It is with a heavy heart I post this…

Biscoe, who was born in Washington D.C. in 1946, joined WXYZ as a night reporter in 1973. She previously worked as a radio DJ in Maryland and hosted a weekly public affairs show in Washington D.C. before coming to Detroit. Throughout her tenure at WXYZ, Biscoe was one of the most visible Black broadcast journalists in Detroit, and throughout America.

An informative, illustrated page on Ms Biscoe and her groundbreaking career over at broadcastingvault.com

From Wikipedia's page on Detroit's WXYZ-TV…

In 1987, the station created and produced a weekly educational literacy program aimed at children called Learn To Read, which was based on the audio-lingual method of literacy education, and was co-produced by Kentucky Educational Television. One of the hosts of this series was then WXYZ-TV news anchor Doris Biscoe.

From a (much exaggerated) account by blogger Tod Ridley at Medium, Tonya Harding and Doris Biscoe Walk Into a Laundry-mat…

In Detroit, in the 90’s, there were two rival stations in Detroit that mattered. ABC Channel 7 and NBC Channel 4. Doris Biscoe was the Grand Dame of Channel 7. She was a strong and confident, gorgeous and gigantic, 6’6″ African American. [emphasis mine -- r^2^ ]

I knew these details of her because the news station for Channel 7 was next to our college campus. I regularly saw Doris pulling into the station in her Lincoln Continental, head slightly bent over because of her height. She was a God. And fabulous.

Yes, Ms Biscoe was fabulous and tall but 6'6"? While I can't disprove this by-eye measurement (while sitting down), I think Ridley maybe was a bit starstruck at the time.

Cause of death has not yet been announced. Condolences to the surviving family from all of us at !detroit.

Hail, hail, stomp and drool! Two shows today at the historic Redford Theatre (at fashionable 17360 Lahser Road, just north of Grand River Ave.), truly "something for everyone."

In a ~~bizarre~~ calculated move by the Detroit movie house, today's 2:00pm matinée is the 60^th^ Anniversary screening of George Sidney's Viva Las Vegas. Watch Elvis and Ann-Margret scorch the screen together in this 1964 rock 'n roll classic. You say you've never seen it?! Maybe you've already—ahem!—formulated certain ideas regarding the King of Rock and Roll? Maybe you need reminding? Do yourself a favor. See it today! On the Redford's big screen!

From Wikipedia…

The chemistry between the two stars was genuine during filming. Presley and Ann-Margret began an affair, and this received considerable attention from film and music gossip columnists. This reportedly led to a showdown with Presley's worried girlfriend Priscilla Beaulieu (Elvis and Priscilla married in 1967). In her 1985 book Elvis and Me, Priscilla Presley describes the difficulties that she experienced when the gossip columnists erroneously "announced" that Ann-Margret and Presley had become engaged to be married. […] In her memoirs, Ann-Margret refers to Elvis Presley as her "soulmate" and stated: "We felt there was a need in 'The Industry' for a female Elvis Presley."

❦ ———— 🎥 ———— ❦

Later, at 8:00pm, the Redford presents The Secret of NIMH, the 1982 by that giant of animated film, Don Bluth, incidentally his studio's first feature-length animated film.

Based on a 1971 children’s novel, this animated classic from Don Bluth finds the widowed mouse Mrs. Frisby, forced from her home, helped by a group of rats with heightened intelligence. Along with still-gorgeous animation, the movie also features vocal work by Elizabeth Hartman, John Carradine, and Dom DeLuise.

While appropriate for the whole family, Bluth's NIMH didn't aim low regarding its audience, having a more sophisticated tone to it. And there's always that gorgeous, pre-anime, Bluth house style…❤

❦ ———— 🎥 ———— ❦

Tickets for each show today are $7 or $5 for and seniors and kids. See ya there, cinephiles!

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

From the Psychology Today page…

It is the part of the brain that is phylogenetically very primitive. Many people call it the "Lizard Brain,” because the limbic system is about all a lizard has for brain function. It is in charge of fight, flight, feeding, fear, freezing up, and fornication.

Well, this evening at the DIA, it's all about higher brain functions.

Detroit City Chess Club simul match with Jessica Hyatt

In The Museum
Friday, Jun 7, 2024, 5:45 p.m.
Admission gratis

Join us for the Detroit City Chess Club simul match with Jessica Hyatt. Hyatt, 18, is the highest-rated African American female chess player in history! With a peak United States Chess Federation (USCF) rating of 2168, and a FIDE rating of 1948, she is on her way to clinching the master title!

