August 31,2020 Your Source for Livonia Happenings
Check out the information provided below on when absentee ballots will be mailed

It is time for Livonia to return the issue of an
amphitheater to the front burner agenda
Ten years ago a group of art minded residents held a series of meetings resulting ultimately with a meeting at the Visual Arts Association of Livonia office including Laura Toy. We were all to fan out and determine what sites might be appropriate for an amphitheater. We were to come together again in a week to discuss possible sites and potential funding mechanisms.

Laura Toy remembers that "we researched this all over Michigan. We need one of those for sure. We even had a petition going! Bill Joyner you will probably remember that. Perhaps now we can get something going."

That meeting never took place for reasons that are not significant for this discussion but assuredly there was a cooptation of the need for an amphitheater.
Ten years later Councilman Brandon McCullough is again putting in the public space the need for a discussion to take place regarding location and financing. FridayMusings joins with McCullough and Councilwoman Toy in saying ten years is enough. It is time to place this issue on the front burner and consider a location perhaps next to the Kirksey Recreation Center or as Musings proposes as a part of the property between the dormant YMCA and Stymelski Park.

Livonia raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to attract and build the YMCA. A shame that a for sale sign is now out side of the building long housing a gathering place for Livonia residents, dating back to 1967. The YMCA owes it to Livonia to dedicate some of the land, perhaps the parking lot to the north of the building to the city for an amphitheater. Plenty of parking across the street, and a park next to the potential site.

There are lots of possibilities. McCullough is right. Start the process. Now is the time. Livonia is ready to finish what was started 10 years ago.
A look at our race for State Representative:
An Endorsement for incumbent Laurie Pohutsky
One of the significant races being watched not only in Livonia but within the power structure of the Lansing establishment is the race for State Representative in Livonia between incumbent Laurie Pohutsky and challenger Martha Ptashnik. The Democrats need to hold onto this seat in the legislature if they have any hope of attaining the majority in the Michigan House as they need to flip 4 seats to make this happen and can ill afford to lose one. The Republicans are seeking to re-establish their solid base in western Wayne County as they lost this seat in 2018 when Pohutsky defeated Councilman Brian Meakin.
The biggest issue that will separate Pohutsky and Ptashnik is support for education. Ptashnik is running on the premise that voters will appreciate and will vote for her background as a public school math teacher at Churchill High School. The assumption is that she is a strong supporter of our historic public schools.

The difficulty with this is that most of her support in the primary came from organizations, specifically those aligned with the DeVos family, for example the Great Lakes Education Project, whose model for education includes support for school choice including for-profit charter schools and virtual for-profit charter schools.

Pohutsky is an advocate for traditional, public schools and is opposed to money being shifted to for-profit public schools.

It is easy to be drawn to a public school teacher seeking office in Lansing. And Musings continues to be impressed with Ptashnik as a person, that is until one realizes that the policies being supported will continue to drain money from our own Livonia Public Schools. Support of for-profit public charter schools is anathema to the strong foundation built in Livonia for our historic, public schools.

In one of her campaign brochures mailed by the Great Lakes Education Project she says she will "keep Livonia tax dollars in Livonia." Yet with for-profit public schools there is no keeping our tax dollars in Livonia. They follow the for-profit corporation. Not necessarily in Livonia.
It is easy to be drawn to a candidate whose literature promotes that "more education decisions should be made by local leaders, parents and teachers." Yet, have you heard of Laura Dikeman or Shauna Hill, each a President of a Charter School in Livonia. Have you ever voted for them in a charter school election? Ever attended a meeting of their Board of Directors? Our tax dollars are flowing to charter schools across the state and we have little or none at all input into the education decisions made by these leaders.

When a for-profit charter school receives your/our tax dollars it can and will be spent on schools anywhere within that for-profit realm. Livonia tax dollars leaving our hometown.

You gotta like Ptashnik. Musings has met her, at her campaign kick off last spring. A delightful person, easy to talk with. Lots of people in attendance. But this election needs to be decided on policy not personality.

Pohutsky ran two years ago on a platform that included clean water and raising the issue of PFAS which find their way into the soil and, especially in some regions, into our drinking water. We're finding them contaminating many rivers, drinking water supplies, not only in the environment, but in people.

