Birmingham/Bloomfield

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JANUARY 2019

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OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL POLITICAL NEWS AND GOSSIP

BUSINESS TAX BREAKS: ARE THEY NECESSARY? ESTHETICS AND REVENUE ISSUES WITH 5G ENDNOTE: THE LAMEDUCK IN LANSING ECRWSS Postal Customer EDDM

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Are tax breaks for business really necessary?

Michigan, like all other states, has long had economic tax incentives to attract new business and job creators, but not everyone believes that you must give tax cuts to businesses to get them to locate or expand here.

LONGFORM

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5G ultra-fast internet transmission speed is the next step in development of the internet but local communities are objecting to a state law that would prevent restricting the placement of transmission devices and would cap local revenue.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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The Republican party in Michigan is not doing itself any favors as it thumbs its nose at voters and tries to restrict Democrats who will be taking over in Lansing at the start of the new year.

OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL

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How congresswomen-elect Stevens and Slotkin are doing in DC; lame duck lawmakers play games with ballot issues; GOP senators get twice the money/staff of Democrat senators; plus more.

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.

MUNICIPAL

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New Nino Salvaggio is ready; bistro rule changes; DoubleTree Hotel grand opening; no welcome for pot enterprises; new township attorney; regulating Airbnb.com business; ordinance on 5G; plus more.

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METRO INTELLIGENCER

78

Writer/reporter Dana Casadei helps us bring back the popular feature – now called Metro Intelligencer – that provides quick takes on what is happening in the world of food and drink in the metro Detroit area.

SOCIAL LIGHTS

83

Society reporter Sally Gerak provides the latest news from the society and non-profit circuit as she covers recent major events.

ENDNOTE

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Republican lawmakers need to respect the will of the voters; municipalities shouldn’t shortchange voters on marijuana.

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FROM THE PUBLISHER he Republican party in Michigan is not doing itself any favors with the power grab antics on display during the lame duck session of the state legislature in Lansing.

T

Smarting from some substantial losses in the November election – with Democrats making gains, albeit minor, in both the House and Senate, and taking the positions of governor, attorney general and secretary of state – one would think that party leaders would focus their energies on figuring out why the GOP suffered the losses it did in the November general election and address those issues in advance of the election coming just two years from now.

Instead, what we have witnessed post the November election has been a series of desperate legislative moves by Republicans to hamstring the incoming administration. Far from what we have always heralded as one of the basic underpinnings of our democracy – the peaceful transfer of power – what state voters have been given is a raw attempt by the GOP to maintain power even though the Michigan electorate clearly cast ballots calling for a change in leadership and direction for the state.

Why the desire for change? That's anybody's guess. Some say the November general election was a referendum on Donald Trump, even though his name appeared nowhere on the ballot. Others suggest that voters have tired of the far right potentates that have controlled for nearly a decade what goes on in Lansing – whether the topic is taxes, lack of attention to deteriorating infrastructure, environmental issues, civil rights, you name it.

As to the power grab taking place, Michigan is not alone, almost as if there is some national playbook the GOP is reading.

Republicans in the state of Wisconsin since the November election have been writing laws to restrict the power of the governor and attorney general because Democrats were elected to those offices.

The move to rig the system first started in North Carolina in 2016, when a Democrat was elected governor; Republicans set out immediately to weaken the power of the office, although the courts there are still deciding whether the legislative dilution of power is constitutional.

Here is what's at play in our state, ignoring the attempts to manipulate the ballot issues that were passed by voters, which we address at the back of this edition in our editorial opinion Endnote page.

Let's start with the attempts to diminish the role of the State Attorney General which includes a House bill that allows members of the House or the Senate to decide to intervene, with legal counsel paid on our dime, in any lawsuit involving the state.

Tradition generally holds that decisions to defend, or not, Michigan laws have been made by the attorney general or the governor, not lawmakers.

Neutering the Secretary of State position with a bill that moves

oversight of campaign finance to a sixperson commission that will be appointed by the governor from nominations made by the state's two political parties. Mind you, Dave Robertson (R-Grand Blanc), the author of this bill, is the chair of the Senate Elections Commission and is operating under a cloud caused by his own campaign regulation violations.

Further, legislation is now moving that would make it a crime for a public official to require “non-profit” charities and political action group to disclose their donors, effectively preventing the Secretary of State or the new commission from addressing the problem of “dark money” that is becoming more prevalent in Michigan elections. How convenient.

Then there is the attempt to effectively sideline the elected State Board of Education which now has a four-four partisan split but will be controlled, six-two, by Democrats come the new year. Republican lawmakers are pushing for a parallel Education and Accountability Policy Commission that will be named by the outgoing GOP governor and Republican Senate and House leadership. The new commission will not be beholden to the State Department of Education, nor the governor or the elected state Board of Education; answerable only to the commission.

Under the new set up, school districts will be able to apply for “innovative district” status, which would leave them free of most state education rules.

As for the office of Governor, at press time legislation was pending that would place tight restrictions on gubernatorial power to appoint a director of the Michigan State Police. Specifically, the legislation dictates the years of service and department rank that must be met to be named to the post, rules clearly written to force the appointment of one specific department veteran now on the payroll.

There's hope that incumbent Governor Rick Snyder could decide to reject any or all of the bills that basically show a contempt for democracy – but I would not bet on it. Only on a couple of occasions during his eight years in Lansing has Snyder stood up to Republicans who on major issues have run amuck, sometimes in direct contrast to what the governor suggested should take place.

So that leaves state voters with a government framework that basically thumbs its nose at the electorate – the same group of voters who have already shown that they have had their fill of what has paraded as good government here in Michigan. Hence, the results that brought change in the November election.

The electorate has already shown it is energized to bring about change, and I don't think they will forget that Republicans attempted to maintain control after losing the popular vote. An already wounded party has moved one step closer to irrelevancy as the GOP will discover when voters return to the ballot box in 2020.

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 Kevin Elliott | Sally Gerak | Austen Hohendorf Bill Seklar | Judith Harris Solomon | Julie Yolles PHOTOGRAPHY/CONTRIBUTORS Esme McClear | Laurie Tennent | Chris Ward Laurie Tennent Studio VIDEO PRODUCTION/CONTRIBUTOR Garrett Hohendorf Giant Slayer 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.

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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.

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INCOMING Community involvement I'm of the opinion that it is important to express not only a complaint but also praise.

It takes more courage to be involved and speak up than sit back complacent. I appreciate your opinion and involvement in our community.

Please keep up the good work.

Christine Beck Birmingham

Important asset I just read (David Hohendorf’s) December article (From The Publisher).

It is always helpful to get the background on written perspectives.

Downtown is an important asset for our community.

George Dilgard Birmingham

Great information, insight I live in Bloomfield Hills and love your “Downtown” publication.

It’s filled with great information, editorials and insight into our wonderful city.

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Endnote editorial off base I am writing to take issue with your editorial published in the Endnote section, December 2018: “Respecting process, committee volunteers.” I beg to differ about many points you made.

Your editorial suggests that the public had ample opportunity to attend the meetings of the Ad Hoc Master Plan Selection Committee.

However, I am on the city mailing list and I never received a notice of these hearings. This ad hoc committee was not even listed in any emails I could locate, among the list of boards providing notice of public hearings.

Neither are these hearings available for video review on the city website.

It should also be noted that there was almost nil opportunity for public involvement on the ad hoc committee itself: there was only one opening for a resident member of the general public. All the other members were preselected from existing boards/committees, and of course the preference for a former commissioner (for the other “resident” vacancy) was also self-limiting.

The ad hoc committee was created on June 29 and had decided on their 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.

final recommendation by August 29.

Only the minutes of the July 30 meeting are available on the city website. These minutes show that the committee was by no means in full agreement, going into applicant interviews, over the superiority of DPZ’s candidacy to that of MKSK. In fact, several of the members, as well as the planning director, expressed concerns that neighborhood engagement, a key component of the 2020 plan, was not in DPZ’s demonstrated skill set compared to MKSK. Similar concerns were the crux of the controversy at the October 8 commission meeting referenced in the EndNote.

I watched the entire discussion of this agenda item on the videotape of the October 8 meeting, parts of it several times over. Never did I hear a commissioner remark, “You may be a big deal, or think you are, but here you are not.” Nor did I hear any commissioner say anything that could be construed as having “chastised [Mr. Duany] personally.”

I think misgivings on the part of the commission were warranted: I certainly was disturbed by certain of Andres Duany’s remarks at the October 8 commission meeting, In speaking of how he would conduct “charrettes” or neighborhood focus groups.

Duany then went on to say that he wanted the focus groups to be based on a random sample, based on a methodology determined by DPZ: he did not want attendees to “selfselect.” In other words, he does not want just anyone who is interested in the master plan for the future of Birmingham neighborhoods to have a voice at the meetings. He and DPZ

will decide who they want to hear from, even though presumably the plan would affect all residents and taxpayers in the neighborhoods, regardless of age.

Duany was also not responsive to the commissioners’ concerns about the relatively small amount ($30,000) of DPZ’s proposed budget allocated to community engagement, and to the concern that DPZ’s proposal was not what the city’s RFP (Request For Proposal) had asked for. He evaded these questions at length, giving several contradictory answers.

The vote at a subsequent meeting, the question having been postponed until all seven commissioners could be there, was four to three in favor of DPZ. Your editorial stated that the commission had “insult[ed]” Mr. Duany and “disparaged” the findings of its own ad hoc committee by pointing out the defects in DPZ’s proposal. Your editorial, as did a couple of the commissioners on October 8, implied that the commission lacked the discretion to reject the recommendation of the ad hoc committee. This subverts the whole idea of elected representatives and the Open Meetings Act. The ad hoc committee was appointed and served in an advisory capacity only. Public input there was theoretically possible but effectively limited. The commission had the right and duty to require the candidates to appear again, on the public record, especially since the ad hoc committee was not unanimous in their endorsement of DPZ and also found their proposal incomplete. DPZ was the high bidder and they were not automatically entitled to this $298,000 contract.

The commission is elected and they (as Duany himself pointed out many times) are the deciders. They have the right and the duty to vote their conscience and vote according to what they think is best for the city, and we as their electors expect nothing less. Three of the commissioners exercised their right to prefer DKSK, because DKSK responded to their concerns as voiced in the RFP and had the most detailed plan for community engagement.

Having reviewed all of the records available to the public, I agree with the minority.

Kathleen Devereaux Birmingham

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OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL Oakland Confidential is a periodic column of political gossip/news, gathered both on and off-the-record by staff members at Downtown newsmagazine.

We welcome possible items for this column which can be emailed to: OaklndConfidential@DowntownPublications.com. All sources are kept strictly confidential. The gossip column can be viewed at OaklandConfidential.com.

PECKING AT PELOSI: It’s looking like a sure thing that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will once again be elected Speaker of the House in early January, but it has cost Pelosi concessions from several incoming freshman congressmen. There are 66 new (and counting, with a few races still being counted) members in the 234-member caucus, which includes 35 women and 22 individuals of color – the most diverse group ever elected, and they represent a broad ideological spread, and want Pelosi and her leadership group to accommodate their views. In December, a group of 46 newlySTEVENS elected members – including Elissa Slotkin (D-Rochester, Rochester Hills), Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Rochester Hills) and Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Township), sent Pelosi a letter asking for spots on powerful committees and monthly meetings with leadership. Pelosi has agreed to many of the group’s requests, and Levin and Stevens have stated they will vote for her as Speaker. However, Slotkin so far is holding out from committing to vote for her, stating that she is “sticking to her word.”

Throughout her successful campaign against Rep. Mike Bishop (RRochester,Rochester Hills) in November for MI-8, she had vowed to not support Pelosi for Speaker, asserting it is time for new leadership in Congress. But after Pelosi’s recent showdown with President Trump over the issue of the “wall,” Slotkin may want to get on board.

typically equating to just a few thousand dollars. “It’s unfair to all the people,” she said. “Whether you voted for me or not, I want to make sure we have people in the office to address everyone’s needs.”

TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING: Gather round Republicans of Oakland County and admit that your party is in need of some changes following the GOP’s overall shellacking by Democrats in the 2018 general election. Leading the charge on that overhaul will be Andrew “Rocky” Raczkowski, who was elected on Monday, December 10, as the new chair of the Oakland County Republican Party. “There’s a lot that needs to change on how Republicans campaign,” Raczkowski said.

“There needs to be a serious look at what you are offering people in Oakland County to buy into. People take their vote seriously. What kind of future are you willing to protect and provide?” As a former state rep and longtime member of the RACZKOWSKI GOP, it’s unsure exactly how Raczkowski will bring a fresh image to the party in a county that lost control of the county commission, several seats in the state House and Senate, and two key congressional seats. For now, it appears revamping the county GOP into a modern party means playing up past and current achievements by L. Brooks Patterson and company, who is expected to retire at the end of his current term in 2020.

I DIDN’T SAY NOTHIN’: Oakland County Democrat and state House Rep. Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) isn’t denying rumors swirling around Lansing that governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer is considering him for a key position with the incoming administration – but he isn’t exactly spilling the beans, either.

“It would be premature to discuss it,” said Greimel, who is term limited and lost his run for Congress in the August primary.

Noting the incoming administration values strict confidentiality, GREIMEL Greimel is playing his hand close to the vest until all the cards are dealt.

MADAME (CO)PRESIDENT: Incoming Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, western Oakland County and western Wayne County), who will be representing the 11th Congressional District now that Rep. David Trott is retiring, was elected copresident of the incoming freshman congressional class, along with Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas). Stevens said there are no official responsibilities that come with the role – but don’t think it’s just a Miss Hospitality honor. “We are using it to empower classmates and bring people together, particularly on opportunities to learn from one another and outside experts. We ALLRED also plan to promote opportunities for bi-partisanship among the freshman class,” she wrote in an email. “I’ve already been drilling down with new members from both sides of the aisle from midwestern states.” While there aren’t specific responsibilities, Stevens said, “Colin and I are seen as part of the six leadership roles as part of the freshman class, and have met and spoken with Democratic leadership several times on caucus meetings and goals for the freshman class. We are joining the chorus around the reform package that is expected as part of the first bill.” Quite the feather in her cap.

SHIFTING CHAIRS: Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Brandon Dillon delivered in November, bringing Michigan’s congressional delegation to a 7-7 split, flipping two Republican seats, narrowing the margins in the state Senate and House, and delivering a clean sweep at the top of the ticket – for Governor, Senator, Attorney General and Secretary of State. On December 12, Dillon announced he was retiring from the post – or more accurately, that he won’t run for re-election at the state party convention in February. Former gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed immediately DILLION announced he wouldn’t be running for the post (were party members clamoring, Abdul?), while Lisa Dirado, president of the Northville Democratic Club, announced she is running. Dem Party chief operating officer Lavora Barnes is forecasted to be a favorite. Another name being floated in the ethernet is state Rep. Adam Zemke (Ann Arbor, Dexter).

WINNER TAKES HALF: To the victor goes the spoils – unless you’re a minority party member of the Michigan Senate, where you’ll receive about 60 percent of what Republicans who won elections in November will receive for staff budgets. While individual senators’ salaries follow the equal pay standard (with exception of those in party leadership positions), the amount of staff benefit packages and staff salary budgets are weighted heavily in favor of the Republican majority. For 2019, staff budgets for GOP senators were set at $222,300 for the year with four staff benefit packages, while Democrat senators will get $135,500 and two staff benefit MCMORROW packages. The amounts, which have followed similar splits each year, are set by the sitting Senate Majority Leader for the following year. “It was a shock to the system,” Senator-elect Mallory McMorrow (DBirmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Royal Oak) said after learning of the budget amounts. “Taking partisan politics aside, it shouldn’t matter where you live or who you’re represented by, you should have equal access and representation to those representing you.” McMorrow said she’s aware that office budgets on the House side also favor the majority party, but the disparity isn’t as great –

TSL: This month, all of the lame duck Republicans in the state House and Senate make the list, including from Oakland County Sen. Mike Kowall (White Lake), Sen. Jim Marleau (Bloomfield Township), Sen. Marty Knollenberg (Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills), Rep. Mike McCready (Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township), Rep. Klint Kesto (Commerce Township, West Bloomfield), Rep. Mike Webber (Rochester, Rochester Hills)...for their self-centered and egregious behavior in voting to gut legislation and proposals against the will of the people. Whether weakening minimum wage and paid sick leave laws, ability to home grow pot from the recreational marijuana proposal, tweaking same day registration after voters just approved it, voting to keep “dark money” contributions secret, several laws that curb local control, working to stymie redistricting against the antigerrymandering proposal, changing campaign finance oversight and school oversight, reducing wetlands protection – you name it. Whether lawmakers will have the necessary votes or whether Gov. Snyder ends up signing the bills into law or not, the damage to Republicans, who have self-immolated on their way out the door, is done, and they should all be embarrassed. Remember this – voters memories are long, and ours is even longer.

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CRIME LOCATOR

NORTH

Map key

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 December 13, 2018.

Placement of codes is approximate.

FACES

Leslie Pielack he development of Birmingham and its connection to Saginaw and Detroit follow the lines of pre-colonial history along what was once known as The Saginaw Trail, which is the subject of Birmingham Museum Director Leslie Pielack's historically significant book, "The Saginaw Trail: From Native American Path to Woodward Avenue."

Pielack, who has spent 37 years as a certified licensed counselor, started a second career in historical preservation more than a decade ago. In 2010, she became director of the city's museum, where a related project sparked her interest in the history of the thoroughfare that ran from Detroit to Pontiac along modern day Woodward Avenue, from Pontiac to Flint along what is currently Dixie Highway, and on to Saginaw by way of what is now M-54.

"I pitched this project to (The History Press), and they were excited," Pielack said about the origins of the book. "The Saginaw Trail is the older route that Woodward follows. It has everything to do with the indigenous people here. ... before there was Woodward Avenue, there was the Saginaw Trail, and all the communities along its route.

