Cover Story
Ron LeFlore’s unlikely journey from prison to the Detroit Tigers honored 45 years after his big-league debut
During the tumultuous decade of the 1970s, Ron LeFlore went from the back of a patrol car to prison to patrolling the outfield for the Detroit Tigers in just over four years. It’s an astonishing tale of personal redemption through professional sports — and a stark contrast to the pro-sports-to-prison arc seen repeatedly today. The made-for-TV…
Duende, Las Drogas, and Kate Hinote head to Ann Arbor’s Lo-Fi Bar
One of these things is not like the other. Well, actually, none of these bands are remotely similar, which makes this Ann Arbor triple bill a sonic flight for folks of all fancies. Take Detroit’s Duende, a band that, for a decade, has been assembling a carefully crafted arsenal of throbbing psychedelic garage rock. Also…
Late literary visionary and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison subject of documentary screening at Cinema Detroit
“She’s a friend to our minds,” Oprah says of the late Toni Morrison in the documentary Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am — a reference to her seminal 1987 novel, Beloved. A filmmaker and friend of Morrison’s for nearly four decades, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart, The Trans List) provides an intimate…
Detroit Weird Homes tour returns for year 2 and is freakier than ever
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The same can be said of the strange, offbeat, and totally weird homes of the Motor City. The return of the Detroit Weird Homes Tour brings an up-close and personal self-guided look at seven creatively designed homes as well as their owners, who will be on-site to…
Flying Lotus brings soaring 3D spectacle to Royal Oak Music Theatre
For his sixth studio record, producer and grand-nephew of John and Alice Coltrane, Stephen Ellison, who performs as Flying Lotus, stepped away from his laptop, learned piano, and teamed up with a diverse roster of talented friends to examine clarity. His first record since 2014’s You’re Dead!, Flamagra finds FlyLo collaborating with Thundercat, Anderson .Paak,…
Detroit’s Soviet Girls and Don’t take to Outer Limits Lounge to support pair of Toronto indie bands
We don’t regret selecting low-key lo-fi foursome don’t as one of our bands to watch earlier this year. They’ve enlisted trusted producer and music-maker Fred Thomas to take on the follow-up to 2016’s forget it EP, which sounds like what might happen if the Modern Lovers took a road trip with early Neutral Milk Hotel.…
Detroit’s punk scene looks to raise money for New York Dolls guitarist following cancer diagnosis
Without under-appreciated ’70s glam pioneers the New York Dolls, we may never have been exposed to the high-octane glitter punk that gave us a “Personality Crisis.” Now, one of their own could use some help. New York Doll’s longstanding guitarist Sylvain Sylvain was recently diagnosed with cancer and has been enduring treatment. The “Looking for…
Singer-songwriter and Michigan-native Anna Ash returns home for Ann Arbor performance
Though Northern Michigan native Anna Ash has been making sparse, aching, and soulful indie out of Los Angeles (and her stunning 2016 debut Floodlights, which was recorded in Minnesota), we still consider her one of ours — and she’s got new music coming. For her first single in three years and the first from her…
Local musicians showcase their NPR Tiny Desk skills at Otus Supply
Performing in the cramped quarters of the NPR offices has become an unlikely rite of passage for indie musicians and mainstream greats alike. Everyone from St. Vincent, Chance the Rapper, Steve Martin, and Lizzo have taken to the NPR Tiny Desk stage — er, desk. Though NPR receives thousands of submissions to perform as part…
Detroit Dance City Festival returns with 3 days of performances and classes
Fact: People have been shaking it since at least 6,000 B.C. However, just because dance is an ancient form of artistic expression and communication, that does not mean everyone is gifted with grace, rhythm, or balance. For the folks that find themselves identifying with this, there’s the Detroit Dance City Festival, which returns to the…
QLine to join DART payment system to help riders connect between streetcar and buses
The QLine will join DART — metro Detroit’s regional transit payment system — to make it easier for travelers to get to their destinations using a combination of both the street car and buses. Joining the DART payment system means the QLine will amend its fare structure to align with both DDOT and SMART starting…
Pro skaters slide into Royal Oak’s Modern Skate & Surf for Vans-hosted 40th-anniversary bash
Long before millennials developed carpal tunnel over hours of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Royal Oak’s Modern Skate & Surf was serving up wheels, deals, and all the equipment to shred cement or waves. Founded in 1979 by George Leichtweis, Modern Skate is turning the big 4-0 and it’s doing it with some support from skate shoe…
White nationalist propaganda cropping up in Detroit and its suburbs
Propaganda for a white supremacist group is increasingly appearing in Detroit and its suburbs. In the past week, propaganda for Patriot Front has been found on light poles in Detroit and Roseville. Already this year, the Anti-Defamation League has documented Patriot Front fliers found in Lansing, Ferndale, Dearborn, Southfield, St. Clair Shores, Mt. Clemens, and…
Siwatu-Salama Ra’s criminal convictions reversed in court of appeals
Siwatu-Salama Ra — the Detroit activist who was forced to give birth in jail last year after she was sentenced to prison for brandishing a registered, unloaded firearm to defend herself — had her felonious assault and firearm convictions reversed by the Michigan Court of Appeals on Tuesday, according to the offices of her attorney, Wade…
MT’s Shuck Yeah! oyster-tasting event returns to Ferndale
Edited Tuesday, Sept. 17: Shuck Yeah! has moved. The event will now be held o Sunday, Oct. 20 at Otus Supply in Ferndale. Read more here. Get our top picks for the best events in Detroit every Thursday morning. Sign up for our events newsletter.
