Wednesday, August 8, 2012

DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT - SAVE IT NOW !

The Detroit Police Godbee, who just yesterday was rebuked by the Detroit City Council (7-2) that rejected his and the Detroit Police Commissioners request to put a 8 mill Public Safety Tax on the November ballot. He retaliated today, and will put Detroit Police Officers lives in danger and public safety will not be enhanced.
Godbee will institute a 12 hour shift, for one year - after admitting that some police officer work, 16 hours a day, due to staff shortages. He will give officers a 45 minute lunch break (????). This is attempt to show the Council that he is in charge, and to not properly pay officers, for their overtime.

Godbee is a failed police chief, who should not have been names PC by Mayor Bing, and who should immediately be: fired, resign or be retired. This will better serve public safety. Detroit needs a nationally respected and highly experienced police chief...the sooner the better.

Mayor Bing to enhanced public safety and support Detroit Police Officers should:

1) Quit - the Department of Justice, Consent Decrees, order all officers and supervisors back to patrol. Detroit has spent millions of dollars for a monitor to comply with Consent Decress, since 2003, and still is not in compliance !!!
This will force Judge Cook, who apparently feel asleep during all those years of non compliance (the first monitor had sex with Mayor Kilpatrick), to take some action to pay for the police officers and supervisors or tho place the Department under federal control, which means maybe federal dollars will be spent to improve the Department which should result in increased hiring standards, better training, equipment and leadership, instead of just monitoring its actions.

2) Quit - Homeland Security, order all police officers and supervisors back to patrol. Detroit is the largest border city, in the United States, and should be getting more money for border safety, which means the Detroit Police Department oficers should get better training, equipment and leadership, to protect city residents and visitors, and enhance boder security.

Mayor Bing has said he won't pay union officials. This mandate means that police and fire department union officials are hampered in protecting its members from abuse by department executives and city officials, which is not in the best interest of city residents.

If the Mayor and City Council don't implement my proposals 1 and 2 - the Governor Snyder must stand up and declare a 'Public Safety Emergency' (which already exists) in Detroit and send in Michigan State Police to take over the Department and protect city residents and officers.

The Mayor and City Council along with DPD executives have failed to make Public Safety the #1 issue in Detroit, for fear that it will negatively impact the City - but crime is out of control ( 7 killed - 32 shot, in one week !).

As of Aug. 5, there were 212 homicides. There were 211 at the same time last year and 182 in 2010, according to the department.

In May alone there were 657 aggravated assaults, 278 robberies, 33 homicides and 33 carjackings recorded in Detroit.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120808/METRO/208080485#ixzz230qpWHEv


As a gambler would say - 'the cards speak for themselves'...Detroit crime stats speak for themselves.. Godbee must go - and the Mayor and City Council must act - Detroit residents and Detroit Police Officers lives are at stake.

David L. Malhalab, Sgt DPD Retired...

Sunday, August 5, 2012

HOLLYWOOD CASINO TOLEDO, A NO GO - NOT READY AGAIN FOR PRIME TIME.

Marty, a Toledo resident said 'he was amazed with how little comps / rewards points he has recieved from Hollywood Casino - Toledo, compared to the amount he has recieved from his Greektown Casino (Detroit) account.'

Hollywood Casino - Toledo, is still not ready for Prime Time !!!

Hollywood Casino - Toledo still seems plagued by lack of employees, a customer service rep said, 'they have been applying for full time work, but the Casino, isn't doing the hiring'...They still have a temporary table to sign up Marquee Rewards customers, one employee said - they were supposed to handle, bus customers, but that they didn't have enough help, so they sit at a temp table, covered in black cloth, on plastic seats with a gerry mandered computer set up system. And the Casion does not give out neck cords, which all other casinos do, that attaches to your Marquee Rewards card, so that you don't loose it or leave it in a slot.

Brandon, a customer service manager, was telling people in the cashier line to go to the temporary table,(to get M R cards) 'because there are six employees there to help them'. I told Brandon, "I was just there and they had two (2) employees', he insisted that there were six (6), I went back and there were only three (3)...two had gone home and one was MIA..Brandon obviously didn't know what he was talking about - and mislead patrons.

The Casino, NOW, has four (4) Multi-Game slots, which has a Blackjack screen, out of 2,000 slot machines,(located in the High Roller area) but an employee had to call a Casino technician to explain how to get to the Blackjack screen, which has a $5 minimum, while Blackjack tables start at $15 - $25 minimum.

The Hollywood Casino Toledo lounge, menu describes 'jumbo chicken wings' (8) for $9...the order took a long time to prepare, and a waiter said that 'we are understaffed, and had been busy, so that may have backed up the kitchen'. When the wings arrived they were hardly / really no where near 'jumbo'...it was hard to explain to the waiter and manager, that they were 'to small to be jumbo'...I told them I could get larger chicken wings at Costco. The manager said, that Lucky's in Oregon, Ohio (near Toledo) had bigger wings and less expensive. She compared the Casion chicken wings to Buffalo Wild Wings, I told her they were more sized like - Hooters wings (too small). She said that 'corporate - was responsible for ordering the wings'. The manager and waiter were very polite and professional.

The Casino still charges $5. for valet parking, and the staff shortage wasn't evident today, because they didn't have a lot of cars using the service.

The Casino still will not allow under age children, with parents to use the restaurants, which initially they did, but changed the policy, on Opening Day.

The Casino is refreshingly 'smoke free', they do have a 'smoking room', so you can enjoy a smoke free environment. Remember Casino Windsor, is smoke free.

So I don't recommend Hollywood Casino Toledo, until they get their staffing problems fixed, their food prices lowered, and loosen up the slots and get more Blackjack tables or more Blackjack machines at a more reasonable minimum bid.

Let me know - your thoughts... David