DETROIT (CBS Detroit) After a stint in foggy San Francisco, the World Series will move to Comerica Park in Detroit Saturday — and the Downtown Detroit Partnership wants the city to shine.

They released a list of suggestions to Detroit business owners Thursday, saying it’s everyone’s job to keep the city safe and bright while the eyes of the world are watching.

They’re asking business owners to leave on their building lights “so we can light up the skyline and the city during the national televised games.”

The group is also suggesting that anyone with an LED display or Ticker Board put up a message that says, “Welcome To The World Series, Go Tigers!”

“It’s important because we’re trying to create a warm, welcome atmosphere for guests,” said Renee Monforton, spokeswoman for the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It makes the city look beautiful at night. It’s not so much a safety consideration as hospitality.”

Houston was lit up like this for the Super Bowl, she added, and it was “beautiful.”

She added no one need fear violence in Detroit, which like any urban area has sections that are safe, and unsafe.

“We have a long track record with these events … We’re comfortable people will have a great, safe experience,” Monforton said.

The first Detroit game will be held at 8:07 p.m. Saturday, followed at the same time Sunday, and Monday if that game is necessary.

Gates to the ballpark open at 5:30 p.m. every night. If possible, the group is asking businesses to turn on the lights from 6:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. each night.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/25/downtown-group-wants-detroit-lit-up-for-world-series/

NEW YORK -- For the past several years, with words and actions, David Stern had laid the groundwork for his departure from the job he's controlled and defined since 1984. He formalized it Thursday, announcing his intention to step down as the longest-tenured commissioner in professional sports.

During the NBA's Board of Governors meetings in midtown Manhattan, Stern advised the league's owners of his intention to retire on Feb. 1, 2014, the 30-year anniversary of his taking the job. In doing so, Stern, who turned 70 last month, has stayed very much in the character he's developed during those three decades.

He made it clear he will remain in charge of league operations for the next 15 months, mentioning that arrangement several times, and making sure his hand-picked successor will be installed. The owners said they will begin negotiating with deputy commissioner Adam Silver to take over for Stern -- a decision they came to unanimously -- when those 15 months end. The plan is for Silver's appointment to be ratified at next April's board of governors meeting.

"It's been a great run. The league is in, I think, terrific condition," Stern said. "I'd like to think I did an adequate job. But one of the things I did best was provide a successor. I'm not going anyplace in the next 15 months, but this gives us the opportunity to have a very smooth transition."

This day has been foreseen for some time as Stern scaled back in recent years. He has been grooming Silver, 50, to replace him for at least the past six years. Stern allowed Silver to take a lead role in negotiating the challenging collective bargaining agreement with the players' union that was settled 11 months ago after a lockout wiped out 16 games of the 2011-12 season.

At the time the agreement was finalized, Stern said the deal that guaranteed at least six years of labor peace would outlast him as the league's boss. Silver, who has worked for the league in various capacities for more than 20 years, has long been considered the favorite to take over the job. Stern said he decided six months ago to formalize the transition process.

"The opportunities for this league are limitless," Silver said. "I'm honored, thrilled and will do my absolute best to grow this league or try to do it the way David has done over the last 20 years. To the NBA family, I look forward to serving you."

Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, who gave up his seat as chairman of the board to the San Antonio Spurs' Peter Holt on Thursday, came to the announcement armed with two pieces of data to illustrate Stern's impact on the league. During Stern's tenure the league's annual revenue from its television contract increased 40 times, and the average player salary jumped from $250,000 a year in 1984 to more than $5 million.

"David has set the standard for not just the NBA but for all sports," Taylor said. "He's done things not only to benefit the owners but also the players."

Stern's fingerprints can be found across the league's operations, most notably on strong revenue growth, the expansion from 23 to 30 teams, the movement into small markets such as Sacramento, Memphis and Oklahoma City, the spreading global reach spurred on by the league's backing of letting its players take part in the Olympics, and the establishment of the WNBA.

Stern also oversaw the implementation of drug testing that helped root out a major league issue in the 1980s. Repeating on Thursday something he's said often in the past, Stern said some of the lowest moments of his time as commissioner were banning players from the league because of positive drug tests.

