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

Search This Blog

Friday, August 29, 2014

Preservation Bloomfield Corn Roast 2014 Countdown. Bowers Farm. Sunday September 7th 4pm-7pm.

2013 Corn Roast  

Hosted by Preservation Bloomfield and Friends of PB



Click on  center arrow to see movie. Click on X to eliminate ads. Click on box lower right to see your friends full screen. To play again escape page  and then return to page.



OZ animated musical, Blended a date movie, and Intriguingly themed Women authored mystery novels with women protagonists highlight Baldwin new titles 8/26/14/.


[Cover]Legends of OZ: Dorothy’s Return (DVD):  Dorothy's only just returned home from her first incredible journey to Oz, but she's already being called back for another adventure! After waking to post-tornado Kansas, Dorothy and Toto are whisked to Oz on a magical rainbow mover sent by their old friends the Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tin Man. Time in Oz has passed much faster than back in Kansas, and Dorothy discovers that the Jester, the devious brother of the Wicked Witch of the West, is taking Oz over one region at a time. Check Availability

Blended (DVD):  After a disastrous blind date, single parents Lauren and Jim agree on only one thing: they never want to see each other again. But when they each sign up separately for a fabulous family vacation with their kids, they are all stuck sharing a suite at a luxurious African safari resort for a week. 
Check Availability.

Her Last Whisper by Karen Robards: After a brush with death while chasing down a brutal murderer with the FBI, serial killer expert Dr. Charlotte Stone wants nothing more than to retire to her research on criminal psychology. But when a colleague, Special Agent Lena Kaminsky, suspects her missing sister has fallen prey to the vicious Cinderella Killer, Charlie rushes to her side. Along with Special Agents Tony Bartoli and Buzz Crane - and of course, Michael Garland, the ever-present, fatally sexy ghost who goes where she does - Charlie heads to Las Vegas to track down the predator before it's too late. The team doesn't realize that this killer targets single, beautiful women and courts them before brutally ending their lives. Now he's got his sights set on Charlie - and is closer than anyone suspects. Check Availability




Heroes Are My Weakness by Susan Elizabeth Phillips: A down-on-her-luck actress reduced to staging kids' puppet shows finds herself trapped on a remote island off the coast of Maine with a sexy horror novelist who knows a dozen ways to kill with his bare hands. Check Availability
\




The Long Way Home by Louise Penny: At first enjoying a peaceful retirement, former Quebec homicide detective Armand Gamache reluctantly agrees to help a neighbor search for her missing estranged husband and teams up with two former colleagues on a search that reveals the workings of a psychologically damaged mind. Check Avialability.
\


Tuesday, August 19, 2014

City Commission votes for binding Waste Hauler Votes 5-0 at August 12th meeting. Single Hauler specifics and details tabled for later discussion.

Teachers  or  Students   of the English Language, like Mayor  Hardy, were astounded to learn that changing  the ballot language from advisory to binding involved changing no more than one word. The first word. Should is advisory. Shall  is binding.


At the August  12th meeting City Commissioners voted 
unanimously  to hold an election on the single waste hauler that would be per state regulations be a binding vote.

Attorney Hampton offered  the opinon that outside the realm of  a state sponsored election the Commission was free to act as it saw fit in terms of  hiring  single waste hauler. However there could be consequences of such a move.

None of the Commissioners wanted to go that route.  Commissioners Coakley, McClure, and Sheer were the most vocal in fulfilling a promised election for the residents. McClure equivocated at one point with  the thought  that if the Garbage Trucks were really destroying the streets, maybe  acting sooner than later might be prudent but no one wanted to go there either.  Hardy and Commisioner Dull were less vocal but voted with majority.
Mayor Hardy asked  City Manager Cravens, "What if they ( the City Residents) vote no ?

"Well then we will have to live with the will of the people." Cravens replied, sounding a bit like Rhett Butler talking to Scarlett. 

However the Mayor deserves credit for asking the first "what if " Question of an issue that dates back to the year prior. Trouble is she usually asks just one question when more are needed. There are 75 days between now and the November 4th binding waste hauler vote. Many questions and many "what ifs" need to be considered.

A  detailed  game plan  approaching 60 pages  of  how a Single Waste Hauler could or would  be considered  or hired and what changes that would mean for the City was tabled pending the November Election results.

