Old Media Watch Section

The Detroit News reports that UM’s connection with the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Michigan – through a UM School of Social Work internship in community activism at the center – might be putting some of the university’s state funding at risk. Students were involved in protests organized by the center against the Andiamo restaurant in Dearborn. From the report: “Tucked in the House education budget at the request of the Michigan Restaurant Association is a provision prohibiting universities from collaborating with ‘a non-profit worker center whose documented activities include coercion through protest, demonstration or organization against a Michigan business.’” [Source]

The Lansing State Journal profiles Howdy Holmes, CEO of Chelsea Milling Co., the maker of Jiffy Mix. The article quotes Holmes commenting on his family firm’s recipes: “Our corn muffin has lard in it. Big deal. There’s a certain taste to that.” [Source]

Will Hathaway of Ann Arbor is featured in a Detroit Free Press article about stay-at-home fathers. He has been his family’s primary caregiver since the adoption of his first daughter about 12 years ago, and spoke about the challenge of re-entering the workforce: “It’s difficult to relaunch your career when the economy is running away from you. Part of the challenge for anyone getting back in the job market is selling yourself and explaining why you took time out of your career. I think it’s challenging regardless of gender, but more so for men because it’s unusual still for men to be the stay-at-home parent.” [Source]

Long-time Ann Arbor auto dealer Howard Cooper is selling his Howard Cooper Import Center to the Columbus, Ohio-based Germain Motor Company, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press. The deal was announced Monday. The Ann Arbor operation, which employs about 90 people, will be managed by Jessica Germain, daughter of the company’s owner, Steve Germain, and a graduate of the University of Michigan. [Source]

A spokesman for Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has told the Detroit Free Press that Snyder doesn’t believe the state legislature can force the University of Michigan or any other university to answer questions about its embryonic stem cell research. The state’s budget legislation includes language about answering questions on embryonic stem cell research as part of a requirement for state funding. Snyder spokeswoman Geralyn Lasher called the language “unenforceable and unconstitutional,” according to the report. [Source]

The Detroit Free Press reports that two University of Michigan graduate student research assistants (GSRAs) filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday against the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, opposing a recent law that bars GSRAs from unionizing. The majority of UM regents have also voiced opposition to the law, most recently at a special meeting in February before the legislation was signed by Gov. Rick Snyder. But university administrators have supported efforts to prevent GSRAs from being recognized as employees and from engaging in collective bargaining. There are more than 2,000 GSRAs at UM. [Source]

The Wall Street Journal reports on how health care providers are shifting their treatments to focus on quality-of-life outcomes for patients. The article quotes Noreen Clark, director of the University of Michigan’s Center for Managing Chronic Disease: “Quality of life happens to be the element that is most important in motivating people to deal with an illness. People aren’t motivated to follow their clinical regimen if in fact it doesn’t improve the way they function and get along with others and manage day to day.” [Source]

Michigan Radio reports that two University of Michigan professors are staging a tribute to John Cage – a musical morel mushroom hunt – as a nod to the composer, who was known to hunt for morels in this area. Michael Gurevich, Tim James and their students will use the sounds of their surroundings – Bird Hills Nature Area – to create their compositions. Says Gurevich: ”There’ll probably be planes flying overhead because the sonic environment isn’t quiet around here. There’ll be birds chirping, squirrels. We might make some other sounds like whistling or clapping our hands. And there’ll be probably cries of excitement when someone finds a morel mushroom, we hope.” The event is on Saturday, April 14 at 11 a.m. [Source]

The Detroit News reports that the Washtenaw County board of election commissioners, on a 2-to-1 vote at an April 9 hearing, approved language for a recall petition against Gov. Rick Snyder. This is the second time that recall language has been proposed and approved – commissioners took a 2-to-1 vote in August 2011, approving petition language for a Snyder recall. In that case, county treasurer Catherine McClary cast the dissenting vote, with Donald E. Shelton, chief judge of the Washtenaw County Trial Court, and county clerk Larry Kestenbaum in support. On Monday, Kestenbaum dissented. The previous recall drive, backed by the same group that’s initiating the new recall attempt, failed to collect a sufficient number of signatures to put … [Full Story]

Bloomberg News reports about concerns that U.S. intelligence officials have over increasing signs of spying at American universities. The report cites an incident at the University of Michigan, and quotes professor Daniel J. Scheeres – who now teaches at the University of Colorado, but says he encountered a situation at UM with a Chinese visiting scholar that made him uncomfortable: “It was pretty clear to me that the stuff she was interested in probably had some military satellite-orbit applications. Once I saw that, I didn’t really tell her anything new, or anything that couldn’t be published. I didn’t engage that deeply with her.” [Source]

