Will 2010 be better than 2009? Most Americans think so, according to the latest AP-GfK poll. With this year in the books, we are in the camp that 2010 will be better than 2009 for Dearborn and our country as a whole.

Here is what Americans had to say about 2010, according to The AP-GfK Poll, which was conducted Dec. 10-14 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media and involved landline and cell phone interviews of 1,001 adults nationwide. It has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

– 39% rated 2009 as a good year.

– 42% rated 2009 as very bad.

– 72% said they’re optimistic about what 2010 will bring for the country.

– 66% said, however, they think family finances will worsen or stay the same next year.

– 31% think the situation in Afghanistan will get better.

– 31% think the situation in Iraq will get better.

– 67% say both wars will stay about the same or get worse

You can read the full results of the poll here.

Happy New Year!

John B. O’Reilly, Jr. sworn in Wednesday for his first full term as Mayor of Dearborn, pointed to family, community and citizens of Dearborn as keys to the success of our city.

“As we look at how we will go forward, we will have to work hard and to endure,” said O’Reilly, Jr. at inaugural ceremonies Wednesday evening in the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. “We are not going back to something that was but something that can be.”

O’Reilly, who had previously been City Council president for 17 years, has been mayor since February 2007. He was elected to finish out the remaining term of the late Mayor Michael Guido.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Charlene M. Elder handled the swearing in of each elected official, while  Wayne County Commissioner Gary Woronchak was the master of ceremonies.

In addition to the mayor, City Clerk Kathleen Buda, who ran unopposed this election, and council incumbents, Thomas P. Tafelski, Suzanne Sareini, George T. Darany, who is serving a second but first full term, Mark Shooshanian and Robert A. Abraham were all sworn in. Brian C. O’Donnell, the newest member of the council, also took the oath of office. All were elected to serve from 2010 to 2013.

Tafelski will continue to serve as council president because he was the top vote getter in the November election. As president he will earn $17,267 a year, plus $85 per meeting or about $7,661 extra for up to 90 meetings. The other council members will earn $14,409 annually and the same per-meeting rate.

Tafelski said his primary focus in his next term will be to promote Dearborn in a positive way.

“I will pledge to do one thing: I will put Dearborn first,” Tafelski said.

Sareini will serve as council pro-tem, running council meetings when Tafelski is absent. She finished with the second highest number of votes, her best finish ever in this her sixth term in office. The pro-tem spot was previously held by Hubbard, who barely made it into the seventh seat on council finishing just 548 votes ahead of eight-place finisher, David Bazzy.

Of the seven council members, Abraham and Darany delivered the most statesmanlike speeches after being sworn in, outlining their vision for the city in their next term. Abraham spoke of his commitment to stabilize our neighborhoods, getting a handle on the city’s growing number of rental properties and working with police to prevent neighborhood crimes.

“If it takes a village . . . it will take this entire city, county and state to keep our neighborhoods safe, clean and quiet,” Abraham said.

About 300 people attended the event, including many family members of elected officials and City Hall employees, which was held in the Michael A. Guido Theater at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. After the inauguration, a reception was held in the theater lobby.

We’ve driven down Military over the Rouge River bridge many times in recent weeks, cruising past the combined sewer overflow basin construction and wondered what the heck is that foul smell?

Well, it turns out that the horrible odor is nothing to be concerned about, according to Dearborn city officials.

The Dearborn Press & Guide reports that the smell comes from gases trapped inside rocks believed to be a by-product of limestone deposits that exist underground. It is the drilling into the limestone by work crews that is releasing the colorless, toxic and flammable gas with an odor similar to rotten eggs.

For the homeowners whose yards back up to the massive construction project, the only thing they can be thankful for is that the smell is coming at winter time and not in the summer when windows are generally wide open.

Unfortunately, the smell isn’t the only thing residents near this CSO project have had to endure in recent months. Residents along Alexandrine, whose homes are adjacent to the site, have had to endure loud thumping noises from rock excavating crews. Residents are worried the vibration coming from the worksite is weakening the foundation of their homes.