In 2019, Hyatt won the New York State Scholastic Championships, and has since been invited by the USCF to represent the US internationally as a part of their youth team (2019–present). In 2022, Hyatt received a special honoree at the Liberty Science Center’s Genius Gala.

In 2023, she became the Pan-American Youth Female Under-18 Blitz Champion, the KCF All-Girls Nationals Champion, and represented the US for the World Youth Chess Championships. Along with chess, Hyatt plays ranked junior tennis and golf, and is a jazz pianist.

Thank you, Ms Hyatt. I'm totally in awe and at the same time completely intimidated by you.

The Real Reel: A Poetry Performance with InsideOut Literary Arts

Kresge Reception area
Friday, Jun 7, 2024, 6 p.m.
Admission gratis

Join InsideOut Literary Arts and some of Detroit's finest youth and adult poets for a reading celebrating the creative and enduring legacy of African Americans in film, from its very beginning through the start of the Civil Rights Movement.

Inspired by Regeneration Black Cinema 1898 – 1971, the event will showcase new poetic works written during visits to the exhibition. Featuring performances by MARS Marshall. La Shaun phoenix Moore, Kahn Davison, Brittany Rogers, Scheherazade Washington Parrish, Charisma Holly, and Kya Mills.

Feed your mind.

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

From The Freep: "Red flags about ex-Detroit Conservancy CFO show up in court records"…

Federal prosecutors charged William Smith, the ousted CFO of the Conservancy, on Wednesday with bank and wire fraud, alleging the 51-year-old's scheme there went unchecked for more than 11 years while he falsified bank statements, made unauthorized wire transfers to his company and paid his credit card bills with Conservancy money.

While that scheme allegedly played out, court records show Smith was losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in private investments with a business partner who would later be indicted by the U.S. Attorney in Detroit, in deals involving franchise restaurants in the area, including Which Wich sandwich shops and a pizzeria chain called Pie Five.

In 2019, a grand jury indicted Smith's partner, John Draper II, on two counts of wire fraud, with federal prosecutors accusing him of defrauding investors, including parents of his children’s classmates at Detroit Country Day School in suburban Detroit.

Certainly To Be Continued…

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A lot of people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch of unconnected incidents and things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything.
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

So, the Michigan Central Station officially reopens today. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're already sooo over it. Enough already. What else is there to do?

Nearby Wyandotte says, "have a shot and a slab!" The Swiggin' Pig festival starts today at 5:00pm in chic, downtown Wyandotte and runs all weekend long. Formalwear not required. NSAID of choice may be required. Napkins/wetnaps are definitely required.

The four day weekend will have something for everyone including live music from Metro Detroit’s most popular bands, ice cold craft beers, a carnival, shows, Crafters Market, whiskey tasting and BBQ!

Oooh, tell me more…

Top pitmasters will serve up some of the area’s finest barbecue offering finger lickin’ good meals for purchase at each of the food trucks. There will be plenty to keep the kids busy too, including a carnival that will feature 20 rides, interactive FREE games including Giant Jenga and Connect 4, cornhole, face-painting, magic shows and more!

❦ ———— 🏢 ———— ❦

Maybe you want something a little more…virtual? A hair less social? Something that's not gonna leave you stained with BBQ sauce, perhaps? Over at the world-reknown Detroit Institute of Arts is Night Out with PRISM to be followed by a selection of short films over at the Detroit Film Theatre, I’ll Be Your Mirror: Queer Documentary Shorts. Cue descriptions!…

Join PRISM, the DIA's LGBTQ+ and allyship employee belonging group, for a "Night Out with PRISM" before the screening of I'll Be Your Mirror: Queer Documentary Shorts. Mix and mingle with PRISM members and the film program curator Adam Baran in the Detroit Film Theatre's Crystal Gallery at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be available for purchase.

Inspired by the themes of this year’s Mighty Real Queer Detroit biennial, I’ll Be Your Mirror: Reflections of the Contemporary Queer, is a program of LGBTQ+ documentary shorts curated by filmmaker Adam Baran. Drawn from films produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ll Be Your Mirror assembles an intergenerational portrait of queer lives in these increasingly perilous times.

The PRISM mingle is gratis but registration is required (scroll down). Tickets for the I'll Be Your Mirror screening are available at the door of the DFT or online here.

❦ ———— 🏢 ———— ❦

What about a smaller concert? Y'know, a gig? How about some (self-described) Latin shoegaze? Some mirar fijamente los zapatos? Tonight in not-too-distant Pontiac at The Pike Room @ The Crofoot is post-rock artiste Esteban Flores, professionally known as Slow Joy. Be forewarned: show starts at 6:00pm.

