The Michigan Engineering website posts a series of photos from this week’s Girls in Science and Engineering (GISE) program, which brings seventh- and eighth-grade students to the University of Michigan campus for a week of hands-on science and engineering activities. One photo shows middle school girls racing cardboard boats they made on Thursday in the large reflecting pool on north campus. [Source]
The U.S. Dept. of Education has released its College Affordability and Transparency lists, which track tuition costs among the top and bottom 5% of four-year and two-year schools. The University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus is on the list of four-year institutions with the highest net prices – $16,888 compared to a national average of $10,747. Net price is the cost of attendance, minus grant and scholarship aid. [Source]
Open houses for 10 tax-foreclosed properties in the city of Ypsilanti – eight homes and two commercial sites – will be held from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2011. Prospective buyers will be able to start bidding on these and other properties in an online auction on Aug. 12 at www.bid4assets.com/washtenaw. [.pdf file listing of properties]
A new three-year agreement between Washtenaw Community College and the University of Michigan will allow WCC to expand its evening classes on UM’s Ann Arbor campus, according to an article in the University Record, a UM publication. WCC will use up to eight classrooms four nights a week in the Mason Hall-Angell Hall complex, expanding a pilot program started during the 2010-11 academic year. WCC classes to be offered include intro to business, basic statistics, and English composition, among others. [Source]
A video on MGoBlue TV shows the new video scoreboards at Yost Ice Arena being hoisted into place. At their January 2011 meeting, University of Michigan’s board of regents had approved a $20 million project to add video scoreboards at Yost, Crisler Arena, Michigan Stadium. [Source]
The University of Michigan Dept. of Public Safety has issued a crime alert for an attempted armed robbery at the University Hospital cafeteria on 1500 East Medical Center Drive. At about 6:40 p.m. on Friday, June 24, ”a man approached a cafeteria manager, brandished a stun gun, assaulted the manager and fled out the south Mott Hospital entrance. Witnesses reported he departed the area on a bus. The suspect is a Black male, about 5’8″, late 20s, wearing a ski mask over his face, hair in cornrows or dreadlocks, white t-shirt, and black pants.” Anyone with information on the incident should call DPS at 734-763-1131 or dial 911. [Source] Update: On June 27, 2011, UM DPS officers arrested a 25-year-old Ypsilanti man … [Full Story]
On her blog Relish, photographer Myra Klarman posts several images of the Amococo installation on Palmer Field – a walk-through luminarium by the Architects of Air. Part of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s Top of the Park, it’s open to the public from Thursday, June 23 through Sunday, June 26. [Source]
A post on Radio Ink reports that Mark Copeland, who’s worked at the Ann Arbor station WQKL for over six year, has been laid off because the Cumulus-owned station is downsizing. ”I have been there since a few months after the station changed to Triple A and I have had 3 really good PDs that did things the right way and built a solid foundation. I am proud that I was able to actually do real Music Director duties and have the PD’s ear and it worked so well. Some folks think that Triple A is just a niche format, but it really depends on the market you’re in. Playing Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M, U2, Sheryl Crow, Bob Marley … [Full Story]
In a post on Old House Web, Matt Grocoff of Ann Arbor writes about how to cool a house without air-conditioning: “Before you can naturally ventilate your old house, you must reactivate the original ventilation features of the house like the attic and basement windows. Many old homes have basement and attic windows that have been sealed shut. In some cases, these have been sealed to try to keep out moisture. Big mistake. Unfortunately, sealing up basement windows to keep out moisture ends up trapping moisture inside instead.” [Source]
Washtenaw County commissioner Yousef Rabhi has organized a community forum to get input on future plans for property at 2270 Platt Road, where the county’s juvenile court was previously housed. The juvenile court was recently relocated to the downtown county courthouse, and county officials are now deciding what to do with the vacated property on Platt. The forum begins 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 18 at 2270 Platt Road, Ann Arbor. [Source]
A post on The Michigan Messenger reports that a fundraising video for Greenhills School in Ann Arbor claims its $20,000-per-year tuition isn’t enough to support the school, which Gov. Rick Snyder’s daughter attends. From the report: “At the same time that the school to which Snyder sends his own child can’t make ends meet with funding of $20,000 per pupil, the governor recently pushed through and signed legislation that cuts per pupil public school funding by $370 per student, bringing state funding to $6,846 per student. Some schools could qualify for an additional $100 per student if they adopt what Snyder and GOP lawmakers call ‘best practices.’ Those practices include reducing employee costs by forcing an increase in insurance cost sharing … [Full Story]
A podcast posted on the Ann Arbor District Library’s website features an interview with Washtenaw County clerk Larry Kestenbaum, who talks about the recent county redistricting process, putting it into historical context. Kestenbaum will participate in the panel discussion on redistricting, hosted by AADL on Thursday, June 16, from 7-8:30 p.m., at the downtown building’s multi-purpose room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. Other panelists are Jacqueline Beaudry, Ann Arbor city clerk; 53rd District state Rep. Jeff Irwin, and 52nd District state Rep. Mark Ouimet. Both Irwin and Ouimet are former county commissioners. [Source]
On her Head of School blog for Summers-Knoll, Joanna Hastings posts the poems she’s written for each of the eight students who are moving from SK’s elementary school classes to its new middle school, which opens in the fall. An excerpt from the poem for Max: “Max/Lives in an origami maze/Of his own making/More complex than ordinary mortals/Could ever comprehend,/Cunning beyond belief.” [Source]
Staff at the University of Michigan document the hatching of peregrine falcons in a nest installed on the University Hospital roof: “The nest box does not have a door in the back, so it is unlikely that the chicks will be banded this year. After they have left, the box will be modified, and a web cam installed, so next year hopefully they will be able to band the chicks. The male is still sometimes using the Bell Tower to eat his prey. Please let us know if you find food remains at the base of the tower, so we can go pick them up (call the Bird Division at 734-764-0457).” [Source]
In an American Libraries Magazine article, the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) is highlighted at the top of a list of libraries ranked by circulation per capita. With a per capita circulation of 58.94, AADL has a per capita circulation nearly twice as high as the second-ranking library on the list: Cuyahoga County Public Library in Parma, Ohio, which has a per capita circulation of 33.44. The listing was compiled from a 2008 national study by selecting the 549 libraries from that study that serve a population of over 100,000. [Source]
In this video posted on YouTube, a University of Michigan fan shows how his dog Ellie is the university’s No. 1 canine fan. [Source]
The Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality has posted additional documents regarding the 1,4 dioxane cleanup caused by the former Gelman Sciences manufacturing facility in Scio Township, now owned by Pall Corp. The documents, which include monitoring plan updates from Pall, are on the MDEQ website focused on cleanup of the underground dioxane plume. Hard copies of the documents are available at the Ann Arbor District Library downtown branch at 343 S. Fifth Ave., and at the Washtenaw County public health department, 705 North Zeeb Road. Other resources include Scio Residents for Safe Water and Coalition for Action on Remediation of Dioxane (CARD). For background on the issue, see Chronicle coverage: “Residents Frustrated by Dioxane Decision.”