One city official tells us that the city of Dearborn already has had to purchase one home at a premium price because of severe foundation damage from the rock excavating. Many other homes will need repairs for cracked plaster inside the homes.

The noise has gotten so bad that the city has had to find office space for a resident who works out of his home. Earlier this month, city council approved spending $1,100 to lease office space for two months at the West Village Plaza. The resident said he simply could not conduct work in his home with the noise.

The good news is that this CSO project, unlike many others around the city, is proceeding on schedule.

After nearly two years of court battles and thousands in legal fees, the City of Dearborn, Meridian Township and Comcast have reached a tentative settlement that will allow Dearborn and Meridian customers to keep watching CDTV on the same channels under their basic cable plan.

The City of Dearborn is expected to announce details of the tentative settlement as early as this week, which would include Dearborn and Meridian Township dropping their federal lawsuit against Comcast. Both municipalities also would agree to withdraw their petition with the FCC against Comcast.

The city sued Comcast because the cable giant was planning to provide public, educational and government access channels, or PEG, in a digital format only.

This change would have forced Dearborn Comcast customers to subscribe to Comcast’s digital TV service, have a newer TV that can accept digital signals or get a digital converter box to enable their older TVs to get channels in the 900 range, where channel surfers rarely trend. Customers would need a converter box for every TV for which they wanted to watch PEG channels on.

While Comcast said the converter boxes would be provided free of charge the first year, it was unknown what the cost would be after that for its customers.

At some point, a Dearborn city lawyer tells us, Comcast will eventually digitize all of its channels, including PEG access. With Comcast up to their neck trying to merge with NBC Universal, the Dearborn lawsuit appears to have been a distraction the cable giant did not need.

This was a long court battle — two years — and an expensive one in terms of legal fees, particularly for Meridian Township who had to hire an outside law firm to represent them. A lawyer for Dearborn tells us the township had legal fees in the hundred of thousands of dollars.

It was a case worth fighting. As Dearborn’s legal case argued, such a change would have been financially difficult for many senior citizens and low-income residents. It also would have slowed the distribution of information to residents who rely on CDTV as their primary means to obtain news from Dearborn.

Prior to this tentative deal, a federal judge in January 2008 ruled in Dearborn’s favor, issuing an order blocking Comcast from making the PEG channel switch.

Deli On The Avenue is located on Military, just north of Michigan Avenue.

Vicki Barndollar says she has been in the food business for about 25 years. But it wasn’t until this year that the 1978 Fordson High School graduate decided to do what many people often talk about but never make the leap to do: open up their own business.

The Dearborn native and resident has done just that with her new Deli On The Avenue, a small but quaint deli shop at 949 Military, just south of Michigan Avenue across from Sacred Heart Church.

“I just wanted a business of my own,” Barndollar says. “I have been in the food business for about 25 years. Instead of working for someone else I decided it was time to open my own business.”

Deli On The Avenue serves up fresh sandwiches, soups and salads, daily. For just $5, patrons can get a nice sandwich, pickle spear and chips. Barndollar says that combo has been the house favorite in the three weeks she has been open. In addition to sandwiches, the deli also offers up muffins, cookies and fruit bowls.

Deli owner Vicki Barndollar, left, and her niece, Heather VanOast, serve up fresh sandwiches daily.

Barndollar previously managed a Moe’s Southwest Grill, helping open one of the chain’s restaurants in Southgate. Moe’s corporate offices put Barndollar through six weeks of training in Atlanta prior to having her manage their store. Prior to Moe’s she managed a hotel down south and spent nine years at the Senate Coney on Greenfield and Rotunda.

Deli On The Avenue does have a small number of free parking spaces at the rear of the building. The spaces are shared with the beauty salon, which is located at the rear of the deli. To access the parking lot, patrons need to use the driveway off Garrison, just east of Military. The city’s paid lot also offers the first 30 minutes free so those just wanting to drop in and order a sandwich can quickly do that, too.

There is outdoor seating alongside the Deli that Barndollar plans to use this spring. She said she wanted to put some seating directly outside of her store on Military but she said city officials, apparently from Building and Safety, told her that wasn’t allowed.

