Plans pitched last year to develop a lifestyles market and year-round farmer's market in Rochester have been revamped as a city center concept that has been put on hold, Rochester Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board chair Mark Albrecht told city council members on Monday, October 22. "We will not move forward with this phase, but we are 18 months smarter," Albrecht said while presenting an update to the market concept, which has gone through several iterations and phas

The fifth annual Rochester High School Holiday Bazaar is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, November 3, providing one of the largest bazaar events in Rochester Hills and the surrounding communities. The bazaar serves as a holiday shopping extravaganza that takes on a few twists to offer a unique experience to get shoppers into the holiday spirit. The theme this year involves nutcrackers and the meaning of the word "believe." Along with the sights and sounds of caro

The Rochester Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has launched a new initiative to recognize businesses, property owners and individuals for outstanding contributions to the downtown community. The Downtown Business Recognition Program recognized its first recipients at the DDA's October 17 board meeting. Those recognized included Ryan and Pamela Walther, owners of Bizzy Buzz Artisan market, 409 Main Street, for their renovation; Frank Rewold and Sons for their 100th Anniver

Plans for a 15-unit, single-family condominium development near Auburn Road and John R were given a green light on Monday, October 22, by Rochester Hills City Council. The development, Woodland Crossing, is proposed to sit on five acres of land along the north side of Auburn Road, east of John R. The land is currently zoned for single-family use and surrounded by single-family homes, with the exception of a fire station to the east. Macomb County developer Andy Montalbano, wi

A 26-year-old Rochester Hills man died on Monday, October 22, from a suspected drug overdose at an unspecified address on Chevy Circuit Drive in Rochester Hills, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said. Deputies responding about 7:37 a.m. to the report of a man who was unresponsive and wasn't breathing, arrived to the residence to find paramedics attempting to revive the man in a second-story bedroom. Deputies found a used hypodermic syringe and drug paraphernalia at the sce

A Rochester Hills resident on Saturday, October 20, discovered a window screen had been damaged by an unknown person using a pumpkin from outside of the home in the 100 block of Winry Drive, law enforcement said. An Oakland County Sheriff's deputy responding to the report of malicious damage to property spoke to the homeowner, who said she heard a loud "bang" outside of the residence sometime between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. and discovered damage later that morning. The homeowner sa

An alleged shoplifter on Thursday, October 18, was arrested at a Rochester Hills Wal-Mart after she failed to scan all her items at a self-checkout register, law enforcement said. A sheriff's deputy responded to the store, 2500 S. Adams Road, about 12:45 a.m., to the report of a theft incident involving a woman who had been shopping in the store. Loss prevention employees at the store said the woman was using a self-checkout register and failed to scan all of her items, conce

There's a saying that numbers never lie. But numbers can be deciphered, manipulated, interpreted and misinterpreted, all in an effort to tell one story or another. Just ask a pollster or campaign manager for anyone running for public office, especially right now, as we head into the final days of the 2018 midterm general election. In the abstract, a pollster is someone who conducts and/or analyzes opinion polls, on any matter or topic. A strong pollster provides a snapshot in

Considered the second-most used herbicide in the United States and one that has been found in drinking water in thousands of communities across the country, atrazine is viewed as an invaluable weedkiller to corn, soybean and specialty farmers across the Midwest. In Michigan, nearly 6.4 million combined gallons and pounds of atrazine have been sold in liquid and solid form from 2005 to September of 2018, according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

To help set the stage for this month's column, I have been following politics in Oakland and the state of Michigan since the mid-1970s. I throw that out as a point of information in this election year because, I humbly submit, I have one of the better grasps of how government – be it at the local, county or state level – does or should function. A student of government. A political junkie. My decades of observation, combined with years of experience on the part of others here