Per terms of Dugg’s release, he can only travel for work — concerts, appearances, etc. — so he’s currently calling Atlanta home. “I been had a house out here but I moved out here when I got out of jail,” he says with a shrug.

Born Dion Marquise Hayes, 42 Dugg grew up on the eastside of Detroit on Wayburn and Whittier. He describes himself as a “popular young nigga” who grew up listening to local rappers like Blade Icewood, Doughboyz Cashout, and Peezy. “I had fun. I used to be at all the high school parties, skating. I was that type of muthafucka, always going staking,” he says through a laugh.

In 2017, Dugg was released at 22 years old and decided to test the waters of hip-hop simply to see where it would take him. “Shiiit, I was just trying something, I was just trying rap,” he says humbly. “I didn’t have no real plan to do it. I didn’t have a step-by-step plan, but when I tried it, it stuck.”

On May 4, 2022, Dugg was taken into custody after flying to Willow Run Airport aboard a private jet. While behind bars Yo Gotti went to social media and offered $2 million to any lawyer that could get Dugg out of jail early. Dugg claims that due to the incarceration, he missed out on more than $6 million in performances and opportunities. But what mattered the most, he says, was not being there for his loved ones.

Away from music, Dugg says he plans to invest in real estate and detach from negative energy. He also wants to get to a point where he’ll be able to go to schools in Detroit, be transparent, and share parts of his life’s journey with the students.

Pete Waldmeir, a legendary Detroit News writer who covered major mid-20th century sporting events across the globe before becoming a venerable news columnist over a career that spanned half a century, died Monday morning following four months of hospice care. He was 92.

“He really was a must-read in Detroit newspapers," [ex metro editor Julie] Diebolt said. "Pete was a tell-it-like-it-is columnist. He was pretty fearless. He kind of loved to take on the big guys.”

He skewered politicians from both parties — once calling a husky Gov. John Engler "the Rotund One" — and let unsympathetic characters have it, particularly Detroit's business moguls.

Waldmeir once investigated Young for taking a vacation in Jamaica, earning the newspaper columnist a profanity-laced tongue-lashing from hizzoner.

"That sona----- Waldmeir followed me down to Jamaica. All I can say is I wish that mother------ had caught me," Young is quoted as saying in Bill McGraw's book, The Quotations of Mayor Coleman A. Young. "I'm mayor of nothing down here. It would be just two crazy Americans fighting in the alley."

RIP, Pete.

Cha-Cha-Cha Boom! Today in 1924, guitarist and vocalist Malia Ka'aihue—better known as Mary Kay— was born in Detroit. No, not that Mary Kay, the cosmetics company founded by (gasp!) a Texan, but the "Queen of Rock and Roll," the Las Vegas lounge legend!

Performing since she was 12, Mary went on to form the (dare I say) seminal Las Vegas lounge act, The Mary Kay Trio, who recorded numerous singles and albums with that beautiful voice—she could have dropped the guitar completely and made it as strictly a vocalist— and even were featured in the 1956 film Cha-Cha-Cha Boom! They were yuuge!

Guitar Geeks Confidential: There's a Fender Stratocaster model called the "Mary Kay Strat," supposedly played by Ms Kay throughout her career but according to a most interesting Vintage Guitar interview, Mary spent a whole five minutes with the guitar specifically for a photo shoot for a Fender endorsement. After the shoot, the guitar was returned to Fender! Mary's electric guitar of choice was actually a D'Angelico hollowbody. After decades, in 2003 FMIC decided to make a Custom Shop Mary Kay model and gifted Ms Kay with the guitar.

For your swinging pleasure, The Mary Kay Trio!

• Stuff Like That There, 1945
• Fools Rush In / Calypso Rock
• Just One Of Those Things, from 77 Sunset Strip, 1959
• Special guests on The Rosemary Clooney Show, from George's aunt program (who, like Mary Kay, also had a beautiful voice)

Today we celebrate three Detroit expatriate artists' birthdays, all now California transplants (the poor bastards 🤬🤬🤬🤬)…

The first has been making you laugh for over 40 years and you've probably never seen his face nor are familiar with his name. He was born in Detroit and raised in Farmington Hills. A Harvard graduate, he wrote for National Lampoon, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and It's Garry Shandling's Show! to name a few before moving on to writing for and eventually showrunning a little cartoon you might have heard of…The Simpsons. Co-creator of the cult animated series, The Critic, Emmy award-winning Mr Al Jean, thanks for all the laughs while pitching 'em a little higher than most! Happy Birthday, Al!

