Archive for August, 2009

ESPN.com reports on the Street Soccer USA Cup being held this weekend in Washington, D.C. Ann Arbor’s Street Soccer Project Outreach program is among the competitors, and the article quotes team member Sam Mejia, a former homeless man who’s now studying mechanical engineering at UM: ”We have to realize that’s why we’re here – to help each other. Sometimes we don’t realize what we need in spirit, but they [fellow Outreach workers and members] come back around and follow up with you. And that was my major motivation. I said ‘OK, I’m going to school and getting this thing done.’” [Source]

The crime column in the New York Time Sunday Book Review includes a brief review of local author Harry Dolan’s “Bad Things Happen”: “Although the plot is fairly outlandish, the narrative comes with startling developments and nicely tricky reversals. There’s also something appealingly offbeat about the wry, dry tone of its academic humor, which has much to do with the self- important authors who figure in the hectic plot, either as murder suspects or as the victims of a killer who seems to be culling the Gray Streets contributors list.” [Source]

Nearly $12 million in potential cuts over the next two years – affecting up to 181 employees and services to hundreds of residents – are being considered as Washtenaw County leaders struggle to deal with a two-year budget deficit that’s grown to $30 million for 2010 and 2011. Details of the cost-cutting options were released Thursday. County administrator Bob Guenzel will formally present the options at an Aug. 5 board of commissioners meeting – a meeting that’s expected to draw a crowd of county staff and union members.

Hardest hit in this latest round could be mental health services – one option is to cut that part of the general fund budget by $2.4 million and eliminate 91 jobs.

At a July 29 briefing for commissioners, Guenzel stressed that the options he’ll present next week aren’t his final recommendations. No decisions have been made, he said. The extent of the cuts, which commissioners will vote on as part of the overall budget, ultimately will depend on the outcome of ongoing negotiations with union leaders.

The county is talking with most of the 17 bargaining units that represent about 1,000 of the county’s 1,350 workers, asking for concessions – even though union contracts are set through at least 2010. Guenzel plans to update commissioners on the progress of union talks at a closed executive session during their Aug. 5 board meeting. The closed session for union contract negotiations is an exception allowed under the Open Meetings Act.

This is the second phase of budget cuts. Phase 1, approved by the board in July, included $13.69 million in cuts and a reduction of 26 jobs, about half of them already vacant. Guenzel’s final 2010-2011 budget recommendations are expected to go before the board at its Sept. 16 meeting.

After the jump, we’ll provide details for the budget options being considered next week. [Full Story]

Joel Goldberg

Here’s a one-question pop quiz. The sticker on the bottle says the wine won a gold medal at a major competition. But one quick sip convinces you it’s the foulest plonk to cross your palate in weeks.

Your first reaction is:
     
A. “Who made this wine? I could make better wine than that!”
B. “Who bought this wine? I could pick out better wine than that!”
C. “Who gave this wine a gold medal? I could hand out awards better than that!”

Did you pick “C”? You may have a future as a wine judge. Read on … [Full Story]

With about 2,000 people coming to town for a week-long electricians training institute starting Aug. 1, the logistical prep for this event is fairly intense.

Logo for the National Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee (NJATC). (Photos by the writer)

To watch just a small piece of that advance work, The Chronicle swung by the University of Michigan Indoor Track Building on Friday, where dozens of people were setting up for a massive two-day trade show that kicks off the training program.

This is the 20th year for the National Training Institute, put on by the National Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee – you’ll see signs around town referring to both NTI and NJATC. But it’s the first time that the group has held its event in Ann Arbor, bringing an estimated economic impact of $5 million during one of the slowest times of the year for local businesses.

We encountered a bit of economic impact on the trade show floor as well. [Full Story]