Archive for July, 2009

A “preliminary” version of an income tax feasibility study prepared by Plante & Moran in July 2009 is now available for perusal by Chronicle readers.

Although Ann Arbor city staff continue to work with the consultant on the report, The Chronicle is making the preliminary version available to the public for two reasons: (i) any differences between the preliminary version and the final version should reflect the possible back-and-forth city staff had with the consultant, and (ii) given the upcoming League of Women Voters debate on July 22, we deemed it important that city council candidates have equal access to the report in order to prepare for possible debate questions. One of our suggested questions focuses on how candidates would evaluate a possible city income tax.

Links to the body of the report (with searchable text) as well as a scanned image of the complete report with appendices appear after the break. [Full Story]

University of Michigan Board of Regents (July 16, 2009): At their monthly meeting on Thursday, regents approved a major renovation project for one of UM’s oldest residence halls, and got an update on the university’s parking and transportation strategy. The topic of parking and transportation came up again during time set aside for public comment, which included a pitch for a development at the possible Fuller Road intermodal transit center.

University executives also praised the recent inclusion of UM Hospitals and Health Centers in the U.S. News & World Report ranking of best American hospitals – they ranked 14th in the nation. [Full Story]

Patti Smith – known online as “TeacherPatti” – has launched a new blog called “Drink Beer, Think Beer.” She writes: “I started this blog because I feel that this area (Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Milan, etc.) needed a good beer blog. But since I didn’t name it area-specific, that means I can cheat and add beer from all over. Ha. Hahahaha. I want to write about the beer I’m drinking and the beers that are out there for you to drink, the breweries and brewpubs, the homebrewers, the beer events, the hops that are growing in my backyard.” [Source]

On July 22 at the CTN studios on South Industrial Highway, the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area will host debates for candidates in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary. Ward 3 candidates Leigh Greden, LuAnne Bullington, and Stephen Kunselman will take the 7-7:45 p.m. time slot. Ward 5 candidates Mike Anglin and Scott Rosencrans will answer the League’s questions from 8-8:30 p.m.

The League welcomes submission of possible questions for candidates through Monday, July 20. [See previous Chronicle coverage of the candidate forum hosted by the Ann Arbor City Dems divided by Ward 5 and Ward 3 candidates.]

After the break, The Chronicle provides some questions we’d like to hear candidates answer. [Full Story]

Standing outside Starbucks at the corner of East Liberty and South State, Harvey Drouillard and Pavlina Salzeider strategize about their photo shoot. (Photo by the writer.)

This is a story about feeling uncomfortable.

Nudity tends to do that – make people, especially Americans, feel uncomfortable – and public nudity even more so. Not for everybody, though. Not for Harvey Drouillard.

Harvey has achieved a certain notoriety for taking black-and-white photos of nude men and women in public settings – walking down the street, standing in front of movie theaters, mingling with crowds. He uses the photos to make postcards and greeting cards and calendars, and has published a book as well, titled “The Spirit of Lady Godiva.” The shots are taken in Seattle, Chicago and other cities, but mainly in Ann Arbor.

I’d heard of Harvey, of course, but when he called The Chronicle to see if we wanted to tag along while he did his thing at this year’s art fairs, my first thought, frankly, was “Ick.” But I learned long ago that some of the most memorable, transformative experiences are ones that start out in an uncomfortable place, so on Thursday evening I headed over to Harvey’s staging ground – Antelope Antiques on East Liberty. [Full Story]

A web-based printed-apparel-on-demand service has been applied to the subject matter of some Ann Arbor city council email exchanges – produced by the city under FOIA – in which the assignment of “The Golden Pandy” for pandering was discussed.  Among the available  items are baseball jerseys, regular T-shirts, and sleeveless T-shirts, with slogans like “Ann Arbor: Home of the Golden Pandy.”  [Source]

Jeremy Canfield and Sergio Mendez of the tech start-up Phonagle study their iPhones as they search for virtual game pieces in Ingalls Mall during the art fairs on Thursday. (Photo by the writer.)

Sergio Mendez was meandering through the art fairs crowd in downtown Ann Arbor. Walking down Washington toward Main Street, Mendez saw something worth picking up. It was the left arm – just the left arm – belonging to a guy he knows, Eric Garcia. So Mendez  grabbed it and put it in his backpack.

That left arm wasn’t some sculpture in the art fair. But no worries, it also wasn’t Garcia’s literal left arm. It was a virtual arm, part of a multi-player iPhone game that Mendez and Garcia are developing, along with their colleagues at Phonagle, Jeremy Canfield and Ben Malley.

