Keeping with King’s Dream RO Twp. Asks What’s Going on? (video)

Keeping with King’s Dream, Royal Oak Twp. Asks What’s Going on? (video) (Crystal A. Proxmire, Jan. 20, 2015) For 25 years, Royal Oak Township has hosted a celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and while the event was a fitting tribute, the speakers also raised painful topics for the community to consider.…

Couple’s Night at the Warming Center Changes Lives, Particularly Their Own

Couple’s Night at the Warming Center Changes Lives, Particularly Their Own (View by Nan Kerr-Mueller and Chris Mueller, Jan. 20, 2015) Nan:   Helping people fills my bucket, but for whatever reason the idea of volunteering at a warming center was intimidating to me. Last Friday, Chris and I thought we had plans to go out;…

Pleasant Ridge Celebrates 25th Birthday of I-696

Pleasant Ridge Celebrates 25th Birthday of I-696 (Cheryl Weiss, Photography by Thomas Treuter Photography, Jan. 18,2015) The Historical Society of Pleasant Ridge held a 25th birthday celebration for I-696 on Thursday, January 15, 2015 with approximately 80 residents and interested residents from neighboring communities. They gathered at the Pleasant Ridge Community Center to view a…

Michigan Students will get SAT Instead of ACT Starting in 2016

Michigan Students will get SAT Instead of ACT Starting in 2016 (Michigan Department of Education Press Release, Jan. 18, 2015) All Michigan high school juniors will begin taking the SAT as the state-administered college assessment exam beginning in 2016 after the College Board won the three-year competitively-bid contract, the Michigan Department of Education and Department…

Edible Front Yard Gardening Presentation Feb. 12

Edible Front Yard Gardening Presentation Feb. 12 (Ferndale Garden Club, Jan. 16, 2015) Ferndale Garden Club is hosting a presentation on “Edible Front Yard Gardening” by Lucas Harrison Zdenek on Thursday, February 12 at 7 p.m. at the Kulick Community Center, 1201 Livernois. For more information, call 248-541-6427. For more event listings go to https://oaklandcounty115.com/events/…

Federal Judge: State Must Recognize Legal Marriages of 300 Same-Sex Couples

Federal Judge: State of Michigan Must Recognize Legal Marriages of 300 Same-Sex Couples (ACLU Press Release, Jan. 15, 2015) In a victory for marriage equality, a federal judge today ruled that the state of Michigan must recognize the legal marriages of 300 same-sex couples wed last spring in the state. A lawsuit was filed by…

Ferndale Schools Sues Former Superintendent Gary Meier

Ferndale Schools Sues Former Superintendent Gary Meier (Crystal A. Proxmire, Jan. 13, 2015) Ferndale Superintendent Blake Prewitt announced that today that a civil suit has been filed against former Superintendent Gary Meier. Meier’s last couple of years as Superintendent were marred by scandal as details of his side consulting, and use of Ferndale Schools resources…

Library Picks: Kathleen’s Suggestions

Library Picks: Kathleen’s Suggestions (Jeff Milo, FADL Circulation Specialist, Jan.11, 2015) This regular column will provide Oakland County with cultural recommendations, in books, film, music and more, from an undeniably trusted source, one of its area libraries (as well as other community members in the weeks to come). The Ferndale Area District Library is part…

Melanie Piana: Twenty Years Revitalizing Downtown Ferndale

Melanie Piana: Twenty Years Revitalizing Downtown Ferndale (Melanie Piana, Ferndale City Councilperson, Orig. Meltropolis, Jan. 9, 2015)   In the December 2014 Ferndale Friends issue, I responded to questions about the 3-60 development project. My intent was to expand on that response here, but that intent evolved into answering my personal question “when DID Ferndale determine…

Ferndale Adding STEM Program in Middle School

Ferndale Adding STEM Program in Middle School (FPS Press Release, Jan. 9, 2015)   The Ferndale Board of Education recently approved a new STEM program for 7th and 8th grade students at Ferndale Middle School (FMS) starting next school year.s STEM which stands for science, technology, engineering and math, is an interdisciplinary and applied approach…