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Today I lost what last piece of faith I had in the city of Detroit. There was some earned back by how well the Superbowl went, but was all destroyed and flattened.
Kwame Kilpatrick, enemy of children, animal lovers, and future Detroit tourists single handedly orchestrated the closure of the Detroit Zoo in the last two weeks. He forced the city council to vote to either pass the whole thing off on the AZA, or to close the zoo. With only a couple days to decide, they ended up at the last minute asking Oakland County to pay for it, at 5pm on Friday.
Oakland County said no, and the workers will be laid off this week, and plans are being made to ship off the animals.
As a member of the Detroit Zoo, and as a resident of the City of Royal Oak, where the Detroit Zoo is located, I am outraged. I am boycotting the City of Detroit, and hoping for the downfall of Kwame Kilpatrick, who is, as of now, dead to me.
I'll post further when I find information on a save the zoo movement.
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Yes the Red Pandas! The BEST kind of Panda.
Those little guys are like cute personified.
That was my favorite exhibit. That and the Polar Bear exhibit, which was the largest of its kind in North America. And the Otter House, which was just built a couple years ago.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Red Pandas are my favorite at my zoo, too. They are ridiculously adorable. I have a Zoo Pass (a yearly membership that includes free admission), so often times my sister and I will go directly to the Red Panda exhibit, stare for 30 minutes, and leave. It's a great way to brighten up a day.
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Is this a red panda? If it is, they are adorable and definitely one of the more interesting animals at the zoo. They are so active and really put on a show!!!! That one is at the Calgary Zoo!
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There's actually two different species of Red Panda. But so far as I can tell the only difference is the coloration on the face. One species has a whiter face, and the other has a redder face.
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I can't remember if I've seen the Red Pandas at the Miwaukee County Zoo. I need to check them out more often. Jeni, have you moved back into the area?
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I wish I knew how to show you guys movies! I found a little clip I took of a baby caribou stumbling all over... he's only a few days old!!! I am not the greatest narrator though...
Posts: 308 | Registered: Sep 2005
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Glynn: Yes, I am back in Muskego for now. The red pandas are now next to the new Big Cat house, which is also a treat.
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This is just great. I used to prefer Detroit over Flint. Mainly because I grew up in Detroit area, and the fact that Flint just sucks. However, this bit just takes the cake. It's not as if Detroit can't afford to keep it going. They are spending too much at the same time on trying to beautify the waterfront of the east side. That has to be it.
clod, quit being an idiot.
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As for K-man and Detroit, it's all a power struggle. K-man wants to rule supreme over the City Council, he's done this kind of blackmail before with the 4th of July Fireworks.
This time the Council didn't back down. Now we're all loosers. *sigh*
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A majority of the waterfront development money is coming from state and private investors, not from the city coffers.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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However, you didn't see the council jumping on this one.
I'm not sure if the link will work, but if not...here:
quote: Under the proposal that was rejected, Detroit would have maintained ownership of the zoo, which is located in the suburb of Royal Oak. The mayor's office said the deal would have saved Detroit about $5 million each fiscal year.
quote: "By (City Council) not acting, we lose the $4 million from the state," zoo society Chairman Gail Warden told The Detroit News. "For me, it would have been a no-brainer. I was very disappointed, frustrated and angry."
You think they can retract from their decision?
Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
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This makes me very sad, because visiting the Zoo was one of the highlights of my trip to Detroit last year. Due to time constraints, I didn't get to see much of the Zoo, and was hoping to go back and see the rest some time. I feel sorry for the zoo's staff, volunteers, and patrons, and also for the animals who will have to be rehomed. Posts: 1805 | Registered: Jun 1999
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A Windsor native I met while taking photos of the Odette Sculpture Park dissed Kwame something fierce. From what he said, it sounded like Kwame hasn't been too willing to work with the suburbs to improve the area as a whole.
(I may be misremembering--it was a while ago, and I had mild heat stroke at the time.)
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I think somehow he misses the fact that the suburbs are where Detroit gets most of its money. Who does he think is going to the games in Detroit, or the casinos, or the DOH, DSO, and the Fisher? It's all the burbs. He has no problem taking their money, but when it comes to giving anything back, or a unified effort to clean up the area and make southeast Michigan better, he turns up his nose and takes the lone wolf road.
