Downtown newsmagazine | Birmingham/Bloomfield

FEBRUARY 2020

THE INTERVIEW: OAKLAND COUNTY EXEC DAVID COULTER

THE STATE OF RECREATIONAL CANNABIS: WHERE TO BUY IT, WHAT’S TESTED SOCIETY NOTEBOOK • METRO INTELLIGENCER • OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL ENDNOTE: OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ON MARCH BALLOT ECRWSS Postal Customer EDDM

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DOWNTOWN02.20

33

The Interview: Oakland County Executive David Coulter Oakland County Executive David Coulter sits down with News Editor Lisa Body to talk about his appointment to the his current post, his top policy concerns, his views on regionalism, mass transit, and his 2020 election plans.

LONGFORM

46

Legalized adult use of cannabis is finally here but there are still questions to be answered, among them where can it be purchased, what lab testing will tell consumers and whether supply and demand will drive up prices.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

16

The influence of special interests on national policy could not be more clear when you look at what the current administration is attempting to do with it's latest move to undermine school lunch and breakfast nutrition rules.

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.

OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL

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Who's out after redistricting; David Trott's conversion; flipping the state House; election donation hauls; GOP hopeful jumps into county treasurer race; competing complaints to the FEC; plus more.

MUNICIPAL

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Senator's sexual harassment complaint; public meeting comment change; assessment of school shooting incident; new clerk is a no show; city building heights may increase; plus more.

THE COVER Oakland County Executive David Coulter.

Downtown photo: Laurie Tennent.

Photo manipulation and cover design: Chris Grammer.

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METRO INTELLIGENCER

86

Writer/reporter Dana Casadei helps us provide quick takes on what is happening in the world of food and drink in the metro Detroit area.

SOCIETY NOTEBOOK

90

Society Notebook reporter Gigi Nichols provides the latest news and snapshots from the society and non-profit circuit major fundraising events.

ENDNOTE

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Downtown is recommending voters support two local millages on the March presidential primary ballot but reject the tax sought for the DIA so that it can be placed on the November ballot.

FACES

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Elyse Foltyn John Rutherford Fran Broder Sean McCourt Tyler Austin Caley Chelios

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FROM THE PUBLISHER ooking for a vivid example of how money, special interests and industry lobbyists change the course of public policy in Washington? Look no further than the latest assault on rules designed to upgrade the nutritional quality of school lunch/breakfasts, first in effect under the Obama administration.

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With all the hoopla surrounding the Trump impeachment/trial and the push by the House/Senate to reign in the administration with a War Powers Resolution, I suspect many people, the majority of which no longer have children in the K-12 system, missed the announcement in mid January.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing to relax, even further, school meal nutrition requirements that were a signature accomplishment of former First Lady Michelle Obama when the Healthy, Hunger-Free Act was adopted in 2010 to improve the meals fed daily to some 30 million students nation-wide. Two thirds of these students are from low-income and food challenged families.

As a simplified explanation, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act basically requires schools to introduce fruits, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, skim or low-fat milk, less starchy items (like potatoes), cut trans fats from all menus and offer less meat. It includes setting limits on calories in school lunch and breakfast food offerings. The law also requires healthier snacks from school vending machines.

The recently unveiled new rules would reduce the requirements for vegetables and fruits, and cut back on whole grain requirements. The new rules further delay changes to sodium restrictions and allows students to choose more pizza, burgers and fries.

No surprises here. This is not the first time under President Trump that the nutrition standards for school food have come under attack. Prior to 2010, school food nutrition rules had not been assessed and changed in 15 years.

When discussion started under Obama, critics bemoaned what they claimed was a “nanny state” attitude by the administration. Yet if we look at some history on this issue, the expansion of the school lunch program and accompanying nutrition requirements really started under President Richard Nixon, who recognized then that the food presented by schools was often times the only nutritional meals some students would see.

Studies then and now document the correlation between learning and nutritional deficiencies.

It certainly is nothing new to watch the current administration roll back rules from the Obama administration – an almost maniacal preoccupation of Trump. Just look, for instance, at the over 100 environmental regulations either blocked or severely weakened in the past three years, the vast majority of which were developed under President Obama, although some reach back to prior administrations. Some of those rollbacks are now being challenged in court.

The most recent attack on the improved nutritional guidelines for schools is the third attempt by the current administration. As soon as he was named in 2017 as USDA Director, Sonny Perdue, with a background in the farming community, made it his mission to undo the rules. Lobbyists for the potato industry (who wanted potatoes to be allowed as a substitute for fruits), representatives of the frozen food industry and food companies, along with the meat lobby, have been demanding that the rules be relaxed. Among the critics of the current rules is the School Nutrition Association (SNA), which some point out has as its strongest supporters members of the food industry.

In 2017, the USDA announced that they would be slowing down the implementation of sodium restrictions as part of he 2010 act. Then, in 2018, the department issued a relaxation of some rules, cutting in half the whole-grain requirements, allowing for more refined grains. Changes also included allowing flavored milks rather than just non-fat versions. One critic of the changes said that the changes were tantamount to handing each kid a can of soda.

The rationale that the Trump administration is using on the most recent changes is that we have to find a balance between nutrition and what is “palatable” for students and that there has been too much food waste under the Obama rules because students just throw their lunches away.

We all know we are dealing with an administration that pays little respect to facts, so no one should be shocked that a 2016 report released in the journal JAMA Pediatrics showed that school childrens' health ratings have gone up substantially (almost double) from what they used to be, student participation in the food program remained essentially unchanged and food waste has held steady from what it was before the 2010 act was adopted. A similar study of eight school districts, done by the U.S. Government Accounting Office, showed what I consider a minor drop in participation and not a great increase in food waste.

The new rule changes (150 pages) have just been submitted to the Federal Register where all such items must be posted for public view and open for comment for 60 days. So if you are inclined to weigh in to help stop the madness, I recommend going to the following website – federalregister.gov. It is not difficult to find the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed rules and there are instructions on the site for how to add your comments, either online or through a written letter.

Should you doubt the value of getting involved in this, I leave you with this nugget from presidential history. President Ronald Reagan attempted to undo part of the school nutrition standards, including proposing (at the urging of industry lobbyists) to have ketchup classified as a vegetable, to skirt requirements then. The nation-wide blowback was so intense that he withdrew his proposed rule change.

SIDENOTE: Absentee ballots should start arriving this month for the presidential primary on the March 10 ballot. Often lost in the conversation are the local issues that will appear on the same ballot.

In the local area, we will see a millage renewal request in Bloomfield Township, a school bond issue request for the Birmingham Schools district and a request for renewal of .2-mill tax benefitting the Detroit Institute of Art. Thanks to voter approval in 2018 of the proposal to increase participation in elections, we now have “no reason” absentee ballot opportunity.

Take the time now to call your local clerk's office and request an application for an absentee ballot to be mailed to you.

Local clerks can be reached at the following phone numbers: Birmingham – 248.530.1802; Bloomfield Hills – 248.530.1403; and Bloomfield Township – 248.433.7702.

There simply is no excuse for not participating this March or in the August and November elections.

David Hohendorf Publisher DavidHohendorf@DowntownPublications.com

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CRIME LOCATOR

NORTH

Map key

Sexual assault

Assault

Murder

Robbery

Breaking/entering

Larceny

Larceny from vehicle

Vehicle theft

Vandalism

Drug offenses

Arson

These are the crimes reported under select categories by police officials in Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills through January 24, 2020.

Placement of codes is approximate.

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INCOMING Excellent microplastics story I received the copy of Downtown newsmagazine with Kevin Elliott’s microplastics story (January).

Excellent job.

It was a much bigger story than I was expecting. Elliott did a tremendous job and talked to all the right people.

Sherri A. "Sam" Mason, Ph.D. Sustainability Coordinator Penn State Behrend

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

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

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

FROM THE WEB/FACEBOOK

New city clerk quits Well now, from the (city) commissioner's comments and the critical importance of elections this year, I would say Birmingham is in deep doodoo.

We must have someone who knows how to run and has run elections – that is the key part of the position.

Allison Friedman Birmingham

Higher city buildings Keep the high buildings out!

Larry Merritt Birmingham The new (city) commissioners are complete idiots and were voted in for the wrong reasons.

Donna Dee Birmingham This is long overdue. The downtown needs consistency. Not to mention the tax base it creates.

Daniel Jacob Bloomfield Hills

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ELECTION LETTERS Downtown newsmagazine will not be accepting election-related letters for our March issue. downtownpublications.com

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OAKLAND CONFIDENTIAL Oakland Confidential is a periodic column of political gossip/news, gathered both on and off-the-record by staff members at Downtown newsmagazine. We welcome possible items for this column which can be emailed to: OaklndConfidential@DowntownPublications.com.

All sources are kept strictly confidential. The gossip column can be viewed at OaklandConfidential.com where you can sign up to receive updates each month via email.

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20: When former Rep. David Trott (R-Birmingham) first ran for Congress for Michigan’s 11th District (Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Troy, western Oakland and Wayne counties), he leaned pretty far right. He was an early supporter of candidate Donald Trump for president, and for many years had donated untold thousands of dollars to the party and a few GOP hopefuls. Four years later, as he exited Congress in 2018, he was disillusioned with both the president and politics. Now, back as a “regular citizen,” he has admitted to both in a letter to The Atlantic and TROTT The New York Times what he was telling friends in 2017 – that he had grown to realize that “Trump is psychologically, morally, intellectually, and emotionally unfit for office…We can only hope Congress impeaches and removes him so we have a choice between two adults in 2020.” Trott said he realized, like several other Republican congressmen, that they couldn’t speak out publicly, because it would “invite Trump’s wrath and ostracize him within the Republican Party.” Instead, Trott walked away – granted, back towards a multimillion dollar lifestyle. Trott, in the BLOOMBERG letter to The Atlantic, said he is considering voting for a Democrat in 2020 – once a heretical thought. His choice? Likely former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

ROCK PAPER SCISSORS: While none of us will know the results until after the 2020 decennial census is complete and Michigan’s Independent Redistricting Commission determines our state’s new congressional, state Senate and House districts, it’s a sure thing that Michigan will lose one Congressional district, and therefore one Electoral College vote. As Politico recently noted, the U.S. population continues to shift south and west, and Michigan is projected, along with New York, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, West Virginia, Alabama, Rhode Island and Illinois to lose a seat.

So whose will it be? While Politico contends that since freshmen LAWRENCE Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-Rochester, Rochester Hills, northern Oakland, parts of Livingston and Ingham counties) and Haley Stevens (DBirmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Troy, western Oakland and Wayne counties) both flipped traditionally Republican districts, even if they win re-election in 2020, they could be in danger of having one of their districts carved up – therefore depriving them each of Democratic votes. Politicos we talk to acknowledge their districts’ boundaries will likely change, but that more likely, the district held by Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Detroit, Southfield, Farmington Hills, West Bloomfield) could go away.

While Lawrence’s is a majority-minority district, under the Civil Rights Act, a state only needs to maintain one such district – and that could be achieved via Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit, Dearborn), who filled the seat previously held by the late Rep. John Conyers.

NOT SO FINE: When searching for deputy executives for Oakland County, new Executive Dave Coulter (D) said a priority was finding the best and most qualified team surrounding him to help him lead the county. Imagine the surprise then when we discovered that Oakland County Deputy Executive Rudy Hobbs (D-Southfield) left the Michigan House of Representatives nearly five years ago, but is still paying off nearly $10,000 in campaign finance fines he accrued as a lawmaker.

While Hobbs’ fines are considerably lower than those owed by some other former legislators, the penalties are hardly petty change. The state declined Hobbs’ request to dissolve his HOBBS candidate committee due to $2,125 in late filing fees – which have now grown. The campaign made partial payments in 2017 and 2018. Hobbs’ political action committee (PAC) has also been fined for late filings. Former candidates aren’t permitted to dissolve campaign or PACs if they owe money to the state. Hobbs has hardly been inactive, staying in the game – prior to joining Oakland County, Hobbs was a lobbyist with Michigan Legislative Consultants, in Lansing, and served as chief of staff to Wayne County Executive Warren Evans.

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IN THIS CORNER: Oakland County Executive David Coulter (D), appointed in August to fill the position after the demise of the late L. Brooks Patterson, has downtownpublications.com

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raised more than $216,571 since announcing his campaign to keep the position in October. Coulter spent about $16,200 to end the final quarter of 2019 with $200,627.

However, he had a bit of a snafu – it was discovered he hadn’t paid his home’s $558 water bill for over a year, until another publication pointed it out, and it was promptly paid. Coulter claimed he hadn’t automated that bill. Fellow Democratic challenger Andy Meisner, currently in his third term as Oakland County Treasurer, who has until the end of January to file his campaign finance information – will likely make hay out of Coulter’s missed payment. In October, Meisner had about $420,898 cash on hand.

OOPS: Speaking of county exec Coulter, his campaign was able to skirt a campaign finance violation following a complaint that his campaign had improperly used the Oakland County seal on its official Facebook page, pleading ignorance. The complaint, filed by Bloomfield Hills Democratic Party delegate Martha Szilagyi, noted that the page included the seal on a statement saying, “My administration is about inclusion, collaboration and giving Oakland County residents a voice in the future of their county.” While we’re all for inclusion, maybe not when it violates campaign finance law.

NO ORDINARY JOE: While Republican plunges into county government campaigns have been sparse so far for 2020, Joe Kent of Lake Orion is one who has taken the dive, for Oakland County Treasurer. So far, it looks like Kent, a tax accountant, will face off against state Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D-Huntington Woods) in November, unless either have an opponent jump in before late April.

Kent, who has never held public office, has run for office before – in 2018, he unsuccessfully ran against Rep. John Reilly (R-Oakland Township) in the Republican primary, and one member of the Republican donor-class believes he gave KENT up in the last few weeks before the primary. “The Republican caucus was behind Kent, who knew it was going to be close,” the politico said.

“You’ve got to knock on doors until the end. The HRCC (House Republican Campaign Caucus) offered to knock doors and help, and he refused their help – then got beat by about 600 votes.” With Reilly term-limited in 2022, the fundraiser questions if Kent wants to win the treasurer’s position, or just use it as a platform to increase his name recognition for another crack at the House seat when Reilly is done.

BULLSEYE: A 2020 target for state Democrats, as well as Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) and House Minority Leader Christine Greig (D-Farmington Hills), is to flip control of the state House of Representatives from Republican control to the Democrats. Currently, Republicans hold a 58-52 majority in the chamber.

Looks like they might be getting a helping hand from a progressive political group called Swing Left, which was created after the election of President Donald Trump (R). Swing Left’s first goal, in 2018, to win a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, was achieved through a network of 300,000 volunteers and $13.2 million in donations. In Michigan they are focusing on seven targeted state House seats: flipping Novi-based 38th district, where Republican Kathy Crawford is term-limited; neighboring 39th District (Commerce Township/West Bloomfield), which has flipped back and forth, currently held by first-term Republican Ryan Berman; term-limited Michael Webber’s Rochester/Rochester Hills’ 45th District, long a Republican seat; suburban Kalamazoo 61st District, where Republican Brandt Iden is termlimited; Grand Traverse County 104th District, where troubled Rep. Larry Inman (R-Traverse City) is term-limited; as well as protecting the Democratic seats of first-termers Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) and Angela Witwer (DDelta Township). Keep an eye out for how successful – or not – they are.

WHO’S ON FIRST? With state Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D-Huntington Woods, Ferndale, Oak Park, Hazel Park, Berkley) termed out of his 27th District seat and having announced he’s running for county treasurer, and Dave Coulter, who last June had announced he would jump from Ferndale mayor to the state House, now ensconced as the county exec with plans to run again for a full term, it appears there will be at least four Democrats candidates and one Republican vying for this district’s heavily-Democratic state House seat. Those knocking on doors and meeting in living rooms now are Regina Weiss, an Oak Park city council member who is also a Detroit high school teacher; Robert Lathrop, of Berkley, who owns an adventure travel club, and ran for, but lost, mayor of Berkley in 2019; Matt Stoel, a school social worker and Christian youth ministry director; and Martin Tutwiler of Oak Park, a UAW worker and 24

community activist. Also running is Michelangelo Fortuna III, a Republican from Hazel Park – who ran as a Democrat in 2018 and lost in the primary to Wittenberg – but ran as a Republican candidate in 2010, when he lost to former state Rep. Ellen Lipton (D) for the same seat. Will the third time be the charm?

SNEAK PEEK: Although state and federal campaign finance statements for the final quarter of 2019 aren’t due until the end of January, some candidates have offered a sneak peek into their fundraising efforts. Rep. Mari Manoogian (D-Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills and eastern part of West Bloomfield) informed Oakland Confidential that she raised about $40,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019, bringing in more than $90,000 for the election cycle. Her competitor, Birmingham Republican Dave Potts, declined to say how much he has MANOOGIAN raised in the fourth quarter – only that he “feels good” about his position, as he said his spending is low and that he believes Manoogian is lower in the polls. “I think POTTS she has some trouble,” Potts said, referring to what he said was “an aging population of the district.” Whether Manoogian has a problem remains to be seen, but fundraising clearly isn’t one.

GREEN IS THE COLOR: As with the state, federal campaign finance statements aren’t due until the end of January. Still, Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) has already announced she has raised $1.27 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. The efforts bring her total cash on hand to about $2.8 million – quite a daunting total for any potential challenger, of which Republican Paul Junge, a former Lansing TV anchor, announced he has raised $250,000 for the quarter. Of the overall $3.3 million Slotkin has raised since launching her reelection campaign, about 90 percent has come from JUNGE donations of less than $100. In the state’s U.S. Senate race, Republican challenger John James’ campaign has said he raised about $8 million since last summer – nearly double the $4.6 million in contributions he reported in October. Meanwhile, Democratic incumbent Sen. Gary Peters has more than $8 million cash on hand after raising about $9.3 million during the same time. Official figures will be reported to the FEC and available to the public on January 31.

TROUBLE FINDS YOU: Republican candidate for Senate John James raised about $12.5 million in his race against Senator Debbie Stabenow (D) in his 2018 run for U.S. Senate. The race resulted in a complaint against James that he was working with outside PAC groups – contrary to campaign finance law. That complaint was eventually dismissed by the Federal Election Commission.

Now both campaigns are facing accusations of new FEC violations. A Washington, D.C. based group, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, is accusing James’ opponent, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield JAMES Township) of illegal coordination with outside PACs. Peters’ campaign has denied the accusations. According to the complaint, Peters’ campaign illegally coordinated with outside organizations that support his candidacy through Peters’ webpage. The Center for Responsive Politics alleges that James’ 2020 campaign has violated FEC coordination law when his former campaign chair, Tori Sachs, didn’t wait the mandatory 120-day cooling period before her new dark money group, Better Future Michigan, ran $244,000 in attack ads against Peters. A campaign expert stated that spending coordination between a candidate and big money outside groups is “tantamount to a candidate accepting illegal campaign contributions because PETERS super PACs and dark money groups can accept unlimited amounts of money from individuals, labor unions, and corporations.” The complaint against Peters, at press time, it had yet to be dismissed – and both are likely will go nowhere, regardless if they are valid or not. The reason?

President Trump has failed to fill three vacancies on the six-member FEC, and there is no indication that those vacancies will be filled anytime soon. In order to take up a complaint, the commission needs a minimum of four members to have a quorum.

DOWNTOWN

02.20

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FACES Elyse Foltyn hen Elyse Foltyn joined the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) in 2011 at the behest of her late friend, museum co-founder Julie Reyes Taubman, Foltyn “thought [she] was joining the board of an art museum.” Instead, she reflects, “I realized I was joining the board of an intersection of our community.”

MOCAD is known for its cutting edge visual arts exhibitions, like this past summer’s exhibition from street artist KAWS or the current sitespecific installation, “Robolights Detroit,” but Foltyn notes that it’s “a community center of sorts,” with programs for teenagers and the host site for the largest Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in the state.

It is this power of the arts to “bring people together and create conversations” that has led Foltyn, who has served as MOCAD’s board chair since 2017, to embark on the museum’s biggest project yet. Its midtown Detroit building, designed by Albert Kahn and which is also a former auto dealership, is undergoing a $15 million capital campaign in order to “deliver more art to more people.” The renovations will include the installation of a much needed HVAC system – which will appease both guests and sensitive works of art, an outdoor plaza in order to present more concerts and movies, and large windows on its Woodward Avenue facade as a way to both engage passersby as well as connect museum staff more with its environs.

