New Media Watch Section

Serious Eats reviews the burgers and patty melts at Zingerman’s Roadhouse. The reviewer praises both, but writes: “As good as the burger was, the gut-busting patty melt was better. …The thick slices of rye bread, which naturally comes from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, is simply the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. It’s loaded with flavor, has a particularly thick and chewy crust around a soft interior, and will make virtually any sandwich ever invented taste better. The mountain of grilled onions and wild mushrooms add a sweet and juicy umami bomb to the patty melt, and the baby Swiss from Deppeler Cheese Factory in Monroe, Wisconsin, brings a nice coating of creaminess.” [Source]

Washtenaw County’s public health department has issued a press release to alert residents that four skunks have tested positive for rabies so far in 2012, all found in the city of Ann Arbor. No cases of rabies in humans have been identified. Health officials recommend that all dogs or cats be vaccinated against rabies, and that contact with wild animals or other potentially unvaccinated animals, such as stray or feral cats, be avoided. The release quotes Dick Fleece, the county’s health officer: “We are not alarmed, but we do want to make people aware that this situation exists and advise them to avoid contact with ill animals.” [Source]

Coda to Sunday’s Water Hill Music Fest – a video posted on YouTube of the Tinkerhess family singing Pete Seeger’s “My Rainbow Race” on their front porch. Festival organizers Paul and Claire Tinkerhess are seen on the right. [Source]

The Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber of Commerce weighs in on ballot issues facing voters in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti on Tuesday, May 8. The chamber supports an 0.5 mill tax to fund a $45.8 million technology bond for the Ann Arbor Public Schools. [.pdf of chamber position statement on AAPS bond] But the chamber opposes two ballot proposals in Ypsilanti: (1) a 1% income tax on businesses and residents, and an 0.5% income tax on non-residents; and (2) a tax to cover $18.2 million in payments related to the Water Street project – 4.94 mills to be levied in 2012, and an estimated simple average annual millage rate of 5.40 mills. [.pdf of chamber position statement on Ypsilanti ... [Full Story]

A video of the entire April 28, 2012 University of Michigan commencement ceremony at Michigan Stadium has been posted on UM’s website. In addition to the various speeches given at the event – including the main address by CNN chief medical correspondent and UM alumnus Sanjay Gupta, the 1 hour, 24 minute video includes shots of many graduates and faculty trying to hang on to their caps in the gusting winds. [Source]

In advance of a mid-May conference of the national Business Alliance for Local Living Economies in Grand Rapids, Mark Maynard posts a wide-ranging email interview with BALLE board member Paul Saginaw, co-founder of Zingerman’s. Much of the interview focuses on the broad issue of support for local, independent businesses, but in response to a question about a possible Zingerman’s operation in Ypsilanti, Saginaw writes: ”It would actually be easier and more realistic to move our Mail Order operation to Ypsi, and that is a possibility. I still would really like to have a Zingerman’s presence in Ypsilanti and I believe that it will happen at some point. Although I do worry about being viewed as an unwanted outsider.” [... [Full Story]

On her blog Mae Travels, Mae Sander has posted some  photos taken yesterday (April 18) of the new Argo Dam bypass, dubbed by the city “Argo Cascades.”  Sander writes, “Some of the narrow places look a bit rough – we’ll wait and see how it is when canoe season really starts. This is going to also be a great path for bikes or walking: both wonderful sports in Ann Arbor.”  [Source]

In a video posted on YouTube, the Second City comedy troupe parodies a recent controversial Burger King commercial featuring Mary J. Blige. Nyima Funk, who grew up in Ann Arbor, plays the role of Blige. Funk is the daughter of Wendy Woods, city planning commissioner and former city councilmember, and Ron Woods, an Eastern Michigan University professor and Ann Arbor housing commissioner. [Source]

Writing on his Common Monkeyflower blog, Richard Murphy makes a proposal that he describes as a starting point for discussion: Ypsilanti “should hand out $10,000 cash grants to people who purchase, fix up, and occupy vacant and foreclosed homes. Why? Because it’s a net fiscal gain for the city.” Murphy uses properties owned by Ypsilanti landlord David Kircher as a case study for this proposal. His conclusion: “Even if we’re only looking at tax revenues, the city can expect between a 10% and 40% annual return on this investment.” [Source]

