Downtown Birmingham/Bloomfield

GERAK: SOCIAL SCENE • HEALD: GASTRONOMY, AMERICAN BISTRO

THE GUIDE 2013 AD DEA DL

APPRO INE FAST ACHING !

PAGE 1 25

POLICING THEHOWFORCE DEPARTMENTS

MANAGE THE KEEPERS OF THE LOCAL PEACE

THE PUBLIC DEFENDERS: PROVIDING LEGAL COUNSEL TO INDIGENT DEFENDANTS WIRELESS OAKLAND: EXPERIMENT VICTIM OF ECONOMY BUT WIFI FLOURISHES

DOWNTOWN03.13

25

39 47

Policing the keeper of the peace Here's a look at how local departments police the rank and file, and examples of discipline incidents from the past several years.

CRIME LOCATOR

17

FACES

75: Jaclyn Schultz

79: Lauren Cecil

83: Shannon Murphy

122 127

For those not residing in the free mail distribution area, paid subscriptions are available for a $12 annual fee.

Phone 248.792.6464 and request the Distribution department or go to our website (downtownpublications.com) and click on “subscriptions” in the top index and place your order on-line or scan the QR Code here.

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Heart of the Tetrahydren by Mark di Suvero, in Martha Baldwin Park, Birmingham.

DOWNTOWN P

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DOWNTOWN • BLACK BOOK • THE GUIDE 124 WEST MAPLE ROAD BIRMINGHAM MI 48009 P: 248.792.6464 downtownpublications.com facebook.com/downtownpublications • twitter.com/downtownpubs

Publisher: David Hohendorf Ad Manager: Jill Cesarz Graphics/IT Manager: Chris Grammer News Editor: Lisa Brody

News Staff/Contributors: Hayley Beitman, Hillary Brody, Sally Gerak, Eleanor & Ray Heald, Austen Hohendorf, Garrett Hohendorf, Kathleen Meisner, Laurie Tennent

DOWNTOWN

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

ENDNOTE

THE COVER

A Touch of Lace; Jabs Gym; Sacred Garden Healing Arts; Max Broock Bloomfield Hills; Whistle Stop; and more.

DISTRIBUTION: Mailed monthly at no charge to homes in Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills. Additional free copies are distributed at high foot-traffic locations.

After his first taste of red Bordeaux, Canadian construction exec Cliff Lede decided he liked it so much that he wanted to make his own.

SOCIAL LIGHTS

Bistro license winners; Ducatti dealership coming; commission approves Crush; new city finance director; gastrobistro taking Zazios space; plus more.

BUSINESS MATTERS

86

The menu at Gastronomy, A Modern American Bistro, is progressive, contemporary, inventive and cosmopolitan.

FOCUS ON WINE

CITY/TOWNSHIP

59

The system that supplies legal defense to indigent defendants is now 50 years old and still functioning.

120

45: Judie Jones

57: Carter (Cartier) Sims

The public defenders

Oakland County's first experiment to provide free wireless access failed but local WiFi spots keep popping up.

AT THE TABLE

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

35: Joe Grimm

Wireless Oakland today

Transparency by police departments is critical; decide on conditional rezoning.

INCOMING: We welcome feedback on both our publication and general issues of concern in the Birmingham/Bloomfield community. The traditional Letters to the Editor in Downtown are published in our Incoming section, and can include traditional letters or electronic communication. Your opinions can be sent via e-mail to news@downtownpublications.com; or mailed to Downtown Publications, 124 West Maple Road, Birmingham MI, 48009.

Letters must include your full name, address and daytime phone number for verification.

03.13

SPRING 2013

YIGAL AZROUEL

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AUTUMN CASHMERE

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NICOLE MILLER

SPECIAL APPEARANCE

heikejarick PRESENTING HER SPRING 2013 COLLECTION

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

MARCH 7 AND 8 A portion of proceeds from WKLV HYHQW ZLOO EHQHÀW

2013 COMMITTEE

Lisa Lis Risa Brickman Abby Nathan Jessica Kwartowitz

Karen Rosett Shari Dobrusin Sonia Gonte Sherrie Singer

MONDAY - FRIDAY 10 - 6

Andrea Seigel Julie Yaker Shira Wolberg Lauren Cohen

SATURDAY 10 - 5

Debbie Pearlman Nikki Raimi Nicole Eisenberg Niki Fink

Emily Camiener Wendy Eisenshtadt Marnie Hafron Roz Blanck

FROM THE PUBLISHER

S

pring of 2013 will prove a busy time at Downtown Publications as we prepare for the launch of another monthly newsmagazine in Oakland County.

Beginning in May, our publishing group will be entering what is known as the west Oakland lakes area with a full-color, magazine-style monthly publication entitled Westend.

Westend will be much like this issue of Downtown that you are now reading, both in size and format and editorial content, minus the social scene reporting that appears at the back of each edition.

Our newest newsmagazine will be distributed by direct mail to about 24,000 homes in an area that includes Commerce Township, Wolverine Lake, Walled Lake, the western portion of West Bloomfield, along with select areas of Waterford and White Lake. All told, the mail distribution of Westend will basically focus on two market areas – what old-timers affectionately call the Union Lake area and the Walled Lake shopping area.

We will be offering readers in that area the long-form style of journalism for which we are are known at Downtown, along with municipal and school district coverage, Faces personality profiles, business news, and a guide to restaurants in that specific Oakland County locale. Our monthly news coverage will be augmented with an aggressive website where we will provide more immediate news coverage, just as we do with downtownpublications.com for the Birmingham/Bloomfield area.

The launch of Westend is a slight detour from the Downtown business plan in which we had set our sights on expansion with a couple of added editions of our popular Birmingham/Bloomfield newsmagazine into other Oakland communities where there are established downtown areas. But rest assured that we still are also hard at work on bringing our brand of publishing and Downtown to added communities before the end of this year.

We are pursuing this opportunity now with Westend at the urging in recent weeks of a number of businesses in the west Oakland area who felt that they were no longer served well by existing media in the general Commerce Township and Union Lake environs.

For those of us at Downtown, the launch of Westend is a homecoming

of sorts. Each of us in the past has spent anywhere from a few years to decades with a prior publishing group that had served the west Oakland area before we formed Downtown Publications. We know the area; we know the issues facing the communities; and there really is no learning curve when it comes to serving this part of Oakland County.

About a year ago I spent time networking with some established business contacts in the west Oakland area as part of an effort to determine just where we are headed at Downtown Publications in the short-term and long-term future. While Westend has always been one of a number of possible projects on the drawing board, as businesses began to call me over the last month, it rose in priority in terms of our future expansion.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been working on assembling added staff members for the Westend, all of whom will operate out of our offices here in Birmingham, which will remain our center of operations as we continue with our future growth. Watch for further announcements in coming weeks as added information becomes available. ******** I would be remiss if I did not comment on the retraction/correction appearing on page 10 in this issue.

We take our role here at Downtown Publications very seriously. As I have said in the past, producing a legitimate news publication is both a business venture and in part a social mission because of the place we hold in the community as a provider of information.

In our December 2012 issue of Downtown, we did not hold to our normal standards of quality when we produced a piece on the Bloomfield Park project in Bloomfield Township.

Put bluntly, when we mess up, we have to admit it. Trust that we will do better in the future.

David Hohendorf Publisher DavidHohendorf@downtownpublications.com

RETRACTION/CORRECTION We would like to offer our sincere apology to our readers and Mr. Craig Schubiner for over fifty (50) unsupported statements and misstatements of facts in our story titled Bloomfield Park Plans which appeared in the December 2012 issue of Downtown.

This story never should have been printed without much more fact-checking and due diligence by Downtown Publications. While we will not describe in detail every error in our story, we would like to retract and/or correct the following: First, we would like to retract any suggestion that developer Craig Schubiner and any companies with which he had control were responsible for the failure of the Bloomfield Park development project after the project was sold by entities which he was a part of in 2006. Construction did not commence until mid2007 and Mr. Schubiner had no control over what was built, when it was built, whether or not construction commenced or ceased, how or if it was financed properly or at all, when and if contractors were paid or how much they were paid, or the like.

Construction stopped more than 26 months after Schubiner had any control over the Bloomfield Park development. Downtown Publications offers its apology for any inaccurate statements that reflected adversely on Craig Schubiner or casted blame on him for events which occurred after August 29, 2006.

As noted in an earlier correction of this same story, in describing a number of business dealings, including litigation that ensued during the development of the Bloomfield Park project, we referred to developer Craig Schubiner personally rather than referring to the legal entities in which he was involved. We readily acknowledge that Craig Schubiner personally was not a party to any litigation and at no point were there any liens against Craig Schubiner's Harbor Companies.

Furthermore, neither Craig Schubiner nor the Harbor Companies were a party to any lawsuits filed by contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and service companies.

Craig Schubiner did not enter into a “425 agreement” with the city of Pontiac. The agreement was under P.A. 425 and was between Pontiac and Bloomfield Township only.

Neither Craig Schubiner, nor any of his companies, asked for a tax “abatement” from Pontiac, nor did he file a petition to have Bloomfield Township land annexed by Pontiac.

Any suggestion as made in the story that Craig Schubiner employed an attorney to “salvage the deal” was entirely inaccurate.

Although there was a foreclosure right granted to Wells Fargo by the Oakland County Circuit Court, the bank has not yet begun advertising for foreclosure and it has no ownership of the property.

We reported that Wells Fargo owned the property and this was entirely inaccurate.

10

At one point in the story, it was suggested that Craig Schubiner was still looking in the “rear view mirror” relative to the development but during an interview prior to writing the story, Schubiner in fact told us he was not looking in the “rear view mirror.”

Our publication got this dead wrong.

Further, the writer of the story referred to Schubiner as still being “obsessed” with the project, viewed himself as a “visionary” with a concept that no one else could understand, that he expressed “vitriol” for most everyone else involved with the project, and that he committed “blunders” – these were all instances of the writer manufacturing unsupported, sensational opinions that never should have been written.

The story also suggested that two Florida developments conceptually similar to Bloomfield Park had gone “belly up.” While one of those projects had gone into foreclosure at one point in time, neither project was involved in a bankruptcy and Downtown has no information suggesting that these projects are presently struggling as the story suggests.

Downtown also allowed a number of sources, both named and unnamed, to be quoted in the story making statements that Schubiner had made things up relative to leasing interest in the development; that market studies for the project did not exist; that the challenges for the development were due to the local developer; or that a majority of those attending an initial township meeting on Bloomfield Park had opposed the project. We sincerely regret having done this as we neither had then or now any support whatsoever for such statements and on the contrary, we have been supplied significant information relating to retail leasing interest and a comprehensive market study performed for the Harbor Companies for the project.

We reported incorrectly that Schubiner sued Coventry and DDR. Schubiner was not, and is not, a party to any litigation against Coventry, DDR, or any other contractor, entity, or individual relating to Bloomfield Park in any State or jurisdiction.

Any suggestion that Craig Schubiner did not work with the local municipalities is entirely incorrect. In fact, upon further investigation, Mr. Schubiner engaged in and attended more than 100 work sessions, planning meetings and public meetings with Pontiac and Bloomfield Township staff as well as township board and Pontiac City Council members.

Our publication also should have fact-checked numerous statements made by Dan Devine, the Bloomfield Township Treasurer, before printing them as there were numerous factual errors in his remarks, including but not limited to: Mr. Devine indicated that the Township contracted with out-of-state marketing agencies for unbiased opinions on the best use of the property but in fact, DOWNTOWN

the referenced market studies that were contracted for by the Township were predicated upon a P.A. 425 land transfer to Birmingham and these studies in fact excluded most of the land area constituting Phase 1 of Bloomfield Park, the area which is partially-built today. Thus, Devine’s statements that the Township was told the Bloomfield Park proposal was way over the top and would be nothing more than a white elephant were completely untrue as the market studies did not address any proposal made by any developer for the Bloomfield Park site and said nothing of the sort.

Mr. Devine’s statements that, "The entire settlement was predicated on the promise the developer made to the courts that he had financing to build the development," and "However, the courts refused to allow us to ask him for proof of financing,” are entirely unsupported. Downtown Publications is aware of no language whatsoever in any settlement or other agreement which requires financing or proof of financing. And, there is no evidence to suggest that a court was ever asked to rule on the issue of financing “proof” for Bloomfield Park.

Finally, Dan Devine stated, “Before the ink was even dry (on the settlement agreement), Schubiner went to the Pontiac City Council and requested that the entire property be deemed a Brownfield property, which was designed for property that was toxic.

There was never any proof of Brownfield there. In essence, he said I don't have any money, and asked for a 30-year tax abatement to wipe Pontiac, Bloomfield Township and Oakland County from tax revenues for 30 years. We cried foul, and Pontiac made a concession and gave him a 20-year abatement." This quotation never should have been printed given the following facts: a. The P.A. 425 agreement, which was signed

by Dan Devine, contains specific language allowing for Michigan economic development programs including but not limited to those for Brownfields. There are multiple ways to be deemed a Brownfield in Michigan and the Bloomfield Park property was in fact deemed “blighted and functionally obsolete” by the City of Pontiac Brownfield authority. The property was deemed a Brownfield in 2003 based on these two qualifying factors yet it legally only needed one to qualify. b. There is no evidence whatsoever to support that Schubiner in essence said “I don’t have any money”. c. Neither Schubiner nor any entity he was associated with asked for a tax “abatement”. d. Pontiac did not grant a 20-year abatement.

Numerous other factual errors were made relating to agreements and ordinances having to do with the Bloomfield Park development and our story should not in any way be viewed as a reliable source for data relating to the project.

Downtown Publications 03.13

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BIRMINGHAM Not a single detail has been missed in this magnificent downtown Birmingham colonial home. Mahogany entry door, 10ft ceilings, neutral decor, 12� crown moldings and oak wood floors throughout. Spectacular cantilevered staircase with ebonyfinish oak handrail and custom wrought-iron balusters. Custom gourmet kitchen with cherry cabinetry and granite countertops.

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BIRMINGHAM Great in-town location just steps from everything Birmingham has to offer. Welcome to this 3700 sq ft, 4 bed, 3.1 bathroom, reclaimed brick colonial home. Walk into a grand cathedral foyer with domed LED lit ceiling accented by a curving stairway. Hardwood floors throughout. Many upgrades to this contemporary home to include, a new kitchen with culinary grade appliances, fully finished basement with lower level kitchen, home theater room both on the upper and lower levels.

1 Blk to Booth park, great in town location ! $1,039,000

BLOOMFIELD HILLS Beautiful custom home situated on a cul-de-sac lot, featured marble entry, dual stair-cases, crown moldings throughout, gourmet Kitchen with granite counters, hard wood floors throughout, open to spacious family room with fireplace. Master suite features Jacuzzi tub & separate shower, dual closets, surround sound. Fantastic finished basement w/ full kitchen & bath, custom bar, dance floor, exercise room. $550,000 PENDING

TROY WITH BIRMINGHAM SCHOOLS Beautiful Troy Ranch home with a finished basement in the Birmingham School district. Walk into the open floor plan, hardwood flooring throughout, new windows, new roof, new furnace, new A/C, new hot water tank, updated electrical and plumbing. This home has too many updates to list. The home backs onto Pembroke park with a large backyard and deck area for entertaining. $239,000

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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 February 21, 2013.

Placement of codes is approximate.

Celebrating Home

Your life. Your style. You’re home.

Birmingham’s Ultimate Address...

Kevin Cristbrook & Gwen Schultz 248-971-0280 | sales@250martin.com

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Kevin Cristbrook & Gwen Schultz 248-971-0280 | sales@250martin.com

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Newer construction...

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Mark Marangon 248-408-5100 mmarangon@cbwm.com

Impeccable, spacious home...

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Helen Butler 248-568-2331 hbutler@cbwm.com

877-826-2152 FEZP FRP

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Lorraine Yalman 248-425-7426 lyalman@cbwm.com

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Dori Daskas 313-909-8259 ddaskas@cbwm.com

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877-826-2152 FEZP FRP

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LAW & ORDER HOW LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS DISCIPLINE THEIR OWN

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iving in Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills, we are all fortunate to enjoy good schools, beautiful neighborhoods and safe streets. While crime exists, as the public safety reports show week after week, the crimes in the three communities are primarily larcenies, drunk driving arrests and speeding tickets. There are home invasions and drug arrests, vandalism and assaults, and a very rare murder or arson, but for the most part we live in a fairly insulated bubble where law and order is respected.

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The first line of protection are our local police departments, who are authorized to enforce the law, protect property and maintain order. But who polices the police and assures that they are always in compliance with department rules, that each officer is acting appropriately, on and off duty, and properly protecting the public?

In large police departments, such as the Oakland County Sheriff's Department or Detroit Police Department, there are separate units for investigating crimes committed by the police themselves, called Internal Affairs. Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township have relatively small police departments, with 29, 25 and 67 sworn officers respectively, and they each handle police disciplinary procedures internally through a direct chain of command leading ultimately to their chief of police.

Birmingham Police state in their disciplinary process policy that the purpose is “to establish a defined process for the administration of discipline for the department. It is important that each member of the department understand the consequences of not performing his/her duties within established practices and procedures, standards of behavior of the law. By outlining the discipline process each member is aware of the requirements and expectations when involved in the disciplinary process. This policy also establishes procedures that will assure fair and equitable treatment for all members of the department.”

It further goes on to define the policy itself: “It is the policy of this department to enforce the rules of conduct, policy and procedure, orders and municipal, state and federal laws as they apply to employee behavior and responsibilities. Alleged violations, when substantiated, will be referred for disciplinary actions. Disciplinary action may include any one, or a combination of, the following: counseling, remedial training, probationary period, written reprimand, restitution or fees, reassignment, suspension without pay, demotion, or termination.”

Bloomfield Township's police department disciplinary policy states, “It is the policy of this department to accept, document, review, and investigate all instances of alleged misconduct, to include complaints regarding the directives or procedures of the department, and to equitably determine whether the allegations are valid or invalid and to take appropriate action.

All allegations of misconduct will be investigated, regardless of whether initiated by citizen complaint, other external agencies, internally generated, or discovered through the internal review and administrative processes of the department.” ric Lambert, Wayne State University Criminal Justice Department chairperson, said that as paramilitary organizations, “there should be standardized procedures for discipline, and most of them do have standardized procedures. Police are street level bureaucrats for a municipality. They interact with a lot of the public, but often have no immediate supervisor to watch them as they interact with the public as they are carrying out the mission of the organization to the public. That is why it is so important to enforce the boundaries and limits of discipline.”

“With procedural steps, you have to go by the law,” Birmingham Police Commander Terry Kiernan stated. “Some things there's zero tolerance for, such as if you've got an officer who is caught stealing. There are other things where guys make dumb mistakes. If someone crashes a car, and if it's the first time, something goes in his file. If he has three crashes in three months, you have to not only have progressive disciplinary action, but you have to look and see, do you need to retrain him, or is he careless and does not care about department property. Most of the time, it's training mistakes.”

Kiernan noted that in today's police forces, everything is recorded, both with audio and video, providing a record of activity, both good and bad.

“There are three reasons someone doesn't do something right. Either they were not trained properly; they're not physically able to; or they are not willing to,” Kiernan explained. “You have to look at why someone in your department is not succeeding.”

Lambert said that often there are early warning signs to identify problem officers quickly and correct them. “Errant officers who go off the boards almost always had lots of problems early on,” he said. “It's important to catch them early and correct them, or if necessary, let the individual go. Criminal justice literature shows that 50 to 60 percent of a supervisor's disciplinary time is spent with just 5 to 10 percent of the department's employees, and research shows that other employees often get very upset.”

Kiernan said that since he became a commander three years ago, he has had to spend time with officers explaining that they were not doing

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something the way the department would like it, “and then they usually meet our expectation.”

Kiernan said that the bigger the police department, often the bigger the opportunity for problems. “In Birmingham, we catch the problems before it's a big problem,” he said. “There's only 29 of us. When an officer comes in and has had a fight with their spouse, we pick up on that. We usually catch it before it's a problem.”

Lambert concurred with that analysis. “Police agencies which have problems do not occur overnight,” he said. “They just progress over time by not taking care of items until they become too big to handle.”

The Birmingham Police Department disciplined officers in 26 instances between 2009 and 2012, some for minor situations, others after investigating more major transgressions. In each situation, rules of conduct, adopted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, were followed. The purpose of the rules, the department stated, “is to enhance the status of police professionalism and to provide effective law enforcement services.” eputy Police Chief Mark Clemence, referring to the 26 disciplinary situations in the four years, said, “I take great pride in having my officers going through the proper conformance and following all of the proper rules and procedures. We have over 20,000 runs a year, and to only have six or seven problems per year, I'm pretty proud of that – and most of those are minor driving accidents.”

To distill the 26 instances of non-compliance, in 2009, Birmingham police had seven instances; in 2010, there were six instances; in 2011, there were also six situations; and in 2012, there were seven. Of the 26 instances, nine were property damage car accidents.

In January 2009, an officer struck a pole with his vehicle while driving, and the discipline was employee counseling. In February 2009, an officer struck a metal railing when backing out of an alleyway in the downtown area. In April 2009, an officer backed up into a citizen's parked car on the street. In May 2009, an officer truck a light pole in the parking lot of the Birmingham Ice Arena. In November 2009, there was a property damage vehicular accident as an officer hit a mirror on a car parked in the street.

In April 2010, a police officer attempting to catch a speeding vehicle made too tight of a turn and “caught a yield sign”. Another officer in April 2010 hit a concrete pillar in the Peabody garage while checking out the garage in a routine visit. In January 2011, in a private property damage accident, an officer struck a pole in a private parking lot. In August 2011, an officer turning left stuck a vehicle stopped in the roadway. In June 2012, an officer struck a concrete pillar in the Chester Street parking structure while checking the structure. In each of the accident incidents, the officers received employee counseling.

Clemence said that in all of the property damage accident incidents, there were different police officers at the helm of the police cars.

In March 2009, a citizen reported that an officer was driving erratically, and the officer who took the citizen complaint was the same officer. The officer did not complete the necessary paperwork appropriately for a citizen complaint, which was a violation of the department's rules and regulations. It was determined there were three counts of violation to be disciplined: the officer violated the citizen complaint process; there was a violation of department reports; and a violation of vehicle operation policy. The officer received a one-day suspension without pay.

In October 2009, a parent complained to a police supervisor about how their child was treated at the scene of an accident. The officer did not have the in-vehicle video working and failed to complete the accident report.

Supervisors determined there were violations of department rules and regulations for reports; failure to report the in-car video was not working, which meant that Kiernan could not review the video or review the report.

The discipline was a written warning.

In July 2010, a officer located a suspicious vehicle with a drunk driver, and failed to notify dispatch as to where he (the officer) was, and that he had exited his patrol car. “After dark, an officer must always let dispatch know where he/she is when exiting the vehicle to alert them in case something bad happens,” Clemence noted. It was a violation of department rules and regulations and inattention to duty, and the officer received employee counseling.

In September 2010, an off-duty officer had an issue his their spouse, and missed a subpoenaed court date, which resulted in a violation of department rules and regulations. “There were two problems,” Clemence said. “Conduct

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unbecoming a police officer, and failure to appear (in court).” The officer received a written reprimand.

In their Rules of Conduct, Birmingham police officers have their behavioral expectations spelled out for them. For conduct unbecoming department personnel, it states: “Personnel shall conduct themselves, at all times, both on and off duty, in such a manner as to not reflect negatively on the department. Conduct unbecoming department personnel shall include that conduct which brings, or may bring, the department into disrepute or reflects discredit upon the employee or the department, which impairs the efficient operation of the department.”

Regarding conformance to laws, it states: “Personnel shall obey all laws of the United States and of any state and local jurisdiction.” he steps, depending upon severity, are employee counseling, an oral reprimand, a written reprimand, probationary period, restitution of fees, suspension without pay, demotion of rank, and termination. The commander and deputy chief investigate, and the final ruling is made by the chief of police.

In November 2010, a police officer left his patrol car running and unlocked while responding to a liquor violation in the downtown area. It was a violation of department rules and regulations, an inattention to duty, and the officer received a written reprimand.

Also in November 2010, an officer failed to take a report from a victim of an assault and battery who was unsure if they wanted to pursue the case. “If someone reports an assault and battery, you always have to take the report,” Kiernan explained. Later that same day, the officer failed to take a report from a citizen reporting a missing intoxicated person. Both were violations of department rules and regulations, from inattention to duty, unsatisfactory performance of duty, and request for assistance. The officer received a written reprimand.

In June 2011, An officer failed to properly engage and control a suspect during an arrest, “where the person was not cooperating, and the officer was not able to control the suspect. Another officer had to help him. The officer should have been able to handle the situation,” Clemence explained. The officer violated department rules and regulations regarding arrest procedures, and received a verbal warning.

In July 2011, a supervisory officer allow a civilian person to conduct a ride-along without first preparing the proper paperwork, a violation of department rules and regulations regarding the ride-along policy, and a violation of department records. The discipline resulted in the officer being demoted in rank.

In July 2011, a police officer used a curse word when speaking with a citizen, and another officer overheard it. This constituted a violation of department rules and regulations under the courtesy policy, and the officer received a written reprimand.

An officer in December 2011 conducted a police investigation without making a police report of the investigation, and without letting the command officer know of the investigation, which violated department rules and regulations for conduct unbecoming an officer and dissemination of information. The officer received discipline of one day suspension without pay.

In March 2012, two officers were involved in a situation when processing a prisoner where one officer failed to properly process the prisoner, and the other officer failed to properly count out the prisoner's money to him when he was released. The prisoner then alleged there was a discrepancy in the amount of money returned to him, and because it had not been counted out properly, it was a violation of department rules and regulation for both officers, as an inattention to duty. They each received employee counseling.