At its heart, after all, Foltyn says that MOCAD is there to serve both Detroit artists and patrons.

“We bring artwork and performances that might not otherwise have a venue,” which included presenting works from more than 50 Detroitbased artists last year alone.

Foltyn and her husband David have embraced many of these artists, bringing their works into their Birmingham home. While they already owned pieces from many Detroit artists, including works from Cass Corridor artists Lester Johnson, Michael Luchs and Nancy Mitchnick, their collection has expanded into contemporary art through her work at MOCAD. “In addition to loving more modern art from years ago, I also like owning work today that has a story and personal connection,” she said.

Citing artists ranging from Copenhagen’s Tal R to former Cranbrook Academy of Art artist-in-residence Beverly Fishman, the Foltyn’s collection now centers around “people that are our age, still living, that we’ve met, had a conversation with. It makes it much more personal and intimate.”

And just like at the museum, Foltyn remarks that these artworks stoke conversations within their home. Foltyn, who has two sets of twins still living at home, as well as three older children, says that they will point out which pieces they like. “I like that they’re surrounded by art and have an appreciation.

“I feel like I was lucky to be born in Detroit when it was a vibrant city, and once again it’s energized and exciting,” Foltyn reflected. “I’ve got to do my part in creating a city that my older kids might want to return to and my younger children want to stay in.”

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akland County is in the midst of change – after 27 years as county executive, L. Brooks Patterson passed away last August, leaving a unique legacy and hole to fill at the top of the administrative tower. After political maneuvering and shenanigans on the part of both Republicans and Democrats, a surprise arose as the newly chosen one – Ferndale mayor Dave Coulter – became the first Democrat to ever fill the county executive seat and the first openly gay individual to hold a top leadership position in Oakland County government.

But in the last decade, Oakland has been changing demographically and with it has come political change in elected offices – everything from two long-held Republican congressional seats flipping blue, to several state House and Senate districts, and for the first time in its over 40-year history, in 2018 the Oakland County Board of Commissioners achieved a one-vote Democrat majority. Right now, of the top elected county positions, only Sheriff Michael Bouchard is a Republican.

Coulter, who some Democrats felt would be a “place holder” until Patterson's term expired in 2020, is a reflection of the changes sweeping the county.

He is collegial, conciliatory, open and eager. He is running to keep his new seat in 2020, in what will likely be a hotly-contested Democratic primary against Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner. At the same time, he is fully cognizant that his may be a brief term. He is excited to be the Oakland County executive, whether it is for 16-months or for another four years, and recognizes the historic opportunity his appointment represents to follow the legacy of Brooks Patterson – to preserve the best that Oakland County represents while moving forward and creating new initiatives.

In his first long published interview, edited for space, Coulter spoke with Downtown News Editor Lisa Brody.

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DOWNTOWN

02.20

DOWNTOWN: When your name first surfaced as a possible appointment as county executive, it was billed as a political compromise. Dave Woodward, who was expected to run and had told us he was planning to run for the executive spot in 2020, withdrew his application for the appointment. And county treasurer Andy Meisner, an announced 2020 candidate for the spot at the time, had not sought the appointment and was pushing for a special election instead of the appointment. In fact, last summer, you had already announced you were running for the Michigan House. Now you have announced that you are not just a place holder, so to speak, but will be running for the county executive post.

What prompted the change in your position?

COULTER: I want to qualify that. I don’t think it was a change in my position. I never said when I got the appointment I wouldn’t run or how long I would do it for. It happened so quickly, there wasn’t time to even have those conversations. I literally found out that they were seriously considering appointing me two days before the appointment. They said, ‘hey, you know, we have to make this appointment on Friday.

We just realized that (county commission board chair) Dave Woodward can rescind his resignation and rejoin the board, which means that the Democrats now have the authority and the ability to make the appointment.’ It was 10 to 10. So that to me would have been a true compromise candidate. That’s where I thought they were headed when Dave resigned. I thought they’re going to have to figure out how 10 people on one side and 10 on the other are going to have to navigate this. So I, like you and everyone else, was just watching from the sidelines and going – how are 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats going to come together and decide? What I assumed would happen is that they wouldn’t be able to come up with a compromise candidate, And what the law said if they didn’t make the appointment in 30 days, then Jerry Poisson would stay until the end of next year – he’d have been in this seat.

What changed everything was Dave being able to rescind his resignation just a few days before the appointment. They started talking among themselves and saying, ‘Is there someone in the county that all eleven Democrats would agree to?’ I’ve worked with some of them, but not all of them. It could’ve been anyone. It could have been Andy. It could have been Dave. So that’s when they reached out to me and said, look, your name has been thrown out there. But before we talk much further, is this something you’d be willing to do and consider?

DOWNTOWN: Was it partially done?

NANCY QUARLES (D-LATHRUP VILLAGE) AND A COUPLE OTHER COMMISSIONERS ACTUALLY SAID AT THE MEETING, I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO APPOINT SOMEONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN SERVING BEYOND NEXT YEAR BECAUSE IT POTENTIALLY COULD GIVE YOU A LEG UP FOR NEXT YEAR. DOWNTOWN: So did you have to consider it a bit or did you jump at it, so to speak.

COULTER: That’s a good question. I said, I have to get back to you. Let me think about that. I said yes. I’m open to it. But at no point in the two days did we talk about, what about next year? It was all about Friday. Would you be willing to take this appointment? But what became clear on Friday when the appointment happened, is how many commissioners on that day were expressing their desire for me to announce that day that I would run. In fact, Nancy Quarles (D-Lathrup Village) and a couple other commissioners actually said at the meeting, I think that it’s important for us to appoint someone who is interested in serving beyond next year because it potentially could give you a leg up for next year.

And I said, whoa. You have to give me more time to think about that. I haven’t thought about next year. And it has surprised me, frankly, just how since day one that has been a question that I got almost every day.

There’s a lot that is entailed in taking over a job like this and making sure that this transition goes well. I was very deliberate about that. And I know there’s been some folks who have said, nope, you promised that you wouldn’t do it. That was always my intent, just get in the role, see how it goes, if it’s a good fit, see if I feel like I’m the right fit for it and do that for a while.

And we had a couple of really important things to do right away. The most important of which was the budget. It was due in three weeks from my appointment.

COULTER: Yes. (late county executive L.) Brooks (Patterson) had submitted his budget to the commission in July.

So the commission had his budget, the finance committee had begun its hearings.

But frankly, when Brooks passed, a lot of that was sort of paused, appropriately so. We literally had three weeks.

I said, I think it’s really important that we do what we’ve always done in Oakland County, which is to pass the budget unanimously. I think it sends the right message to our residents and to the bond rating agencies and to the world that we can work on big things together. And the biggest thing we do is the budget. So I said I’d like a unanimous budget. Well, that got some interesting responses because it’s an 11 to 10 board, and my appointment wasn’t unanimous. There was still a lot of angst around some of that. And there were people saying to me, you should really stop saying that because it might not be unanimous. So I dove right into the budget process and got to work on that. At the same time, I had to get a leadership team in place because most of Brooks’s deputy executives chose to use that opportunity to retire.

I had two immediate priorities, which was the budget and picking a leadership team.

One of the things I’m proudest of in my five-and-a-half months, or however long I’ve been here, is the fact that we did get the budget. We met with Republicans, we met with Democrats, we worked really hard. It was not simple. And keep in mind, if you’re going to get all the Republicans out there, there are some things that maybe some Democrats wanted that can’t be in this budget. So it wasn’t a matter of just what’s going to be in the budget, but what isn’t going to be there.

I’m really proud of the fact that we got the budget passed, a three-year balanced budget with a unanimous vote of the commission. I take a lot of pride in that. It was not simple.

I think it helped to set the right message that after 27 years of a Republican administration and Brooks Patterson in particular, who was the face of this county for so long, that even in his absence we can still do the most important thing that we do together. And we did that.

At the same time, I’m really proud of the leadership team that I was able to put together. The challenge for me was I can only promise these people a 16-month assignment.

I’m only guaranteed to be here for 16 months.

So how do I get really good, smart, talented people replacing some people with 30 years of experience and lots of knowledge. And I know that that’s one thing that I’m going to be judged on, is what kind of a leadership team I put in place. That was also really

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DOWNTOWN

02.20

critical to me. I wanted the best people I could find. I feel like I overshot – I have people who were maybe more than qualified for these positions. But I also realized that I needed to look for people that had some background and passion for public service, that if I was going to convince a really good experienced person to come work with me, they were going to also just have to have an internal desire to see this, like I see this, as this amazing opportunity to help lead a transformation in Oakland County and a transition, even if it might just be 16 months.

DOWNTOWN: One of the strengths in the Patterson administration was its team of advisors/deputy executives, including what many considered the top financial advisors. So you recently brought on board two financial advisors as well as as Hilarie Chambers. Can you tell us something about them and their duties and is your executive team now complete?

COULTER: I am bustling with pride to talk about them. By law, I get five deputy executives and they can be used however one chooses to use them. When people talked about Brooks’s appointees and leadership team, a lot of the focus was on those five. But there’s another layer beneath that, which is every director of a department in Oakland County is also an appointee of the county executive. I think it’s 21 or 22. Most of them are still the same. So even though there’s been a lot of attention to the fact that the deputy executives left, most of those are still there running the departments and doing the data.

DOWNTOWN: Tell us why you chose to keep many of them. It seems like you’re really a consensus builder and somebody who wants to have continuity and not just upset the apple cart for the sake of doing that.

COULTER: And that’s why. I could have come in here and broomed all of those folks out and said, nope, I’m going to get my own team of loyalists to me. But I don’t want people that are just loyal to me. I want to I want people that are loyal and passionate about Oakland County. And especially at that director level – these are day-to-day managers of some very specific areas, like I.T., for instance. We have an outstanding director by the name of Mike Timm, who knows I.T. better than I ever will. And for the most part, these are not political people. I don’t know or care what their political persuasions are, frankly. I met with each one of them one-on-one to just get a sense of what they were interested in doing, if they wanted to stay on in this administration,

I COULD HAVE COME IN HERE AND BROOMED ALL OF THOSE FOLKS OUT AND SAID, NOPE, I'M GOING TO GET MY OWN TEAM OF LOYALISTS TO ME. BUT I DON'T WANT PEOPLE THAT ARE JUST LOYAL TO ME. I WANT PEOPLE THAT ARE LOYAL AND PASSIONATE ABOUT OAKLAND COUNTY. what they saw as the challenges and opportunities in their area. I don’t care about their politics. What’s your knowledge and what’s your perspective of your area that you oversee; where do you think the opportunities are? There’s some really strong individuals in those positions. There was no reason for me to to replace them. I’m not asking them to be political. I’m asking them to continue the good work that they’ve done.

DOWNTOWN: Otherwise, you’re throwing out so much institutional wisdom.

COULTER: Yeah, exactly. And especially since we’ve lost an amount of that at the deputy level. I didn’t want to lose it at the director level. And there was no reason to.

I’m very conscious of the fact that I am in a transitional moment where I do want to preserve the continuity of the things that we do really well, because there’s a lot of things that Oakland County does really well. We’re known for our budgeting practices; we’re known for our economic development. We’re known for our outstanding I.T. department in the work they do. And in public health and all of those things.

My first job is to not screw up anything.

I’m going to look for areas where we can improve and grow. But my first job is to make sure it’s not just to to change things for the sake of change.

DOWNTOWN: Does your holding of the post for a year prior to the Democratic primary this August give you an advantage over challengers such as county treasurer Andy Meisner?

COULTER: Well, it gives you a different perspective. I was a county commissioner for eight years. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what the job was. But this is the kind of job that until you sit here and see the decisions that come across your desk, and you understand both the issues that get a lot of publicity and the many issues that are just internal. You don’t really know what it’s like until you’re here. I have a comfort level today that I didn’t have five months ago, or even three months ago, in terms of I get what’s required. I know what I need to do to be successful in this role. And I have the confidence that my experience, both as county commissioner, where I learned county government, and my experience as mayor has prepared me for this. In some ways being mayor has been even more helpful because when you’re the mayor, it’s more of an executive role. It’s a real decision-making role, whereas county commissioner is more of a legislative role. When you’re in the main executive seat and you have to, on a daily basis, make decisions that are important and you have to make them quickly and you have to make them with the best people you can to surround yourself, that’s a different skill set.

This may sound hokey, but you have to be crystal clear about what your leadership and value your leadership style and your values, because you get called to make decisions based on those often.

DOWNTOWN: So let’s go back to your executive team. Tell us about them.

COULTER: Hilarie Chambers plays the role formerly played by (former chief deputy) Jerry Poisson. She’s the chief deputy. It’s a chief of staff role. She, even more so than the other deputies, is the utility infielder. When things pop up quickly and we’re not even sure what area they belong to or who it’s going to impact – she triages those issues and makes sure that we have the right people responding to them. For more than 25 years, she was the chief of staff to (former) Congressman Sandy Levin (D-Royal Oak), primarily working out of his D.C. office. Some people in Michigan don’t know her as well because she lived in Virginia and she worked there, although she was in Michigan often because she oversaw his Michigan district office as well as his D.C. office. I knew her to be just a really outstanding administrator and strategist. No one outworks Hilarie. She knows when an issue arises who needs to be brought in and who we need to hear from and who we need to be communicating with and all of those things. I had a trust level with her. And when Sandy Levin retired, she came back to Michigan to live because this is where her roots are. She took a job for a brief period of time as the CEO of a small non-profit called Reading Works, an adult literacy organization.

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She got recruited away by Jocelyn Benson when she became secretary of state to become her chief of staff. Then I enticed her away. I know she really enjoyed her time at the secretary of state’s office. And she was really enjoying the issues that she was getting to start to dig into. I think the only reason I was able to persuade her is that, you know, we’ve become friends over the years. Hilarie saw, as I did, the opportunity to be part of something historic.

This is a moment in time, you know. I was often asked by some friends, why would you say yes to this? It might only be for a year and a half; the whole political process was ugly and you could get sucked into that.

And my response was this is an opportunity that no one else is going to have to follow an icon like Brooks Patterson, and to both preserve the great things that have been done and yet help lead the transition to what comes next – it’s just a once in a lifetime opportunity. And at my age, I don’t know how many more of those I would ever have.

Hilarie had the same passion because of her public background in public service.

DOWNTOWN: Tell us about the two economic deputies.

COULTER: Based on the talent that we were losing, I knew that I was going to need economic development expertise. I was also going to need somebody with HR experience.

We did a compensation study a couple of years ago that had not been rolled out and it had sort of been this rocky kind of thing, where were we going to implement the comp study? Are we not going to? There was a lot of expectation on the part of employees that this is going to get rolled out, but a lot of anxiety about what it meant. There were some union contracts that were open that needed to be resolved. We’re rolling out what is called Workday, which is, on the one hand, it’s just a piece of software. But on the other hand, it’s going to transform the way our employees do their jobs and interact with the county in terms of human resources, interaction with the county. It’s transformation and it’s going to bring Oakland County into the 21st century in terms of the way we do our H.R. stuff with our employees. There’s an I.T. component that goes with that. April Lynch was my city manager. I hired her in Ferndale as my city manager. She’s an outstanding administrator.

Her expertise is in HR because she has a masters in it. Just sort of dumb luck that she had left Ferndale in February to take the job of vice president of human resources at University of Detroit Mercy. I heard through the grapevine that she might be interested in talking to me about this.

So I didn’t take her out for coffee – I brought her to this office. Let me show her

who’s really knowledgeable and credible in that area...That proved challenging, to get somebody who would make that jump. Bob Klein was the state treasurer of Michigan.

And Mitch Bean was with the House fiscal agency. He was the guy who made sure that all the bills they passed in Lansing were budgeted for appropriately and that there was the funds and all of those things. We call them advisors because they’re not technical employees of ours, but they’re providing us with the budget and financial expertise to make sure we make good budgeting decisions going forward.

WHEN YOU'RE IN THE MAIN EXECUTIVE SEAT AND YOU HAVE TO, ON A DAILY BASIS, MAKE DECISIONS THAT ARE IMPORTANT AND YOU HAVE TO MAKE THEM QUICKLY AND YOU HAVE TO MAKE THEM WITH THE BEST PEOPLE YOU CAN TO SURROUND YOURSELF, THAT'S A DIFFERENT SKILL SET. what an awesome place this is that she can be working. I’ve met with April and talked to her about the wonderful foundation, also the opportunity to put your fingerprints in a new transformational way in some areas that were really needed. And that excited her. And I was able to convince her to come join me.

On economic development, Sean Carlson is someone I knew of. Hilarie worked closely with him and some other folks I know worked closely with him. He worked in the Granholm administration; he oversaw their contracts in procurement. And then after that, he was at the MEDC, which oversees career development for the last seven years. We were able to convince him to come join us on this journey as well.

And then Rudy Hobbs. I don’t know...he’s got sort of the most multi-level experience. He worked for (Rep.) Sandy Levin as his district manager in Michigan, that’s where I got to know him first. But then he ran for Congress and was not successful. He was a state representative from Southfield (2010-2014). So he had that federal experience with Sandy, he was a state rep for four years. He understood how Lansing worked, how Washington worked. And then he was chief of staff for Wayne County Executive Warren Evans. And we knew that we needed to build our government and community relations here. I want us to have good relationships both in the region and within the cities in the county.

And somebody like Rudy is just natural for that. So I got him. So there we are.

The final piece that we put in place was a budget expert. And that proved challenging because you’ve got to get somebody who is at a high skill level. You have to get somebody

DOWNTOWN: You recently announced the creation of a new position – Diversity Officer. What do you hope to accomplish with the creation of this position in your administration?

COULTER: I will say that this is something that the board of commissioners has been interested in for the last several years but that they hadn’t been successful in creating the position. I wanted their input on what they saw, but I also have my own perspective that the diversity of this county, both internally among our own employee workforce, but also the diversity of the residents and population here, are a real strength of ours. And I’m not sure we’ve always acknowledged that and used it to our fullest advantage. One example, and I use this but there’s lots of them like this, but when I was doing an event in Troy, someone shared with me a statistic that said 27 percent of the residents that live in Troy are foreign-born. That surprised me. I know there are strong ethnic populations there. The folks who are there, they’re an asset to our economy. Many of them have high degrees beyond a bachelor’s degree, they’re business owners or working in important industries.

And looking around the county, there’s lots of those kinds of examples. And so how do we integrate that opportunity into our economic development strategy? How do we make sure that we’re tapping into those communities and lifting them up? Part of that is making sure that everyone, regardless of where you were born, feels welcome in Oakland County and is invited to the table. The feedback I’ve gotten is that some folks have not always felt that. I want to make sure that that welcome mat is laid out for everyone. This person is going to have an overall responsibility to directly report to me to make sure that both in our internal practices and in our relationships with our communities and the organizations that serve this community, that we are recognizing and respecting and coordinating with the communities that help make this such a great and diverse community. And that’ll be their primary responsibility.

DOWNTOWN: Oakland County has long

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been renown for its financial success and stewardship – whether its long-term AAA bond ratings, three-year budgets or innovative initiatives such as Automated Alley, Medical MainStreet, and others.

There are concerns by some that you will not maintain the financial prowess of the county and not maintain Oakland County’s prosperity. How do you address that issue, and what are some of your thoughts and proposals for the coming year? If given the mandate in 2020, what would you like to do in Oakland County?

And what is your vision for the next four years?

COULTER: Let me start by saying one of the things that was impressed on me during my eight years as a county commissioner is the budgeting practices of Oakland County. I was on the finance committee for most of that time. I understand and respect the importance of the three-year budgeting cycle that we use. I understand the value of the triple-A bond rating. And the first thing I did in my first meeting as mayor of Ferndale is instruct our finance director to begin to prepare a multi-year budget. We started it with two-year. By the time I left, it was a three-year budgeting practice that we used there. We’re looking five years out in Ferndale. For those who are afraid that I don’t respect that. Believe me, I respect it. We drank the Kool-Aid because I know how it works. Now, it’s not a panacea. It doesn’t make revenue fall from the sky and it doesn’t wave a magic wand and make budgets get balanced. But what the magic of it is that it helps you see problems sooner so that you can begin to react to them sooner so instead of having a financial crisis, you have a challenge early on that you had two or three years to begin to prepare for. I think that the other benefit of it is that it makes budgeting simpler, because when the passing of the budget is the most important thing that the county commission does every year.

