News items of note from yesterday:
* Detroit mayor Dave Bing accepted the sudden resignation of his chief communications officer, Robert Warfield, without having known of his past criminal history. In 2002, Warfield was charged with cocaine possession and sentenced to six months' probation. He likely took the position thinking the charge would be off the record after five years, but to no avail. Warfield acknowledged the transgression, but Bing was obviously never told about this.
It's good this resignation came quick. You can tell Warfield would have been a horrible communications officer -- because he didn't communicate his past to his superior! Who knows what could (or couldn't) have turned up had he stayed in the office for very long? We know the old tale that transparency in politics isn't a realistic thought. This is just another obvious reminder.
* The last vestiges of Tiger Stadium will mercifully be torn down starting in about two weeks.
The restoration of the sliver that remains has dragged on in the news for months. A conservancy was to raise the funds for its restoration into a museum, commercial complex and youth baseball field. But judging by the lack of press on the project over the past month or so, knowing deadlines were looming, I didn't really feel this project would take off.
This may not yet end without a fight, as proponents of the restoration argue that the city cannot clear the property without a buyer ready to take over. However, the actual order for the demolition has no city say-so.
It's a shame there ended up being no use for a historical structure, but it's been a damn shame it's been hanging in the wind for months; just another eyesore in the Corktown area, which needs all the luck it can get.
* Interesting article about the prices of milk sliding recently. Kroger advertises a gallon for $1.77. At the gas station, a quart goes for $1.49, so it seems to make sense to buy in bulk.
The price slide appears to affect all dairy farmers directly. Notice I said "appears". I went to Calder's two weeks ago, and a quart of chocolate milk is still $2.49. Nothing against the owner, who's a good guy and who produces delicious milk, but I wonder how he's being shielded against these price cuts, and stays in business with the same amount of loyal customers as before. Maybe he has a different business formula that most dairy farmers are unaware of.
* And the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotamayor are underway. One thing critics can't claim is that she's indecisive. After all, she was the arbiter whose judgement ended the 1994 baseball strike and kept us from having to watch replacement ballplayers.
I still laugh at the one snippet from back then when two replacement players barked at the major league manager to hurry up the tryouts, as they "still had two refrigerators to deliver".
At least Sotamayor has a track record, but whether or not this will help the confirmation proceedings remains to be seen.