US Steel to lay off hundreds of workers in Michigan, citing ‘market conditions’
U.S. Steel Corp. will temporarily lay off hundreds of workers in Michigan, following the company’s decision to halt production at its Great Lakes facility. According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing made on Aug. 5, the steelmaker said it plans to temporarily let go of fewer than 200 workers at its Great Lakes…
Canadian blues rocker Reignwolf heads to Detroit with long-awaited debut
After seven years of teasing singles — and opening for Black Sabbath, the Pixies, and the Who — Reignwolf has finally released a debut, and it’s the stuff of blues-rock wet dreams. Formed by Canada’s one-man-band Jordan Cook in 2012, Reignwolf has finally broken the myth of his own design with Hear Me Out — a…
Nearly 12,000 Detroit homes lost water over delinquent payments since April
The city of Detroit shut off water to more than 11,800 homes for delinquent payments since April, and most of those houses are still without running water. City records, first obtained by the online news site Bridge, show that 7,310 of the homes still had no water as of Aug. 1. “It’s extremely alarming,” Alisha…
Michigan’s recreational marijuana sales may not be as robust as initially expected, study warns
No one doubts that cannabis consumers will soon pump a generous amount of tax dollars into Michigan schools, roads, and other state and local resources. The question is, how much? In four of the first five states to legalize recreational marijuana, sales are beginning to plateau after strong year-over-year increases, according to a new study…
Gage Cannabis Co. is about to bring a high-end marijuana experience to Ferndale
Metro Detroit marijuana aficionados are in for a new experience when Gage Cannabis Co. opens its doors to the public next month. The nascent cannabis company recently wrapped up construction of its first flagship store in Ferndale, transforming a warehouse in the industrial part of town into what looks like from the outside like it…
American Coney Island’s coney dog eating challenge seeks top dog
Are you competitive, and also hungry? If so, the ninth annual American Coney Island coney dog eating challenge might be just the thing for you. The event, taking place on Thursday, Aug. 29, will give competitors 10 minutes to scarf as many hot dogs slathered in chili, mustard, and onions as possible. The most voracious…
Reps. Tlaib, Omar pledge to fight Trump, Netanyahu ‘until we take our last breath’
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib broke into tears Monday as she recalled her family’s decision last week to reject Israel’s conditional offer to let her visit her 90-year-old grandmother. “We all decided as a family that I could not go until I was a free United States congresswoman coming there, not only to see my grandmother…
HGTV ‘Rehab Addict’ host Nicole Curtis named brand ambassador of Detroit Free Press/TCF Bank Marathon
HGTV’s Rehab Addict host Nicole Curtis was named the official race ambassador for the Detroit Free Press/TCF Bank Marathon on Monday. As brand ambassador, Curtis will run the international half-marathon race in October, as well as attend press appearances and promote the race on social media prior to the event. The famous home renovation host…
What we saw at Detroit’s first High Times Cannabis Cup since Michigan voted to legalize weed
High Times magazine returned to Detroit with its long-running Cannabis Cup event over the weekend, bringing thousands of people through the Russell Industrial Center over the course of two days to try some of the best cannabis and cannabis-products in the state. Since Michigan voted to legalize recreational cannabis use in November, this was the…
Ex-Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter sworn in as Oakland County’s new executive
Former Ferndale mayor Dave Coulter on Monday was sworn in as the first Democrat to serve as Oakland County executive. “I’m excited to get to work,” Coulter said to applause after the brief swearing-in ceremony at noon. Hours earlier, Coulter resigned as Ferndale mayor, a position he had held since January 2011. He previously served…
Little Caesars offers new Quattro pizza for when you can’t make up your mind
Pizza! Pizza! — but what if you just want one pizza divided into four quadrants, each with a different topping combination? Little Caesars’ new large, round, Italian-style pizza gives you just that. The four topping combos include: Italian sausage and Bruschetta Italian sausage and Pepperoni Pepperoni Cheese The new bruschetta topping includes Roma tomatoes, balsamic…
State AG’s office launches investigation into Royal Oak police’s treatment of Black man following viral video
The Civil Rights Division of the Michigan Attorney General’s Office is investigating Royal Oak police’s treatment of a Black man accused of “looking suspiciously” at a white woman. AG Dana Nessel directed the division to investigate after a viral video showed police detaining 20-year-old Devin Myers following the woman’s bizarre complaint. “The Civil Rights Division…
