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One Detroit > Partnership > BridgeDetroit

One Detroit believes in the power of collaboration with other media organizations to provide local news and information. One Detroit, American Black Journal and BridgeDetroit have teamed up to produce award-winning news stories as well as share public forums and panels to discuss local issues and amplify voices in underserved communities. Together, the three content partners received the Sojourner Truth Award in 2024 for coverage of the 60th anniversary of the Detroit Walk to Freedom.

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By Jena Brooker (BridgeDetroit) and Chris Jordan (One Detroit)
Detroit’s Joseph Walker Williams Recreation Center will transform into a culinary battleground on Aug. 15, as the annual <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/collard-green-cook-off-championship-2024-tickets-932348428247" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Collard Green Cook-Off Championship</a> returns for its second year. <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroits-collard-green-cook-off-is-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The event</a>, which celebrates the cultural significance of collard greens in the Black community, will run from 4-7 p.m. and is free to the public. 
Created by Detroit-based media group <a href="https://www.detroitisdifferent.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit is Different</a>, the cook-off has expanded significantly this year and will include an additional 150 pounds of collard greens, bringing the total to 350 pounds. This year’s contestants include Tolani Anthony of <a href="http://www.zellasbakery.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zella’s Bakery</a>, Harriette Brown of <a href="https://sistersonaroll.biz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sisters on a Roll</a>, Sean Brumfield, Jasmine Jones of The Flavor Initiative, and Moe Vito of <a href="https://athoughtfulplate.wixsite.com/website" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Thoughtful Plate</a>. 
<figure id="attachment_36191" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-36191" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-36191" src="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ONE-DETROIT-906-Collard-Greens-Still-4.jpg" alt="Chef Buddah Calhoun of Buddah Foods makes his collard greens recipe." width="650" height="366" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-36191" class="wp-caption-text">Chef Buddah Calhoun of Buddah Foods prepares his unique collard greens dish. Calhoun is last year&#8217;s Collard Greens Cook-Off Championship winner. | Photo by One Detroit</figcaption></figure>
They will face off against defending champion <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lavaughn.calhoun.3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chef Buddah Calhoun</a> of Buddah Foods, who won last year with his pan-fried vegan greens. This year’s event features greens sourced from local farms such as <a href="https://www.dbcfsn.org/copy-of-d-town-farm-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">D-Town Farms</a>, <a href="https://www.oaklandurbanfarm.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oakland Avenue Urban Farms</a>, <a href="https://liberatedfarms.wixsite.com/detroit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liberated Farms</a>, Green Thumb, and <a href="https://uyadetroit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Urban Youth Agriculture Farm</a>.  
The competition will be judged by a panel that includes April Anderson, co-owner of <a href="https://www.goodcakesandbakes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Good Cakes and Bakes</a>; comedian <a href="https://www.instagram.com/howiebizzell/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Howie Bell</a>; Ederique Goudia, founder of <a href="https://www.ibfdetroit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In The Business of Food</a>; and Aisha Tillman, Vice President of <a href="https://www.buildinstitute.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Build Institute</a>. In addition to the judges, attendees will also have a chance to cast a vote for their favorite.  
BridgeDetroit <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/jena-brooker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reporter Jena Brooker</a> and <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/about/contributors/#chris">One Detroit’s Chris Jordan</a> talked to Calhoun about what makes his greens so special and the significance of collard greens in the African American community. 
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<h2>Stay Connected: </h2>
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Collard Green Cook-Off Championship in Detroit returns with new flavors, expanded competition

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A new <a href="https://detroitpeoplesfoodcoop.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Black-led, cooperatively owned grocery store</a> has officially opened in Detroit’s North End neighborhood. The Detroit People’s Food Co-op, a $21 million project that’s been years in the making, started welcoming shoppers on May 1 and will host a grand opening on May 18. The Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network (<a href="https://www.dbcfsn.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DBCFSN</a>) and <a href="https://www.developdetroit.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Develop Detroit</a> spearheaded the creation of the co-op. 
The group&#8217;s mission is to provide better access to healthy food and uplift the community. The co-op plans to source fresh produce from Black-run urban farms like <a href="https://www.dbcfsn.org/dtownfarm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DTown Farms</a>, the <a href="https://www.oaklandurbanfarm.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oakland Avenue Urban Farm</a>, the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/greenthumbz_consulting/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green Boots Project</a> and others. It will also stock food and wellness products from more than 40 local vendors. 
“We have a model of 50/50. So, like 50% healthy and organic, 50% clean and conventional. So, you&#8217;ll see products that you&#8217;re used to seeing right next to products that you are not used to seeing,” Detroit People’s Food Co-op <a href="https://detroitpeoplesfoodcoop.com/about-us/board-member-profiles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Board President Lanay Gilbert Williams</a> said.  
According to <a href="https://unitedforalice.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Way’s ALICE Report</a>, which stands for Asset Limited Income Constrained and Employed, around three in four Detroiters may not have access to healthy foods regularly.  
“It’s like 70% of households that meet that ALICE threshold where they’re very likely facing food insecurity on some semi-regular basis,” <a href="https://alexbhill.org/portfolio/detroit-food-map/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Food Map Initiative Project Director Alex Hill</a> said. Detroit has lost roughly a dozen grocery stores in the last decade, he said. 
<a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BridgeDetroit</a> reporter <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/?s=Jena+Brooker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jena Brooker</a> and One Detroit&#8217;s <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/about/contributors/#jonathan">Jonathan Shead</a> examine the impact the food co-op will have on healthy food access and economic development in the city. Brooker talks with DBCFSN’s Executive Director <a href="https://www.instagram.com/beblackandgreen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Malik Yakini</a> and its Fund Development Director <a href="https://farmland.org/contributors/shakara-tyler/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Shakara Tyler</a> about being more than just a grocery store, but a place where people can increase their understanding of the full process of their food from seed to shelf. Plus, Brooker talks with one of the local vendors, <a href="http://www.zellasbakery.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zella’s Bakery</a>. 
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<h2>Stay Connected: </h2>
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Catch the daily conversations on our<a href="http://onedetroitpbs.org/"> website</a>,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/onedetroit/"> Facebook</a>,<a href="https://twitter.com/DPTVOneDetroit"> Twitter</a> @OneDetroit_PBS, and<a href="https://www.instagram.com/one.detroit/?hl=en"> Instagram</a> @One.Detroit
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Detroit People’s Food Co-op opening broadens access to healthy foods in the city’s North End

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Every day after school, hundreds of kids head to <a href="https://dbgdetroit.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Downtown Boxing Gym</a> on Detroit’s east side to shoot some hoops, get help with their homework or hit the boxing ring. They’re also having fun in the organization’s new commercial kitchen making nutritious meals with a well-known Detroit chef.   
<a href="https://dbgdetroit.org/roses-fine-food-founder-molly-mitchell-joins-dbg-to-lead-culinary-arts-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Molly Mitchell</a>, the former owner of Detroit diner Rose’s Fine Food, became Downtown Boxing Gym’s associate director of culinary arts in January. Mitchell’s role includes preparing fresh meals and snacks for students each night, <a href="https://dbgdetroit.org/roses-fine-food-founder-molly-mitchell-joins-dbg-to-lead-culinary-arts-program/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">totaling more than 1,000 meals per week</a>. 
<figure id="attachment_35049" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-35049" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-35049" src="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ONE-DETROIT-844-DBG-Culinary-Arts-Still-1.jpg" alt="Detroit chef Molly Mitchell cooks at the Downtown Boxing Gym " width="650" height="366" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-35049" class="wp-caption-text">Detroit chef and Downtown Boxing Gym Associate Director of Culinary Arts Molly Mitchell prepares meals for students to take home to their families. | Photo by One Detroit</figcaption></figure>
She’s also developing a culinary arts curriculum by teaching basic cooking skills and healthy meals that kids can make at home. The nonprofit offers free academic and athletic programs, electives and mentorship to youth ages 8-18, with continuing mentorship and support through 25. 
RELATED: <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/business/detroit-food-academy-cooks-up-the-next-generation-of-young-leaders-through-food-education/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Food Academy cooks up the next generation of young leaders through food education</a>
“My goal is to build out a program that is not only really informative, that if someone wanted to go get a job in a restaurant, they could after taking this program,” Mitchell said. “But really, I’m just trying to cement an excitement for food that can be a lifelong passion, whether you’re working in a restaurant or you just like learning how to cook amazing meals for yourself and your loved ones.”  
<a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/">BridgeDetroit’s</a> <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/micah-walker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Micah Walker</a> and One Detroit’s <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/about/contributors/#chris">Chris Jordan</a> stopped by the Downtown Boxing Gym to watch Mitchell teach students some new skills in the kitchen. Plus, Walker talked with Mitchell and Downtown Boxing Gym founder and CEO Khali Sweeney about the program and how it fits into the gym’s larger mission. 
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<h2>Stay Connected: </h2>
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Catch the daily conversations on our<a href="http://onedetroitpbs.org/"> website</a>,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/onedetroit/"> Facebook</a>,<a href="https://twitter.com/DPTVOneDetroit"> Twitter</a> @OneDetroit_PBS, and<a href="https://www.instagram.com/one.detroit/?hl=en"> Instagram</a> @One.Detroit
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Downtown Boxing Gym’s culinary curriculum teaches children cooking skills and nutrition

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Birdie’s Bookmobile hopes to inspire the next generation of readers. Launched in 2022, <a href="https://www.birdiesbookmobile.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the literacy organization</a> provides hundreds of books to schools, after-school programs and nonprofits across Detroit. Many of the books are written by Black, Indigenous and People of Color authors or feature Black and brown characters. 
“I want children here in the city to really enjoy reading as much as I did,” said Alyce Hartman, the founder of Birdie’s Bookmobile. As <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2019/8/8/21108625/amid-a-literacy-crisis-michigan-s-school-librarians-have-all-but-disappeared/#:~:text=Amid%20a%20literacy%20crisis%2C%20Michigan%27s,have%20at%20least%20one%20librarian." target="_blank" rel="noopener">school librarians</a> and <a href="https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/2022/6/21/23153582/school-libraries-are-disappearing-when-students-need-them-most/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">school libraries</a> have begun to disappear, Hartman fills a resource gap. Her efforts increase children’s access to physical books and promote the pleasures of reading, which could <a href="https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Empowered-by-Reading-final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shape a student’s future success</a> beyond classroom walls. <span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:0,&quot;335551620&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
RELATED: <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/american-black-journal/brilliant-detroit-announces-new-citywide-summer-literacy-campaign-to-curb-student-learning-loss/">Brilliant Detroit announces new citywide summer literacy campaign to curb student learning loss</a>
<figure id="attachment_34868" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34868" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-34868" src="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ONE-DETROIT-842-Birdies-Bookmobile-Still-4.jpg" alt="Students at Voyageur Academy in Southwest Detroit gather around a table looking at books during a book fair hosted by Birdie's Bookmobile." width="650" height="366" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-34868" class="wp-caption-text">Students at Voyageur Academy in Southwest Detroit gather around a table looking at books during a book fair hosted by Birdie&#8217;s Bookmobile. | Photo by One Detroit</figcaption></figure>
Since Birdie’s Bookmobile was born, Hartman said she’s distributed more than 16,000 books. Hartman, a 55-year-old STEM and drama teacher at Detroit Prep, hopes to spark magical thinking in young readers, believing books are portals to creativity, cultures across time and place and potential careers.
One Detroit and BridgeDetroit contributor <a href="https://twitter.com/e_catolico" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eleanore Catolico</a> shadowed Hartman as she delivered books and organized a mini-book fair at Voyageur Academy, a K-12 charter school in Southwest Detroit. Plus, Catolico tags along during Hartman’s book shopping trip at 27th Letter Books.
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<h2>Stay Connected: </h2>
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Catch the daily conversations on our<a href="http://onedetroitpbs.org/"> website</a>,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/onedetroit/"> Facebook</a>,<a href="https://twitter.com/DPTVOneDetroit"> Twitter</a> @DPTVOneDetroit, and<a href="https://www.instagram.com/one.detroit/?hl=en"> Instagram</a> @One.Detroit
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Birdie’s Bookmobile spreads the joy of reading to Detroit children

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A concrete crushing company started operating in Detroit’s Schoolcraft neighborhood a few years ago to the surprise of many people living nearby. Longtime resident Carol Couch lives in the west side neighborhood near Dino-Mite Crushing and Recycling and said she believes residue on her car comes from the crushing operation.  
Schoolcraft residents said they are concerned about their quality of life and health. “There’s a lot of pride in our community,” said George Perdue of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SchoolcraftImprovementAssociation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Schoolcraft Improvement Association</a>. “It doesn’t make me feel good to tell somebody take 96 to Greenfield on your way to my house because I know they’re going to pass this dust-laden area.”  
Schoolcraft resident Audrey Moses Sims spoke during a public hearing last year and said her son has asthma and is on a breathing machine. “I had no idea that this facility would be opened up here,” she said. “I would have totally been against it.” 
RELATED: 
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<li class="entry-title"><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/one-detroit/detroit-has-an-air-pollution-problem-and-its-impacting-climate-change-residents-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit has an air pollution problem, and it’s impacting climate change, residents’ health</a></li>
<li class="entry-title"><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/business/residents-and-businesses-clash-over-industry-near-detroits-riverside-park/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Residents and businesses clash over industry near Detroit’s Riverside Park</a></li>
</ul>
Dino-Mite’s representative and the company’s attorney have not answered One Detroit’s requests to talk about problems in the neighborhood. BridgeDetroit <a href="https://www.jenabrooker.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reporter Jena Brooker</a> found <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-residents-battle-neighborhood-concrete-crusher/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the city cited the company operating the crushing operation</a> with nearly 300 blight violations over two years. 
The city of Detroit has taken legal action to reduce the dust, even to possibly <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-attorney-fighting-to-shut-down-concrete-crusher-has-credentials-questioned/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">force it to shut down.</a> There is a hearing scheduled in Wayne County Circuit Court March 21. One Detroit’s <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/about/contributors/#bill">senior producer Bill Kubota</a> teamed up with filmmaker and One Detroit contributor <a href="https://www.ncolemacdonald.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nicole Macdonald</a> to talk with residents about their concerns over heavy industry operating in city neighborhoods.
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<h2>Stay Connected: </h2>
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Catch the daily conversations on our<a href="http://onedetroitpbs.org/"> website</a>,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/onedetroit/"> Facebook</a>,<a href="https://twitter.com/DPTVOneDetroit"> Twitter</a> @DPTVOneDetroit, and<a href="https://www.instagram.com/one.detroit/?hl=en"> Instagram</a> @One.Detroit
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Schoolcraft vs. Dust: Residents raise concerns over air quality, living conditions on Detroit’s west side

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Overgrown weeds, empty bottles and discarded bags littered property around a Detroit Family Dollar store. This type of blight isn’t unusual for a number of the dollar stores across the city, according to a report by BridgeDetroit <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/jena-brooker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reporter Jena Brooker</a>, who found the city issued more than 2,400 blight tickets to Family Dollar and Dollar Tree, which are owned by the same parent company, in a three-year span dating to 2020. The company racked up more than $740,000 in unpaid fines, <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/can-detroiters-afford-more-dollar-stores/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BridgeDetroit analysis shows</a>. 
The city negotiated a settlement with the company for $150,000, about one-fifth of its unpaid fines, BridgeDetroit reported. A Dollar Tree spokesperson said in a statement: “We know how much Detroit shoppers rely on our stores, and we’re committed to offering a clean, safe environment for our associates and customers – both inside and outside of our stores.” 
Some city council members disagreed with the settlement and wanted to see more action taken to rectify the issues. Councilmember Angela Whitfield-Calloway <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-council-member-calls-for-moratorium-on-new-dollar-stores/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wants a temporary moratorium</a> on building new dollar stores in the city. She also wants to see more fresh produce in existing dollar stores. 
One Detroit <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/about/contributors/#will">Producer Will Glover</a> caught up with Brooker to learn about the blight issues at dollar stores around the city, as well as what steps city officials are taking. 
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<h2>Stay Connected: </h2>
Subscribe to One Detroit’s<a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/OneDetroit/videos"> YouTube Channel</a> and don’t miss One Detroit on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. on Detroit Public TV, WTVS-Channel 56.
Catch the daily conversations on our<a href="http://onedetroitpbs.org/"> website</a>,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/onedetroit/"> Facebook</a>,<a href="https://twitter.com/DPTVOneDetroit"> Twitter</a> @DPTVOneDetroit, and<a href="https://www.instagram.com/one.detroit/?hl=en"> Instagram</a> @One.Detroit
<h3><a href="https://www.detroitpbs.org/category/one-detroit/">View Past Episodes &gt;</a></h3>
Watch One Detroit Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. ET on Detroit Public TV on Detroit Public TV, WTVS-Channel 56.

