Daily Detroit News Byte

In our listener survey, many said we should throw in some more discussion and analysis episodes.  Automotive writer Eric Trytko joins me to talk about Rivian's intentions to go public, what it would really take to make the goal of all new cars being electric by 2030, the need for a U.S. industrial policy, the hurdles to dealing with climate change and net zero emissions, plus getting Michiganders on the same page to get big things done. 

Brad Williams is the Vice President of Government Relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber and one of the wonkiest people I know as far as public policy. And to be clear, I mean that as a compliment. One of my favorite podcasts is The Weeds - where policy issues get talked about in-depth - and today, to be clear, we are getting into the weeds around policy in metro Detroit and Michigan. What’s ahead? What are the opportunities? Where have we done well, and where could we do work? Obviously, I know whose interests he represents. He works for a large organization made up of some of the most powerful businesses in the state. There are some areas I agree with, and some I have questions. But he does a solid job of making the case on a variety of topics and having a real discussion. Some of them include the workforce shortage and how to address it. Proposed tax credits to convert office space into residential. ARPA funds. And yes, even though it wasn’t on the official agenda - we got into an interesting conversat

Hector Santiago is a candidate for Detroit City Council to represent District 6. Sprawling from most of the west of greater downtown Detroit, down the riverfront to Fort and Outer Drive, and up again to Oakman Boulevard and Grand River. It's probably one of Detroit's most diverse districts, with approximately 40 percent Latino, 40 percent African American and 20 percent white residents. From skyscrapers to industrial complexes and everything in between, District 6 has everything.  As always with these candidate conversations, we are not doing endorsements. It's an open door to any candidate on the ballot who wants to be on and my only ask is that you be part of the process and vote. For more on Hector Santiago: https://www.hectorsantiagofordetroit.com/

There are a lot of openings and closings in the food and drink world to talk about. First, cheers to Brooklyn Street Local. Nine plus years is a heck of a run, and they say in a heartfelt Facebook post that there are going to be new chapters ahead here for the pair from Toronto. https://www.facebook.com/BrooklynStreetLocal/posts/4409536882415444 -Detroit Axe is opening up in Corktown today. It's in a space they're calling the "Yard at Corktown." Are you an axe-throwing person, or no? - The Mixing Board is opening in Little Caesars Arena, a Michigan-themed live music and restaurant venue; plus the Points Bet sports bar.  - The New York Times has praise for a place that Devon is somewhat embarrassed he hasn't been to, Al Tayeb. - A local designer who also is an Afghan refugee is in Project Runway, it'll be something cool to watch. Full story: https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/television/2021/10/14/project-runway-sabrina-spanta-afghanistan/6050286001/ Also, Victor Williams is the GOAT of skateboarding

Our feature conversation with with Kelli Dobner of Samaritas. He organization is looking to raise funds to help 350 Afghan refugees in Metro Detroit and Grand Rapids get a footing while they restart their lives. More: https://www.samaritas.org/refugee-crisis Also, I share a quick thing to know and two places to go. - Bally Sports Detroit has renewed their deal to broadcast Tigers and Wings games. But can we please get a real streaming option? - The Detroit Bourbon Fest is this weekend to support the Friends of Detroit River. https://detroitbourbonfest.com/ - And there's a new mural at Van Dyke and Mack you may wanna check out this weekend. It reimagines the Spirit of Detroit in a beautiful way.  https://twitter.com/TheDailyDetroit/status/1448672244478185473  

Apple has opened a new iOS and App developer academy here in Detroit with the goal of bringing in a thousand students a year across their programs. It's part of their Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, with the goal to help address systemic racism and expand opportunities for communities of color across the country. To learn more, our feature conversation is with Apple's Alisha Johnson. She leads external engagement for Apple’s Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. Here's a link to learn more and apply when slots become available: https://developeracademy.msu.edu/  

It is a busy show today! 01:13 - The Pensole Lewis School of Business and Design will be Michigan's only HBCU. The school is the brainchild of Dr. D'Wayne Edwards and we caught up for a few minutes and tell the story of how this project that not only teaches design as a career, but offers free tuition, comes together. 08:18 - Towing has been a source of controversy and corruption in metro Detroit. The city has a new ordinance to try and curb the abuses and tilt things more in favor of residents. 09:47 - Things are not smelling like roses on Detroit's east side near the Stellantis plant. 10:37 - The city is in line to get a new Detroit Animal Care and Control facility, more than doubling the number of available kennels to 200. 11:26 - Fletcher Sharpe steps in to talk Detroit City FC's matchdays, the upcoming Black Star initiative to help build soccer in the Detroit community. He then has thoughts on Ben Wallace joining the Piston's front office and whether Grant Hill should have his number retired. p.s. - I kn

