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Metro Detroit’s drinking water is unsafe, and it’s not just lead
Flint and Benton Harbor aren’t the only Michigan communities that have been plagued with tainted drinking water. Metro Detroit residents are unwittingly drinking tap water contaminated with substances linked to cancer, brain damage, liver disease, and other serious health dangers, according to a new report by a national group of scientists. Over the past two…
Canadian vaccine mandate protesters shut down Ambassador Bridge at border
A right-wing Canadian protest of COVID-19 vaccine mandates on Monday shut down the Ambassador Bridge at the U.S. border in Detroit, with the bridge remaining inaccessible as of Tuesday afternoon. UPDATE: Other on I-75 Location: Both Directions I-75 at Bridge to Canada County: Wayne Event Message: BRIDGE TO CANADA IN DETROIT IS CLOSED. USE PORT…
Detroit businesses pledge allegiance to Matt Stafford for Super Bowl LVI
One thing that can always be said about Detroiters is that they will ride and support anything Detroit until they can’t anymore. Detroiters are a very loyal and dedicated people as made evident by all the Detroit Lions fans who have simply decided that the Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl appearance is really a Detroit Super…
Detroit bar PJ’s Lager House expands brunch hours
With all the news about Detroit-area restaurants closing due to the hardships of the pandemic, it’s good to hear that some are surviving. That includes PJ’s Lager House, the longstanding Corktown rock ‘n’ roll bar that is also known for its vegan-centric brunch. Owner PJ Ryder says he’s expanding the bar’s brunch hours to 7…
The Marshall Tucker Band has a new generation of fans
The Marshall Tucker Band had its hits in the ’70s. But when singer Doug Gray looks out at the audiences at the band’s shows, he doesn’t see a room full of those who grew up on the songs. He sees a lot of people who weren’t born when “Can’t You See,” “Fire on the Mountain,”…
Detroit City Council considers new ordinance to allow recreational marijuana businesses to open
Recreational marijuana dispensaries and other related cannabis businesses may soon open in the city of Detroit after all. Seven months after a federal judge indefinitely blocked the city from approving applications for cannabis businesses, saying its ordinance is “likely constitutional,” city council members have come forward with a new plan. “This legislation is a long…
Detroit’s longstanding Hygrade Deli is now a Black-owned business
Detroit’s old-school Hygrade Deli lives on under new ownership. Previous owner Stuart Litt, whose parents purchased the deli in 1972, put the business up for sale last year. The restaurant will now be owned by Detroit businessman Chuck Nolen, who also owns Cutters Bar & Grill in Eastern Market and is chair of the Neighborhood Legal…
Hamtramck turns 100, celebrations planned
The small but mighty city of Hamtramck is turning the big 100 this year. According to the Friends of Historical Hamtramck, a nonprofit that runs the Hamtramck Historical Museum, celebrations are planned throughout the year, including a parade, a birthday party, and a project that will collect stories from residents. First established as a township…
Groups urge dropping barriers to drivers licenses for Michigan immigrants
A coalition of immigrants and allies in Michigan has kicked off a week of action, urging the Legislature to take up bills to restore the ability of any resident to get a driver’s license, regardless of immigration status. Since 2008, Michigan has required proof of permanent legal residency to get a driver’s license. Nelly Fuentes,…
Burn Rubber Sneaker Boutique expands into Detroit with sister store Two18
Roland “Ro Spit” Coit is a real renaissance man. The Pontiac native is a rapper, DJ, husband, father, and most known as the owner of Burn Rubber Sneaker Boutique in Royal Oak. For years, Burn Rubber has cemented itself as one of the must-know establishments in Detroit sneaker culture. On a larger scale it’s one…
The Islamic Center of Detroit petitions to rename Belton-Mark Twain Park as ‘Muhammad Ali Park’
The Islamic Center of Detroit (ICD) has proposed the renaming of a local park to honor a prominent figure in Black history. ICD is hoping to rename the Belton-Mark Twain Park as “Muhammad Ali Park,” and has plans for a park remodel. The city-owned park is located in Detroit at the intersection of Belton St.…
Second Whitmer kidnapping suspect plans to plead guilty, cooperate with prosecutors