Detroit City Council member calls for moratorium on new dollar stores after excessive blight

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The expansion of the <a href="https://www.soundthinking.com/law-enforcement/gunshot-detection-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ShotSpotter system</a> in Detroit has ignited a wave of controversy as citizens demand answers about the technology&#8217;s impact on their community and question the lack of transparency from both the Detroit Police Department and the California-based company, Sound Thinking. 
Back in 2021, the <a href="https://detroitmi.gov/departments/police-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Police Department</a> entered a pilot program with <a href="https://www.soundthinking.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sound Thinking</a> to implement the ShotSpotter system, aimed at assisting law enforcement in swiftly responding to incidents involving gunshots. The technology uses a network of acoustic sensors strategically placed throughout neighborhoods to detect and triangulate the source of gunfire, allowing officers to be dispatched more accurately. 
RELATED: <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/one-detroit/detroit-police-department-crime-stoppers-teams-up-to-solve-crimes-with-detroit-rewards-tv/">Detroit Police Department, Crime Stoppers teams up to solve crimes with Detroit Rewards TV</a>
However, as the system&#8217;s use expanded, so did concerns among Detroit residents. Many argue that the system&#8217;s effectiveness remains uncertain, with limited evidence to demonstrate its impact on reducing gun violence. The lack of publicly available data displaying the system&#8217;s success has fueled skepticism and calls for greater transparency. 
The Detroit City Council&#8217;s recent decision to expand the use of ShotSpotter has only <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/shotspotter-says-mistakes-are-rare-but-detroiters-want-more-transparency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amplified these concerns</a>. As the system is set to be deployed in more neighborhoods, citizens are demanding clarity on its potential implications for privacy, surveillance, and community-police relations. 
<a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/malachi-barrett/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BridgeDetroit’s Malachi Barrett</a>, who has reported on this story previously, talked with <a href="https://twitter.com/WillofMichigan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">producer Will Glover</a> for a conversation about a call from Detroiters for more transparency from Sound Thinking and the Detroit Police Department, the Detroit Police Department’s shift on ShotSpotter&#8217;s impact, and how the technology’s expansion will affect residents around the city.
<h2>Full Transcript:</h2>
Will Glover, Producer, One Detroit: Bring us up to speed on what ShotSpotter is and I guess what the latest Detroit Police Department (DPD) is doing with the technology.
Malachi Barrett, Reporter, BridgeDetroit: Yeah, so ShotSpotter is a gunshot detection technology that&#8217;s offered by a private company based out of California known as Sound Thinking. ShotSpotter is the name of the audio surveillance tool. Generally, the idea is they set up these listening devices in neighborhoods to hear gunfire sounds.
When they pick something up. They send an alert to the police. And ideally, that will help police get a better idea of where gunshots are happening throughout the city. In Detroit, it&#8217;s been here since March of 2021. And there were contracts that were approved last summer by the city council to expand the city&#8217;s relationship. Originally, this started out as a pilot program and really just two police precincts. The council approved a $7 million contract that expands that now to, I believe, 12 police precincts throughout the city.
Will Glover: How accurate is the device itself?
Malachi Barrett: ShotSpotter says that they are accurate up to 82 feet. They are able to track the location of a gunshot, supposedly. So that will actually kind of help further pinpoint where an area is. The question of how accurate is it in practice, I think is still an open one. We received some data from ShotSpotter itself, a scorecard that basically shows what the accuracy rate was for 2021 and the first part of 2022. It took us a year to get that information through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Will Glover: You had to FOIA?
Malachi Barrett: We had to FOIA for that. The data was not released. And I think this is part of the ongoing criticism and controversy around this technology is the transparency around how well it&#8217;s working. How we even determine what success looks like, I think, has changed a little bit as we&#8217;ve talked about this and these community conversations from the police. But in terms of like- there&#8217;s been 35,000 some alerts so far this year. So could you say that that&#8217;s 35,000 gunshots? I think it&#8217;s hard to say based on the accuracy information that we have.
The data that we got showed that 99% of the alerts were actually accurate based on a couple of different&#8230; I mean, there were a limited number of false positives where the system will say something is gunfire that really isn&#8217;t or missed locations. But in the vast majority of cases, ShotSpotter itself is saying that their technology is really accurate, and they&#8217;re actually obligated to meet a 90% threshold under that contract with the city.
Will Glover: Basically, if they&#8217;re supposed to reach a 90% threshold and they&#8217;re reporting 99%. Is there any independent body to verify what the company&#8217;s report of their success has been? Because it seems kind of obvious that if they&#8217;re auditing themselves, essentially, of course, they&#8217;re going to meet that threshold.
Malachi Barrett: So the way that these mistakes are reported, it has to come from DPD to ShotSpotter. So a police officer will say, hey, we showed up at a scene, there wasn&#8217;t any evidence of a gunshot. We think that this was a mistake. Or we showed up at this place and actually the gunshot happened a block over, so the location was inaccurate.
That&#8217;s really the only way that can get tagged in the first place. So there&#8217;s concern that we might be missing- or this doesn&#8217;t offer a full and complete picture of what the accuracy looks like because you&#8217;re already getting only the things that police are able to prove as a mistake. And then there has been no independent third-party analysis in Detroit. And what we found in other cities, when there is a third-party analysis, for example, in Chicago, which is one of the bigger cities to be using this technology, the vast majority of these alerts couldn&#8217;t be connected to any crime.
So in most cases, I think it&#8217;s hard to say, you know, from the other aspect of what are we actually getting out of this technology? What are we solving here? I think it&#8217;s hard to say that it&#8217;s reducing crime or even leading to arrests and convictions and prosecutions of gun-related crime, which was early on talked about is one of the key benefits of this program.
Will Glover: Why is it so difficult to get the data from either Sound Thinking or the ShotSpotter company or DPD themselves?
Malachi Barrett: Yeah, I don&#8217;t really know. I mean, I think that&#8217;s a really good question because this data is supposed to be owned by the city of Detroit. And as you said, this is a taxpayer-funded program. It&#8217;s obligated to be released to the public. The Board of Police Commissioners, the civilian oversight body that is in charge of creating accountability for the police, are obligated to receive weekly, I believe, maybe quarterly reports. They&#8217;re supposed to receive regular reporting on the accuracy rate of ShotSpotter, and they haven&#8217;t received any of that.
Will Glover: They haven&#8217;t received any?
Malachi Barrett: They haven&#8217;t received any. Board secretaries told me that they&#8217;ve never received a report on the accuracy.
Will Glover: What does DPD say about how they&#8217;re using the system? Are they saying it&#8217;s helpful? Have they said it&#8217;s helped them solve more crimes? What are they saying?
Malachi Barrett: What comes next in this is better understanding what our expectations for ShotSpotter should be, because that conversation has changed quite a bit since it originally was unveiled.
James E. White, Police Chief, City of Detroit: I don&#8217;t think we should look at ShotSpotter as an either-or. It&#8217;s an &#8220;and.&#8221; It&#8217;s an &#8220;and&#8221; community investment. It&#8217;s an &#8220;and&#8221; to all these other things that we&#8217;re doing with the police department. It&#8217;s &#8220;and&#8221; transparency. So it&#8217;s not either-or, but it&#8217;s a tool. It&#8217;s simply a tool that alerts us as a police agency when someone is firing a gun in our community.
Malachi Barrett: Police Chief James White has said that just even the presence of these things should make shooters think twice about firing a gunshot within the area. Since then, I think we&#8217;ve seen the police transition more to talking about how it helps them collect evidence that will help them solve crimes that lead to, you know, recovery of guns and convictions for homicides and other gun-related crimes.
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Controversy surrounding Detroit’s ShotSpotter expansion raises transparency concerns among residents

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Detroit’s Interstate 375: It’s considered to be the shortest highway in the country, stretching just over one mile long, and when it was constructed, it led to the destruction of two thriving African American communities, Black Bottom and Paradise Valley, in the city. Now, state and city officials have <a href="https://detroitmi.gov/departments/planning-and-development-department/neighborhood-plans/central-design-region/i-375-reconnecting-communities-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plans to redevelop the highway</a> into a more traversable boulevard, but will the redevelopment efforts be able to return what was once there?  
Current plans for the highway’s removal are slated to begin in 2025, after <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/mdot-i-375-project-detroit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal officials approved a $104.6 million grant</a> just before the new year to speed up the process. Six lanes of street-level boulevard with wide sidewalks and bike lanes will be added in the highway’s place, and the roadway will narrow to 4 lanes as it approaches the Detroit Riverwalk. Approximately 25-31 acres of land will also become available for development.  
BridgeDetroit reporter <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/jena-brooker/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jena Brooker</a>, who has been following MDOT’s I-375 Reconnecting Communities Project closely, teams up with One Detroit producer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/willofmichigan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Glover</a> to break down the project’s goals and how members of the community are reacting to the plans.  
Brooker talks with freelance urban planner <a href="https://twitter.com/PaulTheUrbanist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul Jones III</a>, chair for the Detroit City Planning Commission <a href="https://www.laurenahood.com/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lauren Hood</a>, and <a href="https://detroitgreenways.org/projects/i-375-alternatives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Greenway Coalition</a> Executive Director Todd Scott about MDOT’s redevelopment plans, the racial history embedded into the highway’s story, and whether they believe the plans will achieve what state and city officials have said it will.
<h2>Full Transcript:</h2>
Jena Brooker, Reporter, BridgeDetroit: I-375, the highway that destroyed a thriving epicenter of Black life in Detroit is going to be filled in and replaced by a six-lane street-level boulevard with bike lanes and wide sidewalks. Once filled in, approximately 30 acres of prime real estate will open up. Last year, the city began hosting monthly meetings with stakeholders and community members about the process. Federal and state officials say the boulevard will reconnect the community destroyed by the highway and be a reparative process. But various community members have concerns ranging from the physical design to if the process will really be reparative.
Paul Jones III, Freelance Urban Planner: I think we&#8217;ve all kind of swayed around with the idea of getting rid of 375 for a long time. The fact that this is happening in a way now, I think is both exciting, but also it makes me a little anxious because at all I don&#8217;t know that all the things have aligned here to make this project as transformational as it should be.
Jena Brooker: At a February meeting, more than 50 residents and stakeholders shared their thoughts on the project. Some already feel like it isn&#8217;t properly centering equity injustice.
Lauren Hood, Chair, Detroit City Planning Commission: As urban planning practitioners, you&#8217;re not required to have a social justice background or a critical consciousness about race. So it should be no surprise that when we get to projects like this, there&#8217;s a whole line of thinking that isn&#8217;t included because those people aren&#8217;t trained with that. So is it their fault? I don&#8217;t know where the problem needs to be addressed, but it&#8217;s a recurring theme, especially in cities like Detroit, where our community development and urban planning is so deeply intertwined with race and justice.
Jena Brooker: An analysis was done of the intergenerational wealth lost when a highway similarly displaced a Black community in Saint Paul, Minnesota at the same time Detroit&#8217;s highway went in. The analysis found that at least $270 million of intergenerational wealth was lost. So given that and that history, do you think that it&#8217;s possible that this project could actually be reparative?
Lauren Hood: It can be again because I feel like those technicians that are leading this charge are open to receiving different kinds of ideas. I think you have to make a data-driven case, though. I used to think in racial justice work you could appeal to people&#8217;s moral compass, their empathy; that ain&#8217;t going to do anything. You need to make a data-driven case for those folks to behave differently and I think it&#8217;s possible.
Jena Brooker: Others have critiques of the physical design of the boulevard, that the state is prioritizing traffic over connectivity, pedestrians, and safety. With nine lanes at some points, it&#8217;s wide and replicates the effect of a highway. So can you touch on that? Do you think that it will lessen the divide that the highway currently creates between the neighborhoods?
Todd Scott, Executive Director, Detroit Greenways Coalition: In some ways, yes. In other ways, we still have some concerns. I&#8217;d say one of the biggest benefits is going to have is the reconnection of downtown to Eastern Market. Because right now I often say that if you&#8217;re in downtown and someone asks you for directions to Eastern Market by bike or walking, it&#8217;s basically, no one really knows.
Jena Brooker: According to Todd Scott of the Detroit Greenways Coalition, there will be a nice connection from Ford Field to Eastern Market. And during off-peak traffic hours, it should be more pedestrian and biking-friendly. So what do you think of the current redesign of the highway right now? And what would you want it to look like?
Paul Jones III: I would want it to look very different. So I would say, it&#8217;s not a smart design, it&#8217;s not an urban- it&#8217;s not a design that really lends itself to any level of vibrance, urban vitality, and density. In a lot of ways, the road design that they presented would be more dangerous for pedestrians than the current configuration as a freeway.
Jena Brooker: Paul Jones III, freelance urban planner, remains skeptical of transportation leaders pointing to the Woodward Avenue Q-Line project that left many Detroiters disappointed. What are some of the things that are realistic to come out of this project that could be reparative?
Lauren Hood: I&#8217;ve heard folks talking about land trust. I think that could be interesting. So there are supposed to be 31 acres of developable land that are a result of the highway resurfacing. It would be great if we could figure out how Detroiters could financially benefit from that.
People are also talking about, could we have a Black business corridor in honor of the Black businesses that were destroyed in Black Bottom/Paradise Valley. That&#8217;s a thing. I really would like to hear what ideas citizens have. I think planners like to talk to planners. I want to hear what people that are differently oriented have to say. I want to hear what artists- We just need some more creative thinkers on what is possible.
Todd Scott: I think the most important thing is that you have a facility where you can bike or walk without a lot of delays. And when that happens and you increase bike-ability and walkability, you can go much further for the same amount of time. What we don&#8217;t want to do is have a facility where you have to stop every block, push a button, and wait a minute or two to get a walk signal to continue on, because it&#8217;s going to take you a long time to get anywhere. And so, I mean, on paper, those plans look like you&#8217;re connecting things but given the amount of delay they can introduce to people walking and biking, they&#8217;re really not connecting with them.
Jena Brooker: The highway is expected to be removed by 2027. Until then, state officials are hosting monthly meetings with community members and stakeholders to get input on the design and the process. Despite stakeholder requests to reduce the width of the boulevard at every step of the project, state officials have noted that they will not do so. One major decision that is still up in the air though, is who gets the 30 acres of land that will open up valued at $50 million. This decision and more will shape if the project can really address the harm caused by the highway.
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Will Detroit’s I-375 Reconnecting Communities Project restore a once thriving Black corridor in the city?

Detroit NAACP commemorates 60 years of fighting for civil rights with June Jubilee celebrations

The <a href="https://www.detroitnaacp.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Branch NAACP</a> hosted its vibrant and momentous “<a href="https://naacp.org/events/june-jubilee-celebration-freedom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">June Jubilee: A Celebration of Freedom</a>” during the June 22-25 weekend, four days of events honoring the historic 60th anniversary of the Detroit Walk to Freedom. The celebration paid homage to the pivotal civil rights march that took place in the city on June 23, 1963, setting the stage for the well-known March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. 
Bringing together community and civil rights leaders, politicians, activists and residents from across Southeast Michigan, the events commemorated the spirit of unity, resilience and progress that characterized the inaugural Detroit Walk to Freedom. It served as a reminder of the march’s profound impact on the civil rights movement and fight for racial equality in America.  
<figure id="attachment_31848" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31848" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-31848" src="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-756-Walk-to-Freedom-Still-1.jpg" alt="Detroit NAACP unveils Martin Luther King Jr. statue" width="650" height="366" srcset="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-756-Walk-to-Freedom-Still-1.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-756-Walk-to-Freedom-Still-1.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-756-Walk-to-Freedom-Still-1.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-756-Walk-to-Freedom-Still-1.jpg 1536w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-756-Walk-to-Freedom-Still-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-31848" class="wp-caption-text">(Left to Right) City of Detroit Arts &amp; Culture Director Rochelle Riley, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield and several others celebrate the unveiling of a new bronze Martin Luther King Jr. statue in Hart Plaza. | Photo by One Detroit</figcaption></figure>
The weekend celebrations kicked off Friday morning with the <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/history/detroit-to-receive-life-size-bronze-statue-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-in-hart-plaza/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unveiling of a new Martin Luther King Jr. Statue</a> in Hart Plaza, followed by the 60th commemorative Walk to Freedom the day after. One Detroit joined both events to capture these historic moments.  
RELATED: <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/american-black-journal/detroit-walk-to-freedom/">Explore One Detroit and American Black Journal&#8217;s coverage of the Detroit Walk to Freedom 60th anniversary</a>
Watch highlights from the Detroit NAACP’s June Jubilee events, where contributor Orlando Bailey, engagement director for BridgeDetroit, spoke with <a href="https://twitter.com/jordan_jamon?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit historian Jamon Jordan</a>, <a href="https://mdbba.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Metro Detroit Black Business Alliance</a> CEO Charity Dean, <a href="https://ohsweetfoundation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Ossian Sweet Foundation</a> CEO Daniel Baxter, Michigan 6th District <a href="https://debbiedingell.house.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Congresswoman Debbie Dingell</a>, <a href="https://michaelericdyson.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Professor Dr. Michael Eric Dyson</a>, and several residents — Imani Foster, Gregory Gunn, Sandra Richardson Smith and Dr. Sharonlyn Harris — who attended the 1963 Walk to Freedom as children.  
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The city of Detroit is planning on spending all of its’ $827 million in federal pandemic aid by 2025, a year ahead of the U.S. Treasury’s deadline to have the money fully spent. But where will that money be invested in the city?  
<a href="https://detroitmi.gov/departments/office-chief-financial-officer/how-detroits-arpa-funds-are-being-spent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The City has spent some of the American Rescue Plan Act funding</a> already to establish new job training and home repair programs, as well as to provide basement flood protection and legal aid for residents facing evictions. Future funding could be focused on down payment housing assistance, emergency shelters, nonprofit funding support, community violence intervention programs, improvements to parks and greenways, digital equity and workforce training, and more, <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-plans-to-spend-all-827m-pandemic-aid-with-a-year-to-spare/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to BridgeDetroit reporter Malachi Barrett</a>.  
RELATED: <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/one-detroit/detroit-mayor-duggan-outlines-five-year-2-45-billion-capital-plan-for-the-city/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan outlines five-year, $2.45 billion capital plan for the city</a>
RELATED: <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/american-black-journal/homeowners-face-high-costs-eligibility-barriers-to-fix-home-repairs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit’s home repair crisis: Homeowners face high costs, eligibility barriers to fix homes</a>
One Detroit <a href="https://twitter.com/WillofMichigan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">producer Will Glover</a> sat down with <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/malachi-barrett/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barrett</a>, who’s been following the story closely, to better understand how this final swath of funding will impact Detroiters’ daily lives. They dig into where the money is going, when it will be spent and how much federal pandemic aid has been spent by the city already. Plus, they discuss what the critics think and why the City wants to spend its funding ahead of the national deadline.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}"> 
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Detroit plans to use all its $827 million of pandemic aid by the end of 2025