⚜⚜⚜

Here's another clown born in Detroit…what…wait a minute…oh, he really is a clown! He is Detroit-born but was raised Los Angeles' South Central. After some run-ins with the law, then doing five years in jail, he realized this was not the way forward. He then turned what was essentially a side-gig into a source of hope and happiness for himself and those around him while originating his own wild-style dance freestyle, Clowning, which evolved into Krumping! Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for Mr Thomas Johnson AKA Tommy The Clown!

⚜⚜⚜

Lastly, his is a face that, unlike our first two honorees, I know you've seen; next to the dictionary entry for "ubiquitious" is his picture! After the legendary James Brown he is the hardest working man in showbusiness! You've even heard his voice in animated series and videogames. No, I'm not listing all of his film, TV and voice credits! I'd be here all day! He's J Jonah Jameson, he's the loathsome Vernon Schillinger, he's the fed-up piano bar owner, he's William Frawley, he's Dr Emil Skoda, he's the professor from hell Terence Fletcher! He's the 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 Yellow M&M, for Fauchard's sake! It's a good thing it's always a pleasure seeing him, otherwise, y'know…he'd be a Kardashian or Donald Trump or some other equally unavoidable nuisance. Born in Grosse Pointe [^1], Today is actor Jonathan Kimble Simmons' (better known as J K Simmons) birthday! Most warm birthday wishes, Mr Simmons!

Gentlemen, Happiest Birthday Wishes from (if I may) all of us here at !detroit@midwest.social

[^1]: Go on, Señor or Señora Pedantic. Yank my chain about Grosse Pointe != Detroit. Go on.

Sheesh! This town, I tell ya. No one here could ever wrap their heads around a working mass-transit system bigger than a minivan or SUV. Just as California has recently temporarily halted autonomous vehicles for safety concerns, The City of Detroit says, "bring it!" And they're paying $2.4 million to Ann Arbor-based May Mobility for the pleasure of being ~~the guinea pig~~ a test market!

Don't make me point out on whom this is being tested on.

The program is for people 65 and older or people with a disability who live in one of two zones. The "West Zone" includes residents in the Virginia Park Community, Russell Woods, Boston Edison, New Center, North End, Elijah McCoy, LaSalle Gardens, and Dexter/Linwood. The "East Zone" includes Islandview, Eastern Market, McDougall Hunt/Greater Villages, Lafayette Park, and Elmwood Park residents.

Passengers won't be completely alone in the car, at least for the start of the program. The vehicles will have a safety operator behind the wheel, but they're not driving. They are there to answer questions, assist wheelchair users, and take control if needed.

But will they trust self-driving cars enough to use them? Those at St. Patrick Senior Center in Detroit are split.

Just kidding, guys! 🤣 You both truly deserve the recognition!

Richardson won in the guest actor in a comedy series category for playing billionaire Edwin Akufo from Ghana on AppleTV+’s “Ted Lasso.” It is his first Emmy. He was nominated in 2022 for the same role.

Robinson took home his second Emmy for outstanding actor in a short form comedy or drama series for his Netflix sketch show, “I Think You Should Leave.”

Alternate links for your convenience…

• 1ft.io
• archive.is

Yeah, the holidays have come and gone, most of us are back in our normal complacent routines of wage slavery, zombie walkin' and exercising our thumbs. But every year after the holidays, organizations like Focus: HOPE see a dip in volunteers; y'all done with showing Santa what a good person you are.

I say, "uh-uh, get your nose out of your iPhone and volunteer!" Four hours. That's nothing. That's binge-watching a season of The Mandalorian…again…for the seventh time. You were goin' in that direction anyway! Touch somebody's life, seriously. Then you can go back to being an unempathetic sociopath until next December.

/rant.

Focus: HOPE is looking for volunteers from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at its main campus site at 1400 Oakman Boulevard in Detroit during the following dates: Tuesday, Jan. 9; Wednesday, Jan. 10; Thursday, Jan. 11; Wednesday, Jan. 17; Thursday, Jan. 18, and Tuesday, Jan. 30.

To volunteer, call Focus: HOPE at 313-494-4270, email volunteer@focushope.edu or sign up for a shift at focushope.galaxydigital.com/need/.

Food for Seniors is a monthly program for people 60 years old and older living in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties. To apply, call Focus: HOPE 313-494-4600, email food@focushope.edu or visit the following distribution sites. Dates for distributions are subject to change. Those who need home deliveries can call 313-494-4980.

Born in Detroit today in 1925, remembered these days mainly for the DMC time machine in Zemeckis' Back To The Future movies, DeLorean really was a giant and a maverick in the automotive industry and beyond. Cass Tech and Lawrence Institute grad. The Pontiac GTO was his. The 1969 redesign of the Pontiac Grand Prix…his. The Chevy Nova. The Chevy Vega. He was a wild man in the eyes of General Motors execs. And they, dinosaurs in his.

