Detroit

Attention: peripherally-metroDetroit™-specific content You'll cope. You're strong.

From the East Bay ~~Ray~~ Times, authors David Hochschild and Liane Randolph postulate an 180° turn from the media's doom-and-gloom regarding Detroit's main product…

Californians purchased 108,372 new zero-emission vehicles in the first three months of 2024 — nearly 7,000 more than the same time last year and the highest-ever first-quarter sales. […] Today, one in four new cars sold in the Golden State is electric, up from just 8% in 2020.

Challenges persist, and chief among them is the need for more widely available charging options. Many more charging stations need to be built as fast as possible to keep up with EV adoption. To address this, California is investing $4 billion over six years to rapidly build out the EV refueling network, on top of billions in investment by utilities. Equally essential is improved reliability of the EV charging network. Too many drivers today encounter faulty charging stations, which is why the California Energy Commission is developing the strongest charging reliability standards in the country and will require companies to be transparent with the public about their performance.

Meanwhile in the Great State of Michigan, from reporter Kelly House at BridgeMichigan…

[The State of Michigan] has $110 million in federal dollars for the cause, several times more than Michigan’s dedicated spending on EV chargers to date. […] But a Bridge Michigan analysis of early grants shows that with a price-per-plug that rivals the mortgage debt on an average Michigan home, the money won’t go far.

So far, federal data shows Michigan has just 756 fast-charging plugs and 2,568 slower ones scattered across the state. […] “We have a long way to go,” said Amy Rogghe, executive director of the nonprofit Michigan Electric Vehicle Alliance. A swift EV transition is possible, she said, but “we just need more funding.”

More than USD$40,000,000.00. Vanished.

Smith was placed on unpaid leave in mid-May after discrepancies in financial statements were discovered in April. The nonprofit's board ordered investigations by the auditing firm, PwC, and the Honigman Law Firm. The group asked former U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider, who leads Honigman Law Firm's investigators, to bring evidence against Smith to Michigan State Police and request a criminal investigation. The FBI has since taken over the investigation because of its complexity.

According to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, the two independent investigations estimate the loss to the nonprofit to be more than $40 million.

Meanwhile, over at the Freep…

Free Press attempts to reach Smith or his attorney have been unsuccessful.

“Our investigation has revealed that Mr. Smith has embezzled significant sums of money from the DRFC and has converted DRFC funds to his own personal use," said a termination letter sent to Smith's attorney by former U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider, who investigated with an outside law firm hired by the conservancy. "Mr. Smith’s unlawful conduct spans several years."

I realize no one is sneaking around with a big sack with a dollar sign printed on it but my crack research team (or is that "on crack research team") of flying monkeys hasn't yet unearthed the timeframe in which the $40M was allegedly embezzled.

Just in case you're wondering what exactly the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is or does…

The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy (DRFC), a 501(c)(3) organization, is responsible for the establishment, improvement, operation, maintenance, security, programming and expansion of the Detroit RiverWalk and associated green spaces. Through its public/private partnerships, the DRFC will support the development of the riverfront district and facilitate community access to the waterfront.

What We Want Now
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Ace reporter Malachi ~~Constant~~ Barrett and his notebook at BridgeDetroit once again cover the pressing issues of our fair city, this time from the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce annual policy conference on olde-world Mackinac Island. Among the topics discussed…

Eastern Market leaders ‘nervous’ about I-375

Eastern Market CEO Dan Carmody and soon-to-be successor Katy Trudeau said they’re eagerly awaiting a state plan to address disruption during the multi-year project. Construction is expected to start next fall and end in 2028. […] We’re very nervous about it, as there’s not an established mitigation plan yet,” Trudeau said. “It’s a huge unanswered question.

Downpayment assistance Phase II

Detroit renters can receive up to $25,000 to buy their first home through a down payment assistance program set to relaunch this summer. […] Residents can sign up to receive an alert when applications open. Applications already received will continue to be processed until all funds are exhausted.

Land value tax uncertain

Pay attention to this one, kids! It appears the state's interest in last year's much-vaunted Land Value Tax proposal is dwindling, go figure…

One year after Duggan used his Mackinac Policy Conference address to promote a plan to overhaul the city’s property tax system, it’s unclear whether Michigan lawmakers will advance bills needed to make it happen. […] Bills introduced in the Michigan House were tabled last year after failing to gain enough support from lawmakers.

