Detroit's Depressed Delray And Minneapolis's Jinx: Sunday Papers

The Delray neighborhood of Detroit might be one of the worst. It's got poverty, pollution and crime. But, it's also got pride and character.

This week, The Detroit Press ran an amazing story about the neigbhorhood, its history and its people. Writer John Carlisle introduces readers across the region to an interesting cast of characters that live here – Fran McCracken and her pet oppossum, George Cheen, who has his deceased family members tattooed on his tummy, and the McPhail sisters, to name a few.

It's an awesome piece of journalism and a great Sunday read:

In a city with plenty of rough neighborhoods, Delray is regarded as one of the worst. It’s been called Detroit’s backwater, its underbelly, the bowels of the region — which it literally is, in a sense, since the city’s wastewater treatment plant is here, receiving and incinerating the contents of everyone’s toilets in Detroit and 77 surrounding communities and filling the air for miles with a God-awful stink.

Over in Sterling Heights on Saturday, 11-year-old Noa Gochanou was all smiles on Saturday. He was recruited to join the Macomb County SWAT team after police, firefighters and dozens of other rescues crews crashed his house as part of a Shields of Hope surprise, according to a story in the Detroit News. Noah has been fighting Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare cancer that grows in bones or cartilage and nerves, since 2014, the newspaper reports.

“It’s so cool, I really like the fire truck and have a police hat,” Noah said.

In Cleveland, there's a battle of beers. The local, holiday brews, that is. The Plain Dealer's online edition at Cleveland.com began polling readers last week to find out which one they like best. Now, folks in Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Detroit have their beers, too, but its seems here in Cleveland, people take their brew wayyyyy more serious.

There 19 holiday beers to choose from, including the old favorite Christmas Ale by Great Lakes Brewing to newer entries on the market, including Esther by the Platform Brewing Co., Festivus Ale by Market Garden Brewery and Eight Crazy Nights by Collision Bend Brewing Company.

Up in Milwaukee, The Journal Sentinel has another installment in its '50-Year Ache" series, which looks back at how the city and its people have come since the 1967 civil rights marches. On Saturday, the newspaper hosted a panel discussion on mental health concerns.

Panelists and audience members weighed in on how race, economic inequalities, childhood welfare and the criminal justice system impact the city's people.

On the sports front, Super Bowl LII is on everyone's minds in Minneapolis. And Vikings fans, well, it's really just on their minds. They just don't want to say anything. There is thing, a jinx they're worried about.

At 10-2, it could very well be the year that the Vikings return to the Super Bowl, which would be the first time since 1977. (FWIW, Vikings fans, this editor crossed his fingers while typing that last line.) Think about that, the home town team in the Super Bowl.

...trembling football fans are biting their knuckles and speaking in those particular phrases of Nordic fatalism such as “Yeah, but,” “Even if” or a humble “Let’s take it one week at a time.”
It’s prudent language, the better to tone down any chatter that Minnesota might not only host the Super Bowl — but compete!

(Shhhhh. Cripes, keep it down.)

The Star Tribune has this fun read about the Vikings and the team's fans' superstitions. They fret a lot up in the land of 10,000 lakes.

And lastly, a story from Patch.com. This is great piece of journalism from our colleague Beth Dalbey, who wrote about the horrible tragedy of 13-year-old Rosalie Avila. Her parents, Freddie and Charlene Avila, moved Rosalie and her brother away from Pasadena, California, more than four years ago to keep them safe from the stray bullets of gang wars.

There was another danger lurking at her new school. Rosalie, who was described by her father as an aspiring lawyer, talented artist and straight-A student, took her life after being bullied at her school.

Moving from Pasadena took Rosalie out of the range of random bullets, but she became a target for meanness and cruelty that went beyond common playground taunts. As is often the case with bullied children, social media intensified the torment.

This story is a sad one that will touch parents and kids alike. It's frightening what happened to this young girl, but the circumstances that surround her death are all too familiar for people across the United States.

Detroit skyline photo by Bill Pugliano / Getty Images Stringer