This is not an official blog of the City. It is the work of Mark Kapel who is solely responsible for content.

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Sunday, October 22, 2017

NEW TITles and Blue Ray DVDS at The Baldwin Library.

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people's thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.

DVD'S/BLU-RAYS

Baby Driver
A talented, young getaway driver relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss, he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom. 


Beguiled is Clint Eastwood at his at his creepiest and best. 
It is therefore its a  popular let see  what  else is on flick that most of  us have seen  part of as the remote control gets a  work out.  The  If you want to see the film in it's entirety  see the early 1970's version with Clint East wood.   Regrettably the film beguiled Francis Ford Coppola's daughter { Lost in Translation } 
to make a dreadful remake that played to an almost empty house the Maple a month or so ago.
The Beguiled
At a girls' school in Virginia during the Civil War, where the young women have been sheltered from the outside world, a wounded Union soldier is taken in. Soon, the house is taken over with sexual tensions, rivalries, and an unexpected turn of events.


The House
After Scott and Kate Johansen lose their daughter's college fund, they become desperate to earn it back so she can pursue her dream of attending a university. With the help of their neighbor Frank, they decide to start an illegal casino in his house. 

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

League of Woman Voters Candidate Forum Conjurs up ghosts Ghosts of Halloweens Past.

 And a few firsts like the first Forum in recent memory to to be held at Prime Time. In the past  the Our Forum had to compete with rush hour traffic and the dinner hour.  Apparently  someone at one told the league that our senior residents  were usually ready for bed at six pm and the information stuck.
Another first was the length of an hour and a half. Usually we get just an hour. An other new wrinkle was  the addition  a of the Literature table where attendees could pick up  brochures  or puff  pieces  the candidates write about them selves. Attendees were invited to take home with them. It is not known  if anyone did.
The Crypt however was blown wide open on the first question of the evening of the  evening which was the  did any of the candidates see a rapprochement with The Township Library in the foreseeable future. The answer was no in no uncertain terms.
 the Baldwin Library has been a good fit for the City all agreed  providing  usage information when requested and making it clear to both Cities that  library belongs to the City of Birmingham and therefore upgrades and what not are the responsibility of the owners not the  contract  communities  who use it as  more or less renters.
Almost a decade before it was the township who wished to raise its rates  through  the stratosphere to cover their equally high remodel costs and would not provide sage information to justify such an increase.
What is little known is that City Commission paid the Township  library dues for the residents when they were in the bounds of reason. The money came from the General Fund And the City could not afford to pay what the Township Library was asking. So the City went dark and stayed that way for  a couple of years. 
Knowing how much the residents  liked the library money was even set aside in case  The Township Library come to its senses.
Enter the Troy library and the Ghosts of City Managers past. The City Manager' Duties include gate keeping, and keeping the Ghosts out.  But there are exceptions to every rule and the man from the  Troy Library was one of of such. The Troy Library would sell annual Library privileges to residents  our City for a mere $100 a household.
If every household wanted one the cost would be $15000. Cheap But it good better. Despite the City'offer to pay the hundred dollar fee there were few takers.  The highest estimates  were
less than 200 and easy to monitor when the City dispensed checks   to the small numbers who requested refund checks which prompted  the question couldn't those who wanted to use the Township  Library go there and pay the costs associated with such members  and receive the benefits of said.That is how it works in America right ?
 Maybe but not exactly. So two  residents of our CITY went to court to determine the exact boundaries of not exactly. The case went all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court it was ruled that  people had the right to visit the library, and use the library  on the premises. The Court also ruled that  it would not  force  libraries to loan books or sell it's services.
A Spit decision. When you are in a public Library In Michigan  you are entitled to be there by rights articulated   by Michigan  Supreme Court  in  a case taken there by Bloomfield Hills Residents Mr.Goldstein and  was represented fellow Bloomfield Resident,  Attorney Robert Toohey. Ther efforts   provide   you with the half you can use but not the part you can not.  If you want to change that in Michigan I suppose you start with the State's Supreme Court. In our City  we  have found  what works and is affordable and that is priceless.

