Wayne County9

🎧rap musicNew Eminem Album

Eminem to drop new album // People want hybrids // Population drops again

Norris Howard is in for a big show. We talk about everything from Detroit music, a prediction on automotive that Jer got right, and the continuing population losses in the region. 01:31 - Emenim is coming out with a new album, and Norris has a love letter to the Detroit rap scene 07:30 - Turns out, at least for now, Hybrid vehicles are what the people wanted all along 15:47 - Wayne County is one of the top ten counties for population decline in the US. How do we stop it? How do we encourage m...

Leelanaw CountyLife expectancyLife expectancy in Michigan

How Long Will You Live? Research Shows Sizable Inequality In Michigan And Metro Detroit

Average life expectancy at birth varies in Michigan by nearly eight years. That’s one of many results from a recent study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle published in the JAMA Internal Medicine, where the authors calculated life expectancy by county from 1980 to 2014. It showed disparities in life expectancy are growing across the nation. “Looking at life expectancy on a national level masks the massive differences that exist at the loc...

DetroitGeography of RaceMacomb County

New Maps Show 20 Years Of Racial Change In Metro Detroit In Sharp Detail

One of the things that the racial makeup of the Detroit region has done consistently over the last couple decades is change. Block by block, Metro Detroit as a whole has seen tremendous change in the time from 1990-2010. But what does that actually look like? Previous maps that relied on census data only let us get down to 3 kilometer chunks, or a little more than a square mile. However, new maps by a University of Cincinnati geography professor are the most detailed map of racial diversity...

2015-2016 Population EstimatesKent CountyMacomb County

Macomb And Oakland Counties See Population Gains, Wayne Drops Says Census

When it comes to the newly released 2016 U.S. Census population estimates, two of three counties in the tri-county area saw minor population gains from 2015-2016 while Wayne County had the second largest population drop in the nation. Oakland County gained 3,696 people in the last year. Macomb, 3,223. And Wayne County lost 7,696. The estimates, released to the public today, show a continued shift outward for Metro Detroit. Statewide, the momentum of population gain is moving west to Kent C...

Downtown DetroitFail JailWayne County

Downtown Detroit's New Wayne County Jail To Restart Construction In 2017

“Fail Jail.” That’s the common term that’s been given to a partially constructed Wayne County Jail on Gratiot Avenue, visible every day if you come into downtown from I-75. There has been a lot of debate online on whether putting a jail on what many consider to be prime downtown Detroit real estate is a good idea. Billionaires Tom Gores (who owns the Pistons) and Dan Gilbert (Quicken Loans) put together a proposal for a soccer stadium on the site, but it’s looking more and more like their shot...

Insyght InstituteMayor William R. WildMIMayors

Roads and Infrastructure Cited as Top Challenges to Entrepreneurial Success in Wayne County

In the age of the startup, it seems like everyone and their moms are starting businesses. While most entrepreneurs face similar business problems like securing funding, those in Wayne County face slightly different issues. MIMayors, an initiative of Westland Mayor William R. Wild, commissioned Ed Sarpolus and his research firm Insyght Institute to conduct a survey of 1,000 entrepreneurs. The aim of the survey was to address business growth issues facing the City of Westland and the surrounding...

DetroitDTW AirportMacomb County

8 Things You Need To Know About Detroit's New Mass Transit Plan

Earlier today, the Southeast Michigan RTA, or Regional Transit Authority, unveiled a $4.6 billion new plan for a regional public transportation system. The plan is a response to over two dozen failed transit plans and aims to connect the four-country Southeast Michigan area. We’ve got your need-to-know info on the plan. The plan’s changes won’t happen all at once Lest we get ahead of ourselves in our bright, starry-eyed visions of a more connected region, it’s important to remember that...

Consent AgreementFinancesWarren Evans

Wayne County Finances In Dire Straits, Evans Asks State To Declare Financial Emergency

Wayne County has a lot of financial problems. From the sadly iconic fail jail on Gratiot near downtown, to pension costs and much more, the government of Wayne County, which not only includes the city of Detroit but a variety of suburbs from Grosse Pointe to Belleville to Northville, is drowning in debt and obligations. In a release today, County Executive Warren Evans has asked the State of Michigan to declare a financial emergency for the county of 1,820,584 people. It’s the 19th largest cou...

Fail JailJailWayne County

POLL: What Would You Do With The Wayne County "Fail Jail" Site?

The Wayne County Commission is coming closer to a decision on what to do with the $160 million unfinished jail on Gratiot Avenue to the east of Downtown Detroit. The two most-considered options are as follows: 1) Finish the jail at the current site for an estimated cost of $370 million, about $100 million over budget. The Wayne County Commission seems to be sending signals that will be the option they choose. 2) Scrap the current jail project, sell the land to a private developer, and use...