This is another issue that Pohutsky championed in 2018, continuing to champion in the legislature, resulting in her endorsement by the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action.
Pohutsky has been accessible which is seen in her record of 7 town halls held, 22 coffee hours held, 17,590 doors knocked discussing legislative issues. All in her first year.

FridayMusings is making an endorsement early, before the absentee ballots are mailed. The issues are too great to sit back. Our mailboxes will be inundated with presidential, United States Senate and Congressional literature. Add to that County Commissioner and State Represenative. We must take a look at the candidates now, not with an onslaught of TV, radio and mailed campaign statements.

FridayMusings is endorsing for re-election as State Representative Laure Pohutsky and hope that you will join us in keeping a strong voice in Lansing for our public schools, our public education and our environment.

(Musings will always offer up space for any candidate not being endorsed to share their views with our readers.)
If It's Monday
Livonia's Gotta Smile
One family took advantage and supported front porch music. Liz Jarvis, playing Bob Dylan with slightly adjusted lyrics, and son Chris took turns on the porch and in their front yard.

Musings knew that Liz and family were talented but lets add yet another skill.
Livonia Clerk, Susan M. Nash, shares important updates about the upcoming Presidential Election.
The next election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and our City Clerk’s team is working hard to ensure the democratic process goes on without a hitch. The safety of everyone involved in the election process is our top priority. Our election workers will be wearing masks and using hand sanitizer. We encourage voters to wear masks if they come into a precinct to vote. We will have a limited supply of masks on hand. Unless something changes, all of Livonia’s precincts will be open for in-person voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you have any questions, please call (734) 466-2230.

Absentee Ballots
Absentee ballots for the November 2020 Presidential Election will be mailed out by the beginning of October. The official ballot is yet to be finalized. Ballots can be returned to the City Clerk via mail, in person or deposited in the red mailbox outside City Hall.

Absentee Ballot Application
All eligible and registered voters in Michigan may now request an absent voter ballot without providing a reason due to the passage of a statewide ballot proposal in November 2018. You can still apply to receive an absentee ballot for the November election. The application can be downloaded at www.VoteLivonia.org. Applications can be returned to the City Clerk via mail, in person or deposited in the red mailbox outside City Hall. If you indicated that you wanted an absentee ballot for August and November, you do not need to fill out another application.
Campaign for County Commissioner:
today we meet up with Nancy Darga & Terry Marecki
Nancy Darga, former Mayor Pro-tem, City of Northville:

Hello, I'm Nancy Darga and I'm running for Wayne County Commissioner for District 9.

One of the most important things to Livonia, Northville and all of Wayne County is strengthening our health and safety departments.

As a polio survivor, I personally know how important it is to have access to health care. The COVID-19 pandemic is once again making it evident that our public health departments play a crucial role in reducing the spread and devastation that global epidemics cause. I want to strengthen the Health Department and bring the spirit of collaboration between the public and private health care providers to Wayne County.

Safety also plays a big role in the health of a community, and I am committed to strengthening the Wayne County Sheriff’s Division so it can more effectively protect our citizens. I am also interested in developing partnerships between law enforcement, the private sector, and the judicial branch to increase our community’s safety and address issues like outstanding warrants in our county and more than 200 unfilled sheriff’s positions.

Learn more about me and my campaign here: https://www.votenancydarga.com/
Terry Marecki, current Wayne County Commissioner:

It has been an honor and privilege to serve as your Wayne County Commissioner since 2015. The 9th District areas I represent- the City of Livonia (most), City of Northville (Wayne County portion) and Northville Township- are shining jewels in Wayne County. And the people who reside in these three communities are wonderful people and great to work for.

I attempt to serve as an independent voice, asking the tough questions on the issues that come before the County Commission. I do try to work respectfully and in a bipartisan and collaborative way with my colleagues and the executive administration and staff of all county departments. 

Hopefully you agree with the votes I make, but occasionally you may not. Reasonable people can disagree without being disagreeable, but I also try to publicly explain the reasons for the positions I take, often after long study and deliberation on complicated items.

My staff and I attempt to be responsive to individual constituent and local government concerns and requests, as we provide direction and help work through county government bureaucracy and obstacles on a variety of matters.

