Cover Story
The unsolved rap murders that shook Detroit and captivated social media sleuths
Admittedly, she was eavesdropping. Catina Fogle, 50, confesses that the mom in her was concerned about the movements of her adult son, Montoya Givens, whenever he left home. Givens had been released from prison just a few weeks short of a year and, though he seemed determined to stay on a positive track, Fogle kept…
Detroit gets green light for 50 additional adult-use cannabis businesses
The city of Detroit is on the verge of allowing dozens of more recreational marijuana businesses to open. The city council on Tuesday approved a resolution to begin accepting applications for the second phase of adult-use licenses. During a 30-day period, the city will accept applications for up to 30 recreational dispensaries, 10 microbusinesses, and…
Livonia police criticized for response to racist attack on Black teen
Delisha Upshaw was worried when she heard that a Black child had been assaulted by an adult hurling racial slurs at a recreation center in Livonia. The mother of two Black children, Upshaw began searching for more information about the attack and hoped she’d learn more on Livonia Police Department’s Facebook page, which routinely posts…
In ‘Past Lives,’ writer-director Celine Song explores the pull of lost loves and lives unlived
Writer-director Celine Song’s melancholic romantic drama Past Lives opens with a heck of a shot. The camera slowly zooms in on an Asian woman and two men — one Asian, one white — chatting at a bar. Their conversation is muffled by ambient sound, but a pair of offscreen observers can be heard, attempting to…
Detroit’s Breadless eyes fall opening for suburban expansion
Breadless, the fast-casual Detroit restaurant that made headlines for its bread-free sandwiches, says it plans to open a second location in the suburbs this fall. The new store will be located at 181 S. Livernois Rd., near Rochester Hills High School, with a target opening date in late fall. The company opened its first location…
Local Buzz: Why you should catch this West African band in Detroit
Got a Detroit music tip? Send it it [email protected]. The electric sounds of West Africa: Bands like Mdou Moctar and Bombino have popularized the so-called “desert blues” in the U.S. over the past decade — electric guitar compositions pioneered from the Tuareg musicians throughout the Sahara region. The first time I heard this music was…
Pepsi-flavored ketchup is coming to Detroit’s Comerica Park
No, it’s not a joke. It’s very real. And it is as exactly… intriguing as it sounds. Pepsi, in an effort to show “hot dogs go best with Pepsi,” has crafted their own condiment in partnership with the business unit of the Culinary Institute of America. It’s called “colachup.” And much like hot dogs, we…
Lume Cannabis Co. reopens Southfield dispensary as prices rebound
Lume Cannabis Co. has reopened its Southfield dispensary less than a year after it abruptly closed as part of what it called a “realignment for growth.” The Southfield store is located at 26760 Lahser Rd. and is open for adult-use sales starting Tuesday. Previously, the store was open for medical marijuana patients only. It closed…
Pro-DeSantis PAC hammers Trump for commuting Kwame Kilpatrick’s sentence
A group supporting the presidential ambitions of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a video Sunday taking aim at former President Donald Trump for commuting the prison sentence of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting DeSantis for president, rolled out the 52-second ad, titled “Welcome to Detroit,” which calls Kilpatrick…
Lapointe: Remembering Gregory Glenn at the landmark Sacred Heart parish
Shortly before he passed away, Gregory Glenn asked relatives to spread the ashes from his cremation in two specific places: Belle Isle and South Africa. And that was just like him. He lived life both as a local kid still tied to Detroit and as a man of the world with vision beyond his city…
Artist Tony Whlgn makes being a hooligan fashionable — and fun
Tony Whlgn is leading with love. He also, apparently, doesn’t like vowels. Whlgn is pronounced “hooligan,” a title the Detroit-bred artist wears like a badge of honor. “I do what I love and love what I do… it’s as simple as that,” he tells us. Earlier this month, Whlgn completed a mural, “All I See Is…
Obsidian Theatre Festival aims to give Black playwrights their big break
During the summer of 2020, as the murders of unarmed men including George Floyd spurred eruptions of civil unrest, John Sloan III wondered how theatre could help create social change. Sloan and a fellow theater lover from West Bloomfield, David Carroll of Nicely Theatre Group, decided to create Detroit’s Obsidian Theatre Festival, which puts the spotlight…
