Downtown Rochester/Rochester Hills

J. MARCH: SECOND VISIT AT FOREST • GERAK: SOCIAL SCENE DOWNTOWNPUBLICATIONS.COM

FEBRUARY 2016

DOWNTOWN R O C H E S T E R

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WHO ARE YOU? PROFILE OF GREATER ROCHESTER AREA

THE INTERVIEW: PARTY CHIEFS OAKLAND DEMOCRAT, GOP POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS

PROTECTING THE ATHLETES CERTIFIED TRAINERS AT MOST COUNTY SCHOOLS

MEDIA ACCESS TO POLICE FILES HOW NEWS GATHERING GAME HAS CHANGED

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DOWNTOWN02.16

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The role of the high school athletic trainer Certified athletic trainers have become an integral part of high school athletic programs to both maximize student athleticism and and prevent student injuries.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

10

The state's handling of both the toxic water problem in Flint and likely new permits allowing increased pollutants in the air from a Marathon Petroleum plant in southwest Detroit should be a wake up call on long-running environmental injustice in Michigan.

CRIME LOCATOR

13

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

MUNICIPAL

44

Rochester Hills seeks park plan input from residents; used car lot restrictions approved; condo development plans stalled; Rochester weapons ordinance amended; home taken off historic list; South Street Flats at standstill; plus more.

FRONT/BACK

52

The latest on what’s happening in the front and the back of the house in metro Detroit area restaurants with a series of short takes on the latest news and gossip for the industry.

AT THE TABLE

55

Our reviewer returns to Forest, now under new ownership, but finds that execution is still a problem when it comes to what she concedes is a talented chef, Nick Janutol.

THE COVER Buildings from the Van Hoosen Farm as part of the Rochester Hills Museum preservation effort. The farm dates back to 1823. Downtown photo: Laurie Tennent.

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OAKLAND TOWNSHIP 3980 Strathmore Blvd. | $999,900 4 Bedrooms 4 Full, 2 Half Baths 6,808 Total Sq. Ft. MLS# 215021446

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Visit LynnandDeby.com or Like Us on Facebook at Lynn and Deby - Hall & Hunter Realtors 442 South Old Woodward Avenue | Birmingham, Michigan 48009

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Oakland County political party chiefs The heads of the Oakland Republican and Democratic parties talk about changing political trends in the county, and the role of the party this year.

33 Access to police information The methods of disbursing public safety information have changed, as have the means by which the news media gather material for stories.

24

Tom LaGrasso

SOCIAL LIGHTS

57 38 Profile of Greater Rochester With rolling hills, lush woods, flowing streams and a vibrant business sector, the community is among the best of metro Detroit.

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

ENDNOTE

66

Separation of DDA and PSD boards a work in progress; new legislation necessary to allow municipalities and school boards to communicate with their constituencies before ballot proposals.

FACES

14 24 43 56

Laura Cassar Tom LaGrasso Desiree Linden Greg Cesiel

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DOWNTOWN ROCHESTER • ROCHESTER HILLS PUBLISHER David Hohendorf NEWS EDITOR Lisa Brody NEWS STAFF/CONTRIBUTORS Allison Batdorff | Rachel Bechard | Hillary Brody Katie Deska | Kevin Elliott | Sally Gerak | Austen Hohendorf J. March | Kathleen Meisner | Bill Seklar PHOTOGRAPHY/CONTRIBUTORS Jean Lannen | Laurie Tennent Laurie Tennent Studio VIDEO PRODUCTION/CONTRIBUTOR Garrett Hohendorf Giant Slayer ADVERTISING DIRECTOR David Hohendorf ADVERTISING SALES Mark Grablowski GRAPHICS/IT MANAGER Chris Grammer OFFICE 124 W. Maple Birmingham MI 48009 248.792.6464 DISTRIBUTION/SUBSCRIPTIONS Mailed monthly at no charge to homes in Rochester, Rochester Hills and parts of Oakland Township. Additional free copies distributed at high foot-traffic locations in Rochester and Rochester Hills.

For those not receiving a free mail copy, paid subscriptions are available for a $12 annual charge. To secure a paid subscription, go to our website (downtownpublications.com) and click on “subscriptions” in the top index and place your order online or scan the QR Code here.

INCOMING/READER FEEDBACK We welcome feedback on both our publication and general issues of concern in the Rochester/Rochester Hills communities. The traditional “letters to the editor” in Downtown are published in our Incoming section and can include written letters or electronic communication.

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

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Oakland Twp. $419,900

Rochester Hills $379,900

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Fin. bsmt. with bath and extensive recreational space. New maintenance-free Trex decking and court location.

Former model home with exceptional quality features. Two fireplaces (great rm. and master bdrm.). Wet bar between great rm. and library. Great rm. trimmed in wainscoting. Spacious and updated kitchen with granite countertops, island and double ovens. Finished basement, neutral dĂŠcor and pristine condition. Great location for accessibility to freeways, schools and shopping.

Welcoming stone front porch leading to 4 bedrooms, 2 full and 2 half baths. Gleeming hardwood flooring, open floor plan and neutral dÊcor. One acre private setting with 4 car attached garage PLUS 24 x 40 barn for all of your recreational toys. Barn includes a loft for storage and same curb appeal as the home. Bonus room, grand foyer and staircase, move-in ready.

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4 bdrm., 2.5 bath colonial on half-acre private setting in prime Rochester Hills location near schools, freeways and all conveniences. Fin. walkout basement. Spacious deck. First floor laundry and library. Hardwood flooring throughout entire home. Neutral dÊcor, quality construction and pride of ownership.

Located in desirable Grosse Pines on court location with private wooded setting. Spacious and updated kitchen leads to three season sun porch. Pub with wet bar overlooks family room. Updated baths. Finished basement. Beautiful curb appeal with stamped concrete walkways and pillared front porch. One of the largest lots in the development.

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FROM THE PUBLISHER risis of confidence. That probably captures best what many in the state of Michigan are experiencing as we watch the drama unfolding around the tainted water controversy in Flint.

C

We all know some of the basic elements in this saga. A major city, economically distressed as the automotive industry downsized locally, with a minority population, under the management of a financial manager appointed by the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder.

I say “basic elements” because we are just getting our first look at the facts of how some of the residents of Flint ended up with lead-contaminated water coming out of their faucets. Although we don't know all the facts, we do know that the city, in April of 2014, with approval from Lansing, pulled out of the Detroit water system and opted to use the Flint River as its water source while awaiting completion of a new water system. The move was intended to save Flint millions of dollars in the interim.

We know that complaints from residents were raised about discolored, smelly water shortly after the switch from getting drinking water from Lake Huron. We also know that as early as last summer, some in the Snyder administration raised questions with both the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the state Health Department, but were assured by both departments that there was no problem with the quality of the water. We also know that the federal Environmental Protection Agency raised concerns in the spring of 2015 about the importance of corrosion controls that would mitigate lead leaching from pipes into the drinking water.

And we have learned in recent days, from the former Snyder chief of staff and e-mails that were released by the governor right at press time for this issue, that dating back to last September the governor knew there was a potential problem, brought to light by water quality testing in August that showed dangerous levels of lead in the drinking water.

No one is sure, until further testing takes place, how widespread the problem is but we do know that state officials failed to make sure that anti-corrosion chemicals were added to the water supply once the switch was made to prevent older lead delivery pipes from causing a health problem in Flint.

And now we have a more concerted response of the state attempting to supply bottled water, faucet filters, and expanded testing for the residents of Flint, months after the governor's office was made aware of the problem and many months after both the

health department and DEQ were made aware of a potentially serious problem.

We can probably thank the national attention on the Flint situation for forcing a more focused response than state officials had shown up until now.

I am not willing to write the Flint situation off like one former Republican lawmaker, Bill Ballenger, did on a news program when the issue finally hit the fan in mid-January. Ballenger, who in recent years has developed a reputation for being one of the more knowledgeable pundits (think Inside Michigan Politics newsletter), labeled media coverage of the Flint mess as “vastly overblown” and the problem “so miniscule.”

Instead, I think what we are seeing from this administration is an attitude, almost endemic, in the DEQ where environmental justice may well be influenced by race and economic class.

Sorry, but I can't help but think that a white, affluent suburban community would not have to wait five months for a response on elevated blood-lead levels in drinking water.

Let's also remember that this is the same DEQ that just earlier this year wrote to officials at Marathon Petroleum in southwest Detroit that they were inclined to approve a permit application that would allow higher rates of sulfur dioxide and other pollutants into the air in zip code 48217, already considered the most polluted area of the state. Pollution in this case, on many mornings, shows up as a white dust or film on personal property of the minority residents surrounding the crude oil and tar sands oil processing plant in southwest Detroit, an area that boasts one of the higher rates of cancer and asthma in southeast Michigan.

The same DEQ that made light of the initial complaints in the Flint fiasco has basically decided that the added particulates to be sent into the air around the Marathon plant (and if the winds move in the right direction, into parts of Oakland County and beyond) don't “violate (DEQ) rules or national air quality standards.”

When the state or federal investigations into the Flint tainted water situation are finished, someone should be reviewing the track record of the DEQ and what has all the appearances of a department where environmental policy decisions – consciously or not – are influenced by class and race or whether the impacted population has the requisite political muscle to successfully challenge the Lansing decision-makers. It's long overdue.

David Hohendorf Publisher DavidHohendorf@downtownpublications.com

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CRIME LOCATOR

Map key

NORTH

Sexual assault

Robbery

Larceny from vehicle

Drug offenses

Assault

Breaking/entering

Vehicle theft

Arson

Murder

Larceny

Vandalism

These are the crimes reported under select categories by police officials in Rochester and Rochester Hills through January 27, 2016.

Placement of codes is approximate.

FACES

Laura Cassar s a mother of two boys who love imaginative stories, writing children’s books has come naturally to Laura Cassar, an author and freelance writer out of Rochester Hills.

“Dominic (the oldest), always wanted a story at bedtime. I’d read him books and when I’d turn off the lights he’d say ‘now a made up story,’ and that night it was just a keeper,” she said, referring to the tale of The Pumpkin Man. Cassar self-published the story in 2009 as “Night of 1,000 Pumpkins,” and said the inspiration came during her family’s annual visit to the Stonewall Pumpkin Festival, hosted by The Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm since 2001. “They line up pumpkins all along the wall at night and light them. It’s breathtaking. And there’s this funny little house and as I was walking past with my kids, and they asked who lived there, and without thinking, I said, ‘the Pumpkin Man.’ There were bats flying around, literally.”

Now available at the museum shop, her first book prompted an invitation from a fellow mom at Musson Elementary to write a second. Jolanthe Bassett, director for the Michigan branch of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, hosted a fundraiser at the school. “In April of 2015, she approached me about writing a children’s book about service dogs,” said Cassar, “and by Veteran’s Day, the book was out.”

Impacted by the work of the non-profit, which trains service dogs and pairs them with veterans and civilians struggling with a disability, Cassar jumped at Bassett’s proposal. “Immediately we were on the same page with the vision,” she said. To get the facts straight, Cassar talked to the founder of Guardian Angels about how dogs are selected, trained and what disabilities they assist with, which can include post-traumatic stress disorder, hearing impairments, traumatic brain injuries, and glucose imbalances. “When I saw what they were doing, it impacted me a lot,” said Cassar.

Guardian Angels has paired 150 veterans with service dogs since 2010, “and we’ve had no suicide attempts and our families are staying together,” said Bassett, an army wife.

“Ranger: A PTSD Service Dog,” tells the story, in 32 illustrated pages, of how one soldier’s suffering is alleviated by his service dog.

“I like good stories and positive things happening, sharing the good news of the world,” said Cassar, who earned her degree in journalism from Central Michigan University in 1991.

A native of Saginaw, Cassar moved to the Detroit area after college and found herself in Rochester Hills in 2003, “when I was pregnant with our first child,” she said. “We wanted to live someplace family-friendly with great schools, and we have friends who lived up here.” When she’s not in “pure Mom mode,” as she called it, Cassar works on special projects for Crain’s Detroit Business, and has written for the Detroit Free Press.

“I went into journalism because I love writing, and I wrote the children’s books because I love writing,” she said.

A

Story: Katie Deska

Photo: Laurie Tennent

T

raining a student athlete, such as a football player, in the old days, consisted of heading to the school's weight room and pumping iron to the coach's specifications. But not anymore. Today, athletic training is a specialized field, the result of a fouryear college degree, national certification and state licensing. As both a move to prevent injuries and an effort to rehabilitate athletes, many local public and private schools have added certified athletic trainers to their athletic departments.

Like rare prized orchids, student athletes are treated very carefully, with many schools' fears of concussions, ACL tears, and other injuries now front and center.

Athletic trainers are different from both coaches and physical therapists, educated and trained in injury and illness prevention and strategies which focus on optimizing a student athlete's quality of life, not only while they are in high school, but over the long term.

Today, they are considered both health care professionals and part of the athletic department, a bridge that ties the two together to maximize a student's athleticism while protecting their minds and bodies. Hiring athletic trainers can also provide protection for a district against liability if the student is injured.

“About 37 percent of high schools have athletic trainers available to athletes for practices and competitions, and about 60 percent don't have anyone available if a student has an injury or problem,” said Steve Broglio, professor of athletic training in the School of Kinesiology at University of Michigan, who has been certified as an athletic trainer for the last 15 years. “Some coaches, if we're lucky, are CPR-trained. But it's not their job. Their job is to coach their teams. Trainers work to prevent injuries, like to the ACL, heat stroke, lacerations, cervical spine injuries and concussions. It's a frontline defense against these injuries, especially in contact sports like football, ice hockey, lacrosse, and cheerleading.”

PROTECTING STUDENT ATHLETES ATHLETIC TRAINERS IN HIGH SCHOOLS

BY LISA BRODY

In Oakland County, many schools either have an athletic trainer on staff, or have contracted with a health care system which provides a trainer directly to the school. The National Federation of High School Athletics (NFHS) chooses not to take a position on the matter. “We leave that in all of our 51 member state agencies,” said Bob Colgate of NFHS. “Some schools may not have the money for a certified athletic trainer, but we ask if they have an emergency action plan.

Most use a combination of certified athletic trainers and health professionals. We recommend that all schools have an emergency action plan that is going to get coaches, the administration and athletes involved.”

He said they have e-mailed a copy of their recommendations, which include the athletic director's responsibility, what the in-person coach should do, what the online coach advisor and trainer should do, what an event coach and trainer should do, and set up protocols for events, to every high school in the country. “It's very general, but it's very well done,” Colgate said.

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our student athlete, if they attend West Bloomfield High School, Bloomfield Hills High School, or Groves High School in Birmingham, and they have a sports injury, or suffer heat stroke during two-a-days in football practice, the first person taking care of them will likely be the athletic trainer hired by the school's athletic director. But, if your child attends Seaholm High School in Birmingham, and he or she suffers a sprained ankle or torn ACL, there isn't an employed or contracted athletic trainer, but rather, a personal first responder, a man who has been with the school since 1982, “with many similar duties,” said athletic director Aaron Frank, yet lacks the skills and accreditation.

A certified medical first responder is a person who has completed a course and received certification in providing prehospital care for medical emergencies beyond basic first aid and CPR, but is not trained for more advanced medical care.

“The first thing we always do if anything is questionable is dial 911,” said Frank.

“We're fortunate that we rarely don't have a physician in the stands because of our parents.”

“What happens in the time between calling 911 and their arrival? What do you do when a kid is in serious pain?” asked a Birmingham resident who had a child who used to attend Seaholm. “There can be longterm ratifications. What happens when they

travel? Are these coaches supposed to be trained in being first responders when kids get hurt? This man is certified at the lowest level. Kids are faster and bigger than ever.

Girls play just as much, and just as hard as boys.”

Bill Watson, Seaholm's first responder, graduated from Seaholm in 1977, and Western Michigan University with a physical education degree in 1983, according to his LinkedIn profile. Frank asserts that Watson predates athletic training certification.

However, the Michigan legislature passed a law, Public Act 368 of the Public Health Code, determining licensing requirements and creating the continuing education rules in 1978, when Watson was still in college.

“There is a specific scope of work that is appropriate for his limitations as a state medical first responder by state licensure,” Frank said. “He doesn't do any medical procedures, or any evaluations within the scope of a medical trainer.” Frank said Watson works in consultation with a sports medicine practice that works with the school, immediately sending them students when there are any concerns.

“Ultimately, it's the coach's decision,” on when to put a student back in, other than with concussion protocol, which Watson is trained in, along with all athletic department staff, which is now a requirement codified in state law. “We're not going to override what a physician says,” Frank said. “Whatever we have in writing is the gold standard.”

A Bloomfield Township parent with two children at Seaholm, including a senior daughter who plays varsity volleyball, and will play college volleyball, was appalled to learn Watson is not a certified trainer. “We're all under the assumption he's the trainer.

They've introduced him as the trainer, and the kids all call him the trainer. The coaches refer to him as the trainer,” the woman said, who asked to not have her name used as she has a younger student playing contact sports at the school. “We've never been told he's a first responder. My daughter sees (Watson) before every game and every practice to have her hand wrapped. My daughter feels the trainers at other schools during tournaments at other schools are much better. Often, the girls are hoping he's not at a game, and that another trainer will be there.

“As a parent, it makes me concerned,” she continued. “I would think most people think he's a trainer. He's dealing with football players.”

Groves, under athletic director Tom Flynn, has a full-time athletic trainer, Kelly Salter, working with their students. Flynn did not return repeated calls for comment.

“Kelly is wonderful, and Tom is a former trainer,” said John Johnson of the Michigan High School Athletic Association. “It's one of our best testing schools for us.”

“Groves has gone through three or four trainers. Kelly Salter is very, very good,” Frank said. “The person we have here is respected by our physicians, and he also helps out with lots of other jobs, like filling the water jugs, repairing equipment. There's so many other issues to the jobs. And kids love him. They follow him on Twitter. I'm sure when Bill retires, we'll post for a full time athletic trainer or go through a health care system.”

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ut Frank is not ready to do that now, and it's not a requirement for the Michigan High School Athletic Association. “We don't mandate, because we don't force funding,” Johnson said. “We can have requirements, but schools that don’t adopt the requirements can participate in our tournaments. In a perfect world, we'd like every school to have a trainer, but it's not going to happen because of financial realities. It's a staff person. You're talking about a personnel issue.”

Rochester Community Schools contracts three athletic trainers through Crittenton Hospital, one for each of their three high schools, who each work full-time at the school, providing 1,400 hours for the entire school year. Chelsey Bonney arrives at Rochester Adams High School each school day between 1 and 2 p.m., and works until 7 to 10 p.m., depending upon games and practices. Saturdays she is also on as well.

She works on hundreds of athletes each day, depending upon the season.

“After school, I know I will tape for athletes who have practices or games. After that I will do evaluations for injuries that are not emergency,” she said. “Then, after that, if anyone has rehab, I will go over that, unless there's a game to go to. After that, there's a lot of parent phone calls to return.”

Bonney is a licensed athletic trainer in Michigan, having received her bachelor's degree from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids in athletic training and pre-physical therapy.

Rochester High School and Stoney Creek High School each have a dedicated athletic trainer also employed by Crittenton.

Farmington Schools contracts through University of Michigan MedSport, employing four athletic trainers. “We have one trainer at each school and one float,” along with occasional students from universities doing their internships, said Jamie Franklin, one of the trainers, who said they average about 25 hours a week at the high school. All of the

trainers are college educated and BOC certified and licensed. “We cover all home athletic events, away varsity football, and then practices as hours allow.”

“We are always at games that are considered contact sports, but also at games that are not considered contact,” added Kristi Lewis-Keatts, another Farmington trainer.

“Many days, especially in the spring and fall, there are multiple games going on, we are onsite, but have to determine which sport has the highest risk of injury. That is typically what takes priority.”

Lewis-Keatts said the scope of their daily responsibilities “range from lacerations and other wounds that may or may not need stitches, to fractures of many different types, to ligaments sprains, muscle strains, tendonitis, concussions, heat illness, unknown heart conditions, the list goes on.

We're typically involved in rehabbing athletes.

Sometimes they go to physical therapy first, and sometimes we are instructed by an MD on what they want us to work with the athlete. Sometimes they just need strengthening in order to stay injury-free.”

Most schools have trainers working on both male and female athletes. “With only one athletic trainer at a school, it's impossible to separate. In school, we were taught that we would have to evaluate an injury on a male or female,” said Lewis-Keatts. “I will speak with the parents first, and then assess as need be. If the athlete or parent is not comfortable, I will refer to a doctor. I always make sure there is another person with me.

For example, an athlete with a groin injury may benefit from a hip spica by an ace wrap.

I always make sure I am not alone wrapping them since it can be considered a sensitive area.”

A

ccording to the 2010 Overview of Skills and Services of the National Athletic Trainers' Association, a professional membership association serving and advocating for certified athletic trainers, “Athletic trainers are the only health care professionals whose expertise in prevention ranges from minor sprains to catastrophic head and neck injuries, and from minor illnesses to exertional heat syndrome. Nutritional and wellness also play an integral role in the athletic trainers' work in preventing injury and illness. Athletic trainers recognize when consultation with other health care providers is necessary and refer accordingly.”

Among the description of athletic trainers' services include their ability to assess for potential injuries and illnesses through pre-

participation physical exams; to design and implement conditioning programs; design and implement emergency action plans to ensure medical personnel are prepared in an emergency situation; educate students, coaches and parents; to inspect facilities to ensure they are free of hazards, are sanitary, and that the equipment is maintained properly; and refer the students to appropriate medical professionals when necessary.

Unlike a coach or a medical first responder, athletic trainers are educated and trained to examine patients and determine injuries and illnesses and diagnose them. Part of their job is to perform assessments and to do the appropriate care for concussions; open and closed wounds; seizures; asthma; shock; bone breaks; diabetic reactions; allergies; and drug overdoses. They are also trained to provide certain rehabilitation protocols, from exercises and agility training to manual therapy, like massaging certain muscles and helping restore range of motion to joints.

“High school athletics can be hazardous, and high school athletes have evolved – they're big, they're strong, and they're fast,” said Dr. Jeff Kline, director of sports medicine at Beaumont Sports Medicine. “Athletic trainers are the most trained individual to make qualified medical decisions on the field – more than a doctor or nurse. The experience they have on programmatic completion is based on their education.”

Today, athletic trainers must hold a bachelor's degree, with many universities offering specialized programs in athletic training. Once an individual has that bachelor's degree, they can then sit for the national certification, called BOC, and then obtain licensing in the state of Michigan as a health care professional.

“There is only one certification, the BOC,” Dr. Kline said. “You cannot sit for it without having been to an undergrad program from start to finish. Then you pass your board exams, and can be licensed in the state of Michigan.”

According to the “BOC Standards of Professional Practice,” the mission of the Board of Certification (BOC), which has been responsible for certification since 1969, is to “certify athletic trainers and to identify, for the public, quality healthcare professionals through a system of certification, adjudication, standards of practice and continuing competency programs...and is the only accredited certification program for athletic trainers in the United States.”

It also indicates a compliance with a code of professional responsibility.

All licensed Michigan athletic trainers

must participate in continuing education, which Dr. Kline said now follows the BOC requirements, which is 50 credit hours every two years. “Ten of those credits have to be evidence-based credits, which means the content has to be based on current practical research. For example, using the best current research on how to treat a sprained ankle,” he said.

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niversity of Michigan's Broglio said today, there are no poor quality athletic trainers. “It's all certified and regulated in Michigan. It's standardized across the United States, and Michigan has state licensure, which insures standard of care,” he said, which should alleviate concerns on the part of parents and schools. Broglio, Tom McAllister of Indiana University, and Mike McCirea of Medical College of Wisconsin, in conjunction with the NCAA and Department of Defense, are doing a 30 to 50-year study of of 17,000 athletes at 21 universities, male and female, in sports from football and hockey to cross country to golf, to study the long term effects of concussion on current 18-22 year olds.

John Ciecko, athletic trainer for Bloomfield Hills High School, became interested in the field of athletic training when he was playing football at Albion College. “I got hurt my freshman year, and spent so much time in the athletic training room, I took an intro class,” he said. “I really excelled in it and was interested in it.” He received his bachelors in athletic training from Albion, and has a master's degree in the field from California University of Pennsylvania, along with his BOC. Along with concussions, he said he sees a lot of overuse injuries, especially in shoulders, knees, elbows and wrists, from students specializing early in one sport. He said high school athletes think they can immediately bounce back, but often he has to hold the student back to protect them from re-injuring themselves.

“It's about applying the right amount of rest and conditioning, and getting the student back as a part of their team,” Ciecko said. “That's what it's all about being a high school athlete. We always want them to be a part of the team, especially in practices, as much as possible. Then our goal is to get the student back in play.”

Ciecko is a full-time employee of the Bloomfield Hills School district, and when possible, he is aided by one or two interns in their final semester from Central Michigan University, who work as his assistants. “They get 12 credit hours. It's a full semester, a full

course load,” he said. “They spend 40 hours a week. We have 17 teams right now in 11 sports, from freshman sports to varsity, male and female, so it helps us give the athletes here at BH the best possible care.”

Ciecko said they have a trainer at every single home game, and try to have someone at every away boys' and girls' basketball game. In the fall, when there are more sports, “It's dictated by the schedule. We always travel with football. I cover varsity, and I always send an intern with the JV team. It's a nice thing to give the intern an independent work environment to get ready for when they graduate.”

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est Bloomfield High School has one trainer, Aimee Neubecker, who handles all of the school's athletes, which can include about 300 students during the fall, 200 in winter, and another 200 or so in the spring. A Central Michigan University graduate in athletic training with a master's from Eastern Michigan University in exercise physiology and her BOC, she said she covers all of the school's home games. “If there are multiple home games, I'm at the highest risk sport, or the highest level – for example, if there is a varsity and junior varsity game, I'll go to a varsity boy's baseball game over a junior varsity girls' soccer game, even though the soccer game has a higher risk.”

Actually, many of the trainers, athletic directors, and experts noted that many female athletes are having higher incidents of injuries, whether from concussions or other injuries.

“Women's soccer, basketball, softball, all have higher injury rates for concussion than their male counterparts,” University of Michigan's Broglio noted, with statistics pointing women have incident rates up to five and eight times higher than males.

