Archive for December, 2009

Editor’s Note: The monthly milestone column, which appears on the second day of each month – the anniversary of The Ann Arbor Chronicle’s launch – is an opportunity for either the publisher or the editor of The Chronicle to touch base with readers on topics related to this publication.

The Cube, by artist Tony Rosenthal, on the University of Michigan campus. (Photo by the writer.)

In a little over a year of operation, The Ann Arbor Chronicle has now published more than 1,000 full-length pieces – that number excludes Media Watch and Stopped.Watched items. And Chronicle readers have posted more than 6,000 comments on the website.

Depending on your perspective, both those numbers might seem rather paltry. But they are substantial enough to raise a couple of issues. First, the volume of archived material has become large enough that we’ve switched from the built-in WordPress search function to Google’s custom site search. It’s not perfect, but it’s a dramatic improvement.

And second, while the mission of The Chronicle is not explicitly about reader comments, we think it’s appropriate to acknowledge the positive way readers have used Chronicle comments as a platform to add information, insight, and additional perspective on Chronicle material. To that end, I may from time to time use a Monthly Milestone column to highlight some reader comments that I think had, for one reason or other, particular merit – starting this month.

But first, a few details on the Google custom search engine that now provides Chronicle site search results. [Full Story]

The Washtenaw Voice posts a two-minute video of a bike ride along Michigan Avenue in downtown Ypsilanti. [Source]

The main topic of discussion for the Ann Arbor Greenbelt Advisory Commission’s November meeting could be distilled into this: How can the greenbelt program support the development of small farms, and ensure that farm properties remain farms, even when the property changes ownership?

It’s an unlikely resource that might actually be able to help answer those questions: the federal housing programs administered by the Office of Community Development, a joint county/city department.

Jennifer Hall, OCD housing program coordinator, attended the Nov. 4 meeting of the greenbelt group and floated some ideas for how federal funding might provide resources to retain land for the farming community.

The commission also heard from the managing organization of the greenbelt program, The Conservation Fund, about strategies for preserving small farms. [Full Story]

The Bleacher Report lists “Five Things Santa Should Bring to Ann Arbor.” No. 1 on the list? Consistency: “The Michigan teams you grew to love and watch became fierce and hungry as the season wore on. This defensive squad showed no heart until it was too late. The Ohio State game was probably one of the better games, but still wasn’t enough in the end. And that was the story for the entire season.” [Source]

A USA Today article looks at President Barack Obama’s agenda for December – which includes health care reform and additional troop deployment, among other things – and asks whether it’s overly ambitious. The article quotes Barry Rabe, a UM political scientist: “On the one hand, it’s potentially receptive for doing a lot, but it’s also a potential recipe for gridlock.” [Source]