[House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit] said he’s “trying to identify solutions to lower the property tax burden” for residents that could include other proposals. […] “I feel this is a place we can still have discussions around and can be one of many solutions,” Tate said. “There still needs to be more education, more conversations with my colleagues in the chamber.”

This is the same language parents use when kids ask if we can go to the zoo. 🙄

RenCen future in ‘brainstorming mode’

I get the connection between billionaire Dan Gilbert and his Hudson Building and its new tenants, General Motors, but why is Gilbert's opinion on the future of the "The City Within The City" anything more than an interesting side-note? In any case, take a picture 'cause it's coming down.

Gilbert said GM’s decision to move into the Hudson’s building and reinvent the Renaissance Center is a “big bet,” comparable to Ford’s redevelopment of the Michigan Central station. […] Detroit also needs large investments in affordable housing, nightlife and activities for young people and public transportation.

What We Want Now
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If you could buy $18 worth of pastries for 70% off, would you? What about a full dinner for only six dollars? What if you had no idea what you were going to get? […] The founders of Too Good To Go are betting you would.

Too Good To Go, an app-based startup founded and headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, by Lucie Basch and Jamie Crummie, is expanding to Detroit. The premise is simple: a restaurant or grocery store can sell its leftover food for the day, or would-be food waste, at a minimum of 70% discount to reduce the amount of food waste in landfills and offer a fun and affordable option to consumers.

Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters, which has locations in Ferndale, Royal Oak, Rochester and Detroit, has registered all four locations on the app. “All four of our locations do have food waste, some more than others. In Ferndale we have the bakery, so there's some leftover items, maybe things that are a little imperfect that we couldn't sell for full price anyways,” said Christian Kettenbiel, director of finance for Dessert Oasis.

During the last half hour of each day, customers can buy a surprise bag of baked goods for $6. That includes muffins, cookies, croissants, cheesecake and more, said Nathan Hamood, president and director of coffee at Dessert Oasis. Coffee beans that are more than three weeks old will also be up for sale through Too Good To Go.

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
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Late to the game on this one, friends. Apologies.

Evil Does Not Exist, (JPN, 2023)
Detroit Film Theatre
5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
Saturday, May 25, 2024, 3:00pm and 7:00pm
Sunday, May 26, 2024, 2:00pm

Multi-nominated and multi-awarded 2023 film by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi…

Deep in the forest of the rural village Harasawa, single parent Takumi lives with his young daughter, Hana, and does odd jobs for locals. The serenity of this untouched land is disrupted by the arrival of a Tokyo company ready to start construction on a glamping site for tourists—a plan that could have dire results for the community.

This potent and foreboding new film from Oscar®-winning director Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) is a haunting, unexpected experience with its rapturous score that breaks from the usual country-vs.-city themes and walks the line between the earthly and the metaphysical. Grand Jury Prizes, Venice Film Festival and Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In Japanese with English subtitles. (105 min.)

Owner George Boukas said he first learned of the collapse from a 10 a.m. phone call from Detroit police. He said he intends to reopen the bar once the damage is repaired, although he isn't sure when that will be. A masonry repairman was already at the bar Friday afternoon to survey the damage. […] “It’s all about getting everything back up to code — engineering, permitting, construction — so it’s going to be a whole process," Boukas said. "Right now, we’re closed indefinitely.”

The timing of the collapse was particularly inconvenient for the bar's business, coming on the eve of this weekend's Movement electronic musical festival. Temple Bar was set to host a Friday night fundraiser for the Underground Music Academy and a Saturday night dance party. […] “I had 11 DJs lined up for tonight," Boukas said. "I had to cancel everything."

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

Remember…Parma spelled backwards is AMRAP!
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The Freep just published a drone fly-by video of the renovated, iconic Michigan Central Station—despite the name, there's been no actual commitment by Amtrak—scheduled to officially reopen June 6, 2024.

Interesting to note: the drone video unfortunately neglects to show the northmost-facing corner, the location of the newly-added Ford Virgin Sacrifices Plaza, designed in an Egyptian-futurist motif, and the remodelled Entrance to Hell, developed in tandem with Elon Musk co-founded The Boring Company. With the future of the towers uncertain and no real plans forthcoming, both Bedrock and GM are considering their own direct, non-stop shuttle to Hell at the Renaissance Center location.