A post on the State Bar of Michigan blog includes a five-minute video of Soultivity, an R&B band of attorneys from Ann Arbor. The band has advanced to the final round of the American Bar Association’s Battle of the Lawyer Bands Contest. Online voting that’s taking place until June 1 will determine the winner. [Source]

Several University of Michigan executives and faculty members respond to news of journalist Mike Wallace’s death, in a posting on the University Record. Wallace, a UM alumnus, had several deep connections to the university. He served as honorary co-chair of the Michigan Difference Campaign, which raised more than $3 billion, and was a key donor to the Knight-Wallace Fellows, a UM program for mid-career journalists. He provided funding and the house where the program is located at 620 Oxford St., known as the Mike and Mary Wallace House. From UM president Mary Sue Coleman’s statement: ”Society will remember Mike Wallace as a dedicated, hard-charging journalist. At the University of Michigan, we know him as that and so much more. He … [Full Story]

The motto of the website Michigan Gifs is “Demonstrating the Michigan Difference, one gif at a time.” One gif – a short video clip – shows a possible response to the statement “When you overhear someone talking about Frita Batidos and you turn around like …” [Source] Frita’s is an Ann Arbor restaurant on West Washington owned by chef Eve Aronoff.

The Center for Michigan’s Bridge magazine publishes an op-ed co-authored by Glenn Nelson, a trustee of the Ann Arbor Public Schools board, and Brit Satchwell, president of the Ann Arbor Education Association. They argue that Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed budget “strikes a new low in the priority given to public K-12 education. The consequences for our children are devastating.” In a counterpoint essay, Snyder contends that he and the legislative majority “made the tough, but necessary, decision to ‘rebase’ the [K-12] foundation allowance in the current-year budget. This move was critical in getting the budget back in structural balance.” [Source]

A post on the Water Hill Music Fest’s website credits James Gotts for pointing out a Robert Frost poem – “Evening in a Sugar-Orchard,” written while Frost was living in Ann Arbor – that mentions Water Hill. An excerpt: “I thought a few might tangle (as they did/ Among bare maple boughs and in the rare/ Water Hill atmosphere not cease to glow/ And so be added to the moon up there.” This year’s festival is set for Sunday, May 6 from 2-6 p.m., with a rain date of May 13. [Source]

A 2.37-minute video of Friday night’s FoolMoon festivities has been posted on YouTube, featuring jellyfish, skull and lip luminaries, and a shadow puppet. [Source]

On her Relish blog, Myra Klarman features photographs of preparations for the Friday, March 30 FoolMoon festivities as well as the Sunday, April 1 FestiFools parade and related events. She also gives some advice: “What happens if it rains Friday night? The good word is that FoolMoon will embrace the weather conditions. The event will go on rain or (moon)shine, and I find this ‘can do’ attitude very refreshing, even Foolhardy (with emphasis on hardy). Some of the features may have to be tweaked and brought under shelter – I’m excited to see how it all plays out. Got any fish lanterns from last year? I hear those would love to come out and play in the rain. … [Full Story]

The Daily Texan posts a video of Ann Arbor’s Violin Monster playing on the streets of Austin. In an interview, the VM talks about the support he gets from the Ann Arbor community, and his plans to return home. [Source]

Saline mayor Gretchen Driskell announced on Facebook her plans to run for state representative in District 52, a seat now held by Republican Mark Ouimet. Driskell, a Democrat, stated: ”I am running for State Representative because I believe the people in our communities have not been adequately represented. Lansing has cut education funding, community development programs, and put business before people.” She plans a campaign kickoff party on Tuesday, March 27 at Mangiamo restaurant, 105 W. Michigan Ave. in Saline from 7-9 p.m. [Source]

Mae’s Food Blog highlights the current Fluxus exhibit at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, which runs through May 20: “Marcel Duchamp is a favorite of mine, so I enjoyed this exhibit of his followers, and appreciate that some like Claes Oldenburg and Daniel Spoerri produced work outside the confines of Fluxus.” One of Oldenburg’s works in the exhibit is titled “False Food Prototype for Rubber Food Fluxkit.” [Source]

