>> just ahead on one detroit mayor mike duggan promotes detroit's comeback in his state of the city address.

nolan finley and stephen henderson offered their thoughts on the mayor's speech better.

plus, we'll check on the state of detroit's pair transit system with the detroit or who relies on the service to get around.

also ahead, a conversation with renowned jazz drummer galen mckinney.

and we'll have suggestions on what you can do this weekend in metro detroit.

it's all coming up next on one detroit.

>> from delta, fossett's behr paint masco corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy the living spaces masco serving michigan communities since nineteen.

twenty-nine support for this program is provided by the cynthia and edsel ford fund for journalism at detroit public tv, the kresge foundation.

>> the dte foundation is a proud sponsor of detroit.

public tv among the state's largest foundations committed to michigan, focused giving we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state visit dte foundation dot com to learn more.

>> nissan foundation viewers like you.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> just ahead on this week's one, detroit as the city of detroit works to improve its paratransit services.

we'll talk with the writer about her experiences and hopes for the system.

plus, one of detroit's most accomplished musicians.

galen mckinney opens up about the obstacle she's faced as a female drummer and one detroit contributor cecelia sharpe offer some ideas on things to do in metro detroit this weekend and beyond.

but first up, detroit mayor mike duggan delivered his tenth state of the city address this week at michigan central station.

the mayor pointed to ford's renovation of the long vacant structure as an example of detroit's ongoing transformation.

one detroit contributor stephen henderson of american black journal and nolan finley of the detroit news sat down to discuss the focal point of the mayor's speech.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> and here's what coleman young said in nineteen eighty-one.

i make no apologies for tax abatements.

the one hundred and sixteen companies that have received abatements have invested nearly five hundred million dollars and all money in detroit and even greater importance, i believe are the three thousand new jobs were brought to that right forty years ago.

coleman young are understood that when you have a good parent company of good paying jobs with benefits every city and state wants and this is hand to hand combat to get these companies in detroit so that our residents can get them and nothing has changed today.

>> the thing i found interesting about this speech was how hard again worked to sell this idea that tax abatements for big billion dollar projects are necessary and, you know, and going back and invoking covid young, quoting coleman young and noting that coleman young did these these tax abatements back in the seventies and eighties.

i mean, he seemed to be really concerned about community pushback, too, to the tax abatements that this in particular, the district detroit developers are going to get.

>> yeah, i mean, there are a lot of questions about and my big question that no one seems to drive us will be able to address is.

but when we were sold, you know, the first round of tax breaks for kind of the modern me that all of downtown detroit, if you think about the stadiums are late nineties, early two thousand, one of the lines that they use was this would make the market more rational and more investor friendly so that we would over time need less of this in order to attract people to develop things.

but here we are.

twenty-three years later and the oranges and stephen ross have asked for by my calculations in raw numbers, the largest subsidy that would ever given anyone and it equals half the development costs.

things seem to be getting worse on that front.

not better.

and so one of the questions is, is this just something that developers and got used to and have decided they want as part of these projects or is it really something that that we need the mayor saying we have to have these things because of high taxes?

i guess i'm not sold and more.

that's the case.

>> well, i i i do believe that detroit is not yet market rate for investors.

i don't know if it'll ever be market rate for investors, but i also believe that as long as these these break season, basements are available, people are going to go from.

i mean, it's become part of the business plan and you see it in every level.

look mean this.

this state of michigan pay a seven hundred thousand dollars per job for that ford battery development out marshall.

so i mean, it's becoming the way business is done today.

now the mayor makes a point that it's not a sub city.

it's not a tax break.

we're not giving them anything because if they didn't build this, we wouldn't get any dollars in taxes off of it.

so we're just getting less dollars in taxes than we might expect.

i don't know.

that's an argument that that washes, but he clearly was concern about getting community by this.

>> yeah, but you know that i also feel like some of that language years deceptive.

this idea that we have moved from subsidies to have a question i back and coleman was was mayor when working assumption right checks to be cool to do this kind of things that will do that anymore.

it is a tax of a bit.

but the idea that there's no cost associated with that, it's not it's not right.

it does give us less tax revenue over time that tax revenue would be used to help support the services needed for the added development.

think about all the things downtown that requires city services and are not doing their share of paying for them.

also, the people who use those services are not doing their fair share of think what they don't live in the city.

you don't pay any taxes.

there are no fees.

there are no or lack size taxes there that are not the things that other cities around the country use to make these things worthwhile for the citizens.

and we do need to start thinking about how we get there in detroit.