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Detroit is getting its very own Martin Luther King Jr. statue. As part of the <a href="https://www.detroitnaacp.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Branch NAACP’s</a> June Jubilee: A Celebration of Freedom events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/american-black-journal/detroit-walk-to-freedom/">Detroit Walk to Freedom</a>, the organization unveiled a bronze sculpture of Dr. King in Hart Plaza Friday, June 23
The sculpture was created by Utah-based artist Stan Watts and donated to the city after Watts learned more about Dr. King’s connection to Detroit through the historic Walk to Freedom 60 years ago. There, Dr. King gave <a href="https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/martin-luther-king-cobo-hall-speech-june-23-1963/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an early version of his famed “I Have A Dream” speech</a> to more than 25,000 people inside Cobo Hall before reciting the famous speech standing atop the Lincoln Memorial at the March on Washington two months later.  
RELATED:
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<li><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/american-black-journal/detroit-naacp-previews-june-jubilee-a-celebration-of-freedom-events/">Detroit NAACP President Rev. Wendell Anthony previews June Jubilee: A Celebration of Freedom events</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/american-black-journal/walking-down-memory-lane-two-detroit-women-reflect-on-attending-the-1963-walk-to-freedom/">Walking down memory lane: Two Detroit women reflect on attending the 1963 Walk to Freedom</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/history/rev-dr-joann-watsons-life-changed-after-the-1963-detroit-walk-to-freedom/">From attendee to activist: Rev. Dr. JoAnn Watson’s life changed after the 1963 Detroit Walk to Freedom</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-naacp-celebrates-60th-anniversary-of-walk-to-freedom-with-mlk-statue/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit NAACP celebrates 60th anniversary of Walk to Freedom with MLK statue</a></li>
</ul>
The City of Detroit’s <a href="https://www.detroitchamber.com/bios/rochelle-riley/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arts and Culture Director Rochelle Riley</a> was key to securing the sculpture for the unveiling this week as part of the Detroit Branch NAACP commemorative June Jubilee: A Celebration of Freedom through June 25  
<figure id="attachment_31719" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31719" style="width: 650px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-31719" src="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-755-MLK-Statue-Still-2-1.jpg" alt="Artist Stan Watts works on a Martin Luther King Jr. Statue" width="650" height="366" srcset="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-755-MLK-Statue-Still-2-1.jpg 1920w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-755-MLK-Statue-Still-2-1.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-755-MLK-Statue-Still-2-1.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-755-MLK-Statue-Still-2-1.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ONE-DETROIT-755-MLK-Statue-Still-2-1.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-31719" class="wp-caption-text">Artist Stan Watts works on the head of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue that now sits at Hart Plaza in Detroit. | Photo by One Detroit</figcaption></figure>
Ahead of the unveiling, One Detroit contributor <a href="https://twitter.com/orlandopbailey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Orlando Bailey</a>, engagement director for <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BridgeDetroit</a>, talked with Watts and Riley about the statue unveiling, how art can be used as a way to reflect history, the historical importance of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Detroit, and how the statue will serve as a centerpiece for the community.  
<h2>Full Transcript:</h2>
Orlando Baily, Engagement Director, BridgeDetroit: Tell us this story because this is rather fascinating. So you were at the event at the Wright and you had begun to think about and done some investigation about Dr. Martin Luther King&#8217;s history here in the city of Detroit.
Stan Watts, Artist and Sculptor: So I was invited to this unveiling at the Wright Museum, and that was my first time being there. And while there, I said, did Martin Luther King ever do anything in the city? The mayor was there and Rochelle Riley and the curator of the museum. And they said, as a matter of fact, don&#8217;t you know he gave the speech here first? No, I didn&#8217;t know that. So I approached the mayor, and I said I would like to place a Dr. King here and I believe I can get a donor if we can find a place.
Orlando Baily: Rochelle Riley, the City of Detroit&#8217;s arts and culture director, has worked closely with Watts throughout the process.
Rochelle Riley, Director of Arts and Culture, City of Detroit; He said, you know, I&#8217;ve got some other statues. And I said, Oh, really? You&#8217;ve got a lot of statues? What have you got? And he said I&#8217;ve got this Martin Luther King statue and the person who owns it wants to donate it to someplace very special, donate it to a city, or to some spot.
I said we want it. We want it. And he said, oh, well- yeah, we could do it. And I said, No, no, no. There&#8217;s a very special reason we would want it. Dr. King gave his &#8220;I Have a Dream&#8221; speech here two months before he gave it in Washington, D.C., and that historic moment that was seen by everybody. But we had 125,000 people who marched down Woodward and saw it here and heard it here.
Orlando Baily: Talk a little bit about art being a documentary and a record of his being here.
Stan Watts: You only have so many statues. Dr. King was one of those that I had the honor of doing. Great men and great stories and they&#8217;re untold from the black community because there&#8217;s still- they survived through horrific situations to now. And our job is to bring the horrific situations to light and honor the people that documented, that learned to read when you couldn&#8217;t teach them to read because it&#8217;s illegal.
Rochelle Riley: Stan Watts is an amazing artist. We had the best conversations about African American history, which is a part of American history. We had great talks about his aesthetic and what he likes to do, and he likes to do a lot of statues of African Americans who deserve their place in history. When you see the statue, you&#8217;ll see that not only does he know what he&#8217;s doing, but he really puts his heart into it. These things mean something to him.
Stan Watts: I&#8217;m going to say something that I believe in my heart. The longest-lasting form of medication for healing is bronze because it lasts for 4000 years. So when you honor somebody doing something good that did something that changed lives, you can actually be a better person for having seen great artwork. We need great artwork done with respect.
Orlando Baily: Normally, artists are sort of commissioned in this kind of work. You were not. You went out and found the funding to be able to do this. I want to ask you about- upon learning this history, what moved on the inside of you that prompted you to want to do this without being commissioned, but to ask to do this?
Stan Watts: Great artists need to understand why they&#8217;re doing what they&#8217;re doing and what they&#8217;re doing. They&#8217;re not doing it for money. I&#8217;m not doing it for money. I need to get paid, but I&#8217;m doing it because it needs to be done.
Orlando Baily: The statue of MLK will find its new home in the heart of downtown Detroit at Hart Plaza.
Rochelle Riley: As soon as we decided and as soon as they agreed to let us have it here, there was no place else for it to be. Hart Plaza is our community space in Detroit. It&#8217;s like New York&#8217;s Times Square. It is where, connected to the nation&#8217;s best riverwalk, the place for things to happen. We have Movement there. We have the jazz festival there.
Everything big for our entire community happens there. The placement of the statue is so important. There is a transcending monument that&#8217;s at Hart Plaza that people don&#8217;t always pay attention to that represents labor. No matter who&#8217;s walking down that plaza, they&#8217;ll be able to walk right up to that statue, right on that plaza, at Hart Plaza, our community space.
Orlando Baily: What are you most looking forward to when you make your way here to the city?
Stan Watts: It&#8217;s the unveiling and the humble opportunity to honor somebody of the magnitude of Dr. King and his purpose is for just bringing the Constitution to fruition. He had a mission to take. Don&#8217;t just say that. Don&#8217;t just change the laws. Enforce them. He was a great man. He knew the spirit, I believe, of our country. Once everything was exposed on television- That the spirit wouldn&#8217;t allow- Our country couldn&#8217;t allow ourselves to say something and then not back it. And I think we were given a check that balanced is how he described it.
Orlando Baily: Yeah, he describes that in the beginning stanzas of his famous &#8220;I Have a Dream&#8221; speech with the March on Washington. He said, &#8220;The check has been returned as insufficient funds.&#8221;
Stan Watts: Very exact. I&#8217;m looking forward, humbly, to be in this event and to know that my talents were used for a good purpose. And the people will be able to— 500 years later, they&#8217;ll still know that this wonderful man had a dream, and we all are just from the same family.
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Detroit NAACP unveils life-size bronze statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Hart Plaza

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Reducing property taxes and increasing the city’s population are two issues that recently made headlines in Detroit after the Detroit Regional Chamber’s <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/one-detroit/2023-mackinac-policy-conference/">2023 Mackinac Policy Conference</a>. <a href="https://detroitmi.gov/government/mayors-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mayor Mike Duggan</a> outlined his proposed changes to the city’s property tax system at the annual conference. And, he’s also challenging the latest federal census data on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s0szgNfdqs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the city’s population decline</a>.
Duggan’s proposed tax reform, which would need approval by the state legislative bodies to be enacted, would give the City of Detroit and other Michigan municipalities the opportunity to vote on a new way to implement property taxes to benefit residents, spur development, and cut down on land speculation. Specifically, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dje4G4sUQhc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Duggan’s new Land Value Tax plan</a> would cut building taxes by 30% and triple land taxes. It would be the first change to Detroit’s property tax code in 50 years.  
RELATED: <a href="https://youtu.be/dje4G4sUQhc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announces Land Value Tax plan to erase blight in the city</a>
<a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BridgeDetroit</a> reporter <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/malachi-barrett/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Malachi Barrett</a> covered Duggan’s keynote address at the conference, where he announced these plans. He joins One Detroit <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/about/contributors/#will" target="_blank" rel="noopener">producer Will Glover</a> to outline Duggan’s proposed property tax changes. Plus, they talk about the factors that are influencing many Detroiters to move out of the city and how the Detroit region will play a leading role in the state’s revitalization efforts. 
&nbsp;
<h2>Full Transcript:</h2>
Will Glover, Host, One Detroit: Mayor Duggan has been calling for taxes to be changed in Detroit. So can you explain what the issue is and what the mayor is calling for? 
Malachi Barrett, Reporter, BridgeDetroit: I don&#8217;t think this is news to anybody living in the city of Detroit, that the tax system is unfair and perhaps even pretty broken depending on who you talk to. Right now, the tax system is set up in a way that incentivizes blight and incentivizes people to hold on to property until it becomes, you know, more lucrative for them to either sell it to a big developer or, you know, it&#8217;s kind of like a cheap lottery ticket. The mayor said that they hang on to this land until it&#8217;s in a position where the surrounding area is ready to be redeveloped in any kind of cash-in. 
And our tax system really penalizes homeowners who face some of the highest tax rates in the area. And so, you know, it&#8217;s really been holding back growth in a lot of neighborhoods. And what the mayor would rather do is kind of reverse the situation by creating a new tax rate for homeowners, for structures would be taxed differently than just land itself. So, the taxes would go up on land and it would go down on structures. And, you know, the idea is that would create a giant tax savings for 97%, you know, the vast majority of people in the city. It would be automatic. 
You wouldn&#8217;t have to sign up for it. It would be recurring, you know, automatically as well. It&#8217;s not like you would have to apply year to year. So, you know, you get tax savings there and then the people who are sitting on parking lots or grassy lots in your neighborhood, they would have to pay more. And maybe that would kind of promote doing something with that developing land and selling it to somebody who would develop it. And maybe kind of kick-start some of these areas that have been held back by land speculation. 
Will Glover: Well, he&#8217;s trying to flip the tax code so that it incentivizes&#8211; it brings the taxes down for people who have structures on their property, like homeowners, without having to go through anything. They don&#8217;t have to sign up for any programs because it&#8217;s a policy change. But at the same time, he&#8217;s trying to spur economic development by putting a higher tax rate on vacant lots people use for like maybe dumping or like you said, parking lots or just properties that are, you know, kind of being held on to and letting go into disrepair. Those are the properties that are going to be taxed at a higher rate, correct? 
Malachi Barrett: Yeah, definitely. So, I think this really kind of targets the downtown parking lots that a lot of Detroiters have gripes about. These kinds of pretty vast swaths of concrete that aren&#8217;t really seeing a lot done with them. It also would affect tow yards, and scrap yards, and some of these kind of dumping areas that you referenced. The mayor really pointed this out during a speech, that we&#8217;ve got 450 plus scrap yards in the city of Detroit. And that&#8217;s not because, you know, we have the higher rate of scrap that needs places to be. I mean, a lot of it is because it&#8217;s so much cheaper for those business owners to have that land in the city compared to out in the suburbs. 
Will Glover: What challenges is Detroit facing right now when it comes to the population? Because you wrote that they&#8217;re there still. 
Malachi Barrett: They&#8217;re there in a major way. You know depending on if you believe the census where we&#8217;re either shrinking or shrinking pretty fast. The mayors kind of challenged some of that federal data that shows the city continue to drop residents in the last year. Lost around just under 8,000 people from 21 to 2022. I believe there was some polling that was done of Detroit residents kind of first of its kind survey done by Gallup. And it found that, you know, this probably won&#8217;t be surprising either, t&#8217;s crime and its education are the top two reasons that people are leaving the city. And, you know, we hear this all the time that people don&#8217;t feel safe in their neighborhoods and they also feel like younger families in particular don&#8217;t have places to send their kids to school, that they will set them up for success. 
There&#8217;s a perception and probably rightfully so, that, you know, you have to send your kids to nonpublic school. If you live in the city for them to get a good education. And, you know, younger families that are making decisions long term, that&#8217;s something that pushes them out. Job opportunities and wages is another reason that ranks really high. And then right behind that is cost of living. Right? 
So that connects to all of the issues of housing that you talk to people about all the time. You know how expensive it is to buy a house, to renovate a house, even to rent in the city of Detroit. You know, the median income in the city is still around $35,000 or something like that. You know, it&#8217;s not really good enough to afford a lot of the new rental units that are being built. And nobody&#8217;s really building like single-family houses. So where do you actually live? That stuff all ties together. 
Will Glover: From your reporting. Where is your optimism? Is it high? Is it medium? Is low? 
Malachi Barrett: Yeah. I mean, I think in one sense, it&#8217;s encouraging to see that the things that we&#8217;re talking about, you know, policymakers are talking about as well, like there&#8217;s a pretty clear-eyed view, I think, of what&#8217;s holding us back and what needs to be done. I think where I start to maybe be less optimistic personally, is what&#8217;s going to be done about that. I mean, the governor put together a commission to kind of study some of these population trends statewide and come up with a set of recommendations.
And I think, you know, depending on your opinion, that&#8217;s either a great step forward to start to address these things or it&#8217;s another kind of like reinventing the wheel because we already kind of know what a lot of these issues are, right? We are definitely going to be a major site of investments moving forward. Like Detroit in the metro region is still really vital to the state&#8217;s economy. It&#8217;s going to be the source of this kind of population growth strategy that Governor Whitmer is working on. So I don&#8217;t know. I guess I&#8217;m hopeful. But, you know, we&#8217;re obviously going to be keeping a really close eye on this. And, you know, if folks aren&#8217;t as hopeful, I certainly understand why I. 
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Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan proposes new property tax plan, challenges city’s population loss

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan outlines five-year

Photo provided by Malachi Barrett, <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BridgeDetroit</a>
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has an expensive wish list for improving the city over the next five years. Earlier this month, Mayor Duggan announced and outlined his <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-capital/">$2.45 billion capital plan</a> for the city, which includes increased services for residents, the redevelopment of city-owned parks and properties, and upgrades to the city&#8217;s aging infrastructure. Compared to Duggan’s 2020 capital agenda, spending has increased by nearly $599 million. Investments in open space and recreation across the city have nearly quadrupled in Duggan’s latest plans.  
RELATED: BridgeDetroit | <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-capital/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit’s $2.5B capital plan: Water mains, parks, transportation</a>
Duggan’s plans for the city aren’t set in stone completely, however. Detroit City Council members have until March 1, 2023 to review, amend and vote on the plan. If approved, much of the funding will come from Detroit&#8217;s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. One Detroit Producer <a href="https://twitter.com/YeaitsmewillG">Will Glover</a> gets an update from <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/malachi-barrett/">BridgeDetroit reporter Malachi Barrett</a>, who&#8217;s been closely following the capital agenda Mayor Duggan has proposed. 
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Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan outlines five-year, $2.45 billion capital plan for the city

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Plans for the newly proposed <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroiters-downtown-development-plans/">$1.5 million &#8220;District Detroit&#8221; development</a> around downtown Detroit&#8217;s popular nightlife and sports venues are facing scrutiny and skepticism from residents who live in the neighborhoods adjacent to the proposed developments. The first wave of legally required community input efforts from the Ilitch family&#8217;s <a href="https://ilitchnewshub.com/2022/11/start-of-community-benefits-process-marks-next-phase-of-proposed-mixed-income-mixed-use-development-in-the-district-detroit/">Olympia Development of Michigan</a> and <a href="https://www.related.com/our-company/leadership/stephen-m-ross">Stephen Ross&#8217; Related Companies</a> took place just after Thanksgiving, giving residents the opportunity to weigh in and negotiate how the community should benefit from the plans. 
<figure id="attachment_28167" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-28167" style="width: 700px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-28167" src="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/ONE-DETROIT-724-District-Detroit-Still-2.jpg" alt="District Detroit blueprint plans" width="700" height="394" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-28167" class="wp-caption-text">The $1.5 million &#8220;District Detroit&#8221; plans include proposed sites for hotels, office buildings, restaurants, housing and more. | Photo by One Detroit</figcaption></figure>
RELATED: 
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroiters-downtown-development-plans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroiters hear new downtown development plans, ask what’s in it for us? </a> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/neighborhood-advisory-group-district-detroit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Neighborhood advisory group for ‘District Detroit’ starts to take shape</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/business-entrepreneurship/60-million-tax-abatement-narrowly-approved-by-detroit-city-council-for-former-hudsons-department-store-site/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$60 Million Tax Abatement Narrowly Approved by Detroit City Council for Former Hudson’s Site</a></li>
</ul>
The &#8220;District Detroit&#8221; plans include proposed sites for hotels, office buildings, restaurants and housing. Developers hope to add six new buildings to Detroit&#8217;s skyline and renovate five other historic buildings over the next five years. One Detroit producer <a href="https://twitter.com/YeaitsmewillG">Will Glover</a> sat down with <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/">BridgeDetroit</a> reporter <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/malachi-barrett/">Malachi Barrett</a>, who&#8217;s been following the proposed development plans, to get an update on how residents are feeling and the development&#8217;s impact on the community. 
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Developers begin community input efforts for District Detroit, but some residents remain skeptical of plans

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A lot happened in October in Detroit. First, the City settled federal lawsuits brought against the police department that alleged police used excessive force on demonstrators marching against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd&#8217;s death in 202o.
Then, the City called for residents&#8217; input in a <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/city-wants-detroiters-to-weigh-in-on-58m-in-flood-recovery-funds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$57.6 million plan to help flood recovery efforts</a> and minimize future incidents. Plus, the Detroit nonprofit Citizen Robotics started building <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/michigans-first-3d-printed-house-detroit-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the City&#8217;s first 3D-printed home</a> in its Southwest Detroit warehouse.
Checking in on all the action, One Detroit producer <a href="https://twitter.com/YeaitsmewillG" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Glover</a> sits down with <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BridgeDetroit</a> reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/BryceHuffman313" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bryce Huffman</a> to talk about the latest news. They discuss the <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/black-lives-matter-protesters-take-detroits-1m-offer-to-end-lawsuits/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1 million settlement</a> the anti-police brutality organization Detroit Will Breathe received on behalf of plaintiffs, how the city plans to spend the $57.6 million earmarked for flood recovery, and how the 3D-printed home is bringing innovation into the Islandview neighborhood.
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BridgeDetroit’s Bryce Huffman discusses Detroit’s BLM settlement, flood recovery efforts and 3D-printed homes