A lot of people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch of unconnected incidents and things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything.
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

…yeah, and either you're totally stoked about it or totally sick of hearing about it. If I had money on it I'd go with B but for the sake of argument let's pretend you picked A.

And why wouldn't you be geeked? The towering architectural giant that is the Michigan Central Station finally found its glasses and officially comes back from the ruin-porn dead, the neighborhood is unquestionably improved by its resuscitation—at least for now, aesthetically—and to cap it off there's a mega-concert tonight organized by Warren's own Eminem (with manager Paul Rosenberg) with all-star performances including the only Detroit-based millionaires we can (barely) tolerate, Jack White and Big Sean—just kidding witcha, home fries!

Plus, culture-lovers (all seven of you), the world-reknown Detroit Symphony Orchestra will be at the gig warming up their bows, mallets, lips and digits for their performance at Orchestra Hall starting tomorrow!

The entire, free-but-reserved-seating, 90-minute concert will be broadcast live on WDIV-4 and, if you're one of their 147 subscribers, NBC's Peacock streaming service. The rest of the country gets to gnash their teeth in envy at the splendour that is Detroit when NBC broadcasts a 60-minute recap of the celebration Sunday, June 9 at 7:00pm EST.

The concert tonight and guided tours of the MCS are totally "sold out." But don't fret, junior: tours of the MCS grounds will re-commence June 21 and run every Friday and Saturday until August 31, 2024.

100% snark-free: we really do have a beautiful, majestic city. Sometimes I like just driving or walking through it and just reflect on all its concrete grandeur.

Okay, wanna read a real journalistic account instead of my ravings? Here ya go…

• The Freep : Eminem-produced Michigan Central concert in Detroit to star Diana Ross, Jack White, more
  • Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

• The Freep again: Michigan Central Station tours: How to visit Ford's renovated train depot
  • Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

• WDIV-4: Metro Detroiters count down to highly anticipated concert at Michigan Central Station

• WXYZ Detroit: Michigan Central concert: Parking, road closures & everything you need to know

But…but what if I don't give a rat's ass?

You gotta say yes to another excess
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

If you live or have lived in metroDetroit™ or follow the goings-on of southeast Michigan, you've surely seen some of Max Ortiz's photographic work, from the purely didactic or ceremonial to seemingly "fly-on-the-wall", images captured by Ortiz's sharp eye that would have been missed in those blink-of-an-eye moments.

~Max~ ~Ortiz~ ~hangs~ ~expensive~ ~Detroit~ ~News~ ~video~ ~camera~ ~inches~ ~from~ ~the~ ~ground~ ~while~ ~filming~ ~the~ ~Dream~ ~Cruise~ ~along~ ~Woodward~ ~Ave,~ ~Aug~ ~17,~ ~2006.~
~Photo:~ ~David~ ~Guralnick,~ ~Detroit~ ~News~

Max Ortiz passed away at the all-too-young age of 58 on May 31, 2024 and the News [and we here at !detroit] pays tribute to staff photographer and more, a California native with transplanted roots long grown in Royal Oak, MI.

Alt links for your convenience via archive.is:

• The Detroit News : Max Ortiz, award-winning photojournalist, dies at 58
• Detroit News photo gallery: Max Ortiz remembered as talented, caring Detroit News photojournalist

What We Want Now
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

People can access the island of Grosse Ile by either taking the toll bridge or the Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge, which is free. The toll bridge was financed, designed and constructed from 1912-13 by the Grosse Ile Bridge Company, according to the company's website. Motorists passing over the bridge must pay a fee [or] apply for a bridge pass.

The advantage of buying the toll bridge is that the township would have control of one span accessing the island community if the Grosse Ile Parkway Bridge, the other bridge, were closed at some point, [Township Supervisor James Budny] said.

The parkway bridge was closed for more than a year between 2020 and 2021 because of emergency repairs to several areas including underwater piers.

Another benefit of taking over the Grosse Ile Toll Bridge is that it could generate some money for the township, Budny said. He said it would remain a toll bridge. He intends for the bridge to pay for itself and not to place a tax on residents to run it.

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

What We Want Now
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Attention: peripherally-metroDetroit™-specific content You'll cope. You're strong.

From the East Bay ~~Ray~~ Times, authors David Hochschild and Liane Randolph postulate an 180° turn from the media's doom-and-gloom regarding Detroit's main product…

Californians purchased 108,372 new zero-emission vehicles in the first three months of 2024 — nearly 7,000 more than the same time last year and the highest-ever first-quarter sales. […] Today, one in four new cars sold in the Golden State is electric, up from just 8% in 2020.

