Kudos to government officials in Grosse Pointe Woods who are cracking down on neon signs along Mack Avenue. Some business owners in that city aren’t happy but neon signs do nothing to enhance a downtown.

Cruise through Dearborn along Michigan Avenue, Telegraph or Warren and neon is everywhere. Neon lights frame grocery store windows, gas stations, party stores and the list goes on.  It simply makes our downtown look cheap. Combine that with the tasteless electronic LED billboards that adorn buildings across our city and you have a tacky cityscape.

One of many distracting electronic billboards along Michigan Avenue in Dearborn.

We’ve written on these pages once before about the need for Dearborn to pass an ordinance to have those flashing electronic billboards banned but such a request has fallen on deaf ears (Denver’s City Council recently banned all LED billboards). Does the strip bar that sits at Michigan and Oakman (the first thing visitors entering Dearborn at the east end of town see) really need to advertise beer and lap dance specials? It just makes our city seem dirty. The signs also are a major driver distraction.

In Grosse Pointe Woods, neon was first prohibited in 2002 as part of an extensive revision of the city’s sign ordinance. The business owners that are now complaining had eight, yes, eight years to remove the neon to become compliant.

We have nothing against those indoor “open” neon signs that sit in windows of some businesses. But they don’t need to flash or be larger than 12 inches across. Yes, you could argue that there are bigger things to focus on in Dearborn and its current budget issues, but making our downtown look more attractive and actually having some rules in place for what is tasteful doesn’t cost anything and can go a long way to improving the aesthetics of our city.

Ditch the neon and the jumbo electronic billboards. The last thing the streets of Dearborn need are high definition versions of a carnival barker screaming at you as you drive by.

Borders book store in Dearborn.

The fate of Dearborn’s Borders book store on Ford Road could be known as soon as Monday or Tuesday. That is when the troubled Ann Arbor, Michigan bookseller could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Filing for bankruptcy would pave the way for hundreds of Borders book store closings and thousands of job losses. It is not yet known if the Dearborn location at Ford Road and Mercury Drive would be spared. The Dearborn store appears to do brisk business, at least the times we’ve been in the store.

According to the WSJ article in today’s paper, Borders has abandoned efforts to refinance its debts, and is preparing bankruptcy papers and seeking financing agreements that would keep it operating during the Chapter 11 restructuring process. Its shares tumbled 33% to 25 cents apiece in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange trading Friday after WSJ reported its plans.

Borders will seek to close about a third of its 674 Borders and Waldenbooks stores, according to the WSJ. “Borders also would cut swathes of its 19,500 staff as it attempts to reinvent itself to compete with Amazon and its hot-selling Kindle reader, and Barnes & Noble Inc., the nation’s largest bookstore chain and maker of the Nook e-reader,” the WSJ reports.

For the full article, click HERE.

Dearborn residents will soon be able to use Dearborn Heights’ libraries as part of a year-long pilot reciprocal borrowing program that begins March 1.

The reciprocal borrowing agreement will give Dearborn residents access to Dearborn Heights’ John F. Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy libraries and Dearborn Heights residents will have access to the Henry Ford Centennial Library, as well as the Snow, Bryant and Esper branch libraries.

It isn’t clear yet what, if any, type of financial savings might be realized by each city through such a program but residents will certainly benefit with greater choice.

The new system will give Dearborn residents access to 146,000 volumes from Dearborn Heights Public Library, and limited access to their network shared system, which contains even more resources.

It will also allow residents a greater geographic proximity to libraries, and access to 70 more public computers.

Extended library access also means additional library hours on nights and weekends, as well as in the summer. Dearborn residents will also be able to participate in library programs at both Dearborn Heights libraries.

Dearborn Heights residents will reap many rewards similar to those listed above as they will have access to all libraries in the Dearborn Public Library system. Benefits to Dearborn Heights residents include access to more than 290,000 items, including a large DVD collection and an International Cinema Collection, as well as 104 public computers with internet access and standard software programs. In addition, Dearborn Public offers a wide variety of online databases that include Mango Languages, Ancestry Library Edition, AllDataPro Automotive Repair and Biography Resource Center as well as access to downloadable audio books and e-books.

The reciprocal exchange applies to residents, property owners, or taxpayers in the City of Dearborn or the City of Dearborn Heights.

The League of Women Voters of Dearborn-Dearborn Heights, in conjunction with the Sierra Club, invites the public to a program about the future of our food and the sources it comes from.

The program is being held on Tuesday, Feb. 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Henry Ford Community College, SME Building (north end of campus).

Keynote speaker, Lourdes Lore, MS, Professor of Nutrition at Henry Ford Community College, will discuss chemical contaminants in food and water, with special focus on pesticides, BPA and GMOs. The program is a continuation of “Environmental Crisis on Your Plate!” which covered factory farms, or CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations).

Following Lore’s presentation, Lynna Kauchek, Food and Water Watch, Ferndale Environmental Commission, will speak about the Alfalfa GMO (genetically modified organism) approval by the USDA. In addition, she will discuss what Ferndale is doing to become more sustainable.

Discussion and questions will follow each presentation.

The HFCC, SME Building is located on the first driveway south of Ford Road, west side of Evergreen.

Light refreshments will be available. Please RSVP to Mary Ann Baier, Dearborncoolcities@gmail.com. For further information, contact Mary Ann Baier or Jenni Dunn, LWVDDH@gmail.com, 313.278.6476.

Periodically the Dearborn Public Schools provides us a column from Supt. Brian Whiston as a means to communicate information to the Dearborn community.

His latest column begins below

Supt. Brian Whiston

Do you remember learning to ride a bike or teaching a child how to ride a bike? It usually starts with riding a tricycle, then a bike with training wheels. The next step is to take one of the training wheels off the bike, and finally, someone will steady the bike, only letting go once the rider is balancing on their own. The key to success, in not only learning how to ride a bike but in all types of activities in our work and social lives, is following a step by step process.

Our district has an enrollment process, an employment process, and a grading process, just to name a few, that ensure the smooth operation of our schools. When things don’t go according to plan we also have a process in place to solve problems and make corrections. As a parent, if you have a concern, question, or a more serious issue regarding your child, it’s important for you to know that the district has a process in place to help you resolve these matters.

Your child’s teacher is the best place to start. They are the expert when it comes to your child’s classroom experience and the best person to start with when you have a concern. If the issue is between your child and a teacher, then the next person who can provide help is the building principal. Principals have the advantage of knowing the teacher, student, and other building related conditions. Ninety-five percent of the time the teacher and principal, working together with the parent and student, will be successful at solving the problem.

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