HAZEL PARK — The Hazel Park Promise Zone was established in 2009 and activated in 2012. Its mission: to use recaptured state taxes and donor funding to guarantee a tuition-free path to an associate degree at Oakland Community College for every student who lives in the Hazel Park Public Schools district and graduates from it.

EASTPOINTE — A local woman has been charged with impeding a criminal investigation following an incident March 15 in which a man was robbed at gunpoint in her home by another man. The next day, the man whom police identified as the robber led police on a chase that ended with him taking his own life.

MADISON HEIGHTS/HAZEL PARK — Water and sewer rates are increasing in the cities of Madison Heights and Hazel Park, due to what officials say are cost hikes passed along by the Great Lakes Water Authority and the Oakland County water resources commissioner’s office.

EASTPOINTE — A 19-year-old Eastpointe woman accused of kicking the family dog and causing it to lose an eye has waived her preliminary exam and been bound over to Macomb County Circuit Court on a charge of third-degree animal torture, a four-year felony.

HAZEL PARK — At its March 16 meeting, the Hazel Park Public Schools Board of Education voted 4-3 to buy out the contract of Superintendent Amy Wilcox.

WEST BLOOMFIELD — The township of West Bloomfield is reeling in shock after a vehicle was apparently used to attack a synagogue, leading to gunfire that resulted in the suspect’s death. The incident occurred shortly before 1 p.m.

EASTPOINTE — In a post to Facebook Feb. 28, the Eastpointe Police Department announced that officers had been called earlier that day to a local tow yard where a 13-month-old child had been found in an impounded vehicle. 

MADISON HEIGHTS — The Madison Heights City Council received an update recently on the work of the co-responder program, where clinicians from Oakland County Health Network assist police with individuals experiencing mental health crises.

EASTPOINTE — A local woman who allegedly grew annoyed by her dog and kicked it in the face has been charged with animal cruelty after the dog lost an eye.

EASTPOINTE — At approximately 5:40 p.m. March 4, Eastpointe police officers were dispatched to the 24700 block of Gratiot Avenue, south of 10 Mile Road, to assist firefighters and EMS with a man who had been unloading a vehicle from a trailer when he became pinned between the vehicle and the trailer’s roof.

HAZEL PARK — From feeding the homeless who wandered into his pizzeria to making sure his children had a better life growing up than he did, Walid Sabri Orow was a businessman with a sense of responsibility to others.

MADISON HEIGHTS — The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has certified Madison Heights as a Redevelopment Ready Community, adding it to a list of nearly 90 cities statewide qualified as “thoroughly prepared” to attract private investment.

MADISON HEIGHTS — Inspired by a member’s harrowing experience being held captive in Hawaii, the Madison Heights Women’s Club is organizing a benefit on behalf of Haven Oakland — a group that has helped survivors of domestic violence for 50 years.

MADISON HEIGHTS — Starting this spring, the hospital at Dequindre and 11 Mile roads will undergo a retrofit converting much of the building to an inpatient behavioral health facility.