Downtown Newsmagazine | Birmingham/Bloomfield

PLUS: ARE COMMUNITIES PREPARED FOR A TRAIN MISHAP?

DOWNTOWN04.23

ARE COMMUNITIES ABLE TO HANDLE TRAIN MISHAP?

Like all modes of transportation, trains don’t come without hazards, which was demonstrated in an extreme, although rare, incident when a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, near the border to Pennsylvania, in the beginning of February. Local officials here say they train constantly and are prepared to respond if a derailment occurs.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The LGBTQ+ community certainly has cause to celebrate with the codification of its civil rights thanks to the recent expansion of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, but the fight against marginalizing this part of the population is far from over.

CRIME LOCATOR

A recap of select categories of crime occurring in the past month in Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills, presented in

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE GANGS OF OAKLAND

Gangs, and the associated violence, are nothing new –in one form or another they have been a danger to the American public since the founding of this country. Oakland County is not immune to gang activity although most of it is centered in the city of Pontiac.

OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL

Promises made by Gov. Whitmer but not kept; John James on the “vulnerable” list; the race to fill Stabenow U.S. Senate seat; Perry Johnson's run for the presidency or something else; Right To Life rescinds endorsement for Donni Steele; plus more.

map format.

DOWNTOWN04.23

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MUNICIPAL

New city manager for Birmingham; Jeff Gormley new Bloomfield Hills public safety director; final site plan for RH; Woodward communities organize; towmship budget for 2023-2024; outdoor dining ordinance tabled once again; plus more.

84

EDUCATION

Cranbrook Schools releases independent review of sexual incidents; Bloomfield Hills district in turmoil thanks to diversity assembly.

COMMUNITY HOUSE

William D. Seklar, president and CEO of The Community House, talks about the role of this community icon in the past and the present day.

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METRO INTELLIGENCER

Gigi Nichols provides readers with quick takes on what is happening in the world of food and drink in the metro area.

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ENDNOTE

Kudos to officials at Cranbrook Schools for their transparency in dealing with allegations of sexual improper behavior by faculty and staff. Meanwhile, the Bloomfield Hills school district has thrown the students, faculty and the general community into turmoil following a contentious diversity assembly.

60 JENNIFER ROSS

FACES 30 Lindsey and Jason Eddleston 60 Jennifer Ross 82 Adnan Khan

Design by Chris Grammer from original photo by Pavel Losevsky | Dreamstime

Simone Rocha

When I left high school in the mid 1960's, folk singer Bob Dylan had just gone electric with Highway 61 Revisited. Cannabis and other mind altering drugs were making an appearance in the suburbs. Plum Street, the Haight-Ashbury knockoff, was taking shape in downtown Detroit. The fight for civil rights of the Black community and the Vietnam War dominated the evening headlines.

On the home front, my neighborhood was one of the first developments of new homes in Sterling Heights, surrounded by migrant worker farms bordering the Clinton River, which was then clean enough to swim in at what was known as the Bare Ass Beach. My family was part of the out-migration from Detroit prompted by the move of General Motors offices to the new Tech Center in Warren, where our senior production engineer father was reassigned.

I had no knowledge then that an LGBTQ+ community even existed in the metro Detroit area. But as a buddy and I hired in for the afternoon shift at the 8 Mile and Mound Road Chrysler plant the summer after graduation from a Catholic high school, the real world education began in earnest before our first year of college.

A number of the employees at the plant each Thursday would crowd the plant parking lot at lunch time to see what transgender workers would be wearing in the after hours at the half dozen gay bars in Detroit. It was a weekly ritual throughout the summer, but it was readily apparent that the mere existence of an LGBTQ+ community was not something that was widely discussed.

I didn't give this issue much thought until 10 years later, during one of my first post college newspaper jobs, when lawmakers in Lansing were facing possible passage of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which state Rep. Daisy Elliott (D-Detroit) had been pushing since 1966 to address societal inequities experienced by Black Michigan residents. Legislative leaders told her they were willing to move her proposed legislation if she could find a Republican co-sponsor for her civil rights bill. Mel Larsen (ROxford), first elected in 1973 and a member of the Civil Rights Committee in the House, offered to put his name on the bill. And the rest is history.

There was some push at the time by the LGBTQ+ community to add the civil rights of that group to the legislation but the practical realities of finding sufficient support with this change to the bill prevented this.

In the ensuing nearly 50 years, there have been about two dozen attempts to amend the original Elliott-Larsen Act but to no avail. But in 2023, progress was finally achieved with passage in the last month of an expanded Elliott-Larsen Act to include protections for the LGBTQ+ community, codifying what a recent court decision and interpretation by the Civil Rights Commission in Michigan that the original act provided protections for this part of the population, now estimated in this state to number about 375,000 residents. Although polling showed that well over 60 percent of the state's population supported expanding the ElliottLarsen Civil Rights Act, decades-long Republican control of the legislature basically blocked any movement of past amendments. Even the support over a decade ago from major corporate employers and unions in the state could not move the legislative needle on this issue.

It took the flip to Democratic control of the both the House and Senate, under a Democratic governor, to make this possible, bolstered by the persistent focus of lawmakers like state Sen. Jeremy Moss (DBloomfield Township, Southfield), the main sponsor of the just passed

legislation, who worked tirelessly for years to reach this goal of building on what lawmaker Mel Larsen, now a Birmingham resident, had originally set in motion.

For the most part, support for the expanded ElliottLarsen Civil Rights Act came from the Democrats, although three Republican Senators did vote with the majority. Among them, Sen. Michael Webber (R-Rochester Hills) and Sen. Ruth Johnson (RHolly), who had abstained from voting when it came time to move this bill from committee and had unsuccessfully attempted to amend the legislation when it came to a floor vote. Over in the House, Republican Mark Tisdel, representing Rochester Hills, joined the majority in support, while Republican Donni Steele of Lake Orion who now also represents Bloomfield Township, along with Thomas Kuhn (R-Troy), were among a group from the GOP who spoke against the expanded protections, mixing talk of religious freedom with anti-transgender sentiment.

Sen. Moss has suggested that other changes are also needed, including amending the Michigan hate crimes law and the state Constitution ban on same sex marriages.

But even then, the battle for this portion of the population is far from over.

The lack of codified protection for the LGBTQ+ population in Michigan has already driven talented young individuals to cities in other states, mainly New York, Chicago and California. I personally know a number of gay college graduates originally from Oakland County who steadfastly refuse to return here not only because of the lack of legal protections but also a prevailing attitude in the small but aggressive minority that continues to try imposing their anti-gay agenda and moral views on the rest of the population.

The minority view basically emboldened the conservative set, like the people that hurled anti-gay epithets at a close friend who was crossing N. Old Woodward Avenue in downtown Birmingham when he was in high school. It's the same crowd that discouraged gay patrons from frequenting a popular breakfast/lunch gathering place in the West Bloomfield area in past years.

Some now organize to restrict what is available in the stacks of books at the public library or they target what is taught or at least acknowledged in the schools, perhaps thinking that it is a person's choice to be gay or transgender and their child will be lured into this lifestyle. So far from the reality of the situation. Their agenda accomplishes little other than leaving those from the LGBTQ+ community feeling even more isolated and not represented, especially in the schools where diversity of races and lifestyles should be recognized and respected.

Call me old fashioned, but I really believe that attitudes and values on crucial issues are often passed along in the home, from one generation to the next. Until this cycle is broken, Michigan will remain an unwelcoming place for a part of the population that has been marginalized for far too long.

I celebrate that long-overdue codification of rights for the LGBTQ+ community. Not sure we can legislate the remaining problem away. At least not in the short-term.

David Hohendorf Publisher

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David Hohendorf

News editor

Lisa Brody

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PROMISES MADE BUT…: When Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer first ran for the state’s top office she made a promise to veto any proposed legislation crossing her desk that utilized the deceptive tactic of including an unnecessary appropriation just to block citizens from launching a referendum to overturn a new law, a tactic used on a number of occasions by Republicans as they controlled both chambers, thanks to a provision in the Michigan Constitution that makes budget bills referendum-proof. But the Democrat’s promise fell by the wayside when it came to right-to-work repeal legislation in March that had heavy backing from organized labor. Basically the legislation had banned forced participation in a union with automatic withdrawal of union dues from worker paychecks. Voters in 2012 had rejected by 58 percent a constitutional amendment that would have outlawed right-to-work in Michigan. The next year, lawmakers passed right-to-work legislation and it was signed into law by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. GOP lawmakers made sure then that their bill contained an appropriation which prevented citizens from running a referendum on what was then and still remains a controversial political topic. The repeal legislation signed by Whitmer contained a $1 million appropriation. Word on the street in Republican circles is that a conservative challenge in the courts is now being discussed, so the fight is not over.

JOHN JAMES IN 2024: Although Republican John James has just been in office in the U.S. House for a few months following his November 2022 victory in the 10th District (Sterling Heights, Warren and a small part of Oakland), national party bosses are putting him on the list with 18 other GOP members of the House as “vulnerable” in the election in 2024. Michigan Democratic Chair Lavora Barnes said in a statement that the party is “aggressively working to flip the 10th congressional district blue.” Some say that James’ 2024 narrow margin of victory – 1,600 votes or less than one percent – over Macomb Democrat Carl Marlinga is the main reason the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has put him among the endangered incumbents. And no one is forgetting his two unsuccessful runs for the U.S. Senate in 2018 and 2020. As an interesting side note, James is one of three on the NRCC list that are not being targeted by Emily’s List, an indication that not everyone thinks the congressman has a potential problem next year. In other John James news, the freshman House member is now a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus in D.C. The caucus was first formed in 2017 to give formal structure to a bi-partisan group in the House that seeks cooperation on issues. James will be in good company in this group. Now totaling 63 members (32 Democrats; 31 Republicans), the caucus includes the following Representatives (all Democrats) from Michigan: Debbie Dingell (6th District); DanKildee (8th); Elissa Slotkin (7th), Haley Stevens (11th) and Hillary Scholten (3rd).

CRYSTAL BALL: One thing is certain about Congressman John James (R-Sterling Heights, Warren and a small part of Oakland) – he has determined he will not be taking on a third whack at the Senatorial tree in 2024 when Senator Debbie Stabenow (D) retires. He recently announced he would not run for the seat. He told the Associated Press that his focus on his current House district “has been unwavering,” and that he will be running once again for that seat. A Republican strongly giving it a look-see, according to a Republican honcho, is former Congressman Peter Meijer (R-Grand Rapids). The one-term congressman spent the first part of his tenure enduring the January 6 insurrection and

WHITMER JAMES

30% OFF ALL LAB GROWN DIAMONDS

then voting to impeach former President Donald Trump, and Trump then returned the favor in 2022, endorsing his MAGA opponent, ensuring his loss, and ultimately, flipping the seat Democrat. “Meijer is seriously considering it. He’s very ethical. I think enough are getting fed up with Trump. But he has to go through a primary first,” the politico said. Nikki Snyder, a Republican member of the State Board of Education who announced she was running for Senate in February, “doesn’t stand a chance,” said the same Republican. “She’s crazy. She thinks she can win a statewide campaign because she was on a statewide ballot for board of education. But that’s downballot and only Republicans voted for her.” Rumors still abound that state Senator and former Secretary of State and Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson (R-Groveland Township), Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Bruce Township) and even failed gubernatorial candidate and former auto dealer Kevin Rinke of Bloomfield Township are considering runs.

SHAKE IT OUT: Democrat Garlin Gilchrest, Michigan’s lieutenant governor, also announced he will not run for the open Senate seat, as did on-fire state Senator MalloryMcMorrow (D-Royal Oak, Birmingham, Huntington Woods, northwest Detroit). In an email, McMorrow wrote, “Now more than ever, it is important that we show the power of state legislatures and strong leadership at the local level. That’s why I’ll be focusing all of my attention on serving as the Michigan Senate Majority Whip, serving my constituents in my district, and not seeking the U.S. Senate nomination in 2024.” Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-Lansing), who announced in late February that she was all in for the seat, raised over $1.2 million the first day of her Senate campaign, broadcasting her power as a prodigious fundraiser to all challengers – Democrats and Republicans alike. She raised over $10 million in 2022, when she prevailed in the 7th House District race against Republican Tom Barrett, who may be once again considering the seat, now that she will be out. Michigan Board of Education President Pamela Pugh, a Democrat who was also the former chief public health advisor for Flint during the city’s water crisis, is considering running, as there are no African American women in the U.S. Senate, “and I think that voice needs to be heard.” Actor and Detroiter Hill Harper is allegedly thisclose to announcing his run for Senate, making rounds with union workers and meeting with the Genesee County Democratic Black Caucus. While Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel continue to be bandied about in political circles, as Punchbowl noted, Slotkin is increasingly showing an advantage among Democrats. “And she might be the most electable Democrat in a state like Michigan, which is still considered to be a battleground since former President Donald Trump won there in 2016.”

KRISTINA WHO? The fallout continues for the Michigan GOP from their elevation of failed Secretary of State candidate Kristina Karamo as state party chair in February. A recent gathering of GOP power brokers ended with an agreement that the state party is officially on the “back burner” when it comes to elections, and none have any intention of giving money to the party, whose role is to support candidates. Instead, they all determined their donations will be better utilized going directly to candidate PACs. “Nobody is opening a check book for D List celebrities” at the party headquarters, a Republican honcho said. As for Karamo’s statement that the Michigan GOP is “decentralizing operations,” and that is why she has declined the party’s longtime headquarters in downtown Lansing, owned by a trust, along with other assets, run by several former party chairs, including Bloomfield Hills’ Bobby Schostak. The party brokers called “decentralization” a “joke.” Former Michigan GOP co-chair Jeff Sakwa agreed. “They (the party) have no money, so they can’t pay the rent,” he said. “When you alienate the people with money, you have nothing.” Sakwa, who remains active in Republican politics, concurred with the other power brokers. “We don’t need Karamo to win. We will win without her. We will give money directly to

candidates. We will not give money to candidates who lose by 14 points and do not concede,” alluding to Karamo’s failed November campaign.

POCKET SHOT: Bloomfield Hills businessman and failed gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson – remember he tried to buy a run as the Republican candidate for Michigan governor, but forgot rule number one: check the signatures on the nominating petitions. Turns out, he had hired a group who filed thousands of fraudulent nominating signatures, and was booted from appearing on the primary ballot. For his next political act, he has decided to run for president in 2024. He announced his White House bid in March after former GOP chair Meshawn Maddock and her hubby state Rep. Matt “Mad Dog” Maddock (R-Milford) introduced Johnson to some of the MAGA faithful at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) outside Washington D.C. But some in the know say Johnson doesn’t really want to run for president – he’s just “trying to position himself in a good position with (former president Donald) Trump, so if he wins, Johnson can get a cabinet position or an ambassadorship. Worse comes to worse, he’s got more PR for another run for governor,” said one in-the-know politico

FEET FIRST: We’re happy to spread the news that former Congressman Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Township), who lost in a primary against Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, most of Oakland County) that was more brawl than battle after Michigan was redistricted, and Levin chose to not head to Macomb County where much of his former district was, has landed a new gig. Levin, a former union organizer and fervent supporter of the working man (and woman), is now a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he will focus on issues at the intersection of economic growth and democratic accountability, according to the center. Levin will not be a lobbyist, which is not permitted by ethics rules for former members, but he will work on things that relate to the implementation of major legislation from last session, such as the bipartisan infrastructure law, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, which aims to spur U.S. production of semiconductor chips.

THEY GIVETH AND TAKETH AWAY: State Rep. Donni Steele (RBloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Auburn Hills and Lake Orion) is learning all about state politics in her first few months as a state legislator after years as treasurer for Lake Orion, noting the number of bills that have quickly gone from concept to signature. “It was like Vegas. I got a quick education,” she said. One revelation she and fellow state Republican Rep. Tom Kuhn of Troy received were rescinded endorsements from Right to Life of Michigan after they both voted with Democrats to repeal the 1931 law abortion ban. “The 1931 law was no longer enforceable. Even the Michigan Supreme Court had ruled it was unconstitutional,” Steele said. “I don’t agree with Proposal 3 (of 2022, Reproductive Freedom for All), and I didn’t vote for it – but it’s constitutional and I have to uphold the Constitution. It passed my district by 63 percent – and I represent my district,” she noted, not just her personal feelings. However, as for her ‘no’ vote for the expansion of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which passed to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender or identity or expression employment, public accommodations and public services, educational facilities, housing and real estate, Steele said, “the Michigan Supreme Court has already determined you cannot discriminate. It was already protected. I’m not a bigot – but do not remove my religious freedom and religious classes at the same time.” She did not clarify how, or which, religious freedoms were threatened, but emphasized she does not, and will not, vote straight Republican party, but by issues.

JOHNSON

FACES

Lindsey and Jason Eddleston

H

usband and wife Lindsey and Jason Eddleston have a lot on their plate and a lot to celebrate. The Bloomfield Hills couple acquired Ray’s Ice Cream in Royal Oak shortly before welcoming a baby girl. In addition, Lindsey works as a commercial real estate broker with Mid-America Real Estate Group-Michigan, and Jason and his family own and operate Sterling Companies, a bulk liquid terminal in Hamtramck that blends, compounds and transports petroleum and chemical products.

The two grew up in Bloomfield Hills, where Jason attended Cranbrook Schools and Lindsey went to Groves High School. Jason, who graduated from The University of Pennsylvania - Wharton School of Business, always wanted to own an ice cream parlor. “As a kid, I loved food and we had a tradition of getting ice cream on weekends and when we traveled,” he recalled about his childhood memories that include dinner conversations with his parents, who passed on their entrepreneurial spirit.

Since taking over Ray’s last July, the new owners have connected with the community through social media and local events with their ice cream cart. Collaborations with other iconic Michigan brands have led to limited-edition flavors like the Franklin Cider Mill Donut Ice Cream, which was a big hit.

Until she got pregnant, Lindsey was lactose intolerant, but that is no longer the case. “Being seven months pregnant and purchasing Ray’s was excellent timing,” she said. “I got to enjoy all the flavors I could get my hands on. It was a whole new world for me.”

The old-school ice cream parlor dates to 1958. “Walking into Ray’s is like stepping back in time,” said Jason. Customers can enjoy more than 50 flavors along with sundaes, milkshakes, malts and banana splits.

“Outside the recipes and equipment, we really had no game plan except to meet customers and provide them with a great experience,” said Jason. “The first night, we ran out of napkins. The second night, we ran out of spoons and we didn’t have strawberry ice cream for three months.”

They did have an important asset. “We kept all employees on board, including Ray’s great-granddaughter, who still works in the back making ice cream,” he added.

Ray’s stays open year-round. “We also wholesale to grocery stores, specialty stores, country clubs and restaurants,” said Jason. “All of the ice cream is made onsite. We make 50,000 gallons per year, and 2,000 pounds of chocolate per year.”

Wholesale clients tend to order vanilla and chocolate, while retail favorites include cookies and cream and butter pecan.

They each bring different skillsets to the table. “Jason has a background in manufacturing and operations. This is a completely different product, but his skills are a good fit for the business,” said Lindsey, who has a sales and marketing background and a degree in communications from the University of Michigan. Her Ann Arbor Eats Instagram account remains a favorite among foodies. “I really enjoy putting those skills to work.”

Their videos have gone viral on social media. Some have over a million views. “We live in a culture where people want to view behind the curtain. They want to see how the ice cream is made,” said Jason.

Girl Scout tours combine a little history with a little tasting. “We’re creating longlasting memories and bringing new generations to Ray’s,” he said.

Athletic teams are another draw. “We both played sports growing up,” said Lindsey. “We want to be the ice cream place of choice when they’re celebrating a win…or a loss.”

She likes seeing all the smiles. “Everyone that comes in creates memories and I love all the joy that sparks for customers,” she said.

Jason agrees. “When people come in the parlor, they take a break from life. We’re putting them back in time and really capturing that moment.”

Story: Jeanine Matlow

Photo: Laurie Tennent

THE GANGS OF OAKLAND COUNTY

PONTIAC SEEMS TO BE THE CENTER OF ACTIVITY

BY STACY GITTLEMAN

On the afternoon of March 18, 2022, seven-year-old Ariah Jackson of Pontiac had just been picked up from a school bus stop by her mother Lashawn Jackson along with three other children.

A car followed them.

Ariah exited the car outside her house when members of a local gang, the 4-Block Gang, fired bullets from a moving car, killing her with a gunshot wound to the head and wounding mom Lashawn in the head.

Two of the three alleged perpetrators, who range in age from 18 to 22, are being held in the Oakland County jail, with a preliminary examination for their trial set for May 12.

The shooter, Justin Rouser, 20, and Jajuan McDonald,18, who was in the vehicle, each face 10 charges – first-degree murder, four counts of assault with intent to murder, and five firearms offenses. The third, Daejion Bryant, 22, is out on bond and is charged with lying to police officers and accessory after the fact to a felony.

Federal investigators say the shooting likely involved retaliatory action involving members of the R Block and 4-Block gangs.

Gangs, and the associated violence, are nothing new – in one form or another they have been a danger to the American public since the founding of this country.

The most recent comprehensive studies on gangs from a national standpoint are from 2012 – the U.S. Department of Justice National Youth Gang Survey (NYGS), and the 2015 Gang Report from the National Gang Intelligence Center, in collaboration with the FBI and other intelligence agencies.

According to the 2012 report, there are 30,000 gangs in the United States – a 15 percent increase since 2006. In larger cities in 2012, the number of gangs increased by eight percent and the number of gang members increased by 11 percent. The data suggests that gang activity has become more concentrated in urban areas. Concurrently, the prevalence rate of gang activity among smaller cities declined to its lowest rate in more than a decade in 2012. Together, these findings strongly indicate the growing concentration of gang activity in largely populated areas and provide empirical evidence that the spread of gang activity outward from larger cities is limited in size and scope.

In terms of gang-related crime, law enforcement agencies report that they do not regularly record offenses as "gang-related," apart from homicides.

According to the National Youth Gang Survey, in the United States, there were 2,363 gang-related homicides in 2012. The FBI data shows that of the approximately 15,500 homicides annually across the U.S., around 2,000 are gang-related homicides, as reported to the National Youth Gang Survey.

In the 2012 survey, it was reported that gang leaders exploit youth to sell drugs, and nine percent of students in middle school and high school reported a gang presence in their school.

According to the 2015 report, gangs have become increasingly sophisticated and well organized; all use violence and intimidation to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal money-making activities, which include robbery, drug and gun trafficking, prostitution and human trafficking, and fraud. Many gang members continue to commit crimes even after being sent to jail.

