A Progress for People town hall organized by Michigan United Action that was to feature Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Rep. Becca Balint (VT-at large) and be held at the UAW Region 1 hall in Warren has been postponed.
Progress for People sent out notification of the postponement on the afternoon of Sept. 11.
No new date has been set for the event. No details were given regarding the cancellation beyond “an abundance of caution for the community’s safety,”
Rep. John James was invited to the event but it is not known if he was planning to attend.
The event was sponsored by Michigan United Action, Fair Share America, United Auto Workers Region 1, Reproductive Freedom for All, Macomb Defenders Rising (Indivisible), United for Respect, and the Progressive Caucus Action Fund.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) attended a March 19 rally for Medicaid in Warren and urged U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township) to vote against cuts to the program.
(PHOTO BY SUSAN SMILEY)
Those wishing to learn more about adoption and meet older youths seeking homes are invited to the 2025 Michigan Heart Gallery in Royal Oak on Saturday, Sept. 13.
The event is an annual traveling exhibit featuring photos of older youths in foster care. This year’s display features pictures of 60 young people, some of whom will attend the premiere.
It will be held from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Emagine Theatre, 200 N. Main St. in Royal Oak.
The Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange, a program administered by the Judson Center, a Farmington Hills human services agency, sponsors the event, which is funded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The event includes a red-carpet arrival for the youths and guests, a film presentation, formal program and lunch. An adoption information session will be held featuring MARE’s adoption navigators. They are experienced adoptive parents who can offer guidance and personal knowledge about the process, challenges and joys of adopting.
Sixteen professional photographers from across the state volunteered their time to take the photos for the project. The exhibit will travel across the state following the Royal Oak premiere.
“The first showing of the Michigan Heart Gallery is always such an exciting and inspirational event,” said MARE Director Michelle Parra. “It’s a time when we celebrate our older youth in foster care and give them hope for the future. They truly are the stars on this day.”
Admission to the event is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to pre-register on the MARE website at www.mare.org. Complimentary parking vouchers will be available.
Bożena Lamparska’s life began with an obstacle, but she has spent every chapter since pushing forward, crafting a life rich in art, intellect and resilience.
Born in January 1955, just months before the polio vaccine was widely introduced, Lamparska contracted the virus at 10 months old.
“No one ever figured out how I got it,” she says. By the age of 14, she had already undergone a dozen surgeries. But instead of letting limitations define her, Bozena found expression through music — a suggestion from her doctor to keep her hands active that would become a lifelong passion.
Lamparska went on to teach applied music at St. Lawrence University, specializing in voice, harpsichord and piano. “I wasn’t going to be a Vladimir Horowitz,” she said, “but I played and I taught.”
Her musicality flourished despite physical limitations, and she became a respected performer, frequently called on as a last-minute soloist due to her impeccable sight-reading skills.
Over the years, Lamparska wore many professional hats — musician, educator, administrative assistant, researcher, mental health counselor and IT specialist.
“I got bored easily,” she said. After moving into computer work in the 1990s, she led the IT department at a major nonprofit in Philadelphia and became a certified Microsoft engineer. She even helped safeguard data during the Y2K scare.
Bożena Lamparska plays music years ago. (Photo courtesy of Bożena Lamparska)
Lamparska’s life took her from her native Rhode Island to Baltimore, upstate New York, Philadelphia, Maryland’s Eastern Shore and finally to Michigan, where she now lives at Brookdale Southfield. While mobility has become more difficult, she now uses a motorized wheelchair due to a complex mix of post-polio complications, aging and Parkinson’s — her sense of purpose remains clear.
“I try to feel useful,” she said. “Whether it’s helping someone with computer issues or singing along with medieval and Renaissance recordings, I still find ways to stay engaged.”
Though she no longer performs as she once did, music remains central to her life. She listens to choral works, sings along with the scores, and surrounds herself with the compositions she loves most. “Music was real important to me,” she said. “And I didn’t fully realize just how important until I couldn’t play anymore.”
Her advice for others facing physical or emotional limitations is simple: “Just keep moving forward, regardless of limitations. Do the best you can.”
And that’s exactly what she’s done.
Born just months before the polio vaccine was widely introduced, Bożena Lamparska contracted the virus at 10 months old. After many surgeries, she's excelled throughout her life, finding a love for music. (Photo courtesy of Bożena Lamparska)
Oakland County Historical Society’s annual Oak Hill Cemetery Walk on Saturday will make history come alive, thanks to volunteers.
This year’s theme is “From Temperance to the 21st Amendment.”
The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment, which prohibited “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” in the U.S. The 18th Amendment was in effect from Jan. 17, 1920, to Dec. 5, 1933.
Lois Keel portrays a nameless flapper for the 2025 Oak Hill Cemetery walk. (Courtesy, Oakland County Historical Society)
Lois Keel, a Springfield Township resident and historical society member, volunteered to portray a nameless flapper on Saturday.
The semi-retired librarian divides her time between substituting at area libraries and performing as historical characters for schools and other groups. She’s excited about her flapper role and why Michigan had a one-year head start on Prohibition.
“Henry Ford brought in a baseball player-turned-evangelical named Billy Sunday,” she said, adding that the national alcohol ban opened a new line of business for mobsters such as Al Capone and members of the infamous Purple Gang.