The same Building and Safety official she was dealing with also told her she couldn’t advertise the name of her business – Deli On The Avenue – on the awning over her store, despite the fact that other businesses around town already have names on their awnings. Finally, she was told that putting up a sandwich board to advertise her daily specials to motorists on Military also was off limits.

“They (Building and Safety) were harder to deal with than the Health Department,” Barndollar said.

These actions hardly seem welcoming for a small business owner trying to get started in Dearborn nor does it encourage others to locate in our city if this really is standard operating procedure. We fully understand there has to be rules in a downtown but Barndollar’s requests seem very reasonable and actually could improve the look of the area, particularly the outdoor seating.

Despite her start-up hurdles, Barndollar, to her credit, is very upbeat about finally having her own store in the city she was born and raised. “It is all about keeping it in your own town,” Barndollar says. We agree and wish Barndollar the best of luck with her new Deli On The Avenue.

Winter store hours for the Deli On The Avenue are: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday – Friday. Beginning in January, the Deli may stay open until 5 p.m. and be open on Saturdays, depending on traffic. For more information, call the Deli at: 313-274-4599.

The Dunkin' Donuts on Michigan, just west of Telegraph, is now open under a new owner.

The Dunkin’ Donuts shop on Michigan Avenue, just west of Telegraph has now reopened under a new owner. The store had been closed for nearly a year.

Dunkin’ store manager Jay Patel, says his uncle Shanker Patel, who owns the donut shop, reopened a week ago Friday. Patel says he and his uncle, both Canton residents, are excited about reopening a business in Dearborn.

It isn’t entirely clear why the store closed in the first place, but Patel said the decision to close was made by the corporate offices of Dunkin’ Donuts. Whatever the reason, we are happy to see the donut shop reopen under new management.

The store’s drive-thru is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The lobby of the store opens at 5 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. daily.

Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village in Dearborn.

In case you missed it, The Detroit News in Thursday’s Christmas Eve edition, asked prominent Michigan officials and others for their Christmas or holiday wish.

It has been a tough year for Michigan, Wayne County and Dearborn, the city many of us call home. But as the Detroit News points out, the Christmas season brings a time to reassess and look ahead.

Our wish is that all families in Dearborn will have a happy holiday and we pray the new year will bring positive retail business to our city, high quality education to the children in our schools and that our elected officials will work and act with a sense of urgency to bring growth back to Dearborn.

Excerpts from The Detroit News editorial are below. Please feel free to share your wishes, too. Merry Christmas!

Gov. Jennifer Granholm

While most of us will be home celebrating faith, family and friends during the holidays, many others will be busy serving. Police officers, firefighters and corrections officers protecting our communities, doctors and nurses staffing our hospitals, and transportation workers helping us get to our destinations are just a few of those individuals. And we must not forget the more than 1,000 Michigan Army and Air National Guard personnel serving alongside Michigan military members in Iraq, Afghanistan and across the world. So let us all take time to remember those whose sacrifices allow us to enjoy this holiday season.

U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn: This holiday season, I give thanks for those in Michigan who have good jobs and a sense of security. I pray for those workers who remain unemployed and for our troops serving overseas.

We will continue our efforts provide high-quality, affordable health care coverage to millions of Americans and unemployment benefits to keep families warm and in their homes. However, only stable employment gives Michigan families a true sense of comfort. My sincere wish is that America’s great innovators and leaders look to Michigan’s incredibly talented workers to help them turn their visions into reality.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing: The holiday season is a time for family, giving and hope. My wish is that Detroiters and residents from around the region and state reflect on and act in the true spirit of the season. We can all contribute something, whether it is volunteering your time and talent, helping out a neighbor in need or simply committing to come together and work together. Have a safe and happy holiday.

Doug Rothwell, president and CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan:I wish Gov. Jennifer Granholm, House Speaker Andy Dillon and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop will make a pact to enact a bold package of budget, tax and economic development reforms that gives the people of Michigan hope and puts politics aside. This state can’t wait another year or more until a new set of state leaders can act.

For the full Detroit News editorial, click HERE.