Compare-And-Contrast BONUS:

• From 2014, Drone Flies Over Abandoned Train Station in Detroit, Michigan USA

Everything I say is a lie…
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Synthesized beats and sounds will abound downtown this Memorial Day weekend in modernist Hart Plaza for the 123^rd^ annual Movement Festival, the yearly mecca for EDM/techno/house/tekno fans from Detroit…aAnNdD bBeEyYoOnNdDdDdDdDd…

Besides the official Movement Festival website's infographic, the Metro Times also has a schedule with dates and descriptions and a thorough list of this year's special guests, like…

Ludacris ☆ Carl Craig ☆ DJ Etta ☆ Stacey Pullen ☆ Dames Brown* ☆ Rimarkable ☆ Stacey Hotwaxx Hale ☆ Tee Grizzley ☆ Ryan Elliott ☆ Speedy J ☆ Reference ☆ Milan Ariel ☆ Waajeed ☆ *and SO MANY mMoOaArRrRrRrRrR

See y'all there and remember to hydrate.

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
[email protected] ☆ [email protected] ☆ [email protected]

All fifteen automakers, except Tesla, have actively advocated against at least one policy promoting electric vehicles. Ten of the fifteen showed a particularly high intensity of negative engagement and scored a final grade of D or D+ by InfluenceMap’s methodology.

Only three of fifteen companies – Tesla, Mercedes Benz and BMW - are forecast to produce enough electric vehicles by 2030 to meet the International Energy Agency’s updated 1.5°C pathway of 66% electric vehicle (battery electric (BEV), fuel cell (FCEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs)) sales according to InfluenceMap's independent analysis of industry-standard data from February 2024. Current industry forecasts analyzed for this report show automaker production will reach only 53% electric vehicles in 2030.

Long story short: only Tesla would meet the 2030 100% EV production target; in not-even-close 2^nd^ and 3^rd^ places respectively, Mercedes-Benz with 71% and BMW with 69%.

American producers? Ford predicted at 54%, Stellantis at 53% and GM at 46%. Is Stellantis even considered "American" or any longer one of the "Big Three"?

Strangely enough, nowhere mentioned in the report are the Chinese manufacturers.

Attention: non-metroDetroit™-specific content. I'll still respect you in the morning.

Something's been bugging me for a while now regarding the quality of discourse in this country, especially from the people in positions who have been educated in this nation's higher institutions of learning, people who have studied how to string words together in a cohesive manner to present ideas both simple and complex, people who are at least familiar with the concept of rational debate, people who may even be considered role models but minimally are usually held to a higher standard.

Y'know…people who should know better.

Apparently I'm not alone in this as The Freep's Mitch Albom gives his take on the nosedive of intellectual exchange in politics and elsewhere…

During an evening hearing last week, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican, got into a testy exchange with U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat.

GREENE: “I don't think you know what you are here for. ... I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you're reading."

CROCKETT: "I'm just curious, just to better understand your ruling, if someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody's bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?" […] All that was missing was the food fight.

It’s all terrible. It’s all dishonorable. And it’s our Congress. Our lawmakers. The people who determine the fate of the country. […] And we are making a mistake if we think, optimistically, that this will somehow get better.

[…]what has changed in recent years is that the low-brow stuff, instead of behind the curtain, is now proudly in front of it. Surely Donald Trump led the way in this revolution. From his early campaigning days in 2016 calling Hillary Clinton a “monster” and Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas,” to more recent insults of Adam Schiff (a “pencil neck” with a “fat, ugly face”) and President Joe Biden (“He can’t put two sentences together” and “Everything Joe Biden touches turns to s---"), Trump is a single-handed, monster-truck force for lowering public debate to schoolyard trash talk.

Everyone is sinking into the same mud. And we’re kidding ourselves if we think our side is righteous, or the other side started it, or coarse language is worse than clever insults. […] Needing a dictionary doesn’t wash away ugly.

The emphasized passages are where I and Albom diverge: "coarse" is worse than "clever" because at minimum "clever" shows you're not "working without tools." And these are the last people that should be working without tools.

Doncha think?

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

Everything I say is a lie…
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cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/12305822

May 17 is Mr Stevie Wonder's birthday and to celebrate, with Mrs Tomeeka by his side, he became officially citizen of the Republic of Ghana, something the artist has spoke of doing since 1972!