Challenges persist, and chief among them is the need for more widely available charging options. Many more charging stations need to be built as fast as possible to keep up with EV adoption. To address this, California is investing $4 billion over six years to rapidly build out the EV refueling network, on top of billions in investment by utilities. Equally essential is improved reliability of the EV charging network. Too many drivers today encounter faulty charging stations, which is why the California Energy Commission is developing the strongest charging reliability standards in the country and will require companies to be transparent with the public about their performance.

Meanwhile in the Great State of Michigan, from reporter Kelly House at BridgeMichigan…

[The State of Michigan] has $110 million in federal dollars for the cause, several times more than Michigan’s dedicated spending on EV chargers to date. […] But a Bridge Michigan analysis of early grants shows that with a price-per-plug that rivals the mortgage debt on an average Michigan home, the money won’t go far.

So far, federal data shows Michigan has just 756 fast-charging plugs and 2,568 slower ones scattered across the state. […] “We have a long way to go,” said Amy Rogghe, executive director of the nonprofit Michigan Electric Vehicle Alliance. A swift EV transition is possible, she said, but “we just need more funding.”

More than USD$40,000,000.00. Vanished.

Smith was placed on unpaid leave in mid-May after discrepancies in financial statements were discovered in April. The nonprofit's board ordered investigations by the auditing firm, PwC, and the Honigman Law Firm. The group asked former U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider, who leads Honigman Law Firm's investigators, to bring evidence against Smith to Michigan State Police and request a criminal investigation. The FBI has since taken over the investigation because of its complexity.

According to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, the two independent investigations estimate the loss to the nonprofit to be more than $40 million.

Meanwhile, over at the Freep…

Free Press attempts to reach Smith or his attorney have been unsuccessful.

“Our investigation has revealed that Mr. Smith has embezzled significant sums of money from the DRFC and has converted DRFC funds to his own personal use," said a termination letter sent to Smith's attorney by former U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider, who investigated with an outside law firm hired by the conservancy. "Mr. Smith’s unlawful conduct spans several years."

I realize no one is sneaking around with a big sack with a dollar sign printed on it but my crack research team (or is that "on crack research team") of flying monkeys hasn't yet unearthed the timeframe in which the $40M was allegedly embezzled.

Just in case you're wondering what exactly the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is or does…

The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy (DRFC), a 501(c)(3) organization, is responsible for the establishment, improvement, operation, maintenance, security, programming and expansion of the Detroit RiverWalk and associated green spaces. Through its public/private partnerships, the DRFC will support the development of the riverfront district and facilitate community access to the waterfront.

What We Want Now
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Ace reporter Malachi ~~Constant~~ Barrett and his notebook at BridgeDetroit once again cover the pressing issues of our fair city, this time from the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce annual policy conference on olde-world Mackinac Island. Among the topics discussed…

Eastern Market leaders ‘nervous’ about I-375

Eastern Market CEO Dan Carmody and soon-to-be successor Katy Trudeau said they’re eagerly awaiting a state plan to address disruption during the multi-year project. Construction is expected to start next fall and end in 2028. […] We’re very nervous about it, as there’s not an established mitigation plan yet,” Trudeau said. “It’s a huge unanswered question.

Downpayment assistance Phase II

Detroit renters can receive up to $25,000 to buy their first home through a down payment assistance program set to relaunch this summer. […] Residents can sign up to receive an alert when applications open. Applications already received will continue to be processed until all funds are exhausted.

Land value tax uncertain

Pay attention to this one, kids! It appears the state's interest in last year's much-vaunted Land Value Tax proposal is dwindling, go figure…

One year after Duggan used his Mackinac Policy Conference address to promote a plan to overhaul the city’s property tax system, it’s unclear whether Michigan lawmakers will advance bills needed to make it happen. […] Bills introduced in the Michigan House were tabled last year after failing to gain enough support from lawmakers.

[House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit] said he’s “trying to identify solutions to lower the property tax burden” for residents that could include other proposals. […] “I feel this is a place we can still have discussions around and can be one of many solutions,” Tate said. “There still needs to be more education, more conversations with my colleagues in the chamber.”

This is the same language parents use when kids ask if we can go to the zoo. 🙄

RenCen future in ‘brainstorming mode’

I get the connection between billionaire Dan Gilbert and his Hudson Building and its new tenants, General Motors, but why is Gilbert's opinion on the future of the "The City Within The City" anything more than an interesting side-note? In any case, take a picture 'cause it's coming down.

