January 18, 2021 FridayMusings is your source for Livonia Cultural Happenings
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President Ronald Reagan signed a bill to create a federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. The bill was put into effect in 1986.
Georgette Rivera at the College of Charleston writes "On this day, people of all ages and backgrounds uphold Dr. King's devotion to equality and social justice by giving back to their communities to help address and find a solution to our nation's most critical problems. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in a world absent of poverty, war, and violence. To celebrate this day is to celebrate his vision of a unified community.
"Martin Luther King, Jr. served his life giving back to others, and on the third Monday of January, everyone should mirror his humility and aim to give back."
In lieu of a person-to-person project, the 11th District Democratic Party organization on Monday is collecting items on the Wish List for First Step. From 9-4, Louise Weller is serving as a drop off location for this project.
Madonna University is hosting a virtual MLK Celebration which will feature Pete Pullen on Neurodiversity. To commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy, Madonna University virtual celebration is from 5:30-7:00 p.m., via Facebook live at Madonna University.
The bodyguard has assembled a number of Wish list items and we will be dropping them off Monday morning. At 5:30 we will watch the Madonna University MLK Celebration. None of this is much but one person with one dollar can only go so far but combine hundreds of people with hundreds of dollars and hours and imagine how much can be done.
Day of Service. What are you doing?
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Livonia City Council Meeting Schedule
January & February
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Chris Last: Thank you Musings for including my article on tree recycling. As you know, this has so many layers, each and every one of them a surefire positive. As I continue to speak to educators not only here in Southeast Michigan but beyond that boundary, the reaction is always very encouraging with all of them at every level, being extremely supportive. Livonia really does have an opportunity to "kill two birds with one stone" and set a precedent currently unfounded.
I feel very fortunate in knowing that Musings and Councilman McCullough understands and champions the concept.
There is not one exhibit at Greenmead that would not benefit from this. The attention this would bring to Livonia can also be a platform for furthering festivals, increasing attendance which in turn will generate revenue that will help continue to polish this "diamond in the rough".
September 19 Corn Roast early response:
Jim Baringhaus: Looking forward to the Corn Roast! The Greenleaf Commisson on Sustainability is looking forward to participating in and supporting this event!
Charlie Mahoney: Hope to represent the Community Foundation and the LSO and for sure support the event
Conrad Schwartz: can’t wait to be there. For some reason the corn just tastes better when you’re around so many people having so much fun!
Nikki Mehelich: Joining you in optimism, I am putting it on my calendar.
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What will the decade of the 2020's hold for Livonia |
Livonia:
A hometown of kindness
2020 goal for Livonia offered by Liz Jarvis
Over the next ten years, Livonia will see a demographic shift. Many younger families will move into Livonia in their “starter” home. We will need to find ways to keep them here.
- Livonia's business community should continue to build a strong relationship with the schools. The apprenticeship/internship programs can be enhanced and enlarged. We can work with students in career guidance at a younger age. Many students don't think about life after school until well into their high school years. This is too late.
- The city can promote working with families to update “older” homes—anything built before 1980, for example. This could be as simple as re-landscaping and removing tired, leggy shrubs, to repainting the interior to remove lead paint. It could be updating appliances, or replacing windows, or replacing plumbing or electrical. There are thousands of homes in Livonia which are beginning to show their age, and we can help attract and keep young families by helping to freshen up and modernize these homes. There is currently a loan program in Livonia that addresses some of these needs, but I would like to see the City partner with the Schools and help complete the labor as an apprenticeship program. Upon completion of the program, a student could be hired as a full-time apprentice in the trades. This would be a win-win for the students and the businesses in our community.
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- * Similarly, I would like to see the technical businesses in town take on students as interns, and sponsor their college education. This would be more than a scholarship, as it would incorporate working and studying. A program like this could have the student working for the company during summers and breaks, while the employer subsidizes the student's education. Upon graduation, the company would hire the student as a full-time employee.
- To help facilitate the technical education of students, I would like to see an LPS STEM Center created. This would house, among other things, our schools' Robotics programs, including space for practice fields and shops. There would be areas for science presentations and technical workshops. The goal would be to prepare students for careers in technical fields and to provide opportunities for them to design, build, and test whatever they can dream up.
By continuing to attract and serve young families, we will grow as a community for the next ten years, and longer.
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Valentine's Day: Share a love for the arts |
Councilmen Jim Jolly and Brandon McCullough are partnering with the art community, specifically the Livonia Civic Chorus to start the year off in a cultural kind of way.
On Valentine's Day they are chairing a Drive-by Donation Drop off at the Livonia Civic Center Senior Citizen Center.
Kathleen Chichester, President of the Chorus, wants "to start 2021 by supporting the arts. We want to have fun and raise funding in a creative and new way. Thank you Jim and Brandon for partnering with us."
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You can drive up to the Center and be greeted by members of the Chorus who will extend a basket from 6 feet out and you can place a donation. Any amount. In return, you will get a wave, a Valentine Cookie, and a Love Livonia bumper sticker.
Oh, and as you pull into the parking lot you can tune your radio to a pre-designated FM station and hear music from the Livonia Civic Chorus. As it gets closer to Valentine's Day FridayMusings and Facebook will share the station.
In December the Livonia Civic Chorus sang in a Virtual Christmas Concert which was viewed by nearly 1500 supporters over a two-week period.
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