(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.
Have a story idea or tip? Feel free to let us know using the contact form below.
Here are the buzz-worthy stories from the week beginning Jan. 13.
'I'm doing good.' 8-year-old survivor of Rochester Hills splash pad shooting learning echolocation
It’s been five months since I first sat down with survivors of the mass shooting at the Rochester Hills splash pad last June, and I’m happy to share the remarkable progress they’ve made and highlight the help coming in from all over the world.
“I feel happy in how good I’ve been doing. Sort of maybe a little bit proud,” said Janek Bebout.
At just 8 years old, Janek has overcome so much.
The survivor of the shooting last summer, he’s navigating his way through life after a gunshot wound took away his eyesight.
Janek’s parents Joshua and Johanna invited me to their home to show me the steps Janek is now taking to learn echolocation.
It’s a way of processing what’s around him by measuring sound coming back through clicks; he calls it “click training.”
Janek’s teachers are both living without their vision. Juan and Daniel traveled by plane from Vienna and Australia after they saw his story.
“When I contacted Juan, I sent them the story and it gave them the whole picture. That really connected us. The story helped big time not only in this but in different ways,” said Johanna.
“I’m really happy and excited because I’m going to learn click training and it’s going to be really cool,” said Janek.
He said, “Everything sounds different. You need to learn what things sound like. If you click in front of the fridge, it would sound different than if you clicked in front of the stove.”
I asked him what are some of the things he is doing now that he couldn’t before.
“At the very beginning I couldn’t walk, now I can walk,” said Janek.
“I like to go outside and play in the snow when it snows,” he said. “I’m doing really good at my cane. I’m doing really good at braille and stuff.”
Emotions of the past few months have run the gambit, from sadness to joy,
Johanna tells me she’s never been more proud of her youngest Julen and Janek for not letting a horrific experience define them.
“He moves around the house as if nothing ever happened. He used the bathroom. Feeds himself. Goes upstairs with his brother in the playroom. They play independently without me,” said Johanna.
Daniel and Juan echoed that message as they let us follow along both inside.
And outside their home, Janek is beginning to feel out and identify trees, mailboxes and trash bins along his own street, all with his hearing ability.
With each click, another glimpse of freedom and independence.
“I’m learning how to do it. It’s not a thing you can do immediately but you need to learn it,” said Janek.
He added, “you can ride your bike and go hiking in the mountains, when you click you can know what’s in front of you.”
Josh said it’s been a whirlwind.
“Changing of thoughts and how we live our life, how we organize our life and set up a successful pathway,” he said.
Supporting one another, this family is sharing their sense of feeling empowered now with optimism for what’s ahead.
“Echolocation is like seeing but using sound instead of light,” said Daniel. “It completely transforms people’s confidence, sense of surroundings, people’s ability to navigate comfortably.”
Planning a future centered around being free from fear or limitations is a goal trainers Daniel and Juan say Janek is already starting to achieve.
“It gives you a perceptual radius much wider than your cane does. Essentially, you are able to detect objects as much as 300 meters away, like a building or something like that,” said Juan.
He added, “as a blind person you have to be a problem solver.”
“He’s highly, highly adaptable. Creative, ingenious and a pleasure to work with,” said Daniel.
Since the splash pad shooting, Joshua also says Janek has learned just how much the community has rallied around him and his family.
“People reach out, send cards, ask to bring over food. ‘Can I help in any way?’” said Johanna.
Josh said, “it’s so nice to have you now in our home, talking about such a position development in this story. I’m so happy to have this day with everybody here.”
Janek’s appearance is also different since we first spoke, another major milestone that’s part of recovery.
“He had to wear the helmet you saw on the last interview and he had that removed Dec. 5th. The bone flap removed from the side of his skull has been replaced,” said Josh.
He added, “that is completely healed and his hair grows back, you won’t even see the scar any longer. No matter what life throws at him, he goes through it with a grace. I’m not sure where he gets it.”
Daniel said, “it’s not about what we see, it’s about who we are, how we feel and what we do.”
Along with his immense courage and profound strength, Janek recognizes recovery is a long road. He believes additional research will lead to the ability to repair his optic nerves one day.
“One thing that I want to be able to do and I know it’s going to happen, is that I’m going to be able to see again,” said Janek.
When asked what helps him be strong, he said: “I have so many people that love me and I get supported.”
