Economics

Of 178 homes whose water was shut off last week, 79 had restarted their supplies, triggering $21,750 in fines on top of what the residents already owed. Photograph: James Fassinger

The beleaguered city says a water shutoff is essential to recoup $89m in overdue bills. But the decision has outraged thousands of Detroiters – who have taken matters into their own hands

theguardian.com - by Jon Swaine - July 21, 2014

When the coast is clear, and the trucks from the contractor shutting off water for the city of Detroit have rolled away, the men with water keys come.

They offer residents whose supply has just been shut off a tempting deal. For $20, they will use their tools to turn the water main back on immediately, and illegally, sparing the household the agonising days spent without showering, cooking or flushing that have already been endured by at least 16,000 of their neighbours so far this year.

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Eric Thayer/Reuters

Some run dry—and others pay $30 for plumbers to illegally turn the taps back on.

theatlantic.com - by Rose Hackman - July 17, 2014

When the water trucks arrived near Arlyssa Heard’s home on the west side of Detroit at the end of June, the 42-year-old single mother of two said it felt like the entire neighborhood was being taken over. . .

. . . It may not have been a police crackdown, but what she witnessed was definitely a crackdown of a sort. Since last year, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department has been turning off water at the homes of customers behind on their bills.

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submitted by Albert Gomez 

In November 2013, a full moon and high tides led to flooding in parts of the city, including here at Alton Road and 10th Street. Photograph: Corbis

Low-lying south Florida, at the front line of climate change in the US, will be swallowed as sea levels rise. Astonishingly, the population is growing, house prices are rising and building goes on. The problem is the city is run by climate change deniers

theguardian.com - by Robin McKie - July 11, 2014

A drive through the sticky Florida heat into Alton Road in Miami Beach can be an unexpectedly awkward business. Most of the boulevard, which runs north through the heart of the resort's most opulent palm-fringed real estate, has been reduced to a single lane that is hemmed in by bollards, road-closed signs, diggers, trucks, workmen, stacks of giant concrete cylinders and mounds of grey, foul-smelling earth.

(Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)

The charity is fighting our public records request for information on how it raised and spent money after the superstorm.

propublica.org - by Justin Elliott - June 26, 2014

Just how badly does the American Red Cross want to keep secret how it raised and spent over $300 million after Hurricane Sandy?

The charity has hired a fancy law firm to fight a public request we filed with New York state, arguing that information about its Sandy activities is a "trade secret."

The Red Cross' "trade secret" argument has persuaded the state to redact some material, though it's not clear yet how much since the documents haven't yet been released.

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