Metro Times 06/26/2024

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NEWS & VIEWS

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We received feedback in response to contributor Kahn Santori Davison’s cover story about New Era Detroit.

Influenced by the methods of the Black Power movement, these Detroit community advocates have a reputation for protecting their neighborhoods from crime and leading by example. I’ve enjoyed watching these young men become more effective.

—Dorothea Williams-Arnold, Facebook

I remember when New Era Detroit started. Proud to hear they are getting these kind of resources.

—@goliveinyourlight, Instagram

Love seeing responsible citizens police themselves, we need more of this! —Kevin Nivek, Facebook

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Our critic ranked it among the best local restaurants. Where is everybody?

For a chef who says “I hate thinking, I like moving,” Hisham Diab is doing a lot of pondering lately. He’s trying to figure out why his outstanding “coastal Italian” restaurant, Tiliani, isn’t packing in the guests.

When Tiliani, which Diab calls the only high-end halal restaurant in Dearborn, opened last July, it was bringing in far-flung foodies. They looked like “people who have decent jobs, people who are into food,” he said. Like most restaurateurs, Diab and owner Nasser Beydoun expected a winter slump. But after Valentine’s Day, the crowds didn’t return.

This reviewer called Tiliani “the best restaurant I’ve been to this year.” It was

After a bit the owners told him, in the nicest way possible, that he wasn’t moving fast enough. “They said, ‘It’s too hard to get around you, you’re taking up too much real estate for what you’re producing,’” Diab remembered without a trace of self-consciousness.

He enrolled in OCC’s culinary institute for a year, and then spent two years at the famed Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He was older than most of the students, which gave him an edge — he wasn’t too cowed by an august French chef to ask for help. Living in the dorm, learning about nutrition, and playing on CIA’s basketball team, he lost 40 pounds.

Diab then moved to the United Arab Emirates, knowing his fluent Arabic would be a bonus. To prepare, he hired a trainer who helped him lose 80 more pounds in a summer through running, lifting weights, and more basketball. He left the UAE after a few months, though, disgusted. “Ethics were not really involved,” he said, referring to the treatment of the South Asians who make up most of the UAE’s workforce. “I’m the type of leader who leads by example. I get dirty first. It’s not right to make everybody get dirty for you.”

Back home, he became private chef to a Lions player and did some consulting on menus and kitchen organizing. In 2021 he opened Pump 5 Grille in a Livonia Mobil station. I never heard of the joint myself, but would like to have visited a burger place where the bun was custom developed at Rising Stars Academy and the chef served an everything-bagel fried chicken sandwich, ramp cream cheese, and soft-shell crabs.

and pine nuts; tiny Brussels sprouts with more pine nuts; mussels with navy beans tossed in beef-bacon fat and salsa verde; agnolotti stuffed with sumptuous winter squash.

Why Italian? Diab fervently believes that “it’s an honor to have people cook for you” and says that “you get that feeling strongest in an Italian kitchen.” Italian culture is nurturing, romantic, working to live, not living to work. (French is “cooking with a frown,” “Mexican is more in your face.”) For him Italian food felt super-familiar — “you felt you knew but wanted to explore more to figure out why you loved it so much.”

So he makes a white sausage Bolognese with Michigan ramps, serves linguine with house-smoked lamb belly, makes a simple branzino with caper honey, tops a polenta fritter with balsamic sweet and sour, makes stracciatella in house, candies fennel to serve with spicy greens.

It’s all fabulous. But: “People look at us as a special occasion restaurant. It could have to do with our price point.” Yes. It can be startling to read $55 for branzino, even if you understand the “large plates” are meant to be shared. Pasta in the $20’s is not unusual these days, but it can seem high when it’s not the only thing you’re ordering, and appetizers in the teens — again, not unusual, but still — contribute to a bill that easily tops $100 for two.

Diab says what he wanted at Tiliani was “chef quality but affordable.” He wanted to serve “quality halal prepared by a traditionally trained chef in ways that could be unique to Dearborn, an approachable experience for everybody.”

an Hour Detroit finalist for “best special occasion” restaurant. Friends I sent there, both vegetarians and not, raved about it. So where is everybody?

Before we answer that question, let’s look at how Diab, a Lebanese American from Farmington Hills, ended up running a white-tablecloth Italian place in Dearborn.

The oldest of five brothers, with a mom who cooked every meal in traditional Lebanese fashion, Diab got his start at the celebrated and very traditional, very Italian Café Cortina in Farmington Hills, across the street from his house. When he worked there, he weighed 400 pounds (at 6’5”, he thinks he may be the tallest chef in Michigan).

Then came Nasser Beydoun, owner of two iterations of District 12, a burger place in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, plus Parts and Labor, a dive bar in Melvindale. Beydoun had joked for years that he wanted to open an Italian restaurant and call it Tiliani — Arabic for “Italian.” He invited Diab to his home and gave him a try-out, to which Diab brought his own traveling pizza oven. A simple margherita, a kale Caesar, some short-rib lasagna — Beydoun was sold. Together, the two transformed the former District 12 on South Military to Tiliani, doing the buildout themselves, without a designer. It’s one medium-sized room with an enormous flower painting dominating one wall.

And the people came, even though there was initially no liquor license. They found housemade burrata and snowy, buttery stracciatella; mafaldine pasta, dark with squid ink, topped with shrimp and clams; bruschetta with silky marinated eggplant, ricotta,

Instead, he says, “white tablecloths, elevated dining — they can be confused as not supposed to be frequently visited. Like Café Cortina — you don’t just go and then go on with the rest of your day.” You’re there for a while.

He also wonders if guests aren’t used to a “coursed out” meal. Lebanese people eat fast, he says: “We want the food to be piled up, a table full of everything all at once.” It’s different from those who want a bottle of wine to accompany them through a long meal. (Alcohol, under beverage director Gillian Teall, is now a well-attended aspect of Tiliani, featuring 21 wines from Lebanon as well as some from Italy. Earlier this year they put on a Lebanese wine dinner with five wines. No alcohol is ever used in the cooking, however.)

So potential guests see Tiliani as a place to “celebrate, not as a regular everyday eatery.” The reservations service, besides inquiring for allergies, asks guests whether their visit

Our critic called Tiliani the best restaurant she visited in 2023. BRANDED CREATIVE STUDIO

is a special occasion. Very often, it is. When Diab’s parents talk about the restaurant, he says, they always get the question “what’s the dress code?”

“I didn’t want a special occasion restaurant, I wanted elevated dining,” Diab moans. “There’s frustration with feeling that the price point is worth it. We’re the only restaurant down here that puts in the effort to source locally. I don’t know if it’s easy to appreciate that when it’s something that’s unique.”

He adds, “It’s hard for chefs to connect what we think is cool and worth it to what other people think is cool and worth it. I would give 20 percent of my cooking skills to know that.”

Tiliani’s prices, he says, are based on food costs: the produce, the vinegars, the oils. “A big part is how we source,” he says, with “tangible relationships” at farmers markets: “We want to do them proud.”

There’s more labor to pay in a scratch kitchen. Brussels sprouts aren’t coming in pre-cut. A worker is paid to bake the bread that’s offered free, so rare these days. That’s an area Diab doesn’t want to compromise: “If you have bread in the building, give it to me for free,” he says. “Bread is community sharing.” That bread, by the way, is an airy sourdough focaccia, served with tart olive oil from Diab’s grandfather’s farm in Lebanon. Since both are replenished as needed, they could be part of a strategy for the impecunious food fan who wants to eat at Tiliani but can’t afford to sample every course. Those tacticians aren’t helping Diab and Beydoun, though.

He seems to have it figured out: “If I come in at 5:30 and order one plate of pasta, I’ll have to spend more than $30. That’s not a satisfying enough onestop-shop meal.”

He’s mulling, and I have to say I worry a little about the results. There are enough restaurants in Dearborn already where the experience is exactly the same as at all the other restaurants in Dearborn. “The target,” Diab says, “is to fine-tune and try to bring something closer to what the community was expecting. Maybe give them options of experiences at $30 to $35, options in each section that are more approachable. Give the guests the power to make the experience what they want it to be — if we want people to look at it as their regular halal eatery.”

I showed a draft of this article to two people who didn’t know Tiliani. They both said, “I’d go!”

Tiliani is at 1002 S. Military St., Dearborn, open for dinner WednesdaySunday with a Sunday brunch buffet. Parties of 10 or more can order a prix fixe menu for $55 or $75. 313-444-8889. —Jane Slaughter

Cause of death for music journalist Kevin Ransom revealed

Kevin Ransom, a renowned freelance journalist from Dearborn celebrated for his engaging and unforgettable music writing, died from hypertensive cardiovascular disease, Wayne County officials told Metro Times on Thursday.

Ransom was 69 years old when police found him dead at his home on June 1.

The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office said his death was from natural causes.

Ransom was forced into retirement about a decade ago when he began experiencing chronic fatigue syndrome and severe sleep apnea. In 2015, numerous bands came together to perform a benefit concert for Ransom at the Ark in Ann Arbor. That same year, Ransom also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for his most basic needs.

Because of his health problems, Ransom had gained a lot of weight but recently lost about 30 pounds by adopting a new diet and cutting out alcohol, according to his friend Matt Roush, a longtime tech journalist who is now managing editor of Lawrence Technological University’s media services for Yellow Flag Productions.

In the latter stages of his life, Ransom lost touch with his family and many of his friends, and a funeral was never held.

Although Ransom was a prolific writer on numerous subjects, he was most known for his compelling, in-depth music writing. He admired local music and helped shine a light on bands that weren’t yet nationally known. He was particularly fond of folk, roots, blues, alternative, and 1960s rock.

Ransom also wrote about the auto industry, entertainment, business, the environment, and general features. His work appeared in more than two dozen publications, including Rolling Stone, The Detroit News, Ann Arbor News, Guitar Player, Automotive News, Heritage Newspapers, and Ford World

He had been a freelance reporter for decades.

