Archive for June, 2010

Ann Arbor Greenbelt Advisory Commission meeting (June 9, 2010): Under typical agreements crafted for the city’s greenbelt program, only 2% of land protected by a greenbelt conservation easement is allowed to be covered by an impervious surface – a house, for example, or roads.

A hoop house at Sunseed Farm, northwest of Ann Arbor. (Photo by Marianne Rzepka.)

To date, that hasn’t been an issue for most parcels in the program, which are fairly large – more than 40 acres. But as the greenbelt advisory commission (GAC) considers ways to support small farms – in the 15-20 acre range – some challenges have emerged. A farm of that size with hoop houses, for example, might easily result in covering more than 2% of the land.

During the public portion of this month’s GAC meeting, commissioners discussed how to address this and other issues that might require modifying the language in conservation easements for the city’s greenbelt program. Also addressed were strategies to ensure that the land stays in agriculture for future generations.

No action was taken at the June 9 meeting, and comments from commissioners indicate there’s also no clear consensus yet for how to handle this relatively new greenbelt focus. [Full Story]

Last summer, the final piece was put in place for a four-way partnership to fund a transportation feasibility study of the corridor from Plymouth Road down to South State Street. The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board gave approval for its $320,000 share of the study’s $640,00 price tag.

The "boomerang map" showing the Ann Arbor corridors being studied for higher quality transit options like bus rapid transit, streetcars, and monorail. (Image links to higher resolution file.)

Some early results of the “Ann Arbor Connector Feasibility Study” were presented last Tuesday evening at the Ann Arbor District Library in an open-house style format with boards and easels, complemented by a presentation from the consultant hired to perform the study, project manager Rick Nau of URS Corporation.

Nau reported that the study is currently in the needs analysis phase – traffic congestion was a phrase Nau sprinkled through his remarks during the evening. The initial needs analysis shows that the majority of the travel demand in the Plymouth-State corridors is accounted for by trips between different parts of the University of Michigan campus.

The study has not reached the point of drawing lines on maps for possible transportation routes. Instead, the representation of the area of study is a “boomerang map” stretching from US-23 near Plymouth Road to Briarwood Mall. The boomerang includes two of four “signature transit corridors” identified in the city of Ann Arbor’s Transportation Plan Update – Plymouth/Fuller roads and State Street.

Prompted by an audience question, Nau made clear that the study has not yet reached the dollars-and-cents analysis phase that will eventually come. The study is expected to be completed by December 2010 with the preliminary recommendations to be publicly presented in the fall.

Nau’s presentation focused on establishing the need for higher quality transit along the corridor and the range of technology choices available to meet that need. Those technology choices range from larger buses running along the regular roadway to elevated monorail trains. [Full Story]

In The Faster Times Theater Talk column, Davi Napoleon reviews “Patty Hearst: the New Musical,” a production by Ann Arbor’s Blackbird Theatre. Barton Bund wrote the show’s book, music, and lyrics, and also directed the production. Napoleon writes: “Bund, who is also the founding artistic director of the Blackbird, is the real deal. His vision is authentic, his commitment to a small group of local artists genuine. Patty is infused with a spirit of collaboration, and Bund is quick to credit his actors and co-sound designer, William Myers, for their part in developing the work. But it’s clear as well that on this outing, he has done it all, and he has done it all brilliantly.” [Source]

Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education meeting (June 9, 2010): At its second-to-last meeting of the school year on Wednesday, trustee Susan Baskett appealed to the AAPS bus drivers’ union: “I want to stress to the bargaining unit – we’re running out of time.”

AAPS superintendent Todd Roberts, taking copious notes during last Wednesday's school board meeting. (Photos by the writer.)

The AAPS board of education voted to consider a resolution to consolidate transportation services at its final meeting on June 23, if a competitive bid is not received by the bus drivers’ union before then. Also, after months of discussion, the board passed the 2010-11 budget and accompanying millage to support it.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the board approved a new AP Biology textbook, passed a resolution in support of using the state’s School Aid Fund only to fund K-12 schools, and debated the renewal of a contract to outsource the district’s food service. And, for more than half of its six-hour meeting, the board engaged in non-voting business, receiving updates from Skyline High School staff, the USA Hockey team housed at Pioneer High, and the Intergroup/Social Change Agents, a high school program designed to encourage dialogue on social identities. [Full Story]

The Detroit News reports on Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder’s recent affirmation of his anti-abortion stance, pointing to an opinion piece he wrote on the subject that was published last week in the Grand Rapids Press. Snyder, who’s seeking the GOP nomination for governor, wrote that “As a strong pro-life and pro-family candidate for governor, I am strongly committed to the rights of the unborn.” He also called for Michigan to opt out of abortion coverage mandated by the national health care reform law. [Source] [Link to Snyder's opinion piece in the Grand Rapids Press]