Then, DMC with all of the sharp (literal and figurative) design, bad timing and assorted unfortunate controversies.

Today Mr DeLorean would have celebrated his 99^th^ birthday. DeLorean died of a stroke in 2005, 80 years old. His ashes are interred at White Chapel Cemetery in Troy.

Didja ever see the late William Friedkin's Sorcerer? Great movie, went way over budget, bombed at the box office. Great movie, nevertheless. Apparently Mayor Duggan and other state and local officials thought so too as they may allow a potentially daily real-life reenactment along the creaky Ambassador Bridge while we all wait for the new Gordie Howe Int'l.

The Detroit International Bridge Company argues that allowing class 3 and class 8 hazardous materials will decrease the distance these materials need to travel, reducing the risk of a spill. Following the closure of the Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry in September, trucks carrying class 3 and class 8 materials have had to use the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, roughly 60 miles from Detroit. Products like radioactive materials, flammable gasses, and explosives would continue to be prohibited at the company’s request.

Sam Butler, president of the Hubbard Richard Neighborhood Association, expressed concern that the aging bridge and customs plaza may be unprepared to handle class 3 and class 8 hazardous materials, including flammable liquids and corrosives. “We just don’t think it is a very good idea to transport more hazardous materials…20 feet from occupied homes,” Butler told Planet Detroit.

Steve Tobocman, a former Democratic Floor Leader in the Michigan House who represented Southwest Detroit, isn’t convinced by the argument that the Ambassador Bridge is a safer route…“Should an accident happen on the bridge, there’s not the emergency response ability to limit the damage…”

Love and bridges are generally two-way streets but the Canadian side isn't as hip to the idea, presently rendering the argument moot.

Nearly 21 years after [Tamara] Greene was killed in a drive-by shooting, her daughter, Ashly Jackson, revived the unsolved mystery in a viral TikTok video posted Thursday.

“Things got messy, and the mayor of Detroit’s wife actually assaulted my mother,” Jackson says. “Instead of paying my mother hush money, the mayor decided to pay off cops in the city to murder my mother.”

Greene’s family filed a lawsuit against Kilpatrick and the city, but it was dismissed in federal court in 2011 for a lack of evidence.

We've been following this since it first came to my attention in mid-November here and here.

It's the latest action General Motors is taking against Renaissance Center Management Co., the private security force that was created by the company to patrol Detroit's iconic riverfront RenCen. GM contracts with G4S to provide the security services through the company, according to court records.

Officers can no longer carry handcuffs, according to Kevin Kelly, a spokesperson for GM. The number of officers allowed to carry guns has also been reduced, although some still carry weapons for protection against dangers like active shooters, he said.

"Oh what a tangled web we weave…"

The private security force is majority-owned by G4S Secure Solutions, an international security company based in Florida, according to court documents filed in 2022. Allied Universal acquired G4S in April 2021. GM, G4S and RCMC have each been named in various lawsuits.

Separate investigations by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) and Michigan State Police are ongoing.

My take? I thought you'd never ask. GM should at bare minimum terminate immediately their contracts with ~~Renaissance Center Management Co.~~ ~~G4S Secure Solutions~~ ~~Allied Universal~~ whomever they need to and find another agency that acts less (allegedly) like the Hells Angels at Altamont.

Alternate links for your convenience…

• 1ft.io
• archive.is

Syphillis!

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is sounding the alarm as syphilis cases spike across the state. The numbers of the bacterial infection are highest in Detroit.

So why are case numbers rising? Medical professionals say a lot has to do with people not going to the doctor for routine checks since the Covid pandemic.

Another contributing factor? The drug shortage that’s confronting the US. "One of the main drugs that we use to treat syphilis is in short supply right now - that has all of us very concerned," she said.

You're in good company!

Got a pretty Ford F-150 from 2021-2023 with the Trailer Tow Max Duty package and a 9.75-inch heavy-duty axle with a 3/4 float axle design sitting in your driveway? Read on…

The rear axle hub bolt may fatigue and break, which can damage the axle hub splines and result in the trucks rolling away when the vehicle is parked or cause a loss of drive power, according to the notice — both of which increase the risk of a crash.

Just a few months ago, Ford recalled more than 238,000 of its Explorer models due to an axle bolt issue that can cause the vehicle to roll away.

Note a pattern?

