Cover Story
A decade later, Detroit’s crowdfunded RoboCop statue is finally complete — but still awaiting a final home
In the spring of 2011, Brandon Walley and Jerry Paffendorf were hard at work in Corktown. Starting with two long-vacant houses near Michigan Central Station, their group, Imagination Station, had dedicated itself to commissioning local public art projects. They’d already helped make a few attention-getting pieces a reality, such as the Hygienic Dress League sign…
BioFit Probiotic Reviews – Scam Ingredients With Risky Side Effects or Real Weight Loss Supplement?
BioFit probiotic is an innovative formula, rich in beneficial probiotic bacterial strains to aid in the weight loss struggles of people fighting chronic obesity for years with little to no success. As the official website of this supplement states, this unique formula relies solely on the power of beneficial bacteria to regulate gut health and…
How Can You Find Out if There’s a Warrant Out for Your Arrest? Ultimate Background Checks Guide (2023)
If you’re wondering how to find out if you have a warrant for your arrest, there are several tools that can help. Before we jump into this article, it’s important to understand exactly what a warrant is. A judge can issue a warrant which then gives law enforcement the authority to arrest and detain a…
Intelius People Search Review: Real Cost, Pros, and Cons (2021)
Intelius is a good resource to find information on an individual securely and discretely. The service offers a variety of products, including background checks, reverse phone lookups, reverse address lookups, and more. With a decent accuracy rating, Intelius provides in-depth reports, with a vast amount of valuable and explanatory information, that can be trusted. In…
Twitter user creates supercut of swear words on Eminem’s ‘Slim Shady LP’ and it fucking slaps
If you ever thought “Gee, that Eminem fella would be more successful and a whole lot less angry if he didn’t curse so much,” well then fuck off. OK — so we’re not telling you to “fuck off,” but we’re pretty sure Marshall Mathers would and probably does in this edit of the Detroit rapper’s…
Michigan relaxes capacity limitations for restaurants, bars, and gyms, allows visitation at nursing homes
It’s been a month since Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration gave the green light for indoor dining across the state to resume with restrictions, and already the state is allowing restaurants and a handful of other businesses to now operate at increased capacities. On Tuesday Whitmer announced that Michigan’s bars, restaurants, and retail businesses can now…
My lost weekend sampling High Times’ new Michigan weed
High Times is the oldest and probably most recognizable brand in marijuana. High Times magazine has been around since 1974, when even talking about the stuff was pretty much forbidden, and blew minds by printing big, beautiful color pictures of trichome-laden buds. In addition to advocacy and culture, the magazine informed you how to produce…
A laid-off bartender helped collect more than 1,000 KN95 masks for Ann Arbor service industry workers
Shortly after Gabrielle Bussell was laid off from her bartending job at the Arbor Brewing Company in March, she threw herself into her work with the worker advocacy organization she helped create at the outset of the pandemic, the Service Industry Workers of the Ann Arbor Area (SIWA3). “I’m currently laid off and basically just…
Prosecutor declines to charge Grosse Pointe Park man for displaying KKK flag, saying it’s not a crime
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has declined to charge a Grosse Pointe Park man for displaying a Ku Klux Klan flag in a side window facing his Black neighbor’s home. The 31-year-old man said he erected the flag in response to his neighbor JeDonna Matthews Dinges, who is Black, installing a surveillance camera on her…
Sterling Heights cop resigns after mocking George Floyd in racist social media post
A Sterling Heights cop who was placed on leave for mocking George Floyd in a racist Facebook post has resigned. Sterling Heights Police Lt. Mario Bastianelli said the city won’t tolerate hate. “During the course of the Police Department’s internal investigation, and prior to disciplinary action, the police officer in question resigned,” Bastianelli said in…
Detroit’s Rink at Campus Martius extends season to spring
Even though the weather’s warming up, one of the markers of winter in Detroit is here to stay a little while longer. On Tuesday, officials at the Downtown Detroit Partnership announced the Ice Rink at Campus Martius, originally slated to close March 7, will be extended an additional two weekends through March 21, citing popular…
Detroit Vs. Everybody partners with Gucci for $390 T-shirt collection to benefit local nonprofits
A local T-shirt and lifestyle brand is getting a major boost from an international luxury clothing and accessory empire, all in the name of “everybody.” Tommey Walker, founder of clothing brand Detroit Vs. Everybody, has partnered with Gucci for a run of limited-edition T-shirts that expand the iconic Detroit brand to 11 U.S. cities as…
Community rallies behind owner of Cinema Detroit with GoFundMe as she battles lupus
It’s curtains up for Cinema Detroit co-owner Paula Guthat, who is the subject of a recent crowdfunding effort to assist in paying some of her hospital bills following a dangerous lupus flare-up. In just 24 hours, the metro Detroit community has donated more than $7,000 of a $10,000 goal to aid Guthat’s recovery after a…
Short’s Brewing x Jolly’s new Moscow Mule-flavored cannabis gummies have a strong kick
Short’s Brewing has expanded its collaboration with Jolly Edibles to include a new line of cannabis-gummies inspired by its Moscow Mule-flavored “Mule Beer.” Like a Moscow Mule or Short’s Mule Beer, the Jolly gummies have strong lime and ginger flavors, using real fruit and sugar. And like Jolly’s other gummies, they contain a strong cannabis…
Group plans ballot drive to subject Michigan governor, lawmakers to FOIA
Supporters of government transparency are planning to launch a ballot drive in 2022 to make Michigan’s governor and lawmakers subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Michigan is one of only two states that don’t require the governor’s office or Legislature to respond to public records requests. Progress Michigan, a liberal advocacy group that has…
Michigan lawmakers consider bill to allow bars to stay open until 4 a.m.
