Detroit

She [Beatty] moved back home two years ago from Atlanta for the reason that many children come back home – to care for a parent. Her mom was diagnosed with cancer, and just passed away in August. She admits it has been an excruciating two years.

But questions about her job and her restitution to the city of Detroit has put her back in the spotlight. Which is why she wanted to tell her story.

…and from The Detroit Free Press, M.L. Elrick's take…

• Christine Beatty is back, refusing to pay restitution to Detroit

In a situation reminiscent of the bad old days, when Kilpatrick and Beatty ran city hall like an employment agency for friends and family, Beatty was hired by one of her best buds from high school. THAW CEO Saunteel Jenkins also hired Beatty's mother, but she told me her longtime friendship with Beatty was not a factor in her decision to hire her fellow Cass Tech Class of 1988 alumna and her mom. More on that later.

Beatty refused repeated requests to discuss her gig or her life since leaving Detroit for Atlanta about 15 years ago. That may be because her friends and colleagues made it clear she also didn't want to answer my questions about why we should trust Beatty to do better at THAW than she did while helping run one of the most corrupt nonprofits in Detroit history.

Here's something positive instead of the usual goverment officials fomenting and dividing the people…

The grassroots, interfaith forum [The Muslim-Jewish Forum] has been barely active for the last few years. The death of one of the informal group's founding members — Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue President Samantha Woll — and ongoing bloodshed in the Gaza strip presents a lot of pain and tension for both religious minorities.

Razi Jafri is a Muslim documentary filmmaker who co-founded the Forum alongside Samantha Woll and others. Speaking to attendees of Thursday’s gathering, Jafri said the Forum is founded partly on the belief that “no two religions in the world” are more similar than Islam and Judaism. And he noted, both religions have a large community presence in southeast Michigan — though both are still very much in the minority.

“The interactions between the communities have been minimal,” Jafri said. “There's been a lot of tension. … While those issues get worked out, there's no reason for us not to gather and share space with each other, break bread, celebrate each other's holidays.”

“It behooves us to really come together and in a painful time like this, to understand each other's perspectives,” Jafri said. “And really build relationships and friendships that could help create a more peaceful environment.”

Yeah…we can only hope. ☮

The renaming will not have any impact on official postal addresses or other legal designations and is solely a show of “solidarity, remembrance, and compassion for the lives lost in Gaza.”

One council member who voted “no” said he was against the resolution because of Hamtramck’s controversial “neutrality flag resolution,” which banned LGBTQ+ pride flags from being flown on city property. The policy also prohibits the display of religious, ethnic, racial, and political flags and states that the city won’t provide “special treatment to any group,” though critics say the resolution, which was voted on unanimously, was mainly rooted in homophobia.

Meanwhile, over at The Detroit Free Press…

Carolyn Normandin, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Michigan, called supporting one side of the conflict divisive, adding that Israel is fighting to fend off future attacks like the Oct. 7 one by Hamas militants. Some 1,200 Israelis were killed in that attack and more than 240 others were kidnapped. More than half of the hostages still remain in captivity, according to USA Today.

Rabbi Simcha Tolwin of Jewish Learning Center Aish Detroit meanwhile said the council "is festering a movement that ... in fact is just a call for the genocide of the Jews.

"Naming a street Palestine Ave. shows that Hamtramck supports terrorism, and gives the terrorists the support they need to keep at their goals of genocide through rape, murder and kidnapping of civilians," he said in an email, referencing the Hamas attack.

The second of the Metro Times posts for your edification on…on what gets gallons of Michigan bodily fluids to spill on keyboards and surrounding areas. I mean oil drums. Industrial containers.

Turn that UV light off!

One of two…ehmm, "earthier" articles in The Metro Times posted here to…well, I'm not sure to what end.

I suppose you can't talk about the Gaza Strip nor the Ukraine all the time.

""And right now... right now... right now it's time to..."

…remember one of the most unlikely frontmen in Rock 'n Roll, of course Made in Detroit: The Righteous Brother Rob Tyner! Shakin' his hip-hugger-wearin' ass across the cosmos!

And as our mind explodes in a post atomic dawn
The future breaks like a tidal wave, engulfing everyone
Confusion and chaos, trauma of birth
A strange new day for the people of the earth
Traditions burned away by the rising sun

-- MC5, Future/Now (Tyner)

Right on, Brother Tyner! ✊ Born today in 1944, Rob was struck down tragically in 1991, only 46 years old, from a heart attack.