Despite his popularity among music fans, Ransom had financial troubles. He lived in a modest bungalow in Dearborn, which was originally built by his grandparents in 1949. He bought the house in 2002 after the death of his grandmother.

In the years before his death, Ransom sported a big, white flowing beard.

—Steve Neavling

WSU ducks activists with virtual board meetings

At Wayne State University, democracy is ducking behind a computer.

The university’s elected Board of Governors announced it was going virtual for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. By doing so, the board is avoiding face-to-face encounters with student and faculty protesters who have been rallying in support of Palestinians.

In addition, the board moved the public comment period from the beginning of the meeting to the end, making it impossible for students and others to address issues on the agenda before they are voted on.

Exactly two months before the Wednesday, June 26, virtual session, campus police forcibly removed protesters from the last meeting, prompting more than 100 faculty and staff members to denounce the “racist assault” on students who were calling on the university to divest from companies linked to Israel.

It’s also the first public board meeting since campus police resorted to violence after tearing down a protest encampment on May 30. Some faculty and staff members even called for the resignation of WSU President Kimberly Espy for her handling of the protests.

Pro-Palestinian students and faculty members rebuked the board’s decision to go virtual, saying it’s clearly an attempt to silence dissent.

“They moved it virtually as a defensive move so they would be able to get their word out without having any face-toface interactions with the people they are elected to serve,” Ridaa Khan, a WSU student senator and pro-Palestinian activist, tells Metro Times. “Many of the students, staff, and faculty are upset and want this opportunity to address the board. A campus is supposed to promote free speech. This is setting a dangerous precedent. The genocide is continuing, and we are not being heard.”

University leaders also appeared to renege on their promise to engage with students about the possibility of divestment. While trying to get students to abandon the encampment, WSU

officials said the board would take up the issue at its next board meeting after hearing from students.

That won’t happen now that public comment has been moved to the end of the meeting.

“That messaging was part of an attempt to dismantle our encampment before they met any of our demands,” Khan, an undergraduate majoring in media arts and studies, says. “They told us to attend the meetings. Now they’re changing the terms of the meeting.”

Sticking to their lack of transparency, the WSU Board of Directors declined to answer questions from Metro Times and referred the issue to the administration’s public relations team. University spokesman Bill Roose declined to say whether the virtual meeting was in response to pro-Palestinian protests but issued a vague written statement.

“Meeting formats and locations are determined at the discretion of the Board of Governors,” Roose wrote. “The Board chose a virtual format for its June 26 meeting.”

Roose said members of the public can stream the meeting at wayne.edu/live and that anyone wishing to comment must submit their requests “up to 48 hours before the meeting.”

In other words, the board can meet wherever it wants.

Faculty members also expressed frustration and astonishment with the board’s decision to go virtual, saying the elected members are shirking their duties to be accountable and accessible. The board is also sending a message to students that their voices don’t matter, the faculty members say.

“It’s a complete slap in the face to the students, faculty, and staff who want to be heard,” one professor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears of reprisal, tells Metro Times. “It’s incredibly disheartening. The Board of Governors has a responsibility to the students, and instead of engaging with them, they are saying, ‘Your input means nothing to us.’”

—Steve Neavling

A Muslim activist confronts WSU police on May 30. STEVE NEAVLING

NEWS & VIEWS

How can we miss the Rolling Stones when they won’t go away?

By Joe Lapointe

At a Rolling Stones concert last month near New York City, lead singer Mick Jagger motioned subtly and then vigorously with his right hand for guitarist Keith Richards to join him for a rock-star strut on the runway during an instrumental bridge in the song “Miss You.”

But Richards just stood there. Finally, Jagger coaxed him into the spotlight, briefly. Soon, Richards walked back — and sat down — as the song continued. This partly answered a musical question posed long ago by the late singer Dan Hicks: “How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?”

Before long, “Miss You” went missing from some (but not all) shows on the current tour called “Hackney Diamonds,” an ironic and euphemistic nickname for the broken glass of vandalism in London.

The tour is sponsored — no kidding or irony here — by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Both Jagger and Richards are 80 years old with more than 60 years in the band and no public declaration of retirement intentions.

In that the Stones on this tour aren’t playing Detroit (where I first saw them for $8 at the Olympia Stadium in 1969), I felt obligated to buy over-priced tickets for their shows in New York (East Rutherford, NJ), Atlanta and Los Angeles. (How much? Don’t ask.)

However, just coincidentally, several doctors told me right around then that I needed a heart procedure.

This transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is the same operation Jagger underwent in 2019, delaying a Stones tour. I was delighted with my own Mick Jagger procedure because it fixed my heart, improved my dancing, and plumped up my lips.

However, it also forced me to miss the New York show, the one in which Richards went MIA during “Miss You.” I discovered it on amateur videos posted on the internet. Dozens appear now af-

ter every show and Keith’s energy seems to be growing as the tour slogs on.

So I finally caught up to the Stones earlier this month in Atlanta, where the train service of a metropolitan rapidtransit system drops you off for $2.50 at Mercedes-Benz stadium, a new structure with a domed roof that opened in jagged pieces like, well, Hackney Diamonds.

The ceiling’s pre-show metamorphosis drew oohs and aahs from the audience and the Stones’ two-hour set also earned cheers. It included a local political reference when Jagger introduced “Sweet Virginia,” one of four song choices presented before every show on their internet site so fans vote for one.

With a nod toward this autumn’s presidential election, Jagger said “There’s a more important vote coming in November. Don’t forget to vote in that one.”

But that was just his set-up line. His punch line alluded to something said by former President Donald Trump after he lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden. In a recorded telephone conversation with Georgia officials, Trump tried to persuade them to help him steal the presidency.

Jagger joked that he would have preferred “Wild Horses” to win the balloting over “Sweet Virginia.”

“All we needed was 11,000 more votes,” Jagger said, paraphrasing Trump’s words.

The show itself was a typical Stones’ football stadium extravaganza, with big TV screens, coordinated light displays, well-blended sound quality,

and audience members ranging from children with parents and grandparents to grizzled Boomers with wheelchairs and walkers.

There were plenty of visual effects, like flames dancing on screen during “Sympathy for the Devil.” For a change, “Midnight Rambler” sounded tight and disciplined. In such a big space, heavy rockers dominated the set. Curiously, they eliminated “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” a soft spiritual, from their encore.

It’s one of the popular numbers from their current album (also Hackney Diamonds). Early in the tour, this near-hymn blended with the lustful “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” in the encore. But they left it out of a few shows until restoring it to the list last week in Denver.

From that album, earlier in the Atlanta set, they did “Angry” and “Mess It Up,” although, from that collection of new material, two better choices might have been “Live By The Sword” and “Bite My Head Off.” (Hey, Mick: Where do we vote?)

The oldest tunes were a bouncy version of “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” a mid-’60s hit, and the lyrical darkness of “Paint It Black” from the same era. Another highlight was the mournful French horn that opened a convincing version of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

Richards sang lead on three songs in the middle of the show (instead of his usual two) as some of the retirees in the audience took a bathroom break. In Atlanta, he seemed more engaged than on some nights, grinning for the fans

and mumbling words of greeting.

His tune “Little T & A” was his most risque and his guitar flourishes (better than his vocals) were a tribute to Chuck Berry. To his dismay, due to the #MeToo movement, the Stones have dropped “Brown Sugar” from their repertoire.

Richards showed few of the guitarslinging moves of younger years, and struck even fewer poses than he used to. But it’s not quite fair to compare him to Jagger, who still exhibits astonishing energy.

Mick no longer sprints down the lengthy runways off both ends of the stage, but he still stalks one that runs about 40 yards out from the middle, sometimes dancing backward.

Jagger’s voice remains strong and distinctive. In that veteran keyboardist Chuck Leavell was a Georgia boy appearing before his home-town crowd, the Stones allowed him a sparkling star turn on piano during “Honky Tonk Women” and Leavell raised the barrelhouse level to delightful.

As has been the case since the death of drummer Charlie Watts in 2021, the band includes six white members and five Black members, including drummer Steve Jordan. Only Jagger and Richards are among the founding members.

In summary, it’s still a really slick show, kind of Vegas, well-paced and professional. Although the Stones use the word “Diamonds” in a symbolic way for this tour and album, consider what else this specific word literally invokes: Gems, hard rocks, precious stones. These guys are still all that. On to L.A. Let’s roll.

Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium opens its roof before a recent Rolling Stones concert. JOE LAPOINTE

Where are “forever chemicals” hiding in your community, and how can you avoid them?

By Planet Detroit’s Nina Ignaczak, with reporting contributed by Britny Cordera

This report was made possible through a partnership with Planet Detroit.

enitia Purple Rudolf has fished the Detroit, Huron, and Rouge rivers since she was nine. Fishing is important to her family, who migrated to Detroit from Mississippi before she was born.

She says she once made good money selling catfish and bluegill to Detroit seafood markets. But it’s been a few years since she sold her catch. She quit when she learned a family of chemicals, called PFAS, were likely in the fish she was catching. Rudolf didn’t want to expose her community to toxic substances and potential health problems.

Last year, Rudolf participated in a study conducted by the nonprofit Ecology Center to understand the extent of PFAS contamination in the fish in area waterways. The study found PFAS compounds in every one of the 60 bluegills, catfish, rock bass, and other fish caught by six local anglers, including Rudolf.

“I never really thought about fish being toxic,” Rudolf says. “So these tests are important to see exactly what we eat. It’s a huge concern for me and mine.”

But PFAS are present in far more places than just fish. You can’t see, smell, or taste them, but they are everywhere, possibly lurking in the water you drink, the air you breathe, and the consumer goods you use daily.

Tony Spaniola, a metro Detroit-based attorney, became a PFAS advocate in 2012 after the chemicals were found to contaminate the fish, wildlife, and water around Oscoda Lake in northern Michigan, where he has a cottage. The nearby Wurtsmith Air Force Base used PFAS foam for decades to fight fires and train firefighters.

