The Detroit Police Department is asking city council to increase its enforcement of the city’s youth curfew. Fines for the parents of kids out past 10 p.m. is $75 and could go up to $200.  

This is a response to an increase in violence among young people, including several shootings this month.

The issue of teen violence recently came up at Detroit’s Board of Police Commissioners Community meeting. It’s also started a conversation about how to better support young people in Detroit. 

Metro Producer Jack Filbrandt talked to Detroit Documenter Nadia Ziyad and Coordinator Lynelle Herndon about solutions that are being discussed at meetings and in the community. 

We also spoke with Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison last week about the changes to Detroit’s curfew fines. He said the fines are meant to encourage parent accountability and prevent those parents from greater problems down the road. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

More stories from The Metro

Soul food is one of the most identifiable American cuisines. 

The dishes were crafted from the scraps that were left behind for Black people at a time when slavery was the law of the land. With a little ingenuity and a lot of determination, those leftovers became a main attraction for Black families and the rest of the country eventually caught on.

This weekend, collard greens will be placed center stage as Detroiters gather in Chandler park to celebrate the soul food staple. The 3rd annual Collard Green Cook-Off will take place from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 23, bringing together food, culture and community.

Khary Frazier  is the founder of Detroit is Different, the organization hosting the event. He joined The Metro on Tuesday to share what’s in store this year and the importance of celebrating Black culture, community and culinary excellence in the city.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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The Trucks Off Our Streets coalition urged the Detroit City Council on Tuesday to enforce existing truck regulation laws while waiting for a route ordinance to pass. 

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Detroit was named one of the worst cities to live with asthma in 2024, and activists says a leading cause of that is the trucks driving through residential areas.   

Activist Simone Zagovac says a truck census in 2024 on Livernois counted 1,000 semi-trucks passing in one day on a road without any industry on it.   

“So every day, yesterday, today and tomorrow, 1,000 semi trucks are driving down those streets. In the last two years since we toured city administration staff, that means one million semi trucks have driven down Livernois,” she said.  

Zagovac told city council simple enforcement of existing laws against speeding, parking, and route restrictions of semi-trucks can greatly improve the health of residents.   

She advocated for the council to also consider zoning amendments to better separate industry and residential areas.  

Other headlines for Wednesday, July 23, 2025:

• A Detroit man is suing the city of Detroit and its police and fire departments for $100 million in damages over his wrongful conviction in 2013.
• Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey will be kicking off early voting with a block party celebration this weekend. The Block Party for Democracy will be held on Saturday, July 26, on Grand Boulevard between Second and Third streets to mark the opening of Detroit’s Early Vote Centers.  The party will feature DJs, local vendors, food trucks, and dog adoptions from the Michigan Humane Society.  Primary election day is Aug. 5.  
• Temperatures are expected to reach the mid to upper 90s on Thursday, July 24. Detroit is reopening their cooling centers. Residents can visit any Detroit recreation center or Detroit library during normal hours to beat the heat. The Northwest Activities, Patton, and Heilmann recreation centers will have extended hours from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.  

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

It’s no secret Detroit is at a turning point. Mayor Mike Duggan is on his way out. And soon, a new group of city leaders will enter the fray.

But will these leaders and their appointees truly represent the needs of everyday Detroiters?

That’s exactly what the Detroit City Appointments Project is working on. It’s trying to recruit and vet residents who want to serve under Detroit’s next mayor.

The project, led by longtime organizer Maurice Weeks, is focused on finding qualified people. It’s also about finding leaders committed to fairness, equity and accountability to Detroit’s neighborhoods.

Weeks joined The Metro on Monday to talk about the project, what’s at stake for Detroiters, and how roles in local government can be transformational for the city.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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Detroit voters will elect a new mayor this fall. Nine people are running to succeed Mike Duggan, who’s making an independent bid for governor next year. The top two finishers in next month’s primary election will advance to the general election in November.

WDET is having one-on-one conversations with voters about the issues they want the next mayor and city council to address. We call it the Citizen Vox Project.

