In the News

Art scavenger hunt comes to Detroit this Friday

The Huffington Post Thursday, January 10, 2013

Skidmore Studios is organizing an art scavenger hunt on the streets of Detroit. Twenty-finve pieces of art will be 'hidden' around the city as part of The international Free Art Friday event (organized by Free Art Friday Detroit). The event is intended to introduce Detroiters to the works of independent artists and is part of an international effort.

Excerpt:

"If you see a sculpture floating in a Detroit fountain Friday, or a painting perched on a statue, you may have stumbled onto the beginning of your own free art collection, and a surprising way to support the DIA.

You'll have to check a social media site to see if it's one of the offerings of Free Art Friday Detroit (FAFDET), a cross between a scavenger hunt and free art auction where people leave their artwork around the city for seekers to find and keep each week. They'll post photographic clues to the FAFDET Facebook page or Twitter with the hashtag #fafdet."

Get the skinny on how you can particpate here.

Arab Film Fest opens January 24

Arab American national Museum Thursday, January 10, 2013

From the press release:

"Mideast Film Biz Forged in Cauldron" (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118063673/?refCatId=19) was the headline in the Dec. 17, 2012 edition of the entertainment journal Variety, on a report about the burgeoning Arab World film industry and how it’s being affected by the Arab Spring uprisings.

Fans of Arabic-language movies and adventurous filmgoers seeking new perspectives can experience this phenomenon for themselves when recent films from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar and UAE get rare U.S. screenings during the 2013 Arab Film Festival at the Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, Mich. Jan. 24-26, 2013. While most titles are in Arabic, all films include English subtitles, making them accessible to a general audience.

Check out the film program and get tickets here.

Silicon Valley company finds Metro Detroit just right

Tech Crunch Thursday, December 20, 2012

Silicon Valley's Stik moves to Detroit because of the region's resources - particularly talent.

Excerpt:

"“We had a great network the last two years in the Valley. But the employee side was more advantages here in Detroit being a much bigger fish in a smaller pond of startups. We didn’t start here 2 years ago because we didn’t see the network of investors and advisers that we knew existed in Silicon Valley. But that was 2010.

Now, in 2012, there’s a lot of resources here between Quicken Loan’s major investment in the tech scene and an investor group in Ann Arbor that has been very helpful.”"

Read the rest here.

Metro Detroit among 10 best metros to becomes a millionaire

Business Insider Thursday, December 20, 2012

Some years you're up. Some years you're down. Detroit's metro region is back in the rarified air of creating a whole lot of millionaires. In 2011 we had over 90K of them.

Excerpt:

Still, the city saw enough growth to maintain a spot in the top 10. After losing 16% of millionaires in 2008, it's added just about 15% back.

Read the rest here.

Amtrak ridership continues to grow

The Atlantic Cities Thursday, December 20, 2012

For those who argue that trains aren't viable because they can't pay for themselves consider this: In 2010 nearly 50 percent of all road funding in the U.S. came from highway user fees (taxes). That amount was 30 percent more than the entire amount of taxes Amtrack has recieved since its creation in 1971.

Excerpt:

" The ten highest station figures for the corridor came at New York (9,493,414), D.C. (5,013,991), Philadelphia (4,068,540), Boston (1,447501), Baltimore (1,028,909), New Haven (755,669), Wilmington (737,846), BWI Airport (703,604), Newark (680,803), and Providence (669,576). Those are on-and-off passenger numbers for Acela and regional trains as well as others that traverse the sector. They add up to roughly 24.6 million riders, or about three-quarters of Amtrak's record-breaking 2012 total.

Still it's worth noting that the northeast isn't the only place where interest in Amtrak is growing. Passenger records were broken for 25 of Amtrak's 44 services in 2012. Ridership increased to previously unseen heights in the Midwest (particularly Chicago-St. Louis), the West Coast (Bakersfield-Oakland rose 7 percent), and the Mid-Atlantic (the Charlotte-Raleigh train is up 16 percent)."

Read the rest here.

Royal Oak's 1xRun LLC moves to Detroit to accomodate growth

Crain's Detroit Business Thursday, December 20, 2012

Metromode has written several times about 323East Gallery as well as their limited-edition print business called 1xRun LLC. We always expected big things and, well, big things have come.

Excerpt:

"Owners Jesse Cory and Dan Armand will shut the Royal Oak gallery's doors at the end of the year, but a gallery at the new headquarters will replace it.

Cory and Armand closed on the three-story, 10,000-square-foot building Nov. 29, paying $400,000 on a land contract. The building was renovated in 2005, including all new HVAC and fire control systems. The remnants of an employment business are on the first floor, and a handful of residential lofts are on the other floors."

Read the rest here.

Metro Detroit's 10 best restaurants of 2012

Detroit Free Press Thursday, December 20, 2012

To be honest, we'd like Metromode's Nicole Rupersburg to weigh in here. We're sure she'd have something to say about the Freep's choices.

