Downtown newsmagazine | Birmingham/Bloomfield

BACK TO SCHOOL? PLANS FOR STUDENT RETURNS AT MERCY OF CORONAVIRUS

ENVIRONMENTAL RULES: THE ROLLBACKS KEEP COMING OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL POLITICAL GOSSIP AND NEWS DIG THIS CITY: SHOP BIRMINGHAM, WIN PRIZES AUGUST 2020 DOWNTOWNPUBLICATIONS.COM

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DOWNTOWN08.20

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Rollback of environmental rules continuing Over the last three-and-a-half years the Trump administration has completed, or is currently in the process to be complete, rollbacks on roughly 100 environmental rules and regulations, the most critical one changes the National Environmental Policy Act.

LONGFORM

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School districts in Oakland County and the state are caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to deciding whether to open for in-person education or remain on the patch to virtual education starting this fall.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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The national problem with the coronavirus testing program came to the home of publisher David Hohendorf, illustrating how this problem must be addressed if we are going to tame the pandemic.

CRIME LOCATOR

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

OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL

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Congressional campaigns rack up millions; county exec race down and dirty; privacy invasion, stolen signs in Bloomfield; turning state district blue, or not; zip code donations for prez; plus more.

MUNICIPAL

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Nine-story zoning nixed; new time for public comment; commissioner ethics complaint; parks and rec bond makes ballot; weighing in on city master plan; Balwin Library reopens; plus more.

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Reporter Dana Casadei returns to our prior format in which she brings interesting news items to the newsmagazine's readers, certainly made easier now that the restaurant industry has started to re-open.

ENDNOTE

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State and county health officials must make a decision – now – on weather it's really safe to reopen schools, based on actual testing metrics. Reform of police departments must be driven by the state.

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FROM THE PUBLISHER he failings of the novel coronavirus testing/tracing effort in the country and Oakland County took on a special significance in my household in late July as one member of our family was exposed at work to an employee who tested positive for COVID-19.

T

Since the pandemic was recognized in March, three of us have been in lockdown, including our son from Manhattan who had returned just prior to NYC closing down and his employer there moved everyone to a remote work format.

We have followed all the CDC recommendations.

With two of us in the so-called high risk group, we took the health threat seriously. The office of Downtown newsmagazine went to a virtual work setup. Our son, age 30, did all the grocery shopping. Less critical medical appointments were cancelled. We literally cut off all in-person contact with the outside world. We hunkered down for the past five months, like every other household.

But my spouse was considered part of the critical work force in her job managing a work crew dispensing boxes of food into trunks of clients who drive up to a facility serving food challenged families in southwest Detroit.

A young worker there developed COVID-19 symptoms and tested positive.

Because medical authorities recommend testing for anyone who is within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes, the three of us in our household went to get tested.

We went to a local Birmingham drive-up testing operation and took the standard nasal swab test, opting for that instead of a rapid test that we were told was only 85 percent accurate. Per the medical clinic, we were told to isolate ourselves until tests were returned in 24 to 72 hours. Right.

As of this writing, eight days later, the online reporting system tells us that our test results are “pending.” Out of frustration, we decided to go for a second test – this one the rapid results one – only to be told that the quicker test was no longer available at testing centers anywhere locally.

Our experience illustrates the problem with the national response to the pandemic since March. Aside from the tragedy of no national testing program, let alone the lack of a national policy to respond to this crisis in general, the U.S. testing program is at best a disappointment.

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, medical supplies to properly test the population were in short supply, if available at all. States, left by national officials to shift for themselves, had to scrounge and compete with other states for supplies. We have all heard the stories.

But even now, when supplies are available, testing and possibly tracing the spread of the disease remains a less than effective effort.

Contact tracing, which should have been started in earnest in March, has largely failed. Now that testing supplies are more plentiful, major lags in testing results make the tracing system essentially pointless. The sheer volume of cases nationwide, let alone in the hot spot states, have overwhelmed the system. Add to that the fact that the CDC had estimated 100,000 tracing workers early on would be needed to serve as a preventative effort on the spread of COVID-19. At the start of August, only

about 33,000 tracing workers had been hired.

Further complicating any tracing effort is the nation-wide reluctance of the population to provide information to those tasked with tracking infection patterns.

Add to this mess, legitimate questions are being raised about the accuracy of the national reporting system when it comes to test results. I spoke with a local Bloomfield Hills doctor in recent weeks who gave me a list of concerns, including CDC system reporting deficiencies that only raises more issues when it comes to the effectiveness of the testing/tracing effort to bring this pandemic under control.

Yes, testing is still important, whether you exhibit symptoms or not, and especially if you have been exposed to someone who is known to be infected.

Even without symptoms, you could be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus and pass it to others. Testing still gives us a snapshot metric, albeit not perfect, in terms of the percentage of positive results from those tested. It's a hint of what could be taking place in the wider population, and still plays a role in the setting of public policy response.

Oakland County, for example, back in mid-April, when testing 792 persons in one day, showed 26.5 percent of those tested were positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. On May 15, with 1,520 persons tested, 4.8 percent were positive. June 15, the number of positive results was 1.3 percent of 1,456 receiving the test. Now that the county has reopened, on July 14 about 5,000 persons were tested and 2.6 percent of the results were positive. That positive percentage jumped to 4.9 percent on July 31 when 3,826 persons were tested.

COVID-19 is expected to remain a health threat for at least the next year.

Let's hope the testing debacle gets addressed. If not, then forget about bringing the economy back beyond its current fragile status.

POLICE POLICIES: As a follow-up on our July longform article on what policies exist to control police behavior (i.e. chokeholds, for example), when we wrote the piece we had great cooperation from our three local police departments, the county sheriff and the state police in terms of supplying copies of department policies. Only the city of Southfield refused to supply their policy in response to our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. After we went to press, we finally heard from the city of Royal Oak Police Department, which also rejected our request, hiding behind some provision of the FOIA. We could appeal these two denials, and likely win, but we are taking a different tack. I am now reaching out to local members of the state House and Senate to determine if we can find support for changes to the Freedom of Information Act which now exempts police department policy documents from FOIA requests. Transparency when it comes to department policies on how officers operate is paramount. We can understand exemptions for documents on how officers are deployed. No one wants to impede or threaten operations of law enforcement or the safety of officers. But the public has a basic right to know what policies their local departments follow when officers interact with the public.

David Hohendorf Publisher DavidHohendorf@DowntownPublications.com

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PUBLISHER David Hohendorf NEWS EDITOR Lisa Brody NEWS STAFF/CONTRIBUTORS Hillary Brody Anchill | Dana Casadei | Stacy Gittleman Austen Hohendorf | Gigi Nichols | Bill Seklar PHOTOGRAPHY/CONTRIBUTORS Esme McClear | Laurie Tennent | Chris Ward Laurie Tennent Studio ADVERTISING DIRECTOR David Hohendorf ADVERTISING SALES Mark Grablowski GRAPHICS/IT MANAGER Chris Grammer OFFICE 124 W. Maple, Birmingham MI 48009 248.792.6464 DISTRIBUTION/SUBSCRIPTIONS Mailed monthly at no charge to most homes in Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills.

Additional free copies distributed at high foot-traffic locations in Birmingham/Bloomfield.

For those not receiving a free mail copy, paid subscriptions are available for a $15 annual charge.

To secure a paid subscription, go to our website (downtownpublications.com) and click on “subscriptions” in the top index and place your order online or scan the QR Code here.

INCOMING/READER FEEDBACK We welcome feedback on both our publication and general issues of concern in the Birmingham/Bloomfield community. The traditional “letters to the editor” in Downtown are published in our Incoming section and can include written letters or electronic communication. Opinions can be sent via e-mail to news@downtownpublications.com or mailed to Downtown Publications, 124 W. Maple Road, Birmingham MI 48009. If you are using the mail option, you must include a phone number for verification purposes.

DOWNTOWN GOALS/MISSION The personnel at Downtown newsmagazine bring a special commitment to the publishing effort, reinvesting in the local communities and working to make sure the Birmingham/Bloomfield area reaches its highest potential.

Our mission dictates that we strive each month to provide a solid news and advertising product that local residents look forward to reading. Our goal is to build a community of informed citizens through the efforts of our passionate team. We are innovators producing products that go well beyond what others offer.

Downtown newsmagazine captures life in the local communities through coverage of major municipal and school issues, personality profiles, the latest news from the business community and the all important social non-profit circuit that makes these communities unique. We also devote considerable effort each month to address major issues facing local residents through our longform story-telling efforts, further setting us apart from others competing for readers' attention.

WEBSITE downtownpublications.com

FACEBOOK facebook.com/downtownpublications TWITTER twitter.com/downtownpubs OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL oaklandconfidential.com METRO INTELLIGENCER metrointelligencer.com Member of Downtown Publications DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM/BLOOMFIELD

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CRIME LOCATOR

NORTH

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Sexual assault

Assault

Murder

Robbery

Breaking/entering

Larceny

Larceny from vehicle

Vehicle theft

Vandalism

Drug offenses

Arson

These are the crimes reported under select categories by police officials in Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills through August 6, 2020.

Placement of codes is approximate.

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INCOMING Sheriff clarifies remarks Thank you for publishing the article on “Local police agencies: the rules governing officers” (July/Downtown). As always, it was a thorough article.

After reading through the article, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard would like to correct a few incorrect items.

In regard to the first time he is quoted in the article, it would be more correct to say: “Yes, there are bad police officers, and they have to be held accountable for their actions. If there are 80 bad police officers out of the 800,000 in total that serve the country, that is a small percentage. However, this is not to minimize the bad actions of these individuals, but it has to be in context that the vast majority of police officers are doing the right thing and they need to be supported.”

Later in the article, he is quoted as saying we are the one in the county with a training unit. That is incorrect. He said we were the only one in the county who staffs a full-time training unit of our size.

Other agencies have training units, but they are not full-time, nor have the number of staff assigned to them.

On how he is quoted on body cameras, he did not say we have to go through what is and wasn’t admissible, but rather, we have to go through what has to be redacted under FOIA for privacy protections. You have to have someone watch eight hours of video to determine what is releasable under the privacy laws.

Further, he didn’t mention internal affairs in his statement on body cameras. He stated that any complaint of misconduct triggers holding the video footage, an investigation of the complaint is done, and then a release of the video and findings of the investigation is released. It is about keeping the focus on police misconduct, and it should not be used as a tool for voyeurism or as a way to violate the privacy of our citizens.

As you know, police are being downtownpublications.com

SPEAK OUT We welcome your opinion on issues facing the Birmingham/Bloomfield communities.

Although we do not have a fixed maximum length for letters sent to us, we recommend a maximum length of 175-200 words. We also reserve the right to edit letters for length if necessary.

Opinions can be sent via e-mail to news@downtownpublications.com or mailed to Downtown Publications, 124 West Maple Road, Birmingham MI 48009.

scrutinized every which way, and we want to make sure that sheriff’s statements are accurate and clear.

Megan E. Noland Director, Government Affairs Senior Advisor to the Sheriff (Publisher note: As a courtesy to the sheriff, we are allowing his office to clarify his remarks but we are standing by our story.)

Informative police article This was a truly outstanding and informative article about policing and police reform (Local Police Policies/July).

I am glad to have been a part of it.

Robert Sedler Distinguished Professor of Law Wayne Law Wayne State University

Threatening democracy The current denizen of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue crossed inviolable bounds by suggesting that we delay the November 3rd Presidential Election based on his conspiracy theories that allowing people to vote by mail is not secure. Trump himself votes absentee. Several states vote completely by mail. There is simply no truth in saying voting this way is not secure.

Democrats and Republicans in Congress, and other parties that preceded us, have debated the full array of issues for many decades.

We have contested elections vigorously, then disagreed fiercely over policy once elected, and

compromised to pass legislation.

This process is sometimes messy and inefficient, but it is deeply honorable. Welcome to democracy.

Throughout all the emotion, commotion and self-promotion of our democracy, Republicans and Democrats have historically worked together to protect the basic norms that have allowed it to last 230 years (with very important disputes about who may vote and how easily). Non-partisan election administration. Holding all votes as scheduled. Peaceful transfers of power.

We are in the middle of a pandemic. Trump’s unwillingness to heed ample early warnings beginning in his daily intelligence briefings in January; invoke the full powers of the Defense Production Act to procure or produce everything we need for testing, treatment and personal protection; create a national public health response and plan; show compassion for the nearly 160,000 Americans already dead and the millions unemployed and suffering; and basically lead in any way amounts to the greatest failure of executive function in the modern history of the presidency.

Now that his poll numbers remain miserable week after week, he seeks a way out, democracy be damned. Well, we will not let our democracy be damned.

The Congress set the date for our federal election as the Tuesday after the first Monday in November by statute in 1845. Only Congress can change this. The American people participated in one truly national referendum in 2018, and that was the election of all 435 members of the House of Representatives. They sent the most diverse and dynamic group of citizens to represent them in our history. This Congress will not let any person threaten our democracy.

Andy Levin U.S. House of Representatives 9th District (Bloomfield Township)

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MONEY TALKING: Shout out for this one to the New York Times, where a newsroom of over 1,000 journalists allows time to do the extraordinary, including tracking by zip code the number of people making presidential campaign donations from this April through the end of June. In the Birmingham/Bloomfield area, Joe Biden was leading in terms of the number of people donating to his run to be prez. In Bloomfield Township zip code 48301, 164 people have donated to Biden, and 86 to Donald Trump, while in zip code 48302, 197 people ante upped for Biden and 133 for Trump. The zip code of 48304, which includes Bloomfield Hills and part of Bloomfield Township, had 191 residents donating to Biden and 160 to Trump. State-wide, 42,000 have coughed up money for Biden and 39,000 have done likewise for Trump.

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TIDAL WAVE: The presidential race is not the only one where a lot of money is flying. Locally, Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D), who flipped two years ago the 11th congressional district, which winds from southern Rochester Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Troy, and western Oakland and Wayne counties, raised $713,728 for the second quarter of the year, ending June 30. She has so far raised STEVENS a whopping $3.9 million dollars this election cycle, and has $3 million cash on hand heading ESSHAKI towards November. Her Republican opponent, as of August 4, Eric Esshaki, raised $417,749 so far for his campaign, including a $100,000 loan to himself, and has $213,144 cash on hand going forward.

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ONE-SIDED: Democratic Congressman Andy Levin of Bloomfield Township, who represents the 9th District, is winning the money race to retake his seat. That’s primarily because his Republican challenger, Charles J. Langworthy, has either not raised any money, or not filed any reports with the Federal Election Committee (FEC) by the June 30 date.

Levin, on the other hand, raised $202,872 for the second quarter, for a total of $901,187 for this election cycle. He has $424,893 cash on hand in his effort to remain the congressman of the district covering Bloomfield Township, Beverly Hills, Franklin, Royal Oak, Huntington Woods, Ferndale, and a good chunk of Macomb County.

FAST & FURIOUS: Republicans are determined to stop Democratic juggernaut Elissa Slotkin, who flipped the perennial 8th congressional district blue in 2018. Paul Junge, who won the Republican primary to man the helm in November, might need to command a Brinks truck, because Slotkin, a former CIAoperative who did three tours of duty in Iraq before double stints at the Pentagon under both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and came home to run for the district that covers Rochester, Rochester Hills, northern Oakland and SLOTKIN parts of Livingston and Ingham counties, JUNGE raised $1.4 million last quarter – and $6.1 million for the election cycle. Her cash on hand is a forbidding $5 million. Junge, on the other hand, raised $780,147 last quarter – $505,000 which was a loan to himself. He has cash on hand of $445,852.

STEAMROLLER: Brenda Lawrence (D-Southfield) fought off a primary challenger for her 14th District congressional seat, covering Detroit, Southfield, Farmington, Farmington Hills and West Bloomfield, and if dollars are an indicator, she has no intention of backing off or slowing down. Lawrence raised $130,304 in the second quarter of 2020, for a total of $758,540 this election cycle, and had money in the bank from previous downtownpublications.com

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campaigns. Current cash on hand, $859,542. Republican challenger Robert Patrick had loans of $10,000 out of the $20,400 he raised this election cycle, of which $5,700 came in a loan to himself. He has just $510 cash on hand after the August 4 primary.

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FAST WITH THE FACTS: Ads by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) that had been running on Michigan television stations, in its efforts to unseat Democratic Senator Gary Peters with challenger John James (R), appear to have played fast and loose with the facts. The NRSC launched a website, profiteeringpeters.com, asserting that Peters has a poor record on veterans affairs – despite being a veteran himself. In the ads, NRSC claims, “Peters fought against funding for the VA, veterans housing programs, PETERS military pay raises, and health care and research for veterans and their families. He also fought against funding for processing veterans’ disability claims.”

However, reality differs from the claims. He did vote JAMES against a VA funding bill in 2013, along with many other Democrats – because it contained large spending cuts across the government, including for the implementation of Obamacare. Another funding bill – in conference – would have restricted money for family planning, and another did not include money for the Flint water crisis. As for housing programs, Peters has expressed support for veteran housing and requested funding in the last four appropriations cycles, and he cosponsored legislation for additional funding to meet the health care needs of female vets. His record also shows he voted for a bill in December 2019 that included $125 million for processing disability claims for Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange. Guess NRSC doesn’t believe in truth in advertising.

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30

MORE TRUTH IN ADVERTISING: Republican Senate candidate John James also seems to be having some issues stretching the truth in an ad currently running in heavy rotation. The ad, which focuses on his physical fitness (an absolute requirement of candidates!) as a military vet, stumbles, The Washington Post pointed out, when it refers to James as an “Army Ranger,” something he also has on a campaign video, Facebook post, and on social media. Turns out, the Army has requirements that anyone who has gone through Ranger School – which James did – can only say they are “Ranger-qualified,” something James has on the biography on his campaign website, so he does know the difference.

According to the Army, only someone who is, or who has, served in the 75th Ranger Regiment, a special operations unit with the mission to plan and conduct joint special military operations in support of national policies and objectives, can say they’re an Army Ranger.

DOWN AND DIRTY: We now know that in the battle for the Democratic nod for Oakland County exec, current exec Dave Coulter beat former buddy and county treasurer Andy Meisner, 53 percent to 47 percent. But Meisner, who seemingly began running for the position as soon as he became treasurer in 2008, wasn’t going down without a fight. A dirty fight. Meisner, apparently feeling desperate in the final few weeks, reached for the mud and kept slinging, airing an ad falsely asserting that Coulter took a pay raise during the COVID19 crisis while he, Meisner, cut his pay; COULTER that Coulter cut county workers’ pay, which the board of commissioners determined, and other falsehoods. It got so bad, Meisner’s first boss, former Congressman Sandy Levin (D) put out a statement on July 17, which said in part, “It is disappointing that Andy Meisner, who worked in my office many years ago, is stooping so low to carry out his ambition.” Meisner MEISNER significantly outraised Coulter for the job – raising $420,009 this quarter, and $1 million this election cycle. He finished with $184,093 cash on hand. Coulter raised $228,941 this quarter, for a total of

DOWNTOWN

08.20

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KEEP ON TRUCKIN’: A pair of middle aged (we’re being kind) candidates running for office in Bloomfield Township obviously forgot they were no longer in high school (or middle school) when they zoomed up and down the street that township Supervisor Leo Savoie lives on well into the evening hours one July night, waving their signs, taking pictures and leaving campaign literature tied to mailboxes up and down the road.

Neither Savoie nor his neighbors were amused by the antics of treasurer candidate Mark Antakli, nor clerk candidate Dave Thomas. Antakli enjoyed himself so much, he even jumped out of Thomas’ SUV and did a dance on the lawn in front of Savoie’s house while holding one of his own campaign signs. Savoie said several of his neighbors shot photos and gave him a call to complain about them. “Totally sophomoric,” Savoie said. As a caveat, the pair lost in their respective primary contests.

