Racism is a public health crisis because if they do not come up with a new #coloredrevolution psyoptic legal defense hybrid campaign election strategy, the health of the "Elected Ones", including their rogue ass cohorts, may quickly wane, allowing them all to fall victim to the cooties.
LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - Michigan Governor Gretchen announced on Wednesday the creation of the Black Leadership Advisory Council and declared racism as a public health crisis while detailing plans to address it within state government.
Gov. Whitmer spoke on Wednesday about COVID-19 in Michigan, saying that Black people were more likely to die from the virus than white people.
"This pandemic has confirmed and highlighted the deadly nature of these pre-existing inequities caused by racism. COVID-19 is four times as likely to take the life of Black Michigander than a white one," Whitmer said.
The governor said her executive directive to create the Black Leadership Advisory Council will confront systemic racism in the state.
No. The creation of BLAC is just the administrative continuance of Black Lives Matter Phase II cover up for the Detroit Land Bank Authority. Gretchen will not say Detroit Land Bank Authority nor will she say my Sweetie's name. This is what Operation BLAC is all about because she has all the Blue Cross Blue Shield- Detroit Economic Club - Campaign & Election Fraud to deal with. The plan is to let their newly appointed spokestokens on center stage to chant the "white-man-hate-black-man-hate-yellow-man-hate-rainbow-man-hate-white-man...." around a midnight funeral pyre of their fellow co-conspirators who have died of the cooties, under a full moon, of course, as a legal vehicle to go to court, and drag out their public health crisis in hopes of cudgeling any superseding protracted litigation still sealed in those Detroit Grand Juries information.
I should fill out an application...in the spirit of fuchsia, of course.
“Since I was sworn in as governor, I have made it a top priority to include more people of color, more women, and more members of the LGBTQ+ community at the table. We’ve been able to build a more inclusive state government, but there is more work to do. That’s why today, I am proud to create the Black Leadership Advisory Council of Michigan,” said Governor Whitmer. “We must confront systemic racism head-on so we can create a more equitable and just Michigan. This is not about one party or person. I hope we can continue to work towards building a more inclusive and unbiased state that works for everyone.”
How about we start with your activities with the Michigan Catholic Conference and the Archdiocese of Detroit? If that is not pleasurable subject matter to broach in your BLAC OP, how about we start off with something simple, like the child trafficking industry of Foster Care and Adoption in Michigan? Let's invite MARE because they just refuse to stop selling kids online.
The Black Leadership Advisory Council will be within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and will consist of 16 voting members representing Black leadership in economics, public policy, health and wellness, technology, the environment, agriculture, arts and culture, and more.
BLAC OP is put in LEO. I just love the mnemonics. I see hashtags, t-shirts and other catchy logos to internationallyi-beg.
The Black Leadership Advisory council will be included among a set of diverse ethnic commissions within the state of Michigan. Although African Americans are the largest racial minority in the state, this Council is the first of its kind in Michigan to elevate Black leaders and representatives.
Now, you know they are going to use Garland as the anchor scale for color tolling membership into this elite club, oops, I mean BLAC OP.
The council will work in an advisory capacity to the governor and develop, review, and recommend policies and actions designed to eradicate and prevent discrimination and racial inequity in Michigan. The council will take on this challenge by doing the following:
Identifying state laws, or gaps in state law, that create or perpetuate inequities, with the goal of promoting economic growth and wealth equity for the Black community.
How about starting with the Emergency Manager Law? I sit clutching my pearls to see if anyone is going to invite anyone from JonesDay, like Don McGahn.
Collaborating with the governor’s office and the Black community to promote legislation and regulation that ensures equitable treatment of all Michiganders, and seeks to remedy structural inequities in this state.
I am impressed that they actually pitched justification to fund their co-conspiratorial operations. Wow.
Serving as a resource for community groups on issues, programs, sources of funding, and compliance requirements within state government in order to benefit and advance the interests of the Black community.
Promoting the cultural arts within the Black community through coordinated efforts, advocacy, and collaboration with state government. This is called one of those Public Private Partnerships utilizing the interests of foreign interests in the best interest of the child, starting with bleachbitting education to make us dumber.
