As many of you read on Monday, this week marks an end of an era for Birmingham Patch as Laura Houser spent her last day filing stories and getting readers engaged as editor before moving on a different career path. Like many of the readers who left comments on her goodbye column, I too want to thank Laura for her dedication and hard work in molding Birmingham Patch into the thriving community resource that is today. Her consistent creativity, dogged work ethic and positive attitude were constant inspiration to me and served as a model on how to successfully launch and maintain a robust …

Yes, today is April Fool's Day but unfortunately, this is no joke: tomorrow is my last day at Birmingham Patch. When I and a team of editors and writers launched Birmingham Patch in November 2010, this website wasn't the only newbie in town. I had only just moved to Michigan that summer and knew very little about the area, much less about Birmingham.  During the last two and a half years I've lived and worked here, I've met hundreds — sometimes it feels like thousands — of Birmingham residents. I've explored every inch of this city and discussed the issues most important to you. This …

For more than two years now, when you wanted to get in touch with someone at Birmingham Patch, you simply emailed or called myself — Local Editor Laura Houser. Now, for the next three weeks, I'm taking the longest vacation of my Patch career to embark on a very exciting stage in life: marriage. This Saturday, I'm getting married to the engineer of my dreams in Cincinnati, OH and I couldn't be more excited. After that, we're going to Europe for two weeks and leaving a lot of stress and worries of everyday life behind. But that doesn't mean I don't care about my readers, and Birmingham Patch is…

  When it comes to the holidays, we all have traditions. Whether it's going to the movies or gathering around the table with your entire family, the time of year tends to bring out those long-worn routines in so many of us. My family's had its fair share of traditions over the years, many of which have changed as kids and grandparents grow older, people move or get married. It happens, and that's OK. In fact, in my experience, I think some of the greatest holiday moments happen when traditions are forced to change — when family and friends have to think outside the box. Throughout the …

Last Thanksgiving, I wrote about the dozens of things I was thankful for as a relatively new resident of Birmingham — all the ways this city and the surrounding metro area had given back to this ex-Ohioan, making her feel at home in her new hometown, Birmingham, MI. Having lived here for well over a year now, I’m more thankful than ever this Thanksgiving, and it has to be because of the people. The ever-friendly residents I meet on a daily basis, the city leaders who are willing to sit down and discuss complicated issues, the folks who smile when they learn I’m from “the Patch” — really, you …

Birmingham Patch turns 1 year old today. One year of attending City Commission meetings (many of which run into the four-hour range). One year of speaking with students and parents about everything from hallway cameras to race relations at the schools. One year of monitoring snowfall, heat advisories and the flooding of the Rouge River. One year of watching businesses come and go. One year with way too much caffeine, courtesy of Zuma, Biggby, Starbucks and Commonwealth (thanks for the jitters guys). Since we launched Birmingham Patch on Nov. 5, I've been honored to become part of this amazing…

Your Birmingham Patch is looking for bloggers, and strong community voices are needed. Are you passionate about something in Birmingham? Contact us. Whether it's food, family, education, government, business, social issues, shopping, running or hamster training techniques— if it's your thing, we'd like you to consider blogging for Patch. Anyone may apply. Moms, dads, grandparents, favorite aunties, shopkeepers, baristas, dog trainers, business owners, nonprofit organizers, and government officials—here’s a chance to share your expertise and your voice. Don't be shy! Get in touch with us about…

We're excited to inaugurate a new series for our Patch readers: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream." Every day, the national media is full of stories about how American families, businesses, and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times. There are so many changes happening so fast that it's dizzying: national debates about unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise all touch on fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and our communities. At Patch, we want to explore that conversation on a daily basis so we can better understand how our neighbors…

I’m a big fan of the Harry Potter series, and have been since my seventh grade English teacher read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to my class many, many years ago. Since then, I’ve re-read the books dozens — well, maybe hundreds — of times, watched the movies, experienced the midnight premieres and discussed the world of Harry, Ron and Hermoine like it was real. I get it: I'm a pretty big nerd. So even though I’m 24 and Harry is supposed to be 17 in the final chapter of the eight-movie saga, premiering July 15 at midnight, I feel as if I grew up with Harry and his friends. That’s why …

It's the start of the first weekend in May and the start of garage sales around Birmingham. If your neighborhood is having a sale, tell Birmingham  Patch readers all about it. Here's how: In our Events listing at the top of the home page, click on "Post Your Own Event." Give your event a title and write a short description. Make sure you select the date and time for the sale. Under category, select "Garage Sales." And there you go. Your neighborhood's sale will show up on the Events calendar for all of Birmingham Patch to see.

