Live from Detroit, it's Mayor Mike Duggan on Tuesday night.
His sixth State of the City address begins at 7 p.m. at East English Village Preparatory Academy on Cadieux Road, with live TV and radio coverage. Neighborhood representatives, business owners and civic leaders will be in the invitation-only audience.
Wider opportunities for residents will be the second-term mayor's main theme, as Christine Ferretti previews at The Detroit News:
"It's all about eliminating barriers that everyday Detroiters are facing, and creating opportunities so that Detroit is a place where you continue to want to stay and see a future for yourself here," said Alexis Wiley, Duggan's chief of staff. "He's not just talking about creating opportunity. He's showing a pathway to actually doing it." . . .
The speech will discuss more investment in workforce development, public safety, summer jobs and college programming as well as efforts to clear records for ex-offenders who have been "held back," said Wiley
In a separate budget address to City Council on Thursday, Duggan will propose more spending on services for residents, Wiley tells the paper without any details yet.
Graphic: City of Detroit
The 60-year-old mayor tonight is sure to mention upbeat news he announced on the eve of his speech, as Ferretti reports separately:
A $30-million facility will provide free skilled trades training for up to 1,500 students per year — and they'll earn wages and benefits while they learn. . . .
The Michigan Statewide Carpenters and Millwrights Joint Apprenticeship and Training Fund joined with . . . Duggan at a [Monday] afternoon news conference to unveil plans for the 120,000-square-foot training center that's expected to break ground early next year.
The construction trades education center will rise on a city-owned former school site near Oakman Boulevard and the Jeffries Freeway. It's expected to open by mid-2021.
Related commentary:
Lengel: Duggan Owes Detroiters Honest Answers Tonight About Response Times
