Not sure how far this has flown under the radar, but I saw it initially on the Colbert Report.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/jackson/50132...ton-harbor.html (uh, that's written by Jesse Jackson... so it's a TINY bit biased)
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011...n-benton-harbor (that's from Rachel Maddow's show)
Apparently in the Michigan town of Benton Harbor the State leadership has gone in and basically replaced the town's democratically elected government with an "E F M" or Emergency Financial Manager, because the town is the lowest income and most financially troubled town in the state.
Literally the guy got appointed, and then the next day used his powers to strip the mayor and city commission of their ability to do anything, because they might oppose his "drastic measures" to save the place (including merging the Police and Fire departments).
According to Mr. Jackson, one of the first things that happened was that a state park that Whirlpool was trying to get privatized so it could put a development there (it's beachfront onto the great lakes) had been blocked by the city. As soon as the new guy rolled in, Whirlpool got what it wanted in the name of "mo money!"
Anyway, thoughts?