METRO DETROIT — The legalization of apps that allow sports betting on smartphones has been an economic boom in many places and a fun activity for many people.

WARREN — A Warren man is facing charges in an Oakland County court for allegedly forcing a minor to engage in commercial sex.

WARREN — A man is dead and another is in jail after a hit-and-run crash Tuesday morning. At approximately 5 a.m. July 12, Warren police officers were dispatched to a suspected crash involving a bicyclist near 13 Mile and Mound roads.

SOUTHFIELD — Residents looking to cool off this summer at the Southfield Sports Arena pool will have to search elsewhere.

NOVI — After a lengthy interview process, the Novi Community School District Board of Education voted unanimously to select Benjamin Mainka as its next superintendent during a meeting June 30.

NOVI — A crash on Novi Road on Wednesday morning resulted in the death of a 54-year-old Waterford woman.

METRO DETROIT — Since 1859, two years before Abraham Lincoln became president, the South Channel range lights have stood tall at the southeastern tip of Harsen’s Island.

ROCHESTER HILLS — Voters will notice some changes when they head to the polls Aug. 2.

ROSEVILLE — Rumors have been circulating in Roseville about what the former Toys R Us building might become.

MACOMB COUNTY — Macomb County’s environmental improvement initiative “Green Macomb” has received a $250,000 Consumers Energy 2022 Planet Awards grant.

ST. CLAIR SHORES — Trey Irvin, of West Blocton, Alabama, found himself in a hairy situation when COVID-19 hit in 2020.

LANSING — Last month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed House Bill No. 5190 into law, requiring high school students in public schools to take a financial literacy class.

BIRMINGHAM — Old homes in Birmingham are cherished by many for the unique character they bring to the city and its neighborhood.

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — A violent crash shattered an otherwise bustling and pleasant Saturday morning on Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Farms.

FERNDALE — A Canton woman is in stable condition after being struck by a vehicle in Ferndale.

WEST BLOOMFIELD — The 19th Orchard Lake Fine Art Show is set to come to West Bloomfield July 30-31.

ROSEVILLE — Two major cross streets are closing in Roseville as a result of the ongoing Gratiot Avenue construction project.

NOVI — Carol Timmer, 91, a resident of the Waltonwood Twelve Oaks retirement community in Novi, was reunited with her sister and nieces June 21, thanks to the “Adventures by Waltonwood” program.

CLAWSON — The Clawson Fourth of July Committee recently expanded its Independence Day celebrations to include a third day and a full carnival.

WARREN — For murdering two adults and a child, a man was sentenced to life in prison in front of a courtroom filled with his victims’ friends and family members, many of them wearing T-shirts proclaiming that justice had been served.