A new 10-week program is pairing Detroit Black older adults with Wayne State University students to improve social connection and digital literacy.

Dr. Rodlescia Sneed is the program director for the Intergenerational Wisdom Exchange (WiSE). She’s an assistant professor in Wayne State’s Institute of Gerontology and Department of Psychology.

She said social connections are important for health and well-being, but many people depend on technology to maintain that social connection.

“It was our goal to increase social connection and reduce loneliness among older adults, while also improving their technology skills so that we could make improvements that impact their health and well-being,” she said.

Sneed said the program focuses on developing one-on-one connections to make it easier for older adults to learn digital literacy.

“One thing that’s really important when you’re trying to learn something is that you feel comfortable with the person teaching you. Many older adults express that they’re not comfortable speaking up when they don’t understand technology, especially when they’re trying to learn it in a group format,” she said. 

The first half of the program is focusing on sharing life stories of Detroiters. The second half is learning digital literacy.

Oral histories a focus of WiSE

The program is open to Black older adults who live in Wayne, Oakland, or Macomb County. Sneed said adults are paired with students who live nearby to reduce transportation barriers and increase accessibility. 

She said undergraduate and graduate students from psychology, social work, engineering, and other disciplines participate in WiSE.

The adults will share their personal stories with the students, who will write them down and give copies to the adults.

“We’re talking about a community that may not traditionally have a lot of written history, and so particularly, I think there is value in families being able to have written histories that they’re be able that they’re able to share across generations, and we’re providing that,” she said.

Racial and technological divide

Sneed said there are large racial divides when it comes to accessing technology and using it. The program aims to reduce those gaps.

“We see divides both in access to technology and comfort with use of technology. We’re trying to close that racial gap. That’s why we specifically selected Black older adults,” she said.

She said students will have an opportunity to learn about the history of Detroit from Detroiters.

“Students really benefit from being able to talk to older adults, hear their wisdom..it really is helpful to them when they’re trying to make plans for their futures going forward. It’s a really good opportunity for students and older adults to make connection and also to learn new skills,” she shares.

The program ends around Thanksgiving this year. The program will repeat next semest

It’s one of the most well-known and beloved sets of hand-painted signs in Eastern Market. 

With a new development of the building at 1401 Gratiot Avenue set to start this fall, however, a major question lingers:

Who will save the bees?

The cartoon bees on the former Busy Bee Hardware building are all that’s left of a century-old business that closed its doors in 2017. They were painted by Martin Hirchak as “MPH Signs,” although it’s unclear how long they’ve been there.

Today, despite being weathered and fading away, they’re still greeting folks heading to Eastern Market at one of the main entry points at Gratiot and Russell.

They’re also under threat. 

Changing habitat

Earlier this summer, Crain’s Detroit Business reported the former Busy Bee Hardware property is undergoing a $12.5 million redevelopment that’ll turn the main gateway into Eastern Market into 17 apartments and more than 6,000 square feet of retail space. It’s being spearheaded by developer Roger Basmajian. Construction is expected to start this fall.

Even in their current condition (and maybe because of their current state), the bee murals feel and look like the character of the market even as it evolves.

Old-school businesses have closed. Developers like Basmajian and others have moved in. The Eastern Market Corporation itself rides the line between embracing new development and maintaining the foundational meat and produce businesses that act as a backbone to one of the largest outdoor public markets in the country.

American folk art like these hand-painted signs are one of Detroit’s defining hallmarks. It’s been well documented in photographer David Clements’ excellent book “Talking Shops: Detroit Commercial Folk Art” from 2004. More recently, photographer Andrew Anderson built an online database of signs painted by Ron Miller (a.k.a. Ron Signs), known for his signature chrome-style hand-painted signs on myriad Detroit businesses.

You could make the argument that signs like these around the city and the Busy Bee Hardware bees themselves were in part the inspiration for Murals in the Market, the longtime mural festival in Eastern Market that brought large-scale murals into the neighborhood between 2015 and 2025. Detroit artist Kobie Solomon even painted a giant beehive on the back of the Busy Bee Hardware building as part of the mural festival, honoring the original bees.