• When the Five were on fire!
• The Five near the end on German TV

Midwest Noir, Plague Doctor, Metro General: The Audit, A Rainy Conclusion, Used Car

Each project is a one day production plus 2 or 3 online meetings. To be shot on a SAT or SUN in February or March - (To Be Determined) These projects will have a premiere event at Planet Ant and be featured on our socials. These are unpaid roles

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/auditions-planet-ant-film-class-5-student-projects-tickets-766562618427

Central to this initiative is Amtrak’s ambitious Cleveland–Toledo–Detroit/Pontiac corridor. This proposed route would facilitate travel from Pontiac to Cleveland, with strategic stops in Troy, Royal Oak, Detroit, Toledo, and Sandusky. Notably, this week saw the inclusion of two key destinations: Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus and Cleveland Hopkins Airport in Ohio. Under the Corridor Identification and Development Program (Corridor ID), this corridor is set to receive up to $500,000 for planning a new conventional rail system.

Another idea looong overdue. I guess more than 100 years of inertia is bound to render civic planning a little…rusty.

During a hearing on antisemitism, in front of Congress and TV cameras, the presidents of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania were asked by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik on Tuesday whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated their schools’ rules on bullying and harassment.

This should not be a hard question. Calling for the murder of any race or religious group should be a non-starter at a college. Would screaming for the genocide of Blacks, Latinos, gay or transgender people be tolerated for a second in the Ivy League? Never. Nor should it be. To deny that would get you fired before you could finish your sentence.

But faced with that same simple question regarding the genocide of Jews, the presidents struggled with their answers.

(In)sincere apologies for posting this opinion piece here in c/detroit@midwest.social; normally I can take them or leave them, giornalist Mitch Albom's articles—usually leaning towards the latter—but the piece is a good wrap-up of the recent hemming and hawing and general cowardice of some of our top university presidents. I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt that neither Dr Magill (Penn) nor Dr Gay (Harvard) are actually antisemites or Nazis (who knows?), but there are certain questions in life that have hopefully obvious, one-word answers that you just can't skirt around.

Alternate links:

• archive.md
• 1ft.io

Jack's muse. A Mo Tucker for the end of the century. NPR dubbed her the "21st Century's Loudest Introvert". The most reluctant rock star...ever.

Happy Birthday, Ms White! 🍬🍬🍬

Jurors deliberated for approximately 6 1/2 hours following a six-week trial in front of Chief U.S. District Judge Sean Cox in Detroit before returning guilty verdicts on 22 charges that included two murder counts that carry mandatory terms of life in federal prison.

Arnold, 37, was accused of killing two men and trying to kill eight others while helping lead a violent street gang that from 2008-15 fueled the nation's opioid crisis by distributing OxyContin pain pills and other drugs.

The convictions mark the culmination of a prolonged federal attack on the Seven Mile Bloods and a high-profile attempt to stem violent crime in Detroit. The government's case was highlighted in "Death by Instagram," a serial narrative in The News in 2018 that described how federal prosecutors locally had used racketeering laws to secure almost 100 convictions of violent gangsters, bikers, methamphetamine dealers and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

That determination was seen Thursday night as Jews and others gathered at Campus Martius for the 13th annual lighting of a giant menorah standing 26-feet tall that organizers say is the biggest public Hanukkah display in Michigan. Now more than ever, it's important for Jewish people to be able to be open about their identity even though some may feel more anxious about it, said Jewish leaders. Tensions could be heard at the menorah lighting ceremony, where some protesters chanted "cease-fire now" as a rabbi and a daughter of an Israeli hostage held by Hamas spoke. Other speakers included Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who noted she was the highest-ranking statewide Jewish official in state history; and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, who shouted her support for Israel and Jewish people.

Last year, [Oak Park resident Eliza] Klein helped light the first candle of the big menorah in a program called Menorah in the D and this year, two family members of two hostages still held by Hamas helped light the candle. Yair Moses and Ella Ben-Ami, two Israelis who are visiting metro Detroit this week to tell their stories, spoke Wednesday at a news conference at Honigman law firm organized by Chabad and others the day before the menorah lighting. They said that Hamas kidnapped on Oct. 7 both of their parents, later releasing their mothers, but their fathers remain hostages. They plan to speak Friday at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, the largest Jewish house of worship in Michigan.