By special arrangement with County and State elections, the City was able to email it's decision to hold a binding vote on the waste hauler issue  and  beat a midnight August 12th  deadline  to get "Shall.."placed on the  November ballot.


















Secretary of State rules City's proposed "Advisory" Waste Hauler vote.Null and void.

Everybody makes mistakes.   However the  advisory vote  proposed by City Manager Jay Cravens  in March and approved  City Commission in May




was a particularly egregious error. That is because "advisory" votes have no basis by law in Michigan elections. In three  metro area counties, and four elections, the state has a rejected non binding elections as a waste of taxpayer money and misuse of state election equipment. That information is readily available on line by typing , "Advisory Elections in Michigan" in the Google  Search Engine.

Regrettably two area publications including this one failed to do so before the domino's started falling.  

The original plan advanced by Mr. Cravens and not questioned by any City Commissioner was to have an advisory vote in November 4th national election.  The  City commissioners were then to make the  final decision at a later date

This publication did ask  Mr. Cravens why the vote was merely "advisory". Mr Cravens replied that any commissioner who voted against the will of the people would be committing political suicide. So we asked if that were so why not just have a real election with a binding vote ? That question went unanswered. At first we kicked ourselves  for not pursuing the point  further but later in our own thick headed way realized the question had an  answer. 

The point of the "advisory" vote was to determine exactly how much "political suicide," if any, the City Commission  would incur by making a  final  decision  possibly contrary to the will of the people.

City Attorney Bill Hampton, in correspondence with Secretary of State Ruth Johnson argued for an advisory vote citing the City's authority in such matters. 

Johnson replied  that  her department's  decision   " is not dependent on whether the local unit of Government possesses authority over the subject matter of the question,  but whether it is proper expend taxpayer funds and use its election equipment for  what amounts to a public opinion poll.
Game
Johnson added ,"Neither Michigan Election Law  or the City Charter empowers the City to certify a non binding question to the ballot."
Set
And finally "unlike an election for ordinary ballot proposals, the City Commission would not be bound to act in  accordance of  with the outcome of an advisory  question."
and Match









































































Sunday, August 17, 2014

In no particular order, Muppets Most Wanted, Summer in February, A monkeyed with Beamer, and Railway Man, Highlight Baldwin New Titles DVDs 8/12/14.

Editors note: In the interest of  new and improved via horsing around we have added movie previews (or trailers) whenever  possible or appropriate. 


Locke (DVD): A feat of bold, dynamic storytelling from Oscar-nominated writer-director Steven Knight. A successful businessman receives a series of phone calls which sets into motion a chain of events that unravels his perfect life, all of which takes the course of one absolutely riveting and intense car ride.






Breathe In (DVD): When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family's relationships and alters their lives forever. CHECK Availability







Muppets Most Wanted (DVD): The entire Muppets gang goes on a global tour, selling out grand theaters in some of Europe's most exciting destinations, including Berlin, Madrid, Dublin and London. But mayhem follows the Muppets overseas, as they find themselves unwittingly entangled in an international crime caper headed by Constantine-the World's Number One Criminal and a dead ringer for Kermit the Frog-and his dastardly sidekick Dominic, aka Number Two. Check Availability





[Cover]Summer In February (DVD): A sweeping romance set at a bohemian artist colony on the picturesque coast of pre-war England and is based on the true story of painter Sir Alfred Munnings and his blue-blood best friend Gilbert. Munnings rises to become one of the premier artists of his time, winning the affection of beauty Florence Carter-Wood. But when Gilbert falls for Florence as well, a love triangle emerges with tragic consequences. Check Availability


The Railway Man (DVD): Based on an autobiography, this film tells the true story of Eric Lomax, a British Army officer who is captured by the Japanese during WWII and sent to a POW camp, where he is tortured and forced to work on the Thai-Burma Railway. Years later, and still suffering the psychological trauma of his wartime experiences, Lomax is persuaded by his wife Patti to find and confront one of his captors. Accompanied by his best friend, Lomax returns to the scene of his torture and manages to track down his captor, Japanese officer Takashi Nagase, from the prison camp, in an attempt to let go of a lifetime of bitterness and hate. Check Availability

Editors Note 2: The avid movie goer is probably already familiar with the  film previews of  Railway Man.  With Colin Firth (2012 Best Actor for the King's Speech) and fellow Academy award winner Nicole Kidman, it was one of the most heavily promoted films during last year's Oscar season. Based on a memoir,  the Railway Man, is the third book to be  made into a movie about  the fall of Singapore and the fate of British the prisoners. It is the second to deal specifically with the  the construction  of  the the infamous  Burma -Thai railway built under hellish and  brutal conditions by   British  and allied  POWs.

