The city of Detroit held its annual 9/11 memorial ceremony Wednesday morning.

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The event honored those killed in the terrorist attacks in New York City, Arlington, Virginia and Shanksville, Pennsylvania on Sep. 11, 2001. 

Detroit Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison says ceremonies like the one this morning are important, because not everyone knows what happened 23 years ago. 

“Last night, my son — he’s in the eighth grade — he asked: “Dad I need some help with my homework assignment for history.” I had no clue about what I was about to help him with, but it was a 9/11 assignment,” Bettison said. “He had really no clue, no memory.”

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Two hijacked jets flew into New York’s World Trade Center. Another jet crashed into the Pentagon.  A fourth hijacked jet crashed into a Pennsylvania field when passengers struggled with the terrorists to prevent the jet from hitting a major target in Washington D.C. 

Other headlines for Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024:

• A new report finds Detroit is one of the hardest cities in the nation to live in for people who suffer from asthma.
• Detroit’s three casinos are reporting $112.5 million in revenue for last month — up nearly 6% from August 2023.
• The Michigan Gaming Control Board has won an Emmy Award for its series of commercials touting responsible gambling.
• The state’s first Klezmer music festival will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15, in Detroit’s Cultural Center at the International Institute. Klezmer is a type of traditional Yiddish folk music originally created centuries ago.

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The city of Detroit is using money from the American Rescue Plan Act to help residents with disabilities make their homes more accessible.

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The Detroit Home Accessibility Program — a joint project of the city of Detroit, CHN Housing Partners and Detroit Disability Power — dedicates more than $6 million in ARPA funds to home modifications for eligible residents to add ramps or lifts, widen entrances, modify handrails, or add alarms to the entries and exits of their home.

“Detroit has more than 129,000 disabled residents. Members of this large, diverse and important constituency deserve the ability to fully engage in all that our City has to offer,” said Ani Grigorian, disability access consulting manager at Detroit Disability Power, in a news release. “This program is an important step towards greater accessibility, and therefore increased well-being.”

Homeowners who live in single-family homes who receive social security disability benefits, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Children’s Healthcare Services benefits or Veterans Administration disability benefits can still apply.

The program is expected to provide accessibility upgrades to at least 250 homes.

Applicants must also have homeowner’s insurance and be current on property taxes or in a payment plan. There are income requirements for participation. For more information, visit chnhousingpartners.org/Detroit/dhap or call 866-313-2520. 

Other headlines for Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024:

• Mason K-8 Academy opened its newly renovated and stocked school library today. The Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) chose Mason to receive 18,000 new books from the Council of Great City Schools and Scholastic.
• Cass Tech students who live in Hamtramck and “Banglatown” – an area close to Hamtramck – are asking DPSCD to provide bus transportation to the school. Education nonprofit 482Forward organized student and adult members to take their appeal to tonight’s school board meeting. 
• The Detroit Food Commons will host a concert series this fall. The Freedom Sounds fall concert series kicks off Sunday, Sept. 22 with jazz percussionist and Jazz at Lincoln Center alum Ali Jackson. Bassist and composer Marion Hayden will perform Oct. 27; and on Nov. 24, multi-genre percussionist and food justice advocate Aisha Ellis will perform. The series is curated by violinist and flutist Michelle May. The events, held in the Mama Imani Humphrey Banquet Hall on the second floor of Detroit Commons, cost $25 to attend with funds going towards Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network’s community programs. 
• The Hamtramck Parks Conservancy has a new director of programming and communications. Alicia Chiaravalli has a background in environmental science, play design and sustainability. She will be responsible for developing recreation programs, coordinating volunteers and community partnerships for the conservancy. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Officials in Detroit are again offering a photo identification card that allows residents access to various businesses and city services.

The city of Detroit broke ground this week on the first phase of a new mixed-use housing development in North Corktown.

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The new development, called Preserve on Ash, will bring nearly 600 new and preserved units of affordable housing to Greater Corktown, according to the city, thanks in part to a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“As Detroit comes back, we are building the city in a way that includes Detroiters of all income levels who stayed, rather than pushing them out,” said Mayor Mike Duggan in a statement about the project. “In the past five years, we have invested $1 billion in affordable housing, and the Preserve on Ash marks the beginning of the next $1 billion we will invest into more affordable housing over the next five years.”

The project, led by the nonprofit Community Builders, will include 69 total mixed income housing units across five buildings — 48 of which will be rent and income-restricted for renters. Another 22 units will have project-based vouchers from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority so that the rent payments will be based on household income.

Preserve on Ash phases II and III are expected to start construction next year.

Other headlines for Friday, July 26, 2024:

• More Rite Aid stores are closing in Michigan as the pharmacy chain goes through bankruptcy.
• Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit is holding its fourth annual New Voices: Detroit event from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 2, celebrating a new generation of artists, ambassadors and advocates in Detroit’s arts and culture scene.
• The Paris 2024 Olympics officially began on Friday with the opening ceremony. To celebrate, the Michigan Science Center is hosting an Olympics-themed event for individuals 21 and older called “After Dark: The Mi-Sci Games” from 6 to 11 p.m. this Saturday.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.