The Times Herald of Port Huron reports on a lawsuit claiming that sidewalks in that community didn’t comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. J. Mark Finnegan, an Ann Arbor attorney representing the plaintiffs, says: “Whenever a government resurfaces streets they have to install curb ramps at all the corners. These curb ramps have to meet very specific federal and state guidelines.” [Source]
Bruce Belzowski, an assistant research scientist at UM’s Transportation Research Institute, comments in a Freep article about pollution in China. [Source]
From the Seattle Times Sideline Chatter column, re. Michigan football academics: “Best rumor making the rounds in Ann Arbor: They paid a tuba player to dot the i’s on their term papers.” [Source]
Chris Ritter was elected president of the Washtenaw County Pheasants Forever, according to a post on the Michigan Sportsman site. “It’s great to see a younger person willing to step up and lead,” the commenter said. [Source]
The Economic Times of India reports on CloudAV, an anti-virus software developed at UM. [Source]
The Wall Street Journal is among many papers nationwide that have picked up the Detroit-mayor-was-jailed story. Today, UM law prof David Moran is quoted in the WSJ article: “Some of the stuff that has gotten the mayor in trouble is unusual. Part of what’s unusual is that public officials who get in trouble often resign, so the troubles don’t keep piling up while they’re in office.” [Source]
Here’s the lead from a Freep article on Kwame’s troubles: “No trip to the Democratic National Convention. No family getaway in Florida. Even Ann Arbor is off-limits for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.” [Source]
In an article on Lake Superior’s water levels, The Sault Star quotes Roger Gauthier, a hydrologist with the Ann Arbor research group the Great Lakes Commission. His research has shown that channel erosion is causing a greater amount of water to leave Lake Huron via the St. Clair River. [Source]
Michigan’s largest cities – Detroit, Grand Rapids and Lansing – are having trouble attracting young professionals, according to research by the Ann Arbor-based Michigan Future Inc. The article by Booth Newspapers’ Rick Haglund is picked up by most of the chain’s newspapers, including The Ann Arbor News. [Source]
A Lansing exhibit featuring Michigan’s female Olympians includes a softball mitt from Jennifer Brundage of Ann Arbor. Brundage was on the U.S. softball team that won gold in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, according to this Lansing State Journal article. [Source]
Newsweek’s annual College Guide includes a list of the “12 Hottest School Rivalries.” UM v OSU shows up under the “Midwest Stars” category. “Michigan is usually higher rated academically and more selective, but Ohio State has a strong graduation rate and the advantage, to many applicants, of being in the heart of Ohio’s largest city, Columbus, with good shopping and dining and other recreational pursuits.” [Source]
On a lazy Saturday August afternoon, there’s still plenty happening on the University of Michigan Diag. This couple chose the steps of the Hatcher Graduate Library as a perfect location to stage a wedding kiss.
From left-to-right: the bride’s white shoes, the parasol holder, the bride and groom locked in a kiss, the photographer lying on her side to get just the right angle, and one of Ann Arbor’s finest pedaling past.
