Divya Ramjee and Tian An Wong are part of a team of researchers who studied the effectiveness of gunshot detection technology in Detroit during its first two years.
The Conversation
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Posted inArts & Culture, Guest Commentary
Motown’s Black women songwriters and producers were invisible architects behind pop music juggernaut
While women mostly worked in administrative roles at Motown, there still weren’t any female full-time, in-house songwriters and producers. Like the rest of the music industry back then, Motown’s internal structure was patriarchal.
Posted inHousing, Political and Public Policy Information
Detroit’s high property taxes are driving a housing affordability crisis – how can city leaders bring down costs?
Detroiters paid the highest effective property tax rate among major cities in the United States at 3.02% in 2024, according to a study from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Posted inGuest Commentary, Health and Welfare, Political and Public Policy Information
New SNAP rules requiring that benefits be used at stores selling healthier food could backfire
Under the stricter new rules, all retailers accepting SNAP as payment must sell at least seven kinds of food in each of those four categories.
Posted inHealth and Welfare, Political and Public Policy Information
Detroit’s water affordability crisis is tied to the uneven distribution of stormwater management costs – a fraught history explains why
Utility bills are the primary source of revenue for public water and wastewater systems. Yet both the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, or DWSD, and GLWA are caught in what utility experts call an affordability gap.
Posted inCivic and Community Information, Political and Public Policy Information
Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act ruling makes it harder to protect minority voting power and alters the landscape of future elections
The decision, by weakening the Voting Rights Act, could make it easier for states to draw partisan gerrymanders of their congressional districts that reduce the power of minorities.
Posted inArts & Culture
Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas recorded an anthem for the civil rights era and fought for fair pay
Their classic anthem “Dancing in the Street” reflected the revolutionary mood of civil rights protesters, especially Black Americans in the 1960s.
Posted inHealth and Welfare, Political and Public Policy Information
New federal figures reveal 1 in 3 US households struggle to pay energy bills, but the reality is likely even worse
Middle-income households, those earning between $60,000 and $200,000 a year, were hit hardest by post-pandemic inflation of housing costs, food prices and interest rates on loans and mortgages.
Posted inEducation, Michigan Government
We collected data on how 779 Michigan school districts are regulating student cellphones − here are the trends
The new law includes several exemptions, including medical or emergency use, and does not apply to Michigan’s private schools.
Posted inJobs & Economic Development
What gig workers and employees who get tips need to know about the new no‑tax‑on‑tips tax break
The big tax reform package that President Donald Trump signed into law in July 2025 included two changes that affect many gig workers.