Detroit143

09/15/2014

Volunteers improve the view on Junction Street

Folks who are tired of the trash and debris on a stretch of Junction Street can now enjoy a beautiful sidewalk, thanks to GM Cares Week.
http://www.detroit143.org/2014/09/volunteers-improve-the-view-on-junction-street/

By Travis Marmon Southwest Detroit residents who travel Junction Street will undoubtedly see something new the next time they pass by—a visible sidewalk. For years, piles of trash that had mostly likely been dumped, made the sidewalk un-walkable....

09/15/2014

Detroit joins list of immigrant-friendly cities

Hey Southwest Detroit: What advice would you give to this new effort to make Detroit more immigrant-friendly? http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140915/METRO01/309150044/1361/rss

Detroit - The city of Detroit is joining a national initiative aimed at creating immigrant-friendly environments.

09/05/2014

MC Hammer to give free 'Innovate in the Hood' tech talk at Detroit's Cass Tech High School

We hope to see some of you at this event tonight. Detroit143 will be covering it.
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/detroit/index.ssf/2014/08/mc_hammer_to_give_free_innovat.html

DETROIT, MI -- MC Hammer has experienced the highs and lows of the entertainment business for a few decades now and wants to share his experiences and comeback in the business world with a Detroit audience.

08/31/2014

Resources for starting or growing women-owned businesses in Detroit

Resources for women interested in starting their own business in Detroit:

If you're a woman in Detroit interested in launching a business or expanding your current enterprise, here are some resources that may be helpful: Michigan Women’s Foundation – www.miwf.org - The Angel Microloan Fund offers low interest loans from $...

08/31/2014

Owning your own business as solution rather than struggle

As part of Detroit143's look at women-owned businesses, Rose Hackman profiles 30-year-old single mom Nieves Arzola, who heads the operations of Disenos Ornamental Iron in Southwest Detroit. Additional Detroit143 coverage of the topic in today's Detroit Free Press.
http://www.detroit143.org/2014/08/owning-your-own-business-as-solution-rather-than-struggle/

For 30-year-old single mom Nieves Arzola, owning her own...

08/30/2014

Women reshaping the face of small business in Detroit

Detroit143's Rose Hackman weighs in on some of the ways small business development is helping women drive change in Detroit. rhttp://www.freep.com/article/20140830/OPINION05/308300007

Half of Detroit's businesses are owned by women. Read about the women making Detroit's economy economy tick.

08/26/2014

New Bike Shop Delivers Transit Option

Travis Marmon has the story on a new bike shop on Springwells that doubles as a youth entrepreneurship program.
http://www.detroit143.org/2014/08/new-bike-shop-delivers-transit-option/

With a struggling bus system, the M-1 rail line a few years away, and the costs of car ownership beyond the reach of many average families, Detroiters are searching for, and in some cases creating, their own transportation alternatives. Enter Southwest...

08/23/2014

News worth spreading!

Southwest Detroit has an entrepreneurial soul.

08/14/2014

Our/Detroit: Fake Local Vodka Promises 'Meaningful Community Conversations'

International distillery brings craft Vodka to one of Southwest Detroit's most popular blocks. What do you think?.http://www.deadlinedetroit.com/articles/8712/our_detroit_fake_local_vodka_promises_meaningful_community_conversations#.U-zlYUiMG2w

Our/Detroit vodka markets itself as a local start-up, when it's actually the project of a multinational liquor congolmerate with multibillion dollar annual revenues.

08/11/2014

Detroit Jit, a ’70s Street Dance Reborn and Revved Up

These wonderful images of Detroit Jit dancer Eric Broadnax were captured over the weekend by Joshua Lott and ran on the front of the Arts section in today's New York Times. Joshua is a nationally known photographer who lives and works in Detroit and, we're proud to say, makes photographs from time to time for Detroit143. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/11/arts/dance/detroit-jit-a-70s-street-dance-reborn-and-revved-up.html?_r=0

The street dance Detroit Jit, like Memphis jookin, features top-speed movement of the feet and evolved in part from hip-hop.