In the same Crain’s article, developer Basmajian told the paper that he was going “restore the building back to its original glory,” adding that “all the artists that put murals on the building, once we do the tuck-pointing, we are going to ask them to come back and touch them up, if we can locate them.”

In a rendering featured in Crain’s, however, the murals — including the busy bees — are nowhere to be found.

Is that an oversight by the architectural firm helping to redevelop the property, or is it simply developer smooth-talk to promise on preserving this piece of Eastern Market’s character and failing to deliver?

As Eastern Market grows and changes, it’s inevitable that things will change. No one is against seeing the market expand and flourish in new ways.

There’s great artistic character to Martin Hirchak’s bees at 1401 Gratiot. It’s small tangible pieces of art like these and countless other hand-painted signs and murals around the neighborhood, however, that help make something a landmark and add to the cultural memory of thousands of patrons flocking to Eastern Market over the years.

Art like that is also what ends up attracting developers to a neighborhood like this to begin with.

Here’s hoping a new development can honor the character of Eastern Market when construction is scheduled to wrap up in 2028.

 This article was originally published in Midbrow. 

Many couldn’t tell you what an attorney general does. But in Michigan, a lot of people know the name Dana Nessel.

She was the lead lawyer in the Michigan case that helped bring marriage equality to the nation. Then she became this state’s top attorney. For eight years she’s been unabashed about her politics and about who she is.

Dana Nessel’s office won convictions against nine clergymen for abuse going back decades. It won more than $1.5 billion from opioid manufacturers. It fought utility companies over the cost of electric bills. And it sued the federal government — many times over.

To some, Nessel’s become one of Michigan’s strongest defenders. To others, she’s gone too far.

A new Michigan law says whoever replaces Nessel in January cannot sue the federal government without permission from state lawmakers. Republican state House Speaker Matt Hall pushed for the law. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed it.

Attorney General Dana Nessel spoke with host Robyn Vincent about the battles she’s fought and why.

She said her office has contested every utility rate hike request since she took office — roughly $4.7 billion saved for ratepayers, by its own count — and that the system is broken anyway. Asked how she squares that fight with a governor of her own party who appoints the commissioners who approve those rates, Nessel said: “I don’t.”

She said she would not have made Whitmer’s appointments to the Michigan Public Service Commission, and that the governor could have reappointed former Commissioner Alessandra Carreon, who Nessel said sometimes deferred to her office’s arguments. Carreon’s successor, Commissioner Shaquila Myers, was “well known — I’ll just say it — to be in the pocket of DTE,” Nessel said. She added that during Myers’ time as chief of staff to then-House Speaker Joe Tate, bills the utilities opposed “would somehow end up” quashed.

The Metro sought comment from the Public Service Commission and from the governor’s office.

Governor Whitmer’s chief of staff, Zack Pohl, said in a statement: “Shaquila Myers is one of the sharpest policy minds in the state, and she has dedicated her entire career to public service. She is a person of high integrity who is respected on both sides of the aisle.”

The Public Service Commission said in a statement that over more than 20 years in public service, Myers has been chief of staff to the lieutenant governor, a senior adviser to the governor and chief of staff to the speaker of the House. “During her time in the latter role, Michigan enacted a sweeping package of legislation that puts Michigan on a path toward 100% clean energy by 2040,” the statement said. “As she has from the beginning of her time on the MPSC, Commissioner Myers asks to be judged by her work at the Commission, including contributing to Michigan’s best affordability ranking in a decade and to enacting some of the nation’s strongest protections to prevent customers from having to bear any costs associated with data centers. She aims to continue that work during the coming years on the Commission.”

Nessel disputes that last point. In the same interview, she said that under the commission’s approval of power contracts for a Google data center in Van Buren Township, “the ratepayers are absolutely not protected at all.”