A police officer in July 2012 was engaged in the pursuit of a motorcycle outside of the pursuit of vehicle guidelines, which was a violation of department rules and regulations, violating the reasonableness of pursuit and violating the pursuit policy for the termination of a pursuit. “We have strict guidelines for a pursuit, for civil infractions in excessive speeds,” Clemence said. “We have to always look at what are the benefits of continuing the pursuit, and there are certain guidelines to determine whether or not to terminate,” such as whether the public is put at risk. The officer received a written reprimand.

In September 2012, a shift supervisor failed to insure that all of the police officers at the site of a loud party handled all of the suspects who were located in the same manner. “There were numerous officers at a kid's party, and the officers in the back yard took one course of action, the officers in the

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front yard took another, and the officers inside the house took a different course,” Clemence said. “It's the supervisor's job to coordinate what all of the officers are doing.” Three officers and a supervisor were cited for violating department rules and regulations, and the supervisor failed to supervise.

They received oral reprimands.

In September 2012, an officer failed to write up an incident report on a larceny complaint, and failed to properly log in the recorded merchandise.

Violating department rules and regulations, the officer showed inattention to duty, did not follow department reports, and showed a failure to follow policy and procedures. He received a one day suspension without pay.

In November 2012, an off-duty police officer was issued a violation from a northern Michigan police department for allowing open intoxicants in his motor vehicle, where two passengers in his vehicle had open intoxicants. He was not arrested for drunk driving, and he was not cited for open intoxicants.

Birmingham Police said it was conduct unbecoming an officer, and nonconformance to laws, and he received a 10-day suspension without pay.

“He had had prior department problems, but not with alcohol,” Kiernan said.

Clemence and Kiernan emphasized that a lot of the employee counseling issues “are retraining. You gotta pay attention. People get lax. Officers don't like getting called into our offices,” Clemence said.

In Bloomfield Township, between 2009 and 2012, Deputy Police Chief Geof Gaudard and Captain Scott McCanham said there were 22 total instances where they investigated policy violations or police misconduct.

The department determined that of those, after reviewing citizen's complaints and police in-car videos, 12 were unfounded; two received counseling only; and eight received discipline. pon a complaint, a division captain, of which the department has four, will review the citizen/service complaint summary report and make a determination on how the incident is to be investigated. It is the responsibility of the division captain to notify the deputy chief and the chief of police of the complaint.

According to Bloomfield Township Police's procedural policy, the division captain may investigate the complaint or assign a shift supervisor to investigate the citizen/service complaint. If it's determined that the complaint is serious or a potential criminal matter, an internal investigation will be conducted. The ultimate authority to discipline any departmental employee lies with the chief, or whoever he may designate.

Their policy states: “Disciplinary action may include any one, or a combination of, the following: counseling, remedial training, probationary period, oral reprimand, written reprimand, restitution or fees, reassignment, suspension without pay, demotion, or termination.”

In addition to discipline, an employee may be directed to complete psychological testing, medical examination, drug testing, counseling, alcohol treatment or other conditions. Failure to comply with these requirements can lead to further discipline, up to and including the termination of the employee, although counseling and remedial training are not considered by the department to be disciplinary action.

Their policy is to review all incidents, and within 10 working days of completion of the investigation, notify the employee of the finding or the charges by written correspondence. If the officer's penalty could impact his/her property interests, the employee can request a determination hearing to discuss the allegations, in writing within 10 days of notification of the charges, where the employee can present their side of the situation. A final determination must be made within five days of the hearing, rendering disciplinary action if it is determined appropriate.

Of the eight incidents which received disciplinary action by Bloomfield Township police, in September 2009, the department conducted an internal investigation based on information they received that an officer was violating another officer's right to privacy by snooping around. “It's how you conduct yourself,” Gaudard said. The officer violated conduct unbecoming an officer, received a written reprimand, and was permanently removed from a specialized unit.

“We suffered a loss as well by removing him,” McCanham noted, as the officer had been specially trained by the department for that unit. Units include traffic, crime scene identification officer, range/firearms officer, field training officer, surveillance, undercover, narcotics consortium and bicycle.

In March 2010, they conducted an investigation of an officer and a supervisor, where the officer was friends with a prisoner and bonded out the prisoner, and the supervisor was aware of the situation. “According to our

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policy, you cannot do this,” Gaudard said. “Neither the officer,, not the supervisor had evil intent, but they were not aware of the policy, and they both received a written reprimand.”

Also in March 2010, they investigated an officer after receiving information that he did not have his in-car audio and video on with a citizen. “We do monthly reviews for conformance,” Gaudard said. The officer received a one day suspension without pay.

In February 2011, a citizen made a complaint that an officer had impounded their car during a traffic stop but did not do an inventory search when he took the individual into custody, failing to follow the department's policy of impound policy. He was found to have had inattention to detail, and received a written reprimand.

In March 2011, the department conducted an internal investigation of an officer where alcohol was involved. Several policies were violated, including conduct unbecoming an officer, the department's use of alcohol, off-duty, and he received a five-day suspension without pay and was ordered to enter a three-to-six month outpatient counseling program.

“He successfully completed the program and was reinstated after his suspension,” Gaudard said. “He had to meet with a captain after each week of counseling, and he was satisfied he completed the alcohol abuse program.”

In May 2011, an internal investigation was conducted regarding an officer who refused to answer a radio run after acknowledging, to the dispatcher, the call. He was found in neglect or inattention of duty; unsatisfactory duty; and not being helpful. He received a two-week, or 80-hour, suspension without pay.

In August 2011, the department conducted an internal investigation of an officer who, at a traffic stop, violated the department's excessive show of force.

He received a two-week, or 80-hour, suspension without pay, was removed from a specialized unit, and his in-car video and audio were more closely supervised than others for his contacts with citizens for a lengthy period of time.

“Our two most highest liabilities are our use of force policy and our pursuit policy,” Gaudard said. “Because when you violate those, you create high liabilities to our agency, the citizens, so you look at it with more intense scrutiny because they're so significant. That's why you see an intense penalty for it.”

Gaudard noted that even if there is no complaint or suspicion, “Every time we use force, and every time we engage in a chase, it comes upstairs for a review.”

He continued, “Every violation is investigated at the highest level, no matter what the outcome. We are not going to judge the outcome; you've got to judge the process.”

As in Birmingham and Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills has a policy for discipline, stating that “any member or employee violating his oath and trust by committing an offense punishable under the laws and statutes of the United States, the state of Michigan, or local ordinances of the city of Bloomfield Hills, who violates any provisions of the rules and regulations or procedures of the Department of Public Safety” is subject to disciplinary action. loomfield Hills Police Chief Richard Matott says discipline is “handled on a case-by-case basis. The shift commanders are permitted to review cases, and are given a lot of latitude,” and then the shift commander brings it to Lt. Terrence McDonnell to recommend discipline, and then Matott said he signs off.

From 2009 to 2012, Matott said there were five incidents of police misconduct requiring disciplinary action. There were no actionable incidents in 2009 or 2011. In November 2010, an officer was found to have disobeyed a direct order to stay until he was relieved, and was penalized 40 hours without pay.

“He was ordered by his supervisor to stay until relief came, and he didn't,” Matott explained. “We operate on a minimum staffing basis. The shift commander was notified. It was the first time the individual did that. But disobeying a direct order is serious.”

In April 2012, an officer was found to have failed to secured a prisoner's property. “The police officer had property he had taken off a prisoner on the roadside and he did not document it properly,” Matott said. It was discovered when another officer was trying to get the prisoner's property back to him.

The violation was failure to follow correct procedure and document property, and the officer received 72 hours without pay.

In March 2012, a Bloomfield Hills officer was arrested for operating while

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under the influence of alcohol and disorderly conduct. The incident occurred in Clarkston, and the officer was off-duty. His department violation was conduct unbecoming an officer, and consumption of alcohol to excess, offduty. He received 192 hours, almost five weeks, of suspension without pay.

It was not the officer's first off-duty alcohol-related offense, and at sentencing, he lost his driver's license. “After he was sentenced, he could not perform his duties prescribed to him, so he's not working, and he's not getting compensated in any way by the city's decree,” said Bloomfield Hills city manager Jay Cravens. Cravens said the officer had a last chance agreement, “because we learned he had another (drunk driving and disorderly conduct) incident about 10 years ago in Bloomfield Township. I'm not clear if he was disciplined then by the police department. What was so disturbing this year is the lack of good record keeping on (police) disciplinary issues. It really set me back, because if it had been properly documented, he (the officer) would not have been on the force when he was arrested for drunk driving last year.”

Cravens said the city has instituted last chance agreements throughout the department, and throughout the city. ccording to the February 2013 issue of Police Chief magazine, last chance agreements are being turned to more and more by chiefs and municipal managers to avoid the prospect of a long, uncertain, and expensive arbitration process. The concept is simple; instead of immediately terminating the employee, the last chance agreement is negotiated, giving the employee who has committed serious misconduct one last chance to keep his/her job, provided certain conditions are met. The written agreements are signed by the employee, the union and the employer.

“These agreements are being used more frequently by employers and arbitrators to allow employees with serious discipline problems, particularly in the areas of drug and alcohol abuse, to continue their employment. The purpose of the last chance agreement is to put the employee on notice that failure to abide by a certain set of employment conditions will result in some form of employment action - usually termination,” Police Chief magazine said.

In September 2012, a Bloomfield Hills officer made an improper traffic stop out of the jurisdiction, and was disciplined 72 hours suspension without pay.

The officer made a traffic stop in Bloomfield Township, and pulled over a Bloomfield Township detective for speeding.

In October 2012, the same officer was arrested in Shelby Township for operating while under the influence of alcohol. According to the Shelby Township police report, which was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, the Bloomfield Hills officer was found asleep at the wheel at the intersection of Hayes Road south of 26 Mile Road, with a loaded gun on his body. The officer could smell intoxicants on his breath, and when he was asked how much had to drink, the officer stated “a few.” He was asked to perform field sobriety tests, which he was unable to complete, and was arrested. His initially submitted breathalyzer test resulted in a .145 blood alcohol level. His charges were eventually reduced to careless driving as the Shelby Police officer had a problem with the breathalyzer machine. Within the Bloomfield Hills police department, he was charged with conduct unbecoming an officer and excessive use of alcohol while off-duty. He was suspended for 144 hours without pay.

“These officers are all seeking help as much as anyone would,” Matott said. “It may be part of the process they have to do.” He would not elaborate.

Cravens said he was completely unaware of the officer's September incident, and in light of the last chance agreement, is very concerned. At a special meeting of the Bloomfield Hills City Commission on October 23, 2012, the city commission affirmed that dealing with public safety officers and the police chief was the responsibility of the city manager.

“The public expects a higher level of accountability if you are in the public eye, whether you are the city manager, a police officer, or a senior department head,” Cravens said. “When you sign on, it's part of the job.

That's why if you see me at a social gathering, and someone offers me a drink, it's going to be a Coke.”

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FACES Joe Grimm

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loomfield Township resident Joe Grimm has explored nearly every aspect of journalism. He has done editorial work for the Oakland Press, recruited for the Detroit Free Press, and is currently a professor at Michigan State University. To top it all off, for the last eight years, Grimm has been tasting hot dogs all over Michigan doing research for his most recent book, Coney Detroit.

“When I got to high school at Brother Rice, I found that I liked writing,” he said. “So I took journalism and started writing for local papers and became editor of the high school paper.”

With a bachelor's and master's degree in journalism from the University of Michigan, Grimm was ready to embark on his career.

“I went to work in Pontiac at the Oakland Press,” he said. “At the Oakland Press, I had a new job about every nine months.” While quickly earning promotions to various editor positions, Grimm simultaneously began teaching night classes at Oakland University.

“I thought it was time to move to a bigger paper and learn some things I missed moving through jobs so fast.”

Grimm heard about an opening with the Detroit Free Press and was hired as a copy editor.

“In 1990, I became the recruiter after the old recruiter left the paper. That was one of my favorite jobs of all time.

I did that job for 18 years, I must have liked it a lot,” Grimm said. “I knew the Free Press in 2008 was not going to be doing much recruiting for the next couple years so, I thought it would be a good time to take a buyout.”

Grimm was offered a position at Michigan State and he began teaching the same month he left the Free Press.

Grimm was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 2009, mostly for his work as a recruiter. “I was glad that I was inducted while I was still alive so I could enjoy it. It was quite an honor because you're in there with some amazing people,” he said.

“I had done maybe half a dozen books on the advisory board at Wayne State University Press,” when he thought of a new book concept. “It just struck me. I said the idea is Coney Detroit, and I just said the title and (director) Jane Hoehner said,’ I love it. We'll publish that’,” he said. “Then I started eating coney dogs in greater numbers, and now I was doing research.”

Grimm asked Exposure.Detroit to take on the task of shooting photographs for the book. In March 2012, Coney Detroit was published. “It took me about eight years. It was a labor of love and calories,” Grimm said.

“Because the economy was so bad in Detroit around 2009 and 2010, we thought we would use the proceeds to feed people. We chose Gleaners (Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan) because they do so much work here,” he said. “Now every time someone buys a book, a few people get something more to eat.”

Grimm lives with his wife in Bloomfield Township. He spends a few days a week teaching in East Lansing and a few nights a month teaching at The Community House in Birmingham. “I went to kindergarten 50 years ago, and I was about five miles from where I am right now.”

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03.13

FREE WIFI? WIRELESS OAKLAND IS GONE BUT OTHER OPTIONS HAVE SURFACED

BY LISA BRODY

W

hether it's at a Starbucks, Biggby Coffee, Panera Bread, or McDonald's, or another coffee shop or dining location which offers free wireless to its guests, the picture is pretty similar at each hotspot. There are usually teens congregating, moms chatting and business people meeting, as well as people of all ages set up with their laptops and tablets, smart phones to their side, working away or studying for hours on end, utilizing the wireless that has been provided at no charge to them.

Just a few years ago, it was a rarity to find wireless Internet anywhere for free. Until July 1, 2010, the Starbucks coffee chain had a two-hour limit on their wireless use, and visitors had to purchase coffee or another beverage to sit in one of their locations, or they had to purchase a $59.99 monthly AT&T laptop connect card to obtain regular usage. Today, visitors just have to click “connect” on one of their devices, and pronto, they're connected to the world wide web. Their website states, “Starbucks offers free, one-click, unlimited WiFi at all company-owned stores in the United States, including instant access to the Starbucks Digital Network. There’s no purchase or subscription required, no password needed and no time limit on your session.”

McDonald's, once famous primarily for its Big Mac, french fries, and Ronald McDonald, is also eager for you to come and hang out with your computer. Across the country, there are 11,500 participating McDonald's with free WiFi vs. approximately 11,000 Starbucks, where customers can access the Internet on their devices free of charge. Their website attests that their wireless is high speed Internet access, and is up to 50 times faster than older dial-up broadband.

It is uncertain how many of Oakland County's 1.2 million residents have high speed Internet access in their homes. In Birmingham, Comcast provides service to approximately 75 percent of the market; AT&T, 15 percent, and Wow, 10 percent. Wow is not available in Bloomfield Hills and Bloomfield Township. In Bloomfield Township, it is estimated by Leslie Helwig, Bloomfield Township community relations director and head of Bloomfield Community TV, that Comcast provides service to 80 percent of the homes and businesses that have cable and Internet, and AT&T to the remaining 20 percent.

It's not known why residents choose one company over another. Some may select a new company when they come into a community because of a promotional price, while others are swayed by service or perceived quality differences.

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03.13

“We don't know why homeowners choose which companies they do,” said Elaine McClain, a Birmingham resident who serves on the Birmingham Cable Board. “Some stick with their previous company, some like the price point, customer service, or the responsiveness of the service personnel.”

Some parts of Oakland County have been underserved by wireless Internet providers, but there are also individuals throughout the county without Internet access, be they people working from home or students needing wireless access. In an effort to provide citizens with uniform access, in 2005 Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson proposed a countywide initiative called Wireless Oakland, which was designed to provide free high speed wireless Internet access throughout Oakland County.

“The first goal of Wireless Oakland in 2005 was to provide wireless throughout all of Oakland County for everyone, everywhere,” said Oakland County Deputy Executive Phil Bertolini. “It was a public/private program designed to go across the entire county to provide ubiquitous Internet for everyone with small speed bandwidth to accomplish crossing the digital divide. It was using all private money. We were just helping to facilitate it through the process, but there was no county money involved in it.” ertolini said they were planning on starting with seven communities, Birmingham and Royal Oak, which represented a mix of neighborhoods and commercial businesses; Oak Park, representing neighborhoods; Madison Heights, with a strong community; Wixom, with a new downtown and some residential; and Pontiac, with commercial.

“They were chosen to be the first because they were cities which applied, and we looked at different demographics for different uses. We were trying to get different areas to cover,” Bertolini said.

But with the implosion of the national, as well as local, economy, Wireless Oakland died as well.

In order for Oakland County to provide free Internet access throughout the county, someone was going to have to pay for it – envisioned as coming from the private sector, as businesses or corporations providing funds and access points. While there were discussions with the county, and the county attained some commitments, all of those were dissolved in 2008 with the economic meltdown.

“Consumers are increasingly demanding the ability to access information while on the go; the availability of smart phones and laptops with builtin WiFi access is enabling people to consume content for work and pleasure outside the confines of the home or office building,” said David Lasky, senior vice president for operations and services for Mobilitie. “Cities across the nation are struggling to find the right business strategy to provide free wireless broadband service to their residents without raising taxes. And yet, no major U.S. city has found a sustainable business model for offering free WiFi access without contributing substantial amounts of funding to such an effort. A creative partnership approach that encompasses municipalities, commercial wireless providers, and grassroots organizations would be well equipped to offer free WiFi service to residents and visitors that can benefit each of the entities involved.”

Further, Lasky noted, “WiFi access in public areas is the fastest growing venue for WiFi consumption.” Worldwide, it grew 200 percent

B

between the first half of 2007 and the first half of 2008.

Municipal wireless networks, such as Wireless Oakland, is the concept of turning an entire city or county into a wireless access zone, with the ultimate goal of making wireless access to the Internet a universal service. This can be done by providing municipal broadband service via WiFi to large parts, or all, of a municipal area by deploying a wireless mesh network. Typically, the idea is to utilize hundreds of routers deployed outdoors, often on poles, and the operator of the network, such as the municipality, acting as the wireless Internet service provider.

The idea of blanketing an area with wireless service in an urban area is that it's more economical to a community to provide the service as a utility rather than to have individual households and businesses pay for the service.

These networks are viewed as an enhancement of city management and public safety, especially when city employees are out in the field. Some feel providing municipal wireless is a social service to those who can't afford private high speed wireless.

Bob Bruner, Birmingham City Manager, discovered that it wasn't an exorbitantly expensive service to provide to Birmingham's public spaces recently. As of April 20, 2012, visitors to many locations in downtown Birmingham and the city's recreation spots can easily access free Wifi, such as in Birmingham's Shain Park, meeting rooms at city hall at 151 Martin Street, the department of public services at 851 S. Eton, and the lobby and stands at the Birmingham Ice Sports Arena at 2300 E. Lincoln.

Those wishing Internet access just need to select “bhampublic” for the Wi-Fi network on their laptop, tablet, or mobile device, accept a user agreement, and then they are immediately logged into Birmingham's network.

“What we've done is exceedingly easy and cheap. It was really low-hanging fruit,” Bruner said. “What we did was we looked at where we had facilities with Internet access. We were using the Internet, for example, at the municipal buildings, and have Internet connection. We just used those Internet connections, and got an Internet router, and pointed it at Shain Park.”

Bruner said the city paid $3,500 for the router for Shain Park, and another $2,100 each for routers at the Birmingham Ice Arena and at each of the municipal golf course clubhouses, Lincoln Hills golf course and Springdale golf course, for a total cost of $9,800. It was an expenditure out of the city's existing IT budget.

“The trick is, we added the Internet access where we already have Internet connections. It's not a big deal to connect and bring free wireless there. We're already utilizing our facilities. How we did it was easy and cheap,” he said. “We just point the antenna to Shain Park and shower it with access.”

Birmingham's municipal model is one that could easily be duplicated, for little money, but only if the municipal buildings where wireless facilities exist are near where the public wants access. “What you're hearing about when you hear about the expense is if you don't have an Internet connection nearby,” Bruner acknowledged, noting that a Birmingham park like Pembroke, at N. Eton and Windemere, the city is not providing free WiFi “because we do not already have Internet access nearby. A lot of it is where are your facilities laid

out. In downtown Birmingham, with a municipal building and Shain Park, it's always been possible, just more expensive before.”

Bruner said that the original Wireless Oakland model “is based on a completely different technology. It would have had little boxes on poles, blanketing the downtown, and a much broader area, with Internet service. But, to users, it's all the same.” cClain, of the Birmingham Cable Board, noting the board was not involved with the city's decision to provide the free WiFi, said that “in theory, it can be a security issue, because you should always consider what you do in public spaces. But realistically, sophisticated hackers don't hang out in the park. And it's easier and much more economical to download a video or large data streams (off free WiFi) because you're saving off of your personal data plan. But it's important to remember that on a public network, security is not the responsibility of the IT department of the municipality. Nonetheless, it's a wonderful thing for communities to offer.”

But is municipal wireless a service communities should be offering, just like they offer water, sewers and road maintenance? Certainly Internet carriers, like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, believe they are entitled to sell their product, the bandwidth, over the airwaves for a profit. As long as someone is buying it, such as a Starbucks, Panera, McDonald's, or Birmingham, in essence they're receiving their dollars. The question is if the increased usage is diluting their ability to profit, if in theory, more individuals choose to utilize free sites instead of installing it in their homes or businesses.

“Free wireless would finally democratize the Internet and allow it to be something everyone could use,” asserted Holly Gilbert, Oakland University adjunct professor of journalism.

“Somebody has to be providing it to the agency who is providing it to the community. Somebody has to purchase it, so it's just a shift in payments. If a municipality is paying for it, we'll pay for it in taxes. But like other services, it's a service for the good of all.”

“It's a local issue,” contended Ken McFadden, vice chairman of Birmingham Cable Board, who noted the first wireless device was Marconi's radio in the 1920s. “Is this the best usage of tax dollars?

Municipalities have to determine who will use (the free WiFi). Is it the same people as use the free library wireless? If that's the case, it's already free and available, just in a different format, so there's no need to offer it. But, it's there for those who want it free whenever they want it.”

McFadden said the benefit has to be defined, both to the community, the consumer and the company providing it.

In 2011, L. Brooks Patterson announced that he planned to revive the former Wireless Oakland plan, but in a new incarnation, now in partnership with Air Advantage, a Frankenmuth-based telecommunications company. Air Advantage was awarded $65 million in grants and loans from the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), and per federal guidelines, the funding can only be used to provide broadband service to rural communities in Michigan's thumb and portions of southeast Michigan. That portion includes northern and western Oakland County. The previous idea to try to blanket the county is no longer viable, and as evidenced by the greater availability of free

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wireless in more densely populated areas, less needed for the county to provide.

“In 2009, Air Advantage was awarded an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) award to cover 13 counties in lower southeastern Michigan, including norther rural Oakland and Macomb counties,” said Scott Zimmer, president of Air Advantage.

Oakland County's Bertolini said that Zimmer and Air Advantage first worked with Oakland County to identify which rural areas were underserved. “We first looked at who served the different communities, and who offered them hispeed broadband, like which cable providers, such as Comcast and AT&T. We discovered a lot of the northern and western Oakland County communities had charter cable but not hi-speed Internet,” Bertolini said. “Then we surveyed residents, using interns, to see if they had access.

That's how the $65 million, half of which is grants, half in loans, was awarded.”

No county money is used.

“One of the things with the Oakland wireless project is that more rural areas always get left behind,” Zimmer said. “We said maybe we can get the areas where the traditional companies, like Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, are not covering well.”

Zimmer explained that Air Advantage trades their purchased hi-speed broadband service with the county in exchange for access on Oakland County towers. “What we've been able to accomplish is to trade access on their towers to provide WiFi in some of their downtown areas,” he said. “Providing WiFi is very expensive. It's expensive for the equipment and for the bandwidth because we have to buy it from providers. Just

because we're offering it for free doesn't mean we're getting it for free. So it's a barter arrangement. We look for county-owned towers with vertical real estate that we can utilize in exchange for the free WiFi.” orking together “to do what's right,” Zimmer said, they identified downtown Oxford as the first area to provide free wireless. “There's a tower in Addison Township, and in return for using the county tower at no cost, they're providing free WiFi now in Oxford. It's a value-to-value exchange,” Bertolini said.

Over a half-mile radius, or one mile in diameter, downtown Oxford is now blanketed in free WiFi. Next, Bertolini said, “We're going to give them access to an Independent Township tower in exchange for free wireless in the city of Clarkston.”

Clarkston will receive the same amount of free WiFi coverage as Oxford has.

The third effort is slated for a tower in Springfield Township, which will provide free wireless in the village of Holly, again for a half-mile radius, or one mile in diameter. “If these cities want more WiFi access, they can negotiate directly with the provider,” Bertolini said.

By having located to these towers, Air Advantage will be able to provide wireless Internet access to residents and businesses in those communities.

Bertolini said there are more towers in northern and western Oakland County that Air Advantage would like to access, “and for each one we give them, they will have to give us free WiFi for a downtown area in exchange.”

Zimmer said Air Advantage spent $23 million of

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Design for all

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the $65 million they received in 2012. “We really only got going in January 2012,” he said. “I see more (work) on the horizon.”

While overall access to the Internet has changed dramatically since 2005, when the original Wireless Oakland project was introduced, with many more residents and businesses having access, including free access, to high-speed WiFi, “but the issue of affordability has still not been dealt with,” Bertolini noted.

In a time when most business and educational work requires Internet access, there remain those who find the hours at local libraries to brief, and coffee shops and other WiFi hotspots difficult to access. Birmingham's now-closed 24-hour coffee shop Zuma was a popular location at all hours, frequently populated by college, law and medical students in the wee hours of the night enjoying their free Internet.