In Oakland County, according to data, the bulk of gang violence occurs in Pontiac. Pontiac is a city with a population of just over 62,000, with 34 percent living at or below the poverty rate, and which bears the heaviest concentration of gang-related homicides for the county. It also sits just north of its shared border with Bloomfield Township.

Here are just a few examples from the past decade:

In June 2008, a member of the Pontiac-based Goon Squad gang was charged with shooting a teenager from Alabama after crashing a party in a community center in Pontiac. The shooter was tried in Oakland County Circuit Court, pleading no contest to second-degree murder and a felony firearm charge. According to a sentencing agreement in late 2009, he received 17 to 35 years in prison on the murder charge and two years on the firearm charge.

Gangs have become increasingly sophisticated and well organized; all use violence and intimidation to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal moneymaking activities, which include robbery, drug and gun trafficking, prostitution and human trafficking, and fraud. In Oakland County the bulk of gang violence occurs in Pontiac, a city with a population of just over 62,000, with 34 percent living at or below the poverty rate, and which bears the heaviest concentration of gang-related homicides for the county. It also sits just north of its shared border with Bloomfield Township.

In July 2008, a botched drug deal in Pontiac resulted in the shooting death of a 29-year-old man. A jury found an alleged member of the Goon Squad guilty of firstdegree felony murder and multiple other charges for killing the man and severely wounding one of his friends, as well as for shooting and robbing two other men in a separate incident earlier that day. At the time of the conviction, the felon denied any gang involvement.

After a violent 2008, the FBI in January 2009 formed the Oakland County Violent Gang Task Force (OCVGTF) and collaborated with police departments from Pontiac, Waterford Township, Auburn Hills, and Bloomfield Township, as well as the Michigan State Police, state Department of Corrections and Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other federal agencies. As a result of their combined efforts, arrests of gang members picked up.

In November 2010, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that 74 members of two local gangs operating in Pontiac, Michigan, were charged in two separate complaints with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine,

The complaints charge that various members and associates of the New World Order and Almighty Latin King Nation gangs conspired to distribute marijuana and cocaine in and around the Pontiac area, from 2009 through the present. Gang members who were charged did not just come from Pontiac but also Clarkston, Waterford and Auburn Hills.

Detroit FBI officials reported that the task force seized $9,900 in cash, 15 guns, including three assault rifles, three other long guns, three shotguns, and six handguns; 10 pounds of marijuana; 200 pills; between 50 and 100 cell phones, and cocaine.

In 2012, members of the Pontiac-based Goon Squad were suspected of being connected to a December 2011 shooting in the early morning hours when gunfire was sprayed inside the Rolladium rollerblading facility in neighboring Waterford Township.

Twelve members of two gangs – Hustle Boys and the Wall Street Gorillaz – were charged in 2017 with distribution of heroin mixed with fetanyl from a joint gang operation called TEAM that operated from two houses in Pontiac. The drugs were spread over Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston counties and those charged came from Pontiac, Waterford, Commerce and Keego Harbor.

In 2011, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office took over Pontiac’s policing patrols and turned the Pontiac police station into a sheriff's substation. The city saw its 911 response times reduced from 80 minutes to six minutes. Violent crime rates declined by 25 percent and the sheriff’s office case closure rate is now between 80 and 90 percent.

Still, a decade later gang-related violent crime continues, and reached a crescendo pace in the years between 2020 and 2022. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office reported 37 homicides in the county in 2022, and 35 homicide cases in 2021. In 2022, Pontiac had 14 of the 37 homicides.

Among those who were murdered: Frederick Lamar Betty, 39, was killed October 31, 2021, by gunshot outside a Pontiac food market, and a 48-year-old Pontiac man was also shot, sustaining a bullet wound to the foot. The murder suspect evaded law enforcement for more than a year and was arrested in December 2022, and is now charged with first-degree murder and assault with intent to commit murder in

Oakland County Circuit Court for a possible trial.

On November 5, 2021, Stefon Crow, 23, and his friend, Kyle Milton, 30, were killed by gunfire. Authorities identified the suspected shooter as convicted felon Torris Neal Green, 27, of Pontiac, who is currently on trial in Oakland County Court for the murders.

On November 8, 2021, Alneta “Needo” Cooks, 56, was killed when someone opened fire on the car she was riding. The shooter is still at large.

Tracy Morris, public information officer for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Detroit Field Division (ATF), said based on anecdotal evidence and numbers of violent crime incidents such as the ones listed above, gang violence in Oakland County was mainly based in Pontiac and peaked in 2021, but was quickly quelled by the formation of an additional partnership between ATF and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office’s Pontiac Gun Violence Task Force (GVTF).

Although gang activity comes to mind for cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, Morris said organized criminals are always trying to expand their reach of influence, and that includes smaller cities like Pontiac.

"There are national gangs trying to infiltrate every inner city in America, including Bloods, Crips, Gangster's Disciples," Morris said. "Specifically, national gangs will try to take over local gangs and get them to join the nationally affiliated gang. The major local street gangs in Pontiac are R-Block and 4 Block, including their affiliated offshoots. R-Block is a blood-based gang that has been heavily influenced by national Bloods recently."

Morris said most gang violence and activity coming from Pontiac tends to occur between rivals and is fueled by social media interactions.

“Due to the smaller size of Pontiac, as opposed to say Detroit, it is much more likely rival gang members who will run into each other in public places, potentially putting the public at risk,” Morris said.

Morris said the most common crimes gang members will commit are unlawful possession and use of firearms, generally used during drive-by shootings.

"Most of the time the victims are family members of gang members who happen to live with a gang member. There are several examples of this, most notably the drive-by fatal shooting of seven-year-old (Ariah) Jackson. Though the shooters did not know any members of Jackson's family, the motive of the shooting was gang-related, according to court filings."

To solve such cases of gang-related violence, Morris said the ATF utilizes crime gun intelligence, including ballistic crime scene evidence, the tracing of firearms, and human intelligence, both from the deployment of “boots on the ground” local law enforcement officials and individuals in the community to target gang-related "trigger pullers" who are causing violence in the community.

“ATF and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office work hand-in-hand daily within the Gun Violence Task Force to investigate shootings and interdict those trigger pullers by any legal means necessary,” said Morris. “When it comes to gang violence, the name of the game is interdiction. By removing the trigger puller from the streets, the cycle of gang violence – both offensive and retaliatory shootings – is disrupted, and the community gets a reprieve from the violence. This allows the GVTF to reapproach victims who may have otherwise been too afraid to cooperate with law enforcement during the

In 2012, members of the Pontiacbased Goon Squad were suspected of being connected to a December 2011 shooting in the early morning hours when gunfire was sprayed inside the Rolladium in neighboring Waterford. Twelve members of two gangs – Hustle Boys and the Wall Street Gorillaz –were charged in 2017 with distribution of heroin mixed with fetanyl from a joint gang operation called TEAM that operated from two houses in Pontiac. Drugs were spread over Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston counties. Those charged came from Pontiac, Waterford, Commerce and Keego Harbor.

time when the trigger puller was free, out on the street.”

According to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, gang violence differs from mass shootings and threats to schools that spiked in the fall of 2021.

“Gang violence is typically not linked to schools but instead is retaliatory in nature,” said Bouchard. “Oftentimes, it is linked to defending turf between two groups and innocent victims getting hurt in the crossfire. Typically, where we see gang violence, like in Pontiac, there has been a spike of shootings and homicides between two gangs. Oftentimes, instead of cooperating with us (to report a crime), they make the decision to go back against the gang that was shooting at their members.”

While the Oakland County Sheriff’s office tallies accounts of crime on its interactive crime mapping website, it does not directly correlate any given incident of crime with gang activity. For that information, Bouchard said he keeps those numbers for operational purposes.

Bouchard said his office is working closely with the ATF, which is focused on illegal firearm activity and gun violence connected to gangs. When Bouchard’s office notices patterns of crime, they work to develop cases against small, focused groups of individuals.

Overall, Bouchard said using this methodology, since October 2021, his office along with the ATF have charged 76 local people with gang-related crimes. Fourteen of those charged were charged with murder or intent to commit murder.

“This is a small number of people committing a large amount of the violent activity. An analysis from these arrests showed that there was a 34 percent decrease in assaults from 2021 to 2022 because we targeted this small focus of certain individuals. Also, in 2020, we removed 289 firearms off the streets. Compared to a decade ago, violent crime in Pontiac has been reduced by 40 percent,” Bouchard said.

Working within the gang task force, the FBI field office in Detroit takes gang-related crime very seriously, said FBI Public Affairs Officer Mara R. Schneider for the FBI Detroit Field Office. “While gang activity is still present within Oakland and Wayne County, specifically in Detroit, there has been a gradual shift away from traditional criminal gang activity.”

According to the FBI, victims of gang crime fall under several categories. Primarily, violent crimes such as shootings and stabbings take the lives of the most victims. The second tier of a gang’s victims are those who may overdose on narcotics dealt by a gang. The overdose death of one person ripples out into a closely knit community of family and neighbors and then into outlying areas to those who live very differently from where the clusters of gang members may live. It is also possible that communities not directly impacted by gang violence may be incidentally impacted by the violent crime that can surround the gang's activity.

Schneider said FBI investigations still maintain a focus on narcotics and violence derived from gang disputes. However, there has been a general uptick in gang members taking part in financial fraud, where they can gain as much, if not more money, by conducting these activities than they could through traditional means. By operating in this more subversive manner, it can keep them under the radar from law enforcement.

For example, one such case from 2021 involved Damon Long, 25, of Detroit, a member of the Detroit-based Glock Boyz TMC (too much money) street gang. In

2021, court records show the gang perpetrated acts of violence against rival gangs and have been victims of such violence. Court records tie Long to these violent attacks and to being the target of rival gangs.

In May 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant at Long’s residence in Detroit and seized two of Long’s loaded pistols. Agents also seized evidence that Long engaged in wire fraud by submitting false applications for federal unemployment insurance benefits using stolen identities totaling over $300,000. Long used the identities and Social Security numbers of at least 10 individuals in perpetuating his scheme. Long boasted about his fraud schemes on social media, and his membership in the street gang was also revealed on his social media accounts.

In 2022, Long was sentenced to 60 months in prison after being convicted of aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and illegally possessing firearms, and was also ordered to pay restitution of $300,000.

Schneider said solving this case is largely due in part to the work of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence to create safer neighborhoods.

Unlike some larger cities in the United States with a large presence of national-level gangs, such as the Bloods, Crips, MS-13, gangs in Detroit and southeast Michigan tend to be neighborhood-based. Gang members can be a circle of friends who have grown up together and sometimes gangs are multigenerational. In some instances, members of the older generation, some who have served prison time, recruit the next generation into gang life. While some gangs within southeast Michigan do associate themselves as either Bloods or Crips, most intra-gang disputes arise from territorial disputes with members of other gangs. Many of the incidents include acts of revenge by one gang member who felt disrespected or had acts of violence put upon them by the first gang, said Schneider.

"Incidents of direct victims of this violence are often reported in the media and sadly, victims are gunned down, severely wounded in drive-by shootings or during drug deals within the neighborhoods where gang members reside, as in the case with seven-yearold Jackson," she added.

But outside the accounts of violence between gang members and the unfortunate bystanders who get caught in the crossfire of the violence, the FBI says that there are few investigations and not enough data to indicate that gang activity has an immediate effect on the community out large.

“Our primary concern is to hinder violence among competing gangs, limiting injuries to innocent bystanders,” Schneider said. “Although most of the gang violence does stay confined between gangs, their activity does affect communities in other ways – as gangs do participate in selling drugs, conducting carjackings, and trafficking of weapons. Our goal is to mitigate the threat to the community by disrupting gang activity and dismantling gangs in Michigan.”

If you monitor your neighborhood police scanner, follow posts on the hyper-localized Nextdoor.com, or tune into local media, you are aware that the suburbs of metro Detroit in and around Oakland County are not immune to crime. There will be rumblings about a rash of home burglaries and car thefts and even accounts of assault.

But do gang members commit the bulk of the crimes in the suburbs? Experts interviewed for this

The Oakland County Sheriff’s office does not directly correlate any given incident of crime with gang activity. For that information, Bouchard said he keeps those numbers for operational purposes. Bouchard said his office is working closely with the ATF, which is focused on illegal firearm activity and gun violence connected to gangs. When Bouchard’s office notices patterns of crime, they work to develop cases against small, focused groups of individuals.

Bouchard said since October 2021, his office along with the ATF have charged 76 local people with gang-related crimes.

article, including chiefs from individual police departments and Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney Karen McDonald concluded that there is not enough data to directly link crime incidents to gangs.

This theory has been held since 2015, when the FBI in its gang study concluded that the majority of gang activity is happening in the nation’s denser population centers and is not seeping into the suburbs.

In this regard, FBI’s Schneider explained that other than the sale of narcotics, gang violence generally does not spill over into areas that are not already rife with gang activity. However, those who reside in active gang areas are at risk for violent victimization.

“The biggest type of crime and victimization we see spill from the cities into the suburbs would be narcotics,” said Schneider. “Drugs appear to be sourced from Detroit and then sold just across 8 Mile or other areas where there already may be a gang presence.”

Another category of crime where gang involvement becomes murky is vehicle theft.

In February 2023, Bloomfield Township Police charged three men with motor vehicle theft, larceny of personal property from a vehicle, burglary, illegal use of a credit card, and larceny of a firearm. The men were connected to hundreds of thefts and crimes that go back into October 2022.

Even with these car thefts, Bloomfield Township Chief of Police James Gallagher said there are no clear-cut records of gang-related crime that he is aware of. Often, Gallagher said, his enforcement staff is unaware that a suspect is connected to an organized gang unless they admit it after an arrest.

“It’s hard to say if there has been a spike in gangrelated crime in Bloomfield Township because we don't necessarily know whether somebody is truly involved in a gang,” said Gallagher. “Do we have speculation at times? Yeah, of course. But we don't necessarily know at the time of the arrest unless they confess, or if the information we get when we run the names through our intelligence analysts whether or not they are truly a gang member.”

Gallagher said in popular culture, there are notorious gangs such as the Bloods, the Crips, or Vice Lords. In Oakland County, there may be a loosely affiliated network of smaller gangs connected to these larger ones. But as far as crimes in Bloomfield Township, he cannot say with certainty that any have been gangrelated.

“It’s often hard to piece the puzzle together, unless sometimes you can arrest a few people, and one of the suspects will testify that another suspect is a member of a gang,” he explained.

Madison Heights Police Lieutenant Kevin Barrett also cannot pinpoint any crime wave or spike of incidents directly to affiliated gangs. In the town with a population of over 28,000, Barrett said there is no evidence of gang activity in terms of graffiti tags or suspicious individuals wearing a certain dress that would give way to gang involvement.

"At times, we suspect that some organized crime, like armed robbery or larceny may be gang-related," admitted Barrett. "But we do not have hard proof that gangs are openly operating in Madison Heights. We just don't have the data to support it to be able to say with any kind of certainty.”

Though many individual police departments in the area have an officer assigned to the anti-gang task force through Oakland County, most are reluctant or cannot confirm as an officer of that department that there has

been documented gang activity within a certain municipality.

Troy Police Sergeant Jason Clark said there is much value to having a member of the municipality’s police serve on the task force, including solving crimes when the perpetrator crosses county or state lines.

“The biggest asset to having a Troy officer assigned to the FBI-Oakland County Violent Gang Crime Task Force is the availability of federal resources and additional workforce when needed," Clark said. "Our police department only has so many officers and investigators working in our city, who are responding to everyday calls and carry a daily caseload. When a criminal incident requires the attention of most of our personnel, we lean on our multi-jurisdictional cooperation agreements for additional resources and the exchange of information.”

Clark said an example of this teamwork was during an investigation after a string of bank robberies that took place in the fall of 2022. After robbing several banks in Troy, Royal Oak and Berkley, a Troy resident purchased a one-way plane ticket from Detroit to Las Vegas. Law enforcement and investigation officials worked across municipal and state lines to identify the alleged robber, who was arrested as he deplaned in Las Vegas, and was back in the custody of Troy Police Department by October 20, 2022. He is awaiting trial in the Oakland County Jail on a $2 million bond.

Michigan law enforcement intelligence professional Jason Marquardt is president of the Michigan chapter of the Gang Intelligence Association (MGIA). Its focus of late has been on Michigan’s prison gangs and outlawed motorcycle gangs, which are some of the notoriously worst in the world, according to Marquardt.

“That’s not to say that street gangs are less active,” said Marquardt. “In fact, they are more active than they have been in the past. Unfortunately, MGIA does not have the statistics to back that up, and therein lies the problem. Michigan is a bit behind where other states are in terms of collecting data on gangs, and this was the impetus for reactivating our chapter here in Michigan.”

The group reactivated its work this March with a conference in Lansing to educate law enforcement and intelligence professionals on all aspects of gangs but with a special focus on hybrid gangs.

“The training we want to provide involves not only education but how to properly build networks across agencies to better share intelligence,” said Marquardt. “The situation in Oakland County is not like that of Chicago or Los Angeles, which have areas of their cities infiltrated by larger, well-known gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips. What we have here is what we call a hybrid gang: small, neighborhood-based gangs that are disconnected from larger gangs. They are less organized and do not seem to have any internal ranking structure. That's what makes them maybe a little bit more dangerous than larger, organized gangs because in many cases, they are teenagers or young adults trying to build street cred through turf wars.”

It is Marquardt’s goal to have more connected intelligence among law enforcement officials in southeast Michigan and to emulate the data gathering of larger cities such as Los Angeles or Chicago which do have larger gang problems. This will not completely eradicate the presence of gangs here, but putting more gang-related criminals behind bars will make a difference, he added.

As her office continues to work in collaboration with the ATF, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI,

Michigan law enforcement intelligence professional Jason Marquardt is president of the Michigan chapter of the Gang Intelligence Association (MGIA). Its focus as of late has been on Michigan’s prison gangs and outlawed motorcycle gangs. “That’s not to say that street gangs are less active,” said Marquardt. “In fact, they are more active than they have been in the past. Unfortunately, MGIA does not have the statistics to back that up, and therein lies the problem. Michigan is a bit behind where other states are in terms of collecting data on gangs...”

law enforcement, behavioral and mental health experts as part of the Anti-Gun Violence Commission she established in 2022, Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney Karen McDonald said there has been a significant decrease in gun violence in Pontiac. While the commission does not specifically target gangs, she said it does focus on who are the main drivers of gun violence.

“Gun violence related to gangs is entirely different than targeted violence (that we have seen in shootings at Oxford High School, for example),” she explained. “While we don’t address gangs or individuals who belong to gangs, we target the guns – where they're coming from, and what are the drivers of an individual's involvement in gang violence.”

McDonald continued: “I do want to stress, that when we talk about organized car theft or other acts of theft, that is not the focus of our task force. Rather, our focus on gangs within Pontiac is working with law enforcement and having a prosecutor embedded with this group which has led to significant progress.”

McDonald said what is most important in curbing violent crime and crime related to gangs, though, happens much further “upstream” than the apprehensions, arrests and prosecutions.

"We can target the offenders all we want. We can narrow our focus on the drivers of violence and crime, but that is not the only thing we need to do," said McDonald. "We need a comprehensive approach. That's why the commission is working to address how do we prevent kids from ending up at a point of crisis where they feel they need to affiliate with a gang, or they need to pick up a gun and commit an act of violence. That's just as important as prosecution, conviction, tighter gun laws, or other hardened measures we can use to keep our residents safe every day.”

McDonald attributes some recent success in reducing gun violence to tightening coordination and better use of intelligence between her office and county and federal officials, and the ability to have boots on the streets of Pontiac. But she cautioned there is still much work to do.

“There are more guns on the streets now than there has ever been,” McDonald warned.

The county’s top prosecutor had just attended meetings with gun violence experts from across the nation, who this summer will publish a comprehensive report of preventative evidence-based protocols on how to better identify and prevent youth who may be in a crisis from turning to guns, crime, and violence. This summer the commission will also publish findings and recommended models and programs that have been proven effective to reduce gang violence in other cities.

“Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in this country,” she said. “But most targeted gun violence takes place outside of school, such as at workplace settings or intentional violence as seen in Pontiac.

“The way to address violence upstream is to provide opportunities and alternatives to gang affiliation in the neighborhoods where these kids live. The proven strategies engage people in the community, from faith leaders, and educators, to family members and neighbors, who know the people of their city and can reach the youth that may be headed in the wrong direction towards violence," said McDonald.

Echoing McDonald’s view on the need for putting more preventative measures in place, Bouchard said the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office’s Pontiac Gun Violence Task Force addresses gangs with a twofold approach.

First, it develops an understanding of why people may join gangs in the first place, and then, what can systemically be strengthened and put in place for vulnerable youth.

"Preventing youth from joining gangs depends on a strong family structure, connection to a faith community, and providing alternatives," said Bouchard. "At the front end, we have been proactive with outreach programs that meet the social needs of youth. It may not look like policing, but it is a way to connect with the community and provide better pathways for the future. When it comes to violence, you have to get in front of it and tend to it: who are the ones who join gangs? How do you give them a better path?”

Lauren Fuller is the executive director of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Police Athletic League (PAL). Founded by Bouchard in 2015, the Oakland County Sheriff's Police Athletic League (PAL) Program is a nonprofit organization in collaboration between the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and a group of diverse community partners that picked up the operations of the former Pontiac Police Athletic League. It was established to create a safe environment where law enforcement and community partners work with city youth ages 4-17 through athletic, mentoring and enrichment programs at no cost to involved families. According to Fuller, PAL has filled a void in the lack of available after-school enrichment programs in the city.

"Our program is here as a unique blend of sports and recreation and mentoring. These elements are the vehicle for youth to build positive and trusting relationships with caring adults and give kids the opportunity to make friends and interact with law enforcement in a more positive way," she said.

The alternative, Fuller said, is to have that first encounter with law enforcement when they get into trouble later as adolescents or adults, such as when they are caught speeding, shoplifting, or worse.

According to a 2019 report from the Council for a Strong America, 27 percent of juvenile crimes occur between the hours of 2 to 6 p.m., when parents are at work and kids are left on their own at home after school. Seventy-four percent of parents surveyed agree that after school programs help to give parents peace of mind about their children and 62 percent agree that after school programs help to keep kids safe and out of trouble.

But programs such as the Sherriff’s PAL are few and far between. According to 2019 statistics from the Michigan After School Alliance, there are 625,026 children in the state waiting to get into an after-school program – that's four kids waiting for every one who is enrolled in a program.

Fuller said PAL is a much-needed community resource that creates a community policing model driven by positive relationships with a focus on prevention and safety. The families who come through the door have diverse sets of home situations. If children coming to PAL need additional behavioral resources, Fuller said PAL is in touch with other organizations such as Children’s Village and other social service organizations.

