Daily Detroit

With a labor participation rate around 20 points less than that of a healthy city, Detroit has a talent gap and a skills gap. And this isn't unique to the city. It's impacting the region and the state, too. So how do we get people to work? What are some of the things to be done about it? And how to do it under the current system — which as much as some want to change it is the world we live in rig...

Our guest today is Kara Swisher, one of the foremost tech and business journalists in the country. Beyond her work at Vox and her column at the New York Times, she's found success with her podcasts including Recode/ Decode and another she co-hosts, Pivot. I wanted to talk with kara for a variety of reasons. After all, southeast Michigan is central to one of America's most significant industries, a...

Today we're hitting pause on interviews to catch you up on some things happening around town. First up, Amazon has released a new video and some details about the battery-electric Prime delivery vans that Plymouth-based Rivian will build for it. The online retailer has ordered 100,000 vans from Rivian, which has designed the vehicle and will supply the skateboard electric-vehicle platform it will...

A mover and shaker is helping fund a campaign for equal rights for LGBTQ Michiganders Speaking of which, a new housing development will be built to support youth in that community ( read more in the Detroit News ) Beaumont Hospital is expanding in Grosse Pointe The Detroit People Mover is changing direction And then a conversation with developer David Alade, the co-founder of Century Partners. I c...

Look, this has been a busy, long week. Lots of things happening. Serious conversations. Big issues. But today is not that. No, it's the weekend so we kicked back, cracked open some Casamara Club and talked to Jason LaValla. What is Casamara Club? Well, it's what's called a leisure soda. That's a concept I wasn't sure about at first. But now? I totally get it. but now?. They're amaro soft drinks, m...

On today's podcast: A deeper dive than we've done before on some issues across the state. Most polls focus on the horserace. Who's up, and who's down. But this is more about what is on the minds of metro Detroiters and Michiganders , and get an idea of some possible solutions. Joining me and Sven Gustafson to talk about it is Brad Williams from the Detroit Regional Chamber. He's their Vice Preside...

Today, we're live from the Detroit Policy Conference at Motor City Soundboard. There are two main themes for today's show: First, there's a new energy for regional cooperation from Oakland County Executive David Coulter. He outlined his cooperative strategy for regional economic attraction, his support for transit (and why), and drew some contrasts to his predecessor. Dug Song also was big on work...

On today's show: Challenging weather conditions and high water levels continue to complicate plans for the highly anticipated Oudolf Garden Detroit project on Belle Isle. Auburn Hills-based auto supplier BorgWarner is buying Delphi Technologies in an all-stock deal. You can read more about it here .  The Detroit News is reporting that the city of Detroit will be asking for proposals to redo histor...

On today's show: The GM Detroit Hamtramck plant has a new electric future. A new poll shows little support for new road funding taxes, a lot of support for expanding protections for LGBT housing and employment, and although many Michiganders want changes made to the health care system, not much support for Medicare for All as the way to do it.  The Michigan State Police Crime Lab in Sterling Heigh...

Today's show is a long-form conversation with author Conrad Kickert.  He's a retail and planning expert and professor at the University of Cincinnati. His most recent book caught my eye, "Dream City: Creation, Destruction, and Reinvention in Downtown Detroit." Backed up by research and global experience, he busts some myths about downtown Detroit and its history. He adds perspective from his caree...

The big beer news in town was that Atwater Brewery sold to a subsidiary of Molson Coors, Tenth and Blake. But why? And what's next? To take a look behind the deal, a talk with Atwater owner Mark Rieth. That conversation is at 7 minutes in. We also round up a few things happening around Michigan and Detroit: Tesla can now sell cars easier in Michigan, and service them through a subsidiary. That's b...

The New Year is a great time to take inventory of what we've done and where we're headed, and I like to talk to Dennis Archer Jr.,the CEO of Ignition Media Group and the president of Archer Corporate Services ahead of the Detroit Policy Conference that's coming up this Wednesday, January 29. We touch on a variety of topics including transit, education, development, the focus going forward on the n...