“There are a number of theories as to why women are more likely to have more, from that women have weaker neck musculature, and are not able to stabilize their heads; to women are more likely to report injuries to a parent or medical professional. There's less stigma for girls having an athletic injury.

That's a theory I personally agree with. On the back end, women have a longer reporting period. A guy will say after seven days, 'Put me back in.' A girl will say 'I still have a raging headache.' Both will still have the headache, but the guy will try to play.”

One of the top rates of injuries, Broglio said, is from cheerleading, both in terms of cervical spine injuries, fractures, sprains, lacerations and concussions.

“You take a 90-pound female athlete practicing on concrete, doing gymnastics in the air, and then being caught, or not, and falling,” he noted.

Private schools have also made the investment into athletic trainers. “I'm hired for a reason – it's to preserve students' health and minimize the school's risk. Part of the role is to educate those around you,” noted Ross Cooper, Detroit Country Day Schools’ associate director of athletics and head athletic trainer, who has been a trainer for 18 or 19 years at “five or six secondary schools in the metro area, and my tenth here,” and is in his third year as head trainer at the school.

While hired by the school, Cooper has two assistants hired through Henry Ford Health System, as well as a team physician. “We're also a popular intern site, with usually one a semester from Grand Valley University.”

Detroit Country Day has had trainers for the last 20 years or so, he said. “We're on the middle school campus as well, so many students grow up seeing us for a whole lot of things. We get a little pushback from some intense parents who want to see their kid play, but we explain why it's important to protect the athlete, and often defer to our judgements. We're in a position of communicating with our parents. We have our own sports medicine notes and information. Parents can view what we've done. We also strive to put someone on the phone and put the parents online. Kids see us as much as they see the coach. And our coaching staff defers to us implicitly. If anything is ever questionable, we refer out, maybe something more that a doctor should see and be referred to.”

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ver the years, Cooper said he has seen lots of changes in the industry, notably with more standardized assessments based on knowledge. “More knowledge is better,” he said. “We've been at the forefront of concussions and the handling of neurocognitive testing for the last 10 years, doing baseline testing and post-injury comparisons. We have it coordinated by the students' physicians or our team physician, so that way the senior athletic trainer is not the only one making that assessment.”

He said that creates a safer environment for the student athlete. “That way he or she is competing when they're ready, and all the medical professionals agree they're ready.”

Steve Carter, the full-time athletic trainer at Cranbrook Schools for the last two-and-ahalf years, came to the school after he retired as the trainer for the Detroit Tigers, a position he had for 25 years. A part-time assistant is

contracted through Henry Ford Health Systems.

“I have quite a line here after school. I have about 45 minutes. In that time, fall and spring, I see about 20 to 35 kids in that 45 minutes,” he said, setting up stretching routines, taping them up, or giving them modalities to do. “I've been doing this for 30 years, so I can talk to an athlete for five minutes and get a good idea of the injury before even putting my hands on them.”

During a season, he said he typically sees one to two knee injuries, at least one knee surgery a season, an ACL tear, a ligament tear, and concussions.

“I do a lot of strengthening and conditioning with students. Besides concussions, my time is spent on knees, ankles and backs,” Carter said. “We also spend a lot of time with JV athletes, teaching them conditioning, and young female athletes, who often don't have the neck strength large males do.”

He noted that their volleyball team this fall had the same number – three – of concussions that their varsity football team had. “Science has progressed that we can diagnose it sooner than just saying 'You had your bell rung.'”

They use a variety of diagnostic tests, including the SCAT3 test, which measures balance, cognitive, memory and verbal cues, as well as subjective items, like the degree of a headache, dizziness, and nausea. Carter said he has also added the Sway balance phone app.

“It uses the GPS on a phone to see their balance, measuring it and gives a base score,” he said. He has also added the KingDevick test to his arsenal, which is an objective memory test that can be administered by trainers, coaches and parents on the sideline when a concussion is suspected. “They're two more objective tests of a head injury that makes my job easier. It makes parents feel better, too. It's a more scientific approach if their child is concussed.

They cost about $1,200, but it's worth it.”

Once kids are ready to play, “I'm very aggressive about getting our athletes up and moving,” Carter said. “You're making memories. If they're playing, they're making memories. I push them a little, because some are just growing pains. There's a big difference between soreness and pain. A big part of my job is educating them, and teaching them the difference between soreness and pain.”

“I would encourage everyone to have someone there. I get weekly e-mails that an athletic trainer saved a life,” noted Michigan's Broglio.

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FACES

Tom LaGrasso, III o meet customer demand for hyper-local food within the metro area, Tom LaGrasso, III, of Detroit-based produce supplier, LaGrasso Bros., turned to Freight Farms, a start-up company out of Boston.

The Leafy Green Machine, as Freight Farms calls it, is essentially a year-round greenhouse enclosed in a shipping container that sits in the parking lot of LaGrasso’s facility on Warren and Bellevue in Detroit. “The technology is very sophisticated, so first time farmers can grow successfully, and the container does it in a sustainable way,” said LaGrasso. “In the small space, we’re able to grow the most amount of lettuce mix with (proper) nutrient levels, air temperature and humidity.

“We’ve never been in the farming portion of the business,” he said, but since their start in September, the growing technique and product have shown to be fruitful. “We harvest and deliver it to customers the same day. We wanted to provide an incredibly fresh and amazing product.”

LaGrasso worked with a handful of chefs to taste-test different varieties of leafy greens that could be grown in the shipping container. They settled on a 12-green lettuce mix called ‘lagrattuga,’ a combination of the family’s surname and the Italian word for lettuce.

“It’s something our customers were looking for – our generation is looking to have a story behind their food, and want more local, sustainably-sourced ingredients. I think it’s been proven it’s not a fad, but is what our generation is looking for,” said the 29-year old, who started loading trucks at the age of 13 while a student at Cranbrook Schools.

“My mom said, ‘get a job,’ so it was McDonald’s or working for Dad.” He attended the family business program at Baston College in Boston, and knew he wanted to join the ranks as an adult.

Now vice president of operations, “Everyday is living the dream,” he said. “It’s exciting because everyday is a new opportunity to take control of something the family started,” including bringing lagrattuga to life. “By doing the due diligence, and figuring out if it was economically feasible, coming up with a strategy of what to grow, and how we could do it, where we would sell it, I had a hand in all that,” LaGrasso said. “My brother, Joe and I, we’re the two predominant farm operators.”

The oldest of three children, LaGrasso grew up in Rochester Hills, where his parents continue to reside. Joe, 23, and sister Catherine, 27, work with their brother and two second cousins.

“We have a generation above us, I think there’s seven of them still working,” he said. “Our generation will be smaller because of the amount of work that goes into it – there’s easier work out there. I hope to hand it off to the fifth generation, if the fifth generation wants to be in produce. It’s not a glamorous field.”

With ‘LaGrasso’ painted in red cursive letters, the white delivery trucks distribute fruits, vegetables and dry goods, including spices, seasonings, nuts, and candy within Michigan and northern Ohio. “It’s as simple as kosher salt that (chefs) need in between deliveries, or seaweed salad, or a specific color of M&Ms,” he said. “I eat everything, I just mix it up, whatever is in season I tend to go with. I’m a big fan of cooking, and I’m talking with chefs all day.”

T

Story: Katie Deska

Photo: Laurie Tennent

Top of card, Frank Houston.

Bottom of card, Theresa Mungioli.

THE PARTY CHAIRS HOUSTON, MUNGIOLI TALK POLITICS IN PRESIDENTIAL YEAR Downtown Publications’ News Editor Lisa Brody recently sat down with Oakland County Democratic Party Chair Frank Houston and Oakland County Republican Party Chair Theresa Mungioli to discuss changing political trends in the county, the current role of the two political parties, fundraising, political extremism on both the right and the left, and a host of other issues facing both parties in this presidential election year.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do for a living, how you first got interested and involved in politics, and about your rise in local Oakland County party politics. How long have you been party chair? What does it entail?

MUNGIOLI: I’ve been involved in politics in Oakland County since 1989. My husband and I got involved in our local school board issues at that point in Rochester Hills. We ended up running for school board – he ran one year and lost, so the next year, I ran. They always tell you the third time’s the charm. In that second year, there was a recount, I saw second and fourth flip-flop over me – I was in the third spot, lost by 24 votes – ran the third year, and won. And then served eight years on the Rochester Community Schools school board. That got me started.

It’s interesting. Somebody said, ‘You’re a conservative.’ I said, ‘Why?’ They said, ‘Oh, your fiscal policies.’ I had no idea I had aligned myself with a political realm until someone decided to affix that label on me.

But then I became a precinct delegate, and started getting involved in the party side of it in the early 1990s, and have been involved in many different areas for the last 15, 20 years.

I am a certified project manager. I work at General Motors, and I am on a large IT project in the engineering department.

HOUSTON: I was born and raised in metro Detroit. Went to school at Eastern Michigan, planned on either teaching or going to law school. I joke I made a wrong turn in building and ended up getting involved in local politics and local government. By the end of my freshman year in college, I was a city council member in Ypsilanti, I was a write-in candidate, actually. I look back, and it’s funny, like Theresa, I never thought if I was a Democrat or a Republican, or a conservative or a liberal. But there were some issues I was concerned about at the time within the community, and I ran against the incumbent mayor pro-tem, and ended up beating him as a write-in by a two-to-one margin at the age of 18, with all of the wisdom I had at that time.

Coming out of that, I did political work for non-profits, I’ve taught, I’ve done a lot of non-profit management work over the years. But when I left the state and came back to Michigan and looked to really settle down again, about 10 years ago, I moved to Oakland County and specifically, I live in Royal Oak because it’s a wonderful county, it’s a wonderful community. In many ways we’re not just a bellwether for politics, but also for economics, for growth, for how government can be run, and a lot of other things.

I fell into party work by no intention. I generally had done more nonpartisan, with the more progressive side of the aisle. When there was a vacancy for the chair position, folks started calling. Some of the things happening in Michigan over the last several years made me concerned enough that I considered how I could help to get our side organized, to get our message out, to tell people who we are, what we want to accomplish, and somehow I’ve been tricked into doing this for another six years. I’ve been chair since September of 2010.

This is more or less our hobby. I’ve done everything from run non-

profits the last few years to I led the minimum wage ballot initiative two years ago. The last year, I’ve been working for a for-profit, based out of New York. I’m their national chair of strategic growth and development. They primarily work helping businesses comply with issues.

How long have you been chair?

MUNGIOLI: Only one year. We have a two-year term. But it’s not the first time I’ve been in leadership because of the district chair, and I’ve been involved in state politics as well, and chair of some of their subcommittees.

What does it entail to be party chair?

HOUSTON: It’s a few things. The first challenge for a party chair is you’re not representing yourself like you’re an elected official. And you’re also cognizant of other members’ opinions, and you don’t necessarily want to show up your colleagues. You’re speaking for yourself as a representative of others. As chair, there’s some parallels.

The trick is, how you work with party leaders, and sometimes challenge them and work with them, but you still have to respect that they’re the elected leadership of the party and of the public. There’s a little bit of a balancing act you need to learn to work with the elected officials that’s always an evolution.

The other issues are how do you engage, especially in this new age with all these technologies, how do you properly engage all these different activists if you want to be a big tent party. With us, you look at the changing demographics of Oakland County. Both parties have to reach out beyond their traditional boundaries. But then you look at what we’ve seen over the last two gubernatorial elections, where candidly, even in Oakland County our voter turnout in most of our communities was low. So how do we engage, on our side, that Obama coalition, of young voters and people who vote more in presidential elections. How do we engage more across the aisle when we see ourselves losing with white men, for instance. Those are the types of challenges that we spend a lot of time discussing and talking about, and trying to organize around.

We also try to coordinate and organize, especially in a presidential year. They’ll come and go out of a community – Hillary Clinton, or Donald Trump, or whoever will parachute in with lots of money and lots of people and run a show, and then they leave. What the party can provide some continuity for is activism and involvement in providing a pathway for folks to engage in the process and reach their electeds and have their voice heard. That’s the goal of the parties.

MUNGIOLI: You have to wear many hats. You have to be strategic in the thought process of ‘How do I develop a strategy?’ ‘How do I approach people?’ ‘Where are the different touch points that I do?’ How do you understand each of the different communities that you have to reach into, because the issues that are down in Royal Oak are different than the ones in Rochester, and the ones in Rochester are different than the ones in Holly, and are different than in Waterford. So you have to craft a message that reaches a broad base of people across the county.

You have to be tactical, but you have to be able to execute those plans to make sure they’re hitting their targeted goals, both from a reaching the voters number, as well as reaching the donors number, because one of the things we can’t avoid as a chair is raising the money that’s necessary that helps elect our local officials.

When it comes to the presidential piece, we have seen in the last

couple cycles, that the ‘Oh, they’re going to come here.’ Romney was from Michigan, from here, grew up in the community, and then didn’t stay. So you have to find a way to be able to excite volunteers to say, even when that presidential candidate is no longer going to campaign in the area, how do you get them to recognize that they have to vote for a countywide, House reps, Senate, locals, proposals. All of those require volunteers. A chair has to wear many hats, reaching out to different communities, and also being able to suppress their personal opinions because how I feel about a particular issue may not be how the constituents feel about a particular issue. You need to be able to recognize you are representing a broad base of people, and a personal opinion may need to be reserved for the voting box.

Over the last couple of decades, there has been a political shift in Oakland County, from a staunch Republican bastion, to one that is skewing more and more Democratic. While the state House and Senate remains firmly Republican, primarily from gerrymandering, Oakland County residents voted for Barack Obama in the last election over homegrown son Mitt Romney, Gary Peters prevailed over Terry Lynn Land, and while Brooks Patterson maintains a stronghold on the executive position in Oakland County, several leadership positions, like treasurer, prosecutor and clerk are all currently held by Democrats. What do each of you see for the county in terms of political changes in the county, and why? Is the shift in voting patterns a matter of a changing population or does the extreme far right image, accurate or exaggerated, that seems to dominate the headlines when it comes to the GOP, play into the shift in voting patterns? How much of a factor is the fact that one local party becomes more organized and has more impact at the polls, which in one of the more recent presidential races seemed to be the case?

MUNGIOLI: I’d have to say it’s a little of all of the above. Organization truly is key, and no one will deny that the Obama campaign was very highly organized in the last two election cycles. That doesn’t mean we can’t borrow a few ideas and bring them into the Republican Party as well. So we are already organizing for the November election now, finding our different leaders in the different communities to make sure we’re ready for that.

Demographically, we are changing. Which means the party has to change with it. If it wants to be representative of the community that’s here and not find itself in the minority in the future, then we have to make sure we’re representing the people and understanding what their messages are. I will say, that as we’re talking to folks in the last couple of months, finding out where their issues are, trying to find the words that are important to them in different communities, we are finding there is some buyer’s remorse. And that that shift in the last election, there’s always the Democratic cycle, the Republican cycle, the Democrat cycle, the Republican cycle. I think people are saying the pendulum is swinging the other way, and those people who may have voted the other way, Democrat, in the last two cycles at the presidential level may be switching over to the Republican.

Donald Trump truly is saying things that people want to say, that people are afraid to...

HOUSTON: I’m hoping it’s a small amount of people.

MUNGIOLI: I think he’s resonating in the polls and with people.

Whether you agree with him or not, the fact that he is so bombastic, and is willing to express his opinion, and nothing seems to stick.

They’re all admiring him for his willingness to stand up. Now, whether or not that will translate to votes, is another story. So I think there are a variety of things that are changing. Demographically we are changing.

Organizationally, the Republican Party is changing from an understanding messaging and what people’s thoughts are on different issues, we’re getting a sense for that as well. We’re working to address all of those.

HOUSTON: Whenever I hear Donald Trump, I almost lose my train of thought. But setting aside The Donald, the thing that Theresa said that I agree with is that authenticity is the key. Obviously, Mr. Trump is not holding his tongue, and I think that’s a large degree what President Obama and President Bush, what drew people to them, what people look for in a leader. It’s where trust and the belief of where they’re going begins. It’s something for all the candidates to remember.

In terms of where we’re at as a county politically, and where we’re going, I think there’s several things that stand out. You mentioned gerrymandering. Both parties want district boundaries that are favorable to them. We’ve never had the degree of what’s happened in Oakland County before. There’s the change now with straight party voting. Now they’re looking at changing the election for county executive to gubernatorial years. I wonder why, with Mr. Patterson looking to retire, and I think a fear of a Democratic presidential electorate. These things that keep happening reflect the behind the scenes mechanics of politicians and political hacks that most people probably won’t tune into. But it makes it hard for Democrats.

Where I think Democrats’ message varies from Republicans is we really believe government has a role to play proactively in fixing things, that Republicans say, it’s best left outside the public sector. When you have government focused more on politics than policy, or often invading places that government shouldn’t belong in the first place, I think it makes it harder for people to believe government will work for them.

That hurts Democratic candidates.

I will say, on the Republican side, I’m more of a spectator than Theresa, but not only the changing demographics, but the changes in the party institution have created problems in Oakland County for Republican candidates. Democrats have their divisions. We have pro-life and pro-choice Democrats; we have folks who are more aggressive on fiscal issues, and those who focus on economic justice issues. You have tensions in our party. But when you look at some of the things that have been said. You look even at someone like (Sen.) Marty Knollenberg, last month saying something – I mean, it’s a racist comment, what he said about school children in Detroit not being able to be successful because they’re of color. I’m sure that wasn’t Marty’s intention, but you hear these things. And it’s not just one or two things, it’s a trend. We talk about Donald Trump’s numbers. Who are these people? How many have these same xenophobic, racist statements coming out of their mouths? It’s scary. I have a lot of Republican family members, and that’s not the Republicans they used to vote for.

You take what’s happening here in Oakland County as a microcosm, and it’s what’s happening nationally. It’s why the New York Times and Wall Street Journal come here. It’s not just because we’re one of those “bellwether” counties. It’s because it’s a microcosm of all the things they’re dealing with nationally.

When I was growing up, Republicans used to stand for smaller government. Right now, in Lansing, it seems so many things are just staying there. If you look at our tax policies locally and wage policies locally. Those are things that local communities used to have way more control over. And now, there are more things the state has taken control of. Our school districts. The EAA. I’m not saying there’s not a place for state oversight, but Lansing seems to feel it has a cure-all now that it’s Republican-controlled.

MUNGIOLI: I can say I had eight years of Jennifer Granholm, and look at where it got us, so that alone is enough for most Republicans to

The other issues are how do you engage, especially in this new age with all these technologies, how do you properly engage all these different activists if you want to be a big tent party. – Houston

remember that they were going to be blown away. We got blown away.

We ended up going into one of the worst recessions, led the recession in the rest of the country. We watched as the Democrats had control in Washington D.C. – they had the House, the Senate, and the White House – and couldn’t get things done. So even though they were in control, their bellwether, their most important piece of legislation, Obamacare, has been in the headlines ever since because they can’t get agreement on it. Costs are out of control, and they haven’t gotten the numbers to sign up for it. If that’s the only thing the President has to show for himself, out of the four years when he had control, he still couldn’t get anything done. Jennifer Granholm couldn’t get things done.

So is it personalities and not parties?

MUNGIOLI: Believe me, the personalities are incredible in this whole thing. When Frank mentioned the redistricting in Oakland County, we went from 25 to 21 (Oakland County) commissioners, and we saved Oakland County taxpayers money. That is what the Republican Party wants to do. Save money.

HOUSTON: We spent more on the lawsuit than we saved on the redistricting of commissioners.

MUNGIOLI: In the long run, we both saved money on that. As for the election, I’d be more than happy to see Wayne and Macomb (counties) put their county executive elections on the presidential years. Why aren’t they doing it? We are matching what the other local counties are doing by moving the county executive election, we’re aligning with Macomb and Wayne counties.

But does that matter?

HOUSTON: Does that matter? Is that the model we want?

MUNGIOLI: Why aren’t they willing to have as many voters elect them in presidential years? There are reasons for doing it.

When it comes to straight party balloting, unfortunately you can see in the numbers, how people will fill in the little boxes, and then go down, and it will drop off, and the rest of the ballot, the other side of the ballot, most people won’t even realize there are candidates on them.

Our local candidates are not getting voted on. Millage races are not getting voted on. Because people plunk on the D they fill in the dots for the R in most cases, and then they walk away from the ballot. It’s education. I can vote for the D, or I can vote for the candidates I want to by picking the boxes. Now it involves more education, a more active electorate, as opposed to a passive practice.

Although some of the original founding fathers of this country bemoaned the development of political parties, we know they are for the most part a fact of life. What is the role of the county party?

HOUSTON: Each party has a different role, but in Oakland County we’re unique. This is probably true for Theresa, too, because we have four congressional districts that are overlapping in the county. We have 14 local Democratic clubs, we have caucuses that are based here, we have so many local party entities. You also have the state party, as well as all the elected offices. It creates this “monkey-in-the-middle” approach for the county party organization. At least what we’ve done is, we’ve done a couple things. One, we are the only entity focused on the county positions, the countywides, the county commissions. And we try to be a convener of sorts, in partnership with the electeds and coordinator of campaigns, to make sure that activists in Oakland County still have input into campaigns for president, for governor. There are things that are happening that maybe aren’t being controlled out of our county, but are things that have a lot of impact to contingencies.

These are mostly volunteer organizations, lightly staffed, small budgets. We try to pick a few things each cycle and do it well. And then we try to provide support for training and other things that a statewide organization in Lansing can’t do for local candidates.

MUNGIOLI: Similar. We are very actively involved in supporting our local clubs. We want to make sure we’re reaching out into those local constituencies, working with the grassroots. County party is just there as a support mechanism for those local organizations, making sure we’re helping the Farmington areas, as well as Waterford and Troy and the north Oakland area. There are a lot of local clubs and organizations that we want to help, from an organizational perspective, to make sure they’re growing and strong. Different communities that are looking to start a club, making sure they have access to information on sharing and how to get the word out to local communities, to find those Republicans.

This year, we took a different approach in some of our elections and got involved in the non-partisan races. It was one of the first time the party has decided it was time to build a bench, similar to what the Dems have done on the local races. It’s important for us to make sure we’ve got leaders moving forward. We do have to be able to move people into new seats. If they’ve got a few years to get ready, until the next one moves up to the next spot, so you have to help them get ready.

It’s been an opportunity to help them get into elected positions. It’s been an opportunity to help develop leaders in the community.

Should the party be vetting candidates or does it have any power to influence who is running for office?

MUNGIOLI: The Republican Party historically has not stopped anyone from running, unlike the Dems who seem to pick the time when it’s somebody’s turn to run. Republicans say everyone’s welcome to run at this time.

We stay out of the primaries. Every bylaw that I’ve seen of every organization of the Republican Party, there’s a process that says, “Stay out of the primaries.” Once the primary is done and the voters have said who they want, that’s when we get behind a candidate.

In those situations where there isn’t a candidate running, we seek someone out. If we’ve been working on developing somebody’s leadership skills and we think they’re ready, let’s move them in.

HOUSTON: We’re pretty similar on the Democratic side. One of the things I instituted when I came in, we passed a policy where it makes it extremely difficult for us to get involved in a Democratic primary. I think it requires a three-quarters vote of our executive committee plus a natural process that’s vetted. That’s for extraordinary circumstances.

It’s been very rare.

One of the things we’ve changed, both statewide and locally, how we’ve approached Democratic primaries and candidate recruitment issues, is when I first came back home to Michigan, and after the 2004 election, the party had very much a hands-off policy in the primaries. It didn’t get involved. They didn’t make anything of the party accessible to challengers or seats where there was more than one Democrat running. A few years back, we changed that. Now what happens is that we give all our stuff to all the Democrats that are running. That has a benefit, I think. That’s something I’ve heard Republicans complain about, where Democrats can come to us and have access of our databases, tools, and some support, a lot of time Republicans are more quick, and Theresa correct me if I’m wrong, to go to consultants for voter registration lists that are targeted for your voters. That was one change that happened in the last decade, so that if we have three people running for congress against each other, or city council, we are able to give them the best information we have on voters and how to

If (the party) wants to be representative of the community that's here and not find itself in the minority in the future, then we have to make sure we're representing the people. – Mungioli

reach them, and target all those things. We’re also able to maintain the infrastructure and records for perpetuity.

MUNGIOLI: We do have similar databases that we make eligible for all the candidates that are running if they want it, it’s welcome, at no cost to them. It keeps their campaign costs lower, without having to go to a consultant or having to buy a list.

The textbook definition of a political party includes raising money at the local, state and national level to support candidates who subscribe to the party platform but against that background, has the Supreme Court rulings that have unleashed private wealth and unrestricted PAC funding as a factor in campaigns started to render local and maybe even national political parties irrelevant in many political races?

HOUSTON: Good question. I’m biased. I come from non-partisan nonprofits. I did government reform, Common Cause, public interest groups, others. In Illinois, probably the proudest legislation I worked on was passing a non-partisan ethics and campaign reform, two packages, with a Republican governor, Republican-controlled Senate, Democratic House. Back then, that was considered the Wild West of campaign finance reform because Citizen United was the state law there. You could do campaign fundraisers in your state office, and take cash.

What’s crazy is how quickly this is becoming the new reality.

I’m scared, because with the legislature considering doing the same thing at the state level, we already have the so called, “Dark Money” problems, Supreme Court races. The idea that we have even more loopholes for donors to go unlimited with money for state House candidates is a terrifying thought to me, from a good government perspective. Take away party politics, shouldn’t matter if you’re Democrat or Republican – voters should be choosing their elected officials, not just one or two donors.

MUNGIOLI: I look at it a different way. I’d say, why does it cost so much to run for office. When you start putting in commercials, consultants, and mailers, and the months and months and months. The people who have been running for president for two years, or more in some cases, and I look at the average person, Frank and I, if we wanted to run for office – now, if you wanted to run for city council, the threshold’s in the tens of thousands of dollars. When I ran, it was $8,000, when I ran for county commissioner. But that is unheard of today.

So why are campaigns so expensive? Why don’t we set a limit on how much can be spent?

Have some of these PACs and dark money risen to that level here?

MUNGIOLI: Not on a local level.

HOUSTON: I totally disagree. Last cycle, there was a ticket of Democratic and Republican-supported judges running for re-election, incumbents. They run non-partisan, but there were known Democrats and Republicans working together up for re-election who are judges.