Saturday, October 7, 2017

More new titles from The Baldwin Library

BOOKS
This collection presents characters in the midst of personal and national crises. We meet a failed poet who, envious of other people's wealth during the real-estate bubble, becomes an embezzler; a clavichordist whose dreams of art collapse under the obligations of marriage and fatherhood; and, in "Bronze," a sexually confused college freshman whose encounter with a stranger on a train leads to a revelation about his past and his future.

Bailey Ruth finds herself comforting a distraught sister when she's sent to Adelaide, Oklahoma, on her latest mission. Susan Gilbert receives a $100,000 ransom demand for her younger sibling. When the caller wants Susan to pay a visit to her wealthy boss and take the cash from his safe, Bailey Ruth follows Susan to the home. But she finds herself in a quandary, knowing that robbery is hardly a Heavenly pursuit. While Susan waits to hear back from the kidnappers, Bailey Ruth attempts to piece together how the criminals targeted Susan and how they know about her boss's money. At a luncheon the previous week, Susan's boss asked her to open the safe so all the attendees knew it was filled with cash. Could one of the rich man's closest confidants be behind the abduction? Bailey Ruth is positive she can use her detective skills to figure out which luncheon guest arranged the kidnapping. But an unexpected twist in the case soon has Bailey Ruth seeking a murderer who has plans to send more victims to the great beyond.

Manhattan Beach opens in Brooklyn during the Great Depression. Anna Kerrigan, nearly twelve years old, accompanies her father to the house of Dexter Styles, a man who, she gleans, is crucial to the survival of her father and her family. Years later, her father has disappeared and the country is at war. Anna works at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, where women are allowed to hold jobs that had always belonged to men. She becomes the first female diver, the most dangerous and exclusive of occupations, repairing the ships that will help America win the war. She is the sole provider for her mother, a farm girl who had a brief and glamorous career with the Ziegfeld Follies, and her lovely, severely disabled sister. At a nightclub, she chances to meet Dexter Styles again, and she begins to understand the complexity of her father's life, the reasons he might have vanished.

Merry Smith is pretty busy these days. She's taking care of her family, baking cookies, decorating for the holidays, and hoping to stay out of the crosshairs of her stressed and by-the-book boss at the consulting firm where she temps. Her own social life is the last thing she has in mind, much less a man. Without her knowledge, Merry's well-meaning mom and brother create an online dating profile for her--minus her photo--and the matches start rolling in. Initially, Merry is incredulous, but she reluctantly decides to give it a whirl. Soon Merry finds herself chatting with a charming stranger, a man with similar interests and an unmistakably kind soul. Their online exchanges become the brightest part of her day. But meeting face-to-face is altogether different, and her special friend is the last person Merry expects--or desires. Still, sometimes hearts can see what our eyes cannot.

It's been too long since the entire Quinn family has been able to celebrate the holidays under the same roof, but that's about to change. With Bart back safe and sound from Afghanistan, the Quinns are preparing for a holiday more joyous than any they've experienced in years. And Bart's safe return isn't the family's only good news: Kevin is enjoying married life with Isabelle; Patrick is getting back on his feet after paying his debt to society; Ava thinks she's finally found the love of her life; and Kelly is thrilled to see his family reunited at last. But it just wouldn't be a Quinn family gathering if things went smoothly.

