On Veterans Day, the citizens of Birmingham gathered at Shain Park to honor those who served our nation — a solemn and unifying occasion meant to rise above politics. Unfortunately, our new mayor, Clinton Baller, used the platform not only to honor veterans, but also to deliver comments that veered into partisan political commentary, diminishing the spirit of the event and the dignity of the office he holds. The Birmingham City Charter is clear: the mayor’s role is ceremonial

The recent bombshell announcement from The Community House (TCH) is the loudest wake-up call imaginable. The venerable Community House, center of Birmingham for over 100 years, is going to close and the organization morphed into a fundraiser-foundation for good causes. This follows the catastrophic era of the current board and former director William Seklar. But the collapse of TCH is just one of several issues barreling down on Birmingham like freight trains. The newly elect

I would like to clear up a few misunderstandings in the narrative put forth by Ms. Jayne and Ms. Gaudreau in a recent Downtown article. Setting up a new foundation to serve other non-profits and selling the House to fund it is a complete departure from The Community House’s original mission.   Since the beginning, all charitable activities were either carried out on the House premises or by other non-profit, philanthropic/and or civic organizations that met on the premises. 

Birmingham has long been known for its civic pride and community spirit, for neighbors who show up, volunteer, and work together to make this city an extraordinary place to live. That’s why the recent debate surrounding the future of 400 East Lincoln, the former YMCA building, has felt so disheartening. Somewhere along the way, the conversation has shifted from collaboration to competition, from “how do we build this together?” to “who wins and who loses?” But anyone who has

Thank you so much for the Faces article by Katey Meisner in the November Downtown Newsmagazine. A lot of people definitely read your magazine because I have been hearing from many of them since that piece came out. It was so kind of you to include this feature at this time.  I’ve already had one speaking engagement and a noticeable increase in book sales of  Remarkable Women of Oakland County  since the article was published. Lawrence Tech was so happy to see the article that

For the past few years, Michigan summers have been increasingly marred by a haze of wildfire smoke—a stark reminder of climate change that chokes our skies and our lungs. That is why the Trump EPA’s new proposal to rollback the “Endangerment Finding” is so dangerously short-sighted. For nearly twenty years, this scientific fact — that greenhouse gases harm our health — has been the basis of key clean air protections, upheld by the Supreme Court. This finding is the tool that

According to global energy think tank Ember, combined renewable energy sources overtook coal as the world' s largest source of electricity this year. While this is certainly encouraging, an in-depth look reveals a mixed picture. Developing nations, China in particular, led the way in transitioning to clean energy. Although it continues to build coal-burning power plants, it has added more solar and wind capacity than the rest of the world combined. India also saw significant

In the Downtown longform in our October issue on federal financial threats to K-12 school districts that do not abandon DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) policies, our writer drew a conclusion that “The Troy School District stated that it squarely stands behind initiatives and a culture steeped in DEI,” which can be viewed as as a quote from Troy Pubic Schools Director of Communications Kendra Montante. It was not part of a statement by the district but a conclusion of th

At the February 10 meeting of the Birmingham City Commission, I spoke in opposition to a proposed special election seeking taxpayer...

Foolish me -- I thought the city commission had finally decided to proceed with Next moving into the city owned YMCA building per the MOU...