Downtown Farmington will soon have a new sushi restaurant, a Japanese steakhouse, 15 apartments – and a greater demand on parking.Council members on Monday approved a preliminary site plan and Planned Unit Development (PUD) agreement for Samurai Hibachi & Sushi, located just east of Grove Street. An existing, two-story structure at at 32821 Grand River and a new, four-story building will be connected by a patio with outdoor seating.RELATEDSUSHI, STEAKHOUSE PLAN MOVES ON TO FARMINGTON COUNCILJAPANESE STEAKHOUSE PROJECT HITS PARKING SNAGSNEW RESTAURANT OWNER WILL PAY TO MOVE FARMINGTON BARN admin Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) The agreement allows the developer to provide 31 new spaces on site, though the city’s zoning code requires a total of 91 for the restaurants and housing. The code gives officials an option to count public parking spaces located nearby to help meet the requirement, Economic and Community Development Director Kevin Christiansen said.Samurai meets three conditions to qualify for the PUD, Christiansen said, with a pedestrian-oriented design, high quality architecture, and shared vehicle access between two buildings.“The petitioner did make an attempt to see if there was a way to use adjacent private parking,” he said. “They’ve really taken a hard look at the best design for what this situation would be.”Council member Maria Taylor during a pre-meeting study session and the regular meeting said some cities have required developers to build parking off-site or to pay an impact fee to mitigate parking deficits.Taylor wanted to add one of those requirements to the PUD agreement, but city attorney Tom Schultz said that kind of condition would typically be negotiated with the developer.“It’s kind of a bit hard to spring something on an applicant at a meeting,” he said. “Unless the language to be added to the agreement is just aspirational, I’m not sure you’d want to add something substantial.”Taylor moved to table any action pending discussions with the developer; the motion failed for lack of a second.Mayor Steven Schneemann pointed out that downtown Farmington hasn’t seen new retail construction in at least 20 years. He said the city will have deal with parking “in a bigger picture way,” adding that the advent of ride sharing services has made parking “a different kind of asset.”Mayor Pro Tem Sara Bowman also noted that Xie Zheng LLC had invested thousands of dollars to preserve a historic barn on the property.“That really shows me they want to be a strong community partner. What we are getting back is additional vibrancy in our downtown,” she said. “I think we’ve seen other businesses in town that we’ve made accommodations for that have not only survived but thrived. I’m very comfortable with this plan as presented.” “The community is ready for you to open,” council member Bill Galvin said. “I think it’s been duly noted… we need to keep talking about parking in downtown Farmington.”The conditional plan and PUD agreement were approved on a 4-1 vote; Taylor dissented.“I’m not voting no because I think it is a bad development,” she said. “I just think there’s more work to be done to get this to a place where I would like to approve it. I think this was an opportunity that was missed.”During the study session, officials asked Murphy to get the city’s parking committee involved in a review of current parking requirements. Reported by
Farmington officials look at Oakland Street project
Farmington city officials will talk Tuesday night about a reconstruction project that will add parking on Oakland Street, between Grand River and Farmington Road.The 6 p.m. special meeting agenda starts with interviews of three candidates for open positions on the Planning Commission, Board of Review, Health Committee, and Zoning Board of Appeals. The agenda packet, with a detailed drawing of the Oakland Street project, is posted at farmgov.com.During their regular 7 p.m. meeting, council members will consider permit requests for spring/summer events including the Haitian Arts & Crafts Festival, July 28-29; Bodhi Yoga’s Downward Dog Days of Summer, June 11; and Farmington Library’s Pavilion Story Time and Family Fun in Riley Park events. They’ll consider declaring February 7 National Optimist Day and hear a Farmington Farmers & Artisans Market presentation.The agenda also includes actions related to Public Works projects, a Stormwater Management Ordinance, the 2019 Recreation Master Plan, and a no-match grant award of $100,000 for the Public Safety Department’s Public Surveillance Camera Program. Funds would be used to add cameras in downtown Farmington parking lots and at the intersection of Grand River Avenue and Farmington Road.At the end of the meeting, officials will meet in closed session to talk about collective bargaining and correspondence from the city attorney.The agenda and supporting materials for the regular meeting are posted at farmgov.com. Reported by admin Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
Farmington pageant starts new chapter, seeks donations
