Michigan is the 11th fattest state in America and two thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. Sixty-six percent of adults in Michigan are overweight, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or greater. If you are looking for fitness tips or diet and exercise tips, Bridget Porter, a personal trainer at YMCA, will offer a beginners workout plan and offer diet tips. Most people gain weight during the win ...

America stands at a crossroads. We can take the high road toward equal access to high quality public education, reaffirm our commitment to democratically elected public officials, end the failed war on drugs, recommit to the right of workers to bargain for better conditions, lower our dreadful rate of hyper-incarceration and implement the affordable care act. Or we can travel in the opposite direction and m ...

There is lots of buzz about our nation’s “economic recovery” in these first weeks of 2013. The stock market has been rising, some would say even soaring. We postponed the fiscal cliff crisis, albeit only for a few weeks. March is the new deadline. The tone and tenor of debt ceiling conversations has shifted slightly, though this will not be an issue easily negotiated. President Obama says raising the debt c ...

On Jan. 29, Detroit City Council voted on whether to lease Belle Isle to the state of Michigan in exchange for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources assuming the maintenance costs associated with the island. After much discussion, the ultimate decision of Council was to not act on this matter at this time. I was among the six Councilmembers who voted not to approve the lease at this time. ...

As a former teacher, I would love to see teachers make six-figure incomes, because the ones we currently have deserve it. But Flanagan’s reasoning about attracting more, smarter and more talented teachers is faulty at many levels. Right off the top of my head, here’s a few: 1. Smarter doesn’t mean a better teacher. In fact, high functioning individuals often cannot relate to the students at all. Imagine a D ...

Mumia Abu-Jamal is without a doubt the United States’ most well-known prisoner. After living on death row for 30 years, Abu-Jamal’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in early 2012 after decades of advocacy by anti-death penalty and anti-racist activists. It comes as something of a shock, then, that despite Abu-Jamal’s status as a cause célèbre, there is no comprehensive biography of the man’s life ...

Discrimination against gays and lesbians hurts Michigan’s economy, according to a new report by the Department of Civil Rights. Emily Dievendorf, director of policy for Equality Michigan, says reducing widespread discrimination will improve the economy because more people are likely to live and work in a state that promotes tolerance. “Bright, skilled workers no longer flock to a location just because a bus ...

Detroit-area McDonald’s restaurant owners are celebrating Black History Month with an art contest featuring a Black History theme, and prizes including cash and a gallery exhibit, aimed at local high school students. “McDonald’s Celebrates Black History Moments on Canvas” officially kicks off this week and asks metro Detroit high school students to submit original works of art that capture a significant mom ...

This year, 42,000 properties in Wayne County face tax foreclosure. Wayne County Treasurer Ray Wojtowicz has created programs to help residents avoid tax foreclosure. In February the treasurer’s office and Wayne County Community College District (WCCCD) will host Taxpayer Assistance Saturdays. Each Saturday the treasurer’s office will have representatives at four WCCCD campuses to meet with taxpayers and exp ...

Although the Spanish-American War (1898) is a well-known episode in U.S. history, few of us know that immediately following the end of hostilities with Spain, the USA initiated a war of colonization against the Philippines. Interestingly, Black America figured into this war in a very odd way. ...