Morris Goodman, a Dearborn attorney, past president of the Dearborn Democratic Club, a longtime political activist and observer and regular reader of Deepsaidwhat.com now adds “education snob” to his list.

Goodman says education issues should take center stage in the 2012 Presidential election.

“ . . . it is mind boggling to realize that just at the time that the nation is coming to grips with the importance of an educated workforce in a global economy, we are cutting funding at the national, state, and local levels for publicly supported K-12 and higher education. This is even more pronounced in Michigan,” Goodman says.

“ Teacher salaries and benefits are going down and class sizes are going up. Moreover, public university tuition for those who want to teach is going up and aid to these students is going down. Also, the interest on federally insured student loans is now immediately payable, rather being deferred for some time as previously was the case, and these loans must be paid back sooner. Let’s see, our prospective teachers have to pay more to earn less. Hmmm. What’s wrong with this picture?”

His column begins below:

Morris Goodman

I am an education snob. Among my wife two sons, daughter-in-law, and me, there are 5 Masters degrees and one law degree (yup, that’s mine). It turns out that this snobbishness is also an important employment indicator. While this is not a surprising fact, the extent of the advantage a good education provides is. Presently there are radio ads for a local college touting the fact that a person with a college degree will earn on average $1.3 million over a lifetime more than someone with only a high school degree. Quite a difference.

At the beginning of December the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the United States added 120,000 new jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 8.6%, the lowest since March 2009. In the mass of data released at the same time by the BLS, several facts leaped out at me. First of all, the unemployment rate for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was 4.4% and for those with only a high school degree the rate was 8.8% – precisely double. For those with no high school degree the rate was 13.2% or three times the rate for those with a college degree.

We all know that most new jobs being created in the U S today, even at the entry level, require more than a high school education. The auto industry used to employ just about anyone who could read and was willing to work. Recent articles about auto manufacturing jobs stress that almost all positions on the car assembly line or at parts plants require workers who have fairly sophisticated computer skills to operate the all pervasive robotic machines.

In our economic recovery, both nationally and particularly in Michigan, everything points to added employment in the next few years in auto related work. So clearly we, as a nation and state, need to put resources into preparing our student population for those kinds of jobs. Thus, it is mind boggling to realize that just at the time that the nation is coming to grips with the importance of an educated workforce in a global economy, we are cutting funding at the national, state, and local levels for publicly supported K-12 and higher education. This is even more pronounced in Michigan.

Teacher salaries and benefits are going down and class sizes are going up. Moreover, public university tuition for those who want to teach is going up and aid to these students is going down. Also, the interest on federally insured student loans is now immediately payable, rather being deferred for some time as previously was the case, and these loans must be paid back sooner. Let’s see, our prospective teachers have to pay more to earn less. Hmmm. What’s wrong with this picture?

Read the rest of this entry »

So what New Year’s resolutions have you made for 2012?  Bill Maher, the host of of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher”, penned a few in a column in today’s New York Times. We thought we’d share a few of his thoughts here. Happy New Year!

New Rule Starting this year, every appliance doesn’t need a clock on it. My stove, my dishwasher, my microwave, my VCR — all have clocks on them. If I really cared that much about what time it was (or what year it was), would I still have a VCR?

New Rule Starting next year, any politician caught in a scandal can’t go before the press, offer a lame excuse and then say, “Period. End of Story.” Here’s how you indicate a “period” and the end of a story: shut up.

New Rule Now that we have no money, and all our soldiers have come home from Iraq and they’ve all got experience building infrastructure, and no jobs … we must immediately solve all of our problems by declaring war on the United States.

New Rule Internet headlines have to be more like newspaper headlines. That means they have to tell me something instead of just tricking me into clicking on them. If you write the headline, “She Wore That?” you have to go to your journalism school and give your degree back.

New Rule Let’s stop scheduling the presidential election in the same year as the Summer Olympics. I get so exhausted watching those robotic, emotionally stunted, artificial-looking creatures with no real lives striving to do the one thing they’re trained to do that I barely have energy left to watch the Olympics.

New Rule You can’t be against same-sex marriage and for Newt Gingrich. No man has ever loved another man as much as Newt Gingrich loves Newt Gingrich.

