Cover Story
Community organizers challenged Bedrock’s latest Hudson’s site tax break in Detroit — and nearly won
When Theo Pride, a community organizer with Detroit People’s Platform, got word that a proposed $60 million tax abatement for billionaire Dan Gilbert’s real estate firm Bedrock was being pulled from City Council’s consideration on June 28, he had two interlocking thoughts. The first was satisfaction at the small victory a band of skeptical everyday…
‘Daron, Daron Colbert’ spotlights Delray actor and his Detroit neighborhood
News coverage of billowing industrial smoke recedes into footage of lushly reclaimed, depopulated urban space in the opening of Kevin Steen’s new short film “Daron, Daron Colbert.” Eventually, this chemical exhaust recedes into the background, morphing into a distant feature and fact of life. The 13-minute film, set in Southwest Detroit’s Delray neighborhood and screening…
Big Sean reminds us why he’s the ‘Don’ with return of fourth annual Detroit block party
Big Sean said he wasn’t fucking with us because he had a trillion million other things he’d rather do in his 2015 song “I Don’t Fuck With You.” But he does fuck with us. Hard. And by “us” we mean his hometown Detroit, where he’ll host his DON Weekend community block party next week. DON…
The Inflation Reduction Act offers the single biggest investment in climate in U.S. history… and that’s a sad comment on our politics
Senate Democrats erupted in jubilant cheers as Vice President Kamala Harris announced the results of the final vote on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the pared-down, Joe Manchin-approved final version molded out of the ashes of Build Back Better. It passed by the slimmest possible margin, 51-50, requiring Harris’s tie-breaking vote. But it passed.…
If you don’t like cars, stay away from Woodward Avenue this weekend
If you hate cars, this event is not for you. But if you hold a romance for the automobile, you probably don’t need us to tell you about the Woodward Dream Cruise. First started in 1995, the annual summertime tradition sees auto aficionados driving class cars along Oakland County’s major thoroughfare for family friendly fun.…
Here’s where to find smartphone-enhanced animated works during Michigan’s Augmented Reality Mural Festival
Electrifly Detroit’s Augmented Reality Mural Festival brings public murals to life before your eyes. This year the interactive festival is back for its second installment with work from award-winning metro Detroit artists like Hubert Massey, Olivia Guterson, and Mike Han. It’s more of an “experience” than a festival. Scanning featured murals with the Electrifly Augmented…
Ex-Detroit cop will serve probation for killing attorney Cliff Woodards in a car crash
A former Detroit cop who killed prominent attorney and radio personality Cliff Woodards II in a car crash pleaded no contest to willful neglect of duty on Monday. Teaira Iris Funderburg, 31, was on duty in a patrol car on Feb. 8, 2021, when she sped through a red light and slammed into a car…
Jack White drummer Daru Jones on hip-hop, rock ’n’ roll, and filling Meg’s shoes
When Jack White plays in Flint this weekend — the rock star’s first time ever performing there — he’ll be part of a tight four-piece band whose drummer uses a unique setup, with the snare and the toms tilted forward, away from him. The drummer is Daru Jones, a fellow Michigan native with a background…
Striking workers at Great Lakes Coffee withdraw from union effort as company closes stores
The months-long fight to unionize Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Co. has all but ended. Striking workers announced Monday that they were withdrawing from an election to form a union because the company has been closing its stores. “While we are disappointed and heartbroken, we are grateful for all who have stood with us, for your…
Where to score NBA Hall of Famer Chris Webber’s weed brand in metro Detroit
Despite the name, NBA Hall of Famer Chris Webber’s new brand of weed isn’t for basketball players only. Webber (who is a Detroit native) and business partner Lavetta Willis dropped their marijuana brand Players Only at select Gage Cannabis and Cookies dispensaries on Saturday. Players Only (or PO) launched with Webber’s select strains C4, Time…
The Republicans are weaponizing Trump’s latest scandal — as usual
There’s a lot we still don’t know about the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago last week. What we know, or think we know, comes from a mishmash of anonymous sources, Donald Trump’s confirmations via protestation, and the fragments of information in the public record. Likewise, there’s a lot we don’t know about where this is headed.…
