Old Media Watch Section

The Detroit Free Press reports on the speech by U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican House majority leader, delivered Monday afternoon at UM’s Michigan League. Cantor focused on themes of self-reliance and limited government, according to the report. The talk was given against a backdrop of protestors: ”About two dozen stood up with their backs to Cantor during the question-and-answer time. They repeatedly interrupted Cantor with shouts, including heckling him on gay marriage and health care. Supportive members of the audience repeatedly applauded to cover the protesters. The crowd of protesters started outside. They were loud enough that their chants could be heard inside during Cantor’s speech.” [Source]

The Detroit Free Press profiles Tiya Miles, one of three University of Michigan recipients of the MacArthur Foundation “genius” award this year. Each award comes with a $500,000 no-strings-attached grant. The article quotes Miles, chairwoman of UM’s Afroamerican and African Studies Department, describing her reaction: “This incredible gift that falls out of the sky. I haven’t had much time to think what I could do. It’s such a massive amount of money. I never imagined. …” [Source]

The Detroit News reports that a federal judge has harshly criticized the U.S. Justice Department’s handling of a fair housing case filed against landlords in Ypsilanti. From the report: “U.S. District Judge Lawrence Zatkoff accused federal agents of lying and trying to entrap a husband and wife who own a 13-unit apartment complex and who were accused of discriminating against renters with children. The couple has repeatedly said they don’t rent to people with children because the complex lacks a play area and it is dangerous to play in an adjacent parking lot. Zatkoff rejected a consent order reached between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and apartment complex owners Gerald and Shirley Brown. The consent order would have resolved the civil … [Full Story]

An editorial in the Detroit Free Press supports Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposal to create a regional transit authority that would oversee a 110-mile rapid transit bus system, funded by an increase in local vehicle registration fees. “The option of raising vehicle registration fees would be available to all counties or regional authorities seeking more money for transportation investments. Now it’s up to the leaders of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw Counties to drive this plan home, while moving forward with a planned light rail line on Woodward and – perhaps most important – fixing the service crisis facing bus riders in Detroit and its suburbs.” [Source]

The Metro Times publishes a Q&A with actors Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, who were in Ann Arbor recently to promote their new film, “The Way.” From the intro: “Pulling up in Ann Arbor, at the tail end of their trip, the father and son are … well … bubbly. Sheen has a big, throaty laugh that fills the room and it doesn’t take much to get him going. Emilio is cheerful but low-key. Both are incredibly gracious, asking as many questions as they answer. And though father and son have spent nearly two months on a bus together, they are clearly having a great time, offering up stories about people they’ve met on the road and finishing each others’ … [Full Story]

The Detroit News reports that the University of Michigan Professional Nurse Council, representing about 4,000 nurses in the UM Health System, has reached a tentative contract agreement with the university. The news was originally posted on the council’s website. The previous contract expired June 30, and supporters have held rallies and attended UM regents meetings to lobby for better benefits than the university was offering. The tentative contract will require ratification by its members. [Source]

The Detroit Free Press looks at how the auto industry is working with the University of Michigan’s solar car team to leverage technology that students develop into possible industry applications. The article quotes Chris Hilger, a senior from Northville and the team’s business director: “The team works closely with industry in Detroit and with the university. The technologies in the car are things we expect to see on the road in the next decade, such as a super-lightweight carbon-fiber body, a high-performance battery, and a motor that’s 98% efficient.” [Source]

The Livingston Daily Press & Argus reports on concerns raised over a closed-door meeting on Tuesday between Ann Arbor SPARK and the Economic Development Council of Livingston County’s board of directors. A press release issued the next day stated that a tentative agreement had been reached for SPARK to take over Livingston County’s economic development programming. Livingston County Commissioner David Domas called Tuesday’s closed meeting “inappropriate,” according to the report. [Source]

The Detroit News published a feature on Selma Café, the popular Friday breakfast salon held at the home of Lisa Gottlieb and Jeff McCabe on Ann Arbor’s west side. The article calls it “a cheerful, do-it-yourself operation that raises money to help local organic farmers buy hoop houses…” [Source]

The New York Times reports on the progress of the University of Michigan Solar Car Team as it competes in the World Solar Challenge in Australia: “The University of Michigan’s car, named Quantum, sat in third place behind Japanese and Dutch entries, respectively, when the fire put a halt to the 1,800-mile caravan across the Australian outback on Monday morning. ‘It’s pretty smoky in the distance,’ said Chris Hilger, the spokesman for the Michigan Solar Car Team, speaking by satellite phone on Monday afternoon from the Northern Territory town of Wauchope. ‘We definitely smell it where we are and can see it on the horizon.’” [Source]

