Suzanne Sareini

Twenty-year Dearborn Councilwoman Suzanne Sareini, who finished as the second top voter getter in the last election and now serves as council pro-tem, will officially announce later this month that she is running for the 15th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Sareini confirms to DeepsaidWhat.com that after long, careful consideration, she will declare her candidacy on April 27 for the seat of state Rep. Gino Polidori, D-Dearborn, who cannot seek re-election because of term limits.

“I know it won’t be easy, and the decision to seek the seat wasn’t without careful consideration,” Sareini says. “I have been urged by friends and neighbors to run. With my 20 years of legislative experience, I intend to win because I think that in this election experience will count.”

We had written on these pages earlier that Sareini would likely throw her hat into the ring for the 15th District seat back in February, as she was being urged by Republican Party leaders to run for the position. Sareini said she plans to hold a gathering for her supporters at Crave on April 27th from 5 to 7 p.m.

Her decision brings to two the number of sitting Dearborn council members seeking the 15th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. Dearborn Councilman George Darany also is running but on the democrat side of the ticket.

“I am a Republican who has been an independent voice on the council,” Sareini said. “I know how crucial it is to look at an issue from the perspective of what is good for Dearborn, not what is good for an ideological cause.”

City Also May Issue New Trash, Recycle Containers to Residents

Dearborn’s curbside leaf pickup program is on the table as a possible budget cut, yet another proposal the city is eyeing as a way to help trim a projected $20 million budget shortfall, the city confirms to DeepsaidWhat.com

Trash bins such as the one pictured here could soon be issued to residents citywide.

Separately, Dearborn officials also are looking at implementing a new trash and recycling program that would provide each home one large container for trash and one large container for recycling. The city last year began a pilot program with these containers in one area of the city and now is looking to expand it citywide.

First the curbside leaf pickup. Regular readers of this site will know that leaf pickup is one of those hotly debated topics; with some saying it is a waste of resources and others who feel it something that needs to stay.

Curbside leaf pickup may soon be a thing of the past.

Just how much the city would save from such a move isn’t yet clear but when you consider that the vehicles and number of hours of labor needed for leaf removal would no longer be needed (not to mention fuel, vehicle maintenance and purchase of new equipment), the savings could be sizable. As most cities have already abandoned street leaf pickup, this seems like an easy decision for the city to make. As inconvenient as it might be to drag 40 leaf bags curbside, this seems like a cut most residents would understand.

While there is no final decision yet, a city spokeswoman tells us to “stay tuned, as we continue with these tough, but necessary, decisions.”

Now for the new trash and recycle containers residents could soon be receiving. Dearborn’s current waste and recycling contract with Waste Management expires on June 30. The new contract has not been awarded yet, according to the city.

“It is hoped that we will be moving citywide to a system like the one in the pilot area, with one large container for trash and one large container for recycling,” a spokeswoman for the city tells us. “The pilot area has experienced a dramatic decrease in litter with this system.”

Such a change would mean the elimination of several dozen jobs for Waste Management workers, the company Dearborn currently contracts with to pickup trash and recyclables. The new large cans are designed to be picked up by a mechanical arm operated by the driver of the trash truck, making it a one-person job.

Mark you calendar for 5:30 p.m. April 12. That is when the Dearborn City Council will host an informational meeting for the public on a proposal to close six city public pools.

From the 'Save Dearborn's Small Pools' Facebook page, this is a photo of Ten Eyck Pool's grand opening day in 1954. City officials look on as the first swimmers dive into the new pool.

The April 12 date was going to be a study session on the city’s budget with a host of different topics but with the amount of outcry from residents about the proposed pool closings, the meeting will now serve this purpose.

The meeting will be held in the council chambers and judging from the amount of comments here and a new Facebook page dedicated to saving these pools with 2,047 fans at the time of this posting (click HERE for that link), it will be a spirited meeting for sure.

The City of Dearborn is expected to close as many as six of the city’s aging outdoor pools as part of a cost cutting proposal to help the city this year with its $20 million budget shortfall.

The move most certainly will set off a firestorm of protests in the neighborhoods where pools are slated to be closed.

The last time the subject of closing pools came up, the council and mayor succumbed to neighborhood pressure and did nothing. But that was in an election year and now with the new term only three months old, the outcome likely will be different this time around.