They had $1 million spent by one person against them to elect two new judges, because they didn’t like decisions and comments by one or two of the judges. That’s at a circuit court race, you had an attempt to buy an election with $1 million from one donor. That happened in Oakland County, just in 2012. Setting aside the big state races and national races like Supreme Court, or presidential politics – MUNGIOLI: ‘Mr. Smith goes to Washington’ is a very nice Jimmy Stewart movie, but it’s not going to be replicated today. Kerry Bentivolio can get in accidentally because of a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, the “everyday man.” When we look at elections, fine, you want to look at election reform, you have to look at how much it takes to run. Why does it take me 18 months to run for president? Why does it take eight

months to run for a county commission seat, or an executive seat?

We’ve had people running for different seats for well over a year. That means you’re putting your family and your entire life, and in some cases your work, at jeopardy, in order to run for office.

This is not the kind of government we were looking for. So if we’re talking about reform, let’s talk about an entire election reform, and not just focus in on the money, and who is giving the money, and what races they’re giving the money in, because I’m sure we could zero in and find many instances where donors have given against Republicans, and the Republicans have lost. George Soros likes to throw his money around like it grows on trees in his backyard.

Although Third Party development has only reached the impact level as a spoiler at best in tight national and maybe some state elections, we have witnessed the development within the Republican party of a strong wing – the Tea Party – that seems to dictate a considerable influence on the agenda of the party.

Although no one seems to be able to quantify how strong the support is within the GOP, the Tea Party faction is vocal, and as we have seen at the local level in Oakland County, they often are more organized when it comes to electing delegates to the state convention and thereby may have an inordinate influence of the platform that ultimately gets adopted nationally. Have we assessed this correctly?

MUNGIOLI: Actually, the platform is adopted every four years. The Dems do it the same at their national convention. It is the delegates who go to that national convention that get to vote on it. The influence they have on it – by the time you splinter out – look there are three delegates and three alternates from each congressional district from every state across the country. The numbers that we have on the Republican side, there are a lot of other numbers that play into it, not just Tea Party organization, because we’ll have potentially a brokered convention. We’ll have more people interested in getting interest in voting for a candidate than for a particular Tea Party platform.

What about in the last gubernatorial election, and what happened in Oakland County, and the splintering?

MUNGIOLI: It happened across the state. It’s the issue on the lieutenant governor’s race, if that’s what you’re alluding to. But when we came down to it, Brian Calley won by a sizable margin.

But do you feel it’s a factor right now?

MUNGIOLI: There are people upset right now philosophically with the way some of our elected officials are voting, and so they are expressing their concerns. They’re doing it through the party structure. And the county party is not responsible for holding the party officials accountable for how they voted. That is up to the voters. The county party is there to organize, to get the candidates elected. The voters have to hold them accountable. The Tea Party – we love them, we welcome them, I embrace them, I have quite a few of them active in Oakland County, that we work with on a regular basis, but then it’s up to them and their local communities to decide if they want to keep an incumbent, or decide to run another candidate against them, and make sure they get their voices heard at the voting booth. It’s not within the party structure to change how an official votes.

HOUSTON: The one thing you can do as a party chair is challenge the elected officials. I agree with Theresa, it’s not our place to publicly hold accountable or shame our own electeds unless they do something really egregious. When I worked in Illinois, I worked with back-to-back governors who went to jail – one Democrat, one Republican. That’s

I can say I had eight years of Jennifer Granholm, and look at where it got us, so that alone is enough for most Republicans to remember that they were going to be blown away. – Mungioli

different. That’s where even party leaders, we need to stand up and hold elected officials accountable for correction. Outside of that, behind the scenes, it’s important as party chairs to let our elected officials know what we’re hearing. Often, they’ll ask. They want to know their party leadership is in touch with the public. There’s a place for it.

MUNGIOLI: Privately, I’m in regular communication with the elected officials from Oakland County, giving them feedback, asking them what’s really going on, rather than just paying attention to commercials, saying ‘Henny Penny, the sky is falling.’ I am calling them and making sure we’re getting the right story out rather than what some lobbyist is trying to portray on the media.

We regularly get calls into our office, ‘what’s going on with this bill, what’s going on with that bill.’ Asking for clarification about what is happening. But that is different than saying, ‘You elected official, you did a bad thing.’ Because the minute I do that, Frank is going to go and take that and put it in an ad – “Look, even the Republicans don’t want that. Why should you.”

HOUSTON: I don’t think it’s only in Oakland County, but on the Democratic side, I think we’ve been very blessed with a lot of Democratic officials who have really been willing to have their feet put to the fire. From Sen. Peters, Sen. Stabenow, Rep. Levin, on down to locals, these are people who really enjoy being engaged by the public, and they like being out there. It’s not just if they see me, they’re asking what’s going on. They’re really want to have that contact.

MUNGIOLI: Last night we had a local club meeting, we had two state reps come in to talk the pro and the con of the energy bills. Being willing to be there and answering to their constituencies. It’s important for the voters, so they’re taking an active role.

HOUSTON: In some ways, we’re like a conductor, queuing them up.

We’re really blessed here in Oakland County with some great local electeds, on both sides.

MUNGIOLI: They’re out there because they know they need to be in touch with their constituents. And they are up for re-election on a regular basis. They need to be out there, working with the people who have voted for them.

HOUSTON: One of the things that makes it so hard to run today, going back to the previous topic, besides the money, when you talk about a state house campaign or a county commission candidate, it should take six to eight months to run. And the reason why is, they’re not just doing call times asking donors for money for a year. You gotta go out and knock on those doors, and do those community functions. If you’re going to cover the entire district, it’s going to take you, covering five hours a day on doors, a good four months knocking on doors. It used to be more candidates could skate by on name recognition, but for these local races, for the state House and below, for example, nine out of ten of them, you can’t win with just a name or just a little money.

MUNGIOLI: Then why do you have candidates who say, “Well, this is a traditionally Democratic or Republican district and I’m just the sacrificial candidate? I will go out there and put up three signs – my house and the two ends of the street I live on and have enough cards to hand out maybe on election day.” And they don’t actively campaign for election for the spot because they know they don’t even stand a chance.

HOUSTON: That’s because of broken redistricting and all of the other broken issues with campaign finance.

MUNGIOLI: But if you really believe in what you stand for, then you should get out and work for it. Maybe you still lose, but the percentages you lose by, moving that needle forward by can make a difference for the party overall.

HOUSTON: Absolutely.

MUNGIOLI: So even though it’s considered a Dem seat, Republicans

are running in those seats. They are getting out and working those neighborhoods.

HOUSTON: Competing everywhere is important. By having both parties engaged locally, countywide, statewide, and nationwide, it changes the conversation. The party can be the encouraging voice that says, ‘You’re not alone. There are others with a similar voice or concern.’ That’s important that you get involved.

MUNGIOLI: It’s important you get out there and knock on doors. That message that you’re sharing is going to reach out and they’re going to realize they’re not alone. As a candidate, if you believe in your message, go on out there and knock on the doors. It may be in a community where you don’t have a very good chance of winning, but getting the message out there, you’re reaching the people and letting them know. You may not get the seat you’re hoping to win, but you may get the next one. Or a different spot. And that makes a difference in your community. If people are aware of the issues, then they’re going to go on out and pay more attention to what their elected officials are doing and hold them accountable. Many times, we end up with voters who aren’t paying attention to what’s happening in their community.

How well does the current farm system, if we can call it that, work when it comes to electing delegates to the state and national convention and ultimately setting the platform to which candidates and office holders are expected to follow?

HOUSTON: On the Democratic side, it’s usually the activists who have worked the hardest, who are best known, who have done the most.

Electeds, or former electeds, tend to rise to the top in the party structure the fastest and become a national delegate, or what have you.

Locally, what I’ve been surprised at, though, is how many times where you have someone who is very active at a labor union or party constituency that we work closely with, and watch the labor leader go down to a college student. Or I’ve seen a nice woman, that I’ve only seen at one or two Democratic party functions, beat a party official running for something. You see these things happen organically in both parties, even when it comes to these sort of delegate positions. Part of it is, how do you show the culture of how do you take as having any sort of responsibility and meaning. Too often people will run for these kinds of positions – I don’t want to say haphazardly, without any thought – with an idea of what they think it will be, and when they get there, it’s not as sexy as they thought it would be. You mean I have to call my friends and family for money and knock on doors? Positions are sometimes like that.

MUNGIOLI: I’m going back to the verbiage about the platforms and holding officials accountable to the platform. The platform is written, in the Republican Party, by a group of people who meet the week before the convention that are influenced by any number of other constituencies and organizations. C-Span covers the building of the Republican platform. I can’t speak for the Democrat one. We have our platform piece. It gets voted on every four years. In July, when we have our convention again, we will have another platform written. If one candidate goes into that convention as the dominant candidate, they will have a great deal of influence over that what that platform is. If it’s going to be a brokered convention, it’s going to be a little more interesting to watch.

But then to come out and say, ‘We’re going to hold you accountable, you elected official, you county commissioner in Rochester Hills. I’m going to hold you accountable to the national platform.’ No. They have to be accountable to the voters that put them in office. What are the issues going on in their community? What is the platform that they as the candidate ran on? I ran to say I’m going to keep your taxes low, to keep small government, that’s what they should be held accountable for. Our

Take away party politics, shouldn't matter if you're Democrat or Republican – voters should be choosing their elected officials, not just one or two donors. – Houston

platform is 65 pages. It goes on and on about farming and marijuana use and family policy. If you ask the average person what our platform is, they would not know what our platform is. Do they know what Republicans believe in? Do they know that Republicans believe in small government, low taxes, personal responsibility? Yes. They know that that is what they are. If I have a candidate that is not following those values and principles, then I need to talk to them. Privately, about adhering to what we believe in as Republicans.

But the platform is a living document that changes every four years. By the time the delegates get to the convention to vote on it – it’s done.

Billionaire Donald Trump seems to have tapped into unrest and dissatisfaction on the part of many working class members of both parties. As we head into primary season, what do each of you think of this “outsider” group of candidates in the Republican contest or the Bernie Sanders’ effect on the Democratic side? What do you think is resonating?

HOUSTON: On the Democratic side, speaking of Sen. Sanders and former Secretary and Sen. Clinton, what you have that is hard is – and both sides struggle with their activist base – you have the idea that you want people who know what they’re doing or experienced to know how to do things in a system but they also want people who have the flexibility to say what they mean, and can call people out, and push the most idealistic, idealogical wing of politics. You see that playing out in our primaries, and I think in the Republican side, as well. Sen. Sanders was an Independent more than a Democrat, but I think he speaks on a lot of policy and issues that a lot of Democrats hold dear and care about. So much of this election centers around economic dignity and opportunity, and Sen. Sanders is certainly speaking to that. He’s tapping into something that people like.

Historically, people would say, ‘Of course, Hillary Clinton is going to be the nominee.’ It’s what most people would assume. But that’s why, I think, you see Sen. Sanders with a base of support of that is engaged. That idea of an outsider – generally, in Michigan, we like the idea of an underdog.

We like someone who is going to pull themselves up and get up and do the work.

It doesn’t matter if it’s Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, or whoever the frontrunner is, or Jeb Bush, or which party, we’re still pulling for a competition because it makes the candidates share their ideas, share their vision for our country, and what they’re going to do and how they want to lead. And that’s important. I’m all for contested races, I’m all for a little dustup in the name of democracy, and I think our party has historically shown that. Look at when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ran against each other.

MUNGIOLI: I look at the polls, and Trump’s been ahead, but other polls, Cruz is ahead. So is it really an outsider? It depends on how you define outsider. Is it someone with no political experience, that is running for political office for the first time, or is it somebody who currently holds office that’s being considered the establishment?

I think Trump brings the ratings to the debates. People go and watch.

But they’re also hearing from the rest. Republicans have a choice. We have a wide variety of people that can attract our message, what we hold strong in values. So if you want to find someone who opposes Common Core, find somebody that supports the Jewish community, Libertarians, you’ve got the message. Find the candidate, get behind them, work for them. Whether or not they’ve held office before or not – we’ve watched Carly go up, she’s gone down. Carson’s gone up, he’s gone down. Trump has stayed there, but others are coming up on his heels. And depending on which poll you’re looking at, and at the state, if it’s locally versus the national one, Cruz is ahead of him. It gives us a lot of vibrant dialogue about the issues and gives the voters choices to express their opinions

Why do you think this is resonating this year? The not-expected? The expected was Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush.

HOUSTON: I’ll be honest, I never thought Jeb Bush would take off. It’s not to knock him as a candidate or as a governor, for whatever reason that we’ve seen, I never expected it. I thought some other folks, like Cruz on the Republican side, would have a bigger base earlier.

MUNGIOLI: I’m at a point where I have five candidates that I’m looking at. I haven’t picked one that I’m ready to say, “OK, I’m ready to give you 20 hours a week for the next six months in order to make you president.” I’m still enjoying watching the debates, hearing what they stand for. I think there’s that division going on in D.C., the fighting that’s been going on, the inability of the White House to get any legislation done recently, the executive orders that they’re cramming down our throats – people are tired of being dictated to by their leaders in D.C. HOUSTON: Or not getting anything done in congress.

MUNGIOLI: When there was Democratic leadership there, they still couldn’t get anything done.

Here in Oakland County, what are you hearing most, and who is prevailing? Why? MUNGIOLI: From our Republican standpoint, it’s still a mix. Rubio, Cruz and Trump are getting a lot, and Bush does have his supporters out there.

The polling may not be showing it. Carly Fiorina is resonating among the female community. There’s a variety of candidates out there. Kacich, because he’s so close and he understands what it’s like to live in the midwest. There’s a variety of candidates coming with so many different backgrounds that appeal to a broad base of the community.

What I am seeing is people who have not been involved before, getting involved, expressing interest. We have debate watch parties at our headquarters every time there’s a debate. They have been standing room only, they are not our regular people. It’s wonderful. People want to come, they want to talk about the issues, they want to hear, they want to be with other grassroots people. These are not the usual knock-the-door activists we’re seeing.

There is a message that is resonating, and that is there is better, there is a brighter tomorrow. Pick one of these candidates – because any one of these candidates is going to be better than the alternative.

HOUSTON: Most people have come down to one of two candidates. That’s on the Democratic side. There are clear things that attract people to each – whether it’s Sen. Clinton’s experience. You can’t argue that there’s been a woman who’s been more tested to be president who has run for it. She has a vast degree of experience and a record she can be judged on. A lot of the political leadership in the county is definitely gravitating towards that experience.

On the grassroots, it’s pretty split. I would definitely call Sen. Clinton the frontrunner. Sen. Sanders has definitely captivated an active group of people who are engaged. That’s not to say they’re going to turn around and dismiss Hillary Clinton if she’s the nominee. It’ll come down to those two candidates, is my expectations. As a Scan for audio party entity and as a party leader, I don’t Oakland County Party endorse. I stay active with both. chairs interview.

What I think this election will come down to, beyond even our nominees, will come further down, but we see the roots of it now. How do you make government work, how do you create jobs and opportunities for all, and how do we tone down the rhetoric so we can get back to serving people and make government work for them.

It used to be more candidates could skate by on name recognition, but…for the state House and below, for example…you can't win with just a name or just a little money. – Houston

PUBLIC SAFETY TRANSPARENCY WHAT THE POLICE TELL US VS. WHAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW

BY KEVIN ELLIOTT

ichigan is the worst. At least that was the finding of a 2015 national report card issued by the Center for Public Integrity grading states on governmental ethics, accountability and transparency. While there were only three states with grades higher than a D+, Michigan was ranked dead last out of the 11 that received failing grades.

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Among the subjects that contributed to Michigan's dismal ranking on accountability and transparency is the state's failing grade on access to public records. Those who have done their homework know the various loopholes in the state's campaign finance laws, as well as the fact that the Michigan legislature and governor's office are exempt from the state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

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he impact to the public is multi-fold, preventing them from learning what is going on in the state and in their own communities, as well as impacting the ability of news organizations to determine news content and oversee both state and local government as watchdogs.

While state agencies and local governments are subject to the state's FOIA laws, the process of obtaining public records through the FOIA requests may at times hamper efforts by news agencies to share information with the public in a timely manner, particularly in cases of public safety information.

First Amendment attorney Herschel Fink, who serves as legal counsel for the Detroit Free Press, said while he hasn't received many complaints regarding access to police records recently from the newspapers he represents, the issue of transparency has become more opaque.

"When I worked for The (Detroit) News, you would call (police departments), and you would get pretty honest responses from agencies you were covering. Or, you would walk in and look at the records, which I view the law still requiring," said Fink, who worked as an editor and reporter for the paper years ago while working through law school. "If anything, the FOIA law that went into effect in 1976 made it more difficult. In places like Birmingham, which has been bad for years to get information, particularly if someone thought it was sensitive information, they would have you submit a FOIA, and then delay and make it less newsworthy by the delay.

"I haven't seen many problems. Maybe that's because news organizations are less able to cover them as they used to. They have bigger beats, and it's more difficult to get information. There's no specific instance, but I do know police agencies like Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills, if the news involves someone of prominence, it's hard to get, and it's hard to get in a timely way."

As breaking crime and public safety news often dominate headlines and lead television news broadcasts around the

metro Detroit area, many law enforcement agencies have changed the way they grant the public access to information. Journalists who once relied on notepads, telephone calls and stacks of police reports to gather local crime news now rely on social media, e-mail and websites.

In Birmingham, the police department shares routine crime information on a weekly basis through Crimedar, one of a handful of websites that police departments use to share crime briefings with the public.

Incidents are listed by location or in list form, and include dates, times, addresses and basic incident information. In addition to posting incidents on Crimedar, the department issues press releases via e-mail for more out of the ordinary crimes.

"There used to be a daily log, and reporters would ask questions, then check with the public information officer or whoever was available," said Birmingham Police Chief Don Studt. "It was time consuming. It used to be there was only one paper in town. Then everyone came in and we want to be fair and give the same information to everyone."

Crimedar allows departments to list incidents in 17 different categories, and is intended to allow the media and residents to track crime. Birmingham began utilizing Crimedar in late 2012, and has posted between 300 and 400 incidents each year.

In 2014, the department posted 343 incidents. According to the department's 2014 annual report, the department received a total of 17,678 calls for service, generating 367 major crime calls and drunk-driving incidents.

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tudt said the stacks of paper reports that reporters used to leaf through to gather their news doesn't exist in the same sense anymore because the system is now computerized. While a calls for service log can be examined, it would simply include a log of the hundreds of calls the department receives each day.

"It's everything," he said of the calls for service log. "It's every parking complaint, every barking dog and everything that could be a report or that's unfounded. They are often mislabeled because the initial call isn't what it ends up being. We went to Crimedar about three years ago. It was a matter of getting the information to everybody. As technology changes, we are probably a little slower than most industries in adapting, but we get there."

Bloomfield Township Police Chief Geof Gaudard said changes in technology and digitizing the department's system has

increased the flow of information to the public.

"There was a time when reports were done in triplicate. There was a pink copy, and reporters would come in and leaf through those to see the crimes they wanted to report," he said. "Overall, our information is much more obtainable than it used to be. We are in the news much more than we used to be, and I know part of it is the technology."

Bloomfield Detective Sgt. James Gallagher, who serves as the department's public information officer, said the incident blotter consists of various cases assigned to the detective bureau from the patrol division.

"We issue things that are of interest or that are of concern to the public," he said.

"Not everything that goes to the detective bureau is listed. We don't want to put things out if we have a suspect in a case – we don't want them to be aware."

In addition to the crime blotter that is emailed each week, the department posts incidents on Crimemapping.com. The website allows law enforcement agencies to post incidents in a map format, and includes the report number, date, time, location and nature of the call.

"Channel 4 calls every morning and asks about what is on the crime map," Gallagher said. "Just about everything goes out."

Rochester Police Chief Steven Schettenhelm said the department sends an e-mail each week to local media with a list of incidents believed to be newsworthy. For more serious or breaking crime, the department issues breaking news releases.

"They are things that the detectives think are newsworthy, based on their experience of what reporters ask. They want arrests and major incidents," Schettenhelm said of the weekly police blotter sent to local media.

Schettenhelm said the department has tried to share information different ways during his eight years as chief, with weekly e-mail and breaking releases being the most successful.

"We have tried bringing reporters in, but based on the type of activity that we have, it wasn't that productive to have them come in. (E-mail) saves them time and provides them information, and if they have questions based on what they receive, they can call back."

Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said commanders at each of the office's substations are instructed to send major incident reports to the command sergeant at the office's central command desk in Pontiac. Those reports are then formatted and sent to news media and various agencies on a daily basis. The

sheriff's office also sends out multiple news releases each day, depending on the activity in the county.

"We don't put everything in the (major incident reports). If it's embarrassing to the victim or victim's family, we filter that," McCabe said.

For instance, he said a recent report of an alleged criminal sexual conduct incident that appeared be "hinkey," was left off the media report until it could be investigated, and ultimately turned out to be a false allegation. Others withheld may involve active investigations.

Less serious crimes, such as minor thefts, vandalism and other reports taken at the office's substations are reviewed by substation commanders and available to news media for review. For instance, public safety reports from Rochester Hills are compiled by physically looking at the reports at the sheriff's substation.

Additionally, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office posts crime information at crimemapping.com.

"Ninety percent of what comes in, (the media) gets. We were one of the first in the county to do that, and now others are doing that. Troy has been doing it for years," McCabe said. "It's up to each agency as to what they want to release and what they don't want to release."

Sensitive information, such as that which might reveal the victim of a sex crime, is considered when determining whether to release a report to the media, McCabe said.

"We have a trust factor with the media, but that trust has to be earned," he said.

"There are some that are more astute to sensitivity involving crime victims, not that we are trying to hide anything."

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on Wyatt, executive editor for the Oakland Press and vice president of content for Digital First Media, said the flow of information from law enforcement agencies often relies on the individual relationships between agencies and specific media outlets.

"We make a point of showing up, but it's kind of all relationship building in the end.

Dealing with police agencies is about building relationships and trust, but they are as strapped for manpower and getting feet on the streets as we are at getting people over to the department to go through reports," Wyatt said. "It's not in their interest to withhold information because in the end it doesn't serve them very well."

Ferndale Police Lt. Wilson, who handles media requests and news releases for the

department, said he prefers not to be inundated with requests on routine incidents.

"Basically, I ask them not to call and ask what is going on because nobody is going to tell them anything. It's always the same: I say nothing," Wilson said. "If we do have something significant, I put out a press release and put it out to every publication and media outlet that wants to be on the list. If people want more information, they can ask, or if it's a big story, they can come in and ask."

The Ferndale Police Department posts routine incidents on crimemapping.com, but Wilson said the department doesn't put out its own police blotter anymore.

"If people call for the smaller incidents, asking about drunks – frankly we are too busy to mess with that. If they want to look at radio logs and come in, they can," Wilson said. "I think we get along well with the media. When I put out press releases, it goes to all the agencies. It's amazing who wants to grab onto things. I think it's going to be a small thing, and the next thing you know, it's CNN that's calling."

Detroit Free Press metro editor Maryann Struman said the degree of transparency varies from department to department.

"Some of the suburban departments are very helpful," she said in an e-mail. "Detroit is among the least transparent. Everything requires a FOIA, and even then, it is like pulling teeth."

Detroit News Crime Reporter George Hunter said the city of Detroit routinely takes weeks to respond to FOIA requests, sometimes requiring legal assistance from the newspaper's attorney. However, he said, FOIA delays may be attributed to the city's legal department, rather than the police department.

"The current administration is much more open than they previously had been.

They were very tight with information," Hunter said.

While the department issues daily crime reports, Hunter said they aren't very comprehensive and fail to touch on any of the main crime in the city. The best stories, he said, don't come from official channels, but rather through the cache of sources he has developed over the course of more than 15 years on the beat.

"A lot don't trust the media, so they don't say anything, and as we have seen in many cases, that's a mistake," Hunter said about law enforcement agencies. "If you say nothing, you are letting other people control the message."

Undersheriff McCabe said the Oakland County Sheriff's Office rarely requires the media to file a FOIA request for information.

"Our FOIA coordinator gets about 1,600 request a year, and most are from attorneys.

It's a full-time job. If I made the news media do it, we'd have to hire another staff," he said. "We are pretty open, and have been for a number of years. If it's really sensitive or something under investigation, but it's very rare that we tell anyone to file a FOIA request."

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nder Michigan's Freedom of Information Act, records compiled for law enforcement purposes are exempt from disclosure if releasing the information would interfere with law enforcement proceedings; deprive a person of the right to a fair trial; constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; or disclose the identity of a confidential source.

Attorney James Stewart, a partner at Honigman Business Law Firm, said while active investigations are exempt from disclosure under FOIA, it isn't necessarily a blanket disclosure.

"That's hard to overcome," he said of potentially exempt documents. "That issue goes back to the Evening News Association v City of Troy, from about 1983. The city of Troy refused to turn over an incident report.

The court found they have to give a very detailed account of why. It was quite a story."

The case involved the July 31, 1979 fatal shooting of David Prior, 24, of Troy, by two police officers who mistook him for a thief.

Stewart said there had been a rash of thefts involving custom vans at the time, and Prior had decided to arm himself with a pellet gun and guard his van overnight.

Concerned for his safety, Prior's older sister told the police department her brother planned to hide in the van to catch potential burglars, and asked for extra surveillance.

Believing they were responding to a report of a burglar, the officers checked the van.

"When they opened the back door of the van, Prior said something like, 'you're dead.'

He had a BB gun. They had .357s," Stewart said, who represented the Evening News Association, former publisher of the Detroit News. "We wanted the incident report, and the police wanted a lockdown on it."

The paper attempted to obtain the incident reports filed by the two officers, and the identities of the two officers involved. The Troy Police Chief, the city of Troy and the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office refused the requests. That August, the paper filed a suit in Oakland County

Circuit Court to compel disclosure under the FOIA. While the circuit court ruled against the paper, the Michigan Supreme Court in 1983 found the police department failed to separate exempt material in the case from that which was non-exempt from FOIA, thus reversing the decision of the circuit and appellate courts.

Today, the Troy Police Department has three trained public information officers, all who perform other duties. The department issues a crime sheet two to three times per week that is e-mailed to about 106 organizations, said Capt. Robert Redmond.

