(WXYZ) — Hey, you're busy — we get it.
We know a lot happens throughout the week, and you may not catch all of our stories here at WXYZ. So we've decided to gather the most talked-about stories from the past week all in one place that you can check out during your free time over the weekend.
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Here are the buzz-worthy stories from the week beginning Dec. 16.
Community comes together to gift SUV to single mother ahead of the holiday
There are few things that say “Merry Christmas” quite like a new car. Especially when it feels like life has been driving you as opposed to you driving it.
Chanprell Anderson, a single mother of six kids in Detroit, received an SUV from Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, Detroit Police Commissioner Darryl Woods, Say Detroit, and Bishop Charles Ellis of Greater Grace Temple at Pershing High School on Monday.
“Thank you, guys, so much. I’m still blown away. I swear I am,” said Anderson. “I definitely didn’t know this was going to happen. I’m thankful. I really am.”
“It’ll be efficient for my kids to get back and forth to school because I was having a hard time," she continued. "I am.”
Pershing principal Bryant Tipton took note of that when observing Anderson’s daughter, who attends the school.
The family didn’t have reliable transportation. That, at times, resulted in Anderson’s daughter missing school. The family was evicted from their home earlier this year and has been living with relatives and in a hotel room.
Staff at Pershing adopted the family for Christmas, and Tipton enlisted other community members to give the family a helping hand for the holidays.
“It’s a deserving family,” said President and CEO of Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, Dr. Chad Audi. “He (Tipton) explained the fact that she is a working mother with six children and we couldn’t do anything but think of fixing the issue that she had.”
Bedrock reveals innovation district plan on stalled Wayne County jail complex site
Bedrock on Tuesday announced a new plan for the site of the stalled Wayne County Criminal Justice Center complex in downtown Detroit.
The plan for the 14-acre site is to create an innovation district centered around life sciences, technology and entrepreneurship.
"I’m happy that there is going to be something in this space. Finally. Finally. I hope it brings business to the city just financially and I really like that there are education ... aspects to it," said Megan Lowe, a Detroit resident.
The focal point of the site, according to Bedrock, will be a 220,000 square foot Life Science Innovation Building, which will be home to a research and outpatient facility aimed at pioneering new medical treatments from BAMF Health.
Other partners in the district include Michigan Innovation Headquarters, Ferris State University, Wayne State University and its TechTown Detroit entrepreneurship hub, and more.
"We’re going to do a whole host of things, everything from helping to train the workforce of the next generation in advanced radiological techniques, to helping early stage companies to grow and commercialize technology, create jobs and save lives," said Ned Staebler, VP of economic development for Wayne State and President and CEO of Tech Town.
A trip to remember: Children with severe illnesses take special flight to North Pole at DTW
About 40 sick and terminally ill children and their parents took the trip of a lifetime Wednesday — to visit Santa on his own turf.
The trip is made possible by a group of retired airline workers, the Silver Liners Motown Chapter, and their partnership with Delta Airlines.
Many of the parents told me they are happy to see their kids be kids, just Like Wesley Johnson's mom, Lisa.
"It's such a relief ... to just be out and not be about hospitals or cancer or anything like that," said Lisa Auge.
At just three years old, Wesley was diagnosed with spinal cancer known as ATRT. Lisa explained that after Wesley took a fall in 2023 after experiencing frequent headaches, they became concerned.
"We kept taking him back to the E.R., and they kept thinking it was a virus, but they ended up finding out that there was a tumor in his spine, like in his neck area," Lisa recounted.
After this diagnosis in 2023, Wesley relapsed this year, sending him back to the hospital to continue his battle with cancer.
"He did total brain and spine radiation. He did 30 rounds of that. And we just started last week an oral at-home chemo. So we just go to the hospital for labs and like dressing changes now," said Lisa.
All of that was pushed to the back of little Wesley's mind today, because he said all he could think about was asking Santa for his Christmas wish: a big stuffed Dinosaur.
What's that up there? Christmas tree on billboard beam off I-75 has spread holiday cheer for decades
Every December, for 40-some years, people driving down I-75 in Detroit have seen a mysterious Christmas tree.
It’s an annual symbol of joy that some say they’ve looked forward to seeing every Christmas for their entire lives.
It was not an easy task to find out who has been placing this tree over a hundred feet up on a silo every year. Eventually, I found the team responsible, and it may surprise you!
"I’d say it has probably been there over 40-something years," said Tonya Davis.
For decades, thousands of people driving along I-75 in southwest Detroit during December have found themselves saying, "is that a Christmas tree?"
Some say that it's part of their drive home for Christmas. Some that it always brings a smile to their face — and most, asking: "Who's doing this?"
