June 8, 2020 Your News source for All Livonia. All the time. All ways positive.
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| Livonia came to make a statement today and in a big way it was just that. A big statement. |
This typewriter is tired out and energized at the same time. It was a hot summer day approaching 80 degees and there were over 2,000 hometown neighbors joining
in with others from across the country, Los Angeles, Memphis, Montgomery and Miami.
Great to see Representative Laurie Pohutski and candidate Nancy Darga marching and Pohutski serving as one of the key speakers.
The march went down Five Mile from Hubbard to Farmington, south to the police station where in a very moving statement the 2,000 marchers paused, remaining silent for the 8 minutes, 46 seconds, the amount of time that George Floyd remained on the ground being held with a knee to the neck.
 Speeches at the recreation center as the crowd continued to grow. Lindsay Spence,
Patrick Crandell,
Louise Weller,
Steve King, john and
Doreen Cole and
Robin Henke. So many standing in unity. I have to say it and I want to say it.. Seeing this crowd makes me proud that people are willing to get engaged and take a stand. Livonia Proud.
People circulating to sign up new voters. This organizing group did not miss a step. Water, snacks, voting registration.
Louise Weller offered up "congratulations to Paige and Amanda and Celeste and Hilary and all the other folks who pulled this together and pulled it off! What a great job!"
This was not a gathering that can best be described in words. As I walked through the recreation center grounds I could not help but smile, knowing that many of those attending had never been involved in politics or been engaged in community issues.
This was a turning point for many. The youth organizing it will take this skill set on to bigger engagements. Those who have been involved before will take away a rejuvenation, a rebuilding of their commitment to community organizing and speaking out on
hometown issues.
This was a good day. I am so proud that Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan, Councilmen Jim Jolly and Brandon McCullough, the Felician Sisters, Rosedale Gardens Presbyterian Church among others chose to speak out in support of those feeling the pain and suffering of George Floyd. This typewriter appreciates your sentiment.
And today, in talking with dozens of people I came away with a good feeling. A peaceful gathering that spoke volumes about our hometown.
"Community becomes even more powerful when it includes the entire community. When all members of the community pull together for a united cause, the power becomes unlimited. The change, or transformation, that occurs from the entire community is something greater than just what a small group of the community or an individual can achieve. "
Tim McDonald, Contributor, Architect of Humanity
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| What a difference just one hometown historic* public schools principal can make |
  
Thank you Livonia neighbors for joining this "Campfire Strummer" for the past 3 months!
Jonathon Wennstrom is wrapping up the Lunchtime Music Breaks he hosted this Spring.
He was live every day at 12 noon. So cool. This typewriter caught many of them.
Thank you Buchann Elementary School principal for the lunchtime musical concerts watched and heard by hundreds of
school children
and parents. Every day, Monday through Friday, at lunchtime.
* historic public schools refer to the public schools that built our hometown and not the for-profit public schools draining funds for the real public school
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Reopening plans for Livonia Bennett Civic Center and Carl Sandburg Libraries.
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We are excited to announce our reopening plans for Livonia Bennett Civic Center and Carl Sandburg Libraries. We are not ready for full library service at this time, but have a concrete plan for moving forward that protects our staff and patrons alike.
Civic Center Library is currently undergoing essential repairs to our building's foundation that prohibits access to the main doors and outdoor book return. We are working on an alternative for book returns, but at this time, you may continue to hold on to your items as we will not charge fines until patrons are allowed back in the building. Alternatively, Sandburg's book return is open.
Operating hours for both Civic Center and Sandburg during curbside service:
Monday thru Friday
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For curbside pickup by appointment only.
Beginning June 10th, we will call patrons with items currently on our hold shelf to schedule curbside pickup. We will schedule a 15 minute window, so please adhere to the schedule and park in your designated space to make the process as smooth as possible.
Beginning June 17th, we will begin providing materials through a holds only service. Much like restaurant carryout, our library takeout will continue to be curbsideonly. We will continue with scheduled appointments for pickup during this time.
Summer Reading is all online this year. Visit our web site LivoniaPublicLibrary.org for details. Register for summer reading and update your log at
LivoniaLibrary.Beanstack.org.
