October 18, 2019           Your source for Livonia news. All the time. All ways positive.
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Join your friends at a community Spaghetti Dinner October 24th from 5:00 - 7:00 sponsored by Livonia's  two Rotary Clubs.  The community dinner will again be held at Christ our Savior Lutheran Church. Proceeds from the dinner will help eradicate polio, a major emphasis project of our Rotary Clubs. $10 for all you can eat  and only $5.00 for children 12 and under. If you go anywhere on the 24th make sure that you include this all you can eat Spaghetti Dinner. Selected as Livonia's #1 new project of 2018.
Cinematic Art expands in Livonia with the introduction of Fathom Events 
at the Phoenix Theatre
QT8: The First Eight
October 21 - 7:00pm
The Reliant
October 24 - 7:00pm
Manon - The Met Opera Live in HD
October 26 - 12:55pm
October 30 - 1:00pm (Encore)
October 30 - 6:30pm (Encore)
Spirited Away - Studio Ghibli Fest 2019
October 27 - 12:55pm (DUB)
October 28 - 7:00pm (SUB)
Raymonda - The Bolshoi Ballet
October 27 - 12:55pm
Faustina: Love and Mercy
October 28 - 7:00pm
LUZIA - Cirque de Soleil 
October 29 - 7:00pm
Click on this image for all movie times

Vote
November 5





City of Livonia  Mayoral Race
Vote for one candidate in November

Maureen Miller Brosnan
FridayMusings
Councilman Jim Jolly,
Livonia Police Officers Association
Police Officers Association of Michigan
Livonia Police Lieutenants and Sergeants Association
Livonia Firefighters Local 1164
Westland Mayor Bill Wild
Congresswoman Haley Stevens
State Senator Dayna Polehanki
County Executive Warren Evans
County Sheriff Benny Napoleon
Sierra Club Michigan Chapter
AFSCME, UAW, Teamsters Local 299 
Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, 
Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 2
Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors
Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council
Dan Centers, Livonia School Board Trustee, 
Karen Bradford, Livonia School Board Trustee
Tim Klisz, Zoning Board of Appeals Member 
Gretchen Alaniz, Schoolcraft College Trustee
Brian Broderick, Schoolcraft College Board Chair
Schoolcraft College Treasurer Terry Gilligan
Janice Centers, Zoning Board of Appeals Member
Citizens Roads Advisory Committee Member Brett Gierak
 Former Livonia City Council Members Mike McGee,
 Joe Taylor, and Dale Jurcisin
 https://www.maureenformayor.com/

Laura Toy
Mayor Dennis Wright , 
Former Mayors Jack Kirksey, Jack Engebretson
Councilwomen Kathleen McIntyre and Cathy White 
Councilman Brian Meakin
Bruce Tenniswood
Right to Life of Michigan  

City of Livonia Council Race
Vote for up to four candidates in November 

Scott Bahr  
Mayors Dennis Wright, Jack Engebretson, Jack Kirksey
Council members Laura Toy, Jim Jolly
Brandon Kritzman, Kathleen McIntyre, Cathy White
Brian Meakin
Former Council members Jim McCann, Joe Taylor
John Pastor, Treasurer Lynda Scheel
Commissioner Terry Marecki
Livonia Public School Trustees Mark Johnson
Colleen Burton, Karen Bradford, Crystal Frank
Former LPS Superintendent Randy Liepa
Former Representatives John Walsh, Laura Cox
Former Senator Patrick Colbeck
Former Fire Chief Shadd Whitehead
Livonia Firefighters Union 1164
Schoolcraft Trustee Dillon Breen
ZBA Members Chris Boloven, Joel Turbiak,
Jim Baringhaus
Planning Commissioners Sam Caramagno  Carol Smiley
Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors
Right to Life of Michigan

Gregory Coppola
Councilmembers Laura Toy,  Brian Meakin,
Brandon M. Kritzman, Kathleen McIntyre
County Commissioner Terry Marecki
Former Councilmen  John Walsh and  John Pastor
Jim McCann and Joe Laura
Zoning Board of Appeals Jim Baringhaus and Tim Kliz
Schoolcraft Trustee Dillon Breen
Right to Life of Michigan

            
Robert Donovic
Bruce Tenniswood
Livonia Police Officers Association 
Livonia Fire Fighters Local 1164
 Police  Officers Association of Michigan
 Park Commissioner Paul Condon
Schoolcraft Trustees Gretchen Alaniz, Dillon Breen, 
Mayor Dennis Wright, 
Councilwoman Laura Toy, Councilman Brian Meakin, 
Former Livonia School Trustee Steve King
Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors, 
County Commissioner Diane Webb,
State Representative Jewell Jones, 
Right to Life of Michigan

