Cover Story
DTE and Consumers Energy are broken and dangerous. Is it time for publicly owned utilities?
Even for a state accustomed to navigating heavy snow and frigid winters, the polar vortex that pushed over Michigan in late January jarred the region. Temperatures in metro Detroit plunged to record lows of -26 while a dangerous wind chill hit -43 degrees in some spots, forcing school and workplace closures while confining residents to…
Detroit’s 16th annual tree lighting will have some of our favorite things — music, Olympic figure skating, and Santa Claus
Detroit’s beloved tree lighting ceremony is celebrating its sweet 16 this year, with a celebration that could easily be its biggest and brightest yet. The event, of course, revolves around the Michigan-grown 60-foot Norwegian Spruce in Detroit’s Campus Martius, which will be festooned with a whopping 19,000 shimmering holiday lights. This year, the lighting ceremony…
Boxer Taylor ‘Machine Gun’ Duerr among those battling at Night of Knockouts at Detroit’s Sound Board
While Detroit may most commonly be referred to as Hockeytown, the city is also a punch above the rest thanks to its rich boxing history. Not only is Detroit home to Kronk Gym, where world champions Hilmer Kenty and Boxing Hall of Famer Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns were trained, but it’s also home to “The…
Award-winning author Tananarive Due to present Detroit screenings of ‘Get Out’ and ‘Us’
In 2017, Jordan Peele, former MadTV member and one half of the Comedy Central comedy sketch duo Key & Peele, redefined the horror genre with his Academy Award-winning directorial debut, Get Out. The film drew praise for its combination of classic horror, some of the best plays from the contemporary psychological thriller playbook, and a…
To hell with silence — the Detroit Symphony Orchestra takes on Paul Simon’s songbook
Though the legendary Paul Simon may have bid adieu to the touring life in 2018 — including a stop at DTE Energy Music Theatre last summer — his 13 solo studio albums, five records as one half of Simon & Garfunkel, and 29 Top 40 singles will continue to move and soothe our weary hearts.…
The Runaways’ Cherie Currie teams up with Brie Darling of Fanny for Ferndale performance
One held membership in the first all-girl rock group signed to a major label; the other fronted one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time at just 15 years old. Brie Darling, the drummer and vocalist of ’70s classic rock band Fanny, and Cherie Currie, “Cherry Bomb”-turned-chainsaw artist of the Runaways, have…
Summer Walker’s Detroit date might be one of the last chances to see the R&B it girl perform
R&B singer Summer Walker only dropped her acclaimed debut, Over It, last month, but she might already be over it. The 23-year-old Atlanta singer was named R&B’s next big thing, then canceled 20 dates on her perhaps prophetically named The First and Last Tour, citing social anxiety. “Y’all can have the music & ima just…
Photojournalist Linda Solomon visits Pages Bookshop in Detroit with collection of intimate portraits of Aretha Franklin
Award-winning photojournalist Linda Solomon first encountered Aretha Franklin in 1983 while on assignment for her celebrity column in The Detroit News. The Queen of Soul had arrived to the local ABC affiliate studio in a black Cadillac limousine to perform on Kelly & Company, and Solomon approached her and asked if she could snap a…
Ann Arbor’s Exclusive Brands is the first Detroit-area marijuana shop to get a recreational license
Michigan has started to roll out its first recreational marijuana licenses. Among the stores that received licenses are Ann Arbor’s Exclusive Brands, which can now grow, process, and sell recreational marijuana; Kalkasa’s Real Leaf Solutions, which now has an event organizer license; and Ann Arbor’s PSI Labs, which received a safety compliance facility license. Nick…
Twitter loses it over ‘historical flex’ after Detroit native posts throwback photo with Rosa Parks
Well, it’s time to add “historical flex” to your vocab arsenal because one West Side Detroit native just broke the internet with a single tweet. Twitter erupted Tuesday after model and artist Chandler Cosey posted what appeared to be a super casual, totally unassuming throwback photo of himself as a baby, next to a recent…
Detroit City Council scraps Mayor Duggan’s $250M demolition proposal
In a major blow to Mayor Mike Duggan, the Detroit City Council rejected his $250 million bond proposal Tuesday to eliminate the remaining blight in the city’s neighborhoods. With a 6-3 vote, the council voted against a ballot initiative that would have let voters decide whether they wanted to support the bond to finance the…
Get whiskey wasted at Metro Times’ Whiskey in Winter event at the Detroit Shipping Co.
