Missed Ticks Section

In an account of a recent city council meeting, we reported: “The Chronicle has learned that the justification for that [July 19] closed session was not based on discussion of a legislative strategy for handling marijuana dispensaries, but rather on settlement strategies for pending litigation on an entirely separate matter.”

While The Chronicle reported the basis for that closed session in good faith, based on a credible source inside city hall, that source subsequently has indicated uncertainty about the veracity of the claim. The city attorney’s contention is that the purpose for the closed session was to discuss specific legal advice as contained in written documents about medical marijuana. The exact nature of the actual discussion is currently a matter of … [Full Story]

A New Media Watch item gave the incorrect date for “The Big Chill at the Big House,” an outdoor hockey game between UM and Michigan State, to be held at Michigan Stadium. The game will be played on Dec. 11, 2010. We note the error here, and have corrected the original item.

In an election report that included results from the city council race in Ward 1, we transposed results for challenger Sumi Kailasapathy in precinct 9, where she outpolled Sandi Smith by 190 to 126. The mistake meant that we also slightly inflated Smith’s overall percentage-wise margin of victory, which was in fact 55% to Kailasapathy’s 45%. We note the error here and have corrected the original report.

In a report on the July 27, 2010 information session for potential library board candidates, we incorrectly stated that Lyn Davidge was a former volunteer at the Ann Arbor District Library. In fact, she was employeed by AADL as a substitute librarian for more than 10 years. We note the error here, and have corrected the original article.

In reviewing some previous Chronicle coverage of Village Green’s purchase option for land at First & Washington for the City Apartments project, Chronicle staff noticed an inaccurate conflation of two separate notions: (i) site plan approval and (ii) purchase option. The issue before the city council at its June 21 meeting is an extension of the City Apartments purchase option, not the site plan.

According to head of planning for the city, Wendy Rampson, site plan or PUD site plan is valid for three years.  A developer may extend a site plan for two years, as long as the plan meets all of the requirements at the time of the extension request. The extension is handled as an administrative amendment. We … [Full Story]

A June 18, 2010 sports column incorrectly stated that only two colleges recently shifted conferences. In fact, so far four institutions have changed: Colorado and Utah to the Pac-10, Nebraska to the Big Ten and Boise State to the Mountain West. We note the error here, and have corrected the original column.

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.

In a report on a recent school board meeting, we identified David Shapiro and Sarah Juster as Pioneer High School students. They graduated from Community High School. We acknowledge the error here and have corrected the original article.

In our report on the May 3, 2010 Ann Arbor city council meeting, we indicated that Anya Dale had been appointed to the AATA board to replace Paul Ajegba. In fact, her nomination was placed before the council at that meeting, and her confirmation is not on the council’s agenda until May 17. We note the error here and have corrected the mistake in the original report. [Her nomination was confirmed at the May 17 meeting.]

A projected $200,000 shortfall for the Ann Arbor District Library’s 2010-11 budget represents 2.8% of the district’s current fund balance. A report on the April 19, 2010 meeting of the AADL board incorrectly stated that percentage. Also, the article incorrectly stated that an IRS audit prompted changes to two AADL policies. The suggestion for changes came via the library’s regular annual audit, not an IRS audit. We note the errors here, and have corrected the original article.

In a recent report on a city council meeting, we misspelled the name of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission board’s newest member. Her name is Sasha Womble. We note the mistake here and have corrected the spelling in the meeting report.

The city of Ann Arbor’s Natural Area Preservation program is responsible for roughly 1,200 acres of natural areas, including 38 purchased with funds from a land acquisition millage. An article about the April 20, 2010 meeting of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission misstated those facts. Also, Berkshire Creek Nature Area was initially misspelled. We note the errors here, and have corrected the original article.

A report of the April 15, 2010 University of Michigan board of regents meeting incorrectly stated that regents approved a parking permit fee increase. This was an informational item only. We note the error here, and have corrected the original article.

A report on the April 13, 2010 meeting of the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission incorrectly stated that Connie Pulcipher from the city of Ann Arbor’s systems planning unit will facilitate AAPAC’s May 12 annual planning meeting. Pulcipher will not be facilitating that meeting. We note the error here, and have corrected it in the original article.

