After growing up in Detroit’s cannabis black market, Tre Hobbs has officially launched his brand Neighborhood Essentials in Michigan
Tre Hobbs was born and raised on Detroit’s east side, where he says he got an early look at the city’s cannabis black market. “I’ve been around weed my entire life,” he says. “Like, from as young as I can remember, my people was growing it in the basement, and then selling it on the…
Violence ‘will not succeed,’ Michigan Gov. Whitmer says after jury convicts her would-be kidnappers
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer can breathe a little easier Tuesday after two men who plotted to kidnap her were convicted by a jury. The verdict against Adam Fox, 39, and Barry Croft Jr., 46, came about four months after jurors were deadlocked in a previous trial. “Today’s verdicts prove that violence and threats have no place…
The Ultimate Tailgating Checklist for Football Season
It’s always hard to say goodbye to summer, but fall vibes leave much to be desired as August slips into September. Forget about those pumpkin spice lattes. The best thing about fall is definitely tailgating season. Colleges are back in session and pro football is gearing up. Time to buy your tickets, don your team…
Detroit Cobras singer Rachel Nagy to be honored with tribute show
In January, the rock band the Detroit Cobras announced that its frontwoman Rachel Nagy had suddenly died. No cause of death was given. “There are no words to fully articulate our grief as we remember a life cut short, still vital and inspirational to all who knew and loved her,” the band wrote on Instagram.…
An alarming numbers of dogs are dying from a mystery illness in central and northern Michigan
A mystery illness has killed dozens of dogs in central and northern Michigan as local, state, and federal agencies scramble to learn more about the disease. Related First detected in Ostego County, the illness is similar to canine parvovirus, a highly contagious, life-threatening viral disease that commonly causes gastrointestinal illness in puppies. “We are still…
Inflation reduction act provides hope for Michigan’s climate-change policies
With the Inflation Reduction Act now law, many states are beginning to bring their climate goals to fruition. In the last decade, Michigan has seen rapid increases in flooding and other drastic weather events. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, Michigan’s declining ice cover could result in greater shoreline erosion, making the state…
Mexican rapper Bocafloja headlines Southwest Detroit’s SW Fest
The second-annual family-friendly SWFest celebrates the diversity of Southwest Detroit’s music scenes, bringing 40 musical performances across three stages in and around the historic Senate Theater. Bocafloja, a rapper from Mexico City, is set to perform, along with plenty of local acts, including Siena Liggins, Gabriel Duran, Forever Golden, Neena Roe, Jahz Watts, Object, and…
Detroit’s Allied Media Projects Seed series announces fall 2022 lineup
Allied Media Projects (AMP) Seeds is a series of events that brings together different visionaries across the AMP network for conversations and dialogue on a variety topics. Previously, AMP Seeds has explored topics such as how immigrants and non-white people are portrayed in entertainment and reimagining a world without prisons. This year, the four-part series…
Detroit Repertory Theatre co-founder Barbara Busby has died
Detroit Repertory Theatre co-founder Barbara Busby died on Tuesday, Aug. 16, the company announced Monday. The Detroit Rep has been a staple in the city’s theatre community since Busby and a small group of radical artists started it in 1957. Busby remained dedicated to the theatre for 64 years until 2021, when she retired at…
Detroit’s Third Man Records is releasing Sleep’s legendary ‘Dopesmoker’ LP with actual cannabis leaves encased inside
We feel confident saying that there is absolutely nothing like San Jose, California-based stoner metal band Sleep’s landmark record “Dopesmoker,” a sprawling 63-minute ode to the sweet leaf that stretches across three LP sides, with doomy riffs of biblical proportions. Fittingly, the track, which was almost never released, has its own mythic backstory, and for…
Popular California-based cannabis brand STIIIZY opens first Michigan dispensary in Ferndale
STIIIZY, a popular cannabis brand based in California, is opening its first recreational dispensary in Michigan. The company chose Ferndale as its first location outside of California. STIIIZY is holding its grand opening from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at 642 E. Nine Mile. The 9,866-square-foot dispensary will feature the company’s signature flower, concentrates,…
You’ve been riding Detroit’s giant slide wrong all this time, Michigan DNR says
