Westend: April 2015

ENDNOTE: VOTE NO ON SALES TAX INCREASE ON MAY BALLOT APRIL 2015

DAYS OF LILY WHITE

SCHOOL STUDENT POPULATION

DIVERSITY HAVE LONG PASSED

EYES IN SKY REGULATIONS FEDS ISSUE RULES ON UNMANNED AIRCRAFT

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westend04.15

17

What Oakland private schools are doing Private and parochial schools are no longer the providence of privilege — white privilege — as diversity becomes more of the norm.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

8 25

ENDNOTE: VOTE NO ON SALES TAX INCREASE ON MAY BALLOT APRIL 2015

Public attitudes about race, ethnicity, religious beliefs and economic classes have come a long way in the past five decades, but there is still is much room for improvement in all Oakland County communities, according to publisher David Hohendorf.

DAYS OF LILY WHITE

INCOMING

10

SCHOOL STUDENT POPULATION

DIVERSITY

Our readers' opinions on issues facing the lakes area communities or their reaction to content in past issues of Westend.

HAVE LONG PASSED

EYES IN SKY REGULATIONS FEDS ISSUE RULES ON UNMANNED AIRCRAFT

Metro news websites

38 New rules for drones With the popularity of unmanned aircraft growing, the federal government is finally issuing rules to control the use of drones.

ONLINE INFO FILLING GAP LEFT BY DAILIES

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13

A recap of select categories of crime occurring in the past month in Commerce, Walled Lake, Wolverine Lake and the Union Lake area, presented in map format.

MUNICIPAL

31

METRO AREA NEWS SITES

CRIME LOCATOR ECRWSS Postal Customer

There are a number of metro area websites in the metro area attempting to provide daily news coverage and the daily newspapers decline.

Commerce appoints trustee; liquor license denied for eatery; Wolverine Lake hires more police; Walled Lake apartments placed on hold; more issues face Cooley Lake Inn; plus more.

THE COVER The 38-acre Twin Sun Lake, near the border of Wixom, in the west Oakland area. Westend photo: G. Lynn Barnett.

ENDNOTE

46

Our opinion on the May state constitution ballot proposal that would increase the state sales tax and the importance of transparency on government appointments.

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PUBLISHER David Hohendorf NEWS EDITOR Lisa Brody NEWS STAFF/CONTRIBUTORS Allison Batdorff | Rachel Bechard | Hillary Brody Kevin Elliott | Sally Gerak | Austen Hohendorf Sarah Kovan | J. Marsh | Kathleen Meisner | Bill Seklar PHOTOGRAPHY/CONTRIBUTORS Jean Lannen | Laurie Tennent Laurie Tennent Studio VIDEO PRODUCTION/CONTRIBUTOR Garrett Hohendorf Giant Slayer ADVERTISTING MANAGER Jill Cesarz ADVERTISING SALES Heather Marquis GRAPHICS/DESIGN G. Lynn Barnett WEBSITE/CONTRIBUTOR Chris Grammer OFFICE 124 W. Maple Birmingham MI 48009 248.792.6464 DISTRIBUTION/SUBSCRIPTIONS Mailed monthly at no charge to most homes in the Commerce, Wolverine Lake, Walled Lake and Union Lake area. Additional free copies distributed at high foot-traffic locations in west Oakland.

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 (westendmonthly.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 Commerce/Union Lake community. The traditional “letters to the editor” in Westend are published in our Incoming section and can include written letters or electronic communication.

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

ur feature story this month on the push for diversity – both racial and economic class – in the major private and parochial schools in Oakland County should stand as a testament to the modern-day efforts to change both the prevailing attitudes in schools and ultimately the view of students as they enter the world after graduation.

O

But the effort in the schools is just the start of a process that has been many years in the making given the history of Oakland County, which mirrors most other areas of the country.

My time here in Oakland dates back to the early 1970s, when prevailing attitudes on race, ethnicity and economic class were marked by exclusion, bias, and in many cases, outright racism.

Probably the most demonstrative incident I can remember was the public outcry in the city of Walled Lake in the late 1970s time frame when local government leaders were considering a possible application for federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for use in the community. The CDBG program had existed under a variety of other names until 1971 when the Nixon administration proposed consolidating 129 different federal programs that benefitted low- and moderate-income residents, including affordable housing and other anti-poverty programs. Eventually President Ford was able to gain passage in 1974 and implementation in 1975 of what we now know as the CDBG program that exists today.

county. As the rumor goes, those requests for a red-lining approach to advertising were soundly rejected.

But African-Americans and those of Jewish faith have not been the only members of the population that have faced discrimination.

Like other ethnic and religious groups who have come to the shores of this country and more specifically Oakland, we should note that the Chaldean residents faced similar obstacles and attitudes as they brought their entrepreneurial spirit to several areas of the county, where many set up businesses. But the list goes on further with other groups from around the world who have sought the American dream in this area.

I guess for the most part, I was fortunate to come from a household where race was really not an issue, despite the fact that our world was mostly white once we hit the suburbs. Prior to that, we were like everyone else in Detroit – you took the bus on Saturday with your parents to Hudson's, ate lunch at the counter of Sanders and experienced a mix of people from all backgrounds and races.

During my early college summers, I worked the factories of Ford and Chrysler, where my co-workers included an equal number of AfricanAmericans and white workers, so I was accustomed to a diverse population. It was during one of those summers when the Detroit riots occurred and my parents offered to open our home up to a couple of African-American college students who worked the line at the Ford plant with me so that they would not have to travel through the turmoil each evening to make the home-to-work trip from Detroit to Shelby Township. This was against the background of a neighborhood where residents proudly talked about arming themselves in case the riots moved beyond the city's borders.

Residents opposed to the CDGB program in Walled Lake made no bones about their fear that taking the federal funds would force the city into subsidized housing, which was really a code word in those days for African-Americans who might move into the community.

City leaders at the time rebuffed this thinking and went ahead with the program.

So we have made substantial progress in some respects, at least with the younger generation that appears to view the world more inclusively than some from my generation or certainly from the generation that included my parents.

Keep in mind that at this time most of Oakland County was inhabited by a strictly white population. This was a time when deed restrictions in many areas of Oakland County actually contained language aimed at preventing the sale of land/housing to nonwhites, as evidenced by the deed restrictions on the first lakefront home I purchased in Oakland in the western lakes area of the county.

But I am also reminded by a recent incident in one of the communities we cover that attitudes still have a ways to go with some people, as one of our reporters relayed an incident where the Commerce Township Supervisor at a recent municipal meeting referred to residents of Detroit, which is around 83 percent AfricanAmerican, as a group that “burns everything down,” only to attempt after the meeting to dismiss his comment as an intended joke.

Insensitive at the least; certainly inappropriate and, to some, racist.

The prevailing thinking at the time was not just an anti-black attitude. In the Birmingham/Bloomfield area, for example, you could often find deed restrictions that prevented the sale of land/housing to those of the Jewish faith.

And then there is the newspaper trade rumor, fairly reliable but unconfirmed all these years later, that some publishers in Oakland County were approached with the request that homes in the Birmingham/Bloomfield area not be advertised in the Southfield area so that the Jewish population would not migrate to this part of the

Progress, yes, there has been some. But we have a considerable distance to go, which makes what the private schools are attempting in Oakland so reassuring. Broadening the perspectives and world view of the younger generation can only benefit us all.

David Hohendorf Publisher DavidHohendorf@downtownpublications.com

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P U B L I C A T I O N S 124 WEST MAPLE ROAD BIRMINghAM 48009

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I read with interest your recent editorial (From the Publisher/April) in which (David Hohendorf) referred to the Westend being a publication that will tackle some tough local issues and question the wisdom of local officials when appropriate.

Not only do we need that kind of journalism – local, state and nationally – but here in Commerce it is refreshing to have a publication that does just that. I want to thank you.

Dodge Park No. 5 is a perfect example of how things work here, where a beautiful park – donated to the people of Michigan by the Dodge Brothers in the 1920’s, with the specific understanding it be preserved as parkland and open space – is acquired by Commerce but that donation was not respected and, equally disturbing, that the Master Plan means nothing, and that programs, activities and improvements by and for the public would be sacrificed. And for what?

The Commerce DDA is busy trying to unload the property there – and the Township Hall is half empty – so why is Dodge Park No. 5 the target (of the new library) here?

It needs to be preserved as is; no more development in the park.

Wonder if the library millage would have passed if voters knew it would be put in Dodge Park.

Name withheld upon request

No need for new library I have seen a lot of coverage in Westend about the pros and cons of different locations, and desired features of a new Commerce Township library building, but I have not seen any discussion of one important question – why does Commerce need a new library?

A few months ago, it was mentioned that some people don’t like the current library location because they don’t like to drive on roundabouts. Obviously this is so ridiculous it does not justify a response, much less an expenditure of millions of taxpayer dollars.

I have also seen some indications that a larger library is wanted. Why?

SPEAK OUT We welcome your opinion on issues facing the Commerce, Walled Lake and Union communities.

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

While we don’t have a specific word limitation, we reserve the right to edit for length.

The current library is never overly busy or crowded. And both the number of people and the amount of physical books in a library will do nothing but decline over the coming years and decades. Does anybody think that 20 years from now, loads of people are going to “go to the library and check out a book”? With the pace of migration to digital media only accelerating, libraries are destined to become almost museumlike places ... archives of history.

Some people will go there to browse the selection of old printed books as a historical exercise, but the vast majority of literary browsing will be done electronically. We don’t need a huge new building for that.

I recognize that providing public access to computers and the Internet is also a library function, but again, how many people are not going to have Internet access in their home (or in their pocket) in the future?

Very few.

I strongly suspect that the librarian that was hired by the township a couple years ago has a very old-school perspective of what a library is. And the studies she cites which allegedly indicate how big a library should be – based on the number of people in the community it serves – these are probably based on a 100-year-old model of what a library is and does. I don’t think they have any relevance to the future.

I would suggest that the current library is plenty big enough. And it’s conveniently located off of two main roads – M-5 and Pontiac Trail. I can’t imagine a better place for it than where it currently is.

WESTEND

I have already paid thousands of dollars in library assessments for a library my family rarely uses. I have two middle school age kids; for the vast majority of their research projects and reading necessities, they use the Internet or they use their school library. When we do need to physically “go to the library”, we usually go to the West Bloomfield library, because they have better services such as online renewal.

Millions of dollars have already been collected in the current library tax to launch the Commerce library.

The library can get by with minimal ongoing operations funding when the current millage expires. I encourage the people of Commerce Township to speak up to stop this insane notion of extending the millage, collecting millions more in taxes and building a brand new library that is not needed.

As an added bonus, by not building a new library, Dodge Park can remain a park, as it was intended.

Name withheld upon request Commerce

Information of worth So you’ve got a lot of grief from some of our residents who believe that if you don’t wholeheartedly support every far right position, then you’re a beyond the pale lefty.

Well, I like your paper. I like its positions and investigations. Unlike the other local paper, yours actually delivers news, information and commentary of worth.

So please take this as a note of support. Keep up the good work.

Alan Thayer Commerce Township

Appreciates Westend As a rather lonely liberal in Commerce Township, I am writing to say how much I appreciate Westend. I only learned of it after the loss of its “spine” by the Spinal Column.

It’s a measure of my support that in each of your issues, I look at the article titles and want to read every one of them.

John Cowlishaw Commerce 04.15

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FACES

Dave Bennett he keys of Dave Bennett’s clarinet serve as the music of a life that has offered him a career humbly following in the footsteps of his musical idol: the great Benny Goodman.

“My grandparents went to the local pawnshop and gave me my first clarinet,” he said. “They just thought it would be a nice hobby. Around the same time, they bought me a cassette of Benny Goodman and that’s what did it for me. As soon as I heard Benny and what the instrument could do, I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

The rare, self-taught musician would practice three to eight hours a day.

“I taught myself by listening to CDs and learning by ear. I can read music OK, but it’s not a strong point of mine,” he said. “If you fall in love with something, it’s hard not to do it. Practicing isn’t work.”

The high energy performer also plays piano and sings. He performs the popular tunes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash. Very subtly, the singer and songwriter, who was influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Alice Cooper, infuses some rock and roll into his music.

“I still play music that is of an older generation, but there are ways to approach playing that make the listener’s ears perk up a little,” he said.

With a very daunting schedule, Bennett spends a lot of time away from his Waterford home.

“I’m on the road a lot,” Bennett said. “Last year we played at Carnegie

T

Hall and I do a lot of festivals. I’m pretty blessed that I’m booked for two years out.”

Bennett was member in the band for Waterford School Districts.

“I went to Kettering,” he said. “I had four band directors throughout my school career and every one of them were fantastic.”

Bennett formed his first band when he was just 14-years-old. He often played with and was able to learn from older musicians.

“When I started to play professionally live, I was in the seventh grade,” he said. “It was at a coffee house in Pontiac at the corner of Saginaw and Pike.

It was the greatest feeling in the world. I was finally out in the real world playing. I think I made $60.”

After graduation, Bennett earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Oakland University in accounting. “I mainly (went to college) to be safe, in case music didn’t work out, and I thank God I never had to use it.”

Bennett has three CDs out: Clarinet is King; Dave Bennett: Celebrates 100 years of Benny. His latest CD is titled, Don’t Be That Way, and all of his music is available on iTunes and his website.

Playing Carnegie Hall was the zenith of Bennett’s career and he is incredibly grateful that his office is on the stage. “I’m thankful beyond belief,” he said. “I’m very blessed. I thank God for it. I shake my head in disbelief.”

Story: Katey Meisner

Photo: Jean Lannen

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DIVERSITY PRIVATE SCHOOLS BROADEN THE STUDENT POPULATION Once the province of privilege, notably white privilege, as whites were the ones who established and sent their children to the non-public schools, these institutions are no longer lily white and they pride themselves on religious, socioeconomic, racial and geographic diversity.