WHAT’S IN THE WATER: In more “bad behavior by Bloomfield Township candidates” news, Don Valente. a retired attorney, won a spot for township trustee on the Republican ballot on the August 4 primary. While he participated in a candidate forum with Bloomfield Hills High School students – he failed to answer our Primary Guide questions, instead venting hatred for current supervisor Leo Savoie, who lost his bid for re-election – where he said, “I am seeking a position as a trustee because I believe a trustee is someone who must be trusted.” He nonetheless had sticky fingers for campaign signs in the township for candidates he didn’t agree with – like Savoie, treasurer Brian Kepes, Republican clerk candidate Tom Smyly, trustee Neil Barnett, and a couple others. Not just a few signs – township police caught him on surveillance cameras, following a citizen tip, stealing a fistful of signs – word is between 50 and 60 election signs were found in plain view leaning against the outside of Valente’s garage. The case was referred to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, which confirmed they had sent the case to the prosecutor’s office to review for a possible arrest warrant. While there are sign thefts every election, it’s actually a crime in all 50 states. Stealing or defacing a sign in Michigan is a misdemeanor that can carry a maximum penalty of a $500 fine or imprisonment of up to 90 days in jail. And it’s not good for a political career. Just ask former Bloomfield Hills commissioner Stuart Sherr, also an attorney, who pled no contest in September 2019 to a misdemeanor theft charge and was sentenced to community service and fines to the theft of campaign signs in November of 2018 that belonged to a Bloomfield Hills School Board candidate.

TURNING BLUE, OR NOT: Democrats have made inroads in the north Oakland area when it comes to Congress and the Michigan Senate, so now that the primary is over, the question is whether Jody LaMacchia, a Democrat from Oxford, can flip the 46th state House district which includes the normally conservative communities of Addison, Brandon, Orion and Oxford and most of Oakland Township. She’s up again incumbent Republican John Reilly who is seeking his third term in the November election. Outlier. Paleoconservative.

Right-wing. If there are 2-5 ‘no’ votes on an issue in the House, that is where you will find him. Reilly first ran in 2014 and lost, only to return in 2016, beating (loudly) the drum against the expansion of Medicare in Michigan, taking over 69 percent of the general election vote. But in 2018 his LAMACCHIA margin of victory slipped by 10 points. Along comes LaMacchia, who filed for this office in early 2019 and immediately launched her door-to-door ground game, to be replaced with hundreds of weekly phone calls when the campaign ran up against the pandemic this spring. In her favor, she continues to out-raise Reilly. She – over $92,000 during the life of the campaign, $65,000 of which is still in the bank. He – just over $50,000, of which about $30,000 is left for the November race. Add to her side of the ledger, we’re told the percentage of college educated residents in the district is 14 percent higher than the state average, a crowd getting its distance from Trump and other Republicans. Plus, Biden is currently polling at least nine points ahead of Trump in the state and his coattails are expected to have some down ballot impact. A race to watch in the coming weeks.

DOWNTOWN

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SHOP BIRMINGHAM. BE ELIGIBLE FOR SPECIAL DRAWING! That’s right. During the April – August portion of the Birmingham downtown paving project, continue to frequent retailers and businesses in downtown Birmingham and look for the Dig This City logo on entranceways to participating merchants.

If you make a purchase at a participating merchant (nearly 30 of them), you will be asked fill out an entry blank to be entered into a drawing at the end of August. Participating merchants appear on the next two pages and throughout this issue of the newsmagazine.

We will be giving away four Delta airlines flight cards, two with a face value of $500 each and two with a face value of $250 each. Four shoppers will win one of four $100 gift cards to local restaurants. Plus there are special items from local merchants that will be in this drawing, like Shades Optical ($500 certificate); Lucido Fine Jewelery (five $100 gift certificates); Ceresnie & Offen Furs ($200 gift certificate); Steele Angel ($100 gift certificate); and Tender (two $200 gift cards).

Downtown newsmagazine has partnered with merchants in downtown Birmingham to demonstrate to shoppers that – excuse the mess – downtown Birmingham is open for business during the road reconstruction project and it is an especially good time to visit the shops in downtown Birmingham.

There are a number of activities planned and special shopping incentives are being offered by the downtown businesses, so watch for further updates as we move through the construction project this spring and into part of the summer.

Here's the list of merchants participating in the Dig This City promotion and drawing at the end of August: Adventures In Toys Barbara Boz Be Well Lifestyle Center Birmingham Tailor Castaldi's Formal Wear Ceresnie & Offen Furs Cincchini Custom Clothier DessiS Douglas Cleaners

Fabrik Flemings Steakhouse Found Objects Gazelle Sports Harp's Lingerie ICG Investments Legato Salon and Spa Lori Karbal Lucido Fine Jewelry

My House of Style Merwins Antiques Optik Birmingham Shades Optical State Farm St. Croix Shop Steele Angel Tender Birmingham The Italian Dish

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$500 each; two Delta airline gift cards each valued at $250; along with four $100 value gift cards to downtown Bimingham restaurants. Plus there will be gift certificates from some local merchants, including a $500 gift card from Shades Optical; Lucido Fine Jewelery (five $100 gift certificates); Ceresnie & Offen Furs ($200 gift certificate); Steele Angel ($100 gift certificate); Tender (two $200 gift cards).

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Downtown newsmagazine is partnering with merchants in downtown Birmingham during the Maple Road road construction project that is now underway to help make the shopping experience in the city even more memorable than normal.

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During the months of April through August, if you make a purchase at one of our two dozen participating merchants, your name is entered into a special drawing taking place at the end of the threemonth period.

$500 each; two Delta airline gift cards each valued at $250; along with four $100 value gift cards to downtown Bimingham restaurants. Plus there will be gift certificates from some 1 local merchants, including a $500 gift card from Shades Optical; Lucido Fine Jewelery (five $100 gift certificates); Offen Furs ($200 gift Drive up to our front door orCeresnie back & door certificate); Steele Angel 3 Call us and let us know you are here($100 gift certificate); (two $200 gift cards).

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Downtown newsmagazine is partnering with merchants in downtown Birmingham during the Maple Road road construction project that is now underway to help make the shopping experience in the city even more memorable than normal.

In addition to the Dig This City promotional contest, organized by Downtown newsmagazine, the downtown Birmingham Shopping District (BSD) will be hosting a number of activities during the construction period.

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Winners will be selected for two Delta airline gift cards valued at

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During the months of April through August, if you make a purchase at one of our two dozen participating merchants, your name is entered into a special drawing taking place at the end of the threemonth period.

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$500 each; two Delta airline gift cards each valued at $250; along with four $100 value gift cards to downtown Bimingham restaurants. Plus there will be gift certificates from some local merchants, including a $500 gift card from Shades Optical; Lucido Fine Jewelery (five $100 gift certificates); Ceresnie & Offen Furs ($200 gift certificate); Steele Angel ($100 gift certificate); Tender (two $200 gift cards).

TER G I . EN V EOP H

Downtown newsmagazine is partnering with merchants in downtown Birmingham during the Maple Road road construction project that is now underway to help make the shopping experience in the city even more memorable than normal.

In addition to the Dig This City promotional contest, organized by Downtown newsmagazine, the downtown Birmingham Shopping District (BSD) will be hosting a number of activities during the construction period.

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FACES Marney Keenan n the fall of 2009, Marney Keenan had a fateful meeting that would lead to 10 years of reporting on a 40-year-old cold case, and ultimately, the publishing of her first book, The Snow Killings.

“I wrote the book, or committed myself to writing the book, because I wanted to bring the truth about the entire investigation to light,” she said.

Anyone who lived in Oakland County during the late ‘70s remembers the Oakland County Child Killer. Over 13 months between 1975-1976, four kids, aged between 10 and 12, were taken from sidewalks and a drug store parking lot. The victims – Mark Stebbins, Jill Robinson, Kristine Mihelich, and Timothy King – were abducted, held for days, and murdered, their bodies all found along public roadsides.

That meeting – one that lasted three hours – was with the last victim’s father, Barry King. It started by King telling Keenan and her editor at The Detroit News that a friend of Timothy, who had grown up to be a polygraph examiner, had the most promising lead the case had seen in decades. One that pointed to Christopher Busch, a convicted pedophile and son of a wealthy General Motors executive, who had been freed weeks before Timothy disappeared.

“Were it not for that conversation, we wouldn't be doing this interview. There would be no book,” said Keenan, who currently lives in Bloomfield Hills and grew up in the area.

After Keenan broke the story for The Detroit News about that lead, she would go on to report about the case for years before turning the information into a book.

“I wanted to celebrate those, like Barry King, who made it their mission to find justice for these kids. I also want to shed light on those who conspired to keep a lot of this information away from the public through the cover-up,” she said. “So, that's why I wanted to do it and in order to do that I had to get inside the investigation.

That took a long time and I had to gain the trust of the lead detective and had to follow the case through.”

She did gain that trust, with both former detectives and the victims' families.

Keenan’s decades in reporting – she worked for the Detroit News for 26 years, as well as the Chicago Tribune and other weekly and daily newspapers – helped her tell this particular story.

The process of writing the book itself, which was published in June, was complex.

Keenan found herself with multiple file cabinets full of police records, old newspaper clippings, and transcriptions of interviews related to the case.

After deciding to tell the story chronologically, Keenan used a whiteboard to help her outline all the chapters, important facts, and build a narrative arc.

“Then I’d change my mind about the structure and mix it all up and drive myself nuts,” she said. “I had a huge learning curve.”

Keenan hopes people come forward after reading the book, through the Oakland County Child Killer’s Task Force tip line, conveniently located on the books’ website.

“People saw things, people have knowledge of what went on during that 13 month period in 1976 and 1977. The families deserve answers. The public deserves answers,” Keenan said. “There was a cover-up. We were never supposed to know about Chris Busch…A cover-up that was intended solely to save face of task force officials. It's an injustice heaped upon a tragedy, you know?

“So, I think with the combination of science and getting this case out on a national scale, we might be able to find some answers,” Keenan said.

I

Story: Dana Casadei

Photo: Laurie Tennent

TO GO OR NOT TO GO: SCHOOL IN THE AGE OF COVID-19

BY LISA BRODY

arly Sheridan can see both sides of the coin. As a middle school math teacher, she yearns to be back in the classroom this September, because she knows it's the best way for her students to learn.

But as a parent to three children – ages 12, 9 and 8 – in Bloomfield Hills schools, she's very torn as to what will be the most advantageous, safest and advisable way for them to be educated this school year.

“No matter what, it's going to be different,” she said.

At this point, “as of today,” she said she and her husband James are choosing inperson learning for her children. But, she said, she knows that could change – and there could be a back and forth over the school year, with a few weeks in school, and then a couple weeks at home, depending upon exposure to COVID-19 for her and each of her children, as well as if the number of cases rise in the state, and there is a reversal of phases, back to phase three.

“Being a teacher, I feel okay. But there are so many unanswered questions. What happens if a child in my daughter's class tests positive? If I am pulled out because one of my kids' could be exposed, then that's 10 days – two full school weeks – that my students have to have a sub. There's a sub shortage and the quality of subs have declined,” Sheridan noted, understanding that if a child in her class, or one of her children's class, tests positive for COVID-19, they will likely face a two-week quarantine.

She said she is the parent who would have to stay home with her quarantined child.

“How often are my students going to have a sub? And sub plans are difficult to prepare.

It's a lot of work to do for 10 days. Those are major concerns for me.”

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On the other hand, as an experienced educator, she said, “It's difficult to teach math online. When students get online and say, 'Mrs. Sheridan, I'm confused.' I want to be able to show them right then and there, and work out the problem with it. The tools given to me only worked 50 percent of the time – it's something discussed (by districts) but at this point, there's been nothing new or new training for me.”

Further, she pointed out, education's buzzword for the last decade or so has been “collaboration, collaboration, collaboration,” which in a virtual world is impossible, and very difficult to achieve with social distancing.

She explained, “online teaching does not work for every student.

Any deficits of this, we're not going to see the effects of this period for a few years. I have 140 students in a normal year – yet I have three children in the prime of their schooling.

“In the spring when we got shut down, we (teachers) knew our students very well. A lot of a student's success is based on their relationship with their teachers. What will it be like if they are meeting their teacher through a Google Meet? How will teachers get to know their students? We have great technology – we can see and hear each other. But can we form the same connections?” heridan voices the conundrum facing not only parents but school districts as well, as we inch closer to the start of a new school year. Many local school districts and private schools are offering parents a choice of inperson learning, some in hybrid forms, and fully virtual options, while other districts have made the determination to begin the first half of the school year by going fully virtual. Large districts which have made that major decision to go virtual, at least to start, for fall 2020, include the Ann Arbor district, Lansing, East Lansing and Okemos districts, Grand Rapids schools, Grosse Pointe, Rochester, Walled Lake and Southfield school districts. There remain others which are still considering that option.

Nationally, California's two largest school districts, Los Angeles and San Diego, will begin the school year full online, as will Oakland, California; Tucson, Nashville; Atlanta, Arlington, Virginia, Miami-Dade, among others across the country.

Last March, all Michigan schools were closed suddenly due to the coronavirus pandemic, a novel virus with no known cure.

Initially, schools were closed for three weeks, through their spring breaks, with learning transferred to handouts and computer screens.

Then, in early April, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer closed schools for the rest of the academic year, and districts scrambled – some offering Zoom and Google Meet classrooms for students, and others telling parents to figure it out. Attendance was suggested, and grades were discarded. Parents – many who were simultaneously working from home themselves – became teachers of children in multiple grades.

Education was often spotty, at best, and for those in areas where internet access was less accessible and devices either not available or shared by several children or by parents as well, education took a back seat. For many kids, the spring of 2020 became a lost school semester. Many parents are also concerned about mental health challenges their children may experience due to worries about the pandemic and isolation they are experiencing.

For the coming school year, state schools will be guided by requirements in MI Safe Schools: Michigan's 2020-21 Return to School Roadmap created by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's COVID-19 Task Force on Education Return to School Advisory Council, published June 30. The statewide plan provides basic guidance to all districts for what is required and strongly recommended safety protocols to keep school communities safe based on the status of the coronavirus. It additionally provided recommendations across mental social-emotional health, instruction and operations within each phase of what the governor calls the MI Safe Start Plan, “to support all schools in Michigan as they continue to their return to school planning work and move towards implementation. These requirements and recommendations are not always easy, but they are necessary,” Whitmer wrote. “We must all continue to put safety

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first, leverage science, data and public health evidence to inform the decisions we make to serve each and every student in Michigan well.”

The guiding principles of the roadmap are that first and foremost, equitable access to learning is a right for each child. Next, in collaboration with parents, students and teachers, schools will use data and evidence to prioritize resources for each child. It advises teachers and staff to prioritize deep and meaningful relationships to create safe learning environments for each child, and to empower the value, cultivation of relationship, and belonging of student and parent voices in all aspects of learning and emotional support for families.

The roadmap noted that there are four school opening scenarios for fall 2020, revolving around Whitmer's state phases. If the state is in phases one to three, schools cannot open for in-person instruction and instruction must be provided remotely. If Michigan is in phase four, where we currently are in southeastern Michigan, schools can open for in-person instruction with more stringent required safety protocols. Once the state moves to phase five, schools may be open for in-person instruction with moderate required safety protocols.

Phase six permits in-person instruction with minimal safety protocols.

It is possible – many experts assert it is likely – that we in Michigan could fluctuate between phase three and four this fall, meaning schools may have to temporarily close to in-person instruction, and then reopen again.

The state roadmap requires facial coverings to always be worn by staff in phase four, other than for meals, as well as by preK-12 students, staff and bus drivers during transportation, in hallways and common areas. They must be worn in classrooms by students in grades 6-12, and should be considered for students in grades K-5.

Soap, water and hand sanitizer myst be readily available, and handwashing for at least 20 seconds is required.

Desks must be spaced six feet apart in classrooms, and class sizes should be “kept to a level afforded by necessary spacing requirements.” Teachers should maintain six feet of spacing between themselves and students as much as possible.

The roadmap recommends that if a classroom has windows that can open, they should be open as much possible, weather permitting. “Specials” like art, music and library should be brought to classrooms. Every school should identify and designate a quarantine area and a staff person for students who become ill at school.

Students should eat meals in classrooms or outdoors. “If cafeterias must be used, meal times should be staggered to create seating arrangements with six feet of distance between students.” he roadmap strongly recommended that before schools reopen for in-person or hybrid instruction they create “hybrid or remote learning programs to… integrate synchronous and asynchronous learning and best practices that promote student engagement, consistency and differentiation. Make expectations clear to school leaders and teachers around hybrid and remote learning instruction that include: best practices for blended or remote learning; grade-level proficiencies; modes of student assessment and feedback; differentiated support for students; the inclusion of social-emotional learning; and guidance around daily instructional time and workload per different grade bands to ensure consistency for students.”

The roadmap also provides recommendations if schools have to close, and then reopen, for in-person instruction this school year, with everything from directions on how to communicate with families to safely bagging devices collected at schools, transporting them to a central location and sanitizing them before conducting maintenance routines to remove malware and mix standard issues.

It reminds districts to “ensure that school and community access points and wired network devices are functional.”

While a roadmap, all decisions on opening and closing schools –

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barring a public health emergency – are local. That is why despite President Donald Trump issuing a decree on July 7, that he was promoting safe and effective learning, and his administration is providing “strong support to ensure K-12 students continue to learn while mitigating the spread of the virus,” almost all funding is from state and local sources, and decisions are primarily made by superintendents and local school boards. Michigan Superintendent of Education Michael Rice, testifying before the state Senate on July 27, said schools shouldn't be forced to reopen with in-person classes this school year and should receive the same funding they did based on last year's enrollments.

Rice was criticizing four bills approved by the Republican-led state House the previous week to require all Michigan school districts to offer the option of in-person classes for students in K-5, despite health and transmission concerns over COVID-19.

“Given the pandemic and the substantial fears of parents and staff, this is not practicable in every district in the state,” Rice said, pointing out several districts are opting to go all-virtual for this school year. akland Schools, the intermediate school district, advises and provides support to all 28 districts in Oakland County. “The executive order was very clear – it's up to local school boards,” said Dr. Michael Yokum, assistant superintendent for educational services, Oakland Schools. “Every district is very different. Right from the beginning we pulled together as a community our continuity of learning plans.”

Yokum said the intermediate school district has shifted resources to pay the full costs for an online assessment system and online curriculum system for districts, and have purchased an online career preparation system, “because their (district) costs are skyrocketing at the same time as the school budgets in Lansing are being cut.

The costs to achieve the roadmap will be astronomical, and that is for districts to bear. We don't know where the fiscal year 2021 budget will land.”

Parents and educators are justifiably concerned about continuing in a virtual educational world, the local school administrators are emphasizing spring 2020 and fall 2020 will be two different worlds.

“What we did in March to June – we did a good job, but it wasn't virtual learning, it was crisis education,” said Pat Watson, superintendent, Bloomfield Hills Schools.

Richard Dempsey, new head of school at Detroit Country Day Schools, concurs with Watson's assessment. “We all have crisis plans – but no one had pandemic plans.”

“It wasn't even a mindset for teachers,” Watson said. “Parents have to remember when the governor closed down, we couldn't do much. We couldn't punish anyone if they didn't attend or didn't do their work. Expectations now will be much different. Attendance will be taken and grades will be given. It will be more synchronistic teaching. It will more resemble a typical day.”

“School 2020 is going to be radically different than school 2019.

No educator, administrator or parent has a model, and there is no one model that will work for all schools,” said Roland Coloma, professor and assistant dean, Division of Teacher Education, Wayne State University. “The lack of universal internet access, for us to implement a fully online teaching and learning format, is one issue, as is full speed broadband. If they're using Zoom or Google classroom with 20 to 25 students – that's a lot of internet and broadband. We will also need to insure that every family will have enough computers, tablets, devices, as well as for parents or caregivers. We are also assuming that these homes will have an adult present who can supervise these children, and are not working outside the home.”

Bloomfield Hills Schools will offer two options for families – a full five-day a week in-person educational option, and a virtual academy they are calling Bloomfield Virtual. Following the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in-person classes will have desks place three to six feet apart when feasible. Students in K-5

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will wear masks at arrival and dismissal and in common areas, and teachers will wear masks all day. Students in grades 6-12 will wear masks all day, as will their teachers. Hand washing with soap and water will be reinforced with scheduled washing times. Hand sanitizer will be readily available to all students. Frequently touched areas will be disinfected every four hours, and student desks will be disinfected after every change in class. There will be a quarantine area designated in every school in case a student becomes ill. And the days of school-wide assemblies are over – indoor assemblies that bring students together with more than one classroom are prohibited.

As for daily temperature checks, Shira Good, communications and service standards for the district, said they are still awaiting guidance from the Oakland County Health Department, which sets the health standards county schools will have to follow. “Once we have that, we will know if that's a part of our arrival process,” Good said.

All students will have to wear masks on busses, and must use hand sanitizer as they get on the bus, and busses will be disinfected between each route, with added bus runs.