Comcast offers a limited program for students for $9.95 a month as part of the National School Lunch Program. Up to 160,000 Oakland County students are eligible – if Comcast is in that community. Applications for the Internet service, along with a computer for $150, are available at students' schools.

“Those are the people I worry about,” Bertolini said. “There are people who have to choose between food, medicine and broadband. We know what they'll pick.

“We believe in Oakland County people should have access to the Internet the way they have access to electricity. It's fundamental to their success.”

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03.13

FACES

Judie Jones

A

nimal lover Judie Jones had early ambitions to save animals by becoming a veterinarian. Today, she helps animals with a different type of medicine as the founder and director of Make A Difference Rescue in Birmingham.

“I was always dragging a stray dog home saying, look what followed me home,” she said. “I would probably have rather been with animals than people. You always have a lot of comfort with dogs around. Going to friends houses, I always felt comfortable having their dog near me.”

After spending her childhood in Warren, Jones took general courses at Macomb Community College and transferred to Oakland University, where she studied business.

She ran her own engineering and design firm in Warren for about 10 years before she moved to Birmingham.

There she met Marilyn McKiddle of Home FurEver in Detroit and learned more about live trapping dogs. “My hats go off to her because she's really fabulous. I learned so much about all the stray dogs in Detroit. It's really the down and dirty part of rescue and she's really one of the best and I learned from her,” she said. “What I do now is tough love. It's a totally different side of a passion for animals. When you do rescue, it's not just holding the cute fluffy one. I always thought I wanted to be a vet, but I had a hard time with the euthanasia part of it.”

In 2010, Jones created Make A Difference Rescue (MAD), a local nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing abused dogs. “We kind of work

with animal control and pull the dogs considered on death row. We pull from Detroit, Pontiac, Flint, some of the real high kill shelters,” she said. “I would say 90 percent of my homes are here in Birmingham. It shows you how great Birmingham residents are. It's really a dog community, which is so wonderful. We have a lot of great sponsors here.” Some of her sponsors include Red the Salon, Catherine's Pet Parlor, Premier Pets, and owner of The Original Pancake House, Johanna Hamilton.

“I do probably 98 percent of the rescue of all dogs. Some of my staff lives in Detroit so we're very cognizant of helping Detroit,” Jones said.

“Rescue is kind of a 24/7 job. I have a great daughter, she goes to Seaholm and is very tolerant of my time and doing all of this. When you do rescue, it is your life.” Jones says she is blessed to have support from the Seaholm community and many friends who help out and volunteer.

Every Sunday afternoon from noon until 5 p.m., she can be found showing dogs at the Petco store in Troy, MAD's adoption partner. “I have not missed a Sunday in two years,” she said. MAD and Jones have found homes for over 300 dogs since beginning their venture in December 2010.

Jones enjoys living in Birmingham with her daughter and three labs. “I would like to increase our foster home base here in Birmingham so we can rescue more dogs,” she said. “I hope I have a building and I hope that we're able to have a staff and attorneys on staff where we can offer membership and support some of these laws and get things changed for these animals.”

Story: Hayley Beitman

Photo: Jean Lannen

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BY HAYLEY BEITMAN

J

ust imagine becoming a suspect in a criminal case, be it a murder, home invasion, arson, criminal sexual assault, or larceny. Whether you're innocent or guilty – and by law, every defendant has to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, you're overwhelmed, indignant, angry, and terrified.

Then imagine if you couldn't afford to pay for your own attorney.

In this country, like many countries around the world, criminal defendants who cannot afford to pay for their own defense are eligible for a public defender, a lawyer who is appointed by the court system to represent the accused. As a matter of fact, the right to an attorney is enshrined in our constitution, in the Sixth Amendment, which states, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the assistance of counsel for his defense.”

This month, March 2013, marks the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, a Supreme Court ruling which resulted in shaping the rights of indigent defendants and the public defender system, and determining that those who cannot pay for their own attorney must have one appointed to them.

The final decision, which came on March 18, 1963, ensured Clarence Earl Gideon and all future indigent defendants the right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.”

This monumental decision in the criminal justice system paved the way for future progress, including Miranda Rights that would come three years later in Miranda v. Arizona, which warn criminal suspects that anything they say to the police during their interrogation can be used against them in a court of law. Though Gideon v.

Wainwright began the wave of drastic improvements to the system, it is an establishment continually undergoing reflection and improvement.

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The provision of public defense services is an issue lawmakers in Michigan have been grappling with over the past few years. In the 50 years since Gideon, each state or county has developed its own system to provide legal counsel for indigent defendants. Some states use a statewide public defender office, while some counties have established their own system to provide public defense counsel to indigent defendants.

Oakland County does not have an actual public defender's office as they do with the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office; rather the courts appoint attorneys to represent accused criminals. Court-appointed attorneys in Oakland County see a large number of all criminal cases, approximately 80 percent when compared to privately-retained attorneys. Overall, criminal cases in the county have been falling over the last five years. In 2012, 4,576 criminal cases were filed in Oakland County Circuit Court, compared to 4,650 in 2011, 4,924 in 2010, 5,585 in 2009, and 6,540 in 2008.

“We really don't have a traditional public defender office,” Oakland County Circuit Court Administrator Kevin Oeffner said. “Individual attorneys apply to be on the roster. If someone is approved and we add them to our roster, that means they would be eligible to receive court appointments.” There are approximately 240 attorneys who have applied and are currently on the criminal roster.

“Obviously some have more experience than others, so years ago our judges and the bar association drafted a plan on how attorneys would be appointed to represent defendants,” he said. The Criminal Assignment Committee, which is comprised of five Oakland County Circuit Court judges and five attorneys, was created to oversee the administration of the criminal assignment system. he roster is comprised of the approximately 240 attorneys and is broken down into four levels based on experience. Level one attorneys can be assigned to capital offenses carrying up to a maximum life sentence. Level two attorneys can be assigned to felony offenses, which can include sentences in excess of five years but less than life, and negligent homicide.

Level three attorneys can be assigned to felony offenses with sentences greater than two years but not exceeding five years. Level four attorneys are those assigned to felony and high misdemeanor offenses with sentences up to and including two years, except negligent homicide.

“Obviously an attorney in level three or four will be less experienced than level one or two.

The reason those levels are important is the court administrator's office is responsible to assign an attorney to defendants for all level three and level four cases. (Level three and four) comprise typically about 75 to 80 percent of the total criminal case load in our court. The other 20 to 25 percent are other cases,” Oeffner said.

For level three and four cases, the court administrator's office uses a rotation system, where an attorney's name goes to the bottom of the list after being assigned a case. “The attorney on top gets the next case and you eventually work your way up after 239 other attorneys. We are not allowed to manipulate it in any way. The court administrator's office has no involvement,” Oeffner said.

T

Level one and two cases are assigned attorneys directly by the judge, Oeffner explained. “When judge A gets assigned to that case, judge A would have the discretion of choosing which attorney to appoint to that defendant. They don't have to rotate it; they can just pick whatever one they deem appropriate to handle that case,” Oeffner said. “The judge can take any factors into consideration, including their ability to handle the media in high profile cases. In Oakland County, there are approximately 55 to 60 attorneys who are approved in level one and approximately 60 to 70 who are approved in level two.”

While it is rare for an attorney to request a specific case, Oeffner said attorneys will occasionally remind the 18 circuit court judges in Oakland County that they would appreciate an assignment. “Typically they do not call and ask for specific cases. I don't think the judges typically would entertain inquiries by defense attorneys for specific cases,” he said. “But I think they do things like that from time to time and remind the judge 'I'm approved in level one and I would be more than happy to take any cases they assign'.”

On average over the past five years, level three and four attorneys in Oakland County, were assigned approximately 12 to 13 cases per year through the criminal assignment system.

For level one and two attorneys there are two extremes, Oeffner said. “You could have one judge and one attorney that's to whom he or she gives all the level one and two cases to, or you could have a judge who could rotate between the 60 attorneys in level one.”

Public defenders in Oakland County are funded the same as most counties in Michigan, “via an appropriation from the board of commissioners. The Oakland County Board of Commissioners annually allots us funds and that amount is typically around $4.5 million, so we have a budget that includes money for court appointed attorneys. Our budget is supposed to be adequate and hasn't been changed in years,” Oeffner said.

“Ours is an event-driven fee schedule. It's dependent entirely on the length of the case and how many events you attended,” Oeffner explained. On average, court appointed attorneys in Oakland County make $780 per case, but can make much more or much less depending on the number of events, such as the preliminary exam, arraignment, pleading, motion pleas, trial time, and sentencing, they attend.

“Most of the 240 (attorneys) are probably very interested in making sure clients' legal rights are protected. A lot of people feel a calling to do criminal defense work. They want to make sure clients are represented adequately,” Oeffner said.

According to the Michigan Bar Association, while there are no general continuing legal education requirements in order to practice law, in order to remain eligible for appointments, Oakland County requires all attorneys at their respective level to have continuing legal education (CLE). “It's pro-rated based on the level,” Oeffner explained. “Level four has to have 15 hours of CLE every year. If you're level three, it's 12 hours. If you're level two, it's 10 hours, and for level one, it's five hours. They have to provide evidence to us that they attended criminal law seminars. We require everybody to do that, and

those who don't, come January 1, are removed from the roster.”

Though it is extremely infrequent, attorneys can also be removed for other reasons. “If a judge or attorney notes that one member of the roster is not performing up to par, they can send a complaint to the committee and the committee can review it and decide if they should be removed for poor performance or remain on it,” he said. ttorney Michael McCarthy has been a member of Oakland County's Criminal Assignment Committee since July. “The Criminal Assignment Committee is the body that set up the system in order to make it so people who make it on the list are qualified and are at the level to which they are assigned,” he said.

“There's a process for removing people if there is a reason why that should be done. Most removals don't have much to do with competence. It's usually some sort of objectionable behavior. It's not like the state bar taking your license because you committed a crime.

“I also know guys that got off it and went and they did other things. They decided they didn't want to be on that list any longer. That list has grown 100 percent. There are a lot more people doing that kind of work than say, back in 2000.

There are guys that come and go, but the people that I see at the top level are pretty much always there,” McCarthy said. “It's an honorable way to practice law. I see things that are done very, very well by people that are court appointed attorneys. In Oakland County, when you look at that level one list, those are good lawyers.”

Former president of the Macomb County Bar Association attorney Thomas Rombach explained that Macomb County's system uses three separately rotating lists.

“There would be no particular appointments by a judge,” he said. “The A list is for capital offense crimes like armed robbery, rape and murder. The B list is for criminal offenses above punishment in prison, like writing bad checks, and the C list is anything less than that.

“The C list means the attorney either does not have sufficient experience or training to merit a position on the two other lists. Sometimes, it's a matter of attorney choice, because the demands on your time become much greater,” Rombach said.

Attorney Chris Kessel has worked as an associate defender in Wayne County at Legal Aid and Defender Association (LADA), a nonprofit organization that provides free legal services to residents of Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties, including the city of Detroit.

“In Wayne County, LADA gets approximately 25 percent of all appointed cases. The remaining 75 percent are given out by the circuit court criminal judges. Every two weeks a judge is on rotation and it is their job to assign the cases to various attorneys. It’s not at all random and judges will often load up their friends with assignments to help them make money,” he said.

When Kessel was working as a defender in Wayne County, the office was seeing approximately 4,700 cases a year. “In Wayne County, it wasn’t uncommon to have 40 to 50 cases at a time. In Oakland, you generally get called once a month about a case or two. In Oakland, they actually do a fairly good job of Continued on page 55

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screening attorneys and making sure you are qualified to practice criminal law. In Wayne, you just have to have your residency or office in Wayne County and they start giving you cases.”

Kessel worked as a court appointed attorney for the experience before he became a partner at Nessel and Kessel Law in Detroit. “It gets you in front of judges, dealing with prosecutors, and possibly will give you a trial or two. That kind of experience is invaluable. That’s why a lot of people like myself go to LADA for a few years to get a ton of courtroom experience. The big time attorneys don’t bother with appointed cases.

Why? The pay is a joke. The guys who are making bank with their retained work don’t bother with the appointed cases. It’s not worth the money,” Kessel said.

He added, “Some attorneys do it out of a feeling of altruism, but that’s mostly nonsense.

Attorneys do it because it’s an easy way to get paid. Most of the cases plead out and require very little work. Unfortunately, because of the small amount of money involved, when a case does creep up that does involve some actual time and effort, many attorneys don’t want to do it.”

Attorney Neil Rockind of Neil Rockind, P.C. in Southfield, worked as a public defender in the past but currently only takes retained work in his private practice. “To start with, I get to pick the cases I handle. We can choose the clients we want to work with. We can choose the offenses that we are comfortable handling. If we have a personality conflict, I'm not compelled to take that case. A court appointed lawyer, they are being assigned to that defendant and personality conflicts may occur because they're not really choosing each other.” he said. “I get to pick the cases and clients the same as they get to pick me.

“It's much more free market, I'll say. We set our rates and our fees and our limitations of the fees. You have to reach an accord with the client. Fees and rates for court appointed lawyers are set by the court. There's no negotiating,” Rockind said.

Attorney Gerald Gleeson is a principal at Miller Canfield and was formerly an assistant prosecuting attorney at the Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. “A lot of the people doing court appointed cases also do retained cases. If you hire them, you hire them and you pay a lot of money, but there's a chance that you might get the same lawyer as a court appointed defendant,” he said. “You do it because you enjoy it, you do it because it's part of your duty. I don't think anyone's doing it with the sense of making a lot of money because I don't think you do. I think it's more of a commitment to doing the right thing.” irmingham attorney Deborah McKelvy started doing court appointed work in 1990 and has been taking on those cases ever since. She currently handles level two and three cases in Oakland County Circuit Court. “If you're on every court appointed list, you can keep yourself kind of busy. I'm on every court appointed list in this building. There are very few of us who are on every list and do it all, and I do,” she said. “It's just something I enjoy. You have to set aside things like how much money you're going to make. It's hard work and I think the general public doesn't realize that.

B

“For the longest time it was under 200 (attorneys) and you could get more appointments than you do now. I think a lot of the increase has been an increase of attorneys who had very successful private law practices, and people just can't afford lawyers anymore. I'd say there's been a decent or significant increase in the need to supplement their income. They're just not getting the retained work they had,” she said.

“It is a stigma that we run into and the common phrase to us, more often than not, is we're not real attorneys. A lot of times from the (defendant's) family, there's the perception that if they pay somebody, even if they're bad, they are going to get a better deal than using a court appointed attorney.”

McKelvy continued. “It amazes me that these guys truly do not recognize that maybe they are not being represented adequately. They don't see any of that because they pay them. It goes back to this image we have of we're not real attorneys. I will often tease and say there's a website where we get our bar cards from. I would love to know how it got so bad because it is, and it's prevalent, and it irks me when I might be watching a law show. Court appointed attorneys are portrayed as buffoons most of the time. Where did all of that come from?”

Oakland County Sixth Circuit Court Chief Judge Nanci Grant recognizes the hard work of court appointed attorneys. “Our indigent defense system is effective because Oakland County is blessed with highly skilled, qualified and experienced criminal law attorneys, and our system ensures that those attributes match the nature and complexity of the cases to which lawyers are appointed,” she said. “Our system also stresses annual training for criminal defense lawyers and provides the opportunity for peer review and judicial input into defense attorney performance. This system is unique to Oakland County and is a model to the rest of the state.”

Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Detroit Mercy Margaret "Peggy" Costello points out a few flaws in the public defender system.

“Because of the low amounts lawyers are paid, as well as some other factors, there's an argument that many of the attorneys will plead out cases very early because if you're getting paid nothing to do it, why not get the money for the least time possible. I'm not saying that's what they get paid, but it's certainly a problem,” she said. “Why would I spend 50 hours with my client if I'm going to get paid the same amount if I only see him for two minutes before the exam.”

Costello said the biggest criticism she's heard of Oakland County's system is the appearance of unbiased assignment judges. “Judges can directly pick their own people or attorneys. If an attorney is picked by judge A, and judge A wants that attorney to plead this guy out and get it over with, the attorney will do what he thinks the judge wants so he'll get another case.”

Costello voices aloud a common complaint.

“It's a concern because it doesn't remove the judge from the selection process and there's some pressure to perform the way he thinks the judge wants him to,” she said. “The alternate argument is judges may be in the best position to know who the best person is for the case.”

In 2011, Gov. Rick Snyder created the Michigan Indigent Defense Advisory

Commission, and it began meeting later that year. “It was chaired by former Barry County Circuit Court Judge James Fisher and (was) comprised of a variety of stakeholders, including a prosecutor, a few defense attorneys, a district court judge, and a member representing local units of government,” Executive Director of the Michigan Campaign for Justice Marcela Westrate said. “Representative (Tom) McMillin's legislation from last session, House Bill 5804, was drafted to enact the report's recommendations.” ouse Bill 5804 was drafted to include recommendations and push for a better indigent system in Michigan. The bill passed the Michigan House of Representatives last year, but stalled in the senate. Negotiations are currently taking place to introduce a new version of the bill in this legislative session.

“There are efforts right now to reconfigure, if you will, that effort,” Costello said. “The hope is that new legislation will be introduced next month. It's very similar to the bill from last year with an exception that the bill won't budget any money. I think part of the reason the bill failed to get out (of the senate) is because there was concern from some counties, including Oakland, that they would have to pay for the money, or at least a large portion of the bill.”

According to an executive summary done by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, in partnership with the Michigan State Bar Association, “Unfortunately, the laws of Michigan require county governments to pay for the state’s responsibilities under Gideon, at the trial level without any statewide administration to ensure adequacy of services rendered. This stands in contradistinction to the majority of states, thirty of which relieve their counties entirely from paying for the right to counsel at the trial level.

Collectively, Michigan counties spend $74.4 million (or $7.35 per capita) on indigent defense services; 38 percent less than the national average of $11.86. Michigan ranks 44th of the 50 states in indigent defense cost per capita.”

“This can be contrasted with spending on corrections, in which Michigan is one of the highest ranking states and expects to spend well over $2 billion this year,” according to the report fact sheet.

“Although the state has the duty under Gideon, what happens in Michigan is the state basically delegated that duty to the counties. It provided no funding specifically for the provision of indigent defense services,” asserted Costello.

“Counties can use some state funds, but it's not marked for indigent defense and the state doesn't ensure funding is being used appropriately. There's no physical oversight, it's up to each county to provide its own system of criminal defense. Michigan at one point was 48 out of 50 states in terms of what was spent on quality of defense. It's pretty close to the bottom.

Definitely in the bottom 10 percent.

“Most people, frankly, don't care. Why care if Joe Smith is a criminal and doesn't get a lawyer?

That's part of the perception,” she said. “You should care. One reason is the wrongful conviction stuff. That's part of the reason why people should be concerned. The other is there's tax dollars involved.”

And, of course, there is the fact that the practice is protected in the U.S. Constitution.

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FACES Carter (Cartier) Sims

M

odel, rapper and clothing designer Carter (Cartier) Sims began appearing in American Eagle Outfitters stores after he was selected as a “Live Your Life” profile subject last year. The Roeper graduate and Syracuse junior was speechless when he traveled to New York City and saw his face high on a billboard in Times Square.

Born in Detroit, Sims attended Roeper from a young age and began playing the cello at the age of four. “I did these little musical performances for my small Roeper community and that's kind of where I got comfortable with a mic in front of my face,” he said.

“What was cool about going to Roeper is I was able to have this opportunity with freedom and they trusted me with responsibility. It really gave me a chance to see different kinds of people I would never even know. I was taking a 15-year-long anthropology class and could just learn from other people's cultures.”

Sims was drawn to Syracuse University in New York because of its location and the opportunity to make music.

His freshman year, he connected with roommate Guy Harrison and the duo began making music with Matt Miggz.

Though he was a music video veteran, Sims had never modeled or taken any interest in fashion until last summer when he traveled to London. He began creating Eva Mendes-inspired clothing by screen printing the actress's headshot on t-shirts with witty slogans, such as, “I can wait for Eva” and “Eva lasting love.”

Being selected as an American Eagle Outfitters “Live Your Life” model and profile subject came as a shock.

“That was honestly an out of the blue, crazy thing. I didn't think it was going to be an all-call for an ad campaign,” Sims said.

“They were looking for individuals that have passion, that are comfortable in what they wear, and have a personal style. They picked me and seven other people.

They found us from all time zones and all of a sudden we became a family. In the first 10 minutes, it was camp with the coolest kids you've ever met,” Sims said.

He is now featured in all American Eagle stores and has a billboard in Times Square. “When I went to New York City for the first time and I saw myself a couple stories high in Times Square, I just couldn't believe it. I was just speechless,” he said. “My big sister took a picture pointing up to it.”

Sims said his parents could not be more proud of his success. “I can't even believe they can find the time to be proud. They took a week off to go see it in Times Square.”

When he is home for holidays and summer vacations, Sims enjoys spending time at home with his family in Bloomfield Hills. “The best thing I like about Bloomfield Hills is the fact that that's where my parents are. It's that safe haven under my parents.”

Living off of Telegraph also facilitated his summer job at advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, a company he hopes to work for again in the future. “I just take a deep breath and laugh and sigh because whatever I plan, it's going to be something totally different.”

Story: Hayley Beitman

Photo: Matt Miggz

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CITY/ TOWNSHIP Two restaurants get bistro licenses

By Lisa Brody

Birmingham Sushi and What Crepe? were the lucky recipients of 2013 bistro ordinance licenses, awarded after final presentations and a public hearing at the Birmingham City Commission meeting on Monday, February 11.

Commissioners were presented with three choices, which included the two existing establishments, as well as new restaurant proposal, Crush at 555 S. Old Woodward, which commissioners also liked.

However, commissioners said Crush would be more appropriate for an economic development license, which would allow it to be larger and have more seats than a bistro license would permit. By ordinance, commissioners can only approve up to two new bistros per year.

The owners of Birmingham Sushi Cafe, a three-year old sushi and Asian-fusion restaurant at 377 Hamilton Row, said they sought the bistro license in order to serve sake, Asian beer and other liquor to enhance their dining offerings. In the nice weather, they already have an outdoor dining platform which seats 24, and they plan to add flower boxes and trees to enliven their exterior. They have recently hired a new sushi chef who said he is in the process of upgrading the menu. They also reported they will remove three of the seven seats at the sushi bar in

Pierce/Merrill construction starting

T

he downtown Birmingham streets of Pierce, between Maple and Merrill, and Merrill from Pierce to S. Old Woodward, will be closed and under construction from the middle of March until approximately the middle of June.

A major improvement project, which will provide the streets with new pavement, sidewalks, streetlights, and new water and sewer lines, will be the end result in three months. While at times it might be difficult to maneuver around some of the trucks and excavating equipment, all of the businesses, whether they're your favorite restaurants or stores, will remain open.

John Heiney, executive director of Birmingham's Principal Shopping District, said the restaurants on Pierce, which include Toast, Townhouse, Elie's Mediterranean Cuisine and Streetside Seafood, are looking into providing valet parking on Martin Street in front of city hall as a courtesy for patrons.

The Pierce Street parking structure will also remain open and accessible, with the first two hours of parking free at all times. City engineer Paul O'Meara said sidewalks will be open as much as possible, and signs will be installed to direct both pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

order to have a cooler with drinks, as well as a display with drinks. All alcoholic beverages will be made and served from the kitchen.

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a bistro license for the restaurant.

Paul Jenkins Jr., owner of What Crepe?, at 172 N. Old Woodward, was also awarded a bistro license.

Commissioners voted to approve a bistro license for the crepe restaurant, which will then alter its interior to add tables at the windows and booths along the wall. Jenkins said he will add eight seats at the bar and increase to 42 interior seats,

All liquor licenses renewed again in Birmingham

A

ll of Birmingham's Class B and Class C liquor license holders were renewed for 2013 at the Birmingham City Commission meeting on Monday, February 11, following a similar 2012 liquor license renewal.

Christian Wuerth, assistant city manager, noted that a couple of the establishments had been flagged for money owed to the city, but both had been spoken to, and one had paid their outstanding bill and the other, which owes a large outstanding water bill, has said they will. Most other citations in the past year, he said, were minor.

Several commissioners brought to Wuerth's attention that some restaurants' stated percentages of food to beverage sales did not add up, and they would like that clarified in the future. For example, Churchill's reported they had 22 percent food sales and 11 percent alcohol

and add a dining platform in two parking spots on N. Old Woodward, to provide 23 outdoor dining seats.

“I have been in business for a year with no liquor license, and we've been competitive, but to stay in business, I need to stay competitive, and the liquor license will allow me to have the staying power,” Jenkins told commissioners.

He said he intends to maintain the intimate setting he has created with his restaurant.

Crush, planning director Jana Ecker said, “is a little different than the other two because it would be new construction in the southern

sales. Wuerth surmised the remaining 66 percent of sales may be cigars. Similarly, Cosi reported 76 percent of its sales came from food, and 1 percent from alcohol, but did not report what the remaining 23 percent of its sales came from. Commissioner Mark Nickita requested that in next year's report 100 percent of sales be delineated.

City manager Bob Bruner disagreed, saying that percentages should be gotten rid of because it is unenforceable. Commissioners Nickita, Scott Moore and Rackeline Hoff objected, noting that higher percentages of food to alcohol sales is a criteria both in licensing of Birmingham establishments, and in renewal of licenses.

“We do not want a corner bar,” Moore said.

Resident Dorothy Conrad, a former commissioner and mayor, stated that going back to when alcohol sales were permitted for restaurants in the 1970s, “the percentage is very important to residents. We promised the people there would be eating establishments that served spirits, not

part of the city. It would essentially be a two-story building with its entrance off S. Old Woodward.” She explained that a bar, with 10 seats, and restaurant seating with 53 seats, would be on the first floor, with another 28 outdoor seats at grade in front of the restaurant. On the second floor would be two terraces, connected by a parking garage overpass. For the bistro application, the east terrace was converted from outdoor seating to a rooftop garden; the west terrace would have 48 outdoor seats, a fireplace and a retractable awning. The exterior materials of the restaurant would be smooth limestone, metal, bronze and awnings.

