Daily Detroit News Byte

This is your Daily Detroit recorded on August 21, 2018. Our stories: - It's been a tough year for Detroit police and first responders. There have been three deaths on the police force in the line of duty in 2018, and numerous incidents off-duty. - There's been an uptick in hit-and-runs in Metro Detroit, with four in the last month. - The New Mike Ilitch School of Business is set to open on Woodward. Wayne State University and Olympia Development hosted a tour of the building today, and Curbed Detroit has some great photos [Link]. - Wayne State University is opening part of its new Anthony Wayne Drive Apartments on Saturday to new residents. The 11-story, 407-bed building is the first phase of the $111 million housing complex, the university's largest and priciest. -  Speaking of pricey housing, rising rent prices and the coming expiration of federal tax credits meant to subsidize affordable housing are raising concerns about the fate of many of Detroit's low-income residents. Bridge magazine reports that ta

This is your Daily Detroit for August 20, 2018. Your Detroit news: - Detroiter Garlin Gilchrist the second has been picked to be the running mate for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer. Sven and Jer discuss. - There has been some confusion around the funeral arrangements for the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, who died last week at the age of 76. So here's what you need to know. - One of the last remaining members of the Motown studio band known as the Funk Brothers has died. The Freep reports that guitarist Eddie Willis died Monday morning at his home in Mississippi following complications from a childhood bout with polio. He was 82. Link: https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/brian-mccollum/2018/08/20/eddie-willis-dead-funk-brothers/1044428002/ - Dogs and Degas apparently do go together. The Detroit Institute of Arts is holding their first-ever animal adoption event. - Brix Wine and Charcuterie Boutique will be closing its West Village location on the city's east side at the end of

Today, we devote the entire Daily Detroit podcast to Aretha Franklin. We talk to Detroiters you may know, and those you may not, about the Queen of soul. Guests include: Evrod Cassimy, a friend of Franklin and journalist at WDIV Local 4 TV. Marsha Battle Philpot, a.k.a. Marsha Music. Her father recorded the first record with Aretha. Dan Austin, Detroit's unofficial historian and a founder of the Motor City Soul Club. Like the show? Subscribe wherever podcasts are found.

Show for August 15, 2018: - Ford expects to spend a lot of money to renovate the abandoned train station. - Measles cases are on the rise in Michigan. - Free showings of the film 'Black Panther" at the Detroit Film Theater. - We try the new Vegan Coney joint, "Chili, Mustard, Onions" complete with delicious audio. - And we preview the upcoming Digital Summit Detroit in September. Here's what to know and where to go around Metro Detroit.

- Detroit Lions fans will be able to get their drink and eats on for cheaper. The team and its hospitality partner announced new all-day value pricing at Ford Field for game days. - Is there a car bubble brewing? Our next guest says that rising subprime auto loans, rising interest rates and increasing prices for car parts add up to spell warning signs, to say nothing of President Trump's proposed tariffs on imported cars. Sven Gustafson spoke with Joe Berish, an analyst with automotive consulting firm Oliver Wyman. -  Justin Winslow, president and CEO of the Michigan Restaurant Association. He joined us by phone from his office in Lansing to discuss several issues and trends facing the restaurant industry. - According to Dan Austin's Greetings from Detroit: Historic Postcards from the Motor City, On this date seven years ago the giant Garland Stove was destroyed by fire at the former Michigan State Fairgrounds.  

Here's our show on August 13, 2018. - The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is said to be "gravely ill." That's according to multiple reports and family friend Evrod Cassimy, a WDIV anchor and reporter. - Legendary Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Morris had his number 47 retired over the weekend. - The historic David Stott tower in Capitol Park will soon reopen as luxury housing and office space. According to the Freep, asking prices for the apartments could set a new record for price-per-square-foot in downtown Detroit. - Karen Dybis tells us what's happening to the historic Ossian Sweet House, and the story behind the important building. - Sven was out of town last week, so we saved our discussion about the primary election and news of the week for when he came back from the woods.  - A legal analysis by Detroit's Law Department says that City Council President Jones may be able to keep her local seat while serving for a time in the U.S. Congress. - On the Detroit side of Mack between Outer Drive and Cadieux sits

Saturday, August 11, 2018 show: The Detroit Grand Prix is, in fact, returning to Belle Isle. That's thanks to an agreement announced Friday between race organizers and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Speaking of cars.. I-696 construction in Macomb and Oakland counties is about 30 percent complete, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation. Earlier, we brought you a story about heated words from Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, saying that Detroit CEOs are aligning against suburban interests. The annual Hatch Detroit contest announced their 10 semi-finalists on Thursday evening. The contest awards $50,000 in cash and a bunch of resources to folks opening a business in Detroit, Highland Park, or Hamtramck. Dan Hasty is the the new play-by-play voice of the Detroit Mercy men's basketball team this season on 910 AM. An improved park at the corner of Woodward and Warren on the Wayne State campus is a step closer to reality. A little update on the progress of a 26-mile trail

This is your Daily Detroit News Byte for August 9, 2018: Will she or won't she? That's the question facing Detroit city council president Brenda Jones who has the chance to be a U.S. Congressperson for a couple months. Bus service in Macomb County may not be out of the woods yet. The narrow 23 vote victory - out of more than 150,000 votes cast - for the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation will probably be recounted after it's certified. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has sent off a letter that is terse, blunt and not a fan of Detroit's quote comeback that's a quote "Righteous Cause". The letter claims that Detroit CEOs and business leaders are organizing to build up Detroit at the suburbs expense. It's Thursday, so even though we'll have a Friday show I wanted to go through our City 5 list of events happening this weekend around the city. This week we actually have a couple bonuses, and if you missed anything the list is up on DailyDetroit.com on our City 5.