It's a process the department has used for about a decade.

"Many years ago, we had just a PIO (public information officer). Now I have about 44 jobs, so it takes three of us to put the word out," he said. “Anytime the press wants to do a story, we do it. We don't say no."

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he department also issues community e-mail alerts with information about crime trends, safety issues, longterm traffic issues and other information, in addition to sharing information on Facebook and crimemapping.com. By utilizing social media, Redmond said the department tries to keep the public informed and retain their support. Still, for all the department's efforts to share information, he said he understands the concerns about transparency.

"There's literally no paperwork to look at if you come in. It either goes to the detective bureau or the records department.

So, without a FOIA request, you don't see anything, but how do you know what to FOIA because there's nothing to go off until we issue the crime sheet," he said.

In order to speed the process, Redmond said the department typically forgoes any requirement to file a formal FOIA request.

"Usually, if a report is requested, I read it and redact what I can, and send them the report," Redmond said. "I didn't know it, but talking with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, they send everything out. If they get a request, they just send it. They redact what they can, and then they send it. So, that's what we do."

Redmond said reports are redacted to ensure victim information isn't released, nor suspect information prior to arraignment.

"We are very good about being open to the public with information," he said. "We are always going to get some people that say we aren't, but we don't get that from reporters very often. We have been told

other departments can get information faster, so we talk to other departments and find out what they are doing."

Royal Oak Police Lt. David Clemens, who serves as the department's public information officer, said the department posts information to crimemapping.com, in addition to issuing a weekly update of incidents briefs, which is posted to the department's website and e-mailed to local media. The list contains routine calls for service that generate reports, such as vandalism, thefts, and other items.

"Very mundane things," he said. "I just put something about Christmas tree lights.

Just about everything."

Clemens said separate news releases are issued for major crimes or special information the department wants to share with the public.

"We want the public to know what is happening," he said. "Someone might see something on the weekly update and recall seeing something in that area, and they may want to contact us. It's keeping the public informed and being transparent."

West Bloomfield Deputy Chief Curt Lawson said any member of the public is welcome to come into the department and look at a synopsis of the previous day's events, including crimes and traffic accidents, and ask to look at accompanying reports.

"It's not everything. It's alarms and actual crimes and traffic accidents. Basically, it's a summary of what has occurred on the previous day's shifts," he said. "Local papers come in and pull off there. They usually don't FOIA for the full report, but I walk them through it."

The department also utilizes crimemapping.com, which he said often generates questions from local television news outlets.

"We might not share an active investigation, but most of the time we share what we can. We also put out a lot of information on Facebook and social media," Lawson said. "We are pretty active in the media. We don't say, 'no comment.' We put information out to the public.�

Southfield Deputy Police Chief Nick Loussia, who also serves as the department's public information officer, said the department posts weekly crime briefs on its website, on Facebook and through crimemapping.com.

"If we are having a problem with a certain thing, we want people to know.

Then they can take measures to protect themselves," he said. "We want them to know what is happening and where it happens."

Waterford Police Lt. Scott Good said the days of leafing through paperwork are gone.

"Officers no longer handwrite reports.

They have systems in their car and everything is done as a computerized case management system, as well as photographs and bookings. We used to take physical Polaroids and ink fingerprints. Now it's all done electronically," he said. "We are taking advantage of those advances. With respect to media, it gives us the ability to push out photographs and other information electronically."

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ric Freedman, professor of journalism at Michigan State University, said while technology plays a part in the sharing of information, the trend of some local police departments taking a more proactive role in distributing information is also due in part to political pressure and legal mandates.

"In one way, they are being more transparent than they used to be," Freedman said. "Another point is that reporters are heavily taxed on time, and you don't have time to go to several police departments, unless you have a particular case in mind.

"I'm not sure there's anything different fundamentally than the way it always has been," Freedman said. "The police department is the original gatekeeper, and the media is the secondary gatekeeper.

Overall, it's better that the police announce something, as one-sided as that may be, than not announce anything."

Free Press attorney Fink said while advances in technology should increase the sharing of information to the public, news agencies still bear the responsibility of serving as a watchdog.

"One would hope that electronic data keeping should make it easier to share information. Public records should be posted on public body websites, but you don't know what is being withheld unless something happens," Fink said. "It boils down to whether a public body wants to be forthcoming. If they want to be secret, they are going to be secret."

Referring to former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Fink said it was "good journalism and good digging" that brought issues to light.

"A public body either has a tradition of openness or it doesn't, and if it doesn't, then we are all in trouble," he said. "It's good journalism that is going to find it."

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1002 N MAIN STREET, ROCHESTER MI, 48307

WHO ARE YOU DEMOGRAPHIC SNAPSHOT OF ROCHESTER AND ROCHESTER HILLS

BY KATIE DESKA

elcome to the Greater Rochester Area reads a sign near an off-ramp for M-59, referring to the communities of Rochester, Rochester Hills and Oakland Township. It's an invitation that beckons residents, businesses and visitors to relish both the quaintness of small town America and the tremendous technological, automotive and pharmaceutical advances that are occurring. Within its rolling hills, lush woods and flowing streams is a community representing the best of metro Detroit and midwest America.

Today, the three communities of Rochester, Rochester Hills and Oakland Township have a lot of overlap, from Rochester Community Schools, Rochester Avon Recreation Authority, the Older Persons Commission and the Rochester Hills Public Library, which is governed by a board of trustees composed of Rochester Hills residents, located in Rochester, and mutually funded by all three municipalities. The cities of Rochester and Rochester Hills share not only beautiful natural features and topography, but their public education system, and a mix of housing options, creating a symbiotic relationship between the two that’s highlighted by Rochester’s downtown walkability and Rochester Hills’ 21st century employers. A strong cohesion between the two is a natural evolution from the past, when the communities were originally united as the 36-square-mile municipality of Avon Township.

“We think of ourselves as the area. Nine out of 10 people say they live in ‘Rochester’ even though they may live in Rochester Hills or Oakland Township,” said Nik Banda, director of economic development for Rochester, which is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary as a city. Prior to its status as a city, the area was known as the village of Rochester, which was first established in 1869, and comprised a slice of land formerly within Avon Township, which would later become Rochester Hills. Village voters approved the switch from village to city in 1966.

In 1974, Rochester successfully petitioned to annex a couple square miles of Avon Township, which led to an increase of about 900 residents, including the largest taxpayer in Avon Township, Parke-Davis Biological Laboratory. The surrounding 30-plus square miles of Avon Township became Avon Charter Township in 1978, and, recognizing the need to strengthen their government to protect against any future annexations by other municipalities, voters approved a city charter in 1984, with residents choosing to name their new municipality the city of Rochester Hills, rather than the city of Avon Hills,

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further highlighting the cohesion between the two communities.

The abundance of water in present-day Rochester and Rochester Hills made the area desirable to its earliest settlers, many of who came from New York.

The Clinton River, Stony Creek and Paint Creek all traverse both cities, and made farming the open land an easy option for those who laid claim to the green, fertile soil. Harnessing hydropower enabled people to make a viable living working in sawmills, flour mills, and paper mills, which grew along side family farms.

Railroad ties were laid in the 1870s, and, by 1876, “seven million of pounds of produce, wheat, and livestock” were shipped out, according to a document from the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hosen Farm.

As cars replaced trains, the tracks were converted to the local Paint Creek Trail, making it the first rails-totrails project in the state.

Today, the city of Rochester is 3.8 square miles and has a population of about 12,700. It is surrounded by the larger municipality of Rochester Hills on three sides, with its eastern edge abutting Shelby Township, which lies in Macomb County. The 32.2 square miles of rolling Rochester Hills has a population of about 71,000, and is bordered by Dutton Road on the north, Dequindre Road on the east, Adams Road on the west, and South Boulevard to the south.

Pat McKay, director of the Rochester Hills Museum, which also covers the history of Rochester, pointed to the establishment of the north-south thoroughfare I-75 in the 1950s, and the east-west highway M-59 in the 1970s, as major factors which led to the growth of the area. According to data from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), between 1970 and 1980, population for Rochester and Rochester Hills combined increased from about 31,500 to 48,000, which was then followed by the greatest decade of growth – between 1980 and 1990 – when it leapt from about 48,000 to 69,000. Growth slowed down during the next decade, but continued, with the cities gaining only 10,400 more residents between 1990 and 2000. lthough the population growth appears to have passed its strongest period of dynamic growth, the area of Rochester and Rochester Hills continues to attract people. The combined population of the two cities increased by 4,400 residents, or 5.6 percent, between 2000 and 2010, according to the U.S. Census, for a total of approximately 83,700. The upward trajectory during that period is notable when compared with the region of southeast Michigan, which saw a 2.7 percent decline in total population between 2000 and 2010. “It indicates that people are moving into Rochester and Rochester Hills from other

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parts of the region or the state,” said Brian Parthum, economic trends planner for SEMCOG. Since its first settlers, the community has been a primarily white, Christian population, but as it has grown in recent years, especially with more automotive and technological companies setting their headquarters in the city of Rochester Hills, the population has begun to become more diversified.

“While the numbers may not look diverse,” said mayor Bryan Barnett of Rochester Hills’ racial and ethnic diversity, “it would look a whole lot different in 1995 or 1985, compared to now.”

In 2000, 87.6 percent of the Rochester and Rochester Hills population was white. By 2010, the communities had diversified somewhat, and the population of whites declined to 81.1 percent. The Hispanic population increased a mere .8 percent, and in 2010, Hispanics comprised 3 percent of the population of the two cities combined. Over that decade, Rochester Hills as a community diversified more than the older city of Rochester.

The larger city was 87.1 percent white in 2000, dropping to 80 percent in 2010. Asians made up 6.7 percent of Rochester Hills in 2000, and 10.5 percent in 2010. The population of African Americans increased over the decade by about 2 percent, to 4.5 percent of the total population. rue to the area’s European settler roots, Christianity is the predominant religion in Rochester and Rochester Hills. “(The city) is welcoming to everybody, but, especially religiously, people live where their religious institutions are,” said Banda, economic development director for Rochester. “The land (here) would be too expensive to (now) build a religious institution,” he said, noting that the city has a number of Christian churches, including Catholic, Lutheran and Latter-day Saints.

Similarly, in Rochester Hills, “We have a church on probably every major street in our community,” said Barnett. “The churches are a strong component and a significant part of our fabric. Outside of the more traditional and Protestant, we have the largest Albanian Catholic Church in the world, outside of Albania, St. Paul’s. On that same stretch (of Auburn Road) we have the Islamic Association of Greater Detroit, and a mosque for the Ahmadiyya faith.”

“Both (cities) are attractive places to live,” said Parthum of SEMCOG. “There’s quality school districts, a stable employment base and opportunities for good paying jobs. Both Rochester and Rochester Hills have higher education attainment levels. Look at the graduate (school) level – Rochester has 25 percent, and Rochester Hills has 22 percent.

Compared to 12 percent for southeast Michigan, that’s really double the rate for the region. Having higher levels of education attainment in the workforce enables a community to attract higher paying jobs that require higher levels of education,” Parthum noted. “It’s a little of a chicken-or-the-egg thing. It’s tough to know which comes first, but there’s definitely a correlation between higher paying jobs and higher levels of education.”

In Rochester in 2010, according to the U.S. Census, 31 percent of the population held a bachelor’s degree as the highest level of education, as did 30 percent of Rochester Hills.

Slightly under two percent more Rochester students graduated high school than Rochester Hills students, at 96.7 versus 94.8 percent.

According to 2010 data that was generated from a five-year average by the U.S. Census, 19.7 percent or 6,690 of all working Rochester Hills residents, aged 16 and up, stay in their home city to work. That number is slightly lower for Rochester, at 16 percent working in their own city. According to the same data, more Rochester residents, 11.7 percent, commute to Rochester

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Hills to work, compared to 5.9 percent of Rochester Hills residents who commute to the smaller neighboring city. “The unemployment is about 4.9 percent for northern Oakland County, pretty on target as for the rate,” said Blaine Wing, Rochester city manager. “If (a city is) around five percent, that’s pretty standard. Around 2009, 2010, it was about 14 percent in northern Oakland County.”

Popular sectors of employment for Rochester include services to households and firms (20 percent), such as dry cleaners, salons, and mechanics; knowledge-based services (17 percent); and private education and healthcare (15 percent).

Rochester’s biggest employer is Par Pharmaceutical, said Banda. “But, there’s a lot of close seconds,” he added. “The schools aren’t technically in the city, but the administration building is there, and the Royal Park (Hotel) is up at the top, as is Pfizer (Pharmaceuticals).”

The major sectors of employment in Rochester Hills are private education and healthcare (20 percent), retail (19 percent), and manufacturing (16 percent).

“Our industrial parks – I should call them business parks,” said Ed Anzek, director of planning for Rochester Hills, “have evolved from being primarily manufacturing and light assembly to being R and D (research and development), design, development, and office.”

Pat McKay, director for the Rochester Hills Museum, said top employers within the city include Rochester Community Schools, which serve nearly 15,000 students; Crittenton Hospital, which stands on land that used to be home to a horse racetrack; robotics companies, such as FANUC, which has its headquarters in the city; and auto-industry related manufacturers, such as Eagle Ottawa, which produces leather interiors. “We aren’t like Auburn Hills, where we only have one employer, like Chrysler. We’re blessed to be diversified,” said Barnett, who noted that the largest employer is Oakland University, which has about 17,000 students. Rochester College, located in Rochester Hills, is significantly smaller and less impactful to the workforce. ochester’s median household income for 2010 was $76,603, which reflects a drop of $8,707 during the decade that held the Great Recession. Rochester Hills’ median household income dropped nearly $20,000 during that time, from $98,049 to $78,086 in 2010. “My gut feel is that most families here are a two-income household. A typical Rochester Hills resident, if you were to look at the census, is a family of four, with college-educated parents that are probably working in some way that supports the auto industry, and the students are getting an education in some of the best schools in the state. Planning for college, living comfortably, and enjoying the amenities here,” said Barnett. “Probably more so than the state average, we would lean more towards one income.”

Over the years and through the development changes, the area has been politically conservative. “It’s a relatively wealthier area, both Rochester and Rochester Hills, so it’s not surprising that it would be more Republican in that regard,” said John Klemanski, author and political science professor at Oakland University.

“I would say it would be fair to describe Rochester and Rochester Hills as being conservative Republican. To break it down, they’re economically conservative, and more socially liberal and moderate. But I think economic concerns are usually the primary ones, and that’s a strength in the area,” said Susan Demas, editor and publisher for Inside Michigan Politics, who analyzed each city’s election results for the last presidential and gubernatorial races.

“These are some strong numbers for Republicans at the

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bottom of the ticket in both 2012 and 2014,” she stated, looking at the votes for member of the state board of education, governors of Wayne State University, regents for University of Michigan, and trustees for Michigan State University. “It's notable that Democrats did very well statewide both years, winning eight of eight education board races in '12 and, seven of eight in '14. Republicans are definitely stronger in the Rochester area in non-presidential years. The base GOP vote indicates to me that the area probably will stay firmly Republican in 10 years, unless there are big demographic changes.”

With parks, festivals, cultural attractions, as well as easy access to everyday amenities, both Rochester Hills and Rochester are active family-friendly communities, though as the population ages, the families are growing up. Residents in their 30s decreased in Rochester Hills by 2,057, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, and in Rochester by 431. Combined, the cities had 646 less children aged nine and under in 2010 than in 2000, with the majority of the decline occurring in Rochester Hills. For the communities combined, the median age was 36.9 years in 2000 and 39.6 years a decade later.

Between 2000 and 2010, the population of those aged 20-29 in Rochester Hills increased slightly, by 873, and the same group increased in Rochester by 171 individuals. “I think that more people are discovering us,” said Kristi Trevarrow, director of Rochester’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA).

“People are wanting to move back to places with walkability.

They like to get to know their neighbors. I think we’re riding that trend, that people are moving back towards having that neighborhood experience.”

In 2010, about 30 percent of each city was between the ages 40 and 59. In 2010, of the total Rochester Hills residents, 20.3 percent were aged 60 and above, as were 16.4 percent of Rochester residents. And the numbers of those living longer in the community are anticipated to increase over the next several decades. The number of Rochester and Rochester Hills residents aged 75 and over, is projected to increase by 6,103 individuals between 2010 and 2040, according to the 2040 Forecast produced by SEMCOG. lthough the area remains an attractive choice for those raising families, residents aging in place, coupled with a decreasing capacity for buildable land, contribute to a slower population growth. “There’s a lot of empty-nesters selling their homes in the suburbs, and moving in town (to Rochester). People want to live within walking distance of dinner, entertainment,” said Rochester city councilman Ben Giovanelli. “People in their early 50s, that aren’t ready to go into ‘Sunny Farms Retirement Home,’ want to live in town. But there’s a tipping point,” he said. “It’s something we’ve been good at, measured development, and that’s the challenge. You want to create an environment that makes people want to be in Rochester. Look at the parking decks. Why spend $12 million? Because we want people to come into town, and they, and residents, need places to park.

It’s a catalyst project.”

Rochester Hills has been rapidly developing, and recently “most of the developments we’ve seen have been senior developments,” said Barnett. “Those folks want to stay here – we’re not losing all to Florida, or Arizona – and they’re demanding a different product from the market. More than half of the developments that are on the books, done in the last year, or in process, were focused on empty-nesters or singlestory developments. We have an aging population in the region.

That being said, there’s the 150 townhomes that are coming behind the Target, Kohl’s and Emagine Theater. I think that

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speaks to what we’re trying to do on the other end of the market – someone who’s not looking for a $400,000 home, but something in the low twos.”

“When I got here, 15 years ago,” said Ed Anzek, planning director for Rochester Hills, “about 88 percent (of the 50 percent of land that’s taxable) was dedicated to residential, and the remaining 12 percent was dedicated to retail, community and office. This community prided itself on being a bedroom community, and then realized ‘we need some tax base.’ We haven’t increased our commercial area, we’ve reduced it by about 30 acres. The objective of the city now is not to increase that amount, but to make it better where it’s at, make it more viable. Maybe a second floor of residential above the retail.”

Mixed-use development is not only in vogue, but is an obvious solution to the problem of limited space. “We’re at a 90 percent build-out,” said Barnett. “What’s left are smaller tracts of land, that are oddly shaped or encumbered by wetlands.

Essentially, those are what you’re seeing developments happening on now.” ochester finds itself in a similar situation.

“The main growth I’ve seen (in Rochester) in the last 10 or 15 years is in housing stock,” said Giovanelli. “That said, we’re basically moving out the people of lower socioeconomic means. We’re trying to find a way to balance that with affordable housing stock. There’s no buyers looking (to spend) $200,000 to $250,000 who don’t want first floor laundry. If we had tons of farmland like Washington Township, you could drop cookie cutter houses and problem solved, but you don’t have that luxury here – we’re 3.5 square miles. If you want to create a site where folks can live downtown and still afford it, how do you do that? The economics don’t work unless you want a house that’s 50 years old, so you need to move away or to live downtown, live in an alternative, and that’s a condo or an apartment.”

Giovanelli noted that 80 percent of the city’s revenue comes from residential property taxes, while the remainder comes from commercial property taxes. City officials have discussed the importance of surveying current housing options and incorporating such findings into future planning. “We’re talking about trying to find the spectrum (of housing options),” said Banda, the head of economic and community development.

Some developers are making an investment by renovating existing apartments. “Take Great Oaks, for example. They spend money and redo them – new appliances, carpet, windows. There’s a resurgence going on and I expect that to continue. Next year, (the city will add) 50 apartments in the First Street Lofts, and will probably be adding 200 to 300 people,” said Banda. “We’re adding more housing stock than we’re taking away. A lot of people want to die here, which is awesome – I’m one of them. We bought a house downtown, and hopefully that’s the last house I buy.”

Rochester Hills residents often think of Rochester as their downtown, and Trevarrow points to the “strategic advantage” of the city, in terms of dining and shopping. “Ninety percent are all independently-owned,” she said. “Many of them are only in Rochester, so you have a chance of stumbling upon something completely different.”

Re-elected to his mayoral post in a rare write-in campaign, Barnett said, “My vision since I took office is to make Rochester Hills the premier place to live, work and raise a family.”

Professor Klemanski, of Oakland University, sums up the cities’ relationship. “The advantage Rochester and Rochester Hills has is that they’re well integrated. You can take advantage of both communities at the same time,” he said.

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02.16

FACES Desiree Linden arathon runner Desiree Linden (Davila) is revving up for a February 13th race that will determine whether or not she qualifies for the 2016 Olympic team, set for Rio de Janeiro this August. If all goes well, it will be her second time off the start line.

Linden, 32, spent January in Florida, training with the elite Hansons-Brooks running team based in Rochester Hills, which she joined a decade ago, after graduating all-American from Arizona State University, where she ran track and cross country.

After college, Linden moved to Rochester Hills to participate in the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, an Olympic training program founded by coaches and brothers Kevin and Keith Hanson. She now averages about 115 miles a week.

“It’s been quite the process. Doing the track-shack thing,” she said, referring to a shared house of fellow women in the training group, before she married. “Like a starving artist almost, but I had the support of Hansons-Brooks, and have been able to partner with PowerBar, Oakley and Timex.”

Linden’s first Olympic run, in 2012, was stunted by a femoral stress fracture that rendered her too injured to finish the 26.2 miles. “It’s kind of the pinnacle of your career, and to have it end abruptly, it was difficult and challenging at the time. But, I’ve been able to move forward from that very well,” she said, “and I’m looking forward to replacing that, one step at a time.”

Today, the highlight she holds onto is her personal best, 2 hours, 22 minutes and 38 seconds, accomplished at the 2011 Boston Marathon. “I came in second in that race. I felt like I was ready to have that race, but just to get the results, to know that you can compete with some of the best people in the world, and have that result on paper, have people see that you’re for real – that was rewarding.” Linden crossed the line just two seconds behind Caroline Kilel, from Kenya, a country Linden has trained in twice.

“The fun part about running is you can do it anywhere, it’s a great way to travel around and be in new places, and meet new people. It wasn’t by accident that (I went to Kenya) in the winter,” she said. “We do 99.9 percent (of our running) outside. You learn to dress for the conditions. If we get a really icy, slippery day, we might hit Lifetime Fitness and run on the treadmills. Otherwise it’s outside, pounding the pavement.”

Born in Chula Vista, California, Linden married Ryan Linden in 2013, a competitive athlete currently training for the Ironman World Competition. The two were neighbors and he has run with the Hansons-Brooks team, as well.

“Running the Paint Creek Trail is awesome,” Linden said, “You can take that forever. And there’s incredible dirt roads that are perfect. People don’t realize that it’s such a great running community. I think it’s a surprise for a lot of the teammates who come in from other places.”

When February 13th rolls around, Linden will get up early and have a healthy breakfast. On race day, she said, “You’ve done all the work, you go to the line excited and confident and ready to compete. It’s pretty basic at that point.”

Linden understands her passion as, “Life 101. You can’t cheat running.”

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Story: Katie Deska

Photo: Brooks Running

MUNICIPAL Restrictions placed on used car lot

City to prosecute carrying gun while drunk

By Katie Deska

By Kevin Elliott

A used car lot in Rochester Hills' Olde Towne neighborhood may continue operations and redevelop its property under several special conditions placed on the owner, the city's planning commission determined on Tuesday, January 19.

Syed Ahmed, owner of Auto Rite Sales, 1923 E. Auburn Road, between John R and Dequindre roads, pleaded with planning commission members to allow him to expand the number of vehicles allowed to be stored at the property from the five currently allowed up to 18. However, commission members, who said Ahmed has failed to keep past assurances to the city, held the number of vehicles on the .29-acre site to a total of 12.

"I'm concerned about the number of cars. We've been here before and talked about the number of cars," commission member Nicholas Kaltsounis said, noting Ahmed had illegally parked vehicles on his adjacent property in the past. "I would like to see a condition that there won't be any cars on the property to the west. There's been a lot of games played."

In addition to Auto Rite Sales, Ahmed also owns a vacant property to the west of the car lot where he has frequently parked vehicles that were part of the car sales business.

However, city ordinance doesn't permit cars to be parked on the western property.

Planning Director Ed Anzek confirmed that vehicles from the business have never been permitted to be parked at the western property. An aerial photo of the two parcels showed about a dozen vehicles parked on the property. Planning commission and city council member Stephanie Morita said she went to the property and witnessed vehicles parked against city ordinances.

"When I was there, I saw an unlicensed vehicle on the west lot," she said. "There were nine vehicles on the west lot, and only one with a license plate, and that was a dealer plate. I'm concerned."

Anzek said the history of the site goes back to 2013, when the city initially approved conditional use for the used car lot, with a maximum of five cars. At the time, the district permitted outdoor sales of used cars as a conditional use. During that approval process, it was understood Ahmed would demolish the existing building and construct a new building 44

n an effort to streamline legal proceedings to prosecute a drunk driver found to be carrying a concealed pistol, the Rochester City Council voted unanimously on Monday, January 25, to amend the city’s weapons ordinance to enable police officers to issue a city ordinance violation for both offenses – operating while under the influence and carrying under the influence.

Previously, an officer could issue a city ordinance violation for operating while under the influence, but was required to issue a separate, state law violation ticket for carrying under the influence.

Bifurcating the tickets in this way posed potential problems while the case moved through the court system.

“It was being prosecuted under state law, and now (that council has adopted an additional section to the ordinance) it will be able to be handled locally. It’s mirroring what the state law was,” said city manager Blaine Wing. “It seemed to make sense for us, and really, for anyone who’s going to be prosecuted beneath it. The sentence is the same. It’s just that now our city attorney would be the prosecutor.”

Depending on the offender’s blood alcohol level, the individual will face a temporary suspension, or permanent revocation of his/her concealed pistol license; and a municipal civil infraction, or a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail. All offenders found guilty of carrying under the influence are fined $100.

Rochester police chief Steven Schettenhelm brought the issue to city council after a number of drunk driving incidents involved individuals who were also carrying a concealed weapon.

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and be allowed to display more than five cars. Since then, the district had changed, and used car sales are no longer permitted. However, because Ahmed has a vested interest in the property, his use was grandfathered in.