Every winter, Metro Times turns to the power of whiskey to numb the woes of winter down to a dull, non-afflicting malaise. Oh, wait. That’s just the editorial staff. No, but really, Metro Times is doing it again, this time moving our inaugural celebration of all things whiskey to the Detroit Shipping Co. for a…
Warren council members treat selves to golden parachute before leaving office
Just two months before Warren City Council members were to be term-limited out of office, they quickly and quietly treated themselves to a golden parachute at taxpayers’ expense. The council voted unanimously on Sept. 10 to give themselves and their eligible dependents free lifetime health insurance and dental coverage. There was no discussion or debate,…
Detroit has a new old-school payphone that’s free to use
As mobile technology has proliferated, old-school payphones are vanishing around the world. (Kids, ask your parents about them.) Finding one that still works can be difficult, as many are just busted, empty boxes with dangling wires at this point. That’s why Karl Anderson founded the Portland, Oregon-based Futel in 2014. The nonprofit has dedicated itself…
‘Earthquake Bird’ asks if it’s better to lie or tell the truth
“All day long, I watch people talk,” Teiji (Naoki Kobayashi) tells Lucy (Alicia Vikander) at their first meeting. “Saying all kinds of things without saying what they are really thinking.” The contrast between what we say and what we’re thinking becomes a main theme throughout Earthquake Bird. Honesty is touted as one of the best…
Racial incident at downtown Detroit bar leads to community discussion about race
A racial incident at a downtown Detroit bar has evolved into a public discussion, called “Let’s Talk About Race,” set for Thursday. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights will facilitate the community conversation at 3:30 p.m. at Checker Bar, 124 Cadillac Place. The impetus for the discussion was a complaint by Wendell Fleming, a Black…
Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to feature star-studded lineup
The 93rd Thanksgiving Day parade in Detroit will feature a number of celebrity guests and new floats, and the theme for this year’s parade is “Detroit Shining Bright.” Local big names include 1984 Detroit Tigers World Champions Lance Parrish and Dave Rozema, Disney star Isaac Ryan Brown, and 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic Champion Nate Lashley.…
Rhino, a former stray dog in Detroit, is a good girl and she’s doing great
Until February 2019, Rhino was one of the thousands of stray dogs that roam Detroit’s streets. When Rebel Dogs Detroit, a no-kill rescue and shelter collective, found Rhino last winter, she was sick and skittish. “She was totally feral,” explains Juniper Fleming, the director of Rebel Dogs Detroit, a group that shelters dogs through an…
Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company launches ready-to-drink cans of cold brew
Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company has answered the call for ready-to-drink cold brew and nitro brew cans for coffee drinkers on the go. “If you stop to consider that coffee is the #2 most consumed beverage in the world, and yet has never been available to the public in a ready-to-drink package, it is not…
Malcolm Gladwell caught in miscommunication in book about miscommunication
Malcolm Gladwell — the bestselling author whose entire career was once summarized by Gawker as “gleefully retold anecdotes arranged and analyzed to support some slightly unlikely sounding thesis” — is now in hot water with the mother of one of the many sexual abuse survivors of Larry Nassar. At issue is the audio version of…
Joe Biden says marijuana may be a ‘gateway drug,’ despite evidence to the contrary
When it comes to marijuana, Joe Biden is behind the times. The 76-year-old former vice president said Sunday that he’s opposed to legalizing weed because it could be a “gateway drug,” a position that separates him from most of his Democratic opponents. At a town hall in Las Vegas, Biden said more research is needed…
Michigan mother sues priest for hurtful remarks at her son’s funeral
A Michigan mother is suing the Archdiocese of Detroit and a priest after he suggested during her son’s funeral that the teenager may not get into heaven because he took his own life. Linda Hullibarger filed the suit Thursday in Wayne County Circuit Court, naming the archdiocese, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, and the…
Amid ethics probe, Rep. Rashida Tlaib shines light on financial struggles of ‘everyday people’ running for office
Rep. Rashida Tlaib is defending her use of campaign funds to pay herself a salary, arguing against a widening House Ethics Committee probe that the payments fell well within Federal Election Commission rules. She’s also using the opportunity to shine a light on the financial barriers that prevent “everyday people” like her from running for…
