From Lebanon to selling suits in Saginaw...it's Sal, baby!

In this episode of Sidewalk Talks, Phil visits Sal, a longtime Saginaw tailor known as “Sal Baby,” for his first podcast, reflecting on how Sal helped save Phil’s wedding suit experience after a bad big-box chain encounter and how Sal’s shop treats customers like family. Sal describes running his store for about 38 years, traveling to trade shows, sourcing hard-to-find items through connections, and prioritizing service over money, including flexible pricing and letting people pay later. Born in Lebanon in 1944, Sal came to the U.S. in 1971 and credits his father-in-law’s example of honesty and generosity for his business values. He shares stories about how a well-fitted suit builds confidence and can impact job interviews, discusses raising his five children, and recalls giving a grieving family a suit for their son’s funeral, and repeatedly expresses love for Saginaw and its people.

Timestamps:
00:00 Sal Baby Welcome
00:32 Wedding Suit Rescue
01:25 Family Style Service
02:02 Finding Anything You Need
03:01 Hayati Story Moment
04:13 Shop Origin Story
06:10 Why Suits Matter
06:32 Suit As Investment
08:20 Saginaw Pride
08:58 Lebanon To Michigan
11:17 Lessons From Father In Law
14:04 Being A Great Dad
16:29 Sal Baby Nickname
17:48 Giving Back And Honesty
19:35 Final Thanks And Goodbye

Marlana Cork kicks off Season Three with a Sidewalk Talk about community-building! Be sure to subscribe to Sidewalk Talks and leave a review!

00:00 Season Premiere Banter
01:17 Aging and Dentist Days
02:31 Why Community Matters
03:53 Grandma’s Candy House
07:04 Showing Up When It’s Hard
10:24 Community as Relationship
17:13 Unsung Heroes and Commitment
21:38 Communication Meets Action
23:43 Conflict and Accountability
25:36 Community Accountability
26:15 Beyond Blame Culture
27:15 Keyboard Warrior Warning
28:28 Claim Citizen Power
29:55 Curiosity Over Conflict
31:53 Face To Face Talks
35:34 Conflict As Catalyst
39:15 Committed To Mess
42:11 Arrogance And Fear
45:40 Curiosity Builds Community
47:55 Closing Thanks

A new season of Sidewalk Talks premieres Monday! Watch the video for a sneak preview of all of this season's amazing guests, and then subscribe to Sidewalk Talks and leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts.

Two new episodes will go up every week, so subscribe and don't miss an episode!

On Saturday, September 28th at 7:30 p.m., the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra (SBSO) continues its 90th Season with Music Reframed: Pictures at an Exhibition at the historic Temple Theatre in downtown Saginaw. This ambitious program pairs one of the most celebrated orchestral works of all time with bold contemporary compositions performed by their creators.

The evening culminates in Modest Mussorgsky’s iconic Pictures at an Exhibition, a vivid and dramatic orchestral masterpiece that has captivated audiences for more than a century. Featured guest artist Kebra-Seyoun Charles will perform their concerto Nightlife, following its recent world premiere at Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra. The concert will also feature the Michigan premiere of Trance, an original composition by SBSO Music Director Fouad Fakhouri. The single-movement work recreates the driving momentum and “beat drop” characteristics of EDM, building from bold heroic gestures to percussive propulsion led by tambourine and taiko drum, before culminating in powerful brass and rhythmic accents across the orchestra. Rooted in Fakhouri’s personal memories of youthful summers spent immersed in trance music, the piece channels joy, energy, and celebration.

Fouad Fakhouri joins us in this episode of Sidewalk Talks to chat about the concert, being a conductor, the power of conflict and collaboration in both life and in music, and more.

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Concert Details

00:27 Maestro Travel Story

01:35 Why This Program Works

02:32 Pictures at an Exhibition Explained

04:53 Projected Art and Community Focus

06:20 Keeping Classical Music Alive

09:27 Ravel Orchestration Choices

11:45 Conducting Mindset and Audience Energy

15:20 Reframing the Score from the Piano Original

18:39 Introducing Nightlife Double Bass Feature

20:28 Nightlife Journey Concerto

21:40 Meeting Kera and Saginaw Fit

22:38 Double Bass in Treble

23:06 Composer Soloist Dynamic

25:21 Creative Tension and Conflict

27:27 Socratic Disagreement and Growth

29:48 Trance Origins and Rave Days

31:45 Detroit Techno Roots

33:44 Orchestrating EDM Energy

36:09 Live Music Syncs Us

40:22 Tickets and Final Thanks

In his first-ever podcast appearance, MLive journalist Justin Engel talks about his history and work in local journalism. The conversation centers on defining journalism and discusses misinformation, clickbait, and AI-generated content, and argues for news literacy and reading beyond headlines and comment sections. Justin and Phil emphasize the value of strong local media in the Great Lakes Bay Region, explain why journalism isn’t free and needs subscriptions to survive, and describe how reporting broadened Justin’s perspective by exposing him to different communities across the county. They close with advice to young aspiring journalists to follow the calling, adapt to changing formats, and keep learning—even when it means stepping outside comfort zones.

