"Tuesday Tidbits": Riverwalk adds new Cafe and Carousel

We know you're probably at work right now, focusing diligently on this week's tasks and reports or simply stuck in an enclosed space reading this wonderful blog : ) trying to find something to do. The city has added a Cafe and a Carousel making the Detroit River Walk THE place to visit. Whether you're going for a local romantic get away or a summer activity with the kids, no matter how busy you are, you must take the time to enjoy. 

RiverWalk Cafe and Cullen Family Carousel Hours (Rivard Plaza)

• Now until May 31, 2010 (Memorial Day Weekend) - Fri., Sat., Sun. - 11 am to 8 pm.
• The Gabriel Richard Park location will offer limited hours, primarily on weekends and special occasions.

DID YOU KNOW? Only a few years ago the Detroit River Walk didn't exist and hardly anyone knew what a blog was? 

By making an investment in the The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, (a non-profit organization, was founded in 2003 with the mission of bringing public access to Detroit's Riverfront) you will demonstrate your belief in the future of our wonderful Detroit Riverfront. Please do your part to keep our beautiful Riverfront clean, safe and accessible.

 http://www.detroitriverfront.org/supportus/

Last year we blogged about The Wheelhouse Detroit, a bicycle shop that offers rentals, retail, service and tours. Keep up to date at our blog: wheelhousedetroit.wordpress.com. Wheelhouse is open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Although the RiverWalk Cafe and Carousel opened this, you may not have had the pleasure of exploring this constantly developing jewel of Detroit. Why not take the time to go this week?

 http://www.detroitriverfront.org/pdf/DRFC_Our-Map-Parking.pdf 

1340 E. Atwater Street
Rivard Plaza on the Detroit RiverWalk
Detroit, MI 48207

The Detroit RiverWalk, GM Plaza and Dequindre Cut Greenway are open

7 days a week from 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. 

(Extended hours will apply for various special events and concerts throughout the year) 

If you have or will visit the River Walk Cafe, please comment below and tell us what you think. Check back next week for another "D" Spot Redeux: Tuesday Tidbit.

Wordless Wednesday: Take Some Time...

There is still time for you to take a break 

and just chill...

Detroit Riverwalk

Campus Martius

Things to Do Thursday: Detroit River Days 2009

June 19 - 21 2009

The 3rd Annual RiverDays Festival will be this weekend along Detroit's famed Riverwalk.

There are many activities available for the whole family; including a carnival, amusement rides, the Tall Ships, Pooch-a-Palooza, Riverboat Tours, and the Parade of Lights. Click here for a list...

The Detroit RiverDays Festival leads up to one of the largest Fireworks Displays in America:

The Target Fireworks will take place on the Detroit International River on Wednesday, June 24th. The RiverDays and Fireworks jointly celebrate the friendship and Independence Days of the Canada (July 1) and the United States (July 4). Detroit is the only place in the USA where you travel south to Canada!

Tuesday Tidbits: Wheelhouse Detroit

 

The warm weather is finally here to stay--for a few months, at least!  It's time to get outside and get some exercise! If it's been awhile since you've been bike riding, go down to the 

Detroit River right at the beautiful Detroit Riverwalk! 

You can rent a bicycle at the Wheelhouse Detroit and ride the whole three miles of the Detroit Riverwalk!

Yes, right here in Detroit: a full-service bicycle shop!

Wheelhouse Detroit is a bicycle shop that offers rentals, retail, service and tours.

Hours of Operation:
March & April: Friday to Sunday 11am to 7pm
May to September: Open Daily 10am to 8pm
October & November: Friday to Sunday 11am to 7pm

Contact us:
Email: info@wheelhousedetroit.com
Phone: 313-656-BIKE (2453)

Keep up to date at our blog:
wheelhousedetroit.wordpress.com

Where is Wheelhouse Detroit located: it's at the water on "Atwater Street", of course!

1340 E. Atwater Street
Rivard Plaza on the Detroit RiverWalk
Detroit, MI 48207
For driving directions, please see our location map.
Free parking available in an adjacent lot.

Shopping in Detroit: Doggie Daycare!

Doggie Daycare? Yes, there is such a thing, and the City of Detroit has such a facility located right in the historic Midtown Neighborhood (formerly known as "The Cass Corridor"). Canine to Five is a daycare center, grooming facility, and boarding complex. Canine to Five offers both indoor and outdoor cage-free playspaces, separate areas for puppies and older dogs, as well as kennel cages for overnight boarding. The owner and staff are knowledgeable in first aid for canines, CPR, and are specialists in animal behavior. Customers love the specialized attention given their dogs; the facility even emails pictures and updates to the dogs' owners if/when they are out of town.