WDET’s Bre’Anna Tinsley spoke with Eugene Brown II, a resident of Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood on the city’s west side, about why he says honesty and action matters in the city’s next leader.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Eugene Brown II: Because we’re not too big on the words anymore. We need to see action, movement, growth, development, and these are all things that are taking place now in the city of Detroit and have been taking place for the past 15 years. So, we have always been at work setting up things, having successful things happen by by way of the water department. Even initiating the things that have happened with the Gordie Howe Bridge. You see what I’m saying? So, we’ve been hard at work, really, in the streets.

Bre’Anna Tinsley, WDET News: Who do you think right now is the best person for the job? Do you have someone in mind?

EB II: Well, you know, when I look at Mary Sheffield — I usually don’t, I usually don’t endorse people. But when I look at the Sheffield brand, it’s pretty solid.

BT: What is it specifically about her brand that speaks out to you?

EB II: Well I would you say from past to present. And then you could probably say to yourself, if you know certain people that have that name, then you probably can say that for yourself. You can put it together however you want to put together. I don’t name drop, but you could just look at that and just put it together and see. And then if she lying, she’d be called out, just like anybody else is.

BT: Is there anything specifically in your neighborhood that you would like to see the mayor possibly work on?

EB II: Well, our neighborhood is pretty solid. We’re pretty much a group of family. The only really thing that we really focus on here is protection, peace, happiness, love, no violence, no killings, no stabbings, no robbings; none of that stuff out here. We don’t need any of that. I came from the ’80s. I already lived through all that — ’90s drug era, crack epidemic, Devil’s Night. You see, then ‘YN’ crazy culture, like whatever we’re dealing with right now. But the Detroit Police Department is doing a very fine job, as well as the adjacent, you know, task force that have been set up for the 25 years [sic].We all know this Wayne State progression. It’s a beautiful thing to see people coming together in the city to handle life differently after things were so ripped off, like the water department. We received about a what, 25% pay cut in 2008 to actually help with this process. We actually helped with this process because we were robbed of our money. Well, not robbed. I’ll say… our money was put in trust.

We are investors in the Gordie Howe project, because we had to take the blow of this for the citizens of Detroit to drink water to live, and to flush their boo boo down the pipes so they don’t die. So, you know, we’ve really been hard at work, city of Detroit Water Department, so as far as I’m concerned, since we worked the waters, a portion of these assets that they’re wanting to collect, we should probably be repaid. So, I’d like to see that happen, because all those brothers, they live in this community, too.

Chinatown in Detroit was the destination for many Chinese immigrants who traveled to the city. Urban renewal and the construction of the Lodge freeway was then built through the neighborhood and Chinatown residents moved from Jefferson Avenue to the Cass Corridor. That’s where it existed up until Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine – a staple eatery in Chinatown for decades  — shuttered in 2000.

Now, new investments are being made into the area to revitalize what was once a cultural staple in the city. And to celebrate and continue those efforts, Michigan Humanities is hosting a fundraising event on Friday, July 18. And later this month, the Detroit Chinatown Vision Committee is hosting its first annual Block party.

Detroiter Curtis Chin is the co-founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York City and the author of “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese restaurant” — an appropriate title given his family owned the historic Chung’s restaurant in Detroit’s Chinatown neighborhood. He joined The Metro on Thursday to discuss the history of the neighborhood and it’s revitalization.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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Wilderness Inquiry is a Minnesota-based company that brings the program to schools around the country. The Canoemobile spent five days in the metro Detroit Area, with students from six different schools participating.

“It provides a space for people to feel included in the outdoors and provides the knowledge and the message that everyone belongs, deserves and should have a space in the outdoors — no matter your age, ability, background or identity.”

 

– Scout Trom, Wilderness Inquiry captain

In Detroit, the fallout from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s doubling down on aggressive tactics has shaken local communities.

Just last month, a Detroit teen less than four credits from graduation was deported after getting stopped by ICE for a traffic violation.

These are some of the tactics that led over 300 faith leaders and community members to march this week from Corktown to Detroit’s ICE field office. The goal of the demonstration — organized by the advocacy group Strangers No Longer — was to deliver a pastoral letter demanding humane enforcement.

