Cover Story
The rising field of death doulas serves both the dying and the living
As I lie on a pallet of blankets, I begin to notice the subtleties of being alive. My breath enters and escapes my body as a repeat visitor. My heartbeat gives my chest a steady hug and the blood flowing through my veins is an unending stream of consciousness. My bones weigh heavily into the…
Lapointe: Crumbley trial and red-flag laws aim at right targets
Update: On Tuesday, a jury found Jennifer Crumbley guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter. In the blurry video clip from inside the cop car, Jennifer and James Crumbley sit in the back seat, held there temporarily just hours after their son killed four fellow students and wounded seven other persons in the Oxford High…
You can brighten up your life at the Cranbrook House & Gardens annual Winter Houseplant Sale
If your home is in need of a more lively ambiance, you need more houseplants — and the Cranbrook House & Gardens Winter Houseplant Sale is where you can get them. The event is happening for the ninth year in a row at Cranbrook’s Conservatory Greenhouse, which was built in 1950 and features habitats for…
Ex-prisoner Ray Gray celebrates freedom with Detroit art show
In 1973, Ray Gray, then a promising 21-year-old boxer and four-time Golden Gloves boxing champ, was convicted in the shooting death of 23-year-old Army veteran Reuben Bryant during a robbery on Detroit’s west side — a crime he and his supporters have long maintained he did not commit, due to a lack of physical evidence.…
Evan Haywood releases live album representing 20 years in Michigan’s music scene
Packed with books, instruments, music equipment, spiritual energy, and the smell of incense and chai, Evan Haywood’s Ann Arbor studio is a vibe, much like the artist himself. It’s unpretentiously located in a trailer park, with an interior that is nice and dreamy. Sitting at a booth in his kitchen, the artist tells me about…
Young Detroit designers head to New York Fashion Week to showcase Afrofuturistic looks
Young designers from Detroit are headed to New York Fashion Week to represent the city with two Afrofuturism-inspired looks created under the guidance of experienced design mentors. The Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan made this possible with its signature Industry Club program, launched in 2020 to help prepare young people for careers in…
Former Street Beet chefs are releasing a vegan cookbook
Soon, you’ll be able to recreate Street Beet’s “fake chicken” sandwiches and other faves from the defunct vegan pop-up. The former Street Beet team, chefs Nina Paletta and Meghan Shaw, are releasing a cookbook with recipes from their popular residency inside Midtown Detroit’s 3rd Street Bar. Presales of the book, Nostalgic Vegan: The Street Beet…
Metro Detroit loses yet another art house as Maple Theater abruptly closes
Metro Detroit’s independent art house theaters continue to dwindle, with the Maple Theater in Bloomfield Hills announcing its permanent closure on Monday. The theater took to Facebook to explain the closing and thank all customers who have visited over the last 12 years. “Our lease has expired, and after months of difficult deliberations, we have…
Shame on you, Wall Street Journal. Dearborn is a jewel of metro Detroit.
Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal published an inflammatory op-ed under the headline “Welcome to Dearborn, America’s Jihad Capital.” Written by Steven Stalinksy, the article claims that “Imams and politicians in the Michigan city side with Hamas against Israel and Iran against the U.S.” This disgusting column is not only Islamophobic, it is grossly…
Detroit still has highest auto insurance rates in nation, despite ‘historic’ legislation in 2019
When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined an improbable coalition of Republican lawmakers and Detroit Democrats to combat sky-high auto insurance rates in 2019, the politicians patted themselves on the backs for what they described as “historic” legislation. But nearly five years later, Michigan still has the highest auto insurance rates in the country. And in Detroit,…
Black Lake sturgeon season canceled due to mild temperatures
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced on Friday it is canceling the 2024 Black Lake sturgeon harvest due to warm temperatures and unsafe ice conditions. The season was set to start over the weekend in Detroit, with a strict catch limit of six sturgeon for the protected native fish. Jason Fischer, biologist for the…
RIP MC5’s Wayne Kramer, dead at 75
Wayne Kramer — the co-founder and guitarist for the influential Detroit rock band MC5 — died Friday, according to a social media post from his official Instagram account. He was 75. “‘PEACE BE WITH YOU’ 🕊️,” reads a joint Instagram post from @waynekramerofficial and @mc5alive, followed by “April 30, 1948 – February 2, 2024.” According…
Scandal involving animal research at University of Michigan deepens with another journal retraction
The ongoing animal research controversy surrounding the University of Michigan has intensified after yet another article linked to a disgraced researcher has been retracted due to fabricated or falsified data. Stop Animal Exploitation Now! (SAEN), a national watchdog group that investigates animal abuse and illegal activities at research facilities, is calling on federal authorities to…
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate against Biden during trip to Michigan
Union leaders and Democratic officials weren’t the only ones waiting Thursday to greet President Joe Biden on his trip to Michigan. So, too, were about 200 protesters calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza against Hamas. Biden was back in Michigan to join with members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in…
Metro Times ‘United We Brunch’ event set for The Norwood in Detroit
Brunch is back! United We Brunch, our strolling brunch tasting event, is set to return in 2024. Mark your calendars for 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, March 23. This year’s event will be held at The Norwood, a new venue in Detroit’s New Center area. United We Brunch will feature bites from local restaurants, cocktails,…
10 Best CBD Gummies to Buy for Pain in 2024