The commission also offered to make Chair Dan Scripps and Commissioner Myers available to appear on WDET. The Metro has invited Myers. 

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with statements from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office and the Michigan Public Service Commission.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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The food rescue nonprofit Forgotten Harvest is working to harvest 1 million pounds of food by the end of the year.

Mike Yancho, the farm manager at Forgotten Harvest Farms, has been working at the farm for 13 years. He says farm staff till and prep the fields, but most of the planting is done by volunteers.

“There’s not a lot in the vegetable world that can be harvested by a machine, and so we do a lot of hand harvesting,” he explains. 

Last year 3,100 volunteers came out to the farm. Yancho says volunteers plant, weed and harvest plants. 

Lori Setera, assistant farm manager at Forgotten Harvest Farms, says several crates have already been filled.

“We’ve already loaded the trailer once and sent it back in with seven crates of cabbage. Those crates run anywhere from about 750 to 950 pounds,” she says. 

The farm’s funding comes from grants and donations. Setera says the space is donated by a previous board member.

“She leases it to us for $1 a year… the farm property itself is about 1,500 acres. But we only farm 100 of that, and then they lease out to other farmers in the area,” she explains. 

The farm supplements healthy foods people need or request, like hot peppers, which are popular. 

“I think about 20 different crops, and our main, our total harvest goal this year is about a million pounds. So that’s taking everything, you know, the cabbage, the corn, the broccoli, everything, and adding it up and getting to a million pounds,” she says. 

Soon they will plant carrots and spinach in a greenhouse to harvest later in the winter months.

Volunteer harvest

Abu Bangurah came out with his company, Midland Credit Management to help out. 

“Trying to save some cabbages from some pesky raccoons, one cabbage at a time,” he laughs. 

This year the cabbage has a disease. Volunteers strip away the outer affected layers.

Deborah Mahomes is also with Midland Credit Management. She comes out every year with her children and grandchildren.

“Last year we planted broccoli, and then we always planted zucchini, zucchini, lots of zucchini. We’ve done that several times. It’s just every year is something different,” she explains.

Mark Eskola is a senior trainer with ITC Holdings Corp., which manages high-voltage power lines in Southeast Michigan. He’s putting a cabbage in one of the large bins.

“I’ve never done this before, so it’s awesome to be working with all these other volunteers today, and it’s been a lot of fun,” he shares. 

Eskola says it was an opportunity to give back.

“This is all about helping people who are hungry and need food, so that’s why we’re here today, just to help people out,” he says. 

Steady progress

Yancho says the farm grows produce with plastic mulch , using drip irrigation tapes. “It’s a super efficient way to water the crops,” Yancho says.

Setera says the food grown in the field goes to the Forgotten Harvest warehouse, where it’s later dispersed.

“Mostly our stuff here goes farmers market style, just how you see it here in these crates. A lot of our brick-and-mortar pantry partners don’t have the equipment or the space to store these giant crates, so most of our things go to the mobile pantries,” she says.

Yancho says the food is the highest quality.

Volunteers were harvesting the food on a Thursday afternoon, but Yancho says the food could get to people in days. 

“Well, one thing that we know about the food that comes from the farm is it’s the freshest of the fresh. The cabbage that’s being picked today will leave here tomorrow, and it could be on somebody’s plate as early as Saturday,” he explains. 

Setera says volunteers harvested over 10,000 pounds of cabbage that Thursday.

“It’s really important for us, for everybody, to know what the weight is of what they harvest because one pound equals a meal,” she says. 

And for families in need, that could make all the difference.

A nearly 300-year-old bur oak at Detroit’s Elmwood Cemetery is being mourned after a powerful storm caused serious damage to the historic tree.

The tree was one of 19 trees lost at the cemetery when a tornado went through Detroit’s east side last month.

Officials say strong winds caused widespread damage. The historic bur oak suffered a large, irreparable split at the base of its trunk.

The tree was believed to be about 280 years old, meaning it was already roughly a century old when Elmwood Cemetery was established.