The site plan, however, still requires a recommendation by city council for the conditional use and approval of the site plan.

Around June 2014, it was learned that an excess inventory for the Auto Rite operation was being stored on the west lot. After a series of conversations, directives and citations to remove the vehicles, a meeting was held between Ahmed's attorneys, the city attorney, and city staff in January 2015. Anzek said Ahmed, at that time, pleaded he would submit plans immediately, build the new facility that would allow for more than 5 vehicles, and remove the excess inventory from the west lot. However, those site plans weren't formally submitted to the city for several months.

Ahmed went before the planning commission in November of 2015, at which time the commission asked him to revise drawings to downsize the size of the building and better clarify parking and storage on the site. The initial proposal was for a 2,448 squarefoot building with three service bays.

It has since been updated to include a 1,757 square foot building and two service bays.

Anzek said the original plans included a building that was far too large for the property, and also included bedrooms in the office building, which are not permitted under the property's zoning.

The revised plans and the conditional use was approved Tuesday by the planning commission by a vote of 7-1, with planning commission member David Reece opposing, and commission chair William Boswell absent.

Reece, who requested changes to the color of the second floor exterior of the proposed building, expressed doubts that Ahmed could continue operations during the construction of the new building and paving of the dirt lot.

"Trying to keep that building open during construction is a disaster waiting to happen. If I were a business owner, the last thing I would want is a customer coming onto a site and risk getting hurt, and I do know about construction because I'm in the business," he said. "It's a poorly thought out plan. You have five pounds of stuff going into a one pound box."

Among the conditions placed on the site include a caveat that should Ahmed be convicted of two or more citations on either property in a oneyear period that the conditional use be revoked. Further, customers test driving vehicles are restricted from

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entering the residential neighborhood surrounding the business; fencing must be modified to allow for an unobstructed corner to the east; no string lights be allowed; and no outside storage be permitted.

While Ahmed didn't agree with limiting the number of vehicles on the lot, Anzek said he has since contacted with the city and is planning to move forward under the conditions. The matter will now go before city council at a later date for final approval.

City approves Auburn Road corridor study A study of how to redevelop the Auburn Road corridor, with special emphasis on the city's Olde Town neighborhood, was approved by the Rochester Hills City Council on Monday, January 25.

The study, which isn't to exceed a cost of $75,000, will be conducted by LSL Planning, a SAFEbuilt LLC Company, of Royal Oak. Council members unanimously approved the expenditure, which was included in the city's fiscal year 2015-2016 budget.

The cost of the plan was estimated to be $70,000, with a $5,000 contingency for potential overruns.

Rochester Hills Planning and Development Director Ed Anzek said an Olde Town redevelopment study was identified and included in the city's capital improvement plan for several years. City staff has also been working with the planning commission to discuss what other cities are doing to promote effective redevelopment efforts. Anzek said there is a belief that several of the city's commercial nodes have grown "tired and nearing obsolescence," and the need for some incentives to encourage redevelopment was in order.

"It started about four years ago, and we feel there's a need to revisit the Auburn corridor, particularly Olde Town," Anzek said. "The city has tried three times in the past 30 years to reinvest in that corridor. It's a difficult disjointed, non-cohesive stretch. It doesn't have a lot of curb cuts – it's one continuous curb cut. It needs some vision to clean it up."

While the proposal for the plan states a need for "incentives" to encourage redevelopment, Anzek clarified that "incentives" aren't necessarily monetary investments.

"Incentivizing doesn't always need money. It could be a mixed use zoning, to allow residential on top and commercial on the bottom. If that allows a person to gain more use than the current zoning, then there is an 02.16

Historic home designation removed

By Kevin Elliott

incentive to redevelop," he said. "I'm not talking about spending money."

Anzek said simply adding trees or benches to an area doesn't necessarily add any incentive for property owners to redevelop an area. Whether capital improvements or infrastructure spending is needed could be considered after a full plan is done, but Anzek said a study should be done first.

Council did not set a timeline for the study to be completed.

Site plan approval delayed on condos A breakdown in communication between a Rochester land developer and a group of concerned residents living near the proposed Nottingham Woods project led Rochester Hills City Council members on Monday, January 11, to delay preliminary site plan approval for the project.

Preliminary site plans for the 17-unit condominium development on a nineacre site between Livernois and Crestline were recommended for approval in August by the city's planning commission, but were subject to several conditions. Among the conditions were that the developer, Vanguard Equity Management of Rochester, work with adjacent property owners to address concerns about privacy. However, several residents who spoke at the council meeting said the developer had been unresponsive to calls.

Rochester Hills resident Alex Kiwior said he received a letter from Vanguard that included site plans which were different than those approved by the planning commission in August.

Several items, including a section of trees, were removed from the original plans.

"The waterflow to my property will worsen, and the positioning of the entrance will cause a large section of my lot to have a street on three sides," Kiwior said. "I have concerns, and I am asking members of council to review this carefully and prudently."

Under the preliminary site plan, the development would consist of 17 single-family homes ranging from 2,000 to 3,600 square feet, with lot widths of about 90 feet. Homes are expected to sell for about $500,000.

Resident Paul Schira, president of the neighboring Sycamore Homeowners Association, said homeowners in the area were initially told one thing, and now were being told that plans have changed. Further, he said he was concerned that residents will be stuck with an eyesore if the parcel isn't developed in a timely fashion.

"I don't want another field on Hamlin (Road) for two years," he said.

"There's no guarantee that the property to the west will get developed. It's been there for two years and we have only two houses."

Rochester Hills Planning Manager Sara Roediger said some revisions were made to the preliminary plans since August, which included relocating one of the two retention ponds on the property, and enhanced landscaping and fencing to provide visual screening for neighbors. She said all stormwater drainage is required to remain onsite.

"City staff hasn't received phone calls. We were under the impression that the applicant and neighbors were working harmoniously together," she said.

Council members attempted to address many of the questions of residents, but were unable to satisfy all concerns, as the developer wasn't in attendance at the meeting.

"The fact that the applicant isn't here makes me uncomfortable approving this," said council vice president Stephanie Morita. "The anticipation is that if you're coming in asking for approval, you would be here to answer questions."

Council approved a motion to table the matter until the developer is available to answer questions from council and residents. The motion to table passed 6-1, with council member Dale Hetrick opposing.

Mixed use project proposed for Main

By Katie Deska

A mixed-use residential/office development has been proposed for 804 N. Main Street in Rochester, north of Romeo Road, where a Hollywood Mini Market and gas station currently operate.

Rochester planning commissioners voted on Monday, January 4, to schedule a public hearing and consideration of site plan and special project exception approval, which is likely to appear on the agenda of the February 1 meeting of the commission.

Erich Becker, whose family owns the Main Street property, consulted with Joe Latozas, of Designhaus Architects, to create a plan for constructing a three-story 23,750square foot building consisting of residential, office and medical office units.

The development has been designed to house office space on the first floor, followed by eight onebedroom units and a dental office on the second, and topped off with four condos on the third floor.

two-story colonial home built just after the turn of the 20th century at 820 E. Auburn Road in Rochester Hills was removed from the city's list of potentially historic houses, clearing the way for the owner's plans to raze the structure and build a pre-school on the property.

Homeowner Kevin Baird on Monday, January 11, told Rochester Hills city council members that he purchased the property in 2014 as an investment to develop in the future.

"It's been abandoned for years, as evidenced by the $28,000 outstanding water bill at the time I purchased the property from the previous owners," Baird said.

Baird said he researched the city's historic district ordinance prior to purchasing the property, noting that it isn't part of a noncontiguous historic district, which would have required the structure to be preserved under the ordinance. Since then, Baird said he has been working with an interested buyer who would like to demolish the structure and build a pre-school in its place.

However, Baird said he had since learned that the house is on the city's list of potentially historic homes.

In November, Rochester Hills resident Devin Sykes sent a letter to the city's planning director, Ed Anzek, and the historic districts commission, urging the city to preserve the home.

"Surrendering another of our landmark buildings to the whims of commercial development threatens to further erase the unique history in both the Brooklands neighborhood and the Rochester Hills community," Sykes said. "The identity, integrity and character of a city relies heavily on survival of its original and historic structures. Without them, we are limited to a grid of streets redundantly lined with Starbucks and McDonald's."

Sykes provided documents clarifying that the home was built in 1901 by Julian and Bertha Siess to raise their family. "The house was a likely replacement of a previous farmhouse that was built on or near the same foundation."

Anzek said at the city council meeting that the house was identified as a home with potential historic value, but more information was required before a determination could be made.

The house was one of 17 on the described list.

Baird said he respectfully disagreed with the designation, citing a a hodgepodge of additions that had been added to the house over the years, as well as a professional building inspection report indicating the state of dilapidation.

"The original structure was a center-entrance colonial of approximately 1,200 square feet," he said. "Over the years, the home has undergone major alterations, including at least two significant additions off the rear of the home; removal of the original exterior wood siding, now replaced with aluminum siding; and addition of a detached two-car garage with aluminum siding."

Baird also showed photos of the original foundation that was crumbling in several places, a main support beam that wasn't structurally sound, and a list of other structural defects. Further, he said, there appeared to be lead paint that is peeling, asbestos tiles, mold and other issues with the home. Preservation, he said, would likely cost more than $150,000.

"This is one that probably slipped through the cracks," Anzek said about the status of the home as a potentially historic structure. "It never crossed my mind. You can't see the house in the summer because of the growth around it. We were tipped off by a resident who thought it should be preserved."

City council members voted unanimously to remove the home's historic designation.

Currently zoned as a mixed-use commercial property, the removal of the designation may allow prospective buyers Sandeep and Swapna Chada to move forward with plans to construct a pre-school at the site. They are proposing a 11,000 square foot, two-story building to house The Goddard School. If approved, the school could be used to educate about 140 students and employ a staff of about 23 people.

The Chadas would need to proceed through the Rochester Hills approval process in order to build and operate their proposed business.

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Rochester Hills to update parks plan

Natural features program adopted

By Katie Deska

By Kevin Elliott

The city of Rochester Hills is seeking input from the public in an online survey on how best to update the current park system, as well as how they would like to see proposals for undeveloped park property.

The survey, which will be posted through Thursday, February 11, is part of the process of updating the city's parks and recreation master plan for 2016-2020. The survey may be accessed on the main page of the city's website, rochesterhills.org.

Hard copies of the survey are available at the mayor's office, 1000 Rochester Hills Drive.

In addition to the survey, residents are invited to participate in a public input forum at the February 22 city council meeting.

The city's parks and recreation master plan is updated every five years, and serves as a long-term guide for the management of citymaintained recreational facilities and programs. Together with the city's master land use plan, the parks and recreation master plan explains the city's recreational goals and objectives for the community. The plan also allows the city to qualify for grants from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, which may assist in acquiring or developing parkland.

The city owns and maintains 1,000 acres of parks and trails, including 13 developed city parks ranging in size from small neighborhood parks to the 206-acre Bloomer Park. Facilities include ball fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, roller hockey rinks, picnic areas, playgrounds, a velodrome, swimming, hiking, golf and other activities.

While the city recently retired a .3-mill greenspace millage, funding for parks and recreation comes from the city's general fund. Acquisition and development of parkland is funded through the city's capital improvement fund, which also comes from Rochester Hills' general fund.

A draft of the 2016-2020 parks and recreation master plan was expected to be posted to the city's website in late January for review and comment.

Mayor Bryan Barnett said more than 300 people had responded to the survey by Thursday, January 14.

Participants are able to share their thoughts on various parks and 46

ochester Hills is moving forward with the voters’ decision to protect city-owned green spaces, which is seeing fruition through unanimous approval of a natural features stewardship program long-term management plan, approved by the city council on Monday, December 14, following recommendation from the nine-member Green Space Advisory Board.

The long-term management plan was prepared by Niswander Environmental, LLC, with input from Mike Hartner, director of the city’s parks and forestry department; Lance DeVoe, the city’s park ranger/naturalist; and the Green Space Advisory Board, composed of citizens, city staff, and representatives from the city council and youth council. The Green Space Advisory Board was formed after the 10-year open space millage was passed in 2005.

Rochester Hills contracted with Niswander Environmental in 2014 to implement a stewardship program that entails “providing invasive species control, habitat restoration, comprehensive wetland services, open space evaluations and planning, ecological assessments, endangered species surveys, GIS (geographic information system) services, and any additional ecological services as needed by the city,” according to the executive summary written by representatives of Niswander.

The long-term management plan outlines and prioritizes over 20 projects, and establishes goals for the immediate future, as well as fiveyear and ten-year goals. The six properties, which the city owns and/or operates, are called Harding, White, Cloverport, Childress, River Crest and Clear Creek.

Four areas of the Clinton River riparian corridor have also been identified as locations of concern due to the threat of riverbank erosion, including Yates Roadside Park, Avon Natural Area, Riverbend Park and Bloomer Park.

About 12 percent of Rochester Hills' 32.2 square miles is open space, according to Niswander Environmental.

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recreation topics, including funding, distribution, improvements and the quality of the parks that they have visited.

"Having residents share their thoughts about the future of our parks system is invaluable information to our team," Barnett said. "The more people we can get involved in the planning process, the better we can do on delivering our community's collective vision."

This year's planning process marks the first for the city without former parks and forestry director Michael Hartner, who retired in December after 35 years with Rochester Hills.

Barnett said while the city is in the midst of a search to replace Hartner, his vision can be seen throughout the community.

"You pretty much see it all over town," he said, noting the safe, welcoming and inclusive nature of the city's parks. "Really, providing a sort of wide array of recreational opportunities that are close to folks' homes, and doing it in a safe and

consistent manner, was his legacy."

Condos approved by city planners Rochester Hills Planning Commission members on Tuesday, January 19, cleared the way for a 12unit condominium project, called Brampton Parc, to be constructed in the 1400 block of John R, between School and Hamlin Roads.

The applicant, 1459 John R LLC, represented by Jim Polyzois, plans to construct six two-family condominiums on about three acres of land. Polyois proposed units ranging from 1,250 to 2,100 square feet, and all will have two-car garages. The site is surrounded by single-family home on three sides, with a school across John R to the west. The homes are expected to be priced at about $300,000, and aimed toward age-restricted housing.

The planning commission approved the final PUD agreement, site plan, wetland use permit and natural

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features setback modification for the project, by a vote of 8-0, with commission chair William Boswell absent.

The project received preliminary approval of the PUD agreement in November of 2015, and initial planning commission approval in October of 2015. While additional landscaping was required along the eastern portion of the property as a condition of approval, five ornamental trees were replaced with evergreen trees and an additional 15 evergreen trees have since been added to the plans to comply.

The plans for Brampton Parc will go before city council at a later date for consideration of final approval.

Preliminary site plans get city okay Preliminary site plans were approved Monday, January 11, by Rochester Hills city council members for a 23-acre condominium project south of Hamlin Road, west of Livernois, named Woodland Park.

Pulte Land Company, of Bloomfield Hills, is proposing the construction of about 48 single-family condominiums, which are expected to be priced between $475,000 and $500,000.

Preliminary plans indicate structures will have predominantly brick exteriors on the first floor and hardboard or vinyl siding on the upper floors.

Council members unanimously approved the preliminary plans, which will now go back before the city's planning commission for approval before returning to council for final approval.

Council members also gave unanimous approval of a wetland permit.

The project site contains about 1.2 acres of wetlands, of which about a third is expected to be impacted. An assessment of the wetlands by the city's environmental consultant found the wetlands are of medium to low ecological quality and shouldn't be considered a vital resource to the city.

The developer intends to provide crossings for roads and utilities that would impact the wetlands.

South Street Flats plans at a standstill

By Katie Deska

Rochester resident and developer Joe LoChiro, the man behind the city’s First Street Lofts, stood before the planning commission on Monday, January 4, to discuss his 02.16

plans for South Street Flats, currently designed as two six-story, 55-rental unit apartment buildings, which LoChiro now wants to redesign to sell as condos instead, but failed to provide the commission with enough documentation to make a decision.

The property is located on the banks of the Clinton River, near Diversion and South streets.

“The housing market has been doing well,” LoChiro said. “My intent is to sell them as condos, to market them that way.” As LoChiro explained renderings of the apartment plans, he said to planning commissioners, “As it goes to condos, (the pool) will be a bocce court, a recreation area.”

LoChiro said he hoped the planning commission would take action to schedule a public hearing for the South Street Lofts, but the commission voted to table the issue on the grounds that, as commissioner Jeffrey Cuthbertson said, “We can’t notice a public hearing without documents. You can’t give us a concept plan, and want application consideration that requires documents.”

City planning consultant Vidya Krishnan, of McKenna Associates Community Planning and Design, requested the condo documents from LoChiro, and was met with dismay

by LoChiro, who said that preparing the documents for the project costs tens of thousands of dollars.

It is a standard requirement of the city in order to obtain approvals.

The other stumbling block South Street Flats is facing is that the property is zoned in the city’s 2014 master plan as mixed-use, although LoChiro submitted the development proposal as entirely residential. He is applying for approval of a special project permit, which requires that the development provides benefit for the greater good to the city as a whole. After commissioners discussed the question of what public benefit the current plans have, LoChiro expressed interest in

receiving suggestions from them for what he could add to the project to meet the requirement.

Leaving out specifics, city officials brainstormed a few ideas. Mayor and planning commissioner Cathy Daldin mentioned enhancing the safety for Clinton River trail users, and Nik Banda, director of economic and community development, suggested that the residents of the lofts would be within walking distance of downtown shops, restaurants and attractions, and mentioned a potential opportunity to build a staircase for easier access.

Planning commissioners said LoChiro’s must now decide whether to approach the city to discuss concepts, or to prepare the condo documents and then request to schedule a public hearing, as well as go through the application process.

Council approves Riverbend Park plan The Rochester Hills City Council on Monday, January 25, paved the way to develop the first park in the city in the past two decades, with the approval of a strategic plan for the city's 114-acre Riverbend Park.

Bordered by Hamlin Road to the south, Riverbend Park consists of a portion of the Clinton River, two ponds, wetlands and various vegetation and wooded areas. While the park had originally consisted of 70 acres of land in the southern section, another 44 acres were added in recent years to expand the northern section of the park.

The city held an open house with the public before the city council meeting to reveal the concept plan.

Included in the features are the use of kinetic art throughout the park; a large mound that incorporates a water wall and sundial overlooking the large pond; a cascade waterfall; gazebo; small pond for ice skating and toy sailboats; senior and universal play areas; and a sensory garden play area that caters to children with autism or

Former councilman Hooper considered for planning he Rochester Hills City Council on Monday, January 11, appointed former city councilman Greg Hooper to the city's planning commission to fill the unexpired term of Julie Granthen.

Granthen, whose term is to expire on March 31,

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other special needs.

The sensory garden, which would also include features such as a hand pump that would allow children to pump water into a play riverbed, would be part of an overall, universal play area for both adults and children. A senior play area would incorporate features such as bocce ball, exercise stations and a gathering/shelter area adjacent from the children's play area.

The kids play area would incorporate features such as a natural playscape, a sensory garden, tree house, special needs play area, and a spiral mound.

Rochester Hills Planning Director Ed Anzek said each of the plan's "elements," rather than "phases" of development, allow for the plan to be developed in independent stages, rather than a linear form, where each phase is dependent on the previous to be developed.

The need for a preliminary park plan was identified in the city's 2011-2015 parks and recreation master plan, which also stated cost estimates for developing the park should be done with the consideration of community needs and resource conservation policies.

Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett said rough cost estimates from the plan's consultants, Design Team +, of Birmingham, place the total cost to develop the park between $5.2 million and $5.8 million.

Rochester planning to address sewer issues To prevent against potential sewer leaks, and to bring the city into compliance with federally mandated clean water requirements, the city of Rochester will move ahead on addressing sewer challenge issues.

The Rochester City Council on Monday, January 25, unanimously approved a $1.467 million contract with Shelby Township-based FDM Contracting to break ground next month on the Clinton River Trail interceptor, part of a larger project addressing sewer challenges.

resigned from the planning commission in hopes that Hooper would be appointed in her place.

Hooper served on the city's planning commission for nearly three decades and works in the construction management field. He also served on the Rochester Hills City Council from 2006 to 2015.

He served as the council's representative on the planning commission before ending his time on council due to term limits. The current

A study of the city’s weather inflow, sewer and manhole structures, and conveyance capacity was conducted between January 2012 and July 2015. It concluded that “Rochester had excessive infiltration and inflow into the sanitary sewer system,” David Anason, director of the department of public works stated in a memo. “We have an undersized siphon under the Paint Creek,” and a severe, if rare storm, Anson told council members, “could lead to surcharging of the system, which would mean sewage would actually come out of the system. It could happen in the future, according to the models we’ve identified.”

The Clinton River Trail interceptor sewer, a sanitary sewer encased with steel, can handle a significantly higher volume of sewer water than the outdated siphon currently under Paint Creek, which poses risks. The new interceptor sewer will substantially decrease the likelihood of surface discharge, and protect the city against noncompliance liabilities because it is larger in diameter and placed deeper in the ground.

To pay for the cost of the of the interceptor sewer, two funds will be accessed: $567,208 from the capital fund, and $900,000 from the water/sewer fund, which the city has estimated will be repaid within two to three years.

In its entirety, the sewer relief project is expected to result in a return on investment. The Great Lakes Water Authority, formerly the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, bills the city by the gallon for water treated.

Improving sewer infrastructure will result in less rainwater infiltrating the sewer system, thereby decreasing the total charge.

To monitor savings, the council unanimously approved a motion made by council member Jeffrey Cuthbertson requesting that city administration recommend to council a form and measurement to generate an annual report, which will ultimately show the return on investment.

appointment was made by the mayor.

The planning commission is a nine-member board consisting of one city council representative appointed to a one-year term and eight members appointed by the mayor for three-year terms. The mayoral appointments must be confirmed by city council.

Granthen, who lost a bid for city council in November to Susan Bowyer, requested she be reappointed to the city's historic commission.

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Unique eyeware See Eyeware, a Michigan-based boutique retailer, is moving to downtown Rochester, at 417 S. Main Street, from its current location in the Village of Rochester Hills. The eyeglass company designs and carries a unique collection of frames, assembled in the U.S. with materials imported from Italy, Germany, Japan and elsewhere. The Rochester store will have an optometrist on site. The first of 37 locations nationwide opened in Birmingham.

Woolens company leaves Pendleton Woolen Mills, 316 S. Main Street in Rochester, will permanently close-up shop, likely in February. While the Portland, Oregon-based company continues to operate stores outside of the state, Michigan’s locations, including Northville and Okemos, will shutter in a matter of months.

Pendleton is known for producing high-quality goods, including blankets, clothing, and accessories adorned with vibrant colors and unique patterns. A liquidation sale on all merchandise and store fixtures is ongoing in Rochester.

After-market firm moving Longview Towing Mirror, owned by Bill Duke, is moving from its Rochester Hills location at 3098 Research Drive, to 33105 Kelly Road in Fraser, in the building that houses Hi-Craft Engineering, Duke’s other business.

The move is part of an effort to consolidate operations. Highcrest is an injection-molding business that produces molded plastics, including “an after-market slip-on towing mirror that slides onto your existing mirror and gives added rearview vision for towing trailers,” said Nicole Mitchell, manager.

Restaurant closes Max & Erma’s abruptly closed in the Village of Rochester Hills on Monday, January 18. Its parent company, American Blue Ribbons Holdings, announced the closure was one of 13 that occurred the same day in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The family-friendly restaurant chain remains open in Clinton Township, Lansing and the Detroit Metro Airport.

Machinary maker coming Relocating from Troy, Fidia Company, USA, is replacing Longview Towing Mirror at 3098 Research Drive in Rochester Hills. Its parent company, Fidia S.p.A., was founded in Italy in 1974, and manufactures milling

DOWNTOWN

machines used to cut materials, and numerical controls used in the management of machine tools. Carlos Maidagan, vice president of the company, will oversee the Rochester Hills location, which will sell and service the goods.

New car wash Mr. C’s Car Wash is scheduled to break ground this April at 520 S. Woodward Avenue in Rochester. The site currently houses a smaller car wash that’s set to be mostly bulldozed.

“We’ll have six self-serve stations, an oil change, and put in a 280-foot car wash,” said business owner Vito Catalfio, Jr. “It’s been approved and we’re putting together the blueprints.

It will be full-service, with vacuuming, or express.” Exterior hand-waxing, interior carpet shampooing, and additional detailing is available from Mr. C’s. This will be the sixth location, with others in Washington Township, Lake Orion, Clinton Township, Harper Woods and Detroit.

New downtown restaurant Rochester is getting a new downtown restaurant, slated to open this March.

Too-Ra-Loo, owned by Rochester-area resident Keith Wadle, will fill the vacancy at 139 S. Main Street, which was formerly Shehrzad Mediterranean Grill. Wadle, who’s married and raising a family, opened O’Tooles Irish American Grill and Bar in Royal Oak, and hoped to give the Rochester location the same name. “(The city) didn’t like the idea of the late nights in the downtown area, so we compromised. It will be more familyfriendly,” said Robin Silveri, managing partner for O’Tooles. With 80 beers on tap and a menu that includes pizzas, ribs, entrée-style salads, appetizers, and options specifically for kids, the Rochester restaurant will cater to families and the weekend crowd.

“We’ll try to use as much farm-to-table Michigan products as we can get our hands on,” said Silveri. Too-Ra-Loo, named after the Irish lullaby, will have a cicerone on staff, “who’s like a sommelier, but for beer.” As it prepares to open, the restaurant has been undergoing renovations to repair damage done by a young man who drove into the front of the building. To protect against future accidents, TooRa-Loo has opted to install sturdy planter boxes.

Business Matters for the Rochester area are reported by Katie Deska.

Send items for consideration to KatieDeska@downtownpublications.com.

Items should be received three weeks prior to publication.

02.16

PLACES TO EAT

JOIN US FOR

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

Rochester/Rochester Hills 112 Pizzeria Bistro: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 2528 S. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.289.6164.

2941 Street Food: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 87 W. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.606.4583.

Alex’s of Rochester: Italian, Greek, & American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.852.2288.

Antoniou’s Pizza: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 918 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, MI 48307. 248.650.2200.

Avery’s Tavern: American. Weekend Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2086 Crooks Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.270.4030.

