Downtown newsmagazine | Birmingham/Bloomfield

MARCH 2021

THE FACE OF FAITH PRAYING TO MANY GODS IN METRO DETROIT AREA

WHY THE LINE 5 ISSUE SHOULD BE IMPORTANT TO ALL IN SOUTHEAST REGION ENDNOTE: NEW POLICE EFFORT ON MENTAL HEALTH OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL: POLITICAL NEWS/GOSSIP

ECRWSS Postal Customer EDDM

DOWNTOWNPUBLICATIONS.COM

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ROYAL OAK, MI 48068 PERMIT #792

248.318.4504

Call Kathy for a Private Showing -

S

S

PE

O L

$629,000 | Bloomfield Twp.

D

G

D

IN

L

D

O

N $739,000 | Birmingham

$599,000 | Bloomfield Twp.

$ńƷťŘƈńư Šƒƅńϕ NJƭľěǁńľ ǁƒ ƭńưŗńĸǁťƒƈ ƒƈ ͳϚͶʹ ěĸưńƷϚ <ťƈťƷŠńľ ľěǩżťŘŠǁ żƒǣńư żńǢńż ǣťǁŠ Řǩƅϕ ǣťƈń ĸńżżěưϕ ŗěƅťżǩ ưƒƒƅϕ ʹnd kitchen with pub Ʒǁǩżń ķěưϚ *żńǢěǁƒư ƷńưǢťĸń ǁƒ ěżż żńǢńżƷϚ Ͷ ĸěư ŘěưěŘń ǣťǁŠ ͵rd kitchen. $2,649,000 | Bloomfield Twp. *SHORT TERM LAND CONTRACT AVAILABLE

SEASONAL PARADISE ON ͻ.ʹͷ ACRES

BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME ON ALMOST ʹ ACRES

ʹ.ͷ͸ ACRES IN BRIDGE VALLEY NEIGHBORHOOD

$799,000 | West Bloomfield Twp.

$329,000 | Franklin Village

$50,000 | Independence Twp.

Stunning fully renovated bi-level penthouse offers the luxury of living at The Westin with the convenience of living in the city $2,390,000 | Detroit

æNJěưǁƒƈ ]ěŷń *ƷǁěǁńƷ ưńƷťľńƈĸń ƒƈ ƭưťƅń żƒǁϚ ¨ƭľěǁńľ ǣťǁŠ exceptional living spaces & enhanced by architectural details $1,595,000 | Birmingham

DOWNTOWN03.21

48

The impact here from Line 5 under the Mackinac Straits Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Enbridge energy transport company have squared off over Line 5, an underwater pipeline that spans from the Upper to the Lower Peninsula, carrying fossil fuel to part of Michigan and the country of Canada, and any problems could threaten our water supply and much more.

LONGFORM

32

Here in metropolitan Detroit and southeast Michigan, there is a cornucopia of religions and those who practice, from Protestants to Muslims, creating a multi-cultural society brimming with religious diversity.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

14

With the November election finally in the rear view mirror, we must now must make sure Michigan lawmakers do not follow the national GOP game plan to suppress voters in the future.

CRIME LOCATOR

19

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

THE COVER

OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL

25

Greimel joins Pontiac mayoral race; Giuliani's “star witness” on voter fraud wants be state Representative from Oakland; fat lady yet to sing on term limit lawsuit; GOP family feud; plus more.

Cover design: Chris Grammer.

57

Patrick Harris

MUNICIPAL

59

Birmingham long-range planning; school districts returning to classrooms; neighborhoods and new master plan; Linda Dresner closing; police tackling mental health issues; plus more.

ENDNOTE

90

Local police and sheriff wise to add mental health knowledge to tool box when dealing with public. Public input valuable as Birmingham looks to the future with its new master plan process.

FACES

30 45 57 79

Molly Beauregard Erin Noel Patrik Harris Bobby Sak

BY A WOMAN, FOR A WOMAN

Natural & Lab Grown Diamonds AVAILABLE IN ALL SIZES, SHAPES & QUALITIES

FROM THE PUBLISHER ichigan voters will have to pay close attention this year and next to make sure that the Republican controlled state House and Senate do not adopt state laws that erode some of the gains made with the nearly 67 percent approval in November 2018 of a change to the state Constitution (Proposal 3) to expand voting access in the state.

M

As a CliffsNotes take – Proposal 3, among other things, provided no-reason absentee ballots; mandated audit of voting results; provided for same-day voter registration; and restored straightticket voting that GOP lawmakers had banned after 127 years of existence.

The threat over improved ballot access for voters is already shaping up to be a major issue in the postNovember 2020 atmosphere tainted with disproven claims of major fraud in the most recent election, fueled by right-wing theologians in the Republican Party who still march to the drum beat of an ex-president.

Some observers say that Michigan, along with other states where the legislature is controlled by Republicans, will attempt to roll back some access to voting by mail ballots, eliminate the use of drop boxes and create other barriers to voting under the guise of the disproven claims of voter fraud in the last election. Oh, you thought issue would simply fade with the transition to a new administration? Then just consider, for a moment, that Marian Sheridan of West Bloomfield, who was in recent weeks reelected by delegates at the GOP party virtual convention to the position of vice chairwoman, has already issued a public call for party members to send her photos of fraudulent addresses and voting documents from Wayne County from the November election so she can continue the charade.

period. Further, the added time between a primary and general election would allow more time for recounts and audits. The presidential primary vote would still remain a March affair.

Former SOS and now Senator Ruth Johnson (RHolly), who heads the Senate Elections Committee, has said her senate panel would hold hearings but she would not guarantee a vote.

Two bills in the package, introduced by GOP lawmakers and backed by Benson, would target voters who have not cast a ballot since 2000 and those with an unconfirmed birth date.

The Republicans are portraying that cleaning up the rolls would help prevent the possibility of fraud.

Benson, prior to the November 2020 election, pushed to take the same action but there was insufficient time prior to the election to accomplish what the bills provided, following a 2019 Michigan Auditor General's report suggesting the voter file be cleaned up. Benson estimates that there could be at least 175,00 voters in the file who have moved, some out of state, in addition to many others.

Under the two bills, the SOS office would have to mail postcards to people on the Qualified Voter File who have not voted since 2000 or do not have a birthdate on file with the state. Seldom do voters notify a local clerk when they move from a community or that someone has died.

Those who do not return the card or do not vote within four years of receiving the card would be removed from the voter rolls, so it is not like the files would necessarily get cleaned up before the next major election.

Benson has her own agenda, so expect other bills coming from her office.

Michigan will be following what appears to be a national battle plan in states where the legislature is dominated by Republicans. The generally revered Brennan Center for Justice reported in early February that 165 bills to restrict voting access are now pending in 33 states, such as seeking to impose stricter voter ID requirements; limiting mail-in voting access; slashing voter registration options; and providing for a more aggressive approach to purging lists of eligible voters.

While no-reason absentee ballots are now enthroned in Michigan's Constitution, some states are proposing elimination of permanent absentee voter lists or reducing the amount of time a voter could stay on such a list without having to reapply. Others are proposing laws that would prevent sending an application for an absentee ballot without a request from the voter or requiring applications either be notarized or signed by two witnesses, or requiring a photo of a voter's state ID to be included with an absentee ballot when sent to a local clerk.

There are some changes to Michigan voting law being proposed that are worth pursuing, including a four-bill package in Lansing shifting the state's primary election from August to June. The concept appears to have bipartisan support and the approval of Michigan Secretary of State (SOS) Jocelyn Benson.

The state's May election, which has its detractors because it is often used for tax issues and has a lower voter turnout, would be eliminated. Backers of the change say it would save money and provide more time for municipal clerks to recoup before they have to enter the November election

Her possible goals include mandating that applications for absentee ballots be sent to all registered voters for all federal election cycles, like she did for the 2020 elections; giving local clerks an added two weeks ahead of election day to process (but not count) absentee ballots; making Election Day a state holiday; requiring election printed matter be available in multiple languages in communities where a large portion of the population are not English-speaking residents; banning deceptive practices that deter or mislead voters, like the robo calls to Detroit voters in 2020 that told people the wrong date to vote; and allowing ballots that arrive after election day to be counted.

Trust that some of what SOS Benson is proposing will draw opposition.

Likewise, we can expect some bills from Republicans that will make voting more difficult, especially in Democrat-leaning minority population districts.

No, the voter suppression efforts will not be as bold as decades ago in Southern states where Black voters had to correctly guess the number of jelly beans in a jar before they could cast a ballot – the Michigan GOP has demonstrated more refined, subtle legislative efforts in recent decades.

So we will have to count on Governor Grethen Whitmer to veto such attempts. But citizens will also have to weigh in at some point to pressure lawmakers who try to make voting more difficult in coming elections.

David Hohendorf Publisher DavidHohendorf@DowntownPublications.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WEBSITE downtownpublications.com

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

Personalized mortgage options to fit your financial strategy At U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, we tailor the home financing experience to fit your needs.

Customized mortgage options include: • Residential one to four units, fixed, adjustable or interest only mortgage options • Mortgage priority process, products and scheduling to meet your loan closing date

Ted Edginton

• Primary, second home, condominium, co-op and investment one to four unit properties

Private Wealth Mortgage Banker 41000 Woodward Avenue, Suite 215 Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 248.991.9390 office 248.866.9460 cell ted.edginton@usbank.com NMLS#: 502442

• Residential single close construction, lot loan, renovation & expansion options

privatewealth.usbank.com

• Ability to hold title in an approved Trust, LLC, LLP, Corp or other non-operating entity • Conforming, jumbo and super jumbo loan size availability • Lending in all states (some loan types are limited to specific states)

Get started today. Contact your Private Wealth Advisor to find out more about residential mortgage options.

Loan approval is subject to credit approval and program guidelines. Not all loan programs are available in all states for all loan amounts. Interest rates and program terms are subject to change without notice. Visit usbank.com to learn more about U.S. Bank products and services. Mortgage and Home Equity Products are offered through U.S. Bank National Association. Deposit Products are offered through U.S. Bank National Association. Member FDIC. ©2020 U.S. Bank.

WE SLEEP. DO YOU?

Waking up in a Hästens bed is an eye-opener about the value of perfect sleep. It’s built with the ultimate combination of nature’s materials – together with tireless craftsmanship. You can’t see it.

But you’ll definitely feel it. 24 hours a day.

HÄSTENS STORE | 100 S Old Woodward Ave, Birmingham, MI 48009 | (248) 940 5466

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 February 18, 2021.

Placement of codes is approximate.

LOOKING FOR A

real estate agent?

LUXURY REAL ESTATE. REDEFINED.

248.289.0660 tushar@tvahomes.com www.tusharvakhariya.com 210 S. Old Woodward Suite 200.

Birmingham, MI 48009

760 Lone Pine Road Bloomfield Hills - Price Upon Request

2756 Turtle Bluff Drive Bloomfield Hills - $10,550,000

5339 Trillium Court Orchard Lake Vlg - $5,100,000

4173 Noble Road Oxford Twp - $3,900,000

3955 Lake Front St Waterford - $2,750,000

4359 Oak Grove Drive Bloomfield Hills - $2,250,000

700 E Square Lake Road Bloomfield Hills - $1,999,000

30815 Wendbrook Lane Beverly Hills - $1,999,000

6455 Bloomfield Glens Road West Bloomfield - $1,999,000 or $999,000 for VL

4810 Mandale Court West Bloomfield - $1,899,000

1914 Long Lake Shores Drive Bloomfield Hills - $1,825,000

3425 W Long Lake Road West Bloomfield - $1,699,000

1750 Heron Ridge Road Bloomfield Hills - $1,499,000

6700 Colby Lane Bloomfield Hills - $1,399,000

2993 Heron Place Bloomfield Hills - $1,375,000

4674 Old Orchard Trail Orchard Lake Village - $1,275,000

1788 Cass Lake Front Rd Keego Harbor - $1,199,000

16203 Brook Trout Lane Northville Twp - $850,000

6087 Oak Trail West Bloomfield - $850,000

280 Canterbury Road Bloomfield Hills - $799,000

6072 N Creek Court West Bloomfield - $775,000

702 Seabiscuit Drive Troy - $499,000

1779 Heron Ridge Drive Bloomfield Hills - $399,000

1890 W Square Lake Road Bloomfield Hills - $225,000

111 Willits Street - Birmingham Unit 503 $20,000/MO & Unit 401 $7,960/MO

LOOKING FOR A

real estate agent?

LUXURY REAL ESTATE. REDEFINED. Birmingham Houze - Prime Downtown Birmingham Real Estate - Contact us for more details!

248.289.0660 tushar@tvahomes.com www.tusharvakhariya.com 348 Cranbrook Court Bloomfield Hills - $2,375,000

210 S. Old Woodward Suite 200.

Birmingham, MI 48009

­

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 where you can sign up to receive updates via email.

GAME FACE: Re-elected U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) has been tasked with a big assignment: for the 2022 election cycle – he’s been named the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, a two-year gig that is the Senate Democrats’ fundraising arm. Despite being known for having a low, “professorial” profile, he has defintely been a prodigious fundraiser, having won a return to his Senate seat this past November, raising $52 million, in the battle with the very well-funded Republican John James. Now he’ll turn his sights to the midterm elections with the hope of increasing the Democrats’ very tight margin in PETERS the Senate, 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote. While midterms often favor the party out of power, this time could be the anomaly, as several longtime Republican senators have already announced their retirements, leaving opportunities for Democrats to flip seats – and for Peters to raise his profile if he does his job right.

FAMILY FEUD: The Michigan GOP Party held its convention the weekend of February 6, and by all counts, it was a doozy. Don’t think you want to invite outgoing party chair Laura Cox and newly-elected party chair Ron Weiser to the same soiree – to say there’s bad blood between the two may be an understatement. Weiser held the top post of state party leadership and fundraising twice before, in 2009-2011, and 20172019, and decided to run for the top spot once again, this time with cochair Meshawn Maddock, leader of Woman for Trump and spouse of Michigan state Rep. Matt “Mad Dog” Maddock (R-Milford). Some say Weiser got involved because Cox didn’t deliver the state for the Republicans, and as one Republican leader said, “he needed something to divert his attention. He’s getting divorced and was battling cancer.”

Cox initially was running, as well, but dropped out in early January – only to decide she was going to battle Weiser for the spot three days before the convention (with the intent to resign shortly after winning), alleging Weiser had paid off Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot in 2018 (to the tune of $200,000) to drop out of the secretary of state race, when the party wanted a woman to run against Democrat Jocelyn Benson.

Delegates weren’t buying it. One delegate to the virtual convention said it was obvious ahead of time that “nothing good could come of this,” and that Cox had not been an easy person to get along with during her tenure. The delegate noted Grot is a longtime “gadfly who endlessly works Macomb County for delegate votes.” Fluent in Polish, the delegate said Grot is known to show up at U.S. citizenship ceremonies with small American flags and sign people up as GOP delegates. Weiser, who received 66 percent of the delegates’ votes, had the backing of the oldtime Republican power guard, and even former governor “Big John” Engler sent out emails in support of Weiser. While there was “an entire contingency” of organized opposition to Maddock, Weiser’s pressing the online flesh won the day. Word is Cox and her former attorney general husband were “pissed” at the outcome.

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE: Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer finally has a Republican challenger for 2022 – Austin Chenge, who immigrated to the U.S. in 2008 from Nigeria, and has lived in Grand Rapids since. A product and software design entrepreneur, he has never held public office, and told Michigan Public Radio he wants to “be a breath of fresh air” for Michigan, has visited every county in the state, and was motivated to run against the well-funded governor, who currently has a war chest of $3.5 million, by her handling of the COVID19 pandemic. If elected, Chenge would be the first Black governor of Michigan. While Republicans want to usurp Gov. Whitmer in 2022, as one Republican said, very few are currently willing to go to the mat against her. downtownpublications.com

DOWNTOWN

25

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Career • Family • Aging Parents

Let us SIMPLIFY your LIFE. GERIATRIC MEDICAL CARE MANAGEMENT • Senior Housing Placement • Aging in Place • Arrange Health Care and Community Services

CONVENIENT ~ COST EFFECTIVE Serving all of Michigan Since 1991

MANAGED REHABilitation Consultants, Inc.

39303 Country Club Drive, Suite A-50, Farmington Hills, MI www.managed-rehab.com | 877-614-6410 or 248-848-9120

Let the

Gentlem

Take Ca en Movers re of Yo ur Move !

248-674-3937

www.changingplacesmovers.com

Lic #: L-21897 26

LET THE GAMES BEGIN: Former Michigan House member Tim Greimel (D-Auburn Hills) moved to the city of Pontiac last July and has now thrown his hat into the ring for mayor of the city, running in the non-partisan election this year against incumbent mayor Deidre Waterman. Greimel, a lawyer who holds a masters in public policy from U of M, had spent time as a school board member and county commissioner before entering the Michigan House of Representatives after a special election in 2012, was term GREIMEL limited in 2018 and then ran and lost to Haley Stevens in the 2018 Democratic primary for the 11th congressional district. Since then, Greimel has been the legislative director and lobbyist for AFSCME Local 25.

Waterman, first elected in 2013 and again in 2017 (with WATERMAN 57 percent of the vote), has already sharpened her knives, labeling Greimel a “carpet bagger” for taking up residency in Pontiac, which had been part of his state 29th legislative district. Greimel, with a platform addressing Pontiac’s problems, is racking up endorsements since entering the race in late January, including from a number of local ministers and two county commissioners representing Pontiac.

MORE SNL FODDER: Michigan state Representative John Reilly (ROakland Township) is serving his last two years, thanks to term limits, so one would expect candidates announcing early to take his spot in the 2022 election. But Melissa Carone, the voter fraud crank who made headlines internationally (and garnered a Saturday Night Live parody, no less) with her slurred-speech testimony last December before a state House oversight panel looking into November balloting allegations? Yep. She has now formed a committee to seek Reilly’s House seat for the 46th district encompassing a smattering of northern tier Oakland communities, although there’s no telling how it will look after redistricting next year. The 33-yearCARONE old Carone, a Grosse Pointer who now claims a Lake Orion address, was billed as the star witness called by Rudy Giuliani (sans the dripping toxic hair dye this time) with claims about voting mischief at the TCF center in Detroit. Most of her testimony had earlier been ruled “not credible” by a judge. Carone reportedly completed last September a oneyear court imposed probation, although most news outlets dodged the question of what charge she had faced. The Independent in the UK says she faced charges for sending her then boyfriend’s ex-wife video of him having sex with Carone.

FAT LADY YET TO SING: If you thought the legal skirmishes over Michigan’s term limits had ended with the dismissal this past January by U.S. District Judge Janet Neff of Grand Rapids of a lawsuit challenging the 1992 voter-approved amendment to the state Constitution (Proposal B) would be the last word, think again. A bi-partisan group of 10 former state legislators, including former Oakland County state Senator Mike Kowall (R-White Lake), filed suit in November 2019 challenging term limits, called by many as among the most stringent in the nation. The judge ruled that a 1998 federal court ruling in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals was really “binding precedent” and the plaintiffs are out of luck on the most recent attempt. Although we could not connect with Kowall, we are hearing that work is already underway on an appeal of the January decision. And current state lawmakers are still discussing putting the issue on the 2022 ballot to at least relax some of the current restrictions.

FACING THE MUSIC: The time-worn idiom seems custom made for two Michigan GOP members of the U.S. House who voted in favor of impeaching ex-prez Donald Trump weeks ago. First there is Rep. Fred Upton from western Michigan, who was censured by Republican officials in both Cass County and Allegan County. The other Republican House member is Peter Meijer of the Meijer retail family, the only freshman

DOWNTOWN

03.21

:790 5. )(*2

SAVE ON CARPET HARDWOOD • LUXURY VINYL TILE CUSTOM AREA RUGS among the 10 GOP members who voted with Democrats to proceed with with impeachment. Meijer was able to withstand a west Michigan censure in the Grand Rapids based third district with an 11-11 tie vote but party leaders in Calhoun County did approve a censure. He has already picked up a primary challenger for the 2022 race due to his vote – Tom Norton, a Trump acolyte and Afghanistan veteran who polled third in the five-candidate primary race in 2020 for this congressional seat.

Meijer took 50 percent of the primary vote, no doubt aided by the familiar last name and money, and said he does not regret his impeachment vote.

TARGET PRACTICE: “Turncoat” Republicans aren’t the only politicians with targets on their back heading into 2022. According to numerous political reports, the National Republican Congressional Committee has a list of 47 Democratic incumbents they are looking to take down in next year’s midterm election as they seek to return the House of Representatives to the Republican fold – including 29 districts that either didn’t back President Joe Biden, or supported their incumbent representative by five points or less, and will look to tie them to Biden’s agenda. On the list? Both STEVENS Congresswomen Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Troy, Commerce Township, western Oakland and Wayne counties), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Rochester, Rochester Hills, northern Oakland, parts of Livingston and Ingham counties). Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and senior Pentagon official, was recently named chairwoman of the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Subcommittee within the House Committee on Homeland Security – which since the insurrection January 6, has an even greater spotlight. She also has an announced opponent for 2022, SLOTKIN Mike Detmer, who ran in the 2020 Republican primary.

He has a history of embracing armed groups like the Proud Boys – of Trump and January 6 fame. No word yet on who might want to get in the ring with Stevens.

IN-STOCK AREA RUGS UP TO 70% OFF

BLOOMFIELD HILLS 42598 Woodward Ave. 248.333.7086

28

GROSSE POINTE FARMS 18520 Mack Ave. 313.881.5225

WIPEOUT: Those in the know are concerned that another Democratic seat could be lost in 2022 – but due to redistricting. It’s known that because of population loss, Michigan will lose one seat.

While the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is hard at work, the 2020 U.S. Census has been delayed from releasing its critical information, from December 31 until at least April 30, meaning population totals and other necessary info won’t be shared with the committee – created by 2018’s “Voters Not Politicians” constitutional amendment for citizens to create fair, not LEVIN gerrymandered, districts that don’t benefit one party over another – until as late as the end of July. Maps must be in by September 17. Kurt Metzger, founder and director emeritus of Data Driven Detroit, believes Rep. Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Township, Royal Oak, Huntington Woods, much of Macomb County), is the one who will lose his seat as the committee protects the majority/minority status of both Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Brenda Lawrence.

LANDING ON HIS FEET: Former state Rep. Mike McCready (RBirmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township) has a new gig as the city of Novi’s Economic Development Director. McCready had been named Oakland County’s Director of Economic Development and Community Affairs by former county exec L. Brooks Patterson in early 2019, after he was term-limited, due to votes he had cast as a state lawmaker that were not supported by labor leaders, the newlyDemocratic board of commissioners refused to confirm McCready.

McCready withstood the change in administrations when Democrat Dave Coulter took over the executive suite, later becoming a senior business advisor. McCready said he looks forward to continuing to work with the county in his new job, and is excited to be involved with the thriving Novi community.

DOWNTOWN

03.21

KW

210SOUTH SOUTHOLD OLDWOODWARD WOODWARDAVE AVE| |SUITE SUITE200 200| |BIRMINGHAM BIRMINGHAMMI MIand | Watch our additional location in Bloomfield Hills this 210 at our for additional location in Bloomfield Hills coming thisspring! spring!

FACES Molly Beauregard ollege for Creative Studies Adjunct Professor Molly Beauregard enjoyed teaching a variety of sociology classes, and likewise, her students seemed to like what they were learning. However, after nearly a decade in education, Beauregard started noticing a change in her students and found it increasingly challenging to reach them.

"I was doing the same kind of dog-and-pony show, and they were distracted. It was clear, the students felt unhappy. I had people not really showing up for class, and I felt confused by it," recalled the Bloomfield Village resident.

One semester in particular, in a class of approximately 23 students, four told her that they had made serious attempts on their life. Her classroom observations and experiences were echoed in a then-recent national study on college students' mental health.

