18 years ago in Metro Times: Even after the Cold War has ended, Star Wars, properly known as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), is still going strong. President Ronald Reagan proposed the orbital nuclear defense grid nearly 10 years earlier, and the Pentagon has been funding it since, despite the protests of opponents, including an international coalition known as Global Network on Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space. MT interviews one of Global Network's founders, physics expert Dr. Michio Kaku. Dr. Kaku's problems with SDI range from political to ecological. "I don't think nuclear materials belong in space at all. The hazards are simply enormous," he says, ranging from falling plutonium to political unrest across the world. SDI was renamed the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization one year later, and, in 2002, became the Missile Defense Agency. What was happening: Al Green at Gallup Park, Bonnie Raitt at Crisler Arena, Willie Tyler and Lester at Joey's.
10 years ago in Metro Times: MT is finally able to write some good news about Detroit. It isn't about the series of flashy projects that are being built downtown either. Urban experts from around the country have been saying that Detroit won't improve until it puts focus on improving its neighborhoods. However, despite this neglect, historic neighborhoods like Corktown and Boston-Edison are actually thriving. Property values are growing at an impressive rate, as are the number of people buying those properties. "It's no secret that Detroit has struggled with a history of racial tension, segregation, economic stratification and excessive poverty," writes MT, but "the neighborhoods are improving and becoming ever more popular as new buyers opt to return to a city their parents left years ago." What was happening: Creed and Foreigner at Pine Knob, Joan Jett at Freedom Hill.