Providing other information or advice or taking other actions as requested by the governor.
The other directive, declaring racism a public health crisis, requires data documenting differences in health outcomes among racial and ethnic groups in Michigan to be collected, analyzed, and made publicly available to help leaders implement equitable policies. Additionally, departments must understand how racial disparities in societal, environmental, and behavioral factors intersect to affect access to resources like good jobs, access to healthy and affordable food and housing, equitable transportation options, and quality public education.
The Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities will work in partnership with departments to develop a plan that details how Michigan will eliminate the root causes of the inequities that cause disparities in health outcomes for our residents.
“These past several months have been difficult for all of us, but they have been especially tough for Black and Brown people who for generations have battled the harms caused by a system steeped in persistent inequalities. These are the same inequities that have motivated so many Americans of every background to confront the legacy of systemic racism that has been a stain on our state and nation from the beginning,” said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. “That is why, today, we take the much-needed and long-overdue step of recognizing racism as a public health crisis. It is only after we have fully defined the injustice that we can begin to take steps to replace it with a greater system of justice that enables all Michiganders to pursue their fullest dreams and potential.”
Garlin should really step back and take a look at himself in the mirror because he is part and parcel of the reason why the "system is steeped in persistent inequities" because he got Detroit Land Bank Authority properties for dropping his election challenge in election fraud, probably, then, probably, someone whispered in his ear that if he just forgot everything about absentee ballot fraud in Detroit, that he would magically be crowned governor, as there is already a plan in place to replace Gretchen Whitmer, long before any of his elections were certified, but, hey, what do I know?
To apply to the Black Leadership Advisory Council visit Michigan.gov/appointments and click “Black Leaders Advisory Council” from the drop menu of the application. Applications are due by Wednesday, August 19th.
I wonder if anyone from the Congressional Black Caucus is providing "Legal Genius" (trademark pending) advice and consent to engage in financial transactions by and through foreign operations called "reparations", that I like to call more stealin', just like they did with TARP.
The speech comes one day after Whitmer issued a directive ordering state departments and agencies to take necessary steps to enforce all COVID-19 executive orders to slow or stop the spread of the virus.
Just this week, Michigan State Senator Tom Barrett tested positive for the virus, prompting the cancellation of Senate sessions this week and concerns about who could have been exposed.
On Tuesday, 150 COVID-19 cases were linked to teens who were attending parties in South Lyon and Fenton in Southeast Michigan.
The clusters are around at least six parties held in July and include the 150 cases - and counting - among 15- to 19-year-olds, according to health officials in Oakland, Genesee and Livingston counties. They're linked to indoor and outdoor graduation parties and prom-type parties.
So, the cases of Gabe Leland go from DOJ, to Wayne County, to Macomb County, bifurcated to State, where DOJ still holds the parental authority of the legal matter in a superseding action.
I may have skipped a few jurisdictional machinations, but I might have to visually map this messy out.
Here's hoping I did not piss off anyone in the City of Detroit because they shut off my water since I got a $600 sewage bill this month, because it rained and another property tax foreclosure notice which no one will provide me constituency services.
I wonder why?
Maybe it is because I live in District 7, or something like that.
The cloud over Gabe Leland got bigger and darker today as the Monroe County prosecutor charged the Detroit city councilman with misconduct in office.
The felony charge comes a month before Leland was scheduled to go to trial in federal court on three counts of bribery for allegedly demanding $15,000 from Bob Carmack to help the businessman in a dispute with the city.
The misconduct in office charge, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $10,000, indicates that Leland's fate will be decided in state court rather than U.S. District Court. The charge was brought by Monroe County Prosecutor Michael Roehrig after U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider asked Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy to take the case. Worthy cited a conflict of interest in any case involving Carmack, who is suing county officials, so the Michigan Attorney General's office assigned the case to Monroe County.
The Free Press reported in May that Roehrig's office was reviewing the case.
Roehrig would not discuss whether his office has been working with federal officials, beyond saying: "It's fair to say we have had discussions with the U.S. Attorney’s office regarding this matter.”
