Forbes and Mashable are among the many media sites that have posted a video of Twitter CEO Dick Costolo’s speech at the May 4 University of Michigan commencement. Mashable notes: “Costolo, a graduate of UM who pursued comedy after earning his bachelor’s degree for computer science in 1985, started his speech by tweeting a photo of the crowd and ended it saying, ‘hashtag go blue!’” [Source] [Source]
Crain’s Detroit Business reports on the expansion of Ann Arbor-based Pot & Box, which is opening a “pop-up” version in the D:hive space on Woodward Avenue in Detroit. According to the report, owner Lisa Waud “is the first entrepreneur signed to Pilot, a new program offered by D:hive that will give a rotating cadre of small businesses two months of free rent as well as marketing and design support.” Waud plans to open a permanent location in Detroit later this year. [Source]
State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-District 53) participated in a recent segment of the Fox 2 News talk show “Let It Rip,” focused on decriminalizing marijuana. Irwin, an Ann Arbor Democrat, has proposed legislation – House Bill 4623 – to significantly reduce the penalties for recreational use of the drug. [Source]
On Recycle Ann Arbor‘s 35th anniversary, Barbara Lucas of WEMU looks at the history of the city’s curbside recycling, and interviews several of the people who helped start the program. Among those are Dan Ezekiel, who’s now a science teacher at Forsythe Middle School and chair of the city’s greenbelt advisory commission. [Source]
The Detroit Free Press reports that Paul Dobrowolski has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Ann Arbor and police chief John Seto, alleging that his Constitutional rights have been violated. Dobrowolski, an anti-abortion activist, has been ticketed for violating city code that prohibits parking a vehicle on a street with the purpose of displaying advertising. Dobrowolski was ticketed for parking outside of Planned Parenthood in Ann Arbor with a sign in his car that included information about a facility that provides free ultrasounds. [Source]
Bridge Magazine reports on disparities in health between neighboring Washtenaw and Wayne counties: “The health gap is best summed up in one piece of data: The average Wayne County resident dies at a younger age than residents of any other county in the state. Washtenaw men live an entire U.S. Senate term – six years — longer than Wayne men; the average Washtenaw woman lives 2.7 years longer than her counterpart to the east.” [Source]
James David Dickson, op-ed editor of The Detroit News, reflects on how a University of Michigan degree became more financially inaccessible during president Mary Sue Coleman’s tenure: “There are serious blemishes on Mary Sue Coleman’s record at Michigan. That she tried to eliminate racial disparities in access to higher education, disparities that were consciously created and studiously maintained in Metro Detroit for decades, is not one of them. That the University of Michigan has only become tougher to afford for the broke family of a smart kid during Coleman’s tenure is.” [Source]
WEMU reports on a clash between an update to Ypsilanti’s master plan regarding the long-vacant Water Street site, and a possible Washtenaw County recreation center, which has been proposed for the northwest corner of the property. From the report: “The design team that’s taking public input and converting it into recommendations for council recommends locating the proposed recreation center further south on the parcel, mostly due to the building’s large size and parking requirements.” [Source]
A $110 million donation by Charles Munger will fund a 600-occupant, 8-story graduate student dorm and academic complex at the University of Michigan. The donation is the largest ever received by UM. The dorm will be located on the north side of East Madison Street between South Division and Thompson. As a point of reference, the area covers the location of the current Blimpy Burger building on the west. [Source]
University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman has announced her intent to retire in mid-July of 2014, when her current contract expires. She plans to keep a home in Ann Arbor. The news came during the April 18 meeting of the UM board of regents. [Detroit Free Press] [Detroit News] [University Record]
A post on Discover Michigan features Bill’s Beer Garden, located in the courtyard of Downtown Home & Garden in Ann Arbor: “This is the type of beer place parents can bring their kids to and not feel weird about it. This is a place to simply bring one’s child, hang out with your friends, take in the sunshine, and people watch.” The beer garden opens for the season on May 2. [Source]
In a column published by Bridge Magazine, Natalie Burg writes about her reasons for living in Michigan – despite the belief by many that “the well-educated, career-driven, creative-class Millennial like myself is not found in the wild here in Michigan.” She continues: “Living in Ann Arbor, I’m a quick drive from four major media markets. And lucky me, I write about growth in the state with the most growth potential. As she writes in her book, ‘Lean In,’ Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg believes in choosing employers by their growth potential. Being self-employed, the market in which I work is my employer of sorts, and there couldn’t be a better one than Michigan.” [Source]
An article on Salon reports that Eden Foods, an organic company headquartered south of Ann Arbor, has filed a lawsuit seeking exemption from the federal mandate to cover contraception for its employees under the Affordable Care Act. The company is represented by Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center. From the report: “Eden Foods, which did not respond to a request for comment, says in its filing that the company believes of birth control that ‘these procedures almost always involve immoral and unnatural practices.’” [Source]
The Ann Arbor Schools Musings blog is asking readers to weigh in with their thoughts on Ann Arbor Public Schools superintendent Patricia Green, who announced her resignation this week. One of the open-ended questions asks about qualities that are important for the next superintendent. [Source]
