Archive for January, 2009

In  a couple of recent stories we spelled some names wrong.  Jeff Kahan is  a city of Ann Arbor planner.  We note the error here and have corrected it in the [original story]. We also spelled Dave Konkle’s name wrong.  He was until summer the energy coordinator for the city of Ann Arbor.  We note the mistake here and have corrected it in the  [original story].

The Detroit News reports that police recruiters from Anchorage will be in Ann Arbor next week, hoping to entice officers to move. They’re targeting towns like Ann Arbor, where layoffs are possible, according to the article. Says James A. Tignanelli, president of the Police Officers Association of Michigan:  ”I don’t think guys are going to be considering Alaska just because they are really into hunting or Fort Lauderdale because they like beaches. They are going to take those jobs because they think they’d better go. If you are 10, maybe even 30 from the bottom of the seniority list in a place like Ann Arbor, you’re looking.” [Source]

A New York Times article looks at the increasing number of Americans who are reading fiction, based on a National Endowment for the Arts report. The article quotes Elizabeth Birr Moje, a UM education professor who specializes in literacy, language and culture: ”It’s just a blip. If you look at trend data, you will always see increases and decreases in people’s literate practices.” [Source]

This YouTube video captures “weird snow over stormdrain” in Ann Arbor following this weekend’s snowstorm. [Source]

The Conservative Media blog highlights the Library of Michigan’s 2009 Michigan Notable Books list, which includes “‘Jiffy’ A Family Tradition: Mixing Business and Old-Fashioned Values” by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds (Chelsea Milling Company, distributed by University of Michigan Press). The Library of Michigan says of the book: “In this well-crafted history of the Chelsea-based company that has become an icon of Americana, Reynolds perfectly blends the story of the company, the family that owned it and the charming Washtenaw County town that supported it.” [Source]

A post on the Ann Arbor Designs blog gives some thoughts on the economic downturn: “Hopefully we have learned that financials will never be predictable nor always giving, because they are driven by human beings. The trick is to settle with the nonproductive as well as the non-devastating. Times can be just as challenging when life is simply idle. What I hope that we do during these times of neither sinking nor swimming, is think and prepare. Let’s take this unproductive time as a gift of preparation.” [Source]

A post on Mother’s Kitchen gives a shout out to the humble meatloaf: “Another great meatloaf can be found at Seitz’s Tavern in Chelsea, MI. If you haven’t ever been there, I highly recommend it. It’s an old timey bar like my grandpa used to hang out in, complete with beer offerings like Blatz or Black Label, and plenty of taxidermy hanging on the wall. Every day at lunch they offer some homemade sandwiches like Limburger cheese, liverwurst or hamburgers, plus one entree that varies each day. I can’t remember what day featured meatloaf, but I got it there once when I was playing hooky from the office and it’s been on my mind ever since. The bartender proudly told me that his secret ingredient was … [Full Story]

Once inside the Wheeler Service Center on Stone School Road, it was easy to find the city council retreat location.

At its budget retreat held on Saturday at the Wheeler Service Center, city council set out its priorities for the coming year: land use policy (i.e., zoning), economic sustainability, plus improved communication and service delivery.

This, after getting a picture of where the city stands from the city administrator, Roger Fraser, and his key staff: unless expenditures are reduced or else revenues increased, the city will experience a shortfall of revenue against expenditures starting in fiscal year 2010. Staff also outlined some significant projects that the public will start to see implemented or else be expected to help shape in the coming year. Those include increased use of web technologies (e.g., Facebook), more zoning revisions, possible dam removal, and regional coordination of safety services.

Fraser also offered conceptual drawings of a conference center that could be built on top of the proposed Fifth Avenue underground parking garage, and floated the idea of constructing a roof over Fourth Avenue for a bus station to replace the Blake Transit Center. The retreat took place in a workroom outfitted with one of 11 plasma screens that had recently caught the attention of an auditor, because they had been purchased in a manner inconsistent with city guidelines on credit card use. [Full Story]

The board of the Homegrown Local Food Festival has organized a Local Food Summit for Thursday, Jan. 29 at Matthaei Botanical Gardens: “Many positive changes are already happening with our sustainable farms, community gardens, schools, artisan producers, businesses, groceries, restaurants, and non-profits. These are indicators of the potential that a vigorous local food system has for our community’s improved health and economy. But many of us are not aware of the work OR the needs and resources of the others. And not everyone who should be involved currently is involved.” Registration is required. [Source]

In the Cleveland Plain Dealer, John Alden, an archaeologist associated with UM’s Museum of Anthropology, reviews “Black Market Truth,” a mystery about “ancient texts, Dionysian cults and Aristotle” by Sharon Kaye. Writes Alden: ”If reading Aristotle put you to sleep in college, reading Kaye’s fictional versions of his lost dialogues will be no improvement. The author does offer a well-plotted incursion into a Moscow mansion, and Kaye does a fine job of showing how cyberspace avatars might be used to carry out real-world crimes. But then there is a prostitute angling to run Athens’ School for Courtesans who tells Aristotle that she has ‘a lot of networking to do’ if she’s to get the job. … And every few pages some italicized thought – … [Full Story]

The New York Times writes about GM’s decision to make lithium-ion battery packs for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt at a facility in Warren. The article quotes Brett Smith, assistant director for manufacturing, engineering and technology at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor: “Automakers cannot afford the batteries until they can be produced in a certain volume. But they can’t be produced in volume until the companies make a big manufacturing investment. The timing of that investment becomes critical – if you jump in too early you could end up on the bleeding edge rather than the leading edge.” [Source]

Frances Wang (Photo courtesy of Mark Bialek.)

