Daily Detroit News Byte

Over the last fifteen years, Michael Matthews rode along with officers of the Detroit Police Department. He had unrestricted access to the day to day life of the Motor City's men in blue. His new book, "American Ruin: Life And Death On The Streets Of Detroit – America's Deadliest City" dives into what's happening in a variety of neighborhoods, with first-hand accounts from his own eyes and on-the-job Detroit cops. In that time, Matthews – a former London cop and Scotland Yard officer himself – has come to see two Detroits. One that's shiny, new and resurgent. New buildings. new residents. One of promise and progress. And another where children are literally huddled in a house with no water, no heat, no furniture — and a pair of guns. The truth is that in Detroit, both stories exist. Side by side. Sometimes just one block from each other. Today's episode of the Daily Detroit podcast is a conversation between our Sven Gustafson and Michael Matthews. You'll find that below. We also have a short excerpt of the bo

Ford — as part of the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) negotiated as part of the $740 million Michigan Central Station/Corktown project — launched a City:One in Detroit. It's a competition for ideas to make it easier for Detroiters to get around. Sven went to Corktown to get all the details and we talk about what's happening on the show.  If you want to enter, go here. Also – Billionaire investor and Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert has moved from Beaumont Hospital to an inpatient rehabilitation facility. And the Detroit Zoo is temporarily closing the recently built Polk Penguin Conservation Center from September through June of 2020 to fix waterproofing issues that they're saying are due to the contractor. The $31 million building only opened in April of 2016.

On today's episode, we check in with soccer journalist and The Outer Drive podcast co-host Fletcher Sharpe, who covers Detroit City FC. With five games remaining in the NPSL regular season, Le Rouge are now unbeaten in seven games and have held opponents scoreless in each of those matches. But City has also notched scoreless draws during that stretch with their top divisional rivals in the NPSL Great Lakes Conference — AFC Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids FC. Le Rouge will have rematches with both teams during their final five games, and as Sharpe says, not all three teams are likely to make the NPSL playoffs. What else do we cover on the show, you ask? Federal officials are reviewing the Motor City Match program, which is meant to encourage small business entrepreneurship in the city, over its record-keeping and spending. [Detroit News] Jer talks to us about Ford's new information and community center as part of Michigan Center, the company's new name for its big investment in Corktown. Buddy's Pizza is giving ou

On today's show for June 18, 2019: - The City of Detroit is one of 10 American cities to join a new national program to figure out how to help residents make more money and improve their economic status.  - You've heard of Hell, Michigan, right? it's an unincorporated town near Pinckney in Livingston County. It's famous for its road signs, a tavern and stores selling souvenirs branded with the community's name. Now, a California YouTuber has purchased the whole five-acre commercial property and officially renamed it "Gay Hell" in protest of the Trump Administration. - The Conservatory on Belle Isle is opening nearly a month ahead of schedule. - A 2,500 Square Foot Premier Pet Supply is coming to the City Club Apartments near Grand Circus Park. And yes, it'll have a DIY dog wash station. We discuss. - A Grand Opening date has been set for the new Brooks Brewing in Ferndale. It'll be June 26th, and we talk about their unique approach to pricing their brews. - And finally, there's the 6th Annual Art of the Cockt

Cleveland. It's a city that is often compared to Detroit, and not always for their positive attributes. And nothing against our Rust Belt cousin, but it turns out it's one of the prime destinations for renters around metro Detroit who are looking to get out of town. And apparently there are a lot of people in that category. A new "Renter Migration Report" from Apartment List says the Detroit area is No. 2 among the 25 largest metro areas for the share of renters who are searching for apartments in other regions, at 49.6%. Conversely, just 21.9% of searches for rental units in the Detroit area come from outside the region, good for dead last. In addition to Cleveland, the top cities where Detroit-area renters are looking for rentals are Cincinnati and Grand Rapids. "Detroit has suffered from a decades-long population loss, and although this loss has slowed in recent years, the area has yet to cement a full revival," the report concludes. You can read it here. Remember, this is the whole region — there are hot