Cue appropriate video clip…

• Bonus link for our engineering friends at One American Road, Dearborn

From Wikipedia…

Damon Jamal Gupton (born January 4, 1973) is an American actor and orchestral conductor, best known for his series regular roles as Charles Foster on Deadline, Evrard Velerio on Prime Suspect, Adam Page on The Divide, Detective Cal Brown on The Player, Deputy Chief Henderson on Black Lightning, and SSA Stephen Walker on Criminal Minds. He has also co-starred in the films The Last Airbender (2010), Whiplash (2014), and La La Land (2016).

In 2004, he was an American Conducting Fellow at the Houston Symphony, and was assistant conductor of the Kansas City Symphony in 2006. Gupton was a guest conductor with various orchestras, including the Cincinnati Pops, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, San Diego Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, as well as Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, the NHK Orchestra of Tokyo, and the Orquesta Filarmonica de UNAM. He was the conductor of the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra during its national tour, including performances at Carnegie Hall. Gupton won Mexico City's third International Eduardo Mata Conducting Competition, the Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize, and The Aspen Conducting Prize.

Not just another pretty face! ❤ Happy Birthday, Maestro! 🎼🎶 🍾

Water Square? That's the best the marketing team could come up with? 🤦‍♂️ In any case, developers are planning a…

[…]600-room luxury riverfront hotel connected to ~~air-conditioned Cobo Arena~~ ~~Cobo Hall~~ ~~THC~~ ~~TCF Center~~ Huntington Place Convention Center

…where Joe Louis Arena used to stand

City law requires developers behind projects that are worth at least $75 million and receive at least $1 million in tax abatements to meet with residents and negotiate a community benefits agreement.

Past agreements have secured millions of dollars in donations for neighborhood programs and organizations, as well as commitments to hire Detroiters and support area businesses.

…the first meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Jan. 9 at Huntington Place. Two members of the neighborhood council will be selected at the second meeting on Jan. 16. Residents who wish to serve on the council or vote must appear in person.

They're even validating parking at the Fort/Washington Garage, so there's that.

Happy 2024, you rats. Instead of me making you all sick, I'll let Illinois' Valley Meats have the honors…

Valley Meats, based in Coal Valley, Illinois, is recalling nearly 7,000 pounds of the raw ground beef products shipped to distributors in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan, according to an alert from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).Valley Meats' raw ground beef products, mostly in the form of patties and in various size boxes, were distributed to restaurants and other institutional users, the news release said.

If you have questions about the recall, contact Valley Meats at 309-799-7341, ext. 229 or email dmapes@valleymeatsllc.com. Consumers with food-related safety questions can call the USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854.

Alternate links for your convenience…

• "To The Wayback Machine, Sherman."
• 1ft.io

War is over

On this last day of 2023, I wish you all health and prosperity in the coming year, and although I'm not holding my breath, I hope the world sees at minimum some sanity in the days to come. 🤞 🤞

Go hug somebody.

I leave you with the words of one of the most criminally underappreciated conceptual artists of the last 60 years, a person who greatly influenced the definition of "conceptual art". She also has connections to Detroit through works in the DIA collection, Fluxus at Cranbrook Academy of Art, and the Wish Tree at the Rosa Parks Transit Center. Ladies and gentlemen, Ms Yoko Ono…

There may be not much difference
Between Chairman Mao and Richard Nixon
If we strip them naked

There may be not much difference
Between Marilyn Monroe and Lenny Bruce
If we check their coffins

There may be not much difference
Between White House and Hall of People
If we count their windows

There may be not much difference
Between Raquel Welch and Jerry Rubin
If we hear their heartbeat

We're all water from different rivers
That's why it's so easy to meet
We're all water in this vast, vast ocean
Someday we'll evaporate together

There may be not much difference
Between Eldridge Cleaver and Queen of England
If we bottle their tears

There may be not much difference
Between Manson and the Pope
If we press their smile

There may be not much difference
Between Rockefeller and you
If we hear you sing

There may not be much difference
Between you and me
If we show our dreams

If you want it

~Posters~ ~courtesy~ ~of~ ~yokoonoofficial~ ~@~ ~Flickr~
~Lyrics~ ~by~ ~Yoko~ ~Ono~

If some of you didn't already know, you can apply to get (from The Detroit Free Press article title) "discount on parking tickets in Detroit"! If you haven't been hipped to the tip yet…

• Detroit Free Press: Parking fines can be reduced through Detroit program
• Alternate link: archive.md

Geez, Freep! It's as if everybody who ~~drives~~ parks in Detroit is some scofflaw! At least BridgeDetroit treats the subject (and Detroit residents) "innocent until proven guilty," and better still, reveals the real surprise: resident-only parking!

• BridgeDetroit: Resident-only parking coming near LCA, event venues

Author Malachi Barrett graciously links to a downloadable document detailing the parking zones.

