Judge Steven Rhodes
How this bus trip became such a big deal is a bit puzzling.
Whatever the case, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes on Thursday agreed to a bus tour of Detroit to see first hand the devastation of the city, according to Joe Guillen of the Detroit Free Press.
Some creditors fought to try and derail the idea, saying it was of no value and could be potentially dangerous if word leaked out on the time and the route of the tour. Rhodes, who lives in Ann Arbor, indicated that details of the tour will be confidential and he wouldn't sign a court order until details are worked out.
A story by Bloomberg News and Associated Press in Crains' Detroit Business states that a creditor's attorney said a three-hour tour of Detroit reminds him of the boat ride in the 1960s' TV sitcom, "Gilligan's Island." Vince Marriott said people "know how that turned out" — a shipwreck.
Robert Hertzberg, a private attorney representing the city, told the judge he had gone on a tour of the route on Wednesday, and everything went fine, the Freep reports.
“You are the finder of facts in this case. You need to go out and see this with your own eyes,” Hertzberg told Rhodes. “We were 100% safe.”