“The planning department did not want any vinyl enclosures,” Ecker said.

“I think it's beautiful, and it's an area we can use more activity. But I don't think it's a bistro,” noted commissioner Rackeline Hoff. “I personally don't object to them having more seats if they go for a different license; but it doesn't fit a bistro license.

Fellow commissioner Tom McDaniel concurred. “I think there's uneasiness on the part of licensing a restaurant as large as Crush as a bistro,” he said.

“I think the economic development license is a better option for Crush, in that area, for that building, which needs all the help it can get,” commissioner Gordon Rinschler agreed.

spirit establishments that served food.”

During public comments, attorney Joel Harris, representing 182 Pierce Street Association, requested a public hearing for Townhouse Bistro in March, noting there is ongoing litigation between the restaurant and the residents of the condominiums.

“The owners of that property assert that establishment is being used unlawfully,” Harris stated. “In October 2012, the association passed an ordinance certified in Oakland County Register of Deeds prohibiting the sale of alcohol, so the renewal of the license is in violation to the master deed. Also, the outdoor seating continues to disturb their peace of mind.”

Birmingham city attorney Tim Currier responded, “We've had this request before, last year.

We know this matter is pending before the Oakland County Circuit Court, and we said that we would make a determination when that court made a determination. Otherwise we will continue the status quo.”

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Crush approved for S. Old Woodward

By Lisa Brody

Gallery Restaurant to serve beer, wine The Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved a liquor license request by The Gallery Restaurant in the Bloomfield Plaza at their regular meeting on February 25.

Bloomfield Township Planning, Building and Ordinance Director Patti Voelker said the restaurant was seeking a tavern license, which would permit the establishment to serve just wine and beer, not hard alcohol.

Voelker said the restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sundays. “They want to have the opportunity to serve alcohol during all of the open hours,” she said.

Jeff Leib, attorney for Stefanos Becharas, owner of The Gallery, a Bloomfield Township staple for over 30 years, said Becharas was seeking the tavern liquor license as a component to accommodate his existing customers.

Initially, trustee Neal Barnett said, “I am in favor of this license, but not for it being open-ended. I would suggest it being available from 11 a.m. until closing.”

Voelker confirmed to trustees that they had the ability to limit the hours of availability for the liquor license.

“The township has the ability to impose conditions on the license, including upon hours of service,” she said. “Every specific operation is looked upon as a case-by-case basis.”

Township supervisor Leo Savoie disagreed with Barnett, however, noting, “We have a responsible business owner, and he will also be operating under the auspices of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, and I would hate it if someone wanted to order a Mimosa on a Sunday morning at 10 a.m., and he couldn't serve it. I would like to see him be able to operate in a responsible manner.”

The trustees unanimously concurred, approving the tavern liquor license request, 7-0.

Ducati dealership set for Woodward A Ducati motorcycle dealership proposed by Charlie Knoll, a dealer applicant for the Italian motorcycle line, was unanimously approved by the Birmingham City Commission in late January, with certain conditions.

The approval was for a regulated

use for a Ducati motorcycle sales and service location, provided Knoll obtains a variance for the location, as it is within 1,000 feet of another regulated use, and he must obtain site plan and design approval for any exterior changes to the building.

Knoll and a previous applicant had each applied for approval to allow a Ducati dealership at the outgoing Azar's rug store on S. Old Woodward, but commissioners rejected both applications as the store backs up to residential.

This proposed Ducati dealership is for 33828 Woodward Avenue, where it will take over the center and southern portions of the building currently occupied by AutoEurope. Birmingham Planning Director Jana Ecker said that AutoEurope will remain in the northern part of the building. Ducati repairs and service will be performed in the center of the building, while the southern portion will become a Ducati showroom. While there is residential behind this location, it is separated by rear parking and an alley.

Ecker said that the showroom is a compatible use for that area of Woodward, with other car dealerships lining Woodward Avenue. However, the service and repair area does not meet the zoning ordinance, necessitating the zoning variance. Ecker said there currently are two other regulated users within 1,000 feet of AutoEurope; one is a coin shop, the other is a beauty shop which was approved to apply permanent makeup.

The proposed hours for the dealership and service center are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., where they would offer service drop off and only clothing and accessory sales, but not motorcycle sales or service.

Commissioner Gordon Rinschler said, “I feel this location is a whole lot better, largely because the ambient noise is a whole lot louder on Woodward.”

Jason Chinnock, sales and network development director for Ducati North America flew in from California for the commission meeting. “Based on our research, this is where we want to be,” he said.

“We are a single line exclusive dealer.

We have other stores located this close to residential, and they feel privileged to be in this location and they respect them.”

Commissioner Tom McDaniel said, “Ducati has a lot of cachet, and I think it's a good fit.”

C

rush, a seafood and fine dining restaurant to be constructed next to the apartment portion of the 555 Building at 555 S. Old Woodward in Birmingham, was unanimously approved by the Birmingham City Commission on Monday, February 25, under the city's economic development ordinance.

The restaurant, which initially was proposed as a bistro, was determined by the city's planning department to more accurately fit the requirements of an economic development license, which permits any amount of seating in any configuration, but does seek either a minimum of a $10 million investment into the project, or at least a 500 percent increase in the appraised value of the property, or other improvements to the community “at the discretion of the city commission.”

The commission agreed with the restaurant's attorney, Rick Rattner, who said that Oakland County Equalization has valued the property, which currently has nothing on it, as it is part of the commons area of the apartment building, at $50,000. “We hired an independent assessor who has been used as an assessor for other municipalities to value it when we're done with everything we have planned, and the price/value came back far in excess of $500,000,” Rattner said. He said the owners will be putting in more than $2 million into the construction and development of the restaurant.

Crush, presented by Michelle Russo, general manager of the 555 Building, was initially introduced as a way of invigorating the southern end of S. Old Woodward and “as a western gateway to the Triangle District. We want to create traffic to the southern end of downtown, and to help define the Triangle District,” she said.

The proposal stated it would be built from new construction on Bowers between Woodward and S. Old Woodward, and include two rooftop dining terraces in addition to a sidewalk cafe. Russo explained it would be situated between the two 555 buildings, with the main entrance opening onto S. Old Woodward.

“That's dead space that needs something to fill it in. It's great for a bistro because it's hard to fill.” Russo said. The bistro would be on the first floor, with patio dining. They will have two terraces, each with a fireplace, that will provide further dining space during nicer weather. Rattner said the restaurant will seat 65 indoors, and 171 including the terraces and the outdoor sidewalk cafe.

Open seven days for lunch and dinner, it would offer “good food and an import wine list offering many choices as well as craft beers,” designed to be a neighborhood haunt. It would be owned

by Marc Blancke, who owns Sinbad's in Detroit, in partnership with Russo and other owners of the 555 Building. John B. Fleming of Sinbad's would be executive chef. It would offer fresh seafood and quality meat.

“This is the essence of economic development because all of a sudden the S. Old Woodward area will be desirable,” Rattner told commissioners. “This is the economic incentive that kickstarts the S. Old Woodward area.”

“I think you've got everything right in this,” commissioner Tom McDaniel said.

“It's a great addition to the city, and it's in an area of the city that needs development, and it more than meets the requirement of the economic development license,” commissioner Gordon Rinschler said.

Mayor George Dilgard noted his concerns. “When we were talking about the ordinance, we were talking about multistory, multimillion dollar building, not creative uses,” he said. “But I do agree this proposal will be an improvement to the south side of the city, and it hits the sweet spot between the downtown area and the Triangle area, so I will be supporting it.”

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Park Street condo project put on hold

By Lisa Brody

The Birmingham City Commission unanimously denied a request for the rezoning of a vacant property at 404 Park Street from single family to general business at its meeting on Monday, February 25, with a conditional rezoning request, primarily because Birmingham has not yet created a policy on conditional rezoning.

The petitioner for rezoning was the Burton-Katzman Development Company, which would like to develop the site and build six-unit rowhouse townhouses for lease. The site, at the corner of Woodward Avenue, Oakland and Park streets, has been vacant since 1999. The townhouses would each be approximately 1,500 square feet, with two-car attached garages, designed

by Hobbs & Black architects.

Birmingham Planning Director Jana Ecker noted that “the property has been vacant for 24 years, and no one has been willing to purchase it and build a single family home. There are negative impacts (on the property) on three roads, and there is no private space on the property to have a private rear yard.”

She noted that the site used to be in the interior of a neighborhood, but as other homes were torn down, the downtown business community built up around it. “The overlay, downtown district now extends to Oakland, the former Ring Road,” she said. She noted that 60,000 vehicles go by Woodward and Oakland each day.

Across Oakland, there is a fivestory parking garage and several fivestory commercial buildings. Across Woodward, there is a five-story apartment building.

Residents of the adjacent neighborhood, known as the “little San Francisco” neighborhood due to its topography, have written to the city, sent petitions, and spoken out at numerous city planning and zoning meetings, objecting to the rezoning and development of the site.

Ecker said that, from the planning board's point of view, the six townhouses would be a good use for the property, which would act as a transitional zone.

“We know conditional rezoning is legal in Michigan, but is this something Birmingham wants to get downtownpublications.com

involved in,” she asked city commissioners.

Commissioner Scott Moore was irate over the zoning proposal. “I feel it's being shoved down our throats. I feel we have not decided or determined if we like conditional zoning,” he said. “Should we not have a city-driven discussion rather than a developer-driven discussion?”

Commissioner Stuart Sherman concurred. “I agree. It may be legal under Michigan law, but it may not be right for Birmingham. The spirit and intent of this commission is always to look at the bigger picture.”

Commissioner Mark Nickita pointed out that the planning board had always avoided spot zoning, and that it was important that the planning board make a decision about conditional zoning before the commission determined if it was right for this parcel.

The commissioners all agreed, sending the conditional rezoning request back to the planning board, with prejudice, to allow the planning board the opportunity to study conditional rezoning and make a recommendation.

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Crime decreases, arrest increase

The Stand to be a gastrobistro

By Lisa Brody

By Hayley Beitman

The Birmingham Police Department 2012 annual crime report shows that while there was an increase in arrests in the last year, there was a slight decrease in the number of calls for service.

In 2012, there were 16,571 calls for police, compared to 16,983 calls for police in 2011. The department had the same number of sworn officers, 29, but 2012 brought other changes to the department. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We renovated the communications center and began dispatching for the Beverly Hills Department of Public Safety,â&#x20AC;? Birmingham Police Chief Don Studt wrote in the report. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We now receive and dispatch 9-1-1 and nonemergency police, fire, and emergency medical calls for the Village of Beverly Hills. This will cause an increase in personnel costs going forward as additional staffing was required to perform this function.â&#x20AC;? Birmingham and Beverly Hills entered into an agreement to share the costs of operating the renovated communications center.

There was one homicide reported in Birmingham in 2012. There were no homicides reported in 2011 or 2010.

In 2011 and 2012, there were two criminal sexual conduct reports and two robberies reported. There were 64 burglaries, compared to 48 the year before; and 237 larcenies, compared to 316 in 2011.

There was a decrease in vandalism reports in 2012, with 90 compared to 103 in 2011. Vehicle thefts were up to 17, from 14 in 2011. Assaults were also up to 82 compared to 54 in 2011.

Arson reports remained fairly stable,

+21(67< _ ,17(*5,7< 5(/,$%,/,7< IRU RYHU \HDUV

T

he Stand, a new restaurant which is planning to inhabit the former Zazios space at 34977 Woodward Avenue in Birmingham, is going to bring a contemporary, modern approach to food in the form of a gastrobistro, according to Chef Paul Grosz, currently chef and owner of Cuisine in Detroit.

Grosz, who will be working with partners that he cannot name at this time because â&#x20AC;&#x153;they're still at other jobs,â&#x20AC;? said the emphasis of the new restaurant will be on food. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It's a beautiful kitchen,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In a gastrobistro, it's the practice of taking traditional dishes and giving them a modern treatment. There's no boundaries to what you can do.â&#x20AC;?

The Stand was scheduled to come before the Birmingham City Commission on March 4 for approval of a special land use permit and revised site plan for minor renovations planned for the restaurant. They will also need to receive approval to transfer the economic development liquor license which was approved for Zazios. If all approvals and permitting goes smoothly, Grosz said they hope to open mid to late summer.

Grosz is a classically trained French chef who worked at The Whitney before opening Cuisine. He plans to remain at Cuisine while operating The Stand. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I live 10 minutes north of Birmingham, so I'll start my day at The Stand, go downtown to Cuisine, and return there (The Stand) at the end of the day,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Initially, the restaurant will only serve dinner, but they eventually intend to serve both lunch and dinner, Grosz said. with two reported compared to three the previous year. Operating while impaired arrests were up significantly in 2012, with 61 arrests compared to 43 in 2011.

Birmingham experienced a significant increase in forgery and counterfeiting with seven incidents compared to one in 2011, and 107 fraud incidents compared to 99 in 2011.

Embezzlement was more stable with only three reports compared to four in 2011.

In total, there were 351 adults arrested and 44 juveniles arrested in 2012. In 2011, 244 adults and 34 juveniles were arrested. Going back 25

years, in 1987, there were 633 adults arrested and 156 juveniles arrested.

Bloomfield Township reviews safety paths Bloomfield Township trustees determined at a February study session to continue their current safety path project of providing safety paths throughout the township by proposing two safety path projects for 2013.

The two projects are Maple Road between Lahser and Cranbrook, on the south side of the street, and Square Lake Road east of Opdyke to the Troy border. According to Bloomfield

Township Clerk Jan Roncelli, the two safety path projects will need final approval by the township board of trustees.

The costs for the 2013 year safety paths are anticipated to be between $1.6 and $1.9 million, and are covered by the last installment of the 2008 safety path millage, which will expire in August 2014. The township's safety path millage was first passed in 1998, and then was renewed in 2004 and 2008. It is currently a .4839 mill, which Roncelli said provides the township with approximately $1.5 million a year towards construction and maintenance of safety paths. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There's always more money in there also for maintenance,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Since the millage was first passed, 67 miles of safety paths have been constructed in the township, Roncelli noted. If the Maple Road safety path is approved, she said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;There will be a continuous safety path from Birmingham to West Bloomfield, and if the Square Lake Road safety path is approved, we will have a continuous path from Troy to Opdyke Road.â&#x20AC;?

The township has not yet decided if they will levy a renewal on the millage when it comes due in 2014, and if so, if they would maintain that rate or if they would ask for a less. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It would depend on the routes that still need to be done, the costs for them, the costs for connecting them, and the costs for connecting our safety paths to neighboring communities,â&#x20AC;?

Roncelli said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We're also looking at winter maintenance and liability.

Currently we don't do any maintenance in the winter because of the high liability costs.â&#x20AC;?

Roncelli said meetings to discuss these issues, and the possibility of renewing the millage, will be scheduled in the future.

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John and Gayle Hannett John Hannett Gayle Hannett

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880 S. Woodward Ave. Birmingham, MI 48009

HOMES OF QUALITY ARE OUR SPECIALTY

Spectacular Private Setting

Newly Remodeled Contemporary Open & Unique

With 386 ft of frontage on Forest Lake CC 2nd fairway giving a panoramic view of the course. Great remodel, 8000 sq ft, 40x40 kitchen/great rm open to each other w/ cath ceil, granite floors, 2 granite islands, 3 sides of windows to ceiling. Only 6 steps to br wing. MBR has his+hers bath, 17x13 WIC. 6 step down is large FR w/ wet bar, FP, large library w/ judges paneling, exer rm, WO, quality wood work. Beautiful swimming pool, landscaping etc. Great House! $2,190,000

Bloomfield home with new windows, hardwood floors, crown moldings, soaring vaulted ceilings, recessed lights, winding staircase up & down w/wrought iron rails, 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, 3 half baths, 4 custom fireplaces, granite in kitchen & island & granite bathrooms. Library w/bookshelves, large deck off breakfast room, master bedroom w/sitting room. $639,000

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Beautiful spring fed 470+ acre Lake Angelus. Designed by Bill Baldner of Clifford Wright Architects, this one of a kind custom built 10,000 sq. ft. home is on an 8 acre lake front estate where horses are permitted. Spectacular views of private Lake Angelus. First floor master bed, family room open to kitchen, floor to ceiling windows, fieldstone FP, hardwood floors, 3rd story cupola, 2 story 40’x10’ foyer, walk-out LL w/ 40’ x 25’ finished recreation $2,975,000 room, and a 4 1/2 car garage. Boat house w/ 2 bedroom apartment above.

Largest floor plan build, back of complex. Premium elevation, 2 story foyer, granite kitchen, FF master bd w/his & hers wic, large master bath w/jacuzzi & separate shower. Two story living room with FP, granite hearth surround, 2 bdrs up each w/wic & separate full bathrooms, finished LL, rec room, office, built-in computer area. $489,000

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189’ Long Lake Frontage In Heron Bay

Lower Long Lake Frontage

Gated Heron Bay. 8000 sq. ft. 1st floor master bed with his & hers master baths. Open foyer, great room with wet bar & beautiful family room. Library, hardwood floors, heated pool, & heated 4 car garage. Full house generator, kitchen & baths with granite, exercise room. $1,495,000

130 ft. of frontage on this magnificent soft rustic contemporary with elevated wooded setting and southern exposure offering spectacular lake views. Open flow for entertaining. Beautiful newer $150,000 kitchen, master bedroom with large walk-in closet jacuzzi, skylights, lots of western cedar, stone and glass. Office 15x12 with sliding door to courtyard could be 6th bedroom. $1,200,000

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Westchester Village

Wing Lake Frontage

Quality re-done ranch in Westchester Village with Full finished basement w/ 28x27 RR, full bath, study, and FP. Large fenced yard w/ 113’ of road frontage and ice rink in back yard. Many quality features including hardwood floors throughout, wainscoting, crown moldings, brick walk, breakfast room w/ bay window, recessed lights, open feeling w/ many windows in LR & FR. Upgraded kitchen. Several ceiling fans, attic fan & central air. Great House! $329,000

Three Bedroom Ranch w/Finished Walk Out Ll For Lease, Many Built-ins, Great Room With Fp & Beautiful Lakeviews. Library, Mbr With Built-ins, Extensive Lake Side Decking. $3,500 Lease.

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Great location behind Kirk In The Hills Church. Walkout potential, nice elevation, the street has 2-3 million dollar homes. Terrific fishing lake. $795,000

Wachler Estate Collection opening

By Lisa Brody

Gary Wachler, a grandson of the late David Wachler whose family has owned and operated David Wachler & Sons jewelers for 90 years, is branching out on his own and opening Wachler Estate Collection in the former Kilwin's location at 162 N. Old Woodward in Birmingham.

Gary, working with his wife Susan and son David, plans to open the new store, which will specialize in the buying and selling of estate jewelry, diamonds, timepieces and custom design, in late March.

“I grew up in the family business,” he said, noting he is a custom design expert who started working as a jewelry apprentice in the family jewelry business at the age of 12.

“I've been running the estate portion of the company for a while, but not as a separate business (from David Wachler & Sons) until three years ago, when I set up Wachler Estate Jewelry.” He noted that he often works with the family business, “but this is my passion.”

He said he is very excited about the former Kilwin's space, which is 1,465 square feet, with a full basement, which will be ideal for storage. “I knew the landlord, and I had put in a request if anything ever came available,” he said. “I had been looking all over Birmingham for a space, but finding a space is very difficult right now. I was really surprised when Kilwin's became available. It's a great space, with hardwood floors, two nice windows that lets the sun shine in. It's very comfortable space, and we want people to be comfortable in there.”

Wachler said he will be designing and building 13 jewelry showcases to display the variety of gold and platinum jewelry, silver jewelry, and range of pieces from various periods, “from older vintage to newer pieces.

We also have a big demand for big diamonds, from 1 carat to 5 carats plus. We have a variety of pieces because we have some of the jewelry here on consignment.” They also have a large selection of vintage men's and women's watches, he said.

There will also be two offices which will allow him to meet with customers who are seeking privacy in selling or purchasing jewelry.

He emphasized that they do not downtownpublications.com

Former township supervisor Korzon dies

By Lisa Brody

F

ormer Bloomfield Township Supervisor Fred Korzon passed away at his Bloomfield Township home on Saturday, February 16, at the age of 89.

Korzon had been township supervisor for 18 years, from 1982-2000.

Former Bloomfield Township Supervisor Dave Payne, whose own 41-year township career occurred while Korzon served in various elected positions with the township, said Korzon's focus as a township employee was on maintaining the high-quality of the community's residential character while helping the business community expand along the township’s main arteries of Telegraph Road, Woodward Avenue, Maple Road and a portion of Orchard Lake Road.

“Fred was instrumental in developing the township’s master plan, and made sure the uniqueness of the residential communities would be protected while commercial growth and development took place,” said Payne, who served as treasurer for many years under Korzon. “I owe a lot to him. He gave me professional opportunities and mentored me in my career.”

Payne succeeded Korzon when Korzon retired in 2000. Payne retired in 2011.

Korzon was elected as supervisor in 1984 after having been appointed to the position in 1982. Prior to that, he was elected to the board of trustees in 1968 and was elected treasurer in 1972. He was appointed to Zoning Board of Appeals in 1967.

Prior to his years as an elected official, Korzon was active in building and real estate. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree with the charter class of Oakland University, and his Master's degree from University of Michigan. He was a history major, and taught for five years at Bloomfield Hills Schools Lahser High School.

He was a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, serving as a bombardier in Europe.

He is survived by his wife Ruth, his sons and daughters-in-laws, Mark and Madelynn, and Tim and Sherry, daughter and son-in-law, Deborah and Ron Parker; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. purchase jewelry for its gold value, but for the intrinsic jewelry value.

“We help people find new homes for their jewelry,” he said.

Cashless financial services coming Telcom Credit Union is aiming to open a cashless financial services office June 1 at 163 W. Maple in Birmingham, in the former Zumba Mexican Grill location, according to Tom Reagan, chief executive officer for Telcom, which is headquartered in Livonia.

“We realized we can service our members on the Woodward corridor in a walkable community, and Birmingham fits the bill,” Reagan said. “Our members have been requesting that we come east and north.”

Telcom, a community credit union, is registered as a state chartered-type credit union, and has branches in Southfield, Berkley, Novi, Canton, L. Lyon and Livonia. According to its website, The Telcom Credit Union

offers its members a full service website that allows for true “banking from home” functionality. Users have the ability to apply for loans, transfer money between accounts, make bill payments and other services.

Reagan said the Birmingham location will be a different concept for them because it will be a cashier-less branch. “We want to introduce members and prospective members about our services,” he said. The lobby will have a couple of fullfeatured ATMs for anyone to use, separated by a glass wall that will be closed at night.

“It will not have tellers, it will be totally cashless because it's a cutting edge online banking platform we'll be launching in the next few months that will allow members to do all of their banking from their laptops and PDAs, including opening and closing loans, depositing checks, and financial planning, to make it as convenient for you as possible.”

He said the branch will be staffed during business hours, “so you can come see us when you need to learn about something new.”

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Big Rock’s Henson competes for title Chef Brian Henson, executive chef of Big Rock Chophouse in Birmingham and named Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation’s Michigan Chef de Cuisine Association, is now competing in the regional competition to represent the midwest in the American Culinary Federation’s Regional Chef of the Year competition.

Henson is already preparing for the rigorous competition, which will take place in Little Rock, Arkansas April 28 through May 1. He is one of four finalists to represent the central region, which consists of 15 states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.

The Chef of the Year award recognizes an outstanding culinarian who works and cooks in a full-service dining facility. Candidates must demonstrate the highest standard of culinary skills, advance the cuisine of America, and give back to the

profession through the development of students and apprentices.

Each semifinalist will participate in a cooking competition, where they will have 15 minutes for setting up their kitchen, 60 minutes to fabricate and cook a meal, 10 minutes for plating, and 15 minutes for clean-up. A judge will observe and judge each of them on the entire process, from start to finish.

A panel of judges will then select the winner based on cooking skills, menu taste and professionalism. The first place recipient will be declared the regional winner and advance to the national competition.

Henson will have the opportunity to choose from one of nine proteins to create his meal from; he said his motto is to pick the hardest and to work with that one, but that he has't yet confirmed what dish he will be making.

Henson is used to working under pressure. Blending together more than 20 years of experience at several renowned restaurants, he was named Executive Chef at Big Rock Chophouse in August 2008. He oversees a staff of 25 and is responsible for all aspects of the kitchen, including training,

purchasing, special events and creating the restaurant’s awardwinning menu. In 2010, he received the Level 1 Sommelier distinction from the Court of Master Sommeliers.

“We’re excited about Chef Brian competing as Regional Chef of the Year, and are looking forward to helping him prepare for the competition,” said Norman LePage, coowner of Big Rock Chophouse. “This recognition is a testament to Chef Brian’s creative and technically astute culinary skills and his passion for excellence in the industry.”

The Michigan Chefs de Cuisine was founded in in 1970 by Certified Master Chef Milos Cihelka, formerly of the Golden Mushroom in Southfield, who wanted to create one of the most prestigious chef’s associations in the nation.

Bloomfield Hills hires finance director Karen Ruddy began on February 14 as the new finance director/treasurer for the city of Bloomfield Hills.

Bloomfield Hills City Manager Jay Cravens said, after receiving clearance

from references and conducting a background check, the city of Bloomfield Hills made a formal offer.

“We had a conditional offer for about a week-and-a-half while we did background checks.”

The Michigan Municipal League (MML) was hired on October 9 by Bloomfield Hills to perform the search.