"I wanted to find out what preceded our first settlers. Without the Saginaw Trail and its particular route, Birmingham and Pontiac wouldn't have developed where they are, and Oakland County wouldn't have developed the way it did. From the Detroit settlement all the way to the Saginaw area, from Bay City and back and all over Michigan, the Native American trails were numerous and interconnected all over Michigan and the Great Lakes."

Raised in Macomb County before moving to Oakland County for most of her adult life, Pielack earned a master's degree in counseling from Oakland University in 1981, and started her own practice soon after. But an interest in history led her to Eastern Michigan University where she earned a graduate certificate in historic preservation. She later taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture, and eventually led to her position at the museum. All along, she has maintained her private counseling practice.

"I just find that the way people derive meaning in their lives, whether through self-examination in counseling or through an examination of your family history, it's really compatible," Pielack said.

"Both are about finding meaning in one's place, whether that's in immediate family or society. It's asking, 'what does life mean and how does it fit in with everything else.'"

Pielack uses the same dual approach in her book, in the way she researches and details the everyday people that built and lived along the trail before transitioning into historical details of the area.

"All along the Saginaw Trail, you would see carriage industries in every major town. Those were well positioned to become auto manufacturing centers in the early 20th century," Pielack said. "As they were experimenting with horseless carriages, those were coming from the carriage industry. I don't think the auto industry would have been located in Detroit without the Saginaw Trail having proceeded. All the infrastructure was there before the automobile was even invented."

By giving historical places meaning, artifacts connected to those places gain special historical significance. Take for instance the school bell taken from the former Hill School at Chester and Merrill streets, in Birmingham. Once kept in storage for years, it is now a significant marker at the museum.

"That's it's purpose, to call people together, and it still does that," she said.

T

Story: Kevin Elliott

Photo: Laurie Tennent

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It became a national joke when former CBS anchor Dan Rather was assaulted in 1986, and the assailant asked Rather, “Kenneth, what is the frequency?” Today, as the world is battling for supremacy in technology, asking what's the frequency is no longer a joke – it's the connectivity which allows the world to operate, connect and compete.

As almost everyone of us today has a smartphone – perhaps two, as well as internet access at home and work, and use computers, tablets, streaming services and cable, as well as a variety of constantly evolving technological innovations, the demand for wireless service continues to increase. Telecommunication companies all over the globe are in a fierce battle for supremacy of ultra-fast internet connections which can transform the way we access and utilize data, soon to be based in 5G wireless networks.

Yet, as these telecom companies convert their networks from one generation of technology to the next, local government leaders are finding themselves in a standoff with them over such issues as local control, over where new transmission devices can – and should – be placed, as well as the loss of large sums of revenue as legislation is passed around the country, including recently in Michigan, to cap the amount municipalities can charge for companies to install their devices on poles, antennas and other equipment.

If you're wondering what all the buzz is about 5G, you're not alone.

Most of us don't know, and don't care, what network or system our devices are on, just as long as they work. 5G is considered the “fifth generation” of cellular network standards. It's designed to provide continuous high-density wireless service at a super-fast speed, without the delays or gaps that can sometimes occur in the current generation. If you've ever been watching Netflix, only to have it suddenly cut out and begin to spin as it resets, or discover as you're driving and find a phone call has dropped, that's because in the current fourth generation, or 4G, there could be some minor gap in service – in the “latency,” using industry parlance, which may be of a millisecond or more, but enough to stop the service and force it to reset.

Why is it such a big deal to improve upon what we have? After all, it's not really that big a hassle to have to call back, and Netflix (usually) comes right back on. But you and I aren't the real targets of the 5G upgrade. 5G, which is proclaimed to fundamentally transform cellular networks, is designed not just for our everyday wireless devices, but to provide for the seamless operations of autonomous vehicles, robotics working in factories, surgeons utilizing robotics as they perform precise operations, artificial intelligence, smart homes where appliances “speak” to one another, delivery drones, even unmanned military maneuvers. In each of these situations, and many others to come, the wireless delivery system cannot have a momentary blip – they can't just “cut out.”

R

eliability is considered to be the hallmark of 5G, allowing networks to help power a huge rise in the “Internet of Things” technology – which is the forecasted technological advance – the next wave in the network of devices, vehicles and home appliances, including electronics, actuators and connectivity that will connect, interact and exchange data, permitting them to be remotely monitored and controlled. Imagine that Amazon Echo crossed with your Nest...and up their ability to remotely connect throughout your home from wherever you are. Yes, “The Jetsons” have arrived in your living room.

5G is focused on increased bandwith – possibly up to a thousand times the current bandwith per unit area, allowing for more devices to connect with those higher bandwiths for much longer durations. Its development is well underway, with initial launches planned to occur across the world in 2019, where it will work alongside existing 3G and 4G technology to allow us to stay online, no matter where we are in the world. It is expected to be launched in the United States, China and S. Korea by 2020, with the United Kingdom not far behind.

AT&T has announced they had begun providing 5G services in about 12 markets by the end of 2018, and they were continuing to work on advanced technologies to launch in about 24 metropolitan areas. By 2020, AT&T said it plans to reach 1.1 million locations with its fixed-wireless network. They said they had begun rolling out their Internet of Things (IoT) network by late 2017, in limited markets, which included Kalamazoo, Michigan.

In an ironic twist, Apple announced in early December 2018, that they would be sitting out the technology until at least 2020, so don't get excited to buy the latest iPhone to turn on your dishwasher from your office and begin operating a vehicle. According to Bloomberg, “Apple is taking a cue from an old playbook and waiting a year after its competitors launch 5G phones to offer it in its own device. The company reasons, according to the report, that waiting will allow all of the technical problems to get worked out and a larger market to form that it can take advantage of. Indeed, Apple used a similar tack with 3G and 4G technology and opted to wait a year or so after other handset makers offered the technology before it followed suit.”

Andy Choi, public relations manager for Verizon, said that so far Verizon has 5G service in homes in four cities – Indianapolis, Houston, Sacramento and Los Angeles, and expects to have mobile 5G service in 2019.

C

hoi does not have a timetable for Verizon's roll out for Michigan – but Rochester City Manager Blaine Wing does. He recently met with officials from Verizon, along with Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett and state Rep. Mike Webber (R-Rochester, Rochester Hills), as well as with officials from AT&T, in order to hear their positions, “and so we could explain our concerns.

“Verizon is already at the stage of looking at communities and roll outs in waves,” Wing said. “They were already looking at it as if it was in the bag.”

“For us to hear back from customers, (we) hear back about speed, it's night and day – that it's a game changer,” Choi said. “The more that we connect ourselves with technology, the more there is an increase in infrastructure.”

As we look at 5G, we should look at how far we've come in a really short period of time. The first mode of mass wireless, 1G, was first introduced only 30-some years ago, in the 1980s. That iteration allowed us to make simple calls between mobile phones, with a data transfer speed of about .01 MB per second.

About a decade later, in 1991, 2G was introduced. Through its use of digital encryption versus analog signals, it provided greater security, as well as increased speed, at 3.1 MB per second. It transformed all of our methods of communications by allowing for regular, text-only SMS messages to be sent between regular, everyday users.

Just seven years later, in 1998, 3G came out and with it, the smartphone revolution. 3G allowed for mobile devices to be connected to the internet due to its higher speeds, which reached 14.4 MB per second.

The current standard came about in 2008, which is 4G/LTE. What was notable about 4G/LTE was a huge leap in speed to 300 MB per second, which has allowed for activities like gaming and highdefinition media streaming.

5G offers the same fundamental features as its predecessors – cellular phone calls, text messaging, as well as internet connectivity – which is based and built upon the core of the 4G/LTE technology. The significant differences are bandwith, which is expected to reach up to 1 GB per second; decreased latency, or lags, which is expected to be less than a millisecond; energy efficiency; and greater network capacity.

According to cellular technology experts, it's all about the speed, whether to prevent interruptions in service to autonomous vehicles or for streaming services. Aman Grover, in the business and computer

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science department at Washington University in St. Louis, said, “to put it in perspective, a full 1080p HD movie is typically between 2 GB (gigabytes) to 3 GB. For potential applications like self-driving cars, which generate up to petabytes (1 million GB) of data at a time, this is a game changer.”

H

e also noted that 5G is forecasted to have tremendous energy efficiency. “5G will consume less power on devices, meaning longer battery lives, and perhaps by extension, less carbon waste from charging devices less often,” he explained. “With the rapid expansion of the Internet of Things, more and more devices are being designed for use on cellular networks, meaning that we need an infrastructural change to accommodate this (and future) demand.”

“One key goal of 5G is to dramatically improve the quality of service and extend that quality over a broader geographic area, in order for the wireless industry to remain competitive against the onset of gigabit fiber service coupled with WiFi,” said Scott Fulton III. Comcast's Xfinity internet service is an example of gigabit fiber service.

Michael Watza, an attorney with Kitch Drutchas in Detroit who specializes in the telecom industry, does not believe the upgrades in the wireless industry rather than fiber has been a wise move for the industry.

“AT&T and Verizon, in particular, are deep in the wireless business, and that is not by accident,” Watza said. “They were initially in the wired business. They were encouraged to change their wired business to fiber, because everyone knew 30 years ago that they would need more access for this thing called the internet. Most of our global competitors built up fiber. They used their money instead to buy their competitors up – it was a money decision. We're now being sold as consumers that wireless is the solution to our consumer needs – it's not for data and information, because it's not compatible with fiber. It's okay with phones – but most people I trust say that you can't get the speed and access through wireless; you need fiber. This is a dodge to avoid the obligation to get fiber.”

Watza provides an example. “In 2015, in S. Korea, the students there got rid of all their text books and went all internet. All their homes were wired with fiber. All of Europe and Asia have invested in fiber.

“The analogy I make is (President) Eisenhower's investment in the U.S. highway system for trucking (in the 1950s),” Watza said. “The telecom industry has kept the feds, state and locals at bay, and have not allowed us to build up the information superhighway.”

“We throw around the phrase the 'fourth industrial revolution,'” Verizon's Choi said. “That's what we're on the cusp of. It's starting to blur the edge between the physical and the digital.”

Choi contradicts Watza. He noted, “With 5G, everything that can be connected, will be. There is low latency and extremely high speed, with continuous connectivity. It's how it will give constant connectivity to autonomous vehicles, robotics, biotechnology, A.I., where there is a need to provide data constantly and very quickly.

“We give the analogy, let's say you're on a congested highway that's not moving, and you can build three more lanes – that's what's happening with 5G. We're building additional lanes at higher speeds.”

Telecommunication companies would not be pushing as hard as they are, and spending the millions, perhaps billions, of dollars, to upgrade their systems to allow all of us to watch movies without our Netflix apps from pausing and having to upload more data to process.

They're in a race with countries like China for artificial intelligence supremacy.

Artificial intelligence is the theory and development of computer systems that are able to perform and accomplish tasks that normally would require human intelligence. It is simulated intelligence that is performed by a machine, whether by a robot, a vehicle, a drone, or another entity. But a computer-driven machine can only operate as a human if data is inputted into its system by humans – in other words,

if the machines are programmed to think, act and decide as a human would.

In the United States, telecommunication companies such as AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and companies such as IBM and others involved with artificial intelligence (AI) development are leading the way. Yet in China, the Chinese government supports AI companies, financially and politically. According to the New York Times, Chinese start-ups made up one-third of the global computer vision market in 2017, surpassing the U.S., largely because the Chinese government and companies have access to huge amounts of data, primarily because they have feeble privacy laws and no real enforcement of those they have.

Another huge advantage that China has is the growth of data factories, set in remote areas of China where labor and office space are cheap and plentiful. Former assembly line workers now work in these “new age” factories, often set in vacant industrial parks, where workers sift through data to “tell” a computer that a bagel is not a donut, and that a black hat is different from a white shirt, while they're both clothing. The result can help an automated cashier scanning items identify objects correctly.

In the U.S., automobile companies are working via AI to create a smooth transition of information via 5G technology.

“For autonomous cars to really thrive, a completely seamless mobile experience is a must so that cars can stay constantly connected while driving,” noted Ludivic Lassauce, director at Tata Communications' UCC, Mobility and IoT Business Unit. “The challenge will be to design IT architecture between the edge and cloud that can be deployed globally, while still allowing for localized technology to cater for different regions. Coverage, reliability and scalability must be optimized...Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be used to analyze the huge amount of data generated by driverless cars and the urban infrastructure that supports them, including smart road signs and traffic lights. Autonomous car networks and all of these potential spin-off technologies will only be made possible by borderless and robust mobile connectivity that supports a completely seamless experience.”

The means of transmitting this wondrous new form of technology and connectivity is what is causing consternation for leaders of many local communities, as well as some scientists and activists, who fear that exposure to increased amounts of radiation from transmitters and cellular devices are causing cancer, infertility and changing DNA.

U

nlike 4G and other previous forms of wireless, 5G is a wide area technology, meaning it is deployed widely across cities and rural areas in order to connect anywhere. It utilizes infrastructure that is situated outside, unlike WiFi, which connects via a local router – at a business, a school, a venue, it is a technology that is primarily connected to indoors.

Unlike cable, which is installed underground, or previous wireless, which was able to be transmitted far distances by cell towers, 5G technology cannot travel long distances – only about 400 to 500 feet, which means that their devices must be installed every 400 to 500 feet, all throughout communities, in order to provide continuous service to smart phones, internet, AI, selfdriving vehicles, and everything else they power.

Rather than a large cell tower tucked in the corner of a field or installed on top of a building, basically out of sight, transmission devices are “pizza box size” in industry parlance, and attach to electrical poles, telephone poles, light poles, antennas – anything they need to attach to. The “pizza box” devices have transmitters that can be up to 31 cubic feet in size – refrigerator size, and as a utility, can be placed in the right of way, or anywhere the company feels it is necessary.

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City managers, township supervisors and other community leaders are enraged because AT&T and Verizon lobbied state senators last spring, and state House representatives during this lame duck session in late November, to permit the telecommunication companies to be able to place their devices in community rights of ways without any approvals of the municipalities. In a further slap to the municipalities, franchise, or lease, fees which the companies have paid for 40 years or more to lease access in the community, are severely constrained by the legislation, to $20 a year for a lease rate per site and a $200 permit fee for up to 20 locations.

In comparison, currently Bloomfield Township earns approximately $3 million annually from franchise fees. Outgoing state Rep. Mike McCready (R-Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township) said that Independence Township believes it could lose $800,000 a year. “It's what runs their community TV, and it's part of their budget.”

The legislation, Senate bill (SB) 637 and its companion bill 894, which passed the Senate 33-3 in March, and the state House, 7435, on November 28. It is currently on Governor Snyder's desk, awaiting his signature, which is expected.

“Investment in and the installation of small cells will serve Michigan customers in many ways. They will help enable faster wireless Internet speeds, provide more network capacity for things like streaming music or videos, improve wireless experience in places where large cell towers are not the best solution, and – most important to Michigan – help lay the groundwork for future technologies such as 5G and connected cars,” said David Lewis, president of AT&T Michigan, in a statement.

“Senate Bill 637 and the investment it will encourage are vital to building out Michigan’s broadband infrastructure and the legislature is right to take it up.”

B

ill SB 637 will enact the “Small Wireless Communications Facilities Deployment Act” to prohibit an authority, state or local, from prohibiting, regulating, or charging for the collocation of small cell wireless facilities. It also prohibits an authority from entering into an exclusive agreement for use of a right of way for work on utility poles or the collocation of small cell wireless facilities – meaning that if one company receives a permit for a pole, all companies wishing 5G service can receive access to the pole.

The legislation does permit an authority to adopt design requirements or concealments that go along with a historic district, downtown district, or residential district – but cannot bar them. On December 3, the Birmingham City Commission approved a resolution that will require future permit applicants to comply with their design requirements in their downtown district.

“We're certainly opposed to the bill,” noted Birmingham City Manager Joe Valentine, stating that the city had been in conversations with their state Sen. Marty Knollenberg (R-Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Rochester, Rochester Hills), who voted for the bill, and state Rep. Mike McCready (R-Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township), who voted against the measure. “There'll be more of them more frequently on the street to boost their signal.”

A bipartisan group of representatives from Oakland County voted against the bill besides McCready, including Rep. Mike Webber (R-Rochester, Rochester Hills), Rep. Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills), Rep. Martin Howrylak (R-Troy), Rep. Jim Tedder (RClarkston), Rep. Klint Kesto (R-Commerce Township), and Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D-Huntington Woods).

Incoming state House Rep. Mari Manoogian (D-Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township) said she is also opposed to the legislation, because “looking at the legislation and how it was written, it took away the ability for our local governments to control

how telecom companies can come into local communities and place and maintain their equipment.”

Incoming state Sen. Rosemary Bayer (D-Bloomfield Township), who has served on the Birmingham Cable Board, noted the lost fees will have an enormous impact on programming for communities. “It is astonishing that they would agree to $20,” she said. “This is big companies taking advantage of us – but our legislature should know better. The fees don't even cover the cost of basic inspections by municipalities.”

“It's a lame duck disaster,” opined Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett. “Local governments got trampled on.”

T

he Michigan Municipal League and Michigan Township Association both chose a neutral advisory position, which John LaMacchia, assistant director of state and federal affairs for Michigan Municipal League, said “was not made in a vacuum. The negotiations were pretty intense, and very industry friendly. We achieved some movement toward some local government control, and had some gains.”

He acknowledged that he knew that some of their members would continue to oppose the legislation, but feels the ending bill was less problematic than the initial bill that was introduced.

“If you have a community trying to beautify itself, this works in opposition,” Valentine said. “There has to be a balance between providing the latest and greatest and cluttering the environment, and not making it ugly.”