On today's show: Last week on this show we told you how a capitol reporter in Lansing alleged that state Senator Peter Lucido of Shelby Township made a sexist remark to her while she tried to interview him. Now, a fellow state senator of Lucido's says she's filing a workplace sexual harassment complaint against him. State Senator Mallory McMorrow tells Crain's the incident took place in November 2...

Today on your Daily Detroit, we're talking all things autos. After all, it's usually at this time of year when everyone's in town for the North American International Auto Show. Although the big Detroit show is in the summer now, have no fear. We thought we'd fill your tank with some updates on cool car tech from the Consumer Electronics Show, talk about the almost-sure reintroduction of the Humme...

On today's show, Alexandra Schmidt from Bridge Magazine joins us to talk about a new report they released today, "No Substitute: The Public's Agenda To Reduce Michigan's Reliance On Uncertified, Long-Term Substitute Teachers." We run through the data and the responses with Schmidt, including: 50,000 kids are served by long-term, uncertified substitute teachers Enrollment in teaching prep programs...

On today's show, Michigan and Metro Detroit have been talking about the callout by Michigan Advance reporter Allison Donahue of State Senator Peter Lucido, after this exchange, excerpted from her first-person account: "You should hang around! You could have a lot of fun with these boys, or they could have a lot of fun with you." The teenagers burst into an Old Boys' Network-type of laughter, and I...

Detroit lays claim to a rich musical legacy going back decades, including Motown Records, a vibrant jazz scene, techno music and more than one generation of booty-shaking garage rock. But it's been a while since it was home to an actual music magazine. That's changing with the debut of Maggot Brain, a new full-color quarterly print magazine launched by Third Man Records. That's the retailer, recor...

New research is out that ties economic issues can tie to health issues, specifically when it comes to auto plant closures. On today's show, we speak to Dr. Atheendar Venkataramani from The University Of Pennsylvania. He joins Jer to talk about the study by him and his colleagues in The Journal Of The American Medical Association , there were a stunning 85 percent more deaths related to opioids in...

Happy Friday! On today's show: The Detroit News has a new report out that says that many City of Detroit homeowners have been overcharged at least $3,700 a year in property taxes since 2010. Find the story here .  Could the Federal Government take over the United Auto Workers? According to U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider, it's a possibility.  Pier One is downsizing, and it looks like its location...

On today's show, we're talking with Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller about that green ooze on I-696 and how it impacts neighbors, as well a questions about if sites in Metro Detroit haven't been properly cleaned up, and, despite the city and county boundaries you see on a map, how we're all, quite literally, connected. If you don't know Miller, before this role, the St. Clair...

Today's episode is about a condition that has stayed in the shadows, and a filmmaker looking to bring it into the light.  Hidradenitis Suppurtiva Foundation - or HS for short - is one of the most severe conditions in dermatology, according to the HS Foundation.  HS is also known in the European areas as Acne Inversa (AI), and is a chronic, non-contagious, painful and quality of life-impacting skin...

On today's episode, we wrap up 2019 auto sales with Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Autotrader. The industry finished the year above 17 million cars and trucks for the fifth straight year, the first time it's ever gone that long above that number. We go over results at each of the Detroit automakers, including surprising troubles for some of Ford's popular SUVs and how Ram trucks have leapfro...

Here's what to know and where to go around Southeast Michigan: An update on the green ooze that spilled onto I-696 just east of I-75 in Madison Heights Target is the target of thieves, with four stores getting hit in total in the region Vinsetta Garage is getting their long-awaited parking lot out back, and neighbors are none too happy. ( Go read more here ) could there have been a better solution...

Today's episode is from the vault in April. The automobile is synonymous with Detroit. It is, after all, the Motor City. But what if there was a different way forward than a vehicle for every man, woman and even sometimes, child? What if instead of a half hour at the gym then a half hour in your car, you could bike or walk and get to where you're going? Or, like here in Michigan, get around withou...

On today's episode, we hit the vault to re-tell a story originally aired in May.  We're taking a look at a company that's making high-end leather goods right here in the city of Detroit, putting Detroiters and veterans to work. We're talking about Pingree Detroit, based just about a block away from the well-known Shinola. Pingree is a worker-owned company formed as an L3C — a special type of compa...