Archive for June, 2009

The author of the blog “If You Want to be Happy: Be!” gives 10 rules for consuming wisely, telling readers that “frugality is the new chic!” Under Rule #8 (“Find joy in non-mass produced items”), she writes: “We needed a toy chest as our living room was a scattered mess! We first looked at Ikea because of the low cost but while shopping at Treasure Mart (a household item consignment shop) during the Ann Arbor Farmers Market we found a beautiful, old, hand-made cedar chest in nearly perfect condition. We squealed with delight! It cost us $15 more than the Ikea version, but what a small price to pay for something so beautiful, used and made with such love.” [... [Full Story]

In his Behind the Counter column for The Atlantic, Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig writes about the process of making Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon book: “For me, being able to sign that first copy and just hand it directly to Jan (Longone) in one of our offices over on Plaza Drive is really a lot more meaningful than all those others supposedly more prestigious moments that get associated with this sort of thing. … A small, singular moment in time, 60 seconds in an office on the south side of Ann Arbor on a modest Wednesday evening in the middle of May with a collection of fifteen people all at work on other things. But like I said, it really … [Full Story]

U.S. Rep. John Dingell has launched a “Friends of Willow Run” website to coordinate support for the GM manufacturing plant in Ypsilanti Townshp that’s slated to close at the end of 2010. The site includes links to send an email to GM CEO Fritz Henderson and to a guidebook of resources for displaced auto workers. [Source]

The Freep publishes an op/ed essay by state Sen. Liz Brater of Ann Arbor, who has introduced legislation that would prohibit sentencing a juvenile to life without parole. She writes: ”As a society, we have failed these kids. There are many early childhood education programs, including the Perry School in Ypsilanti, that are nationally recognized to reduce the chance that a child will end up in the criminal justice system in his or her teen years. These programs cost $10,600 per child, versus the $30,000 a year we spend per inmate. Similarly, community mental health care, at $8,000-$11,000 a year per client, depending on the county, is much more economical than prison. This approach is not only more humane, it is also … [Full Story]

The New York Times, in an article about the growing popularity of smartphones like Blackberries and iPhones, quotes UM psychology professor David Meyer, who comments about how smartphones are changing social expectations: “The social norm is that you should respond within a couple of hours, if not immediately. If you don’t, it is assumed you are out to lunch mentally, out of it socially, or don’t like the person who sent the e-mail.” [Source]

A post on Simone Cortesi’s blog gives a shout-out to the city of Ann Arbor for its Google Maps mashup, which lets you type in a street address and request a city service for that location. “A great service from a municipality.” [Source]

As we reported more than a month ago, a Freedom of Information Act request made by the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center – in connection with a possible environmental lawsuit against the city of Ann Arbor – yielded records of email correspondence between Ann Arbor city councilmembers made during some of their regular council meetings.

In that article, we indicated that the “the content seems to fall into two categories: (i) adolescent humor, and (ii) apparent ‘backchannel’ discussion of issues before the council, which raises more serious concerns.” The content of some of those emails has now been published in various forms in other media outlets.

We begin our own treatment of this episode in city politics by providing historical context for the Ann Arbor community’s concern about city council email exchanges during council meetings – one that predates the FOIA requests by GLELC.

In that context, we’d like to consider one of the email exchanges in more detail and use it to illuminate ethical issues surrounding the use of electronic communications during official meetings. And on that basis, we’ll explore some possibilities for the use of technology to push information to the public, instead of using it to screen decision-making processes from the public. In addition to the ethical and informational issues, there are legal questions that arise from these FOIA-ed materials. Those legal questions relate to possible  violation of the Michigan Open Meetings Act, as well as the city’s preparedness to meet the requirements of FOIA when electronic records are requested. [Full Story]

Publishers Weekly has a post about the recent news that Shaman Drum Bookshop is closing. The article reports on an interview with owner Karl Pohrt: “He ascribed his store’s demise to the cumulative impact of the collapse of the U.S. economy this past fall, along with the high rate of unemployment in Michigan, the lack of money allocated to education in the state, the popularity of Kindle and Sony readers among his core group of customers (students and humanities professors), and, finally, the University of Michigan itself, which is now requiring ISBNs of textbooks to be posted by professors a month before classes began.” [Source]