The good news is that while pools will be closed, the proposal includes the construction of a larger, modern pool complex for Ford Woods Park, which will accommodate more swimmers and cost about half of the resources of keeping the six neighborhood pools operating, the city says in a press release.

The city says the difficult decision of closing smaller, neighborhood pools is expected to save $132,000 a year in operational costs alone. More significantly, the City claims it will save $3.8 million by not pursuing investments necessary to keep the six pools that are currently on the chopping block in a safe and healthy condition.

The city has not yet shared what pools will be closed, only saying that “as plans become more finalized, an informational meeting regarding the outdoor pool proposal will be held.”

The city does list what pools will receive improvements. The ones not listed would appear to be in jeopardy. Those include: Whitmore Bolles, Summer Stephens, Ten Eyck, Crowley, Hemlock and Lapeer.

City officials say it will continue to operate outdoor pools at Levagood and Ford Woods parks, and add summer swimming opportunities at three indoor pools inside Dearborn public schools, under a proposal developed by city officials this week. The proposal includes the permanent closure and demolition of the city’s six other aging outdoor pools, built decades ago in 1954, 1956 and 1962.

Ongoing operating costs and the significant investments required for the outdoor pools make this proposed change necessary for the 2010 summer season. The proposal regarding the outdoor pools is part of the budget review process being undertaken by Mayor John B. O’Reilly and his administration, together with the City Council.

The City of Dearborn’s Television (CDTV) will temporarily be off the air on Monday, March 29 and part of Tuesday, March 30 during the installation of equipment to enhance the TV station’s operations.

CDTV is channel 12 on Comcast and channel 10 on WOW. (AT&T does not carry CDTV.)

The City of Dearborn says equipment upgrades cannot be performed while the station is broadcasting.

The new equipment, the city said in a press release, replaces aging hardware and will streamline the process of getting programs on the air after they are produced and ready to go.

The old equipment required several time-consuming technical steps to transfer the completed programs onto the broadcasting system.

The City of Dearborn is reminding residents that most of CDTV programming can be viewed any time at www.cityofdearborn.org

In addition, www.cityofdearborn.org posts short videos exclusive to the website.

Beginning April 5, parked vehicles left on the streets on a Public Service Day will be ticketed.

Get ready for Pubic Service Days. They begin April 5 and will now run through Dec. 3.

While some may balk at having to remove their cars from the street once a week, this is a strong program to help keep our neighborhoods looking good.

A new change for this year is that the program runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. That allows many residents to leave for school or work without having to worry about moving their parked vehicles from the street.

Tickets will be issued to owners of parked vehicles left on the streets during Public Service Days, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For 2010, Public Service Days are the same day as trash collection days, every week.

Check www.cityofdearborn.org or call 943-2886 for general information on Public Service Days. For parking issues related to Public Service Days, call 943-2276.

Have you ever wondered what to do with that collectible figurine, crystal vase or piece of vintage jewelry that is just taking up space and does not appeal to your children or other heirs?

Have you ever watched an episode of “The Antiques Road Show” and wondered how much money is collecting dust in your china cabinet, jewelry box, attic, or basement?

If you answered “yes” to either question, you’ll want to take part in an April 30th fundraising event for the Dearborn Symphony that provides an easy way to donate what we call “Precious Collection” items without taking a road trip.

The “Precious Collection” event at the Fairlane Woods Clubhouse also gives those of you who want to keep your heirloom items a great opportunity to find out how much they are really worth, while helping the Dearborn Symphony.

Here is how it works:

1.)  If you have an item to donate that you believe is worth $50 or more, contact Margaret Schaefer at 313-565-2366 or e-mail her at: margaretsch@wowway.com by Monday, April 5, 2010. She will arrange to pick up your donation, which will be appraised, then sold at the Precious Collection Sale to be held on Friday April 30, 2010 from 3-8 pm at the Fairlane Woods Clubhouse, on Auto Club Drive, just south of Ford Rd. in Dearborn. A donation letter, suitable for IRS purposes, will be provided following the sale.

 2.) If you don’t have an item to donate, come to shop for “Precious Collection” items, bid on Silent Auction items, and enter hourly prize drawings—all while enjoying wine and cheese.

3.) Advance sale tickets are available for $15 each, payable by check made out to “WADOS.” Checks must be mailed or delivered before April 23rd to:

Patti Mack, 3501 Monroe, Dearborn, MI 48124

Tickets will be $20 at the door.

