When the banks won't answer the door, the smallest of small businesses can go knocking on the doors of Detroit's microloan programs, which are changing the face of the city one coffee shop or high tech start up at a time.
We'll start our list of the week's best Detroit-centric tweet with first-place winner @onslowlovesme, who wowed us with this awesome little cryptic bit: "Detroitosaurus wrecks" Not sure exactly what you meant, but something about it sounds just right. On to the runners up: @JViniece: In recovery mode. Relay for Life detroit was a success. Over $71,000 raised. I stayed up the entire night. It was really great! We're hard pressed to find a better reason to stay up all night than to raise $71,000 to fight cancer. Congratulations and thanks to all Detroiters who participated in this wonderful charity event. @JMoneyRed: Detroiters : we have hella fresh lettuce grown @ TheYesFarm on E Farnsworth St 2 give-away ASAP! Hit me! Free veggies! We can't argue with that. @cassetto: First row of the season at the DETROIT boat club! A-ma-zing! That's awesome! Was T-Pain there? Any chance we can get ON A BOAT with you? @Newwaycorktown: extremely excited about the Roosevelt Park revitalization. This was one of our first targets upon moving to Corktown!!! We're excited about this too, and looking forward to hearing more about all of the ways Detroiter's are making the city's summer more beautiful. Keep us posted! Keep reading. Keep tweeting. And follow us on Twitter here.
The Council by Districts initiative is vital to Detroit writes Detroit resident, WSU law student, and occasional Model D writer Francis Grunow in the Detroit Free Press.Excerpt:Which leads me back to the beginning -- we must also take the next clear step to help ensure that districts become reality. A coalition of groups known as Detroiters for City Council by Districts is pushing an important ballot initiative to place this question before voters in November.Passing this initiative is vital. It would serve as an insurance policy for the citizens of Detroit. There is no guarantee that the charter review process will result in council by districts. In fact, when the council-by-districts question was last considered as part of a charter review in 1993, it was turned down. A successful initiative will mean that the charter debate won't be about whether we need council districts, but how best to implement council districts.Read the entire article here.
Richard Florida is that creative class guy. Some agree with him, some don't. Wherever you fall on Florida, he does make some good points in his piece in the Atlantic that Detroit should pay attention to.Excerpt:The most successful shrinking strategies, like Pittsburgh's, are not top-down affairs driven by all-knowing governments, but organic, bottom-up, community-based efforts. While Pittsburgh government and business leadership pressed for large-scale urban renewal - stadium-building, convention centers, and more far-fetched schemes for local mag-lev trains - its real turnaround was driven by organic, bottom-up initiatives. Community groups, local foundations, and non-profits - not city hall or business-led economic development groups - were the driving forces behind neighborhood stabilization and redevelopment, university-based economic development, water-front revitalization, park improvements, and green building among others. This kind of bottom-up process takes considerable time and perseverance. In Pittsburgh's case, it took the better part of a generation to achieve stability and the potential for longer-term revival. All of which brings us back to a big question: What about people versus place strategies? I agree with Glaeser: people must be the priority. Especially in tough economic times, public investment should flow toward people. Early childhood investments, as James Heckman has shown, are the most important, longest-running and highest-paying investments we make.Read the entire article here.
Four reasons to love Traffic Jam & Snug: Homemade beer, cheese, ice cream, baked goods. It's our stop this week on the Model D TV tour of all that's good in Detroit.
Are out-of-state speculators the only people buying and dilapidated homes the only thing selling in Detroit? Are Detroit real estate agents' fortunes all but lost? Nope.
White linen service, eclectic bistro menu and a lively bar make Atlas Global Bistro one of our favorite places to nosh and drink up. In its sixth year lighting up Woodward in Midtown, Atlas is now a Cultural Center mainstay.
I'm not sure if you've heard but the Red Wings lost the Stanley Cup to the Pittsburgh Penguins. And though we here at Model D love Pittsburgh, especially our sister pub Pop City, we hate the taste of humble pie. We'd much rather have a Coney.Anyway, let's put the ice behind us and get on with the water. It is summer, after all. Let's also drop in on the Detroit tweeters. And find out what's up.Here are this weeks memorable tweets:@ClariceTinsley: Hello Twittizens...70 & sunny in Detroit. FOX 2 is showing the Red Bull Air Races over the Detroit River. Great action & gorgeous sight.Twittizens? That's funny... So, even if you didn't get a chance to see the air races in person, you probably heard them. Whether its downtown, or around town, we love a good excuse to get out and enjoy the city, as long as it doesn't have you running for cover.@heathermarie356: is at the Detroit Zoo with my BFF & 2 nieces! Beautiful day!It seemed like the whole city was basking in the gorgeous weather we've had this past week...Including this next tweeter, who was getting ready for what sounds like some serious porch-sitting:@ChrisJMiller: Just finished rebuilding the porch on this house in Detroit. No one will fall off it now, railings are good.Good work, Chris. Safety first!And special props to this weeks all-star tweeter, for keeping a winning attitude even after the Wings' bummer of a loss last weekend. Believe it or not, Detroiters can dish out complements as well as we take them...@ktpupp: Oh BTW, good morning Detroit! Met some really cool Penguin fans last night. They praised the Wings & look forward to a rematch next year!Still... It would have been nice to beat them to a pulp. In terms of hockey. Don't take the literally Pittsburgh... we're not that aggressive and weird here in Detroit.Follow Model D on Twitter here.Keep readin'. Keep tweetin'. And see you next week.
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