Tagged: kalamazoo

It might not feel like it outside, but warmer temperatures are around the corner.

MLive has A LOT (including live coverage from Bell's Brewery) on the release of one of Michigan's favorite brews:

At least 64 Oberon kegs are ready to be tapped at Bell’s and at least four ‘Oberon Kings and Queens’ were crowned at midnight keg-tapping parties across the state. The brewery opened early on Monday for the event. 

Oberon is a seasonal ale in most markets, but is sold year-round in Florida, Arizona and Puerto Rico. The summer beer is fermented with Bell's yeast, spicy hops and fruity aromas, giving it a light malty taste, most commonly complemented with an orange peel.

The opening day is held at the end of March every year, to coincide with the start of the baseball season and more sunshine.

Students who attend a public Kalamazoo high school for their entire high school career and live in the district during those four years have the opportunity to attend a Michigan college or University for free.

This, of course, is old news.

The Kalamazoo Promise was announced in November 2005 and has since proven to be one of the most groundbreaking educational programs in the state.

Kalamazoo’s search for a new city manager takes another step this evening.

The city commission is expected tonight to narrow the list of search firms that have applied to aid Kalamazoo in finding a new city manager

Kalamazoo’s current city manager, Kenneth Collard, is among dozens of city employees taking an early retirement package.

11 search firms applied to the city to conduct the search for Collard’s replacement.

Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell says there is a long list of qualifications the commission would like the next city manager to have. 

Kalamazoo city residents will be paying a little more to the city.

The city commission approved a new city budget last night that includes significant fee increases.

Last night, Kalamazoo city commissioners voted 5 to 2 to approve the  144 million dollar city budget.   

Vice Mayor Hannah McKinney voted for the budget.   She called the budget plan “scary”, as the city continues to reduce its workforce.

The Kalamazoo City Commission is scheduled to vote this evening on the city budget.

The 144 million dollar budget plan includes fee increases, most notably a one percent administrative fee on city tax collections.  

The city has also been trimming its workforce through early retirements and eliminating other positions.

The changes are intended to help off-set a drop in city property tax revenues.

City commissioners gave tentative approval to the budget plan last month.

Pregnant women in Michigan can now use a simple blood test to identify the father of their unborn child.

Three labs across the state now offer the noninvasive prenatal paternity test. The Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Lansing sites are part of the ArcPoint Franchise Group.

With only a blood sample from the mother and a cheek swab from the potential father, paternity can be determined as early as five weeks after conception.

At that time, the pregnant woman's blood starts carrying fragments of the fetus' DNA.

The labs send the mother's blood samples and potential father's cheek swab to a different lab in Columbia, Md., where technicians compare genetic markers to determine paternity.

Graduate from public high school in Kalamazoo and go to college for free.

It’s a rare offer- one that strives to show students that college is something crucial and attainable.  

In a recent New York Times feature, Ted C. Fishman examined the Kalamazoo Promise and its effect on both the city and the state of Michigan.

Seven years ago, anonymous donors started The Promise, hoping to encourage more Kalamazoo students to attend college.

During his time writing the piece, Fishman was personally impacted by the stories of the students with whom he spoke.