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Where to celebrate New Year’s Eve and ring in 2022 in metro Detroit and beyond
See our New Year’s Eve party guide for listings on where to ring in 2022 in metro Detroit and beyond. Did we miss a party? Email tips@metrotimes.com and we’ll add it! Bavarian Inn Lodge Adults-only and family-themed buffet dinners. Adult gala includes complimentary wine, champagne toast, cash bar, and dance music by Ceyx. Family-friendly dinner…
Detroit ink: New books on the city, its people, and relevant spaces
We all know Detroit is a city of myriad, complex flavors, hosting both bitter and sweet. We also know that a good story — even if it’s been retold a hundred times — gets better with each telling. With the right storyteller at the helm, the part you thought you knew by heart remarkably takes…
Best CBD Oil for Pain Relief 2022
When you are in pain, the chances are you will consider that it is only right to consider the conventional painkillers from a drug store. However, some painkillers are known to cause dependency. That is not what you generally want. So, what would be the best solution to this? We recommend that you consider CBD…
COVID-19 patients are overwhelming Michigan’s health care system, but there are no plans to open field hospitals
As health officials braced for the first wave of COVID-19 cases in early 2020, the state opened a 1,000-bed field hospital at the former TCF Center in downtown Detroit. The care center was used for less than a month, and only 39 patients used it because of a steep decline in COVID-19 cases. A field…
Omicron is spreading in Michigan, but Whitmer says statewide mandates are unlikely
There are currently eight cases of the fast-spreading COVID-19 omicron variant that have been found in Michigan. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Tuesday the state is urging people to get vaccinated and booster shots instead of implementing statewide mandates. This has been the state’s overall strategy since vaccines became widely available to those 16 and up…
Motown singer Wanda Young of the Marvelettes dies at 78
Motown singer Wanda Young from the Marvelettes died at 78 years old on Dec. 15. Young also performed under the name Wanda Rogers. Young performed backup vocals on the Marvelettes’ classic 1961 track “Please Mr. Postman,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was covered by the Beatles. She later did lead vocals on…
Dearborn Police Department to get its first Muslim chief
The city of Dearborn is about to get its first Muslim police chief. Mayor-elect Abdullah Hammoud announced he was appointing Cmdr. Issa Shahin, a 23-year veteran of the department, to serve as police chief beginning on Jan. 1, the day Hammoud takes office. Shahin is currently the commanding officer of the department’s investigative division. Hammoud,…
The Kellogg strike is over, you can buy Corn Flakes again
To those who have been showing solidarity to striking workers at Kellogg by boycotting Corn Flakes and other breakfast cereals, rejoice. Union workers at Battle Creek-based Kellogg have finally ratified a new contract, ending a strike that has lasted for more than two months. “Our striking members at Kellogg’s ready-to-eat cereal production facilities courageously stood…
Fluresh mentorship program aims to diversify Michigan’s cannabis industry
It’s no secret that Michigan’s cannabis industry is booming, especially for recreational use. The industry hit $128 million in recreational sales in October and is expected to keep growing next year. Hell, Lume Cannabis alone has around 28 shops open across the state. However, there is a distinct lack of minority ownership and small businesses…
Aiming for complexity, ‘Being the Ricardos’ reduces comic genius to maudlin gibberish
Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos isn’t great for reasons that are interesting, and is downright bad for reasons that are, perhaps, even more interesting. Depicting one week in the production life of I Love Lucy after Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) has been smeared as a Communist by the tabloids, the film explores the anxieties of…
Michigan petition seeks to overrule Governor’s veto on restrictive voter ID law
A petition from the group “Secure MI Vote” is aiming to circumvent Michigan’s regular legislative channels and pass laws restricting many residents’ ability to vote. Lawmakers passed changes to the state’s voter ID laws this year, but faced vetoes from the governor for requiring absentee ballot requests to include photo ID, and removing the option…
Michigan dispensaries offer free prerolls and weed discounts in exchange for donating toys for the holidays
A couple of Michigan cannabis dispensaries are in the spirit of giving back with clothing and toy drives this holiday season. They’re also offering discounts, giveaways, and free prerolls to anyone who makes a donation. So get your Christmas trees (we’re talking cannabis, not pine, duh) while donating to families in need this holiday season.…
Romulus superintendent files whistleblower suit, racial discrimination lawsuit against district
The Romulus Community Schools superintendent is suing the district, alleging racial discrimination and whistleblower violations when the school board placed him on indefinite leave and replaced him with a less qualified white person. Benjamin Edmondson, who is Black and became superintendent in August 2020, was placed on administrative leave “just days after he ‘blew the…