In a recent story on an environmental assessment of a possible runway extension at the Ann Arbor municipal airport, we referred to a species of waterfowl incorrectly. Their standard name is actually “Canada geese.” We note the error here and have corrected the original article.

A March 27 column about Steve Amick’s novel “Nothing But a Smile” contained three errors. The location of a character’s photography shop is in Chicago, not Detroit. And cities for an upcoming book tour are Central Lake, Spring Lake and Allendale. Also, the Library of Michigan was incorrectly identified as the Michigan Public Library. We note the errors here, and have corrected them in the original column.

In an article on an AATA board meeting, we misidentified the name of a motor coach operator in some of its mentions.  The correct name of the company is Indian Trails. We note the error here and have corrected it in the original article.

In a recent report on an AAPS board meeting, we paraphrased remarks of participants, and we employed the informal nomenclature of the speakers for “Ann Arbor Open School @ Mack.” Those variants were departures from the accepted standard shortening to “Ann Arbor Open.”  We acknowledge the name of the school here, and have cleaned up references to it in the original piece.

A March 1 article on local candidates for state legislative races incorrectly stated that candidates file their petitions to be on the ballot with the Secretary of State. For state House Districts 52, 53 and 54 and Senate District 18, those filings are made at the Washtenaw County clerk’s office. Campaign finance reports for all state races are made with the Secretary of State. We note the error here, and have corrected it in the original article.

In our last report on the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board, we incorrectly reported the date of its next regular meeting. The next meeting of the AATA board is March 24, 2010. We note the mistake here and have corrected the original article.

In a recent city council meeting report, we misidentified Sol Castell. He is a member of the citizens advisory committee to the environmental assessment currently being conducted regarding the possible runway extension at Ann Arbor’s municipal airport. We note the error here and have corrected it in the original story.

The Jan. 29 column “Values Before Victories” incorrectly stated that NHL player John Madden was a member of the New Jersey Devils. He’s no longer with that team. We note the error here, and have corrected the original column.

In a Jan. 26 article about Washtenaw County’s Employment Training & Community Services (ETCS) department, we incorrectly stated the deadline to use federal funding for a weatherization program. The county has until March 31, 2012 to use those funds. We note the error here, and have corrected the original article.

In an article on battery technology company Sakti3, we incorrectly portrayed that Khosla Ventures invested in Fisker Automotive. According to Khosla Ventures, they do not invest in Fisker Automotive.  We note the error here and have clarified it in the original story.

In a preview of the BreakFest fundraiser at The Art, we were off by a few thousand miles in describing where fingerstyle guitarist Duck Baker would be traveling from. He’ll be arriving from England. We note the error here and have corrected it in the original article.

Jose Canseco’s name was misspelled in a Jan. 15, 2010 column about Mark McGwire’s use of steroids. We note the error here, and have corrected it in the original column.

In a report on a November 2009 work session of the city council, we incorrectly described Sandi Smith’s (Ward 1) membership on committees. Smith is a member of the city council as well as the DDA board. She is also a member of the DDA’s “mutually beneficial” committee, which is charged with the responsibility of discussing the parking agreement between the city and the DDA. We note the mistake here, and have corrected it in the original article.

In a report on Huron Valley Ambulance fire dispatch, we incorrectly reported the number of fire stations in Ann Arbor.  The city currently has five fire stations, though the numbering goes #1 through #6 – skipping #2, which was closed in 2002. We note the error here and have corrected it in the original article.

In reporting from the Sunday city council caucus about a position taken by a merchant association on extended parking hour enforcement, we confused the State Street Area Association with the South University Area Association.  It was the State Street Area Association that had conveyed to council that it was not opposed to extended enforcement hours.  We note the mistake here, and have corrected it in the original report.

In a report on a presentation by Alex de Parry for a residential housing development called Heritage Row, we mis-indentified the former president of the Germantown Neighborhood Association as its president.  The current president of GNA is Beverly Strassmann.  We noted the error here and have corrected the original report.