During Thanksgiving weekend, the MichMash hosts got together to look at issues and stories we should look out for in the month of December. In this episode, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss topics such as data centers, the Michigan gubernatorial race, and what items on the legislature’s to-do list are likely to get accomplished.
The Michigan Public Service Commission is planning on addressing the increasing amount of data centers in the state in a public hearing this week.
Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT, is opening a data center in Saline Township. Bridge Michigan recently reported there are nine other communities where companies have proposed building these large-scale data centers.
This surge is a result of a 2024 law that expanded the exemption from the state’s 6% sales tax purchases for the equipment inside these data centers. But despite economic opportunity, there is concern among residents. Questions about environmental impact came up when the legislature passed those bills.
The hearing is set for Dec. 3.
Michigan gubernatorial race
The team also spoke about a major shift coming up in the state gubernatorial race.
Detroit Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan is going to lose a huge asset in having the mayoral megaphone to command attention once Mayor-Elect Mary Sheffield takes office. That means he could be losing a lot of news coverage starting Jan. 1. On the other hand, he’ll be able to dedicate his full effort to his campaign efforts. We’ll see how that plays out.
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Health isn’t just influenced by the choices we make. It’s also determined by public policy.
That’s the message of a new report that examines how health in Michigan is limping behind others around the country. On average, resident lifespans are shorter, infant mortality rates are higher, and Michiganders are more likely to suffer from cancer and other diseases.
Why is this the case? And, what is the state’s role in getting us to move our bodies more, and to expand our minds so we can live longer, healthier lives?
Karley Abramson is a health policy research associate for the Citizens Research Council, which published the report. She spoke with host Robyn Vincent.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Eric Anderson spent nearly nine years behind bars for a robbery he did not commit. His conviction hinged on a single witness who insisted he was the perpetrator — a claim Wayne County officials now acknowledge was unreliable.
A new, multi-agency report — produced by prosecutors, public defenders, Detroit police, judges, and justice-system advocates — dissects how that failure unfolded and why safeguards didn’t catch it sooner.
Mistakes by public institutions aren’t rare. What matters is whether those institutions examine the causes with honesty and act to prevent them from recurring. This report tries to do exactly that. So what lessons emerged? And what would it actually take to ensure no one in Wayne County is wrongfully convicted again?
Valerie Newman, Deputy Chief and Director of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit, dug into those questions — and the deeper structural issues they reveal.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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In America, we have a lot of very big problems, including climate change, income and wealth inequality and hyper partisanship.
How should we tackle these problems?
Paul Fleming is an associate professor of public health at the University of Michigan. He believes we need to focus more on preventing problems from occurring in the first place.
It’s that mindset, detailed in his book, “Imagine Doing Better,” that he hopes will help us get to the root of the problems we seek to resolve before they turn into crises.
WDET’s Sam Corey spoke with Professor Fleming. They began by talking about why policy is important to focus on at all.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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Home ownership is considered to be a critical piece of the American Dream.
Wealth is often passed down from generation to generation through homes. But, in Detroit, there are many properties that have not been properly passed down from parent to child or relative. Why? And, how can that be changed?
Detroit Future City is working with several foundations and the City of Detroit to offer a solution.
WDET’s Sam Corey spoke with Shari Williams, the Director of Equitable Neighborhood Planning for Detroit Future City, to learn more.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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NEW YORK (AP) — Maybe your car broke down, your computer was stolen, or you had a surprise visit to urgent care. Emergencies are inevitable, but you can prepare to deal with them by building an emergency fund.
“There are so many things that happen in our lives that we don’t expect and most of them require financial means to overcome,” said Miklos Ringbauer, a certified public accountant.
The industry standard is to save three to six months of expenses in an emergency fund. However, this can feel daunting if you live paycheck to paycheck or if you have debt. But if you’re in either of these situations, it’s even more crucial to build a financial safety net that can help you in times of crisis.
“Emergency funds allow you to prevent further debt,” said Jaime Eckels, certified financial planner and wealth management leader for Plante Moran Financial Advisors.
Suppose you’re paying multiple credit cards and other loans. In that case, Rachel Lawrence, head of advice and planning for Monarch Money, a financial planning and budgeting app, recommends that you make the minimum payments while you build your emergency fund. Once you’ve hit an amount that feels right for your lifestyle, you can go back and continue tackling your debt more aggressively.
