Detroit mayor in 1960s: The city “has never been so financially healthy”

30Nov09

Considering the state that Detroit is in today, this video — prepared in a bid to bring the 1968 Summer Olympics to town — sounds absolutely surreal.

77FNMMMXXGUS


Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags:

“Grown in Detroit” takes prize at Austin Film Festival

28Oct09

more about ““Grown in Detroit”“, posted with vodpod

“Grown in Detroit,” a documentary about pregnant teens in the city who are taught life lessons through urban farming, was named Best Documentary Feature at the Austin Film Festival.

Here the best of the rest around the web about metro Detroit today:


Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , , , , ,

People are buying – and keeping – GM cars; company expects to see first sales gain in nearly two years

28Oct09

General Motors Co. is expected to report its first sale gains in nearly two years next week. And in another bit of positive news for the automaker, very few of the people who bought those cars have tried to return them to the dealership.

According to the Associated Press, only 53 people have asked to return GM cars through the company’s new 60-day money-back guarantee. GM has sold 142,000 cars since the program started in September.

The AP says it expects GM to announce its first year-over-year monthly sales gain in 21 months when automakers report sales figures on Tuesday.


Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , ,

Economist says Detroit’s unemployed have no choice but to move for jobs

28Oct09

If you’re a Detroiter looking for work in this economy, where can you go to find a job? According to economist John Lonski, the answer is Texas or California.

In its latest installment for Assignment: Detroit, CNNMoney.com talked with Lonski, a chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, about Detroit’s unemployment rate, which has reached 17.3 percent. In the article, Lonski says the only viable option for Detroit residents seeking jobs is for them to move out of state.

“The only way to contract the city’s unemployment rate is through migration,” Lonski told CNNMoney.com. “The jobs that were lost aren’t coming back like they will in other cities after the downturn, so the unemployed individuals will have to go elsewhere to find jobs, and that will help shrink Detroit’s overall workforce.”

There is nothing new about people leaving Michigan to find jobs in other states. But it seems that actively encouraging talent — particularly educated talent — to leave the state will just accelerate Michigan’s brain drain and contribute to metro Detroit’s problems, not solve them.


Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , ,

Skateboard mag says Detroit is a “fun place to skate,” has a “gnarly” reputation

28Oct09

From slapmagazine.com

“Life In Detroit” consists of abandoned buildings and “gnarly” places to skate, according to a six-picture photo essay posted by Slap Skateboard Magazine. (Note: one of the images is graphic and probably NSFW)

The magazine includes audio (which has plenty of swearing and is also NSFW) from a skater who has lived in and skated around Detroit for 10 years. The interviewer asks rather cliched questions about the city, such as “Has anyone ever pulled guns on you?”  and encourages listeners to “Come to Detroit and destroy” at the end of the segment.

Still, the skater describes Detroit as a “fun place to skate” that just happens to have developed a “gnarly” reputation.

Check out Slap’s Twitter page for more pictures of the Slap team’s tour of Detroit.


Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: , ,

Detroit: Home of the toughest restaurant owner ever

28Oct09

From detroitblog.org

Think you have a tough job? Try taking on Helen Turner’s job for a day.

Turner, the owner of White Grove Restaurant in Detroit, was profiled in a post today on Detroit Blog. The restaurant, which opened in 1948, is located in a rough part of town that Detroitblogger John depicts as being overrun with crime, drugs and homelessness. It seems many people who come into White Grove would rather try to rob the restaurant than order something off the menu.

“They’re petty thieves,” said Linwood Martin, Turner’s co-worker, in the Detroit Blog piece. “Really, they’ll steal anything. They’ll get it out of the garbage can.”

So how has White Grove managed to stay open for more than 60 years? It seems mostly because Turner is too tough to allow thieves to take down her restaurant.

In one scene, she successfully threatens a drug dealer out of her diner:

“What’s the problem, punk?” she barks back, facing him square. “You think you’re a real pimp now ’cause you got that new truck, right?” Outside the window is a battered, used pickup he just drove up in. She threatens to shoot him. “I can kill you, and then you’ll die,” she says.

It’s unclear how the drug dealer would manage to die again after the killing, but that doesn’t stop it from being the best quote on the web today.

Certainly, Turner has to be doing something right to keep her restaurant open after all this time. It almost makes you wonder if her food is as good as her ability to scare off adversaries, though it’s doubtful the Detroit Blog piece will encourage many people to head there for dinner.


Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: ,

Buy anything cool in Detroit lately? Share it on “Bought In Detroit”

28Oct09
Have you recently snagged some cool jewelry from the Detroit Institute of Arts gift shop? Grabbed some particularly tasty produce from Eastern Market last weekend? Then snap a picture of it and upload it to Boughtindetroit.com, a site that aims to show off all the types of goods that can be purchased within Detroit city limits.

Bought In Detroit was founded earlier this month to combat the idea that there are items that can’t be purchased without heading for the suburbs. The site has been getting some recent buzz on the Detroit Yes forums.

Many of the pictures on the site include run-of-the- mill goods, such as Jet’s Pizza and Stella Artois beer. But the presentation of ordinary items, along with more unique pieces like a coin purse from Bureau of Urban Living, make the site interesting to look at.

To check out more Bought In Detroit photos, check out the site’s Flickr group.




Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: ,

Forbes names Metro Detroit America’s 12th safest city, ranking based on more than violent crime statistics

28Oct09

From forbes.com

Forbes Magazine has just named the Detroit-Warren-Livonia area as one of America’s Safest Cities. It’s a considerable feat (and a somewhat dubious honor) when you remember that Forbes named Detroit “America’s Most Dangerous City” just six months ago.

However, the two lists are based on different sets of numbers. The “Most Dangerous” list was based on 2008 violent crime rates, and Detroit had the highest in the nation with 1,220 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

The “Safest Cities” list took other factors into account, including workplace deaths, traffic fatalities and natural disaster risk — all statistics in which Detroit ranked better than several metro areas. Metro Detroit still had the highest violent crime rate on the “Safest Cities” list, but it seems adding Warren and Livonia to the mix may have helped bring down the average for those figures.

Even though the numbers work out in Detroit’s favor in this case, do you believe that Detroit should be on Forbes’ “Safest City” list? Does it discredit Forbes’ methodology to include “America’s Most Dangerous City” on a list of safe cities?

 


Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , , , ,

Round-up: Today’s Twitter discussions about Detroit

27Oct09

Tweeters seem to be rather interested in yesterday’s Reuters story about a failed auction of 9,000 foreclosed Detroit properties last weekend. In particular, the part that tweeters seemed most interested in was one sentence saying the number of foreclosed properties in Detroit  is equal in size to the city of Boston.

Here’s some more links to Detroit topics that the Twitter community is buzzing about today:

America’s safest cities (Detroit is No. 12 on the list) [Forbes]

Consumer Reports: Ford Is “World Class [CBS News]

Detroit ignored fuel efficiency demands, says ex-GM economist [Edmunds.com]

Artists plan to encase vacant Detroit home in ice [AP]

Conyers to be sentenced Dec. 1 [Freep]


Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , , , ,

State announces new jobs for Metro Detroit

27Oct09

The Michigan Economic Growth Corp. announced 10 projects around the state — seven company expansions and three Brownfield redevelopments — that are expected to create 2,815 new jobs and retain 150 throughout Michigan.

As Gov. Jennifer Granholm mentioned on Twitter earlier this afternoon, many of the jobs will be created in a number of Metro Detroit communities. Among the local projects announced:

  • Ohio Module Manufacturing Co. plans to invest $21.4 million to open a Detroit facility to produce products for Jeep Wrangler chassis. The project is expected to create 200 direct and 473 indirect jobs.
  • Strategic Staffing Solutions will invest $7.3 million to open a new information technology center in Detroit, which is projected to create 437 direct and 365 indirect jobs.
  • Williams International Co. plans to invest $12 million to expand a facility in Commerce Township used for making small gas turbine engines. The project will allow Williams International to retain 72 direct jobs and help retain an estimated 78 jobs in the area.

The MEDC’s announcement also included two large-scale projects that weren’t included in today’s new job count because they had been previously announced.

  • Clairvoyant Energy Solar Panel Manufacturing Inc. plans to spend $856 million at the former Ford Wixom Assembly Plant in Wixom to make solar panels, creating more than 750 direct jobs over the next five years and about 4,600 indirect jobs.
  • Xtreme Power Inc., a green energy company based in Austin, Texas, also plans to open a facility at the Wixom Ford Assembly Plant.  The new plant will create an estimated 2,500 direct jobs and 4,700 indirect jobs.

“Our strategy to diversify and grow Michigan’s economy continues to produce results for Michigan workers,” Granholm said in a statement from the MEDC.  “The scope of these company expansions and redevelopment projects demonstrates that we have the competitive business climate and high-skilled workforce that companies are looking for as they compete in today’s economy.”

What do you think of the new job announcements? Are these the kinds of jobs that you think should be created in Michigan to help reduce unemployment? What other kinds of industries would you like to see the state go after to create local jobs?


Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: , , , ,
« Previous Entries