“A figure less than $2 billion is likely to inflame the passions of bondholders, unions and other creditors who see DIA masterpieces as a prime source for recovering the billions they are owed by the city. It also increases the chances that a court battle over the fate of the DIA will become even more contentious as Kevyn Orr prepares his plan of adjustment to restructure city finances.”
Federal Judge Gives First Hint Of Detroit Art Collection’s Status In City’s Bankruptcy
“‘A one-time infusion of cash by selling an asset,’ he [wrote], would have only delayed the city’s ‘inevitable financial failure’ unless it could have also come up with a sustainable way to enhance income and reduce expenses. Judge Rhodes added that in considering selling assets, a city ‘must take extreme care that the asset is truly unnecessary in carrying out its mission’.”
Arabic Music Has A Big New Star – And She’s Blonde
Jennifer Grout, a 23-year-old from Boston who speaks almost no Arabic, sings it so well that she’s now a finalist on this year’s Arabs Got Talent – the only one performing the classical repertoire in which Umm Kulthum and Fairouz became famous but which most younger Arabs neglect.
The Bolshoi, Where Ballet Actually Means Life And Death
Judith Mackrell reviews the bizarre and dramatic backstage saga at the theater that (probably hasn’t) ended with the guilty verdicts in the trial of the men accused of throwing acid into Sergei Filin’s face.