Josh adds, “he is such a positive person. Even this shooting, tragedy and loss of eyesight, and yet he’s laughing. It’s like it doesn’t bother him sometimes.”
Both his younger brother Julen and Johanna are also healing from their own gunshot wounds.
This family’s path forward, a shining symbol of overcoming unthinkable adversity.
“That day back in June took more than his vision, it stole some of his freedom. He was thrown into a world he wasn’t familiar with. Now, with Daniel and Juan, he’s getting tools he can use to be a successful person,” said Josh. “To take your child who was robbed of his vision, and have a tool to give him some freedom over his own life, and to be able to navigate through the world as a non-sighted person is remarkable.”
Janek’s parents tell me he’s scheduled to undergo surgery again to regain control of his eyelid, part of a journey that continues to showcase his strength.
Detroit public school's Perfect Attendance Pays program sees progress
An initiative paying students for perfect attendance is appearing to pay off after its first two weeks for Detroit Public Schools Community District.
"Right now, the incentive is working. So apples to apples, we've had an increase at least for the first, call it the first five days of school, an increase of 1,800 students having perfect attendance the first week of school back in January because of the incentive. Now obviously, we'll continue to track that," Superintendent Nikolai Vitti explained in Tuesday's board meeting.
The goal is to boost attendance and combat chronic absenteeism, which the district has struggled with.
The district will provide high school students with the opportunity to earn a gift card valued at $200 every time they have perfect attendance during a two-week cycle, or 10 school days in a row.
The two-week cycles will run through March 21, giving qualifying students an opportunity to earn up to $1,000 in gift cards.
"I mean, it sounds like why should you have to pay them but in actuality, this district got over $1.27 billion in COVID funding," parent Aliya Moore said. "I feel like it’s a long time coming to just give the students some incentives to come to school."
Moore's daughter is a ninth grader who rarely misses a day.
"She was talking on the phone with her friends and she’s told me some things she’s planning on buying,” Moore said.
Parent Danny Foster hopes for a more long-lasting approach to tackle students not wanting to attend.
“If it works. It’s not just about coming to school, but it's also to complete it and get something out of it," Foster said. "If you're just gonna pay them to come, that's not going to achieve anything. So I think it has to be you come to school, you work on your grades because that’s what the bottom line of it should be."
Moore added that long term, she also thinks addressing transportation issues will help with chronic absenteeism.
"I think the district needs to focus on providing more reliable transportation," Moore said.
It does have nearby districts like Warren Consolidated Schools paying attention.
"You have to give Dr. Vitti and Detroit credit for raising awareness on this issue. Absenteeism is really something I think a lot of districts have really been struggling with over the last couple of years. In Warren Consolidated Schools, we've seen more chronic absenteeism in the last couple of years than we have really in years before the pandemic. So the idea that they've taken this initiative to raise awareness and folks are talking about the importance of going to school. I give them a lot of credit for that," Superintendent John Bernia said."Certainly, education research is mixed when it comes to incentive programs for the purposes of attendance. In the short term, they seem to work, but in the long term, it's a mixed bag as to how effective it could be.”
Bernia added that coming to school is one the most important skills kids can learn.
Ypsilanti apartment complex tenants speak out about horrible living conditions
The Arbor One apartments on Green Road in Ypsilanti are under close watch after city officials say many units aren’t up to code.
One unit that we saw was condemned.
“You see the notice on the door, it says mold… water damage,” said Leslie Acklin of Ypsilanti.
Acklin’s sister, Lisa Cole, used to live in the apartment that has that red notice on the door. Cole died on January 9th.
Acklin recently reached out to us, wanting to highlight what was going on in her sister’s apartment.
“There’s no reason to why she had to live in these horrid conditions,” said Acklin.
Cole’s apartment was condemned about a week before she died.
Pictures show some of the inside of the unit.
You can see a broken toilet and exposed installation in the bathroom.
Cole’s son, Izaiah Herrell, lived with his mom in the apartment.
“The bathroom in our house was really messed up because it was water leaking from the second floor,” said Izaiah Herrell, Lisa Cole’s son.
As 7 News Detroit reporter Tiarra Braddock was talking to Acklin and her nephew, another Arbor One tenant approached me wanting to share his concerns with his apartment.
