Detroit now has options. If the city should decide to turn off its trash incinerator, there's a big opportunity to be green. But can a cash-strapped metropolis be green and stay out of the red?
WDET is holding a town hall on health care reform Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 6:30. The meeting takes place at Wayne State University's Community Arts Auditorium located at 450 Reuther Mall.WDET, WSU, and Senator Hansen Clarke invite you to come ask questions.For more information and a list of the panel go here.
Detroit arts organizations cashed in on the arts challenge fundraiser and blogger for the Baltimore Sun says that the nation should take notice.Excerpt:But now comes word of a successful drive in Detroit, a city that hasn't exactly been a boom town of late. A remarkable $4.8 million was raised there last week in a burst of fundraising fervor that benefited 75 arts groups there, including the Detroit Symphony ($596,000). Given the economy, that's pretty damn impressive. I gather from Mark Stryker's story in the Free Press that the online system for contributions wasn't exactly flawless, but it looks like it did the job well n the end. I know that arts groups can be very turf-conscious, especially when it comes to harvesting prospective donors, so a campaign like this can be tricky. But there's something about the concept that seems awfully appealing to me. It's a way of reinforcing a message that can't be underlined enough -- the arts are good for everybody in the community and everybody who visits the community. Read the entire article here.
Healthy food initiative in Detroit is one solution to addressing health care reform in the city.Excerpt:Called MI Neighborhood Food Movers, the plan is simplicity itself. "There's no rocket science to this at all," said Lisa Johanan when we interviewed her last week. Lisa is executive director of the Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corp., and founder of Peaches and Greens grocery. "I mean it's a very simple thing – put some produce on a truck and you drive through the neighborhood." And that's exactly what Peaches and Greens and two other suppliers do – bringing fresh vegetables and fruit into inner city neighborhoods bristling with derelict buildings, vacant lots and tons of liquor stores. "In Detroit, 92 percent of food stamp recipients purchase their grocers from a liquor store or a gas station or a pharmacy," Lisa told us. "What kind of food do you get at a liquor store," I asked Lisa. "You don't get anything fresh. That's for sure," she said. Read the entire article here.
Foodie blog visits Detroit's Vicente's, says Detroit has some of the best eateries in the country -- Vicente's being one of them.Excerpt:You’ve probably heard me say this many times, but Detroit is currently offering some of the best food in the country. I don’t think the city gets enough credit for the high quality cuisine that is available. I’m fortunate enough to be a 45 minute drive on I-94 away from a culinary goldmine. I had the privilege of visiting Vicente Cuban Cuisine in Detroit this past weekend. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to find a good Cuban joint, but when Cuban cuisine is done right, it is easily among my favorite foods. The combination of Spanish, Caribbean and even some African influences make for some incredible flavors that usually come in plentiful, sometimes even epic, portions. I have eaten at Cuban restaurants in Key West, FL, which boasts of having some of the best Cuban food outside of the island itself, and I have to say that Vicente tops those easily.Read the entire post here.
Free Speech Radio finds models to revitalize the post-industrial landscape of the Midwest through green manufacturing and urban agriculture in Detroit.Listen to the entire report here.
Focus: HOPE is expanding their mission with the new program "Promise Neighborhood" to build on the concept of neighborhoods. Excerpt:Focus: HOPE now is ramping up its community and economic development as part of an emerging “Promise Neighborhood” concept, something President Barack Obama has touted as a model he'd like to see expanded across the country to revitalize impoverished urban areas. Modeled after the touted Harlem Children's Zone in New York, the Focus: HOPE neighborhood project would be the first of its kind in Detroit. The project is bounded by Hamilton on the east, Dexter on the west, Davison on the south and the Lodge service drive to the north. It includes a slice of Highland Park, but is mostly in Detroit. With Focus: HOPE as the anchor, the project will layer nonprofit services for children and families — with a focus on education. The backbone will be preschool through 12th-grade programs, working with schools in the neighborhood that build on Focus: HOPE's Center for Children, Jones said.Read the entire article here.
Hundreds turn out for entrepreneur event on Wayne State University's campus. CNN Money reports on it and Detroit's budding entrepreneurs. Excerpt:Why did the company move to Detroit?"Resources like this building," said John Stchur, the company's chief financial officer. "It gives entrepreneurs easy access to good advice, and introduces them to good funding sources."Stchur also listed the low cost of living and talented job pool as other reasons for moving to the area. Detroit does have all these things, and is trying to leverage them as fast as it can to attract thousands of other Asterands as it struggles to free itself from its now-toxic reliance on its Motor City roots.Read the entire article here.
What's next for Detroit in the next ten years? What ideas, projects and places will help create the Detroit of the future? Crain's Detroit Business sifts through it all and finds what could possibly reinvent the city.Read the entire piece here.A few other noteworthy pieces to check out:Read about how midtown's Green Garage owners are looking to build incubator for sustainable technology here.Could Detroit be the friendliest city in the nation? Here's a piece on how that might happen here.Crain's touches base with GLUE and their campaign "I will stay if..." Read about their efforts and what people are saying about staying here.
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