The Metro

The Michigan Department of Transportation recently announced postponing a planned I-375 reconstruction project citing increasing increased costs and community feedback.

The project was characterized as repartive, a way to correct past injustices that occured when primarily Black neighborhoods were demolished to build highways. 

While engaging the commuity, MDOT presented on the history of the notable Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighoborhoods that thrived in the area 1-375 now sits.

Marcia Black and Lex Draper Garcia Bey from Black Bottom Archives joined Tia Graham on The Metro to share their reaction to the I-375 redesign project being postponed.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Starting out as a recreational league at Belle Isle in 2010, Detroit City Football Club has grown its footprint in Detroit and Metro Detroit, quickly amassing a loyal and passionate fanbase. 

Now, over a decade later, a new stadium is helping usher in a new era for DCFC. AlumniFi Field is set to open for the 2027 USL Championship season. 

Construction is scheduled to begin by the end of this year in the Corktown and Southwest Detroit neighborhoods, pending Detroit City Council’s approval.

Detroit City Football Club Stadium Neighborhood Advisory Council will begin to accept nominations. Any Detroit residents who live within the impact area and are over 18 are eligible to serve.

CEO and Co-founder of DCFC Sean Mann joined Tia Graham on The Metro to talk more about the stadium and the community that AlumniFi will call home.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

The City of Detroit launched a pilot composting program for the first 200 people to sign up last week. 

Demand was so high that the first openings are filled and hundreds of others are on a wait list. That enthusiasm is good news for proponents of urban agriculture in Detroit. 

The City of Detroit’s Director of Sustainability, Tepfirah Rushdan, and the city’s Deputy Director of Urban Agriculture, Patrice Brown, joined The Metro to discuss the enthusiasm for the program, and the future of urban agriculture and sustainability in Detroit.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Dan Gilbert’s Hudson’s tower was sold as a symbol of comeback for Detroit — a shiny promise of jobs, growth, and a Woodward Avenue reborn.

But behind the glass, there is a more complicated story. 

State officials approved over $600 million in tax breaks across several Bedrock projects, including Hudson’s. Locally, Gilbert also won a $60 million city tax abatement, with the Downtown Development Authority playing a key role in downtown financing.

But the returns are uncertain. A University of Michigan study projects the incentives could generate benefits through 2052. 

Critics say many promised jobs are simply relocations from GM’s headquarters and other Gilbert buildings, rather than net new opportunities for Detroiters.

Meanwhile, the flow of public money remains murky. 

To see if the subsidies are paying off, the Detroit Free Press is now suing the Michigan Department of Treasury to gain access to state records. Detroit Free Press reporter JC Reindel is helping lead the fight for information. He joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss how this story asks a deeper question about public subsidies and if they serve Detroiters or developers.

Jermond Booze, professionally known as Chef Booze or simply Booze, was born and raised in Arkansas and has turned Detroit into home. His southern roots are foundational to who he is and to the way he views food as a conduit for larger conversations.

Through hosting music-themed dinners, mentoring kids, and winning “Chopped,” Booze has become instrumental in Detroit’s food scene.

Like his mother and many family members, Booze graduated from the historic Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. The school is known for the Little Rock Nine, the brave Black students who integrated the school in 1957. He says he did not fully understand the significance of that history, or the role his family played in the civil rights movement in Arkansas, until he was an adult.

When COVID-19 shutdowns were enacted and social distancing became the norm, restaurants and public spaces emptied out. Streets across the country went quiet. But people, cities and businesses adapted. Many set up temporary outdoor seating. It provided a much-needed solution in a public health and economic crisis.

In Northville, as the pandemic crisis waned, outdoor dining remained. The city’s downtown was reminiscent of cafes and public plazas in other, more walkable, less car-dominated cities around the world. 

City residents and elected officials wanted to make the innovation permanent. 

In 2023, the Northville City Council voted to close the two main streets in downtown Northville, Center and Main, during summer months. Residents were drawn to the city center like never before. But not everyone was happy with the changes.