At the Chabad event at Campus Martius, Jewish Voices for Peace - Detroit, a leftwing group that often criticizes Israel, held a separate Hanukkah event, with a different message, calling for a cease-fire. Chants of "cease-fire now" could be heard during the Chabad event, which Jewish Voices for Peace alleged has "militaristic messaging."

Alternate links:

• archive.md
• 1ft.io

Huntington Place? Oh, you mean ~~Cobo Hall~~ ~~Cobo Center~~ uhm, ~~TCM~~ TCF Center? Oh, it's not called that anymore? Why don't they just call it Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac Center (or Cadillac Center for short) and be done with it? Geez!

The texts from the Trump campaign employee "encouraged rioting and other methods of obstruction when (the Trump campaign employee) learned that the vote count was trending in favor of" President Joe Biden, the court filing said.

A record 167,000 absentee ballots were counted at Huntington Place by the evening of Nov. 4 as crowds shouted, "Stop the Count!" The scene included yelling, taunting, cheering, fists pounding on glass and unruly challengers being arrested by police.

Alternate links:

• 1ft.io
• archive.md

One of my personal favorite actors, award-winning Ellen Burstyn is probably best known for her role as the possessed Regan's mother, Chris MacNeil, in The Exorcist and again in the recent (but less charming) The Exorcist: Believer. But this fabuous lady has a equally fabulous career 50 years strong!

She is one of only 24 people to have achieved The Triple Crown of Acting; her inclusion in this elite set are her Oscar® for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore in 1974, a Tony for the stage version of Same Time, Next Year in 1975, and an Emmy for her appearance on Law and Order: SVU in 2009.

Among her more acclaimed films are The Last Picture Show, the aforementioned Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, the film version of Same Time, Next Year, How To Make An American Quilt, Requim For A Dream, and *The Fountain*.

And this magnificent lady was born here in Detroit 91 years ago today! I'd like to wish Ms Burstyn a most wonderful day! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🎂🍾

"Murder City" no more…well, almost…

In 2018, Detroit had 261 homicides, the fewest number since 1966. Through Nov. 30, 2023, Detroit has experienced only 228 homicides, putting the city on track to finish the year well below the 2018 record low.

That's still around four murders a week by my public-school-education calculations. Still, better than the 714 murders logged for 1974, n'est-ce pas?

Did You Know?: According to World Atlas 2023, Detroit is the 29^th^ most dangerous city in the world, and the 5^th^ most dangerous in the United States?

Chag Hanukkah sameach, mishpochas! At sunset this Thursday is the start of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. "Darkness doesn't stand a chance."

The doors of Menorah in the D open at 5 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2023, at Campus Martius in Downtown Detroit. The event officially starts at 5:30 p.m. and is free and open to all, regardless of their religious beliefs.

RSVP required, bubbeleh!

Editorial: The People Mover. The QLine. Two proof-of-concept tram systems that cover about as much ground as the kiddie-car train at The Detroit Zoo. How is it that Detroit—city that used to be mentioned in the same breath as New York, London or Paris—just can't get an effective mass transit system. One bus per hour per line.

I distinctly remember a bus ride from MCC South Campus to the Cass Tech area that took, beside the Gen. Patton-like coordination between various bus schedules, three hours including the transfer at the Royal Oak Transit Center. A trip that would have generously taken 45 minutes by car.

It's not for lack of trying, as the linked article elaborates. Even Cleveland has a functional public transit, for the love of Colman! Chicago can connect the surrounding cities, why can't Detroit? Yes, I'm familiar with the plethora of ~~excuses~~ reasons of varying veracity. Only recently Detroit's [saviour|plunderer] and QLine namer Dan Gilbert has seen the light but I'm compelled to question his motives after his near-total silence on the matter until now.

Sorry for the rant but this is a subject that has stuck in my throat like a small fish bone for longer than I care to remember. And now back to our regularly scheduled program…

The museum is hosting a job fair to fill open positions from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at Hitsville NEXT, the educational center of Motown Museum’s newly expanded campus.

Open positions listed online include archive intern, information services manager, events manager, and assistant retail manager. More may be posted soon, according to a press release, as available roles, some seasonal and some permanent, include jobs in administration, retail, guest services, programming and education, and archive and collection management.