The 25-time Grammy Award-winning artist was[…]conferred the certification of registration as a citizen of Ghana and a Ghanaian passport during a ceremony Monday at the Jubilee House, the presidential palace in the capital city, Accra.

"I, first of all, give all praise to God," Wonder said in footage posted online. "Since a little boy, I always believed in my heart that there was nothing impossible ... And for years, since about 1972, I've talked about coming to Ghana."

It was immediately unclear if Wonder would maintain dual-citizenship.

Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo said the west African nation extends "our warmest embrace to a beloved son of Africa," adding that Wonder's citizenship reaffirmed "our belief in the enduring spirit of Pan-Africanism and the global African family, and the boundless potential of our continent and all its descendants," he said Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.

Strangely enough, at the time of this writing, the Freep didn't cover the news regarding Wonder's birthday nor Ghanian citizenship. According to the Freep archives, Wonder's been talking about the move since at least their March 15, 1974 article…

From the Freep's article from February 2, 2022…

[…]the music great told [Oprah] Winfrey about his intention to move to Ghana. Asked why, he alluded to the state of race and politics in America: "I don't want to see my children's children's children have to say: 'Oh, please like me, please respect me, please know that I'm important, please value me.' What kind of s--- is that?"

He added to the Free Press that the Ghanaian president "has allowed me to have some land."

Allow us to wish Mr Wonder a most happy 74^th^ birthday in the official language of the Republic of Ghana…

Happy Birthday, Stevie!

(Ha! The official language is English!)

MUSIC! 🎉 🎺 🎉 🎺

• From My Cherie Amour - Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday
• From Songs In The Key of Life - Sir Duke
• From Innervisions - Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing
• From Talking Book - You Are The Sunshine Of My Life

---

Alt link sausage for your convenience via archive.is:

• The News: Stevie Wonder marks 74th birthday by becoming a Ghanaian citizen
• The Freep: Stevie Wonder moving to Ghana? Not so fast ...

---

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
[email protected] ☆ [email protected] ☆ [email protected]

Ciao, comic book fans! Late to the game with this one, but you probably already knew…it's the inaccurately-named 2024 Motor City Comic Con in far-from-the-Motor-City Novi all geekend weekend long! Lots of movie/TV celebs there selling autographs (and not cheap either!), merch, swag, memorabilia and even some stuff that actually has to do with comics!

Saving you the suffering of the cool-to-web-designers-only FAQ…

Motor City Comic Con
Suburban Collection Showplace
46100 Grand River Ave, Novi, MI
Friday: 12 pm – 7 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 7 pm
Sunday: 10 am – 5 pm

Tickets are available online here. Anybody wanna buy a mint-condition Catwoman #1?

From CBS News…

Detroit gained 1,852 residents between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023, bringing its population to 633,366. The city went for six decades without seeing growth, instead seeing population declines every year since 1958.

"We have known for some time that Detroit's population has been growing, but this is the first time the US Census Bureau has confirmed it in its official estimate," said Mayor Mike Duggan. […] Duggan has maintained that the one true measure of success would be whether more people were moving into the city than out of it.

Meanwhile over at the Freep…

Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration publicly fought the federal agency’s count of Detroit residents and sued the Census Bureau multiple times seeking what the city considers accurate figures. He has even described the agency as a “national clown show” for previously reporting a decrease in the city’s population estimates. But new figures show Detroit grew from 631,366 in 2022 to 633,218 residents in 2023, according to the bureau’s annual population estimate released Thursday.

And we can't forget the News…

"This was the goal of our administration when I started in 2014, to grow," Duggan told The Detroit News. "It's taken 10 years, but we're here. This is a day of celebration."

Kurt Metzger, a demographer who has studied Detroit extensively and director emeritus of Data Driven Detroit, said that he would estimate that Detroit is closer to 650,000 people, maybe even as high as 660,000. He pointed to increased construction and more as signs of positive change and population growth for the city.

Metzger contended the Census Bureau has undercounted the city for years, in large part because of the way it counts demolitions against population. In many cities, demolitions represent a loss of population. But in Detroit, demolitions often are simply the removal of buildings that have been abandoned for years, Metzger said.

