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DetroitMartin SchwartzTracey Thomas

Vehicles for Change in Detroit Celebrates First Recipient’s Pay Off

Paying off a car loan is a great feeling. There’s a sense of freedom as well as a feeling of ownership, as Tracey Thomas learned recently. Thomas was the first recipient of a car from Vehicles for Change, Detroit. She paid off her vehicle loan five months ahead of schedule and is now the proud owner of a Saturn Ion. “Through this program, I am now able to drive to work and be to work on time every day,” said Detroiter Tracey Thomas, a caregiver at Fresh Start Transitional Housing, who paid o...

ArtistsDetroitKresge arts

20 Detroit Artists Get Fellowships, Awards From Kresge Arts

Detroit is jam-packed with artistic talent that is playing a huge role in the city being recognized as an artistic center. Seventeen of them and one collaborative have been recognized with Kresge Artist Fellowships this year and two emerging artists will get Gilda Awards. Each fellowship comes with an unrestricted $25,000 prize and a year of professional practice support provided by Creative Many Michigan, including an invitation to an intensive professional development retreat presented by...

DetroitDowntown DetroitGreektown

Downtown Detroit's Wahlburgers To Open In 4 Weeks Says Mark Wahlberg (With Video)

The coming of a Wahlburgers to downtown Detroit (as one of six metro Detroit locations) is causing a lot of buzz in the city. Over the weekend, Actor Mark Wahlberg, who is also part of the Wahlburgers chain and appears on the “Wahlburgers” television show, did a press appearance at their new Greektown location on Monroe that’s under construction. [Previous coverage: Wahlburgers coming to Detroit] He said that it’ll be four weeks until the Wahlburgers is ready to open, and he encouraged peo...

Career Online High SchoolCengage LearningDetroit

Program Aims To Help The 25% Of Detroit Residents 25 And Older Without A High School Diploma

Many people rightly believe that an education is one of the crucial keys to helping people escape poverty and build a sustainable income. Despite this notion, the city of Detroit has a rather dismal statistic haunting it. Nearly 25 percent of Detroit residents age 25 and older don’t have a high school diploma. That’s a problem, especially if the city wants to put its own citizens to work. Ron Stefanski, Executive Director at Cengage Learning, has set out to solve that problem by creating Detro...

DetroitFidelity Charitable Giving Report

Metro Detroit Ranks Second In Nation For Charitable Giving To Help The Homeless

Detroiters are generous people, and the 2016 Fidelity Charitable Giving Report reveals they’re more likely to help out their fellow citizens by donating to human services like food banks and homeless shelters. Metro Detroit ranked second when it came to giving to charities that focused on helping the homeless. The 2016 Fidelity Charitable Giving Report looked at a list of Fidelity Charitable’s top 30 metropolitan areas, by number of Giving Accounts whose Primary Account Holder’s address is i...

DetroitRussell WoodsThis Old House

"This Old House" Will Renovate A Historic Detroit Home

A retired Detroit firefighter is going to get his 1939 home renovated, thanks to the 37th season of the PBS show, “This Old House,” that’s coming to Detroit. The show will feature a two-story Detroit residence in the Russell Woods neighborhood, which is located near West Davison and Livernois in Northwest Detroit. There will be 10 episodes covering the rehab of the 1,800-square-foot home featured in the show, and filming has already begun. The home was previously owned by the Detroit Land Ba...

DetroitFoot Traffic Aheadwalkability

Metro Detroit Ranks Third In Nation For Walkability Development, Says Study

Detroit’s urban landscape is changing, and it’s becoming more walkable as a result. Foot Traffic Ahead, a study published by the George Washington University School of Business, ranked metro Detroit third out of 30 of the largest U.S. cities for walkability development momentum. The study notes that the potential walkable development in the Detroit region is promising. “[Detroit] has also experienced some of the fastest GDP and job growth of all 30 metros. Much of this growth has occurred in...

DetroitLincoln Institute of Land PolicyMinnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence

Detroit Has The Second Highest Residential Property Taxes In The Nation, Says Study

If you’re a Detroit homeowner, you might get the feeling that you’re paying through your nose for your property taxes. That feeling has been validated (more or less) in a report released by The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. The 50-State Property Tax Comparison Study, produced in partnership with the Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence, tracks the effective tax rate, the tax payment as a percentage of market value, for residential, commercial, industrial, and apartment properties in more...

DetroitNeighborhood Enterprise Zone

Detroit’s Catch 22: Should Detroit Extend NEZ Tax Breaks?

The City of Detroit has found itself between a rock and hard place, and whatever solution it chooses is bound to anger at least one side of the debate. The question at hand is should Detroit extend tax breaks under its Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) program? The NEZ started more than 20 years ago as a way to help revitalize run-down communities in the city. There are three different programs under the larger NEZ umbrella, and they all give homeowners or condo owners in Detroit substantial...