Roehrig also would not discuss the details of the case, but the charging document alleges that Leland "accepted payments of money to influence his vote on certain city matters over the course of his employment as a city councilman.”
The Monroe County Prosecutor alleges that Leland's misconduct occurred between Jan. 1, 2017 and Jan. 31, 2018.
Leland was indicted on three counts of bribery on Oct. 4, 2018, after a federal grand jury determined he demanded $15,000 in May 2017 from Carmack. Leland, who represents District 7 on the city’s west side, continues to serve on the City Council without any restrictions.
Steve Fishman, Leland’s attorney, said Friday: "The sky is actually brighter and more blue for Mr. Leland today because we have reached an agreement to resolve his case in state court.
"He made a big mistake by accepting a campaign contribution in cash which is against the law in Michigan," Fishman added. "He accepts responsibility for his actions and deeply regrets it."
Leland did not return a call seeking comment.
On Oct. 9, 2018, after the first full council meeting since his indictment, Leland met with reporters outside the council chambers on the 13th floor of City Hall.
“I’m innocent until proven guilty and that’s my statement until further comment,” he said.
Six days later, Leland was arraigned in U.S. District Court, one block away from the Caucus Club where the feds say he met with Carmack. As he walked away from the courthouse, Leland said: “I’m innocent, and I’m looking forward to trial.”
Fishman had vowed to take the case to trial, telling reporters after Leland's arraignment: "Most cases over here — 95% — result in a guilty plea.
"This one won't."
Fishman planned to attack Carmack's credibility. Carmack is currently awaiting trial on allegations that he stole city land and sold it for $1 million. Carmack denies any wrongdoing, and the district court judge who bound the case over for trial in Wayne County Circuit Court did so after questioning the strength of the prosecution's case.
But there were signs the case might never go to trial, including records filed in federal court this year signed by prosecutors and Fishman that said: “the parties have discussed a resolution of the matter and need additional time to determine whether a resolution is possible.”
It is unlikely the federal case would proceed if Leland reaches a plea deal with Roehrig's office. Because the charge was filed Friday, there is no timeline yet for the state case. It is unlikely Leland would stand trial in state and federal court at the same time.
There are several reasons Leland may prefer to resolve the case in state court. The maximum sentence for the misconduct in office charge is half the 10 years Leland faces if convicted of bribery in federal court. There is also just one charge in state court, instead of the three counts he faces in federal court. If convicted, multiple guilty counts would likely increase Leland's sentence. And Leland may eventually be able to get a single felony conviction removed from his record, whereas multiple counts would be there permanently.
More: Duggan will try to get Detroit City Council to pass new $250M blight bond deal — again
More: Detroit renters facing eviction get $6 million in aid to help stay in their home
Cash for the councilman
Leland’s troubles date back to May 12, 2017, when prosecutors say Leland spoke to Carmack about land on Michigan Avenue that Carmack and the city each claimed. Leland, who was chairman of the City Council’s Planning and Economic Development Committee, stopped the city from selling the land.
“I held it up again,” Leland allegedly told Carmack during a phone call. “Yeah, yeah, it stayed, stayed right, right in committee, brother.”
Later in the call, federal prosecutors say Leland told Carmack: “You didn’t show up to my fundraiser.”
Four days later, the feds say, Leland met Carmack and offered to hold up or prevent the city from selling the land in return for $15,000.
“I should ask for 30, but I’m nice to you,” Leland said, according to the indictment.
On June 8, Leland was the only member of the Planning and Economic Development Committee to vote against putting the sale of the property on the City Council’s agenda.
When the sale went before the entire council on June 13, Leland was the only member to vote against selling it.
On Aug. 2, the feds say, Leland and a part-time campaign worker, Elisa Grubbs, met with Carmack at his collision shop on Michigan Avenue.
What Leland and Grubbs didn’t know was that Carmack was recording their encounters.
Carmack later told a reporter he was upset with Leland because the councilman hit him up for cash at the same time Carmack was caring for his dying father.
So Carmack went to the FBI.