The cemetery held a memorial service for the tree, led by death and grief doula Kristy Sue Bishop.

Bishop says that natural spaces can be very important for people going through sadness or grief.

“I know many people come here and carry heavy feelings, and I think the trees are just one of the natural things people turn to when they’re feeling overwhelmed, she says.

Detroiter Josh Bono says he was immediately drawn to the bur oak. “I was amazed to find out that it’s older than the cemetery itself. I felt really moved by an ancient presence…or as close to one as we can get out here.”

Elmwood is an 86-acre cemetery and arboretum. Officials say replacing lost trees and caring for damaged ones has become an increasing part of maintaining the grounds.

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.

One in 4 girls and 1 in 20 boys in the United State experience childhood sexual abuse according to the Center for Disease Control. Huntington Place held the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse annual conference this week.

Elizabeth Clemants spoke at the conference. She is the founder and executive director of Hidden Water, a nonprofit that uses a restorative justice model to interrupt cycles of childhood sexual abuse within families.

Clemants says despite the misconception, child sexual abuse frequently occurs inside the home rather than through stranger-danger situations.

She adds that more often its young people in the home who cause harm. Those young people often don’t develop an attraction to children, but the impact on the child harmed can persist into adulthood.

Clemants says harm is often done by young people for a number of reasons.

“You know, their sexuality is turning on. It’s turning on younger. The accessibility of pornography and violence; lots of young people are being educated around sex in ways that we wouldn’t want. They might be being harmed themselves, and they’re not being guided,” Clemants says.

One of the biggest barriers to preventing harm is adults who don’t feel comfortable having the converstion around sexual abuse.

“If you mention child sexual abuse in any way, the minute we start talking about that, and someone has an image of that, they become overwhelmed emotionally, and then they turn away,” Clemants says.

“And if the kids are crossing boundaries, and they’re accustomed to having someone talk about that out loud, then they’re accustomed to talking about it out loud themselves.”

Listen to the full interview with WDET’s Bre’Anna Tinsley above.

For about a year, Mayor Mary Sheffield has seemed to be riding high. To get elected, she mounted an impressive campaign, taking 77 % of the vote. Once in office, she hit the ground running. 

The mayor has created new anti-poverty and community safety departments. Many have commented on her leadership skills, balancing confidence and intellect with openness, and a willingness to listen. 

That was true during the summer, when a number of kids were participating in “teen takeovers.” The police department imposed a curfew, but Sheffield also took the time to listen to teens, to ask them what it was that they needed and wanted from their city. 

Now, the mayor’s office is under scrutiny.

Sheffield’s ex-boyfriend, Marvin Walker, says when she was council president, she took $200,000 in kickbacks from city real estate deals. She denies that.

Walker also had private photographs of the two of them. A Detroit activist posted them on Facebook. Sheffield calls it harassment.

Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison called the two men and asked them to take the photos down. Weeks later, police seized one man’s phone. The city’s Inspector General is now investigating the chief of police.

Those are a lot of details. So what do we actually know?

Detroit Free Press investigative reporter Violet Ikonomova has been looking into this. She spoke with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent.

The Metro invited Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield onto the show. Her office has not responded.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org.

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Trigger Warning: This article mentions suicide.

September is suicide prevention month.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34 years old as of 2024, according to a new report by the Michigan Suicide Prevention Council, made up of people from different sectors across the state. The recently established council joined together to make recommendations for the Michigan Suicide Prevention Plan.

State Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Lindsay DeCamp says that suicide rates are starting to decrease. “In 2024, our suicide rate was the lowest that it’s been since 2017, which is the first decrease that we’ve seen in recent years.”

But that doesn’t mean the work is over. 

The council recommended two priorities for the next year: sustaining state funding for suicide prevention infrastructure and finding ways to educate and license professionals across sectors in risk assessment and prevention.

Identifying risk factors

DeCamp says increased access to lethal means like firearms is a factor that contributes to suicide.  