Other provisions in the legislation are that it requires a community to approve or deny an application and notify the applicant within 90 days if the application were for a modification for a wireless support structure, such as an existing pole, or within 150 days if they are applying for a new wireless support structure.

Why that could prove onerous to a community is that with new devices needed basically every three homes or so, there will be hundreds of permit applications in each community.

Dennis Kolar, managing director of the Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC) is mad as hell, and isn't afraid of letting everyone know it.

“Our opposition is to the bill and the requirements of the bill – and not to the improvement to the technology,” he said. “We're heavily involved in connected vehicles and autonomous vehicles.

We work with all the auto companies, and are one of the lead agencies working with them locally. They (autonomous vehicles) have to work with our traffic signals. We're heavily involved on the local side.”

His – meaning RCOC's – issue is with SB 637. “It really gives the cell phone providers carte blanche to put their equipment in the road right of way,” Kolar said. “When utilities typically want to install something, they come to us and we charge them permit fees, installation fees, inspection fees and oversight. There's bond requirements. It's so the public doesn't get caught up in having to pay if they go out of business – we are the guardians of the public road.

“But SB 637 allows them to come in for a $200 permit fee for up to 20 locations,” Kolar continued. “They can hang their equipment on our signal poles – for $20 per pole – and we have no say. The bill also allows them to put up their own poles anywhere in the right of way, but that costs them more money, so they want to use ours. They're not cellular or solar, so there's no energy they need to connect to. We will not be reimbursed for our costs – so that will be borne by the taxpayers. So instead of fixing and improving roads, I will have to hire inspectors to make sure they're being done correctly, because it will be a mad dash to install on our poles.”

Kolar has one, and only one demand, he said. “Bottom line is we want to be reimbursed for our costs. We are the public.”

C O R D I A L LY I N V I T E S Y O U T O AT T E N D THE

DINNER

February 2, 2019 at 6:30 pm Three Course Seated Dinner, Wine and Cocktails, Live Entertainment, Inspirational Evening of Recognition Black Tie Optional, Valet Parking

SPECIAL KEYNOTE SPEAKER Mrs. Cynthia Ford Philanthropist

2019 PILLAR INDUCTEES INCLUDE: C U LT U R E

PHILANTHROPY

Arthur Horwitz

Mitch Albom

Historian, Publisher and President of Renaissance Media, and Founder of the Detroit Jewish News Foundation

American Author, Screenwriter, and Radio & Television Broadcaster

Bill Roberts

E D U C AT I O N & W E L L N E S S

Restaurateur and Philanthropist

Dr. Jeffrey S. Fischgrund

Richard DeVore

Orthopedic Surgeon and Professor of Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

Businessman and Philanthropist

P H I L A N T H R O P Y & E D U C AT I O N

Amy and Dan Loepp

Jennifer Granger

Business Executives and Philanthropists

Community Advocate and Philanthropist Presenting Sponsor

Sponsors

For tickets or more information, visit communityhouse.com or call 248.644.5832 380 South Bates Street, Birmingham, Michigan 48009

Kolar said RCOC had an agreement with Sprint for 250 locations at $1,000 per location per year, meaning they would have earned $250,000 – but with a ruling by the Federal Communication Commission in October favoring the telecoms, SB 637 has voided out the agreement and that rate after 90 days, and they will instead earn $20 per location – or $5,000.

“A month ago, the FCC said, we're giving access to the rights of ways for the AT&Ts of the world, but we're charging cable companies $3 billion annually (across the country) – that's the rent they pay to be in the rights of ways,” pointed out attorney Michael Watza. “That's not fair. So, they said, we're going to drop that rent for cable companies, too – or we're going to drop that rent precipitously.”

P

hil Bertolini, chief information officer and deputy executive director of Oakland County, said, “SB 637 is taking away from our locals. The fee we're going to get won't even cover our costs. It costs the government money that will have to be taken from other programs. We'll have to hire engineers to inspect and regulate these poles, and if these companies go out of business, we're responsible for these assets.

We believe the fair market should dictate what it should cost.

“These are billion dollar companies who can afford these costs – why are they only paying $20 a year for these assets? Are these savings going to be passed on to the consumers?” he asked rhetorically. “Who's going to pay for the losses in the communities?”

“The system is very lopsided,” Watza said, who is representing Bloomfield Township in its efforts against the legislation, calling AT&T a “500 pound gorilla.” “It only favors the industry and not the consumer.

Losing the cable revenue from over 40 years for Bloomfield Township is a huge hole, about $1.5 million, that taxpayers will have to fill.”

“The loss of revenue is not as big a deal as that you cannot legislate somebody's property rights away,” asserted Bloomfield Township Supervisor Leo Savoie, who has worked to galvanize opposition among other Oakland County municipal leaders. “It is about having a say where equipment goes in our neighborhoods. We work collectively rather than being mandated over where that placement will occur.

“This is all about money for the providers. They have said 'we shouldn't have to pay for putting this equipment in.' It's all about the bottom line – their bottom line. And from our standpoint it's all about protecting our communities.”

Savoie acknowledges the technology is improving and coming, and said that is not what he and other community leaders are against. “It's visual blight.”

Bloomfield Hills City Manager David Hendrickson concurred.

“Certainly money is part of it, but it's the lack of local control, and it's the lack of keeping the character of Bloomfield Hills,” he said.

Savoie floated the idea of perhaps opening up areas for more “macro towers to communicate rather than having several devices on top of telephone poles above a bus stop where kids are getting on a bus,” he said.

Another concern about the increase in technology and installation of small cellular wireless devices is a growing community of citizens, scientists and medical professionals who are concerned about potential health effects of radiation.

Pamela Bratton Wallace, director of Safe Tech Forward, is a Rochester Hills resident who has been notifying municipalities of the increase in evidence of radio frequency radiowaves. “That's the radiation that comes from wireless,” Wallace said. “5G is a combination between radiowaves and millimeters. Essentially, most people don't know that most wireless products are never pretested – and it's a public health crisis. People can get very sick from exposure.

Scientists and medical professionals are alarmed and banding together to inform people, because radiation is dangerous, causing deep cellular and permanent DNA damage.”

She said that individual exposure to radiation is currently “a quintillion (a 1 with 18 zeros) more than just 10 years ago.”

Wallace's concerns are not part of some radical fringe group. The FCC has not regarded any studies since 1999 – when there were only six cell phone subscriptions for every 100 adults in the U.S. Ninety-five percent of U.S. adults now have a cell phone, and globally, three out of four adults have cell phone access. In 2011, there were enough concerns regarding the potential harm of radiation that the World Health Organization classified cell phone radiation as a “possible” human carcinogen, and the governments of Great Britain, France and Israel issued strong warnings about cell phone use by children.

According to Mark Hertgaard and Mark Dowie in The Nation, “Like their tobacco and fossil fuel brethren, wireless executives have chosen not to publicize what their own scientists have said about the risks of their products...Lack of definitive proof that a technology is harmful does not mean the technology is safe, yet the wireless industry has succeeded in selling this logical fallacy to the world. In truth, the safety of wireless technology has been an unsettled question since the industry's earliest days. The upshot is that, over the past 30 years, billions of people around the world have been subjected to a massive public health experiment: Use a cell phone today, find out later if it causes cancer or genetic damage.”

The primary health concerns of wireless radiation causing cancer is of brain cancer, infertility and altering of DNA. “We know it causes cancer, infertility in men and damage to DNA,” said Frank Clegg, chairman and CEO of Canadians for Safe Technology and business advisor for Environmental Health Trust. “It's mostly brain cancer that we see, because that's where the phone is. There's damage to men's fertility and DNA changes, because they put the phones in their pockets. We're also seeing an increase in breast cancer in younger women from putting the phones in their bras – there is a direct line up of the tumors to the antennas that are put in their sports bras.

“We have epidemiological proof in humans, and scientific studies in rats,” Clegg noted, who said that he uses his own cell phone only sparingly – and when he does, he puts it on speaker mode. “It's irrefutable.”

D

r. Paul Héroux, professor of toxicology and health effects of electromagnetism, McGill University Medicine, said he has done his own scientific research over the last 20 years on human cells, “and I have seen what happens when you expose these cells to radiation.”

He said the results were “a clear proof of carcinogenicity at FCC levels – that the FCC allows.”

Héroux believes it is embarrassing evidence that the FCC has permitted wireless to grow as it has, “because we can't change the system. But we can reroute it to something safer like optical fiber to the home.”

The option to switch to fiber is unlikely – efforts by the large telecom companies to get legislation similar to Michigan's for access into rights of way has already been accomplished in over 20 other states, and the push for 5G is on. As state Sen. Mike Kowall (R-White Lake), a proponent of the legislation, said, “The time has come to move in this direction. Once we get past the funding, AI is a whole new frontier.

That is where we are going to have full blown autonomous vehicles – when GM and Ford are willing to shut down electric vehicles and traditional assembly lines, you have got to believe there's something there. It's beyond our conception.

“The military can have the ability to run platoons down the road virtually blind,” he continued. “The goal with the military is to get supplies to the military in dangerous situations without anyone getting hurt. I've worked with the military on that – and they're fairly far along.

“So right now it's antennas, and later it will be satellites. It will be as different as we used rabbit ears with tin foil for TV reception to the internet.”

FACES Alec Regula etting drafted into the National Hockey League is a pretty big deal. Getting drafted by your hometown team is the icing on an already pretty sweet cake.

“The entire thing was cool. Then when I got picked and saw it was the Wings, that made it even better,” said Alec Regula, who was selected 67th overall in the third round by the Detroit Red Wings at this summer’s draft.

Growing up, the defenseman was often on the other side of the ice at Joe Louis Arena, when he went to work with his dad, Chet, who was the Red Wings' dentist.

While the 18-year-old was drafted by the Red Wings, don’t expect to see his name on their roster right away. Currently, he’s back with the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League, who he played with last season.

So, how exactly does this work then? Regula said that even though he was drafted by the Red Wings – which means he can’t go and try out for another NHL team – the likelihood of him donning the red and white jersey is still a few years out.

“These next couple years are more about development than anything,” he said. “After that, I’ll just try to compete for a spot on the team.”

And what would it be like to play with the team he grew up watching? You probably already know the answer.

“That would be a dream come true,” he said. “It’s still a ways off and it’s something I work at every day, making that dream come true.”

He’s been working on fulfilling said dream since he was a kid.

After his parents took him to open skates at three, he fell in love with the ice, and hockey soon followed.

Regula first played in the well-known Honeybaked and Compuware programs before joining the team at Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School, where he played his freshman and sophomore years of high school.

“Cranbrook was awesome,” he said. "I got to learn a lot there with a bunch of seniors on the team and older guys. That’s where I grew and developed a lot.”

During his time at Cranbrook he not only got to play under the legendary coach Andy Weidenbach – and with his older brother – but also helped them win the 2015 Division 3 state championship.

After his sophomore year at Cranbrook, Regula went on to play for the Chicago Steel in the United States Hockey League.

That season is where one of his favorite hockey memories comes from.

“Winning the Clark Cup with the Chicago Steel is probably something I’ll never forget,” said Regula about his 2016-2017 season.

That was also the season when Regula – who lists the Knights’ Dale and Mark Hunter, head coach and general manager, and Dylan Hunter, the team’s defense coach, as his biggest hockey influences – realized that playing the sport he loved so much as a career could become a reality.

And now it has. His season so far with the Knights has been off to a really great start, he said. At the time of our interview, the team was 10-4 and had just gotten two of their players back from the NHL. “We’re looking like a pretty good team this year,” Regula said.

As our interview came to a close, Regula commented that we had covered most of the tracks of his career thus far. If the next few years have anything to say, there will be a lot more tracks to cover.

G

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TAX

INCENTIVES THE BUSINESS OF ATTRACTING BUSINESS

BY KEVIN ELLIOTT

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efend and grow. It's a mantra in Lansing and in job centers throughout Michigan.

Defend the industries we have; grow the economic base. For business leaders, lawmakers and others focused on economic development that means convincing businesses that the Great Lakes State and their local community is the best place to locate their business.

Doing so requires an educated and talented workforce, strong infrastructure and numerous other factors that play into successful business development.

If none of those things work â&#x20AC;&#x201C; try throwing money at them.

"We have a very broad set of tools to drive job creation and investment in Michigan, beginning with promoting a strong supply chain, talented work force and the largest concentrations of engineers in the world. We have a great business climate and low cost of living. We use those as a starting point. From there, we do utilize a wide range of tools. And business tax incentives are one of those tools," said Josh Hundt, executive vice president and chief business development office of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). "Tax incentives are utilized, but we work to be strategic in using them in combination with other tools.

"We work to compete for projects that we feel we have a chance to win. We utilize and evaluate incentives in terms of net positive impact that we think the project will bring to Michigan, and the overall strengthening in the economy."

In tool terms, the MEDC in combination with the Michigan Strategic Fund can offer tax abatements, loans, grants and other assistance combinations to offer potential businesses a variety of packages to persuade relocation or expansions in the state. In simpler terms: if we can't woo you with our infrastructure, workforce, business regulations and quality of life, we'll give you special treatment and a sack of money to bring us jobs. ssentially, tax incentives and abatements are agreements between a company and local government or the state to forgive a certain amount of property or business taxes for a designated number of years. In return, the companies receiving them agree to locate in a specific place, develop a minimum number of jobs and invest in that community. Those who favor the use of tax incentives insist they are necessary in order to attract and retain businesses. However, many analysts say tax abatements play only a small role in a company's decision on its location â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and that abatements divert much-needed tax payments from areas that need them the most.

"Our issue with tax abatements for the longest time has been, when you look at how they are used in other states, it's the commercial model of a loss leader," said Eric Lupher, president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. "If I can bring you into my store with a sale on whatever cereal, but you're buying other things, then I'm making a profit. A lot of states offer the abatement, but their locals are able to capitalize. For Michigan, it's only cities that levy an income tax.

The others only benefit from property tax, so the only way you can benefit is if the company stays for 20 or 30 years, otherwise they aren't really winning.

"Maybe if they are employed and living there, but most places where manufacturing is, people don't live there. You could locate in Southfield and have people from Lake Orion to the north, and Dearborn and Brownstown, so who is benefitting? The region â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but not necessarily the local government. It's sort of a mismatch on the benefit and cost."

Justin Robinson, vice president of business attraction for the Detroit Regional Chamber, said with so many states and local governments offering incentives, they are a virtual requirement of the process.

"They are definitely part of the conversation," Robinson said. "The reality is that not just nationally, but globally, incentives exist. Other countries, states and regions are armed with a toolbox of services and programs to build the business case: why here rather than someplace else? Tax incentives are part of the toolbox."

Robinson said while tax incentives are on the list of items used to reel in investment projects, they are really near the bottom of that list in terms of priorities. The most important factor, he said, is workforce, and whether a community's workforce allows the company to recruit the appropriate people to allow growth. Real estate and vacancy rates, supply chains and utilities are also factors.

"I think it happens, but I don't think they are making decisions based on (abatements). The decision doesn't start that way," he said.

"Those that are truly people or innovation driven, and Amazon is an example, they were looking at what community can guarantee delivery of enough educated people to drive the future of their business. Incentives came after the fact."

Last year, when Amazon was shopping locations for its massive, multi-billion dollar H2Q project, Michigan offered the internet giant massive tax breaks for two decades, as well as the development of a $120 million talent development program. As it was later learned, Michigan wasn't even among the finalist cities in the running.

Ultimately, Amazon chose to locate in two locations: Arlington, Virginia and New York's Long Island City, where the company will invest about $2.5 billion in each location to bring in more than 25,000 new jobs, over time.

Carl Davis, research director for the Washington D.C.-based

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Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, agreed that businesses aren't making their decisions based on tax incentives. If that's so, why are they being offered in the first place?

"Companies are finding out it can be tremendously profitable to seek out these subsidies, even for projects they may had done anyway," Davis said. "There's really no way for governments to know what a company is planning and what the actual tipping point is. That means a lot of dollars are wasted. The (incentive) may be bigger than it needed to be, or not been necessary. But it's in the company's best interest to convince officials that large subsidies are needed."

Efforts across the country to court Amazon into investing billions in their community are an example, Davis said, of why tax abatements aren't necessary.

"They didn't choose the biggest tax incentive offer, they based their decision on business fundamentals, particularly talent, and where they thought they would be able to get the skills they needed," Davis said.

"Of course, those states offer incentives, too. It's standard practice."

With businesses expecting sizable tax breaks as part of the expansion process, Davis said the overall effect is a problem as it pits states against each other, with each trying to outdo the other.

"You can see how this isn't a particular great thing for the nation as a whole," he said. "If they competed not based on who can offer the biggest payout, but instead on business fundamentals, you probably would have had the same outcome as we see now, but without the massive taxpayer handout to go along with it. The story repeats itself.

It's very common for companies to play states or localities off each other. Amazon did it on a much bigger scale."

Because tax abatements can be extremely valuable to a business, Davis said it's not uncommon for businesses to give the impression that they are needed, even if they aren't. In other words, it might not be beyond a business to bluff in order to get the best deal available.

"Incentives would be a better deal if it was a one-time, up front thing to get them to invest, but we are seeing that's not the case," he said. "We are seeing that when a deal lapses and they start paying normal tax rates, they start getting footloose, or pretend to be. Now you need to offer them a new package or they are going to move.

These aren't one-time deals; they become used as special treatment.

"Sometimes they may actually be thinking of moving, but oftentimes they aren't. Lawmakers aren't psychic. They can't know for sure. Oftentimes it's easier to talk about moving than to actually move, and often just talking about it is enough." onsider for example, a number of tax incentives approved in late November by the Michigan Strategic Fund to bring in an estimated $1 billion in investment into Detroit, including the rehabilitation of the city's long-vacant Michigan Central Station in the city's Corktown area, which Ford Motor Company plans to transform into a new campus. The site will be the hub for Ford's vision for autonomous and electric vehicles, as well as design mobility services and solutions for urban environments. The project is expected to bring about $740 million in private investment and 2,500 jobs directly with Ford, and another 1,500 job with Ford's partners and suppliers.

