Our roundup of the latest news from metro Detroit and Michigan businesses as well as announcements from government agencies. To share a business or nonprofit story, please send us a message.
Study: Detroit Has Third-worst Drivers in U.S.
Detroit has the third-worst drivers in the U.S., according to analysis of traffic data by Forbes Advisor.
To determine the cities with the worst drivers, Forbes Advisor compared the 50 most populated U.S. cities across key metrics. The analysis identified the cities where drivers engage in the most hazardous behavior threatening public safety.
Detroit posted a score of 94.79 out of 100.
Detroit’s tally included:
- The total number of fatal car accidents (19.76 per 100,000 city residents).
- The number of fatal car accidents involving a drunk driver (6.54 per 100,000 city residents).
- The number of fatal car accidents involving speeding (6.8 per 100,000 city residents).
- The number of people killed in fatal crashes (21.47 per 100,000 city residents).
Albuquerque, N.M. and Memphis Tenn. topped the list of cities with the worst drivers. Following Detroit were Tucson, Ariz. and Kansas City, Mo.
Overall, according to the study, fatal car accidents are increasing across the country, with the number of deadly crashes climbing by nearly 10 percent from 2020 to 2022.
Mike Tirico, Roger Penske, Daniel Loepp to Headline DDP Annual Meeting
The Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP) will host its 2024 Annual Meeting from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at MGM Grand Detroit on Feb. 22.
The theme for the meeting is “Legacy and Leadership in Detroit,” and will feature a conversation with DDP Board Member Roger Penske, chairman of the Penske Corp.; DDP Executive Committee Chair Daniel J. Loepp, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; and Mike Tirico of NBC Sports.
The conversation will focus on the trio’s longtime support of downtown Detroit, DDP programs and initiatives, and the impact of their leadership in the local community.
As host of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” Tirico will frame the conversation around how national events can propel the city forward.
“We are excited to share about the tremendous growth happening in downtown Detroit and the momentum continues as we welcome two large-scale events Downtown this spring,” says Eric B. Larson, CEO of DDP. “At this year’s meeting, we’re pleased to hear from two of DDP’s esteemed board members whose leadership has been integral to how far downtown, and Detroit as a whole, has come.”
Attendees also will hear from Larson about progress made in the downtown, while enjoying a banquet-style lunch, and will be among the first to receive DDP’s 2023 Annual Report, which will be accessible on DDP’s website following the meeting.
To purchase tickets or to become a sponsor, visit here.
For more information on the Annual Meeting or DDP, visit downtowndetroit.org.
GM in Detroit Expands Super Cruise Network to 750K Hands-free Miles
General Motor Co. in Detroit has an additional group of highways to its flagship hands-free technology Super Cruise, bringing the total to about 750,000 miles of compatible roads across the U.S. and Canada.
Safely deploying and expanding access to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), like Super Cruise, is an important step in gaining consumer trust and excitement around the future of transportation, according to the automaker.
“GM is all-in on safely deploying Super Cruise as we make the technology available on more vehicles, more roads and for more people to enjoy,” says Anantha Kancherla, vice president of ADAS at GM. “A key part of that is expanding the road network — in this case nearly doubling it again — with LiDAR mapped highways. High-precision LiDAR mapping gives us an operating domain where we are confident in Super Cruise’s abilities.”
The expansion adds minor highways that typically connect smaller cities and townships, which means drivers will be able to drive hands-free between more rural towns across the country.
The new roads already have started to be added incrementally over-the-air, at no additional charge, and will continue to be added through 2025. Most Super Cruise-equipped vehicles will receive this expansion except for the Cadillac CT6, Chevrolet Bolt EUV, and Cadillac XT6. The average eligible vehicle will update its map within about one month of the GM brand site maps showing updated roads.
For more information, visit here.
Vericast in Livonia Releases NXTDRIVE to Improve Customer Data Management
Texas-based Vericast, which has operations in Livonia and Belleville, has launched NXTDRIVE, a customer data marketing platform designed to help marketers unify, enrich, and activate their data in a secure and compliant environment.
“NXTDRIVE empowers marketers by taking the guess work and complexity out of managing and acting on first-party customer data to drive more performance-based marketing,” says Marc Mathies, senior vice president of NXTDRIVE at Vericast. “NXTDRIVE propels conversion, acquisition, and customer loyalty while respecting consumer privacy and adapting to industry challenges.”
NXTDRIVE uses machine learning and its proprietary data and technologies to maximize:
- Data unification
- Data enrichment
- Data activation
- Efficiencies
- Continuous learning
- Interactive measurement and reporting dashboard
For more information, visit here.
