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Runners warm up before the Summer Soulstice Sun Run at Soutfield City Center on Saturday, June 19, 2016.

SOUTHFIELD — Although spring has just begun, local event organizers are encouraging residents to lace up their running shoes and strap on their party hats ahead of the new summertime Southfield Spirit Fest.

According to Southfield Community Relations Director Michael Manion, the city of Southfield is putting together a brand-new event in conjunction with the annual Summer Soulstice run.

City officials are planning a parade ahead of the run, called Southfield Spirit Fest, June 17.

The parade will take off from Lawrence Technological University’s Don Riddler Field, 21000 W. 10 Mile Road; head down Civic Center Drive; and end up on the front lawn of the Southfield Municipal Complex, 26000 Evergreen Road.

Read the full article here: http://www.candgnews.com/news/city-teams-soulstice-run-new-southfield-spirit-fest-100221

Southfield Mayor Ken Siver speaks at the State of the City address. Photo by Erin Sanchez

SOUTHFIELD/LATHRUP VILLAGE — It could have been demolished.

But it wasn’t.

During the annual State of the City address March 20 at Best Western Premier Hotel on Telegraph Road, Southfield Mayor Ken Siver reminded the elected officials and community members in attendance that the room they were sitting in could easily have been imploded if it wasn’t for a recent redevelopment effort.

“This property — we honestly thought it was going to be imploded,” Siver said. “No one is going to come here and save this property.”

Previously, the event had been held at the Westin Hotel-Southfield. The change in location highlights Southfield’s development efforts over the last few years, officials said.

In August 2015, the Southfield City Council unanimously approved a plan from a New Zealand investment group for a Commercial Exemption Certificate to rehabilitate the Best Western, formerly the Holiday Inn Hotel.

Read the full article here: http://www.candgnews.com/news/mayors-focus-future-annual-address-100350

Southfield Mayor Ken Siver and Michele Henderson, manager of Lockwood @ McDonnell Towers Apartments stand in the background of Bernadine Miller’s 3rd floor apartment.

SOUTHFIELD — Southfield officials say they have long been focused on creating an enriched community that welcomes everyone  — young and old.

According to Karen Schrock, chair of the Southfield Commission on Senior Adults, the city has recently bumped up efforts to provide resources for its aging population.

COSA is a city-led organization whose goal is to present recommendations and information to the mayor and the City Council based on studies and investigations to help the city address the needs, concerns and problems of senior adults living in the Southfield community.

The group also works closely with city departments and local agencies that serve the senior community, monitors state and federal legislation, and serves as an educational link to services and resources, officials said.

Read the full article here: http://www.candgnews.com/news/city-launches-age-friendly-community-effort-100349

The League of American Bicyclists has recognized Lawrence Technological University with a bronze Bicycle Friendly University award. Lawrence Tech is the only university in the tri-county Detroit area with the designation, which is good for four years.

The league named 51 new and renewing BFUs in 25 states this week. The organization has now named a total of 164 BFUs in 44 states and Washington, D.C. “We applaud this round of BFUs for raising the standard and being innovative in making bicycling a safe, convenient and enjoyable option for students, staff and visitors alike,” said Bill Nesper, program director for the league.

In recent years, Lawrence Tech has added bike lanes, bicycle signage, and bicycle racks around campus, including at new buildings like the A Alfred Taubman Engineering, Architecture, and Life Sciences Complex, and at the university’s new outdoor athletic field. Lawrence Tech also provides a free bicycle repair station and bicycle pumps at its Don Ridler Field House, and offers free winter bicycle storage to students. The university’s campus safety department has also been trained in bicycle safety, and the university’s Tech Transit student transportation system is now bicycle-friendly.

“We have more and more students living on campus now, and becoming more bicycle-friendly is part of the ongoing physical transformation of a commuter campus into a residential campus,” said Philip Lucas, Lawrence Tech student engagement coordinator.

Lucas thanked Lawrence Tech alumnus Mike Darga, BSCE’85, and his wife, Nancy, for a gift that made pursuing the award possible. And Lucas said the city of Southfield has also been instrumental in the designation. He said the city’s recent street improvement projects “have tied in the campus with the Southfield City Centre area, making it easier for students and staff to use bicycles to get from campus to other areas in the city.”

Darga said he and his wife made a five-year pledge to the university to improve its bike-friendliness. “I had been involved in Tour de Troit, which holds bicycle rides all through the city, and I ran into LTU folks there, including Professor Constance Bodurow,” said Darga, a senior project manager at Giffels Webster, a Detroit-based engineering firm. “We decided to do what we could to encourage biking on LTU’s campus. It’s a way to tie the campus to the community without the need for motorized transportation.” Bodurow is associate professor of architecture at LTU and founding director of studio[Ci], a multidisciplinary research team within LTU’s College of Architecture and Design. (More at http://studio-ci.net.)

