Archive for November, 2009

In our report on the Ann Arbor city council’s Nov. 5, 2009 meeting, we gave the wrong reason for a closed session held near the end of the council’s regular meeting. The purpose of that meeting was to review the performance of the city attorney and the city administrator. We acknowledge the mistake here and have corrected the mistake in the orginal report. The same error is reflected the official minutes of the Nov. 5 meeting as accepted by the city council at its Nov. 16, 2009 meeting.

With Monday’s news that Michigan’s football coaches for almost a year didn’t turn in mandatory reports to track the amount of time players practice, columnists and bloggers are riffing on what this means for the program. On The Rivalry Esq., a blog devoted to Michigan/Ohio State, a post titled “Michigan: An Autopsy” is particularly descriptive: “The once proud maize and blue has sunk into the soft wet earth, an expressionless program silenced by progress and frozen in time. When I think of Michigan today I see a corpse – a cruel, and unfamiliar face, hollow cavities soaked in iodine, and pale fists clenched in a lonely resolve.” [Source]

County commissoner Mark Ouimet, right, talks with Washtenaw County Sheriff’s commander Dieter Heren after Monday's meeting of the county's police services steering committee. During the meeting, Ouimet was added to the membership of a finance subcommittee, which will be looking at the cost of sheriff deputy contracts with local municipalities. (Photo by the writer.)

As reported in The Chronicle’s preview of the upcoming Nov. 18 Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners meeting, the agenda includes an item to be presented by Sheriff Jerry Clayton, listed on the agenda as a “Recommendation of Policy for Adding Contract Deputies.”

At last week’s administrative briefing, few details were available about Clayton’s presentation. So when county administrator Bob Guenzel mentioned to commissioners that Clayton would be discussing the item at the county’s Police Services Steering Committee meeting, held on Monday, The Chronicle made a point to attend.

The issue of contract deputies has been contentious – one that resulted in a years-long legal battle between the county and three townships. The dispute has centered on how much municipalities have to pay to contract with the sheriff’s department for deputy patrols, and what the true cost of providing those patrols is –  a price versus cost issue. A policy change could be significant, if it addressed these issues.

At Monday’s meeting of the police services steering committee, which includes several township supervisors, public safety officials and four county commissioners, Clayton made it clear that any recommendation for broader policy change is a work in progress. [Full Story]

Clarence Cromwell has launched The Bohemian, a new monthly print and online publication covering arts and entertainment in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. The print edition is available at bookstores, coffee shops, restaurants and some retailers, according to its website. Cromwell, an Ypsilanti resident, is also a partner in FreeTheNews, a site devoted to citizen journalism. [Source]

The Royal Oak Daily Tribune reports on endorsements garnered by candidates vying for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, noting that Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard and Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder are outpacing others. Snyder’s endorsements include Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., Jerry Zandstra, president of Pro-Life Federation of Michigan, and Chuck Yob, former Republican National Committeeman. [Source]

The Ann Arbor Public Schools has posted the latest edition of its new online newsletter, AAPSNews. Features include a look at the system’s environmental education program, a profile of Scarlett Middle School technology education teacher Gary Graff, and an open letter from superintendent Todd Roberts about the district’s budget. [Source]

Ann Arbor City Council Sunday Caucus (Nov. 15, 2009): Around two dozen residents came to city council chambers Sunday night to convey their thoughts on two major planning issues on the city council’s agenda for Monday.

Sabra Briere (Ward 1) confirms with an Ann Arbor resident at the city council's Sunday caucus that the map she's sketched reflects accurately the block bounded by Huron, State, Washington, and Division streets. In the background, Mike Anglin (Ward 5) and Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3). (Photo by the writer.)

The downtown zoning ordinance package – known as A2D2, which the council has approved on two prior occasions at a “first reading” – will be given a public hearing, with a vote also scheduled for Monday night. In addition, the downtown design guidelines will have its public hearing continued, which started on Oct. 5. No vote on design guidelines is scheduled for Monday.

Also receiving discussion at caucus were the six projects that were submitted before last Friday’s Nov. 13 deadline, in response to the city’s request for proposals to use the space on top of the Fifth Avenue underground parking garage.

Also the council’s agenda, but not receiving discussion among councilmembers who attended the caucus, is the council’s formal acceptance of the Huron River and Impoundment Management Plan (HRIMP) from the city’s environmental commission – but not the plan’s recommendations related to Argo Dam.

And a consent agenda item that requests funds to purchase additional electronic parking meter equipment contains in its description a plan to install meters in new areas that have not been previously identified.

Finally, there’s a whole new category of item on Monday’s agenda – a category that raises questions. [Full Story]

Mark Maynard writes about the possibility that VG Kids, an Ypsilanti screen-printing firm, might relocate to Ann Arbor. He posts an email exchange with the owner, James Marks, about the Ypsi business climate and what needs to change. Writes Marks: “It’s been surprising to me that we haven’t been able to find something suitable, I’m sort of hoping someone will suggest something obvious that I’ve overlooked. It’s brought my attention to how little space we have that’s practical for new people to put down roots. We want more businesses, but our stock of space is pretty limited.” [Source]

The New York Times has an item about a study that finds scented products stick with consumers. It quotes Aradhna Krishna, a UM professor of marketing: “The human memory for smell is very strong, and researchers have known all along that people remember smell. What we’re saying is, it’s not just the smell that people remember. It’s other things associated with the smell: the brand name, or the shape of the product’s box.” [Source]

You'll be out of luck if your Thanksgiving Day plans included dining at the Fleetwood – it will be closed for the holiday.

