WDET-FM (Detroit MI)

This week, I’m excited to introduce more listeners to one of the four artists set to perform on Aug. 13 at Batch Brewing for our annual Sounds Like Detroit Showcase. KTCHN composes and performs transcendent and dreamily epic jazz-adjacent suites adorned with celestial vocals and enchanting melodic motifs with their piano at the center of it all. KTCHN is otherwise known as Kazza, a Detroit-based interdisciplinary artist, musician. and educator.

Dearborn was named a Tree City USA for the 39th year. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud says its a pride point for the city. “We’re trying to take it an extra step, ensuring that we offer all of our residents a free tree in their easements, and even if they’d like a free treatment for their personal property,” he says. Benefits Hammoud says the trees help with flood mitigation in the city.

Some listeners may notice occasional changes in the quality of WDET’s over-the-air broadcast as we work to resolve a technical issue affecting our transmission equipment. Our engineering team has identified the problem and is actively working on a solution. While repairs are underway, we’ve implemented a temporary backup system to help maintain a reliable broadcast.

Leaders from multiple faith communities in metro Detroit are calling on state legislators to pass a Michigan Voting Rights Act after the justice department announced plans to send election monitors to three Michigan cities. Clergy gathered at Central United Methodist in Detroit and at locations in Grand Rapids and Lansing to show opposition to Trump administration policies speakers say are designed to threaten communities across the country.

Malta is a country in the Mediterranean that is nearly the size of Detroit. Immigrants first came to the metro area more than a century ago for factory jobs. With the Catholic Church serving as a critical community connection, Maltese families stayed in the region. With an estimated population of 13,000, Southeast Michigan boasts the nation’s highest concentration of Maltese Americans.

If you live in metro Detroit, the last week probably tested your patience — and maybe your fridge. First, the heat. As temperatures rose past 100, the grid strained, and a substation in Warren failed. Thousands lost power, some for many hours. Then, just as that passed, the storms came. Friday night, winds tore through the region and dropped 80-foot trees onto power lines — and at the peak, hundreds of thousands of homes went dark. Some homes stayed dark for days.

Come November, thousands of political seats are up for grabs. One of the most compelling races in Michigan is the Senate. That’s in part because of what it says about the Democratic Party, especially after Mallory McMorrow dropped out. Most polls have Abdul El-Sayed leading in the race, but there is still uncertainty as to whether he can defeat Haley Stevens, a sitting congresswoman who gained notoriety for her moderation, and for bailing out the auto industry.

I’m seeing more examples of indie bands (whatever that means today) finding their way to an audience by presenting a solid cover. Australian group Royel Otis is one that stands out, with their solid, true-to-form cover of the Cranberries’ “Linger.” Chicago indie rockers Friko are another example, first arriving to my ears via their forceful cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes,” which, admittedly, is a ballsy one to cover (but they nailed it).

Michigan drivers are feeling less pain at the pump. AAA and Gas Buddy say the statewide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is less than $4 per gallon as of July 7. The last time it was that low was in April, a few weeks after the United States attacked Iran in March. Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic. That sent gas prices up to almost $5 per gallon in May. At the same time, the average cost of diesel fuel rose to $6.20 per gallon, a new record for Michigan.

The city of Midland is the first in the state to use AI to inventory their tree canopy. Midland partnered with the Davey Tree company and used special software to assess more than 30,000 urban trees. Midland’s Director of Parks and Recreation Marcie Post says the TreeKeeper system uses a type of 3D scanning technology that is integrated with AI. “And what we do with this system is it helps us track where our trees are, species, health, basically everything we need to know about our trees.