In Ferndale, I asked when I got there, what’s our bond rating? Because the AAAbond rating was also burned into my brain.

And honestly, a lot of people didn’t know.

They had to go ask the finance director who ended up asking somebody what it was. It’s just to say that it’s not always the top of mind in a lot of places. But I knew it was top of mind here and I knew why. And we weren’t AAA, but we had decent bond rating.

DOWNTOWN: And so it’s a priority to maintain it for you here.

COULTER: And it’s an absolute priority for me to maintain it here. We’re actually underway now, working with our staff, to get a presentation together that we’re going to take to the bond rating agencies in New York,

that he would be supportive of regional transit if there was something in it for Rochester Hills. You allegedly are a supporter of the current plan. What makes this new plan different from the previous plan? And how would you address some community concerns?

IF I AM FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE ANOTHER FOUR YEARS, WE WILL CONTINUE THREE-YEAR BUDGETING AND FOCUS ON THE BOND RATING. BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR AREAS OF OPPORTUNITY...WE HAVE TO BE ANTICIPATING WHAT COMES NEXT...IT'S IMPORTANT TO CONTINUALLY BE CHALLENGING OURSELVES. and let them know that even though there has been a transition in leadership here, our budgeting philosophy and practices are the same.

If I am fortunate enough to have another four years, we will continue three-year budgeting and focus on the bond rating. But we’re also looking for areas of opportunity.

The world changes. And we have to be anticipating what comes next. It’s important to continually be challenging ourselves and not rest on our laurels of saying, well, Oakland County has always been successful – and that’s true, but it doesn’t mean it always will just by going on autopilot. I didn’t come here to keep the seat warm for 16 months and hand it over to someone else.

We’re actively looking and challenging ourselves every day. How can we improve?

What are the emerging needs and opportunities and let’s get to work on them.

DOWNTOWN: Officials in southeast Michigan are now looking at coming to voters in 2020 with a mass transit plan and accompanying property tax proposal that would involve Oakland, Wayne and Washtenaw counties following failure of a proposal in 2016 that also included Macomb County. Brooks Patterson had supported the creation of a Regional Transit Authority but, along with Macomb County, did not work for passage of the last plan, contending that Oakland would be contributing a disproportionate share of tax dollars and some areas of the county would not benefit from the plan. Some in northern Oakland, like Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett, has recently said

COULTER: I have to start by just correcting one thing. There isn’t a new plan yet. There is not a plan on the table today. One of the things I said from the beginning was I’m not interested in simply dusting off the plan that didn’t pass in 2016 and selling it better. I took the perspective that the plan failed in Oakland County, and I want a better understanding of why. Transit is changing, period, right now. Every year. Every day. 2016 was four years ago – we’ve got to prepare not only for what’s needed now, but what’s going to be needed 10 years from now. I don’t have a crystal ball, but mobility is clearly, clearly changing in dramatic ways. If we’re gonna do this, it has to be a plan that makes sense for Oakland County now and going forward in the future. And it has to address the weaknesses of the last plan. Number one, I heard this from people, and I happen to agree now that I’ve taken a closer look at it, in the last plan, the main arteries had some very strong transit proponents to it, but there weren’t enough east-west connections to get people to those roads. The other criticism that you referenced was that there wasn’t enough in the outlying parts of the county, not just the north, but the west end as well, to make it a value to them. And so I’ve challenged us to say, are there things that we could add to this plan? We’ve been spending a lot of time having conversations and meetings. I met with township supervisors who primarily represent the north and west. They gave me an earful about what they don’t like, but also some are open to possibility. You mentioned Mayor Barnett. He said, “I’m not necessarily opposed to transit. But the issue is this and often the issue is what they call the last mile salary. We can get you to a transit stop, but how do we get it to your subdivision?” People that live in a rural subdivision or suburbs are not going to walk a mile to a bus stop to take it. So how do we figure that out? I don’t pretend to have the answer today.

DOWNTOWN: Do you believe it will be on the ballot in November 2020?

COULTER: I don’t know, because what I’ve consistently said is for me the plan is more important than the timing. I understand that there’s a lot of people that would like to have this on the ballot in 2020, and I’m as anxious as they are. But it has to be a plan that I can go out to the voters and say, yes –’This plan I believe this plan is in the best interests of Oakland County.’ And if I can’t do that, then I

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would rather wait for a plan I could. We’re having great conversations. But these are conversations to develop the plans. And once we draft the plan, you can’t get enough community input. You need to hear from people. So when we do draft the plan, which I hope happens relatively soon, we’re going to take that plan out on the road and we’re going to share it with people, while it’s still in the draft phase. And I am committed to that.

DOWNTOWN: I’m very glad you clarified it, because, if I’m reading all this and had that perception I’m sure a lot of other people did as well.

COULTER: The issue was this – the RTA, as it was drafted that Brooks and Mark Hackel, everyone supported was a four-county, all-in plan. So it had to be all Oakland, all Macomb, all Wayne and all Washtenaw, and obviously that includes Detroit. You can’t modify that without going back to the legislature. The Municipal Partnership Act allows you to create a different footprint.

That’s all it does. The other confusion I want to make really clear is – because this wasn’t even clear to us when we started going down this municipal partnership act is, there’s language in the Municipal Partnership Act that allows municipalities that want to form a partnership with another municipality, which is what we would be doing – to levy up to five mills. Suddenly people saw that and said, oh, my gosh, they want five mills. I want to be crystal clear about that. The last plan in 2016 was 1.2 mills. There is no interest in going up to five or four or three or two. That’s a nonstarter. Because that’s in the Municipal Partnership Act, we will make sure that whatever we roll out is back in the ballpark of where we were before. I don’t know exactly what the number will be because we don’t have a plan yet. It might be less expensive because Macomb isn’t in, but we don’t have that now.

DOWNTOWN: Some critics of the past administration have claimed that Brooks Patterson was not a willing regional player, despite his support of a regional approach to sewer and water, Cobo, the DIA. How will your administration’s approach be different than the past administration regionally?

COULTER: I want to be a player at the regional table. I think it’s important because I think there’s a number of issues that Oakland County can work on with our regional neighbors that will also benefit Oakland County. But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna be a pushover or that I’m going to let other communities break open the piggy bank of ‘Bank of Oakland County.’ I’m the Oakland

this – that’s not a change in policy in Oakland County. Oakland County had already been open to accepting refugees. What changed was at the national level. The Trump administration put in a new policy that if you’re a unit of government, like a county or the state of Michigan – because the governor sent the same letter – then we’re going to ask you to state that in a letter to the secretary of state.

They already are being settled. We already accept refugees here. That’s not a change in policy in Oakland County. It’s just enunciated, and that was a requirement of the Trump administration.

I'M THE OAKLAND COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND MY RESPONSIBILITY IS TO THE RESIDENTS OF OAKLAND COUNTY. BUT I DO SEE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO WORK MORE COLLABORATIVELY TOGETHER BECAUSE OAKLAND COUNTY DOES HAVE COMPETITORS – BUT I VIEW OUR COMPETITORS MORE BROADLY...

County executive and my responsibility is to the residents of Oakland County. But I do see opportunities for us to work more collaboratively together because Oakland County does have competitors – but I view our competitors more broadly, like China and India and Europe and other states.

Metro Detroit can do a better job of working together to attract businesses and jobs to this region. I want to be somebody who’s at that table advocating for Oakland County and the region.

DOWNTOWN: So we talked before about changing demographics and immigrants.

Your office recently put out a memo which stated that Oakland County welcomes refugees, and that immigrants strengthen communities, noting you sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, noting that refugees have been an important source of population growth and stability.

Refugee entrepreneurs generated between 70 million and 90 million dollars in economic benefits, provided local jobs, and paid almost $131 million dollars in taxes in 2015. Did you receive a response from the State Department by any chance?

COULTER: I believe so.

DOWNTOWN: What were you hoping to achieve by sending it? Would you like to see more immigrants and refugees settling in Oakland County, and if so, how would you work to achieve that?

COULTER: Let me just let me start by saying

DOWNTOWN: Recently, the board of commissioners passed a nondiscrimination policy covering sexual discrimination and gender identity and veterans covering employees of the county, as well as county vendors and contractors which was actually just a fine-tuning of Oakland County’s 2010 Equal Opportunity and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy.

However, a Birmingham Republican running for county commission took issue with the passage of the policy, asserting that it would cost taxpayers money. Would you like to comment on this and whether an offer of equality for all actually creates the impression of openness and opportunity for millennials and others seeking a welcoming community and welcoming environment?

COULTER: I want Oakland County to be perceived as welcoming to anyone who wants to live here and contribute here. I can’t imagine why anybody would want to take the side of discriminating against anybody. And I was proud to sign the resolution passed by the county commission that we’re not going to allow discrimination in Oakland County in our practice this year, including based on sexual orientation and gender identity. That’s a fundamental value that I have. And by the way, I don’t think it has a financial impact.

It’s the right thing to do, not just morally, but from an economic development perspective. I want to make sure everyone feels welcome to come work here and contribute here and pay taxes here.

DOWNTOWN: As an openly gay man, how important do you believe it would be for the Michigan legislature to expand the Elliott-Larson Civil Rights Act? COULTER: I go back to what I said. I don’t know how people can argue that any kind of discrimination should be allowed in this day and age. As a gay man, but also just as a decent human being, I’m wholly supportive of expanding our nondiscrimination policy in this state.

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John Rutherford aised in Saginaw with an early passion for theater, Birmingham Groves High School teacher John Rutherford said there wasn't much opportunity to develop his interest. As director of theater at Groves, he has created the type of program in which he had dreamed of participating.

"The kind of teacher I am is the kind of teacher I always wanted to have as a student," Rutherford said. "When I was in high school, we didn't have a vibrant theater program. There was a part-time teacher, who was also the football coach, who taught a couple of theater classes, and I approached him and asked if he would sponsor a theater program. By my junior year, I produced a version of "The Wizard of Oz." I found family and some community members to get involved, and basically produced the show. That was the way I was wired. I'm very much a hands-on learner."

Rutherford began teaching after earning his undergraduate degree from Central Michigan University, but decided he needed a master's degree in theater, so he quit his job and went back to school at Eastern Michigan University. When he finished, he took up theater work anywhere he could teach it, including Cranbrook Schools, Andover High School, Detroit High School for the Performing Arts, Young People's Theater in Ann Arbor, and teaching for a handful of years at Fitzgerald High School in Warren.

"I worked wherever they had a theater and there were kids who were interested in theater," he said.

In 2019, Rutherford celebrated his 20th year at Groves, where he has helped to develop the program into a state and nationally recognized performing arts company.

In 2007, Rutherford was the first and only theater teacher to receive the Governor's Award for Arts and Culture; he has been named the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association's Theater Teacher of the Year; the Eastern Michigan Alumni Achievement Award; and has been inducted into the

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Michigan Speech Coaches Hall of Fame as well as the Michigan Education Theater Association's Hall of Fame.

Key to Rutherford's success is his hand's on approach to learning. Each year's production allows students to learn all aspects of the industry, from onstage performances to writing, research, stage crafting and beyond. The approach gives students an understanding that rivals university programs in terms of education, and gives them a clear advantage when reaching the collegiate level.

"Students are on stage, but they also design the lighting system and run the lights. There is a student sound crew. They are ushering you to the seats," he said. "You don't see the students backstage. The technical production, the hair and makeup, choreography and costumes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it's all students."

Dozens of Rutherford's former students have gone on to have successful careers, on and off the stage, on Broadway and in film, including Tonynominated producer Rachel Sussman; Broadway performers Evan Kasprzak, Shannon Eagen and Dayna Dantzler; and dozens of other professionals in the industry.

"There are so many that are doing amazing things. The number of former students who are actively employed in the theater and film industry is pretty amazing," he said. "My favorite moment is when another teacher comes in and sees a student who may be struggling or having behavior issues, and they say, 'That's not even the same student.'

"It's a lot of hard work and perseverance, but I expect greatness out of these people, and we will only be great if we are expected to be great."

Story: Kevin Elliott

Photo: Laurie Tennent

CANNABIS THE NEW REALITIES OF STATE LEGALIZED RECREATIONAL USE

BY KEVIN ELLIOTT

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ichigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) announced adult-use marijuana sales had crossed the $10 million mark on January 12, for the first time since the first recreational sales were permitted on December 1.

That works out to approximately $1 million in excise taxes from adult-use marijuana sales, and another $665,969 in sales tax for the state.

The figures are tiny in comparison to other states whose adult-use, or recreational, marijuana sales have far outpaced Michigan's, where just a handful of retail shops have been permitted to sell cannabis for recreational use. Washington, for instance, had $1.2 billion in recreational cannabis sales in 2018, and estimates are that will grow to $1.5 billion by 2022. California had $3.1 billion in adult-use sales in 2018; and Colorado, $1.3 billion. Other states, like Michigan – which was the 10th state in the nation to allow for recreational cannabis following the approval of Proposal 1, which allows for adults 21 and older to use cannabis and grow up to 12 plants, or store up to 10 ounces of cannabis – are off to a slower start.

Oregon, for instance, which approved non-medical cannabis in 2014, saw $553 million in sales in 2018; Nevada had $317 million; and Massachusetts, which legalized cannabis in 2016, had $212 million in sales in 2018. Illinois, Vermont and Maine have also legalized adult-use cannabis, with Illinois provisioning facilities going online in January of 2020, and Vermont and Maine failing to implement a practical system.

In Michigan, adult-use cannabis sales are expected to hit $663 million by 2022. But with only a limited number of provisioning centers open, finding a legal place to purchase adult-use cannabis in Oakland County won't be likely until the end of February. Even then, it's unknown how long supplies will last.

"It looks like we will be the only one in Wayne, Oakland or Macomb County for six to eight months," said Jerry Millen, owner of The Greenhouse of Walled Lake. "We got our state license. Right now, we are waiting for the city license and for them to do the walk-through. We jumped through all the hoops and passed all tests. It's been a marathon, not a sprint."

David Harns with LARA's Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA), which regulates the state's adult-use marijuana establishments and licenses in accordance with the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act (MRTMA), said on Wednesday, January 15, that about 60 licenses had been issued by the agency, including about 35 on the retail sales side.

"If they have a license, then they are approved by us," Harns said. "When they decide to open the doors and sell their products is up to them. But from our point of view, once you get your license and are set up in the state's monitoring system, you're good to go."

Three shops in Ann Arbor opened their doors for adult-use sales on December 1, 2019, including Greenstone Provisions, Exclusive Brands and Arbor's Wellness. Despite the low rollout of retail shops, Harms said there was no delay on behalf of the state.

"There wasn't a delay," he said. "The ballot proposal that was passed gave us one year to start accepting applications, so that was December 6. We started on November 1 and issued the emergency rules and gave everyone, including municipalities, four months to decide what level they want to participate, or if they wanted to opt in or out. Many businesses were up and running on December 1. It's been a slow and steady climb since we started."

In terms of dispensaries, which the state licenses as retail "provisioning centers," the state had issued licenses as of January 14, 2020, to 35 locations, including just one in the tri-county area. Those licenses issued include: Breedsville Provisioning Center, LLC, Breedsville; 1st Quality Medz, Rouge; Green Tree Relief, Reading; Park Place previsionary, Muskegon; Greenhouse of Walled Lake; Dank on Arrival, Bay City (approved for home delivery); 20 Past 4, Jackson; Releaf Center for Compassionate Care, Niles; Choice Labs, Jackson; Meds Cafe, Rogers City (approved for home delivery); Battle Creek Provisioning, Battle Creek; Pinnacle Emporium, Morenci; Green Planet Patient Collective, Ann Arbor; Puff Cannabis Company, Bay City; Remedii, Morenci; Releaf Center fro Compassionate Care, Chesaning; Nature’s Medicines, Bay City; Herbology, River Rouge; Roots, Bay City; Bloom City Club, Ann Arbor; The Fire Station, Negaunee; Mission Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor; Battle Spring, Battle Creek (home delivery approved); Natures ReLeaf, Burton, Home Delivery; Elite Wellness, Mt. Morris; White River Wellness, White Cloud; The Barn, Burton; Ann Arbor Healing, Ann Arbor; Lit Provisioning Centers/Lume Cannabis Co., Evart; Green Peak Innovations/Skymint, Ann Arbor; Michigan Supply and Provisions, Morenci; Greenstone, Ann Arbor;

Arbors Wellness, Ann Arbor; Exclusive Provisioning Centers, Ann Arbor.

There are several types of licenses that the state issues in regard to adultuse marijuana. In addition to three different stages of growing licenses, the state licenses provisioning centers, safety compliance centers where cannabis is tested in a certified lab environment; processing centers where marijuana is processed for various products, including edible candies and baked good, butters, tinctures, and concentrates; marijuana transporters; and microbusiness licenses, which allow for the growing, processing and sales of marijuana in limited amounts. There are also three new licenses offered by the state, including a marijuana event organizer license, which allows for temporary marijuana events, for which there is also a license available; as well as a designated consumption establishment license, which is a commercial space that is licensed by the state for consuming marijuana on premises.

Under the state's law, there are no restrictions on the amount of THC in a product, in terms of concentration or percentage. However, there are limits on how much THC some products can have in total. For instance, gummies and baked goods are limited to 10 mg of THC per serving, or 100 mg per container. Likewise, capsules and tinctures are limited at 10 mg per serving and 200 mg per container.

In addition to provisioning center licenses listed, the state has issued 14 grower licenses; six processor licenses; one safety compliance facility license; two event organizer licenses; and four transporter licenses, including one to Motas Transportation in Hazel Park.

Despite the insistence that there is no delay in the issuance of licenses, at least one court case has been filed against the state and the city of Detroit on behalf of a number of retail store owners that say the state is holding off on issuing their licenses while the city of Detroit sorts out its own issues. ttorney Denise Pollicella, with Cannabis Attorneys of Michigan and the Michigan Cannabis Development Association, is representing several shop owners. She said Detroit has been a constant issue because of the large bureaucracy in the city that slows down the process. As Pollicella described it, "it moves slowly, like an ocean liner.

"It's not doing as well as anyone had hoped at this point. The industry wasn't rolled out in the correct fashion, as everyone knows," she said. "It started with the provisioning centers, but we should have had growers and processing facilities first, but we had the sellers before we had any grow facilities licensed. Now, it's like having 100 fish in a bowl and only five pieces of food.

"There's a significant shortage of licensed marijuana in Michigan. That has been helped by testing standards that are very, very high. I'm not knocking the licensing agency for that – we want it to be the safest possible.

I think everyone is doing their best, but the standards are very, very high.

Some eastern states have learned you can't test for all molds."

When it comes to testing, the state requires testing labs to be accredited to the standards of the International Organization for Standards by an International Laboratory Accreditation Corporation. Testing requires samples be tested for more than 100 different contaminants, including molds, pesticides, heavy metals and solvents. For instance, labs are required to look for residuals such as acetone, chloroform, toluene and other chemical residues; heavy metals like lead, mercury and cadmium; various foreign matter; and other harmful contaminants.

Pollicella said that the rollout of the cannabis market has unintentionally incentivized the black market with changes that allow caregivers to sell to provisioning centers, rather than directly to patients.

"It has incentivized the growing of unlicensed marijuana on an unlicensed market," she said. "The intent was to allow for the market to be selfsufficient, but it has disincentivized caregivers that should be working for or owning a licensed facility to instead use the black market. Now we have an illegal adult-use market putting stress on the legal market. When the state does things they think will help the industry, like the incentive for caregivers to act in an illegal manner by selling to people who aren't their clients, they have incentivized growing in residential neighborhoods. And that is making marijuana the enemy all over again. There's no reason this can't be a licensed, regulated drug. For some reason, we are having a hard time."

In addition to policies that may inadvertently contribute to black market sales of cannabis, the basic laws of economics say that supply and demand influences prices. Therefore, a shortage of legal supply that drives up prices may simply drive others to the black market for lower prices.

"I think it will take months or years for the market to pan out, with the

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highest (number of) users having black market connections they will probably use," said attorney Matt Abel, who specializes in cannabis issues and serves as executive director for the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). "Until it gets a lot less expensive at stores, I think it will be more light to medium smokers and people experimenting (visiting shops). But, if we don't have any stores – if you want cannabis in Detroit and you don't have a medical card – you go into the neighborhoods."