“Welcome to my half a door, fallen home,” said tenant John Parker.
Parker says many things need to be fixed in his apartment, including his heat, water, plus more.
“We went to shut the door the other day, our whole door knob fell off,” said Parker. “Here’s my knob, here’s my screw, but this thing is so messed up that you have to use pliers to turn it on, it won’t do it by itself.”
I went to the Arbor One management office to speak with someone, but there was no answer at the door.
I was able to speak with Washtenaw County Commissioner Annie Sommerville about the issues the tenants were facing. She was at the apartment complex on Wednesday.
“We’re trying to get tenants at Arbor One information about their legal rights: how to contact legal aid and just explaining to them what it means to put rent in escrow,” said Sommerville.
Sommerville added that the county is working with the city of Ypsilanti to make sure Arbor One’s management gets the apartments up to code.
“They reached out to us to say, 'Hey, there are a lot of problems, we’ve been doing building inspections, and we’re noticing issues with heat and sewage backup,'” said Sommerville.
County Commissioner Somerville and her team will be back at Arbor One Apartments on Friday starting at 11 am.
'What's next?' Consumers, restaurants feel the impact of rising egg prices
Rising egg prices may scramble grocery budgets.
Looking at the most recent averages, the cost of a dozen eggs doubled from 2023 to 2024. After a spike early last year, it seemed like the prices stabilized.
Eggs are an essential on many peoples’ grocery lists, but the high prices and low supply are impacting more than just the consumer.
Robin Jones says she buys them at least once a week for her family.
"I love it in my salads, breakfast, everything," Jones said.
She says she's noticed a recent hike in prices.
"It was maybe about four or five dollars for a carton. Now, it's like 8, 9 dollars," Jones said. "It's scary. It's like what's next?"
The owner of Martin's Coney Island in Southfield says he's also feeling the burn of the high prices. Sokol’s restaurant goes through more than 3,000 eggs a week.
"We used to pay about 40 bucks for a case of eggs. Now, we're paying about 110 (dollars)," he said.
We spoke with Sokol back in September about a similar story. Now, a few months later, he says he says he's forced to consider raising his prices.
"It's unfortunate, but we do have to do that in order to survive," he said.
For the grocery store Market Fresh in Beverly Hills, manager Rich Dawdy says it's the low supply of eggs that's impacting them the most.
"We're getting about 20% of what we would normally get," Dawdy said. "We're doing the best we can and we do have eggs."
But why are we still seeing high egg prices and low supply? According to University of Michigan economics professor Ariel Shwayder, it's most likely the bird flu and not the new cage-free egg law that went into effect in the state on Dec. 31, 2024.
"Because we're having to kill off flocks, the supply is down and that's causing the price to go up," Shwayder said.
As for what to expect next, he says consumers can monitor the avian flu outbreak.
"That would be the thing that I would be looking at is keeping track of that and if the number of flocks where this is detected keeps going up, then we should expect egg prices to keep going up. If that starts to abate, then we can see prices start to come back down I think," Shwayder said.
Fire forces Detroit's beloved Checker Bar to close ahead of NFC playoffs
A fire at a beloved bar in downtown Detroit is putting a damper on what was going to be a big weekend for business.
The Detroit Fire Department says Checker Bar in Cadillac Square caught fire early Tuesday morning. No one was injured, but the fire caused significant damage to the building's basement and some damage to the first and second floors.
As the Lions take on the Washington Commanders for the first round of the NFC playoffs, many fans are expected in Downtown Detroit on Saturday.
"I’ve watched every single game this season. I’m excited," said Detroiter Michael Collier.
"It’s been the greatest thing ever. I wish my nephew and my dad were here to see it," said Lions fan Letoni.
"Oh, it’s going to be crazy," said Matthew Vanatta of Clinton Township. "I’ve been down here for quite a few events, and so far, every time I’ve been down here, it’s been the same thing every time. We pack it up down here."
The owner at Checker Bar says they were expecting to see hundreds of those fans into their doors. They say recent Lions' game days have brought in sales similar to the 2024 NFL when nearly 300,000 people filled downtown. So, news of the fire was devastating.
"I got a phone call at about 5 in the morning," said Checker Bar owner Timothy Tharp. "The original reports were still gut-wrenching because it sounded like it might be a total loss."
Tharp says he was on his way back to Detroit after traveling at the time of the fire.
