Detroit News

A state-appointed review team analyzing the city of Detroit’s finances should meet publicly, a judge ruled Monday, a legal setback for Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration.

Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette issued a preliminary order barring the review team from meeting unless it complies with the state’s Open Meetings Act. Collette said that in his opinion the review team has more authority and scope than an advisory committee, making it subject to the state’s open meetings law.

Detroit police have one person in custody after a huge fire at a warehouse complex Friday morning on the city’s east side.

The fire broke out just after 2 .m. at the complex on Lappin, near Gruebner. It was brought under control, but fire officials said crews will be on the scene for the rest of the day putting out hot spots. No injuries were reported.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing gained momentum in his fight to convince state officials that the financially crippled city does not need a state takeover as he reached a tentative cost-cutting deal with about half the city’s 48 unions.

Bing, in a statement issued on Thursday, hailed the tentative agreement forged Wednesday night with AFSCME, the public-sector union, as “the first meaningful step in achieving the necessary concessions and structural changes to resolve the city’s financial crisis.” The deal would impact about 3,200 workers, or a third of the city’s headcount.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s administration has reached tentative agreements — contracts with substantial worker concessions — with a significant number of the city’s 48 labor unions in a down-to-the-wire effort to ward off a state-appointed emergency manager, according to people close to the negotiations. More >

The City Council is weighing more cuts to the city’s budget plan that will be submitted to state officials to stave off appointment of an emergency manager.

Council members earlier this month said the mayor’s plan — which cuts $102 million by June 30 and calls for 1,000 layoffs — doesn’t go far enough. They are considering more cuts, including an additional 1,300 layoffs, to save cash. The council’s fiscal analyst says the current plan will net only about $44 million in savings.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has launched a webcast player that will allow music lovers to enjoy an upcoming performance of Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 and other concerts online for free in the comfort of their homes. More >

Public schools students in Detroit will get a leg up on learning as part of the district’s collaboration with the prestigious Cranbrook Institute of Science. A partnership, announced Thursday at Cranbrook’s Bloomfield Hills campus north of Detroit, allows inner city students hands-on exposure to science and technology and access to the institute’s collection of 250,000 items and specimens.

Field trips to Cranbrook and family outreach programs at several Detroit schools are part of the partnership. Institute memberships for Detroit families and professional development in science for Detroit teachers also will be available.

Detroit’s City Council has begun the tedious process of drawing voting district lines for the city. It’s a move that was decided upon by the citizens themselves and a decision that has been a long time coming. More >

How does the Detroit Symphony Orchestra get to Carnegie Hall ? Like everyone else – practice, practice, practice. But the Motor City musicians also added a little imagination.

The orchestra announced Monday that it is one of six major orchestras heading to the famous New York performance venue next year for the third Spring for Music festival. The Detroit ensemble said its three-hour performance, scheduled for May 10, 2013, will consist of all four symphonies by the late 19th- and early 20th-century American composer Charles Ives.

Having grown up in Detroit during its muscle car-era glory days I was taught to revere things like horsepower, displacement, torque and the ability to squeal tires. My dad, who worked for Ford, fed us a steady diet of hopped-up Mustangs, Cougars and and Rancheros while neighbors all around us wrenched on classic GTOs, Chargers and Barracudas.

Times change, of course, and even though I’d still love to stable a vintage Mustang in my garage, writing about electric and alt-fuel vehicles has changed my priorities a bit. Sure, I still value performance metrics and old-time, flat-out speed but these days things such as range, MPG-e, time-to-charge, regenerative braking technologies and battery configuration have become prime considerations when I evaluate an automobile.