“Research shows that states with higher rates of household gun ownership have significantly higher rates of suicide. Storing firearms securely and limiting access for those that are in heightened risk can help reduce suicide,” she says. 

DeCamp says societal, community and individual-level factors such as unemployment, health issues and social isolation can leave people more vulnerable to mental health struggles.

If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide or harm, please call or text the Suicide and Crisis Hotline at 988 for confidential emotional support 24/7. 

Mohammed Abdul Muhit received a Spirit of Detroit award from the Detroit City Council last week, recognizing his service, leadership, and commitment to Detroit’s small business community. Muhit is the associate director at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) and the Business Liaison for District 3.  

“It’s really a great honor to work for the people of this great city, and so it really means a lot for me that I have been able to impact our small businesses and the community stakeholders in the big picture through my work,” he shares.

Muhit says he works to bridge city services with small businesses.

“I’m providing the white-glove service… providing one-on-one (support). Most of the days of the week we are out in the community,” he explains.

He says it can be challenging for small businesses to navigate city requirements or to request assistance. The DEGC hopes to reduce those hurdles.

“We go to them and collect that information and try to advocate for them, and provide them, and connect them with the right resources that they deserve,” he says.

There were several others who received the Spirit of Detroit awards at the Detroit City Council general meeting on September 22, held in District 3.

The award is given to an individual, organization, or group for outstanding achievement by the city council. People nominate awardees.

Among awardees were:

• Abdulrahman Abo Hatem
• Lisa Cunningham 
• Tamiko Williams
• Dr. Jameel Smith
• William C. McConico

Muhit says receiving the Spirit of Detroit award is prestigious. This is his second award from the city for his work.

“It really speaks volumes for the work that we do as a team… I hope I was able to make some impact in people’s lives, especially our small business and economic stakeholders… in the world of economic development,” he says.

Muhit says he is inspired to continue his work at the DEGC.

“I like to see my businesses stays open in the in the city and prosper, and when they prosper as an organization, as a human being myself, like we all prosper together,” he says.

Muhit, who immigrated to the Detroit area in 2016 from the United Kingdom, says he’s grateful for the opportunity to give back.

“It’s really a wholesome experience from day one that I started living here… I have had the opportunity and privilege to work in the city administration with a lot of great people every day.”  

Muhit previously worked at Global Detroit as a community organizer and community engagement specialist focusing on the Banglatown neighborhood in Detroit.

As the Iran war continues, gas prices hit a weekly average of $4.88 in Metro Detroit. The average price of diesel is $2 more than that.

The stock market is strong, but inflation is at least 1% higher than the federal reserve’s target. And the U.S. is in a trade war with Canada. 

This hasn’t caused a recession. But all of this does make it harder for small businesses to operate, like the corner bar on your street, and the auto repair shop in your suburb.

Mark Lee runs The Lee Group, where he’s been advising small businesses in this region for nearly 20 years. He explored answers to these questions with The Metro’s Sam Corey

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org.

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One of the most watched races across the country is in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. That area includes Lansing, East Lansing, and the farm counties and exurbs around them, out to Livingston County and the edge of Oakland County.

Republican Congressman Tom Barrett won the seat two years ago by less than four points, and both parties think it could decide who has a majority in the House of Representatives. Barrett’s opponent is progressive Democrat Will Lawrence. The Metro spoke with him last week.

Barrett spent 22 years in the Army. He was deployed to Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, and served nearly a decade in the state legislature before going to Washington.

Since then he’s done something most Republicans haven’t. Four times, he’s voted to say only Congress can authorize war with Iran, and he’s kept President Donald Trump’s endorsement anyway.

Over the weekend, President Trump rejected an Iranian offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The war has continued, and so has the increasing cost of gas prices.

Congressman Barrett joined The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent to discuss where his positions overlap — and don’t — with President Trump’s, and what his plans are if he’s able to keep his seat.