"I had no idea who put it up there," said Nik.
To find out, we called Detroit City Council, MDOT, private billboard owners, and finally local cement company St. Mary's Cement.
"It’s surprising once they realize that it's a cement plant here making it happen," said Johnny Spartling, control room operator at St. Mary's Cement.
Johnny has been with St. Mary's Cement since 1985, and tells me the team here has been putting up this tree every December since before he even got here.
We asked, " do you know the origin story of this? Who had the idea that sparked this tradition?"
"It was a supervisor over at the pack house ... the guys over at the pack house decided to put up a tree to celebrate the holiday and it just took off from there," he said.
According to Johnny, the trees are often real, they used to lift them by crane, now it’s by elevator, and it takes a lot of guts to go the 150 feet up and help place the lit Christmas tree at the end of a support beam.
2 Detroit restaurants listed on New York Times' 'best dishes we ate' in 2024
Two Detroit restaurants are getting national attention for being some of the best food eaten by New York Times writers in 2024.
The New York Times released its list this week, with Mike's Famous Ham Place and Leila being included. At Mike's, it's the famous ham sandwich that was on the list.
Sara Bonisteel wrote, "I don’t know if Mike Muftari dreams of ham, but his ham sandwich has been on my mind since May. He’s been plying pork for 50 years at Mike’s Famous Ham Place on a desolate stretch of Michigan Avenue. His is an honest and satisfying sandwich built on a poppy-seed roll, with five or six solid planks of ham, a slice of cheese, a squirt of yellow mustard and some pickles. He sold the business in October, but has stayed on through the end of the year to teach the new owners the ropes. Aside from forms of payment, they don’t plan to change a thing."
The other item on the list was the Lebanese Sundae at Leila in Downtown Detroit.
Bonisteel wrote, "Arriving to the table like a Star Trek tribble ready for a night on the town, this dessert holds your attention from the first bite. Pistachios cover the mop of fairy floss atop the dish, and ashta, the rose-flavored ice cream with hints of orange blossom water, hides underneath the gossamer. The restaurant, on Capitol Park in downtown Detroit, is named for the matriarch of the Eid family, also the owners of Phoenicia, and the menu nods to home cooking. This dessert delights with its simplicity and whimsy."
Could the Detroit People Mover expand beyond Downtown? A study will explore options
The Detroit People Mover could soon be seeing some upgrades. The Detroit Transportation Corporation, the organization behind the rail service, is launching a year-long study to see what long-term and short-term improvements could be made.
Those improvements could include adding new stations, getting rid of some stations or actually expanding the route footprint. On Wednesday, we took a ride on the People Mover with GM Robert Cramer who said the possibilities are endless.
After counting its millionth rider this year, the Detroit Transportation Corporation said it's time for improvements. One person told us he hopes it will eventually mean an expansion past Downtown Detroit.
To determine what changes would be most helpful and feasible, the DTC is launching a year-long, $800,000 study, which will include input from neighbors, landowners and city departments.
"The study could result in a lot of different solutions. Some of them could be expanding the footprint in the track, maybe into some of the neighbors around the downtown area, but the study could also think of better ways to connect people into the system as well. It could be improvements to DDOT routes, the autonomous vehicle shuttle, maybe it’s something like that that could connect people into the station," GM Robert Cramer said.
Walled Lake Northern High School students bring giant toy drop to elementary kids
Walled Lake Northern High School students collected over 5,000 presents for students at Allendale Elementary School. They say they feel every student deserves a good Christmas.
After 10 years of collecting gifts for elementary schools around the area, the drive for Allendale on Thursday broke the record for their largest collection yet. Over 900 boxes were filled with six items each: three to fulfill the students' needs along with three of their wishes.
"It's really cool seeing the looks on all the kids' faces and how surprised they are and appreciative they are of all of this." said Jesse Berman, senior and student council president at Walled Lake Northern High School.
The high school students enlisted the help of their community to gather items and wrap presents.
The generosity of the students holds a deeper meaning in the hearts of Melvindale police officers. The 8-year-old brother of Officer Mohamed Said, who was killed in the line of duty in July, was one of the kids at school who received presents.
Said is survived by his two younger brothers.
"I was wishing my brother was here to see all of this because that's why he wanted to do (it) for his whole life. And that's why he was doing (it) when he was being a police officer," Said's other brother Ahmed said.
As all the kids opened their presents, Ahmed Said and officers said that this act of kindness made the entire community's holiday a little brighter.
"By seeing these gifts, it reminded me of him. He would have been here — he was here. He would have been happy," said Ahmed Said.