"On the one hand, it was validating," she said. "But, I was saddened and stunned in hearing those statistics, and I started to think a lot about the tools I used to make me feel good and healthy and to help me stay grounded. The number one thing I came to was my meditation practice."

While educators are continually searching for ways to connect with their students and create a meaningful educational experience, Beauregard, 55, actually found a way and shares it in a newly released book, Tuning the Student Mind.

Published by SUNY Press in June, her writing documents her students' intellectual and spiritual journey for a semester as they learned to meditate and use it as a reflective tool to explore and better understand themselves.

Beauregard interweaves personal stories, student writing, and her response to the students' essays to makes a case for the transformative power of consciousnesscentered education.

The book drew accolades from Deepak Chopra, a prominent self-help guru and well-known advocate for alternative medicine. In December, Chopra interviewed Beauregard about her work and posted their conversation on his YouTube channel.

People often ask Beauregard if it took her a long time to write the book. It didn't.

She completed it in about a year, but its content is based on 12 years of research and classroom implementation, starting shortly after her disheartening classroom observations.

At that time, Beauregard took a year-long teaching sabbatical. She returned to CCS with a thoroughly researched proposal to incorporate meditation into her curriculum. It took some tweaking before the school gave her the green light to teach a course titled Consciousness, Creativity, and Identity.

The class combined the spiritual and theoretical, integrating meditation and selfreflection with a conventional academic curriculum. She calls it consciousnesscentered education, and it's the basis of her book. Beauregard said Tuning the Student Mind provides an accessible, step-by-step template for other educators while inviting readers to reconnect with the joy of learning in – and beyond – the classroom.

Her book shares a title with a 30-minute, award-winning documentary created by a former student to illustrate how Beauregard’s teaching method impacts those taking her class. The film, released in 2015, aired on PBS and has helped draw readers to the book.

Although the book is geared toward students and teachers, based on the feedback she’s been getting, she found that it resonated with parents as well.

"They see their children in it, and it gives them a particular insight into the kinds of struggles their children are having, and it legitimizes their experiences of living with upset kids," she said.

C

Story: Jennifer Lovy

Photo: Laurie Tennent

praying to many gods

BY LISA BRODY

the face of faith in region While the United States Constitution mandates a separation of church and state, America remains a country founded on religious ideals. “In Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,” are the words enshrined in the Constitution, representing a foundation based upon the values of most of the world's religions.

The first settlers at Plymouth Rock were the Puritans, a group of English Protestants looking for religious freedom who sought to purify the Church of England from Roman Catholic practices, asserting that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and needed to become more Protestant, and believing they had a direct covenant with God to create the necessary reforms. When the Crown and Church of England did not agree, they sought refuge and religious freedom in the New World. A group set sail in September 1620 for Virginia, and landed in Massachusetts. Calling themselves “Pilgrims,” their landing spot is now known as Plymouth Rock.

The Puritans were a devout people, family-oriented, with a high rate of literacy. While they were the first to set their feet on American soil and establish a religious colony, in the 500 years since, millions of other 'pilgrims' seeking freedom from religious persecution, among many other reasons, have emigrated to what is now the United States, creating a multi-cultural society brimming with religious diversity.

Here in metropolitan Detroit and southeast Michigan, there is a cornucopia of religions and those who practice, from Protestants to Muslims. According to the Pew Research Center, the religious composition of adults in Michigan is 70 percent Christian, which breaks down to 25 percent Evangelical Protestant; 18 percent mainline Protestant; 18 percent Catholic; eight percent historically Black Protestant; less than one percent each Mormon, Orthodox Christian, Jehovah's Christian and other Christian faiths. The most recent Pew survey and research was conducted in 2019.

Non-Christian faiths represent about seven percent of Michigan's faithbased population, with Muslims comprising about three percent of the population; two percent Jews; one percent Buddhist; and less than one percent Hindu and less than one percent other world religions.

religious diversity in the area

LOFTS | BIRMINGHAM TWO BEDROOM LOFT HOMES COMING SOON STARTING AT $3,275/MONTH • • • • • •

European Oak Flooring in the Main Living Areas Carpeted Bedrooms Italian Cabinetry Stainless Steel Appliances Quartz Countertops In-Unit Washer and Dryer

• • • • • •

Window Blinds Separate Storage Heated Under Building Garage with Secure Parking Water and Heat Included Secure Access To Elevator Lobby for Package and Mail Deliveries Smoke-Free Building

PLEASE EMAIL FOR MORE INFORMATION: DISTRICT2051@GMAIL.COM 2051 VILLA, BIRMINGHAM, MICHIGAN 48009 • LOCATED EAST OF ETON, SOUTH OF MAPLE WWW.THEDISTRICTLOFTS.COM

Luxury Mortgage Corp.® provides Jumbo Loan Programs without Big Bank Turn Times tŚĞƚŚĞƌ LJŽƵ ĂƌĞ ƉƵƌĐŚĂƐŝŶŐ Žƌ ƌĞĮŶĂŶĐŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ Ă ũƵŵďŽ ŵŽƌƚŐĂŐĞ͕ ǁĞ ŽīĞƌ ŝŶĐƌĞĚŝďůLJ ĐŽŵƉĞƟƟǀĞ ƉƌŝĐŝŶŐ Ăƚ ŚŝƐƚŽƌŝĐĂůůLJ ůŽǁ ƌĂƚĞƐ͘ Program Highlights: Q :ƵŵďŽ ůŽĂŶ ĂŵŽƵŶƚƐ ƵƉ ƚŽ ΨϯD Q ^ƵƉĞƌ :ƵŵďŽ ůŽĂŶƐ ĂǀĂŝůĂďůĞ ƵƉŽŶ ƌĞƋƵĞƐƚ Q ůů ŽĐĐƵƉĂŶĐLJ ƚLJƉĞƐ ĂůůŽǁĞĚ Q &ŝdžĞĚ ĂŶĚ ĂĚũƵƐƚĂďůĞ ƌĂƚĞ ŵŽƌƚŐĂŐĞƐ Q ĂƐŚͲŽƵƚ ƵƉ ƚŽ ΨϱϬϬ͕ϬϬϬ A mortgage review is quick and easy. Ăůů ƚŽĚĂLJ ĨŽƌ Ă ĨƌĞĞ ŵŽƌƚŐĂŐĞ ĐŽŶƐƵůƚĂƟŽŶ͘

LuxuryMortgage

®

Gerald Brody

^ƌ͘ DŽƌƚŐĂŐĞ >ŽĂŶ KƌŝŐŝŶĂƚŽƌ ϮϵϮϬϬ EŽƌƚŚǁĞƐƚĞƌŶ ,ŝŐŚǁĂLJ͕ ^ƚĞ͘ ϯϬϬ ^ŽƵƚŚĮĞůĚ͕ D/ ϰϴϬϯϰ ͗ ϮϰϴͲϱϮϭͲϬϬϯϭ ͮ K͗ ϮϰϴͲϳϭϰͲϰϵϮϯ ED>^η ϯϵϳϲϰϮ͖ >ŝĐĞŶƐĞĚ ŝŶ ͕ &>͕ ' ͕ />͕ D/͕ E ͕ E:͕ K,͕ W ͕ ^ ͕ dy͕ s

If you are not paying the least amount possible on your monthly mortgage, we should talk.

>ŽĂŶ ĂƉƉƌŽǀĂů ŝƐ ƐƵďũĞĐƚ ƚŽ ĐƌĞĚŝƚ ĂƉƉƌŽǀĂů ĂŶĚ ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ ŐƵŝĚĞůŝŶĞƐ͘

Equal Housing Lender. ©2020 Luxury Mortgage Corp. This is not a commitment to lend. Restrictions apply. Some products may not be available in all states. NMLS # 2745. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act CRMLA # 4130164, FL Licensed Mortgage Lender #MLD454, Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee # 23006-Four Landmark Square, Suite 300, Stamford, CT 06901, Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee # 6615 by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking, 122 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1900, Chicago, Illinois 60603, (312) 793-3000, Michigan 1st and 2nd Mortgage Broker/Lender/Servicer Registrant License# FR0021279/SR0021280, License # FR0019639 and #SR0019640, Licensed Residential Mortgage Lender -New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance, North Carolina Mortgage Lender License # L-104218, Operates under an exemption from licensing; Mortgage Broker Act Mortgage Banker Exemption No. MBMB.850276.000, Operates under Ohio Residential Mortgage Lending Act Certificate of Registration No. MBMB 850043.000, Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking - Mortgage Lender License #27662, South Carolina BFI Mortgage Lender/Servicer License # MLS 2745, Texas Mortgage Banker Registration-Four Landmark Square, EQUAL HOUSING Suite 300, Stamford, CT 06901, Luxury Mortgage Corp., Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, MC-5938; Luxury Mortgage Corp.®, luxurymortgage.com® and Luxury Mortgage® are registered service marks of Luxury Mortgage Corp. All Rights Reserved.

OPPORTUNITY

34

DOWNTOWN

03.21

According to Pew, 24 percent of Michiganders report they are unaffiliated with any religious faith; three percent are atheist, meaning they do not believe in a god or gods; and three percent are agnostic, who is someone who claims neither a faith nor belief in God. Another 17 percent reported they are “nothing in particular,” the Pew study reported.

According to Pew, those categories have grown over the years, with individuals aged 18-29 representing the largest group who do not believe in a god or religion, have a college or post-graduate degree, are primarily male, and make over $100,000 a year.

While 62 percent of adults in metro Detroit said they “seldom or never” participated in prayer or a scripture group, 35 percent said they meditated at least once a week, and 59 percent reported feeling “spiritual peace and wellbeing” at least once a week. Twenty-nine percent said they turned to religion for “guidance on right and wrong,” while 51 percent said they used “common sense.” Yet almost 75 percent believe in a heaven – and 60 percent believe in a hell.

“People in times of trouble turn to religion for strength, to ground them, even when a high number of them are unaffiliated,” said noted southeast Michigan demographer Kurt Metzger director emeritus, Data Drive Detroit. “The United States is a very religious country. But what are churches doing to be relevant to their communities? What are they doing for the people who need them most? Due to the COVID pandemic, there has been increased outreach, an important factor for churches in providing food and assistance.”

“I think the Detroit metro area is a melting pot when it comes to religion,” said Randall Engle, Christianity professor in the department of religious studies at Oakland University.

u

nlike the Puritans in Massachusetts, and later in Virginia, Detroit and Michigan were first settled by French traders who were Roman Catholic, “which is why the oldest church in Detroit is St. Anne's (Basilica of Saint Anne de Detroit),” Engle said, which was founded in 1701 by French colonists and is considered the second oldest continuously operating Roman Catholic parish in the United States. As of 2010, the Roman Catholic Church was the largest individual Christian religion and had 1,717,296 members out of a Michigan population of 10 million residents. It has six diocese – Detroit, Saginaw, Marquette, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Gaylord – and one archdiocese in the state, and was the only organized religion in Michigan until the nineteenth century. According to Geoffrey Migiro of World Atlas, when Michigan gained statehood, the border of the Diocese of Detroit was redrawn to match the state's.

“It topped off at 24, 25 percent” of Christian religious adherents, and settled at 18 percent currently, said Bob Brutell, vice chairman of the Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit and vice chairman, Ecumenical Theological Seminary, as well as an adjunct professor of religious studies and history, University of Mercy Detroit. He noted while Catholic followers are diminishing, “it still is the largest aggregate church. It has over 200 parishes, with lots of resources – it has lots of buildings, giving people lots of places to meet.”

Another asset he noted is its parochial system of religious schools which can be a feeder system for worshipers. Whether the network of churches and school buildings are an asset or an increasing expense as people stay home or choose other denominations “is another issue. Some buildings are doing extremely well. St. Hugo of the Hills (in Bloomfield Hills) is an amazing parish. Our successful parishes spawn social justice units and social services,” assisting hundreds and thousands of people in the metro area, Brutell pointed out.

Engle explained that all religions, and their adherence and importance in daily life in the United States can be explained by migration patterns, which were ultimately determined by economics. An early influx of immigrants came because of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, followed by the transformation of the assembly line

and the jobs brought by Henry Ford in the early 20th century.

“All ties are to ethnicity and religiosity,” Engle said, noting that John and Horace Dodge, who started the Dodge Brothers Company, were Germans with “a strong Lutheran bent. And all the people they hired were immigrants who came with a strong mix of religions.

“Detroit starts heavily Roman Catholic,” Engle said, “but after two or three generations becomes a true melting pot.”

He explained that melting pot begins to occur after the first generation, who work to maintain their identity through their religious affiliation. “Their children meet someone often from another ethnicity, and they want to start another or join another church where they both feel comfortable. It's a typical pattern which leads to new religions and congregations,” he said.

How do many identify as belonging to one religion or another? “Two generations ago, you'd say I am because my parents were X. Today, we're finding less and less of that,” said Engle. “Today, we're finding people shopping for the goods and services that a church will provide for them rather than the label. People are less concerned with the theology than the social aspects – is it close to home, can I meet people there, will they have a softball team, will they have Sunday school for little Susie? They're trying to retain members and pay the bills to keep the lights on.”

He said sometimes he has to wonder if “they're a church or a cruise ship.”

Brutell said that in the Detroit area, as well as the U.S. as a whole, Catholics emigrated in large numbers to this country between 1880 and 1930.

“They came for economic security, which is what America represented, then once they were here they needed the U.S. identity,” Brutell said, which increased steadily between the 1930s and 1960s in metro Detroit. “The Catholic Church helped provide an American identity through its social justice teachings. It supported unions in its early years; it provided education for their children – much more than it does today. It offered health care. There were hospital systems – the Ascension system, Providence, St. Joe's. It was quite a social system that Catholics depended upon, and of course, the rituals which any religious person depended upon. It regulated their lives – Sunday morning mass, weekday worship.”

According to the Archdiocese of Detroit, there are about 1.3 million Catholics in southeast Michigan, with 218 parishes, 86 Catholic schools, and five Catholic colleges and seminaries.

“As mainline churches diminish, who is picking up the baton for social services that those religious institutions provided?” Brutell asked, noting it is a difficult lift for many non-profits.

Engle said the immigrant melting pot experience is what led to a rich and diverse collection of churches throughout the metropolitan area over the last couple hundred years for many religious denominations, and it is a phenomenon which continues as assimilation continues among ethnic groups and each generation get further from its immigrant base. Today, he said, there are over 26,000 different denominations of Christianity, which can broadly be classified among three classifications: Orthodox, which include the eastern Christian religions such as Greek or Russian Orthodox; Roman Catholic, “which is one big monolith which has the pope as its leader;” and Protestants, who broke off from the Catholic Church after Reformation and there “are a gazillion different ones 'because we want to do it differently but we want to do it our way.'”

Locally, it is difficult to determine where exactly members of various religious groups reside today because not only has data from the 2020 U.S. Census not yet been released, but it did not include a question on religion so religious data questions will not be answered.

Chaldean Catholics are a separate branch of the Catholic Church, with Weam Namou, executive director of the Chaldean Cultural Center noting, “there's some differences in our faith.”

Chaldeans are Iraqi Catholics, speak and pray in Aramaic, and look to preserve the Aramaic language. Certain holidays are different. “There's such historic significance to our lineage to biblical Mesopotamia,” where current-day Iraq is, said Namou. “In our church, we understand all the history and background. It's our responsibility to tell our story.”

Birmingham FootCare Specialists Physicians and Surgeons of the Foot Foot and ankle surgery • Heel pain • Plantar fasciitis • Nail problems

We are open during the Coronavirus pandemic with limited hours.

Please call to make your appointment.

• Neuromas • Fractures • Bunions and hammer toes • Diabetic foot care

New: Platelet Rich Plasma Injections now in office!

Foot and ankle surgery | Cracked heels and fingers Fractures | Orthotics | Ingrown nails | Warts

Laser treatment for nail fungus offered by

w

www.cynosure.com

Improvement in Clear Nails birminghamfootcarespecialists.com DrSchafferInfo@gmail.com

CALL

248-594-3338

The last count for the Chaldean community, from the 2010 Census, was there were 180,000 Chaldeans in metro Detroit, “but we estimate it is much larger. Sterling Heights has the largest percentage of Chaldeans in Michigan.”

Many estimate the Chaldean community currently as between 250,000 and 300,000. Why so much bigger than the 2010 Census?

“In 2014, ISIS forced the Chaldeans to flee Iraq (or be slaughtered in Iraq),” said Namou. “It is believed that Michigan now has the largest number of Chaldeans in the world because of all the tens of thousands of refugees who fled all over the world. Before 2014, we were second after Iraq. It's why Michigan being our home, it's so important to have accurate numbers.”

She said now Michigan is the only area which has cultural organizations, a chamber of commerce and a support system for refugees, immigrants and those who have been here for a few generations. There are also many Chaldeans in California, among a few other states, but their community is strictly based around the church.

While in Iraq, she said Chaldeans were a minority, “we had many Muslim friends,” she said she sees the many of the younger generation seeking a stronger identity, both culturally and religiously.

“Many younger people are becoming more connected to the church – I notice it more with those who are born here than immigrants. They almost feel like they're protecting it because of what happened with ISIS – that someone tried to destroy them and their culture and they want to preserve them,” Namou explained.

But she worries about some young people who may not fit into the traditional boxes – which Catholicism is not often open nor flexible about, something Brutell also pointed out. They both noted that “spiritual” to traditionalists is not considered “religious.”

“Some young people who feel they are outcasts, gay, that they don't belong – but who want the traditional aspect, to belong – they are dying,” Namou lamented. “The community they want to be embraced by they feel rejects them. For someone who has another path as everyone else – we're all a nation of immigrants, new to this east/west path. We need to embrace God, have a personal relationship with God, however they get there.”

“The issue for Catholics is young people are not joining the Catholic Church; some are only nominally willing to call themselves Catholic,” said Brutell. “They don't want to join an institution that tells them what to do. The Catholic Church does not reflect many of their views, especially with LBTGQ issues.

“Catholic young women may not oppose the Catholic Church and priesthood and that the church is male, but they don't warm to it,” he continued. “They see other churches that are welcoming to women in leadership, LGBTQ issues, like the Episcopal Church. I think Pope Francis will have an effect; he has brought a sense of openness and collegiality – maybe not as much change as possibility.”

“The increase in younger people seeking out religion is because they're seeking connectivity,” said Oakland University's Engle. “After class, once many of my students learn I am a man of faith, many of my students want to talk to me about religion and belief. They'll say, 'I'm Lutheran – what does that mean? I'm Methodist – what does that mean?' They've grown up in a world that says the truth is whatever you want it to be and they're intrigued.”

Demographer Metzger suggests that many young people, especially those with lower incomes, may turn to religion for solace, the need to be with other people, and because they think religion will save them.

“The lower the income, the higher the involvement with religion,” Metzger said. “When you're getting kicked day in, day out, there's systemic racism, over the years, people who just don't have the options day-to-day because living is so tough – the church becomes so important because they believe the next life will be better – God is there. It probably will not get better here on earth.

“Religion gives them hope and strength and some avenue to feel better. They develop connections with others believing the same thing,” he said. “People turn towards it in a country that is already religious. The unaffiliated may not feel connected to any specific

denomination, but there is an increase in prayer for their family and self, even if it's not in any formal sense.”

According to the 2010 Census, the largest Protestant denomination in Michigan was United Methodist with over 228,521 adherents, followed by the Evangelical-Lutheran Church and the Lutheran-Church-Missouri Synod.

Lutherans have been in Detroit since around 1820, with the first recognized Lutheran sermon by Rev. Frederich Schmid preaching in a carpenter shop on the site of the former Ford Auditorium. He later established the German Protestant Church, also called the German Lutheran Church, in 1837. Since 1873, it's been known as Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church.

The Michigan Area Conference of Methodists is one of 54 Annual Conferences of The United Methodist Church in the U.S., and one of 10 members of the North Central Jurisdiction, representing more than 830 local churches with approximately 130,000 members, led by Bishop David Bard.

m

ethodism is historically related to Protestantism, and developed as a revival movement within the Church of England during the 18th century, and according to the BBC, were named Methodists because of "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith." Besides evangelism, Methodism emphasizes charity and support of the sick, poor and afflicted through works of mercy.

The Right Rev. Dr. Bonnie A. Perry was elected head of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, covering southeast and south central Michigan, in June 2019, making her the first woman and first openly gay priest elected as an Episcopal priest in Michigan. The diocese includes 77 churches with approximately 16,000 members as of 2019.

Perry explained the Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican communion and “comes down from the Church of England, but because the Crown is the head, and after the Revolutionary War, the Archbishop of Canterbury wanted nothing to do with Americans,” as well as Americans belief in a separation of church and state, creating the Episcopal faith, where bishops were elected. “Most of those who wrote the Constitution were Episcopal,” she noted.

“Part of my call – and why I was elected to be here is because there is a need to be progressive,” Perry said. “While we're upholders to our values we cannot be paralyzed by the anesthesia of nostalgia. We're not sidestepping the really important questions – which is, how is the teaching of Jesus Christ relevant to these times that are wretched, terrible, amazing, cracked open? White people are finally getting an idea of racism, white supremacy, white privilege – what does Jesus have to say about this? What does Jesus have to say in the midst of this pandemic? What do I do with his teachings in this moment of time?”

As Perry determines her, and her flocks' – messages and responses, what is troubling her is the ability, and inability, to reach out in this time of crisis. It is a theme heard from numerous religious groups – in this time of where a pandemic is causing illness, death, isolation and economic upheaval, many people are turning to their religion for solace – at a time when the doors to congregations, churches, temples must be closed to safeguard congregants' health.

“Any time the world cracks open, people say, 'What about God, what about religion,'” Perry said. “There are a number of people, both young and old, turning to the religion. Some because they have services online and they can participate in pajamas with a cup of coffee. But religion by its nature, especially Christianity, is a communal experience.”

She said she does not take her personal preference to worship with fellow congregants over public health.

“So our buildings aren't closed. We're still worshipping, but we can't do Communion over Zoom. Communion is insanely important, but we can't touch each other,” she pointed out. “Ash Wednesday is coming up –

Elaina Ryder REALTOR®

Cindy Kahn REALTOR®

An Extraordinary Agent Providing Extraordinary Results #1 TOP PRODUCER FOR 2020 AT HALL & HUNTER REALTORS 248.568.7309 | Cindy@CindyKahn.com | CindyKahn.com

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP

BLOOMFIELD HILLS

860 Vaughan Road | $5,999,000

3950 Franklin Road | $4,199,000

348 Cranbrook Court | $2,449,000

6 Bedrooms | 7.1 Baths | 11,008 Total Sq. Ft.

5 Bedrooms | 6.3 Baths | 10,679 Total Sq. Ft.

5 Bedrooms | 5.2 Baths | 8,181 Total Sq. Ft.

NE W

PR ICE

BLOOMFIELD HILLS

BIRMINGHAM

BIRMINGHAM

BIRMINGHAM

1022 Waterfall Court | $1,995,000

179 Suffield Avenue | $1,199,000

750 Forest Avenue (Unit #401) | $1,150,000

3 Bedrooms | 3.1 Baths | 3,893 Total Sq. Ft.

4 Bedrooms | 2.2 Baths | 4,682 Total Sq. Ft.

2 Bedrooms | 2.1 Baths | 1,885 Total Sq. Ft.

BIRMINGHAM

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP

ROYAL OAK

130 Lake Park Drive | $1,099,000

5587 Pine Brooke Court | $799,000

101 Curry Ave (Unit 618) | $339,000

4 Bedrooms | 3.1 Baths | 4,309 Total Sq. Ft.

2 Bedrooms | 2.1 Baths | 2,710 Total Sq. Ft.

1 Bedrooms | 1.1 Baths | 1,108 Total Sq. Ft.

442 S. Old Woodward Avenue Birmingham, MI 48009 HallandHunter.com

EVERY PRICE POINT, SAME SUPERIOR SERVICE

CINDY OBRON KAHN 248.568.7309 | Cindy@CindyKahn.com | CindyKahn.com

1439 Kirkway Road | Bloomfield Township | $3,999,000

DesRosiers masterpiece situated on over an acre enjoys a commanding setting with panoramic views of Island Lake. Offering a perfect combination of Eastern & Western architecture with timeless elegance & privacy together with modern design and luxury. Wonderful use of stone, glass, custom woodwork, lighting & lavish finishes along with dramatic ceilings throughout. Sophisticated kitchen features state of the art appliances, incredible cabinetry, large island & multiple eating areas. 1st floor master suite with expansive dressing room & relaxing spa-like master bathroom. The above grade lower level walkout is highlighted by lake views, a full bar with open family room, exercise room, steam/sauna, & 3 additional finely appointed ensuite bedrooms. Additional features include: heated driveway, heated floors, tiered copper roof, zen garden. With gracious flow ideal for entertaining, this warm family home offers an opportunity to own an incredible lakefront retreat with $8M+ into its creation.