Today is a good day for the Birmingham Patch. Today marks the six-month anniversary of Birmingham Patch, and I can’t tell you how exciting these six months have been. The Birmingham community has graciously welcomed myself and Patch’s team of freelance writers, columnists and now bloggers, and I couldn’t be more thankful. This is a smart, active and very engaged community, which can be intimidating. Luckily, Birmingham residents are always open to new opportunities for sharing stories, ideas and information, and I’m excited to see new readers embrace Patch every day. What does Patch stand for…

The first week of spring has come and gone, and Metro Detroit received … snow. Still, warmer days are in the forecast, and after receiving the city’s seasonal newsletter in the mail the other day, I’m already excited for what Birmingham has to offer this spring and summer. Whether you’re planning your vacation or just looking ahead to the upcoming months, here are the big events we’re looking forward to at the Birmingham Patch. Celebrate Birmingham parade The Celebrate Birmingham parade May 15 will have a different flavor this year, but it will still have plenty to offer with its nostalgic “…

When I first set out to cover the Uptown Film Festival on Friday night, my editor told me to have fun and make sure my writing reflected that. It was my first time covering a film festival — or, for that matter, speaking with real actors — so I was a little anxious to make sure it all came out well. Plus, I would be working; I shouldn’t have too much fun, right? Turns out it was hard not to enjoy myself at the first Uptown Film Festival, held in conjunction with the second annual Detroit Independent Film Festival, on Friday and Saturday at the Palladium 12 and Birmingham 8 movie theaters. At …

If you haven’t noticed, Birmingham Patch is a little different from a traditional newspaper. It’s online, for one thing. You click on stories, rather than ruffling through a lot of pages. And there's no ink smudge left on your fingers. What else is different? The Patch Marketplace, a place where you can buy and sell goods and services to and from your neighbors. What I love about the Patch Marketplace is that it combines the best of both worlds: offering buyers, sellers and browsers all the advantages of traditional print classified ads, but also making those ads easier to use by adding all …

As the editor of Birmingham Patch, I really like our announcements section. Unfortunately, I feel like it's underused, and I want to change that. To do that, however, I need your help. What are announcements? On Patch, announcements are opportunities for you and me to spread the news about what’s important in our community. We try to cover as much of Birmingham as we can in our stories, but for the things we can’t, announcements are where it’s at. What kinds of stories are perfect for announcements? That’s easy: Celebrate life events the right way by letting everyone know first and fast. Are …

It’s Valentine’s Day, so let’s talk about love and food. Love, because it’s surely on everyone’s mind today (whether they like it or not … thanks, Hallmark); and food because, well, if the personality profiles over at Match.com are any authority, nothing goes better with budding romance than a tasty meal over candlelight. I’m spending this Valentine’s Day alone with my cats, my significant other being out of town and unable to whisk me off to a romantic dinner for two. It’s no matter, though, as I enjoyed more than my fair share of Birmingham love and food last week. Birmingham’s Restaurant …

Here at Patch, there are a lot of things you can do besides reading our stories. At many news websites, the most you can do is leave comments. At Patch, you can do so much more, especially if you’re a local business owner. If you’re a part of the business community, I hope you’re aware of our Patch Places directory and the listings of almost every business in town (if your business is missing, let us know!). Each listing includes photographs, descriptions, when you’re open and closed, where to park and more information depending on your establishment—whether that’s a restaurant (what’s your …

Times are changing around here at Patch. Changing, but getting better—especially if you’re a mom or a dad or love someone who is. Beginning this week, every Wednesday will be “Momsday” here at Patch. We plan to fill the day with family-centric stories, geared specifically toward busy moms and dads. Every Wednesday at 6 a.m., we’ll bring you the Mother of All Deals, five great deals in and around Birmingham; a spotlight on a talented youngster; and a chance to make a “great escape,” a short feature on ways you can relax and have fun without the children. To find all these stories, we’ve …

When I set off to learn about Birmingham's history, I got in a bit over my head. After all, Birmingham has a long history—192 years of it, to be exact. Today marks the anniversary of the first land entry in what is now considered Birmingham, when Col. Benjamin H. Pierce—brother of future President Franklin Pierce—laid claim on a parcel of land abutting the intersecton of what is now Maple Road and Pierce Street downtown. After that first claim on what was supposed to be a marshy stretch of land between Detroit and Pontiac, Birmingham's history explodes. The city was a way station, …

Do you love being hyperlocal? Do you care about what’s going on in your hometown? More importantly, would you like headlines from the Birmingham Patch delivered directly to your website or blog? Well, you’re in luck, because now you can stream all the Birmingham news directly to your site using Birmingham Patch’s new newsfeed widget. The widget—what computer geeks call a "self-contained piece of HTML code"—is easy to use and insert directly into your site. These newsfeeds are perfect for those running websites for local businesses, government entities or schools—folks who want to provide …