NEWSPAPERS n o i t i d E l a i c e p S
JULY 2, 2025 candgnews.com
Oakland County papers
Rochester Hills was recently ranked as the ninth best place to live in the U.S.
Photo provided by the city of Rochester Hills
ROCHESTER HILLS LANDS IN TOP 10 OF U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT’S BEST PLACES TO LIVE BY MARY BETH ALMOND
malmond@candgnews.com
Marcel Wysinger, 8, picks out a few gifts to take home with help from Luli Montagano, left, and his mom, Shanon Armstrong, during The Bottomless Toy Chest’s red carpet movie night for pediatric cancer patients at Emagine Royal Oak June 21. Photo by Liz Carnegie
Pediatric cancer patients get the Hollywood treatment BY TAYLOR CHRISTENSEN
ROCHESTER HILLS — Rochester Hills is one the best places to live in the United States, according to U.S. News and World Report. “This recognition is a testament to the strong sense of community, outstanding quality of life, and commitment to excellence that define Rochester Hills,” Mayor Bryan Barnett said in an email. “We are incredibly proud to be honored as one of the preeminent places in the nation to live, work, and raise a family.” This year, U.S. News & World Report evaluated more than 850 cities and published the top 250 places to live. Analysts asked 3,000 people across the country what mattered most to them when determining where to live, and they used those factors — value, desirability, job market and quality of life — to make the list. The data is weighted based on what people think is most important. The 2025-2026 rankings also include U.S. News & World Report’s Best States data on economy and infrastructure. Erika Giovanetti, a consumer lending analyst at U.S. News & World Report, said the expansion of the 2025-2026 Best Places to Live rankings gives consumers “a more detailed view into what it’s like to live somewhere at the community level, enabling them to consider more options for potential places to settle down.” “While quality of life remains the top priority for many Americans — and has the heaviest weight in determining the Best Places to Live rankings — U.S. News slightly adjusted its weights to increase priority for a location’s job market amid heightened economic uncertainty,” Giovanetti said in a statement. Overall, nine Michigan communities made the list, including two Oakland County commuSee BEST on page 7A
tchristensen@candgnews.com
ROYAL OAK — The Bottomless Toy Chest, a nonprofit organization, prepared a special night for pediatric cancer patients and their families at Emagine in Royal Oak. The kids were treated like Hollywood royalty on June 21 while they walked down a red carpet, had photos taken of them, and received a special Oscar award along the way. This is the 14th year that the Bottomless Toy Chest has hosted this event, with this year’s private screening being of the new movie “Elio.” Following the movie, the kids and their families were treated to a pizza party, crafts, face painting, photo booth, games and other exciting activities. Mickey Guisewite, the founder and executive director of The Bottomless Toy Chest, said that there were around 60 people at the show with 25 being the patients who are going through treatment for cancer or serious blood disorders. “The heart of everything we do is help cancer patients, young cancer patients, feel empowered and positive about themselves while they are going through cancer treatment, “ she said. “This is our 14th year doing this particular event, and many years ago one of our team members watched the Oscars one night and thought that some of the real superstars are patients that we serve, so why don’t we do an event that can honor See TOY CHEST on page 5A