Immigrant rights and environmental justice advocate Odalis Perales is working with Strangers No Longer to break down barriers between faith communities, in schools, and among police about the challenges and tension of this moment.

She joined The Metro on Thursday to talk about her progress and respond to ICE’s refusal to engage with the group’s pastoral letter and demands. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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The African World Festival is an annual event hosted by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. It’s a three-day experience with vendors, music and other performances that represent all the beauty and talent in the African Diaspora. 

African culture is so rich and widely recognized here in the city of Detroit. The festival — taking place this Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 20 in Hart Plaza — has been around for 60 years. 

Zu Vernon, programming lead for the festival, joined The Metro on Wednesday to talk about what’s in store at this year’s event.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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WDET’s CuriosiD series answers your questions about everything Detroit. Subscribe to CuriosiD on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode of CuriosiD, we answer the question:

“Where in Detroit is the community known as Dogleg?”

The short answer

Dogleg refers to the southernmost part of the city of Detroit. It is referred to by residents as such because the outline of the area resembles the hind of a dog’s leg. But Dogleg is not its official name.

What is the official name?

That depends. Dogleg consists of two neighborhoods: Oakwood Heights and Boynton. This part of Detroit is the only section of the city that resides south of the Rouge River. The only connections to the rest of the city are bridges on Fort Street, Jefferson Avenue, and Interstate 75.

Some refer to it as the real Southwest Detroit. It’s also makes up the entirety of the zip code 48217, which has gained the moniker “the most polluted zip code in Michigan.”

Michigan’s most polluted zip code

Dogleg is surrounded by 42 major and minor polluting sources releasing toxic chemicals into the air day after day. One of the biggest offenders is the Marathon Oil Refinery.

The area also collects pollutants from industry in neighboring cities like Ecorse, River Rouge and South Dearborn, including the EES Coke Battery Plant and U.S. Steel plant on Zug Island, various scrap yard and metal crushing facilities, wastewater treatment plants, asphalt plants, power stations, and much more.

Clear the Air Michigan is a nonprofit organization focused on environmental justice in the area. They hosted the “Toxic Tour,” an expedition through Southwest Detroit, Ecorse and River Rouge of the various industries polluting the air within a three-mile radius of the area.

Theresa Landrum is a community activist and life-long resident of Dogleg.

She recalls growing up with foul odors in the air and thinking that was normal.

“I grew up with the norm of the air being dusty, and coughing or sneezing, because something has irritated me,” Landrum said.

Landrum now leads the Toxic Tours, informing people of the conditions in the area. She says the community had not met the National Air Quality Standards for more than 16 years. 

Quoting environmental lawyer Nick Leonard, she said: “‘If you have a kid that’s 14 years old, your child has never breathed clean air if you live in Detroit.’ So that’s [an] impactful statement.”

Landrum says quality of the air is so bad, that children are being born with health conditions such as asthma and residents of the area are developing rare diseases as a result of the pollution.

Samra’a Luqman is another activist with Clear the Air Michigan and a resident of South End Dearborn. She says 48217 has abnormal rates of cancer, asthma and kidney disease.

“There are people that I’ve known here in the south end who have died of nasal cancer. The number of people I know are five. I personally know that have died of nasal cancer. Nasal cancer is one of the rarest cancers in the world. There are only 2000 people that are diagnosed with it annually in the U.S.,” Luqman said.

Residents living in Dogleg continue to fight against new pollution sources and new industries in the area — from the potential sale and re-opening of a neighboring steel company to increased semi-truck traffic expected to come from the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge.

The Toxic Tours and other activism have led to one huge step forward for the residents – an air monitoring station behind the New Mount Hermon Baptist Church by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

But with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under attack by the Trump administration, the future of these monitoring stations is unclear.

About the listener

Keith Mason first moved to the Dogleg area as a child in the 1950s. He purchased and moved back into his family home after his mother died in 2020. Mason volunteers at WDET for the Detroit Radio Information Service (DRIS) is southeast Michigan’s Radio Reading/Audio Information Service for people with disabilities.

We want to hear from you! 

Have a question about southeast Michigan’s history or culture? Send it our way at wdet.org/curiosid, or fill out the form below. You ask, we answer.

