Joseph John Zainea, a longtime Detroit restaurateur and community figure who helped build and sustain the Majestic Theatre Center and the city’s historic Garden Bowl, has died.
The post Joseph Zainea, longtime steward of Detroit’s Majestic Theatre and Garden Bowl, dies at 92 appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Too many Michigan families are one medical bill away from financial ruin. I hear it everywhere I go in Oakland County: seniors rationing prescriptions and parents delaying care because the deductible hasn’t been met. Many small business owners are watching their premiums climb year after year affecting sustainability and their ability to keep the staff […]
The post Opinion: Michigan deserves Medicare for All appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
A federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday raised serious concerns about whether displaced tenants of Detroit’s historic Leland House were ever given proper notice or a meaningful opportunity to participate in court proceedings that affect what happens to their homes and their belongings.
The post Judge raises concerns that Leland House tenants in Detroit were excluded from bankruptcy case appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Detroit has a lot of needs, including things like bus transit, policing and security, and trash pickup. Those things cost money — money that can be difficult to come up with in a city of relative poverty.
But with more people spending time in Detroit, and even moving to the city, it also has more opportunity to raise revenue.
The Citizens Research Council investigated whether a sales tax could benefit residents by generating $72 million a year. Madhu Anderson is the council’s senior research associate for local government affairs. She believes a sales tax isn’t a great idea, but offered other possible ways Detroit could raise revenue. Anderson spoke with The Metro‘s Sam Corey.
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The post The Metro: Why Detroit needs more money — and how it could be raised appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
After years of pandemic disruption, driver shortages, and declining public trust, Southeast Michigan’s transit agencies say they’re finally back on their feet.
There are new labor contracts. New buses on the way. On-demand service pilots. Even a regional transit app designed to knit a fragmented system together.
But recovery doesn’t always feel like progress… especially if you’re still waiting 40 minutes for a bus that’s supposed to come every 10.
At a recent State of Transit meeting hosted by Transportation Riders United, transit leaders struck a cautiously optimistic tone. They said the crisis is over. But questions remain about access, equity, and reliability.
Noah Kincade leads Detroit Documenters, a civic journalism program where trained residents attend public meetings and take detailed notes to help the rest of us stay informed. He joined The Metro’s Robyn Vincent to examine how transit officials are framing the system’s rebound and how those claims compare with riders’ experiences.
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The post The Metro: The bus is running. The question is how well appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
A Livingston County man assaulted during a nationally televised altercation with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf at Ford Field in December filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit Tuesday against the star and his team, along with prominent sports media figures and companies.
The post Lions fan sues DK Metcalf and Steelers for defamation and assault appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
This is the eighth installment in “Exploring Integrity: Reviewing Wrongful Conviction Remedies,” a series examining the impact of conviction integrity units on the American judicial system’s rate of wrongful conviction. Presented by the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism, the investigation is supported by Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following a critical hearing that spanned more than […]
The post After two-month hearing, Detroit judge weighs chance at freedom for Mario Willis appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Birth Detroit is Black-led, community-based midwifery practice and the first free-standing birth center in Detroit.
The organization’s co-founder, Elon Geffrard, says the practice is expanding the services it offers, with a continued emphasis on helping marginalized families.
“If you’re wanting to have an out-of-hospital birth experience in the hands of midwives, we also provide easy access care in the hands of midwives for prenatal care and individuals planning a hospital-based birth, we do GYN or well-woman services, and soon we’ll be offering well baby care,” she says.
Geffrard says Birth Detroit has served 500 families in the 6 years since its inception in 2020. She says the nonprofit also offers childbirth education classes, a fatherhood support group and postpartum classes.
Birth Detroit has been a freestanding birth center since October 2024. “Currently, we are at 12 babies who have been born at our birth center, and we are on call waiting for the next few,” she shares.
The nonprofit focuses on empowering Black, brown, and Indigenous families, often who face higher rates of maternal and infant mortality.
“In public health we know that if we tend to those most disparately impacted, those who have experienced higher rates of illness, higher rates of death, higher rates of marginalization as well. We level up the entire ship, if you will. Everybody gets to rise up,” she says.
Last year the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said maternal and infant mortality rates were on the decline in the state.
Geffrard says the nonprofit’s standard of care is to have healthy moms and babies.
“We attend and build with intention to support those who, again, are most pushed to the margins, but thusly, we get to provide and offer to everyone the highest quality of care, the highest standard of care,” she explains.
She says Birth Detroit works to provide integrated maternal health care to keep people safe, working with a network of health care professionals.
“Sometimes, people no longer should be in the care of a low-risk provider like a midwife. They do need a maternal-fetal medicine doctor or an OB GYN,” she says.
Geffrard says babies born in the center do not have low birth weight or premature birth.
Geffrard says Detroit families deserve the best care. The center provides culturally sensitive care to advance their goal of making high quality care accessible for marginalized communities.
The Michigan Black Birthworker Directory was created to have a central database of providers who serve Black and brown communities. It includes doulas, midwives, and lactation professionals, along with other service providers.
MDHHS says the state now has more than 1,000 registered doulas, nonmedical birthing assistants, providing support for moms and families to improve birth outcomes.
Geffrard says Birth Detroit worked to pass legislation, including the Momnibus 9 bill package to improve maternal health for communities of color, which passed in April 2025 in Michigan, but is pending in Congress.
“We want to build trees that we will not enjoy the shade of. Our children’s children’s children deserve safety. They deserve justice. They deserve love. They deserve trustworthy care. And that’s, I think, what we’re aiming to do every day,” says Geffrard.