Cannabis retailers must pay state licensing fees of about $25,000 each year, in addition to a $6,000 non-refundable fee, and traditional business expenses. Growers pay between $6,000 and $50,000 annually, depending on the amount of product produced. Each batch of cannabis must also be tested prior to being offered for sale, at $500 per test. Finally, there’s both a six-percent sales tax and 10-percent excise tax on each sale, all contributing to the legal cannabis costing two to three times more than black market cannabis.

At the federal level, marijuana is still considered a Schedule I illegal drug. Therefore, there exists no real way for many in the cannabis industry to conduct federal banking or claim some expenses on taxes, as their business is illegal in the eyes of the federal government. organ Fox, media relations director for the National Cannabis Industry Association, said there are a number of policy issues that have been debated in Congress and the Senate, with the Safe Banking Act passing the House in December. Additionally, The Moore Act would remove marijuana as a scheduled controlled substance. Still, he said, progress is moving slowly.

"Michigan was unique in that until legalization, there was a vague system set up for medical, while most states had a system set up before hand, so you have more issues in starting an adult use market from scratch," Fox explained.

Abel said the slow rollout of the adult-use market in Michigan can be blamed on the poor system first set up by former Gov. Rick Snyder.

"But really, with recreational, the state is ahead of its required deadline," Abel said. "They haven't been terribly consistent and it really begs for a legislative fix. There has never been authority for caregivers to supply the system, and nobody had challenged it. But it doesn't look like supply will meet demand anytime soon."

Walled Lake City Manager Dennis Whitt said just prior to the state issuing Millen's license for Greenhouse, that it was waiting on the state to issue its license before the city could finish the process on its end. "We expect the state is updating the background on ownership and expect this month that the state will be in there," he said.

Whitt, who used to enforce laws against marijuana as a former police chief, is now helping to regulate businesses in Walled Lake, which has taken a proactive approach to cannabis businesses in the city.

"The idea to regulate them was so that it doesn't turn into the wild west of marijuana," he said. "I used to put people in jail for it. If it was 5 ounces or more, it was a felony. Now, I'm the guy who signs their licenses.

The war on drugs that was declared in my time – those were failed attempts. We got half of America in jail for stupid decisions from arrogant politicians. Other states seem to have done it a little more efficiently."

With things moving forward with his shop, Millen said he's preparing for the grand opening of his adult-use cannabis business. He has been licensed and conducting medical marijuana sales since February of 2019.

"It's looking like the end of February," Millen said of adult-use sales.

"We could go sooner, but I want to make sure it's done in the right way, and I want to make sure it's right for our patients."

Part of the new business plan is to add 700-square-feet to the building and six new registers. Millen has also added a second parking lot, reserving the rear lot for medical patients.

"I spent a half-million dollars on the parking lot across the street," Millen said. "I've turned that into a parking lot for the city. I'm allowing other businesses to use it, but we spent our own money to put it in."

The delay in opening also allows Millen to make sure he has adequate product for both his medical customers and adult-use patrons.

"There's a product shortage," Millen said. "We are allowed to split our medical product in half, but just one time. And we will sell out."

Patients and provisioning centers, formerly classified as "dispensaries" by the state, have been contending with a shortage in product. The state in 2018 allowed shops to purchase cannabis from licensed caregivers as

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the state's licensing system gets off the ground. The move was deemed necessary by shop owners in short supply of product, but has been criticized as a means of encouraging sales on the black market instead of through the state's monitoring program.

Most recently, the state said it would allow licensed recreational dispensaries to use up to 50 percent of products originally earmarked for the medical marijuana market. The change allows for most products, including edibles, concentrates, tinctures and other cannabis products to be transferred to the recreational market, with some exceptions.

Under Michigan's law, products with concentrated THC levels, such as some medicated creams, oil cartridges, "wax" and "shatter," are allowed.

Concentrates are made from processing cannabis to derive higher than normal levels of THC, which can then be consumed directly by smoking as a wax, or can be used to create other products, such as topical creams and edibles. Shatter is a hardened, translucent wax made from marijuana extract. Items such as Butane Hash Oil, Rock Simpson Oil and wax are types of concentrates named for their textures.

"Some of the medical products have a higher dosage, so there's not a limit on the THC concentration, but total per product. Like a candy bar for medical sales can have a maximum of 200 mg of THC, and for recreational its 100 mg," Millen said. "The rules tend to change daily.

Every day we wait for something else. It's definitely a challenge.

"Everyone thinks that once you get a marijuana license that you become a millionaire," he said. "I've been in the journey for 12 years, and we still haven't made a dime from the cannabis industry. Everything we make right now is being reinvested. It's still a business, and there are lots of hurdles.”

While Walled Lake is taking a proactive approach to the cannabis industry locating in its jurisdiction, many suburban communities have voted to opt out of allowing any licensed facilities, which include growing licenses, micro-business licenses, processors, retailers, transporters, safety compliance facilities, event organizers, temporary event organizing licenses and designated consumption licenses. Municipalities may opt out of allowing any licenses, or it may modify the amount and type of licenses it permits in a community. By regulating licenses in a municipality, the governing body can also determine through zoning where those facilities are located or designate other requirements.

In Birmingham, where voters approved adult-use recreational marijuana by 60.71 percent to 39.29 percent, the city is playing a waitand-see game to see if opting in will even be advantageous.

"The idea being that in as much as this is new, and at the time that regulations weren't established, the thought was to wait and see how the regulations got worked out before we implement any regulations for the city," said Birmingham City Manager Joe Valentine. "They (city commission) passed that about a year ago, and the regulations went into effect at the end of last year. Now it's getting started. As the kinks get worked out, we'll have a better understanding of what the implications are with all of this and have an informed approach on how we regulate it."

In Bloomfield Township, where voters approved adult-use cannabis by 52.25 percent to 47.75 percent, the board of trustees has opted out of the marijuana field, citing a lack of appropriate locations in the township.

"In terms of recreational, we aren't the kind of community that has that kind of land and business area available. Anything that is available, the cost is so expensive that it wouldn't make sense for someone to start a grow operation in Bloomfield Township," said Bloomfield Township Supervisor Leo Savoie. “Nobody has brought it up. If others want to do it, I don't know, but we haven't had a request from anyone."

Likewise, neighboring Bloomfield Hills City Manager David Hendrickson said the city commission has opted out of recreational marijuana businesses, and doesn't expect any change. Bloomfield Hills residents voted against adult-use cannabis, 52.61 percent to 47.39 percent. long with Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills, about four dozen municipalities in Oakland County have opted out of permitting adult-use and medical cannabis businesses in their community, including: Addison Township; Auburn Hills; Berkley; Beverly Hills; Bingham Farms; Brandon Township; Clarkston; Clawson; Commerce Township; Farmington; Farmington Hills; Franklin; Groveland Township; Highland Township; Holly Village; Holly Township; Huntington Woods; Independence Township; Keego Harbor; Lathrup Village; Leonard; Lyon Township; Milford; Milford Township; Northville; Novi; Oak Park; Oakland Township; Orchard Lake; Oxford Village; Oxford Township; Pleasant

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Ridge; Rochester; Rochester Hills; Rose Township; Royal Oak; Royal Oak Township; South Lyon; Southfield; Southfield Township; Springfield Township; Sylvan Lake; Troy; Waterford Township; West Bloomfield Township; White Lake Township; Wixom; and Wolverine Lake. oters in Michigan on November 6, 2018, approved Michigan's Proposal 1 Marijuana Legalization Initiative by a vote of 55.89 percent (2,354,640 votes) in favor to 44.11 percent (1,858,354 votes) against legalizing adult-use cannabis. The law allows municipalities to opt out of allowing marijuana establishments in their community. However, the law provides voters to petition a municipality to allow for marijuana establishments if a petition is signed by more than 5 percent of votes cast in that municipality for governor in the last gubernatorial election and then the issue would appear on a local ballot for voters to decide.

Troy city attorney Alan Motzny said the city hasn't opted into recreational facilities and doesn't believe there is any plan to do so. Voters in Troy rejected recreational marijuana at the ballot by a vote of 51.28 percent against and 48.72 percent for approval.

"Medical was also discussed some time ago when the state authorized commercial facilities, and they specifically opted out," Motzny said.

West Bloomfield Township Supervisor Steve Kaplan said the township board voted 7-0 to opt out of allowing any retail marijuana businesses.

However, it does allow for some non-retail facilities for medical marijuana.

Voters in West Bloomfield approved adult-use marijuana by a vote of 58.53 percent to 41.47 percent.

"We don't allow establishments or dispensaries of any kind," Kaplan said. "It's a dead issue. We were one of the first in Oakland County to opt out on recreational businesses, and we never approved medicinal dispensaries. We respect the will of the people regarding marijuana, but we don't have to provide dispensaries."

Despite the prevailing "not in my backyard" approach to cannabis businesses in most local communities, some municipalities are taking their time to craft ordinances that will best regulate the businesses. For instance, Royal Oak has a local moratorium on marijuana businesses, and has opted out of the state's permitting. However, interim city manager David Gillam said the moratorium will soon expire and marijuana businesses are on the horizon.

"The city has never opted into the medical side, but the city commission has expressed an interest in doing that. In terms of adult-use, or recreational, we do have an opt-out on the books, but that provided for a sunset on February 1," he said. "We wanted to see what the state did on their regulations before we move forward on everything. We are looking at that, and the current commission wants to move forward with recreational â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we had about 70 percent of people that voted in favor of Prop 1."

Voters in Royal Oak voted 69.05 percent in favor of adult-use marijuana and 30.95 percent against.

In addition to voter figures, Royal Oak hired a third-party advisor to survey residents about marijuana businesses in the city, including what kinds of businesses, where they should be located and whether to limit the number permitted by the city.

"The numbers in the survey were pretty comparable," Gillam said. "It's something the city wants to do. We are working on getting an ordinance framework in place. I don't think it will be by February 1, so we will ask the commission to further extend the moratorium to allow us to get all our ducks in a row."

Cobalt Community Research in April, 2019, sent out 3,000 surveys to residents in Royal Oak and received 1,149 responses. The survey found the majority of residents support all types of marijuana businesses in the city, but that some limits should be put in place, with comments having a strong theme of being consistent with alcohol regulation. Overall, the survey found 65 percent agreed to allow growing businesses; 76 percent to allow safety compliance facilities; 66 percent to allow processors; 64 percent to allow micro-businesses; and 67 percent to allow for retailers.

Gillam said the city's planning commission has already done the zoning work, which will likely recommend allowing five different recreational types, including provisioning centers. Those businesses could include processing or growing centers in the city's industrial zones, or provisioning shops in commercial districts.

"In Royal Oak, that means along Woodward for the commercial areas, and on the mile roads, along with the north end of town," Gillam said.

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"Some commissioners may be trying to make allowances for microbusinsses. They find that particularly attractive. It wouldn't surprise me if we see a recommendation from the planning commission soon."

Gillam said local municipalities can include local licensing fees, and some portion of tax revenue eventually trickles down to the municipalities which allow for businesses. However, without knowing what will be allowed, there is not yet an estimate on the impact on the city's tax revenues.

In Pontiac, the city on January 6, started accepting applications for medical marijuana provisioning centers, with a closing date of January 27. The city is also accepting applications for growers, processors, safety compliance testing and secure transporters. While the city's leadership has yet to say whether a move to adult-use businesses is expected, local property owners say businesses are lining up to get a space in the city's downtown area.

Voters in Pontiac voted 67.79 percent in favor of legalizing adult-use marijuana and 32.21 percent against.

Alan Bishop, who recently sold Mr. Alan's Shoes, said while he won't be directly involved in the cannabis industry, as a property owner, he has been approached by dozens of parties who want to open shop in his Pontiac buildings.

"I'm not going to be involved in any of the businesses. I don't understand that business. I'm a landlord. I understand retail and property, but truthfully I don't do cannabis and don't know anything about the business," he said. ith dozens of prospective tenants to weed through, Bishop said he looks for professionals with business experience who have the capabilities and resources to operate a successful business that will not only help his property, but the business district overall. A key location, he said, may be at his original Mr. Alan's location at Telegraph and Huron.

"The people that have a possible lease there are the best I've come across," Bishop said. "They are very honest business people who were also in the retail business."

In addition to Bishop, Pontiac property owners Tim Shepard and Bob Waun are handpicking tenants they believe will create a safe and financially secure atmosphere. Shepard, owner of Riker Properties, and Bob Waun, C3 Ventures, envision a Haight-Ashbury vibe downtown, with yoga studios, independent restaurants and specialty stores, and even a farmers market for cannabis that will serve as a destination.

"I believe Pontiac will be taking a professional approach, with a sort of 'Starbucks of weed,' in Pontiac," Waun said. "I don't think it's bad for Pontiac. It's in the city's blood to try new things. My role as a property owner is to eliminate those who would do it wrong. Pontiac will be a safe experience. There is a way to do it here that is very professional."

Shepard said that with medical facilities on the way, there will be an estimated 20 dispensaries in Pontiac that will eventually transition to adult-use provisioning centers. While he said 20 sounds like a lot of retail shops, consider they are drawing on a population of about 1 million individuals from communities that have opted out of providing consumers with a product.

"It's never really been done to revitalize a town because looking at history, people think marijuana is a drug, and I think most people agree that's not the case," Shepard said. "Here we have a downtown but we don't have pedestrian traffic...we connected the dots and found about 250 to 750 people per day will walk into a dispensary. The foot traffic is massive. If you put five in downtown and scatter 15 around the city ... we said it's a great way to do it."

Despite the promise of cannabis, Shepard said whether the actual marijuana businesses make as much money as people believe is yet to be seen. It's one reason, he said, that he's not investing in the industry himself.

"It's a hard process. The amount people spend on licenses from the state and getting a location â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it's a massive amount of money that people are putting out," he said. "Then they can't expense normal business expenses in a retail location (on federal taxes). I don't know if I could survive if I can't write off expenses.

"It's like any business. If it's profitable, then everyone is doing it until it's not profitable. That's just supply and demand. They are all trying to establish their brands and be here for years, not worrying about shortterm gains."

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MUNICIPAL McMorrow files harassment complaint

By Kevin Elliott and Lisa Brody

State Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Royal Oak) on Tuesday, January 21, filed a two-page sexual harassment complaint with the Michigan Senate Business Office against fellow state Senator Pete Lucido (R-Shelby Township) for an incident which occurred in November 2018.

Both McMorrow and Lucido were elected to the Michigan Senate in November of 2018; Lucido previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives. Both he and McMorrow were attending new senator orientation in Lansing.

McMorrow said she walked over to introduce herself to Lucido following a break after sexual harassment training.

"He reached out to shake my hand, and with the other hand, held very low on my back, with fingers grazing my hip and upper rear. He asked what my name was and where I was from," McMorrow stated in her complaint. "After a bit of back and forth, he asked, 'Who'd you run against?' I responded, 'I beat Marty Knollenberg." At that moment, still holding his hand on my low back, he looked me up and down, raised his eyebrows, and said, 'I can see why.'"

McMorrow, nearly half the age of Lucido, said it was clear at that moment that Lucido had no real interest in her background or experience. Rather, she said the implication was that she won because of the way she looks.

"In a split second, I was reduced to a piece of meat," she said.

State Sen. Rosemary Bayer (DBloomfield Township) said she witnessed the interaction. “We were in class together, meeting each other for the first time. I saw his hand on her back.” She said she didn't hear their interaction.

What Bayer did hear was Lucido's reaction to the sexual harassment training. “He just got up and was strutting around and saying 'We're an old boys' club and nothing would ever change.' That their interns aren't paid and they're entitled to do what they want. He was being really obnoxious, and he thinks it's okay. I couldn't believe it. I didn't speak up during the class because I didn't want to be labeled 'the bra-burner' and not get anything done for eight years.”

McMorrow's complaint was filed one week after an encounter between downtownpublications.com

New clerk resigns before taking job

By Lisa Brody

ames Allen, who had been sworn in as the new city clerk in Birmingham at the city commission meeting on December 16, unexpectedly resigned Monday, December 30, prior to beginning the position.

Allen, who worked in the clerk's office in West Bloomfield, wrote to city manager Joe Valentine that since he was selected and sworn in as clerk, “I have dealt with an unexpected weight of anxiety that I have been unable to overcome.” While he had always acknowledged he is a low-key person, he apologized for not realizing that he could not handle being in a public position.

On Friday, January 3, the ad hoc city clerk selection committee reconvened to determine their next steps. Valentine said they have a few options, including going back to their original candidates and seeing if any are right for the position, especially in light of elections in March, August and November, and that interim clerk Cheryl Arft has announced that she will retire sometime this summer, likely before the August election. The city currently has a posting for a deputy clerk position.

Birmingham human resources manager Ben Myers noted they have already received over 100 applications for deputy clerk, but very few have had municipal clerk experience.

Commissioner Rackeline Hoff suggested waiting until after the January 17 deadline and seeing who applied for it, and then hiring two deputy clerks, with the idea that one could later be promoted to city clerk.

Commissioner Stuart Sherman noted the number two applicant in the city clerk candidate search was only within a point of Allen, the first choice candidate.

“She had a lot going for her,” he said. “I think we move forward with our second choice… We can't teach enthusiasm, and we can't teach smarts. Whether they fit into the culture, that's something I can't control.

She met those two criteria.”

“I think the number two candidate would work well in this community, and she has quite a bit of experience in elections,” Arft said.

“I think she's someone who would fit in with the city. She was very confident, which I think would be good. You have to be confident to be a clerk.”

“She may be able to jump into the position, but it's premature to put her in the position,” countered Hoff. “If she applies for the deputy position, maybe we can try her out. She has no management experience.

We don't have a gauge on her other skills. I am not in favor of bringing her on for clerk.”

The committee decided to delay a decision until after the January 17 deadline for deputy clerk to see the entire pool of applicants, while acknowledging that a hiring decision would put a candidate starting likely at the beginning of March, when, as Sherman said, “we'll know nothing about how they'll be as an election official.”

Absentee ballots go out around the first of February.

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Lucido and Michigan Advance capitol reporter Allison Donahue said Lucido allegedly told her "You should hang around. You could have a lot of fun with these boys, or they could have a lot of fun with you," referring to a group of high school students from his alma mater, De La Salle, whom he was entertaining.

Donahue wrote a story about the incident on Wednesday, January 15, in which she said she felt belittled.

"It seems easy to be a decent

person, and I don't know why that's so challenging," McMorrow told Downtown newsmagazine. "A full week after Donahue's story, he still hadn't called her to apologize... then he said 'it doesn't matter what he said because she heard what she wanted.'

That to me was unacceptable."

McMorrow said that prior to filing the complaint, she contacted Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey to let him know she was filing the complaint.

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"I wanted him to hear it from me. I worked hard to build relationships in Lansing. Unfortunately, my bills haven't received a hearing, but that's more because I'm in the minority party and a freshman," McMorrow said. "The response from my district has been overwhelmingly responsive."

McMorrow said she anticipated blowback from people questioning why she waited so long to file the complaint, noting she hopes to show a pattern of behavior by Lucido, rather than a one-off mistake.

"If we have to get to a point where someone tells you they are uncomfortable, you have to listen," she said. "We need to build a culture where you respect people's boundaries, and when they tell you that you have crossed the line, you have to ask why."

Lucido did not return calls for comment.

McMorrow said Shirkey has indicated he will bring in outside council to investigate the Donahue incident, which will include her own statement. There is no formal timeline as to when an investigation will conclude.

"It makes me uncomfortable that we turn a blind eye to how we treat each other, as long as they are effective," she said. "I'm fine, but he still hasn't reached out. While an apology would be nice, it doesn't change the behavior."

Bayer pointed out that the staff of every senate office is made up of young women. “Something has to be done in this body, and something has to be done to him.”

Birmingham may see more tall buildings

By Lisa Brody

A split Birmingham City Commission on Monday, January 13, approved zoning ordinance amendments to expand the D-5 overlay district in downtown Birmingham to permit the possibility of buildings taller than five stories in sites that abut the 555 building or Birmingham Place locations.