A second suspect in the alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer plans to plead guilty and testify against the remaining suspects. As part of a plea agreement, Kaleb Franks, 27, of Waterford Township, will plead guilty to kidnapping conspiracy, The Detroit News first reported. His trial was scheduled to begin on March 8. As…
Black woman sues a Wendy’s restaurant in Michigan over ‘Jim Crow era-type discrimination’
A Black woman is suing a Wendy’s restaurant in Kalamazoo and two of her former co-workers, alleging she was repeatedly subjected to racism while working at the fast food chain in the summer of 2021. The lawsuit, filed in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court on Monday, says Sophia Cargill was alienated and targeted by predominantly white…
Rep. Berman wants to add vaccination status to Michigan civil rights law
A bill seeking to add vaccination status to the state’s civil rights statute has been introduced by a lawmaker seeking to become Michigan’s next attorney general. State Rep. Ryan Berman (R-Commerce Twp.) is seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is running for reelection this November. On Tuesday, he introduced House…
Singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus brings ‘Kissing Lessons’ to Detroit’s Majestic Theatre
Most people remember their childhood like a scrapbook — the shiny, happy stories enhanced with embellishments as they get retold over and over, while the darker moments stay buried in the attic, brought out in only the most vulnerable times, or never at all. Singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus, on the other hand, seems to remember her…
Rep. Tlaib introduces bill to name Detroit post office after Rosa Parks
Civil rights icon Rosa Parks may soon have her name on a Detroit post office. U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, introduced legislation on Friday – Parks’ birthday – that would designate the U.S. Postal Service building at 4744 Grand River Ave. as the “Rosa Louise McCauley Parks Post Office Building.” The building is just south…
Detroit’s contaminated water, two local dining faves close, and one packed Movement lineup: The top ten Metro Times headlines
This week, it seems our readers were interested in what festival lineups were coming their way. Our readers checked out both the Winter Blast Royal Oak and Detroit’s Movement lineups. While our readers were also interested in Pleasantrees’ new “battle of the bands”-style competition, it was a new report about the state of metro Detroit’s…
Griffin Claw Brewing Company to release packzi-flavored vodka
If you’re from Detroit, you know how to properly pronounce “packzi” and where to find the best jelly-filled delights. You also might know that a local distillery had bottled the flavor and for the last few years, was seemingly the only one to offer the seasonal vodka. Until now. Birmingham’s Griffin Claw Brewing Company announced…
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is opening its first Michigan location in Lansing
Michigan has no shortage of fast food options, and now Lousiana-born Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is adding its name to the pot. Raising Cane’s will open its first Michigan location in East Lansing later this year. The restaurant is known for its chicken fingers and tangy Cane’s sauce. Other than that, its simple menu features…
New recreational dispensary to offer cannabis giveaways at grand opening in Monroe
A new recreational cannabis dispensary in Monroe is launching a grand opening on Feb. 11 with giveaways. Quality Roots will offer more than 250 products, including dozens of strains of flower, 40 to 50 different cartridges and concentrates, and more than 100 types of edibles. The store is at 1121 S. Monroe St. It’s the…
Detroit farmer Jerry Hebron tapped to help the USDA with urban farming policy reform
While Detroit may be known nationally for cars, techno, and Motown, locally the city is a sprawling hub for urban farming. Detroiters have been growing food on vacant lots left in the ashes of the city’s housing collapse for years. It’s how residents took food sovereignty into their own hands and used the misfortune as…
Detroit-Windsor Tunnel will offer COVID-19 PCR test kits — for a price
A new partnership between Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and Assure Covid Travel Clinics will now allow for COVID-19 PCR tests on site at the border. Beginning this week, travellers will be able to go www.assure.clinic to order the PCR tests prior to travel, and pick up the test kits at an operations office on the Detroit side…
Conspiracy-driven Macomb County GOP slams state Republicans for alienating Trump-endorsed candidates
