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COMMUNITY CALENDAR 8-9A CRIME WATCH 11A
NOVEMBER 1, 2023 candgnews.com Oakland County papers
Oakland County Deputy Executive Madiha Tariq talks about the county’s use of American Rescue Plan Act funds for the RIP Medical Debt program. The county will be using $2 million to purchase up to $200 million in debt for residents. Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
Art, Beats & Eats Event Producer Jon Witz speaks about the money raised from this year’s festival at an Oct. 12 press conference at the Flagstar Bank Regional Headquarters in Troy.
Arts, Beats and Eats to donate $386,000 to nonprofits, charities BY MIKE KOURY mkoury@candgnews.com
Oakland County hopes to wipe out $200M of medical debt for residents BY MIKE KOURY
mkoury@candgnews.com
OAKLAND COUNTY — Up to $200 million in medical debt for Oakland County residents will be erased through a
new partnership with a nonprofit organization. Oakland County and nonprofit RIP Medical Debt will be using $2 million from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funding to purchase up to $200 mil-
lion in medical debt for qualified residents of the county, which possibly could be up to 80,000 people. According to its website, RIP Medical Debt uses data analytics to “pinpoint See DEBT on page 10A
Regional Stormwater Summit touts rebates for residents BY KATHRYN PENTIUK kpentiuk@candgnews.com
OAKLAND COUNTY — On Oct. 20, more than 200 people gathered for the 10th annual Regional Stormwater
Summit to hear from experts and learn about a rebate program designed to encourage residents to reduce stormwater runoff on their own property. The event was hosted by Lawrence Technological Uni-
See REBATES on page 12A
ROYAL OAK — The Soaring Eagle Arts, Beats and Eats festival was a big hit for Royal Oak last month, and its success will continue with hundreds of thousands of dollars going to nonprofit organizations. At an Oct. 12 press conference, the festival announced it would be donating $386,904.92 to almost 60 local organizations and nonprofits. It is the second-largest donation that Arts, Beats and Eats has made in its 26-year history. The very first Arts, Beats and Eats was held in 1998. That year, the total amount raised was $84,000. Event Producer Jon Witz said the growth of not only the event but the donation amount has been amazing. “It’s the most rewarding part of putting the event on, is seeing goodwill,” he said. “It’s great to bring people together in peace, but when you have good weather and people are spending money to create a give-back situation, I think that’s what makes this so enjoyable for the participants, the sponsors, the volunteers. It’s just a big day for us today.” See ARTS on page 15A