Conspiracy theorist Mellissa Carone won’t shut up, so a Republican clerk sued her
The Republican clerk of Shelby Township has sued election conspiracy theorist Mellissa Carone for defamation, saying she falsely accused him of taking several bribes and running “illegal elections.” The lawsuit filed Friday in Macomb County Circuit Court marks the latest clash between Michigan Republicans who are turning on themselves less than three months before the…
Detroit native Chanté Adams talks starring in new adaptation of ‘A League of Their Own’
In the 1992 classic sports comedy-drama A League of Their Own, Tom Hanks’s character Jimmy Dugan, the manager of the women’s professional baseball team the Rockford Peaches, shouts the iconic line, “There’s no crying in baseball” — catapulting the movie into cinematic history. More than known for just great lines and performances by Hanks, as…
Donations keep Michigan library afloat after conservative backlash over LGBTQ book
Nearly $110,000 has been donated to a Michigan library that was defunded by conservative voters who were incensed over an LGBTQ-themed book that was on its shelves. The ongoing GoFundMe campaign was launched in Aug. 3, one day after 62% of voters in Jamestown Township, located outside of Grand Rapids, rejected a millage that funded…
Cheech and Chong in a bong: The top 10 Metro Times headlines
This week, our readers were most interested in the iconic canna-duo that is Cheech and Chong introducing their marijuana products to the Michigan market. The Ribs and R&B festival is taking over Hart Plaza this weekend and will feature acts like 702 and Jon B., and our readers wanted to know more about it. And…
As Michiganders struggle to afford health care, leaders push lawmakers to act
Michiganders are having trouble accessing and paying for both physical and mental health care and want their state and federal lawmakers to prioritize driving down health care costs, including by capping insurance deductibles and curbing what insurers can charge patients, according to a new survey. Lansing-based EPIC-MRA, a survey research firm, in June asked 609…
Michigan officials want you to kill this polka-dotted insect
If you see this beautiful red, white, and black polka-dotted insect — kill it, Michigan officials say. It’s a spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula), an invasive species from Asia that has been spreading across the U.S. since 2014. The first Michigan sighting of the insect occured in Pontiac last week and was confirmed Thursday by the…
Leave it to Dominique Morisseau to make us cry (again) with Motown musical ‘Ain’t Too Proud’
The audience can barely contain their excitement as the lights dim at the Detroit Opera House, illuminating a marquee for the Temptations. When the Temps finally take the stage with their unmistakable harmonies and signature dance moves, all bets are off. The audience erupts in applause and the collective joy is tangible as they sing…
Freedom Arts Festival to celebrate ‘Detroit’s other Rosa Parks’
Soon enough, Sarah E. Ray will become a Detroit household name. At least, it ought to be. The unsung civil rights champion helped desegregate the famed Boblo boats in the 1960s and later ran a community youth outreach program where she advocated for racial harmony in the 1970s. She’s often referred to as “Detroit’s other…
Chaos and infighting break out in Michigan’s Macomb County Republican Party
The Macomb County GOP is embroiled in an ugly internal dispute over control of the party, and now plans to hold competing county conventions Thursday evening. With less than three months before the general election, the battle is likely to play out in court and have far-reaching consequences for a party that is trying to…
You can tour Detroit’s neighborhoods by bike for a good cause — to help people experiencing homelessness
This weekend, you can help Detroiters experiencing homelessness by joining a bicycle tour of Detroit’s neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Service Organization (NSO) is hosting its annual Handlebars for the Homeless from 9 a.m.-noon on Sunday, Aug. 14. It’s the first time the event has returned in-person since the COVID-19 pandemic. The 15-mile guided tour will take…
5 best essay editing and proofreading services (professional and original)