Whether you want to start an emergency fund or create better habits while you save, here are some expert recommendations:
Start with small milestones
The idea of saving for three to six months’ worth of expenses can be daunting, so it’s best to start with a smaller milestone. Lawrence recommends starting with a goal of saving $1,000, then moving on to save one, three, and six months of expenses.
The way you approach this goal can vary depending on your income and your budget. But starting with small, attainable goals can help you build an emergency fund without feeling financially strained.
“Starting small is okay. Even if it’s $20 right out of your paycheck, those small things can add up,” Eckels said.
She recommends building your emergency fund in a separate account from your regular savings account, ideally a high-yield savings account, which offers a higher interest rate than a traditional savings account.
Decide on the appropriate amount for your life
Knowing how much to save for your emergency fund depends on your life situation. Lawrence suggests you gauge your own financial responsibilities to estimate how much your ideal emergency fund should be.
For single professionals with no significant financial responsibilities, such as a mortgage or a car, the amount might be $2,000 to $3,000. At the same time, people with children and several pets might aim to save for six months’ expenses.
“There’s no one-shoe-fits-all solution. Everybody is different, especially if you have variable expenses on a monthly basis,” Ringbauer said.
Lawrence recommends that self-employed people maintain two emergency funds: one to buffer low-income months and another for true emergencies. To build your buffer account, Lawrence recommends setting aside some money during high-earning months.
“You set that amount aside in your buffer account until you have two or three months of the amount that you want, she said. “Because that way any month where you have less money, you go pull from the buffer and it’s no big deal.”
Automate your savings
Eckels recommends setting up automatic savings as a low-effort way to build your emergency fund.
Scheduling your savings to be withdrawn from your bank account as soon as your paycheck arrives is an effective way to build a savings habit without having to transfer the money manually.
“I always tell people if it was never in your bank account, you never had it, right?” Eckels added.
She also recommends that her clients open a separate account, one that isn’t at the same bank as their checking account, so they aren’t tempted to transfer the money in a non-emergency.
Make it visual
As you’re making progress towards your emergency fund goal, making it visual can help you stay motivated, according to Lawrence.
She recommends getting creative with how you track your progress, ideally with a method that brings you joy.
“You want your brain to get rewarded as often as possible when you’re seeing a bunch of progress,” she said.
Some options to make your progress visual include drawing a thermometer-like tracker and keeping it updated as you advance toward your goal, documenting your progress on a habit-building tracker on your phone, or using a budgeting app with a tracking tool.
Save windfalls
If your budget is really tight and you don’t have much wiggle room to set aside money for an emergency fund, Lawrence recommends saving windfalls.
“Unexpected chunks of money that maybe you weren’t expecting, like tax refunds or getting a third paycheck when you normally get paid twice a month, or a bonus, those are your best ways to make progress when you’re tight otherwise,” said Lawrence.
In general, Lawrence recommends that people keep 10% of their windfall for themselves and the rest for their emergency fund. With that breakdown, you can both save and feel rewarded by the unexpected income.
If you use it, don’t feel guilty
FILE – Medical bills are seen in Temple Hills, Md., on June 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Chances are that an emergency will happen, and when it does, you don’t need to feel guilty for using your emergency fund, Lawrence said. Instead, it’s best to think about how you’ve achieved your goal of building a financial safety net for yourself.
“You wouldn’t feel bad about using your down payment to buy a house, you wouldn’t feel bad about saving for retirement, actually to retire,” Lawrence said.
The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.
FILE -Customers of American International Assurance (AIA), a wholly owned subsidiary of American Insurance Group (AIG) stand in line outside the AIA office as they wait to speak to customer service officers, and some others seeking advice on terminating their insurance policies on Tuesday Sept. 16, 2008 in Singapore amid fears that that American Insurance Group, the world’s largest insurer, was fighting for its survival after downgrades from major credit rating firms, adding pressure as AIG seeks billions of dollars to strengthen its balance sheet.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
It’s been over a week since Democrats showed up to the polls and secured big wins in places like Virginia, Maine, and New York City. Turnout—especially in the Big Apple—was high.
Was it the messaging of affordability that drove turnout… or was it raging against the Trump Administration?
Listen: Branden Snyder on Democratic wins in recent elections
The transcript below has been edited for length and clarity.
Russ McNamara, WDET: What is the platform for the Working Families Party?