By now, you’ve probably seen the hilarious and concerning video of kids speeding down Belle Isle’s giant slide as its humps send them flying. We’re sorry if anyone was harmed, but the viral Facebook video leaves us laughing to the point of tears every time we see it. The video even made it to CNN.…
Lil Nas X moves Detroit shows to Fox Theatre due to demand
If you missed your chance to get tickets for Lil’ Nas X’s first-ever tour that kicks off in Detroit next month, you now have a chance to score some to the sold-out shows. Due to popular demand, the rapper’s “Long Live Montero” tour has moved from Detroit’s Fillmore theater to the larger Fox Theatre, and…
Detroit’s PizzaPlex now serves Filipino BBQ
Southwest Detroit’s PizzaPlex has a new BBQ menu offering. The Filipino-style BBQ dish, “Inay’s inasal” (“mom’s barbecue” in Tagalog), is marinated overnight in a blend of sweet, tangy species and chargrilled in a wood-fired oven. Each plate comes with two skewers of either chicken, pork, or tofu with a bed of rice and garlic sauce.…
Nathan Fielder’s HBO series ‘The Rehearsal’ is imaginative, original, and essential work
“No surprises — you know everything that’s gonna happen.” That’s the seductive, untenable promise Nathan Fielder makes to his subjects in The Rehearsal, a baroque six-episode reality experiment whose first season just wrapped on HBO Max (and was just green-lighted for a second season). But the show’s extravagant scenarios are (contrary to what he promises)…
Dixon opposes abortion for rape victims because there’s ‘healing through the baby’
Despite complaining that Democratic attack ad had taken her comments on abortion out of context, Republican gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon seemed to confirm the ad’s point in a recent TV interview. The ad by Put Michigan First, a group allied with the Democratic Governors Association, criticized Dixon’s stance on abortion as extreme, noting her support…
The bumps and burns return to Belle Isle: The top 10 Metro Times headlines
This week, our readers shared our excitement about the reopening of the giant slide on Belle Isle, while some others felt the bumps on the slide’s opening day. Our readers were most interested in the Michigan man who wanted a race war and ended up sentenced to 20 years in prison. Readers were also interested…
Belle Isle’s giant slide in Detroit is outta control
We were excited about Detroit’s giant slide on Belle Isle finally reopening Friday after being closed for several years — despite our painful childhood memories of getting our asses burned and feeling like we were going to die on it. But in a Facebook video showing kids literally flying down the slide, it looks like…
Once again, judge rules Michigan prosecutors cannot enforce 1931 abortion ban
The fight over reproductive rights in Michigan continues to unfold like a never-ending soap opera. On Friday, a Michigan judge ruled county prosecutors cannot enforce the state’s outdated abortion ban from 1931. Oakland County Circuit Judge Jacob Cunningham issued a preliminary injunction on the abortion law following a temporary restraining order requested from Governor Gretchen…
It’s a golden age for marijuana users in their golden years
When it comes to cannabis, the progression to acceptance has been a long one. Baby Boomers, children of the Silent Generation, were warned of the effects of marijuana use from histrionic movies like 1936’s Reefer Madness and 1949’s Wild Weed. These films focused on addiction and mental health crises if you dared smoke the “green…
Gucci opens its Detroit store
Last month Metro Times reported on a photo of a homeless man sleeping in front of the future downtown Detroit Gucci store going viral on Facebook. It prompted a tone-deaf response from an apparently unofficial Gucci Detroit Twitter account about potential robberies and beefed-up security. A spokesperson for the real Gucci then contacted Metro Times…
Detroit’s Belle Isle Aquarium finally has an octopus, and they need help naming him
The oldest aquarium in the country has a new eight-legged resident. Detroit’s Albert Kahn-designed Belle Isle Aquarium celebrated its 10th anniversary since reopening and its 118th birthday on Thursday by unveiling its new octopus tank. According to the Belle Isle Conservancy, it’s the only public aquarium in Michigan to have one. Belle Isle Aquarium director…
Opinion: I’m a former Republican. What happened to Michigan’s GOP?
I’m having deja vu after this month’s primary. Last summer, after our Republican-led state senate found no fraud in the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump said, “The Senate ‘investigation’ of the election is a coverup.” He then called Detroit the “most corrupt election city in the U.S.” Since then, he has made it his…
He wanted a race war. Instead, Michigan man gets 20 years in prison.