From the studios of Podcast Detroit in the Cass Corridor, this is your Daily Detroit News Byte recorded on Wednesday, August 8th.  We have primary election results, headlines, and today's deep dive is about P-FAS. The chemical, used in firefighting and a bunch of consumer and industrial applications, has caused a lot of environmental concern. Sven Gustafson talks with MLIVE and Grand Rapids Press reporter Garret Ellison who has been at the forefront of covering the crisis. Also: We talk election results (including a squeaker when it comes to transit) The folks behind the Detroit Shipping Company have another project up their sleeves - plus an update on a future burger joint. General Motors and ExxonMobil have rolled out a new feature for 2017 and newer model Buicks aimed at making buying gas simpler. Ferndale and Detroit will be getting new public skate parks. The 10 millionth Ford Mustang rolled off the assembly line in Flat Rock. Belle Isle's trees have seen extensive damage due to a quick but intense storm

This is your August 2, 2018 show. Our feature interview today is with Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer. As a note, we've now interviewed all three Democratic candidates and you can find their interviews in our podcast feed. - One of Michigan's most prominent tech companies is the subject of a massive buyout. Tech titan Cisco plans to buy Ann Arbor-based Duo Security for $2.35 billion dollars in cash and assumed equity awards for Duo. - A Detroit police officer has been suspended after he was caught on video punching a naked woman at Detroit Receiving Hospital. - The Michigan Catholic newspaper will cease publication after 146 years. In its place, the Archdiocese of Detroit will launch Detroit Catholic, a free digital news website, later in the fall. - Police in Detroit arrested a man after he attacked two broadcast news trucks early Thursday, smashing the trucks' windshield, hood, driver's-side windows and side mirrors with a bat or baton. - A multimillionaire towing kingpin will serve 21 m

On our show recorded on August 1, 2018: - There's a Savor Food and Wine Festival coming to the Detroit Zoo you'll want to check out. HOUR Detroit's Lauren Mohan joins us to talk about the event with all you can eat samples and tastings of beer and whiskey. - The Michigan Supreme Court has struck down a challenge to a voter referendum to create an independent redistricting commission. The 4-3 ruling means the Voters proposal - Not the Politicians' one - will appear on the statewide November ballot. - In another high-profile case involving voting, a federal judge has ruled that the Republican-led Legislature intentionally discriminated against African Americans when it passed a law banning straight-ticket voting. - On Tuesday, the Detroit City Council approved a Development Agreement with Dan Gilbert's Bedrock and Woodborn Partners for a planned mixed-income neighborhood. It'll be built on a former public housing site. We told you a bit about this on a previous episode, but more details have come into focus. - 

Next week is the primary election in Michigan, and many voters in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties will be weighing the issue of transit. And Sven and Jer weigh in with their opinions. Janitors that take care of some of Detroit's most iconic buildings - as well as the Detroit Public Schools Community District and Detroit Metro Airport - have signed a contract for a $15 an hour minimum wage. The Detroit City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to institute a hard cap of 75 medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. They also opted to increase regulations on the industry. Foreclosures continue to be an issue in the city of Detroit. This month, the American Civil Liberties Union reached a settlement with the city to help homeowners buy back their foreclosed homes for $1,000. Some restaurant news out of Auburn Hills. Ziggy's Cheesesteaks - a restaurant that bills itself as a "taste of South Philly" - is opening sometime in October. Downtown Birmingham will soon reopen to vehicle traffic after a massive constr

On your show recorded on July 30, 2018: Our feature? At the end of the show, about the 8:52 mark, at the "office" Nuri Gocay, Sven Gustafson, Shianne Nocerini and Jer Staes do a taste test of the new Little Caesars 5 Meat Pizza launched today. Also: Residents of Detroit's historic block of West Canfield Street dealt with a 30-inch water main break over the weekend. The break flooded more than a block with water up to the tops of the wheels of some cars and even took out a tree. We have more details on the proposal to keep the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle. Crews have begun demolition of the Belle Isle beach water slide, and the Conservancy is raising money to replace it. Ford Motor Company says it hit a self-imposed goal of lowering emissions from its car and truck plants eight years ahead of schedule. Detroit is the nation's second most affordable big city - but be careful about these numbers because Detroit is a unique market. A long-time Detroit drinking institution is changing hands. The Detroit Prince