BY LISA BRODY

Each of us, at one time or another, has had to stop and ask who we are and what we stand for. It may occur during a period of selfrealization, turmoil, or due to outside influences. It is hopefully an opportunity to reflect and pivot, and see ourselves with fresh eyes and less bias.

Reflection is not reserved just for individuals, but for corporations and institutions as well, and hopefully augers growth and development in previously unforeseen directions. Education is a prime example where change, manifested in racial, religious, ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic diversity, continues to both reflect the community at large, and lead students to where society should be, and is progressively moving.

Private and parochial schools were once the province of privilege, notably white privilege, as whites were the ones who established and sent their children to these educational institutions. Throughout metro Detroit, especially Oakland County, non-public schools opened their doors primarily for those with white skin coloring, economic viability and from Christian backgrounds. Homogeneity within classrooms was not only sought after, but expected. Some Catholic schools grew out of neighborhoods of Polish, Irish or Italian immigrants, but there were few in attendance in those early days who were not part of that demographic group.

Look to your right, look to your left, what did you see? Mirror images of yourself.

“I graduated from Mercy (High School) in ‘66, and we had no diversity. It was a white, Catholic girls school. It was the height of the baby boomers era. If we had a Protestant girl it was a big deal.

Diversity in those days was Irish Catholic, Polish Catholic, Italian Catholic. We didn’t even have Hispanics,” said Cheryl Kreger, president of Mercy High School in Farmington Hills.

So too, do schools, continually on a mission to reduce the legacy of white privilege and its attendant isolation and discrimination.

Metro Detroit private and parochial schools recognize they are the conduit for students to the world at large, a planet no longer representing an “Upstairs, Downstairs” world. “The world has changed. We’re preparing these girls to enter the world today, and universally, everything is very diverse,” said Karen Moore, president of Ladywood High School in Livonia, an all-girls Catholic school which reaches out 40 miles into western Oakland County, reflecting geographic diversity. “We spend time learning about different cultures and the importance of valuing different cultures. It’s important to be inquisitive about the world, rather than fearful and judgmental. I believe it’s a great way to explore the world through other people.”

ISACS, the Independent Schools Association of Central States, is a membership organization of more than 230 independent schools from 13 states of the Midwest region, including Michigan, and several local private and parochial schools are members. ISACS not only does a full-scale accreditation program for each member school every seven years, but offers a bi-annual diversity summit dedicated to the support and extension of diversity and equity initiatives at the school level, as well as resources and information and mentoring services. They also help track levels of minority attendance in their member schools.

“All of multiculturalism can be dealt with as part of a trend. What was once considered ‘majority’ or ‘minority’ has shifted. There are definitely more students of color than 15 or 20 years ago, representing the similarity to society as large,” said Carla Young, director of Community and Multicultural Affairs at Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills.

Private and parochial schools were once the province of privilege, notably white privilege, as whites were the ones who established and sent their children to these educational institutions.

Throughout metro Detroit, especially Oakland County, non-public schools opened their doors primarily for those with white skin coloring, economic viability and from Christian backgrounds.

Fast forward to a new era in education and its attendant population, one which reflects the world at large. Today, the private and parochial schools in Oakland County draw well beyond their physical boundaries, encouraging diversity and recognizing that students of all colors, ethnicities and backgrounds benefit from being with one another. Kreger said that today they pride themselves on religious, socioeconomic, racial and geographic diversity, drawing from a 70 mile radius of communities “that produces a diversity that does reflect the world. There’s such value to diversity. It’s a very rich and abundant way to view the world.”

As Sister Bridget Bearss, head of schools at Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills, noted, “Diversity is part of our mission.”

“To redesign social systems we need first to acknowledge their colossal unseen dimensions,” Peggy McIntosh wrote in ‘White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack’. “The silences and denials surrounding privilege are the key political tool here. They keep the thinking about equality or equity incomplete, protecting unearned advantage and conferred dominance by making these taboo subjects. Most talk by whites about equal opportunity seems to me now to be about equal opportunity to try to get into a position of dominance while denying that systems of dominance exist...Individual acts can palliate, but cannot end, these problems.”

She writes about how just having been white has been “like an invisible weightless backpack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks” throughout her life, providing privilege she had never sought and never thought about.

“Having described it, what will I do to lessen or end it?” she asked.

She said that currently 35 percent of attending students identify as students of color, meaning racially or ethnically non-white. “We don’t identify or classify for the families. Once they’re enrolled, we ask families to self-report and help us to report our statistics to NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools), because they keep all of the stats.”

Cranbrook, like Detroit Country Day School in Beverly Hills, was born in the early days of the 20th century; Cranbrook in 1904, Detroit Country Day in 1914. Cranbrook was first established by Detroit News publishing mogul George and Ellen Booth, and named for Cranbrook, Kent, England, where George’s father was born.

Country Day began at founder’s F. Alden Shaw’s mother’s kitchen table, but soon relocated to Detroit’s affluent Palmer Woods. Each school initially strived to educate children of privilege, meaning primarily white, Christian, with non-immigrant status.

“A hundred years ago, the class pictures tell the story, and our students recognize it as such and how important diversity is today,” said Taneka Singleton, an upper school English teacher at Detroit Country Day School. “One student said during our Diversity Club, during the context of why it’s so important to be part of such a diverse school community, ‘I can’t imagine what I would be like if I had not had an opportunity to be a member of such a diverse school community.’”

Today, each school has worked hard to expand beyond their initial boundaries, refusing to be categorized as “rich person’s schools.” At Cranbrook Schools, Young said almost 32 percent of students receive some kind of financial aid, part of an increase in demonstrated need for financial aid. “When the economy shifted, there became an increase in requests for financial aid. We try to

figure out if we have the appropriate needs to match for the applicant or existing student.”

At Country Day, 23 percent receive some type of guided tuition.

While 50 percent of Country Day families choose not to identify their racial/ethnic background, 27 percent identify as white/Caucasian; 13 percent as Asian; 5 percent African American; 3 percent multiethnic; and 2 percent Middle Eastern.

“Because financial aid is need-based, there are all races, ethnicities, genders receiving financial aid,” Young said. “We see families of color who can afford to attend Cranbrook, and Caucasian families who are need-based.”

Changing the makeup of schools throughout the area has mirrored societal efforts for schools to reflect the tenor of the times, to move well beyond the “tokenism” of the 1970s.

John Birney, president of Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Township, said, “Racism is seen as so horrible today, not like in the ‘70s where it was so explosive. Today, it’s been our experience, there’s a taboo about it to students, like there is for students regarding drinking and driving. It’s much more that they’re buddies.

Race represents much less of a separator than it once was.”

The Catholic boys school, established in 1960, didn’t see its first African American student until 1968. “We were a fairly lily white school for our first five or six years,” Birney acknowledged. “Clearly, we’re no longer a lily white school. Today we have many blacks, Asians and Chaldeans. There is much more diversity than there ever was, but it was a gradual experience. We also have great geographic diversity, with students from Grosse Pointe, Eastpointe, Oxford, Milford, downriver, Pontiac, all over the metro area. We have exchange students from Korea, China and Spain.”

Birney said Brother Rice, despite being located in Bloomfield

Of the overall school population, he said 30 percent receive some kind of financial aid, totaling $1.2 million a year. He is proud to note that his diverse student body raises a portion of it.

“The students have raised $445,000, all of it going into tuition assistance,” he said.

One of the things Huber said he is most pleased about, which he said is a difference from other schools he has been in, “I am pleased to say when you walk in the cafeteria, you don’t see one ethnic group at a table. While kids may sit with their teammates, there is diversity in each of these groups, a subculture in each that reflects the community. There really aren’t any cliches. The friends you make are the ones you make in your classes, who you swim with, you’re in Quiz Bowl with, on the football team with. The kids really love and support each other. It’s a culture cultivated over decades, passed down from seniors to freshman. We promote the whole notion of brotherhood, from the beginning of the school year. It culminates in – you’re all brothers here. Each student has 1,069 brothers.”

Brother Rice’s Birney said their Band of Brothers program, adopted six years ago, similarly breaks down many invisible walls of exclusion.

“It’s like old homeroom programs, where each meet for a few minutes at the beginning of each day,” he said. “We wanted seniors to demonstrate mentorship to underclassmen, particularly freshman, for them to develop camaraderie with upperclassmen. A majority of our students see what they have in common with each other, rather than what separates each other.”

While there are some affinity groups, of ethnically-like groups of students sitting with one another, “like at other schools, we have some of that,” Birney said. “They’re not exclusive. You’ll see white

Today, the private and parochial schools in Oakland County draw well beyond their physical boundaries, encouraging diversity and recognizing that students of all colors, ethnicities and backgrounds benefit from being with one another. Private schools today pride themselves on religious, socioeconomic, racial and geographic diversity.

Township, was a “blue collar school in the 1960s. Our tuition then was $200, $300 a year. A kid could work a summer job and pay for it. Today, very few could do that. In 2015, we’re not a rich kid’s school, but we’re not a poor kid’s school. We’re a reflection of Oakland County today.”

He said regarding socioeconomic diversity, “We’re a private parochial school, and we charge the going rate, which is not cheap.

About a third of the parents can write a check for the whole tuition and do. Another third of parents can write a check over two or three checks. Another third scrape together checks, financial aid, scholarships. There is a wide range of people who come here. They all want a Catholic private school experience.”

Catholic Central, now in Novi, was originally founded in the 1920s and 1930s by Irish immigrants in Detroit. “They didn’t consider themselves privileged,” said Father John Huber, president of the boys’ Catholic high school. “Ninety years ago, it was pretty working class. It was an immigrant group seeking a place. Today, it’s not just white Irish, although we still do have quite a few Polish, Irish and Italians. Our number one immigrants today are Arabs, of various Christian denominations, notably the Eastern rites. There are Chaldeans, Lebanese, Albanians, Armenians, from the Polish National Church, and even a little bit of Muslims attending. From the Arab point of view, it’s great to have so many others of Arab descent here when there is so much discrimination against people of Middle Eastern descent.”

Father Huber said today the school is comprised of 20 percent of minority heritage, whether Arab, African American, Indian, Asian, and a growing number of Hispanics, a number of which speak only Spanish in their homes.

students join black students. Although I do wish there was more integration.”

By definition, an affinity group is a group formed around a shared interest or common goal. Academy of the Sacred Heart’s Sister Bearss noted it does happen, “but we neither encourage nor discourage it.”

Kreger at Mercy High concurred. “Some affinity groups are by design. Girls gravitate to their friends. We work to bridge any exclusions,” she said. Yet, she said, her student population celebrates their heritage, representing Indians, Chaldeans, Arabs, African Americans, Hispanics, Polish, Irish, Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese, some of whom are studying from abroad.

Today, many local schools have international students from countries across the globe. Just as the opportunities for international travel over the last several decades have altered the perspectives of Americans, echoing Thomas Friedman’s book ‘The World is Flat’ which analyses globalization and its benefits, so too do students benefit from sharing the classroom with students from around the world.

Cranbrook and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, a Catholic boys college prep school in Orchard Lake, each have a boarding component.

Other schools arrange for home stays with local families for foreign students. About a third of Upper School students at Cranbrook board on campus, coming from all around the country, and countries including China, Taiwan, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East and other countries. St. Mary’s has students from around Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, California, Florida, and North Carolina, as well as China, Taiwan, Mexico, Ukraine, Poland, Canada, Italy and Central America.

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Cranbrook’s Young said that when affinity groups happen “it’s neither good nor bad unless the groups outside interprets it or uses it badly. Often, the observation (of the group) carries different meaning by those who observe them.

“Affinity groups can be a touchstone, like going home,” she continued.

“When like-experienced groups meet, often for them, it’s comfort. It’s who you let your hair down with. But it can be disconcerting when you walk into the cafeteria and see all of the Chinese students together speaking Chinese. You feel like you can’t sit down with them. But, for them, they work so hard all day to speak English, they want a time to relax and speak Chinese with one another.”

She noted it’s very different than having “separate but equal” laws, which was a legal doctrine in U.S. Constitutional law that justified and permitted racial segregation as not being a breach of the Fourteenth Amendment, requiring equal protection under the law, which was overturned in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education.

“There’s something to being with your home culture during periods of rest and restoration, as long as it’s not excluding others,” said Bearss from the Academy of Sacred Heart. “Inclusivity is what we’re seeking, and we expect that. After all, in the era and time we’re in, where students see themselves as part of a global world, there’s almost no one left who is 100 percent white, or 100 percent anything.”

“We’re pretty diverse for a Catholic prep school,” said headmaster Cormac Lynn, of Orchard Lake St. Mary, which was originally founded in Detroit by Polish immigrants “who would pull them out of bars and factories to educate them, and maybe educate some priests along the way.”

The boys aren’t being pulled out of bars or factories today. “They’re all trying to make good choices, get into colleges, being the best kids they can be,” Lynn said, noting they attract local students from all over Oakland County and the metro area. “They’re not wealthy, but they’re not from want.”

He sees a greater tendency towards affinity groups at the beginning of freshman year, when students don’t know one another as well. “We don’t have student organizations with the intent of creating diversity, but our student council is very diverse. We see more diversity at lunch tables as they have classes together, play on teams together, and become friends.”

The curriculum does not play on diversity, Lynn said. “Our curriculum focuses more on what makes us similar than on what makes us different,” he said. “Our focus is on being a St. Mary’s Man first.”

Roeper School in Bloomfield Hills is one school which has always been focused on diversity. “Diversity is, and has always been, key and core to our philosophy, which came from our founders, who were German Jews surviving from the Holocaust,” said Carolyn Lett, Diversity and Community Programs Coordinator for Roeper. “We want to empower people to take ownership. We ask students, how do you become a citizen of the world. It is always an ongoing topic of conversation for us. For us, it didn’t just happen with Ferguson or with Dr. Martin Luther King. It’s systemic. So you see the world not just through your lens, but through my lens.