“These boys were a bunch of juvenile delinquents and they really made money bringing (alcohol) in from Canada,” she said.
Connor Newton portrays James A. Carhart, owner of one of the oldest taverns in Pontiac, for the 2025 Oak Hill Cemetery walk. (Courtesy, Oakland County Historical Society)
This rain-or-shine annual walking tour features volunteers posing as prominent figures from Oakland County’s past. Organizers suggest attendees are 12 years old or older.
The cemetery walk is an important historical society fundraiser. Tickets cost $15 per person. The tours begin every 15 minutes starting at 2 p.m. The last tour steps off at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, at Oak Hill Cemetery, 216 University Drive in Pontiac. To buy tickets and learn other details, visit https://events.getlocalhop.com/oak-hill-cemetery-walk/event/LyAwhVxsK4.
Lori Miller, one of the annual Oak Hill Cemetery walk organizers, leads volunteers in a dress rehearsal on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Courtesy, Oakland County Historical Society)
Novi — Six bus drivers servicing Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties showed off their skills and maneuvers on an obstacle course Sunday.
The drivers moved through tight turns and drove in reverse through orange-coned areas in the parking lot of the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, hoping to keep cones upright and finish faster than their opponents.
The contest, hosted by officials with SMART or the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, was the first Bus Roadeo in four decades.
General Manager Tiffany J. Gunter, who wore a cowboy hat like many other attendees, said the family-friendly event was designed to show appreciation for the public sector employees.
“I know that our bus drivers take community seriously, every single one of them come here to be a public servant,” she said. “This is a great way to be able to say thank you.”
About 50 SMART employees and their loved ones attended the contest, which also had live music, food trucks and bounce houses.
The Roadeo is intended to highlight the professionalism, precision, and safety of the drivers in challenging real-world driving conditions. About 426 operators and mechanics service 2,100 surface miles in southeastern Michigan according to the CEO.
The drivers sought to avoid knocking over several lined and staggered orange cones in the shortest amount of time while driving at least 15 miles per hour.
Willie Kendall, a member of the SMART team since 2018 as a bus operator, had the cleanest record in the competition and was declared the winner of the Roadeo, earning a chance to advance to a national contest in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Gunter added, “It’s really exciting competing locally to go national. This is going to be bragging rights for our operators for years to come.”
Semaj Richardson of Sterling Heights, who has six years of experience operating 40- and 60-foot buses, was excited to put his skills to the test.
“I love driving. I love dealing with my passengers every day,” Richardson said before driving the obstacle course. “Any time I can come out and show my skills and compete. I’m willing to come out and do it.
Richardson said the selection criteria was very strict and involved scouting drivers who had no accidents over the last year, violations or complaints.
“That’s why you see only see a couple of us out here because it’s a very difficult process. I pride myself on being a safe driver, no at-fault accidents, no speeding/moving violations,” he said.
Parris Bennett, who has a decade of experience servicing Ten Mile Road via SMART bus, said the most challenging part of the course was reversing to stop within 36 inches of a designated area. He knocked down some cones while making a left turn.
“We don’t normally back up … and when we’re turning it’s not that tight so it’s a lot harder,” Bennett said.
Parris Bennett, a 10-year SMART bus driver, competes in the Bus Roadeo in the parking lot of the Suburban Collection Showcase in Novi on Sept. 7, 2025. (Myesha Johnson, The Detroit News)
Corewell Health leaders, doctors and other staff gathered on Monday to mark the groundbreaking of an estimated $75 million project to build a new ambulatory surgery center and medical office building across the street from William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak.
Construction on the 89,000-square-foot facility will start in the next two weeks and is expected to take 18-24 months, ending in 2027, said Dr. Daniel Cary, president of William Beaumont University Hospital.
He said the facility at 3828 13 Mile Road, called the Corewell Health Care Center and located across the street from the main hospital, will include an ambulatory surgical center, which is a space for “less complicated surgeries” that can be safely done outside of the hospital. It will also include medical office space, including for primary care, behavioral health and digestive health.
“We’re really trying to create new access, because … the population is aging and we have more and more good therapies for conditions,” Cary said. “So we’re expanding access at this site.”
Lamont Yoder, president of Corewell Health East, speaks during a groundbreaking ceremony about a new care center that represents "improved access to better care close to home for Royal Oak and our entire region." (Anne Snabes, The Detroit News)
Lamont Yoder, president of Corewell Health East, said at a groundbreaking ceremony attended by more than several dozen people Monday morning that it’s “a momentous time for us.”
“We’re really trying to create new access, because … the population is aging and we have more and more good therapies for conditions,” Cary said. “So we’re expanding access at this site.”
Lamont Yoder, president of Corewell Health East, said at a groundbreaking ceremony attended by more than several dozen people Monday morning that it’s “a momentous time for us.”
Cary said the new ambulatory surgery center, also known as outpatient surgery, will be easy for patients to access ― there will be two entrances off of 13 Mile Road ― and they won’t have to enter the main William Beaumont University Hospital campus to have a surgery.
He said the surgeries that take place at the center will be “low complexity surgeries” that don’t require people to stay overnight, including orthopaedic, low-risk spine, gall bladder, appendix, and ear, nose and throat surgeries. The center will have four operating rooms and one procedure room.
Several residents expressed concerns about the project as it was going through the city of Royal Oak’s site plan approval process. Cary said neighbors on the north side of the development had concerns regarding the loss of trees during the project and a barrier between the facility and their homes.