As kids play and are coached in sports – sometimes by law enforcement officials – they also get mentoring advice on making good decisions and how to stand up to peer pressure to avoid bad ones.

Automotive worker Hakim Harris, 46, sees the dire need for more community centers and more opportunities for youth on a daily basis as a community activist. He spent his earlier years involved with gangs in Pontiac,

the only city he’s ever called home. He said he spent his share of time selling guns and narcotics on the street in a local gang. But then, in 2009, at age 32, he was caught up in a sweep for selling guns and narcotics.

Though he was not convicted, Harris said “by the grace of God,” that event was the turning point in his life when he decided to walk away from guns, drugs and gang life.

“I was born and raised here in Pontiac, and I was from that street life,” said Harris. “God (and my pastor) changed my life around about 15 years ago and since then, I have wanted to give back to the community.”

In 2016, Harris founded the grassroots organization Pontiac Universal Crimes, which has a global Facebook following of over 20,000 people. Harris said he started the organization to help the mothers who lost their sons to gun violence find resources and clues to locate those who committed the killings by providing a safe anonymous place to call in a tip on an unsolved homicide that gets collected and filed with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, all to break the “no snitch” culture. When crime and violence strike, Pontiac Universal Crimes is a networking tool for the community to collect funds to support grieving families, such as paying for funeral expenses, including the family of Ariah Jackson.

Now, Harris said Pontiac Universal is looking to raise the capital to secure a building space for a community center where at-risk youth can be put in touch with counseling and other resources to prevent them from being recruited into gangs and committing violent crimes.

Harris said those who are involved in gangs maintain a very localized presence and mostly stick to their side of town. If gang members do venture into the suburbs, as he did, it was to deal drugs.

"The reason gang members may go out into places like Bloomfield Hills is because they are selling drugs to people who have money," said Harris. "Do they bring car and home break-ins to these communities? Not really. That's because, frankly, in these wealthier communities, law enforcement is not going to turn a blind eye, and they are more likely to get caught than if they would be involved in break-in crimes in lower-income communities."

Harris said in recent years since the launch of Pontiac Universal Crimes, along with the establishment of several anti-gun violence task forces in the county, he has seen greater coordination in investigations, solving crimes and arrests. But much preventative work remains to be done.

“(Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel) is on the right track now, and he is doing a lot of positive things in getting our young kids off the streets. The PAL is helping too,” said Harris. “But at the same time, there is so much more that we need. Our kids need physical spaces like community centers where kids can go after school and meet positive role models. We have lost so many of them, like our Boys and Girls clubs, because they’ve shut down over the years. Then what plays out is when a young person has nothing to do, they have time to think about doing bad things. There are a lot of at-risk kids out there that too often get overlooked. We need to get them help before they get to the age where they can get involved with the serious crimes of picking up guns and selling drugs."

"Preventing youth from joining gangs depends on a strong family structure, connection to a faith community, and providing alternatives," said Sheriff Bouchard. "At the front end, we have been proactive with outreach programs that meet the social needs of youth. It may not look like policing, but it is a way to connect with the community and provide better pathways for the future. When it comes to violence, you have to get in front of it and tend to it: who are the ones who join gangs? How do you give them a better path?”

OFF THE RAILS

HOW LOCAL DEPARTMENTS PREPARE FOR TRAIN ACCIDENTS

Railroad transportation has been a common and efficient way to transport passengers and cargo for a couple of hundred years. A revolutionary creation of its time, the construction and evolution of railways has allowed for the growth of economic opportunities and communities and has tied the country together since the 19th century.

Like all modes of transportation, trains don’t come without hazards, which was demonstrated in an extreme, although rare, incident when a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, near the border to Pennsylvania, in the beginning of February. A train belonging to Norfolk Southern, a Class I freight railroad company, derailed from the track in East Palestine due to a suspected overheated wheel bearing. Around 38 train cars derailed from the track, causing a fire that damaged 12 cars containing hazardous materials, per the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Multiple train cars carrying the hazardous materials caught on fire. Officials working the scene, fearing the cars would explode, conducted a controlled burn of the materials to avoid an even bigger disaster. Since then, local residents have complained of various health issues and are skeptical of tests that have shown the area is safe in terms of contaminations in soil and water.

Emergency crews train constantly for the horrific possibility of a derailment or hazardous spill. The last major derailment dealt with locally was August 29, 1999, when a CN freight train derailed carrying 97 cars, of which approximately 40 cars derailed within Birmingham's almost three miles of train tracks and neighboring Bloomfield Township.

Emergency officials in East Palestine were not warned prior to the derailment that hazardous materials would be traversing their community – an important detail which local Oakland County emergency officials contend they encounter on a daily basis. While trains chug along railroad lines along the eastern boundaries of Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills several times a day, officials are never informed of the contents of those train cars. Those train cars could hold hazardous toxins, or boxes of shoes.

Emergency crews train constantly for the horrific possibility of a derailment or hazardous spill. The last major derailment dealt with locally was August 29, 1999, when a CN freight train derailed carrying 97 cars, of which approximately 40 cars derailed within Birmingham's almost three miles of train tracks and neighboring Bloomfield Township. Birmingham Fire Chief Paul Wells said, “Thankfully no one was hurt, nor were there any hazardous chemicals released. Since the derailment, Birmingham and its OAKWAY mutual aid partners have increased their abilities when responding to these types of emergencies.”

OAKWAY, a mutual aid consortium to provide support and back up amongst fire departments, consists of 11 full-time area fire departments: Southfield, Royal Oak, Madison Heights, Ferndale, Bloomfield Township, West Bloomfield Township, Waterford, Rochester Hills, Farmington Hills, and Independence Township.

The East Palestine derailment has reshaped the lives of those living nearby and has drawn nationwide attention to the railroad industry and its safety practices. Residents living near railroad tracks have expressed concerns over the potential for an event like this to happen in their own community. The disaster has also sparked political debate over safety regulations.

Since February 3 of this year, Norfolk Southern has had multiple other trains derail across the country – fortunately not causing the spill of hazardous materials or damage to the extent seen in East Palestine. On March 4, another Norfolk Southern train derailed in Clark County, Ohio, causing 28 cars to derail from its tracks. On March 14, the state of Ohio filed a lawsuit against the Norfolk Southern railroad to make sure it pays to clean up all environmental damages caused by the East Palestine derailment.

One of the company’s trains traveling through Van Buren Township, Michigan, derailed on February 16 of this year. The Van Buren Police Department and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) stated there was no evidence of hazardous material being spilled or leaked.

A derailment, which occurs when a train runs off the tracks, is not an uncommon event in the rail industry, but only in rare cases do these incidents cause injuries, deaths or extreme environmental damage. With 99 percent of all shipments reaching their destinations safely, according to the American Association of Railroads, trains are considered to be the safest way of transporting hazardous materials.

While train accidents and derailments have decreased significantly over the years, they’re surprisingly still fairly common. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the number of train accidents per year has trended downward since 2000. Still, the average of train derailments each year amounts to roughly 1,700, the Poynter Institute said.

East Palestine, Ohio, is one of the more extreme derailments to occur in the last few decades, but it has opened the door for nationwide critique and questioning regarding the safety of railways, especially if the train involved is carrying hazardous materials.

Train accidents can occur for a variety of reasons – whether it is due to equipment malfunctions, issues with the tracks or signals, or because the train is traveling at the wrong speeds. At the end of 2019, the Federal Railroad Administration reported that over one third of all train accidents in the United States were due to human error. Per National Public Radio, human error was the leading cause of derailments in 2022, and according to Federal Railroad Administration data, broken or defective railroads are another common reason trains derailed from the tracks.

When train accidents and derailments do occur, they can have a wide variety of potential consequences, like damage to property, damage to the environment and negative impacts on human physical and emotional health. Part of why the recent derailment was so severe was due to the release of hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene.

Vinyl chloride, noted the National Cancer Institute, is a colorless gas that is primarily used to make polyvinyl chloride, a hard-plastic resin used in things like pipes, wires, packaging materials and cable coatings. Exposure to the substance is associated with increased risks of developing liver, brain and lung cancers, the National Cancer Institute reported. All of the chemicals being transported were toxic but are used in the production of everyday items, they noted.

According to Donna Kashian, professor and director of environmental science at Wayne State University, the environmental and human health implications following an accident heavily depend on the type of chemical that is released and the state those chemicals are in.

“Immediately following a derailment, the potentially most dangerous release would be one that is airborne as it has the potential to leave the crash site and travel rapidly through the air,” Kashian said. “Some gasses, like we saw in East Palestine, are heavier than air so [they] creep along the ground and could seep into basements.”

Since the derailment in East Palestine, residents in the area have reported burning throats, bloody noses, skin rashes, nausea and vomiting which are all common symptoms of chemical exposure per the World Health Organization.

In the days after the accident, officials handling the scene decided to conduct a controlled burn, or controlled release, of vinyl chloride found in some of the train cars, in order to avoid an explosion which potentially could have caused even more damage. The controlled burn of the vinyl chloride was the correct course of action in this case, said Kashian, but the burning of chemicals can result in secondary compounds.

“When chemicals are burned, their properties can change and sometimes it results in compounds that are less toxic or chemicals that are more toxic. In this case, the fire released phosgene which is actually a chemical that was used in World War I. It causes eye irritation, a dry burning throat and vomiting,” she said.

Toxins or chemicals spilled into an environment, though, are not just limited to the area where they are spilled. In the case of East Palestine, two streams – Sulfur Run and Leslie Run –were hit the worst, says Earth.org, and the contaminated waters wiped out thousands of amphibians, aquatic insects and fish. The streams ultimately connect to the Ohio River, which could pose threats to aquatic life outside the initially impacted area if the chemicals were to move downstream, Kashian said.

Earth.org reports that there have been indications of spilled hazardous material settling into the sediment at the bottom of streams and rivers, which can remain in the environment for a long time. As noted by Kashian, if the chemicals move through the air or water, or even track on the movement of animals and humans, over time they can move through the food chain, posing additional long-term implications.

Norfolk Southern and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have conducted several tests on soil, air and water to identify contaminated areas. Around February 12, the EPA stated they had not found any contaminants at concerning levels and did not find breaches of quality in over 500 homes they assessed. The Ohio EPA reported that two contaminants were detected in some tributaries to the Ohio River and said they believe treatment processes can filter them out.

The aftermath procedures of a derailment or train accident can involve several state and federal agencies depending on the severity of the incident. In the case of East Palestine, the Department of Transportation (DOT), EPA, FEMA, Ohio EPA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Department of Health and Human Services all responded to the crash, either to help with assessing the environmental damage and threat to human health, or by providing medical care to residents experiencing any symptoms of chemical exposure.

The various federal agencies helping to assess and treat environmental damage and human health concerns began working in the weeks after the incident took place. In the immediate aftermath of a railroad derailment, though, the Federal Railroad Administration has procedures in place the railroad companies are required to follow to determine the necessary response which could include an investigation.

Railroads are required to report accidents and incidents to the Federal Railroad Administration through the National Response Center when they occur, says William Wong of the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Public Affairs. The administration then decides if an investigation will be launched based on certain criteria on the severity of the incident.

“In general, Federal Railroad Administration investigates all accidents involving casualties, hazmat spills or releases, and derailments that cause significant damage among other criteria,” Wong shared.

The derailment in East Palestine drew a lot of public attention to the rail industry, especially from those who live next to or around a railroad themselves. Residents are beginning to question the possibility of something similar happening in their own backyard. The Class I freight railway, Canadian National (CN) Railway, runs locally through miles of Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills.

Local emergency departments have prepared for a potential train incident through extensive training in conjunction with

state agencies and CN. The company’s media relations advisor Julian Bédard offered that safety is a core value at the company, and they provide a variety of resources to enhance safety and preparedness of first responders should an accident occur.

“Should an incident happen, local first responders are called to the scene. They are in charge of the scene until they deem it safe. At this point, CN’s environmental and engineering team will go to the site to start remediation. CN is a member of TransCAER (Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response), a voluntary outreach effort committed to assisting communities in preparing for and responding to any rail emergency,” Bédard shared.

“Through the program, CN reaches out to communities to bring critical training to emergency responders, such as classroom training, exercise on CN 911 training tank car, Railroad Emergency Response Course, and many more,” he continued.

Birmingham and Bloomfield Township fire departments have completed hours of training in preparation to handle a train accident. While CN conducts outreach to help emergency services prepare for an accident, all firefighters in the state of Michigan are already required to complete basic hazardous materials training, said Bloomfield Township Fire Chief John LeRoy.

On top of the mandated hazardous materials training for each firefighter, local departments have long-established partnerships with other departments to assist in an emergency response. Bloomfield Township and Birmingham are both partners in OAKWAY – part of Michigan’s Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS). MABAS is a system designed to streamline the requesting and provision of emergency and fire services resources across Michigan, per their website, for day-to-day mutual aid and large scale events – including train derailments.

Birmingham and Bloomfield Township have a signed interlocal agreement for the mutual protection of people and property within the jurisdictions, said Birmingham Assistant Fire Chief Matt Bartalino. The municipality initially responds to emergencies and then determines if any additional resources are needed from OAKWAY. Each department has a little bit of equipment for a small emergency, said LeRoy, then OAKWAY has a significant amount of other resources the departments have pooled together.

“We have two OAKWAY HazMat trucks and then we also have a pod, like a storage pod, that can be transported to different places with additional equipment. If you’re talking a train derailment, depending on how big of a scale of an incident it is and what the material is that’s involved, we may or may not have enough resources to do it, but that’s when we would call in either what we call MABAS – which we would call Macomb County, Wayne County, even MABAS 3201, which is the North Oakland County with paid on-call, volunteer fire departments –they have additional resources,” LeRoy explained.

The HazMat trucks available through OAKWAY, with one being stationed at a Birmingham fire station, have equipment that can mitigate the release of several different types of hazardous materials such as chlorine, ammonia, flammable and combustible materials, and more, according to Bartalino.

Birmingham's Chief Wells also noted in a statement that the Birmingham Fire Department houses a 660-gallon foam

A derailment is not an uncommon event in the rail industry, but only in rare cases do these incidents cause injuries, deaths or extreme environmental damage. With 99 percent of all shipments reaching their destinations safely, according to the American Association of Railroads, trains are considered to be the safest way of transporting hazardous materials.

Birmingham and Bloomfield Township have a signed interlocal agreement. The municipality initially responds to emergencies and then determines if any additional resources are needed from OAKWAY. Each department has a little bit of equipment for a small emergency, then OAKWAY has a significant amount of other resources the departments have pooled together.

concentrate trailer in Fire Station 1 that is designed to quickly extinguish liquid hazardous material fires.

Through the mutual aid group, firefighters serving as team members on the HazMat and Technical Rescue teams also receive additional hours of training.

“All firefighters are HazMat trained by the state of Michigan under what they call the operations level, and then what the [OAKWAY] HazMat team members do is they take it one step further and go up to what they call either the technician and, on top of that, there is a specialist level,” LeRoy said. “They have an additional 40 or 80 hours of HazMat training to be on the teams. With that, they train on a monthly basis either on different scenarios or equipment, things like that, so they train every month for a couple hours on top of it.”

Bartalino notes that OAKWAY provides an additional 40 hours of hazardous materials and technical training to firefighters who are part of the group’s HazMat and tech teams.

Chief of Bloomfield Hills Public Safety Jeffrey Gormley and Captain Dustin Lockard say the public should know that the department is prepared in the case of a train emergency. While Bloomfield Hills is not a part of OAKWAY, they belong to another mutual aid group: MABAS Division 3201, Oakland County North.

MABAS 3201 consists of 29 fire and public safety departments, as shown on their website, including Bloomfield Hills Public Safety, Oxford Fire Department, Oak Park Public Safety, Walled Lake Fire Department, Troy Fire Department, Oakland Township Fire Department and Farmington Public Safety.

Like Birmingham and Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills has equipment on hand to mitigate small scenarios of hazardous material leaks. If the department’s resources are not enough to handle the situation, MABAS 3201 equipment and resources would be called to help.

“We don’t carry enough for a large level, that’s really where those specialized teams come in. We do carry some equipment to stop small leaks and spills. There’s a system in place for requesting that assistance [from MABAS] and really, it’s quite simple on our end. We just make the request and then those units will respond,” Lockard said.

The group has three specialized teams for hazardous materials, technical rescue and incident management. Oakland County Hazardous Materials Response Team-MABAS 3201, is equipped with seven vehicles and two trailers, and maintains $2 million worth of specialized HazMat and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) equipment.

Local departments are well equipped with training and resources to respond to a train emergency, but, noted CN’s Bédard, the railroad company does not provide information about what hazardous materials the trains are carrying to the departments preemptively. Only after an accident occurs does the department have any necessary information about what the train was carrying to help with their response.

CN Railways, says Bédard, does not disclose which products move on which lines or disclose volumes and transport times for security reasons. However, approximately 90 percent of the material shipped by CN are not dangerous goods, according to Bédard. Each train is equipped with a list of what hazardous materials are in the train cars.

“Each train has a manifest, like a plane. The engineer on site has that manifest on the train and then also we can make contact with the railway through the emergency lines to get exactly what that train is hauling,” said LeRoy. “Each car is also marked, using a placarding system, with what material a train car is carrying.”

Railroad companies, CN included, also offer an app that provides first responders with necessary information about the train’s cargo in the event an accident does occur. The app, AskRail, is a safety tool that provides immediate access to accurate, timely data about what type of hazardous material a car is carrying to help first responders make an informed decision about how to respond, CN explained.

The Birmingham Fire Department, the OAKWAY HazMat Team, and the additional mutual aid partners involved in OAKWAY all have access to the AskRail app, said Bartalino. Bloomfield Hills' Lockard noted that Bloomfield Hills Public Safety, as well as Oakland County Hazardous Response Teams, part of MABAS 3201, also have access to the app.

In the case of East Palestine, the National Transportation Safety Board has acknowledged that an overheated wheel bearing seems to have caused the train to derail from the tracks – a common cause of train derailments. This crash in particular pointed out holes in federal safety regulations.

Following the derailment, the Department of Transportation has urged the rail industry to implement new inspection technologies, but “without seeking permission to abandon human inspections.” Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, calling on the rail industry to take immediate steps to improve safety, has stated that waiver requests around automated track inspections have been framed by the industry as a false dichotomy between the two, but both human and automated inspections are needed to keep the railroads safe. Railroad companies can petition for waivers of any rule or regulation, according to the Code of Federal Regulations.

The American Association of Railroads explained that automated track inspections advance safety and outperform manually performed inspections. Automated track inspections use lasers and cameras mounted onto the train cars to inspect that track as the train is traveling. The association argues that these inspections would reduce track-caused derailments and speed up the inspection process.

On the other hand, lawmakers and Buttigieg have accused the rail industry of prioritizing profits over the safety of railroad workers and the public. Union members have additionally criticized the practice of precision railroading – streamlining operations which can hinder thorough safety inspections, said Freight Railwaves.

According to numerous reports, the Norfolk Southern train involved in the accident, although carrying a heavy load of hazardous materials that were released, did not meet the current Federal Railroad Association weight standards which would have required specialized train cars and braking systems to enhance safety. Trains considered “high-hazardous flammable” cannot travel faster than 50 miles per hour and must have newer braking equipment.

Two House lawmakers, Chris Deluzio (D-PA) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), introduced a bill that would tighten these regulations

from the current requirement – 20 consecutive cars, or 35 cars total – to one car containing any material from an expanded hazardous materials list that includes more than just flammable liquids.

An accident or derailment resulting in the release of hazardous materials is rare, according to data from the Federal Railroad Administration. Derailments that have occurred since East Palestine involving hazardous materials, including Van Buren Township and Springfield, have not resulted in the release of those toxic materials into the air, soil or water. About 99.9 percent of trains carrying hazardous materials reach their destinations without release caused by a train accident, according to the American Chemistry Council.

Since the disaster in East Palestine, Buttigieg has created a reform package containing several proposals to improve the safety precautions of the country’s railroads, as noted on the DOT website.

Buttigieg, among other politicians, have called for paid leave for railroad employees and the increase of crew size to two individuals. According to Nick Little, director of railway education at Michigan State University, research suggests that two-person crews may not have the intended effect on safety and preventing accidents. The American Association of Railroads (AAR) states that two-person crews for Class I freight railroads has recently been the industry practice for most over-the-road mainline operations, but non-Class I freight trains and Amtrak passenger trains operate with just one person.

“There is research that has been done which actually says with a two-man crew on the locomotive, there is actually more chance of the crew missing something than if one person is there,” Little said. “One assumes that they get talking to each other or they get to a situation where each assumes the other has seen and will deal with something, and in the rest of the world, a one person operation of trains, even at the very high speed passenger trains, is abundantly standard.”

The American Association of Railroads cites a study published in 2021, by Oliver Wyman, that reports that accident data establishes “no safety-based justification for staffing a second crew-member in the locomotive cabin.” The data analyzed compared European railways, where it is common to have one individual operating the locomotive, to U.S. railways, and concluded there is no basis to say two-person crews are safer than one-person crews.

The recent crash has also reignited conversations about a requirement for trains to have electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes. In 2015, under the Obama administration, a safety rule was adopted requiring high-hazard flammable trains to install ECP brakes, which would allow them to brake faster. The regulation was repealed in 2018, after the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said the cost for the brakes wouldn’t outweigh the expected benefits, according to the Department of Transportation.

Buttigieg and other politicians, including Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, have urged Congress and the Biden administration to reinstate this rule. In an interview with The Washington Post, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy explained that, because the suspected cause of the

East Palestine derailment was due to an overheated wheelbearing, electronically controlled pneumatic brakes might have minimized damage but would not have prevented the crash altogether.

Although Homendy has publicly called out those turning the accident into a political issue, the focus from lawmakers has resulted in several bill proposals aimed at enhancing safety in the railroad industry. Just a month after the East Palestine derailment, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Railway Safety Act of 2023, co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown and Republican Senator J.D. Vance, both of Ohio, along with four other senators. Under the act, railroads would be required to create disaster plans as well as alert local emergency response agencies about hazardous materials traveling through their states, as opposed to only after an accident takes place. A requirement forcing crews to have two members is also a provision of the bill – something that is also called for by Buttigieg.

Limits set on train size and weight required to be set by regulators is also included in the bill, on top of increasing the maximum fine for safety violations that are enforced by the DOT. The requirements included in the bill mirror a number of the calls for improvement by Buttigieg.

Norfolk Southern has also faced scrutiny due to the wide placement of sensors that can warn a train crew about imminent derailments. Before the Norfolk Southern derailment, the train had passed several detectors placed on the tracks to sense overheated wheel-bearings. The train had not yet reached the town before the wheel-bearing overheated, causing the derailment.