Brian Duggan
Laura Toy, Joe Laura, Jim McCann
Livonia Police Officers Association
 
B randon McCullough
FridayMusings
Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors
Livonia Police Officers Association
Police Officers Association of Michigan
Livonia Police Lieutenants and Sergeants Association
Livonia Firefighters Local 1164
Mayor Dennis Wright, 
Wayne County Commissioner Glenn Anderson
Former City Councilwoman Maureen Miller Brosnan    Councilmen Jim Jolly, Brandon Kritzman, 
Great Detroit Building & Construction Trades Council,  Sheet Metal Workers' Local 80,
 Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers, 
County Commissioner Diane Webb
   
Eileen McDonnell
FridayMusiings
Sierra Club Michigan Chapter
County Commissioners  Glenn S. Anderson Diane Webb former LPS School Board  Dianne Laura
former Livonia City Council member Joe Laura, 
Schoolcraft Trusteew  Gretchen Alaniz and Joan Gebhardt

Kathleen McIntyre 
FridayMusings
Mayor Dennis Wright,  Former Mayors Jack Kirksey, Jack Engebretson,  John Grzebik, Greenleaf Commission,      
Zoning Board of Appeals Tim Klisz and  Jim Baringhaus
Arts Commissioner Lindsay Spence
Recreation Commissioner Katie Jolly
Livonia Police Officers Association
Police Officers Association of Michigan
Livonia Firefighters Local 1164
Treasurer Lynda Scheel,  Council members Laura Toy, Jim Jolly,Brian Meakin,  Cathy White, Brandon Kritzman
 Wayne County Commissioner Terry Marecki, 
Schoolcraft Trustee Gretchen Alaniz
Click on the image below to instantly be transported to the Seedlings Braille Books for Children bid site. Look over the items now and get ready for when the bidding starts November 1st. And remember one of the items is lunch with the typewriter--on me. Really.

Send your calendar notices to  [email protected]
 
October in Livonia
 Livonia Arts Commission's annual Fine Arts Exhibition is being held the entire month of October in the Fine Arts Gallery in the Bennett Civic Center Library.

October 1 - 30
Wilson Barn Pumpkin Fest Every day in October

October 19 - 31
Pumpkin Place fundraiser for Livonia Cares

October 19 @ 8:00 - 1:00
Churchill Music Booster
Rummage Sale

October 19 @ 8:00 - 11:00

October 19 @ 4:00 - 6:00
St. Paul Presbyterian Church
11th Annual Fall Fun Fest

October 21
Wayne 11th Congressional District Republican Club
Dinner Dance @ Italian Club Livonia

October 24 @ 5:30 - 6:30
Civic Park Senior Center

October 24 @ 5:00 - 7:00
Rotary Community Spaghetti Dinner
Help Eradicate Polio
Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church
October 24 @ 7:00 - 9:00
October 25
Halloween Walk at Greenmead

October 25 @ 5:30 - 8:00
Free Scary fun at the Livonia YMCA
Games, spooky stories, crafts, and a costume contest 

October 26 @ 7:30 - midnight
Livonia Arts Commission
Triology Band at Burton Manor
Music from the Heart Fall Concert
$20 in advance/$25 at the door

October 28 @ 5:00 - 7:00
Flemings support for the ARC
People with Disabilities
tickets @  TheARCNW.org
 
October 30 @ 12:00 - 1:30
Livonia Education Foundation Luncheon

November in Livonia
November 2

November 2
14th Annual Healthy Livonia Turkey Trot
Register at the Kirksey Recreation Center
November 5 @ 7:00 am - 8:00 pm
Livonia General Election
Vote
November 8, 9, 10
Women in War
Livonia Community Theatre
St. Paul's Presbyterian Church
November 23 @ 2:00 - 4:00
Blessings in a Backpack Bowling Outing

November 23 @ 9:00 - 3:00
Historic Greenmead Treasures from Grandma's Attic

December in Livonia
December 7
Livonia Symphony Orchestra
Magical Fantasies
Clarenceville High School
Louis Schmidt Auditorium
December 8 @ 4:00
City of Livonia Christmas Parade
December 15 @ 3:00

See you at the Spaghetti Dinner next Thursday, October 24th
Last year the combined Rotary Clubs sponsored a community Spaghetti Dinner. It was a fun evening with great food, great conversation and all for a great cause.

Once again this year they will be at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church and are inviting you to join them. 
These folks not only turned out great food last year but 
threw  in the smiles to go with it.
Join me at the dinner as well. I will be there to support two of our outstanding networking service clubs. 

I have purchased 10 tickets for the Spaghetti Dinner and the first 10 readers of Musings that email me at [email protected] will get tickets with my compliments.