Canine to Five, owned by Liz Blondy, opened in 2005. Ms. Blondy is also a co-founder of Open City Detroit, a Detroit entrepreneur networking group. Dog "parents" can bring their does to evening and weekend "playdates", as well as sign up their "children" for behavior classes and twice-weekly walks along the Detroit Riverwalk with the Riverfront Canine Club. Doggie owners can even schedule "private doggie parties" at Canine to Five; which is a member of the American Kennel Boarding Association.

Canine to Five is located at 3443 Cass Avenue between Martin Luther King Blvd. and Peterboro; close to Wayne State, the Detroit Medical, and Downtown Detroit.

Hours:
Monday-Friday
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Saturdays
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Drop off as early as 7 a.m.
(313) 831-DOGS (3647)

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Kwame Kilpatrick: Beginning, Ending, Beginning?

The Beginning...

In November 2001, Kwame Malik Kilpatrick became the youngest person ever elected to be Mayor of the City of Detroit. At the time, although he was only 31 years old, he had been a successful member of the Michigan State House of Representatives. Elected to as a state representative in 1996 to fill the seat left vacant by his mother, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick for her successful run for the United States Congress, Kwame Kilpatrick was selected by his legislative peers to be the first African-American to hold a leadership position as head of the Democratic Caucus. Mr. Kilpatrick’s political star continued to rise, being elected vice-president of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors and as such, a “Super Delegate” to the Democratic National Committee. He even had a brief speaking appearance at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

As he stated in his first inaugural speech in 2002, Kwame Kilpatrick was a “son of the City of Detroit”, attending Pelham Middle School and Cass Technical High School. He graduated from Florida A&M University, where he was captain of the football team; but returned to Detroit to teach in the Detroit Public Schools and later earn a Juris Doctor degree from the Detroit College of Law (now named the Michigan State University College of Law).

The End...

Photo Credit: Detroit Free Press

Unfortunately, for Kwame Kilpatrick and the City of Detroit,very soon after he assumed office, a myriad of scandals started to unfold: too many to list here. As mayor, he oversaw many positive resurgences in Detroit,including the completion of Campus Martius, the development of the Riverwalk, businesses such as Compuware and Quicken Loans relocating to the City, conventions, the SuperBowl, the Baseball All-Stars Game,  the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, and the largest new housing boom in Detroit in decades. But he also, by his own actions, brought the most shame and disgrace to the same city he claimed he loved so much. The unearthing of each scandal brought apologies from the mayor, along with promises to "do better".

In 2005, after a hard-fought campaign, Kilpatrick narrowly won re-election for another four-year term as Mayor of Detroit. But the scandals and rumors of scandals continued. Two demoted Detroit Police Officers who were investigating some of these rumors sued Kilpatrick and the City for unlawful firing; and during the 2007 trial, Kilpatrick and his Chief of Staff, Christine Beatty, testified under oath that they did not unjustly fire the police officers, and that they did not have an affair. The trial ended with the police officers winning their case and being awarded over $9 million. But in January, 2008, the Detroit Free Press uncovered text messages sent back and forth on city-owned pagers that contradicted everything Kilpatrick and Beatty said on the witness stand. That was the beginning of an eight-month process, including indictments for perjury and obstruction of justice that concluded, on September 3, 2008, with Mayor Kilpatrick's admission of guilt, a plea deal that includes jail time, and finally his resignation from office. The governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, had already started holding hearings at the behest of the Detroit City Council to remove Mr. Kilpatrick from office; those hearings were indefinitely put on hold at 11:15 a.m. on September 3, 2008...when Kwame Malik Kilpatrick accepted that plea deal and resigned from office effective September 18 2008.

The Beginning?

Photo Credit: Detroit Free Press

On Thursday evening, flanked by his wife Carlita (whose orange-print dress matched her husband's tie), his mother Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, his father Bernard Kilpatrick (himself a target of an FBI investigation), and other family members and friends, soon-to-be former Mayor Kilpatrick delivered his "swansong". The almost ebullient Mr.Kilpatrick enumerated the accomplishments of his administration, took "responsibility" for his actions, and intimated that the City of Detroit did him a favor, saying: "...Detroit, you done set me up for a comeback." Although as part of his plea deal, he cannot run for elected office for five years, Kwame Kilpatrick may by channeling former Washington D.C. mayor Marion Berry. We'll see; but for now...

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Op-Ed: 12-Step Program for Detroit Step Four

Every Wednesday, there is an Op-Ed piece about Detroit, and I am working on a series about a "12-Step" Program for Detroit. Not about our city's "leadership", but about the regular people who live and work in Detroit. Detroit and Detroiters are more and better than the current crop of "leaders"; and it is up to us to help to make Detroit what it can and should be.