Branden Snyder, Working Families Party: The Working Families Party, or WFP, is a national organization that is working to build political power for the multi racial working class. And so in some states, like in New York, it’s an actual party, where it has a party line where people are able to vote for candidates who are WFP endorsed candidates, as well as candidates who are Democrats, through the system that’s called fusion voting.
In states like Michigan and Ohio and Wisconsin, the Working Families Party is a community labor coalition where we take action in primary elections, and in non-partisan city council races like we just had last week. And so what we’re trying to build here in Michigan is a political system that works for the many and not the few, and that means being able to recruit and advocate for candidates who are working for the many and not the few, working on economic justice and social justice issues, and being able to actually champion them both from the starting point all the way to the finish line.
RM: The WFP endorsed two candidates: Gabriela Santiago-Romero and Denzel McCampbell. Both were elected to Detroit City Council. What made them worthy of the endorsement?
BS: Well, a number of things. I think. The first is that both Gabby and Denzel are community leaders. Gabby and Denzel, come from working class households and working class communities. I think the things that may us champion them for is their pledge to not take corporate corporate PAC dollars to their commitment to being able to pass economic justice and affordability policy at the city level.
And then [they have] a commitment to co-govern. So co-governance is really this fancy sort of political science term of this idea that we want to govern with the community – the idea that they will take direction and leadership from community organizations, from regular people, and not just billionaires and party elites. They are the ones who…actually want to be able to engage with working class people, working class communities, community organizations, labor unions, etc. So those issues and those stances and values really set them to the top of the heap for us.
And I think the other thing that we want to do was we wanted to be able to throw a punch at what we call corporate Democrats.
RM: Should I read too much into there not being an endorsement in the mayor’s race?
BS: No. In my in my previous life, I was the executive director of Detroit Action, which is a community organization that works really closely with [now mayor-elect] Sheffield on housing issues. We worked to be able to help pass and promote the people’s agenda for Detroit City Charter commission in 2021. I was on the industry standards board for arena workers with Mary Sheffield over this past year to be able to produce, produce policy for arena workers. So our endorsement didn’t reflect policy or values.
Her win is actually a historic coalition between community, labor, and faith.
RM: Zoran Mamdani, the mayor elect of New York City, has drawn a lot of attention for his Muslim faith, but maybe even more than that, was his platform is steadfastly to the left of the current Democratic Party mainstream. Is this a one off thing, or is there a distinct leftward turn in democratic politics?
BS: We’ve been working for years to build leftward momentum in Democratic politics. Part of the Working Families Party is in for lack of a better term, to pull the party towards the left and actually using that energy and that gravity to bring in folks who are MAGA voters, working class people who are feeling the impacts of SNAP cuts or the impacts of the government shutdown. So we’ve been doing a lot of work to bring in people into this sort of larger coalition that can actually win on economic justice. I think that Mandami is win in New York. It’s also a win for economic justice.
RM: There seems to be a disconnect right now between the people that showed up at the polls last Tuesday and then what happened over the weekend, where eight Democratic senators broke away from the party to end the shutdown. That move pissed a lot of people off in Democratic circles.Does the Democratic Party have an authenticity problem?
BS: I think there needs to be a changing of the guard. There’s a lot of millennials and Gen Z and even some Gen Xers who’ve been waiting in the wings to be able to showcase and be able to display power, and be able to lead from the front and lead with community.
There’s also a real desire to have candidates who will fight for people and actually fight for policy and on values.
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Muhith Mahmood said he is filing a recount after yesterday’s official election results deemed Adam Alharbi the winner of the Hamtramck mayoral election by only 6 votes.
The results came two weeks after election day because 120 absentee ballots had to wait on signatures and other small fixes before being counted.
An additional 37 votes from absentee ballots were excluded from the official count after they were found improperly stored in City Clerk Rana Faraj’s office.
Faraj was suspended and is now under investigation.
Mahmood said he isn’t upset by the election results. He said someone has to lose.
“That’s just what democracy should be,” Mahmood said. “But the way canvassers denied or rejected 37 votes, that is concerning…I think that was not the right thing to do.”
Mahmood told WDET he is filing for a recount.
Alharbi told WDET that he’s glad the election is over. He also said he plans on contacting the FBI and DOJ to help remedy the continuous legal issues in the city elections.
