The Way We Work: How Long Is Your Commute?

This Labor Day, we take a look at how long Birmingham residents are traveling when they go to work and where they're going.

It's Labor Day, which means many Birmingham residents have the day off. But when they do go to work, how long does it take for them to get there and where are they going? According to a statistical report of commutes by The Business Journals, the largest percentage of Birmingham commuters — 40.4 percent — travels 15-29 minutes during their daily commute. In fact, according to the report, Birmingham came in 1,402nd among 3,012 communities nationwide with populations between 10,000 and 50,000. While the study awarded points for all commuters who traveled less than 30 minutes to work, it also reflected the ease of travel and economic self-sufficiency. That compares to figures from the 2010 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau…

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Weekend Weather: Mostly Sunny Labor Day Weekend Ahead

The skies will be mostly sunny all weekend long, with a 40 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms on Monday. Highs will be in the low 80's.

Despite earlier forecasts of rain and thunderstorms, it looks like the skies will be clear for most of the Labor Day weekend. According to the National Weather Service, Saturday's forecast will be mostly sunny with a high of 82 degrees. East-northeast winds will be around six miles per hour. Saturday night, the lows dip down to 61 degrees, leading into another mostly sunny Sunday, with highs near 81 degrees. Winds will be calm, blowing around five to nine miles per hour in the morning. Sunday night, lows will dip down to 68 degrees. On Labor Day, meanwhile, you might want to bring your umbrella if you're heading to Arts, Beats & Eats in Royal Oak, the Great Lakes State Fair in Novi, or a friend's house for one last swimming party of the …

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Going Out of Town This Labor Day? Here's What You Need to Know

If you are traveling for Labor Day weekend, here's the scoop on construction and weather.

Weekend Planner: What's Going On This Labor Day?

Happening this weekend: Besides Arts, Beats & Eats and the Great Lakes State Fair, check out the Stephen Gottlieb Festival of the Arts in West Bloomfield or the Michigan Psychic Fair in Troy.

It’s Thursday, and you’ve got no idea what you’ll do this Labor Day weekend. Birmingham Patch is coming to the rescue. We’ve got the best bets for your done-work-outta-here time.

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Photo Gallery: President Obama Speaks in Detroit on Labor Day

Here are a few of the sights from the day when President Obama visited Detroit Monday to talk about jobs. Patch will be updating throughout the day.

President Obama talked about jobs during his visit to Detroit on Monday. After a performance by Aretha Franklin, the president delivered a speech to metro Detroiters and labor leaders. "If you want to know who helped lay these cornerstones of the American middle class, you just have to look at union labor. That's the bedrock this country is built on: Hard work. Sacrifice. Looking out for one another. ...," he told the crowd gathered next to the GM headquarters. "These are tough times for working Americans, and even tougher for those looking for work. And a lot of folks have been looking for work for a long time," he said. The president then said he wants to "fully restore the middle class in America." The president's comments were pro-…

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Mark Blackwell

7:16 pm on Monday, October 3, 2011

First thing is to vote out as many republicans as possible. Then everything else just kind of gets done. Because conservatism means "do nothing, change nothing, just jam up the system and grin." The politics of spoiled, deluded, uninformed children.   more ›

Democrats to Give Away Tickets for Obama's Detroit Visit

President Obama will be at the Detroit Labor Day parade downtown on Monday. The Michigan Democratic Party will give away tickets to the event Saturday.

President Obama will speak to thousands of people in Detroit on Labor Day. The Michigan Democratic Party will give out hundreds of tickets on Saturday to Monday's event.  The annual Detroit Labor Day parade starts 9 a.m. Monday at the Building Trades at Michigan and Trumbull or the AFL-CIO at 9:30 at Mack and Woodward. The president will speak at 1 p.m. just east of the Renaissance Center downtown. Aretha Franklin will sing before his speech. The event is free and open to the public. Gates open at 10 am and the event is general admission. Tickets will be handed out from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, or until tickets run out, at the Oakland County Democratic Party 91 N. Saginaw Suite G-100 in Pontiac; and 3-5 p.m. Sunday at the 13th District …

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Labor Day Picnic Recipe: Gougères

Forget about frozen appetizers. Instead, wow your guests with freshly-baked, French cheese puffs known as gougères (it's easy, trust me!).

Have you tried making gougères before? If not, I urge you to make them as soon as possible and you will never go back to the frozen ones again. Gougère (pronounced goo-jhair), also known as cheese puffs in America and Buñuelos in Spain, is a baked savory cream puff pastry flavored with grated cheese and sometimes chopped herbs. Pâte à Choux is a classical dough in the repertoire of the French cuisine. It is used to make sweet profiteroles, éclairs (commonly seen in doughnut shops), beignets (sort of like funnel cake or churro) and gougères. The dough contains only flour, butter, water and eggs; all of which you might already have in your kitchen. All you do is melt the butter and water together, add the flour, mix, add the eggs one at a …

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