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Forgotten Harvest CEO and community leader <a class="Hyperlink SCXW46416514 BCX0" href="https://twitter.com/KirkBMayes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kirk Mayes</a> has announced he&#8217;s stepping down from his role as CEO of the Oak Park-based food rescue nonprofit at the end of this year. The news comes shortly after <a class="Hyperlink SCXW46416514 BCX0" href="https://www.forgottenharvest.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forgotten Harvest</a> moved into a new 78,000-square-foot building on Eight Mile Road, more than doubling its footprint and capacity for serving the community. Mayes recently received the <a class="Hyperlink SCXW46416514 BCX0" href="https://shininglightawards.semcog.org/Honorees" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eleanor Josaitis Unsung Hero Award</a> from the Detroit Free Press. 
As a Detroit native, Mayes grew up on the city&#8217;s West Side, where he learned early on he could be a catalyst for change in his hometown. As he entered the workforce after graduating from Michigan State University, Mayes&#8217; affinity for investing in Detroit continued to show up in his work, from founding his own business, Village Gardeners, to his roles as executive director of the <a href="https://www.brightmooralliance.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brightmoor Alliance</a> and CEO at Forgotten Harvest. Now, after eight years at the helm, what does the future hold for Mayes and the organization?
Mayes joins <a class="Hyperlink SCXW222877245 BCX0" href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BridgeDetroit</a> Engagement Director <a class="Hyperlink SCXW222877245 BCX0" href="https://twitter.com/orlandopbailey" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Orlando Bailey</a> at the new Forgotten Harvest warehouse facility, at 15000 Eight Mile Road, for an exclusive, wide-ranging conversation. They talk more about Mayes&#8217; decision to step down and the impact he&#8217;s had at the organization since he started there in 2014. 
&#8220;I&#8217;ve got a couple more months till the end of the year, to continue to focus on being (CEO) of Forgotten Harvest, and that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m going to be doing,&#8221; Mayes says during the interview. &#8220;Once I complete this role and my responsibilities here, there&#8217;s a lot of things that I&#8217;ve been wanting to do&#8230; that would allow me to spread my wings and chase my dreams as an entrepreneur.&#8221;
As Mayes rounds out his time with Forgotten Harvest, he talks with Bailey about his future aspirations as a consultant, speaker and author, as well as potential plans to visit Africa and establish his roots there. Plus, Mayes weighs in on the speculation that he&#8217;s running for mayor, as well as discusses Detroiters&#8217; most urgent needs right now, his love for the African diaspora, and what legacy and impact he thinks he&#8217;s been able to make on the world so far.
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Forgotten Harvest CEO Kirk Mayes Announces His Resignation, Talks About Future Entrepreneurial Plans

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The City of Detroit has launched a <a href="https://detroitmi.gov/departments/planning-and-development-department/joe-louis-greenway-neighborhood-planning-study" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two-year planning study</a> that allows residents to weigh in on the impact of the proposed $200 million Joe Louis Greenway project, the city&#8217;s proposal for connecting many of its neighborhoods to the riverfront.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-embarks-on-new-planning-study-for-joe-louis-greenway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Embarks on New Planning Study for Joe Louis Greenway</a>
The 27.5-mile biking and walking trail would connect Detroit&#8217;s riverfront to parts of metro Detroit like Hamtramck, Highland Park and Dearborn. The study includes sections of each City Council district, apart from Districts 1 and 4, and builds upon previous feedback city officials have received from neighborhood residents.
<figure id="attachment_27028" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-27028" style="width: 700px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-27028" src="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ONE-DETROIT-707-Joe-Louis-Greenway-Still-1.jpg" alt="Joe Louis Greenway" width="700" height="394" srcset="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ONE-DETROIT-707-Joe-Louis-Greenway-Still-1.jpg 1920w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ONE-DETROIT-707-Joe-Louis-Greenway-Still-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ONE-DETROIT-707-Joe-Louis-Greenway-Still-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ONE-DETROIT-707-Joe-Louis-Greenway-Still-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ONE-DETROIT-707-Joe-Louis-Greenway-Still-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-27028" class="wp-caption-text">A rendering of a portion of the proposed 27.5-mile Joe Louis Greenway. | Photo from Facebook</figcaption></figure>
RELATED: <a href="https://detroitmi.gov/departments/planning-and-development-department/joe-louis-greenway-neighborhood-planning-study" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View the Joe Louis Greenway Neighborhood Planning Study Community Engagement Schedule</a>
RELATED: <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/one-detroit/new-multi-million-detroit-greenway-project-to-connect-citys-southwest-side-to-riverfront/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Multi-Million Detroit Greenway to Connect City’s Southwest Side to Riverfront</a>
One Detroit producer <a href="https://twitter.com/YeaitsmewillG" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Glover</a> sits down with <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BridgeDetroit</a> reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/BryceHuffman313" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bryce Huffman</a>, as part of the organizations&#8217; ongoing news partnership, to learn more about the city&#8217;s two-year planning study that started in September, and what feedback city officials might receive about the greenway.
<h2>Full Transcript:</h2>
Will Glover, Associate Producer, One Detroit: We&#8217;re going to talk about the Joe Louis Greenway. So, it is a bike path and walking path that&#8217;s being developed to connect some of the other communities around and in the city of Detroit. Just give us an update as to what the Joe Louis Greenway is, who it&#8217;s for, and when it&#8217;s happening.
Bryce Huffman, Reporter, BridgeDetroit: The Joe Louis Greenway is a 27-and-a-half mile biking and walking trail that will connect communities as far as Detroit&#8217;s riverfront, southeast in the city, to Hamtramck, Highland Park, and even Dearborn. So, it&#8217;s basically a loop that goes around and allows people to bike and walk-through different parts of the metro area. It&#8217;s really all about getting more green space in the city, more places for people to travel by bike without necessarily having to worry about car traffic, and just places for people to walk and ways to connect different city neighborhoods.
Will Glover: And where are we at as far as the actual build-out of the Greenway and also where is it being built out from? I know there&#8217;s some sort of connection to things like the Dequindre Cut.
Bryce Huffman: Yeah. Good questions. One of the plans is to extend the Dequindre Cut from where it currently ends at Mack and taking it to East Grand Boulevard across from I-94. And that&#8217;s really a way to connect it to Hamtramck. Right now, currently, they&#8217;ve already begun construction in southwest Detroit over the Gordie Howe Bridge area that they are constructing. So that&#8217;s where construction has begun so far.
Will Glover: I think that really touches on the city&#8217;s goal of becoming a city of the future, creating the places and spaces where people actually want to spend their time, and making it all very easy to navigate. So, with that said, you mentioned that it&#8217;s going to connect Detroit to Hamtramck. What else will the Greenway be connecting the city to? How far out and how interconnected are we going to be?
Bryce Huffman: Yeah. So along with Hamtramck, there will also be connections to and through Highland Park, and then when you get in the west side of the city it&#8217;ll connect to Dearborn. So different communities. It&#8217;s not going to connect all the way out to some of the further Metro Detroit suburbs, but the ones that kind of border inside the city and next to the city are going to be the ones that the Greenway is impacting.
And actually, they just launched a neighborhood planning study all around making sure that the areas in the Greenway that are going to be impacted, the neighborhoods that will be impacted by construction, and the final product get a say in what&#8217;s going to happen and understand what changes might be coming to their neighborhood, what opportunities might be coming to their neighborhood, and things to be looking out for for the next few years.
Will Glover: Because you&#8217;re mentioning the neighborhoods, one of the interesting things that I saw was something about a signage program. Tell us a little bit about that.
Bryce Huffman: Yes. So, I was at a meeting a couple of weeks ago and they talked about this neighborhood signage program, which is all about making sure that cyclists and walkers know where they&#8217;re at and know a little bit of the history and culture of the neighborhoods they&#8217;re in.
So, the first neighborhood that they&#8217;re starting this in is the Midwest Neighborhood, which is in the city&#8217;s District Six on the West Side. And it&#8217;ll be between&#8230; I want to say Warren and Joy Road are where the signs are going to be posted up. So, the idea is if you&#8217;re biking through a neighborhood, you can look at the sign and get a sense of the neighborhood you&#8217;re in and understand that history.
One of the big concerns a lot of people in Detroit have had, in general, is that their neighborhoods, that history, that culture is being erased or being displaced. So, this signage program is really about honoring those people and the people that made the neighborhoods what they are today.
Will Glover: Because we&#8217;re talking about the people and that&#8217;s really who this is all for, what has been the response of Detroiters hearing about this project going on? Are people on board? I know, usually, there&#8217;s a little bit of pushback or concern about whether or not the residents&#8217; voices are going to be heard, whether their ideas are going to be included, and whether their needs are going to be met. Have you seen any friction in this process?
Bryce Huffman: Yeah. So, it&#8217;s really interesting. A lot of the times when I cover things where residents are allowed to give feedback, you hear a lot of pushback against design ideas or you hear a lot of concerns about a design idea or a plan.
So far, there have really been two things of note. First, is that there are a lot of residents, particularly in the McDougall-Hunt and Poletown East areas of the city, that when I asked them about the Dequindre-Cut extension plan they had never heard of it. They say no one from the city had talked to them about it.
But very interestingly, when I actually talked about what the plan is and why they want to do it, just about everyone was on board, very overwhelmingly supportive of the idea, very overwhelmingly in favor of the Greenway, in general, and the expansion of the Dequindre-Cut and like the idea of going into these neighborhoods and making sure people know where they are and what that neighborhood is all about.
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City of Detroit seeks residents’ input on $200 million Joe Louis Greenway plans

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Some of Michigan&#8217;s nearly 1.4 million student loan borrowers, who owe a cumulative total of $51 billion in student loan debt, are rejoicing after the<a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/biden-student-loan-forgiveness-plan-what-it-means-for-michigan/"> Biden administration announced</a> its Student Loan Forgiveness Plan, which would cancel up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for millions of borrowers across the nation.
<a href="https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Under Biden&#8217;s plan</a>, borrowers earning under $125,000 could be eligible for up to $10,000 in forgiveness, and for borrowers who have Pell Grants, the amount jumps to $20,000. The Biden administration&#8217;s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan also includes a continued pause on loan collection through December 2022, and includes some potential changes to the income-driven repayment policies. 
One Detroit Associate Producer<a href="https://twitter.com/YeaitsmewillG"> Will Glover</a> sits down with <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BridgeDetroit</a> reporter<a href="https://twitter.com/isalohgo"> Isabel Lohman</a> to learn more about the different components involved in Biden&#8217;s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan, as well as talk about the catalyst for announcing the loan forgiveness program and the arguments for and against it. Plus, Lohman shares how some metro Detroiter student loan borrowers reacted to the news, and the two posit whether the proposed plan will help resolve the larger issue of expensive, inaccessible higher education. 
<h2>Full Transcript:</h2>
Will Glover, Producer, One Detroit: We&#8217;re here to talk about a recent article you wrote that appeared in BridgeDetroit that was talking about the recent action on the federal student loans from the Biden administration. So first things first, what is the plan? What&#8217;s it called? Who&#8217;s eligible?
Isabel Lohman, Education Reporter, Bridge Michigan: Sure. So there&#8217;s a couple of different components of the plan. The thing you&#8217;ve probably heard the most about is the student loan forgiveness program. That would mean that some student loan borrowers, depending on their income, could get up to $10,000 of their federal student loans forgiven. And for students who had Pell Grants during college, they could get up to 20,000 thousand of their student loans forgiven.
But there&#8217;s other components of the plan, too. There&#8217;s a continued pause on collection of student loans. So if you have a student loan, you can be making payments on it right now. But you don&#8217;t have to in many cases. And that is true through the end of December, and you don&#8217;t have to pay interest on it right now.
And then there&#8217;s also a plan that the Biden administration is putting forward to change some aspects of the income-driven repayment policy. So if this plan were to work, essentially people who are in an income-driven repayment program, which is where your income helps determine how much you pay per month, there&#8217;s some changes to that that could make it easier for folks to pay back their loans and then also give them some relief when it comes to the interest, that is often the concern for folks.
Will Glover: What was the catalyst for this to be instituted?
Isabel Lohman: Sure. So President Biden, back when he was on the campaign trail, this was one of the things he campaigned on was to have some sort of student loan forgiveness program. And it&#8217;s something that has been talked about in progressive circles for quite a while. There are people that wanted him to forgive a lot more than 10,000 thousand.
And of course, there are people who wanted him to forgive absolutely no money. But some of the main reasons arguing for this type of loan forgiveness is that there are many people in this country who have student loan debt but don&#8217;t have the degree. So they don&#8217;t have the higher wage earnings that typically come with the degree, but they have the burden of debt.
And so people argue that that puts them in a place where they cannot economically make sound decisions, that they&#8217;re further and further behind. Another argument is that families and students and anyone who&#8217;s borrowed money in the last couple of years with student loans, they have really enjoyed this period where they do not have to make student loan payments. And so there&#8217;s an argument to be made that by forgiving some of these loans, you are helping these people get ahead and that they will ultimately stimulate the local economy, the state economy, and the national economy.
Will Glover: What is the effect of this debt here in Michigan? How many, how much debt do people in Michigan have? And how is this going to impact Michiganders?
Isabel Lohman: Sure. So the Education Data Initiative estimates that there are about 1.4 million student loan borrowers in Michigan with a collective debt of about $51 billion. So it&#8217;s quite a large chunk of money. When you look at that, of course, there is variance, right? Some folks owe only a couple thousand dollars, some owe way more. When you look at the state borrowers within that group, about 16% of those folks owe less than $5,000. While about 21.6% of people owe between $20,000 to $40,000.
Will Glover: When it comes to eligibility. Who&#8217;s in? Who&#8217;s out? What are the figures around that?
Isabel Lohman: Sure. So it&#8217;s based on your income. So if you make up to $125,000 a year or if you&#8217;re a household that makes under $250,000 a year, you&#8217;re eligible for up to $10,000 of loan cancelation. If you received Pell Grants, that number goes up to $20,000. It&#8217;s important to note this is up to. So hypothetically, let&#8217;s say I&#8217;m a borrower, I make within that income level, but I only owe $8,000. The government is not going to say, okay, here&#8217;s $8,000 forgiven and here&#8217;s that $2,000 check. You&#8217;re just going to get up to the amount that you owe.
Will Glover: What have you heard from the opposition when it comes to this debt relief?
Isabel Lohman: There&#8217;s a couple of different points that they bring up. One is the idea that this is an unfair way of going about it. So some folks would say higher ed is too expensive as it is, but this is just a Band-Aid on the issue. This isn&#8217;t going to solve how much college costs. It&#8217;s not going to solve the idea that people are still taking student loans out. So that&#8217;s one argument. Another argument is from folks who maybe didn&#8217;t go to college or paid their way through college or for whatever reason, don&#8217;t have loans themselves. And they will argue that they are paying for someone else&#8217;s education. So they will say that&#8217;s not fair.
Will Glover: What was some of the reaction to the debt that&#8217;s being forgiven from one of the college students that you spoke with, somebody who&#8217;s currently still in college?
Isabel Lohman: I talked to someone who has about $5,000 in student loan debt and she&#8217;s expecting to have that fully forgiven. She thinks that&#8217;s great, but she doesn&#8217;t think it&#8217;s going to ultimately solve everything. I talked to another student who&#8217;s expecting to get some student loan relief, but she&#8217;s also expecting to still have student loans at the end of the day, even with this forgiveness. So, I think there is a sense of optimism and a sense of, wow, this has never happened before and this is historic and let&#8217;s be thankful for that. But there&#8217;s also that, like I said, broader conversation about how do we pay for college moving forward.
Will Glover: Are we going to be in a much better position because of this loan forgiveness or are we going to kind of be in the same position with just a slightly smaller loan balance or principle balance for people who still owe money?
Isabel Lohman: I think it&#8217;s a both-and situation. I think the devil&#8217;s are in the details. Right. So people know this number. People know that they could get up to, in some cases, $20,000 thousand of loan forgiveness. But they need to be able to know how to access that forgiveness. They need to access the form that the federal government is expected to release in October.
And we need to see how this plays out. Right. It&#8217;s one thing to think, okay, I&#8217;m going to have some relief. It&#8217;s another thing to see that in your credit score, in your pocket, in your monthly budget. So all of those things I think are left to be seen. I think there&#8217;s also, like you said, a broader question of how do we make this work for everyone and how do we figure out what this means for Michigan practically? But this isn&#8217;t going to solve the fact that there are still plenty of Michiganders and plenty of Americans that are going to have a lot of debt on their hands.
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Biden Administration Announces Student Loan Debt Forgiveness For Millions. How Will Michigan Borrowers Be Affected?