The head of the Macomb County Republican Party blasted the state GOP in a rambling, conspiracy-laden tirade, accusing party leaders of scheming against Trump-endorsed candidates and ignoring what he falsely called a “coup” in the 2020 election. The rift is significant because Macomb is now the largest Republican-dominated county in the state and is credited…
Detroit Pistons partner with Rosa Parks’ estate to provide free bus fare
Rosa Parks is one of the most prominent figures in Black history, and the Detroit Pistons have collaborated with the civil rights movement icon’s estate to celebrate Black History Month and honor her birthday. This weekend, Feb. 4 through Feb. 7, in partnership with Priority Health and the Knight Foundation, the organizations will offer free…
Unvaccinated make up vast majority of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in Michigan
President Joe Biden was right: at this point, COVID-19 is largely a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” The overwhelming majority of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in Michigan are among the unvaccinated, the state’s health department said Thursday. According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, from Jan. 15, 2021, to Jan. 14, 2022,…
George Cvetanovski, owner of Hamtramck’s Seven Brothers Bar, has reportedly died
George Cvetanovski, the owner of Hamtramck’s Seven Brothers Bar, has reportedly died. The news was shared Wednesday night by actor Sam Richardson (of Comedy Central’s Detroiters), who had a close relationship with Cvetanovski. “A dear friend of mine George passed away today. He owned and ran 7 Brothers bar in Hamtramck, MI,” Richardson wrote in…
Polling shows parents support teachers’, schools’ handling of COVID
Recent polling shows strong support for educators and schools in Michigan and across the country throughout the COVID-19 crisis. More than 3 in 4 parents in a nationwide survey said they are satisfied with how their schools handled the pandemic, and endorsed the quality and performance of their teachers. Craig Hofman, an eighth-grade social studies teacher…
Michigan group files ballot initiative to legalize psychedelics
Psychedelic mushrooms and plants could be on the November 2022 ballot in Michigan. A group of activists from Decriminalize Nature National and Students for Sensible Drug Policy have filed a ballot initiative to legalize psychedelic mushrooms and plants statewide. If passed, the measure would legalize so-called “entheogenic” substances for adult use, including psilocybin, mescaline, peyote,…
Malcolm X’s former Inkster home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The house at 4336 Williams St. in Inkster sat abandoned, crumbling, and surrounded by overgrown grass for years. It was set for demolition by the city until local resident Aaron Sims rallied to buy and preserve it. You see, this isn’t just any blighted house — it’s the house where Malcolm X lived from 1952…
Lawsuit argues new Michigan House map gives Republicans an unfair advantage
The newly drawn state House districts give Republicans an unfair advantage, according to a new lawsuit challenging the work of the Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission. The lawsuit, filed by a group of voting rights advocates on Tuesday, asks the Michigan Supreme Court to order the commission to redraw the maps and make them fairer to…
$21 million concert venue planned in Lansing
Lansing Mayor Andy Schor unveiled plans for a new $21 million, 2,000-seat concert venue called “The Ovation.” If built, The Ovation would be located in downtown Lansing at the southwest corner of South Washington Square and Lenawee Street. “For decades, Lansing has needed a concert and performing arts venue,” Schor said in a statement. “I…
Detroit vegan spot Street Beet is closing for good at 3rd Street Bar
Street Beet, the playful vegan pop-up that has been operating out of Midtown’s 3rd Street Bar, will soon close for good. Owners Nina Paletta and Megan Shaw announced the end of the project in a Facebook post on Wednesday. “We have decided to permanently close Street Beet,” they wrote in a joint statement. “We know…
Hazel Park’s Frame is celebrating the flavors of the Africa diaspora with a Cajun Creole Dinner
Chef Ederique Goudia is back at it again, sharing her love for the African diaspora’s contributions to the culinary world at Hazel Park’s Frame. This time she’s honoring her Creole lineage with a Cajun-inspired feast at Frame’s rotating kitchen for two nights. The five-course menu features shrimp and mirliton bisque, duck confit and smoked chicken…
