Old Media Watch Section

Hour Detroit magazine’s May issue includes a profile of 826michigan, a writing and tutoring nonprofit that also has a quirky retail shop in downtown Ann Arbor. The article quotes Jim Ottaviani, a volunteer tutor: “I came across it via walking down Liberty Street. I like the fact that it’s a trick because it’s a lot of fun. People like surprises. Once you’re behind the curtain, it’s an open environment where students and tutors learn together and do so in a pretty relaxed, non-judgmental, friendly atmosphere.” [Source]

The Michigan Daily reports that a group of students from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business who are studying in Washington, D.C. were among the first to arrive at the White House Sunday night to celebrate the news of Osama bin Laden’s death. From the report: “Even before Obama made the official announcement, Business seniors Ifat Ribon, Karen Zelby and Mariya Pojidaev rushed out of their hotel room shortly after turning on the news. ‘We went literally sprinting down toward the White House,’ Zelby said. Pojidaev said when they got there around 11:30 p.m., a small group of University of Michigan students were gathered at the gates before thousands of people flooded the area.” [Source]

The Detroit News is among several media outlets reporting on the protest against Gov. Rick Snyder at Saturday’s University of Michigan graduation, where he’s giving the commencement address and receiving an honorary degree. From the report: “Teachers, nurses and autoworkers filled [Pioneer] high school’s football field carrying signs, chanting ‘Recall Rick’ in protest to the governor’s proposed budget policies, especially higher education funding cuts of at least 15 percent – which is more in one year than the 14 percent cut public universities have endured over the last eight years.” [Source]

The Washington Post reports on a $2 billion experiment that’s being transported to the space station by the shuttle Endeavor – a device called the alpha magnetic spectrometer, developed by physicist Samuel C.C. Ting. The article quotes UM physicist Gregory Tarle, who expresses skepticism about the project: “This kind of science is not worth billions of dollars…people are shaking their heads that Sam could do this. He did it by bullying his way through.” [Source]

The New York Times publishes a report on the University of Michigan’s relatively slow admissions process: “While most applicants to the nation’s selective colleges have been weighing their acceptances (and salving the wounds of their rejections) since April 1 or earlier, more than 10,000 applicants to the University of Michigan had to wait until last Thursday to receive their notifications. That delay, in turn, left those who were accepted with fewer than two weeks to compare Michigan (and perhaps its offer of financial aid) to other institutions. Though the university has been releasing batches of decisions over the past four months, a surge in applications this year after Michigan’s move to the Common Application has slowed its ability to communicate … [Full Story]

Wired magazine profiles efforts of this year’s University of Michigan solar car team, which is spending more than $1 million to build a car called the Quantum in hopes of winning the 1,800-mile World Solar Challenge, held later this year in Australia. The article quotes Chris Hilger, a junior who’s the team’s business manager: “At its heart, it’s an electric vehicle that uses top-of-the-line technology, from the batteries to the motor to the communications. It just happens to be solar.” [Source]

The Detroit News reports that Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who was arrested Friday in connection with his planned protest outside the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, plans to work with Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center to file a lawsuit against the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office and other government entities for violating his First Amendment rights. The News also reports that Jones intends to hold a protest outside Dearborn City Hall next Friday. [Source]

The New York Times reports on the impact of the BP oil spill one year after it occurred, and looks at how funding is being allocated for cleanup. The article quotes David M. Uhlmann, an expert in environmental law at the University of Michigan: “If no new legislation is passed, the Justice Department is likely to negotiate for a large natural resource damage claim, perhaps even at the expense of civil penalties, and may try to obtain additional funds for restoration efforts as part of any criminal plea agreement or civil consent decree.” [Source]

The Rolling Stones published a review of Tuesday night’s concert by Iggy Pop and the Stooges: “Near the end of the Stooges’ tribute concert to their late guitarist Ron Asheton at Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theater last night, Iggy Pop did something virtually unprecedented: he sat down, hushed the crowd, and addressed them in a calm, measured tone that was clearly the voice of Jim Osterberg – and not his psychotic alter-ego. ‘I need to thank Ron,’ he said. ‘He sort of peed this beautiful music all over me. When I started a band Ron was the first guy who got behind me. I owe him…I know he’s trying to flick ashes on my head from heaven right now.’” [Source]

The Detroit Free Press reports that Lazar Greenfield, a University of Michigan emeritus professor who recently resigned as president-elect of the American College of Surgeons, is defending himself against accusations of sexism over a Valentine’s Day editorial. From the report: “The editorial cited research about the mood-enhancing benefits of semen on women and said ‘there’s a deeper bond between men and women than St. Valentine would have suspected, and now we know there’s a better gift for that day than chocolates.’ Greenfield said he considered the editorial lighthearted and ‘intended to amuse readers.’ He called it ‘an opinion-piece written for a monthly throw-away newspaper, not a scientific journal.’” [Source]

