Jeff Karoub and Connor Garvey are bringing their Motown and Maine town roots to the same stage on Sept. 10 at the Raven Cafe in downtown Port Huron.

Port Huron is a hike, no doubt, but we wanted to mention the gig here because Karoub lives in the Dearborn Hills with his wife, three daughters and dog.

It’s the first collaboration for the two and a first appearance for both at the Raven, a well-known, music-friendly venue in the port city’s quaint downtown district. But it’s a homecoming of sorts for Dearborn-native Karoub, who worked several years ago at the daily newspaper in Port Huron and met the woman there who became his wife.  He also played some gigs at a restaurant down the street.

Karoub has performed throughout his native Michigan, either solo or as part of the duo ‘jar.’ Gigs of note have included the Flint Folk Festival, Baseline Folk Society, Manchester’s Gazebo Concert Series, the Riverfolk Festival and AJ’s Cafe’s world-record-holding Assembly Line marathon concert. He’s also played many of the region’s finer caffeinated establishments in and around Detroit, Lansing, Flint, Ann Arbor.

Karoub’s pop-folk sensibility comes with some sonic extras, courtesy of his classical training and musical lineage. His father is a Detroit Symphony Orchestra veteran and Motown session man behind the killer French horn lick at the top of Marvin Gaye’s ‘I Heard it through the Grapevine.’ Jeff made sure that little history lesson made its way into ‘Made by Motown,’ a soulful homage he wrote that became a finalist in a theme-song competition for AJ’s Assembly Line concert in 2010. The singer, guitarist and fiddler is a professional journalist by day.

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The Dearborn High School Marching Band and Orchestra has been invited to march in the 2011 Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade but they need our help to try and get there.

To do that the band will be hosting a golf outing Sept. 12 at the Dearborn Hills Golf Course. Registration is at 10 a.m. and the four man scramble begins at 11 a.m., complete with golf cart. There will be plenty of food, beginning with coffee and sweet rolls in the morning, hot dog lunch and a nice steak dinner to cap the day’s eating.

There also is a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction.

The golf package is $90 per person or $350 for a foursome.

If you’d rather not golf but want to support the band, consider signing up for the dinner and silent auction, which is just $40 per person and includes two hours of “beverage service.”

Not just any high school band gets invited to perform in Dublin. You have to be good. And under the supervision of Dearborn High’s Music Director Jeff Oshnock, the Pioneers are outstanding. One proud parent tells us that Dearborn High School’s musicians score top rankings at solo/ensemble competitions and band reviews.

In 2008, the Dearborn High School Marching Band participated in the Memorial Day Parade in Washington, DC. It was that performance that helped the band secure a position to perform in the 2011 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin.

There are some 119 people that will travel to Ireland, 18 of which are chaperons.

You can register and find more information http://dhs.dearbornschools.org/Music/Golf_Outing on the Band Aid Boosters link. So please consider sharing this story with your friends to help one of Dearborn’s great high school marching bands travel to Ireland.

Earlier this year, Dearborn announced that residents could create community gardens on city-owned vacant property in their neighborhoods.

The community garden in Dearborn's Aviation neighborhood was one of the first in the city.

While on the surface that seemed like a nice move by our city leaders, it appears city lawyers baked in so many conditions into the required permit that at least a couple of residents in one neighborhood were afraid to sign the document needed to begin a garden.

This resident sent Deepsaidwhat.com a detailed e-mail about their experience with the city when they went to inquire about whether city officials might consider amending the garden permit. Their concerns with the permit centered around several areas including these:

1. The person who signs the permit is responsible to compensate the city for whatever dollar amount it takes to restore the property to its original condition.
2. The permit is revocable at any time and for any reason.
3. Perennial crops are forbidden (e.g. no strawberries raspberries. blueberries, blackberries, or perennial herbs and flowers that attract pollinators, such as butterflies and bees)

Building a community garden takes a lot of time and effort, which is why this resident, an avid gardener herself, was reluctant to sign her name to the permit in its current form.

Her story about the experience she and her neighbor had with our city when they inquired about a community garden begins below.

Earlier this year, my neighbor down the street heard/read about permits available for residents interested in starting community gardens. To inquire further, she was put in touch with a person in the city’s neighborhood services department. She has several years experience gardening and is living next door to a vacant lot (there was a fire in the house that was there and the city later came and removed the remains of the house).

My neighbor was on board to sign the permit and move ahead, however, the permit appeared too risky and she decided against signing it. I heard about her desire to do this project, several months later, and I, also an avid gardener with an interest in community gardens, was interested in this project, too. I was enthusiastic about going ahead with a garden here until I too saw the permit.

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We kind of figured there was something suspicious about the timing of Burton-Katzman’s bankruptcy filing last week.

Well, it turns out  it was a looming court-ordered deadline of Sept. 1 to pay the City of Dearborn $5 million in penalties related to the unbuilt development project in west Dearborn that triggered the bankruptcy filing, according to the City of Dearborn.

Instead of paying the fine, the Burton-Katzman company (West Village Commons, LLC, and Westminister Homes LLC) on Aug. 26 filed bankruptcy under Chapter 7.

“The City believes the Aug. 26 bankruptcy filing was a strategic move to avoid paying the $5 million due on Sept. 1,” the city said in a statement issued Monday.

City officials in a statement say they still plan to hold the individuals and other entities behind Burton-Katzman Development Company, Inc. responsible for the court-ordered payment and other court-ordered provisions.

For a bit more on the history behind this battle, click the link below.

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In a move that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to those who have been following the very public fight between the city of Dearborn and developer Burton-Katzman, three of the Bingham Farms corporate entities have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The bankruptcy includes West Village Commons LLC, the entity developing a mixed-use project in Dearborn. The LLC lists $3.5 million in assets, mostly land, and $11.2 million in secured and unsecured debts, according to Crain’s.