Redistricting commission’s proposed maps violate Voting Rights Act, Michigan civil rights department says
Less than two weeks before Michigan’s redistricting commission is expected to approve the next decade of new voting districts, the state’s civil rights department declared that the proposed maps violate the federal Voting Rights Act. Jerome Reide, legislative liaison for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, came to the conclusion after analyzing the Independent Citizens…
Detroit’s Pietrzyk Pierogi offers holiday gift baskets, including readymade traditional Wigilia dinners
Eastern Market’s Pietrzyk Pierogi is offering a number of holiday-themed gift baskets, including ready-to-heat Wigilia Dinners, the traditional pescatarian Polish Christmas Eve meal. Packages include a $39 small basket with a dozen pierogi, 1-quart dill pickle soup, and sides of sour cream, sauerkraut, and onion; a $59 regular basket that includes the above with a…
This Christmas, be like Alice Cooper
You don’t need to look like a “good” person to be a Mr. Nice Guy. A viral photo being shared on social media on Monday shows the “Godfather of Shock Rock,” Alice Cooper, humbly serving food to the needy. Alice Cooper serving food at a shelter…… pic.twitter.com/qatNjMTPiM — Humphrey Bogarts hungover pissed off ghost (@Robertsixto2)…
Susan J. Demas: Hospitals are overrun by the unvaccinated. What happens to the rest of us?
I never fully transitioned back into a post-COVID world after getting vaxxed and even boosted, because I understood that reality didn’t exist for millions of immunocompromised people, seniors and young kids who still can’t get the shot. Wearing high-quality masks indoors, continuing to work from home much of the time and limiting travel — one…
Kellogg offer gives ‘no gain overall’ for workers, per plant manager’s leaked email
Publicly, cereal giant Kellogg has insisted that it has “made every effort to reach a fair agreement” with its 1,400 striking union employees, boasting each time that the tentative agreements include “no concessions or takeaways” from the union. But a leaked email obtained by the Advance Friday from a plant manager in Battle Creek frames…
3 omicron cases confirmed in metro Detroit, bringing state total to six
Three cases of the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been detected in metro Detroit, bringing the total of confirmed infections in the state to six. One case each has been identified in Wayne, Oakland, and Washtenaw counties, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The state’s first case…
Bernie Sanders lends support to Kellogg’s workers as strike stretches past two months
Kellogg’s workers are feeling the Bern. On Friday, the democratic socialist U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders joined the picket line in Battle Creek, where the cereal giant Kellogg’s is headquartered, to lend his support to the 1,400 union workers across the country who have been on strike since early October. The labor dispute escalated in recent…
A new Aaliyah record, Detroit auto show return, and a new name for TCF Center: The top ten Metro Times headlines of the week
The cancellation of Detroit’s Winter Blast stung our hearts, but plenty of readers were interested in the Winter Blast’s sudden revival and move to Royal Oak. Our readers were also interested in a viral painting by a local artist that depicted the covering of Critical Race Theory. And many curious as to what TCF Center’s…
Playwright Dominique Morisseau shows love for Detroit on Broadway
There’s no denying the creativity, ingenuity, and will to survive that Detroit breeds. The city’s spirit of resilience is evident in our music, culture, and civil rights history. Local playwright Dominique Morisseau puts those stories center stage in her work. Her play Skeleton Crew, which tells the story of automotive plant workers facing foreclosure, will…
Ongoing FBI investigation leads to charges against another ex-Detroit cop
A former Detroit detective who is now working for the Hamtramck Police Department was charged Friday with bribery in connection with an ongoing and far-reaching investigation into towing practices. Michael Pacteles is accused of providing “favors” to a towing company in exchange for bribes, including a vehicle and $3,200 in cash. Among the favors was…
All teachers, staff at Detroit’s public schools must be vaccinated by February
The Detroit Public Schools Community District is requiring all teachers and staff members to be fully vaccinated by Feb. 18. The mandate was approved by the DPSCD school board on Thursday. Employees who receive medical or religious exemptions must take regular COVID-19 tests and wear masks. About 80% of the district’s employees are vaccinated. Under…
Duggan: U.S. Census effort in Detroit was ‘malpractice’
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan argued Thursday that the 2020 U.S. Census has undercounted Detroit’s population by 8% in some city neighborhoods. “This was malpractice by the Census Bureau,” said Duggan who worked as population counter in 1980 for the agency when he was a student at the University of Michigan. “This was not an honest…
A posthumous Aaliyah record is finally coming, and The Weeknd is on the first track. But is it worth it?