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| Felician Sisters and Rosedale Presbyterian Church share the pain and suffering of those who join together in solidarity for healing racism and injustice. |
FridayMusings wants to share a note from the Felician Sisters, specifically from Sr. Nancy Marie Jamroz offering a prayer in solidarity with all who will gather on Sunday:
 Once again, Thanks Bill for "gathering the community" through your newsletter! First In the name of Sister Mary Andrew Budinski, our Local Minister of the Felician Sisters' Convent we want to express sincere thanks to you, Mayor Maureen Brosnan and the Livonia Community for your thoughts, prayers, cards, f
lowers, edible gifts and well wishes during the height of "our" convent pandemic. We will miss our 12 Sisters who have gone Home to God but know they are with us even more and praying for us in their New Life.
We would want very much to join our neighbors In our Hometown protest this Sunday, but our Care Center Director still has us under quarantine until the last Sister is virus-free. But we want you to know, that at 4 pm on Sunday we will have a simple Prayer Service in solidarity with all who will gather at the City Hall and with all across our country and world to pray for healing of this other deadly "virus" of racism and injustice.
May God give eternal rest and joy to George Floyd and all the victims over many, many too many years and may God help us, as we pray in the Prayer of St Francis, "bring love where there is hate, hope where there is despair, and joy where there is sadness!" May God bless us and help us move toward in showing we believe in the truth that we are all God's Family!
FridayMusings offers up for thought that when those who look for support in our hometown in the name of sharing the pain and suffering of people of color and who join together in solidarity for healing of racism and injustice we need to know that across Livonia our faith community is standing up and saying "no more."
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 have shared a note from the Felician Sisters now let me share a message from Rosedale Gardens Presbyterian Church:
We, the Church, stand with all of our brothe
rs and sisters of the human race and lift our voices to join the throng in condemning racism, hatred and bigotry of any kind.
We, the Church, implore all of its members to speak words of peace to one another and may we teach them to our children.
We, the Church, invite you into a time of worship this Sunday at 10:30 where we will worship together, yet apart, strengthening our faith as the Body of Christ, so that we, too, may be healers and peacemakers.
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| Former Northville City Commissioner Nancy Darga announces her candidacy for Wayne County Commissioner. Unopposed in the August primary she will face incumbent Commissioner Terry Marecki. |
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| Nancy Darga for Wayne County Commission District 9 |
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Livonia has two candidates running for Wayne County Commissioner. Incumbent Terry Marecki, R-Livonia, and challenger Nancy Darga, D-Northville. When Terry Marecki filed FridayMusings covered her announcement. Today, in keeping with our fairness policy, Musings is providing information on Darga.
This initial information was taken directly from the City of Northville website detailing her service as a City Councilwoman. That is followed by a statement in her own words.
"Once you meet Nancy Darga, you are not likely to forget her. She says what's on her mind and asks probing questions when considering a matter before City Council, a role she has served in for 12 years before choosing not to run in 2019. Her approach to problem-solving includes a deep dive into details and talking to people - on both sides of an issue.
"She has taken on tough challenges to keep Northville unique, historic and well-run as a City government during her years on City Council and 20 years serving the Parks and Recreation Department in advisory capacities, primarily as a board member. If you want to get her goat, ask her about the bruising she took over soccer fields. (Back in the late '90s and early 2000s, parents involved with the Parks Dept. wanted additional soccer fields, but Darga was adamant that funds be used to create fields for for other sports.)
"She's got a good grasp on matters pertaining to infrastructure - roads, sewage and storm sewers - due to a long career as a licensed landscape architect in the Wayne County Parks Dept. and the (former) Wayne County Road Commission. Plus, her husband Mike is a civil engineer who was good counsel as she reviewed voluminous detail about the City's engineering plans and contracts.
"She was amazed that she won her first election to City Council as a newcomer. She attributes that to having been actively involved in the community - something that people value and remember."
Darga's announcement in her own words taken from her campaign website:
I need your support to strengthen our health and safety departments, to rebuild our infrastructure, to protect our public parks, and to re-energize our economy. With
 your support, we can grow a better, bolder, and more prosperous future together.
I believe that, despite the challenges we face from the current pandemic, anything is possible when we all pitch in. Lately, it seems like we've let our differences define us, but our goals are the same-safe and thriving neighborhoods, stable jobs, and opportunities for our kids and ourselves in the future. Now, as we come back from the brink of crisis, it's clear that we need one another more than ever.
Community has always been a key part of my journey.
When I was growing up, my parents cared for 4 neighbor children after their Dad passed away and their Mother was hospitalized. We squeezed 11 people into a small house for months, with cots in every corner, but the message was clear: those kids needed someone, so my parents stepped up. There was never any question whether they would help. That's how I was raised, and that's how I live-and lead-every day.