Some questions not answered for Chronicle readers:
Michigan Republican Chairman Saul Anuzis got lots of mileage out of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s book-signing Thursday at the downtown Ann Arbor Borders store. He was interviewed on Fox News by phone before and after crashing the event, and discussed his decision to buy her book – “it’s like a poll tax” – with protesters across the street from the store in a video posted on YouTube. [Source] [Source] [Source]
US News & World Report’s Health Day column reports on a UM study that looked for a genetic marker that could determine a person’s smoking habits. Says Ovide Pomerleau, a UM prof and founder of the Nicotine Research Laboratory: “It appears that for people who have a certain genetic makeup, the initial physical reaction to smoking can play a significant role in determining what happens next.” [Source]
The Ypsi blogger of Yesterday Looks Good posts a roundup of regional transportation issues, after attending a SEMCOG forum recently at Washtenaw Community College. [Source]
The Christian Science Monitor’s Patchwork Nation blog looks how how well McCain communicates with his supporters. Dante Chinni writes: ”One of the biggest surprises in the mailboxes of McCain supporters in Philadelphia; Sioux Center, Iowa; and Ann Arbor, Mich.: the lack of correspondence.” [Source]
As part of its PGA championship coverage at the Oakland Hills Country Club, the Freep reports on the disgruntled Don Simons, a retired teacher from Ann Arbor who says the PGA of America and the World Golf Foundation stole his idea for teaching youngsters lessons about golf and life. “By design or by oversight, someone took my visionary concept,” he says. [Source]
The San Jose Mercury News – its Almeda County edition – looks at the fate of comic book stores. That area includes a Borders store that sells graphic novels in its “Destination” section, and quotes Dan Cain of Borders A2 headquarters: “Borders has put a stake in the ground for graphic novels by making it a Destination. As a comic reader myself, I would be disappointed if Borders chose a different strategy. We recognize our place in the comic book community and are happy to be the first place many customers, young and old, come to feed their interest in comic books.” [Source]
Kristin Dziczek, director of automotive labor and education at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, is quoted in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article about the last day for 900 laid-off workers at a Chrysler Dodge Ram plant in that area. [Source]
Patricia Streeter, a civil rights lawyer from Ann Arbor, is on the team representing prisoners in a lawsuit demanding that the Michigan Dept. of Corrections provide mental health services to inmates, according to CommonDreams.org. Final arguments are to be presented today in the case, which is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in Grand Rapids. [Source]
Ann Arborite Mitch Garner, whose name will be familiar to many local runners, is blogging from Beijing for the Road Runners Club of America. His trip got off to a good start: “This morning, the Nasty Boys, my running group in Ann Arbor, Michigan, presented me with a gift, a “Free Tibet” t-shirt. The shirt was signed by all the NBs and features the Tibetan flag. They encouraged me to wear it when I am in Beijing. To mollify the Chinese security forces, they added the words, “From Unwarranted Western Meddling” below the Tibetan flag.” [Source]
When the Ann Arbor News reported a bicycle-car collision on 25 June 2008 at the intersection of Packard and Wells, it generated considerable online chatter in the WBWC newsgroup. Exact details, especially concerning the outcome of the investigation, were not immediately available. Kris Talley, president of the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition, wrote in a related thread, “I’m especially interested in finding out if the driver who right-hooked the Packard cyclist was ever charged.” [Full Story]
A former Ann Arborite compares life here with life in Syracuse, where she moved about a year ago. Among the top 5 things she misses about Ann Arbor? Michigan Theater, Silvio’s Organic Pizza and Mast Shoes. No. 1 on her list of things to like about Syracuse? Affordable housing. [Source]
Bloomberg News reports on Comcast’s Versus sports channel and ABC splitting the broadcast rights to Indy Racing League events. The article quotes Eric Wright of Ann Arbor-based consultants Joyce Julius & Associates: “Any time you lose a broadcast network it puts sponsors at a bit of a disadvantage. A lot depends on how far Versus wants to go to promote the series.” [Source]
An increasing number of political leaders are calling for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s resignation, now that he’s been jailed. A Freep article on that topic quotes Daniel Gilmartin, executive director of Ann Arbor-based Michigan Municipal League, who wouldn’t take a stand but said “what happens in Detroit is important for the region and for the state.” [Source]
USA Landscape Architect alerts its readers that the Ann Arbor planning commission delayed action on the city’s new master plan. [Source]
Casting calls for a new Kim Cattrall movie will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Aug. 16 at 220 S. Main St. in Ann Arbor, according to an article in the Freep. The film, “Miss January,” also stars Brian Dennehy. [Source]
UM law prof David Moran is quoted in today’s Freep article about Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick waving his right to a preliminary hearing in the text-messaging scandal. [Source]
The author of the Classical Values blog – “End the culture war by restoring classical values” – recently moved to Ann Arbor, and reports from his new basement office. [Source]
The Wall Street Journal runs an analysis of the 2008 economic stimulus checks by Matthew D. Shapiro and Joel Slemrod of the University of Michigan. They conclude that most people put the federal refund into personal savings. [Source]
