Archive for November, 2009

There aren’t many meetings you can attend where some of the pre-meeting conversation goes like this: “I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on!”

Keeping Mack Pool open is even a campaign issue for student council, based on this sign in the hallway. The election is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13.

Swimmers can get away with that kind of banter, and swimmers of all sorts showed up Thursday night to talk about what the city should do to keep Mack Pool open. The public meeting was held at the media center of the Open School @ Mack, just down the hall from the pool – but far enough away to smell only the faintest whiff of chlorine.

Closing Mack Pool, or turning it over to the Ann Arbor school system, was one of the options proposed by city administrator Roger Fraser at an April 13, 2009 council working session, as a way to help balance the city’s budget in the face of declining revenues projected for 2010 and 2011. There’s about a $100,000 shortfall between what it costs to run the pool each year and the revenues it takes in. Figuring out how to make up that difference is the goal of the Mack Pool Task Force, which hosted Thursday’s meeting. [Full Story]

John U. Bacon

When the Red Wings drafted Steve Yzerman in 1983, he was 18 years old, but he looked even younger – less a Boy Scout, than a Cub Scout.

But his baby face didn’t prevent him from notching a stellar 91 points his rookie season. Two years later, the coach named him team captain – the youngest in the Red Wings’ history – though he hadn’t really earned it yet.

Oh, he could score. In his twenties, Yzerman rattled off six seasons of 100 points or more – including 155 points in 1988-89. In the history of the game, only two players have ever surpassed that mark: Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky. Not bad company. [Full Story]

On Saturday, Nov. 14, UM School of Dentistry students and faculty will be providing free dental services to the first 150 people, ages 16 and older, who show up to the clinic. Registration runs from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the school, 1011 N. University Ave. [Source]

UM president Mary Sue Coleman is on Time magazine’s “10 Best College Presidents” list. Ohio State’s Gordon Gee is singled out for recognition – Coleman is listed as one of “nine college presidents to watch.” [Source] [Link to Time's Coleman profile]

CNN reports on the increase in child obesity, and on medical studies that show overweight children are more likely to have heart disease as adults. The article interviews Jenice Burgos of Saline, who describes her daughter’s efforts to lose weight through UM’s MPOWER program. Burgos gives advice to parents: “Don’t let food become a substitute for the love and time you should give [your children].” [Source]

Ann Arbor city council work session (Nov. 9, 2009): At its work session on Monday, the council heard two presentations: (i) the financial impact of raising parking violation fines, and (ii) the use of social media by city staff in parks and recreation.

The parking presentation was given by Matthew Horning, the city’s treasurer. It included comparative data from other cities, and an analysis of the impact on total revenues that would result from raising fines. His presentation also looked at the impact of providing incentives for early payment across the 34 different categories of violations. For the expired meter fine, which accounts for 65% of all tickets issues, Horning’s analysis assumed a recommended increase from $15 to $20. The schedule of fines presented by Horning is projected to increase annual revenues by $875,287.

The social media presentation was given by Kim Mortson, who works in public relations for community services at the city. She described how she’d used social media like Twitter and Facebook to complement more traditional approaches to promote parks and recreation programs.

In our report, we focus exclusively on the parking violation fines. [Full Story]

Editor’s Note: After the break begins the next installment of the Washtenaw Jail Diary, written by a former inmate in Washtenaw County’s jail facility on Hogback Road. The piece originated as a Twitter feed in early 2009, which the author subsequently abandoned and deleted. See previous Chronicle coverage “Twittering Time at the Washtenaw County Jail.“

In now working with the author to publish the Washtenaw Jail Diary, The Ann Arbor Chronicle acknowledges that this is only one side of a multi-faceted tale.

We also would like to acknowledge that the author’s incarceration predates the administration of the current sheriff, Jerry Clayton.

This narrative, which we expect will run over a series of several installments, provides an insight into a tax-funded facility that most readers of The Chronicle will not experience first-hand in the same way as the author.

