It Stormed, Therefore Power is Out in Various Communities (Crystal A. Proxmire, June 18, 2014) There was a storm today, and as a result several communities have lost power. Bloomfield Hills, Beverly Hills and Oak Park seem to be suffering the most outages. DTE crews are working to repair downed power lines and damaged transformers…
Oakland County Wins 11 National Association of Counties Awards (Oakland County Press Release, June 16, 2014) Oakland County has garnered at least 11 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Awards for innovative programs that help improve access to healthy food for low-income residents, train nursing students how to teach parents about preventing infant deaths,…
Gun Violence in Oakland County Prompts Gun Lock Giveaway in 38 Communities (video) (Crystal A. Proxmire, June 6, 2014) Putting partisan politics aside and collaborating with 38 local agencies, The Oakland County Board of Commissioners organized a fight to reduce gun violence. They unanimously voted to make June 6 Gun Safety Awareness Day. They conducted…
Gloria Steinem Puts Reproductive Rights into Perspective (video) (Crystal A. Proxmire, May 13, 2014) Over 900 people packed the Henry in Dearborn to listen to women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem talk about her lifelong fight for equality. For 80 years she has experienced patriarchy, and as she spoke to people of all ages at Planned…
Oakland County Fights Detroit Water and Sewer Plan (C. Proxmire, May 13, 2014) As the City of Detroit struggles to restructure under bankruptcy, the issue of regional water management is in the forefront of the discussions. Oakland County leaders, including County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash are advocating for…
SMART Funding Increase to be on August Ballot (Crystal A. Proxmire, May 3, 2014) Residents of Oakland County will decide on Aug. 5 if SMART should receive taxpayer funding. County Commissioners voted to put a 1-mil rate on the ballot, an increase over the .59 millage rate of years past. On average, the additional millage…
WONder Women Recognized for Changing the World (video) (Crystal A. Proxmire, May 1, 2014) One of Women Officials Network WONder Women Award winners carries little silver acorns around with her to give to strangers who cross her path. “When we reach out to other people…it does evoke the metaphor of the acorn. Everything that an…
Be Part of the Seeds of Support Campaign Sign up now to get your own custom ad! Conditions are growing worse in the corporate news landscape. Cutbacks in journalism jobs including the shutdown of traditional publications and the de-staffing of AOL’s Patch chain have left news deserts, places where citizens are thirsty for a local,…
SEMCOG Releases Traffic Crash and Fatality Report, Urges Safety (SEMCOG Press Release, April 29,2014) The number of traffic crashes in Southeast Michigan increased by more than four percent in 2013 compared with the previous year, according to an analysis of traffic crash data by SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. Traffic Crashes, 2009-2013 The…
Commission to Vote Wednesday on SMART Funding (Sherry A. Wells and Crystal Proxmire, April 29, 2014) Tomorrow morning, Wednesday, April 30 at 9:30 AM, the Oakland County Commission votes on whether to join Wayne and Macomb County Commissions for a vote to keep the SMART bus system running in the midst of vastly reduced property…
Democrats Pack Cobo for Fmr. President Bill Clinton Speech (video) (Crystal A. Proxmire, April 27, 2014) Raising over $500,000 for the Michigan Democratic Party, the 2014 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at Cobo Hall featuring Former President Bill Clinton was considered “a rousing success” by Democratic Party Chair Lon Johnson. Johnson and others took time to share their…
Be Part of the Seeds of Support Campaign Sign up now to get your own custom ad! Conditions are growing worse in the corporate news landscape. Cutbacks in journalism jobs including the shutdown of traditional publications and the de-staffing of AOL’s Patch chain have left news deserts, places where citizens are thirsty for a local,…
President Obama Visits Ann Arbor to Promote Minimum Wage Increase (Crystal A. Proxmire, April 2, 2014) The move is on in Michigan and across the country to raise the minimum wage, and to help promote the effort President Barack Obama came to Ann Arbor for a speech at the University of Michigan. Stepping off Air…
MEAP Scores Released, Improvement in Reading Celebrated (Michigan Dept. of Education Press Release, Feb. 28, 2014) Reading test scores for Michigan fourth graders improved for the fourth consecutive year, the Michigan Department of Education reported today. Results from the Fall 2013 Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) are reflective of what children had learned the previous…
Bridge Magazine Ranks Michigan School Districts (Crystal Proxmire, Feb. 9, 2014) Bridge Magazine looked at public school districts and public charters and compared them based on performance weighted by economics to determine how schools are performing compared to expectations. The publication used three years’ worth of data and ranked the schools. A score of 100…
Mode Shift’s Road Map To Understanding SEMCOG (David Sands, Mode Shift, Feb. 2, 2014, orig. wearemodeshift.org/mode-shifts-road-map-understanding-semcog) It was a noteworthy 2013 for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. The organization not only helped jumpstart the new Regional Transit Authority, but it’s been busy developing a regional non-motorized transportation plan and conducting an analysis of rapid transit…
Cold Prompts School Closings for Tuesday (C. Proxmire, Jan. 27, 2014) School administrators across SE Michigan have declared Tuesday a “snow day” due to temperatures and wind chills below zero. Classes and events will be cancelled in many districts, including Berkley, Birmingham, Clawson, Farmington, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Madison Public Schools, Pontiac, Rochester Schools, Royal Oak,…
40 Under 40 Announced, Public to Pick Top Winner (Oakland County Press Release, Jan. 27, 2014) Starting Jan. 27 the public can cast an online vote to choose the winner of the Oakland County Executive’s Elite 40 under 40 Class of 2014. More than 500 applications and nominations were reviewed by a panel of judges,…
Oakland Chamber Network Learns From National Trends (Crystal A. Proxmire, Jan. 27, 2014) Collaborating to improve the environment for business success is the core strength of Chambers of Commerce in general, and the Oakland Chamber Network doubles up on that principle by bringing 27 local Chambers together. At their annual meeting on Jan. 22, OCN…
Group Seeks Ballot Measure to Increase Minimum Wage (Mothering Justice Press Release, Jan. 27, 2014) Community organizing, social justice and labor groups today formed a committee to explore a ballot campaign to raise the minimum wage in Michigan. The minimum wage in Michigan –currently $7.40 an hour – hasn’t been raised since 2008, leaving many…