In the the first post of this series, I asked if Detroit needed "emergency surgery". As the weeks have gone on, issues "up top" have actually gotten worse. So, each week we examine ourselves and how we can be the ones we have been waiting for.

Step Four involves taking a " moral inventory of ourselves"...so this is a good time to take an inventory of Detroit, the City. What is right and good about the city? What has gone wrong? We can we do to fix what's wrong and improve upon what's right? Sometimes it's good to step back, take a deep breath, take a walk on the Detroit Riverwalk, and just do a mental exercise.



Often people say: there's so much to do, there are so many different groups doing different things, and I'm only one person, I just don't know where to start!

One place to start is with a group that works to bring together all of the diverse organizations in Detroit: ARISE Detroit! ARISE is an acronym that stand for "Activating" "Resources" and "Inspiring" "Service" and "Empowerment".

The goals of ARISE Detroit include helping citizens to become aware of the network of community organizations and services and getting people involved in making Detroit and its neighborhoods and communities to work better.

This Saturday, August 2 2008, is the annual Neighborhoods Day for ARISE Detroit; over 100 different activities will be taking place all day in every part of the City, including Highland Park, and even reaching out to Southfield and West Bloomfield.

Luther Keith, the Executive Director of ARISE Detroit, has a vision about Detroit that correlates with the purpose of the current Wednesday Series on this blog: that Detroit can be a city where children and families are safe, healthy, and strong; and that the City and everyone who lives and works here has a spirit of hope, gets involved in community service, and realizes that we are the true leaders in Detroit.

For a excellent way to take inventory of Detroit and to find organizations where you can be of assistance, attend the ARISE Detroit activities near you this Saturday. You will be sure to find a way to get involved. See you on Saturday; and I look forward to your comments here.

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Riding Your Bike in Detroit? Have Your License?

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Now playing: The Caravans - The Lord Will Make A Way
via FoxyTunes



Just as we start thinking about hauling our bikes out of the garage to save money on gasoline like our Governor who has started "biking to work", the City has reminded us that we need a license for our bikes!

Detroit's bicycle license ordinance states:
"It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or use a bicycle propelled wholly or in part by muscular power upon any of the streets or sidewalks of the city without first obtaining a license therefore from the city."

The ordinance has been in place since 1964; but the Detroit Police are going to start to actually enforce the ordinance again. They say it is to help locate/recover stolen bicycles, but if you're caught without a license starting on August 7 2008, you'll get hit with a $55.00 fine!

The cost is actually minimal: $5.00 for a 5-year license; it's just something else to add to your "to-do" list! (I wonder if next they'll pass a "no talking on your cell with biking" law!)

The licenses can be obtained at any of the six Detroit Police Districts between 9 am and 5 pm Monday - Friday. For further information, you can call the Detroit Police Office of Public Information: 313.596.2200.

Once you get that license, though, you can enjoy riding along the Detroit Riverwalk and around Belle Isle...the beauty and serenity will be worth it...not to mention great exercise! Also explore Campus Martius, Palmer Park, and Chandler Park (Chandler Park is part of the Wayne County Parks and Recreation System)...let me know in the comments section about other great places to ride your bike in Detroit!

Also check out "Detroit Bikes", a group that promotes group riding tours around Detroit.

Happy Riding!

Does Detroit Need Emergency Surgery?

The City of Detroit, after a couple of years of relative political peace and a re-invigoration of excitement and business infusions, is sick again.

As of this writing, both the Mayor and some members of staff the City Council are under investigation; and in the Mayor's case, actual indictment. Meanwhile, the Detroit Public School District is barely hanging on and very close to another state takeover; the new budget filed just under the wire on June 30 contains cuts, cuts, and more cuts.

Why is this happening AGAIN? What can we do about this "illness" that periodically recurs?

Last Monday, while listening to the Detroit Today program on Detroit's NPR station, WDET, I heard yet another suburbanite deride Detroit and Detroiters and suggest that "we just forget about Detroit--get rid of it"...(paraphrased). This caller to the program actually believed that the remainder of the State of Michigan could "do without" Detroit all together.

It has been said that Detroit and Detroiters suffer from an "inferiority complex". It is true that for years and years, when you said you were from Detroit, two things usually happened: 1) you hung your head as you quietly answered that question; and 2) then you started rationalizing to your questioner WHY you lived in Detroit.

Based on the aforementioned caller's comments, and many more like his, a thought came to me: if someone has a tumor, does the doctor operate to remove the tumor, or just kill the whole person and get rid of the tumor that way?

I think I'll pick Door #1 and think of ways we Detroiters can heal ourselves from the sickness of corrupt and self-indulgent politicians and government leaders, as well as our own psychological malaise.

On this space, I will be initiating my own "Detroit 12-step Program" in a secular and totally pro-active series of Wednesday posts. Stay tuned...

I look forward to your comments!