Excerpt:

"The Free Press’ picks for the 10 Best New Restaurants of 2012 range from a contemporary modern-American dining destination and a high-end steakhouse to an affordable pizzeria and an ultra-casual joint known for its massive beer selection.

Only venues that opened between Dec. 1, 2011, and Dec. 1 of this year were eligible for the list. Second locations of existing restaurants were not considered."

Find out who made the list here.

Mastadon found in Metro Detroit

Detroit Free Press Thursday, December 13, 2012

Two 11-year-old boys made the ultimate discovery in a Shelby Township backyard - a prehistoric bone. The discovery should definitely go into their permanent record.

Excerpt:

"The Detroit News reports Eric Stamatin of Shelby Township and his cousin Andrew Gainariu of Troy found the bone near a stream while exploring Eric’s backyard. Eric says it looked like a rock, but a hole made them think it was a bone.

A researcher at Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills confirmed it was an axis bone from an extinct American mastodon, a relative of the elephant. "

Read the rest here.

Dearborn, Farmington Hills, Novi awarded sustainability award

Press And Guide Thursday, December 13, 2012

Little by little Metro Detroit communities are adopting sustainable practices. Huzzah!

Excerpt:

"The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments presented a Sustainable Community Recognition Program Award at the City Council meeting Dec. 4.

According to SEMCOG, “sustainability is about achieving economic prosperity while protecting the environment and providing a high quality of life for residents.”"

Read the rest here.

Survey says: Michigan is 3rd, Metro Detroit is 13th for high-tech job growth

Bay Area Council Economic Institute Thursday, December 13, 2012

The MEDC is making it known that Michigan ranked third in the nation for high-tech job growth between 2010 and 2011. Metro Detroit landed 13th among metro areas in the nation, with shout outs to Warren, Troy and Farmington.

Michigan boasted 6.9% annual growth, falling right behind South Carolina, with 8.6%. In terms of metro areas Greensboro-High Point, N.C., topped the list with 36.3% annual growth.

But don't take out word for it. Read the report here.

Denser cities are smarter, more productive

The Atlantic Cities Thursday, December 13, 2012

Southeast Michigan has been slow to embrace policies that grow urban density. The Atlantic Cities' Richard Florida lays out his case for why cities should be embracing the idea rfather than regarding it with suspicion.

Excerpt:

"It's clear that density plays an important role in economic growth. Density brings people and firms closer together which makes it easier to share and exchange information, invent new technologies, and launch new firms.

But the question remains: How exactly — in what ways and through which channels — does density make our cities more productive?"

Read the rest here.

Rust Belt states are a good investment for high-tech innovation

Pittsburgh Gazette Thursday, December 06, 2012

In making their case that venture capitalists are taking an ever-greater interest in Rust Belt innovations, Detroit's TechTown gets held up as a promising feature of the conomic landscape.

Excerpt:

"One of the plan's greatest benefits could be a chance for smaller cities or cities with negative reputations to showcase their accomplishments to the country's stakeholders, said Leslie Smith, president and CEO of startup incubator TechTown in Detroit.

Noting that the Michigan city is "light years ahead of where it was five years ago," she said Detroit has a goal of transforming its image similar to how Pittsburgh has on the national level."

Detroit pizza is trending

SFGate Thursday, December 06, 2012

It's from the mouths of PR folks, but according to those who say they're in the know, Detroit style pizza gets more Google search hits than its New York or Chicago counterparts. For now, at least.

Excerpt:

"Google Trends data demonstrates that search volume for the term “Detroit Style Pizza” recently outpaced both “New York Style Pizza” and “Chicago Style Pizza” in relative search volume growth, peaking at 113 percent growth in the Food and Drink category for September 2012. During the same month, “New York Style Pizza” posted relative search volume growth of 28 percent and “Chicago Style Pizza” relative search volume grew by six percent."

Flavor Flav to open restaurant in Sterling Heights

CBS Detroit Thursday, December 06, 2012

I guess with a name like Flavor Flav how could you not open a restaurant? Metro Detroit joins Iowa and Las Vegas as a locale for the celebrity's chicken and shrimp joints.

Excerpt:

"Flavor Flav’s Chicken & Ribs is coming to metro Detroit with a grand opening scheduled for December 16, according to the chain’s Facebook page. Flavor Flav’s, described on Twitter as “a quick serve dining experience with 5 star quality” will be located at 8200 15 Mile Road, Sterling Heights."

Read the rest here.

Metro Detroit congressional reps pop up on the Daily Show

The Daily Show Thursday, December 06, 2012

Okay, you have to put your political partisanship aside to catch Representative Mike Roger's momentary appearance on The Daily Show. Can you pick him out? He's the guy Jon Stewart says looks like a sports announcer. And Macomb's Candice Miller gets the spotlight at the end of the segment.

How often do we get to link to something on The Daily Show?

Watch it here.