Pistons Visit the White House

The Detroit Pistons, along with Coach Larry Brown, made the journey to Washington D.C. today to meet the President in honor of winning the 2004 NBA Championship.

My only question is: when will they be making the permanent visit to Detroit to play their games? With the Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings playing in venues downtown, hopefully it's only a matter of time.

Congrats, Pistons!!

Mayor Begins Weekly Press Conferences

Following the local and national headlines surrounding a $24,995 Lincoln Navigator leased in December 2004 for his wife with city-taxpayer funds, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced last week that he would begin holding weekly press conferences in an effort to create an atmosphere where he and the media could directly communicate with each another.

Kilpatrick rested much of the blame surrounding the hype of the Navigator incident on the poor communication his staff had with the media and has initiated the weekly press meetings to help combat that in the future.

When first questioned, Kilpatrick denied that the Navigator was leased for his wife. However, after vehement prodding and questioning by several local reporters - including Steve Wilson of Detroit's WXYZ Channel 7, who was shoved into a wall by one of Kilpatrick's bodyguards - Kilpatrick eventually admitted that the luxury SUV had been purchased for the police department to drive the Mayor's wife and three sons around. Although there is nothing that specifically prevents the Mayor from purchasing a vehicle for his family with taxpayer funds (who made that rule up?), the Detroit public was admittedly upset that the Mayor had purchased such an expensive car in the wake of Detroit's massive financial crisis.

The Wayne County Building

Wayne County Building, also called the Wayne County Couthouse

Although scaffolding covers up its tower, the lavish Wayne County Building at the eastern end of Cadillac Square in downtown Detroit is hard to miss.

Designed by Englishman John Scott during the last few years of the 19th century, Scott's vision of an extravagent structure came to life in 1902 and, at the time, was considered the most splendid building in the state.

Sticking with the Italian Renaissance theme of architects immediately preceding him, Scott had rusticated granite used for the building's ground and first floors and ohio sandstone for its three upper levels. A variety of granite flanks its interior. According to W. Hawkin Ferry's book, The Buildings of Detroit: A History, the four bronze figures that adorn the tower colonnade parapet represent Law, Commerce, Agriculture and Mechanics.


Side View

With the creation of the City-County Building in the 1950s, most of the governmental offices occupying the Wayne County Building were relocated to the new structure on Woodward Avenue. As a result, Scott's baroque masterpiece was left empty and began to decay.

Talk of razing the building surfaced in the 1980s but, fortunately, ceased when - in 1987 - private organizations teamed up with historical preservationists to restore the building to its grandeur of earlier years. The building was deemed a State Historic structure in 1974 and was placed on the National Historic list in 1975.

Today the Wayne County Building stands in its original spot, on Randolph between Fort and Congress. It is home to the offices of the Wayne County Commissioners, as well as other county and private organizations.

Detroit's Compuware Posts Positive Unexpected Earnings

Compuware's Headquarters in downtown Detroit

Although layoffs plagued the technology company in 2003 and 2004, the difficult cuts seem to have aided Compuware, which was reflected in its Street-beating earnings report, released after the close of the bell this afternoon.

The earnings report - which proclaimed 11-cent per share earnings - nearly doubled the tech company's earnings over the same quarter last year, which came in at 6 cents a share.

Compuware is a technology company that focuses on providing IT and software to assist businesses in getting the most out of their technology systems. With over 4000 employees in its global headquarters in Detroit, Compuware has become a cornerstone of the redevelopment effort within Detroit's Central Business District.

Compuware moved from nine separate office buildings in the metro Detroit area between the years 2000 and 2003 and into a brand new, 1.1 million-square foot building in downtown Detroit. By doing this, the IT company brought all of its employees under one roof, was given $80 million in tax incentives, and has positioned itself closer to its customers.

The Compuware HQ houses its employees, as well as nearly 60,000 square feet of retail space, including Michigan's only Hard Rock Cafe. It also contains a Borders Books & Music store, a Jimmy John's sandwich shop, an optical store, and other retail shops. Its employees also have access to an on-site fitness facility, as well as dining and daycare areas.

Winter Blast a Hit

Campus Martius Park during Sunday's Motown Winter Blast

If you missed last weekend's Motown Winter Blast, you may have missed the cold and snow, but you also missed much more: ice skating, snow sledding, Model-T rides, food, and plain old fun with thousands of fellow Detroiters.


The 200-foot-long snow slide

Created as a run-through for Superbowl XL being held next year in Detroit, the Winter Blast - hosted by the Superbowl XL Committee - was garnered a hit by both the Free Press and the Detroit News. I attended the festival on Sunday afternoon and agree that it was a definite success - I had a blast! (no pun intended). I am looking forward to seeing the expansion of next year's festival.