Dearborn residents can help guide the future development of the city through participating in upcoming public workshops and taking an online survey.

The input will be used in the creation of Dearborn’s new Master Plan, which will be a vision for the future of transportation, land use, the economy and environmental and cultural stewardship. The Master Plan will help determine the physical characteristics of the city and facilitate the type of community residents want to see for the long term.

The first public workshop is 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 19 in the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. It will be in Club Room One.

This will be the kick-off event and is open to all residents.

The workshop will include interactive sessions to discover what Dearborn residents think is visual appealing for a community.

Additional exercises will help define the type of community residents want to aim for. The sessions will also help to identify the infrastructure and design elements that would support that vision.

Among the options might be: a quiet suburban community, a hot spot for night life or business and shopping activity, a community known for its green initiatives and alternative energy options, a community with pockets of activity amid quiet neighborhoods, or a full scale city with a combination of amenities.

Three other public meetings will focus on specific neighborhoods of the city, although all residents are invited to attend.

A summation workshop will wrap up these sessions.

The schedule is as follows:

• Northeast and southeast residents: 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 27 at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, Studio A, 15801 Michigan Ave.

• Southwest residents: 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 3 at the Dearborn Schools Administration Building, 18700 Audette.

• Northwest residents: 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 17 at the Robert Herndon Dearborn Hills Golf Course.

• Summation workshop: 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 20 at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, Club Room One, 15801 Michigan Ave.

In addition, all residents are invited to complete an online survey about Dearborn and its future development.

The survey can be found at http://www.cityofdearborn.org/live/masterplan

The survey must be completed by August 1.

Dearborn households will be receiving a post card with the online survey information the week of July 18.

In addition, paper copies can be picked up at City Hall in the City Plan Office. They can also be found at the Henry Ford Centennial Library.

It is important to note that Master Plan is not law and is not binding.

The Master Plan provides a basis for the city to write and enforce zoning laws that set forth how property owners can develop and use their land. It also recognizes the need to balance the interests of residents, businesses, and a large daytime working population.

The Oakwood Healthcare System today donated five portable 12-lead EKG units to the Dearborn Fire Department, furthering a commitment to reduce heart attack treatment times throughout the Detroit metro area.

The units, which represent an investment of $165,000 by the healthcare system, are capable of transmitting EKG information directly to the smart phones of attending physicians, dramatically reducing the treatment times for heart attack victims. It’s part of a commitment from Oakwood to provide the equipment and training to paramedics throughout the 500-square mile area serviced by Oakwood.

“This is a huge commitment, not only to the City of Dearborn, but to the entire region,” said Jeffrey Beutner, Battalion Chief, Emergency Medical Services for the City of Dearborn. “This is a wonderful thing the hospital has done.”

Healthcare systems rate the time between the arrival of heart attack patients at an emergency room and when they can receive an emergency catherization—it’s referred to as door-to-balloon time. The national average is about 90 minutes. Since the new technology has been implemented at the Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center (OHMC) in Dearborn, the average is about 53—and far less if patients are transported by the Dearborn Fire Department, rather than going to the hospital on their own.

“We’ve consistently seen 30 minutes or less when patients are transported by our agency,” said Beutner.

That’s because doctors can make the diagnosis as soon as the information is transmitted to their phones, said Joe Murray Ph.D., manager of the Critical Care transport Team at Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center.

“By the time the fire department gets to the hospital, our staff is ready to go,” said Murray.

Beutner said the units would find regular use in Dearborn. The four ambulance units in the city respond to about 10,000 calls every year. They go on at least three cardiac runs every day, he said.

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly, along with other city officials and Oakwood executives were on hand for the presentation Wednesday afternoon at Oakwood.

Dearborn has been transmitting ECGs for about two years now, but their current cardiac monitors are older and rapidly approaching their expiration. The new Life-Pak units in Dearborn will replace five-year-old machines. Murray said Oakwood hopes to provide the equipment and training to departments throughout the healthcare system’s service area this year.

The first of six free outdoor jazz concerts in East Downtown Dearborn kicks off today at Dearborn City Hall Park beginning at 7 p.m.

The free concerts — presented by the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority (EDDDA), V98.7 Smooth Jazz HD and WWJ Newsradio — will all be held Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Bring lawn chairs or blankets and stake out a good spot for great music in the Park.

Tonight’s free concert features Alexander Zonjic & Friends.

Plenty of neighborhood restaurants will be open nearby too, so grab yourself some tasty carry-out and make it a picnic dinner before the show!

Here’s the schedule of the remainder of shows:

Wednesday July 20: Universal Xpression

Wednesday July 27: Lin Rountree

Wednesday August 10: Straight Ahead

Wednesday August 17: Urban Jazz Collection

Wednesday August 24: Alexander Zonjic All Star(s)…special guest(s) to be announced soon!

So will Dearborn taxpayers get left holding the bill for the more than $1.1 million in damages two former Dearborn district court employees were recently awarded by jurors?

It appears so.

Judge Mark Somers

In case you missed it, 19th District Court Judge Mark Somers who sits on the bench in Dearborn, had two separate juries in two different civil trials, award two former district count employees hundreds of thousands of dollars over claims they were fired in violation of Michigan law (one award was for $463,000, a second for $732,000).

A third trial for a third ex-employee, who has a whistle-blower lawsuit against Somers, is expected to begin next year.

In a column in Sunday’s Detroit Free Press, Brian Dickerson writes that a multitude of legal authorities and precedents say tax paying Dearborn residents will get hit with that tab, which likely will exceed $2 million with attorney fees and interest.

