Thursday, May 17, 2012
Metro Detroit nonprofit had sought to move into vacant building on Northwestern Highway near Orchard Lake Road.
Citing concerns with the image of the West Bloomfield "downtown" area at the Northwestern Highway and Orchard Lake Road intersection, the Zoning Board of Appeals denied a request from Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit on Tuesday night. The ZBA had been asked to grant an exception from the law that would have required Goodwill, categorized by the township as a secondhand store, to be located more than 750 feet from another "serious objectionable use" — in this case, a tattoo studio. Residents turned out Tuesday in support of and against the request, which was voted down 4-1. Robert Sher cast the only vote in support of Goodwill. Goodwill's Director of Donated Goods, Jeffrey Ukrainec, said Goodwill is not interested in other vacant …
42.529428
-83.359255
Big George's Home Appliance Mart
33086 Northwestern Hwy, West Bloomfield, MI
proposed site of Goodwill
/articles/no-good-goodwill-request-voted-down-by-west-bloomfield-zoning-board
717467
/locations/7039426
Farmington Hills council member Ken Massey urges school officials to move more quickly in adding the life-saving procedure as a graduation requirement.
Farmington Public Schools officials say they're planning to add cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training to the 9th grade health curriculum in 2014. Farmington Hills city council member Ken Massey says that's not nearly soon enough. At a joint meeting of the the Hills and Farmington city councils and Farmington school board Tuesday, he asked school officials what could be done to move the program forward. Massey has pushed over the past five years to make the life-saving technique a graduation requirement for Farmington Schools students. He has cited statistics from King County in Washington, where a concerted effort to train all citizens in CPR increased the out-of-hospital survival rate to 20 percent. If the cardiac event was …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Tuesday deadline reveals a total of 23 candidates will be running for spots in Town Hall.
The Aug. 7 primary picture became clearer Tuesday night, as the final unofficial list of candidates who will be running for West Bloomfield Township Board and other positions was published. A total of 23 candidates will be pushing for spots in Town Hall. Every incumbent on the township board again seeks a spot on the board, including all three full-time elected officials. Each position is a four-year term. Candidates' school positions will file to appear on the general election ballot later this year. Judicial candidates had to meet a May 1 filing deadline. Candidates may also pursue running independent by collecting qualifying signatures or campaigning for write-in votes. Local candidates include: For more information including state- and…
42.558062
-83.373003
West Bloomfield Town Hall
4550 Walnut Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, MI
/articles/supervisor-to-face-two-challengers-in-aug-7-primary
1855449
/locations/7029031
Critical of current board, the former supervisor plans to bypass the Aug. 7 primary by running as independent.
Former West Bloomfield Township Supervisor David Flaisher announced his bid to run again for the top office in town as an independent in the Nov. 6 general election. Flaisher was beaten soundly in the 2008 August primary by current Supervisor Michele Economou Ureste. As a result of that defeat, he said he's reconsidered the primary process in hopes of avoiding what he called "the mud-slinging campaign you're seeing now." "People are sick of it," said Flaisher, who hasn't run for any office since the defeat. "The board pretty much ran as a slate of Democrats back then when they promised to end fighting and now they're tearing each other to pieces." Now running as an independent after running for supervisor as a Democrat for two four-year …
42.558062
-83.373003
West Bloomfield Town Hall
4550 Walnut Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, MI
/articles/flaisher-announces-bid-for-west-bloomfield-supervisor-position
1855449
/locations/7028970
Metro Detroit nonprofit seeks approval to move into vacancy at Northwestern Highway intersection
The West Bloomfield Township Zoning Board of Appeals will again consider the possibility of Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit moving into a vacancy in the "gateway of the community" tonight at Town Hall. A request for exceptions from a local law were tabled by the Zoning Board of Appeals April 17 as board members asked for more time to research and a petition by neighboring businesses at the northeast Northwestern and Orchard Lake intersection which oppose the project was presented. Big George's Home Appliance Mart, 33086 Northwestern Hwy., currently occupies the space with intent to move to a new location next to Plum Market at Maple and Orchard Lake Roads. Mike Robin, longtime owner of the Robin's Nest shopping center in West …
42.529428
-83.359255
Big George's Home Appliance Mart
33086 Northwestern Hwy, West Bloomfield, MI
/articles/goodwill-back-before-zoning-board-tonight
717467
/locations/7010889
Monday, May 14, 2012
Town Hall was packed Monday night with angry and frustrated residents concerned with politics in West Bloomfield.