08/10/2014

Why Can't More Cities Be Like Detroit? -- EPA

Community gardening in Detroit gains national attention. What are your favorite gardens in Southwest Detroit? We'd love to know. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2014/08/06/why-cant-more-cities-be-like-detroit-epa/

The Environmental Protection Agency hopes Detroit's "steps to broadly transform vacant properties may be applicable in other Legacy Cities that have neighborhood challenges similar to Detroit’s."

08/06/2014

16 Ways to Make Your Neighborhood Safer, Greener and More Fun | On the Commons

Ever wonder what makes neighborhoods safe, fun and vibrant? OnTheCommon.org offers 16 ideas from around the globe. Detroit143 would love to know your thoughts on this list or what you'd like to see on a list for Detroit neighborhoods. http://onthecommons.org/magazine/16-ways-make-your-neighborhood-safer-greener-and-more-fun

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 1) Dare to Dream Your imagination is the most important resource in transforming your neighborhood

08/06/2014

Twitter / RashidaTlaib: Bad media reporting. ...

Rashida Tlaib loses State Senate challenge to incumbent Virgil Smith. Freep's Bill Laitner corrects earlier bad call by the Associated Press: http://www.freep.com/article/20140806/NEWS06/308060074/state-senate-primary-results.
https://twitter.com/RashidaTlaib/status/496940740170108928.

Connect with your friends — and other fascinating people. Get in-the-moment updates on the things that interest you. And watch events unfold, in real time, from every angle.

08/06/2014

The story behind the lead photo in the DIA's Bruce Weber exhibit

From Kirk Cheyfitz:
Congratulations to Mark Stryker on a great, insightful story. I saw the DIA exhibit and wondered, like Stryker, what had ever become of the star of Bruce Weber's carefully circumscribed show. Stryker explains it all in one of the finest stories on Southwest Detroit and the fate of the entire city that I have seen. Thoroughly reported, smartly written, his piece penetrates the facades—both ugly and lovely—that others have tried to project as the "truth" about Detroit. Behind those facades, Stryker finds and describes a real, more complicated truth about the city and its tortured fight to redeem itself—a fight that has been going on for more than half a century.

Two months after Bruce Weber first photographed him, Detroiter Jeremy Marek was arrested and charged with carjacking, armed robbery and felony firearms.

08/06/2014

Duggan Debuts Detroit Dashboard

If you're tracking what's happening in Detroit these days, you'll want to check out Travis Marmon's take on the ten dimensions of Detroit that Mayor Duggan has chose to chronicle in his new dashboard. The dashboard doesn't yet include all the metrics that make a city go, so perhaps Detroit143 readers can give hizzoner a hand: What should be added to that dashboard? http://www.detroit143.org/2014/08/duggan-debuts-detroit-dashboard/

Detroit residents interested in keeping tabs on Mayor Mike Duggan’s efforts to repair the city’s myriad problems have a new resource at their fingertips: the Detroit Dashboard. Since his election in January, Mayor Duggan has vowed transparency,and a...

08/04/2014

Report and Track Running Water in Detroit

Detroit143 wades into the battle to help track running water in abandoned buildings. Read the story here:http://www.detroit143.org/2014/07/1102/. You can also file a report using the SeeClickFix app on our website.

We're pleased to announce our partnership with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD), with the launch of the Detroit Delivers initiative: Thanks to DWSD’s new partnership with SeeClickFix,...

08/01/2014

Southwest Detroit: Meet the candidates running to represent you in the District 6 State Rep primary on August 5th.Listen and let us know which candidate speaks best to your concerns. http://www.detroit143.org/2014/07/southwests-state-rep-contenders-voice-their-priorities/

07/31/2014

Southwest’s State Rep contenders voice their priorities

With just five days before the Aug 5th primary, listen to what Detroit143 learned while following three of District 6's State Representative candidates. http://www.detroit143.org/2014/07/southwests-state-rep-contenders-voice-their-priorities/

This is the first report in a regular Detroit143 audio and video series called Southwest Voices. This report features audio documentaries by multimedia producer Zak Rosen. Detroit143 recently spent time on the campaign trail talking with three of the six...