Ferndale Mayor Coulter replaces L. Brooks Patterson as Oakland County executive
Oakland County is about to have its first Democratic county executive since the office was created in 1974. The Oakland County Board of Commissioners voted 11-10 on Friday to appoint Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter to the position, which became open after the death of L. Brooks Patterson. Coulter is expected to officially resign as mayor…
Short’s Brewing collaborates to release line of marijuana-infused beverages — but not beer
One might assume a partnership between Michigan craft beer-maker Short’s Brewing and Windsor-based marijuana processing company Green Peak Innovations might result in bud-infused brew… but, sadly, you would be wrong. Thanks to a pesky law passed by the Michigan Legislature last year that prohibits the possession or sale of marijuana-infused alcoholic beverages, Short’s and Green Peak…
Highland Park’s Asian Corned Beef is now open
Detroit’s homegrown Asian Corned Beef chain continues to expand. After some permitting delays, Highland Park’s Asian Corned Beef finally opened its doors last week. Located at 12300 Wo0dward Ave., Highland Park, its the chain’s eighth store, opening just a week after a store near Woodward Avenue and Seven Mile Road in Detroit. Though the Highland Park store didn’t have…
A low-calorie version of Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale will hit shelves in 2020
Move over White Claw — America’s favorite IPA is going on a diet. Bell’s Brewery announced Thursday, on the Kalmazoo-based brewery’s 22nd birthday, that its celebrated IPA will be offered in a low-calorie version starting in early 2020. Appropriately named the Light Hearted Ale, the brewery’s newest addition will boast the “balanced, flavorful, and hoppy”…
Black man’s murder conviction overturned after juror used n-word
A Macomb County Circuit Court judge last week overturned a first-degree murder conviction for a Black man after it was revealed that a juror used the n-word during deliberation. Terry Wilson, 26, will now stand trial a second time over a shooting that resulted from an alleged 2013 altercation in Clinton Township. Wilson claimed he…
Royal Oak police disciplines an officer, apologizes for encounter with Black man
Royal Oak police on Thursday disciplined an officer and apologized to a 20-year-old Black man after he was stopped and forced to show his identification for allegedly “looking suspiciously” at a white woman earlier this week. “On behalf of the police department, I would like to apologize to Mr. Myers for how he was treated,”…
Inmates: Problems persist in Michigan prison kitchens
Michigan’s experiment with privatized food service came to its overdue conclusion this year when the Michigan Department of Corrections ended its contract with food service giant Trinity and rehired union staff to run the kitchen. Some of the most dramatic issues that threatened inmates’ health and safety under Trinity and Aramark, which served the prisons…
Israel allows Rep. Tlaib to visit grandmother, but Tlaib says she now won’t go on principle
After initially barring Rep. Rashida Tlaib from visiting the country, Israel reversed course and now says it will allow the congresswoman to visit her 90-year-old grandmother — so long as she promised in writing not to promote an Israel boycott while on the trip. But after Israel agreed to let her visit on Friday, Tlaib…
Michigan’s immigrant families face green card hurdles under federal rule change
Local experts say the latest changes to federal immigration laws would have damaging ripple effects on Michigan’s immigrant families. Under the new rule, legal immigrants who are applying for green card status would be denied if they’ve used federal assistance programs, like Medicaid or SNAP. At the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, staff attorney Tania Morris…
Reggae artist Satta Don Dada to play 4-month residency at Detroit City Distillery
Local DJ Evan Glicker, also known by his stage name Satta Don Dada, played the first show of his four-month residency at Detroit City Distillery earlier this month. He says that he plans to bring in food pop-ups, have guest artists, and have nights where he focuses on certain subgenres of reggae to diversify the sounds…
Mystery solved — we figured out what Bernie Sanders and Cardi B were talking about in Detroit
We are here for the blooming friendship between Cardi B and Bernie S. We previously wrote about how we noticed that Bernie Sanders and Cardi B met at Detroit’s TEN Nail Bar on July 29, but at first we didn’t know why. We knew that Bernie was in town for the Democratic debates and Cardi…
It looks like Detroit City FC is going pro after all