Some battles decide wars and some by inspiring the imagination have impact that last generations.

The fall of Singapore was of the latter category. 

The City was believed to be an unconquerable fortress protected by naval guns on sea side and an impenetrable jungles and swamps on land. The British believed the Japanese  would attack by sea. In reality  they  they came by land, getting through the jungle and going around the swamps by many conveyances  including bicycles.
The British heavy artillery which  faced the sea could not be turned around and were thus useless. This from Wikipedia..



IN 1952 Pierre Boulle a  Frenchman who was in the City of Singapore when it fell and who was conscripted to work  on the Burma-Thai railway wrote  Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï or  The Bridge over the River Kwai. Perhaps better known for as the author of The Planet of The Apes,  Boulle's novel Bridge on The River Kwai  deals with the declining power of the Occidental and the emerging power of the Oriental as prompted by the fall of  Singapore. The Japanese regard their British  captives, largely on the basis of that battle as inferior cowards. The captive British Colonel, is determined to demonstrate and restore the superiority of the Occidental by building a bridge far superior than the Japanese could even conceive of. Regardless of the detrimental effect  such a bridge would have on the British War effort or crown colonies Burma or India.


King Rat (1962 novel).jpg
The second noteworthy book  and then a movie about the  after effects of the fall of Singapore was a first novel, by  James Clavell titled King Rat. While not about the railway, King Rat is about British and Allied prisoners of war in  Singapore's equally notorious Changi Prison. There Clavell, later an author of many works including Shogun and Taipan, was an inmate.


Eric  Lomax The Railway Man

Lomax's autobiography The Railway Man was published in 1995. John McCarthy, a journalist who was held hostage for five years, described Lomax's book as "an extraordinary story of torture and reconciliation". It was made into a television drama Prisoners in Time starring John Hurt as Lomax in 1995.[14]
The book has now been made into a big-screen film of the same name. Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky (director of Better Than Sex), the film stars Colin Firth and Jeremy Irvine as the older and younger Eric Lomax respectively,[15][16] and Nicole Kidman as Patti, the woman who befriended and later married Lomax.[17][18] The film moves between Lomax's time as a FEPOW on the Burma Railway and his later life around the time of his reconciliation with his captor.



In conclusion we leave you with this piece, written,and composed a hundred years ago in 1914, but often associated with a movie of 57 years ago.










Friday, August 15, 2014

Baldwin Library Presents Writers Live: Motor City Burning by Bill Morris.


 On Sunday, August 24, at 2:00 p.m., stop by the Baldwin Public Library to hear Bill Morris, former Birmingham resident, read from his new novel Motor City Burning. Morris will enhance his reading with background music from the era, including works by John Lee Hooker, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Mel Tillis, Miles Davis, and the Temptations.

Motor City Burning tells the story of Willie Bledsoe, a once idealistic black activist, who is accused of the last unsolved murder from the Detroit 1967 riots. Set during the Tigers’ 1968 championship season, the book juxtaposes the chaotic Detroit of the riots with the serenity of Tigers’ Opening Day.

Morris’s book has received numerous positive reviews, including comments from popular authors Loren D. Estleman and Nelson DeMille. DeMille said of Motor City Burning that it was, “a wonderfully atmospheric novel that captures time and place, an illumination of a pivotal point in history.” He added that, “Bill Morris is an exceptionally gifted and savvy writer. The comparison to Graham Greene is fully merited.”

Bill Morris is also the author of the novels Motor City and All Souls’ Day. He grew up in Metro-Detroit, though he now lives in New York City where he is a staff writer for the online literary magazine The Millions. His writing has also appeared in Granta, The New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, L.A. Weekly, Popular Mechanics, and numerous other newspapers and magazines.

"We are very excited to welcome Bill Morris back to Birmingham and are so pleased that he is able to include the Baldwin Library in his Michigan tour,” said Connie Ilmer, Head of Public Services. “This should be an enjoyable afternoon for those interested in books set in Detroit."

Individuals who would like to pre-order a book should contact Book Beat Bookstore at 248-968-1190.