Spaniola is concerned that people in metro Detroit may not know about PFAS, or if they do, they may have a false sense of security or think it’s only a problem in Michigan’s rural areas. This is particularly true since the Great Lakes Water Authority, which supplies most metro Detroiters with drinking water, says its water is PFAS-free.

Most peoples’ primary PFAS exposure risk comes from contaminated food and water. Companies that produce and use these compounds are often responsible for spills that persist in the environment and contaminate groundwater, wells, produce, and livestock.

Food packaging and indoor air also pose risks, with the FDA banning PFAS in food packaging and states introducing bans on PFAS in consumer products. Despite widespread exposure, reducing future exposure, especially for pregnant women, is crucial.

One of the most well-known instances of PFAS contamination in Michigan includes Wolverine Worldwide, maker of Hush Puppies and Merrell shoes. The company’s irresponsible practices

poisoned an entire town’s well water near Grand Rapids.

The contamination can feel inescapable — from polluted household wells to consumer products we all use daily. Spaniola points out that metro Detroit is also home to dozens of contaminated sites.

“We have airports that are notorious for PFAS contamination. We also have landfills,” he says. “We have the exposure sites and pathways right here in metro Detroit.”

stopped producing and using some of the chemicals. But other types of PFAS were created over that time period, making it challenging to track the true exposure level in the population.

The compounds are implicated in a wide range of health issues — including metabolic syndrome, high cholesterol, liver damage, immune system impairment, and kidney and testicular cancers. They’ve also been linked to low birth weight, decreased growth, and developmental delays in infants and children. They’re suspected of disrupting hormones, impairing fertility, and even causing obesity.

PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are a group of man-made chemicals used in various industries worldwide since the 1940s. They persist in the environment and in our bodies, accumulating in tissues like the liver and kidneys.

They’re found in various consumer products that resist grease, water, and oil, such as non-stick cookware, waterrepellent clothing, stain-resistant fabrics and carpets, food wrappings, cosmetics, and firefighting foams.

And unless you’ve been living on the moon, you’ve most likely been exposed. One study found PFAS in the blood of 97% of Americans. Those numbers have dropped since the early 2000s as industry and governments have

One 2019 study showed Black women in Southeast Michigan aged 45-56 years had higher concentrations of PFOS (one particular type of PFAS) than white women. Another study found that PFAS exposure increased the risk for diabetes in middle-aged women, including in Southeast Michigan.

Jackie Goodrich, a research associate professor of environmental health sciences and toxicologist at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, studies the impact of PFAS compounds on human health in Southeast Michigan.

Her work has uncovered links between PFAS exposure and a higher risk for preeclampsia and other hypertension disorders during pregnancy, as well as adverse birth outcomes like lower birth weight. “That could impact babies’ health and development from

that point onwards,” she says.

Goodrich also studied the impact on firefighters exposed to PFAS in firefighting foam on the job and found increased risks for various cancers due to epigenetic changes (changes in how genres are expressed). She says the findings are not restricted to firefighters but apply to anyone with a high degree of PFAS exposure.

“We have biological mechanisms that we need to operate in our body in a certain way, and when PFAS is throwing some of these things off, that can tip the balance towards impacting certain developmental processes in children or ultimately leading to cancer formation in adults,” she says.

ally to remove PFAS from the Huron River. Public water systems in several metro Detroit areas have matched or exceeded new federal standards, necessitating further evaluation and potential future treatment.

Private wells and municipal water supplies that use groundwater are also at risk, with more than 165,000 wells in metro Detroit potentially affected. The cost of removing PFAS from drinking water nationwide is projected to be tens of billions of dollars.

What to do if you’re on a public water supply: The first step is determining whether the water you drink regularly contains PFAS. One place to start is with your local municipal drinking water report, which you can access on your municipality’s or water utility’s website.

The guidelines below outline actions you can take to protect yourself and your family against PFAS exposure. But there’s only so much an individual can do without systemic action. Legislation to ban PFAS and legal action against chemical manufacturers is rising. To learn more about PFAS advocacy in Michigan, contact the Great Lakes PFAS Action Network.

Drinking water

What to know: Drinking water, alongside food, is a major route of PFAS exposure. State data reveals PFAS contamination in public drinking water supplies in Southeast Michigan, with significant contamination found in Ann Arbor, which spends $250,000 annu-

These reports contain a wealth of information about all aspects of drinking water quality. However, the state does not require all public water suppliers to regularly test for PFAS — for example, schools or workplaces that are part of community water supplies need not perform their own sampling.

Scott Dean, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, notes that Michigan was the first state in the nation to test every public water system — from the Great Lakes Water Authority to schools and mobile home parks with 25 customers. That data is available online in map and table form.

What to do if you’re on well water: The EPA and experts recommend annual well testing for those with private

drinking water wells to ensure there is no contamination. For guidance on how to get your well tested for PFAS, check the EGLE’s guidance. EGLE emphasizes the importance of using filters or alternative water sources if PFAS levels exceed recommended limits. You can find Michigan’s standards at michigan.gov.

If your water contains PFAS: If you are concerned about PFAS in your tap

water, you can filter your water using point-of-use or whole-house systems, which can be expensive. NSF International, an independent, accredited organization that develops standards, tests and certifies products to ensure they meet public health and safety standards. It certifies water filters for their effectiveness in reducing PFAS, specifically PFOS and PFOA, to below EPA health advisory levels under NSF/ ANSI Standard 53 and Standard 58 for

A study by the nonprofit Ecology Center found PFAS contamination in the fish in area waterways.

NICK HAGEN

Tenitia Rudolf at the Detroit River at Delray Park, where she likes to fish. NICK HAGEN

reverse osmosis systems.

Some pitcher filters can effectively reduce PFAS, particularly those that are certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for PFAS reduction. You can check for this certification to ensure the pitcher filter you choose has been tested and proven to reduce PFOS and PFOA levels. You can find NSF-certified filters by searching their database on the NSF website.

Unfortunately, avoiding tap water by switching to bottled water may not be a safer alternative; recent consumer testing has found PFAS in 39 of 101 unique bottled water brands sampled.

Fish

What to know: Daniel Brown, a watershed planner for the Huron River Watershed Council, says PFAS is changing how people in and around Detroit eat and catch fish, especially for communities that rely on fish from local rivers for sustenance.

“In most places in Southeast Michigan, people rely on fish as a vital source of nutrition,” Brown says. “And those are typically people who live on the margins. They don’t have really any disposable income. They don’t have a lot of options not to eat fish if they’re going to get the nutrition that fish provide.”

The community study led last year by the Ecology Center with anglers like Tenitia Purple Rudolf found high levels of PFAS in fish across the Huron and Rouge rivers. The vast majority of six fish caught by community anglers exceeded daily consumption limits for PFOS — one of the many PFAS compounds.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has issued “do not eat” fish consumption advisories for most fish species on a major portion of the Huron River downstream of North Wixom Road to where the river crosses I-275 in Wayne

County due to PFAS concerns.

Local industries contaminated the river, including Tribar Manufacturing, which has been cited for multiple violations of state air and water regulations. The restrictions apply to Baseline Lake in Livingston County, Portage Lake, Barton Pond, Geddes Pond, and Argo Pond in Washtenaw County, and Ford Lake in Wayne County.

Other lakes, including Kent Lake in Oakland County, Gallagher Lake in Livingston County, and Belleville Lake in Wayne County, have “do not eat” advisories for multiple fish species. Sunfish on the lower and main branches of the Rouge River are offlimits in Wayne County.

Other bodies of water have limited consumption advisories, meaning you should not eat the fish more often than advised to avoid high exposure. The state’s guidance says it’s safe to eat fish from the Detroit River and does not include a PFOS-related fish consumption advisory in its guidelines.

Great Lakes fish also have a substantial burden of PFAS chemicals. The EWG study suggested a single meal of Great Lakes fish in a year can significantly increase PFOS levels in the blood and is tantamount to drinking water for a month at 48 ppb PFOS. State fish consumption advisories suggest limiting smelt consumption from Lake Huron to six servings per year and from Lake Michigan and Lake Superior to one monthly serving. Unfortunately, Brown expects the fish in the Huron River to remain contaminated for a long time.

“The key challenge in all of this, though, is that the PFAS persists for so long that the problem only worsens,” Brown says. “So, when you think of an ecosystem like the Great Lakes… how do you clean it up? It’s really just not feasible.”

What to do: Anglers should regularly check the MDHHS fish consumption guidelines. These guidelines provide updated information on which fish species and water bodies have been found to have high PFAS levels. Adhere to the recommended limits on fish consumption provided by MDHHS. These advisories consider the type of fish and the water body it comes from, offering specific guidelines to minimize PFAS exposure.

Some fish species tend to accumulate fewer PFAS. Opt for fish known to have lower PFAS levels, such as rainbow trout and sunfish. Avoid fish that are more likely to be contaminated, such as carp and bass from certain water bodies.

When preparing fish, remove the skin, trim the fat, and cook it in ways that allow the fat to drip away, such as grilling or broiling. PFAS tends to accumulate in the fatty tissues, so these steps can help reduce your exposure.

Diversifying your diet is also important. Incorporating a variety of protein sources into your diet, reducing the frequency of fish consumption, and including other healthy sources of proteins and fats like poultry, beans, oils, seeds, and nuts can help limit your overall PFAS intake.

Air

What to know: PFAS also lurk in the air, where they are carried to the ground via rain. The compounds have been found across the Great Lakes and in remote areas of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Not surprisingly then, rainwater sampled in October 2023 in Ann Arbor, Southwest Detroit, and Dearborn detected a range of PFAS compounds, including high levels of the PFAS compound trifluoroacetic acid, which is a product of common air conditioning refrigerants.