“I put a wire on. I wore it, had a meeting with Mr. Leland, and Mr. Leland asked me would I raise some money for his campaign, and he asked me would I give him $15,000 if he didn’t sell that lot,” Carmack told the reporter.
Fishman told the reporter Carmack's allegation was "a blatant lie" with "absolutely no basis for it in fact."
On Aug. 4, prosecutors say, Leland told Carmack to give Grubbs the money. Carmack said he gave Grubbs $7,500 he got from the feds.
“I asked her, I said: ‘This is for Gabe Leland?’ ” Carmack later told a reporter. “She goes, ‘Yes, it’s for Gabe Leland. It definitely ain’t for me.’ ”
The feds say Grubbs gave the money to Leland later that day.
Five days later, according to the indictment, Leland met Carmack downtown at the Caucus Club restaurant and said he got the $7,500, but not the second half of the deal. Carmack said he told Leland he didn’t know Grubbs.
“No, but you can f***in’ trust me,” Leland replied, according to the indictment. “That’s all that matters.”
In June 2018 — nearly a year after Leland allegedly accepted the marked money from Carmack, but months before he would be indicted — Leland was questioned under oath during a deposition stemming from a lawsuit Carmack filed.
Fishman represented Leland at the deposition, interrupting the questioning to tell Carmack’s attorney: “I’m advising Mr. Leland to assert his Fifth Amendment privilege for any questions having to do with Robert Carmack.”
Nevertheless, Carmack’s attorney asked Leland: “At any time in 2017 did you extort up to $15,000 from Mr. Robert Carmack?”
Leland replied: “I refuse to answer the question based on my Fifth Amendment rights.”
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says a person cannot be compelled to testify against their interest or provide information that may incriminate them.
Leland declined to answer any questions about whether he was being investigated by the feds.
On Oct. 3, 2018, the feds charged Grubbs with conspiracy to help “City Official X” solicit a bribe.
Any question about the identity of “City Official X” was dispelled the next day, when Leland was indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges.
"A sitting member of the Detroit City Council engaging in bribery is an extreme breach of the trust of the people of Detroit that badly undermines their faith in local government," Schneider, the U.S. attorney, said in a statement released that day. "As was starkly demonstrated by the prosecution of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and several corrupt members of his administration, federal law enforcement is dedicated to rooting out and severely punishing corruption at every level of city governance.”
At the time, Mayor Mike Duggan called the allegations "deeply upsetting and disappointing."
"This is a very unfortunate development for our city at a time when so many things have been going right," Duggan said in a statement. "For now, we just have to let our justice system do its work."
The City Council released a joint statement the day after Leland was indicted, saying it will not affect its work and that the body "will continue to do our jobs, as elected by the citizens of this city."
On Oct. 9, after the first full council meeting since his indictment, Leland met with reporters outside the council chambers on the 13th floor of City Hall.
“I’m innocent until proven guilty and that’s my statement until further comment,” he said.
Six days later, Leland was arraigned in the federal courthouse, one block away from the Caucus Club where the feds say he met with Carmack. As he walked away from the courthouse, Leland said: “I’m innocent, and I’m looking forward to trial.”
If Leland pleads guilty to a felony charge, it would end his career on City Council.
Under the Detroit City Charter, an elected official who “engages in official misconduct,” “corrupt conduct in office” or pleads to “or is convicted of a felony while holding office” forfeits their office.
Neither the City Council nor the city’s Board of Ethics has taken any action to remove Leland or limit his authority.
Do you know why these "gentrification" small businesses are going belly up by getting denied that Precious Payroll Protection Plan?
Well, it is because these people got these properties illegally, like the Detroit Land Bank Authority, through fake ass quiet titles, through fake ass LLCs, mostly in TARP regions with land banks, because they cannot make their multiple mortgage payments, because the banking system is falling internationally like dominoes.
Check out how many are christian businesses shuttering.
They all run those tiny humans trust fund schemes through lots of christian trafficking tiny humans trust funds like Catholic Charities through the Archdiocese of Detroit.