The problem was that the train would have needed to travel another 20 miles before reaching another sensor. Reports indicated that an alarm sounded when temperatures reached critical levels, but when the crew hit the brakes, the wheelbearing broke and the train derailed from the tracks.

MSU’s Little said expanding the use of technology would help to improve safety by providing indications of when to take action before something actually breaks. Drawing a comparison to airplanes after recently traveling, he noted that the technology exists to continuously monitor the status of the craft.

“The airplane I traveled on had 400 people on board. It was a twin engine plane and each one of those engines has sensors in them that are continually relaying the status of the engine back to not only the pilot but also to the company that owns the plane, and also to the manufacturer of those engines so that you’ve got three sets of analyses taking place to determine when something is running out of tune,” Little said.

“You could draw a parallel with the same to the hot box detectors on the railway. The hot axel or hot bearing detectors don't have a current way of communicating details of every axel that passes them, then assessing those details against when that axel was last recorded passing over the detector so that you can actually see, ‘Oh, this one’s starting to increase in temperature. We should do something about it,’” he continued.

According to Nick Little, director of railway education at Michigan State University, research suggests that two-person crews may not have the intended effect on safety and preventing accidents. The American Association of Railroads (AAR) states that two-person crews for Class I freight railroads has recently been the industry practice for most over-the-road mainline operations.

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FACES

Jennifer Ross

After working in Los Angeles, entertainment and advertising attorney Jennifer Ross returned to Bloomfield Hills, where she currently lives with her husband and their two kids.

“One of the reasons we moved back was to raise our children here,” said Ross who owns Jennifer Ross Business Affairs (JRBA), also based in Bloomfield Hills.

Before branching out on her own, Ross worked with top advertising agencies, learning the intricacies of business affairs with clients like Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google and Nike. She served as general counsel and director of business affairs at Pitch, an ad agency in California, where she also worked with William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, among others.

Considered a national expert on legal compliance and licensing, Ross works with ad agencies, movie producers and entertainers. She is currently consulting with the estate of Steve Jobs in the development of the Steve Jobs Archive. Ross has also worked on Super Bowl commercials, clearing the rights for popular songs, negotiating with talent agencies and more.

Her creative path was clear from the start. “When I was young, I wanted to be an actor or an attorney,” said Ross, who studied film and musical theatre at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

After earning her MBA, she went to Southwestern Law School in LA, knowing she could do entertainment law and it would all come together where she might be a manager, agent or producer. “Business affairs is a culmination of all that and there was a program with SAG (Screen Actors Guild) where I was able to intern in their legal department. My first position was with William Morris Endeavor; that was my first jump and it stuck.

“I knew being a lawyer and advocating for others was in me already. It was about figuring out how to use that,” said Ross, whose experience made her realize she wanted more involvement in production. “It was not enough to stimulate my creative side.”

Turning to advertising affairs allowed Ross to work with the creative team on set at times. “I was very much engaged and that really fulfilled what I wanted to do,” she said.

Changing laws come with the territory, especially when it comes to social media platforms. “It’s always challenging and every day is not the same as the day before and every project is unique. That’s the fun part,” said Ross. “The challenging part is that you might not have a rule book, so you have to come with a bespoke approach.

“It’s a stressful industry in general and there are high stakes when things are public and you’re dealing with celebrities and all the nuances that come with that,” she said. “A Super Bowl commercial is a high-stress moment, but what an opportunity. I’m so blessed to do this work every day. I had to really fight for it in my career. Not many people get the opportunity to work in entertainment law.”

Now, Ross helps clients from Michigan, California and New York with their business and their creative process, including working with the Steve Jobs Archive on their licensing endeavors. “It's an absolute honor to work with their team and we are very excited for what is to come.”

Her husband, a content creator, is also from Michigan, but the two met in LA. “We made the leap and it’s been the best thing for us,” said Ross about their return. “We really work to be supportive of creators in Michigan and keep creative opportunities here.”

Story: Jeanine Matlow

Photo: Laurie Tennent

If you need any real estate assistance, please call, text or email me anytime. I work as both a buyers agent and as a listing agent and can assure you my best effort, honesty and integrity with 23 plus years of experience in the local market. If you choose to work with me, I will be your only point of contact, not a team of others.

Ethics board hears complaints on Host

By Lisa Brody

Birmingham City Manager Tom

Markus requested an advisory opinion from the city's ethics board on Tuesday, March 7, regarding actions taken by city commissioner Brad Host for his activities spreading personal opinions on social media, flyers, and other means on the city's master plan, with the ethics board recognizing that Host had perpetuated misinformation and rogue comments outside the proper channels of communication.

Chairperson James Robb noted at the beginning of the meeting that Markus was seeking an advisory opinion from the board, which is separate from a formal complaint. “It's designed to be advisory and it's not punitive. It's educational,” he explained. He further said they will convene at another open meeting to present their final decision.

Before Markus could begin, Jordan Bolton of Clark Hill, attorney for Host, requested a dismissal of the request, “unless or until there are social media policies, this board will struggle with a decision. There is no allegation that Mr. Host held himself out as a commissioner. In what way does this diminish a commissioner?”

Robb, along with board member John Schrot, noted they did not see any similarities to a previous case against commissioner Clinton Baller, and the request was denied.

Markus began noting that he had known Brad Host for years, that they had sons who had been in the same Boy Scouts group, “I've known him as a developer in the '90s of properties at Brown and Bates. Today it would be considered 'seams.' I've known him as a landlord, as a business operator. Mr. Host is well-known has a city commissioner. Both before I returned and after I came back, he was advised not to attend planning board meetings due to case law… He, as a commissioner, certainly carries more weight than a regular citizen. He did, and turned to other forms of communications. An acting commissioner cannot act as a competing fiduciary. Public officials must be aware their words could be misread.”

Markus' primary complaint was that since at least September of 2022 through the present time in Host's public statements, mail activities and social media posts as it relates to the Birmingham 2040 comprehensive

Jana Ecker named new city manager

By Grace Lovins

The Birmingham City Commission concluded a third round of interviews for three candidates looking to fill the city manager position during a special meeting on Monday, March 13, selecting current assistant city manager Jana Ecker to fill the role.

Current city manager Tom Markus will complete his term at the end of June.

Ecker has worked in the city of Birmingham for the last 21 years, originally serving as a city planner. She then moved to the positions of planning director, assistant city manager and interim executive director of the Birmingham Shopping District. She holds a bachelor’s degree in urban planning and environmental studies from University of Toronto as well as a bachelor of laws from University of Windsor. Ecker is a licensed attorney in Ontario and a licensed residential builder in the state of Michigan.

Commissioners all commented on their desire to select a candidate familiar with the city and its operations. Katie Schafer and Clinton Baller noted that Ecker stands out, and it is important to have someone who knows how the city works and who is going to stand up for the community.

Pierre Boutros shared that, from a business perspective, he tends to look inward unless there is substantial reason to consider outside of those with extensive knowledge about his company. “You’re not just dealing with operations and departments; you’re also listening to the people and what they want. Having someone who knows the community in and out, been here, engaged for 20 plus years, is a plus,” he said. Referencing the public’s responses recorded on Engage Birmingham relating to the candidates as well as the city staff’s survey, mayor Therese Longe noted that the commission’s views echo what staff and members of the community have shared.

“It seems like the feelings of the commission are in line with the feelings of the community on Engage Birmingham,” said Longe. “I would like to also point out that as our current city manager likes to say, part of being a good leader is having staff who want to be lead and who want to work with you. It’s very clear that the staff have great faith, respect and belief in Ms. Ecker, and while they were open to the other two candidates, had some more concerns about their readiness for leadership.”

After the commission concluded deliberations, commissioners voted 7-0 to select Ecker as the new city manager. The candidates were called into the meeting room and were briefed on what the body had discussed and informed of the commission’s decision.

City attorney Mary Kucharek was directed to negotiate terms of Ecker's employment contract, including salary and benefits, with Longe and mayor pro tem Elaine McLain overseeing the process.

master plan (“2040 Plan”), Host has been actively “advocating that the 2040 Plan calls for rezoning which is inaccurate and untrue.”

Markus stated that besides posting YouTube videos with mistruths, which Host said he had taken down, Host has also sent letters to residents' homes as well as emails furthering misinformation.

“Once again, it is of note,

Commissioner Host also does not ever state these are his personal opinions and not opinions of the commission or the city. Also, these mailings are not proper governmental channels. Once again, the proper channel is at the public commission meetings with the entire city commission. It is believed that as a result of Commissioner Host’s public agitation, that when the Planning Board was

planning its agenda for its January meeting, members of the Planning Board were so concerned about people’s reactions that members requested police presence at their meeting. Also, Commissioner Host appears to be influencing and attempting to craft a product i.e. the 2040 Plan, which will ultimately be delivered to him and his colleagues on the city commission. Again, he is one of the final arbiters of the 2040 Plan, yet he is attempting to influence the plan itself before it even reaches the commission table. Can his vote now be unbiased, independent and impartial?”

Robb asked Host if he understood the reasoning why he could not attend planning board meetings or disseminate information, and he answered, “Not really.”

Robb responded, “You may be called up to make a vote on a matter before an advisory board, it could influence a board, it puts you at risk of conflict of interest as one of the final arbiters.”

“It extends to all boards and committees,” Schrot said.

Robb asked him if he understood there would have to be rezoning. Host responded that he did.

“The neighborhoods were here before the metropolis,” he claimed. “I pulled the first three videos, put two more, I held two more. What more could I have done?” Robb said there are statements in all the videos that, “are just not true. Strictly speaking, that's an inaccurate statement.”

He asked Host who took the videos, and Host said a friend who shares his viewpoint. Robb asked him why he wasn't on camera instead of him. “I want to report to the people, that's why I was elected,” Host said. “I want to be seen in the kitchens, unlike my fellow commissioners.”

As Host continued to disparage the city's downtown, stating he only represented the neighborhoods, Markus countered, noting that the downtown is also a neighborhood, with many choosing to reside downtown, including himself.

Schrot made a point that while not every citizen may have voted for him, he has a fiduciary responsibility to represent every citizen. “They want you to come to a meeting with an open mind. Your impartiality – that is what the city manager is trying to point out. It's important you understand the integrity of city government and the public trust… You're a politician. That's your third hat. You're not free to undermine the public trust. You can't say your

Jana Ecker

Master plan draft heads to commission

By Grace Lovins

The Birmingham Planning Board voted to recommend approval of the city’s 2040 Master Plan to the commission at their meeting on Wednesday, March 8, moving the roughly four-year process one step closer to being complete.

City staff began the process in the fall of 2018, said planning director Nick Dupuis. Minor changes discussed at the last meeting after comments and suggestions were submitted by board members. Many of the changes were geared towards clarifying language and the categorization of land parcels in the plan’s land-use maps. Dupuis noted that the changes were implemented with the help of the consultants working on the plan.

During the board’s discussion, planning board member Daniel Share brought attention to three changes that were missed: advocating for slower speeds instead of including a specific speed limit; contemplating cooperation with various private organizations to strengthen the watershed instead of specifically mentioning a ‘Friends of the Rouge’ organization; and encouraging advancing sustainability through green building standards as opposed to requiring it.

The board concurred that they had agreed upon those changes and Dupuis said they will be included before the draft heads to the commission.

As was the case with the last meeting, numerous comments from the public were made opposing the categorization of the northeast corner of Lincoln and Eton streets as a commercial destination. Dupuis stated that the city had received around 40 comments after the meeting agenda was posted – with a majority regarding the northeast corner of Lincoln and Eton.

The corner is currently an open green space which, residents have explained, is used frequently by the families with children in the neighborhood. The draft of the master plan includes a land-use map which calls for the space to potentially be used as a commercial destination in the future. Many stated at the meeting on Wednesday night that they oppose any commercial destination on that property as there are several vacant properties in the rail district, and felt the board was not properly considering the public’s feedback.

Others noted that, if the space were to have a commercial use in the future, there is already a problem with parking in the area and the intersection is reportedly a nightmare when it comes to vehicles speeding and running through stop signs. One commenter noted that, while nothing is being rezoned, there is a prospect of getting rid of this park in the future when the plan states that park space is already limited.

“We don’t want to come back and fight this battle. It’s on a corner, lots of businesses would want that property … and we don’t want to go on for years trying to keep that a park,” she said.

Chairperson Scott Clein and board member Bryan Williams noted that the decision to keep the categorization of the corner was not unanimous, and that will be reflected in the minutes for the city commission to see before they make their decision.

“It is kind of hard after four years, when you sit in 40-some odd meetings with the public, to hear that the public was not involved, the residents weren’t involved, when, frankly, there are nine residents on this board who were involved in all 45 meetings,” Clein said.

“We’re not some outside consultants, we’re residents,” Clein continued. “The thing that I’d like to suggest, and that’s all it is, is there’s a very big difference between being ignored and being disagreed with, and I think that’s what we have here. When we are being tasked as people appointed by the city commission for our expertise … we’re here and tasked with providing our recommendations of what we feel is in the best interested of the entire city based on those principles.”

Following the board’s comments, Williams motioned to recommend approval to the city commission with the three minor changes highlighted by Share and the comments made by board members regarding the corner of Lincoln and Eton. Board members voted 7-0, with Jason Emerine and Nasseem Ramin voting in place of Robin Boyle and Stuart Jeffares who were absent. Several members of the public commented on their disapproval of the motion.

property will be rezoned, because that may not come to pass.”

In preliminary discussion for their decision, the three member board determined that the code of ethics applies to Host, “no doubt about it,” as Robb said, who will write the opinion.

Robb stated areas of focus are his misstatements; advocacy; rogue comments; to a lesser extent, attendance of comments at other meetings, as he has stopped that behavior; and the misuse of proper city channels.

“You cannot intentionally misrepresent the facts,” Schrot noted. “This partisan strife we have in this situation, if it's not just an effort by Mr. Host to engender more information on the 2040 Plan, and that's really not part of our government ethics, then the question is, where do we draw the line?”

Board member Sophie Fierro-Share noted, “To circumvent the normal channels is dangerous. I don't believe his behavior was malicious.”

Woodward coalition working with MDOT

By Lisa Brody

In late January, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) met with a coalition of Woodward Avenue communities, including Birmingham, to begin working on how to shift the roadway to a multi-modal future.

According to a memo written by Birmingham Assistant City Manager Jana Ecker, “In 2022, the city commission completed a strategic planning process and identified its priorities for strategic goals as community and sustainability. The first strategic goal adopted was to create an engaged and connected community, and the first priority outlined was to work to bridge the divide that Woodward Avenue creates in the city, and transform the Woodward environment. The recommended action associated with this goal was to create a coalition with Woodward corridor communities, seek partnerships with community groups and elected officials, and advocate the Michigan Department of Transportation (“MDOT”) for a transformational road diet.”

Multi-modal transportation is a safety oriented mission to shift from a strictly automobile-centric focus to one that is inclusive of biking, walking and other transit forms, is

equitable and inclusive, as well as works towards state carbon neutral goals. Local communities, such as Birmingham, Ferndale, Berkley and others have been seeking this effort for several years.

The communities involved in working with MDOT are Detroit, Highland Park, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Huntington Woods, Royal Oak, Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Pontiac – the full stretch along Woodward Avenue. Ecker noted that “In furtherance of this strategic goal, I am pleased to advise that a coalition of community leaders from Detroit, Highland Park, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Huntington Woods, Royal Oak, Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Pontiac has been established and meeting regularly to discuss our collective goals for the Woodward corridor. In addition, representatives from both SEMCOG and Oakland County have also attended to support the Woodward communities.”

On January 27, the coalition met with Interim Director of MDOT Brad Wieferich to share their concerns and collaborate with MDOT to implement both short term and long term changes to transform the corridor.

Among the points presented were that Woodward is a key corridor in metro Detroit, and it segments several historic downtowns, acting as “Main Street” in numerous communities.

For the coalition, there is a sense of urgency to not just plan changes to Woodward – but to implement them for the corridor as a whole. The coalition seeks to work together on a corridor plan, even though several communities have worked on plans independently.

Among key elements, “Woodward communities would like any plan to use best practices in multi-modal transportation and urban planning, and to consider a complete road diet analysis for the entire corridor understanding that Woodward is a main street, not a highway. Woodward communities request that MDOT shift transportation analysis away from current vehicle centric, vehicle level of service analysis to a comprehensive multi-modal analysis for Woodward Avenue and other road projects in urban areas, and consider sustainability and environmental goals in transportation planning (such as state carbon neutral goals).

Ecker reported the next meeting of the coalition is expected to be in early March.

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City approves new RH final site plan

By Grace Lovins

Construction of the new four-story Restoration Hardware (RH) building at 300 S. Old Woodward Avenue in Birmingham will resume after the city commission approved the final site plan and special land use permit on Monday, February 27, for the building’s new design.

Back in December, construction of the development was halted after RH and its architects decided to change the design plans. This sent RH back to the city’s planning board, which approved the new site plan on December 14, 2022. Victor Saroki of Saroki Architecture told the planning board at that time that the design was essentially the same with a few modifications.

The new plan shows a change in the building’s orientation, rotated 180 degrees with the restaurant and terrace on the fourth floor now facing S. Old Woodward to the east instead of the west. Part of this modification included the moving of two large pillars from the front of the building to the back, which also allows for more visibility looking in, said Saroki. According to Birmingham Planning Director Nick Dupuis, the development will still have one level of underground parking, however the number was bumped up from providing 24 spaces to 26 spaces.

On top of the change in orientation, the design included a new exterior look made up of tan brick and clear glazing. The storefront glazing has between 58 and 62 percent for three different sides facing Daines Street, S. Old Woodward and Brown Street, but the city requires 70 percent. RH was able to obtain a variance for the three sides as well as a variance to illuminate building identification signage.

“We’re very excited about the new design, the new direction,” Saroki said. “This is going to cost a lot more money, but it is a beautiful and elegant design, and it is in the spirit of where RH is going as a company.”

Mayor Therese Longe noted that the comments made by the commission back in 2021 about the sensitivity to parking in the neighborhoods still stand. “We are thrilled for this development, but we

do not want it to be a burden to the surrounding neighborhoods,” she said. The commission voted 4-1 to approve the final site plan and special land use permit.

Commissioner Brad Host voted against the motion, citing his frustration with the deficit of parking in the city. He explained there was a significant waiting list for cars for the Pierce and Peabody parking decks, however Longe refuted that, saying the wait list is for monthly parking permits, not transient or daily spaces.

Commissioners Clinton Baller and Katie Schafer were absent.

Township approves aerial fire truck

The Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees on Monday, February 27 approved the purchase of a $1.7 million, 100-foot tall aerial platform truck to be added to the stable of firefighting vehicles.

Bloomfield Township Fire Chief John Leroy said the truck’s tower is 25-feet taller than any other ladder truck currently operated by the township, and includes an enclosed platform or “bucket,” rather than a traditional ladder that firefighters climb. The apparatus also utilizes an oxygen feed and thermal imaging.

“This is a state-of-the-art tower truck,” he said.

The truck will take 33-35 months to construct and deliver. Leroy said by ordering the truck prior to March 14, the township will avoid an eightpercent price increase, or roughly $142,000 in additional costs.

The board unanimously agreed to dedicate $1,783,487 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to purchase the truck. Those funds are federal relief funds intended to help offset costs from the COVID 19 pandemic incurred by local governments. The township was approved for about $3 million in ARPA funds, which must be dedicated to projects before 2025, and spent by 2026.

Bloomfield Township Supervisor Dani Walsh said none of the funds will be spent prior to receiving the truck, with the bill due at the time of delivery.

“We don’t have to put anything down right now. We just have to order it and lock in the price,” she said.

Bloomfield Hills drainage reviewed

By Kevin Elliott

Heavy rainfall, storms and flooding will be more frequent in the future, leading to more potential drainage problems – and opportunities for mitigation – in residential neighborhoods like Bloomfield Hills, according to consultants working with the city to help improve residential drainage issues.

James Burton, vice president of Hubbell Roth & Clark (HRC) consulting engineers, recommended on Tuesday, March 14, to Bloomfield Hills city commissioners at their meeting to consider the creation of a policy that incorporates drainage requirements into residential site development and construction.

“Rainfall is getting more frequent, more intense every year out there. What used to be a 100-year storm is now a 25-year storm,” Burton said. “We are going to see more and more flooding, more and more regularly throughout this community and every community. It’s what’s happening out there.”

The commission requested Hubbell, Roth & Clark review the city’s current drainage requirements of residential lot development to determine if further requirements are needed as part of the process. The request was part of the commission’s 2023 city goals.

Under the city’s National Discharge Elimination System permit for releasing stormwater pollutants, the city is required to enforce stormwater standards for development projects. As the city’s stormwater consultant, HRC recommends stormwater management improvements. However, additional requirements to the city’s grading ordinance, Burton said, would help mitigate drainage impacts in single-family areas.

Burton recommended the city institute requirements for more unconventional projects, as a way to begin the process. Those projects could include lot split applications; landscape open space variance requests; accessory structure and building applications; and for projects such as sports courts or pools that generate runoff during rain events.

Further, he recommended the city encourage developments to incorporate measures to help reduce the impact of stormwater runoff, such as rain gardens, bioswales, French drains, leaching basins, and dry wells. Additionally, he said the city should require such measures be maintained to ensure their effectiveness.

“If you don’t maintain these things, they aren’t going to do any good after a while, so we have to make sure homeowners are maintaining, and we have the ability to do that,” he said. “How we do that is to meet with code enforcement, the city attorney and city manager, and go through that.”

City commissioner Sarah McClure said the city should also be looking at large redevelopments, where the footprint of a home is increased by several thousand square feet, thus creating more impervious surface.

“With a lot split, we wouldn’t know the purpose of what they are going to put on the lot, and what the requirement would be,” she said.

Burton and commissioners discussed the possibility of establishing volumetric requirements for certain types of developments.

“If the average sports court generates an average of say, 5,000 gallons (of runoff), then I would make the requirement that they provide mitigation for 5,00 gallons,” he said. “A pool or structure may require x gallons.”

“So if someone is building a sports court or pool or patio, or whatever – you want something in (the ordinance) that says they are required to put in drainage,” commissioner Susan McCarthy asked. “For example, we had a resident who expanded their house, and then wanted a pool and a pickleball court, and we never addressed drainage. I don’t see a problem saying if you put ‘this’ thing in, you need ‘this.’”

McClure questioned how to determine volumetric requirements, and that the process seems to be overly complicated, which may dissuade residents from complying.

The discussion ended without a formal motion, but with an agreement from HRC to incorporate the discussion into revised recommendations and further discussion.

