Diversity

Main Street Oakland County hosts downtown preservation workshops

By Newsroom

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May 28, 2009

Oakland County's downtowns have spent decades turning themselves into some of Michigan's most vibrant urban centers, and the county isn't going to allow a few bad economic years to retard that progress.That's why Main Street Oakland County is being proactive this summer, with three workshops aimed at helping keep these downtowns thriving and continuing their development momentum. And this is while those downtowns are in slightly better shape than the overall state economy."The whole thing is about how to make it in a tough economy," says Bret Rasegan, planning supervisor for Oakland County.The workshops will feature local, state, and national experts for a range of urban issues, such as preservation and obtaining grants. The idea is to help downtown stakeholders get new perspectives on these topics and see how they can help each different downtown. The first workshop, set for June 19, will tackle issues like dealing with declining property values in a down economy and financing projects in a tough credit market. The second (July 17) will examine how to encourage new economy development in the downtowns and take advantage of historic assets. The last one (August 14) will tackle sustainability issues like LEED architecture.All will be held at the Oakland County Executive Office Building Conference Center, 2100 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford. For information, call (248) 858-1848.Source: Bret Rasegan, planning supervisor for Oakland CountyWriter: Jon Zemke

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Royal Oak students build landmine robot, file for patent

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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May 28, 2009

What started as just another high school robotics project could turn into a career-molding discovery for three Royal Oak High School students.Freshmen Gordon Stein, Max Schultz, and Julia Stavale built an autonomous robot that detects and locates landmines. It won the top award at the 10th annual World Robofest Championship at Lawrence Technological University this spring, and a $1,000 development grant from the Joint Center for Robotics at the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Warren. The students are filing for a patent for the robot called "Seeker" and are working in the rent-free office space of one parent's firm, Clawson-based Art/Design Group. "They will be refining it over the next several months," says Joel Stein, father of Gordon Stein, who helped guide the team. Stein challenged the Homemade Titanium Expos team to work on a project that not only exhibited their robotic expertise but tackled a humanitarian problem. They chose to focus on defusing landmines, (70 people are injured or killed every day by landmines) and researched patents to see what was out there. The Homemade Titanium Expos came up with an inexpensive vehicle robot that can be used to find some of the 100 million landmines buried in 70 different countries. Seeker cost $148 to build and weighs five pounds, light enough not to set off most landmines. It uses a metal detector sensor to find the mines and marks the spot with a fluorescent dye.Source: Joel Stein, parental supervisor of Homemade Titanium Expos and Lawrence Technological UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke

Milford Kensington Connector trail opens

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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May 28, 2009

A short but important greenway is about to open in Oakland County. The Milford Kensington Connector is set to open later this week as a way to connect some major institutions in this little hamlet on the county's west end.The 10-foot-wide asphalt trail connects the edge of the village of Milford at General Motors Road to Kensington Metro Park about three miles away. It will provide safe passage between the park and Milford's downtown, YMCA and library. It connects about 30 miles of trails and sidewalks in the Milford area."It's a much-needed addition to the area," says Donald Green, supervisor for Milford Township.The $2.9 million project was first dreamed up in the mid 1990s and funded by a millage assessed for greenway improvements a few years ago. Construction began at the beginning of last fall and finished this spring. People have already begun using it.Source: Donald Green, supervisor for Milford TownshipWriter: Jon Zemke

Ferndale’s Old Navy Outlet building gets new facade

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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May 28, 2009

One of downtown Ferndale's most visible buildings is getting a facelift while it looks for a new tenant.Grenadier Properties is putting a new façade on the front entrance to what used to be the Old Navy Outlet store on the northwest corner of Woodward Avenue and 9 Mile Road. The Southfield-based firm is refacing the front entrance with cast stone (think limestone), new windows, and lights. The project is expected to finish by the end of June."The four corners of Woodward and Nine are like Ferndale's four front teeth," says Robert Brunner, city manager for Ferndale. "Regardless of how good the rest of the City looks, our smile is only as good as those four buildings. I am very happy the former Old Navy Outlet is getting some much needed attention."Old Navy left the space a little more than a year ago and Grenadier Properties has been looking for a new tenant for the 15,000-square-foot, single-story building since."There are a few prospects, but we're still looking," says Josh Grenadier, the firm's co-owner.It has found a new tenant for the old Coffee Beanery space at the rear of the Old Navy building. Inyo Restaurant, an Asian-influenced eatery, plans to open there by the end of the week.Source: Robert Brunner, city manager for Ferndale and Josh Grenadier, co-owner of Grenadier PropertiesWriter: Jon Zemke

Plans surface for unearthing Clinton River in Pontiac

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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May 28, 2009

A section of the Clinton River could see a lot more daylight in downtown Pontiac someday soon.Oakland County and city officials are working on plans to daylight the section of the river that bisects Pontiac's downtown. The idea is to create a riverwalk environment that helps draw more visitors and development to the city's core. Other suburbs like Wyandotte and Mt. Clemens have parlayed similar waterways into economic development engines."It would be a major project to bring some new life to downtown," says Steven Korth, manager at the Oakland County Water Resources Commission.Major is a nice way of saying expensive. The recently released feasibility study says it would cost at least $47 million to unearth that river segment. The city's dire financial situation and tight budget at the county level means there are no piles of cash ready to move on this project. The Clinton River was buried in concrete tunnels in 1963 to help solve flooding issues. The plan would create a new, open-air path for the river, cutting along the eastern edge of downtown along Woodward Avenue before turning in front of the Phoenix Center."The original closure will remain where it is to handle the flooding flows," Korth says.The project is on hold until funds can be raised. However, local officials are planning to apply for state and federal grants later this year. Source: Steven Korth, manager at the Oakland County Water Resources CommissionWriter: Jon Zemke