And lastly, from those wiseguys over at [email protected]…

Sam Richardson's face says it all! 🤣

Alternate links for your convenience via archive.is:

• The Freep: Census Bureau report shows Detroit population increases
• The News: Detroit sees first population growth since 1957; smaller cities see bigger increases

Laissez les bons temps rouler!
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Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is doubling down on his contention that he doesn't owe any money to the federal government stemming from his public corruption conviction. […] In his latest court filing on this contentious issue, Kilpatrick states that he is "formally requesting" a hearing on the matter, wants the issue moved to federal court in Georgia — where he lives — and says there has been "no accurate accounting" by the government regarding his restitution debt.

According to the federal government, Kilpatrick still owes $824,774 for crimes he was convicted of more than a decade ago, including bribery, extortion and fraud. That's significantly more than the $164,000 debt that the government said he owed in February, though the U.S. Attorney's Office said the new, higher figure is based on more recent communications with the court.

Kilpatrick's downfall began in 2008, when the Free Press published text messages that showed he lied during a police whistleblower trial when he testified that he did not have an affair with his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, and gave misleading testimony about the firing of a deputy police chief. The ex-mayor still owes $852,000 in restitution to the city of Detroit stemming from that scandal.

Video Bonus: Pulitzer Prize-winning Free Press reporters Jim Schaefer and M.L. Elrick on the text-message scandal that forced Kwame Kilpatrick to resign as mayor.

Meanwhile, over at The News: Kwame Kilpatrick fighting cash grab by feds in restitution battle

Kilpatrick, 53, made the argument in a federal court filing Monday, the latest development in a years-long attempt to hold accountable a corrupt politician portrayed by federal prosecutors as an unremorseful crook who has lied in the past about his ability to pay restitution while pursuing a life of luxury.

Prosecutors say Kilpatrick has paid a pittance — $9,099.81 — and is making minimal $150 monthly payments toward the federal restitution.

Meanwhile, Kilpatrick leased a $90,000 luxury SUV last year, several months before his wife's consulting firm bought an $807,000 home in Novi while paying nothing toward the $854,062 restitution he owes from a separate text-message scandal that led to his ouster as Detroit mayor.

Alt links for your convenience via archive.is:

• The Freep
• The News

What We Want Now!
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The car [christened the Seagull], launched last year by Chinese automaker BYD, sells for around $12,000 in China, but drives well and is put together with craftsmanship that rivals U.S.-made electric vehicles that cost three times as much.

“Any car company that’s not paying attention to them as a competitor is going to be lost when they hit their market,” said Sam Fiorani, a vice president at AutoForecast Solutions near Philadelphia. “BYD’s entry into the U.S. market isn’t an if. It’s a when.”

U.S. politicians and manufacturers already see Chinese EVs as a serious threat. The Biden administration on Tuesday is expected to announce 100% tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, saying they pose a threat to U.S. jobs and national security.

There’s no single miracle that explains how BYD can manufacture the Seagull for so little. Instead, [Caresoft Global company president Terry] Woychowski said the entire car, which can go 252 miles (405 kilometers) per charge, is “an exercise in efficiency.”

Higher U.S. labor costs are a part of the equation. BYD can keep costs down because of its expertise in making batteries — largely for consumer products — that use lithium iron phosphate chemistry. They cost less but have lower range than most current lithium-ion batteries.

BYD would have to modify its cars to meet U.S. safety standards, which are more stringent than in China. Woychowski says Caresoft hasn’t done crash tests, but he estimated that would add a couple thousand dollars to the cost.

Well, now they're a complete set 😢 . RIP Machine Gun.

The News: Dennis Thompson, last remaining member of MC5, dies at age 75 via archive.is

• Induction into the RRHoF, my ass

The Freep: Dennis Thompson, MC5 drummer and ‘last man standing,’ dies at 75 via archive.is

Paying my respects: howzabout a little music for the sad occasion?…

• The New Order - 1975

• New Race - Looking At You

• Rave-Up of The Dead! 🧟‍♂️: DTK/MC5 + Lemmy - Back In The U.S.A.

  • Wishing studio-musician-in-denial and eternal "best New Rock Guitarist" Gilby Clarke a long life and not to join fellow bandmates on a different stage for a loooong time.

• Drummers…ya just gotta hate 'em! 🤣 Old Man Thompson boring the bejeezus out of some Michigan kids with his "war stories". I was just…like…that… and I'm sure most of you were too.

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
[email protected] ☆ [email protected] ☆ [email protected]

The likely struggle of the Hudson’s Detroit project to meet projected Detroit jobs and revenue is the latest large-scale project fueling the debate over the structure of tax-incentivized development.