Trustees review historic discrimination

By Kevin Elliott

Seventy-five years after discriminatory housing restrictions were prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1968, a plethora of Bloomfield Township property deeds retain exclusionary language that is now illegal to enforce.

On Monday, February 27, Bloomfield Township Clerk Martin Brook informed the public how property owners and property associations may formally address and abolish such language through a state law that recently went into effect.

“An example of such language would be: ‘neither the whole nor any part of the premises shall be at any time let, leased or rented to, or permitted to be occupied by any person or persons other than gentiles of the caucasian race; except that this covenant shall not prevent occupancy by domestic servants of a different race or nationality employed by the owner or tenant,’” Brook said.

“That’s an example of language that was placed in deed restrictions by developers and builders throughout the United States from the late 1910s to the late 1940s. That is a restriction that exists in this township. And there are others. I have reviewed many, many of them throughout the township.”

The law, the Discharge of Prohibited Covenants Act, was approved and went into effect in December of 2022. While such restrictions are illegal to enforce, the language still exists in many property records.

Brook, who first studied the issue three decades ago as a law student at the University of Michigan, said such restrictions exist throughout metro Detroit and most major American cities. However, because of the difficulty in removing restrictions from deeds, such language remains today, albeit unenforceable and illegal.

“In 1917, the U.S. Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional to have a zoning ordinance that discriminates in this way,” Brook said. “But people who have hate in their hearts and discrimination on their minds looked for other ways to implement their ideas, and restrictive covenants, which are contractual agreements, which started sprouting up throughout the country.”

In 1926, the Supreme Court found the agreements, which were private deed agreements and property association restrictions, were private agreements and permitted, enshrining the discriminatory practice into law. And, while local governments couldn’t enforce the agreements after 1948, it wasn’t illegal for private persons to simply refuse to sell property for discriminatory reasons, Brook said.

Under the new law, a property owner and/or homeowner or propertyowner association, can discharge discriminatory language from deeds and association restrictions or covenants. Prior to the new law, such changes were difficult to achieve.

“It doesn’t fix what happened before, but it’s a statement about where we stand today on the issue,” Brook said, encouraging township residents and property associations to investigate whether such language exists in their records.

Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown said online property records in Oakland County are available to 1964, while most prohibited deed restrictions were made prior to the 1950s. Property owners and associations may contact the Oakland County Clerk’s Office at 248.858.5697 to request a records search be conducted.

Brown said most deeds won’t include the actual language, rather a reference to former deed restrictions, requiring a search of the original plat or deed records.

“In removing or abolishing the language, there are two choices: you can record the form by itself, or attach the original paperwork,” Brown said. “In other words, we aren’t whiting out the langauge. We aren’t whitewashing history. It’s still there, but this acknowledges the language and that it is already un-enforceable.”

Trustee Neal Barnett said the home he purchased in Bloomfield Township was built in the 1920s, and included several discriminatory restrictions prohibited today.

“The language in there was so offensive, it was disgusting — but they sold it to me anyway,” Barnett said. “However, I don’t like to see it out there, and this is another step to make sure that it’s not condoned, and that people realize that this is not acceptable.”

Township approves 2023-24 budget

By Kevin Elliott

The Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees on Monday, March 13, unanimously approved the township’s 2023-24 fiscal year budget, which includes about $26.3 million in general fund revenues, or an increase of about 5.8 percent from the previous fiscal year.

The fiscal year budget runs from July 1 to June 30, with the budget required to be approved by March 31 of each year.

Increased revenue to the township’s general fund follows a 7.2 percent increase in overall taxable value in the township, reaching an estimated $4.79 billion for the 2023-24 fiscal year. At the same time, the budget includes about $26.31 million in general fund expenditures, a decrease of about 5.5 percent from the previous year.

Bloomfield Township Director of Assessing Darrin Kraatz advised the board and the public the township would realize an increase in tax revenue, and is required to notify the public, under the state’s Truth in Taxation law.

“We are indeed going to be collecting more money this year than we did last year. There’s no doubt about it,” Kraatz said. “I’m estimating now at about 12.6 mills overall. That includes some of the things we collect here for library debt and those types of things.”

Kraatz said the township’s general operating millage, which is capped at 10 mills, is likely to be set at 9.85 mills. He said actual millages will be set prior to the December tax statements, with approval from the board of trustees later this year.

This year’s budget includes revenues from a 3.89 mill public safety millage approved in August by voters. The millage replaces two public safety millages totaling 3.2879 mills. The approved budget includes the addition of five positions at the police department, including two sergeants, two patrol officers and an animal welfare officer. Additions at the township’s fire department include an operations officer and three firefighters/EMS positions.

Bloomfield Township Finance Director Jason Theis said the budget includes bringing back 17 full-time positions across the township, some that have been vacant for many years. Other positions include two within the Water and Sewer Department; a Senior Services Recreation Coordinator; two

Restaurants in violation of liquor code

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham city commissioners conducted the annual review of liquor licenses granted to various establishments at their meeting on Monday, February 27, approving the renewal of most business’ licenses and setting a public hearing to consider whether commissioners want to file objections for four establishments found in violation of city code.

After 220 Merrill restaurant was removed from the list of those found in violation, 37 establishments in the city were up for renewal of a liquor license. Without deliberation, the five commissioners present unanimously voted to approve the renewal of everyone on the list with the exception of La Strada Kitchen and Bar.

Mayor Therese Longe pulled La Strada Kitchen and Bar from the initial list of businesses ready for approval, citing her husband’s business relationship with the restaurant. She recused herself from the vote, and mayor pro tem Elaine McLain continued the meeting. The four commissioners then unanimously approved the renewal of La Strada’s license.

Four establishments were found in violation of the city’s code: Casa Pernoi, Whole Foods Market, Toast and Bistro Joe’s, found inside Papa Joe’s. According to Birmingham Police Chief Scott Grewe, the department has a minor that works with the department, going around to various establishments that sell liquor to see if they check ID’s. All four were caught selling alcohol to this minor and were issued citations and informed they need to take corrective action.

While there was no follow-up that these establishments need to complete with the police department, they will each have the opportunity to present any corrective action they’ve implemented to the commission during an upcoming public hearing, said city attorney Mary Kucharek. From there, it’s up to the city commission's discretion if they wish to file an objection with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.

Before putting the action to a vote, commissioner Andrew Haig noted that Toast has been found in violation of their special land use permit agreement on multiple occasions, noting it seems to indicate a certain pattern of behavior. According to assistant city manager Jana Ecker, the restaurant has repeatedly added several seats to the interior and has been reprimanded, only to add more seats and be reprimanded again. Kucharek noted the commission will have the chance to bring this up during the public hearing as well.

Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the renewal of liquor licenses for all establishments minus La Strada Kitchen and Bar and set a public hearing for March 27 to consider if the commission will file objections for the renewal of the four establishments found in violation.

Commissioners Clinton Baller and Katie Schafer were absent.

positions in the assessing department; an elections specialist; a township engineer; and an ordinance officer. The approved budget also includes a contractual two percent increase to full-time wages.

Despite the approval of additional positions and increased wages, board members were urged to consider further measures to help attract and retain employees as inflation and competitive wages trend upward.

Bloomfield Township Treasurer Brian Kepes in January urged fellow board members to consider how the township could provide incentives to employees.

“My statutory responsibility as

treasurer is to safeguard the assets of the community, and clearly one of the most significant assets is the township’s workforce,” Kepes said at a January 30 study session regarding the budget. “I think our residents and taxpayers expect Bloomfield to attain the highest return on its investments. Our workforce shows up on the financial statements as an expense, but interestingly not on the balance sheet as an asset. To derive the best long-term value qualitatively and financially from our workforce asset we need to continue to invest in it.”

Kepes at that time noted that since 2020, all township employees are covered by union contracts. Those

contracts, he said, are primarily sixyear labor agreements providing specific wage grades and an average 2.5 percent annual wage increase. However, many previous agreements included merit or longevity bonuses, or opportunity for wage increases within each pay grade. The process, he said, allowed the township to attract the best employees.

Considering recent economic and employment trends, as well as the length of the labor agreements, at six years, Kepes suggested the township lacks the ability to adapt to labor trends and attract and keep employees.

“We now need a mechanism or place-saver in this budget to provide for merit and/or STEP increases within the pay grades, and/or bonuses so we can continue to attract and retain the best employees,” Kepes said in January. “I’m really concerned that we have a six-year agreement and we really do not have the ability or mechanism, and haven’t discussed it. … I think we need something in this year’s budget so we don’t wait three more years until the new contract because by that time, I’m really fearful that we will not be able to retain some of our people in any way.”

The discussion in January was stifled, as the township’s attorney recommended discussing the issue in closed session, as it could relate to existing labor agreements and collective bargaining.

Township Supervisor Dani Walsh in January said there was a lack of agreement on the subject.

“I know when we did the millages, we definitely put out that we weren’t raising the millage to give raises, so this is a touchy subject which obviously there’s not 100 percent consensus,” Walsh said at the study session, adding several times that the issue wasn’t raised by employees.

On Monday, March 13, prior to approving the budget, the board met in closed session to “discuss negotiating a strategy of a collective bargaining agreement.” Walsh said prior to the closed session discussion, that it must come prior to the budget hearing, as it could impact the final figures being considered.

Upon exiting the closed session and considering the budget on Monday, Kepes expressed hesitation about approving the budget.

“I am concerned with the budget,” he said. “I have always been one that has approved the budget, but we have had some lengthy discussions about the budget and about some policy issues,” Kepes said. “I guess I’m very ambivalent towards approving

something I think doesn’t include certain policies that I think are crucial to the longstanding health and strength of the township.”

Despite his reservations, Kepes said he had faith in the board to come together, rather than obstructing approval.

“I guess I’m quite frankly conflicted because I do have a desire to be supportive. I’m going to take a leap of faith in the board and support the budget,” he said. “My leap of faith is that this board, this year, is going to work and resolve in a way that demonstrates that the policy for this year is enacted. I understand it can’t be done in two weeks, or before March 31, so I’m going to trust, reluctantly, and support the board. I’m looking to each and every board member here to act on what we discussed, so the issues we discussed are reflected by the end of the year in the budget.

“I think we all know what I’m saying, and are working and looking to act in good faith.”

The board voted unanimously to approve the 2023-24 budget as presented. A full digital copy of the budget is available at

https://charter_township-bloomfieldmi-budget-book.cleargov.com/.

Improvements to golf course set

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham city commissioners approved a contract award for tee hole and cart path improvements at Lincoln Hills golf course, at 2666 West 14 Mile Road, on Monday, March 13, awarding the contract to Jacklyn Contracting, LLC.

City engineer Melissa Coatta explained that the first hole tee box and cart path required urgent improvements due to existing conditions. There are currently issues with cracks in the cart path from tree roots and the slope needs to be adjusted. The retaining walls on the hill where the first hole is located also needs to be replaced on top of issues with the existing handrails and staircase.

After incidences had occurred along the cart path in the fall of 2022, said Coatta, the city conducted a site visit at the end of October. After staff had visited the site, the cart path and

staircase were closed off. Commissioners awarded the professional engineering service to Nowak and Fraus Engineers in November of last year to design the plans and specifications for the bids. This took place between December 2022 to February.

Two bids for the contract were received by the city on Thursday, March 9, from Jacklyn Construction, LLC and Vettese Brothers Enterprise Corporation. Jacklyn Construction had the lower bid between the pair, bidding $898,469, and was selected by city staff to be awarded the contract.

Improvements to the tee box include the removal of an existing tree and the installation of one new retaining wall in place of the current two separate walls for each tee. A new retaining wall will also be installed just south of the pond to help ease the slope of the cart path, which will be placed towards the east with a maximum slope of eight percent. Coatta says restoration will include locations with “no mow” to have more native planting.

The project is considered to be an urgent repair and if the construction

is held off there is the potential for an uncontrolled failure of the retaining wall, according to Coatta. Completing the improvements also reduces liability and the risk to users.

Construction is expected to be completely finished by June 30.

The improvements total more than the golf course clubhouse renovations, noted commissioner Clinton Baller, but this is the most appropriate course of action due to the danger of a potential collapse and the current slope of the path, explained city manager Tom Markus. Coatta and Markus both said that staff had reviewed multiple alternatives – moving the cart path to different spots – to try and lower the cost of the project, but determined this was the best way to go in terms of cost and decreasing the cart path slope.

Commissioners voted 7-0 to approve the construction budget and award the contract to Jacklyn Construction. The contract was awarded for $898,469, with a five percent contact contingency requested by staff for a total not to exceed $943,392.45.

Township to receive added road funding

By Kevin Elliott

Bloomfield Township will receive a four percent increase in the county funds it receives for residential road maintenance for the 2023-24 fiscal year under an agreement approved on Monday, March 13, by the township’s board of trustees.

Under state law, the Oakland County Road Commission (RCOC) is responsible for residential roads in the township, while major roads fall under the county and/or state jurisdiction. As such, Bloomfield Township maintains an annual maintenance agreement with the RCOC to conduct some maintenance service on residential roads for which the RCOC provides funding.

Major roadways, such as Telegraph, Woodward, Square Lake, Maple and Franklin are the responsibility of the RCOC and the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Bloomfield Township Department

of Public Works Superintendent Paul Horen said the agreement allows the township to receive funds from the county for maintenance the township conducts on residential roads. That includes emergency maintenance, such as pot holes, fallen trees, drain clean-outs, joint sealing, sealing and overlay work.

The 2023-24 agreement includes an increase of four percent from the 2022-23 agreement, raising the amount from $756,245 to $786,569. Horen said the agreement has traditionally included an annual of increase of two percent paid to the township.

Bloomfield Township Trustee Neal Barnett asked whether the increase will go toward pot holes and other needs in residential areas.

“Yes, this is for what we can get to and fix nearly immediately that doesn't require engineering plans,” Horen said. “The county does pavement replacement and major work. The goal is to provide a high level of service to the residents, immediately. So they don’t have to wait long for maintenance that should be quick.”

Horen said residents can report potholes in residential areas of the township by calling the Bloomfield Township Department of Public Works at 248.594.2800 or emailing road@twp.org. Residents may also fax the department at 248.594.2810.

Bloomfield Township Public Works Director Noah Mehalski said the township has already started working on pot holes and tree clearing from recent storms.

“We get about $700,000 from the RCOC, and we put in another $3 million (for local road work), as well,” Mehalski said. “This week what that looks like after the last couple of storms is that we have over 200 trees that are in some form of pick up at this point. That’s not work in the agreement, but an added value that we provide. When we partner with the RCOC, they see us as someone who brings nearly $4 million to the table. That breeds a partnership with them because they see we are bringing cash to the table as far as our road system.”

Board members unanimously approved the agreement.

Planning board studies B1 zoning

By Grace Lovins

The owner of the former Grapevine Market, located at 100 West 14 Mile at Pierce Street in Birmingham, has applied for an ordinance amendment to expand the possible uses for buildings zoned in the B1 Business Neighborhood District, leading Birmingham’s planning board to hold a second study session on Wednesday, March 8, examining the proposed added uses and providing planning staff with next steps.

B1 uses, per the meeting’s packet, are for the convenience of shopping for persons in adjacent residential areas to permit only such uses as are necessary to satisfy limited basic shopping and/or service needs, which are not related to the shopping pattern of the general business district. Additional uses proposed under the amendment include health club/studio, specialty food store, boutique, bank, food and beverage, and fast casual/café. Banks are already allowed in B1 zones but have

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not been explicitly stated in the ordinance.

Planning board members spent the session reviewing the definitions of food and beverage, specialty food store, and health club/studio. Board members were apprehensive about the possibility of including health club/studio as a B1 use given the potential for the club to become a destination, not a business meant for the convenience of the neighborhood in the area, and the demand for parking in studios offering things like yoga or pilates classes.

“I’m more concerned with classes like that because in 1,500 square feet you can fit well more than 20 people doing yoga, and like Bert [Koseck] described, on the hour when it changes there’s 20 people waiting to come into that space. I think it’s a slippery slope for health studios. We have a lot of other locations throughout the city where health studios are,” said board member Janelle Boyce.

Senior planner Brooks Cowan explained that the specialty food store definition was created in 2015 along with the TZ3 zones – locations such as Prima Piatti Market and Simply Good are considered specialty food stores. These uses don’t allow for indoor dining but carry-out service, Cowan said. The board was unclear on how they would distinguish between a grocery store, specialty food store and a full-service restaurant, and agreed that they would need to consider what uses they would be okay with given they don’t want to open the door for national chains to operate in these areas.

Multiple board members also had problems with the inclusion of food and beverage as an added use. Food and beverage, said Cowan, would be a fullservice restaurant with wait staff and a one-per-75 parking requirement. Board member Daniel Share suggested that staff could find a way to limit the size or the number of tables related to size to keep the use limited for the neighbors, giving Holiday Market as an example.

The rest of the board agreed that Holiday Market is a restaurant use and they’re concerned about it being in the B1 district. Share offered that the amendment could include an ancillary or accessory use which, chairperson Scott Clein then suggested, could be subject to a special land use permit.

Michael Vogt, attorney representing the applicant, offered his opinion on the board’s discussion. According to Vogt, potentially adding a special land use permit condition could become a big hurdle for the mom-and-pop type

Outdoor dining rules need more time

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham city commissioners voted to table the discussion of the city’s outdoor dining ordinance proposal on Monday, February 27, after city staff requested more time to tighten the ordinance language.

Planning staff have been working on an outdoor dining ordinance for nearly three years, after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The planning board held three public hearings throughout 2022 on multiple drafts. On December 14 of last year, the planning board moved forward with recommending approval of the latest draft to the city commission.

At the commission’s previous meeting on Monday, February 18, commissioners requested several changes to the ordinance language, ultimately voting 6-0 and directing staff to make appropriate changes. They also moved to postpone a decision until Monday night’s meeting.

Planning staff presented the suggested resolution for the commission to table consideration of the ordinance. Planning director Nick Dupuis explained that staff would like a little more time before commissioners see the final draft.

“We want to make sure that we take a step back and take our time with this one. We do feel like it’s a very important distinction here – the discussions that we had and the direction we were given, specifically between public property use and private use,” Dupuis sad. “We want to make sure it’s very tight and clearly written. We want it to be legally sound and we want to be able to protect the health, safety and welfare.”

Dupuis and city attorney Mary Kucharek estimated the end of March to be a rough time frame for when commissioners will see the final draft. Because the ordinance language will be changed, the commission will need to hold a public hearing again, said Kucharek.

Commissioners voted 5-0 to adopt a resolution to table discussions. Commissioners Clinton Baller and Katie Schafer were absent.

businesses that the applicant intends to have in the building. He agreed with the board’s idea that a café or specialty food store definition would serve well to keep out national chains, and he thinks the idea of dividing the spaces up per the building code to regulate the space could help resolve potential parking issues.

Board members gave direction to planning staff to look at a dining component as an accessory use –potentially subject to a special land use permit – creating a definition for cafés, and dive into how the amendment could regulate the spaces.

Gormley set as new public safety director

By Kevin Elliott

Recently appointed Bloomfield Hills Public Safety Director Jeff Gormley and two department captains were recognized Tuesday, March 14, by city leaders and staff during the Bloomfield Hills City Commission meeting.

Gormley, who joined the department in 1998, and most recently served as captain and detective lieutenant, replaces former public safety director Noel Clason, who retired from the director position at the end of 2022.

Public safety staff, relatives and family filled the city commission room at the meeting as Bloomfield Hills City Manager David Hendrickson introduced Gormley.

“Jeff certainly has a lot of support here, and a lot of support in the community,” he said.

City commissioners in September approved working with the Michigan Municipal League to conduct an executive search for the position, which oversees police and fire operations in the city. Hendrickson said there were several qualified candidates, but the commission chose Gormley as the best suited for the job.

“I think Jeff brings a thoughtful and measured approach to what he does, and he is certainly appreciated by all the staff,” Hendrickson said. “While going through the process, we got a lot of letters of support from residents, but we didn’t let the commission know that at the time because we have to look at each candidate. I believe Jeff was the best candidate, and the commission believes Jeff is the best candidate.”

Also recognized at the meeting for promotions were Bloomfield Hills Captain Dustin Lockard and Captain Tom VanSimaeys, who were promoted from lieutenant positions. Both started as dispatchers with the department

and worked their way up through the ranks.

“I’m very humbled and thankful to have the opportunity to lead the department through the challenges we face today in our society, and take care of this wonderful city,” Gormley said. “I have great officers and command staff, and they are the backbone of the department. I’m happy to have them behind me.”

Possible closure of Square Lake ramp

Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) held a meeting regarding a potential highway ramp closure in Bloomfield Township on Monday, February 27, at Centerpoint Marriott, as well as rebuilding Square Lake Road from Woodward to I-75.

This project involves rebuilding the I-75 Business Loop, which is Square Lake Road, from Woodward Avenue to I-75 in Bloomfield Township, and the cities of Pontiac and Bloomfield Hills in Oakland County. As part of the project, the Square Lake Road ramp to eastbound I-75 is being studied for removal.

In an email to the community, Bloomfield Township Supervisor Dani Walsh wrote, “Due to concerns of delays to motorists, delays for emergency and public safety vehicle response times, an increase of drivers cutting through neighborhoods, and installation of unsightly large towers/poles, I did not give township approval on this project.”

She further wrote that triggered the requirement that MDOT provide a public meeting to hear directly from the residents and business owners who will all be affected by changes in the area.

“There were other options provided by MDOT that did not include removing the Square Lake ramp. These higher cost options are not included in their final plan,” Walsh wrote. She also said she requested a public meeting after work hours when all residents and business owners could attend.

According to MDOT, the project also includes replacing the pavement, improving storm sewer, ramp improvements at the Opdyke Road interchange, and safety improvements. Walsh wrote, “In addition to the removal of the ramp, there are suggested communication towers/poles that the administration also does not currently support. The suggestions measure up to 100 feet tall and will be unsightly in our area.”

Currently, the project is scheduled for 2024.

FACES

Adnan Khan

There’s so much that happens during a student’s senior year of high school: applying to colleges, figuring out their next steps, going to dances and football games for the last time. In the case of Bloomfield Hills' Adnan Khan – a senior at International Academy –there’s been one pretty special additional bonus that has happened during his senior year, too. He has been selected as a U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Candidate.

“I think it was a very humbling and surprising nomination for me,” he said. “It kind of put it into perspective how I'm actually making a difference in my community, and that's something that I really hold in high regard.”

The scholars program focuses on selecting high school seniors on the basis of academic achievement –including outstanding performances on the SAT or ACT –and community involvement. It’s regarded as one of the highest honors a graduating high school senior can achieve.

