The Detroit Department of Public Works announced a new effort to keep the city clean with a recycling pilot program at bus stops.

The department also unveiled two electric garbage trucks that will be used to collect recycling.   

The pilot program will place 800 new recycling cans at the bus stops.  

Public Works Deputy Director Sam Krassenstein says bottles and cans are the number one thing people throw away when waiting for the bus.  “And that’s what we’re trying to capitalize on by diverting that to keep that out of the landfill and keep that out of the streets.”  

Krassenstein says the pilot aims to increase recycling rates from 45% to nearly 100%.   

The $500,000 investment was funded by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, DTE, and City Council.   

Additional headlines for Thursday, September 11, 2025

Non profit offers free homecoming dress drawing

High school students in southeastern Michigan could get a free homecoming dress this weekend. 

Alison Vaughn is the CEO of Jackets for Jobs.  

She says her non profit and Comerica bank are hosting a homecoming dress giveaway on the lower level of the Samaritan Center in Detroit this weekend.  

“Homecoming is one of the young girls’ biggest moments of high school, and so we wanted to make them feel like Cinderella and the belle of the ball, if you will, and make them feel good and confident. And we know those events are very costly.”  

Vaughn says anyone can come get a free homecoming dress and accessories from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday or from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Samaritan Center on 5555 Conner Street.  

Corewell terminates gender affirming care for minors

Corewell Health is the latest Michigan hospital to end gender affirming care for minors. The hospital announced it will no longer prescribe puberty blockers or hormone therapy to minors because of “the serious risk of legal and regulatory action.”

That pressure is coming from the Trump Administration. Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan’s hospital system, announced it will also stop gender affirming care last month.  

Corewell Health made a similar announcement in February this year before backtracking due to protest.

Dearborn improving business exteriors with grant funding

The City of Dearborn is celebrating the completion of the first façade improvement project on Warren Avenue at Nadia’s Pharmacy.

The city’s initiative awards up to $200,000 in Community Development Block grant funding, with a 10% business match to improve the exterior of selected businesses.

The goal of the project is to modernize, enhance, and create a cohesive business aesthetic along Warren Avenue between Lonyo Avenue and Greenfield Rd.

Nadia’s Pharmacy is the first to complete repairs. 

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The University of Michigan is ending gender-affirming care for minors, leaving an untold number of families with fewer options and greater uncertainty.

Gender-affirming care for minors is legal in Michigan, and major medical and mental-health associations recognize it as best practice. Research links it to lower depression and suicide risk. 

But a Michigan Medicine spokesperson said in a prepared statement that the risks of offering this care are now too high. This comes after it received a federal subpoena as part of a criminal and civil investigation into gender-affirming care for minors.

“We recognize the gravity and impact of this decision for our patients and our community. We are working closely with all those impacted,” the statement reads.

The announcement represents a profound loss for families. For some young people, it means a place they felt safe and could trust is closing its doors. And the consequences are real: more anxiety, more depression, greater risk of suicide.

Equality Michigan’s Emme Zanotti joined Robyn Vincent to discuss the impacts on Michigan families. Zanotti, a trans woman, also took off her advocate hat to reflect on the personal reverberations she feels at this moment.

Michigan Medicine did not respond to an email request about the number of patients who will be affected and how the hospital plans to assist patients during this transition. 

Editor’s Note: After this conversation aired, Corewell Health, a major healthcare provider in Michigan, also announced the end of its gender-affirming care. 

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