The Ann Arbor Business Review reports that both the Ann Arbor District Library and the People’s Food Co-op are looking at vacant retail space at Liberty Lofts (formerly the Eaton manufacturing site), on the corner of Liberty and First. [Source] The Chronicle previously reported that, during a presentation to the DDA, library director Josie Parker mentioned they’d need to move during the main library’s upcoming renovation.
Cover art for the "Freshman in the Kitchen" cookbook. Max Sussman, who lives in Ann Arbor, is the brother on the right.
When The Chronicle called Max Sussman one evening earlier this week, he was cooking ratatouille.
“Ratatouille” isn’t a dish his target market is likely to know about (though maybe they’ve seen the movie). But Max and his brother Eli are hoping to change that. The mission – to get their generation comfortable with (or ideally, even excited about) cooking.
To do that, they’ve written “Freshman in the Kitchen: From Clueless Cook to Creative Chef.” Max, who lives in Ann Arbor, worked a booth at last weekend’s Kerrytown BookFest, and was heartened by the response. “Some people bought two or three copies” to give as gifts, he said. “I didn’t know if we’d sell any.”
The New York Times runs a lengthy obituary for Mary Dunn, a well-known and beloved teacher of Iyengar yoga. Dunn’s mother, Mary Palmer, was herself a yoga pioneer and still lives in Ann Arbor. The family commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design the Palmer House, which was put on the market earlier this year. [Source]
WXYZ (Channel 7 Action News) gives a brief report on today’s chemical spill at National City Bank, on the corner of Main and Huron. They’ve got a video clip taken from their copter, giving an overhead view of the scene. [Source]
The Radical School Buzz blog posts a link to a WEMU report on the Ypsilanti School Board’s proposal to lobby Lansing for more funding. The Buzz adds this commentary: “This is a step in the right direction towards local districts demanding funding for education. However, I think it’s far to timid. Perhaps, if workers, students and parents can actively support the Ypsilanti District’s desperate little bleat and build a movement to force lawmakers to respond, we’ll actually make some progress.” [Source]
Crain’s Detroit Business reports that Washtenaw County arts and cultural groups were awarded grants totaling $566,800 by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs for fiscal 2009. Of that, $206,700 went to the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor. [Source]
The UM College Democrats blog, Kicking Ass in Ann Arbor, reports on the appearance of actors Kal Penn and Jurnee Smollett at the Diag yesterday, speaking to about 400 students for a voter registration drive. Several photos are posted, too. [Source]
The pumpkins are back on the parkway corner!
Kerry Johnson of the Cupcake Station left a voicemail for The Chronicle reporting that difficulties in scheduling of required city inspections has delayed the opening of Cupcake Station by one week. The 500 free cupcakes mentioned in a previous Chronicle piece will be given away on Friday, Sept. 19, not tomorrow as previously reported. Inspections are now complete and Johnson is confident the store will open next week.
Four cars and a bike at William and S. 1st. Everybody obeyed the law. Full stops. Turn signals. Todo.
Sports columnist Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier-Journal looks at the upcoming game between Michigan and Notre Dame, and slams ND coach Charlie Weis for backing away from his statement earlier this year, “To hell with Michigan.” Bozich writes: “I’d have more respect for Weis if he would have said this: ‘Yeah, I said it. And I meant it. I don’t like Michigan. Never have. Never will. We’re going to kick their fannies back to Ann Arbor. To hell with anybody that has a problem with that.’” [Source]
WWJ-950 picks up an AP report that Black Enterprise magazine has named Ann Arbor as one of the seven best places in America for retirees. The rankings considered quality of life, health care, taxes, leisure activities, climate and culture. [Source]
The duffel bag containing ballots from precinct 5-4.
Early Tuesday, the lower-level conference room of the County Building at 200 N. Main was filled with the scent of freshly-groomed election inspectors, board of canvassers members, candidates and their volunteer observers, county workers, plus the odor of institutional coffee wafting from a big silver urn. The combination amounted to a distinctive smell, which The Chronicle loves … the smell of democracy in the morning. [Full Story]
Scot Graden, superintendent of Saline Area Schools, posted a recap of the Sept. 9 board meeting on his blog. He notes that the board’s next meeting, on Sept. 23, will be a joint meeting with the Saline City Council – the first time this has happened in at least 12 years. “It will be a great time for us to discuss shared issues and options for collaboration in the future.” [Source]
Panel presentation at Impact 2008. From left: Moderator Bev Seiford, Roger Fraser, Bob Guenzel, Bill Miller, Todd Roberts and John Petz.
Collaboration – the benefits and the challenges – took center stage on Wednesday at Impact 2008, a gathering of community leaders and others hoping to shape Washtenaw County’s future.
The half-day event looked at two areas – local government and schools – and after an overview session, the 200 or so participants split into breakout groups focused on those topics. The Chronicle, noting that Ann Arbor News reporter Liz Cobbs was covering the schools session, veered into the breakout group on local government, led by Ann Arbor City Administrator Roger Fraser and Washtenaw County Administrator Bob Guenzel.