DVD'S/BLU-RAYS

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Baldwin Library Hosts Family Story Times at the Birmingham Museum
BIRMINGHAM, MI (September 27, 2017) – Every month, the Birmingham Museum opens up their 1822 Hunter House to host an evening family story time along with the Baldwin Public Library. Upcoming family story times include “Nocturnal Animals” on Thursday, October 12 at 6:30 p.m. and “Teddy Bears” on Thursday, November 9 at 6:30 p.m.
The cozy parlor of the oldest home in Birmingham is the perfect spot to unwind as Baldwin Public Library youth librarian Maeve Devlin reads books, sings songs, repeats rhymes and fingerplays, and leads movement activities. Story times not only foster a love of reading, but they also teach children valuable social skills like following directions, sharing, and interacting with others. It encourages children to get involved in the story they’re hearing and motivates them to want to read more.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with the Baldwin Library for our story time series,” said Birmingham Museum Program Assistant Caitlin Donnelly. “For many young children and their families, this is their very first visit to the museum and it gives us a chance to show off our facility and the different programs that we have.”
The Birmingham Museum is located at 556 West Maple. Exhibit hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and until 8:00 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month. Two hours of free parking is available at the Chester Street Parking Deck; credit card required for entry and exit.  For more information, call 248-530-1928 or visit www.bhamgov.org/museum. Museum admission is $7 for adults; $5 for students and seniors.  Kids 5 and under and Friends of the Birmingham Museum members are free.

New from The Baldwin Library

BOOKS
Daniel Graham MacCormick--Mac for short--seems to have a pretty good life. At age thirty-five he's living in Key West, owner of a forty-two-foot charter fishing boat, The Maine. Mac served five years in the Army as an infantry officer with two tours in Afghanistan. He returned with the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, scars that don't tan, and a boat with a big bank loan. Truth be told, Mac's finances are more than a little shaky. One day, Mac is sitting in the famous Green Parrot Bar in Key West, contemplating his life, and waiting for Carlos, a hotshot Miami lawyer heavily involved with anti-Castro groups. Carlos wants to hire Mac and The Maine for a ten-day fishing tournament to Cuba at the standard rate, but Mac suspects there is more to this and turns it down. The price then goes up to two million dollars, and Mac agrees to hear the deal, and meet Carlos's clients--a beautiful Cuban-American woman named Sara Ortega, and a mysterious older Cuban exile, Eduardo Valazquez. What Mac learns is that there is sixty million American dollars hidden in Cuba by Sara's grandfather when he fled Castro's revolution. With the "Cuban Thaw" underway between Havana and Washington, Carlos, Eduardo, and Sara know it's only a matter of time before someone finds the stash--by accident or on purpose. And Mac knows if he accepts this job, he'll walk away rich.

In the course of his tenure with the Thames River Police, Commander Monk has yet to see a more gruesome crime scene: a Hungarian warehouse owner lies in the middle of his blood-sodden office, pierced through the chest with a bayonet and eerily surrounded by seventeen candles, their wicks dipped in blood. Suspecting the murder may be rooted in ethnic prejudice, Monk turns to London's Hungarian community in search of clues but finds his inquiries stymied by its wary citizens and a language he doesn't speak. Only with the help of a local pharmacist acting as translator can Monk hope to penetrate this tightly knit enclave, even as more of its members fall victim to identical brutal murders. But whoever the killer, or killers, may be--a secret society practicing ritual sacrifice, a madman on a spree, a British native targeting foreigners--they are well hidden among the city's ever-growing populace. Racing time and the rising tide of terror all around him, Monk must be even more relentless than the mysterious killer, or the echoes of malice and murder will resound through London's streets like a clarion of doom.

After twelve years of wrestling with the conflicts of retirement, Father Tim Kavanagh realizes he doesn't need a steady job to prove himself. Then he's given one--but what, exactly, does it prove? Meanwhile, newly married Dooley and Lace face a crisis that empties their bank account and turns their household upside down. Is the honeymoon over? Is this where real life begins? As the Mitford Muse editor stumbles on a quick fix for marital woes and the town grocer falls in love for the first time, Father Tim and Cynthia receive an invitation to yet another family wedding. But perhaps the bottom line is this: While a star blinks out in the Mitford firmament, another soon blinks on at Meadowgate, and four-year-old Jack Tyler looks forward to the biggest day of his life--for now and forever. Jan Karon weaves together the everyday lives of two families, and the cast of characters that readers around the world now love like kin.