“We’re hoping students have a mirrored experience in our curriculum and in their experience in the school, and that the mirror reflects yourself and others,” Lett said. “The beauty is when it comes together and you see beyond, and you see through your experience and understand someone else’s. It’s always our goal to own up to all parts of your identity. We use the metaphor of the iceberg – you may see only 10 or 15 percent of the iceberg. We want to see the 90 percent that’s under the water.”

“I would like to think our students are understanding more how the world works and their role in it,” said Young. “A community that is more homogenous is limited to what is there. When you think about what diversity offers, it’s diverse thinking, and diverse problem solving. We all understand that we grow from having multiple perspectives. We all benefit from that.”

“I’m always amazed at how much further along this journey the students are than we are,” noted Country Day’s Singleton. “They are teeming with ideas for promoting and celebrating diversity. They are so accustomed to voices and people that are different from their own cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds, and knowledgable with their friends. They open their world to the exposure beyond their backgrounds, and they are well-versed and empathetic and prepared to contribute to the intellectual environment.” westendmonthly.com

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FACES Isabelle Lundin he winner of the Change Your Community, Change Your World national grant contest, Isabelle Lundin, is a talented musician with big dreams and all the ambition needed to reach them.

“Ever since being a little kid, I remember running around and singing. I started songwriting about three years ago,” Lundin said. “I have a little studio (in the basement). I just spend all my time there on the weekend. I learn new songs and write new songs. It’s become a very important space for me.”

An overachiever from an early age, Lundin plays the piano and taught herself to play guitar. The 14-year-old songstress pulls all A’s at Sarah Banks Middle School. She is a competitive swimmer for the Lakes Area Tridents and she is active in school and community theater.

“I really enjoy doing musical theater. I’m really active in the Marquis Theater in Northville. Being with other theater people has made me want to continue, and I do want to pursue musical theater. We just did ‘The Music Man’ (at Sarah Banks) and I was the lead, Marian Paroo.”

A longtime fan of Taylor Swift, Lundin reads Swift’s tweets faithfully and decided to follow the shoe brand, Keds, since Swift is a spokesmodel for the brand.

“She does photo shoots for them. (Keds) just kept tweeting about (the contest) so I clicked into it and decided to submit it. Truly, I didn’t think I was going to win.”

The contest, sponsored by Keds shoes Brave Life Project, was open to young women ages 13 to 24. Only 50 submissions in the U.S. were selected. Each winning essay writer received $1,000 that they are to put towards a project that benefits their communities.

When Lundin received an e-mail from Keds in late October 2014 stating that she was a winner of the Change Your Community, Change Your World national grant contest, she became emotional. “I was in choir and I just started crying.”

Lundin writes songs that address the struggles she and her classmates endure while growing up in today’s society.

Her submission was based on the idea that her songwriting could be used as a vehicle to help others.

“I have hopes that people can connect and find ways to escape and find their passion. Teenagers face a lot of the same problems adults face,” she said. “It really bothers me when people do something awful and think it’s cool.”

Lundin posts videos on her YouTube channel and is using the grant money toward equipment and recording a video.

The young lady credits her ability to make positive decisions to her parents. “I’m really lucky to have the parents I have,” she said.

Lundin urges other teenagers to fight against the negative temptations that are so readily available to them.

“Know who you are and do not be afraid of who you are.

The world and society is going to tell you to be like this. You need to tune it out, live in color and be yourself.”

T

Story: Katey Meisner

Photo: Zack Danielson

®

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MLS 215022207 – $325,000 36 Acres of Pristine Countryside! Luxury awaits the discerning home buyer, this custom built home is perfect for entertaining, stunning open floor plan, great room features floor to ceiling windows with panoramic views of the grounds, gourmet kitchen with tons of oak cabinets, deluxe master suite with huge walk in closet, full daylight basement, 3 car garage, 40 x 20 pole barn. 248.363.8300

MLS 215021540 – $425,000 West Bloomfield Lake Estates Subdivision! Four large bedrooms, library, formal dining room, first floor laundry, beautiful granite kitchen opens to family room giving the great room feel, freshly painted inside and out, newer windows on entire second floor, new garage door and furnace in 2015, huge basement with finished rec room area, possible 5th bedroom. 248.363.8300

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MLS 215013306 – $490,000 “Private” All Sports Oxbow Lakefront located on desirable peninsula with 155’ lake frontage, seawall. Spacious comfortable 4 bedroom home offering spectacular lake views from every window, custom kitchen with 10’ ceiling, washed cherry cabinets, hardwood floor, lakeside sun room, 2nd kitchen/laundry room is perfectly located for outdoor entertaining on 22 x 24 cedar deck. 248.363.8300

MLS 215019500 – $290,000 All Sports Upper Pettibone Lake! Enjoy 44 acres of year round lake fun, new roof and siding in 2014, travertine tile entry, convenient first floor laundry, huge updated kitchen with center island, walkout lower level features wall of windows highlighting the stunning lake views, deluxe master suite has loft/office area, walk in closet, updated bath with additional closet. 248.363.8300

MLS 215024227 – $659,900 Elegant Colonial in Milford’s upscale Stone Hollow Subdivision! This custom built home has over 5300 living sq. ft., located on a premium 2.71 acre lot on a cul-de-sac in the back of the sub, kitchen featuring granite, large island, premium built-in appliances, 42’ maple cabinets with crown molding, great room with fireplace, professionally finished lower level, family theater. 248.363.8300

MLS 215024122 – $260,000 Unique quality built home in desirable Farmington Green sub! Owner had home custom built on oversized corner lot, recent upgrades include new kitchen with custom cabinets, granite counters and island, beautiful angle laid oak hardwood in hall and first floor lav, new furnace and A/C in 2014, partially finished basement features a half bath and kitchenette, spacious sized rooms. 248.363.8300

MLS 215024201 – $334,900 WOW, Here is a Perfect **10** - Custom built 4 bedroom 3.5 bath contemporary in exclusive Bass Lake Woods with Bass Lake access, beautifully landscaped wooded lot adjacent to Proud Lake Nature Preserve, gorgeous gourmet kitchen with 42 inch custom maple cabinets, quartz counter tops, premium hardwood floors, spacious open floor plan with cathedral ceilings, move in condition. 248.363.8300

MLS 215012886 – $650,000 Magnificent brick home in prestigious Bloomfield Pines Sub! Very special finished walkout basement, courtyard, brick paver walks and patio, deck overlooks large treed natural area with pond, premium mature landscape, gourmet kitchen, granite and cherry cabinets, large bonus/exercise room off the master bedroom, 3 car finished garage, 3 fireplaces, shows like a model. 248.363.8300

MLS 215019649 – $264,000 Stunning Augusta Model Condo located in the back of Greenbriar . . . No sacrifice to “downsizing”, no detail has been left undone from the new skylights to the stunning hardwood flooring, soaring ceilings, and impeccable décor, first floor master suite with vaulted ceiling, walk in closet and designer bath with corner jetted tub and large shower, upper level loft office, large bedroom, full bath. 248.363.8300

© Real Estate One, Inc., 2014

Lakes Area (248) 363-8300

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OPPORTUNITY

ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO READ: METRO NEWS WEBSITES

BY LISA BRODY AND KEVIN ELLIOTT

Many of us remember with great fondness the days of retrieving a newspaper at the door, then sitting down in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand and perusing the day’s news. The daily newspapers, both the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, were the arbiters of local and national news, and the way almost all of us learned what was going on in our communities and the world in general, augmented by the network news telecast each night.

Fast forward to today and the dailies don’t deliver daily news – each paper cut back on home delivery and daily publishing in 2009 in order to save money and emphasize their resources on the web. While each have condensed print versions available at newsstands daily, they each introduced e-editions at that time. Many readers now find out what’s going on at freep.com or detnews.com daily, or more frequently on Twitter, as updates are posted. In addition, New York Times and Wall Street Journal readers turn with greater regularity to their websites and social media posts to find out what’s going on in the world as we sit at our desks or go about our day.

In a world that’s moving faster and faster, we all want to know what’s going on. Smart phones, computers and tablets allow us to connect and access information that previously we had to wait to receive from that daily newspaper or newscast. According to ebizmba.com, the top 15 most popular news websites for March 2015 are Yahoo News, with 175 million monthly views; Google News, with 150 monthly views; HuffingtonPost, 110 monthly views; CNN, 95 million views; New York Times, 70 million monthly views; Fox News, 65 million monthly views; NBC News, 63 million monthly views; Mail Online, 53 million monthly views; Washington Post, 47 million monthly views; The Guardian, 42 million monthly views; WSJ, 40 million monthly views; ABC News, 36 million monthly views; USA Today, 34 million monthly views; and LA Times, at 32.5 million monthly views.

Locally, there are several online news sites providing news and information to readers, many of which offer unique knowledge about the metro area, or aggregate news or facts from other publications or sites.

Motorcitymuckraker.com is run by Neavling and his girlfriend, Abigail Shah, and he pooled together $200 for a URL, web hosting and design for the site. Shah works as site researcher, bookkeeper, site manager and social media manager. The site is supported through advertising, including some national sponsors, though they run links requesting support.

The newsroom is their living room couch, located in an apartment on Detroit’s east side.

modelD.com metromode.com Editor: Matthew Lewis

motorcitymuckraker.com Editor: Steve Neavling Motorcitymuckraker.com calls itself a site of “independent news dedicated to improving life in Detroit.” The site focuses a majority of its energy on investigations, which is its first tab.

Others are crime & fire; government; arts & culture; development; and life in Detroit.

Investigations are in line with editor and founder Steve Neavling, an investigative journalist who was previously a city hall reporter for the Detroit Free Press and a freelance reporter for Reuters.

In March 2014, the Columbia Journalism Review featured Neavling as “Detroit’s one-man band”. Neavling, who runs Motorcitymuckraker.com and freelances for TickletheWire.com, views himself, according to the article, as a sort of one-man news operation who roams all areas of Detroit, chases news scanner reports, and pursues investigative pieces, intent on scooping Detroit’s broadcast and print media.

Motorcitymuckraker.com does its own original reporting, and its website offers an overview of the city itself, focusing a clear eye on the grittiness that lies beneath efforts to urbanize it. It spotlights what still needs to be done, whether it’s highlighting neglected fire hydrants or how they’re tracking every fire in Detroit in 2015 to provide a look at how fires are ravaging neighborhoods.

ModelD.com is an online weekly magazine that makes you believe that Detroit truly is the place to be. Its positive vibes over the last 10 years about the city and neighborhoods have finally taken root. “We take some credit, on a microlevel, for the difference in Detroit from 10 years ago,” said ModelD editor Matthew Lewis.

“We promote Detroit as a place to be and invest in.”

Companion site metromode.com posts daily on job growth and development in southeast Michigan, from Detroit to Ann Arbor, Wyandotte to Birmingham.

Both are published by Issue Media Group, a Detroit-based media company which publishes online magazines about growth, investment and “the people leading communities into the new economy in 21 regions across the U.S. and Canada.” Their mission is to cover what’s next in cities, documenting transformation and growth. “Our journalists identify influencers – the change-makers and doers moving cities and regions forward. We provide hyperlocal engagement with influencers, research and data, and audience.”

Lewis works from an office in midtown Detroit, not far from Wayne State University. He hosts weekly coffee hours in a nearby coffee shop, meeting freelancers, residents and readers. He had written and edited ModelD for a about a year; and taken over Metromode in February.

“ModelD is the flagship publication for Issue Media Group. In June it celebrated its tenth anniversary,” he said of the online-only weekly, which is sent out by e-mail blast each Tuesday, receiving about 90,000 page views a month currently. “We were born in a pre-Facebook age.

We are behind by being ahead. Right now we are transitioning to a more continuous publishing model, which has its challenges.”

He tweets and posts to Facebook, and while there are over 18,000 followers on Twitter, “We are looking at growing our social media presence,” he said. “Metromode has scant social media presence.”

ModelD.com has a positive focus on people, development, culture, business and neighborhoods, historically focusing on downtown, midtown and Corktown. “The goal now is to really expand citywide to show the neighborhoods and areas that don’t get as much attention,” Lewis said. “We are focusing now on Brightmoor, which is heavily populated by youth, and the Osborn neighborhood, which has blight, urban agriculture and the repurposing of vacant land. Each community is faced with unique challenges and opportunities.” Each issue has three features, development news and startup news.

Metromode deals with smaller dynamic communities in the region as a whole, “as well as the larger issues that affect us all,” Lewis said. “My personal goal is to better align the two publications. I want to reach out and show city readers why regional things matter, and show regional readers why the city matters.”

There is one regional feature a week, along with innovation and jobs news, and development information.

Metromode is also a weekly, sent out by email blast on Thursdays, with about 30,000 page views per month.

Both sites create original content rather aggregating from others, although there are marked advertorials.

breakingdetroitnews.com Editor: Patrick Kitano Breakingdetroitnews.com calls itself a “community service media” – part of a nationwide media organization of 400 sites located and curated from San Francisco. Patrick Kitano, who launched the news system in 2009, said he did so at the time to support local news publications. He had been a columnist for a hyperlocal newsmagazine, and realized there was a need to support local news. Each of his 400 sites curate and aggregate news and information from other news sites and blogs – meaning they republish previously published news, giving it credit.

“It’s an unsustainable model to hire reporters and sales staff (for a hyperlocal website), like Patch. But no one curated the

best. I created the methodology when Twitter was in its infancy,” seeing it as a source of news dissemination. “There is a rich tradition of a lot of independent news and blogs, and I wanted to aggregate them. We were a rich, diverse site by creating this. We’re not making money off of this, but we’re letting everyone know how to find the news.”