Family members and other guests will not be allowed in any school building other than for extenuating circumstances.

“For K-5, the elementary level, we're trying to build like a 'oneroom' school house,” Watson said. He said what that will mean is “we're with that same cohort all day long. If they have recess – and they will have recess, kids need recess – they'll stay at one part of the playground, separate from other classes.”

Instead of classrooms of students coming to specialists, such as art, music and media, specialists will come to classrooms, or the classroom teacher will teach the subject.

“That way it will be one-to-one, in the 'one-room schoolhouse' idea,” Watson said. “We will be spacing kids as best as possible.

Where we can, we will social distance.”

For older students, in middle and high school, Watson said they are looking at the possibility of renting tents for putting up outdoors for fall and spring. “For PE, journaling, English classes, depending upon the weather,” he said. “That gets them outside. We're also looking at reusing spaces differently.”

Having surveyed families, and knowing that not all families are comfortable returning to school in-person, the district created a virtual option they said is light years beyond where they were last spring. “Bloomfield Virtual is an option for those who wish to continue to learn with their peers and Bloomfield Hills Schools teachers, yet remain fully at home,” Watson said. loomfield Virtual is an online K-12 school which is free for district residents – the state per pupil educational dollars apply for registered virtual students no differently than for those who attend school in-person.

There are some limited tuition seats available as well.

The district said it will open simultaneously in the fall for families who want to have their child or children spend a semester or the full school year learning from home. Families must choose either one semester or the full school year by August 18.

“Classes will be taught be highly-skilled, thoughtful and caring Bloomfield Hills Schools teachers utilizing the same academic standards and assessment goals,” Watson said. “Students maintain relationships with peers and teachers while learning fully from home, and students and families will have access to class resources, progress and grades.”

He said the goal is for students and families to enjoy the same rigorous and engaging teaching and learning they expect from the district. Students will receive a mix of live and prerecorded instruction.

The district will provide every student with a device – an iPad for kindergarten and first graders; and a Chromebook for second graders through 12th graders – upon enrollment and completion of their technology agreement. Enrolled students will be able to participate in extracurricular activities outside the traditional school day,

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including sports, clubs and student organizations.

Their website does caution that students in the elementary grades will need an adult or older sibling for support for initial virtual navigation and continual time management support. atson said he anticipates offering some of the district's unique assets, such as the E.L. Johnson Nature Center and the Bowers School Farm, for both those attending school and those attending virtual. “We can say, 'Everyone meet at the nature center at 9 with masks for outdoor education,'” he said.

In late July, Watson said he anticipated – although acknowledged it was a guess – approximately 10 percent of district families would sign up for Virtual Bloomfield.

Birmingham Public Schools on July 28 unveiled its plans for the 2020-21 school year at a study session for the board of education, which still needs to vote on it.

“We have been closely monitoring recommendations from the state of Michigan, CDC, the county and across the world,” superintendent Mark Dziatczak said. “We spoke with about 150 people just in the last week alone. The state of Michigan roadmap provided us with guidelines.

“First and foremost, we wanted to maintain the safest community for everyone in our learning communities,” he said in presenting the district's options, which includes a virtual option and a hybrid option of a half-day mode where students will attend every day for a halfday, which Dziatczak noted not a lot of districts are coming out with.

Other hybrid models include an A-day, B-day option, which they discarded. Birmingham is recommending this option, he said, after parent surveys and feedback from focus groups because it permits limited in-person instruction everyday while maximizing social distancing.

“It increases the social/emotional connection and increased inperson learning compared to the every other day hybrid model,” he said.

It is not without drawbacks, he noted, such as instructional time is limited to half the time; it is complicated, for teachers, administrators, parents and students; it increases child care issues for families; and some weeks, he said, only have two secondary class touch points, meaning some middle and high school classes will only only meet twice in a week due to scheduling.

Masks will have to be worn by all teachers and administrators and students in grades 6-12. Temperatures will not be taken at school. Instead, the district is relying on self-reporting, with staff and students required to fill out a form each day that reports their symptoms.

Bussing plans for the district were not yet released, but routes will need to be increased in order to accommodate the half-day options.

Dziatczak said the virtual option will employ Birmingham Public School teachers whenever possible, but always for core class. “In specialized classes (like art, language), we may have to go through a third party, like Michigan Virtual,” he said.

The virtual option will be taught mostly by live Zoom instruction, but there would also be some taped instruction. Families with an individualized education plan (IEP) will be able to be accommodated with support, he said, as will those students needing reading support, English as a Second Language (ESL), and other appropriate accommodations and support.

“We have two standards that are consistent with graduation standards, as well as meeting or exceeding the state of Michigan standards,” Dziatczak said. “Virtual is still part of our curriculum. It must be aligned with our standards and our curriculum.

Assessments and grading will be done like traditional education.

“Virtual is similar to if we have to go remote – if we go to phase three,” he said. “Virtual would stay the same for those students.

Remote will look similar but teachers will be the teachers for those families who sign up for either virtual or half-day instruction.”

As of July 28, 948 families out of 5,000 BPS families have elected

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into the Virtual Academy for at least one semester. He could not say exactly how many students that was. Families in the Birmingham School District had until August 5 to decide between the Virtual Academy and half-day in-person instruction.

An unspoken concern for districts is whether – and how many – teachers will return this fall to instruct students in person, especially as 30 percent of the teachers in the United States are over 50 – and about 16 percent of the total deaths from COVID-19 in the US are people between the ages of 45-65. Birmingham Schools spokesperson Anne Cron said the district does not have anything official yet; there were only five retirements in the spring, a number consistent with most school years.

“Our hope with our Virtual Academy is that we capture some of those teachers who can't return to the classroom (because of health concerns) or don't want to,” Cron said.

Michigan Education Association (MEA) spokesperson David Crim said he believes school districts will have a difficult time staffing their schools for in-person instruction this fall.

“The first thing we say is – it is not smart to reopen schools until the public health experts say so – and they have not said it is,” Crim said. “It must be a joint decision between public health experts and educators, and educators must be at the table.”

Crim said there are 20,000-plus members of MEA across the state, of which all but Detroit's district in the metro area belong, and about 15,000 members responded to a survey about returning.

“One-third said they were seriously considering retiring or leaving the profession altogether,” he said. “We had a severe teacher shortage before the pandemic. We had a 50 to 60 percent decline in the last decade in our colleges of education.

“Our teachers are feeling scared and angry, because they feel Trump and (national secretary of education Betsy) DeVos are willing to risk their lives without their input.”

“Teaching and learning are such a fundamentally social experience. Teachers derive such pleasure from those light bulb moments. There is something so magical about being in the classroom together that cannot be replicated in an online format – but how do you do it safely?” asked Roland Coloma, professor and assistant dean, Wayne State University Division of Education.

“Many teachers have children at home, so they're also trying to take care of their own children while they're taking care of their classroom children,” said Wayne Coloma. “Teachers are the unheralded heroes. We have forgotten the work teachers do in our push to open schools. We're talking about not just their livelihoods, but their lives.

“Anecdotally, there are definitely discussions about is this worth it?” he said. ubstitute teachers are another concern, as there was a severe substitute shortage prior to the pandemic. This year, districts are encountering another issue, as substitutes can be retired teachers or other individuals who may not be willing to potentially be exposed. They also travel from building to building, district to district.

“We know it will be a challenge just as it has been in previous years,” Cron said.

“I absolutely think there's going to be a substitute shortage,” said Watson of Bloomfield Hills Schools. “We're developing a screening process. So many are retired and have underlying health issues.

Many are not going to return – it isn't safe for them to return.”

“The sub shortage is critical,” Crim noted. “But when you pay them $85 or $90 to have them work a six-hour day – they can go to McDonald's.”

Crim said school cannot successfully reopen without funding for personal protective equipment – PPEs, just like medical personnel.

He noted about $175 billion is included in the Heroes Act (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act), passed by the House of Representatives in May, and awaiting Senate approval.

“That funding, along with public health guidance, along with our

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educators being at the table, are the three things needed before schools are able to reopen,” he said. “Administrators want to do the right thing – they just don't have the money.”

If a student or a teacher becomes ill during the school year, local public and private schools turn to the Oakland County Health Division for guidance, which is also operating under the governor's back to school roadmap, said Shane Frederick Bies, administrator of public health.

“Right now, our community should be so motivated to keep the transmissions down so we do not backslide to phase three,” Bies said. “In reality, our metrics have been trending in the wrong direction. Where we are right now is where we were at the end of March, right before the numbers skyrocketed. The numbers we're seeing in Oakland County and the region, it's time to change our behavior so it's safe enough to have in-person education.”

At this point, the Bies said they have not determined what level of positive testing rate could be a safe level for returning to school.

Bies said they are working with all county schools and superintendents on screening procedures and what would happen if – or more likely, when – a case of coronavirus is identified in a classroom. “Every district has to have plans submitted by August 15 to the state,” he said.

“There's no such thing as zero risk. It's with us,” said Joe Eisenberg, professor and chairman of epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health. In addition to advising students and faculty to wear masks while indoors, he is concerned about ventilation systems in schools, particularly older buildings, and recommends teaching outdoors when the weather is cooperative, and opening windows when possible.

The Oakland County Health Department currently has a full time public health nurse working with Oakland Schools.

“We recently allocated $2 million worth of Care funding to hire upwards of 70 school nurses to assist with school openings and services through the end of December, when the funding ends,” Bies said. “They're going to be official Oakland County employees assigned to school districts, who can deploy them as they need them.”

Local private schools are also following the governor's roadmap and public health directives.

Richard Dempsey, who began his new stint as Head of Schools for Detroit Country Day Schools in July, worked with parents, educators, staff and other stakeholders ahead of arriving to plans for the school year.

“We were guided by a certain set of principles above and beyond the health and safety of those impacted by COVID-19,” he said.

“About 1,700 people walk through our doors each day, and we have to offer the highest quality education for them – to also make sure to be mindful of the well being of all members of our community.

They've experienced a sense of loss – including the loss of school, the loss of athletics, some who didn't get to go to prom. As one door is closing, we cannot forget about last year. We want to provide support for students, and for their trauma, whether through advisories to express themselves, through professional development for faculty. We educate the whole child as a community-driven school.” ountry Day will offer both in-person and virtual options, called Family Selected Remote Learning student participation, for those students who have health concerns, live with family members who have health concerns, and/or are unable to return to their campus this fall. The remote option will permit students to experience the school's academic and extracurricular programs from home and will still permit participation of in-person select athletic, art and nonathletic programs, some of which will be accessed remotely. It is designed to parallel the in-person curriculum, and will include live virtual classes when appropriate. The school anticipates having Zoom advisory and homeroom meetings for peer connections.

Dempsey said their already small classes are being reduced

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further, notably at their lower school. The middle school has retractable walls allowing for more flexibility.

He said the pandemic has allowed them to think beyond the COVID situation and consider reimagining the way they provide the educational experience.

“How should we structure and restructure schools? As school leaders, this is a moment to think of the longer view, to do a 360 – to do a deep dive about everything,” Dempsey said. “COVID really sparked these conversations for schools about how they're doing things, and why – to take not just the short view, but the long view as well. Every school has to pivot. We're a school deep in tradition, but we understand the necessity of schools to adapt to the needs and requirements of students. We need to equip them for the world and prepare them.

“It needs to be student-centered, and it needs to be real world project-based learning with lifelong skills, using collaboration, critical thinking, grit and realism. Add diversity education and wellness. We are changing how we educate our kids,” he said.

Cranbrook Schools, with both day and boarding students, will also offer both in-person and virtual options for the 2020-2021 school year. irector of Schools, and newly-named President of Cranbrook Education Community Aimeclaire Roche said, “Our foremost goal at this time is to ensure the health and well-being of our Schools community… We aim to preserve the richness of the Cranbrook educational experience at all levels. The COVID-related adjustments we will make this coming year allow us to meet that goal, and simultaneously to mitigate health and safety risks of the COVID-19 virus.”

Their approach, she said, will place emphasis on health and hygiene practices which will include proactive screening, facial coverings, hand hygiene and cleaning/disinfection. To allow for physical distancing in classrooms and school facilities, density of classes and gatherings will be reduced, and cohorts or groups of students who share the day's activities will stay together, in order to reduce the possible spread of illness and allow for more expedient contact tracing.

“Such distance in no way dictates how loving and emotionally invested we can be,” Roche said.

Cranbrook will offer online daily in-person instruction – called Access CK, for students who are absent from school for short or extended periods of time.

CK Online 2.0 “is a prudent contingency plan, should we experience a local resurgence of COVID-19 and find that a particular division of the entire schools facility must close for a period of time,” Roche said. “In that case, we will facilitate a seamless transition to schools-wide, division-wide global distance learning.”

For boarders, those who live on campus, which Cranbrook said is a “cornerstone to our identity and a point of institutional pride,” they have made contingencies for both domestic and international students. Students who cannot return to campus will utilize Access CK to start the school year. For the first month of the school year, students will remain on campus only, other than for essential travel and medical reasons, and the school is working to “support the social and emotional needs of our students in this environment.”

If schools are forced to close for in-person instruction, dormitories will remain open for boarders who are unable to return home.

Aside from all the planning for the coming school year by local schools, which could be rendered moot if an executive order comes down just prior to opening decreeing an all-virtual school year for fall 2020, Lauren Mangus, PhD, assistant professor for educational psychology at Wayne State University, offers a sobering consideration faced by all educators this year: “We're trying to cram education into a crisis. This is an ongoing tornado. This virus is not detectable to the naked eye. When students are stressed, it can manifest in different ways and can impede learning. School is important, but it is very difficult when students are stressed.”

D

FACES

Fran Wolok n July, the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center announced the 2020 Michigan Fine Arts Competition winners, and for those who followed the competition last year they’ll see at least one familiar name: Fran Wolok.

“I was thrilled,” Wolok said about finding out she was one of the competition’s winners. “I’m even more thrilled that it's two in a row and different jurors. I'm excited to be part of the competition.”

Wolok – who lives in Bloomfield Township – was one of 79 artists selected from more than 400 entries across five states. Her piece, “Time and Space (Saturn V J2 Engine),” is one of 91 in the exhibition, and she received the Blick Art Materials Award for her work.

This year’s exhibition is unlike prior years. It can be seen online until August 27. While some may be disappointed by, that Wolok isn’t.

“To be honest, it's a relief. I think there's a much wider audience,” she said. “I’m a quiet person, and what I have to say I put on a canvas. For me, I do like it better.”

The coronavirus not only affected the exhibition itself but Wolok’s creation.

During the quarantine she was organizing her studio when she came across a reference piece from years ago.

“I went to Florida, Cape Canaveral, and NASA, and there's a parking lot of old rocket ship engines, and I loved it,” Wolok said. “And you really have to know what goes into what. It was one of those complicated pieces that I thought, one day I'll do it. Well, the rainy day has come upon us and I took it out and finally did it after all these years.

“This was something different that caught my eye because it was complicated, sculptural, and I enjoy doing that kind of stuff.”

The title was from finally having the time and space to create the acrylic work.

While “Time and Space” had complex reference material, Wolok has experience in that. She used to be an auto industry technical illustrator.

While acrylic is currently her preferred medium, Wolok has years of experience with oil painting as well. She switched to acrylic for health reasons and its ability to dry faster, a plus since Wolok often works quickly.

The piece in the competition is much different from Wolok’s usual works. She often creates expressive landscapes, like the piece she’s currently working on, which will be more abstract. Over the years her work has changed slightly. She uses wider brushes now, but has also changed with the times in terms of methods to create.

“It’s like cooking – there have been advances in the materials themself. There are different ways of applying the new materials,” Wolok said. “Just doing a variety of things and not doing the same thing all the time. I do landscapes frequently and I think now they're kind of going into more of an abstracted form.”

For her landscape pieces, Wolok starts by going outside. She’ll go for walks at different times of the day to see how the light hits scenery. Wolok enjoys using a lot of color, light, and the different tones that come out of it. When she first starts a piece she draws what she sees and then extracts it. She explained she needs her source from the outside and not just one she sees in her head.

“There's a lot of decisions that have to be made and sometimes people say, ‘Oh, it looks so easy.’ Well, there's a lot of training behind that,” Wolok said. “This brings me joy.”

I

Story: Dana Casadei

Photo: Laurie Tennent

ROLLBACK OF RULES PROTECTING ENVIRONMENT HUNDREDS OF REGULATIONS CHANGED OR UNDER THREAT IN WASHINGTON

BY DANA CASADEI

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uring Scott Pruitt’s very brief stint – February 2017 to July 2018 – as the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), his bizarre behavior was considered almost comical.

“When Pruitt was there, there was just so much incompetence that was in the news it was almost entertaining… just violating the law, having his staff trying to get a mattress for him living in someone's apartment. Just weird stuff,” said John Coeuyt, global climate policy director, Sierra Club.

With Pruitt gone, and Andrew Wheeler in his place, nobody is laughing about anything that has to do with the EPA anymore or the environmental rollbacks the Trump administration has put into place.

Over the last three-and-a-half years the Trump administration has completed, or are currently in the process to be complete, rollbacks on roughly 100 environmental rules and regulations.

“The big push has been just to undermine everything,” Coeuyt said.

“There's very little that's untouched at this point.”

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One of the most recent under attack is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), one of the country's bedrock environmental laws and one of its most transparent.

Signed into law in 1970 by President Richard Nixon, NEPA was adopted in 1978 and established the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

“The reason why these regulations exist is because each agency has their own agency level regulations for how to implement NEPA. But these regulations from the Council on Environmental Quality are meant to basically ensure that all the federal agencies are applying NEPA consistently across the federal government whenever they engage in an environmental review under NEPA,” said Caitlin McCoy, staff attorney for the Environmental and Energy Law Program at Harvard Law School.

NEPA requires that all federal agencies go through an environmental review for each proposed “major federal action,” such as permit decisions, formal planning, and agency projects. The final regulation changes significantly weaken the act and will expedite the approval of public infrastructure projects, like roads and pipelines, McCoy noted.

McCoy said some of the changes are problematic because there are a lot of phrases in the regulations which are new and are going to be open to interpretation by agencies, which defeats the purpose of having consistency across all agencies and how they implement NEPA.

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ther changes include shortening the timeline for completing environmental studies, limiting the types of projects that will come under review, and cumulative effects on the environment – think climate change – as the project will no longer be required for federal agencies.

“So, for instance, if there is a permitting project for, say, a coal mine. The greenhouse gas emissions that will result from the combustion of coal, which you know, will not occur at that mine, will not be considered,” said Paulo Lopes, public lands policy specialist and staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. “The climate change impacts will not be considered under the Trump administration's new NEPA rules. The environmental review would be limited to the actions that take place at that coal mine, not the actions more downstream.”

Public comments’ regulations on NEPA documents will now require more detailed

analysis and information under the changes.

In mid-July, the CEQ issued its final NEPA regulations to the Federal Register, making it the first time these regulations were radically changed since their adoption.

The new regulations will be effective September 14, 2020.

The whole point of these changes seem to be so the Trump administration can push infrastructure projects on a quicker trajectory because they deem the current NEPA regulations make projects take too long.

Ironically, these changes could actually cause the opposite to occur.

“Instead of providing more clarity to agencies who are already struggling, especially with the climate analysis, they are providing less clarity,” Lopes said. “Courts will likely have to be involved to say no, this is what is actually meant by this phrase. It will probably lead to some projects being delayed.

“If you keep changing the rulebook too quickly, projects don't know exactly how to proceed, or they're being put on pause to reevaluate how they go,” he continued.

Having NEPA rolled back will likely have some serious long-term effects.

“For the Trump administration to go ahead and remove the requirement for projects to be evaluated on their impact of climate change is just totally negligent and generations to come, my kids, my kids' kids, are going to be feeling the effects if this one doesn't get reversed,” said Bentley Johnson, senior partnerships manager for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.

NEPA, often called the “Magna Carta” of federal environmental laws, was the country’s first major environmental law and blazed the trail for the many that followed.

The 1970's were a vital time for the U.S. environmental movement, and a time when it really began to gain more traction, at least culturally. Scientifically though, Heather Good, the executive director of the Michigan Audubon Society, would say that started in the 1960's with Rachel Carson’s seminal book, Silent Spring, which looked at the harmful environmental effects caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. It led to a nationwide ban on the insecticide, Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) for agriculture use.

It also helped lead to the founding of the EPA in 1970.