Today, we start in Dearborn. We discuss the news that Miller's is for sale, and what tweaks might need to happen next. Plus, there's a new food hall opening up on Michigan Avenue near another development we talked about recently.  Devon ranks his top three Dearborn burgers, honoring a place that's gone and a place Jer hadn't heard of but needs to try. Plus, a couple of affordable housing projects that are actually kinda neat are happening. One, the Cathedral Apartments that look like a UFO could land on them, and the other a three-story project that brings back to life an old neighborhood apartment building. Finally, Devon waxes poetic about the return of the Thanksgiving Parade for in-person attendance. Thanks for stopping by fun Friday! And thanks to our members on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit for supporting us. 

Today's show is in two parts. First, someone from the insurance company side who's willing to come on air and talk in detail about insurance rates in Detroit and how they might come down. Eric Poe heads up Cure auto insurance, a not-for-profit carrier that's entered the Detroit market and says they can signficantly reduce car insurance rates. I'm interested to see what you think when you kick the tires. Plus, Dr. Michael Lutz from the MIU Men's Health initiative previews Saturday's free health screening fair for men at Ford Field.

Today, Fletcher Sharpe talks all the things Detroit City FC. From the drubbing Le Rouge gave to New Amsterdam (and their goalie situation), to a 0-0 draw, we cover the on the field play. Then we get into a piece in Sports Illustrated focusing on the club and giving it some national press. There's also the new smoke jerseys and a community initiative to help raise up soccer in the Detroit Public Schools. At the very end, by listener request, we talk about the mean streets of Bloomfield Hills. Or that's what one local brand was trying to sell you. Until they took all the products down. You can follow Fletcher on Twitter @SaintFDW Thanks to our members on Patreon.

Today's conversation is with Anthony Adams, candidate for mayor of the city of Detroit. He has a long career in public service, and we dive into the issues the city of Detroit faces and how he'd approach them. Some of the topics we touch on include education, policing, flooding, transit, mobility, lowering (or maybe eliminating) Detroit's residential property tax, campaign finance, and universal basic income. His website: https://anthonyadamsformayor.com/  

Today's feature conversation is with sculptor Austen Brantley.  Website: https://www.austenbrantleysculpture.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austenbrantley/ Also in the back few minutes, I share a couple quick things to know around town: - Local officials are worried about the city's low (43.9%) vaccination rate and a November/.December COVID-19 surge in the region. So far, Metro Detroit has been relatively spared.  - The Starbucks at Woodward and Montcalm in the Fox Theater building quietly closed 

The Detroit Grand Prix could be moving downtown. It's big news, as many Detroiters have had a mixed view of the race. Many are supportive of the race as it's the Motor City, but also not too pleased about the impact to Belle Isle. To look at the pros, the cons, the racing angles of taking the race back downtown after 32 years - Eric Trytko. He's got 30+ years of experience as a motorsports announcer, 20+ years covering motorsports and has raced cars and motorcycles himself. We also talk about Motor Bella and how that went this year.

Today's show: -Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey pleads guilty as part of a widening corruption probe - A Detroit Firefighters union official is alleged to have taken $220k in union funds - Mom's Spaghetti is opening permanently in downtown Detroit And our feature conversation is with Fletcher Sharpe. We talk Detroit City FC's 1-0 win over the Force and preview upcoming games and against New Amsterdam and Maryland. Plus, his Lions thoughts and the Detroit Pistons are one of only two NBA teams that are fully vaccinated. Our show is funded by our members: http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit  

As we run up to the November Detroit election, we're doing some candidate interviews. One of them is M.L. Elrick. He's running for District 4 on Detroit's east side. We talk about his ideas around keeping flood waters out of basements, ethics, his plan to remove the perk of a city-provided car for council members, development, Detroit's bus problems, and more. His website: https://ml4detroit.com/ Note: We will have an automated transcript up on our website this week. To be clear, we are not offering endorsements. The point of these conversations is to leave our listeners more informed, however you decide to vote. What we do want to do is raise up policy ideas and solutions as our city and suburbs face a number of challenges and opportunities. Information is in the episode if you're a candidate or represent one and would like to connect for a conversation.