“We really appreciate the neighbors and our own building team coming together to come with a design that everyone felt good about,” he said.
He said they came to a compromise about the number of trees that would be lost. Corewell Health will also be building a decorative wall, which will serve as a sound barrier between the facility and the neighbors.
Royal Oak Mayor Michael Fournier praised the project at the groundbreaking.
“I believe we stand here today because so many people truly care about making a difference in the lives of people they will never meet,” he said. “When this project is completed, we will awe at the technological, engineering and construction accomplishments. Let’s not forget the spirit of serving others that is responsible for taking an idea and making it a reality.”
Corewell Health will be building a new care center across the street from the William Beaumont University Hospital in Royal Oak. The facility will house an ambulatory surgery center and medical office space. (Corewell Health photo)
As revealed at his arraignment Sept. 5, Ladamien Keith Hill, 43, has a criminal history dating back more than two decades, with convictions for violent crimes including assault and battery and domestic violence, as well as drug- and alcohol-related offenses.
He has fathered seven children, is single and has lived in Redford Township for the past six or seven years with the mother of one of his kids, according to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.
His occupation is listed as a self-employed roofer.
Hill is charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated homicide for the deaths of his sister, 41-year-old Linda Hill, and her child, 12-year-old son, Kardi Jackson. They were found in a “gruesome, bloody scene” at a home located at 23084 Berdeno Street by officers responding to a call from Linda Hill’s uncle on Sept. 1 shortly after 4 p.m.
Linda Hill (photo shared by GoFundMe)Kardi Jackson (photo shared by GoFundMe)
Hazel Park police said Linda Hill’s 64-year-old uncle, who lives in the basement of the Berdeno Street home, told them he had been in the basement all day watching television when he heard loud noises; approximately 15 to 30 minutes later he went upstairs and found Linda Hill unresponsive, then called police.
Officers found Linda Hill lying facedown in the living room, and Kardi Jackson in the laundry room, police said, both with severe cuts to their throats. As of Sept. 5, the weapon used in the homicides hadn’t been recovered, and a motive for the crimes hadn’t been determined, officials said.
Ladamien Hill was arrested the next evening at a home on Whittemore Street in Pontiac where he reportedly had been staying. Officials said they recovered bloody clothing and other evidence — including Hill’s written notes about plans to flee and items he needed to do so, such as a passport, firearms and a car. Hill has also been connected to a red Lincoln seen at the scene of the slayings, police said.
Prior to his arrest — according to family members — after officers had cleared the crime scene Hill had returned to his sister’s home, asked for forgiveness and then lied down naked on Linda Hill’s bed for a few minutes before leaving, police said.
Held in the Oakland County Jail, denied bond, Hill is scheduled to return to Hazel Park’s 43rd District Court on Sept. 16 for a probable cause conference, followed by a preliminary exam a week later.
Due to a caseload that a lead attorney said has “skyrocketed,” Oakland County prosecutors are asking for nearly a half million dollars from their local government to combat human trafficking.
Following a Human Trafficking Training Center instructional session in November, the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office has handled 31 trafficking cases. This rate dwarfs the number from the four years leading up to the training, which averaged eight such cases per 10 months, according to records from the prosecutor’s office.
“Our numbers have skyrocketed in terms of cases, because people know what to look for,” said Cindy Brown, who leads human trafficking prosecution efforts in Oakland County.
Brown’s team consists of of three full-time prosecutors, a part-time prosecutor, a paralegal and an investigator. She said the team is not big enough.
“It’s kind of like having a teacher who has 80 students, right? You can’t have time to spend with 80 students as opposed to 25 or 30 in your classroom,” Brown said.
Because of the caseload, the prosecutor’s office is requesting $457,000 from the county for two paralegals, an assistant prosecutor and salary funding for a chief of the team, spokesperson Jeff Wattrick said.
County Commission Chairman Dave Woodward, D-Royal Oak, confirmed Thursday that this request would be included in the 2026 fiscal year budget, which the commissioners are set to vote on Sept. 18.
Brown’s team members aren’t the only county officials with a new focus on stopping human trafficking in Oakland County. In the field, law enforcement officers with the county sheriff’s office and Auburn Hills, Southfield and Madison Heights police departments have also formed a task force to curb human trafficking, she said.
The officers have conducted stings on illicit massage parlors, which were turned over to Brown’s team for prosecution.
“These people are often violently abused, they have no ID, they have no resources,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald told county commissioners at an Aug. 20 budget hearing.
Woodward said human trafficking cases are “extremely complex” and might initially appear as a minor drug or solicitation offense. But once investigators and prosecutors start looking further, their probe could reveal evidence of trafficking in phone records and bank records — pieces of the investigation that deserve scrupulous attention, said Brown.
Brown said one case her team is prosecuting has 29 cellphones in evidence. Another case included 30 women whom the trafficker mostly communicated with through Facebook Messenger.
“One victim alone was almost 15,000 pages (of text), and that was one person, one piece of evidence,” Brown said.
On top of that, the prosecutor said there’s often a language barrier in the cases. Most of the search warrants written in human trafficking cases are in Mandarin Chinese, she said.
It’s because of these complexities that Brown said her team needs more members — specifically, more paralegals to do research. She called paralegals “the backbone” of her unit.