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“Black Power” is widely known as a political slogan — a rallying cry to mobilize Black Americans to attain social, political and economic power and fuel a sense of self-determination. 

A lot of progress has been made since the Civil Rights Movement in the ’60s and ’70s, but Black Americans today still face major systemic obstacles. Black people are more likely to live in poverty and they have one-tenth the wealth of white Americans.

Those factors are important indicators. But could directing attention to the gains Black people have made and replicating those circumstances offer better outcomes than comparing overall wealth?

Andre Perry is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute and the author of the new book, “Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close it.” In the book, he suggests that a reframing of this problem might help us rethink how we assess its solutions.

Perry joined The Metro on Wednesday for a deep dive into the mentality behind this book.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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The city of Detroit is notifying people about a free sewer repair program for residents who experienced basement flooding in June 2021.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Private Sewer Repair Program (PSRP) reaches 97 neighborhoods across the city and is available to residents who were hardest hit by the severe flooding.

To apply, households must be a single-family residence, they must be located in one of the eligible neighborhoods, and must be at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). They also need to be able to demonstrate damage from 2021 flood.

Residents who previously received benefits are not eligible. To apply, email PSRP@detroitmi.gov, visit detroitmi.gov/psrp, or call 866-313-2520.

Other headlines for Wednesday, July 16, 2025:

• The InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit is hosting its 13th annual Urban-Suburban Interfaith Picnic from 1 to 5 p.m. this Sunday, July 20, at Palmer Park. The picnic will feature food from different religious traditions, a health fair, musical performances, games and more.
• The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced eight awardees who received $7.9 million in solar grants for clean energy projects though the MI Healthy Climate Challenge. In Wayne County, Hope Village Revitalization plans to retrofit homes in Detroit and Highland Park, and the North End Woodward Community Coalition will expand its Solar Neighbors initiative.
• Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County and the Elam Family are hosting a neighborhood revitalization event in Pontiac this week. Over 80 volunteers will work on cleaning up yards, and removing trash at 14 worksites during “Rock the Block,” taking place from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, July 17.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

The Detroit Documenters play a vital role in improving our access to information. That’s because they attend a range of public meetings and document what leaders and community members are saying.

Detroit is in the middle of local election season. The primary is coming up on Aug. 5, followed by the general election in November.

Several boards and public bodies in Detroit have open seats, and it will take separate processes to make these boards whole. Some seats will be selected by voters and others will be appointed by local leaders.  

There are currently vacant seats on Detroit’s Public Schools Community District Board, Board of Police Commissioners, Wayne County Commission and the Tenants Rights Commission.

Detroit Documenters Coordinators Lynelle Herndon and Noah Kincade joined The Metro to help break it all down.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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Tonight on The Detroit Evening Report, we cover a storytelling event at a Detroit birthing center, summer food preservation classes from MSU Extension and more.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Mothers invited to share birth stories

Birth Detroit is hosting a Birth Story Circle for All Generations from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, at the birthing center, located at 8575 Heritage Place, Detroit. The event will be therapist-led.

Dearborn to host inclusive summer pool party

The city of Dearborn is hosting a summer pool party for kids with special needs later this month. The free event will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 20, at Ford Woods Park, 5700 Greenfield Rd., Dearborn.

Dearborn launches Summer Connection programming

Dearborn’s Public Health Department and Emagine Health Services is teaming up to offer a free program for parents and children to connect and build social-emotional skills. Summer Connection events will take place at Hemlock Park from 6 to 7 p.m. on Mondays (beginning July 14), and Wednesdays (beginning July 16), until Aug. 13. 

MSU Extension offering food preservation classes through July

Michigan State University Extension is hosting a series of classes on summer food harvest preservation this month. Classes are taking place virtually every Thursday from 1-2 p.m. or 6-7 p.m. Topics include preserving summer fruits, pressure canning, pickling, balancing, and freezing produce. 

Hamtramck Night Bazaar

The city of Hamtramck is hosting a Night Bazaar from 4 to 9 p.m. this Saturday, July 12, featuring local craft and food vendors. The event is hosted by Discover Hamtramck, part of the Hamtramck Downtown Development Authority and the Community and Economic Development department, and takes place at at Pope Park, 10037 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck.

