Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Democracy on Hold in Benton Harbor | Truthout



Post on Bev Richey's Wall by | Joe Braun
Very comprehensive.

"While the country watched the protests in Wisconsin spill into the State Capitol Building, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder was passing a controversial bill that many consider a direct attack on the constitutional rights of the citizens of Michigan."

To keep a clean public image, Whirlpool funds and largely controls a nonprofit in Benton Harbor called the Cornerstone Alliance, which has a revolving door with Whirlpool and the Whirlpool Foundation for its staff members and employees.

Cornerstone has long served the interests of Whirlpool in Benton Harbor, creating a façade through which the company can pass off its actions as being in the interests of "the community."

"They're an arm of Whirlpool," says Carol Drake of Friends of Jean Klock Park.

Carol has been fighting for the preservation of the historic park against a consortium of developers led by Whirlpool. Her organization has tracked the evolution of developers' plans to seize the public park, which she says have been in the works for decades.

Their current project is called Harbor Shores, a $500 million golf resort to include luxury homes, a water park, high-end condominiums and other similar upscale amenities.

Full Article


Truthout On |Facebook Page Here

Additional Article | San Francisco Bay | Benton Harbor is New Selma

More about Benton Harbor and Jean Klock Park available in this archive