Cravens said a city subcommittee considered approximately six to eight candidates and interviewed the five most qualified.

“She responded to the job search that we had posted through the MML,” Cravens said. The subcommittee was most impressed with her experience and personality. “She was a good fit for the office, personality wise.”

Ruddy, a Montrose, MI resident, attended the University of MichiganFlint. She also has her CPA certification, which is a requirement of the finance director/treasurer position.

Before accepting a position with Bloomfield Hills, Ruddy previously worked as Mundy Township's Finance Director in Genesse County. In the past, she has also worked as treasurer and budget accounting administrator for the city of East Lansing.

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MELINDA ALLEN LYNN BAKER GAYLE BARKER PATTY BLAIR MATT BLAUVELT CAROLYN BOWEN-KEATING JOAN BROWN NANCY BUCK JOANN BUESSER JOANNE CARTER LOIS CASEY BECCA CHAPMAN DAVID CLEGG RON CLEM MEREDITH COLBURN JEAN COLBY KEVIN CONWAY LANIE HARDY COSGROVE EMILY DAY SANDY DEMETRIOU CHRISTINE DRINKWATER CHRIS EDWARDS GINNY FISHER FRANK FLYNN JULIE FLYNN GORDON FOX DEBY GANNES HOLLY GEYER TIFFANY GLIME EVA GOREN JANET GRAHAM PAM GRAY ESTER GREIG GAIL GROUT ANNA GULOYAN KRISTI HAMED LESLIE HARDY KIM MINASIAN HAWES TIM HERTZLER SUSAN HILL SAL IMPASTATO KATHLEEN JARDINE SAM KAPLUNOV GILLIAN LAZAR WENDY LEONARD JO LINCOLN DONYALE MAHORN VICKIE MCASKIN BILL MEADE KELLY MOODY JOY MORRIS JOHN NEWMAN ELLEN NEWVILLE GARY NEWVILLE KARIN NIHLS RITA M. Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;BRIEN TOM Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;BRIEN MONA PARLOVE SHONDELL PATTERSON DOROTHY PERROTTA MICHAEL PERROTTA NANCI RANDS NANCY REIZEN CHERYL RIBACK LYNDA SCHRENK DANA SHAGENA SUE SIMON KELLY SMALL PAM STOLER VIOLET VESTEVICH ADAM WAECHTER CHI-CHI WARD MADELON WARD MICHAEL WATTS TED WIDLUND DIANA WOLAK SCHMIDT BRAD WOLF DENNIS WOLF DEE WRIGHT AMY SUZANNE ZIMMER DENISE ZUCKERMAN

RECOGNIZED LEADERS IN RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

Nanci J. Rands

Meredith Colburn

248.701.9000

248.762.5319

Associate Broker

Associate Broker

UNDER CONTRACT

Bloomfield lease $15,000/mo. Birmingham $1,150,000

Bloomfield $687,500

Birmingham $1,995,000

Prominently gracing the North shore of Wing Lake, this outstanding 2000 built home has over 10,000 sq. ft. of elegance and style in architecture, quality and detailed trim work. 6 Bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half Baths. Library with screened porch. Island Kitchen with informal dining area. 2-story Living Room. Incredible walk-out. Boat dock. 4 car garage. Additional private apartment.

Impeccable 2003 built home in the Poppleton Park area. Spacious with a flowing layout. Wide crown moldings and cherry floors. Gourmet island Kitchen open to Family Room and stone fireplace. Handsome two-story cherry paneled Library. Outstanding Master Suite includes a marble fireplace, skylit dressing area, huge closet and private Office.

Elevator. 3 car garage. Backs to Nature Preserve.

Sophisticated Contemporary Condo on Wabeek Lake enhanced by sweeping lawn and sunset views.

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Handsome paneled Library retreat. Elegant first floor Master Suite with spa-like marble bath. Finished Lower Level walk-out includes: Family Room, spacious Bedroom, full Bath and Fitness Area.

Location! 2004 built in-town home. Over 6800 sq. ft. of living space with additional 2900 sq. ft. in finished Lower Level. 6 Bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half Baths.

Private apartment over 3 car garage. Formal Living Room and banquet sized Dining Room. Gourmet Kitchen with oversized granite island. Breakfast Room with French doors to bluestone courtyard. Spacious Family Room overlooks outdoor living spaces. Generator.

LAKEFRONT BUILD SITE

LAKEFRONT BUILD SITE

Birmingham Quarton Lake $750,000

Bloomfield Gilbert Lake $749,000

UNDER CONTRACT

Birmingham $459,500 Newer, updated in-town home. Open floor plan.

Outstanding Island Kitchen with sleek granite surfaces.

Breakfast Room opens to deck and fenced yard.

Two-way fireplace between spacious Living Room and Family Room with high ceiling. Hardwood floors t/o 1st floor. Master Suite with sitting area, arched ceiling and a large Palladian window. Master Bath has spa-tub and separate shower with private WC. Finished Lower Level.

Last remaining building site directly on Birmingham’s Quarton Lake. Frontage and long views of the lake, park and waterfall. Walk-out site may accommodate up to a 9,000 sq. ft. residence on three levels.

SOLD

Bloomfield listed at $424,500

Hard to find updated Ranch close to downtown Birmingham. Open floor plan. Wide entry Foyer reveals Beautiful lakefront acre site with wide vistas of impressive Great Room with fireplace, wet bar and a wall Bloomfield Hills’ Gilbert Lake, framed by mature of windows opening to deck. Spacious granite Kitchen trees. Gently sloping site will accommodate a large with island and Breakfast Room opening to 2nd deck. home with walk-out. Perk test and survey available.

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1st floor Laundry. Large Finished Basement. New A/C and Furnace. Birmingham Schools. Circular Drive.

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NANCI J. RANDS & MEREDITH COLBURN

City of Bloomfield Hills An incomparable Post Modern Masterpiece located on 3.3 wooded acres. This home reveals itself and develops as you travel through sophisticated, functional and inviting spaces. Meticulous attention to textures and detail throughout. Long, wide gallery halls designed to accommodate and accentuate art collections. Stylish Living Room with an artisan designed fireplace and a dramatic curved wall of 2-story windows overlooks the sculpted Pool and clay Tennis Court. Spacious Kitchen includes top-of-the-line appliances, a Pewabic tiled backsplash, granite center island and an eating area. A sky-lit walkway leads to the first floor Bedroom wing. The Upper Level is the Owner's private retreat complete with a 2nd Library, intimate Master Suite with private balcony overlooking grounds, a sleek Bath, large Dressing Room, and a three-room Office with private exterior entry. The finished walk-out Lower Level has a Family Room, wet bar, kitchen, guest room with private bath and fitness area with changing rooms and steam shower. This outstanding property is spectacular in daylight and when illuminated at night. Four car heated garage. The natural wooded setting and unique architectural design blend to create an outstanding one-of-a-kind residence. Now offered at $2,999,000.

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442 S. Old Woodward Birmingham, MI 48009

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FACES Jaclyn Schultz

J

aclyn Schultz had never competed in a beauty pageant and rarely wore high heels before she was crowned 2013 Miss Michigan USA. She is currently preparing for the national Miss USA pageant this summer on top of working full time in downtown Birmingham and getting her master's degree.

Schultz grew up in Wyandotte where she Polish danced and played sports at Roosevelt High School. “I was an only child, so I was always doing some sort of activity to keep me busy,” she said.

“My dad's sister played volleyball at Central (Michigan University) and just raved about the university my entire life.” Schultz followed in her aunt's footsteps to CMU and decided to study public relations her sophomore year.

“The beginning of my junior year I started working at CMLife. That was a full-time job on top of class.” Schultz worked as an advertising account executive for two years and was also the media director of the advertising club.

“I graduated the summer of 2010 on a Friday, and that Monday I started my internship at Brogan and Partners (where she continues to work). I think it was three months later they hired me full-time.”

After working for almost two years, Schultz entered the Miss Michigan pageant in September 2012. “I wanted a new challenge. I didn't have any friends or family that had ever done pageants. My goal was top 15.”

Schultz far surpassed her goal and won the 2013 Miss Michigan USA title.“It taught me a little more about women and being empowered by being a woman and how you can be smart and beautiful and intelligent and have it all. It wasn't the stereotypical pageant world I thought it was.”

After winning, Schultz returned to her position as a media strategist and was greeted warmly by co-workers.

“The thing I like most is the atmosphere at Brogan, because it's like a family and you have room to grow and learn new things without people looking down on you for trying and failing.”

Schultz recently decided to go back to school and get her master's degree. “My degree was in public relations so I kind of wanted to gain a broader knowledge base of the advertising world and how it works. The same week I won I started grad school,” she said. “It's really hectic and sometimes stressful but I try and remember it's only for a year and it's a great opportunity.” Schultz currently exercises at least four times a week to stay in shape and does meditation once a week to clear her head.

She volunteers her time to Special Olympics Michigan and is on the board of the Beautiful You MRKH, a foundation that is very important to her as she was born without a uterus.

Regularly meeting with coaches in Nashville and Columbus help prepare Schultz for the national pageant this summer, where she once again hopes to make the top 15. “Brogan is really supportive. It's a woman based company so they're really flexible with time off and working moms,” she said.

Schultz plans on staying in the advertising or public relations field and hopefully becoming a professor. “I would love to do that one day when I'm older and done with my career,” she said. “I see myself working in my career with a family and kids through adoption or surrogacy.”

Story: Hayley Beitman

Photo: Laurie Tennent

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EDUCATION District unveils new security, safety plan Birmingham Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Nerad presented a more complete security and safety plan for the districts' schools at the board of education meeting on February 5, and board members accepted the plan at their meeting on February 26.

The plan, crafted by Nerad and deputy superintendent Paul DeAngelis, offers a series of recommendations to implement in order to provide greater security for students and faculty, control access of who goes in and out of the school buildings, focuses on the installation of a camera and intercom system at each school, placing a greater emphasis on prevention.

“We have a commitment to student safety,” Nerad emphasized. “Every one of these horrific events across the country should give us pause to make sure that our schools are the safest places that they can be. It's an unfortunate reality that we have to act on.”

Nerad said they presented a threeprong approach to the board of education, which builds on the work they have already been doing. The first priority, he said, focuses on policies and guidelines. “We reviewed our current school safety plan applications and policies,” he said. The plan noted that gun laws in Michigan, specifically the right to open carry on school grounds, has created a great deal of concern for school districts and police departments. With the cooperation of local police departments, they have directed administrators to institute lockdowns any time a gun is present (outside of law enforcement).

All schools in the district now have all of their entrances locked during the school day, and Nerad said they are instituting a card access system for staff members “to control access into the buildings.” Unarmed security personnel have been temporarily hired to monitor the main entrances of buildings, but will be transitioned out as the district installs a visitor notification system in each building, which will involve a camera and intercom system at the front door of each school, which will be monitored by the school's office. Marcia Wilkinson, school district spokesperson, said it is anticipated to cost the district approximately $150,000 to implement the notification system for all of the schools.

“We're going out to bid on the system right now, and hope to have it downtownpublications.com

installed at all of the schools by early May,” Wilkinson said.

Nerad said facilities' and office staff will participate in safety and security training, there will be six lockdown drills throughout the school year, and in August, office staff will be specially trained by police to review protocol and procedures. Further, a district level crisis management team will participate in training sessions to review the plan. Perimeter checks of each building will be ongoing.

The third prong of the plan, Nerad said, must be on prevention. “I feel a great deal of priority must be on prevention, on character education, to teach young ones the appropriate social skills, the skills to resolve conflicts, and to improve self-protective behavior. We must teach them the next step. We have a great foundation, but this allows us the next step to teach them to resolve conflicts and differences in good and just ways.”

THE CHOICE Downtown Birmingham/Bloomfield Our print edition, mailed to homes in Birmingham/Bloomfield, plus newsstands, at the start of each month.

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DowntownPublications.com Our on-line rendition of the print version, plus updates during each week as news breaks in the local area.

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Parents learn of school transition Parents of Bloomfield Hills High School students were introduced to the new high school at a series of grade level parent meetings throughout the month of February to bring them up-todate on plans and the transition.

The February sessions were a continuation of a series of meetings which began last fall to gradually introduce the new Bloomfield Hills High School to parents, students and residents.

Bloomfield Hills Schools will close Andover and Lahser high schools at the end of this school year, and combine the two into one larger high school, to be called Bloomfield Hills High School, located on the grounds of the former Andover High School.

A unified Bloomfield Hills High School with approximately 1,650 students is planned to open in the fall of 2015. Beginning in June 2013, Andover will be vacated for approximately 27 months for construction, and all high school students will be temporarily relocated, with ninth grade students relocated to Hickory Grove and 10-12th graders lodged at Lahser for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years.

“We’ve held several meetings for parents, and this was just another chance for them to get information about next school year,” director of communications and community relations at Bloomfield Hills Schools Shira Good said, regarding a meeting for upcoming 9th grade parents.

One more way to keep local residents updated on quick items of interest in Birmingham/Bloomfield.

The Guide The annual community directory providing information on local, county and state government, pubic and private schools, houses of worship, hospitals, parks and much more. Mailed to local residents.

Black Book of Non-Profits Our annual guide to the major and minor fund-raising events in the world of non-profit groups in southeast Michigan from November each year until the end of October in the following year. A must read (and save) for those who help underwrite the efforts of the community groups by their attendance at the major social happenings each year. Mailed to local residents.

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FACES Lauren Cecil

A

fter graduating from the University of Michigan with an English degree, Lauren Cecil knew she would work in the publishing industry. It wasn't long before she was writing titles like Winnie the Pooh and Elmo's World as an accomplished children's book author.

Cecil grew up in Bloomfield Hills where she attended local Catholic schools and graduated from Lahser High School. As a child, she spent hours at the Bloomfield Township Public Library where she attempted to accomplish her goal of reading every Roald Dahl book.

“I loved reading and English was always my favorite class. I was always interested in books. It was kind of a nobrainer what I would study,” she said.

In college, Cecil worked at a coffee shop and contributed poems to a literary magazine called Fortnight.

She was also a member of the mural club and worked as a disc jockey for a radio station. “I was just doing my own thing a little bit. Towards the end of college I got really into doing yoga,” she said. “After I graduated, I didn't know what I was going to do with my life and I had an English degree.

I knew I liked writing and knew I wanted to work in the publishing industry in some capacity.”

Cecil landed a job with the Ann Arbor News editing horoscopes and wedding announcements. “When I read the job description I was like oh my God this is the perfect job for me. It was my first real publishing job. It was parttime and very unglamorous.”

In a yoga class, Cecil met the son of the executive editor at Scholastic Inc., who was looking for an assistant in New York. “I emailed her and sent her my resume and flew out for an interview. I got the job which is still quite shocking to me, but it totally changed the course of my life.” Cecil moved to New York in 2005. She worked at Scholastic Inc. for three years while doing freelance work for Village Voice and Penguin Books.

Cecil took a job as an editor at a family-owned company called Modern Publishing. “I was only in that position for a year or less than a year around the time when the whole economy was collapsing. Almost everyone I knew lost their job. I also lost my job in 2009 when I was laid off.”

In her career, Cecil wrote and edited many children's books, including Hello Kitty, Sesame Street, Strawberry Shortcake, Hannah Montana, America's Next Top Model, and Care Bears.

“I had to rethink my career and life direction and came to the decision that I would move but I was going to try and switch my career and try working at a nonprofit,” Cecil said.

Before moving with her boyfriend to his hometown of New Orleans, she took a month long certificate course on philanthropy and fundraising for nonprofits at New York University.

“My whole world shifted a little bit.” Upon moving, she began working with Greater New Orleans Foundation and was recently hired by Tulane University.

Cecil said she is now happily married and is planning on starting Tulane's MBA program this fall. “I feel like sometimes I am very homesick for Michigan. Maybe Michigan might be in our future again. I don't know. It's a fantasy I have, I don't know how realistic it is though.”

Story: Hayley Beitman

Photo: Dorka Hegedus

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adio personality Shannon Murphy of Birmingham is a staple on 95.5 WKQI-FM's Mojo in the Morning, a show best known for phone scams, War of the Roses and Shannon's Dirty on the Thirty, which highlights celebrity gossip.

“I grew up in Grosse Ile and I was your stereotypical overachieving child,” she said. “I did everything there was to do as long as it wasn't a sport.”

When Murphy was only eight-years-old, she co-hosted the America's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Chuck Gaidica and Carmen Harlan. “I look back on that now and I laugh because it was such a foreshadowing of what my career was going to be in broadcasting.”

She graduated valediction from Grosse Ile High School and moved to Indianapolis to study journalism at Butler University. She gained her first radio experience doing a summer internship for channel 93.1 WDRQ-FM, and a second working for ABC Radio in Washington D.C. “I thought, I've done two radio internships and I liked them both. I had hoped to be a news reporter or writing for a newspaper or magazine. Radio never crossed my mind. It's just so funny that's what I'm doing,” she said.

During her senior year at Butler, Murphy began another internship with a radio station in Indianapolis. Despite lacking professional experience in radio, Murphy's outgoing personality and charming voice helped secure her a position as co-host on their morning show. “My plate was full, but I felt so blessed,” Murphy said.

She worked at the “Morning Mess” for about three years before the show moved to Atlanta and was cancelled after a year. “I was out of a job

and Mojo reached out to me. He said I want you to be on my show, I want to work with you, and I want you to come home. I never thought I would come back to Michigan,” she said.

With an offer to be on ABC's The Bachelor, Murphy was at a crossroads.

“The big decision was, do I want to go find love on the Bachelor or do I want a job, and obviously I chose a job.” Upon moving home to Michigan, she began working for Mojo in the Morning.

“I wake up at 3:30 (a.m.) every morning. That's lovely. After four to six cups of coffee I'm fine. Then I have the rest of the day to enjoy at noon so I really can't complain. It's an odd schedule but it works for me.”

Murphy has also worked as the spokesperson for Art Van Clearance Center commercials and is the voice of the weather girl in Grand Theft Auto IV. She considers the highlight of her career to have filled in for Kelly Ripa on LIVE with Regis and Kelly. “My job has really presented me with some amazing opportunities that I am so thankful for. People ask me what is your ultimate goal in five years and I already achieved it. Sitting in (Kelly Ripa's) chair was so surreal to me.”

She feels extremely blessed to have a supportive family, friends, and husband. “The only part that's hard about balancing work life and personal life is my personal life provides content for what I do on the air,” she noted.

“I will never move out of Birmingham, probably because my husband doesn't want to but to be honest, I don't want to either.”

Story: Hayley Beitman

Photo: Laurie Tennent

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BIRMINGHAM BLOOMFIELD & BEVERLY HILLS PROPERTIES SOLD & LEASED IN

2012

4427 Barchester, Bloomfield Hills 1040 Bennaville, Birmingham 1195 FAIRFAX BIRMINGHAM Quarton Lake Estates. 1995 build. 4BR, 4.1 Bath. 3 car side entrance garage. $1,199,900

1838 Birmingham Blvd, Birmingham 1063 Bird, Birmingham 17215 Birwood, Beverly Hills 757 Briar Hill, Bloomfield Hills 1393 Cedar, Birmingham 4370 Charing Way, Bloomfield Hills 530 Fairfax, Birmingham 554 Fairfax, Birmingham 1900 Fairway, Birmingham 2920 Farmingdale, Bloomfield Hills

137 DOURDAN BLOOMFIELD HILLS Home to be built, exclusive developement of million dollar plus homes. 5 bed, 3.5 bath, 1st floor master. 3 car gararge. $1,199,000

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328 George, Birmingham 30320 Georgetown, Beverly Hills 419 Greenwood, Birmingham 1712 Henrietta, Birmingham 18540 Hillcrest, Beverly Hills

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16993 Kinross, Beverly Hills 350 Keswick, Bloomfield Hills 30500 Lahser, Beverly Hills 624 Lincoln, Birmingham 602 RIVERSIDE BIRMINGHAM Fabulous lot backing to woods. Private community in heart of Birmingham.

Design your dream home. Lot Price. $699,900

801 Long Lake, Bloomfield Hills 1742 Mansfield, Birmingham 1508 Maryland, Birmingham 1640 Maryland, Birmingham 3624 Maxwell, Bloomfield Hills 5090 Mohr Valley, Bloomfield Hills 32600 Norwood, Beverly Hills 533 Oak, Birmingham 411 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham 720 Pierce, Birmingham 1736 Pierce, Birmingham

7583 LOCKLIN WEST BLOOMFIELD Lakefront home on Union Lake. 3 BR, 2 bath ranch with beautiful views. Move in condition. $449,900

OVER $30 MILLION SOLD IN 2012

400 Pilgrim, Birmingham 220 Ravine, Birmingham 3535 Rayburn, Bloomfield Hills 1492 Ruffner, Birmingham 4250 Sandy Lane, Bloomfield Hills 20605 Smallwood Ct, Beverly Hills 660 Smith, Birmingham 784 Southfield, Birmingham 473 E. Southlawn, Birmingham 31645 Southview, Beverly Hills 1897 Stanley, Birmingham

5387 ECHO BLOOMFIELD HILLS 4 BR, 3.1 bath quad-level with Bloomfield schools. Two car side entrance garage.

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3259 Tuckahoe, Bloomfield Hills 1347 Washington, Birmingham 1974 Webster, Birmingham 371 N. Williamsbury, Bloomfield Hills 1818 Yorkshire, Birmingham

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BUSINESS MATTERS 25th anniversary

Healing center opens

A Touch of Lace, on the corner of Long Lake and Telegraph at 4036 Telegraph Road in Bloomfield Township, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Lauren Fisher and Linda Weissman opened the fine linen and home furnishing store 25 years ago in February. “What we do is very special and unique,” Fisher said. “It's a testament to what you sell because some customers have had their stuff for 18 to 20 years and have taken good care of it and come in for their second or third set. We have a great following.”

Fisher noted many of their loyal customers are what she calls snow birds, local residents who spend the winter somewhere warm like Florida or California. “We do linens for bed, bath, and also for baby cribs and baby layettes, up to one-year-old. We offer robes and pajamas and nightgowns.

We offer down pillows, down comforters, feather beds, down beds, mattress pads. We also have fine China, crystal silverware,” she said.

Fisher and Weissman work with decorators throughout the country and in Michigan. “We're planning on having offers and specials throughout the year to thank our customers.”

Sacred Garden Healing Arts has opened in Suite 300 at 2151 E. 14 Mile Road in Birmingham. Charlene Wark opened the center with Lisa Machala.

“Lisa and I are brand new at this. We met in massage school and both of us were interested in trying to help people heal naturally. We wanted to open a place where we could help people.”

Sacred Garden Healing Arts offers a salt room with Dead Sea salt from Israel. “It's great for anyone that has asthma, smoker's cough or any issues with breathing,” Wark said. Sacred Garden employs 10 employees and has a reflexologist starting this month. “We also have a medium that works out of here. We have a shamin that works out of here. We also teach classes like crystal classes and psychic classes,” Wark said.

New boxing gym Jabs Gym opened in February at 2285 Cole Street in Birmingham's Rail District. Manager Meagan Tessler said her husband David and professional boxer Fortune 500 decided to open the 3,200 square foot boxing gym.

“David grew up in this area and has taught yoga for a while and wanted to bring something to this area that is a little different,” she said.

Jabs Gym offers group classes, kickboxing classes, boot camp classes and a signature class called Boyo. “It's a combination of boxing and yoga. It's an hour and 15 minutes long. That's sort of our signature class,” Tessler said. “We also have a full boxing ring where professional boxers can come to train for fights.” Open boxing takes place Monday through Thursday. “We have new people coming in to check us out and everyone really loves the concept of the Boyo class,” she said. “Since Boyo is our signature class, we are really looking to grow that.” Tessler said Jabs Gym will offer more classes and activities for children during the summer months when school is out.

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Store closing Stacey Leuliette Gracious Living at 235 Pierce Street was expected to close in Birmingham by March 1.

Manager Denise Copp said the store's closing date could come sooner if all remaining merchandise was sold off. “It's sad,” Copp said.

“We're sad to see it close. We had such wonderful customers and built great relationships. I know Stacey does appreciate everyone's support over the years.” Copp said owner Stacey Leuliette will be moving to Florida to pursue other passions.

Physical therapy center Ascent Physical Therapy Specialists has opened at 2525 Telegraph Road, Suite 314, in Bloomfield Township.

Owner Shankar Krishnan has a doctorate in physical therapy and has been a physical therapist for about 15 years. “It's the first private practice that I'm opening,” Krishnan said. “I researched it quite a bit. I looked at a lot of parameters and general attitudes on health and wellness. I looked at the proximity to hospitals and Beaumont is right there.” Krishnan also teaches classes at The Community House in Birmingham. “I try not to just focus on the one area that is hurting. I tend to look at the whole person and find out what influences are there that are making the condition and try to have a bottom up approach.”

Nail salon opens Glamour Nail Salon has opened at 1066 S. Adams Road in Birmingham.

“Everybody working here has a lot of a experience. We've all been doing nails for many years,” manicurist Bangon

Aranda said. The friendly environment was why Aranda and Glamour Nail Salon decided to open their first ever nail salon in Birmingham. “I just like the city. It has nice people and it is a good area to work,” she said. “We have a big parking lot for the clients with no meters. We don't do fake nails - just manicures, pedicures and shellac. No acrylic and no chemicals, so you can bring kids inside with you.” The location on S. Adams Road features massage pedicure chairs and offers many colors and collections of OPI and Essie nail polishes. The new salon is open seven days a week and welcomes appointments or walk-ins.

New realtor offices Max Broock Realtors of Bloomfield Hills is opening a newly constructed office at 4130 Telegraph Road in Bloomfield Township and was expected to move in the beginning of March. “It’s very exciting. We spent three years looking for a new location to build our office and decided that the former Real Estate One site was a perfect location for our needs. It allows us to better serve our community and support local residents and business,” manager Ronna Feldman said. “We want to make the home selling or buying experience as pleasurable as possible.” The new Telegraph office will be located on one floor and includes a cafe where Max Broock clients can enjoy coffee while viewing listings on a big screen. The cafe will also serve as an area to surf the web and relax. An exclusive Lifetime Fitness Club will replace the former Max Broock location at 4120 Telegraph Road.

