Oakland County

Live Coverage: 2019 Oakland County State of the County

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Photo of L. Brooks Patterson with text that says: 2019 State of Oakland County Address

The 2019 Oakland County State of the County address will be held Thursday, February 7th at 7:00 p.m. at the new corporate headquarters of United Shore in Pontiac. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson will address about 800 Oakland County business, community, and political leaders at this invitation-only event. The winner of the Elite 40 under 40 Class of 2019 will also be revealed during the address and introduce the county executive. Patterson will highlight the county’s economic successes and outline how Oakland County is leading the way for innovation in 2019.

Cover Slide for 2019 State of the County Address

The speech will be available to the widest possible audience. WDET-FM (101.9) returns to air the speech live. In addition, Oakland County will livestream the event on the County Executive website, OakGov.com/Exec, as well as Oakland County’s YouTube channel, @OakGov, and the Executive Office Facebook page, @OakGov.EO. The county’s Twitter handle, @OakGov, will feature live tweets with highlights from the speech. Those listening to the speech are encouraged to use the hashtag #Brooks2019 to join the conversation.

Digital copies of the speech will be available afterward at OakGov.com/exec and the Executive Office Facebook page. Event highlights and videos will be published here, on the Oakland County Blog, that evening and in the days following the address.

For further information, please contact Bill Mullan, Oakland County media and communications officer, at 248-858-1048 or 248-202-9668.

For more news and county events, visit our website and follow along with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram using #OaklandCounty.

Oakland County Olympic Snowboarder Danny Davis

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Professional snowboarder Danny Davis speaks to people attending the Merry Mitten Classic.

Highland native Danny Davis, a professional snowboarder, recently visited Alpine Valley. Davis is a respected, Olympic snowboarder who’s competed at the highest level and looks to focus the sport on, “fun, friends, and new experiences.” He returned home to Alpine Valley on December 22nd, 2018 to put on the Merry Mitten Classic and ride alongside Oakland County snowboarders.

Check out this video of Danny Davis’ return to the slopes of Alpine Valley:

Continue reading →

Reptile Roundup and Winter Survival

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A nature educator listens to questions from children gathered around aquariums on a table

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

Nature in winter is an amazingly beautiful and at times mysterious place, especially when the temperature plunges well below the negative zero mark, as it did in the pre-dawn hours of the Blood Moon Eclipse. Some humans celebrated that onslaught of winter, while others acted like the world was about to end. We humans are endotherms, creatures that create heat internally. One could say we are actually walking heat-generating furnaces. Thanks to our physiologic adaptations, adaptations we share with many other mammals, we can pretty much maintain a nearly constant body temperature if properly attired and sheltered from frigid winds. We can also go inside. We can turn the heat up. And some of us can even fly off to exotic tropical locations. Continue reading →

Oakland County February Business Workshops

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Four business people talk around a small coffee table.

Now is the time to better your business skills! Launch a brand-new business or advance your current one with the help of Oakland County’s One Stop Shop Business Center. Take part in their low-or-no-cost business workshops in February and learn the skills necessary to become a successful business-person. Topics include small business loans, market potential, financing options, cash flow, and more. Continue reading →

Black-capped Chickadees: Forest Warriors or Suburban Feeder Flirts?

Oakland County, MI Government 1 Comment
A Black-capped Chickadee perches on the author's hand.

WILDER SIDE OF OAKLAND COUNTY

Black-capped Chickadees are well adapted to life in the woodlands of Oakland County, and are equally comfortable living a suburban lifestyle. The secret of their success is adaptability and inquisitiveness, and during the cold months, a few tricks bestowed upon them through eons of evolution.

Chickadees may be found in any local habitat that has trees or woody shrubs, from our expansive State Recreation Area forests managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, to small brushy areas in our urban areas. During times of heavy snow, they often hunker down in sheltered swamps such as those at Lakeville Swamp Nature Sanctuary and Timberland Swamp Nature Sanctuary, two of my favorite Oakland County swamps managed by the Michigan Nature Association. When extreme cold grips the landscape, they may hunker down in abandoned woodpecker nesting cavities, knotholes on the leeward side of trees and occasionally excavate their own shelters in soft rotten wood. Continue reading →