A few dozen images and a video have been posted from Saturday’s Ann Arbor Mini-Maker Faire at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. [Source]
The Washtenaw County sheriff’s office has issued an alert regarding dangerous conditions along the Huron River. Recent significant rainfall has caused high water levels and flooding, creating hazardous, rough and swift water conditions, according to the sheriff’s office. Rescues were required in two separate incidents over the past two days after a kayak and canoe flipped in swift currents. [.pdf of full alert]
The recent 2011 Mackinac Policy Conference included a Friday, June 3 panel with a group dubbed the “Fab Five” – including Conan Smith, an Ann Arbor resident and chair of the Washtenaw County board of commissioners – on the topic of regional collaboration in Southeast Michigan. This was the first time Washtenaw County took part in the annual panel, which also included Oakland County executive L. Brooks Patterson (who objected to Washtenaw’s inclusion), Detroit mayor Dave Bing, Wayne County executive Bob Ficano, and Macomb County executive Mark Hackel. The MiVote website posted a video of the hour-long discussion. [Source]
A post on the SOS Community Services website describes how the nonprofit coordinated volunteers to help its Time for Tots free daycare program in Ypsilanti, for infants and pre-school children of homeless parents who are staying in local shelters. Three volunteers – Lisa Brown, JoAnne French and Sarah Wiebusch – sewed 30 matching sets of cots sheets and pillowcases to use during daily naptime. [Source]
Michigan Movies and More posts some photos taken at the “Five Year Engagement” shoot in downtown Ann Arbor. ”Early this morning filming was happening in front of Grazi and the Chop House on Main St in Ann Arbor. Jason Segel was there, switching from T-shirt to winter clothes between takes which involved him waiting outside the Chop House and going into Grazi.” [Source]
The Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor has posted photos of its recent scholarship awards program for the Ann Arbor Public Schools. Recipients include Yoojin Chang of Pioneer High School, DanYelle Hugan of Community High, and Jesse Burrison of Huron High, among many others. [Source]
Andrew Sardone has uploaded to his Flickr account some video footage of flooding from May 25, 2011 along Depot Street and Fourth Avenue – some automobile drivers appear to plow through the water unfazed, while others turn down a different street. From the audio: “This is, like, getting deeper really quickly!” [Source]
A post on Gay Politics points out that a proclamation by California Gov. Jerry Brown, marking May 22 as ”Harvey Milk Day,” is historically inaccurate when it states that Milk in 1977 was the first openly gay man to be elected to U.S public office. The first openly gay or lesbian to be elected was Kathy Kozachenko, who won an Ann Arbor city council seat in 1974, as a member of the Human Rights Party. [Source]
Cecilia Mercante of Cecilia’s Pastries and Eve Aronoff of Frita Batidos and the former eve the restaurant are launching a series of gourmet cooking classes. The first one, on June 5, will feature dishes from eve: “This will be a rare opportunity to observe and interact with the chefs as they prepare for you a commemorative dinner from that long-time Ann Arbor landmark while gaining the first-hand knowledge to re-create the meal in your own homes.” The menu includes curried mussels with saffron scented biscuits and beef tenderloin chimichurri. [Source]
A video posted on YouTube highlights work by the Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley being done in the Ypsilanti Township neighborhood near Nancy Park. The nonprofit is now focused on renovating foreclosed home, and recently hit the milestone of completing its 100th house in Washtenaw County. [Source]
Writing on his blog, John Roos of Roos Roast reviews some of the more recent additions to the Ann Arbor food scene, including Mark’s Carts, Mani Osteria and The Ravens Club. “In one week, Ann Arbor brought home the bacon and cooked it up in a pan. The food revolution will not be televised, it will be eaten.” [Source]
On the Ann Arbor-based Weather Underground’s Wunder Blog, Jeff Masters writes about the Old River Control Structure, a 50-year-old civil-engineering feat in Louisiana that harnesses the Mississippi River and that could be challenged in the coming days: “Flow rates of the Mississippi at the latitude of the Old River Control Structure are expected to exceed the all-time record on Saturday, giving the Old River Control Structure its greatest test since the flood of 1973. … This is a dangerous flood, and very high water levels are expected for many weeks. Unexpected flaws in the design of the Old River Control Structure may give it a few percent chance of failure under these sorts of unprecedented conditions.” [Source]