Hamtramck seeking youth council members

The city of Hamtramck is looking for youth between 13-18 years old to join its Hamtramck Youth Advisory Council. Applicants will attend monthly meetings and be on the board for a year. There are eight positions available. The deadline to apply is July 31. Submit an application to Hamtramck City Clerk Rana Faraj to apply by visiting hamtramckcity.gov.  

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Climate change is affecting the trees in metro Detroit.

The Eastern U.S. experienced an oppressive heat wave recently. There were also a handful of severe thunderstorms that inevitably brought down branches, limbs, or even whole trees across the region. 

In Detroit, fewer than 60% of households have air conditioning, according to American Forests. That makes shade a vital source of relief from the heat.

So how is Detroit’s tree canopy doing in the face of climate change? And if you want to plant your own tree, what species will be resilient for decades to come? To find out, Metro producer David Leins spoke with Lawrence Law, urban forester and partnership coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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Detroit’s homeless population is growing. A one-night count conducted last year by the city of Detroit and two local nonprofits showed a 16% increase in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park’s homeless population compared to the previous year.

The count — which includes both unsheltered individuals and those in emergency shelters, transitional housing or Safe Haven programs — came out to more than 1,700 people in 2024.

People who experience homelessness or just need assistance often have to go to different places to get care and resources. Knowing where to get help can be a challenge.

The “Detroit: Needs Management Map” aims to address that by highlighting and compiling various resources available to homeless individuals in the city. The map, created by Wayne State Master of Social Work student Cass Tretyak, includes everything from where to find food, shelter or a shower to free or low-cost medical care, employment resources, parenting support, free legal aid, and more.

Tretyak joined The Metro to talk more about the map and her work as outreach coordinator for Community & Home Supports, a local organization supporting homeless populations in Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park.

Check out the map below.

More stories from The Metro

Detroit officials announced the launch of a new teen violence prevention plan in response to recent shooting incidents involving children in the city.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

At a news conference on Monday, Mayor Mike Duggan said the city will enforce a 10 p.m. curfew as part of the plan, adding that over the past month, 12 of the 20 shootings involving minors happened late at night or in the early hours of the morning.

“Whatever trouble teenagers may get into in the afternoon and the evening as you start to get to 11, 12, 1 in the morning — whether they’re drinking, whether they’re using substances, whether they’re just beefing — the behavior gets worse and worse,” he said.

Duggan says he will ask the Detroit City Council to raise the fines for parents whose kids are caught outside after curfew without adult supervision. 

Duggan is also authorizing more overtime for the Detroit Police Department, so officers will stay out later to enforce the curfew against groups of teenagers. 

Watch Duggan and Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison’s announcement about the effort here.

Reporting by Russ McNamara, WDET News

Other headlines for Monday, July 7, 2025:

• The city of Dearborn has unveiled another ability inclusive playscape. This third installment can be found at Lapeer Park, joining Ford Woods and Crowley parks in providing activities for children with special mobility needs. Dearborn Parks & Recreation worked with disability groups and families to design the park.
• Michigan residents now have the option to take the written portion of the driver’s education course online. The “KnowTo Drive” test can be taken at Michigan Secretary of State branches and offices, and is available in different languages. Eligible Michigan residents over 18 must verify proof of identity and pay a $6.50 convenience fee. They will also have to use a webcam to prove their identity.
• Detroit Documenters is a program that trains and pays people to take notes at public meetings in Detroit. Documenters is hosting a network-wide Virtual Note-taking Practice Session from 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9. Participants must complete an orientation training before participating in the note-taking training. The Documenters are also hosting a photo documenting workshop in Tech Town on July 15.  

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Detroit faces a turning point this year. Long-time Mayor Mike Duggan is leaving the office to make an independent bid for governor.

What do Detroiters want to see from the city’s next mayor?

WDET is examining that question by launching the Citizen Vox Project. These are one-on-one conversations with Detroit residents about the issues that matter to them.

