Koby Levin

What we know about Detroit police calls to CPB at traffic stops Detroit police officers coordinated with Border Patrol more often than the department acknowledged.

Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison suspended two officers for coordinating with Border Patrol in violation of department policy. He said he “intends to terminate them."

Our public records request showed two more instances of officers calling immigration agents, with @kobylevin.bsky.social:

Audio Recording with Jack Filbrandt, WDET June 12, 2025 | In this workshop, Documenters will learn skills, techniques and best practices for using a smartphone to record audio at public meetings. Documenters will have an opportunity to play w...

wish I could go to this tbh detroit.documenters.org/workshops/au...

Artist Sheefy McFly finds his inspiration from Detroit Detroit artist Sheefy McFly — DJ, painter, rapper and producer — said his signature style is inspired by the city.

Loved this story by my @outliermedia.org colleague Cydni Elledge outliermedia.org/sheefy-mcfly...

RealT selling Detroit properties to crypto investors despite neglect Former contractors say RealT is selling Detroit real estate to crypto investors while neglecting repairs.

Amazing accountability work by @amondry.bsky.social @outliermedia.org outliermedia.org/realt-detroi...

Just look at this A+ reporting and presentation from the Outlier team. What are you looking for from these candidates? Let us know. @outliermedia.org

Detroit mayoral race: What matters most to you? What kind of information do you need in order to cast your vote in the Detroit mayoral race?

Nine candidates, one big job.

This city deserves competent leadership — and we’re here to help you navigate this election: Who are the candidates? What do they stand for?

And most importantly: How will they help Detroiters meet their biggest challenges?

outliermedia.org/detroit-mayo...

Join The Outlier Collective · Outlier Media Become a member of the Outlier Collective as a donor or for free to join our work to build a Detroit that works for all Detroiters.

Want to support local journalism that centers and responds to Detroiters' needs?
Easy:
www.outliermedia.org/join/

A freshly poured concrete driveway next to a one-story brick house is surrounded by yellow and red caution tape

Our work to close this accountability gap led to just one story on our website, but multiple repairs and site cleanups worth thousands of dollars (see photos). "Thank you so much, this is the most contact I have gotten from anybody," one customer told us.

Clark's driveway after she texted us:

The issues were only corrected after we reached out to the company's PR team. AWR recently told us that the contractor responsible for the shoddy work and miscommunications was fired.

A woman wearing a Black dress stands with her hands clasped next to a concrete driveway that is partially reduced to dirt

In each case, the company fixed the original problem but failed to clean up the resulting mess, then stopped responding to customers' calls.

For example: Tamika Clark's driveway wasn't repaired after crews fixed her leaking water line.

This #OutlierDay, I'm thinking about all the work we do behind the scenes at @outliermedia.org to improve Detroiters' lives. Several people recently used TXTOUTLIER, our SMS system, to flag issues with American Water Resources, a city-endorsed company that insures water and sewer lines.

MJ Real Estate Solves targeting Detroiters with tax debt MJ Real Estate Solves offers to pay off tax debts for Detroiters in exchange for the deed to their property.

Detroiters with tax debt are getting letters from a Florida company saying:

“This is not an offer to buy your property. Instead, it’s a way to resolve the tax burden while removing the property from your name.”

Translation: You lose your home. They win. Watch out for this.

Ohio-based company Gap Recovery targeting Detroiters for profits Gap Recovery, an Ohio-based company, wants a cut of profits Detroiters are rightfully owed.

An Ohio-based company is charging thousands of dollars in fees for Detroiters to help them claim proceeds from the tax auction -- a service other nonprofits offer for free. From @kobylevin.bsky.social outliermedia.org/gap-recovery...

Meet Shiva Shahmir, this month’s featured Detroit Documenter This month's featured Detroit Documenter Shiva Shahmir says information is like radio waves: To receive the message, you’ll have to tune in.

This ongoing project has been led through the amazing work of @kobylevin.bsky.social and @detdocumenters.bsky.social Shiva Shahmir. outliermedia.org/meet-shiva-s...

Today’s the súper bowl? I thought it was a day of mourning

Corn kernels sit on a table next to a cardboard box containing plastic seed

Packing seeds at Spotlite with Keep Growing Detroit is the perfect volunteer activity

hoo boy @amondry.bsky.social is good at this

The real estate scheme gobbling up Detroit, one digital token at a time RealT sells pieces of hundreds of Detroit rentals, often in cryptocurrency, to overseas investors. Tenants are the guinea pigs.

Foreign investors are buying pieces of rental homes for $50. What could possibly go wrong?

For tenants? Everything. Ignored repairs, unresponsive management, eviction letters, you name it.

And yes, it’s happening here in Detroit. outliermedia.org/crypto-real-...

I love this format and want to keep experimenting with it. When D'Juan read it, he said "it's basically like, when you read a book, and you basically get into the characters' mindset, you feel more connected to them than if you were just reading facts"

We're ready for a restful weekend, but we had a question: If you could archive an iconic Detroit location that has closed, which would you choose? 🤔

Our pick: Paradise Theater! It once hosted renowned jazz entertainers like Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.

What's yours? Tell us below ⤵️

Rashida Tlaib, advocates call for supporting undocumented neighbors Rashida Tlaib and other advocates are calling for neighbors to stand up for each other amid increased immigration enforcement.

Increased ICE enforcement put Detroit immigrants at risk. Advocates say education & mutual aid can keep families safe. #KnowYourRights

❌ ICE can’t enter without a warrant.
📝 Don’t sign anything you don’t understand.
🤫 Stay silent — except for your real name.

outliermedia.org/rashida-tlai...

who's saying no when a source asks for a snail-mailed copy of the story because they don't mess with the internet??

A new NorthPoint facility and Detroit’s industrial redevelopment tradeoff NorthPoint Development LLC's development at an abandoned Detroit factory raises questions about plans to mitigate air pollution from trucks.

Let's talk about the toxic development cycle in Detroit. Industrial neighborhoods need investment to deal with legacy pollution — which tends to come from companies that bring more pollution. One hazard replaces another while the city stands by. 🧪
My latest: outliermedia.org/detroit-deve...

The notion that a new medical treatment will completely eliminate any malady is often an ableist fantasy on closer inspection.
I spoke with a person with sickle cell disease who is skeptical of new gene therapies, which are at once promising, harsh and risky. He said simply: "I like my life." 🧪

A custom tee shirt design tool showing a shirt with the following text mocked up to be printed on it: “My opinions about LLMs (which I prefer not to call AI) are too involved to fit on a shirt; I think a productive discussion needs contexts, exceptions, and nuances that will not fit in a chest-sized summary. But I will just say, since there is a little bit more space here, that we ought to frame this first and most urgently as a labor issue, not an abstract philosophical question about the nature of creativity etc.”

I do need some new tees.

Glad you found it :)

How to deal with swarming, stinging yellow jackets in Detroit Mess with a yellow jacket in Detroit, and it will mess back. The wasps and their nests reach peak populations at this time of year.

‘Intolerant, aggressive jerks’: We’ve had it up to here with end-of-season yellow jackets outliermedia.org/yellow-jacke...

vault of midnight is incredible