After many years of speculation and bitter dispute over the rights to her legacy, new music from Aaliyah, the late R&B star from Detroit, is finally here. Blackground Records 2.0, the revived version of the label started by her uncle and music mogul Barry Hankerson, dropped a new track titled “Poison” on Friday, featuring the…
‘The New Black Vanguard’ at the DIA is the exhibit Black Detroiters need
Black is goddamn beautiful. Black can be soft, strong, vibrant, gentle, feminine, and masculine simultaneously. And nobody gets to decide for Black people which of those qualities we embody except for us. If you leave the Detroit Institute of Arts after viewing The New Black Vanguard: Photography between Art and Fashion without understanding that, then…
Southfield’s Beans & Cornbread is now Cornbread Restaurant & Bar
Beans & Cornbread has a new location, a new look, and a new name. The longstanding Southfield soul food restaurant is now called Cornbread Restaurant & Bar, and has moved down the street from 29508 Northwestern Hwy. to 29852 Northwestern Hwy. It opened Dec. 10, according to The Detroit News. Founder Patrick Coleman told the…
Big Sean responds to Kanye West’s claims in the most Detroit way possible
Quite possibly the most anticipated episode of Revolt TV’s Drink Champs podcast is dropping this week as rapper and host N.O.R.E. sits down with Big Sean. The Detroit 2 rapper not only discusses his career, and his dad’s friendship with Dave Chappelle, but is responding to Kanye West saying that signing him was the “worst…
Michigan regulators warn that recalled marijuana could contain mold and harmful bacteria
The Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency is urging a judge to reconsider his decision to halt part of a massive recall of marijuana, saying that some of the cannabis is likely contaminated. The agency said it conducted more microbial tests and found that 26% of Viridis North’s recalled packages revealed yeast, mold and/or a bacteria called…
Michigan confirms 2 more omicron cases as variant rapidly spreads nationwide
Two more cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 have been identified in Michigan, bringing the total to three, as health experts warn that the strain is far more transmissible than previous ones. The state’s first case was confirmed on Dec. 9. The two new cases were detected in Genesee County adults, who were infected…
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says Democrats aren’t doing enough to protect democracy
Seemingly every day, we learn new shocking details about how far Donald Trump’s supporters will willing to go to overthrow the 2020 election. The U.S. House’s investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection has recently brought to light documents including a detailed PowerPoint presentation that circulated in the White House arguing to overturn the election, as…
Michigan redistricting commission to take final vote on new maps
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission holds a public meeting today in Detroit, to hear what people think about new congressional, state House and state Senate voting-district maps. The 45-day window to make comments on the proposals ends at the end of December, when the Commission will take a final vote. Michael Davis, Jr., redistricting…
Winter Blast moves to Royal Oak from Detroit
Detroit’s longstanding Winter Blast festival has found a new home in Royal Oak. Organizers announced the move Wednesday. The festival, now dubbed Winter Blast Royal Oak presented by the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, will be held Friday, Feb. 4-Sunday, Feb. 6 in downtown Royal Oak. Earlier this month, organizers announced that the 2022 festival…
Detroit’s Baker’s Keyboard Lounge hosts tribute to jazz artist and activist Abbey Lincoln
The late Abbey Lincoln was known as a jazz vocalist who has been compared to Billie Holiday, and was also an actress and activist. According to the New York Times, she was living in Harlem in 1962 when she helped to establish the Cultural Association for Women of African Heritage, and her 1966 essay “Who…
A Taylor Swift-themed dance party is coming to the Crofoot in Pontiac
Grab your heart-shaped sunglasses and get ready to dance like you’re 22, because the Crofoot Ballroom is hosting a Taylor Swift-inspired dance night. This touring dance party heads to metro Detroit just in time for T-Swift’s birthday week. Featuring drinks inspired by Miss Americana herself, you’ll be saying, “I had a marvelous time.” Unleash your…
