Kids and Education

Can Metro Parks save Detroit’s State Fair?

By Newsroom

●

February 25, 2010

Metro Detroit is about to score the green space hat trick now that Huron-Clinton Metro Parks is making moves to take over the State Fairgrounds in Detroit.The scores would include Detroit receiving its first Metro Park, establishing the first inner-city Metro Park in the region, and saving the annual Michigan State Fair."The State Fair has been one of our regional jewels for more than 100 years," says Tim Greimel, an Oakland County Commissioner representing Pontiac, Auburn Hills, and Rochester Hills, who is helping push the deal forward. "It provides family friendly entertainment to hundreds of thousands of people. It would be a great shame if we lost the State Fair."Under the deal, the state would lease the State Fairgrounds at Woodward Avenue and 8 Mile Road to Metro Parks for $1 a year. Metro Parks would agree to run the State Fair and create a year-round park with the rest of the 135 acres. That park could include amenities such as a fishing area, cross country skiing, and athletic fields."One of the challenges southern Oakland County has is the lack of large-acreage parkland," Greimel says. "The alternative is our southeast Oakland County communities would have a vacant eyesore across the road."One of the major complaints Detroit and the inner-ring suburbs have had is that they pay taxes for Metro Parks, but most of that parkland is at the outer fringes of the region. Turning the State Fair into a Metro Park would go a long way toward remedying that complaint. The Metro Parks Board of Commissioners tabled the proposal yesterday afternoon and will revisit it after 60 days.Source: Tim Greimel, Oakland County CommissionerWriter: Jon Zemke

Latest in Kids and Education

Metro Detroit’s Homeprenuers

By Amy Kuras

●

Arts and Culture

●

February 25, 2010

As scary as the economy is, some smart and creative people are laughing in the face of fear and launching their own businesses from home. Meet three people who've created enormously cool jobs for themselves.

Clawson to begin streetscape project in spring

By Newsroom

●

Arts and Culture

●

February 25, 2010

Clawson continues to steadily create a city center in the otherwise suburban suburb. Its latest step is a streetscape project that promises to recreate the sleepy little intersection at Main Street and 14 Mile Road.The project will revamp the two main streets of Clawson's downtown, including Main between Wolper and Phillips, and 14 Mile between Washington and Bellevue. That involves installing decorative lighting, replacing worn out sidewalks, and installing new landscaping, planters, trees, and bike racks. Brick pavers will also be installed along with the new sidewalks."It's a first step," says Joan Horton, director of the Clawson Downtown Development Authority. "This is one of our first brick-and-mortar projects that we have had in a long time."Previous projects including putting Main on a diet a few years ago. That consisted of shrinking the five-lane road to three lanes and creating two lanes of parallel parking. This resulted in more parking spaces for local businesses, slower traffic, protection for pedestrians, and making the downtown more walkable in general. Clawson plans to also put 14 Mile on a diet in the downtown section soon, too."That's very important for us as a downtown and a city," Horton says. "The road needs to be for all sorts of traffic."The $1.2 million project is being funded in part by $760,398 in recently awarded federal Transportation Enhancement funding. Work is expected to begin this spring and wrap up later in the summer.Source: Joan Horton, director of the Clawson Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

It’s almost spring, and transit centers are sprouting in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

February 25, 2010

Ann Arbor is known for flowers and trees sprouting up in the spring, but you can add transit centers to that list now that U-M is joining AATA, SEMCOG, and the city in making plans for a new transit center.Excerpt:Transit centers are now development du jour in Ann Arbor. The University of Michigan recently unveiled plans to develop its own student-transit center. This plan joins others in the works for the Blake Transit Center, Fuller Road Station, and the new stop for the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line."Having these stations really transforms our community," says Nancy Shore, executive director of the getDowntown program. "It's really changing the environment so people can be more comfortable when they use these other forms of transportation."Read the rest of the story here.

Video Welcome To Automation Alley

By Tom Hendrickson

●

Arts and Culture

●

February 25, 2010

If building a knowledge-based economy is Michigan's only hope then, much like the force, Automation Alley is what binds the region's technological companies together, finding ways for them to succeed in the global marketplace.

Farmington Hills’ Riley Skatepark wins design award

By Newsroom

●

Arts and Culture

●

February 25, 2010

Riley Skatepark is earning mainstream props after becoming an instant hit with the skating crowd when it opened last summer.The Farmington Hills-based skatepark received a Facility Design Award from the Michigan Recreation & Park Association. The award recognizes the skatepark's innovative design, functionality, aesthetics, and positive community impact. It also helps that there isn't a comparable skatepark within reasonable driving distance."There really is nothing in the Midwest that compares to it," says Bryan Farmer, recreation superintendent for Farmington Hills.Riley Skatepark goes beyond the typical concrete hills, ramps, and rails that dominate the stereotypical skate parks in the Midwest. Riley has an eight-foot-tall cylinder that resembles a sewer pipe built into the ground instead of above it and a variety of in-ground features resembling concrete pits and ditches. The idea is to give the park a "West Coast" feel that most local skaters have yet to experience in Metro Detroit.The 29,000-square-foot venue is the newest attraction at Founders Sports Park at 35500 Eight Mile Road between Gill and Halstead roads, near the Farmington Hills Ice Arena. It attracts about 150 people a day and hosts a number of skateboarding events. A national competition is set to take place there in 2011."Pretty much all day long there are people there," Farmer says.Source: Bryan Farmer, recreation superintendent for Farmington HillsWriter: Jon Zemke

Mass transit scores more federal funds for rail, bikes

By Newsroom

●

Arts and Culture

●

February 25, 2010

A pocketful of money is creating big changes to mass transit in Metro Detroit.First, SMART is installing $20,000 worth of bike racks away from its bus routes across the metro area. Of that, $16,000 is coming from federal Transportation Enhancement funds. The idea is to provide another amenity for bicyclists who ride its buses so they have a safe place to lock up their bike at their final destination."A place a rider might take their bike off the bus and ride it to a specific location," says Beth Dryden, director of external affairs marketing and communications for SMART. Some of those locations could vary between big-name destinations like Comerica Park in Detroit or smaller, every-day use places like the Wal-Mart/Meijer commercial center on Maple Road in Troy. SMART expects to spend about $500 per bike rack, which could mean about 40 new places for bicyclists to lock up their bikes across the metro area.That's on top of $25 million in federal stimulus funds the M-1 Rail project received from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. That money is expected to go a long way towards bringing light rail to Woodward Avenue between the Detroit River and New Center. The funds will be primarily used for road improvements along the corridor.Transportation Riders United is also teaming up with the chambers of commerce from Troy, Birmingham, and Bloomfield to host a transit conference on Friday morning. The idea is to spread the gospel that improving mass transit will pay big dividends for economic development to the local business leaders, owners, and key stakeholders in the community. Friday's meeting will be held between 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. at the Troy Chamber Office, 4555 Investment Dr., in the Lower Level Meeting Room. For information, click here or contact TRU's Business Outreach Team leader Kevin Smith at business@DetroitTransit.org or 313 549 2299.Source: Transportation Riders United and Beth Dryden, director of external affairs marketing and communications for SMARTWriter: Jon Zemke

Global Wave Today reaches from Rochester to China

By Newsroom

●

Arts and Culture

●

February 25, 2010

Felicia Cheng wants to harness the economic opportunity evident in China into her start-up, Global Wave Today.The Rochester-based firm specializes in helping local firms make the leap halfway around the world into the emerging markets in China. The idea is to bring the proven products and services sold here to the rapidly growing sectors in China. Cheng's firm facilitates this through its experienced staff and contacts abroad."People are kind of afraid of doing business overseas," Cheng says. "I have the knowledge and resources to help them do that."Right now she is helping seven firms from across the U.S. and Canada make that jump and take advantage of those markets. She gives an example of how there are 300 million Internet users and 63 million Internet shoppers in China, and that's only 38 percent of its population."There is huge room for growth for companies to take advantage of," Cheng says.Right now Global Wave Today is aiming to take advantage of its own growth prospects. The company is made up of Cheng, who holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a resume with GM and China experience all over it, one intern, and a partner in China. She hopes to add a few more people this year as the business grows.Source: Felicia Cheng, CEO and co-founder of Global Wave TodayWriter: Jon Zemke

Prospering Company: Venran Complete Solutions

By Megan Pennefather

●

Arts and Culture

●

February 22, 2010

Tough times produce strong companies, and that's what Venran Complete Solution is. The Troy-based enterprise resource planning company has pushed through this economic downturn and has come out on the other side.

The Ways to Stabilize a Community: Prosper Q&A with Karry Rieth

By Prosper Oakland County, MI

●

Arts and Culture

●

February 22, 2010

Block grants, home improvement grants, home-buying programs, foreclosure prevention and counseling programs. All these things are facilitated by the Oakland County Community & Home Improvement Division. It's a department of our local government that is focused on maintaining the community, the neighborhood, and the home. Prosper dives in to find out a little about Director Karry Rieth's branch.