During the Nixon administration, there were some very high profile environmental challenges, like Cuyahoga River in Ohio, which caught on fire in 1969 due to chemical contamination. That same year the Rouge River in Detroit also caught on fire.

The cause was sparks from an acetylene torch that ignited floating oil and oil-soaked debris on the north bank of the river.

“Congress came together in a real bipartisan way and created the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the toxics law, the waste law – all of that got created during that period in a very bipartisan fashion. Like, it's almost impossible to imagine this

happening again,” said Coeuyt from the Sierra Club. “It took a long time for a lot of it to be implemented, but it was the golden period for environmental law.”

Since that golden era, multiple administrations have tried, to some success, to minimize the effectiveness of U.S. environmental rules and regulations.

According to a 2018 article from the American Journal of Public Health, “History of US Presidential Assaults on Modern Environmental Health Protection,” President Ronald Reagan and President George W. Bush took different approaches to efforts to turn back environmental progress. The article said Reagan “launched an overt attack on the EPA, combining deregulation with budget and staff cuts, whereas the George W. Bush administration adopted a subtler approach, undermining science-based policy.”

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he Bush administration also used creative marketing to its advantage. Take for instance the Clear Skies Initiative. Ross Hammersley, a partner with the Michigan law firm of Olson, Bzdok & Howard, who works in environmental law, among other areas, said that the initiative actually would have rolled back clean air protections and would have arguably made the skies dirtier.

But, as a marketing tool, they labeled it the clear skies initiative.

Hammersley said something similar happened with timber interests under the healthy forests initiative, a law proposed by the Bush administration in 2003. The title made it seem like it would be helping forests, but once the details were looked at more closely, Hammersley said logging companies would have been able to go in and cut down certain forested areas that were national forests.

Keeping with the tradition of new administrations making executive changes to existing regulations, Democratic President Barack Obama made changes and reversals as well.

“The Clean Air Act, in particular, grandfathered in a large number of very large, heavily polluting coal plants. It wasn't really until the Obama administration that those loopholes finally got dealt with,” Coeuyt said.

The Clean Air Act is one that the administration has proposed for changes. The Obama administration put so many new climate regulations in place that the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School created a climate regulation tracker. Now, that tracker is being used to keep track of the Trump administration’s deregulations.

“We don’t have a similar deregulation tracker for previous administrations, because we only started tracking climate regulation under President Obama, and are now tracking climate deregulation under President Trump,” said Hillary Aidun, a climate law fellow at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. “The thing that's notable about the Trump administration now is that it's both kind of on all fronts, and it's just unrelenting,” Hammersley said. “It’s not just that they accomplish one rollback and then sit back and just try to administer the laws faithfully as they're supposed to. It's really just they're constantly looking for opportunities to reduce regulations across the board, so it just means that everybody – everybody is fighting on all fronts at all times.”

The Trump administration has rolled back rules and regulations on everything from air pollution and emissions to infrastructure and planning, water pollution, and animals, many of which were enacted during the Obama administration.

Efforts enacted during the Obama administration aren’t the only ones under attack. There’s also the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which was passed by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1918, and many from the golden era of the 1970's.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was enacted as a result of the loss of U.S. bird populations to hunting and poaching, with the feathers being used primarily for women’s hats. The Trump administration is proposing a scaling back of protections to over 1,000 species, and end the decadeslong practice of treating accidental deaths caused by industry as potential criminal violations.

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ccidental deaths include when birds fly into wind turbines, telecommunications towers, and oil pits. Good from the Michigan Audubon Society said that industry sources already kill between 450 million to one billion birds annually in the U.S., and 7.2 billion birds are killed by industry in North America.

“The Trump administration laws say you can get away with that, that's not illegal,” Good said. “And so anything that industry does, if there is any sort of harm to birds, death to birds, any other hazards, they say, oops, that was just an accident. But there's no restitution or repair, which of course hurts the whole environment and the human community at those sites and in those geographic areas.”

Considering the law has been in effect for over 100 years, why does Good think this administration is trying to change it now?

“The argument is that it's outdated and that it's preventing us from making progress and accidents happen,” she said. “They want to remove it now because it would be more freedom for industry, less environmental impact statements, less hoops, less what they see as just kind of paperwork and a pain to do the right thing and assess project sites and things like that, mining operations, oil drilling, to assess them properly for the environment, they just want to skip, that they want to make it really easy, efficient and supported by the government to continue to support industry and to continue with fossil fuel extraction.”

This past June, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for public comment of the proposed changes. The 45-day public comment period ended on July 20, and a final decision is being waited on.

“We basically have to keep a watchful eye on this,” Good said.

While those like Good wait to hear about the future for birds, others, like Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director for the Center for Biological Diversity, has already begun to see the impacts of three other major changes to the Endangered Species Act. All three were finalized and put in to effect in September 2019.

One of the revisions, under section four of the act, changed the regulations for listing species and designating critical habitat, which was added to the act in 1982 in response to an executive order from the Reagan administration, which said the federal government would have to do an economic analysis of all rules that they issued. Basically, the 1982 addition made it so the cost to protect a species from extinction wasn’t a consideration. The Trump administration now considers the economic impact of listing a species.

Another change significantly weakened protections for threatened species, leaving those listed as threatened with very little protection, and the last one deals with critical habitats.

“The Endangered Species Act is one of our best tools for identifying places that support endangered species and protecting those places. With these weakened protections, if we don't, you know, strictly follow the Endangered Species Act to protect these weakened detections, we're just going to lose more and more areas,” Greenwald said. “And in most cases, once something is destroyed or degraded, it's really hard to get it back.”

All three rules have been challenged in court at the federal and state level, and are currently tied up in litigation.

With the upcoming November election, there seems to be one last major push from the Trump administration to affect the country’s environmental rules and regulations.

In early July, the administration published the Unified Regulatory Agenda, which is published twice a year with details for new regulations and rollbacks. The one published in July had 317 items in proposed or final stages lined up for both the Department of Interior and the EPA. Sixty-four rules for the EPA and an additional 74 Interior rules are in the final stage.

The question is how likely is it that President Trump will be able to get all those rollbacks through?

“I mean, not to give you like the most obnoxious lawyer answer ever, but it depends,” said McCoy from the Environmental and Energy Law Program at Harvard Law School. “If a rule is proposed, and it hasn't gone out for comment yet, it's really unlikely that it will be final by January 2021.”

P

ublic comments for a rule are often done once it is put in the Federal Register. Aidun, from the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, said that people can submit comments to federal agencies online or mail them to the relevant agencies. State agencies, like Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), have a similar process and accept public comments online.

Environmental lawyer Hammersley said those comment periods can be for as little as 30 days to as long as 90 days, although generally it falls in between, at 45 days, much like the comment period for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. These comments are then generally read by staffers in those specific agencies, which can sometimes be burdensome. Hammersley mentioned that in Michigan, thousands of comments were received at the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), now EGLE, during the Nestle water case.

Normally, the changes made after public comment are minimal, but occasionally, a public commenter points out a real flaw in a rule or proposed change to a rule. Then the agency can fix it.

“It’s really important if people see flaws in the administration's reasoning when an action is first proposed for evidence that an agency is not considering. It's important to take that opportunity to point out those analytical flaws or put evidence before the agency, because the agency then has an obligation to consider everything that's in front of it,” Aidun said.

The process doesn’t end after comments

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are made and reviewed. McCoy said after that a final rule is crafted, it is is sent to the Office of Management and Budget for review. Then the final rule is released and published in the Federal Register. Then it’s complete.

There’s also litigation to worry about, which can slow down the process. Also mentioned by multiple sources was that the Trump administration has been sloppy in some of its legal work, leading to unsuccessful turnover attempts and, again, a significant amount of litigation.

“This administration is doing it in such haste that they're making a lot of mistakes along the way, some very obvious mistakes,” said Oday Salim, director, Environmental Law & Sustainability Clinic, University of Michigan.

S

. alim said there have been times when the Trump administration has been dealing with a rule finalized under the Obama administration and wanted to suspend applications of the rule indefinitely.

Environmental groups then stepped up and the court ruled they couldn’t just arbitrarily suspend the application of a rule once it had been finalized because that would be considered tantamount to getting rid of the rule altogether.

There have also been instances when the Trump administration has tried to withdraw certain rules and been told by the courts they need a reason for its withdrawal. Courts have told them they can’t just take laws off the table and not explain themselves.

“Their explanations have been significantly lacking,” Salim said.

Multiple rules originally rolled back by this administration have ultimately been reinstated. An example is when a 2015 rule was no longer enforced that prohibited the use of powerful greenhouse gases in air conditioners and refrigerators. The prohibition was later restored. Another example is the delayed implementation of a rule that regulated the certification and training of pesticide applicators. A judge later ruled that the EPA had implemented this illegally and said the rule was still in effect. Protections were reinstated by a federal judge after the Yellowstone grizzly bear was removed from the endangered species list. In May 2019, the Trump administration appealed the ruling.

There have been a few other wins along the way, despite the many rollbacks.

In July, the Great American Outdoors Act

passed in the House of Representatives, a month after it was passed by the Senate.

President Trump has said he’ll sign it into law. The act, a combination of two bills, is set to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the first time since it was enacted in 1964, and possibly eliminate the $12 billion maintenance backlog for the National Park Service. The act’s restoration fund for national parks and facility improvement will total no more than $1.9 billion for the fiscal years between 2021 and 2025.

“That’s a really big deal in terms of conservation,” said Chad Lord, the senior director for the National Parks Conservation Association’s (NPCA) Waters program.

There has been recent success in the courts when it comes to oil pipelines. In July, a judge ruled that the Dakota Access pipeline must be shut down and drained of oil – at least until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes a review on its impact on the environment. A federal judge also recently blocked the Keystone XL pipeline from going forward. Initial construction had started but it remains tied up in court.

On the whole though, watching the Trump administration try to dismantle so many different environmental rules and regulations has not only been frustrating to many, but to some, expected.

“The Trump administration, and Donald Trump, campaigned on dismantling environmental protections and he is fulfilling his campaign promise to his corporate donors,” said Christy McGillivray, political and legislative director for the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club. “I don't want to be too hyperbolic about it, but it's just crushing. You know, it's terrible to watch our political system cave to the corporate interests of polluters instead of public health, especially during a pandemic.”

While there is a lot to be concerned about – when asked if there were specific rollbacks anyone was particularly worried about, many answered that would be like selecting a favorite child and they were worried about all of them – but one of the most worrisome in Michigan, the Great Lakes State, has been the attacks to the Clean Water Act. Laura Rubin, director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, said the Trump administration has gone after two different sections that fall under the act. One is section 401, which governs certification of water quality, and the other is the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS).

The latter, WOTUS, which defines which streams and wetlands, are protected by the Clean Water Act, went in to effect on June 22 in every state except Colorado. With the new definition, the amount of waterways and wetlands protected under the act will be reduced.

“That sounds pretty boring, right? That's pretty bureaucratic. But it's so super important and the way it plays out and impacts people's lives,” Lord said.

“It means that we will have filling of

wetlands and streams without permitting, those wetlands and streams, I mean, if you're familiar with the roles that wetlands plays, they’re sort of the kidneys of the water ecosystem,” Rubin said.

The proposed changes under section 401, which would limit state authority over water quality certification, are currently being challenged by a coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia, which filed a lawsuit.

“It really takes away a lot of the decisionmaking authority at the local level, which makes it harder for local communities to protect rivers, lakes and streams and other waters,” said Rubin about the section 401 rollbacks. “The waters of the U.S. are also very impactful because it strips away protections for streams and wetlands, and those are the waters that feed most of our public drinking water supplies across the country, including, the 30 million people that live in the Great Lakes states in the U.S..”

The department in Michigan that would be most effected by these rules, EGLE, said they are currently in a waiting game right now as to how to proceed.

“As the WOTUS changes are being challenged – with the latest lawsuit to try to block the changes filed just this month – there is no change on EGLE’s part until the issue is eventually resolved. Then, we will study what impact it will have on Michigan and whether we need to change any of our processes,” said Nick Assendelft, media relations and public information with EGLE. “It wouldn’t be prudent to make changes before federal rule changes are finalized and then having a chance to assess how those changes mesh with rules at the state level that we must follow.”

At the state level, agency decisions can be overturned by the Environmental Rules Review Committee and Environmental Permit Review Committee. The two statutes permitting the committees were enacted towards the end of Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration.

W

hen overhaul happens to rules that were created to set standards across the country, as with NEPA, it will now come down to individual states regarding how they proceed without much federal guidance.

“In general, many environmental laws are based on the concept of cooperative federalism, which means that the federal government sets the floor and states can set the ceiling,” Salim said.

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In Michigan, regulations regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), toxic “forever” substances used to make fluoropolymer coatings, are a prime example.

While Salim said the National Wildlife Federation has done a fantastic job of describing ways that states can set standards for PFAS, the EPA isn’t doing anything when they could be.

Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA can set water quality standards and drinking water standards for chemicals, but has decided it is not going to do it anytime soon, even though people are continually being exposed through their water, fish and wildlife.

“So through the Clean Water Act, at least, and through the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA has made a terrible decision to just sit it out,” Salim said. “Well, states have stepped up,” including Michigan, which Salim mentioned has quality standards that protect surface water and drinking water.

“If the federal government doesn't want to do something or wants to scale back on doing something, there are opportunities for states to step up and at least maintain the status quo if not do better,” he said.

C

ongresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-Rochester, Rochester Hills) has actively worked to for PFAS cleanup, and introduced a provision in a House Defense bill earlier this year that would require the Pentagon to use Michigan's PFAS standards for PFAS cleanup in Michigan.

At the state level, federal changes will effect what’s done but not necessarily in the way people will expect.

McGillivray, from the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club, emphasized that a lot of environmental regulation is about reporting, a large aspect which was taken out of the NEPA changes and the Clean Water Act. “So it's not necessarily about what does happen, but what doesn't happen, like when it comes to regulation,” McGillivray said. “The reporting won't happen. The citations and enforcement of environmental laws won't happen. It'll be difficult to even get a sense of exactly how expensive the damages are, without having the scientist and regulators there to actually track what is happening.”

And sometimes those changes are more slow to happen at the state level.

Edward Golder, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), said changes at the federal level are experienced over time by the states and, sometimes, how the state experiences those changes will depend on how the new policies

are implemented by the federal government.

Golder said there hasn’t been any dramatic change in their work based on different federal regulations in any division.

To some, it seems this administration is trying to set a record this type of rollback.

Hammersley, from Olson, Bzdok & Howard, P.C, speculated that the rollbacks are an open door for the type of lobbyists the Trump 2016 presidential campaign referred to as part of the “swamp” he was going to drain.

“I think in truth, the opposite has happened,” Hammersley said. “You've got industry lobbyists, and folks who have pretty substantial financial means, who basically are just getting whatever they want.”

He said the lobbyists and some big businesses seem to be the only ones benefiting from these types of rollbacks.

In the fight of environment versus economy, many argued that the two can work together -it shouldn’t be one or the other.

Lord, from the NPCA, said that if you look at the economic growth in the U.S. during the Obama administration, where many of these environmental rules were promulgated, the economy was doing quite well, even with robust environmental regulations in place.

“I'm sympathetic to business owners. I don't want businesses to fail. I want them to succeed and be healthy and thriving economically,” said Erma Leaphart, who represents Sierra Club Michigan on the Healing Our Waters Coalition.

“But it isn't an either or scenario. It can’t be…It must be all three things that we're taking into consideration. Economic impact, environmental impact and its impact on people. It cannot be one or the other. That will not work.”

The Great Lakes are a perfect example of this not being an either or situation.

“Some of the research we've done on the Great Lakes shows that this kind of ecosystem restoration, the protection of these waterways – clean water is an economic driver. We also see it in parks. People go to parks to swim, they go to parks to fish, kayak, to do all sorts of things.

That's all economic activity,” Lord said. “We also have seen breweries, who sell their beer, that's economic activity, they get their water from our watersheds. So protecting our clean water is also economically important.”

All the back-and-forth about these environmental rules and regulations can also be frustrating for businesses and creates uncertainty, like with the auto industry, which played an instrumental role in setting the 2012 Obama administration’s fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for motor vehicles.

Hammersley said automakers were making progress both from a cost perspective and on cleaning the emissions coming from cars, and now President Trump has been pushing them in a direction they weren’t even really sure that they want to go.

The administration also revoked authority previously given to California to have its own standards and motor vehicles.

These changes are anticipated to have a huge effect.

“So we look at that rollback as a gift to the oil industry, pure and simple, and just a raw

calculation that the more gas used in our vehicles, the better for the fossil fuel industry.

And then that's at the expense of lives, with the air pollution that would have otherwise been prevented with these increasingly stringent standards,” said Johnson from the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.

O

ut of everyone spoken to for this story, only one said he had zero concern about the rollbacks, Chris Kobus, director of Engineering and Energy Education at Oakland University.

“I have zero concern because the trajectory towards cleaner energy production is being done by industry, no matter what's going on in this administration, or what anybody else is going to do out there,” he said. “I think everybody sees what the future is. There's a lot of consumer demand for cleaner energy. So yeah, those rollbacks have made zero difference.”

While Kobus’ outlook is extremely optimistic, there are many people, from lawyers and activists to environmental groups, both at the federal and state level, who are still concerned about the lasting impacts.

“The assumption is that the next administration will eventually clean some of this up, but the places where it's going will take time and the damage will be things like the pollution that ends up in the water,” said Coeuyt from the Sierra Club. “The other thing that's going to take time and the damage will be difficult is just not strengthening ozone standards, the changes in the science advisory councils and the underlying costs benefits analysis. The way that they're talking about doing this, there will be lasting damage there.”

Stephanie Kodish, senior director and counsel, clean air and climate, National Parks Conservation Association, has a different worry.

“I think my fears are mainly concentrated in the utter waste of the last four years,” she said.

“We are going to now need to spend a lot of time to just unwind the great and demonstrable damage this administration's caused.”

But hope isn’t completely lost, especially if a new administration enters the White House next January.

“Mother Nature's very resilient,” Leaphart, of the Sierra Club, said. “But on the other hand, I worry about human survival, our ability to be resilient.”

Many people seem to be up to the challenge.

“You know, this country has bought itself back from the brink of serious environmental contamination before and so we can do it again,” said McGillivray from the Michigan Sierra Club. “But we absolutely have to prioritize public health over corporate profit.”

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FACES Alan Posner efore the 2019-2020 school year closed out, the Recording Academy® and GRAMMY Museum® gave Bloomfield Hills High School music teacher Alan Posner one last homework assignment as he was selected as one of 216 teachers nationwide who are now quarterfinalists for the 2020-2021 Music Educator Award™.

Posner, who played his first instrument at West Hills Middle School, was nominated for the award in March along with 2,000 other teachers nationwide. If he wins, he will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, receive the Music Educator Award, and pick up a $10,000 personal honorarium. Ten finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, while semifinalists receive a $500 honorarium.

Since joining the BHHS faculty in 2015, Posner's students have performed in venues as local as Detroit's Cliff Bells Jazz club or as far away as Disney World and Scotland. With a focus on giving back to the community, they have also made appearances at area hospitals, senior centers, and school district retirement parties.

As a youth, Posner started playing the viola at WHMS school but switched to the saxophone soon after because he "wanted to play the theme to the Pink Panther."

"It was the first song I learned how to play, and I can still play it," said Posner. He played all through his years at Andover High School under the mentorship of Bob Ambrose and pursued his music education at the University of Michigan and Oakland University.

Coming full circle, Posner stepped into Ambrose's position when he retired in 2015.

"I've always known I wanted to be a band director," said Posner. "I encourage my students to give back with their talents and try to find as many opportunities for them to perform off school grounds."

As a Music Educator Award quarterfinalist, Posner submitted video responses to prompts that asked him to reflect on teaching methodologies, accomplishments, and challenges.

Being in the field of music education is a challenge unto itself.

When a student expresses desires to pursue it as a career, he tells them to make sure they are completely passionate about their choice.

"There will always be attacks on public and music education budgets," Posner cautioned. "It is a difficult job, and of course the pay is not as high as in other fields, but I cannot imagine doing anything else with my life."

Because of COVID-19, there was no spring concert season or inperson sendoff performances for Posner's seniors. He and the rest of the BHHS music faculty donned tuxedos and gowns at home and produced a virtual end-of-the-year music celebration that aired on community access cable TV. It included clips of performances from earlier in the year, recognition of the seniors, and other musical accomplishments.

