By Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Protections to prevent water shutoffs during the coronavirus pandemic are being extended to the end of the year under an order signed Wednesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Since March, 2,477 Michiganders have had their water restored through a grant to help utilities reconnect consumers. Last week, Whitmer signed […]
Posted inAccountability
Heatwave plus COVID-19 equal a strain on city resources
In light of the 90-plus degree temperatures and high humidity, the city of Detroit announced Tuesday that it would open the Farwell, Patton, Crowell, Adams Butzel and Kemeny recreation centers to provide cooling from noon until 8 p.m. During normal times, the city operates cooling centers at 15 community and recreation centers and 21 libraries […]
Posted inCommunity
Highland Park City Council unanimously approves COVID-19 ‘Just Recovery Task Force’
Highland Park City Council voted unanimously Monday to establish a COVID-19 Just Recovery Task Force. “This task force is about the community coming together to get through this crisis, but also to look forward,” said City Council President of Highland Park Carlton Clyburn in a press release. The task force will be a joint effort […]
Posted inCommunity
Clinton River named state-designated state water trail
by Lauren Karmo Canoers and kayakers across metro Detroit will be able to enjoy the Clinton River as a newly recognized state water trail. With three launch sites in Mt. Clemens and Sterling Heights, 72 of the 81.5 mile-long river has been deemed the ninth state water trail by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources […]
Posted inAccountability
Being Black in Detroit’s outdoors: One woman’s story
Tamika Jaja loves the outdoors. She spends as much time as she can in forests, swamps, and creeks, volunteering to net birds with the Huron Clinton Metroparks or monitor frogs and toads and sample for benthic invertebrates with the Friends of the Rouge. She often brings her son with her during these endeavors. She likes […]
Posted inVoices
OPINION: Energy assistance programs don’t keep the lights on. Energy affordability will.
When Michigan’s utility shutoff protections expired June 12th, over 225,000 families in DTE Energy’s service territory became vulnerable to losing their lights, the contents of their refrigerators, and the ability to charge their cell phones because of past-due bills. The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), who ordered utilities to establish temporary shutoff protections, have insisted […]
Posted inGuides
How does Michigan get its electricity?
Energy has been on the mind of Metro Detroiters recently. COVID-19 has made energy costs even more unaffordable for many, and DTE Energy plans to close down its coal plants by 2022. Beyond that, the future of renewable energy development in Michigan appears less certain after the state lost 30,150 clean energy jobs in the […]
Posted inAccountability
DTE Gas announces plan to go ‘net zero’ by 2050; activists skeptical
DTE Energy’s natural gas business will achieve ‘net-zero’ carbon emissions by 2050 through reducing emissions across its operations, the company announced today. “We’ve decided to take a bolder step,” Vice President of Gas Sales and Supply Dan Brudzynski told Planet Detroit. Brudzynski said the plan is “holistic” and addresses all three parts of the gas […]
Posted inCommunity
Profiles in the fight for environmental justice: shane bernardo
For the first 13 years of shane bernardo’s life, his Filipino immigrant parents ran a grocery store on the west side of Detroit that attracted Southeast Asian, West African, and Afro-Caribbean Detroiters. The family grew a garden each year, with plants like bitter melon, yardlong beans, and Chinese eggplant. The garden and store were ways […]
Posted inCommunity
Call for pitches: Black, indigenous or person of color (BiPOC) journalists
We are thrilled to announce that the Detroit Equity Action Lab Race and Justice Media Collaboration at Wayne State University is partnering with Planet Detroit to support freelance journalists from marginalized communities. We seek pitches from Black, indigenous, or people of color (BiPOC) journalists for reporting centered around environmental health issues facing Detroit’s communities of […]