TOP AGENT 2012-2019

AREA TOP PRODUCER 2008-2020

TOP 1% OF REALTORS® NATIONALLY

To continue offering our products at no charge and continue to grow in terms of what we want to offer to readers, we are looking for community support.

SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM. DONATE TO DOWNTOWN

Any size donation, no matter how small, is appreciated. But we have created specific tiers of support, some of which come with perks in return.

NEWSMAGAZINE. Donations can be made by scanning QR code to the left or go to our website.

All donors will be acknowledged by name (unless you prefer to remain anonymous) on a Supporters Page on our website for the next year and every six months in a printed edition of Downtown newsmagazine. Support on all levels is essential to our long-term success and growth.

We thank you in advance for your support of our effort to bring you quality local journalism each month. www.downtownpublications.com 40

DOWNTOWN

03.21

which is so important, but this year we can't touch anyone. Jesus said the Sabbath was created for people, not people for the Sabbath. This year, I have never been so aware of our own mortality.”

Rabbi Asher Lopatin, executive director of Jewish Community Relations Council and a part-time Orthodox rabbi, said that he has been hearing from rabbis in the Jewish community that many are experiencing a desire for connection from congregants, but with many temples and synagogues closed, people are feeling isolated and disconnected.

“Some are meeting by Zoom or outside, such as in different backyards in Huntington Woods, in small groups, for worship,” Lopatin said. During nicer weather, some local rabbis held low-key small family services in local parks. “Rabbis are working very hard on connecting with their congregants. Some are doing a better job of it than others. Temple Israel and some other Reform congregations are sending packages (to families). They're reaching out to their congregants, letting them know it's not about a building. The strength is in community – not in edifices.

“Luckily, in Detroit, there are great rabbis and they're really hustling,” he said.

As of the most recent survey conducted by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, there are approximately 70,000 Jews living in metro Detroit, most of whom are in Oakland County.

Lopatin said, “Statistically, right now, it's an hour-glass. The community is aging – as well as there are a lot of young couples, young families, singles. It does feel like there are a lot of millennials moving back and growing that demographic.

“The middle – that 30-60 year old demographic – is getting squeezed,” he said of the local Jewish community. “Hopefully the younger demographic will grow into that middle and with the growth and connection to the city of Detroit, and with Quicken Loans hiring, it will stabilize.”

He said he does see younger Jews seeking connection, whether religiously or through Jewish-identified organizations and non-profits.

Judaism's focus on spirituality – in a time of questioning during the pandemic as well as the nationwide trend toward spirituality, whether via religion, yoga, meditation, candles, or other forms – is guiding some to embrace a religion they had drifted from or never really known.

What is the difference between religion and spirituality? Primarily, religion is an organized institution, with a professional in a leadership position carrying out specified rituals emphasizing the core foundations and beliefs of the religion, which lay out the foundation for how one's life should be lived. As a community sharing the same beliefs, a religion can function as a social network, providing guidance, rituals and ways for observance.

Spirituality is more esoteric – it is a focus on one's soul and inner self.

Being spiritual involves holding one's own personal beliefs and practices, including the search for the purpose of life, and each person's definition can change or vary throughout their lifetime. It can assist someone in combating life's challenges and allow them to connect with someone greater than themselves. One is being part of a group; the other is individual. Religion and spirituality are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

“Spirituality is a critical part of Judaism. Prayer and Judaism is spiritual. Judaism has to be spiritual to be meaningful – Jewish scholars have been saying that forever,” Lopatin said.

Perry, of the Episcopal Church, believes religion and spirituality are naturally entwined, and not mutually exclusive.

“Of course you can be religious and spiritual,” she said. “Religion is just interwoven, just laced through by spirituality. But, like the essence of anything, it not the entirety. The part you're missing is the wraparound of the community.”

Bishop Edgar Vann of the Second Ebenezer Baptist Church in Detroit, which has about 5,000 members, lauds the role of faith in the African American community and the role the church plays in that, but discounts any sentimentality towards spiritualism.

“Faith is very central to the African American community. It's a complete microcosm of African American life,” Vann noted, whether from Black banks, Black newspapers, Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), or other businesses. “They've all been connected

in history to the church. The Civil Rights movement came out of the church.

“Churches in the African American community are called to be more than a beacon of light for faith – but a beacon of light for life. I have never, and cannot ignore, the struggles in life because the church is a microcosm of life the African American community. It's not just a house of worship – it's a symbol of life in the African American community,” he emphasized.

As for those who seek a spiritual connection? “There are people who do yoga for health reasons but they're not chanting and connecting with God,” Vann said. “I don't perceive it as a replacement for faith. There are people, especially in the younger generation, who are questioning their faith, searching. Most people intuitively have a sense that there is something higher than themselves.

“Rational people, even if they are not a believer in organized religion, believe there is a higher power. At some point, people question and may not get to the rostrum of faith I have gotten to, but still ask, 'How did the world start?' You can't have a building without an architect. The word 'faith' presupposes you'll never get all the answers – but we believe faith says 'I believe to the point of knowing even if I have doubt and fears – but I believe beyond my doubts and fears,'” Vann explained.

Politics cannot be extricated from life, faith or leadership within the African American church, Vann said, noting the church is so central to overall life in the African American community people look for leadership in politics, social justice and civil rights.

t

he First Baptist Church in Birmingham, like Grace Baptist Church in Birmingham, are smaller neighborhood congregations “committed to being good neighbors to all we encounter. We recognize that all people have wounds to be healed, gifts to offer, questions to ask, and stories to share, regardless of affiliation, gender, race, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, finances, or ability. We are a community of people who have chosen love over judgement and hostility,” states the website for the First Baptist Church.

Mormons, a name members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints are generally trying to get rid of, have about 45,000 members in Michigan, with about 20,000 in metro Detroit, split between two “stakes” or regions of 10 to 14 congregations. The two metro Detroit stakes are the Bloomfield Hills stake and the Westland stake.

The religion is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah; there are approximately 6.6 million Mormons in the United States and 16.3 million worldwide, achieved through proselytizing through two-year missions by young members, primarily males. The religion was founded in 1820 in upstate New York by Joseph Smith. Adherents self-identify as Christians, although some Christians do not consider them Christians, including Oakland University's Engle – “if a cult adds another text, they add another text. Then some Christians would say they are a cult because they follow a text in addition to the Bible,” he said.

With the Book of Mormon, their separate sacred text, they believe that Christ's church was restored through Joseph Smith and is guided by living prophets and apostles. Mormons have a health code which prohibits alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, and addictive substances. They tend to be very family-oriented and have strong connections across generations and with extended family, reflective of their belief that families can be sealed together beyond death. They also have a strict law of chastity, requiring abstention from sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage and fidelity within marriage, though they are accepting of LGBT individuals and relationships.

“All of our leaders are lay leaders,” said Rachel Clawson of the Westland Stake. “Active members do all of the work. The church is comprised of active members or inactive members. When you are active, you are very active – you're there and you are involved.

“I know people in other religions who go to a church on a holiday –

ŖĆěà űĩŖŅ Ģäū Ăĩġä Áő ěĩĩġƈ äěà DŖĢő ěŖÙ 'ʼnőÁőäʼn ÁĢà äŰłäŅĆäĢÚä ěĆùä ūĆőĂ Áěě őĂä ʼnłÁŅėěä ÁĢà Ĕĩű űĩŖΎŪä ÁěūÁűʼn ĆġÁúĆĢäà͠

Zg ' 'a Z¯ gZ#ͥ

N .

RD

RD WA OD WO

E.

TO NG

LO NG

BLOOMFIELD OPEN HUNT

LA KE

Gated community I NS KE

OPDYKE RD.

ONLY ̮ LOTS REMAIN!

STONYCROFT HILLS GOLF CLUB

Bloomfield Hills schools Customize a plan and start today Work directly with your architect, designer or builder

E. AV

Included: Membership to Bloomfield Open Hunt Club

Build a ÙäÁŖőĆùŖě ěĆùä͠ Begin constructing the life

For a personal tour of available property or for more information regarding Bloomfield Hunt Club Estates, contact us at 248.644.7600 or visit our website.

you’ve always imagined at

B L O O M F I E L D H U N T C L U B E S TAT E S . C O M

Bloomfield Hunt Club Estates.

All Brokers Protected.

eye exams

vision correction

medical eyecare

Work with a top performer in Michigan.

Tim Smith and Lynn Wiand are dedicated to helping individuals achieve their homeownership dreams. Whether you’re planning to buy or build a home, they can help you cut through the complexity and find a loan option to meet your unique needs.

Tim Smith Mortgage Loan Officer NMLS #533266 Timothy.Smith@tcfbank.com 248-770-3717 timsmithpreapproval.com

Lynn Wiand Mortgage Loan Officer NMLS #394920 Lynn.Wiand@tcfbank.com 248-228-4805 tcfbank.com/lynnwiand

©2021 TCF National Bank. Member FDIC. All loans subject to credit approval and program guidelines. All rights reserved.

42

DOWNTOWN

03.21

not in our church,” said Clawson. “You're either pretty involved or you've separated yourself from the religion.”

Clawson acknowledged that “the vast majority of people are stable, if not wealthy. They're successful, but they live very humbly,” primarily because the Church stresses higher education “and staying out of debt and having a reserve of food for emergencies or if you lose a job.”

“Metro Detroit is a beautiful mosaic of many people,” noted Petra Alsoofy, outreach and partnership manager, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. She said there are between three and seven million American Muslims, with 2.75 percent of Michigan's population Muslim – or 275,000 people, approximately.

She explained the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding acts similarly to the Pew Research Institute for the Muslim community in America, which shows the American Muslim community is “the most ethnically diverse community because it is not one ethnic group. The largest percentage, 28 percent, are African Americans – which most Americans do not even associate as Muslim.

Nineteen percent are White; 23 percent are Asian, Chinese or Japanese; only 14 percent are Arabs or of Middle Eastern descent; and eight percent are Hispanics, and the largest growing community.”

a

lsoofy said their research shows there is no difference between younger practitioners and older ones in terms of religiosity – “how important Muslims believers see their faith. We don't see a difference between young and old.

“When we speak of American Muslims, about half are native born and half are immigrants,” she explained. “It's a very young community – 23 percent are between 18-29.”

Dr. Dima El-Gamal, education liaison for the interfaith committee and member of the civic engagement committee at Muslim Unity Center in Bloomfield Township, has found it to be a “home away from home, and that is a feeling for a lot of members. Before COVID, many members of the community would attend the center many times of the week for many events – not just to pray, but to attend a lecture, to play basketball, for Friday night activities, Saturday night dinners. It is an integral part of our life. Now, the younger at heart but older at age are missing out on the spiritual connections.”

From their research, which also looks at other religions as well as Islam, Alsoofy said there is a tie between religion and politics.

“For most people their religion, their faith – for Muslims, Jews, Evangelical Christians – they have a prism of morality they are looking through to determine what is right, what's wrong,” she explained.

Similarly is economics, such as poverty and how practitioners think about poverty.

“Religion is attached to how they view those who are less fortunate and who they believe should be helping,” Alsoofy said.

“Religion helps you define if you view who's fault it is if someone is poor and why. Different faith communities define it differently, with 65 percent of Jews and 61 percent of Muslims believing societal circumstances cause poverty. Only 21 percent of White Evangelicals agree.”

She said one of the ties they can correlate to how civically engaged someone is “the stronger your faith identity is, across the board, the more civically engaged you will be. For American Muslims, more frequent mosque attendance is connected to being more likely to register to vote, to vote, to attend a town hall meeting and to be civically engaged.”

To the question of “Because of my religious faith I have meaning and purpose in my life,” 75 percent of White Evangelicals agreed; 63 percent of American Muslims; 54 percent of Protestants; 37 percent of Catholics; 34 percent of the general population; and 33 percent of Jews.

Members of Eastern religions, such as Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs, live in metro Detroit, although not in large numbers. According to the 2010 census, there are about 16,100 Asian Indians in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Livingston counties.

“As the IT revolution in the last 20 years has brought people, skilled tech workers, from India, many have made the long-term decision to stay here, so the large Indian community has grown. Others have just completed their masters – who knows if they'll stay, but while they're here, they're utilizing the temples,” said Narayanaswamy Sankagiri, chair of the outreach committee for the Bharatiya Temple of Metropolitan Detroit in Troy.

“The concept of a Hindu temple is it is essentially an energy center.

Once the energy center is consecrated the deities must perform worship there twice a day, morning and night. When that takes place, the public can participate,” Sankagiri said.

Worldwide, there are 1.2 billion Hindus, with over 94 percent living in India, a religion based in spiritualism, atheism and multiple deities.

Prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include Dharma – ethics/duties; samsara – the continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth; Moksha– liberation from the cycle of life, death and rebirth; and various yoga paths and practices.

“There are 10 to 12 Hindu temples in metro Detroit; ours is the oldest and largest,” Sankagiri said, with a little more than 1,000 membershippaying families and others attending at other times. “At various times the temple serves 2,000 to 3,000 families.

“Our temple was imagined as a democratic institution serving multiple deities and various demographic variations,” he said. “While it is practically impossible to cater to everyone, the temple was envisioned to be for the seven main deities.”

He said atheism, the non-belief in God, has always been a part of Hinduism since ancient time, as has spiritualism.

“The goal of Hindu life is to reach liberation – Hindus believe that this is not just one life but that every living being goes through an infinite series of births and deaths. The goal of human life is to break out of this because every birth and death is very painful,” Sankagiri explained. “Any creature has the possibility of breaking out, but the human body gives the greater possibility to be liberated, so I must do everything possible in this life.

“Devotion is one of them, and that is where the temple comes in.

Temple ritual is a practice of devotion,” he said.

Different yogas – some unlike Americans' perception of a physical yoga practice – create a path of knowledge and teachings of those who have reached liberation, “so those who do not need to do the temple rituals, they're still following the spiritual path,” Sankagiri said.

Raman Singh, a board member of the Sikh foundation, attends Gurdwara Sahib Mata Tripta in Plymouth. She said the Sikh religion is similar to Hindu and other Eastern religions philosophically, “but we believe you can only achieve liberation in this life, and believe human life is the only one that can. It is focused on the equality of all human beings, with all castes and classes being equal. We call gender equality Oneness. We have our own unique scripture that begins with the word One, for the oneness of all creation.”

Singh said there are about 3,000 Sikh in metro Detroit and 5,000 in Michigan.

Unlike Hindu, Sikh is a monotheistic religion that originated in the Punjab region of India, where there are about 22 million Sikh.

The identifying uniform for observant men is a turban and beard because observant men and women cannot cut their hair, Singh explained. “For Sikh, it's an article of faith. Many women also wear a turban but it's not as common,” she said. Because of this adherence, Sikh men cannot serve in the U.S. military.

Other articles of faith are prayer and meditation, which can be done by attending a temple and being part of a community. Most Sikh are vegetarians, and tithing 10 percent of their income or time to charity is an expectation.

“Spiritualism is our purpose in life – to connect with the One, because we believe God resides within each one of us,” Singh said.

GRAND TRANSFORMATIONS SERVING HOMEOWNERS & PROFESSIONALS

KASTLERCONSTRUCTION.COM 248.655.5580

VISIONARYCABINETRY.COM 248.850.7178

Stunning Custom New Build: 5 bedrooms , 3. 5 Bath, over 4,600 square feet of luxury Award Winning Home: 2019 Lakeshore Parade of Homes Award

NEW CONSTRUCTION | HOME ADDITIONS | LUXURY REMODELING Visit our 2,500+ square foot showroom at 425/429 S. Main Street in Clawson, MI

FACES

Erin Noël hile working in the retail industry for over a decade, Erin Noël got to know celebrity stylists and costume designers. After heading west in 2008 for a job opportunity, she would later assist celebrity stylist Joseph Cassell for two years before a bad car accident a few years ago forced her to focus on recovering from her injuries.

During that time, her position had been filled and she wanted more than the other position available. So, she began building her own brand, although that was not her original intention. “It was a lot of work and I fell into it because of my circumstances,” said Noël, who grew up in Bloomfield Hills and Beverly Hills and attended Groves High School.

“I come from a family of five kids and I really thrive in an environment with people. I’m an extrovert, so I had to switch my mindset. I didn’t need to work on a team to have interaction. What I was looking for was already inside me as an entrepreneur.”

Now on her own, the Los Angeles-based celebrity fashion stylist /creative consultant and designer can find inspiration on Instagram, Pinterest or a piece of art in a museum. Even a paint color can translate into fashion.

Though Noël stays current, she doesn’t follow trends. “I’m more concerned about how something looks on someone’s body than trying to fit them into a trendy outfit,” she said. “I love to take an aspect of a trend and put my own spin on it.”

Favorite moments include the iHeartRadio event where she was dressing Tanya Rad, co-host with Ryan Seacrest on KIIS FM, and singer-songwriter Jordin Sparks, a former American Idol winner.

“It was a really fun day running back and forth and catering to both clients (in a venue) where Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers were performing,” she said. “You get to be a part of all of these experiences in

W

places you would normally not get to be.”

She admires her clients like Candace Cameron Bure of Full House fame who she considers a friend like many others. “She knows who she is and she knows her brand. Whether she’s producing or acting, she’s always very focused and driven,” she said.

Noël, whose client list includes Peta Murgatroyd, Olivia Holt and Madison Beer, said her retail background taught her how to dress different body types and put outfits together. She describes her personal style as classic and feminine. “I like to have a statement-making sleeve or piece of jewelry,” she said.

In her field, the pressure never ends. “When it intensifies, I just roll with it,” said Noël. She enjoys all aspects of her work, from lifestyle and brand images to red carpet events and editorial assignments.

Since her industry came to a full stop early on in the pandemic, she feels very fortunate to be working. “It taught me that I don’t need to stress as much as I did before and that there are other things I can do with my gift.”

Her recent loungewear collaboration with Elegantees highlights their mission in Nepal to help survivors of human trafficking and provide them with employment at their sewing centers.

“You don’t have to shoot your shot into one place when you can dip your toes in other industries,” said Noël who has a style blog on her website (erinnoelcreative.com) and shares info on Instagram (@erinnoella). “What I love the most is developing relationships. I get to meet so many different people.”

Story: Jeanine Matlow

Jeff Barker | 248.425.6000 | Jeff@Jeff Ba rkerHomes.com | w w w. Jeff Ba rkerHomes.com

Matt Barker | 248.807.2232 | Matt@MattBarkerHomes.com | www.MattBarkerHomes.com

275 S. Old Woodward Ave, Birmingham, MI 48009

WHY LINE 5 MATTERS GREAT LAKES INFRASTRUCTURE COULD BE THREATENED

BY STACY GITTLEMAN

Displayed on license plates and travel websites, perhaps the most emblematic symbol of Michigan’s connection to the Great Lakes is the Mackinac Bridge. Below the span that is nearly 30,000 feet long churns the clear blue waters of the Straits of Mackinac. The waters feature dramatic temperature fluctuations and turbulent currents ten times the power of Niagara Falls that push water back and forth between Lakes Michigan and Huron.

According to the Great Lakes Commission, these five inland seas, boasting 4,530 miles of coastline, constitute 21 percent of the entire planet’s fresh surface water. They provide drinking water and sustenance to 48 million people in the Great Lakes Basin and provide the backbone for a $6 trillion regional economy that would be one of the largest in the world if it stood alone as a country.

Overall, the churning currents of the Straits of Mackinac provide water for millions of Michigan residents and is a critical wildlife habitat of fish, fowl, and other native species. For Michiganders, it is a part of our natural heritage, a place to vacation, hike and explore.

The waters of Lakes Huron and Michigan, and its stewardship, according to government and environmental officials, is part of the public trust of the people of Michigan. But deep in that water rests an aging threat that has the potential to cause one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history: the Enbridge Line 5 easement.

we MAKE Cannabis A

You know a lot about cannabis, but did you know WKDW %5((=( KDV SUHPLXP ÁRZHU D KXJH VHOHFWLRQ RI EUDQGV D OR\DOW\ SURJUDP ZLWK UHZDUGV DQG FREE delivery with orders over $20?

Now you know.

CLICK OR CALL

place your order

Pickup or delivery

breeze.us | 833-927-3393 | @breezemichigan *ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS MAY APPLY. ALL DELIVERIES ARE FREE. A MINIMUM $20 ORDER REQUIRED. DELIVERY LIMITED TO SELECT AREAS. 3/($6( 6(( 285 :(%6,7( )25 025( ,1)2 )RU XVH E\ LQGLYLGXDOV \HDUV RI DJH RU ROGHU RQO\ .HHS RXW RI UHDFK RI FKLOGUHQ ,W LV LOOHJDO WR GULYH D PRWRU YHKLFOH ZKLOH XQGHU WKH LQÁXHQFH RI FDQQDELV 1DWLRQDO 3RLVRQ &RQWURO &HQWHU

ince Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order on November 21, 2020, to terminate operation of the easement of Enbridge Line 5 by May 21, 2021, Michigan has been embroiled in a legal battle with energy transport giant Enbridge to keep it open. Every province leader in Canada has written to Whitmer to reverse her decision because they purport that thousands of Canadian jobs are on the line and the closure could result in a trade war between the two countries. Canadians have even called upon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to evoke a 1977 agreement between President Jimmy Carter and Trudeau’s father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, which put limits on transit pipeline actions that may harm energy supply in either country.

Additionally, Whitmer’s order to cease operations of Line 5 does not cancel the $500 million deal the former Governor Rick Snyder administration made with Enbridge to drill and build a concrete tunnel submerged 100 feet into the bedrock of the straits to house a Line 5 replacement tunnel to pump fossil fuels for the next century. On January 29, Michigan Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) granted Enbridge a wastewater permit, and on February 4, the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority, charged to oversee the construction and operation of Enbridge's Line-5 tunnel project, approved additional structural engineering contracts for the project. The construction and oversight when completed will be under the auspices of the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority. Enbridge will use its own funds to build and maintain the tunnel for the duration of its life.

Beginning in 1949, Canadian-based Enbridge Energy built an oil pipeline infrastructure network 17,127 miles across North America, including 8,627 miles in the United States, and 8,500 miles in Canada.

Line 5 is part of Enbridge’s 645-mile-long Lakehead network, which carries up to 540,000 barrels – or 22.68 million gallons – including light crude oil, light synthetic crude, and natural gas liquids (NGLs), which are refined into propane per day from western Canada to refineries in the United States and Ontario. It begins in Superior, Wisconsin, and runs to Sarnia, Ontario, traversing parts of northern Michigan and Wisconsin.

Some Michigan drilling companies use Line 5 to transport the oil they produce. That product is introduced into the pipeline at Lewiston, Michigan.

In 1953, Enbridge constructed a 4.5-mile twin easement of Line 5 that splits into twin, 20-inch pipelines and runs along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac. Back then, cars had fins and gasoline cost 29 cents a gallon.