Previously, the city commission approved the category of D-5 to encompass the already built buildings, along with the Merrillwood Building, and grandfather them in order to allow renovations and updates to the 555 Building. However, as commissioners noted, that has opened a can of worms, as a developer has applied to build a ninestory building on the site of the 53

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former Mountain King restaurant next to Birmingham Place. It is zoned for D-4, which permits a five-story, mixed use building of no more than 80-feet in height.

Commissioners had returned the zoning ordinance to the planning board in July for clarification.

Planning director Jana Ecker informed commissioners that the planning board determined that building height is already defined as the highest roof point, not inclusive of chimneys, elevators, towers or mechanicals. The other issue was clarification of adjacent and/or abutting.

“The planning board discussed this extensively and wanted to make this abundantly clear, to take out 'adjacent to' and leave in abutting – sharing a boundary or property line,” she said, explaining that adjacent could mean private property that comes in contact with public property, such as a street, sidewalks, alley or other, and that would not qualify. She reaffirmed that the only way an applicant could qualify for a D-5 building was through a special land use permit applied for and

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approved by the city commission.

Questions regarding properties abutting the Merrillwood Building were cleared up, because while the building has seven or eight floors, they are shorter heights than currently being built today and the overall height is lower than 80-feet, the approved height for a five-story building – meaning the D-5 zoning amendment would only apply to sites abutting Birmingham Place and 555 Building.

Commissioner Rackeline Hoff was concerned that if approved, new D-5 buildings could create new abutments. “With this now, there's the potential for several 10-story buildings,” she noted.

Ecker said that potential currently exists, and this amendment actually provides limits.

“Today, you cannot limit anyone from applying to build up. This is limiting it to a few parcels,” explained mayor Pierre Boutros.

“This ordinance was to make three non-conforming buildings and grandfather them and make them conforming. This is not a legitimate discussion,” said commissioner Brad

Host. A motion he made to limit the district to only the three grandfathered properties failed with no second.

“This clarifies the language and it limits the scope,” countered commissioner Clinton Baller.

“Nothing would get done without a special land use permit, and if we don't want a project, we wouldn't grant a special land use permit.”

“We want to avoid unintended consequences, and this language accomplishes that,” commissioner Stuart Sherman said.

Commissioners approved the zoning ordinance amendments, 4-2, with Hoff and Host opposing and mayor pro tem Therese Longe recused for conflict of interest.

Bloomfield Hills to review snow plowing While there are dozens of private streets in the city of Bloomfield Hills, there are a handful of older areas that have for years received snow removal services on behalf of the city for free.

Bloomfield Hills City Manager David Hendrickson said at the city commission meeting on Tuesday, January 14, the free city services equate to about $250 for each street every time it snows. That's about $2,500 for the weekend of January 17, as forecasters predict at least four inches of snow, followed by an icy Saturday and Sunday. The overall cost depended on how much snow the city received. The city received seven inches of snow.

Hendrickson said Bloomfield Hills City Commission now wants him to look into the free services and how to put an end to it. He said he has yet to notify the residents on the streets in question.

"We have dozens of private streets, but we have five of them that we plow without receiving any compensation or anything," he said.

"It's been a longstanding practice and the city commission has asked me to look into it."

The matter is expected to be discussed at the city commission's next meeting on Tuesday, February 11.

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Public comments now at start of meetings

By Lisa Brody

Following a contentious discussion amongst city commissioners at their meeting on Monday, January 13, they finally unanimously agreed to move public comment prior to the consent agenda at commission meetings for a three-month trial period, and the public can still comment during regular agenda items.

Commissioners Brad Host and Clinton Baller had requested the move, but when it came time to move forward, they initially objected, saying that wasn't actually what they wanted. Baller passed out a resolution he had written that would leave the public comment section at the end of the meeting, and add a second 20-minute public comment section at the beginning of the meeting where citizens could ask questions and receive answers.

Commissioners Mark Nickita, on the commission for 10 years, and Rackeline Hoff, a commissioner for 18 years, both expressed dismay that the

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two were disregarding staff written and legally approved resolutions for a commissioner-written resolution that they were seeing for the first time.

Melissa Fairbaim, a management intern, provided an overview of public comments at public meetings, Birmingham's Rules of Procedure, the Michigan Open Meetings Act, other communities’ practices, best practices, and pros and cons. Per the state's Open Meetings Act, a public body has discretion as to when they place public comment at a meeting.

While individuals can have a time limit, the overall public comment period cannot have a time limit.

Fairbairm said in addition she looked at 31 Oakland County cities as well as 15 other Michigan cities and “found that there is no consensus as to the placement of public comment.

Each community placed public comment sessions at different points in their agendas based upon their unique political dynamics and cultures.”

Of those communities, 17 cities hold public comment periods in the middle of meetings, following the consent agenda but preceded new

business and presentations; 14 cities place public comment at the beginning of meetings. “These cities open for public comment following introductory items such as roll call and the approval of minutes but prior to addressing the consent agenda,” she said. Ten cities, including Birmingham, place public comment at the end of meetings, while five cities offer two public comment times.

Fairbaim also recommended that the city print the guidelines for public comment, following best practices which include time limits, name and address policies, and expectations for civil conduct while speaking, with the agenda. She noted that Birmingham already follows best practices of many municipalities.

After hearing from Fairbaim, mayor Pierre Boutros informed Baller that his resolution to limit public comment at the beginning of the meeting to 20 minutes would violate the Michigan Open Meetings Act. “This is a business meeting of the city,” said commissioner Stuart Sherman. “It's not a meeting of the public, and that's what you're

DOWNTOWN

suggesting. People are coming before the commission who have worked their way up through the system for months for the business of the system, people who are on the agenda. They have to come here.

People with a concern can send an email, make a phone call. There are other options.”

“When considering changing a practice we've had in place for decades, I'd like to see documentation of how it would improve it,” Nickita said. “In the 10 years I've been on the commission, I haven't seen a lot of public comment, other than our give and take. We have to take care of the business of the city – it's our job.”

Hoff said she went through two years of meeting minutes, from 2016 and 2017.

“In 2016, there were five meetings with public comment, and in 2017, there were only three meetings where there were public comments,” she noted. “The issues or questions are very specific pertaining to the individuals, they're not about the overall city. When I was mayor, in 2016, everyone was very civil and

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Police evaluate gun response at high school

By Kevin Elliott

tudents and staff at Bloomfield Hills High School on the afternoon of Thursday, December 19, had been trained to "run, hide, fight," in the case of an active shooter situation inside the school, and that's exactly what they did when a BluePoint alert was sounded that day at 11:58 a.m. in the building's G-Wing, near the rear of the main building by the courtyard area, said Bloomfield Township Police Chief Phil Langmeyer to Bloomfield Township trustees at their board meeting on Monday, January 13.

The alarm, which looks like a blue fire alarm that can be pulled in the case of an emergency, is equipped with a cover to prevent it from being pulled accidentally. The system sounds an audible alert of a male robotic voice repeating, "Lock down! Lock down!" to let those in the immediate area know there's a danger. The system also alerts the police department that the alarm has been pulled. At the time, school liaison officer Dave VanKerckhove was already in the school.

"Within seconds he was in the G-Wing and reported what he had heard," Langmeyer said. "The building was already starting to evacuate. The students and staff are trained to either run and getaway; to hide and lockdown if they can; and fight if they have to. It's a very simple thing to remember. When this happened, the kids were on lunch.

"Once they started running, they were running."

Within three minutes, the department had four officers on the scene.

Meanwhile, waves of school children and staff were flooding from the school. A video of one of the exits shows groups of students running from the building through a parking lot. Not knowing where to go, many students turned to the township hall complex and the police and fire department buildings. Langmeyer said others went to local businesses that opened their doors for students when they were made aware of a possible shooter at the school.

Langmeyer said the department received subsequent calls from students at the nearby Starbucks who told police they had seen a gun inside the school.

Within four minutes of the alarm, a second team of police officers was in the school looking for any witnesses or threats.

"It's an over 300,000 square-foot building," Langmeyer said. "We have to look and see if there is a shooter in the building."

At 12:11 p.m., Langmeyer said there were about 1,300 kids outside of the school looking for a place to go and direction from police and staff.

"It's 9-degree windchill, and they are out there without coats," he said.

"They run. They get out of the school."

Langmeyer said township employees stepped up to ensure that students had a place to go, opening up offices and areas of township hall to accommodate them. Outside, more than 80 officers responded to the scene, including those from throughout Oakland County, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office and several local departments.

While no weapon was found by police, Langmeyer said he stopped short of calling the incident a false alarm because there was a gun reported inside the school.

While it's uncertain if there was an actual threat, Langmeyer said it gave officers a chance to run through its response protocol and look for areas to improve. One issue, he said, included the unavailability of a master set of keys that could be made immediately available to police.

While searching the school, Langmeyer said officers had trouble accessing some rooms in which there were no keys. He said the department has communicated with the school since and will make sure they have access in the future.

Additional areas to look at are exit routes and a map of the school available to police. He also said he made the mistake of setting up a command center inside the school, which could be problematic in the event of a shooter situation.

Further, Langmeyer said the school, which was built in 2015, has an open floor plan, which doesn't provide many places for students to hide or shelter in place.

"The school is wide open," Langmeyer said. "It does pose a problem for us.

The kids in that school don't have a lot of places to hunker down."

While he said the response wasn't flawless, staff and students, as well as response from officers who responded, was overwhelming and very good overall. Langmeyer said some changes will be made to response activities following the incident.

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very brief. Also, when someone sends an email or phone call, they get a response. They may not get the response they want – but they get a response.”

“Whether this is a business meeting or not, we are servants to the public and we need to be responsive to them,” Host countered.

Hoff said she would be willing to try a change in public comment for a limited basis, but asked how the commission would determine if it was effective or not. “What are we trying to achieve?” she asked.

Host repeatedly stated it was at the mayor's discretion, and that after an incident this summer, when former mayor Patty Bordman stopped two residents from speaking about a ballot issue, that residents had lost trust in the commission. Baller echoed that, at which point city manager Joe Valentine stated the commission has a longtime history of not commenting on lawsuits.

“This conversation is not making me comfortable,” Boutros said. “We do not make decisions because of one incident. We do not talk about lawsuits. We should talk about giving the public an opportunity to talk earlier. If this is a true statement, that we lost the public trust – is it because we had the public comment at the end of the meeting? I want to have the trial for the right reason. Is it the same people? Is it new people? It's an opinion matter because we did the research and we're doing the right thing. It's not because of what happened in one event.”

Hoff said repeatedly, “In the spirit of compromise,” she was willing to move the public comment to earlier in the meeting for a three-month trial and even made the motion, with Sherman seconding it.

Baller said, “I don't think it meets the desires of some of the commission. This is not what we wanted.”

It was reiterated that his resolution had not been cleared legally, and that a commissioner had never written a resolution, passed it out without approval from staff and had it approved by commission.

“Since this has been made in the spirit of cooperation, this has been made by a commissioner who does not think this is necessary, and seconded by a commissioner who does not think this is necessary, I hope you'll be cooperative and meet us partway,” Hoff said. At that point, all of the commissioners agreed to the trial.

Voting precincts set to be consolidated

By Kevin Elliott

Bloomfield Township will consolidate its 32 voting precincts to just 18 for the March 10, 2020 election and beyond, under changes approved by the township's board of trustees on Monday, January 6.

Bloomfield Township Clerk Jan Roncelli said the changes will enable voters to more easily access polling locations and reduce any chances for mistakes. The township had temporarily consolidated precincts in 2018 and 2019.

"We have had to move polling locations many times," she said. "What I looked at and what I talked about to the election commission in the past couple years was my goal to redo these precincts so we would have one school district in each precinct."

Roncelli said prior to consolidation, there were 11 precincts that included more than one school district.

"That makes it extremely challenging when it comes to a general election and you have a school election," Roncelli said. "If you have two different school districts, you have to have two different ballots. It becomes very difficult to monitor that and there is room for error... when we get to the March 10, 2020 election, we would have six ballot styles in each of the precincts that have two school districts."

Roncelli said the other reason for the change was that an overall consolidation was needed, which she said has worked successfully in recent years.

Dick O'Dow's moving patio to back alley Dick O'Dow's at 160 W. Maple in downtown Birmingham is preparing for the upcoming road construction season by requesting to temporarily relocate its outdoor dining area to the rear of the building during the 2020 outdoor dining season.

Birmingham city commissioners unanimously agreed, approving owner Mitch Black's request to waive the $2,800 application fee and to expedite his request for a special land use amendment to make the move outside “The Dow,” a back room which opens out to the Willits Alley.

Planning director Jana Ecker said that Dick O'Dow's was the first establishment in Birmingham to have an outdoor dining platform. In order to receive that, Black had to pay the $2,800 application fee, which is why he requested it waived.

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Fran Broder ran Broder is making her junior high school dreams come true. Her spring/summer line arriving in May is proof of that.

“Now I’m doing what I feel like I was meant to do,” said the Birmingham fashion designer, who runs FauxFurEver. “I feel fortunate at this point in my life, I wake up everyday excited to work – and it doesn’t feel like work.

There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. For me, it’s just fun. “ In order to understand Broder’s enthusiasm about her career, you have to go back to truly understand her evolution over the last decade.

Broder, who is also an animal activist, with FauxFurEver’s mission to promote luxury without harm, was shopping when she spotted a fabulous faux fur. Like any other inquisitive person, she asked where it was from and the store wouldn’t tell her. So, she began her own search. The search took her over a year before she found it being produced at a factory in France.

She then ordered some, and with a sewer, began designing accessories like hats, headbands, shrugs, and capes.

“People would stop me on the street and ask where I got it because they wanted it,” Broder said of her accessories.

So many people seemed to love them, she decided to start her own business, FauxFurEver, which officially launched in 2011. With the urge to grow and have her collection seen by more people, she applied for the One of a Kind show in Chicago, a juried craft show she’s done the last nine years.

Now, though, her line has come back to Birmingham, and last year, expanded to clothes.

“I would go shopping and I didn’t like anything that I saw...it just wasn’t me,” said Broder, who has also worked in advertising and animal rescue. “I started having my sewer make things that I designed and the same thing happened. People would say, ‘Where did you get that?’”

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Broder started with a few home shows, and has begun promoting more locally.

If you want to buy her clothes, described as non-formfitting, edgy, and artsy, she has a shop on Etsy, called FauxFurever, and is, for now at least, primarily selling out of her Birmingham home.

Recently she’s started incorporating neoprene, a lightweight material that’s free of wrinkles and often used in wetsuits, into her clothing designs.

“It’s an unusual fabric that is very popular in clothing now,” she said. “It holds its shape so you can do dramatic silhouettes with it. So I’m combining it with faux fur...making these unusual garments that are really great and they don’t wrinkle.”

As one could guess, her home is currently overflowing with faux furs and clothes.

Also in Broder’s home studio is her favorite quote from the philosopher Epictetus, “Know first, who you are, and then adorn yourself accordingly.”

She said that quote best describes how her most recent career adventure has evolved.

“I don’t like to look at clothing as a superficial thing, I like to look at it as artistic expression because that’s what it is for me,” she said.

For Broder, one of the parts she loves most about her job is working with people and seeing them look and feel fantastic. Their feeling that way in clothes of her own creation is a nice bonus.

“I’m just having fun coming up with the things I like and fortunately, other people are liking them too,” she said.

Story: Dana Casadei

Photo: Laurie Tennent

EDUCATION $195 million school bond on the ballot

By Lisa Brody

Birmingham Public Schools Board of Education approved ballot language for a $195 million bond proposal to appear on the March 10 ballot to provide funding to address facility needs and funding enhancements through 2026.

At the board's meeting on December 11, the board determined capital improvements were needed and approved the ballot language for the bond proposal, which if approved, they said, would leave the annual debt millage at or below the debt millage of 3.8 mills levied in 2019.

Among the major features of the bond proposal are building and site enhancements and improvements to every school within the district; high school athletic field enhancements; Midvale preschool and senior center site improvements; purchase of school buses; security system and technology enhancements; and critical infrastructure improvements,including HVAC, roofing, plumbing and electrical.

“We have spent a significant amount of time researching the capital needs of our district over the last year,” superintendent Mark Dziatczak said. “The importance of these potential improvements to our facilities for our students cannot be underestimated. Critical capital needs to major infrastructure systems will ensure that our facilities are dry, safe and comfortable for our students, staff and community.

Overall, we know the significant interior and exterior improvements proposed across the district will improve student learning conditions by bringing our educational facilities up to the high standard established by our community.”

The district said the work behind the capital plan provided the district with a direction for needed facilities work for the next 10 years.

“While our buildings need regular maintenance, our facilities are also beginning to show their age,” explained district spokesperson Anne Cron. “Among the improvements and enhancements proposed are major renovations at Bingham Farms Elementary, Pierce Elementary School, the BPS Annex and Groves downtownpublications.com

High School. Fields and athletic entryways at both high schools will also be improved to better serve students and the community.

Throughout the planning stages, attention was given to equity across buildings and programs, ultimately providing the district with a plan designed to improve learning environments for all and launch BPS to a new level of educational excellence.”

EIR LNOTV HE A

Bloomfield Hills view possible bond At a December board of education meeting, Bloomfield Hills schools officials reviewed and considered realigning the school configuration for its elementary and middle schools to better support student learning, as well as potentially launching a $175 million to $185 million bond proposal to update building configurations and improve infrastructure, as well as other needed improvements.

Brian Goby, director of physical plant services for the district, and Andy Gignac, West Hills Middle School assistant principal, presented findings of the Scope and Design committee at the December 19 board meeting. Goby said they had been guided by the 2019 strategic plan to work to “Ensure safe and secure facilities; Support students' learning and engagement with state of the art facilities, technology and materials; expand availability and community use of district facilities.”

Goby said they are very aware that “Our K-8 materials are aging and need attention.”

A year ago, the committee came up with $33 million in critical needs. “We could manage that decline with sinking fund dollars we have,” Goby said. “Managing a decline is not something you want to be proud of, but we have the ability to do that. When we get to the end of that sinking fund, then now what?”

He said they were instructed by the board to pursue a $120 million to $190 million “A Brighter Future Ahead” effort that would look at building configurations, “knowing our cohort sizes at our middle schools were really getting too small.”

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Educators, staff, current, former and future parents worked together to look at various options and to provide feedback on options.

Gignac said their first topic was to dig into safety and security in the schools, and then they shifted to the bulk of their work, building configurations. Currently Bloomfield Hills middle schools hold grades 4-8.

“I'm really focusing on the middle school level, the programming that goes into course selection, electives kids are participating in,” Gignac said.

“When you get into cohorts with West Hills and East Hills, they only have one feeder elementary school, with cohort sizes of 116 – 116 is our sixth grade at West Hills. So when you look at building our seventh grade orchestra next year, courses they're going to select, we're ending up with courses that are really small. That was a big part of our discussions.”

The group visited the former Lahser High School site as part of their research, and Gignac said,

downtownpublications.com

“the wheels were turning and people were saying, wow, this is a great asset.”

Enrollment projections show the district will maintain their current enrollment level for the next 10 to 15 years, allowing them to make recommendations. Gignac said they repeatedly heard that stakeholders liked the idea of two middle schools, and they loved assets at Lahser.

“We worked to develop a model that has come to be known as the north/south model, that utilizes the Lahser site in the north and the Bloomfield Hills Middle School site in the south...within 15 minutes people were like, what's the next step,” he said.

They recommended to the board to move a plan forward to proceed with a bond initiative for two middle schools for the district, for 6-8 grades, at Lahser and Bloomfield Hills Middle School.

The district would have four K-5 elementary schools, which would be at Way, with additions and renovations; Conant, with

additions and major renovations; the Lone Pine building would close and students would move to West Hills, where it would be called Lone Pine, but receive safety, security and classroom renovations and upgrades; and Eastover students would similarly move to East Hills Middle School and utilize that building with renovations and upgrades, while remaining as Eastover.

There would be 550 to 560 students in each elementary school following the renovations and moves.

“This solves the cohort issues,” Gignac said. “When an elementary is about 550 students, it allows about four (classrooms) per grade.”

The proposed bond initiative would also include additional preschool space and renovations, which would add space at Conant and utilize Eastover rather than Fox Hills, which he said needs a lot of work, but has better access to I75.