Gilbert said GM’s decision to move into the Hudson’s building and reinvent the Renaissance Center is a “big bet,” comparable to Ford’s redevelopment of the Michigan Central station. […] Detroit also needs large investments in affordable housing, nightlife and activities for young people and public transportation.

What We Want Now
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

If you could buy $18 worth of pastries for 70% off, would you? What about a full dinner for only six dollars? What if you had no idea what you were going to get? […] The founders of Too Good To Go are betting you would.

Too Good To Go, an app-based startup founded and headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, by Lucie Basch and Jamie Crummie, is expanding to Detroit. The premise is simple: a restaurant or grocery store can sell its leftover food for the day, or would-be food waste, at a minimum of 70% discount to reduce the amount of food waste in landfills and offer a fun and affordable option to consumers.

Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters, which has locations in Ferndale, Royal Oak, Rochester and Detroit, has registered all four locations on the app. “All four of our locations do have food waste, some more than others. In Ferndale we have the bakery, so there's some leftover items, maybe things that are a little imperfect that we couldn't sell for full price anyways,” said Christian Kettenbiel, director of finance for Dessert Oasis.

During the last half hour of each day, customers can buy a surprise bag of baked goods for $6. That includes muffins, cookies, croissants, cheesecake and more, said Nathan Hamood, president and director of coffee at Dessert Oasis. Coffee beans that are more than three weeks old will also be up for sale through Too Good To Go.

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Late to the game on this one, friends. Apologies.

Evil Does Not Exist, (JPN, 2023)
Detroit Film Theatre
5200 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI
Saturday, May 25, 2024, 3:00pm and 7:00pm
Sunday, May 26, 2024, 2:00pm

Multi-nominated and multi-awarded 2023 film by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi…

Deep in the forest of the rural village Harasawa, single parent Takumi lives with his young daughter, Hana, and does odd jobs for locals. The serenity of this untouched land is disrupted by the arrival of a Tokyo company ready to start construction on a glamping site for tourists—a plan that could have dire results for the community.

This potent and foreboding new film from Oscar®-winning director Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) is a haunting, unexpected experience with its rapturous score that breaks from the usual country-vs.-city themes and walks the line between the earthly and the metaphysical. Grand Jury Prizes, Venice Film Festival and Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In Japanese with English subtitles. (105 min.)

Owner George Boukas said he first learned of the collapse from a 10 a.m. phone call from Detroit police. He said he intends to reopen the bar once the damage is repaired, although he isn't sure when that will be. A masonry repairman was already at the bar Friday afternoon to survey the damage. […] “It’s all about getting everything back up to code — engineering, permitting, construction — so it’s going to be a whole process," Boukas said. "Right now, we’re closed indefinitely.”

The timing of the collapse was particularly inconvenient for the bar's business, coming on the eve of this weekend's Movement electronic musical festival. Temple Bar was set to host a Friday night fundraiser for the Underground Music Academy and a Saturday night dance party. […] “I had 11 DJs lined up for tonight," Boukas said. "I had to cancel everything."

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Remember…Parma spelled backwards is AMRAP!
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

The Freep just published a drone fly-by video of the renovated, iconic Michigan Central Station—despite the name, there's been no actual commitment by Amtrak—scheduled to officially reopen June 6, 2024.

Interesting to note: the drone video unfortunately neglects to show the northmost-facing corner, the location of the newly-added Ford Virgin Sacrifices Plaza, designed in an Egyptian-futurist motif, and the remodelled Entrance to Hell, developed in tandem with Elon Musk co-founded The Boring Company. With the future of the towers uncertain and no real plans forthcoming, both Bedrock and GM are considering their own direct, non-stop shuttle to Hell at the Renaissance Center location.

Compare-And-Contrast BONUS:

• From 2014, Drone Flies Over Abandoned Train Station in Detroit, Michigan USA

Everything I say is a lie…
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Synthesized beats and sounds will abound downtown this Memorial Day weekend in modernist Hart Plaza for the 123^rd^ annual Movement Festival, the yearly mecca for EDM/techno/house/tekno fans from Detroit…aAnNdD bBeEyYoOnNdDdDdDdDd…

Besides the official Movement Festival website's infographic, the Metro Times also has a schedule with dates and descriptions and a thorough list of this year's special guests, like…

Ludacris ☆ Carl Craig ☆ DJ Etta ☆ Stacey Pullen ☆ Dames Brown* ☆ Rimarkable ☆ Stacey Hotwaxx Hale ☆ Tee Grizzley ☆ Ryan Elliott ☆ Speedy J ☆ Reference ☆ Milan Ariel ☆ Waajeed ☆ *and SO MANY mMoOaArRrRrRrRrR

See y'all there and remember to hydrate.