00:00 First Podcast EVER
00:36 Movie Podcasts & First Theater Memory
01:57 Why Star Wars Hit So Hard
03:24 Favorite Films: Aliens, Almost Famous & the Power of a Great Scene
04:51 Zodiac and Why Journalism Matters in the Real World
06:21 Becoming a Journalist: Early Writing, High School Paper & Grandma’s Tip
10:37 College to Career: Delta, SVSU, and Joining The Saginaw News
13:05 What Is Journalism? Verification, Sources, and Getting It Right
16:23 Context vs. Social Media Narratives
19:58 Scanner Traffic, Clickbait, and How Misinformation Spreads
22:56 AI-Generated News & Clickbait: Why It Looks Real
23:36 News Literacy 101: Verifying Sources in the AI Era
24:57 Why Local Journalism Still Matters (and What Reporters Actually Do)
30:03 Support Local News: Paywalls, Sharing vs. Stealing, and Sustainability
34:38 How Reporting Changes You: Seeing Your Community Through Others’ Eyes
38:12 Story Advocate Mindset: Curiosity, Craft, and Saginaw’s Storytelling Legacy
42:33 Advice for Future Journalists: Follow the Calling & Learn the Business Side
45:21 New Formats, On-Scene Video, and Final Thanks

From Saginaw to living to an RV and back again! In this episode of Sidewalk Talks, Jessica Shepherd discusses her background in broadcasting and journalism, selling most of her belongings to travel full-time in an RV for about two and a half years, and work-camping around the country. She talks about life on the road and why she and her partner, Mark, chose to return home to Saginaw.

00:00 Mic Check & Meet Jessica Shepherd
01:05 Writing Love Letters to Saginaw
03:13 How She Got Into Journalism: WSGW, MLive & Mentors
06:02 Why She Left Saginaw: Career Moves to Grand Rapids & Kalamazoo
07:38 Selling Everything to Live in an RV: Downsizing & Marie Kondo Mode
09:11 How Van Life Became Real: Travel, Belonging & Not Feeling at Home
12:04 Workamping Adventures: Campgrounds, Christmas Trees & National Parks
14:36 Favorite Stops & Big Nature: Grand Tetons, Grand Canyon & Photography
18:11 When the Adventure Felt Like Limbo: Disorientation, Work Challenges & Choosing Saginaw
27:48 Choosing Your Good and Bad: The ‘Grass Is Greener’ Reality
28:44 Saginaw’s Energy: The ‘Something in the Dirt and Water’ Feeling
29:59 Genuine Friendliness & Community Grit (No Pretending)
33:21 Why They Moved Back: Home, Real Estate, and the RV Transition
35:16 One Last Hurrah: Beet Harvest Work-Camping After Buying the House
36:38 Coming Home Hits Different: Love Letters, Old Town, and What’s New
39:20 Get Out and Experience Saginaw: Food, Volunteering, and Finding Your People
43:00 Stop Waiting to Be ‘Served’ a Community: Social Media vs Showing Up
44:53 Quick-Fire RV Life Q&A: Tanks, Shells, Snacks, and Road Trip Anthems
51:17 Final Advice: RV Life Won’t Fix You—Run Toward Something + Welcome Back

In this episode of Sidewalk Talks, Eric Shevchenko talks about bringing New York-style pizza to Saginaw with Old World Pizzeria. He talks about the power of food as a way to keep people connected, preserve culture, evoke emotion, and be a vehicle for creativity.

Eric explains how pizza became his focus, including a 48-hour research trip to New York eating slices and revisiting favorites. Shevcenko talks about his obsessive experimentation with dough fermentation and hydration, creative menu, and OWP’s burnt Basque-style cheesecake.

Eric recounts earlier experiences in Northern California, including raising rabbits for high-end restaurants near Napa and spending time around fine-dining creativity. He shares why he returned to Saginaw to care for his mother, his hopes for local food culture and security, and stories of customers traveling hours, crying, and calling the shop after a cheese slice. They also cover Eric’s appearance on the Netflix survival series Outlast in Alaska and hints of future projects for Old World Pizzeria.

00:00 Ergonomic Chair Shenanigans & Mystery Knobs
00:40 The Tinned Fish Obsession
03:10 From Preservation Food Co. to Fermentation Roots
04:44 Old World Pizzeria: Going All-In on New York-Style Pizza
05:39 48 Hours in NYC: Slice-Crawling for the Perfect Dough
07:06 Creative Specials, Flop Ingredients & the ‘Burnt’ Cheesecake
08:51 Pizza Origin Story: Midwest Shops, Skateboarding & San Francisco
11:08 Food Memories, Dementia, and Why Comfort Food Matters
13:58 Rabbit Farming to Fine Dining: Supplying Top Bay Area Kitchens
18:27 Fine Dining Creativity, Old Town Food Scene & Pizza as a Vessel
23:18 When a Cheese Slice Makes People Cry: Nailing the NY Balance
25:49 Handling Haters: Taste Is Subjective
26:06 Why Come Back to Saginaw? Family, Roots & the “Vortex”
26:46 From Rabbit Farm to Pizza Shop (and Rumors of Another Location)
27:24 Old World Pizzeria 101: Price, Ingredients & “Clean” Pizza
28:28 Behind the Counter: 5AM Dough, Desserts & Cookie Experiments
30:01 Slice Culture: Fast Takeout, Choose-Your-Adventure & Hours
31:15 Brother Chad’s Return: Nashville to Home Again
32:29 Most Memorable Meals: Fine Dining vs. The People You’re With
34:14 Netflix Survival Show ‘Outlast’: Getting Cast & Alaska Reality
36:55 Cameras, Panic Attacks & What It Takes to Survive
39:43 Ratings, Reality TV Frustrations & On-Camera Lessons
44:53 Rapid Fire Pizza Takes + What’s Next for Old World (Wrap-Up)

Ja'Maiya Ryan is a Saginaw-based designer and she just released a new collection! In this episode of Sidewalk Talks, she talks about design, her history, and her love of not only designing, but creating accessible and beautiful accessories.

00:00 Celebrating the Win: The Iconic Happy Tears Photo
00:21 Behind the Scenes: Finding the Right Fashion Program
00:32 Hands-On Craft: Tools, Techniques, and Industry Collabs
01:02 From Concept to Collection: The Millie’s Patent-Pending Journey
01:12 Why It Matters: A Design Close to the Heart