>> there's a piece that intrigue me.

i'm steve was what he's doing with this big trying to biden bucks.

he has that the arpa money and the covid money and the community partnerships.

he's trying to build for things like, you know, fighting crime and and building job skills and i'm getting affordable housing.

but the crime one is particularly in training.

you had intrigue, you know, engaging community groups to bid on certain areas.

got ten million dollar pooley up here.

you get a grant for seven hundred, fifty thousand dollars, big neighborhood and see if you can do things to address the root cause of violence and this community.

it works and it will be brilliant.

and you know, there is reason the hope that might work nothing.

yeah, yeah, you know, it's been tried in other places to make sure result.

but i mean, this is a program that's going to take after take a lot of accountability and a lot of oversight when you start doing that kind of money out there and saying, hey, come up with an idea for fighting violence.

yeah, i mean that.

>> the metrics are the key here, right?

how do you decide that what somebody or group is doing is making some someplace safer?

you know, what was how do we define safer?

how do we limit the the the the the threat of a vigil and is a when when you do this kind of thing, not the people.

that's what people so good he is.

but it's a possibility damaging these kind of things and deciding when they work is going to be the hardest part of it at that.

and you're right.

if they can pull that off and get some things that actually have success, it will be it will be great.

but but you do worry about that approach and and how we make sure, but it's and at the actual safety.

>> another priority on the mayor's agenda is making improvements to the city's transportation system for disabled residents.

the city's paratransit services have come under criticism by writers and efforts are underway to find a new long-term provider.

one detroit contributor bryce huffman met up with the frequent writer to find out more about her experiences with the service that.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> it's half past four am on east berry street.

the roads are nearly empty on this early friday morning.

but the trader millettee williams is up and waiting for the pair transit van to arrive getting up.

this early is just part of her weekday routine today.

she's using it to get to her dialysis treatment.

>> on monday said to them, says so i get a one-way trip.

might they start at three o'clock in the morning?

and my wife is from four of the five roundabout ten o'clock.

i'm off the machine and then my family members come and pick me up and then i go to work.

>> and then at the known i get off about two, thirty, so i have another rise scheduled for metro that this monday and on tuesday from nine ago to work and with the back to dallas is their stay walk again and then on fridays.

i do that alice's.

>> then picks up and drops off other passengers on the way to williams treatment.

like many people using the service.

williams is visually impaired.

>> discuss it is legally blind.

so i have vision but not clear.

tastes like a if you put a ziploc bag t i that's what i see.

>> williams has been legally blind.

since twenty ten, she spent ten months in kalamazoo learning to navigate life without full vision.

that included learning how to catch the bus now that she couldn't drive herself.

>> when i came back to detroit, i want to continue that some of the second owls and depending on my girlfriends on my my sons, i france the, you know, different people.

my neighbor to take me back and forth has signed up for metro that.

>> metro lift is detroit paratransit service transportation options specifically for people living with disabilities or other mobility challenges.

williams has been using the service since twenty seventeen.

how do you make the decision to schedule?

>> or get a ride from someone else who went to dallas is on monday.

when you see him friday, when i get up that machine about ten o'clock, i'd be a stream, the sick and weak.

so therefore, if i take metro that it's no telling when i get home and how will make it.

so therefore, my family members come and pick me up on monday with some friday.

everybody got a certain day.

>> in november city council voted against a new contract for transdev.

the company that operated the paratransit service riders who use the service often complain about how unreliable the company was.

william said drivers would leave passengers in the wrong locations, picked him up late and sometimes not pick them up at all.

>> this is some time plus training.

but we do have no other choice.

how we don't get to the doctors.

how we don't get to the grocery store, how we don't get tired.

treat ms a cancer patients since that they do.

they use metro live as well.

maybe all scooters.

it's horrible.

>> detroit's paratransit service could look very different by summer.

however, at the detroit department of transportation office, we sat down with michelle culls be he's the executive director of transit for the city.

