The Detroit Regional Chamber is urging voters not to sign a petition that would tax the wealthy to help pay for schools. The chamber argues some small businesses file their taxes using individual income tax.
But Jess Newman from the Invest in MI Kids initiative says the language of the petition and the individual income limits affects only about 12,000 to 18,000 high income individuals in the whole state.
“We’re talking about a very targeted tax to folks that make a ton of money. They do not as an effective rate pay their fair share. We’re also looking at folks that just got a huge tax break on the income taxes from the federal government.”
The Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative would add a 4% tax hike on individual income over $500,000 to fund public education.
Both petition organizers and the chamber urge voters to read the language of the petition.
Additional headlines for Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Wayne renames Dearborn street in honor of Osama Siblani
Wayne County is honoring longtime journalist and founder and publisher of Arab American News, Osama Siblani by naming a stretch of Dearborn’s commercial corridor after him.
Siblani established the publication back in the 1980’s, and 40 years later it has become the longest running bilingual Arab weekly publication in the nation.
According to officials, Warren Avenue is believed to be the first street in Dearborn to have a sign in honor of an Arab American advocate.
Ford issues rear view camera recall
Ford is recalling almost 1.5 million vehicles in U.S. because of a rear view camera issue. The recall involves vehicles from model years 2015 to 2019.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the image on the center of the display screen has been reported to go black or get a distorted image which may result in a potential crash.
The administration said they are aware of 18 accidents and no injuries related to the rear camera issue. The agency said that vehicle owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their cars to their respective dealers to solve the issue. There will be no charge for the service.
ModPods to help Lansing homeless
To combat homelessness in the state, Michigan plans to create mini housing pods.
The city of Lansing approved the purchase and storage of 50 modular housing units called ModPods. City officials in Lansing are considering various locations to plant the pods.
If successful, the approach would make Lansing the first city in Michigan to utilize the 8-by-8 housing units which have been used in other states across the country.
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Three drones will be added to Waterford Township’s police inventory.
Police Chief Scott Underwood asked township trustees to amend the 2025 budget and move $110,000 from the police salary account to the department’s capital improvement fund to pay for the drones, docking stations, software integration, training, support and maintenance.
Trustees unanimously approved his request at Monday’s meeting.
The one-time expense will not affect officers’ pay, he said, as the department’s budget includes money for 64 officers but six positions are vacant and will not be filled this year.
The drones will operate under a three-year, $399,000 contract with Georgia-based Flock Safety, he said, and supplement officers’ body cameras. The drones can send a livestream back to the emergency operations center.
“Technology doesn’t call in sick, take vacation or personal days or have bad days,” he told trustees.
Several residents attending the meeting expressed concern that the drones would be used to invade people’s privacy, violating the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which bars unreasonable searches.
Underwood said 55 police agencies across the U.S. are using Flock’s Aerodome drones and, like the 12 license-plate readers installed across Waterford, will only be used to record live events happening in public places.
The 55-pound drone is classified as a small drone, according to the FAA, but has four rotors, live video capabilities with thermal imaging and a 30-minute battery, which recharges in 30 minutes. It can be operated remotely from a desktop computer or cellphone app.
Video footage is retained by police for 30 days, he said, unless it’s needed as evidence of a crime or there are judicial or administrative reasons to retain it, such as substantiating or refuting a claim about police conduct.
Although he referred to the drones as first responders, Underwood said the machines would be used to give officers a bird’s-eye view of situations. One example, he said, is a drone launched to check a report of a suspicious vehicle behind a building. The drone would show officers whether the car was still there.
“If it’s not, the officer can focus on other situations,” Underwood said, adding that Waterford is a safe community and that is a tribute to the officers on duty.
Underwood said any officer or dispatcher interested in drone training, which is included in the contract, will be allowed to take it. FAA certification is required for drone flights 400 feet or higher or operated near airports. Oakland County International Airport is on the township’s west side.
He told The Oakland Press he is working with Flock and the FAA on details, but expects to have three to six people trained and drones ready in the next 30 days.
He said drones will improve officer safety and that the Flock license plate readers, which are mounted on utility poles, helped detectives find the two suspects in a November 2024 fatal shooting in the MJR Theater parking lot.
The drones will be stationed in three parts of the township for quick response, Underwood said. He would not disclose the drones’ base locations for security reasons.
The Flock Aerodome Ranger 1 drone. (Courtesy, Flock Safety)
The race to electric vehicles is happening. That may be surprising for some when considering our political climate.
President Donald Trump has reversed course on the electricity-forward Biden years.
