Looks like Oakland County has the market cornered on hospitality here in Michigan. Eight different spots in the OC received high marks on their AAA report cards, including the Radisson, the Royal Park, and the Westin in Southfield hotels, all of which received the Four-Diamond rating.

Excerpt:

Eight different hospitality-oriented establishments in Oakland County have earned Four-Diamond ratings from AAA for excellence.

The eight local hotels and restaurants honored by AAA, including the Townsend Hotel and Rugby Grille in downtown Birmingham, are among 25 across the state that won the coveted award.

Read the entire article here.

The market for solar energy is hot (pun intended). Energy Conversion Devices in Rochester Hills offers commercial – and soon, residential – clients a ray of hope: less costly, thin-film solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity.

Excerpt:

Harin Ullal, a solar expert and senior project manager at the National Renewable Energy Laboratories in Golden, Colo., says he expects thin film's share of the solar-power market to increase to 25% by 2015, compared with the 10% to 15% market share thin-film manufacturers say they have now...

In addition to being cheaper to manufacture, thin-film panels perform better in low, diffuse light and in blistering hot  weather, when crystalline silicon panels can lose as much as 25% of their efficiency. Thin-film panel makers such as United Solar, a unit of Energy Conversion Devices of Rochester Hills, Mich., say that because their products work in partial shade, customers don't have to remove trees to generate electricity.

Read the full story here.

It hasn't all been soda pop and cotton candy for the film industry here. Michigan wasn't exactly set up for the film production tsunami of '08. Still, the incentive is less than a year old and some growing pains are expected. Luckily, local governments have been greasing the wheels for projects, making it easier to get things done. The hope is that the area will then become more enticing to a yet more moviemakers.

Excerpt:

Cities like Rochester Hills, Royal Oak and Ferndale have simplified or created new processes for getting permits to close streets, erect temporary structures and move forward with filmmaking.

In some cases, officials estimate these changes could shave up to a month off the time it takes to get certain permits by allowing administrators to issue them instead of making movie companies first go before a city council or commission.

Ferndale, Rochester and Rochester Hills are building Web sites to help market their communities to movie moguls while Redford Township is creating a promotional packet.

Read the entire article here.

Sustainability isn't cheap. But, really, what is these days? It's an estimated $2.6 million to develop an 8,000-square-foot building into a combination brewpub, organic eatery, and sustainable showplace. It would be the first sustainable restaurant in the country. That place, Mind, Body & Spirits, is looking for a September opening.

A Rochester Hills-based Energy Conversion Devices is helping build the largest solar rooftop in the world... it's the superlative.

RelocateAmerica.com, an online resource for people on the move, released their 11th annual America's Top 100 Places to Live. Plymouth and Rochester made the cut. The list is based on neighborhood details, school performances, rec activities, beauty of the area, and economic growth.

As they wont to do each year, the Metro Times has released its annual "Best of Detroit" awards.

The Metrotimes annual restaurant guide runs the gamut: from coneys to caviar, from haute to simply hot.