Detroit Seen

Good news: The Other Section, the Detroit News’ pathetic attempt to suck off the youth culture will be getting the ax pretty soon. The pigs that run the paper are disappointed that it hasn’t tapped the “youth market” like they anticipated and they think its politics are too far out, i.e. to the left of Spiro’s....

Bob Begairis is catching shit from a group called the Universal Angels. They are demanding that the Eastown manager fix and clean the theatre up, employ local bands, stop hassling bikers about wearing their colors, have a first aid station and have a night with low prices....

Dee-troit’s Mayor Gribbs had his pants stolen from him the other day. His bodyguard left the mayor’s limo (with a pair of the mayor’s pants inside) to get a drink, whereupon some dastardly criminal pulled off the crime of the week....

Detroit’s underground newspaper takes to the airwaves. Peter Werbe, long-time member of the Fifth Estate staff, now has a show every Sunday at 7 p.m. on WXYX-FM; Hank Malone, feature writer for the FE has had his show (The Public Service Experiment) for a few weeks on the same station, the hour before Werbe’s; and Harvey Ovshinsky (Our Founder) has improved WABX’s presentation of the news since he joined their ranks as News Director. The Big O also programs the bizarre music behind each newscast, which gives you an idea of what he was up to while working (oh yeah?) at Lafayette Clinic....

It seems that the son of Winston Livingston, attorney for the DPOA (Detroit Police Officers’ Association) was recently busted for dope....

Speaking of the friendly neighborhood animals, the city had to pay up $94,000 to a man who received a broken neck at the hands of one of them. The citizen became ill (who wouldn’t) while being detained by the blue ribbon winners and was taken to Detroit General for treatment. When an officer told him to get up from the stretcher and he replied he couldn’t he was thrown off, suffering a broken neck....

They don’t stop there, either. The officers who had been charged with the rape and stabbing of a local lady of the evening had criminal charges dropped against them after the DPOA paid the woman $5000....

Mike, Russ and Gabe plan another Rock and Roll Revival (phase two), same time, same place....

Your friend and mine, Donald Lobsinger (leader of Detroit’s leading YIPPIE organization, Breakthrough) was issued a temporary restraining order to prevent him from entering St. Monica’s Catholic Church after he threatened the pastor of the church. Donny called the good father a “Communist, pig and Red traitor,” and continued on to say that he would personally off the priest “come the revolution.”....

The Association of the U.S. Army, Detroit Chapter, and Dow Chemical Company contributed $2,300 for the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at Wayne State recently. (Down payment on a new set of robots...er...students, no doubt)....

Which Dee-troit promoter pulled another Black Arts Festival in Cincinnati late March?...

Brother Ken Kelly has left the Ann Arbor Argus to start a White Panther paper, along the same format as the old Warren-Forest Sun. A collective now runs the Argus....

During the anti-war demonstration at Kennedy Square, our spies at the National Bank of Detroit noticed police cameras recording equipment on the second floor. As soon as it was reported on WABX, a blue ribbon winner paid a visit to station manager John Detz and told him he was searching for someone who threw a bottle from the 33^rd floor. (Obviously this peeg should be thought of as having placed second or third in the oink category)....

Would you believe that WKNR’s “Name for the Day” gimmick is a ruse’? Instead of picking the names at random, all those mentioned on the air so far have been employees of advertising agencies who buy air time on the station. Also, according to station manager John Small, Keener will soon be a 24 hour rock station and is building an Eastside tower for better reception for all of us....

Councilman William Rogell (ex-short stop for the Tigers back in the ‘30s) is worried about letting “Hair” into Detroit. Not only does the nude scene scare him, but he doesn’t like what he gleened-from an unidentified review: that the play is an “outrageous assault on patriotism...and religion in general.” Willy has been quoted as saying “If they banned it in St. Louis (ST. LOUIS?) and we didn’t do anything to stop it here, people would wonder if something is wrong with Detoit.” There sure is, Willy, but “Hair” ain’t the problem....

The people strike back: two police officers were stomped by cyclists when they tried to arrest a brother after he objected with his fist to the pigs ordering them to move their bikes....

Sheriff Doug Harvey was awarded an honorary barber’s degree by the Washtenaw County Barbers’ Association for eliminating health hazards in the jail by cutting everyone’s hair. The Association are members of the organization that brought you the billboard “Make America Beautiful—Get A Haircut”...

Bob (Pud) Rudnick, ex of Rudnick-Frawley fame, spectacularly quit his job in Daleyville (Chicago) when the owners tried to manipulate his show. He let the people know what was going down, put on the Stones’ “Street Fighting Man”, and walked out of the station. Pud will soon get a new deejay job in the same city....

The MC-5 beat the SRC, 14–7, in a recent baseball game at Hamburg (Mich.) High. More games are scheduled and the 5 might just go all the way...to the big time, that is....

Police Commissioner Pat Murphy commended his prize herd for its “dignity, patience and firmness” during the April 15^th action....

The Stooges are now in L.A. recording their second Elektra LP. They’re trying out a sax player and seem to Be generating excitement wherever they go, receiving good reviews on top of that....

Art Fox from the Ford Rouge local 600, head of the anti-Reuther United Caucus, gave the red head his first opposition in over 20 years for the UAW presidency. Unfortunately he lost, 98 to 2....

Stay away from Sherwood Forest in John Sinclair’s home town, Davison. The Stooges played one of their better sets there and club-owner Johnny Irons (also a TOP man in Flint radio) refused to pay the group, citing reasons bizarre for not doing so. Incidentally, Davison is the town where MC-5 lead singer Tyner got his wrist broken last summer by some local punks who thought that a tire iron (or was it a Johnny Iron?) would look better in Rob’s mouth than in the trunk. Nice place to visit....

Ever wonder who designed the Willow Run Bomber Plant? (Ever HEAR of the Willow Run Bomber Plant?) The answer will be in the next issue of the F.E., so til then, hang in there and keep on trucking.

Thanks to Cathy, the Crotchpuller, Harvey, and the Chicken-Shit Labor Leader for the inside poop. If you want to contribute to this experiment in yellow journalism write to SEEN, c/o this paper.