West Village Commons LLC is one of three of the Bingham Farms corporate entities controlled by Peter Burton, Bob Katzman and other investors who filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Thursday.

We have written here many times about the court fight between Burton-Katzman and the city of Dearborn, in which the city won a court order to force the developers to complete two buildings agreed to under a contract with the city. Even the 75,000-square-foot building, currently on the site, isn’t fully developed.

The bankruptcy move by Burton-Katzman was no doubt a way to avoid having to abide by that court order to finish the Dearborn development.

Also filing is Westminster Homes LLC, a home development arm used by the group of investors, which lists $225,000 in assets and $1.4 million in debt, according to Crain’s.

Burton-Katzman Development Co. also filed bankruptcy, but it apparently has no assets.

The Dearborn Chamber of Commerce has set up a networking group as a way to help its members generate new business. In a press release issued last week, the Chamber says its networking group -– Chamber Connect -– is designed to generate business opportunities through referrals.

Membership in this group, which only began this year, is limited to one representative per business category to enable Chamber members “to acquire valid leads to help grow their companies.” Chamber Connect has 19 members and passes between 10-17 referrals each meeting – totaling 20-34 referrals a month, according to the Chamber of Commerce.

“The Dearborn Chamber Connect is a great group of people who are just as passionate about helping each other as they are with their own businesses,” says Ryan O’Hara of Sphinx Technology Solutions in the Chamber’s press release. “Since joining the group, I have seen a significant spike in sales thanks to the commitment of this group to the success of its members. Every single member has a valid contribution to make.”

For more information or to request an application, you can contact the Chamber at 313-584-6100.

Dearborn's Hyatt Hotel has a new owner.

In other hotel news in Dearborn, The Detroit News is reporting that the 772-room Hyatt Regency, whose owners defaulted on a $32.5 million loan last year, is under contract to be sold for $12.5 million and will remain a Hyatt, according to the Chicago broker behind the deal.

We wrote about the hotel being sold back in April but a price tag or the name of the new owner had not been disclosed.

We still don’t know the name of the new owner but the good news is that the Hyatt is going into the hands of a hotel investment company.

Dallas-based Ashford bought the 34-year-old hotel for $40 million in 2007 but later defaulted on the loan.

The deal should officially close by end of December.

The contract is for $20 million but the final price will drop to $12.5 million because of a “structural issue that will be addressed,” The Detroit News Reports.

Now the question becomes whether the new hotel owners have any dollars to contribute to the construction of a convention center in Dearborn . . .

If you are thinking about heading to Dearborn City Hall Park today for the free Jazz on the Ave concert, which begins at 7 p.m., you should first plan to stop at Green Brain Comics, located just down the street from City Hall.

From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today (Aug. 25) you will have the chance to meet Ted Raimi – who has starred in numerous television and film projects (probably best known for his performances in all three blockbuster Spiderman films directed by his brother, Sam Raimi) – and preview the new web series “Playing Dead.” Also on hand will be Detroit visual artist SLAW. The Playing Dead web series is a dark comedy, written by and starring Suzanne Keilly, about a down on her luck actress that takes a part time job as Death to pay the bills.

Raimi’s appearance at Green Brain Comics, 13210 Michigan Ave., precedes a screening and benefit on Aug. 28 at the Detroit Film Theatre of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Hosted by WDET 101.9 FM’s Ann Delisi, the live performance event includes creative independent rock performances from Detroit artists Troy Gregory and Lightening Love, a question and answer session with Raimi and Keilly, and features the work of Detroit visual artist SLAW. All proceeds from the Aug. 28 event benefit the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit.

For more information check out Green Brain’s website HERE or call 313-582-9444

The Quality Inn at Michigan and Brady in Dearborn will soon be razed.

Say good-bye to the Quality Inn, the long-vacant, badly decaying building at the corner of Michigan and Brady.

If all goes as planned, the building will come down by the end of September, according to officials in Dearborn’s economic development department. City officials this week are expected to meet with the demolition company to go over some final details so work can begin.

The property, owned by the Dearborn Historical Museum, will be used to expand the museum’s space and a portion will be put on the market for interested parties to develop with light retail. At one point, the site was considered a possible site for student housing for those who attend the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

With the economy still weak in the knees and banks tight-fisted with loans these days, it is hard to image the property being quickly developed. Even so, removing this eyesore will go a long way to improving the look of west Dearborn.

Now, if we could just get some of those other rotting buildings along Michigan Avenue in west Dearborn removed . . .

Hampton Inn Renamed Dearborn West Village Inn

Plans to build a Sonic burger at the corner of Michigan and Telegraph by summer’s end likely will not happen this year, according to the city’s economic development department.

It appears there are a collection of reasons Sonic will not go into the site this year. One condition was that the vacant Dearborn Theater (aka Showcase Cinema) had to be razed to give the Sonic site more visibility.

The theater has since been razed and cleanup is nearly complete but it apparently wasn’t fast enough. The Sonic project is now on the bubble, which might not be all bad for Dearborn. Perhaps another fast food establishment on a prime piece of real estate isn’t the right thing for Dearborn.

On the site of the now demolished theater, a new Hampton Inn motel still is expected to be built. Developer Ned Hakim, who has his hands full getting his Holiday Inn Express readied for travelers just west of the vacant site, is the developer for the proposed Hampton Inn.

As we have written here several times, the current Hampton Inn, just east of Brady on Michigan Avenue, was forced to make a name chance because the motel’s owner did not want to make the necessary remodeling changes to keep the  Hampton Inn franchise license.

So the Hampton Inn has now been renamed the Dearborn West Village Inn.