SEMA Garage Detroit in Plymouth Township Granted CARB Lab Recognition
SEMA Garage Detroit in Plymouth Township has received confirmation from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that the new location is properly equipped for automotive exhaust emissions testing.
CARB has issued a letter naming the SEMA Detroit Garage a Recognized Independent Emissions Lab, officially certifying it as a qualified location for emissions compliance testing.
“We’re excited to receive this recognition from CARB,” says Mike Mohacsi, vice president of SEMA product development and OEM relations. “Now both of our Garages in Detroit and Diamond Bar (California) are fully recognized by CARB, enabling us to serve more of our member companies throughout the country.”
The recognition from CARB will enable SEMA to better serve its membership by offering certification-level automotive exhaust emissions testing to help members develop products that can be sold in all 50 states.
Testing plays a vital role in the CARB Executive Order process, particularly for products that may impact vehicle emissions. Understanding the regulatory process and keeping up to date on regulations such as the federal Clean Air Act and the California Vehicle Code, SEMA offers unrivaled knowledge to assist companies with compliance by offering crucial emissions testing services and aiding in navigating regulatory standards. This support enables manufacturers to efficiently test, develop, certify, and bring their products to market quickly.
As of February 2024, there are only 14 Independent Vehicle Emissions Testing Labs in the United States, including the two SEMA Garages, that recognized by CARB to perform light-duty tailpipe emissions testing.
“The emissions testing labs at the SEMA Garage in Detroit and Diamond Bar focus on developing and certifying aftermarket components,” says Ben Kaminsky, general manager of SEMA Garage Detroit. “We are two of the only recognized labs in the country with this specific focus.”
For more information, visit semagarage.com.
McLaren Proton Therapy Center in Flint Treats Milestone 1,000th Patient
In just more than five years since, the McLaren Proton Therapy Center in Flint, part of the Karmanos Cancer Network, has treated its 1,000th cancer patient.
The 1,000th patent for the center, one of only two in the state, is a mid-Michigan woman receiving care for recurring breast cancer. It happened in January 2024.
“Bringing the proton therapy center to Michigan represented a significant investment to McLaren, not only in capital but in the time that was required for the project to be fully realized,” says Phil Incarnati, president and CEO of McLaren Health Care. “But we were committed to opening patients’ access to this advanced and advantageous technology.
“The results of that commitment are seen in the many patients and their families whose cancer battles have had a favorable outcome, which further led to our initiatives aimed at continuing to enhance access by expanding the center’s treatment capacity.”
An advanced form of radiation therapy, the treatment utilizes high-energy proton beams, as opposed to X-rays, to destroy cancerous cells. Beams can be precisely targeted to cancer tumors’ unique size, shape, and location in the body to accurately deliver that energy to the tumor, destroying cancer cells while sparing nearby healthy tissue from radiation exposure, limiting any potentially harmful side effects.
With the addition of the Hospitality House, which provides low- to no-cost on-campus accommodations for patients and families traveling for treatment, demand for the McLaren Proton Therapy Center grew to the extent that it has supported the program’s physical and clinical expansion.
In 2023, construction began that will nearly double the center’s care capacity through the addition of two upright treatment units from Leo Cancer Care. Pending FDA clearance, the program will be the first in the world to feature the innovative technology in early 2025.
For more information, visit mclaren.org/proton.
Customer Takes Home Norway’s First F-150 Lightning
Dag Ødegaard from Lier, Norway, is the first Norwegian customer to take home an electric Ford F-150 Lightning.
“This is a dream vehicle for us especially as we love the USA and Texas so much,” Ødegaard says. “Finally, we don’t have to drive two cars to transport two teenage children, my wife, and all our luggage to our cabin in [the ski town of] Trysil.”
Ødegaard selected an F-150 Lightning Lariat Launch Edition in Antimatter Blue Metallic with standard range battery, capable of delivering up to 429km miles of range (WLTP).
“This is an important day for Ford in Norway,” says Per Gunnar Berg, CEO of Ford Motor Norway. “As the first country outside America to get F-150 Lightning, we get the opportunity to deliver one of the most talked about electric vehicles in the world in recent years to our customers.
“We look forward to going full throttle to give even more Norwegians the opportunity to experience an all-electric truck unlike anything else on offer here. It is both bigger, stronger and more capable than most you will find on the Norwegian market and is just as good as a family car as it is for work.”