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After weeks of conversation and compromise, the<a href="https://detroitmi.gov/government/city-council"> Detroit City Council</a> narrowly approved, in a 5-4 vote July 26, a $60 million tax abatement for Bedrock Detroit&#8217;s development at the former Hudson&#8217;s Department Store site downtown. The vote came at the end of a nearly seven-hour-long meeting, and was met with dozens of residents who spoke out and opposed the abatement during public comment.
Others were left wondering why the council approved a 10-year tax break, lasting until 2032, for one of Michigan&#8217;s richest business owners,<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/daniel-gilbert/?sh=55752cc67128"> Dan Gilbert</a>, who owns<a href="https://www.bedrockdetroit.com/"> Bedrock Detroit</a> and<a href="https://www.rocketmortgage.com/"> Rocket Mortgage</a>. Some Detroit residents told the council members they&#8217;d like to see the same tax incentives given to Detroit&#8217;s residential property owners, BridgeDetroit&#8217;s<a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/malachi-barrett/"> Malachi Barrett</a>, who&#8217;s been following the story, said.
RELATED: BridgeDetroit | <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-council-approves-60m-hudsons-tax-break/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Council Approves $60M Hudson’s Tax Break</a>
<figure id="attachment_25832" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25832" style="width: 700px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-25832" src="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ONE-DETROIT-651-Hudsons-Tax-Break-Still-1.jpg" alt="former Hudson's Department Store" width="700" height="394" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-25832" class="wp-caption-text">Construction crews work at the former Hudson&#8217;s Department Store site in downtown Detroit. The development project from Dan Gilbert&#8217;s Bedrock Detroit company received a $60 million tax abatement from the Detroit City Council July 26.</figcaption></figure>
One Detroit&#8217;s<a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/bkubota56"> Bill Kubota</a> sits down with Barrett to discuss the City Council&#8217;s decision to finally vote on the proposed tax break after weeks of postponing the vote, and the Council&#8217;s approval of the abatement for the former Hudson&#8217;s Department Store site. Plus, hear why City Council members voted in favor or against the resolution, and the new community benefits agreement involved with the plan, which Bedrock representatives said will include investments in affordable housing downtown.
<h2>Full Transcript:</h2>
Malachi Barrett, Reporter, BridgeDetroit: The saga of the summer in Detroit has kind of been this discussion over whether the city would grant a $60 million dollar, 10-year tax abatement to a big development project downtown that Bedrock is doing.
Bill Kubota: Bedrock. The rocket company&#8217;s billionaire, Dan Gilbert. The huge high rise going up at the old Hudson site. The big request suddenly approved by city council last week, after weeks of putting off the vote.
Speaker 3: Young resolution.
Speaker 4: Councilmember Young.
Speaker 5: Thank you, Ma&#8217;am, President. I move to approve while&#8230;
Bill Kubota: Malachi Barrett&#8217;s been covering the story for BridgeDetroit.
Malachi Barrett: This was the last scheduled meeting before the council was going to go on recess for about a month. So they&#8217;re off until September now. And in that last meeting, there was a surprise vote on that tax abatement.
Bill Kubota: Seven hours into the session at the very end, they did it.
Malachi Barrett: If you had the tenacity to stick around until the end, you found out that this was voted on.
James Tate, Council President Pro Tem: And I will not be able to support the vote today for this item. And the reason I cannot is because it was not noticed for the public that this was going to be a vote today.
Mary Waters, Council Member: If for some of you all who make statements like you&#8217;re selling your soul. That is not true. And, you know, I really don&#8217;t even want to hear that phrase again.
Angela Whitfield Calloway, Council Member: So I absolutely oppose this. It should come before the public. It should not be walked on. We shouldn&#8217;t. I think we&#8217;re doing a disservice to our taxpayers.
Fred Durhal III, Council Member: What I know when I ride down Woodward, I look at a half-completed building and I know we got over 2,000 thousand jobs wrapped into that and that&#8217;s 2000 lives and families that are affected by that. And I take that very seriously.
Coleman Young II, Council Member: For us to not pass this, to not have this project and to have those folks out of a job, I don&#8217;t think the answer to solving employment is to throw working families out of work.
Latisha Johnson, Council Member: I quite honestly want it to have an outside entity. A professor from the university, to come in and have the conversation around tax abatements and the Downtown Development Authority. Because a lot of times that part gets missed and it&#8217;s extremely important in this conversation.
Mary Sheffield, Council Member: I have decided to support the abatement that is before us for this project. Like all decisions I make on behalf of those that I represent, I&#8217;ve arrived at this point after careful research.
Bill Kubota: So then, Bedrock had the votes 5 to 4 sliding through, seemingly without much of a hitch.
Malachi Barrett: You know, I think that&#8217;s why we probably saw the vote. I think those who were in favor of it felt that, okay, we have enough. We have a majority. Let&#8217;s get this done.
Bill Kubota: I suspect some people were really surprised to have this thing just kind of pop up and what about that? Is that how things usually work in the city council?
Malachi Barrett: Yeah, kind of. Yeah. I mean, I think for people that have been advocating about this and trying to have conversations about it for weeks now, I mean, essentially the whole summer. For this to be a surprise vote, I think is really frustrating for them.
Mary Sheffield: The clerk would note that line item does pass.Yes.
Mary Sheffield: And Mr. Clerk, if you can move the two agreements, please.
Bill Kubota: Through the community benefits agreement, the city looks to be getting more out of this deal, enough to sway some on city council. Meanwhile, project execs were on hand to explain.
Jared Fleisher, Vice President, Rocket Companies: The initial agreement said that 20% of our entire portfolio had to be affordable at 80% of the AMI. We are many it to make the most far-reaching commitment to affordable housing ever made by a developer in the city with leadership from the Council President.
Jared Fleisher: Which is to say that going forward, 30% of everything that we do, all development will be affordable at 60 percent of the AMI.
Bill Kubota: That&#8217;s area median income. So more affordable housing thanks to the Hudson&#8217;s abatement. The tax break some Detroit is recent having to cover out of their own pockets.
Public Comment, Committee Meeting: The Gilbert site over at the old Hudson&#8217;s site is not contingent upon him getting his $60 million dollar tax giveaway. He&#8217;s not going to pick up and leave. And so it&#8217;s a red herring for people to be coming in here talking about, oh, we&#8217;re working on a site. We need to be working on the site and so forth and so on. He&#8217;s not going anywhere. And if he does go somewhere, let him go.
Malachi Barrett: The major criticism is why are we giving a taxpayer-funded handout to the richest man in Michigan? I mean, we heard that multiple times from council members and Detroiters who weighed down on the proposal. Dan Gilbert owns Bedrock. He&#8217;s been at the forefront of a lot of, you know, major developments and changes in the city&#8217;s downtown. And I think there&#8217;s a feeling that there has to be some kind of limit on how much public support we give for somebody who&#8217;s, you know, independently very wealthy.
Bill Kubota: Expect construction to continue to at least 2024, but the taxes won&#8217;t kick in until 2032.
Malachi Barrett: This is kind of the underlying tension that I think is key to a lot of this. When people see that the city is giving up taxpayer dollars to these wealthy businesses and regular Detroiters who are struggling to make ends meet do not have access to that same kind of tax break. You know, we all would love to get a break on our property taxes for 10 years.
Malachi Barrett: That&#8217;s where the frustration comes in. And developers will say this is necessary to make projects happen. But homeowners will say, why don&#8217;t we have access to these same kinds of tools? Let&#8217;s reform taxes in Detroit so that these are not necessary.
Malachi Barrett: Council President Sheffield said In a perfect world we would not have to use these tax abatements to make developments happen. But you know, we&#8217;re not living in a perfect world.
Bill Kubota: And it doesn&#8217;t sound like we&#8217;ll be in a perfect world any time soon with this stuff.
Malachi Barrett: No, definitely not.
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<h3><a href="https://www.detroitpbs.org/category/one-detroit/">View Past Episodes &gt;</a></h3>
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$60 Million Tax Abatement Narrowly Approved by Detroit City Council for Former Hudson’s Site

Screen-Shot-2022-06-01-at-11.29.15-AM

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Photo Caption: Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan addresses reports that he shared the identity of an FBI informant with city officials at the 2022 Mackinac Policy Conference. | Screenshot: Mackinac Policy Conference 
By <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/malachi-barrett/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Malachi Barrett</a>, BridgeDetroit 
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he did not know a towing contractor was working with the FBI as a confidential informant when he shared the FBI informant’s identity with city officials.
Duggan opened the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference on Tuesday with an impromptu media conference addressing a <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2022/05/31/feds-link-duggan-outing-informant-behind-scenes-bribery-scandal/9910355002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report that morning from The Detroit News</a> that linked the mayor to “a chain of events that outed a confidential FBI informant and alerted a target of an ongoing investigation of bribery, extortion and fraud at City Hall.”
Speaking to reporters, the mayor said he was not aware that the source’s identity was being protected but acknowledged that he shared the informant’s name with members of the Detroit Police Department and Chuck Raimi, the city’s former acting corporation counsel.
RELATED: BridgeDetroit | <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/duggans-third-term-will-see-a-drastically-different-detroit-city-council/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Duggan’s Third Term Will See a Drastically Different Detroit City Council</a>
RELATED: BridgeDetroit | <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/spivey-to-appear-in-court-on-bribery-charges-may-resign-seat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spivey Pleads Guilty to a Bribery Charge, Must Resign Seat</a>
Duggan said he divulged the information after he was told by former Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey in spring 2021 that he was under investigation for corruption.
<aside></aside>
“I have never disclosed the identity of anyone I knew to be a confidential source in my life,” Duggan said on Tuesday. “I would not do that. I did not know there was any confidential source involved in this case.”
Duggan did not say when the subsequent conversations occurred and declined to say whether he shared the name with anyone outside city government.
<h4>Watch <a href="http://www.onedetroitpbs.org">One Detroit&#8217;s</a> Full Video of Mayor Duggan&#8217;s Announcement:</h4>
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7jn-yJ2ATvg" width="853" height="505" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> This video was recorded live by Detroit Public TV&#8217;s One Detroit team at the 2022 Mackinac Policy Conference at Mackinac Island, Mich. on May 31, 2022. 
A federal judge sentenced Spivey to two years in prison for felony bribery earlier this year as part of a wider federal corruption investigation focused on the Detroit City Council, the Detroit Police Department and towing operations.
Spivey admitted to accepting $39,500 between 2018 and 2020 in exchange for influencing a vehicle towing ordinance proposed at the time.
Spivey admitted he accepted bribes from an undercover law enforcement agent and a confidential FBI source. The source was involved in the towing industry and was approached by the FBI concerning corruption within the city government, according to court documents.
“Andre Spivey contacted me to say ‘I made a terrible mistake. I got in financial trouble. I borrowed a large amount of money from a tower,’” Duggan said.
“He told me the tower; it was a tower we knew very well from our investigations and our litigation. He says ‘I meant to pay him back and I didn’t. The feds have us on a wire. I expect us to get indicted soon.’”
Duggan said Tuesday that he disclosed the tower’s identity with the Detroit Police Department, Raimi and the city law department to prevent them from doing business with the tower.
The mayor said he was not informed by Spivey or federal investigators that the source’s identity was being protected.
“Andre Spivey never said a word about a confidential source,” Duggan said. “Nothing like that. I walked out of that conversation believing that I had just been told that I have a city councilman who has taken a bribe from a dishonest tower. Now, if anybody has suggested there was a confidential source involved, I wouldn’t have said a word.”
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<h3><a href="https://www.detroitpbs.org/category/one-detroit/">View Past Episodes &gt;</a></h3>
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BridgeDetroit | Duggan: I Outed Name of FBI Informant, But Didn’t Know It Was Confidential

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The April 4<a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/bridgedetroit-grand-rapids-police-release-video-on-deadly-shooting-of-patrick-lyoya/"> fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya</a>, a 26-year-old African Immigrant, by an unnamed white Grand Rapids police officer once again reignited calls for police reform and justice last week as another Black person was killed during an interaction with law enforcement. While marches and rallies fill the streets of Grand Rapids, Lyoya&#8217;s parents are demanding justice and the name of the officer responsible for taking their son&#8217;s life.
<figure id="attachment_23181" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23181" style="width: 531px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-23181" src="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Patrick-Lyoya-Shooting-Location-Bryce-Huffman.jpeg" alt="Shooting of Patrick Lyoya" width="531" height="400" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-23181" class="wp-caption-text">Flowers, letters and stuffed animals at the trunk of a tree on Nelson Avenue and Griggs Street in southeast Grand Rapids, where the shooting of Patrick Lyoya occurred. | Photo by Bryce Huffman, BridgeDetroit</figcaption></figure>
As Michigan State Police continues its independent investigation, One Detroit&#8217;s<a href="https://twitter.com/YeaitsmewillG"> Will Glover</a> catches up with<a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/"> BridgeDetroit</a> reporter<a href="https://twitter.com/BryceHuffman313"> Bryce Huffman</a>, who&#8217;s been on the ground in Grand Rapids reporting on the city&#8217;s reaction to the incident, for an update on where the case stands. Huffman, who previously covered the Grand Rapids Police Department, shares his thoughts on the tragic shooting of Patrick Lyoya and the previous racial issues the police department has dealt with.
<h2>Full Transcript:</h2>
Will Glover: Bring us up to speed on what has happened with the police shooting and where we are today.
Bryce Huffman, Reporter, BridgeDetroit: Yeah. So on April 4th, which was about two weeks ago, yesterday in the morning, Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant in Grand Rapids, was driving his car in the southeast side of the city in the Boston Square neighborhood. He was stopped by a police officer.
Bryce Huffman: He gets out of the car to talk to the officer. That&#8217;s something that is pretty normal in several African countries. He didn&#8217;t think anything of it. The cop obviously did. A struggle ensued. By the end of the struggle, the officer shot Patrick in the back of the head, killing him. According to the independent autopsy that they released today nearly instantly.
Will Glover: In the Congo, I believe is where he&#8217;s from, the Republic of Congo.
Bryce Huffman: Yeah.
Will Glover: Right. So there it&#8217;s normal to if you&#8217;re stopped by the police or approached by a police officer to walk up to them to see what they want, what the problem is. Correct. And is that kind of how this whole scenario got started, that misunderstanding?
Bryce Huffman: Yeah. So like we said, Patrick is from the Democratic Republic of Congo. And there, if you&#8217;re stopped by the police, it&#8217;s customary to get out of your car and talk to the police officer. You know, person to person outside of both cars and then figure out what to do next.
Bryce Huffman: Here obviously, that is not the case in America. Many of us grew up black, you know, had our parents tell us, you know, two hands on the steering wheel, make sure your license and registration are out. Don&#8217;t reach for anything. You know, those are conversations that we had growing up that Patrick and many other immigrants did not.
Speaker 3: [speaking foreign language] In a bid to be. Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 Translator:  I am PETA lawyer.
Speaker 3: By bike Patrick Ahluwalia.
Speaker 4 Translator: I am the father of Patrick Lyoya. I didn&#8217;t know. I didn&#8217;t believe that in this country.
Speaker 3: Come up because, you know, since.
Speaker 4 Translator: There is a jealousy, you just got.
Speaker 3: To go on a tour.
Speaker 4 Translator: I didn&#8217;t know.
Speaker 3: It&#8217;s quite a drama about why you cheat.
Speaker 4 Translator: I didn&#8217;t know that in America.
Speaker 3: When I was a poor Essex. You&#8217;re about to have more.
Speaker 4 Translator: It can be an execution-style to kill someone.
Speaker 3: Or not.
Speaker 4 Translator: To kill someone with a gun.
Speaker 3: They&#8217;re not. Why? We&#8217;re not a scary policeman, cowboy.
Speaker 4 Translator: And to be killed by the police officer.
Speaker 3: I am here.
Speaker 4 Translator: On my wish now.
Speaker 3: Can I draw and come up with people that I don&#8217;t know about? Napoli said.
Speaker 4 Translator: I knew that if you met with the police officer in America.
Speaker 3: What about me? Is simple myself.
Speaker 4 Translator: You will be safe. You&#8217;ll know your life is you spare.
Speaker 3: I like change. Opportunity, Lisa. So, Conor.
Speaker 4 Translator: What is making me cry? More to see my son.
Speaker 3: Wow. I can be a NASCAR policeman.
Speaker 4 Translator: He has been killed by a police officer.
Speaker 3: While of course, noble Sandra.
Speaker 4 Translator: What a small, small mistake for what.
Will Glover: What has been the reaction in Grand Rapids since this has come to light?
Bryce Huffman: Yeah, the reaction from a lot of people, activists, residents, even some city officials is just a terrible sadness, a terrible regret. This didn&#8217;t need to happen. People on the streets are, you know, marching and trying to hold the police department accountable. People kind of at the city government level are wishing they had maybe taken some of these concerns about their police department even more seriously over the past five years.
Bryce Huffman: And then on the police side, they&#8217;re not really talking to media other than their public information officer or their chief. Everyone else is kind of just trying to keep their heads down and let people peacefully protest. And that&#8217;s what we&#8217;ve been seeing so far back in the summer of 2020, after the George Floyd protests.
Bryce Huffman: Grand Rapids was one of the cities that did see some property destruction and some violence occur at their protest. But so far, following Lyoya&#8217;s unfortunate death, his family has asked everyone to be peaceful because that&#8217;s kind of the person that Patrick was. He wasn&#8217;t a violent guy.
Will Glover: What has been the relationship or I guess the status of the Grand Rapids Police Department over the years? Because it seems like there have been instances that people that created concern in black and brown residents. And it seems like this is kind of the result of those grievances being, you know, falling on deaf ears.
Bryce Huffman: Yeah. So I think I want to clarify two things. I&#8217;m only going to go back five years because that is really my introduction to the Grand Rapids Police. You know, that&#8217;s when I moved there and started covering them. And the second thing I want to make clear is these complaints actually haven&#8217;t fallen on deaf ears.
Bryce Huffman: The police department itself, after there was an incident in March of 2017 where they pulled over five unarmed young black boys and held them at gunpoint after they were coming out of a community center. And that was really the first story I ever really knew about the Grand Rapids Police. So when I got there, I knew this was in the backdrop. This was in everyone&#8217;s mind. There was also a traffic stop study that was done or I think it was released the next month that showed black drivers are twice as likely to get pulled over in Grand Rapids as white drivers.
Bryce Huffman: So when I got there, there was already this momentum that had built up of people saying, hey, Grand Rapids police, we need to change how we operate, or the worse could come. And unfortunately, Patrick&#8217;s death is kind of emblematic of the fact that even though the department had been going to some lengths to change, those changes simply weren&#8217;t enough.
Will Glover: So what happens next? We know that there&#8217;s been an autopsy done. They haven&#8217;t released the name of the officer who was involved in this. Where do we go from here?
Bryce Huffman: So next steps are Michigan State Police are still doing their investigation. I would expect that people are probably still going to be in the streets protesting and demanding accountability, still demanding the name of the officer who probably won&#8217;t be named until after Michigan State Police conclude their investigation.
Bryce Huffman: And after that, either from the county level or the state level, I would expect to see charges filed against the officer, but there&#8217;s not quite a timetable on when those charges would be announced yet because Michigan State Police are still doing their investigation.
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<h2>Stay Connected: </h2>
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Catch the daily conversations on our <a href="http://onedetroitpbs.org">website</a>,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/onedetroit/"> Facebook</a>,<a href="https://twitter.com/DPTVOneDetroit"> Twitter</a> @DPTVOneDetroit, and<a href="https://www.instagram.com/one.detroit/?hl=en"> Instagram</a> @One.Detroit
<h2><a href="https://www.detroitpbs.org/category/one-detroit/">View Past Episodes &gt;</a></h2>
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Family, community call for action in Patrick Lyoya case as Michigan State Police investigation continues