On her Relish blog, photographer Myra Klarman describes – in words and photographs – a Shakespeare in the Arb performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Calling it a “revelation,” she writes: “If you haven’t yet seen a Shakespeare in the Arb production, now in its 10th year, this would be a great year to start. Save for the mosquitoes (pack repellent), I would characterize the entire experience as glorious. And I say that, even though on the night I attended, the last 5 minutes of the performance were canceled due to a raging downpour.” [Source]

At their March 15, 2010 meeting, the Ann Arbor city councilmembers heard an update from city administrator Roger Fraser during his regular report to them: The staffing of temporary positions administered by Manpower, a temporary staffing agency, would be be brought back in-house.

And two months later, attached to the city council’s May 3, 2010 agenda was a communication about Health and Human Services guidelines for poverty levels – there was no change this year. That means there’s no change to the minimum compensation required under the city’s living wage ordinance.

How does the living wage ordinance relate to the approximately 35-40 temporary employees who are transitioning from Manpower to the city’s payroll? It doesn’t. The city itself is not required to pay its own workers at the level stipulated by the living wage ordinance – it applies to outside contractors with the city, like Manpower.

But the majority (with some exceptions) of the transitioned workers won’t see a drop in their wages – and that’s viewed as a positive outcome by the city. On the other hand, there’s no health insurance benefits through the city for those workers – Manpower had offered a health insurance option. And a hoped-for increase in temporary workers’ wages – a move supported by some city supervisors – did not materialize, foundering on an overall budget climate that made talk of wage cuts easier than a discussion of increases.

The recent move away from the use of Manpower as an agency to staff temporary city positions provides a good excuse to review the living wage ordinance itself, and its less-than-obvious connection to the upcoming Ann Arbor Summer Festival and to the city’s recycling program. In the case of the recycling program, the city is spending several hundred thousand dollars over a 10-year period to ensure that workers for a private company operating the city’s materials recovery facility are paid in compliance with the living wage ordinance. [Full Story]

Local artist Leslie Sobel is soliciting images for a community art project at the Street Art Fair’s Townie Street Party on July 19. From her Painting with Fire blog: “This year’s project is Invader/Invasive – a community art/mapping/journaling project about the effect of invasive species on our local ecosystem. The piece will include mapping with some GIS layers, drawings, and people written expressions about the invaders – those can be poetic, lists, journals – whatever seems to work. I need your help to make this happen. Specifically I’m soliciting your images of invasive species in your yards or in public spaces you feel connected to.” [Source]

USA Today published a profile of Matt Grocoff and his efforts to do a “green” renovation of his 110-year-old Ann Arbor home, making it a net-zero energy structure. The rehab included installing a geothermal heating & cooling system. Says Grocoff: “We were able to put three 150-foot bore holes vertically into the back yard on a very small piece of property. Not only do we have a heating and cooling system that uses half the energy of our neighbors, we have a house that’s a whole lot more comfortable.” [Source]

The date of the last Original Six Stanley Cup final was 1979 – not 1973, as originally reported in a June 11, 2010 column. We note the error here, and have corrected the original column.

Ann Arbor Public Art Commission meeting (June 8, 2010): With some members expressing frustration at the lack of response from German artist Herbert Dreiseitl, the city’s public art commission set a deadline for him to provide information about two interior art installations proposed for the city’s new police/courts facility. AAPAC first asked for the information, including a revised budget estimate, in October 2009.

The Abracadabra Jewelry & Gem Gallery storefront on East Liberty, just east of Fourth Avenue. The business is being given a Golden Paintbrush award by the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission for contributing to the streetscape. (Photos by the writer)

Also at their Tuesday meeting, commissioners voted on the annual Golden Paintbrush awards, recognizing contributions to art in public places. Winners this year are Abracadabra Jewelry on East Liberty, the University of Michigan Health System, and Tamara Real, president of the Arts Alliance.

The group also discussed how to publicize a public open house set for Wednesday, June 23 from 6-8 p.m. at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave. The event will include a talk by Chrisstina Hamilton, director of visitors’ programs for the UM School of Art & Design who also runs the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speakers Series.