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

All fifteen automakers, except Tesla, have actively advocated against at least one policy promoting electric vehicles. Ten of the fifteen showed a particularly high intensity of negative engagement and scored a final grade of D or D+ by InfluenceMap’s methodology.

Only three of fifteen companies – Tesla, Mercedes Benz and BMW - are forecast to produce enough electric vehicles by 2030 to meet the International Energy Agency’s updated 1.5°C pathway of 66% electric vehicle (battery electric (BEV), fuel cell (FCEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs)) sales according to InfluenceMap's independent analysis of industry-standard data from February 2024. Current industry forecasts analyzed for this report show automaker production will reach only 53% electric vehicles in 2030.

Long story short: only Tesla would meet the 2030 100% EV production target; in not-even-close 2^nd^ and 3^rd^ places respectively, Mercedes-Benz with 71% and BMW with 69%.

American producers? Ford predicted at 54%, Stellantis at 53% and GM at 46%. Is Stellantis even considered "American" or any longer one of the "Big Three"?

Strangely enough, nowhere mentioned in the report are the Chinese manufacturers.

Attention: non-metroDetroit™-specific content. I'll still respect you in the morning.

Something's been bugging me for a while now regarding the quality of discourse in this country, especially from the people in positions who have been educated in this nation's higher institutions of learning, people who have studied how to string words together in a cohesive manner to present ideas both simple and complex, people who are at least familiar with the concept of rational debate, people who may even be considered role models but minimally are usually held to a higher standard.

Y'know…people who should know better.

Apparently I'm not alone in this as The Freep's Mitch Albom gives his take on the nosedive of intellectual exchange in politics and elsewhere…

During an evening hearing last week, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican, got into a testy exchange with U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat.

GREENE: “I don't think you know what you are here for. ... I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you're reading."

CROCKETT: "I'm just curious, just to better understand your ruling, if someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody's bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?" […] All that was missing was the food fight.

It’s all terrible. It’s all dishonorable. And it’s our Congress. Our lawmakers. The people who determine the fate of the country. […] And we are making a mistake if we think, optimistically, that this will somehow get better.

[…]what has changed in recent years is that the low-brow stuff, instead of behind the curtain, is now proudly in front of it. Surely Donald Trump led the way in this revolution. From his early campaigning days in 2016 calling Hillary Clinton a “monster” and Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas,” to more recent insults of Adam Schiff (a “pencil neck” with a “fat, ugly face”) and President Joe Biden (“He can’t put two sentences together” and “Everything Joe Biden touches turns to s---"), Trump is a single-handed, monster-truck force for lowering public debate to schoolyard trash talk.

Everyone is sinking into the same mud. And we’re kidding ourselves if we think our side is righteous, or the other side started it, or coarse language is worse than clever insults. […] Needing a dictionary doesn’t wash away ugly.

The emphasized passages are where I and Albom diverge: "coarse" is worse than "clever" because at minimum "clever" shows you're not "working without tools." And these are the last people that should be working without tools.

Doncha think?

Alt link for your convenience via archive.is

Everything I say is a lie…
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/12305822

May 17 is Mr Stevie Wonder's birthday and to celebrate, with Mrs Tomeeka by his side, he became officially citizen of the Republic of Ghana, something the artist has spoke of doing since 1972!

The 25-time Grammy Award-winning artist was[…]conferred the certification of registration as a citizen of Ghana and a Ghanaian passport during a ceremony Monday at the Jubilee House, the presidential palace in the capital city, Accra.

"I, first of all, give all praise to God," Wonder said in footage posted online. "Since a little boy, I always believed in my heart that there was nothing impossible ... And for years, since about 1972, I've talked about coming to Ghana."

It was immediately unclear if Wonder would maintain dual-citizenship.

Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo said the west African nation extends "our warmest embrace to a beloved son of Africa," adding that Wonder's citizenship reaffirmed "our belief in the enduring spirit of Pan-Africanism and the global African family, and the boundless potential of our continent and all its descendants," he said Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter.