Ann Arbor musician Chris Bathgate and his newest recording – “Salt Year” – are featured in the Tiny Desk Concert series on NPR’s All Songs Considered. From the review: “…Bathgate and his band crafted a winningly moody and frequently exquisite sound — a marvelous showcase for an unassuming Midwesterner who deserves more attention than he gets.” [Source]

The Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from Ann Arbor columnist John U. Bacon’s upcoming book, “Three and Out: Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the Crucible of College Football,” to be released on Oct. 25. The excerpt documents a day in the life of UM quarterback Denard Robinson: “At 7:30, Robinson sat with a few teammates in the commons for dinner. In less than an hour, he ate two biscuits, 16 chicken wings, two Gatorades, two caramel cheesecakes and a big scoop of rice. All told, he consumed well over 4,000 calories that day – which paled in comparison to the linemen’s max of 14,000 calories a day.” [Source]

State rep. Mark Ouimet (R-District 52) is interviewed on WKAR’s Off the Record show. Among other things, the Scio Township resident – who chairs the House Local, Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs Committee – said he favors consolidation of the county road commissions in the state. That might be achieved by dividing the state into zones, rather than having individual county road commissions, he said. (Ouimet’s interview begins at roughly the 15:30-minute mark.) [Source]

Ann Arbor’s food scene gets more attention, this time from the Chicago Tribune, which publishes a guide to street food that’s geared toward football fans: “Walk down Liberty Street, and you’ll stumble upon a small building painted red and framed by arches. It’s a shack that aspires to be a castle: The perfect home for Le Dog, a local institution renowned not for hot dogs, but lobster bisque. More than 30 years after Le Dog started dishing out upscale street food, the nationwide food truck trend has rolled into Ann Arbor, parking a half-dozen carts on a plot of land a few blocks away. Nearby, a “Top Chef” alumna has opened a sandwich window modeled on a Cuban classic. Michigan … [Full Story]

The Michigan Daily reports on journalist Andrea Mitchell’s recent talk at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, an event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the library, which is located in Ann Arbor near the University of Michigan’s north campus. The article quotes Mitchell, a close friend of the Ford family, reflecting on the Ford presidency:  “(The Fords) created a climate of normalcy in the White House. I say that with so much admiration. When you think of the pomp and circumstance, and security and everything that goes into being in that house … they did it with such grace and humility.” [Source]

The Detroit News previews next month’s opening of the $754 million C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, part of the University of Michigan’s medical complex in Ann Arbor. The report notes that the new 1.1 million-square-foot hospital is the university’s largest-ever construction project and took five years to build. All patient rooms are private, including ones with views of Nichols Arboretum and the Huron River. [Source]

The New York Times’ Travel section publishes a guide to spending 36 hours in Ann Arbor on a football weekend. Several local businesses get shout-outs, including Van Boven Clothing, vendors at Mark’s Carts, and (of course) Zingerman’s Deli. Recommended for a post-game Saturday night? “Whether Michigan has won or lost, students hit the bars. Avoid South University and State Street (student hubs) and head to the more civilized Main Street (the place Bob Seger, who grew up in Ann Arbor, is actually singing about in the song “Mainstreet”). With dozens of night spots, it’s easy to find a martini or microbrew; one favorite is Palio … where postgame parties erupt on the rooftop bar.” [Source]

The Washington Post reviews “Feynman,” a graphic novel written by Jim Ottaviani of Ann Arbor about the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Richard Feynman. From the review: ”In ‘Feynman,’ read about how the irrepressible and colorfully sketched PhD pulls pranks on his fellow researchers on the Manhattan Project. Watch as the rascally professor solves the Dirac Equation. … In one panel of the 300-page book, Feynman spins dinner plates to unlock secrets of quantum mechanics; in another he humiliates a NASA official during the Rogers Commission investigation of the Challenger explosion.” [Source] Read more on Ottaviani in his recent Teeter Talk interview on The Chronicle.

An advocacy group for regional transit – with members including Washtenaw County commissioners Conan Smith and Kristin Judge – was announced Friday, as part of the 2011 Southeast Michigan Regional Summit, according to a Detroit Free Press article. Regional Partners Advocating Transit Here (R-PATH) will lobby for a regional transit authority to tap federal funding, according to the report. [Source] The Washtenaw County board passed a resolution in support of regional transit at its Sept. 21, 2011 meeting. Earlier on Friday, Judge announced plans to resign from the county board on Oct. 9, to take a national cyber security job.

