By Ian Perrotta The four years of hard work put in by Hamtramck High’s senior class clearly paid off. Last Thursday (May 20), after years of fundraisers that included bake sales, car washes, and an improv comedy show, the class of 2010 celebrated prom in style aboard the 138-foot yacht Ovation. After the ship set [...]
By Charles Sercombe Hamtramck’s government workforce will be trimmed by 11 positions, but that cut in spending still won’t be enough to prevent a budget deficit. At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the council adopted a budget for the next two years that also includes a 13 percent increase in water and sewer rates. Councilmembers Cathie [...]
By Charles Sercombe So, just who is going to lose their job with the city? Here’s the body count: Five school crossing guards One inspection supervisor One code enforcer One parking ticket aide One general clerk in the Public Works Department One laborer in the Public Works Department The city’s Events Coordinator Two unfilled positions [...]
By Charles Sercombe Hamtramck is not alone when it comes to a financial crisis. Just about every community in the metro region — and most cities throughout the state — is facing tough financial decisions. For many, including Hamtramck, the future looks mighty bleak – to point where a state takeover is possible. So how [...]
By Charles Sercombe Hamtramck is mourning. Nadaa Thabeet, 16 years old, died last Sunday. The teenager and her 11-year-old sister apparently, according to her family, were swept away by a wave while on the east side of the Belle Island shoreline. Nadaa and her father were able to rescue the younger girl, but Nadaa apparently [...]
By Charles Sercombe For some Hamtramck public school teachers and other staff members, summer vacation will be a time to think about retiring. A new state teacher retirement plan has been adopted which will act as an incentive to encourage more teachers to retire. The hope is that more costly veteran teachers will take advantage [...]
(Editor-at-Large Walter Wasacz writes a weekly column on life in Hamtramck.) By Walter Wasacz I’m up to my neck in techno these days, getting ready for the impressively massive Movement Festival weekend that beckons. And when I say massive, I mean it. On top of three full days and nights (up to midnightish) filling up [...]
By Ian Perrotta With the season winding to a close, the Cosmos baseball team is closing in on their goal of a .500 season. Two weeks ago (May 15), the team won the Highland Park Tournament, a round-robin competition with four teams. After two of the teams in the contest forfeited, the Cosmos lost a [...]
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, a majority of councilmembers decided to commit financial suicide. Councilmembers Tom Jankowski, Cathie Gordon, Kazi Miah and Mohammed Hassan refused to step up and make the hard decision to raise property taxes to the maximum level they can without voter approval. Without that measly 2.3 mill increase, Hamtramck will race [...]
Between 2005, when the new city charter was implemented, and 2009, the City Council and the mayor, working with the city manager, adopted four balanced budgets. Those budgets realistically spent according to the revenue. City government was living within its means. Now, there may be honest disagreement with how money was sometimes spent, like the [...]
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