BRRRRRR!!! Feel like struttin' yer stuff down Woodward Ave.—at a brisk pace AND temperature—in only a Speedo? I don't know if you'll actually beautify the streets but you'll be doing it to raise funds to benefit The Greening of Detroit and the Ruth Ellis Center. Halo Detroit proudly presents the 8th Annual Detroit Santa Speedo Run.

More information at the Halo Detroit website or on their Facebook page.

Noel Night is an open house of the Midtown Detroit and Cultural Center districts that celebrates diverse holiday traditions amid the state’s premier arts and cultural institutions, historic churches, galleries, and a growing circle of small businesses. Noel Night provides the perfect backdrop for an evening packed with performances and other holiday experiences with family and friends—all free of charge

From the local press…

• The Detroit Free Press: Noel Night lights up Detroit's cultural district this Saturday
• The Metro Times: Noel Night returns to Midtown Detroit for a magical evening of food, music, and holiday shopping

Tomorrow evening in Midtown. Check the official site for exact times and other details.

And if you go, how about some reaction here afterwards, eh?

Police surveillance tools have multiplied in the two years since the council adopted a Community Input Over Government Surveillance ordinance. The 2021 law, created in partnership with civil rights groups, requires public disclosures before the council can approve technology contracts. Advocates say loopholes in the law and a lack of data reporting have undermined efforts to inform residents about how their information is being collected.

Tawana Petty is a fellow with the Social Science Research Council and Detroit activist who was working with the council and ACLU to draft an oversight ordinance. Petty pulled her support for what ultimately passed in 2021, saying input from the Detroit Police Department resulted in “too many carve outs” for police to avoid disclosures.

“Even a cost analysis would be helpful,” [said Council Member Gabriela] Santiago-Romero [Public Health and Safety committee chair]. “If you tell me something is going to lower crime, I need a benchmark. It’s the same with our garbage, we have expectations of when it gets picked up and if it’s not you’re not doing your job and we’ll find another company. What I’m seeing with DPD is we’re not as stringent, and we should be.”

“The problems with internal combustion engines are mostly sorted,” Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports senior director of testing, told me. “The new problems are mostly associated with electronics: Electric vehicles that use brand new platforms and power trains.”

EVs in model years 2021-24 suffered about twice as many reliability problems as internal combustion engines, or ICE, according to CR’s survey of about 70,000 vehicles.

Hybrids were the big winners, with an average 26% fewer problems. Faring worst were plug-in hybrid vehicles, an extremely promising technology that features a bigger battery than a regular hybrid, so the vehicle can go farther on electricity in daily driving, but also has a gasoline engine for long trips. PHEVs had 146% as many issues as ICE vehicles.

The Michigan Transportation Department and city of Detroit on Wednesday opened the segment on 14th Street between Marantette and Dalzelle streets near Michigan Central Station, where Ford Motor Co. is building an electric- and autonomous-vehicle campus. The road is equipped with inductive-charging coils from Israel-based Electreon Wireless Ltd. to test the technology's efficiency and potential for public transportation opportunities. Only EVs equipped with a special receiver can be charged from it.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in September 2021 announced a pilot initiative to develop the nation's first wireless charging infrastructure on a public road in Michigan. MDOT and Electreon have a five-year agreement to develop an electric-road system to test the technology in the state, including 1 mile in Corktown.

The electric road is safe for drivers, pedestrians and wildlife, according to the project leaders. There are two Electreon static inductive charging stations in front of the Michigan Central Building, which is different from the former train station. The stations can charge parked EVs equipped with receivers.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/8865681

94 years old today! Record executive, producer, songwriter, film and television producer, the founder of an enormous and integral part of not only Detroit history but of modern pop music.

I personally can't imagine a world without Tamla/Motown Records, without The Miracles, The Supremes, The Four Tops, Martha and The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5…oh, the list goes on and on, all that wonderful music originating from that little house at 2648 W. Grand Blvd.

A most warm and Happy Birthday to veteran, ex-auto worker, ex-boxer and King of Hitsville, USA, Mr Berry Gordy Jr.!

Bonus Music Geek link: Can We Recreate The Motown Sound? -- reverb.com's Will Kurk and Joe Shadid present a short super-technical history and analysis of the Motown Sound plus their recreation challenge. It's absolutely amazing that huge sound came out of that tiny room!

Coast Guard officials are presently dumping tons of salt, butter and barrels of milk in the surrounding waters to prepare the world's largest international gnocchi alla romana party.