The language and topics introduced below reflect the environment of a jail. We have not sanitized it for Chronicle readers. It is not gratuitously graphic, but it is graphic just the same. It contains language and descriptions that some readers will find offensive. [Full Story]

A post on Maize ‘n Brew reflects on how it’s not so much fun to be a Michigan football fan these days: “For the first time in my life, I can honestly say that I look forward to watching the NFL on Sundays. I can’t wait for basketball season to start. When was the last time you heard that from a Michigan fan? These last three years, I find myself asking why I care so much; why the damage total thus far is 1 cell phone, window blinds, a wine glass, angry downstairs neighbors, a frightened dog, and a spouse who has asked more than once ‘shouldn’t this be fun?’” [Source]

The Detroit Metro Times reviews Jolly Pumpkin, a new brewpub on Main Street in Ann Arbor: “There is no real entrée menu as such. A small list of daily specials is offered, such as broiled walleye and mushroom risotto. The rest of the list consists of salads, sandwiches and pizza. Children are considered with an entire section of their own. There is an emphasis on local but it’s difficult to tell how serious they are about sourcing from nearby producers. Based on the pricing of some dishes, we would hope that this claim is more than just words on the menu.” [Source]

In advance of President Barack Obama’s trip to China on Thursday, the Detroit News looks at how Michigan is benefiting from exports to that country. The article quotes David Cole of the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research: “The Chinese love American stuff. The most serious danger right now for Michigan is any trade wars with China. The president needs to be very, very careful, and encourage trade.” [Source]

The Personal Best column in the New York Times looks at how bad weather affects people’s willingness to exercise. The column quotes James Pivarnik, a UM exercise physiologist: “If you are one of those people who are going to back off, you are just going to have to find something to make you do it. It has to be a behavioral thing in your head. It’s not going to happen just because the weather is nice, you have to think about it.” [Source]

Editor’s note: Jim Clarkson is a member of the Michigan Army National Guard serving in Iraq. He’s on leave back home in Michigan right now, but heading back to Iraq on Nov. 11. He writes a blog called War Inside My Head, which describes some of his experiences there.

Dear Chronicle readers,

As I sit here and reflect on the irony of having to return to Iraq on this upcoming Veterans Day I find myself contemplating the true meaning of the day. [Full Story]

WWJ’s Great Lakes IT Report notes that the Salvation Army of Washtenaw County’s Red Kettle campaign will accept credit cards from donors this year at three locations in Briarwood Mall, and at Sam’s Club in Ypsilanti. According to the report, it’s “the first corps in the state of Michigan, as well as The Salvation Army’s Central Territory, to use credit card machines at its kettles.” [Source]

An Orpheum Bell rehearsal: On bass, Serge van der Voo; vocals sung through a gramophone horn, Aaron Klein.

I’m wedged in the corner of a west side Ann Arbor basement amongst a jumble of musical instrument cases. The cases belong to the six musicians of Orpheum Bell. There’s more than one case per musician – they each play an array of different instruments. During a break in the rehearsal, I have to ask: What is that? It’s a Stroh violin, “spelled like the beer,” explains Annie Crawford.

The rehearsal is geared towards a CD release show at The Ark on Dec. 4. I’m soaking in the sounds of the basement practice mostly because of that CD, the group’s second – “Pearls.”

Serge van der Voo had sent along a review copy of the CD to The Chronicle. In a world of MP3 files flung around the Internet, a physical CD is an awfully clunky way to deliver musical data. But when I unfolded the heavy card stock CD cover into its 16-inch total length, I noticed one of the folds was not exactly uniform and regular – not the way you’d expect if a machine had produced several thousand of them.