The country was three years shy of President Dwight Eisenhower passing the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 which made way for the Interstate Highway system and revved up America’s car culture.

While manufacturers, downstate business owners and some in the Upper Peninsula assert that keeping Line 5 running is vital to Michigan’s energy infrastructure, scientists and environmentalists, and now the executive branch of Michigan’s state government, say Enbridge is in violation of environmental and safety regulations and it is just a matter of time before the pipe ruptures.

If one wants to understand the potential hazard in the Straits, it is helpful to back up about a decade to a disaster that occurred in a different part of Michigan along another Enbridge pipeline. In July of 2010, Enbridge Line 6B ruptured and leaked along the Kalamazoo River in Marshall, spilling one million gallons of crude oil into Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River. This disaster prompted the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) in 2012 to release its comprehensive document Sunken Hazard. Extensively researched by NWF’s Jeff Alexander and Beth Wallace, Sunken Hazard revealed that Enbridge had more than 800 spills in North America between 1999 and 2010, dumping nearly 6.8 million gallons of oil. Though there has never been a spill in the portion of Line 5 that passes under the Straits, the report documented 33 spills since 1968 along Line 5 in Wisconsin and Michigan involving 1.1 million gallons.

According to the report, only one of those spills was discovered by Enbridge’s leak detection systems.

“We have to look no further than the Enbridge Line 6B disaster, and Enbridge’s slow remediation and cleanup response, and the nuisance it inflicted on the neighbors who lived along 6B, to understand why Line 5 is a ticking time bomb,” said David Schwab, retired environmental scientist with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and leader of one of the most comprehensive studies to examine what an oil spill in the Straits would entail.

S

In 2016, the Water Center at the University of Michigan released a study led by Schwab, who ran over 800 computer model scenarios to predict what would happen should Line 5 rupture under the Straits.

Schwab studied how the Great Lakes would be impacted should Line 5 leak 5,000, 10,000 or 25,000 barrels of oil. He came to one stark conclusion: the Straits of Mackinac is the worst place in the world for an oil spill.

“If a spill were to happen anywhere else in the Great Lakes, it would move offshore and be dispersed before it could have an impact on beaches or wildlife,” explained Schwab. “But if Line 5 ruptures, the strong currents could take the spill and damage and has a variable of 700 miles of United States and Canadian shoreline along Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.”

Schwab concluded that a spill of 25,000 gallons would cause environmental degradation to more than 150 miles of shoreline. At highest risk are areas considered Pure Michigan for their natural beauty and the economic powerhouse of tourism dollars they bring in. They include the Bois Blanc Islands, Mackinaw City and its adjacent shorelines, and areas on the north shore of the Straits near the Mackinac Bridge. Communities at risk also include Beaver Island, Cross Village, Harbor Springs, Cheboygan, and other areas of Lake Huron-Michigan.

The Water Center study also revealed that more than 15 percent of Lake Michigan’s open water (3,528 square miles) and nearly 60 percent of Lake Huron’s open water (13,611 square miles) could be affected. For those of us living in southeast Michigan, Line 5 is not just some issue Up North, because a spill or rupture would potentially greatly impact our water supply, which is tied to the waters of Lake Huron.

Just as environmental groups praised Whitmer and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel for their efforts to close Line 5 and seek alternative methods and sources to deliver energy to the state, they scorned EGLE for approving a permit application for Enbridge to dispose of millions of gallons of treated wastewater into the Straits for the construction of that tunnel.

Scott Dean, EGLE’s strategic communications advisor, said that the state environmental agency approved the permit to treat any wastewater stemming from the construction of Line 5 because Enbridge would adequately treat wastewater according to laws and statutes set out by the state legislature. The project still must meet approval by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as the Michigan Public Service Commission.

According to Dean, there is no statutory mechanism to factor in climate change when making such decisions.

“EGLE’s decision to approve the wastewater permit to Enbridge illuminates several related policy issues,” said Dean. “That being said, the basis of EGLE’s decision is required to be limited to compliance with relevant environmental statutes as they are created by the state legislature. EGLE is not allowed to factor in (climate change) when we are applying the statutes of the law. Our review shows that the construction of the proposed project could comply with existing state environmental laws as created by the state legislature. And we have issued permits designed to ensure that, if a tunnel is constructed, it would be in strict compliance with the protections that impact our Great Lakes. “ icholas J. Schroeck, associate dean of experiential education and director of the environmental law clinic at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, said the time is here to update environmental laws, many drafted in the 1970’s, and update and address them to take climate change into consideration.

“In the 1970’s, climate change was not on the radar screen for most people, including legislators,” noted Schroeck. “Environmental laws were drafted to focus on things like water pollution from factory pipes, and those laws have done a decent job of cleaning up our Great Lakes, but there is much more work to do. The biggest current threat to the health of our waters is climate change.”

Schroeck said what is needed is comprehensive, national legislation to address climate change. In the meantime, he said the Michigan legislature should move to update state environmental laws to include climate change impacts in permitting and continue to speed transition to renewable energy.

EGLE said that prior to making its Line 5 tunnel wastewater decision,

N

it took into consideration over 2,000 public comments, some expressing concern how the project will exacerbate climate change. mong the public comments submitted were several from a grassroots environmentalist group based in Traverse City called For the Love of Water, or FLOW. In a written December 15, 2020 statement submitted on behalf of a dozen organizations, including tribal organizations, the Michigan Environmental Council, and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters (MCLV), FLOW expressed concern not only about the fossil fuels the tunnel would deliver but the environmental degradation that the tunnel’s construction could inflict upon the Straits.

FLOW asserted that returning these gallons to the waterway as heated and treated wastewater, along with the project’s use of heavy machinery, bentonite slurry, blasting of bedrock, would threaten to impact or displace fishing, cultural and historic resources, such as traditional cemetery or burial sites of the Odawa and Ojibwe Tribes of Michigan.

The statement, addressed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, requests that the project be reviewed within the parameters of federal legislation such as the Rivers and Harbors Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System before finalizing approval for the project.

FLOW has also conducted numerous studies debunking the notion of just how dependent Michiganders in the Upper Peninsula are on Line 5 for fuel.

“Line 5’s products mostly serve Canada, with less than 10 percent of the oil used in Michigan,” said FLOW Executive Director Liz Kirkwood.

“The Line 5 easement – essentially a shortcut for Enbridge to move Canadian oil products from their western regions to their eastern refineries, was never intended to be a vital energy source for Michigan.

Instead, it threatens the drinking water supply for 5 million Michigan residents, the Pure Michigan tourist economy, and a way of life. It is time for the state of Michigan to evict Enbridge from the Straits of Mackinac and shut down Line 5 because of the oil spill danger to the Great Lakes.”

Environmentalists and others wishing to make way for greener sources of energy and leave the age of fossil fuels in the rear mirror are encouraged by a flurry of recent developments from industry and state and federal governments. On January 20, President Joe Biden in an executive order revoked Calgary-based TC Energy’s Keystone XL’s presidential permit and shut down construction of the controversial pipeline that was to carry oil from Canada to Texas. Biden also re-entered the United States into the Paris Climate accord. On January 27, S&P Global Ratings downgraded its view of the entire oil and gas industry to “moderately high risk,” although recent reports say that oil prices are making their greatest rebound since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Environmentalists say Enbridge’s push to pump petroleum products through a tunnel for the next 99 years – and EGLE’s recent approval of a permit – is out of touch with renewable energy trends and the urgency to slow the ravages of climate change.

Christy McGillivray, political and legislative director for the Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club, said the Enbridge tunnel project is something that smacks of a 20th, not 21st Century mindset and works against efforts by Governor Whitmer and Attorney General Nessel to safely keep Line 5 shut.

“EGLE is completely at odds with what our state needs right now,” McGillivray said. “EGLE is saying they are almost obligated to grant Enbridge their permit requests because they say Enbridge has fulfilled the requirements for environmental statutes as they exist. We think that is blatantly false. The conditions that EGLE put in its wastewater and tunnel building permits are basically band-aids, and they do not address the 1.4 million gallons of wastewater that will be going into the Great Lakes during the tunnel construction. The tunnel design and concept are absolutely disastrous. With the S&P downgrading companies like Exxon/Mobil and General Motors and Ford planning to electrify their entire fleet in the next 10 years, why in the world does Michigan need to build onto a fossil fuel infrastructure that will last 99 years? Approving a permit for this tunnel is the worst possible plan.”

Still, Enbridge and manufacturers, business owners and those who need heating fuel in the Upper Peninsula insist Line 5 is still relevant.

Proponents for keeping Line 5 open run from manufacturers who see the

A

supplies attained as a lifeblood for Michigan’s manufacturing comeback and those who uphold the pragmatism of supplying residents of the Upper Peninsula with heating propane through the long dark winter.

Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy said the existing Line 5 easement is the most monitored and regulated portion of its entire pipeline system.

A proposed replacement pipeline housed under a submerged tunnel deep into the bed of the Straits will make fossil fuel delivery even safer for decades to come, he said.

“There is still a tremendous need for energy in Michigan, and Line 5 has been supplying this and has been in operation since the 1950’s,” Duffy said. “Enbridge will make this supply even safer by putting a tunnel well below the Straits lakebed. We understand the sensitivity and the public trust between Michigan residents and the waters of the Great Lakes, and that is why we have proposed for the construction of a tunnel.

Encased in cement and a concrete wall, the chance of any oil getting out into the water is zero.”

Even as it commits to decades more of supplies of fossil fuels, Duffy maintained that Enbridge is increasingly focused on developing renewable energy sources. This includes building 22 wind farms and investing more than $7 billion in renewable energy projects.

“Enbridge is leading the way into the (renewable) transition. At the same time, we are developing ways to safely transport petroleum products and the safest way to do this is through pipelines,” Duffy said.

When asked why Enbridge is still determined to transport under the fragile Straits when there are other lines that run through Michigan, such as Line 78 built to replace 6B, Duffy said that line is at or close to capacity and could not take on an additional 22 million gallons, nor could it accommodate liquid natural gas.

“There has not yet been an incident (of a spill) in the Straits in 65 years and the 100 Michigan employees who work for Enbridge work every day to make sure Line 5 is running safely,” he said.

Underwater incidents affecting the easement in recent years and attorney general Nessel filing a lawsuit in June of 2020 in Ingham County Circuit Court against Enbridge have compelled Enbridge to increase its safety measures. irst, in April 2018, the National Transportation Safety Board reported that an understaffed vessel unknowingly was dragging its starboard anchor and struck the Line 5 dual pipeline, causing one minor dent in one and two minor dents in the other. Both lines were determined to be structurally sound. In June of 2020, Enbridge reported to the state that an underwater support anchor to the pipeline, and not the pipeline itself, was significantly damaged and that a protective pipeline coating near that anchor was deteriorating. Enbridge temporarily shut down the easement for repairs.

The lawsuit settlement in September 2020 resulted in a tenuous agreement between the two parties to add extra layers of safety measures to the twin pipeline and additional monitoring of vessels traveling in the straits. According to Duffy, there is now a multi-layered monitoring system watching over the easement at all times. Enbridge uses computerized modeling systems to monitor pressure, temperature, and other key information from thousands of points along its pipeline network. It uses this data to detect small features in the pipe that may require underwater inspection by a diver or Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV), or that could indicate a leak. Enbridge also deploys two-person teams that are specially trained controllers at its operations center – one directly monitoring, the other supporting – to watch Line 5 for any changes in flow or pressure.

There are also remotely operated with automatic shutoff valves, should there be a change in pressure due to a possible leak. Duffy said that there are also trained emergency personnel on hand at all times who also keep in close contact with local emergency authorities.

Michigan Manufacturers Association President John Walsh argued that shutting down Line 5 in May, years before Enbridge can run a replacement line in a subterranean tunnel, would not only curtail Michigan’s manufacturing comeback, but add more carbon to the air by the necessary fleet of trucks needed to transport fuel in the absence of a pipeline.

Walsh is pleased with EGLE’s decision to grant Enbridge a permit towards the tunnel construction. Despite the push towards greener energy sources, Walsh added Michigan’s manufacturing sector cannot sustain itself without the fuel it receives from Line 5.

F

“We think the proposal for Enbridge to build a tunnel to house Line 5 and EGLE’s initial permit approval to make way for the construction of this tunnel is a good solution,” said Walsh. “In order to accommodate the amount of fuel that is pumped through Line 5, there would have to be thousands of extra trucks on our roads each day. To assemble that kind of fleet of trucks and drivers to transport 22.6 million gallons of fuel per day is a logistical puzzle that has not yet been thought through by the state,” said Walsh.

In some regards, the Whitmer administration is studying what a post Line 5 climate would mean for Michigan’s energy infrastructure and supply. In 2019, Whitmer authorized Executive Order 2019-14 to study alternatives in delivering energy to Michiganders, particularly those who live in the Upper Peninsula, by creating the the Upper Peninsula Energy Task Force (UPETF). Sitting on the UPETF board of this task force serving as a residential rate payer in the UP is Jennifer Hill, commissioner and mayor pro tem of the city of Marquette. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in environmental planning, Hill’s family has fished the waters of the UP for three generations.

“We were the first generation lucky enough to move up here full time, and when we did, I thought I would concentrate my work studying the quality of water,” said Hill. “As it turns out, our energy issues are far more challenging and require much investigating and improving. The UP’s electricity infrastructure was born from the mining and lumber mills, industries that have reached the end of their life cycle. For our electricity, on average, UPer’s pay 20 cents over the average per kilowatt-hour than the rest of the lower 48.”

Hill and her husband moved to Marquette full time in 2014, where they can see Lake Superior from their 1,800-square-foot home which they heat with propane. According to UPETF, 18 percent of UP households use propane for heating fuel and 58 percent use natural gas.

During her first polar vortex winter of 2014, Hill and other UP residents learned the hard way that the UP needed to ramp up its propane capacity when Enbridge temporarily shut Line 5 to do some repair work that could only be conducted during the most frigid conditions. The disruption of Line 5 eliminated the flow of natural gas liquids (NGLs) to the Rapid River processing facility. While Enbridge claims this amount represents 65 percent of the Upper Peninsula’s propane demands, other groups like FLOW claim that amount is between 35 to 50 percent. ccording to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, propane prices in the Midwest have hovered around $1.70 per gallon between 2015-2019, with a small spike in prices in the winter of 2013-2014 to $4 per gallon due to the polar vortex and increased demand from farmers who needed to heat and dry their corn harvest after an unusually wet winter.

After the polar vortex winter of 2014, however, Hill said Marquette diversified its propane supply from other suppliers and increased its capacity storage ability.

As a member of the UPETF task force, she said it is in everyone’s long-term interest to acknowledge that energy consumption habits and sources will change. She is heartened that there is more availability of alternative heating sources such as natural gas, though she knows that natural gas will one day give way to greener energy sources such as wind, solar and geothermal heating.

In April 2020, UPETF submitted a formal report of recommendations.

Included were that Michigan utilize its subterranean capacity to store propane in the Lower and Upper Peninsula and that it increase the capacity of its railway system to transport NGLs should Line 5 be terminated.

The report documented that with 585 million gallons of underground storage capacity in salt mine caverns in the Lower Peninsula, Michigan has the third largest propane storage capacity in the country behind Kansas and Texas. The state also has about 12 million gallons of aboveground storage capacity, of which 1.5 million are located in the Upper Peninsula. The report concluded that if all residential and commercial tanks were filled at the beginning of the heating season, it would significantly increase the Upper Peninsula’s reserve margins and buffer it against potential disruptions.

The task force recommended that without Line 5, Michigan would need to invest in more rail delivery points. Increasing movement of

A

propane via rail would require increased storage and transloading equipment. The report stated the capacity of a railcar for shipping natural gas liquids (NGLs) was 33,700 gallons. Assuming that cars would not be filled to 100 percent capacity, the task force estimated that each car would transport 31,500 gallons.

Upon this recommendation, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Communications Manager Michael Frezell said the agency recently issued a request for proposal (RFP) for an approximately eight month effort to evaluate current state capabilities to deliver propane by rail and identify rail infrastructure upgrades, including rail-served storage capacity, necessary for improved distribution of propane by rail in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

But transporting petroleum products via rail does not come without risks.

In 2013, a runaway train hauling 72 tankers filled with crude oil derailed as it approached Quebec. The tanker cars exploded, and the oil caught fire, killing 47 people and destroying many buildings in the center of this small town. The derailment led to changes in Canadian rail transport safety rules. According to MDOT, the UP’s rail system is largely serviced by Canadian National Railways. Branch lines run north from Escanaba to the iron range west of Marquette, from Powers to Iron Mountain, and from Trout Lake to Munising via Newberry.

Previous reporting by Downtown newsmagazine has shown that local public safety departments are rarely notified by rail lines when rail cars with flammable or dangerous shipments are traveling through their communities. he fight between Whitmer, Enbridge, and Canadian government officials will continue to play out in court. On November 13, Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a case against Enbridge in Ingham County Circuit Court citing the Public Trust Doctrine and Enbridge’s repeated violations of the easement. In turn, Vern D Yu, Enbridge vice president for liquids and pipelines, filed a complaint against Whitmer, claiming her order to terminate the easement is “contrary to federal law,” specifically, the Pipeline Safety Act. The letter continued to say that Enbridge will continue to operate the twin pipelines until the Great Lakes tunnel goes into operation and maintains that Enbridge today is in full safety compliance with the law.

Ryan Jarvi, spokesperson for Nessel, said though there is concern about the tunnel construction, efforts now focus on fighting lawsuits to reverse Witmer’s executive order to shut the existing pipeline, which “literally rest beneath one of the busiest shipping channels in the lakes, where they are vulnerable to impacts by foreign objects” such as when the existing pipelines in the Straits were struck by anchors in April 2018 and in June of 2020.

“The Attorney General’s biggest concern surrounding Enbridge Line 5 operating in the state is that a portion of Line 5 that crosses the Straits of Mackinac is present at a location that makes it uniquely unsuitable for oil pipelines and presents an unreasonable risk of catastrophic environmental and economic harm,” said Jarvi. “An oil release at that location would create grave ecological and economic harm not only in the immediate vicinity of the Straits, but elsewhere along the shorelines of Lakes Michigan and Lake Huron.”

Bentley Johnson, senior partnerships manager for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, said Enbridge’s record and the threat of a potential oil spill “forced the hand” of Whitmer to order the closure of Line 5.

Johnson said the MLCV is skeptical that the tunnel can be constructed in Enbridge’s estimate of four to five years. Even if the project gets the go-ahead from state and federal authorities, Johnson said the expected legal battles that will ensue will delay the tunnel project by another decade.

By then, Johnson predicts that consumers will be well on their way to moving on from fossil fuels as seen by industry trends.

“Imagine cutting a ribbon on this tunnel in the year 2035. By then, most new vehicles will not be running on fossil fuels. The way we see it, is that this is a tunnel to nowhere and is a tax-payer liability boondoggle for the people of Michigan. The MLCV commends the work of Governor Whitmer and AG Nessel and will work to continue to educate voters that a Line 5 tunnel is not a solution but instead it is a Pandora’s box of new problems.”

T

LOW

INVENTORY

HIGH DEMAND!

CALL SAL AND MARK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR HOME’S CURRENT MARKET VALUE In this time of uncertainty, it is immensely important to work with experts in the real estate field when selling or buying a home. With combined 39 YEARS EXPERIENCE, Sal Impastato and Mark Bess always have their fingers on the pulse of the home market.

Thinking of Buying or Selling? Call Sal at 248.763.2223

SAL IMPASTATO | REALTOR c. +1 248 763 2223 simpastato@hallandhunter.com

MARK BESS | REALTOR c. +1 248 425 3778 mbess@hallandhunter.com

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

FACES Patrick Harris t’s wild. I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was four-yearsold,” said The Roeper School educator Patrick Harris.

“I had teachers who would tell me they loved me, which matters. I had a Black male teacher, and that matters to me.

He taught me the love of writing. I had a music teacher who taught me pride. I really fell in love with the art of teaching through my actual teachers,” recalls Harris, who attended Detroit and Southfield Public Schools before attending Michigan State University.

The 27-year-old first-generation college graduate has been a teacher for six years, and has worked at as many schools, beginning his career in Washington, DC, with a stint in Qatar before making his way back to Michigan. “I have taught in public schools that received Title I funds, in Doha, Qatar in an international school, in traditional charter schools, and now I’m teaching at Roeper, which is a gifted independent school.”

Harris was recently named a 2021 “30 Under 30” by the International Literacy Association, which honors “the rising innovators, disruptors, and visionaries in the literacy field” throughout the world.

While this honor would be notable at any time, it is particularly remarkable during a global pandemic that has put a tremendous amount of strain on teachers.

“It has forced all systems to say, we can reimagine the way we are educating children,” a role Harris was seemingly meant to play. Harris is in the process of helping to transition Roeper’s traditional middle school English department into a Humanities department, which he describes as taking a more holistic educational approach.

“I am very, very unapologetically an antiracist teacher,” Harris stresses, and he imbues his lessons with these teachings.

“Right now, they [his students] are studying what it means for race to be a social construction,” and they have also learned about implicit bias and the origins and evolution of the police system in the U.S. Harris said that it is also important for his mostly White students to see a Black, queer male in a leadership role.

In addition to his work in the classroom, Harris, with a few dozen teachers across the country, is organizing an action research group to develop an alternative to traditional standardized tests. He is also the founder of Good Trouble Media, a platform designed for teachers to share their own stories. It started as a single podcast where Harris and a kindergarten teacher in Texas documented their entire school year week by week. The Common Sense podcast has been downloaded over 100,000 times, and was featured by Apple in their 2019 Black History Month spotlight. Harris is currently in the process of launching another series, 'And We’re Still Here,' which he describes as “perseverance stories from different stakeholders in education.”

As an advocate for teachers, Harris’ work has only just begun. “I’ve always wanted to tribute and be just like the teachers that I had growing up, who were career teachers, fighters. They were leaders, singers, politicians who had multiple impacts. As I think about ‘what is my true impact,’ I still want to be just like them.”

I

Story: Hillary Brody Anchill

Photo: Chris Ward

CHRIS

PERO

A s s o c i a t e B r o k e r

cgpero@yahoo.com 248.797.0784

275 S. Old Woodward Downtown Birmingham

The #1 IndIvIdual agenT In MIchIgan by SaleS voluMe - www.realtrends.com

1779 Woodgrove – bloomfield Twp - $1,499,900

1650 henrietta – birmingham - $1,250,000

Wonderful 2004 built 4 bedroom, 4.2 bath home on a private .85 acre lot in the Birmingham school district. Amazing new kitchen in 2017, finished walkout lower level with 2nd kitchen.

Quality built exceptional brick and stone 4 bedroom, 4.1 bath home. Gorgeous kitchen and custom woodwork throughout. Finished lower level and studio above garage.

1949 Quarton - bloomfield Twp - $1,145,000

855 bird - birmingham - $649,900

Gorgeous remodel on a beautiful .77 acre fence lot. 4 bedroom, 4.1 bath home with a first floor master. Finished basement. Birmingham schools.

590 Riverside - birmingham - $399,900

Last vacant site remaining in Riverside Place - exclusive development of 8 detached condos steps from downtown Birmingham.

Built in 2001, this 3 bedroom, 3.1 bath home has been wonderfully maintained.

Stunning new kitchen in 2020. Finished basement.

411 S old Woodward, #823 - birmingham - $349,900

Beautiful Birmingham Place fully remodeled open concept 1 bedroom 8th floor condo. Designer kitchen with premium appliances and large center island. Balcony overlooks courtyard.

MUNICIPAL City's long-range plans discussed

By Kevin Elliott

The Birmingham City Commission and department heads spent the day on Saturday, January 23, discussing long-range plans for the city, including a five-year financial forecast, significant services and programs and facility upgrades.