“There’s just a lot of discovery, and if we’re going to prosecute these cases the way they should be prosecuted, we need the resources. Because otherwise, we’re not going to have the time and the resources to thoroughly and adequately review these cases, follow up on investigations to see what needs to be done, and be prepared in court,” Brown said.
Woodward argued “no other county in Michigan” has invested the resources to curb human trafficking like Oakland County.
“I believe, as we go forward, Oakland County is going to continue to be a leader in helping to keep our communities safe,” Woodward said.
Cindy Brown, left, of the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office Trafficking Unit, and Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, attend a human trafficking training session in Pontiac in early November. McDonald said her office has three assistant prosecutors who try trafficking cases but could use more.
CHICAGO (AP) — When Elizabeth Rivera’s phone would ring during the overnight shift, it was usually because the bus didn’t show up again and one of her three kids needed a ride to school.
After leaving early from her job at a Houston-area Amazon warehouse several times, Rivera was devastated — but not surprised — when she was fired.
“Right now, I’m kind of depressed about it,” said Rivera, 42. “I’m depressed because of the simple fact that it’s kind of hard to find a job, and there’s bills I have to pay. But at the same time, the kids have to go to school.”
Rivera is far from the only parent forced to choose between their job and their kids’ education, according to a new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and HopSkipDrive, a company that relies on artificial intelligence and a network of drivers using their own vehicles to help school districts address transportation challenges.
Most parents drive their children to school, the survey found, and those responsibilities can have a major impact.
About one-third of parents say taking their kids to school has caused them to miss work, according to the poll. Roughly 3 in 10 say they’ve been prevented from seeking or taking work opportunities. And 11% say school transportation has even caused them to lose a job.
Mothers are especially likely to say school transportation needs have interfered with their jobs and opportunities.
Around 4 in 10 parents with a household income below $100,000 a year said they’ve missed work due to pick-up needs, compared with around 3 in 10 parents with a household income of $100,000 or more.
Meredyth Saieed and her two children, ages 7 and 10, used to live in a homeless shelter in North Carolina. Saieed said the kids’ father has been incarcerated since May.
Although the family qualified for government-paid transportation to school, Saieed said the kids would arrive far too early or leave too late under that system. So, she decided to drop them off and pick them up herself.
She had been working double shifts as a bartender and server at a French restaurant in Wilmington but lost that job due to repeatedly missing the dinner rush for pickups.
“Sometimes when you’ve got kids and you don’t have a village, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” said Saieed, 30. “As a mom, you just find a way around it.”
The latest obstacle: a broken-down car. She couldn’t afford to repair it, so she sold it to a junk yard. She’s hoping this year the school will offer transportation that works better for her family.
Not all kids have access to a school bus
Although about half of parents living in rural areas and small towns say their kids still take a bus to school, that fell to about one-third of parents in urban areas.
A separate AP-NORC/HopSkipDrive survey of school administrators found that nearly half said school bus driver shortages were a “major problem” in their district.
Some school systems don’t offer bus service. In other cases, the available options don’t work for families.
The community in Long Island, New York, where police Officer Dorothy Criscuolo’s two children attend school provides bus service, but she doesn’t want them riding it because they’ve been diagnosed as neurodivergent.
“I can’t have my kids on a bus for 45 minutes, with all the screaming and yelling, and then expect them to be OK once they get to school, be regulated and learn,” said Criscuolo, 49. “I think it’s impossible.”
So Criscuolo drops them off, and her wife picks them up. It doesn’t interfere much with their work, but it does get in the way of Criscuolo’s sleep. Because her typical shift is 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and her children start at different times at different schools, it’s not uncommon for her to get only three hours of sleep a day during the school year.
The transportation burden falls heavier on moms
Mothers are most often the ones driving their children to and from school, with 68% saying they typically take on this task, compared with 57% of fathers.
Most mothers, 55%, say they have missed work, have lost jobs or were kept from personal or professional opportunities because of school transportation needs, compared with 45% of dads.
Syrina Franklin says she didn’t have a choice. The father of her two high school-age children is deceased, so she has to take them and a 5-year-old grandson to different schools on Chicago’s South Side.
After she was late to work more than 10 times, she lost her job as a mail sorter at the post office and turned to driving for Uber and Instacart to make ends meet.
“Most of the kids, they have people that help out with dropping them off and picking them up,” said Franklin, 41. “They have their father, a grandmother, somebody in the family helps.”
When both parents are able to pitch in, school pickup and drop-off duties can be easier.
Computer programmer Jonathan Heiner takes his three kids to school in Bellbrook, Ohio, and his wife picks them up.
“We are definitely highly privileged because of the fact that I have a very flexible job and she’s a teacher, so she gets off when school gets out,” said Heiner, 45. “Not a lot of people have that.”
Roughly 4 in 10 parents said getting their kids to school would be “much easier” or “somewhat easier” if there were more school bus routes, school-arranged transportation services or improved pedestrian and bike infrastructure near school. Around a third cited a desire for earlier or later start times, or centralized pick-up and drop-off locations for school buses.
Joanna McFarland, the CEO and co-founder of HopSkipDrive, said districts need to reclaim the responsibility of making sure students have a ride to school.
“I don’t think the way to solve this is to ask parents to look for innovative ideas,” McFarland said. “I think we really need to come up with innovative ideas systematically and institutionally.”