07/28/2014

How to help the city turn off water in abandoned buildings

Overshadowed by the current controversy over water department shut-offs is a new initiative to enlist Detroiters' "eyes and ears" to help the city shut off water still running in abandoned buildings. You can download an app for an iPhone or Android device or just chime in online. The details: http://www.detroit143.org/2014/07/1102/

By Bill Mitchell It's a scene painfully familiar to many residents of Southwest Detroit: An abandoned home or building with the sound of running water audible from the sidewalk. Now there's something you can do about it. Two weeks ago, several days before...

07/28/2014

Ford, DSO bringing live music to Detroit neighborhoods

Ford UK's $10 million neighborhood investment program, "Operation Brighter Future," brings more good news to Southwest Detroit. Don't miss "DSO on the Go with Ford" Aug., 5th and Aug.,19th at the new Ford Resource and Engagement Center. Ford's investment helped reopen the largely shuttered Mexican Mercado building. http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2014/07/ford_dso_brining_live_music_to.html#incart_river_news.

Ford Motor Co. and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra are launching a unique concert series called "DSO on the Go with Ford." The series will feature 10 free performances by DSO musicians at locations around Detroit. The first performance was Tuesday, featuring bassoonist Michael Ke Ma and cellist David…

07/24/2014

Josh Stearns on local journalism and sustainability

Watch this brief interview by Dan Kennedy with Josh Stearns and you'll get a snapshot of some of the community-based sustainability we're trying to build with www.detroit143.org. http://dankennedy.net/2014/07/24/josh-stearns-on-local-journalism-and-sustainability/

Last week I had a chance to sit down with Josh Stearns to talk about his new job as director of the Journalism and Sustainability Project at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Dodge has received a ...

07/24/2014

A car, a block and an entrepreneur making a difference

As Kirk Cheyfitz points out: lasting neighborhood development works best from the ground up. See how the efforts of a local businessman and an enterprising woman in the neighborhood are making a big difference in Southwest Detroit: http://www.detroit143.org/2014/07/a-car-a-block-and-an-entrepreneur-making-a-difference/ https://www.facebook.com/kirk.cheyfitz/activity/10152597222292148

By Bill McGraw The closing of the Clark Street Cadillac plant in 1987 dealt a blow to nearby Merritt Avenue, but an automobile from that factory has played an intriguing role in efforts to revive the neighborhood. [caption id="attachment_1074" align="...

07/24/2014

Detroit143 celebrates the city's 313th birthday with its kickoff story in this morning's Detroit Free Press, print and online: Bill McGraw peels back the story of one block in Southwest Detroit, Merritt Avenue, and finds a fascinating history and an encouraging present. http://www.freep.com/article/20140724/OPINION05/307240032/living-in-detroit. Photo by Amy Sacka for Detroit143.org. Related coverage: www.Detroit143.org.

07/22/2014

Meet The People Fighting Pollution In Michigan’s Most Toxic ZIP Code

An outside look at one of Southwest Detroit's greatest challenges: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/21/3461972/michigan-most-toxic-zip-code/

"Looking at my community I wanted to cry," Leonard said. "Sometimes you just get so tried of fighting."

07/22/2014

Meet the 5 best mayors in Detroit history

Only one modern-times Detroit mayor makes the Free Press' assessment of the city's five best mayors, and their selection may surprise you. The paper's Dan Austin documents his selections well, and provides an unusually accessible glimpse of what worked well over the city's last century or so. http://www.freep.com/article/20140722/NEWS01/307220019/detroit-mayors

Detroit has had plenty of leaders over its 313-year existence. Here are the five best mayors the Motor City has ever seen.