Bridge Magazine has a fascinating new story out that finds that while mortgage activity in Detroit is steadily increasing after bottoming out during the Great Recession, the recovery isn't mirroring Detroit's population demographics. What's more, there are still vast tracts of the city where mortgage activity is virtually nonexistent. Despite making up just 10% of the city's overall population, white people got almost half of all mortgages in Detroit in 2017, while black people, who comprise 80% of all Detroit residents, got 48% of all home loans. By comparison, black homeowners got three-quarters of all mortgages in the city in 2007. Interestingly, the data show that black people are getting mortgages, just not in the city. They're increasingly moving to suburbs like Southfield, Farmington, Warren and Eastpointe. On today's show, we speak with Mike Wilkinson, the Bridge Magazine reporter who wrote the story. We go deep on what the data tells us about what's driving the trend, how some black people appear to

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel wants to build a new jail, because the current one is a squalid death trap. On June 19, he plans to ask a special meeting of the county board of commissioners' Records and Public Safety panel for approval of the $375 million project, plus the OK of ballot language for a tax to pay for the bonds that would pay for it. It's not clear how much the tax millage would be or whether this would constitute a tax increase for residents. But for a generally tax-averse county, this one could get problematic, fast. Oh, and there's a new attempt to thwart the new Gordie Howe International Bridge, this time via an addition to a state budget bill that would prohibit the state from spending any money to finance its half of construction. You know, even though Canada is reimbursing us 100% of the costs. Will wonders never cease? Elsewhere, we run down: Security guards in downtown Detroit began a strike today, though it's unclear how widespread it actually is. The city has broken ground on th

The Motor City is synonymous with the car. It's called, after all, the Motor City. But will the next chapter of Detroit be so car-focused? And how will those changes happen? Today's episode of Daily Detroit is a conversation with Kevin Bopp, the Vice President of Parking and Mobility for Bedrock. That's the real estate arm of Dan Gilbert's family of companies. Each day, they need to get many thousands of people in and out of their properties, whether they're employees, tenants, visitors or residents. Topics include the parking woes of downtown Detroit, public transit, scooters, the new ride sharing program Scoop, and there's a bold call that the Detroit People Mover will see a renaissance. One more thing to know before you go. Marygrove College has announced that it will be closing due to declines in enrollment and large debts. The fall 2019 semester will be the final semester for the 92 year old Catholic college. Thanks for listening to the Daily Detroit podcast!

Over on Belle Isle today, boosters broke ground on the Piet Oudolf garden, the unofficial name for the landscape installation planned for 2.5 acres at the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon. Oudolf is a legendary Dutch garden designer and author who's perhaps best known for his work on New York City's High Line, a linear park on a former elevated rail track, and the Lurie Garden in Chicago's Millennium Park. You can watch a PBS NewsHour segment with him below; in it, he talks specifically about the project in Detroit and the city itself. On today's episode, we speak with two members of the volunteer organization Oudolf Garden Detroit — Maura and Duncan Campbell. They tell us all about how Oudolf was persuaded to do a commission in Detroit, what's involved and how backers hope it might lead to some transformational changes to Belle Isle — and the city as a whole. Installation — that is to say, the planting of the 18,000 plants — kicks off in September, and the organization is still raising money toward its $4.2 millio

Midtown Detroit, Inc. and the Detroit Institute of Arts have announced the winner of its DIA Plaza | Midtown Cultural Connections international design competition, first launched in 2017. Detroit Square is a proposal from an international consortium led by Paris-based Agence Ter and including Detroit-based Akoaki, rootoftwo, and Harley Etienne. The proposal reimagines the 83-acre Cultural Center in Midtown and its 12 educational and cultural institutions, highlighted by the DIA, the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Historical Museum, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the Michigan Science Center and several others. It includes major new green spaces, a winding greenway connecting the 12 institutions, cafes, art installations, performance spaces and two plaza areas that could serve as public event spaces and warrant the temporary closure of Woodward to vehicles. There's also a big focus on adding public Wi-Fi and 5G cellular connections throughout the site. In addition to talking about