In Houston, Rivera is waiting on a background check for another job. In the meantime, she’s found a new solution for her family’s school transportation needs.
Her 25-year-old daughter, who still works at Amazon on a day shift, has moved back into the home and is handling drop-offs for her three younger siblings.
“It’s going very well,” Rivera said.
___
The AP-NORC poll of 838 U.S. adults who are parents of school-age children was conducted June 30-July 11, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4.6 percentage points.
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Sanders reported from Washington.
FILE – School buses are lined up in a storage lot, Aug. 14, 2025, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
The Eastside Diamond Hoppers rolled past the Westside Woolly Mammoths with a 16-5 victory to secure the 2025 USPBL championship Saturday night.
The Hoppers had 18 hits, scoring early and often before delivering a decisive seven-run rally in the eighth inning. Myles Beale shined brightest on the championship stage, going 3-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, four runs scored, and two walks. Sam Schner added four hits and two RBI, while Marcus Judd delivered a clutch triple and drove in three runs. Eight different Hoppers recorded hits.
Fans are greeted by Andy Appleby, CEO and founder of the USPBL at Saturday’s league championship baseball game at Jimmy John’s Field in Utica. (GEORGE NORKUS–For The Macomb Daily)A full crowd turned out for the 2j025 championship game at Jimmy John’s Field in Utica. (GEORGE NORKUS–For The Macomb Daily)
On the mound, Dylan McCall set the tone with five solid innings, striking out five while earning the win. The bullpen trio of Angelo Agro, Mike Sokol, and Jaylen Smith closed the door, allowing just two runs across the final four innings to preserve the championship-clinching win.
— Macomb Daily staff
Cheerleaders take the field at Saturday’s championship game. (GEORGE NORKUS–For The Macomb Daily)
Myles Beale rounds third after hitting a home run for the Eastside Diamond Hoppers in their 16-5 championship game win Saturday. (GEORGE NORKUS–For The Macomb Daily)
The gray building on University Drive in Pontiac looks like other light industrial spaces. But the building’s current status is complicated by a murder, a cannabis operation and multiple ordinance violations.
Ongoing litigation has frozen the city’s ability to enforce building standards at the site, where businessman Sam Simko was killed on Jan. 12. Three men are scheduled for an April 13, 2026, trial for the Commerce Township man’s slaying.
City officials have long been familiar with the building. In 2021, then-Mayor Dierdre Waterman’s administration granted a business license to four addresses — 1012, 1014, 1016 and 1018 University Drive — to operate as a caregiver’s medical marijuana growing operation, according to city records. Justin Corlin was listed as the business owner. He could not be reached for this story.
Such operations are allowed under the 2008 Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, which states that people who are primary caregivers may grow 12 plants per patient, with a limit of six patients; they cannot grow more than 72 plants. Waterman’s administration never completed plans for a cannabis licensing process for medical or recreational marijuana. Caregiving businesses are considered a separate category.
After Simko’s death, Oakland County sheriff’s deputies recovered an estimated 50 pounds of marijuana, or 800 ounces, found with the three murder suspects. Police did not disclose how many plants were being cultivated in the building but referred to it as a large operation. The value of the recovered 800 ounces of marijuana is unclear, as area retailers’ online prices range from about $60 per ounce to more than $400.
City inspection records for Suite 1012, one of four suites at a single University Drive building in Pontiac. (Screenshot of public records)
The University Drive industrial warehouse was built in 1987 and is just over 10,000 square feet with 16-foot-high ceilings and four vehicle entrances as well as traditional doors.
While Waterman’s administration listed the four addresses, considered suites, as part of a medical-caregiver grow operation in 2021, city spokeswoman Paula Bridges said only Suites 1012 and 1014, are currently considered a “previously approved non-conforming caregiver operation” owned by Simko.
Suites 1012 and 1014 were leased by Simko from the property’s owner, Precision Investment Group. Precision’s business registration belongs to Bloomfield Hills businessman David Supal. Suites 1016 and 1018 are considered occupied by Precision.
Supal told The Oakland Press his lawyer advised him not to discuss the building or any related litigation.
City officials responding to a 2019 complaint about Simko’s operation learned he had no business license for that site. The code inspector also found that the property had been divided into suites and new addresses added without city approval. The city’s code enforcement action required an architectural drawing to show the separate suites and permits for the construction work.
Bridges said Suites 1016 and 1018 never received permits for operating as a primary caregiver marijuana facility, and “to the best of the city’s knowledge, is not engaging in any marijuana grow operations.”
City inspection records for Suite 1012, one of four suites at a single University Drive building in Pontiac. (Screenshot of public records)
On Aug. 27, 2024, nearly five months before Simko’s death, Pontiac building official Bruce Eck visited Suite 1016 to investigate a complaint. In his notes, which are public record, he wrote “marijuana facility is illegally open. They will need to cease and desist immediately.”
Eck’s inspection notes state that the operation did not meet zoning requirements and that police might get involved if the operation wasn’t shut down in the next seven days and the property owner could be ticketed.
The record shows he last visited Suite 1016 on Jan. 6 and approved the work. But the text on that same page dated Jan. 14 notes that the inspection was improperly marked and that the building’s owner still needed the city’s zoning board’s approval to operate as a medical marijuana facility. The text states Suite 1016 needed a fire-safety inspection and permits for evident construction work, as none had been pulled. The text ends with a message highlighted by two asterisks: “Please note that previous use in this building [was] never approved for medical marijuana facility.”