We have a lot going on in our hometown on the 24th of October but it is my belief that we have 95,000 folks calling Livonia home. And you have to eat dinner. So why not join us for a great cause with great food, great conversation as can be seen in the pictures below. I said that before but I thought it would be great to say it again. A great cause with great food.

Bob Modes joined members of the Livonia Civic Chorus to enjoy dinner
The good folks at Cole, Newton Duran came out for a fun night

Mayor Dennis Wright joined the typewriter, the Jarvis Family and 
Kathy Bilger











Maureen Miller Brosnan places a priority on addressing the
shortage of personnel in the police and fire department.
We fact check a recent mailing by her opponent
The Laura Toy for Mayor Committee recently mailed a flyer alleging that her opponent Maureen Miller Brosnan would implement "huge tax increases. . .in the name of public safety." Toy attempted to put the fear into senior citizens by comparing a potential but speculative Livonia tax increase to Ypsilanti, Redford and Westland. Toy's mailer stated that "Brosnan's Police and Fire endorsements should come as no surprise, because she's made BIG promises."

What promises?  What evidence of any promises? Maureen Miller Brosnan has not made any "promises" to Livonia first responders, only a commitment that upon her election she would MAKE POLICE AND FIRE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION HER FIRST PRIORITY and appoint the best and the brightest to study the issue and come up with recommendations on how best to deal with this huge problem facing our hometown.

Laura Toy REQUESTED the endorsement of the police and fire unions and went to their screeningS. But the endorsement of those organizations went to Brosnan. This flyer can only be considered sour grapes by Toy. She should not send out flyers to senior citizens attempting to scare them with wild allegations that just are not true.

BROSNAN'S COMMITMENT TO PUBLIC SAFETY is a reason that FridayMusings joins the Livonia Police Officers Association, LIVONIA POLICE LIEUTENANTS AND SERGEANTS ASSOCIATION and Livonia Firefighters Local 1164 in endorsing Maureen Miller Brosnan for Mayor. She puts a priority on protecting our community.



A Note from the Friends of Greenmead:

As a result of shortage of private homes for the Annual Christmas Walk, we are disappointed to announce the event will be cancelled this year. 

For 30 years, this annual community event has brought much joy to the attendees and the homeowners who graciously opened their homes for public viewing in support of Greenmead. 

With optimism, we hope to bring Livonia's Christmas Walk back in 2020 with your assistance. 

If you or someone you know would be interested in opening their decorated home in support of the Friends of Greenmead, please contact the office at (248) 477-7375.

Some thoughts on what Livonia residents are thinking
Debra Stewart Bonde, Founder Seedlings Braille Books for Children: Thank you, Bill, for your very kind words about Seedlings! And thanks to all who came to the Open House! It was an amazing evening!

Karen Smith: WOW, Bill! The pieces on Seedlings and Bob Hardies were so touching, I got teary-eyed reading them. Thanks for the AWESOME coverage of our open house - and for promoting our upcoming online auction! You are doing such a great job with Friday Musings!

Jack Engebretson, former Livonia City Mayor: I fully support Jim Davis' campaign for election to the Livonia City Council. Jim has strong credentials to continue his long public service career in this new capacity. Jim has the commitment, integrity, and ability to serve our community well as a council member." "Please join me in casting one of your four votes for JIM DAVIS. He will serve with honor and will not let you down.

Maureen Miller Brosnan, candidate for Livonia City Mayor: Grateful for the opportunity to address my neighbors in the Old Rosedale Gardens Homeowners Association during tonight's candidates' forum. I had the chance to talk about Livonia 2020, our agenda for Livonia's future, and our priorities for my service as mayor. My opponent sent a letter instead of attending. It contained no explanation for her absence. It's leaving me to reflect again on the importance of showing up for Livonia residents. I'm not missing any opportunity in this campaign to show up to speak with Livonia residents, and that's exactly how I'll lead as mayor.

Brandon McCullough: Had a great time at  Seedlings Braille Books for Children open house! It is incredible the work they do on a daily basis. Seedlings is dedicated to increasing the opportunity for literacy by providing high quality, free and low cost braille books for children. I also had the honor to meet  Avett Ray  and listen to him rock!  Thank you for a wonderful experience!

Volunteerism is alive and well in Livonia


Introducing Michigan's Heritage Trail Project to Wayne County
Rosedale Presbyterian Church set to host Veterans and First Responders


"A Capitol Idea" Field Trip offered by Senior Center

Join in on a field trip to Michigan's Capitol city, Lansing, for special tours of the state capitol and the Michigan supreme court building.

You will first visit the Michigan supreme court learning Center and see the Court Chambers, possibly with the opportunity to meet with a Justice, then have lunch on your own in Ben's All Star Cafe in the Ottawa Building.