Reported by Five young women will next month vie for the title of Miss Farmington Cities and scholarship dollars in a pageant that has undergone a few changes.Formerly known as the Miss Farmington Pageant, the annual event will be held on July 17 at the Farmington Civic Theater with these contestants:Maria Cheriyan, Junior – Charity: Beyond Basics, a literacy nonprofitElena Vargo, Senior – Charity, The Alzheimer’s AssociationAmari Torres, Sophomore – Charity, Michigan Humane SocietyMadison Ebiware-Shaughnessy, Freshman – Charity, Leukemia & Lymphoma SocietyEmma Hahn, Senior – Charity, HAVENMore information about each of the contestants and their charities is posted at missfarmingtoncities.com/2019-contestantsOrganizers say the pageant needs the community’s support to award scholarship dollars to the winning contestants and develop community service projects in Farmington and Farmington Hills. You can do that by:Attending the Dining for Dollars event at Sidecar Slider Bar on June 23. Show a copy of the flyer posted at missfarmingtoncities.com/events and 20 percent of your purchase will be donated to the program;Purchasing ad space in the program book, which will be distributed during the July 17 pageant;Designating the Miss Farmington Cities program, a 501(c)3, as your charity of choice at smile.amazon.com, so that .5 percent of your eligible purchases will be donated to the organization;Creating a scholarship that will be awarded to one of the contestants; orDonating directly on the pageant website.Two former contestants, Sidney Schrand, Miss Farmington 2015, and Grace Newlin, 2nd runner-up Miss Farmington 2012, have returned to help the program continue following the death earlier this year of long-time pageant director Ginny Morris.“It provides a unique opportunity to see the other side of the program, and help other young women find what they are passionate about,” Schrand said. “The program changed me for the better and I truly hope I can make a fraction of that positive impact on the young women who will be involved in the program in the years to come.” Farmington Voice Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
Website ranks Farmington 5th safest Michigan city
A website that provides a database for criminal, court, and other public records has ranked Farmington as Michigan’s 5th safest city.Using a method based on recent FBI crime statistics, backgroundchecks.org ranked 2,929 cities with populations of 10,000 or greater. According to the website:”We then calculated violent crime rates and property crime rates by dividing the crime numbers by the population to get rates per 1,000. We also calculated the ratio of law enforcement workers to per 1,000. These were weighted with -50% for the violent crime rate, -25% for the property crime rate, and +25% for the law enforcement rate.”With just four violent crimes in 2017, Farmington ranked behind Grosse Ile Township, Beverly Hills, Grosse Pointe Park, and Berkley.Farmington Hills made the top 100, ranking 21st. Reported by Farmington Voice Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
Metro Detroit Salvation Army launches early kettle drive
The Salvation Army of Metro Detroit has launched its Red Kettle Campaign – a first for the 133-year-old nonprofit’s annual Christmas fundraiser.The COVID-19 pandemic has put at risk the Salvation Army’s ability to raise funds to serve southeast Michigan residents in need. Supporters can “Rescue Christmas” by donating or volunteering their time this Christmas season to aid The Salvation Army reach its $8 million fundraising goal.“With more people facing hardship this year, the need to serve those most vulnerable is greater than ever,” Major Tim Meyer, general secretary, metro Detroit area commander and regional chief operating officer for The Salvation Army Eastern Michigan Division, said in a press release. “Bottom line – many more families will be coming to us this year for help – and we want to make sure we’re able to give them the support they need.”While the iconic red kettles won’t make an appearance until Friday, November 13, Salvation Army supporters can help support the nonprofit’s early efforts to Rescue Christmas by:Texting GIFT to 24365Visiting salmich.orgCalling 877-SAL-MICHSending a check, made payable to The Salvation Army, to: 16130 Northland Dr., Southfield, MI 48075The Salvation Army is relying on the metro Detroit community for its support in order to provide for people who may lack proper shelter or warm meals – or for families that might be choosing between things like paying the rent or buying Christmas presents for their children.Individuals and families can sign up as volunteer bellringers by visiting registertoring.com where they have an option to choose a traditional, two-hour session at a physical red kettle site or participate in a virtual bellringing shift where they can raise funds in the comfort of their own home.Volunteers who donate their time as a virtual or in-person volunteer bellringer can enter to win an Apple or Android Smartwatch as part of the nonprofit’s Watch for Good volunteer recruitment initiative.The Salvation Army will provide bell ringers with personal protection equipment and encourage donors to use Kettle Pay, a contactless donation option through Apple or Google Pay.Last year, the Salvation Army Metro Detroit helped provide:More than 2.5 million mealsNearly 580,000 nights of shelterNearly 167,000 Christmas toys and gifts for children and seniorsMore than 2,300 children opportunities to visit Echo Grove CampResolution of nearly 1,800 legal issues through the William Booth Legal Aid ClinicTo learn more, visit salmich.org or connect with The Salvation Army Eastern Michigan Division on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Joni Hubred Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Reported by
