Daily Detroit

Welcome to Friday, comrades. On today's show, we air an overdue remembrance and tribute to John Thompson, a quintessential Detroiter and giant of a human being who was the original owner of legendary watering hole Honest?John's. (Close observers will note that Thompson passed away last months and we are late to the game. That's true. This segment got lost in the shuffle, and we're a small and often overburdened team. But we still felt strongly that we needed to eulogize him.)

On today's show, Tom Lawrence, Daily Detroit's resident Downriver Tech Guru and principal of Lawrence Systems, joins Jer to talk about some controversial location-tracking software being used by some local colleges as part of coronavirus safeguards. Tom's always a good listen.

Also, the state on Thursday announced a $600 million settlement for civil litigation stemming from the Flint Water Crisis. Most of the money is targeted for minors who were at the most risk from lead contamination. We discuss.

And as always, we bring you the latest COVID-19 numbers from the state, and we discuss a new order in Washtenaw County designed to try and curb large public gatherings by college students. Good luck with that!

Thanks for listening to Daily Detroit. If you like what you're hearing, tell a friend about us, leave us a review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or support us by becoming a Patreon member.

Happy Hump Day. Today, Jer speaks with Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health Direct Primary Care all about Michigan State University's announcement that it's going 100% virtual instruction this fall and encouraging students to stay home and not move into dorms. It got me thinking about the Twitter thread below, about the difficulties universities face in opting to pull the plug on in-person instruction this fall.

Also today, the city of Detroit plans a big memorial day Aug. 31 on Belle Isle to honor the nearly 1,500 residents who died from COVID-19. We offer some sharp words for those who continue to brush off the pandemic as some kind of hoax.

Elsewhere, we discuss Bollinger Motors' move from Ferndale to Oak Park. They're the local electric vehicle startup that isn't named Rivian, with two battery-electric off-road vehicles in the works. They're also hiring engineers. Email [email protected].

Also:

• New affordable housing is coming to Milwaukee Junction in Detroit.
• Ferndale is starting its new citywide mobility plan. Find an interactive map, the Ferndale Moves! website or contact them with your suggestions.
• Amazon is hiring 100 people in Detroit at an average salary of $150,000: amazon.jobs.
• An old pipe organ from the long-demolished Hollywood Theater in Detroit is getting restored.

Thanks for listening to Daily Detroit. If you like what you're hearing, tell a friend about us, leave us a review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or support us by becoming a Patreon member.

School's about to be back in session, and for many students, the new school year begins from home. That's frankly stressing the hell out of many parents, who must contend with supervising their children's online learning while continuing their own efforts to work from home and manage daily household matters.

So to get some ideas on how to cope, we hit up Karen Liska Evans, a friend of the pod and coach who's literally writing a book on working from home with kids. She offers some great tips for how to stay sane.

Also, we add a few headlines you should know from around town:

• The latest COVID-19 numbers from the state of Michigan
• Newly uncovered wiretap recordings between indicted Detroit City Councilman Gabe Leland and businessman Bob Carmack, courtesy of the Freep (paywall)
• Influential Detroit developer Eric Means has died at age 48
• And we uncover the reason why the Hamtramck Post Office was closed last week

Thanks for listening to Daily Detroit. If you like what you're hearing, tell a friend about us, leave us a review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or support us by becoming a Patreon member.

Back from the rolling Pennsylvania highlands, I join Jer again in our daily Starsky and Hutch routine to run down what's happening around town. So what's happening around town, you ask?

Well, Macomb County is now driving the bus on coronavirus infections in metro Detroit, yay? The Legislature has approved bills tying funding to public schools' coronavirus efforts, parents in Livonia are protesting against virtual instruction for their kids' school, the MAGA Cruise on Saturday may have spread more COVID-19, and the city of Detroit's moratorium against evictions ended on Saturday. Good times.

Also:

• New protected bike lanes in Rouge Park are nearing completion
• Ferndale residents are complaining about getting hit with huge increases in their water bills after new meters were installed
• Fletcher Sharpe joins us to talk Detroit City FC's loss last weekend to Chattanooga FC in its fall season home opener
• And we discuss what's happening in Belarus, as the government there has cracked down fiercely against protesters following a disputed presidential election. As a reminder, I we did a whole episode based on my visit to the beleaguered former Soviet country. You should totally listen to it for added context about what's happening there now.