Kitano said his business model has utilized an administrative team out of India for the past four years, and they have a curated database of about 10,000 readers. However, he emphasized he doesn’t believe in e-mail blasts because he doesn’t want people to think they’re spamming them.

“I launched the news system in 2009 to support local news publications.

BreakingDetroit is part of 400 cities; BreakingA2news is very similar,” Kitano said.

“We’re working really hard to get independent news publishers heard. It makes our 400-city feed like a bulletin board that gets retweeted to other sources.”

The website states that “We curate and publish the most interesting media feeds in each city to create an aggregate real time ticker tape of literally everything happening in a city...We support local civic groups, good causes and arts organizations by getting their word out to our communities.”

He said they regularly work with the three largest independent news publishers, Independent News Network, The Media Consortium and Association of Alternative Newsmedia. “Many small publishers are hurting, they’re working with grants, they don’t have enough advertisers and don’t have true business models,” Kitano said. By reposting their stories on Breakingnews, their news and information can have greater exposure and life.

He said they have about 8,000 authorized newsmakers approved to post to their site.

“We’re in every city that has a population of 100,000 or 150,000 or more with multiple news sources,” he said. “We’re in Fargo, N.D, and Wichita, KS. Some small cities, especially in the mountains, that only have one newspaper and no bloggers, we’re not going there because we have nothing to aggregate.”

On Twitter, the Detroit site can be found at detroit_buzz.

“Everything about Detroit is very cutting edge journalistically,” Kitano pointed out regarding what readers can find out. “Local news is often focused on crime, traffic and weather. We don’t do that. We’re much stronger on both coasts. We have about 80 sites in California, where there’s much more engagement.”

Kitano said that for all sites, they receive about 50,000 to 80,000 click throughs per day on their posts. “Many are highly viral and get retweets,” he said, although he does not have separated data on breakingdetroitnews.

The next phase Kitano envisions is a Detroit site for the African American community.

“There’s nothing for the local black community.

Almost all blacks get their news from TV,” he said, working to pick up feeds from the Michigan Chronicle, Voice of Detroit and Monica Patrick, all of which can be found on Twitter @blckdetroit.

HuffingtonPostDetroit.com Editor: Kate Abbey-Lambertz The Huffington Post’s Detroit page was launched on November 17, 2011, as part of the Huffington Post’s national website. The Detroitbased page of the national website is managed by editor Kate Abbey-Lambertz, who joined the site as an associate editor in 2011 and was made editor last spring. While Huffington Post has more than 850 staff members throughout the organization, Abbey-Lambertz is currently the sole staffer specifically covering the metro Detroit area for the website.

However, other editorial staff cover Detroit and Michigan issues when they are relevant to their beats, and such stories are featured on the Detroit page.

While Abbey-Lambertz said the website doesn’t track user statistics of the Detroit page specifically, The Huffington Post U.S. site has 115 million unique visitors monthly. The main site was launched in 2005 as a news aggregator and blog site, founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, Andrew Breitbart and Jonah Peretti. The site, as does its Detroit counterpart, offers aggregated news, blogs, original content and covers politics, business, entertainment, culture and a host of other topics. The Huffington Post was acquired in 2011 by AOL for a reported price of $315 million. Huffington remains editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group.

While Huffington Post sends a statewide morning e-mail and breaking news e-mail and other e-mail newsletters, there isn’t a specific newsletter for the Detroit page. AbbeyLambertz said the Huffington Post Detroit coverage is driven by the same editorial focus and mission as the site as a whole: telling stories about the issues that matter most to people through all the tools they have available.

“As to what sets the Detroit coverage apart – there is no lengthy philosophy, but the phrase that guides how I write about issues and which ones I choose to cover is ‘people first,’” she said. “It was initially a reaction to the way some pre-bankruptcy coverage portrayed Detroit as a dead and empty city, and it was inspired by the tongue-in-cheek tagline in a photo series by Noah Stephens: ‘because not everyone in Detroit is an abandoned building.’

Now it amounts to me asking myself, ‘what do Detroiters care about, and what is important for the rest of the country to know about the city.”

That balance is reflected in one of Abbey-

Lambertz’ posts published on March 5, “11 Stereotypes Detroiters are Tired Of Hearing,” which utilizes Huffington Post’s trademark listicle styling, but cuts to more serious issues facing the city and metropolitan region. The story is an example of her intentions to illustrate that Detroit’s issues, like most cities, are always more complex than they appear at first glance.

“Acknowledging and explicating those complexities in a digestible way has been a central goal of our coverage,” she said. “For example, an article I wrote about a program to bridge the gap between Detroiters and police officers notes that while current national criticisms of policing often focus on excessive use of force, serious crime and historic problems like long wait times and a high unresolved murder rate means the focus of Detroiters’ criticisms of police can be different.”

detroit.eater.com Editor: Brenna Houck From her Ferndale perch, local editor Brenna Houck produces the majority of the content for restaurant, nightlife and food site eater.com, along with about five local contributors. Eater, owned by Vox Media, is a national general interest news site for the 21st century which says its mission is simple: “Explain the news.

Vox is where you go to understand the news and the world around you.”

Vox, which supports several different news, culture and sports platforms, amasses over 5 million visitors to its various websites each month. Eater, according to Houck, varies between 250,000 and 350,000 visitors a month.

Houck, her various freelancers and photographers, produce the majority of content for the site, which is primarily original. “We do aggregate and reblog, but the majority is original content,” she said.

“We’re not obsessed with the food porn side” of restaurants, Houck said. “We’re interested in architecture, the chef and that side. On our site, we focus on local restaurant news and what is new in openings in downtown. We send photographers in beforehand, if we can, or as they’re opening, so people can get first views, from an architectural viewpoint.”

There are about four photographic galleries a month of restaurants, providing viewers a virtual visit to new hotspots.

Eater notes it is “the source for people who care about dining and drinking in the nation’s more important food cities. A favorite of industry pros and amateurs alike. Eater has an

uncanny knack for finding out what’s opening where, who’s serving what, and how it’s all going down.” It was founded by Lockhart Steele and is led by editor in chief Amanda Kludt. The staff “makes news and breaks news daily with expert reporting on the latest restaurant openings in key cities and current dining trends across the country.” Its target audience is adults 21-34, and 74 percent use it daily, they reported according to Google Analytics Q4 2014.

“We’re doing hyperlocal, but on a national level,” Houck said, sending out e-mail blasts, which people sign up for, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She also posts to Twitter and Facebook. The national Eater website reports they have almost half a million Twitter followers, and a quarter million Facebook friends.

deadlinedetroit.com Editor: Allan Lengel Started by veteran journalists Allan Lengel and Bill McGraw, deadlinedetroit.com is designed as a one-stop, online news site whose content includes the top stories about metro Detroit from local, national and international media, as well as original reporting and commentary from many local journalists.

“We wanted to be a little more risky, or racier, than the papers are, and we wanted to be part of the conversation in Detroit,” Lengel said about the philosophy behind the website.

“We wanted to cover city hall and politics, not just in Detroit, but also in Lansing and the metro area. We wanted to be part of that conversation, and cover what we thought were important issues. In a lot of ways, we have accomplished that. I think we’ve built up a good audience and good readership.”

Launched in 2012, deadlinedetroit.com gained attention in metro Detroit even before its official launch, gaining followers who signed up for e-mail blasts before the site went live. The buzz was helped by the solid reputations of the journalists behind the site, as well as an infusion of funding from former Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos. At the time, Lengel, who had worked for decades for The Detroit News and Washington Post, had already started TickleTheWire.com, a website that features federal law enforcement news from around the country. Looking for investors in his site, Lengel approached Compuware, where McGraw was working after spending 32 years with the Detroit Free Press as a city desk reporter, sports writer, Canada correspondent, editor and columnist. Lengel said McGraw liked the

website, but suggested doing something local.

With initial funding from Compuware Ventures, deadlinedetroit.com was launched in April 2012.

Less than two years after its launch, the website had become a regular stop for many Detroit-area media consumers, receiving between 330,000 to 370,000 unique visitors per month, and included solid staff of full-time and part-time employees at its downtown Detroit office. However, funding from Compuware was pulled just prior to the company being privatized, and deadlinedetroit.com was forced to cut staff and reorganize in attempts to become profitable.

McGraw, who retains ownership interest in the site, has since gone to work for Bridge Magazine. Today, Lengel said he remains the only full-time staffer. He is joined part-time by Alan Stamm, a veteran Detroit journalist who worked for most of his career at The Detroit News as a copy editor, assistant national editor and assistant metro editor. Freelancers and contributors to the site include other Detroitarea journalists and professionals, including Darrell Dawsey, Jeff Wattrick, Doron Levin and others.

Lengel said the site, which currently receives between 200,000 and 270,000 unique visitors per month, is rebuilding. While the philosophy and style of coverage haven’t changed, the amount of original content has dipped by about 10 percent, with the rest aggregated from other sources. Still, the quality and quantity of content have remained high, he said.

“We are trying to to rebuild,” Lengel said.

“We have some advertising. I see a path to being profitable, it’s really just a matter of time and energy to get there.”

oaklandcounty115.com Editor: Crystal Proxmire Initially launched in 2009 by Ferndale native Crystal A. Proxmire, oaklandcounty115.com provides daily content about news and events throughout the county, with original reporting and coverage in a few key communities, including Ferndale and Oak Park.

“I try not to aggregate from other media,” Proxmire said about county-wide coverage on the site. “I call it ‘news hubbing.’”

Instead of posting excerpts of news stories from other media outlets, Proxmire cultivates relationships with folks in dozens of organizations around the county, who in turn send her event photos and news releases, allowing her site to act as a sort

of hub for various happenings throughout Oakland County.

Proxmire’s business model is unique amongst the multitude of other news sites on the Internet, not only for its content philosophy, but for her funding model, which focuses on a slow and steady, sustainable growth.

The goal is to become 60 percent reader funded by focusing on $15-per month contributions to the site. In turn, Proxmire offers a special flower ad in the sponsor’s name on the site. It’s what Proxmire has named an “online community garden.” The ads feature a photo of a flower, which can include the reader’s name, or be dedicated to another person. Other funding comes from ads on the site.

“There are two ways for funding the site,” she said. “Advertising, which is obviously the biggest way. But I really feel strongly about the online community garden. It’s a small amount of money, but it’s a way to make people feel connected to the website. It’s a grassroots project and really about the people we serve. I would rather have 100 small donations than one big ad. Then people understand the value of journalism. It’s really a community-driven website.”

So far, the philosophy is working for Proxmire and the website. In the year following her expansion to the county-wide news hub in 2014, unique visitors to the site jumped from about 10,000 per month to about 30,000.

“The Knight Foundation looks at the (online) models across the country, and nobody has really come up with one (that works) yet,” she said. “In almost every case, they ran a site for about a year, but then the money runs out.

They haven’t determined how they will be sustainable after the grant or sponsorship runs out. My hope is that OaklandCounty115 will be that model.”

The idea for the site’s model stemmed from a demo site she created in 2005, after graduating from Grand Valley State University. Irritated because the local press wasn’t providing adequate coverage in Muskegon, Proxmire tried applying for a job at the paper, only to be confronted with the reality of dwindling newsroom staff and the lack of available jobs.

Instead, she launched her own news site in hopes she could one day enter the print news market.

“In Muskegon, the economy revolved around the 1st and 15th of the month, so that’s how the name came about,” she said.

The Muskegon-based site operated for about six months. She later took the idea and applied it to her hometown in Ferndale. Initially publishing new content on the 1st and 15th of each month, she began providing daily updates in 2010, and expanded the Ferndale site in 2014. In addition to writing for her own site, Proxmire has written for The Oakland Press, Between The Lines and others.

She now hopes that her business model will be an example for others, which she said could benefit both journalists and communities that invest in them.

“People have to understand why news is important,” she said. “I like my (business) model. I hope it works. It’s paying the bills, and I’m supporting myself. I don’t have to have a side job. I hope to have a second reporter, and a third later as it grows. It’s a slow steady growth.”

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EYES IN THE SKY

NEW RULES ON DRONES

BY KEVIN ELLIOTT

hen Harry Arnold showed up in 2012 at a campaign rally being held in Defiance, Ohio for presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, Secret Service agents weren’t sure how to react. As the owner and operator of Detroit Drone, Arnold had been hired, unbeknownst to security agents, by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to capture images of the crowd.

W

“I got there and got the drone out, and the Secret Service ran over and stopped me,” he said. “The Republican committee hired me, and they came and explained it to the Secret Service, and they quickly made up some rules for me to follow, and inspected it.”

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here were very few rules or regulations on the books in October of 2012 about flying unmanned aircraft systems, more commonly referred to as drones. Use of the lightweight, remote-controlled devices had been little more than a hobby interest for a select group of people. The use of the devices for aerial photography was just getting off the ground, and few states or federal regulators had considered the number of uses drones would have, let alone the concerns they would raise about security and safety.

Arnold, who began operating Detroit Drone as a business about five years ago, was one of the few people in the region offering services utilizing drone technology.

“The rally was at a football stadium.

They told me I wasn’t to go past a certain point on the field. They had a Secret Service agent stand next to me the entire time,” Arnold said describing the event. “I remember he was really big, and looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger. He had the dark suit and glasses, and he didn’t say a word to me all night.”

As the rally went on, Arnold said he flew the drone as instructed. Romney spoke, the crowd cheered. Sharp shooters and secret service agents observed. Michael Lee Aday, better known by his stage name, Meatloaf, sang. The crowd cheered some more.

“Finally, I asked, ‘if I go past the point on the field that I’m supposed to with the drone, which do they shoot first, me or the drone,’” Arnold asked the agent. “He tilted his head down, and pulled his glasses down on his nose so I could see his eyes. ‘It will be synchronized,’ he said.”

While Arnold recalls it anecdotally, it also represents how the use of drones is still being regulated today, as state and federal officials scramble to keep up with technology and the many uses of drones by businesses, law enforcement agencies and academic researchers.