RF Front-Ends for IEEE 802.11ac in Nanometer-Scale CMOS Technology
RFaxis, a company known for making CMOS Power Amplifiers announced that it will be unveiling a family of Nano RF products code named “Nucleus”. The initial device, Nucleus45, is a fully integrated 5GHz 802.11ac RF Front-end IC (RFeIC) built on a 40nm CMOS process, and is slated for sampling to strategic customers in Q4, 2014. The Nucleus45 is designed to deliver 18 dBm of output power to meet the most stringent linearity requirement for 256 QAM modulation for 802.11ac – without the use of any DPD (digital pre-distortion) techniques. The Nucleus4, a dual-band / dual-mode RFeIC in the same 40nm node will be available in Q1, 2015. RFaxis will also introduce its next-generation Nucleus2 series products to further push the envelope by integrating high-performance RF in nanometer process nodes, providing a seamless migration from 40nm to 28nm process node. Wi-Fi, which is driven by key applications such as smartphones, PCs/tablets, high-definition video streaming, and IoT continues will continue to maintain its explosive growth momentum over the next few years. According to Strategy analysis, the annual shipment for Wi-Fi chips will exceed to 5 billion units, compare to 2 billion in 2013. To further improve wireless speed and real-life data throughput, the Wi-Fi industry is rapidly adopting the latest IEEE standard, 802.11ac, that supports advanced modulation schemes such as 256 QAM, up to 8×8 MIMO (Multiple-In Multiple-Out) and MU-MIMO (Multi-User MIMO), in order to deliver unprecedented high data speed approaching 10 Gbps. The Nucleus solution provides the wireless industry a path forward to synchronize robust RF, digital and mixed-signal designs in deeper micron process nodes, enabling customers to achieve their RF performance targets with accelerated design cycle, greatly reduced development risk, shortened time-to-market, while avoiding massive new R&D investment.
New 100 Watt RF Power Limiter Based on Silicon on Sapphire Technology
Peregrine Semiconductor has introduced a new monolithic 100-watt power limiter, based on their UltraCMOS SOI Technology. The PE45361 is the next generation in Peregrine’s power limiter product family. It builds on the success of the 50-watt UltraCMOS power limiters and adds higher pulsed power handling, a lower limiting threshold and positive threshold control. UltraCMOS power limiters provide a monolithic alternative to discrete, PIN-diode limiters based on gallium-arsenide (GaAs) technology and protect devices against excessive RF power, intentional jamming and ESD events. It delivers reliable and repeatable power protection to sensitive low-noise receivers for test-and-measurement equipment and wireless-infrastructure transceivers.Compared to PIN diodes, UltraCMOS power limiters provide a 10 to 100x improvement in response-and-recovery time, deliver 10 to 40 dB linearity (IIP3) improvement and offer a 20x improvement in ESD protection. UltraCMOS power limiters also require 8x less board space than that required by conventional PIN-diode solutions. Finally, the limiting threshold can be adjusted through a low current voltage control pin (VCTRL), eliminating the need for external components such as DC blocking capacitors, RF choke inductors and bias resistors.Like other UltraCMOS power limiters, the PE45361 features two operating modes – power limiting and power reflecting – to maximize performance and flexibility. These modes can be selected through the programmable VCTRL pin. In power-limiting mode, the device is invisible to the load. When the incoming RF signal power exceeds the limiting threshold set through the VCTRLpin, the device limits the input RF power. The Power-reflecting mode is used in more extreme conditions, where the device reflects most of the incident power back to the source.Features, Packaging, Price and AvailabilityCovering a wide frequency range from 10 MHz to 6 GHz, the PE45361 power limiter provides exceptional power protection for high performance, power-limiting applications. It can handle high pulsed power up to 50 dBm and 100 watts, has an adjustable limiting threshold from 5 dBm to 13 dBm and a positive threshold control from 0 to 0.3 volts. The PE45361 delivers a low insertion loss of 0.95 dB at 6 GHz and high return loss of 15 dB at 6 GHz. With a fast response time of 1 nanosecond and a speedy recovery time of 20 nanoseconds, it exhibits high linearity of 37 dBm IIP3 and excellent ESD protection of 3 kV HBM. Samples and evaluation kits are available now.
