Archive for May, 2009

The latest crime bulletin issued by the Ann Arbor Police Department reports on breaking & entering, armed and unarmed robbery, larceny from a motor vehicle and carrying a concealed weapon. Suspects have been arrested in all cases, according to the report. [Source]

The Washington Post reports on the history of zoonotic diseases – ones that spread from humans to animals, or vice versa. The article quotes JoLynn Montgomery, a UM epidemiologist, who notes that the human population has grown to more than 6 billion, and many animals are now raised on factory farms. “There’s more crowding in animals, and more crowding in people, and the crowding is merging. People are getting diseases from animals more frequently. I’m not sure the diseases themselves are getting worse.” [Source]

Photographer Myra Klarman updates her post of vivid photographs from the recent Pioneer Theatre Guild production of “Urinetown.” She writes: “I shot these photos during the last dress rehearsal. When I originally posted this entry, I withheld a few choice images, as there are some wonderful surprises I didn’t want to spoil.” [Source]

The Freep reports that Rick Snyder, an Ann Arbor businessman who’s considering a run for governor on the Republican ticket, sent letters to other potential GOP contenders asking them to reject contributions from lobbyists and political action committees. A spokesman for attorney general Michael Cox, one of the letter’s recipients, told the Freep that Cox has held special interests to account and “doesn’t need a lecture from a multimillionaire with no record at all.” [Source]

A new local Twitter feed appeared on April 25, 2009. In the “bio,” the anonymous author describes it this way: “I spent 5 months in the Washtenaw County Jail in 2008. I had never been in trouble with the law before. Here’s what I experienced – 140 characters at a time.”

In his second Tweet: “I will not yet reveal my identity nor my alleged crime. I will say that I was 42 years old when I served my time and had never been in jail.”

The author agreed to answer some questions for us. [Full Story]

The National Geographic publishes an article about bendable, “self-healing” concrete developed by UM researchers. The article quotes Victor Li, co-author of a UM study about the material: “One of the big attractions, apart from reducing maintenance requirements, is the fact that [the new concrete] is very quiet” without expansion joints. [Source]

The Boston Phoenix publishes a Q&A with Davy Rothbart of Found magazine about his new collection of essays, “Requiem for a Paper Bag: Celebrities and Civilians Tell Stories of the Best Lost, Tossed, and Found Items from Around the World.” Says Rothbart: “One thing I’ve learned is how similar the issues are that we deal with. I remember once I got two finds the same week. One was from New Canaan, Connecticut; the other was from some small town near Addis Ababa. One was a banker and one was a shepherd. But they were both writing letters to siblings about the loss of a parent and trying to make them feel better and comfort them. They were leading such … [Full Story]

On Monday, May 4, 2009, the question to Michael Flynn from the city of Ann Arbor building inspector was: “What line of work are you in?” Flynn’s answer: “I invent things.”

The ferrofluid in Michael Flynn’s Magnetoscope forms spiky columns in response to the interplay between magnetic fields and gravity.

In Flynn’s backyard, the inspector had just signed off on the packed sand for a concrete pour that will become the floor of Flynn’s new laboratory space.

So what sort of stuff does Flynn invent? And is there any money in that?

From now through Mother’s Day, visitors to Ann Arbor’s Hands-On Museum can have a look and touch for themselves. That’s where Flynn’s Magnetoscope will be on display. The Magnetoscope exhibit illustrates how ferrofluid – oil, plus iron oxide particles, plus a surfactant – interacts with the forces of magnetic fields and gravity to create spiky columns out of an black pool of liquid. Visitors can manipulate the magnetic fields by cranking a red or a blue magnet closer or further away from the pool of ferrofluid. [Full Story]

The greenhouse space adjoining Liberty Lofts as it looked on Saturday and Sunday (May 3-4, 2009).

A brief window of activity had given the corner some life over the weekend. But by Tuesday afternoon, the empty quiet had mostly returned in and around the greenhouse space adjoining Liberty Lofts at First and Liberty streets. The one exception was a  minivan mired in a pea gravel pit just inside the open garage door entrance. A crew of guys was strategically wedging 4×8  sheets of waferboard under the wheels to help the front wheels of the vehicle – already half buried in the loose fill –  gain some purchase. [Full Story]

A Detroit News article looks at how people are using their bodies to make some extra cash, doing things like selling their hair or plasma. The article quotes Molly White, manager of UM Health System’s community engagement program, who reports that participation in the system’s 400 or so clinical studies has jumped 50 percent over the past year, to more than 3,000 so far in 2009. Says White: ”That’s just typical when the economy is difficult. People are looking for other sources of income. There are bills to pay.” [Source]

Layers of history are preserved on the wall of SPARK East in downtown Ypsilanti.

