Daily Detroit

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer may have urged Michigan residents not to head Up North for the Memorial Day weekend. But the owner of a dock company says the governor's husband asked to put his boat in the water last week before the holiday weekend, explaining that he was the guv's husband. And how Whitmer faces her own boatgate controversy, which is ironic, because some of the first, loud complaints about her emergency stay-at-home order centered on people not being able to put their boats in the water (or play golf, but that's another story). We discuss.

Also on today's show:

Daily coronavirus numbers from the state of Michigan and city of Detroit

Kwame Kilpatrick isn't getting an early release from jail. The story was suspect from the beginning.

Fred Westbrook Jr., the former head of the DDOT bus driver's union, has died of COVID-19

Great Lakes Crossing Outlets and Twelve Oaks Mall have announced plans to reopen on Thursday with a number of precautions and protocols planned

Five mobility projects related to complications from the coronavirus outbreak received funding from the state of Michigan

A new report from LinkedIn says Detroit is the eighth-best city in the U.S. to start your career, based on affordable housing and high starter salaries

And bubble tea is the top unique delivery order in the state of Michigan

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On today's show:

A proposal has gained steam to allow to-go cocktails and booze from bars in Michigan, as well as has legislative sponsors. Advocate and distiller Robyn Cleveland joins Jer to talk about it, what's next and what you can do if interested.

Plus, Sven talks with Lisa Nuszkowski of MoGo about bike share in the region. What's next, how the pandemic has impacted their plans, and how people are still riding the service.

Support our work: http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit

On today's show:

Michigan is opening up a little ahead of the holiday weekend. What are the details?

Updated unemployment and Coronavirus numbers.

The city of Detroit's population has been estimated by the U.S. Census to keep dropping - but the region is flat while the rest of the nation is growing. Meanwhile, we're adding more infrastructure for the same amount of people and act surprised when it costs more per person.

Hamtramck's Labor Day Festival is canceled for this year.

Author and journalist Karen Dybis joins us to talk about Michigan's drive-in movie theaters and how some of them are opening up regardless.

Thanks to our members who make this show possible: http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit

Well, just as Michigan slowly recovers from what everyone hopes is the worst effects of the global pandemic, devastating floods hit mid-Michigan. We bring you up to speed on that and Sven talks about the intense dam-building spree the country went through.

We've got the latest coronavirus numbers from the state and city of Detroit.

A new poll from the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Glengariff group looks at partisanship and the pandemic.

Governor Whitmer has massive support among Democrats and Independents.

But Republican men view the Coronavirus Crisis very differently than other Michiganders. It's the only group that less than half say they are wearing facemasks; and the majority of middle-aged Republicans say the armed protestors in Lansing send the right message.

We've got news on MOGO bike sharing in the suburbs

We talk about the status of the Woodward Dream Cruise and the a planned wildcat cruise.

Plus, details on the moved annual Detroit-Windsor Ford fireworks display.

We bring you up to date on the latest numbers from the state and city of Detroit.

We talk about the challenges businesses up north will face opening for memorial day weekend

Voting by mail will be a thing this november

Poop as a harbinger of a coronavirus second wave

Oakland County will offer $30 million in Federal aid to local governments

Dan Gilbert wins a federal contract to oversee contact tracing

We've got news about some business openings and closings and the annual Theater Bizarre halloween party - and we'll see two livestream music festivals in detroit before the month is up.

On today's show:

The northern part of Michigan is beginning to reopen on Friday, while Metro Detroit is still seeing a percentage increase in COVID-positive tests.

Are the flu and coronavirus comparable? The data points to a definite no. We'll talk about it. Background: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/05/the-flu-has-killed-2200-michiganders-since-2000-coronavirus-topped-that-in-a-month.html

Bottle deposits aren't happening, and you've got a growing stack in your garage. What to do? Background: https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/05/18/michigan-bottle-returns-open-closed/5194368002/

Some auto industry updates, including factories reopening; plus Elon Musk can apparently do whatever he wants.

And the DIA gift shop has seized the moment with new masks that resonate with us right now: https://diashop.org/face-masks/

That and more on your Daily Detroit.

In previous episodes, we looked at how the Coronavirus could impact Education in ways beyond social distancing. And then Sven did a deep-dive into live music and venues.

Today, restaurants and bars.

Eater's Brenna Houck joins me to talk about the latest from a big-picture perspective and what could be ahead for some of our favorite places to grab a bite.

Then, I'll share a few things to know today:

On Sunday, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, the City of Detroit preliminarily reported no new COVID-19 deaths.

The city of Detroit has hired a long-time local leader and administrator (and the first African-American state supreme court chief justice) - as Deputy mayor.

Ferndale has canceled all their events through Labor Day, and a number of Woodward corridor cities are drafting a letter requesting the Woodward Dream Cruise cancel their 2020 event which is still on for mid-August.

Today's show is a deep-dive into the impact of the Coronavirus on the music industry, musicians, and venues.

First, Sven Gustafson sets the table on what's going on.

Then two feature conversations:

Dan McGowan, the Managing Partner of Crofoot Presents. He owns the Crofoot in downtown Pontiac and does promotions for a number of venues.

Then, Steve Nawara, a longtime Detroit musician with credits that include the Detroit Cobras.

On today's show:

1:02 An update on where we stand on the Coronavirus statewide

6:05 The City of Detroit is greatly expanding testing, finding out some trends and will offer testing to barber shops, salons and dentists when they open

11:05 A protest is planned in the Capitol - again - and this time there would be arrests if people brandish weapons

14:05 The Coronavirus is decimating Michigan's budget, and one of the worst-hit areas could be our schools. Ron French from Bridge Magazine joins us to talk about the possibility of up to a 25% cut which would mean teacher layoffs, increased class sizes, and even possible district closures. Here's his piece: https://www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/gop-leader-25-percent-cuts-michigan-schools-coronavirus

24:25 We update you on some reopenings like Supino and Avalon

26:30 A pair of Detroit non-profits are giving away 10,000 facemasks

Thanks for listening to your Daily Detroit! We're people-powered media. Join us as a member at http://www.patreon.com/dailydetroit

Welcome to your Wednesday Hump Day edition of your Daily Detroit. Today we're tackling:

• Metro Times is out with a shocking story about violent threats made against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on several private Facebook groups. It comes as an armed rally is once again being planned for the state Capitol building in Lansing on Thursday.
• Some vacant Art Van furniture stores will be reborn as Loves Furniture, with about 1,000 people hired to staff them.
• The Archdiocese of Detroit has set dates for reopening parishes, along with strict social distancing guidelines.
• The New York Times editorial board dings states like Michigan that have relaxed Freedom of Information Act requirements during the coronavirus crisis.
• Eastern Market is redesigning how its annual Flower Day will work.
• And we hear from Cyndi Ross, restoration manager for the nonprofit Friends of the Rouge, about how the group is encouraging people to help the Rouge River this year by doing things at home.

Later in the show, your Daily Detroit team shares the edible things they're craving that we can't currently get. Because we're almost two months into this shutdown business, and we're all going crazy.

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.