The Saint Antoine and Monroe Street intersection in Greektown has reopened with temporary two-way lanes while construction on the Monroe Streetscape Project continues.

The $20 million renovation of the pedestrian corridor is expected to be completed in the fall of 2026.

Tasso Teftis is the Vice President of the Greektown Neighborhood Partnership. His family also owns several businesses in the corridor, including Astoria Pastry. He says during the closures, his businesses have seen a 25 percent decrease in profits.

Other businesses haven't been affected, especially the ones that are closer to the entrance of the casino, and some even more than 25 percent. From talking to all my neighbors, most have been here a long time, and they want to see the change. So they're taking it in stride.

Teftis says all businesses are open and all parking spots within the two-block area are accessible. He says the intersections on Monroe at Brush and Beaubien are expected to be open by the end of this year.

Republican state House Speaker Matt Hall says he is open to the federal government granting more time to enact cuts to Michigan's Medicaid program.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer met with President Donald Trump this week to seek a temporary reprieve. But Hall does support the cuts.

And so at some point, Michigan is going to have to adjust our Medicaid system to reflect the fact that we're either—we're just going to have to adjust it to reflect this new reality, and that's OK.

Whitmer says a three-year waiver would give the state time to come up with a plan to manage the effect on 2.6 million Michigan residents who have Medicaid. The cuts would kick hundreds of thousands of people in the state off Medicaid, and millions would lose coverage nationwide.

Fewer than 1 in 5 registered voters in Metro Detroit cast ballots in the August primary election, but Detroiters turned out in higher numbers.

Turnout was about 18 percent in Wayne and Oakland counties, and less than 14 percent in Macomb County. Some precincts saw higher turnout in communities that had tax proposals on the ballot, such as Livonia, where voters rejected a $150 million bond to pay for a new police station, a new library, and renovations to the city's fire stations. Citywide turnout was about 34 percent.

The Wayne County Health Department has found Legionella bacteria at the retirement home and nursing facility Allegria Village in Dearborn. Two people have recently died.

The county is looking into the two fatal cases and a nonfatal case from last year. On Wednesday, the county confirmed that testing of the "affected area's water system" has detected the presence of Legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaires' disease. Complex water systems like those in nursing facilities have been common routes for the bacteria to spread.

Health officials say they’re helping with disinfection and alerting residents and staff to seek medical treatment if they develop symptoms.

Free and fillable Power of Attorney forms are now available for download on the Michigan Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Task Force webpage.

The forms are user-friendly, making it easier for Michigan residents and their family members to appoint a trusted individual to make important medical and financial decisions on their behalf.

A notice from the Office of the Attorney General states the new forms will help combat elder abuse by allowing more access to power of attorney documents. Visit the Michigan Department of Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Task Force page for more information or find the link on today’s DER post at wdet.org/der.

Wayne State’s African American Studies program, the Crocket-Lumumba Scholars, is raising money for scholarships and study abroad programs through an event called Homegrown: An Evening of Detroit Jazz and Poetry.

The event takes place August 16 from 6 PM to 8 PM at the Gretchen Valade Center for Jazz. Featured performers include jazz bassist and bandleader Marion Hayden, trumpet player Allen Dennard, and drummer Tariq Gardner. Tickets are $30.

For more information, email [email protected].