A two-and-a-half minute video on YouTube takes you on a driving tour through Ann Arbor, fast forwarded and with a sound track. Do they hit your neighborhood? [Source]

A New York Times article looks at the state’s attempts at economic revitalization in the absence of a dominant auto industry. The article quotes UM economist Don Grimes, commenting on efforts to lure the film industry to Michigan: “Movie studio jobs are going to be measured in the hundreds. It’s nowhere near the replacement numbers for what’s going on.” [Source]

The Dusty Diary pulls out an Ypsilanti High School lunch menu from 1965: “Students in 1965 didn’t have a deli bar, a salad bar, a ‘trattoria,’ an alternative ‘Balanced Choices’ menu, or any other modern food service options. If they didn’t like Beef Goulash on Mondays, they were out of luck. On the other hand, the 1965 menu saved money by offering only one choice. Which is better, choice or savings?” [Source]

Karl Pohrt, who opened Shaman Drum Bookshop nearly 30 years ago, has decided to close the business on June 30. He plans to continue efforts to obtain nonprofit status for a separate venture, the Great Lakes Literary Arts Center.

The decision comes after many months of financial struggles at the bookstore, which Pohrt outlined in a column published by The Chronicle in February. In that column, he reported that textbook sales in 2008 had declined $510,000 from the previous year. He cut payroll and other operating expenses, but couldn’t cover the shop’s losses. Though trade sales (books of general interest) were up, that didn’t compensate for the loss of textbook sales. “The evaporation of our position has been astonishingly swift,” he wrote. “We had been holding relatively even financially until September. Suddenly we’ve moved into the red.” [Full Story]

Four patches of paint on the building at 113 S. Fourth Ave. in Ann Arbor, which houses Mitchell and Mouat Architects.

“When a group is choosing paint colors, there’s lots of thought about hue, intensity, neutrals, accents, etc. But, it usually comes down to emotion. Just like buying new clothes, you have to try it on before you know if it’s a fit or not.” – Dick Mitchell, in an email to The Chronicle

About a week ago, The Chronicle spotted four fairly uniform rectangles of paint – in four distinctly different colors, but not wildly so – on the front of a downtown brick building that houses Mitchell and Mouat Architects. It seemed clear that a paint job was in the offing, so we decided to ask a simple question: What color?

The short answer is Bunker Hill. The long answer, as is often the case, turns out to be much more interesting. [Full Story]

Paste magazine has a blurb about the June 9 Natalie Portman Filmfest in Ann Arbor, with three of her movies scheduled – The Professional, The Other Boleyn Girl and V for Vendetta: “This being Ann Arbor, the festival will be held at a place called the Body-Mind-Spirit Wellness Center and hosted by Curtis Glatter, a composer and percussionist. Portman’s political activism will doubtless be on the table as well. A $5 donation is welcomed for the event, which kicks off at 4 p.m.” [Source]

CNN/Money.com runs a Fortune magazine article about the future of the UAW, asking how the changes in the auto industry will affect the union’s role for active workers and retirees. The article quotes Gerald Meyers, a UM business professor and former auto executive: ”As far as retirees go, they don’t count. It’s an awful thing to say, but I’m a retiree so I feel I can say that. What counts are the dues-paying members who vote on who will lead the union. Unions are political organizations, and since retirees don’t vote, if they don’t get paid it won’t be the end of the UAW or its leadership.” [Source]

Lucy Ann Lance will be interviewing Carsten Hohnke (Ward 5) at 10:40 a.m. today (June 9) on 1290AM WLBY. Possible Topic: emails during council meetings.