Writing in a post on the Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark website, FAAS president Trevor Staples gives a brief update on the group’s progress, estimating that construction on the skatepark will start in early spring of 2013. He writes: ”Next week, in collaboration with the City of Ann Arbor, and the Washtenaw County Parks Commission, we’ll be sending out a press release with more details of the process. We’re hoping that the press release will spark news stories, so that everyone in our community will know what’s going on with the skatepark. Thanks for your continued patience. We’re working (volunteering) our tails off to make this happen. Remember that we want this thing as bad as you do.” [Source]

Andy Fowler has posted to Flickr a set of photographs he took from a flyover of the area of Dexter that suffered damage from the tornado that struck on March 15, 2012. [Source]

With her regular constituent update, Ward 1 councilmember Sabra Briere has included a link to a report on a survey she recently conducted on the topic of transit. Around 70 people responded. The report includes several cross tabs of different questions. For example, of those who said that a local transit system that served Washtenaw County would be good for Ann Arbor, 72% also said that  local mass transit should be primarily for commuting. [Source]

A Pure Michigan TV ad – to be used in a national campaign featuring Ann Arbor – has been posted on YouTube. [Source] The $1 million ad campaign is being coordinated by the Michigan Economic Development Corp., and includes $200,000 in funding from Washtenaw County that was allocated at the county board of commissioners’ Feb. 15, 2012 meeting.

Sharon Carty, a journalist who lives in Dexter, describes how her neighborhood has pulled together in the wake of Thursday’s tornado. The essay was published by the Dexter Patch. Carty writes: ”There were a lot of hugs. A lot of tears. A lot of people checking in on friends. My eight-year-old son’s best friend, Katie, came by as soon as she could to make sure he was OK. As the firemen went around checking on homes, tying yellow caution tape around doorknobs of homes that checked out OK, friends went around also touching base. People touched each other on the elbow or shoulder. ‘Are you guys OK?’ ‘Everyone safe?’ ‘What can I do for you?’” [Source]

Matthew Altruda posted a video on YouTube showing a tornado as it passed by Hudson Mills Metropark in Dexter at about 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 15. [Source]

Interlochen Public Radio airs an interview  with Chronicle columnist Laura Bien based on her recent piece, “In the Archives: From Cordword to Caviar” [source]

A post on the PETA Prime website reviews a selection of Ann Arbor restaurants that serve vegan fare, including Jazzy Veggie, The Lunch Room, Ayse’s Café, Silvio’s Organic and several others. Here’s the review of Seva: “The cheery setting of this all-vegetarian restaurant invites hanging out whether you’re dressed up or in jeans. I didn’t share the locals’ passion for Seva’s yam fries, although the gingery dipping sauce rocked. I’d return in a heartbeat for the ginger dairy-free cream tart as well as the salad of minced roasted peanuts, kale, carrots, red peppers, and peanut-cider vinaigrette.”  [Source]

Mark Maynard interviews Donald Harrison, executive director of the Ann Arbor Film Festival, as a preview to this year’s 50th anniversary. In response to a question about the festival’s niche, Harrison says: ”Our niche is short films, artist-made films, personal films, experimental films and films that venture beyond the usual independent art house fare. We also present live film/music/media performances and video art installations (this year we’re lighting up more than 50 screens with moving image art throughout Ann Arbor). We’re not an industry-driven event focused on the deal or premiere or celebrity; we’re an artist and audience-driven event focused on connecting those to each other, creating a welcoming atmosphere and a fun, festive celebration.” [Source]

The Humane Society of Huron Valley posted a video on YouTube celebrating its 500th pet adoption of 2012 – a 7-year-old cat name Bella. [Source]

Writing on the Hand Sown Farm blog, Megan DeLeeuw describes a recent tour she took of organic farms in Washtenaw County, including Community Farm of Ann Arbor, Sunseed Farm and the Tilian Farm Development Center. DeLeeuw writes: ”For the first time since we started our farm I felt like a part of something larger after taking the time to look around. I am committed to visiting more farms and also finding ways that we might all work cooperatively to create a strong sustainable food system.” [Source]