The sampling was done in response to community members who wanted to know more about the chemicals they were being exposed to, according to Erica Bloom, a Toxics Campaign Director with the nonprofit Ecology Center, which led the sampling.

According to Bloom, one of the most important findings was the discovery of high levels of trifluoroacetic acid in rainwater samples. The compound is considered an ultra-short-chain PFAS that can cause skin, eye, and lung irritation.

What to do: According to Rainer Lohmann, a professor of oceanogra-

PFAS levels in fish in metro Detroit rivers and lakes.

Ivan Bentley unhooks a caught fish and drops it into a bucket at Delray Park. Nick Hagen

to do: Anglers should regularly the MDHHS fish consumption guidelines. These guidelines proupdated information on which species and water bodies have found to have high PFAS levels. to the recommended limits consumption provided by MDHHS. These advisories consider of fish and the water body it from, offering specific guideminimize PFAS exposure. fish species tend to accumufewer PFAS. Opt for fish known lower PFAS levels, such as trout and sunfish. Avoid fish more likely to be contaminatas carp and bass from certain bodies. When preparing fish, remove the trim the fat, and cook it in ways allow the fat to drip away, such as or broiling. PFAS tends to accumulate in the fatty tissues, so these can help reduce your exposure.

Diversifying your diet is also imporIncorporating a variety of prosources into your diet, reducing frequency of fish consumption, including other healthy sources of and fats like poultry, beans, seeds, and nuts can help limit overall PFAS intake.

Air

What to know: PFAS also lurk in the air, where they are carried to the ground via rain. The compounds have been found across the Great Lakes and in remote areas of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Not surprisingly then, rainwater sampled in October 2023 in Ann Arbor, Southwest Detroit, and Dearborn detected a range of PFAS compounds, including high levels of the PFAS compound trifluoroacetic acid, which is a product of common air conditioning refrigerants.

The sampling was done in response to community members who wanted to know more about the chemicals they were being exposed to, according to Erica Bloom, a Toxics Campaign Director with the nonprofit Ecology Center, which led the sampling.

According to Bloom, one of the most important findings was the discovery of high levels of trifluoroacetic acid in rainwater samples. The compound is considered an ultra-short-chain PFAS that can cause skin, eye, and lung irritation.

What to do: According to Rainer Lohmann, a professor of oceanogra-

phy at the University of Rhode Island who studies PFAS in the atmosphere, rain and air is not the exposure pathway most people should be worried about.

“Of all the concerns for PFAS, [air] is not the one I would lose sleep over,” Lohmann says. “For a typical average human, drinking water is roughly 20% of the exposure to PFAS. That leaves 80% left and most of that is basically through food choices you make.”

Lohmann says dermal uptake from cosmetics and inhaling indoor air pollutants like dust and volatile organic compounds from plastics and consumer products are likely more important than outdoor air as an exposure route.

“Indoor air exposure is much, much worse than outdoor, so I wouldn’t stop breathing in Detroit, and same for any other big city,” Lohmann says. “But there certainly are emissions, and they get transported and then washed out. And that is true for Detroit as it is for any other major industrial urban area.”

EGLE has developed health-based standards for PFAS compounds in outdoor air and implemented a PFAS air monitoring study across the state in cooperation with Lohmann. The study detected PFAS in the air across dozens of sites, including in Dearborn, Ypsilanti Detroit, and Port Huron.

Very little official guidance exists about protecting yourself from PFAS in the air. Strategies like increasing indoor air circulation and using an air filter while avoiding tracking dirt and dust indoors may help.

Consumer products

What to know: PFAS are widely used in consumer products for their water — and grease-resistant properties. They are found in items like non-stick cookware, water-repellent clothing, stain-resistant fabrics, food packaging, and some cosmetics. Dust particles and vapors from consumer products like stain — and water-resistant clothing and carpets, cleaning products, and cosmetics can contaminate indoor air.

What to do: Because PFAS are everywhere, it may not be possible to completely avoid them in consumer products. With some vigilance, you may be able to reduce your exposure. Look for labels that indicate products are PFAS-free.

Many manufacturers are now offering alternatives in categories such as cookware, clothing, and cosmetics. Be vigilant about reading labels and researching products. Avoid items that do not clearly state they are free of PFAS or related chemicals. Support companies and brands that are committed to eliminating PFAS from their products. Encourage others to do the same and promote consumer awareness.

Beyond these individual actions, consumers can advocate for laws to remove PFAS from consumer products. In addition to the FDA’s ban on PFAS in food packaging, an increasing number of states are taking action to ban PFAS in various consumer products. A bill introduced in the Michigan House in April would ban PFAS compounds in household products and firefighting foam.

levels in fish in metro Detroit rivers and lakes.

The state’s guidance says it’s safe to eat fish from the Detroit River and does not include a PFOS-related fish consumption advisory in its guidelines.

NICK HAGEN

With new, more stringent federal drinking water standards for PFAS, some local water supplies may run into violations.

FAS chemicals are present in metro Detroit’s drinking water — in some cases at levels that potentially meet or exceed new federal drinking water guidelines. Costs to clean it up could be substantial.

A Planet Detroit analysis of state and federal survey data revealed detectable levels of the contaminants in 59 areas in southeast Michigan: 18 in Livingston, 23 in Oakland County, four in Macomb County, eight in Wayne County, and six in Washtenaw County. These areas included municipal and community water supplies, child care providers, schools, health care offices, and workplaces.

Most metro Detroiters — about 3.9 million customers across 126 municipalities — get their drinking water from the Great Lakes Water Authority. Cheryl Porter, GLWA chief operating officer of water and field services, says the agency has been testing for PFAS annually since 2009 and has not detected the substance in treated drinking water samples.

“PFAS… is not detected in our drinking water and consistently below the reportable limit in the source (raw) water,” Porter says in a statement. “GLWA does not have to take specific actions to remove PFAS.”

Planet Detroit analyzed state data and found at least three raw, or untreated, samples with detectable PFAS in untreated GLWA source water.

A GLWA spokesperson told Planet Detroit that the state’s samples

taken in source or raw water were “research project samples” and not relevant to compliance.

State monitoring has detected PFAS in public drinking water supplies in the region, notably in Ann Arbor, which spends an average of $250,000 annually to remove PFAS from water it draws from the Huron River. The compounds remain in the Huron River source water.

The EPA also found the unregulated PFAS compound PFBA and the state-regulated compound PFHxA in samples from Oak Park, Birmingham, and Pontiac in 2023, ranging between 5.1 and 8.2 ppb.

Michigan has no standard for PFBA. Minnesota has designated a guidance value of 7 ppb in drinking water.

“The PFAS family of compounds comes up as ‘non-detect’ in GLWA’s drinking water,” Porter tells Planet Detroit. “However, some of our member partners are reporting positive results in their systems.

“Given the complicated nature of this testing and the importance of accuracy in water quality, we’ll contact member partners to review the results and help them ensure that both testing and methodology are correct for the sampling they are completing.”

Thousands of metro Detroiters, meanwhile, get their drinking water from private wells or municipal water supplies that use groundwater wells. They may also consume drinking water from public water supplies that use wells at work, school, or healthcare facilities.

More than 165,000 of these wells are in Oakland, Wayne, Macomb, Washtenaw, and Livingston counties. According to EGLE spokesperson Scott Dean, people with private wells should test their water to determine whether it contains PFAS/PFOS contaminants.

“If PFAS above the standards is found during well testing, we recommend filters or alternative water sources for the home — working with the state and local health departments,” Dean says.

The water we drink is one of the most important potential routes of PFAS exposure. Michigan developed its own standards for PFAS in drinking water in 2020 under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed federal standards under the same law that are different and, in some cases, more restrictive than Michi-

gan’s standards. The agency will start enforcing them in 2029.

EPA also set a non-enforceable health-based limit of 0 ppt for PFOA and PFOS. One industry estimate projects that removing PFAS from drinking water nationwide will cost tens of billions of dollars.

The analysis further reveals that 15 public water systems, including municipal water systems in Mount Clemens, Independence Township, and Wyandotte, matched or exceeded the new federal standards.

Dean notes that one sample does not mean a violation. To be considered in violation, samples must total a running annual average that exceeds the maximum contaminant level (MCL). He adds that there are no current exceedances in metro Detroit.

Two supplies have had individual detections above the corresponding MCL value but have not yet had a running annual average above the MCL, according to Dean. These include Crossroads for Youth in Oxford and the FCA Chelsea proving grounds in Chelsea.

Ivan Bentley.

Nick Hagen

In 2020, Michigan established its PFAS drinking water standards.

WHAT’S GOING ON

Select events happening in metro Detroit this week. Be sure to check venue website before events for latest information. Add your event to our online calendar: metrotimes. com/AddEvent.

MUSIC

Wednesday, June 26

Live/Concert

Flatfoot 56, Criminal Kids, Bastardous, St. Thomas Boys Academy 7 p.m.; Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $15. Hillbilly Casino, Sasquatch & the Sick-A-Billys 7 p.m.; Small’s, 10339 Conant St., Hamtramck; $15.

Rose Royce, Lakeside 7:30 p.m.; The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, 2600 E. Atwater St., Detroit; $15-$51.

Madison Ryann Ward, Christian Paul 7 p.m.; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $30. Matt Lorusso Trio & Special Guests 8-11 p.m.; Northern Lights Lounge, 660 W. Baltimore St., Detroit; no cover.

Bryson Tiller, DJ Nitrane, Slum Tiller 8 p.m.; Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill, 14900 Metropolitan Pkwy., Sterling Heights; $39.50-$129.50.

Xana 6:30 p.m.; Pike Room, 1 S. Saginaw, Pontiac; $18.

Thursday, June 27

Live/Concert

Airiel + Blushing 7 p.m.; Small’s, 10339 Conant St., Hamtramck; $15.

Bob Holz Fusion Collaborative 7-9 p.m.; Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, 20510 Livernois Ave., Detroit; $30.