To read Maher’s complete column, click HERE.

The Rotary Club of Dearborn will offer a new scholarship to high school graduates in 2012, the Dearborn Rotary Past President Young Scholarship, to one or more graduating seniors from Dearborn’s three public high schools.

While the first scholarship of $1,500 will be awarded next year, applications to be considered need to be submitted by Jan. 16.

This new scholarship was made possible through the generosity of Robert Young, a longtime member and past president of the Rotary Club of Dearborn. He was also an educator in the Dearborn Public Schools and served as principal of Edsel Ford High School.

The scholarship will be awarded based on the applicants’ understanding of the 4-Way Test of Rotary International, along with academic performance and community engagement.

The Rotary Club of Dearborn also is seeking donations to grow this scholarship award for the future, said John Artis, Dearborn Rotary president.

“Contributing to this scholarship is a great way to honor someone who has given so much of himself to education in the Dearborn community,” Artis said.

Additional information and the application form for this year’s Dearborn Rotary Past President Young Scholarship are available online at www.DearbornRotary.org

Completed applications must be mailed to Dearborn Rotary Club, P.O. Box 2347, Dearborn, Michigan 48123 by Saturday, Jan. 16, 2012.

 About Dearborn Rotary

Established in 1923, the Dearborn Rotary Club is one of 33,000 clubs located in more than 200 countries worldwide. Rotary is the world’s first and largest international service organization, founded in 1905 by Paul P. Harris, a lawyer, in Chicago, Illinois. The Rotary Club of Dearborn meets every Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at the Fairlane Club on Hubbard Drive in Dearborn. Guests are always welcome.

Starting in January, Dearborn City Council meetings will move to Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 13615 Michigan Ave.

Previously, council meetings were on Mondays at 7 p.m. It isn’t clear way the change in time and day were made but it should prove to be more convenient for residents.

There will be a few exceptions next year and some meetings will be held on Monday, including Feb. 27 because of the Presidential Primary Election on Tuesday, Feb. 28. The council will meet on Monday again on Aug. 6 because of the Aug. 7 election.

The following is a listing of the City Council Meetings for 2012:

January 10, January 24, February 7, February 27 (Monday), March 6, March 27 April 24, May 8, May 29 and June 12.

Meetings will continue July 24, August 6 (Monday), September 11, September 25, October 9, October 30, November 13, December 4 and December 18.

The Committee of the Whole meetings have also changed to 7:30 p.m., but will remain on Thursdays. This also is a more convenient time for residents who work during the day and may want to try and sit in on these sessions. The meetings, during which the council sets the agenda for the Tuesday meetings, will remain in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.

The following is a listing of the 2012 Committee of the Whole meetings:

January 5, January 19, February 2, February 16, March 1, March 22, April 19, May 3 May 24, and June 7.

They will continue July 19, August 2, September 6, September 20, October 4, October 25. November 8, November 29 and December 13.

For more information contact the City Council office at 313-943-2025.

A ground-level rendering of Dearborn's new train station. Construction is set to being in spring 2012.

The city of Troy turned down $8.5 million in federal grant money for a new train station but Dearborn continues to move forward with its plans for one, recently receiving a free grant for help to make its station more environmentally friendly.

Dearborn is one of just eight communities in America that will receive free neighborhood design consultation in 2012 from Global Green USA with the help of a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program.

The grant winners were announced last week.

The grant focuses attention on the new intermodal train station to be built in west Dearborn, and the surrounding neighborhoods that will be part of a transit oriented development (TOD) plan.

The grant pays for sustainability experts to make recommendations to the City of Dearborn on how to integrate environmentally-friendly and energy efficient concepts into the TOD.

The new train station itself will be built according to national recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver standards.

Over the next six months, four sustainability experts will conduct three-day visits to Dearborn and the other seven communities. A specific timeframe has not yet been set.

As for the city of Troy, Mayor Janice Daniels can say “there is nothing free about government money” but you can’t help but wonder if there is something more behind her stand against taking the federal dollars. Remember, this is the same Mayor Daniels who posted a message to her Facebook page last June, after New York State approved same-sex marriage, stating, “I think I am going to throw away my I Love New York carrying bag now that queers can get married there.”