The Detroit Free Press reports that Saturday’s 41st Hash Bash was more political than in previous years, with volunteers collecting signatures for a petition that would put a proposal on the Nov. 6 ballot to legalize marijuana for all uses, not just for medical purposes. Thirteen arrests were made for marijuana possession, from an estimated crowd of about 5,500 people, according to the report. [Source]

In a segment on her MSNBC show, Rachel Maddow highlights the Michigan legislature’s “immediate effect” controversy, including the recent lawsuit filed by state House Democrats against the GOP majority. Ann Arbor Democrat Jeff Irwin is a plaintiff in that lawsuit, which contests the way in which Republicans have used voice votes to declare the constitutionally-mandated two-thirds majority needed for laws to take immediate effect. Maddow calls the practice “the most radical thing Republicans have done anywhere in the country.” [Source] For additional background on the issue, see Chronicle coverage of an April 2 special meeting of the University of Michigan board of regents: “UM Regents Split on State House Lawsuit.”

The Eastern Echo reports on Ypsilanti mayor Paul Schreiber’s State of the City address, in which he lobbied for support of two proposed new city taxes on the May 8 ballot: (1) an income tax of 1% on residents and 0.5% on non-residents; and (2) a millage to pay off debt on the Water Street property. [.pdf of Schreiber's address] [Source]

Publishers Weekly includes an email interview with Josie Parker and Eli Neiburger of the Ann Arbor District Library. The interview focuses on AADL’s “innovative, analytical, and provocative approach to e-books and next generation library service.” Here’s Neiburger’s answer to a question on whether e-book rentals and purchases can co-exist: “It seems that the library market is about the only place that publishers feel they have some power to set terms right now, so we’re bearing the brunt of boardroom anxiety. But we know in libraries that our superusers are also publishing’s best customers, and that borrowing does not supplant buying, no matter the relative friction. It’s up to libraries to make deals that make sense for their communities and move the … [Full Story]

Hour Detroit magazine publishes a feature on the peonies at the University of Michigan’s Nichols Arboretum, in advance of next month’s blossoming. From the article: “The Peony Garden is undergoing an identification and conservation project designed to establish it as an internationally recognized living reference, as well as a destination for enthusiasts. Working with an advisory board of experts and armed with planting maps of the peony beds from various years (1927, 1949, and the 1970s), project participants are endeavoring to properly identify every plant. About 50 mystery plants live in the beds.” [Source]

Ann Arbor real estate agent Alex Milshteyn, 28, and restauranteur Adam Lowenstein, 29, are on the list of Crain’s Detroit “20 In Their 20s” – recognizing “the brainpower and entrepreneurial talent of the region’s young professionals and creatives.” [Source]

Ypsilanti’s iconic water tower will be lit with blue lights on Monday as part of the international ”Light It Up Blue” autism awareness campaign, according to a report in The Detroit News. The article also reports that Sally Burton-Hoyle, a special education professor and autism expert at Eastern Michigan University, was appointed last week to serve on a national advisory committee focusing on families that are dealing with autism. [Source]

The Detroit News reports on Saturday’s Dexter Tornado Cash Mob, which was organized by the Ann Arbor Cash Mob to support businesses in the wake of the March 15 tornado devastation. More than 100 shoppers came to town throughout the day. The article quotes Becky Harrison, who drove to Dexter from Manchester: “Even though it’s not our town – these small towns, we’re like neighbors.” [Source]

Two Ann Arbor area companies – Motawi Tileworks and Zingerman’s – were featured during a Friday segment about Easter gift baskets on NBC’s Today Show. Cookbook author Kathleen Daelemans showcased eight items for hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, saying the products were made by “little-engine-that-could companies in the heart of America.” The Motawi basket had three trivets – including one with the image of a bunny – while the basket from Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory was full of confections that Daelemans said “bring the flavor back into candy bars.” [Source]

Following the death of poet Adrienne Rich, National Public Radio interviews Linda Gregerson, a poet, critic and University of Michigan professor: “I remember when I first encountered Adrienne’s work and it was when I was a student at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and the fierceness of her intelligence and the power of her anger, her willingness to speak it directly, was really an amazing revelation, I think, for many of us. … And she’s been a stirring and necessary and really life-changing figure for many, many in the world of American poetry, not just women poets.” [Source]

