Review of Kalamazoo Public Safety’s handling of protests is set for ongoing debate
What really happened the first weekend of June when those in downtown Kalamazoo were tear-gassed by the police? An investigation is to be undertaken this summer.
Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo’s name is so distinctive strangers around the world have been known to break into song at hearing the name. With such a recognizable moniker you’d think Kalamazoo wouldn’t need nicknames, but through the years changing names have reflected the city’s refusal to stand still. The Zoo, Celery City and the Mall City are a few. The innovative thinking that brought downtown K’zoo the nation’s first pedestrian mall in 1959 continues to work today. Innovators have developed thriving life sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. They build on the expertise of Kalamazoo’s universities. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Davenport College all are centers of research, development and technology. They surround a downtown vibrating with condos, apartments and homegrown, top-notch restaurants. The universities are woven into the city’s social fabric and contribute to a cultural scene that Kalamazooans love to boast about. The Kalamazoo Symphony, Kalamazoo Institute of Art and a vibrant local theater community are a few of the offerings. Locals also love their festivals that fill the air with music and the scents of ethnic foods wafting over the Arcadia Festival grounds and the Kalamazoo River. Outdoor activities from biking on the Kal-Haven trail to disc golf and standard golf on a nationally-acclaimed course in Milham Park are the start of the city’s leisure side. Sports fans have competitive college teams, minor league baseball and hockey to follow. And it all comes with a Promise. All high school graduates who live in Kalamazoo qualify for a scholarship that pays 100 percent of their tuition at any public university or community college.
Neighborhood restaurant, Station 702, closes even though it came through COVID-19 successfully
At the intersection of the Douglas, Northside, and Stuart neighborhoods in Kalamazoo, Station 702 has grown over the past six years. Now it's owner says he's moving on.
Kalamazoo Public School students without internet can borrow one of 1,000 wireless hotspots
Kalamazoo Public School students without internet service at home are likely to fall behind in their school work. Now they can borrow an internet hot spot.
Photo Essay: 2020 Juneteenth was a celebration
Juneteenth is a celebration of June 19, 1865, the day the last enslaved African-Americans were officially freed in the United States. In Kalamazoo, it was celebrated in 2020 everywhere from downtown to the Vine Neighborhood.
Eradicating racism in the arts in Kalamazoo starts with a discussion
White privilege, bringing in more people of color in both the creative and management areas of the arts, inclusivity in arts education, and artistic responses to changing attitudes on race were all part of a recent discussion on eradicating racism in the arts.
Photo essay: Black Lives Matters opens discussions on what is important
“We were having a conversation about how love and peace are significant and important,” says Deveta Gardner. The Black Lives Matter artwork in downtown Kalamazoo inspires such conversations.
The role of police in schools is being debated in Kalamazoo
Do police officers have a role in Kalamazoo Public Schools? The question is up for debate as a grassroots organization demands that officers must go.
Some boys hear more than others about our threatening world
When raising a houseful of five young men means you have to prepare them so they can survive.
Kalamazoo’s systemic inequities in housing and efforts to correct them
Since the days of redlining in mid-1930s blacks have found it nearly impossible to live wherever they wanted and where they could afford to live in Kalamazoo. Steps are underway to change that.
Summer food program for KPS students will begin July 7
Food packages providing breakfast and lunch for seven days a week throughout the summer will be available for children in the Kalamazoo Public Schools beginning July 7 and run through Aug. 13.