“I plan to bring awareness to people that have that language barrier and tell them not to give out their empty ballot to any candidate or any person,” Alharbi said. “I’m just gonna try to find any way possible to fight voter fraud and ballot harvesting.”
Alharbi sued Mahmood after the election claiming he doesn’t live in Hamtramck and is ineligible to run for Mayor.
He also filed for a restraining order that would have prevented the Wayne County Board of Canvassers from certifying Mahmood as the winner.
On Monday, a judge denied the temporary hold on announcing the election results.
Mahmood said he does live in Hamtramck.
Alharbi said he will continue his suit against Mahmood—for now.
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Detroit Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield is shaping her administration’s personnel and policy priorities.
A group of 18 committees will advise Sheffield about what issues to tackle first.
She calls it the most inclusive mayoral transition in Detroit’s history.
Attorney Butch Hollowell is leading Sheffield’s transition team, as he’s done for many other officials.
Hollowell says he finds this change in city leadership unique in a variety of ways.
Listen: Butch Hallowell on Sheffield’s transition team
The following interview has been edited for clarity.
Butch Hollowell: We’re off to a flying start. I think the whole team and the whole city is just energized behind the first woman mayor in the city of Detroit. She came in with 77% of the vote. That in and of itself tells you that there’s a mandate from our community for what Mary Sheffield stands for. And that’s making sure that we have a city where everyone feels that they’re included as we deliver core city services, improve the quality of life and address these issues at the kitchen table level. Mayor-elect Sheffield has asked me to put together a transition team that’s smooth in terms of the handoff from the Duggan administration to the Sheffield administration. And that it is the most community-driven transition in Detroit’s history.
Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: What is your role specifically in the transition? Do you recommend certain people to lead on policy or do you say there’s certain positions on the mayor-elect’s staff that have to be filled right now? How do those nuts-and-bolts work?
BH: It’s a little premature to talk about that. Right now what we’ve done is focus on 18 different policy areas such as infrastructure and transportation and housing and education, the meat-and-potatoes issues that affect Detroiters on a day-to-day basis. Once we get down the line with those discussions, we’ll also begin to think of what should the administration look like and what skill sets would be necessary to carry out those policy initiatives. That kind of tells you the kind of person needed to head this agency or that agency.
It’s interesting, the cross-section of amazing Detroiters that have agreed to participate in this. You’ve got the city’s premier grassroots agency for Latino issues working with the chief operating officer of Henry Ford Health. You’ve got the individual who heads the neighborhood community violence initiative on the grassroots level working with the chair of Huntington Bank. We have the East Side Community Development head working with the vice chair of the Detroit Pistons. We’ve never had that kind of a team all in one room, all rowing in unison on the same boat and with the same oars. It was inspiring.
QK: Were you choosing specific individuals for this? Did people volunteer and say, “Boy, we want to help?” How hard was it to decide who was going to be on the transition team?
BH: First of all, nobody told me, “No,” not one person. We looked at people who have a certain skill set in an area, people that have known the mayor-elect, who know me. Then we have an internal team that we kind of bounced some names off of, and I reached out and made phone calls about whether or not they’d be willing to serve. Ultimately that decision was presented to Mayor-elect Sheffield. She’ll make the call for each one of those leadership positions.
Part of it was to explain what we wanted from them. We want concrete plans that can be achieved by this new administration in the 100 days, the first year and the first term in office. They’re going to be looking at what Mary Sheffield’s been saying on the campaign trail. What is her vision for this city in a particular area? And then we test that against national best practices. Is there something that they’re doing in Philadelphia that’s really great or something they’re doing in Los Angeles that particularly works? Maybe we’re the best at it. But maybe we can learn from others. Then the third part of it is to ask each one of those co-chairs to use their own background and experience to work with each other, work with their committees and come up with these concrete results.
We want concrete plans that can be achieved by this new administration in the 100 days, the first year and the first term in office.
QK: There’s always competing interests in various groups. Do you have a sense yet as to what the initial major priorities would be for the mayor-elect? As you say, she mentioned several on the campaign trail.
BH: There two parts to that question. The first part is some things overlap. For example, you can’t talk about transportation by itself, given that 35% of Detroiters go outside of the city for employment and come back in every day. Transportation has to be top of mind also as an economic development issue. And even though there’s a separate economic development team, there are educational initiatives that are important for that and other areas. So we talked about that internally in the work group saying, “You’re going to have some overlap. That’s okay. Just make sure that we have open lines of communication.”