The Detroit Free Press reports on the University of Michigan’s new major sustainability initiative, announced by UM president Mary Sue Coleman at a speech on Tuesday. Efforts include building a solar panel field on north campus, investing in additional hybrid buses and other vehicles, cutting greenhouse gas emissions at the Ann Arbor campus by 25%, using 40% fewer chemicals for campus landscaping, and supporting more Michigan farmers and other food producers. The article quotes Coleman: “I want the message to be clear: Sustainability defines the University of Michigan. Combine maize and blue, and you get green.” [Source]

Dome magazine profiles Rebekah Warren, an Ann Arbor Democrat who represents District 18 in the Michigan Senate. Among other things, the article quotes Warren in describing her efforts to build relationships with Republicans in the legislature: “Term limits have increased partisanship. People from different parties don’t even know people’s names on the other side.…So in my first week, I went to the GOP side and started making friends. I ran into trouble, in a way, from my caucus.” [Source]

Entertainment Weekly reports on a compilation of complaints posted by formers employees of Ann Arbor-based Borders, titled “Things We Never Told You: Ode to a bookstore death.” The list, originally a thread on reddit.com, includes items like “We hate when a book becomes popular simply because it was turned into a movie” and “Most of the time when you returned books you read them already — and we were onto you.” Borders has gone out of business – the downtown Ann Arbor store closed earlier this month. [Source]

The New York Times reports on the prestigious “genius awards” given each year by the MacArthur Foundation. The awards, announced Tuesday, come with a $500,000 no-strings-attached prize paid out over five years. From the article: “This year three fellows came from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. They are Tiya Miles, 41, a public historian and history professor who has researched the relationships between African and Cherokee people in colonial America; Melanie Sanford, 36, a professor of chemistry whose research on organometallic synthesis has implications for pharmaceuticals and other products; and Yukiko Yamashita, 39, a developmental biologist who studies the mechanisms that regulate stem cell division.” [Source]

The Business Standard of India is reporting that Infosys – India’s second-largest information technology services firm – is close to acquiring the health care business of Thomson Reuters in a $700-$750 million deal. That division of Thomson Reuters employs several hundred people in Ann Arbor, and is one of the county’s largest employers. Thomson Reuters announced its intent to sell the division earlier this year. [Source]

The Atlantic magazine published a lengthy article – “The Shame of College Sports” – calling for an overhaul of the NCAA, and asserting that “big changes are coming.” The University of Michigan football program is mentioned briefly throughout the article, including this reference: “According to various reports, the football teams at Texas, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Penn State – to name just a few big-revenue football schools – each earn between $40 million and $80 million in profits a year, even after paying coaches multimillion-dollar salaries. When you combine so much money with such high, almost tribal, stakes – football boosters are famously rabid in their zeal to have their alma mater win – corruption is likely to follow.” [Source]

The Guardian reports on a lawsuit that’s been filed by an international group of authors against five universities – including the University of Michigan – for copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleges that the universities received unauthorized scans of 7 million copyright-protected books from Google, which were then collected in a repository called HathiTrust, another defendant in the lawsuit. HathiTrust is a partnership of universities and research institutions that is administered and partially funded by UM. The lawsuit refers to these actions as “one of the largest copyright infringements in history,” according to The Guardian. [Source]

CNN publishes a lengthy piece about the trajectory of the Borders bookstore chain, from its early days as a single college-town shop, its culture, its growth into a national powerhouse, and its ultimate demise – the No. 1 flagship store on East Liberty closes today. The article quotes University of Michigan history professor Jonathan Marwil: “Borders used to be chockablock with books. It has increasingly looked less like a bookstore than a bowling alley, with its wide-open spaces. Now they’re selling children’s dolls on the front counter. It’s really pretty grim.” [Source]

Columnist John U. Bacon is interviewed outside the gates of Michigan Stadium for a Sports Illustrated video report on the history of the University of Michigan/Notre Dame football rivalry. Bacon talks about his research for his new book, “Three and Out: Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the Crucible of College Football,” due out Oct. 25. After getting a close-up look at the lives of UM coaches and players, Bacon tells SI that “the best thing to be in college football is a fan.” [Source]

The New York Times profiles University of Michigan football coach Brady Hoke, as a preview to Saturday’s face-off against Notre Dame in the first night game of UM’s history. The article focuses on the role that his marriage to Laura Hoke has played in his success: ”Every night when either Brady or Laura Hoke finishes with tooth brushing, one makes sure to put toothpaste on the other’s toothbrush. It is a small sign of the bond between a couple that met in seventh grade, married in college and have thrived while hopscotching through places like Yorktown, Ind.; Kalamazoo, Mich.; and Corvallis, Ore., where life’s consistency came from the soundtrack of marching bands. All along a nearly 30-year trail through college football, … [Full Story]

The Eastern Echo, Eastern Michigan University’s student publication, reports on student reaction following Newsweek magazine’s ranking of EMU as one of the nation’s top gay-friendly universities, based on an index by the nonprofit Campus Pride. EMU ranked 18th, while the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus ranked 25th. The article quotes Andre Moses, a member of Queer Unity for Eastern Students (QUEST): “When I walk around campus every day, there are people missing limbs, or wearing no shoes, or in a wheelchair, and no one seems to notice. It seems so easy to just be yourself and express who you are; no one seems to care.” [Source]