On “War Inside My Head,” a Michigan writer compares the Army then versus the Army now (he’s signed up for another tour): “The Army now is nothing like the Army that I was in back in the late 80′s early 90′s. The computer age has finally caught up to the military both in equipment and in the personal. Back in the day when you were done with your duty day you would sit around and talk with your buddies, play cards or read a book. Now and days its all about the gadgets from laptops to iPods. Not only are the gadgets prevalent but the kids in the Army these days are the computer generation. This is a good thing, … [Full Story]

On the Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation blog, Dick Chase writes about a recent bird watching walk at the Wheeler Service Center: “At the wetland in the borrow pit, there was a lot of activity. We saw the young female Surf Scoter that has been reported on this list, and we had multiple views of a diving male Ruddy Duck. He even thoughtfully preened for several minutes before we left to give us a more unhurried view.” [Source]

Carla Wilson, corrections officer at the Washtenaw County Jail: "This uniform confuses people."

It is morningtime at the Washtenaw County Jail, and about 60 men – accused criminals all – are laying quietly awake on their bunks, eyes closed, thinking about their happy place.

Yes. Really. Criminals and their happy place.

As the men hold visions in their heads of the beach, or fishing, or picnicking with their families outside this building of concrete, steel and razor wire, the only sound is soft music from computer speakers. And the still, small voice of Cpl. Carla Wilson, a Washtenaw County corrections officer.

After the inmates are relaxed, “wiping the slate clean,” as Wilson says, for another day of incarceration, she talks to the men about the need to “have a plan” once they leave. “If you don’t have a plan …” Wilson ends the thought with a whistle. “Not good.” She urges the men to “listen to your inner voice that tells you not to do something.” If not, she says, well, this jail may be overcrowded, but there will always be a bed waiting for them. [Full Story]

Heritage Newspapers, which publishes the Ypsilanti Courier and several other print weeklies throughout Washtenaw County, is launching a weekly newspaper in Ann Arbor called A2Journal. The firm announced its plans today on Twitter. The paper’s first date of publication is July 9 – less than two weeks before the July 20 start of AnnArbor.com, a new online venture started by the owners of The Ann Arbor News, which is closing July 23. AnnArbor.com also plans to publish a printed edition two times a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. The Ann Arbor Business Review, a sister publication of The News, posted a brief article about A2Journal earlier today. [Source]

A Washington Post article looks at the future for displaced auto workers and quotes Ann Marie Sastry, a UM engineering professor who’s leading a joint project between the university and GM, training some of the company’s engineers in advanced battery technology: “Will a lot of autoworkers enter programs and receive retraining? I don’t know. I can say this: Autoworkers’ jobs are going to change everywhere. There will be chip technologies, solar technologies. This is going to be an economy dominated by knowledge workers, not by somebody who we think of as being on an old assembly line.” [Source]

The Brouhaha is back! This local blog has been dormant for several months, but the author recently started posting again, including this write-up of Ann Arbor’s “underground dining” phenomenon. This report focuses mostly on the Selma Cafe: “…part of underground dining’s attraction is that it’s ephemeral. Like a rave crafted for people with mortgages and middle-age spread, a large part of the appeal is the fact that it’s unique, economical, and lasts only a little while – then we move on to the next intriguing concept.” [Source]

A group of girls dance to the music of Enter the Haggis at Thursday's Sonic Lunch, a free weekly concert series in Liberty Plaza.

Balloons, bubbles and the sound of bagpipes filled Liberty Plaza in downtown Ann Arbor last Thursday, as the Celtic rock band Enter the Haggis drew a crowd of people with soup and sandwiches in tow for the season’s first Sonic Lunch, a free, weekly outdoor concert series.

As the band warmed up – playing practice notes on their guitars and bagpipes – people filled the seats along the perimeter of the plaza, located at the corner of Liberty and Division. Some came wheeling their bikes, carrying helmets and water bottles. Many pushed strollers or strolled in holding the hands of small children (hands that soon grasped ribbons tied to blue and green balloons – signature colors of the Bank of Ann Arbor, the event’s main sponsor). When the built-in seats filled up, people rested in folding chairs or sat directly on the cement ground. [Full Story]