The White Lake Beacon reports: "Developers last Tuesday stressed to the Whitehall City Council they want a development that is both safe and beautiful at the former Whitehall Leather property they intend to acquire." Have you ever been to Whitehall? One beautiful summer day in the early 1980's we sailed into White Lake, which is surrounded by the quaintly lovely towns of Whitehall and Montague. It's quite beautiful!

Who wouldn't want to own property there? Somebody's gonna make mucho bucks on this deal!!! ... 20 acres of PRIME real estate!!! The article says:

"He (Mick McGraw, Eastbrook Homes chief executive officer) said the redevelopment plan currently would put condominium units, possibly some small retail shops and a bar/restaurant into the former facility, itself.

Officials of South Shore Development shared its intentions to construct a variety of residential structures, a private marina, a possible health club in the tannery's former gymnasium and a public walkway to Svensson Park."

...and how do they come about obtaining it? They buy it from a Tennessee company called Genesco and the MDEQ - current owners who are currently completing the clean up of the 'formerly contaminated property' with... get this..... if I'm not mistaken, school tax money!!!

Read all about the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act, Public Act 381 of 1996, as amended and help me. Tell me if I'm wrong. Isn't that a sweet deal, or what?

Well now you're going to see the MDEQ refer to various Acts, and they would have us believe they are '.....just doing what is prescribed by the law....' and we all know laws can only be put into being by our legislators, right? Well honey, somebody asked our legislators to create these laws, didn't they? Who did it? Well golly gee, I would guess that would be the environmental extremists that tag along with the DEQ... they have a mighty lobby, don't you suppose?

What a fun game!!! First we get our bureaucratic brethren to create the laws, then we carry out the laws, then our friends get to make lots of money on the whole deal!!! Wouldn't you like some of that action?

I mentioned 'brownfields' some time ago in this blog... since then learning a bit more about it. What do you think? Apparently the 'brownfields' are cleaned up with public funds collected for school taxes!!! That's because the companies that created the problem are now defunct. Dow Chemical, however, is a chemical giant... so of course, MDEQ will make them clean it up. Oh goody! At least they're saving our school tax money. Meanwhile, our backyards are 'facilities.' How does that differ from 'brownfields?' ... semantics my friend, semantics and source of money.

My Heavens!!! This is more than I bargained for! What a bureaucratic monster we are looking at!