Updated: 8:58 a.m., May 15, 2012 Residents angered and frustrated by a lawsuit brought in September 2010 by Supervisor Michele Economou Ureste and Trustee Steven Kaplan against West Bloomfield Township packed Town Hall Monday night after allegedly receiving a "robo-call" Sunday morning in support of the two government officials. Residents at the meeting said it made mention of Trustee Larry Brown’s election to defer income earned at township board meetings ($125 per meeting) to a benevolent fund he established in 2009 in order to help township residents struggling with their water and sewer bills to keep their water on. As part of the lawsuit, Economou Ureste and Kaplan claim that Brown should pay taxes on the income. The item had been …
42.558062
-83.373003
West Bloomfield Town Hall
4550 Walnut Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, MI
/articles/quick-hits-west-bloomfield-township-drilling-and-fracking
1855449
/locations/7012100
Become a candidate for several of the local and state seats in play in the next election.
If you are politically inclined and looking to make a difference in local, state or federal politics there's just a day left to get on the Aug. 7 primary ballot. All candidates for partisan and nonpartisan seats, except for judicial positions, need to file their nominating petitions or applicable fees by 4 p.m. Tuesday. Candidates must also complete an affidavit of identity to be on the ballot. Candidates for county convention delegate (precinct delegate) also must file an affidavit of identity Tuesday. Documents may be submitted to the Oakland County Clerk's Office, or Town Hall. The deadline to withdrawal expires at 4 p.m. Friday, May 18. Do you know about an important upcoming deadline? Share it in the comments below and we’ll consider …
42.558062
-83.373003
West Bloomfield Town Hall
4550 Walnut Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, MI
/articles/last-chance-filing-deadline-for-aug-7-primary-is-tuesday-1f5d38d4
1855449
/locations/7003658
The West Bloomfield Township Board will meet at 6:45 p.m. in Town Hall Monday.
The fears of West Bloomfield residents concerned about the recent purchase of oil and gas drilling rights in town are being heard by the Township Board, who are expected to vote on a ban of such drilling Monday. According to a Detroit Free Press report, Jordan Development of Traverse City purchased much of the available 18,347 acres in Oakland County at a state auction May 9, including land surrounded by that which is currently owned by the township, private property owners, or other institutions. Local resident Kathy Chiaravalli, who opposes the purchase and attended the auction in protest, brought the matter to the attention of local government officials. "Oil and or gas companies can buy these rights and explore for oil or natural gas…
42.558062
-83.373003
West Bloomfield Town Hall
4550 Walnut Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, MI
/articles/what-s-on-the-township-board-meeting-agenda
1855449
/locations/7001472
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Supporters of the State Rep. from West Bloomfield denounce alleged pregnancy-bashing as smear tactic.
A former aide of State Rep. Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield) told Patch that she was wrongfully fired almost three years ago, an allegation deflected by Oakland County Democrats as part of "election year shenanigans." Ericah Caughey, 30, of Potterville said Wednesday that when she told Brown she was pregnant in March 2009, that their working relationship quickly fell apart. Two months later, Brown had House staff fire her without a reason, according to Caughey. Brown's supporters question why Caughey waited so long before speaking with press, as opposed to filing a wrongful termination lawsuit. "I've never heard of a case in which someone with an alleged civil rights complaint such as this holds a press conference instead of going through …
Vets can now purchase a card from Oakland County.
John Heller has told his war story hundreds of times. As the last Michigan survivor of the USS Indianapolis, sunk by a Japanese submarine in World War II, Heller was honored to be one of the first to receive Oakland County's new veteran identification card. "I think (the ID card) is the greatest thing in the world," Heller, of Clawson, said Thursday. County officials unveiled the new card Thursday morning at a special ceremony at the Oakland County Board of Commissioners Auditorium where Heller, 84, led the Pledge of Allegiance and shared his story with guests. The event attracted about 75 veterans from across Oakland County, many of whom received their card after the ceremony. There are 73,000 veterans living in Oakland County. Oakland …
Timothy Rath
9:31 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
Top notch comment EDC. You might find interesting but did not make the story: Public comment at the ZBA meeting included a man who self-identified as Jared Gell, a real estate agent, said Goodwill had looked at Pontiac Trail and Haggerty intersection (former dollar store) as well as Frank's site ("site is pretty much invisible from Haggerty"). These spaces and others in town did not meet Goodwill… more ›