Andover’s Emerson Misch: May 7-12 Patch Athlete of the Week

Andover’s Emerson Misch tops Birmingham’s Kathy Quigley to extend the streak of baseball players winning the weekly poll to three.

Bloomfield Hills Andover’s Emerson Misch won the Patch Athlete of the Week title for May 7-12, pushing the of baseball players winning the weekly award to three. The Barons player picked up 505 votes after a week of unscientific polling among Patch readers in Oakland County, or 53 percent of the total votes cast. He edged out Kathy Quigley from Seaholm, who also received strong support. The Maples lacrosse player had 37 percent of the votes (360). Misch won the title after being a real difference-maker for his Andover team during the week. He was the offensive standout for the Barson in a 6-1 win over district rival Lahser on May 9 with two hits, two runs and two RBIs. In two mercy rule wins on last Saturday over Lamphere, Misch hit a …

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Patch Drives: Hey, Chevy Suburban, is This Love I'm Feelin'?

I thought I wanted to ditch the big ride – until I drove a loaded 2012 Chevy Suburban.

Editor's note: This is the latest in a series. Read all of the Patch Drives installments here. Here’s the thing: I thought I was ready to ditch the big ride. I thought I was looking for something more compact — well, as compact as you can get while loading four kids and all their stuff.  I thought those things until I drove a loaded 2012 Chevy Suburban.  Two days in the Suburban rekindled my passion for extra large cars (and big hair bands, too, courtesy of SiriusXM Radio).  When I drove my giant custom van into the parking lot of Matthews-Hargreaves Chevrolet in Royal Oak, I admit I got what is becoming a familiar twinge of nerves.  Like I’m going on yet another first date. Will they like me? Will I like them? Before I jumped down out of …

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These Moms are Winners to Their Families Every Day

Proud kids, husbands and friends nominate the special women in their lives. Share your photos and stories of mom today, too.

We asked you to tell us why your mom (or grandma or mother figure) is so special in anticipation of Mother's Day and you shared stories and photos that made us laugh and cry. Congratulations to our three winners (chosen at random): Maureen Krasner of Grosse Pointe Farms: Kranser was nominated by her husband, Charles, who said: "Whether we're hiking, biking, picking blueberries, playing in the sand or relaxing at home, Maureen (Mo, Mom) is happy wherever we are as a family. A phenomenal mother, wife and friend, she's always ready to dig in for fun and adventure." Krasner wins dinner at The Root Restaurant & Bar in White Lake. The Rev. Dona Gilsdorf of Birmingham: Gilsdorf, pastor at Unity Church of Rochester, was nominated by Danielle Boes…

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Seaholm’s Spencer Eick: April 30-May 4 Patch Athlete of the Week

Maples’ Spencer Eick tops Berkley’s Stephanie Miller in biggest athlete of the week contest ever!

Seaholm’s Spencer Eick won the Patch Athlete of the Week title for April 30-May 4 in one of the biggest weeks of voting yet. The Maples baseball player picked up nearly 7,500 votes after a week of unscientific polling among Patch readers in Oakland County, or 41 percent of the total votes cast (18,158). He edged out Stephanie Miller from Berkley High School, who also received strong support. The Bears’ soccer player had 40 percent of the votes (7,337). Eick came out on top after strong week at the plate for Seaholm. He went 3-for-4 with two doubles, four RBI and three runs in a 14-3 mercy rule win over Berkley last Friday. A day earlier, he helped the Maples avoid getting swept in a doubleheader against Harrison with a home run and two …

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Letter to the Editor: The Killing of Mute Swans

An area resident presents her argument against the killing of mute swans on local lakes.

The following was submitted to White Lake Patch for publication. Dear Brooke,   As a former Orchard Lake Village Council Member, Planning Commissioner, and current Green Lake riparian, I strongly object to the misguided state policy to exterminate Michigan's Mute swans .  In my view the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) plan to exterminate all Mute swans on State lands, allow killing on private lakes, and reduce Mutes by nearly 90% state wide is ill advised for the following reasons: 1. The state alleges that Mute swans are "voracious eaters" who take food from native trumpeter swans, as well as ducks and geese. Research shows, however, that Mutes eats different vegetation.  2. The DNR alleges concern for loss of "aquatic …

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Enter to Win a Ticket to the Coney Bus Tour Saturday

We have some seats on the tour of Metro Detroit Coney Island Restaurants to give away. The contest closes at noon Friday, May 11, so enter now!

What's your favorite coney island restaurant? Tell us below in comments and you could win a ticket to a coney island bus tour Saturday, May 12. You can join authors of the new book Coney Detroit — Joe Grimm of Bloomfield Township and Katherine Yung of Brighton — on a bus tour by D:Hive Detroit of Metro Detroit for a tasting of their favorite coney island hot dogs. Patch is also sponsoring the tour. The tour runs 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and includes samplings of coneys at the restaurants where the bus stops. The tour will visit some coney local treasures – including a stop at Dearborn restaurant Joe's Top Dog Coney Island – home of the Jim Padilla Special, named for the former Ford Motor Co. president. Also included is a stop at a Greek …

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Letter to the Editor

OPINION: Get Out, Go Vote, and Look Forward

Readers Should Begin Anticipating What Happens After Tuesday.

  Like many Patch readers, I will be voting YES on May 8th, 2012. Positions are now firmly established so I only urge everyone to mark the date and get to the polls. I also urge Patch readers to begin anticipating what happens after May 8th. I have been very frustrated at times with the mode of argument adopted by some no voters and members of 20/20 in particular. But, as far as I can tell, most members of 20/20 are interested, like many of us, in the reform of public education. Public education itself is under severe attack – not by those who want reform but by those who want it abolished completely. This is not hyperbole. On May 1st, when many of us were wrangling over how we could afford to renovate Andover to help with high school …

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Letter to the Editor

OPINION: One Building on One Campus is the Right Thing to Do

The vote on May 8th will determine the structure of the school and the reputation of the community for generations to come.

  I just spent more on stationary and stamps to send my neighborhood a letter about the school bond than what it will cost more a year in taxes to appropriately right-size our high schools. Bloomfield Hills High School, home of the Black Hawks, opens in the Fall of 2013 regardless of the bond's passing. The vote on May 8th will determine the structure of the school and the reputation of the community for generations to come. Voters will decide if all students will be on one campus in one renovated building OR if the student body is divided into two old and out-dated buildings (with 9th graders permanently alone in one of those buildings). The one building on one campus solution saves the district $2.4 million in operating costs annually. …

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