“It’s a mess,” Arnold said of the current federal regulations regarding drone usage.

“There are no rules or regulations. (The FAA) doesn’t want people to think that though because they will get carried away.”

Currently, the FAA states that any use of a drone device requires special approval by

the federal agency, except recreational use by model enthusiasts and hobbyists. That means anyone who purchases or builds a remote controlled airplane, helicopter or drone device is generally permitted to fly it in a safe manner without contacting the FAA, as long as they are following certain guidelines. A hobbyist can even mount a camera to a drone and take photos. But, if they plan on selling those photos or want to offer drone services for sale, the FAA states permission is required. The rule applies to public entities, such as law enforcement agencies, universities or other public entities.

Specifically, the FAA states that model aircraft flights “should be flown a sufficient distance from populated areas and full scale aircraft, should be kept within visual line-ofsight of the operator, should weigh under 55 pounds unless certified by an aeromodeling community-based organization, and are not for business purposes.”

However, Arnold and hundreds of other individuals continue to operate unmanned aircraft systems without permission from the FAA. Something they say they are legally entitled to do.

“There has never been any enforcement action taken against anyone for commercial use of a drone against anyone by the FAA. It has never happened because there is nothing to back up their argument in court,” said Peter Sachs, a Connecticut attorney and author of DroneLawJournal.com. “They have no law to back it up with.”

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n February 15, 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released proposed regulations that would permit routine use of small unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, into today’s aviation system. The proposal, which will be open to public comments until April 24, 2015, is intended to offer safety rules for drones under 55 pounds conducting nonrecreational operations.

The rules, if approved, would limit flights to daylight and visual-line-of-sight operations. It also addresses height restrictions, operator certification, optional use of a visual observer, aircraft registration and marking and operational limits. The rules wouldn’t apply to model aircraft.

Since the proposed rules haven’t yet been approved, the FAA bases its current rules on a collection of orders from congress to the FAA, referred to as the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA). The act dictates what the FAA may and may not do with regard to drone regulation. While the FAA’s current rules

are based on language in the act, some legal experts and drone operators say the act doesn’t apply to the general public, and instead to the FAA’s rule-making specifically.

“The FAA is constantly referring to the FMRA of 2012, which is a law, but that’s a law of congress telling the FAA what it can and can’t do. It doesn’t apply to the public,” Sachs said. “It will at some point in the future, once the proposed rules are ironed out and become finalized, but that time has not come.”

According to the FAA, individuals who fly a UAS, or drone, for business purposes do need approval from the FAA. “By law, any aircraft operation in the national airspace requires a certified and registered aircraft, a licensed pilot, and operational approval,” according to the FAA. “Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA) grants the Secretary of Transportation the authority to determine whether an airworthiness certificate is required for a UAS to operate safely in the National Airspace System (NAS).

“This authority is being leveraged to grant case-by-case authorization for certain unmanned aircraft to perform commercial operations prior to the finalization of the Small UAS Rule, which will be the primary method of authorizing small UAS operations once it is complete.”

There are currently three methods of gaining FAA approval for flying civil, or non-governmental, drones. The first method requires an individual to obtain a Special Airworthiness Certificate, or SAC. The FAA may issue the certificates under an experimental category (SAC-EC) for civil aircraft to perform research and development, crew training and market surveys. However, carrying property for compensation or hire is still prohibited under the SAC. Certificates are also issued under the Restricted Category for special purposes. Finally, approval may be obtained by requesting a petition for exemption with a civil Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) for aircraft to perform commercial operations in low-risk, controlled environments.

Acquiring a civil certificate from the FAA may take anywhere from two months to a year, according to the FAA. Exemptions may take about 120 days. However, even if a drone is issued an airworthiness certificate, it must be operated by an FAA certified pilot. As of March 2, 2015, 46 petitions under Section 333 have been granted, with 21 petitions closed, according to the FAA.

Despite the FAA’s stated requirements, many drone operators continue to use the devices for business or commercial use without approval from the FAA. “The exemptions are extremely burdensome, and there is little incentive to get them,” Sachs said. “You have to put out a lot of money to get one, and you have to have an attorney draft one for you. You need to have a licensed, private pilot doing the flying, which is a minimum of $10,000 or more, and they need prior notice before each and every flight. There are all sorts of hurdles if you are granted one, and if you are, you are also submitting to the FAA’s regulations if you get one.”

Despite the hurdles of operating drones, it’s estimated that the economic impact of drones in Michigan will total more than $31 million in 2015, according to the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, adding 322 jobs, and more than a $1.08 billion to the state’s economy by 2020, adding about 1,117 jobs in Michigan.

Public entities wishing to conduct drone operations typically require a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization that permits public agencies and organizations to operate a particular aircraft, for a particular purpose, in a particular area. The object, according to the FAA, is to ensure a level of safety equivalent to manned aircraft. Common public uses include law enforcement, firefighting, border patrol, disaster relief, search and rescue, military training and other government operational missions.

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n March 9, the Michigan State Police received authorization from the FAA to fly its UAS to support public safety operations. The approval makes the department amongst the first law enforcement agencies in the nation to obtain statewide authorization to fly a drone. The drone cost the MSP about $165,000.

In September 2013, the state police purchased an Aeryon SkyRanger drone, which utilizes four propeller systems and an advanced camera. In February 2014, the department received a Certificate of Authorization from the FAA to conduct training flights with the drone near the Michigan State Police Training Academy, said staste police spokeswoman Tiffany Brown.

On February 25, 2015, after meeting all federal regulations, the FAA granted the state police’s request for authorization to fly

the Aeryon Skyranger for law enforcement support missions statewide. Potential missions include search and rescue, crime scene and crash investigations. In March, the drone was flown over a fire investigation near Jenison. The device collected both video and photographs of the structure to help investigators determine the origin and cause of the fire.

Under the FAA’s authorization, the UAS will be flown with a two-person crew, with one acting as pilot and the other as a safety observer. The FAA certified pilot has received specific training from the manufacturer in the safe operation of the drone. The device must remain below 400 feet and always be within the line of sight of the crew.

Other agencies, such as the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, are also hoping to enter the unmanned aircraft arena to assist with operations.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in late 2014 that the department has been trying to get fully certified on unmanned aerial observation for about two years. The department first used one of the devices in 2013 when a man who shot a West Bloomfield police officer was barricaded in a home. In hopes of getting a better view of the suspect, who was shooting at officers from a third-story window, Bouchard said he asked a lieutenant to go to a Brookstone store and purchase one of the small drones sold there, and equip it with a camera to see which room the shooter was in.

While Bouchard said the department has been trying to get their hands on a more professional drone and certification, he said the process is “unbelievably bureaucratic.”

The potential use of drones by law enforcement agencies spurred concern last year by some Michigan lawmakers, including former state Representative Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills), who introduced two bills to regulate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles.

The bills, which never made it to the Michigan House floor for a vote before the end of the 2014 legislative session, would have created a new act to authorize and regulated the use of drones; banned the use of weapons on drones; required a search warrant or court order for drone operations targeting private property or for criminal investigations; regulated the disclosure of information gathered from drones; required public entities using drones to report operations to the legislature and other state entities; and provided misdemeanor and felony penalties for violations.

The bills were opposed by several law

enforcement agencies in the state, who said they failed to take into account other uses of drones.

State Representative Klint Kesto (RCommerce Township) said while he agreed with the intent of the legislation, it didn’t take into account implications for other state agencies.

“I think (drones) can be beneficial, but we have to be careful on where to draw the line,” Kesto said. “They are already readily available to anyone in the public. They make them in different styles and capabilities. The question becomes, when the government is using these aerial vehicles, where do we draw the line in being intrusive to privacy and just being able to use them to assist the public at large.”

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esto said state agencies such as the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has discussed using drones for bridge inspection, and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for mapping inland lakes. Such uses would be limited beyond that of the FAA under the legislation introduced by McMillin.

Most recently, Kesto said the legislature passed a bill that would prevent the use of drones to harass hunters.

Jon Riminelli, owner of Detroit Aircraft Corp, said some of the main uses of unmanned aircraft systems include those by law enforcement and agricultural uses. The company, which is located in Detroit, manufactures and distributes small, unmanned aerial systems and components for military, civil and commercial applications. Products include the Lockheed Martin Indago UAS, which can be equipped for various uses.

“From the civil side, it can help emergency response agencies, like fire departments, by providing arial situational awareness, providing them ingress and egress, tracking hot spots in a fire or finding trapped civilians,” Riminelli said.

“Agricultural use is huge. We can scan hundreds of acres of farmland in a fraction of the time it would take on the ground, and supply them with intelligence on where crops are stressed, and where they need to add water, fertilizer or other resources.

Beyond that, there are infrastructure inspection uses, such as bridges and roofs.

All the jobs that are dangerous or difficult for humans.”

The Indago systems, which sell for between $25,000 and $50,000, take about 60

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seconds to set up and less than 3 minutes to become airborne. They weigh about five pounds, depending on options, and have a minimum of 5 km lineof-sight. Riminelli said Detroit Aircraft has sold the units to Thailand for the military, Latvia for commercial applications, and is setting up dealers in Italy to supply the military and police departments there. The units have essentially the same flight capabilities as the system utilized by the Michigan State Police, and aren’t associated with the type of armed drones used by the military strike purposes.

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runo Basso, a professor at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Biological Station, has been utilizing a drone since September 2013, when the university landed its first device. “The drone is still going,� he said. “It’s been over a year now. In addition to the large drone, we acquired another drone.�

The first drone, which cost about $100,000, is being used to measure how crops react to stress, such as drought, nutrient deficiency or pests. The drone basically flies over the field documenting its status, down to centimeters.

The portrait gives farmers details on the current health of the crops. The information allows farmers to pinpoint problem areas and address them with a precision.

The UAS uses three sensors, including a high-resolution radiometer; a thermal camera used to monitor plant temperatures and hydration; and a laser scanner, which measures individual plant height in centimeters. The information is plugged into the System Approach for Land-Use Sustainability model, which is a new generation crop tool to forecast crop, soil, water and nutrient conditions in current and future climates.

Basso said the university also acquired a second, smaller drone, which is less sophisticated. He anticipates it will be the type of drone used by many farmers in the future. “Many farmers, at the moment, already have them,� he said. “Not the majority, but everyone talks about it. They say how useful and important they are, but they are concerned about unclear regulations. Until a few months ago, farmers weren’t allowed to use them. That has changed, luckily.

The value is so much more than the risk you would have.�

While the university’s program has been approved by the FAA, Basso’s comments underscore the confusion regarding the current rules and regulations. While proposed rules by the FAA are still being considered, some legal experts say the only rule that currently applies to drones states that “no person may operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.�

According to Sachs, the definition of “aircraft� didn’t include model aircraft for many decades. However, that changed with a FAA field suit against Raphael Pirker, after Pirker flew a drone over the campus of the University of Virginia at the request of the university. The flight resulted in the FAA issuing a proposed order of assessment of a civil penalty of $10,000.

The case, Sachs said, was based on the allegation that Pirker flew recklessly.

Attorney Brendan Shulman, who represented Pirker in the case, said there’s no definition as to what “reckless� is because the case was settled before a final decision was made. While Shulman said there are many people who fly without FAA authorization, he said he recommends consulting with an attorney prior to flying for commercial operations.

Back in Detroit, Arnold said he carries liability insurance and declines to conduct any operations that may be interpreted as reckless, such as carrying banners from a drone or flying over large crowds. Because the law has yet to be cleared up, he said he typically adheres to the wishes of local law enforcement of security officials. “Someone wanted me to fly a banner over a Tiger’s game on opening day,� he said. “I told them I wasn’t comfortable with that. There aren’t federal rules for that, but there are community and state laws. I had several events at Belle Isle, but not anymore because drones have been banned from state parks. “You have to respect people in authority. If plant security or whoever has authority says they are uncomfortable, then I yield and land it.� westendmonthly.com

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Lona Stoll bama administration appointee Lona Stoll has shaken hands with virtually every top political powerhouse while using her leadership skills to positively change the landscape of mankind.

“I am a director in the U.S. Global Development Lab,” Stoll said. The position involves using scientists and technology experts to provide solutions to international problems such as access to clean water, energy and health concerns. As director, one of the things she has overseen is the testing and distribution of a drug that prevents the passing of HIV from a mother to her newborn child.

“It’s like a ketchup packet. It does not need to be refrigerated,” she said.

“You squeeze the drug orally into the mouth of a newborn to stop transmission (of HIV) from mother to child.”

Stoll also served the Obama administration as chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has traveled into war torn areas for her work.

“I was in Kosovo and Afghanistan,” she said. “I stayed in converted shipping containers on the U.S. Embassy compound.” Occasionally trips would be canceled and landings delayed because of insurgent presence.

“You never felt safe per se, but it was important work and it was worth it.”

Stoll became interested in politics at an early age and always found herself at the top of her class.

“My family really instilled a level of learning,” she said. “School and education was something my whole family took seriously.”

The one-time valedictorian at Walled Lake Central was active in Model United Nations, a simulation program to teach students about foreign policy.

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“That’s where I got really interested in what’s going on in the world.”

After high school, Stoll went to the University of Michigan, where she earned her degree in political science and economics. Following graduation, she received a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University.

“The program (at Columbia) is very professional rather than academic. You are ultimately writing a policy memo. It’s very closely tied to what you will be doing in a job subsequently and actual things you’d need to know to work in the government.”

After working on a couple political campaigns, Stoll quickly realized she did not want to be on the frontlines of politics, but rather one of the leaders behind the faces.

From White Lake to Washington D.C., Stoll has built a life with her husband and two young daughters in Maryland. She was fortunate to bring her three-year-old daughter to the White House Easter egg roll and has shaken hands with the president of the United States.