B Spot Burgers: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

176 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.218.6001.

Bangkok Cuisine: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 727 N. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.652.8841.

Bar Louie: American. Weekend Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, 10 or more. Liquor. 1488 N. Rochester Road, Rochester, 48307.

248.218.5114.

Bean and Leaf Café: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

439 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.601.1411.

Big Boy: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No Reservations. 3756 S. Rochester Road., Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.852.5540. Also 90 E. Tienken Road, Rochester Hills, 48306.

248.601.7777.

Bologna Via Cucina: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

334 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.651.3300.

Buffalo Wild Wings: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

1234 Walton Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.651.3999.

Chadd’s Bistro: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No Reservations. 1838 E. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.293.0665.

Cheng’s Restaurant: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 2666 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.299.9450.

Chili’s: Tex-Mex. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2735 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.299.5281.

Chipotle Mexican Grille: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2611 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.402.0047. Also The Village of Rochester Hills, 84 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.402.0047.

Chomp Deli & Grille: American.

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Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 200 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 888.342.2497.

CJ Mahoney’s Sports Grille: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 3260 S. Rochester Road, Rochester, 48307. 248.293.2800.

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

Liquor. 2010 W. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.853.6600.

Clubhouse BFD (Beer-Food-Drink): American. Lunch, Saturday & Sunday.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations, 10 or more. Liquor. 2265 Crooks Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.289.6093.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit: Barbecue. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 1418 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.266.6226.

Downtown Café: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 606 N. Main, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.6680.

East Side Mario’s: Italian. Lunch & dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2273 Crooks Road, Rochester, 48309.

248.853.9622.

Einstein Bros. Bagels: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 2972 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, MI 48307. 248.606.4519.

Famous Dave’s: Barbecue. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2945 Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, MI 48307. 248.852.6200.

Firehouse Subs: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1480 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.656.9200. Also 3044 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.299.7827.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries: American, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

2544 S. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.299.3483.

Ganbei Chinese Restaurant & Bar: Chinese. Lunch, Monday-Saturday.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 227 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.266.6687.

Georgio’s Pizza & Pasta: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Italian.

117 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.601.2882.

Gold Star Family Restaurant: American & Greek. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 650 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.652.2478.

Golden Eagle: American. Lunch, Sunday.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1447 N. Rochester Road, Rochester, 48307.

248.651.6606 Grand Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 12 Marketplace Circle, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.289.1350.

Half Day Café: American. Breakfast & Lunch, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

3134 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.375.1330.

Hamlin Pub: American. Breakfast, Sundays. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 1988 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.656.7700.

Hibachi House Bar & Grill: Japanese Steakhouse. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 335 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.266.6055 Honey Tree Grille: Mediterranean.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2949 Crooks Road, Rochester, 48309. 248.237.0200.

Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1186 W. University Drive, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.651.3527.

Johnny Black Public House: American.

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Weekend Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 1711 E. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.606.4479.

Kabin Kruser’s Oyster Bar: Seafood. No reservations. Lunch, Monday-Saturday.

Dinner, daily. 306 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.651.2266.

Kerby’s Koney Island: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. 2552 S. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.844.8900.

King Garden: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1433 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.656.3333.

Krazy Greek Restaurant: Greek. Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 111 E. University Drive, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.0089.

Kruse & Muer In the Village: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 134 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.375.2503.

Kruse & Muer on Main: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

327 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.9400.

Lebanese Grill: Lebanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2783 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.606.4651.

Lino’s Restaurant: Italian. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 50 W. Tienken Road, Rochester Hills, 48306.

248.656.9002.

Lipuma’s Coney Island: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 621 N. Main Steet, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.9862.

Lucky’s Prime Time: American. Weekend Breakfast. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations, weekdays. Liquor. 1330 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.656.8707.

Main Street Billiards: American. Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 215 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.8441.

Main Street Deli: Deli. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Dinner, Thursday, Friday. No reservations. 709 N. Main Street, Rochester, MI 48307. 248.656.5066.

Mamma Mia Tuscan Grille: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 543 N. Main Street, Suite 311, Rochester, 48307. 248.402.0234.

Max & Erma’s: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. The Village of Rochester Hills, 122 N. Adams Road, Rochester, 48309. 248.375.1535.

Mezza Mediterranean Grille: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor at The Village location only. 1413 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.609.2121.

Also The Village of Rochester Hills, 188 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills.

248.375.5999.

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

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

248.453.5371.

Mitchell’s Fish Market: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 370 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.340.5900.

Mr. B’s Food and Spirits: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

423 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.651.6534.

Noodles & Company: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 184 N. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.375.5000.

North Shack: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 990 E. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.853.3366.

O’Connor’s Public House: Irish Pub. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

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

Oceania Inn: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. The Village of Rochester Hills, 3176 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.375.9200.

downtownpublications.com

Olive Garden: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2615 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.853.6960.

Outback Steakhouse: Steakhouse. Lunch, Friday-Sunday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations, eight or more. Liquor.

1880 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.650.2521.

Paint Creek Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 613 N. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.759.4205.

Panda Express: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 3105 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.853.9880.

Panera Bread: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 37 S. Livernois Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.601.2050. Also 2921 Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.853.5722. Also 2508 S. Adams Road, Rochester Hills, 48309.

248.853.7430.

Park 600 Bar & Kitchen: American.

Weekend Brunch. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

Royal Park Hotel, 600 E. University Drive, Rochester, 48307.

248.652.2600.

Paul’s on Main: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 630 N. Main Sreet., Rochester, 48307. 248.656.0066.

Pei Wei: Asian Fusion. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1206 E. Walton Boulevard, Rochester, 48307.

248.601.1380.

Penn Station East Coast Subs: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

146. S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.601.4663.

Penny Black Grill & Tap: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

124 W. 4th Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.841.1522.

Pudthai & Sushi: Thai & Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 2964 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.299.6890.

Qdoba Mexican Grill: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1198 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.608.2603. Also 3014 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.844.3668.

Ram’s Horn: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1990 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.651.7900.

Red Knapp’s Dairy Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 304 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.651.4545.

Red Lobster: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2825 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.299.8090.

Red Olive: Mediterranean & American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1194 Walton Boulevard, Rochester, 48307. 248.656.0300.

Rochester Bistro: American-Continental.

Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 227 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.923.2724.

Rochester Brunch House: American.

Breakfast & Lunch, daily. No reservations. 301 Walnut Boulevard, Rochester, 48307. 248.656.1600.

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

248.651.2266.

Rochester Diner & Grill: American, Greek & Italian. Breakfast & Lunch, daily.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday. 1416 E. Walton Blvd., Rochester Hill, 48309.

248.652.6737.

Rochester Mills Beer Co.: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 400 Water Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.650.5080.

Rochester Tap Room: American. Lunch &

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6870 N. Rochester Road, Rochester, 48306.

248.650.2500.

Rojo Mexican Bistro: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 401 N. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.601.9300.

Sakura Sushi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

6866 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48306. 248.608.3867.

Shish Palace: Mediterranean. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. 165 S. Livernois Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.453.5464.

Shogun: Japanese. Lunch, MondaySaturday. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 173 S. Livernois Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.453.5386.

Silver Spoon Ristorante: Italian. Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

6830 N. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48306. 248.652.4500.

Soho: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2943 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.289.1179.

Sumo Sushi & Seafood: Japanese & Korean. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations, 24 hours in advance.

Liquor. 418 N. Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.601.0104.

Tapper’s Pub: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 877 E. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.852.1983.

Tim Hortons: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 940 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.656.8292.

The Meeting House: American. Weekend Brunch. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 301 S. Main Street, Rochester, 48307.

248.759.4825.

Tropical Smoothie Café: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2913 Crooks Road, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.852.4800.

Val's Polish Kitchen: Polish. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, Sunday. Reservations. 224 E. Auburn Rd., Rochester Hills, 48307.

248.293.2660.

Wayback Burgers: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1256 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.453.5746. Also 2595 S. Rochester Road, Rochester Hills, 48307. 248.844.2717.

Willoughby’s Beyond Juice: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 120 E. 4th Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.841.1670.

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

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

Cafe Sushi: Pan-Asian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1933 W. Maple Rd, Troy, 48084. 248.280.1831.

Kona Grille: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 30 E. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48083. 248.619.9060.

Lakes: Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 5500 Crooks Rd., Troy, 48098. 248.646.7900.

McCormick & Schmick’s: Steak & Seafood.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

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

248.637.6400.

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

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1515 E. Maple Rd, Troy, 48083.

248.689.2332.

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

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

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

248.816.3424.

DOWNTOWN

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

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

Orchid Café: Thai. Lunch, Monday-Friday.

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

248.524.1944.

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

Somerset Collection, 2801 W. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, 48084. 248.816.8000.

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

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

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

248.817.2980.

Tre Monti Ristorante: Italian. Lunch, Thursdays. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 1695 E. Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48083. 248.680.1100.

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

248.646.2220.

Andiamo: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

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

248.865.9300.

Arthur Avenue: Italian. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 260 N. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham, 48009.

248.480.0768.

Au Cochon: French. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 260 N. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009.

248.792.7795.

Bagger Dave's Legendary Burger Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 6608 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Township, 48301.

248.792.3579.

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

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

248.626.2630.

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

167 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.494.7110.

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

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

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

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

Liquor. 39556 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304.

248.646.9000.

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

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

Café ML: New American. Dinner, daily.

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

248.642.4000.

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.

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

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

Eddie Merlot's: Steak & seafood. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 37000 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.712.4095.

Elie’s Mediterranean Cuisine:

51

FRONT/BACK Front/Back is a monthly column devoted to news stories, tidbits and gossip items about what's happening in both the front of the house and back of the house in the restaurants in the metro Detroit area.

Chef competition Two Detroit-area chefs compete in the 15th season of Hell’s Kitchen, hosted by noted chef Gordon Ramsay, which premiered on Fox on Friday, January 15, and airs on Wednesdays at 9 p.m.

Detroit-native Hassan Musselmani, a local chef/consultant and creator of the Drunken Rooster food truck, and Oak Park-native Jared Bobkin, executive chef of Ferndale’s Local Kitchen and Bar, face down culinary challenges as they race for the prize – a job as head chef for BLT Steak at Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Brunch options Wright & Company partners Dave Kwiatkowski and Chef Marc Djozlija have added a weekly three course, reservations-only Sunday brunch.. “It’s based on our concept of encouraging people to have shared plates,” said general manager John Trasky. “It’s an all-shared plate brunch concept.” Seven dishes, including a breakfast slider, smoked salmon, and baked French toast, will be served in three courses for a fixed price of $22 a person. Diners can expect the menu to change every couple of months, said Trasky. “It’s something we always planned on doing; we just wanted to makes sure we got a great start with dinner.

Brunch is another chance for people to enjoy our cuisine, and see what Wright and Company (1500 Woodward Avenue) is doing in Detroit.”

Royal Oak sushi locale Yuzu Sushi Co., specializing in hand rolls, rice bowls, and fish salad, known as poke, is expected to open Wednesday, February 3, in Royal Oak, at 32832 Woodward Avenue, south of 14 Mile, in the space formerly occupied by The Big Salad. Mario Gojcaj, founder of Yuzu, LLC, spearheads the upcoming restaurant.

Although not trained as a sushi chef, Gojcaj worked as chef de cuisine at Downtown Louie’s Lounge in Detroit. He also assisted in opening The Meeting House in Rochester and Forest Grill in Birmingham. “I went to culinary school in New York, and lived there for two years, and one of my favorite things to eat on my free time would be sushi,” said Gojcaj. “Everywhere I travel I always

seek out the best sushi places. When I came across poke bars and hand roll places popping up all over, I thought it would be a perfect fit for Royal Oak. It will be fast, simple, and were using good grade fish. We’re aiming for people to come here and get a hand roll, a side and a beverage for under $15.”

Healthy café Avalon International Breads, 422 W. Willis in Detroit’s Midtown, is opening a new café this summer – Hearth & Soul, at 1016 Woodward Avenue, by Campus Martius Park in Detroit. The bread and sweets of the Willis location will have a strong presence, yet the café plans an expanded selection of sandwiches and salads, as well as pizza. “The pizza oven is brand new for us,” said Christina Ross, marketing manager and wholesale director for Avalon. She described the café as a selection of “healthier options, a mix of vegan, vegetarian and meat offerings. It will have a component of sit-down, but be more of counter service.” Creating the menu is Maggie Long of the Jolly Pumpkin in Ann Arbor. Grab-and-go meals will be big, as will to-go orders available for pick up after work.

“The corner on Woodward and State was the biggest retail corner in the ‘40s. It’s exciting, we’re in the shadows of a big boom town, and now it’s getting back to being as popular as we once were.” Avalon owner Jackie Victor opened the business in the late 1990s.

Detroit dessert expansion Family-owned Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters, 336 Main Street in Rochester, unveiled a second location at 1220 Griswold, at the Albert apartment building in Detroit. The doors swung open the same day co-owner Nathan Hamood turned 20 years old, on Thursday, January 7. Hamood and his older sister Stephanie Hamood, a musician, launched the business in 2009 with a focus on desserts and live music. “We evolved our business model over time, but the idea of creating a quality experience for the customer stayed the same. I wanted to get more involved, and into coffee roasting,” said the younger Hamood. “I do all of the roasting and coffee buying, and quality control in general for coffee. We do all of our roasting and baking in Rochester.”

Streetside kudos For the sixth year in row, Birmingham’s Streetside Seafood, 273 Pierce Street, earned Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence.

One of six in the Roberts Restaurant Group, Streetside has a thoughtfully curated wine list to match its seafood selection.

Changes at The Root Sundays at White Lake’s The Root Restaurant and Bar, 340 Town Center Boulevard, are now a bit different. New brunch offerings, available between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., include a build-your-ownBenedict, as well as house-made sausage and Canadian bacon. A menu of bar snacks is available from the end of brunch to the beginning of dinner service. Items include a cheese board, bologna sandwich, and broccoli roasted with hot chili oil and garlic, served on top of house-made tzatziki sauce.

The restaurant is now closed on Mondays. As owner/chef James Rigato focuses on Hazel Park’s Mabel Gray, executive chef Nick Rogers helms the kitchen at The Root.

Bucharest on the move Bucharest Grill in downtown Detroit will soon be moving from its now infamous 2040 Park Avenue location to 2690 E. Jefferson, on the east side of Chene Street.

According to an employee, the move is prompted by what she described as “personal issues with the owner (of the Park space).” The menu includes Middle Eastern shawarma sandwiches, traditional Romanian dishes, and a variety of gourmet dogs, including knockwurst, bratwurst and kielbasa. Owned by Bogdan Tarasov, Bucharest has additional Detroit locations at 110 Piquette Street and 1623 Michigan Avenue.

Breakfast spot moves A Detroit breakfast spot, Le Petit Dejeuner, relocated to 2548 Grand River Avenue and now shares the building with TV Lounge, the latenight bar. “The other space was nice because it was smaller, and this is a little more open, but it looks just as nice, and one of the pluses is that the TV Lounge has a liquor license, so we’re able to sell liquor to our customers,” said Tina Motley, owner of the shared-plate restaurant that centers her family’s

Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations.

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

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

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

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

248.258.9400 Griffin Claw Brewing Company: American.

Dinner, Tuesday-Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday and Sunday. No Reservations.

Liquor. 575 S. Eton Street, Birmingham.

248.712.4050.

Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse: American.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 201 S. Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009.

248.594.4369.

Ironwood Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, 6 or more. Liquor.

290 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.385.0506.

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

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

248.792.6051.

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

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

248.723.7960.

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

248.723.0800.

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

248.646.3663.

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

248.644.5222.

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

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

248.644.3122.

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.

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

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

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

248.645.9123.

Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro: American.

Dinner. Monday-Saturday. Sunday brunch. Reservations. Liquor. 55 S. Bates Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.731.7066.

The Bird & The Bread: Brasserie. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 210 S. Old Woodard, Birmingham, 48009.

248.203.6600.

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

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

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

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

The Stand: Euro-American. Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

34977 Woodward, Birmingham, 48009. 248.220.4237.

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

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

Townhouse: American. Brunch, Saturday, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 180 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.5241.

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

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

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

248.620.6100.

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

248.634.5208.

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

248.795.2077.

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

Union Woodshop: BBQ. Dinner, Monday – Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday – Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 18 S. Main St., Clarkston, 48346.

248.625.5660.

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

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 316 South Main St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.268.1917 Anita’s Kitchen: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 22651 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220. 248.548.0680.

Andiamo Restaurants: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 129 S. Main St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.582.0999.

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

Reservations. Liquor. 330 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220. 248.584.3499.

Bigalora: Italian. Weekend Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. No Reservations. Liquor. 711 S. Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067.

Bistro 82: French. Dinner, daily.

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

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

248.547.6699.

Bspot Burgers: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 310 S. Main St., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.268.1621.

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

Reservations. Liquor. 418 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.4749.

Cork Wine Pub: American. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

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

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

222 Sherman Dr., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.584.7400.

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

220 S. Main St., Clawson, 48017.

248.288.0220.

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

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

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

Inn Season Cafe: Vegetarian. Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. No reservations. 500 E. Fourth St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.547.7916.

recipes. “A small or large family can come in and order a large variety of items from the menu to share. We like to see people pass the plate around.” Le Petit Dejeuner’s chef, Deandre Woods, known as Chef Woodstock, of Woodstock Catering, has been with the restaurant since it launched early last summer.

Puck’s cooking school Amateur and aspiring cooks can now learn from culinary great, Wolfgang Puck, by subscribing online to Wolfgang Puck Cooking School. Recipes and tips are presented by the master chef and a new course is posted weekly. Tasty tutorials include how to make crab cakes, eggs benedict, pizza dough, and chicken stock. A free 14-day trial is available a wolfgangpuckcookingschool.com. The Detroit’s MGM Grand, 1777 Third Street, boasts Wolfgang Puck Steak and Wolfgang Puck Pizzeria & Cucina.

Pricey burger Townsend Hotel’s Rugby Grille, 100 Townsend Street in Birmingham, has a new dinner option – the $55 Foie Burger, a recipe created by chef de cuisine, Damian Yopek. Waygu beef is combined with with foie gras and braised short rib, then layered with Parmesan aioli, sweet onion jam, burgundy truffle mushrooms and tomme cheese, a variety of white cheese. “We wanted something that would stand out. We always have our classic Rugby Burger, and this (Foie Burger) is something that most Birmingham restaurants don’t have,” said Daniel Colangelo, Rugby Grille food and beverage manager. “It may be perceived as pricey, but it’s worth it.”

House made meats Stache International, a freshlyopened deli in Eastern Market, takes its name from owner Ray Moses’ relatives with extraordinary mustaches. “He’s half-Lebanese, and they would look at photos and everyone had crazy mustaches,” said Ray’s wife, Gracie Moses. “(Opening the deli) has been a lifelong dream of my husband’s.” Located at 1416 E. Fisher Freeway, the deli sells market-fresh foods, makes their own sausage and smokes all meats in house. The most popular choice

since the soft opening has been the Bloody Mary Grilled Cheese, said Moses. “It’s on Avalon’s scallion dill bread, with Swiss cheese, dill Havarti, deep-fried pickles, and a tomato spread made using McClure’s bloody Mary mix.”

Available for dine-in or carry out, Stache also offers a delivery service to two Detroit establishments that want to offer sandwiches to their late-night drinkers. For now, Stache’s menus are placed at Thomas Magee’s, next door to their deli, and The Well, in Greektown. “The menu is primarily created by my husband, and Steve Kay does the meats and handles the smoking.”

Ren Cen dining Minneapolis-based Granite City Food & Brewery will open their third Michigan location at the RenCen, 100 Renaissance Center in Detroit, on Wednesday, February 10. Head chef John Knox, formerly of the Bravo Brio Restaurant Group will lead the kitchen team, dishing out an assorted menu of steaks, pasta, seafood, burgers – including bison, the lean choice— sandwiches, salads, and flatbreads.

The brewery maintains six flagship beers on tap at all times, and offers a seasonal brew every month.

Bruce Paine, former managing partner for the Sioux Falls’ Granite City, has been named general manager of the forthcoming location, which will be number 35 for the business, including Troy and Northville.

Famous burgers Wahlburgers, a fast-casual burger restaurant chain started by brothers Mark, Donnie and Paul Wahlberg, is slated to come to Detroit. Locations in Boston, New York and Toronto are currently serving, and others are planned for Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Orlando. According to the menu, the one-third pound Melt comes on thick slices of bread and is “grilled with government cheese, pickles, caramelized onions, bacon and mustard sauce.” The Triple Decker, topped with the works, weighs in at over two-thirds of a pound and is “a triple stack, like the house we grew up in.” Listed as “Mark’s choice” is Thanksgiving Day, a Wahlfave served on an artisan bun and made with “fresh ground seasoned turkey, stuffing, Paul’s orange cranberry sauce, roasted butternut squash and mayo.”

Dinner expansion Specializing in sandwiches and charcuterie, Corktown’s Rubbed, 2015 Michigan Avenue, has shrunk its lunch menu, while expanding dinner hours. Open seven days a week, diners can now sit down, carry out, or order delivery until 10 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. “It’s a totally separate menu,” said sole proprietor Jason Frankel. “I wanted to lower prices, and keep the main items.”

Italian eatery opens Dave Mancini’s sit-down Italian eatery, La Rondinella, officially opened Tuesday, January 5, after a delay caused by what was referred to as “red tape” issues. Located at 2453 Russell Street in Detroit’s Eastern Market, the restaurant neighbors Mancini’s highlyregarded Supino Pizzeria.

Crave closes Ferndale’s Crave Restaurant and Sushi Lounge closed its doors for good at the Woodward establishment. Future plans have not yet been revealed. The Dearborn Crave quietly closed several months ago.

POP UP INTEL Yemans Street, 2995 Yemans Street in Hamtramck: Erin Sabo of Les Deux Dachshunds, February 13. yemansstreet.com The Menagerie, 31 N. Saginaw Street in Pontiac: Kyle Williams, of J.B. Chowhounds, February 6.

Menagerie owner April Forbes, Marking Mardi Gras King Cake, hands-on cooking class, February 8.

Chef Stef, owner of Asiatic Acoustics Mobile Dinner Theater, February 13. Hassan Musselmani, competitor on the current season of Hell’s Kitchen and founder of the upcoming Drunken Rooster food truck, February 26. menageriekitchen.com Front/Back is reported each month by Katie Deska. KatieDeska@DowntownPublications.com. We welcome news items or tips, on or off the record, about what's happening in the front or back of the house at metro area restaurants.

Inyo Restaurant Lounge: Asian Fusion.

Weekend Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 22871 Woodward Ave., Ferndale, 48220. 248.543.9500.

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

Lily’s Seafood: Seafood. Weekend Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 410 S. Washington Ave., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.591.5459.

Local Kitchen and Bar: American. Weekend Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 344 W. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale, 48220.

248.291.5650.

Lockhart’s BBQ: Barbeque. Sunday Brunch.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 202 E. Third St., Royal Oak, 48067. 248.584.4227.

Oak City Grille: American. Dinner, daily.

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

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

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

248.808.6633.

Pronto!: American. Weekend Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

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

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

248.850.7420.

Redcoat Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 31542 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak, 48073.

248.549.0300.

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

Royal Oak Brewery: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 215 E. 4th St., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.544.1141.

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

248.607.3127.

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

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

248.541.1186.

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

248.544.7300/ Trattoria Da Luigi: Italian. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 415 S, Washington Ave., Royal Oak, 48067.

248.542.4444.

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

27799 Woodward Ave., Berkley, 48072.

248.548.7711.

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

Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

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

Beans and Cornbread: Southern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 29508 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.208.1680.

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

Maria’s Restaurant: Italian. Dinner, daily.

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

248.851.2500.

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

248.626.2982.

The Fiddler: Russian. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Thursday-Sunday. Reservations.

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

248.851.8782.

The Lark: American. Dinner, TuesdaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 6430 Farmington Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.661.4466.

Mene Sushi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 6239 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.538.7081.

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

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

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

Prime29 Steakhouse: Steak & Seafood.

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

Redcoat Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor.

6745 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.865.0500.

Shangri-La: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. Orchard Mall Shopping Center, 6407 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.626.8585.

Sposita’s Ristorante: Italian. Friday Lunch.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 33210 W. Fourteen Mile Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248. 538.8954.

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

6873 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.855.6622.

Sweet Lorraine’s Café & Bar: American.

Weekend Breakfast. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 29101 Greenfield Rd., Southfield, 48076.

248.559.5985.

Yotsuba: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

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

248.737.8282.

West Oakland Gravity Bar & Grill: Mediterranean. Monday – Friday, Lunch & Dinner, Saturday, Dinner.

Reservations. Liquor. 340 N. Main Street, Milford, 48381. 248.684.4223.

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

248.360.4150.

The Root Restaurant & Bar: American.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday - Saturday.

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

248.698.2400.

Volare Ristorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 48992 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.960.7771.

Detroit Angelina Italian Bistro: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor.

1565 Broadway St., Detroit, 48226.

313.962.1355.

Antietam: French. Sunday Brunch. Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

1428 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, 48207.

313.782.4378.

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

2040 Park Ave., Detroit, 48226.

313.965.3111.

Cliff Bell’s: American. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 2030 Park Ave., Detroit, 48226.

313.961.2543.

Coach Insignia: Steak & Seafood. Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

100 Renaissance Center, Detroit, 48243.

313.567.2622.

Craft Work: American. Sunday Brunch.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 8047 Agnes St., Detroit, 48214.

313.469.0976.

Cuisine: French. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 670 Lothrop Rd., Detroit, 48202. 313.872.5110.

The Detroit Seafood Market: Seafood.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 1435 Randolph St., Detroit, 48226. 313.962.4180.

El Barzon: Mexican. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 3710 Junction St., Detroit, 48210. 313.894.2070.

Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Café: Cajun.

Breakfast, daily. Sunday Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Saturday. Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 400 Monroe Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.965.4600.

Giovanni’s Ristorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 330 S. Oakwood Blvd., Detroit, 48217. 313.841.0122.

Green Dot Stables: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2200 W. Lafayette, Detroit, 48216.

313.962.5588.

Jefferson House: American. Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 2 Washington Blvd., Detroit, 48226. 313.782.4318.

Joe Muer Seafood: Seafood. Lunch, Monday- Friday, Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 400 Renaissance Center, Detroit, 48243. 313.567.6837.