>> at the end of last year, obviously there was a little bit of a debate about if there should be a contract extension or or approval for transdev.

a lot of folks in the eighty a community, we're fans of them.

could you briefly describe just kind of how that resolve that so from when they contract was rejected to where we are now?

>> sure, it's a pretty straightforward.

put out an rfp request for proposal for service.

there were two providers that responded.

one was people's and one was trans.

that the end result was that though thirty percent people's express we're approved and the other seventy percent was not.

>> in december, mayor mike duggan used his emergency powers to make a temporary fix to the problem of not.

>> i was really excited that he gave us the tools and do our job and that was to move forward with additional providers to be able to fill that gap.

>> the city started seeking out new bids for the long term contract last month.

>> now that dea dot runs the entire system.

what sort of changes have you noticed as the person in charge of running the system and what have you been hearing from the people who use the pair transit system?

>> well, i will tell you, we took it over the beginning of the year and the response has been like night and day.

they like the customer service.

we're providing professional service.

we are hand and complaints expeditiously.

and the overall general response is very positive.

>> but what do people who rely on the system like william say about the new companies providing service and how does she compare to transdev?

>> you rode with people's express today.

if you could rate them out of ten, what would you rate people's express and then what would you rate transdev out of ten?

>> okay.

people as they always have a good drivers and therefore one thing i like about people's now, they have cars so that a lot of seniors that can i get up in those high bays can get in a little car.

so i say they service for now.

i give them about eight and a half.

>> okay.

it's pretty good in what about trans tense zero.

and as for the long-term solution with six months from now, what do you want to see happen?

what would you like to see dot do?

>> i would like to be consistent with that drivers.

consistent is a clean thing.

take your u c c news, get out of it and help them win.

you know, they hand the camp and they barely can get a hand.

>> i'm definitely be own timeline.

>> i know sometimes hard to do that because when you're working with a large cities more than one client.

so what thousand rise today?

>> the department of justice is now looking to ensure the city isn't violating the americans with disabilities act by failing disabled passengers.

>> so i in the stands are, but they need a better system, a much better system than what we have now.

>> march is women's history month and one detroit is placing the spotlight on one of detroit's trailblazing female musicians, renowned jazz drummer galen.

mckinney has made her mark playing an instrument that is traditionally more popular.

among men, mckinnie sat down with one detroit contributor, cecelia sharpe to talk about the barriers she's broken through as a female drummer.

her work with the all female jazz band straight ahead and the launch of her women who drum festival last year.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> and we are celebrating women's history month celebrating women in music.

and my guest today is one of detroit minus drummers missus, gay lynn mckinney.

welcome to the show.

thank you.

thank you.

thank you for that and say absolutely.

now gay, when you come from a musical family, your father's, the legendary harold mckinney here, mothers, a well-known singer.

your siblings are musicians, trumpeters singer's you name it.

>> you're so you had no choice.

but to become a musician here started playing drums at the age of two.

i got my first official estimate nine for my danny governor says, oh, he's valued anymore.

but he also started teaching me officially lie movements and things like that at nine.

>> so what made you because you are playing the clarinet and saxophone.

you were great.

you already beat out the first chair.

you challenge the first chair saxophonist within your first month of play and won.

>> what made you?

>> stick with the drums.

nobody knew play jones to one particular day.

the drums were out and this what there?

that's not a plan on the snare and wants to everybody and their brother class.

it is looking at me like, oh, my gosh, islam but rove and clearly obviously without doing so that that was very surprising to everyone.

and so after that day, i was standing at the bus that on my way, home from school and those little girls looking at the light.

that's like.

>> let's start with you.

as you said, you're playing the drums and that's it.

this is that we girl has a i know that is is that but to planted roles.

so yeah, she said, well, good not supposed to be playing this role.

the draws up a boy.

haha.

wow.

as you really that really hurt my feelings.

bike.

well up a girl.

i like to put it all.

my father came home.

>> from new york one monday, you have been doing some music there and he didn't know how we'll still a huge isamu.

you never knew.

i was thinking about quitting.

and so he just came in all excited.

