Michigan, Pontiac | featured news

It's that time of year again. The Oakland County Farmers Market food truck rallies will begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 17. Featured trucks will include: Bigalora Wood Fired Cucina, Crepe Day-Twah, Delectabowl, Jamerican Grill and The Monkey Truck.

While flowers and for sale signs are blooming throughout metro Detroit, so is competition in the real estate market, and its fierce. Buyers find themselves repeatedly competing with multiple offers and wonder if there is a strategy to "win".According to Candice Rich, realtor at Signature Sotheby's International Realty, in Birmingham, 2018 is proving to be another seller's market as prices continue to increase and inventory remains extremely low in Oakland County.

Those who've met Nakayla, a 16-year-old girl who is hoping to be adopted by a "forever family,"find at least two things about her that are unforgettable: her smile and her spirit.On a segment this past autumn of WXYZ-TV's "Ann Marie's All Stars," Nakayla shared that, at the age oftwelve, her mom passed away; her father died when she was an infant and, in the time since, she's alsolost her grandparents.

Students, parents and friends at St. John Lutheran School in Rochester participated in a Hair Cut-A-Thon to benefit Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids of Michigan. The event on May 14 benefited the Michigan-based organization that provides wigs for children with medical diagnoses leading to hair loss.

An interurban rail spike believed to date from the 1890s to 1920s and two glass bottles thought to be 60 to 120 years old have been unearthed during the Old Woodward reconstruction project in Birmingham."These kinds of finds are exciting and bring us closer to the life along Old Woodward 100 years ago even as it undergoes its current transformation to a new chapter," said Leslie Pielack, Birmingham Museum director.

Creating what's described as a "kill list" has led to a 12-year-old girl being kicked out of a Catholic school in Independence Township.According to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to the Everest Academy on Tuesday afternoon after a parent said his daughter told him of the list of students, which included his daughter's name.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit has been named the new service provider for the Oakland County Michigan Works! center in Pontiac. The Oakland County Workforce Development board approved the selection on Tuesday, May 15.

Royal Oak clay artist Laurie Eisenhardt is this year's winner of the city's Community Arts Award.Locally, Eisenhardt is known partly for her role in bringing 14 community mosaic panels to the Royal Oak Public Library's children's section. "These panels would never have been created without Laurie's commitment of time and talent," said Shelly Kemp, executive director of the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce, in a news release.

A long vacant piece of prime western Oakland County property has been sold. Chris Semarjian, owner of Cleveland-based Industrial Commercial Properties, purchased the 182-acre Wixom property, which sits along Wixom Road just north of I-96, from Boston-based investor Trident Barrow.

You are guaranteed to find something you're looking for at the Oakland County spring auction on Saturday. Each year, the county sells off items seized by the sheriff's department as well as used county equipment. Proceeds go back to the various county departments to purchase new products. This year, you can expect to find gaming systems, tractors, boats, power tools, 75 vehicles, including a 2015 GMC Yukon driven by County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, televisions, electronics, bounce houses and more beginning at 9 a.