And it doesn’t end with just the selection as a candidate. Khan could become one of the students who are announced as the 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholar representing Michigan, a list that narrows down the candidates to only a few students from each state.

“The application was due at the beginning of last month. So now that it's completed, I think it's still pending. It didn't give us an ETA on when the result will be released,” Khan said. “But I'm still waiting and hoping for the best.”

Khan isn’t sure who nominated him, but after speaking with him, it’s easy to see why he was nominated.

He’s not only been successful academically at International Academy, but is on the board at his school for clubs including Future Business Leaders of America and the Investment Club. He’s been a competitive fencer since middle school, where he was not only named First Team Academic All-American, which helped him overcome a physical deficiency when he was younger. Khan is musically talented as well, playing the violin since the sixth grade, and has played with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensemble at Interlochen Arts Academy, and all four years at International Academy with the symphony orchestra.

There’s one more extracurricular that is near and dear to his heart: CanDoAble, the non-profit he founded during his sophomore year of high school. CanDoAble works locally with children of resettled refugees in the Detroit area, as well as in Khan’s hometown in South India, working with blind children and giving them experimental technology to increase independence and future financial security. Khan has plans to expand their efforts domestically moving forward.

This work with CanDoAble recently got Khan nominated for an international award for youth leaders as well.

International Academy –which has an International Baccalaureate curriculum –is heavily focused on applying what students learn in the real world and volunteering, all playing a large role in the type of student, and person, Khan’s become.

“Everyone in my school is very similar minded to me, and we value community efforts and volunteering very highly,” he said. “I think just being around like-minded people has been pretty motivational and beneficial to me.”

Khan is currently waiting on college acceptance letters –he’s planning on being a business major as well as also taking some pre-med classes –and plans to make a decision soon. But no matter where he goes, his future seems quite bright.

Story: Dana Casadei

Photo: Laurie Tennent

Community reacts to assembly issue

By Lisa Brody

At a hastily called special meeting of the Bloomfield Hills Schools Board of Education on Monday, March 20, hundreds of parents, students and members of the community turned out to relay their fears, anger and disappointment in the school administration, following a diversity assembly at Bloomfield Hills High School on Tuesday, March 13, which featured a noted anti-Israeli Palestinian speaker who made statements calling Israel an apartheid state, “an oppressor,” as well as denying Israel's existence.

The board explained to the crowd the purpose of the special meeting was to discuss student attendance, student safety and next steps in light of the previous week's diversity assembly.

“We have heard you. As a board, we want to emphasize our commitment to building bridges,” said board vice president Siva Kumar, acting as president as Michelle Southward was not available.

While many Jewish parents and students described anger at the antisemitism espoused by Palestinian activist Huwaida Arraf at four separate assemblies despite complaints, Muslim and Arab parents and students felt they were being victims of Islamophobia as they felt Arraf “was truthfully presenting her side of the story working on behalf of Palestinians and her remarks were pertinent to the topic...The school district alienated the Muslim and Arab population and exposed them to increased risk, retaliation and bullying,” according to a letter written by the Muslim Unity Center.

Bloomfield Hills Schools Superintendent Pat Watson was asked by the board what attendance has been at the high school since the assembly, and he responded it was 90.3 percent.

Watson said an increased number of counselors have been in the schools, there is an increased presence of Bloomfield Township police, more therapy dogs on campus, “and we're spending a lot of time in listening circles. The goal is to meet students where they are.”

Watson did acknowledge there has been a significant increase in incidents of hate, which they are following up utilizing the student code of conduct policy, first instituted two years ago. He said in less than a week since the assembly, there had been 17 incidents of hate reported, one of which so far has been turned over to the police resource officer. He said it had to do with a social media posting.

“Anything intended to do harm is turned over to police,” he explained.

Watson said they have additional administrators now dealing with incidents. “When there's something to do with harm, it's pretty direct.” He said the administrator working on the case makes the determination on suspension and expulsion.

Parents and board members were disturbed to hear a long-range plan may not be in place until sometime in April.

“A week and a half is like a million years to students,” said board member Paul Kolin.

Board member Carolyn Noble made a motion for the board to obtain independent counsel to allow them to “stop pointing fingers at the administration. We need a strategic plan for the board.”

John VanGemert, board secretary, responded he understood the board already has their own attorney. A final decision will be made at a later date.

Public comment lasted for well over two hours, as the board heard from female Islamic students wearing hijabs who said they have been threatened “with being hung by their hijabs.”

A former Bloomfield Hills middle school student noted, “People are fearful. Parents are fearful of sending their students to school, and students are fearful of speaking out.”

A recurrent refrain from speakers was that students and the community, which has long been diverse, had gotten along for years until this assembly, and school principal Lawrence Stoughter and diversity director Margaret Schultz had not reacted well to the situation, creating disharmony and anger. Many were distraught at the responses by Stoughter and Watson.

“Before you had someone in charge of diversity, we didn't have these problems, we didn't have these problems. Maybe that's where the problem is,” said one speaker.

“We have more hate from having the assemblies than if we hadn't,” said another.

As for antisemitism and Islamophobia instruction, “It's not our job to educate the DEI supervisor,” noted another parent. “If the person doesn't know any better and needs to be educated, they need to be removed.”

EDUCATION

Anti-Israel speaker roils high school

By Lisa Brody

A noted anti-Israeli Palestinian speaker at a diversity assembly at Bloomfield Hills High School on Tuesday, March 13, who made statements calling Israel an apartheid state, “an oppressor,” as well as denying Israel's existence, has left many Jewish students and others in the community upset and uncomfortable, with the school district seemingly unsure initially how to respond.

Superintendent Pat Watson responded on Thursday, March 16, following community turmoil, as school was ending, beginning in a letter to Bloomfield Hills students, staff and the community, “We made a mistake.”

The letter went on to apologize for allowing a conversation “that was not appropriate in a school setting.”

According to reports, a diversity group comprised of sophomores and juniors at the school, with the assistance of a faculty advisor, invited speakers to a diversity assembly for 10th graders. There were four separate assemblies for all students, with an American Chinese man, a transgender woman, an Indigenous individual, and Palestinian activist Huwaida Arraf invited to speak to students, supposedly to present different backgrounds and experiences.

According to an email sent to parents by Bloomfield Hills High School principal Lawrence Stoughter, “In preparation for this assembly, our student organizers and administrators met with each speaker to discuss the intent of the assembly and prompts. At the diversity assembly for the 10th graders, one of the speakers deviated from the prompts. Without prior knowledge of any of the organizers, the speaker discussed the conflict in Gaza from their own personal political perspective and experience. This discussion was outside of the parameters of the assembly and was addressed by the high school administration immediately after the speaker left the stage.”

Questions to Stoughter as to why Arraf was not cut short during her lecture, or why she was permitted to continue as a panelist for subsequent assemblies, where students, parents and faculty have made statements that she continued in a personal rant against Israel, were not responded to by him, and the district spokesperson said neither he nor superintendent Pat Watson could not be made available for interviews.

Arraf is is a Palestinian American activist and lawyer who co-founded the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led organization using nonviolent protests, “direct action methods and principles” and international pressure to support Palestinians. She was the chair of the Free Gaza Movement, the organization behind the Gaza Freedom Flotillas, and has a history of controversial tweets. In 2022, she ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for the 10th House Congressional district, losing to Carl Marlinga. She has referred to Zionists (those in favor of the state of Israel) as occupiers running an apartheid state, and accused Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip.

In Watson's community letter, he said a diversity assembly had been held for all high school students, and that in preparation, “administration met with each of the five speakers to discuss the intent of the assembly and prompts. The prompt was to address an oppression or discrimination they have faced and what could the people around you have done to make this better? A guest speaker deviated from the prompts and discussed specific incidents, political in nature, which were outside of the parameters of the assembly and not their own lived experience.”

In a letter put out by Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee on Wednesday, March 15, they said how horrified they were that “known anti-Israeli activist Huwaida Arraf was invited to speak at Bloomfield Hills High School as part of the school's diversity initiative. Arraf gave four presentations over the span of the day – increasing her anti-Israel rhetoric and making Jewish students, of which there were many in attendance, extremely uncomfortable. Throughout her lecture, Arraf also denied Israel's existence –only referring to the land as Palestine.”

“The principal said the speaker went way off-script, but from brief research on the internet, it was easy to see she was a controversial choice. She takes an extremist stance of activities in the Middle East. I don't think the high school should be taking extremist stances on the Middle East, and if they are going to present something to students, they should present both sides,” said Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation Shaarey Zedek. Starr said he found out about the diversity assemblies on Tuesday evening when “my phone began blowing up with people calling me. We cannot tolerate, dismiss, or remain silent in the face of antisemitism, no matter in what form it might appear. ”

“In a school of 'No Place for Hate,' antisemitic rhetoric was shared with our students and we recognize its devastating impact. For this we are very sorry,” Watson said. “We also recognize that in the aftermath many others were hurt as well. We apologize for failing to guide our student organizers properly. We regret that we allowed the speaker to continue their presentation.”

A Bloomfield Hills High School parent said both she and her daughter are very upset over the assembly, noting she has emailed the principal, superintendent and the school board without response.

“It seemed like there was an agenda,” the parent said, asking who vetted the speakers, including Arraf. “The kids aren't there by themselves, there's a faculty advisor. To read a book in school you have to get approval – so how was she approved? How did she do three more assemblies?”

She noted that while many Jewish student comprehend another perspective, other students do not.

Her daughter came home from school yesterday, she said, reporting that someone brought a Palestinian flag to school. “The Jewish kids aren't the ones who need to understand the Israeli point of view. If one side was presented, the other side should be as well. They need to educate the students and the staff. It's just like a debate team.”

On the afternoon of Thursday, March 16, an email exchange among some students was circulated to “Wear something for Palestine,” on Friday, March 17. “With all the recent backlash from the Palestinian speaker at the Diversity Assembly, please wear something in support of Palestine this Friday, to give a chance for all members of the Arab community to have their voices heard.”

Suggested items are kefiyah, flags, shirts or anything else they have.

Watson emphasized in his letter that going forward they have outlined corrective measures, such as “schoolwide mandatory assemblies and other student-led programming will be supervised by adults with intention and purpose, designed to generate a well-crafted, tightly designed message. As part of this, we are committed to a complete redesign of our vetting process for guests within the school community. We are working on this urgently.

“We are committed to plan and implement staff training to identify antisemitism and Islamophobia at its

core and how to help students navigate these issues. These and other forms of hate must be addressed in order for us to foster a healthy educational environment.”

Rabbi Starr agrees, recognizing the importance of diversity and diversity training. “The goal should be to learn more about people and to open our hearts, but not to engage in propaganda, discrimination and hatred.”

Sexual misconduct school report issued

By Lisa Brody

An investigation begun in April 2022, by an independent investigator hired by the Cranbrook Education Community after a Cranbrook graduate had informed the schools that he had experienced sexual misconduct while a student by a former faculty member, who worked at the schools from 1946-1961, determined two former employees had engaged in sexual misconduct in years past, but found no evidence that any current member of Cranbrook's faculty, staff or administration has engaged in any sexual misconduct with students.

On March 14, Linda Gillum, chair of the board of trustees, CEC President AimeClaire Roche and Director of Schools Jeff Suzik jointly sent out an email to alumni to inform that Linda Burwell, in independent investigator, a nationally-recognized employment law expert and owner of National Investigation Counsel, PLLC, a national niche law firm which partners with law firms and in-house counsel, had completed her work. Burwell was tasked with investigating the 60-year old complaint as well as interviewing former students who came forward with new allegations about other former employees or community members.

The letter notes that while Burwell did not find any evidence indicating that any current member of Cranbrook’s faculty, staff, or administration engaged in any form of sexual misconduct toward any students, there were new allegations that were reported to her about other former employees or community members. “The alleged incidents occurred years ago and were previously unknown to our current administration and Board of Trustees,” the letter stated.

In reviewing the allegations, Gillum, Roche and Suzik noted Burwell and her team interviewed 105

individuals, including alumni and former faculty, administrators, employees and third parties. “Burwell’s investigation centered on instances of sexual misconduct by adults toward students. Ms. Burwell did not investigate any alleged activities among or between students or any reports of non-sexual behavior by adults involving academic matters,” the letter read.

The final findings determined that two former employees who were determined to have engaged in sexual misconduct during their time at Cranbrook Schools: Fred Campbell was employed by Cranbrook in a variety of roles from 1946 to 1961, including teacher, coach, and athletic director. He lived in a faculty apartment in a boys dormitory until he left Cranbrook in the summer of 1961.

There were nine former male students who made credible first-hand reports about sexual misconduct by Campbell, including by the original complainant. Burwell concluded that Campbell engaged in sexual misconduct with at least 11 male students during his time at Cranbrook.

“The pattern of behavior by Fred Campbell took the form of multiple sexual invitations, repeated sexual grooming activities, and some direct sexual touching of male students. Burwell determined that one student raised concerns about Fred Campbell’s behavior to Cranbrook’s administration in 1961. After those concerns were raised, Fred Campbell’s employment contract was not renewed for the next school year, although he continued to work at Cranbrook for the remainder of that semester – a response that is inconsistent with what would happen today,” the letter stated.

Campbell died in 2007.

The other individual was Daniel Deshetler, who worked as a maintenance staff employee for Cranbrook from 1971 until 1986. Based on a credible first-hand report, Burwell concluded that Deshetler sexually assaulted a minor male student in the early 1980s. The former student told Burwell that he had never reported the matter to anyone prior to calling Burwell in 2022 and talking with the independent investigators.

“As part of her fact-finding, Burwell learned that in 1986 Daniel Deshetler was arrested and convicted of criminal sexual conduct relating to a different incident on Cranbrook’s campus. In that incident, a minor on campus reported to Cranbrook that Daniel Deshetler had sexually assaulted him. Cranbrook administrators promptly

contacted the minor’s parents and the police, and immediately suspended Daniel Deshetler and barred him from campus. The local police arrested Daniel Deshetler and, shortly thereafter, he pled guilty to criminal sexual conduct for this 1986 incident. He was incarcerated in prison for this crime for several years.”

From her investigation, Burwell learned Deshetler was convicted a second time for attempted criminal sexual conduct toward another minor (unconnected to Cranbrook) in Northern Michigan in 1998, and is listed on Michigan's sex offender registry.

In addition to Campbell and Deshetler, Burwell found credible evidence verifying the allegations against eight other individuals –former employees and one spouse of a former employee – who engaged in some form of sexual misconduct during their time at Cranbrook.

“Seven incidents occurred during the time period 1940 to 1980, and one incident occurred in the early 2010s. The range of behaviors included grooming, inappropriate touching, and, in two situations, sexual intercourse. Ms. Burwell confirmed that none of these eight individuals has been a part of the Cranbrook community for years. Five of the eight individuals are deceased,” Cranbrook informed alumni.

Burwell acknowledged receiving a number of reports of “gossip” or second-hand accounts which could not be verified of sexual misconduct between a former employee and a student.

The letter acknowledges in depth that reports or accusations of sexual misconduct are dealt with very differently today, with explicit policies prohibiting sexual misconduct, background checks on all employees, training for faculty and staff, as well as prompt investigations of any complaints.

“We are deeply sorry that any member of our schools community was harmed by these former employees and their actions, which are wholly contrary to the values of Cranbrook Schools and the Cranbrook Educational Community. While we know that our words will not erase our former students’ experiences nor the pain caused by these former employees, we are hopeful that our acknowledgement of their experiences and our sincere apology for what transpired offer some measure of personal healing,” Gillum, Roche and Suzik wrote.

BUSINESS MATTERS

Designer duds from Europe

Imagine a boutique featuring women’s European designer clothing – at a discount. Via Manzoni, which recently opened at 239 Pierce Street in downtown Birmingham, is your free airline ticket to some of the finest Italy and Europe has to offer. Owner Guilia Zhou said she and her husband have had a wholesale business for ladies collections in Milan, Italy, for 25 years. “We do all of the designer brands in Europe,” Zhou said. Her husband is also an automotive engineer who does business in the metro Detroit area. In visits locally, they discovered Birmingham, and decided to open their Via Manzoni boutique, which Zhou said, “is a membership club luxury location. We offer discounts for all the merchandise in the store for our members.” Right now, she said, memberships are free after a customer makes an initial purchase on any item, although Zhou anticipates a membership fee beginning next year. What can buyers find? “There are new designer items from all over Italy and Europe – Fendi, Prada, Valentino, Gucci, Miu Miu, YSL, and others,” Zhou said. “We have all the new ladies collections. Our discount concept is to bring the best collections from Italy and Europe for our customers.” Zhou said this summer they will be expanding to home furnishing items from Europe, as well.

Take the cake

Those craving a unique and delicious cake will need to look a little further than Birmingham’s popular Love & Buttercream, 746 E. Maple, as owner Brooke Wilson is closing her specialty bakery. Open since 2010, first in Royal Oak and then in Birmingham, she announced that her lease is up on May 1. Despite surviving the unbelievable travails of the COVID-19 pandemic and fighting her way back to survivorship, the once-again thriving business is an all-consuming endeavor – and since birthing her bakery, she has had three children, making this perhaps the right time to move on. However, she has told people she isn’t permanently closing her heart, or the doors, to the bakery, and those who love her confections, from wedding cakes to cookies, may find Wilson opening a new incarnation in the future.

Lucido renovates, expands

With a goal to bring the dazzle of New York City to downtown Birmingham, Lucido Fine Jewelry, 250 N. Old Woodward, has renovated their Birmingham jewelry store as well as expanding it into the neighboring

Bye to Astrein's after 50 years

As Astrein's Creative Jewelry, 120 W. Maple Road, Birmingham, marks its 50th year in downtown Birmingham, brothers Gary and Richard Astrein are also preparing to say goodbye to their eponymous jewelry store at the end of June, as they now both have out-of-state grandchildren. Their retail saga began in 1973 with What's Upstairs, in the space above their current store, which featured turquoise, silver, pottery, belts, macrame, stained glass and art. “Our brother Craig went out west and bought turquoise, and turquoise was all the rage at the time,” Richard recalled. He said Warren Zussman originally had What's Upstairs, featuring '70s art, and Craig added the turquoise on consignment. “The turquoise just took off,” Richard said, and Craig bought Zussman out. In 1975-76, the former store Fads & Fashion was in Astrein's current location, and went out of business, and the Astrein brothers took over the space. In 1978, they bought the building and changed the name to Astrein's Fine Jewelry. By the end of the decade, into the early 1980s, Richard said, as silver and turquoise faded from fashion, they began bringing over gold from Italy and “doing more traditional jewelry. We still had a lot of art and interesting crafts, but jewelry became more of the focus. Then we got into engagement rings and have had a focus on contemporary jewelry.” As Astrein's grew, so did downtown Birmingham. “Birmingham was on fire – it was high fashion. There was Jacobson's, Himelhoch's, B. Siegel's, Hughes & Hatcher, Davidson's Bridal, Kresge's,” Richard reminisced. “We went along with the trends.” As stores closed and competition from Somerset North impacted the downtown shopping scene, the Astreins' worked with the city and Birmingham Shopping District (BSD) to keep Birmingham competitive – from helping with the original work planning the city's iconic 2016 Plan, supporting other retailers and believing in the innovative bistro liquor licenses, which helped invigorate the streets. “I was involved in all of it, and we're still viable,” Richard noted. Both brothers recognize their involvement with the community has been reciprocated. “We have served the community well, and the community has served us well,” said Gary, noting anyone with any charity or foundation seeking a donation over the years was supported. “We were part of the community and we extended ourselves. We would buy product just to support fundraisers and events.” Gary noted their business policies were with customers' best interests in mind. “We gave cash back, no question. It always created good will. We never wanted to fight with anyone,” he said. Besides the community, Astrein's has had many of the same employees for 30 or 40 years. “We're the oldest store in Birmingham, I think. Frank Caruso (Caruso Caruso) came a couple of years after us,” Gary said. Closing their doors after 50 spectacular years is a little bittersweet for both brothers, they acknowledge, and as Gary noted, “There's no legacy,” as all of their children have chosen other career paths out-of-state. As a thank you to their customers, they will host a giant closing sale from April 18 through June 18, when they close their doors for the final time. “We will continue to participate in volunteer activities in the community. We'll still be here. We just won't be looking for jobs,” said Gary.

storefront on Hamilton Row. The Lucido family chose Davis & Davis of Farmington Hills to emphasize the importance for the space to exude beauty, comfort, and a hint of romance where their brands, including Rolex, Tag Heuer, Michele, Tacori, Hearts on Fire, and many others, can be showcased. “This newly renovated space is a perfect reflection of our family and brand as it puts our guests first and ensures their comfort and satisfaction within all aspects of the design.” explained FranLucido, owner and co-founder of Lucido Jewelry. She said the boutique layout features four main hospitality-inspired lounges that

provide guests with a comfortable, yet elevated, shopping experience. Each lounge, while different in seating height, design, and ambiance, provides a warm space for guests to relax, unwind, and browse the incredible collection of jewelry Lucido offers.

“Lucido Fine Jewelry is known for their extraordinarily beautiful and timeless jewelry. We aimed to emulate this in the interior and architectural design to create an equally beautiful, timeless, and high-end experience for the Lucido clientele,” explained Amer Sahoury, lead designer and project manager, Davis & Davis. “In addition, this showroom location will house a high-

end Rolex space that is currently in progress to create an equally showstopping retail experience for the Rolex enthusiast.”

Celebrating 65 years

Generations of local pet owners have utilized the services of DePorre Veterinary Hospital, 4066 W. Maple Road in Bloomfield Township. The locally-owned and operated veterinary hospital was begun by Dr. Pierre DePorre 65 years ago, and then the practice was carried forward by his son, Dr. Pierre DePorre and nephew, Dr. Jules DePorre. As they recently have stepped back and begun to retire, the hospital announced that new leadership has come forward to continue their legacy. “This process began in 2015, when Dr. Kristen Fox became an owner, and continued in 2020 with Dr. Thomas DeHondt becoming an owner.” Fox and DeHondt have both spent their entire careers at DePorre – and DeHondt carries on the DePorre family legacy as a nephew of Dr. Jules. Both Fox and DeHondt say they embrace the culture of teamwork and the mission of providing the highest level of veterinary care to their patients. As they celebrate the veterinary hospital’s 65th year, they are opening a new Surgery, Dentistry and Feline Center to continue offering their furry patients the best of all care available with the highest level of surgical, dental and anesthetic veterinary care. In addition, the new feline center, with three dedicated exam rooms and dedicated feline procedures and ultrasound space advance their feline friendly practice initiative.

