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$2.00 JUNE 28-JULY 4, 2012 / 8-16 TAMMUZ 5772

A JEWISH RENAISSANCE MEDIA PUBLICATION

theJEWISHNEWS.com

» Eagle School

Conservative law center seeks grand jury
investigation of Eagle Elementary sale. See page 16.

» Project Build! JFS partnership with builders provides
wheelchair accessibility to Jewish woman with MS. See page 20.

DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

metro

H

» Scrubbers With the help of Hebrew Free Loan, dream of
opening a dog grooming business comes true. See page 39.

Nikki Budaj owns Scrubbers in Royal Oak,
a do-it-yourself dog washing salon.

>> cover story

ea e

Despite past chaos,
West st Bloomfield
ge board
ad y
progress
ready
for August primary vote.

,

_ Race

Michigan Rep. Rashida H. Tlaib, Senate Minority Leader

Bill Carroll I Contributing Writer

T

he West Bloomfield political landscape
underwent a major upheaval in 2008.
New Democrats ousted incumbent
Democrats in the primary. Long-time offi-
cers retired. Long-time trustees
retired. A one-term trustee
retired. The Republican
opposition completely
disappeared.
When the smoke
cleared, a new supervi-
sor, clerk and treasurer,
and four new trustees took
office. They had campaigned on the
slogans of "no more arguing and bickering on the
board" and "we want peace and harmony."
On her way to being elected supervisor, Michele
Economou (not known as Ureste then), said, "I
want to create a cooperative culture in the com-
munity."
Soon-to-be-elected treasurer, Teri Adelberg
Weingarden, added, "The old board was too nega-
tive and fragmented and didn't share ideas; we
must have a team concept."
Newcomer trustee Howard Rosenberg chimed

Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Lisa Brown, playwright Eve
Ensler and Rep. Stacy Erwin Oakes

in, "We need a fresh start on the board; I want
to establish a solid working relationship among
members."
A candidate said, "Things need to be
changed!"
So, what has changed in four years?
Not much.
Some board members don't talk
to each other, unless they really have
to during meetings. They operate
mostly on 4-3 votes. Trustee Larry
Brown sued his colleagues twice, includ-
ing Economou Ureste for slander; the case
later was dismissed in court.
Economou Ureste and Trustee Steven Kaplan sued
the township and Catherine Shaughnessy, Brown,
Rosenberg and Trustee Gene Farber over the keeping
of minutes at closed-door meetings and other issues.
They lost, and appealed. On June 22, the Michigan
Court of Appeals, in a unanimous opinion, affirmed
the decision of Oakland Circuit Court Judge Rudy
Nichols dismissing the lawsuit. Defending the lawsuit
cost taxpayers around $40,000.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

Kfichm

.

ak

1942 - 2012

Covering and
Connecting
Jewish Detroit
Every Week

Taking Back

The

Capitol

Rally in Lansing protests lawmaker's
censure for saying "vagina."

Esther Allweiss Ingber I Contributing Writer

M

ore than 3,000 individuals were in Lansing June
18 for an orderly rally that was both a political
protest and a celebration of women.
Following some inspiring speeches, the largely female
crowd — slogan-wearing and sign-bearing — was treated
to a staged reading of The Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler's
groundbreaking 1996 play about women's sexuality.
Ensler, a Tony Award-winning playwright, flew from
her home in California to speak and oversee the perfor-
mance on the State Capitol steps. Taking part alongside
professional actresses were several female members of the
Michigan House of Representatives, including Reps. Ellen
Cogen Lipton (D-Huntington Woods) and Vicki Barnett
(D-Farmington Hills).
So, what was going on? This hastily organized "Vaginas
Take Back the Capitol" event was an opportunity for the

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

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