Oak Park is a diverse inner-ring suburb of more than 29,000 people nestled between Ferndale, Detroit, Berkley and Southfield. It's in a great location, minutes from a variety of job centers. It's seeing a lot more action as nearby cities like Ferndale grow (yes, there are lofts going for $5,000 a month in downtown Ferndale now and housing prices are racing up). And the added cost of living in nearby Detroit is burdensome for many families. Recent changes — including allowing restaurants to serve alcohol — are making Oak Park more of a draw. Sure, MoGo bike sharing is coming to the community this summer. But the last few years there has been a greater focus on walkable spaces and a city manager that clearly believes that a well-designed and thoughtful built environment, mixed with solid city services, can make for a better life for residents. In short, Oak Park could be the next urbanist suburb you need to watch. To talk about it, we had City Manager Erik Tungate in the studio. The conversation with Sven Gusta

Welcome to a bonus Friday edition of your Daily Detroit. Today, we discuss the sad news that Axle Brewing will shutter its Livernois Taproom June 30th, barely two years after it first opened. Dave Phillips, one-half of Podcast Detroit and the IT in the D podcast, and himself a former partner in a failed craft brewery, joins us to discuss how difficult it is to succeed in an uber-competitive sector, where even established brands have to fight for shelf space, and drinkers like me fret about overabundance. Axle President Dan Riley told the Freep the brand doesn't have the scale or cost structure to see a "clear path" to turning a profit. Elsewhere: Detroit may be dealing with a serial killer after three women believed to be prostitutes were found dead in abandoned homes on the city's east side. Tipsters are asked to call (313) 596-2260. [Detroit News] There's an update on Dan Gilbert, nearly two weeks after the billionaire real estate developer suffered a stroke. Detroit's Public Lighting Authority is starting

Welcome to a very Motor City-centric edition of your Daily Detroit. Today, we're running down a pair of big stories from the auto industry, speaking with Kristin Dziczek, vice president of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. First up: Fiat Chrysler has withdrawn its $35 billion proposal to merge with French automaker Renault just 10 days after FCA first announced the proposal. It comes after the Renault board on Wednesday failed to reach a decision on the proposal, citing the French government's request to postpone a vote. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Nissan's two representatives on the Renault board also objected.  Renault owns a stake in Nissan as part of a long-running alliance with the Japanese automaker, while the French government owns a 15% stake in Renault. Fiat Chrysler's board met Wednesday evening and voted to withdraw its proposal with immediate effect, saying that although it remains convinced of the compelling rationale for the merger, "it has become clear that the pol

Are tax incentives as a tool to lure large-scale corporate investment and jobs here to stay? That's the question at the heart of this interview today with Kevin Johnson, the president and CEO of the Detroit Economic Development Corp. It's particularly timely in the midst of Chrysler's planned $2.5 billion investment to create nearly 5,000 new jobs on Detroit's east side, where workers will build the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee and an all-new three-row full-size Jeep SUV. The deal has won some $291 million in assorted incentives. The Detroit Economic Growth Corporation – or DEGC for short – has been instrumental in development projects in the city since the late 1970s. Johnson took over as head of the organization about a year ago. He spent a few years doing economic development in Atlanta, as well as stints at organizations in Arizona, Florida and North Carolina. He spoke with Jer at the Mackinac Policy Conference last week on Mackinac Island. Here's that conversation. Thanks for listening to Daily De

Welcome to an al fresco edition of your Daily Detroit, recorded au natural in a park near downtown Royal Oak. We were there to cover a press event to discuss some of the things in store for Arts, Beats & Eats, which returns for its 22nd edition with a new sponsor Aug. 30-Sept. 2. We also cover the details of the newest historic building rehab in Detroit. It's called the Assembly, a mixed-use office and retail building in Corktown with 32 apartments from Dan Gilbert's Bedrock real estate empire. Last but not least, we check in with our friend and soccer journalist Fletcher Sharpe to see how Detroit City FC is doing now five games into their NPSL regular season. Le Rouge appear to be shaking off a slow start to the season following three consecutive clean sheets and two straight lopsided wins. Thanks for listening to Daily Detroit. If you like what you're hearing, tell a friend about us, leave us a review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or support us by becoming a Patreon member.