While he awaits the news on making it to the finalist round, Posner enjoyed the month of July with his wife and two young sons.

Then it's time to ramp up for the fall marching band season with athome band camp, where he and the BHHS Blackhawk Marching Band will prepare arrangements based on the music of Lady Gaga, Coldplay, and Daft Punk – all selected by a voting panel of students.

Like everyone else, Posner hopes for a fall musical schedule that's as close to normal as possible.

"I have missed my students and I am looking forward to getting back to work with them," said Posner. "In band, we are one big family. That sense of belonging and community is one of the best and biggest parts of being a musician."

B

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MUNICIPAL Birmingham resident files ethics complaint

By Lisa Brody

Birmingham resident Donna Klein filed an ethics ordinance complaint against city commissioner Clinton Baller on Monday, July 27, alleging he libeled her alleging he libeled her in a newsletter he sends out and on social media.

Klein, who is a neighborhood “lead,” or local administrator, on the NextDoor site, said Baller publicly complained in a newsletter he sends out that he had been banned from the site because of Klein. Klein asserted in her complaint she has no authority to ban anyone, and that only NextDoor can ban an individual or group from its site.

Klein stated in her complaint to the city that in late June a friend alerted her that “to his horror, commissioner Clinton Baller had published outrageous gossip about me in his official newsletter… I found that Baller had held me up to ridicule to my neighbors, with a completely twisted narrative with no relevance to city business, and signed it with his title. Even if the facts had been accurate, a Birmingham City Commissioner has no right to bring his private grievances into an official newsletter to harass a private citizen.”

She further explained in her complaint, “I did nothing wrong, nor did not throw Baller off the site, nor could I if I wanted to. That's not how it works. If Baller was thrown off the site, it was for violating site terms of use.”

She said NextDoor is a hyperlocal social media site for close neighbors using real identities, and it has defined terms of use, revolving around “Be Helpful Not Hurtful.”

The site has a two-layer moderation system, with volunteer local moderators, known as leads, to monitor comments, and NextDoor corporate employees who control accounts.

“As a City Commissioner, (Baller) is bound by the Ethics Ordinance to respect the privacy of all citizens and to use excellent, honest judgement.

His ridicule of me shows complete disregard for accuracy and respect for privacy in his desire to sway public opinion. However, I did nothing wrong whatsoever and some of his comments are pure libel,” Klein stated in her complaint.

She noted that Baller not only allegedly libeled her through his newsletter, but through his public downtownpublications.com

Comment moved to start of meeting fter a three-month trial earlier this year, Birmingham City Commissioners on Monday, July 13, unanimously approved moving its public comment portion of the meeting to earlier in the meeting, from the end of the its meeting.

City manager Joe Valentine explained the item was before the city commission in January of this year, and that staff had prepared a memo at the time explaining different placements of public comment by different communities in Oakland County.

“A three-month trial took place (placing public comment at the beginning of the meeting), and it expired at the same time as Covid began,” he said.

Staff member Melissa Fairbaim said, “In January's memo, city staff looked at 31 cities in Oakland County and 16 other communities, and it's fairly evenly split between the beginning, middle and end of meetings, so it's up to the commission. People said they didn't want to split public comment. You can look at timing of public comment, you can add guidelines, public participation cards – those are a good way to facilitate communication. In your packet tonight, you have several options, 10 to be exact.”

Commissioner Clinton Baller said the option which most accurately captures his point of view was item number four in the packet, which was to move public comment prior to the consent agenda in the commission agenda.

“I don't have a problem moving it in terms of the placement of the comment. We should add rules and procedures. I think the instructions we gave before were very helpful to people who never have come to a city commission meeting before,” said commissioner Stuart Sherman.

Mayor Pierre Boutros disagreed with Sherman. “I've never seen a problem with our public comments. I don't believe in timing people. I refuse to time people. I want to respect people. We don't need to complicate things,” he said. “It will not hurt, it will only help, to move it to the beginning of the meeting.”

“These are business meetings of the city. We have to make sure they get done in a timely manner,” commissioner Mark Nickita said. “In the 20 years I've been involved, there've never been a lot of public comment, mostly because people can get in touch with us. This was supposed to be a review of our trial.”

He noted in the three months of the trial, there were six commission meetings. At the first, there was a group seeking to speak about 5G. At the next two meetings, one person each spoke at public comment; at the next two, no one spoke; at the last meeting, which was held by Zoom, one person spoke.

“I've had no calls, nobody meeting me, talking to me on the street, and I'm out and about a lot, about moving this,” Nickita said. “I'm okay with this as long it doesn't interfere with the business of the city.”

A

and personal Facebook pages, where people who do not know her commented about her.

The city of Birmingham has written policies of conduct for public figures, including city commissioners.

Among the policies, it is written that “each city official, employee, or advisor must earn and honor the public trust by integrity and conduct.”

Further sections state, “All city officials and employees must avoid conflicts between their private interests and the public interest.

Public officials and employees must: Be independent, impartial, and

responsible to the people.”

Under responsibilities of public office, it states, “City officials and employees must not exceed their authority; their official and private affairs should be above reproach; All city officials and employees shall safeguard public confidence by being honest, fair and respectful of all persons and property with whom they have contact avoiding conduct which may tend to undermine respect for city officials and employees and for the city as an institution.”

The city of Birmingham has a three-member ethics board. This complaint will be forwarded to the

DOWNTOWN

ethics board which will hear it September 1.

Candidate may face warrant over signs

By Lisa Brody

The Oakland County Sheriff's office has submitted an investigation into multiple thefts of campaign signs by a candidate for Bloomfield Township Trustee, Don Valente, to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office for consideration of an arrest warrant.

Valente, a retired attorney, ran and won as a Republican for trustee in the primary election.

A complaint was filed with the Bloomfield Township Police Department by a citizen who recognized Valente and saw him taking campaign signs for township supervisor Leo Savoie and treasurer Brian Kepes in the vicinity of Long Lake and Telegraph.

Valente has been a vocal opponent of Savoie and Kepes at township board meetings and in written campaign materials.

Bloomfield Township police initially investigated the complaint, with surveillance cameras confirming the thefts. They then expanded their surveillance review to other locations along Telegraph, where they saw numerous other signs for Savoie, Kepes, Tom Smyly, Eric Pernie, and other candidates that had been taken.

Pernie is a former Bloomfield Township police officer, and Smyly is currently a Bloomfield Township police officer. Chief Phil Langmeyer said they turned the case over to the Oakland County sheriff's office in order to avoid any appearance of conflict. “It's not a case we are handling,” he stated.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that between 50 and 60 election signs were found in plain view leaning against the outside of Valente's garage.

Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said the case was assigned to the department's special investigations unit, with two detectives investigating the allegations. McCabe said he could not discuss the case, and confirmed that the county prosecutor's office had been asked to review information they had compiled for a possible arrest warrant.

Theft of political signs is a crime in all 50 states. Stealing or defacing a sign in Michigan is a misdemeanor that can carry a maximum penalty of a $500 fine or imprisonment of up to 90 days in jail.

A similar court case in the last two years involving theft of campaign signs by a Bloomfield Hills councilman 69

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resulted in a court sentence of community service and fines.

Ironically, at a recent candidate forum with Bloomfield Hills High School students, Valente said in his opening and closing remarks, “I am seeking a position as a trustee because I believe a trustee is someone who must be trusted” and then proceeded to outline his experience as an “an investigator with the U.S. Department of Justice and a Wayne and Oakland County Prosecutor's Office criminal trial attorney and director of warrants, meaning warrant for your arrest.”

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LOCAL 74

Birmingham City Commissioners directed staff to come up with a framework on how to reassess the public property on N. Old Woodward adjacent to the N. Old Woodward parking structure, at their meeting on Monday, July 13, to potentially lead to a new request for proposal (RFP) process.

The parcel of land, approximately four acres in the city’s central business district, consists of the current N. Old Woodward parking garage, an adjacent parking lot and adjacent parcels.

At the commission meeting on June 22, during commissioner comments, commissioners Clinton Baller and Brad Host had requested to reopen a discussion on the property, which had previously gone through a several years-long review process by city committees, request for qualifications (RFQ) and an open RFP which led the previous commission to select Woodward Bates Partners LLC to redevelop the site. That project would have consisted of a new parking structure, to provide more parking spaces to ease the parking crunch in downtown Birmingham; constructing a five-story building in front of the structure facing N. Old Woodward, where RH was planned to go; an extension of Bates Street that would have intersected the development and connect Willits Street to N. Old Woodward; retail stores to line the parking structure, called building three on the plans; a public plaza with a bridge to Booth Park; a four-story mixed use building in the rear of the property, called building four; and a four-story mixed use building facing Willits Street, called building five, on the current surface lot.

A parking structure bond proposal

DOWNTOWN

in the amount of $57.4 million to guarantee the construction costs of the parking structure, failed in August 2019, and the entire project was scrapped. Baller and Host, prior to their election as commissioners, had advocated against the parking structure bond, stating the process was not transparent, along with other objections., On Monday, July 13, city planning director Jana Ecker said, “I know all of you are familiar with this project. It's been going for several years. It's basically to start all over again, to revisit all the studies, plans and solicit public input to reach a consensus of what the public wants from the site, to solicit proposals for this site, to create a strategic vision document for parking, retail, mixed uses, residential and the missing middle of any civic connections. This is for a draft RFP – reviewing everything and determining where we go from here.”

“This is an important topic. There's more discussion, objections to be met – is there a joint meeting, a workshop or a committee to be formed – before we entertain a motion,” said mayor Pierre Boutros.

Commissioner Mark Nickita noted the previous RFP was driven by the parking crisis in downtown, and currently, with the coronavirus pandemic, parking is in flux in Birmingham with many offices temporarily shut down and less people shopping. It's currently unknown if it is temporary or a new normal, he said.

Ecker said she would want more clarification from the commission before going forward. “There are policy directions we would need...This is a little more open process, which I think we would like, considering what happened last time with the voters,” she said.

“I think it makes sense to take a step back, assess the current environment,” city manager Joe Valentine said. “We can come up with a framework for you to assess on how you want to go forward.”

Fairhill Road closed through late August The Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) announced it plans to close Fairhill Road at Pickering Road in Bloomfield Township through late August for culvert removal and replacement.

Pickering Road will remain open during the work.

Access to homes on Fairhill Road will be maintained during the construction work.

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City site turned down for higher rezoning

By Lisa Brody

fter over two years of requests, reviews, planning board and commission meetings, the Birmingham City Commission denied a proposed rezoning for the former Mountain King and Talmer Bank site on S. Old Woodward, from D4 to D5, which would have allowed for a building of up to nine stories, at its meeting on Monday, July 20.

The .423-acre site spans Hazel Street from S. Old Woodward to Woodward. The site currently contains two vacant single-story commercial buildings, which were formerly Mountain King Chinese Restaurant and Talmer Bank.

In May, the planning board had voted 4-3 to recommend approval of rezoning of the site to the commission, and on June 24, they unanimously approved a preliminary site plan and community impact study for a five-story mixed use building under the existing D4 zoning ordinance.

The sites, at 469 and 479 S. Old Woodward, have been under discussion and review for several years, primarily because the applicant, Doraid Markus, had originally sought to build a nine-story hotel on the property, and then sought to rezone the property from D4, which permits five-story mixed-use buildings in the city's downtown, to D-5, which was a new zoning district originally created to encompass higher and non-conforming buildings, such as 555 Building, Birmingham Place and Merrillwood Building, and grandfather them, in order to allow renovations and updates to the 555 Building.

At the beginning of the July 20 rezoning request, Markus' attorney Rick Rattner said he was requesting a postponement of the public hearing in order to try to meet with representatives of neighboring building Birmingham Place. Markus and Birmingham Place have had a divisive and rancorous relationship during the attempt to develop the property. Residents of Birmingham Place object to their sight lines and air rights potentially being infringed, and potential construction issues.

“Our goal is to build the best building we can. That may mean the flexibility that D5 can offer – it does not mean to the full D5 height,” Rattner said. “We can go forward with our D4 building, but we want to do the best job we can. We think D4 is a building we can be proud of, but let's look at something else.”

After a lengthy discussion between members of the commission, Patrick Howe, attorney for the board of Birmingham Place, Markus and some residents, it became clear there was no potential for compromise, and a motion to postpone the public hearing failed, 2-4, with commissioners Pierre Boutros, Rackeline Hoff, Mark Nickita and Stuart Sherman voting against. Therese Longe was recused for conflict of interest as her husband Chris Longe is the architect for the project.

“We at Birmingham Place do not think there needs to be a postponement,” Howe said. “I haven't received anything (from the applicant) since the planning board meeting. I haven't received anything that isn't 'You're going to be sorry.' That's not a negotiation.

Tonight should be the vote on the rezoning.”

City manager Joe Valentine said a supermajority of six votes – or a unanimous vote of approval, considering Longe's recusal – to approve the rezoning request was required.

City planning director Jana Ecker pointed out that while the D4 zoning is “only five stories there is plenty of room to have very high stories. Birmingham Place has 10 stories” but because it is an older building, its ceiling height is not as high.

With D4, the building height maximum is 80-feet. Birmingham Place is 98.2 feet high; with D5 zoning, the maximum a new building could be is the same height.

Hoff made a motion to deny the rezoning, noting, “My decision is based on three aspects of rezoning: one, rezoning is not necessary for reuse of this property; the existing zoning is still relevant; and D5 zoning was to allow for renovation to three existing non-conforming buildings, not for new buildings.”

Commissioner Brad Host concurred. “All of Birmingham is D4 and that's the way it should be,” he said.

Commissioners voted 5-1 to deny the rezoning request, with commissioner Clinton Baller voting to rezone.

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The detour is Pickering Road to Kingswood Drive, back to Fairhill Road, and vice versa.

The culvert on Fairhill Road is the first of three culverts in the subdivision that will be removed and replaced. Dates for those projects will be announced soon by RCOC. The entire project is anticipated to be complete by late fall.

Compensation study results reviewed

By Dana Casadei

Bloomfield Township Trustee Michael Schostak and the Segal Group’s Elliot Susseles and Cristy Reetz presented the results from the 2020 Compensation, Classification, and Staffing Study to the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees at their meeting on Monday, July 13.

“It’s been an interesting experience to say the least,” Schostak said at the beginning of the presentation.

The study, the first of its kind in more than a decade for the township, addressed questions about employee recruitment and retention in light of budget reductions. It looked at staffing and workloads, position descriptions, compensation, benefits and job evaluations across the township's departments, including its elected officials, and compared them to several neighboring communities. Instances or appearance of conflicts of interest were also looked at, and guidance was provided for human resources and management staff.

In September 2019, the board approved issuing a request for proposals from vendors to conduct the study. An ad-hoc compensation study committee was formed to develop specific components of the study and evaluate proposals. The committee, which recommended contracting with Minneapolis-based Segal Waters Consulting, now Segal Group, consisted of Schostak; township finance director Jason Theis; government consultant and financial advisor Bob Kittle; township resident and former Oakland County Deputy Executive of Economic Development and Community Affairs Tim Meyer; and resident and retired auto industry executive and consultant Paula Butler.

In November, the board unanimously approved the contract with Segal to conduct the study following board dissension over staff pay, benefits and staffing levels. A kick-off call was made in early December, followed by two on-site

meetings in January with the consulting group.

The results were originally intended to be presented in June but due to the coronavirus pandemic the study took longer to complete than originally planned. With the coronavirus pandemic, several communities who had originally agreed to participate in the compensation survey chose not to be a part of the staffing survey. Of the 12 who participated in the compensation study, only seven provided answers for the staffing survey.

Schostak told trustees this study would have long-term value for the township and give them staffing levels with performance metrics, and be an important tool to gain new talent and keep those already working for Bloomfield Township.

The study included key objectives, project deliverables, market assessment, classification analysis, employee opinion survey, and staffing analysis survey. Overall, the township’s base salaries are average for salaries compared to peer public-sector employers, such as the city of Birmingham, Oakland County, and West Bloomfield Township, but their recent pay increases have been below market. While the average salary is 11 percent above the minimum average it is nine percent below the maximum average, right at the midpoint average.

The township’s staff has been provided two percent increases each year for the last three years, which the survey indicated is a bit lower than average.

Of the 65 benchmark job titles used – there were 72 in total, with 65 having sufficient data – 22 jobs are paid above market average, mostly in public safety. Nineteen were paid below market average and 24 are at market average.

Compared to the private sector equivalent, Bloomfield Township is 12 percent below the midpoint.

Compensation levels for the three full-time elected officials – supervisor, clerk, and treasurer – have staffs that are considerably smaller than other responding local municipalities, and each are paid higher than the market average but below the market maximums – at $205,217, $157,893, and $157,893, respectively. Bloomfield Townships trustees are paid $4,800, well below the $8,271 average.

Across the majority of departments, the township does more work with fewer employees compared to their peers, according to the staffing analysis. Out of the 15 service areas listed, only senior services, cable,

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election, sworn fire, and planning, building and ordinance were at or above the average for staffing numbers, with everything else below.

A total of 117 separate job titles were identified through the Job Description Questionnaire (JDQ) the Segal Group used. Through their classification analysis 104 titles were recommended. The survey had a 100 percent response rate from all 223 JDQs sent out to township staff.

“We’re outperforming our peers in our level of productivity,” Schostak said.

“At the end of the day, good quality people do that,” said township supervisor Leo Savoie.

Township employees also completed a benefits opinion survey to highlight their top four benefits in terms of importance to them. Based on 114 anonymous responses to the survey, health insurance was considered the most important benefit for the majority, followed by vacation and leave policies, retirement benefits, and the compressed workweek. Bloomfield Township’s healthcare benefits are above market average. They cover a higher share of employee premiums and make HRA contributions at a high rate.

The opinion survey also listed the top three reasons for why someone would want to work for Bloomfield Township, which was the quality and strength of the community, compressed workweek and perceived job security.

Looking at the other side, top three reasons someone might want leave their job at the township included constituent/board tension, better retirement plans and better compensation elsewhere.

Compared to others, the nonpension retirement plans are below the market average. The township’s average annual turnover for the last five years has been 1.7 percent, much lower when compared to the peer average of 5.9 percent.

“It’s great to see based on the data that we seem to be pretty secure,” said trustee Dani Walsh.

With the results in, the township will now work with Segal to rewrite all 110 job descriptions based on the results of the classification and staffing components of the study.

New sanctuary set for Lutheran church A request by Birmingham's Lutheran Church of the Redeemer to replace and expand its sanctuary was downtownpublications.com

Baldwin Library opens for limited service irmingham's Baldwin Public Library has reopened to the public for Grab & Go service, allowing visitors to browse and check out materials, with occupancy limited to 80 visitors at a time.

This reopening is phase three of its six-phase reopening plan which was developed with input from staff members, health departments and other local libraries, said Rebekah Craft, associate director.

After being open for three weeks of curbside delivery, the library is now open with its normal operating hours of 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Library officials are requiring visitors to wear a face mask which covers the nose and mouth when in the library and interacting with others. Disposable face masks will be available at the library entrance for those who do not have one. Visitors who cannot wear a face masks for medical reasons are encouraged to use the library's curbside pickup services. Anyone with Covid-19 symptoms should not enter the library at any time.

Hand sanitizing station are located throughout the library.

Public computers will be available for 30-minutes per user, per day.

Seating in the library is limited. All study and meeting rooms are closed, as is the computer lab and idea lab.

Room rentals are unavailable.

Toys, puzzles, water fountains and vending machines are not available.

Visitors from different households are asked to maintain physical distancing of six-feet or more.

Plexiglass screens have been installed at all service desks to help prevent the spread of germs, and staff are regularly disinfecting hightouch surface areas.

Library items returned to the curbside dropbox and lobby book drop will be quarantined for 72 hours before being available for checkout.

Visitors are encouraged to use the contactless self-checkout stations, curbside pickup, automated return and other of the library's many online resources.

Curbside pickup is available Mondays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sundays from 1-4 p.m.

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considered and unanimously approved by the Birmingham City Commission at its meeting on Monday, July 20.

A public hearing was held to consider approving a special land use permit amendment and final site plan and design review of the church expansion, located at 1800 W. Maple, just west of Chesterfield, which was seeking to expand its sanctuary, narthex, a new steeple and spire and make related other improvements, notably to its landscaping.

