AltWeeklies Wire
'Curveball' Tells the Story of Toni Stone, the First Female Negro League Baseball Playernew
Stone's life and career -- from neighborhood pickup game to cross-country barnstorming to obscurity in retirement -- are aptly recounted in Martha Ackmann's Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone, the First Woman to Play Professional Baseball in the Negro League.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
04-11-2011 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
When Innocence Is Pinknew
Wrongly convicted women fight for recognition, support, remedies.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
01-19-2011 |
Crime & Justice
What's Next for a Congressman Who Rode in on Obama’s Coattails?new
People did vie to shake his hand and share his lunch table, but having U.S. Rep. Gary Peters at a homeless shelter last week for a meeting of community group leaders wasn't exactly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many people there.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
01-19-2010 |
Commentary
Amid the Detroit Schools Chaos, Who Helps Parents?new
Through her comments on Fox News and elsewhere, Sharlonda Buckman is stirring controversy. And the Detroit Parent Network is poised as an increasingly important player in the turf battles over education in Detroit. With increased importance is likely to come increased scrutiny.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
12-29-2009 |
Education
A Race is on to Record the Untold Stories of Aging Holocaust Survivorsnew
Until the Iron Curtain parted, the Holocaust stories like Lupyan's and others' from the former Soviet republics went largely untold on the world stage. But now, there is an urgency to record survivors' stories while a dwindling number still are alive to tell them.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
10-06-2009 |
History
Upside Down in Pontiac: How Investors Walk Away from Disasternew
Many Pontiac houses sit and continue to decline in value, blight the community, attract nuisances, cost lenders and the city money in maintenance, and pull down the values of nearby properties. Some have resold for a fraction of their taxable values, further driving down home prices around them. Others will sit vacant for years.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
09-15-2009 |
Economy
Michigan Law Clinic Springs Two Men from Prisonnew
The University of Michigan Innocence Clinic -- considered the first such law school project in the country to tackle cases without DNA evidence -- celebrated its first success recently when Marvin Reed and his nephew Deshawn were released from prison.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
08-11-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Michigan Communities Use HUD Dollars for Demolition, Rehab and Ownershipnew
In Michigan, the HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program is funding projects aimed at offsetting some of the harmful effects that foreclosed and vacant properties have on neighborhoods, as well as increasing home ownership and redevelopment.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
06-09-2009 |
Economy
Legal Precedent in Trooper Murder Leaves Detroit Journalist Unprotectednew
For a third time, a federal judge has ordered reporter David Ashenfelter to reveal his sources.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
03-10-2009 |
Media
Escaping Baghdad and Finding Refuge in Metro Detroitnew
Hundreds of Iraqis have resettled in metro Detroit during the last two years as the United States finally opened to these refugees of the war in Iraq. This year, more than 2,000 Iraqis are expected to flock here. These are some of their stories.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
12-09-2008 |
Immigration
Phys Ed in Michigan Isn't What it Used to Benew
With attention to both the rising rate of childhood obesity and the emphasis on test results, Michigan school districts are revisiting their game plans for gym classes. Their playbooks reduce the focus on competitive sports and increase it on lifestyle fitness activities that will help create healthier kids now and fitter adults in the future.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
11-25-2008 |
Education
Brawl in the Sprawl: The Political Future of Oakland County, Michigannew
How will residents of metro Detroit's richest county vote Nov. 4 -- for Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama or Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain? Will the county hold to its Republican roots or continue recent Democratic trends in congressional and countywide elections?
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
10-28-2008 |
Politics
Tax Fact & Fiction: A Closer Look at the Candidates' Plansnew
It wouldn't be an election year without candidates promising tax cuts, right? But who gets them, how much they are, what's the likelihood they can ever be made and what they say about each candidates' priorities are the bigger questions.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda and Curt Guyette |
09-30-2008 |
Politics
One Exoneree Finds Purpose in Advocacy, Closure in ID of Perpnew
Ken Wyniemko spent nearly a decade behind bars for a rape. His most pressing concern was surviving. His second was proving his innocence. He succeeded at both.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
07-08-2008 |
Crime & Justice
DNA Points to Perp in Rape for Which Wrong Man Did Timenew
Five years ago, Ken Wyniemko was released from the Michigan prison system, exonerated after a decade behind bars for a rape that DNA evidence concluded he did not commit. On Wednesday, police confirmed that a match has been made to the DNA collected at the scene of the 1994 Macomb County rape for which Wyniemko was arrested, convicted and incarcerated.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
07-01-2008 |
Crime & Justice