Candidate cookies at Jefferson Market & Cakery. The Chronicle did not ask why McCain's name is printed and Obama is written in cursive.
Combining politics and buttercream frosting – brilliant!
Jefferson Market & Cakery’s Cookie Vote ’08 pits Obama against McCain in the form of sugar cookies iced with red, white and blue frosting and emblazoned with each candidate’s name. As of Wednesday afternoon, Obama was outselling McCain by 66 to 5. [Full Story]
Russ Collins introduces EMU President Susan Martin at Wednesday's Morning Edition.
Cars and movies bookended the topics covered at Wednesday’s Morning Edition, a monthly gathering that features short talks by community and business leaders.
Up first was Jean Jennings, the high-energy president and editor-in-chief of Automobile Magazine, which has offices above Champion House at the corner of Fourth & Liberty.
She described the current market for magazines in general as crappy (well, she didn’t use that word, but she could have). “As the car companies go, so go the car magazines,” she said, noting that the auto industry … [Full Story]
A dishrag knitted up in less than the time it took for planning commission to meet.
At the Sept. 4 planning commission meeting, the resolution to recommend City Place project – proposed along South Fifth Avenue as a PUD by Alex de Parry – failed with only two votes for it.
Under-reported generally, and specifically about that meeting, is the volume of knitted material that is produced during Ann Arbor public meetings by folks in the audience. And knitting is a great metaphor for framing some of the general issues laid out at the planning commission meeting with respect to the specific project. [Full Story]
Just to be clear: You can't park here ... but love and kisses to you anyway.
When I am faced with tough choices about what to invest The Chronicle’s time in covering, sometimes an interesting sign beats an emailed press release.
Design on T-shirts and tote bags sold at Middle Earth on South University.
One fine early autumn day this week, The Chronicle strolled into Middle Earth looking for anything Ann Arborish. We had come to the right place.
Just this summer, the iconic South U shop started selling T-shirts and tote bags with an Ann Arbor design they’d come up with themselves, and had printed down the street at Underground Printing. The items were in response to demand, says store manager Hope Meadows.
During the summer art fairs, she said, shoppers would come into Middle Earth looking for something distinctly Ann Arbor – and not with the ubiquitous University of Michigan logo. Not having anything to offer and not wanting to lose those potential sales, they decided to make their own Ann Arbor-centric line.
That’s why the “Ann Arbor for Obama” bumper stickers were created, too, and pins with sayings like “I’d rather be in Ann Arbor.” [Full Story]
Entrance to the current Humane Society of Huron Valley on Cherry Hill Road.
A buried chewtoy, some chicken broth and a friendly pit bull named May are ready to play a key role in Tuesday’s long-awaited groundbreaking for the Humane Society of Huron Valley‘s new $8.6 million facility.
Seeking a behind-the-scenes peek at preparations for the event, The Chronicle dropped by HSHV on Monday afternoon and found staff there holding tryouts for the honor of digging the ceremonial hole – a task normally reserved for muckety-mucks with golden shovels.
Brandon Johns, left, buys produce from Mark Wilson of Wilson's Farms at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market earlier this summer. The chef and partner at Vinology is committed to buying local ingredients for the restaurant.
This morning you might spot Brandon Johns at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market around 7 a.m., in Saline’s market a bit later, and up at Brighton by 10 (actually, if you spot him at all three places, let’s hope you’ve got a good reason to be following him around). Since becoming partner and chef for Vinology restaurant in May, Johns has pushed to use as many locally produced ingredients as possible, from radishes and rabbits to peaches and pigs.
On Wednesday, Sept. 24, he’ll put an even brighter spotlight on locavores with a 100-mile dinner – no food allowed from farther than 100 miles away. Most of the food actually comes from within a 25-mile radius of Ann Arbor, Johns says. The only totally non-local ingredients are olive oil, pepper and salt, though “I could probably get Michigan road salt and purify it,” he quips. Uh…no, thanks. [Full Story]
A couple hundred people filled the Michigan League ballroom Friday morning to hear Roger Newton, one of Ann Arbor’s most successful entrepreneurs, who was keynote speaker for UM’s Entrepalooza 2008 – and yes, he’s sort of a rock star.
