12/4/24 sage reacts to PR firm announcement, CBS reports

"People are going to continue to not come here. Just because you say, 'We're not a sundown town,' doesn't mean that people know that is true," said Julie Ohashi, co-founder of Stand Against Extremism LivCo. . . “We've tried to do everything possible to point out all the good things that we do here, But still, there's a lot of people, especially from Detroit, that don't want to step foot here," Mayor Bob Ellis told CBS News Detroit. . .

Community members say hiring a PR firm wouldn't get to the root of the problem. 

"The underlying issue is obviously racism. Racism hasn't gone away in Howell or Livingston County just because, you know, a former Grand Dragon is long deceased," said Meg Koenemann, a co-founder of the group. Ohashi says she's not confident a PR strategy will be adequate. 

"I'm not 100% sure what they can accomplish. Maybe they can rename Howell and try to rebrand it from a corporate-level view, but I don't really see how effective that's going to be," she said.” Link

This 12/17/24 article insinuates that Howell leadership are victims of the white supramcist demonstrations.