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Musings follows the 2020 elections
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None have been certified by Board of Canvassers
Donald J. Trump (I) (R)
Joe Biden (D)
United States Senate
Gary Peters (D-I)
Bob Carr (R)
John James (R)
United States House of Representatives
Haley Stevens (D-I)
Endorsed by:
Michigan Education Association
Frank Acosta (R)
Kerry Bentivolio (R)
Whitney Williams (R)
Endorsed by:
Eric Esshaki (R)
Michigan House of Representatives
Laurie Pohutsky (D-I)
Endorsed by:
Sierra Club
Clean Water Action
SEIU
Emily's List
UniteHere! Local 24
Iron Workers Local Union No. 25
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan
Michigan Council of Carpenters & Millwrights
Congresswoman Haley Stevens
Michigan Teamsters Joint Council 43
Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union
Michigan Nurses Association
Endorsed by:
Former State Senator Patrick Colbeck
Former State Representative Jerry Vorva
Former State Representative Kurt Heise
Former State Representative Jeff Noble
George Dimopoulos owner of George's Senate
Lynn Mills
Canton Township Supervisor Pat Williams
Roger Little, owner of Shooters Service
Former State Senator Mike Kowall
Martha Ptashnik (R)
Endorsed by:
City Council President Kathleen McIntyre
Former State Representative John Walsh
Former Livonia City Councilman Brian Meakin
Former State Representative John Pastor
Wayne County Commissioner Terry Marecki
Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP)
Michigan Freedom Network
Former State Senator Mike Kowall
Wayne County Commissioner
Terry Marecki (R-I)
Nancy Darga (D)
Schoolcraft College Trustee
Brian Broderick (I)
Joan Gebhardt (I)
Terry Gilligan (I)
Livonia Board of Education
FridayMusings endorses the following
4:
Dan Centers (I)
Karen Bradford (I)
Tammy Bonifield (I)
Crystal Frank (I)
Clarenceville Board of Education
Matt Boettcher (I)
Brenda Uren (I)
Shari Krazel (I)
Jeffrey Bunker (I)
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| Musings follows Livonia Happenings |
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June in Livonia
Angela Hospice Rock n' Raffle
Virtual Concert
July in Livonia
July 13
July 20 @ 5:00
Deadline for Zonta Scholarship
Click on flyer for contact information
July 25 -- August 8
Summer MT Intensive High School Students
August in Livonia
September in Livonia
Bob Bennett Memorial Golf Outing
Date to be determined
September 13 @ 12:00
September 16 @ 10:30 -- 1:30
Livonia Town Hall Series
St. Mary Cultural Center
Gioia Diliberto
a journalist/biographer/novelist
October in Livonia
October 1 @ 7:00
Presenting Sponsor:
Dan MacIver
Financial & Portfolio Advisors
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Kathleen McIntyre offers her perspective on the Sunday Livonia march
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FridayMusings offers an opportunity for additional points of view. For that reason this typewriter is glad to report that the marchers did get a response from the City Council President, Kathleen McIntyre.
I am sorry that she missed the whole point of the march and that she did not attend to talk with some of the 2,000 who showed up. Dialogue. Listening. Engagement. We need more of that not less.
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| Partnerships continue to help define Livonia as a caring hometown |
A big THANK YOU to Community Choice Credit Union for the generous donation that will settle unpaid Livonia Public Schools lunch account balances. The entire community appreciates your partnership!
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Rob proposed and Haley Stevens said YES.
Congratulations Congresswoman Haley Stevens |
  As the sun slipped beneath the horizon on Orchard Lake, Rob proposed and Haley Stevens said yes!
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Middle school students can go broadway with a
summer camp designed especially with you. |
 Welcome to Broadway Bound Online!
Livonia Community Theatre has transformed it's popular musical theater camp for middle schoolers into a two week, online, interactive musical theater experience. Week One will combine a week's worth of singing, dancing, and theater into a final performance that will be broadcast online for family and friends everywhere. Week Two will consist of masterclasses to build skills in a variety of musical theater disciplines including vocals, monologues/scenes, audition skills, dance, and more.
Though we are disappointed to be unable to work with our students in person this year, our first priority is keeping our campers and staff safe during this unprecedented public health crisis. We look forward to a time when we can share our love of music and the theater together under one roof again!
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| Congratulations to my favorite cancer survivor. The Bodyguard. |
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Proud sponsor of the
1835 Livonia City Hall of Fame
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