Everclear, Sister Hazel 7:30 p.m.; Caesars Palace Windsor - Augustus Ballroom, 377 E. Riverside Dr., Windsor; $33-$78.

Haley Reinhart 7 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $37. Softcult, Present, Low Phase 7 p.m.; Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $20.

Karaoke

DARE-U-OKE 9 p.m.-midnight; Northern Lights Lounge, 660 W. Baltimore St., Detroit; no cover.

Drag Queen Karaoke! 8 p.m.-2 a.m.; Woodward Avenue Brewers, 22646

Woodward Ave., Ferndale; no cover. Friday, June 28

Live/Concert

Candlelight Spring: A Tribute to Pink Floyd 8:45-10 p.m.; Sanctuary Church Birmingham, 300 Willits St., Birmingham; $35.

Jagged Edge, Tweet, Donell Jones, Lil Mo 8 p.m.; The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, 2600 E. Atwater St., Detroit; $45-$100.

KC & the Sunshine Band 8 p.m.; The Music Hall, 350 Madison Ave., Detroit; $79-$99.

My Own Will, Living Hollow, Vexatious, Seeding the Dead 6 p.m.; Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $14.

The Early November, Spitalfield, Cliffdiver 6:30 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $29.50.

Who Are You (tribute to the Who) 8 p.m.; Emerald Theatre, 31 N. Walnut St., Mount Clemens; $24-$240.

DJ/Dance

EDX, Kawsan, Thay Rodrigues, Aledro 9 p.m.; Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $10-$20.

Trap Karaoke 7:30 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; Saturday, June 29

Live/Concert

Pug Fest 2024: Stars Hollow,

Mouthbreathers, Emway?, Wounded Touch, Kissyourfriends, FFTC 12:30 p.m.; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $15.

Cosmic Sans, Lily Bones, Armada Lodge, Rosemont, Clutterbitch 6 p.m.; Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $13.

Lost in the 80’s: Back in Time Bash wsg Tim Cappello 6-11 p.m.; Historic Redford Theatre, 17360 Lahser Rd., Detroit; $25 general admission, $45 VIP.

Magic Bag Presents: An Evening with The Smithereens wsg vocalist Marshall Crenshaw 7 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $45.

Medium Build, Clover County 7 p.m.; The Shelter, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; $20.

Sunday, June 30

Live/Concert

Pug Fest 2024: Belmont, ‘68, Retirement Party. Frail Body, Pains, Good Sleepy, Stay Inside, Arcadia Grey, Teamonade 12:30 p.m.; The Loving Touch, 22634 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $45-75.

AJR, mxmtoon, Almost Monday 6:45 p.m.; Little Caesars Arena, 2645 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $49.50-$149.50.

The American Ride (Toby Keith tribute) 7 p.m.; Saint John’s Resort, 44045 Five Mile Rd., Plymouth; $35-50.

Kickstand Productions Presents: Letters To Cleo, Megasound 7 p.m.; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $30.

Monday, July 1

Live/Concert

Hawthorne Heights, I See Stars, Anberlin, Armor For Sleep, Emery, This Wild Life 4:30 p.m.; The Fillmore, 2115 Woodward Ave., Detroit; $37.50-$73.

A Tribute to the Blues Featuring Dnise Jonson 7 p.m.; Aretha’s Jazz Cafe, 350 Madison St., Detroit; $35.

DJ/Dance

Adult Skate Night 8:30-11 p.m.; Lexus Velodrome, 601 Mack Ave., Detroit; $5.

Tuesday, July 2

Live/Concert

Future Islands 8 p.m.; Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak; $29.50-$59.50.

Global Sunsets, Blackman & Arnold Trio 7-10 p.m.; Northern Lights Lounge, 660 W. Baltimore St., Detroit; no cover.

Magic Bag Presents: Margo Cilker, Jeremy Ferrara 7 pm; Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; $17. My Morning Jacket 7 p.m.; Detroit Masonic Temple Library, 500 Temple St, Detroit; $39-$181.

Necrot, Phobophilic, Street Tombs, Tormentous 6:30 p.m.;

My Morning Jacket performs at the Masonic Temple Library on Tuesday.

COURTESY PHOTO

Sanctuary Detroit, 2932 Caniff St., Hamtramck; $20.

Nelly - Official After Party 9 p.m.; Diamondback Music Hall, 49345 S. Interstate 94 Service Dr., Belleville; $50.

DJ/Dance

B.Y.O.R Bring Your Own Records Night 9 p.m.-midnight; The Old Miami, 3930 Cass Ave., Detroit; Free.

Karaoke

Karaoke w/ The Millionaire Matt Welz 8 p.m.; Bowlero Lanes & Lounge, 4209 Coolidge Hwy., Royal Oak; no cover.

THEATER

Performance

Andy Arts The Cowboy is a Tombstone, a performance by Thank You So Much For Coming. An investigation into American culture’s relationship to the symbol of “The Cowboy.” The play begins when Turner Jackson, a young cowboy, contracts yellow fever and dies on his way home from his first cattle drive. After death, he is met with a bombastic entertainer who attempts to guide him through the next part of his “journey”: understanding his historical and mythic significance. $10-50; Friday, 7:30-9 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30-9 p.m.; Monday, 7:30-9 p.m.; and Tuesday, 7:30-9 p.m.

Ant Hall BRAINKENSTEIN: An original one-act comedy by members of the Detroit comedy community. About The Show: A story over a hundred years in the making... For years humanity has asked the question: “What would happen if a brain was in your head?” The story of Brainkenstein sprawls from Victorian England to the incomprehensible world of the present day. Who will get bonked? Who will get stabbed? Which Tech Bozos will have the next Great Dumb American App? Brainkenstein holds a mirror up to society, whatever the hell that means. I read that in an article in the Atlantic once and wanted to use that. (Scrolling through Notes App) What else... what else... $20 in advance or $25 at the door; Friday, 9 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 p.m.

Detroit Repertory Theatre

Between Riverside and Crazy. City Hall is demanding more than his signature, the Landlord wants him out, the liquor store is closed — and the Church won’t leave him alone. For ex-cop & recent widower Walter “Pops” Washington and his recently paroled son Junior, when the struggle to hold on to one of the last great rent controlled apartments on Riverside Drive collides with old wounds, sketchy new houseguests, and a final ultimatum, it seems the old days are dead and gone.

Winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The theatre lobby opens 1 hour before showtimes for food and drinks. $25 in advance, $30 general admission; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 3 & 8 p.m.; and Sundays, 2 p.m.

Flagstar Strand Theatre for the Performing Arts StArt Youth Theatre’s Production of Disney Newsies Jr. Friday, 7 p.m.; Saturday, 2 & 7 p.m.; and Sunday, 2 p.m.

Fort Pontchartrain a Wyndham Hotel CoComelon Party Time. An immersive experience that takes you inside the colorful world of CoComelon where children can explore their way through a variety of interactive party experiences. Play games in our Cuddly Corner, get creative in our Activity & Coloring Center, Dance on our light up dance floor and more. Join the Fun! Best of all, you’ll get to interact with your favorite CoComelon friends like JJ, Cody and more! One Weekend Only! June 28-30; $38; Friday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Hilberry Gateway - STUDIO

Memories of a Supernatural AIDS Crisis, written and directed by Marc Arthur. Join us for this a one-of-a-kind performance that explores the past, present, and future of HIV/AIDS in Detroit. Admission is complimentary, with reservations strongly recommended. After the performance, the audience will be invited to a roundtable discussion about performance and HIV/AIDS in Detroit. The discussion will feature local health care workers, scholars and artists and is sponsored by Wayne State University’s Center for Gender and Sexuality. Presented by Mighty Real / Queer Detroit (MR/QD) co-produced with Theatre and Dance at Wayne State University, and supported by a Wayne State University College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts Creative/Research Grant; Saturday, 7 p.m.

COMEDY

Improv

Go Comedy! Improv Theater

Pandemonia The All-Star Showdown is a highly interactive improvised game show. With suggestions from the audience, our two teams will battle for your laughs. The Showdown is like “Whose Line is it Anyway,” featuring a series of short improv games, challenges, and more. $20 Fridays, Saturdays, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.

Stand-up

Caesars Palace Windsor Hasan Minhaj; $51-$121; Sunday, 8 p.m.

Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle

Mary Santora, Wes Ward ,and Sara

June 26-July 2, 2024 | metrotimes.com

Young; $25; Thursday, 7:30-9 p.m.; Friday, 7:15-8:45 p.m.; and Saturday, 7-8:30 & 9:30-11 p.m.

Detroit Shipping Company 313 Comedy Show hosts Live Comedy in The D. Shows are every Sunday at 7 p.m.; no cover.

Continuing This Week Stand-up

Blind Pig Blind Pig Comedy; no cover; Mondays, 8 p.m.

The Independent Comedy Club at Planet Ant The Sh*t Show Open Mic: Every Friday & Saturday at The Independent. A weekly open mic featuring both local amateurs and touring professionals. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and the show begins at 9 pm. The evening always ends with karaoke in the attached Ghost Light Bar! Doors and Sign up 8:30 p.m. Show at 9 p.m. $5 suggested donation. Attached bar Ghost Light opens at 7 p.m.

FILM

Screening

FIM Capitol Theatre Friday the 13th (1980); Tickets start at $7; Genesee County residents save 30%; Thursday, 8 p.m.

ARTS

Art Exhibition

Cranbrook Art Museum Constellations & Affinities: Selections from the Cranbrook Collection. Museum admission, no cover on Thursdays; Wednesdays-Sundays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Habatat Galleries 52nd Annual International Glass Show (GLASS52); Habatat Galleries Complex, in Royal Oak, the oldest and largest art gallery dedicated to contemporary glass, presents Glass52, The International Glass Exhibition that is the largest exhibition of contemporary art glass in the world. This breathtaking exhibition, featuring 400 examples of stunning studio glass art, is the highlight of the year for Habatat .The public is invited to see the exhibition for free Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Through Aug. 30.