Birmingham planner Brooks Cowan said the church is looking to remove the current sanctuary and rebuild a larger sanctuary for larger services and gatherings. The new sanctuary would be 10,671 square feet, an increase of 4,113 square feet.

They are also including a larger gathering space and rehearsal space, which will allow for a new and larger

organ to be used, he said. All exterior materials would match current materials, in order to provide a seamless transition.

“The church was built in 1942, and the current sanctuary was built in 1952,” Cowan said.

The city requires 86 parking spaces, and the church has 218, more than exceeding the requirement.

However, it was noted that on Sundays during services, they require overflow at nearby Mills' Pharmacy's parking lot. During weekdays, the lot is frequently largely vacant, prompting commissioner Stuart Sherman to point out that while he was in favor of approval, he hoped in the future the church would be willing to work with the city on reciprocal parking needs, which he said had been refused in the past.

As for landscaping improvements, Cowan said the church was

DOWNTOWN

proposing to remove 14 trees in the front and add 11 new trees on the eastern side of the front, along with an assortment of perennials and shrubs, as well as planting annuals at the base of the driveway “to welcome guests.” In addition, they will be adding an ADA-compliant pathway wrapping the exterior of the sanctuary.

Commissioner Rackeline Hoff asked what members will be doing for services during construction.

“We have a gym and temporary seating will be set up,” said architect Ron Cieslak.

New master plan input opportunity As further planning ramps up for Birmingham's citywide master plan for 2040, there are new opportunities for the community to engage and provide input, beginning with the city's planning board meetings.

At the planning board meeting on August 12, which will be held via Zoom, the first draft and overall planning themes will be discussed.

Key objectives of the master plan will be reviewed, along with the mixed use districts of Maple & Woodward and Market North. Residents are encouraged to attend the meeting online or by phone. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.

The master plan will be discussed at the first planning board meeting of every month from August through October. The process will culminate with a city commission meeting to review the direction at the end of phase one and move the process to a second draft plan by the end of the year. Residents are encouraged to download the first draft of the master plan and the master plan review process at thebirminghamplan.com.

The site includes relevant data, surveys, documents and an email communication option that allows residents to send comments directly to the planning team.

“The planning department and planning board gathered valuable input during initial master plan meetings and we are eager to gather additional community feedback as we move forward with the process,” said Birmingham Planning Director Jana Ecker.

79

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Updates approved for investment plans

By Dana Casadei

loomfield Township trustees approved amendment changes to the township retired employee health care benefits trust, investment policy defined contribution plans and defined benefit pension plan investment policy at its meeting on Monday, July 13.

Township Treasurer Brian Kepes explained all of the proposed changes were presented to the township's financial sustainability committee as well as the board at a study session in January.

Brian Green of AndCo, which invests the township's defined benefit pension plan and employee health care benefits trust, said there were two changes to the defined benefit pension plan investment policy.

“One is minor, changing the date on the document to reflect the adoption this evening,” Green said. “But the (other) change we are making is within what is allowable in terms of minimums and maximums for the investment policy statement. We have targets for U.S. equities; we have targets for international equities. For cash, the purpose is to keep the portfolio as invested as possible at all times, but we do know at times we need to make quarterly payments to Prudential (Retirement) for the liability on the other side of the pension benefit at times, because of the contributions and because of the timing, knowing what is coming out. The cash balance can at times be 1.1, 1.2 percent. We're big believers if you have a policy, be in compliance with it. This allows just a little more flexibility, in terms of holding cash for the short term, knowing we have a payment due on a quarterly basis, to make sure we're in compliance with everything. The long-term targets still remains cash at zero – this isn't holding cash because we think something is going to happen. It's saying, 'I need to make a cash payment in three weeks, I'm going to raise the money now to know that expense is covered,' and in the sense that this ties into a month-end or quarterly report, I want to make sure for the auditors and stakeholders that we're maintaining full compliance. It doesn't mean anything different from an investment standpoint.”

The maximum ceiling from cash, Green recommended, would go for one percent to two percent.

Bloomfield Township has had a defined benefit pension plan with Prudential Retirement Insurance dating back to 1961, worth approximately $150 million in guaranteed deposits. In December 2014, trustees became aware the township's Prudential Retirement defined benefit pension plan was drastically underperforming, and had been since at least 2004-2005, forcing the township to contribute millions to the fund annually out of township operating funds to keep it fully funded and available to retirees.

From 2010 until 2014, Bloomfield Township was budgeting $10.3 million each year to add to the Prudential plan; officials then took the opportunity to issue an $80 million pension obligation bond, which they invested in equities which provided a higher rate of return. The township had been paying Prudential from the equity account to maintain the defined benefit account at its necessary level.

Trustees voted 6-1, with trustee Dave Buckley voting against, to approve the changes.

For the retiree employee health care benefits trust amendment, Green said the proposed change was to keep the document consistent with best practices, and there were no changes to the document, but to have the date stamped brought up to date to show it has been reviewed on a regular basis. Trustees unanimously approved the change.

For the change on the statement of investment policy defined contribution plans, which is held with Schwartz & Co., Kepes said, “This statement was reintroduced this year at the investment study session.

This provides best practices for the defined contribution plans. Previously, this board had not had an investment policy as it relates to the defined contribution plan.”

“Defined contribution plans by law are not required to have a statement of investment policy, but as Brian mentioned, on the defined benefits side, it surely is a best practice,” said Rob Higgins of Schwartz & Co. “The document is intentionally loosely drafted. It has some wiggle room. It provides a lens from which we can make decisions to the investment line up to monitor funds, move to replace funds, and you'll see language in there that refers the risk factors monitoring performances, the body of the funds, and how we view those factors and what leads to a recommendation.”

Trustees unanimously approved the change.

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Parks bond placed on November ballot

By Lisa Brody

In a 4-3 split decision, Birmingham City Commissioners approved placing an $11.25 million bond parks and recreation bond to improve facilities on the November general election ballot at their meeting on Monday, July 20.

In addition, they approved engaging communications firm Van Dyke Horn for $30,000, to perform communications services to communicate the bond.

City manager Joe Valentine explained every five years or so, the city's parks and recreation master plan is updated to reflect a vision of its facilities, from operations, maintenance and enhancements for the next several years. The parks and recreation board had complete-range planning meeting in January. He said the last parks and recreation bond was authorized in 2001 and issued in two series; one in 2002 in the amount $16,122.688 and another in 2008 in the amount of $4,014,789.

Since 2002, updates to the parks and recreation master plan occurred in 2006, 2011 and 2018.

“In total, the bond amount based on the parks board priority list would be $11,250,000 which could be issued in two series; the first in the amount of $4,750,000 in 2021, and the second series in the amount of $6,500,000 in 2024 as existing bond debt would be retired in these respective years,” Valentine said. “The city’s existing debt levy is approximately 1.0099 mills and would reduce to .5448 mills in the 2020-21 fiscal year and by 2024-25 the city’s debt levy would reduce to .1156 mills. The addition of the proposed two bond series would change this reduction from .1156 mills in fiscal year 2024-25 to .2871 mills.”

At the long-range planning meeting in January 2020, Lauren Wood, public services director, provided a parks and recreation improvement funding update, noting in June 2018, the city commission directed the parks and recreation board to review their master plan's five-year capital improvement plan to identify facility needs and to look at bonding opportunities. At that time, she said the first phase of the parks and recreation priority list includes $5.1 million for a needed refrigeration system and locker room expansion/facility upgrades at the Birmingham Ice Arena; $700,000 for implementation of the concept plan

for Adams Park; $300,000 for Booth Park Phase III corner feature; citywide playground improvements, including accessibility and inclusive play, Springdale playground, $300,000; Crestview playground, $250,000; Howarth playground, $150,000; a pickleball court, location to be determined, $150,000; and $300,000 for improvements to the Rouge River Trail, for a total of $7.3 million for the first phase.

The second phase, for a total of $4.9 million, includes more inclusive playground improvements, at Lincoln Well and Pumphouse park playgrounds, $350,000; Linden Park, $150,000; Pembroke playground/park shelter, $400,000; and St. James playground, $300,00; a splashpad, $500,000; $1 million for a new inclusive playground area and drainage improvements at Poppleton Park; an inclusive playground, ballfield developments and walking paths at Kenning Park, $1.2 million; $525,000 for new irrigation at the golf courses; and $450,000 for the Rouge River Trail, to include new trail entry plaza/trailheads, signage, and connectivity to connect Willits to Maple.

Mayor Pierre Boutros, commissioners Clinton Baller, Brad Host and Therese Longe voted to approve the bond proposal; commissioners Rackeline Hoff, Mark Nickita and Stuart Sherman voted in opposition.

Investments doing well during crisis

By Dana Casadei

Even in spite of the coronavirus pandemic, financial investments for Bloomfield Township are still doing extremely well, financial advisors said at the quarterly financial sustainability committee on Wednesday, July 29.

The committee, which was formed in 2015 to assist the treasurer and trustees in making better informed financial decisions, is a non-decision making advisory board. The July 29 meeting was held to discuss finances related to its quarterly review and the potential addition of institutional grade real estate being added to the township’s investment strategy.

Bloomfield Township Treasurer Brian Kepes reported that the township’s ladder of treasury bills (Tbills) have been maturing in the local government investment pool with Oakland County, where a portion have been invested for less than a year.

“Oakland County now is yielding about 1.42 percent…which today is a strong rate,” he said. “We're achieving substantially better than the current T-bill. That's why we've changed the strategy of investing.”

The current T-bill rate is at .123 percent.

Overall returns for the total fund were up 22.12 percent, while total equity returns were up 22.14 percent.

The current allocation was very close to target for all three asset classes.

No further action was recommended from financial advisors.

“They were almost spot on,” Kepes said. “It's great to be within target.

And it's great to have achieved the results that we've achieved, especially in light of everything that's going on. Our investments are doing what they're supposed to be doing.”

Kepes said for about the last year the committee has been looking to expand the investment asset classes to try to take off some of the volatility from the market and other asset classes. They looked at how assets were performing on the defined benefits side and began to think about putting assets into another

category, such as real estate.

Members of the committee were unanimously on board with the idea.

At the next meeting, in October, there will be a more detailed presentation for members. The final decision will be made by the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees, which is when a larger discussion about investment percentages would be discussed, the committee explained.

“There will be no investments in real estate unless it's approved by the board as part of the strategy that the township wants to go for with its pension plan, which, by the way, is exceedingly common in these types of plans,” Kepes said.

AndCo, an institutional investment consulting firm, is initially looking to invest about five percent of the township’s assets into real estate.

The township's restructuring of a longtime contract with Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity, which holds the township's defined benefit pension plan, was done after trustees became aware in 2014 that the plan was drastically underperforming, and had been since about 2004.

Savoie defeated in bid for reelection Former Bloomfield Township Treasurer Dan Devine, turned out of office by voters in 2016, came back in the August 4 Republican supervisor's primary, prevailing over incumbent Leo Savoie, with 4,895 votes, 62 percent, to 3,033 votes for Savoie.

Devine will face Democrat Dani Walsh in November, who received 5,692 votes, 83 percent of the Democratic vote, versus Scott Nadeau, who had informally dropped out of the race and endorsed Walsh.

Treasurer Brian Kepes narrowly survived a challenge from Mark Antakli.

Kepes received 51 percent of the votes, 3,915 votes, to Antakli's 3,765 votes.

Both Kepes and Antakli are Republicans, and with no Democrat running in November, Kepes will keep his position.

In the race to replace incumbent clerk Jan Roncelli, who is retiring, a three-way contest on the Republican side ended with Bloomfield Township police officer Tom Smyly receiving the most votes, 2,884, 39 percent of the

total, versus David Thomas' 2,567 votes, 34.5 percent, and Malissa Bossardet, 1,970, 26.5 percent. Smyly will face Martin Brook in November, who received 6,579 votes running unopposed.

All four Democrat nominees for Bloomfield Township Trustee will move forward to the November election.

Stephanie Fakih took the majority of the votes with 26 percent, 5,407 votes, followed closely by Valerie Sayles Murray’s 5,373 votes at 26 percent.

Linda P. Ulrey and Mitsuaki Murashige rounded out the candidates with 25 percent, or 5,102 votes, and 23 percent, or 4,848 votes, respectively.

The Democrat nominees will face four Republicans, two of whom are currently on the board of trustees, in November to fill all four spots on the board. Current trustee Michael Schostak, who was elected to the position in 2016, took the most Republican votes with 4,533, or 22 percent. Schostak’s total was followed

by Don Valente’s 4,472 votes, or 22 percent; incumbent Neal Barnett received 4,209 votes, or 21 percent; and Timothy Robert Meyer, who narrowly filled the last slot with 3,598, or 18 percent.

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EDUCATION Incarcerated student released to mother

By Lisa Brody

A Black female Groves student whose story was profiled by ProPublica after she was incarcerated for not doing her schoolwork during the coronavirus lockdown was ordered released to her mother by the Michigan Court of Appeals on Friday, July 31.

The ProPublica story raised questions regarding the appropriate use of juvenile detention, prosecutorial and judicial discretion and systemic racism in the judicial system, and led to the Birmingham Public Schools district to call for a review of the case.

According to the ProPublica story, written by Jodi S. Cohen and published on July 14, “Grace” (a pseudonym), was a high school sophomore at Groves High School when she was charged with assault against her mother and a theft of a cell phone at school last year. She was placed on probation in mid-April and, among other requirements, was to complete her schoolwork. “Grace, who has ADHD and receives special education services, struggled with the transition to online learning and fell behind. Finding the girl had violated probation, an Oakland County judge on May 14 sentenced her to detention,” wrote Cohen. “After spending the initial weeks in secure detention at the Children’s Village juvenile detention center in suburban Detroit, Grace is now in a residential treatment program at the facility.

Grace and her mother, who have been allowed many phone calls but only three visits during the past two months, have pleaded with the judge to allow her to go home.”

Local, county, state and federal authorities had condemned Brennan's decision to incarcerate the teen rather than demand home confinement, psychological treatment or other remediation. Her sentence came at the same time the legal and educational communities had urged leniency due to the Covid-19 situation and a prioritization of children's health and safety.

John Nevin, communications director, Michigan Supreme Court, said in a statement issued Thursday, July 16, “The State Court Administrative Office is working with the Oakland Circuit Court to examine the processes in this case.”

One of her attorneys had filed a motion in circuit court requesting the judge to review her decision on the incarceration, but on July 17, Brennan downtownpublications.com

Changes to Charles L. Bowers Farm hanges to Charles L. Bowers Farm, part of Bloomfield Hills Schools, were presented to the Bloomfield Township trustees by its director, Alan Jaros, at their meeting on Monday, July 13.

Starting on Saturday, July 25, Bowers Farm will have open barn days every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday through August. Jaros said this is a pilot program and the days and hours may change depending on public interest.

“In this Covid time period, the farm’s been quiet. In what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard and the emails I’ve gotten is outdoors is a safe place to be,” Jaros said. “People ask, why not open up the farm in a safe manner that would allow for people who are not vacationing to come over and walk? Come over and see the goats? Pick their own produce?”

Currently, visits to the farm are by appointment only. Open barn days will allow for casual visitation, and open the visitor center lobby with farm fresh produce and products. Guests can pay an admission fee to attend or purchase a year-long membership.

Starting in mid-July, memberships and admission tickets for open barn days will be available on the farm's website, bloomfield.org/farm.

Daily admission is $10 for adults and children, $9 for senior citizens over 60, and free for those under two.

The membership program, a first for the barn, has a variety of levels, much like at the Detroit Zoo and similar outdoor venues. Individual membership for one year is $45 and family memberships cost $85 for one year, which will be for two adults and dependent children or grandchildren 18 and under.

Jaros said they hope this membership program will continue into next year.

Bowers Farm has partnered with Michigan State University’s Dairy Store for an ice cream stand that will be accessible outside and will open in late July. Those who want ice cream will not have to pay an admission or membership fee.

“Anyone who bleeds green like I do knows the Dairy Store has the best ice cream in the state of Michigan,” Jaros laughed.

Open barn days hours will be 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays.

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denied the motion, stating she would not be swayed by public opinion., and her role was to make decisions in the best interest of the teen.

“She was not detained because she didn’t turn her homework in,” Brennan said. “She was detained because she was a threat to her mother.”

Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter said he had spoken with the judge. “While there are many more details that she is unable to share with me and the public to protect privacy of the minor and their family, I believe a review of this case within her court or during an appellate process is required. It has been a top priority of my administration to keep the young people and employees safe at Children’s Village during the pandemic and that includes limiting residency to immediate safety risks,” he said.

Birmingham Public Schools spokesperson Anne Cron stated they are unable to speak about individual students as they are bound by privacy constraints. In a statement, the

district said, “Birmingham Public Schools staff and administrators have a deep commitment to working with each of our students to benefit their academic and personal growth. The concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion have been foundations of the school district’s work and will continue to provide a foundation for our school improvement in the future.

Birmingham Public Schools stands by its commitment that no child within our district should face consequences for lack of participation, incomplete assignments or missed work due to the sudden and required online continuity of learning plans that took place this past school year due to the global pandemic of COVID19. From its inception, the BPS plan sought to hold students harmless given the challenging, virtual learning environment they were thrust in due to no fault of their own. The district maintains that belief today.

“While this issue was highlighted in a recent news story, Birmingham Public Schools is not a party to the

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court proceeding discussed. We are unable to share any further detail about the case – either because those details are unknown to us or they fall under student privacy regulations to which we are bound.”

“As Beverly Hills’ representative in the U.S. House Representatives and the proud dad of four Birmingham Public School kids, including two Groves High School graduates, I am deeply disturbed by the decision of a Michigan circuit judge to sentence a Black high school student to confinement in a juvenile detention facility for the apparent crime of not doing her online coursework. This punitive sentence has unnecessarily separated a child from her mother during a global pandemic and put both at risk,” said Congressman Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Township) in a statement. “From publicly available information, the case to detain this student has serious deficiencies. The prosecution’s only witness was unaware of the student’s learning disabilities.

Witnesses who could have provided a better understanding of the situation, like the student’s teachers, were unable to testify. Moreover, the infraction that sent this student to juvenile detention was trivial. I am saddened to have to state the obvious: We should not be locking up children for not doing their homework.

“Unfortunately, this case is reflective of the harsh penalties children of color face throughout Michigan and the United States when dealing with the criminal justice system. In our state, Black children are incarcerated at four times the rate of white children. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is tragic to see the criminal justice system follow Black youth into their homes. Now more than ever we need to sever the school-to-prison pipeline that is denying students of color in Michigan the freedom and success they deserve.”

“Oakland Schools shares the community’s deep concern and outrage over the recent action taken against a Birmingham Schools’ student by the court system,” said Oakland Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Wanda Cook-Robinson. “We firmly believe that no student should be punished for not completing online school work during this unprecedented pandemic. We stand ready to support Birmingham Public Schools in any way to ensure an equitable academic and social emotional environment as we welcome back all students.”

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FACES Ryan Kasprzak he results of a coin flip changed the course of Ryan Kasprzak life.

In the sixth grade, when he was already doing community theater, his mom found free boys dance classes and even though he was hesitate about going, she thought it would be a good idea. Their compromise? A coin flip.

“If it was heads, I would go and if it was tails, she'd never ask me again. It was heads,” Kasprzak said. “So I went to the dance class, and it changed my life.”

Now, a few decades later, Kasprzak has worked as a choreographer on television shows like Smash and Fosse/Verdon, the reality show So You Think You Can Dance, and performed in Broadway’s Bandstand and on the Tony Awards.

His current gig is on one of the biggest shows to ever hit the theater scene, Hamilton. The Groves High School alumnus is the dance supervisor for the And Peggy touring company.

Another serendipitous moment from his past played a role in his current job. As a teenager he met Andy Blankenbuehler, Hamilton’s Tony Award-winning choreographer, at a dance convention in Lansing. From there, Blankenbuehler became a mentor and friend, and the duo have worked on multiple projects together over the years.

“So that relationship sort of led to the opportunity to be part of the growing world of Hamilton,” Kasprzak said.

After attending a week-long boot camp for Hamilton in the fall of 2017, Kasprzak began his new job the following summer. The And Peggy cast didn’t start in your typical city though. Their first three weeks of performances were in Puerto Rico.

As dance supervisor, Kasprzak takes on the choreographer responsibilities. He rehearses all of the dances in the show, gives notes to the running company, trains understudies, covers, swings, new cast members, and in the case of their Puerto Rico performances, trains original cast members when they come back, like Hamilton creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, who reprised the title role.