The WAB’s Alechemy Room is now serving coffee and booze in Ferndale
The Alechemy Room, a new coffee shop and taproom concept from the owners of the WAB, the Emory, and the Loving Touch, opened on the first floor of Ferndale’s WAB at the beginning of the month. Located right underneath the WAB at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Troy Street, Alechemy is adorned with a…
Detroit’s ban on recreational marijuana sales may be too late to stop some dispensaries from opening
Some recreational cannabis businesses may open in Detroit despite a ban because city leaders took too long to take action. Detroit City Council imposed the ban five days after the state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) began taking applications for recreational pot businesses, including dispensaries, growers, and processors. But according to the state law that legalized…
Walled Lake marijuana dispensary is giving away hundreds of Popeyes’ spicy chicken sandwiches
The Greenhouse of Walled Lake, Oakland County’s first state-licensed marijuana provisioning center, has one of the more interesting deals we’ve seen in a while: it’s giving away 200 of Popeyes’ coveted spicy chicken sandwiches. The deal runs from 5-7 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. Popeyes debuted its sandwich over the summer as an alternative…
Detroit hip-hop mainstay Leaf Erikson joins L.A.Z., Audiological, and others at the High Dive in Hamtramck
Every day is somebody’s birthday. Isn’t that a nice thought in a sea of shitty thoughts? Well, for this hip-hop-infused evening presented by Open Eye Detroit, rap mainstay Leaf Erikson will celebrate his latest orbit around the sun with a special set including L.A.Z. of Clear Soul Forces, Deon Jamar, BHill, and Walter Glasshouse, who…
The limited-edition Carhartt x Motown line quickly sold out at its Detroit launch party
Dazed magazine, Carhartt WIP, and NTS Radio collaborated to celebrate Motown’s 60th anniversary with the launch of the premiere of a short film, Showing Up, Showing Out, and a Carhartt x Motown line of clothing, along with performances from harpist Ahya Simone and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. The limited Carhartt x Motown collaboration sold out quickly.…
Detroit artist Beverly Fishman takes a journey inside ‘bodyscapes’ in ‘Fantastic Voyage’
You might know Beverly Fishman from “Rise,” the neon-colored, 175-foot-tall mural that went up on Detroit City Club Apartments last year. But between 1985 and 1987, the fine artist was thinking small. In Fantastic Voyage, which pulls art from that era, Fishman rendered expressionistic, large-scale pastel drawings inspired by the inner environments of the human…
Detroit bans recreational marijuana sales, joining 79% of Michigan municipalities
Recreational marijuana dispensaries will begin opening on Dec. 1, but 79 percent of the state’s communities have banned the businesses from opening. Last week, the city of Detroit became the latest municipality to pass an ordinance barring growers and dispensaries from operating. Nearly 1,400 of the state’s 1,773 cities, townships, and villages have chosen to…
Michiganders turning up heat on drug manufacturers
People in Michigan troubled by the high cost of prescription medications are encouraged to help turn up the heat on drug manufacturers. AARP Michigan is hosting a Stop Rx Greed rally on Monday along the Detroit River to spread awareness about the problem and call for solutions. Mark Hornbeck, associate state director for communications with…
Rep. Tlaib teams up with Sen. Sanders to combat ‘excessive’ CEO pay
Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Barbara Lee teamed up with Sen. Bernie Sanders to introduce legislation Wednesday aimed at curbing the disparity in pay between CEOs and rank-and-file employees. The Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act would impose tax penalties on companies that pay their CEOs more than 50 times the median salary of their employees. The…
The ice rink at Campus Martius is open to the public this month
On Friday, Nov. 22, Campus Martius Park will open up its famous ice skating rink to the public for its 16th season. The official opening is set to take place at 9 p.m., following the Detroit Tree Lighting Ceremony. After the opening, the Rink will be open daily through Sunday, March 8. If you can’t…
Get ready, stoners! Recreational marijuana sales may begin in a few weeks
Recreational marijuana sales in Michigan may begin as early as Dec. 1, but don’t expect a bountiful supply at first. The Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) on Wednesday notified dispensaries and growers that they may use up to 50 percent of their medical cannabis inventory on recreational sales beginning Dec. 1. To do so, the dispensaries…