Fur no more

Iconic Bloomfield Hills furrier Dittrich Furs is closing its Bloomfield Hills location on April 22, and consolidating its merchandise at its Detroit location. Dittrich, located at 39515 Woodward Avenue, next to Joe Muer’s Seafood, said they had put their building up for sale in August, and sold it to Dominic Moceri of Moceri Custom Homes of Auburn Hills. It is not known what will replace the furrier on that site. Dittrich, a 130-year-old retailer owned by the fifth generation of the original family owners, has six employees in Bloomfield Hills, all of whom will transfer to the Detroit locale.

Business Matters for the BirminghamBloomfield area are reported by Lisa Brody. Send items for consideration to LisaBrody@downtownpublications.com. Items should be received three weeks prior to publication.

Michigan is aging, and the Birmingham area is no exception. We are in fact about to see the most profound demographic shift in our history. For the first time, people 65 and older will outnumber those 17 and younger. Nationwide, this moment called the “crossover,” will occur in 2035. In Michigan, that moment will come a decade sooner, in 2025.

Is an aging population a challenge or an opportunity? The answer is a little of both, but the opportunities are enormous. For one, seniors are economic drivers, controlling more than half the discretionary income – $37 billion in Michigan alone – and unlike younger demographics, they tend to spend much of that income locally.

Today’s seniors are the healthiest, both mentally and physically, of any previous generations. They are more educated and more active. People 50 and older contribute $745 billion in unpaid activities that benefit the entire community. They are caregivers for loved ones, provide childcare, and volunteer on civic boards and for non-profits. They are business mentors, run youth programs, drive community projects, financially support local charities and overwhelmingly, far outnumber younger voters.

Next, Birmingham’s 50-plus Community Center, continues to evolve to meet the changing dynamics of this active demographic. Membership ranges from 40 to 104, where people of all ages can find a number of activities to spark an interest. Serving a community of avid learners, Next continues to attain a level of programming that our members enjoy. Accredited speakers from local universities, hospitals and important organizations, certified fitness instructors and recognized art teachers all contribute to our offerings that allow residents life-long learning opportunities right in their own back yard. Science has shown that those who continue to learn and challenge themselves remain happier and healthier. To be able to attend high-quality programs that also provides opportunities for fellowship and friendship is a combination unique to Next.

For example, over the last year, Next has explored various cultures to offer a deeper understanding of the world, and challenge us to think critically about global issues. With distinguished guest speakers, selected entertainment, culinary offerings and day trips to local highlights, Next offers a multi-cultural experience. In the months of March and April, we are exploring the Middle East. With recognized leaders addressing topics on Islam, Iran, Lebanon and Middle East’s regional diversity, a performance from Armenian musician Ara Toupouzian, day trips to the Arab American Museum and a catered Middle Eastern lunch – there is much to explore. On deck – South America. These special programs compliment the already robust calendar of over 230 activities each month. Whether you are looking to expand your knowledge, develop a skill, stay fit or connect with others, Next has much to offer.

In addition, a foundational part of Next is also service to our communities’ most vulnerable. If you or someone you know may need a little extra assistance to remain healthy and independent, please call our Support Service Department. We are here to help.

Visit the Next website at www.BirminghamNext.org, stop by the center at 2121 Midvale or call (248) 203-5270 to learn more.

Cris Braun is Executive Director of Birmingham Next

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Cris Braun

CENTENNIAL YEAR REFLECTIONS: 1923-2023

Beyond its black lacquered doors, just past its crystal chandeliers and down its century old corridors lies a charity, an age-old non-profit organization gifted to the community by those who had been entrusted with much, and by which much was expected.

These selfless visionaries rose up and marshaled their time, talent and treasure to address the cultural weaknesses and societal challenges of the day; socially, culturally, educationally and philanthropically.

History tells us that The Community House was conceived in the transition period between a world war and the start of Birmingham’s surge in population. Programs and services were created with a keen awareness and a certain sensitivity to the social trends, challenges, and attitudes of the day.

By 1923, men, women and children were spending less time at home than ever before. Based upon the social changes of the day, the founders believed that the establishment of a “Community House” could become a home away from home for the changing community - children and adults “gathering, meeting others; to dance, laugh, to sing and to hear someone discuss things that interest and educate.” The founders believed that “people were not made to live alone…the nature of man demands social intercourse.”

Space would also be provided for private parties and for other civic and community-based activities. And by unanimous vote, the founders deemed the new Community House to be the official center in the region for charitable endeavors.

A century later, The Community House carries on that same mission, vision, and tradition of its founding leaders.

Center of Charitable Endeavors

Today, in addition to The Community House itself, eight other non-profit and supported groups (and growing) also call The Community House “home.” The Junior League of Birmingham, FAR Therapeutic Arts & Recreation, Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber, Optimist Club, Birmingham Shopping District, DOJO, Project 2, Communicare Michigan – noble organizations – all with their own individual charitable or nonprofit business missions - that are generously subsidized by The Community House.

In 2017, The Community House provided critical support to these and/or “other” non-profit or supported groups - at a direct or lost opportunity costapproaching $1 million dollars. Funds that The Community House covered via its revenue generating opportunities and supplemented by generous donors via our annual fundraising initiatives.

Many of these organizations utilized free space, mostly free or discounted food or services. Extraordinary organizations raising awareness and bringing much needed support, visibility, and funding - time, talent and treasure to scores of worthwhile causes while operating within our community, our region, across the state, and around the world.

About Us

While delivering high quality classes, enrichment, arts, culture, programs, space to gather, milestone events, education, and charity – is what we do –it is not who we are.

Who we are – is a non-profit, charitable organization, gifted to the community by others, uniquely positioned and qualified to identify, recognize, and react to the challenges facing ordinary people living throughout extraordinary times. We are filling the gaps and the voids in community that profoundly test, challenge and impact society, community, families, children and adults, generation after generation.

Many of gaps and voids we filled in 1923, we continue to fill today (what we do) by providing programs and services to those simply seeking knowledge, or more importantly, to those longing to connect or needing help navigating through today’s social changes and challenges including loneliness, disconnect, loss of togetherness, health & wellness, cultural disparity, youth engagement (to name a few) - filling critical gaps and voids in the community and connecting and celebrating others in a safe, nonthreatening and creative environment (who we are) – for the betterment of others.

Our founders called us to a higher standard, a higher calling. We rise to that call every day. It truly does take a village. We believe that The Community House is at the center of that village – metaphorically and literally.

Every day, we assess and evaluate the programs and services we provide –striving for excellence, but always challenging ourselves and gaging whether we are staying relevant to our mission and staying good and faithful stewards to those we serve. Doing more with less.

We have proven that we are investible, that we can stand the test of time, that we are good stewards, that we can maximize our assets and value to others while truly making a difference. But try as we might, we have yet to achieve true self-sustainability and lasting adaptability. Without sustained funding, without tax dollars, without regular support – we must and continue to rely on our own revenue generation and the kindness of others.

The “gap” between what we can offer and provide to others, and what we can manage financially is widening. The community’s demand for our services has exceeded our ability to meet the community’s needs –financially and physically.

To reach 100 years in existence, The Community House has mastered resilience. It has overcome a World War, the Great Depression, 9/11 and more. The Community House has seen times of boom and bust, sometimes as part of the greater economy and sometimes specific to its own market. It has witnessed new competitors entering the scene and older competitors seeking an edge. In the last year, it has survived a global pandemic and navigated through historic economic challenges. However, throughout it all, The Community House has remained resilient. We continue to serve, we remain optimistic, full of hope, and look to an even brighter, more impactful future. We owe that to our founders; we owe that to you.

On January 1st 2023, The Community House “officially” turned the page on its first century of service and has now begun an exciting new chapter. Befitting of the “grande dame” of Birmingham, The Community House will play host to a variety of celebrations and functions to recognize its humble beginnings, commemorate this once in a lifetime milestone and look forward towards a new and exciting future. Blessed are we, blessed are you – fortunate enough to witness the turning of a page on one century, and the opening of the page on our second century. Happy anniversary historic Community House. And many, many thanks and undying gratitude to our founders from so many years ago: St. James Church, Cranbrook House and the St. James Women’s Guild under the visionary direction of Mrs. Ruth Shain! It took a village then, and it still does today.

For reservations, sponsorships or more information about booking gathering and meeting space for Winter 2022 and beyond - please go to www.communityhouse.org or call 248.644.5832.

William D. Seklar is President & CEO of The Community House and The Community House Foundation in Birmingham.

Bill Seklar

PLACES TO EAT

The Places To Eat for Downtown is a quick reference source to establishments offering a place for dining, either breakfast, lunch or dinner. The listings include nearly all dining establishments with seating in the Birmingham/Bloomfield area, and then some select restaurants outside the immediate area served by Downtown.

Birmingham/Bloomfield

220: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 220 E. Merrill Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.646.2220. 220restaurant.com

5th Tavern: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2262 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48302. 248.481.9607. 5thtavern.com

Adachi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner daily. Liquor. Reservations. 325 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham 48009. 248.540.5900. adachirestaurant.com

Andiamo: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6676 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301. 248.865.9300. andiamoitalia.com

Beau’s: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 4108 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.626.2630. beausbloomfield.com

Bella Piatti: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 167 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.494.7110. bellapiattirestaurant.com

Beverly Hills Grill: American. Brunch, weekends, Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Liquor. No reservations. 31471 Southfield Road, Beverly Hills, 48025. 248.642.2355. beverlyhillsgrill.com

Beyond Juicery + Eatery: Contemporary. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 270 W. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009; 221 Cole Street, Birmingham, 48009; 3645 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301; 4065 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301; 1987 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. beyondjuiceryeatery.com

Bill’s: American. Breakfast, Saturday, Lunch, Thursday-Saturday, Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 39556 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.646.9000. billsbloomfieldhills.com

Birmingham Pub: American. Brunch, Sunday, Lunch, Tuesday-Friday, Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 555 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham. thebirminghampub.com

Birmingham Sushi Cafe: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 377 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.8880. birminghamsushi.com

Bistro Joe’s Kitchen: Global. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Liquor. Reservations. 34244 Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.0984. bistrojoeskitchen.com

Bloomfield Deli: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, Monday-Friday. No reservations. 71 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.645.6879. bloomfielddeli.com

Brooklyn Pizza: Pizza. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Liquor. No reservations. 111 Henrietta Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.6690. thebrooklynpizza.com

Café ML: New American. Dinner, daily. Liquor. Reservations. 3607 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Township. 248.642.4000. cafeml.com

Casa Pernoi: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 310 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.940.0000. casapernoi.com

Churchill’s Bistro & Cigar Bar: Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 116 S. Old

Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.4555. churchillscigarbar.com

Cityscape Deli: Deli. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. Beer. 877 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.540.7220. cityscapedeli.com

Commonwealth: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 300 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.9766. gocommonwealth.com

Dick O’Dow’s: Irish. Lunch & Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 160 West Maple Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.642.1135. dickodowspub.com

Eddie Merlot’s: Steak & seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 37000 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.712.4095. eddiemerlots.com

Einstein Bros. Bagels: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 4089 West Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.258.9939. einsteinbros.com

Elie’s Mediterranean Grill/Bar: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 263 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.2420. eliesgrill.com

EM: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No Reservations. Liquor. 470 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 947.234.0819. embirmingham.com

Embers Deli & Restaurant: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, Tuesday-Sunday. Dinner, TuesdayFriday. No reservations. 3598 West Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.645.1033. embersdeli1.com

Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 323 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.723.0134. flemingssteakhouse.com

Forest: European. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 735 Forest Avenue, Birmingham 48009. 248.258.9400. forestbirmingham.com

Greek Islands Coney Restaurant: Greek. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 221 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.646.1222. greekislandsconey.com

Griffin Claw Brewing Company: American. Lunch, Friday-Sunday, Dinner, TuesdaySunday. No Reservations. Liquor. 575 S. Eton Street, Birmingham. 248.712.4050. griffinclawbrewingcompany.com

Hazel’s: Seafood. Lunch, Saturday & Sunday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 1 Peabody Street, Birmingham. 248.671.1714. eatathazels.com

Honey Tree Grille: Greek/American. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, daily. No reservations. 3633 W. Maple Rd, Bloomfield, MI 48301. 248.203.9111. honeytreegrille.com

Hunter House Hamburgers: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 35075 Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.646.7121. hunterhousehamburgers.com

Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 201 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.4369. hydeparkrestaurants.com

IHOP: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2187 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301. 248.333.7522. Ihop.com

Joe Muer Seafood: Seafood. Dinner daily. Reservations. Liquor. 39475 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.792.9609. joemuer.com

Kaku Sushi and Poke’: Asian. Lunch, MondayFriday & Dinner daily. No reservations. 869 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Township, 48302. 248.480.4785, and 126 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009. 248.885.8631. kakusushipoke.com

The Birmingham/Bloomfield area is filled with discriminating diners and an array of dining establishments. Make sure the message for your restaurant reaches the right market in the right publication—Downtown.

METRO INTELLIGENCER

Metro Intelligencer is a monthly column devoted to news stories, tidbits and gossip items about what's happening on the restaurant scene in the metro Detroit area. Metro Intelligencer is reported/created each month by Gigi Nichols who can be reached at GigiNichols@DowntownPublications.com with news items or tips, on or off the record.

Cosmik fries back in Royal Oak

Project BarFly, the West Michigan-based hospitality group that oversees operations of HopCat, Grand Rapids Brewing Company and Stella’s Lounge, has reopened a HopCat restaurant in Royal Oak. The new 11,300 square foot restaurant sits on Main Street just a few blocks away from its original location on Fifth Avenue, which closed in the spring of 2020. The beer bar offers 60 taps of curated local craft beer and its widely-recognized comfort food menu with famous cosmikfries. “We’re thrilled to be back in the vibrancy of Royal Oak,” said Project BarFly CEO Ned Lidvall. “Given the challenges that the industry as a whole has faced the past couple of years, we are more than ready to hit the ground running. We have assembled a very strong team – led by Kinnewu Pulford – and we’re very excited to be a growth company again, and to continue our focus on craft beer, music, good times and ‘food your mom would make if she loved craft beer.’” The new HopCat in Royal Oak accommodates 266 guests, featuring three indoor dining areas with hi-top and low-top tables, mafia booths and a two-room private event space that can be combined into one larger space. The main bar has 30 available seats and a repurposed beer tap system and bar countertop from the original Royal Oak location as sustainability remains a core tenet for the HopCat brand. During warmer months, three roll-up garage doors will create an open-air dining space while an outdoor dog-friendly patio will offer guests 98 seats located along W. Main Street and Fifth Avenue. The restaurant features a state-of-the-art kitchen for dine-in guests as well as the company’s first separate kitchen to service off-premise customers, including carry-out, third-party delivery service and catering. This marks the first time in company history that a second kitchen will be utilized for this purpose, allowing HopCat to better serve all of its guests with timely service. Additionally, the music theme décor is on full display in the new space with a signature wall adorned with classic vinyl record covers and other accent walls featuring oversized famous musical artists and album art. HopCat is participating HopCat beverage experience on-the-go. 430 S Main Street, Royal Oak Hopcat.com

One door closes and another opens

7greens salad eatery has closed shop on Hamilton Row in Birmingham and a new Mexican eatery has taken its place. The Taco Stand Taqueria is a family-owned taqueria (taco shop) owned by Carlos Lopez. The franchise operation began in Allen Park in 2016, and now boasts locations in Garden City, Flat Rock, Taylor and Riverview in addition to the newest location on Hamilton Row in Birmingham. The Lopez family originally hails from the state of Jalisco, Mexico, and uses recipes that have been around for generations. Lopez claims that their vision is to become the best and quickest street-inspired Mexican food in the Detroit area. “We serve high quality food to the community, and at the same time share our culture to our customers. We believe that there is no food better than homemade food, and that’s why we are here,” he said. On the menu, customers will find a wide variety of tacos, quesadillas, tortas, burritos and bowls – all made with fresh ingredients. Meat selections include steak, chicken, marinated pork, and chorizo-Mexican sausage. Exclusive for the Birmingham location, all dishes can be made vegetarian. The eatery includes indoor seating for 24 customers and is working to obtain patio seating for the warmer months. 344 Hamilton Row, Birmingham.thetacostandtaqueri

Asian fusion steakhouse opens

Detroit newcomer Hanah Steakhouse is owned and operated by brother restaurateurs Christopher and Peter Han. The Hans, who opened Hanah Steakhouse at the end 2022, also own Osaka in Shelby Township and Clawson. The restaurant’s general manager, Andrew Phommala, describes the concept as an Asian fusion steakhouse offering a modern fine dining experience. On weekends, the restaurant takes on a lounge vibe with the addition of a DJ. The Japanese-inspired interior features an Instagram-worthy ceiling that is covered with thousands of cherry blossoms. Phommala points out that after WWII, Japan gifted cherry blossoms to other countries as an apology. “It’s a play on this idea since we are an Asian fusion restaurant with many flavor profiles,” said Phommala. Signature dishes include Japanese chicken and waffles with miso

Kerby’s Koney Island: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2160 N. Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.333.1166. kerbyskoneyisland.com

La Marsa: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner daily. Reservations. 43259 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.858.5800. lamarsacuisine.com

La Strada Italian Kitchen & Bar: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 243 E. Merrill Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.480.0492. lastradaitaliankitchen.com

Leo’s Coney Island: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 154 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.9707. Also 6527 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.646.8568. leosconeyisland.com

Little Daddy’s: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 39500 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.647.3400. littledaddys.com

Luxe Bar & Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 525 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.6051. luxebarandgrill.com

Madam: American. Breakfast, Monday-Friday, Brunch, weekends. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner daily. Reservations. Liquor. 298 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.283.4200. daxtonhotel.com

Mare Mediterranean: Seafood. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 115 Willits Street, Birmingham 48009. 248.940.5525. maremediterranean.com

Market North End: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 474 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.712.4953. marketnorthend.com

Nippon Sushi Bar: Japanese. Lunch, MondayFriday, Dinner daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2079 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48302. 248.481.9581. nipponsushibar.com

Olga’s Kitchen: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2075 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.451.0500. olgas.com

Original Pancake House: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 33703 South Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.642.5775. oph-mi.com

Planthropie: Vegan. Dessert and Cheese. Tuesday-Sunday. 135 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.839.5640. planthropie.com

Roadside B & G: American. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 1727 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.858.7270. roadsidebandg.com

Salvatore Scallopini: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 505 North Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.644.8977. salsbirmingham.com

Shift Kitchen & Cocktails: Small plates. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 117 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.2380. shiftbirmingham.com

Sidecar: American. Lunch and Dinner, daily. Liquor. 117 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.2380. sidecarsliderbar.com

Slice Pizza Kitchen: Pizza. Lunch and Dinner, daily. Liquor. 117 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.3475. slicepizzakitchen.com

Social Kitchen & Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Brunch, Saturday & Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 225 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.4200. socialkitchenandbar.com

Stateside Deli & Restaurant Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 653 S. Adams Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.550.0455. statesidedeli.com

Steve’s Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Breakfast and Lunch, Sunday. No reservations. 6646 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield, 48301. 248.932.0800. stevesdeli.com

Streetside Seafood: Seafood. Lunch, Thursday & Friday, Dinner, daily. Liquor. 273 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.645.9123. streetsideseafood.com

Sushi Hana: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 42656 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.333.3887. sushihanabloomfield.com

Sy Thai Cafe: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, Monday and Wednesday-Sunday. No reservations. 315 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.9830. sythaibirmingham.com

Sylvan Table: American. Brunch, weekends, Dinner daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1819 Inverness Street, Sylvan Lake, 48320. 248.369.3360. sylvantable.com

Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro: American. Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 55 S. Bates Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.731.7066. tallulahwine.com

Thai Street Kitchen: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. 42805 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Township, 48304. 248.499.6867. thaistreetkitchen.com

The Franklin Grill: American. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 32760 Franklin Road, Franklin, 48025. 248.865.6600. thefranklingrill.com

The French Lady: French. Lunch, TuesdaySunday. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. 768 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.480. 0571. zefrenchlady.com

The Gallery Restaurant: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & wine. 6683 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.851.0313. galleryrestaurant2.com

The Moose Preserve Bar & Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2395 S. Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.858.7688. moosepreserve.com

The Morrie: American. Dinner, ThursdaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 260 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham 48009. 248.940.3260. themorrie.com

The Rugby Grille: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 100 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.642.5999. rugbygrille.com

Toast: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily; Reservations. Liquor. 203 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.6278. eatattoast.com

Tomatoes Apizza: Pizza. Lunch & Dinner daily. Carryout. 34200 Woodward Avenue, Birmingham 48009. 248.258.0500. tomatoesapizza.com

Touch of India: Indian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 297 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.7881. thetouchofindia.com

Townhouse: American. Brunch, weekends. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 180 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.5241. eatattownhouse.com

Whistle Stop Diner: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily; Liquor. No reservations. 501 S. Eton Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.566.3566. whistlestopdiners.com

ZANA: Modern American. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 210 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.800.6568. zanabham.com

Zao Jun: Asian. Dinner and Lunch, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 6608 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301. 248.949.9999. zaojunnewasian.com

Royal Oak/Ferndale

Ale Mary’s: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 316 South Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.268.1917. alemarysbeer.com

Anita’s Kitchen: Middle Eastern. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 22651 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.548.0680. anitaskitchen.com

Beppé: New American. Lunch, Saturday & Sunday. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 703 N. Main Street in Royal Oak, 48067. 248.607.7030. eatbeppe.com

Bigalora: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 711 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.2442 bigalora.com

Bohemia: Mediterranean. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 100 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.268.2883. eatatbohemia.com

Cafe Muse: French. Breakfast & Lunch, Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 418 S. Washington Avenue, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.4749. cafemuseroyaloak.com

Como’s: Pizza. Brunch, weekends. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 22812 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.677.4439. comosrestaurant.com

Crispelli’s Bakery and Pizzeria: Italian. Lunch and Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 28939 Woodward Avenue, Berkley, 48072. 248.591.3300. crispellis.com

The Fly Trap: Diner. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. No reservations. 22950 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale 48220. 248.399.5150. theflytrapferndale.com

HopCat: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 430 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.744.2544. HopCat.com

Howe’s Bayou: Cajun. Lunch & Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 22949 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.691.7145. howesbayouferndale.net

Imperial: Mexican. Lunch and Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 22848 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.691.7145. imperialferndale.com

Inyo Restaurant Lounge: Asian Fusion. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 22871 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.543.9500. inyorestaurant.com

KouZina: Greek. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 121 N. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.629.6500. gokouzina.com

Kruse & Muer on Woodward: American. Lunch, Monday-Saturday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 28028 Woodward Avenue, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.965.2101. kruseandmuerrestaurants.com

Lily’s Seafood: Seafood. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 410 S. Washington Avenue, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.591.5459. lilysseafood.com