ChurchDetroitGLCW

Look Inside An Old Church Finding New Life As A Nonprofit Headquarters

Much of the attention on development in Detroit has been downtown. But if you watch – there are things starting to happen in various places across the city. One of those is a renovation happening to an empty church across the street from Rose’s Fine Foods on Jefferson. This week we noticed the work being done on the roof and a new sign in front of the building, so we decided to stop in and get the story. I talked to Chris Angel the President of Great Lakes Clean Water/US Clean Water Organiz...

BaroudeurDetroitM. Roy Wilson

Cycle Through Detroit and Help Raise Money for WSU Scholarships

See Detroit from your own two wheels and test your cycling limits in Wayne State University’s second annual Baroudeur. The event will take place on Wayne State’s Midtown campus on Aug. 20, 2016. This year, participants can choose to ride 25, 62, or 100 miles through Detroit. Registration for the event is $50 and includes refreshments along the route, lunch after the ride, two tickets for Michigan craft beers, a limited edition T-shirt, ride support, and free parking. All net proceeds will dire...

DetroitDetroit Red WingsHockey

Detroit Ranked as Best City in America for Hockey Fans

Anxiously awaiting the start of the 2016-2017 NHL season? If you’re in Detroit, you’re not alone. WalletHub released a report that ranked 72 of the largest U.S. cities to determine which ones were the best for hockey fans. The report used 17 metrics, including ticket prices, stadium capacity, and the performance level of each city’s teams. Based on the findings, Detroit came in first as the overall best city for hockey fans. Breaking down that ranking even further, the report shows that Detr...

Batch BrewingCorktownDean Savage park

Have A Drink This Weekend To Help Overhaul A Park In Corktown

Having fun and doing good go hand in hand here in Detroit. One such way to get involved is this weekend, as the folks from Batch Brewing Company will be hosting a variety of Feelgood Tap beers (that’s where they donate a portion of the proceeds of every beer) to raise money for the revitalization of Dean Savage Memorial Park. The biergarten will run all this weekend and also celebrate the launch of a Patronicity fundraising campaign aimed at creating a fun, safe, and inclusive space for all re...

DetroitDetroit Eight Mile WallEight Mile Road

The Detroit Wall: A Tale of How Federal Policy Helped Divide A City

Starting at the northern boundary of Antwerp Park on Pembroke Avenue is a 6-foot high wall, known by many names. The Detroit Eight Mile Wall, Detroit’s Wailing Wall, The Birwood Wall, or the Wyoming Wall. The wall extends about half a mile north and stops just south of 8 Mile Road. The wall served one purpose: To separate an already existent black neighborhood from a new all-white neighborhood. But why? Money. And racially-charged federal housing policies. You see, in the 1930s, that area...

DC3DetroitDetroit City of Design

Detroit Creative Corridor Center Launches Detroit City of Design Initiative

Detroit has a long and prestigious history of being in the forefront of design and the creative sector. Now, that heritage is being recognized and enhanced. The Detroit Creative Corridor Center (DC3) has announced the launch of the 10-year Detroit City of Design initiative. The announcement follows Detroit’s designation as the first and only recognized UNESCO City of Design in the U.S. Detroit is one of only 22 cities worldwide to be chosen as Cities of Design in the UNESCO Creative Cities Net...

Blight RemovalDetroitMichigan State Housing Development Authority

Detroit to Receive Additional $88.2 Million in Blight Elimination Funding

Detroit’s urban landscape will continue changing in the next few years, in part thanks to an additional $88.2 million dollars in blight removal funding. The money comes from the $188.1 million dollars the U.S. Department of Treasury awarded to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority in April. “The strategic use of these dollars will greatly benefit Michigan homeowners and strengthen communities, resulting in positive progress for people across the state,” Gov. Rick Snyder said. Detr...

Cinetopia International Film FestivalDetroitDetroit Film Theatre

Cinetopia International Film Festival Starts Friday With A Film On The Lawn Of The DIA

Looking for a great lineup of notable new features, short films, and documentaries? Check out the Cinetopia International Film Festival, from June 3-12. The event, created for the people of Southeast Michigan, brings together the best screenings that film festivals have to offer. The festival starts on Friday, June 3. Screenings will take place at venues in multiple locations, including Detroit, Ann Arbor, Bloomfield, and Dearborn. Cinetopia features screenings of many films from renowned inte...

DetroitDTW AirportMacomb County

8 Things You Need To Know About Detroit's New Mass Transit Plan

Earlier today, the Southeast Michigan RTA, or Regional Transit Authority, unveiled a $4.6 billion new plan for a regional public transportation system. The plan is a response to over two dozen failed transit plans and aims to connect the four-country Southeast Michigan area. We’ve got your need-to-know info on the plan. The plan’s changes won’t happen all at once Lest we get ahead of ourselves in our bright, starry-eyed visions of a more connected region, it’s important to remember that...