Overheard @ Busch’s: “I can live on ramen noodles all month. You can do anything for a month.”
Great Harvest Bread Company is giving out free samples of bread, granola, and other good-looking sweets in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library lobby.
The RelaxStation is enclosing its open-air courtyard.
The Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal profiles Bob Fisher, a former Ohio State fan who “converted” into a UM fanatic because back in the day, tickets to Michigan Stadium were easier to get. The basement of his Ohio home is now a shrine to Michigan football. “I’d take different people (to Michigan games) and try to convert them. I think I have a conversion rate of about 97 percent.” [Source]
The Freep reports that a Livonia couple is appealing a decision by the state’s insurance commissioner, who let Blue Cross Blue Shield raise rates on average 15.2 percent for people who buy individual policies. Ann Arbor attorney Joe Aoun represents the couple. [Source]
Brian Rooney of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor is quoted in a San Diego Union-Tribune article about whether a teacher could hang banners in the classroom saying “In God We Trust,” “God Bless America” and other sayings. The center represents the teacher in a lawsuit filed against the school, which made him take the banners down. [Source]
Ann Arbor News columnist Geoff Larcom, center, talks with Julia Eisendrath and Jonathan Martin during Tuesday evening's reception for Knight-Wallace Fellows.
Journalists from across the globe gathered Tuesday evening in the terraced backyard of the Wallace House, mingling with guests from UM and the community to kick off this year’s Knight-Wallace Fellows program.
Each year, about 20 mid-career journalists are picked for the eight-month program, coming to Ann Arbor to live and study a topic of their choice. They take a leave of absence from their jobs, receive a stipend and get access to UM resources.
Last year, Ann Arbor News reporter Tracy Davis was selected for the program, studying globalization and world ecology. This year, columnist Geoff Larcom will research the psychology of leadership.
The LA Times reports on recent UM research showing that cracked sidewalks and broken curbs seriously hinder mobility for senior citizens and people with disabilities. The study’s lead author, Philippa Clarke of UM’s Institute for Social Research, says: ”Just improving sidewalks, streets and curbs could postpone and maybe even prevent disability in groups at high risks.” [Source]
On the Wake Up, Washtenaw! blog, Larry Krieg of Ypsilanti writes: “I recently came back from a month teaching in Mexico. Gave me a chance to think about cities and how people organize them. While there’s a lot we don’t want to emulate about Mexican cities, there’s also a lot we can learn from them.” He includes observations about city growth, open space and transportation. [Source]
councilmember Mike Anglin pedaling his bike on his way home;
There’s an asphalt path that runs from the entrance to Gallup Park along Geddes westward toward the Arb. Along the way it becomes a sidewalk.
Geddes Ridge private development near the entrance to Gallup Park on Geddes Road.
Two weeks ago I pedaled east out Geddes Road to the Gallup Park entrance in search of a bench – or possibly just a plaque – that indicated the path was created in memory of someone. Even though I’d run past that marker many times, I no longer had a clear recollection whether it was a bench or a plaque, much less the actual name of … [Full Story]
Ann Arbor City Councilman Stephen Kunselman, right, works his day job as one of the organizers of this year's UM Energy Fest. He was talking with Rick Richter, who coincidentally is the second person in Ann Arbor awarded a permit to keep backyard chickens. That takes energy, too.
The sun was out for Tuesday’s 13th annual Energy Fest on the University of Michigan Diag, an event that drew students, faculty and other passers-by with the allure of giveaways (who doesn’t want another reusable grocery bag?) and information.
The centerpiece of the Energy Fest was the distinctive yellow Solar Car, parked prominently in the middle of the Diag.
Jeff Rogers, a senior majoring in computer science, has worked on the Solar Car Team four years, and was part of the crew that won this year’s North American Solar Challenge, a 3,862-km race from Texas to Calgary. His job was to ride in the lead support vehicle, monitoring data on a computer that was fed in from the solar car.
The data was important for both strategy and safety, he explained. With lithium-based batteries, “if you abuse them, they’ll explode.”
Today’s recount of votes for the August Democratic primary for the Ward 5 city council seat has confirmed that votes for Carsten Hohnke outnumbered those for Vivienne Armentrout. [Full Story]
In an Old Media Watch item, we cited a quote from Doug Lewis, director of UM’s student legal services, in the original publication (Daily Collegian of Penn State) that claimed Eastern Michigan University had no student legal services. That claim is disputed by commenters at EMUTalk.org. We make note of it here, as well as in the original Chronicle Old Media Watch item.
Marking the start of the 2008 Annual Conference of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds in Detroit, a Detroit News article gives an outlook for venture capital investments in the state, which is generally positive. The article quotes Jeff Williams, CEO of Ann Arbor-based Handylab: “There is a lot of enthusiasm for 2009.” [Source]