NOTE: Photo I.D. required for entry to this state office building. Then, off to Michigan's historic State capitol where you will have a tour guide share stories about the building and the people who have worked there. The tour includes visits to the Governor's office, the old Supreme Court chamber and the two chambers of the state legislature, the Senate and the House.

REGISTRATION WITH PAYMENT
 Livonia Resident-$20/Non Resident-$22 at the Front office, Civic Park Senior Center, 15218 Farmington Road.

 REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Friday, October 25, 2019.

For more information please call 734-466-2555.

Get those tickets for the December Livonia Civic Chorus concert

Tickets now available at the Livonia Senior Center as well as the Kirksey Recreation Center
Richard & Geraldine Joyner scholarship for two students either at or planning on attending Schoolcraft College 


Applications for the Richard & Geraldine Joyner Scholarship are now available. There will be two scholarships awarded for $600 each. They will be for students either enrolled at Schoolcraft or plan to enroll. 

 Simply drop an email to [email protected] and an application will immediately be
forwarded to you. 

In January Bill and Bob Joyner will announce the two winners of the Richard & Geraldine Joyner Scholarship. Each for $600. Applications are due on December 1st, awarded on January 1st. 





Cole, Newton & Duran CPAs Provides Tax Projections to Better Prepare Individuals and Businesses During Tax Season
For many taxpayers, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 presented a host of tax planning challenges, surprises, and opportunities during last year's filing period. At Cole, Newton & Duran, we offer tax projections for clients so they can benefit from taking certain tax advantages, planning, and making changes to their existing tax situation.  

We often see new clients caught by surprise with an unexpected large tax bill which they were never prepared for. This was especially true for taxpayers last year with changes to withholdings. There is typically very little that can be done at tax time in order to mitigate an unexpected tax bill. However, this situation can be avoided by taking a proactive approach with tax projections.
 
What are tax projections?
Tax projections are reports prepared by professionals at Cole, Newton & Duran which are used to estimate your personal and/or business tax liability. Our firm offers tax projections at a reasonable fee as part of our tax planning services.
 
Why do tax projections need to be reviewed on a regular basis?
As your income changes throughout the year, so does the amount of tax liability that could impact your individual returns. Therefore, it is important to review your updated financial information on a regular basis in order to keep your tax projections current and accurate. Similarly, at the personal level, there might be life events that could impact your overall tax liability. For example, the birth of a child, increased medical costs, changes and withdrawals from retirement accounts, the acquisition of rental property, can all impact your overall tax situation. 
 
What are the benefits of tax projections?
Especially for business owners, managing your business cash flow is essential in order to keep things moving in the right direction as unexpected tax bills can cause havoc on your business cash flow. Therefore, understanding what your future tax liability will be and most of all, preparing yourself ahead of time, allows you to better allocate your cash flow and avoid unnecessary stress.
Additionally, tax projections can help you make important changes to your current business practices in order to decrease your overall tax liability before the end of the year. On the personal level, tax projections help provide more certainty, rather than playing a guessing game during tax season. 
 
Some final suggestions
Tax projections are based on forward-looking assumptions, circumstances, existing tax law, and information that could change unexpectedly. Therefore, it is important that you work with an experienced professional that regularly reviews and updates your tax projections. Otherwise, your tax returns, when prepared, may differ from the initial assumptions that were used to create your tax projections.

If you would like to learn more how tax projections can help with your specific tax situation, please contact your tax professional or Bryan Besco, chief marketing officer, at Cole, Newton & Duran CPAs at 734.427.2030.
Celebrate Women in Wars with the Livonia Community Theatre
Our Livonia Community Theatre is proud to announce a very special theatre season - exploring the service of Women in Wars with these thought provoking dramas. 

They hope you'll join them November 8-10, 2019 for Women and War, and return in the spring for A Piece of My Heart.

 Tickets available at the door, or online here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-and-war-tickets-76277561239

 

Why leave home for a pumpkin !!! 
Wilson Barn Pumpkin Fest every October day
Join us for Pumpkin fest at the Wilson Barn! Every day in October. EVERY DAY.
 No admission charged, however fees for some activities apply.

WEEKDAY ACTIVITIES (Monday-Friday), 
12noon-7pm
-Pumpkins, Gourds and cornstalk sales
-Pony Rides (3-7pm)
-Hayrides (By appointment only and weather permitting)
** Call 313-909-1870 for an appointment

WEEKEND ACTIVITIES (Saturday and Sunday) 11am-7pm
-Cider, Donuts, Refreshments
-Pumpkins, gourds and Cornstalk sales
-Pony Rides and Hayrides (12-7), weather permitting
- Art and Craft Show