The CBD gummy industry continues to evolve, raising up companies that produce excellent products using ethical processes. These days, there’s no reason to settle for subpar CBD gummies, especially CBD gummies for pain, but sorting through the available options can still be a struggle. After establishing strict criteria and closely examining the industry, we’re convinced…
Biden celebrates UAW endorsement in Macomb County
President Joe Biden returned Thursday to Michigan to join members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which last week put its support behind his reelection campaign. Biden was joined by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor), U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing), U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) and other Michigan leaders…
Icewear Vezzo is giving free bus rides on Six Mile
Detroit hip-hop artist Icewear Vezzo is celebrating the release of his anticipated new album Live from the 6 by providing free bus service via DDOT for the entire Six Mile route (East and West McNichols) Friday, Feb. 2 through 6 p.m. “Six Mile is where he grew up and anything he can do to encourage,…
‘Sacred Spaces’ highlighting Detroit’s Black-owned art galleries returns for second year
Here at Metro Times, we are always giving Black artists and galleries their flowers no matter the time of year. But it’s Black History Month and the Black art community in Detroit is more lit than usual with the return of Sacred Spaces. Sacred Spaces is a self-guided tour of Black-owned galleries and art spaces…
‘Argylle’ has no shortage of starpower, but it’s wasted on this overstuffed spy caper
Argylle gives us something we really don’t need right now: another exhausting, long-ass Matthew Vaughn movie. The British filmmaker/Guy Ritchie collaborator/husband of Claudia Schiffer has always had trouble deleting scenes from his lengthy genre spectaculars. Even his most elaborately entertaining flicks, like his fairy-tale rom-com Stardust or his 007 send-up/comic-book adaptation Kingsman: The Secret Service,…
Pot-friendly music venue to open in Michigan this spring
While cannabis is legal for recreational use in Michigan, music venues have been slow to officially embrace it due to regulations on liquor licenses. But organizers of Michigan’s Cannabash music festival say they have devised a workaround, and plan to open what they believe will be the first music venue in the U.S. to offer…
Businessman Joel Haashiim announces mayoral candidacy, vows to serve all of Detroit
Joel Haashiim devoted decades behind the scenes trying to uplift Detroit. Now that he’s retired, the 73-year-old former businessman is ready for the public spotlight. Haashiim is running for mayor of Detroit in 2025, and his focus is on residents who have been left behind as areas like downtown and Midtown have rebounded. With 18…
Carhartt’s spring women’s workwear line was made with input from the field
While Dearborn-based Carhartt has long produced durable workwear for both men and women since it was founded in 1889, the company says it made a special effort with its spring 2024 line, seeking lots of input from women who use its products. “There are women on the job sites that we talked to every day,…
Royal Oak’s Kacha Thai Market is why people love Thai
Readers, I actually googled “what makes Thai food so good?” Many, many hits, and they agreed that it’s the use of contrast: a blend of “sweet, sour, salty, and spicy flavors, creating a symphony of tastes in every dish.” Well, wouldn’t proponents of most cuisines want to claim that they create a symphony of tastes?…
Detroit artists to spruce up People Mover stations with new murals
Five People Mover Stations will look a lot more colorful in the next few months. In an effort to make downtown Detroit look more “welcoming” ahead of the NFL Draft in April, the City Walls program has commissioned five local artists to paint murals along the People Mover. Participating artists are Nicole Macdonald, Fe’le, Anthony…
Detroit’s Spin Inc. finds new home in Alkebu-Lan Village
Since 2015, Spin Inc. has inspired local youth by teaching the fundamentals of electronic music production and DJing. The nonprofit was founded by Ron Johnson, a military veteran who was introduced to DJing by his cousin. “I started DJing back in the ’80s,” Johnson says. “My cousin was in the military at the time, he…
Judge boots Highland Park’s longtime treasurer from office following housing scandal
A Wayne County judge ousted seven-term Highland Park Treasurer Janice Taylor-Bibbs from office on Tuesday, saying she was ineligible to run for reelection in November 2022 because she owed the city more than $90,500 as the result of a housing scandal. Highland Park’s charter and state law bars residents from running for office if they…
Sheetz plans more Detroit-area convenience stores
The Sheetz convenience store chain has announced plans to expand into Michigan, its first major expansion in another state for more than 20 years. Aside from a previously announced store planned for 33380 Wick Rd. in Romulus, the chain has now announced two more stores — another in Romulus at Middlebelt Road and I-94 and…
HopCat is coming to The Mall at Partridge Creek
Dozens of craft beers and “Cosmik fries” are heading to The Mall at Partridge Creek. Craft beer chain HopCat plans to open a location in the Clinton Township mall in the summer, its first in Macomb County and 10th in the state. The store will be located in the 7,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by BurgerFin.…
My friend made homemade mozzarella in his apartment bathtub before winning a James Beard Award
When this year’s James Beard Awards finalists were announced, memories of my old friend, Chris Bianco, got me reliving his story. Chris and I — along with a third, long-lost musketeer named John — lived in the same Scottsdale apartment complex as virtual adolescents for a time back in the mid-’80s, when we three were…
Free Will Astrology (Jan. 31-Feb. 6)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Happiness” is an amorphous term with a different meaning for everyone. What makes me feel happy may be unlike what works for you. Besides that, any kind of perfect happiness is impossible to achieve. However we define it, we are always a mix of being happy and unhappy. Nevertheless, I invite…