The Will Play For Food Foundation was created specifically to assist and enable communities to End Childhood Hunger, by creating Awareness of hunger issues, help to create and share Solutions to hunger, and to connect recipients, donors, orgs, and businesses to achieve measurable results.
They are associated with St. Jude's Children's Hospital through the
Children's Hospital Miracle Network
&
Feeding America
The name of the DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY: BARFLY VENTURES, LLC Entity type: DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Identification Number: 801537162Old ID Number: D3898Q Date of Organization in Michigan: 02/01/2010 Purpose: All Purpose Clause Term: Perpetual The name and address of the Resident Agent: Resident Agent Name:MARK A SELLERS III Street Address:35 OAKES ST SW STE 400 Apt/Suite/Other: City:GRAND RAPIDSState:MIZip Code:49503 Registered Office Mailing address: P.O. Box or Street Address: Apt/Suite/Other: City:State:Zip Code: Act Formed Under: 023-1993 Michigan Limited Liability Company Act
It seems his liens lapsed due to the fact that he was probably busted doing that Corporate Shape Shifter thing, they like to do, all the time, or rather, stealin' the children, land & vote, more intuitively recognized in the legal parlay as gerrymandering.
His credit shot and he got busted, that is why he is filing for bankruptcy.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Barfly Ventures, the parent company of HopCat, Stella’s Lounge and Grand Rapids Brewing Co., has filed for bankruptcy to restructure its debt and better position the company for long-term growth.
Mark Sellers, the company’s founder and chairmen of its board, said the company’s debt, which totals more than $30 million, has become untenable because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has shuttered dine-in service for bars and restaurants across the state.
“We were doing okay. We were paying our bills,” Sellers said. “And then COVID hit, and it just sent us over a cliff.”
Despite the filing, a press release issued by the company says it plans to reopen its Michigan restaurants on June 13, and that HopCat locations in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Indianapolis, Indiana, are expected to reopen on June 22. BarFly’s other out-of-state HopCat locations will be opening in phases with dates to be announced soon,” the company said.
“It’s been a rough few months, but we’re excited to welcome our team and local community members back into our restaurants,” Sellers said. “We’re following all CDC guidelines and taking extra precautions to ensure the health and safety of our staff and guests.”
Sellers said the bankruptcy won’t affect day-to-day operations at BarFly’s restaurants.
“From a customer standpoint, it will be no different,” he said. “From a company standpoint, we’ll have more flexibility to grow again in a smart way.”
BarFly is best known for HopCat, the popular restaurant and craft beer bar that started in Grand Rapids in 2008 and expanded rapidly over the past six years.
The first HopCat restaurant outside of Grand Rapids opened in East Lansing in August 2013. The following year, another location opened in Indianapolis, Indiana. Sellers said 14 additional HopCats, including a location in Port St. Lucie, Florida, were opened from August 2014 and 2019.
At its peak, there were 17 HopCats, Sellers said. Today, there are 14, half of which are in Michigan.
Sellers said his company financed the expansion through debt, so it could grow more quickly, rather than relying on “cash flow.” He said the strategy was working fine until some HopCat locations, primarily Chicago, Port St. Lucie and Chicago, started losing money. Those locations have since closed.
“Then when COVID hit, that just put it over the edge,” he said. “We were servicing the debt up until COVID.”
HopCat briefly attempted to offer takeout service after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on March 16 temporarily suspended dine-in service at Michigan bars and restaurants to reduce spread of the coronavirus. However, the company was losing money in the process, and Sellers decided to close his restaurants to conserve cash and wait-out the pandemic.
He said there was a time in March when he wasn’t sure he was ever going to be able to reopen HopCat. He said he’s hopeful that Hopcat can recover from this, but that the coronavirus has presented a very challenging situation for bars and restaurants.
“My personal net worth is completely decimated by this,” he said. “My stock in BarFly is going to be worthless.”
He added, “This is personally just a very bad situation for me. I just want to see the company that I started survive. That’s really all I care about right now.”
Mark Sellers, owner of Premier Exhibitions, the company that brought Bodies Revealed to the Grand Rapids Public Museum, stands in Hopcat, the brew pub he owns at 25 Ionia Ave. SW.