Writing in the Detroit Metro Times, Jeff Meyers reviews “My Heart Is an Idiot,” a documentary about Ann Arborite and Found magazine publisher Davy Rothbart: “In its early going, you can’t help but be sucked into the guy’s self-effacing honesty. Rothbart, who’s from Ann Arbor, has an aw-shucks charm and heart-on-his-sleeve sincerity that softens even his most boneheaded moves. The movie is filled with plenty of raw, courageously unflattering and even amusingly batshit crazy moments.” The film premieres on Friday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Michigan Theater, 603 E. Liberty St. in Ann Arbor. [Source]

Michigan Live political columnist Peter Luke reports on a state Senate subcommittee’s rejection of a cut in university funding that Gov. Rick Snyder had previously proposed. While Snyder initially proposed a 22% cut to funding for Michigan’s 15 public universities, a higher education budget bill approved in subcommittee on Tuesday calls for a maximum of 15% in cuts next year. The Senate bill also scrapped a clause that would have forced universities, including the University of Michigan, to file reports with the legislature on their stem cell reasearch activities. [Source]

An Ann Arbor nonprofit and business are among the 2011 Michigan Green Leaders – awards given by the Detroit Free Press to recognize efforts in environmental sustainability. Local winners include The Ecology Center and Meadowlark Builders. The Freep quotes Mike Garfield, The Ecology Center’s executive director: “Sustainability has gone beyond the hippies and environmentalists and reached about every corner of society.” [Source]

Koleman Karleski, a managing director at Chrysalis Ventures, writes a guest post for the Wall Street Journal’s VentureWire blog, arguing that a focus on Detroit has obscured news of economic growth in other parts of Michigan: “So how do local innovation hubs develop? Most often, they coalesce around a top-notch research institution. In Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan fills this role. U of M is currently among the top 10 universities for spinning new technologies into start-ups, according to the university’s technology transfer office. In fact, Ann Arbor has one of the highest rates of patent density – a rough measure of how much innovation is taking place in a given area – in the nation.” [Source]

The Detroit Free Press reports that Dr. Lazar Greenfield, a University of Michigan emeritus professor of surgery, may lose his status as president-elect of the American College of Surgeons, a national surgeon’s group. Greenfield has recently come under fire after writing a Valentine’s Day editorial in Surgery News that argued semen is a positive mood-enhancer for women. Using rates of depression among college-aged women, Greenfield wrote that those who had unprotected sex were “significantly less depressed” than their counterparts who used condoms. Greenfield has resigned as editor of Surgery News and he may be forced to resign as president-elect of ACS. [Source]

The Detroit News reports on Borders Group’s efforts to revamp executive bonuses as the Ann Arbor bookseller continues to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In a New York bankruptcy court hearing on Thursday, the bookseller asked to adjust its retention bonus policy, but the hearing adjourned and no agreement was reached with the judge. The article quotes University of Michigan law professor John Pottow, who says the outcome is not a good sign: “It means someone ganged up on them, and they lost credibility with the judge. They’re going to have to go back to the drawing board, and they’re going to have to do it quickly because the executives aren’t going to work for free.” [Source]

The Detroit News reports that 47 corporate employees at Borders Group have left the Ann Arbor-based company since it filed for bankruptcy in mid-February: “As a result of the departures, the cost of Borders Group Inc.’s bonus retention plan is dropping at least half a million dollars, Borders’ attorneys indicated in the (court) filing. Borders is seeking permission to provide up to $8.3 million in compensation to remaining employees, a move it says is critical to retaining talent as it reorganizes. A bankruptcy judge is scheduled to hear arguments about the plan at a Thursday hearing in New York.” [Source]

The New York Times published an article featuring the newest University of Michigan solar car: “Just a few days ago, the newest and best hope in American solar car racing improbably rested atop four laundry baskets. Quantum, the newest creation of the University of Michigan’s solar car team, was designed for the World Solar Challenge in October. If it wins that event, in Australia, it would be the first victory for an American entry since General Motors’ Sunraycer in 1987.” [Source]

USA Today reports on the prevalence of drinking among high schoolers, citing a recent University of Michigan study that found 70% of high school students drink and 23% of seniors engage in binge drinking. In order to help decrease that number, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is launching a campaign to involve parents, the “number one influence” on teen drinking behavior, according to MADD. [Source]

The Detroit News reports on proposed legislation to change the process of adopting foster children in Michigan. The article quotes Vivek Sankaran, a University of Michigan law professor and director of the Detroit Center for Family Advocacy, who argues that courts should have the final say in adoptions, rather than state officials: “For me, that type of decision-making process is better, because there’s a lot more transparency.” [Source]

Writing in The Courant, editor Gary Wellings comments on a  joint meeting of the Northfield Township board and planning commission that took place on March 22, 2011. During the meeting, the resignation of board member Dan Rowe was accepted. His replacement, Mike Magda, was appointed the same evening: “… I find it odd that a resignation can be accepted and a replacement made so quickly and seemingly spontaneously in one session of the Board. It is frankly obvious that many Board members are discussing the public business in private. That is a total lack of transparency and may well be a violation of open meetings rules.”

