Opinions & Views

We're supposed to have working streetlights

This week came the news that the $185 million relighting program for Detroit’s streetlights is complete. It’s not that the city being re-wired and re-lit with LED streetlights is a bad thing. It’s a very good step forward. It seems to have been quite the effort over multiple years to make it happen, involving the hard work of many organizations like DTE Energy, the Public Lighting Authority, and countless people. More details are here, but here’s the main point: On Thursday, December 15, t...

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The Message Is Now Clear On Transit. Ann Arbor, Detroit, Washtenaw And Wayne Should Go It Alone.

Sometimes, you have to take the hint. The Regional Transit Authority Millage – losing by a wide margin in Macomb County (60/40) and a small one in Oakland – isn’t necessarily a surprise, but it should be a signal. The Detroit Regional Chamber and many business leaders signed on to support the RTA proposal. “To say we’re disappointed is an understatement. However, we respect the will of the voters and will continue to seek solutions to connect our region and provide mobility to those without...

Vote Yes On Transit For A United Detroit Region

There have been many attempts at reliable, comprehensive mass transit in our region for years. It’s time to end this long journey by voting “yes” on the millage for the Regional Transit Authority (RTA). It simply makes sense if you want the region to grow and have a shot at being competitive in the future. Do you want your kid to think about moving home from Chicago or another major city? You should vote yes for transit. There’s a good chance they’re taking the “L” as well as a network of buse...

OPINION: Emergency Managers May Leave, But It's Now Clear The State Is Still In Control

The Flint water crisis is a boondoggle of historic proportions. Multiple levels of our government failed the people of Flint – and the people of Michigan more broadly. Here’s the latest. The Freep outlines the scenario that occurred days after Flint Mayor Karen Weaver threatened to sue the state: Though Flint has not been under a state-appointed emergency manager since April 2015, the state still exerts partial control over the city through a five-member Receivership Transition Advisory Boar...

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Renew The Zoo: The Detroit Zoo Deserves Support On Tuesday

Although many people aren’t paying attention to the primary election on Tuesday, there are some very important items on the ballot. One of those is the Detroit Zoo millage, which spans across the three counties of Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne. The Detroit Zoo, in the time of receiving regional support, has thrived. It’s physically located in Oakland County at the crossroads of Woodward and I-696, making it rather accessible and centrally located to all in the region, and it has a litany of pro...

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Metro Detroit's Future Could Go Off The Rails If We Walk Away From The RTA

This is why we can’t have nice things. That was our reaction, along with a cynical shrug of the shoulders, to the news that the Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority was forced to postpone voting on its master plan. This, after literally decades of false starts and setbacks that have left the Detroit region a woefully underserved backwater of public transportation, with two competing bus systems and a service area with glaring holes where virtually no transit service exists. The vo...

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Plans For Riverfront Overhaul Should Give Detroiters Opportunity To Touch Our Water

Let’s first start out by saying the work the Detroit Riverfront is doing has been impressive. They’ve been part of making large change on a swath of land that in recent memory was completely unaccessible to the public and opening it back up for everyone’s use. Their good stewardship has been rewarded, as we reported earlier, with a funding campaign that has exceeded their goal. And they have a public input process about plans for the east riverfront from now until 2050, and other plans running...

It's Time For The Narrative Of "Two Detroits" To Die

There is a lot of talk about the concept of “Two Detroits,” and has been for awhile. For some, it’s about the haves and have nots. Or black or white. Some might extend to suburb and city. Downtown vs. neighborhoods. There are a million ways you could cut a dividing line, if you so chose. Here’s the thing. “Two Detroits” is such a horribly oversimplified narrative that it should be done. Fin. Over. Dead. There are, as of last estimation, 677,116 people in this city, and to each one of those...

One Man's Litter Is Another Man's Free Speech - But Is It The Right Way To Treat Readers?

If you haven’t heard, Orion Township in Oakland County and the biggest paper in town, the Detroit Free Press, are now in a legal dispute over a Sunday edition called “Select,” delivered in a pink paper bag to some communities in Metro Detroit. So what is “Yes! Your Essential Shopper” or “Sunday Select?” According to a release in 2007: Sunday Select offers our advertisers a new way to reach active consumers. With Sunday Select, these consumers opt in to receive the advertising package of nati...

Opinions &amp; Views