GRAND RAPIDS — A Chicago hedge fund, a nasty proxy battle, a string of downtown pubs, human remains, the future of the Titanic — mix them together and it’s a recipe for a pulp novel.
As it turns out, they're components of a nonfiction corporate epic whose latest chapter is being written as the Bodies Revealed exhibit opens at the Public Museum of Grand Rapids.
Once upon a time Mark Sellers — who with his wife co-owns the downtown Grand Rapids bars Hopcat, Stella's Lounge and Viceroy — made a risky investment in Premier Exhibitions Inc., which owns the Bodies exhibit that features plasticized human remains.
Today the 42-year-old West Michigan native is chairman of the board of the publicly held company, a title he never wanted.
Three years ago, Atlanta-based Premier was riding high on the success of the sometimes controversial Bodies Revealed exhibit of preserved human bodies and body parts.
The company also had a valuable collection of items from the Titanic shipwreck, along with what it said were exclusive salvage rights to the famed ocean liner.
"It takes a village, then pillages its most precious treasures."
Teach them young to carry on the christian traditions in the residuals of the peculiar institution in modern day human trafficking, for that is the body of a youth, one of those R&D "whoops" tiny humans lab rats.
After nearly a decade, Bodies Revealed has returned to the GRPM. This exhibition features real, whole and partial body specimens that have been preserved through an innovative process, giving visitors the opportunity to view the complexity of their own organs and systems like never before.
At the time, Sellers also was riding high, managing more than $300 million in assets for clients nationwide via his Chicago-based Sellers Capital Management Inc.
Sellers’ strategy for his hedge fund was simple: Bet big on carefully researched, undervalued companies and reap big profits for himself and his investors.
Sellers attended an investment conference and heard an analyst characterize Premier as a favorite stock in 2007.
“At that time the stock was about $11 a share,” he said. “I did my own research, thought it seemed like a good deal and started to take a position in my fund, buying at $10 or $11.”
It was around that time that Sellers, a 1986 East Kentwood High School graduate, and his wife, Michele, had moved back to Grand Rapids — the hometown his younger self had sworn off.
“I never wanted to come back here,” he said. “In fact, I told myself I never would come back here. But then my wife and I looked at houses and real estate prices and the quality of life here, and it’s just a really nice, nice place.”
Trouble revealed
Premier’s stock did well at first, trading above $17 in July 2007.
Then a series of poor quarterly earnings reports started a precipitous decline. Sellers continued buying all the way down — $8 a share, $5 a share, then $2.
“At $1.98 we bought a ton,” he said. “We owned about 16 percent of the company by the end of 2008.”
That's when he decided to take action. Sellers had accumulated enough stock to launch an effort to oust management, whom he said took a promising company to the brink of bankruptcy.
On Nov. 6, 2008, Sellers issued a press release demanding the resignation of Premier’s CEO Arnie Geller, lambasting him for taking $1.2 million in compensation even as the shareholders saw their investment values plunge.
When Geller refused, a proxy battle erupted with Sellers’ firm nominating its own slate of directors in what amounted to a hostile takeover.
By January 2009, Sellers decisively won the battle, was appointed as unpaid, non-executive chairman and fired Geller.
“The company would have almost certainly had to file bankruptcy back in January or February of 2009 if we hadn’t taken control,” said Chris Davino, the CEO and turnaround specialist who took the helm of the company after the proxy fight.
Not long after the takeover, Sellers Capital helped pump another $12 million into the company while working with the new management team to restructure. Among the first things to go: an ill-conceived $20 million deal for Premier to invest in a permanent Times Square exhibition space in New York City.
“In retrospect, I wish I hadn’t ever gotten involved in the company,” Sellers said. “If I can get out of it and break even or better, I’d have to say that’s a big victory.”
But it’s not that simple. At Friday’s closing price, $1.92, Premier’s market capitalization was about $89 million — far less than the appraised value of its Titanic holdings, which Sellers said is more than $145 million. Sellers said his fund’s investment in Premier is almost at break even.