The other part about it is yes, there are some priorities that the mayor-elect had talked about on the campaign trail, particularly just really lifting up the community violence initiative that’s gotten the buy-in, I think, from the entire city. That’s a real top priority for us. Education is a top priority as well. We’ve got to make sure that our kids are ready for the workforce and ready to be able to enter into civic life. Transportation is a critical area, as I said, so that people can get around efficiently. And, of course, the neighborhoods. We need to make sure that everybody feels and can recognize that everyone has a say, everyone has a stake. She wants everyone to know that’s being honored. Those are things that jumped out. There are certainly others but we’ll get through that as this process evolves.
You’re given such a short window in which to bring these plans to fruition and make sure they’re not just something that’s going to sit on a shelf and gather dust. These are action plans. We’re very committed to saying to each of these 18 groups, “Come up with, not a laundry list, but a list of two, three, four things that can be achievable, that Detroiters will see the results of in a focused period of time.” Again, in that first 100 days, first year, first term.
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Detroit has a number of famous representatives. Representatives John Dingell, labor leader Patrick McNamara, and Congressmember John Conyers.
Charles Diggs Jr. doesn’t often make these lists. But should he? The first Black congressmember from Michigan, he worked with Martin Luther King, Jr, helped pass the Voting Rights Act, advocated for the end of apartheid in South Africa, and changed America’s foreign policy stances toward many nations in Africa.
Why don’t more people know about him?
It’s partly because the congressmember ended his professional career in disgrace, having to retire because of a payroll kickback scheme he orchestrated.
But what should we remember about this representative who built cross-ideological and cross-political coalitions to achieve civil rights for more people in America and around the world?
Marion Orr is a professor of political science at Brown University. He spoke with Producer Sam Corey about his new book, “House of Diggs: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Consequential Black Congressman, Charles C. Diggs Jr.”
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall makes his MichMash debut this week to share his take on recent events involving the Michigan legislature. In this episode, he joins hosts Cheyna Roth and Zach Gorchow to talk about funding, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the state budget, Republican candidates for governor and more.
Speaker Hall says his H.E.A.T. plan (short for the Hall Ethics, Accountability and Transparency plan) aims to bring more transparency to spending in the legislature. He says that people need to know where money from the state budget is going.
“Let’s get public documents a long time in advance that tells us what is the public purpose, what is the project, so we can look into these ‘pork’ spending projects and say which ones are good and which ones are bad,” Hall said.
Republican candidates for governor
Hall also spoke about the current candidates for governor. He said that there were a lot of strong republican contenders, but he also complimented independent candidate Mike Duggan.
“Mike Duggan and I get along very well,” Hall said. “I’ve done many deals with him. The Public Safety Trust fund… We have a great relationship. But he’s more of a democrat than a republican.”
The Michigan gubernatorial elections will be held on Nov. 3, 2026.
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Shutting down the federal government was a matter of principle for U.S. Senate Democrats back in October.
Tens of thousands of federal workers were furloughed. Air traffic controllers were forced to work without pay. The Trump Administration fought in court to reduce SNAP food assistance.
Tax credits tied to plans through the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, were set to expire, and without them premiums were set to skyrocket. That was unacceptable to most Democrats, who wanted to leverage the shutdown to extend healthcare subsidies.
This week, seven Democrats and one independent changed their strategy and voted to end the shutdown.
They received only a promise of a vote on the ACA tax credits and assurances that federal workers fired by the Trump Administration would be rehired.
In the meantime, people are receiving notice that their premiums are going up. In Michigan, insurers are ending coverage for people through Obamacare. That could leave as many as 200,000 people in the state without coverage.
Michigan U.S. Senator Gary Peters voted to keep the government closed. He thinks it’s going to get worse unless those ACA tax credits are restored.
Listen: U.S. Senator Gary Peters on the federal government shutdown
“Nationally, well over 20 million people are seeing large increases in their health care estimates, somewhere around 10 million will lose their health care coverage as a result,” Peters said.
Peters says he would like the Democrats who capitulated and voted to end the shutdown to speak for themselves.
“I know that they were focused on working on health care costs, but we’re also concerned about the cost of the shutdown itself,” Peters said. “Certainly government employees who had been going without a check for quite some time, which puts a real strain on our families.”
Peters disagrees this was a failure of leadership.
