Hey friends,
I’m glad to report we are in porch writing season.
By the way, our 1,000th podcast episode celebration happy hour is coming up on June 10 at The Congregation. We have a Facebook event here. RSVPs help so we can plan how many are coming.
Let’s get to into today’s newsletter. As always, my thoughts are in italics. If this is your first time here, don’t forget to subscribe for free so you don’t miss another edition.
What to know
» Abortion law from 1931 suspended: For now, the Michigan Court of Claims has suspended a law that, if Roe v. Wade is overturned (as is now expected), would have meant we’d have one of the most stringent abortion bans in the country. [State News]
This is obviously not over yet. While Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer praised the decision, she also called on the State Supreme Court to weigh in on the law as she has asked in a separate request. The long term answer to this question isn’t to rely on court decisions at all — but to make a proper, new law.
» A Detroit man fell at least 15 feet through a pedestrian overpass and onto the freeway shoulder, suffering injuries and highlighting our crumbling infrastructure. Parts of the Spruce Street bridge over the Lodge collapsed under his feet. I’ve ridden that bridge before on my bike. Ooof. [ClickOnDetroit]
This isn’t a conservative or liberal take, but a math one. It’s politically impossible to be honest about funding our roads and infrastructure as a state, but here goes.
We’ve built too much stuff, have too few new people, and there isn’t the will to spend enough money.
We’ve been underspending for decades, and it shows. And since Michigan and Metro Detroit isn’t really growing in population, that means spending more per person just to maintain what we have.
Until we fix that math somehow (some mix of spending more, deleting lanes to spend less, add transit where appropriate, etc.), we’re never going to actually fix the roads. Just finger-pointing with press releases and TV soundbites each election season.
» Planned power outages? It feels like a headline in that SimCity game, but it may be on the horizon as a new report says generation capacity and demand aren’t lined up. Both DTE and Consumers say they’re ready and have plans to ask residential and large industrial customers to use less if need be. [Michigan Radio]
» Masks are back. GM, Ford and Stellantis have reinstated mask mandates at their local facilities. Stellantis said it’ll be for two weeks. [CBS]
I know on this topic everyone’s drawn their battle lines and made their decisions. But I think it’s important to share the info for you to do with it what you want. Above is the latest COVID case graph. [COVID ACT NOW]
» Electronic eyes on the road: The city of Detroit is expanding the use of so-called “vehicle recognition technology” to track vehicles in real-time through 75 intersections. [Bridge Detroit]
» Out of the race: The Michigan Secretary of State said Tuesday that the election hearing testifier that got national attention Melissa Carone, former Detroit council member Alberta (Tinsley) Talabi, and State Senator Betty Alexander (among others) have been disqualified from running for office because of false statements regarding compliance with the Michigan Campaign Finance Act. [Gongwer] [Fox17]
» No asphalt plant: Detroit’s Board of Zoning Appeals denied a new asphalt plant on the site of the former Farmer Jack HQ off of I-96. Residents mobilized to block it due to environmental concerns. [Bridge Detroit]
» Metro Detroit will be featured on two HGTV shows this summer. "Steal This House" takes cheap properties in Detroit and turns them into dream houses for the clients of Cristy Lee. Plus, Nicole Curtis is back — but this time with a show about redoing a cottage near Lake Orion. [TV Insider]
Where to go
» If you haven’t been to the mound on the Detroit riverfront, you should check it out. We have very flat land here, so higher vantage points come at a premium. This man-made feature is a favorite of my dogs — and apparently this writer. [Outlier]
» A new food truck is in town. “Cousins Main Lobster” is a chain food truck funded on Shark Tank. It’s expanding with more than 50 vehicles across the country. Locally, it’ll start off in the parking lot at the old Andiamo in Dearborn on Michigan Avenue, and pop up across the region. [Freep]
» Detroit’s bike sharing service turns five. To celebrate, MoGo is doing a free ride day this Thursday and birthday party bike ride on Sunday. [Facebook]
Nice work: I remember all the comments when MoGo started that the bikes would be constantly stolen, thrown in the river, or never used. All of that wasn’t true. Turns out if you build something that works, people will use it. It’s even expanded beyond the borders of the city.
» Poetry night opens the Dequindre Cut Freight Yard on Friday. A cool stop made of shipping containers, I’ve been to a few events there. [Facebook]
⚜️ Le Rouge Report
» Detroit City won 4-2 over Loudoun on Saturday. Here’s our breakdown of the match on the Daily Detroit podcast, and previews of a road game versus The Miami FC on Wednesday and then back at home at Keyworth against Atlanta United 2 on Saturday.
» If you’re looking for a pro sports team with a chance of making the playoffs, look no further than Le Rouge. Ten games in, DCFC is now slated to have a 91% chance of making the post-season. [USL Tactics]
» DCFC Midfielder Maxi Rodriguez made team of the week. [USL Championship]
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-Jer
