DETROIT – There was much excitement in the McDougall-Hunt neighborhood on Detroit’s east side.
Many community members and supporters gathered around Bailey Park on Monday (Oct. 28) to celebrate a milestone.
The group celebrated planting the 25,000th tree under an ambitious program.
“It’s about tree equity,” said Katrina Watkins with the Bailey Park Neighborhood Development Corporation. “Neighborhoods like McDougal-Hunt, we have a lack of trees. And there’s a lack of tree equity and park equity. And that’s the type of equity that we’re trying to create.”
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The Detroit Tree Equity Program is part of a public-private partnership that launched in 2022 between the city of Detroit, a nonprofit called The Greening of Detroit, DTE, and other agencies.
The partnership’s goal is to advance urban forestry.
“Just two years in, the project has had enormous impact already,” said Lionel Bradford of The Greening of Detroit.
The project’s plan is three-fold, according to Bradford. It aims to:
Ultimately, plant more than 75,000 trees
Train residents on tree care and maintenance, and
Raise and invest millions of dollars in the neighborhoods most in need of a tree canopy
Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, who chairs the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, strongly supports the urban tree equity initiative.
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“We know this is more than just about trees and planting trees,” said Stabenow. “It’s about people. It’s about communities and neighborhoods.”
Residents are optimistic the partnership will reach its goal of planting 75,000 trees.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said city crews were busy cutting thousands of dead trees a while back.
Now, he said the requests from many neighbors are far different.
“Now, when I’m in the neighborhoods, they’re not saying, ‘Cut down trees,’” said Duggan. “They’re saying, ‘Can we have those new trees that you guys are out there doing.’”
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Click here for more information about the Detroit Tree Equity Program or how to get involved.
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The Detroit Tigers ended a rocky relationship with a former draft selection last off season, and that player now looks to be on the verge of stardom with another new home this winter.
Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report examined the upcoming MLB free agency class to find players that could become superstars if given a new home. Tigers second round draft pick turned Philadelphia Phillies breakout pitcher Spencer Turnbull was on the list.
“Turnbull’s stuff got significantly better this season. This had much to do with his new sweeper, though he also boasts a pretty good curveball and changeup,” said Rymer. “Clearly, the 1.67 ERA that he posted in six starts out of the gate in April didn’t come out of nowhere. A team should sign him in hopes that there will be more where that came from if he can stay healthy. Ideally, that team will have a home park that is less punishing to pitchers than Citizens Bank Park.”
The path to the MLB was never going to be a straightforward one, following his interesting career with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
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He wasn’t exactly the type of pitcher that created a ton of excitement. He wasn’t lighting up a speedometer and didn’t strike many batters out, but he figured something out during his final year to help him force bad contact.
Detroit brought him in and hoped to refine his control issues, because he did have the makeup of a reliable starter or long relief option.
As a prospect, he peaked as the seventh-ranked player in the farm system, but was down to No. 15 by the time that he made his debut.
The Alabama native had shown flashes of greatness, despite leading the MLB in losses as a rookie with 17. He was never really given the chance to establish himself, though.
His biggest issue is that he can never stay healthy. Despite his early success with the Phillies this year, he still has only pitched at least 57 innings in a season once.
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The most devastating injury that Turnbull faced during his time with the Tigers was the Tommy John surgery in the summber of 2021 that cost him all of his 2022 and most of his 2023 campaigns.
It came right after he pitched his first and only career no-hitter, the first in Detroit in a decade.
The 31-year-old proved that he can still compete this season after signing a one-year prove it deal with Philadelphia. He posted a 2.65 ERA with his staple low-hit numbers.
If he can finally stay healthy with his new team next year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him fully break out.
The forecast to end October calls for two days of historic heat, followed by a soggy, chilly night of trick-or-treating on Halloween.
Temperatures in Metro Detroit are expected to reach record highs Tuesday and Wednesday, before dipping Thursday evening amid steady rain and wind, National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Manion said.
“We have forecasted highs (Tuesday afternoon) in the upper 70s and in some spots it’ll touch 80,” Manion said. “For (Tuesday), that compares to a record 77 degrees that was set in 1999; and tomorrow, the high is 76, which was also set in 1999, and we’ll likely break that, also.”
The average high this time of year is around 56, according to NWS data.
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A cold front is expected to move in Thursday evening, Manion said.
“We’ll have above-normal temperatures in the 70s Thursday, but later on, the temperatures will drop, and it’ll get rainy and breezy,” Manion said. “By Friday, things will be back to normal, with temperatures in the low 50s for the entire Metro Detroit area.”
Manion said two factors are driving the unseasonably warm weather Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We have a jet stream that’s doing a decent job of keeping the arctic air north of us when the stream is north, which is is now,” he said. “Also, we have a high-pressure system off to the east, and when it’s positioned that way, a lot of the air that typically sits in the desert southwest and the central southern plains get pushed here to settle in the Great Lakes region.”
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