At the end of the day, I never forget that I work for all of you, and I am mindful of my responsibilities. In a county of 43 communities, I have forged working coalitions to make certain that our district-communities get their fair share of funding, services and attention from Wayne County government. We have had much success in obtaining $ millions in funding for improvements to our local parks and roads in particular.

 Please contact me with any questions or concerns about county matters at 313-224-0946.
Campaign for Livonia Board of Education:
Today we meet up with two challengers
Nicole Hoskins-Goudreau and Madeline Acosta
FridayMusings has a policy which it will continue to follow. Regardless of who Musings endorses for a certain office we will always offer up information about all of the candidates running. In this case Musings has endorsed 4 candidates for school board--Dan Centers, Tammy Bonifield, Karen Bradford, Crystal Frank.

Today we offer up information from the two challengers seeking a position on the school board--challenger Nichole Hoskins-Goudreau and Madeline Acosta.

Meet Nichole Hoskins-Goudreau:

I'm a Michigan native and Livonia resident. I graduated from Wayne State University (back when they were Tartars). After college, I moved to the east coast where I went to law school at Widener University. There, I spent time learning to use my voice as an advocate and repeatedly showing people on my palm where my hometown lies. I taught criminal justice to college students before moving back to Michigan. Once home, I became a mom to two of the brightest and most inventive boys who find joy in creating enormous Lego structures and even more enormous piles of dirty laundry. I'm passionate about learning, about equity, and about service, and I look forward to working with my community.

I want to serve you on the Livonia School Board because I believe that Livonia is a wonderful community with good schools, that can become even better. I believe that each child, deserves a learning experience that challenges them to reach their highest potential.
I also believe that inclusion and diversity must be a priority. I'm ready to work hand in hand with teachers, administrators and parents to create a school community that embraces the uniqueness of each family it serves.

  • I have a vision of the LPS I will work to create: 

  • I envision each student reaching their highest academic potential through a learning experience that has been personalized for them.

  • I envision schools where the leadership and instructional teams more closely represent the demographics of the community as a whole.

  • I believe this ours is a strong district with a lot to be proud of and a lot to offer students and families. Still, we can become even stronger by reaffirming commitments to rigorous learning and inclusion & diversity.
Meet Madeline Acosta:

In the last five years, I have had the opportunity to be a member of the PTA/PTSA Executive Board at Riley and Holmes, with my current position as the PTSA President at Stevenson High School.

My continuous drive to be of service to the LPS community led to my participation in the Return to Learn Task Force where I served alongside other community stakeholders this summer on one of the Business/HR subcommittees.

My previous leadership experience includes my work as a Program Manager for a Supplemental Educational Service company and my many years of dedication to the National Board for Delta Tau Lambda Sorority, Inc. where I served as a Risk Manager/Public Relations Officer, Chapter Advisor, and Recording Secretary

Nico and I have been partners in this life journey for 15 years and have enjoyed parenting our two sons: Antolino (Tino) and Dante.

We became Livonia Public Schools parents when Tino began his educational career at the Jackson Learning Center in 2010. At the time, I was a Special Education teacher in Southwest Detroit. Once he entered Garfield Elementary, I became more involved in his educational experience--volunteering at PTA events and in the classroom whenever possible.

As a family, we have wholeheartedly supported our sons in their extracurricular activities, such as the LJAL Falcons where we volunteered for 6 years (with Nico as a volunteer coach), and the Robotics team (RoboRaptors and RoboHawks).
PAPER SHREDDING AND TIRE RECYCLING DAY
A Paper Shredding and Tire Recycling day will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12 at the Department of Public Works yard, 12973 Farmington Road. The hours are from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Residents can dispose of up to 10 tires, and up to five recycling bin boxes of documents. This event is free and for Livonia residents only.
SIMPLE RECYCLING PICKUP OF CLOTHES AND HOUSEHOLD ITEMS RESUMES AUG. 31

Beginning Monday, Aug. 31, the Simple Recycling program will resume in Livonia!

Place your orange bags (or trash bags marked Simple Recycling) at your curb on your regular trash day. Simple Recycling drivers are out from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Make sure to put your bags before 7 a.m.

If you would like to request bags or have your address flagged for pickup, please contact Simple Recycling at (866) 835-5068 or info@simplerecycling.com