But liquidating all that stock — the rough equivalent of about a year’s worth of trading volume — isn’t an option, since it would drive the price lower.
Key to Premier’s future and Sellers’ eventual exit from the company: monetize the Titanic.
With the 100th anniversary of the storied liner’s 1912 sinking coming up, timing is key. A well-publicized expedition to the wreck site in August helped stoke interest. A federal court ruling in August also provided some assurance that Premier couldn’t simply be stripped of its salvage rights to Titanic without a payment of about $110 million from the U.S. government.
“My plan is to make sure that the Titanic assets are well taken care of,” he said. “Whether they are held by Premier or held by someone else, I feel as though it’s almost a larger duty that I have. It’s an international treasure. I don’t want someone to piece them out and sell them on eBay or put them in a private collection never to be seen again by the general public.
“So I’m going to stay involved until there is some certainty about what is going to happen with those Titanic assets.”
Today, Sellers Capital controls 46 percent of Premier shares, representing the hedge fund’s only current investments. Once the Premier investment is sold off — Sellers makes no bones that selling the stock at a profit is his end game — Sellers Capital will cease to exist.
Mark and Michele Sellers have moved on to making bets of a different kind.
Shortly after moving back to Grand Rapids, he read a story in The Press about the Sierra Room closing in downtown Grand Rapids. Within a week, he slapped down a non-refundable $10,000 deposit on the space.
His wife, a self-described lover of bar culture, was opposed at first.
“She was against it, but I didn’t want to be one of those people who, 10 years later, regretted not trying,” he said.
They opened Hopcat, a craft-beer lover’s mecca with its 48 taps and in-house brewery, at 25 Ionia Ave. SW in early 2008.
“The day we opened, we had a line down the street, and it’s been awesome,” he said. “We never slowed down.”
Since then, Hopcat has been voted one of the world’s best beer bars. The couple also were the lead investors in Old Town Social, a popular Chicago pub opened in 2009.
Earlier this year, the Sellerses opened Stella's Lounge and The Viceroy at 53 Commerce Ave. SW. In October, they also took over management of McFadden's Restaurant and Pub, 58 Ionia Ave. SW. Early next year, they will open Pyramid Scheme, a music venue and bar, in partnership with fellow bar owners Jeff and Tami VandenBerg at 68 Commerce Ave. SW.
Mark Sellers said he looks forward to the day when the bars are the only businesses he needs to manage.
“The restaurant-bar business is a lot more fun,” he said, sitting down for lunch last week at Hopcat. “It’s not the day-to-day volatility and stress of managing other peoples’ money. This seems like a walk in the park to me after doing that.”
Despite what one might think, Sellers said his position as chairman had nothing to do with Premier’s Bodies Revealed exhibition now under way in Grand Rapids.
“Just a weird coincidence,” he said. “I knew before they booked it that they were talking to the Grand Rapids museum; but I don’t really get involved in the day-to-day stuff like that.”
Still, he’s happy to see a piece of a company he essentially controls exhibit in his hometown.
“It’s an excellent exhibit, and I’m happy to be associated with it,” he said. “I’m proud it’s here. It’s pretty neat.”
As for whether Premier’s Titanic exhibit will ever surface in Grand Rapids, Sellers said he put in a good word, but that’s not his decision to make.
“I know the museum is trying to bring Titanic to Grand Rapids in 2012, but I’m not sure if they’ve been able to strike a deal on that or not,” he said.
A man taking look at a piece that's a part of the "Bodies Revealed" exhibition toured by Premier Exhibitions, Inc. The exhibition will open at the Grand Rapids Public Museum on November 16, 2019.
A popular traveling exhibit that uses real human bodies dipped in plastic to teach anatomy and life science is returning to Michigan this fall.
The "Bodies Revealed" exhibit, which opens at the Grand Rapids Public Museum on Nov. 16, features preserved "real, whole and partial body specimens." Tickets are expected to go on sale in the fall.
It will be the first time the exhibit has returned to Grand Rapids in nearly a decade.
Kate Kocienski, the vice president of marketing and public relations at the museum, told the Free Press that "Bodies Revealed" is on tour by a company called Premier Exhibitions, Inc and the bodies have been maintained via a "polymer preservation process."
