Archive for March, 2009

The author of A Catholic Mother’s Thoughts blog takes issue with a recent article in the Ann Arbor News: “On Saturday the Ann Arbor News printed a front page headline article celebrating (practically) Obama’s expected lifting tomorrow of the restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. Keep in mind that this is a community that once some time ago, by City Council Resolution, declared itself a ‘Zone of Reproductive Freedom,’ meaning that if Roe v. Wade were ever overturned Ann Arbor would still allow abortions. Don’t get me wrong. I love Ann Arbor in spite of these occasional embarrassing incidents of insanity.” [Source]

The city of Ann Arbor plans to hold a town hall meeting on April 8 to discuss the city’s financial outlook for 2010-11. The event, which features city administrator Roger Fraser and John Hieftje, Ann Arbor’s mayor, will be held from 7-9 p.m. at the Community Television Network studios, 2805 S. Industrial, Suite 200, Ann Arbor. Information about the city’s fiscal 2010 budget is available here. [Source]

The Southeast Michigan Slow Food Review gives a review of Haifa Falafel, a restaurant at 4585 Washtenaw, in the Glencoe Crossing Shopping Center: “Our first tip that this unassuming shop was not your typical falafel shop was the owners, who told us ‘don’t order yet – we’re making you a treat.’ A few minutes later we were each given a sample of their falafel, along with a cup of their ‘Haifa sauce.’ The falafel were indeed very different – very light, not greasy, and with a fresh flavor.” [Source]

USA Today reports on President Obama’s decision to lift restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. The article quotes Jason Owen-Smith, a UM sociologist, who notes that while scientists still face restrictive state laws, the change at the federal level will help researchers. “We should see some relatively quick advances.” [Source]

On her blog Relish, photographer Myra Klarman posts some beautiful images from Friday’s Selma Café, a weekly gathering hosted at the Ann Arbor home of Jeff McCabe and Lisa Gottlieb. Klarman writes: “The best way to learn about this ‘breakfast salon’ is to just show up on a Friday between 6:30-10am. You will be so glad you did!” [Source]

[Full Story]

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang (photo courtesy of Mark Bialek)

At a recent five-year-old’s birthday party at Jungle Java, after the children all gathered together and sang ”Happy Birthday” and cut the cake, a friend of the family burst out, “What, no Arabic? We’re supposed to sing the song in Arabic now!”

She and I started talking about how our families do the same thing. First we sing ”Happy Birthday” in English. Then we sing it in Chinese (or Arabic). Then (at our house), we open it up to other languages, and I have been thrilled to have various kids at times lead the group singing “Happy Birthday” in Spanish, Korean, Japanese, and Arabic. [Full Story]

A video of Malcolm Tulip’s clown class at UM is posted on the blog The All Too Frequent Conscience of Joey Ostrander. Labels for the post include “strange” and “fun.” [Source]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners (March 4, 2009): County commissioners spent the bulk of their Wednesday night board meeting on two topics, both dealing with finances: 1) Details about $3 million in federal funds coming to Washtenaw County to rehab or demolish foreclosed properties in targeted areas, and 2) an update from county administrator Bob Guenzel about ongoing efforts to deal with a projected budget deficit.

Neither topic is new to commissioners or Chronicle readers: The federal foreclosure funds were discussed at last week’s administrative briefing, and the budget crisis has been on the table since the board’s Feb. 4 meeting. So commissioners were prepared to ask pointed questions on both issues, and they did. [Full Story]

In his On Religion column, Samuel Freedman of the New York Times writes about Stephen Ranzini of University Bank in Ann Arbor and the bank’s decision to specialize in Islamic finance. Says Ranzini: “I never thought I’d be involved in Islamic banking because I’d never even heard of it. And it’s been a stretch to learn it, succeed at it and make it work. But you feel best about the things that were hardest to do.” [Source]

Writing in the Examiner.com, Christopher Smith looks at the impact of the economy on the used-car market. He quotes Brad Schneider, sales manager for Varsity Ford in Ann Arbor: ”People aren’t buying new cars. If they’re not buying, we can’t get a trade…We’re really not getting the trades we’re used to. It’s supply and demand.” [Source]

Village Corner Wine Catalog, circa 1977 (image links to higher resolution file)

Two charter members of the Vinous Posse dropped by the other day, carrying a treasure from their cellar.

It wasn’t a bottle of wine. They were carefully coddling a copy of the Holiday Wine Catalog from Ann Arbor’s Village Corner – circa 1977.

A quick flip through its pages elicited a classic “AHA!” moment: the eye-opening realization that my 401(k) might be riding significantly higher in the water if its early-on stock acquisitions consisted of Château Lafite and Château Latour, instead of GM and Citigroup.

Of course, that assumes my forbearance from indulging in too many celebratory pours out of the profits.

Like many long-term collectors of less-than-opulent means, I frequently joke that I can’t afford to drink the older wines in my cellar, let alone replace them at today’s prices. The price run-up among first-tier wines over the last 20 years has been little short of breathtaking.

