Dequindre Cut to open in July

The Dequindre Cut, the rails-to-trail greenway connecting Eastern Market to the RiverWalk, is set to open July 1, according to a brief item in the Free Press.

To incinerate or dispose and recycle?

The Free Press (weeks after the Metrotimes began covering the story) writes that the city of Detroit must decide soon whether to keep the incinerator. I'll be shocked if they shut it down -- doing so would constitute an admission that building it was a mistake, and our politicians are loath to admit their errors.

Detroit: The birthplace of "nerd"

In an otherwise uninteresting column in The New York Times, David Brooks makes a startling revelation -- the word "nerd" first gained circulation in Detroit! Dr. Seuss is credited with coining the word in 1950 in If I Ran the Circus, but Newsweek first noted its use in everyday speech in our own beloved city.

DPS superintendent criticized

The Detroit News questions DPS Superintendent Connie Calloway's competence:

Superintendent Connie Calloway is drawing criticism for a series of recent communication missteps that have community leaders and even supporters concerned that she may be losing buy-in for initiatives that are essential to rehabilitating the 106,000-student school system.

Calloway's plan to overhaul five low-performing schools nearly collapsed before getting off the ground as frustrated parents and board members blasted her administration for its lack of information on the concept. She has been absent for meetings on the school overhaul initiative and for a press conference on the district's $45 million budget deficit.

"Either she is passionately disrespectful or just inept, but at $280,000 a year, neither is acceptable," said radio talk show host Mildred Gaddis.

Perhaps saving DPS is too great a task for anyone to handle.

“Let’s Meet in the D!”

Tom Walsh of the Free Press reports that Christopher Ilitch is leading a campaign to get local businesses to hold conventions Downtown rather than other cities. Why send your employees to Vegas when we have casinos and hotels here?

A number of firms have already made this sensible pledge: Little Caesers, General Motors, Ford Motor, Bank of America, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Crain Communications, Deloitte, Detroit Medical Center, ePrize, Northwest Airlines, Strategic Staffing Solutions, Verizon Wireless and the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

DMC expands campus

The News reports that the Detroit Medical Center will build a new, $34 million pediatric center on Beaubien Street, across from the existing Children's Hospital. This will be the first expansion of DMC's campus in thirty years.

Bad news for DPS: $45 milion deficit

Worst case scenario: DPS could return to state oversight. That's according to the Detroit News, whose editorial board seems to be awaiting just such a catastrophe so charter schools can take over the district.

End is near for Tiger Stadium

The New York Times reported yesterday on the pending demolition of old Tiger Stadium. I regretfully agree with the closing quote: “This is an old city. But history here is discounted by a lot of people.”

New apartments downtown

According to the Free Press, 1403 and 1413 Woodward will be converted into 70 upscale apartments with first-floor retail. The earliest occupancy would be spring 2010.

Get involved with TRU

Local transit advocates Transportation Riders United are hosting an Open House tonight at 6:30 pm for new volunteers interested in bringing rapid transit to Detroit. TRU's office is on the 16th floor of the Guardian Building (500 Griswold - Suite 1650).

$220,500 offered for GAR building

A new offer is on the table for the castle-like Grand Army of the Republic building downtown:

$1.25 million for retail on Jefferson

The Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan is sponsoring a $1.25 million program through the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation to spark retail development along a 3-mile stretch of East Jefferson from Downtown to McClellan St., near the eastern end of Belle Isle.

Gleaners goes green

Model D has a nice article about the public/private collaboration behind Gleaners' "green" renovation of its historic warehouse.

Woodbridge plan unveiled

The Woodbridge Neighborhood Development Corporation will unveil its new development plan, LEVERAGE: the Woodbridge Connection, at the 4731 Gallery (4731 Grand River Ave.) this Friday, May 2, from 6 to 8 pm. The plan will remain on display throughout May.

Hat Tip: Model D.

Light rail plans officially announced

Model D and Metromode have an enthusiastic report on Monday's official announcement of the DTOGS plan for a Woodward light rail line.

Meanwhile, according to Crain's, the anonymous group that's considering privately funding a light rail line on Woodward from Hart Plaza to Grand Boulevard will meet with DTOGS, presumably to discuss coordinating the plans.

Tastefest (Cityfest) 2008!

The lineup has been announced. The official website has it in Word format; head to Web Vomit for the copy-and-pasted list. Headliners include George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, Broken Social Scene, and Calexico. I'll be there.

Update: The 2009 lineup can be found here. The festival runs from July 1 to July 5 this year.

People's Records is back

According to the Detroit Yes! forums, Brad Hales has signed a lease on a new Woodward storefront across from Zacarro's Market, the new high-end grocer in Brush Park. The original People's Records store burned down in the Forest Arms fire in February.

Should Detroit downsize?

Last week CNNMoney.com wrote about Youngstown, Ohio's plans to shrink the city to make city services more cost effective:

Now, in a radical move, the city - which has suffered since the steel industry left town and jobs dried up - is bulldozing abandoned buildings, tearing up blighted streets and converting entire blocks into open green spaces. More than 1,000 structures have been demolished so far.

Under the initiative, dubbed Plan 2010, city officials are also monitoring thinly-populated blocks. When only one or two occupied homes remain, the city offers incentives - up to $50,000 in grants - for those home owners to move, so that the entire area can be razed. The city will save by cutting back on services like garbage pick-ups and street lighting in deserted areas.

In Sunday's Free Press, columnist Stephen Henderson said Detroit should do the same. He even suggests that community development groups should stop constructing new low-income housing, quoting a Wayne State professor:

"In the sparsely populated areas, we shouldn't be cheering groups that build 50 units of new housing," he said. "That's aggravating the situation. You've got to move people around, and build in denser areas to allow the city to operate more efficiently and effectively."