Editing Harper Woods, Michigan (section)

==History==
Harper Woods was incorporated as a city on February 19, 1951, from what was left of [[Gratiot Township, Michigan|Gratiot Township]]. A charter commission was elected, a charter prepared and adopted, and a city council elected. The City of Harper Woods came into existence on October 29, 1951, when the charter took effect, and the first city council was sworn in.

The fledgling suburb faced the usual problems confronting new cities: schools, streets, sidewalks, water systems, drains, etc. In 1956, Harper Woods was the subject of a community service study by the Bureau of Government, Institute of Public Administration, at the [[University of Michigan]].

The development of Harper Woods reflected the growth of metropolitan Detroit. In 1955, [[Interstate 94 in Michigan|Interstate 94]] (I-94) (which bisects the eastern part of the suburb) was approved, and construction on the Eastland Shopping Center began soon after. [[Eastland Center (Detroit)|Eastland Center]], one of the first outdoor malls in the [[midwestern United States|Midwest]], opened in 1957. Harper Woods continued to develop and grow over the decades. In 2001, Harper Woods celebrated its 50th anniversary.

=== Pension fund lawsuit===
In September 2007, the City of Harper Woods Employees’ Retirement Scheme filed suit against British-based defense contractor [[BAE Systems]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081012152058/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article2498504.ece BAE Systems Sued over alleged Saudi bribes]</ref> The suit alleges that BAE Systems executives funneled approximately $2 billion to [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] [[ambassador]] [[Prince Bandar]].<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91332402 'David vs. Goliath': City Takes On BAE Systems]</ref>  The suit, which made news around the world,<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/25/business/bae.php BAE asks U.S. court to end shareholder's suit]</ref> seeks governance changes to the BAE Systems board, and efforts to redress the losses due to this alleged corruption.

On December 29, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected the Scheme's claim. Representatives for the Scheme later said that they would consider appealing to the Supreme Court.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60018C20100101 Harper Woods Employees' Retirement Scheme may take BAe case to Supreme Court]</ref>

===City manager controversy===
On June 14, 2021, the Harper Woods City Council voted 4–3 to not renew the contract of City Manager Joseph Rheker. The vote took place shortly after Rheker had returned from active duty with the Navy Reserve, but Mayor Valerie Kindle said that the council's decision was unrelated to his military service.<ref name="Rheker">{{cite news | url = https://www.candgnews.com/news/harper-woods-cancels-contract-with-city-manager-soon-after-his-return-from-military-service-120895| title = Harper Woods cancels contract with city manager soon after his return from military service| last = Losinski| first = Brendan| work = Advertiser Times| date = June 17, 2021}}</ref>

The council later offered the vacant city manager position to [[Monique Owens]], who was mayor of [[Eastpointe]] at the time. At the special council meeting, the council did not allow residents to comment on the city manager hiring until after the council had already made its decision. However, Owens did not meet the conditions of the offer, and the city rescinded it the following day.<ref name=MDOwens1>{{cite news | url=https://www.macombdaily.com/2021/10/02/eastpointe-mayor-will-not-become-harper-woods-city-manager/ | title= Eastpointe mayor will not become Harper Woods city manager | date = October 2, 2021 | first=Susan | last=Smiley  | newspaper = Macomb Daily}}</ref>

Owens later became embroiled in multiple scandals. In 2022, she was censured by the Eastpointe City Council,<ref name=censure2>{{cite news | url=https://www.macombdaily.com/2022/04/10/eastpointe-city-council-censures-mayor-monique-owens/ | title= Eastpointe City Council censures Mayor Monique Owens | first=Susan | last=Smiley | date=April 10, 2022 | newspaper = The Macomb Daily}}</ref> sued by residents who alleged that she violated their civil rights,<ref name="lawsuit2022=MichiganRadio">{{cite news | title = Eastpointe mayor sued for potential free speech violations  | url = https://www.michiganradio.org/criminal-justice-legal-system/2022-11-10/eastpointe-mayor-sued-for-potential-free-speech-violations | first = Emily | last = Blumberg | publisher = Michigan Radio | date = November 10, 2022  | access-date = November 11, 2022  }}</ref> and was found to have violated Eastpointe's ethics ordinance.<ref name="FinancialDisclosuresStatements">{{cite news | url = https://www.macombdaily.com/2022/12/14/eastpointe-ethics-board-verifies-complaint-against-mayor/ | title =  Eastpointe ethics board verifies complaint against mayor  | first = Susan | last = Smiley | newspaper = The Macomb Daily | date = December 14, 2022 | access-date = December 14, 2022 }}</ref>  In 2023, she pleaded no contest to making a false statement on a grant application for her business. She was also ousted as mayor in that year's primary election.<ref name="sentencingMD">{{cite news  | url = https://www.macombdaily.com/2023/11/09/eastpointe-mayor-sentenced-in-fraud-case/ | title = Eastpointe mayor sentenced in fraud case  | first = Susan | last = Smiley | date = November 9, 2023 | accessdate = November 9, 2023 | newspaper = Macomb Daily }}</ref>

===Cultural history===
Though a relatively new city, Harper Woods has played a role in the cultural history of [[Metro Detroit]].