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The Detroit Police Department and Crime Stoppers of Michigan have a new weapon to help them close investigations and solve crimes. The two organization&#8217;s new TV show and web program, Detroit Rewards TV, plans to get Detroit residents involved by rewarding them up to $1,000 for anonymously reporting tips that help solve a criminal investigation. The goal, the Detroit Police Department says, is to encourage citizens to speak up if they have information about a crime. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-21489" src="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ONE-DETROIT-608-Detroit-Rewards-TV-Still-3.jpg" alt="Screen capture from Detroit Reward TV website" width="320" height="180" />RELATED: <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/will-a-new-television-show-help-reduce-crime-in-detroit/">BridgeDetroit | Will a New Television Show Help Reduce Crime in Detroit?</a>
One Detroit&#8217;s Will Glover sits down with BridgeDetroit reporter Bryce Huffman to talk about the possible positives and consequential problems that could come from the new Detroit Rewards TV program.
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<h2>Full Transcript:</h2>
Will Glover: We have ShotSpotter, we&#8217;ve talked about facial recognition. We&#8217;ve talked about Project Greenlight, and now we have Detroit Rewards TV.
Bryce Huffman, Reporter, BridgeDetroit: Yeah. So to give the brief summary, Detroit Rewards TV is, the name is a little bit misleading because it&#8217;s not just a TV show, but it&#8217;s a website and a TV program that gives information on ongoing, you know, Detroit police investigations. And it gives people the chance to earn money by providing tips to the police.
Bryce Huffman: And they do that by actually providing the tips to Crime Stoppers of Michigan. They&#8217;re a nonprofit that&#8217;s been working with the police department for nearly 30 years on getting people to provide information on cases.
Will Glover: What was the deciding factor or what pushed DPD to allocate resources financial resources to this Detroit rewards TV program?q
Bryce Huffman: I think DPD realized a while ago that they&#8217;re best at solving crimes when they have the support and the help of the community, and Crimestoppers of Michigan has been helping them get information on cases for a long time now so that part of it isn&#8217;t necessarily new. But I think the department, they wanted to reach people where they&#8217;re at, and they figured if we give them a TV program that they can tune in to regularly and see information about the cases that we&#8217;re looking for info on or if they can go to our website and just see, okay, these are the kinds of cases that we&#8217;re trying to solve right now. Do you know anything about them?
Bryce Huffman: It gives the community kind of a chance to weigh in on and provide input on cases that are actually happening in their community. And I think that&#8217;s one of the things DPD really been trying to focus on in the past couple of years is making residents understand that, you know, the fight against violent crime is something that it&#8217;s not just the police. It&#8217;s not just the criminals. It&#8217;s everyone in between.
Will Glover: Is there any evidence that programs like these actually help solve crimes? Does it help reduce crime rates? What is the outcome of stuff like this, or do we know yet?
Bryce Huffman: We don&#8217;t know yet. And I think that&#8217;s like the short, easy answer. We do know that the department did look at some examples from other cities to see, all right, how do these rewards programs typically work? Detroit kind of did their own thing, you know, with having a TV program and a website, they kind of decided we&#8217;re going to do it a little bit differently than we&#8217;ve seen it done before. Just so, you know, it kind of has our own unique spin on it.
Bryce Huffman: So we don&#8217;t know exactly how it will work here. But the chief and other people in the department are really happy with the idea that people in the community who have been fed up with crime rates and with shootings and carjackings in their area can now, you know, directly help the police solve those issues.
Will Glover: Is it a concern that majority of the people who are on the website are African-American young men? And the photos aren&#8217;t always the clearest because they&#8217;re usually security camera photos? Have they expressed any concern about misidentification or over-policing or any of the ancillary things that go along with posting people&#8217;s faces, potential criminals&#8217; faces along with, you know, a dollar amount for what&#8217;s essentially a, you know, almost a bounty?
Bryce Huffman: Yeah, the department hasn&#8217;t expressed any concern about that. That&#8217;s something that me as a reporter who&#8217;s been critical of the department has a little bit of concern about because there is the financial incentive to report things now. But again, it&#8217;s one of those. It&#8217;s too soon to tell things. You know, I could personally see some bad things happening with it.
Bryce Huffman: I could see some misidentification being a possibility, just like with facial recognition. But I think the department has policies in place that at the very least if someone is misidentified, it wouldn&#8217;t necessarily lead directly to a wrongful arrest.
Will Glover: Do you think that this is a worthwhile endeavor, or do you think that maybe the efforts should be put more toward the image of police to get more people to want to cooperate? Is there a better way or a better thing that they could be focusing on right now?
Bryce Huffman: This maneuver, this initiative kind of signals to me that they do want to work with the community and they do want residents to, you know, feel comfortable reporting things that they know are happening that are wrong. And I don&#8217;t have any problems with that part of it. I think the thing to be careful of is to not just spread traumatic black stories for the sake of spreading traumatic stories.
Bryce Huffman: And, you know, luckily for me, I do get the sense that they&#8217;re spreading these stories because they&#8217;re trying to get help solving these crimes and bring closure to families. It doesn&#8217;t necessarily come off as though they&#8217;re sensationalizing black trauma just for the sake of doing it.
Will Glover: What are some of the things that you will be keeping an eye on as we learn more about the program as it develops?
Bryce Huffman: So you kind of hit on it earlier. I&#8217;ll be looking out for things like wrongful arrests. I&#8217;ll be looking out for some of the, you know, like you said, there&#8217;s a dollar amount next to these pictures. You know, does that wrongfully incentivize people to report things that might not actually be violent crimes or might not be that serious type of crime just for the reward money?
Bryce Huffman: As with any system where money is involved, you know, people might try to corrupt it. So I&#8217;ll be looking out for those kinds of things as like on a watchdog level. But for the time being, you know, everyone in the department seems really excited about it. Crimestoppers seems really excited about it. So we&#8217;ll just keep an eye out and see if it goes well or it doesn&#8217;t go well.
&nbsp;
Subscribe to One Detroit’s<a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/OneDetroit/videos"> YouTube Channel</a> &amp; Don’t miss One Detroit Mondays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. on Detroit Public TV, WTVS-Channel 56.
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Detroit Police Department, Crime Stoppers Teams Up to Solve Crimes with Detroit Rewards TV

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<h2 class="xmsonormal">This Week on One Detroit, Arts &amp; Culture</h2>
<h4 class="xmsonormal"><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/fiddler-on-the-roof-concert-sneak-peek-one-detroit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UMS, University of Michigan, Philadelphia Orchestra Premiere &#8216;Fiddler on the Roof&#8217; in Concert</a></h4>
The unique music of John Williams&#8217; orchestrations from the 1971 film &#8220;Fiddler on the Roof&#8221; is finally coming to the theater stage for a first-ever live performance. The special <a href="https://ums.org/performance/fiddler-on-the-roof-in-concert/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concert performance</a> will come to life on the University of Michigan&#8217;s <a href="https://smtd.umich.edu/about/facilities/hill-auditorium/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hill Auditorium</a> stage on Feb. 19 and 20 thanks to a collaborative partnership with the <a href="https://ums.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University Musical Society</a>, <a href="https://www.philorch.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Philadelphia Orchestra</a>, and the University of Michigan&#8217;s <a href="https://smtd.umich.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">School of Music, Theatre &amp; Dance</a>.
Before taking the stage, One Detroit&#8217;s Arts &amp; Culture team sat down with key members from the upcoming performance to find out what audiences can expect and hear how the message of &#8220;Fiddler on the Roof,&#8221; continues to apply today.
<h4 class="xmsonormal"><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/the-legacy-of-dr-charles-h-wright-and-his-museum/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Legacy of Dr. Charles H. Wright and His Museum</a></h4>
Dr. Charles H. Wright wore many hats. He was a noted physician, an activist and a visionary who founded Detroit&#8217;s first international African American museum in 1965, which after several expansions is known as the state-of-the-art Charles H. Wright Museum for African-American History.
For Black History Month, take a look inside the life and legacy of the late <a title="https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/wright-charles-h" contenteditable="false" href="https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/wright-charles-h" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Charles H. Wright</a>, the founder of the <a title="https://www.thewright.org/" contenteditable="false" href="https://www.thewright.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History</a>. BridgeDetroit Engagement Director <a title="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/orlando-bailey/" contenteditable="false" href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/orlando-bailey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Orlando Bailey</a> meets with the Wright Museum’s Director of Design and Fabrication Kevin Davidson to talk about Dr. Wright’s influence on African Americans living in Detroit, as well as the vision for creating and expanding the museum facility, which was once the largest African American history museum in the world.
<h4 class="xmsonormal"><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/velvet-peanut-butter-rise-and-fall-one-detroit-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Creation and History of Detroit&#8217;s Velvet Peanut Butter Brand</a></h4>
It&#8217;s fresh, pure and delicious, and it&#8217;s a brand some Detroiters might recognize. From <a href="https://dptv.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Public Television</a>&#8216;s documentary &#8220;<a href="https://www.dptv.org/programs/detroit-remember-when-made-motor-city/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Remember When: Made in the Motor City</a>,&#8221; host Erik Smith takes viewers on a nostalgic journey back to the creation of the Velvet Peanut Butter company in  Detroit in 1937.
Smith talks to Linda Klein, the daughter of <a href="http://velvetpeanutbutter.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Velvet Peanut Butter</a> Founder Paul Zuckerman, who was referred to as the &#8220;peanut butter king;&#8221; Tom Klein, a former Velvet Peanut Butter executive; and Eric Bruce, who has recently re-established the company, stocking store shelves with the Detroit brand today, about the brand&#8217;s rise and fall, and rise again, to popularity.
<h4 class="xmsonormal"><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/aaron-lewys-performs-stop-wasting-my-time-for-detroit-performs-live-from-marygrove/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Singer Aaron Lewys Performs &#8220;Stop Wasting My Time&#8221; for Detroit Performs: Live From Marygrove </a></h4>
Closing out the show, singer/songwriter <a href="https://www.facebook.com/aaronlewys/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aaron Lewys</a> performs his song &#8220;Stop Wasting My Time,&#8221; a song about staying away from those who might distract you from your aspirations and dreams, for <a href="https://www.detroitperforms.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit Performs: Live From Marygrove</a>. Lewys, who brings a unique twist of soul and storytelling to his music, hopes he takes audiences on a journey of self-awareness and growth with each performance.
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<h2>Watch Now:</h2>
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_video_slider controls_color=&#8221;light&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.5&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_video_slider_item admin_title=&#8221;Double-click to add Full Episode&#8221; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptTOBmJAQsU&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.5&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; show_image_overlay=&#8221;off&#8221;][/et_pb_video_slider_item][et_pb_video_slider_item admin_title=&#8221;Double-click to add Segment 1&#8243; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XD8ipWvJxc&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.5&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; show_image_overlay=&#8221;off&#8221;][/et_pb_video_slider_item][et_pb_video_slider_item admin_title=&#8221;Double-click to add Segment 2&#8243; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPZ71RtC4Uc&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.5&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; show_image_overlay=&#8221;off&#8221;][/et_pb_video_slider_item][et_pb_video_slider_item admin_title=&#8221;Double-click to add Segment 3&#8243; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-PHqRPAxlU&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.5&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; show_image_overlay=&#8221;off&#8221;][/et_pb_video_slider_item][et_pb_video_slider_item admin_title=&#8221;Double-click to add Segment 4&#8243; src=&#8221;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1PX1AvNDtc&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.5&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; show_image_overlay=&#8221;off&#8221;][/et_pb_video_slider_item][/et_pb_video_slider][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.5&#8243; z_index_tablet=&#8221;500&#8243; text_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; text_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; text_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; link_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; link_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; link_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ul_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ul_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ol_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ol_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; quote_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; quote_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_3_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_3_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_3_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_4_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_4_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_4_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_5_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_5_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_5_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_6_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_6_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_6_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; box_shadow_vertical_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; box_shadow_blur_tablet=&#8221;40px&#8221; box_shadow_spread_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]
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Catch the daily conversations on our <a href="http://onedetroitpbs.org">website</a>,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/onedetroit/"> Facebook</a>,<a href="https://twitter.com/DPTVOneDetroit"> Twitter</a> @DPTVOneDetroit, and<a href="https://www.instagram.com/one.detroit/?hl=en"> Instagram</a> @One.Detroit
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2/14/2022: One Detroit – Fiddler on the Roof, Charles H. Wright, Velvet Peanut Butter & Aaron Lewys

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While 35% of Michigan&#8217;s children five years and under qualify for childcare subsidies, only 5% of families are tapping into the state&#8217;s financial resources. At the same time, nearly 44% of Michigan families live in<a href="https://childcaredeserts.org/"> childcare deserts</a> — geographic hot spots where there&#8217;s a lack of licensed childcare providers.
RELATED: <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/35-of-michigan-kids-under-5-qualify-for-child-care-subsidies-only-5-use-them/">35% of Michigan Kids Under 5 Qualify For Child Care Subsidies. Only 5% Use Them.</a>
One Detroit&#8217;s<a href="https://twitter.com/YeaitsmewillG"> Will Glover</a> sat down with BridgeDetroit reporter<a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/nushrat-rahman/"> Nushrat Rahman</a>, who authored the article that sparked this story, to talk about the state of childcare in Michigan. They explore the state&#8217;s high costs, how to identify childcare deserts and how fewer options for providers have impacted the cost to families. 
<h2>Full Transcript:</h2>
Will Glover:  Nationwide high costs, accessibility and lack of personnel are why many say the childcare industry is in crisis. To get a better look at the state of Michigan childcare, I talked to BridgeDetroit reporter Nushrat Rahman about her article, &#8220;35% percent of Michigan kids under 5 qualify for childcare subsidies, but only 5% use them.&#8221;
Nushrat Rahman, Reporter, BridgeDetroit: Yeah, it&#8217;s a pretty staggering statistic, and this analysis was done by the Michigan League for Public Policy and Kids Count in Michigan.
Will Glover: The MLPP analyzes the impact of state and federal budgets and policies on residents with low incomes. Including Michigan 683,798 children under the age of five, as of 2019.
Nushrat Rahman: That&#8217;s a lot of kids, right? And so, when we look at it, what we find is that roughly one-third of children in Michigan under 5 qualify for these childcare subsidies, right? But only 5 percent actually received those credits. What this really looks like, is just this wide gap between the availability of assistance and families who are able to tap into it. That&#8217;s just talking about childcare. But if we look at food assistance, nearly 50% of young children in Michigan were eligible for food assistance benefits. However, only a quarter were enrolled to get that support. And if we look at cash assistance, right, so these are families who need cash assistance, 2% received the cash assistance, despite 11% of kids under five qualifying for it.
Will Glover: There&#8217;s also something that you mentioned in your article, which is the childcare deserts. So, just explain really quick what a childcare desert is and how prevalent that is here in Michigan.
Nushrat Rahman: What the researchers from the Michigan League for Public Policy and Kids Count of Michigan found is that, you know, an estimated 44 percent of Michiganders live in what&#8217;s called childcare deserts. So, these are places with a lack of childcare providers. And if we break it down a little bit more, you know, these are places where just the ratio of like kids to childcare providers just isn&#8217;t like one to one, right?
You know, I talked to one of the folks over at the Michigan policy and kids count, and they mentioned that that&#8217;s one of the reasons that could be behind just like, you know, parents not being able to use these subsidies, is the fact that childcare providers, it&#8217;s just like difficult to kind of get a childcare provider because there isn&#8217;t that many. And I think the pandemic just really illustrated the upheaval that the childcare industry went through like there was already a shortage of early childhood educators.
Now the industry is facing issues with recruitment and retention because a lot of the workers, you know, make it low pay. So, you know, there&#8217;s been like federal injection of ways to help the industry, but there are multiple factors that are kind of at play here.
Will Glover: Early childhood education is foundational to a child&#8217;s social development, academic success and economic mobility. It&#8217;s also a key investment in the future success of our state.
Will Glover: So that said, what type of action is the state taking to try and close these gaps to try and make these things available? What is the state doing?
Nushrat Rahman: So, last year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, she unveiled a 1.4 billion dollars plan to expand affordable childcare with federal dollars. And so, what that has looked like so far is, you know, licensed childcare workers can now get a $1,000 bonus, right? So, there is some movement there. Since then, you know, the state has raised the income eligibility for childcare subsidies, so these credits to 185.
Basically, what that translates to is a family of 4 making more than $49,000, basically, what that means is that more families are eligible for this childcare subsidy through 2023. And then, you know, there&#8217;s a little bit of a change afterward, but what researchers say is that that needs to continue. It&#8217;s a good thing that more families are eligible, but we need to kind of continue making strides in order to continue helping the youngest Michiganders.
Will Glover:  Most recently, Gov. Whitmer has called for expanding Michigan&#8217;s Great Start Readiness program, that provides free preschool to eligible 4-year old’s, to 456 million dollars.
Will Glover: Where do you feel we are headed when it comes to childcare in Michigan? Are we headed in the right direction? And are we going to get to a place anytime soon where these gaps are, at the very least, a little less?
Nushrat Rahman: You know, I&#8217;m not like a policymaker, anything like that, but I think reports like this kind of highlight the gap, and I think the important thing is to really listen to what&#8217;s happening on the ground. So, listening to these childcare providers, these local businesses who are doing this work. I think one of the important things to know, is that a lot of the times childcare responsibilities fall on women like working moms, and so listening to work moms and working parents, moms and dads, to see what they need in order to kind of help them out.
&nbsp;
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Michigan’s High Childcare Costs Continue As Financial Assistance Remains Untapped

