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City government staved off a state takeover last spring after agreeing on many reforms, including an independent board to oversee public finances, which are burdened by more than $12 billion in pension obligations and dwindling tax revenue.
Mayor Dave Bing this week pleaded with the City Council to hire turnaround firms to examine city operations. The police chief recently quit because of an affair with another officer, forcing the city to search for a fifth top cop in four years. There were 311 homicides through Oct. 21, more than at the same point in 2011, and vast stretches of deserted neighborhoods have become a dumping ground for bodies.
More than 30,000 houses are empty. Though pockets of Detroit are relatively stable, others are flat-out dangerous, with the abandoned homes breeding drug trafficking and other crimes. The city's population has dropped 25 percent since 2000, and a recent survey found four out of every 10 residents plan to dash, too.
Reliable bus service is a chronic complaint. William Smith, 43, helped his girlfriend board a bus on the west side this week to a nursing job in the suburbs. While waiting, she sat on a broken light pole that rested on the sidewalk.
Smith, a laborer, said he's unemployed after having his van and tools worth $7,000 stolen from his driveway.
"If you ain't got a car, you're out of luck when it comes to finding many jobs. There ain't no jobs in the city," he said.
Lanard Strong, 38, was shot in the arm and leg in 2008 while withdrawing cash from an ATM. Tired of blight and corruption, he doubts he can sell his house on the west side. "I've always wanted to just leave," he said.
Despite the obstacles, a can-do spirit always seems to be in the next block. On Saturday, just hours before Game 3, volunteers will haul plywood and swing hammers to board up 150 abandoned homes near a high school on the west side. The goal is to save homes that could be occupied in better times, as well as improve safety for kids who walk past urban wrecks.
And back at the C-Spot, they're rooting for the Tigers.
"We're hungry for something to laugh and smile about," owner Crystal Jackson said. "We live in such hard times right now in the city of Detroit. Something as small as sport is looked at bigger than it actually should be."
[Associated
Press;
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