Anyone who doesn’t have a residential permit could receive a ticket for parking in defined areas during certain peak hours. Enforcement for the new zones will begin between January and February. Residents can apply and pay for permits online after providing proof of residency. Applicants must pay a one-time $35 administrative fee and $60 annual fee, with half-off discounts for seniors and low-income residents.

New residential parking zones are located in the Brush Park neighborhood, streets around Cass Park and a strip of Selden Street between Cass and Third avenues. Maps showing zone boundaries, the location of meters and parking hours can be found online.

~Photo:~ ~Malachi~ ~Barrett~

Today's post is pure ego: an article written by a kokujin journalist ( 🤣 💘 ) that I love about a Detroit artist whose work I love. So sue me. No one's stopping you from doing likewise…

Calloway’s art career has spanned over three decades. His work has been featured at Arts, Beats & Eats, the Palmer Park Art Fair, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Arts Extended, inside Highland Park’s Avalon Village, and many, many more.

The last straw, he says of his Greektown spot, was when he came home to a pair of rats having sex in front of his door. They stopped and stared him straight in the face as if they were challenging him, “What you gone do?” Shortly after, he decided to move.

While working in slightly different media, I think Van Gogh and Monet (among others) also said something similar…

…when I ask him why food and cooking utensils appear so much in his work, Calloway says, “I never wanted to be a starving artist.”

Just in case you potential homeowners missed this when first proposed, The Detroit News covers how it may be possible for to have financial assistance on a downpayment on a new home!

"Land…they ain't makin' any more of it."

Metro Detroit shoppers looking for their first home have been especially affected by higher prices: In October, Detroit posted the largest year-over-year increase in home prices, 8.1%, among 20 large U.S. cities, according to data released this week by S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

“Time and again research reveals that the down payment is the single largest hurdle first-time homebuyers need to overcome to attain homeownership,” said Sonu Mittal, Freddie Mac's single-family senior vice president of acquisitions, in a statement at the time of the program’s launch. “But finding and comparing the many programs and their guidelines is challenging," he said. "DPA One delivers a one-stop shop at no cost that brings lenders and their borrowers greater detail and visibility into these programs while seamlessly connecting the right assistance program with the lender, housing counselors and borrowers who need this assistance the most.”

Alternate links:

• archive.md
• 1ft.io

…it's because no other team in the history of the NBA has achieved(?) 27 consecutive losses! Rock and roll!

Paced by Cade Cunningham’s 41 points, the Pistons’ fans alternated recent chants of “Sell the team!” to bursts of “Let’s Go Pistons!” and “Dee-Fence!” for at least one night. But, as the home team faded at the end, the chants of “Sell the team!” returned.

“I actually talked to the players about this the other day, with all the losses here, what we still have is a very good future,” [Beverly Hills billionaire and team owner Tom] Gores said. “No. 1, we have an amazing set of young players. High character, high talent. This set of players, and I know them individually and I saw them the other day, we’re in a great spot with our young talent . . . I’m willing to do whatever it takes for this organization to be successful. As much as the vision feels blurry to me . . . “

“Nobody wants this kind of thing attached to them,” said [Pistons coach Monty] Williams, whose contract reaches at least six years and maybe more. “It weighs on us every day.”

It weighs on us too, pal. 🤦‍♂️

…and the penny-ante saga continues…

"They did what they say I did—Crazy!" Trump wrote Wednesday.

The audio recordings, captured in four recordings by someone present for the conversation between Trump and the canvassers, revealed Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel was on the call with Trump and the canvassers and offered legal assistance for the Wayne County officials if they would not sign a document certifying the county's election results.

Multiple legal experts and Republican political strategist Karl Rove have criticized Trump and McDaniel's actions. Some legal experts have questioned whether McDaniel's offer of attorneys to represent the canvassers in court for not carrying out their duties amounts to bribery.

…and yet, a non-trivial percentage of registered voters in the United States — Michigan included — still support this would-be dictator. I just can't fathom it. It appears that short of Mr Trump personally defecating on each and everyone's dining room table, the MAGA among us are committed to having the first King of The United States.

Alternate links:

• archive.md
• 1ft.io
• Wayback Machine

To all subscribers, to all non-subscribers, to all who follow this dogma, to all that follow that dogma, to all that don't follow a dogma, if you're with family, if you're with friends, if you're spending time alone, if you're this, if you're that…

Merry Christmas, everybody!

🧘

Because we all share an identical need for love, it is possible to feel that anybody we meet, in whatever circumstances, is a brother or a sister.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

Happiness mainly comes from our own attitude rather than from external factors.