Whistle Stop reopens Iconic Birmingham breakfast joint the Whistle Stop Restaurant and Bakery reopened at 501 S. Eton in the middle of November under new ownership as Whistle Stop Diner. Owners Valter and Elda Xhomaqi signed papers to purchase the restaurant in October of 2012.. “It took us about six weeks to reopen. We opened in the middle of November,” Elda said. The Xhomaqi's also own the Double Ee Restaurant on 9 Mile Road in Ferndale. “We changed the menu so it's a little more stuff from over there like pot pie, stuffed cabbage and soup. We love

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the old favorite things we have here like homemade bread. We put new items but held some of the old items.” One waitress and the bakery staff will remain the same. “Some of the people are the same and there are new people, too.” The new diner will be open Monday through Sunday and will offer breakfast specials. “We cleaned up, painted, and changed the carpet so everyone that comes in sees that. I appreciate everybody coming in. I'm going to try and do a good job.”

New PR firm Element Public Relations & Marketing Firm opened in Suite 206 at 55 W. Maple Road in downtown Birmingham. The new public relations firm above David Wachler Jewelers was launched by Eton Academy alumnus Eric Scott. “We help businesses build solutions that attract, retain and build relationships with clients,” co-founder Alexis Smith said. “Our program is an integrated suite of products and services that guarantee marketing results.” Element Public Relations also specializes in community branding with digital media.

Store moves to Berkley Rediscovered Furniture has moved from 663 S. Eton Street in Birmingham to 3125 W. 12 Mile Road in Berkley. Owner Becky Jaglois first opened her store in Birmingham in April 2011, and is moving locations to get more exposure. “My (old) space was so cool; I just loved it,” she said. However because of the location and poor signage, Jaglois said it was difficult to see her store.

“The (new) space is all on one floor.

My other space I had an upstairs and downstairs, but my work area where I do my custom pieces is bigger so there are really two pluses to that.”

The current business next door, Skinny Tees, will be expanding into the former Rediscovered Furniture space. “She's a wholesaler. I'm very happy for her. It's great,” Jaglois said. “I have a sign up stating where I'm going and a full new website and blog with pictures.”

Send Business Matters items for consideration to News@downtownpublications.com. Items should be received three weeks prior to publication.

03.13

MARKET OFFERINGS MARCH 2013

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Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Oxford Township $1,350,000 Spectacular Post and Beam home with 75 rolling, open, wooded acres. Designer perfect kitchen with Bosch Sub Zero, five star appliances, granite and maple floors. Two and half story great room with massive Fieldstone fireplace. First floor master, library, finished lower level with fireplace, bar, exercise room, sauna, in-ground pool, heated pool house and cabana. Six car garage, dog kennel, beautiful Morton barn, caretakers home, dairy barn and out buildings. Four bedrooms with 3.1 baths. Oxford Schools. 212107747

Oxford Township $839,000 Beautiful large transitional Country Home on 20 acres in Metamora Hunt Country. Three or four bedrooms (library or 4th bedroom), massive master suite (1,250 sq ft) with vaulted ceiling and jetted tub, two bedrooms up, carpet, oak and tile floors throughout. Living room with two way fireplace into hearth room, dining room, spacious Chef 's kitchen with hearth room, beautiful all season room. Three car garage, decks, six to eight stall barn and paddocks. Geothermal heat, pump, generator and tremendous gorgeous property views. Oxford Schools. 213004011

David Busch

SKBK Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty skbk.com

Birmingham, Michigan

248.644.7000 Equal Housing Opportunity

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

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Lake Angelus Frontage $2,999,900 Fabulous newer Estate on pristine Lake Angelus. Almost six acres with 160' lake frontage and beautiful in ground pool. Over 10,000 square of living space. Great room off kitchen for entertaining. Granite, hardwood and top end appliances. Phenomenal finished walk out lower level. No expense spared on this home. Five bedrooms with 6.3 baths. 212102244.

Lake Angelus Frontage $1,899,900

Lake Angelus Frontage $974,900

Fabulous views from every room from this beautiful hidden gem on the South Shore. One plus acres with 100 feet lake frontage with almost 7,000 square feet of living space. Finished walkout lower level with 13 foot ceilings. Full deck and patio across the lake side of home. Sandy frontage with permanent dock to park all of your toys. Cedar and stone with custom cedar roof. Six bedrooms with 5.2 baths. 212116429.

Fabulous Lake Angelus Shores Ranch home with sunsets and privacy.

Move-in condition home with four bedrooms, 2.5 baths, six car oversize garage for all your toys. Over 3,000 square feet all on one floor with views of the lake from all rooms. Nicely updated with neutral colors. Granite kitchen opens to great room. Deck with beautiful mature landscaping on almost one acre. Everything you are looking for in a lake home. 212110702.

Lee Embrey

SKBK Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty skbk.com Equal Housing Opportunity

Birmingham, Michigan

248.644.7000

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Ross Township $2,500,000 Attention to detail in this Country Estate is an understatement. Walk into the grand entrance and foyer anchored by the warmth of the fireplace. This open floor plan home has all the amenities one would desire. Main floor master bedroom with a large master bath and walk in closet. Rough-cut pine paneled flooring, cedar and stone accents this beautiful Country Estate. A perfect entertainers paradise, sit down in one of the many rooms that are surrounded by large open windows, take in the scenery of the horses grazing, pool deck and the nature that surrounds this beautiful country estate. Indoor and outdoor riding arena, fourteen heated box stalls, heated observation room outfitted for entertaining. Four bedrooms with 4.2 baths. 212116235

Living Room

Indoor Riding Arena & Stables

Kitchen

Dan Gutfreund

SKBK Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty skbk.com

Birmingham, Michigan

248.644.7000 Equal Housing Opportunity

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Lake Oakland Frontage $1,599,000 1.64 acre, very private Waterfront Estate on Lake Oakland. 187 feet of lake frontage, two story great room, granite counters in large open custom kitchen and all baths. Two master bedroom suites, three fireplaces, finished lower level with family room and fully appointed ten stool wet bar, exercise room.

Wrap around porch leading to in-ground pool, professionally landscaped with lake front waterfall loaded with limestone ledge rock and paver. Six car 37 x 57 heated garage. Five bedrooms with 4.1 baths. 212104460

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West Bloomfield $429,000

West Bloomfield $279,000

Former builder's model "The Bradford". Stately two story, 12 foot high, panned ceilings in living room, formal dining room, crown molding, hardwood floors, French doors and double stair case. Open family room, breakfast nook and kitchen. Many upgrades include; new granite counters and high end stainless steel appliances, furnace and roof. Master bedroom with panned ceilings, oversize master bath and walk in closet.

Four bedrooms with 3.1 baths. 213011130

Beautifully updated home with serene and private back yard. Live in your very own park with Apple, Cherry and Pear Trees. Almost an acre lot that backs to a stream. Brick pavers front and back. Updates includes; all custom cherry wood kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite and glass back splash, ceramic bath, exterior freshly painted, all door walls, hardwood floors and lush landscaping. Neutral colors. Award winning Bloomfield Hills schools. Five bedrooms with three bedrooms. 213014134

RW Watson

SKBK Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty skbk.com Equal Housing Opportunity

Birmingham, Michigan

248.644.7000

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Oakland Township $1,340,000 Magnificent Country Estate! Majestic entrance with views of pond, nature trails surrounding property, pool and outstanding landscaping with fruit trees.

Wrap around porch with sunrise and sunset views. Pool house with kitchen, bed and bath. Lower level is complete with kitchen, game room and bedroom suite. Heated floors and heated exterior pavers. Accepted offer includes 1995 Corvette, ZR1, 8,000 miles, black with tan interior.

Seven bedrooms with 5.1 baths. 213014687

Orion Township $539,900 Nestled in the prestigious St Andrews Estates overlooking the 15th hole on the "New Course" at Indianwood Country Club. Home exudes custom features including coffered ceiling in library, two story foyer, three fireplaces, first floor master suite, plantation shutters, jetted tub, walk in closets, dual staircases, lower level wine cellar and phenomenal bar, pool room, work-out room. Striking views overlook pond and private wooded yard from most rooms throughout the home. Five bedrooms with 4.1 baths. 213014430

Susan Johnson

SKBK Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty skbk.com

Birmingham, Michigan

248.644.7000 Equal Housing Opportunity

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

West Bloomfield $979,000

Maceday Lake Frontage $875,000

Updated Contemporary home perfect for entertaining! Kitchen with the best appliances, granite, extra cooking/prep area and built-in sitting area. Master includes bar area, sun room and two closets. Beautiful landscaping with waterfall, koi pond, saltwater pool and pavilion with ovens. Access to Pine Lake. Bloomfield Hills Schools. Four bedrooms and 4.1 baths. 212113481

Fantastic views of "All Sports" Maceday Lake. Dramatic two story foyer with winding Oak staircase. Over 5,000 sq ft of living space with finished walk out lower level. Unique master bedrooms on both first and second floor. Two brick fireplaces, huge deck, wet bar, premium appliances and island kitchen.

Boat dock included. Four bedrooms and four baths. 212093793

Rochester Hills $699,900

Bloomfield $490,000

Nature lover's dream! Abundance of deer in your own backyard. Wooded on half acre with large deck overlooking stoney waterfall and perennial gardens. Over 8,000 sq ft of living space. First floor master suite. New roof, garage doors, interior/exterior paint and stained deck (2012) Wine cellar and dry sauna, exercise and bar/billiard room.

Five bedrooms and 4.2 baths. 212122594

Well maintained by the original owners. Roof, air conditioning, furnace all new within five years. Great area and street with beautiful yard. Nice floor plan, approx 4000 square feet of living space to include a 800 square feet studio and Florida room. Plenty of storage. Large in ground pool with solar heat, gas heater and new marcite. Bloomfield Hills schools.

Five bedrooms with 3.1 baths. 213011954

Dawn Williams & Maria Constante

SKBK Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty skbk.com Equal Housing Opportunity

Birmingham, Michigan

248.644.7000

EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE MARKETING

SKBK Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty skbk.com

Birmingham, Michigan

248.644.7000

EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE MARKETING

SKBK Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty skbk.com

Birmingham, Michigan

248.644.7000

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Birmingham, Michigan

248.644.7000

LUXURY REAL ESTATE WEB SEARCHES 2012 Sothebysrealty.com Luxuryrealestate.com

Luxuryportfolio.com

Luxuryhomes.com

Christiesrealestate.com

150,000 141,057

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30,103 24,439

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SKBK Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty skbk.com

Birmingham, Michigan

248.644.7000

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

South Rockwood Village $3,995,000 Wesburn Golf and Country Club. 100 years strong! 250 acre 18 hole Golf Course with beautiful quaint Club House/Living Quarters. Second Caretakers home on property. Property could be developed as sub-division or develop your own family estate and compound. Endless possibilities! Near I-75.

212073459 Presented by Kathy Haack

Birmingham $1,150,000 Spectacular Condo at Birmingham s Waterfall Hill. Sophisticated three bedrooms with 3.5 baths features open floor plan with hardwood floors throughout, large floor to ceiling windows, tons of natural light. Architecture is conducive to either contemporary or traditional lifestyles. First floor master with spa bath, two walk in closets , great room with large fireplace, study, granite kitchen with top of line appliance. Finished with the highest quality materials.

213018282

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Oxford $1,299,000 Beautiful 5000+ square foot home on 80 secluded acres with your own private lake. Large dining, family, library and chef 's kitchen with maple cabinets, granite, stainless steel appliances, perfect for entertaining. Spectacular theater room, wine cellar, two master suites. steam room, five car garage. Exceptional retreat for hunting, fishing, swimming or just relaxing. Minutes from Chrysler Tech. Center, Rochester and Birmingham. Beautiful gardens. Lake Orion schools. Also for Lease, $4500/monthly. 213017490 Presented by David Busch

Bloomfield $1,199.000 Custom Crafted Masterpiece built in 2006! Flowing floor plan adorned with custom carved wood walls, coffered ceiling and high end finishes. High end kitchen with gathering area, dramatic foyer and theater room. Two entry level bedroom for au pair or guests. Custom archways on second floor leads to extensive master suite with fabulous dressing room, morning bar, sauna and exercise room. Two spacious additional bedroom suites and second floor laundry. 212117120 Presented by Renee Lossia Acho & Marcy Sucher

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

St. Clair River Frontage $1,599,000 Spectacular home on St. Clair River with 60 feet of frontage, boat house with guest quarters and 60 feet canal frontage. Incredible attention to detail, gourmet kitchen with granite and stainless steel appliances, mahogany floors, great room with natural stone fireplace and granite wet bar. Master suite with two way fireplace to sitting area, master bath with travertine and heated floors. First floor laundry. Bonus room. Four bedrooms with three baths. 213011866 Presented by Beverly McCotter & Susan Kissick

Metamora $799,000 Drastically Reduced! Motivated Seller! Beautiful English Country home on 27 acres with Flint River frontage. Charming keeping room with fireplace, magnificent living room with fireplace and bay window. Spacious Chef 's kitchen with granite and wood counters, breakfast room with bay window.

Huge master suite with fireplace, second master suite and in-law suite with kitchen. Spectacular Florida room with lap pool, English gardens, pond and pole building. Five bedrooms with 5.1 baths. 212072343 Presented by David Busch

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Bloomfield $995,000 Immaculate and pristine home with access to Gilbert Lake! Private 1+ acre lot. Foyer with marble floor and circular staircase. Gourmet center island kitchen with granite, Brazilian cherry. Hearth room with fireplace. Family room with hardwood floors, vaulted ceiling, skylights, wall of windows to yard.

Formal living room with coved ceilings and fireplace. Formal dining room and quaint study. Master bedroom with his/her closet areas and bath. All bedrooms are spacious with custom millwork. Four bedrooms with 4 baths. 213011524 Presented by Robert Gleason

Lake Angelus Frontage $674,900 Nice price reduction on this beautiful Newer Construction on Pristine Lake Angelus with views from almost every room. Three bedrooms with possible 4th in upstairs bonus room. Decks off all rooms lake side. Almost 5,000 square feet including finished walkout lower level. Privacy and nature abounds. Perfect home for entertaining. Ready for summer just move in. New 16K natural gas generator. 213001852 Presented by Lee Embrey

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Walnut Lake Frontage $3,399.900 Spectacular Updated West Bloomfield Lakefront Estate! An Entertainers' Delight. Gourmet kitchen, top of the line appliances, great room offers high ceiling, fantastic views of the lake and fabulous bar. Floor to ceiling windows. Possible first floor master, formal dining room, billiards room, nanny suite and your own private Night Club!! Guest house and attached garage, large enough to house five cars. Six bedrooms with 8.3 baths. 212092152 Presented by Nancy Beachum

Vhay Lake Frontage $1,200,000 Magnificent Bloomfield Hills Ranch! Peacefully situated on 3.6 manicured acres on private Vhay Lake featuring incredible woodwork and magnificent finishes throughout. Updated gourmet kitchen offers a prep island, indoor grill and opens to the airy family room which features a cathedral ceiling with exposed beam construction and wall of windows overlooking lake. Well appointed master suite with luxurious private marble bath and en-suite library. Extraordinary views from every room, a truly wonderful home. Five bedrooms with 5.1 baths. 213018365 Presented by Cindy Obron Kahn

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

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Island Lake Frontage $799,900 Exception peninsula lot on Island Lake. Almost 1 acre with super views of the lake and Kirk in the Hills Church. Build you dream home on the best lake lot in Bloomfield Hills. Surrounded by multi-million dollar homes. Utilities, sewer and water available at site. Preliminary approval to build over a 7,000 square foot home, proposed plans/topographic survey included. Walk out plus 3 plus garage, with approximately 30 feet of sandy beach on private paved street. 213000184 Presented by Michael Sbrocca

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Bloomfield Hills $675,000 Fantastic opportunity to live on Upper Long Lake. All sports lake with 107 feet of lake front! Build the home of your dreams on an absolutely beautiful setting. House on property is being demolished. 213001338 Presented by T. Gerald Etue

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Orchard Lake Frontage $3,495,000 Private Gated Community of North Bay! 155 feet of all sports Orchard Lake frontage with panoramic views. Custom designed spectacular home and setting on three levels with magnificent views of the lake. Granite kitchen with additional prep kitchen, lower level kitchen, three story atrium, wine cellar, sauna and relaxing pool. Beautiful master bedroom wing with marble bath, steam shower. Expansive ceilings, Pella Window and decks. Five bedrooms with 6.3 baths. 213000192 Presented by Michelle Yurich

Bloomfield Hills $1,550,000 Captivating interior renovation! This reconfigured floor plan is absolutely perfect. Kitchen with fireplace features Bosch, Subzero, Miele and Thermador stainless steel appliances. Romantic master suite with spa bath, dressing table and fireplace. French doors lead guests from interior living spaces to beautiful brick terrace and yard. Third floor bonus room (30X20) with wet bar, skylights and storage area. Expansive finished lower level. Five bedrooms with 4.3 baths. 213006317 Presented by Darlene Jackson

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Dryden $849,900 Historic Country House remodeled with the finest materials from the mechanicals to the structural inclusive of windows, insulation, air conditioning to the cosmetics. State of the art kitchen with high end appliances and granite. Call for complete list of improvements. Exceptional home on 20 beautiful landscaped acres. 40 x 60 historic barn, 42 x 75 pole barn, 48 x 26 four car detached garage, 48 x 26 heated workshop, 12 x 18 toy barn. Three bedrooms with 2.5 baths. 212099026 Presented by David Busch

Bloomfield $799,000 Beautiful and spacious Brick Ranch on 1.49 acres. Huge master suite with walk in closet, master bath with separate shower, jetted tub and double sink.

Both bedroom two and three are suites. Granite kitchen with breakfast room. First floor laundry. Partial finished basement. Stunning four seasons room leads to brick patio. Fenced dog run. Gilbert Lake privileges. Four bedrooms with four baths. 213011543 Presented by Gerald Etue and Kelly Etue

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Fenton $975,000 Beautiful custom built log lodge home on 13.44 wooded acres. Two story great room with custom stone fireplace, large country kitchen with granite.

Finished lower level with recreation room with stone fireplace and exercise room. Stunning indoor pool with vaulted ceiling and door walls to 3,000 square foot deck that overlooks a large stocked pond. Three car garage, 40 x 60 Pole Barn and separate three car garage. Possible au pair or in-law suite on second floor. Four bedrooms with 4.3 baths. 212110689 Presented by Jim Casey

Addison Township $960,000 Beautiful, large log sided lake front home + 800 square foot Carriage house with bedroom, kitchen and bath. Main house features four bedrooms with 3.1 baths, office or library, massive great room, generous size Chef 's kitchen with eating space overlooking the in ground pool, beach and private all sports lake. Living room with stone fireplace, first floor master suite, walk out lower level. Exceptional 5.5 acre parcel with separate, large heated pole barn with paver flooring, perfect for home based business or collector cars. 213005529 Presented by David Busch

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Sylvan Lake Frontage $729,000 Beautiful custom built home on all sports Sylvan Lake. Gorgeous granite gourmet kitchen, formal dining area, great room, two story fireplace, wet bar, sun room and office all enjoy panoramic views. Luxury master suite with balcony. In-law suite has sitting room, balcony, granite bath and second laundry.

Elevator, hot tub gazebo, epoxy floor in three car garage. Professionally landscaped and West Bloomfield schools. Rare location with 85 ft of lake front sandy beach, 35 feet allows permanent dockage. Four bedrooms with three baths. 212126892 Presented by Susan Kissick

Brandon $689,000 Enjoy your own private fishing and golf on this 42 acre retreat. Brick two level Ranch with 5,500 square feet of living space including a private guest wing. Twelve acre private lake (great fishing), two par three golf holes. Two master suites and two great rooms with full wall fireplaces. Walkout lower level, terraced gardens and 30' x 50' Pole Barn. 212065181 Presented by Beverly McCotter

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Lake Michigan Frontage $799,900 Whole ownership with magnificent Lake Michigan views, sandy beaches right from your doorstep and sunsets will take your breath away! Lower level end unit with spacious open floor plan with living and dining room and kitchen, wet bar in both upper and lower level. Freshly painted, newer carpet with all neutral colors. Exterior maintenance and grounds maintenance are included. Furnishings are negotiable. Four bedrooms with two baths. 212068518 Presented by Candice Cuyler

West Bloomfield $449,000 Absolutely elegant unit with gorgeous views of Pine Lake. Fabulous master suite includes balcony overlooking lake. Fireplace, huge walk-in closet, luxurious marble bath and steam shower. Beautiful Brazilian Cherry floors throughout. Elevator to all three levels. Three fireplaces, exercise room, sauna.

Boat slip and house. Two bedrooms with 3.1 baths. 211127042 Presented by Celeste Cole

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Birmingham $639,000 Location, location, location! Cape Cod, located directly across from Pembroke Park. Perfect family home! Kitchen with granite, hardwood floors, flows nicely into dining, family room, great for entertaining! Mud room off side entry. Huge master suite, with his and her closets, spacious master bath, double sinks with tumbled marble and soaking tub. Second laundry in full bath upstairs. Nicely finished basement, plenty of storage and additional laundry. Four bedrooms with 2.1 baths. 213014109 Presented by Audrey Faust & Michael Sbrocca

Birmingham $399,900

Franklin Village $350,000

Adorable in town Bungalow on corner lot offers great opportunity. Terrific open floor plan boasts huge first floor laundry, mud room, eat-in island kitchen. Gorgeous master suite with walk in closets and fabulously designed master bath. Lower level features finished living area with wet bar, bath and fireplace. improvements including; windows, roof, air conditioning, siding and gutters, paver patio, landscape, some appliances. Three bedrooms with 2.1 baths. 213014185 Presented by Renee Lossia Acho

Franklin Historical District Home. Charm of historical home yet updates for today's comforts. Hardwood floors, newer kitchen with appliances, beautiful den with fireplace, intricate wood ceiling and gorgeous built-ins. Two new furnaces, cedar shake roof, new plumbing and newly wired. Large screened in back porch looks on to private yard. Three bedrooms with three baths.

212068185 Presented by Kris Barich & Molly Henneghan

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Bloomfield $599,900 WOW! Meander up the long winding drive to a truly amazing residence set on over an acre of privacy. Sprawling California Ranch will impress you at every turn. Extensively renovated, it resembles a new house. Kitchen is amazing, and it is completely open to family room. Both full baths are brand new.

We have a full walkout lower level with an additional bedroom and full bath. Add to this privileges on Walnut Lake. Four bedrooms with three baths. 213017158 Presented by Kathy Manoogian

Rochester Hills $490,000

Birmingham $295,000

Former model deluxe with many custom features. Study and family room have traditionally timeless architectural paneling. Family room with wet bar and custom bookcases. Kitchen with granite, Jenn-Air 4-6 burner cook top, double ovens, wine fridge and trash compactor. Four bedrooms with 2.1 baths. 213007554 Presented by Susan Lozano

This newly updated Ranch. Refinished hardwood floors through out, remodeled kitchen with tile floor, new roof, new windows, new hot water heater, just to name a few. Large dining room and living room gives this home an open airy feel. Just a few houses from tennis courts and playground.

Birmingham schools and great family neighborhood. Also for lease $1800.

Four bedrooms with 2.1 baths. 213015267 Presented by Kris Barich

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Troy $369,900 Weston Downs original model featuring all the builders upgrades. Private courtyard to beautiful entry. Hardwood floors, 9 ft ceilings, custom upgraded cabinets in kitchen and bathrooms. Granite and stainless appliances. First floor master suite. First floor laundry. Great room with cathedral ceilings, fireplace with slate hearth and mantel. Two car attached garage. Sprinklers, outdoor lighting and ground maintenance. This home has it all with the finest appointments. 213006896 Presented by Erin Keating Dewald

Highland $294,900

Farmington Hills $244,900

Updated Colonial on a premium lot in a desired high end sub of Timber Ridge. Bring your fussy buyers to see the beautiful home ready to move into.

Half acre property with the privacy of wooded yard. Large master bedroom and bath with an attached room for a nursery or library. Four bedrooms with 2.1 baths. 213007734 Presented by Dee Brooks

Motivated Seller! Private Setting, free standing executive Condo in sought after Essex Club. Beautifully maintained with granite kitchen, newer stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, full basement ready to finish. Master bedroom suite with jetted tub and separate shower. New 2011 hot water heater and roof. Great location near shops and restaurants. Three bedrooms with 2.1 baths. 212124661 Presented by Michelle Yurich

Birmingham, Michigan | 248.644.7000 | skbk.com

Upper Straits Lake Frontage $335,000 Gorgeous Contemporary designer styled home. Lake living without the expense. Look out your windows to beautiful views of private Upper Straits Lake.

Sumptuous master bedroom suite and bath with jacuzzi tub. Hardwood flooring, new carpet, beautiful entry door, stamped concrete walkway, professionally landscaped, extra wide lot, side entry garage. Best value for Upper Straits lake lifestyle. Three bedrooms with 2.2 baths. 213014243 Presented by Michelle Yurich

Birmingham $470,000

Birmingham $237,000

Beautiful 2005 Custom Built home with 1986 square feet. The open floor plan with dining room, office and kitchen with granite and stainless steel appliances blends with the great room and inviting layout. Eating space in kitchen, plus island. Butler's pantry and many additional appointments.

Crown moldings, hardwood floors, 2nd floor laundry. Three bedrooms with 2.5 baths. 213015101 Presented by Donna Barlow

Birmingham Ranch on a deep lot in a great neighborhood. Very clean with three nice bedrooms and 2.5 baths. Great home for entertaining, would make a perfect starter home. Birmingham Schools. Two car garage.