He's power hungry, and doesn't know what he's doing.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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What I meant was, Kwame "Kilpatrick...and the Zoological society proposed an agreement that [the] council rejected on Monday." The proposal wouldn't have to have been made -- and the state wouldn't have had to offer a large bailout as part of that proposal -- if the city council hadn't run Detroit into the ground*, and turned city finances into a big sucking hole. So what's the response? Council member Barbara-Rose Collins said, "The symbolism is that Detroit is a black city and that we’re unable to govern ourselves. So we need an overseer, the state legislature, or what have you, to step in and tell us what we must do and how to do it." "That is a racist attitude. I resent it very much. I’m trying not to let it color my judgments, but we’re not a plantation, blacks aren’t owned by white folks anymore."
Yeah, right: failure to balance the checkbook/budget is a racial issue. And yeah, right: closing the zoo is KwameKilpatrick's fault.
I'd be looking for waterfront developers pushing council members to close the Zoo so the land can be freed for "improvement". Just as WalterReedArmyMedicalCenter -- best of the best in trauma care and exotic disease management, both in treatment of patients and training of medical personnel -- is being closed in WashingtonDC cuz developers are drooling over the prime real estate. The rest of the "blah blah blah" is just hooey to coverup political malfeasance.
* Detroit's population has fallen from 2million to under a million; to the smallest of the 300 largest cities in the world, if it hasn't fallen off the chart since 2002.
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Wait, what do the waterfront developers have to do with wanting the zoo property for development? The zoo isn't even in Detroit, let alone near the water.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: There's actually two different species of Red Panda. But so far as I can tell the only difference is the coloration on the face. One species has a whiter face, and the other has a redder face.
Maybe it's just embarrassed. Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Sorry, I googled "Detroit zoo" and pulled up a zipcode centered in the map linked to above. Can you link to a map of its real location.
Posts: 8501 | Registered: Jul 2001
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The big blank space there next to the golf course is the zoo. It's in the lower left corner of the map, north of 10 mile and west of Woodward.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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I am glad to report that the lady on the Detroit City Council who make the silly remarks about Detroit not being a plantation owned by whites, has apologized and admitted that what she said was inappropriate and not helpful. The Detroit City Council seems to be astounded at the enormity and fervor of the public's dismay and outrage at the prospect of the Zoo being closed. Maybe there is hope yet that the Zoo can be saved.
When the I-696 expressway was put in which runs along the south boundary of the Zoo, the suburban communities financing it designed it to accommodate the Zoo and protect its animals, digging it way down deep, and putting up high noise abatement walls. The Detroit Zoo has a 100-year history, and no one ever thought there might be a time when it would not be there.
I have always been especially fond of the open train (small trolly) you can take through the Zoo. No trip to the Zoo seemed complete without riding the train. There was just something special about it. I preferred to ride the train to the back of the Zoo, and then walk through the Zoo toward the front. I remember riding the train at the Zoo when I was a child.
I think the best solution would be for the course to be followed that was when the Toledo Zoo was about to be closed back in 1982, and the surrounding communities came together and took over administration of the Zoo, which has been successful ever since. This would be especially appropriate for the Detroit Zoo, since despite its name, it is actually located in the suburbs, two miles north of Detroit, in the city of Royal Oak.
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I signed. I mean, I've never been to the Detroit Zoo, not even Detroit. I haven't even been to the USA. But I thought I'd help out. Posts: 63 | Registered: Feb 2006
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Royal Oak and the surrounding communities would be more than happy to take over administration of the zoo. As a Royal Oak resident and zoo member, I would gladly vote for any proposal to appropriate funds for the zoo.
It's sad that the Detroit Council would rather see it DIE than let someone else save it.
Ron, where in the area are you from? I assume you live/lived in the area?
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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It is almost funny now, the Detroit City Council is backing and filling, claiming they never said they wanted to close the Zoo, nobody wants the Zoo to close, the Zoo is certainly NOT going to close, it is all the fault of the media for misrepresenting them and saying "the sky is falling, the Zoo is closing." What a bunch of clowns! What about the termination notices to Zoo employees that were already going out?
The Michigan legislature is meeting to try to devise a new subsidy package to send $4 million to support the Zoo, to take the place of the subsidy that was forfeited when Detroit City Council failed to meet the deadline.
Lyrhawn, I live in Troy, about seven miles north of Detroit. I was raised the first ten years of my life in Royal Oak.
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You will be missed, Detroit Zoo.
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But I thought I'd help out. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
