City

Detroit firefighters have put out a two-alarm blaze near the DMC’s John Dingell VA Medical Center at John R. and Garfield.
The fire, reported about 6 a.

m., is in an abandoned four-story apartment between Woodward and John R.
No one has been reported injured and no surrounding buildings were damaged as a result of the fire, which shut down parts of John R.

between Hancock and Canfield, fire department officials on the scene said.
to close.
close 47 or more of its 232 buildings this summer and in fall 2008.

Over 23,000 students would be forced to change schools, and the district said that an estimated $19 million could be saved annually.
“There’s nothing final about this,” said Tim Webb, a DPS employee in the real estate department. “There are about 51 buildings that are Michelle Price, spokesperson for the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said that they have not received information on the proposed plan.

“We don’t even have an initial layoff list,” Price said.
sync. The Huskies were late to the gym and even farther off with their first-quarter jump shots.

Paul Williams made sure they stayed in disarray.
With Michigan coach Tommy Amaker in attendance, Renaissance’s standout Corperryale Harris to just 19 points on 7-of-27 shooting.
And while Williams scored just two, he was more than pleased with the outcome.

Renaissance controlled the play throughout and coasted to a 65-50 win, moving back into a tie for first place with Redford in the West Division.
“I take pride in checking people,” Williams said. “Points really don’t matter.

I’m just trying to get the win.”
2005 was $156,000, according to Realcomp II Ltd., a local real estate listing service.

Some cars featured at this year’s auto show cost over twice that amount.
Some amenities, like 19-inch wheels and leather interiors, can be found in most vehicles. Other features, such as television screens, cashmere-lined hoods, and transparent roofs, may prove to be too a little too extravagant for most buyers.

Maybach, a DaimlerChrysler-owned line of German luxury cars specifically made to be chauffeur-driven, unveiled their flagship model, the 62S.
Its hefty $425,000 price tag includes a V12 engine, a five-automatic transmission, and 20-inch spoke wheels.
described the 11th Annual Urban Wheel Awards held at the Max M.

Fisher Music Center last night.
R B artists Tamia and Kelis, DJ Funk Master Flash, comedian Tommy Davidson, hometown favorite Curtis Granderson of the Detroit Tigers and many other stars strutted down the red carpet during the evening.
The annual awards ceremony celebrates the top black, Asian and Latino executives in the automotive industry.

In addition, the celebration Scholarship Foundation.
each year. Students are awarded scholarships that will contribute to their career in the automotive industry.

Awards start at $500.
The 2007 North American International Auto Show, which opened to media and the auto industry yesterday at Cobo Hall, marks the 100th anniversary of the exhibition. The show began with only 100 cars as the Detroit Auto Show in Beller’s Beer Garden.

Big Three automakers. For General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co.

and DaimlerChrysler AG, 2006 meant a continued loss of market share to restructuring plans.
The companies’ heads were quick to admit as much yesterday.
Throughout the last year, local community center Youthville Detroit has hosted production classes taught by Mike Huckaby, producer, DJ and founder of Deep Transportation records.

using the software program Reaktor. With Reaktor, children can follow in the footsteps of heavyweight hip-hop producers like Kanye West, The Neptunes, Timbaland and J Dilla.
With Reaktor’s arsenal of virtual instruments and synthesizers, In the process, the children acquire self-discipline and dedication.

Detroit has birthed countless innovators in every genre of music, so with the city’s heritage.
A new city-wide recycling program, called recycleHere, will begin operations at its new location at 1331 Holden Ave. on Jan.

6. It will provide its services twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
“It’s a really simple thing,” said Sarah Kubik, Wayne State student and partner and founder of the organization, which is seeking non-profit Recyclean, and Detroit City Recycling to provide the service for recycling program in Detroit.

Her approach was to provide a place where garbage. Her goal was to prove that recycling could be done, easily and efficiently.
A unanimous vote passed last night to modify the WSU Law School's admissions policy to comply with Proposal 2.

Jonathan Weinberg, WSU law professor, drafted an admissions policy that would reflect the state’s constitutional amendment.
policy to comply with Proposal 2, he believes it “will sharply reduce applicants that live in Detroit, have overcome discrimination, come from a low socioeconomic background, or are the first generation to attend or graduate college.
Changes were made to the original draft at last night’s meeting.

In a Dec. 4 memo, law professor Laura Bartell stated she believed it was “unwise and unnecessary,” to have a preference for Detroit residents.
caught last night without incident around 11 p.

m. near Grand River and Livernois Avenues according to media reports. The stolen weapon was also reported to have been recovered.

Deandre DeShon-Russell Riley, 24, was arrested around 1 a.m. yesterday when police apprehended him in a stolen car.

around 5 a.m. after complaining of stomach pains.

While at the hospital, Riley overpowered an officer, taking a gun and hijacking an ambulance with three people inside, police said.
Michigan’s first Hispanic auxiliary bishop Daniel Flores was ordained yesterday at the Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Detroit.
“I am just delighted to be a bishop in Detroit,” Flores said during a press conference.

“I hope I can in some way be of service.”
Flores, 45, originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, is the youngest serving bishop in the U.S.

“This is a great and historic moment for our church,” said Cardinal Adam Maida, archbishop of Detroit and the oldest serving bishop in the U.S. “Especially for the ever-growing Hispanic population of Michigan.

”
church. His first effort will be celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe. The Mexican tradition is celebrated with a Dec.