Several media outlets report on the first board meeting of the new Southeast Michigan Region Transit Authority (RTA), held April 10 in downtown Detroit. One of the two Washtenaw County board members – Liz Gerber – was appointed vice chair of the board. Richard Murphy is the other Washtenaw board member, although the board’s chair – Paul Hillegonds, a DTE Energy executive who was appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder – also is a Washtenaw County resident. The RTA is charged with coordinating public transit in Detroit and four counties: Macomb, Oakland, Wayne and Washtenaw. [Source] [Source] [Source]
The Michigan Daily reports that a group of University of Michigan students is mulling the possibility of fielding candidates in Ann Arbor city council races this year. Calling themselves the Mixed Use Party, their platform includes zoning and land use issues, as well as TIF capture. [Source]
A column on BuzzFeed Sports tells the story of how David Barrett’s “One Shining Moment” – written 27 years ago – became the signature song for the NCAA basketball finals. “From the snare drum and piano that opens the segment to a few seconds later, when that familiar 11-note synth-trumpet kicks in, the interplay between words and harmony never veer from Barrett’s original architecture. In fact, despite all the iterations through the years, many of the same musical elements remain from that fall day in 1986, when a handful of men came together in an Ann Arbor studio to record the first song for the first time.” [Source]
As the University of Michigan prepares for the NCAA basketball championship game, New York Times columnist William Rhoden argues that it’s time for UM to reconcile with former Fab Five star Chris Webber: “… Michigan is the parent who took Webber and the Fab Five into the world of big-time college athletics. Indeed, [former UM basketball coach Bill] Frieder said he began recruiting Webber for Michigan when Webber was in seventh grade. The university owes Webber an apology as well.” [Source]
Photographer Myra Klarman has posted some gorgeous images taken at the April 5 FoolMoon festivities in downtown Ann Arbor, including luminaries that fit this year’s theme of “Foo[L]d” (Foolish Food) – a futomaki roll, Moon Pops, cupcakes, bananas, fish and more. As she writes, “a veritable smorgasbord of divine delectables.” [Source]
The Detroit Free Press reports on the annual Hash Bash, held Saturday on the University of Michigan Diag. The article quotes state Rep. Jeff Irwin, a Democrat from Ann Arbor: “… I believe we need to legalize marijuana. The amount of blood and treasure we’ve spilled in this drug war is an embarrassment to our country.” [Source]
Writing for Crain’s Detroit Business, Chris Gautz notes the coincidental timing of Ann Arbor-focused Pure Michigan ads running on cable TV at the same time as the University of Michigan men’s basketball team advances to the NCAA tournament’s Final Four. He quotes Michelle Begnoche, public relations manager for Travel Michigan: “This was planned before Michigan made the Final Four. But it’s a great story for us.” [Source]
The latest post on Nacho Frenzy – a blog focused on “nacho ratings from in-and-around the city of Ann Arbor” – reviews the nachos at Ashley’s: “There’s nothing outright bad about the plate, it’s just very average. I usually enjoy it more than I should because of the above mentioned atmosphere and because I’m usually two beers in by the time I get them.” Other recent posts review nachos at Isalita and the Wurst Bar in Ypsilanti. [Source]
Jonathan Chait’s column in New York Magazine – ”How Did the Michigan Basketball Team Get Good?” – credits coach John Beilein, freshman Mitch McGary, and the fact that the team “stopped playing Big Ten games.” About McGary, Chait writes: “The six-foot-ten, 255-pound freshman spent most of the season coming off the bench and alternating brilliant plays with cringe-inducing, giant-puppy-furniture-crashing mistakes. McGary figured out how to control his spastic tendencies, perhaps induced by his ADHD, and transformed himself into a superstar.” [Source]
The University of Michigan is exploring a possible public-private partnership to run the parking system for its Ann Arbor campus and the UM Health System. The University Record reports that UM has hired Greenhill & Co. to study possible options. [Source]
The Damn Arbor blog reports finding the diploma of a former Ann Arbor mayor while cleaning out the house of a grandparent. [Source]
The Ann Arbor Rotary Club‘s blog highlights the service of Jim Cook, one of the club’s past presidents who recently received the group’s distinguished service award. His accomplishments include service on Rotary’s International Humanitarian Projects Committee, where he led major projects in the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Africa, and South and Central America. Cook has also served as a board member and chair of the Ann Arbor Art Center and Washtenaw Chapter of the Red Cross, and on the board of the Michigan Diabetes Association. [Source]
Damn Arbor highlights the fact that Washtenaw County showed the largest increase in Facebook profile photo changes this week, using the red and pink “equal” sign to support marriage equality. The changes were analyzed by Eytan Bakshy on the Facebook Data Science Team. The Human Rights Campaign had urged Facebook users to change their profile photos on Monday, March 25, as the U.S. Supreme Court began debating two same-sex marriage cases. [Source]
The Michigan Daily provides an update and photos from the extensive flooding at North Quad, caused by a broken joint pipe in the building’s fire suppression system. The flooding affected student residences and classrooms – about 100 students were moved to other quarters. [Source]
The Washtenaw Health Plan has announced open enrollment in April for no- or low-income adults ages 19 through 64. The program is offered by the Michigan Dept. of Human Services and managed locally under the Washtenaw Health Plan as “Plan A.” [Source]
The University of Michigan reports that five unions representing about 11,000 workers have ratified contracts, the longest ones running through June 30, 2018. The unions with new contracts are AFSCME, the Michigan Nurses Association, Graduate Employees’ Organization, Lecturers’ Employee Organization, and House Officers Association. The ratification has occurred prior to March 28, when the state’s right-to-work legislation takes effect. [Source]