In the conversation, Congressman Tom Barrett said that over 10 million undocumented immigrants flooded across our border when then-President Joe Biden was in office. 

Research from the conservative Cato Institute estimates that the net increase in the undocumented immigrant population during the Biden administration was closer to about 5.5 million people. That’s because millions of people were expelled, deported or returned to their home country or Mexico before President Donald Trump took office.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org.

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Detroit’s economy and population are likely to grow over the next five years.

But city residents will also face significant disparities in wages.

That’s the finding from a recent forecast of the Motor City’s financial future compiled by researchers at the University of Michigan.

Highly-regarded expert Dan Manaenkov helped examine Detroit’s economic picture.

He says Michigan’s largest city already has one distinct advantage over the rest of the state: a younger workforce. The wider state is losing workers to retirement.

“Michigan has been losing labor force to the tune of 3% year over year,” says Manaenkov. 

In the long term, Manaenkov is less optimistic about Detroit’s economy. “Detroit is not an isolated economy… in the longer run, it is a lot more sensitive to how the over all Michigan is doing.” He also says that Detroiter’s on average make less money, leading to continuing wage disparity.

The temperatures are cooling off outside and the calendar has officially turned to fall. The leaves will soon turn colors and with that people are starting to think about their favorite autumn activities.

There are no shortage of food and drink experiences in around Detroit to wear your favorite cozy sweater to.

Melody Baetens is a dining and entertainment reporter for The Detroit News. She stopped by The Metro to bring us up to date on what’s happening in the dining scene.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand. Never miss an episode – subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Chaos. That’s the trend line in the auto sector of our economy. A war in Iran has raised gas prices. A Trump administration antagonistic to electric vehicles has reshaped the auto industry, causing Stellantis, General Motors and Ford to lose a combined $52 billion as they’ve shifted away from their electric investments. 

And through it all, the Trump administration has enacted tariffs. Recently, they’ve gotten steeper. 

In August, America enacted new tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel. Canada responded with tariffs on many US goods, including those aforementioned products. 

Meanwhile, the price of cars — especially used cars — are increasing.

What do these trends mean for auto companies and auto workers? How are customers affected? And, how are both parties trying to adapt to rapidly changing policies?

Paul Eisenstein is the editor of headlight.news. He’s also the publisher and editor of “The Car Collective” Substack. He spoke with The Metro‘s Sam Corey.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org.

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At the end of 2018 Russia arrested Michigan native Paul Whelan on bogus espionage charges.

He was convicted of spying and sent to a Russian labor camp.

Moscow released Whelan in a massive prisoner exchange two years ago. But Russia had taken more than just time from him. His job and home were gone.

Now Congress is considering a plan to help cover those losses for Whelan and other U.S. citizens held by rogue nations.

He says the Paul Whelan Hostage Compensation and Reintegration Act would fill a badly-needed financial void.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

Paul Whelan: When I returned home in August of 2024, I found that there wasn’t really much support for former hostages. We were well taken care of at the Brooke Army Medical Center, then we were well taken care of by the joint personnel recovery activity at Fort Sam Houston. But after that you were really just on your own. States like Michigan don’t offer unemployment insurance for former hostages, for example. There are no national organizations that take care of hostages. There is Hostage International, which is an international organization, but their reach is limited, especially in the United States. So we started looking for ways to assist former hostages with reintegration.

What we found is that hostages held in countries that sponsor terrorism are afforded compensation. But hostages held in countries that are not considered state sponsors of terrorism, such as Russia and China, are not compensated. And we can argue back and forth whether Russia supports terrorism or not. But the way things work, we would have to go to one of the world courts and try to sue Russia. And then Russia would say, “Well, we have sovereign immunity, so you can’t sue us.” There’s no way to gain compensation from a country like Russia.

So what we did is looked into using seized assets, frozen bank accounts and things like that from Russia, China, Syria, Iran, countries that are notorious for holding hostages. And then using those funds to compensate hostages for the income, retirement, and things like that they’ve lost while they were being held.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: There has been a law on the books Congress had passed that’s supposed to help returning hostages. But, as we have talked about in the past, they had never funded that act. Would what you are talking about now be something in addition to that or would this actually fund that act?

