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W. Bloomfield Planners
Nix SZ Expansion
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6644 Orchard Lake Road at Maple
West Bloomfield
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(810) 855-1600
ou'll have to excuse
Leonard Baruch if he
seems a little stunned by
a recent West Bloomfield
Township Planning Commission
decision, but he really didn't ex-
pect what happened.
Mr. Baruch, the executive di-
rector of Congregation Shaarey
Zedek, was sure the planning
commission would give its stamp
of approval to adding an educa-
tional center to Shaarey Zedek-
B'nai Israel's West Bloomfield
site. But the commission voted 4-
3 not to recommend the project
to the township board, which will
vote on the issue Oct. 23.
"We are working on how we
are going to address this," Mr.
Baruch said. "It is very difficult
to understand what happened."
The proposed addition would
add 21 classrooms, a media cen-
ter and a library to the synagogue
at Walnut Lake and Green roads.
The congregation now rents
space at Ealy Elementary School
to conduct Hebrew school class-
es. On Sundays, the students go
to the Shaarey Zedek site in
Southfield for classes.
The congregation presented
the project to the planning corn-
mission earlier this year. At the
time, neighbors to the north of
the proposed development com-
plained that a retention pond on
the property would be altered,
possibly leading to flooding. They
also feared more traffic and
changes to the landscaping.
"At the first hearing, there
were certain requests and (the
commissioners) indicated to us
that we would have a favorable
hearing if we worked out the lo-
gistics," Mr. Baruch said.
The congregation and home-
owners worked out traffic, land-
scaping and drainage plans.
"We are going beyond the re-
quirements," Mr. Baruch said.
"We have made arrangements
above and beyond what is ex-
pected."
But planning commissioners
said the "usage of the property is
too intense, that it does not rep-
resent good planning to utilize
the property in this manner and
there should be alternatives in-
vestigated throughout this town-
ship."
Raymond Holland, a commis-
sioner and township board mem-
ber, supported the congregation's
plans, a sign Mr. Baruch sees as
hopeful. Mr. Holland could not be
reached for comment. 0
Father Coughlins
Or An Open Exchange?
JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER
T
he format was similar to
Oprah, Donahue, and Ger-
aldo, with one exception —
there were no television
cameras.
Last week, a "studio audience"
of 300 converged at the Maple-
Drake Jewish Community Cen-
ter for a panel discussion titled
"Has Listening to the Radio Be-
come a Celebration of Ignorance
and Anger?"
Moderator Harvey Ovshinsky,
a radio talk-show host, walked
through the audience, micro-
phone in hand, fielding questions
for panelists Howard Simon, ex-
ecutive director of the American
Civil Liberties Union; Mark
Scott, WXYT talk-radio host;
Dick Kernen, vice president/in-
dustry relations for the Specs
Howard School of Broadcast
Arts; and Paul Winter, former
talk-show host and narrator for
WTVS-Channel 56.
During the hour-and-a-half
event, tempers flared, voices were
raised and accusations flew,
sometimes putting Mr. Scott, of-
ten a critic of government, on the
defensive.
Mr. Scott said the demo-
graphics of talk radio consist of
knowledgeable and informed cit-
izens. He said 92 percent of talk-
radio listeners are registered
voters and many are active po-
litically.
"The top shows
have been O.J.,
O.J. and O.J."
—Dick Kernen
Mr. Kernen disagreed. "Talk
radio is a place to vent," he said.
"Some things you hear on the ra-
dio today are no different than
Father Coughlin's show in the