Through unwavering ambition and a passion for helping others, Stoll has spent her career helping to change the world.

“I feel like the world is an exciting place and I want to leave it a better place for my children. There are a lot of different challenges and opportunities that excite me,” she said. “I hope I continue to have a positive impact in the future. It’s been a real privilege to work on behalf of the American people.”

Story: Katey Meisner

MUNICIPAL

Commerce names Hindo as trustee

By Kevin Elliott

The Commerce Township Board of Trustees on Tuesday, March 17, voted unanimously to appoint John Hindo to the board to replace former trustee David Law. Hindo is an attorney in private practice in Birmingham, a member of the Commerce Township Planning Commission, and a 10-year resident of the township. He will serve the remainder of Law's term, which is set to expire in 2016.

Board members on March 17 interviewed six finalists out of a total of 10 who had applied for the open seat.

Township residents John Hindo, Chelsea Rebeck, Russ Schinzing, Shane Lakner, Joanne Rokicki, David Rosevear, Ryan Lee Berman, Debra Kirkwood, George Zrinyi and Rachel E. Kast applied by the 4 p.m. deadline on Tuesday, March 10, to fill the open board seat.

Board members, during their regular meeting on March 10, pared down the list of applicants to six finalists. Board members at the time didn't give any specific reasons for their selections. Those who were interviewed included Hindo, Lakner, Rosevear, Berman, Zrinyi and Kast.

Each of the six finalists were interviewed individually before the board, with township attorney Phil Adkison heading up the interview process, asking each applicant approximately 40 pre-determined questions. Applicants also were asked various follow-up questions by individual board members.

The interview process included identifying the applicants by name rather than a blind number system that has been used in the past by the township board and had been proposed for the trustee appointment, following objection to the township by Westend newsmagazine that a blind interview process violated state transparency law and related court decisions.

Each of the applicants were asked various questions to determine if there would be any conflicts of interest if they were to serve on the board; their political party affiliation; relevant professional experience; knowledge of township operations and current issues; personal integrity 38

PUD agreement amended by township he Commerce Township Board of Trustees on Tuesday, March 10, approved the third amendment to the Commerce Towne Place Planned Unit Development (PUD) agreement that they first approved in January of 2013.

The amendment, which was originally proposed in January 2015, requires property owners in the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) area located north of Pontiac Trail between Welch and Haggerty roads, to consent to changes in the PUD agreement, unless their own rights or obligations are materially impacted. In essence, the amendment makes sure that land owners can't hold up PUD changes if it won't impact their property.

While the amendment was initially described as a "housekeeping" item, concerns from a number of parties voiced at a public hearing held in January by the township's planning commission caused the amendment to be put on hold. The planning commission took up the public hearing again in February to address the concerns.

One concern, planning officials said, was that as individual homes are sold in the residential parcels, those homeowners might have to consent to each amendment, which wasn't intended by the DDA because the PUD regulates the development of the project area as well as its future development, and isn't subject to each and every homeowner's approval. Revisions to the amendment clarified the language, and were subsequently approved by the planning commission.

The revised version of the amendment was reviewed by the board of trustees on March 10 and unanimously approved by trustees.

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and character; and political views.

Hindo appeared to stand out among the applicants during the interview process with his knowledge of most aspects of township government and current issues facing the community.

Following the interview process, board members agreed to try to narrow the list of candidates by ranking their top three candidate selections. When those rankings were tallied, it was revealed that Hindo was ranked as the first choice among five of the six board members. Township supervisor Tom Zoner said Hindo was one of the strongest applicants that he recalls applying for a position in recent years.

Hindo is a founding partner of Mekani, Orow, Mekani, Shallal and Hindo, PC, in Birmingham, where he concentrates his area of law practice in commercial transactions, litigation and loan workout/debt negotiations.

Hindo was also appointed to the Wayne County Building Authority Board of Directors. He has a finance degree from Wayne State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy Law School.

"I'm very excited about this opportunity," Hindo said. "I was excited about being appointed to the

planning commission. I'm a real estate attorney and I think I would enjoy this position. As far as hinderances, I don't see any.

Everything about it excites me and interests me."

Hindo said he learned about the open position on the board from former trustee Law, who was recently appointed by the governor as a judge at the 52-1 District Court.

Hindo also expressed interest in serving as the board's representative to the planning commission, an appointment that had previously been served by trustee Law. Zoner, who said that he will be recommending Hindo for the planning commission position, said he anticipates a swearing-in ceremony on March 30 for Hindo.

No liquor license for coney island owner A request on Tuesday, March 10, by the owner of Donika's Coney Island, Violeta Bardheci, for a new tavern liquor license at the business was denied by the Commerce Township Board of Trustees.

Bardheci had gone before the board in February requesting the township's approval for a liquor license. The board, at the that time,

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voiced concerns about whether the owner had any plans to move the liquor license out of the community.

Bardheci told board members he planned to own and operate the restaurant, located at 8143 Commerce Road, in the community, and was hoping to revamp the business's restaurant to offer more Italian fare. Board members then tabled the request and instructed the owner to return at the March 10 meeting with the new menu and any additional business plans for the restaurant.

Under state law, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission considers the opinions of local residents, local legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies when determining whether an applicant may be issued a liquor license or permit from the state. The number of liquor licenses available in a community depend largely upon population. While local municipalities have discretion in issuing the liquor licenses, a license becomes property of the applicant once it is approved, and may therefore be moved out of the community at a later date.

While a tavern license authorizes a business to sell only beer and wine, the issuance of the tavern license would still use one of the township's Class C licenses, which allows for the sale of beer, wine and liquor. The issuance of a tavern license to Donika's would use one of the township's Class C liquor licenses, of which three are currently available. Additional licenses wouldn't likely be available until 2022, or about two years after the next population census, and only if the population increases.

Bardheci said that if he were granted the tavern license, he planned on shifting operations to more of a full-service restaurant that specializes in Italian food, while offering a full-service bar, kitchen and breakfast. The anticipated ratio of food sales to alcohol was to be 82 percent food, 18 percent alcohol.

While Bardheci included a new menu in the revised application for the board to review, board members questioned the sincerity of the menu, which appeared to be another restaurant's menu with the name crossed out and "Donika's" written in pen over the name. Further, trustee Bob Berkheiser said he went to the 04.15

Several city departments may merge

By Kevin Elliott

restaurant earlier that same day and the owner had given him a coney island menu. The menu also included several "Specialty Drinks" that included liquors that wouldn't be permitted under the requested tavern license.

Trustee Rob Long said the discrepancies raised red flags with him and that he would vote to deny the application.

The board voted against approving the application. Board members also instructed the township attorney to place a special condition on future liquor licenses that would require the license to revert back to the township if the owner tried to move it out of the township.

Apartments plan to require more work

By Kevin Elliott

Walled Lake City Council members on Tuesday, March 4, told the developer of a proposed 71-unit apartment complex in the city to go back to the drawing board.

"The way it sits now, it would take a lot of work for council to consider it," Walled Lake City Manager Dennis Whitt said of plans submitted to the city by Foremost Development, which is hoping to build a threestory apartment complex on E. Walled Lake Drive, east of Pontiac Trail and across from the Walled Lake public beach.

Foremost owner Terry Bailey approached the city in March with a presentation for an apartment complex on about two-acres of land inside the city's Downtown Development Authority district. The land, which is split by Witherall Street, is privately owned. However, plans for the land include what Bailey described as a luxury apartment complex featuring modern amenities and views of the adjacent lake.

Foremost last month submitted an application for a commercial planned unit development with the city, which received conditional approval on February 24 from the Walled Lake Planning Commission.

Those conditions would require Foremost to reconsider the proposed density, parking and other specifics in the plan, under the recommendation from the commission to council.

While city council members in March were receptive to the idea of the development, council voted 4-2 for Foremost to reconsider its plans in order to meet conditions placed on it by the city's planning commission.

Council members on March 4 voted 4-2 against a motion to completely reject the proposed plan, with council members William Stugeon and Tamra Loch voting in favor of rejecting the plan, and members John Owsinek, Robert Robertson, Casey Ambrose and mayor Linda Ackley voting against, and member Dennis Yezbick absent.

Council then voted in favor of approving a resolution to allow the plan to continue in the process, by a vote of 4-2, with Owsinek, Robertson, Ambrose and Ackley voting in favor of the motion.

Whitt said council instructed him to negotiate with the developer to work on issues in the plan.

"Density and parking were the issues that they've identified," Whitt said. "That will play a major role in negotiating. It's not approved in any way. They still need to negotiate with the professionals here, and to comply with the zoning issues and work on those issues."

Under the proposed plan, Foremost plans to install about 71 parking spaces. The complex would include about 71, one-bedroom apartments. Residents speaking during the public comment section of the March 4 meeting voiced concerns about several issues, including the parking and density issues, Whitt said. Others, according to Whitt, said they would prefer condominiums, rather than rental apartments.

While residents have concerns that the proposed plan doesn't fit the city's master plan and zoning ordinances, Whitt said there is some allowance for some variance, and the plan appears to fit into the zoning ordinances. However, he said there are more significant issues regarding parking and density that the council has concerns with that may hold up or kill the project if negotiations don't go well.

"Whether we can work that out, I don't know," Whitt said. "I'm not convinced we can work it out at the negotiating table."

A Walled Lake ordinance introduced on Tuesday, March 3, would combine several departments within the city and create a new department of public services.

Under the first reading of the ordinance passed by Walled Lake City Council members, the new department would be established by authorizing the city manager to combine and consolidate the city's departments of finance and budget, planning and development, public works and the city's water department. The ordinance would also allow any functions of finance, utilities, planning, building, roads, parks and recreation activities and other public works to be consolidated under the department of public services, under the administration of the city manager. The ordinance would also create a new director position to head up the new department, as well as allow the appointment of a deputy director.

Walled Lake City Manager Dennis Whitt said the hope is to consolidate the departments to address some administrative issues.

"It allows us to put one director over several departments and consolidate them," Whitt said. "Essentially, the same folks will be doing (the work)."

If approved, Whitt said he will name the city's current finance and budget director, Colleen Coogan, as the director of the public services department.

"The intent is to put the finance director, who has become a strong right arm in the city, as the public services director. These other departments are small, and those departments usually go to me first, and they shouldn't. So they would go to her."

Essentially, Whitt said the ordinance amounts to an administrative change which would require staff in the combined departments to work together. He said the change would make staff work harmoniously on projects, specifically future water and sewer projects that require the departments to work together.

"It would be a temporary fix for a couple of years," he said. "It's not the ideal model for every city. It's something I recommend now because of what is going on."

Currently, the city is investigating issues regarding water supplied by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. Walled Lake officials have been looking at discrepancies in the amount of water received by the city from Detroit, suggesting that there is a loss of water in the system somewhere between the two entities.

Walled Lake City Council members on Tuesday were expected to vote on a proposal from Boss Engineering, of Howell, for a proposal for services regarding a water reliability study. However, that proposal was tabled, and is expected to be revisited in April.

"That's the main issue," Whitt said regarding the ordinance proposal to establish the public services department. "We know our meter reads coming from Detroit aren't what we thought. We are losing water and so are they."

Addressing the problem, he said, will require some substantial projects in the future. In order to move forward with the projects, the finance, water and public works departments must function together.

However, Whitt said there have been issues in having that occur.

"The finance and water division aren't working together," he said.

"So, now they will, if it passes."

While Whitt said he doesn't have plans for any additional staff if the ordinance is approved, he said there would be some administrative changes. Specifically, he said, Coogan's responsibilities would increase, but there wouldn't be any significant changes in employee numbers or compensation.

"She would be the de facto assistant city manager, essentially," he said, "but without the title."

Cooley Lake Inn could lose license

By Kevin Elliott

Confusion over who actually owns the Cooley Lake Inn bar and restaurant in Commerce Township has been cleared up by township officials who gave the new owner until March 30 to pay back taxes and fees at the business or risk losing its liquor license.

Commerce Township Supervisor Tom Zoner said during a special meeting on Monday, March 16, trustees voted unanimously to give the owner of the Cooley Lake Inn, 8635 Cooley Lake Road, two weeks to pay about $70,000 in back taxes and fees to the township. Zoner said township ordinances require all property taxes and water and sewage fees owed to the township to be paid in order to approve the transfer of a liquor license at a business.

The issue is the latest in a number of road blocks that the business has faced in attempting to transfer ownership from the former owner, William Stoffanuski.

A letter issued February 3 from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to new owner Rami Haidar stated the bar had been operating under a conditional liquor license in conjunction with the transfer of ownership of the bar's Class C license.

However, the commission stated that the conditional liquor license expired upon receiving a letter dated January 28 from Stoffanuski, of Cooley Lake Inn Inc., requesting that the license transfer and all management agreements be cancelled.

"Therefore, the conditional license issued to you has expired," the letter stated. "Please return the conditional license to our office and cease the sale of alcoholic beverages if you haven't done so already."

Haidar, who identified himself as the new owner of the bar, said the incident stemmed from a dispute with the former owner, but had since been rectified. Officials with the MLCC on February 24 confirmed the issuance of the conditional license, and that the bar was once again permitted for onsite liquor sales.

While the conditional liquor license allows for the temporary sale of alcoholic beverages at the bar during the transfer, the state's transfer of the permanent Class C license is heavily dependent on approval from the township board of trustees.

Zoner said the restaurant had been the subject of several complaints in 40

Wolverine Lake hires new police officers wo new police officers have joined the Wolverine Lake Village Police Department following approval by the Wolverine Village Council on Wednesday, March 11, to hire one full-time and one part-time officer.

Council unanimously agreed to hire officer Brian Dennis to fill a fulltime position left vacant after one of the department's officers left to work for another law enforcement agency. Council also approved hiring Andrew Sutzko as a part-time officer, to replace the vacancy created by moving Dennis to the full-time position.