PW: This would be in addition to that act. The existing act specifically mentions medical care, psychological care, things like that. And we’ve actually made some progress with Congress in providing those benefits through the State Department for those in need.

What we’re talking about now is monetary compensation paid to hostages based on the number of days that they’re held. That money would come out of frozen assets and frozen accounts of the rogue nations holding American citizens.

QK: Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens is pushing this. As far as you know, is it a bipartisan effort or is it coming mainly from the Democrats?

PW: No, this is an American issue. And Haley Stevens has been the main supporter of this idea. She has always been a big supporter of me and hostages in general. But we have broad support, Democrat and Republican, because this touches American citizens in every state. It doesn’t discriminate. And unfortunately one never knows during leisure travel or business travel when a foreign government might just get you in their sights and grab you. And then you’re held at their mercy.

QK: I know you have kept a keen eye on situations regarding current hostages and others that have been taken by Russia or other countries. There are a number of people from the U.S. who are still being held by Russia, some designated as “wrongfully detained,” as you had been.

PW: You’re absolutely right. Stephen Hubbard, a Michigan resident, I might add, was living in the Ukrainian area that Russia invaded. And when Russia invaded, they said, here’s an American. Even though he’s about 74-years-old, they took him into custody and said that he was working as a mercenary for the Ukrainian army. He has been designated as wrongfully detained and the State Department is actively trying to get him home. But there’s Andre Khachatoorian, there’s David Barnes, there’s Chuck Zimmerman. These are guys who, for one reason or another, ended up in Russia and none of those three did anything untoward. And because they had an American passport the Russians said, “This is an interesting person. Let’s grab them. Maybe we can make use of them.”

QK: Let me play Devil’s advocate for just a second. It’s a tough economy for a lot of people right now. Many people would love to get some extra finances sent to them. Here you have this bill where it would compensate you or others, depending on the time you’ve been out, for the time that was taken. What would you say to somebody who is struggling to pay their rent or something right now and tell them why you would deserve to be compensated for that time when they are not getting compensated for what they’re doing?

PW: That’s a good point. So let me be clear. The money is not coming from United States’ taxpayers. The money comes from foreign frozen bank accounts, from, say, Venezuela, from Russia, from Iran, from those rogue nations. And that money will be used to compensate hostages. Hostages lose freedom. I was held for 2,043 days. That means 2,043 days I wasn’t earning an income. I wasn’t saving for retirement. And when I came home, I found that my home was gone, my cars were gone, everything was gone. And I had to rebuild my life.

People that have car accidents have insurance and the insurance company pays them. People that break a leg, they have insurance, the insurance company takes care of their medical bills. Hostages have absolutely no social safety net at all. And what we’re hoping is that this compensation bill will provide that social safety net so when hostages come home they can rebuild their lives.

And it’s a process. Reintegration takes time. Maybe the first year they can’t work at all. Maybe the second year they’re getting back into the workforce. But most of us, especially those who are older, will never realize the same income level, the same salaries, the same benefits or retirement plans that we lost when we were taken hostage.

QK: You were held for more than five years. You’ve been back for a couple of years. How are you doing now?

PW: Actually, I’m doing pretty well. I have a lot of support from my family, my parents in Michigan, friends all over the country, actually all over the world. And then I do have family scattered around the world who are quite supportive also. People are interested in helping. They don’t always know how to help because being a hostage is kind of unique. But people are willing to go out of their way and do what they can to to support me as a former hostage and friend and family member.

I am very active with Congress. I’m very active with a few organizations that advocate for hostages. And I find that the advocacy is quite helpful for me. Being able to speak to organizations, civic groups and things like that really helps me to get the point across that if you’re traveling abroad, you have to be very careful. And if you’re in a country like Russia, you need to come home.