Dickerson writes that Dearborn city attorneys have taken the public position that the city, which was not a defendant, is not liable for any damages.

We will see how that position plays out in the coming months as “taxpayers and municipal insurers in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield and Southgate were left holding the bag when lawsuits against judges in their communities were settled in the plaintiffs’ favor,” Dickerson writes.

The Dickerson column is an interesting read because he points out that none of the judges in any of these lawsuits has “ever been removed from office, suspended or even publicly reprimanded by any disciplinary body.”

“Jurors have found the judges’ conduct — and their credibility as witnesses in their own defense — wanting.  But neither the Judicial Tenure Commission nor the Attorney Grievance Commission — the organizations responsible for policing the ethical conduct of judges and lawyers — concedes that those judges have done anything unethical.

“So much for holding the men and women who oversee Michigan’s courts to a higher standard,” Dickerson says.

For the complete Free Press column, click HERE.

Act now and save money when purchasing all-day wrist bands for the carnival at the 2011 Homecoming at Ford Field Park in Dearborn August 5-7.

Advanced sales of all-day wrist bands are $12, plus a $1 service fee, from now until 11:59 p.m. on August 4 at www.wadeshowsinc.com

The carnival is open 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 5-7. Online purchasers print a receipt, and bring that, along with their I.D., to the carnival ticket booth onsite at the festival to exchange it for an all-day wrist band for that day.  Purchasers do not have to specify online which day they will be using the wrist band.

The online savings is significant. All-day wrists bands purchased onsite Aug. 5-7 are $18.

Half-day wristbands can be purchased onsite for $13 and cover ridership from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Companion tickets, meant for adults to accompany children on certain rides, have remained at $8. Other prices apply.

There are no refunds on any carnival tickets or on wristbands.

This year, the Ferris wheel returns, along with 25 other exciting rides.

Homecoming is a project of the City of Dearborn and the nonprofit Dearborn Community Fund. Oakwood Healthcare is the presenting sponsor. Sponsorships cover a significant amount of the cost of the festival.  DeepsaidWhat.com, for instance, is again sponsoring the hula-hoop contest.

More than 30 Dearborn-based nonprofit groups use the festival as their major fundraiser of the year, returning those dollars to the community through positive activities and scholarships.

The festival is known for its spectacular fireworks on Saturday and Sunday, which are sponsored by Westborn Chrysler Jeep, with additional support from Kenwal Steel Corp.

Headline entertainment is Frontiers/The Journey Tribute on Saturday and Hotel California “A Salute to the Eagles” on Sunday.

For more information, call 313-943-2285 or visit www.cityofdearborn.org

If you really want to test just how good of shape you’re in you’ll want to mark Aug. 20 on you calendar.

That’s the date the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) and the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center will hold a duathlon, which will be held at Dearborn’s Dunworth Pool beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Duathlons usually consist of biking and running legs. This race, however, will consist of a three mile run followed by a half-mile swim.

Registration is open to those 16 and older who are Dearborn residents and/or pass holders at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center.

In the event of bad weather, the race will be held the following Saturday, Aug. 27.

Registration is $25 for Center pass holders and $35 for Dearborn residents. You can register in person at Ford Community and Performing Arts Center or online at www.dearbornfordcenter.com

Due to pool availability and lane size, registration is limited to the first 60 participants.

Awards will be given to first and second place for both male and female.

For more information, you can call Erica Hirsch, DMC fitness program coordinator, at 943-5479 or Andrea Gomez, aerobics coordinator, at 943-2135.

Child’s Hope, a Wayne County-based resource for child abuse prevention services will hold its annual fundraiser – Hopes and Dreams, a Girls’ Night Out – at The Henry Hotel in Dearborn on Sept. 22.

The event, presented by Child’s Hope and Neiman Marcus, brings together women from the tri-county area to support University of Michigan-Dearborn based Child’s Hope, an organization that provides child abuse prevention education and other services to communities in Wayne County.

Celebrating its seventh year, Hopes and Dreams will honor Dearborn resident Mary Kosch, who launched the event in 2005.

Kosch, a champion for at-risk children, believes deeply in the work of the Child’s Hope.

“The idea of assisting children with literacy, empowering them with their own voice and instilling them with a sense of self-worth inspires me,” Kosch says. “There’s a tremendous group of women in this community who care deeply about family and want to give back. All it took was a creative combination of shopping, dining, fashion, friendship and the right cause to inspire women to come together and raise money!”

With the help of Mary and her husband Don Kosch, owner of Dearborn Sausage Company, the organization’s roster of donors has grown to record levels in seven years. Kosch’s vision, to raise awareness and build momentum to support Child’s Hope, laid the groundwork for making this event the charity’s largest annual fundraiser. Each year, a committee of 30 local women, chaired by Linda L. Freitag, orchestrates every aspect of this special event.

“We solicit sponsors, collect donations and raffle items, sign and send invitations and even decorate the venue,” Freitag says. “It’s a lot of hard work but very rewarding to all of us.”

Child’s Hope Executive Director Annemarie Valdez says that in addition to raising nearly $70,000 for child abuse prevention programs each year, Hopes and Dreams also helps the community understand why it’s so important to look out for at-risk youth.

“With more and more cases of abuse being reported daily, it’s crucial for us to educate the public about what to look for and how to report to protect young children,” Valdez says. “Reaching children early and encouraging them to come forward is key to making a change for abused and neglected children.”

For more information about this event, to become a sponsor, buy a ticket, or to make a donation, call Child’s Hope at 313-583-6401 or go to www.childshope.org