Janice Charach Gallery 5th Annual Michigan Regional Glass Exhibition Michigan-based Mixed Media Artist Michelle Sider’s latest mosaic, ‘Anna,’ is based upon a treasured image of Sider’s great-grandmother, a Russian immigrant, taken at age 16. This mosaic will be exhibited for the first time, beginning May 5, at The 5th Annual Michigan Regional Glass Exhibition, presented by Michigan Hot Glass and juried by Albert Young.

PARC Art Gallery The Light Show; PARC Art Gallery announces a new art

exhibit, The Light Show. It includes 27 artists and over 55 one-of-a-kind pieces of art. This show will be on display until Aug. 1. Featured artists: Molly Bell, David Bowling, Cheryl Chidester, Tina Creguer, Ellen Doyle, Jaclyn Gordyan, James Guy, Tim Haber, Terri Haranczak, Kseniya Hauptmann, Vanessa Howson, Susan Hunt, Michaele Kadell, Alexander Kautz, Mike Kroll, Dawn Krull, Mary Lane, Jen Muse, Brian Peck, Thomas Rosenbaum, Bill Schahfer, Valerie Shelton Miller, Victor Spieles, Leonid Tikh, Nancy Wanchik, Joan Witte, and Lori Zoumbaris. No cover.

Stamelos Gallery Center, UMDearborn Piece by Piece: Recent Work from Regional Fiber Artists. Fiber lends itself to an exploration of the potency of being human. The familiarity of a frayed edge, a softness to comfort us, or a thickness to protect us; fabric reminds us of how we need to be held. It takes us back to the ways we care for each other, the ways our ancestors have blended need and beauty by weaving, knotting, spinning, dyeing, and making for centuries. This medium is not only artistic in practicum, but holds a necessity in its utility in our lives. How can we learn from textiles to weave our communities more strongly? In a place like Southeast Michigan, where so many holes have been torn, threads left frayed, reaching for a hand without the tools to stitch us back together - fiber art is helping piece together a vibrant community, reminding ourselves that we all hold vibrancy in our individuality. Piece by Piece explores what contemporary fiber making in the area looks like today, and where it will take us in the future. The exhibition features work by Yeager Edwards, Taylor Jenkins, Shaina Kasztelan, Bella Kiser Kit Parks, Kayla Powers, Jessie Rice, Leslie Rogers, Katie Schulman, Melissa Webb, and Maggie Wiebe. This exhibition will be on display until August 18. For further information and disability accommodation, please contact Laura Cotton, Art Curator and Gallery Manager at lacotton@umich.edu and check the website www.umdearborn.edu/stamelos. Through Aug. 18, 5-7 pm.; Fiber is not only artistic in practicum, but holds a necessity in its utility in our lives. How can we learn from textiles to weave our communities more strongly? In a place like South East Michigan, where so many holes have been torn, reaching for a hand without the tools to stitch us back together – fiber art is helping piece together a vibrant community.

SPORTS

Hockey

Little Caesars Arena Sticks & Picks Festival presented by Bud Light; $5 Friday 6 p.m.

Bites

Third Street Bar has new owners

The humble Third Street Bar is now owned by the Detroit Optimist Society, a hospitality group better known for its high-end cocktail bars like Sugar House, Wright & Co., and Bad Luck Bar.

But co-owner Dave Kwiatkowski says they plan to keep it more or less the same low-frills shot-and-a-beer kind of a spot that has long been popular with Wayne State University students.

“This definitely has gotten a little bit younger of a demo,” Kwiatkowski says. “It’s always kind of been more of a college hangout, and so we’re going to try to retain the original spirit.”

The bar closed in September.

“I think that they just were ready to move on,” Kwiatkowski says of the previous owners.

The Detroit Optimist Society’s nabbing of Third Street Bar is similar to its acquisition of the nearby Honest John’s, another long-standing Cass Corridor bar which it acquired a decade ago and left more or less intact. But there will be some changes at Third Street.

One of the biggest is that Kwiatkowski has expanded the previous owner’s pandemic-era patio, building a stage with plans to host regular live entertainment — something none of the Detroit Optimist Society’s other holdings offer.

Booking will be handled by someone who Kwiatkowski says is notable in

Detroit’s music scene, though he says he is not yet ready to disclose who. The plan is for this person to also hold a residency, he says.

“I’m just in love with live music on weekends,” Kwiatkowski says. “I think it’d be a big draw for us. … I don’t expect we’re going to sell tickets or anything. It just seems like it’d be sort of a fun thing to have.”

The previous owners built a large outdoor seating area out of metal storage racks, which Kwiatkowski has built upon by ordering custom cushions.

He has also expanded on the games offered by the bar. While the old SkeeBall machines have been removed, the shuffleboard and dart boards remain. Outside is a giant Jenga set and cornhole, and the fan-favorite ring a bull game, where players try to swing a hoop tied to a string onto a hook, also remains.

One new offering is shot glasses made of ice, which Kwiatkowski says guests are invited to throw at a bell on the patio for a chance to win another shot.

Kwiatkowski has also brought in frozen drink machines for two boozeinfused menu items: Irish Coffee and Miami Vice, a blend of strawberry margarita and piña colada.

The bar also includes a kitchen. For now, the plan is to partner with existing food trucks, but Kwiatkowski says they

Fried

chicken with a cult following

Our readers may already know that some of the best eats in the Detroit area can be found in local gas stations.

Saroki’s Crispy Chicken and Pizza is one of them, and it has developed something of a cult following for its fried chicken and New York-style pizzas.

The local chain is expanding in metro Detroit, and is set to open its 13th location on Thursday, June 27 in Madison Heights.

The new location is located inside the Mobil mega center at the corner of Dequindre and 10 Mile Roads. It’s also the chain’s first drive-thru location.

Grand opening festivities from 4-8 p.m. include free samples and merch, $2,000 in gift card giveaways, a chance to win free pizza for a year, and deals available all weekend long.

The new store is located at 25005 Dequindre Rd., Madison Heights.

The chain was established in 2012 by brothers Curtis and Todd Saroki. More information is available at sarokis.com.

—Lee DeVito

We’ll be the judge of that

are exploring having rotating pop-ups out of the kitchen.

“We’re talking to a few different people about doing some longer-term residencies,” he says. “We may do something that is more of a revolving thing where we’ve got somebody one weekend, somebody the next weekend. … There are also so many great new food [businesses] that don’t really have permanent space. So we’d love to operate in that capacity.”

Third Street Bar will be open on weekends at first, eventually ramping up to be open most days a week, Kwiatkowski says.

Detroit Optimist Society’s full Motor City holdings include Sugar House, Wright & Co., Bad Luck Bar, Honest John’s, Grandma Bob’s, Mutiny Tiki Bar, Time Will Tell, and Last Chance Saloon, as well as the bar Finger’s Crossed up north in Northport.

Kwiatkowski says he’s excited to fully embrace Third Street’s college bar vibes.

“We’re not trying to make it a fancy cocktail place or anything, we’re just keeping it chill,” he says. “We’re having fun making gummy bear shots and green tea shots and stuff like that.”

Third Street Bar is located at 4626 Third Ave., Detroit. More information is available at instagram.com/thirdstreetdetroit.

—Lee DeVito

Your humble narrator has agreed to be one of the guest judges for the upcoming Burger Battle, a food competition set for Sunday, June 30 at Detroit’s Eastern Market.

I’ll be joining three other guest judges, including Susan Selasky of The Detroit Free Press. May the best burger win!

Dear reader: You can also weigh in on the best burgers. Attendees get unlimited samples (while supplies last, duh) from more than 15 local restaurants competing for the coveted title of Burger Battle Champion, and are invited to vote for their top three burgers. The top five finalists will go on to create a burger for our panel of guest judges, who will ultimately select this year’s Champ.

The event is set for 1-4 p.m. at Eastern Market Shed 5, with VIP ticketholders invited to come at 11 a.m.

There will also be a cash bar, live entertainment from DJ Tom T, vendors, games, and more.

The Burger Battle Detroit launched eight years ago as a friendly competition between the best chefs in the Detroit area.

General admission tickets are $20 and are available at Eventbrite.com, while VIP tickets are $30. Children under 5 get in for free.

More information is available at burgerbattle.info.

—Lee DeVito

This popular WSU hangout is now run by the Detroit Optimist Society.

LEE DEVITO

CULTURE

Artist Hadassah GreenSky keeps Anishinaabe traditions alive in Detroit

By Randiah Camille Green

Hadassah GreenSky’s blue dress shimmers like she is wearing the river. Thin pieces of metal rolled into cones swim around the dress making a cling-clang song as she jumps, light on her feet, to a chorus of drums. Her hair is fashioned into two braids with blue extensions and accentuated with red and white feathers.

GreenSky is a Detroit-based queer Anishinaabe artist from the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. She’s also a painter, beader, videographer, and multimedia artist.

Today, she’s performing the Jingle Dress Dance, which comes from an Ojibwe story about 100 years ago, as GreenSky explains it. The story goes that a Native leader prayed to the spirits for guidance on how to heal his daughter, who was very sick. He had a vision in a dream of a dress with 365 cones on it made from curled up tobacco snuff can lids. So he recreated the dress for his daughter to wear.

“He rolled a prayer into each cone,” GreenSky says. “When that dress was complete, he put it on his daughter and she started dancing, and she was completely well by the time the song was over. So anybody in the community who’s sick, we now offer those jingle dress dances, some tobacco, an offering, and ask them to pray for those that are sick… When I put that dress on, I’m really channeling the healing energy that’s been with us for a century because we live in a broken society and we need that healing.”

GreenSky is dancing at Vibes With the Tribes, an event billed as Michigan’s first Native American music and cultural festival that she created with her partner, an Anishinaabe rapper named Soufy. The festival serves as a mini inter-tribal powwow with dancers, drummers, artists, and musicians from across the country. This year marked the third installment of the festival,

which was held on June 1 at the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation in Southwest Detroit.