If you know of situations where people are traveling without the security they should have, they should take precautions like using the STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) where they can provide their itinerary and information to the U.S. State Department before they travel. So if something happens in that country or to them, the State Department knows who to contact back home. And that will greatly enhance the U.S. government’s ability to take care of them. I had registered with STEP when I went to Russia and that allowed the U.S. ambassador and State Department personnel in Moscow to contact my family very quickly. It is a unique situation. You know, I’m fortunate. I hope that everyone else that’s coming home has that same support network, but I fear that they don’t.

QK: You had said in the past that what you had to go through being held for all that time left scars, emotional scars, on you. Flashbacks to things like staying in a hotel room and wondering whether somebody might try to come and get you like the Russians had done. Has that all somewhat subsided now?

PW: Yes, it has. Part of the reason is that I live in the United States, land of the free, home of the brave, and I don’t have to worry about that sort of thing. I can go to a hotel and stay the night without having to worry about people kicking in my door. I don’t have to worry about the corruption that takes place in countries like Russia. From that standpoint, I’m doing quite well.

When I talk to civic groups or Congress about my experiences, it does bring back those memories of what we went through. And when Trevor Reed and I have conversations or I’m talking to other hostages that were held in Venezuela, Iran, Syria, or other countries. The issues that we dealt with during captivity and the issues we’ve dealt with since coming home do come up. You have to deal with them just like anything else. You have to kind of face it head on and overcome it. It’s difficult at times, but it’s a necessary compromise.

Many have an opinion about Detroit’s Renaissance Center.

Some view it as ugly, detached from the city, and with General Motors having moved out, they believe it should be redeveloped.

And then there are people who like the RenCen. They see its tallest towers as an emblem of the city. They’re often the same people who argue that pouring public money into its redevelopment will detract from other priorities — things like schools, public transit, and housing that teachers and nurses can afford.

This question — whether a large public-private project is worth it for the public — has come into sharper focus. That’s because GM and Bedrock are now asking for just under $550 million to subsidize the redevelopment of the RenCen. That’s up from about $350 million when they first announced the plan.

Jared Fleisher is the CEO of Bedrock. He spoke about the plan with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent. Later, Anne Goulet joined the conversation. She is the principal of two firms, ARGitct and Anne R Goulet Architecture and Design.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org.

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Ypsilanti Township officials passed a 180 day moratorium on major electrical infrastructure in a continued effort to pause plans by the University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory to build a high-performance computing center. 

The University of Michigan wants to build on a 144-acre area along Textile Road.

Ypsilanti Township officials say they weren’t fully informed about the size and details of the project when the university first reached out.

Ypsilanti Township supervisor Brenda Stumbo says local officials have little say over the University of Michigan’s plans. 

“The University of Michigan doesn’t have to go through local government planning, fire safety checks, or building permits because they’re legally exempt from these rules. They also don’t pay taxes to the communities where they’re located,” Stumbo says. 

Records show the university bought nearly 20 acres at 10221 Textile Road in October 2024 for a “future computing center,” and in June 2025, they bought about 125 acres at 10455 and 10635 Textile Road for more computing facilities.

Township legal advisor Doug Winters said local officials only learned the full scope of the project in July 2025, when the university revealed plans for two large computing centers, including one linked to Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The township’s new pause on construction aims to give officials time to see if current land rules are enough to handle a project of this size, especially since it will need a lot of electrical power.

“Right now, we need to review whether our land-use rules match what this project requires,” Winters said. “We’re doing our homework. A 180 day pause is a reasonable amount of time.”

The university says the first phase of the facility will use about 50 megawatts of electricity, with plans to eventually reach 100 megawatts. The site would have its own substation from DTE Energy. The university argues that the center would use less than one-tenth the electricity of a typical commercial data center and it should be seen as a scientific research facility, not a commercial one.

Town officials are still worried about possible impacts on wetlands, wildlife, the nearby Huron River, noise, heat, stormwater runoff, and nearby neighborhoods.