Bridges said Eck inspected Suite 1016 on Sept. 4, 2024, and scheduled a progress check for March 17. His notes show he planned to verify that proper permits had been obtained and the suite met standards for a certificate of occupancy. But he was fired on March 10 after three abandoned children were found in a filthy townhouse on the city’s west side. Eck is suing the city for wrongful discharge.
Because of the litigation between Precision and the city, Bridges said, “the building division has not taken any action” to re-inspect Suites 1016 and 1018 and Precision has not requested any new permits.
City inspection records for Suite 1014, one of four suites at a single University Drive building in Pontiac. (Screenshot of public records)
On Jan. 14, two days after Simko’s body was found in the University Drive building, Eck visited Suite 1018 and prohibited occupancy. He scheduled a progress check for March 18, according to city records. Litigation has also precluded code inspectors from following up and Supal’s company has not applied for any new permits, Bridges said.
Precision still “has no city approvals to operate any business (at Suites 1016-1018),” Bridges said, adding that, to city officials’ knowledge, no cannabis being grown at those suites.
Eck visited Suite 1012 on July 10, 2024, and tagged the door with a notice that the business did not have a certificate of occupancy, which is granted only after permitted work is completed and passed city inspections. He and the fire marshal returned on Sept. 4, 2024, for a final inspection. “All OK,” Eck’s inspection note said.
On the same date, Eck issued a certificate of occupancy to Suite 1014.
Suites 1012 and 1014 are each listed on the city’s building records as “a legal non-conforming medical marijuana caregiver facility.”
City inspection records for Suite 1016, one of four suites at a single University Drive building in Pontiac. (Screenshot of public records)City inspection records for Suite 1016, one of four suites at a single University Drive building in Pontiac. (Screenshot of public records)City inspection records for Suite 1018, one of four suites at a single University Drive building in Pontiac. (Screenshot of public records)
The Pontiac building where Sam Simko was found fatally shot on Jan. 13 (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
All ramp metering traffic signals for the new “flex lanes” on Interstate 96 between Kent Lake Road and Interstate 275 are expected to be online Wednesday, officials said.
Drivers need to be aware and alert to the flashing yellow lights possibly turning red or green, the Michigan Department of Transportation said Wednesday.
The agency said the signals are programmed to change from yellow to red or green only when I-96 traffic is going slower than 60 mph.
Motorists approaching an active ramp meter will need to form two lanes on the ramp, stop at the white line, and wait for a green light to proceed onto the freeway, according to MDOT. Meters to the right and left of the ramp will alternate green signals, allowing one vehicle at a time to merge onto the freeway.
To help educate motorists, officials posted a video on the department’s YouTube channel that shows how ramp meters work.
Construction on the Flex Route, which runs along a 12-mile stretch of I-96 from Kent Lake Road to the I-96, I-275 and M-5 interchange, began in 2022. The three-year, $296 million project was designed to turn part of I-96 in Oakland County into a route that utilizes the median shoulder to alleviate rush-hour congestion.
The average daily traffic through that stretch of I-96 is 160,000 vehicles, according to MDOT.
Downtown Rochester will be abuzz this weekend with the annual Art & Apples Festival, hosted by Paint Creek Center for the Arts.
More than 250 artists will showcase their wares at Municipal Park. This is a juried art show. Ortonville resident and painter Kelly Ingleright-Telgenhoff won Best in Show in 2024.
An estimated 60,000 people are expected to attend the festival through the weekend.
Ortonville resident and artist Kelly Ingleright-Telgenhoff at the 2024 Art & Apples Festival in downtown Rochester, where she won Best in Show, by Jess DeNike. (Courtesy, Paint Creek Center for the Arts)
Jazz artist Sheila Landis leads the live entertainment at the park’s central band shell on Friday afternoon, followed by the cover-friendly Weekend ComeBack band on Saturday evening and country singer Julianne Ankley on Sunday. Local musicians and dance groups fill in the entertainment schedule.
Artist Carlos Montanaro at the 2024 Art & Apples Festival in downtown Rochester, by Jess DeNike. (Courtesy, Paint Creek Center for the Arts)
This family-friendly festival offers make-and-take art for children, hosted by Meijer Kids Art Zone; oversized games from Rochester Area Recreation Authority (RARA), live-art demonstrations at the Creation Station and fun with inflatables.
Apples are the star of the food menu – members of Scouts Troop 125 and the all-girl Troop 456 return to sell homemade apple pies, cider and donuts – but there’s a wide range of food trucks and booths to soothe hungry bellies.
The Art & Apples Festival is 2 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, with a 4 p.m. ribbon cutting at the downtown bandshell; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, at Municipal Park, 400 Sixth St. in Rochester.
Booth at the 2024 Art and Apples Festival in downtown Rochester by Jess DeNike. (Courtesy, Paint Creek Center for the Arts)
Festival entry is free but a $5 per-person donation is encouraged. Art & Applies is the main funding source for year-round programs at Paint Creek Center for the Arts. Some of the gate proceeds are shared with other community groups and nonprofits that provide festival volunteers. For more about Paint Creek, a festival map and the complete festival schedule, visit https://pccart.org/festival.
