The Inside Dope

The good word from City Hall: Detroit has a thousand vacant lots ready to be turned into people's gardens this spring, says Ann Beser of the city's Farm-a-Lot program. They'll give you the seeds for free- all you have to supply is the elbow grease. The lots are expected to go fast, so give them a call soon at 224-2564, 2677, 2413, or 2699 to get set up in time for spring planting. It won 't be long now, folks!

The snow does have its good points, though- it provided some fine skiing turf for 108 participants in Michigan's first Pro-Am Skiing Tournament earlier this month at Mt. Holly. And all for a good cause-$3500 raised for Dick "Night Train" Lane's Police Athletic League. Congratulations, PAL!

And while we re delivering pats on the back, we musn't omit the late pride of Detroit, Ms. Sheila Young, and her stellar performance at the Winter Olympics, where she proved that Michiganders set the pace when it comes to high-powered speed skating. Hurry back, Sheila, the city's eager to give you a hero's welcome!

The SUN at large: Thanks to all who made our presence at the Detroit Hi-Fi Show at Cobo a roaring success, running us right out of newspapers and show programs. We did have a bit of an edge on the other exhibits, being the only room with a window commanding a full view of the Boy Scouts' convention downstairs . . . SUN Editor Derek VanPelt and writer Maureen McDonald keynoted the Detroit Christians for Socialism's public debut last weekend at Plymouth United Church of Christ on E. Warren, pulling apart the metropolitan government ruse for an enthusiastic gathering. May the DCS prosper and grow . . .

Checked out the big debate in Ann Arbor last week between U of M President Robben Fleming and Kevin Stiers, from the Coalition to Stop CIANSA Recruitment on Campus. President Fleming defended the students' right to be interviewed by the CIA or not, but we cheered for Stiers as he shot back that the spooks could go ahead and rent a floor of the Ann Arbor Inn if they wanted replacement parts for their unrighteous machine. Go back to your mountain in Langley, you creeps, and don't come 'round again!

Iffy's quote of the week competition finds Gerald Ford in a dead heat with himself-take your choice: When asked at a recent press conference if he was suggesting that new head spook George Bush "had an intelligence background," Jerry replied, "He has the intelligence to do the job which is more than we can say for poor Jerry . . . But he topped himself with his statement of future U.S. policy at the United Nations: "The new nominee [replacing super-honk Daniel Patrick Moynihan] will follow the same policy of challenging some of Third and Fourth World powers, calling a spade a spade." There goes another 20 million votes . . .

Media scuttlebutt department: Iffy's William Loeb Award for Objective Journalism goes this week to Mr. Frank Bewick, Editor and Publisher of the Dearborn Times-Herald, for his thoroughness in purging the suburban sheet of all but one of its reporters. The former editor got the axe in January for daring to question the qualifications of the new city assessor. Bewick then offered the job to Rich Mosey, who promptly quit in support of his fallen editor. Another reporter, Henry Reske, got bumped in December for exposing the U-M Dearborn's lying to the state in order to get more funding. Good luck running the paper by yourself, Frank!

Question of the week: Is there a news blackout on the SUN at the Not-So-Free Press? It certainly seems that the word is out to all departments to shun any form of accommodation or cooperation with our tabloid. Better watch your right flank, too, fellas- the "Youth Committee" I at the News wants your readers, too!