The post Black-led birthing center provides alternative options for families appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Many have been actively engaging and organizing against federal immigration enforcement and the killings of Americans at the hands of immigration agents.
It’s been true in Minneapolis, where thousands have taken to the streets. And it’s spread from there to Detroit and many other places across the nation.
Scenes in America this past weekend harkened back to the civil rights era with people taking to the streets, students walking out of class, and businesses shutting down for a national day of protest against ICE and the Trump administration.
All these actions have us wondering: How effective have anti-ICE protests been so far? And when exactly is a protest successful?
Gloria J. Browne-Marshall is a professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She’s also the author of “A Protest History of the United States.” She joined Robyn Vincent to discuss.
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 post The Metro: Have protests against ICE been effective? appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Of all the architects in Detroit, one of the best known may be Albert Kahn. He designed some of the city’s most treasured buildings, including the Belle Isle Conservancy, the Fisher Building, and the Detroit Athletic Club.
Even still, a lot of people don’t know that much about Kahn. They don’t know how or why his work changed architecture in Detroit, or any of his design preferences.
Chris Meister is the author of the new book, “Albert Kahn’s Daylight: An Architect Reconsidered.” He spoke with The Metro’s Sam Corey about why much of Kahn’s work prioritized natural light.
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The post The Metro: The humility and light of Albert Kahn appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
A woman whose family became homeless after losing her home and most of her belongings in an apartment fire in Farmington Hills one day before Easter last year has filed a lawsuit against her landlord and property managers, alleging long-standing safety failures and retaliation.
The post Farmington Hills woman sues apartment owners after fire leaves her homeless, alleges years-long pattern of neglect appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
A non-verbal 6-year-old child with autism who was reported missing Sunday afternoon in Madison Heights was found later that night inside a nearby unlocked home, police said. The child had walked into the residence through an unlocked door while the homeowners were away, and when they returned late Sunday night, they found him taking a […]
The post Missing 6-year-old boy found safe in unlocked Madison Heights home appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
In this episode of CuriosiD, listener Leah Warshaw asks the question:
“How did The Old Miami get its name?”
The first Miami on Cass was the Miami Lounge, which opened in 1947. As the neighborhood took a turn for the worse in the 60s, the bar became the site of murder, prostitution, and other crimes that marred its reputation.
The bar switched owners several times but kept “Miami” in the name, for the most part. Shortly after The New Miami was burned down, veteran Danny Overstreet opened The Old Miami, with “Miami” standing for “missing in action Michigan”. Though it started as a place to serve veterans, it’s an inviting dive for everyone in the neighborhood today, with gems like a koi pond in its expansive backyard.
Danny’s wife, Julie, credits the use of “old” to Danny’s sense of humor. She runs the bar today.
Manager Dena Walker adds, “I mean what would you call it—the New New Miami?”
For more details on the history of The Old Miami and what to expect from today’s laid-back atmosphere, listen to the podcast above.
Have a question about Southeast Michigan’s history or culture? Send it our way at wdet.org/curious or fill out the form below. You ask, we answer.
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Your favorite place in Detroit just may have bones buried under it from the early days.
One listener wanted to know the origins of Detroit-style pizza.
A WDET listener wants to know about the man the street was named for.
The post CuriosiD: Why is it called The Old Miami? appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday stopped a fast-tracked auction of the historic Leland House in downtown Detroit, rejecting the building owner’s proposed sale and delivering a temporary win for displaced tenants who said the proposed sale would strip them of their rights without due process.
The post Judge halts rushed Leland House auction, intervening again in fight over Detroit’s historic building appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Artists in Detroit largely depend on support from charitable organizations and government funding. So, what does that support look like? And how can artists and city government come together to make art happen?
The Detroit Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship or ACE is the city’s department that oversees its investment in the arts. It supports the city’s creative workforce with education, mentorship and networking opportunities.
Lacey Holmes is the Project Manager for Detroit ACE . She joined the show to help us understand the city’s role in this conversation.
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The post The Metro: What is Detroit ACE and how does it support the arts? appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
USA TODAY Co., the nation’s largest newspaper publisher, has entered into an agreement to acquire The Detroit News from MediaNews Group, a transaction that would place Detroit’s two daily newspapers under the same corporate ownership following the end of a long-running shared business arrangement. USA TODAY Co., formerly known as Gannett Co., already owns the […]
The post USA TODAY Co. to acquire The Detroit News as ownership shifts appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
The killing of two American citizens in Minneapolis by federal immigration officers has forced the country to look more closely at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When applying that closer lens, that scrutiny moves beyond individual agents to the system itself. It’s one built through laws, budgets, and a long-standing decision to treat immigration as a criminal problem.
César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, a law professor at Ohio State University, studies the once less known aspects of the U.S. system: where immigration enforcement operates like criminal policing, and detention functions like punishment even when the government calls it “civil.”
His latest book is “Welcome the Wretched: In Defense of the ‘Criminal Alien.'”
García Hernández joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss what kind of immigration system is actually being built in the name of Americans, and how we got here.
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 post The Metro: The inner workings of ICE and the origins of immigration policing appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters on Wednesday announced she is pushing an ordinance that would prohibit local, state, and federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks or other facial coverings to conceal their identities while performing their duties in Detroit.
The post Detroit council member proposes ban on masked law enforcement officers appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Tenants at the historic Leland House in downtown Detroit are asking a federal bankruptcy judge to intervene as the troubled 20-story building heads toward a potential auction in early March.
The post Tenants rush to court as Leland House in Detroit faces potential March auction appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
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