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Our WBEZ colleague Robin Amer provides us with this story of rejuvenation — and it could only take place in Detroit.

Thunderdrome is back. It’s the story of a velodrome, a banked bicycle track used in competitive cycling. This one, in Detroit’s Dorais Park, hosted track nationals in 1969 and produced three world champions, all women, before it became abandoned and overgrown in the 1980s.

It was literally unearthed by one of the city’s vigilante lawn-mower gangs — people who mow the lawns at city parks because the city cannot afford to do so. The velodrome, on the city’s east side, was repaired by racing enthusiasts who cut down trees growing in its center and invested thousands of dollars of their own money and over 4,000 lbs of concrete fixing its surface. And now, it has come back to life as home to a variety of competitions.

The Thunderdrome rumbles back into Detroit this Saturday for its second year in a row at the rejuvenated track. The series features races between a range of motorized and human-powered bikes, including mopeds, pit bikes, mini-bikes, geared road bikes, and even go-karts.

Last year’s race turned up 123 competitors and over 500 spectators, says Andy Didorosi, 24, one of Thunderdrome’s founders and organizers. This year’s series has been expanded to three dates, the first of which is Saturday.

The second installation will take place in Kalamazoo at the Gilmore Car Museum on June 12, and the series will conclude back at Dorais Park on September 10.

Racing costs $20 ahead of time, for those who register online and $25 on Saturday. Spectators get in for free. Didorosi says that 100 percent of this year’s proceeds will go back into future repairs for the track. He wants to ensure the longevity of the event. After all, he asks, “Where else anywhere in the world is there an abandoned race track where kids can throw a zany race?”

Posted in BizTechCivic AffairsEntrepreneurialismEventsFreeHotPoliticsSarah Valek

[ May 11, 2011; 5:00 am; ] Wed 5/11 @ 10:30AM Explore the importance of immigration to our unique community -- specifically University Circle -- in Circle Neighbors: Immigration & Why it Matters to University Circle, a free lecture @ CMA. Info: "Chris Ronayne, President, University Circle Inc. will introduce co-authors of Immigration, Inc. Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy (and [...]

Check out the Community information toolkit from the Knight Foundation and the Monitor Institute.

It’s rare that a Detroit anchorman gets an interview with the president. But Stephen Clark of WXYZ-TV sat down with President Barack Obama at the White House this week, and grilled the president on the top issues facing people in Michigan and across the region.

Clark told the president that while the unemployment figures may be dropping, many people in Michigan say they do not feel there are many more job opportunities. Obama said he gets thousands of letters each day from families still looking for work.

“I mean they’ve done all the right things, they’re retraining, they are out there hitting the streets, knocking on doors, looking for work,” the president said. “The economy has grown, we’ve actually seen 2 million private sector jobs created over the last 13 months but it’s not happening as fast as people would like and certainly not as fast as I would like.”

Much of the interview focused on rising energy prices. Obama said there’s no silver bullet. “Families day to day are driving to work and they’re just watching their paychecks get whittled away,” the president said. “They need some relief.”

Obama said the growing economy has increased demand for oil world wide, whle unrest in places like Libya has “spooked the world oil market.”

He said his administration is already working with automakers in Detroit to increase fuel efficiency standards and alternative fuel vehicles to help reduce the demand for oil. He also said the U.S. has to continue oil production, adding that it must be done in a safe way to avoid any future disasters like last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion.

Obama said the economy, which was shedding jobs, is now growing and adding jobs. He said his administration will keep working to create long-term jobs until every American who wants a job can get one.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, visited Chicago today to tape one of the final episodes of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” That episode is set to air on Monday.

Here is Clark’s interview with the president. (Feedback for Clark? Find him on Twitter @sclarkwxyz. He convenes a Twitter group each newscast called #Backchannel.)