The people gathered there, many of them MBA students or other aspiring entrepreneurs, wanted to hear what anyone wants to hear when they listen to someone who’s done so well: How did he do it, and what can I learn so that I can do it, too?” [Full Story]
Dominick’s second-story balcony was originally reserved at 6:30 p.m. Thursday for Michael Moore, whose reception for the world premiere of his movie “Slacker Uprising” was to take place there. That was the “hard stop” Jessica Rauch and Eli Savit faced for their own mid-afternoon celebration – until Moore’s party changed their plans. That gave the boyfriend-and-girlfriend team at little extra time to bask in the glow of Jessica’s $10,000 cash prize that her charitable startup company, The Generation Project, had won. [Full Story]
On Notional Slurry, Bill Tozier lays out an unvarnished view of the agenda provided for a contingent of visitors from North Carolina to Ann Arbor – a group that, based on the agenda, is leaving town even now as The Chronicle is publishing this New Media Watch item. From Bill’s self-described “off the cuff” piece: ” … the city hasn’t even got the brains or social capital to think of us. Whoever ‘us’ is.” [Source]
Set of steps from sidewalk hatch previously leading to a basement.
These old wooden stairs likely pique the curiosity of passersby, whether they are longtime residents or first-time visitors. For one thing, they don’t lead anywhere. The Chronicle had previously corresponded via electronic mail with the owners of the steps about their history.
And two Sunday evenings ago when we spotted two people emerging from the office space in front of which the stairs are mounted – armed with schematic drawings affixed to large pieces of foam core – we figured they were headed the same direction we were: to Sunday night caucus at city council chambers in the Larcom Building.
So we took the opportunity to make face-to-face introductions, and to get the story behind the steps. [Full Story]
At its Monday evening meeting, the Ann Arbor District Library board unanimously approved tearing down the main library building and constructing a new one from the ground up, rather than renovating the existing building on South Fifth Avenue.
The decision gives the go-ahead for architects to focus on that option, said AADL director Josie Parker. She said it also means she will focus on funding options, including going to voters to request a new millage for the project, which could cost more than $70 million.
From left: Ann Arbor District Library Director Josie Parker, board chair Rebecca Head, and board members Jan Barney Newman and Prue Rosenthal, at the Sept. 15 board meeting.
Close-up of a schwag bag for visitors from Chapel Hill.
Over 100 community leaders from the Chapel Hill, N.C. area traveled to Ann Arbor this weekend to learn about this city – its town/gown relations, approach to economic development, social services, environmental stewardship and other shared issues, like which city’s residents complain more about parking.
They’ll be here through mid-Tuesday, holding sessions with a variety of local people in government, business and nonprofit groups. The group kicked off the visit with a reception Sunday evening at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. [.pdf of complete agenda] [Full Story]
Last Friday afternoon in the sixth floor conference room of the Larcom Building, an aerial image of the block between Fifth and Division Streets was projected on the screen. The source of the image came from a computer in the back of the room, manned by Brad Ruppel, of the city’s land development review services. Throughout the meeting Ruppel zoomed, panned, toggled between mapping tools, and brought up various other images to support the back-and-forth between city staff and members of the project team for the South Fifth Avenue Underground Parking Garage and Street Improvement Site Plan. The meeting was an opportunity for city staff to explain what revisions to the plan would be required on resubmission, which is due on Sept. 24. [Full Story]
The RelaxStation expansion is expected to be complete in October. Architect Robert Black, left, takes measurements.
Seven years ago, Eileen Bristol was about to move to California when the property at Huron and First came up for sale.
“I said, ‘Oh, man, I love that building – what could I do there?” she recalls, laughing.
The building was a former gas station built in the 1930s, and what she decided to do was start RelaxStation, a small walk-in massage business that crammed a lot of personality into the tight 280-square-foot space. Business has been good – so good that “we pretty well maxed out the space,” she says.
It was time to expand, and her project to more than double the space – a $900,000 $90,000 investment – is nearing completion. [Full Story]
Let's get this straight. Ann Arbor Railroad track gets measured out for straightening work next week.
“Left, a skosh!” the guy behind the transit radioed his colleagues about a half mile away along the rails. He was sighting northward up the track from where it crosses Traver Road up to Barton Drive. The guys up the track were almost as invisible to the naked eye in real life as they are in The Chronicle’s photo accompanying this story.
The late morning temperatures were in the low 70s, but without a cloud in the sky, … [Full Story]
Kerry Johnson of the Cupcake Station left a voicemail for The Chronicle reporting that difficulties in scheduling of required city inspections has delayed the opening of Cupcake Station by one week. The 500 free cupcakes mentioned in a previous Chronicle piece will be given away on Friday, Sept. 19, not tomorrow as previously reported. Inspections are now complete and Johnson is confident the store will open next week.
Panel presentation at Impact 2008. From left: Moderator Bev Seiford, Roger Fraser, Bob Guenzel, Bill Miller, Todd Roberts and John Petz.
Collaboration – the benefits and the challenges – took center stage on Wednesday at Impact 2008, a gathering of community leaders and others hoping to shape Washtenaw County’s future.
