We are in the second month of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike, but this week we’ve had a new player enter the labor rights chat — the Detroit Casino Council (which includes several unions representing workers). For the first time, workers at all three of Detroit’s casinos are striking for better wages and benefits. The casinos are still open and operating but have begun making some adjustments. Hollywood Greektown, MotorCity Casino and MGM Grand Detroit are all open for gambling but each lists some site closures.
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Keep reading for your weekly news roundup. Have more to talk about? Email me at alex@outliermedia.org.
What’s happening
⛲️ Michigan will soon require all schools and daycare centers to provide filtered drinking water. You might think this would already be a thing, but Michigan is the first state in the country to impose the requirements. Schools have until the end of the 2025-2026 school year to install at least one faucet filter or bottle-filling station for every 100 children. The new legislation is a part of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state of Michigan’s ongoing fight against child lead exposure. In 2021, Michigan had the fourth highest rate of children with elevated lead levels. (Bridge Michigan)
🌭 Detroit coneys are getting a little more Midwest competition as Chicago hot dog chain Portillo’s readies to open its second metro Detroit location next year. Opening near the already crowded Middlebelt and I-96 intersection in Livonia, the restaurant will have a dining area with seating for over 175 people and a seasonal outdoor patio. While we might enjoy a dog or sausage stacked with pickles, peppers and tomatoes, just as with pizza, Detroit’s way to do things is always better. (Portillo’s, Crain’s Detroit Business, Block Club Chicago, Eater Detroit)
✈️ You don’t need to catch a flight to dine at western outposts of Anita’s Kitchen, Plum Market and Atwater Brewery in DTW — Detroit Metro Airport has expanded its Destination Pass program, allowing nonticketed visitors to access terminals, 5 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Fingers crossed we witness a ’90s romcom “race through the airport” moment during holiday travel. (If that’s you, you’ll just have to scan your ID at a security kiosk before you start running.) (DTW, Detroit Free Press, TV Tropes)
More to talk about
🐰 Bad Bunny is bringing his “Most Wanted Tour” to Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena next spring. (Freep)
🍸 A new speakeasy is opening this month above one of Detroit’s favorite German bars. (Detroit News)
🍗 Thanks to Drake, you can score a free chicken sandwich at one of metro Detroit’s five Dave’s Hot Chicken locations on Tuesday. (Free food’s never a bad idea when you need some good publicity…) (Metro Times, Independent, Men’s Health)
🎉 Looking to get out of the house? There’s plenty happening around Detroit this weekend. (Outlier)