WDET 101.9FM

We’ll check in with Quinn Klinefelter, live from Macomb County Community College where he’s awaiting remarks from President Obama on new funding for community colleges.

Michigan's Upper Peninsula sometimes gets a short shrift.  That's why lawmaker Mike Lahti is proposing a law that requires Michigan's upper half be included in state maps.

Ingham County Commissioner Mark Grebner is filing a lawsuit against three students for defamation- on his Wikipedia profile .  We'll hear what happened.

Michigan has more land banks- government owned parcels of land to stabilize property values- than the rest of the country combined.  Is it the key to Michigan's future success?  We'll hear how it might work in Oakland County from Treasurer Andy Meisner, and talk with Carrie Lewand-Monroe, Executive Director of the Michigan Land Bank Authority.

We'll continue WDET's special series "Facing The Mortgage Crisis" with an investigation on how Metro Detroit's Jewish community is coping. 

We'll take a look at some new research from Wayne State University that finds a correlation between chronic pain and depression, and look at some new techniques to manage both.

Is a small business tax holiday what Michigan needs?  State Representative Goeff Hansen thinks so.  We'll here how he thinks a little break could be a big plus for the Michigan.

All that, plus we'll take a look at the annual Ann Arbor Street Art Fair , which begins tomorrow.

President Obama’s planning to swing by our neck of the woods tomorrow for an address at Macomb County Community College. We’ll check in on preparations for the Commander In-Chief’s visit.

Windsor might be on the brink of a deal to end the 14 week municipal workers strike.  We’ll get all the inside trash from Windsor Star Reporter Doug Schmidt.

The U of M Law School’s Innocence Clinic researches and asks for retrials for inmates suspected of being wrongfully convicted.  The group just won its first retrial for the Reed brothers, who they say were wrongfully sentenced to 20 years in jail.  We’ll hear from  the project’s co-founder David Moran.

Retired US General Wesley Clark was in Detroit last week calling for increased medical services for American veterans.  We’ll hear why.

Bill Shea of Crain’s Detroit Business will fill us in on how a little Federal green might pave the way for green transit in Michigan.

After years of discussion, Quicken Loans is finally moving a portion of its staff to downtown Detroit.  We’ll hear from Rock Enterprises President Matt Cullen on the somewhat scaled-down preliminary plan, and weigh the deal with Clare Pfieffer Ramsey, Editor of Model D.

80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs is generating ideas this week in Washington to help some of those most hardest hit by the recession:  young job seekers.  We’ll talk with one Michigan attendee.

Local animal rights advocates are up in arms about a provision in new state legislation that could give commercial food providers near-immunity from intervention.  We’ll hear from  Paul Shapiro, senior director of The Humane Society of the United States’ factory farming campaign.

All that, plus a new book charts the history of some of Detroit’s forgotten landmarks.  We’ll talk with Paul Vachon, author of Forgotten Detroit.

After 40 days of bankruptcy, we had our first formal introduction to the new GM this morning, with some familiar goals (best quality automobiles in the world) and a few unfamiliar ones (experimenting with selling cars on Ebay).  We’ll hear from Paul Eisenstein of The Detroit Bureau, who was there as it was announced, and from Ed Peper, Vice President of Chevrolet.

Former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara passed away earlier this week.  He oversaw another revolutionary time for the automotive industry- when he became President of Ford in 1960.  We’ll remember the Ford Whiz Kid with transportation historian Bob Cassey.

This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of one of baseball’s most notorious promotions.  Joan Silvi will remember the “disco demolition” that took place between two games of a Tigers & Chicago White Sox Double header in 1979.  Plus, Walter Wasacz of the Metro Times will chronicle the disco’s influence on Detroit electronic music.

And for all the staunch rock purists out there, we’ll talk with Nick Mason, drummer of Pink Floyd.  He’s in town visiting the Rock Stars Cars & Guitars exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum.

With General Motors poised to pop out of bankruptcy at anytime, we’ll take a look at what the ‘new GM’ is going to look like, and what still needs to happen before Detroit’s biggest automaker is fully profitable again.  We’ll talk with turnaround expert Brad Coulter, Director of O’Keefe and Associates, and Greg Martin of GM.  Plus, Congressman Peter Hoekstra will fill us in on the federal challenge against dealership closures .

The Great Lakes Compact is supposed to preserve the health of Michigan’s most valuable natural resources, but Representative Bart Stupak says it’s got some serious loopholes , allowing companies to bottle water at will.  We’ll hear from author & Great Lakes preservationist Dave Dempsey.

Detroit Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb is still warning that the district is still considering filing for Chapter 9 Bankrupcty- we'll get the latest from WDET's Robb St. Mary

 

Detroit's City Council decided to jump into the world of art criticism yesterday, barring installation of several pieces slated to be installed in Detroit's Paradise Valley.  We'll take a look at what the role of public art is supposed to be- and why it can be so contentious.

In our ongoing special series Facing the Mortgage Crisis, WDET's Zach Rosen will introduce us to Ian Perrota, Founder of Habitat For Hamtramck.

After the Lansing Police released a report on a sex-sting operation, the unlawful disclosure of one man's HIV status is raising questions about confidentiality.  We'll hear from the ACLU's Jay Kaplan.

All that, plus we'll look at a new research project being led by the EPA and University of Michigan charting the correlation between highway traffic and illness.