Cooley Law School dedicates new building addition

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Arts and Culture

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May 28, 2009

The herd of deer roaming around Cooley Law School's Auburn Hills campus are now able to bound about without dodging piles of construction supplies and equipment. They’ll just have to avoid the increased numbers of law school students faculty and media. The law school held a dedication of its new Oakland County campus this morning, showing off the freshly finished renovated building, addition and hat full of green feathers that comes with it. Today marks the end of a long journey for the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The Lansing–based law school bought the 67-acre campus in the shadow of the Chrysler headquarter in 2007. It began renovating an old 1980s era GM/UAW building and then doubled its size to 130,000 square feet. The original building now serves as part meeting space, part classroom space and a lot of law library. The new addition is made up primarily of classrooms, office and courtrooms for both practice and real trials. The modern-looking building is also going for LEED certification with a strong list of environmentally friendly features, such as a 20,000 square foot green roof and recycled materials. Cooley opened its Metro Detroit campus at Oakland University six years ago with 28 students. Today it has 680 students at its new Auburn Hills campus. It is expected to hold up to 800 within the next year or two and possibly more than 1,000 after that. Source: Cooley Law School Writer: Jon Zemke

Rethinking The Cineplex

By Amy Kuras

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Arts and Culture

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May 28, 2009

Most people view multi-screen cineplexes as joyless movie warehouses with only one goal: To get you in and out with as much popcorn grease on your fingers as possible. Local movie chain Emagine is trying to remake the muliplex image by offering its audiences unexpected amenities and local outreach.

Bongotones.com rings up new jobs in Royal Oak

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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May 28, 2009

A trio of recent college graduates is going all Silicon Valley on Metro Detroit with their new website, BongoTones.com.Grads from the University of Michigan (David Pakhchanian and Nareg Sagherian) and the University of Toronto (Soheil Banifatemi) launched BongoTones last fall as an easier way for cell phone users to get more custom multimedia applications. They operate the company virtually, but are in the process of setting up a base in Royal Oak or even TechTown."We are inquiring about relocating closer to the city of Detroit, since most of the opportunities and our immediate connections are based there," Sagherian says.The trio began the start-up as an easier way to get content to cell phones and to allow artists to build awareness of their work. Today its Beta platform delivers 15,000 user-generated ringtones with an easy search function. It also allows bands and musicians to convert their original music into ringtones. All of this is available for free. The BongoTones trio is working with users, advertisers, and carriers to create revenue streams.Source: Nareg Sagherian, co-founder of BongoTonesWriter: Jon Zemke

A culinary tour ’round Royal Oak

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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May 27, 2009

There are all kinds of tours. Music tours, museum tours, pub crawls (it's kind of like a tour), tours of duty, and even food tours. Enter Culinary Escapes, a food tour company here in the Great Lakes State. And they are close to home, too. Check out the Royal Oak experience. And if you go on a tour like this, you might want to wear your fat pants.Excerpt:I was a bit of a skeptic, at first, about the need for a walking tour -- to restaurants in Royal Oak, Mich., near Detroit Hip eateries in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak are within close proximity to one another. And I've never had much problem finding food. But then I met up with our guide on this tour by Culinary Escapes, a company founded last summer. Marq Blanks handed us tiny earpieces with receivers we clipped onto our jackets. And we soon were trailing behind him around town, through farm market booths, past charming bakeries, striking (even scandalous) sculptures and tempting eateries, feeling like a cross between campus tour-goer and undercover culinary spy as he transmits historic, food and celebrity trivia en route to each stop.Read the entire article here.

Move over Teletubbies! Oogieloves movie to be made in Michigan

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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May 27, 2009

Teletubbies were lovable and cute or like nails on a chalk board, depending on how old you were. Yet, it's hard to deny their popularity blitz in marketing and retail. Well, the guy behind that is coming to Michigan because of the tax breaks with another show: the Oogieloves.The title sounds lovable and cute or like nails on a chalk board.Excerpt:Viselman has come from Los Angeles to Farmington Hills to produce a children's film called "The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure." As he describes the mood inside the building that serves as the movie's home base, he oozes enthusiasm. "Oh my God, it's like maybe we should bring the Oogieloves to the Middle East. Maybe they'll solve the Middle East problems! It's a very unexpected, joyous place here," he says. Viselman, 48, has been called a marketing genius for his role in the selling of the Teletubbies and Thomas the Tank Engine in America. He didn't invent those characters, but he helped make them must-have toys.In 1998, the New York Times described him as "the whiz behind the 'Teletubbies' blitz." An Inc. profile from 2003 said "when he picked up the phone, the CEOs of FAO Schwarz and Toys 'R' Us took the call."Read the entire article here.