Dennis has been with the village's police department since May of 2014. Sutzko, who has a criminal justice degree from East Carolina University, will join the department on a part-time basis. Sutzko previously worked for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) as a conservation officer.

"During the interview process, we came across a very outstanding individual that we felt would fit very well with our department," acting Wolverine Lake Police Chief Capt. John Ellsworth said of Sutzko. "We interviewed him and he said all the right things."

Ellsworth said Sutzko's experience with water safety will be helpful in the village, and he anticipates he will be teaching some of the village's water safety classes that are available to residents.

T

recent months from residents in the neighborhood, and that the township had been looking for a way to address the issues. Among the complaints, he said, were issues about noise during and after hours of service, as well as public urination in the parking lot.

However, he said building officials ran into problems because they were not sure who actually owned the establishment. Residents living near the Cooley Lake Inn who attended a township board of trustees council meeting on March 10 said loud noise and litter strewn about the parking lot at the bar is disruptive to their homes.

On March 16, the township board and its attorney met with Hilal Farhat, who purchased the Cooley Lake Inn property and building, and his attorney. Haidar, who owns the business, is leasing the property from Farhat.

Zoner said the board voted 6-0 to deny the transfer of the liquor license, but also voted 6-0 to give Farhat until March 30 to pay the taxes and fines owed on the property, and to provide the board with a lease agreement between him and Haidar.

DDA mulls tax capture area

By Kevin Elliott

The Commerce Township Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is working with Oakland County for a possible change in the location of land where the authority is able to capture tax revenue.

One of the goals of the DDA is to generate revenue based on taxes

that are captured specifically for the DDA within its project area. The taxes are captured on any improvement in the value of land in the specified area. However, because some of the land within the DDA's Commerce Towne Place project area, located north of Pontiac Trail, between Welch and Haggerty roads, was purchased after the tax capture area was defined, tax revenues outside the defined area would instead be counted as township tax revenue and not be subject to the DDA capture.

DDA Director Kathleen Jackson said the DDA is now looking to work with the county to see if the DDA's tax capture area can be modified to include planned developments in the project area.

The DDA began years ago when the township needed to bring Detroit water to the township for various reasons, including to halt a potential annexation of the township by the city of Walled Lake. Besides development, a focus of the DDA, starting in 1998, turned to township concerns for ways to improve traffic congestion around Pontiac Trail, Haggerty Road, 14 Mile Road and Maple, where M-5 terminated.

In 2003, the DDA funded traffic studies in the area to determine where traffic exiting M-5 could go, and what could be done to facilitate north-south traffic between M-5 and M-59. The township eventually pruchased the Links of Pinewood and adjacent El Dorado golf courses with the intent of developing a downtown. In 2007, the DDA purchased more than 70 acres of

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parkland in the area from the HuronClinton Metroparks Authority. The land purchases made it possible for the DDA to create Martin Parkway running south to M-5 to improve traffic flow.

Commerce Township Supervisor Tom Zoner said the land purchased by the parks authority was done after the tax capture area was amended to its current area, and therefore doesn't include all of the parcel now referred to as Parcel A. That parcel, which is in the southeast portion of the project area, includes plans for about 400 two-story town homes. A portion of Parcel B, which is under contract with Robert B. Aikens Development, is also outside of the current tax capture area. Plans for that area include a walkable lifestyle center.

Oakland County, which has in recent years been more conservative in its approval of tax captures, must approve the expansion of the DDA area.

Wise Road park grant to be sought Proposed improvements to a portion of the 518-acre park located along Wise Road in Commerce Township may be completed in 2016 with the help of a federal grant from the National Park Service.

The Commerce Township Board of Trustees on Tuesday, March 10, approved applying for the grant, which would help to fund the second phase of the improvement plan for the park. The grant, which would be administered through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), could provide up to $100,000 for work at the park. The proposed project includes a paved drive and drop off; a gravel parking lot area; and an open-air shelter/classroom, with restrooms.

The project would follow the first phase of work at the park that is scheduled to start this year and includes a small parking lot and trailhead area on the north side of Wise Road. The second phase of the project is scheduled for 2016, and would cost an estimated $346,000, with $100,000 of that coming from the federal parks grant, if approved.

The work is part of the long-term plan for the property, located between Carroll Lake Road and Union Lake Road. A 20-year concept plan for the park was approved by the board of trustees in August 2014.

04.15

FACES Molly Brennan ormer Waterford Mott track star Molly Brennan won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, paying for her studies at University of Oxford in England. “I was born with speed,” Molly Brennan said. “That’s something God gives you or He doesn’t.

“I didn’t think I had a chance,” Brennan said of becoming a Rhodes Scholar. Other previous award winners include former president Bill Clinton and American journalist George Stephanopoulos, among others. Each year 32 Americans are chosen to study at Oxford, based on academic achievement, character, leadership, and commitment to the common good. “It was Magic Johnson and myself (who won that year).”

The journey to supreme academic and athletic success first began when Brennan was at Crary Middle School in Waterford. “On field days, I would win the short and the long. I was as good as the guys,” she said. “I went out for the boy’s track team and I began to realize I was fast. I was the fastest seventh grade runner.”

When Brennan studied at Waterford Mott, her mother was instrumental in initiating a girl’s track team at the high school. “My mom had to call all our (school) board members,” she said. “She took up that fight.”

Brennan was subsequently recruited by Michigan State University and served their track team as captain her senior year. She broke 12 different MSU Varsity records while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Brennan led her team to win the Big Ten Outdoor Championships and was recognized as MSU sportswoman of the year in 1982. She was later inducted into the MSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.

“I loved Michigan State’s program,” she said. “We had a fantastic team. We were strong from top to bottom.”

At Oxford, the Dr. Feurig Award recipient continued to dominate both academically and athletically. She was captain and coach of Oxford’s athletic team.

“I think you need a certain amount of empathy to be a good leader,” she said. “You need to be able to understand the situation other people are in. It takes a certain amount of mental toughness and a little bit of distance. They’ve got to respect you.”

Brennan spent a summer “bumming around Kenya, Africa,” before settling down with her husband, William, and having two children. “I was in pop tents in Kenya,” she said.

Brennan took a position with General Motors and became the GM Sunrays driver/engineer winner of the first solar challenge. She holds four world solar and electric land speed records in the Guinness Book of World Records.

“The whole experience was fun,” she said. “It was a team and I enjoy competitions.”

Under former Michigan Governor John Engler, Brennan was appointed three times to serve on the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sport.

After 13 years with General Motors and an endless list of accolades, Brennan retired to take on the most important challenge of her life.

“My biggest accomplishment is that I have raised two boys who are extremely good human beings,” she said. “I think I have always tried to be a good person. People are my top priority and I’ve been able to somehow infuse that in my boys and our world needs that.”

F

Story: Katey Meisner

Photo: Jean Lannen

BUSINESS MATTERS Benstein Grille coming It’s getting tastier in Commerce.

Glenn Kaplan and Mike Richardson plan to open the Benstein Grille at 2435 Benstein Road, in Commerce Township, at the beginning of April.

Their venture began when Kaplan, an accomplished account executive, acquired the 4,500 square foot space which most recently housed the Lakes Lighthouse Tavern. Kaplan said that when he bought the space, he didn’t know how he wanted to use it.

However, after speaking to his friend and business partner Richardson, who has worked in restaurants such as Brio Tuscan Grille for thirty years, the pair decided to open the Benstein Grille. “I bought the space as an investment and was considering selling it. Mike persuaded me that we could turn it into a cool restaurant.

He was originally going to do some consulting for us, but eventually he became a 50-50 partner,” said Kaplan.

The casual American eatery, which the co-owners intend to become the “premier restaurant in Commerce Township,” will offer an upscale dining experience at an affordable price. “The community needed a casual restaurant where people can

come in shorts and a t-shirt after a day at the lake or come in on a Saturday night with their significant others or friends or with their families during the week,” explained Kaplan.

The restaurant will serve fresh steaks, chops, seafood, pasta, “Two-Fisted Sandwiches,” and house-made desserts, all prepared by Executive Chef Steve Toomey, who created the menu with Culinary Director Erich Chieca. The Benstein Grille will be open for dinner everyday and for brunch and lunch on weekends.

Forest Cove opening Licensed residential builder Craig Kilmer, owner of Forest Cove Development Company, says he and his eight-person crew are ready to “put our shingle out” at a 1,000 square foot selection center at 507 Commerce Road, in Commerce Township – the first commercial space the business has had since opening in 2000. The Commerce resident, who lives just a quarter mile away from the new site, builds three to five custom homes ranging from $600,000 to $2 million in Commerce and West Bloomfield each year. “I only build three to five homes each year because that is what I can

personally manage. I like to supervise all of the jobs myself so that it is more of a personal experience,” he said, adding that the selection center will help him form better relationships with his clients. “Customers will usually come to the center a half dozen times for each building. It’s a good place for us to get to know each other because I am essentially courting my clients, so the selection center is a nice place for a meeting zone. Customers can come and choose things like cabinetry and tile. We have displays from the manufacturers onsite as well as an 80-inch screen to pull up pictures and walk through features with customers.” Kilmer prides himself on “being somewhat creative as far as specifications to give customers the highest value for their money. Most of my homes range from $200 to $240 per square foot, whereas other high-end competitors can charge $300 per square foot.” Forest Cove Development Company specializes in lakefront homes.

Biggby back in Commerce In the wake of its 20th anniversary this March, Biggby Coffee announced that it plans to open 60 new shops

MULTI-LAKES CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION

within the next year. Three of those new locations are in Commerce Township. Franchisees Chris and Pam Balas’s shop at 1273 North Commerce Road will hold its grand opening the week of April 7. Pam, a retired elementary school principal, will manage the store. Tony and Keegan Piro plan to open a franchise at 1001 Welch Road at the end of April. “Tony grew up in Commerce Township and is excited to get back to his roots. I am from Lansing, and have been with Biggby Coffee for over 12 years.

Together with my family, we have three stores in the Lansing area. This will be our first in a different market,” said Keegan. The third new Biggby franchise, owned by Stanton & Associates, is located at 2220 Union Lake Road and will open in mid to late April. The Union Lake location was formerly a Biggby’s, before becoming a Caribou and then a Peet’s Coffee & Tea. Peet’s closed their Commerce location in August 2014.

Business Matters for the west Oakland area are reported by Sarah Kovan. Send items for consideration to SarahKovan@downtownpublications.com. Items should be received three weeks prior to publication.

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248-363-9109 OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

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04.15

PLACES TO EAT THIRTY FIRST ANNUAL The Places To Eat for Westend is a quick reference source to establishments offering a place for dining, either breakfast, lunch or dinner. The complete Places To Eat is available at westendmonthly.com and in an optimized format for your smart phone (westendmonthly.com/mobile), where you can actually map out locations and automatically dial a restaurant from our Places To Eat.

Alex's Pizzeria and Bar: American. Lunch, Monday - Friday; Dinner, daily. Liquor.

Reservations. 49000 Pontiac Trail, Wixom 48393. 248.926.1700.

Anaam’s Palate: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2534 Union Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.242.6326.

Applebees Neighborhood Grill: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 9100 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386. 248.698.0901.

Backyard Coney Island: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 49378 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.926.9508.

Bayside Sports Grille: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 142 E. Walled Lake Drive, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.669.3322.

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

3050 Union Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.366.7400.

Big Boy Restaurant: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Beer & Wine. 5834 Highland Road, Waterford, 48328. 248.674.4631.

Big Boy Restaurant: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

800 N. Pontiac Trail, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.624.2323.

Big Boy Restaurant: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Beer & Wine. 7726 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.363.1573.

Billy’s Tip N Inn: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 6707 Highland Road, White Lake Township, 48383. 248.889.7885.

Blu Nectar: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday - Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

1050 Benstein Road, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.859.5506.

Boon Kai Restaurant: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1257 S. Commerce Road, Commerce, 48390.

248.624.5353.

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

5223 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.674.9464.

Carino’s Italian Restaurant: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 500 Loop Road, Commerce Township, 48390.

248.926.5300.

Carrie Lee’s of Waterford: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

7890 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.666.9045.

Casey’s Sports Pub & Grill: Deli. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1003 E West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.669.5200.

westendmonthly.com

CAYA Smokehouse Grille: Barbeque. Dinner, Tuesday - Sunday. No reservations. Liquor.

1403 S. Commerce Road, Wolverine Lake, 48390. 248.438.6741.

China Garden: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner daily. No reservations. 49414 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.960.8877.

China House: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 901 Nordic Drive, White Lake Township, 48386.

248.889.2880.

China King: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 4785 Carroll Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48390.

248.363.9966.

CJ’s Brewing Company: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

8115 Richardson Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.366.7979.

Coffee Time Café: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

1001 Welch Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.624.0097.

Coyote Grille: American. Lunch, MondayFriday; Dinner, Monday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 1990 Hiller Road, West Bloomfield, 48324. 248.681.6195.

Dairy Queen: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 10531 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386.

248.698.2899.

Daniel’s Pizza Bistro: Pizza. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2510 Union Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382.

248.363.7000.

Dave and Amy’s: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

9595 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386.

248.698.2010.

Dave’s Coney Island: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No Reservations.

901 Nordick Drive, White Lake, 48383.

248.889.3600.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit: Barbecue. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 4825 Carroll Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.360.4055.

Dobski’s: American, Polish. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6565 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.363.6565.

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

1749 Haggerty Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.960.1430.

El Nibble Nook: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations for 6 or more. Liquor.

2750 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48323. 248.669.3344.

El Patio Mexican Restaurant: Mexican.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

7622 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.666.5231.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 5134 Highland Road, 48327. 248.673.5557.

Gest Omelets: American. Breakfast & Lunch, daily until 4 p.m. No reservations.

39560 W. 14 Mile Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.926.0717.

Golden Chop Sticks: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 47516 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.960.3888.