Thanks for listening to Daily Detroit. If you like what you're hearing, tell a friend about us, leave us a review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or support us by becoming a Patreon member.

Today on your Daily Detroit, we talk about voting. How to make your voice heard in the context of an election during a pandemic, while dealing with a shaky-at-best, defunded postal service.

Plus how to put your shoulder to the wheel as a poll worker to help make democracy go with Laura Khalil. She's someone who has been a poll worker themself so has gone through the process.

Here's a link to the map to find your ballot drop-off box in Michigan: https://datastudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/4a9e9f9e-0eb2-47bf-ba2e-b4900ea7f41c/page/WI5bB

On today's Daily Detroit:

We gotta catch up on what's happening with Coronavirus in the state. There's a few stories, including a case spike.

Plus, planning on an autonomous vehicle corridor from Detroit to Ann Arbor is moving forward.

Royal Oak is banning gay conversion therapy. More: https://www.dailytribune.com/news/local/royal-oak-latest-city-to-ban-gay-conversion-therapy/article_6d6b0e5c-dcad-11ea-9a55-f3355ee17458.html

And local pizza chains Buddy's and Domino's are hiring like crazy in the pandemic. I'll tell you how to get in on the action.

Plus, there's a new Salsa in town from the Aronson family, famous for their salsa. Now that a non-compete clause has expired, a pair of stepbrothers who are the children of the founders and former owners of Garden Fresh Gourmet are stepping up to the plate with a new brand, Missy and Mel's. We give it a socially distanced taste test right here in the North End.

Be cool like Brian and become a member of Daily Detroit to support our local journalism and storytelling: http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit

A lawsuit seeks to end sales taxes on tampons and feminine products in Michigan. More: https://19thnews.org/2020/08/michigans-tampon-tax-challenged-lawsuit/

People have lost their jobs over the fallout from the phallic cake incident in Macomb County. Will the Coroner be next? A new report asks big questions about the campaign spending of the Wayne County Sheriff. More: https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/wayne-county-sheriff-benny-napoleon-has-been-lavishing-his-campaign-funds-on-pretty-much-everything-except-actually-campaigning/

Many craft distillers in Michigan are on the ropes

There's a concerning oil spill in Macomb County

Plus… after that lineup, I think I need a hug. Although there's no actual hugs in store for me, at least virtually for us there's the 9th Annual Hug Detroit Day coming up. Erica Owens joins us to talk about it.

Website: https://www.hugdetroitday.com/

GoFundMe for school supplies: https://gf.me/u/ynbjpq

Live Stream: https://www.facebook.com/Hugdetroitday/

Thanks to our newest member, Cole, for joining us. Remember to become a member and power all-local news here: http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit

Our stories:

• Amazon is taking over a large part of the state fairgrounds for a new facility and we're getting a new transit center out of it
• A historic armory on the riverfront has plans for a new lease on life
• In Roseville, a historic church has begun to come down
• A Chevy is a surprise as the fastest selling new vehicle in the country

And Fletcher Sharpe joins us to talk about the BIG 10 plus what's happening in soccer with local teams Detroit City FC and the Michigan Stars.

Remember our new dial-a-podcast voicemail line at 313-789-3211 if you have feedback, and if you like what we're doing and it brings value, your support at http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit is much appreciated.

On today's show, Jefferson Chalmers has a new, community-driven plan to redevelop this historic corner of Detroit's east side. We dive in.

Josh Elling of Jefferson East and Derric Scott of the East Jefferson Development Corporation joins us to talk about the master plan that was recently completed. It's a big vision that includes everything from housing to groceries to the Vanity Ballroom.

Have a look at that vision here: https://arcg.is/19u5a8

Learn more about Jefferson East, Inc.: https://www.jeffersoneast.org/

EJDevCo: https://www.ejdevco.com/

A couple of quick housekeeping things before we get started here. First, we have a new dial-a-podcast and voicemail service. That's right, you can now call in to leave a message for the show we might play on the air.

AND, a new twist. No, this isn't just a voicemail line. You can now call in and listen to the most recent or second most recent episode of the podcast.

That way, you don't even need a smartphone to hear the show.

Big time thanks to Engineer Randy for working on this and making it possible. You can leave feedback, ideas, or story suggestions at 313-789-3211.

Services like that are only possible thanks to the funding of our members. You can join them at patreon.com/dailydetroit - and thank you.