“We don’t work for Chuck Schumer,” Peters said. “Every Senator represents the people in their state. I work for the people in Michigan, and my colleagues around the country work for the people in their individual states, and they have to ultimately do what they think is right.”
The Epstein emails
The White House is scrambling following the release of a new batch of emails to and from rapist and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The emails seem to implicate that President Donald Trump was aware of Epstein’s crimes, and that the president maintained a relationship with the disgraced financier well into his first term in office.
Epstein died in federal custody in 2019.
After promising on the campaign trail to release all the evidence collected in Epstein’s prosecution, the Trump Administration has backed off that pledge.
Peters says the American public needs to see all of the documents.
“Bottom line, I think there’s enough information out now that raises so many questions that have to be answered that we need to see the release of all of the documents,” Peters said.
Earlier this year, the Trump Administration moved Epstein co-conspirator Ghislane Maxwell to a minimum-security prison.
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Last week, Democrats ran across the country on alleviating the issue of affordability.
Those people spreading the message were often young, 30-somethings.
That was true in New York City, where Zohran Mamdani became mayor-elect. And it was true in Detroit, where Mary Sheffield won as well. The voters who brought those people to victory — particularly in the New York mayoral race and the Virginia governor’s race — were young voters.
Amanda Litman, the co-founder and president of Run For Something, recently told a reporter that of the over 200 left candidates affiliated with her organization, nearly every one who achieved victory did it by discussing affordability, particularly housing costs.
So, how much does the issue of “affordability” translate to more liberal and more conservative places across the country? And, how much can we understand about what young people want from what we saw last week?
Litman joined The Metro to discuss.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Work takes up a big chunk of our lives. In an ideal world, all of the time and energy we spend working would be met with riches and endless satisfaction.
But in reality? Burnout and job fears are rising. Between a slew of layoffs, a government shutdown, a changing economy and a shift toward artificial intelligence, it’s no wonder people are feeling uncertain.
Trust me, I get it. I’m a writer. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never worried about being replaced by AI.
So how do we overcome these work-related challenges? I asked career coaches for their advice.
Protect your time
As a full-time employee and parent of two young kids, I know how quickly the day can disappear — and how hard it is to feel like you’re making progress on an endless list of tasks. Structure helps.
Using your time intentionally is a “superpower,” says Ally Meyers, a certified executive and positive psychology coach in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Meyers encourages time blocking, a method where you carve out chunks of time in your day for specific tasks, such as deep work on a project or responding to emails.
Prioritizing tasks can be tough when everything feels urgent. Start by setting some goals, Meyers suggests.
“Keep three top of mind as you work your way through the week, and have those be your non-negotiables,” she says.
Time blocking is also a useful tool for practicing self-care and avoiding burnout.
“We talk a lot about time management for our calendars, time management, for work. But what about time management for ourselves, just as people and humans, to decompress or release?” says Crystal Barrow, executive career and leadership coach in Stamford, Connecticut.
Make space for the things that recharge you. Go for a 20-minute walk each morning or attend a weekly yoga class. Mark yourself as unavailable on your calendar, and turn off notifications during that window.
“Take care of yourself, because if not, then ultimately you won’t be able to deliver in the way that you want to” or that your employer expects you to, Barrow says.
Turn fear into a plan
It’s normal to worry about what could go wrong in our careers, such as a layoff or getting passed over for a promotion. Planning for those what-ifs can help you feel more in control.
That might involve beefing up an emergency fund or polishing your resume.
Barrow recommends keeping a results “go bag,” a running digital file that includes your professional wins, metrics or outcomes, and positive feedback. Just don’t store it on your work computer.
“When layoffs, promotions, or new opportunities come up, you already have proof of your impact instead of scrambling to remember what you’ve done,” she says.
And if the rise of AI technology makes you feel uneasy? Start by embracing it. Learn the landscape and explore tools that could help you be more effective in your current or future role, says Brian Pulliam, a tech career coach and founder of Refactor Coaching in the Seattle area.
Think of AI like an intern, he says.
“If I had access to an intern who I trusted to go do this stuff as long as I could review it at the end, what would I delegate to it?” Pulliam says. Maybe you’d pick a marketing plan or a research topic.
Whenever you’re about to do something, ask yourself, “Is this something AI can help with?” Pulliam says.