The $208 million abatement, which came because Ford is locating in a state-designated Renaissance Zone, followed a 12-year abatement approved by the city of Detroit valued at $27 million. Even with the abatement, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) estimates the project will provide about $370.7 million in net fiscal benefits to the city and other taxing jurisdictions.

However, even before the tax abatements were approved, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr., said the plans to revitalize the area had been an idea for years. Whether or not the finalization of a deal actually hinged on tax abatements isn't known.

Still, Robinson, with the Detroit Regional Chamber, said incentives offered in the Ford deal could have been a tipping factor in the deal "Does Ford have the capital for that project? Clearly it does," he said.

"But can they justify making that deal to the board without incentives?

It's probably not impossible, but it would be difficult. I think they looked at the multipliers and impacts of that project. To put that iconic

C

image of blight and decay in the city back into the highest position of use in its political space – there's a careful calculation there. They said, 'we need to be a partner with Ford,' and the outcome and what it means is very real and important." hile the promise of new jobs is hard to pass up, not everyone is convinced that tax abatements are the right way to build the economy. Critics say large tax breaks give away much needed state and local tax dollars. In a city emerging from bankruptcy in a state struggling to find money to fix its crumbling roads and fund its education system, some are calling for an end to tax abatements.

In November, General Motors announced shuttering five manufacturing plants in North America, including two in metro Detroit, as well as layoffs for nearly 6,000 salaried workers. In all, the company plans layoffs or buyouts for more than 14,000 workers across the country. The fact that General Motors is the state's largest recipient of tax subsidies – an estimated $3.3 billion since 2014 – makes the closures a particularly hard pill to swallow.

In a rare instance of agreement, the announcement had both president Trump and local organizers pushing for a return of tax abatements by the company.

In December, Good Jobs First.org released a report on the cost of tax abatements to public education. The report, "The New Math on School Finance: Adding Up the First-Ever Disclosure of Corporate Tax Abatements' Cost to Public Education," found school districts in Michigan, South Carolina, New York, Louisiana, Ohio, Oregon, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas and Georgia lost $1.6 billion in school tax revenue from tax abatements. That's about $77.6 million in 347 Michigan districts, out of 587, examined in the report.

The $77.6 million figure for the latest fiscal year includes about $20 million not collected by Michigan's East China Schools district and $11.7 million by Troy Schools, in Oakland County. Another $4.5 million was diverted in the Lamphere Schools district; about $1.7 million in Oakland Schools; $1.6 million in Coopersville Area Public Schools; $1.4 million each from school districts in Lansing, Utica and Kent County; $1.3 million from Ottawa Area Intermediate Schools; $1.1 million from both Trenton and Riverview school districts; and $1 million from Grand Ledge Public Schools. Other districts lost out on funding below $1 million.

The report comes on the heels of a new accounting rule, GASB Statement 77, that has thousands of public school districts reporting, for the first time, how much revenue they lost to corporate tax breaks granted in the name of economic development. However, even with the new rule in place, more than half of the districts whose financial reports were inspected failed to report losses associated with tax abatements.

"When it comes to protecting the cornerstone of our nation's workforce development system, Americans deserve the right to know where their tax dollars are – and are not – going," the study's authors wrote. "There is a longstanding tension between costly economic development tax breaks and adequate funding for education and other public goods and services. Those public investments are proven economic development winners, so this is no small debate."

Another criticism about tax abatements is the claim that the state isn't properly assessing the value of abatements it does grant.

A 2017 report by the Pew Charitable Trust, "How States Are Improving Tax Incentives for Jobs and Growth," looked at how 27 different states are measuring the results of tax incentives. The report placed Michigan at 23rd overall, saying it is "trailing" in its efforts compared to other states.

Among the report's findings was Michigan's failure to adopt a plan for regular evaluation of tax incentives, as well as the state's shift in economic development strategy to move away from abatements, then return to them. Further, it notes the state's budget challenges stemming from MEGA tax credits, but failure to provide better information.

"The state has shifted strategy in recent years, investing heavily in tax incentives at some points and scaling back at others," the authors

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said. "But, lacking an ongoing process for evaluating incentives, it made the shifts without adequate information about whether the programs were working or how they might be improved."

Nationally, some of the earliest modern day business tax incentives were offered by southern states looking to attract new technology to their agricultural economies. As taxes soared throughout the country in the 1930s, more and more states began offering tax abatements to spur incentives for work and investment. Southern programs spread across the country following the second World War, with 15 states offering tax abatement programs by 1964, according to a 2005 Indiana University study.

Michigan's first modern day business tax abatements came about in 1974 with the passage of the Industrial Property Tax Abatement Program. The program is still in use and is one of the most common state tax incentives available for use by local governments.

Industrial property tax abatements are granted by local municipalities where the project is located. The process must include a public hearing on the matter where the municipality approves the establishment of an Industrial Development District (for a new project) or a Plant Rehabilitation District (for rehabilitation projects). Once a district is established, the company may apply for an abatement on real and personal property tax for up to 12 years.

Additional changes were made to the state's economic development system, with the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) formed in 1995. Under the MEGA program, businesses were provided tax credits to businesses for locating, expanding and retaining jobs in Michigan. Among the greatest recipients were Detroit's automakers. While the program has since stopped taking any new applicants, the state's obligation under the MEGA program totaled $9 billion by 2015, with commitments expected to continue until 2032. overnor Snyder in 2011 slashed abatement programs, instead focusing on turning over the state's overall business climate. However, new programs, including the Michigan Business Development Program (MBDP) and the Good Jobs for Michigan Program, were developed and approved in recent years. The MBDP provides grants, loans and other assistance to businesses, while Good Jobs allows businesses to capture some payroll taxes, depending on the average annual wage and number of certified jobs. The latter program is limited to 15 agreements per year and $200 million in tax abatements.

The Good Jobs program was designed specifically to lure large projects into Michigan, including the failed 2017 bid for Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group. All told, Michigan offered a reported $3.8 billion in incentives to locate a flat-screen display factory in southeast Michigan, which instead is being built in Racine, Wisconsin, where that state provided the company with about $3 billion in tax incentives. It has also been reported that Detroit and the state offered Amazon $4 billion in tax credits to locate its second headquarters here.

Industrial tax abatements must be approved at the state and local levels. At the state level, the application is received by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Once approved, the business pays an Industrial Facilities Tax (IFT) instead of property taxes, which reflects the abatement savings.

In Rochester Hills, where the city currently has tax abatement agreements with seven different companies, tax incentives can be very effective at retaining companies that are thinking of relocating due to lower costs or incentives elsewhere, said Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett.

"We have been able to keep companies in Rochester Hills that otherwise may have left. And it's not just empty threats, but when you get to the point where they show us that we have to close the gap or they can't stay," Barnett said. "In those instances, we are partnering with the state and county. We have a teamed approach to keep folks here."

While the county doesn't offer tax abatements itself, Barnett said the city can work with the county on other economic development programs that are valuable to companies located here.

"For us, it's about new jobs and investment. It's better we get 50 cents

G

of a dollar we aren't getting now, rather than nothing. But there has to be criteria for approving (tax abatements). We don't hand them out like candy."

Birmingham City Manager Joe Valentine said the only tax abatements the city offers are for redevelopment, which he said include brownfield redevelopment districts, which deals with environment clean-up.

"What we have is redevelopment, not development. The need to put in abatements isn't as much here as other communities," Valentine said.

Bloomfield Township Treasurer Brian Kepes said the township doesn't offer any tax incentives or abatements.

"The best tool we have to attract business is our residents," he said.

"That's our best resource. We have the best retailers and providers in the country, and we don't give away a penny." epes said the fact that the township is 85 percent residential is unique in its approach to business development. As a result, he said, the commercial properties that exist already receive strong support from the community.

With no significant amount of industrial property, he said it's not likely abatements would be utilized by the township.

Novi City Manager Pete Auger, who also served as Auburn Hill City Manager for seven years from 2007 to 2014, said tax incentives are used to compete with other communities, but doesn't see them as a means to poach businesses from other communities. Further, he said Novi and other communities use clawbacks on their incentives that would require a business to refund or end tax abatements if they fail to deliver on the agreed number of jobs.

"We use clawbacks for our incentives â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that way if a company commits to X amount of years or they'll have to pay all their taxes back to the community," Auger said. "That's a win-win situation."

Auger said other states, including New York, Texas and California, are all competing with Michigan to attract automotive. He said incentives are just another weapon in the toolbox to lure businesses.

In neighboring Wixom, industrial abatements are commonplace, but not an automatic offering, said Wixom Economic and Community Development Director Debra Barker. "There are some communities that have a scale of how they award abatements. Some don't give them out at all. Wixom has always looked at applicants individually," she said.

In looking to fill property left vacant by Ford Motor Co. when it closed its Wixom assembly plant, Barker said tax incentives were part of the discussion.

"During the economic downturn, we had a group of people that were branching out in business, and the company came to Wixom and found an empty building. It needed major work, and we granted $450,000 in tax abatements," she said. "There was no electric, and there was mold in the building. Now that building is gorgeous.

"There are different reasons for providing tax abatements. In that case, someone was taking over a building and bringing up the standards. We don't have any specific guidelines. The state sets the guidelines."

Deputy Director of Oakland County Economic Development and Community Affairs Dan Hunter said industrial abatements are locally driven and typically used to retain businesses looking for expansion. He said he doesn't see tax abatements being used as a way to poach businesses from communities. And while there's a re-urbanization effort in full swing in Detroit, he said industrial facilities aren't part of the larger return to Detroit, at the moment.

"We don't see revitalization as a competition for industrial growth," Hunter said "There hasn't been a lot of industrial in Detroit, where companies have relocated. In the case of Quicken and others moving, that's not industrial It's likely that businesses that need more space to grow prefer to do it at the location they are at already, if that site allows for it. If not, they generally look as close to that site as possible. I don't see a lot moving from Madison Heights to Clarkston, or from Ferndale to Milford, just because there's a tax abatement there. They like to stay where they are."

For those communities that are using abatements, many have added localized policies to ensure clawbacks and other protections in case recipients fail to hold up their end of the deal.

In Auburn Hills, the city implemented a new tax incentive policy in

K

late 2016. Under the policy, the city requires specific investment levels for four, six and eight-year abatements. The policy also requires businesses that vacate or fail to operate for the whole length of the abatement to be liable for repayment of any property tax savings, beginning in the initial effective year.

Lupher, with the Citizens Research Council, said clawback policies are relatively new, but have become fairly common. He said additional changes could be made at the state level to better utilize tax abatements.

"We could have more discretion on which communities have abatements to use as an economic tool and look at what we are gaining because of that. If it's blight or abandonment, then the communities should have to show why its important for expanding the tax base to bring them back to their once-glory," he said.

Michael LaFaive, fiscal policy director at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said he's one of the few who have studied tax abatements, publishing several scholarly analyses of the MEGA program.

"From the five studies I've done, four have found zero impact (on economic development)," LaFaive said. "We have wasted billions of dollars more in incentives trying to boost job creation in Michigan than if we would have left everyone alone.

"We would have been better off simply with better tax reform. If they hand out incentives, they are admitting it's too expensive to do business in Michigan. Directly or indirectly, everyone else is paying a higher tax burden in order to accommodate gifts handed out by appointees and bureaucrats to a favored few they have selected. And the track record of others outside of Michigan isn't positive."

LaFaive said there are five basic reasons that tax abatements aren't truly necessary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they don't work; they are unfair to those who don't receive them; they are too political in determination; they are expensive; and they aren't transparent. ichigan Representative Jim Runestad (RWhite Lake) has sponsored legislation to require additional financial transparency by the MEDC. He said the issue stems from last-minute revelations by the MEDC to reveal billions in MEGA obligations while legislators were compiling the budget.

"All the MEGA credits came in and blew a hole in the budget. We didn't know they were coming. We thought, 'That's special, that we get these thrown in at the last second and the legislature has no clue,'" Runestad said. "The bill requires the administration to list them by size, liability and taxes foregone, all in advance of what is coming due so that it isn't represented disastrously.

"I still don't know why there's nothing in place, and why it was dumped after the budget was put together. If it isn't taken up this year in lame duck, I'll be putting in in next year (in the Senate)."

State Senator Ken Horn (R-Saginaw), who chairs the Senate Economic Development Committee, said a bill reported out of committee in early December is intended to provide better evaluation of abatements. House BIll 2052 would create the "Economic Development Incentive Evaluation Act," which would require evaluations by the Department of Technology, Management and Budget.

"MEGA will be gone, and that's the last remnants of the Michigan Business Tax, and we won't see that again. That's when we were bleeding manufacturing jobs. In hindsight, it's not a good way to handle tax credits," Horn said. "We think we learned our lesson."

While lawmakers are pushing for some reassessment in the way tax abatements are used, it's unlikely that they will be phased out in the future. Politicians will continue to push for new jobs, and if a tax abatement can help land those jobs, elected officials are willing to gamble on them.

That means states and locals will continue to battle, armed with the best abatements they can offer, according to the Detroit Regional Chamber's Robinson.

"While things may have escalated beyond the original intent in terms of how they are deployed in some communities, it's a reality," Robinson said. "Unless you start to see a national effort for others to disarm, to be the first to consider something like that, it would be at our own loss as a community."

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FACES

Gabrielle Hooper s a pre-teen, Gabrielle Hooper rebelled against her parents…by getting really into playing the cello.

Yes, the University of Michigan sophomore used a string instrument to rebel against going to a Catholic school. What can she say? She figured having them drive her around to orchestra practices and concerts on the weekends was good punishment.

“It’s kind of dumb to take an extracurricular very seriously, but it is very time consuming,” she said. “It was really random and spiteful.“ That teenage rebellion ended up working in Hooper’s favor. She’s now working towards a duel degree in cello performance and Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCN) at U of M, and studying under noted cellist Anthony Elliott, one of Hooper’s biggest musical influences. And she was recently part of the Young Artists Performance through the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

“I spent all of high school trying to study with him, and it’s a huge blessing that I get to study with him now,” she said. “He’s incredible.”

Before getting to U of M, Hooper was part of multiple youth orchestras, including Detroit Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic, and the Michigan Youth Symphony Orchestra at U of M. She also spent multiple summers with the Sphinx Performance Academy, a Detroit-based chamber music and solo performance program designed for black and latinx string players between 11-17.

Sphinx played a large role in Hooper’s desire to continue playing.

“If you look at the demographic of (most) orchestras…there are never any African American or Latino musicians. It’s a lot of white kids, a lot of Asian kids,” Hooper said. “It really took a lot of summers at Sphinx to remember that there are other talented African American and Latino musicians who are putting in their own efforts and talents to grow and thrive in this field, just like me.

“Just seeing the growing network of minorities in the classical field really encouraged me as a small child,” she continued.

Hooper began playing the cello long before she joined Sphinx. It all started in second grade when she was at Detroit Country Day School, where she finished elementary school.

The cello was selected for a few reasons, one being that her mom used to play.

“I also noticed there were no other girls playing the cello. I thought that was kind of lame,” Hooper laughed.

Once Hooper got more invested in playing she noticed she really liked the music and that playing came pretty naturally to her. This led to an increased self-confidence in her ability to play.

Hooper said when was younger she was blissfully ignorant about playing. She wasn’t focused on who could be watching – she just played.

Now though, she said the knowledge of knowing what you’re doing led to some performance anxiety, which got crippling during her freshman year.

“You only focus on the reality of 'if I fail it will be so awful,' and then you do,” she laughed.

Hooper has since pushed through her performance anxiety, with a combination of finding her music niche, recognizing the people who support her, and knowing she was good enough to be there.

Speaking of her music niche, Hooper has no desire to end up in a professional orchestra. She hopes to be a music therapist by day and chamber musician at night, ideally in a smaller ensemble performing new, cutting edge pieces.

“There’s a lot of different ways you can use music…just really harnessing every inch of creativity you have, you can do that through music,” Hooper said. “I hope I still like it 20 years for now. I think I will.”

A

Story: Dana Casadei

Photo: Steve Kaufman

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MUNICIPAL New ordinance to control wireless

By Lisa Brody

After unanimously passing a resolution opposing two state Senate bills which would severely limit municipal authority regarding the location, size, height, and approval and fees for poles, antennas and other equipment for wireless telecommunication and cable/video service facilities in public road rightsof-way at an October meeting, the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees took a further step at their meeting on Monday, November 26, unanimously approving an ordinance amendment to regulate the addition of small cell systems in the township as well as a resolution to establish the terms of franchise agreements for distributed antenna systems (DAS) and/or small cell networks.

Two bills, Senate Bill (SB) 637 and SB 894, were passed in late May 2018, and were passed by the state House on Wednesday, November 28, to “give the telecom carriers carte blanche to operate in the rights of

way without any approvals of municipalities. They want this to upgrade their DAS, their new 5G, systems. It would allow telephone poles that communicate every 400 to 500 feet,” supervisor Leo Savoie stated at the October 22 trustees meeting.

They are expected to be signed by Governor Rick Snyder into law, although Savoie said they are hoping to meet with the governor and persuade him against it.

According to the Michigan legislature, Senate Bill 637 would create the Small Wireless Communications Facilities Deployment Act, and Senate Bill 894 would amend the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act to subject zoning ordinances to the proposed new act.

Senate Bill 637 would allow “wireless services providers and wireless infrastructure providers access to the public rights-of-way and the ability to attach to poles and structures in the public rights-of-way to enhance their networks and provide next generation services.” Further, it would prohibit an authority, such as a municipality, “from prohibiting, regulating, or

charging for the collections of small cell wireless facilities.”