The city’s independent auditor, Plante Moran, provided a five-year financial forecast of the city, including the city’s general fund, major street fund, local street fund and water and sewer funds. The auditor said the city is expected to see continued growth in property tax revenue, which has increased each of the past eight years. At the same time, capital costs are expected to rise with some planned capital projects. Still, the city’s general fund balance policy requires it to be maintained at 17 percent, which the city is expected to do in each of the next five years.

“The city of Birmingham, Michigan, continues to be an example of strong fiscal management,” the auditors said in its report. “With careful planning and investing, the city will be able to remain a positive model to other communities and to maintain a strong bond rating that results.”

Projected infrastructure projects include implementing an ongoing backyard sewer and water master plan, which aims to rehabilitate or abandon most public sewers and water mains located in backyards by 2019. About five to six blocks remain to be completed.

In terms of water distribution, the city is still in the process of replacing lead service water lines, as mandated under state law. About 631 lead service lines remain to be replaced, with seven percent, or about 52, required each year.

Another 100 replacements are planned for 2021.

Birmingham city engineer Jim Surhigh said more than 52 lead service lines were replaced by September 2020, with the program being well-received by property owners.

Other projects include $1.2 million in sidewalk and streetscape improvements on S. Old Woodward in 2022-23; and alleyway improvements along W. Maple Road and Pierce Street.

Roadwork projects greater than $200,000 for 2020 and 2021 include downtownpublications.com

Iconic boutique Linda Dresner closing

By Lisa Brody

fter 45 years as a fashion maverick, Linda Dresner, owner of the Birmingham boutique Linda Dresner, announced she is closing her store March 1.

The boutique has been located at 299 W. Maple at the corner of Bates in downtown Birmingham for the last 28 years, after first locating in Somerset for 10 years. Prior to that, she was partner with the late Hattie Belkin in other fashion endeavors in Birmingham and Franklin.

In addition, for 25 years Dresner made her mark on the New York fashion scene, with a destination boutique on Park Avenue in Manhattan. Both her Park Avenue and Birmingham stores reflected Dresner's contemporary aesthetic, and were family-financed. “It is an experience that pushes women and men to see themselves not in fear but in confidence,” she said on her website. “Here in Detroit, we don’t have to wish. We don’t have to speak in whispers. We can walk around the corner and experience a masterpiece, not found in any other corner of the world.”

Dresner was a fashion leader, not only in the midwest, but on an international scale, where she was often the first to champion new – and now revered – designers such as Comme des Garcons, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto, Jil Sander and Vetements.

“Linda was known and respected by everyone in the fashion industry,” said Karen Daskas, co-owner of Tender, a neighboring highend fashion boutique in Birmingham. “It's such a loss for fashion and a bigger loss for Birmingham.”

Rumors had been swirling in the wholesale clothing market in New York for the last couple of weeks as word got around that Dresner had cancelled her spring orders. This past weekend, artist Leon Dickey, whose artwork had adorned her store in recent years, moved his works out.

Whether it was a victim of the economy or the COVID-19 pandemic, Dresner declined to say when reached.

“It's time. It's only been 45 years,” she laughed.

Before shutting her doors, around March 1, the store is having a massive 80 percent off sale.

A

Grant Street, from E. Lincoln to Humphrey ($350,000); Cranbrook from Maple to 14 Mile ($300,000); Oakland Boulevard, from N. Old Woodward to Woodward ($300,000); Maple Road, from Southfield to Woodward ($2.5 million); Peabody from E. Maple to Brown ($200,000); Pierce from Lincoln to Bird ($400,000); Redding, from Lake Park to Woodward ($450,000); N. Adams Road, north end ($200,000); S. Old Woodward, Brown Street to Landon Street ($4 million); and S. Eton, from Yosemite to 14 Mile ($1.7 million).

Birmingham Parks and Recreation Manager Carrie Laird said the first phase of the parks bond, or $4.75 million, includes Adams Park development; a plan for an entry plaza at Booth Park with gardens and seating; the ice arena locker room expansion; playgrounds at Springdale, Crestview and Howarth Parks; pickleball; and trail improvements, beginning in 2020-21.

Phase II will begin in 2023-24, and

will cover playgrounds at Lincoln Well and Pumphouse, Linden, Pembroke, and St. James parks; a splash pad; Poppleton Park playground with drainage improvements; and Kenning Park playgrounds, fields 1 and 4, and a new walking path, in the amount of $6.5 million.

Discussion of parks and recreation priorities sparked discussion as to what the long-term costs of the ice arena will be to the city, a point of contention with some commission members.

“I would like to see the full costs,” said commissioner Mark Nickita.

“This talks about revenues and expenses on a month-by-month basis and other efficiency savings, but there should be a recognition of the $5 million needed to get us there, and how that factors into the facility over time.”

The city also is in the process of beginning the second draft of the city’s 2040 Master Plan. Birmingham

DOWNTOWN

city planner Nicholas Dupuis said planning will continue to embrace green planning, including green stormwater infrastructure, native plantings, solar energy and historic preservation when possible.

In addition, library director Rebekah Craft presented the third and final phase of improvements at Birmingham’s Baldwin Public Library. Craft went over highlights of the proposed project, which includes a new street-level entrance with an elevator and wheelchair ramp; a cafe and collaboration space; brightened space with a large skylight; improved exterior appearance; renovation of the circulation area; an expanded Idea Lab; and an updated plaza that would better integrate with Shain Park and the city’s civic center.

Craft said the improvements, which would cost between $3 million and $3.2 million, depending on specific options, will be scheduled for 2023, assuming the public and city commission are willing and financing is available. However, planning and design processes would begin in the latter half of 2021.

The Phase Three plan was originally proposed to the city commission in 2016, with construction to begin in 2023. The project would require a continuation of the library’s existing millage, up to its cap through the 2023-26 fiscal year. The library has collected its maximum millage amount since 2016, which have funded the first two phases of improvements at the library.

Craft said the Phase Three improvements were proposed as the result of citizen surveys, focus groups and community forums the library has conducted between 2012 and the present.

Specific improvements include better access for senior citizens and handicapped patrons, as well as those using strollers. Craft said poor access, especially the lack of a street-level entrance, is one of the most mentioned shortcomings of the library that citizens have asked to be addressed.

A cafe and collaboration space with tables and chairs would be run by a third-party provider. The city commission at its 2020 long-range planning meeting indicated a cafe would be a high priority.

A brightened space would be designed continue the “let there be light” theme of the original 1927 building. A large skylight would be installed over the front entrance to 59

Beauty

(SALON)

by J. Lyle Ltd. 235 Willits Alley Birmingham, MI

WELCOME BACK! At Beauty we have gone above and beyond CDC and Michigan regulations to ensure we are implementing extensive health-related safety precautions to protect our clients and team members during the COVID-19 pandemic. So make your appointment now!

248:: 540:: 0046

provide light and a view of the original building. An improved exterior would include energyefficient floor-to-ceiling glass and an entrance that would infuse light into the currently dark entryway.

The circulation area would be renovated into a “commons” area, connecting the Grand Hall, the Youth Room and Adult Services Department. The library’s Idea Lab, which was created in 2017, features digitizing software and hardware, and other features used in creative tech projects. That area would be expanded.

The Phase Three plans also includes three optional add-ons, including movable glass walls by the front entrance, solar panels and granite trim at the plaza, which would increase the total by about $250,000.

Township to alter pension plan strategy

By Lisa Brody

Bloomfield Township trustees unanimously approved amending the township's defined benefit pension plan investment policy at its meeting on Monday, February 8, to include real estate investments in its portfolio.

Treasurer Brian Kepes said the defined benefit pension plan investment policy currently has a 58 percent return for the township's fiscal year, through the end of the year March 30. The goal, he said, is to decouple some investments from the stock market in case there are any bubbles in the future.

Kepes explained to the board the township's financial sustainability committee, an advisory board, recommended this change, as did Brian Green from AndCo., their investment advisor.

“Overall, we're very proud of the greater than 10 percent return on the equities since 2016,” Kepes said.

“We're looking to add some different kind of instruments to our tool box.”

“It's a good idea to add some institutional real estate to your portfolio,” Green said. “This is just increasing the overall flexibility.

While this is a new investment for the township, your peer across the county, the state and the country have been using real estate for investment for a long time. Real estate is a very, very consistent asset.”

It was explained that funds would be in growth markets around the country, run by professional downtownpublications.com

managers with decades of experience in real estate that are attracting inbound residents and businesses.

“We're looking at five percent as the target” to invest in real estate, Kepes explained.

Resumes for vacant BSD position reviewed Forty-three candidates have submitted applications for the nowvacant executive director position of the Birmingham Shopping District (BSD), board President Geoffrey Hockman informed fellow board members at their monthly board meeting on Thursday, February 4.

The 43 candidates submitted their applications by the end of day Friday, January 29, the deadline imposed for the position, which came open after former executive director Ingrid Tighe tendered her resignation at the December board meeting after she accepted a job as economic development director for Oakland County. Her last day with the BSD was December 31, 2020.

Hockman told board members the city of Birmingham's human resources department was very positive about the quality of the resumes that were submitted by the applicants.

The review and hiring process was laid out for board members, which will including the review of the 43 resumes, and then contacting applicants by phone. The field will be narrowed down to a 10 to 12 applicants, and after further phone contacts, face-to-face interviews will be held with five to seven applicants. The field will then be narrowed down to two to three finalists, and a recommendation will then be made to the board of directors, Hockman explained.

He said the entire process could take up to 90 days, but he hoped a decision could be made in 60 days.

The BSD is funded through a special assessment on all commercial, non-residential property in areas of downtown and other business districts of Birmingham.

The executive director works with merchants, business owners, retailers, landlords, and commercial real estate brokers.

While the director position is vacant, Hockman is in regular contact with existing staff members so that normal operations of the BSD continue.

Personalized mortgage options to fit your financial strategy At U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, we tailor the home financing experience to fit your needs.

Customized mortgage options include: • Residential one to four units, fixed, adjustable or interest only mortgage options • Mortgage priority process, products and scheduling to meet your loan closing date • Primary, second home, condominium, co-op and investment one to four unit properties • Residential single close construction, lot loan, renovation & expansion options • Ability to hold title in an approved Trust, LLC, LLP, Corp or other non-operating entity • Conforming, jumbo and super jumbo loan size availability • Lending in all states (some loan types are limited to specific states)

Get started today. Contact your Private Wealth Advisor to find out more about residential mortgage options.

Mark Webberly Private Wealth Mortgage Banker 41000 Woodward Avenue, Suite 350 Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 248.991.9385 mark.webberly@usbank.com NMLS#: 139326 privatewealth.usbank.com

Loan approval is subject to credit approval and program guidelines. Not all loan programs are available in all states for all loan amounts. Interest rates and program terms are subject to change without notice. Visit usbank.com to learn more about U.S. Bank products and services. Mortgage and Home Equity Products are offered through U.S. Bank National Association. Deposit Products are offered through U.S. Bank National Association. Member FDIC. ©2020 U.S. Bank.

DOWNTOWN

61

r fo k r o w m a te te ta s e Let our real ! y a w e th f o p te s y r e v e you

Call the real estate team of

Deby Gannes & Lynn Baker (248) 379-3003 | (248) 379-3000 dgannes@hallandhunter.com | lbaker@hallandhunter.com LynnAndDeby.com |

Lynn and Deby - Hall & Hunter Realtors

442 S. Old Woodward Avenue Birmingham, MI 48009

Enjoy the little things in life for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.

We would like to welcome Lucy Kollin, our newest team member!

Neighborhood master plan ideas discussed

By Kevin Elliott

Birmingham Planning Board members and nearly 200 members of the public attended a virtual meeting on Wednesday, February 10, to discuss the first draft of the Neighborhood Plans and Shared Elements portion of the city’s proposed master plan.

Planning Board Chair Scott Clein said the Neighborhood Plans portion of the plan would differ from the Neighborhood Housing and Policy portion presented in January, which he said was being overhauled after the board received feedback.

Instead, he said, the plans and elements portion focused on many physical elements of connecting neighborhoods through social and multi-modal connections.

“In January, we had over 100 residents show up and we had an hour and a half to two hours of resident input on seams, on accessory dwelling units and projections for residents population growth, and what, if anything, the city of Birmingham should do about that,” Clein said. “We then had the board provide clear direction to the consultant as to where we would like them to go with draft number two, which will be arriving later in the year. The residents made their opinions loudly clear, and the direction in our mind was unanimous at the board level in general agreement with much of what was said by the public.

“Tonight, however, we are focusing on the specific neighborhood plans and the shared elements you will see today. Nonmotorized improvements, pedestrian improvements, bike improvements and etc., boundary plans.”

Urban planner Matthew Lambert, with DPZ in Miami, said the plan addresses streets in some areas of the master plan, but the draft recommends keeping the current street standards, including a recently proposed plan to address unimproved streets. However, Lambert did say the city may want to look at reducing speed limits to 20 mph on some residential streets near downtown.

Related to streets were residential sidewalks, which the plan recommended potentially increasing widths. Moreover, the plan calls for filling in missing portions of sidewalks. Additionally, the plan includes a potential bike lane along downtownpublications.com

Como's opens adjacent to Maple Theater omo's Restaurant, a popular Ferndale destination, opened a pop-up location adjacent to the Maple Theater on Friday, February 5, with hopes of making it permanent, restaurateur Zack Sklar said.

“We'll have all the crowd-pleasers,” Sklar said of the more limited menu at the new Como's location in Bloomfield Township on 4135 Maple Road just west of Telegraph.

His company, Peas & Carrots Hospitality, plans to offer pizzas, hearty appetizers, salads and craft cocktails at the Bloomfield location.

“We're geeked for this. We want to give people a great restaurant concept that is COVID-friendly,” Sklar said.

Como's will be open for lunch and dinner, with daily specials coming in the near future.

The Maple Como's will offer limited dine-in, an outdoor patio with heaters, carry out, contactless curbside pick up and contactless delivery.

“We'll be doing our own delivery, and the cool part is, soon we'll have a tech component with our own app that people can download to order,” Sklar said.

He said the hospitality group recognized they had a strong following in the Birmingham/Bloomfield marketplace, but since the pandemic, “Ferndale is kinda far to go for a carryout. We get it. We have so many loyal followers in this area.”

In addition, he said it's an opportunity to employ some of their own out-of-work servers, whom they have supported through thick and thin during the COVID pandemic.

“Our team is so great. We have not laid off one manager. We've raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for our employees. We have a policy, every out-of-work employee can order for their families every day,” from one of their establishments, Sklar said.

How long will the pop-up stay open? Sklar said it's open ended, dependent upon community response.

C

Lincoln and the use of stormwater swales in key locations.

The plan also addressed neighborhood boundaries and associations, dividing the city into 14 individual neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods include Quarton, Holy Name, The Ravines, Poppleton, Derby, Pembroke, Torry, Kenning, Pierce, Barnum, Crestview, Bingham Farms, Linden and Seaholm.

Additionally, the plan includes four city centers, such as Downtown, North Woodward, South Woodward and the Railroad District.

A copy of the plan may be viewed at thebirminhghamplan.com.

Two recommendations in the plan include revising neighborhood associations to align with neighborhood maps. Further, the plan recommends the addition of a city staff position to coordinate and support neighborhood associations.

He said “associations” discussed in the plan differ from homeowner associations which require fees and perform other functions. Rather, he said, it refers to how people associate with their neighborhood in social terms.

“Associations here are based on

what exists in the city, not duesbased associations that are responsible for maintenance or other items,” Lambert said. “It’s more based on information and social activity than anything else, not a homeowners association, which has plenty of drawbacks. It’s not restrictive on title or anything.”

Planning board member Dan Share recommended using a different term, rather than “associations.”

“I would like more defined terms,” Share said. “The plan mentions a bicycle facility on Lincoln. I assume that means a bicycle lane, not a building. In regard to ‘association,’ I would rather refer to planning 'districts' than associations.”

Share also opposed lowering speed limits, as well as the recommendation of additional staff.

A key element of the plan includes a “neighborhood loop” or system of crosswalks, pedestrian access points and bicycle lanes that link neighborhoods together throughout the city to form a loop.The loop is incorporated into each specific neighborhood map, which include overlays of

DOWNTOWN

commercial and neighborhood destinations.

Commercial destinations may include small scale locations such as Market Square and Eton Market areas, as well as small cafes in key park locations. Recreational destinations include parks, playgrounds and open space.

Additional civic destinations are include in each map.

The plan also recommends some changes to residential parking in the neighborhoods.

“In general, parking restrictions throughout the city are just a total mess,” Lambert said. “As a result, they are essentially impossible to enforce, and enforcement can only rely on resident complaints. That means, for the most part, parking restrictions are pretty pictures on signs. We heard about this early on in the process from the police chief, and we studied key problem areas in the city, especially Torry, the Rail District, Seaholm and Lincoln Hills, and Barnum Park downtown.

“We found that there was a complete mess of standards and they didn’t match up from one area to another. And, there are a lot of different permit systems for odd geographies. The boundaries of permit systems aren’t broad or consistent.”

Lambert said the plan recommends a more consistent approach to parking restrictions and the permitting system.

“We recommend in this draft that neighborhoods are able to choose from a limited set of options,” he said. “Those options are devised for different conditions, such as when you have issues of students or office workers spilling over or restaurants spilling over.”

Planning board member Robin Boyle said the neighborhood loop idea should be better explained in the next draft of the plan.

Many of the public comments during the meeting questioned the features listed on the neighborhood maps, interpreting some symbols to possibly indicate roundabouts or other features that aren’t actually included in the plan.

“It’s not explained fully enough,” Boyle said. “I think it would be valuable that when we do this again, which we will, that we’re a little bit more specific on what we mean.

“As you heard, some people were talking about circles in the roads and if that meant we were building roundabouts in the neighborhoods. I think that comes from not seeing more clearly what we mean by 63

4403 Landing Drive - West Bloomfield Twp

Waterfront 7 bed, 7.4 bath, 6-car-garage estate in West Bloomfield, designed by celebrity architect Alex Bogaerts. Enter property through a lush tunnel of greenery, natural stone carved balustrades and views of a private pond to the left. The Grand foyer boasts 22'-celings and an imperial staircase. Additional features include: 2 story Texas Limestone fireplace, first floor master suite w/ two master baths, 2 mahogany studies, elaborate ceilings, a second full kitchen, dreamy WICs, built in Sonos speakers, sauna, theater room, banquet room, 4 person elevator, well spaced skylights, a walk-out lower level and a waterfall off the back patio. Luxury fixtures and finishes to be included in sale. 1.74 aces of waterfront on Upper Straits lake (private all sports lake) including a boat dock and dock patio. Option to buy two multi-acreage parcels that can be built on. *Contact sellers agent for more information on additional acreage.

John Cotter Professional Licensed Realtor Mobile: 248-662-8106 Email: sold@jmcotter.com www.realtorsmi.com

210 S. Old Woodward Ave, Ste 200.

Birmingham, MI 48009

something like a ‘neighborhood loop,’ which is by the way a consistent feature in all of the neighborhood plans we’ve got. It’s not something that we could pass up.”

House of worship set despite objections

By Lisa Brody

The Detroit Meeting Room, a new house of worship for the Plymouth Brethren Church, received approvals for its combined site plan and special land use proposal on the campus of Sterling Academy South at the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, January 25, following almost four hours of public comment, most of which expressed concerns from neighbors about building on the site.

The site plan is for a rectangular, 16,778 square foot one-story building to be constructed on the rear of a parcel located adjacent to the Sterling Academy South, on the southwest corner of Square Lake and Squirrel roads. The property backs up to the residential neighborhood of Bloomfield Hills Estates No. 2 to the south, has the International Academy to the west, with the residential neighborhood of Kentmoor No. 1 to the east across Squirrel Road, and the residential neighborhoods of Adams Square and Adams Square No. 3 to the north across Square Lake Road.

The Detroit Meeting Room is planned as a house of worship with 708 seats, with a parking lot to accommodate 233 spaces, with overflow parking prepared for events along Square Lake in Troy, where church officials said they will encourage carpool and churchgoers to RSVP so they can then limit attendees. Planned hours are daily, with group services MondayThursday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 10:30 a.m.; and Sunday at 6 a.m, 10:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., as well as weddings and other events.

Sterling Academy plans to continue as a school. It currently has about 45 students in grades 3-12.

Patti Voelker, township director of planning, building and ordinances, explained that the Detroit Meeting Room had first come before the township's planning commission and design review board in November 2017, to request consideration of a site plan and special land use proposal to construct a new place of worship on the same campus as the downtownpublications.com

Daxton restaurant Madam opens in March

By Lisa Brody

he Aparium Hotel Group announced Madam, the flagship restaurant in Birmingham's upcoming Daxton Hotel, 298 S. Old Woodward, will open in March 2021 with noted New York chef Garrison Price at the helm.

Price, a native of the midwest, brings over 20 years of culinary experience to Madam, which will showcase his approach to creative, vegetable-forward seasonal fare with an appreciation for elegance and the simplicity of impeccable ingredients. Madam's menu will continually evolve and focus on seasonality and freshness “emblematic of California cuisine with a playful sensibility rooted in fine technique,” said a release.

“Madam’s menu and space speak to an effortless ability to balance whimsy and fun with a refined sensibility and worldly education,” said Daxton owner Mark Mitchell. “From the art on the walls to the art on the plate, we’ve drawn inspiration from across the globe as well as our backyard here in Birmingham. Madam is a world-class dining destination where you can stop in for wine and a burger or host a blowout special occasion celebration.”

“Madam is going to present a fresh take on American cuisine,” said Price. “My goal is to marry the classic technique I have developed over the years working alongside luminaries in the culinary world with a focus on sustainability, seasonality and creating a minimal footprint.”

Price began his career at the Peninsula Chicago before spending four years with noted chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, serving as head chef of China Poblano from Jose Andres’ ThinkFoodGroup and chef de cuisine at the Mandarin Oriental’s Asiate in New York City. More recently, Price held the position of executive chef of The New York Times three-star reviewed Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria and earned five stars from Time Out New York as executive chef and culinary director of Il Fiorista.

Examples of upcoming dishes include Venere Black Rice with wild shrimp, melted leeks and egg yolk and Roasted Lamb Saddle served alongside black maitake and pine-smoked tea. For dessert, look forward to creative high-low meldings that will include a Creamsicle Mille Feuille.

Madam will seat up to 80 guests in its dining room with an adjacent bar and lounge featuring a stunning geodesic dome. In the dining room, guests will be seated on oversized custom banquettes beneath a soaring ceiling in a room illuminated by an expansive custom-made chandelier, oversized windows and striking paintings curated by Saatchi Art. Madam will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. The Daxton Hotel is the first hotel by local entrepreneur Mark Mitchell in partnership with Aparium Hotel Group of Chicago. The 151-room Daxton Hotel intends to bring a modern vision of Birmingham luxury incorporating some of the finest art, wellness, dining, and retail that hospitality can offer.

For reservations at Madam, call 248.283.4200 or email madam@daxtonhotel.com.

T

Sterling Academy South School, located at 1050 E. Square Lake Road.

At the time, the planning commission tabled the site plan and special land use request to allow the opportunity for the applicant to meet with the adjacent homeowners, as well as to have former township attorney Bill Hampton provide a legal opinion on approved uses.

Hampton provided a response to the planning commission in

December 2017, stating that while the parcel is zoned residential, “the planning commission may take into account harmonious and compatibility considerations in addition to the uses permitted in the R-2 District. It was also noted that multiple uses and buildings are not prohibited on a given lot. Lastly, the letter advised that a request for a variance was necessary due to the insufficient land area that does not

DOWNTOWN

meet the school use site standards,” Voelker said.

A variance request was made to the zoning board of appeals on June 11, 2019, Voelker said, to allow the existing Sterling Academy South School to occupy 6.78 acres of a parcel of land when 10 acres are required, and to allow the proposed place of worship to occupy 3.22 acres of the parcel, which was approved along with landscape and lighting conditions.