Take small steps before big leaps
If you’re feeling stuck or unhappy at work, you may be considering quitting your job. But it’s important to regulate your emotions before making a drastic decision, Meyers says, especially in a tough job market.
“Often, we make a jump thinking that our circumstance is going to be different elsewhere,” Meyers says. “But really, it may be the way that we’re working, and it may be the environment that we are in, not necessarily the job itself.”
Reflect on what’s missing or causing you stress. Then, think about whether you can bridge the gap by building skills or having candid conversations with your team, Meyers says.
But staying put isn’t always the right move. If you decide it’s time for a change, look for low-stakes ways to make the transition.
For example, Pulliam — with a mortgage and family to support — started coaching clients part-time before leaving his job in the tech industry.
“You can learn about new fields, and talk with humans, and do some stuff on the side, and see how you like it,” he says.
Make yourself visible
Whether you’re trying to land a new job or prove your worth to your current employer, getting noticed is key.
“Communicate one visible win each week, and make sure the right people see it so you are seen, heard and valued,” Barrow says.
Making your accomplishments known can boost motivation and get you the recognition you deserve.
“If no one knows about them, then how can you get credit for it? How can you ask for the promotion or the raise?” Barrow says.
Know your audience, she adds, and communicate in a way that resonates with them. Your manager might prefer coffee chats, quick one-on-ones or status update emails, for example.
This approach can help you crush interviews, too.
Sharing lots of details about what you’re good at, and what sets you apart will make you “way more memorable than the average applicant,” Pulliam says.
Tap into your network
Professional organizations, alumni groups and other networks can connect you to mentors, job leads and career development tools.
Personally, I lean on networks for skill-building. Co-workers have sent informative webinars and online journalism courses my way.
For others, building relationships might lead to a new job.
“The last three jobs I got — Microsoft, Zillow and Coinbase — are all because of people,” Pulliam says. “It’s not because I was some brilliant person that nobody had heard of. No, I knew somebody there that helped me get in, in all three cases.”
The best way to stand out in this job market is to talk to people, Pulliam says.
You can find simple ways to build your network.
“Connect with mutual colleagues on LinkedIn. Talk to humans and see if you can have a person let you in the side door of a building through a referral of some kind,” Pulliam says.
For all the talk about automation, there’s still power in human connections.
Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield ran on several promises: creating job opportunities for young people, improving schools, and investing in neighborhoods.
It’s no question that her platform was appealing, as the candidate won 77% of the vote. Detroit has a lot of poverty, a significant amount of crime, and many residents are in need of better job opportunities.
How are residents reacting to Sheffield’s victory? What do they hope she accomplishes? And, what kinds of organizing and coalition building will the new mayor have to do to live up to her promises?
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
This fall, multiple appliances in my home announced they were done: A water line inside my washer broke, my dryer began requiring multiple cycles to dry a load, and my hair straightener stopped getting hot enough to do its job.
The only silver lining? Solid holiday sales start in October and get really good in November.
As a personal finance expert, I came up with a shopping strategy: I would select the appliances I wanted to buy before the October sales began, track the prices through Black Friday and buy as soon as those prices dipped to their lowest point.
I estimate leveraging holiday sales to buy my household necessities could save me several hundred dollars.
Samantha Gordon, the deals editor at Consumer Reports, confirmed the logic of my strategy.
“My biggest piece of advice for anybody is to never buy anything not on sale,” she says. And in November, she adds, “Everything goes on sale.”
With some planning, you can leverage the season’s discounts for your own needs.
Make your list early
Research exactly which products you want before the sales start so you can make an informed decision when the discounts begin, Gordon says.
She suggests tracking prices now so you know what constitutes an actual discount versus simply an advertised sale.
“You want to know what the price is on an average day,” Gordon says, adding that price-tracking tools, such as Keepa, CamelCamelCamel.com and PayPal Honey, can help you.
Andrea Woroch, a money-saving expert who shares budgeting tips on her website, has been doing just that. Like me, she has a list of household products — including a vacuum and new fridge — that she hopes to buy during the holiday sales.
“Set a sale alert for an item you want to track so you don’t miss a limited-time, early deal,” she suggests. Shopping apps like Karma and CamelCamelCamel will send a price drop alert right to your inbox.
If you plan to shop at a specific store, Woroch says to sign up for free loyalty programs. That may get you free shipping, rewards for purchases and extra coupons.