He developed a reputation for being a ruthless negotiator even before he took over as commissioner, working as one of the league's top attorneys starting in 1966. That carried over during negotiations with players over the years, which featured a strengthening -- if expanding -- salary cap and ultimately led to two work stoppages.

Meanwhile, the value of franchises soared. When Stern took over, teams were being sold in the $20 million range. In 2010, the Golden State Warriors set a record when they were sold for $450 million.

Although he works for the owners, Stern has long been seen as the most powerful presence in a league that depended on star players to drive ratings and revenues. He was known for being strong on discipline, conscious of image and trying to protect the NBA brand.

Not always popular with players, fans and even the owners who served as de facto bosses for his tactics, there is no doubt Stern will leave his post having played a central role in turning the NBA into a multibillion-dollar business.

"There's no doubt that you'll be remembered as the best of all time as commissioners go," Silver said to Stern. "You've set the standard not even just for sports league commissioners but all CEOs."

There were other orders of business handled at the meetings, including:

" The owners unanimously approved the sale of the Memphis Grizzlies to California businessman Robert Pera, making him the league's youngest owner at age 34. Pera, who reached a deal to buy the team from Michael Heisley in June, assembled an ownership group that includes local Memphis businessmen and athletes with ties to Tennessee, including Peyton Manning and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway.

The deal will ensure the Grizzlies, whom Heisley moved to Memphis from Vancouver after he bought the team 12 years ago, will remain in Memphis. The Grizzlies have a lease at the FedExForum through 2021.

"The future of the NBA in Memphis looks very bright today," Stern said. "Robert has put together a group with strong Memphis ties."

" Last week, the Seattle City Council approved a plan to build a new downtown arena led by businessman Chris Hansen, who wants to bring the NBA back to the city. Stern, however, did not offer much on the issue and said currently no team is considering Seattle.

"I don't have any current view on where such a team comes from," Stern said. "We think it is a great development in Seattle and we're very excited about it, but there is no current team in play. That is going to be an issue for the owners to consider."

" The owners discussed but decided to table a decision on selling ads on jerseys. Stern said in recent interviews that he no longer favors such a plan.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8550645/david-stern-retire-nba-commissioner-2014

DETROIT — Wayne State University officially broke ground Thursday on a $93 million addition to its life science programs, the Multidisciplinary Biomedical Research Building.

The 200,000-square-foot building will be constructed around an existing 130,000-square-foot 1927 Albert Kahn structure at 6187 Woodward Ave. that formerly housed a Buick-Pontiac dealership.

Wayne State President Allen Gilmour noted that the building will provide a new northern gateway to the Wayne State campus, since it’s farther north on Woodward than anything else prominently displaying the Wayne State logo. And, he noted, that “if anyone wants to put their name on the building, that can be arranged,” presumably with a huge contribution.

The MBRB will provide space for about 500 researchers and staff and 68 principal investigators. It will include wet and dry laboratories, faculty offices and common areas, as well as clinical space.

Faculty members from across the university will populate the MBRB. The School of Medicine, the College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the School of Social Work, and the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences will conduct research at the facility. Ninety-three percent of the structure will be occupied by Wayne State University, with the remaining 7 percent housing partners from the Henry Ford Health System, including its bone and joint research program and biomechanics motion laboratory.

It will be Wayne State’s first new biomedical research facility since the opening of the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences building in 2002 and the first since 1998 with accommodations for researchers from the School of Medicine.

Research in the MBRB will be arranged into thematic areas — cardiovascular disease; metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity; systems biology; biomedical engineering; bioinformatics and computational biology; and translational behavioral science.

 A wide variety of Detroit dignitaries offered comments on the new building under a spectacular sunny sky and unseasonably warm temperatures in the upper 70s.

“This groundbreaking makes it clear that the premier urban research community in the country is Wayne State,” said U.S. Rep. Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit. “This building will be a magnet for federal research dollars that are going to save lives and create jobs here.”

Sylvie Naar-King, a professor and pediatric obesity researcher at the Wayne State School of Medicine, said the new building will allow better collaboration among researchers that are now in scattered buildings.