Artist Kim Rhoney at the 2024 Art & Apples Festival in downtown Rochester. (Courtesy, Paint Creek Center for the Arts)A crowd of people at the 2024 Art & Apples Festival in Rochester, by Jess DeNike. (Courtesy, Paint Creek Center for the Arts)
Candied apples for sale at the 2024 Art & Apples Festival in downtown Rochester, by Jess DeNike. (Courtesy, Paint Creek Center for the Arts)
Oakland County residents 60 years and older may receive a $5 coupon to spend on produce at a special event on Thursday, Sept. 4, at the Oakland County Farmers Market in Waterford Township.
Senior Market Day will occur from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at the market, 2350 Pontiac Lake Road.
Produce coupons will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and must be used during the event. Distribution ends 30 minutes before the market closes. No registration is necessary.
“Senior Market Day events directly connect our older adults to local farmers and fresh, Michigan grown produce” said Kate Guzman, health officer at Oakland County Health Division. “If you have never visited a farmers market, Senior Market Day is a great way to come out and shop local.”
The farmers market also offers Double Up Food Bucks, which match money spent using a Bridge card/EBT up to $20.
In addition to $5 coupons for produce, a variety of resources and additional health information will be available for older adults.
Healthy Oakland Partnership sponsors Senior Market Days. The Oakland County Health Division launched the partnership in 2009; it is a collaboration of local government, hospitals, health care providers, community-based organizations, businesses, and citizens working to promote healthy eating and physical activity opportunities.
HOP began hosting Family Market Days in 2009 to engage families in healthy eating practices and physical activity. The partnership expanded to include older adults in 2017 by hosting Senior Market Days.
For more information, visit www.oakgov.com/health, @publichealthOC on Facebook and Twitter, or contact Kelsey Merz at merzk@oakgov.com or 248-365-8954.
Detroit has long been known as a place with grit – where residents face tough times with resilience. That’s the idea behind a new series of stories at Bridge Detroit called Resilience in the D. The publication is reporting on folks who have made it through hard times by helping others.
Bridge Detroit’s Engagement Editor Bryce Huffman says the series started when the publication wanted to celebrate five years. They considered throwing a party, but instead decided to double down on the work they’re known for.
“We wanted to highlight five Detroiters. Detroiters we’ve never had a chance to interview or highlight specifically in stories.”
Huffman says Bridge Detroit asked people in the community who should be on the list of featured residents. The publication whittled the large list of submitted names down to five by asking a few simple questions.
“We thought, who best exemplifies the theme “resilience”? Who has stuck out through hard times? Who has kept doing this work with no recognition?”
Huffman says many of the people in the final five have lived in Detroit for a very long time. And he says a lot of the work they’re doing is geared towards seniors or the homeless community.
The next article in the series will appear sometime in September.
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A preliminary examination is scheduled for the case against a Pontiac woman accused in an alleged road rage incident that led to a Clarkston man being hit by a car outside a Meijer store and suffering a broken leg last month.
Samantha Jaynes, 25, is charged with felonious assault and a misdemeanor charge of failure to stop at the scene of an accident for the alleged Aug. 20 incident in Auburn Hills. The exam will be held before 52-3 District Judge Laura Polizzi who will be presented with evidence and then determine if probable cause exists for the case to be bound over to Oakland County Circuit Court for possible trial.
Samantha Jaynes booking photo
Police said the incident unfolded at around 7 p.m. on Aug. 20 during a road rage altercation on I-75. Jaynes reportedly followed the man to the Meijer’s drive-through pharmacy; he exited his car and an argument ensued. Jaynes allegedly pepper-sprayed the man and then hit him with her car as she backed up. Jaynes fled the scene but was later arrested and charged.
Jaynes was let out of jail on Aug. 22 on a personal bond, which requires no cash or surety to be posted.
If convicted of the felonious assault charge, Jaynes faces up to four years in prison and/or a $2,000 fine. The misdemeanor is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a $100 fine.
Students in Michigan have returned to school and with that comes a need for drivers to stay on alert and aware of school buses cruising through communities picking up children and dropping them off.
“Traffic tends to spike during the first days of school as many parents opt to drive their children,” Adrienne Woodland, a spokesperson for AAA-The Auto Club Group said in a news release. “We advise adding 30 minutes to your morning commute. Drivers running late are more prone to speeding, which endangers lives.”
Motorists also need to be aware of Michigan’s laws requiring motorists to stop when approaching a school bus pulled over with its red lights flashing and STOP arm extended.
The only exception is on a divided highway with a raised divider, yet 20% of Michigan respondents in a survey by AAA admitted to driving around a school bus while its red lights were flashing, which could result in fines and fatalities. A similar survey by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) estimated nationwide there were more than 43.5 million illegal school bus passings during the 2022-2023 school year.
AAA provided this explanation of the laws in Michigan: “When it comes to a two lane street all drivers moving in either direction on a two-way street must stop for a school bus displaying a stop signal and must remain stopped until the road is clear of children and the school bus stop arm is withdrawn.
“In the case of a multi-lane paved median all drivers moving in either direction must stop for a school bus displaying a stop signal and must remain stopped until the road is clear of children AND the school bus stop arm is withdrawn.
“Traffic approaching an oncoming school bus on a divided highway do not need to stop if there is a raised barrier such as a concrete divider or at least five feet of unpaved space separating the lanes of traffic. However, these motorists should slow down and watch for students loading or unloading from the bus.”