Eager to start their life together, historian Vickie Preston and Special Agent Griffin Pryce take a detour en route to their new home in Virginia and stop for a visit in Baltimore. But their romantic weekend is interrupted when a popular author is found dead in the basement of an Edgar Allan Poe-themed restaurant. Because of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the corpse, the FBI's Krewe of Hunters paranormal team is invited to investigate. As more bizarre deaths occur, Vickie and Griffin are drawn into a case that has disturbing echoes of Poe's great works, bringing the horrors of his fiction to life.
Our City's Election  long Night Journey into day is Finally over And thanks to the to the efforts of many the City will host an uncontested Election on Tuesday November 7th. Uncontested means  unchallenged as occurs when there are
 more commission seats available than there are commissioner seeking them. In such cases  With the Election being a forgone conclusion why bother having one?


That is old school thinking  the Residents  deserve better.This 
is the only chance the Residents have to comment who will be their leaders between now and and  and election day in1919 .

Having a contested election in 2017 is way of getting the ball rolling to that day in the 1919.
An uncontested election means no media coverage. Why should the Newspapers care about an election where the election is over before  it began ?

If you want a blow by blow    how we went from nine candidates in 1915 to 4 in 1917 you just had it. Commissioner Dull decided to  not to seek re-election  in order to do  vegetation piece work for a

 for a neighbor.  that left four remaining commissioners all incumbents but two more  candidates  were needed to get the magic number of 6  candidates needed for a contested election.

We are told the remaining commissioners keeping the the residents in mind
went on a shopping trip to the Planning Commission  to get candidates. they had four and needed to arrive at  to magic number of six  candidates for  for five seats  the 
 numbers necessary needed for an uncontested election and  reminiscent of a late 1960's popular date movie featuring Henry Fonda as a widower  with three kids and Lucile Ball as a widow with three kids. None of the teenage kids seems pleased with the upcoming  marriage.   But the youngest keeps  reminding  all that at the neighborhood Chinese restaurant   with six you get egg 
roll.
regardless one more was candidate was gleened   from the planning  commision  gained which was better than none was and  half way home,better and  than none. 


Unless you have tried it you may not realize how hard it is to get candidates  on the quick. Especially  when there are other considerations such as 
 family. Career,  Money (yes elections cost money)  mostly yours and the a general state of exhaustion when the the trumpets cease.
The Election previous on November 3rd 1915  the City had nine candidates some  which of despite being urged on by the well meaning  (we hope) may not have have been fully  apprised of what they getting involved in.
 Participating in City Government of Bloomfield Hills starts with attending meetings and getting noticed  believe me.show up at a City Commission. meeting and  you will you and stand out like a flickering neon sign in power failure.
Don't be shy. Everyone will wonder who you are but that will pass. Come enough and you might be asked for your opinion. Some day you might even be considered for a board or a commission. All six of the of the current candidates started that way. Did I say Six  I guess I did ? and I should know having written this article. With we six we get more  than egg roll.  Our candidates and citizens get extended  press coverage  follows and a  League of Woman Voters hosted  Candidate Forum. That may be televised. Hip HipHurray 
Like the wise man  once said  Serendipity is where you find it.




                   






Monday, October 2, 2017

Catching up on the planning Commission

Motion by Commissioner Salloum, supported by Commissioner Juras, the planning commission approve the minutes of the planning commission meeting held on May 9, 2017, as presented.
Did we say Catch up ?,
City Hall has a policy of not publishing meeting minutes on the City web side  until the City Commissioners approve them. this is a violation of the open meetings act which says  draft minutes of an official meeting be  available to residents in 15 business days. Draft minutes may not be pretty but they will give you an idea of what was discuss and decided at the meetingby hoom.
Know your rights.You are not required  to attend meetings. The Governing body is required to tell   you with draft minutes what happened  in 15 days, Not three monthes.That is why they call it the
The  Michigan Open Meetings Act.