And Detroit Mayor David Bing said the building was “an important point as Detroit transitions from manufacturing to eds and meds,” a reference to educational and medical employment.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/25/wayne-state-breaks-ground-on-93m-biotech-building/

A recently proposed Pennsylvania House bill is seeking to limit welfare benefits to low-income women who give birth while in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.

The bill, proposed by state representatives RoseMarie Swanger (R), Tom Caltagirone (D), Mark Gillen (R), Keith Gillespie (R), Adam Harris (R) and Mike Tobash (R), is meant to discourage women from giving birth to multiple children while on welfare. It would restrict any additional benefits for children born under the program, despite the fact that growing families are likely to be in need of more assistance.

The only exception the bill provides is for births that result from rape. If a woman can prove that she is a victim of rape or incest, she can prevent her welfare benefits from being reduced.

The bill reads:

Elimination of benefits under subsection (d) shall not apply to any child conceived as a result of rape or incest if the department:

(1) receives a non-notarized, signed statement from the pregnant woman stating that she was a victim of rape or incest, as the case may be, and that she reported the crime, including the identity of the offender, if known, to a law enforcement agency having the requisite jurisdiction or, in the case of incest where a pregnant minor is the victim, to the county child protective service agency and stating the name of the law enforcement agency or child protective service agency to which the report was made and the date such report was made.

Women who apply for an exemption must provide proof that they reported the crime to a law enforcement or child protective service agency and they must also sign a statement to show they understand falsifying this information is punishable by law.

Tara Culp-Ressler, of Think Progress, reported on the story earlier today, pointing out that not only do some low-income women not have access to affordable contraception, but the bill also perpetuates a “dangerous attitude toward survivors of sexual assault.”

“Forcing women to prove the legitimacy of their sexual assault, and warning them about the serious consequences of ‘crying rape’ to cheat the system, puts forth the misguided assumption that victims of sexual violence are not to be believed,” Culp-Ressler wrote.

Last month, New Mexico proposed a similar bill requiring women seeking childcare assistance to prove they were “forcibly raped.”

http://thegrio.com/2012/10/25/proposed-pennsylvania-bill-would-require-mothers-under-welfare-to-prove-rape/

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- As they struggle to save for retirement, a growing number of middle-class Americans plan to postpone their golden years until they are in their 80's.

Nearly one-third, or 30%, now plan to work until they are 80 or older -- up from 25% a year ago, according to a Wells Fargo survey of 1,000 adults with income less than $100,000.

"It is so tough for Americans to save for retirement that the answer seems to be to work longer," said Joe Ready, director of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust.

Overall, 70% of respondents plan to work during retirement, many of whom plan to do so because they simply won't be able to afford to retire full time.

But working well into your 70's, 80's or even 90's, isn't always realistic, said Ready. Nearly three-quarters of those who plan to work into their 80's say their employer won't want them working when they're that old, for example. Other roadblocks, like health issues, could arise as well.

Those who are unable to work as long as they intend could therefore face a very grim reality. In fact, more than one-third of Americans could wind up living at or near poverty in retirement, the survey found.

About 34% of middle-class Americans expect their retirement income to be 50% or less of their current annual income. Given Census Bureau data showing a median household income of $50,054 in 2011, this would mean living on roughly $25,000 or less per year -- which is near the poverty line for a family of four, the report found.

Retirement saving on the backburner: Half of middle-class Americans report that their most pressing financial concern is paying their monthly bills, up from 37% a year ago. Saving for retirement is second on the list.

Respondents also said that home remodeling and vacation planning have taken precedence over saving for retirement over the past 12 months.

As a result, there's a huge disparity between what people need and what they have saved. While respondents said they will need a median of $300,000 in total savings to support themselves in retirement, the average amount saved is only $25,000.

Overall, 53% of Americans say they don't know whether they will have enough saved for retirement -- up from 42% last year.

Despite falling short of expectations, half of respondents said they consider themselves responsible for funding their own retirement through saving and investing. Another 27% said they will fund their retirement through their employer's plan, while 24% said they will mainly rely on Social Security benefits.