With the BFU designation, Lawrence Tech will have access to tools and technical assistance from the league to become even more bicycle-friendly.

To apply or learn more about the BFU program, visit www.bikeleague.org/university. The league also offers Bicycle Friendly Community, Bicycle Friendly State and Bicycle Friendly Business programs.

Lawrence Tech joins Aquinas College, Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and the University of Michigan-Flint, as having the designation in Michigan.

Article from ltu.edu

The League of American Bicyclists has recognized Lawrence Technological University with a bronze Bicycle Friendly University award. Lawrence Tech is the only university in the tri-county Detroit area with the designation, which is good for four years.

The league named 51 new and renewing BFUs in 25 states this week. The organization has now named a total of 164 BFUs in 44 states and Washington, D.C. “We applaud this round of BFUs for raising the standard and being innovative in making bicycling a safe, convenient and enjoyable option for students, staff and visitors alike,” said Bill Nesper, program director for the league.

In recent years, Lawrence Tech has added bike lanes, bicycle signage, and bicycle racks around campus, including at new buildings like the A Alfred Taubman Engineering, Architecture, and Life Sciences Complex, and at the university’s new outdoor athletic field. Lawrence Tech also provides a free bicycle repair station and bicycle pumps at its Don Ridler Field House, and offers free winter bicycle storage to students. The university’s campus safety department has also been trained in bicycle safety, and the university’s Tech Transit student transportation system is now bicycle-friendly.

“We have more and more students living on campus now, and becoming more bicycle-friendly is part of the ongoing physical transformation of a commuter campus into a residential campus,” said Philip Lucas, Lawrence Tech student engagement coordinator.

Lucas thanked Lawrence Tech alumnus Mike Darga, BSCE’85, and his wife, Nancy, for a gift that made pursuing the award possible. And Lucas said the city of Southfield has also been instrumental in the designation. He said the city’s recent street improvement projects “have tied in the campus with the Southfield City Centre area, making it easier for students and staff to use bicycles to get from campus to other areas in the city.”

Darga said he and his wife made a five-year pledge to the university to improve its bike-friendliness. “I had been involved in Tour de Troit, which holds bicycle rides all through the city, and I ran into LTU folks there, including Professor Constance Bodurow,” said Darga, a senior project manager at Giffels Webster, a Detroit-based engineering firm. “We decided to do what we could to encourage biking on LTU’s campus. It’s a way to tie the campus to the community without the need for motorized transportation.” Bodurow is associate professor of architecture at LTU and founding director of studio[Ci], a multidisciplinary research team within LTU’s College of Architecture and Design. (More at http://studio-ci.net.)

With the BFU designation, Lawrence Tech will have access to tools and technical assistance from the league to become even more bicycle-friendly.

To apply or learn more about the BFU program, visit www.bikeleague.org/university. The league also offers Bicycle Friendly Community, Bicycle Friendly State and Bicycle Friendly Business programs.

Lawrence Tech joins Aquinas College, Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and the University of Michigan-Flint, as having the designation in Michigan.

Article from ltu.edu

Lawrence Technological University (LTU) has again been named one of the best colleges in the Midwest, according to the Princeton Review. Only 156 colleges in 12 Midwestern states made the list for 2017.

The education services company lists LTU among the “2017 Best Colleges: Region by Region” at www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings?rankings=best-midwestern.

“We chose Lawrence Tech and the other outstanding institutions on this list primarily for their excellent academics,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s senior vice president and publisher. “We also give careful consideration to what students enrolled at the schools reported to us about their campus experiences on our student survey for this project.”

The Princeton Review’s list is based on 143,000 student surveys, input from college administrators and advisors, parents, and the independent company’s National College Counselor Advisory Board.

The survey’s 80-question student survey included questions that prospective applicants might ask on a campus visit. Colleges had to allow their students to be surveyed in order to be considered.

The Princeton Review survey asks students to rate their colleges on several issues – from the accessibility of their professors to the quality of their science laboratories – and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students, and their campus life.

The Princeton Review also ranks Lawrence Tech as one of the nation’s top Green Schools for its environmental programs and focus. It’s also ranked No. 17 in the country for top undergraduate programs in game design.

The Princeton Review’s “regional best” lists constitute about 25 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges. The 156 colleges that the Princeton Review chose for the “Best in the Midwest” list are located in 12 states: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.