CEVA Releases Bluetooth 5 IP
CEVA, Inc., a leading licensor of signal processing IP for smarter, connected devices, has released its RivieraWaves Bluetooth 5 IP. With multiple enhancements including longer range, higher speed and extended support for connectionless services, Bluetooth 5 is a significant upgrade over prior Bluetooth standards, offering both improved features for existing use cases and breakout features to open up exciting new IoT applications for the smart environment. The enhancements and new features that the Bluetooth SIG has incorporated into Bluetooth 5 positions this standard well to increase its footprint in the smart home, the smart city and beyond.CEVA, incorporating RivieraWaves, is the leading IP vendor providing solutions for Bluetooth low energy and Bluetooth dual mode, with a long pedigree stretching back more than fifteen years. With dozens of customers and numerous products in mass production, CEVA Bluetooth IP has shipped in more than a billion devices to date. With Bluetooth 5, CEVA remains at the forefront, with multiple license agreements already signed with leading semiconductor companies and OEMs.The RivieraWaves Bluetooth IP platforms consist of a hardware baseband controller, a digital modem, plus a feature-rich software protocol stack. For Bluetooth low energy, this protocol stack encompasses the Link Layer up to the GAP/GATT plus a comprehensive set of Services and Profiles. For Bluetooth dual mode, this protocol stack presents an industry standard HCI interface. A flexible radio interface allows the platform to be deployed with either one of the RivieraWaves RF IPs or various partners’ RF IPs, enabling optimal selection of foundry and process node.Click here for more information on RivieraWaves Bluetooth IP platforms.
RF IDeas to Showcase its Ultra Compact Smart-Card Reader at Hannover Messe
RF IDeas, an innovator and manufacturer of employee badge readers for in-building applications has announced its presence at the Hannover Messe event being held from, April 24 – April 28, 2017 in Hannover, Germany. The company will be showcasing its pcProx surface mount and desktop models, along with the newly added ultra-compact pcProx 13.56 MHz Nano, and pcProx Plus BLE with Bluetooth, among other manufacturing authentication solutions at the event.RF IDeas looks to strengthen its role in the European market as a new member of the Rockwell Encompass partner program in Europe. The Program is a part of the Rockwell Automation Partner Network, and works to improve solutions in the marketplace by linking technical and commercial resources of Rockwell Automation and the Encompass partner.As a first-time booth participant at Hannover Messe, RF IDeas will be showcasing its pcProx Plus for Rockwell Automation in addition to other solutions that support operations on the manufacturing floor and is looking forward to networking and sharing their manufacturing authentication expertise with in-region clientele.
Qi Based Extended Power Profile Wireless Charging Solution Reduces Smartphone Charge time by 30%
LG Electronics and Integrated Device Technology have partnered on the world’s first implementation of Qi wireless charging Extended Power Profile (EPP) in a flagship smartphone, the LG V30. The Extended Power Profile (EPP) enables safe, wireless fast charging capability while remaining compatible with existing Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), Qi 5W, baseline transmitters commonly used today.IDT’s wireless power chips are designed to provide fast wireless charging by reducing charge times by up to 30 percent. The addition of the wireless charging feature contributes to the water-resistance and durability of the sleek, low profile, Qi-certified smartphone design.LG’s latest flagship sets a new standard in the evolution of premium smartphones with its offering of optimal multimedia capabilities. The V30 features many industry innovations – the first F1.6 aperture glass Crystal Clear Lens, the first OLED FullVision display, Cine Video mode for producing movie-quality videos, premium sound with advanced Hi-Fi Quad DAC and sound tuning by B&O PLAY.The IDT wireless power receiver is based on a flexible 32-bit ARM M0 core architecture that has allowed LG to optimize wireless charging performance and the charging speed.