Happy Monday, and welcome to a new week of your Daily Detroit. Today, Jer talks about an eventful past week spent at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island, filling us in on some of the things he came away with beyond just the headlines about no-fault auto insurance reform. Specifically, it's becoming clear that Detroit's comeback needs a lot more juice (read: money — and residents) just to come up to par with the competition. He also does the math on the so-called 7.2, the informal name for Detroit's downtown and adjacent district that have seen most investment lately, and the costs to fix Michigan's decrepit roads. Also, an interesting post pushes the idea that the cost $10 a month per Michigan driver on average to raise $1 billion for the roads. Elswhere, we cover: Could the Regional Transit Authority be revived in a scaled-back version? Its board chairman dropped a hint recently. [Michigan Matters] Mortgages hit a decade high in Detroit in April, but they're still well below what they should

Eastern Market is going through a lot of change. Shops are closing or moving. New land owners are moving in. Companies who have been in the market a long time need to expand. And at the center of it all is the Eastern Market Corporation (now the Eastern Market Partnership. Their CEO, Dan Carmody, saw these changes coming and has a plan. We talk about the changing neighborhood, the future vision, and how he defines the soul and authenticity of Eastern Market they're looking to protect. It's an interview that anyone who cares about the market that's beloved by Detroiters near and far should give a listen. Also today from the Mackinac Policy Conference: Gretchen Whitmer signed into law auto insurance changes. But is it reform, or incremental progress? Detroit will still have the highest car insurance rates in the nation, and Michigan, the second-highest. And, there's a $200 million bond proposal coming to pay for eliminating all blight in the city of Detroit by 2024. Thanks for listening!

Just in time for the Mackinac Policy Conference, the Center for Michigan and its Bridge Magazine have a new report out all about Michigan's abysmal roads. It's titled Fixing Michigan's Road Mess: The Unclear Path Ahead. The report is the result of convening more than 3,200 residents across the state to talk about the state of our roads. It found broad agreement, unsurprisingly, that our roads are in terrible shape. But it found no consensus whatsoever on the issue of how to pay for repairing them — or how much we should spend repairing them. On this episode, we spoke with Bridge Magazine's public engagement reporter, Allie Schmidt, about the report and some of its findings. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made "fixing the damn roads" a centerpiece of her successful election campaign last year, and with auto insurance reform edging closer to completion, the issue figures to loom over the Mackinac Policy Conference this week on Mackinac Island. Thanks for listening to Daily Detroit. If you like what you're hearing, tell

Spring is here! It's the time of year where more people start to get out and about. Because of that, bar and restaurant concepts are starting to get into swing and get some attention. For today's episode, our man about town Devon O'Reilly stops by the studio to talk about what's hot around Detroit. Whether it's a new bar on Bagley, a Mexican place named Peso, or winery that uses Detroit-grown grapes called Detroit Vineyards (or a variety of other stops), we get into what's worth going out to now that there's some sun and warmth. Thanks for listening! Don't forget to tell a friend about the Daily Detroit podcast. It's the best way to grow the show.

The Detroit Grand Prix is an annual event that brings nearly a hundred thousand people to the island, national television coverage and some charity dollars through their Grand Prixmere fundraiser. But there's a group of concerned citizens and park goers who say that the price paid in damage to the park and restricted access is too high. Today on the show, we talk about this with three members of Belle Isle Concern - Angela Lugo-Thomas, Sandra Novacek and Michael Betzold. What do you think? Get in touch at dailydetroit -at- gmail.com. Also in the news: -Chris Ilitch admitted in interviews that their timelines for the controversial District Detroit were "aggressive." Crains. Detroit News Investigation. Freep. -Juwan Howard is the new University of Michigan Basketball coach -And Detroit Tigers legend Willie Horton got a street named after him in his childhood neighborhood Like what we're doing? We're people powered. Join our Patreon membership.