I-75 lanes remain closed until 10 a.m, 910 AM bans mentions of Kilpatrick, Winter weather advisory tonight
THURSDAY NEWS HIT - The I-75 corridor through northern Detroit will remain closed until late morning as crews continue trying to repair an overpass that was damaged Wednesday afternoon.
The construction will shut down southbound lanes from 7 Mile to McNichols until late morning, likely creating a headache for commuter traffic.
A tree trimmer truck with a crane crashed into an overpass Wednesday afternoon, damaging part of the structure.
"We are not sure how long it's going to take," Diane Cross from MDOT said. "It could be during, or after rush hour. We won't know until they are working on the bridge."
Around 3 p.m. yesterday, a crane attached to a truck that hadn't been properly stored wasn't low enough to clear the Oakland Street bridge near Nevada.
The department of transportation said the steel on the Savanah Road overpass fractured when it was hit. It's requiring support plates to be welded on - a little like a splint for a broken arm.
MDOT hoped the repairs could have been done before rush hour Thursday morning. However, crews now estimate it'll take "until late morning" before the overpass is repaired.
An alternate commute could be Woodward Avenue.
910 AM owner bans mention of Kwame Kilpatrick
The owner of a local radio station in Detroit has banned the topic of Kwame Kilpatrick from on-air discussion after the former mayor never responded to an offer to host a show.
Kevin Adell has stirred frustration and even a few resignations among radio staff after he sent a letter that outlines why he banned talking about him. Several current and former hosts cried foul and labeled the move as censorship.
"Now I've got to be silenced and you take away my freedom of speech and you censor me behind something that’s got nothing to do with me?" said Pastor Maurice Hardwick, who hosts a Sunday night show. "It seems like slavery all over again. It’s Black History Month. It’s like you want to whip him with me, for not taking a free job. it sounds like slavery to me."
Kilpatrick was released from prison Jan. 20 after his sentence was commuted. The letter that Adell passed along to the rest of the radio station banning Kilpatrick's name was mailed out five days later.
910 AM owner bans the mention of Kwame Kilpatrick after his show offer got no response
Some of 910 AM's hosts are calling it quits after owner Kevin Adell sent out an email banning them from talking about Kwame Kilpatrick and their guests, from even mentioning him. It is all because Kilpatrick never responded to Adell's offer to host a show.
Ex-lawyer knee-deep in dirty deeds
An area lawyer appears to be at the center of a deed scandal involving the homes of several Detroit residents after some homeowners, both dead and alive, had their signatures forged.
The deeds, with the help of a notary who doesn't know "what's going on" are then sold to companies owned by that same lawyer.
On this week's Problem Solvers, Rob Wolchek takes audiences inside the world of Jack B. Wolfe, an attorney who was suspended and never got his license back.
Since then, he's also been the CEO of companies that have been shut down and had judgments of $183,000 against him.
Wayne County teachers lead by example
An impromptu clinic at Schoolcraft College in Livonia put a major dent in the number of educators still waiting to get inoculated after several thousand received the poke on Wednesday.
Teachers are among the prioritized groups waiting to get vaccinated as a return to in-person learning is nearing for some schools that have yet to send teachers back into the classroom.
The clinic, set up by the Wayne County Health Department, is expected to run at the Vista Center every Wednesday and Saturday.
Health chief Mohamad Hammami says at the rate of allocation the county is currently getting, they could have all 20,000 educators scheduled to be vaccinated within five weeks.
About 20,000 educators in Wayne County scheduled for vaccine
An impromptu vaccine center has been set up in Livonia at Schoolcraft College where the Wayne County Health Department hopes to inoculate 8,300 teachers before the end of Thursday. In total, about 20,000 educators have been scheduled to get a vaccine.
Black History Month: Before Martha Stewart, there was 'Mama Lena' Richard
Born Lena Richard in the small town of New Roads, Louisiana, "Mama Lena" became a chef and eventually moved to New Orleans where she broke many barriers in the Jim Crow south.
In 1939, she self-published a cookbook titled "Lena Richard's Cook Book." It was filled with more than 300 creole recipes. Her book was endorsed by James Beard, the renowned food critic of the time.
A year later Houghton Mifflin published Richard's book under the title "New Orleans Cook Book."
Richard also opened a cooking school, a frozen food company, and a restaurant. Then in 1949, Lena Richard became the first Black woman to host her own television cooking show. It was called "Lena Richard's New Orleans Cook Book," where she prepared recipes from her cookbook twice a week.
What else we're watching
- Michigan's new health department director will appear before the Michigan House Oversight Committee as pressure mounts to restart winter sports suspended by pandemic restrictions. She'll speak at 10:30 a.m.
- Larry Smith, a Detroit man who has spent 26 years in prison for murder after the Wayne County prosecutor determined is 1994 trial was unreliable.
- Meadow Brook Hall has reopened for weekend touring, announcing the first day to walk through the historic mansion will be Saturday, Feb. 6
- The city of Detroit announced Thursday morning it has temporarily suspended meal service at the Adams Butzel Complex due to a building closure. Several other locations will still be open.
- The Cranbrook House and Gardens store has its houseplant sale this week, and it includes a rare Monstera Deliciosa, worth $900.
Live on FOX 2
Daily Forecast
The weather is going to flip from mild and cloudy to snowy around the time darkness sets in. Michigan will be in a winter weather advisory beginning at 4 p.m.
Hate groups in decline, move to online platforms, Southern Poverty Law Center says
During one of the most politically divisive years in recent memory, the number of active hate groups in the U.S. actually declined as far-right extremists migrated further to online networks, a move that has made it harder to track adherents of white nationalist and neo-Nazi ideologies.
In its annual report, released Monday, the Southern Poverty Law Center said it identified 838 active hate groups operating across the U.S. in 2020. That’s a decrease from the 940 documented in 2019 and the record-high of 1,020 in 2018, said the law center, which tracks racism, xenophobia, and anti-government militias.
"It is important to understand that the number of hate groups is merely one metric for measuring the level of hate and racism in America and that the decline in groups should not be interpreted as a reduction in bigoted beliefs and actions motivated by hate," said the report, first shared exclusively with The Associated Press.
The Montgomery, Alabama-based law center said many hate groups have moved to social media platforms and use of encrypted apps, while others have been banned altogether from mainstream social media networks.