There is a small lake on the site, and additional trees and evergreens are proposed, as well as a 36-inch hedge, to provide a a greenbelt adjacent to the parking area along Square Lake and Squirrel Road frontages. Designs will protect wetlands on the site, with 23 trees to be saved and one to be removed.

Numerous members of the public spoke out over Zoom, as well as having 90 letters read into the public record, speaking out primarily in opposition to the house of worship.

Numerous members of the church, some who reside in the township but many who live in Troy, Rochester and Clawson, spoke out in support of its proposals.

Residents' concerns centered on the potential for an increase in traffic, fears of headlights from the parking lots coming into neighbors windows, flooding and water runoff.

“It's unfair to the residents who live in the area,” said one resident.

“There have been significant improvements since it was presented to the planning commission,” noted trustee Neal Barnett, who also serves on the planning commission.

“Noise concerns, pollution, traffic, ground water are all concerns of mine too,” said clerk Martin Brook, before noting he was impressed with the efforts made by the developer and contractor to remedy all concerns.

“This is a project that has been going on for quite a while and you have addressed all the issues,” said supervisor Dani Walsh. “It is noticeable that you listened to all the concerns.”

“Bloomfield is a residential community. We are a community that is diverse. We take pride in our houses of worship. I hope this house of worship gives peace to its congregants and if there are issues, they address them,” said treasurer Brian Kepes.

Trustees voted 6-1 to approve the site plan and special land use proposal, with trustee Stephanie Fakih opposing.

65

Michigan's #1 Family of Real Estate John, Bridget, Jack and Mary Clare Apap Cell 248.225.9858 japap@signaturesothebys.com www. TheApapRealtyGroup.com

415 S. Old Woodward | Birmingham, MI 48009

Top Producing Agent

955 Larchlea Drive

379 Tilbury Road

Birmingham - $1,499,900

Bloomfield Village - $1,150,000

1844 Cole Street

1606 Humphrey Avenue

Birmingham - $1.049,900

Birmingham - $949.900

Lara J. Forte Senior Loan Officer NMLS # 1169665

lara.forte@tcfbank.com

TCF Bank, Mortgage Division

248-284-5178 2301 W. Big Beaver Rd. Suite 525 Troy, MI 48084

Michigan's #1 Family of Real Estate John, Bridget, Jack and Mary Clare Apap Cell 248.225.9858 japap@signaturesothebys.com www. TheApapRealtyGroup.com

415 S. Old Woodward | Birmingham, MI 48009

Top Producing Agent

733 Wimbleton Drive

5941 Miller Way E

Birmingham - $1,749,900

Bloomfield Hills - $1,299,000

600 W Brown Street

3423 Chickering Lane

Birmingham – Unit #410 - $1,124,900

Orange Lake Frontage - Bloomfield Hills - $990,000

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

TCF Bank, Mortgage Division

Lynn Wiand Vice President | Mortgage Loan Officer NMLS # 394920

lynn.wiand@tcfbank.com

Michigan's #1 Family of Real Estate John, Bridget, Jack and Mary Clare Apap Cell 248.225.9858 japap@signaturesothebys.com www. TheApapRealtyGroup.com

415 S. Old Woodward | Birmingham, MI 48009

Top Producing Agent

100 Linda Lane

1140 Lone Pine Woods Drive

Bloomfield Hills - $849,000

Bloomfield Hills - $724,900

2763 Hunters Bluff

3879 Carriage Road

Bloomfield Hills - $649,900

Bloomfield Hills - $625,000

NG

I ND

PE

600 W Brown Street

560 Fox Pointe Court

Birmingham – Unit 407 - $449,900

Bloomfield Hills - $749,900

734-464-4171 734-464-1213 (f) 9Ζ&725 3$5.:$< 68Ζ7( /Ζ921Ζ$ 0Ζ

JAN SHOOK 2ɝFH 0DQDJHU 734-464-4171 x1816 MDQ#LQWHUVWDWHWLWOH QHW

Michigan's #1 Family of Real Estate John, Bridget, Jack and Mary Clare Apap

415 S. Old Woodward | Birmingham, MI 48009

Cell 248.225.9858 japap@signaturesothebys.com www. TheApapRealtyGroup.com

Top Producing Agent G

G

IN

IN

D EN

D EN

P

P

LD

SO

865 Tottenham Road

856 Lakeview Avenue

2765 Bloomfield Crossing

Birmingham - $514,900

Birmingham - $1,095,000 co-listor Jim Remski

Bloomfield Hills - $719,000 Birmingham - $1,095,000 co-listor Jim Remski LD

LD

LD

SO

SO

SO

23 Pine Gate Drive

3370 Morningview Terrace

901 Bloomfield Club Court

Bloomfield Hills - $1,549,900

Bloomfield Village - $1,149,900

Bloomfield Hills - $675,000 LD

LD

LD

SO

SO

SO

660 Woodland Street

2587 Bradway Blvd

2609 Covington Place

Holy Name Area - Birmingham - $719,900

Bloomfield Village - $724,900

Bloomfield Village - $1,799,900

LD

LD

LD

SO

SO

SO

1825 Maryland Blvd

879 Lake Park Drive

1021 Pilgrim Avenue

Birmingham - $1,294.900

Birmingham - $3,499,000

Quarton Lake Estates – Birmingham - $1,149,000

REAL ESTATE AGENTS: SPECIAL ALERT We have saved agents millions in taxes in recent years with our team of experts at Levy & Associates, Inc.

IRS OR STATE TAX PROBLEMS? CALL MICHIGAN’S LEADER IN TAX RESOLUTION

LEVY & ASSOCIATES, INC.

OWE THE STATE OF MICHIGAN? Owed $114,483.00 – Settled for $11,032.80 Owed $56,000.00 – Settled for $1,000.00 Owed $226,000.00 – Settled for $22,350.00 New Offer and Compromise Program. Call Now for Details.

Lawrence B. Levy Member National Society of Accountants & American Society of Tax Problem Solvers

We are a Michigan based Corporation. We have successfully represented thousands of Corporations and individuals throughout the country.

We saved our clients millions of dollars – let us help you sleep better at night.

OWE THE IRS? Owed $207,000.00 – Settled for $7,352.00 Owed $374,416.00 – Settled for $19,181.00 Owed $1,039,938.00 – Settled for $85,824.00

“DON’T FEAR A LEVY, HIRE A LEVY” 28400 Southfield Rd., Southfield, MI 48076 248.557.4048 • Fax 248.443.1642 Toll Free 800-TAX-LEVY www.levytaxhelp.com

BHS plans return to in-person learning

By Lisa Brody

Bloomfield Hills Schools Superintendent Pat Watson announced that the district's board of education approved a recommendation for modified five-day in-person learning for students in grades K-8 beginning April 5, and high school students attending five days from 7:25 a.m. to 12:30, with virtual and distance learning remaining an option for families who prefer.

“Increasing evidence suggests that, with prevention measures in place, there are low rates of COVID19 transmission in primary and secondary school settings. This knowledge, paired with dozens of other considerations, have led to the recommendation to modify the school day structure. In order to prioritize more in-person instruction, a compromising balance needs to be made to allow more people in the school at the same time. The elementary and middle schools in our district are limited on space, so while the current hybrid model allows for

six feet of distance between students, consolidating the AM and PM cohorts for a unified school day may result in as close as three feet of distance,” Watson wrote to parents.

He explained that the schedule at the four elementary schools, Conant, Eastover, Lone Pine and Way, students will attend school Monday through Friday, from 9:05 a.m. until 2:20 p.m., where the school day will focus on core content. Students will eat lunch at school and participate in recess. Art, music, physical education, media and Spanish will take place virtually, on a student's own time, before or after school each day, although specialist teachers will facilitate a 15 to 20 minute live instruction during the school day in order to maintain teacher/student connections.

The Latchkey program will be available for before or after school care daily, beginning in March, with limited enrollment due to space.

Middle school students at East Hills, Bloomfield Hills and West Hills middle schools, as well as elementary school students at those schools, will attend school Monday through Friday from 8:15 until 1:30 p.m. with inperson education focused on core

content. Students will eat lunch at school and participate in recess, and meet virtually during the school with specialist teachers, and complete course work for elective classes on their own time before or after school each day.

The Kidz Zone program will be available for before or after school care daily with enrollment limited due to space, beginning in March.

Watson said high school students will continue attending two days a week until April 5, when students will attend four blocks per day on an odd/even schedule.

“If returning to a full class size is not in alignment with the needs of your family, students in grades kindergarten through 5 can select a transfer to Bloomfield Virtual,” Watson said. “Students need a home learning coach to support their academics, time management, and social-emotional wellness. Learning expectations for students in Bloomfield Virtual mirror those of inperson teaching and learning.”

Similarly, families can continue or choose distance learning for students in grades 6-8, for families who do not want to return to in-person teaching and learning. Watson said students

will be placed in full distance learning classes, where a student's teachers create synchronous and asynchronous learning that promotes a student's learning experience through interdisciplinary connections and collaboration.

Birmingham Schools return to in-person Nearly a full year after the COVID19 pandemic began forcing schools to close to in-person education, the Birmingham Schools Board of Education voted to approve a return to full days of in-person instruction for students in all grades, while also providing virtual options for those students and families who prefer to remain with that choice.

In a letter to families, the district's central leadership team stated, “The Board of Education voted to approve a return to full days of inperson instruction for students in all grades, kindergarten through postsecondary. Virtual options will remain in place for all students. At the elementary level, students will have the option of Birmingham Virtual Academy. Middle and high school

Luxury Mortgage Corp® keeps it simple for self-employed borrowers with our Simple Access® Bank Statement Loan.

You rely on yourself for business. Rely on me for your mortgage. &Žƌ ƐĞůĨͲĞŵƉůŽLJĞĚ ŚŽŵĞ ďƵLJĞƌƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ ŽĨ ĮŶĚŝŶŐ Ă ŵŽƌƚŐĂŐĞ ĐĂŶ ƐĞĞŵ ůŝŬĞ Ă ŚƵŐĞ ĐŚĂůůĞŶŐĞ͘ dŚŝƐ ŝƐ ǁŚLJ ǁĞ ŚĂǀĞ ĚĞƐŝŐŶĞĚ ĂŶ ĂůƚĞƌŶĂƟǀĞ ŚŽŵĞ ĮŶĂŶĐŝŶŐ ƐŽůƵƟŽŶ ƚŚĂƚ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ŽǁŶĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ ϭϬϵϵ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ĞĂƌŶĞƌƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƵŶŝƋƵĞ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƐŝƚƵĂƟŽŶƐ ĐĂŶ ƚĂŬĞ ĂĚǀĂŶƚĂŐĞ ŽĨ͘ /ŶĐŽŵĞ ƋƵĂůŝĮĐĂƟŽŶ ŝƐ ďĂƐĞĚ ŽŶ ĚĞƉŽƐŝƚƐ ĚŽĐƵŵĞŶƚĞĚ ǁŝƚŚ LJŽƵƌ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ Žƌ ƉĞƌƐŽŶĂů ďĂŶŬ ƐƚĂƚĞŵĞŶƚƐ͘

Program Highlights: Q EŽ ƚĂdž ƌĞƚƵƌŶƐ Žƌ tͲϮƐ ƌĞƋƵŝƌĞĚ Q DƵůƟƉůĞ ϭϬϵϵ ƋƵĂůŝĮĐĂƟŽŶ ŽƉƟŽŶƐ Q >ŽĂŶ ĂŵŽƵŶƚƐ ƵƉ ƚŽ ΨϯD Q ůů ŽĐĐƵƉĂŶĐLJ ƚLJƉĞƐ ĂůůŽǁĞĚ Q ĂƐŚ KƵƚ ǀĂŝůĂďůĞ

Q /ŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŽŶůLJ ŽƉƟŽŶƐ ĂǀĂŝůĂďůĞ >ŽĂŶ ĂƉƉƌŽǀĂů ŝƐ ƐƵďũĞĐƚ ƚŽ ĐƌĞĚŝƚ ĂƉƉƌŽǀĂů ĂŶĚ ƉƌŽŐƌĂŵ ŐƵŝĚĞůŝŶĞƐ͘

A mortgage review is quick and easy. Call today for a ĨƌĞĞ ŵŽƌƚŐĂŐĞ ĐŽŶƐƵůƚĂƟŽŶ͘

Gerald Brody

^ƌ͘ DŽƌƚŐĂŐĞ >ŽĂŶ KƌŝŐŝŶĂƚŽƌ

LuxuryMortgage

®

ϮϵϮϬϬ EŽƌƚŚǁĞƐƚĞƌŶ ,ŝŐŚǁĂLJ͕ ^ƚĞ͘ ϯϬϬ ^ŽƵƚŚĮĞůĚ͕ D/ ϰϴϬϯϰ ͗ ϮϰϴͲϱϮϭͲϬϬϯϭ ͮ K͗ ϮϰϴͲϳϭϰͲϰϵϮϯ ED>^η ϯϵϳϲϰϮ͖ >ŝĐĞŶƐĞĚ ŝŶ ͕ &>͕ ' ͕ />͕ D/͕ E ͕ E:͕ K,͕ W ͕ ^ ͕ dy͕ s

Equal Housing Lender. ©2020 Luxury Mortgage Corp. This is not a commitment to lend. Restrictions apply. Some products may not be available in all states. NMLS # 2745. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act CRMLA # 4130164, FL Licensed Mortgage Lender #MLD454, Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee # 23006-Four Landmark Square, Suite 300, Stamford, CT 06901, Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee # 6615 by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Banking, 122 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1900, Chicago, Illinois 60603, (312) 793-3000, Michigan 1st and 2nd Mortgage Broker/Lender/Servicer Registrant License# FR0021279/SR0021280, License # FR0019639 and #SR0019640, Licensed Residential Mortgage Lender -New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance, North Carolina Mortgage Lender License # L-104218, Operates under an exemption from licensing; Mortgage Broker Act Mortgage Banker Exemption No. MBMB.850276.000, Operates under Ohio Residential Mortgage Lending Act Certificate of Registration No. MBMB 850043.000, Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking - Mortgage Lender License #27662, South Carolina BFI Mortgage Lender/Servicer License # MLS 2745, Texas Mortgage Banker Registration-Four Landmark Square, EQUAL HOUSING Suite 300, Stamford, CT 06901, Luxury Mortgage Corp., Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, MC-5938; Luxury Mortgage Corp.®, luxurymortgage.com® and Luxury Mortgage® are registered service marks of Luxury Mortgage Corp. All Rights Reserved.

OPPORTUNITY

downtownpublications.com

DOWNTOWN

71

MUNICIPAL students will still be able to select an option to live stream into the classroom.

“The transition from hybrid to full days of in-person instruction will begin on March 15 and will continue for the remainder of the school year.”

As the transition to full in-person instruction from a hybrid model is a complex undertaking which will take several weeks to coordinate, families were asked to complete a selection form by Tuesday, February 9, at noon.

Elementary families received a separate email from their building principal that included the link to the elementary selection form. Additional planning is occurring at the middle and high school levels, and selection forms will be distributed in the upcoming weeks.

In addition, many schools are holding town hall meetings for parents.

The board of education was also scheduled later in February to consider a resolution to ask the state of Michigan to allow the board to meet in person, using the logic that if it was voting to return to in-person school attendance, then the board should also move to in-person meetings rather than Zoom sessions.

Lot combo approved for mixed-use building

By Kevin Elliott

The Birmingham City Commission on Monday, February 8, approved combining two parcels at S. Old Woodward and Hazel in order to construct a five-story, mixed-use building combining retail and residential uses.

The parcels include the former Mountain King restaurant, 469 S. Old Woodward, and the former Talmer Bank, 479 S. Old Woodward. Under the plans, both buildings will be razed and their lots combined for the new building.

The applicant, Birmingham Tower Partners, received site plan approval in September. The plans call for a five-story building with retail use on the first floor and residential units on the upper floors. The building will also include two floors of underground parking.

Commissioner Rackeline Hoff asked about parking at the proposed building, which will include 14 ground-level parking spots and 70 spots underground. “At one point, they were going to ask to be included in the parking assessment district,” she said. “What happened with that?”

Birmingham City Planner Brooks downtownpublications.com

Cowan said the city hasn’t received a formal application to be included in the parking assessment district; however, the plan includes adequate parking already on-site, unless more intensive retail uses are approved.

The owners did apply for a zoning variance in January 2021 to remove a total of seven parking spaces and alter the number of loading zones required by zoning ordinance.

The applicant had previously proposed construction of a nine-story, mixed-use building with three levels of underground parking, with a request to be rezoned. Planning board members in June 2020 voted 43 in favor of rezoning the site to allow for a larger building, but commissioners denied the rezoning request.

City commissioners on February 8 unanimously approved the lot combination request with mayor pro tem Therese Longe abstaining from the vote due to a potential conflict of interest.

Police partnership for mental health

By Kevin Elliott

The Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Auburn Hills police departments will be partnering to create a mental health co-responder unit in cooperation with the Oakland County Mental Health Network in order to better provide crisis intervention response and follow up, it was announced at the Birmingham long-range planning meeting on Saturday, January 23.

Birmingham Police Chief Mark Clemence said departments have taken a “community caretaker” role well beyond traditional functions of law enforcement, including mental health emergencies, substance abuse and addiction, and other issues.

“Beyond our law enforcement function, we have a great deal of other things that we’ve been tasked with that make us become more of a jack of all trades,” Clemence said.

Clemence said he believes the department can improve on its social services by partnering with dedicated social workers to assist in response and take the lead on follow-ups on mental health crisis calls, such as attempted suicide and other calls.

Clemence said calls for suicides, attempted suicides, drug overdoses and other mental health emergencies make up a good portion of calls for service, but there isn’t currently a way of tracking all mental health related calls in the system. He proposed tracking those numbers as DOWNTOWN

& ( ), &' %& ' #( ( *

! ( &, !$ ( $# &$ '' $# !

& # (& ( , * '$&

# % & # " ! $"+++ # ( $# !& !(, #( &' $" !! (' (& ( &" # "

75

PAM@PAMandASHLEY.COM | 248.840.0044 ASHLEY@PAMandASHLEY.COM | 248.721.0987 PAMand ASHLEY.com 1414 MARYLAND, BIRMINGHAM 4 BED | 5.2 BATH | 6,538 SF | $1,750,000

Perfectly

situated in downtown Birmingham. Over 6000 sqft of living URCEG Y DGCWVKHWNN[ Ƃ PKUJGF NQYGT NGXGN *KEMQT[ JCTFYQQF ƃ QQTKPI throughout. Chef’s dream kitchen.

Three additional bedrooms w/walk in closets & ensuite bathrooms.

Control 4 whole-home automation.

Bonus room perfect for gym/ playroom. Private backyard w/ beautiful screened in porch & patio.

1799 PEMBROKE,BIRMINGHAM 3 B E D | 1 B AT H | 1 1 4 4 S F | $ 4 9 5 , 0 0 0

Location is everything! Huge corner lot surrounded by privacy fence.

Living room has lots of light! Large picture window, built in shelves, CPF PCVWTCN Ƃ TGRNCEG YKVJ YQQF surround open to dining room.

Cozy family room with doorwall to patio and private backyard with inground pool. Kitchen remodeled in 2019. Close to schools, dining, and shopping.

O S

1841 COLLEGE, FERNDALE

LD

3 BED | 1.1 BATH | 856 SF | $215,000

Beautifully renovated Ferndale 4CPEJ YKVJ Ƃ PKUJGF DCUGOGPV 0GY JCTFYQQF ƃ QQTU CPF CP QRGP ƃ QQT RNCP 'ZSWKUKVG PGY MKVEJGP with quartz countertops and Samsung appliances. Backyard is fenced and includes a large one-car garage. Additional recent updates include, plumbing, electrical, UKFKPI TQQƂ PI CPF EGPVTCN CKT

4 4 2 S O L D W O O D W A R D AV E , B I R M I N G H A M , M I 4 8 0 0 9

part of a partnership program with law enforcement in Bloomfield Township and Auburn Hills.

Under the pilot program, the three police departments would share a dedicated social worker from the Oakland County Mental Health Network who would be provided office space, a computer, phone and support. The social worker would ride with officers on related calls, as well as lead on follow-ups. Clemence said it’s the first time police departments have proposed providing a full-time social worker through the county organization.

The program also may allow for additional crisis intervention training opportunities, Clemence said.

Currently, the three police departments undergo mental health crisis intervention training at the county level, which is offered once a year. However, the mental health partnership may allow for additional training opportunities specific to the three departments.

Permit approved for Tapper’s Gold Exchange Tapper’s Gold Exchange will be expanding into Birmingham as city commissioners on Monday, February 8, unanimously approved a special land use permit for the business at 251 E. Merrill, Suite 236.

The second-floor location won’t operate as a standard “Tapper’s Diamonds & Fine Jewelry,” but as a gold exchange that will predominantly buy and sell preowned jewelry. Because of the nature of the business, Tappers was required to apply for a special land use permit in addition to receiving the standard site plan and design approval.

As Tapper’s proposes to buy and sell precious metals and jewelry, the operation falls under the definition of a pawn shop in the zoning ordinance. Specifically, the ordinance states that “a pawn shop includes establishments that buy personal property, such as jewelry or artwork, made of gold or other valuable metals for refining.”

Birmingham City Commissioner Clinton Baller questioned whether the business would be able to operate as a traditional pawn shop.

Mark Tapper, president of Tapper’s Diamonds and Fine Jewelry and Tapper’s Gold Exchange, said the intent isn’t to operate as a standard retail location, but far from a traditional pawn shop.

“The intent is to give customers a downtownpublications.com

very comfortable and confidential area to view merchandise, and to purchase and sell pre-owned and estate jewelry,” Tapper said.

The store will include about 15linear feet of showcase area for jewelry, but the majority of the location will be dedicated for vintage, pre-owned items, rather than items manufactured by Tapper’s directly or purchase from a vendor. The location will buy and sell items, as well as allow customers to borrow against the item, like a pawn shop.

Tapper said the second floor location offers customers more discretion than a first-floor retail location.

The city’s planning board in December voted unanimously to recommend approval to the city commission to approve the special land use, as well as the site plan and design plan. All were approved unanimously on February 8 by city commissioners.

The new location will be in the former Joseph DuMouchelle Fine & Estate Jewelry Buyers, Sellers, Appraisers and Auctioneers.

DuMouchelle pleaded guilty in September 2020 to wire fraud in connection to a $12-million diamond scam.

New surgical center approved in township A site plan and special land use proposal for a new ambulatory surgical center, to be called Bloomfield Surgical Center, at 329 Enterprise Court, received unanimous approval from the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees on Monday, February 8.

Andrea Bibby, township deputy director of planning, building and ordinance, said Bloomfield Capital Group, LLC. was seeking to renovate an existing building and add an additional 6,720 square feet to the building to create an outpatient health care facility. The new 25,564square foot facility would have a second floor addition to offer an ambulatory surgery center, pharmacy, medical clinic, conference rooms and private offices and suites. It would not have overnight patients.

Bibby said the new health care center, north of Franklin Road and east of Telegraph, would have access from Enterprise Court. There will be 143 parking spaces, which is a surplus of the required 61 on-site parking spaces. Two entrances will feature awnings.

Birmingham reverses Pearl parking denial Birmingham city commissioners on Monday, January 25, reversed a previous denial to The Pearl, 856 N. Old Woodward, to use several on-street parking spaces, determining they met zoning ordinance requirements.

The four-story, 90,000-square-foot, mixed-use building has three retail tenants on the first floor and residential units on upper floors. Because the building isn’t in the city’s parking assessment district, it must provide all required parking on-site. Therefore, the owner sought permission from the city to include five metered parking spots in front of the building’s right-of-way along N. Old Woodward in order to meet the parking requirements.