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Commerce Township Community Breakfast Monday, May 18, 2015 Doors Open 7:00 A.M. • Breakfast 7:30 A.M. Edgewood County Club, 8399 Commerce Road Commerce Township

PLEASE JOIN US AS WE CELEBRATE

Michigan Week2015 AND THE ANNUAL COMMUNITY AWARDS PRESENTATIONS

For advanced tickets please contact Commerce Township 248-960-7040 or Send $15 per ticket by May 14, 2015 Payable to:

Commerce Twp. Community Breakfast 2009 Township Drive Commerce Twp., Mi 48390 *($25 after May 14, 2015 or at the door)

The west Oakland area is filled with discriminating diners and an array of dining establishments. Make sure the message for your restaurant reaches the right market in the right publication—Westend.

Contact Heather Marquis for advertising rate information.

O: 248.792.6464 Ext. 601 C: 248.242.3887 HeatherMarquis@downtownpublications.com

43

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44

Grand Aztecha: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6041 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322.

248.669.7555.

Greek Jalapeno: Greek, Mexican. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

6636 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.363.3322.

Green Apple Restaurant: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 7156 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.366.9100.

Haang's Bistro: Chinese/Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 225 E. Walled Lake Drive, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.926.1100.

Highland Grille: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 7265 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.666.8830.

Highland House: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2630 E. Highland Road, Highland, 48356.

248.887.4161.

Highland House Café: American, Pizza.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

10719 Highland Road, White Lake, 48386. 248.698.4100.

Hong Kong Express: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 5158 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.673.7200.

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

248.360.4150.

Jennifer’s Café: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 4052 Haggerty Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.360.0190.

Jenni1’s Restaurant: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

1186 E. West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.669.8240.

Jeff's Kitchen: Asian. Lunch & Dinner daily.

Reservations. 1130 E. West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.669.8896.

Kennedy’s Irish Pub: Irish/American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

1055 W. Huron Street, Waterford, 48328. 248.681.1050.

L George’s: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1203 S. Commerce Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.960.5700.

Leo’s Coney Island: American/Greek.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6845 Highland Road, White Lake, 484386. 248.889.5361.

Leo’s Coney Island: American/Greek.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 4895 Carroll Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382.

248.366.8360.

Leon’s Food & Spirits: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 29710 S. Wixom Road, Wixom, 48393. 248.926.5880.

Lion’s Den: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 4444 Highland Road, Waterford, 48328.

248.674.2251.

Lulu’s Coney Island: Greek. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

1001 Welch Road, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.669.1937.

Maria’s Restaurant: Italian. Dinner, daily.

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

248.851.2500.

Mexico Lindo: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6225 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.666.3460.

Mezza Mediterranean Grille: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1001 Welch Road, Commerce Township, 48390.

248.926.2190.

Moonlight Mediterranean Cuisine: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 1123 E. West Maple Road, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.859.5352.

Nick & Toney’s: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday; Sunday until 3 p.m. No reservations. 9260 Cooley Lake Road, White Lake, 48386.

248.363.1162.

North Szechuan Empire: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 39450 W. 14 Mile Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.960.7666.

On The Waterfront: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 8635 Cooley Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.363.9469.

Panera Bread: Bakery, Deli. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

5175 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.618.0617.

Pepino’s Restaurant & Lounge: Italian.

Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 118 W. Walled Lake Drive, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.624.1033.

Red Lobster: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 479 N. Telegraph Road, Waterford, 48328.

248.682.5146.

Red Robin: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 3003 Commerce Crossing, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.926.2990.

Root Restaurant & Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. No reservations. Liquor. 340 Town Center Blvd., White Lake, 48386. 248.698.2400.

Rudy’s Waffle House: American.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 674 N. Pontiac Trail, Walled Lake, 48390. 248.669.7550.

Samuri Steakhouse: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 7390 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.661.8898.

Shark Club: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 6665 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327.

248.666.4161.

SIAM Fushion: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 6845 Highland Road, White Lake Township, 48386.

248.887.1300.

Siegel’s Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 3426 E. West Maple Road, Commerce Township, 48390. 248.926.9555.

Sizzl in Subs & Salads: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 2051 N. Wixom Road, Wixom, 48393.

WESTEND

248.960.0009.

Socialight Cigar Bar & Bistro: American.

Lunch & Dinner daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 6139 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.669.0777.

Swasdee Thai Restaurant: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6175 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.926.1012.

Sweet Water Bar & Grille: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 7760 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.363.0400.

Taqueria La Casita: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 49070 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.926.1980.

Thai Kitchen: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 7108 Highland Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.886.0397.

The Lake’s Bar & Grill: American. Lunch, Tuesday - Sunday; Dinner daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2528 Union Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382.

248.366.3311.

The Library Pub: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

6363 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.896.0333.

TJ’s Sushi & Chinese Restaurant: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 8143 Commerce Road, Commerce Township, 48382.

248.363.3388.

Ultimate Sports Bar Grille: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 47528 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.859.2851.

Uptown Grill: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

3100 West Maple Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.960.3344.

Village Grill: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

1243 N. Commerce Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.366.3290.

Volare Risorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 48992 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.960.7771.

VR Famous Fried Chicken: American, Cajun. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 47520 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.926.6620.

White Palace: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6123 Haggerty Restaurant, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.313.9656.

Wilson’s Pub n Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

2256 Union Lake Road, Commerce Township, 48382. 248.363.1849.

Wixom Station Food and Drink: American Contemporary. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 49115 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393. 248.859.2882.

Wonton Palace: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 5562 Cooley Lake Road, Waterford, 48327. 248.683.5073.

Woody’s Café: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 235 N. Pontiac Trail, Walled Lake, 48390.

248.624.4379.

04.15

FACES

Caleb White t six-years-old, Caleb White saw a man living in a cardboard box on the streets of Pontiac; by 12-years-old, he had founded The Caleb White Project, a non-profit that aids the homeless.

“I feel like it’s just not right for people to be out there in the cold.”

Volunteers of The Caleb White Project bring pizza each month and play board games with people of all ages at a Detroit shelter. This particular event was thought up by White’s younger brother, Noah.

“He’s seven,” White said of his little brother. “He’s good most of the time.”

White’s ability to fundraise has proven to be one of many assets he brings to his organization. In 2014, White reached out to Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and CEO of Quicken Loans, for assistance with his Impacting by Backpacking project. White was able to get 800 backpacks filled to help inner city children prepare for the school year.

“I just e-mailed him and he responded,” White said. “That was just last summer. (Gilbert) funded the project to start the backpacks for kids. We distributed them at a carnival-type thing in Detroit. They were filled with all school supplies, like markers and pencils.”

White explained that Pastor Ruben Benjamin of Beulah First Baptist Church in Detroit had previously initiated the backpack program, but was unable to fulfill the need this year. White stepped in with a way.

The Commerce Township resident and Clifford H. Smart (CHS) Middle School student has also reached out to both students and faculty at CHS to bring food and necessary items to Detroit families in need.

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“I talked to my principal and assistant principal. In the morning announcements, we told everybody about (the project),” he said. “We set donation (boxes) in each classroom for different things – gloves in one room, granola bars in another. (The students) donated a lot. They were really involved. Kids have a good feeling about giving back and they know exactly what they’re giving to.”

The young philanthropist has also begun to fundraise for The Empowerment Plan, a Detroit non-profit that hires women who were once homeless to make coats that transform into sleeping bags for homeless people. White was inspired by a particular woman who works at The Empowerment Plan who found herself without a home as a result of domestic violence.

“This mother had a daughter who died from domestic abuse,” he said. “I thought it was really sad and that drove me more. She’s actually very energetic and she always has her spirits up.”

For as much as Caleb has given to the world, he has received the kind of education you cannot get in a classroom, and he thanks his parents for teaching him empathy and kindness. “They told me to always give more than you receive.”

With so much ahead of him, White has his sights on growing the The Caleb White Project and aiding those in need.

“I just want to help as many people as I can.”

Story: Katey Meisner

Photo: Jean Lannen

ENDNOTE

Sales tax increase should be rejected ichigan lawmakers failed last year to pass a bill to adequately fund the state’s crumbling roads and decided to forego their duty and slap together a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution that voters will decide on May 5. In simple terms, the proposal would authorize the state’s sales tax, now at six percent, to be as high as seven percent, and increase the state use tax from six to seven percent, along with a host of other revenue increases to be paid by state residents. For a variety of reasons, we are urging our readers to vote NO on what is known as Proposal 15-1 on the ballot.

As some background on this proposal, Michigan roads, which everyone concedes are in terrible shape, rely for the most part on state general fund monies allocated each year. This ballot proposal would now shift all road funding in the state to the state sales tax and any wholesale taxes on fuel.

At the same time, the proposal would eliminate the sales tax at the pump, which prior to now has been allocated to education and local government revenue sharing. To replace these funds, education and local revenue sharing would be shifted to sales tax revenues, along with the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit for lower income residents, which was cut severely when the current administration doled out tax cuts to the business community in the governor’s last term.

The sales tax at the pump would be replaced with a substantially increased wholesale tax on fuel.

In addition to authorizing a state sales tax as high as seven percent and raising the use tax to seven percent, there are several other revenue increases, including the elimination of the annual

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decreases in vehicle registration costs tied to vehicle depreciation, increased registration fees for electric and recreational vehicles, continued application of the state sales tax on marine fuel and fuel for industrial vehicles.

Our first objection to this proposal has to do with the historical precedent set in the state of Michigan many decades ago of dictating earmarked funding for special issues through the use of constitutional amendments.

Rather than deciding how to fund the government based on existing revenues balanced against prioritized actual needs, Michigan is one of the few states in the country that constitutionally binds the legislature on how to spend state revenues, which means if circumstances change in future years, there is nothing lawmakers can do to address a shifting landscape. Further, by adding even more restrictions to the Michigan Constitution, voters are forced to come back to the ballot to make any changes in the future.

So thanks to the failure of leadership in Lansing to address the roads issue through legislation, voters are now facing a complicated ballot proposal, at a cost of $10 million for the election, which will change the constitution and activate 10 pieces of legislation tie-barred to this ballot issue that have already been approved.

Our second major objection is that we find the ballot language for the proposal to be a bit dishonest. Specifically, the ballot states that it would “eliminate sales and use taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel, allow an increase in the sales tax rate, dedicate revenue for school aid and revise eligible school aid uses.” While the elimination of the sales tax on gas at the pump sounds nice, the

ballot doesn’t acknowledge that the tax on gas at the wholesale level will be increased considerably higher. By most estimates, the wholesale tax increase will be passed on to consumers at a minimum of a 10-cent per gallon increase in the cost of gasoline at today’s price of a gallon.

Voters should also realize that while the proposed tax hike would generate about $2 billion per year in additional revenue, there would be little overall impact to money made available for road funds in the early going. In fact, a Michigan House fiscal analysis of the proposal estimates only $367.8 million for distribution to state and local road agencies through the Michigan Transportation Fund in fiscal year 2015-16, with an additional $865.3 million used to pay down the State Trunkline Fund debt. About $763.6 million would be distributed to road agencies in 2016-17, and $1.3 billion in 2017-18. All of this would also free up at least $300 million dollars from current road funding, which would be returned to the state’s general fund, not often mentioned by the folks in Lansing.

And then there is our objection to the politics that played into how this proposal was written so that the special interests in the state would get behind this constitutional change because they will all receive a substantial bump in annual funds if passed.

Lastly, we reject the faulty logic by some supporters of this constitutional sales tax increase that this is the best proposal we can expect out of state lawmakers. Voters should reject it and tell state leaders to go back and address the issue of roads through legislation, not a constitutional change.

Transparency on all appointments he decision by the Commerce Township Board of Trustees during a March 17 special meeting to identify applicants being interviewed for an open trustee position by name is a move to embrace transparency that we feel should be commended.

Board members interviewed six finalists out of a total of 10 applicants who had applied for an open seat on the board that had recently been vacated by former trustee David Law. The interview process included identifying the applicants by name, rather than a blind number system that had been used in the past by the township board, and had initially been proposed for the trustee appointment – a process that we objected to prior to the March 17 meeting.

It all began when board members in December 2013 employed a blind number system for public interviews while questioning applicants for the township's community development director position. During those interviews, board members referred to applicants at the meeting by numbers, such as "applicant one," "applicant two," and so on.

At the time, board members said the decision not to name applicants publicly was so that their

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employers wouldn't learn they were applying for other jobs. However, board members went so far as to keep the number system employed even after making their final decision to hire former community director Terry Carroll.

In 1999, the Michigan Supreme Court decided that public universities have the power to interview certain applicants behind closed doors for the very reason of protecting them from repercussions from their current employers. However, that decision requires universities to name applicants when they reach the finalist stage.

While we can appreciate the Commerce Township board's decision to protect applicants who, in the end, aren't selected for a public position, the decision to continue with the blind number system after making their final choice, rather than giving the person's name, appears to smack of a lack of transparency, not to mention a potential violation of Michigan's Open Meeting Act or the Freedom of Information Act, depending on who you consult..

The board of trustees further extended the courtesy of using the blind number system to individuals applying for the formerly vacant

treasurer position, which was left open at the end of December when former treasurer Susan Gross left the job. Multiple rounds of interviews for that position were held in public, but again, candidates were referred to by numbers, rather than names.

Again, while we appreciate the board's desire to protect applicants from any undue harm, we feel it necessary to note that the treasurer's position is normally an elected post, and candidates would be required to publicly file to run for the job. Of course, those candidate filings are always open to the public, and we feel the applicant process should have been similarly open to the public.

While in the case of treasurer's appointment, Westend didn't formally file an objection to the process, we did feel compelled to object to the blind number process when trustees initially indicated that interviews for the trustee position would utilize that system. Trustee positions are an adjunct appointment, not requiring any change in employment.

We commend the trustees for reconsidering the blind number process and embracing transparency in the process, something we hope they will continue to do in the future.

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