Jessica Starr is a “home-grown” girl who went to school in the Walled Lake Consolidated School District. Raised in Commerce Township, Starr attended Dublin Elementary School, Clifford H. Smart Middle School, and graduated from Walled Lake Central High School in 2001 before she went on to get her degree from Michigan State University in climatology and geography. She then continued her education at Mississippi State University, where she earned a certificate in broadcast meteorology. After [...]

From Dwight Henley, White Lake Township: Ithaca Superintendent Nathan Bootz and Clarkston Community Schools Superintendent Rod Rock have recently voiced their opinions over harsh educational cuts. Bootz even proposed that his district be turned into a prison. Bootz’s reasoning was that prisons receive $30,000 per prisoner each year, while schools receive only $7,000 per pupil. Rock suggests educational reforms for limiting the impact of educational cuts. Both Bootz and Rock have the solutions to educational [...]

From Alonzo Howard, Walled Lake: Florida took a huge step backwards in justice for infant murder victims today with the acquittal of Casey Anthony in the death of her daughter Caylee. I think it would be wrong for the world to attempt to lambast the jury for their decision, because I truly think they gave the verdict they deemed necessary for the evidence they were presented. What concerns me is what their feelings will be [...]

By Michael McPhee White Lake Township resident According to the Federation of Tax Administrators, 45 states have a business tax. Of them, Michigan has the third-lowest rate after being cut by our GOP administration. To replace revenue lost in the cut, Republicans pushed through a new tax on pensions by staging a divisive public debate that pitted pensioners against 401K participants and others having neither resource. Sponsors of the new tax said: “Everyone had to [...]

Over the years we’ve heard the call over and over again from various voices, most notably from those within the Republican Party: The state, particularly the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), owns enough land already and shouldn’t be spending any more money to buy additional parcels. We admit we’ve never been too keen on that idea. However, as outlined in a bill that’s already cleared the state Senate and is now before the Michigan House [...]

It seems we were in agreement with all but one member of the state House of Representatives when the lower chamber voted 106-1 to pass legislation that would designate Sept. 11 to Sept. 17 — Constitution Day — of every year as Patriot Week in the state of Michigan. And now that the state House has done its work on House Bill (HB) 4464, we urge the state Senate to put the measure sponsored by [...]

The Friday, Aug. 5 deadline for open enrollment at the Waterford Cyber Academy is approaching, and academy officials will be attending the WDIV-TV Michigan School Expo at the Oakland Mall on Saturday, July 30 and Sunday, July 31 from noon to 6 p.m. The Cyber Academy is offering open enrollment for students in grades nine-12 in the Waterford School District and Schools of Choice students who live in Oakland County and other qualifying school districts. [...]

The Spinal Column Newsweekly is proud to present its very first All-Area Girls Soccer Team, honoring the best of west Oakland’s female student-athletes on the pitch this spring. Team selections were not only based upon players’ individual statistics, but also on nominations from area coaches, and other honors a player has received, such as conference awards. Making the final player selections is a difficult process when composing an all-area team for any sport, but with [...]

You may not find a town officially called “Union Lake” on a map of Oakland County — at least not anymore — but you could always find the contours of the region around James W. Fancy’s heart. It may be the water and scenery, the recreation, that has drawn people to western Oakland County over the years, but the hard-nosed journalist came to the lakes area for the first time more than 40 years ago [...]

With U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Waterford, White Lake, Highland, Milford, Commerce, Wolverine Lake, Walled, Wixom) eying the Presidency and seeking the GOP nomination for the highest office in the land, Mike Kowall sees an opening. That’s why the first-term Republican state senator currently representing all but one of the lakes area’s 11 communities — Commerce, Highland, Milford Township, Milford Village, Walled Lake, Wixom, Wolverine Lake, White Lake, Orchard Lake, West Bloomfield — is making a [...]