Tragic encounters between the police and mentally ill have been happening around the country. People with a mental health diagnosis are 16 times more likely to be shot by the police than those who are not mentally ill.

Neighborhood Police Officer Willie Soles has deep roots in the 5th Precinct. He was born and raised in the Mack and Bewick area, the youngest of nine, and the only boy. “Being the only boy meant I learned how to cook and sew. I can pretty much take care of myself,” he says with a laugh.

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with winter. A snowy day on Belle Isle can be magical. Getting your car stuck in snow is not. On the cusp of another winter, I wrote these two poems as a way of coping. Embrace whichever one suits you. After all, our attitude is just about the only thing we can control in the next few months.

It may not look like much right now, but Gateway Park, at the corner of Mack and Alter, is going to get an extreme makeover. For years dedicated volunteers have tried to keep that patch of earth free of weeds and full of flowers and perennials. But without an easy and reliable water source, the weeds have always thrived but the other plants haven’t.

If you believe that one person can’t make a difference, Aaron Smith is here to prove you wrong. You’ll see his hand in projects all over MorningSide - in the East Warren Tool Library, Featherstone Garden on Lakepointe, and in the public spaces that his nonprofit Motor City Grounds Crew has helped to maintain around the neighborhood. No good thing happens because of just one person, of course, but every good thing that happens takes hard work and leadership, and that’s what Aaron has brought to these projects.

An organic garden is a lot like a good marriage. If you avoid outside toxic influences and focus on helping each other grow, the result is something nourishing and lovely to behold. Annie Hakim, self-taught organic gardener, follows those principles at Featherstone Garden, MorningSide’s first commercial garden, on Lakepointe.