At the meeting on Monday, November 26, township telecommunications counsel Michael Watza of Kitch Drutchas said SB 637 had been created “at the behest of AT&T.” He said concerns about franchise agreements, “if 637 passes, there is some language that grandfathers it.

But SB 637 does two things. You have this $3 million annual problem (of potential loss of revenue) and you're not alone,” Watza said. “But you're one of the singular communities who recognize the problem, mostly because of (township attorney) Bill Hampton.

“So, why the fuss over 'small' cells in your right of way? AT&T, Sprint, Verizon have all told their shareholders they don't want to pay rent anymore for rights of way, and will give you $20 a year per installation instead,” Watza said.

He noted the telecommunications companies have enough influence with Congress and state legislatures to pass legislation permitting that.

“They actually refer to their cell

towers now as 'pizza box size' – they're big, guys,” he said. “The industry thinks that's great. In the bill language, it states they are 31-plus cubic feet. That happens to be the size of a Samsung commercial fridge – and you can have four of these with different providers, each 10-feet up.

It's in the language of the bill.”

He said the telecom and cable companies have “teamed up with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and some states to seize all local rights of ways.”

In Michigan, SB 637 was passed by the state Senate last spring, “and the industry has taken pause,” Watza said. “They're not willing to compromise because 'we're going to get our way.'”

He noted that communities like Bloomfield Township have had franchise fee agreements in place for 30 or 40 years, “until AT&T came around and said, 'we don't want to do that. It triggered a fight with the FCC. When effective, it will strip off all value of your franchise fees. Now, they'll look at your PEG (public, educational and government) fees – and that could be $1 million a

Wishes to sincerely thank David Hohendorf and Downtown Publications for their generous support of our Network over many years. We appreciate the opportunities that your thoughtfulness provided to our Realtor Members. Cheers to a happy and successful 2019 to everyone!

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BLOOMFIELD 5200 Windingwood Drive|$599,000

WEST BLOOMFIELD 7379 Woodridge Road|$229,000

BIRMINGHAM 1187 Westboro|$1,472,000

TROY 4172 Ravenwood Court|$850,000

BIRMINGHAM 547 Southfield Road|$1,760,000

CITY OF BLOOMFIELD HILLS 42 Vaughan Ridge Road|$625,000

BLOOMFIELD 885 Harsdale Road|$1,365,000

BIRMINGHAM 1222 Davis Avenue|$749,000

BLOOMFIELD 3753 Thornbrier Way|$575,000

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BLOOMFIELD 5096 Forest Way|$799,000

CITY OF BLOOMFIELD HILLS 559 Bennington Drive|$919,000

WEST BLOOMFIELD 2282 Shore Hill Drive|$665,000

BLOOMFIELD 5766 Kenmoor Road | $329,000

WEST BLOOMFIELD 3735 Wabeek Lake Drive W|$425,000

WEST BLOOMFIELD 5528 Old Carriage Lane|$269,000

WEST BLOOMFIELD 5040 Greensward Court|$799,000

BLOOMFIELD 995 Timberlake Drive|$1,249,000

Selected Additional Sales (as Buyer’s Agent) 950 Pilgrim Avenue, Birmingham | $1,690,000 7130 Suncrest Road, West Bloomfield | $699,000 5096 Forest Way, Bloomfield | $799,000* 2169 Tottenham, Bloomfield | $3,645,000*

995 Timberlake Drive, Bloomfield | $1,249,000* 929 N. Glengarry Road, Bloomfield | $2,500,000 495 Stoneridge Lane, Bloomfield | $1,100,000 4835 W. Wickford, Bloomfield | $2,500,000*

1259 Ruffner Avenue, Birmingham | $730,000 975 Sunningdale Drive, Bloomfield | $2,150,000* 6379 Muirfield Drive, Bloomfield | $1,499,000 730 Falmouth Drive, City of Bloomfield Hills | $1,350,000

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MUNICIPAL channel. That's a fee you've been receiving for 30 years or more. That's in your budget. That happened two months ago – and that happened across the state.

“Across the country, communities are losing $3 billion in franchise fees,” Watza asserted.

“We want the say of where the equipment is put,” Savoie said.

“We've become a high tech state, but they're not putting it all over the state – they're putting it in Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, Rochester Hills. We want to say, 'You don't get to put it in the intersection of Hupp Cross and Bradway.'

“Maybe we can put it on schools instead of in neighborhoods,” Savoie continued. “But, if you give them carte blanche, they'll do it in the most expedient, cost effective way.”

Savoie also noted that some experts have noted there can be adverse health effects to cellular radiation from the equipment.

“There are a number of medical professionals who say there are dangers from the radio waves from these towers. Do we want them by

bus stops above children?” Savoie asked.

“Do you want engineers determining safety or medical professionals,” asked Watza. “They've determined that the radiation can cause tumors. How can you call a 31foot box a pizza box? Most people will not read the bill.”

“They're (AT&T) doing everything they can to thwart individual communities,” Savoie said.

Trustees voted 6-0, with Dave Buckley absent, to approve both the ordinance amendment to allow the township to regulate the addition of small cell systems in the township as well as a resolution to establish the terms of franchise agreements for distributed antenna systems (DAS) and/or small cell networks.

Bloomfield Hills opposes 5G rules With a unanimous vote on Tuesday, November 13, Bloomfield Hills city commissioners supported a resolution opposing Senate Bill 637, the Small Wireless Communications

Facilities Deployment Act, and Senate Bill 894, which would amend the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act to allow wireless communications service providers to access and use public right-of-way, and limit municipal authority.

According to the Michigan legislature, Senate Bill 637 would create the Small Wireless Communications Facilities Deployment Act, and Senate Bill 894 would amend the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act to subject zoning ordinances to the proposed new act.

Senate Bill 637 would allow “wireless services providers and wireless infrastructure providers access to the public rights-of-way and the ability to attach to poles and structures in the public rights-of-way to enhance their networks and provide next generation services.” Further, it would prohibit an authority, such as a municipality, “from prohibiting, regulating, or charging for the collections of small cell wireless facilities.”

The purpose of the bills, which are tie-barred, is to “Increase investment in wireless networks that will benefit the citizens of the state by providing

better access to emergency services, advanced technology, and information.”

Bloomfield Hills followed in the footsteps of neighboring municipality Bloomfield Township, which passed a similar resolution in October.

Numerous other municipalities have also issued resolutions opposing the Senate bills, which they assert “threatens to limit the zoning and regulatory authority of local governments in the siting of telecommunication infrastructure within its jurisdiction and permits the use of public property for private, forprofit, business purposes without compensation,” said Bloomfield Hills' resolution.

It would also “cap the amount state and local governments could charge local providers for the deployment of small cell wireless facilities for permits and fees,” the resolution continued. “The city commission for the city of Bloomfield Hills strongly opposes the adoption of SB 637 and SB 894.”

The commission also requested that a task force be established with other local governments to develop

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After the state legislature passed a pair of bills which will severely limit municipal authority regarding the location, size, height, and approval and fees for poles, antennas and other equipment for wireless telecommunication and cable/video service facilities in public road rightsof-way in order to support 5G infrastructure, Birmingham city commissioners begrudgingly but unanimously approved an amendment to a city ordinance to make them hidden or adapt to their environment in the city.

Many Oakland County municipalities are opposed to the legislation as it supersedes local control and limits franchise fees for placement. Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to sign the legislation.

“There has been legislation to support 5G infrastructure, and there has been concerns about incursions into rights of ways,” city manager Joe Valentine said to commissioners. “We wanted to establish a resolution to clarify it, to make sure the equipment is hidden as much as possible, and to provide some controls as much as possible to this new legislation.”

“Does this mean they can come into your community and put it wherever they want?” commissioner Rackeline Hoff asked.

“Yes,” Valentine responded. “So this is getting ahead of it, saying they can't put it next to a driveway, or if in the downtown, they'd have to paint the small cell technology.”

It was noted the ordinance covers both residential and commercial communities.

Old Kingsley opens as DoubleTree Hilton

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Owned by Zaid Elia, CEO and founder, The Elia Group, and Matt Shiffman, CEO, Alden Development Group, the new boutique hotel is scheduled to officially reopen Friday, December 28, general manager William Bornheimer said.

The hotel, first opened in 1959 as the Kingsley Inn, underwent a complete renovation over a year and nine months, Bornheimer said. “They kept the shell and did a full gut renovation,” he said.

“It's a new building within an old building.”

“We're thrilled to welcome guests to DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomfield Hills Detroit, with its ideal central location and boutique feel,” Elia said.

“Guests at our beautiful new hotel can expect world-class service and hospitality conveniently located in the heart of metro Detroit's business and nightlife corridors.”

“The Kingsley was the place to be seen, the place to stay, and the place to hold a celebration; truly the bees' knees,” said Shiffman. “I would like to think we restored the property to its once world-class level from 1959 and now far beyond as we bring to market another option for people to stay, dine, celebrate and depend on.”

Renovation costs were in excess of $20 million for the 144-room hotel, which has a new two-story atrium lobby, business center, luxury suites, and a cocktail lounge in the lobby called The Duke, named for John Wayne. Bornheimer said it will offer craft cocktails, rare whiskeys, Scotch flights and small bites, and features a “beautiful original piece of art from the movie 'True Grit.'”

He described the hotel as “modern but approachable chic. We've curated everything, down to a signature scent, where you'll be reminded of the DoubleTree Bloomfield.

“The ownership group focused on the glitz and shine as well as the foundation, the operation as well as how the hotel will operate for many, many years,” Bornheimer said, who managed several hotels in New York and is a graduate of Michigan State's School of Hospitality Business.

As a nod to its history, they kept the Kingsley name in a newly created courtyard in the back, to be called the Kingsley Courtyard.

“It's redeveloped completely, with a bluestone patio, patio furniture, two fire pits, and cocktails to be served out there in an outdoor lounge,” Bornheimer said. “In warmer months, we'll add them as a fun and creative environment.

Zalman's Delicatessen, in the former Deli Unique location, is a

Adams

new laws that would speed up the deployment of small wireless telecommunications infrastructure without limiting zoning authority or the ability of local governments to raise revenue.

The two Senate bills went before the state House on Wednesday, November 28, where they passed, and are expected to be signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder.

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“classic New York-style deli, real old school,” Bornheim said, serving three meals a day, from classic plates of smoked salmon, whitefish and house-cured lox, breakfast dishes, soups, market salads, deli sandwiches, dinner entrees and desserts. Zalman's opened in midDecember.

Joe Muer's Seafood, which has been open on the property for almost two years, is a leased restaurant, and there is an entrance from the hotel.

New Nino Salvaggio opens December 28

By Lisa Brody

Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace is busy putting its final touches in place at its newest location at 6592 Telegraph Road at Maple in Bloomfield Township in preparation of opening in late December, company president Kirk Taylor announced.

Taylor, who has developed the newest store in the Nino Salvaggio portfolio along with Nino's children, Leo Salvaggio and Andrea and Frank

Nicolella, said the planned December 28 opening is due to a lack of ability to properly staff the new store in order to open it before the holidays.

“We can't get it staffed to the levels where we believe we can give the right level of service,” Taylor said.

He said by opening after Christmas, they will be able to pull staff from their other three stores, as well as people coming off of other seasonal jobs. The store will create 200 jobs.

Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace, based in Troy, is an independent, premier supermarket serving southeast Michigan's everyday and specialty food needs. Founded in 1979 as a modest fruit stand by the late Nino Salvaggio, the company continues to adhere to Salvaggio's mantra, which is to take pride in its pledge of value and quality and excellent customer service.

Showing off the new 42,000 square foot store in Bloomfield Township, which has garage doors that will open in nicer weather, Taylor said they have returned to the market after closing their former Strawberry Hill store in Farmington Hills at 14 Mile and Middlebelt in August 2008.

“We closed with the expectation of opening another that would be our own business market,” after a rent and ownership issue. Then came the Great Recession in September 2008, “and we stuck with the three we had,” in St. Clair Shores, Troy and Clinton Township. “But this area is our kind of customer.”

The store, designed by Birmingham designers Ron & Roman and which cost upwards of $5 million to build out, opens to a flower shop and leads to a cafe that is open from morning to evening, serving coffee, smoothies, acai bowls, to a deli and carving station, pizzas, paninis, and soups as well as an extensive gourmet to go area and a sushi station.

Front and center in the store is their extensive produce section, with an area that features someone who can cut fresh vegetables and fruit and juice as well, daily from 9 to 7.

There are also three food demonstration areas, where each weekend there will be food demos that customers can sample and then purchase.

An extensive fish and seafood area will focus on fresh seafood, as well as

self-pick up of frozen seafood.

Other highlights are a 48-foot cheese counter, traditional deli, homemade soups daily, take-andbake pizzas, and a dessert and bakery. “We're very, very proud of our bread program,” Taylor said, which comes in daily from the Troy store.

The store will feature a large and extension selection of Kosher foods and meats, and Taylor said they have a grinder in the fish department in order to grind fish.

Their pantry and dry goods area is extensive, as well, including a lot of private label items. Taylor said they should have “just about everything you need. If you have a recipe and we don't have it, we'll get it, because that's our business model.

“One of the things we've worked hard on, is our pricing is very competitive,” Taylor said. “We're very conscious about our pricing model.”

A fresh popcorn station offering an assortment of popcorn delicacies has become a fun signature item near the exit, as well as a large wine cellar.

Taylor said he looks forward to offering outdoor cafe seating in the summer.

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Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace will be open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Township says no to recreational pot Bloomfield Township trustees unanimously approved a resolution at their meeting on Monday, November 26, that will prohibit the establishment of marijuana businesses within the boundaries of the township.

Township attorney Bill Hampton informed trustees that they had learned that afternoon that the new law, which was approved by a majority of Michigan's voters as Proposal 1 on November 6, to legalize and regulate marijuana like alcohol, was to become effective on Thursday, December 6, “and our next meeting is December 10.

We don't want to take a risk of someone renting or establishing a facility,” Hampton said.

He said that, unlike the previous law, for medical marijuana establishments, where “if we did nothing we prohibited an

establishment, with this new law we have to prohibit the establishment.”

The ordinance prohibits any "marijuana establishment" meaning a marihuana grower, marihuana safety compliance facility, marihuana processor, marihuana microbusiness, marihuana retailer, marihuana secure transporter, or any other type of marihuana-related business licensed by the department.

It also spells out prohibitions against growers; microbusinesses; processor; retailer; secure transporter; and safety compliance facility.

A violation of the ordinance is a municipal civil infraction, with a fine of $100 to $500, although the township can seek injunctive relief.

Bistro approved at 65 seats, in and out

By Lisa Brody

Birmingham city commissioners on Monday, December 3, approved an amendment update revising the city's bistro ordinance to establish a maximum of 65 seats indoors as well

as 65 outdoor seats at bistros in the central business district, as well as the Triangle and Rail districts.

In 2007, the city created a bistro liquor ordinance with the goal of invigorating Birmingham's streets and creating greater walkability. The current ordinance permits unique restaurants to obtain a liquor license if they have no more than 65 seats, including 10 at the bar, and low key entertainment only. The bistro regulations adopted also included requirements for storefront glazing, seating along the storefront windows, and a requirement for outdoor dining.

The city commission approves the concept for each bistro license to be given out, with no more than two bistro licenses approved each year.

The city commission had prioritized changes in the bistro ordinance at last year's city commission/planning board workshop, and the planning board unanimously recommended changes to no longer permit year-round enclosures of outdoor spaces, notably with Eisenglass, as well as having outdoor dining deck railings no higher than 42 inches.

Planning director Jana Ecker noted the city commission had looked at all of the amendments to the city's bistro ordinance, and did approve the majority, “and the only one left was the definition of seating in the Rail and Triangle districts and in the overlay district (downtown).” She said the planning board had not wanted to put a hard number on outdoor seating, but after direction from the commission, they put a hard cap of 65 seats outdoors in the central business districts, “and in the Rail and Triangle districts, where they felt there needed a greater incentive to locate there, and there's greater parking, they recommended 85 seats indoor and 85 seats outdoor.”

“If you have 85 and 85 – that's 170 – that overlaps with our Class C (liquor licenses),” said commissioner Carroll DeWeese. “The reason I think the bistros are successful and the size and intimacy, and why we established them. Some of our Class C have been too large and not successful.”

“The average size for our bistros are 98.7 seats, and the average for the Class C, are 213.3 seats,” Ecker

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M said, noting the average of indoor and outdoor seating. “Right now, the Class C's are double the bistros.”

“We have an ordinance that was established to incentivize activity in our core area, to create intimate dining experiences,” said mayor Patty Bordman. “When you increase seats, you have a lessened perception of intimacy, which defeats the purpose.

Restaurateurs that have expressed desire to have more and more seats – that's what Class C licenses are for. I don't think we should increase the size for the Triangle and Rail. I think we should keep it the same. We shouldn't deviate in size, but keep it intimate in size.”

After concerns from some commissioners that there needed to be an incentive for restaurateurs to go into the Rail and Triangle districts, commissioner Mark Nickita said, “I'm convinced it's not the size – it's the physical condition of the places in the district. If anyone has been to Mabel Gray or Grey Ghost, or Whistle Stop on a Saturday morning. I'm concerned about abandoning our standards. At the time, our intention was that outdoor dining was supplemental – not to double or triple their seating. I think we need to put a cap on it.

“I'm supportive of 65 seats, indoors in all three areas,” he continued, “and outdoor, I'd put a max in all three areas, and identify properties in those districts and point out spaces that can be broken up and a bistro can be put in part of it.”

Commissioners voted 5-2 to approve the ordinance, with commissioners Rackeline Hoff and Pierre Boutros voting against.

Township chooses municipal attorney Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees accepted the selection of a new attorney, Derk Beckerleg of Secrest Wardle, to replace retiring township attorney Bill Hampton, at their meeting on Monday, November 26.

