Report: Nearly Half Of Detroiters Can’t Read. DETROIT (WWJ) – According to a new report, 47 percent of Detroiters are “functionally illiterate.” The alarming new statistics were released by the Detroit Regional Workforce Fund on Wednesday. WWJ Newsradio 950 spoke with the Fund’s Director, Karen Tyler-Ruiz, who explained exactly what this means. “Not able to fill out basic forms, for getting a job — those types of basic everyday (things). Reading a prescription; what’s on the bottle, how many you should take… just your basic everyday tasks,” she said. “I don’t really know how they get by, but they do. Some of the Detroit suburbs also have high numbers of functionally illiterate: 34 percent in Pontiac and 24 percent in Southfield. “For other major urban areas, we are a little bit on the high side… We compare, slightly higher, to Washington D.C.’s urban population, in certain ZIP codes in Washington D.C. and in Cleveland,” she said. Tyler-Ruiz said only 10 percent of those who can’t read have gotten any help to resolve it.
Detroit bankruptcy weighs on already struggling schools. Jack Martin took the helm of Detroit Public Schools in July as the district’s new emergency manager, with goals of getting the academically and financially troubled district back on track. Three days after his appointment, Detroit filed for bankruptcy. It is the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, with roots in the decline of the auto industry and racial tensions that drove residents out to the suburbs. The city’s financial state will not directly impact the school district because the two have separate budgets, says Glenda Rader, assistant director of the Michigan Department of Education’s state aid and school finance office.
However, the schools were already dealing with extreme drops in enrollment, a problem that could get worse if the bankruptcy declaration leads more people to leave the city. The district also is struggling with a multi-million dollar budget deficit, due in part to high payroll, high pension costs and mismanaged funds. Population change in Metro Detroit. Continue Reading » Advertisement You will be redirected to the page you want to view in seconds. The Detroit News Special Reports Data Center July 19, 2007 at 1:00 am Population change in Metro Detroit Problems viewing this graphic? Print See Also Join the Conversation The Detroit News aims to provide a forum that fosters smart, civil discussions on the news and events that we cover.
More From Data Center Email this article Population change in Metro Detroit This interactive feature looks at the movement of African-Americans in the region from 1940 to 2000. A link to this page will be included in your message. More from The Detroit News Seen in the Photo Store Purchase Detroit News images of historic events, scenes, places and people.
Go to the PhotoStore Subscribe Sign up for home delivery today Follow Us On Twitter Tweets by @detroitnews The Detroit News Apps Stay up to date on the go with the latest from The Detroit News apps Archives See our paid archives for news older than a week. The Detroit News. Marilyn Salenger: ‘White flight’ and Detroit’s decline. By Marilyn Salenger July 21, 2013 Marilyn Salenger is president of Strategic Communications Services and a former correspondent and news anchor for several CBS stations. An almost palpable sadness has swept across the country at the news that the city of Detroit has filed for bankruptcy. While the possibility of this had been discussed, the reality of what was once the fourth-largest city in the United States sinking to such depths is disheartening, a moment people will remember for years to come.
To understand that the decline and bankruptcy represent so much more than dollars and cents requires a step back to a time that many would prefer to forget but remains unforgettable. In the late 1960s,racial tensions engulfed parts of our country, at the cost of lost lives and abject destruction. Such was the case in Detroit during the summer of 1967, when one of the worst race riots our country had seen took place.
My home town of Gary, Ind. White flight took hold and left a lasting imprint. How Detroit Really Is Like America. Detroit’s collapse into bankruptcy has been held up by conservatives as a synecdoche for America’s future under Barack Obama. In its literal sense, this is totally wrong — Detroit’s troubles are unique in their severity. In a broader sense, though, there is some truth here. Detroit is a synecdoche for America — not America’s future, but its past. Everything that happened in the United States in the middle of the twentieth century happened in and around Detroit, but moreso.
The enormous mobilization of industry during World War II (“Detroit is winning the war,” said Joseph Stalin in 1945); that industry’s creation of the world’s first mass-affluent working class, a place where families lacking high school diplomas routinely had nice things; and finally the collapse of that economic paradise and the racialization of American politics that split the New Deal coalition. The 1967 riots were an event so traumatic they still hovered over the city when I grew up there in the eighties. 'Motor City' Detroit files for bankruptcy with 100,000 creditors.
The police and fire retirement scheme is owed $1.5 billion, while the city's Downtown Development Authority is owed $33.6 million. Detroit's Emergency Financial Manager Kevyn Orr (Reuters) Mr Orr, a bankruptcy expert hired by the state in March to stop Detroit's fiscal free-fall, said Detroit would continue to pay its bills and employees. But, said Michael Sweet, a bankruptcy attorney in Fox-Rothschild's San Francisco office, "they don't have to pay anyone they don't want to. And no one can sue them.
" The city's financial problems have been spiralling out of control for decades. The decline in the car industry left many without jobs, meaning that families moved away. An estimated 78,000 homes are unoccupied in the city, and in 2011 half of the occupiers of the city's 305,000 properties did not pay any tax. Mr Snyder said: “It is clear that the financial emergency in Detroit cannot be successfully addressed outside of such a filing, and it is the only reasonable alternative that is available. Can Detroit go from Motown to grow-town? Detroit was once a powerhouse of automotive manufacturing but has suffered in recent yearsInternational investors are snapping up sites for a fraction of their previous value in the citySome are looking to build big property development projects on the land they buy One Square Meter explores the leading architectural designs, city plans and demand for property investment in emerging markets.
Join CNN's John Defterios as he visits some of the world's most dynamic cities for an insight into the fast-paced world of real estate development. Watch the show on CNN every Tuesday during Global Exchange. (CNN) -- Detroit was once known as the automobile capital of the world -- a global symbol of modernity and a testament to the power of American capitalism. After decades of industrial decay, however, the "Motor City" finally crashed when it filed for municipal bankruptcy in July 2013. But not everyone took flight. Can Detroit transform itself?
Could Cyprus be the next luxury yacht marina? Welcome to Forbes. Housing’s Rise and Fall in 20 Cities - Graphic.