The leader of a white supremacist group was sentenced to 56 months to 20 years in the slammer for terrorizing a Dexter family, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office said Thursday. Justen Watkins is the self-proclaimed leader of The Base, a pro-Hitler movement that advocates for a race war against non-white people with the goal of…
Betsy DeVos says Joe Biden once got handsy with her
President Joe Biden’s alleged propensity for unwanted touching apparently knows no bounds. On Wednesday, former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos claimed on the Megyn Kelly Show podcast that Biden once greeted her by placing his hands on her shoulders as he pressed “his forehead on [her] forehead for several seconds, and had a conversation with…
Former Sala Thai building in Detroit’s Eastern Market is up for lease
What will become of Sala Thai’s former space in the Eastern Market now that the long-standing restaurant has closed? We don’t know, but it’s now available for lease to another restaurant or retail space. Property management company Beanstalk Real Estate Solutions posted an advertisement for the 2,600-square-foot space, located in a former firehouse on Russell…
Michigan state House bill would eliminate fees to call a loved one in jail
In Roscommon County, a 15-minute phone call to a loved one in jail costs $22.56. The price of calling an incarcerated person in county jails, state prisons, and juvenile facilities vary by county, but the fees and charges are often too high to regularly stay in touch with a loved one, advocates say. State Rep.…
10 Best No Credit Check Loans with Guaranteed Approval Online: Get Personal & Payday Loans for Bad Credit
Regardless of how you try to plan your expenses, you may have urgent financial needs at one point or another. Unplanned financial expenses can show up at any time, so you may require a quick loan to cater to your costs. However, issues with your credit score may prevent you from getting the loan. Thus,…
PJ’s Lager House announces ‘End of an Era’ concert with performances by workers and their family
PJ’s Lager House has announced the details for its third “End of an Era” concert series show before it gets sold to new owners. The show is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 13 and will feature all performers who worked at the long-standing Corktown bar and music venue over the years, or their family, organizers say.…
Get ready to burn your ass on Belle Isle’s giant slide in Detroit again when it reopens Friday
If you didn’t burn your hands going down the giant slide on Belle Isle as a kid, then you didn’t grow up in Detroit. After being closed for several years during the pandemic, the slide will reopen on Friday, Aug. 19. It’s only open for a limited time — Fridays through Sundays from 11 a.m.…
Sugar Factory announces opening date for Detroit location and is taking reservations
The wait is over: Sugar Factory has finally announced the date for its grand opening in downtown Detroit, and they’re currently taking reservations. The candy-themed restaurant chain will open its doors in Detroit on Monday, Aug. 29, according to an announcement made on its social media pages. It was announced back in January that the…
R.I.P. Deadline Detroit
After more than 10 years of “Real News, Irreverent Views,” local digital publication Deadline Detroit is ending on Sept. 5. That’s according to a Wednesday post announcing the end of Deadline Detroit by co-founder Allan Lengel. “Sadly, after celebrating Deadline Detroit’s 10-year anniversary in April, I’ve simply run out of juice, the 24/7 grind of…
Nearly 100 E. coli cases reported in 3 Michigan counties, prompting health advisory
A significant increase in E. coli cases in Michigan prompted health officials to issue an advisory about food safety and the importance hand-washing. So far this month, 98 cases of E. coli were reported in Oakland, Ottawa, and Kent counties, compared to 20 during the same time period last year, according to the Michigan Department…
The Detroit All-Star Garage Rock Punk Revue IV celebrates the scene’s past, present, and future
I recently attended the Concert of Colors in the lawn of the Detroit Institute of Arts, specifically for the Don Was tribute to Iggy Pop. I wouldn’t have even known about it if my buddy Joe hadn’t invited me, but it would turn out to be one of the musical highlights of my summer. It…
New pizza menu, natural wine program at Rose’s Fine Food shine on Detroit’s east side
The east side’s Rose’s Fine Food is consistently on my short list of favorite Detroit restaurants since it opened in 2014, trading in well-sourced breakfast and lunch “diner” fare, along with its excellent sourdough bread and cakes. Though its hotline and previous menu became COVID casualties as owner Molly Mitchell adjusted to stay afloat in…
‘Emily the Criminal’ is a crackling Millennial revenge tale that discards societal lies for an escape hatch
Endless box stores, dirty windshields, parking lots with zero shade; stalled elevators, eyebrow scars, sputtering fluorescent lights; security fences, empty fridges, cocaine with strangers in sweaty bathrooms. Emily the Criminal may be one of the most honest L.A. movies — and American movies — of our times, if only for entirely renouncing most of the…
Free Will Astrology (Aug. 17-23)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky wrote, “All my life, I’ve been going around waiting for something — as if I were waiting in a railway station. And I’ve always felt as if the living I’ve done so far hasn’t actually been real life but a long wait for it — a long…
