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Start-Up Firm Mines Data To Aid Detroit Blight Fight [Detroit Free Press]
Beyond the immediate contribution to the anti-blight effort, Dynamo Metrics represents a potential answer to the question of where Detroit will find its future economy. Small, smart, data-savvy tech firms like Dynamo Metrics are springing up all over the place, bolstered by cheap computer power and a growing mass of government data available to the public.

How To Save A Downtown [Crain’s Chicago Business]
“In an era when downtowns were disappearing and vacant, it can be done with just some hard work and dedication and the belief that this is the right thing,” says Rick Ryfa, president of the Griffith Town Council.

Understanding Flint’s Water Crisis [GOOD]
Thankfully, after a slow grind of activism, investigation, and revelation, it’s getting easier to understand where things went wrong in Flint and who is responsible. But figuring out how to ensure that those mistakes are never made again there or elsewhere may be an even greater challenge.

Cleveland Getting Ready For Republican National Convention [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
Some streets already have been paved. About 275 struggling trees are slated for replacement. Storefronts will sprout welcome signs, twinkling lights will be added to greenery, and dozens of concrete planters will be trucked in and filled with flowers to beautify the streetscape.

Katie Couric, Yahoo! Release Video Titled ‘Buffalo’s Big Comeback’ [The Buffalo News]
Part of the Yahoo! series “Cities Rising: Rebuilding America,” “Buffalo’s big comeback” is an 11-minute clip that highlights prominent examples of Buffalo’s recovery from Rust Belt decline, like Canalside, Larkinville, the West Side Bazaar, 43 North, among others.

Jazz-Themed Blutique Hotel Will Soon Grace Downtown Akron [Plain Dealer]
“I think this hotel will be the catalyst for something greater,” Troppe said Wednesday. “We are putting a first-rate hotel right at Akron’s doorstep, and people will be surprised what they see when they step outside.”

Rams Exit Leaves St. Louis With No Appetite For NFL [Reuters]
“Why would anybody want to, in any way, even entertain any suggestions from the NFL after the way they dealt with St. Louis here?” the mayor asked in a press briefing Monday. “They were dishonest.”

Banner photo of downtown Akron, OH by Jon Dawson.

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