“It had been two years since Lin was in the show…the experience of getting to rehearse, putting him back in the show was really fun because that was frantic,” he said.

After those performances, the And Peggy cast moved to San Francisco, where they performed until cornovirus shut them down. Kasprzak and his family are currently in New York.

“Right now at the moment, I would love to work on any show, and the idea of being back in the theater, being back in the studio, is the thing that I want most of all,” he said.

Moving forward, once the world of Broadway is open again, Kasprzak hopes to work in the creation and development of new musicals. He said he loves hearing the music and the way he’s able to translate that into storytelling through dance.

“I don't know what part it is of my brain that, like, I can see movement and it translates to my body and I understand it,” he said. “I think that process, like that journey from the first time I hear the music to seeing it on it's feet is my favorite thing.”

Despite the variety of work he’s done, one will always be his number one.

“My heart will always be with Broadway,” Kasprzak said.

“That's what I dreamed about when I was a kid and getting to work on Broadway shows, that's where I feel most comfortable.”

Turns out some dreams do come true. All you have to do is flip a coin.

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Story: Dana Casadei

Photo: James Jin

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THE COMMUNITY HOUSE Dominic DiMarco - President, Cranbrook Educational Community

“Finding a New Normal Together” Gina LaPapa As we begin Fall 2020, forever changed by a worldwide pandemic, COVID-19, we at The Community House take pause to reflect on all of the people: individuals, corporations, foundations – kindnesses large and small, which have helped sustain us over these last six months, and to those who have made a true and lasting difference at the historic Community House, yesterday, today and always. If you are wondering when will the coronavirus end, you’re not alone. Until then, we shall endeavor to carry on.

As a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization, it is our duty and our obligation to remain ever mindful that good stewardship is an essential part of the fundraising cycle. It covers the entire relationship between donor and organization. Likewise, we must continually celebrate and honor the importance of selfless service and volunteerism.

For without either, the work and missions of noble organizations such as The Community House would not be possible.

In an effort to recognize those that have given extraordinary treasure; $25,000 or more cumulatively, or donors who make an irrevocable legacy gift of $25,000 or more to The Community House, Community House Association and Foundation Leadership decided to combine and recognize key stakeholders; major donors, foundations and corporate partners - together with the Pillars of Vibrancy - at the annual Bates Street Society Dinner, under one philanthropic umbrella event.

Impacted by COVID, the 6th annual Bates Street Society Dinner has been moved to Saturday, April 17, 2020. The three-course sit-down dinner is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the Wallace Ballroom of The Community House.

Bill Seklar Normally held in February, The Community House created the Bates Street Society Dinner - at which annual Pillars of Vibrancy: Education, Wellness, Culture, Philanthropy and Business are celebrated and honored. The purpose is to publicly recognize extraordinary individuals who have demonstrated selfless service and philanthropy toward others while helping to “Create More Vibrant Lives” in the community - selfless service offered and provided out of a genuine and deep desire to help and be of service to others.

Over the last few years, 69 pillars in our community have been recognized and inducted into The Community House’s Pillars of Vibrancy. 2021 will be no exception. Recently, The Community House announced the 2021 Pillar Nominees to date. They include: Pillar of Business & Philanthropy Jessie Beld Elliot and Ed Welburn - Businesswoman, Legendary GM Design Chief, Philanthropists S. Evan Weiner – President & CEO, Businessman, Philanthropist Linda Schlesinger-Wagner – Founder, Businesswoman, Philanthropist Pillar of Culture & Philanthropy Dave Bing - Former Mayor of Detroit, Hall of Fame Basketball Player, Businessman Rabbi Daniel B. Syme - Rabbi Emeritus Pillar of Education

The Bates Street Society was established in 2015, to publicly recognize and induct members who have made significant charitable contributions to support the work and mission of The Community House in Birmingham. New member-inductees will be acknowledged annually at its Bates Street Society Dinner, a semi-formal event hosted by The Community House and The Community House Foundation’s - Officers and Board of Directors.

Please save the date. Until then, The Community House shall continue to monitor the pandemic, and if necessary, out of an abundance of safety and caution, adjust accordingly.

To help lead this extraordinary evening of recognition and celebration, Huel Perkins, beloved Broadcast Journalist and iconic American News Anchor, will return in the role of Master of Ceremonies.

This important gathering/dinner will offer guests a wonderful opportunity to publicly show enthusiastic support for the 2021 TCH Pillars of Vibrancy inductees, and to the scores of individuals, foundations and corporations whose contributions and kindness makes The Community House’s work and mission possible. Reservations (no tickets issued!) are $250/pp for General Admission and $350pp for Patron Admission. In addition, sponsorship opportunities are needed and available at all giving levels.

Until we find our new normal “let’s practice reckless optimism together.” Stay safe, be well.

For reservations, tickets or to become a sponsor of the 2021 Bates Street Society Dinner, please go to communityhousefoundation.org or call 248.644.5832.

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

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BUSINESS MATTERS Covid casualties The coronavirus pandemic has definitely hit the local business community in the last four months, and some spots will not reopen, including women’s boutiques Lexi Drew, 152 N. Old Woodward in downtown Birmingham, and 110 Couture, 110 S. Old Woodward in Birmingham. Also shuttered, after a 30-year run offering edgy, sophisticated women’s apparel, is boutique Milieu Birmingham, owned

by Denise Thea, 2163 Cole Street, in Birmingham’s Rail District. Nestled inside since just late last year, Libertine, offering curated gifts, personal care items, fragrance and accessories by retailer Rita Sayegh, has gone online only for the time being. Mad Hatter Bistro and Tea Room, 185 N. Old Woodward, has also closed its doors for good, and Pita Cafe, 239 N. Old Woodward, is in danger of the same. It is still closed – although the owner is still paying rent and wants to reopen. The problem?

None of their workers are willing to come back, according to the manager at their Oak Park location, as they are earning much more on unemployment.

Also permanently closed is the Panera in Bloomfield Township at 2125 Telegraph Road. Janet Davis Cleaners, 3645 W. Maple Road at Lahser, in the Plum Market plaza, has closed after inhabiting the space for 50-some years.

Fitness fatalities As the state closures continue for gyms and fitness facilities, it has taken its toll on some local businesses who can’t hold on any longer. Carly Goidosik of Birmingham, local franchise owner of The Dailey Method, a Birmingham barre studio located at 34665 Woodward Avenue, announced via email on June 12 that she had decided not to reopen the studio after over seven years of running it, noting it was a bittersweet decision. “While COVID-19 has devastated the business, this is also a personal decision that has been in my heart for a while, but the uncertainty of the past three months have only confirmed this is the right decision for me and for my family,” Goidosik wrote.

However, she continued, “I would love it if there were someone in our community who is ready to carry on the torch and keep the studio alive. I believe in The Dailey Method to my core and I am confident our studio has not yet reached its full potential. Our product is like no other and our community is special. If you are interested in studio ownership, please downtownpublications.com

reach out to me so we can have a conversation.” Currently the main company for The Dailey Method is offering virtual classes via Zoom and a package of unlimited classes in Birmingham parks. Also closing its doors is Rebel Boxing Fitness, 6565 Telegraph Road at Maple in Bloomfield Township, owned by Noah Dorfman and his wife Michelle Landry, Eric Giaier and Dunia Hamed. Rebel Boxing offered group classes teaching the fundamentals of boxing and strength training as well as private training. SLT Bloomfield Hills, 3630 W. Maple Road at Lahser in the Kroger shopping center in Bloomfield Township, has also folded its local franchise. SLT, which stands for “stretch, lengthen, tone,” was the first Michigan-based location of the New York exercise studio.

Oui! Oui! An authentic and classic French patisserie – or pastry shop, for us plebeian Americans – has opened at Maple and Telegraph. Chez Pierre et Genevieve, 6525 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, has taken up residence by Roland Optics and Leo’s Coney Island, offering classics including croissants, palmiers and brioche; breads, including olive bread, rustic sourdough and country bread with fig; a wide range of French pastries, ranging from tarts – apple, lemon, blueberry and linzer, eclairs, and mille feuille; and savories which include Quiche Lorraine and onion tart. “Our chef and his team create exceptional breads, pastries and chocolates, using authentic artisanal techniques and the best ingredients imported from France,” their Facebook page said.

Fresh sushi option Owner Kayla Park opened California Roll Sushi in the former Shawarma Kingdom spot in Birmingham, 33757 Woodward, in late May – during the Covid pandemic. “It was really tough at first,” Park acknowledged. “We started during the peak of the pandemic, but the people in the neighborhood have been very supportive.” Open for lunch and dinner, Park offers traditional sashimi and nigiri sushi, “like in Japan,” she said, as well as basic sushi rolls. But what gets the neighbors coming back are her specialty rolls, like the trio roll, which features yellowtail, salmon and hamachi, topped by smelt roe and radish sprouts. “It’s one of our popular rolls, especially for the real sushi eaters. It’s very colorful.” Designed as a carry-out location, Park recommends

diners order ahead. “We do curbside to make it easier,” she said.

Playing chicken Lovers of Chicken Shack will have one more reason to enjoy the popular chain’s specialties, as they open a carryout and delivery spot in Bloomfield Township at 42857 Woodward Avenue at Square Lake Road, next to Starbucks.

Classic closing Fans of classic women’s clothing with an updated twist will have to find a new place to shop with the announcement of the closure of Sara Campbell in Birmingham’s downtown shopping district. The boutique, located at 146 W. Maple Road, shut its doors for the final time on Friday, August 7.

Boutique owner Sara Campbell herself sent an email which said, in part, “Since the arrival of COVID-19, we have been challenged to make some very painful decisions. To our loyal customers: Please stay in close touch, you can continue to shop with us over the phone or online. Closing any location really breaks my heart.”

Pet supply options Pet parents can look forward to the opening of Earthwise Pet Nutrition Center & Wellness Spa, with a new franchise opening at 2207 S. Telegraph Road in the Bloomfield Town Center, just steps from Costco. Earthwise Pet offers pet nutrition guidance through their specially-trained staff along with a wide range of extensively-vetted food products. “All food products that we select for the store are meat-based and free of corn, wheat, soy and byproducts. It is our goal is to help you find the most biologically appropriate foods for your pet,” Earthwise said on its website. “Whether you are dealing with a new puppy or kitten, a senior citizen, picky-pete, a pet suffering from sensitivities or just your family fur-kid, let our staff help educate and guide you through your pet diet choices. Pet Food selections include dozens of raw frozen and freeze-dried products, dry kibble, wet and dehydrated choices from our trusted manufacturers.”

Earthwise also offers grooming services for all breeds and sizes that are performed efficiently by qualified pet-oriented professionals.

SIGN UP TODAY Get the latest news online from the leading news organization for the Birmingham and Bloomfield area.

Go to downtownpublications.com and register to receive our weekly and breaking news updates, society notebook, oakland confidential, metro intelligencer, and the covid-19 diary from the local area's best website.

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PLACES TO EAT

Go To Our Website For

OPEN LABOR DAY

DELIVERY

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. Lunch & Dinner, Monday- Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 220 E. Merrill Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.646.2220.

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

Adachi: Asian. Lunch & Dinner daily.

Liquor. Reservations. 325 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham 48009.

248.540.5900.

Andiamo: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 6676 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301.

248.865.9300.

Bangkok Thai Bistro: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 42805 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Township, 48304. 248.499.6867.

Beau's: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 4108 W. Maple, Bloomfield Hills, 48301.

248.626.2630.

Bella Piatti: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 167 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.494.7110.

Beverly Hills Grill: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Liquor. No reservations. 31471 Southfield Road, Beverly Hills, 48025. 248.642.2355.

Beyond Juice: Contemporary. Breakfast & Lunch daily; Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. 270 West Maple Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.594.7078.

Big Rock Chophouse: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 245 South Eton Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.647.7774.

Bill's: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Daily. Reservations, lunch only.

Liquor. 39556 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304.

248.646.9000.

Birmingham Sushi Cafe: Japanese.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 377 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.8880.

Bistro Joe’s Kitchen: Global. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Sunday brunch. Liquor.

Reservations. 34244 Woodward Ave., Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.0984.

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

248.645.6879.

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

248.258.6690.

Café ML: New American. Dinner, daily.

Liquor. Call ahead. 3607 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Township.

248.642.4000.

Casa Pernoi: Italian. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 310 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009.

248.940.0000.

downtownpublications.com

China Village: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 1655 Opdyke, Bloomfield Hills, 48304.

248.758.1221.

Churchill's Bistro & Cigar Bar: Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

116 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.4555.

Cityscape Deli: Deli. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations.

Beer. 877 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302.

248.540.7220.

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

248.792.9766.

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

248.642.1135.

Eddie Merlot's: Steak & seafood.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

37000 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.712.4095.

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

Elie’s Mediterranean Cuisine: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations.

Liquor. 263 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.2420.

Embers Deli & Restaurant: Deli.

Breakfast & Lunch, daily. Dinner, Monday-Friday. No reservations. 3598 West Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.645.1033.

Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar: American. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 323 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.723.0134.

Forest: European. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 735 Forest Avenue, Birmingham 48009.

248.258.9400.

Greek Island Coney Restaurant: Greek.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 221 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.646.1222.

Griffin Claw Brewing Company: American. Dinner, Tuesday-Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday and Sunday. No Reservations. Liquor. 575 S. Eton Street, Birmingham.

248.712.4050.

Honey Tree Grille: Greek/American.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, daily. No reservations. 3633 W. Maple Rd, Bloomfield, MI 48301.

248.203.9111.

Hunter House Hamburgers: American.

Breakfast, Monday-Saturday; Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 35075 Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.646.7121.

Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 201 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.4369.

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

Joe Muer Seafood: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner daily; Sunday brunch.

Reservations. Liquor. 39475 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.792.9609.

Kaku Sushi and Poke': Asian. Lunch & Dinner. Tuesday-Sunday. No

DOWNTOWN

Always Taking Reservations For Dine-In

DINE-IN/CARRY-OUT/CATERING

OPEN Mon-Sat 9am-7pm Sunday 9am-6pm

WE ARE OPEN FOR SIT DOWN DINING OUTDOOR DINING AVAILABLE

Your order of $29.95 or more DT

Your order of $69.95 or more

DT

(NOT VALID ON PHONE ORDERS) Dine In or Carry-Out Orders

(NOT VALID ON PHONE ORDERS) Dine In or Carry-Out Orders

No digital coupons accepted. Excludes all other offers. With this coupon. Present coupon when ordering. Exp. 9/10/20.

No digital coupons accepted. Excludes all other offers. With this coupon. Present coupon when ordering. Exp. 9/10/20.

6646 Telegraph at Maple Bloomfield Plaza 248.932.0800 | stevesdeli.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.

Contact Mark Grablowski for advertising rate information.

O: 248.792.6464 Ext. 601 MarkGrablowski@downtownpublications.com

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reservations. No Liquor. 869 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Township, 48302. 248.480.4785, and 126 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009.

248.885.8631.

Kerby’s Koney Island: American.

Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2160 N. Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304.

248.333.1166.

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

La Strada Italian Kitchen & Bar: Italian.

Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 243 E. Merrill Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.480.0492.

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.

Little Daddy’s Parthenon: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 39500 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304.

248.647.3400.

Luxe Bar & Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily; Late Night, 9 p.m.closing. No reservations. Liquor. 525 N. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.6051.

Mandaloun Bistro: Lebanese. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, Daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 30100 Telegraph Rd., Suite 130, Bingham Farms, 48025. 248.723.7960.

Market North End: Mediterranean.

Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 474 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.712.4953.

MEX Mexican Bistro & Tequila Bar: Mexican. Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily. Liquor. 6675 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301.

248.723.0800.

Nippon Sushi Bar: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2079 S. Telegraph, Bloomfield Township, 48302. 248.481.9581.

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

Original Pancake House: American.

Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 33703 South Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.642.5775.

Phoenicia: Middle Eastern. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 588 South Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.644.3122.

Qdoba: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 795 East Maple Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.988.8941. Also 42967 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Township, 48304. 248.874.1876 Roadside B & G: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

1727 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.858.7270.

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

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248.644.8977.

Social Kitchen & Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 5 or more. Liquor. 225 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009.

248.594.4200.

Stacked Deli: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, Monday-Saturday. Delivery available.

No reservations. 233 North Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009.

248.593.5300.

Stateside Deli & Restaurant Deli.

Breakfast, Lunch, Sunday-Monday.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. No reservations.

653 S. Adams Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.550.0455.

Steve’s Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6646 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield, 48301.

248.932.0800.

Streetside Seafood: Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily.

Reservations, Lunch only. Liquor. 273 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.645.9123.

Sushi Hana: Japanese. Lunch, MondayFriday; Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 42656 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.333.3887.

Sy Thai Cafe: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 315 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009.

248.258.9830.

Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro: American. Dinner. Monday-Saturday.

Sunday brunch. Reservations. Liquor.

55 S. Bates Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.731.7066.

The Franklin Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 32760 Franklin Rd, Franklin, 48025. 248.865.6600.

The Gallery Restaurant: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & wine. 6683 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.851.0313.

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

The Morrie: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 260 N. Old Woodward, Birmingham 48009.

248.940.3260.

The Rugby Grille: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 100 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.642.5999.

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

248.258.6278.

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

248.258.0500.

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

248.593.7881.

Townhouse: American. Brunch, Saturday, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 180 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.792.5241.

Vinotecca: European. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 210 S. Old Woodard, Birmingham, 48009.

248.203.6600.

Whistle Stop Diner: American.

Breakfast & Lunch, daily; No reservations. 501 S. Eton Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.566.3566.

Zao Jun: Asian. Lunch Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

6608 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301. 248.949.9999.

Royal Oak/Ferndale Ale Mary's: American. Weekend Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 316 South Main St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.268.1917.

Anita’s Kitchen: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 22651 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220. 248.548.0680.

Assaggi Bistro: Italian. Lunch, TuesdayFriday. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 330 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220.

248.584.3499.

Bigalora: Italian. Weekend Brunch.

Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily.

No Reservations. Liquor. 711 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067.

The Blue Nile: Ethiopian. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor.

545 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220. 248.547.6699.

Cafe Muse: French. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 418 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.544.4749.

Cork Wine Pub: American. Sunday Brunch. Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 23810 Woodward Ave., Pleasant Ridge, 48069. 248.544.2675.

Due Venti: Italian. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 220 S. Main St., Clawson, 48017. 248.288.0220.

The Fly Trap: Diner. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. Dinner, Monday-Friday. No reservations. 22950 Woodward Ave., 48220. 248.399.5150.

Howe’s Bayou: Cajun. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 22949 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220. 248.691.7145.

Inyo Restaurant Lounge: Asian Fusion.

Weekend Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 22871 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220.

248.543.9500.

KouZina: Greek. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 121 N. Main St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.629.6500.

Kruse & Muer on Woodward: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 28028 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.965.2101.

Lily’s Seafood: Seafood. Weekend Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 410 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.591.5459.

Lockhart’s BBQ: Barbeque. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 202 E. Third St., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.584.4227.

Oak City Grille: American. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 212 W. 6th St, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.556.0947.

One-Eyed Betty: American. Weekend Breakfast. Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 175 W. Troy St., Ferndale, 48220. 248.808.6633.

Pronto!: American. Weekend Brunch.

DOWNTOWN

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 608 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.7900.

Public House: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

241 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220. 248.850.7420.

Redcoat Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

31542 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak, 48073. 248.549.0300.

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

Royal Oak Brewery: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

215 E. 4th St., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.544.1141.

Strada: Italian. Dinner, Wednesday Sunday. Liquor. No reservations. 376 N. Main Street. Royal Oak, 48067.

248.607.3127.

The Morrie: American. Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 511 S. Main St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.216.1112.

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

Tom’s Oyster Bar: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

318 S. Main St., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.541.1186.

Trattoria Da Luigi: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor.

415 S, Washington Ave., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.542.4444.

Twisted Tavern: American. Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 22901 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220.

248.545,6750.

Vinsetta Garage: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

27799 Woodward Ave., Berkley, 48072. 248.548.7711.

Troy/Rochester Capital Grille: Steak & Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Saturday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2800 West Big Beaver Rd., Somerset Collection, Troy, 48084. 248.649.5300.

Cafe Sushi: Pan-Asian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1933 W. Maple Rd, Troy, 48084.

248.280.1831.

CK Diggs: American & Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 2010 W. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.853.6600.