The new federal budget law will phase out tax credits for electric vehicles by the end of September. Congressional Republicans also eliminated penalties for companies that don’t comply with fuel economy standards. Those standards encouraged automakers to produce electric vehicles to offset the sale of gas-powered cars that emitted too much dirty energy.
But despite all this, Ford announced two weeks ago that it was charging ahead with its EV plans. The company announced the creation of a new electric vehicle production system to produce EVs more efficiently. Ford hopes to bring a $30,000 mid-size electric pick-up to market in two years.
How might this plan turn out? And, can Ford and other American automakers outcompete China on EVs?
John McElroy broadcasts three radio segments on WWJ, writes for Auto Blog and has a monthly column for Wards Auto. He spoke with 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.
Doug and Cathy Pumfrey invested their whole lives into a small Drayton Plains business, Toybox Video Games.
They’re waiting to see what Waterford Township has in store now that the trustees unanimously approved a new zoning ordinance to create the Drayton Plains Central Business District.
The two shops are in the same strip mall in the business district, a run-down area on Dixie Highway between Sashabaw Road and Signet Street. Part of the reason the area looks neglected now is that the existing ordinance made it difficult if not impossible for developers to renovate and reoccupy buildings, said Jeffrey Polkowski, the township’s community development director.
The old ordinance was so restrictive, he said, if an existing building burned to the ground, it couldn’t be rebuilt.
Doug Pumfrey supported the new ordinance. Gojcaj said he did, too.
“I think this area needs to be cleaned up,” Pumfrey said.
Pumfrey would like to see the empty shop next door filled with a new business, for the old sidewalks along Dixie Highway to be repaired or replaced and for the municipal parking lot behind his shop, which he said is falling apart, renovated.
Gojcaj has had various businesses in Waterford over the last 40 years and has owned the restaurant-equipment business since 2012.
“It’s exciting to see a downtown – if they slow down the traffic, that would be kind of neat,” he said, adding that he’s seen communities like Auburn Hills create a downtown area, but he wonders how successful it will be in the long term. He’s been attending township board meetings to follow Waterford’s plans.
“I think it’s great, if they do it,” he said. “Anytime you bring housing and new places and bring in a downtown and people aren’t barreling 50 mph past your building, it’s good.”
Doug Pumfrey, co-owner of Toybox Video Games, 4500 Dixie Highway in Waterford, on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)(Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
The changes won’t happen overnight, Polkowski said. The new ordinance goes into effect Aug. 5.
In June, Cathy Pumfrey asked the planning commission what the township will do to attract new businesses to the area without creating traffic problems.
Polkowski told her there’s a chamber of commerce that wants to move to the area. Small businesses that fit the mom-and-pop description would have fewer obstacles to opening, he said.
Lifelong resident Terry Ball told the planning commission in June he remembers when Drayton Plains was bustling. He grew up in a house that is a five-minute walk to the Toybox. Ball urged the commissioners and residents to think bigger.
“I’m 85 years old and I hope to see it before – well, I’d like to see it straight ahead and not look up or down at it,” he said, adding that slowing down traffic on Dixie Highway will be a major improvement. Build Drayton Plains up so people stay there. … Build something. There’s a parking lot behind some of those stores now that I have never seen full.”
The Pumfreys have been in business for 25 years but bought the former Sutton’s Costumes & Tuxedos shop in 2020, during the pandemic, to expand. They’ve lived in Waterford for 45 years.
An empty shop, left, next to Toybox Video games, 4500 Dixie Highway, in Waterford Township on July 31, 2025. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
“There’s only a few businesses here,” he said, listing a wedding shop, a hair salon, an electrician and a nearby shop that he described as “more of a man cave for storage” than a retail outlet.
“Luckily we’ve been in business for a long time and have enough regular customers, but I sure would like to see it be busier around here.”
Pumfrey said he’s replaced the roof and heating cooling system at his shop and replaced the ceiling and floors.
He’s not sure when the township will unveil its facade-improvement program but he’s eager to apply.
“I’m impatient,” he said. “I want to see things happen.”
A row of shops in the Drayton Plains Business District on July 31, 2025. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
Polkowski said he’s meeting with engineers and architects to talk about the best way to set up the facade-renovation program, which will be funded with part of a $750,000 federal grant the township received in 2023.
Polkowski said the new ordinance was crafted after talking to residents, business owners, potential investors and historical society members.
Investors have responded. Three Waterford natives in the development business bought the school Drayton Plains Elementary in 2023 and are using it to create the 21-unit Drayton Plains Lofts.
An overview of the site design for the future Drayton Plains Lofts, the four-acre site of the former Drayton Plains Elementary School. (Courtesy, Waterford Township)
The gym had to be removed for structural reasons, Polkowski said. He’s excited that the school’s 1925 facade will be preserved, with a rooftop patio added. The school will include six stories of rented loft units and the rest of the four-acre property will be owner-occupied townhouses.
