DETROIT – Detroit is in the very early stages of the bankruptcy process and the national media is all over it.
Most of the news is negative, no surprise. But, if you live, work, or play in Detroit you should know better.
If you don't come to Detroit or don't know Detroit it's easy to fall back on the old familiar song: crime, decay, blight.
If you think all the optimistic talk is just talk than you haven't been paying attention.
Take a look at Campus Martius: no parade, no fireworks no festival; it's just lunchtime and people are enjoying life downtown.
Have you been along the riverfront recently? Pick any day of the week to visit and you will see families out enjoying the cool breeze, especially on a hot day.
The thing with downtown is that you have to get out and look around a little. "I live in the city, I love living in the city I always have so that's why I do what I do," said Detroit business owner Maureen Kearns from Segways4U.
What about business? For example, a vacant gravel lot on Woodward Avenue won't be vacant for very long.
Plans are in the works to wrap up contracts by the end of the year to break ground next spring on a $ 650 million multi-use complex that includes shopping, condos and new arena for the Red Wings.
The $279 renovation of the Cobo Center remains on schedule and should be complete by January 2015.
The project means more convention business and more people visiting means more money for the city.
The easy thing to do is stand on the sidelines and point out what's wrong, but it's more challenging to get into the game and build on what's going right.
In Detroit, a brand new game is just getting started.