Congratulations, Le Rouge, you did it. Detroit City FC is now on track to join the new National Independent Soccer Association pro league, which kicks off in spring 2020. The announcement comes just weeks after DCFC’s original plan to go pro imploded. DCFC had previously announced its intention to form a new National Premier Soccer League, but…
Illegal machine gun conversion kits found in Detroit
Illegal gun conversion kits that can turn firearms into machine guns are showing up in Detroit. The devices, which can convert any firearm into a fully automatic weapon, are linked to a Chinese website, where federal authorities suspect that thousands of them have been illegally imported into the U.S. According to federal court records, the…
Israel bars US Reps. Tlaib and Omar from visiting
Israel is barring Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from entering the country due to their support for boycotting the Jewish state. “Israel has decided — we won’t enable the members of Congress to enter the country,” Israel Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told the Kan public broadcaster. “We won’t allow those who deny our…
Michigan isn’t ready for another recession
For a brief time on Wednesday morning, the bond market experienced a so-called “inverted yield curve,” where yields on two-year Treasury bonds were higher than those on 10-year ones; in other words, a short-term investment was seen as riskier than a long term one. The phenomenon is widely viewed as a harbinger of an imminent…
Royal Oak police launch internal probe after Black man stopped for ‘looking suspiciously’ at white woman
Royal Oak police are conducting an internal investigation after a viral Facebook video showed cops stopping a Black man for “looking suspiciously” at a white woman Tuesday evening. The department’s handling of the white woman’s complaint drew heavy criticism following a Metro Times story Wednesday. Witnesses said police stopped Devin Myers, who was walking to…
New film charts rise of Detroit gay rights icon Jeffrey Montgomery
Jeffrey Montgomery, a Detroit LGBTQ+ rights activist and public relations executive, is the focus of a new film titled America You Kill Me. Montgomery, who served as public relations director of Orchestra Hall and later the nationally broadcast Thanksgiving Day Parade, was not active in LGBTQ+ communities or their struggle for civil rights until tragedy…
Flint native’s new book focuses on value of business education
When Flint native and University of Michigan alum Steve Mariotti began teaching underprivileged students business skills in New York City after leaving the corporate world, his view of the profession changed forever. Mariotti, who comes from a family of teachers, found himself granting agency to students who were once deemed helpless by their school as…
37th annual African World Festival returns to Detroit for free 3-day celebration
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is hosting the 37th annual African World Festival on Aug. 16-18. Sponsored by Ford Motor Company Fund, Wayne State University, and more, the free event celebrates African diasporic culture. The festival will include a variety of food and shopping, featuring over 125 vendors representing 8 different…
Green Lantern plans to open a new Berkley pizzeria
Metro Detroit mini-chain Green Lantern Pizza’s seventh location could open in Berkley as soon as October. The forthcoming 5,200-square-foot store is planned for the former Sila Italian Dining & Pizza space at 4033 12 Mile Road, Crain’s reports. The new restaurant will have a full bar and a menu similar to that at the 15…
Oakland County commissioners interviewing 5 candidates for executive job
Oakland County commissioners on Wednesday are interviewing five candidates vying to replace L. Brooks Patterson as county executive. An evaluation committee of two Democrats and one Republican selected the five candidates from a field of 21. The committee is interviewing the following candidates: • 9:30 a.m.: Kevin Howley, Huntington Woods, Democrat • 10:30 a.m.: Randy Hazel, Lake…
Detroit and Windsor collaborate on plan to prepare for urban warfare
Members of the U.S. and Canadian military, along with the FBI, FEMA, and other government and private-sector agencies, are working together in Detroit this week to develop a plan to prepare for urban warfare. From Tuesday until Thursday, experts from both countries will come together to determine how different countries and departments will respond in…
Planned Parenthood considers a pro-choice ballot initiative in Michigan to combat ‘undemocratic’ anti-abortion measures
Planned Parenthood is gearing up for an abortions rights battle in Michigan. The organization is reportedly considering a pro-choice ballot initiative for the November 2020 ballot. Though only reportedly in its earliest exploratory stages, the organization is looking at ways to combat two anti-abortion proposals that are on the way to gaining the 340,047 signatures…
Royal Oak police stop Black man for ‘looking suspiciously’ at white woman
