Archive for March, 2009

University of Michigan Board of Regents (March 19, 2009): Much of this month’s meeting of the University of Michigan Board of Regents was spent hearing from students who were advocating for three issues: A coordinated sustainability effort on campus, a tuition freeze, and UM’s investment in HEI Hotels & Resorts.

UM regent Libby Maynard talks with Bob Kelch, the university's executive vice president for medical affairs, before the March 19 Board of Regents meeting. Kelch is retiring from that position, and his replacement, Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, will be starting the job in May.

In her opening remarks, UM president Mary Sue Coleman praised the performance of several athletic teams, including men’s basketball, hockey, swimming and diving – all were competing at the national level, most notably the basketball team in a NCAA tournament appearance. She said in the midst of this was also sad news about the sudden death of Matthew Hilton-Watson, a 40-year-old UM-Flint professor who collapsed in class and died earlier this month, as well as the death of Bill Davidson, whom Coleman described as a “true gentleman,” philanthropist and exceptional business leader.

Coleman used the reference to Davidson’s business acumen as a segue into announcing that UM will ask employees to share a greater amount of their health care costs. She described employee health care as the university budget’s fastest-growing expense and a threat to its core mission. Details of those changes were released on Friday, the day after the regents meeting. [Full Story]

The Republican Michigander blog has a post about Ann Arborite Rick Snyder’s possible run for governor, commenting that Snyder’s leadership of Gateway is a strike against him: “Here’s my first question for Mr. Snyder. As CEO of Gateway or any other company, did you authorize or outsource any manufacturing to China or Mexico? Is there even the appearance of doing so? If so, you will lose.” [Source]

The Associate Press reports that both Detroit Edison and Consumers Energy will impose double-digit rate hikes unless state regulators take action. For Detroit Edison customers, rates would increase 11% starting in July. The article quotes Bonnie Banks, a retired court recorder who lives part of the year in Ann Arbor. “I think it is crummy in this time of hardship. Because of the economy and all the layoffs and our high unemployment rate, it seems like there would be an even larger hardship for people.” [Source]

A photo op for students and teachers from Northside Elementary at the Michigan Theater. These fourth and fifth grade students had entries in the Millers Creek Film Festival.

It’s not an image you see on the big screen every day: Close-up shots of dogs pooping, and then of their turds being plopped into an otherwise clear glass of water.

Funny, memorable and making a point – this is what happens (albeit less graphically) when you don’t pick up your dog’s excrement and it finds its way into the Huron River watershed. And by making the point this way, Nani Wolf, a fifth grader at Emerson School, won an award at the 2009 Millers Creek Film Festival.

About 350 people gathered on Friday afternoon, March 13, to see the festival entries at the Michigan Theater. (If you missed it, the winners will eventually be posted on YouTube. Here’s a link to last year’s winners.)

The event, now in its fourth year, is a way for the nonprofit Huron River Watershed Council to promote the importance of stewardship to the river and its tributaries, including Millers Creek. The festival’s three categories are short films (less than five minutes) from adult filmmakers, short films from school-age filmmakers, and 30-second public service announcements. [Full Story]

A temporary sign taped to the permanent Community Television Network sign was guiding hundreds of residents to the Board of Review, which met last week at CTN's offices on South Industrial. More meetings are set for early next week.

One Ann Arbor resident had just refinanced in January, and politely told the city Board of Review she was “shocked” when she got her assessment in the mail this month – the city had valued her home far higher than had the appraiser, and she didn’t think that was fair. She handed the three board members a copy of the appraisal.

It didn’t take much more to convince them to lower her assessed value. “You did it!” board member Doris Preston told her.

“Really?” she said, looking startled. [Full Story]

Detroit News columnist Laura Berman writes about the struggles at Shaman Drum Bookshop: “When I interviewed (Karl) Pohrt at an Ann Arbor coffee shop this week, art historian Catherine McCurrach recognized him and introduced herself, saying, ‘I want to help organize a fundraiser to save Shaman Drum.’ ‘Students want to save a few bucks,’ adds John Bacon, an author who teaches two courses at U-M. ‘But a lot of the professors care more about keeping Shaman Drum alive.’” [Source]

The national media is all over the story that Kolan McConiughey, a familiar face to shoppers at Busch’s grocery on South Main, is defending the Special Olympics, which President Obama dissed in an appearance on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.” Here’s an excerpt from the Associated Press report: ”So President Barack Obama thinks he bowls like a competitor in the Special Olympics? He’s obviously never met Kolan McConiughey, a mentally disabled man considered one of the nation’s top Special Olympics bowlers, with five perfect games to his credit. He’d like to go to the White House and show the president a thing or two about how to roll strikes. ‘He bowled a 129. I bowl a 300. I could beat that score easily,’ McConiughey said Friday.” [Source]

The Right Michigan blog comments on news that Ann Arborite Rick Snyder is exploring a run for governor as a Republican: “When Rick Snyder’s name first started bouncing around the Lansing press corp as a potential 2010 GOP Gubernatorial candidate I started getting calls and emails. Who is this guy? Where did he come from? What has he done in the Party? As a guy who prides himself on knowing (or at least knowing OF) everybody in and around the Party in this state it pains me to no end to admit this… I had to tell them I had no idea. And I didn’t. Rick Snyder? Umm… who?” [Source]

