Over the holidays, we’re sharing some of the stories Detroit Evening Report hosts produced for the radio this year. Today we hear a story from Sascha Raiyn. 

Terees Western is an artisan perfumer and owner of the business FragranTed. Sascha Raiyn spoke to her about her work and about one title she uses, "scent docent."

Western says she explains the experience of scent the way a docent at the DIA might explain a work of art.

More: Scent docent brings the smell of the season to you

Detroit Public Library branches are hosting holiday break events throughout this week.

Offerings include card-making and Kwanzaa craft sessions, video and board gaming and storytimes. The Sherwood Forest Branch will host a family New Year’s Party Tuesday from 4-5pm at 7117 West Seven Mile Road.

Find Detroit Public Library events at detroitpubliclibrary.org/events.

Come Play Detroit is bringing Broomball to Downtown Detroit in early January and tomorrow is the last day to register to play.

The co-ed league hits the ice at Campus Martius Tuesday, Jan. 6.

Teams can register for $1100 dollars with a $100 deposit. Individuals can play for $120. The Broomball leagues runs through January and February. For more information visit comeplaydetroit.com.

Over the holidays…we’re sharing some of the stories Detroit Evening Report hosts produced for the radio. Today…we hear a story from Nargis Rahman.

The state health department hoped to register 500 doulas in its doula registry by 2028. This fall, it had more than a thousand. That includes doulas across the state with various specialties and most are able to accept payment through Medicaid.

Nargis spoke to Dawn Shanafelt the Director of Maternal and Infant Health for the Department of Health and Human Services about the registry and efforts to export birthing assistance services in Michigan.

Outro: This is just part of Nargis Rahman’s interview with Dawn Shanafelt from the Department of Health and Human Services. You can her the full story at wdet.org.

The city’s 30 foot tall Kwanzaa Kinara join Detroit’s official Hannukah Menorah and Christmas tree in Campus Martius Friday, Dec. 26. This first day of Kwanzaa celebrates the principle Umoja or Unity.

If you missed the City’s Kinara lighting, there are Kwanzaa celebrations throughout the city until the holiday ends on New Year’s Day. The Redford Branch of the Detroit Public Library has festivities tomorrow, including arts & crafts and African dance and drumming.

For more information visit detroitpubliclibrary.org/events.

The Charles H Wright Museum of African American History will host Kwanzaa events through Monday. Festivities include performances, speakers, family-friendly activities, a vendor marketplace and candle lightings.

Each day’s schedule is a little different. Visit thewright.com/events/kwanzaa for more information.

Source Booksellers is hosting a virtual celebration of cooperative economics on the 29th with author Ben Passmore, who will talk about his book “Black Arms to Hold You Up: A History of Black Resistance.”

The event is at 5pm. To register look for Source Booksellers on Eventbrite.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says the city generated a $105 million budget surplus in the last fiscal year.

He credits strategic decisions by city staffers for the savings. It’s the 11th annual budget surplus in a row. The mayor says the city now has a rainy-day fund of more than half a billion dollars.

The announcement was part of Duggan’s last news conference as mayor of Detroit. He is now running as an independent to become Michigan’s next governor.

Detroit Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield has announced that she’ll have a public swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 9. The celebration will give Detroiters a chance to watch the proceedings in person or online.

Sheffield and members of Detroit City Council will officially be sworn into office on New Year’s Day. The Jan. 9 event will take place at the Detroit Opera House. It’s free and open to the public.

Christmas Day is a federal and state holiday, meaning government offices will be closed Thursday. That includes the post office – so there will be no mail delivery. Detroit government offices will also be closed Thursday.

Most private businesses will be closed for the holiday as well.

Expect malls and shopping centers to be very busy tonight as consumers rush to pick up a few last-minute gifts before Christmas.

Don’t wait too late, though. Several retailers will close early tonight – and won’t be open at all on Thursday. That includes the region’s major grocery stores.

CVS will be open on Christmas Day, but hours may vary by location.

If you’re on the road over the holidays, there’s good news for you. Gas prices have been falling. In metro Detroit, a gallon of self-serve regular now averages $2.84. That’s roughly where it was a week ago, but that price is 21 cents cheaper than last month at this time.

The NFL has suspended Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf for two games following an altercation with a fan during the team’s game in Detroit last Sunday.

Metcalf will miss this weekend’s game in Cleveland and the regular-season finale against Baltimore. CBS-TV cameras captured the confrontation between Metcalf and a fan during the second quarter of Pittsburgh’s 29-24 win over Detroit.

The fan leaned over the railing and exchanged words with Metcalf before the Steeler ended the confrontation by swinging his arm at the fan’s face. (AP)

And the Detroit Lions play their next to last game of the regular season on Christmas Day. The team travels to Minneapolis to play the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC North battle.

The Lions’ playoff hopes are holding on by a slim thread after their loss to Pittsburgh.

Detroit now has a record of 8 wins and 7 losses. The Vikings have seven wins and 8 losses.

Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday. The game will be televised on CBS 62.

The Detroit Evening Report will take a break for Christmas Day – then we’ll have a week of special stories for the holidays.

From all of us here at WDET – merry Christmas and happy holidays!

The Great Lakes Water Authority says a new tunnel will divert excess stormwater from a sewer line along the Rouge River to an under-used wastewater treatment plant in southwest Detroit. The $87 million project is expected to take at least two years to complete.