Partially finished basement. 213017348 Presented by Sandra Treboldi

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 complete Places To Eat is available at downtownpublications.com and in an optimized format for your smart phone (downtownpublications.com/mobile), where you can actually map out locations and automatically dial a restaurant from our Places To Eat.

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

248.645.2150.

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 Jacks: American. Lunch, MondaySaturday; Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 4108 W. Maple, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.626.2630.

Beyond Juice: Contemporary. Breakfast & Lunch daily; Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. 270 West Maple Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.7078.

Big Boy: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6675 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301.

248.642.0717.

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

Liquor.

245 South Eaton Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.7774.

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

248.593.8880.

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.

Cafe Via: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 310 East Maple Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.644.8800 Cameron’s Steakhouse: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 115 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.723.1700.

Chen Chow Brasserie: Japanese. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 260 North Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.594.2469.

China Village: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 1655 Opdyke, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.758.1221.

Churchill's Bistro & Cigar Bar: Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 116 S. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.4555.

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

877 W. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.540.7220.

downtownpublications.com

FINE DINING

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

248.792.9766.

Cosi: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & wine. 101 N. Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.203.9200.

Deli Unique of Bloomfield Hills: Deli.

Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 39495 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.646.7923.

Dick O’Dow’s: Irish. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 160 West Maple Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.642.1135.

Einstein Bros. Bagels: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 176 South Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.9888. Also 4089 West Maple Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301.

248.258.9939.

Elie’s Mediterranean Cuisine: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 263 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.647.2420.

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

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

FUN DINING

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tation menu) of proportionately sized 6, 12 or 18 courses for a table to explore the bounty of seasonal flavors.

American lunch box This mid-day menu offering ($16) is a good way to “taste” the kitchen. A diner chooses one selection from each of five categories to build a personal box. Main includes half sandwiches. Next comes a salad choice, then soup. Although this latter category changes seasonally, Great Lakes walleye chowder has become so popular that it has developed into a menu mainstay. A choice of sides includes housemade sweet potato chips that make a crunchy inclusion.

Lastly, there’s a choice from among four light desserts.

hen Gastronomy opened in late summer 2012, emphasis was placed on defining the name. Was the food related to art? Was it linked to science? Fortunately, diners have come to realize that it’s both, practiced at a high level.

Gastronomy’s owner, The Epicurean Group, gave the restaurant a subtitle: A Modern American Bistro.

That descriptor ties in size.

Small for bistro, a French concept, which doesn’t really apply since there are 90 seats. American applies Beverage accompaniments appropriately to location. I A get-you-started, pondered to define it and tightly-edited cocktail list decided on progressive, conincludes enticing ingreditemporary, inventive and ents: Redemption Rye, Tito’s cosmopolitan to describe Vodka, Elijah Craig both the menu from a Bourbon, Death’s Door Gin scratch kitchen and the and Pimm’s No. 1. Craft ambiance. beers include several from Decor is decidedly clubMichigan. An All-American by, yet its green and earth wine list features a number tones are soothing and not of both red and white edgy – a perfect backdrop Michigan favorites, includfor highly-styled American ing Bel Lago Auxerrois and cuisine, crafted by a chefs’ Left Foot Charley team or “brigade” as they Gewurztraminer. are commonly referenced.

Otherwise, the list The work of Chefs de highlights California, Cuisine Brandon Zarb and Oregon and Washington Jonathan Aceves, Garde State with such change of Manger Shannon Kellett pace offerings like Dry and Pastry Chef Emily Davis Creek Chenin Blanc, is depicted in photographic Seared Scallops, parsnip, black pearl, fennel. Downtown photo: Williams Selyem “Weir” wall art by talented, 35-year Laurie Tennent Yorkville Pinot Noir, Dashe old, self-taught Detroiter Dry Creek Zinfandel, Cristom David Lamarand.

“Mt. Jefferson Cuvee” Oregon Pinot Noir and Januik Stan Dixon and Eric Djordjevic are owner and president Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. By-the-bottle behind the Gastronomy concept. Santa Barbara, Calif., wines range from the $30s to three figures. native 41-year-old Chris Salazar, talented in his own right as general manager and sommelier, ties all Gastronomy’s Happy endings gifted pros together into a tightly knit corps, practicing Dessert choices change with the full menu. Yet, one does culinary artistry to a high degree of professionalism, both not. Flourless Chocolate Cake ($10) is so popular, regulars in the kitchen and dining room. might revolt if it was replaced. Its salted caramel crémeux, chocolate covered kona beans, vanilla malt and Contemporary plating whipped cream are a palate delight.

Since opening, Gastronomy’s main menu has changed Gastronomy principals consider it a destination restauapproximately every six to eight weeks. Ground Breakers rant. And it is. Consider it the next time you want a culiare appetizers, which at $9-$15 keep the menu ahead of nary experience in a warm, relaxed and refined atmospreparation and plating trends. “Celebrating the ethnic phere. diversity of the United States” is a menu category that ties in global seasonal favorites.

Gastronomy, ground floor of Baker Tilly building, 1 Towne “Grassroots” is also a seasonal category with easily Square Southfield, 248.864.4410. Lunch: Monday-Friday recognized dishes, such as prime center cut filet ($40), 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dinner: Monday-Wednesday 5-10 seared scallops ($26), and a 48-hour chicken ($25), which p.m.; until 10:30 p.m.Thursday-Saturday. Parking: on begins its preparation with 24-hours of brining and mari- premise and complimentary evening valet. nating, then is cooked sous vide (French term for cooking under vacuum). All menu ingredients are from Michigan Eleanor Heald is a nationally published writer who also writes the wine column in a double byline with her husband Ray for soil or at the very least, U.S. Downtown. Suggestions for Quick Bites section can be e-mailed The “gastronomy degu” is a chef’s tasting (aka degus- to Quickbites@downtownpublications.com.

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

Forest Grill: American. Lunch, MondayFriday; Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 735 Forest Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.9400.

Fox Grill: American. Lunch, Monday through Friday; Dinner, daily. Sunday brunch. Reservations. Liquor. 39556 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304. 248.792.6109.

Fuddrucker’s: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No Reservations. Beer & wine.

42757 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Township, 48302. 248.333.2400.

Greek Island Coney Restaurant: Greek.

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

Hogan’s Restaurant: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6450 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301.

248.626.1800.

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.

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.

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, 48301. 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.

Mitchell’s Fish Market: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 117 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.646.3663.

Mountain King: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 469 South Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.644.2913.

New Bangkok Thai Bistro: Thai. Breakfast, Monday-Thursday; Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily. No reservations. 183 North Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.644.2181.

Northern Lakes Seafood Co.: Seafood.

Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily. No

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FOCUS ON WINE Cliff Lede, the man and his Bordeaux-style wines

By Eleanor and Ray Heald

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fter his first taste of red Bordeaux, a Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou, Canadian construction executive Cliff Lede (LAY-dee) decided he liked it so much that he wanted to make his own Bordeaux-style wine. In 2002, he established Cliff Lede Vineyards by purchasing the existing S. Anderson Vineyard located on the northern border of Stags Leap District (SLD) on the Yountville Cross Road, Napa Valley.

The purchased vineyards included 60 acres planted to cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and petit verdot, the varieties that comprise the Bordeaux-style blends that Lede came to admire.

“I want to take Bordeaux varietals,” Lede says, “to a whole new level here, and I’m doing what it takes to achieve that.

Many years from now, wine lovers will still be seeking rare wines from SLD, and we hope to make some of them.”

Producing the best Early on, Lede recognized that great wine requires quality fruit and that means top notch vineyards. To accomplish this goal, Lede assembled an expert team of grape growers and winemakers that have included viticulturist David Abreu, consulting winemaker Philippe Melka, winemaker Chris Tynan, Master Sommelier Jennifer Heuther and Director of Winemaking and Viticulture Remi Cohen.

Cohen is proving that a farmer at the head of a winemaking effort can make a huge difference. “Wine is made in the vineyard,” she says. “That’s why a commitment to farming the right way is critical in the process of making great wine.

“How some people could make wine without regard for the terroir and the environment, I’ll never know. I come from the perspective of the vines. For me, if we want this business to last, the two have got to be intertwined. Always.”

The Cliff Lede 2011 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, $25, exudes generous white peach, lime, grapefruit, apple and lychee with a hint of grass. Simply delicious. Cliff Lede 2009 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon, $63, aged in new French oak, highlights dark cherry fruit, brown spices, tobacco leaf, and chocolate with a long, smooth finish. Poetry 2009 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon (Tasting Room only) is the flagship wine brimming with red and black fruits, spice and smoke, an outstanding bouquet and firm structure that is ageable yet drinkable now.

If you plan to visit Napa Valley and desire luxury accommodations nestled in the eastern hills above the Stags Leap District boasting wonderful vistas and top-flight amenities, consider the Poetry Inn. Five rooms, in a cozy craftsman-style, offer sanctuary following a grueling day of winery visits.

Contact visitus@poetryinn.com or Cliff Lede Vineyards at info@cliffledevineyards.com, or view the web site at www.cliffledevineyards.com.

reservations. Liquor. 39495 North Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.646.7900.

Olga’s Kitchen: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Also 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.

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Breggo Cellars After experiencing success creating Bordeaux varietal wines in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley, Lede found himself increasingly interested in pinot noir. He found the elegant nature of the pinot noirs from Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley very appealing as well as the aromatic character of the appellation’s white wines, including gewurztraminer, riesling, pinot gris and chardonnay.

While visiting, Lede discovered Breggo Cellars, a promising start-up in Anderson Valley. He discovered that winemaker Ryan Hodgins had crafted remarkable wines and felt confident that with the finest equipment and instilled with concept of quality, Breggo could realize its potential.

Hodgins explains, “The key to our early success was sourcing from the best vineyards in Anderson Valley. Working with the same growers since Breggo’s founding means that I now have an intimate understanding of each site and can focus on the details in the vineyard that make great wine.” Lede seems to have discovered another farmer-winemaker.

Try the best from Breggo: Riesling 2010, Anderson Valley, $28; Pinot Noir 2010, Anderson Valley, $45; Pinot Gris 2010, Anderson Valley, $30; Pinot Gris ‘Wiley’ 2009, Anderson Valley, $32.

Wine Picks Wines have seasonal appeal.

Because March is half winter and nearly half spring, we’re suggesting a potpourri from which to choose.

Best of the best: 2011 Rodney Strong Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, $25. A steal at this price.

Three French wines from Gerard Bertrand are delicious: 2010 Corbieres, $15; 2008 Tautavel Cotes du Roussillon Village, $19; and the excellent 2010 Cigalus Vin de Pays D’Oc, $50.

Two Spanish reds are well-priced: 2009 Vina Pomal Rioja Crianza, $15, and 2010 Vina Zaco Tempranillo, Rioja, $15 Merlot continues to be maligned. The following will not be on that list: 2008 Grgich Hills Napa Valley, $42, and 2010 Shafer Napa Valley, $50.

Dark red fruits, rich and full bodied, that’s a good cabernet sauvignon!

2009 Vina Robles, $24.

Three from Napa Valley’s Judd’s Hill are fruit-filled and rich: 2009 Judd’s Hill Napa Valley, $48; 2008 Judd’s Hill Meritage, $48; and 2009 Judd’s Hill Rutherford $48.

2008 Dry Creek Vineyard Endeavor, $65, is a special occasion pour.

Eleanor & Ray Heald have contributed to numerous international publications, including the Quarterly Review of Wines. Contact them by e-mail at focusonwine@aol.com.

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

248.253.9877.

Peabody’s: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 34965 Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.644.5222.

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

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

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

248.645.6999.

Qdoba: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 795 East Maple Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.988.8941.

Also 42967 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Township, 48304.

248.874.1876

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

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

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

Sanders: American. Lunch, daily. No reservations. 167 N. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.3215.

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. Liquor. 273 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.645.9123.

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

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

Sy Thai Cafe: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 315 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.9830.

Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro: American.

Dinner.

Monday-Saturday.

Sunday brunch. Reservations. Liquor. 55 S. Bates Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.731.7066.

The Corner Bar: American. Dinner.

Wednesday-Saturday.

Reservations.

Liquor.

100 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.2958.

The Gallery Restaurant: American.

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

The Moose Preserve Bar & Grill: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 2395 S. Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.858.7688.

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

Liquor.

100 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.642.5999.

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

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

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.

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

653 S. Adams. Birmingham, 48009.

248.593.7964.

What Crepe?: French. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, Breakfast & Lunch, Sunday. No reservations. 172 N. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009.

248.792.5634.

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

248.566.3566

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tonyanewberry@gmail.com

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www.tonyanewberry.net

direct: 248.390.8833

N E W B E R R Y

275 S Old Woodward, Downtown Birmingham

THE COMMUNITY HOUSE Do you know who’s in town?

An Important Economic Resource: Too many people and businesses in the Birmingham area don’t realize that with over 200,000 people coming through The Community House’s doors every year, what a positive economic impact TCH has on the vitality of the local Birmingham area. Most people walk or drive by TCH with warm feelings, thinking it’s a lovely building, and trusting it will always be there. The positive impact on the businesses in Birmingham from TCH patrons “walking across the park” coming to or going from TCH, is huge. We also add to the enrichment and vibrancy of the local businesses’ employees, as they come to the ‘House’ to enjoy our classes, programs and events.

People leave the ‘House’ each morning, noon and night to get a cup of coffee, glass of wine or dinner at one of the multitude of wonderful local restaurants; run to grab a yogurt, do some shopping Camille Jayne or see a movie. Occasionally, I hear them saying they are rushing out our doors to walk over to see their investment or legal advisors.

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Keep TCH Vital: The more vital TCH is, the more vital Birmingham remains. It’s a direct correlation – no different than other destination points that help bring people into town. That is why we hold community event fundraisers throughout the year. As a nonprofit, we need to raise money to stay open! The money people pay to take a class or a seminar covers only the cost of those programs. $400,000 of our fund raising is used to subsidize other nonprofits who meet here at either no, or greatly reduced, rates. Where would these nonprofits go if TCH wasn’t here? Our 90-year-old, 40,000 square foot building that welcomes these 200,000 people costs a tremendous amount to maintain and update for everyone’s safety and enjoyment. We get no money from taxes or millage support. And we have no Medicare available to help our 90-year-old structure stay in shape!

TCH Raising Money for At-Risk Children’s Outreach Programs: Part of our nonprofit mission is to help strengthen our surrounding communities by providing leadership training, exercise and nutrition programs, as well as art and music workshops to underserved children whose families and schools are unable to pay. These programs are critical to helping youth get on the right life track. In 2012 alone, the money we raised helped 750 children. So many more are in need.

EASTER BRUNCH & EASTER EGG HUNT AT TCH Easter Sunday Brunch and Easter Egg Hunt: March 31st: We get such glowing reviews with our new chef’s menu for our brunch buffets, we thought no better place to have a lovely Easter Sunday Brunch than our Grand Ballroom – AND an Easter egg hunt for the little ones around the “House”.

There will be a buffet filled with all the breakfast and lunch delights you love, and children friendly food, plus a visit with Mr. Easter Bunny in the Bunny Room, and a fun Easter Egg hunt all around the House. Seatings at 11a.m. and 1 p.m.. Easter egg hunts at noon and 2 p.m. Adults $22; children $12.

Reservations required. Go to: www.tchserves.org or call 248.644.5832.

LEARN AND NETWORK Bulletproof Your Success™ Professional Development Lecture - Wed. March 13th: “Position Yourself Better Through Your Personal Brand.” Your personal brand ultimately determines your success on the job. It is your most valuable asset. This lecture will give you the tools to build the foundation of your personal brand, how to be the ambassador of your brand, and how it fits within the company brand where you work. $35/ lecture; 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Jill Jordan, personal branding consultant, will join Camille Jayne as guest lecturer. See the complete line up and registers at: www.tchbulletproof.org.

Downtown Publications is excited to present its annual edition of The Guide for 2013.

Designed as a high-quality stock, convenient-size publication that will serve as the definitive directory to the communities of Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Bloomfield Hills.

We created a publication that is more befitting these special communities and we think we are uniquely qualified to capture the essential information for the Birmingham/Bloomfield area.

With our monthly newsmagazine, Downtown, we established a track record of producing a quality, upscale editorial and advertising product. We applied these same high standards to The Guide in 2012, which proved an overwhelming success.

The Guide will serve as the source of essential information for local residents and newcomers to the area, reaching nearly 25,000 by direct mail in April.

Make sure your business is represented in The Guide.

Feel free to either phone or e-mail Advertising Manager Jill Cesarz at 248.792.6464/jillcesarz@downtownpublications.com

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DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM/BLOOMFIELD 124 WEST MAPLE ROAD BIRMINGHAM 48009 P: 248.792.6464 downtownpublications.com

Come visit us often, and thank you for letting us serve you.

Camille Jayne is President & CEO of TCH. downtownpublications.com

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

NAIAS Charity Preview

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NAIAS Charity Preview “I love this event. It’s Detroit at its Sally Gerak best,” declared Ellen Rogers, who was attending her 17th Charity Preview of the North American International Auto Show. Some in the glittering crowd of 13,000plus started the party at the ribbon cutting ceremony. Cobo’s ongoing renovation offered a new atrium location for it and several hundred people were able to sit stadium style on the stairs that faced the stage. Civic pride was unabashed at the soiree. Gov. Rick Snyder bragged that Michigan-made vehicles had garnered the top car and top truck titles earlier in the week, and Mayor Dave Bing bragged that Detroit, like the car industry, “…is back.”

Supreme lookalikes sang Motown hits in the lobby with The Detroit Shoppe in the background as an audience of people sipping champagne watched. A mini Michigan Thanksgiving Parade marched through the show aisles. From afar, it looked like Detroit’s knight in shining armor Dan Gilbert sitting in the Ford Falcon that brought up the rear. (If it wasn’t Gilbert it should have been given the “Detroit’s coming back” atmosphere at the event.)

Kudos to the Detroit Auto Dealers Association. The event raised $3.9-million for charities serving children.

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3 1. Auto show 2000 chair Russ (left) and Kathy Shelton of Rochester and auto show 2012 chair Bill Perkins of Bloomfield. 2. Andrea Blake (left) of Oak Park with Janice Morgan and Sue and Jeff Sadowski of Birmingham.

3. Whit Ramonat (left), Frank Ordonez and Mike Burwell of Bloomfield with Tom Saeli of Birmingham. 4. Cheryl Hall Lindsay (left) of W. Bloomfield with Grant and Kim Reuss of Bloomfield. 5. Molly Saeli (left) of Birmingham with Julia Ramona, Jamie Burwell and Candace Ordonez of Bloomfield. 6. Amanda Fisher (left) of Birmingham with her parents Lauren and Philip Fisher and Fair Radom and Patricia Mooradian of Bloomfield. 7. Carol and Mike Zuzenak of Bloomfield. 8. Dr. Mark (left) and Roz Baughman of Birmingham with David Lindsay of W. Bloomfield. 9. Jeff and Ina Levinson of Bloomfield.

The Children’s Center’s AutoGlow!

The 7,500 at-risk children served by The Children’s Center had 1,000 supporters at Ford Field before and after the Charity Preview for the sold out AutoGlow. The Vive Detroit theme was a salute to Detroit’s French history as well as a rallying cry for those working to revive the city. Street musicians, entertainers, can can dancers, lounge vignettes and signage all had French accents. So did the menu. It included vichyssoise “shooters”, fried potatoes served in a paper cone, savory and sweet crepes, Coquille St. Jacques, cog au vin, duck l’orange, and desserts like pot de crème, apple charlotte and mini crème brulee. Folks paused their partying for the brief program emceed by WJR’s Steve Courtney and featuring welcomes and words of gratitude from Gov. Rick Snyder, party co-chair Bill Ford, and TCC CEO Debora Matthews. Then they danced until midnight, happy that their largesse had raised more than $250,000 for the center.

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Exhbition Opening Reception at the BBAC The first to view the intriguing work of Jack Johnson, Jill Rowan, Larry Zdeb and members of the BBAC Independent Painters in the BBAC’s first exhibition of 2013 were those at the Opening Reception. These included BBAC advocates like the Don Rochlens, Brad Hosts, Sean Degens, current and former students of Karen Halpren and Shirley Maylock, who was a child actress on the “Lone Ranger” and has worked with Zdeb in his other role as a radio historian. The exhibit ran through Feb. 22.

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Junior League anniversary kick off Before Zazio’s closed, the Junior League of Birmingham staged a gathering there to kick off its 60th anniversary celebration and 110 active and sustaining members attended. More than one of the actives said, “We want to bring the league back to what it was.” They referred to the JLB’s halcyon days when the league hosted the Detroit Virginia Slims professional tennis tour stop, the

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK league’s Bargain Box resale shop was bustling in Birmingham and hundreds flocked to the now defunct Jacobson’s stores for the JLB’s Mistletoe Madness fundraiser. Those memories, as well as all the community service projects and the friendships fostered over the years, will be saluted at the Anniversary Gala - Still Sparkling After 60 Years – Saturday, April 27 at a famous country club in Bloomfield Township. For reservations ($125), go to www.jlbham.org.

The Children’s Center’s AutoGlow!

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1. Past event chairs/committee members Patricia and Dan Frank of Bloomfield. 2. Dan (left) and Dayna Rasschaert of Birmingham and Rosemary and Mike Cotter of Bloomfield. 3. Sponsor Visible Measure’s Lynn Mroz of Rochester with her son, Michael and husband John. 4. Noelle Schiffer (left) of Birmingham and Detroit Circus performer Alison Nawrocki. 5. Jeff Ferguson of Wyandotte and Pamela Ayres of Bloomfield. 6. Fair Radom (left) and Paricia Mooradian of Bloomfield and “café musician” Janet Houston of Wyandotte. 7. Connie Hogan (left) and Roz Lullove Cooperman of Bloomfield.

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Exhbition Opening Reception at the BBAC

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1. Arlene (left) and BBAC board member Don Rochen with Brad Host of Birmingham. 2. Janice and Sean Degen of Bloomfield. 3. Exhibitor/artist Karen Halpern (right) of Bloomfield with her students Alice Belfrie (left), Karen Lehne of Troy and Portia O’Brien of Royal Oak.

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Junior League anniversary kick off

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1. Heather Gillespie (left) of Bloomfield with celebration chairs Linda Krause of Novi and Lisa Krueger of Birmingham.

2. Committee members Dayna Ratliff (left) of Beverly Hills, Anna Galati of Birmingham and Meredith Morse and Nettie Boivin of Bloomfield. 3. Cindy Evans (left) of Birmingham with Rebecca Prior, Molly Markley and Monica Schwanitz of Bloomfield. 4. Committee members Katie Roberts and Jen Pathel of Birmingham. 5. Susan Blue (left) of Birmingham, Meghan Crane of Berkley and Allison Johnson of Orchard Lake.

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Motor City Open Sponsor Party Thirty members of the Birmingham Athletic Club worked on the committee staging the recently concluded 14th annual Motor City Open professional squash tournament presented

by The Suburban Collection. They took their marching orders from cochairs Michael Beauregard, Peter Schmidt and Andrew Pritchard, as well as tournament director Julian Wellings. According to the international roster of players who came from all over the world to play, the MCO is one of the most respected stops on the professional tour, noted for its hospitality and prize money ($70,000 total

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HAVEN’s Celebration of Strength With determination to end sexual and domestic abuse in Oakland County, HAVEN once a year celebrates individuals and corporations who are exceptionally supportive of its mission. This year the cocktail hour social brought nearly 100 to the Townsend. New board president Terry Merritt welcomed them and WDIV’s Paula Tutman, with her trademark enthusiasm, was the emcee. Among other news items, CEO Beth Morrison announced that ground will be broken this summer for HAVEN’s new home near the Oakland County Center. The honorees were Laura Solomon, Dr. Mary Jo Malafa, Ford Motor Credit, Leslie Banas, and Sara Ganin, the CNN reporter who broke the Penn State child abuse scandal. Detroit News reporter Laura Berman, speaking in place of Ganin, who was unable to attend, noted that it’s a reporter’s job to dig up information that is not always popular. The Celebration event is not really a fundraiser but it did add some dollars ($4,000) to the treasury.

HAVEN’s signature fundraiser is Promenade of Hope, Thursday, April 25 at the Royal Park Hotel. To get involved, contact Kristi Pavlak at (248) 334-1284, ext. 341.

purse). Activities kicked off on Thursday with the Sponsors Charity Party. It not only saluted the 63 event sponsors, it also offered a silent auction benefiting Karmanos Cancer Institute and Racquet Up Detroit, a program for at risk youth. Some 400 people turned out for the party, which actually began in the TRW hospitality suite adjacent to the squash courts.

Among those happily in attendance was BAC co-founder Fred Mattaei.

When tournament play in front of the capacity crowd of 125 concluded the following Tuesday, Egypt’s Amr Shabana got the winner’s trophy, a check for $13,300, and $6,000 Rolex watch from Greenstone’s Jewelers.

Center for Exceptional Families’ Dinner Pete and Jill Davis and David and Nadine Farbman hosted a splendid dinner at the Farbman’s home so David and Pete could explain why they so passionately support the Center for Exceptional Families at Oakwood Healthcare. They did make compelling pitches and showed a moving video of one family’s experiences at CEF. But the most convincing spokesperson was Dr. Susan Youngs, the medical director at the 15-year old CEF. She spoke lovingly about “…the amazing ...and perfect little people” in her care, especially those whose complex special needs make them “…one of a kinds.” Oakwood CEO Brian Connolly also bragged that the CEF is “…clinically the finest program in the country…treating the family as well as the child.” The web site http://www.oakwood.org/cef – is definitely worth a visit. Oakwood’s Red Tie Ball April 27 at the Joe Louis Arena will benefit the CEF, as well as the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the hospital. For details, go to oakwood.org/foundation.