Tuesday’s meeting was attended by Lee Doyle, who might be joining the commission. She’s chief of staff for the University of Michigan Office of the Vice President for Communications and a member of the UM President’s Advisory Committee for Public Art. Doyle is also a founder of the university’s Arts on Earth program, and oversees the UM Film Office. To serve on AAPAC, she would need to be nominated by mayor John Hieftje and confirmed by the city council. [Full Story]

UM has announced that David Canter, who led Pfizer’s Ann Arbor operations, will be executive director of the university’s North Campus Research Center, which is located at the former Pfizer site. The drug company shut down its Ann Arbor research facility in 2008, and the 174-acre campus was bought by UM last year. Canter’s appointment awaits approval by UM regents, likely at their June 17 meeting. [Source]

The Wall Street Journal looks at the role of “muti” – a Zulu word referring to witchcraft or traditional medicine – in South Africa’s efforts to win the World Cup, which are being hosted by that country. The article quotes Adam Ashforth, a UM professor of African-American and African studies, commenting on how many South Africans use traditional medicine: “It’s a booming business. There is a tremendous expansion of the commercialization of muti going into supermarkets and so on.” [Source]

John U. Bacon

Hard-core hockey fans – and really, are there any other kind? – are all pumped up this week because on Wednesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks scored in overtime to win their first Stanley Cup since 1961. And that harkens back to the era of the so-called Original Six.

But if you’re not a hard-core fan, you probably don’t know what Original Six means. The Hard-Cores will be quick to tell you the Original Six is code for the first six NHL teams. They’re easy to remember, if you think of them in pairs: New York and Boston, Montreal and Toronto, Detroit and Chicago.

Hockey fans revere the Original Six the way basketball fans gush about the Celtics-Lakers rivalry and classical music buffs go on about Bach, Brahms and Beethoven. The Original Six has become such a popular catch-phrase, it’s now on a baseball cap, featuring all six team logos. It outsells the caps of most individual teams.

I’ve always suspected the Original Six is such a hot catch-phrase because, for the Hard-Cores, it doubles as a secret password. If you know what the Original Six is, you must be Hard-Core. And if you don’t, you ain’t. [Full Story]

Editor’s note: For this installment of Laura Bien’s bi-weekly local history column she counts down a top 10 list of least persuasive advertisements in old time Ypsilanti newspapers.

10. One early cereal offered a transformative experience.

Jim Dumps was a most unfriendly man,
who lived his life on the hermit plan;
In his gloomy way he’d gone through life,
And made the most of woe and strife;
Till Force one day was served to him-
Since then they’ve called him “Sunny Jim.”

Force breakfast wheat flakes were advertised in a 1902 Ypsilanti newspaper with one of the first brand mascots, Sunny Jim. It was only seven years earlier that John Harvey Kellogg had patented his “Flaked Cereals and Process for Preparing Same.” The popular Force ad campaign used six-line verses written by Minnie Maud Hanff and illustrated by Dorothy Ficken.

Jim Dumps asserted, “Too much meat
In summer causes too much heat.
What shall we eat all summer long,
That, without meat, shall keep us strong,
And in the best of summer trim?”
“Why, ‘Force,’ of course,” laughed ‘Sunny Jim.’

Though the poems now seem quaint, in his time Sunny Jim was a popular cultural icon for the cereal that promised “the strength of meat, without the heat.”

(Image links to higher resolution file.)

[Full Story]

Ann Arbor City Council meeting (June 7, 2010): Speculation that the vote on the Heritage Row project would be delayed was borne out on Monday night. Without discussion, the council postponed votes on the development’s rezoning and site plan until June 21.

Left in the frame, scanning through the protest petition documents, is Scott Munzel, legal counsel for Alex de Parry, developer of the Heritage Row project. De Parry is seated in the row behind with his arms resting on the bench back. In the foreground is Bradley Moore, architect for Heritage Row. (Photos by the writer.)

Councilmembers were also informed that a protest petition had been filed on Heritage Row Monday afternoon, which – once validated – would bump the requirement for approval from a simple six-vote majority to eight out of 11 council votes. Petition filers have calculated that they’ve collected signatures from 51% of adjoining property owners, weighted by land area. That exceeds the 20% required for a successful petition, but as of late Wednesday, the city had not completed its verification process for the signatures. [Update: Early Thursday afternoon, the city confirmed the 20% threshold had been met.]

In other business, the council approved increases in water and sewer rates and gave initial approval to changes in the city code language on the placement of recycling carts.

A wording change in the list of permissible uses for public land was also given initial approval, but not without discussion. Thematically related to land use was a presentation during the meeting’s concluding public commentary in response to a request for proposals (RFP) for the privatization of the city-owned Huron Hills golf course.

Also receiving discussion was an item pulled out of the consent agenda that authorized $75,000 for Ann Arbor SPARK, for economic development.

Criticism during public commentary on the appointment and nomination process used by the mayor to fill seats on boards and commissions stirred mayor John Hieftje to defend shielding individual members of those bodies from public demands.

Public commentary also elicited from Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 1) an update on the development of the Library Lot – he chairs the committee charged with overseeing the RFP process. [Full Story]