STERLING HEIGHTS — Just south of where the Clinton River crosses Van Dyke Avenue is a tree that may predate the founding of the United States.

MADISON HEIGHTS — Officials in Madison Heights are sounding a note of fiscal caution — but not alarm bells — after a report forecasting challenges with inflation, state revenue sharing and other policies that continue to strain Michigan cities.

MOUNT CLEMENS — At their first meeting of the new year, Mount Clemens City Commissioners gave the city the go-ahead to enter into a new agreement regarding the Manchester Mount Clemens apartment complex.

KEEGO HARBOR/WEST BLOOMFIELD — The fight over Roosevelt Elementary continues.

ROSEVILLE — The showdown was on.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — On New Year’s Eve, a driver sinking into an apartment complex retention pond was rescued by a team of Clinton Township police officers.

ROYAL OAK — Freezing temperatures are back, which means more fun activities in downtown Royal Oak to enjoy the weather.

BERKLEY — The Berkley Downtown Development Authority executive director will be leaving his role next month.

OAKLAND TOWNSHIP — A 57-year-old woman from Oakland Township was arrested after police discovered more than 1,150 methamphetamine pills and over $37,000 in cash in her home.

ROSEVILLE — Investigators have reportedly searched a Macomb County landfill for evidence in the case of Ashley Lashay Elkins, 30, of Warren, a mother of two who was reported missing Jan. 3.

METRO DETROIT — A fleet of 15  electric recycling trucks will take to the streets of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties to replace some of the older diesel-fueled vehicles.

METRO DETROIT — A Detroit lunchtime staple is coming back home. Atwater Brewery founder Mark Rieth, of Grosse Pointe Farms, has purchased Velvet Peanut Butter and plans to bring production of the beloved sandwich spread back to Detroit. 

FERNDALE — A 32-year-old Ferndale man was arrested after an incident where he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman and barricaded himself at home.

SOUTHFIELD — On Christmas morning at 6:26 a.m., the Southfield Fire Department responded to 24000 Walden Road to find the five-unit townhouse complex on fire.

WARREN — A Lincoln High School teacher and two residents are facing criminal charges after an alleged drug transaction Dec. 31 in the parking lot of a convenience store. On Jan.

ROYAL OAK — The City Commission Dec. 16 unanimously approved the first reading of the rezoning of 723 N. Main St. to a planned unit development.

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — A Macomb County jury in 41A District Court found Westland resident Jose Eugenio Medina-Hernandez guilty of two misdemeanor charges in relation to a traffic crash that killed two women in June, and on Dec. 30 a judge sentenced him to 270 days in jail with credit for time served, plus probation, community service, a fine and court costs.

WARREN — In the mid-1980s, when former U.S. President Jimmy Carter came to Warren to discuss his book “The Blood of Abraham,” Steve Bieda attended the event at the now closed Warren Chateau Hall, located on 10 Mile Road near Mound Road.

ROYAL OAK — The Detroit Zoo has a giant addition who is sure to turn some heads.