Gilbert’s Bedrock promised 2,000 new jobs and $71 million in new tax revenue in its controversial bid for the incentive. General Motors’ move from the Renaissance Center to Hudson’s Detroit will affect an estimated 850 positions.

The Ilitch family failed to deliver on new neighborhoods and entertainment districts it promised would sprout around Little Caesars Arena in “District Detroit,” and as a second phase of the project struggles to get started. All told, taxpayers would cover about $1.8 billion, or 64%, of District Detroit’s cost, if it is built out. The Ilitch’s Olympia Development did not respond to a request for comment.

Gilbert finished the mammoth Book Tower renovation, and the much smaller One Campus Martius renovation, but the company and officials have not said how many jobs at either site are new to the city. The Monroe Block project is stalled, and filling the Hudson building with employees already working in Detroit at the Renaissance Center, which will empty its offices, is not what was promised, said Michael LaFaive, an analyst with the Mackinac Policy Center, which tracks corporate subsidies.

Bedrock, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation officials and most of the Detroit City Council members who voted in favor of the Hudson’s incentive did not respond to requests for comment, but a spokesperson for Mayor Mike Duggan said the city’s high level of incentives have on balance been a winner for the city.

In 2023, Khana came in second place on season 16 of the Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race. While Khana is actually not a food truck, it has acted as a pop-up in metro Detroit since 2018. It’s currently a top-four finalist in Hatch Detroit’s pitch contest, and Khan is fighting hard for the top spot with hopes to take home the $100,000 prize with the goal of opening a brick-and-mortar for Khana soon.

“As a Detroiter who admittedly often complains that we live in a food desert[^1], writing this list of metro Detroit restaurants that I adore reminded me that while we may not yet have the quantity of other metropolises, we do not lack the quality, nor do we leave very much to be desired in terms of diversity,” Khan says. “If America is a melting pot, then Detroit is the secret seasoning that gives it that OOMPH; disregarded by some, but deeply appreciated by those who recognize its immeasurable contributions to the big picture. I hope you all discover a gem or two to add to your rotation of go-tos. A word of advice from me to the reader: make a habit of dining alone every so often with a seat at the bar. Some of my favorite dining experiences have come to life in this indulgent way. Cheers.”

You probably already know a few of her picks—cough~SheWolf~cough…cough~Grey~ ~Ghost~cough—but there are a few surprises that I need to check out. Anybody got any places Khan forgot to mention?

[^1]: Sorry, Maryam, but when Detroit is accused of being a "food desert," it's for its lack of fresh foods and supermarkets, and not for a (nonexistent) lack of restaurants.

Non-Detroit-specific content. Cope.

In contrast to Friday's post regarding the Cinco de Mayo festivities in Detroit, here's an article from the Associated Press clarifying the significance of May 5 and Mexico.

tl;dr: good for US business, not so much for Mexican culture.

In the U.S., the date is largely seen as a celebration of Mexican American culture stretching back to the 1800s in California. Typical festivities include parades, street food, block parties, mariachi competitions and baile folklórico, or folkloric dance, with whirling dancers wearing shiny ribbons with braids and bright, ruffled dresses.

For Americans with or without Mexican ancestry, the day has become an excuse to toss back tequila shots with salt and lime, and gorge on tortilla chips smothered with melted orange cheddar that’s unfamiliar to most people in Mexico.

The focus on drinking and eating has brought some criticism of the holiday, especially as beer manufacturers and other marketers have capitalized on its festive nature and some revelers embrace offensive stereotypes, such as fake, droopy mustaches and gigantic straw sombreros.

Ai yi yi yi-iiiii!

From tiffmassey.com…

Massey creates jewelry, sculpture, performance, video, and music, as well as immersive art environments. Massey was the first Black woman to earn an MFA [that's Master of Fine Arts, regardless of what you think it means -- r^2^ ] in metal smithing from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. She draws on 1980s hip-hop culture and her experiences as a Detroit native to examine the concept of adornment as an examination of the African diaspora and contemporary issues of race, class, and popular culture.

Inspired by the jewelry she crafts for herself and others, these sculptural works address notions of self-identity, community, and of being a part of a place and group. As a direct response to gentrification in Detroit, Massey has merged her art practice with real estate development and owns several properties in the City. [emphasis mine -- r^2^ ]

That's an incredibly interesting concept to be expounded upon and investigated further…at another time…hmmmm…real estate as art statement…

"Well, that's fab and all, r^2^, but we need context," so say those of you who've learned to breathe from your noses.

