We're going live this weekend with coverage from the Final Four festivities downtown. We'll be at the parties, bars, concerts, and other hoopla streaming photo, video and random thoughts. We'll also offer some best bets for where to go, what to do, and what to imbibe. Also, we suggest wearing lots of green and white. A big S would be nice, too.
Our sister publication Capital Gains in Lansing sits down and talks with Christopher Leinberger, keynote speaker at the upcoming Michigan Land and Prosperity Summit at the Lansing Center on April 15. (Click here to learn more and to register.)Leinberger, who also directs the Graduate Real Estate Development Program at the University of Michigan, was in Lansing recently for an event hosted by the Michigan Association of Planning and talked with Brad Garmon of Capital Gains about Michigan's prospects in a rapidly changing real estate climate and he had a lot to say about walkability and our favorite, transit.Excerpt:"If you don't offer the market the breadth of choice it wants, you're not competitive. If you're a Millennial, or if you're an urban dwelling Baby Boomer, and the only option [Michigan offers] as far as how you live is a one-to-the-acre single family house, you're just not competitive."You haven't held onto your young people because you've not offered them the walkable urban way of living, and they've left. ..."The implication for Michigan, especially Southeast Michigan, is that rail transit is the most essential infrastructure. The most important decision you will make, the most important investment you will make, is in rail transit in the early 21st century."Read the entire article here.
In a world where offices are out and freelancing is in, Detroit is well positioned when it comes to finding places to finding places to log on and drink up. Lots of places you might not expect offer Wi-FI and grown up drinks.
Detroit band, the Gories, was influential in shaping the garage rock scene here in the city... and they are getting back together.Excerpt:The Gories — guitarist/singers Mick Collins and Dan Kroha with drummer Peggy O’Neil — formed in 1986 and released three influential albums of raw, passionate, soulful do-it-yourself noise that set the stage for what we now call garage rock. Collins and Kroha have remained fixtures of the Detroit scene (principally with the Dirtbombs and Demolition Doll Rods respectively), while O’Neil has been musically active in her adopted home New Orleans, but the three have not played together since the group imploded in 1992. Though the group didn’t survive, its music lived on to help spur the Detroit garage rock movement that helped propel the White Stripes into international stardom.Read the entire article here.
Detroit artist's pyramid caught the eye of Time magazine.Excerpt:The pyramid, by Detroit artist Scott Hocking, stood for about six months -- the wooden floor tiles it was built from catching the rising and dying sun, day in and day out, a funereal presence apparently so arresting that scrappers stealing copper wiring from the ceiling directly overhead were careful not to disturb it.A Time magazine photographer happened upon the installation, and his picture stretches across two pages in this week's issue (April 6), in a story on Detroit urban visionaries.Speaking Sunday in his studio on a bleak east side avenue, Hocking says he hardly works at home anymore, preferring on-site projects, like the late pyramid.Over the years, Hocking, 34, has prowled abandoned plants and warehouses all across Detroit, becoming one of the town's chief urban spelunkers, often called on for tours and advice."At heart, I'm really an explorer," says Hocking, an intense, wiry guy whoRead the entire article here.
George Jackson, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation's CEO, talks about the DEGC's track record after criticism received from the Lafayette Building debate.Excerpt:Following weeks of criticism after a Downtown Development Authority decision to raze the long-abandoned Lafayette Building, a petition drive and a pledge by Detroit Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. to re-evaluate the demolition decision, the Detroit Economic Growth Corp.'s CEO has issued a fiery statement defending the DEGC’s historic preservation track record.“Compare our scorecard to the ‘successes’ of these self-described ‘preservationists’ and it becomes very clear who is actually saving buildings, and who is simply generating noise,” Jackson wrote.The DEGC has worked to preserve and protect 54 historic buildings, he wrote, including the Detroit Opera House, the Fort Shelby Hotel, the Kales Building and the Westin Book Cadillac, and has demolished two long-vacant city-owned buildings and part of Tiger Stadium in the last four years, while funding the demolition of 11 privately owned, blighted structures.Read the entire article here.
Model D is looking for an intern to help out on the editorial side of things. This position is unpaid except for any feature stories published. We're looking for one, maybe two, lucky candidates to work 15-20 hours a week. Interns will help out with various projects, events update listings, write stories and get us coffee. No, just kidding, we get our own coffee.A journalism background is a plus. Knowing the city is an even bigger plus. Knowing a little about online media is a bonus.If interested please send a cover letter and resume to terry@modeldmedia.com.
"Detroit Cheers," a Detroit currency established by local business owners, has the potential to jump start local economies.Excerpt:A Detroit trio of small-business owners are reviving the idea, following an emerging national trend. The businesses are creating a currency called Detroit Cheers, and more than a dozen city merchants have already agreed to accept it as real money. "The world is just now reeling from economic chaos; in Detroit, that's how we always roll," said Jerry Belanger, 49, a backer of the currency, as he watched the initial run of Cheers bills roll off the presses last week.In Detroit, the jobless rate is 22.2 percent. The median sale price of a home is cheaper than a Chevrolet Aveo. Two of Detroit's Big Three automakers are surviving on federal loans amid the global recession."That doesn't mean you can't do business in Detroit -- you can. But, man, you have to support one another or you will die," said Belanger, who owns the Park Bar and Bucharest Grill and the building that houses the Cliff Bells jazz club near the Fox Theatre and Comerica Park.Detroit Cheers joins an estimated 75 local currency systems that have sprung up recently in the U.S., said Michael Shuman, author of "The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition." Read the entire article here.
New York Times finds the places where Detroit's music scene flourishes. There's even a mention of Hamtramck's Blowout.Excerpt:IN a city whose name is forever entwined with that of Motown Records, it is tempting to expect to hear songs like “Dancing in the Streets” blaring constantly from speakers on light posts, or to see Eminem or Kid Rock shooting videos on the downtown streets.But Motown left town a generation ago, leaving behind only the small white house that is home to the Motown Historical Museum (2648 West Grand Boulevard; 313-975-2264; www.motownmuseum.com). And while Eminem and Kid Rock still live and record there, they keep lower local profiles than their fame might suggest.But the clubs where they and other Detroit acts got their starts are still very much a part of the city, developing performers who could join the ranks of other famous Detroit artists. Even though the city, and its auto industry, have been hit by hard times that threaten some venerable places, live music endures in the Motor City.Read the entire article here.
It's been great so far, the tweeting. Though we'd just drop in one more reminder. So, everyone, keep tweeting. Can we call it a Model D Tweet Shop? Follow us at Model D Twitter feed. Talk to us. Give us feedback. And stay engaged. Also, join our group on the other social media giant Facebook for updates. On top of that, we'll be out covering Detroit's nightlife during the NCAA's Final Four. There are sponsored events by the NCAA but there are also a lot of un-sponsored events... If you know what we're sayin'. So, let us know where you'll be and what you'll be doing and we'll do the same for you. See you out and about. www.twitter.com/modeld
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