Johnny Noodle King: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2601 W. Fort St., Detroit, 48216.

313.309.7946.

Maccabees at Midtown: American.

Sunday Brunch. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

5057 Woodward Ave., Detroit, 48202.

313.831.9311.

Mario’s: Italian. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 4222 2nd Ave., Detroit, 48201. 313.832.1616.

Midtown Shangri-la: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 4710 Cass Ave., Detroit, 48201.

313.974.7669.

Motor City Brewing Works: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Beer & Wine. 470 W. Canfield St., Detroit, 48201. 313.832.2700.

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

313.863.1917.

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

313.309.2499.

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

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

313.962.2100.

Roma Café: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

3401 Riopelle St., Detroit, 48207.

313.831.5940.

Russell Street Deli: Deli. Breakfast & Lunch, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. 2465 Russell St, Detroit, 48207. 313.567.2900.

Santorini Estiatorio: Greek. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 501 Monroe Ave, Detroit, 48226. 313.962.9366.

DOWNTOWN

Selden Standard: American. Weekend Brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday. Dinner, daily. Liquor. Reservations. 3921 Second Ave., Detroit, 48201.

313.438.5055.

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

100 St Clair St., Detroit, 48214.

313.822.8000.

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

313.962.9828.

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

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

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

313.962.2121.

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

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

Taqueria Nuestra Familia: Mexican.

Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner, daily.

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

The Block: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 3919 Woodward Ave, Detroit, 48201.

313.832.0892.

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

313.964.4010.

Top of the Pontch: American. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservation. Liquor. 2 Washington Blvd, Detroit, 48226.

313.782.4313.

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

511 W. Canfield, Detroit, 48201.

313.831.9470.

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

313.964.3821.

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

313.831.3965.

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

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations.

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

Vivio’s Food & Spirits: American.

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

313.393.1711.

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

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

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

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

Wolfgang Puck Steak: Steak & Seafood.

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

313.465.1411.

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

02.16

AT THE TABLE Coming full circle on verdict at newly revamped Forest

By J. March

ack in January of 2015, I made my first visit to Forest Grill in Birmingham. At the time Brian Polcyn was the man in charge and Nick Janutol was chef de cuisine. My experience was underwhelming and the review spoke to issues with execution.

After it was published I had a conversation with another local chef who is a big fan of Janutol, and he assured me that Janutol was an exceptional chef and given the chance to cook his own food, he would shine. Upon hearing the news that Polcyn had left Forest and Janutol was now the master of his own domain, it only made sense to revisit Forest and hopefully bask in the shine of his talent.

Re-opened in November with Samy Eid of Phonecia as the new owner and Janutol’s wife Alicia as general manager, Forest has gone through some amazing aesthetic changes. Wicker, wood, pedestrian lighting and chalk boards have thankfully been replaced by leather, marble, glass, art-deco lighting and various shades of smoky, yet cool, greys. A glass enclosed wine cellar first catches your eye upon entering but the open-not-really-open kitchen is the show stopper.

Eid took what once looked like a hipster subway counter and encased it in glass and spotlessly polished stainless steel and grey tile. Most notable is the swinging door complete with round window reminiscent of formal dining days where tuxedo clad male waiters silently went in and out with hands full of shrimp cocktail, Beef Wellington and Baked Alaska.

Whereas the décor could once be described as Marianne, it now screamed of straight up Ginger.

Excited by the atmosphere alone, I settled in for my own three-hour tour.

After a less than stellar experience with the hostess, we hit the bar for our hour and a half long quoted wait time due to an onslaught of reservations due in the next 30 minutes. The bar was full and two deep with others waiting for tables. I made my way to the rail and waited. And waited. And waited.

Admittedly, it was busy, but once the bartender decided to greet me – after three separate occasions of uncomfortable eye contact, I was greeted with a most heinous, “Do you need something?” Me? Need something? What would make you think that? Just because I'm squeezed between two bar patrons tighter then Brooke in her Calvins and have a credit card in my hand, what would make you think I need something? Certain that response wouldn’t garner an amazing cocktail, I politely ordered our drinks and settled back to the marble island for our long wait. It was at this time I noticed new owner Samy Eid standing casually against the wall taking it all in.

Now I've never owned a restaurant, but back in the day I managed quite a few. It didn’t take my name being on the lease to notice a packed bar and roll up my sleeves to keep thirsty masses, patiently waiting to spend money at a table, all warm and fuzzy with the libation of their choice. Even if you don’t know your Manhattan from your Mai Tai, wash some glasses, pour some wine, clear some plates. It makes a difference. To your guest, to your staff, to your establishment.

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Spiced Beet Salad with frisee, spiced beets, salt cod, and eggplant puree. Downtown photo: Laurie Tennent

After pointing out the brief observation of several open tables post busy time, we were seated, greeted and got right into the starters with the Farm Egg. Oddly the preparation was similar to the last with mushrooms and Madeira Sabayon. Odd in the sense that I wondered why, if Janutol was waiting to cook his own food, was this almost the same as my last visit? What was different was the coating around the egg. I cannot speak to what it exactly was but it had the texture and flavor of hash browns. I am mostly not sure because the amount of grease was so high that it was hard to distinguish much else. That, with the cold yolk, were enough to make us push aside the other half. I can only guess that these were pre-made and dropped in the fryer to order. I say this because, A, it came out amazingly fast and, B, no one can cook a three-minute egg to order.

Duck confit with parsnip, figs and dandelion was exceptional and had me believing that Janutol, indeed, was best left to his own resources. The combination of bitter dandelion, sweet figs, crisp skin and rich, moist duck had me halfway to the print shop for my Team Nick t-shirt. The overcooked, bland scallops and lentils that followed had me back on the fence. Then, like a politician up for re-election, I changed direction again after the velvety, earthy Carrot Soup with hints of ginger and vinegar from the pickled shaved carrots.

The pomegranate and pine nut quinoa with the Branzino was outstanding but not enough to redeem the overcooked, under-seasoned fish. After being told the Short Rib was not available, we opted for the Osso Bucco. The veal shanks were dry and underseasoned and I had to ask the server again what accompanied it. I guessed cheddar grits. It was polenta. After doing some research on polenta, I did discover that the consistency can differ. Though the polenta was not prepared in the firm style that I was familiar with, it was delicious – telling me two things: if it tastes good, it does not matter what its

called and all reviews should be taken with a grain of cornmeal as I admittedly don’t know everything.

Like a weatherman in Punxsutawney, I'm in the exact same place I was before. Enamored by the simplicity of the menu from the number of ingredients to the components of each dish, yet left completely bummed out again. This isn’t the case of a new restaurant opening simply because it can bank on location and demand alone. Janutol is a talented, integral chef. Ironically enough, he can be quoted as saying, “There's always a point of regression in everything you do, no matter if you're a cook or a table maker, they work and do something they love, and then they make another, and it slowly gets worse and further away from the original.” Spot on Nick..spot on.

He then goes on to say, “I try to make sure I go through everything and see everything they (the kitchen staff) are doing.” And that is the key. The most laborious, redundant, exhausting key. Making sure that from prep to plate, things are exactly as they should be.

It is still my belief that Janutol is an amazingly talented chef. However, the task of seeing your vision created exactly as it should be, every day, by many people, is a necessary evil. And as daunting as it may be, it is the difference between great and okay.

Conception is the seed, execution is the soil that grows the flower. I can only hope that Janutols garden blooms brighter and brighter every year.

Forest, 735 Forest Avenue, Birmingham 48009.

Reservations can be made online or by calling 248.258.9400. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m.-11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m.-midnight. Street, lot and valet parking available.

Entrees range from $18-$45.

J. March has 25 years experience in the restaurant industry in southeast Michigan, including certification as a sommelier.

FACES

Greg Cesiel ongtime Rochester Hills resident Greg Cesiel spends his days working as an engineer for General Motors, but his passion for science and technology is apparent from the time he volunteers as the lead engineering mentor for FIRST Robotics competition teams at Rochester Adams High School and Stoney Creek High School.

"I spend quite a bit of time with the teams," Cesiel said. "During the evenings in January and February, we meet six days per week. The sixweek period from when they announce the games until when we have to stop working on the robot, that's the most intense time."

About 85 students participate with Cesiel on the robotics competition team, including 65 from Adams and 20 from Stoney Creek. The team is part of Michigan's FIRST Robotics Competition, a non-profit, volunteer based organization that includes 16 school districts in the state.

Participating teams develop and control remote-controlled robots in head-to-head games, battling to earn points. Cesiel's team will compete in March at Waterford Mott High School against 40 to 60 other teams in the FIRST Stonghold competition.

"Adams is one of the few teams that has advanced to the allMichigan championship every year," Cesiel said.

The competition is part of a larger national competition created by FIRST, which stands for For Inspiration & Recognition of Science and Technology, which pairs student teams with mentors, such as Cesiel.

Mentors assist students as they design and build their competition robots. However, Cesiel said the program is about more than robots, rather it's more to spur student interest in STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programs.

"The robotics team isn't so much focused on robots, the robot is simply a

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means to inspire students to be interested in STEM and business skills, and the robot is a method to provide a fun, competitive environment while learning," he said. "Rochester Community Schools has a strong college-prep program, but doesn't provide exposure on how to apply those skills. That's what we provide. We also provide the opportunity to engage and network with professionals, both our mentors and judges."

Because many of the mentors and judges in the program are involved professionally in science and technology fields, Cesiel said students involved in the program often land professional internships or jobs through their participation. The program, which receives help through several corporate sponsorships, enables a direct link between students and the businesses that may be part of their future. The sponsorships also make it possible for the program to operate.

"Corporate sponsorship is essential to this," Cesiel said. "We are fortunate to have GM, Chrysler, American Axel. Even the governor has been supportive of FIRST Robotics. We typically spend $4,000 per robot, and an additional $5,000 per competition.�

Cesiel began his work with the robotics team in 1997, the same year his oldest child – now a computer engineer – joined the team. In fact, all three of Cesiel's children have participated on the robotics team. His youngest daughter, Katherine, is currently on it.

"My wife and I encouraged it, but they also found it to be interesting," he said. "My oldest son is on a technical path, and my younger two followed along the way. All participated in robotics. That's quite common, where we have older and younger siblings involved in robotics."

Story: Kevin Elliott & Katie Deska

Photo: Laurie Tennent

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.

Preservation Bloomfield Friends Fall Fling

Preservation Bloomfield Friends Fall Fling Judy Kelliher chaired the Friends of Preservation Bloomfield’s inaugural Fall Fling, which attracted a sold out group of supporters (190 @ $70 & $100 Sally Gerak tickets) to Kirk in the Hills. They socialized, perused the wares of the seven vendors Bee Engelhart rounded up, and wiggled their way around the church refectory to view the luncheon tables designed by 26 very creative people. Presentations ranged from Danielle Rendziperis’ two tables outfitted entirely with Dollar Store finds to the antique elegance Shirley Maddalena, Cindy Boudreau and Carol Zuzenak designed. But the highlight of the event was the post-luncheon show of retro clothing from Leah’s Closet modeled by members. PB co-founder Pat Hardy emceed the delightful parade and included personal notes about each model. That most of the models bought their garments is testimony to their appeal. The event, which was much less labor intensive than the Gingerbread events it replaced, netted about $10,000 for the restoration of the Barton Farm House and Craig Log Cabin.

American Jewish Committee Award Dinner In view of current events, the AJC could not have chosen a more opportune honoree for its 2015 Community Leadership Award than Brenda Naomi Rosenberg. Since 9/11, the retired retailing executive (first woman V.P of Fashion at Hudson’s and Federated Allied) has spent much of her energy trying to build bridges between conflicting communities. We first became aware of her new “vocation” some years ago when she presented “Reuniting the Children of Abraham” at The Community House in Birmingham. The play was part of a multi-media project she fashioned to create understanding between Muslim, Christian and Jewish teens.

The award-winning project was subsequently presented nationwide, in Israel, Jordan, and as a CBS documentary. Other interfaith projects emanated from her heart and mind. But the subject of her latest book – “Harnessing the Power of Tension” – seems heaven-sent for today’s tectonic-scale schisms. Howard Brown chaired the award dinner which attracted 140 ($175 & up tickets) to the Townsend.

Guests included Samia Moustapha Bahsoun, a Muslim woman from New Jersey and Rosenberg’s co-author of “Tension”. Her account of the duo’s journey from foe to friend earned a standing ovation. After the honoree thanked her loyal supporters (including husband Howard “..my prom date 51 years ago”) she noted that the new book and its partner Tectonic Leadership Center are creating a pilot project to bring Roseville police and youth together. “This is just the beginning,” Brenda noted, adding that captives and victims can be turned into liberators and healers. The event raised $50,000 for the Detroit AJC, which advocates for the well-being of Jewish people and the advancement of democratic values for all.

Baldwin Library Books & Bites Baldwin Library’s annual fundraiser attracted 206 supporters, including architects Karen Swanson and Robert Ziegelman, who were on hand to show off the plans for the Library’s Adult Services renovation. Chair Janelle Boyce and her committee added casino games to the evening’s activities and they proved to be popular. With Sharp City music in the background, folks also savored food and drink donated by Big Rock Chop House, Papa Joe’s, Griffin Claw Brewing Company and Caruso World Cup. They also “shopped” at the auction-raffle of 14 prize baskets and applauded as Gary Mach announced the winners. Thanks to sponsors like the Friends of the Baldwin Public Library, Talmer Bank and others, the event raised nearly $26,000. It will be earmarked for the Maker Space inside the adult services section.

Teens 4 the Arts Mosaic Youth Theatre Benefit Teens 4 the Arts, an Oakland County Booster Club for Detroit’s highly acclaimed Mosaic Youth Theatre, hosted their fourth annual fundraiser and it attracted 275 to Oakland Hills Country Club. The teens, headed by Eloise Alterman and co-vice presidents Noah Eisenberg and Sloan Kiriluk, organized activities for the littlest kids so the proud parents could watch the performances. Highlights of downtownpublications.com

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1. Judy Kelliher (left), Joanne Cherney and Dannielle Rendziperis of Bloomfield. 2. Pat Hardy and Mavis Kuo of Bloomfield. 3. Cindy Boudreau and Shirley Maddalena of Bloomfield. 4. Carol Zuzenak of Bloomfield. 5. Carol Shaya (left) and Virginia Antakli of Bloomfield. 6. Geri Rinschler (center) of Birmingham, Joan Gaston (left) and Carol Lee Markley of Bloomfield. 7. Rose Obloy (left) of Bloomfield and Deb Buzar of Franklin.

American Jewish Committee Award Dinner

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5 1. Brenda (left) & Howard Rosenberg of Bloomfield, Gretchen Duff of W. Bloomfield. 2. Todd Mendel of Birmingham, Judy Cantor of Bloomfield. 3. Sandy Seligman (left), Gloria Leader and Shelley Golden of Bloomfield. 4. David Jaffe (left) & Erica Peresman of Birmingham, Judge Walter Shapero of Detroit.

5. Susie Pappas (left) of Bloomfield, Suzy Farbman of Franklin, Peggy Daitch of Birmingham, Florine Mark of Farmington Hills. 6. Larry Bluth (left) of Bloomfield, Peter Remington of Birmingham.

7. Brenda Rosenberg of Bloomfield, Howard Brown of Franklin.

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK the evening were the Mosaic kids doing duets with the Teens4Arts kids. Local performers included Alterman, Eisenberg, Kiriluk, Darbi Dombrowski, Cassidy Campanale and Olivia Cassar. Thanks to ticket sales and generous sponsors like Neiman Marcus, the event raised $35,000 for Detroit’s Mosaic Youth Theatre.

Baldwin Library Books & Bites

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B&G Clubs In Celebration Dinner Because the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan wanted to kick off a yearlong celebration of its 90th anniversary, the clubs’ Women’s Association moved its 29th annual dinner party fundraiser from a midweek evening in a country club to a weekend date in the ballroom at the Townsend. It accommodated the 185 guests ($250 & $500 tickets), a dance floor, the stage for musicians, a large screen for the historical video and a spotlight for the evenings’ three champions. The three, all club alums, were: Pontiac native mezzo soprano Taylor Boykins, a graduate student at Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University; successful entrepreneur and event sponsor Joe (Kay) Kowalczyk; and Sean McCallup, a juvenile justice counselor who came from Juneau, AK. They earned rousing ovations – Boykins for her vocal talent; Kowalczyk for his compelling personal story of how he found self esteem to overcome learning challenges at the clubs; and McCallup, who discovered the tragedy of his mother’s suicide when he was a teen, for keeping his promise to her to always do his best. Their successes seemed to inspire good vibes for the rest of the night as entertainer Dal Bouey kept the dance floor jumping until midnight. The feel good, fun evening, which was chaired by Kathy Martin, raised $115,000. And the hotel’s valet parkers earned committee member Judie Sherman’s extra gratitude for tending to her dog Charlie. “They walked him twice and gave him lots of bones and love, “ she reported the next day.

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1. Library director Doug Koschik (left) of Sterling Hgts., board member Jim Suhay of Birmingham. 2. Binesh Patel (left) and Amrita Singh of Birmingham. 3. Carol & Tom Young of Bloomfield. 4. Dr. Kim Coleman & Stuart Jeffares and Ellen & Chris Biggs of Birmingham.

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1. Presenting sponsor Kay Automotive Graphics’ Pam & Joe (Kay) Kowalczyk of Rochester, Ray Dallavecchia of Bloomfield. 2. Mary Nunez (left) of Orchard Lake, Kathy Martin of Bloomfield. 3. Linda Dekar (left) and Dr. Sean & Maria Coyle of Bloomfield. 4. Valerie Straith and Judie Sherman of Bloomfield. 5. Bev Moore (left) of Bloomfield, Chris & Paul Toski of Clarkston. 6. Anita Dauch & Rita Dallavecchia of Bloomfield. 7. Lisa Wilson (left) and David & Beth Eberly of Bloomfield. 8. Terry Woods of Orchard Lake, Tom Dekar of Bloomfield. 9. Martha (left) & Steve Vannelli and Jennifer & Dan DeMello-Johnson of Bloomfield, Dan & Sarah Johnson of Birmingham.

10. John James Jr. (left) of Farmington Hills, Linda & Rod Gillum of Bloomfield.

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SOS Dancing with the Detroit Stars “South Oakland Shelters changed the trajectory of my life,” declared Kim Owens, the R&B/Soul singer known as KEM. He was speaking to the 250 SOS supporters gathered at the Townsend for the seventh annual Dancing with the Detroit Stars fundraiser. He co-chaired it with Bill and Jennie Cook, the latter a fellow SOS board member. After sipping, supping and silent auction bidding ($22,000), guests gathered around the ballroom dance floor. A special performance by Ruben Studdard preceded the dance competition. Fox-2’s Amy Andrews was the emcee. She introduced the judges: Oakland U basketball Coach Greg Kampe, attorney Howard Hertz, Arthur Murray’s dance pro Jeremiah Childers, CoCo, founder of CoCo’s House for the needy and attorney Jeffrey Abood, who danced in the 2014 event. The dancers were gynecologist Dr. Joelle Aoun, Detroit Jazz Fest COO Cornell Batie, Dana Montante, Adat Shalom Synagogue Rabbi Rachel Shere and Title Connect’s Jeff Gunsberg. When Abood’s girlfriend Dr. Aoun began her routine with a pro dancer, Abood bounded off the judges’ platform and became her partner. (Five weeks later the handsome couple became engaged.) When the judges’ votes were counted, the dancing rabbi, who was once kicked out of an aerobics class for being clumsy, and her pro partner Brandon Keeler were the winners.

So were the homeless people served by SOS. The evening raised more than $125,000.

Women of Bloomfield’s Puttin’ on the Glitz In addition to its monthly luncheons, interest groups and major fundraiser, the non-profit social and charitable organization hosts a dinner party once a year. This year it was chaired by Sydrena Epstein and attracted 100 members and friends to Oakland Hills Country Club. They sipped and supped 02.16

at tables Patti Hughet decorated with an eye to the sparkling theme. Singer/songwriter Steve Acho entertained for all tastes – pop, Broadway and Elvis. CARE House executive director Pat Rosen spoke briefly about her organization’s work with abuse victims and member Beverly Schine explained about SCAMP’s summer camp for children with disabilities. Both organizations will benefit from the event proceeds, which totaled nearly $10,000.

Women interested in WoB membership may visit the web site at womenofbloomfield.com.

Silverliners’ North Pole Fantasy Flight At Christmas time, retired Eastern Air Lines flight attendants stage a Fantasy Flight to the North Pole for youngsters who have life threatening illnesses.

Rochester’s Kathie Laper and Bloomfield’s Lorraine Schultz were among the six Silverliners on board the recent 30th anniversary flight. Since the Eastern counter closed in 1991, the children, each with an adult companion, check in at the Delta ticket counter and board a waiting plane. Shriner clowns who make balloon animals are also on the passenger list. With Christmas music on the speaker, the window shades down and the plane engine revving, the take off, hour-long simulated flight and landing are quite realistic. Santa is waiting to greet each child individually with a big hug when they deplane. Then the merriment proceeds to a party in an adjacent Westin ballroom. At the party, which is complete with elves, Tigers and Lions mascots, sweet treats and the MOJO in the Morning crew, the children take turns sitting on Santa’s lap and telling him their wishes, after which he gives each a bag of goodies. The event format and the children’s joy are the same each year. Schultz, who retired in 1954 to open her own company, described the trip as “…the most rewarding and heartwarming thing I do all year.”

Assistance League’s Mistletoe Marketplace Lorraine Taliercio and Nancy Troyer co-chaired the Assistance League of Southeast Michigan’s 12th annual holiday-themed fundraiser. It attracted 800 people to the Palazzo Grande in Shelby Twp. Before settling in for lunch, they perused the offerings of 30 vendors, the Chinese and silent auctions, the 50/50 raffle, and fashions from the league’s ReSale Connection store in downtown Rochester modeled informally by members. Charles Wickins emceed the luncheon program and conducted the live auction. It brought the total proceeds for the event to $118,500, making significant inroads on the league’s $360,000 annual philanthropic budget to feed, clothe, educate and comfort needy children and adults throughout Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Assistance League is a non-profit, all volunteer organization with over 300 members who donated over 56,000 volunteer hours this past year. For more information, go to the Assistance League ReSale Connection, 204 S. Main St., Rochester, 248-656-0414, or semich.AssistanceLeague.org.

FAR, Friends, and Fa-La-La A record crowd (650) flocked to the Seligman Performing Arts Center to see the musical tribute to the British Invasion by FAR (Therapeutic Arts and Recreation for those with special needs). Before the show, 100 guests ($200 tickets) sipped and supped on British fare catered by board member Annabel Cohen. But the 15th annual show featuring 30 FAR stars and their dedicated therapists playing, singing and dancing to the music of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and others was the show’s downtownpublications.com

SOS Dancing with the Detroit Stars

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1. Kim Owens (KEM) of Southfield, Jennie & Bill Cook of Birmingham.

2. Dennis & Deb Paruch of Birmingham. 3. Jeff Abood (left) of Bloomfield, Dr. Joelle Aoun of Bloomfield, Tania & Joe Ghanem of Grosse Pointe. 4. Patty (left) & Mike Moran and Tawyna Bender of Bloomfield. 5. Linda Pollack Schaefer (left) of Birmingham, Marilyn Pollack Robinson of Bloomfield.

6. Amie & David Stern of Birmingham. 7. Patty & CJ Ghesquiere of Bloomfield. Photo by Jerry Richart.

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Women of Bloomfield’s Puttin’ on the Glitz

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1. Patricia Finnegan Sharf (left) and Ava Wixted of Bloomfield, Carolyn Steffens of Birmingham. 2. Jeffery (left) & Barbara Van Dorn of Birmingham, Andra Potter of S. Lyon, Jackie Kendall of W. Bloomfield, Sydrena & Irwin Epstein of Bloomfield. 3. Carol Campau (left) of Novi, Anita Hedeen of Bloomfield, Isolde Erickson of Island Lake. 4. Jo Cetnar (left) of Menomonee Falls, WI, Terri Stacy of Bloomfield, Lisa Sanders of W. Bloomfield. 5. Eva Meharry (left) of Windsor, ONT, Sydrena Epstein of Bloomfield.

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK Assistance League’s Mistletoe Marketplace

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1. Lorraine Taliercio (left) and ALSM president Barbara Donohoe of Rochester Hills, honorary chair WDIV’s Chuck Gaidica of Grosse Pointe, event co-chair Nancy Troyer of Rochester Hills. 2. Holly Powell (left) of Bloomfield with Brenda Cornock of Rochester Hills. 3. Amy Headbloom (left) and Abby Turnbull of Rochester Hills. 4. Toby Collins (left) of Rochester, Cindy Yearwood and Patricia Ozybko of Rochester Hills. 5. Beth Shermeta (left) and Barb Gimesky of Rochester Hills. 6. Rebecca Barron (left) and Liz Radogost Givens of Rochester. 7. Marcia Mikula (left) of Rochester, Sherry Davenport of Rochester Hills, Sharon Schaefer of Leonard, Marcie Krozier of Auburn Hills, Janet Riggs of Leonard.

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DSO Volunteer Council Nutcracker Marlene Bihlmeyer, Deborah Savoie and Drew Esslinger chaired the 33rd annual Nutcracker Luncheon & Boutique that attracted 235 orchestra supporters ($75, $165, $500 tickets) to the Detroit Athletic Club. The 14 boutique vendors were busy until everybody stopped shopping to watch the Detroit Ballet dancers perform selections from, what else, “The Nutcracker”. WJR’s Paul W. Smith was the engaging emcee for the luncheon program. It included musical performances by an Oakland U foursome and DSO updates by CEO Anne Parsons and VP Paul Hogle.

The latter bragged about the spotlight the New York Times put on the DSO and the “Symphony in D” that would premiere three days later. The VC, which also builds audiences for and provides hospitality for the orchestra, does not release fundraising event proceeds.