More: GLWA takes steps to reduce sewage backups in southwest Detroit

The agency expects the new tunnel will reduce the risk of flooding and sewage backups during heavy rains. State and federal grants are paying for the project, along with sewer rate revenue.

A voter-approved initiative that helped fund an expedited blight removal program in 2020 will end next year. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan gave his final update on the program Monday.

Duggan announced there are fewer than 1,000 abandoned homes left. That's down from 47,000 in 2014. Of those remaining, 240 are scheduled to be demolished with the other 702 in the pipeline to be sold.

Duggan says the final steps will focus on addressing contaminated soil from sites where contractors used polluted backfill. He says there is still a $15 million reserve to address backfill contaminated sites.

Demolition work has begun on the old Southwest Detroit Hospital which has been abandoned since the early 90s. The site along Michigan Avenue is being cleared to make way for a new 15,000 seat soccer stadium where Detroit City Football Club will play its home games.

AlumniFi Field, as the stadium will be known, is expected to host its first match in 2027.

Detroit Downtown Development Authority has approved up to $5 million in cash toward the cost of renovations at the Little Caesars Arena for Detroit's incoming WNBA team.

Renovations include a new locker room, modifications of game officials’ locker rooms and visitor space. Work is expected to start in 2028.

Detroit’s WNBA franchise will be the fifth professional team to play downtown – joining the city’s NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB teams.

Detroit Mayor-Elect Mary Sheffield has named David Bowser as her Chief of Staff.

Bowser was her senior policy advisor during her campaign and is the director of her transition team.

Bowser served as deputy director of the Housing and Revitalization Department, deputy director of the Community Health Corps and director of Human Services in the for Mayor Mike Duggan.

Plus, a food voucher expiration warning, Detroit sports updates and unique ways to support local businesses.

Demolition has started at the site of the new AlumniFi Field, which will be home to the Detroit City Football Club soccer field. The former Southwest Detroit Hospital, which has been vacant for years, will be demolished to make way for the 15 thousand seat soccer stadium and mixed-use project. The project will also include a 421-space parking garage and a 76-unit residential building.

The U-S Senate last week confirmed Detroit Native Jerome Gorgon as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Gorgon will be the chief federal law enforcement official for federal cases in Detroit and throughout the state’s eastern Lower Peninsula. He follows former US Attorney Dawn Ison. Gorgon was born in Southwest Detroit, graduated from Southwestern High School, and taught in Detroit Public Schools.

Waitlist open

The Taylor Housing Commission is opening up the waitlist for its housing choice voucher program for 12 days this month. The last time the list was open was in 2023. Starting December 20, the commission will accept pre-applications for a potential spot on its waiting list for the program meant to help low-income families, the elderly, veterans, and people with disabilities afford housing. The commission will randomly select up to 400 names to create its new wait list. Applicants do not need to be residents of Taylor to apply. To apply, visit taylorhousing.org

Applications being accepted

PropserUs Detroit is hiring. The organization supports entrepreneurs with opportunities and capital needed to build businesses, generational wealth, and vibrant neighborhoods. ProsperUs is seeking applications for trainers to deliver a variety of programming, including entrepreneur training, subject-matter workshops, group technical assistance, and one-on-one coaching. Ideal candidates will have experience in entrepreneurship, knowledge of adult learning, and a commitment to equity and community impact. Visit ProsperUs Detroit’s Instagram page for a link to apply. Application window closes on January 11.

Watch out for a flash freeze tonight. Scattered showers throughout the day today are expected to create wind gusts picking up to about 40 mph by Friday morning. Temperatures are expected to quickly drop to below freezing overnight, increasing the potential of a flash freeze on the roads by Friday morning. Snow is also predicted through Friday morning.

Detroit Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield says she will retain Todd Bettison as the city’s police chief.

In a statement released Tuesday, Sheffield praised Bettison’s results – citing Detroit’s record drops in violent crime – including the lowest homicide rate since the mid-1960s.

Bettison had a 27-year long career in the police department, before becoming Detroit’s Deputy Mayor in 2022. Mayor Duggan made him Police Chief earlier this year after former Chief James White left to become the head of the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network.

Additional headlines from Wednesday, December 17, 2025

• The Great Lakes Water Authority is starting a new project with the goal of alleviating sewage overflows in parts of Southwest Detroit. The authority will hold a ceremony Thursday to launch the assembly and operation of a tunnel-boring machine. The tunnelling is scheduled to begin in the spring.
• Governor Gretchen Whitmer has announced a new housing development in Detroit’s North Corktown neighborhood. The project will create 23 new apartments and retail space. About 30% of the apartments will be classified as affordable housing.
• President Donald Trump says he will deliver an address to the nation tonight. The live address from the White House takes place at 9 p.m. and will be available on select broadcast and online platforms.
• Just across the river, the Chaldean Association of Windsor is holding a special street renaming ceremony. A section of Marentette Avenue will get the secondary name “Chaldean Way.” The association says there are thousands of Chaldeans living in and around Windsor. The event takes place at 3 p.m. on Friday.
• Many merchants around Detroit will be busier than normal as residents do their holiday shopping. Many large retailers will have extended hours to accommodate additional shoppers. Independent stores may have expanded hours too, but check before you go. And if you haven’t been downtown in a while, you can look for several new shops, especially along Woodward Avenue near the new Hudson’s building.