🌱 Kalamazoo Job Offer For City Attorney + Lead Paint Hazard Funding

Good morning, everybody. Michelle Paul here with your fresh copy of the Kalamazoo-Portage Patch newsletter. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about what's happening locally.

But first, your local weather:

• Wednesday: T-storms, some severe; windy. High: 72 Low: 35.
• Thursday: Partly sunny; breezy, cooler. High: 49 Low: 30.

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Here are the top three stories in Kalamazoo-Portage today:

1. The Kalamazoo City Commission voted on Monday to offer the position of city attorney to Royal Oak City Attorney Aaron Leal. The commission voted 5-2 for Leal, who was one of three candidates under review for the position, and it is now up to Leal to accept the offer. The candidate who received two votes was Lewis Smith, the former legal counsel for Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network, and the third candidate was Ivars Steins, the assistant corporation counsel for Detroit. (MLive.com)
2. The Kalamazoo City Commission approved a $3 million grant that will target reducing lead-based paint hazards in around 126 housing units over two years. Houses that will qualify for the grant funding include units with a high risk of lead poisoning where there are children less than 6 years of age. Although the funding will be available for all of Kalamazoo, it will specifically target the neighborhoods of Eastside, Edison, Fairmont/Douglas, Northside, Stuart, and Vine. (WWMT-TV)
3. The Kalamazoo Township Board of Trustees voted 4-3 against approving a new contract with the proposed fire chief candidate Jairus Baird. Baird has undergone contraction negotiations for about a month, but the negotiations have only involved three representatives from the board, and he was unable to discuss the contract with the full board. Trustees who voted against approving the contract cited other issues that led to their decision, such as the lack of an end date in the contract, the fact the job position was never posted to consider other candidates, and a lack of a clause regarding the department's culture within the contract. (MLive.com)

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Today and tomorrow in Kalamazoo-Portage:

Wednesday, April 5

• Line Dance At Comstock Community Center (9:00 AM)
• Virtual Reality Night At Kalamazoo Public Library (5:00 PM)
• Adult Doubles Ping Pong At Portage Parks & Recreation Building (6:00 PM)

Thursday, April 6

• Ukulele Class At Comstock Community Center (10:30 AM)
• Lightroom For Beginners At Kalamazoo Public Library (12:00 PM)
• Video Editing For Beginners At Kalamazoo Public Library (3:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Calling all house hunters! Looking for a new home is tough, so to help you out, here is a roundup of real estate properties currently on the market in and around the Kalamazoo-Portage area. (Kalamazoo-Portage Patch)
• The Saugatuck Brewing Company will be hosting its grand opening for its new downtown Kalamazoo location on Apr. 10. The new location for the brewing company was once the site of the former Olde Peninsula Brewpub on the corner of Portage Street and East Michigan Avenue. (WWMT-TV)
• Don't miss the final Craft Music concert of the season today, Apr. 5! The concert will be at Bell's Eccentric Café & General Store at 7 p.m. Some tickets are still available here. (Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra via Facebook)

Alrighty, you're all good for today. I'll see you back in your inbox soon with a new update!

— Michelle Paul

About me: Michelle Paul is a Utah-based writer and photographer with a professional background in content management and registered nursing. When not working on projects ranging from photo editing to copywriting, they enjoy traveling, video games, and expanding their skills.