Doctors won’t say if Michigan teen vaped nicotine or cannabis before double-lung transplant
Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit delivered a strong but confusing message to the public on Tuesday after performing a rare double-lung transplant on a Michigan teenager: Vaping is “evil.” The physicians said a 17-year-old patient nearly died from severe injuries caused by vaping. “Vaping-related injuries are all too common these days. Our adolescents…
‘Sweet Creature’ Harry Styles announces North American tour with Jenny Lewis, and yes, they’re coming to Detroit
If we could draw a line through some of our favorite things, one of the intersecting points would be none other than the red-haired maven of lip-biting folk rock, Jenny Lewis. The other, of course, would be the former boy-band heartthrob-turned-unlikely poster boy rockstar heartthrob of the 21st century, Harry Styles. Oh, and we love…
Justin Amash was thinking about leaving the GOP long before Trump
U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, an independent from west Michigan and vocal critic of President Donald Trump, famously split from the Republican Party in a splashy op-ed published in The Washington Post (on Independence Day, no less). But in a lengthy profile published by Rolling Stone on Tuesday, Amash says he was thinking of going rogue…
How the future of an Alaskan National Forest could impact Michigan
The Trump administration wants to reverse roadless protections for the country’s largest national forest, and opponents fear pristine land in Michigan and other states could be next. A U.S. House committee holds a hearing today on a proposal to fully exempt the Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska from the 2001 Roadless Rule. Lexi Hackett has…
What Monique Owens becoming Eastpointe’s first Black woman mayor means
Last week, Eastpointe — the Macomb County city that renamed itself from “East Detroit” in 1992 to distance itself from the Motor City and align itself with the nearby wealthier and whiter Grosse Pointes — elected Monique Owens, a former sheriff’s deputy and the city’s first Black councilwoman, to be its new mayor. She beat…
The Dem establishment panic and the Bloomberg trial balloon
There are worse billionaires on the planet than Michael Bloomberg. Donald Trump, for starters (if you grant that he’s really a billionaire). Also, Sheldon Adelson and Rupert Murdoch and the Saudi ruling family and whichever Koch brother is still above ground. The three-term Republican New York City mayor has at least committed significant resources toward…
The Detroit roots of hip-hop label Fat Beats run deep
In the early ’90s, hip-hop wasn’t the mainstream cultural behemoth it is today. Back then, hip-hop was still largely a non-commercial art form found in Black and brown communities in cities across the United States. Founded in 1994 by Joe Abajian (aka DJ Jab) in New York City, Fat Beats was a record store that…
Matthew Dear looks back on 20 years of Ghostly International, Ann Arbor-born label and lifestyle brand
Matthew Dear could win an award for cutest voicemail of all time. Should you reach the voicemail box of the 40-year-old producer, musician, Twitter god, father of three, and co-founder of Ghostly International — the independent label that celebrates its 20th anniversary this Saturday at TV Lounge — it’s clear that he’s enlisted the adorable…
Yum Village brings ‘African raised, Detroit made’ twist to Afro-Caribbean cuisine
Although Godwin Ihentuge (ee-hen-too-ghee) grew up in Detroit and had his first culinary experience working in Wayne State’s cafeteria, his Afro-Caribbean cred is a Nigerian father and relatives in Jamaica. He says a goal of Yum Village, opened in March in Detroit’s New Center, is to spread not only the food but other aspects of…
Savage Love: My kinky, sub boyfriend has no self-esteem
My boyfriend and I met online to explore our kinks. We’d both been in relationships with kink-shaming people who screwed with our heads. Since we weren’t thinking it was more than a hookup, we put all our baggage on the table early and wound up becoming friends. Eventually we realized we had a real connection…
Horoscopes (Nov. 13-19)
ARIES: March 21 – April 20: To have a clue about what’s really going on right now, you’ll have to stretch your mind outside normal limits. These changes are bigger than they appear. Issues that have their roots in ancient stories are coming home to roost in experiences that only seem to have something to…
‘End of the Century’ is a sexy trip
End of the Century, the first feature from Argentine filmmaker Lucio Castro, revolves around a hookup and — at first blush — seems slight. The film finds Ocho (played by Juan Barberini) visiting Barcelona from New York, where he wanders the city alone before looking for someone to meet. He spots a man from his…