The Baldwin Public Library is located in downtown Birmingham at 300 W. Merrill Street and can be reached at 248-647-1700 or through the Library’s website atwww.baldwinlib.org. 

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Agenda for tonight's City Commission Meeting August 12th 2014


































Agenda for Today's 4pm Planning Commission Meeting.


Of 183 voting Precincts and 49,807 votes cast City of Bloomfield Precinct 1 (City Hall) is Tops for 11th Congressional candidate Dave Trott

Dave Trott carried every precinct in the  in the 11th Congressional, except Milford 2 and 3 which went to  Kerry Bentivolio. Trott  was however the top vote getter in Milford. 

Bentivolio did his best  in the western part of the County but even in those precincts  Trott did better by a significant margin.

The City of Bloomfield Hills Precinct 1 City Hall was Trott's best and delivered the highest cumulative vote total  with 331 in this race.
Precinct Reporting

The City's Precinct 2 Congregational Church ranked in the top twenty for Trott  giving  him 233 votes.Here the margin of victory for Trott increases to 4 to 1.
The pattern seemed to be that the older and more established 
 the  precinct, the larger the victory margin for Trott 
In Birmingham  The oldest most and  traditional  neighborhoods  are just north of the City  with proximately to Quarton Lake, the City itself, or Holy Name Church. Here Trott carried  Precincts 1,2,4,5, and  through 6 by margins of three to one or better.  However in the  border precincts  (3)  Derby  (7 ) Pierce School. (8)Adams road Fire Station or (9) Ice Rink  and the margin of victory for Trott drops to approximately 2 to 1.
Identifying The City of Bloomfield  Hills and Birmingham in the above map is relatively easy. Bloomfield Hills is the green rectangle with a bump or a mountain in the middle. That bump is Cranbrook.  . The diagonal line running under the rectangle is Woodward Avenue. The Green precincts just south of Bloomfield Hills on Woodward are  Birmingham. The  rectangle which is Bloomfield Hills is sitting a sea of white because Bloomfield Township which surrounds  the City is most areas does not vote in the 11th Congressional district.

