Boston Globe columnist James Carroll writes about the demise of the Ann Arbor-based Borders bookstore chain, and what it means for the culture of books. ”The business of Borders might be replaced online, but the web that matters most is intangibly of the spirit, and Borders was one of its master weavers. This is the death to mourn – and take warning from.” [Source]
Crime Stoppers is offering $1,000 for information on a recent series of possibly related sexual assaults against women in downtown Ann Arbor and near the University of Michigan campus, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press. The Ann Arbor police have issued a composite sketch and descriptions of a suspect in the five attacks, who’s described as a white male in his 20s with a muscular build. [.pdf of composite sketch] The UM police have increased patrols in the campus area. Anyone with information should call the Ann Arbor Police Department’s tip line at 734-794-6939 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP. [Source]
The Detroit Free Press reports on lawsuits that have been filed against the chemical firm DuPont claiming the company’s herbicide Imprelis has damaged or killed certain species of spruce and white pine trees. According to the report, one of the lawsuits was filed by three Southfield firms with operations in Ann Arbor: Washtenaw Acquisitions, Polo Fields East and Polo Fields Golf and Country Club. ”Experts have told the Free Press, which first reported claims about Imprelis earlier this month, that the damage could reach into millions of dollars. They said the damage is the worst to trees in Michigan since the emerald ash borer devastated ash trees starting in 2002. The problem, which has been reported as far south as Georgia and as … [Full Story]
The Detroit Free Press reports on customer reactions to the closing of Borders, the Ann Arbor-based bookstore chain, and interviews customers at the flagship store in downtown Ann Arbor. One of those customers is Mary Hays, a Saline resident who works at the Bank of Ann Arbor: ”We are always at Borders. We have family outings at Borders. It’s very sad. There is something to be said about a book in the hand.” [Source]
Vicki Briganti – a writer/producer for WWJ-TV, the CBS affiliate in Detroit – writes about her experiences working at the 1993 Ann Arbor art fairs for the Michigan Guild: “I must have walked at least 20 miles each day of the fair. We were blessed with beautiful, dry weather that summer. On the Tuesday the week of the fair, our team measured booth space and chalked the streets. As an Art Fair Street Manager, your role is to solve problems and supervise the volunteers in the information booth. Questions range from the mundane: ‘Where are the bathrooms?’ to the vague: ‘Where’s the booth with the guy who makes ducks?’ to the scary: ‘Can you help me find my child?’” [Source]
Detroit News columnist Daniel Howes writes about the downfall of Borders, the Ann Arbor-based bookstore chain that announced on Monday its plans to shut down. ”The coming liquidation of the Borders brothers’ creation is more than another spasm of Schumpeterian ‘creative destruction.’ An icon in a town that worships icons will disappear from the corner of Liberty and State. Yet another Michigan company will go the way of so many other familiar names – Upjohn and Crowley Milner, Handleman and Gerber – gobbled up in a corporate sweepstakes that seldom works in the Big Mitten’s favor. And we get another piece of discomfiting evidence that the era launched by Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press in 1440 is endangered by the accelerating digitalization of … [Full Story]
The Detroit News is among many media outlets reporting that Borders Group, the Ann Arbor-based bookstore chain, is going out of business. According to the report, a Tuesday auction for potential buyers has been cancelled. At a Thursday hearing, Borders will present to bankruptcy court its proposal for selling the business to a consortium of liquidators led by Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Group. A going-out-of-business sale could start as early as Friday. About 400 people work at Borders headquarters in Ann Arbor. [Source] Editor’s note: Richard L. Kaye, Hilco executive vice president, emailed The Chronicle on July 19 and stated that a press release issued by Borders Investor Relations, which the Detroit News article referenced, is inaccurate. Kaye writes: ”In fact, Hilco and … [Full Story]
Writing in the Detroit Free Press, columnist Mitch Albom recalls his first visit to a Borders bookstore, and reflects on what the decline of that business says about the industry. “I still remember walking into the original Borders bookstore in Ann Arbor. It seemed to take up the entire block. ‘You gotta see this place!’ a friend had gushed, and when we pulled open the doors, I knew what he meant. A symphony exploded in my head. This was 1985, a little more than a decade after Tom and Louis Borders, two brothers who were students at the University of Michigan, slapped together a used book operation on the second floor of a building.” [Source]
USA Today publishes a Q&A with Proma Kholsa, a University of Michigan student and senior arts editor for the Michigan Daily, who talks about what the Harry Potter series has meant to her: ”Harry Potter was, above all, my constant while growing up. There was always a book, movie or convention on the horizon. There was comfort in knowing that if something went wrong in real life, Harry would be there for me.” [Source]
