“Save Energy, Save Money,” is the mantra of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s new Property Improvement Program for homeowners. Eligible improvement projects include the replacement of inefficient furnaces and […]
Detroit Neil Greenberg took 17 huge pieces of poster board and constructed a highly detailed metro region complete with neighborhood histories, citizens with back-stories, and, of course, cul-de-sacs.Excerpt:A few months later I went to his apartment to check out the maps and do some recording. I interviewed Neil for about 4-hours (none of that tape made it into the final cut), without really knowing what direction the story would go. All I knew at the time was that Neil’s vision was so inspiring and creative, that a conventional profile piece would NOT do him or his project justice. I understood that though his ideas were really eccentric and quirky, it was, more importantly, grounded in something that could be used for real-life application. After that first night, we started meeting semi-regularly to talk about his fake world. He thought of the maps as a laboratory to work on various planning ideas that could apply to Detroit, or any other city for that matter, without having to deal with the cynicism and bureaucracy we Detroiters can often encounter in the face of meaningful change. Read the entire article here.
A two-day Hispanic business expo and health care summit will take place Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 22-23, in Detroit, followed by a fiesta at the Omni Hotel on Friday night.Excerpt: (The summit) will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University. Topics will include how health care affects small business and Hispanic health issues. ...The Omni Hotel will host a fiesta on the riverfront Friday night to celebrate the expo. The economic summit will start at 8:30 a.m. Thursday at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center with about 100 exhibitors, and will offer a full day of programming, a job fair and a business-to-business matchmaking event that organizers say last year resulted in $8 million of new-business development for those who attended.For more info, go to www.hbaexpo.org.
Cats have nine lives and so does the Tiger Stadium, hopefully. Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy has extended the life of the stadium once again until March 1. They have this extra time to raise money for their intended plans.Excerpt:What remains of Tiger Stadium will remain standing at least until March 1 while preservationists raise money to renovate the stadium and reopen it as a recreational and educational complex.The Detroit Economic Growth Corp. says the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy on Friday presented it with a $69,000 check and provided proof of a $150,000 escrow account. The money will cover the cost of demolishing the entire stadium if it becomes necessary, plus security and maintenance at the stadium for the next five months.Read the entire article here.
Next American City's editor in chief, Diana Lind, came out for Detroit's Creative Cities Summit. She discovered Detroit's beauty and offers up Philly as a potential model to bring Detroit back. Excerpt: Philly and Detroit are similar in many respects. They both had an industrial past. They both have crime and education problems. They both suffered some bad city planning. And yet, Philly has really rejuvenated its downtown. I have to think that it’s because a number of small groups do small things like Design Philadelphia where they make use of the consequences of blight. They turn vacant lots into parties. It seems that Detroit has often focused on large initiatives, that while successful and important, don’t have the kind of frequency and can-do energy that city needs. It’s important that young people and people without connections can feel like they can have an impact on the city — that message seemed to be lacking in the discussion at the summit last week. Read the entire article here.
Mayor Ken Cockrel, Jr. will be holding four meet and greets through the rest of October offering a chance for citizens to get to know their leaders.Excerpt:Detroit- Detroit Mayor Kenneth V. Cockrel, Jr. is holding four Community Meet and Greet sessions throughout the month of October. Residents will have the opportunity to meet with Mayor Cockrel, Jr. and other City Officials. “It’s important that Detroiters know that they have a connection to me and my office,” said Mayor Cockrel. “I am here to serve the citizens, and the best way to do that is to go directly to them. I look forward to meeting with Detroiters in their neighborhoods”.For details and schedule visit here.
Jeff Beno, sold his place in the suburbs for a downtown Detroit life. And what better place to live downtown than on the top of the newly renovated Book Cadillac. He may have the best place in the city.Excerpt:The Petoskey native envisioned this very life for himself nearly four years ago while sitting at a Tigers game, soaking in the Detroit skyline.A former Beverly Hills homeowner, Beno was tiring of the chores that ate up his weekends. Since he was a kid, Beno loved Chicago and its beautiful buildings, walkable living, access to entertainment and baseball -- his biggest passion.He put his house up for sale last year in June. It sold in April at a loss. Beno then moved into a dorm-room-sized apartment at the Claridge building near the Book Cadillac until his condo was finished.Read the entire article here.
Detroit-born Sarah Franks' film "In Bed with a Mosquito" will be featured at four film festivals across the nation from California to New York this month. One fest includes Detroit's own Detroit Docs International Film Festival held between Oct. 29 and Nov. 2 here in Detroit.Excerpt: "In Bed with a Mosquito" is an intimate 18 minute portrait of activism and aging in New York City that focuses on the life of Betty Brassell, a 78-year-old anti-war activist living on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The film tells the story of how Brassell has spent nearly every day of her retirement protesting in the streets of New York City with other grandmothers. When an injury sidelines her from her busy schedule of protests and vigils, Brassell finds herself wondering how much longer she will be able to take it to the streets trying to make a difference in our democracy.Read the entire article here.
About 25 independently owned grocers in Detroit have come together and started a program called "Guaranteed Fresh" aimed at chipping away negative impressions of Detroit grocery stores.Excerpt: A group of independent Detroit grocers is launching a new campaign designed to combat negative perceptions of the businesses. Dubbed “Guaranteed Fresh,” the group will offer a blue-ribbon-style logo to member businesses, indicating the business meets a high standard of cleanliness and freshness.Read the entire article here.
Best rapper alive is a pretty good title to take home. And, according to VIBE readers, it goes to Detroit's own Eminem.Excerpt:"It’s obviously an honor to have won the fans' support by being voted the Best Rapper Alive,” Eminem said in response to his victory. “I don't think that there is any one rapper that is simply the best though. Everyone who was in consideration and many others are the best at certain things, and at what they do. But since VIBE's offering the distinction, hell yeah I'll accept!" Read the entire article here.
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