An even closer examination revealed that the print quality was not the laser-like rigid perfection that a modern digital printer delivers. Which is not to say it was sloppy. On the contrary. It was more like trace-evidence that human hands had played a role. Who were these people with the apparently handcrafted CD case? To get some insight, I had crammed myself back amongst those instrument cases in the corner of a basement for two hours. [Full Story]

The Michigan Daily is one of several publications reporting on an incident involving UM athletic director Bill Martin, who recently apologized for physical contact with two students in separate incidents. The students, who were working security near the Regents Guest Area at Michigan Stadium, did not recognize Martin and initially did not let him enter. The Daily describes an encounter with one of the students, Arif Kahn, who reported that “a man and woman, both elderly, tried to enter the area and walked past him ‘as if he wasn’t there,’ according to the [police] report. Kahn said he put his hand on the door and asked to see their passes. In response, the man ‘forcibly grabbed’ Kahn’s windbreaker and pushed … [Full Story]

The Communicator, which is Ann Arbor’s Community High School newspaper, has launched a newly-designed website: “Our goal is to create a website that shares the interesting stories and work that goes on every day at our school.” [Source]

This snapshot of Del Rio's staff was taken in the early '70s. Co-owner Ernie Harburg is in the back row, far right, wearing glasses. His wife, Torry Harburg, is in the middle of the back row, wearing a red shirt. In the front row, far right, is chef Sara Moulton. Just behind her, with a moustache and glasses, is co-owner Rick Burgess. (Photo courtesy of Larry Behnke.)

Some time in the mid-1970s, waiter Larry Behnke pinned a large sheet of paper to the bulletin board that hung in the kitchen of the Del Rio Bar. Behnke, also an artist, had written at the top in bold, psychedelic lettering: “What the Del Rio Means to Me.”

After a few days the sheet was filled with responses, ranging from the thoughtful to the droll to the pitiable – with some that were just plain wacky.

“A nice corner bar that suffers from delusions of grandeur.”

“A place where you get paid to have fun, where you can be crazy without being committed, and where customers and employees are more important than money.”

“It’s my substitute home where people are nice to me.”

“The Del Rio means a million things to me, which I refuse to limit to the narrowness of words and the confines of space.”

“The Del Rio is benevolent despotism.”

Probably a majority of Ann Arborites never walked through the door of the funky old saloon that used to sit at the northeast corner of Ashley and Washington. But for plenty of those who did, the Del Rio was more than just a bar. It was a state of mind, a way of life, a second home – a tiny world unto itself. [Full Story]

The Michigan Environmental Council has issued a report that ranks Ann Arbor as the safest city in Michigan for pedestrians, according to an article in The Bay City Times. [Source] [.PDF of MEC report]

Ken Weber of Weber's Restaurant & Hotel, foreground, sits next to Kevin Gudejko of Main Street Ventures at the Nov. 4 county board of commissioners meeting. They were among the restaurateurs who spoke at a public hearing and questioned the need for a proposed food safety training program. (Photo by the writer.)

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners (Nov. 4, 2009): After removing a major item from their agenda – the 2010/2011 budget – county commissioners spent the bulk of their Nov. 4 meeting listening to presentations, reports, and a public hearing. Commissioners also voted and approved a new tax to raise roughly $603,000 annually for economic development. The 0.04 mills will be collected on the December 2009 tax bill.

Sheriff Jerry Clayton spoke about plans to reorganize the county’s central dispatch and emergency services operation. Changes include co-location of the county and the city of Ann Arbor’s central dispatch, which will both be housed in Ann Arbor.

Dick Fleece, director of the county’s Public Health/Environmental Health department, gave an update on the H1N1 outbreak and vaccination clinics in Washtenaw County. [On Monday, Nov. 9, the county announced a new clinic for mass immunization of people in expanded priority categories. That clinic will be held on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor.]

Commissioners also heard concerns from local restaurant owners and managers – including Ken Weber of Weber’s Restaurant & Hotel, and Rick Strutz of Zingerman’s Deli – during a public hearing on a proposed new food safety training program. [Full Story]