Construction for the new train station in Dearborn is expected to start in the spring of 2012.

The train station, to be built on Michigan Avenue west of Southfield Freeway, will be the center of a TOD District that includes a historic neighborhood, business districts and Fairlane Town Center, the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Henry Ford Community College, The Henry Ford: America’s Greatest History Attraction, major thoroughfares and Ford Motor Company headquarters and facilities.

Other criteria for the grant included the presence of a strong neighborhood organization, the involvement of community leaders, the demonstration that the project contributes to a larger plan, and the ability to leverage federal, state or philanthropic funds.

“The City of Dearborn is excited and ready to work closely with Global Green USA through this program,” said Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. “This is a timely opportunity for us to leverage the latest planning tools and concepts of LEED-Neighborhood Development for improving physical design and policies to develop strategies for our ultimate goal of a sustainable future.”

Walker Wells, director of Global Green USA’s Green Urbanism Program, said, “Cities are responsible for up to 70 percent of global warming pollution, but they can also be the laboratories for climate-friendly solutions that save money, improve health and quality of life. For nearly two decades, Global Green has been helping cities create sustainable plans for the future. We are excited to be able to bring our expertise to these eight deserving communities.”

The other communities are Lafayette, Indiana; Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Greensboro, North Carolina; Lakewood, Colorado; Oakland, California; Louisville, Kentucky; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Judge Mark Somers

In case you missed it, the jury verdict against 19th District Chief Judge Mark Somers was upheld by a U.S. District judge, which means the Dearborn judge is now looking at a total bill of roughly $1.2 million when interest and attorney fees are factored in to the original award.

Judge Somers had filed a motion to set aside the $732,361 jury verdict against him but U.S. District Judge David Lawson denied the appeal last week. This long-running case pitted 19th District Deputy Court Administrator Julie Pucci against Somers, her former boss.

Somers told the Dearborn Press & Guide that while he is “disappointed” with the recent outcome, he isn’t ready to concede defeat.

“I am understandably disappointed in the outcome of the motions,” Somers told the Press & Guide. “I believe that they were meritorious and I have already requested that the Attorney General’s Office initiate the appeals process.”

The state Attorney General’s Office, per Michigan law, provides legal defense for judges who are sued for something they do as part of their job.

It isn’t clear who will ultimately write the check for the roughly $1.2 million for this case.

Somers says Dearborn will be responsible. City attorneys have said the city is not responsible for the payment.

U.S. District Judge Lawson said the matter of who will end up paying will likely have to be settled in court.

“The more likely scenario is that Dearborn’s obligation to pay the judgment will have to be litigated,” Lawson wrote. “In the meantime, the judgment will remain against the defendant in his individual capacity, and he has not demonstrated that his ‘ability to pay the judgment is so plain that the cost of the bond would be a waste of money.’”

And to think this case could have been settled for less than $40,000, roughly the amount of Julie Pucci’s salary.

Dearborn residents should be aware that the curbside trash and recycling pickup schedules will be delayed one day for the weeks of Dec. 26-30 and Jan. 2-6.

Republic Services’ decision to delay trash pickup by one day was made after the City of Dearborn published information indicating otherwise.

The one-day delay throughout both weeks is due to the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays. Trash will be picked up on a Tuesday-Saturday schedule those weeks.

For example, homes with Monday trash pickups will have their trash picked up on Tuesday; homes with Tuesday trash pickups will have their rubbish picked up on Wednesday, and so on.

Residents may call Republic Services at 1-800-878-4626. Offices will be closed Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.

Need help borrowing an e-book from the Dearborn Public Library’s website, uploading apps from the Internet, or downloading photos by using that nifty new tech item you received as a gift this season?

The Dearborn Public Library is hosting free “Tech Time” sessions where participants can learn how to register and successfully use devices, including e-readers, electronic tablets and digital cameras.

The Library’s “Tech Time” sessions will be Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2-4 p.m.; Wednesday, Dec. 28, 6-8 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 29, 2-4 p.m.; Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2-4 p.m.; and Thursday, Jan. 5, 6-8 p.m.

Reservations are not required.

Participants should bring their fully charged electronic devices, along with any cords or attachments, to the session in the first floor training room at the Henry Ford Centennial Library, 16301 Michigan Ave., Dearborn.