"It’s heartbreaking. It’s really hard. All of our employees depend on this for their livelihood," Tharp added.
Tharp says the fire left behind lots of smoke and water damage. He says, at one point, their basement had about eight inches of water inside. However, some of the quintessential Check Bar decor made it - like the spirit of Detroit Mural and a larger-than-life burger.
Tharp says the damage will likely take a few months to repair. In the meantime, they're planning to move operations to the Whiskey Parlor above Grand Trunk Pub, which Tharp also owns.
"In the meantime, you can come visit us. I know it won’t be the same Checker Bar, but we’ll be open. The Checker will live on," said Tharp.
The owner of the Checker Bar has put together a GoFundMe to support the 40 employees who will now be out of work for an undetermined amount of time. Donations will go directly to impacted employees, not the business.
More information on the business re-opening be found on the Checker Bar's social media.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
'I never bought this to keep it.' Man hopes historic McMath-Hulbert Observatory can live on with new owner
Tucked away in the woods of Lake Angelus in Oakland County is the historic McMath-Hulbert Observatory, and it's in need of a new owner.
We were shocked to see that the almost 100-year-old telescope dome of the McMath-Hulbert Observatory still opens. Just like the other two towers of this once international gem, it’s seemingly frozen time.
"I never bought this to keep it," said Jim Kinsler, owner of the McMath-Hulbert Observatory.
Kinsler is the private owner of this observatory. He gave us a tour, saying he bought it back in 1991, hoping to protect history.
"This observatory was originally started in 1930 by a group of three very bright gentlemen," said Kinsler. "It started out as a hobby project and got totally out of hand."
Here astronomers contributed to taking the first motion pictures of the sun, they helped pilots in World War II.
"And it just goes on and on and on," he said.
Their original lab coats, still hanging. Other equipment still decorates the inside.
During his ownership, Kinsler has offered free classes here for local students in need of opportunity.
“The Discovery Program” helped change some students’ lives, he remembers one mom coming up and hugging him.
"'See that boy over there? That’s my son Robbie, he was the biggest truant in Pontiac ... but Robbie is sitting on the curb waiting for your bus every morning,'" he recalls.
Now, Kinsler is looking for someone else, a new owner to create these opportunities.
"I hate to give it up, but realistically, I can’t die owning this, it would be the worst disfavor I could do to it," said Kinsler.
He tells me he has three nonprofits he’s considering selling to, but it is still open to other potential buyers out there.
This hidden gem is ready to once again help others shine.
"You know the great history of this place, that’s nice, but what really counts is what you do today," he said.
If you'd like to get in touch with Kinsler about the observatory, you can reach out to him at jim@kinsler.com.
Local hair salon offers Lions fans perfect shade of Honolulu Blue just in time for playoffs
Local hair color salon dynfly is jumping on the Detroit Lions excitement by offering fans the perfect shade of Honolulu Blue for their hair.
Part of the proceeds from sales of the style that mimics Amon-Ra St. Brown's now-famous playoff blue hair goes to the Detroit Police Athletic League.
The Kloposki family from Warren made their way over to the Troy dynfly location Thursday to all dye their hair because they love their favorite football team and they want to show it. Dad Brandon Kloposki has been a fan his entire life.
"We didn’t go to a ton of games but always watched them on TV and there was never a Sunday we didn’t watch them," he said.
Co-owner of the salon Alphonse Deeby says they offered the hair color last year and had a few brave souls take up the challenge. This week alone, they've already dyed the heads of 50 Lions fans and a beard.
"We’ve never had the phones ringing like this and it just shows the support that the city has for their team," Deeby said.
Deeby says the color will be offered for the remainder of the team's playoff run.
“As long as this playoff run lasts, dynfly will be here to make you a die-hard fan," he added.
The Kloposki family decided to go all out Thursday, first bleaching their hair to preprare for the blue and then adding the color to look like seventh grader Brooklyn Kloposki's favorite player.
“I like St. Brown," she said.
WXYZ 7-year-old James Kloposki checking out his new hair The color lasts four to six weeks, the perfect amount of time for the Lions to take it all the way to New Orleans, where the Kloposki's will be eagerly watching from their home with their blue hair.
The color is $30 for children under 12 years old and starts at $70 for adults depending on the length of hair.