Last year, The Chronicle asked readers to give us their best bets for places to eat out on Thanksgiving Day, given that most restaurants would be closed. We recently checked in with those restaurants to make sure they’d be open this year too, and have added a few to the list.

We’ve also listed several restaurants that we thought might be open on Thanksgiving – but, it turns out, aren’t. Finally, we’ve included some of the spots that will be serving free meals on Thanksgiving Day to people in need.

All of this, after the jump. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Public Art Commission meeting (Nov. 10, 2009): Based on the recommendation of Sue McCormick, the city’s public services administrator, the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission will be forwarding a resolution to city council for approval of only one of three art pieces by German artist Herbert Dreiseitl.

The city has already paid Dreiseitl for the design of three pieces for the city’s new municipal center, also known as the police-courts facility, being built next to city hall. But it will only be the outdoor piece – a storm water fountain and sculpture – that city council is expected to vote on at its Dec. 7 meeting.

City council was originally expected to vote on the Dreiseitl project at its Nov. 16 meeting. According to AAPAC chair Margaret Parker, the delay in voting on the outdoor piece, which currently has a budget of $728,458, was due to McCormick’s concern over unanswered questions that require additional input from the municipal center’s architect as well as Dreiseitl. McCormick had pointed to unresolved issues with the two indoor pieces in deciding to leave them out of the vote completely, Parker said. [Full Story]

Examiner.com gives a roundup of the Washtenaw County Trial Court docket for the week of Nov. 16, which includes 10 jury trials – seven criminal, and three civil cases. [Source]

It isn’t often that a member of the public attends the administrative briefing for the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, but on Tuesday, Mohammad Jama – a Washtenaw Technical Middle College student – showed up to fulfill a requirement for one of his classes.

Three of the 11 commissioners also showed up for the briefing, which is held the week before a regular board meeting. It’s a venue for the county’s administration to review informally the upcoming agenda. The agenda will be full for the Nov. 18 meeting, one that includes an update on the 2009 budget – it’s now showing a surplus – and a likely vote on the 2010/2011 budget, which had been pulled from the Nov. 4 agenda.

The briefing also touched on a potentially controversial agenda item: A request from Sheriff Jerry Clayton to change the policy related to police services contracts with local municipalities. Other items on the agenda for Nov. 18 include funding to support the homeless, a change in allocation of the accommodation tax, and appointments to more than a dozen county committees and commissions. Details after the break. [Full Story]

Writing on 350.org, Bill McKibben describes a CD he recently received: “I got a copy when I was in Ann Arbor on Wednesday to lead a rally with the musician Seth Bernard on the quad at the University of Michigan. It was great fun on a gorgeous day, and the best news was that the city’s Ecology Center is setting up an ongoing Ann Arbor 350 Project to push for change on a local, statewide, national and global scale.” The Ecology Center hosted a talk by McKibben, an environmental activist and founder of 350.org, on Nov. 11. [Source]

Greg Dooley of MVictors writes about the origins of a necklace worn by Peg Canham, widow of former UM athletic director Don Canham. Peg Canham told Dooley: “He surprised me with the necklace for Christmas shortly after we were married in 1995. As I’m sure you can figure Don had a jewelry box full of rings but this one was always my favorite because it is the Michigan Stadium, and he knew it.” Dooley also posts photos of the ring, and others like it that he’s written about previously. [Source]

The Detroit News reports on tools that deer hunters are using, including online forums, trail cameras and scent-reducing sprays. The article quotes Steve Winchester, a deer hunter from Chelsea who uses silver-based sprays: “I’ve got buddies that say forget all that scent stuff. Well, I want them downwind from me. Up north you absolutely have to hunt with scent protection and be very careful. The deer are just very wary up there.” [Source]

Release forms for a video of Thursday's panel are collected from panelists by Shannon Riffe of the Ann Arbor District Library, far left. Standing left to right are county commissioner Barbara Levin Bergman, Washtenaw County sheriff Jerry Clayton, and Christine Negendank, of the county's Community Support and Treatment Services. Not in this photo, but also on the panel, was Washtenaw County prosecutor Brian Mackie. (Photo by the writer.)

During Thursday night’s panel discussion on the Washtenaw County jail, one message from sheriff Jerry Clayton was this: It’s his job to administer the jail, but it’s the whole county’s jail – it’s our jail.

Clayton was joined on the panel by Washtenaw County prosecutor Brian Mackie, Washtenaw County commissioner Barbara Levin Bergman, and Christine Negendank, a psychiatrist with the county’s Community Support and Treatment Services department. The event was hosted by the League of Women Voters at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library.

The format allowed some time for audience members to have their written questions put to the panelists. Among those questions were concerns about translation services at the jail for non-English speaking inmates and possible racial profiling of Latinos in the immigrant population.

Questions posed by the League of Women Voters provided panelists a chance to give somewhat of a tutorial on how the government’s system of punishment works – Brian Mackie was asked to start with an explanation of the difference between jail and prison. [Full Story]

The Detroit Free Press reports that the state Senate passed a bill that would replace state park entry fees with a $10 surcharge on vehicle registrations. The article notes that the bill’s main sponsor in the House is state Rep. Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor). From the report: “The House is expected to vote on similar legislation to charge vehicle owners the $10 parks fee when they renew their registrations, unless they speak up to decline. Under the Senate version, they’d be asked first on a form to accept or decline the fee.” Warren objects to the Senate version, according to the report, because too many people might opt out. [Source]