Thursday, April 18, 2013
A 21-year-old college student thrills passersby with his Michael Jackson tribute around Ferndale and Royal Oak.
Michael Jackson may be gone too soon, but there are guys like Jackson, 21, who continue to amuse, inspire and delight pretending to be the King of Pop. An unemployed Oakland Community College student, Jackson (his stage name) spends at least one day per week dancing on Main Street in downtown Royal Oak and is also often seen dancing on Nine Mile Road in downtown Ferndale. He makes a few bucks in tips - not enough to survive on, but that's not why he does it. "I make people happy—make their days. That's how we do," he said. Wednesday morning, Kevin Demps, of Southfield, was driving down Main Street in Royal Oak and he pulled over to take Jackson's photograph with his cellphone. "I just happened to notice him. Michael Jackson is one of my …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Modern Natural Baby is one of three businesses leasing the vacant building, which will be fully renovated.
The former Dollar Castle building at 200 West Nine Mile Road will soon be home to expanding Ferndale baby boutique Modern Natural Baby. The store is currently located just a few doors down at 224 W. Nine Mile Road and is one of three businesses that will eventually occupy the space, which has been vacant since Dollar Castle closed its doors in October. Modern Natural Baby owner Emily Murray said the shop will triple its retail space with the move, which is planned for August after extensive renovations are done. "We're really excited about it," said Murray, who owns the store with her husband John Murray. Modern Natural Baby will lease about 5,300 square feet of the 12,000 square foot building and will be located in the center of the …
Monday, March 18, 2013
Parking holiday continues through Monday, March 25.
Free parking continues this week in Ferndale as the city continues to make improvements to the new parking system. Ferndale City Council voted Monday, March 11 to return parking rates to 50 cents an hour, temporarily decrease enforcement hours and extend free parking through Monday, March 25. Parking is free for on-street parking and in all lots. From March 25 to May 1, parking enforcement hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. to give the city time to install new solar-powered lighting around the pay stations. After that, enforcement hours will be 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Find more information here.
Friday, March 8, 2013
The event honors member communities of the Main Street Oakland County program for their downtown development efforts.
The Ferndale Downtown Development Authority took home several awards given out Friday night at the Main Street Oakland County awards celebration at the Royal Oak Music Theater. The event honors member communities of the Main Street Oakland County (MSOC) program for their downtown development efforts. More than 200 people attended the event, which was sponsored by ITC. Pontiac was another big winner at the event - together with Ferndale, the two towns brought home 16 out of the 30 awards presented. “Main Street Oakland County is a model for other Main Street programs across the country,” County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said in a press release. "I’m exceedingly proud of the progress Pontiac has made in bringing its downtown to life and …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
DDA board members say a full consensus is needed on the goal of increasing parking spaces before the public should be burdened with increased prices.
The Ferndale Downtown Development Authority announced Thursday that it will urge Ferndale City Council next week to roll back increased parking rates and expanded hours of enforcement. The DDA will present its recommendation at council’s Monday, March 11 meeting. Ferndale implemented new pay stations and parking rates in late January, and since then some residents have expressed frustrations about using the new system. On Feb. 28, council members voted to order 12 more pay stations and extend a free parking holiday through March 11 while the city works to address problems with the system. “We continue to stand by our Parking System Priority Resolution, which only supports a rate increase in tandem with the stated goal to increase capacity …
Monday, February 25, 2013
City Council approved an extension of free parking through March 11.
Parking will be free in downtown Ferndale for two more weeks while the city works to improve the new parking system. Ferndale City Council on Monday night approved the extension of free parking through March 11 and approved the purchase of 12 additional parking pay stations. City management recommended the extra pay stations after using data from the new system to study a seven-day period of usage. During that time, the pay stations had 15,000 transactions - 50 percent coming from the Troy and Withington parking lots. "That right there lets you know that clearly we have an issue with the amount of pay stations that we have in those two lots in particular," said Ferndale City Manager April Lynch, pointing out that a quarter of the machines …
Friday, February 22, 2013
Cty staff will use the weekend as an opportunity to review the data generated by the new pay stations.
The city of Ferndale announced Friday that free parking will be available in all parking lots and on-street spaces through Monday, Feb. 25. "The bottom line is that we need to provide the best product to our customers," Ferndale City Manager April Lynch said in a press release. "We have heard their concerns and our committed to making sure these machines meet their needs." Cty staff will use the weekend as an opportunity to review the data that has been generated by the new pay stations. “These machines are able to provide us with a lot of information that was not previously available from the old mechanical meters," Loyd Cureton, director of the Ferndale Department of Public Works said in the release. "We can now have a better …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Parking is free all day as part of the DDA's Third Thursday initiative.
Parking is free today in downtown Ferndale as part of the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority's Third Thursday initiative. Parking will be free all day on Thursday, Feb. 21 and people are encouraged to shop, dine and enjoy all that the city has to offer. For more information on Third Thursdays, visit www.downtownferndale.com or call the DDA at 248-546-1632. See here for information on the city's new parking system.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Mayor says parking rates are worth revisiting.
Ferndale city officials are responding to a growing wave of negative feedback after new parking rates and pay stations were implemented beginning late last month. City officials say feedback is being received at City Hall, the Ferndale Downtown Development Authority and on the Ferndale Park Plus web site. Residents have also been sharing their views on Patch, and a "Lower Ferndale's Parking Rates" Facebook group started last week that now has more than 450 "likes." "We knew that there was going to be some roll-out issues but frankly it's been more than we anticipated," Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter said on Thursday. "Our staff is working very hard to address everybody's concerns." The mayor also submitted this letter to the editor on Sunday…
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Emily Murray, owner of Modern Natural Baby, says her store is giving $2 off to customers if they show they used the ParkMobile app.
In response to growing concerns over Ferndale's new parking system, one local business owner says she will pay for her customers' parking all month to help ensure they return to the store. Emily Murray, owner of Modern Natural Baby in downtown Ferndale, said she and some other local business owners are not happy with the new parking situation but realize the old meters aren't coming back. "Business owners are adaptable and many of us are trying to figure ways to make sure our current customers are happy and will come back," Murray wrote in an email to Patch. "At Modern Natural Baby, we feel the best way for us is to eliminate the problem is to educate our customers about ParkMobile," she said. "We started a promotion that will give $2 off …
Motown Voice
8:54 am on Monday, April 22, 2013
Did you seriously set up a user profile just to comment in this story as Michael Jackson? Ugh. You have WAY too much time on your hands. more ›