The Life of Ferndale Chickens #1 – The Babies Are Home

The Life of Ferndale Chickens #1 – The Babies Are Home (Jillian Bogater, orig. Chicken Scratch Fever, April 1, 2014) BACKGROUND: Jillian Bogater and Matt Greenberg are cooped up in Ferndale, which in 2012 legalized backyard chickens. This is their first time urban farming with hens. Jillian, a professional journalist, and Matt, a brownfield redevelopment…

Federal Government Recognizes Michigan Same-Sex Marriages

Federal Government Recognizes Michigan Same-Sex Marriages (DOJ Press Release, March 28, 2014) Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, March 28, 2014 Statement by Attorney General Eric Holder on Federal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages in Michigan Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the status of same-sex marriages…

Federal Government Recognizes Michigan Same-Sex Marriages

Federal Government Recognizes Michigan Same-Sex Marriages (DOJ Press Release, March 28, 2014) Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, March 28, 2014 Statement by Attorney General Eric Holder on Federal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages in Michigan Attorney General Eric Holder issued the following statement today on the status of same-sex marriages…

Local Districts Named 2014 Best Communities for Music Education

Local Districts Named 2014 Best Communities for Music Education (Crystal A. Proxmire, March 27, 2014) The NAMM Foundation rates school  districts across the county in music programs, and this year they have named 376 districts to their 2014 Best Communities for Music Education List.  In Oakland County, Berkley, Bloomfield Hills, Ferndale, Oxford and Rochester Schools…

State Won’t Recognize Same Sex Marriages Made Over Weekend

State Won’t Recognize Same Sex Marriages Made Over Weekend (Crystal A. Proxmire, March 26, 2014) Governor Rick Snyder announced today that over 300 same-sex marriages performed on Saturday, during the window of time when they were legal, will not be recognized until after a stay on Friday’s District Court decision has been lifted. Judge Bernard…

Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter’s 2014 State of the City Address (video)

Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter’s 2014 State of the City Address (video) (Dave Coulter, March 25, 2014) Thanks Jennifer for that introduction and for hosting us here at the Rust Belt Market, a true Ferndale original and certainly worthy of the all attention they have received. Chris Best and his wife Tiffany have created something very…

Ferndale Councilman’s Kitchen Damaged by Fire

Ferndale Councilman’s Kitchen Damaged by Fire (Crystal A. Proxmire, March 23, 2014) When a fire started in his home Saturday night, Ferndale City Councilperson Mike Lennon was grateful for the city services that he’d long been an advocate for.  The retired Ferndale Policeman and lifelong Ferndale resident contacted the Ferndale Fire Department at about 8…

Gary Meier Announces Retirement from Ferndale Schools

Gary Meier Announces Retirement from Ferndale Schools (Crystal A. Proxmire, March 20, 2014) After 14 years as Superintendent of Ferndale Schools, Gary Meier has announced that he is retiring. In a memo to Ferndale Schools staff, Meier wrote: “It is with many mixed emotions that I write this letter to formally advise you of my…

Preferential Polices Stricken from Ferndale Schools Contracts

Preferential Polices Stricken from Ferndale Schools Contracts (Crystal A. Proxmire, March 20, 2014) At some point in the 1970s, language giving preference to the hiring and promotion of minorities, including non-Christians, made its way into teacher contracts at Ferndale Schools.  The wording “Special consideration shall be given to women and/or minority defined as: Native American,…

Waterford Businessperson and Ferndale Teacher Learn from Each Other

Waterford Businessperson and Ferndale Teacher Learn from Each Other (Ferndale Schools Press Release, March 19, 2014) Coolidge Intermediate teacher Jason Gillespie exchanged his teacher experiences for a day this week with a local business leader as part of Oakland Schools’ Teacher-Business Leader Exchange Program. Because Gillespie was the 2013 Teacher of the Year for Ferndale…