Article

Stores in Twelve Oaks mall put safety first as customers return

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Zoe Fritz saw customers being thrown out of the store for refusing to wear masks. “It’s been really crazy! You have the people who throw fits that have had to been put out of the mall,” Fritz said. “It’s frustrating to deal with people because they feel like ‘why do I have to do this’.”

Twelve Oaks Mall opened up May 28 after closing because of COVID-19. The mall then updated its rules for shoppers on July 13 from allowing the stores to choose whether they allowed masks, to requiring masks in every store.

Business & Economy

Technology and sustainability are key focuses for future of Novi

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NOVI, Mich.- Approaching its 50th anniversary as a township, Novi has attained the status of being among the fastest growing communities in the state of Michigan. With a population of more than 60,000 as of 2018, Novi is among the 20 most populated cities in Michigan, according to the Michigan Demographics website. With a population that keeps growing, though, as evidenced by how the population has gone up by nearly 5,000 since the 2010 census had it at 55,224, the process of sustaining such a large community is something that presents a much more difficult challenge for city government. “You’re going to need to have multiple actions going on to ensure that the community that is growing is the community that people want,” said Rex LaMore, the director of the MSU Center for Community Economic Development, who has 35 years of experience in the field. “There’s a number of important elements to consider.

Greater Lansing Community News

Novi City Council candidates talk about motivations and stances on issues ahead of November elections

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NOVI, Mich.- For any election season, being able to identify the key reasons that are behind the candidate’s motivation for running is important for voters to make their best-informed decisions. This upcoming election shouldn’t be any different, as on Tuesday, Nov. 5, residents will head to the polls to decide which three out of six candidates will fill out four year terms and what one of three candidates will hold a two year term. “I just generally always had an interest in public service and the study of public policy has always been interesting to me,” said Councilwoman Laura Casey, who will be at the end of her second term on the council in November. “I was on the library board when the new library was built, and having that feeling of being able to contribute and bringing better things into Novi makes me feel good.”

“Ultimately it’s trying to make Novi a better place to live for everybody,” said Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Staudt, who has served on the council since 2007.

Greater Lansing Community News

Roads and community center main topic points at rare study session in Novi

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NOVI, Mich.- The Novi City Council convened for a special meeting on July 17, to focus on studying plans for both road construction and for the potential building of a community center in Novi. “We were able to create a committee,” Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Staudt said. “My goals going in were getting work done on neighborhood roads, getting work on roads that have economic payback and mitigating traffic, and I don’t know if council share my goals but we were able to create a committee to study it.”

“I think it was an accomplishment,” said Councilwoman Doreen Poupard. “It could’ve just been a regular study session but we came out of it with legitimate plans and direction for improvements we want to make going forward.” A primary question going in to the meeting was whether there was going to be enough time to be able to approve a bond to fund the road construction and put it on the ballot for the upcoming November elections, a question that was answered early on.

News

Recently retired Novi principal reflects on her tenure and future

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NOVI, Mich.-Growing up as the daughter of two educators, teaching was something Jenifer Michos became familiar with very quickly in her life, and the challenges that came with it proved to be too hard to resist. “I loved the challenge of a student that might have been struggling,” said Michos. “When I went to Hope College, I had exceptional teachers and I ate up all of their strategies, and it helped me become empowered to work with kids that had special needs, which is what I did first.”

Now after having been principal of Parkview Elementary in Novi for 16 years before her retirement at the end of this past school year, Michos has meet those challenges and many changes along the way, whether it’d be with students, staff or even the education system itself. “I would say there was a looseness to the system,” said Michos. “Over the years we have become more structured with the laws that have been put in place like No Child Left Behind, and they’ve helped us align with what the current needs are for our students.”

“I think we’ve also made huge improvements in regards to how we look at mental health. That was maybe the most challenging part of being a principle was understanding those complicated issues, but now I think we’re more in tuned with them than ever before.”

No matter what, though, one thing that hadn’t ever changed, according to those who worked with her, was the way the trust and empowerment that she instilled in everyone at Parkview.

Greater Lansing Community News

Council Members come to agreement on road study session

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NOVI, Mich- The Novi City Council met on June 17, and among other topics, approved a motion set forth by Councilwoman Laura Casey for an official road project study session that will take place on July 17. “We have been talking for quite some time about how bad the traffic is on our major roads and intersections,” said Casey. “We had done a big study on the Novi Road corridor, and we know we have tough traffic, and the study was eye opening with showing how the easements could be widened and how Grand River and Meadowbrook were impacted by the effects of this.” “There have been similar easement issues with Beck Road as well, so it’s really a combination of all of these factors that brought this session together,” said Casey. While sessions like this aren’t common, according to Casey, support for the meeting was not short to be had, on the condition that what comes out of the meeting is a real plan of things to get done.

Diamond Jim Brady's Bar and Bistro

Diamond Jim Brady’s owner, staff reflect on nearly 30 years in Novi

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NOVI, Mich.- Sustaining a business for nearly 30 years in one of the continually fastest growing cities in the state of Michigan could be seen as a challenge. For Diamond Jim Brady’s Bistro Bar owner Mary Brady, it couldn’t be seen as anything other than positive. “I would have to say that it’s all been a very positive experience,” said Brady. “It’s been an incredible journey as far the amount of industry and businesses that have come into the city and also the population has just exploded. It all makes it a wonderful place to do business.”

Originally opening in Detroit in 1954, Diamond Jim Brady’s initially opened a second restaurant in Southfield in 1980, a year after Brady was first hired by her eventual husband Tom Brady.