The City of Dearborn issued a press release to all local media Wednesday to inform residents that the Dearborn Fire Department would be conducting training exercises in a City-owned vacant home on Carlysle Street near Telegraph Road.

Dearborn Firefighters train at a home on Carlysle near Telegraph.

We wanted to post that information here in the event residents in the area thought the city was simply neglecting the property.

That isn’t the case here as our firefighters are getting good on-the-job training.

The property will eventually be razed by the city.

The Inspiration for the Book Creamed Tuna-Fish & Peas on Toast

Dr. Seuss had Green Eggs and Ham and Sam-I-Am. Dearborn has the late Jack Stead and creamed tuna fish and peas on toast. 

Stead hated tuna fish and peas on toast so much he buried a casserole dish of it in the lawn at 312 Devonshire in Dearborn to forever remove that meal from the family dinner rotation. 

More than 50 years later, the story of Stead burying the family dinner in the lawn inspired his grandson to write a children’s book by the same title, Creamed Tuna Fish & Peas on Toast. 

“My father felt that a burial was the only way my mother (Jane) would get the point,” said Robert Stead of Dearborn. “He hated creamed tuna fish and peas on toast. I was about 7 years old when the event occurred. The night of the burial made quite an impression on me! When my father died in October 2001, we held the funeral lunch at Park Place in Dearborn. The “Creamed Tuna Fish” story was among the many stories told at the luncheon as we all remembered his life.

“My father was well known throughout the West Dearborn area as a very humorous and very spontaneous man. We have been laughing for decades about the casserole dish buried at 312 Devonshire in Dearborn.

“My mother, of course, has a vivid memory of the event. As she says, ‘He buried my favorite casserole dish.'”

Philip Christian Stead, a graduate of Divine Child High School and a former Dearborn resident, at a recent book signing in Ann Arbor.

Creamed Tuna Fish & Peas on Toast was chosen as the Pizza Hut Book-It Program book for the month of November and a Kirkus Review of the book (below) also was very positive.

“Wild Man Jack hates one dish the most, and who can blame him? Creamed tuna fish with peas on toast would turn anyone’s stomach. Wild Man Jack’s children approach him one by one, asking what he’ll do if Mama Jane makes it, and he vows to “wheeze,” “sneeze” and even “brandish a spoon.”

“Stead conjures early-20th-century America in his language, characters and illustrations. Wild Man Jack, a lean, flinty Woody Guthrie–looking character, seems straight out of the Dust Bowl. Children will savor his venomous rants, as they don’t see many adults misbehaving in picture books these days. They will also enjoy spying old newspaper clippings, music scores and letters hiding behind layers of paint and ink drawings. The collages cohere into a sunny patchwork of art and history. He integrates the past into every facet of his storytelling, even hand lettering each word with salvaged rubber letterpress sets. This homage to Americana finds success looking backward, proudly reclaiming the rhythms of old stories and craftsmanship not so common in the digital age.” 

So if you are searching for a unique gift this Christmas with Dearborn roots, you might want to consider Creamed Tuna Fish & Peas on Toast.  For more info on Amazon, click here.

The same company looking to build a movie theater in Dearborn got the go ahead Monday night to build one in Royal Oak.

For the story that appeared on Channel 7 news last night, click on the photo below.

The Royal Oak Commission voted 5-2 in favor of the theater Monday night.

Emagine Entertainment plans to build near the corner of 11 Mile and Main Street, on the north edge of Royal Oak’s popular downtown area.

The Royal Oak city commission voted late Monday night to approve the project with a 5-2 vote coming after 11 p.m. According other media reports, the sticking point centered around parking.

The Emagine Entertainment complex in Royal Oak will be built on an area originally slated for condos. But with the condo market in the tank, developers moved to a theatre. The proposed project will feature a 10-screen movie theater, 16 lanes of bowling and cocktails. The Emagine Entertainment complex is a 73,000-square-foot building. The $14 million project promises to bring about 100 jobs to the city, according to Channel 7 news.

Royal Oak officiasl say ground-breaking is expected to take place in March and the theatre would open at the end of 2010.