Strangely enough, at the time of this writing, the Freep didn't cover the news regarding Wonder's birthday nor Ghanian citizenship. According to the Freep archives, Wonder's been talking about the move since at least their March 15, 1974 article…

From the Freep's article from February 2, 2022…

[…]the music great told [Oprah] Winfrey about his intention to move to Ghana. Asked why, he alluded to the state of race and politics in America: "I don't want to see my children's children's children have to say: 'Oh, please like me, please respect me, please know that I'm important, please value me.' What kind of s--- is that?"

He added to the Free Press that the Ghanaian president "has allowed me to have some land."

Allow us to wish Mr Wonder a most happy 74^th^ birthday in the official language of the Republic of Ghana…

Happy Birthday, Stevie!

(Ha! The official language is English!)

MUSIC! 🎉 🎺 🎉 🎺

• From My Cherie Amour - Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday
• From Songs In The Key of Life - Sir Duke
• From Innervisions - Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing
• From Talking Book - You Are The Sunshine Of My Life

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Alt link sausage for your convenience via archive.is:

• The News: Stevie Wonder marks 74th birthday by becoming a Ghanaian citizen
• The Freep: Stevie Wonder moving to Ghana? Not so fast ...

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Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Ciao, comic book fans! Late to the game with this one, but you probably already knew…it's the inaccurately-named 2024 Motor City Comic Con in far-from-the-Motor-City Novi all geekend weekend long! Lots of movie/TV celebs there selling autographs (and not cheap either!), merch, swag, memorabilia and even some stuff that actually has to do with comics!

Saving you the suffering of the cool-to-web-designers-only FAQ…

Motor City Comic Con
Suburban Collection Showplace
46100 Grand River Ave, Novi, MI
Friday: 12 pm – 7 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 7 pm
Sunday: 10 am – 5 pm

Tickets are available online here. Anybody wanna buy a mint-condition Catwoman #1?

From CBS News…

Detroit gained 1,852 residents between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023, bringing its population to 633,366. The city went for six decades without seeing growth, instead seeing population declines every year since 1958.

"We have known for some time that Detroit's population has been growing, but this is the first time the US Census Bureau has confirmed it in its official estimate," said Mayor Mike Duggan. […] Duggan has maintained that the one true measure of success would be whether more people were moving into the city than out of it.

Meanwhile over at the Freep…

Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration publicly fought the federal agency’s count of Detroit residents and sued the Census Bureau multiple times seeking what the city considers accurate figures. He has even described the agency as a “national clown show” for previously reporting a decrease in the city’s population estimates. But new figures show Detroit grew from 631,366 in 2022 to 633,218 residents in 2023, according to the bureau’s annual population estimate released Thursday.

And we can't forget the News…

"This was the goal of our administration when I started in 2014, to grow," Duggan told The Detroit News. "It's taken 10 years, but we're here. This is a day of celebration."

Kurt Metzger, a demographer who has studied Detroit extensively and director emeritus of Data Driven Detroit, said that he would estimate that Detroit is closer to 650,000 people, maybe even as high as 660,000. He pointed to increased construction and more as signs of positive change and population growth for the city.

Metzger contended the Census Bureau has undercounted the city for years, in large part because of the way it counts demolitions against population. In many cities, demolitions represent a loss of population. But in Detroit, demolitions often are simply the removal of buildings that have been abandoned for years, Metzger said.

And lastly, from those wiseguys over at !memes@lemmy.world…

Sam Richardson's face says it all! 🤣

Alternate links for your convenience via archive.is:

• The Freep: Census Bureau report shows Detroit population increases
• The News: Detroit sees first population growth since 1957; smaller cities see bigger increases

Laissez les bons temps rouler!
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is doubling down on his contention that he doesn't owe any money to the federal government stemming from his public corruption conviction. […] In his latest court filing on this contentious issue, Kilpatrick states that he is "formally requesting" a hearing on the matter, wants the issue moved to federal court in Georgia — where he lives — and says there has been "no accurate accounting" by the government regarding his restitution debt.

According to the federal government, Kilpatrick still owes $824,774 for crimes he was convicted of more than a decade ago, including bribery, extortion and fraud. That's significantly more than the $164,000 debt that the government said he owed in February, though the U.S. Attorney's Office said the new, higher figure is based on more recent communications with the court.

Kilpatrick's downfall began in 2008, when the Free Press published text messages that showed he lied during a police whistleblower trial when he testified that he did not have an affair with his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, and gave misleading testimony about the firing of a deputy police chief. The ex-mayor still owes $852,000 in restitution to the city of Detroit stemming from that scandal.

Video Bonus: Pulitzer Prize-winning Free Press reporters Jim Schaefer and M.L. Elrick on the text-message scandal that forced Kwame Kilpatrick to resign as mayor.

