first Noel Night, I did not quite know what to expect. I thought there was going to be more people there. Apparently there have been more people in past years, though. Attendance would

Disappointment

det_allan — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 15:50:22 +0000

I woke up this morning to discover that Kwame is the mayor again. I was a little surprised, since when I went to bed they were saying that Hendrix had won. At the same time the outcome did not surprise me one bit. After all, I had predicted that Kwame would pull it off this time way back in August. This is Detroit, after all, and I have yet to make sense out of a lot of things that go on here.

I can only hope that Kwame will learn from the mistakes of his last term and become a more responsible & mature leader. Hopefully along with the new faces on city council and the new city clerk Detroit will see some positive changes in the future.

Fall in the City

det_allan — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 06:13:46 +0000

Fall is easily one of my favorite times of the year. I