Admission price also includes verbal appraisal of up to two items you might bring along.

Best of all, proceeds go to support the Dearborn Symphony.

Perhaps it is just us, but it seems a bit out of place to have professional wrestling in the Hubbard Ball Room located inside Dearborn’s Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

Ring of Honor Wrestling comes to Dearborn’s Ford Community & Performing Arts Center on Friday.

But that is just what will be taking place on Friday when the Ring of Honor the third largest wrestling federation in the U.S. will take to the stage. We have nothing against this type of “entertainment” but from where we stand this seems more suited for an arena and not a center with a world-class theatre, fitness center and meeting rooms.

The Dearborn Press & Guide in Wednesday’s paper described the show that will take place Friday as a night of the “hungriest, hardest-hitting, highest flying group of guys that are working their butts off.”

The Ring of Honor has performed in metro Detroit in the past, including the Michigan State Fairgrounds and in Novi in that city’s arena. Those are appropriate venues for this type of entertainment. But bringing professional wrestling to building designed for concerts, musicals and plays seems like an odd way to fill the building and pay the bills.

The Relay For Life of Dearborn is holding their 6th Annual Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser on Sunday, March 28, from noon to 6:00 p.m. at the O’Kelley Knights of Columbus Hall, 23663 Park in Dearborn.

Tickets for the Spaghetti Dinner are $7.00 per person, or $5.00 for ages 4-10, and can be purchased through any Relay For Life of Dearborn Team, or at the door. Dinner will include all you can eat spaghetti with choice of three sauces (marinara, meat or alfredo), salad, rolls, pop and coffee. The Knights of Columbus will be cooking dinner and will provide a cash bar. Relay Teams will host a bake sale for dessert. There will also be music, dancing, silent auction items and more. Proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society.

For more details about the Spaghetti Dinner, or to donate items for the bake sale or silent auction, contact Debbie Malyn at 313-683-2573 or debbiemalyn@gmail.com For ticket information, contact Branis at 313-561-2377 or pesichb@aol.com

The 2010 Relay For Life of Dearborn will take place on May 1 through May 2, from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

To find out more about the Relay For Life of Dearborn, contact ACS Community Representative Deena Gardner at 248-663-3427, deena.gardner@cancer.org or Dearborn Event Chair Denise Abdullah at 313-336-9020, deniseabdullah@hotmail.com, or visit www.relayforlife.org/dearbornmi.

Resident Hakim Fakhoury says 'dream' of developing downtown Dearborn is over.

If you’ve driven along Michigan Avenue this week you probably have seen signs hanging in the windows of some of the properties owned by developer Hakim Fakhoury with the following words: “The Dream is Over. For Sale.” Many of you have even written here asking what the signs meant.

Well, we sent a note straight to the source, Mr. Fakhoury, asking if he would pen a note explaining the meaning of the signs. He provided us this article, which begins below.

My name is Hakim Fakhoury, and I had a dream…

I had a dream… that Dearborn could become one of the most vibrant downtowns in Michigan.

I had a dream… that the city I have lived in nearly my whole life would be the place where I could invest the fruits of all my hard work.

I had a dream… that Dearborn’s leader would open their arms to a developer that is home-grown and seeks to make a better future for our city for generations to come.

I had a dream… that our mayor and city council could put aside personal and political differences, that petty political infighting would not cause the development of our city to come to a standstill. The inability of our leaders to have a vision has caused us to lag behind other cities, and make us unable to fully transition into the 21st century.

I had a dream… that our leaders would be smart to know what they don’t know, that they would hire professionals to develop master plans, that they would end corruption, the “old boys” network, an breathe new life into our community.

I had a dream… that we could redevelop our downtown into something that would appeal to everyone, attracting fresh young minds to make our city vibrant, livable, fun, and modern.

I had a dream… that I could buy buildings and then, in agreement with city officials, transform our city.

I had a dream… that the mayor and city council members would not lie, that they would be honest, that they would not manipulate each other, or play petty games, or include me in their internal feuds, and just be mature, with the city’s interests, and only the city’s interests, at the core of their decision-making.

I had a dream… but now the DREAM IS OVER for me… My hope is that another developer with come along, buy all my properties, pick up on my hard work, and move to develop the district…