A test for Detroit

A story about this weekend's Winter Blast in Detroit notes that such events help attract crowds to Detroit. It notes that the annual Detroit Festival of the Arts, held on the Wayne State University campus and around the DIA, attracted 350,000 to Midtown last June. Such events play a vital role in getting people from the suburbs to see firsthand the $1.2 billion in commercial and residential investment that has been made in Midtown since 1998, including lofts and condos.

January 20, 2005

Sights, sounds of civil rights battle

In Marta Salij's review of the book "We Shall Overcome" by Herb Boyd, she points out that the author is a Detroit area native who once taught history at Wayne State.

January 20, 2005

Theater

\"Death of a Salesman," playing at WSU's Hilberry Theatre, focuses on a man who spends his entire lifetime trying to become the man he thinks he should be. The play continues through March 24. Performance times vary, and tickets range from $13-$22.

January 20, 2005

U-M gap in grad rates at high end

The gap between graduation rates of white and black students at the University of Michigan is the second highest among 11 similar elite universities, according to a study released Wednesday by an advocacy group for minority and low-income students. Although U-M's graduation rate of 67 percent for black students is higher than the national average of 40 percent, the fact that it is considerably lower than several peer institutions is cause for concern, said Kevin Carey, director of policy research at the Education Trust, a Washington-based think tank that conducted the study.

January 20, 2005

Pioneering work in black classicism recognized

Michele Valerie Ronnick's photo exhibition titled \"2 Black Classicists\" has been touring the country since 2003 and will travel to several national universities this year. Her book The Autobiography of William Sanders Scarborough (1852-1926): An American Journey from Slavery to Scholarship will be published this spring. Endorsed by Harvard's Henry Louis Gates, Jr., this account begins with Scarborough's birth as a slave in Macon, Georgia and narrates the rise of his career as a public intellectual and the first professional classicist of African descent.

January 20, 2005

Changing face of county focus of forum

Kurt Metzger, research director at CULMA's Center for Urban Studies, spoke recently at Leadership Oakland's "Breakfast of Nations" event. Metzger talked about the trends and issues related to increasing diversity in the greater Detroit area. "Oakland has already seen some in terms of Southfield. Now we're starting to see it in Harper Woods, Redford, Warren and the southern part of Macomb County - the border communities.

January 20, 2005

Pointes for Peace hosts talk on 'liberal media'

Jack Lessenberry, lecturer at Wayne State, will be the guest speaker at the Pointes for Peace public forum Monday, Jan. 24, in Grosse Pointe Woods.

January 20, 2005

WSU studio slates 'Miss Julie

The Studio Theater will present August Strindberg's "Miss Julie" in January and February.

January 20, 2005

WSU dance via the Internet

The Maggie Allesee Department of Dance will present its "Telematics Dance Concert" Jan. 22 and 23. A video stream of the performances will be available at www.dance.wayne.edu/DanceTechnology.html.

January 20, 2005

Music of Ives, 'Jelly Roll' Morton at WSU

Renowned pianist and composer Richard Trythall will be performing the music of Ives and Morton Jan. 26 at Wayne's Schaver Music Recital Hall.

January 20, 2005

Bonstelle presents 'Metamorphoses'

Greek mythology is made new as Ovid's ancient stories make up the play "Metamorphoses" being performed in January. Story features a photo of the play's actors.

January 20, 2005

Local residents help shape Iraqi government

Story on Iraqis in metro Detroit features a chart that shows where Chaldean children live, crediting Wayne State University's College of Urban, Labor and Metropolitan Affairs.

January 20, 2005

TechTown gets up to $6.2 million to renovate TechOne

TechTown, the technology park led by Wayne State University, has announced the closing of a $6.2 million tax credit transaction to support the complete renovation of the TechOne building, the park's main incubator for high-tech companies. The transaction created a phased funding that provides an immediate $3.5 million, with up to $2.7 million additional as renovation progresses. The 100,000 square foot TechOne building is currently home to four start-up companies.

January 20, 2005

Men's Hockey Players Listed in This Week's NCAA Stats

Four Wayne State University men\'s hockey players are listed among the country\'s best in this week\'s NCAA statistical report. Freshmen forwards Tylor Michel and Stavros Paskaris are tied-for-seventh in the country with two short-handed goals. Sophomore right wing Nate Higgins is tied for 12th and sophomore left wing Jason Bloomingburg is tied for16th nationally in goals per game.

January 19, 2005

Experimental radiation pinpoints site of cancer

This article mentions that the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Detroit Medical Center are purchasing new image-guiding radiation machines that are used to pinpoint cancer with more precision during treatment, thus causing fewer side effects.

January 19, 2005

Ailing Detroit bus system has new woe

This article on the U.S. Department of Transportation\'s announcement of a major review of DDOT\'s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act quoted Birmingham attorney Richard Bernstein, who filed a lawsuit against DDOT, after numerous complaints about broken wheelchair lifts on a number of city buses that left many wheelchair users stranded awaiting properly equipped coaches. The lawsuit seeks no money, and Bernstein said he isn\'t charging any legal fees. \"All we want is to get these fixed.\" Bernstein is also a member of Wayne State\'s Board of Governors.

January 19, 2005

Diversity programs unite Harper Woods

Kurt Metzger, director of the Michigan Information Center at Wayne State University, commented about growing diversity in Harper Woods. In 1990, only 132 of Harper Woods' 14, 903 residents were black. A decade later, the city's population dropped to 14,254 and the number of blacks grew to 1,449. Metzger says the steady increase of the black population in Harper Woods is part of a larger trend among other near east side suburbs, particularly Eastpointe, Warren and Fraser.

January 19, 2005

KVCC asked to join Core Technology Alliance

Kalamazoo Valley Community College says it has been asked to join the Core Technology Alliance, a coalition of life-science research initiatives consisting of Wayne State, Michigan State, University of Michigan and the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids. KVCC is home to the Michigan High Throughput Screening Center, which will provide computerized, high-speed procedures that can potentially accelerate the drug discovery process for small pharmaceutical companies, major research universities and start-up enterprises.

January 19, 2005

People on the move

The Detroit Medical Center appointed Dr. Thomas Malone, executive vice president of medical and academic affairs, executive vice president and chief medical officer. Malone will work with the leadership of Wayne State University\'s School of Medicine and the DMC\'s senior management and medical staff to develop programs that enhance medical services.

January 18, 2005

Carnitine compound eases diabetic nerve pain

People with diabetes-related nerve damage may find pain is relieved by taking a compound drug related to the popular supplement L-carnitine. L-carnitine (ALC) is not currently approved in the US for treating nerve pain, \"but it is used widely for painful neuropathy in patients with diabetes and AIDS in Europe," said Anders A. F. Sima from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit.

January 18, 2005