Voices of the Dream Awards/Concert The 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech inspired Spill the Honey Project founder Dr. Shari Rogers to celebrate the commitments to social change shared by King and the Jewish community. Seven hundred people turned out at the Gem Theatre for the celebration. Some 450 of them arrived early for the strolling buffet.

The show successfully interspersed award presentations with entertainment. UAW Vice President General Holiefield ended his acceptance speech with an urgent plea to entrepreneurs in the crowd “…to please downtownpublications.com

HAVEN’s Celebration of Strength

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1. Honoree Leslie Banas (left) and HAVEN CEO Beth Morrison of Bloomfield with board chair Terry Merritt of Novi. 2. Bill Canney (left) of Grosse Pointe, Carole Winnard Brumm and Rich Beer of Bloomfield. 3. Pam Wyett (left) of Bloomfield and Kathy Birney of Beverly Hills. 4. Board members Beth Lieberman of W. Bloomfield and Dr. Brent Davidson of Bloomfield. 5. Beth Morrison (standing left) of Bloomfield with honoree Dr. Mary Jo Malafa of Hartland and honoree Ford Motor Credit’s Jim Moritz and his wife Trish of Grosse Pointe. 6. Lara Phillips (left) of Rochester Hills, Kathy Elston and Emily Matuszczak of Waterford and Catherine Beer of Bloomfield. 7. Emcee WDIV’s Paula Tutman (left) with honoree Laura Solomon of W. Bloomfield and Beth Morrison of Bloomfield.

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1. Co-chairs Peter Schmidt (left) and Mike Beauregard with BAC founder Fred Matthaei of Bloomfield and co-chair Andrew Pritchard of Berkley.

2. Jeff Gembis (left) and Chris Hopkins of Birmingham and sponsor TRW’s John Plant of Bloomfield. 3. Paul Gamble (left) and Doug Firth of Birmingham. 4. Julie (left) and Nick Karamanos of Bloomfield with auction co-chairs Roger and Jill Hilborn of Troy. 5. Beneficiary Racquet Up Detroit director Derek Aguirre (left) of Detroit with co-chair Mike Beauregard of Bloomfield and committee member Robert Moll of Birmingham.

6. Janie Richard (left) and John Prebay of Bloomfield and MCO co-chair Peter Schmidt of Birmingham. 7. Tom Post (left), Jerry McGlynn and Patrick Rode of Bloomfield. 8. Tournament director Julian Wellings (left) with Nate Moll of Birmingham and Dominic Dadabbo of Bloomfield.

9. Vincent Mencotti of Birmingham (left), and Charlie Beauregard, Aryanna Dadabbo and Tatyanna Dabaddo of Bloomfield. 10. Fred Matthaei (left) of Bloomfield and co-chair Andrew Pritchard of Berkley.

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK hire more workers.” The Detroit Jewish News’ Arthur Horwitz, the Chaldean News’ Martin Manna, and the Michigan Chronicle’s Bankole Thompson accepted awards for working to find common ground among differences. But the star of the awardees was civil rights worker/Stanford professor Dr. Clarence B. Jones who had been a speech writer and legal counsel for MLK and spoke of those days.

The performers were excellent. The Selected of God choir is always a crowd pleaser. Violinist Miri Ben-Aro captivated with her powerful “Symphony of Brotherhood”. Singer Elijah J entertained a la Michael Jackson. Poet Jessica Care’s tribute to MLK was truly memorable. But the big star of the show was Broadway star Simone, daughter of the iconic Nina Simone, who sang songs her mother made famous during the Civil Rights movement like “Why? (The King Of Love Is Dead)” and “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”.

There was wild applause when Simone jumped down from the stage to embrace Jones who was sitting in the first row. The evening grossed $75,000, with some of that benefiting MLK Research and Education Institute at Stanford University and Defeat the Label’s Anti-bullying campaign.

Center for Exceptional Families’ Dinner

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1 1. Cheryl (left) and Mark Sawicki of Huntington Woods and Sheila and Huaat Chaudhary of Birmingham. 2. Brian Connolly (center) of Grosse Pointe with Dr. Mike and Ginny Geheb of Bloomfield. 3. Tonia Victor (center) of Bloomfield with David Jacob (left) and Burt Farbman of Franklin. 4. Event co-hosts Jill (left) and Peter Davis and David and Nadine Farbman of Bloomfield.

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Voices of the Dream Awards/Concert

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4 1. Event chair Dennis Archer, Jr. (left) of Detroit and co-chairs Amie and Daniel Stern of Birmingham.

2. Honoree Arthur (left) and Gina Horwitz of W. Bloomfield with Hillary Shaw of Bloomfield. 3. Barbara Kratchman (left) of Bloomfield and Marilyn Gardiner of Beverly Hills. 4. John Luce (left) of Bloomfield with Susan and Bink Harvey and Dan Levine of Birmingham. 5. Morgan Slaven (left) and her mother/event co-chair Amie Stern of Birmingham.

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Links Inaugural Celebration The Oakland County Chapter of The Links’ Fulfilling The Dream Inaugural Celebration attracted more than 400 to the St. John Armenian Banquet Hall. Big screen televisions enabled them watch the official festivities in Washington while the Hidden Agenda band and Ron Jackson and his ballroom dancers kept the dance floor bustling. Jazz pianist Charles Anthony played in another intimate, club-like setting.

The Martin Luther King Holiday event raised more than $10,000 to support the Link’s community service programs in Oakland County. For more information about the volunteer organization for women of color, go to oaklandcountylinks.org or www.linksinc.org.

CARE House’s Circle of Friends Tom and Vicki Celani, longtime, generous supporters of CARE House and its mission to prevent child abuse, welcomed a sold out group of 115 Circle of Friends patrons to their Bloomfield Hills home the evening 03.13

SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK CARE House’s Circle of Friends

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1. Dave (left) and event co-chairs Kappy Trott of Birmingham and Maryclare Pulte of Bloomfield with Bill Stachnik of Berkley.

2. Event host Tom Celani (left) with Laura, Don and Pamela Kegley of Bloomfield. 3. Event host Vicki Celani with guest speaker Cheryl Burke of Los Angeles, CA. 4. Joann Gordon of Bloomfield and her son/event volunteer Steven. 5. Maggie Allesee (left) and Janet Chorkey of Bloomfield with Beckie Francis Russi of Rochester Hills. 6. Ben Celani with Jan Hoge of Bloomfield. 7. Heidi Kreindler (left) of Birmingham and Sharri Zwierzchowski of Bloomfield. 8. Valerie and Brad Ahlgren of Bloomfield. 9. Paul Hoge (left) of Bloomfield, Diana Howard of Franklin and Cindy Oliver of Birmingham. 10. Bill (left) and Maria Roberts with Denise Abrash of Bloomfield.

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before the luncheon. The party was notable for the Celani’s warm hospitality (Celani Family Vineyards wines and splendid victuals from Capital Grille), and friendly socializing with celebrity guest Cheryl Burke. The next day at the Townsend there was also a sold out crowd of 350 including: CoF founders Vicki Celani, Elyse Foltyn and Dr. Linda Sircus; new 10year members Jennie Cascio and Fair Radom; and a dedicated group that has attended all 17 luncheons: Foltyn, Maggie Allesee, Jan Hoge, Lil Erdeljan, Barbara Goldberg and Darlene Jackson.

Board president Cathy Weissenborn’s introduction of new executive director Carol Furlong emphasized her “passion for protecting children.” This devotion was quite evident when Furlong praised the work of the police officers, judges, CARE House therapists, and L. Brooks Patterson and his staff who were in the audience. Both a video created and donated by David Bark (Lightshine Productions) and Cheryl Burke’s speech highlighted how silence cripples abuse victims. Burke, who is famous for her winning performances on “Dancing with Stars”, was speaking publicly for just the second time about the abuse she endured for years and revealed in a book published in 2011. “(For me) dance was an escape…I didn’t have to talk,” she explained, adding “Therapy is so important…You have to talk about it,” she said. She got a standing ovation, especially from Al Goldstein, an unabashed 86-year-old Burke fan. He said he goes ballroom dancing every Saturday night and before lunch had told Cheryl she was “…my girlfriend but she didn’t know it.” Thanks to sponsorships by event honoree Mackinac Partners and the Straith Clinic, the 17th annual Circle of Friends raised more than $90,000 for CARE House.

St. Hugo School’s BIDBOWL MMXlll The savvy parents planning St. Hugo’s auction the night before the Super Bowl built the party around that theme. And the 400-plus school fans that crowded into Orchard Lake Country Club for the action were as enthusiastic to be “bowling” as their counterparts in New Orleans.

Especially those parents whose children had been on the teams that created 19 pieces of art for the silent auction. In total, the silent auction offered 235 items, including 29 Teacher 03.13

Treasures donated by teachers at the Blue Ribbon school and 33 parties-forall-ages. When it closed, the silent auction had generated $30,000 in bids. A strolling dinner, dancing to music by Good Gravy, and the live auction of 13 items conducted by Dan Ervin rounded out the game plan. The latter raised $30,000, bringing the event total to $134,000 net and a satisfied sigh from the coaches (i.e. chairs) Laurie Keoleoan, Teresa St. Andre, Gina Rook, and Kathy Kowalewski.

Mad About Regis School Auction Since St. Regis School was founded in the early 1960s, the auction planners glommed on to the “Mad Men” cable TV show set in the 1960s advertising world for the party aesthetics. It inspired giant martini glass center pieces, a slick program book and some apparel choices - suits and fedoras for men, full skirts with tiny waists and pearls for women. More than 340 St. Regis boosters attended the annual happening at Birmingham Country Club. The live auction of 11 items brought in $20,000-plus.

The silent auction was unique. It offered 49 “parties” for all ages displayed with appropriate accessories for the high bidder. For example, the bid sheet for Lacrosse Camp with Mr. Hamilton was surrounded by lacrosse sticks handmade and donated by Sean Higgins. Megan Maderosian and Meg Stenger chaired the event and are thrilled that their committee’s hard work is expected to match or exceed the previous event high of $140,000.

Marian High School Benefit Evening The MHS Mothers Club, headed by Katie Parks and Catherine Ronnisch, and the Dads’ Club, headed by Brad Hyde, staged their annual Benefit Evening, and 274 flocked to the Bloomfield Township school for the festivities. Some attended Mass before the partying and auction bidding. All dinned on the savory Italian cuisine catered by Cathy Whetherford’s The Sweetest Gourmet and paused their chatting long enough to applaud the selections

by Christina Kelbert’s Marian Melodies choral ensemble. The silent auction electronic bidding was the buzz of the night. Among the hot silent auction items were the baseball autographed by Justin Verlander and the football autographed by the MHS Powder Puff Football team encased in downtownpublications.com

CARE House Circle of Friends Luncheon

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1. Lori Pesta (left), Sarah Thewes, and Jeanne Bourget of Bloomfield and Anna Rea of Birmingham. 2. Shari Sako-Bojan (left) of Royal Oak, Frannie Greenebaum of Bloomfield and Jan Bird of Birmingham. 3. Lynn Radtke (right) of Bloomfield and her father Al Goldstein of Commerce. 4. Elizabeth Brazilian (left) of Birmingham and Betsy Reich of Sylvan Lake. 5.

Maggie Hunter (center) of Troy with Charles Wickins (left) and Brier Neel of Birmingham.

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St. Hugo School’s BIDBOWL MMXlll

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1. Event chairs Teresa St. Andre (left), Kathy Kowalewski, Gina Rook and Laurie Keoleian of Bloomfield. 2. Caroline and Joe Love of Bloomfield.

3. Molly DeFrancesco and her husband John of Bloomfield. 4. Randi Seeber of Bloomfield.

5. Auctioneer Dan Ervin with his wife Lori of Bloomfield. 6. Teresa (left) and Steve St. Andre of Bloomfield with associate pastor Father David Cybulski. 7. Judy Martinek (left) of Bloomfield with school principal Sister Margaret Van Velzen.

8. Beth Bouthard (left) and Laurie MacMichael of Bloomfield. Photos by Lynn Stinson.

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1. Mike (left) and Megan Marderosian of Birmingham and Meg and Matt Stenger of Beverly Hills. 2. Kim Frye (left) with Jen Simpson and Molly Lamarche of Bloomfield. 3. Alyson Brown (left) of Birmingham and Tracey Wuyczyk of Beverly Hills with Christina Yono (left) of W. Bloomfield. 4. Amy Rich (left) of Birmingham with Chris and Ruth Lynch and Tinney Newman of Beverly Hills. 5. Paul Terrill (left) of Bloomfield, Don Huldin, Judd Pietrosante and John Newman of Beverly Hills.

6. Mike Kulka (left), Shanna and Nick Gorga and Joseph Impastato of Birmingham.

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK a display case. Dennis and Marily Fasset bought the latter as a birthday present for their daughter who cherishes her memories of playing on that team. The live auction of 16 items was enlivened half way through by the entertaining Heads or Tails raffle supporting the Dads’ Club scholarship fund and Sr. Lenore’s Wish List. The very happy last player standing, Kendra Degroat, won an iPad. Many concluded the evening at the Afterglow . Seventy students comprised the event volunteer crew that helped the committee for two days. Early estimates of the total proceeds are $117,000-plus.

Marian High School Benefit Evening

1. Event co-chairs Mike (left) and Kelly Ryan of Troy and Jim and Jane Davlin of Bloomfield. 2. Barb Floravante (left) of Franklin and Carolyn Fascetti of Bloomfield. 3. Ed (left) and Pat Fisher and Tim McConaghy of Birmingham, Julia and Paul Holtgreive of Troy, and Clare Troy of Rochester Hills; (front row) Karen and Jaques Pasquier of Troy, Sr Pat McCluskey of Royal Oak and Paul Troy of Rochester Hills.

4. Steve Tuohy (left) of Bloomfield and Tom Dabaldo of Birmingham.

5. John and Mary Sue Everly of Beverly Hills. 6. Ann Pulte Cornillie (left) of Troy and Lisa Obee of Beverly Hills. 7. Auctioneer Rip Hayes of Bloomfield. Photos by Lynn Stinson.

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Brookside Kaleidoscope Patron Party Cranbrook Schools Brookside’s annual Kaleidoscope Patron Party attracted 220 school boosters to the Henry Ford Museum.

Guests cocktailed and noshed while they bid in the silent auction. It was positioned so they could also peruse some of the “Driving America” exhibition and a video montage of the Brookside children. After dinner, a live auction generated lively bidding on several items, including exclusive dinners and getaway trips. Donors also raised their paddles to support the Schiller Summer Institute for Teachers which provides summer learning enhancement for the Brookside faculty. The evening raised $129,000. The main event Saturday, March 9, at the school will feature Zack Sklar’s Cutting Edge Cuisine in a strolling dinner and silent and live auctions.

For tickets ($125), call (248) 645-7500.

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Brookside Kaleidoscope Patron Party

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1. Patron Party co-chairs Tillie Browett (left) and Gina Schmakel (right) of Bloomfield with Kaleidoscope co-chairs Denise Parker of Bloomfield, Stacy Quinn of W. Bloomfield and Jacki Roessler of Bloomfield. 2. Tori Sawula (left) and Kai Robinson of Bloomfield. Photos provided.

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Passover Tables Patron Prelude Neiman Marcus hosted a champagne accented Prelude for the fourth annual Passover Tables, an exhibition of holiday theme tablescapes benefiting the religious school at Temple Beth El. NM designers had created four unique samples of Passover tables which Lindsey Machacek used to demonstrate decorating tips like mini-florals for each person. Carol Ziecik and Jill Syme are the honorary chairs of the main event - a cocktail party 6:30–8:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 13 at the temple - which Karen Borenstein is chairing. It will feature spirits and small bites catered by Zack Sklar’s Cutting Edge Cuisine plus the creatively inspired and designed Passover-themed tablescapes. For tickets ($75), call (248) 8650617 ext. 2.

Variety Table Tops Designers Party Speaking of tables, Michael Coyne and Caroline Groeneveld are chairing Variety’s 2013 Table Tops Luncheon Wednesday, April 10, at Pine Lake Country Club. Because it features luncheon tables created by designers, the chairs tossed a cocktail party at Coyne’s Bloomfield home to recruit table designers.

After serious socializing and sipping, Coyne told the 70 guests about the popularity of the 03.13

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK event (sold out often before the invitations are mailed) and the guest speaker (LA designer/author Mary McDonald). But the most convincing speaker was “Annabelle’s mom”, Michelle Murphy, who is doing the program.

She shared a poignant story about her daughter, who was born without arms below the elbow, and gets lifelike prostheses at the Variety Myoelectric Center. As of Feb. 12, 24 designers had committed to do a table. For tickets ($75-luncheon; $175-luncheon & Patron Party with McDonald the night before the luncheon), call Variety at (248) 258-5511.

Passover Tables Patron Prelude

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1. Arlene Keller (left) and honorary co-chair Jill Syme of Bloomfield with event chair Karen Borenstein of Birmingham. 2. Table designer Treger Strasberg (left) and committee member Heidi Kreindler of Birmingham. 3. Past chair Elyse Foltyn (left) of Birmingham and NM’s Lindsey Machacek of Farmington. 4. Table designer Liz Modell (left) and event pioneer Lil Erdeljan of Bloomfield. 5. Table designer Nicole Lester (left) and Louise Sable of Bloomfield. 6. Anne Weiner (left) of Bloomfield and Jon Borenstein of Birmingham.

7. Florence Schuman (left) of Farmington Hills, Deloris Weinstein-Hall of Franklin, and Janelle McCammon of Bloomfield.

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Medical Society Chinese New Year The sophisticated decorations stole the show at the Wayne County Medical Society Foundation’s Chinese New Year Celebration which drew more than 200 to the Roostertail.

To salute the “Year of the Snake”, small black reptiles (actually tightly rolled napkins) rose out of each coffee cup on the colorfully dressed tables. The cuisine was, of course, Chinese and the traditional Chinese dragon weaved its way around the room. The ethnic party theme is appropriate for the event because, like the legendary reverence of the Chinese for their elderly, the foundation fundraiser supports elder abuse awareness and prevention programs.

This year it honored: Rev. Dr. Jimmy Womack, a retired physician and politician, and Dr. Lourdes V. Andaya and Rosemary Bannon, both small in stature but large in the reach of their philanthropy to metropolitan Detroit. A small silent and live auction raised $5,400, bringing the event proceeds to approximately $15,000.

Variety Table Tops Designers Party Cirque: City Lights, Dark Nights Trish Dewald, president of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Founders Junior Council, welcomed more than 430 to the young professionals auxiliary’s annual Cirque event Feb. 9 in Kresge Court. The winter wonderland décor gave the court a cool vibe and the mixologists from event sponsor William Grant & Sons created two specialty cocktails that mimicked the theme – City Lights and Dark Nights. DJ Prevu and percussionist Jared Sykes kept the white dance floor lively until the past midnight closing time. Forsustenance, the Sodexo party menu offered mini beef and bbq pulled chicken sliders, popcorn cups, homemade chips and small bites.. For diversion, the exhibit “Motor City Muse: Detroit Photographs, Then and Now” was open for exclusive viewing. The Allan Nachmans, Ethan Davidson, David Gaspers, Aimee Lanciault, Anne Strickland, Jason Eddleston, Kristen Lusn, and Ron Victor were some from the area spotted in the chic crowd. For more information, visit www.foundersjuniorcouncil.org.

1 1. 2013 Table Tops chairs and event hosts Caroline Groenveld and Michael Coyne of Bloomfield.

2. Variety president Connie Beckett (left) of Troy, Vera Bradley’s Kim Williams of Rochester Hills, and Schumacher’s Jan Heidel of Birmingham and Whitney Rogers of Waterford. 3. Tami Kessler (left) of Grosse Pointe, Richard Daniels of Bloomfield, Jane Synnestvedt and past chair Jeffrey King of Birmingham. 4. Alysia Gauthier (right) of Farmington Hills, Cory Damen Jenkins and Maureen Fahlbush of Bloomfield, Bret Van Tiem of Royal Oak and Jimmy Angell of Pleasant Ridge.

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

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ENDNOTE

Transparency for public safety departments

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or our feature story this month on how local police departments police and discipline themselves, we were very pleased and impressed with the willingness of the Birmingham and Bloomfield Township police departments to sit down with us and openly discuss their disciplinary policies, what the incidents were over the last four years in each of their departments that required departmental discipline, and how they handled those incidents, and why.

Frankly, local police departments could have stonewalled our Freedom of Information Act requests for information and made if very difficult for us to obtain the information for a story; instead, from those two departments, we felt an openness and actually a desire for the public to know and understand how they make their decisions. The leadership in those departments take their civic responsibility very seriously as public ambassadors for the communities they represent, and expect the officers in their departments to respond in kind.

“I take great pride in having my officers going through the proper conformance and following the proper rules and procedures,” noted Birmingham Police Deputy Chief Mark Clemence.

While each department had a few serious disciplinary problems over the four-year period, for the most part, most of the disciplined incidents were minor.

“Every violation is investigated at the highest

level, no matter what the outcome is,” said Bloomfield Township Deputy Police Chief Geof Gaudard. “We're not going to judge the outcome; you've got to judge the process. We're going to learn from our mistakes to prevent our officers from making the same mistakes again.”

In the case of the Bloomfield Hills Police Department, we sense that the chief of police is being a little more reticent and a little less forthcoming regarding police disciplinary incidents, and less transparent in what is going on in the city and his department. Bloomfield Hills Police Chief Richard Matott's lack of candor, even when pressed, might in part be because he feels under siege, both by the press and by the city commission and city manager, since fall of 2012, when he was confronted by a city commission which began to question what they perceived as excessive overtime costs and management control issues, including two serious departmental disciplinary issues involving officers being arrested for off-duty DUIs. While each of the officers received several weeks suspension without pay, another local official opined, “If you have to suspend an officer for more than two weeks, you may as well fire them.”

In October 2012, the city commission affirmed that city manager Jay Cravens oversees all city department managers, including the police chief, and Matott is now answerable to Cravens, as all department managers should be. In November 2012, the city commission unanimously enacted

an anti-nepotism ordinance for all city government, spurred on in part because Chief Matott's son is a public safety officer in Bloomfield Hills, and was the subject of one of the two serious disciplinary incidents described in our story.

From our discussions with various city officials, two things have come to light. We like the institution of the last chance agreements throughout the Bloomfield Hills department and the city, which are being used by more and more municipalities. Instead of immediately terminating the employee, the last chance agreement is negotiated, giving the employee who has committed serious misconduct one last chance to keep his/her job, provided certain conditions are met. The written agreements are signed by the employee, the union and the employer.

But we're a little concerned to have learned, from various officials, such as Cravens, that the police department in Bloomfield Hills may not have been keeping good records, perhaps going back years. Matott told us he only keeps serious transgressions in officers' files, disposing of the minor ones. Good record keeping is critical for any organization, but most especially for a department where an ongoing record of performance, and problems, is an important management tool.

We feel open, honest dialogue leads to transparent government, a critical component of a public safety department for every municipality.

Transitional zoning a good choice

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irmingham has been in the midst of a rezoning debate over a vacant parcel at the corner of Woodward, Oakland, and Park streets for the last several months, and its not the first time. In 1998, the site, which then had a ramshackle home on it, was purchased. The owner attempted to have the site rezoned for multifamily, and failing at that endeavor, put the house and lot up for sale. When the home didn't sell, it was torn down, and the lot alone was put up for sale. And there it has been, since 1999, as all around it Birmingham has grown up and changed.

In the last year, the reputable development firm Burton-Katzman has optioned the property, with the proviso that they could have the site rezoned from single family to general business, to build sixunit rowhouse-style townhouses, for lease. Initially, they proposed to the city's planning board a 14unit apartment building, which did not fly with either the planning board or residents. Revised plans for six units on the 50 foot by 140 foot site were recommended by the planning board for conditional rezoning for the site. The townhouses would each be approximately 1,500 square feet,

with two-car attached garages, designed by Hobbs & Black architects.

Residents of the adjacent neighborhood, known as the “little San Francisco” neighborhood due to its topography, continue to object to the rezoning and development of the site, concerned over density, rental concerns and changes to the neighborhood, have written to the city, sent petitions and spoken out at numerous city planning and zoning meetings. At a recent city commission meeting, commissioners acknowledged residents vocality, but were most concerned by the lack of a policy recommendation by city planners and the planning board relative to conditional rezoning, also known as contract zoning.

According to the law, conditional zoning means a zoning in which the governmental body allows a change in zoning activities subject to certain conditions that are designed to protect adjacent land from the loss of use value which might occur if the new zoning activities are allowed without any sort of restrictions. It's a temporary land use, for the specific project only,

and when the project ceases to exist, the property reverts back to its original zoning.

It is allowable in Michigan. The question city commissioners want answered is, is it, and should it be allowable in Birmingham?

We believe it should be, and this property is an ideal example. When the Park property was platted, it was rightly a single-family property. It was in the midst of a residential neighborhood.

But as times have evolved, other homes were torn down, and the downtown business community built up around it. Today, the downtown Birmingham central business district laps at its feet, with one of its five-story parking garages and several five-story office buildings right across the street on Oakland. According to city planners, 60,000 cars pass the corner of Woodward and Oakland each day.

The city needs transitional zoning, which conditional rezoning would accomplish. Residents may not like it, as it's human nature to not want change, especially in their back yard, but in this instance, a thoughtfully redeveloped site would be better than a long vacant parcel.

20

Years

Luke Marton

lmarton@mimutual.com (248) 214-1306 NMLS# 179915

Christian Newberry

cnewberry@mimutual.com (248) 895-8660 NMLS# 13314

*Underwriting Turn Times - Initial Underwriting Purchases/Refinances - 2 Days | Underwriting Conditions - Next Day

NMLS 12901 “Rail District” 2151 Cole Street, Birmingham, MI 48009 www.mimutual.com/retail425

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