Bright Spots? Detroit is actually doing better than it has in a very long time. As with any large city from New York to Chicago, there are rough areas, but downtown is actually a very pleasant place. Besides, I don't actually live in the Detroit city limits. My neighbors all have manicured lawns and most of the houses around here have pools and a BMW in the driveway ;-)
Forgive me for getting riled up, us "Detroiters" get pissy when people make "oh, you live in Detroit..." comments, which happens A LOT. One time while traveling, some guy in an antique shop told me that I'm crazy for living in Detroit and he'd never step foot near it for fear of getting shot. He almost got punched in the face.
Anyway, back to old stuff!