WDET’s Quinn Klinefelter spoke with 69-year-old Midtown Detroiter Andrew Crawford. He says he’s not sure yet which mayoral candidate he’ll vote for. But Crawford says he does have a question for whoever takes the top job in Detroit’s city government.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Andrew Crawford: We strive so hard to be a big city. But how can you be a big city when your transportation is very poor? You got two rail systems and none of them really go anywhere. The QLINE just runs up and down from West Grand Boulevard to downtown. Then you got the People Mover. All it does is go in a circle. So, it’s money wasted.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: What about the bus systems?

AC: I don’t understand why the suburban SMART and Detroit Department of Transportation lines can’t be merged. Why would you have two systems? It’s still wasted money. I ride them all the time, both bus systems. And I’m telling you, people are moving back to Detroit, the city is growing, and once you get the public transportation system going better, the population is gonna explode. People can move around and depend on it. There used to be a lot of rail systems here at one time, before people started buying so many cars.

QK: What other issues stick out to you?

AC: Definitely crime. I wish the community would get more involved in helping police that. I’m hoping to see more of that. I’m hoping whoever becomes mayor invests in the whole city. Downtown, it’s going to take care of itself. It’s already on its way. Now it’s time to reach further than the boulevard.

QK: What would you want to see past the boulevard? What do you want to see out in the neighborhoods?

AC: I would like to see more houses, more businesses, communities coming together. Like that food co-op past Euclid on Woodward Ave. It’s a Black-owned food co-op. I’d like to see more of that. And also see the city commit to helping more people that have homes to maintain those homes.

QK: This will be the first time in a dozen years that Mike Duggan will not be mayor of Detroit. What have you thought of the job he’s done so far?

AC: I think he did a great job. I think he’d make a good governor.

QK: Would you like to see whoever becomes the next mayor just continue with the same kind of stuff Duggan’s done? Or, other than transit or crime, is there another area you’d want to see them try to improve on or go beyond what’s being done already?

AC: Take where he left off and make it go even further. Like the north end, I see businesses and restaurants popping up all over there. But I would like to even see them go deeper into the east side and Gratiot Ave. This is where public transportation comes in, because if you got those kinds of systems running throughout the city, it’s going to bring people to those communities.

I don’t care what you do to the city or how much you improve, if your public transportation system is not together, it’s going to fall apart. And the people need to come out and vote, especially in the Black community, even in these local elections. Because if we don’t, what’s going on now is going to continue. You got to show that you care. And that you care about voting. If you don’t care, this is what happens, the turmoil we in now.

Detroit officials say they’ve filed the “largest blight lawsuit in its history” against a blockchain-based real estate platform after it failed to maintain hundreds of residential properties in the city.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Real Token, also known as RealT, is a Florida-based company that markets itself as a decentralized real estate security token platform. In the lawsuit, the city alleges that the company’s co-founders, brothers Remy Jacobson and Jean-Marc Jacobson — and their 165 affiliated companies — have neglected over 400 properties in Detroit by failing to maintain basic health and safety requirements, leading to widespread code violations and blight.

Detroit’s Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallet says the city wants them to pay $500,000 in blight tickets and ensure their properties pass compliance inspections.  

“We are also asking the judge to hold the Jacobson brothers personally liable for the circumstances that their tenants find themselves,” he said. “We are also asking the judge to take control of the entire process so that even the vacant properties are properly attended to [and] properly registered.”

Mallet says Real token used a complex web of shell companies to avoid responsibility for keeping up their properties.  

Real Token says it paid their parties to manage the properties and blamed them for the problems.  

“We are sending a message,” Mallet wrote in a statement, “no matter how innovative your business model may be, you cannot hide behind technology or corporate formalities to evade your responsibilities as a property owner.”

Other headlines for Thursday, July 3, 2025:

• More than 6,000 signatures have been collected by the group Dearborn Wants Wards to change the city council from an at-large body to district-based seats.
• The Michigan House has passed two bills that give police the ability to test for controlled substances during traffic stops.
• AAA says it expects almost 2.5 million people in Michigan to travel this Fourth of July weekend. State officials say they are suspending roadwork at more than 100 project sites over the holiday weekend to help ease traffic congestion.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.