“As this board knows, attorney Bill Hampton is retiring December 31,” township supervisor Leo Savoie said.

“We put a committee together of Bill Hampton, Dani Walsh and Neil Barnett,” to review the submissions the township had received for a new attorney after they put out a request for proposal (RFP) for a replacement.

Savoie said nine firms responded to their RFP, and three were selected as finalists.

“Our standards are very high,” downtownpublications.com

S

said Barnett, as they are seeking municipal, circuit court and appellate court experience, as well as understanding of Bloomfield Township. They were also seeking someone who would be available to be at the township's board meetings, as well as who was willing to offer inhouse hours, to be available to staff, at a fee that was in accordance with the township's fee structure.

“It was the unanimous decision of Dani, Bill and I, of Secrest Wardle, of Derk Beckerleg, as the primary attorney, with Mark Roberts and Nancy Cooper Green as back up, to be our counsel,” Barnett said.

“They were all great firms, but we could immediately get rid of five,” Walsh said, noting that several did not comply with items on the township's RFP. “It was unanimous for all three of us to choose Secrest Wardle. It was a glaring obvious choice, from cost, office hours, circuit court – where most of our work is done. This was the only one where Derk has a lot of experience, and the next one does, and the one after.

“When you look at the RFP, every single thing was answered and fulfilled,” she said.

Savoie said no vote was necessary, and directed Hampton to negotiate the contract.

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Short-term rentals not allowed in township

BIRMINGHAM

By Lisa Brody

While long-term rentals over 30 days will still be permitted, Bloomfield Township trustees on Monday, December 10, voted to prohibit short-term rentals of less than 30 days when a resident is not home.

The introduction of the ordinance amendment had come about in response to neighborhood complaints in June 2018 for people renting out a home for short-term rentals, also known as “Airbnb” rentals, which are in violation of the township's zoning ordinance, Patti Voelker, township planning, building and ordinance director said.

Airbnb is a privately held global company that operates an online marketplace and hospitality service which is accessible via its websites and mobile apps, where people often stay in members' homes rather than hotels.

Voelker said many communities had begun identifying and regulating the short-term usage of a dwelling unit, or part of a dwelling unit, for less than a month.

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H A L L A N D H U N T E R . C O M | + 1 24 8 64 4 3 5 0 0 | 4 4 2 S . O L D W O O D W A R D B I R M I N G H A M

“The usage can also be a home sharing activity whereby the resident hosts visitors in their home while at least one of the primary residents lives on-site throughout the visitor's stay. Alternatively, a short-term rental can also be defined as the rental to any person for exclusive transient use of any dwelling. The short-term rental provisions create a distinction between the traditional long-term rental housing (30 days or more) for the intended purpose of establishing a permanent residence,” she wrote in a memo to trustees.

She said the ordinance amendment looked to make a compromise, where if a room is rented out and the resident is home, that would be permitted, but otherwise home rentals for 30 days or less would be expressly prohibited.

“I know my neighborhood, it's common when there's something at the country club (Oakland Hills Country Club), people rent out their homes, so that would be prohibited?” asked trustee Dani Walsh.

“The township has a special event provision for that,” Voelker said.

“A lot of people have said to me

downtownpublications.com

they don't want people coming and going in Bloomfield Township,” trustee Neal Barnett said.

“There is a difference and how they behave when they are in the house. Thirty days seems fair,” Walsh said.

“I want to protect property rights, but I don't want transients in neighborhoods.

I think the ordinance and the way it is written is a perfect balance,” said supervisor Leo Savoie.

Township hires new health care company Following issuing a request for qualifications (RFQ) for a new organization to provide professional healthcare consultant services, Bloomfield Township trustees unanimously approved the recommendation of staff to work with Cornerstone Agency at their meeting on Monday, December 10.

Elizabeth Parrott, human resource and benefits administrator for the township, explained that an RFQ was sent out in August to identify companies qualified to provide

healthcare and benefit consulting services. She said there were 38 companies which visited the RFQ, and nine submitted a request for proposal (RFP).

“Of those, we got four back, and of those we did informal interviews,” Parrott said. “Of those, we recommend Cornerstone Agency.”

The township's RFP requested that respondents have a minimum of 10 years experience providing healthcare consulting services in the Michigan municipal market or with other related agencies, authorities or commissions. They also should have current healthcare broker or consulting clients that are Michigan municipalities. They were asked to submit evidence of their qualifications to provide their services and to perform comprehensive analysis of the township's current programs, and to recommend and facilitate future changes.

Trustee Dave Buckley asked what were the kinds of things they were looking for, and why.

“The township looked at the benefits, and the money and how they could give employees the best

DOWNTOWN

possible benefits for the money,” Parrott said.

She said the contract would begin January 1, 2019, with benefit renewal in April.

“A big part is dealing with the unions,” supervisor Leo Savoie said.

“They work with 37 other municipalities, so they have a very thorough understanding of the issues.

It's something I have not seen since I have been here – that depth of understanding. It would be handled directly by them. They do an outstanding job, and would help us get a real handle on the rising costs of the last five, six, seven years.”

Trustees approved the recommendation, 6-0, with treasurer Brian Kepes absent.

Two finalists in search for superintendent The search for a superintendent to lead the Birmingham Public Schools district is getting closer to a final decision, with two candidates from local districts chosen as finalists for final interviews.

67

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Birmingham - $1,249,000 - Price reflects one Townhome

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Vice President | Mortgage Loan Officer NMLS # 394920

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248-228-4805 2301 W. Big Beaver Rd. Suite 525 Troy, MI 48084

GREAT BUYS IN JANUARY!

COZY-SPACIOUS-AFFORDABLE - JUST ONE MILE FROM DOWNTOWN CLARKSTON Independence Township - $423,000 Situated on a beautifully wooded 3/4 acre parcel adjoining a nature preserve and pond. A nature lovers paradise in a scenic neighborhood!

This wonderful home has a cozy layout with a large granite kitchen, adjoining sitting room with fireplace plus a large bay window breakfast room. A butlers pantry transitions to a very spacious family room overlooking the large deck and natural setting. Cathedral ceilings in breakfast nook, living room and decorative tray ceiling in the spacious master bedroom suite with huge walk in closet, private shower room and two person jetted tub. 2 fireplaces, wood floors in kitchen, dining, foyer and hall. Generous first floor laundry. Newer roof, gutter guards, 2 havoc units, sump pump, concrete drive and security system. Plus a screened in Florida room and a 3 car garage. The whole house generator is an added bonus! Priced under value to sell quickly.

IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES - THIS HOME COULD BE YOURS Franklin Village - $499,000 This spectacular 1.41 acre parcel available in the Estate section of Franklin Village is surrounded by mature trees, woods and tall pines offering TOTAL privacy! Build a beautiful new construction:• 4 Bedroom 3150 square foot colonial for only $1,099,000 (Includes the price of the lot!) with a 1st floor master option.• 3 car garage, open floor plan and possible walk-out basement add on.• Strong flowing Artesian well. Quality new construction at an affordable price offered by Kensington Family Homes! Consider Kensington or bring your own builder. This is a tremendous opportunity in Franklin Village with Birmingham Schools. Floor plans available.

IDEAL CONDO ALTERNATIVE IN ROYAL OAK Royal Oak - $199,900 Move right in to this ultra cute updated ranch. This is a great condo alternative yet has a large 63 x 136 totally fenced and mostly wooded yard. Nice oak kitchen with ideal use of space and stainless steel newer appliances. Adjacent laundry room addition with plenty of storage space! All new carpeting throughout. Some newer windows, New boiler system in 2016 for radiant heat – Ideal! New French doors, new faux wood blinds throughout, newer garage door. Living room and dining room (dining room can be converted to third bedroom) with French door leads to rear stone patio and yard. 1 Year Home Warranty provided by seller. Walking distance to park and elementary school and just minutes from downtown Birmingham, Beaumont hospital and numerous shops and restaurants. The buried electrical lines are also an added bonus.

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MUNICIPAL The two finalists selected as finalists are Dr. Christopher Delgado, Deputy Superintendent with the Walled Lake School District, and Mark Dziatczak, Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning with Troy Schools.

On Tuesday, December 11, and Wednesday, December 12, the board of education announced it was conducting interviews with the two finalists for the superintendent position. Each candidate spent the day in the district, meeting with stakeholders, visiting schools, meeting the community and participating in a final interview that included a presentation to the board.

Delgado spent the day in the district on Tuesday, December 11; Dziatczak spent the day on Wednesday, December 12.

The district's board will meet on Thursday, December 13, at 5 p.m. to deliberate on the interviews, with an official decision scheduled for Tuesday, December 18, at a board meeting.

Each candidate is seeking to replace former Birmingham Public Schools' Superintendent Dr. Daniel Nerad, who retired June 30, 2018, after six years with the district.

At the June 5 board meeting, the school board named John Silveri as interim superintendent. Silveri, who retired in 2015 as superintendent of the Waterford School District, has been with Birmingham Public Schools since, as both interim Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and interim Deputy Superintendent for School Administration.

“We believe that as an experienced educational leader and someone who knows our community and culture, Mr. Silveri will provide a seamless leadership transition for our district in the year ahead,” the board announced on June 5.

Silveri has stated he is not in contention for the superintendent position.

The school board selected Hazard Young Attea Associates to provide the services necessary to conduct a search for its next superintendent.

Hazard Young Attea is a national search firm that recruits, develops and retains leaders in order to improve student outcomes. A national search was conducted by Hazard Young Attea for Birmingham Public Schools.

The community was invited to downtownpublications.com

meet the candidates during meet and greet events on both Tuesday, December 11, and Wednesday, December 12, followed by the finalists' presentations to the board and their final interview at 7 p.m.

Meet and greet events and interviews took place at the BPS Education and Administration Center, 31301 Evergreen at 13 Mile in Beverly Hills.

Contract for new city logo awarded

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After several years and numerous attempts at recreating a new logo for the city of Birmingham, city commissioners unanimously accepted a proposal from Factory Detroit to create a new city logo at their meeting on Monday, December 10.

Factory Detroit is an advertising, marketing and branding agency located in Royal Oak. Their contract is for up to eight meetings with the city, design work and revisions, for $5,000. Additional meetings are at $500 per meeting.

The city issued a request for proposal (RFP) for an agency to do work for a new city logo in July, after working on creating a new logo for about two years, with designers at McCann Detroit who had responded to a previous RFP that had been sent out to advertising, public relation and design firms in order to have the city of Birmingham's logo rebranded.

Commissioners felt the logos presented were a “work in progress,” which needed to be refined.

At the time, city manager Joellen Haines said McCann Detroit and the ad hoc brand development committee (BBDC) felt their goal was to establish a new brand through a new logo that communicated the city’s image in a positive, evolving and refreshing way.

A January 2018, public online survey revealed that most people preferred an image with trees. In April, commissioners were initially split between just keeping the current city logo and having Haines work on developing a new RFP for a new firm to continue the design process. At the time, commissioner Mark Nickita was emphatic that the city of Birmingham deserved a dynamic, new logo.

DOWNTOWN

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FACES Dr. Joel Kahn here is a problem with heart disease that Bloomfield Township doctor Joel Kahn wants you to know about – and it could save your life.

"The first sign is, very sadly, a heart attack or death," said Kahn, a cardiologist and author of three books, including "Dead Execs Don't Get Bonuses." "For 100 years running, the number one cause of death has been coronary heart disease, and this year is no different than any other year. It's a disease with no warning while building up from mild to moderate to severe."

Kahn, who owns and operates the Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity in Bingham Farms and Grosse Pointe Farms, as well as a cardiology practice in Bloomfield Township, said his work and books are determined to prevent a million heart attacks during his lifetime. By understanding the facts about heart disease, how to get a proper checkup and taking up a healthy diet and exercise, he hopes to reverse the process of heart disease for those already in the stages of the disease or who are at risk.

Kahn's mission started while attending medical school at the University of Michigan, but it was solidified after his friend, Imre Molnar, a design guru and former provost at the Center for Creative Studies, went for a bicycle ride while on vacation and never returned.

"He had a 95 percent blockage in an artery that even a doctor's visit the week before failed to detect. It was tragic," he said. "I said, 'I need to write something that has a title and content to share what I share with the people in my office.'

"It's not a pleasant conversation. Your diet, genetics and blood pressure could have left you with damaged arteries, and there's no clue."

While there's no outward warning signs for heart disease, Kahn said, a special test called a coronary calcium scan can give an early warning. The test, which Kahn said takes about 20 minutes and includes no pain at all, can forecast your risk for heart disease and allow patients to make changes to improve their situation before it's too late. The scans are only available at a hospital with a prescription or recommendation from a doctor.

"They call it the widow maker – from the obvious name for what can happen – that's the common term in cardiology to describe the large artery that gets the most blockage."

It's this kind of straightforward talk about health that Kahn uses in his books. "The book lays it out for everybody," he said.

"It's mandatory reading at age 40," he said.

Dead Execs was self-published about four years ago, but its success led it to be a recent Amazon Best Seller and led to a second publishing. Kahn's first book, "The Whole Heart Solution," also topped Amazon as a best seller. His third book, "The Plant Based Solution," is his latest book, which focuses on combining traditional health practices with a vegan diet.

In addition to his medical offices, Kahn takes his suggestions a step further by owning and operating a successful vegan restaurant and food truck business with his son. Recently celebrating its third anniversary, the GreenSpace Cafe in Ferndale is an artisanal plant-based restaurant and craft cocktail bar.

As for staying on his feet and active during his workday, Kahn said he uses a standing desk to avoid too much sitting.

"I'm almost never sitting," he said. "The desk allows me to move and shake around and burn calories."

T

Story: Kevin Elliot

Photo: Esme McClear

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

Birmingham/Bloomfield 220: American. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. 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. 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, Monday-Saturday. 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.

Cameron’s Steakhouse: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 115 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.723.1700.

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, MondaySaturday. 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, Monday-Saturday.

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 reservations.

No Liquor. 869 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Township, 48302.

JAN 28 - FEB 1 & FEB 4-8 Lunch $18 • Dinner $36 Enjoy Two Hours FREE in the Parking Decks.

www.BirminghamRestaurantWeek.org 76

Birmingham Shopping District DOWNTOWN

@BhamShopping 01.19

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 Dolci e Caffe: Italian. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No 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.

Mad Hatter Cafe: Tea Room. Brunch, Lunch & Dinner. No reservations. Liquor. 185 N. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009.

248.540.0000 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.

Panera Bread: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 100 North Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.203.7966. Also 2125 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302.

248.253.9877.

Phoenicia: Middle Eastern. Lunch, MondayFriday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

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

Pita Cafe: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 239 North Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.645.6999.

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 Red Olive: Middle Eastern/American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 42757 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Township, 48302.

248.481.7767.

Roadside B & G: American. Lunch & Dinner,

downtownpublications.com

daily. No reservations. Liquor. 1727 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302.

248.858.7270.

Rojo Mexican Bistro: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 250 Merrill Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.792.6200.

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

Sidecar Slider Bar: Burgers. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 280 E. Merrill Street, Birmingham 48009.

248.220.4167.

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.

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

100 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.642.5999.

Toast: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily; Dinner, Monday-Saturday. 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.

Triple Nickel Restaurant and Bar: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Liquor. Reservations.

555 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham 48009. 248.480.4951.

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

248.203.6600.

Village Coney Island: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

653 S. Adams. Birmingham, 48009.

248.593.7964.

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

248.566.3566.

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.

Bistro 82: French. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 401 S. Lafayette Ave., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.542.0082.

The Blue Nile: Ethiopian. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. 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.

D’Amato’s: Italian. Sunday Brunch. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

222 Sherman Dr., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.584.7400.

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.

GreenSpace Cafe: Vegan. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 215. W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220.

248.206.7510.

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, Monday-Saturday. 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.

DOWNTOWN

Pronto!: American. Weekend Brunch. 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.

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.

Town Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 116 W. Fourth St., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.544.7300.

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

Trattoria Da Luigi: Italian. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. 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.

Cantoro Italian Trattoria: Italian. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1695 E. Big Beaver Road, Troy 48083.

248.817.2424.

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.,

77

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.

Shining at Shinola It’s finally happening! San Morello – at the Shinola Hotel, 1400 Woodward Avenue, Detroit – officially opened in mid-December. “We just hope we rise to the occasion,” said Chef Andrew Carmellini, whose group, NoHo Hospitality, is in charge of the food and beverage options at the hotel. From the sounds of the menu, they will. Its focus is on the southern regions of Italy, both on the food and bar menus, and will have numerous options, including pasta and pizza. Carmellini is excited for Detroiters to try the menu’s prominent chicken dish, Whole Chicken “Rosalina,” which consists of a multi-day prep, is finished on the grill, and topped with a glaze and spices, as well as what he calls “His Grandmother’s Ravioli,” a meat ravioli with fresh tomato sauce, basil, and parmesan cheese. For right now, they will only be serving dinner, with plans to have lunch and brunch coming out of the kitchen in the near future. As for the other three announced food options, Carmellini said the Evening Bar is slated to open by the end of the year, while the Brakeman and Penny Red’s are planned for sometime next year. If everything goes right, all four will be open by spring. When asked if there were plans for any other food and drink options Carmellini laughed. “I think we’ll be tapped out after that,” he said.

Scrambling for Iggy’s Eggies Restaurateur Eli Boyer noticed while there were many local coffee shops in Detroit’s business district, there weren’t a lot of places to get a quick graband-go breakfast. Enter Iggy’s Eggies at 34 W. Grand River Avenue, Detroit, which opened in December and runs Mondays through Fridays. Connected to Lover’s Only, the walk-up window breakfast spot mainly serves breakfast sandwiches, ranging from a straightforward egg, bacon, and cheese to more glutinous options, along with grain bowls and Roos Roast coffee. This will mark the third restaurant for Boyer with chefs Jennifer Jackson and Justin Tootla – the trio also run Lover’s Only and Voyager in Ferndale – who plan on working with as many local vendors and farmers as possible. As for the name, you can thank Boyer’s three-year-old daughter. “I was throwing random names out at her – she calls eggs ‘eggies’ – and one of them happened to be Iggy’s,” he said. “Then she yelled ‘eggies’ right after.” That works.