But it wasn’t until I saw Village Corner’s price tag on a 1967 Château Mouton Rothschild – $21.95 – and compared it to the $600 tab on the soon-to-be-released 2006 vintage that it struck me how many years I may have been making wrong-headed investments. [Full Story]

On Autoblog.com, Frank Filipponio writes about Mitsubishi’s decision to  close its Mitsubishi Research and Design of America (MRDA) campus in Cypress, Calif. “Thankfully, Mitsubishi will at least retain its small office for design in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they are doing research and testing on their upcoming i MiEV electric vehicle.” [Source]

Laura Russello, executive director at Michigan Peaceworks, presented background on the collaboration between the nonprofit she leads and Veterans for Peace on the Iraq Water Project.

Ann Arbor City Council meeting (March 2, 2009): Whatever chance for controversy that might have been present in the Ann Arbor’s City Council meeting agenda on Monday evening was eschewed in favor of values statements. These expressions of values were reflected in many of the agenda items themselves. We’ve organized our account of the meeting in terms of values related to the following topics: water, the arts, land, energy, history, and democracy. [Full Story]

John Pottow, a UM law professor who specializes in bankruptcy, is quoted in an MSNBC piece about GM’s recent auditor’s report, which raised “substantial doubt” about the firm’s financial future. Says Pottow: ”If you get a qualified going concern audit letter like this, that suggests you are in extreme financial distress and very likely may file for bankruptcy.” [Source]

Sandy Iran Canales, Rev. Bayardo Lopez Garcia and Karl Pohrt in Catarina, Nicaragua. Pohrt was part of a delegation that traveled to Catarina to celebrate the wedding anniversary and ministry of Rev. Garcia, Padre of the Church of the Remnant.

In the midst of all the sturm und drang surrounding the future of Shaman Drum Bookshop, I went to Nicaragua.

Dianne, my wife, had been teaching for the last month in Catarina, a town in the mountains south of Managua. She volunteered under the auspices of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, a small congregation in Ann Arbor of which we are both members. ECI is collaborating with the Iglesia Bautista Remanente, a Baptist church in Catarina, on projects that “will bridge the divide between wealth and impoverished countries by providing capital, employment and opportunities for cultural exchange.”

Joe Summers, our minister, is an old friend of mine – we worked together in the bookshop years ago – and ECI is an openhearted, diverse community that is serious about creating a better world. Although I’ve been mostly engaged with Buddhism in my adult life, I was attracted to this church because of the willingness of Joe and the congregation to struggle together around difficult issues. And I still enjoy a good sermon.

I hadn’t had much of a chance to talk with Dianne about the state of the bookshop given that our telephone and internet connections were short and infrequent. The experience teaching in Catarina was transformative and very positive for her, but living conditions were difficult. She asked me to come. I traded my frequent flyer miles for a ticket to Nicaragua. [Full Story]

On his blog Wake Up, Washtenaw!, Larry Krieg – an Ypsilanti Township planning commissioner – gives his impressions of “Changing Gears: The Future of Low Carbon Manufacturing in the Midwest,” a conference held Thursday at UM featuring Gov. Jennifer Granholm, among others. He describes the event as informative and inspiring, but also notes that a few things were left out: “Realism about Michigan’s manufacturing acumen was in short supply. Manufacturing was touted by a number of speakers as one of Michigan’s true strengths, yet Michigan has been surpassed in quality standards by the Japanese, in agility by China, and in the number of engineers coming out of universities by both India and China.” [Source]

The Detroit News reports that Ypsilanti Township is among three municipalities that have recently agreed to join the Detroit Region Aerotropolis Initiative, at a cost of $25,000 a year. The public-private sector partnership aims to develop roughly 60,000 acres from Detroit Metro Airport to Willow Run Airport. The article states that the city of Ypsilanti and Van Buren Township agreed to join last year. [Source]

Downtown Development Authority board meeting (March 4, 2009): At Wednesday’s monthly board meeting of the Downtown Development Authority, Rene Greff asked the rhetorical question: “Do you want to hook that cart to a controversial horse?” And she was not talking about a new transportation option for downtown. But the “cart” was the idea of transportation demand management. The “horse” was city council’s recent request that the DDA increase its revenues to assure adequate reserve fund balances. [Full Story]

Bloomberg News reports on President Obama’s foreclosure prevention plan, describing what homeowners must do to take advantage of the program. The article quotes Gibran Nicholas, chairman of the CMPS Institute in Ann Arbor, who says that loan-servicing companies “are inundated right now. You have to be patient.” [Source]

This sign in a hallway at Scarlett Middle School, quoting basketball legend Michael Jordan, could apply to dealing with the Ann Arbor Public Schools budget. Superintendent Todd Roberts and other AAPS officials held a public forum on the budget Tuesday night at Scarlett.

Students outnumbered parents at Tuesday night’s budget forum for the Ann Arbor Public Schools, but only (we suspect) because it fulfilled a civics class requirement. At any rate, the 20 or so people who showed up at the Scarlett Middle School media center all got a lesson in the intricacies of public school funding, and a look at how AAPS plans to deal with an anticipated $6 million deficit in its next fiscal year, with the deficit projected to grow to $12 million by 2011-12.

Approaches include possibly floating a countywide millage as early as this fall, increasing student enrollment through online offerings, and lobbying state legislators for additional dollars and to reform the way schools are funded. [Full Story]