Archive for July, 2009

The Boston Globe reports on the pros and cons of medical marijuana, and quotes Hal Morgenstern, an epidemiologist at UM’s School of Public Health: ”We had hypothesized, based on prior laboratory evidence, including animal studies, that long-term heavy use of marijuana would increase the risk of lung and head and neck cancers. But we didn’t get any evidence of that, once we controlled for confounding factors, especially cigarette smoking.” [Source]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners meeting (July 8, 2009): In large part because the board has adopted a once-a-month summer meeting schedule, the agenda was full for Wednesday’s meeting. Commissioners asked – in some cases, grilled – the county treasurer about a proposed land bank project, which the board ultimately approved.

They also acted on several budget-related items, including 1) setting a public hearing for a proposed economic development tax, 2) passing the first phase of administrator Bob Guenzel’s recommendations to address a projected $26 million deficit, and 3) briefly discussing a proposal for changing the funding process for some nonprofits. Several leaders from the local arts community also turned out for a presentation on a countywide cultural plan.

But a large portion of the meeting was devoted to deliberations on the land bank, and that’s where we’ll begin our coverage. [Full Story]

A Wall Street Journal article looks at how Michigan’s imploding auto industry is affecting health care. The article quotes a couple of local sources – Marianne Udow-Phillips, director of the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation, a joint venture of UM and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan; and Garry Faja, president and CEO for the St. Joseph Mercy Health System. Says Faja: ”Almost one in four (residents) are without adequate health coverage. That is unsustainable.” [Source]

Writing on the Daily Kos blog, “leftyparent” reflects on the day in 1978 when he left his hometown of Ann Arbor to move to LA: “Leaving the progressive (though still provincial) politics, the feminist mentors, and living off the easy ambiance and egoistic worldliness of a university town. Leaving the youth-friendly streets, parks and circles (theater and board-gaming) that were so critical in nurturing my budding agency and talents. And where Mother Nature was a constant and at times mischievous life-partner, presenting me with a wonderful array of hot humid summer nights, crisp fall breezes and quick-charging thunderstorms that counterpointed and punctuated the events and moods of my life.” Readers share their own memories in the comments thread. [Source]

The Freep reports on how race and ethnic identify are shaping people’s reactions to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. The article quotes UM philosophy professor Carl Cohen, who says ”racial and ethnic balance is a dangerous and damaging concept. There are too many racial and ethnic clusters to make representation for all. Moreover … I do not care if all the judges on the Supreme Court are blue or black or green. … I care only that they are just and wise and very intelligent.” [Source]

Editor’s note: Arbor Opera Theater is giving a free concert on Thursday, July 16 at the First Congregational Church, 608 E. William Street (on the corner of South State and William). The show, which starts at 7 p.m., will feature arias and ensembles from well-known operas. Never been to an opera? Neither had Helen Nevius, until she attended a performance of AOT’s “Die Fledermaus” last month. The Chronicle asked her to share her impressions.

I am not an uncultured person. I’ve been to the ballet once or twice, and I’ve seen a couple Shakespeare plays. Going to the opera, however, isn’t something I usually do. In fact, it’s something I’d never done before I went to see Johann Strauss Jr.’s “Die Fledermaus,” performed by the Arbor Opera Theater, for The Chronicle.

Up until that performance, my knowledge of opera consisted of impressions gathered from cartoons, movies and listening to the “Jesus Christ Superstar” soundtrack I got for Christmas when I was 13. So, as far as I knew, going to the opera would involve dressing up in a cape and top hat and using tiny binoculars to observe a rotund gentleman vocalizing in a Viking helmet. If I was lucky, he might knock over some money changers’ tables and break out into a guitar solo. [Full Story]

When Don Botsford closed his Ann Arbor Gymkana in 1986, he put his spaceball court into storage, quietly ending an obscure and glorious chapter in Ann Arbor’s sports history.

Two Chronicle volunteers try their hand at spaceball. Don Botsford is in the foreground. (Photo by the writer.)

Or so we thought.

Last February Botsford, now 80, installed the court in his new gym, a 2,000-square-foot pole structure on his 20-acre nature preserve on the outskirts of town. It’s one of the few places in the world where people can still play spaceball – a game once dominated by players from Ann Arbor – and probably one of the few places in the world where anyone knows what it is.

“It’s a fun, silly game; it’s good exercise, and if you could get more people to play it they would get addicted,” said Washtenaw County prosecutor Brian Mackie, whose competitive spaceball career in the 1960s took him to distant shores (Cleveland) along with Botsford and two other players from Ann Arbor. [Full Story]

Robin Agnew

[Editor's note: Robin Agnew and her husband Jamie own Aunt Agatha's mystery bookstore in Ann Arbor. She also helps run the annual Kerrytown BookFest.] 