MEETING OF  AUGUST 7TH
CITY OF BLOOMFIELD HILLS OAKLAND COUNTY ____MICHIGAN August 8, 2017 The regular meeting of the planning commission was called to order with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Chairman Walter Cueter at 4:00 p.m. in the City Commission Room, 45 E. Long Lake Road, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Planning Commission Present: Walter Cueter Mary Kauper Connie Salloum Paul Lay City Manager David Hendrickson City Commissioner Sarah McClure Planning Commission Absent: Mayor Michael Coakley Will Hosler Mary Juras Staff Present: City Attorney Derk Beckerleg City Clerk Amy Burton Building Official Keith Woodcock 023-2017 Minutes Motion by Commissioner McClure, supported by Commissioner Salloum, the planning commission approve the minutes of the planning commission meeting held on July 11, 2017, as presented. Ayes-6 Nays-0 Absent-3 (Coakley, Hosler, Juras) Motion Adopted. 024-2017 295 Lone Pine Court – Pool and Pool Fence in Side Yard Ms. Jill Bahm, city planner, presented her review letter dated August 3, 2017. Ms. Bahm noted the applicant is  with a quaren meeting  meeting a quarrequesting approval to construct a pool and related pool fencing in the side yard at 295 Lone Pine Court. Mr. Keith Logsdon, architect with Michael Willoughby & Associates, presented the request on behalf of the property owner at 295 Lone Pine Court. Mr. Logsdon explained the shape of the lot doesn’t allow for the pool to be located in the rear yard. He explained the fencing proposed at the property line was modified to be an open design, 4 ft. in height instead of the originally proposed solid wood 6 ft. tall fence. Approved: September 12, 2017 Planning Commission 2 August 8, 2017 Commissioner Cueter suggested the applicant consider moving the fence location into the property to be closer to the pool and to allow for landscape screening on the outside of the fence to block it from neighboring property views. Mr. and Mrs. John & Julie Mazza, property owner at 351 Lone Pine Court, were in attendance to express opposition to the fence located so close to their property and in direct view from their property. Commissioner McClure noted the building envelope where the pool is proposed would technically allow for the primary residence to be built in this area. Stuart Sherr, city resident, spoke in support of the proposal and the property owner at 295 Lone Pine Court. Commissioner Cueter explained the placement of a pool in the side yard is the reason the request for a fence in the side yard is before the planning commission for approval. Mr. Cueter noted that the purpose for the fence is to secure the pool, and perhaps the fence should be brought in from the property line and closer to the pool the fence is intended to enclose. Commissioner Kauper agreed the fence on the north property line should be moved closer toward the pool and away from the property line. Commissioner McClure suggested the fence be positioned at the side yard setback location of 26ft. from the side lot line, with adequate landscaping to screen the views from the neighboring property owners. Property owner, Mr. Sam Shamie, was agreeable to the proposal of constructing the fence 26 ft. in from the property line as well as adding landscaping on the outside of the fence to monitor noise and the view of the fence and pool. Mr. Keith Logsdon suggested the applicant would work with James C. Scott & Associates, landscape architects, to create a natural planting plan to compliment the existing landscape and adequately screen the fence and pool from the off-site views. Motion by Commissioner Kauper, supported by Commissioner McClure, the planning commission approve the pool as presented and approve the fence plan as modified during the planning commission discussion to have the north fence moved to be no closer to the lot line than 26 ft. and the north and east fence shall be screened appropriately to fit into the landscape and the screening of the fence and the planting plan shall be developed by the applicant’s landscape architect and shall be reviewed by the City Manager. The landscape screening of the fence shall be on the outside of the fence so the fence is not visible from the neighboring property. The additional landscaping to screen the fence shall be natural to continue the look of the proposed planting plan for the rest of the site and this approval is subject to the conditions as set forth in the HRC letter dated August 3, 2017. Approved: September 12, 2017 Planning Commission