New seasonal offerings in Troy The corner of Big Beaver and Crooks in Troy – 1000 W. Big Beaver Road to be more specific – has a new restaurant, Seasons 52, a fresh grill and wine bar offering a seasonal menu that opened in mid-December. Currently, menu items include a variety of flatbreads, slow-braised beef short rib, gnocchi with winter vegetables, and much more, to accompany the wine selection, which features over 100 bottles of vino, 52 that are served by the glass. “We’re excited to introduce the Troy community to our seasonal approach to food and award-winning wine list,” said Allen Champlin, Seasons 52’s managing partner and a Michigan native. “From our welcoming atmosphere to our vibrant dishes, we hope you’ll leave our restaurant feeling better than you did when you arrived.” The restaurant seats 278 people and is open for lunch and dinner daily, with a happy hour during the week.

Antihero makes the grade “Fun” is a word Executive Chef Nick Erven used often while discussing Antihero, which finally opened in late November at 231 W. Nine Mile Road in Ferndale after four years of delays. “The menu was like, how do we make it approachable enough but still push things a little bit and make it fun,” Erven said. The latest restaurant from metro Detroit-based restaurant group Working Class Outlaws – which also own Public House and Imperial in Ferndale – has an izakaya-inspired menu (Erven described it as “elevated bar food seen through the eyes of an L.A. transplant”) and features raw selections, rice bowls, buns, dumplings, noodles, and veggie-driven dishes. In regard to pushing things a bit,

Troy, 48084. 248.637.6400.

The Meeting House: American. Weekend Brunch. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 301 S. Main St, Rochester, 48307. 248.759.4825.

Miguel’s Cantina: Mexican. Lunch, MondayFriday. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

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

Mon Jin Lau: Asian. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

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, Monday-Friday.

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.

Maria’s Restaurant: Italian. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2080 Walnut Lake Road, West Bloomfield, 48323.

248.851.2500.

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.

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.

Craft Work: American. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 8047 Agnes St., Detroit, 48214.

313.469.0976.

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, Tuesday-Friday.

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, Monday-Saturday.

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.

Russell Street Deli: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. 2465

Russell St, Detroit, 48207.

313.567.2900.

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.

Small Plates Detroit: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 1521 Broadway St., Detroit, 48226. 313.963.0702.

St. CeCe’s Pub: American. Sunday Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. 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, MondayFriday. Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

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.

two of Erven’s favorite menu items do just that. One is chicken-fried tofu and the other is a crispy ramen egg. Inside the 3,500-square-foot space is a bar showcasing Japanese-leaning handcrafted cocktails, as well as curated whiskey, soju, sake lists, and their Toki Suntory highball machine.

A slice or a pie If you hear yelling coming from 1230 Library Street in Detroit, don’t worry, it’s probably someone working the side hustle at Mootz Pizzeria, where they will do slices and carry out. “I can just picture a line out the door in real New York tradition, like ‘Whose next? What do you want? How many slices?’” said renowned pizza expert Bruno DiFabio, who collaborated with Mootz coowner Tony Sacco on the pizzeria’s menu. In fact, the whole pizzeria – slated to open in January – will be a real New York experience, giving Detroiters a very different style pizza option. “Detroit pizza is great but Buddy’s has it covered,” DiFabio said. “You want a real, New York authentic pizza, you come here.” And that starts with the dough, which DiFabio said has three different fermentation processes, leading to a more airy and digestible dough. Mootz – short for “mozzarella” – will also offer pastas and salads. Sacco – co-founder of Tony Sacco’s Coal Oven Pizza chain – said the 4,000-square-foot restaurant will seat 97 between the dining area and full bar, and have additional seats on the patio. Sacco also mentioned they plan to be a cashless restaurant, with wait staff using tablets and card readers.

Going the full nine yards When General Manager Nathan Scheffler says that Yard House, at 950 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, has options for everyone – he isn’t kidding. “Beer is our heart, but food is what we would call our soul,” he said. The latest addition – and only Michigan location – to the Yard House franchise opened in December and has over 100 menu items to choose from, including vegan options, Nashville hot chicken, ginger crusted salmon, and a variety of pizzas and sandwiches – just to name a very few. They offer nearly as many beer options, coming in at over 100 different types on tap. Scheffler said about 30 to 35 percent of the beers are local to Michigan, including Rochester Mills Pine Knob Pilsner and Kuhnhenn The Fluffer, and will rotate seasonally. The 11,000-square-foot restaurant also has a chalkboard series, a collection of five rare beers that will change every six to eight weeks. Up first: five beers from Michigan’s own, Founders.

Where they know your name The corner of Cass Avenue and Willis Street will once again be home to Cobb’s Corner Bar after an almost three decades-long hiatus. Once inside 4201 Cass Avenue, Detroit – which will fully re-open come January – guests may get a bit nostalgic. “A lot of art that was on the walls originally was in storage for the last three decades...now its back on the walls,” said Roni Leibovitch, who is in charge of the bar’s marketing and operations. About two years ago, Robert Cobb – the bar’s original owner, who still owns the entire building – heard that the gallery located inside was looking to downsize and move out of the building. It became the perfect opportunity to re-open the bar that once was, now with an updated exterior and menu that’s in the same spirit of the previous bar – but updated. The menu is a mix between comfort-style food like meatloaf and lasagna, multiple sliders, and plenty of vegetarian options, full of ingredients from local vendors. While Cobb is located in Florida – where he has a sister restaurant – some of that tropical flavor was brought here with the Key West restaurant’s awardwinning Bloody Harry, a Bloody Mary with its own spicy mix.

Vegan venture When GreenSpace Cafe – 215 W. Nine Mile Road in Ferndale – first opened three years ago, plant-based entrepreneur and educator Amber Poupore served as a food consultant for 18 months. Now, she’s back and running the kitchen at the vegan restaurant, a role that began in early December. “I didn’t want to freak people out and change the menu completely,” she said. “I really stayed within the same thing.” Guests will notice some menu items have slight differences, a few additions here and there. The menu will also include favorites from Poupore’s The Clean Plate – which closed in September due to a lease issue – such as her black bean patty, mac and cheese sauce, and mushroom stroganoff. While it’s been a bit of an adjustment for Poupore – who also owns Cacao Tree in Royal Oak — she is simply excited to be working again with Dr. Joel Kahn, GreenSpace’s owner.

CELEBRATING

90 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

Preschool – Elementary – Academy Holy Name Catholic School has been committed to Catholic Education since 1928. We are a National Blue Ribbon School and accredited by the Michigan Association of Non-Public Schools (MANS).

Holy Name is a Catholic community of lifelong learners Dedicated to academic excellence and Faith Formation, Centered in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

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THE COMMUNITY HOUSE “It is every man's obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.”

– Albert Einstein As we begin 2019, full of hope and optimism, all of us at The Community House have taken pause to reflect on all the people, individuals, corporations, foundations – kindnesses large and small – which have made a true and lasting difference at The Community House over these last 95 years.

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.

I read recently that “Selfless service is absolutely Bill Seklar fundamental, both from an individual perspective and from the perspective of the entire human race, without which there can be no true progression. Selfless service should be offered and provided out of a genuine and deep desire to help and be of service to others.”

Several years ago, The Community House created the four Pillars of Vibrancy: Education, Wellness, Culture and Philanthropy. The purpose was 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, 51 pillars in our community have been recognized and inducted into The Community House’s Pillars of Vibrancy. This year is no exception. Recently, The Community House announced its 2019 Pillars of Vibrancy – what an extraordinary and selfless group. They include: Pillar of Culture: Arthur Horwitz

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Pillar of Wellness & Education: Dr. Jeffrey S. Fischgrund

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Pillar of Education & Philanthropy: Jennifer Granger Pillars of Philanthropy: Mitch Albom, Bill Roberts, Richard DeVore, Amy & Dan Loepp In an effort to also recognize individuals, corporations and foundations 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, TCH leadership decided to gather and recognize all of these key stakeholders, Pillars of Vibrancy and Major Donors, together, under the new Community House Foundation and under one philanthropic umbrella: Bates Street Society.

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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. Members will be acknowledged annually at its Bates Street Society Dinner, a semi-formal event hosted by The Community House together with The Community House Foundation’s Officers and Board of Directors. The fourth annual Bates Street Society Dinner, a three-course sit-down dinner is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Saturday, February 2, 2019, in the Wallace Ballroom of The Community House.

The Special Keynote Speaker for the 2019 Bates Street Society Dinner is Mrs. Cynthia Ford, philanthropist and humanitarian.

Special thanks to our founding presenting sponsor PNC Wealth Management – PNC Bank. Our thanks as well to The Bates Street Society’s other corporate sponsors: Beaumont, Oakland University, Mills Pharmacy & Apothecary, DeRoy & Devereaux, Barbara and Tim Hertzler, Renaissance Media, Jewish Renaissance Media and Neighborhood SEEN. Members of the community are not only welcome but encouraged to attend. This important dinner will offer guests a wonderful opportunity to publicly show enthusiastic support for the 2019 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. Tickets are $250 per person and are on sale now by going online at communityhouse.com or by calling The Community House at 248.644.5832. Seating is limited.

Congratulations and deep gratitude to this year’s very special honorees.

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

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Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. © 2017 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved.

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK Here is the update on the recent social scene. Many more photos from each event appear online each week at downtownpublications.com where readers can sign up for an e-mail notice when the latest social scene column is posted. Past columns and photos are also archived at the website for Downtown.

Walsh College Leadership Awards Dinner

Sally Gerak

Walsh College Leadership Awards Dinner The 18th annual Walsh College scholarship fundraiser attracted nearly 300 to The Townsend to honor the DeRoy Testamentary Foundation, banker David Provost, distinguished alum Alan Young and 33-year WC trustee Richard Aginian.

There were highlights during the dinner program emceed by WXYZ’s Brad Galli. Two DeRoy Testamentary Foundation scholarship recipients spoke convincingly about their experience and their gratitude. Merrill Lynch, DeRoy and David Provost’s Chemical Bank made spontaneous matching grants during the fundraising pledging which totaled $90,000 for full ride scholarships. Auctioneer Gary Mach garnered $12,000 in the brief live auction. This included the $2,000 Chemical Bank paid for the speed painted “Spirit of Detroit” to hang in the bank’s new Detroit headquarters. However, the speaker who seemed to most enjoy the opportunity to pontificate was Richard Aginian. The Lifetime Achievement awardee pointed out that, before Twitter, listening was an important leadership quality. “People talked face to face,” he noted. Repeatedly.

Thanks to generous sponsors the event, chaired by WC alum Kahn Hall, added about $170,000 to the 18-year scholarship total of $1.5-million plus.

MOCAD Gala + Art Auction “This was her baby,” board chair Elyse Folytn said to the crowd gathered at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

The Gala + Art Auction, in memory and honor of Julie Reyes Taubman, who lost her battle with cancer last January, attracted the largest crowd in the 12-year history of the event (329 @ $1,000 and up ticket). From the stacked copies of “Julieisms” to the streaming video that chronicled private and public moments, the late MOCAD co-founder / wife / mother / photographer was, indeed, present. “Julie was all in…she had to invent a contemporary art museum…Her spirit is in every brick here,” Bobby Taubman noted. One of her seven brothers, Duke Reyes, contributed, “This city was a goldmine for Julie…(she always said) never follow the crowd; be the leader.”

Dinner and music by DJ Norm Talley followed the brief but meaningful program. When the silent auction closed, more than 170 auction lots had been sold. The 12th annual event raised about $500,000 for arts programing at MOCAD, where, as Foltyn noted in her tribute to Julie, the teens who participate have a 100 percent high school graduation and a 98 percent college admission rate.

Children’s Leukemia Foundation Luncheon More than 120 supporters ($75-ticket) of the Children’s Leukemia Foundation gathered at The Village Club for the fourth annual Love, Laughter and Lunch event chaired by Lorri and Carson Delaney. The mother-daughter team became involved with CLF when son/brother Adam Delaney, now a college junior, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of three.

During the luncheon program emceed by Dr. Deanna Lites, Lorri told how CLF supported the whole family with very practical help “…and, most importantly, they remind you that you are not alone.” Before lunch, guests bought raffle tickets from high school student volunteers for dozens of great items.

Thanks also to generous sponsors, the luncheon raised more than $35,000 to help CLF bring hope and compassionate, personalized support to individuals touched by blood cancer. downtownpublications.com

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1. Dave & Christine Provost of Birmingham, Judy & Mike Rinkus of Troy. 2. Marsha Kelliher (left) of Rochester, Julie Rodecker & Joseph Holly of W. Bloomfield, Ryan Smith of Waterford. 3. Steve (left) & Patti Swanson of W. Bloomfield, Diane & Richard Aginian of Birmingham. 4. Michael (left) & Courtney Plotzke of Bloomfield, Alan C. Young of W. Bloomfield. 5. Barbara Mahone (left) of Birmingham, Tom Schellenberg and David Petoskey of Bloomfield.

MOCAD Gala + Art Auction

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1. Joy (left) & Allan Nachman of Bloomfield, Elyse & David Foltyn of Birmingham and Shelley Tauber of W. Bloomfield. 2. Bobby Taubman of Bloomfield and Duke Reyes of Palm Beach, FL. 3. Dozer Strangway & Cate Strumbos of Bloomfield. 4. Sandy Seligman (left) of Bloomfield, Tudor Parfitt of London, UK, Sebastian Parfitt of Miami, FL. 5. Ed Levy & Linda Dresner of Birmingham, Gene Gargaro of Grosse Pointe.

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK Children’s Leukemia Foundation Luncheon

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3 1. Caitlin Delaney (left) of Pleasant Ridge, and Lorri Delaney of Bloomfield. 2. Tina Turner (center) of Troy, Denice Richmond (left) and Cindy Grove of Bloomfield. 3. Heidi Hirsch (left) of Birmingham, Jennifer Haughey of Bloomfield, Stacey Rogers of Birmingham. 4. Rose Robbins (left) of Bloomfield, Angela Miller of Harrison Twp., Nickie Kalas of Rochester Hills, Leah Arapakis of Detroit, Dawn Whiteaker of Warren. 5. Alvira Schecter (left) of W. Bloomfield, Cheryl Flynn of Bloomfield.

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Night of Swine Dining A sold-out crowd of 115 ($100ticket) flocked to the Whiskey Factory to benefit the John T. Osborne Plaid Pig Endowment at Schoolcraft College. The event was hosted by Slows Bar BQ, Detroit City Distillery, Supino Pizzeria, Wright & Co, Guilt Chocolates and Ackroyd’s Scottish Bakery. It featured the launch of Detroit City Distillery’s first ever single barrel bourbon, craft cocktails and a multi-course menu by Brian Perrone, Michael Metevia, Dave Mancini, Marc Djozlija, Joe Nader, Scott Breazeale, Shawn Loving and Megan Ackroyd. Osborn was a plaidshirt-wearing, pork-lover who rarely met a stranger before his sudden death in July 2017 at the age of 28 due to an undiagnosed heart condition.

The evening raised $14,000 for culinary scholarships at Schoolcraft College.

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CARE House Care Night Gala

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3 1. Pat & Jerry Wagner of Bloomfield. 2. Alex (left) & Lisa MacDonald of W. Bloomfield and Marla Feldman of Birmingham and Mike Jacobson of Bloomfield.

3. Christine & David Colman and Eliot & Whitney Weiner of Birmingham. 4. Lisa Payne (left) of Bloomfield and Kappy Trott of Birmingham. 5. Elise & Steve Guidos of Bloomfield.

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Beyond Basics Family Literacy Center

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1. Pam Good (left) of Bloomfield, Chris Lambert of Detroit, Emily Ford of Birmingham. 2. Ira Jaffe of Farmington Hills and Jack Krasula of Bloomfield. 3. Terry Rhadigan (left) of Novi, Linda Schinkel of Bloomfield, Javier Reed of Belleville. 4. Susanne Dicker Forbes of Troy, Jack Aronson of Bloomfield. 5. Misharo Craft (left) of Detroit, Lori Wingerter of Rochester, Patti Koval of Troy.

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CARE House Care Night Gala People are still talking about the $6,000 champagne table at the CARE House Gala. It was loaded with premium wines, perk-filled gift bags at each place and a pair of His & Her Shinola watches from Tappers for the winning ticket holder. During the cocktail reception, 89 people each bought a $100-glass of champagne to get in a drawing to dine at it. The winner, Honigman attorney Michele Nolan and all those at her table, partied at the prominently-placed champagne table all evening. The rest of the 350 guests at the sold-out fundraiser settled for fine dining, bidding $94,500 in the live auction of 16 items conducted by Dan Stall and pledging $22,100 to the CARE House services which are free for all in need of them. But the highlight of the program was the presentation of the Patricia R. Rosen Award to Pat and Jerry Wagner.

The couple’s impressive commitment of resources and hands-on services inspired a rousing ovation. Likewise, the salute by event co-chairs Marla Feldman and Lisa MacDonald to presenting sponsor General Motors. Thanks to them and many others, the annual event raised $401,400 for CARE House intervention and therapeutic services to victims of sexual abuse.

Beyond Basics Family Literacy Center Detroit native and HUD Secretary Ben Carson used his political clout to pick The Durfee Innovation Society at the Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine as the first HUD EnVision Center in the nation.

