What are your plans for the holiday season? ...

Standing silent on the steps of the state Capitol with duct tape covering their mouths Dec. 10, registered nurses who are members of the Michigan Nurses Association protested Gov. Rick Snyder’s so-called “Right to Work” law. ...

Nearly 500 citizens stood in the blistering cold outside East Lake Baptist Church Dec. 10 to attend a public hearing held by City Council to share their views on the largest speculative land sale in Detroit history. Most opposed the sale of more than 1,500 parcels of city-owned land to Hantz Woodlands. Citizens referred to the sale as a “land grab” and held signs that read “No to Hantz Woodlands land grab” ...

The Michigan House and Senate have passed bill that will make Michigan a “right to work” state. Unfortunately, most citizens are unaware of what “right to work” means or the implications of such a law. To begin, the term “right to work” (RTW) is a misnomer. RTW has nothing to do with the right of a person to seek and accept gainful employment. ...

Should Detroit City Council support the sale of more than 1,500 parcels of city-owned land to Hantz Woodlands, LLC? ...

Xstatic Communications kicked off their annual Modern Day Toy Drive to benefit families in Detroit at The Bottom Line Coffee house on Noel night Dec. 1, from 2-5 p.m. The event was free and open to the public. The only prerequisite was to donate a toy or to provide a monetary donation. “I am excited and this is a great cause,” says Pat Harrism owner of The Bottom Line. ...

On Dec. 1, the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition (DDJC) and Detroit Future programs gave a public report recapping their two-year journey of working to establish an active digital justice movement in Detroit. The meeting served as a community report-back on how federally granted money was used to create a city with more fair access to media and technology. ...

Firefighters have an up-close view of the best and worst in any city. This is especially true for Detroit. Detroit is a picture of the future of American industrial cities in a post-industrial age: One foot in a prosperous past, with an uncertain next act, struggling to survive in a changing economy. “Burn: One Year on the Front Lines of the Battle to Save Detroit,” a new documentary in theaters Dec. 7, tak ...

On April 9, while Detroit Public Schools was not in session due to Easter Break, it was announced by way of news publication that Detroit School of Arts (DSA) would become a self-governing school beginning in the fall of 2012. The DSA staff was not informed of this decision prior to the public announcement on April 9. We did not know why we were chosen. We do not fit the criteria of a self-governing school. ...

“We are in an environment, I think, of entitlement. We’ve got a lot of people who are city workers, who for years and years, 20, 30 years, think they are entitled to a job and all that comes with it.” — Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Nov. 30, during a CNN interview. Do you agree or disagree with Bing? ...