The Jingle Dress Dance is a form of medicine — not just because of its storied history, but also as an act of reclamation. Native Americans were legally barred from practicing their traditional culture, spirituality, or even speaking their native language until the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978.

“A lot of our grandparents are survivors of residential schools and it was literally beat out of them that they couldn’t be native,” GreenSky says. “They couldn’t speak their language. They couldn’t go to ceremony. They had to look a certain way. They had to wear assimilated clothes. They had to

cut their hair. They even had their skin bleached. And to go from that juxtaposition to today. It is a miracle.”

She adds, thinking about how some of her relatives couldn’t have powwows freely before 1978, “I got all my aunties and uncles, they talk about powwow back in the day and in the ’60s, they used to be way back on some shoddy road where the Feds couldn’t find them because it was illegal. And now we get to dance and be open. Now we get to create art and be open and we don’t have to hide who we are…. I exist in this world, simply because my ancestors couldn’t. And that’s why I live so boldly.”

The art of powwow dancing is not just limited to the dancing itself. GreenSky makes all of her own regalia,

including decked-out moccasins with hundreds of tiny beads all sewn by hand. The dress she’s wearing at the Vibes With the Tribes is particularly special because she made it during the 2020 protests following the murder of George Floyd.

“I was organizing with different natives in the city around the George Floyd protests, basically [showing] Indigenous solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and we held a 40-day sacred fire in the city,” she remembers. “During that time, I brought my table out and I brought my sewing machine and set it right next to the fire. And I made that whole dress in about two, three weeks in front of that fire every day… It has symbology of both the fire and the water, which a lot of the fire duties

Anishinaabe artist and beadworker Hadassah GreenSky was one of the 2022 Kresge Artist Fellows.

COURTESY PHOTO

“We have a vessel, and you might have a male spirit that embodies that vessel even though you’re presenting feminine… It’s just a recognition of your spirit compared to the vessel that you’re in, and when you are a person that lives in both of those worlds, you can take both of those roles.”

go to the men, and a lot of the duties around the water go to the women. And I’m a Two Spirit person, so I have both of those roles.”

Two Spirit is a Native way of referring to people who possess both a feminine and masculine spirit within their physical body, or those whose spirit is opposite than the gender they were assigned at birth. It can also refer to people who perform mixed gender roles within their tribe.

These days, we would call these people queer. GreenSky uses she/they pronouns of account of being Two Spirit.

“In our language [Anishinaabemowin], we call it ‘niizh manidoowag,’ but it translates to ‘Two Spirit,’” they explain. “We have a vessel, and you might have a male spirit that embodies that vessel even though you’re presenting feminine… It’s just a recognition of your spirit compared to the vessel that you’re in, and when you are a person that lives in both of those worlds, you can take both of those roles. So it’s less about your sexual preference, your ‘queerness,’ and it’s more about how you can help your community and what special roles that you can take on.”

They and their partner are also working on a documentary and accompanying album about the “Red Ghetto,” which is what Native Americans often called Detroit’s Cass Corridor from the 1950s to 1980s. During that time, the neighborhood was heavily populated by Natives who were forced to move there. The Indian Relocation Act of 1956 uprooted Natives from their homeland and shipped them off to big cities like Detroit, where they often had no relatives, in an attempt to assimilate them into “American” culture.

“If you look up the Red Ghetto and ‘Detroit Cass Corridor native neighborhood,’ you’re not really going to find anything,” they say. “But if you talk to any Native person in Michigan, somebody’s going to remember a time

when their relatives lived in Detroit in the Red Ghetto.”

Back in her Eastside apartment with a view of the Detroit River, she sits in front of several digital and acrylic paintings including one piece, titled “Waawiyaatanong: From The Ashes, She Rises.” The brightly-colored piece features the Detroit skyline and the Detroit River along with sturgeon, a thundering crane, and a woman with the Aurora Borealis in her hair. It was featured in the Metro Times 2024 Fiction Issue

GreenSky’s paintings are inspired by Canadian Anishinaabe artist Norval Morrisseau, who created the “woodland painting” style featuring vibrant colors and Native symbols.

“This one was really birthed out of the idea that the land is living, and the land is still living, even though all this concrete is here,” she says about the Waawiyaatanong piece. “This summer that I drew this was the summer that Detroit flooded like three times [in 2021]. And it was one of those humbling moments of like, we as humans can build all we want, but it [is] no match for Mother Earth, Mother Nature… I have old maps of all the rivers that used to be here [and] all of them have been redirected and built into our sewage system... We believe that the waters are really like the blood of Mother Earth.”

Waawiyaatanong is the Anishinaabe word for Detroit and means “where the curved shores meet.” GreenSky included the crane as a symbol of Detroit artists rising up as the city’s unexpected leaders.

“I see a lot of artists in Detroit just rising up and taking back those ways from before colonization,” they say.

A mural of this piece is also featured as part of Detroit’s City Walls program at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Dearborn Street. The mural is painted on the side of an abandoned building across from Zug Island.

“I chose this spot because it needed the most medicine,” GreenSky says.

CULTURE

Savage Love

Wants v. Gots

By Dan Savage

: Q I am new to polyamory. I am an ethically non-monogamous hetero woman in her 50s and recently re-entered into my first secondary sexual relationship with a married friend whom I’ve known all my life. We lost touch after college, but he reconnected and restarted it. Is it normal to want to know if he has other partners? Is it OK to ask him? How do I ask him?

He has asked me directly and I have told him that I don’t have others. But he is very opaque when I try to talk to him about himself. He prefers to keep chats and calls superficial and this has been a source of angst for me since I do like a good creative conversation, and I have seen him have it with others, so his reluctance to engage with me is confusing. I am open in sharing my relationship status when he asks me directly. But I am unable to open such a topic with him.

I brought up what feels like an unequal power dynamic, and he agrees this dynamic exists but that’s just how it is. We hardly meet even once a year since we live on different continents. (I do the travelling because I have flexibility, and yes there’s a dynamic here too which I’m willing to let go.) Those few hours are like life-fuel. We share an incredible chemistry that would be a shame to throw away, so I would like to do all I can to build something with him. Can you please help me with any pointers to navigate this?

—Now Seeking Answers

A: What you want (something deep and meaningful) is imperiling what you’ve got (something casual and annual).

Zooming out for a second: You wanna build something more meaningful with this man but he, for reasons he refuses to share, isn’t interested in building something more meaningful with you. I can make informed guesses about what his reasons might be — the agreement he has with his wife allows for sex with others but not romance/intimacy; you only see each other once a year and he doesn’t see the point of forging a deeper emotional connection under these circumstances — but since I can’t subpoena and depose him, NSA, and he’s not telling you, we’re never going to know for sure what he’s thinking. But I can answer your questions for me: Yes, it’s normal to want to know if he has

other partners (in addition to his wife); Yes, it’s OK to ask him if he has other partners (absent an answer, you should assume he does); Ask him directly, NSA, but you shouldn’t ask him incessantly… unless you’re willing to risk him throw it/ you away.

Basically, NSA, I think you might have the wrong end of the stick here. You’re convinced that deepening your relationship is the best way to sustain this connection — a connection you value because the chemistry is off the charts — but pushing to go deep when he’s made it clear he isn’t interested could prompt him to end things.

If you can’t enjoy the chemistry, the sex, and “the same time next year” excitement of this connection — if that’s not enough — you should throw this/him away yourself. If you’re not willing to settle for what he’s willing to offer, you shouldn’t waste one more international flight on him. But I can’t imagine he’s asked you to be monogamous to him, NSA, which means you have enough bandwidth — emotional bandwidth, sexual bandwidth, social bandwidth — to enjoy what you’ve got with him while pursuing men closer to home who want a deeper connection.

P.S. I wouldn’t call this polyamory. Given the facts in evidence, NSA, it sounds like this man is in an open marriage but that he isn’t seeking — or isn’t allowed to seek loving and committed relationships with other women. Non-monogamous ≠ polyamorous.

: Q I’m a 28-year-old woman and I’ve been in a happy long-distance relationship with my boyfriend for five years. Two years ago, we became non-monogamous and started having occasional sex with a few friends. We agreed that we shouldn’t have romantic relationships with anyone else. While living abroad for a year, I started a sexual relationship with a guy. The sex was mind blowing. He knew about my boyfriend and agreed to be just “fuck buddies.” I wasn’t worried about getting too attached to him, because we had very different world views and political ideas, which is a deal breaker to me in terms of romantic attachment — or it used to be.

To my surprise I developed an emotional connection with this guy, which he reciprocated. A year later and back home, I still love my boyfriend very deeply, he is one of the most important people in the world to me, but I don’t enjoy sex with him as much as I did before. I fantasize a lot about my former fuck buddy and don’t have any interest in meeting someone new. The few interactions I’ve had with him since I came home were still quite flirtatious. I fear these fantasies are affecting my relationship

with my boyfriend and don’t know how to move on. On one hand, I love and admire my boyfriend, but I don’t feel as physically attracted to him anymore. On the other hand, I struggle to let go of my physical attraction for another person whose flaws my brain seems intent on ignoring. Do you have any suggestion?

—Hemming Over Things That Involve Emotions

A: Sex with long-term partners often becomes routine, HOTTIE, and while routines get a bad rap, especially routine sex (which gets the “rut” label slapped on it), routines bring order and stability to our lives. What routines don’t bring is excitement. While the contentedly monogamous regard the tradeoff — routine and reliable sexual intimacy in exchange for novelty and sexual excitement — as a win, the miserably monogamous seem to regard the tradeoff as a loss.

The trick to being contentedly nonmonogamous — one of the tricks — is not comparing sex with a long-term partner to sex with new or still new-ish partner. Sex with a long-term partner may be less exciting and challenging, but there’s sex that’s familiar and comforting has its perks. Comparison, as they say, is the thief of joy — and in your case, HOTTIE, comparing sex with your current boyfriend and sex with your former fuckbuddy may be screwing with your ability to enjoy the boyfriend.

