Daily Detroit

My mom was in her 20s in the 1960s, and Motown - be it Marvin Gaye, Tammy Terrell, Stevie Wonder or you name it - that was the music she'd have on the radio in the Detroit flower shop where she worked.

When she had me years later, those same songs were installed in my heart as lullabies.

Today's episode honors founding Supreme Mary Wilson and tells some of her story. Her sudden passing at age 76 in her Henderson, Nevada home stunned Motown fans everywhere.

She died of hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease - or, put more simply, high blood pressure caused by artery blockages.

I'm going to focus on the news itself, how Mary Wilson made us feel and her impact.

To help do that, I'm sharing parts of a candid conversation with her recorded by retired label executive Joe Smith in 1987.

It is one recording among many that was donated as a collection by Smith to the Library of Congress, free to use and reuse with credit. There's a citation link in the show notes and I encourage you to check out this treasure trove of American history.

I also spoke with the knowledgeable Music historian and DJ Dan Austin. He is a founder of the Motor City Soul Club and the turntables he and his friends spin help keep the music alive for all generations to dance to with his Soul Stomp events at the Marble Bar.

Dan Austin's awesome B-Sides and Rarities playlist featuring the Supremes and Mary Wilson: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3nQdWd3a5POhaA0Kt5acPL?si=Y2Gtig-XSUiRPIF_T2lpIw

Interview excerpts: Smith, J. & Wilson, M. (1987) Off the record interview with Mary Wilson, -01-30. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/jsmith000157/

Thanks to Joe Smith for making this conversation available to the American people free to use and reuse with proper attribution.

Along Jefferson from I-375 to the Grosse Pointe border, one of the organizations that's undoubtedly making an impact is Jefferson East Inc., or JEI.

It's not just with flashy projects, but in very personal ways such as helping Detroiters stay in their homes.

The nonprofit covers five neighborhoods with more than 18 square miles of land area and 42,000 people. That's bigger than many suburbs.

As someone who knows this area decently well, I also know lots of people write off the east side.

At first glance, parts of it have been some of the hardest hit in Detroit.

But whether it's the beautiful houses of Indian village or Jefferson Chalmers; the canals, the economic development that has slowly but surely been firing up, and of course, the proximity to one of our region's most important resources, the Detroit river - I wouldn't sleep on it.

So today is my conversation is with Josh Elling of Jefferson East.

Then, I'll send you out the door with a couple things to know.

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Today:

00:23 Contact high school sports can resume under a new MDHSS order.

03:18 Free community college is now available in Michigan for those 25 years or older. Additional background on Metro Detroit's education issues: https://www.detroitchamber.com/soe/

05:57 Demolition may begin as soon as this summer at the Detroit incinerator. More: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2021/02/03/detroit-trash-burning-incinerator-state-regulators-fines-demolition/4370975001/

09:10 Union Street may be no more, but details aren't clear. The building it is in may become a grocery store. Does Midtown need another one? And which should be there? Westborn? Trader Joe's.

13:43 A golf retailer is moving into the old John Varvatos space

15:25 New Order Coffee closed in Midtown, now they've gotten out of the cafe business closing their recently opened Royal Oak spot

18:04 Talking electric vehicles, General Motors and new targets to eliminate tailpipe emissions in light duty vehicles by 2035 and carborn neutral by 2040

Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit

On today's show:

00:34 Unemployment is among the highest in the nation in Metro Detroit, only behind Las Vegas

03:24 A new report shows Black Michiganders had worse outcomes with COVID-19. More: https://news.umich.edu/black-michiganders-with-covid-19-suffer-worse-health-socioeconomic-outcomes-than-whites/

05:44 Little High Flyers shutters their brick and mortar shop in Midtown and go online only: https://littlehighflyers.com/

06:46 The Golden Fleece in Greektown got a remodel

09:56 Restoration work is underway at Michigan Central Depot (the massive train station in Corktown). Today's update is on the tens of thousands of square feet of decorative plaster that is being re-created. Austin Giesey from Christman-Brinker joins us.

Today:

01:02 Vaccines are now available to people who work with food and beverage, including employees at restaurants, grocery stories, meatpacking facilities, and more. Janitors and security guards are all also eligible.

02:25 Reports are swirling that the Suburban Collection, a large auto dealer group, will be bought by a publicly traded company.

03:40 The historic Birmingham 8 has been bought by Emagine.

04:40 Previous guest of the podcast Mama Shu in Highland Park's Avalon Village has suffered a terrible loss. Help support their work: https://gofund.me/68c41eb2

06:26 Fletcher Sharpe breaks down the Matthew Stafford trade to the LA Rams, what the Lions got back include Jared Goff (Goffsling?) and more.

16:09 Then we get into Detroit City FC offseason happenings.

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