Michigan bars and restaurants could serve alcohol until 4 a.m. under a bill being debated in the state House. The measure, designed to help bars recover some of the money they lost during the coronavirus restrictions, would allow businesses to stay open and serve alcohol until 4 a.m. once the restrictions are lifted. Under the…
Survey reveals anxieties about rising health care costs
The COVID-19 crisis underscored the importance of quality health care, and new data reveals it also intensified patient anxieties about the ability to pay for care. In a survey from Consumers for Quality Care, 80% of respondents agreed health care costs continue to rise each year, and 57% of voters said they’re specifically worried about…
Detroit’s Anqunette ‘Q’ Sarfoh launches ‘tea parties’ to explain cannabis wellness
When you put “Q” and “tea party” together, there are a lot of people who would put that on the continuum of absurdist right wing behavior and conspiracy theories about government. That’s not the case here with our own Anqunette Sarfoh — popularly known around here as Q. She’s started a series of “tea parties”…
Detroit’s Lady of the House restaurant quietly closed during the pandemic
Acclaimed chef Kate Williams quietly closed her Lady of the House in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, the latest restaurant to fall victim to the economic toll of the pandemic. The news was first reported by Eater Detroit, which noted that the social media pages for the restaurant had been taken down. In a statement, Williams confirmed…
After protest charges dropped, Detroit Will Breathe co-founder says, ‘We won’t go silently’
Nakia Wallace refused to back down. When Detroit cops with clubs, pepper spray, and riot shields bore down on her, she stood her ground. When she was pulled to the ground by her neck or led away in handcuffs, she got up the next day and marched. When Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration sued her and…
Thousands of Michigan students could be eligible for college incentive program
As many as 100,000 low-income Michiganders could be eligible for the state’s Tuition Incentive Program, or “TIP,” but are not enrolled because of outreach or operational hurdles. Catherine Brown is senior adviser to and co-author of a new report from the Institute for College Access & Success and the Century Foundation — which calls TIP…
Groundbreaking, coronavirus-killing technology installed in Wayne County jails
Three Wayne County jails are the first in the nation to install a groundbreaking biodefense system to combat the spread of COVID-19. The Integrated Viral Protection (IVP) technology, billed as the world’s first heated filtration system proven to destroy the coronavirus, uses heat to destroy airborne viruses and recirculate clean air. A dozen units have…
Kenneth Whittaker to take over Michigan United, pledges to fight white supremacy
Michigan United, a coalition of labor, business, social service and civil rights members, has a new leader who is pledging to fight white supremacy. Ken Whittaker, a Detroit native, will take the helm as executive director on April 5, replacing the group’s longtime leader and founder Ryan Bates, who will shift to a consulting and…
Metro Detroit now has its first conveyor belt sushi spot, Kura Sushi
A sushi train restaurant has made its way to metro Detroit. Kura Sushi is a Japanese chain in the style of the country’s popular “sushi trains,” where plates of sushi are delivered to customers via conveyor belts. The restaurant is set to open Saturday in Troy. A spokeswoman says that to the best of the…
COVID-19 outbreak shuts down Detroit Whole Foods store
Customers at the Midtown Whole Foods were told to immediately leave without explanation on Tuesday and the store was shut down early after a large number of its employees tested positive for the coronavirus. Denise Fair, Detroit’s chief public health officer, confirmed the outbreak. “Upon being informed of positive cases at Whole Foods, the Detroit…
The Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company expands to… Florida?