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[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.22&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;3.25&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.47&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.5&#8243; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; z_index_tablet=&#8221;500&#8243; text_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; text_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; text_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; link_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; link_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; link_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ul_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ul_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ol_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ol_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; quote_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; quote_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_3_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_3_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_3_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_4_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_4_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_4_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_5_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_5_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_5_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_6_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_6_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_6_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; box_shadow_vertical_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; box_shadow_blur_tablet=&#8221;40px&#8221; box_shadow_spread_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]
<h2>This Week on One Detroit:</h2>
<h4><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/jonathan-harris-viral-painting-sparks-conversations-about-critical-race-theory/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Artist Jonathan Harris&#8217; Viral Painting Sparks Conversations About Critical Race Theory </a></h4>
When<a href="https://jonathanraymondharris.com/"> Jonathan Harris</a> first previewed his painting &#8220;Critical Race Theory&#8221; at his<a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/irwin-house-gallery-triptych-stronger-together-exhibit-jonathan-harris/"> TRIPTYCH: Stronger Together</a> exhibit at the<a href="http://irwinhousegallery.org/"> Irwin House Gallery</a> this past November, it sat on a wall just outside the gallery&#8217;s main room, but despite its less-than-prominent placement, it sold easily. It was the first step toward a virality that swept over Harris&#8217; painting and sparked a national conversation about critical race theory and the ways social and political issues are taught in America&#8217;s classrooms.
RELATED:<a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/irwin-house-gallery-triptych-stronger-together-exhibit-jonathan-harris/"> Irwin House Gallery Features Detroit Artists in TRIPTYCH Exhibit </a>
&#8220;Critical Race Theory,&#8221; which depicts the white-washing of Black history, began its viral journey when<a href="https://other98.com/"> The Other 98%</a>, a nonprofit focused on social justice, shared Harris&#8217; painting with their nearly 6.5 million followers. Then, the Oklahoma City chapter of<a href="https://www.facebook.com/blacklivesmatterokc/"> Black Lives Matter</a> shared the image, garnering thousands more shares and spreading the painting across the globe. One Detroit&#8217;s Bill Kubota met up with Harris in Detroit on signing day, where he signed and<a href="https://jonathanharrisart.bigcartel.com/product/critical-race-theory-online-limited-edition-print"> sold out of 250 prints</a> of the painting, to discuss his painting&#8217;s swift rise to global acclaim and share what he thinks about critical race theory in the classroom.
<h4><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/future-of-work-dei-progress-in-the-workplace/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Future of Work | Have Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Progressed in the Workplace?</a></h4>
<a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/">One Detroit</a> contributor and American Black Journal host Stephen Henderson checks in with marketing consultant Mark S. Lee, president of <a href="https://leegroupinnovation.com/">The Lee Group, MI LLC</a>, on where diversity, equity and inclusion are in the workplace. They explore the progress that’s been made and what’s still lacking nearly two years after the topic re-emerged into the mainstream, after <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/6-21-20-american-black-journal-roundtable-on-george-floyd-protests-police-brutality-systemic-racism/">George Floyd’s death</a>.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT_5oXpc1zE">Watch the extended interview on American Black Journal</a>
<h4><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/michigans-high-childcare-costs-continue-as-financial-assistance-remains-untapped/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michigan&#8217;s High Childcare Costs Continue As Financial Assistance Remains Untapped</a></h4>
While 35% of Michigan&#8217;s children five years and under qualify for child care subsidies, only 5% of families are tapping into the state&#8217;s financial resources. At the same time, nearly 44% of Michigan families live in<a href="https://childcaredeserts.org/"> childcare deserts</a> — geographic hot spots where there&#8217;s a lack of licensed child care providers 
RELATED: <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/35-of-michigan-kids-under-5-qualify-for-child-care-subsidies-only-5-use-them/">35% of Michigan Kids Under 5 Qualify For Child Care Subsidies. Only 5% Use Them.</a>
One Detroit&#8217;s<a href="https://twitter.com/YeaitsmewillG"> Will Glover</a> sat down with BridgeDetroit reporter<a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/nushrat-rahman/"> Nushrat Rahman</a>, who authored the article that sparked this story, to talk about the state of childcare in Michigan. They explore the state&#8217;s high childcare costs, how to identify childcare deserts and how fewer options for childcare providers have impacted the cost to families. 
<h4><a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/bill-bonds-detroits-most-opinionated-newsman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Remembering Bill Bonds: Detroit&#8217;s Most Opinionated Newsman </a></h4>
Chances are if you grew up watching Detroit&#8217;s news during the 1970s, 80s and on, you know Detroit television news anchor and reporter<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOglaNZ408s"> Bill Bonds</a>. A Detroit-native since birth, the WXYZ Action News anchorman would have turned 90 years old this month. Bonds passed away in his Bloomfield Hills home in 2014.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOglaNZ408s">Bill Bonds Remembers, Reminisces on History of Detroit Television News</a>
Bonds became widely known for his &#8220;Up Front&#8221; news segment where he would confront national sources with tough questions. He was the newsman marked in controversy — some people hated him; some people loved him. One Detroit&#8217;s<a href="https://twitter.com/BKubota56"> Bill Kubota</a> and<a href="https://www.dptv.org/"> Detroit Public Television</a> Senior Vice President and host<a href="https://twitter.com/TvFred"> Fred Nahhat</a> give a nod to the late reporter who wasn&#8217;t afraid to be opinionated. The duo remember Bonds&#8217; legacy and discuss what he might have said about the state of Detroit and our nation today. 
&nbsp;
<h2>Watch Now:</h2>
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2/10/22: One Detroit – Critical Race Theory, Michigan Childcare, Workplace DEI, Bill Bonds

Bridge-Detroit-Eviction-Notice

[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.22&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;3.25&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.47&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.14.5&#8243; z_index_tablet=&#8221;500&#8243; text_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; text_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; text_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; link_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; link_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; link_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ul_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ul_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ol_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; ol_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; quote_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; quote_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_2_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_3_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_3_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_3_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_4_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_4_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_4_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_5_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_5_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_5_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; header_6_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_6_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; header_6_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=&#8221;1px&#8221; box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; box_shadow_vertical_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; box_shadow_blur_tablet=&#8221;40px&#8221; box_shadow_spread_tablet=&#8221;0px&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]
By <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/nushrat-rahman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nushrat Rahman</a>, Bridge Detroit 
In the 10 months since <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/03/12/michigan-rent-aid-eviction-aid-federal-money-to-avoid-eviction/6925853002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statewide rent aid program</a> launched to help tenants avoid eviction and catch up on payments, thousands of applications have poured in, demonstrating the vast and continuing need for rent assistance <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/health/2022/01/04/michigan-omicron-covid-disruptions-mask-mandates-quarantine-controversy/9080598002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on</a>.
Wayne County alone accounts for roughly one-third of the more than 173,000 applications that have come in, as of Friday, to the federally funded COVID Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) program, which launched<a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/03/12/michigan-rent-aid-eviction-aid-federal-money-to-avoid-eviction/6925853002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> last March</a>. Detroiters make up 22% of those applying for rent help across Michigan.
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“The need has not decreased. We continue to see a high level of requests for support,” said Mia Harnos, chief operating officer for the Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, one of the organizations responsible for handling applications in the county.
Rent remains one of the top pandemic-related reasons people call the United Way’s 211 service, right above vaccine information, according to a statewide dashboard. More than 100,000 Michiganders between Dec. 1 and Dec. 13 said they were behind on rent or mortgage payments where eviction or foreclosure is likely, the <a href="https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/hhp/#/?s_state=00026&amp;measures=EVICTFOR&amp;periodSelector=40&amp;areaSelector=st" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey</a> reports.
“Families are struggling to meet their rent obligations,” said Jim Schaafsma, a housing attorney with the Michigan Poverty Law Program. The CERA program — expected to stay open through the winter — has been “a lifeline and a way for them to maintain housing stability.”
<h2>‘Numbers speak for themselves’</h2>
Across the state, 80,454 out of 173,034 — or 46% — of applications for <a href="https://www.michigan.gov/mshda/0,4641,7-141-5555-533463--,00.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rental and utility assistance </a>were approved as of Friday, <a href="https://ceraapp.michigan.gov/p/eviction-dashboard-uYKq6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according </a>to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), the organization responsible for allocating the federal rental assistance dollars through local nonprofit agencies.
Of the total applications, 9,600 were duplicates, <a href="https://ceraapp.michigan.gov/p/eviction-dashboard-uYKq6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to a MSHDA dashboard</a> Friday, and so were denied, along with 17,109 other applications that <a href="https://ceraapp.michigan.gov/p/eviction-dashboard-uYKq6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were denied</a>. Of those denials, some were homeowners applying to the program, rather than renters. Others denied included those not behind on rent or utilities or were above the income requirements, said Kelly Rose, MSHDA chief housing solutions officer.
About $474 million in assistance had been spent so far, as of Friday. That’s out of roughly $700 million in <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/emergency-rental-assistance-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal pandemic relief funds</a>, said Rose. The average family is getting $5,897. More than 130,000 people have received the assistance.
Meanwhile, about 53,000 applications are still “under review” across the state, meaning a caseworker is looking into it or has not gotten to it yet. More than 27,000 applications in Wayne County are in this stage.
As of Friday, Wayne County falls behind neighboring counties with the number of applications it had approved: 17,812 out of 56,815 applications, or 31%. Macomb County had approved about 40.8% of its applications. Meanwhile, Oakland County had earmarked payments to just over half of its applicants. Both counties have a fraction of the total applications Wayne County is handling.
Statewide wait time is, on average, 35 to 40 days between when a person applies and gets approved. In Wayne County, it can take anywhere from three to 10 weeks for applications to process, according to Wayne Metro. The agency is still “triaging” by prioritizing eviction cases and tenants at risk of utility shut-offs and those move quickly, said Michael Centi, department director of integration.
“There are some applications in Wayne County that are taking much longer than what we would prefer to get processed,” Rose said.
MSHDA has hired staff to address the backlog and high volume of applications pouring into Wayne County, and other areas, and the organization is trying to bring on another agency to help, Rose said. Wayne Metro started out with 80 staff members working on rental assistance. Now the organization is up to more than 200 and they are continuing to hire more people. Wayne Metro says it has doubled the rate of approvals in the past three months, compared with the initial six months of the program.
“The numbers … speak for themselves. The demand for this program really is just incredible,” said Centi.
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BridgeDetroit | 173K Applied for Rent Aid in Michigan. About Half Got Help So Far

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Secrecy has swept through the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission after a majority of its members voted to keep notes from a closed meeting secret from the public. The Commission already faces pending litigation from various media organizations for not releasing the meeting documents, and could potentially face other litigation over the new redistricting maps as the clock ticks toward a deadline. At the end of December, the commission is expected to adopt new legislative and congressional districts for the state. 
One Detroit Associate Producer Will Glover gets to the bottom of the situation with Bridge Michigan reporter Sergio Martínez-Beltrán to hear about what’s happened so far and what to expect from the commission next.
RELATED: <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/bridgedetroit-lawmakers-news-outlets-blast-ongoing-secrecy-of-michigan-redistricting-panel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lawmakers, News Outlets Blast Ongoing Secrecy of Michigan Redistricting Panel </a>
<h2>Full Transcript:</h2>
Will Glover: Just give us a quick overview of what the redistricting process is and how important it is to the state of Michigan.
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, Reporter, Bridge Magazine: Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau releases the population counts of states. And so the states use those numbers to do apportionment so to create new political boundaries. And that means that those are the districts where you live and they decide, who are you going to vote for in terms of state Senate, State House also, who could be your congressional member. Right. Depending on where you live.
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: And you know, when you give power to people who might benefit from it, this tends to be problematic, right? And we&#8217;ve we saw that the Legislature drew lines in private, in secret, behind closed doors. And it also drew districts that were deemed some of the most gerrymandered in the country.
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: In 2018, the Michigan voters overwhelmingly supported a constitutional amendment that drastically changed how we drew districts in the state. So that constitutional amendment created the Michigan Independent Citizen&#8217;s Redistricting Commission. That&#8217;s a group made up of 13 everyday people, four Republicans, four Democrats and five independents who have never joined districts before.
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: They have never had to work with maps in the past, but they were they volunteered themselves. They were elected or selected, I should say, and they are the ones showing the lines this year.
Will Glover: I know that there is a 45-day window where the public gets to make comments. They&#8217;ve released some of their drafts for the masses. Is that where we are?
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: That&#8217;s right, yes. So for the last few months, the redistricting commission has been working on proposed maps. And so a few weeks ago, they put forward 15 proposed maps for people to see and provide feedback on them. We are in that 45 day public comment period. We&#8217;re in the middle of it.
Will Glover: Lately, we&#8217;ve seen that there have been a few media outlets that have filed suit against the Commission for keeping certain memorandum secrets. Can you just tell us a little bit about what&#8217;s going on there?
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: Yeah. So I think the biggest issue that the commission is facing is how it has handled minority-majority districts in the state. In the past, Michigan has had 17 state legislative minority-majority districts, most of them in the area of Detroit, but also some in Flint. The way the redistricting commission has drawn the districts this time around truly reduces significantly the number of minority-majority districts to a handful, right?
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: And so black leaders, black voters in southeast Michigan, in Flint, Michigan, as well. They have come out and said that the way the commission drew these districts will further disenfranchise them. We&#8217;re talking now in terms of lawsuits, right? And this is when where the press comes in. The commission has been significantly more transparent, done the previous process right at the Legislature.
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: But just because they have been more transparent doesn&#8217;t mean we&#8217;re not going to hold them accountable. And what we know is that on October 27th in East Lansing, the commission met behind closed doors. They shut out the public, they shut out the press and they discussed two private memos two memos, one of them that had to do with the Voting Rights Act, which is the federal law that allows for the creation of minority-majority districts, and also another memo that was about the history of discrimination in the state and its impact on voting.
Speaker 1: We have since had a letter signed by all of our council setting forth reasons that we should not release the memo, which is really a historical document or the tape of the conversation. There was quite a bit historical comment in the paper that showed how Michigan had dealt with historically discriminatory voting in the past from the Civil War forward.
Speaker 2: If the commission decides to waive attorney-client privilege, our ability to give you counsel in incoming litigation will be hampered. And that is an understatement.
Will Glover: So I guess the question lies in whether or not it&#8217;s more important for the lawyers that the committee has on retainer to be able to give them the correct candidate information vs. abiding by what the whole purpose of the commission is, which is to be transparent in everything, all of the materials that it uses to draw these lines, correct?
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: Yes, that&#8217;s that&#8217;s a big question. And I think that, you know, when the commission was discussing these memos behind closed doors, the reality is that there was no pending litigation against the commission at that moment. So this idea of discussing legal strategy when there&#8217;s no pending litigation against the commission has raised some concerns, and some attorneys have said that that&#8217;s weird. And that&#8217;s not what usually happens, right?
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: We also know that the commission spokesman, but also the commissioners, keep saying that they are the most transparent body in the state. But then when you push them on this, on this particular issue very quickly, they quickly get a little bit upset because they say that they have the right to keep these documents private or secret because they follow their attorney-client privilege.
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: And so this is why it matters. It is because voters in Michigan 61% of the voters in Michigan in 2018 voted to create a commission and a process that was A, more fair in terms of partizanship, but also more transparent. And I think the commission, right, has faced all these questions all this time.
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: But I think it&#8217;s important because at the end of the day, we&#8217;re talking about people of color and they&#8217;re feeling that the way the commission has treated districts are further disenfranchising them, especially black voters in Detroit. And what we&#8217;re talking about here is that the commission keeps saying, we&#8217;re not, we&#8217;re not hurting you, but they&#8217;re using some documents that we don&#8217;t know.
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán: And maybe if they make those documents public, we would know what was the rationale for them to reducing the minority-majority districts and the reason for the way they treated the political boundaries.
&nbsp;
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Watch One Detroit every Monday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET on Detroit Public TV on Detroit Public TV, WTVS-Channel 56.
&nbsp;

Redistricting Commission Facing Lawsuits Over Secret Meeting Notes, Possibly Maps

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By Sergio Martinez-Beltrán 
LANSING — Michigan’s redistricting panel voted Thursday to keep secret two memos that helped members justify the reduction of majority-minority legislative districts.
Members of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission kept the records secret over numerous objections, including those from residents in Flint who are upset they are losing a Black-majority district in proposed legislative maps.
“Can we find out what you all talked about behind the scenes?” Arthur Woodson, a Flint resident, told the commission, which was approved by voters in 2018.
“That’s what we want to know.”
Over objections from editors of Bridge Michigan, The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the panel voted 7-5 to continue to hide the documents.
RELATED: <a href="https://wordpress.detroitpbs.org/bridgedetroit-lawmakers-news-outlets-blast-ongoing-secrecy-of-michigan-redistricting-panel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lawmakers, News Outlets Blast Ongoing Secrecy of Michigan Redistricting Panel</a>
Four attorneys who work for the commission, which was created by voters in a constitutional amendment in 2018, argued that releasing the memos would put the panel in danger due to expected litigation.
The documents — “Voting Rights Act” and “The History of Discrimination in the State of Michigan and its Influence on Voting” — are believed to be mostly historical in nature and not involve legal strategy.
For an hour of debate, though, lawyers claimed that making them public would set a bad precedent.
“If you are going into litigation and reveal memorada, such as the (Voting Rights Act) memorada that forms the basis of your decision … You are giving the other side your playbook,” said litigation counsel Katherine McKnight.
The commissioners who voted to keep the memos secret are Democrats Juanita Curry, M. C. Rothhorn, Brittni Kellom, and Dustin Witjes; Republican Cynthia Orton; and independents Richard Weiss and Janice Vallette.
Witjes, who weeks ago floated the idea of releasing the memos, told reporters he changed his mind after hearing from attorneys.
The memos were discussed during an Oct. 27 closed-door meeting that also has raised alarms. As the commission was meeting Thursday, the state Senate voted unanimously to clarify that the state Open Meetings Act’s provisions allowing for closed sessions don’t apply to the commission.
The bill, which has yet to go to the state House, bars the commission from “meet(ing) in closed session for any purpose.”
Even so, redistricting commissioners voted 8-4 on Thursday not to release recordings of the closed meeting on Oct. 27 that discussed the memos.
Commissioner Steve Lett, an independent who voted to release the documents, acknowledged the commission drew districts with the information presented to them in the memos.
“Every time we have a meeting, we are reminded that 61 percent of the voters want an open and transparent process — and we shut that off,” said Lett, who referred to the percent of voters who favored creating the panel.
<h2>‘The clock keeps ticking’</h2>
The commission was created to replace a system that allowed parties controlling the Legislature to draft legislative districts for the state House, Senate and Michigan’s congressional delegation largely in secret.
The districts are redrawn every decade, and the process has led to some of the most Republican gerrymandered maps in the nation.
The panel is in the middle of a 45-day public comment period created to receive feedback on 15 maps put out for public consideration before a final vote is expected later this month.
Visit <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/michigan-redistricting-panel-opts-for-secrecy-wont-release-voting-memos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BridgeDetroit</a> for the full story. 
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BridgeDetroit | Michigan Redistricting Panel Opts for Secrecy, Won’t Release Voting Memos

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By <a href="https://www.bridgemi.com/about/ethan-bakuli-chalkbeat-detroit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ethan Bakuli </a>and <a href="https://www.bridgemi.com/about/koby-levin-chalkbeat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Koby Levin</a>, in partnership with <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chalkbeat Detroit </a>
Detroit superintendent Nikolai Vitti spent much of the last year preaching the importance of in-person learning for students’ emotional well-being.
But getting students back in the classroom was only the first step in what is proving to be a long, uphill battle to help students recover from the emotional and academic effects of the pandemic.
Detroit Public Schools Community District is going remote for three days in December and closed schools for an <a href="https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2021/11/19/22792548/detroit-school-closed-thanksgiving-week-covid-deep-cleaning-dpscd-michigan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extra two days</a> before Thanksgiving.
The closures help show that students and educators are under duress as COVID outbreaks and staff shortages pile on top of nearly two years of virtual learning, quarantines, masking battles and COVID fears.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-superintendent-considers-shorter-quarantine-for-asymptomatic-students/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Detroit superintendent considers shorter quarantine for asymptomatic students</a>
Those disruptions, compounded by growing staff shortages, mean “this year is harder for kids and educators than last year,” said Kevin Polston, superintendent of Kentwood Public Schools, who led a council appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to develop Michigan’s educational comeback. “We knew it would be a multiyear process of recovery.”
School closures this fall make clear that efforts to rebuild relationships with students and reestablish academic routines will be a long-term project for Michigan schools. Outside of Detroit, districts such as Southfield, Eastpointe, and Ann Arbor have gone remote for days at a time in response to staffing shortages and outbreaks. The Grand Rapids district cancelled classes on two Fridays in December, calling them COVID wellness days.
<a href="https://www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/covid-school-outbreaks-skyrocket-more-michigan-schools-close?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=cb_bureau_detroit&amp;utm_source=Chalkbeat&amp;utm_campaign=c1f78264a3-Detroit+Detroit+teacher+challenges+districts+denia&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_9091015053-c1f78264a3-1296351138" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dozens of districts</a> across Michigan canceled school through the Thanksgiving week in response to spiking outbreaks, including in Grand Haven, Muskegon, and Ypsilanti.
Although Vitti said he strongly favors in-person instruction, he argued that Detroit’s three remote learning days in December are necessary given the mental health challenges teachers and students face.
“The online Fridays will give students a break from mask wearing, the stress of COVID, the anxiety of returning to school with peers and adults they have not seen or known in two years,” Vitti said. “It’s not a long term solution but it provides a much needed break from all of the newness and challenges of returning to school.”
Districts have faced blowback for temporary closures from critics who argue that districts received a record infusion of federal COVID aid to help them give students extra time in classrooms after disruptions last year.
Access the full story to learn more by visiting B<a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroits-december-remote-days-a-sign-of-how-long-and-challenging-the-pandemic-recovery-will-be/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ridgeDetroit</a>.