The number of spots required at the building is dependent on the number of retail tenants and the types of services.

The owner has proposed two salon/spa uses and a specialty foods store, which are permitted uses. The building has 65 parking spaces with 42 required for residential, leaving 23 spaces for the three commercial tenants.

First floor tenant Lash Lounge has seven service chairs, therefore requiring 14 spaces. Another tenant, Fruition, is a 1,200 square-foot, specialty foods store requiring four spaces. Aurora Medi-Spa has applied to occupy the third retail space with five service chairs, requiring 10 parking spaces, leaving the spa five spaces short of the parking requirement.

In November, The Pearl’s request to use six on-street, public parking spots to meet parking requirements was denied by the city commission. At that time, some commissioners recommended coming back to the commission and requesting inclusion in the city’s parking assessment district. The current building was constructed in 2020 and is not included in the adjacent parking assessment district. Properties that are included in the district aren’t required to meet zoning requirements for on-site parking for any commercial uses, including retail, salons and food establishments.

At the city commission meeting on January 25, commissioners agreed to allow the public spaces in front of the building to be used by The Pearl in order to meet the parking requirements.

Commissioners voted 6-1 in favor of the motion, with commissioner Clinton Baller opposing the motion.

Baller explained he would only support the motion if it required The Pearl to open its private on-site parking for residents to commercial customers, and that a sign to that effect be posted.

DOWNTOWN

GRADUATING THIS YEAR? JOIN US IN THE FIRST EDITION OF DOWNTOWN'S

YEARBOOK The YEARBOOK will follow the format of our popular Faces features you see in each monthly issue.

Yes, a full page with details on you, the graduate!

The YEARBOOK will appear in the June edition of Downtown.

For details scan:

Start your planning now!

77

LD SO

YOUR EXPERIENCE IS MY FOCUS YOU NEED AN EXPERT WHEN BUYING OR SELLING A HOME. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE SERVICES I CAN PROVIDE YOU. F SA O R LE

357 E FRANK ST, BIRMINGHAM MI | $1,075,000

C: 248.672.9669 Sandra@WeAreDOBI.com License #6501374050

SO

SANDRA SOKA TREBOLDI

LD

432 WASHINGTON AVE UNIT 11, ROYAL OAK MI | $499,900

SO

LD

1665 BIRMINGHAM BLVD, BIRMINGHAM MI | $550,000

Maria Labie Area Mortgage Lending Sales Manager NMLS No. 697437 P: (248) 689-9744 | C: 248.952.4914 Mlabie@ibcp.com | Mortgagemadesimple.net

3660 EDINBOROUGH DR, ROCHESTER HILLS MI | $599,900

FACES Bobby Sak sk amateur race car driver Bobby Sak how he got started, and he’ll tell you he was basically born into the sport.

“My dad raced since the mid-‘70s and my mom raced a little bit, too. They started out autocrossing (racing against a clock and following cones),” said Sak, a Groves High School graduate who grew up in Bloomfield Hills and West Bloomfield. “I spent summers on the racetrack and weekends and nights working on cars. It’s in my blood and it’s something you can’t get out once you experience it.”

His father also raced in the Trans Am Series for over 15 years. Now Sak, who lives in Bloomfield Hills and works as a logistics manager in Madison Heights, races in the Spec Racer Ford 3 class in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA).

Even a pandemic can’t stand in his way. “It did delay the season last year, but you’re alone in the car, so it didn’t kill the season like many sports. It was one of the first to come back,” he said.

Sak mostly races in the midwest for a team based in Illinois.

He just won his first national championship at Road America in Wisconsin, which is the biggest race an amateur can win. Perks include free Hoosier tires for the coming season.

Each season has six to eight races. Though cars can exceed 150 miles per hour, Sak believes it’s safer on the track than on the road. “Everybody’s been trained. There’s rigorous schooling and all sorts of rules,” he said. “Nobody’s on their cell phone and everyone’s paying attention all the time.”

When he started at the age of 16, his goal was to become a professional race car driver.

“I kind of got to that point,” said Sak, who did SCCA Pro Racing and one race for the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). “If you’re a fast driver, that’s about 50 percent. The other part is marketing. I just wanted to drive and I wasn’t good at the marketing side back then.”

After an eight-year hiatus, he returned to the sport in 2013, when he found the old race car he had in ’97. “I felt it was an omen,” he said. “I love racing and wanted to get back into it.”

He especially loves the competitive nature. “I know that if I can go a little bit faster, I can beat the guy in front of me,” said Sak. “Even if I win, I look at the data to figure out how I could have done better. There’s always somebody else trying to go faster. If you don’t try to go faster, you’ll always get left behind.”

He also enjoys the camaraderie. “I’ve made great friends through the years,” he said. “It’s like a weekend getaway where I get to hang out with my buddies and my family comes.” He and his wife Liz have two boys, ages 8 and 5, who may also race someday.

His parents are proud. “My dad’s been my biggest fan, probably since I started beating him in a race car. One of the greatest moments of my life was when I won the national championship and he gave me a big hug,” Sak said. “My mom may be an even bigger fan.”

Sak’s passion can’t be beat. “Other than my family, it’s what I can’t wait to do all winter and what I can’t wait to do after I get out of the car for the next time.”

A

Story: Jeanine Matlow

Photo: Chris Ward

From Champagne Cheers to Committee Chairs…

Experience The Community House’s Van Dusen Terrace, a premier outdoor gathering space in the heart of downtown Birmingham.

Whether you’re creating the perfect climate for your next meeting or an inviting atmosphere for entertaining friends and family, the Van Dusen Terrace has a picturesque view of Shain Park and holds up to 200 guests. And our award-winning culinary team is sure to impress.

For more information or to book your safe, stress-free event, contact The Community House event team at 248.554.6588 or events@communityhouse.com.

communityhouse.com

WELCOME HOME! 15801 Providence Dr. Unit 1A Southfield, MI 48075

$120,000

1 Bed • 1 Bath • 1226 sq. ft.

Marsha Brogdon with Keller Williams Metro is pleased to present this stunning 1st floor custom designed condominium unit in the heart Southfield, Michigan.

Convienetly located near Ascension Providence Hospital, major freeways as well as shopping centers, dining, banking & much more! Large partially seculded patio for your entertainment and privacy needs. Sold as-is, this is a must-see home!

• Custom Designed Open Floor Plan • Beaultiful Marble Flooring • Energy Star Stainless Steel Applicances • In-Unit Washer/Dryer • Brand New Furnace & A/C Unit • Brand New Floor to Ceiling Doorwall Windows

Marsha A. Brogdon marshabrogdon@kw.com | (313) 516-6066

Contact me for more details or to schedule a tour. 24-hour notice required.

(248) 681-8500 (248) 553-5050 All Star

NeW TreNd EQUAL HOUSING

OPPORTUNITY

each Office Independently Owned and Operated

visit www.TheMichaelTeam.com

re/max NeW TreNd ORCHARD LAKE - $2,700,000 fabulous 1.76 acres Serene lakefront. amazing lake Views across from orchard lake country club golf course.

CALL

PLEASANT LAKE – $1,890,000

PINE LAKE - $3,700,000

GILBERT LAKE - $1,500,000

ORCHARD LAKE - $2,250,000

neWly reModeled eState HoMe . priVate , Secluded 2 acreS. aMazing lake VieWS & 100 f t. frontage on pleaSant lake .

e njoy l akefront l iVing at itS M oSt g loriouS ! luxury eState WitH b eautiful l ake V ieWS & S unSetS !

S pectacular l akefront acre lot. 97 f t. frontage ! beautiful g roundS and fabulouS l ake V ieWS !

on all SportS lake , indoor pool , gueSt HouSe! Huge lot, aWeSoMe VieWS!

CALL

CALL

CALL

CALL

BLOOMFIELD HILLS - $1,190,000

UPPER STRAITS LAKE - $689,000

BLOOMFIELD HILLS - $469,000

ROCHESTER HILLS - $779,000

1+ acre eState Sized lakefront Site on preStigiouS iSland lake! approx 400 f t. of lake frontage . aMazing VieWS.

110 f t. Water frontage and direct acceSS to lake . great VieWS! SHady beacH lake front on all-SportS lake! beautiful property.

Stunning SpaciouS property. Magnificent 1.21 acre Walkout lot.

Surrounded by elegant HoMe . perfect to build dreaM HoMe .

neW conStruction brick rancH HoMe WitH Walkout loWer leVel Situated on beautiful lot backing to WoodS! beautiful detailS t/o. near coMpletion.

CALL

CALL

CALL

CALL

THE COMMUNITY HOUSE “If winter comes, can spring be far behind?”

- Percy Bysshe Shelley As we look out the window of the venerable Community House, it’s hard to imagine that the start of spring is just days away! While it has been a cold, snowy and frigid winter here in Michigan, spring and summer 2021 planning at The Community House is well underway.

Ever mindful of the COVID challenges still facing our community today – all of us at The Community House are committed to working towards a “new” normal as soon as this dreadful pandemic and its related variants allow.

Over the years, The Community House has supplemented our fall, winter and spring children’s classes with a robust selection of summer camps. We believe that summer camps are a place where children get the experiences they need to bolster their range of coping strategies.

While still navigating through the pandemic, notwithstanding restrictions, The Community House is planning over 35 summer camps: half day, full day, morning, afternoon, lunch optional, with before and after-care opportunities. Our camps are offered from the months of June to August and are open to children between the ages of 3 and 18. We make it our mission to offer extraordinary summer experiences for all!

Make sure to visit communityhouse.com to see all our camp offerings and to register. You may want to hurry – there is pent up demand for summer activities for our children. Indoor & outdoor space is limited.

We know that many of our class takers, campers, civic groups, and supporters still have many questions about spring and summer 2021 at the historic Community House. We do, too.

While we are busy making every effort to Bill Seklar reopen, factors beyond our control may impact those plans. We will continue to monitor the coronavirus situation, and new variants of the virus, and will meet regularly to review the latest local, state, and national health and safety guidelines.

In the event of a best-case scenario, scores of new spring classes and summer camps are carefully being planned at The Community House; a wide array of exciting and popular art, culture and educational opportunities are being finalized for our spring calendar, inside (if permitted), outside, virtually, or otherwise. To register for a spring class or summer camp or for more information – please go to The Community House website at communityhouse.com or call 248.644.5832.

Finally, please know that it is vital that all members of our community continue to stay vigilant and follow current health and safety protocols.

We take the care and wellbeing of our employees, volunteers, children, and seniors quite seriously. We pledge to open as safely and as responsibly as possible. Like last spring and summer, should the capacity limits and the safety and health guidelines be eased, The Community House plans to act promptly. We really miss all of you. It really does take a village. Be safe, stay well.

If winter comes, can spring (or summer!) be far behind?

SAVE THE DATE – SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ARTISTS Our Town Art Show & Sale 2021 – The Community House in downtown Birmingham invites you to join us for our 36th annual OUR TOWN Art Show & Sale. Due to COVID restrictions, the iconic OUR TOWN Art Show & Sale will again be a virtual event, with accepted artwork available online for purchase from April 22 through May 6, 2021. This all media, juried art show provides a forum for Michigan artists to show and sell their work, fulfilling the mission of The Community House to impact lives through exceptional educational, social and outreach experiences, particularly through the arts and culture. This year’s show and sale takes on added importance for local area artists struggling to showcase and sell their art during this protracted pandemic. Proceeds from each sale of artwork benefits both the artist and The Community House. For additional information on the OUR TOWN Art Show & Sale or the Virtual VIP Opening Night Party, please visit our website at communityhouse.com or call 248.644.5832.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN SUMMER CAMPS 2021 – Almost since The Community House was downtownpublications.com

established nearly a century ago, children’s classes, programs and services at The Community House have been at the center of our mission, purpose, and vision. Our founders envisioned The Community House to be a place where young people from our community and surrounding region would gather for camaraderie, learning and enrichment.

TCH Virtual Programming Spring 2021 – While we may be unable to meet in person (at this time), nothing can stop us from connecting with others. Take a trip back in time during our art lecture series. Learn a new skill with our investment series. Relax and unwind in our Tai Chi or Yoga classes. Engage your little one in our Kindermusik or baby and toddler sign language. Explore a new passion and sign your children up for babysitter safety, self-defense, or dance classes. We have amazing virtual opportunities for all ages. For a full online list of spring 2021 class offerings visit: communityhouse.asapconnected.com/ Activity Boxes – Is your child cooped up? Too much screen time? Help is on the way. Get your child engaged and active with our themed activity boxes. Your child will hippity-hop down the bunny trail, embark on a wild safari adventure, blast off into space, and save the city – all with the help of our customized activity boxes – in the comfort and safety of your own home. Each box includes 6-8 themed activities and crafts. Registration is now open and pick-up dates/times vary by box.

FREE: OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Senior Living Series 2021 The Community House is proud to continue its educational partnership with Pomeroy Living – Pomeroy Living Communities via a virtual Senior Living Series. This important virtual series includes webinars, videos, resource materials, recipes and more.

For more information about the TCH – Pomeroy Living Senior Living Series 2021, go to program@communityhouse.com or call 248.594.6415.

All talks are free but please pre-register.

• March 2021 – Best Exercises for Older Adults (and What to Avoid) • April 2021 – Right time Right Place - Community Based Living Options • May 2021 – Playing with Technology - Seniors Live Longer, Healthier Lives • June 2021 – Cooking with Chef – Fresh Taste for Seniors • July 2021 – Ask a Nurse - Your Chance to Discuss Health and Wellness Needs • August 2021 – Healthy you - How fit are you? Wellness Fair For more information or a catalog about our 2021 Summer Camps or more information about our other Community House offerings, please visit us at communityhouse.com or call the Programs & Enrichment Department at 248.594.6406.

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

DOWNTOWN

83

VISIT • SIGN UP • SHARE INFO

OAKLANDCONFIDENTIAL POLITICAL NEWS/GOSSIP FROM DOWNTOWN NEWSMAGAZINE WRITERS

OAKLANDCONFIDENTIAL.COM

84

DOWNTOWN

03.21

PLACES TO EAT

stevesdeli.com

Go To Our Website For

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

DELIVERY

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

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

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

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

Adachi: Asian. Lunch & Dinner daily.

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

248.540.5900.

Andiamo: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

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

248.865.9300.

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

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

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

248.626.2630.

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

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

Beverly Hills Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Liquor. No reservations.

31471 Southfield Road, Beverly Hills, 48025. 248.642.2355.

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

248.594.7078.

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

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

248.647.7774.

Bill's: American. Lunch & Dinner, Daily.

Reservations. 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. Liquor. No reservations. 111 Henrietta Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.258.6690.

Café ML: New American. Dinner, daily.

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

248.642.4000.

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

248.940.0000. downtownpublications.com

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

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

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

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

248.540.7220.

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

248.792.9766.

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

248.642.1135.

Eddie Merlot's: Steak & seafood.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

37000 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.712.4095.

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

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

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

Embers Deli & Restaurant: Deli.

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

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

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

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

248.258.9400.

Greek Island Coney Restaurant: Greek.

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

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

248.712.4050.

Honey Tree Grille: Greek/American.

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

248.203.9111.

Hunter House Hamburgers: American.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kaku Sushi and Poke': Asian. Lunch & Dinner. Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. No Liquor. 869 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Township, DOWNTOWN

DINE-IN/CARRY-OUT/CATERING 6646 Telegraph Rd. (At Maple Road) Bloomfield Plaza 248.932.0800 • Fax: 248.932.1465

The Only Place to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!

DINE-IN / CARRY OUT BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER

Go to stevesdeli.com for our daily specials!

$10 OFF

HOT

Dine-In, Carry Out Or Party Trays of $69.95 or more Must present printed coupon when ordering. Not valid with other offers or on phone orders. No digital coupons accepted. Exp. 3/31/21 DT

DINNERS TO GO

$5 OFF Dine-In Or Carry Out of $39.95 or more

SCAN FOR MENU

Must present printed coupon when ordering. Not valid with other offers or on phone orders. No digital coupons accepted. Exp. 3/31/21 DT

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

Contact Mark Grablowski for advertising rate information.

O: 248.792.6464 Ext. 601 MarkGrablowski@downtownpublications.com

85

48302. 248.480.4785, and 126 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009.

248.885.8631.

Kerby’s Koney Island: American.

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

248.333.1166.

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

La Strada Italian Kitchen & Bar: Italian.

Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

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

248.480.0492.

Leo’s Coney Island: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 154 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.593.9707. Also 6527 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301.

248.646.8568.

Little Daddy’s Parthenon: American.

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

248.647.3400.

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

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

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

Market North End: Mediterranean.

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

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

248.723.0800.

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

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

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

Original Pancake House: American.

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

248.642.5775.

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

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

Qdoba: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Also 42967 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Township, 48304.

248.874.1876 Roadside B & G: American. Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 1727 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.858.7270.

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

248.644.8977.

Social Kitchen & Bar: American. Lunch 86

& Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 5 or more. Liquor. 225 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009.

248.594.4200.

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

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

248.593.5300.

Stateside Deli & Restaurant Deli.

Breakfast, Lunch, Sunday-Monday.

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

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

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

248.932.0800.

Streetside Seafood: Seafood. Dinner, daily. Liquor. 273 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.645.9123.

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

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

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

248.258.9830.

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

Sunday brunch. Reservations. Liquor.

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

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

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

The Gallery Restaurant: American.

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

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

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

248.940.3260.

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

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

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

248.258.6278.

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

248.258.0500.

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

248.593.7881.

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

248.792.5241.

Whistle Stop Diner: American.

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

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

6608 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301. 248.949.9999.

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

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

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

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

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

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

248.584.3499.

Bigalora: Italian. Weekend Brunch.

Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily.

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

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

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

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

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

248.544.4749.

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

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

Due Venti: Italian. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

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

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

Howe’s Bayou: Cajun. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 22949 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220.

248.691.7145.

Inyo Restaurant Lounge: Asian Fusion.

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

248.543.9500.

KouZina: Greek. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

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

Kruse & Muer on Woodward: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

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

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

248.591.5459.

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

248.584.4227.

Oak City Grille: American. Dinner, daily.

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

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

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

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

DOWNTOWN

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

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

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

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

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

248.544.1141.

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

248.607.3127.

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

Toast, A Breakfast and Lunch Joint: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily.

No reservations. 23144 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220.

248.398.0444.

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

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

248.541.1186.

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

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

Twisted Tavern: American. Dinner, daily.

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

248.545,6750.

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

27799 Woodward Ave., Berkley, 48072. 248.548.7711.

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

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

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

248.280.1831.

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

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

248.853.6600.

O’Connor’s Irish Public House: Irish.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

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

Kona Grille: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 30 E. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48083. 248.619.9060.

Kruse & Muer on Main: American.

Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

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

Loccino Italian Grill and Bar: Italian.

Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily.

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

The Meeting House: American.

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

248.759.4825.

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

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

Mon Jin Lau: Asian. Lunch, Monday03.21

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, MondayFriday. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

3303 Rochester Rd., Troy, 48085.

248.524.1944.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro: Chinese.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

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

248.816.8000.

Recipes: American/Brunch. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

134 W. University Drive, Rochester, 48037. 248.659.8267. Also 2919 Crooks Road, Troy, 48084.

248.614.5390.

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

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

306 S. Main St., Rochester, 48307.

248.651.2266.

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

Liquor. 755 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48084. 248.269.8424.

Silver Spoon: Italian. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 6830 N. Rochester Rd., Rochester, 48306.

248.652.4500.

Too Ra Loo: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 139 S. Main St., Rochester, 48307.

248.453.5291.

West Bloomfield/Southfield Bacco: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 29410 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.356.6600.

Beans and Cornbread: Southern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

29508 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.208.1680.

Bigalora: Italian. Weekend Brunch.

Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily.

No Reservations. Liquor. 29110 Franklin Road, Southfield, 48034.

The Fiddler: Russian. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Thursday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 6676 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.851.8782. downtownpublications.com

Mene Sushi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine.

6239 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.538.7081.

Meriwether’s: Seafood. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 25485 Telegraph Rd, Southfield, 48034. 248.358.1310.

Nonna Maria’s: Italian. Dinner, daily.

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

248.851.2500.

Pickles & Rye: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6724 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.737.3890.

Prime29 Steakhouse: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 6545 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.737.7463.

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

Shangri-La: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. Orchard Mall Shopping Center, 6407 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.626.8585.

Sposita’s Ristorante: Italian. Friday Lunch. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 33210 W. Fourteen Mile Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248. 538.8954.

Stage Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

6873 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.855.6622.

Yotsuba: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 7365 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.737.8282.

West Oakland Gravity Bar & Grill: Mediterranean.

Monday – Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday, Dinner. Reservations.

Liquor. 340 N. Main Street, Milford, 48381. 248.684.4223.

It's A Matter of Taste: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

2323 Union Lake Road, Commerce, 48390. 248.360.4150.

Volare Ristorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

48992 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.960.7771.

North Oakland Clarkston Union: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

54 S. Main St., Clarkston, 48346.

248.620.6100.

Holly Hotel: American. Afternoon Tea, Monday – Saturday, Brunch, Sunday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 110 Battle Alley, Holly, 48442.

248.634.5208.

Kruse's Deer Lake Inn: Seafood. Lunch & dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

7504 Dixie Highway, Clarkston, 48346. 248.795.2077.

The Fed: American. Lunch and Dinner daily, Brunch, Saturday and Sunday.

Liquor. 15 S. Main Street, Clarkston, 48346. 248.297.5833 Via Bologna: Italian. Dinner daily. No reservations. Liquor. 7071 Dixie Highway, Clarkston. 48346.

248.620.8500.

Union Woodshop: BBQ. Dinner, Monday – Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday – Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 18 S. Main St., Clarkston, 48346.

248.625.5660

Detroit Bucharest Grill: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 2684 E. Jefferson, Detroit, 48207. 313.965.3111.

Cliff Bell’s: American. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 2030 Park Ave., Detroit, 48226. 313.961.2543.

Cuisine: French. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 670 Lothrop Rd., Detroit, 48202.

313.872.5110.

The Detroit Seafood Market: Seafood.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 1435 Randolph St., Detroit, 48226. 313.962.4180.

El Barzon: Mexican. Lunch, TuesdayFriday. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 3710 Junction St., Detroit, 48210. 313.894.2070.

Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Café: Cajun. Breakfast, daily. Sunday Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Saturday.

Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

400 Monroe Street, Detroit, 48226.

313.965.4600.

Giovanni’s Ristorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 330 S. Oakwood Blvd., Detroit, 48217.

313.841.0122.

Green Dot Stables: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2200 W. Lafayette, Detroit, 48216.

313.962.5588.

Jefferson House: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 2 Washington Blvd., Detroit, 48226. 313.782.4318.

Joe Muer Seafood: Seafood. Lunch, Monday- Friday, Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 400 Renaissance Center, Detroit, 48243.

313.567.6837.

Johnny Noodle King: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 2601 W. Fort St., Detroit, 48216. 313.309.7946.

Mario’s: Italian. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 4222 2nd Ave., Detroit, 48201. 313.832.1616.

Midtown Shangri-la: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 4710 Cass Ave., Detroit, 48201. 313.974.7669.

Motor City Brewing Works: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Beer & Wine. 470 W. Canfield St., Detroit, 48201. 313.832.2700.

Prism: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 555 E. Lafayette St, Detroit, 48226. 313.309.2499.

Red Smoke Barbeque: Barbeque.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. Trappers Alley Shopping Center,

DOWNTOWN

573 Monroe Ave., Detroit, 48226.

313.962.2100.

Selden Standard: American. Weekend Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. Liquor. Reservations. 3921 Second Ave., Detroit, 48201.

313.438.5055.

SheWolf Pastifico & Bar: Italian.

Dinner, Tuesday through Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 438 Selden St, Detroit 48201. 313.315.3992.

Sinbad’s: Seafood. Sunday Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 100 St Clair St., Detroit, 48214. 313.822.8000.