12 mass followed by hot chocolate and tamales.
Synergy, The Detroit Branch of the NAACP, The Independent Retailers Association, The Booker T. Washington Business Association and The event will take place Saturday, Dec.

2, from 10 a.m-5 p.m.

every corner of our city,” Kilpatrick said. “We want to tell Detroiters and excellent service. We want to showcase our city and support “Shop Detroit” is designed to remind shoppers that the city has alternatives to suburban mall shopping.

contractual agreement.
negotiations, which caught the attention of the Accreditation Council mediator, David H. Fink, to assist with the negotiation process.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greektown.
The brainchild of the late Malcolm Johns, a WSU music professor, choral director and church organist, the event was first held in 1967 as a The event was later renamed “Annual Salute to Downtown Detroit” due to population declines in the city.

Dropping enrollment, a shrinking tax base, an aging population and a decline in births in Detroit are all contributing to the Detroit Public Schools’ fiscal insolvency, said Board President Jimmy Womack, M.D. last night at the first DPS Facility Master Planning Process Town Hall Meeting.

The planned series of meetings is designed to gather information from parents to aid the board in solving these problems.
“Right now, there is no plan,” said Darrell Rodgers, Ph.D.

, chief of Facilities Management Auxiliaries Services.

operating contract agreement; if they miss that date, it could mean that hundreds of medical students would need to be relocated.
On Nov.

14 the accreditation council governing the medical school programs in place with the DMC, and they expect to see a new contract between the two groups.
WSU and DMC officials have been trying to reach an agreement on the framework of the new contracts.
Michigan democrats celebrated a victorious evening last night at their campaign party in downtown Detroit.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who addressed a roaring crowd of supporters around 11:07 p.m.

, announced that Dick DeVos offered congratulations and best wishes just minutes before.
“We may not have arrived at the Promised Land yet, but we can see it.
“This vote represents a vote that was cast out of hope and not out of fear,” she said.

“Tomorrow our work begins at 8 a.m.”
Granholm said she will now work on “universal access to affordable health care,” passing a $4,000 scholarship for Michigan students to go to college and “diversifying our economy so that young people will not have to leave the state to get a job.

”
At a rally for Michigan Democrats on campus Saturday, the message was clear: Keep Michigan’s political offices full of Democrats and vote ‘no’ on Proposal 2.
A huge roaring crowd of supporters packed the Matthei basketball courts wearing buttons and stickers of support, greeting former President Bill Clinton as something of a hometown hero.
Among the presenters: Gov.

Jennifer Granholm, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and WSU President Irvin Reid.
After Clinton thanked WSU President Irvin Reid for making the space available for the Democrats, he told the audience that he usually doesn’t advocate in local elections.

But “There is something fundamentally wrong with the way our country has been run,” Clinton said.
the 1960s, Zinn has been a tireless activist as well as a voice of dissent for over 40 years. Last night at Cobo Hall, the Cranbrook Peace Foundation honored the historian, author and lifelong peace activist.

with a gala benefit and an international installation. In addition to the visual art on display, there will also be performances by local-turned-jet-set techno DJs.
daunting experience.

It stands alone on an empty block, a beacon for the thousands of homeless in the area. People mill about outside at all hours, some passing time smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee provided by the NSO. Others are participating in somewhat illicit enterprises.

Inside, the shelter is divided into two different sections. One for men, one for women. One must walk through a metal detector then be approved by two security guards.

The shelter smells of poverty and disenfranchisement: a mix of urine, stale beer and unwashed clothing.
The vacant building directly across from the WSU athletic field may be
turned into a neighborhood pub if two young entrepeneurs have their way.

Two prospective entrepreneurs want to bring food and drink to Woodbridge — something that, presently, residents have to go to Midtown (or further) for.
The Woodbridge Pub, the working title, is imagined to be a neighborhood gathering spot for a neighborhood without one.
MGM Grand casino's new permanent facility is being constructed at a relatively brisk pace. While the city gains jobs and revenue from the casinos, the social impact is harder to quantify.
The city of Detroit ranked fourth highest in the U.

S. for all casino markets in 2005, earning an estimated total of $1.23 billion in gross revenues, according to the American Gaming Association.

But the news may not be all good, even for an economy like Detroit, which needs all the money it can get.
Fred Wacker, Wayne State professor and published author, held a conference yesterday in the Faculty Administration Building titled, “Reflections on Gambling in Detroit: Humanistic Costs and Benefits.” Wacker talked about the “pathological problems” and economic “costs” and “benefits” that surround casinos and their gamblers.

If anyone can inspire entrepreneurship in the city of Detroit, it's Dan Gilbert. Gilbert is No. 354 on Forbes Magazine’s list of richest Americans, founder and chairman of the Quicken Loans Corporation, the largest online retail home mortgage lending firm in the U.

S. and the owner the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now the mogul plans to share his knowledge with the world via a two-year, full-time internship venture; launching in January of 2007 and aimed at the most ambitious, business-orientated young people the city has to offer.

Buyers were offered a first opportunity to reserve condos at the Westin Book-Cadillac Saturday at an event at The Detroit Athletic Club.
The grandiose old hotel, that elicits strong nostalgia from older Detroiters and has seen at least two other failed attempts at renovation, saw brisk sales in its single-day pre-sale event.
“We sold 40 (of 67) units in four hours,” said Jon Grabowski, president of Esquire properties, the real estate firm marketing the condos.

“[Saturday’s] success surpasses all of our expectations.