From Layla McMurtie's article at the Metro Times, the first article to cover Massey's upcoming exhibit, BTW…

At her first Detroit Institute of Arts exhibit [emphasis mine -- r^2^ ], interdisciplinary artist and metalsmith Tiff Massey is shining with Detroit spirit. Titled 7 Mile + Livernois, the show highlights “Black Detroit” through large, “in your face” sculptures.

“It’s the most ambitious exhibition that I’ve created to date,” Massey says. “I came to seduce and to make you question why these objects exist.”

“I wanted people to understand what I’m always gonna represent and that is Detroit,” Massey says. “People grow up all over Detroit, but I’m really trying to hone in on the specificity, the fashion, the drip, the neighborhood, paying homage to the Detroit that I know… Seven Mile and Livernois is home for me.”

…and from the DIA's page regarding Ms Massey's upcoming installation…

[…]Massey scales up her jewelry to the size of architecture, creating sculptures that celebrate Detroit's evolving neighborhoods and the history of West African and Black American culture and style.

7 Mile + Livernois is Massey’s most ambitious museum installation to date, featuring new sculptures commissioned by the DIA in conversation with works by several other artists from the museum’s collection. Massey’s work reimagines art’s role in the community and offers a vibrant, inclusive view of Detroit. Her art invites us all to celebrate our collective identity, ancestral flyness, and beauty.

Ancestral flyness!

Tiff Massey: 7 Mile + Livernois opens tomorrow, May 5, 10:00am, and runs until May 11 at where?…at the № 1 art museum in the country, the Detroit Institute of Arts, 5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48202.

Este domingo es «Cinco de Mayo» y aquí estes es las suggerimentos para fiesteggiare…and my Español stinks.

The Mexican Patriotic Committee of Metropolitan Detroit is planning the 59th Annual Cinco de Mayo Parade on Sunday, May 5, 2024. The 3-mile parade route will start from Woodmere Street and will travel east along Vernor Hwy.; usually ending at W. Grand Blvd. The parade will begin at 12 noon. A cultural and musical fiesta is also planned at Bagley and 21st Streets on Saturday & Sunday, 12pm-8pm. For this, MPC notifies the public that 21st Street will be closed during Fiesta times both days, and Vernor Hwy will be closed for the length of the parade from 11:30pm-2:30pm on that Sunday, May 5th. We hope visitors plan their participation in these events accordingly.

¡La pagina de Facebook del festival MPC Cinco de Mayo 2024, muchachos y muchachas y todos mis amigos en el medio!

Después del desfile, ¡Cinco De Mayo Fest Block Party!

Live Music x Vendors x Food x Lucha Libre x Art x Culture

Our event will feature an incredible lineup of local & statewide artists and live music that will keep you dancing all day & night long.

The day will start off with Zumba & transition to Lucha Libre as we bring some of the best wrestlers to the ring for an unforgettable show. You'll also have the chance to check out some amazing art from talented local artists, and shop from a variety of local vendors offering unique products and souvenirs. And of course, we can't forget about the food! We'll have delicious Mexican cuisine available from some of the best local restaurants and food trucks.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo, amigos y amigas!

Friday, May 3 at 8:00 PM • Saturday, May 4 at 8:00 PM
at the historic Redford Theatre
(on fashionable Lahser Road, just north of Grand River Ave.) Tickets: $15
Absolutely no one admitted under 17

Paul Thomas Anderson’s sprawling mosaic of life in the adult-film industry follows the surrogate family of director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds, in a career-topping performance)—among them the uniquely qualified star Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg), nurturing Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), and sweetly pathetic boom operator Scotty J. (Philip Seymour Hoffman)—riding high in the late 1970s before changing tides and technologies render them has-beens in the 1980s. Brilliant acting by Anderson’s stock company and the writer/director’s sensitive approach to the challenging subject matter make his sophomore feature one of the greatest films of the 1990s.

The Redford Theatre is screening a recently struck 70mm film print, sponsored by the Motor City Cinema Society, but warns audiences that the very adult subject matter means that NO ONE UNDER 17 WILL BE ADMITTED.

See ya there, cinephiles!