Community groups were formed, for and against. Let’s Open Northville has filed multiple lawsuits to end street dining and seasonal road closures in downtown Northville. Community Over Cars and Northville City Council are in favor of street dining and seasonal road closures.

On July 9, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Charlene Elder ordered Main street and Center streets opened back up, saying seasonal road closures violated the city's charter. The City of Northville appealed Judge Elder's ruling and on October 1, she’ll make a final ruling.

Kristi Wysocki and Peter Hoffman from Community Over Cars joined the Metro to discuss their group's efforts to preserve seasonal road closures and outdoor dining in downtown Northville.

The Metro contacted the City of Northville and the group Let’s Open Northville. We haven’t heard back.

Guests:

Nicole Melnyk is a comedian known for her energy and sharp wit. The Lansing native has performed at WDET's What's So Funny About Detroit event in the past, and now she's headlining on August 28.

She joined Tia Graham to talk about what inspired her comedy, why she reps Lansing so hard, and her love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

You can buy tickets for next week's Old Miami performance at wdet.org/events.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

The race to electric vehicles is happening. That may be surprising for some when considering our political climate. 

President Donald Trump has reversed course on the electricity-forward Biden years. 

The new federal budget law will phase out tax credits for electric vehicles by the end of September. Congressional Republicans also eliminated penalties for companies that don’t comply with fuel economy standards. Those standards encouraged automakers to produce electric vehicles to offset the sale of gas-powered cars that emitted too much dirty energy.

But despite all this, Ford announced two weeks ago that it was charging ahead with its EV plans. The company announced the creation of a new electric vehicle production system to produce EVs more efficiently. Ford hopes to bring a 30,000 dollar mid-size electric pick-up to market in two years. 

How might this plan turn out? And, can Ford and other American automakers outcompete China on EVs? 

John McElroy broadcasts three radio segments on WWJ, writes for Auto Blog and has a monthly column for Wards Auto. He spoke with Robyn Vincent.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

Last week, the lights went dim on a renewable energy program with big promise for the planet and your pocketbook. 

Michigan was set to receive $156 million from Solar for All. 

The money would have helped low-income households add rooftop or community solar, paid for battery storage and basic upgrades like panels, wiring, or roof work, and funded workforce training and community outreach. Households were projected to save about 20% on electric bills—roughly $400 annually. 

The Environmental Protection Agency terminated the $7 billion program after Congress rescinded the funds via President Trump’s new tax-and-spending law. Lawmakers are contesting the move, but for now, projects are paused, and families who expected relief from high energy bills will keep waiting. 

Oakland County Commission Chair Dave Woodward has supported local solutions that lower residents' costs and give businesses tools to adopt renewable energy. He joined Robyn Vincent to discuss what a real path forward could look like in the absence of federal support.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10a.m. to noon or streaming on-demand.

If you want to find bipartisanship, Lansing might not be the best place to look. The statehouse has been in gridlock with very few examples of the Democrats and Republicans working together to get bills passed this session.

A new budget still has not been passed, despite the statutorily-required deadline of July 1st. What’s more, only six laws have been passed in the last six months, meaning Michigan’s divided legislature is off to its slowest start in decades. 

However, there are some examples of Democrats and Republicans working together. It turns out there's room for negotiation when it comes to spending on kids and families.

Last week, the Michigan Senate Committee on Housing and Human Services held a hearing to discuss the expansion of Rx Kids, which offers women $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 a month during their child’s first year of life. 

One of the big supporters of Rx Kids is Republican state Senator John Damoose, who represents northern Michigan and the Eastern U.P. He says the bill making its way through the legislature celebrates kids and appropriately spends public and private funds. State Senator Damoose appreciates the program so much, he’s holding a press conference for the program this morning in Sault Ste Marie.

The program has been operating in the state senator's district for about six months where it’s already distributed almost one million dollars to over 300 families.

Producer Sam Corey spoke with state Senator Damoose to discuss why he supports Rx Kids as a Republican, what the bill could do if it passed, and how he’s trying to overcome the partisanship choking Lansing.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.