Public officials in Detroit and Grosse Pointe Park will study removing physical barriers at the intersection of Kercheval Avenue and Alter Road, which would bring an end to long-simmering tension between the two cities residents say is steeped in racial and cultural opposition.

In 2014, Grosse Pointe Park began closing off vehicle traffic at the intersection by erecting physical structures, starting with a large barn before settling on targe planters, with a stated goal of encouraging foot traffic among Kercheval Avenue businesses.

Fiat Chrysler announces it plans to invest $1.6 billion in expanding its Mack Avenue facilities with an all-new plant and retooling an existing plant, as well as an additional $900 million in modernizations its Jefferson North Assembly Plant — all of which could create up to 5,000 new jobs in Detroit without displacement of existing residents after construction.

‘Tis the season for cheery capitalism! As November slides into the frantic flurry of holiday shoppers racing against the Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah clock, consider stepping away from big-name corporations and instead purchasing from small businesses.

On Monday The Neighborhoods team split up and travelled to Detroit’s east, west, and southwest sides to visit some small local businesses. Here’s a few places I saw on the east side:

Maison’s Fine Foods Diner

It’s a time of mourning for Sears, the iconic department store that announced its bankruptcy filing Monday morning. And though Sears didn’t have its origins or footprint in Detroit (we had Kresge’s, Crowley’s, and, of course, Hudson’s), the chain from which so much of modern Americana was purchased has links all over this city. 

On an unseasonably warm Saturday in December, 13-year-old Akeeyah and her siblings and cousins were walking by Wolverine Family Services on the east side when they saw a board with a hand-drawn chef announcing the menu for that day’s neighborhood meal: chicken strips, salad and rolls. With her baby sister on her hip and her twin sister at her side, they walked in with their cousins, their first time attending the nonprofit’s weekly meal.