It all started when my husband first asked me to marry him.

I said, “Under one condition, that we never live in the Midwest.”

I knew from experience how hard it can be to grow up as a minority, and I knew I wanted my children to grow up on the West Coast or in Asia so that they would not have to grow up as minorities, and so that they would not always be “the only one.” I hoped to spare them the angst of wrestling, as I did, with who they are, what they are, and how they fit in, and make sure that they develop a strong sense of identity, culture, and pride. [Full Story]

The New York Times publishes a letter to the editor from Bob Faber of Ann Arbor, who describes the advantage of trains over cars: ”Now, when traveling to Chicago from Ann Arbor, I can read, use my computer, nap and snack, knowing that any one of these activities in the automobile would have very unpleasant consequences. It’s a good idea to fix the potholes, but let’s put the real money into the railroad.” [Source]

Robert Axelrod of Huron High. His break dance earned him a spot in the Jan. 17 FutureStars 2009 finals.

When The Chronicle covered a dress rehearsal of Pioneer Theatre Guild’s “Miss Saigon” last fall, many people we met backstage urged us to check out their annual FutureStars show too, and we marked our calendars. That date rolled around this weekend, when FutureStars 2009 kicked off with a total of four shows on Friday and Saturday, leading up to the blowout finale next Saturday, Jan. 17. [confirm date]

FutureStars is modeled after the pop culture phenomenon American Idol, minus the Simon Cowell acerbity. It’s a talent show, primarily of singers but with some dance performances tossed into the mix, too. In fact, one of the crowd favorites from Friday’s students-only show was a 6-foot-4 break dancer, Robert Axelrod from Huron High School. He’s advancing to the finals. [Full Story]

Scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. last Thursday, a vigil organized by Michigan Peaceworks and the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice had people filling all four corners of Liberty and Main streets in downtown Ann Arbor. The vigil was organized to call attention to the military violence in Gaza, with organizers calling for an immediate ceasefire. When I arrived around 6:45 p.m. it was apparent from the signage and the shouts that some of the demonstrators had taken a more strident position than the vigil organizers had likely hoped for. [Full Story]

The Detroit News lists 50 ideas for activities to do under $50. Several suggestions in Ann Arbor include the Ann Arbor Swing Dance Association, the Putt N Glow Recreation Center, and Sunday bowling at Colonial Lanes. [Source]

Saline’s mayor, Gretchen Driskell, writes on her blog The Butterfly Effect about a long-time Saline business that will soon be closing its doors: “I chose The Calico Cat because Marsha Duncan was one of our first retailers in Saline. She started in Manchester over 30 years ago and moved to Saline over 25 yrs ago to the store she is in today. Then she expanded to have 2 stores in Saline by doing an incredible job renovating the Methodist Church (she even used some of the church doors for her display cabinets!)…We will so miss Marsha, Jim, the great gift selections and their wonderful stories and friendliness.” [Source]

The March to Madness blog describes a recent road trip by Michigan’s basketball team: ”Michigan squeaked past hapless Indiana, 72-66 in overtime, on Wednesday night in Bloomington, then the real headache began. The Wolverines’ charter plane had a mechanical problem and the team had to take a bus. The bus wasn’t prepared for the 300-plus-mile trip to Ann Arbor and had to stop in Indianapolis for fuel and a driver change. In challenging weather conditions, the bus rolled toward Ann Arbor and finally arrived on campus at 4:30 a.m.” [Source]

The author of My Baking Addition blog raves about the Baker’s Nook, a Saline bakery that also sells baking-related products online: “I am an avid online shopper and in the countless orders I have made throughout the last 10 years I have never received customer service like I experienced with shopbakersnook.com. I had a shipment confirmation in my mailbox within two hours of placing the order AND it arrived on my doorstep within 2 days. Everything was packed beautifully and arrived in excellent condition.” She’s having a giveaway of some Baker’s Nook products on her site. [Source]

The information has not yet uploaded for this evening’s forecast “snow event,” but the city’s website has a snow-plowing information page that provides some insight into when plows might be headed your direction. [Thanks to Ward 4 council representative Margie Teall for the heads up, which came via Ed Vielmetti.] [Source]

The DDA board heard from the public on the topic of snow removal downtown, including the person attached to this foot, whose holiday gifts included some pullover gadgets with non-slip metal coils.

Downtown Development Authority Board (Jan. 7, 2009) The Main Street Area Association had hoped for a year-long delay in the parking rate increases that were approved by the DDA board at its Nov. 5 meeting. But after discussing that possibility – and the borrowing of $3.65 million from the TIF fund that the year’s delay would require – the board left their original proposal intact. However, it will not be put before city council for final approval on Jan. 20, as originally planned.

Instead, the rate hike, which is part of the same packet of materials as the Fifth Avenue underground parking garage project, will be placed on the agenda for the second council meeting in February. The board settled on this delay when mayor of the city of Ann Arbor, John Hieftje (who serves on the DDA board in that capacity) announced that the council’s budget and finance committee had indicated a preference to see that packet delayed until February. Hieftje warned that if it were placed on the Jan. 20 agenda, it would simply be postponed by city council. [Full Story]