Ed Petykiewicz, long-time editor-in-chief of the Ann Arbor News, announced plans to retire later this year, likely in the spring. He told the newsroom this morning: “I want you to know how proud I am of you and what we’ve accomplished. I’m especially proud of the professionalism I’ve seen during the last several months in the face of extreme uncertainty.” [Source]

On the getDowntown blog, Daniel Demoss reports on a recent presentation to Ypsilanti residents and the city planning commission about a proposed Ann Arbor-Detroit rail line. The presentation was given by Carmine Palumbo, SEMCOG’s director of transportation programs. Demoss writes: “During his presentation Palumbo warned the project still has a long way to go and that there will be issues the project may need to work through. ‘There are going to be some bumps along the road,’ he said. ‘Funding is going to be a huge bump.’” [Source]

During an event at Cobblestone Farm on Thursday, Mark Patrick and Suzie Heiney unveil the Washtenaw Land Trust's new name and logo: the Legacy Land Conservancy.

As the nearly 160 guests started dinner Thursday evening, Susan Lackey urged them to continue making bids on the silent auction items – including, she said, “heirloom” Washtenaw Land Trust mugs. “The value of those will go up significantly before the evening is over.”

Those mugs are the last of their kind, as the land trust now has a new name: Legacy Land Conservancy. Lackey, the nonprofit’s executive director, says the name reflects a broader mission and geographical reach beyond the boundaries of Washtenaw County. In the past few years, the trust has helped protect 337 acres in Jackson County, to the west of Washtenaw. Its logo includes the charge of “protecting and preserving Southern Michigan.” [Full Story]

Author Stedman Graham signs copies of his book "You Can Make It Happen" in the board room of the Washtenaw County administrative building on Wednesday. Tiffany Lucas of the county's Employment, Training & Community Services department collects the signed copies, which were presented to county commissioners during their board meeting.

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners (March 18, 2009): A meeting that brought some heated rhetoric about funding sources for a regional aerotropolis project also included brief remarks by Stedman Graham about the county’s literacy initiative and an invitation to attend a March 29 soccer match between the sheriff’s department and the Washtenaw County Homeless Soccer Team.

The meeting was preceded by a reception that drew about 200 people from the community to highlight the county’s Blueprint to End Illiteracy, which was formally presented at the Wednesday board meeting. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board meeting (March 19, 2009): At its monthly meeting on Wednesday night, the AATA board approved fare changes, which starting May 3 will increase the basic cash fare to ride a bus in Ann Arbor from $1 to $1.25. The change authorized by the board includes a second increase in May 2010, from $1.25 to $1.50. [approved fare changes]

Although the fare increase was one focus of the meeting, the upcoming public interviews (March 25) of the two final candidates for the AATA’s executive directorship also occupied board members’ attention. The upcoming hire had an impact on planned consideration of the organization’s vision statement, which the board had been scheduled to work through as a full group Wednesday evening. That item was tabled in the interest of receiving the input of the new executive director, when he is hired. [Full Story]

Several media outlets report on Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder’s decision to form an exploratory committee to run for governor. Snyder, a Republican, is a UM graduate, former Gateway president, co-founder of the venture capital firm Ardesta and chair of Ann Arbor Spark, an economic development agency. Several publications, including the Detroit News, quote from his prepared statement: “If I run, it will be to win the Republican nomination and the general election and do so in such a way that we end the politics-as-usual approach Michigan has grown so tired of.” [Source]

Saying that “our health care costs will paralyze the university unless we take action,” University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman said that employees and retirees will be asked to pay a greater share of their health care costs starting in 2010. She gave no other details about the plan, saying that the leadership of various employee groups were being informed today, with information to be released to faculty and staff on Friday morning. Coleman made the announcement during opening remarks at Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting.

The cost-sharing changes – which will be available in detail on UM’s Benefits Stewardship website Friday – will also be discussed at a series of forums to be held later this month, Coleman said. No changes in benefits are planned. [Full Story]

UM history professor Juan Cole appeared Wednesday night on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” to discuss his new book, ”Engaging the Muslim World.” When Professor Cole said he was from Ann Arbor, host Stephen Colbert teased, “Was Madison, Wisconsin not liberal enough for  you?” [Source]

Inadvertently omitted from the report on the last city council meeting was a resolution authorizing the closing of Monroe Street between Oakland and Tappan Avenue for the Monroe Street Fair. The fair takes place from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, 2009. This is a section of the street that runs directly in front of Dominick’s. [Full Story]

Ed Pagani of Lumigen Inc. holds aloft a chemiluminescent compound that Russ Collins may or may not have been tempted to drink.

Ed Pagani could have gotten an award for best prop, if such an award were given at Morning Edition. Pagani, a former Pfizer executive who’s now general manager of Lumigen Inc. and chair of the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce board, was one of five speakers at Wednesday’s breakfast meeting, which drew about 200 people. The Chronicle didn’t hear a single one of them make a “Glow Blue” joke – even though his elixir did evoke the University of Michigan’s decommissioned nuclear reactor. [Full Story]