Slows Bar BQ: Barbeque. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2138 Michigan Ave, Detroit, 48216.

313.962.9828.

St. CeCe’s Pub: American. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor.

1426 Bagley Ave., Detroit, 48216.

313.962.2121.

Tap at MGM Grand: American.

Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 1777 Third Street, Detroit, 48226.

313.465.1234.

Taqueria Nuestra Familia: Mexican.

Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 7620 Vernor Hwy., Detroit, 48209. 313.842.5668.

The Block: American. Sunday Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 3919 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.0892.

Tom’s Oyster Bar: Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 519 East Jefferson Ave., Detroit, 48226.

313.964.4010.

Traffic Jam & Snug: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

511 W. Canfield, Detroit, 48201.

313.831.9470.

24grille: American. Sunday Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, 1114 Washington Blvd, Detroit, 48226. 313.964.3821.

Union Street: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

4145 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48201.

313.831.3965.

Vince’s: Italian. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 1341 Springwells St., Detroit, 48209. 313.842.4857.

Vivio’s Food & Spirits: American.

Saturday Breakfast. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2460 Market St., Detroit, 48207.

313.393.1711.

The Whitney: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & High Tea, Monday-Friday.

Sunday Brunch. Dinner, daily. Liquor.

Reservations. 4421 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.5700.

Wright & Co.: American. Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations.

Liquor. 1500 Woodward Ave Second Floor, Detroit, 48226.

313.962.7711.

87

cucumber, chopped pickle, red onion.

Small 10 | Large 13 GREEK SALAD Mixed greens, feta, beets, tomato, olives, pepperoncini, cucumbers, House Greek dressing.

Small 8 | Large 10 HOUSE Mixed greens, tomato, cheddar, cucumber, croutons, red onion.

Small 7 | Large 10

248-550-0455

Facebook.com/statesidedeli Instagram @statesidedeli Partnered with DoorDash and Grubhub STATE DELI & RESTAURANT DAILY DEALS MELANIA MONDAY - 9.00 Fresh made tuna salad, melted cheddar, seasoned tomatoes with seasoned fries

TASTY TUESDAY HEARTY HASH - 10.00 Choose your hash, with two eggs your way and choice of toast - Corned Beef Hash, Country Hash, Happy Hash, or Irish Hash GREEK WEDNESDAY - 10.00 Your choice - Famous Greek salad, Chicken Gyro with Greek salad, Lamb Gyro with Greek salad, or Spinach pie with Greek salad BURGER-BURGER THURSDAY - 10.00 Choose your burger - All American Cheese, Super Bacon, Peetie’s Melt, Sedona Black Bean with seasoned fries FAMOUS FRIDAY THE #1 - 11.00 Get the Best seller - Corned beef, coleslaw, Russian dressing and Swiss cheese on Rye

MAURICE’S Mixed greens, oven-roasted turkey, chopped bacon, Swiss cheese, tomato, cucumber.

Small 10 | Large 13 MICHIGAN Mixed greens, grilled chicken breast, crumbled blue cheese, dried craisins, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions.

Small 10 | Large 13 CHEF’S Mixed greens, oven-roasted turkey, Virginia baked ham, American cheese, sliced egg, tomatoes, cucumbers.

Small 10 | Large 12 SOUPS HOME-STYLE CHICKEN LEMON RICE Cup 4 | Bowl 5 | Quart 13 GRANDMA’S CHICKEN NOODLE Cup 4 | Bowl 5 | Quart 13 HOME-STYLE CHILI Cup 5 | Bowl 6 | Quart 14 HOME-STYLE MATZO BALL Bowl 7 | Quart 16 BROCCOLI & CHEDDAR Cup 4 | Bowl 5 | Quart 13

FAMILY FEAST SATURDAY (Feeds Four) - 30.00 1 pound thinly sliced Corned beef or Pastrami, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, Coleslaw, Potato salad and Jewish rye

SOUP OF THE DAY Seasonal Cup 4 | Bowl 5 | Quart 13

APPETIZERS

CREAMY COLESLAW Small 3 | Medium 5 | Large 8

AVOCADO TOAST - 9.00 Avocado, feta cheese, grape tomato, balsamic, toasted sourdough

1/2 lb Prime beef, applewood bacon, cheddar, red onion.

BACON AVOCADO CHEESEBURGER - 13.00 1/2 lb Prime beef, applewood bacon, avocado, provolone, red onion.

IMPOSSIBLE BURGER - 13.00 Plant-based vegan patty.

Add cheese 1.00 SEDONA BLACK BEAN BURGER - 11.00 Black bean veggie patty, provolone, red onion.

PETEY’S MELT - 11.00 1/2 lb Prime beef, on grilled rye with Swiss cheese and caramelized onions.

DELI BURGER - 13.00 1/2 lb Prime beef, corned beef, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing.

DELI DELIGHT SANDWICHES Extra-lean corned beef additional 1.00 / Extra meat 3.00 Gluten-free bread additional 2.50 / Onion roll additional 1.00 / Grilled bread FREE #1 FAMOUS - 13.00 OUR #1 BEST SELLER. Hot corned beef, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, Russian dressing, twice-baked rye. #3 GINA’S CHOICE - 13.00 Smoked turkey, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, Russian dressing, twice-baked rye. #5 NY STYLE - 13.00 Hot corned beef, Swiss cheese, yellow mustard, twicebaked rye. #7 LEAN N’ MEAN REUBEN - 14.00 Smoked turkey, melted Swiss, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, grilled rye.

HALF SANDWICH & CUP OF SOUP - 12.00 Choice of Deli Delight Sandwich Matzo Ball Soup (+2)

STATE-SIDES

#2 ROMAN’S BEST - 13.00 Hot pastrami, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, Russian dressing, twice-baked rye.

SEASONED FRIES - 3.00

#4 PRICE IS RIGHT - 13.00 Hot corned beef, pastrami, coleslaw, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, twice-baked rye.

REUBEN FRIES - 11.00 Fries, corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing

AVOCADO - 1.50

TATER TOTS - 5.00

POTATO SALAD Small 3 | Medium 5 | Large 8

STATE ROLLS (Two) 6.00 Corned beef, pastrami, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese with choice of sauce

TATER TOTS - 3.00

#8 SPENCER’S REUBEN - 14.00 Hot corned beef, pastrami, melted Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, grilled rye.

ASSORTED CHIPS - 1.25

CREATE A SANDWICH

FRIED CHICKEN TENDERS (Four) - 9.00 Choice of dipping sauce.

GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST - 5.00

HUMMUS PLATTER - 9.00 Homemade hummus and toasty pita chips CHILI CHEESE FRIES - 5.00 ONION RINGS - 6.00 Jumbo beer battered rings with choice of sauce CHEESE STICKS - 6.00 Served with ranch.

FRESH SALADS Add grilled / crispy chicken or seasoned lamb, 3.00 Dressings: House Greek, House Ranch, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Italian, Caesar, Honey Mustard, Raspberry Vinaigrette, Thousand Island FAMOUS CHICKEN GREEK Mixed greens, grilled chicken, feta, beets, tomato, olives, pepperoncini, cucumber, House Greek dressing.

Small 10 | Large 12 STATESIDE Mixed greens, lean corned beef, Swiss, tomato,

WHOLE PICKLE - 1.50

MEDITERRANEAN COMBINATIONS

SPINACH PIE & GREEK SALAD - 13.00 Flaky pastry stuffed with spinach and feta served with a small Greek salad.

LAMB GYRO & GREEK SALAD - 13.00 Sliced lamb, tomato, onion, and tzatziki in a warm pita.

Add lettuce/feta to your gyro, 1.00 CHICKEN GYRO & GREEK SALAD - 13.00 Marinated chicken, tomato, onion, and tzatziki wrapped in a pita served with a small Greek salad.

Add lettuce/feta to your gyro, 1.00

PRIME BEEF BURGERS

#6 D-TOWN REUBEN - 14.00 Hot corned beef, melted Swiss, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, grilled rye.

STEP 1 CHOOSE BREAD: Jewish Rye, Whole Grain Wheat, Challah, Lavash Wrap (Gluten Free Bread 2.50) STEP 2 COMPLEMENTARY ITEMS: Lettuce, Tomatoes, Red Onions, Jalapeños, Banana Peppers STEP 3 SAUCE: Mayo, Yellow Mustard, Spicy Mustard, Russian Dressing, Honey Mustard, Ranch STEP 4 PREMIUM ITEMS (add 1.00 each:) American, Cheddar, Provolone, Swiss, Coleslaw, Sauerkraut, Onion Roll Extra Lean Corned Beef or Extra Meat 3.00 HOT CORNED BEEF - 12.00 SMOKED TURKEY - 12.00 GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST - 11.00 VIRGINIA BAKED HAM - 10.00

All burgers created with lettuce, tomato and mayo on a brioche bun and served with a pickle and choice of French fries or coleslaw.

Onion Rings 3.00 / Gluten Free Bread 2.50

FRESH MADE TUNA SALAD - 10.00

ALL AMERICAN CHEESEBURGER - 11.00 1/2 lb Prime beef, cheddar, red onion.

HOT PASTRAMI - 12.00

LOX - 14.00 (Smoked Salmon)

RARE ROAST BEEF - 12.00 SUPER PRIME BACON CHEESEBURGER - 12.00

653 S. Adams Road Birmingham, MI 48009 (located in the Adam Square Shopping Center)

ST. PATRICK'S DAY SPECIALS GRILLED CHEESE TRIPLE DECKER - 7.00 SALAMI - 10.00 (Beef)

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Stateside Deli starting at 7am!

• St. Patrick's Dinner - Corned beef, cabbage, sauerkraut, carrots, potatoes $15 • St. Patrick's Family Feast - Corned beef by the pound, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, swiss cheese and Rye bread $30 • State Rolls - Corned beef, cabbage and Russian dressing in egg rolls $6 • Cabbage Soup $5

HUNGRY HUMAN - 11.00 Three eggs, applewood bacon, ham, sausage links served with toast and your choice of hash browns, pancake or tomato slices.

Turkey sausage substitution available

CHICKEN SALAD - 10.00

SIGNATURE SANDWICHES & LITE WRAPS

Extra lean Corned Beef additional 1.00 / Extra meat 3.00 / Onion roll additional 1.00 / Grilled bread FREE #9 SHOWTIME - 11.00 Grilled chicken breast, applewood bacon, provolone, mayo, lettuce, tomato, grilled onion roll. #11 CLUBBIN - 12.00 Smoked turkey, applewood bacon, mayo, lettuce, tomato, triple-decker toasted Challah bread. #13 GYRO - 10.00 Choice of lamb or chicken with tomato, onion, Tzatziki, grilled pita bread. add lettuce & feta 1.00 #15 IMPOSSIBLE GYRO - 12.00 Plant based vegan patty, cucumber, tomato, Tzatziki sauce, toasted pita. #17 ROCCO’S WRAP - 11.00 Chicken salad, applewood bacon, cheddar, mayo, lettuce and tomato, choice of classic tortilla wrap or spinach wrap. #19 BUFFALO CHICKEN WRAP - 11.00 Crispy chicken, Buffalo sauce, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, house ranch dressing, choice of classic tortilla or spinach wrap. #21 ITALIAN MELT - 11.00 Honey baked ham, pepperoni, salami, melted provolone, pepperoncini, lettuce, hoagie bun. #23 ORIGINAL CRISPY CHICKEN - 11.00 Buttermilk fried chicken, pickle, lettuce, tomato, American cheese, mayo, brioche bun. #10 MELANIA’S TUNA MELT - 11.00 Albacore tuna salad, melted cheddar, tomato on grilled rye. #12 CLASSIC BLT - 12.00 Thick cut applewood bacon, mayo, lettuce, tomato, triple decker toasted Challah bread. #14 BOSS CLUB - 12.00 Honey baked ham, turkey, applewood bacon, American cheese, honey mustard, lettuce, tomato, triple decker whole grain bread. #16 CALIFORNIA TURKEY WRAP - 11.00 Smoked turkey breast, avocado, tomato, cucumber, choice of classic tortilla wrap or spinach wrap. #18 CHICKEN CAESAR WRAP - 11.00 Marinated chicken breast, lettuce, parmesan cheese, Caesar dressing, choice white or spinach wrap. #20 VEGGIE HUMMUS WRAP - 9.00 Hummus, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, feta, choice of classic tortilla or spinach wrap. #22 PHILLY STEAK - 12.00 Thin sliced ribeye, caramelized onion, melted provolone, hoagie bun.

LOX PLATTER - 14.00 Nova Scotia lox, capers, eggs, tomato, onion, cream cheese, toasted bagel, choice of hash browns or pancake.

TOAST - 1.50 Whole grain wheat, Challah, twice baked rye, country white, English muffin, grilled pita, sourdough, gluten free (add 2.5) HASH BROWNS - 3.00 BOWL OF OATMEAL - 5.00 Add blueberries or craisins for 1.00

EGGS & PANCAKES - 7.00 Two eggs, buttermilk pancakes.

Add strawberries, blueberries or chocolate chips 1.00

SOUR CREAM - 0.75

BISCUITS & GRAVY - 6.00 Fluffy buttermilk biscuit, sausage gravy.

FRENCH TOAST (One) - 3.50

BREAKFAST WRAP - 8.00 Scrambled eggs, cheddar, applewood bacon, green pepper, onion, choice of classic or spinach wrap.

CROISSANT-WICH - 8.00 Honey baked ham, scrambled eggs, melted Swiss cheese, croissant.

EGGS & MEAT - 9.00 Two eggs, toast and choice of meat, choice of side (tomato slices, hash browns, pancake).

Add corned beef or pastrami 2.00 EGGS & HASH BROWNS - 7.00 Two eggs, hash browns and toast.

SOUTHWEST BURRITO - 12.00 Scrambled eggs, applewood bacon, green pepper, grilled onion, salsa, queso and hash browns.

GRIDDLE BREAKFAST JUJU HOT CAKES - 8.00 Fluffy buttermilk pancakes. Stuffed with strawberries, blueberries or chocolate chips for an additional 1.00 STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE PANCAKES - 10.00 Buttermilk pancakes, cheesecake topping, strawberries.

CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST - 10.00 Thick cut Challah bread topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Add strawberries, blueberries or chocolate chips for an additional 1.00 BELGIAN WAFFLES - 7.00 Buttermilk waffle.

Add strawberries, blueberries or chocolate chips for an additional 1.00

OVERSTUFFED OMELETS

FRESH VEGGIE OMELET - 10.00 Green pepper, mushrooms, spinach, tomato, onion, cheddar.

HAM & CHEESE OMELET - 10.00 Chopped honey-baked ham and melted cheddar cheese.

FLAKY CROISSANT - 2.00

Curbside Carr yout Order On line

SIDE OF CORNED BEEF HASH - 8.00 CREAM CHEESE - 0.75 PEANUT BUTTER - 1.50 SIDE OF MEAT - 4.00 Applewood smoked bacon, turkey sausage, honey baked ham, sausage links, sausage patties HOME FRIES - 3.50 EXTRA EGG - 1.50 GLUTEN FREE BREAD - 2.50 BAGEL - 3.00 With cream cheese or peanut butter PANCAKE (One) - 3.00 SIDE OF SAUSAGE GRAVY - 2.50 SALSA - 0.75 “BEST IN THE MIDWEST” CORNED BEEF HASH - 12.00 Two eggs, home fries, chopped corned beef, caramelized onions.

HAPPY HASH - 11.00 Two eggs, home fries, broccoli, tomato, mushrooms, feta, caramelized onions.

COUNTRY HASH - 11.00 Two eggs, home fries, applewood bacon, gravy, cheddar, buttermilk biscuit.

IRISH HASH - 12.00 Two eggs, home fries, corned beef, green peppers, Swiss cheese, caramelized onion.

KID’S MENU

Includes free beverage. Ages 8 and younger.

MEAT LOVER’S OMELET - 11.00 Applewood bacon, honey baked ham, sausage, provolone.

CHICKEN TENDERS (Two) - 6.00 With seasoned fries.

WESTERN OMELET - 11.00 Honey baked ham, green pepper, onion, cheddar.

COLD SANDWICH - 6.00 Ham or Turkey with cheese, with seasoned fries.

PHILLY STEAK OMELET - 11.00 Thin sliced ribeye, sautéed mushrooms, onion, green pepper, provolone.

KID’S FRENCH TOAST - 6.00 With your choice of scrambled egg, bacon, or sausage link.

GRILLED CHEESE - 6.00

GYRO OMELET - 11.00 Lamb, onion, tomato, feta, tzatziki.

With seasoned fries.

CLASSIC BREAKFAST

SEINFELD SUPREME OMELET - 12.00 Hot corned beef, pastrami, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese.

KID’S STYLED PANCAKE - 6.00 With your choice of scrambled egg, bacon or sausage link.

EGGS BENEDICT - 12.00 Virginia baked ham, poached eggs, Hollandaise, English muffin, home fries.

GARDEN OMELET - 10.00 Spinach, mushrooms, tomato, feta.

DESSERTS

BREAKFAST ALL DAY

FRIED CHICKEN & WAFFLES - 14.00 Two eggs, fried chicken, Belgian waffles, maple syrup.

THE AMERICAN DREAM OMELET - 11.00 Turkey sausage, green pepper, onion, cheddar.

BREAKFAST SIDES

HOME-STYLE BAKLAVA - 2.50 TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CAKE - 5.00 CARROT CAKE - 5.00 SEASONAL ASSORTED CAKES - 5.00 NY STYLE CHEESECAKE - 5.00 ASSORTED COOKIES - 2.00

Hours: Sunday-Monday 7am -3pm, Tuesday - Saturday 7am -8pm • StatesideDeli.com (order online!)

ENDNOTE

Public's role in the master plan process he city of Birmingham is undergoing a master plan process, the first comprehensive master plan review and design process for the entire city in 40 years – since the citywide master plan done in 1980.

The primary purpose of the process is, by state statute, to update the future land use, and undertaking a master plan is an opportunity to examine and evaluate the city's existing vision and policies comprehensively.

The ultimate goal of the master plan process is for planners to have a foundational understanding of the characteristics of Birmingham, from neighborhood physical characteristics to demographic trends likely to be realized in the ensuing years. The most recent planning document, the 2016 plan, was a subset of that master plan, created in 1996 and intended to help the city as it worked with planning all aspects of its downtown, from recreating the city square – Shain Park – to retail destinations, developing ordinances that created vibrant, mixed-use buildings to encourage a healthy live-work-play environment, alley usages, and a first-of-its-kind in the country bistro license ordinance.

The 2040 Birmingham Master Plan process started in October 2018, when city comissioners approved the contract with DPZ Partners, LLC, of Miami, who also did the 2016 Plan, to provide professional services to prepare an update to the city's comprehensive master plan. Online and hard copy surveys were made available to residents, and in April and May of that year a series of roundtable discussions were held with

T

neighborhood groups and others, as well as a week-long series of public charrettes for planners to hear how they envision Birmingham for the future.

While it was initially hoped that the master plan process would be completed in less than two years, the complexity of the endeavor, coupled by the COVID-19 pandemic, has waylaid that timeline. Public presentations of the master plan's first draft, initially slotted for last May and April, were postponed and have begun in earnest this winter at monthly virtual planning board meetings.

Despite being presented by planners from DPZ via Zoom, there have been 100 to 200 members of the public joining the planning board on for the last two meetings; even more residents can, and should, have a say in how their city will look in the future. The next master plan draft presentation and discussion is scheduled for Wednesday, March 10.

We are delighted so many residents are engaged in the planning process of the document that could provide policy and zoning ordinance direction for the city for the next 20 years or more.

But it is critical to remember that the documents and discussions at the planning board are merely drafts – and at this point, they are the first draft, with a second draft to be presented in the future after lengthy reviews and public input. Only after the second draft is carefully scrutinized and flyspecked will the final master plan be approved.

Despite social media circulating, and even a full-page ad in one publication paid for by some “concerned citizens of Birmingham, MI,” nothing

being presented is an absolute to replace single family housing with high density multi-family in every neighborhood of the city. There are discussions proposing new multi-housing for the downtown, Triangle District, and along the edges of some neighborhoods, where they could naturally be developed without intrusions. The “2,000” future residents, in 700 to 900 units, for Birmingham is merely a projection by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) – not 2,000 housing units – which the planning department said can be absorbed through growth in the city's Rail and Triangle Districts, which are currently underutilized. While those areas are envisioned as hosting lower housing values than the downtown area, with a goal of encouraging younger residents, despite rumors, the master plan does not invite or encourage low-income market rental housing.

Another proposal, called Accessory Dwelling units, is being suggested – and only suggested – as small residences located on the same property as a larger residence, perhaps as an option for multi-generations to live together, or for older residents to age-in-place.

The goal of the master plan is to plan for the future of Birmingham, when some current residents may not be here to enjoy the fruit of their endeavors. Now is the time for all of us to be visionaries, to look into a crystal ball and not only see a Birmingham of the future, but help create one that is not only sustainable well into the 21st century, but one that can thrive and grow.

Mental health tools for modern policing ccording to a 2019 nationwide survey of almost 2,500 law enforcement officials, the majority of whom had been officers for over 20 years, police and sheriff officers reported the unintended consequences of policy changes over the years which has removed the daily care of the nation's mentally ill population from the medical community, leaving it to be dealt with by the criminal justice system, “has caused a spike in the frequency of arrests of severely mentally ill persons, prison and jail population and the homeless population…(and) has become a major consumer of law enforcement resources nationwide.” The consequence of that for officers is that 70 percent reported their department spends an increased amount of time on calls for service involving individuals with mental illness, and dealing with them takes significantly longer than larcenies, domestic disputes, traffic and other calls.

As one officer told MentalIllnessPolicy.org, which reported the results of the survey, “The biggest problem does not lie with law enforcement. The problem is found when citizens can’t get assistance due to the 'danger'

A

requirement. When they have nowhere else to turn, they call the police to handle the issue.”

Birmingham Police Chief Mark Clemence said departments have taken a “community caretaker” role well beyond traditional functions of law enforcement, including mental health emergencies, substance abuse and addiction, and other issues.

“Beyond our law enforcement function, we have a great deal of other things that we’ve been tasked with that make us become more of a jack of all trades,” Clemence said.

Locally, departments are working to counteract the problem and to help both their citizenry and themselves. At the Birmingham City Commission long-range planning meeting in late January, Clemence announced that the Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Auburn Hills police departments will be partnering to create a mental health co-responder unit in cooperation with the Oakland County Mental Health Network in order to better provide crisis intervention response and follow up.

Currently a pilot program, the three police departments will share a dedicated social worker

from the Oakland County Mental Health Network who would be provided office space, a computer, phone and support. The social worker will ride with officers on related calls, as well as lead on follow-ups. Clemence said it’s the first time police departments have proposed providing a full-time social worker through the county organization.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Department also has a new initiative, one that is new to the region, in which psychologists and counselors' with master's and doctorate degrees, undergo police training and become uniformed, armed reserve or part-time deputies to respond to calls involving mental health crises. The program is designed to take the burden off rank-and-file officers and provide care for those with emotional distress or mental health issues rather than putting them in the criminal justice system.

Thanks to major cutbacks in mental health spending in Michigan going back several administrations, police departments have inherited a new charge, so we applaud these efforts to address this modern day public safety issue.

LOOKING FOR A

REAL ESTATE AGENT?

2756 TURTLE BLUFF DRIVE BLOOMFIELD HILLS

L U X U R Y R E A L E S T AT E .

REDEFINED.

248.289.0660 tushar@tvahomes.com www.tusharvakhariya.com

Magnificent ITALIAN VILLA Masterpiece

2 1 0 S O l d Wo o d w a r d S u i t e 2 0 0 Birmingham MI 48009

Situated on a bluff overlooking Turtle Lake

6755 Telegraph Road Bloomfield Hills MI 48301

$10,550,000