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FAR, Friends, and Fa-La-La

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Beyond Basics Literacy Fundraiser Private homes like Paddy Lynch’s historic home in Detroit’s Arden Park neighborhood, are desirable venues for charity events. Built in 1915 and occupied for many years by Stanley Kresge, the classic mansion was badly in need of TLC when Lynch, a Bloomfield Hills native / funeral director bought it in 2011 and restored it. Supporters of Beyond Basics literacy programs (100 at $150 or $300 ticket) toured the renovated six-bedroom, three-story manse - from the basement ballroom with its fountain to the third floor butler’s quarters with a fireplace. They also relished live jazz, artwork, an auction and Luciano Del Signore’s cuisine from his Bacco Ristorante. Thanks to presenting sponsor Baker Tilly and other generous sponsors, Beyond Basics raised more than $90,000.

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raison d’être. Each act was roundly applauded and the performers’ smiles actually generated some tears of joy in the audience. Long time emcee, former Fox-2 reporter Alan Lee, now California author, observed that the show “…was the best ever.” Three awards were presented at intermissions: the Commitment to Community went to the exceptionally charitable Kroger Co. of Michigan; the Hero Award went to former FAR board chair, now FAR communications specialist par excellence John Ashcraft; and the Spirit of FAR Award went to musician Betsy Wilson for her invaluable rehearsal support of FAR therapists and musicians. And speaking of talent, event chair Judy Zorn displayed notable virtuosity when she sang, “I’ll Be There” with some of the FAR stars. For the finale, the whole cast sang “With a Little Help from My Friends.” It captured the essence of FAR. Before and after the show, people shopped at the FAR Bazaar coordinated by Pauline Shaw and Rita Norkiewicz. It featured the work of 14 artists and its sales added $3,800 to the event total of $70,000. Karla Sherry is chairing the next FAR fundraiser - Sing Out for Kids – Friday, March 11, at Emagine Royal Oak.

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1. John Ashcraft (left) of Franklin, Judy Zorn of Rochester Hills, Michael Brennan of Birmingham. 2. Joanne & Ted Lindsay of Oakland Township. 3. Paul (left) & Diane Widlak of Bloomfield, Pam Audette and Rachel Thompson. 4. Laurie Tennent & Gordon Cox of Bloomfield. 5. Carol (left) & John Aubrey of Birmingham, Link & Jody Wachler of Troy. 6. Annabel Cohen (left) of Bloomfield, Judy Zorn of Rochester Hills.

Photo: Laurie Tennent. 7. Michael Brennen of Birmingham, Pamela Ayres of Bloomfield. Photo: Laurie Tennent.

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French American Chamber Wine event The non-profit French American Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Alliance Française de Detroit/French Institute of Michigan and Alliance Française de Grosse Pointe to host a social evening featuring the uncorking of the 2015 Beaujolais Nouveau wine. More than 100 guests convened at The Stand to savor an exclusive Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau wine bar, sponsored by WJ Deutsch, along 02.16

with a selection of French cheeses, charcuterie, appetizers and desserts. They also participated in a raffle thanks to donations from Artloft Boutique, Faurecia and Signature Sotheby’s. The local event was one of many held across the US by FACC chapters.

There are more than a few oenophiles who fondly remember when Eddie Jonna hosted festive Beaujolais Nouveau uncorkings at his Merchant of Vino store on W. Maple in Birmingham.

Assistance League’s Mistletoe Marketplace Lorraine Taliercio and Nancy Troyer cochaired the Assistance League of Southeast Michigan’s 12th annual holiday-themed fundraiser. It attracted 800 people to the Palazzo Grande in Shelby Twp. Before settling in for lunch, they perused the offerings of 30 vendors, the Chinese and silent auctions, the 50/50 raffle, and fashions from the league’s ReSale Connection store in downtown Rochester modeled informally by members.

Charles Wickins emceed the luncheon program and conducted the live auction. It brought the total proceeds for the event to $118,500, making significant inroads on the league’s $360,000 annual philanthropic budget to feed, clothe, educate and comfort needy children and adults throughout Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Assistance League is a non-profit, all volunteer organization with over 300 members who donated over 56,000 volunteer hours this past year. For more information, go to the Assistance League ReSale Connection, 204 S. Main St., Rochester, 248-656-0414, or semich.AssistanceLeague.org.

Beyond Basics Literacy Fundraiser Private homes like Paddy Lynch’s historic home in Detroit’s Arden Park neighborhood, are desirable venues for charity events. Built in 1915 and occupied for many years by Stanley Kresge, the classic mansion was badly in need of TLC when Lynch, a Bloomfield Hills native / funeral director bought it in 2011 and restored it. Supporters of Beyond Basics literacy programs (100 at $150 or $300 ticket) toured the renovated sixbedroom, three-story manse - from the basement ballroom with its fountain to the third floor butler’s quarters with a fireplace.

They also relished live jazz, artwork, an auction and Luciano Del Signore’s cuisine from his Bacco Ristorante. Thanks to presenting sponsor Baker Tilly and other generous sponsors, Beyond Basics raised more than $90,000.

French American Chamber Wine event The non-profit French American Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Alliance Française de Detroit/French Institute of Michigan and Alliance Française de Grosse Pointe to host a social evening featuring the uncorking of the 2015 Beaujolais Nouveau wine. More than 100 guests convened at The downtownpublications.com

DSO Volunteer Council Nutcracker

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1. Drew Esslinger (center) of Detroit, Deborah Savoie (left) and Marlene Bihlmeyer of Bloomfield. 2. Ginny Lindquist (left) of Orchard Lake, Paul W. & Kim Smith of Bloomfield. 3. Laura Fogelman (left) of Birmingham, Maria Bradley of Bloomfield. 4. Kim Minasian Howes (left) and Emma Minasian of Bloomfield. 5. Chuck Dyer (left) of Grosse Pointe, Kelly Hayes of Birmingham, Elaine Curvin of Detroit. 6. Sue Nine (left) Bloomfield, Gwen Bowlby of Detroit. 7. Rosemary Bannon (left) of Beverly Hills, Betty Bright of Bloomfield, Diane Schoenith of Grosse Pointe.

French American Chamber Wine event

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK Stand to savor an exclusive Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau wine bar, sponsored by WJ Deutsch, along with a selection of French cheeses, charcuterie, appetizers and desserts. They also participated in a raffle thanks to donations from Artloft Boutique, Faurecia and Signature Sotheby’s. The local event was one of many held across the US by FACC chapters. There are more than a few oenophiles who fondly remember when Eddie Jonna hosted festive Beaujolais Nouveau uncorkings at his Merchant of Vino store on W. Maple in Birmingham.

Horizons-Upward Bound Anniversary Gala

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1. Dominic DiMarco, Ben Snyder and Arlyce Seibert of Bloomfield. 2. Kathy Wilson of Birmingham and Barry Roberts of Warren. 3. Michael Hermanoff (left) of Bingham Farms, Joe & Barbara Washington of Detroit, Sandy Hermanoff of Bingham Farms. 4. Anne Carney Strickland (standing left) of Birmingham, Parker Lynch of Detroit and Scott Strickland of Birmingham with Thomas (seated left) & Nancy Strickland of Bloomfield, Katie & Kevin Prokop and Susan Muskovitz of Birmingham. 5. Stephen (standing left) & Bobbi Polk, Kathy Wilson, Katie Coleman (seated left), Karen & Rick Williams and Jacqueline & Emery King of Bloomfield. 6. Mary Pat Rosen and Lori Thelen of Bloomfield.

7. Phylicia & Phyllip Hall of Franklin, Lisa Blake of Bloomfield, Adele Acheson of W. Bloomfield, Dr. Linda Gillum of Bloomfield. 8. Darleen & Hugh Mahler of Birmingham. 9. Jessica Katers (left) of Livonia, Dr. Ebony Rucker of El Paso, TX, Fran Dagbovie of Birmingham, Charlie Shaw of Bloomfield. 10. Guy Gordon and Rhonda Walker.

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Horizons-Upward Bound Anniversary Gala Fifty years ago, before Cranbrook Educational Community’s Woodward Avenue entrance was constructed, the secluded campus was not so easy to find. A video featured at the 50th anniversary celebration of Cranbrook Horizons Upward Bound captures some of the awe and trepidation early HUB participants experienced when they first arrived at the exclusive enclave for the program Ben Snyder founded. Since its inception with 52 students in 1965, almost 3,000 low income students with limited opportunities but first generation college potential have graduated from HUB. Today, 175 students participate in the 12-month program that is divided into a six-week summer residential phase and Saturdays during the academic year. The experience extends beyond academics to include cultural, travel and social opportunities designed to encourage students to explore their strengths, dreams and future aspirations. More than 70 percent of them have graduated from college and work in a wide range of professional fields.

Rev. Dr. James Evans, the first HUB alum to graduate from college, came from Rochester, N.Y. to do the invocation at the celebration.

The sold-out festivities ($150, $250 tickets) attracted 278, including 48 HUB alums representing all five decades of the program.

Dinner in both the main and upper level Kingswood dining halls followed the cocktail reception in the Kingswood auditorium.

Emery King emceed the reflective and heartwarming dinner program. It featured the testimonies in the video referenced above and remarks by CEC President Dom DiMarco and Schools Director Arlyce Seibert when they presented souvenir mementoes to all four HUB directors (Ben Snyder, 1965 to1990; William Washington,1990 to2000; Dr. Eddie Green, 2000 to 2010; and Dr. Darryl Taylor, 2010 to-present. DiMarco’s opening remarks also noted an “amazing gift” that HUB received from Cranbrook ’46 alum Dr. Charles Chidsey, who read about the program in the Spring 2015 issue of CEC’s Traditions magazine. “HUB is a program that once it touches you, it never leaves you. I know it will never leave Dr. Chidsey, and it will never leave me,” declared DiMarco. The inspirational program concluded with 02.16

designated pledging conducted by WDIV’s Guy Gordon and Rhonda Walker. It brought the event total to nearly $500,000, thanks also to the generous sponsorship of the BARD Foundation (Born and Raised Detroit) and the Williams Family. Learn more about HUB at horizonsupwardbound.org.

Habitat for Humanity Oakland Extravaganza Habitat for Humanity has been building homes in Oakland County for 20 years and the recipient of its first home spoke at its third annual Extravaganza. It attracted 100 benefactors ($250) and 187 patrons ($175) to The Townsend. Benefactors hob nobbed in the Corner Bar before all convened in the ballroom for dinner and the program emceed by WJR’s Marie Osborne. Co-chairs Susie Mansoor and Cheryl Henderson noted the great need in Oakland County for Habitat’s housing, education and tools for success before CEO Tim Ruggles presented the 2015 Maggie Allesee Community Builder Award to Doug Maibach.

He modestly thanked the 16,000 Barton Marlow employees and his wife who enable him to give back in a meaningful way. That first home recipient, Doreen Marquis, noted how Habitat enabled her to provide education for her three children and a better life for her grandchildren.

Auctioneer Dan Stall conducted the live auction that raised $34,000, including $8,700 in donations. Thanks also to Barton Malow and 17 other generous sponsors, the event raised more than $128,000. Alexander Zonjic’s flute warmed up the post dinner scene before the Motown R & B and Serieux added energy with some Temptations and 4-Tops music. People were dancing in the aisles and doing a Congo line around the room.

Leader Dogs for the Blind Leader Dogs has provided independent mobility to more than 14,500 men and women free of charge since 1939, thanks to supporters like the nearly 500 ($175 ticket) who attended Lead in the Holidays at the Royal Park Hotel.

Before sitting down to dinner, they sipped champagne, bid electronically on 114 silent auction items, took blindfold walks with Leader Dogs and petted more than a few foster puppy guests. The dinner program, emceed by event co-chair Terry Oprea, emphasized Leading by Example and featured remarks by board chair John Hebert and President/CEO Sue Daniels, as well as videos of grateful clients who noted that “…a Leader Dog changes everything.”

Auctioneer Christopher Anslanian then conducted an electronic live auction of eight items that raised more than $16,000 before a client gave a personal testimony to his incredible dog Maddy. Mission Moment electronic pledging followed and raised $22,000. Thanks also to generous sponsors the 24th annual event raised more than $260, 000.

JARC’s Night of Comedy with Dennis Miller Since 1969, JARC has provided residential and support services for adults and children downtownpublications.com

Habitat for Humanity Oakland Extravaganza

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1. Dr. Imad (center) with Susie Mansoor of Bloomfield and Cheryl Henderson of Clarkston. 2. Pam Benfield (left) and Cindy Guerrier of Rochester Hills, Carolyn Demps of Birmingham. 3. Jon Wiant (left) of Rochester Hills and Rene Aquilina of Milford.

4. Maximiliane Straub & Greg Wilford of Bloomfield. 5. Karen Wiant (left) with Ann & Al Majauskas of Rochester Hills. 6. Rick (left) & Carol Barrett of Birmingham, Sally & Chet Sadowski of Waterford. 7. Michael Fluhler (left) of Rochester Hills, Margaret Zangara of Macomb, Chris Van Gorden of Clarkston.

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1. Terry & Barbara Oprea of Clawson. 2. Tom (right) & Sue Sweeney of Birmingham, John & Margo Hebert of Milford. 3. Kathy Radom (left) of Oakland, Gail Pollina of Bloomfield. 4. Sam (left) & Anne Slaughter of Milford and Janet & Ron Redfern of Oakland. 5. Otto (left) & Paula Rosenbusch and their daughters Danielle Fernandez of Rochester Hills and Evan Summers of Chicago. 6. Richard Klavss and Alison Hanks of Rochester.

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SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK JARC’s Night of Comedy with Dennis Miller

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1. Dan Wiener (left) of Berkley, Marla & Adam Jahnke of Huntington Woods and Andrew Luckoff of Bloomfield. 2. The Luckoff Family – Kaitlyn (left), Jason, Nancy, Howard and Andrew of Bloomfield. 3. Lena Epstein and Eric Medwed of Bloomfield. 4. Michelle Bass of Bloomfield Hills and Rachel Lachover of Birmingham. 5. Stuart and Tracye Schwartz with Jared and Lisa Rothberger all of Bloomfield Hills.

Walsh College Leadership Awards Dinner

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1. Brian Pilarski (left) of Birmingham, Rebecca Sorensen of Bloomfield, Lori Blaker of Metamora, William Jones of Birmingham. 2. Dennis (left) & Christine Harder of Bloomfield, Stephanie Bergeron of Birmingham. 3. Ron (left) & Gail Pope-Rashid and Janet & John Grant of Bloomfield. 4. Marion (left), awardee William, Malcom and Johnathan Jones of Birmingham. 5. April Turner (left) of Birmingham, Claire Sorensen of Boston, Dana and Rich Sorensen of Bloomfield. 6. John Pronto (left) & Laurie Horvath of W. Bloomfield, Karole & Eric Davies of Bloomfield. 7. Michael & Carol Ziecik of Bloomfield. 8. Dave (left) & Kathy Petoskey of Bloomfield, Drew & Michelle Ciora of Lake Orion. 9. Mark Anderson (left) of Auburn Hills, Darin McBride of Birmingham.

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with developmental disabilities, and their families. Its 35th annual theatre fundraiser was chaired by Nancy, Howard, Andrew, Matthew, Jason and Kaitlyn Luckoff and attracted 1,500 ($90 - $500 tickets) to The MAX (Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center) at Orchestra Hall. More than 500 guests were Young Adults (ages 21-40) and Corporate Sponsors who first gathered for the Laughter Lounge pre-glow strolling dinner and cocktail reception chaired by Marla and Adam Jahnke, Andrew Luckoff and Dan Wiener. Their sipping, supping and socializing preceded “A Night of Comedy with Dennis Miller”, the popular, Emmy-winning satirist. To his hilarious take on current events he added an unforgettable recollection of having dinner with Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas. Miller joined all at an afterglow following the show. The event, thanks also to generous sponsors like Quicken Loans; Title Source, Inc.; Bedrock Real Estate Services; and Gilbert Films, raised $1 million to help JARC enrich lives for people with disabilities.

Walsh College Leadership Awards Dinner Despite the season’s first big snowfall, most of the 300-plus guests expected at Walsh College’s Leadership Awards Dinner made it to the MGM Grand for the celebratory occasion. It honored four individuals: two for exceptional community service - Rochester Hills-based TTI Global’s Lori Blaker and Focus HOPE’s CEO William Jones - and two distinguished Walsh alumni – UBS Financial Services’ Becky Sorensen and Brown & Brown of Detroit’s Brian Pilarski. Following a convivial reception with a silent auction and a superb dinner, Steve Garagiola emceed the program In which WC CEO Stephanie Begeron noted, “(These people) are extraordinary models for…our students.” Current scholarship student Sherri Uckele used stadium size flash cards to deliver her message: “HIRE US.” Now a successful wealth manager, Sorensen revealed that she did not have a dime to her name when she got a Walsh College scholarship. Pilarski, a stand out in insurance sales, said, “(My work) is a journey, not a destination.’ The honorees all earned standing ovations from proud family members, mentors and colleagues. Thanks also to generous sponsors the evening grossed $135,000 for scholarships at the leading undergraduate and graduate business school which began modestly in 1922.

Brave Knight Benefit The 350 mostly youngish guests at the Julian Boivin Courage for Cures Foundation benefit at The Townsend sure generated a lot of energy. Maybe that’s because many of them knew Julian, who lost his fight with a brain tumor when he was barely five, and their determination to find a cure is palpable. During his welcoming remarks, Brad Boivin noted new faces at the fifth annual event from his Bloomfield Lahser class, which had just had its 20th reunion. He also referenced new friends 02.16

who waged the same battle. “It’s a shitty fraternity,” he declared. Pediatric brain tumor researcher Dr. John Perentesis, here from Cincinnati, said, “Brad’s right. It is a shitty fraternity.” The Detroit native, now a director of cancer programs at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, praised the “magic of community” for cancer research and noted that when the DIPG Collaborative (which includes the Boivin foundation) funded innovation “…the field exploded…our goal is a cure.” Then Pat Lowman and Dan Morse conducted a live auction of three items. It raised $10,400, including the $5,000 Dave Petoskey paid so his 104-year-old grandmother could throw out the first pitch at a Tigers game. Combined with the silent auction ($30,426), wine pull ($3,125), pledging ($23,863), and generous sponsors, the evening raised $96,000 for the DIPG Collaborative and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

BARD Foundation Gobble Wobble The ninth annual Gobble Wobble with its Welcome to Wonderland theme and music by the Dan Rafferty Band and DJ Sweddie Murphy had The Reserve jumping with 450 young people ($90 ticket) the night after Thanksgiving. The evening raised $21,000 for the Born And Raised Detroit Foundation’s support of positive initiatives for kids in Detroit. The foundation, which was formed in 2011 by Bloomingham area natives, also staged fund/friend raiser events last year in Chicago ($15,000) and NYC ($65,000). Its partner organizations may be found at .bornandraiseddetroit.org/partners.html.

Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center More than 400 art center supporters ($75, $140 tickets) flocked to the traditional preview party which opened the Holiday Shop. They shopped seriously, choosing oneof-a-kinds by 140 artists. Popular items included ornaments, edgy jewelry, recycled wool mittens and whimsical ceramic garden stakes. They also relished edibles from 10 area restaurants and plenty of bubbly from Barefoot Wines. Thanks also to generous sponsors, the party generated more than $50,000 in support of education and ArtAccess programs at the BBAC. Hob Nobble Gobble One of The Parade Company’s largest fundraisers attracted a sold-out crowd of 2,000 ($350 to $1,000-adults; $200-children) to Ford Field the week before the 89th annual Thanksgiving Parade. They delighted in fun carnival rides, games (which all players win), a buffet that stretched across the field, collecting event souvenirs and entertainment for all ages.

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

Brave Knight Benefit

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1. Brad (left) & Nettie Boivin of Bloomfield, Dr. John Perentesis of Cincinnati, OH. 2. Staci (left) & Paul Zimmerman of Bloomfield, Molly & Bob Williams of Beverly Hills. 3. Shelley White (left) and Amy Kiser of Rochester Hills, Carla Gloria and Kathy Petoskey of Bloomfield.

4. Michael (left) & Rebecca Sokol of Bloomfield, Karen & Bryan Lively of Rochester Hills. 5. Carol & Gene Boivin of Bloomfield. 6. Ashley Heidemann (left) of Berkley, Sabrina Heidemann & Jay Penfil of Bloomfield. 7. Carlos (left) and Julian Carnova of Rochester. 8. Dave Petoskey (left) and Gary Gloria of Bloomfield, Dave Kiser and Don White of Rochester Hills.

Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center

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1. Jeff Pollock (left) of Cleveland, BBAC President/ CEO Annie VanGelderen of Commerce, Mike Latiff of Bloomfield. 2. Betsy Lehndorff (left) of Hubbard Lake, Ruth Carrigan of Birmingham. 3. Lynette Timlin-DeBene & James DeBene of Bloomfield. 4. Shelley (left) & Jeff Roberts of Birmingham, Julie & Jim Fielder of Bloomfield. 5. Maryanne & Charles Torner of Birmingham. 6. Sally Kaplan of Birmingham, Farshad Fotouhi of Bloomfield. 7. Peggy Kerr of Birmingham & Tim Travis of Waterford.

DOWNTOWN

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ENDNOTE

City DDA, PSD changes on right track t the most recent Rochester city council meeting, during an update on the city's Downtown Development Authority (DDA), it was announced that the DDA board was hiring a new marketing coordinator, to take over for Nancy Voges, who is retiring. This new marketing coordinator will likely begin work this summer, and will eventually answer to the Principal Shopping District (PSD) board, which increasingly is handling the city's marketing and events.

Some council members were confused, less about the qualifications of the new hire, but over who the new marketer would answer to and who would be paying for her salary. That is because once upon a time the DDA and PSD held the exact same boundaries, boards and staff, and basically functioned as one. Today, there are clearer lines of demarcation between the two, with separate boards of directors for the most part and clearly defined and distinct responsibilities, although they continue to share staff and office space.

A DDA is funded on property tax captures in a defined area, which can include residential property. DDAs first came about in Michigan under Public Act 197 of 1975, when lawmakers designed them to be catalysts in the development of downtown districts. It provides for a variety of funding options, including a tax increment funding mechanism, which can be used to fund public improvements in a downtown district and the

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ability to levy a limited millage, special assessment, revenue bonds, or contributions from the local government. DDAs allow a community to finance large improvement projects.

Through Public Act of 1961, a business improvement district (BID) or principal shopping district (PSD) is designed to promote economic development within the business community, and is done through special assessments on businesses to finance activities.

According to Kristi Trevarrow, who is the DDA director and the chairman of the PSD, the DDA and PSD for many years shared the same downtown Rochester boundaries, the same board and staff, “and the DDA did everything.” About five years ago, she said, the boundaries were changed a little bit, when a few outlying businesses requested to opt out of the PSD. That activated a provision in the law for the PSD to have its own separate board. While there is a DDA liaison on the the PSD board, and PSD liaison on the DDA board (and a city council liaison on each board), the PSD has its own board of directors, representing business owners, property owners and a resident representative.

The transfer of responsibilities has been occurring, gradually at times, and more actively at other times. This July, the Rochester PSD comes up for renewal with the city council. Based on current assessments from property owners, which may or may not be passed on to leaseholders, the PSD's

current budget (part of a three-year budget), is $222,868, and according to Nik Banda, director of economic and community development for Rochester, is likely to stay constant and be approved for another three-year cycle. Trevarrow said that by this July, the transition of responsibilities between the two entities will be more complete.

“The DDA is transitioning to all bricks and mortar business development, and we're having the PSD take over all of the promotional, marketing work and events,” she said, for Fire & Ice, Big Bright Light Show, Farmer's Market, Holiday Expo, Festival of Lights, Kris Kringle Market, and other events, while she continues as director. “Put them all together and you have a strong downtown management organization.”

That also means that while the DDA is in the process of hiring the new marketing coordinator, that person will actually be part of the PSD's budget, which should alleviate concerns of some city council members, who were worried about the DDA needing more funding for that position.

Defining the lines of authority and responsibilities between the DDA and PSD, while confusing to those looking in, is actually progressing. There may still be some stumbles, and uncertainty as the soup is being made, but the end result is destined to be just right. And within the financial parameters of this fiscally responsible community.

Campaign finance bill must be corrected esponse to a campaign finance law passed late last year as lawmakers were heading out the door at the end of the year, which has been referred to as a "gag order" on local governments and school districts, has spiraled outof-control to the point of a bad joke that must now be either corrected or completely eliminated.

The law, Public Act 269, makes changes to the state's Campaign Finance Act, and is another example of our state lawmakers failing the voters.

Initially introduced by state senator Mike Kowall (R-White Lake) as a dozen pages, SB 571 quickly ballooned into a 53-page controversy after being amended on the House floor without being read by nearly anyone except special interests groups, known as lobbyists.

As one senator stated after it was approved by a senate vote of 25-12 – including a yea from Sen. Marty Knollenberg (Rep. Michael Webber voted yes as well) – the law "might as well be Peggy Bundy's mystery meat because nobody knows what it does or what it is." Even Kowall admitted after the fact

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that he hadn't read all of the amendments to the bill.

Critics of the new law have focused on a provision that adds a 60-day timeframe during which school districts and local governments are prohibited from promoting local ballot issues. The law expressly bans locals governments from using radio, TV or mass mailings to provide any information about local ballot proposals 60 days before an election. Local governments and school districts say such mailings and information are needed to keep voters informed.

Local officials opposed to the new law claim it essentially places a "gag order" on local governments and schools, some going so far as to say that the law restricts any discussion by a board. Those claims are simply not true, as there is nothing in the law that expressly prohibits public discussion of the issues.

The law does prohibit mailings or other advertisements referencing ballot issues within 60days of an election as a way to ensures that taxpayer money isn't being spent selling them a tax proposal,

which in the past has happened even though current law is supposed to prevent this.

Since the law was passed and signed by Gov. Rick Snyder – who admitted the law had issues even while signing it – there have been at least two proposals to amend it. At the same time, a group of school districts, local governments and others have filed suit in federal court to overturn the law.

Clearly, state lawmakers messed up by voting on a bill they had not fully read, merely to 'get out of Dodge' at the end of the year. Besides local officials worrying about communicating with their constituents, the new law could now effect the future bond ratings of local municipalities, according to a recent statement by Moody's Investors Service.

It's imperative that lawmakers now fix the predicament they've created to satisfy the ratings agency, and allow municipalities and school districts to reasonably and responsibly communicate information about millage proposals and other issues without crossing the boundary of an inappropriate sales pitch.

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