The McDonald's Scholar High School Athlete Program, seen on Channel 7 every week, is helping to make it "cool", "sweet", and "hot" to be a smart jock.

A former Detroiter stood with great pride recently as President Bush presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Southeast Michigan has been talking about improving regional mass transit for years but our lack of progress has been embarrassing. Well lookout! We may be making a U-Turn.

Our Channel 7 editorial calling on Mayor Kilpatrick to "step aside" prompted a lot of viewer mail. About 83 percent of the e-mail we got shared our position, 17 percent disagreed. Watch Video

Monday was a sad, tragic, and embarrassing day for Detroit. The criminal charges brought against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty are serious and they will test some of the most important tenets of our legal system. Watch Video

Michigan has lost one of its most skilled, caring, and ambitious physicians. The sudden passing of Dr. Sophie Womack leaves a huge void in our community. Dr. Womack, a respected neonatologist, was passionate about medicine, children, and new mothers. She treated all three with meticulous care. But that wasn't enough for Dr. Womack. She was also a trailblazer!

Last week, Governor Jennifer Granholm summed up her feelings about the legal controversy surrounding Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. The Governor said, "We need to move forward (with) whatever it is that puts this behind us quickly...." She also acknowledged that this "terrible circumstance" has affected not just the City of Detroit but the entire State of Michigan. She's as right as right can be!

If you haven't visited Wayne State University lately, you should. Many changes have taken place on the campus over the last decade. Retiring President Dr. Irvin Reid has worked hard to give the urban campus a strong sense of identity and community. He has traveled the globe positioning Wayne as a major academic and research institution.

In just one year, One D has made progress but the road ahead won't be easy. We see great efforts underway in this region. Slowly, people are beginning to change their attitudes about Detroit's image.

Well take a bow Detroit! Last weekend, the New York Times issued their list of best destinations to visit for 2008. And you may be surprised by this news, Detroit was ranked 40th in the world, and one of only 6 U.S. cities that made the list, beating London, England, New York City, and Las Vegas! No doubt our Convention and Visitors Bureau has been working hard to tell our story. Very impressive!

You can email Editorial Director Chuck Stokes at cstokes@wxyz.com