In the News

Revealed: What's in White Trash Pie

The Huffington Post Thursday, September 27, 2012

Here's a fun interview with Nikita Santches, avante garde baker of Rock City Pies, which currently makes its home in Ferndale's Rustbelt Market.

Excerpt:

"A semifinalist in the Comerica Hatch Detroit contest, he hopes to win the grand prize of $50,000 and open a brick-and-mortar retail space in the city. Santches would plan to sell sweet and savory creations to hungry customers, as well as distribute the pies wholesale.

The Hatch finalists is determined by public voting through Sept. 18, and a final round of judge and public decision-making at the end of the month will determine the winner."

To discover what's in a White Trash Pie click here.

Pure Michigan Singalong shows off Metro Detroit, becomes a web sensation

YouTube Thursday, September 20, 2012

Come on, you gotta have a heart of stone not to be touched by this clever Pure Michigan promotional. And at nearly 2 million views in less than 2 weeks that's a helluva successful campaign.

Let's see if I caught all of our region's reps. There's the Erebus' ghouls (Pontiac), a high falutin' toast in Rochester, Royal Oak's polar bears, a Southfield weatherman, The Henry Ford (Dearborn), Ann Arbor's Big House, Detroit's Comerica Park, Lions, DIA, and Fox Theater, an ice rink in Novi, and the Ypsilanti Water Tower. Did I miss any?

Check out the video below.

The Atlantic magazine is looking for a few good start-ups

The Atlantic Thursday, September 13, 2012

Entrepreneurs and economic development officials, be on the alert for a pair of enterprising reporters from The Atlantic magazine. Beginning next week, they're making a beeline for the Upper Midwest, and Detroit is one of the regions where they're looking to find the region's brightest start-ups.

Excerpt:
"This year, we're starting the trip in Chicago and finishing up in Pittsburgh. Call it a Rust Belt Tour, if that's not a pejorative. If you're starting a business along this route (or even near it), we want to hear from you. While we're primarily interested in tech (very broadly construed), interesting entrepreneurs of all types should feel free to get in touch.

And stay tuned because we're working on putting together a few events, so that we can meet as many people as possible.

This year, we want to build maps of the startup scene in each city we visit. That means we want to map not just where startups have their offices, but also where they get coffees and beers and meetings and employees and money."

Read the full story here. And check here for MLive's coverage.

DIA Millage inspires art groups across the country

Wall Street Journal Thursday, August 23, 2012

Arts organizations around the nation are sitting up and taking notice of how the DIA confronted their financial situation and how they got public buy-in.

Excerpt:

"What to do? Mr. Beal went to the voters, asking the residents of Michigan's Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties to pass a modest 10-year-long dedicated property-tax increase known as a "millage." It would supply up to $23 million in public funding each year for the next decade—91% of the DIA's annual operating budget—thus buying time for Mr. Beal and his colleagues to build up the museum's operating endowment to the point where it can bring in sufficient income to pay the bills.

Sounds great, huh? But how do you get suburban taxpayers to pony up in support of a museum located in the heart of a city on which most of them long ago turned their backs? That's the beauty part: Mr. Beal announced that the residents of every county that passed the millage would be admitted free to the DIA. Otherwise, he said, the museum would be forced to close on weekdays and lock the doors to half of its galleries."

Read the rest here.

Skater / Clothing designer moves from Colorado to Detroit

Examiner.com Thursday, August 16, 2012

Polish ice skating champion Ola Kamieniecki, has made her mark both on the ice and off. As a figure skating clothing designer and the owner Skating Designs, she dresses many of the top skaters in the world. And she's moved her business (and her talents) here.

Excerpt:

""Although the Colorado Springs World Arena Ice Hall has been designated as an Olympic training rink, the conditions don't benefit my daughter since she competes for Poland," said Mrs. Kamieniecki. "Ola has not been allowed to train on the same sessions as the other elite skaters in Colorado Springs, but in Detroit, that is possible. It is necessary to move so she can train in the best conditions as she works towards competing at the 2014"

Read the rest here.

NYC foodies tour Metro Detroit eateries

New York Food Journal Thursday, August 16, 2012

What did Big Apple foodies think of the local cuisine? American Coney Island: Yay! Slows Bar-B-Q: Meh. Taqueria Lupita's: Where's the beer? Good Girls Go To Paris: Yay! Al-Ameer Restaurant: Spectacular.

Excerpt:

"A drive out to the Henry Ford Museum gave us the opportunity to sample the excellent Middle Eastern food to be found in Dearborn, Michigan. After some research, we decided to stop at Al-Ameer, a casual and authentic spot with locations in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. We were glad we did."

Read the rest here.

Michigan film industry gasping but still alive

Detroit Free Press Thursday, August 02, 2012

Governor Snyder's opposition and capping of the Mitten's film incentive program all but gutted what was once a growing --albeit expensive-- industry. Still, there are glimmers of hope. The legislature doubleed the capped amount and smaller productions are still popping up. The Freep covers a recently shot indie starring Benicio Del Toro.

Excerpt:

"Although shooting in metro Detroit under the Michigan film incentives has slowed to a trickle, the set was an upbeat place for the local contingent of roughly 20 actors and 75 crew members -- high numbers for an indie that has about the same number of out-of-state actors and about 40 out-of-state crew members.

"Picard" gave the local film community a chance to work on something meaningful -- and, just as critically, to work at all during a year when reduced incentives have led to fewer job opportunities.

The movie was approved for just under $2 million in incentives on an estimated $6.9 million of spending in the state."

Read the rest here.

Richard Florida asks: Is Detroit becoming a suburb?

