Jer here. Good to see you! A lot to cover, but first…
🍦 Did you know there’s an ice cream TikTok star from Metro Detroit?
Dylan Lemay joined me on the Daily Detroit podcast to talk about his hypnotic loops, his video style, some of his local favorites and his new venture in New York City powered in large part by his 11 million followers.
On Apple Podcasts or tap or click here to listen anywhere else.
Local 🦠 updates:
» COVID-19 hospitalizations are at a new high statewide. Although it is described by many as “milder,” the sheer volume of cases - for instance, 232 per 100,000 per day in Metro Detroit according to COVIDACTNOW — means 4,580 people are in the hospital right now with COVID. [Michigan Advance]
» Services are being stretched. SMART, the suburban bus system, is cutting 20-25% of its daily service due to a lack of bus drivers. They plan to redo their schedule to more accurately reflect the number of buses they can provide. A west side Detroit neighborhood is getting their garbage picked up late, and I’m hearing anecdotal stories from podcast listeners of other issues around the area.
» Michael Symon’s Roast is done. After years of service on the ground floor of the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in downtown Detroit, the Iron-chef owned restaurant closed without warning over the weekend. Roast was the local starting place for many people in Detroit’s food and beverage scene and made a big splash when it opened in 2008. The Happy Hour there was legendary. We’ll probably talk about it on the Friday podcast, and the timing is interesting considering the building just sold to new owners.
» Detroit Vegan Soul’s West Village location has closed. They say they’ll reopen their flagship location on Grand River in three months. Reading between the lines, the focus on catering and other lines of business may signal a more permanent shift. It had been open since 2013. [Facebook]
» Great Lakes Coffee in Midtown has closed temporarily. According to reports, a 9 out of 15 staff got sick with COVID and management didn’t say anything, leaving workers to figure it out for themselves. Now it’s closed as the entire team gets tested. The location is often busy with Wayne State students. There is not a reopening date. [Freep] [Metro Times]
» Classes at Oakland University will stay virtual through at least January 31, 2022.
» My two cents: To echo Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal, the virus is the economy. We clearly aren’t going to do much more from a policy perspective to stop it or support businesses; vaccinations aren’t going to catch up; and there isn’t the public desire for the government to do anything else. So we will be rolling with the waves.
A small for instance: If far fewer people go to the office in the future, what happens to the concept of a happy hour?
2021 Detroit Police stats show some progress, but a lot of work to do 🚔
» In a press conference, DPD Chief James White says that crime in the city had been going up in 2021, but later in the year they were able to reverse the trend. White is the successor to James Craig, who left the post to run for Michigan Governor on June 1. A few numbers:
- 14 fewer homicides than in 2020
- 105 fewer non-fatal shootings
- Violent offices down 4%
- Robberies down 17%
- Property crimes were up 9%, caused by an uptick in stolen vehicles
The biggest area White focused on was drag racing, drifting and four wheelers. Thanks to a partnership with the Michigan State Police, a helicopter follows vehicles instead of chasing them through the streets. Far safer on the ground and more effective.
DPD reported 145 felony arrests, 109 firearms confiscated and 272 impounded vehicles for irresponsible driving.
» Of note: At press conferences under the previous chief, Wayne County and prosecutors were thrown under the bus a bit. But now, there was county executive Warren Evans touting the hiring of six new prosecutors.
⚽️ Detroit City FC starts signing season
Fletcher Sharpe will be on the podcast tomorrow for his thoughts on the moves, but here are the top lines today:
- Stephen Carroll has been re-signed. He’s been with the club since 2017. He’s been Captain since 2019 and is from Cork, Ireland.
- Fan favorite Roddy Green is leaving the team after five years.
- The Director of Mascoting, Friendly the Dumpster Bear, has been renewed. All kidding aside, how DCFC got their mascot is a great story. [DCFC staff page]
Fletcher also will share background on the first two DCFC opponents: San Antonio FC and Charleston Battery.
📑 Detroit City Council has a new document system
Over the last few weeks, some eagle-eyed listeners have noticed that old Detroit City Council meeting agendas and their corresponding documents are no longer online and tipped me off about it. The service was called Smartsheet.
Well, I dug in and with a little help found out what’s happening.
It turns out that the Clerk’s office has moved to a new legislative document management service, eScribeMeetings.
It’s important to note here that the City Clerk in Detroit keeps the council agenda. The administration under the mayor is still using Smartsheet.
I’m told the old service deactivated at the end of the last council term, and if people are interested in the old agendas and documents, the Clerk’s office would handle those requests.
As to the new service, I’m told:
It will provide constituents access to the agenda and corresponding documents directly on the city website. We expect this new system to make it easier for City Council, City of Detroit departments, and constituents to access timely and relevant information about upcoming City Council Sessions.
It’s up now with an agenda for January 11, so give it a spin yourself.
🗞 (More of) what to know around Detroit
» The future is electric, according to most automakers. Eric Trytko joined us on the podcast to talk about the new Silverado EV, the Chrysler Airfoil concept, progress on orders with Ford F150 Lightning, and if American car buyers will switch permanently to a “build to order” for new cars.
» What are the banished words and phrases from 2021? Lake Superior State University’s Peter Szatmary joined me to talk about them. Yes, I use a few. I’m the worst about “no worries” and “deep dive.” The complete list is here [LSSU]. You can listen to our conversation here.
» Concerns about the impacts of 5G on key flight equipment for takeoffs and landings has resulted in a buffer zone being created around Detroit Metro Airport. [Detroit News]
And we are done for today!
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Thanks for reading and I’ll see you around Detroit,
-Jer
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