AAA offers drivers these tips for school zone safety:• Avoid distractions• Remain focused on the road. No texting, eating or multitasking while driving.• Brake for safety• Slow down and stay alert. School zones are unpredictable, so be ready to stop at a moment’s notice.• Keep a watchful eye on pedestrians and bicyclists• Be aware of school zone signs, crossing guards, AAA School Safety Patrollers, and anyone walking or biking. Always yield and drive cautiously.
Other survey stats:• 46% admitted to speeding in an active school zone.• 33% admitted to using their hand-held cell phone while driving in active school zones.
Nationwide, nearly one out of every five children (age 14 and under) killed in traffic crashes are pedestrians, however, safety experts say distracted walking can be just as dangerous as distracted driving.
“Now is the time to talk to your children about traffic safety,” Woodland said. “Discourage students from wearing earbuds or looking down at digital devices while standing at the bus stop or walking near traffic. Otherwise, they may not hear an approaching vehicle.”
• Stay alert and be aware of your surroundings and avoid using headphones or looking down at your phone when near traffic.• Use sidewalks where available. If not, walk against the direction of traffic so you can see oncoming vehicles.• Make yourself easier to be seen by wearing reflective, bright colored clothing.• Make eye contact with drivers before crossing the street to make sure the vehicle is stopping.
For bicyclists and those using scooters
• Always wear a helmet.• Ride with traffic and use bike lanes when you can.• Do not wear headphones so you can detect approaching traffic.• Cross streets at intersections- not from between parked cars.
For students riding the bus
• Arrive at least 5 minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive.• Stand five steps away from the curb.• Wait for the bus to stop completely and for the bus driver’s signal before boarding.
Despite the law, 20% of Michigan respondents in a survey by AAA admitted to driving around a school bus while its red lights were flashing. MACCOMB DAILY FILE PHOTO)
One person is dead and at least one other was injured after a “chaotic incident” Monday that began as a fight in the parking lot of the Fairfield Inn in Rochester Hills and ended in a traffic crash near Rochester Road and South Boulevard, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
In a social media post Monday night, officials said at least three people were involved in the altercation in the hotel parking lot, and two were shot. Oakland County Sheriff’s officials did not make clear who did the shooting.
“While no one sustained serious injuries in the vehicle collision, two of the at least three individuals involved in the parking lot altercation were shot, and one has died,” the Facebook post read. “Three people connected to this incident have now been identified, and we are investigating to see if others were involved.”
The beach at a popular state park has been closed for swimming since early August and will remain so for Labor Day weekend.
The beach at Seven Lakes State Park in Holly Township closed Aug. 5 because of elevated levels of E. coli bacteria.
In Waterford Township, Pontiac Lake Recreation Area’s beach reopened Wednesday, Aug. 27; it had been closed for almost a month because of E. coli readings.
Other smaller beaches across the county, many of them privately owned, have also been closed this summer. In addition to Seven Lakes, there were four beaches on the Oakland County Health Division’s list as of Friday.
Every summer, the Health Division routinely tests 100 public and private beaches, but that monitoring does not identify a source of E. coli contamination.
If levels are too high, a sign is posted and the beach is closed. It is then retested every weekday until an acceptable reading is reached and the beach reopens, said Mark Hansell, chief of Environmental Health Special Programs for the Oakland County Health Division.
Closed beaches prohibit swimming; they are generally open for walking and other activities.
Seven Lakes beach users posted on the park’s Facebook page that a large group of Canada geese that inhabit the area – and their droppings – are likely responsible for the closing.
The park’s administrative staff posted that they do the best they can to remove droppings from the beach.
But the Health Division doesn’t know the source of the E. coli contamination at Seven Lakes, Hansell said. Specialized testing showed it did not come from human waste, which can occur if there is a leak or other problem in a sewer or septic system.
“The Oakland County Health Division Lab does keep samples frozen for more analysis in partnership with other labs in the state that can run different genetic markers – goose, canine, ruminants, etc.,” he said in an email.
“Results from this process last year were primarily related to canine sources. But we do not know, and we may never know, the source from this season,” he said.
Last year, the county conducted a special study, in cooperation with several other entities, of beaches most troubled by E. coli contamination. They took 20 samples from nine lakes to determine the sources.
In 12 samples taken from seven lakes, dog waste was responsible. In the other eight samples, the source was undetectable. Geese and all warm-blooded animals carry E. coli in their guts; any wildlife could have been the source, Hansell said.
Dogs do not have to be on a beach to cause elevated E. coli readings. Waste left on lawns can wash into bodies of water, Hansell said.
The sample was small, as Oakland County has dozens of lakes with frequent closings every summer, he said.
Most E.coli strains cause no symptoms or only mild illness, but a few are responsible for serious health problems, Hansell said.
Monitored beaches have to meet the one-day standard of 300 E. coli colonies per 100 milliliters of water and the 30-day average of 130 colonies per 100 milliliters. The county’s list indicates whether each beach failed the one-day test or the 30-day test or both.
Nate Cassavoy, 10, left, and Kade Lookebill, 10, of Holly Township, Mich., lounge and eat frozen lemonade pops at Seven Lakes State Park on Thursday, June 28, 2012, in Holly Township. (AP Photo/The Flint Journal, Brett Carlsen)
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