Photo: Detroit RiverFront Conservancy 

#9 - Detroit

The riverfront redevelopment in Detroit, a city with 14 miles of shoreline along the Detroit River, is one of the city's most exciting initiatives. Stretching for 5.5 miles from the Ambassador Bridge to the Bell Isle Bridge, the Detroit International RiverWalk includes a cruise terminal, marina, several parks, restaurants, shops and hotels. In warmer months, the riverfront parks play host to festivals and community literacy and fitness programs.


The full list of winners for Best American Riverfront is as follows:


  1. Wilmington, N.C.
  2. Spokane, Wash.
  3. Davenport, Iowa
  4. Dubuque, Iowa
  5. Pittsburgh
  6. Louisville, Ky.
  7. Chattanooga, Tenn.
  8. Savannah, Ga.
  9. Detroit
  10. Richmond, Va.


Click HERE for the full article! 


Detroit was built on the backs of Henry Ford and his automotive brethren. But this time, when Detroit rises, it may well be built by young women.

Detroit may struggle to attract supermarkets and national retailers, but it is enticing one unlikely group in scores. The Motor City is the new, surprising face of female entrepreneurship—and women in their 20s and 30s are leading the city’s revival through new ventures.

Within the past five years, Detroit has become known both as the Wild West and the land of opportunity for business founders, a significant proportion of them female. Lax regulation, low barriers to entry and a surging demand for products and services make the city, which is emerging from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, the ideal place to start a business. Add to the mix the legions of incubators, accelerators and resources available to all entrepreneurs sprouting up Downtown and in Midtown, and it’s clear why women are choosing en masse to locate their startups in Detroit.

“Detroit is in a period of reinvention and growth,” said Rachel Schostak, the 27-year-old founder of Styleshack, an e-commerce platform aggregating independent boutiques and designers. “While there are some challenges in a smaller market, the Detroit business community and leaders are looking for fresh minds and talent, and I've used that to my advantage.”

Click HERE for the full article! 
Ben Afflect and Detroit's Resident Tour Guide Extraordinaire Jeanette Pierce 

Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara just dropped a bunch of news about their upcoming DC Comics movies on a shareholder call. The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Fritz has been live tweeting it, so there may be more details released later.

Suicide Squad is scheduled for a 2016 release. 2017 will have two movies, Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One (directed by Zack Snyder). WB will release two more movies in 2018, The Flash starring Ezra Miller and Aquaman starring Jason Momoa. In 2019 we’re getting Shazam (with Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam) and Justice League Part 2 (directed by Zack Snyder). In 2020 Cyborg starring Ray Fisher will be released, as well as a Green Lantern reboot. New stand-alone Batman and Superman movies are also in the works!

Here’s the updated Warner Bros./DC Comics movie roadmap:

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” directed by Zack Snyder (2016)
“Suicide Squad,” directed by David Ayer (2016)
“Wonder Woman,” starring Gal Gadot (2017)
“Justice League Part One,” directed by Zack Snyder, with Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams reprising their roles (2017)
“The Flash,” starring Ezra Miller (2018)
“Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa (2018)
“Shazam” (2019)
“Justice League Part Two,” directed by Zack Snyder (2019)
“Cyborg,” starring Ray Fisher (2020)
“Green Lantern” (2020)

Click HERE for the full article and official press release! 
Photo: ABC News
Talking Pints With Jason Momoa (aka Khal Drogo)
The actor, best known for his role on Game of Thrones, talks hops, farmhouse ales and pales.

Excerpt:

Momoa was in town on Labor Day for 24 hours to promote Road to Paloma, which he produced, wrote, directed and starred in as Robert Wolf, a Native American on the run from the law after revenging the rape and murder of his mother. I managed to catch him at New Old Lompoc’s Northwest 23rd Avenue location in between screenings, as he and his friends refueled on nachos and beers.

It’s clear from this project and his work on SundanceTV’s The Red Road, another contemporary drama that focuses on the conflict between Native American communities and the outside world, that Momoa is venturing beyond the roles in which his impressive physique plays almost as big as role as the actor himself. “I get to wear clothes and speak English!” he crowed about Road to Paloma, at a Q&A following a screening at the Portland Film Festival.

But here on the patio—interrupted only a few times by the occasional starstruck fan—Momoa and I have a few minutes to talk climbing, surfing, babies, hand callouses and, most importantly, beer. Right as I sit down, he raises a pint of C-Note, quirks a scarred eyebrow and says, “I like it. You can call it the Drogo.” Because the Khal loves beer. Not just in a perfunctory “I have a six-pack of Sierra Nevada in the fridge” kind of way, but to the point where he recently purchased a 100-year-old former General Motors building in Detroit and intends to devote about 9,000 square feet of it to his own brewery.

His production company, Pride of Gypsies, also produced the commercial for a collaboration beer between Carhartt and New Holland Brewing that will be tapped this fall called The Woodsman. An American pale ale aged in whiskey barrels and called the Carhartt Woodsman in celebration of Carhartt’s 125th anniversary, it will be served on a road trip from Detroit to Denver in time for the Great American Beer Festival this October. 

Here are some other beer-related facts about Momoa, scrounged up in between highly entertaining narrations of climbing in Joshua Tree, watching videos of Momoa straining his 6-foot-5, 240-pound frame beyond the limits of disbelief on some tiny crimpers at his local climbing gym, and getting towed into his first big wave at 19 by his legendary surfing uncles, Brian and Rusty Keaulana.

Favorite beer: Guinness.

What other kinds of beer does he like: Is the Khal a hophead? Not so, as it turns out. “I like farmhouse ales, some pales,” he said. “A lot of wheat beers, but not Blue Moon. When New Belgium announced they were going to stop selling Mothership Wit, I bought every case in California.”

Favorite brewery: “I’ve never been to a brewery where I liked every single beer, except for New Holland Brewing. Dragon’s Milk, Mad Hatter, Monkey King. Everything works.”

Click HERE for the full article! 
innovative cities detroit

The most innovative cities in America
From technology and infrastructure, to job creation and sustainability, these 10 cities are leading the pack when it comes to creatively solving urban issues.

Need is often a prime driver of innovation -- and Detroit needs a lot.

There's a new land bank charged with helping get people back into the city's thousands of abandoned homes. The land bank itself is part of a broader plan to reimagine all of Detroit's unused space -- a plan that's won points from experts.

Start-up incubators abound, with a vibrant technology district downtown. In the city's Midtown section, light manufacturing is making a comeback and other high-tech industries are taking hold, helped by funding from regional and national foundations. The two neighborhoods will soon be connected by a new light rail line -- a collaborative work between the public and private sectors. (Photo: Shutterstock) --S.H.

Click HERE for the full article!

1. Sister Pie
Photograph by Valerie Zelin / Courtesy of Sister Pie / sisterpie.com / Facebook: sisterpie /Instagram: @sisterpiedetroit
Photograph by Valerie Zelin / Courtesy of Sister Pie / sisterpie.com / Facebook: sisterpie /Instagram: @sisterpiedetroit
 
Started in 2012 by Lisa Ludwinski, Sister Pie is bringing authentic baked goods back to the Motor City. Each creation uses locally sourced, seasonal products to create one-of-a-kind pies such as Grapefruit Black Pepper Meringue, Salted Maple, and a savory Black Bean & Green Chile. And after winning the 2014 Hatch Detroit competition, Sister Pie will go from an order-by-email food business to opening their first shop in the West Village in April 2015!

Click HERE for the full article! 
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