For the third consecutive year, Hockeytown will be taking over the softball diamond at Duck Lake Pines Park in Highland Township. The third annual Joe Kocur and Celebrity Friends Charity Softball Tournament will take place on Saturday, Aug. 6 beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the park. The event is scheduled to include appearances by former Detroit Red Wings and National Hockey League hockey players, including Darren McCarty, Kirk Maltby, Dino Ciccarelli, and Manny Legace. Other [...]

Running is good for the soul, according to St. Williams Church in Walled Lake, which is hosting its first 5K run called “Strides for SOUL” on Saturday, Aug. 6 at 10 a.m. Support Our Unique Learners (SOUL), a non-profit organization, is organizing the event to benefit special needs children. “We send money to support any special education learner in a private school setting,” said SOUL President Annette Liike. “We provide support services so these students [...]

The West Bloomfield School District is offering a new application period for Schools of Choice admittance to Oakland Early College (OEC) from Monday, Aug. 8 through Monday, Aug. 22. The Oakland Early College program is a partnership between the West Bloomfield School District and Oakland Community College (OCC). It allows students to graduate with not only a high school diploma, but also an associate’s degree from OCC and/or 60 credits toward a bachelor’s of arts [...]

The Waterford Schools Board of Education has been asked to approve school cafeteria meal prices for the 2010-11 school year, with no increase in prices recommended. Elementary school students would pay $2.50 for lunch, while secondary students would pay $2.75 and adults would pay $3.50. As for breakfast, elementary and secondary students would pay $1.50, while adults would pay $2. The proposed meal prices will come up for final approval at the school board’s Thursday, [...]

From Jordan Adams, Highland Township: McPhee wrote a largely coherent, albeit provocative, letter last week (“Skin in the game,” July 20, 2011) arguing against the repeal of the Michigan Business Tax (MBT), advocating progressive taxation, suggesting a corrupt relationship between state legislators and Michigan businesses, and finally, demanding the recall of Gov. (Rick) Snyder. Working forward, you and I can clarify and dismiss his arguments one by one. First, we encounter McPhee’s disdain for the [...]

By Paul Kane White Lake Township resident The financial shenanigans going on in Washington D.C. are truly disturbing. It proves that we regular folks must apply even more pressure to our elected officials in order to head off an even darker financial nightmare. (The debt is the problem, not the debt limit.) Democrats refuse to even discuss “spending cuts” in regards to the out-of-control growth of big government. They want only to raise taxes and [...]

Wixom isn’t the only community in the lakes area that offers potential commercial investors tax abatements as a carrot to start up or expand their operations, but they’re the only one we’re aware of that is actively showing the businesses that do receive the tax breaks the stick that they wield if the terms of the abatement aren’t met to the city’s liking. We’re pleased city officials are taking this step towards enforcement of the [...]

If you’re a Cass Lake riparian property owner, a lakefront resident, a boating or fishing enthusiast, or a person with some other vested interest in the lake, you have a chance tomorrow to learn about and comment on two proposals to overhaul the Cass Lake boating access site inside the state Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Dodge Park No. 4 in Waterford Township. A special public meeting on the proposals has been scheduled by the [...]

The Spinal Column Newsweekly is proud to present its 2011 All-Area Baseball Team, honoring the best of west Oakland’s prep players on the diamond this year. Team selections were not only based upon players’ individual statistics, but also on nominations from area coaches; other honors a player has received, such as conference awards; and players’ overall contributions to their teams. Making the final player selections is always a difficult process, and this year was no [...]