Aside from putting daily bills and current financial needs ahead of retirement saving, many Americans aren't in the position to adequately fund their own retirement because they have no idea how much to save. Only 22% say they have calculated the amount of money needed for retirement -- whereas 75% of respondents said they guess. (Find out how much you will need for retirement).

And guessing can be dangerous. While respondents estimated that the median cost of their out-of-pocket healthcare in retirement will be $47,000, for example, industry estimates put those costs closer to $260,000 or more, according to the report.

"People tell us that retirement preparation should be on their shoulders but they are grappling with financial pressures each day," said Laurie Nordquist, director of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. "As a result, retirement has become a guessing game." 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Windows has been Microsoft's most reliable cash cow for nearly three decades. The software giant is gambling all of that success on what it deems to be the company's future: a radically redesigned Windows 8.
Windows is the linchpin of Microsoft's empire. Without a significant design overhaul since 1995, the operating system has been essentially printing money for Microsoft. Last year, Windows brought in more than $18 billion in sales and $11.5 billion in profit. On its own, Windows would be big enough to place among the largest 150 U.S. companies by revenue, and its 62% profit margin would rank among the highest in the world.

But the Windows money tree is beginning to wilt. PC sales are slumping. Windows revenue has fallen for two straight years, and Microsoft is missing out on a rapidly growing tablet market that has begun to eat away at traditional computer demand. Just a few years ago, Windows ran about 90% of the world's Internet-connected computing devices, according to Net Applications. Now, with the rise of smartphones and tablets, Microsoft's share has fallen to about two-thirds.
Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) alone has sold more than 100 million iPads in just two and a half years. At an event held Tuesday unveiling a new line of iPads, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that his company shipped more iPads in the second quarter of 2012 than any single PC manufacturer shipped PCs.

"This has gotten a lot of attention," Cook quipped.

It sure has. Microsoft had two choices: Do something radically different to win the future or risk a slow death by cleaving to its past.

Microsoft picked the first option and created Windows 8. The touch-based operating system works both as a desktop PC and a tablet platform, and it's not hard to imagine Windows 8 running on a dizzying array of other devices, including table tops, wall screens, kitchen monitors and whatever new touchscreen gadgets we will be using in the future.

"This is an absolutely critical product," said Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman, on a company video blog. "It's key to where personal computing is going."

Perhaps Microsoft's most radical change is opening up the Windows platform to devices powered by ARM-based processors. About 95% of tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices run on microchips designed by ARM (ARMH). With Windows RT, the ARM-compatible cousin to the Intel-based Windows 8, Microsoft gains access to a whole new array of mobile devices.
Windows 8 is Microsoft's attempt to set the tone of the next several years. Consumer acceptance is the big question mark.
Industry analysts think users will be startled and confused by the new software's starkly different look. Gestures, tiles, charms and tickles replace many of the functions from the familiar Start menu -- which is nowhere to be found in Windows

8. The operating system isn't difficult to use, but it's got a learning curve.
"Microsoft is making appropriate, significant changes to Windows, but it's going to be challenging for customers to embrace it wholeheartedly," said Frank Gillett, an analyst at Forrester Research.

As different as Windows 8 looks compared to its predecessors, its guts got an even more severe overhaul. Windows 8 now supports a new kind of tablet-like application software, and the only place users can get those apps will be the Windows Store.

That's the wave of the future, embraced early by Apple and Google and long ignored by Microsoft -- until now.

"Microsoft is responding to competitive pressures that have made it rethink not only how its products should look, but also how they should be architected," said Michael Silver, analyst at Gartner. "Fundamentally, the application model that worked well on the PC for so long needs to be changed for new classes of devices and new types of usage models."

It could be a lucrative change. Apple and Google each take a 30% cut off the top for each app sold on their devices. Microsoft currently makes zilch. If Adobe (ADBE) opts to release a Photoshop app for Windows 8 through the Windows Store, Microsoft would take home a percentage of those lucrative sales.
Microsoft's financial success with Windows going forward might well be measured in apps, as much or more than traditional operating system sales. That's a radical break from how the company has operated for decades.
Here's the catch: If Windows app development doesn't skyrocket, Microsoft's master plan is at risk.