Detroit’s Eminem and MC5 both nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The nominees for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2022 class have been announced, and two Detroit acts have made the cut. Rap superstar Eminem and rock band MC5 have both been nominated for this year’s class. “This year’s ballot recognizes a diverse group of incredible artists, each who has had a profound impact on…
Italian women are the stars of new Detroit Institute of Arts exhibit
The Detroit Institute of Arts hopes to correct the male-dominated telling of art history with its latest exhibit, By Her Hand: Artemisia Gentileschi and Women Artists in Italy, 1500–1800. Opening on Sunday, Feb. 6 through Sunday, May 29, the exhibition features work by the prolific Artemisia Gentileschi and 16 other Italian women from the birth…
You can catch internationally acclaimed DJ MK at Elektricity
Producer and DJ Marc Kinchen, known as his moniker MK, has had quite a career since emerging from the Detroit house music scene in the ’90s with tracks like “Always” and “Burning,” as well as “4You” and “Just A Dream” as 4th Measure Men. In recent years he’s scored international hits with remixes of Storm…
Mike Tyson’s ‘Undisputed Cannabis Flower’ launches in Michigan
Heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson is coming to Michigan this month with a knockout. His cannabis brand Tyson 2.0 will bring two new strains, “Knockout OG” and “Pound for Pound Cake,” to the state in mid-February. Tyson 2.0 is partnering up with Common Citizen for the Michigan launch. Both strains will be available in prerolls…
Community activist Bilal Hammoud announces bid for newly drawn state House district
Community activist and former Michigan Department of State official Bilal Hammoud on Tuesday announced his candidacy for a seat on the state House. Hammoud, 25, is running in the newly drawn 15th District, which represents Dearborn Heights and west Dearborn. “I am dedicated to breaking bureaucratic silos and working to bridge gaps between government and…
Dearborn’s Holy Cluck does a mean take on the Nashville hot chicken sandwich
This review comes a few months after I made a trip to Nashville and first tried Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, the legendary restaurant that invented the dish some 75 years ago. Tough break for Holy Cluck: The bar has been set real high. Prince’s isn’t just making the best Nashville hot chicken, it makes some…
Espionage meets surprising bromance in ‘Munich: The Edge of War’
“He’s not changing his mind,” Neville Chamberlain (Jeremy Irons) reports laconically between prim puffs on his morning cigar, reading confirmation of Adolf Hitler’s plan to invade Czechoslovakia. It is a hilarious moment in a film that in topic and tone could not be more serious; Europe is on the brink of a second world war,…
Free Will Astrology (Feb. 2-8)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries actor Bette Davis said that if you want to improve your work, you should “attempt the impossible.” That’s perfect advice for you right now. I hope to see you hone your skills as you stretch yourself into the unknown. I will celebrate your forays into the frontiers, since doing so…
Good guys don’t ban books. Of course, you only know that if you read books.
The logical end of the panic over cancel culture and critical race theory was always staring us in the face: to stop the left-wing oppression of school indoctrination, leftist ideas — in other words, any idea that doesn’t reinforce white conservative mythology — must be removed in the name of freedom. That’s not how the…
Is this the beginning of the end of the pandemic?
It’s easy to forget what the “19” at the end of COVID-19 stands for…2019, the year SARS-CoV-2 first emerged in Wuhan, China. We’re now firmly into the fourth calendar year of the pandemic, the third year since it’s been wreaking havoc in our lives. With the advent of the wildly transmissible omicron variant, most of…
DJ MK, women artists in Italy, Elton John, and more things to do in metro Detroit this week
Select events happening in metro Detroit this week. Submit your events to metrotimes.com/calendar. Be sure to check venue websites for COVID-19 policies. Cajun Creole Dinner at Frame Thursday, Feb. 3 and Friday, Feb. 4: Chef Ederique Goudia is back at it again, sharing her love for the African diaspora’s contributions to the culinary world at…
Cannabis company Pleasantrees launches ‘battle of the bands’-style contest to cultivate Detroit artists
Years ago, Metro Times reported on Benjamin Sobczak as his alter ego, rapper Ben Miles, who performed as frontman of the hip-hop group Mice & Musicians. Sobczak has since ended his music career to work for a white-shoe law firm as a commercial litigator. A self-described lifelong “very functional cannabis user,” he started taking on…