Wellings concludes by looking ahead: “… thanks to Mike Magda for stepping up, he has been … [Full Story]

The Detroit Free Press reports that Chris Armstrong, president of the University of Michigan’s student government, filed a lawsuit last week against Andrew Shirvell, a former Michigan assistant attorney general. The lawsuit claims that Shirvell stalked Armstrong “and inflicted emotional distress last year by posting alleged defamatory statements on a blog as part of a ‘bizarre personal obsession’ that included calling him a Nazi, Ku Klux Klan member and a ‘radical homosexual activist,’” according to the filing. [Source]

The April edition of Hour Detroit magazine includes a review of Logan restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor, calling it “daring and capable and worth a look.” More from the review: “(Ann Arbor’s) dining-experience, magnet restaurants of white-linen and expense-account fame, such as Escoffier and Moveable Feast, closed some years ago, and the top end has remained vacant – until quite recently. Logan is the first in ages to successfully attain the upper-category distinction. It’s now one of only a handful of fine-dining restaurants in the broader metro Detroit region. The food is excellent; the wine list is original, smart, and solid. Yet, Logan has the look and informality of a casual restaurant.” [Source]

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ann Arbor-based Borders Group, the bookstore chain that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, is planning to move its headquarters to Detroit, where it can rent cheaper office space. From the report: “Presenting its business plan to an unsecured creditors committee, predominantly made up of publishers and landlords, Borders also plans to say it has now closed about 50 superstores as part of efforts to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to people familiar with the matter. Altogether, Borders will close 226 by the end of next month, although a handful of additional stores could be closed, depending on negotiations with landlords, the people said.” [Source]

Ron Weiser, an Ann Arbor businessman and former chairman of the Michigan GOP, is being named finance chairman of the national Republican Party, according to a report in the Detroit News. Weiser told The News: “This is an extraordinary opportunity for me to be able to work with the new chairman Reince Priebus and a national team of like-minded people who are concerned about the future of this country and make a difference. The chairman made the decision and I’m pleased that he did. I intend to do this on a full-time basis until we achieve our goal, which is a victory in November 2012.” [Source]

The Detroit News reports that University of Michigan researchers and Dr. Mark Hughes, president of Genesis Genetics in Detroit, have created two new stem cell lines, which will aid in the research of two hereditary diseases: hemophilia B and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. The article quotes Gary Smith, co-director of the UM Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies: “These cells aren’t necessarily going to drive us toward discoveries of stem cell replacement therapies, but will give us information we’ve never had before with regards to how the diseases form and progress.” [Source]

A Reuters report, published on CNBC.com, describes results from a clinical trial of a heart valve replacement technique developed by Edwards LifeSciences Corp., which provides an alternative to open-heart surgery. The article quotes Susan Housholder-Hughes, a nurse practitioner at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, who supports using the technique: “These are elderly patients that don’t have much stamina and until now they have had to undergo open heart surgery, which is like getting hit by a truck. The less invasive procedure should offer them a quicker recovery and get them back on their feet and doing the things they enjoy and want to do.” [Source]

Writing in the April issue of Saveur magazine, columnists Jane and Michael Stern report on their search for “the Jewish deli rye that good meats deserve.” They write: “But America’s very best deli rye? No contest. We found it in Ann Arbor, Michigan, when we noticed that the bread that Zingerman’s Deli used to construct our Diana’s Different Drummer sandwich (brisket, Russian dressing, coleslaw, and horseradish) was sensational. It comes from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, which makes loaves of rugged rye that are dense and springy, laced with the taste of hearth smoke.” [Source]

The Detroit Free Press reports that two former students at Eastern Michigan University may have filed fraudulent tax returns based on student records they stole: “The initial investigation into the theft of the records showed that the personal records of 58 individuals were taken, although it’s unclear how many of those people’s information was used, school spokesman Walter Kraft said in a news release. The school said another six people contacted the university after filing their tax returns and having the IRS reject them because their social security numbers were used on another filing.” [Source]

The Associated Press reports that an existing human trafficking law will be strengthened in Michigan on Friday as amendments take effect that would make punishments more severe for involuntary servitude, among other things. The article quotes Bridgette Carr, director of the University of Michigan Law School’s Human Trafficking Clinic: “In Michigan, we have seen victims in the U.P., in Detroit, in rural areas. We haven’t found a community yet that we haven’t seen a victim come from … That’s how prevalent it is.” [Source]