Consider everyday household items
Big-ticket items aren’t the only things marked down this time of year. Everyday essentials, such as paper products and makeup, also go on sale.
Trae Bodge, a shopping expert at TrueTrae.com who is based in the New York area, takes advantage of those discounts. During the October sales, she bought brow gel, pretzels, a new fireplace screen and an inflatable travel mattress.
Bodge estimates she saved between 10% to 30% on each item, and stacked that savings with cash back through a browser extension.
Avoid frenzied buying
Of course, all these discounts can also translate into wayward buys.
While it can be a good idea to buy a discounted item for next year now, Woroch cautions against overspending.
“Just make sure you can afford the purchase when you buy it. You don’t want to add to your spending load so much that you can’t pay off your card,” she says, because that can lead to interest charges.
In some cases, 0% financing deals may also be available during sales events, allowing you to spread out payments without interest accruing, she adds.
The washer and dryer set will be my biggest purchase, which is why I’ve taken time to plan for it.
Lock in seasonal savings
October was good, but I’m holding out for Black Friday sales: The hair appliance I plan to purchase — a Beachwaver rotating curling iron — normally retails for $99, but dipped to just under $70 right before the October sales hit.
I was tempted to hit “buy” until I checked the price history on CamelCamelCamel.com. I saw that last Black Friday, the price went all the way down to $49. So I’m waiting, hoping the low price repeats itself again this year. If it does, I’ll save about $50.
For our washer and dryer combo, I selected the LG ThinQ model after combing through online reviews. While it’s currently marked down about $500, I expect an even better deal during the Black Friday sales.
Research shows that appliance prices typically dip during Black Friday, with deals announced ahead of time. So I’m keeping my eye out and will make my purchase when I see sales roll out. It’s a bit of a gamble — because I could save $500 now — but I’m hopeful.
The bottom line? Using seasonal sales to buy necessities can save you cash, which we can all use right now.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – MAY 05: Bill Laughlin, owner of the Christmas Etc. store, works on a Santa Claus figure on the sales floor on May 05, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Laughlin says that he thinks the Trump administration will make a deal with China on tariffs, which would avert his having to raise prices since most of the Christmas decorations he sells are made in China. He feels that he would have to raise prices by as much as 30% if no deal is made. The family started the store 36 years ago, selling everything Christmas-related from tree decorations, nut crackers, train sets, toys, and life-size Christmas figures. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield had a historic win on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to be elected Mayor of Detroit. In this episode of MichMash, Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben are joined by BridgeDetroit reporter Malachi Barrett and Detroit One Million founder Sam Robinson to discuss how Sheffield might govern in her new role.
Not only is Sheffield the first woman to become mayor for the city of Detroit, but she had record turnout in comparison to her predecessor.
“Duggan is talked about as this electoral juggernaut, especially in his re-election campaigns. He never had above 75% or even hit 75,000 votes,” Barrett said. “Sheffield had both.”
Barrett also said Sheffield was more present in the community and had better relationships than her opponent, Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr.
Sheffield’s trajectory
From here, Sheffield’s career could go in many different directions. But according to Robinson, Detroit is the main focus for the young politician.
He recounted stories from her election night afterparty and says he believes she aspires to be a candidate like former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young. Robinson also said that her representation as an African American woman has inspired a lot of people.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
Political junkies have their minds on the elections that just happened this past week. But one year ahead, there are a lot more elections in the state.
That’s true for the governor’s race, where a slate of Democratic and Republican candidates, in addition to an independent candidate, are running for the seat.
Currently, Congressman John James and former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox are in the lead for the Republican nomination. Why? And, what do they need to do to win?
Producer Sam Corey spoke to longtime Michigan Republican strategist Jeff Timmer to find out.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
For the first time, a woman is mayor-elect for the City of Detroit.
Mary Sheffield is a 38-year old Black woman and the current Detroit City Council President. In becoming mayor, she’ll have a much brighter spotlight flashing on her. And many agree that that light, because of her gender, will carry scrutiny that Mayor Duggan never had to face.
Notably, Detroit already has many women leading organizations and departments across the city. So how significant is Sheffield’s win? And, what kinds of things might she need to be concerned about that a man wouldn’t?
To discuss all this now, we have Raquel Constañeda-Lopez served on Detroit City Council at the same time as Sheffield. Now she runs an organization called Restorative Democracy, which supports women of color who hold public office.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
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