For more information, contact the Dearborn Public Library at 943-2330.

Beginning in January, Dearborn residents may no longer be allowed to have their car block the sidewalk while in the driveway during snow emergencies.

A new city ordinance will prohibit residents from parking in their driveway over the sidewalk during snow emergencies.

This change in the city ordinance regarding snow emergency rules is likely to be approved in January by the City Council. If approved, residents will no longer be able to park vehicles across the sidewalk during a snow emergency.

Dearborn officials say this practice is being eliminated because it is in conflict with the American with Disabilities Act. A car parked across a sidewalk may block a person with a disability from traveling safely.

Dearborn officials say by moving parked vehicles off of the street whenever three inches or more of snow is predicted to fall allows snow plows to clear curb-to-curb instead of working around parked vehicles.

If Dearborn declares a snow emergency, residents must remove parked vehicles from the street or you could be ticketed and your vehicles could be towed.

Police do not issue warnings during snow emergencies.

Generally, you may move vehicles back on the street once the street has been plowed curb to curb and no further heavy snowfall is expected.

Driveway aprons do become snow covered during snowplowing operations. Dearborn officials ask that residents not pile snow back into the cleared street and avoid throwing snow onto your neighbor’s property without permission.

You can check if a snow emergency has been declared via any of the following methods:

• Snow emergency hotline at 943-2444.

• www.cityofdearborn.org

• CDTV, which is cable channel 10 on WOW and cable channel 12 on Comcast.

• TV news programs and news radio stations.

• You may also hear the City’s emergency warning sirens go off.

• Twitter.com messages via the “cityofdearborn” account.

• Text or email messages sent to your phone or email from the public safety information system known as Nixle. Sign up for alerts at Nixle.com.

Service is Thursday-Saturday nights under 90-day pilot; special promotions tonight at bars, restaurants

After weeks of discussions and planning, Dearborn’s west downtown district will begin to offer free valet beginning Thursday for customers of participating businesses.

We’ve written several stories HERE about this plan and City Council approved it at Monday’s meeting.

The free service will be 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

West Dearborn bars and restaurants will also offer special drink or appetizer deals on Dec. 15 (tonight) in conjunction with this new promotion, with proceeds donated to the Dearborn Goodfellows.

Two valet parking drop off points in public parking areas south of Michigan Avenue on West Village Drive between Monroe and Military will give customers easy access to restaurants, bars and shops in the district.

Two more drop off points are planned for north of Michigan Avenue between Monroe and Mason in the future.

With the support of the City of Dearborn and the West Dearborn Downtown Development Authority (WDDDA), the participating business owners have joined together to offer this free service to attract customers to the district, especially in the winter.

Patrons of other businesses in the district will pay $5 to use the valet service.

The complementary valet service is a 90-day pilot program initially lasting until mid-March. Its success will be evaluated at that time.

The participating businesses will pay the City of Dearborn’s parking system $40 a month for each space reserved for valet. That fee is in line with the system’s monthly parking permits.

At least 100 spots will be reserved, and more are possible based on the popularity of the service.

By offering free parking and free valet service, the west Dearborn businesses will encourage customers who may otherwise be reluctant to pay for parking, or who don’t want to trudge through snow during an evening out.

Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. said the new service benefits all participants. “The parking system is still collecting fees for the spots used by the valet service, businesses are showing their appreciation for their customers and generating more traffic, and customers have the added convenience and value of free parking and valet service.

“We know there are great restaurants and bars in west Dearborn,” he said, “and we invite anyone who hasn’t been there lately, or who hasn’t wanted to pay for parking, to come back and experience a terrific meal or a memorable night out.”

Other parking is available in the business district for $.50, $.75 or $1 an hour, depending on the spot selected.

For more information, visit West Dearborn Downtown Development Authority on Facebook, visit www.dearbornwestonline.com or follow WestDearbornDDA on Twitter.

PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES VALIDATING FOR FREE VALET PARKING

as of Dec. 14, 2011

• Ciao’s

• Crave

• Don Yeyo Cigar Factory

• Double Olive

• Habuki

• iBurger

• Le Cigar Emporium

• Moose Martini Bar

• The Post Bar

• The Well