And, as the 134 people ($250-ticket) 01.19

who were at the launch of the Beyond Basics Family Literacy Center within DIS learned, it is on track to connect HUD-assisted families in the neighborhood with the tools they need to become self-sufficient.

Speakers were convincing, especially Life Remodeled’s energetic CEO Chris Lambert, whose non-profit has created DIS – a space for the best and brightest non-profit organizations and for-profit businesses to share resources and achieve greater collective impact. Likewise GM’s Terry Rhadigan, whose company gave $250,000 to the Beyond Basics Family Literacy Center and explained, “It’s an investment in the people of this great city.”The afternoon gathering raised $100,000 for the BB Family Literacy Center where two posters promise: “Today a reader,” “Tomorrow a leader”.

Baldwin Library Novel Wine Tasting All the 230 people ($75, $65tickets) at the library fundraiser received a personalized wine glass.

That the laser engraving was actually executed “in house” by Jeff Jimison’s Baldwin Library Idea Lab crew was the buzz at the party which was chaired by Jenny Wheeler. All the wine was generously provided by John Gharfari’s Uptown Market which is in the Mobil / Tim Horton building at Oak and Woodward.

When people weren’t sipping, supping and socializing, they were spending $6,880 in the chance raffle of 28 auction packages. Thanks also to a wine pull and generous sponsors, the sixth annual event raised more than $27,000 for renovation and expansion of the library’s Youth Room which yearly hosts more than 600 programs for 25,000 children.

Lakeshore Legal Aid Annual Event Lakeshore Legal Aid, the state’s largest provider of free civil legal assistance for low-income people, staged its annual event at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant and 149 legal beagles attended. They cruised the three floors of the National Historic Landmark, sipped, supped, relished jazz by Bare Assets and paused to hear Matthew Dupree describe how determined advocacy for populations facing overwhelming obstacles can truly change lives.

Alzheimer’s Association A Night in Havana The colorful Night in Havana party theme put an upbeat spin on the annual Alzheimer’s Association fundraiser chaired by Dan Loepp that attracted more than 600 to the MGM downtownpublications.com

Baldwin Library Novel Wine Tasting

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3 1. Barbara Suhay (left) and Jennifer Wheeler of Birmingham. 2. Andrew Harris (left) of Birmingham, Doug Koschik of Ferndale, Lindsay Van Syckle of Birmingham. 3. John Gharfari of W. Bloomfield, Carla Grava of Birmingham. 4. Deb Mohatarem (left) and Pam DeWeese and Bob Tera of Birmingham. 5. Lisa Christie (left) of Beverly Hills, Susan Hill and Cheryl Haffey of Birmingham.

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Alzheimer’s Association A Night in Havana

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1. Dan & Amy Loepp of Birmingham. 2. Gayle Burstein (left) and Blake Silverman of Bloomfield. 3. Ken & Mari Barnett of Bloomfield. 4. Kate Cahill and Peter Remington of Birmingham. 5. Peggy Daitch (center) of Birmingham, Andi Wolfe (left) and Debbi Horowitz of Bloomfield.

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK Grand. But the for their support was contained in Blake Silverman’s poignant saga of his grandmother and mother’s younger-onset Alzheimer’s.

His dedication to supporting AA programs and fundraisers inspired more than $75,000 in donations during the Fund the Need pledging that followed his remarks. Proceeds from the Sweet Chances raffle and a cigar table added another $11,000.

And thanks to sponsors like Audrey & William Farber, Bruce & Rosalie Rosen, Rebecca & Gary Sakwa, Lynn & Paul Alandt, Marlene & Bill Emerson, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and many more, the 34th annual Chocolate Jubilee raised $1.3million. The 35th Chocolate Jubilee will be Saturday, October 26, 2019.

Friends of Camp Mak-A-Dream

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1. Tony & Cathy Forbes of Franklin. 2. Leah Grenadier (left) and Hadar Grenader of Bloomfield and Connie Jacob of Franklin.

3. Sally Lundberg (left) of Seattle, WA, Zach and Brenda Lundberg Casey and Beth Hiemstra of Birmingham. 4. Pete Grimes of Royal Oak, Shannon Murphy of Birmingham.

5. Morgan Linden (left) and Reese Leff of Bloomfield.

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Impact100 Oakland County

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Impact100 Oakland County The power of collective, feminine philanthropy was on display when more than 200 Impact100 Oakland County members and friends gathered at The Reserve to vote on which three of 70 non-profit applicants would share the group’s 2018 grants total ($270,000). It represents a $1,000 donation from 270 women. When the votes were all counted, programs described by Common Ground, Huron-Clinton Metroparks and The Rainbow Connection were each granted $90,000. President Mary Pat Rosen urged all to recruit new members for next year. Since its inception in 2016, Impact100 Oakland County has awarded $571,000 to projects.

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1. Laura Liras (left) and Colleen Miller of Birmingham, Mary Pat Rosen of Bloomfield. 2. Shaina Allen of Birmingham. 3. Jenna Diamond (left) and Kelly Prendergast of Birmingham. 4. Rachel Klein (left) and Kim Martin of Birmingham, Kelly Finley of Troy. 5. Pam Good (left) of Bloomfield, Leonora Hardy-Foster of Rochester Hills.

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Friends of Camp Mak-A-Dream The 20th anniversary of the cookie contest that supports the Montana camp for kids with cancer founded in 1991 by the late Sylvia and Harry Granader attracted 550 to the Grand Court at Somerset Collection North.

They sampled treats from 21 generous bakers and voted for favorites. Other diversions included a Jasen Magic magic show that starred young Tony Forbes, a Lego station, face painting, balloon twisters and Jassmine Parks singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The popular event raised more than $145,000 plus another $35,000 for a new Camp Mak-ADream van.

Community Foundation Greater Rochester The eighth annual tailgate attracted 370 ($65 ticket) to the Royal Park Hotel to celebrate the Community Foundation’s 35th anniversary. Diversions included fan food, fight songs and cheerleaders. A broad cross section of college loyalties 01.19

was displayed on sweaters and banners. In the brief program WJR’s Guy Gordon got the crowd to applaud sponsors. The event raised $24,000 for the foundation’s new Community Enhancement Fund.

OUR TOWN Opening Night Party More than 340 people ($75 & up tickets) gathered at The Community House for the opening of the 33rd annual art show and sale. Guests included many of the 153 Michigan artists whose work was selected by jurors Barbara Heller and Melissa Parks. A bountiful buffet competed with viewing the art and conversation, but all paused to applaud the 14 prize winners when event chair Liz DuMouchelle presented them checks. Local winners included K.F. Fujiwara of Rochester Hills and Ellie Gause and Laura Teste of Bloomfield.

Community House CEO Bill Seklar also praised the generosity of the DeRoy Testamentary Foundation, the artists, Bolyard Lumberand the Benefactors. Twenty pieces of art sold the night of the opening party; 16 more sold before the show closed two days later.

Oakland Literacy Council Ex Libris The 29th annual dinner attracted 112 loyalists to the Village Club. After they socialized, sipped and supped, council president Judy Lindstrom saluted honorary host Barbara Van Dusen and introduced featured student Asuncion Escobar-Chirino, an electrical engineer from Mexico, who thanked her “amazing” tutor Michele Dragisty. The OLC-trained volunteer marveled at the tenacity required to move to a different country with a different language. Then guest speaker Anne Curzan spoke about words – from her mother’s obsession with proper usage to the current mania for texting. She also noted the many English “dialects” and opined that even though they are subjected to social judgments, “…all dialects are linguistically equal.” The event raised $37,685 to help adults in Oakland County achieve their literacy goals.

Panhellenic Alumnae Scholarship Luncheon Anne Hammond and Sharon Moore chaired the annual luncheon that attracted 89 women to Birmingham Country Club for fraternity and fundraising. The women represented 20 of the 26 National Panhellenic Conference downtownpublications.com

Community Foundation Greater Rochester

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1. Christine Rapley (left), Tim Reese and Jo Allen of Rochester Hills. 2. Melinda Conway Callahan (standing left), Janet Drobnich, Katy Plummer, Marie Korbley (seated left), Jeanne Barrett, Marty Herrmann. 3. Lucas Leidy of Rochester, with Oakland University mascot Griz. 4. Tim Crawford (left) of Rochester Hills and Timo Nicholaou of Rochester. 5. Melinda & Ryan Deel of Rochester Hills.

OUR TOWN Opening Night Party

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1. Liz DuMouchelle (left) and Melissa & John Parks of Bloomfield. 2. Patty Ghesquiere (left) and Gilles & Laura Teste of Bloomfield. 3. Barbara Heller of Birmingham, Chuck Little of Troy.

4. Kim Fujiwara of Rochester Hills and Ellie Gause of Bloomfield. 5. Barbara Smith (left) and Tory Smith Sawula of Bloomfield.

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK Oakland Literacy Council Ex Libris

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Beaumont Autumn Gala Four hundred supporters ($300 tickets) of Beaumont Hospital Farmington Hills convened at the MGM Grand for cocktails, auctions, dinner and dancing. A highlight of the program was the recognition of 14 physicians who have served Beaumont Health for 25 years. This included Family Medicine DOs Eric Coffman and Andrew Colman. The auctions brought in $25,572. Thanks also to generous sponsors like Drs. Phoebe and Harris Mainster, the event raised $386,000 to support campus expansion plans.

1. Anne Curzan of Ann Arbor, Robert Gaylor of Rochester Hills, Barbara Van Dusen of Birmingham. 2. Judy Lindstrom of Bloomfield, Lisa Machesky of Birmingham. 3. Michele Dragisity (left) of Bloomfield, Asuncion Escobar of Troy. 4. Toni McConnell (left), Julie Hoensheid, Dawn Danowski, Julie Sikorski and Diane Schodowski of Rochester Hills.

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Panhellenic Alumnae Scholarship Luncheon

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2 1. Mary Baumgarten (left) of Commerce, Sharon Moore of Bloomfield and Anne Hammond of Beverly Hills. 2. Dolly Johnson (left) of Bloomfield, Lou Simpson of Birmingham. 3. Amy Zimmer (left) and Carolyn Plsek of Bloomfield, Cheryl Noonan of Troy.

4. Patti Phillips (left) of Birmingham, Karen Seitz of Bloomfield. 5. Jean Usner (left) of Beverly Hills, Ruth Graham, Nancy Allen and Lois Blair of Bloomfield.

Habitat for Humanity Fall Extravaganza The sixth annual Fall Extravaganza attracted 270 supporters ($185, $275 tickets) to the Troy Marriott for cocktails and dinner. It honored Community Builder of the Year Hall & Hunter’s Dennis Wolf, Volunteer of the Year Laura Miehls and Homeowner of the Year Kimberly Swift. The event raised $130,000 for the Habitat programs which build homes, communities and hope.

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HAVEN Tailgate HAVEN’s sixth annual Tailgate event attracted 122 to Red Run Golf Club to watch the Lions play the Dolphins on an outdoor screen on a bitter cold afternoon. Club Chef Joe’s famous chili helped warm the fans that included HAVEN’s new CEO Aimee Nimeh, guest speaker Eric Hipple, Lion Legends Luther Blue, Ken Dallafior, Maurice Harvey and Scott Conover. The Lions beat the Dolphins and the event raised more than $60,000 for HAVEN’s programs that support victims of sexual abuse.

Beaumont Autumn Gala

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1. Drs. Harris & Phoebe Mainster of Bloomfield. 2. Natalie Cooper and Gerson Cooper of Bloomfield. 3. Dr. Raimundo & Ana Pastor of Farmington Hills.

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sororities, nine of which had prepared baskets for the chance raffle that raised $1,200. Following lunch Richard Grinstein spoke about. “The Art of Jewelry: A Studio Jeweler’s Perspective.” The entertaining and engrossing slide talk covered the field from cave drawings to modernism.

Funds raised will support summer enrichment opportunities for high school girls to pursue arts, athletics, journalism or science.

DOWNTOWN

Send ideas for this column to Sally Gerak, 28 Barbour Lane, Bloomfield Hills, 48304; email samgerak@aol.com or call 248.646.6390.

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ENDNOTE

Leave the state ballot proposals alone everal bills being pushed through the legislature in the last days of the lame duck session were attempting to usurp the will of Michigan residents by rewriting successful voter-led ballot initiatives.

The bills aim to water down each of the three ballot proposals that had overwhelming support of voters, including a constitutional measure to limit and scale back gerrymandering of legislative districts, a constitutional measure for expanded voter rights and a citizen legislative initiative for legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

Additional legislation was approved to undo minimum wage and sick leave protections crafted by lawmakers in September in order to avoid a fourth ballot proposal, which had enough signatures to get voter approval.

While the legislature has the power to make changes to a constitutional amendment by a two-thirds vote and by a simple majority when it comes to a citizen legislative initiative, there's no doubt that they violate the spirit of what voters sought at the ballot box.

Senate Bills 1171 and 1175 have already made it to the governor's desk, where Snyder should reject them. Those bills would water down minimum wage and paid-sick leave increases adopted by the legislature in September, after organizers turned in more than 350,000 signatures to place the items on November's general election ballot. However, Republican lawmakers reneged on the laws

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after the election, passing bills that essentially undo the previously-adopted bills.

The bait-and-switch move was no surprise to Senate Democrats, who predicted in September the switch would take place. "That doesn't make me Nostradamus, just someone who has seen this body casually disregard the will of the people and the cynical treatment of democracy over and over again," one member stated.

Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof (RGrand Haven) is not only overseeing the efforts, he's also introduced SB 1243, which would ban home-grown marijuana permissions granted by the ballot initiative legalizing recreational marijuana, which was approved by voters 56 to 44 percent. Meekhof in June pushed the legislature to adopt and amend its own legislation to legalize marijuana, but failed to garner support in the House. The bill would curtail non-commercial efforts to cultivate marijuana. It would also lower the excise tax on retail sales from 10 to 3 percent – a measure that lacks any obvious logic. For now, at least, the bill remains in committee.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kowall (RWhite Lake) also proposed one of three bills (SB 1238-1240), which would alter ballot Proposal 3 passed by voters (67 to 33 percent) that allows a person to register to vote up to the day of an election. Under the package of bills, registration would end 14 days prior to the election, require additional proof of residency, including a designation of U.S. citizenship on driver's

licenses before automatically registering to vote.

The bills would also allow residents to opt-out of voting when getting a state ID. Those bills were approved by the Senate on December 6.

Lastly, voters in November approved by 61-39 percent, a constitutional amendment to change the way state and federal political district lines are drawn. Currently, those lines are drawn by the political party in power, which has led to widespread gerrymandering, giving that party an advantage. The Voters Not Politicians initiative takes much of the partisan politics out of the process, but SB 1254 would add fines for redistricting commission members who lie about their party affiliation and prohibit any person associated with a party from consulting the new commission.

We find it unconscionable that the Republicans in the Senate would show such blatant disregard for the will of the voters, and that their House counterparts would support it.

We call on Governor Rick Snyder to reject these bills that make it to his desk, and for the legislature to put an end to the political shell games being played.

We should remind the Governor, as well as those lawmakers leaving office, of the legacy they will leave behind should they favor business or political interests over the interests of the voters they were elected to represent.

And hundreds of thousands of voters who will surely remember the party that led the unprecedented assault on their choices.

Shortchanging the voters on marijuana n November 6, voters across Michigan approved Proposal 1, by 56 percent of the electorate, which made the state the first in the Midwest to legalize recreational marijuana like alcohol. One month later, on December 6, recreational marijuana use became legal statewide.

In Oakland County, 59 percent of the county's voters approved the measure, which allows adults over the age of 21 to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, and to grow up to 12 plants per household. In addition, the measure permits licensing of businesses that grow, process, test, transport or sell marijuana with three classes of cultivator licenses.

The ballot proposal, from the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol, was designed to allow legal adults who choose to enjoy pot to be safe from criminal penalties and incarceration for small amounts of the drug. However, it still is illegal to consume or smoke marijuana in public, or in a private location where the owner forbids it, and workplace drug policies remain the same as they have always been.

Besides the state's six-percent sales tax, the proposal imposed an additional 10-percent excise

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tax on retail marijuana sales, which is lower than most of the other 10 states which have legalized recreational marijuana, and is designed to go to schools, roads and infrastructures, and the communities where the business is located.

The crafters of the bill made sure that municipalities could prohibit or limit the number and types of facilities they would like to have within their boundaries – an option which numerous Oakland County communities have taken advantage of in the last month, including Birmingham and Bloomfield Township.

Bloomfield Township's ordinance prohibits any "marijuana establishment," meaning a marijuana grower, marijuana safety compliance facility, marijuana processor, marijuana microbusiness, marijuana retailer, marijuana secure transporter, or any other type of marijuana-related business licensed by the department. It also spells out prohibitions against growers; microbusinesses; processor; retailer; secure transporter; and safety compliance facility. A violation of the ordinance is a municipal civil infraction, with a fine of $100 to $500.

Local leaders should refrain from being ostriches and remember that voters chose to

legalize marijuana – in Bloomfield Township, 52 percent of voters approved the measure, and in Birmingham, a whopping 65 percent voted for it, while even in conservative Bloomfield Hills, 52 percent of the electorate approved the proposal.

Prohibiting any and all marijuana establishments may sound like leaders are “protecting” their communities – but from what? The days of skanky head shops are long gone, and in states from New York to California, some pot shops resemble, or surpass, fine wine shops and elegant cosmetic and fragrance stores. And communities voting to opt out are subject to override by the voters of that municipality through initiative petition, according to an analysis of law by the Michigan Municipal League (MML).

Instead, zoning ordinances are a more appropriate way to move forward with this new voter-sanctioned measure. It is a way to be proactive in a new retail and light industrial world, while simultaneously respecting the wishes of an overwhelming number of residents who said this is what they want, and who don't want to venture far or into perhaps dangerous neighborhoods to purchase their recreational drug of choice.

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