“Shanghaied” by Eric Stone (Bleak House Books: hardcover $24.95; paperback $14.95)

“I love Chinese food. But sometimes China doesn’t do much for my appetite.” – Ray Sharp

Though this novel might at the beginning be categorized along with books by writers like Barry Eisler, Brent Ghelfi and maybe even Lee Child, halfway through Eric Stone turns his action story on its ear in an entirely unexpected way.

This is the fourth book in a series featuring detective Ray Sharp, a Hong Kong-based investigator who does “due diligence” investigations with his partner, the Chinese-Mexican dwarf Wen Lei Yue. As the story opens Ray and Lei are looking into a missing monk. What they can’t decide is if the monk is just having a little illicit fun or if the monk is the money man for his well-endowed monastery, in which case his disappearance is more worrisome. [Full Story]

Reuters reports that obese people could face special risks from the H1N1 swine flu virus. The article refers to a study by UM medical researchers, who described the cases of 10 patients “who were so ill they had to be put on ventilators. Three died. Nine of the 10 were obese, seven were severely obese, including two of the three who died.” [Source]

The nonprofit 826michigan is holding its “first ever Yet-to-be-officially-titled Art Fair Film Festival,” in partnership with the Huron River Arts Initiative: ”We are currently seeking filmmakers, artists, writers, actors, and other creative types to make short films that honor, roast, poke fun at, and exemplify the beast we all know as Art Fair. Movies can be in any genre! This includes: horror, mockumentary, documentary, musical, spaghetti western, dramady, comema, action, romantic comedy, gangster, animation, epic, silent, foreign, or anything else you can think of.” Details about entry criteria are on the group’s website. [Source]

In an article about Abracadabra Jewelry and Gem Gallery, we incorrectly reported that the store sold “mocha” mokume. The store sells pieces made using the mokume gane metalworking technique. We note the error here, and have corrected it in the original article.

The author of the Ehdom blog writes about being in Ann Arbor to collect stories from strangers: ”You can usually find me somewhere around State Street and Liberty. Look for a bandana and a sign. I started a new notebook yesterday that is to be filled with journal entries from strangers. I met about 9 wonderful people yesterday and got three new journal entries. Thanks for all that stopped by. I’ll post the notebooks up once I have them filled up a bit more.” [Source]

Two UM regents – Larry Deitch and Andrea Fischer Newman – co-authored an op/ed essay defending the decision to raise tuition: ”As Michigan has reeled from a severe economic downturn, the University of Michigan’s state appropriation has gone from $365 million in 2002 to at most $316 million in 2010. Accounting for inflation, it has become the equivalent of a loss of more than $100 million annually. The Board of Regents’ responsibility is clear: to ensure U-M’s academic and financial excellence for the long term.” [Source]

[Note: This column grew out of an analysis of the July 6 Ann Arbor city council deliberations on site plan development for the library lot. At the start of those deliberations, Mike Anglin (Ward 5) proposed an amendment that specified some public participation and eliminated the time frame for a Request for Proposals (RFP).]

Chess players in a tournament have to play a series of games against opponents drawn at random. Top players don’t worry much about the draw – their tournament results ultimately depend on skill, not who they have to play against.

Similarly, skilled politicians are able to work for the public good – no matter who happens to sit across the table from them.

Based on a preliminary examination of the additional corpus of emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by The Chronicle, it appears that Leigh Greden (Ward 3) would prefer to play his political chess when he can choose his own opponents and arrange outcomes in advance. In his own words, he likes to “script” outcomes for the public. And part of that scripting entails being the casting director – trying to control who sits across the table from him. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor City Council meeting (July 6, 2009): The word “public” covered much of the ground of this past Monday’s meeting: public art, public land, public input.

Mike Anglin’s (Ward 5) amendment with edits made by Sabra Briere (Ward 1) at the council table.

The council got an annual report from the Public Art Commission highlighted by a reminder that Herbert Dreiseitl will be visiting Ann Arbor on July 20 to introduce plans for the storm water art he’s been commissioned to design for the new municipal center. The designs have not yet been accepted.

The council also heard a report from the Greenbelt Advisory Commission on a slight strategy shift in the use of $10 million of public money so far to protect 1,321 acres of land. The  council also approved a resolution to preserve the First & William parking lot as public land.

The discussion of another parcel of public land, the library lot, led to long deliberations on the wording of a resolution to establish an RFP (request for proposals) process for development of the site – below which an underground parking structure is planned. At issue was the timing of the RFP and the explicit inclusion of a public participation component in the process. The deliberations provided some insight into how councilmembers work together when the outcome of their conversations at the table is not scripted or pre-planned. [Full Story]