Sesame Street is now 40 years old. And, in honor of the great children's program, here is a shout-out to cooperation. A bill designed to allow the Detroit and Wayne County land banks to work together was announced with bipartisan support this week.

See, we do learn things from television.

Excerpt:

Bills that would allow land banks operated by Detroit and Wayne County to merge into a redevelopment entity with expanded powers were announced Monday, with bipartisan support.

The legislation would provide for a Detroit/Wayne County Redevelopment Authority that would "enable the city and county to have a cohesive strategy for stabilizing and redeveloping tax-reverted properties," said Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, in a news release.

Read the entire article here.

Though migration to the Mitten has slowed, mainly due to the auto industry crisis, families are still finding their way to Metro Detroit... and loving it. The Freep drops in on a few to get their stories.

Excerpt:

Outland grew up in Grosse Pointe, where her parents still live. Last September, the couple moved to Michigan so their two girls, ages 5 and 10, could start school. They rented an apartment while they searched for a house.

They ended up finding a three-bedroom, 2 1/2 -bath brick colonial in Grosse Pointe Park for $260,000 this spring. And it is just down the street from Outland's parents' home.

Outland said pricing was one of the appeals of the move back.

"Even in St. Louis, the housing market had slowed down, but houses cost more there," she said. "Another reason we wanted to move here was I knew Michigan and Detroit were going through a bad time. It was my chance to contribute to the community."

Read the entire article here.

Whether you like Dearborn's Miller's Bar or Royal Oak's Red Coat Tavern, you favorite burger joint is bound to show up somewhere on the Freep's list of best burgers in town. Not into red meat? Don't worry, check out No. 24. Ferndale's Flytrap has a salmon burger just waiting for consumption.

Excerpt:

When we asked readers this fall to point us toward Detroit's best hamburgers, hundreds of you sent recommendations. We read every one, picked the places that sounded best and then hit the streets in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties to taste them. Six weeks and innumerable antacids later, here are our favorites.

Read the entire article here.

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

Wayne County's TURBO (Transforming Underdeveloped Residential & Business Opportunities) program is jump-starting developments all over Wayne County.

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

Thursday, June 21 is the second annual "Dump the Pump" day that calls for the parking of cars and the riding of public transit as a way of calling attention to the environmental and economic benefits of using public transit.

The Michigan Suburbs Alliance next Mayors & Managers breakfast will focus on healthcare legacy costs. It is set for June 29 and will be held at Macomb Community College.