Lockhart’s BBQ: Barbeque. Brunch, Sunday, Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 202 E. Third Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.584.4227. lockhartsbbq.com

Masala: Indian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 106 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.850.8284.

food.orders.co/royaloakmasala

Mezcal: Brunch, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 201 East 9 Mile Road Ferndale, 48220. 248.268.3915. mezcalferndale.com

Pastaio: Italian. Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 208 W. 5th Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.565.8722. eatpastaio.com

Pearl’s Deep Dive: Seafood. Dinner, Tuesday-

Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.100 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.268.2875. pearlsdeepdive.com

Oak City Grille: American. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 212 W. 6th Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.556.0947. oakcitygrille.com

One-Eyed Betty’s: American. Breakfast, weekends, Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 175 W. Troy Street, Ferndale, 48220. 248.808.6633. oneeyedbettys.com

Pop’s for Italian: Italian. Brunch and Lunch, weekends, Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. 280 W. 9 Mile Road, Ferndale,48220. 248.268.4806. popsforitalian.com

Public House: American. Lunch & Brunch, weekends, Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 241 W. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale, 48220. 248.850.7420. publichouseferndale.com

Redcoat Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 31542 Woodward Avenue, Royal Oak, 48073. 248.549.0300. redcoat-tavern.com

Ronin: Japanese. Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 326 W. 4th Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.546.0888. roninsushi.com

Royal Oak Brewery: American. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 215 E. 4th Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.1141. royaloakbrewery.com

Sozai: Japanese.Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. 449 West 14 Mile Road, Clawson,48017. 248.677-3232. sozairestaurant.com

The Morrie: American. Brunch, weekends, Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 511 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.216.1112. themorrie.com

Three Cats Cafe: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch, Tuesday-Sunday. Dinner, Wednesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 116 W 14 Mile Road, Clawson, 48017. 248.900.2287. threecatscafe.com

Tigerlily: Japanese. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 231 W. Nine Mile Road, Ferndale, 48220. 248.733.4905. tigerlilyferndale.com

Toast, A Breakfast and Lunch Joint: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 23144 Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, 48220. 248.398.0444. eatattoast.com

Tom’s Oyster Bar: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 318 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.541.1186. tomsoysterbar.com

Trattoria Da Luigi: Italian. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 415 S, Washington Avenue, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.542.4444. trattoriadaluigi.business.site.com

Vinsetta Garage: American. Lunch, TuesdaySaturday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 27799 Woodward Avenue, Berkley, 48072. 248.548.7711. vinsettagarage.com

Voyager: Seafood. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 600 Vester Street, Ferndale, 48220. 248.658.4999. voyagerferndale.com

Troy/Rochester

Cafe Sushi: Pan-Asian. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 1933 W. Maple Road, Troy, 48084. 248.280.1831. cafesushimi.com

CK Diggs: American & Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 2010 W. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.853.6600. ckdiggs.com

Grand Castor: Latin American. Lunch, Thursday-Sunday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 2950 Rochester Road,

buttermilk chicken, taro waffle, kimchi pineapple slaw, wilted mustard greens and hot honey; miso glazed salmon with grilled bok choy; heirloom carrots, rice pilaf, and orange chili sauce. Hanah Steakhouse has seating for about 120, including the main floor and sky bridge seating on the upper level. The restaurant occupies the space which formerly belonged to Brome Burger’s in the city’s financial district. 607 Shelby Street Suite 100, DetroitHanahDetroit.com

James Beard Award semifinalists

The James Beard Foundation’s committee has announced its 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards semifinalists. Many in the restaurant world consider this to be the Academy Awards for their industry. The winners will be celebrated at an award ceremony on Monday, June 5, 2023, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The 2023 restaurant and chef semifinalists are recognized across 23 categories, including the new award for outstanding bakery. This year, the foundation’s committee has named the following finalists from the state of Michigan: outstanding restaurateur – Sandy Levine, owner of Chartreuse, Freya, Dragonfly, in Detroit and the Oakland in Ferndale; outstanding chef – Hajime Sato of Sozai, in Clawson; emerging chef – Amado Lopez of Casa Amado Taqueria in Berkley; outstanding bakery – Good Cakes and Bakes in Detroit; outstanding wine and other beverages program – Spencer in Ann Arbor; best chef, Great Lakes category includes Omar Anani of Saffron De Twah in Detroit, AbraBerens from Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Norberto Garita of El Barzon in Detroit, Andy Hollyday from Selden Standard in Detroit, Ji Hye Kim from Miss Kim in Ann Arbor, Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere, Baobab Fare in Detroit, Mike Ransom of Ima in Detroit and SarahWelch from Marrow in Detroit. jamesbeard.org

Three Birmingham restaurants receive honors

As part of the Detroit Free Press Restaurant of the Year program, the Free Press asked readers to nominate restaurants for the “Classic Award.” The Classic Award is presented periodically, and honors an eatery that’s been around for a decade or longer and remained relevant while also shaping patrons’ food memories. According to the Free Press, their editors sifted through hundreds of stories submitted by readers and Birmingham’s Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro garnered the title. Free Press readers described the owners as engaged, caring and committed to the community. Regarding the Tallulah’s staff, readers wrote, “amazing,” providing “exceptional service.” And readers described the food, as “Great.” and “Phenomenal.” Another local publication, Hour Magazine, also selected a Birmingham eatery to honor. Hour deemed Madame as its 2023 Restaurant of the Year. The magazine noted that “The flagship restaurant of Daxton Hotel brings to Birmingham a level of fine dining that caters to the jetsetting traveler and local foodie alike.” The Townsend Hotel has received international honors from Forbes Travel Guide. The Townsend Hotel earned a new Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star rating and The Townsend’s Rugby Grille Restaurant received a Forbes “Recommended Restaurant” award. The Rugby Grille was the only restaurant in Michigan to receive this award.

Mad Nice opens in Detroit

Mad Nice, the latest concept by Heirloom Hospitality Group, has opened in Detroit. The menu is Inspired by the cultures and cuisines of coastal California, southern Italy, and the ever-changing seasons of Michigan Lunch is served Wednesday-Sunday and dinner is served Thursday-Tuesday. 4120 2nd Avenue, Detroit. madnicedetroit.com

Apologies and thanks

Ferndale’s Otus Supply shuttered with little notice at the end of February. The restaurant, located at 345 E. Nine Mile Road, was known for its wood fired pizzas, burgers and their music venue – TheParliament Room. A post on Otus Supply’s Facebook page didn’t give any explanation for the closure but apologized to staff and thanked patrons. The post read, “It is with great sadness and sorrow that we have very unfortunate news. Effective immediately we will be closing our doors to our wonderful, beautiful establishment. We thank each and every one of you for the years of patronage. From the togetherness, great food, cocktails and live music we’ve been able to supply to all of you we are so very thankful. To our amazing staff we’ve been able to build out of Covid-19, we sincerely apologize and wish you nothing but the best in your futures. No one knows what the future holds but this is goodbye for now,” The post received an overwhelmingly outpouring of shock, love and support from hundreds patrons as well as several musicians who had performed there.

Troy, 48083. 248.278.7777. grancastor.com

Kona Grille: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 30 E. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48083. 248.619.9060. konagrill.com

Kruse & Muer on Main: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 327 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.652.9400. kruseandmuerrestaurants.com

Loccino Italian Grill and Bar: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily. Liquor. Reservations. 5600 Crooks Road, Troy, 48098. 248.813.0700. loccino.com

The Meeting House: American. Brunch, weekends, Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 301 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.759.4825. themeetinghouserochester.com

Mon Jin Lau: Nu Asian. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1515 E. Maple Road, Troy, 48083. 248.689.2332. monjinlau.com

Morton’s, The Steakhouse: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 888 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48084. 248.404.9845. mortons.com

Naked Burger: American. Lunch, Saturday & Sunday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 6870 N Rochester Road, Rochester, 48306. 248.759.4858. nakedburgerdetroit.com

NM Café: American. Lunch, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 2705 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48084. 248.816.3424. neimanmarcus.com/restaurants

Oceania Inn: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. The Village of Rochester Hills, 3176 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.375.9200. oceaniainnrochesterhills.com

Ocean Prime: Steak & Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2915 Coolidge Highway, Troy, 48084. 248.458.0500. ocean-prime.com

O’Connor’s Irish Public House: Irish. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 324 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.608.2537. oconnorsrochester.com

Orchid Café: Thai. Lunch, MondayFriday, Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. 3303 Rochester Road., Troy, 48085. 248.524.1944. orchid-cafe.com

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. Somerset Collection, 2801 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48084. 248.816.8000. pfchangs.com

Recipes: American/Brunch. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 134 W. University Drive, Rochester, 48037. 248.659.8267. Also 2919 Crooks Road, Troy, 48084. 248.614.5390. recipesinc.com

RH House: American. Brunch, weekends, Lunch and Dinner, daily. 2630 Crooks Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. No reservations. Liquor. 2630 Crooks Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.586.1000. rh.house.com

Rochester Chop House: Steak & Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 306 S. Main St., Rochester, 48307. 248.651.2266. kruseandmuerrestaurants.com

Ruth’s Chris Steak House: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 755 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48084. 248.269.8424. ruthschris.com

Sedona Taphouse: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 198 Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48083. 248.422.6167. sedonataphouse.co

Silver Spoon: Italian. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 6830 N. Rochester Road, Rochester, 48306. 248.652.4500. silverspoonristorante.com

Too Ra Loo: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 139 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.453.5291. tooraloorochester.com

West Bloomfield/Southfield

Bacco: Italian. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday, Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 29410 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.356.6600. baccoristorante.com

Cornbread Restaurant & Bar: Southern. Lunch & Dinner, Thursday-Tuesday. Reservations. Liquor. 29508 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.208.1680. cornbreadsoulfood.com

Bigalora: Italian. Brunch, weekends, Lunch, Monday-Saturday, Dinner, daily. No Reservations. Liquor. 29110 Franklin Road, Southfield, 48034. 248.544.2442. bigalora.com

The Fiddler: Russian. Brunch, Sunday, Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 6676 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.851.8782. fiddlerrestaurant.com

Mene Sushi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 6239 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.538.7081. menesususi.com

Nonna Maria’s: Italian. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 2080 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield, 48323. 248.851.2500. nonamariasbistro.com

Pickles & Rye: Deli. Lunch, & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. 6724 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.737.3890. picklesandryedeli.com

Prime29 Steakhouse: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 6545 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.737.7463. prime29steakhouse.com

Redcoat Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 6745 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.865.0500. redcoat-tavern.com

Shangri-La: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. Orchard Mall Shopping Center, 6407 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.626.8585. dineshangrila.com

Sposita’s Ristorante: Italian. Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor.

33210 W. Fourteen Mile Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.538.8954. spositas-restorante.com

Stage Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 6873 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.855.6622. stagedeli.com

Yotsuba: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 7365 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.737.8282. yotsuba-restaurant.com

West Oakland

Gravity Bar & Grill: Mediterranean. Lunch, Monday – Friday, Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 340 N. Main Street, Milford, 48381. 248.684.4223. gravityrestaurant.com

Volare Ristorante: Italian. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 48992 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.960.7771. ristorantevolare.com

North Oakland

Clarkston Union: American. Breakfast, Sunday, Lunch, Wednesday-Saturday, Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 54 S. Main Street, Clarkston, 48346. 248.620.6100. clarkstonunion.com

Kruse's Deer Lake Inn: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 7504 Dixie

Highway, Clarkston, 48346. 248.795.2077. kruseandmuerrestaurants.com

The Fed: American. Brunch, Sunday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 15 S. Main Street, Clarkston, 48346. 248.297.5833. thefedcommunity.com

Via Bologna: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 7071 Dixie Highway, Clarkston. 48346. 248.620.8500. joebologna.com

Union Woodshop: BBQ. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. No reservations. Liquor. 18 S. Main Street, Clarkston, 48346. 248.625.5660. unionwoodshop.com

Detroit

Bar Pigalle: French. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2915 John R Street, Detroit, 48201 313.497.9200. barpigalle.com

Barda: Argentinian. Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 4842 Grand River Avenue, Detroit, 48208. 313.952.5182. bardadetroit.com

Basan: Asian. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2703 Park Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.481.2703. basandetroit.com

Bucharest Grill: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2684 E. Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, 48207. 313.965.3111. bucharestgrill.com

Cash Only Supper Club: American. Dinner, Friday & Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 1145 Griswold Street, Detroit, 48226. 248.636.2300. cashonlydetroit.com

Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails: Seasonal American. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 15 E Kirby Street, Detroit, 48202. 313. 818-3915. chartreusekc.com

Cliff Bell’s: American. Dinner, WednesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 2030 Park Avenue, Detroit, 48226. 313.961.2543. cliffbells.com

Cuisine: French. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 670 Lothrop Road, Detroit, 48202. 313.872.5110. cuisinerestaurantdetroit.com

El Barzon: Mexican. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 3710 Junction Street, Detroit, 48210. 313.894.2070. elbarzonrestaurant.com

Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Café: Cajun. Lunch and Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 400 Monroe Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.965.4600. fishbonesusa.com

Freya: Price fixed. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations, Liquor. 2929 E. Grand Boulevard, Detroit, 48202. 313.351.5544. freyadetroit.com

Giovanni’s Ristorante: Italian. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 330 S. Oakwood Boulevard, Detroit, 48217. 313.841.0122. giovannisrestaurante.com

Green Dot Stables: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2200 W. Lafayette, Detroit, 48216. 313.962.5588. greendotstables.com

Joe Muer Seafood: Seafood. Lunch, MondayFriday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 400 Renaissance Center, Detroit, 48243. 313.567.6837. joemuer.com

Johnny Noodle King: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2601 W. Fort Street, Detroit, 48216. 313.309.7946. johnnynoodleking.com

Mario’s: Italian. Lunch, Saturday & Sunday, Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 4222 2nd Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.1616. mariosdetroit.com

Midtown Shangri-la: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 4710 Cass Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.974.7669. midtownshangril-la.com

Motor City Brewing Works: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 470 W. Canfield Street, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.2700. motorcitybeer.com

Oak & Reel: Italian Seafood. Dinner, ThursdayMonday. Reservations. Liquor. 2921 E. Grand Boulevard, Detroit, 48202. 313.270.9600. oakandreel.com

Parc: New American. Brunch, Saturday &

Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 800 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48226. 313.922.7272. parcdetroit.com

Prime + Proper: Steak House. Brunch, Weekends. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1145 Griswold St, Detroit, 48226. 313.636.3100. primeandproperdetroit.com

Prism: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 555 E. Lafayette Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.309.2499. greektowncasino.com

Red Smoke Barbeque: Barbeque. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. Trappers Alley Shopping Center, 573 Monroe Ave., Detroit, 48226. 313.962.2100.

Selden Standard: American. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 3921 Second Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.438.5055. seldenstandard.com

SheWolf Pastifico & Bar: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 438 Selden Street, Detroit 48201. 313.315.3992. shewolfdetroit.com

Sinbad’s: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 100 St. Clair Street, Detroit, 48214. 313.822.8000. sindbads.com

Slows Bar BQ: Barbeque. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2138 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, 48216. 313.962.9828. slowsbarbq.com/locations/corktown

Tap at MGM Grand: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 1777 Third Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.465.1234. mgmgranddetroit.com

The Block: American. Brunch, Weekends, Lunch & Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 3919 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.0892. theblockdet.com

The Peterboro: Chinese American. Dinner, Friday-Sunday. Take-out, Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 420 Peterboro Street, Detroit, 48201. 313.462.8106. thepeterboro.com

The Statler: French. Brunch, Sunday. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 313 Park Avenue, Detroit, 48226. 313.463.7111. statlerdetroit.com

Townhouse Detroit: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 500 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 48226. 313.723.1000. townhousedetroit.com

Smith & Co: American. Dinner, WednesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 644 Selden Street, Detroit, 313.638.1695. smithandcodetroit.com

Supergeil: Berlin Doner. Lunch, Friday-Sunday. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 2442 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, 48216. 313.462.4133. supergeildetroit.com

Symposia: Mediterranean. Dinner, WednesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor.1000 Brush Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.962.9366. atheneumsuites.com/symposia

Vertical Detroit: Small Plates & Wine Bar. Dinner, Wednesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor. 1538 Centre Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.732.WINE. verticaldetroit.com

Vivio’s Food & Spirits: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2460 Market Street, Detroit, 48207. 313.393.1711. viviosdetroit.net

The Whitney: American. Tea Service, Saturday & Sunday, Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor.4421 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.5700. thewhitney.com

Wright & Co.: American. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 1500 Woodward Avenue, Second Floor, Detroit, 48226. 313.962.7711. wrightdetroit.com

Fear and loathing in Bloomfield Hills Schools

Bloomfield Hills High School has been one of the top-rated high schools in the state, a model of how a multicultural community can come together to thrive both educationally and culturally. Yet, in one swift motion – in the form of an all-school diversity assembly held for each grade, one at a time on Tuesday, March 14 – all of its hard work and benevolent cooperation imploded as a faculty-approved speaker has created an uproar where it is now students against students, parents against parents, neighbors against neighbors, and everyone against the school administration.

Rather than creating understanding amidst diversity, it has shown the divisiveness in the community, and exacerbated alienation and estrangement.

To explain, a diversity group comprised of sophomores and juniors at the school, with the assistance of a faculty advisor, invited speakers to a diversity assembly. There were four separate assemblies for all students, with an American Chinese man, a transgender woman, an Indigenous individual, and Palestinian activist Huwaida Arraf invited to speak to students, supposedly to present different backgrounds and experiences.

The bone of contention centered around Arraf, a noted anti-Israeli Palestinian speaker who cofounded the International Solidarity Movement. She was the chair of the Free Gaza Movement, the organization behind the Gaza Freedom Flotillas, and has a history of controversial tweets. She has referred to Zionists (those in favor of the state of Israel) as occupiers running an apartheid state, and accused Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip. At the assemblies, Arraf made statements calling Israel an

apartheid state, “an oppressor,” as well as denying Israel's existence, which left many Jewish students and others in the community upset and uncomfortable, and Islamic and Arab students feeling recognized.

It is questionable how well-versed the student committee was in their assignment, and how well the advisor assisted them in choosing speakers. While inviting an Islamic individual to provide their perspective on diversity was not objectionable, someone with a less anti-Israel activist stance –easy to discern with a quick Goggle search – could potentially have provided less tinder to the situation.

There have been numerous reports of harassment and hate incidents since the assembly, and many students and parents do not feel the high school is currently a safe environment for their students. That is an unconscionable situation for this public high school.

Jewish and Muslim religious leaders have met with school officials in efforts to create understanding and unity in the face of antisemitism and Islamophobia, and there are efforts for further education within the district. But the harm, right now, is done. And a simple band aid will not provide the panacea necessary to heal this fractured district.

At a special board of education meeting called to help facilitate communications between the board, administration and the community, it was overwhelmingly clear that the divide between the Jewish and Islamic communities are immense –despite speaker after speaker relaying that prior to the assembly most members felt comfortable, even

were friends, with members of other religions. What has been also immensely obvious is that the current administration is clueless as to how they got into their current situation, and how to competently get out.

Despite superintendent Pat Watson's obvious enthusiasm for education and the district, as issues have arisen during his tenure, he has often been the Invisible Man – providing email statements to families, faculty and the press, but failing to communicate directly with those of us who speak for you – as the media, we get denials from spokespersons, are told he's unavailable, busy, occupied. We have been unable to communicate directly with other administrators or principals –Bloomfield Hills Schools has tried to micromanage their image and communications. But reality always seeps through the cracks, until, as in March 14, the dam breaks, and they are unprepared for the flood.

Perhaps a superintendent who had come up through an administration, rather than directly from working as a principal, would have had the experience to appreciate the importance of transparency. Transparency is critical at every point. Total cohesiveness amongst the student body may be an impossibility for this school year, but it must be the long-term goal, and Watson, Bloomfield Hills High School Principal Lawrence Stoughter, assistant superintendents, school board members and parents must find a way to at least achieve collaboration, consensus and harmony among the study body, much less the community.

It is imperative for both the students and for everyone who lives in the Bloomfield Hills Schools district.

Transparency best approach on sex abuse

On a number of occasions we have been critical of Cranbrook Schools for lack of transparency but we have to hand it to officials there on how they have handled claims of sexual abuse on the part of former employees there.

Like everyone who heard about it, we too were stunned and appalled last April to hear from the Cranbrook Education Community that a Cranbrook graduate had informed the schools that while a student there he had experienced sexual misconduct by a former faculty member, who worked at the schools from 1946-1961.

Upon learning of the allegation, Cranbrook said they immediately reviewed the situation in accordance with their established protocols, and even though the allegation was over 60 years ago, they engaged the services of Linda Burwell, an independent investigator, to investigate the sexual misconduct, and asked anyone with information about an incident or situation involving sexual misconduct by any faculty or staff member at Cranbrook to confidentially contact Burwell.

In an astounding act of transparency, in midMarch, the board of trustees at Cranbrook and leadership released information about Burwell's independent investigation, which determined that

two former employees had engaged in sexual misconduct in years past, but found no evidence that any current member of Cranbrook's faculty, staff or administration has engaged in any sexual misconduct with students.

Approximately 105 individuals, including alumni and former faculty, administrators, employees and third parties, were interviewed by Burwell and her team.

It is disturbing and horrible to read that former teacher, coach and athletic director Fred Campbell, at Cranbrook Schools from 1946 to 1961, engaged in sexual misconduct with at least 11 male students during his time at Cranbrook. Campbell died in 2007.

Burwell also discovered that a former maintenance staff worker, Daniel Deshetler, at Cranbrook from 1971 until 1986, sexually assaulted a minor male student in the early 1980s. The former student said he had never reported the matter to anyone prior to calling Burwell in 2022 and talking with the independent investigators.

Burwell learned that in 1986 Deshetler was arrested and convicted of criminal sexual conduct relating to a different incident on Cranbrook’s campus. He was incarcerated for several years,

and is on the sex offender registry.

In addition to Campbell and Deshetler, Burwell found credible evidence verifying the allegations against eight other individuals – former employees and one spouse of a former employee – who engaged in some form of sexual misconduct during their time at Cranbrook.

All of these incidents are unacceptable and provide horrid memories for their victims. But, sadly, as we have seen from media reports around the country, they are not unique to Cranbrook. Private schools, especially those with boarding components, have been victims twice over – from those who sexually abused vulnerable youth being educated at premier institutions, yet had no one to report the misconduct to. Today's more open culture, which encourages explicit school policies prohibiting sexual misconduct, background checks on all employees, training for faculty and staff, as well as prompt investigations of any complaints, hopefully allows for both healing of old wounds and the prevention of further abuse.

We commend Cranbrook Education Community for the openness in sharing a difficult chapter in its history, and hope other schools learn from their modeling.