>> and guess what?

that's what i saw.

another little girl playing the drones.

so ellie, his the yeah.

yeah, yeah.

she was playing with clark, terry and she's about two years by.

he is some tennessee say.

>> and that drummond was terri lynn, karen to.

>> as that was all data is needed to know.

>> that there was some other girl planet system because it was i i never saw any of the girl plan is to me when i was coming up playing the drums.

>> i didn't think that you would face flacco to for lack of a better word, but catching heat from girls for from playing drums.

so did you find that you were more welcomed by the guys or?

>> it was just that one little girl, really.

this is something about it.

the the boy was just what you know they would be.

i think there was shock.

haha, exactly the thing that they so as i got my that you years, though, that's when i really started to see some guys that they were quite the happy that i was planning on special.

do a damn sessions.

we felt we will come straight ahead.

[MUSIC] >> right after college, you joined a group called straight ahead and off female jazz ensemble.

how did that fan come about?

>> that bag came about thanks to a woman named mickey braden who was trying to find some musicians to perform at this club called birthplace.

and it used to be jefferson right across from our plaza and she couldn't find anybody.

everybody was busy.

so she called me, as you said, hey, kayla.

and i'm trying to put a band together for the first place for monday night gig and know monday is not a good night.

but i guess we're started circulating that there was all female deaths to plan.

and like i said, we were tiptoeing through the tulips moves in.

so but the next couple of weeks, couple years later, we had like twenty people coming to cuba by the end of the second month.

>> you know the line going out that of the first on a monday on monday from people want to see this all female group.

[MUSIC] >> last year in twenty, twenty-two you launched festival.

women who draw tell us about that festival and the mission and purpose of women who drowned.

>> so i started this thing because i play baker's people allows on fridays and saturdays.

but the great wealth on strong and ride gives i've been doing this now for since february.

twenty-one.

and you know that almost every weekend, one bite out of that we can sometimes tonight that we can still buy said, wow.

>> you're the first woman to ever saying.

>> that's when the idea came to me.

i said, well, most of the special because people here just to see and know that this morning, just me out here.

we're on the what they love before me.

i love playing for people, especially.

>> who appreciated as a feel of the good to give them a show.

if you come to see me, i feel obligated to do so.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] you can see from some of you something that so that to you good, you know, leave happy because you're going to put my all into it.

you know?

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> and you can see galen mckinney perform at the dirty dog jazz, can't they?

through march eleven?

now let's take a look at some of the other events and activities in the detroit area this weekend and beyond.

here's cecelia sharpe, wr cj ninety point nine with today's one detroit weekend.

>> high on c sharp with ninety point nine wrc j the weekend is so close.

here are some fun things to check out in and around the detroit area this weekend and into next interested in taking in some contemporary fine arts.

you can head to cass corridor to check out the multi artist exhibition.

residents reference gallery kamil on saturday march.

eleventh groove to the music of the legendary stevie wonder with the detroit city jazz orchestra.

plus at the dso skew.

i have so many favor.

stevie wonder songs, but don't you always feel good when you hear sir duke, what's your favorite and the academy award goes to?

well, we won't know until sunday night, but if you're wanting to experience the magic of cinema, detroit film theater is showing this year's oscar nominated short films on the big screen through saturday march eleventh on sunday march twelve step africa takes to the stage at hill auditorium in ann arbor.

this dance company is dedicated to the african-american tradition of stepping enjoy their blend of percussive dance styles from historically african american fraternities and sororities contemporary dance and art forms and traditional western southern african dances.

it all makes for a high energy performance you won't want to miss.

>> there's so much happening around the city.

here's more of what's coming up ahead.

hope to see you around.

have a fantastic weekend.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> that will do it for this week's one.

detroit.

thanks for watching.

head to the one detroit website for all the stories we're working on.

follow us on social media and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

[MUSIC] >> from delta fossett's behr paint masco corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy the living spaces masco serving michigan communities since nineteen.

twenty-nine support for this program is provided by the cynthia and edsel ford fund for journalism at detroit public tv, the kresge foundation.

>> the dte foundation is a proud sponsor of detroit.

public tv among the state's largest foundations committed to michigan, focused giving we support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state visit dte foundation dot com to learn more.

>> nissan foundation.

viewers like you [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC]