Environment & Sustainability

Coverage of green innovations, and climate and environment issues and developments, especially those told by local voices and that offer solutions for community concerns.

The Winter Stonefly Search is on

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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January 9, 2014

Dodge the winter blahs on January 18, when you can wade in a stream (or at least walk near one) for a good environmental cause. Join the annual Winter Stonefly search, beginning at 10am at the Clinton River Watershed Council office in Rochester Hills. Excerpt: "The Winter Stonefly nymphs are one of the most sensitive of all aquatic macro invertebrates that live in our rivers and streams. These insects are most active and easily found in the month of January when the water temperature is very cold and there is still plenty of leafy debris in the river bottom for stoneflies to forage on. The presence of stonefly larvae in a stream indicates good water quality. Volunteers will meet at the CRWC office and from there will split into teams and travel to various sampling locations. Volunteers will then meet back at the office for lunch and hot beverages. Our search will help add to our Adopt-A-Stream Data and will provide a chance to learn about the ecology and conditions of our local streams." To register, contact the CRWC office (248-601-0606 or e-mail registration@crwc.org).

Latest in Environment & Sustainability

A Vital Connection

By Kim North Shine

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Arts & Culture

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January 9, 2014

Inspired by personal struggles with cancer, Stephen Goldner partnered with David Fuehrer to launch CureLauncher, a company that connects patients with experimental treatments. In less than a year this Bloomfield Hills-based startup has seen an incredible response from hospitals, health organizations, investors and, most importantly, doctors and their patients.

Michigan population ticks upward in 2013

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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January 9, 2014

In a reversal of a years-long slow burn, the U.S. Census Bureau reports Michigan's population grew for the second-straight year. Excerpt: According to the data, the state's population increased between July 1, 2012 and 2013. Since the state population dropped by 1,560 between 2010 and 2011, Michigan's added 7,930 and 13,103 residents in the last two years. The overall U.S. population grew by just over 0.5 percent. More here.

Longtime Grosse Pointe caterer opens Cabbage Patch Cafe

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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January 9, 2014

After plugging away for 14 years as a successful home-based caterer serving residential and corporate clients, Pam Dziedzic decided to go retail. She bought a storefront space on Kercheval Avenue, an eclectic and re-emerging commercial stretch in Grosse Pointe Park, her hometown, and added cafe and bakery to the business plan. She's calling it Cabbage Patch Cafe and after just six months in business - previously operating under the prior owner's name, Fou 'd Amour - she is expanding, doubling the space and channeling her endless energy and enthusiasm into a cafe that's more than a place to have a meal. By spring the cafe, which now has four tables, a bakery display case and a refrigerator/freezer for the prepared take-out meals honed by the previous business and carried on by Dziedzic, will have 10-12 tables and space for 40-50 to eat. "There's so much I want to do," says Dziedzic, a mother of twin high-school students whose passion for cooking and food is contagious. "I want to be be able to rent out the space for birthday parties and showers and do pop-up restaurants with a different theme each month. I want to be known for a place to pick up your prepared dinners, where you can find, heat, and serve healthier options for families, high protein meals for marathon runners and gluten-free meals." She describes the cafe as "fresh, funky, friendly and fun." What excites her almost as much as the food business is being a part of changes in Grosse Pointe Park - and the Pointes in general. Cabbage Patch Cafe - the name derived from a surrounding lower-rent neighborhood where Irish help brought their cultural affection for cabbage to their modest homes while working in more affluent residences in the Pointes - is one of several businesses playing into a larger re-development plan of Kercheval Avenue. The commercial stretch known as The Park borders the city of Detroit, and is a stepchild to the more successful business districts on Kercheval: The Village in the city of Grosse Pointe and The Hill in Grosse Pointe Farms. In The Park, there is Red Crown restaurant that opened in a renovated art deco gas station 10 months ago. Atwater Brewery is opening a brewpub and biergarten in a church a block away from Cabbage Patch, and other plans to bring new businesses and redesign the street to make it more walkable are unfolding. "I feel like this might be perfect timing. This area truly feels more urban and I have something that is part of that urban feel," she says. "It's coming out of the comfort zone for Grosse Pointe, and it's needed here. I really want to try to do something that's different for Grosse Pointe." In the meantime, she's focusing on the mainstay of her business, catering, as she takes on the new job duties that will make her business grow. She has hired a full-time chef, Brittany Swineford, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago and a chef at The Palm in the Windy City. She retained the baker, Brian Rentschler, from the previous business, which was also known for its scones. She and another full-time staffer run the business she's reinventing. "This has really been a natural progression," she says. "It's a big transition, but it's exciting." Source: Pam Dziedzic, caterer and owner, Cabbage Patch Cafe & Catering Writer: Kim North Shine

Crittenton Hospital adds high-tech tower to Rochester campus

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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January 9, 2014

Crittenton Hospital has expanded its hospital campus in Rochester Hills by adding a six-story tower where patient care will come with the latest in medical technology, treatment and education wrapped in a building that took a non-traditional, money-saving approach to construction. The 165,000-square-foot South Tower on University Drive near Oakland University opened Wednesday, Jan. 8. It has 87 private patient rooms outfitted with smart beds that monitor patients' vital signs and activity without being hooked to electrodes. The pharmacy in the new tower is operated by an automation system with bar code technologies that can help eliminate prescription errors. The tower houses a cardiac center for medicine, where Crittenton doctors work in an open heart program partnership with the University of Michigan. Other floors are dedicated to family and primary care medicine as well as orthopaedic, joint and spine medicine and musculoskeletal disorders and injuries. Education is incorporated in the new tower with innovative nursing stations that support training and clinical instruction to nursing students. Crittenton South Tower is also a learning center for Wayne State University School of Medicine's graduate residents. A sanctuary for all religions and an outdoor garden meant to support emotional and spiritual well-being round out the new facility. The $65-million tower also comes with an energy-efficient design that includes recycled materials. The construction project used an approach called Integrated Project Delivery. Hospital leaders and construction company reps from Barton Malow Company and Frank Rewold & Son say the approach, which re-evaluates and reworks traditional, costly construction not only saves health care costs but should be a model for other construction projects. They also say it is the largest such IDP project in Michigan. Source: Brian Birney, director of marketing and communications, Crittenton Hospital and Adela Piper, Push22 Writer: Kim North Shine

Gluten-free pierogi biz thriving in St. Clair Shores

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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January 9, 2014

When Alicia Bemiss' son was diagnosed with diabetes nearly four years ago her focus went to his diet and how to keep him healthy. His dramatic weight loss and change in appearance, which was taking place at the time her parents had died just two weeks apart, was a cause for alarm and the start of a new way of living and eating for her, her husband and two sons and daughter. When she learned that her son's diabetes might be connected to Celiac's Disease - an intolerance of wheat and other gluten-related grains - her way of cooking changed dramatically as she searched for recipes that would keep him happy and healthy at the same time. Her discovery of a tasty gluten-free pierogi for her "pierogi-aholic son", now 16, eventually became the recipe for a business that is growing so fast she can hardly keep up. Her Old World Gluten Free Pierogi is based in St. Clair Shores, and the five frozen varieties - and growing - of pierogi is soon to go into cases at Westborn Market, which gave Old World its Product Placement Award at a Michigan foods exhibition. Currently the pierogi can be ordered online or by phone by individuals, restaurants or stores. The business started in September and was flooded with orders over the holidays. Her commercial kitchen is located on Harper Avenue in St. Clair Shores, not far coincidentally from a booming gluten-free bakery, Ethel's Edibles. "My parents were born in Poland. I grew up very Polish. We loved our pierogi. All my kids loved them," Bemiss says. "Once I started making them we could see how many other people wanted the same thing. It just took off." "Nobody was making pierogi," except a small company called Conte's, she says. "I didn't want to have the empty starches. I wanted it to be healthy." For nine months she worked to come up with a recipe based in garbanzo beans, which are high in protein and a good source of iron. She started selling favorites: potato cheddar cheese, sauerkraut and mushroom, sweet farmers cheese, salmon and cheese and savory sweet potato and making them preservative-free, with butter and cheese with cultured milk so they're virtually lactose free, she says. Demand was so great she was consumed with cooking and is now focusing on the business end as she prepares for wider distribution: UPC codes, ingredient labels and more. "Gluten-free is here to stay," she says. "It is not a fad or a trend. It is a health issue and there is a demand that will not be going away." Source: Alicia Bemiss, owner, Old World Gluten Free Pierogi Writer: Kim North Shine

Farmington DDA readies for downtown residential living

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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January 9, 2014

The Farmington Downtown Development Authority is taking on the role of property redeveloper with the goal of increasing residential living options downtown. The DDA is seeking a private developer via a request for proposal to build a second phase of condominiums at The Orchards condos on Slocum Drive just off downtown's main thoroughfare, Grand River, and Farmington Road. The first phase of the mixed-residential project was completed in 2006, but after the housing market collapsed the second phase was never completed, says Annette Knowles, executive director of the Farmington DDA. When the market began to bounce back, the DDA board decided to purchase the property to retain control over what would happen with it, she says. The DDA purchased the property for $95,000 in October. “Introducing more development that is appealing to those seeking to reside in a downtown environment will help create a more robust economic base to support the business community," she says. "All signs indicate that development of this nature will again meet market demand." The RFPs are due by March 7 and two inspections for prospective bidders are set for Jan. 13 and 15. Source: Annette Knowles, executive director, Farmigton Downtown Development Authority Writer: Kim North Shine

Stay Pure Juicery imports Cali juicing savvy to Ferndale

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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December 19, 2013

