July 13,2020 Your Source for Livonia Happenings
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A lot of action and movement in Livonia on two fronts:
Concerns about COVID-19 outbreak in Livonia’s long-term care facilities.
More insight into the Livonia Police Department data with new website
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Livonia Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan joined Congresswoman Haley Stevens, State Representative Laurie Pohutsky and State Senator Dayna Polehanki in signing a letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer to share their concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak in Livonia’s long-term care facilities and their request for additional support for the Together Livonia Cares (TLC) Program.
“I am proud of the success of the Together Livonia Cares program, a collaboration of the Livonia Fire Department, and a number of other City departments, to assist our long-term care facilities through this pandemic,” said Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan. “The TLC program has provided invaluable help to our long-term care facilities, coordinated donations and requests for personal protective equipment, and sponsored hundreds of COVID-19 diagnostic and antibody tests.”
Mayor Brosnan continued: “Our federal and state legislators share my belief that the continued work of this program is essential to keeping Livonia residents safe as the COVID-19 outbreak continues and the threat of a second wave looms. I hope Governor Whitmer will look to support programs like TLC that help combat the coronavirus at the local level.”
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The Livonia Police Department unveils new website featuring department policies and 2019 data.
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The Livonia Police Department has unveiled a new website today featuring department policies and 2019 data.
The initial release of information can be found on the Police and Community Together (PACT) website (
www.LivoniaPACT.org
).
The PACT website offers an overview of traffic citations, arrests, use of force incidents, use of deadly force incidents, citizen complaints, and Department demographics, alongside specific policy excerpts related to use of force and non-bias training.
The launch of the PACT website is a response to conversations between the Department, the Livonia Human Relations Commission and Western Wayne NAACP, which led to requests for information and data to be posted.
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“A number of community groups have shown they are willing to work in good faith with the Livonia Police Department, requesting data about the work of our officers and support more informed conversations,” said Curtis Caid, Livonia Chief of Police. “The release of this data is another example of the Livonia Police Department being a leader in our region, setting a high bar for community engagement and transparency.”
“This is still the beginning of the conversation, not the end,” said Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan. “I have asked the Livonia Human Relations Commission to create spaces for community conversations about issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in the City of Livonia.”
This increased transparency allows those conversations about policing to be driven by data and policy, Mayor Brosnan said, noting that the Livonia Police Department is among the most transparent police forces in the region.
“Through PACT, the Livonia community will have more insight into the Livonia Police Department. I look forward to the Human Relations Commission’s review of this information and data and to receiving their recommendations on next steps,” Mayor Brosnan said.
“As the Chairperson of the Human Relations Commission,” said Rich Glover, “I appreciate Chief Caid and Mayor Brosnan’s leadership as they release data and information moving this conversation in the right direction. Our Commission has made a number of requests of the Police Department (as we will with other departments), and this release of data and Department policies is just the start of our trusted partnership to make progress in Livonia.”
“The numbers are going to guide future policy decisions,” Mayor Brosnan said. “We will be spending time reviewing them and their impact on our community in the days and weeks ahead. Livonia, like the rest of the nation, has a chance to do better and we will. We always do.”
The Livonia PACT website, which links directly through the Livonia Police Department website (
www.LivoniaPD.com
), will be releasing further data and policies in the days ahead. The site will also be updated to include a dashboard tracking Department data moving forward.
“Our City is no exception to national conversations about racism and inequality, and I take seriously my role as Mayor in ensuring progress is made on these issues in Livonia,” Brosnan said.
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Full Text of Letter sent to the Governor from Mayor Maureen Brosnan, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky and State Senator Dayna Polehanki
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Dear Governor,
Thank you for your efforts and leadership on behalf of the State of Michigan, during this time of tremendous need and demand. As you know, the City of Livonia has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The City has seen over 930 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases and 164 fatalities. This 17.6% death rate is three times higher than the rate nationwide and nearly double the rate statewide in publicly available data.
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We know why this is happening. COVID-19 disproportionately threatens at-risk, older populations. Livonia has an older population and a significant number of skilled nursing, long- term care, nursing home and senior living facilities.
Fourteen facilities in Livonia report data to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services or the Wayne County Department of Health. These fourteen locations combined have reported 334 cumulative
COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the year and 109 fatalities among their residents and patients. About 36% of all Livonia COVID-19 cases and 66% of all Livonia fatalities are from these facilities. These totals do not include the nearly 100 care workers who have tested positive at their workplaces in Livonia.
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We know that there are additional cases at other care facilities not included in MDHHS or County reporting, meaning that the share of the City’s total cases in its care facilities is likely even higher. It is a grim reality that we can anticipate a growing majority of Livonia’s COVID- 19 fatalities being former patients and residents at these care facilities as a full accounting of the COVID-19 outbreak across the City is completed.
Because of the severity of this outbreak and the high need at many facilities across our community, the City of Livonia stepped up to support our care facilities through the Together Livonia Cares (TLC) program. The TLC initiative began with a goal to contribute personal protective equipment to and share best practices with long-term care facilities in Livonia. Quickly, the program surpassed this initial vision to meet the need of the community.