Michigan-based Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company is expanding well beyond the Great Lakes. This spring, the company plans to open its latest location in Florida’s Key West. The new spot, the company’s 5th café, is slated for the Perry Hotel located at 7001 Shrimp Rd., where it will offer “unobstructed views of the Stock Island…
We want to get murdered in these cute WiFi-less cabins with phone lock boxes in western Michigan
It sounds great, right? A cozy and aesthetically pleasing, reasonably-priced cabin situated in nature where your iPhone’s red notification bubbles, social media pings, and unanswered work emails are no match for the peace and serenity that comes with truly logging the fuck off. But for anyone who’s ever listened to a true-crime podcast, or like,…
Rapper Berner’s Cookies dispensary expands to Kalamazoo
Cookies, the dispensary chain founded by California rapper Berner, is getting ready to open a second Michigan location. The new store is located at at 2712 Portage St., Kalamazoo. As with the Detroit Cookies location, which opened in early 2020, the Kalamazoo Cookies storefront is a partnership with Gage Cannabis Co. The Detroit location was…
A wealthy white woman donated a ‘sizable’ portion of her inheritance to a Detroit nonprofit as reparations
Last December, nonprofit executive director Malik Yakini received an unexpected call. The caller, a woman who resides in California, said she wanted to direct a sizeable portion of her inheritance to his organization, the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. This type of windfall is indeed rare, but it was the caller’s motivation-revealed over several…
Neo-Nazis planned to establish white nationalist compound in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
A neo-Nazi terrorist group was planning to create a heavily armed, white nationalist compound in the Upper Peninsula to wage a race war. The plan was hatched by Justin Watkins, 25, a former leader of the Base, a militant, pro-Hitler movement that advocates violence against non-white people, according to secret chats obtained by VICE News.…
Detroit’s expands ‘Good Neighbor’ program to encourage vaccinations
The folks over at State Farm insurance, as well as the late great Mr. Rogers, would likely be very into Detroit’s latest push to get more people vaccinated through its “Good Neighbor” program. As of Wednesday, the city expanded the program to allow metro Detroiters over the age of 55 to schedule a vaccination at…
Sterling Heights cop on unpaid leave after racist Facebook post exposed
A Sterling Heights police officer has been placed on unpaid administrative leave following the discovery of a racist post on his private Facebook page. The post shows former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, below the words, “when you gotta change a tire but dont wanna get your trousers…
The Best Scar Cream in 2021: Our Review of Skinception Dermefface FX7™
Who doesn’t want to feel attractive and proud of the skin they’re in? If you have scars, you may feel less radiant or even embarrassed, especially if they are acne scars. In severe cases, scarring may make you feel like you never want to leave the house. If you’re searching for something that will help…
Virtual discussion will go ‘beyond the headlines’ of Flint water crisis
Seven years ago in April, state officials made the disastrous decision to switch Flint’s water source to save a few million dollars — a costly mistake that resulted in the Flint water crisis, and the poisoning of tens of thousands of people. While the state announced a historic $600 million settlement with Flint residents, the…
Former Detroit Red Wing Darren McCarty will be a celebrity budtender at the Greenhouse of Walled Lake
Darren McCarty, the former Detroit Red Wings star-turned-cannabis entrepreneur, is helping a local dispensary celebrate its two-year anniversary by serving as a guest budtender. McCarty will be on hand from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25 to sign autographs and promote his line of Darren McCarty “Pucker Up” pre-rolls. McCarty has credited cannabis with helping…
Madam restaurant eyes April opening in Birmingham’s forthcoming Daxton Hotel
An upcoming restaurant slated to open in Birmingham promises to be every bit as fanciful as the hotel it will soon call home. The folks behind the forthcoming high-end Madam restaurant tell Metro Times they’re eyeing an April opening in the under-construction Daxton Hotel, though we should caution that openings have a habit of being…
Detroit Land Bank subcontractor faces felony charges over asbestos work
The owner of an asbestos company that did work for Detroit Land Bank’s demolition program is expected to be charged Wednesday with bribery, money laundering, and other felony counts. Kevin Woods, owner of BBEK Environmental and a Harrison Township resident, faces up to 20 years in prison. The 50-year-old subcontractor is accused of withholding money…
Rush Limbaugh’s legacy of ashes
Before Rush Limbaugh’s body was cold, Republican officials and thought leaders tripped over themselves to eulogize “an icon, patriot, and [an] American hero” and “a giant of the conservative movement.” One after another, they lamented his passing last Wednesday like he was John Stuart Mill rather than a college dropout who got rich convincing mediocre…
Free Will Astrology (Feb. 24-March 2)
ARIES: March 21 – April 19: I invite you to think about one or two types of physical discomforts and symptoms that your body seems most susceptible to. Meditate on the possibility that there are specific moods or feelings associated with those discomforts and symptoms — perhaps either caused by them or the cause of…