Posted in BizTechEatsEventsHotMusic: PopularNewPartyPerformanceSarah Valek

[ April 30, 2011; 7:00 am; ] Fri 4/29 @ 7PM Palookaville Chili is finally opening! Grab a cup-o-soul and rock out to live sets by Fangs Out, Little Bighorn, Milk and Cookies, and Crave. BYOB. Music starts at 8PM. And... this is the final destination of Cleveland Critical Mass so why not join the ride beforehand! 3900 Lorain Ave. - Cle http://PalookavilleChili.com [Click here to [...]

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Cool Cleveland iPhone App Now Available Now you can receive all the cool NEWS, EVENTS and VIDEOS updated 24/7 on your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. (Android app coming soon). The coolest part? You can forward your favorite news, events and videos to your Facebook and Twitter accounts, and even send them via [...]

Home sales prices have been one of the most watched economic indicators during the Great Recession. So when a new set of numbers came out today, reporters nationwide jumped on the data. Changing Gears noticed a little line in the press release that read “Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Phoenix, Portland (OR) and Washington D.C. saw improvements in their annual rates of return in February versus January; New York was unchanged.”

 

 

Improved? In Cleveland and Detroit? Really?

After reading headlines all day about how Cleveland prices are still below what they were in 2000, and Detroit is as much as 30 percent below 2000 home sale prices, this one little word – improved – prompted us to call Standard & Poor’s ourselves. We’re glad we did.

David Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P said all that means is that between February of 2011 and February of 2010, things improved more than they did between January of this year compared to January of last year. Overall, he said, things are still only inching up.

Blitzer said it’s hard to get a clear picture of what a normal year would look like, let alone how much we might be improving. He said it looks like home prices “have been creeping up a little bit” but not advancing strongly.

“I don’t think the news is predominantly good at all,” he said. “And if you dig in you’ll find more negatives than positives.

Blitzer said if there is any good news in the latest home sales prices, it’s that things “could be a whole lot worse.”

Starting in 2003, home sales prices shot up until around 2006, only to come crashing back down in the spring of 2009. Since then, prices have been bouncing around. Some things, like the New Home Buyers Tax Credit have caused slight increases, while at other times the prices have dipped. Blitzer said it’s also important to keep in mind that different cities hit their bottom at different times. Most cities bottomed out around the spring of 2009, but Detroit hit its lowest home prices this past January.

I figured as long as I had him on the phone, I could ask him a whole host of other questions, like why we use 2000 as the year to compare home sale prices to and if this means it’s a good time to buy a house. You can find out the answers to those questions, and listen to the full interview below.

 

Posted in BenefitBizTechEventsGreenHealthyHotOutdoorsSarah ValekScienceShopLOCALWorkshop

[ April 29, 2011; 8:00 pm; ] Fri 4/29 @ 8AM - 12PM You can have a beautiful lawn without spraying your yard with toxic pesticides and herbicides. The Cleveland Botanical Garden will show you how on Fri 4/29 at a special program dedicated to best lawn and landscape practices. Learn how to address issues of safe and affordable turf care, organic turf [...]

Posted in BenefitBizTechEventsGreenHealthyHotOutdoorsSarah ValekScienceShopLOCALWorkshop

[ April 29, 2011; 8:00 pm; ] Fri 4/29 @ 8AM - 12PM You can have a beautiful lawn without spraying your yard with toxic pesticides and herbicides. The Cleveland Botanical Garden will show you how on Fri 4/29 at a special program dedicated to best lawn and landscape practices. Learn how to address issues of safe and affordable turf care, organic turf [...]

Next week, Changing Gears teams with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to look at the future of the Midwest music scene. This week, we want to hear about your favorites out there today. Who’s the best band or performer with Midwest roots?

Tell us why you like their music — and include any links you want, from YouTube to a URL. We’ll take all suggestions — singers, duos, groups. Indie or big stars, up and coming artists and veterans. Post them below, or tweet @ChGears with #MidwestMusic.

We’re thinking rock, but if there’s somebody else you think we ought to know about, like a country band, jazz singer or rapper, let us hear about them. We’ll put together a list and add to it as you suggest more.

Having trouble thinking of artists from the Midwest? Here are a few videos to get you started.