Free read: Core City restaurant condemns Epstein, Metro Detroit's best crab boil, Dearborn in the news
Hey, everyone! Here's a catch up on what's been happening the last few days.
Howdy, folks. Hope you’ve been well since the last time I’ve written directly to you like this — I know it’s been a minute.
Shoutout to Tobias Harris, who was seated sipping on an iced cortado with oat milk, when I walked into Babo. He’s really proud of his down payment assistance program he created in partnership with the Michigan Housing State Housing Authority.
Harris, whose brother played at Eastern Michigan, was aware of local political figures and the talk surrounding them. He said instead of waiting for politicians, he decided to launch the Tobias Harris Homeownership Initiative to make homeownership more accessible to Detroiters.
Thanks for the Twitter follow, Tobias!
I owe another big thanks for such a huge response to my exclusive reporting that revealed Philip Kafa, a developer and landlord in Detroit’s Core City neighborhood, spent time with sex trafficker Jeffery Epstein as a teenager.
Documents released by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform included an overtly sexual letter from Kafka’s father, Terry Kafka, in Epstein’s 50th birthday book.
The letter from 2003 recounts how Philip viewed Epstein as a role model.
Kafka sent a statement to BridgeDetroit that contradict the letters his dad sent a West Palm Beach court in 2007 defending Epstein, the notorious pedophile and longtime friend of his father.
Kafka said in a statement to BridgeDetroit that his father and Epstein were childhood friends, only talking a “handful of times” after high school.
“My father was one of, it now seems, hundreds of people who were asked to write something on his behalf. I met Epstein once and only once, when I was fifteen for about thirty minutes, asked him some questions about his career, and never talked to him again. That half-hour is the entirety of the story,” Kafka said in the statement.
Terry Kafka told a Dallas ABC affiliate the entry in Epstein’s book was written at Ghislaine Maxwell’s request and is “out of character” for him.
“I don’t know words strong enough to encapsulate how thoroughly unconscionable I find Epstein to have been. His abuse and exploitation of young women; his disgusting lifestyle and utter lack of respect for people – he got exactly what he deserved.”
But Terry told a court in 2007 that Epstein had spent a good amount of one-on-one time with Philip when he was 19-year-old and struggling in school.
At the time, Kafka was defending Epstein, his childhood freind from federal charges. He avoided the charges by pleading guilty to soliciting minors for prostitution in a non-prosecution deal by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Kafka’s dad, who I’m told is a visitor to the restaurants within the development his son owns, even took a picture with Epstein and other friends in his underwear.
Kafka is behind the Core City lot that includes Periodicals, PUMA, BARDA, Olu & Company, Lady of the House and Cafe Prince, which Kafka owns.
He deleted his Twitter account shortly after my story was published, and removed the ability to comment on his Instagram account after several accounts left messages alluding to my story.
None of the restaurants which pay Kafka rent each month cared to comment for my story, though whoever operates BARDA’s Instagram account responded to one commenters: “We are concerned about how this might affect our employees and their families, none of whom have any connection to this situation. We strongly condemn the criminal behavior of Jeffery Epstein and anyone involved in those actions.”
Here’s what else is going on:
State lawmakers increase pot tax for roads in budget deal
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the leaders of both legislative chambers say they have come to a tentative agreement on how to fund the state of Michigan through next year.
Lawmakers in Lansing say they’ve prevented a state shutdown that would have had implications affecting Detroit (like staffing at Belle Isle)
House Speaker Matt Hall on Thursday said changes to corporate income tax revenues and sales tax on gas, plus an increase to the state marijuana tax (which will be set at 24%) will create $1.5-1.8 billion per year in additional road funding.
It’s half of the $3 billion Hall initially proposed.
Read more from Paul Egan: Michigan budget deal expected to dedicate more than $1.5B extra to road and bridge repairs
The marijuana tax, which adds a 10% excise tax and a 6% sales tax, increase targets the wholesale price of weed sold to retail stores.
The House Fiscal Agency estimates the increase will generate about $420 million per year directed into a “Neighborhood Road Fund” to repair roads and bridges.
Politicos and electeds in Lansing were expecting a government shutdown as leaders of the House and Senate appeared not to be making any progress toward an agreement on how to fund the state in the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
Had Republican and Democratic leaders not reached a deal, all government functions would have come to a halt. School administrators have been forced to start the school year without state resources.
Details of the deal have yet to be announced, but Hall is declaring victory in meeting Republican calls to draw back spending. Hall said Thursday this year’s budget would likely be smaller than the current fiscal year’s allocations for public K-12 schools.
Rage baiters target Dearborn after mayor tells protestor, ‘You’re not welcome here’
In Dearborn, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud angered racists online when he defended Arab American News publisher Osama Siblani from a well-known anti-Arab agitator upset the city is naming a street sign in his honor.
“You’re an Islamophobe. And although you live here, I want you to know as mayor you are not welcome here," Hammoud told Ted Barham from his seat at council on Sept. 9. “The day you move out of the city will be the day I launch a parade celebrating the fact that you moved out of the city.”
The owners of highly followed social media accounts like LibsofTikTok, Laura Loomer and Matt Walsh, who suggest America’s founding father’s would have opposed Muslim elected officials, made Hammoud’s comments viral.
“Is this America?” Walsh asked his 3.9 million followers. “If the entire country resembles Dearborn in 50 years, in what sense will America still exist?”
In another post, Walsh says, “Dearborn is building an Islamic capital right in the middle of American heartland. And nobody is doing anything to stop it.”
Hammoud explained why he met Barham’s public comment with such passion during a city meeting this week.
“We put into practice the ideal that people of all backgrounds, of all faiths, and of all beliefs can live peacefully and respectfully as neighbors, as classmates, as business owners, and as congregants,” Hammoud said. “That is why we have long been mislabeled and targeted, long before the sensationalized headlines of this past week. For decades, people have been intent on dividing and disparaging our city.”
You won’t regret dining in at Detroit Pho and Crab
I recently became aware of this Vietnamese restaurant in Warren, Detroit Pho & Crab, which specializes in exactly what its name suggests.
The family owned spot has you covered whether you’re in the mood for a huge bowl of Pho, popular Chinese American dishes like Orange and General Tso’s Chicken, or a bag of steamed seafood (pictured above and below).
You can build your own crab boil but there are a number of $30 specials that I can’t find on their online menu. You can view those menus here.
The restaurant even lets you put seafood, like a lobster tail, into its bowls of Pho.
The best part of sitting at the restaurant Sunday night was watching families laugh and clank their beer mugs in toast. Staff combined tables to accommodate the Vietnamese family sitting next to me, where two men at the end of the table argued over who would pay the bill in their second language.
You can always order takeout, but it’s those human moments that make a meal worth writing about.