Phonagle LLC is a tech start-up. This week they’re using the art fairs as the setting to test out the game they’re developing. The object of this game: Find and collect virtual objects set up around the city – this version included their own virtual body parts. [Full Story]

The Freep reports that water levels are rising again in the Great Lakes, after dipping to near record lows two years ago. However, scientists still forecast overall lower levels in the coming years. The article quotes Don Scavia, director of UM’s Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute: “Climate projections say the lakes will go up and down around a decreasing average. The lows will be lower than in the past and the highs will be lower than in the past.” [Source]

AnnArbor.com, the online company that’s replacing the Ann Arbor News, has pushed back its launch date from Monday, July 20 to Friday, July 24. A statement on the firm’s website from CEO Matt Kraner cites technical issues that need to be addressed: “As we were moving towards launch day and were going through all the various site testing protocols, we uncovered a problem that could cause some readers to have an experience that in my mind is unacceptable. I decided that in order to provide the people of Ann Arbor with the best user experience on launch, the site would need a few extra days of refinement.” [Source]

NBC Nightly News aired a report about the closing of the Ann Arbor News, interviewing editor-in-chief Ed Petykiewicz, publisher Laurel Champion – who will be joining the new online company, AnnArbor.com – and Stefanie Murray, AnnArbor.com’s community director. The report also includes interviews from people at the Ann Arbor Senior Center and David Brophy, a UM business professor identified only as a “reader.” Says Petykiewicz: “I’m excited to watch it, but at the same time I’m very sad that for me and for this staff, watching it means not having a daily newspaper in this community.” [Source]

Shary Brown, with gifts from her staff and artists of the Street Art Fair, at an awards breakfast on Thursday. (Photo by the writer.)

“We live with your art every day of our lives,” Shary Brown told a group of artists from the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, “and that’s a tremendous gift you bring to us.”

There was lots of mutual affection at an awards breakfast on Thursday morning for artists and staff – a breakfast which included possibly the largest bowls of hard-boiled eggs in town. Brown praised the people who sweat the details for this four-day cultural marathon, but this year the awards event also included an emotional send-off for Brown herself, who is stepping down from the role of executive director this year.

“Not only in this show, but in our industry as a whole, Shary’s been a big influence,” said artist Dale Rayburn, as he presented Brown with a bouquet of fresh flowers, an album of cards and a “wad of cash” collected from artists. [Full Story]

Not new, but worth a revisit – the Ann Arbor Art Fair street bingo card. [Source]

The Freep reports on a Harry Potter parody that was written and performed by UM students and is now posted on YouTube. The piece, originally performed at UM’s Basement Arts theater, is getting attention in the wake of the new HP movie, released this week. According to the article, Brian Holden, a 2008 U-M grad from Traverse City, cowrote the script with Nick and Matt Lang of Franklin. Says Holden: ”It speaks volumes about the power of Harry Potter fandom and the Internet.” [Source]

A button promoting public art, worn on the lapel of Cathy Gendron, a member of the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission.

Ann Arbor Public Art Commission (July 14, 2009): A big chunk of Tuesday’s art commission meeting focused on the upcoming visit of German artist Herbert Dreitseitl, who’ll arrive in town this weekend. Where will he stay? When can the public see his designs for the municipal center? How can you score one of the buttons shown in this photo? Our report on Tuesday’s meeting will provide answers to all these questions, and more.

The meeting also introduced The Chronicle to a new vocabulary word – “scuppers” – and included a talk by Susan Pollay of the Downtown Development Authority. To find out which piece of public art she describes as a “sad little sculpture,” read on. [Full Story]

View from the top of the Washington & Fourth parking structure of the sidewalk seating in front of Arbor Brewing Company. The cars parked in an angled pattern were part of the July 10 Rolling Sculpture Car show. (Photo by Dave Askins, who braved a fear of heights to deliver the image to readers.)

Arbor Brewing Company has announced that on Aug. 3 their establishment will become smoke-free.

In an email message sent to customers, Rene Greff – co-owner of the pub with her husband Matt – characterized the move as a “scary decision,” because it’s not clear what the impact will be on business.

Greff made clear that ABC had hoped the state of Michigan would take action to ban smoking for all restaurants – that would lessen the potential competitive disadvantage faced by ABC. Washtenaw County banned smoking in public buildings and workplaces, but restaurants and bars are exempt. In the state legislature, the Democratic-controlled House and the Republican-led Senate haven’t been able to agree on a smoking ban, so it’s up to individual business owners to set their own rules. [Full Story]

In a New Media Watch item, we omitted the word “million” in the amount of the settlement of a lawsuit involving 500 female prisoners. The correct figure for the settlement of the sex-abuse suit brought by the prisoners  is $100 million.  We note the error here and have corrected it in the original brief.

The Freep reports Judge Timothy Connors of the Washtenaw County Circuit Court gave preliminary approval to a $100 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit brought against the state by hundreds of female prisoners who say they were sexually assaulted by prison guards. Says Connors: “I think it is an excellent settlement. It is fair. I’m glad it is finally put to rest.” The legal battle began in 1996. [Source]