Doja Cat is coming to Detroit with Ice Spice
Come December, Doja Cat will be taking over Little Caesars Arena with her poppy brand of R&B and that exaggerated baby voice she sometimes does. The Grammy-award-winning singer is embarking on her first North American arena trek, “The Scarlet Tour,” this fall with a stop at Detroit’s LCA on December 10. And while we *ahem*…
Walled Lake dispensary celebrates summer with fireworks, barbecue and more
A cannabis dispensary in Walled Lake is hosting its third annual Summer Kickoff Party on Saturday, featuring what’s dubbed as Oakland County’s “biggest and best fireworks display,” a meet-and-greet with retired Red Wings star Darren McCarty, pet adoptions, barbecue, and more. The event runs from 7:15 a.m. to 9 p.m. at The Greenhouse of Walled…
Michigan AG charges 3 in signature fraud scandal involving governor’s race
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed charges Thursday against three people accused of submitting thousands of forged nominating signatures that ended the candidacies of five Republican gubernatorial candidates last year. Willie Reed, 37; Shawn Wilmoth, 36; and Jamie Lynn Wilmoth, 36, were each charged with more than two dozen crimes, including conducting a criminal enterprise,…
Warren councilman convicted of hawking Trump-related merchandise without a permit
Warren City Councilman Eddie Kabacinski was convicted Wednesday of a misdemeanor for selling Trump-related merchandise in Utica without a permit. It’s the second time in less than a year that the conservative councilman was convicted of a crime related to his fervent support of former President Donald Trump. In August 2022, Kabacinski was sentenced to…
Meet Mothfire Brewing Co., Ann Arbor’s new craft brewery
“I dream about beer,” Alexis Jorgensen says as she pours a glass of Osborn Mist, one of the 16 drafts on tap at Mothfire Brewing Co., Ann Arbor’s new craft brewery located at 713 Ellsworth Rd. Jorgensen is the head brewer, and brings with her more than 10 years of experience crafting unique brews. Her…
Korean chain Bonchon dishes out fried chicken fusion and confusion
I should have researched a bit more, before visiting Bonchon, to discover the differences between Korean fried chicken and Japanese fried chicken. Turns out there are quite a few. I’d been expecting the delightful soft crunch of a well-breaded Japanese karaage, where a pre-fry bath of non-gluten starch (rice or potato or maybe cornstarch) sticks…
In ‘Asteroid City,’ Wes Anderson stages an alien invasion as only Wes Anderson can
Insistently eccentric, involuted, and reflexive, Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City will likely only reinforce his detractors’ animus toward the filmmaker’s elaborate but undeniably insular world-building, but admirers — and I’m among them — will delight in the dizzying variations he works on signature themes and tropes. Although Asteroid City sometimes comes perilously close to the Rube…
Activist Jordan Weber will be Sidewalk Festival’s artist in residence
Sidewalk Festival is one of those events that reminds everyone there’s more to celebrate in Detroit than just the downtown area. The free annual art and community festival is slated for Saturday, July 29, in the East Canfield neighborhood and Saturday, August 5, in Joy-Southfield. The first day takes over the Canfield Consortium, surrounding attendees…
Acclaimed Detroit-based mobile game is now an interactive play
Dot’s Home, a relatable mobile game about housing insecurity and redlining developed in Detroit, is getting the stage treatment. The game has been turned into an interactive play through a partnership with theater company A Host of People and community organization Detroit Action. In the game, we meet Dot as a developer approaches her grandmother…
Mortgage demand by Black Detroiters soars, yet flight to suburbs continues
In a remarkable development for metro Detroit’s housing market, the demand for mortgages by Black homebuyers has increased 188% across the city and region over the past decade, according to a new study. Between 2012 and 2021, the demand for mortgages among Black residents increased 443% for homes in Detroit and 159% for houses in…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): When I was still an up-and-coming horoscope columnist, before I got widely syndicated, I supplemented my income with many other jobs. During one stretch, I wrote fortunes for a line of designer fortune cookies that were covered with gourmet chocolate and sold at the luxury department store Bloomingdale’s. The salary I…
