Restaurant weeks 2021, with carryout options
Sixteen years ago, Restaurant Week in Birmingham was a new concept for Michigan, designed as an incentive to entice diners to visit the city's restaurants during a slow time of the year. This year, during a cataclysmic pandemic and closures to indoor dining, it's once again an opportunity for diners to support Birmingham restaurants, with a couple of added twists – you can earn $25 in Birmingham Bucks for every $50 you spend, and many have carryout and take home kits, as well. >>>
Endowment created for former library director
Doug Koschik, who retired from the Baldwin Public Library as library director on January 15, was honored by the Baldwin Public Library Board of Directors with the creation of a new named endowment fund in his honor to provide money for library building funds in perpetuity. >>>
Lots of fun outdoor activities in Birmingham
Staying indoors isn't the only option this winter. Residents and visitors are encouraged to take advantage of all that Birmingham has to offer this winter season. >>>
Schwartz appointed to labor advisory council
Edward Schwartz, president of Bloomfield Township's Schwartz & Co. investment firm, was appointed to the U.S. Department of Labor's ERISA Advisory Council for a three-year term by outgoing Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia. >>>
Stolen credit cards linked to local burglary
Bloomfield Township police are asking for help identifying a man and woman using a credit card stolen from a fire-damaged home in the 5000 block of Shadow… >>>
Break-in at Bloomfield HVAC business
Burglars smashed a glass door on Friday, January 15, at a heating and cooling business in the 1500 block of Telegraph in Bloomfield Township, police said. >>>
Jacket stolen from Power House Gym
An unattended men’s jacket was stolen on Saturday, January 16, from the Power House Gym, 400 E. Brown, Birmingham police said. >>>
Golf club heads stolen from DICK's
Bloomfield Township police are looking for the person responsible for stealing nearly $3,000 in golf equipment on Tuesday, January 12, from a sporting goods store on Telegraph Road. >>>
Downtown newsmagazine has launched a membership campaign for donations to the publication to allow us to remain strong and grow while still remaining free to most homes in the Birmingham/Bloomfield area. Publisher David Hohendorf’s letter to the local community explains the background on the membership effort. >>>
The Interview: Oakland health officials on pandemic
In a wide ranging interview, Downtown news editor Lisa Brody spoke to the two leading health experts in Oakland County, health officer Leigh-Anne Stafford and medical director Dr. Russell Faust, to help readers figure their way through the current COVID-19 pandemic, understand testing numbers and policy determinations, why the virus is more dangerous indoors than out, how long to quarantine for now, and how soon vaccine help will be on the way for Oakland County residents. >>>
‘Orphaned’ oil, gas wells and threat to the climate
Starting as early as 1859, long-gone prospectors drilled wells for oil and gas in Michigan, looking to cash in to fuel the American Industrial Revolution. When wells dried up and their drillers went bust, wells were left, uncapped, their decaying pipes plunging deep and left behind in forests, fields, or farms which as time moved on became developed as towns, cities and suburbia. Some operators left the pipes wide open while others plugged them with rudimentary methods with materials like scrap lumber or leftover construction material. >>>
Michigan Democrats continued to get their fair share of attention on the national stage as President-elect Joe Biden worked his way through building his cabinet to lead the 15 executive departments prior to formally taking over after the January 20 inauguration. Last month we noted how the name of Bloomfield Township Congressman Andy Levin was being bandied about for possible appointment as labor secretary, a post still open. >>>