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To date, the TLC program, spearheaded by the Livonia Fire Department, has offered COVID- 19 diagnostic and serological testing to thousands of Livonia residents in senior residential communities and long-term care facilities. Additionally, the same testing services have been provided to over 500 City employees. The City of Livonia has spent over $80,000 on COVID- 19 testing already, including wages, overtime, testing kits and personal protective equipment. While some costs for testing kits are recovered through a resident or employee’s insurance, the City of Livonia is bearing that cost for uninsured residents.
The efficiency and success of this program has been invaluable, in light of the slow and inadequate response of other government entities in reacting to the severity of outbreaks in care facilities in Livonia.
For this reason, we, the undersigned, are asking for the following actions on your part, to enable the vital work of the Together Livonia Cares initiative to continue and to prepare the City for a potential second outbreak of the pandemic:
• Ensure the City of Livonia receives or has access to the test kits, personal protective equipment and other resources necessary to continue and expand the Together Livonia Cares initiative to support testing and best practices in skilled nursing, long term care and senior residential facilities. Our Fire Department stands ready to constantly survey these facilities looking for potential outbreaks into the fall.
• Coordinate with the City of Livonia and its elected leadership on creating a preparedness plan for a potential second wave of COVID-19 cases later this year, including identifying and preparing a facility designed for isolating COVID-19 positive patients away from care facilities while still providing them the high level of care their medical condition may require.
• Connect with the City of Livonia and its elected leadership regarding the testing process and its ongoing difficulties, mindful of the need to address adequate and accessible testing as outbreaks re-emerge, and prepare for vaccine distribution, as one becomes available.
The uncertainty created by the initial outbreak of the coronavirus across our State was unavoidable. Our preparedness to deal swiftly and effectively with a second wave of this pandemic is more clearly within our control. We know Livonia is on your mind and you maintain the ability and funding for coronavirus efforts allocated to the state from the CARES Act package. Included as an attachment is an overview denoting revenue decreases the City has faced and the cumulative cost of the Together Livonia Cares program thus far. Thank you for your support and attention to the City of Livonia’s preparations to ensure we have the resources we need to keep our at-risk residents safe and healthy.
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July in Livonia
Livonia Parks and Recreation
14 Livonia Democratic Club Meeting
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16
Major Woody
Music from the Heart
21
Summer Fun Series @ 6:00
Miss Paula and the Candy Bandits
Livonia Parks and Recreation
23
Weekend Comeback
Music from the Heart
28
Drive in Movie @ 7:30
Livonia Parks and Recreation
30
Toppermost Beatles Tribute
Music from the Heart
August in Livonia
4
Primary Election--vote early and often by taking a neighbor to the polls
6
Sinjon Smith
Music from the Heart
13
Devin Scillian and Arizona Sun
Music from the Heart
20
Cruzin Jupiter
Music from the Heart
27
Cosmic Groove Band
Music from the Heart
30
The ARC NW 2020 Golf Outing
Fox Creek Golf Course
September in Livonia
12
Thomas A. Dooley Knights of Columbus Golf Classic @ Fox Hills $100 includes dinner and prizes. To sign up call John Glennon 734-968-2286 or Lou Fiorentino 248-808-3834
October in Livonia
8
1835 Livonia City Hall of Fame
Rosedale Presbyterian Church
Presenting Sponsor: Dan MacIver Financial & Portfolio Advisors
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Another slice of history from Dan MacIver
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Catholic Center recognizes Jim Jolly as
Forty under Forty
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After graduating from Western Michigan University, James interned for Senator Carl Levin in Washington, D.C. He then attended law school at the University of Detroit Mercy, while clerking for the 47th District Court, and court officer at the 16th. After passing the bar, he was appointed Magistrate of the 16th District Court. In 2015, James ran for City Council in Livonia, and still serves. James began teaching at Lawrence Technological University in 2012, where he oversees state and federal compliance issues and university accreditation. His own practice focuses on district court cases, estate planning, and business law.
“Catholic Central prepared me for the rest of my life. I am indebted to my teachers, coaches, and classmates for giving me an environment where I felt loved and challenged to be better than I am. I am thankful that my parents sacrificed to send me to CC, because it set me up to do well in everything that came next. Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge are the most important lessons learned at CC, and this gives me direction for everything I encounter in my different roles. I always enjoy meeting fellow Shamrocks, because I know there is shared experience and instant camaraderie no matter when they graduated.”
Favorite memory: The normal things like student cheering sections at games, things Fr. Menner, C.S.B would say as I struggled with Algebra, and Fr. McKernan, C.S.B. asking us, “What kind of man will you be?” while drawing a castle on the chalkboard.
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Our Parks and Recreation Team invites you to a Summer Fun Series in July and August
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Wilson Barn hosts local Vendors who offer an assortment of produce, plants, and crafts
every Saturday through the Fall
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Community Financial partners with Seedlings
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This generous donation will allow them to produce 100 more braille books for children with vision loss.
"We cannot thank you enough," responds Debra Bonde, "for your continued support of our small non-profit!
Community Financial Credit Union
is making a difference in the lives of blind children all over the world!"
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Let's get out and play a round.
A round of golf supporting the ARC NW
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