These Moms are Winners to Their Families Every Day

Proud kids, husbands and friends nominate the special women in their lives. Share your photos and stories of mom today, too.

We asked you to tell us why your mom (or grandma or mother figure) is so special in anticipation of Mother's Day and you shared stories and photos that made us laugh and cry. Congratulations to our three winners (chosen at random): Maureen Krasner of Grosse Pointe Farms: Kranser was nominated by her husband, Charles, who said: "Whether we're hiking, biking, picking blueberries, playing in the sand or relaxing at home, Maureen (Mo, Mom) is happy wherever we are as a family. A phenomenal mother, wife and friend, she's always ready to dig in for fun and adventure." Krasner wins dinner at The Root Restaurant & Bar in White Lake. The Rev. Dona Gilsdorf of Birmingham: Gilsdorf, pastor at Unity Church of Rochester, was nominated by Danielle Boes…

• Photos (3)

Enter to Win a Ticket to the Coney Bus Tour Saturday

We have some seats on the tour of Metro Detroit Coney Island Restaurants to give away. The contest closes at noon Friday, May 11, so enter now!

What's your favorite coney island restaurant? Tell us below in comments and you could win a ticket to a coney island bus tour Saturday, May 12. You can join authors of the new book Coney Detroit — Joe Grimm of Bloomfield Township and Katherine Yung of Brighton — on a bus tour by D:Hive Detroit of Metro Detroit for a tasting of their favorite coney island hot dogs. Patch is also sponsoring the tour. The tour runs 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and includes samplings of coneys at the restaurants where the bus stops. The tour will visit some coney local treasures – including a stop at Dearborn restaurant Joe's Top Dog Coney Island – home of the Jim Padilla Special, named for the former Ford Motor Co. president. Also included is a stop at a Greek …

•  42 Comments
• Photos (1)

Reform Bill an Important Step in Preserving U.S. Postal Service

Sen. Carl Levin says U.S. Postal Service faces "an extraordinary financial challenge" in the future.

In late April, the U.S. Senate approved an important bill to reform the U.S. Postal Service. Though the bill was not perfect, it makes important changes to help the Postal Service adapt and thrive in the 21st century. And it includes an amendment that I helped write that I believe will help protect postal facilities in Michigan and across the nation from unjustified closures. There is little doubt that change is necessary; the Postal Service faces an extraordinary financial challenge, and it must make changes to take into account a new reality in which physical mail has in many cases been replaced by electronic communication. But in making these necessary reforms, we must ensure that all the American people can continue to rely on the U.S…

• Photos (1)

Tea Party Tax Day Rally Draws 400 to Kellogg Park

Rattle With Us T.E.A. Party members rally over discontent with the federal government.

As the storm clouds passed, and the sun peeked out over Plymouth, intrepid conservatives from all over the state gathered once again in our hometown to voice their discontent for current fiscal policy, and a federal government whom they claim has reached far beyond the limitations placed on it by the Constitution. The organizers of the Rattle With Us T.E.A. Party (Taxed Enough Already) decided to hold this year's Tax Day Tea Party rally at Kellogg Park, where, in 2009, the organization's first event drew almost two thousand people. This year's event drew about 400 brave souls, who risked the early afternoon thunderstorms to hear a lineup of speakers including conservative author James Keena (Insurrection Resurrection & We've Been Had), …

• Photos (3)

Earth Hour: Will You Turn Off Your Lights?

At 8:30 p.m. local time in more than 80 countries, an estimated 1 billion people will turn off their lights. Will you be one of them?

Earth hour is almost upon us. Will you be going dark at 8:30 p.m.? Earth Hour is a global World Wildlife Fund initiative that began in Sydney, Aulstralia in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people all over the world took part in the action, according to Earth Hour's website. In 2009 almost 1 billion people worldwide switched off their lights. By 2011, Earth Hour involved 135 countries with more than 1.8 billion people participating. In countries and on continents where the hour has already occurred, hundreds of world landmarks from Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to the Great Wall of China went dark earlier today. Earth Hour is held on the last Saturday of March every year, and began as a …

•  61 Comments
• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

UPDATE: $640 Million! Do You Have Your Mega Millions Ticket Yet?

You're more likely to get pregnant from a fling than win the lottery. Where does Michigan fall on the "suckers index"? Take the Patch poll.

The Mega Millions jackpot has leaped to more than half a billion dollars. It's estimated at $640 million for Friday night's drawing — $462 million if a sole winner takes the cash payout. The lottery is a suckers bet. Always has been. But the dream of winning the lottery and leaving behind the daily grind is hard to shake. More than $50 billion was spent on lottery tickets in 2010, and prizes totaled $32.8 billion, according to a Bloomberg ranking of state lotteries. Michigan adults spend an average $312.91 per year on the lottery - the seventh most in the country. (In Massachussetts, it's a whopping $860 per year.) Where does Michigan fall on Bloomberg's Suckers Index? "The Sucker Score is calculated by subtracting the total dollar amount …

•  7 Comments
• Photos (1)

Dale Murrish

8:47 am on Saturday, March 31, 2012

Lotteries are an immoral way for governments to raise money. They take advantage of people's desire to get rich quick, and are generally a regressive tax on those who can least afford it. The only good thing about them is they are a voluntary tax. The worst false advertising is done by government: it's for education. No it's not, it's for the general fund; it's all one big pot. Spending is …   more ›

UPDATE: Gov. Snyder Signs Law Making Motorcycle Helmets Optional in Michigan

Michigan Senate joins the House in voting to lift the safety requirement for riders older than 21.

Michigan will become the 31st state to give motorcyclists the option of wearing a helmet since Gov. Rick Snyder signed the legislation, his office announced today.  Motorcyclists who are 21 or older can ride without a helmet if they have at least an additional $20,000 in medical insurance and passed a motorcycle safety course or had their motorcycle endorsement for at least two years. Opponents of state mandates feel use should be a personal choice. They say helmets can limit peripheral vision, muffle traffic awareness sounds and create additional injury risk because of their weight. Arguments in favor of crash helmets cite safety studies, lower public medical costs, eye protection if face shields are used and reduced fatigue by improving …

•  128 Comments
• Photos (1)

Dennis

3:42 pm on Saturday, April 14, 2012

The comparison is people FORECASTING disasterous outcomes (mass murders, sky high insurance bills, thousands of head injuries, et al) based on NOTHING. Mass murders didn't happen, in FACT, violent crime rates plummeted. Nobody's catastrophic insurance rates have changed due to this legislation at this time. Please feel free to squawk and complain AFTER it effects you. Thank you pro-helmet-law'ers…   more ›

Editor's View

Take it From a Former Bullying Victim: It Gets Better

In light of local bullying incident, Plymouth and Canton Patch Editor John McKay details his own struggles with bullying.

I was disheartened this month to hear news of a young Plymouth-Canton student in his first year with the district receiving hurtful taunts from his peers on the playground at Field Elementary School. While I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting ten-year-old Zachary Greenshields, I feel for him and what he and his family are going through. Greenshields has dealt with several instances of bullying in the past couple of months, including three instances in which his jacket was torn. The worst offense, however, was when a well-known children's song's lyrics were altered to verbally threaten the young boy. As a former victim of bullying, I can certainly relate to the feeling of hopelessness and fear that accompanies being a frequent victim…

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

John McKay

2:29 pm on Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Thanks for the kind words, dswan. I agree. While the It Gets Better campaign is primarily focused on LGBT-based bullying, I think it's a powerful overall statement for victims of any type of bullying, or for those who find themselves in a rut in life.   more ›