Trump-supporting Michigan sheriff wants charges filed against woman who criticized anti-maskers
A Trump-adoring sheriff in Michigan is pursuing criminal charges against a Howell woman who called out anti-maskers on Twitter, drawing sharp criticism from legal experts. Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy investigated the tweets and handed the case over to prosecutors in hopes of initiating charges against Kasey Helton. Activists and legal experts were aghast at…
A Michigan mom lost custody for supporting her child’s gender exploration
A Michigan mother lost custody of all of her children after encouraging her middle child’s gender exploration, resulting in a yearslong case in the courts. According to a new feature story in New York Magazine, someone in the rural community of Clare, Michigan (population 30,000) made an anonymous report to Child Protective Services in 2014,…
Detroit North American International Auto Show eyes 2022 return
The Detroit Auto Dealers Association is targeting Sept. 14-25, 2022 for the long-awaited return of the North American International Auto Show. Fingers crossed that the auto show actually comes to fruition this time, since it hasn’t taken place in Detroit since 2019. The show was supposed to happen in June of 2020 in a new…
Rep. Slotkin to introduce bill to require safe storage of firearms after Oxford shooting
U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, plans to introduce federal legislation Wednesday that would require gun owners to safely secure firearms following the deadly shooting at Oxford High School. Anyone who fails to properly store their firearms faces up to five years in prison if a child uses as a weapon to injure themselves or commit…
Pearl’s Deep Dive opens in downtown Royal Oak
A new seafood restaurant has opened in downtown Royal Oak. Pearl’s Deep Dive opened on the first level of the complex that also houses Pinky’s Rooftop and the forthcoming Bohemia. All are under Adam Merkel Restaurants group. The restaurant group describes Pearl’s as having “an eclectic 1920’s dinner party vibe.” There’s a nautical theme throughout,…
The plot against America is just getting started
• “Declare National Security Emergency.” • “Declare electronic voting in all states invalid.” • “A Trusted Lead Counter will be appointed with authority from the POTUS to direct the actions of select federalized National Guard units and support from DOJ, DHS and other US government agencies as needed to complete a recount of the legal…
Violence is what happens when you… normalize violence
I don’t know about you, but I’m still trying to make sense of last week in America. I spent my ink in this newsletter dissecting the omicron variant — what we know and what we don’t. At the time I thought, “This is it. This is this week’s story.” After all, what could be bigger…
Chicken 65 pizza is the star at Farmington’s Gift of India
No two cuisines in the culinary mashup era seem to work out as surprisingly well as Indian food and pizza. Though a few metro Detroit eateries trade in the concept, one of its finest examples is the chicken 65 pie made by Gift of India, a Farmington fast casual spot. Several components of GOI’s pizzas…
‘The New Black Vanguard,’ a tribute to Abbey Lincoln, Taylor Swift dance party, and more things to do in metro Detroit this week
A Tribute to Abbey Lincoln Thu 12/16: The late Abbey Lincoln was known as a jazz vocalist who has been compared to Billie Holiday, and was also an actress and activist. According to the New York Times, she was living in Harlem in 1962 when she helped to establish the Cultural Association for Women of…
Netflix’s ‘Procession’ uses a unique storytelling method to explore shattered faith
“I want this to be like Marvel superheroes vanquishing the fucking forces of darkness,” says Ed, one victim of sexual abuse, says in Robert Greene’s newest documentary Procession, currently streaming on Netflix. The slide, in which the middle-aged man’s face folds in on itself, moving to the brink of tears as he makes an appeal…
Free Will Astrology (Dec. 15-21)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Key questions for you, beginning now and throughout 2022: 1. What do you need to say, but have not yet said? 2. What is crucial for you to do, but you have not yet done? 3. What dream have you neglected and shouldn’t neglect any longer? 4. What sanctuary is essential…