On Friday, May 8, the renovated Ypsilanti storefront that houses SPARK East will be open to the public for a look at the business services offered there. The event is part of a larger economic development effort on Washtenaw County’s east side, an effort that’s getting a boost from federal stimulus funding – or what one county official called “Obama bucks.”

Last Thursday, about 40 members of the Eastern Leaders Group got an overview of the 2009 Recovery and Reinvestment Rapid Response Strategy Business Plan, which had been approved by the ELG executive committee in mid-April. Held at the brick-walled SPARK East office on Michigan Avenue, the meeting covered a lot of ground, from neighborhood revitalization efforts to a plan for microloans to businesses.

The Chronicle dropped by to hear about the plan too. Though the meeting was decidedly forward looking, there was an element of history at SPARK East as well – more on that later. We’ll start with a look at the three main topics covered on Thursday: 1) business development and employee training, 2) microloan programs, and 3) community revitalization and stabilization plans. [Full Story]

The St. Petersburg Times profiles Tom Monaghan’s Ave Maria, a town in Florida being built around the Ave Maria University and law school, which will relocate there from Ann Arbor in August. “Monaghan’s credo stares down from a display: ‘I believe my mission is to get as many people to heaven as possible.’ The town’s coffee shop is called the Bean. Despite pictures of the Virgin Mary on the wall, it helpfully serves bottled beer in a town without a grocery, at least until the 28,000-square-foot Publix opens one block off the town center this summer. In a riposte to the left-wing slogans Starbucks prints on its coffee cups, the Bean serves up conservative sentiments on its cups: ‘Tolerance without conviction is … [Full Story]

Writing on the We! Magazine website, Jeff Alson of Ann Arbor responds to a previous writer who accused Republicans of treason for opposing President Obama’s economic stimulus plan. “I remember all too well, a few days after my young daughter and I marched in downtown Ann Arbor against the war in the winter of 2003, reading a letter to the editor in the local paper, calling us ‘traitors’ for not falling in line behind President Bush. I then responded with my own letter, also published, that mirrored Twain’s philosophy of ‘loving one’s country, not one’s government’ and citing Teddy Roosevelt’s famous quote supporting one’s right to criticize the President. I then used the two letters as a history and civics lesson … [Full Story]

Ypsi Ink & Stein: A Comic Artists’ Social is holding its first meeting on Saturday, May 30, from 7 p.m. til midnight at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti. “Bring your sketchpads, pens and sense of humor.” They’re also requesting RSVPs. [Source]

Ann Arbor City Council Sunday caucus (May 3, 2009): Counting the mayor, there were four members of council who heard from citizens on Sunday night on topics that included the closing of Mack Pool, accessibility to information on planning, and the new underground parking garage. After hearing from citizens, caucus concluded without councilmembers engaging each other on any work of council as they sometimes do. [Full Story]

The Washtenaw County Public Health Department has posted information about what was formerly called the swine flu, including a chart which shows probable and confirmed cases in the county (none in either category, as of May 3, 2009) and the state (37 probable, 2 confirmed). The site includes food safety information, prevention actions and links to other resources. [Source]

In an article about the impact of Chrysler’s bankruptcy on GM, the New York Times quotes David Cole of the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research: “The threat of bankruptcy is very important in the negotiations with the bondholders and the dealers and others. Without a clear and present danger to them, they won’t make a reasonable deal.” [Source]

Jim Cameron, right, a board member for the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation, gets a tutorial from Travon Larkin-Warren as Rong (Tim) Situ looks on. Larkin-Warren and Situ are sixth-graders at Scarlett Middle School, where the foundation held its annual fundraiser on Saturday. The boys were on hand to demonstrate the My Access writing program, which is funded in part by the foundation.

“Everybody’s proud in the Scarlett Nation!” Ben Edmondson, principal of Scarlett Middle School, proclaimed to the 200 or so people gathered in the school’s cafeteria Saturday night. He could have been talking about the eighth-grade boys who were dressed in suits and leading tours of the building. Or the orchestra that played a solid performance of William Hofeldt’s “Toccatina.” Or the kids who contributed to the school’s first literary magazine, a draft of which was on display in the media center. Or the $11 million that’s been spent on building renovations over the past few years.

Highlighting Scarlett’s achievements was just one goal of the evening for the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation, which hosted the event. It was the nonprofit’s second annual Celebration of Innovation and Excellence, a way to draw attention to the district’s accomplishments as well as challenges, and to raise money for supporting the schools. [Full Story]