Last week I spoke to a group of Warren and Center Line senior citizens.  I didn’t want to bore them, but I knew I had an ace in the hole . That same day former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick had been convicted on federal corruption charges. When my speech started to falter all I had to do was bring up the fact that Kwame was finally headed to prison. The room was once again mine.

I like to think that everyone – young and old, black and white, Republican and Democrat, genius and simpleton – all rejoiced  that Kwame had gotten his comeuppance. The evidence seemed overwhelming. Bribes were accepted. Shady deals were made. Scads of money remains missing. And Kwame had already been convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Kwame was in his 30s when he served as mayor of Detroit. He had a promising career, but greed got the best of him. Or maybe Kwame had always been greedy. Either way it’s a sad chapter in the city of Detroit’s history. But without him I might’ve lost that group of seniors soon after the pledge of allegiance. After his sentence was announced, Kwame surrendered his driver's license to his mother. "We won't need this where we're headed," Kwame said.

Driving home tonight I will feel a bit safer on the roadways.

Ready for some road work? Ready to get mad when it appears that road workers aren't working? Spring means plenty of orange pylons. Commuters beware -- the Michigan Department of Transportation says its crews will begin preliminary work this week to replace the West Grand Boulevard overpass above I-94 in Detroit. This $9.5 million project includes replacing the existing overpasses with two separate structures, and removing the eastbound I-94 left lane exit to West Grand Boulevard in order to improve safety and mobility. At least that's what the press release says.
With work expected to begin this week, crews will close one lane of W. Grand Boulevard in each direction above I-94, along with the westbound I-94 exit to W. Grand Boulevard. In addition, crews will close the northbound W. Grand Boulevard entrance to eastbound I-94, and the southbound W. Grand Boulevard entrance to westbound I-94. A detour will be posted.
Most of the preliminary work involves relocating and replacing utilities.
Just remember: We were lucky that the storm that dumped 10 inches on Chicago, missed the Detroit area entirely. I said, entirely.