Royal Oak police stopped a 20-year-old Black man for “looking suspiciously” at a white woman Tuesday evening. Devin Myers was walking to Inn Season Cafe on Fourth Street when officers approached him and began questioning him. Myers stayed calm and even apologized to the officers “for wasting your guys’ time,” according to a live Facebook…
Frozen custard counter opens in downtown Detroit
A new soft serve frozen custard window is up and running on John R Street in downtown Detroit. Huddle Soft Serve is the latest concept from Gather’s Lea and Kyle Hunt, and the window will offer vanilla, chocolate, and twist frozen custard for $4, The Detroit News reports. It can be enhanced with toppings like…
After a rocky road, the Ann Arbor Blues Festival is back just in time to celebrate its 50th anniversary
James Partridge was an ardent fan of the blues long before he ever knew it. “I was a classic rock ‘n’ roll fan most of my life,” says Partridge, the attorney-turned-impresario who became the driving force behind reviving the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, which returns to the Washtenaw Farm Council Fairgrounds this weekend for its…
No show is too small for Detroit post-punk band Antighost
Detroit post-punk band Antighost straddles two identities. One is where the band enjoys national recognition and has performed its mosh-pit-inciting anthems to crowds at Vans 2017 Warped Tour pit stop in Detroit and Bledfest, a one-day musical extravaganza held in Howell’s Hartland Performing Arts Center that drew in hundreds. The other, which Antighost believes to…
Faded Detroit mural by Charles McGee gets a long-awaited touch up
On Wednesday, Aug. 7, celebrated Detroit artist Charles McGee put the finishing touches on his colorful, geometric mural on the side of the Detroit Foundation Hotel. Well, sort of. The mural was originally painted by McGee back in 1974 on the side of what was then the Pontchartrain Wine Cellars. In the decades since, the…
How Michigan vape retailer Ooze became a major player in the marijuana accessory game
It started with a pen. Four years before Michigan would vote to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults, and just a year after Oxford Dictionaries declared “vape” the definitive word of 2014, a modest Michigan brand launched a line of personal vaporizer batteries under the name Ooze. The Slim Twist battery, the first…
The second a Democrat takes the oath of office, Republicans will become born-again fiscal hawks
The same week Nancy Pelosi looked President Donald Trump’s criminal acts square in the eye and shrugged, she also surrendered her best leverage to counteract the administration’s misdeeds while making it more difficult for his Democratic successor — should there be one — to enact a progressive agenda. Some resistance this is. To back up:…
All-female crew makes history in yacht doc ‘Maiden’
For anyone who doesn’t boat much, it’s hard to grasp how yachting — a kind of postcard leisure activity for the hyper-rich — can be athletic, harrowing, admirable, or lethal. Maiden, Alex Holmes’ new documentary focused on the 1989 Whitbread Round the World race (and so yacht racing as opposed to leisure yachting), makes a…
City of Detroit fails to board up ‘every’ vacant house by July deadline
Mayor Mike Duggan pledged to board up every vacant house on Detroit’s east side by the end of July after police warned about a suspected serial killer luring his victims into abandoned homes. But the plan fell far short of its goal. By early August, many vacant houses on the east side were still wide…
Why Kwaku Osei-Bonsu started Black Restaurant Week in Detroit
Detroit native Kwaku Osei-Bonsu was only a freshman at Howard University when he started his business, Strange Roots — a monthly subscription service that delivered items from Black-owned businesses to college students. The service achieved moderate success before Osei-Bonsu ended it, but the experience helped lead him to his passion: to create and foster Black…
Fort Street Galley’s Table serves up deep-fried American comfort food
I took a friend to Table; it was his first time at Fort Street Galley, the collection of four restaurants in the old Federal Reserve Building downtown. “My first impression?” he said. “They want $14 for a hamburger in what looks like a food court.” Fort Street Galley is a food court. It’s an upscale…
Savage Love: Do men lose penis size as they age?
I’m an otherwise healthy male of 54. When I was a teen, my cock measured about six-and-a-half inches. Not small, not huge, pretty average. I never kept track of the situation down south, but suddenly I find my junk reports in just over four inches. WTF? Is this normal? Do men lose size/girth as they…
Horoscopes (Aug. 14-20)
ARIES: March 21 – April 20 Well, you have a lot going on. Caught between the past and the future, you’re letting go of one thing and moving on to whatever’s next. As you try to figure out where things are going, certainty is hard to come by. In your quieter moments, there are doubts…