The Detroit Free Press reports that the U.S. Dept. of Justice asked for a permanent injunction against Rosewood Products, claiming that the Ann Arbor firm has “failed to correct unsanitary and filthy conditions at its plant,” according to the report. Owner Phil G. Ye told the Free Press that conditions at the plant are sanitary. The company makes tofu and other soy products. It is located at Airport Boulevard on the city’s south side and has been in business since 1976. [Source]

Provided by The Chronicle: [.pdf of complaint filed in U.S. District Court]

 

ESPN’s Wolverine Nation looks at how college athletes – including University of Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson – handle the challenges of celebrity status. The report quotes Robinson and his reaction to meeting president Barack Obama at a UM event earlier this year: ”That’s one of those days I’m going to sit down and tell my grandkids, sit down I’ve got a story for y’all. I met the President. That’s one of the things I’ll always remember and always cherish. As soon as I got done meeting him, I called my dad, my mom, my brothers and said, ‘I just met the President. I just met the President of the United States.’” [Source]

Michigan Radio reports on the 50th anniversary of the Ann Arbor Film Festival, which starts today and runs through April 1. The segment includes an interview with Leighton Pierce, a filmmaker and installation artist who submitted his first entry to the AAFF in 1981: “It’s probably the festival’s fault that I became a filmmaker because that kind of encouragement early on can really like be a dangerous thing.” More information about this year’s schedule is on the festival’s website. [Source]

Boxoffice Magazine profiles Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theater, including an extensive interview with executive director Russ Collins: “I think seeing large format images and wonderful sound on a screen in a public setting is a profound aesthetic experience that human beings want to have now and will want in the future. The only thing we can do at the Michigan Theater is work to make cinema relevant to our community and I think that’s a very powerful dynamic. I think that if we think about making communities good places for cinema to be experienced then cinema will always have a home.” [Source]

The Detroit News previews next week’s Ann Arbor Film Festival, which is celebrating its 50th season. The article quotes AAFF executive director Donald Harrison: “Along with all the new films, contemporary works and competition films, we’re going to be playing a lot of historic, rare and archival films from throughout the festival’s history. So people are going to get a chance to see what has changed, what is different. …For a film festival that wasn’t founded by a celebrity or a billionaire, it’s had incredible longevity.” The festival runs from March 27-April 1 at the Michigan Theater and other venues. [Source]

A week after a tornado touched down in the Dexter area, Channel 7 Action News – Detroit’s ABC affiliate – reports on cleanup progress there. The report quotes resident Penni Jones: ”I’m glad that it’s getting quiet again. It was very noisy from all the trucks and all the construction. They’ve cleaned up very quickly so it’s a relief to see it shape up so fast.” [Source]

The Detroit Free Press reports that the Governor’s Council on Educator Effectiveness – a group chaired by Deborah Ball, dean of the University of Michigan School of Education – won’t be submitting a final report by its April 30 deadline. The report quotes Ball: ”We don’t want to take this opportunity in Michigan and do something that’s damaging. There are so many ways it can go badly. But done right, we can be a total leader in the country.” The council has been asked to make recommendations for teacher evaluation, as well as an evaluation plan for school administrators and a student growth and assessment tool. [Source]

The Detroit News reports that the March 15 tornado that touched down in Dexter was likely an F3 category, with winds in the 158-206 mph range. [Ratings are based on the Fujita Scale, used to categorize the intensity of tornados.] From the Detroit News report: ”The worst hit areas were Carriage Hills and Huron Farms neighborhoods of Dexter, with more than 100 homes registering serious damage and 13 homes completely destroyed. Dexter-Pinckney Road remains closed Friday to through traffic from Island Lake Road to North Territorial just north of the Dexter village limits. Homes along the road were damaged and emergency personnel are only letting residents drive the stretch of road to get to their homes, officials said.” [Source]

The Detroit Free Press reports that Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation Tuesday morning that prohibits graduate student research assistants (GSRAs) from unionizing. An effort was underway at the University of Michigan to organize GSRAs. The Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) had been scheduled to meet later in the day to discuss the issue. [Source]

The New York Times profiles University of Michigan students Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who will be defending their first world title in ice dancing later this month. (A photo accompanying the article was taken at UM’s law library.) The article reports that after winning the silver medal in the 2010 Olympics, “they have their minds set on bringing home the gold at the 2014 Games in Russia. Many think the two, with their Disney good looks … might finally bring the American figure skating world out of a lull that began the moment one Olympic champion, Michelle Kwan, hung up her skates.” [Source]