 Since the outcome was never  in doubt and to give the reader some idea of the importance of  the components  we ranked the Precincts by size. For local readers the City of Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham Precincts are marked in color. As indicated by the map above Bloomfield  Township does not vote in this district.
Precinct
Kerry Lynn Bentivolio
Dave Trott
Total
Total:
14,122
27,685
41,807
Bloomfield Hills 1
104
331
435
Lyon 6
130
314
444
Birmingham 4
68
284
352
White Lake 1
121
268
389
Commerce 7
192
265
457
Auburn Hills 6
74
264
338
Troy 20
81
262
343
White Lake 5
123
257
380
Troy 29
95
253
348
South Lyon 1
115
249
364
Highland 1
173
248
421
Northville 2
155
248
403
Commerce 8
129
247
376
Novi 10
56
243
299
Birmingham 1
61
241
302
Commerce 5
126
238
364
Milford 4
204
238
442
Troy 13
110
238
348
Bloomfield Hills 2
52
233
285
White Lake 2
162
228
390
White Lake 11
137
226
363
Rochester Hills 6
53
223
276
Highland 6
176
222
398
Birmingham 2
60
222
282
W. Bloomfield 8
163
221
384
Novi 18
119
220
339
Waterford 8
64
216
280
Commerce 3
93
215
308
Troy 2
132
213
345
Troy 22
78
213
291
Highland 4
155
212
367
Troy 4
137
210
347
Troy 19
87
210
297
White Lake 6
118
209
327
Birmingham 6
58
209
267
Highland 5
114
204
318
Novi 1
94
204
298
Troy 7
81
204
285
Troy 17
88
204
292
Waterford 12
90
202
292
Troy 5
76
201
277
Waterford 7
71
199
270
Troy 11
92
199
291
Troy 18
88
198
286
Wixom 1
130
198
328
Lyon 5
120
197
317
Birmingham 5
61
194
255
Commerce 9
128
192
320
Troy 14
83
192
275
Troy 15
81
192
273
ClClawson 5
73
191
264
Highland 2
108
190
298
W. Bloomfield 4
102
190
292
White Lake 7
157
190
347
Waterford 10
66
189
255
White Lake 8
122
189
311
Troy 3
62
189
251
Troy 9
106
189
295
Troy 24
75
188
263
Novi 2
94
185
279
Milford 3
205
184
389
Troy 10
86
184
270
Milford 7
136
183
319
Commerce 11
80
182
262
White Lake 9
87
181
268
Novi 9
82
181
263
Lyon 2
100
178
278
Troy 23
72
178
250
Commerce 2
119
177
296
W. Bloomfield 25
118
175
293
White Lake 3
82
173
255
Walled Lake 2
92
173
265
Commerce 10
120
172
292
W. Bloomfield 5
66
172
238
White Lake 10
111
171
282
Lyon 1
95
169
264
Milford 1
155
169
324
Waterford 2
72
169
241
Novi 17
94
165
259
Wixom 2
109
164
273
Waterford 6
74
163
237
Waterford 11
56
162
218
Waterford 1
63
161
224
Novi 16
96
161
257
Milford 6
105
159
264
Milford 8
80
159
239
Waterford 23
76
158
234
Novi 15
53
158
211
Commerce 13
109
156
265
Troy 8
77
153
230
Waterford 16
65
152
217
W. Bloomfield 2
103
152
255
Waterford 25
63
150
213
Wixom 4
102
148
250
Commerce 15
123
147
270
Troy 12
47
147
194
Waterford 24
59
146
205
Precinct ReportingClawson 3
60
146
206
Commerce 4
118
145
263
Waterford 14
59
145
204
Waterford 9
74
144
218
Waterford 3
54
143
197
Lyon 4
97
142
239
Novi 4
55
142
197
Walled Lake 1
102
140
242
Troy 16
66
139
205
Birmingham 3
58
134
192
Troy 25
48
Precinct Reporting134
182
Novi 6
68
133
201
Novi 3
55
132
187
Highland 8
106
130
236
Precinct ReportingClawson 2
45
128
173
Waterford 4
66
127
193
Precinct ReportingClawson 4
54
126
180
Lyon 3
74
125
199
Precinct ReportingWaterford 15
38
124
162
W. Bloomfield 14
76
122
198
South Lyon 3
72
122
194
Precinct ReportingFarmington 2
67
120
187
White Lake 12
70
119
189
Highland 3
89
118
207
Novi 20
63
118
181
Commerce 6
68
116
184
Waterford 22
50
116
166
Precinct ReportingFarmington 5
40
116
156
Novi 21
45
115
160
Highland 7
56
113
169
Commerce 1
97
111
208
Novi 7
33
111
144
Waterford 5
58
110
168
Birmingham 7
54
110
164
Novi 8
59
109
168
South Lyon 2
54
109
163
Waterford 21
51
108
159
Rochester Hills 13
42
108
150
Precinct ReportingFarmington 1
39
106
145
Waterford 17
56
104
160
White Lake 4
82
104
186
Troy 6
26
104
130
Waterford 18
59
102
161
Waterford 19
45
99
144
Rochester Hills 3
34
96
130
Precinct ReportingFarmington 6
46
94
140
Waterford 27
64
93
157
Commerce 12
68
92
160
Birmingham 8
50
92
142
Troy 1
37
92
129
Waterford 29
49
91
140
Birmingham 9
46
91
137
Auburn Hills 5
44
90
134
Novi 19
36
89
125
Novi 5
35
86
121
Novi 14
58
85
143
Commerce 14
37
83
120
Milford 2
123
83
206
Precinct ReportingFarmington 3
32
81
113
Waterford 20
31
79
110
Waterford 26
48
78
126
Troy 27
40
77
117
Troy 28
27
77
104
Waterford 28
53
76
129
Troy 21
39
75
114
Novi 11
60
74
134
Troy 31
32
74
106
Auburn Hills 1
30
71
101
Precinct ReportingFarmington 4
39
67
106
Auburn Hills 7
44
65
109
Waterford 13
28
64
92
Troy 26
44
63
107
Lake Angelus 1
55
61
116
Auburn Hills 4
20
59
79
Wixom 3
37
59
96
Auburn Hills 8
21
58
79
Auburn Hills 3
34
57
91
South Lyon 4
36
56
92
Novi 12
38
55
93
Auburn Hills 2
9
51
60
Auburn Hills 9
15
46
61
Novi 13
22
45
67
Milford 5
36
44
80
Troy 30
15
40
55
Novi Twp 1
7
15
22