BridgeDetroit | Detroit’s December Remote Days A Sign of How Long and Challenging the Pandemic Recovery Will Be

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By <a class="url fn n" title="More from Bryce Huffman" href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/author/bryce-huffman/" rel="author">Bryce Huffman</a>
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office is “almost done” reviewing forensic evidence from rape in sexual assaults — also known as “rape kits” — according to a report the Detroit Police Department’s Special Victims Unit delivered to the <a href="http://video.detroitmi.gov/CablecastPublicSite/show/10781?channel=3">Board of Police Commissioners (BOPC)</a> last month.
The Prosecutor’s Office reviewed 11,137 of <a href="https://www.michiganradio.org/post/after-ten-years-detroit-rape-kit-backlog-cleared-still-long-way-go">11,341 untested rape kits that were backlogged between 1984 and 2009</a>. The untested kits became a huge scandal for Detroit when they were discovered in a police department warehouse in 2009.
According to <a href="https://app.luminpdf.com/viewer/61323cf87ff18900196a4620">a monthly report from the Prosecutor’s Office</a>, 4,029 investigations have been closed and 224 convictions have been made as a result of the backlogged kits being tested. Many of the cases involved rapists who attacked more than one woman, hence the disparity in convictions and investigations, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said.
<div id="attachment_118161" class="wp-caption module image alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-118161" src="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/MainImageKymWorthy.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" srcset="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/MainImageKymWorthy.jpg 225w, https://www.bridgedetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/MainImageKymWorthy.jpg 140w, https://www.bridgedetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/MainImageKymWorthy.jpg 60w, https://www.bridgedetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/MainImageKymWorthy.jpg 96w" alt="Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy" width="225" height="225" /></div>
Worthy said testing the kits helps lower the number of sexual assaults in Detroit by getting serial rapists off the streets.
“The DNA from these sexual assault kits and evidence that’s entered into the database can help solve murders, it can help solve robberies, so it’s going to help a lot of different clients besides just sexual assault survivors,” Worthy said.
Worthy said processing evidence also helps police departments across the country.
“Rapists don’t stop at Eight Mile Road, so we found that rapists that were found in 2009 in Detroit have connections to crime scenes in 40 states all together, including Michigan,” she said.
Worthy has been instrumental in getting the unopened rape kits tested since they were discovered in 2009. Worthy leads the <a href="https://www.waynecounty.com/elected/prosecutor/detroit-rape-kit-project.aspx">Detroit Sexual Assault Kit Project</a>, which submits the kits to a forensic laboratory. Two years ago, Worthy helped secure $1 million in federal funds to help get the backlogged kits reviewed.
Detroit police are currently investigating 199 cases from 2009 as a result of testing the uncovered rape kits. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, another 155 cases are awaiting investigation.
Worthy said she hopes this can give sexual assault survivors a renewed sense of confidence in the cirminal justice system.
“We know through research that, unfortunately, oftentimes victims of these types of crimes don’t want to re-engage with a police department that further violated them by ignoring their (rape kits) and ignoring the evidence of their crime,” she said.
John Serda, a DPD captain in the Special Victims Unit, spoke about the rape kit project during the Aug. 19 BOPC meeting. Serda said a lot of sexual assault survivors simply don’t want to talk to police.
“One of the ways we try to help them is we get them in touch with our social workers immediately so that they’re dealing with somebody that’s non law enforcement and has a background in this type of work,” Serda said.
The untested rape kits scandal brought to light <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/nancy-kaffer/2015/06/20/rape-kits/29013941/">cultural issues that existed within the Detroit Police Department</a>, specifically around not believing victims who reported assaults. Serda said it can be hard to get people to trust the police.
For the rest of the story, go to <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/hundreds-convicted-after-detroit-processes-thousands-of-backlogged-rape-kits/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BridgeDetroit&#8217;s website.</a>
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BridgeDetroit: Hundreds convicted after Detroit processes thousands of backlogged rape kits

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By Olivia Lewis
Black people are leaving the Blackest city in America, according to the latest census data. But why would Black residents leave an area en masse where history, culture and opportunity collide?
“The reality of the situation is that living in Detroit is not easy,” said Michael Gray. “Oftentimes, all of the things that Detroit has that are special and unique, other people take, and they buck, and they try to put it somewhere else.”
Gray, a 32-year-old documentary filmmaker, said he worries where Detroit’s longtime Black population fits into the new vision of Detroit.
“On a Saturday, beautiful and sunny day, it’s packed out on Jefferson, bumper to bumper, and you see all the bikes come across and the ATVs, the (cars), and the noise and the lights, and to some people, that situation is, ‘I want to get away from that,’ but you have to realize, that’s the culture,” he said.
Initial 2020 census data show a decline in Detroit’s population over the past 10 years, with a 9 percent uptick in white residents and an almost 16 percent decrease in Black residents. Many Detroiters, and Mayor Mike Duggan, refute the new data, citing an abnormal count during a global pandemic. The low count will mean the loss of a congressional seat and could cost millions in federal funding. Others see the new information as proof of the negative effects of displacement and gentrification and the need for intentional investment in Black neighborhoods.
The growing visibility of white people and some of their vocal complaints about Black culture in Detroit is startling and a turn-off to some Detroiters.
“When I used to go to Belle Isle as a kid, I would never see many white people there,” said Ja’Nye Hampton, 22. “Now, you drive through the neighborhoods and they complain so much that streets are being closed and blocked off — they’re so entitled.”
Hampton is the founder and owner of Detroit Flower Co., a floral shop on Detroit’s west side. The Cass Technical High School graduate grew up at Joy Road and Schaefer, and owns a business at 6 Mile and Greenfield.
For the whole story, check out <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/why-we-live-in-detroit-and-why-we-wont-leave/">BridgeDetroit&#8217;s website.</a>
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BridgeDetroit | Why We Live In Detroit, and Why We Won’t Leave

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From the use of facial recognition technology and Project Green Light cameras to the <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/arrests-privacy-concerns-mark-first-month-of-shotspotters-use-in-detroit/">ShotSpotter gunfire-detection sensors</a>, technology has expanded policing in Detroit. 
Though debate over the use of <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/what-we-know-so-far-about-detroits-controversial-use-of-facial-recognition/">facial recognition</a> has been widely reported, investigators also turn to social media to help solve crimes, according to <a href="https://detroitmi.gov/sites/detroitmi.localhost/files/events/2021-07/210712%20BOPC%20Facial%20Rec%20Report.pdf">Detroit Police Department reports</a>.
Almost half of the department’s facial recognition leads come from social media, according to a Data Driven Detroit analysis, raising new concerns for Detroiters. 
“It’s now obvious that social media, starting from last April, has become an important lead source for facial recognition technology and for the department,” said Rosie Liu, a research analyst with <a href="https://datadrivendetroit.org/">Data Driven Detroit</a>.
Liu collected and analyzed Detroit police facial recognition data from April 1, 2020, through March, 14, 2021. 
Eric Williams, the managing attorney for the economic equity practice at the Detroit Justice Center, said police can use social media and other surveillance techniques with little legal backlash because the law hasn’t caught up to the technology. 
“The police do have carte blanche to look at whoever they want, and we don’t really have anything in place to prevent that,” Williams said. 
Williams said he has a problem with law enforcement using social media because “we are all potential suspects” and the practice lends itself to the overcriminalization of Black and Brown people. 
“Certain categories of people suddenly become suspects all the time,” Williams said. “Whether it’s because of race, gender or where they live, it’s very problematic.”
Williams said citizens need to understand what they post can be used against them. 
For the full story, <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/how-detroit-police-use-your-social-media-to-monitor-crime/">check out BridgeDetroit&#8217;s website.</a>
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BridgeDetroit | How Detroit Police Use Your Social Media to Monitor Crime

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By Erin Einhorn, NBC News, and Olivia Lewis, BridgeDetroit
When they started building the <a href="https://www.michiganbusiness.org/press-releases/2021/02/five-detroit-civil-rights-sites-listed-in-the-national-register-of-historic-places/">wall</a> behind Margaret Watson’s house in northwest Detroit, she knew the reason without having to ask.
As a child in the late 1930s, Watson had seen the new streets laid down like a tic-tac-toe board in the open fields where her father once planted a garden the size of a city block.
She’d roller-skated down those newly paved lanes at speeds that would have been impossible on the dirt roads that ran in front of her house.
She knew the new streets had to be for white families — not Black ones like hers — so she wasn’t particularly surprised when, in the spring of 1941, a 6-foot-high, 4-inch-thick, half-mile-long concrete fortification <a href="https://detroitmi.gov/sites/detroitmi.localhost/files/events/2019-08/MI_Wayne%20County_Birwood%20Wall_0.pdf">suddenly appeared</a> in her backyard.
If white people were moving in, she reasoned, they’d need a way to keep her out.
“I don’t remember feeling any way about it except it was the same old, same old,” said Watson, now 93, who still lives in that house and recalled being excluded from certain restaurants and stores growing up.
“I mean, I lived in Detroit all my life,” Watson said. “Detroit has been segregated all my life.”
The wall in Watson’s backyard was built by white real estate developers who struggled to secure financing for their white neighborhood until they cut it off from a Black one. It is one of a number of segregation walls built in the mid-20th century for this purpose and one of a few still standing.
The divider — called the “Birwood wall,” the “Eight Mile wall” or the “wailing wall” — can’t be blamed for inventing segregation. But the barrier, and the policies that led to its existence, would have far-reaching repercussions for the people, both Black and white, who lived in its shadow.
For the whole story, check out <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/built-to-keep-black-from-white-the-story-behind-detroits-wailing-wall/">BridgeDetroit&#8217;s website.</a>
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BridgeDetroit | Built to keep Black from white: The story behind Detroit’s Wailing Wall

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Photo by Stephen McGee
By Louis Aguilar
Thousands of Detroit residents, businesses, churches, nonprofits, libraries and others  will likely need months to recover from the disastrous flooding caused by record rainfall two weeks ago and aging water infrastructure.
It was the second time a so-called 100-year rain event occurred in the past decade. The last time was August 2014. Heavy rains in metro Detroit have caused massive flooding in homes, streets and freeways at least four times since 2016.
The unprecedented amounts of rain are overwhelming an aging public infrastructure.
“We clearly can’t go on like this,” said William Shuster, chair of Wayne State University’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. “The infrastructure was built for a different time and place, and that’s changed. We are not keeping up.”
To understand the challenges that the region faces, here are various studies, surveys and recent media interviews that provide facts and analysis.
For the rest of the story, <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/understanding-why-detroit-floods-and-why-it-keeps-happening/">visit BridgeDetroit&#8217;s website.</a>
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BridgeDetroit | Understanding Why Detroit Floods and Why It Keeps Happening

Screen-Shot-2021-07-07-at-3.49.31-PM

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By Olivia Lewis and Orlando Bailey
Twenty-four hours after a water advisory had been placed on Detroit’s MorningSide, East English Village and Cornerstone Village neighborhoods, the City lifted the advisory, saying residents should have clean drinking water once they flushed their taps from the top of the house.
But residents on the east side continue to report flowing brown, murky water, even after following the City’s instructions to flush the taps. Though the City says it continues to investigate, a new advisory has yet to appear, and some residents say they don’t feel comfortable drinking from their taps.
Detroit’s sewage system was “overwhelmed,” according to City officials, when 6 inches of rain dumped on the city last weekend. Detroiters are cleaning up flooded basements and cars, tossing out bulk items and scrubbing walls and floors since the downpour. However, a spokesperson from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department said the mass flooding and brown water from pipes on Detroit’s east side are not believed to be connected.
When asked about the ongoing murky water reports, DWSD told BridgeDetroit that it will have a team investigate the issue.
“The advisory was based on a cluster of brown water reports that no longer existed based on our efforts the last two days,” DWSD said in an email to BridgeDetroit on Thursday evening.
Should issues persist after following these directions call 313-267-8000 for assistance
Other residents in the area took to the Nextdoor app after the advisory was lifted to show that they were still having issues.
“Followed flush instructions two separate times for over 10 minutes each. Still brown,”posted Sany Bilani.
Gary Brown, DWSD director, gave no update as to whether the Conner Creek water pump station, which was down for two hours over the weekend, has played a role in the murky water.
“Right now, we’re just focused on providing a service to our residents,” Brown said.
For the rest of the story, <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/brown-murky-water-continues-to-flow-on-detroits-east-side/">go to BridgeDetroit&#8217;s website.</a>
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BridgeDetroit | Brown, murky water continues to flow on Detroit’s east side

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Photo by Stephen McGee
By Olivia Lewis
When Cierra Mangal answered the phone at 2:45 a.m. Sunday morning, she had no idea how much rain had hit Detroit or that the water was still rising.
“The water had to be at least three-and-a-half to 4 feet high,” she told BridgeDetroit on Monday. “It was ridiculous.”
Mangal, a marketing professional in Detroit, was answering calls from her grandmother, who lives in a senior living apartment complex on Detroit’s eastside. Mangal said her grandma, who is in her 70s, was scared and wanted to escape her flooding first-floor apartment. The grandmother had called the site manager, the fire department and the police — but the lines were busy, and Mangal, her emergency contact, was the first to respond.
Detroit saw almost 6 inches of rain last weekend, inundating the city’s infrastructure and water sewage systems, forcing the governor to declare a state of emergency. Freeways, neighborhood streets, homes and businesses flooded. Cars were abandoned in swamp-like rivers along the freeway while parked vehicles drifted down city streets, carried by the stormwater filled with tree limbs and debris.
On Wednesday, piles of trash continued to line block after block of neighborhood streets, and some homes are still without air-conditioning, power, and hot or clean water. The City also reported a water advisory for Morningside, East English Village, and Cornerstone Village neighborhoods due to brown, rusty water in taps and toilets.
For the rest of the story, <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-flooding-residents-demand-solutions/">check out BridgeDetroit.</a>
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BridgeDetroit | Detroiters demand solutions after massive flooding

Screen-Shot-2021-06-24-at-11.05.59-AM

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From our partners at BridgeDetroit.
By Bryce Huffman and Louis Aguilar
By starting time, early Saturday evening, more than 100 had gathered on the Delray block where a makeshift boxing ring had been set up in the street.
The ring is tiny. A wrestling mat serves as the floor. One corner of the rope ring is tied to the black rim of a Chevy Silverado. Hennessy bottles are being passed around freely in the crowd.  The smell of blunts in the air is thick.
Organizer/ringmaster/boxer Dwayne Taylor wasted no time to get the boxing matches underway.
“No guns, we’re out here to show people the better way,” the 23-year-old tells the crowd. “And, again, anyone who wants to box today, just let me know, we’ll set you up.”
Welcome to the latest edition of Pick Your Poison Detroit, possibly the toughest anti-gun movement in the city. More than a dozen will fight in this latest event of weekly boxing matches.
Read the rest of the story on <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/the-toughest-anti-gun-movement-in-detroit/">BridgeDetroit.</a>
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BridgeDetroit | The toughest anti-gun movement in Detroit

middle-school

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In the fall of 2017, Detroit Public Schools Community District started the school year with about 300 teacher openings, forcing building principals to fill those classrooms with substitute teachers.
This year, only a small number of teaching positions for the fall remain open in the state’s largest school district with more than two months before classrooms reopen.
While schools across Michigan are facing a growing and potentially debilitating teacher shortage, Detroit has been able to pick and choose from more than 1,000 applicants for 140 positions so far this year.
How did Detroit do it?
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By opening up its checkbook.
The district boosted starting salaries <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2020/05/21/detroit-schools-community-district-starting-teacher-salary/5235425002/">by 33 percent</a>, from $38,000 in 2017 to more than $51,000 in the fall. It offered $3,000 in hazard pay to work during the pandemic, and is now offering $15,000 annual recurring bonuses for teachers in hard-to-fill areas such as special education.
State officials are scrambling to develop strategies to attract and retain educators in Michigan classrooms, ranging from high school programs to boost career interest in education, to building alternative, quick training programs to become teachers.
For the rest of the story, <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-schools-found-a-way-to-attract-teachers-pay-them-more/">check out Bridge Detroit.</a>
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Bridge Detroit | Detroit schools found a way to attract teachers: Pay them more

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