SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) -- Three years ago, Lamar Grace left Detroit for the suburb of Southfield. He got a good deal -- a 3,000-square-foot colonial that once was worth $220,000. In foreclosure, he paid $109,000.

The neighbors were not pleased.

"They don't want to live next door to ghetto folks," he says.

That his neighbors are black, like Grace, is immaterial. Many in the black middle class moved out of Detroit and settled in the northern suburbs years ago; now, due to foreclosures, it is easy to buy or rent houses on the cheap here. The result has been a new, poorer wave of arrivals from the city, and growing tensions between established residents and the newcomers.

"There's a way in which they look down on people moving in from Detroit into houses they bought for much lower prices," says Grace, a 39-year-old telephone company analyst. "I understand you want to keep out the riffraff, but it's not my fault you paid $250,000 and I paid a buck."

The neighbors say there's more to it than that. People like John Clanton, a retired auto worker, say the new arrivals have brought behavior more common in the inner city -- increased trash, adults and children on the streets at all times of the night, a disregard for others' property.

"During the summer months, I sat in the garage and at 3 o'clock in the morning you see them walking up and the down the streets on their cell phones talking," Clanton says. "They pull up (in cars) in the middle of the street, and they'll hold a conversation. You can't get in your driveway. You blow the horn and they look back at you and keep on talking. That's all Detroit."

SOUTHFIELD, MI – Two Southfield football stars are commanding collegiate attention for their athleticism.  Southfield Christian’s linebacker Taylor Calero and Southfield High School’s running back running back Daevon Robinson have already begun receiving invitations and scholarship offers by college sport recruiters.
 
Calero is known for his savvy ability of reading the offensive and getting to the quarterback. His size is easily the most noticeable aspect of his game. He has incredible height and bulk for a player his age.  The 6 foot 3 inch, 230 pound linebacker has proven his agility, versatility, and athleticism to be a dynamic member of any defensive scheme. With great arm length and a massive frame, Calero could be a key player for any college defensive strategy. 

Robinson received his first collegiate scholarship offer from Central Michigan, coach Dan Enos reports.  The 5-foot-8 Robinson saw limited playing time as a sophomore but exploded on to the high school football scene as a Junior, leading the Southfield Blue Jays deep into the division II playoffs.

SOUTHFIELD, MI - Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger was denied in an attempt to remove the three most conservative judges from a hearing involving a case in which he he is involved. The case is surrounds a commuter van accident at Detroit Metro Airport.

Fieger sought to have the three dismissed because he believes the judges, Maura Corrigan, Stephen Markman and Robert Young Jr., would be biased against him. The remaining justices, Chief Justice Marilyn Kelly and Justices Michael Cavanagh, Diane Hathaway and Elizabeth Weaver, did not agree and turned down Fieger’s request.

Geoffrey Fieger is a polarizing figure in the Southeast Michigan community; known for defending “Dr. Death” Jack Kevorkian, a failed bid for governor of Michigan and a federal investigation into fraud involving contributions to the 2004 democratic presidential candidates John Kerry and John Edwards.

SOUTHFIELD, MI - If you are a student at Lawrence Technological University (LTU), you may find that wireless access to the Internet on campus just got a whole lot more reliable.
LTU upgraded its wireless network with 802.11n WiFi arrays. The University, located in Southfield, Michigan has a history of early adoption when it comes to technology. Several years ago it built the state's first campus-wide wireless system. The upgrade footprint is large covering 11 buildings, providing reliable service to 4,300 students, and 410 faculty members.

The primary driver for the project was a the conclusion that many professors avoided using the previous wireless network because of connectivity issues. The “802.11n” standard is the latest in a series of wireless standards and currently provides the fastest and most reliable wireless experience for users.

The consumers have spoken and they want the unique clothing style that Destination Style Boutique, a Southfield MI clothier affords women. Owner Candice Yopp moved her business from her home to its own store in response to popular demand by her clientele. Her angle in the crowded clothing market is to offer customers a carefully curated line of affordable fashion.

Shoppers can find all types of women's apparel including Missy and Plus sizes, all types of footwear, handbags and jewelry.

Destination Style Boutique is located at 29107 Northwestern Highway in the Franklin Plaza Shopping Center in Southfield, Michigan.

This Monday, well over 2000 people gathered in Southfield Michigan for a peace walk honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Local dignitaries including Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence, Judge Sheila R. Johnson from the 46th District Court as well as two U.S. congressmen; Sander Levin, of Royal Oak, and James Clyburn of South Carolina, Levin’s guest. The invocation was led by Rev. Charles G. Adams of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church.

Fortunately for those in attendance, the weather in Southfield held for the spirited march that began a mile away at Hope United Methodist Church, as well as the address from Kwame Abernathy, son of Rev. King's friend, the late Dr. Ralph Abernathy.

Southfield native Marcus Graham said, "it feels good to get together with others to celebrate the life of such a profound leader."

SOUTHFIELD, MI – Southfield global business advisory firm, AlixPartners, announces that well-known brand strategist Jim Barrett joins the firm as a managing director in its Enterprise Improvement practice.

“AlixPartners is known for its ability to help clients bring results to the bottom line very quickly," said Fred Crawford, Chief Executive Officer of AlixPartners.

Before joining AlixPartners, Barrett served as the CEO of Brandimage, one of the largest independent branding and design firms in the world, with offices throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. Its list of marquee clients includes consumer goods companies Procter & Gamble Co., Campbell Soup Co., Crayola LLC, Black & Decker Corp., Toto Products LLC, Kellogg Co., and Unilever PLC; major retail brands Banana Republic, Kroger, Payless, and United Fashion Company; and other well-known names such as Air France, AOL, and Telefonica.

Barrett took Brandimage from two Midwest US offices and, through acquisitions and organic growth, expanded the firm from Chicago and Cincinnati to hub offices in New York, Paris, Brussels, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Seoul.

Neighborhood Recovery and Stabilization programs have been developed to address the plight of neighborhoods suffering the effects of foreclosures; realtors can play an important role in Southfield says Mark Goedert, founder of Goedert Real Estate. 

Goedert Real estate professionals are assisting first-time home buyers with new mortgage programs and grants created by the Stimulus Package known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Mark Goedert works with first-time home buyers in South East Michigan to utilize the programs and make the dream of home ownership a reality.

SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN – Hollywood director Tim Crockett says Southfield’s Parallax Studio is the future of Michigan Film Making.  “Parallax’s equipment is unbelievably brand-new, (it) has the latest, greatest technology, and has cost savings,” Crockett said, describing one tool in particular that the studio can use that he’d never seen before.

“If we wanted to take a scene that had already been shot and we wanted to zoom in, usually you can’t do that. (At Parallax), you can without losing any quality of the images. I’ve never seen that. I can’t believe you can do that in post (production). It was the combination of cost plus technology plus overall service. They were very aggressive service-wise and amenable to anything we were asking for.”

SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN – Southfield Public Schools University High School Academy (UHSA), is now accepting applications for the Fall 2009 school year.  Applications are being accepted for only 9th and 10th graders this week (July 13 – 17). 

The academy is an International Baccalaureate college preparatory school that opened in 2008 with the goal of serving gifted academic students.  The academy will be holding a placement exam on July 24 for the honors program, which is held in a partnership with the University of Michigan Dearborn.  The program focus is on STEM academics (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.)

UHSA Principal Marcia Williams leads the school in a more personal and rigorous direction.  Along with small class sizes, the Academy's curriculum is packed into an eight-period day that is longer than the traditional school day. Teachers and students regularly use computers, SMART Boards‚graphing calculators, the Internet and other research materials to complete projects.