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
[email protected] ☆ [email protected] ☆ [email protected]

…or is that Honor Among Thieves in Saginaw…? Quid Pro Quo in Action? Birds of a Feather Flock to Mid-State Michigan? l could go on and on, you know I could…

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, whose prison sentence was shortened by then-President Donald Trump in January 2021, attended a campaign rally for the Republican candidate on Wednesday in Saginaw County.

Kilpatrick was once a prominent Democratic politician in Michigan before he was sentenced in 2013 on two dozen counts of using his positions as mayor and state representative to carry out a decade-long criminal racket involving extortion, bribery, conspiracy and fraud.

Trump commuted Kilpatrick's sentence[…]16 years before Kilpatrick was initially set to be released from federal prison.

"This commutation is strongly supported by prominent members of the Detroit community," the Trump White House said in a statement in January 2021.

By who exactly?

From the Freep's article…

Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra − who knew Kilpatrick from his time as mayor and as a state legislator and Hoekstra's time as a congressman from west Michigan − told the Free Press he saw Kilpatrick, his wife and his children come into the hangar at MBS Airport in Freeland ahead of the event.

"He said, 'Hey, congressman, good to see you.' I didn't recognize him at first − my bad − and he said, 'Kwame Kilpatrick,'" Hoekstra said, adding that the two spoke briefly. Hoekstra also served in Congress with Kilpatrick's mother, former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Detroit.

Alternate links for your convenience:

• Detroit News, Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick attends Donald Trump's rally in Michigan via archive.is
• Detroit Free Press, Kwame Kilpatrick among those who attended Donald Trump rally in Saginaw County via archive.is

Further reading:

• The Metro Times: Kwame Kilpatrick’s wife buys enormous house in Novi despite former mayor’s unpaid restitution
• The Freep: Kwame Kilpatrick has a new job, but he has shown he prefers thrills to paying his bills

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
[email protected] ☆ [email protected] ☆ [email protected]

If I don’t read something, I'm just gonna stand here and cry. So, whatupdoe?

Awwwww. So said Detroit's newly appointed poet laureate, jessica Care moore, stylized as you see here, lower-case 'j', capital 'C', lower-case 'm'. But there is nothing "lower-case" about her.

Jessica Care Moore, founder and producer of Black WOMEN Rock! [something I've known pretty much all my life -- r^2^ ] and founder of The Moore Art House, a nonprofit dedicated to improving literacy in Detroit, will take on the role. Moore's identifiable voice was behind the "Move the World" campaign, a video used to make a pitch for an Amazon headquarters in Detroit. The new poet laureate took the stage at Newlab at Michigan Central in the most Moore way — by poetically thanking officials for her position and reading a poem.

Moore is filling the role for [the late Naomi Long] Madgett, who died at 97 years old and served as poet laureate from 2001 to 2020, the year she died. Moore will not only plan and lead poetry events across Detroit, but she will also give an annual address to the city at the Detroit Public Library, participate in programs that reflect the city's diversity and write a poem for year-end presentation, according to the city.

"Wait a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow minute, here!" I can hear the less troglodyte of you cry. "With all the AI-ChatGPT-antisemitism-uncommited-tankie-donbas-crimea-shut-up-pornstar-red-vs-blue-dopamine-gazing-at-your-digital-navel-meta-x-amazon distractions we've got buzzing around our heads like mosquitoes in a Florida swamp, we can't keep up on the Detroit poetry front. What's jessica Care moore ever written?"…

• Words Don't Fit in My Mouth
• God is Not an American
• Black Statute of Liberty

Congratulations, Ms (with a capital 'M') moore! ❤️‍🔥

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

Remember…Parma spelled backwards is AMRAP!
[email protected] ☆ [email protected] ☆ [email protected]

Forgive all the what-might-seem hero worship…

Today Detroit-born guitarist Wayne Kramer, founding member of the MC5 (among other achievements and misadventures), would have celebrated his 76^th^ birthday. Unfortunately, being a mere human like ~~all~~ ~~most~~ some of us, pancreatic cancer took his life earlier this year, February 2, 2024, a mere two months ago.

I'd already written what I had to say regarding Wayne's career and his legacy in an earlier post. So today, in honor of Mr Kramer's would-have-been 76^th^, I leave you all with…

• Back When Dogs Could Talk

• Something's Broken In The Promised Land

• Looking At You 2022

RIP, Brother Wayne.