The townhouses are between the single-family homes behind the former school and represent a density transition, he said.
The loft developers were incentivized by the new ordinance which, in addition to setting development limits, offers points for going beyond a basic plan to benefit the community, Polkowski said.
A developer can earn up to six points for including such amenities as an outdoor public park, transit and pedestrian-friendly elements, historic preservation, for fresh food sales or for LEED-certified building plans.
The points can be exchanged for adding a second story, reducing the number of parking spaces or adding a dwelling on an acre of land, he said.
Dixie Highway traffic rushes by locally-owned shops on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
One example he gives people is a grocery store on a site that is two spaces short of the parking requirement. The shop earns development points to eliminate one parking space because it will sell fresh produce and meat. Adding a public art display would eliminate the second parking space from the requirement, he said.
At the Drayton Plains Lofts, a water run-off basin will also serve as a green space, with a sidewalk, benches and a dog run area.
“We don’t have a storm drain system here, so everything is green infrastructure, by and large,” Polkowski said. “But we’re asking developers to create something that better serves the people that in the end is better than an ugly ditch behind a building.”
Waterford also negotiated with HUD so the township can make up to $1.8 million in Section 108 business loans. These low-interest loans are a tool that allows a municipality to act as a bank, he said.
“We’re not here to make money. We’re here to improve the community,” Polkowski said, adding that for the first time, the township was setting architectural design standards. “We’re zoning for ‘pretty’.”
A building facade that uses three different materials, he said, is more visually appealing to pedestrians and doesn’t have to be expensive.
The township is also exploring ways to use future benches, trash cans and the municipal parking lot for some low-key advertising.
The free public parking lot in Waterford Township in the 4500 block of Dixie Highway will be renovated as part of a plan to improve Drayton Plains. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
New Drayton Plains Business District zoning goes into effect on Aug. 5. Township officials expect the new zoning to spur economic development. (Courtesy, Waterford Township)
Snyomee Stanley, 21, of Taylor is facing felony charges of unarmed robbery and stealing/retaining a financial transaction device, along with third-degree retail fraud — a misdemeanor — for a crime reported outside the Marshall’s store in White Lake Township on July 9. An Oakland County special operations unit and Taylor police arrested her on July 24 and she was subsequently arraigned in 52-2 District Court in Clarkston.
Bond was set at $10,000 cash with a 10% provision, which allowed her to be released from jail after posting $1,000. She did that on July 28.
An ongoing investigation into multiple purse-snatching incidents in Oakland County tied Stanley to the White Lake crime. A brother-sister duo from Pontiac, Phylasia Rufus, 21, and Cartier Rufus, 20, are facing charges for similar incidents in retail parking lots in Auburn Hills and Commerce Township, and Cartier Rufus is facing charges for the White Lake Township incident along with Stanley. Stanley’s arrest information has been shared with law enforcement in Auburn Hills and Commerce townships, according to officials.
According to police, force was used to steal purses from female victims in at least two of the crimes, causing minor injuries.
Cartier Rufus was on parole for a similar offense at the time of his arrest, police said.
The Rufuses remain in custody at the Oakland County Jail.
Phylasia Rufus’ cases were recently advanced to Oakland County Circuit Court after she waived her right to preliminary exams in district court. Cartier Rufus’ next court appearance is scheduled for July 31. Stanley’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 7.
The auto industry in southeast Michigan is showing signs of strain.
In May, Ford ended a major initiative to modernize its vehicles’ computing systems. The “Fully Networked Vehicle” project is estimated to have cost the company $10 billion before it was shut down this spring.
That decision had ripple effects for local suppliers. Bosch confirmed to The Metro that it laid off 160 employees from its U.S.-based “Mobility Cross-Domain Computing Solutions Division,” including staff from its Plymouth, Michigan office. Back in November 2024, Bosch had announced plans to eliminate 3,500 of these jobs worldwide by 2027.
Adding to the uncertainty are new tariffs enacted by President Donald Trump, the elimination of electric vehicle tax credits, and slower-than-expected EV sales in the U.S.—all of which have cast doubt on the country’s electric car future.
John McElroy, a longtime auto journalist and broadcaster, joined us to talk about the implications of Ford’s Fully Networked Vehicle shutdown and what lies ahead for EVs in the U.S.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
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Ford is recalling more than 694,000 Bronco Sport and Escape vehicles because the fuel injector may crack and leak, which may cause a fire.
If fuel leaks inside the engine compartment and there’s a hot engine or exhaust components, it could increase the risk of a fire.