The Atlantic Cities Thursday, July 26, 2012

In a provocative article, the Creative Class guru talks about the distinction between city and suburb today. He compares Motown to Urban-burbs like Ferndale, Royal Oak, Birmingham and Ann Arbor, metro Detrtoit communities that are evolving their urban design to adapt to changing community standards.

Excerpt:

"The old distinctions between "city" and "suburb" do seem to be blurring. Urban neighborhoods are improving safety, upgrading schools, adding parks and bike lanes to their existing urban fabric, while suburban ones are adding density, walkability and mixed-use districts to their existing safe streets and good schools."

Read the rest here.

Thousands of skate boarders show support for Hamtramck skatepark

The South End Thursday, July 12, 2012

There is an old skater addage: If your city doesn't have a skatepark your city becomes a skatepark. For the thousands of boarders who showed up and off at Detroit's Hart Plaza and then partied in Royal Oak, the creation of The Rideit Skate Park in Hamtramck was mission one.

Excerpt:

"Many of the skateboarders flooded the downtown streets in unison after the event at Hart Plaza, and then went to the after party in Royal Oak where many skaters stood in line, partied in the parking lots and gave previews of cool moves before entering the 80,000 sq. ft. building filled with ramps, which are geared for both the most experienced and the ones just starting out."

Read the rest here.

Turning Metro Detroit into an artist's canvass

The Detroit News Thursday, June 28, 2012

Here's a little fact you may not know... Philadelphia has over 3000 murals. And it's a point of pride for the city, an enthusiastic display of local and imported artistic expression. Could Detroit and the metro area be open to the same kind of initiative?

Excerpt:

Idiosyncratic murals painted by some of the world's most famous street and graffiti artists have been popping up on walls across Metro Detroit, from Eastern Market to Hamtramck to Royal Oak.

Behind the murals are Hamtramck-based arts group Contra Projects and the owners of Royal Oak-based 323East gallery, which together hatched the Detroit Beautification Project.

Asked why they formed the group, Contra Projects director Matthew Eaton gestured at illicit graffiti tags defacing a brick wall in Eastern Market. "Have you seen this place?" he asked, looking around. "What's the downside of letting artists make the city look more colorful and engaging?"

Read the rest here.

Bizarre Foods celebrates Metro Detroit eats

Travel Channel Thursday, March 08, 2012

Andrew Zimmern landed in Detroit for a recent episode of the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods. From soul kitchens to a Ramadan meal in Dearborn he sings our culinary praises.

Watch the "Top Five" video here. Want to see the entire episode? Click here.

TechTown's influences and accomplishments heralded

DiverseEducation.com Thursday, March 08, 2012

There's been whole lotta talk about innovation in Metro Detroit but what does it take to incubate that innovation on the ground? Wayne State's TechTown gets spotlighted for its efforts and impacts.

Excerpt:

"To date, TechTown is an emerging economic force in downtown Detroit. It has introduced approximately 8,000 Michigan residents to “an entrepreneurial culture” through its public events and walk-in sessions. It has invested more than $700,000 directly into new ventures and has helped clients raise more than $14 million in venture capital.

Wayne State, which manages TechTown, located a few blocks from its midtown Detroit campus, has put some $2.7 million into TechTown between 2007 and 2011, providing about 23 percent of its programmatic funding. Its College of Engineering has provided prototype services and lab space to TechTown companies. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences provides translation services, while the Law School conducts small business clinics, and its School of Medicine has provided researchers and tissue samples. The university has partnered with TechTown to secure federal and state research grants."

Read the rest here

Detroit Auto Show's concept cars get thumbs up for design

DesignNews Thursday, March 01, 2012

Let's face it, checking out the new models can be informative but it's the concept cars that rule. DesignNews offers up 17 cool as a cucumber shots of concepts cars worth salivating over from January's auto show.

Personally, we're impressed with how cool Chrysler made a mini van look.

Check out Captain Hybrid's faves here.

Paste Magazine lists 12 Michigan bands you gotta listen to

Paste Magazine Thursday, March 01, 2012

Okay, let's start off by mentioning my intense love of Lightning Love, Chris Bathgate, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jr. But that's just the tip of the local music worth owning iceberg. Paste spotlights a dozen Mitten-based bands that you should be spreading the gospel about.

Excerpt:

"Lightning Love is a trio that features siblings Aaron and Leah Diehl along with guitarist Ben Collins. Aaron’s simple, appropriate drums are a great backbone for Leah’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics that explore subjects that range from every day routines (“Everyone I Know”) to the more ridiculous (“Friends”). The band just released the excellent Girls Who Look Like Me EP on Quite Scientific Records."

Read the rest here.

Can light rail and bus rapid transit coexist?

mlive.com Thursday, January 12, 2012

Since the announcement that Detroit would no longer pursue light rail along Woodward Avenue in favor of regional rapid bus transit reactions have run the gamut, from angry outrage to pragmatic support to mass transit hostility. Now, with talks of building 3.4 miles of track along Woodward anyway, columnist Jeff T. Wattrick offers more clear-headed thinking about what should be considered.

Excerpt:

"If, after a 90-day study, all parties can agree on a plan that allows both the BRT and light rail lines to run concurrently south of Grand Boulevard, and if they reach accord on how it will be funded and governed, then perhaps a kind of grand bargain has been struck.

These things are never perfect, but at least all parties would get some kind of win.

The M1 investors will get to build their curbside downtown “rail circulator,” with all their hopes for economic development, and commuters will get the truly regional rapid transit system that metro Detroit has lacked since the once-celebrated streetcar system was exported to Mexico City."

Read the rest here.

Detroit : In the News