The Associated Press reports that the hedge fund Alden Global Capital has purchased Pennsylvania-based Journal Register Co., a newspaper chain that owns several weekly papers in Washtenaw County, including the Ann Arbor Journal and Ypsilanti Courier. In the Wall Street Journal’s Deal Journal blog, Shira Ovide writes: “According to people who have spoken with Alden, the firm believes the newspaper industry is viable if newspaper chains can be combined into bigger powerhouses.” [Source]
A column in the International Business Times looks at the bankruptcy of Ann Arbor-based Borders, and concludes that liquidation is long overdue: “Observers will say losing another 400 bookstores in America, as will likely happen now that Borders, the nation’s second largest bookstore, nears liquidation in bankruptcy proceedings, is another critical blow to traditional book publishing. But most who have worked in or around traditional book publishing in the past decade know Borders was long gone already. Closing remaining Borders stores will just be a final formality.” [Source]
WEMU posts interviews by Andrew Cluley with the two finalists for the Ann Arbor city administrator job – Steve Powers and Ellie Oppenheim – discussing why they’re interested in coming to Ann Arbor. [Source]
The Detroit News reports that the University of Michigan has emailed fans with a list of ”Top 10 Things Fans and Friends of Michigan Athletics Should Know” about NCAA rules regarding UM prospects and/or current student-athletes. No. 1 on the list: ”Always ask before you act. Breaking NCAA rules can render prospects and student-athletes ineligible for competition at the University of Michigan. The NCAA holds the University of Michigan accountable for the actions of its fans and friends.” [Source]
The New York Times reports on a proposed settlement between Bank of America and its investors, which could result in foreclosures for thousands of homeowners, but also would provide incentives to help other at-risk borrowers. The article quotes Michael Barr, a former assistant U.S. Treasury secretary and current University of Michigan law professor: “The mortgage servicers have repeatedly promised to do things and then not done them. I think it’s positive in general, but I don’t expect it to be transformative of what we’ve witnessed from the mortgage servicers over the last four years.” [Source]
The Body Odd column on MSNBC.com features an interview with Walter M. Whitehouse Jr., a vascular surgeon and medical director of Restoration Vein Care in Ann Arbor, who comments on American cyclist George Hincapie’s severe case of varicose veins: “These are the ugliest varicose veins I’ve seen in awhile. They are more severe than the typical patient. I’ve seen bigger, but these are just a huge mass that are clumped together.” Hincapie is currently riding in the Tour de France. [Source]
The Detroit News reports that more communities in southeast Michigan are banning elected officials from emailing, texting or using other electronic communications during public meetings. The article quotes Noah Hall, founder of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, which sued the city of Ann Arbor – that lawsuit revealed that some Ann Arbor city councilmembers had been emailing each other during meetings. Council later changed its rules to ban that practice. Says Hall: ”We don’t want to push people back into the Stone Age or to limit the use of efficient communication. I think that misses the mark. Electronic communications should create a whole new level of openness and accountability.” [Source]
A PBS Newshour report looks at diseases that afflicted George Washington, and interviews Howard Markel, director of the University of Michigan’s Center for the History of Medicine. Says Markel: “His body won more times than not. There’s a million and one things that could have killed him, that could kill any of us, but they didn’t. And that’s the wonder of the human body.” [Source]
The Detroit Free Press reports that the University of Michigan’s admissions of minority students remains below 2006 levels – the year when Michigan voters passed a statewide ban on the use of race in admissions decisions. “In fall 2005, the year before the statewide vote, U-M had 443 black students and 312 Hispanic students in the entering freshmen class. In 2007, there were 334 black students and 267 Hispanic students. In fall 2010, there were 352 black students and 275 Hispanic students.” On Friday, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that Proposal 2 – approved by voters in 2006 and banning the consideration of race and gender when enrolling students at public colleges and universities – is unconstitutional because it … [Full Story]
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Proposal 2 – approved by voters in 2006 and banning the consideration of race and gender when enrolling students at public colleges and universities – is unconstitutional because it burdens minorities, according to an Associated Press report. The article notes that because of Proposal 2, the University of Michigan and other public schools were forced to change admissions policies offering preferential treatment based on race and gender. The ruling was issued on July 1. [Source] [.pdf of court ruling]
WDIV-Detroit reports on the July 1 start of University of Michigan’s smoke-free campus. Not everyone is thrilled – the segment quotes one student smoker saying, “I’ll do my thing until they tell me I can’t.” [Source]