O’Connor’s Irish Public House: Irish.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 324 S. Main St., Rochester, 48307. 248.608.2537.

Kona Grille: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 30 E. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48083.

248.619.9060.

Kruse & Muer on Main: American.

Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 327 S. Main St., Rochester, 48307. 248.652.9400.

Loccino Italian Grill and Bar: Italian.

Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily.

Liquor. Reservations. 5600 Crooks Road, Troy, 48098. 248.813.0700.

McCormick & Schmick’s: Steak & Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. Somerset Collection, 2850 Coolidge Hwy., Troy, 48084. 248.637.6400.

08.20

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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 Dana Casadei who can be reached at DanaCasadei@DowntownPublications.com with news items or tips, on or off the record.

New owners for Pronto!

After releasing that Five15 had bought the Royal Oak restaurant Pronto!, 608 S. Washington Avenue, Five15 co-owner Gary Baglio was not anticipating the reaction they received. “The amount of excitement and enthusiasm…is so encouraging. I hope we can live up to the expectation and I’m sure we’ll be able to,” he said. It turns out this transaction had been in the works for about a year, according to Baglio, but their connection goes back further to when Five15 partnered with Pronto to use their liquor license to serve alcohol during Five15’s Drag Queen Bingo nights, which now has a permanent home just down the street at 600 W. Washington Avenue. The new owners plan to keep the Pronto! name but little else will look similar in the space. There are plans to make Pronto’s decor similar to Five15, which Baglio described as a very ‘60s, loungey, with a Palm Springs vibe. While Baglio couldn’t go in to details yet, he said that they’ll have a brand-new menu as well.

Shining at Shinola Three out of four restaurants – San Morello, The Brakeman, and Penny Red’s – at the Shinola Hotel, 1400 Woodward Avenue, and Shinola Hotel Annex, 22 John R Street, Detroit, have officially reopened as of July. Owned by the NoHo Hospitality Group, which includes Chef Andrew Carmellini, Luke Ostrom, and Josh Pickard, the trio of spots have all the necessary safety standards in place, including face masks and disinfecting all surfaces in-between use. Is it worth it to open all three if they can only be at halfcapacity, though? “Time will tell,” said Carmellini. “I believe for most places being able to employ your core team, pay the bills, and do it all safely and at the same level as before will be a big win.” While many restaurants have changed their menus, Carmellini said that after chatting with people they decided to make sure they had guest favorites on hand at San Morello, such as their ravioli and strip steak, instead of opting for a brand-new menu.

New menu reveal When guests enter Jim Brady’s Detroit location in Royal Oak, 1214 S. Main Street, they’ll notice not only their new safety precautions – be sure to wear your mask when you enter the building – but a new menu as well. “This menu is definitely the best one that we’ve done since we’ve been around as a company,” he said. New menu items include pork belly poutine, tuna poke tacos, and a few different pastas, like their chicken carbonara. Classics from the restaurant, especially their salmon and fish tacos, are still there, but with slight tweaks. Completing the new menu played a role in their late June re-opening, compared to others which opened earlier in the month.

While they aren’t at a level Brady would consider long-term sustainable, it is nice to be back up-and-running in the dining community again. “The goal is to give our community a spot where they can come in and know that they’re doing it in a safe environment,” Brady said “Hopefully, in the longterm, they’ll know that we were there for them during the tough times and we will continue to build that bond with our community.”

No Scrooge here “Just so you don’t think that we’re crazy, the original grand opening date was scheduled for March 28 of this year,” laughed Andi Numan, a partner in The Ebenezer in downtown Plymouth, which opened in June. Located in the basement of an old bank building at 305 Fleet Street, their main entrance is through an alley, that takes you to the windowless basement, where the interior was created by Birmingham’s Ron & Roman. On one side of the establishment is where the bar and tabletops are, and the other is a lounge area with large furniture. Keeping with the speakeasy era-theme, the interior has true antiques, giving it a 1900s feel but with a fresh touch.

As for the drink menu, expect a rotating one of true craft cocktails, like their

The Meeting House: American.

Weekend Brunch. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. No reservations. Liquor. 301 S. Main St, Rochester, 48307.

248.759.4825.

Miguel’s Cantina: Mexican. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 870 S. Rochester Rd, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.453.5371.

Mon Jin Lau: Asian. Lunch, MondayFriday. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 1515 E. Maple Rd, Troy, 48083. 248.689.2332.

Morton’s, The Steakhouse: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 888 W. Big Beaver Rd, Troy, 48084. 248.404.9845.

NM Café: American. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 2705 W. Big Beaver Rd, Troy, 48084.

248.816.3424.

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

248.375.9200.

Ocean Prime: Steak & Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2915 Coolidge Hwy., Troy, 48084. 248.458.0500.

Orchid Café: Thai. Lunch, MondayFriday. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

3303 Rochester Rd., Troy, 48085.

248.524.1944.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro: Chinese.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. Somerset Collection, 2801 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48084.

248.816.8000.

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.

Rochester Chop House: Steak & Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

306 S. Main St., Rochester, 48307.

248.651.2266.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 755 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48084. 248.269.8424.

Silver Spoon: Italian. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 6830 N. Rochester Rd., Rochester, 48306.

248.652.4500.

Steelhouse Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

1129 E. Long Lake Rd., Troy, 48085.

248.817.2980.

Too Ra Loo: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 139 S. Main St., Rochester, 48307.

248.453.5291.

West Bloomfield/Southfield Bacco: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 29410 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.356.6600.

Beans and Cornbread: Southern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

29508 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.208.1680.

Bigalora: Italian. Weekend Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. No Reservations. Liquor. 29110 Franklin Road, Southfield, 48034.

The Bombay Grille: Indian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 29200

Orchard Lake Rd, Farmington Hills, 48334. 248.626.2982.

The Fiddler: Russian. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 6676 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.851.8782.

Mene Sushi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine.

6239 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.538.7081.

Meriwether’s: Seafood. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 25485 Telegraph Rd, Southfield, 48034. 248.358.1310.

Nonna Maria’s: Italian. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2080 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield, 48323.

248.851.2500.

Pickles & Rye: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6724 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.737.3890.

Prime29 Steakhouse: Steak & Seafood.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6545 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.737.7463.

Redcoat Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 6745 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.865.0500.

Shangri-La: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. Orchard Mall Shopping Center, 6407 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.626.8585.

Sposita’s Ristorante: Italian. Friday Lunch. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 33210 W. Fourteen Mile Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.

538.8954.

Stage Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

6873 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.855.6622.

Yotsuba: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 7365 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, 48322.

248.737.8282.

West Oakland Gravity Bar & Grill: Mediterranean.

Monday – Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday, Dinner. Reservations. Liquor.

340 N. Main Street, Milford, 48381.

248.684.4223.

It's A Matter of Taste: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2323 Union Lake Road, Commerce, 48390.

248.360.4150.

The Root Restaurant & Bar: American.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday - Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 340 Town Center Blvd., White Lake, 48390.

248.698.2400.

Volare Ristorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

48992 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.960.7771.

North Oakland Clarkston Union: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 54 S. Main St., Clarkston, 48346.

248.620.6100.

Holly Hotel: American. Afternoon Tea, Monday – Saturday, Brunch, Sunday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 110 Battle Alley, Holly, 48442.

248.634.5208.

Kruse's Deer Lake Inn: Seafood. Lunch &

dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 7504 Dixie Highway, Clarkston, 48346.

248.795.2077.

The Fed: American. Lunch and Dinner daily, Brunch, Saturday and Sunday.

Liquor. 15 S. Main Street, Clarkston, 48346. 248.297.5833 Via Bologna: Italian. Dinner daily. No reservations. Liquor. 7071 Dixie Highway, Clarkston. 48346. 248.620.8500.

Union Woodshop: BBQ. Dinner, Monday – Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday – Sunday.

No reservations. Liquor. 18 S. Main St., Clarkston, 48346. 248.625.5660

Detroit Bucharest Grill: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2684 E. Jefferson, Detroit, 48207.

313.965.3111.

Cliff Bell’s: American. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 2030 Park Ave., Detroit, 48226.

313.961.2543.

Cuisine: French. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 670 Lothrop Rd., Detroit, 48202. 313.872.5110.

The Detroit Seafood Market: Seafood.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 1435 Randolph St., Detroit, 48226. 313.962.4180.

El Barzon: Mexican. Lunch, TuesdayFriday. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 3710 Junction St., Detroit, 48210. 313.894.2070.

Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Café: Cajun. Breakfast, daily. Sunday Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Saturday.

Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

400 Monroe Street, Detroit, 48226.

313.965.4600.

Giovanni’s Ristorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 330 S. Oakwood Blvd., Detroit, 48217. 313.841.0122.

Green Dot Stables: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2200 W. Lafayette, Detroit, 48216.

313.962.5588.

Jefferson House: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 2 Washington Blvd., Detroit, 48226. 313.782.4318.

Joe Muer Seafood: Seafood. Lunch, Monday- Friday, Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 400 Renaissance Center, Detroit, 48243. 313.567.6837.

Johnny Noodle King: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2601 W. Fort St., Detroit, 48216.

313.309.7946.

Mario’s: Italian. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 4222 2nd Ave., Detroit, 48201. 313.832.1616.

Midtown Shangri-la: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 4710 Cass Ave., Detroit, 48201.

313.974.7669.

Motor City Brewing Works: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Beer & Wine. 470 W. Canfield St., Detroit, 48201. 313.832.2700.

1917 American Bistro: American. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 19416 Livernois Ave., Detroit, 48221.

313.863.1917.

Prism: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 555 E. Lafayette St, Detroit, 48226.

313.309.2499.

Red Smoke Barbeque: Barbeque. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

Trappers Alley Shopping Center, 573 Monroe Ave., Detroit, 48226.

313.962.2100.

Selden Standard: American. Weekend Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. Liquor. Reservations. 3921 Second Ave., Detroit, 48201.

313.438.5055.

SheWolf Pastifico & Bar: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday through Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 438 Selden St, Detroit 48201.

313.315.3992.

Sinbad’s: Seafood. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

100 St Clair St., Detroit, 48214.

313.822.8000.

Slows Bar BQ: Barbeque. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2138 Michigan Ave, Detroit, 48216.

313.962.9828.

St. CeCe’s Pub: American. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 1426 Bagley Ave., Detroit, 48216.

313.962.2121.

Tap at MGM Grand: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 1777 Third Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.465.1234.

Taqueria Nuestra Familia: Mexican.

Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 7620 Vernor Hwy., Detroit, 48209. 313.842.5668.

The Block: American. Sunday Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 3919 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.0892.

Tom’s Oyster Bar: Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 519 East Jefferson Ave., Detroit, 48226.

313.964.4010.

Traffic Jam & Snug: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

511 W. Canfield, Detroit, 48201.

313.831.9470.

24grille: American. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, 1114 Washington Blvd, Detroit, 48226.

313.964.3821.

Union Street: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 4145 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48201.

313.831.3965.

Vince’s: Italian. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 1341 Springwells St., Detroit, 48209. 313.842.4857.

Vivio’s Food & Spirits: American.

Saturday Breakfast. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2460 Market St., Detroit, 48207.

313.393.1711.

The Whitney: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & High Tea, Monday-Friday. Sunday Brunch. Dinner, daily. Liquor.

Reservations. 4421 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.5700.

Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria and Cucina: Italian. Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 1777 Third St, Detroit, 48226. 313.465.1646.

Wolfgang Puck Steak: Steak & Seafood.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1777 Third St, Detroit, 48226.

313.465.1411.

Wright & Co.: American. Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 1500 Woodward Ave Second Floor, Detroit, 48226. 313.962.7711.

old fashioned and Rosé Martini – the latter comes with a smoke bubble that sits on top of the drink and pops when touched. They also have a dining menu with an extravagant charcuterie board, entrees like their bone-in short rib and rosemary lamb shank, and multiple vegetarian and gluten free options. Partnered with Stefan Stefanakis, who owns the Greek Islands eatery on the first floor, the name of the craft cocktail bar is in tribute to its history, and named after Ebenezer Penniman, who was the first president of the bank back in the 1800s. The Ebenezer also has jazz during the week and a DJ on Friday and Saturday night.

Primed for a return Jeremy Sasson, Heirloom Hospitality president and CEO, reopened another one of his restaurants in late July, Prime + Proper, 1145 Griswold Street, Detroit. Even though they haven’t hit full stride yet, Sasson’s been pleasantly surprised with the amount of volume and guest feedback they’ve received since reopening. Face masks and the use of hand sanitizer are required for guests at the front door, among other safety precautions. The restaurant has made some physical changes to the space, with integrated booth partitioning that’s been added inside, and they’ve expanded their outdoor seating. Since they had such a long time to think about the menu – Sasson said it almost reminded him of pre-opening the restaurant for the first time given how much time they had to conceive it – expect a lot of new dishes. They introduced a lobster roll with pressed caviar on top, loaded beef fat potatoes with a mornay cheese sauce and house cured bacon, and a scallop entree with a sweet corn velouté. “These are new times, but I think that, in general, that’s the beauty of the hospitality and restaurant industry,” he said. “We are probably one of the more adaptable businesses on earth and this is just a time for us to kind of show that off.”

Time for a slice After a slow start – both in regards to retraining staff and customers – when they reopened in late June, Mootz Pizzeria + Bar’s, 1230 Library Street, Detroit, operating partner, Lisa Walters, said things have been picking up.

“I feel definitely things are on the upswing for us,” she said. Even though the planned patio isn’t finished yet, they have been able to expand their outdoor seating with unused tables from inside, where they are primarily serving guests in their booths, which surround the perimeter of the restaurant. Prior to the pandemic shut down, the pizzeria was already in the middle of doing a menu change and expansion. Now guests can try their Pappardelle Bolognese, a wide-egg noodle with a three-meat sauce, and a gluten-free option, Pão De Queijo, cheese rolls tossed in garlic butter, among other new pizzas.

Slyde on in Opening Slyde has been years in the making for the team behind it, but due to the coronavirus, its opening date has been pushed back again, this time to October 2020. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t introduce their menu to the city, before then – which they started doing in July through pop-ups serving carry-out at their future home, 7960 Kercheval Avenue, Detroit. “We had an overwhelming response from the neighborhood in the community, which was a little bit unexpected for us,” said Dana Frost, head of branding and marketing at Slyde, about their first pop-up in July. The menu consisted of affordable dishes that will probably be served at the new brick-andmortar, including their mushroom cheddar burger; pub chicken, their version of a crispy fried chicken sandwich; southwest bean burger; and classic slider. There were also steak fries and pineapple rum wings. But Frost said the menu for their next pop-up, currently set for August 22, may be different. Chef Davante Burnley is getting free reign to see what’s fresh and local, and create menu items from there. Going forward, Slyde plans to continue these pop-ups at least once a month until they open in the fall, and Frost recommended pre-ordering for upcoming events on their website.

The physical restaurant will include a main room, bar space, and small retail spot where custom sauces and spices will be sold.

ENDNOTE

If test metrics don't improve, then close schools s the calendar turned to August, rather than shopping for school clothes and school supplies, parents all over the metro area, as well as all over the country, are being confronted with a new and unique dilemma: Send their children to school, in-person, or have them stay home for at least the fall semester of 2020 and learn virtually.

Many districts have made the decision easy for parents, and decided they're going to be virtual, at least for the first half of the year.

Among those: Rochester, Southfield, Grosse Pointe, Farmington, Berkley, Walled Lake, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and Lansing area schools.

So far, Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills school districts are offering parents options – in Birmingham, a half-day, five-day a week inperson option, with the child care problems that will engender; in Bloomfield Hills, a full day fiveday a week, in-person option, along with virtual options, unless Gov. Whitmer or the Oakland County Health Department decide otherwise at the 11th hour. Oakland County districts have been preparing plans as they await word from the county health department around August 18 – only a couple weeks before the start of school, leaving them little time for preparation.

Either option brings risks and challenges. For students, parents and teachers, in-person education this year means potentially endangering their, and their family's, health by possible exposure to COVID-19. Social distancing requirements, constant hand washing, mandatory wearing of masks, changes in how schools will be structured, so that children, especially at the elementary level, will not move around to specialists but will have

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them come to their classrooms, and the closure of cafeterias and many gyms, are all sound efforts to decrease the spread of COVID-19, as well as seasonal flu, cold, and other illnesses.

There are also valid worries regarding staying virtual, with quality of education, as evidenced from this past spring only one example. MI Safe Schools: Michigan's 2020-21 Return to School Roadmap created by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's COVID-19 Task Force requires every district to come up with a virtual option that is equal to an in-person educational experience, and local districts have taken that to heart, with virtual classes at both districts to be taught by district teachers with the same academic standards and assessment goals.

“Virtual is still part of our curriculum. It must be aligned with our standards and our curriculum. Assessments and grading will be done like traditional education,” said Birmingham Superintendent Mark Dziatczak.

Isolation from peers, mental health and wellness are definitely concerns for students and parents, and ones that can, and must, be addressed. Peer connections are critical in adolescence.

There is also the major issue of the lack of universal internet, issues of broadband strength and computer access, an issue for not only those living in less than affluent conditions. Schools are planning to provide all students with tablets or laptops, a huge expense as education is experiencing funding cuts, but society needs to look at wireless internet as a universal utility, like electricity, as the educational divide grows wider.

But reality can be a tough animal to fight off –

as cases of the virus continue to climb, so does updated research that children can carry and spread it as much as adults, even if they are often asymptomatic. Teachers with underlying health conditions – or who are afraid – are retiring rather than heading back to the classroom. Oakland County Health Department recently reported a steep increase of cases in southwest areas of the county, Genesee County and Livingston County following graduation and prom parties in July among kids aged 15-19 – rising to 94 cases by early August.

Ultimately, schools are caught between a rock and a hard place. Like with some other public policy concerns during this pandemic, Michigan and Oakland County have never publicly released firm metrics in terms of infection and testing results rates upon which we would think public policy is established, so we are often left with generalities – like it's getting better or worse – when it comes to the state of affairs.

There are health officials who have suggested that no more than 3 to 3.5 percent COVID-19 positivity testing rate should be established for schools to be open – yet as of Friday, July 31, in Oakland County, the rate of positive tests was 4.9 percent – and rising since the county has been reopening. That test positivity percentage rate comes from national tracking organizations because nowhere is that metric publicly posted

by Oakland County or the state of Michigan.

School officials and the public need a decision – now – about the fate of in-person education.

And if the percentage of positive test results in the county remains on an upward trajectory, then it's time to shut the doors of the classrooms until we've turned the corner on the disease.

Police reform must come from state level n little over two months, since George Floyd's murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, our collective societal thinking over what is right, and what is wrong, has been fundamentally changed. It is now well overdue to enshrine issues related to police reform and police use of force policies into law.

The well-viewed video of Floyd slowly dying as a Minneapolis officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes sparked protests worldwide, as well as bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing future incidents and to provide more equal interactions between police and people of color. In mid-June, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (DBloomfield Township) said he had co-sponsored a bill will Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) to provide federal grants for police recruits who work in the communities they live in, as well as to advance legislation to create a congressional committee to perform an 18-month review of the criminal justice system and law enforcement practices – the first since the Johnson administration did the same in the 1960s. The

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Senate effort follows the June passage of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 in the House of Representatives. The bill would limit qualified immunity protections, create a national police misconduct registry, ban chokeholds, restrict the transfer of military-grade equipment to police departments and make lynching a federal crime.

At this point, the bill has not been picked up by the Senate.

Both Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel have also called for police reforms, and we believe a statewide law, or series of laws, is the more expeditious route, rather than waiting on labored national action and another study commission. Whitmer called for legislation that would make changes to police policies by banning chokeholds; limiting no-knock warrants; require an independent investigation for all police shootings or use of force resulting in the death of a civilian; and require that all departments implement policies for other officers to intervene if they see something improper take place. There

may be other issues that need to be addressed, including mandating that police departments make public their policies on officers' behavior when interacting with the public, which will require a change to the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. While not all state Representatives will be returning in January, whether because of term limits or election results, there is the opportunity for party leaders to either pass legislation in this term, or more likely, to ready the legislation in order to be introduced in January, with votes at the ready, and to convince members of both chambers that this legislation is in the best interest of all Michiganders.

Locally, residents are fortunate to have police departments that have brought their operating policies up to date. But it's time for adoption of laws that mandate improved policing activity for all departments, rather than relying on the proactive regulations to be implemented on a piecemeal basis at the local level.

Congratulates

Cindy Kahn

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