The museum's page for the exhibit said that more than a dozen full human bodies and hundreds of organs will be "respectfully displayed to tell the story of the miraculous systems at work within each of us."
"Bodies Revealed allows people to learn about their own bodies and, ultimately, teach how to take better care of one’s own health and make positive lifestyle choices," the site said.
The "Bodies Revealed" exhibition will open at the Grand Rapids Public Museum on November 16, 2019.
The museum said people of all ages are welcome to observe the skeletal, muscular, nervous, digestive, respiratory, reproductive and circulatory systems, and added that many of the specimens will be in "vivid athletic poses" that offer an understanding of "everyday motions and activities."
Other body specimens on-site will illustrate that damage that can be caused by habits, like overeating, smoking and lacking exercise, the site said.
In the past, similar displays have generated controversy, as reported by news outlets from around the world — including, the Irish Times, BBC, The New York Times, NPR and more — largely because of questions about how these individuals died and whether or not the bodies were used with consent.
The bodies that will be on display at the Grand Rapids Public Museum in the fall were donated with consent for the remains to be used for medical research, including public education, Kocienski said. She added that the bodies have come from universities in China, primarily from Nanjing Medical University.
This is also not the first time exhibitions like this have come to Michigan museums to drum up interest in science, anatomy and health.
According to the Huffington Post, a traveling exhibit that also featured preserved human bodies, called "Bodies Human," came to the Michigan Science Center in 2012. It was one of the special exhibits promoted as marking the re-opening of the science center, which the Huffington Post reported, was formerly known as the Detroit Science Center and closed in 2011 because of financial issues.
Russian prosecutors have charged two medical officials in Siberia in connection with a shipment of 56 bodies to an institute run by the German anatomist, Gunther von Hagens, the organiser of a controversial exhibition displaying corpses and body parts.
The two men are accused of violating a law governing the treatment of corpses, by taking the bodies without the permission of relatives, the Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports.
I did the most I could do to ensure those specimens were received in good order according to the laws of the Russian republic
Professor Gunther von Hagens
Mr von Hagens - whose exhibition Body Worlds is currently showing in London - says he has not used any body parts from Russia illegally.
Professor von Hagens said he had agreed with the University of Novosibirsk to treat the bodies in his institute in the German city of Heidelberg using a special technique for preservation, and to return them to Siberia so that they could be used for medical research.
'Nothing wrong'
The paper said the two Russian doctors were charged after an investigation that began last year when customs officials stopped the shipment heading to Mr von Hagens' Institute for Plastination.
What the Pro Life Propaganda Movement is covering up
Dr Gunther von Hagens
Prof von Hagens says his work is art
The consignment allegedly included the remains of convicts and homeless and mentally ill Russians.
Fourteen medical officials were reportedly put under investigation over the shipment sent by the Novosibirsk State Medical Academy, but only two were charged.
Investigators suspected that some of the bodies were taken without the permission of relatives, the paper quoted Natalya Markasova, senior aide to the chief regional prosecutor, as saying.
Mr von Hagens denies using any body parts from Russia illegally. None of the Russian specimens - said to include 56 corpses and more than 400 brain parts - was included in his London exhibition, he said.
"I did the most I could do to ensure those specimens were received in good order according to the laws of the Russian republic," he said. "Those people on display gave their agreement."
Corporate Parental Rights owns the chattel through the SES status of the mother, the host, the acquired goods through human asset forfeiture of "The Poors" (always said with clinched teeth).
Criticism
Professor von Hagens uses a special technique called plastination to preserve bodies in a lifelike way.
He then places them in poses, which graphically show internal body parts and organs.
The Body Worlds exhibition has provoked criticism as sensational and voyeuristic. Soon after opening in March, one of the displays was attacked.
But its creator says his work is educational and artistic because "when you can see beneath your skin you can see how fragile you are.
"You can see healthy organs compared to diseased organs like smokers' lungs," he says.
I know what these people do to the children in the Child Welfare System. I am the original source.