Recorded on July 27, 2018: Our featured guest is Christianne Sims. She's the founder of Detroit City Lacrosse, and she talks about the new program and how it'll impact the youth of Detroit. Our headlines: - Signs are pointing to the Grand Prix returning to Belle Isle next year. With the last contract expired, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources says it wants to move forward on a plan to keep the race at the island park, assuming key issues can be resolved. - The Swiss hospital that treated him says former Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne had been seriously ill for more than a year before his shocking death earlier this week. That was apparently news not only to Fiat Chrysler shareholders, but to the company itself. - Looks like work to take down the Fail Jail — the stalled Wayne County Jail at the corner of I-375 and Gratiot — is underway.  - Dockless electric scooters have launched in Detroit. The company is called Bird, and basically you rent the scooters through an app on your phone. This is a

We made it to 100 episodes of sharing what to know and where to go in Metro Detroit. Wheee! There are a few major development projects in downtown we break down, as well as rising rents. A woman who had a baby in the Macomb County Jail is suing as guards apparently ignored her pleas to go to the hospital. The Rosa Parks home is for sale in an auction. And, Forman Mills is opening in Dearborn. 

Happy 317th Birthday, Detroit! We're having an informal happy hour at our Detroit studio to celebrate 100 episodes Thursday. Link on our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1882753571790877/ Phil Lewis, Front Page editor of the Huffington Post, joins us to talk about Detroit, the influence of the city, and the upcoming National Association of Black Journalists conference in Detroit. http://www.nabjconvention.com/ A lot of ink has been used covering downtown Detroit's comeback, but one group that feels they have been slighted are the janitors working in many of the skyscrapers and large buildings in the city. In an interesting turn of events, Ford is spinning off a separate company to inhabit that old train station in Corktown. It has created Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC. Over the weekend, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne was replaced by the board of the company due to quickly-escalating health problems. He had gone into a Swiss hospital for what was expected to be a quick procedure on his right shoul

This is your Daily Detroit News Byte for July 23, 2018. Welcome back from the weekend. We hope that it was eventful and dry. Sven is off and in the woods, literally. He'll be back later in the week. Let's get on with today's show. Detroit's Auto Show will be moving to the week of June 8th in 2020 Metro Detroit's shot for regional transit in 2018 is truly dead This week the Michigan State Police will be cracking down on drivers who don't move over when there is an emergency vehicle on the side of the road TechTown announces five winners of the Techtown's Retail Boot Camp New local television show will give you all of the booze news you can use this August The Detroit Community Nike store is now accepting applications for its Nike Community Impact Fund grant program It's lobster roll week at Mudgie's this week Celebrate Detroit's 317th birthday with free ice cream from Hudsonville Ice Cream And Jer sits down with Lisa Stolarski from Antique Touring Company to talk about her new tour company where she takes you

This is your Daily Detroit for Thursday, June 19th, 2018. The Detroit Police Department has its first new patrol boat since 1986, and it's named after fallen Detroit officer Kenneth "Shark" Steil. A vacant Detroit elementary school in the Old Redford neighborhood will become 32 affordable units for seniors and a new park. Who knew - Hazel Park is now seen as Oakland County's new real estate hot spot. Speaking of hot real-estate markets … Ferndale has been a particular focus for new development, with several large housing developments currently under construction. Now a proposed mixed-use development is causing a stir among local residents. Sven went down to the Ferndale Planning Commission meeting last night to see what it's all about. If publicly visible graffiti or outdoor art is used in a commercial, can the street artist sue? The New York Times reports that a Swiss outdoor artist whose work adorns an elevator shaft in the Z Garage in downtown Detroit is suing General Motors for the use of his work in an a

On the show recorded on July 18, 2018: It's the fifth anniversary of the city of Detroit declaring bankruptcy, so we have a special episode. Nathan Bomey, author of "Detroit Resurrected," a book on Detroit's bankruptcy, reflects on the events five years later and looks to the future. Lisa Ludwinski from Sister Pie joins us to talk about her new book and her West Village store that's beloved all over the country.  And in news, the building that houses Busy Bee in Eastern Market will see a new chapter. John Beilein gets a new contract from the University of Michigan. Cantina Diablos is changing concepts in Royal Oak, and Open Streets Detroit is in Rouge Park in Detroit this weekend.

Blame it on the bollards: We've got bikes on the brain here today at Daily Detroit.  A quick weekend trip to Columbus, Ohio, plus this feature in the Los Angeles Times about what LeBron James' new bike commute might be like, also make us realize that we have it better than many other cities. Detroit's bicycling infrastructure, nearly non-existent just a decade ago, is now legitimately something to brag about, with new protected bike lanes popping up on East Jefferson and Cass Avenue, more greenways planned and the MoGo bike share program in expansion mode. On today's Daily Detroit News Byte podcast, we talk more about that expansion with Lisa Nuszkowski, MoGo's founder and executive director, and Justin Lyons, Ferndale's planning director. As we reported last week, MoGo plans to expand in Detroit and five inner-ring suburbs. And we can now confirm that the Livernois "Avenue of Fashion" is the next Detroit neighborhood to get bike sharing. Starting next spring, MoGo will add 30 new stations and about 150 b