For many years, the city was home to the East Side Drive-In (located at 19440 Harper Avenue, near 7 Mile Road), the first [[drive-in theater]] in Metro Detroit and one of the first in the Midwest. The East Side opened May 26, 1938, with ''The Big Broadcast of 1938'', starring [[W. C. Fields]] and [[Dorothy Lamour]]. Automobile capacity in later years was listed at 970 vehicles. The East Side closed in 1977 and was demolished a year later.<ref>[http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com/location.asp?ID=44&type=1 East Side Drive-In Theater - Harper Woods Michigan<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The Hideout (located at 20542 Harper Avenue, at Beaufait Street) was a popular teen dance club in the mid-1960s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://home.att.net/~s.m.geer/places.htm#Hideout |title=Detroit Area Musical Venues<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2007-10-04 |archive-date=2008-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102223617/http://home.att.net/~s.m.geer/places.htm#Hideout |url-status=dead }}</ref> Many Detroit-area music acts - including some that would go on to national prominence - performed at the club. Among them were [[Bob Seger]], [[Mitch Ryder]], [[Ted Nugent]], [[Glenn Frey]] (later of the [[Eagles (band)|Eagles]]), and [[Suzi Quatro]].  One performance at the club by the [[MC5]] was described by their manager [[John Sinclair (poet)|John Sinclair]]. The Hideout spawned a local record label, Hideout Records.  A 2001 compact disc, ''Friday at the Hideout: Boss Detroit Garage Bands 1964-1967'', documents the scene. One of the first bands to play at the Hideout, The Underdogs, wrote ''Friday Night at the Hideout''.<ref>[http://www.motorcitymusicarchives.com/underdogs.html# Friday Night at the Hideout]</ref> Dave Leone is credited as the writer on the record.

Another venue for local bands in the 1960s and 1970s was [[Notre Dame High School (Harper Woods, Michigan)|Notre Dame High School]]. According to various accounts,<ref>[http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/76017/77019.html?1153474208 Discuss Detroit: Notre Dame High School Dances in the 60's<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> "All the [[Motown]] artists used to come and [[lip-sync]] to their records. Local neighborhood bands got to play live." Among the local performers of note who played dances and concerts at the school were [[The Amboy Dukes (band)|The Amboy Dukes]] (featuring Ted Nugent), Bob Seger and the Last Heard, [[Frijid Pink]], [[The Frost]], Salem Witchcraft, Toby Redd, The Almighty Strut, and other acts.

U.S. Poet Laureate [[Donald Hall]]'s 1970s poem, "Poem With One Fact", alludes to the city.<ref>[http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=171759 Poetry Foundation: The online home of the Poetry Foundation<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Similarly, in 1986, the critically acclaimed crime fiction writer [[Loren D. Estleman]] unflatteringly portrayed the city in his [[Amos Walker]] novel ''Every Brilliant Eye''. Among other works, the Detroit-area crime fiction writer [[Elmore Leonard]] mentions the city in his 2000 novel, ''Pagan Babies''. [[Jeffrey Eugenides]]' bestselling 1993 novel ''[[The Virgin Suicides]]'' as well as his [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning ''[[Middlesex (novel)|Middlesex]]'' also mention Harper Woods.

Betty Bahr, an early local television personality,<ref>''From Soupy to Nuts! A History of Detroit Television'' by Tim Kiska</ref> Leonard H. Bahr, a fine press printer and publisher (Adagio Press), [[Helen Filarski]], professional baseball player from 1945 to 1950, [[Laura Joh Rowland]], author of historical mystery fiction, and [[Angela Ruggiero]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030716145902/http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=21846 Harper Woods, Michigan MI, city profile (Wayne County) - hotels, festivals, genealogy, newspapers - ePodunk<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> 2006 Olympics bronze medal winner (ice hockey), have been among its better known residents. [[Dave Coulier]], a popular television and voice actor, graduated from [[Notre Dame High School (Harper Woods, Michigan)|Notre Dame High School]].

For decades, [[Eastland Center (Detroit)|Eastland Center]] dominated the cultural and commercial profile of the suburb. The mall housed a celebrated work of public sculpture, "The Lion and Mouse", by [[Marshall Fredericks]].<ref>[http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070706/OPINION03/707060395/1003/METRO Prodigal mouse returns: Pilfered icon back at mall after 50-year trip<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>