Gardner White, Henry Ford Health, Heart Association Provide Lifesaving Training
Gardner White, Henry Ford Health, and the American Heart Association have teamed up to mark American Heart Month by offering hands-only CPR (HOCPR) and AED training sessions free to the public between noon-4 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Gardner White Hall Road store in Shelby Township. To register to attend a 30-minute training session, visit here.
“Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in America and directly impacts countless individuals and families in our community,” says Rachel Stewart, president of Gardner White. “We are thrilled to partner with Henry Ford Health and the American Heart Association to not only bring awareness to this disease, but to offer the public a free opportunity to learn critical lifesaving skills.”
Every year, the American Heart Association (AHA) estimates more than 350,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting, including 23,000 children. Immediate, effective CPR can double or even triple someone’s odds of surviving, and it is a skill that a child as young as nine years old can learn.
“We are excited to take this opportunity to equip Gardner White employees and customers with the skill to go from bystander to lifesaver very quickly by training them in Hands Only CPR,” says Sara Hegarty, executive director of the American Heart Association of Southeast Michigan. “This is a skill that could save your loved one, friend or co-worker, as the majority of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests will happen in the home or workplace.”
Two Henry Ford Health CPR-certified trainers will be on site to teach attendees how to properly administer “Hand-Only” CPR techniques and demonstrate the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) that may one day help them save a life. Any registered attendee older than 12 years of age can participate in the 30-minute training sessions.
Detroit Cristo Rey High School’s Senior Class Earns 100% College Acceptance
Detroit Cristo Rey High School has announced the senior class of 2024 has received 100 percent acceptance into college for the 13th consecutive year.
This year, students received acceptances to institutions including:
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Michigan
- Carleton College
- Providence College
- Whitman College
- University of Denver
- Kalamazoo College
- Kettering University
- Loyola University Chicago
“Because of our unique academic model, our students become both college ready and career prepared,” says Christopher Lynch, president of Detroit Cristo Rey High School. “Our students begin their freshman year with a mindset that they will go to college. They identify career pathways of interest early on, learn how to apply for financial aid and select colleges and universities of interest. Our entire team is focused on helping our students through their college journey.”
Born in Detroit Creates Apparel Line to Benefit Detroit Youth Choir
Detroit Youth Choir is collaborating with Farmington Hills-based Born in Detroit Apparel, with the launch of an exclusive Detroit Youth Choir apparel line.
A portion of proceeds from the limited-edition apparel line will benefit the Detroit Youth Choir and Performing Arts Co. The collaborative apparel line is available for a limited time through Feb. 25 at BornInDetroit.Store and at DetroitYouthChoir.org (under the parents/students tab).
The Detroit Youth Concert Choir & Performing Arts Co. (DYC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that serves young people throughout the Detroit metropolitan area. It teaches and develops students through music education, dance, and theatrical arts. The program is designed for youth between the ages of 8-18.
The limited-edition apparel is cobranded for Born in Detroit and Detroit Youth Choir and
features a variety of options for children and adults including sweatshirts, hooded sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats, and a backpack.
JARC Announces Direct Care Job Fair Feb. 26-29
JARC, a metro Detroit nonprofit organization serving adults with developmental disabilities in metro Detroit, will conduct a direct care job fair Feb. 26-29 for open positions providing direct care to adults with developmental disabilities in several JARC locations throughout Oakland County.
The hiring event is an opportunity to apply for a position, learn more about the benefits of the job, and meet several key people at JARC as it will take place will take place at nonprofit’s Bloomfield Hills headquarters located in the Max M. Fisher Federation Building (6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 100). JARC’s Direct Care Job Fair event will run from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, with part-time and full-time positions available.
Once hired, direct care employees will complete the state-mandated 40-hour paid training at either JARC’s Bloomfield Hills headquarters or Detroit office located within the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and will be paid for training at a rate of $13.80 per hour.
Both locations have convenient nearby SMART bus stops making transportation easy, and the JARC Employment and Training Room provides a quiet, private space in which laptops, reliable high-speed internet, headphones, snacks, lunch, and other supplies are provided by JARC to use during training. Training can be completed in as short as a week or conveniently scheduled in installments over a longer period based on the applicant’s availability.
Once training is completed, the hourly wage range is $14.75 to $15.75. Direct care worker benefits are activated after 60 days of employment. After 12 months of employment, employees also become eligible for a grant providing assistance for financial hardship that they may face when they incur unexpected expenses, such as car repairs, funeral costs, and more.
For more information, visit jarc.org/careers.
