SS Peter & Paul celebrates its 95th anniversary

SS Peter and Paul Church - Photo by Frank Nemecek

One of the oldest establishments in Detroit's Warrendale neighborhood, SS Peter & Paul Catholic Church (7685 Grandville Ave.), will celebrate its 95th anniversary this week. The church will have a special anniversary mass at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 1, which will be presided by Bishop Donald F. Hanchon.

To commemorate the Polish-American heritage of the parish, this special mass will be celebrated in both English and Polish. Everyone is welcome to attend, especially those who used to be a part of the SS. Peter and Paul community.

This mass will also celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, which is the special feast day for the patron saints of this parish. The actual feast day for the Apostles Peter and Paul will be on Friday, June 29 in accordance with the liturgical calendar. However, the parish will celebrate this feast day and their 95th anniversary on the following Sunday.

More information about this special event can be found on the Facebook page for SS. Peter & Paul Catholic Church or their website.

Ford announces their plans for Michigan Central Station

The crowd as Ford Motor Co. announces its plans for Michigan Central Station - Photo by Frank Nemecek

Ford Motor Company officially announced its intentions to renovate the long-vacant Michigan Central Station in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood this morning. Company chairman Bill Ford declared that the train station will once again be a place of possibility; a crucial part in their strategy to ensure that Detroit remains the "mobility capital of the world."

There will be a lot more details coming in the weeks and months to follow. The key takeaway, though, is that Ford Motor Company will continue to have a strong presence in Dearborn while expanding its foothold in Corktown, where it already has offices.

This, in my opinion, is huge news. With Ford making large investments in Dearborn and Corktown, it can only mean good things for adjacent neighborhoods like Warrendale.

Open Letter to Keith Crane

The editor-in-chief of Crain's Detroit Business, Keith Crain, published an op-ed recently that was highly critical of dedicated bicycle lanes in Detroit. I wrote a response to him, which my readers will find below.

If Mr. Crain responds to me, I'll be certain to include his rebuttal in a future post. Without further ado, I present my open letter to Keith Crain.

_________________

Dear Keith Crain:

You seem confused by the City of Detroit's decision to install bike lanes in many parts of the Motor City. You even asked whose idea it was and why you didn't hear about it before those municipal bureaucrats began implementing it.

Since you asked, I'll answer.

The idea of adding bike lanes was discussed extensively when Detroiters began debating the future of our city. There were several meetings about this back in 2011 - 12 where residents, business owners, and other stakeholders came together to consider our options as part of the Detroit Works Project and, later, the Detroit Future City project.

Adding bike lanes and offering residents and visitors multiple options to get where they need to go were one of the many principles that were discussed and agreed to.

I'm not surprised that you weren't familiar with this, though. Crain's Detroit Business was the only media outlet in southeastern Michigan that didn't cover those meetings. In order to avoid confusion like this in the future, I suggest that you pick up a subscription to the Detroit Free Press.

Your pal,
Frank