Half of new teachers in urban school districts leave within the first three years, reports the advocacy group Urban Teacher Residency United. Much can be learned by understanding what pushes professionals out of urban classrooms. But what about the other half — the 50 percent who stay? Why do they remain in beleaguered urban school […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Restauranteur sees city's future in density, immigrants
Torya Blanchard’s entrepreneurial story is becoming the stuff of legend in Detroit. The Detroit native quit a good job teaching French, cashed out her 401k and took the chance of her life by opening Good Girls Go To Paris Crepes in a former hole-in-the-wall hotdog stand behind the Boll YMCA in downtown Detroit. That was […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Entrepreneur bets on Detroit, urbanism
If you have taken a tour through downtown Detroit, there is a good chance you have walked through Claire Nelson’s shop, Bureau of Urban Living. Bureau, as it’s commonly known, is an Urban Outfitters-style boutique with high-end housewares carrying an urban, Detroit theme. It’s in a small space on the ground floor of the Canfield […]
Posted inMichigan Government
DOC director targets prisoner work problem
Corrections Director Dan Heyns says the Michigan State Industries — the prison system’s work for inmates arm — is in need of change. (See this mlive.com summary of a report from Gongwer News Service.) The Center for Michigan reported on the continuing financial problems about MSI back in August. Among the findings from CFM: “Between […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led, and bearding every authority which stood in their way” — Thomas Jefferson. * Will salmon fishing become a tale of bygone days in the Great Lakes?: http://www.michiganradio.org/post/more-ups-and-downs-salmon-great-lakes * Gallup finds that voters have more confidence […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Oh, horrors, a recall election
The jobless rate in Michigan is above 11 percent (it’s higher than that, but the official rate is 11.2 percent). The Legislature and the Snyder administration have taken budget actions that are leading to cuts in employment in the public sector. The private sector, meanwhile, is caught with the rest of the nation in a […]
Posted inQuality of Life
How do you hold on to the hipsters?
The biggest danger to the revitalization of Detroit’s Midtown — and, by extension, the city itself — doesn’t pack a gun or wield foreclosure papers. He wears a backpack and chews bubble gum. Children — and their parents’ perceptions about local schools — will determine whether the young professionals now streaming into Midtown stay in […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Young activist finds energy, challenges in SW Detroit
Two women painted on the wall of Sean Mann’s historic home sum up the story of present-day Detroit. The murals flanking his dining room window portray the women seen in the city’s official seal. A weeping woman on the left symbolizes despair. To the right of the window, a woman represents hope. Mann, 31, acknowledges […]
Posted inQuality of Life
Group pushes belief in Detroit
When it comes to the city of Detroit, it seems everyone has an opinion — and all too often it’s not a positive one. Yet, not all Detroiters are standing idle as others make snap judgments about the city they love. After attending a state conference on Mackinac Island back in 2009, Sandy Hermanoff, CEO […]
Posted inTalent & Education
How much investment on early childhood is 'legal?'
Early childhood programs were largely protected during Michigan’s budget battles this year, even though advocates such as Michigan Children’s Jack Kresnak believe EC remains at risk. The House Education Committee has been holding hearings on early childhood education in Lansing in recent weeks. A policy battle raging 1,000 miles away, however, may have a bearing […]
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