The Inside Dope

    Greetings, friends and neighbors, and welcome to our special Detroit Hi-Fi Show edition. A word of thanks is due our many new advertisers for helping to make it happen. If y'all want to see this many pages every time out, it wouldn't hurt if you'd check out their wares- and make sure to tell 'em Iffy sent ya!

    Friday the 13th can't be too bad if Valentine's Day comes next, right? Here's hoping you all receive that special message of love from exactly the people you wanted to hear it from. Lord knows, in these trying times, we need all the love we can get!

    You know, it used to be the practice that you could send terrible Valentines to people you disliked, as well as the good kind to your friends and lovers. Iffy had a number of both on his list this year.

   To get the unpleasantries over with, our razz berry of the week must go to none other than Alfred C. Pelham, former City Con troller, who has been chairing Mayor Young's special Task Force on City Finance. We know the Task Force did the best they could, given the impossibility of their job, and we hope Lansing pays attention to what they have to I say. But Mr. Pelham really should think twice about leaving community people off his list of recommended members for a permanent task force.

   The Big Three, the banks, New Detroit, Detroit Renaissance, and the big unions are all there, but no neighborhood groups or ministers, like on the temporary unit. Mr. Pelham, we hear, thinks that only the corporate biggies have the bread and the pull to get things done- and what's more, they know what's best for Detroit.

    Task Force member Marion Wiseman of the Palmer Park Citizens' Action League thinks the city needs input from us "regular people" to let them know what's going on and keep them honest. Right on, Ms. Wiseman. How about it, Mayor Young?

CONGRATULATIONS DEPARTMENT: A special valentine goes out from Iffy to Toni Swanger of WDET-FM's "Altogether Now" women's show, who recently gave birth to a four and-a-half-pound baby girl at home. Sasha arrived in the world with little pain or stress to her un drugged mom, who was surrounded by her husband, mother, sisters and brother, and friends.

    The Detroit Feminist Women's Health Center, by the way, has just opened a prenatal clinic for women who want a personalized experience for themselves and their babies. They have midwives too, who can assist in home deliveries. Check them out at 892-7790.

     Tokens of our esteem, also, to Vic Caputo and Charles McGinnis for their thrilling Ch. 2 program on natural childbirth, showing it like it is. Too bad it was on at one in the a.m. If their show is going to continue to be this good, let's see it in a better time slot!

    A word of welcome to Ch. 2's Torn Green, new Motor City newsperson recently arrived from Lansing. The capital press corps will miss Tom's adroit poker game, not to mention Ch. 2's Lansing Bureau (which he was), but their loss is Detroit's gain.

    Best of luck to Bill Holstein, former ace UP1 correspondent in Lansing and a SUN contributor , under another name), who has moved on to the UPI's World Desk in New Yawk City. And finally, a bon voyage to Christie Bradford, Free Press Night Editor, and Sue Hoover of the Wayne County Consumer Affairs Department, soon to depart for Katmandu. They got no gripe against the Midwest, though, as Bob Seger would say, and will be back with us after their vacation in the hash-filled mountain air of Nepal. Have a high time!