WHAT TO DO AROUND TOWN

Newcomers to Detroit share many of the same growing pains, says Sarah F. Cox, a 2011 transplant from Brooklyn. But the kindness of strangers pointing people in the right directions helps to overcome the disorientation of being in a strange new land. Just remember, everyone: you're welcome. 

Detroit's City Council is about to fix the gears of a new kind of democratic government, wind it up and set it in motion, says political blogger Vince Keenan. But the body needs feedback from city residents on the best ways to create a fair, equitable new districting system. Read on and jump into the discussion.

GalaxE Solutions believes so strongly in the potential of Detroit's information tech future that it announced it would hire 500 skilled workers simply because it made economic sense to employ them here. The group recently participated in an "insourcing American jobs" forum at the White House, where the focus was on repatriating jobs to the U.S. Francis Grunow drills into the details. 

Literally minutes after Model D TV producer uploaded this video to Vimeo, it was making its rounds around the web. That's just the way we like it. Seems everyone wants to take a peek inside the rehabbed Madison building. If you haven't seen it already, go for it. 

Our cameras were rolling as the ideas continued flowing at last Friday's Idealab in Ann Arbor. Tom Hendrickson captured the presenters on stage and tracked them down backstage for this episode of Model D TV.

The group's goal is to give citizens the ability to impact their community in a more meaningful way than they could alone.  In Detroit, that means partnering with local nonprofits to find critical community projects that are having the greatest impact. 

Rapid Growth and a bus full of local doers and makers rolled out of Grand Rapids on their second cross-state trip to Detroit on earlier this month. Lifestyle Editor Tommy Allen once again discovered cross-cultural city joy using the powers of three.

The two-hour program was filled with lively, quotable conversation by a diverse group of presenters willing to step outside the box to talk about entrepreneurship in Detroit. It was a "wow" kind of afternoon at U-M's Ross School of Business. Walter Wasacz reports from the student section. 

Noelle Lothamer spent the balance of 2011 discovering new food and drink businesses in Detroit--and enjoying every morsel. Here is her recap of a great culinary year along with a few sneak previews of more good times to come.

Few topics in Detroit resonate historically like transportation. In particular, the current debate about Woodward Light Rail (scaled down but still alive) and a proposed rapid bus transit system. Francis Grunow tracks down visionary change-maker Enrique Penalosa for insight and guidance.   

With Idealab just a few days away, we dug through the video vaults to find some great footage from last January's event at the University of Michigan. See you Friday. 

In 2011, the food scene began to sizzle all over town: Eastern Market, downtown, Midtown, Corktown, Mexicantown and in the underground. Check out this Marvin Shaouni slideshow again and begin thinking about what's next for 2012. Salut, Detroit.

Her work healing progressive movements requires Adrienne Maree Brown to be everything from an organizational guru, to a facilitator, networker and life coach. Desiree Cooper profiles this month's LGBT leader of color.

Our first new series of 2012 is going to be a good one. The Green Garage and Model D combine forces each month to talk about sustainability, one story at a time. Matthew Piper reports from a bike lane near you.   

Don't change that dial. It's time for another great episode of Model D TV. Our series on Detroit leaders of color in the LGBT community continues with this video interview with social activist Adrienne Maree Brown.