"Microsoft will fail if it cannot convince developers to adopt Windows for future development quickly, especially for consumer applications," Silver said. "Microsoft is already late. It doesn't have a few more years."
 

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Singer Bobby Brown faces his second drunken driving charge this year after a Los Angeles police officer pulled him over in the Studio City community early Wednesday, police said.

The officer smelled "a strong scent of alcohol" when he approached Brown during the Ventura Boulevard traffic stop, prompting a field sobriety test, a police spokesman said.

After the test, Brown was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and booked into a jail, the police spokesman said. He was released on bond about seven hours later, he said.

Brown's representative did not immediately respond to a CNN call for comment.

Brown checked into a "confidential rehabilitation center" in August for treatment "relating to alcohol use," his spokesman said at the time.
Brown, 43, agreed to enter a 90-day alcohol treatment program when he pleaded no contest in Los Angeles County to driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or higher in April. He also was sentenced to 36 months of probation, according to his attorney, Tiffany Feder.

Brown married Alicia Etheridge, his manager, in a ceremony in Hawaii in June. The couple got engaged in 2010 at a New Edition concert after dating for close to three years. They have a 3-year-old son, Cassius.

He admitted himself to the rehab proram three weeks after concluding his honeymoon in Mexico and during a break from the New Edition tour, his spokesman said.

Brown was previously married to the late Whitney Houston, who he divorced in 2007. In addition to Cassius, Brown has one daughter, Bobbi Kristina, from his relationship with Houston, as well as three other children.

Brown has been touring this year with his group New Edition.

The R&B artist released "Masterpiece," his first solo album in 14 years, in June.

First it’s the sweep of the Yankees in the ALCS. Now, as the Detroit Tigers take on the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera is the cover-boy on this week’s regional edition of Sports Illustrated.

It’s the first time the third baseman has graced the cover of the magazine.

There’s often talk of a mythical jinx that goes with the honor, but, on the other hand, some might say it could be good luck. The lastTiger to grace SI’s cover was Justin Verlander last September — and he became the league MVP, going on to start Wednesday night’s Game 1 of the World Series.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/24/cabrera-appears-on-sports-illustrated-regional-cover/

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) Coney dogs, cars, baseball fields covered in crisp fall leaves — what’s more Motown than that?

Well, maybe one thing: Aretha Franklin.

The Queen of Soul will sing the national anthem at World Series Game 5 in Detroit’s Comerica Park as the Tigers host the San Francisco Giants, according to USA Today.

This is Franklin’s second appearance at a game; she opened game three of the American League Championship Series when the Tigers hosted the Texas Rangers.

Marvin Winans, a member of Detroit’s favorite gospel singing family, will take the mound before game three in Detroit, per USA Today.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/10/24/queen-of-soul-to-sing-at-world-series-in-motown/

October 25, 2012 – Real Times Media recently closed on a licensing agreement with CNN News Source to exchange news and information for use in its print and digital properties. The relationship includes text-based news and or information content related to:

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• International news

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• Feature stores related to health, entertainment, technology, etc.

• Issue-oriented op-ed columns; and

• Stories from CNN affiliates

“We are excited about our new relationship with CNN,” said Hiram E. Jackson, CEO, Real Times Media. “Partnering with CNN is a perfect fit for Real Times as we continue to grow our position as one of the leaders in providing news and content to the African American and urban markets.”

Real Times Media is a multimedia company that consists of internet properties, newspapers, niche publishing, marketing services, archive licensing and premier events. With offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Memphis and Pittsburgh, Real Times is the leading provider of original print content for African American related news, entertainment and lifestyle information.

Dedicated to distributing top quality news, lifestyle information, and entertainment relevant to the African-American and urban markets, Real Times’ goal is to continually develop non-traditional media that complements its core business, build greater brand loyalty and cultivate new customers for its clients.

The Real Times Media family of companies includes the nation’s largest African-American owned and operated newspaper organizations: Atlanta Daily World, Chicago Defender, Michigan Chronicle, FrontPage Detroit, Memphis Tri-State Defender and the New Pittsburgh Courier. For more information about Real Times Media, call (313) 963-1800, or visit www.realtimesmedia.com.