The recall impacts certain 2021-2024 Bronco Sport and 2020-2022 Escape vehicles equipped with 1.5L engines.
Ford has been looking into the fuel injector issue since 2022, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The company’s field review committee approved recalls in November 2022, March 2024 and March 2025, during which it performed software updates.
Ford has continued to investigate the issue. As part of the ongoing process, the automaker looked at corrosion as a contributing factor to fuel injector cracks between April and May 2025.
Ford identified injector cracking on eight vehicles that experienced underhood fires. Six of the vehicles didn’t have updated engine control software. The automaker isn’t aware of any injuries related to the fires.
Earlier this month Ford’s field review committee decided to issue a recall for certain vehicles to update their engine control software for free until a final remedy is available.
A letter notifying vehicle owners of the safety risk is expected to be mailed on Aug. 18. A second letter will be sent once the final remedy is available. Vehicle owners can contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 and reference recall number 25S76.
This week, we’re celebrating lots of different aspects of our community, from the people who make things happen to the places where memories are made.
Plus, where to catch local performers in metro Detroit. Read on to learn more.
Cultural celebrations
This weekend, Detroit’s largest park is celebrating its 100th birthday. The Rouge Park Centennial Celebration will include a family-friendly carnival, live entertainment for all ages and a community resource fair. Admission is free, and the event goes from 5–8 p.m. on Friday, and from 12–5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit rougepark.org.
WDET is partnering with the Concert of Colors to celebrate Michigan’s only historical marker dedicated to the pioneers of Detroit Tejano music on Saturday, June 28. Concert of Colors in Mexicantown will highlight different styles of Latin music, featuring live performances, dancing and food. Admission is free, and the event goes from 1–8 p.m. at the Mexicantown CDC Mercado Plaza. For more information, visit our events page.
The GhostLight Arts Initiative is celebrating five years of arts engagement, production, education and activism in Detroit with an inaugural GhostLight Gala on Sunday, June 29. They’ll be honoring producer Njia Kai and musician Dr. George Shirley for their trailblazing contributions to Black arts, and the evening will feature special remarks, performances, an auction and more. The event goes from 7:30–10 p.m. at the Garden Theatre in Detroit, and tickets range from $40–$150. For more information, visit ghostlight.art.
The Henry Ford and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra are celebrating the 4th of July with their annual Salute to America event at Greenfield Village from Wednesday, July 2 through Saturday, July 5. There will be food trucks, fireworks and a patriotic musical performance by the DSO. Festivities go from 5–10 p.m. each day. Tickets are $36–$42 for the general public or $30–$35 for members, and children under 4 get in for free. For more information, visit thehenryford.org.
Local talent
On Friday, June 27 through Sunday, June 29, The Pleasant Underground is hosting their third annual PUGFEST in Ferndale, highlighting local indie rock, punk, Midwest emo and post-hardcore musicians. This year’s lineup includes performances by Charmer, Origami Button, Eyewash and more. Day passes range from $25–$55, and weekend passes are available for $100. For more information, visit noxp.org.
On Friday, June 27, Michigan Central continues its Fridays at the Station series with a Peoples Records takeover. There will be live performances by the Balance Duo and the Ian Fink Ensemble, with DJ sets curated by Peoples Records in between acts. The event goes from 5–10 p.m. and tickets are $15. For more information, visit their event page.
On Thursday, July 3, Ziggy’s in Ypsilanti is hosting a variety show featuring live music and comedy. Comedians include Who Can Say? Improv and “What’s So Funny About Detroit” alum Brad Wenzel and Sam Rager. There will also be live music from Ralph Manginio and Missing Cats. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10. For more information, visit @ziggysypsi on Instagram.
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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.
The Waterford school board voted unanimously to approve a superintendent contract with Adam Martin.
He will officially take over as district superintendent July 1.
Martin and the district came to an agreement on a three-year contract at a salary of $227,500. The board voted at a May 19 special meeting.
Adam Martin took over his current position in fall 2021. He will take over in Waterford on July 1. (photo from DSD)
Martin is the current executive director of student achievement at Dearborn Public Schools.
“We are thrilled to welcome Adam Martin as our new superintendent,” said Kristen Wagner, school board president. “His extensive experience and proven track record in student achievement make him the ideal leader to guide Waterford School District into the future. We are confident that under his leadership, our students, staff, and community will continue to thrive.”
Lisa Eldredge, who was assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, is the current interim superintendent.
Thomas Ahart, former superintendent of the Des Moines, Iowa, public school system, was chosen October 2024 to take over for Scott Lindberg, who retired after five years as superintendent. The two sides could not reach a contract agreement forcing the board to reopen their search for a new superintendent.
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