Archive for August, 2008

John Stoll of the Wall Street Journal’s Detroit bureau has a long interview with UM football coach Rich Rodriguez. [Source]

The author of Crystal Clear Conservative is soliciting questions to ask “Queen Rat Pelosi” during her book-signing tonight at the Ann Arbor Borders: “I am probably stopping by to ask Q.R. Pelosi a few questions or protest by holding up a sign that says, ‘Queen Pelosi, why do you refuse to address the real issues Americans are facing?  Drill Here and Drill Now!’” [Source]

The Freep features actor, writer and director Malcolm Tulip to preview Tulip’s comedy, “The Day Everything Went Wrong,” which debuts this weekend at Performance Network in Ann Arbor. [Source]

Cinema Minima out of LA posts the Ann Arbor Film Festival’s call for entries. This year, the festival has a “green submission initiative.” [Source]

Anne Schieber of the Grand Rapids NBC affiliate WOOD-TV8 posts an item regarding speed studies done by Jim Walker, an Ann Arbor consultant who is “challenging the myth that lower speed limits make safer roads.”[Source]

The Chelsea Standard reports on a billboard along US-23 near Milan that honors Scott Kalitta, the local drag racing champion who died in a crash earlier this summer. It was put up by the local office of Adams Outdoor Advertising, which is located near the Kalitta Motorsports office in Ypsilanti. [Source]

State Sen. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor) is co-author of an op/ed piece in today’s Traverse City Record-Eagle. The essay advocates for an easing of restrictions on absentee voting. [Source]

Jennifer Santi Hall, DDA chair and vice-chair of the A2 Greenbelt Advisory Commission, posts a laudatory report on the Great Lakes Law blog about John Hiefje’s re-election as mayor. Hall is also the wife of the blog’s author, UM visiting prof Noah Hall. [Source]

The Detroit News quotes Alexander Young, chef and managing partner of Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, for an article about heirloom tomatoes: ”The uglier the better as long as they are not damaged,” he says. “They grow in all sorts of different shapes.” [Source]

With the title “Yet More Reasons to Love Ann Arbor, Michigan….” you kind of know what you’re going to get on this Eiler Communications blog post. [Source]

This post is most intriguing for what it doesn’t reveal – what’s being rebranded? At any rate, it ends like this:

“Indonesia?”

“They were very cooperative.”

“Australia?”

“They prefer hazmat, so definitely no.”

“… Ann Arbor is nice.”

Yes, their business model is perfect.”

[crossing my fingers under the table]

“So… Ann Arbor?”

[Source]

Entrepreneur magazine named Ann Arbor Spark’s Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund as one of the top 100 venture capital firms for early stage companies. The fund – managed by the local economic development agency partnering with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the state’s SmartZones –made four deals in 2007. [Source]

The author of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Gallery blog – “dedicated to the world’s two best ingredients” – writes a long post about her road trip to visit Zingerman’s Deli and Bakehouse. She plans a separate post on Wednesday devoted to a review of the Zzang Bar. [Source]

A recent Ann Arbor News article caught the eye of CalTech prof Michael Alvarez, who contributes to a blog about election reform, technology and administration. The original article interviewed Washtenaw County Clerk Larry Kestenbaum about possibly inflated voter rolls. [Source]

Today’s Green Lantern column looks at the environmental impact of renting DVDs via Netflix versus your local video store. It cites a study published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology analyzing that comparison for an Ann Arbor consumer. [Source]

David Cole, head of the Center for Automotive Research, comments on Barack Obama’s recent goal of putting 1 million hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015. “There’s no question in my mind that plug-in hybrids … have tremendous potential,” he says, “but that’s a real stretch.” [Source] 

“Detroit needs help, big time,” Sean McAlinden, chief economist for Ann Arbor’s Center for Automotive Research, tells the Freep’s Tom Walsh. The column reports on how GM, Ford and Chrysler are lobbying Congress for up to $40 billion in low-interest loans to “survive.” [Source]

CAR’s David Cole is quoted in an article about the future of Chrysler. “Chrysler has always been known as a lean and resourceful company,” Cole said. “They will be pressed here, but they can emerge as a fundamentally sound company if they can get past this mass hysteria.” [Source]

The newly-planted trees at the surface parking lot created in place of the old YMCA building, which was demolished earlier this year, sport green bags at the base of their trunks. Most casual observers might guess the bags are used for watering. In this case, a guess based on a casual observation is … exactly right.

What’s not as easily guessed is that these Treegator® slow release watering … [Full Story]

Four Square Society gives an update on bloggers Sal and Lacea’s first gardening attempt, at a Growing Hope plot in Ypsilanti’s West Middle School Community Garden. [Source]

WEMU’s David Fair has a segment on the contentious Washtenaw County Sheriff’s race, while the station’s Andrew Cluley reports on the Ann Arbor City Council primaries. [Source] [Source]

Ever wonder what two teenaged boys do to kill time around Ann Arbor waiting for their pizza to be delivered? [Source]

MGoBlue, the site for Michigan football, is posting a video each day “giving U-M fans a behind-the-scenes look at Michigan football as it gears up for the 2008 season.” [Source]

Adam Rittenberg posts part 2 of an interview with Scott Shafer, Michigan’s new defensive coordinator. [Source]

The Detroit station reports that Gov. Granholm will hold a ceremonial signing of the Great Lakes Compact in Ann Arbor today at 3:15 p.m. It’s unclear where in Ann Arbor this is taking place. [Source]

Talking Points Memo columnist M.J. Rosenberg gives a reality check for Obama fans: “I think there is a 50% chance Obama will win, but no more than that. All the young folks around these part who think that America is post-racial need to get out more – out of Manhattan, Ann Arbor or Cambridge.” [Source]

This A2 resident, author of the Econ Jeff blog, reports getting a postcard from a local Realtor regarding the Frank Lloyd Wright house that’s up for sale. The message: “… if you are outside and approached by someone who asks you for directions to the home, please tell them you have no idea where the house is located.” [Source]