Goby said cost estimates for all of the changes and work are in the

DOWNTOWN

range of $175 million to $185 million, and currently the drawings are very preliminary. It would include the $33 million in critical needs.

Board members were very responsive to the presentation, recognizing the need for the next step to go deeper into costs, working drafts, and a draft of construction timelines and transition plans. Some board members were supportive of putting a bond proposal before the public in May, while others recommended not rushing, as there is a primary election in August as well as a general election in November 2020.

“As your facilities manager, if we get this passed in November, we're fine,” Goby said. “If it gets passed then and the economy changes, we're in trouble. I've been putting duct tape on these buildings for 13 years.”

“It's a lot of money, but it's an investment in our children and our community,” said Gignac.”

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Sean McCourt ean McCourt was about six-years-old when he saw a production of "Annie" at the Fisher Theater.

"I was so taken by it. I was completely taken by the art form. I wanted to do what those people get to do," he said. "I'll never forget that night."

McCourt, who graduated from Lahser High School in 1989 and went on to have a successful acting career on Broadway, is now making things happen behind the scenes as a television producer. He also narrates the show "Barnwood Builders," that is going into its 10th season on the DIY Network.

"I got into acting in grade school, about fifth grade. My music teacher was a huge influence," he said. "I went to New York University out of high school. I wasn't seriously considering it, but I won a presidential scholarship for the arts my senior year. It didn't seem real – then I won. I thought maybe it was worth a shot. I had done every production I could in school."

In New York, McCourt's Broadway credits include "Wicked," "Titanic," "It Ain't Nothing But the Blues," "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," and "Mary Poppins." Prior to Broadway, McCourt played Dr. Thomas Parker, a drunk psychopath, in the original cast of the Off-Broadway musical "Batboy: The Musical!"

To keep himself fresh and inspired during shows on a long run, McCourt said he would mingle in the crowd prior to a show.

"Long runs are tricky, but my trick was that if I 'don't have it tonight,' I would put on my street clothes and walk through the audience before the show and see people with tickets buying drinks and looking at the playbill.

That would take me back to that moment in the audience. It's someone's first show and someone's last show. If I don't have what I need to bring my best game, I need to get out."

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Off the stage and on the screen, McCourt had some acting credits, including parts on "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Ed" and other roles. For the past dozen years, McCourt has worked with Silent Crow Arts, where he has run and produced several shows, including "Mad Scientists," "Bering Sea Gold: After the Dredge," "Game On, America," Driving America," "Deadliest Catch: The Bait," and "Barnwood Builders."

McCourt said the transition to content production for television was a logical transition, as stage acting no longer fit into the larger picture.

"When the kids were in school full-time, it just didn't work anymore," he said. "When they were babies, it was great, but I knew going in that I would see them on Monday nights only if I went down that path. I was fortunate to have a friend in television, and he brought me into this company for a writer and director.”

What McCourt found was that his talent for storytelling extended beyond his own roles, helping to make the change into the new field a natural transition.

"I found that good writing and good acting are similar," he said. "There are a lot of crossover skills. It's telling a story simply and concisely – to say six words that one may say in 100. I learned a lot of that from (television host and narrator) Mike Rowe, as well."

While transitioning into a different role was intimidating, McCourt said the key was to throw himself into the work.

"The moment of leaving the theater was terrifying," he said, "but a former actor and writing partner of mine said 'there will be work, you just have to jump in.'"

Story: Kevin Elliott

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Tyler Austin othing really comes easy for Groves High School student Tyler Austin â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but then again, that's part of the record-winning swimmer's motivation.

"I'm trying to push myself more and more each day," said Austin, who is training for the 2020 U.S. National Paralympic Swimming Trials in Minneapolis.

"My teammates' motivation around me helps. And the team bonding and coaches that support you and make you support them, and the connection with swimming. I just keep reminding myself what my goal is and try to reach it, and work my butt off every time. That motivates me to go to practice every day."

Delivered via emergency C-section due to a ruptured umbilical cord during childbirth, Austin underwent two blood transfusions and was intubated and resuscitated twice at birth. After spending the first days of his life on a ventilator in Beaumont Hospital NICU, he was unable to talk or walk until he was nearly three-years-old.

"Not much comes easy to this kid, but he's out there doing things that many imagined wouldn't be possible," said Tyler's dad, Brett Austin.

As he got older, Tyler's parents thought it would be safer if he learned to swim on his own. While he struggled at first, the activity provided a great way to build muscle tone he was lacking. It also allowed mom and dad to stop hovering over their boy at the beach. Within three years, Tyler graduated from the Birmingham YMCA and was swimming with local swim teams.

In 2013, Austin joined the Cranbrook Swim Club, where he met Kristi Moore, who encouraged him to swim faster and stronger. He has also swam for Berkshire Middle School and Groves High School. Austin also swims with Coach Bill Thompson at Motor City Aquatics, which is also his USA Swimming club with whom he has set several national records.

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"I like the breast stroke the best," Austin said. "I have the endurance and strength for it the most."

In 2015, at the age of 13, Austin broke the U.S. national swim record for the 400 IM. The following year, he broke his first Pan-Am record. Between 2015 and 2019, Austin broke over 30 U.S. national swim records, including taking the gold medal at the 2019 U.S. Paralympic National Championships in Dallas, where he set a new U.S. national record. He took the gold medal at the 2018 CanAm Paralympic Championships for the 200 Butterfly; the gold at the 2017 CanAm Paralympic Championships in Windsor; was a three-time champion at the Paralympic World Series in 2017 and 2018; and broke the U.S. National Emerging Time Standard in the 100 breaststroke in 2019.

"It has absolutely shocked me in ways that I couldn't imagine," Brett said about Tyler's involvement in the Paralympics, in which many athletes compete at the same level or beyond, some Olympians.

For Tyler Austin, his path is set on achieving what people once thought wasn't possible. That includes plans to attend Oakland University in the future, where he hopes to focus on art â&#x20AC;&#x201C; he's already a three-time national finalist for the National PTA Reflections Program, which focuses on visual arts. While he has yet to be accepted into the program, Austin speaks as if it's just a matter of time before he reaches his goal.

"I'm planning to go to Oakland for swimming and studying pottery," he said.

"I like colorful artwork. Whenever I think about it, I do it."

No doubt about it.

Story: Kevin Elliott

Photo: Laurie Tennent

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BUSINESS MATTERS Silver anniversary Crimson Rose Antiques, 205 Pierce Street, is flourishing in downtown Birmingham. The antique and vintage boutique is celebrating its 25th year in business, specializing in a wide variety of collectibles. Owner Sandra McElroy said she originally opened in Franklin, and two years later moved to Birmingham.

Crimson Rose has an extensive collection of fine and costume vintage jewelry, with real jewelry – including rings, necklaces and earrings – from the Victorian era to the 1950’s and ‘60s, and costume jewelry from the 1920’s to the 1980’s. Collectors clamor for beaded purses from the ‘20s and lucite purses from the ‘50s, she said. The store also has china, silver, frames, glassware, pottery, and for the last four years, hosts DeDe and Jim Taylor Antiques. “They add to the variety with furniture, brass, silver and copper,” McElroy said. In honor of Crimson Rose’s 25th anniversary, McElroy is having a special – and rare – 25 percent off sale for three days, February 27, 28 and 29. “It’s the first ever with that big of a discount, because it’s 25 years,” she said. “I’ve got to do something special.”

Oui, Oui Who wouldn’t enjoy a French meal?

That’s just what Claude Pellerin is anticipating, as she opens The French Lady, 768 N. Old Woodward in Birmingham, a traditional French restaurant, in April. The French Lady is making the move from Rochester, where Pellerin has cooked and catered gourmet delights such as quiches, bourguignon, cassoulet, and others.

“It’s all of the traditional recipes that my family had, and some I am revisiting,” she said. The new Birmingham locale will have 30 to 40 seats, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, but no liquor at the beginning as she gets her feet wet and learns the community. “I would like to serve wine and beer, but I will have to be patient.” Breakfasts will focus on crepes, and not croissants, she said, “Because to make croissants, you have to be a real baker.” Pellerin is originally from the north of France. “I’m a farm girl. I learned to cook with downtownpublications.com

clean ingredients,” she said. “I don’t want to have a large menu because everything is made from scratch.”

The French Lady’s menu will rotate with the seasons, she said, and the markets.

Change on the mat After several years, Center for Yoga, 555 S.Old Woodward, owned

by Jonny Kest, has closed, having been bought out by Life Time Fitness. Yoga devotees of the spot urged two of the yoga teachers, Jacquie Ciavaglia and Missy Rush, to open a new studio. With the assistance of a GoFundMe account – which raised more than $100,000 in two weeks – and contributions from the community, in mid-January the duo opened Community Yoga Studio, 555 S. Old Woodward, downstairs from the former Center for Yoga, in the former Core Revolution location.

The new Community Yoga Studio – named because the community came together to create the yoga studio – can accommodate up to 70 practitioners, and has infrared heat.

In an outreach email, Ciavaglia and Rush said, “It’s so exciting to be designing and building out our new studio. We want all of you to have the best place to call your yoga home.”

Soup’s on Soup lovers have something new to celebrate. On January 20, Zoup! opened a Bloomfield Township location at 42983 Woodward Avenue at the southwest corner of Square Lake Road. “At Zoup!, we offer a wide variety of daily soups, including recipes that are low fat, made with gluten-free ingredients, vegetarian, dairy free, and spicy – each served with a big hunk of freshly baked bread,” the company stated on their website. Enjoy soup, but looking for something besides the smooth staple? Soup offerings change daily, but they said top picks are always available, including two of customers’ favorites, Lobster Bisque and Chicken Potpie soups. “You can find your own favorite by sampling our soups before you order.” The menu also features a distinctive array of made-to-order salads, sandwiches and bowls.

Glittering retail addition Transitioning from her family’s wholesale jewelry business, Goldcorp in Oak Park, to her own retail jewelry business, The Diamond Club of Bloomfield Hills, 2527 W. Maple Road at Cranbrook in Bloomfield Township, has been a blast for owner Karina KhalifeMass. The outgoing jeweler said The Diamond Club features a full line of jewelry offerings, as well as a custom-designed earring line, called Elev8ted Jewelry, she creates with her partner, Sarah Hermiz, and sells at the store as well as at pop-ups. “I consider myself more of a ‘ring concierge.’

When people get engaged, I’m the one to help them find their stone, design and make their dream ring,” Khalife-Mass said. Her background trading gold and gems for her family for 15 years gives her an advantage in the marketplace, she said. “I know I can beat anyone’s price.”

Local health care The Village of Bloomfield in Bloomfield Township has a new addition with the opening of the two-story, 83,000-square-foot Henry Ford Medical Center on Telegraph Road, north of Square Lake Road.

The new facility offers cardiology, eye care, neurology, orthopedics, radiology, rehab, women’s health, a pharmacy, and lab services. It has 85 exam rooms and will be staffed by more than 100 people. It is open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. for the walk-in clinic, radiology, pharmacy, and lab on the weekends. The medical center’s physician in charge is family medicine physician Dr. Keerthy Krishnamani. “Our medical center offers under one roof a comprehensive level of health care services in combination with extended hours and other amenities that truly enhances the care experience for patients,” said Bob Riney, president of health care operations and COO for Henry Ford.

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Caley Chelios orn in Chicago and relocated to Metro Detroit in 1999 when her father and Hall of Fame hockey player Chris Chelios was acquired by the Detroit Red Wings, Cranbrook Kingswood graduate Caley Chelios said she secretly cheers for one of her favorite hockey legends when she returns to the Motor City to cover the Tampa Bay Lightning.

No, it's not dad.

"I secretly cheer for Steve Yzerman," said Chelios, who now works as a color analyst for the Lightning. "It's always fun going back to Detroit where I have a lot of friendships with players and families."

While Yzerman, now back in Detroit as the Red Wings general manager after serving in the same role for Tampa Bay, is a safe favorite for Tampa Bay and Detroit fans, it's her father's influence that helped shape Chelios' career after graduating from Cranbrook.

"I didn't know until I was in college what path to take," Chelios said. "I was talking with Dad about the different possibilities, and he got me into wanting to do TV and to do broadcast. I was offered a job in finance after school, but instead went to graduate school."

As a student at Cranbrook, Chelios played lacrosse, hockey and volleyball, and then won a NCAA lacrosse championship at Northwestern University, where she also earned her master's degree in journalism. She started working for the Tampa Bay Lightning as a digital reporter in 2016, after finishing school.

"My focus was engaging and interacting with players for features and specials, and interviewing players for pregame and postgame segments," Chelios said. "Color commentary is a change because you're calling the game live in the moment. It requires you to be on the fly live and to be able to conduct thought-provoking analysis on play-by-play."

B

The subject may be second nature to Chelios, considering both her student experiences as a player, as well as lifelong familiarity with professional athletes, yet Chelios is still delighted to have received mountains of positive feedback from players and other professionals. An added benefit is that she's joined by veteran radio personality Dave Mishkin, and fills in and sometimes works with hockey legend and Lightning founder Phil Esposito.

"I've gotten a ton of support," she said. "I'm very appreciative of the women before me who have taken it upon themselves to fill these roles, especially in game roles. My generation especially has an opportunity to come in. I never felt there was a bias. For the most part, working primarily with males hasn't been a factor because I haven't been treated any differently."

Outside of work, life has been a whirlwind for Chelios, who is expecting her first child with husband and Green Bay Packers fullback, Danny Vitale. Married in June in Chicago, the couple's guest list included a wide range of celebrities, such as Eddie Vedder, Cindy Crawford, John Cusack and Kid Rock.

"Danny has a massive family, and it was a huge wedding with some entertaining guests," Chelios said. "We weren't expecting to have a baby, necessarily, but with moving around to different houses, even in Michigan, I'm used to some chaos. Danny lives with me in the off season in Tampa. I spend the whole year pretty much in Tampa, and vacation in the off season."

As for returning to Detroit, Chelios said she usually gets time to visit around the holidays or when the Lightning play the Red Wings.

"Its nice to be home," she said. "My friends are moving back and buying homes. I loved growing up where I did."

Story: Kevin Elliott

Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski

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

Birmingham/Bloomfield 220: American. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 220 E. Merrill Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.646.2220.

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

Adachi: Asian. Lunch & Dinner daily. Liquor.

Reservations. 325 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham 48009. 248.540.5900.

Andiamo: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

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

248.865.9300.

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

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

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

248.626.2630.

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

167 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.494.7110.

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

Beyond Juice: Contemporary. Breakfast & Lunch daily; Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

No reservations. 270 West Maple Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.594.7078.

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

Liquor. 245 South Eton Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.7774.

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

Liquor. 39556 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304.

248.646.9000.

Birmingham Sushi Cafe: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

377 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.8880.

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

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

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

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

248.258.6690.

Café ML: New American. Dinner, daily.

Liquor. Call ahead. 3607 W. Maple Road, Bloomfield Township. 248.642.4000.

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

248.758.1221.

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

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

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

877 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield

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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, 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.

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www.StDunstansTheatre.com

St. Dunstan’s is located at 400 Lone Pine Road in Bloomfield Hills.

1-844-DUNSTAN (1-844-386-7826)

DOWNTOWN

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Leo’s Coney Island: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

154 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.9707.

Also 6527 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.646.8568.

Little Daddy’s Parthenon: American.

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

248.647.3400.

Luxe Bar & Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily; Late Night, 9 p.m.-closing.

No reservations. Liquor. 525 N. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham, 48009.

248.792.6051.

Mad Hatter Cafe: Tea Room. Brunch, Lunch & Dinner. No reservations. Liquor.

185 N. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009. 248.540.0000 Mandaloun Bistro: Lebanese. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, Daily.

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

Market North End: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 474 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.712.4953.

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

248.723.0800.

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

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

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

Original Pancake House: American.

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

248.642.5775.

Panera Bread: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2125 S. Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302.

248.253.9877.

Pernoi: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 310 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.940.0000.

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

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

Pita Cafe: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 239 North Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.645.6999.

Qdoba: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

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

248.988.8941. Also 42967 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Township, 48304.

248.874.1876 Red Olive: Middle Eastern/American.

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

248.481.7767.

Roadside B & G: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

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

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

248.792.6200.

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

Sidecar Slider Bar: Burgers. Lunch &

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Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

280 E. Merrill Street, Birmingham 48009. 248.220.4167.

Social Kitchen & Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 5 or more. Liquor. 225 E. Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.4200.

Stacked Deli: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, Monday-Saturday. Delivery available. No reservations. 233 North Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.5300.

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

248.932.0800.

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

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

248.645.9123.

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

Reservations. 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; Dinner, Wednesday-Friday.

Reservations. Liquor. 203 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.6278.

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

248.258.0500.

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

248.593.7881.

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

248.792.5241.

Triple Nickel Restaurant and Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Liquor.

Reservations. 555 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham 48009. 248.480.4951.

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

248.203.6600.

Village Coney Island: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 653 S. Adams.

Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.7964.

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

248.566.3566.

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.

Bistro 82: French. Dinner, daily.

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

The Blue Nile: Ethiopian. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 545 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220.

248.547.6699.

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

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

248.544.4749.

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

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

248.544.2675.

Due Venti: Italian. Sunday Brunch. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

220 S. Main St., Clawson, 48017.

248.288.0220.

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

GreenSpace Cafe: Vegan. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. No reservations.

Liquor. 215. W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220. 248.206.7510.

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

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

Inyo Restaurant Lounge: Asian Fusion.

Weekend Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 22871 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220.

248.543.9500.

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

Kruse & Muer on Woodward: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

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

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

248.591.5459.

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

248.584.4227.

Oak City Grille: American. Dinner, daily.

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

One-Eyed Betty: American. Weekend Breakfast. Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 175 W. Troy St., Ferndale, 48220. 248.808.6633.

Pronto!: American. Weekend Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

DOWNTOWN

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

Public House: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 241 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220.

248.850.7420.

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

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

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

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

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

248.544.1141.

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

248.607.3127.

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

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

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

248.541.1186.

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

248.544.7300.

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.

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

248.817.2424.

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

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

248.853.6600.

O’Connor’s Irish Public House: Irish.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

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

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

248.619.9060.

Kruse & Muer on Main: American.

Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

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

Loccino Italian Grill and Bar: Italian.

Lunch, Monday-Friday, Dinner, daily.

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

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

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

85

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

Feeling crabby Hazel, Ravines and Downtown — 1 Peabody Street, Birmingham — has given another seafood centric takeover to their menu, this time in the form of a Crab Trap, which runs through February 16. Co-owner Beth Hussey – who owns the restaurant with chef Emmele Herrold — said it’s very Floridathemed in decor and cuisine, with the hopes of emulating a crab shack on the Gulf Coast. “We want you to feel like you’re on vacation and a tourist on a beach resort,” Hussey said. Menu items include the Florida Stone Crab (which Hussey called the star of the show), Cedar Key Clams, a variety of Florida fish, alligator, and a sandwich that’s a cross between a lobster roll and po’ boy. HRD has partnered with Street Beet, a plant-based pop up, to make a vegan sandwich for this special menu as well. The desserts and drinks will have the Florida feel, with “cheesy frozen drinks” now gracing the menu, like daiquiris, margaritas, and Bushwackers, which are a boozy vanilla milkshake. HRD will also have non-seafood items, like their burger, wings, and cheese bread for those not feeling the seafood vibe.

Pernoi progresses The changes keep coming at Pernoi, 310 E. Maple Road, Birmingham. In January, they released a new a la carte menu to expand upon their recently launched small plates menu. This menu has more sharable snacks, as well as medium and larger portions for guests to try, including diver scallops, Rohan duck, and tortellini in brodo, as well as multiple salads. Owner Luciano DelSignore said they wanted to create a menu for those who hope to come in for more of a casual bite instead of a multi-course dining experience. “We left so much square footage for the bar area open for walk-in traffic, and just want to grow that section of the business,” he said. “Be a little bit more neighborhood-centric.” Pernoi’s cocktail list now includes additions like the Toki Highball and One Off Manhattan. Their new adjustment, with the recent departure of chef and former owner Takashi Yagihashi, guests can soon expect more Italian cuisine to be coming to the menu.