But if can’t stop comparing the sex you’re having with your boyfriend to the sex you used to have with your fuck buddy — sex that felt transgressive because your fuck buddy had shitty political opinions — it may not be just the sex you’re missing, HOTTIE, but everything else the fuck buddy was about. If the fever doesn’t break and your feelings for the fuck buddy don’t fade, that could be a sign things with your boyfriend haven’t just settled into a safe and comfortable routine, but that your relationship with the boyfriend is winding down.

: Q Cis gay male here in his late twenties in a very gay friendly city. I’ve been seeing a gentleman the past six months. An important note he made on his profile is that he prefers monogamy, which is something I was willing to accept since hookups and NSAs make me nervous. About a month ago, we were getting pretty hot and heavy one night, but it ended early because he lost arousal. He later explained to me that he loses sexual interest after a certain amount of time when dating someone new. It has happened in his past relationships. He said it wasn’t me, he just gets bored with sex.

My dilemma is that since he can’t fulfill my sexual needs for the time being, I am welcome to see others for it. The issue I have is that I can’t even get physical

intimacy from, such as cuddling. Like I said earlier, I don’t really want to get into hookups or NSA. I generally need to bond with someone before I get in bed with them. I wanted to commit to his preference for monogamy. I’ve been single the entire time before we met. Never had anyone to call a boyfriend. Right now, it doesn’t feel right to play with others to get my needs met because it seems like I’m cheating. I understand he gave me consent, but it just does not feel right. My libido is relatively low. Sometimes cuddles and a hand job is satisfying enough but that is not on the table either. Outside of sex and physical intimacy, we enjoy each other’s company a lot.

A couple of my friends said I should try to wait it out to see if things will turn around. I’m honestly not sure what to do. It’s my first relationship. I don’t want to return to the apps because they are so stressful to me.

—First Boyfriend Problems

A: I’m gonna say something slightly ageist here, FBP, which I’m allowed to do because I’m getting up there myself: You’re too young to settle for this shit. If you were in your mid-fifties and you’d been single all your adult life and you wanted emotional intimacy more than you wanted physical intimacy, you might be able to make this thing work. And if the prospect of having a loving partner at home who didn’t wanna fuck you but allowed you to get your physical needs met elsewhere filled you with excitement instead of dread, you might be able to make this thing work. But since neither statement is true — you’re not in your mid-fifties, BFP, and just thinking about the apps makes you anxious — you can’t make this work.

And forgive me for this…

Your boyfriend’s profile said he wants monogamy and then six months later he turns around and says actually he loses interest in sex as he gets to know someone better and gives you permission to fuck other guys. So, he either had two huge epiphanies shortly after he started dating you — not into monogamy, on the fraysexuality spectrum — or he realized a few months in that he doesn’t want to be your boyfriend. But instead of being honest and ending things cleanly, FBP, your boyfriend is choosing mess: he’s encouraging you fuck other people in the hopes that you’ll meet someone who likes you and who likes fucking you and that you’ll end things with him.

Seeing as he’s not even interested in cuddles, FBP, my money’s on the latter.

Got problems? Yes, you do! Email your question for the column to mailbox@ savage.love! Or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/ askdan! Podcasts, columns, and more at Savage.Love.

CULTURE Free Will Astrology

By Rob Brezsny

ARIES: March 21 – April 19

This may sound weird, but I think now is a perfect time to acquire a fresh problem. Not just any old boring problem, of course. Rather, I’m hoping you will carefully ponder what kind of dilemma would be most educational for you — which riddle might challenge you to grow in ways you need to. Here’s another reason you should be proactive about hunting down a juicy challenge: Doing so will ensure that you won’t attract mediocre, meaningless problems.

TAURUS: April 20 – May 20

Now is an excellent time to start learning a new language or to increase your proficiency in your native tongue. Or both. It’s also a favorable phase to enrich your communication skills and acquire resources that will help you do that. Would you like to enhance your ability to cultivate friendships and influence people? Are you interested in becoming more persuasive, articulate,

and expressive? If so, Taurus, attend to these self-improvement tasks with graceful intensity. Life will conspire benevolently on your behalf if you do. (P.S.: I’m not implying you’re weak in any of these departments; just that now is a favorable time to boost your capacities.)

GEMINI: May 21 – June 20

Barbara Sher and Barbara Smith wrote the book I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It. I invite you to think and feel deeply about this theme during the coming months. In my experience with Geminis, you are often so versatile and multi-faceted that it can be challenging to focus on just one or two of your various callings. And that may confuse your ability to know what you want more than anything else. But here’s the good news. You may soon enjoy a grace period when you feel really good about devoting yourself to one goal more than any other.

steer, and manage are strong. They will not only round up sheep and cattle, but also pigs, chickens, and ostriches — and even try to herd cats. In my estimation, Virgo, border collies are your spirit creatures these days. You have a special inclination and talent to be a good shepherd. So use your aptitude with flair. Provide extra navigational help for people and animals who would benefit from your nurturing guidance. And remember to do the same for your own wayward impulses!

LIBRA: Sept. 23 – Oct. 22

We have arrived at the midpoint of 2024. It’s check-in time. Do you recall the promises you made to yourself last January? Are you about halfway into the frontier you vowed to explore? What inspirational measures could you instigate to renew your energy and motivation for the two most important goals in your life? What would you identify as the main obstacle to your blissful success, and how could you diminish it? If you’d like to refresh your memory of the long-term predictions I made for your destiny in 2024, go here: tinyurl.com/Libra2024. For 2023’s big-picture prophecies, go here: tinyurl. com/2023Libra.

SCORPIO: Oct. 23 – Nov. 21:

between your last birthday and your next. I hope you will give yourself a fun gift every day for at least the next seven days. Fourteen days would be even better. See if you can coax friends and allies to also shower you with amusing blessings. Tell them your astrologer said that would be a very good idea. Now here’s an unbirthday favor from me: I promise that between now and January 2025, you will create healing changes in your relationship with your job and with work in general.

AQUARIUS: Jan. 20 – Feb. 18

The Gus’ is 40 years this week!! Coming in with some old friends or meet some new ones. Even brought the old CD jukebox back. Got a few specials going as well Cheers !!

CANCER: June 21 – July 22

You are entering a phase when you will be wise to question fixed patterns and shed age-old habits. The more excited you get about re-evaluating everything you know and believe, the more likely it is that exciting new possibilities will open up for you. If you are staunchly committed to resolving longstanding confusions and instigating fresh approaches, you will launch an epic chapter of your life story. Wow! That sounds dramatic. But it’s quite factual. Here’s the kicker: You’re now in prime position to get vivid glimpses of specific successes you can accomplish between now and your birthday in 2025.

LEO: July 23 – August 22

Scorpio-born Gary Hug was educated as a machinist and food scientist, but for many years he has worked primarily as an amateur astronomer. Using a seven-foot telescope he built in the backyard of his home, he has discovered a comet and 300 asteroids, including two that may come hazardously close to Earth. Extolling the joys of being an amateur, he says he enjoys “a sense of freedom that you don’t have when you’re a professional.” In the coming weeks, Scorpio, I encourage you to explore and experiment with the joys of tasks done out of joy rather than duty. Identify the work and play that feel liberating and indulge in them lavishly.

SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 22 – Dec. 21

While sleeping, my Aquarian friend Janelle dreamed that she and her family lived in a cabin in the woods. When dusk was falling, a strange animal put its face against the main window. Was it a bear? A mountain lion? Her family freaked out and hid in a back bedroom. But Janelle stayed to investigate. Looking closely, she saw the creature was a deer. She opened up the window and spoke to it, saying, “What can I do for you?” The deer, who was a talking deer, said, “I want to give you and your family a gift. See this necklace I’m wearing? It has a magic ruby that will heal a health problem for everyone who touches it.” Janelle managed to remove the necklace, whereupon the deer wandered away and she woke up from the dream. During subsequent weeks, welcome changes occurred in her waking life. She and three of her family members lost physical ailments that had been bothering them. I think this dream is a true fairy tale for you in the coming weeks, Aquarius.

PISCES: Feb.19 – March 20

40 YEARS OLD!!

How many different ways can you think of to ripen your spiritual wisdom? I suggest you choose two and pursue them with gleeful vigor in the coming weeks. You are primed to come into contact with streams of divine revelations that can change your life for the better. All the conditions are favorable for you to encounter teachings that will ennoble your soul and hone your highest ideals. Don’t underestimate your power to get the precise enlightenment you need.

VIRGO: August 23 – Sept. 22

Border collies are dogs with a herding instinct. Their urges to usher,

Your power spots will be places that no one has visited or looked into for a while. Sexy secrets and missing information will be revealed to you as you nose around in situations where you supposedly should not investigate. The light at the end of the tunnel is likely to appear well before you imagined it would. Your lucky number is 8, your lucky color is black, and your lucky emotion is the surprise of discovery. My advice: Call on your memory to serve you in amazing ways; use it as a superpower.

CAPRICORN: Dec. 22 – Jan. 19

Happy Unbirthday, Capricorn! It’s time to celebrate the season halfway

A psychologist friend tells me that if we have an intense craving for sugar, it may be a sign that deeper emotional needs are going unmet. I see merit in her theory. But here’s a caveat. What if we are currently not in position to get our deeper emotional needs met? What if there is at least temporarily some barrier to achieving that lovely goal? Would it be wrong to seek a partial quenching of our soul cravings by communing with fudge brownies, peach pie, and crème brûlée? I don’t think it would be wrong. On the contrary. It might be an effective way to tide ourselves over until more profound gratification is available. But now here’s the good news, Pisces: I suspect more profound gratification will be available sooner than you imagine.

Homework: Take a vow that you will ethically do everything necessary to fulfill your most important goal.

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