After two months in business, Stay Pure Juicery in Ferndale is moving from a pick-up and delivery operation to a retail and juice bar. Juicery founders Kimberly and Eric Bruneau learned about the benefits of juicing while living in California for 13 years, and after deciding to move back to Michigan to be near family they continued their juicing and acted on a thirst for knowledge about the health benefits, especially after Eric's father died of cancer. The Bruneaus officially launched in October after months of juicing for friends and family. They outfitted a production facility at 22020 Woodward Avenue in Ferndale with two-ton and four-ton presses and other equipment "to make the most nutritious juice we possibly could," says Eric. The juice can be ordered for pick-up at the production facility or for delivery. Sales have convinced the couple that the business is ripe for a retail storefront, and in March a juice bar and store will open on 9 Mile in downtown Ferndale. Cleanses are also big sellers, and the Bruneaus are preparing for a major upswing in orders in the new year. Their Stay Pure Juicery is an entrepreneurial endeavor based in personal beliefs rooted in a family history of cancer, a hockey player son's need for sugarless replenishment, and in revelations about how suspected damage from processed foods and environmental chemicals might be undone by coconut and wheat grass and other drinkable fruits, veggies, plants and spices. The Bruneaus say their juice is different and better because it's cold-pressed, saving nutrients. It's also not pasteurized, another nutrient-saver, and bottled based on sound research and personal experience. It has a shelf life of only three days, while mainstream juices are pasteurized and can last for many weeks. They're spreading their message and their product through shows such as the Health & Fitness Expo at the Detroit Marathon, through partnerships with fitness and yoga studios and at lunch-and- learn educational sessions at local business. "We're all about education and that's the key for people to understand," Eric Bruneau says. "We're not saying we're doctors. What we're saying is all the studies have shown there are the health benefits, that this is what we need to be putting into our bodies." "We believe any juicing is better than no juicing," he says. But their knowledge of how to make the juice -- cold, instead of typical blenders that can heat and remove nutrients, for one thing -- does make a more beneficial product. Eric, who has worked for Sony Pictures and Dreamworks in visual effects and also headed studios in Michigan, is dedicating himself full-time to the business he says can make people feel better, have more energy, and perhaps prevent disease. Kimberly is working to perfect a cookie recipe that's protein-packed and tasty and can be sold at the new store. The couple see this as a way to take care of themselves, people they love and others and to make a living doing something meaningful. "There are many facets to why we chose, many life-changing experiences that brought us here," he says. "We just want to do a small part to educate and help, if we can." Source: Eric & Kimberly Bruneau, founders, Stay Pure Juicery Writer: Kim North Shine

Hear the sweet sound of success at Expressions Music Academy

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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December 19, 2013

The three-year-old Expressions Music Academy in Novi is taking its show to another road, this one a new studio and music lab in Troy. The music school opened in 2010 and has built an enrollment of about 500 students in all sorts of music lessons, including show choir and and band. Growth happened so fast, with students from 6 to 66 coming for group and private lessons in voice and about a dozen instruments as well as other musical programs that owner Jessica Schatz expanded the Novi location into adjoining space after just two years. A year after that expansion there's such a demand from students across metro Detroit and Ann Arbor that she's adding the Troy location. The new Expressions Music Academy will open in January at 4000 Livernois Road in Troy. The Novi academy is located at 43370 W. 10 Mile Road. The music lab is equipped with iPads and keyboards for music education programs. "Our mission is to provide all students with the opportunity to enjoy a complete music education. While private lessons are the central focus of our educational approach, we also expose students to the big picture of music through additional programs such as Studio Class, early-childhood music classes, choral groups, an interactive music lab featuring iPads loaded with educational apps, access to our music library, a music appreciation program, and opportunities to participate in our mixed instrumental and vocal concerts and recitals," says Schatz, a pianist who once taught 30 students from a home school. "Our students are inspired to master their own choice of instrument while we nurture in them a lifelong love for music in general. We truly believe in the power of a holistic approach to music education. We do not have a storefront or sell books or instruments. We are dedicated 100% to music education, and we are good at it." Source: Jessica Schatz, founder and owner, Expressions Music Academy Writer: Kim North Shine

Oakland U tapping Chevron Energy Services for cheap, clean energy

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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December 19, 2013

Oakland University and Chevron Energy Solutions are partnering on the construction and operation of a clean, cost-saving energy source for electricity and hot water. The Combined Heat & Power, or CHP, is an emerging and growing way to provide energy to large facilities. A natural gas turbine provides the energy rather than traditional electricity. The university will lease and operate the system, and Chevron Energy Solutions, a division of Chevron Oil & Gas, will build the system at the campus' central heating plant. Overall, says Siraj Khan, the director of engineering for OU Facilities Management, the new system will save money on energy costs, reduce OU's carbon footprint and also become a teaching tool for students. "CHP is a proven technology, and is becoming more and more popular in the wake of sustainability culture on higher education campuses all around United States to reduce carbon footprint and to produce clean energy," Khan says. "The operation of the CHP, real-time energy monitoring, data for energy savings and reduction of emissions will be a learning tool for students and a valuable educational experience." Source: Siraj Khan, director of engineering for OU Facilities Management Writer: Kim North Shine