Townhouse This winter, Townhouse – both the Birmingham, 180 Pierce Street, and Detroit, 500 Woodward Avenue, locations – underwent some of the largest menu changes they’ve had in years. “We typically go big or go home, as far as all of our restaurants are concerned,” said Erin Zupicich, chief marketing officer, Heirloom Hospitality, which own the restaurants. Culinary director, Ryan Prentiss, said they changed 27 out of 34 items, and added more vegan and vegetarian options, such as their crispy togarashi carrots, which come with carrot BBQ and Lemon Mint Crème Fraîche, and the vegan unicorn roll, full of beet, cucumber, asparagus, avocado, and shiitake mushrooms. For meat eaters, there’s a crispy chicken sandwich that’s been selling particularly well, and fish lovers are angling for the striped bass glass noodle salad.. And if you love the infamous Townhouse burger, don’t worry, that along with a few other signature staples are still on the menu.

New coffee house The grand opening of Seven Daughters – a new cafe and coffee roasting spot at 163 W. Maple Road, in downtown Birmingham – may not be set until May, but Maryam Razak hopes to open the doors as early as late February for guests to enjoy their first sips. Seven Daughters –named after the Barbara Cohen book, “Seven Daughters and Seven Sons” – will incorporate multiple ethnic flavors into their menu, including Middle Eastern, everywhere from the coffee to the food, which Razak said will include salads, sandwiches, and pastries. “As far as food and drink, we’re trying to bring the best of the world,” said Razak, whose background is in medicine.

In regards to the space, Razak – who has been roasting coffee beans at home for years – said they are doing green construction, aka keeping as

48084. 248.637.6400.

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

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

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

248.453.5371.

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

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

248.689.2332.

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

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

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

248.816.3424.

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

248.375.9200.

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

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

Orchid Café: Thai. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. 3303 Rochester Rd., Troy, 48085.

248.524.1944.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

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

248.816.8000.

Recipes: American/Brunch. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

134 W. University Drive, Rochester, 48037. 248.659.8267. Also 2919 Crooks Road, Troy, 48084.

248.614.5390.

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

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

Liquor. 755 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48084. 248.269.8424.

Silver Spoon: Italian. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 6830 N. Rochester Rd., Rochester, 48306.

248.652.4500.

Steelhouse Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1129 E. Long Lake Rd., Troy, 48085.

248.817.2980.

Too Ra Loo: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 139 S. Main St., Rochester, 48307.

248.453.5291.

West Bloomfield/Southfield Bacco: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 29410 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.356.6600.

Beans and Cornbread: Southern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

29508 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.208.1680.

Bigalora: Italian. Weekend Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. No Reservations. Liquor. 29110 Franklin Road, Southfield, 48034.

The Bombay Grille: Indian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 29200 Orchard Lake Rd, Farmington Hills, 48334. 248.626.2982.

The Fiddler: Russian. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 6676 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.851.8782.

Mene Sushi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine.

6239 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.538.7081.

Meriwether’s: Seafood. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 25485 Telegraph Rd, Southfield, 48034. 248.358.1310.

Nonna Maria’s: Italian. Dinner, daily.

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

248.851.2500.

Pickles & Rye: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6724 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.737.3890.

Prime29 Steakhouse: Steak & Seafood.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6545 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.737.7463.

Redcoat Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 6745 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.865.0500.

Shangri-La: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. Orchard Mall Shopping Center, 6407 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.626.8585.

Sposita’s Ristorante: Italian. Friday Lunch. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 33210 W. Fourteen Mile Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.

538.8954.

Stage Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

6873 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.855.6622.

Yotsuba: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 7365 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, 48322.

248.737.8282.

West Oakland Gravity Bar & Grill: Mediterranean.

Monday – Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday, Dinner. Reservations. Liquor.

340 N. Main Street, Milford, 48381.

248.684.4223.

It's A Matter of Taste: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2323 Union Lake Road, Commerce, 48390.

248.360.4150.

The Root Restaurant & Bar: American.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday - Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 340 Town Center Blvd., White Lake, 48390.

248.698.2400.

Volare Ristorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

48992 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.960.7771.

North Oakland Clarkston Union: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 54 S. Main St., Clarkston, 48346.

248.620.6100.

Holly Hotel: American. Afternoon Tea, Monday – Saturday, Brunch, Sunday, Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 110 Battle Alley, Holly, 48442.

248.634.5208.

Kruse's Deer Lake Inn: Seafood. Lunch & dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 7504 Dixie Highway, Clarkston, 48346.

248.795.2077.

The Fed: American. Lunch and Dinner daily, Brunch, Saturday and Sunday.

Liquor. 15 S. Main Street, Clarkston, 48346. 248.297.5833

Via Bologna: Italian. Dinner daily. No reservations. Liquor. 7071 Dixie Highway, Clarkston. 48346. 248.620.8500.

Union Woodshop: BBQ. Dinner, Monday – Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday – Sunday.

No reservations. Liquor. 18 S. Main St., Clarkston, 48346. 248.625.5660

Detroit Bucharest Grill: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2684 E. Jefferson, Detroit, 48207.

313.965.3111.

Cliff Bell’s: American. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 2030 Park Ave., Detroit, 48226.

313.961.2543.

Craft Work: American. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 8047 Agnes St., Detroit, 48214.

313.469.0976.

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.

1917 American Bistro: American. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 19416 Livernois Ave., Detroit, 48221.

313.863.1917.

Prism: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 555 E. Lafayette St, Detroit, 48226.

313.309.2499.

Red Smoke Barbeque: Barbeque. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

Trappers Alley Shopping Center, 573 Monroe Ave., Detroit, 48226.

313.962.2100.

Selden Standard: American. Weekend Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner,

daily. Liquor. Reservations. 3921 Second Ave., Detroit, 48201.

313.438.5055.

SheWolf Pastifico & Bar: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday through Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 438 Selden St, Detroit 48201.

313.315.3992.

Sinbad’s: Seafood. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

100 St Clair St., Detroit, 48214.

313.822.8000.

Slows Bar BQ: Barbeque. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2138 Michigan Ave, Detroit, 48216.

313.962.9828.

St. CeCe’s Pub: American. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 1426 Bagley Ave., Detroit, 48216.

313.962.2121.

Tap at MGM Grand: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 1777 Third Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.465.1234.

Taqueria Nuestra Familia: Mexican.

Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 7620 Vernor Hwy., Detroit, 48209. 313.842.5668.

The Block: American. Sunday Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 3919 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.0892.

Tom’s Oyster Bar: Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 519 East Jefferson Ave., Detroit, 48226.

313.964.4010.

Traffic Jam & Snug: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

511 W. Canfield, Detroit, 48201.

313.831.9470.

24grille: American. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, 1114 Washington Blvd, Detroit, 48226.

313.964.3821.

Union Street: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 4145 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48201.

313.831.3965.

Vince’s: Italian. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 1341 Springwells St., Detroit, 48209. 313.842.4857.

Vivio’s Food & Spirits: American.

Saturday Breakfast. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2460 Market St., Detroit, 48207.

313.393.1711.

The Whitney: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & High Tea, Monday-Friday. Sunday Brunch. Dinner, daily. Liquor.

Reservations. 4421 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.5700.

Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria and Cucina: Italian. Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 1777 Third St, Detroit, 48226. 313.465.1646.

Wolfgang Puck Steak: Steak & Seafood.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1777 Third St, Detroit, 48226.

313.465.1411.

Wright & Co.: American. Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 1500 Woodward Ave Second Floor, Detroit, 48226. 313.962.7711.

much of the current structure as possible, and have designed the environment to encourage socializing. There are also plans for future community and social events in the space.

What’s a Pumachug?

When Black Lotus Brewing Company closed in October of last year, husband and wife Tyler and Andrea Williams kept having conversations about what they thought should go into the space at 1 E. 14 Mile, Clawson. Flash forward – and they are now preparing for a late spring/early summer opening of Pumachug, their first restaurant. “The overall premise is really something warm, welcoming, fun, a very neighborhood vibe,” said Andrea about Pumachug, where they plan to serve “high-quality bar food.” The input on their menu isn’t just coming from their own team though – the duo have also been asking, and taking, community suggestions through a survey on their website. Andrea said they’ve received many requests for vegan and vegetarian options that are more than just salads, as well as food that’s approachable but also done well. Since they are both Clawson residents –Tyler is fourth-generation – Andrea mentioned they’ve been working with the Clawson Historical Society to help incorporate the city’s history into their interior design.

Keep your eyes peeled for their launch.

Sushi cornucopia Inside 70 W. Alexandrine Street, Detroit, there’s build-your-own poke bowls and burritos, as well as sushi doughnuts, sushi pizza, and sushi corn dogs.

Yes, you read that right – sushi corn dogs. The latest expansion from the Atlanta chain, Poke Burri, opened in December in Detroit, and surprisingly those sushi corn dogs are selling out, according to Seven Chan, co-founder of Poke Burri, along with Ken Yu. The Detroit location is being managed by Mohamad Atwi from Dearborn. “For a lot of people sushi is still unapproachable, raw things are unapproachable, we’re kind of like that gateway...and I think we’re doing that in the city, which is awesome,” Chan said. Open Tuesday through Sunday, the Detroit location launched a new item, their jalapeño Arancini.

Cup of joe for good In December, Beaumont Hospital’s Woodward Corners gained New Order Coffee Roasters at 30955 Woodward Avenue, Royal Oak. This is the first suburban location for the cafe, which is also in midtown Detroit. CEO Elizabeth Rose is excited about not only the opening but their collaboration with the “Arts RX” program to display artwork created by pediatric patients on coffee mugs. Said mugs will be available for purchase, and all proceeds go to the Children’s Miracle Network. “I’m really excited about this because you never know what this is going to look like,” Rose said. “But so far, the mugs are just adorable.” Guests can expect New Order’s signature drinks, like M&M mochas and cereal milks, and a new drink – a cherry blossom white mocha coming in the next few months. New to the Royal Oak location is the Waffleshot Macchiato. There are plans to expand their slate of cold beverages this summer, adding housemade cold brew and tea-infused ice creams to drinks, and they are working towards launching a warm breakfast menu this year to add to their food selections.

European breakfast and lunch John Hanselman and the team behind the recently opened Essen on Main – 205 S. Main Street, Royal Oak – are doing something not often seen in the area, having their restaurant focus solely on breakfast and lunch. European cuisine, primarily French and German, is on the menu, and so far, the German Farmers breakfast, Croque Madam breakfast sandwich, crepes, and schnitzel have already proven popular. Chef Brian Kraemer, formerly of Bistro 82, has taking charge in the kitchen. There’s also a full espresso and coffee menu. Despite their defined focus, guests are repeatedly asking if they’ll be expanding to dinner. “It’s flattering that people would like that, but I want to be excellent at what we’re doing now before we expand,” said Hanselman, who owns the restaurant with his mom, Katheleen.

EVAN TREHARNE ASSOCIATE BROKER | TOP PRODUCER + 1 248 321 6699 evan.homes@gmail.com evantreharne.com Evan Treharne is a top producing realtor who is annually recognized by Hour Detroit Magazine as a Real Estate All Star. In 2019, Evan was honored as a Rising Star by the Real Producers of Oakland County Magazine. He is known for his immense market knowledge, constant communication and his unwavering support and advocacy for his clients. Evan’s down-to-earth personality along with his seasoned expertise helps his clients achieve all their buying and selling goals.

HALL & HUNTER REALTORS • 442 S. OLD WOODWARD AVE., BIRMINGHAM +1 248 644 3500 • HALLANDHUNTER.COM

THE COMMUNITY HOUSE BUILDING THE FOUNDATION ONE DONOR AT A TIME On January 1, 2018, The Community House ASSOCIATION’s Board of Directors announced the creation of a new and separate entity; The Community House FOUNDATION, to act as a supporting organization to The Community House ASSOCIATION. This was a transformational announcement.

Do you Invest in Real Estate?

In tandem with this historic announcement, we learned that the mission of the new Community House FOUNDATION is to generate, and secure supplemental philanthropic funds needed to fulfill our promise, to families and the community, who depend on us to deliver a variety of quality programs and services throughout the region. Robust philanthropy supports a wide range of programs and services, today and in the future, that benefits the community. Ultimately, our goal is to offer as many programs and services to all, regardless of a person’s ability pay.

In addition to securing supplemental funding to maintain quality programming and services at TCH, The Community House Association’s leadership also mandated that The Community House Foundation dedicate itself to raising funds and awareness for the preservation and perpetual care of The Community House Association’s historic building and nearly century-old plant. In setting up the new foundation, we were reminded that historic preservation is a critical movement in planning.

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Bill Seklar

Gerald Brody

Sr. Mortgage Loan Originator

With these goals in mind, much of The Community House Foundation’s initial efforts have focused on assessing, educating and carefully pairing passionate and caring donors with the immediate and emerging needs of The Community House Association – needs over and above normal day-to-day operations.

®

29200 Northwestern Highway, Ste. 300 ^ŽƵƚŚĮĞůĚ͕ D/ ϰϴϬϯϰ ͗ ϮϰϴͲϱϮϭͲϬϬϯϭ ͮ K͗ ϮϰϴͲϳϭϰͲϰϵϮϯ ED>^η ϯϵϳϲϰϮ͖ >ŝĐĞŶƐĞĚ ŝŶ D/ Loan approval is subject to credit approval and program guidelines.

As a separate non-profit charitable organization, The Community House Foundation was launched and governed by a separate and independent board of directors, staff and volunteers. 2019-2020 Community House Foundation board members include: Barbara Hertzler, chair; Brad Wolf, vice chair; William D. Seklar, President & CEO; Deric Righter, treasurer; and Jacob Taylor, officer.

Equal Housing Lender. ©2019 Luxury Mortgage Corp. This is not a commitment to lend. Restrictions apply. Some products may not be available in all states. NMLS # 2745. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Michigan 1st and 2nd Mortgage Broker/Lender/Servicer Registrant License# FR0021279/SR0021280. Luxury Mortgage Corp.®, luxurymortgage.com®, and Luxury Mortgage® are registered service marks of Luxury Mortgage Corp. All Rights Reserved.

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

It was especially fitting that the Community House Foundation’s second year anniversary will coincide with its annual Bates Street Society Dinner – an annual celebration during which time The Community House organization takes pause from its own fundraising initiatives to reflect back on and recognize all of the people – individuals, corporations, foundations – which have made a true and lasting difference in the community, at The Community House and now, the new Community House Foundation.

The purpose of the Bates Street Society Dinner is to recognize extraordinary individuals who have demonstrated selfless service and philanthropy toward others while helping to “Create More Vibrant Lives” in the community. This year was no exception.

During the 2020 Bates Street Society celebration, The Community House Association, its foundation, officers and board members will honor and recognize new Pillars of Vibrancy in Philanthropy, Education, Wellness and Culture. It will be a magical evening.

Since its inception, 59 pillars throughout our region have now been recognized and honored. On February 8, nine new pillars will join this impressive fraternity. 2020 pillar honorees include: Pillar of Business, Mary Kramer; Pillars of Philanthropy, Margaret Cooney Casey, Christine and David Provost; Pillar of Culture & Philanthropy, Linda Solomon; Pillar of Education, Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, M.D.; Pillar of Wellness & Philanthropy, Keith Pomeroy; Pillar of Wellness, Brian Berman, M.D., Hannan Lis. We also recognize those that have given $25,000 or more cumulatively, or donors who make an irrevocable legacy gift of $25,000 or more to The Community House: Bates Street Society. 2020 Bates Street Society Member inductees included: Amy and David Palmer, Bobbi and Stephen Polk, DeRoy & Devereaux, Elaine Dietze (posthumously), Ethan Allen Home Interiors, Mills Pharmacy + Apothecary, and Patricia & Eugene Jacoby. In addition the ceremony will present President’s Community Leadership Award to Rose & Brian Bolyard.

The 2020 Bates Street Society Dinner would not have been made possible without the generosity and support of our founding fifth year presenting sponsor PNC Wealth Management, and to Private VIP Champagne Reception sponsor, TCF Bank.

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

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Contact Jessie Miller Special Events Director | 586.944.8222 jemiller@aegpresents.com | www.romtlive.com 89

SOCIETY NOTEBOOK/GIGI NICHOLS

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JARC 50th Anniversary Celebration

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Fifty years ago, the musical group Earth Wind & Fire was founded and JARC (Jewish Association for Residential Care) opened its doors. Fittingly, JARC celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Fisher Theatre with a concert performed by the legendary group. Rob Colburn and Howard Luckoff served as co-chairs for the event which raised $1.5 million for JARC. The non-profit agency serves 200 individuals with developmental disabilities in 80 locations. JARC provides 24-hour care in group homes and independent living settings for adults, and respite services within the family home for children, teens, and young adults. 1. Mindy Salzberg Siegel of Birmingham, Rena Friedberg of Huntington Woods and Laura Roby of Bloomfield. 2. Leigh and Jeff Moss of Bloomfield and Jill Dones of Bloomfield. 3. Mark and Marcia Klein of W. Bloomfield, Patti Aaron of Ann Arbor, Mark Kahn of Los Angeles and Dan Greenberg of Franklin. 4. Board President Howard Luckoff of Bloomfield and JARC CEO Shaindel Braunstein of Royal Oak. 5. Barb Williams of Rochester and Becky Sakwa of Bloomfield. 6. Jane Hoffman and Lance Lis of Birmingham. 7. Amy Webber of Farmington Hills and Amy Helman of Birmingham. 8. Jack and Amy Folbe of Birmingham (center) with the original members of Earth Wind and Fire – Verdine White, Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson.

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Beaumont Bocce Classic

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The annual Beaumont Bocce Classic event was held at Palazzo di Bocce in Lake Orion. More than 200 guests attended the fundraiser and enjoyed a fun, competitive evening of bocce ball in addition to a strolling dinner and participation in a silent auction that earned $2,800 in donations. The evening's proceeds totaled over $160,000, benefiting the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Beaumont Hospital, Troy. The 24-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) treats high-risk, premature newborns of 28 weeks or more gestation. A special care nursery is available to handle needs of low-risk newborns. 1. Brian Torok, M.D. and Julie Torok of Bloomfield, Janice Lynch and Jim Lynch, M.D. of Waterford. 2. Al and Hannah Susick, Ashley Meerscheart, President of Beaumont Royal Oak Nancy Susick of Rochester Hills. 3. Lucy and Charlie Drinkert of Beverly Hills, Reagan, Nolan and Mary Powers of Macomb Twp with “Beau” the Bear. 4. Anna Scripps and Jeff Medinis of Dearborn and Mario and Maria Moceri of Oakland Township. 5. Frances Moceri of Rochester Hills and Mario and Maria Moceri of Oakland Township.

6. JoAnne and Bill Sefcik of Washington Twp., Todd Bensley of Bruce Twp. and Dennis LaPorte of Rochester Hills.

7. Sam Romita, Tom Wycycki, Nino Romita and Tom Lorkowski of Rochester Hills. 8. Beaumont Bocce co-chairs Carol and David Roncelli of Washington Twp. and Mario and Maria Moceri Oakland Twp.

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GigiNichols@downtownpublications.com 248.515.6105

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An Evening with Einstein

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In 2016, retired educator Allen Einstein founded The Einstein Method (TEM), a non-profit dedicated to helping teachers succeed. Since its founding, TEM has provided training programs to teachers and community groups, such as Focus Hope and many others across the southeast and central Michigan area, reaching 1,600 educators. Over 100 supporters of The Einstein Method attended “An Evening with Einstein” fundraiser, held at the home of Paddy Lynch (the former Kresge Mansion) in Detroit. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and patrons, the event netted $40,000. 1. Ari Einstein of Bloomfield, Ellen Gahagan of Bloomfield and Madelon Ward of Troy. 2. Jake Plaggemars of Detroit, Chris MacKenzie of Birmingham, Alexandra Howe of Birmingham.

3. Seger Weisberg of Oak Park, Priscilla Perkins of Troy, Kate and Clay Phillips of Bloomfield. 4. Shirley Bryant of Farmington Hills, Carol Klein of Franklin and Founder and Executive Director Allen Einstein of Bloomfield.