07/18/2014

How Detroit Is Faring on Jobs, Crime, Housing - Washington Wire - WSJ

A by-the-numbers look at the one-year anniversary of Detroit's bankruptcy. In the story, Mayor Mike Duggan touts the addition of more than 5,000 street lights. Are the streets in Southwest Detroit any brighter? http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/07/18/how-detroit-is-faring-on-jobs-crime-housing/

The city has added more than 5,000 streetlights, he says.

Friday is the one-year anniversary for Detroit’s bankruptcy, marking a good time to check in on the city’s future, its past and what the saga all means for other struggling big cities.

07/16/2014

When shutting off the water in Detroit is a good thing!
Received this message from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department at 6:24 a.m. this morning about the running water problem we reported yesterday afternoon:
Thank you for reporting the running water issue to DWSD. The issue has been resolved and this service request has been closed. We appreciate your assistance with getting this matter addressed! You can thank the city for its fast action here (we've already done so): https://seeclickfix.com/issues/1186066?task=thanks (And by the way, Detroit143's man on the street, Bill McGraw, confirms that the water has, indeed, been turned off.

07/15/2014

Running Water in a Home or Building

Some good news: The Detroit Water & Sewerage Dept. has started fixing stuff reported by residents via SeeClickFix. The water in the case below (h/t Bill McGraw) has not yet been turned off but the Water Dept. responded to Detroit143's report of it within 8 minutes of our report. We'll keep you posted on how long it takes to get it fixed. Meanwhile, see the SeeClickFix map in the middle of www.detroit143.org to report your own issues. Thanks to Ben Berkowitz & @Beth Niblock for their efforts. http://ow.ly/zcsyv

From the street, you can hear the water flowing inside the abandoned building.

07/15/2014

Essay: Detroit Can Be Capital Of Kindness

WDET 101.9FM says Detroit can be the new capital of kindness. True in your neighborhood?
http://wdet.org/news/story/Essay-Detroit-Can-Be-Capital-Of-Kindness/#.U8Vw130LZ6Y.facebook

Detroit officials are pondering where to concentrate resources once the city emerges from the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history. But WDET’s Quinn Klinefelter found something he says should be preserved above anything else in the city and submitted this essay…

07/11/2014

Mark your calendars!

SDEV is hosting a garden party at Cadillac Urban Gardens on Merritt on Thursday, August 7, 2014 from 4pm-7pm. For only $25, you can taste food prepared by local chefs (El Barzon, Esto's Garage, Le Petit Zinc, + more), beer, wine, music, and raffles. All proceeds support SDEV's work to improve environmental conditions in Southwest Detroit.

07/10/2014

CUNY J-School Live - CUNY Graduate School of Journalism

Live stream of one-day conference on entrepreneurial journalism useful to teachers & journos alike: http://ow.ly/z10Fb #ejsummit

Streaming content from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism

07/08/2014

A Closer Look at Rico

New Detroit, Inc. recently named District 6 Neighborhood Manager Rico Razo the first recipient of its "Young Leader in Action Award." He said, "There's just endless possibilities when you learn to work together.''

07/07/2014

Speaking Up: What 5 Southwest Detroit Teens Think About Bankruptcy And Their Neighborhoods (Video)

Southwest Detroit thorough the eyes of its youth:http://wdet.org/news/story/sw-youth-bankruptcy-070214/

What do Detroit's future have to say about their neighborhoods and the future of their city? We asked a few of them at our latest Next Chapter Detroit meeting in Southwest Detroit.

07/07/2014

Twitter / DeadlineDetroit: #trueSWdetroit: Good dumping ...

Some good dumping in SW for a change! And if you spot something that reflects the True Southwest Detroit, please do as Bill McGraw did and take a photo and post it to Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #trueSWDetroit. It'll show up automatically in the Fliptu app at the bottom of Detroit143.org. https://twitter.com/DeadlineDetroit/status/486149933766955009

Connect with your friends — and other fascinating people. Get in-the-moment updates on the things that interest you. And watch events unfold, in real time, from every angle.