How will Sheffield prioritize home repair? Anything less than $250 million is ‘laughable’
Detroiters are increasingly worried their homes will fall apart because they can’t afford critical repairs to roofs, plumbing and foundations.
Jazz nights, open mics and jams in the forest: What to do this weekend in Detroit
Catch the Pamela Wise Trio, historian Olayami Dabls and poet One Single Rose® on stages across the city this weekend.
📚 Checking out National Library Week
We’re showing love for libraries during National Library Week. Plus, check out (ahem) jazz nights and open mics around Detroit.
More Earth Day events for you to get involved in Detroit
New parents can get free gifts at a community baby shower. High school photographers and community organizers have opportunities this summer.
Can Detroit keep funding its eviction defense program?
Loss of funding could mean fewer attorneys to represent Detroiters in court and connect them to resources.
Get ready for Earth Day, and get involved in Detroit
Recycle electronics at the zoo, donate clothes and food for a free store, and enjoy a community potluck.
Plan your weekend: Step competitions, seed packing and nights on the dance floor
Hang out with The Outlier Collective at a seed-packing event, or cheer on Detroit Roller Derby at this month’s double header.
Detroit job training agency faces deficit, layoffs, leadership shakeup
As federal aid expired, “incompetence” put the city’s workforce development system under financial pressure.
April in Detroit: Film showings, a robot art exhibition and a paw-sitively fun Pilates class
Watch a documentary about the city, short films about the war in Gaza or an adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird” this weekend.
Ready, set, grow! Get involved in Detroit
The Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund Application Tour is Back. Find out where it’ll be this spring!
Streetlights, bus rides and AI: Here’s what stood out to us from Detroit’s $1.55B budget hearings
The city has less to spend, but it’s choosing to put more into police — almost $1 out of every $3.
Take care of business, then go play outside! Get involved in Detroit
Plus, join a community effort to grow flax for linen, and network with other entrepreneurs.
Our latest project
We’re informing Detroiters how to claim millions from Wayne County, which foreclosed on their homes — then auctioned the properties for a profit. Read more →
Longtime judge recuses herself from contentious Detroit foreclosure case
Wayne County’s process may have been too opaque for a sitting judge.
Wayne County is ‘no help at all’ to Detroiters claiming auction profits
Only about 7% of eligible former homeowners have successfully filed claims, with the deadline just days away.
These former Detroit homeowners stand to get $5.8M, a fraction of what they lost to foreclosure
We helped Detroiters claim tax auction profits, but they won’t be made whole.
This Florida man promises to pay Detroit homeowners’ property taxes. All he wants is your home
Residents say his company, MJ Real Estate Solves, is “sleazy” and exploits desperate Detroiters who are already suffering financially.
Detroiters are reclaiming money from past tax foreclosures. This company wants a cut
“I think they’re taking advantage of people and rushing them to make these quick decisions.”
‘Tangled titles’ could cost these Detroiters thousands
Many former homeowners owed windfalls are deceased — and it’s not clear Wayne County will pay claims filed by their heirs.
Detroiters can’t fix up their houses without insurance — but can’t get insurance until repairs are made
“We’re just kind of stuck,’’ said one Detroiter who keeps getting denied homeowners insurance.
Detroit plans to double spending on home repair. It won’t come close to meeting the need
Georgia Taylor’s porch is falling apart, causing her to fall three times. Help has yet to arrive.
After Trump’s reelection, Livonia police ramped up immigration arrests. Reports stopped after public blowback
Residents and elected officials demanded answers after U.S. Border Patrol bragged that arrests led to deportations.
Meet Paul Enns, this month’s featured Detroit Documenter
This sci-fi fan brings curiosity to government meetings, making complex conversations clearer for the public.
Summer internship alert: Outlier Media is hiring a TXT OUTLIER intern
College students can apply to intern in our Detroit newsroom to deliver critical information to Detroiters.
‘The model no longer works:’ Crypto landlord’s Detroit enterprise is crumbling
The company has stopped weekly payouts to investors and owes the city millions of dollars.
FOIA 101: A Detroiter’s guide to the Freedom of Information Act
Virtually everyone has the right to public records. Here’s how to get them.
How to preapply for home repair help in Detroit
Check if you’re eligible, then add your name to the list through March 22.
Detroit homeowners have until March 31 to pay 2023 taxes. Here are your options
Here’s what property owners need to know to avoid foreclosure.
Accountability Spotlight
We shine a light on issues where better information alone can’t make a difference and where a lack of accountability causes harm to Detroiters. Read more →
‘Get them outta here’: Bodycam footage shows how police in metro Detroit cooperate with federal immigration agents
An ACLU attorney questioned the legality of the more than hour-long stop.
Detroit police commissioners’ attendance is improving — but four members missed more than a third of meetings last year
Detroit’s Board of Police Commissioners still had attendance issues — but it’s getting better.
How a suburban police officer upended a Detroit teen’s life
The police officer made one call. It turned a traffic stop into a nightmare.
As the Detroit Pistons sought millions in tax breaks, team insiders gave thousands to Sheffield’s mayoral bid
Pistons exec Arn Tellem and his family donated over $43,000. Last month, he was appointed to Sheffield’s transition team.
This Detroit teen dreams of attending college. Immigration agents arrested her at gunpoint
Agents were looking for someone else when they arrested two students, both of whom had applied for asylum.
How to Detroit
A Detroiter’s guide to the Open Meetings Act
Open meetings ensure that the public can participate in local government.
Detroiters have questions about new zoning proposals. Here’s what’s in them
The city needs more housing to keep up with the number of people moving here. Officials think zoning changes could help.
Where to find overnight shelters in Detroit during extreme cold
Cold weather emergencies are “when the temperature is 20 degrees or lower, and if people sleep outside, they will die.”
Applications are open for Detroit’s smaller, more expensive water bill assistance program. Only 5,000 will get in
“Detroiters need a program that provides real relief, not one that adds more barriers.”
Where to find free, low-cost computers in Detroit
Detroit parents: Here’s where to get free or low-cost laptops and tech support.
We went looking for the cheapest eggs in Detroit. Here’s what we found
Surveyors were “shocked” by the high quality of some Detroit grocery stores.
How do Detroiters decide where to grocery shop?
In Detroit, food shopping is deeply intertwined with the city’s history of racial oppression.
What we’re about
The people who work at and with Outlier Media put service at the center of our work to fill information, accountability and connection gaps in Detroit.
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