Meanwhile, over at The News: Kwame Kilpatrick fighting cash grab by feds in restitution battle

Kilpatrick, 53, made the argument in a federal court filing Monday, the latest development in a years-long attempt to hold accountable a corrupt politician portrayed by federal prosecutors as an unremorseful crook who has lied in the past about his ability to pay restitution while pursuing a life of luxury.

Prosecutors say Kilpatrick has paid a pittance — $9,099.81 — and is making minimal $150 monthly payments toward the federal restitution.

Meanwhile, Kilpatrick leased a $90,000 luxury SUV last year, several months before his wife's consulting firm bought an $807,000 home in Novi while paying nothing toward the $854,062 restitution he owes from a separate text-message scandal that led to his ouster as Detroit mayor.

Alt links for your convenience via archive.is:

• The Freep
• The News

What We Want Now!
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

The car [christened the Seagull], launched last year by Chinese automaker BYD, sells for around $12,000 in China, but drives well and is put together with craftsmanship that rivals U.S.-made electric vehicles that cost three times as much.

“Any car company that’s not paying attention to them as a competitor is going to be lost when they hit their market,” said Sam Fiorani, a vice president at AutoForecast Solutions near Philadelphia. “BYD’s entry into the U.S. market isn’t an if. It’s a when.”

U.S. politicians and manufacturers already see Chinese EVs as a serious threat. The Biden administration on Tuesday is expected to announce 100% tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, saying they pose a threat to U.S. jobs and national security.

There’s no single miracle that explains how BYD can manufacture the Seagull for so little. Instead, [Caresoft Global company president Terry] Woychowski said the entire car, which can go 252 miles (405 kilometers) per charge, is “an exercise in efficiency.”

Higher U.S. labor costs are a part of the equation. BYD can keep costs down because of its expertise in making batteries — largely for consumer products — that use lithium iron phosphate chemistry. They cost less but have lower range than most current lithium-ion batteries.

BYD would have to modify its cars to meet U.S. safety standards, which are more stringent than in China. Woychowski says Caresoft hasn’t done crash tests, but he estimated that would add a couple thousand dollars to the cost.

Well, now they're a complete set 😢 . RIP Machine Gun.

The News: Dennis Thompson, last remaining member of MC5, dies at age 75 via archive.is

• Induction into the RRHoF, my ass

The Freep: Dennis Thompson, MC5 drummer and ‘last man standing,’ dies at 75 via archive.is

Paying my respects: howzabout a little music for the sad occasion?…

• The New Order - 1975

• New Race - Looking At You

• Rave-Up of The Dead! 🧟‍♂️: DTK/MC5 + Lemmy - Back In The U.S.A.

  • Wishing studio-musician-in-denial and eternal "best New Rock Guitarist" Gilby Clarke a long life and not to join fellow bandmates on a different stage for a loooong time.

• Drummers…ya just gotta hate 'em! 🤣 Old Man Thompson boring the bejeezus out of some Michigan kids with his "war stories". I was just…like…that… and I'm sure most of you were too.

Stay sick, scratch glass, turn blue, climb walls…but don't get caught!
!detroit@midwest.social ☆ !michigan@midwest.social ☆ !music@midwest.social

The likely struggle of the Hudson’s Detroit project to meet projected Detroit jobs and revenue is the latest large-scale project fueling the debate over the structure of tax-incentivized development.

Gilbert’s Bedrock promised 2,000 new jobs and $71 million in new tax revenue in its controversial bid for the incentive. General Motors’ move from the Renaissance Center to Hudson’s Detroit will affect an estimated 850 positions.

The Ilitch family failed to deliver on new neighborhoods and entertainment districts it promised would sprout around Little Caesars Arena in “District Detroit,” and as a second phase of the project struggles to get started. All told, taxpayers would cover about $1.8 billion, or 64%, of District Detroit’s cost, if it is built out. The Ilitch’s Olympia Development did not respond to a request for comment.

Gilbert finished the mammoth Book Tower renovation, and the much smaller One Campus Martius renovation, but the company and officials have not said how many jobs at either site are new to the city. The Monroe Block project is stalled, and filling the Hudson building with employees already working in Detroit at the Renaissance Center, which will empty its offices, is not what was promised, said Michael LaFaive, an analyst with the Mackinac Policy Center, which tracks corporate subsidies.

Bedrock, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation officials and most of the Detroit City Council members who voted in favor of the Hudson’s incentive did not respond to requests for comment, but a spokesperson for Mayor Mike Duggan said the city’s high level of incentives have on balance been a winner for the city.