5. Allen and Nanci Einstein of Bloomfield. 6. Mike Ilitch III of Birmingham, Barbara and Jerry Wideman of Troy.

7. John and Janet Shekerjian of Birmingham and Mike Zambricki and Joni Gabriel of Bloomfield.

8. Joey Bianchini of Royal Oak, Phil, Denise and Ben Bianchini of Birmingham.

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Detroit Institute of Arts Gala

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Leland Calloway & Anthony Smith, Drs. Charles & Anne Boyd, Suzanne Shank Werdlow & Sean Werdlow, Celeste Watkins-Hayes & Rejji Hayes, Catherine & Nathan Forbes, and Arn & Nancy Tellem teamed up to co-chair the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) Annual Gala, “Detroit Collects: Selections of African American Art from Private Collections.” Proceeds will benefit the museum’s endowment fund as part of an initiative called Detroit Dedicated, aimed at raising critical funds to support the DIA’s African American art collection. The DIA is the first museum in the United States to have a curatorial department devoted to African American art. 1. Co-chairs: Anthony Smith of Detroit, Suzanne Shank Werdlow of Bloomfield and Leland Calloway of Detroit. 2. Mary Kramer of Detroit and Bill Volz of Bloomfield. 3. Co-chairs Arn and Nancy Tellem of Birmingham. 4. Molly and Jeff Meador of Birmingham. 5. Dave and Peggy Meador of Bloomfield. 6. David and Christine Provost of Bloomfield, Allie Provost and Dana Mannarino of NYC. 7. Vivian Pickard of Bloomfield and Salvador Salort Pons of Detroit. 8. Sally Orley of Bloomfield and Doreen Hermelin of Birmingham.

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SOCIETY NOTEBOOK/GIGI NICHOLS

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Birmingham Panhellenic Association Passion for Fashion

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Pine Lake Country Club in West Bloomfield served as the venue for the annual Birmingham Panhellenic Association’s Annual Awards Luncheon. The Panhellenic Association is comprised of area sorority alumnae and provides financial support to high school women as they pursue their interests in the arts, sciences and athletics. This year, the association granted awards to six young women from five area high schools. Attendees at the event enjoyed a raffle, luncheon and fashion show from 4th Street Boutique in Rochester. 1. Carolyn Plsek of Bloomfield, Cheryl Noonan of Troy and Pat Phillips of Birmingham. 2. Jean Clark of Bloomfield, Susan Zemmer of White Lake, Carolyn Richard of Novi, Nancy Allen and Marianne Ganiard of Bloomfield. 3. Barb Castellana of Birmingham and Kathy Westerlund of Beverly Hills. 4. Elena Roma of Grosse Pointe and Deb Thompson of Bloomfield. 5. Abby Turnbull of Grosse Pointe and Amy Zimmer of Bloomfield.

6. Molly Beresford of Birmingham and Ruth Graham of Rochester Hills. 7. Carolyn Chicoine of Bloomfield and Suzanne Smulsky of Farmington Hills. 8. Carolyn Manhart of Southfield, Lou Simpson of Birmingham and Martha Torre of Bloomfield.

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The Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin Book Signing

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Award winning photojournalist Linda Solomon held a book signing at Saks Fifth Avenue, Somerset Collection, Troy for her latest work, “The Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin, An Intimate Portrait.” Franklin’s family members, Earline Franklin and Brenda Franklin-Corbett, were on hand to sign books as well. Proceeds from the event benefited Pictures of Hope, Solomon's nationally acclaimed program which introduces children in shelters and charities across the United States to photography. Pictures of Hope has helped children in 50 cities with the highest populations of homeless children and youth. 1. Sally and Julie Marx of Bloomfield.

2. Mary Peters and Barbara Mahone of Birmingham. 3. Artist Joe Borri of Farmington Hills.

4. Mark and Lois Shaevsky of Bloomfield. 5. Peaches and James Adams of Eastpointe.

6. Earline Franklin of W. Palm Beach, Photojournalist Linda Solomon of Franklin and Brenda Franklin Corbett of Detroit. 7. Debra Ribitwer of Bloomfield and Shelley Walters-Dalley of Grosse Pointe.

8. Mary Gushee and Kathy Brennan of Grosse Pointe and Kathleen McInerny of Birmingham.

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Far Friends and Fa-La-La

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Julie Kowalik and Brandy Lee co-chaired the 19th annual FAR Friends and Fa-La-La benefiting FAR Therapeutic Arts at Detroit Country Day School's Seligman Performing Arts Center, Beverly Hills. Over 650 attendees enjoyed shopping for handmade gifts at the FAR Bazaar prior to the inspiring show of song and dance featuring FAR participants and their therapists. Honors were given to Detroit Country Day School for their commitment to the community. Glenn Currin received the Hero Award and Ciara Brennan was honored with the Spirit of Far Award. The event raised $110,000 for FAR. 1. Gilda Porcari of Royal Oak, Laurie Tennent and Peggy Kerr of Bloomfield. 2. Judy Soloman and Jennie Cascio of Bloomfield. 3. Anna Giammarco of Northville, Roz Cooperman of Bloomfield and Karen Ebben of Novi. 4. Far President Pam Ayres of Bloomfield and Christina Phillips of Novi. 5. Rebecca King of Beverly Hills and Tom Maniaci of Birmingham. 6. Brandy Lee of Bloomfield and Tom Maniaci of Birmingham. 7. Event co-chairs Brandy Lee of Bloomfield and Julie Kowalik of W. Bloomfield. 8. David and Jeffrey King of Birmingham and Michelle Murphy (middle) of Macomb.

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Angelsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Place Annual Dinner

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Grammy Award winning musician Amy Grant was the featured speaker/performer for the Angels' Place 27th Annual Dinner. Approximately 670 guests attended the event, which was held at The Henry in Dearborn. The evening began with a patron reception and included photo opportunities with Grant, followed by dinner and program. Grant entertained the crowd with her music mixed with personal inspirational stories. Over $400,000 was raised for Angels' Place, which provides peoplecentered services, including homes and professional support, for adults with developmental disabilities. 1. Maureen Cervone of Lake Orion, Denny Dinan-Panico of Troy, Connie Woods and President Leslie Swanson of Bloomfield. 2. Mary Jo Johnston and Martha Whiting of Birmingham.

3. Rosemary Etue, Sue Andrews and Eileen Thees of Bloomfield. 4. Sue McGowan of Beverly Hills, Sandy Mackle of Bloomfield, Susie Antishin of Northville and Leila Kessel of Bloomfield.

5. Christine Devine of Bloomfield and Mary Beth Schoeninger of Beverly Hills. 6. Tim and Chris Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hara of Bloomfield. 7. Diane Misaras of South Lyon, Mary Urbanek of Royal Oak and Judy Jonna of Bloomfield. 8. Lynn Gates of Bloomfield and Pamela Racine of Bloomfield.

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St. Vincent de Paul Ladies of Charity Luncheon

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The Ladies of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Oakland County Association, Clothes Closet and Food Pantry (CCFP) is located on the beautiful grounds of St. Hugo of the Hills in Bloomfield Hills.

CCFP provides emergency food, clothing, nursery and household items to those in need, particularly in Oakland County, without regard to race or religious affiliation. More than 200 supporters of the charity attended a sold-out event, “Gems, Friends and Fashion Trends,” at the Birmingham Country Club. Over $10,000 was raised which will provide emergency food and clothing to Oakland County residents. 1. Maureen Cervone of Lake Orion, Denny Dinan-Panico of Troy, Connie Woods and President Leslie Swanson of Bloomfield. 2. Sue McGowan of Beverly Hills, Sandy Mackle of Bloomfield, Susie Antishin of Northville and Leila Kessel of Bloomfield.

3. Chris Reynaert of Bloomfield and Bridget Bealin of Troy. 4. Mary Jo Johnston and Martha Whiting of Birmingham. 5. Christine Devine of Bloomfield and Mary Beth Schoeninger of Beverly Hills. 6. Rosemary Etue, Sue Andrews and Eileen Thees of Bloomfield. 7. Reenie Shannon and Martha Torre of Bloomfield. 8. Charlene Krupitzer of Troy and Sandy Mackle of Bloomfield.

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Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County Gala

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The Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County Gala took place at the Troy Marriott. The event included cocktails, a powerful opener by celebrated poet Adán Bean, seated dinner and live auction. Level One Bank's Timothy Mackay was honored as Habitat Oakland’s Community Builder of the Year and Sean Stillwell was recognized as Volunteer of the Year. To date, the fundraiser has helped raise nearly $700,000 to further Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County’s mission to build strength, stability and self-reliance through safe and affordable home ownership.

1. Bruce Trevarrow and Cheryl Gambaro of Oakland. 2. Doug Maibach of Northville, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Oakland Tim Ruggles and Karen Pruess of Wolverine Lake. 3. Ralph Stillwell of Auburn Hills Jessica and Honoree Sean Stillwell of Bloomfield and Miriam Stillwell of W. Bloomfield. 4. Pam Benfield of Rochester Hills and Jim Hayes of Auburn Hills. 5. Will and Marla Rodgers of Bloomfield. 6. Michelle Nixon of Rochester, Lesa, Matt and Kate Reynolds of Rochester Hills. 7. Lori and Jerry Kulczycki of Troy. 8. Ann Duke and Dave Rush of Bloomfield.

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GigiNichols@downtownpublications.com 248.515.6105

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South Oakland Shelter (SOS) Dancing with the Stars

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The 11th annual Dancing with the Detroit Stars was staged to a packed house at The Townsend Hotel, Birmingham. The star-studded evening benefited the newly-combined Lighthouse and South Oakland Shelter. Celebrity dancers trained at Arthur Murray Dance Studio and featured Jennifer Granger, Marina Lagocha & Clive Phillips, Brooke Miller and Rabbi Rachel Shere. Brooke Miller won the competition and Rabbi Rachel Shere took home the award for top fundraiser. The evening’s proceeds of $230,400 will directly benefit families and individuals struggling with poverty.

1. James McQueen of Pontiac, Jim Ciroli of Birmingham, SOS President & CEO Ryan Hertz of Huntington Woods and Joe Heaphy of Huntington Woods. 2. Rod and Tammy Alberts of Bloomfield.

3. Abe Slaim and Sheri Mark of Bloomfield. 4. Event chairs Jim and Liz Ciroli of Birmingham.

5. Eric and Els Banks of Birmingham. 6. Larry and Jeanette Murphy of Bloomfield.

7. Jack and Audrey Sobel of W. Bloomfield. 8. Rick Lambert and Brooke Ellis of Troy.

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Women of Bloomfield Starry Starry Night Fundraiser

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Approximately 120 guests attended the Women of Bloomfield’s biennial fundraiser, “Starry Starry Night,” held at Oakland Hills Country Club and chaired by Sydrena Epstein and Beverly Schine. Guests enjoyed a sit-down dinner with entertainment provided by Heidi Hepler-Ramo and Michele Ramo. The silent auction of 150 items raised $10,000 which will be divided equally between CARE House of Oakland County, which advocates for children who are victims of abuse and neglect, and SCAMP, a five-week summer camp for children with disabilities. 1. Gary and Christa Hintz of Bloomfield Hills, Barbara VanDorn of Birmingham and Mariette Present of Orchard Lake. 2. David Blum of Ann Arbor, Irwin Epstein of Bloomfield Hills, Donn Ulmer of Commerce and Ernie Abel of West Bloomfield.

3. WoB President Sharon Ulmer of Commerce and co-chair Beverly Schine of West Bloomfield.

4. Ava Wixted of Bloomfield Hills and Dr. Carolyn Steffen of Birmingham. 5. Will and Alison Forrest of Bloomfield. 6. Sharon Heidrich of Bloomfield Hills. 7. Rod Maresh of Rochester and Frede Baldin of Bloomfield Hills. 8. Patti Finnegan Sharf of Bloomfield Hills and Nancy Pavy of Bloomfield Hills.

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Holy Name Catholic School All that Glitters Auction

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Holy Name Catholic School in Birmingham organized its biggest fundraiser of the year, “All that Glitters Auction,” at the DoubleTree Hilton in Bloomfield. The event was a complete sell-out with over 250 people in attendance. The evening offered guests a sit-down dinner, entertainment by Good Gravy Band, dancing, and live and silent auctions. Proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to fund new furniture for the Holy Name School classrooms. The All that Glitters Auction was cochaired by Amy Greenwalt and Jen Andries. 1. Co-chair Amy Greenwalt of Sylvan Lake, Principal Deann Brzezinski of Commerce, co-chair Jennifer Andries of Birmingham and Vice Principal Liz Kozadinos of Royal Oak. 2. Leslie Ahmad of Birmingham, Katie Jallad of Beverly Hills, Maureen Sanger of Birmingham and Erin Etue of Berkley. 3. Maria Krass of Eastpointe, Amy Ried of Troy and Eileen Martinez of Bloomfield. 4. Laura and Steve Ferich of Birmingham. 5. Amy Shehab of Bloomfield and Susan Vincenti of Birmingham. 6. Nancy and Chris Fullerton of Birmingham, Dana and Sean Sherrod of Bloomfield. 7. Jennifer and Chris Ludwig of Bloomfield. 8. Kari and Casey Bear of Birmingham and Jill and Kyle Krywko of Bloomfield.

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Emilie Mardigian Fitch and Nanette Drouillard chaired the Grace Centers of Hope “Night of Hope” at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham. The evening was emceed by Fox2 News Anchor/Reporter Roop Raj and featured cocktails, dinner, live music, dancing, silent and live auctions. Proceeds of over $300,000 will provide resources for the children’s programs at Grace Centers of Hope. Grace Centers of Hope provides refuge, safety and security and a wide range of programs to help people in need rebuild their lives and reenter society as productive and responsible citizens. 1. Jim Hall, Ruben Estrada and Eric Martin of Clarkston.

2. Colleen Hall, Jesse Estrada and Tracey Martin of Clarkston. 3. Katre Klow of Birmingham and Brigitte Crawford of Troy. 4. Marcy and David Van De Grift of Birmingham. 5. Pat and Gene Jacoby of Bloomfield.

6. Tom and Jennifer Dluzen of Birmingham and Melissa Koos of Rochester Hills. 7. Brigitte Crawford of Troy, co-chair Emilie and Aaron Fitch of Birmingham and Jerry and Nicole Bradley of White Lake.

8. Cathy White of Romeo, Linda Rau of Washington, Sandy Evans of Rochester Hills.

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ENDNOTE

Our choices for the March ballot issues e fully recognize we are just one of many voice in the community when it comes to offering our opinions relative to elections, including the tax issues appearing on the presidential primary March ballot. But readers should know that we provide our endorsements after careful deliberation,

W

conversations and meetings with principals involved, thorough reading of documents, including some received via Freedom of Information. For each issue, we took into account the specific community or issue, constituents, and how the millage would or would not affect their operations. We are providing our endorsements now, in our February issue, for those residents voting by absentee ballot.

Along with choices in the presidential primary, on Tuesday, March 10, voters in Bloomfield Township are asked to approve a renewal of a general operating millage of up to 1.3 mills to continue to fund general services, and those living in the Birmingham Public Schools district are being asked to approve a $195 million bond proposal to address facility needs and enhancements. In addition, all voters in Oakland County will be asked to renew a 10-year tax of .2 mills for the Oakland County Art Institute Autority millage to benefit the Detroit Institute of Arts.

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP Millage Renewal Request Bloomfield Township voters are being asked to renew a 10-year, general fund operating millage that generates about $5 million a year. In 2010, voters approved a 10-year, 1.3-mill property tax to fund all general operations in the township through 2019, with its final levy in December 2019.

Bloomfield Township trustees unanimously approved language asking voters in the March 10, 2020 special presidential primary election to approve a reduced millage rate of up to 1.2401 mills for ten years, 2020-2029. It is a renewal of the previous millage, rolled back each year thanks to the Headlee Tax Limitation Amendment which says governments are held to the rate of inflation when property values rise. The ballot language reads: "Shall the millage previously authorized by electors in 2010 authorizing the Charter Township of Bloomfield to levy up to 1.3 mills as reduced by requiring millage rollbacks to a levy of 1.2401 mills in 2019.” Approval will simply retain the status quo and will not increase any taxes.

A mill is equal to $1 in property tax per every $1,000 in taxable value, which is typically about half of a home's market value. Therefore, a home with a taxable value of $100,000 ($200,000 market value) would continue to pay $1,240 in taxes annually for the proposed millage renewal.

The millage renewal is to be used for general operations of Bloomfield Township, including but not limited to police, fire, emergency medical services, department of public works, and all other functions and operations of the township. It is estimated the millage will generate approximately $5.1 million its first year if approved and levied.

The first levy would be December 2020.

While we are not fans of putting tax issues on primary or presidential elections, when voter turnout is lower than for a November general election, this is a crucial millage renewal request. If trustees had waited until November to put it on the ballot and it was turned down, massive slashes to public services and operations would be necessitated – and even if approved on the November ballot, it would be too late to collect the millage on December tax bills unless Lansing lawmakers approve a temporary change in state law, which they have done in some past election years. Already, residents have been faced with the repercussions of over $4 million in cuts in the township after voters in August, 2019, rejected a 15-year, 2.3-mill Special Assessment District (SAD) proposal that would have generated $9 million per year dedicated to public safety operations, including retiree benefits. If approved, the township would have terminated the final year of the 10-year general fund millage, resulting in a net tax increase of 1.05 mills, but with its rejection, it is even more necessary that Bloomfield Township residents vote YES to maintain crucial township services.

BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS Bond Proposal Those living in the Birmingham Schools district are being asked to support a School Improvement Bond Proposal to permit the district to borrow not more than $195 million over three series, and issue general obligation unlimited tax bonds to pay for brick and mortar improvements and enhancements. The bond cannot be used for staff salaries or general operating expenses.

The annual debt millage is expected to remain at or below the annual debt millage of 3.8 mills levied in 2019, meaning there is not expected to be an increase in taxes for homeowners.

The last time Birmingham Schools did a massive renovation of its buildings was in 2003. If voters pass the School Improvement Bond Proposal, the district will do main entrance and building updates at Groves High School; building renovations and a classroom addition at Bingham Farms Elementary; Pierce Elementary would get a new cafeteria and kitchen addition; Harlan Elementary, classroom additions; Birmingham Covington School, building updates and technology services infrastructure; BPS Annex addition and building improvements; bathroom improvements throughout the district; Midvale preschool and senior center would receive building additions and increased parking; purchase of buses; critical HVAC, roofing, plumbing and electrical improvements, and high school athletic fields, interior gym and athletic entryway enhancements.

The plan was developed through strategic capital planning at the direction of the board of education in partnership with Plant Moran Cresa, with input from parents and staff along the way.

Once again, this bond could have been put on the November ballot, but interest rates are more

attractive now and delaying building projects generally ends up with increased costs in materials and labor.

Residents choose to live in the Birmingham School District because of its high standards and ratings. We recommend a YES vote to help maintain the district.

DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS Millage Renewal Request We have to emphasize we are big fans and supporters of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), and are grateful the dazzling and revered institution is in our greater community. However, that said, we are recommending voters turn down the request to renew the .2 mill on all taxable property located within Oakland County for a period of 10 years, from 2022 through 2031. It is estimated this millage renewal would generate $13.6 million in 2022, or about $26 million from all three counties.

As we explained in December, before the Oakland County Art Institute Authority approved placing the millage renewal on the March ballot, for us it's more about the timing of the ask than the ask itself, although we have some questions and legitimate concerns about that as well. Anything short of November could rightly be called a “stealth election.”

The DIA originally sought what was referred to as a “one-time” 10-year millage in August, 2012, in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties. We are not going to delve into the DIA's argument for coming back for another round of financing because we think there are some questions that need to be answered beyond the explanations we have heard to date.

In 2012, the DIA had a $91 million endowment, and said they needed $300 million. Today, the DIA endowment is at $232 million – just $68 million shy of that goal.

The DIA is coming back to voters – a move officials there had said they wouldn't – two years before they need to, at an election when there is lower turnout than at a general election. As an example, in the August 2018 primary, 34 percent of Oakland County voters turned out, while in November 2018, there was a 65 percent turnout.

Similarly, in the 2016 presidential election year, 72 percent of voters showed at the polls in the November general election, while only 20 percent voted in August, and 40 percent in the March presidential primary.

Voters should send the DIA a message and turn this down. That will assure that a larger percentage of voters will determine the fate of this request in November. In the interim, there needs to be a more detailed public discussion by officials at the DIA and the Oakland County Art Institute Authority about this proposal, including the length of the millage request, just for starters.

Once again, the DIA will not be hurt if this tax proposal fails in March. The current tax does not expire for two years. Vote NO and force the issue to a ballot that will involve more voters.

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