The Washington Post reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in Cincinnati became the first appellate court to rule on President Obama’s health care reform, upholding that Congress can require Americans to carry insurance coverage. The lawsuit had been filed by the Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center, which argued that Congress had overstepped its constitutional authority to regulate commerce. [Source]
Fox 2 Detroit posts a video of a ride in the Farmers Airship Zeppelin as it flew out of Willow Run Airport over Washtenaw County this weekend. “The big, helium-filled aircraft cruised over some familiar sights, casting a cool shadow over the Big House at U-M. Passengers could even crack a window and feel the wind in their hair as they floated along at about 35-miles-per-hour.” [Source]
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on the University of Michigan’s decision to make books in its library’s digital collection – ones that have been identified as “orphans,” with no discernible copyright owner – available for reading online to campus users. The article quotes Paul Courant, UM’s dean of libraries, who responded to criticism that the decision violates copyright: “My attorney says this is legitimate under fair use. When people find ways of making things better for people without harming anybody else, I think they ought to do that. I really do.” But the article is really worth reading just for this Courant quote: “I plead not guilty of elfin whimsy.” [Source]
The Chicago Tribune reports on survey results by Ann Arbor-based ForeSee Results, which asked online shoppers about their use of Groupon and other “deal” sites. According to the report, the ForeSee ”found that while usage among deal sites like Chicago-based Groupon and Living Social is strong, it is less clear how much new business their deep-discount coupons are driving to their clients.” [Source]
Ann Arbor-based Borders Group is planning to sell the business by the end of July, according to a Detroit News report. From the article: ”Borders indicated in previous filings it planned to either restructure or sell only parts of itself, but Friday’s filing suggests the company is preparing for a wholesale deal. The company has continued to lose money since filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in mid-February, reporting a loss of $34.5 million between May 1 and May 28, according to a filing late Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Two private equity firms, Gores Group LLC in Los Angeles and Phoenix-based Najafi Cos., are reported to be interested in buying the company.” [Source]
As part of a broader article on reform plans for the Detroit Public Schools, the Detroit Free Press reports that Eastern Michigan University will play a role in the newly formed Education Achievement System, part of an effort announced Monday to restructure DPS. The district’s failing schools will be overseen by an 11-member authority, including two members appointed by EMU. It will be run by the district’s emergency manager, Roy Roberts. [Source] EMU also issued a press release with more details on its role. [Source]
Heritage Newspapers reports on Saturday’s press conference of the Washtenaw County Action Team, launching an effort to help repeal state Public Act 4. The law, passed earlier this year, empowers emergency financial managers appointed by the governor to take over management of municipalities in the state that are under economic duress. Speaking at the event were Brit Satchwell, president of the Ann Arbor Education Association, state Sen. Rebekah Warren of Ann Arbor, state Rep. David Rutledge of the Ypsilanti area, Ypsilanti mayor Paul Schreiber, Ann Arbor city councilmember Sabra Briere and Steve Norton, an Ann Arbor resident and K-12 schools activist. [Source]
In an article published by Michigan Today, University of Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon talks about the possibility of a mascot for UM: “We’re interested in doing a mascot but it has to be something that fans love, that children love and everyone can embrace. So far we haven’t figured out a way to do it. Until we come up with something we love, we don’t have a mascot.” [Source]
In a column for The Atlantic magazine, Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig reviews bacon from Herb Eckhouse and La Quercia in Iowa: “Having done a fair bit of research over the years while writing ‘Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon,’ I can tell you that a lot of the old sources list the Tamworths as hogs that were bred specifically to have their pork cured up into bacon. Herb told me pretty much what other sources have said as well – the belly meat from the Tamworth is supposed to be particularly tender. It’s also known for having a near-perfect balance of fat and lean, and its flavor gets particularly sweet during the maturing.” [Source]
The New York Times reports that University of Michigan professor Juan Cole was targeted by White House officials in the administration of president George W. Bush. They wanted the CIA to gather sensitive information to discredit Cole, who writes a blog – Informed Comment – about Middle Eastern and American politics, and who has been critical of the Iraq war. From the Times report: “It is not clear whether the White House received any damaging material about Professor Cole or whether the C.I.A. or other intelligence agencies ever provided any information or spied on him. [Former CIA official Glenn Carle] said that a memorandum written by his supervisor included derogatory details about Professor Cole, but that it may have been … [Full Story]