The half-day event looked at two areas – local government and schools – and after an overview session, the 200 or so participants split into breakout groups focused on those topics. The Chronicle, noting that Ann Arbor News reporter Liz Cobbs was covering the schools session, veered into the breakout group on local government, led by Ann Arbor City Administrator Roger Fraser and Washtenaw County Administrator Bob Guenzel.
Great Harvest Bread Company is giving out free samples of bread, granola, and other good-looking sweets in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library lobby.
The RelaxStation is enclosing its open-air courtyard.
Lexi’s Toy Box, Crystal Metzger’s shop on South Ashley, is crammed with all manner of colorful toys, clothes and whimsical gee-gaws, many of them unavailable in other local stores.
And then there’s Nathaniel.
Imagine if you were a Kerrytown BookFest exhibitor, waking up this morning to gray skies and gentle rain – not a great feeling. But by mid-morning the rain stopped and this 6th annual fair, according to several booksellers and other exhibitors, was having one of its best years ever.
On Friday, Sept. 12, the Washington Street Gallery’s old space at 116 E. Liberty St. in downtown Ann Arbor will again be open for business – now as Cupcake Station. [Note: Due to inspection scheduling difficulties, the opening has been delayed until the following week on Sept 19. Inspections are now completed, but the delays made the original opening date impossible.]
Cupcake Station on Liberty Street.
And on opening day business partners Kerry Johnson and Tom Holleman are giving away 500 cupcakes in an effort to launch Ann Arbor’s store on the same successful path as their first Cupcake Station in Birmingham.
This isn’t just a story about cupcakes, though. It’s a story of how serendipity, relationships and a brick aesthetic played a role in several local businesses, and a story of never knowing how one thing might lead to another.
But let’s start with the cupcakes.
[Full Story]
The City Place project, proposed along South Fifth Avenue just south of William Street, was brought tonight for a third time before the Ann Arbor Planning Commission by developer Alex de Parry. Although commissioners Joan Lowenstein and Craig Borum found enough about the revised proposal to give it their support, even they did so with no great enthusiasm – Lowenstein citing her sadness that the seven houses would be demolished, and Borum lamenting the “faux historical” architecture of the proposed project as harmful to the city.
With only two votes of support, the project was rejected. In the city staff summary of the project’s history, it was noted that City Place was first brought to the commission in January … [Full Story]
Image from Jesus-rides-a-bike T-shirt
What: Jesus-rides-a-bike T-shirt
Cost: $21.99 (minus 30-percent sale discount)
Where: Great Lakes Cycling & Fitness, 2107 W. Stadium Blvd., Ann Arbor
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10-8, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-6
Phone: 734.668.6484
Sept. 2 is a special day for us, and not just because it often falls during a long Labor Day weekend. Nineteen years ago today, we exchanged wedding vows in the bucolic back yard of my parents’ home. It’s been an adventure, and a reason to celebrate each year.
This year, though, we have another cause for uncorking the champagne. Today we’re launching The Ann Arbor Chronicle, an online local news publication that we hope will become a regular stopping point in your daily routine. If our marriage has been about building a relationship between ourselves, The Chronicle is about highlighting and strengthening the relationships among people who live and work in this community. We hope you’ll be a part of … [Full Story]
When Ann Arbor residents leave their corrugated cardboard out (before 7 a.m.) for curbside pickup by Recycle Ann Arbor, sometimes it doesn’t disappear by the time they’ve returned home in the evening. It will be sitting in the same neat pile they left it in – with one difference. Stuck to the top of the pile will be an orange sticky note declaring: “Your corrugated cardboard wasn’t prepared properly.” [Full Story]
How well-connected are you to people in Ann Arbor? You can test your social network’s strength by seeing how many people you know of the 220 local customers featured in new Bank of Ann Arbor TV and radio ads.
It’s amazing how many people you can cram into a 30-second spot when all they say is “Me.” It’s also amazing how funny that simple concept is, and how effective in conveying the bank’s point: We’re local, and we help folks.
The campaign reflects the quirky sensibility of Ann Arbor-based Perich Advertising + Design, the agency which put the ads together. (Oh, and Ernie Perich is on BOAA’s board of directors.) Check out the two radio spots and three TV … [Full Story]
It’s I < 3 TCF T-shirt WEEK at TCF downtown; tellers must wear them through the week; allotment is 5? Nope, 3. mid-week laundry!
I operate a modest bicycle-based cargo hauling and delivery business here in Ann Arbor. Although I use a trailer hitched to a ordinary two-wheeled bicycle to deliver my loads, I’m also intrigued by pedal-powered vehicles that are designed from the ground up for carrying cargo. So when I spotted a three-wheeler in the wild, I pedaled up to the operator for a chat. [Full Story]
