Confession… I listen to NPR news stations and podcasts more often than I care to disclose. When getting ready in the morning and driving to work, it’s WDET Morning Edition. On my way home, All Things Considered. And of course, there’s also Detroit Today for when I eat dinner, do chores, and have post-work ‘sloth moments’.
Post-Work Sloth Moment in action
Still, I can barely keep up with the happenings in Detroit and I have a sneaking suspicion this is not a unique problem. In this month’s blog, I will tell you about some of the key happenings in Detroit during the month of February 2015.
1. State of the City Address: On Tuesday, February 10th, Mayor Mike Duggan gave his first State of the City address since Detroit has emerged from under the control of state-appointed emergency manager, Kevin Orr. Duggan touted the city’s progress, highlighting reduced police response times, the promise of a balanced budget for the first time since 2002, the sale of 600 abandoned lots, an increase of 80 city buses, the renovation of parks throughout the city, and more. Even Duggan himself seemed surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction of the crowd. Click here to listen to the entire speech.
Mayor Mike Duggan during the State of the City
2. Increased City Government Transparency: Keeping with the theme of city government, Mayor Mike Duggan also took steps on February 20th to increase local transparency by opening most city government data to the public. Nine city departments must now post their information online, allowing Detroiters to view crime statistics, financial transactions, city contracts and more. Click here to search the data portal for Detroit and stay informed!
Detroit officials, including Police Chief James Craig and Mayor Mike Duggan, announce new online transparency program
3. Detroit as a Nationally Recognized Tech-Hub: In other news, a 2015 report from Automation Alley and the Anderson Economic Group ranked Detroit among the top 15 high-tech hubs in their annual Technology Industry Report. Though many do not consider Detroit to be especially ‘high-tech’, with its overwhelmingly industrial history, Detroit ranked #1 in the following categories: the number of advanced automotive industry jobs and businesses, the number of engineering technology degrees earned, and the number of architectural and engineering jobs. Click here to read the full report.
Other rankings that highlight Detroit as a tech-hub
4. Fiber Optic Internet in the D: He’s at it again! As Dan Gilbert continues to make waves in Detroit, he confirmed on February 21st that he is launching a new investment initiative, Rocket Fiber LLC. Rocket Fiber will be a Detroit-based high speed internet provider that is up to 100x faster the current residential internet. As a Detroit resident who pays for the fastest internet available, only to have it function [roughly] 68% of the time, I look forward to the results of this endeavor. Read more here.
5. Brew Detroit: Lastly…beer! On February 12th, Brew Detroit opened in Corktown as the largest automated brewery in Detroit. Brew Detroit is yet another piece of the craft brew movement in Detroit and utilizes a nano-brewing technique similar to another new Corktown brewery, Batch Brewing Company.
Cellerman David Cox hand fills a keg inside Brew Detroit LLC’s 61,000 sq. foot brewery
Thanks for tuning in! I hope you learned something new about the ever-adapting landscape of Detroit.