Professional editing can be a great challenge, even for those who are confident in academic writing. Students are commonly overloaded and strained while they are involved in a writing process, especially at the time of exam passing. Lack of time is also not a loyal assistant in this case. That’s why proofreading and editing services…
R&B sensation Summer Walker makes Detroit stop on limited tour
We’re still not over 26-year-old R&B sensation Summer Walker’s Still Over It, the 2021 follow-up to the Atlanta-based singer’s 2019 breakthrough LP Over It. After working as a stripper and running a small cleaning business, Walker made a name for herself by teaching herself to play guitar and posting videos covering early 2000s R&B tracks…
Cheech and Chong’s Cannabis Company launches in Michigan
After decades of using — and joking about — pot, comedy duo Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong have entered the cannabis business themselves. Cheech and Chong’s Cannabis Company launches in the Michigan market on Thursday. Its products, which include flower, concentrates, and edibles, are available at Nature’s Medicines dispensaries, with names like “Big Sniff Sugar,”…
Hamtramck’s Dos Locos Tacos to expand into former New Martha Washington Bakery space
Our hearts broke when Hamtramck paczki fave New Martha Washington Bakery closed down in April. But now that next-door Dos Locos Tacos is going to expand into the former bakery space, our hearts (and stomachs) can rest a bit easier. Dos Locos Tacos owner Mike Petrack tells Metro Times he purchased the bakery in April…
Fight over Detroit’s recreational marijuana ordinance gets messier
The Detroit Election Commission delivered bad news to advocates of a more robust marijuana industry in the Motor City. The three-member commission on Monday rejected a ballot initiative that would have given voters an opportunity to overturn the city’s much-criticized recreational marijuana ordinance. But supporters aren’t giving up on their goal of creating a more…
Libraries like Detroit’s need our support now, more than ever
Libraries, vital pillars in our community, are increasingly under attack. That’s why as Detroit Public Library gradually opens branches for the first time since March 2020, it’s important that we support them now more than ever. Challenges are nothing new to libraries, but now they face protests, an explosion of book bans, staffing shortages, and…
Detroit’s Ribs and R&B Music Festival comes to Hart Plaza
The elements of a perfect summer day in the city are good food, good music, and good people. All will be served up at Detroit’s Ribs and R&B Music Festival. The fest will feature some of the best in barbecue with more than 20 food vendors, in addition to 50 retail vendors stationed throughout the…
Charivari Detroit returns to Historic Fort Wayne this week
While the larger Movement electronic music festival tends to get most of the hype, Charivari Detroit has been going strong for nine years. It’s like Movement’s, underground, less hipster cousin. This annual techno, dance, and house fest celebrates Detroit’s contributions to the electronic music world by featuring local DJs. As with previous years, the 2022…
The Hamtramck Music Festival brings four days of music and dozens of artists
The Detroit enclave of Hamtramck’s annual music festival is back, with dozens of local artists across more than 20 venues packed inside two square miles. Like our former Metro Times Blowout festival, the Hamtramck Music Festival is a chance to catch local artists before some of them inevitably blow up, and in recent years, the…
Dearborn’s Aliz Seafood House is a great catch
The list of seafood choices at Aliz is dizzying, and as far as I can tell, they’re all good. The English-Arabic menu has a chicken section, a Mexican section, a burger section, and a pasta section, but I didn’t go there. It was enough to try to sample the fried platters, grilled platters, skewers, casseroles,…
Rock band Dispatch uses the pandemic pause to retool
Dispatch returns to touring this summer quite literally as a band making a new start with a new album in Break Our Fall. However, neither the band lineup nor the new album ended up being what Chadwick Stokes or Brad Corrigan — the two members of Dispatch — initially intended, although both outcomes have been…
Free Will Astrology (Aug. 10-16)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Tips to get the most out of the coming weeks: 1. Exercise your willpower at random moments just to keep it limber. 2. Be adept at fulfilling your own hype. 3. Argue for fun. Be playful and frisky as you banter. Disagree for the sport of it, without feeling attached to…
