Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Arborweb gets a makeover

Posted by Nancy Shore on 31. December 2008

For those of you who like the print version of the Ann Arbor Observer but wished the articles were also online, wish no longer.

Arborweb.com, the Observer’s online presence has recently been updated to include some of the articles in the current edition, a food blog by Bix Engels, the Ann Arbor Crime Map, and even an RSS Feed (scroll down to the bottom of the site to see a link to it).

Now it will be even easier for us at Arbor Update to reference an Observer article on this site. Good or bad? You decide.

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Bello Vino and Kitchen Port Closed for Business

Posted by Nancy Shore on 30. December 2008

The Ann Arbor Chronicle and Ann Arbor News recently reported that Bello Vino Marketplace at the Plymouth Road Mall is closing.

In the comments section of the Ann Arbor Chronicle article on Bello Vino, it was also noted that Kitchen Port will be closing its doors.

On their respective websites, both stores cite the economic downturn as a reason for their closing.

Perhaps this is a good time to think about shopping locally.

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Sunday feature: photos of the week

Posted by Matt Hampel on 14. December 2008

School is out December 19th; many of us are already done with finals. Sign is on the Cube on Central.

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Ann Arbor News Seeks Feedback: What Local News Stories to Cover?

Posted by Nancy Shore on 14. December 2008

In the Sunday edition of the Ann Arbor News, editor Ed Petykiewicz explains some changes afoot at the News:

In the coming weeks, your News will begin to focus more on local people, local issues and local events. Some of the changes include more stories about local government, increasingly local flavor in sections such as our Food pages and more columns from our staff.

Mr. Petykiewicz explains that the News is trying this strategy as the News (like many other newspapers across the country) transitions from a “once-a-day publication cycle” printed paper into “an around-the-clock information company” with both a print and online presence.

In addition, Mr. Petykiewicz notes that

the timing of these changes is triggered by the recession, which is choking the economy and hurting our advertisers. Like newspapers across the country, we’re looking for ways to balance expenses and revenue.

The News is looking to reduce its costs with “voluntary buyouts in some areas, some consolidation and fewer pages.”

What does the future look like for the News? According to Mr. Perykiwicz, while the News “will have fewer pages . . . the goal is to remain relevant and vital to our readers and to the communities we serve.”

To that end, the Ann Arbor News is seeking feedback from citizens re: what “types of local news you value and what additional local stories you’d like to see in your newspaper.”

Since Arbor Update is intended as a place for community discussion, I thought this would be a good place for readers to post their feedback to the News. I will email Mr. Petykiewicz and invite him to read the comments written here.

If you would like to contact Mr. Petykiewicz directly with your comments, you can write him at The Ann Arbor News, 240 East Huron St., Ann Arbor, MI 48106 or email him at mynewspaper@annarbornews.com

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City Budget Cuts Proposed

Posted by Nancy Shore on 11. December 2008

A memo was recently sent out to City of Ann Arbor Employees asking for their help to cut as much as 15% of the City’s Budget over two years, without materially reducing services.

Below is the text of the memo sent to City Employees:

From: Fraser, Roger
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 3:50 PM
To: *All Employees
Subject: Your Ideas Are Needed

City of Ann Arbor
FY 2010 & 2011 FISCAL PLAN

Introduction

The City has had a good year in FY 2009 thus far. Very few budget cuts were needed due to the actions taken in FY 2008. Now is the time for us to begin our planning for the next two year budget and we need your help. Once again, we need to come up with ways to reduce our spending while keeping our focus on our primary mission, service to the Ann Arbor community. Historically staff has done a great job in coming up with creative and innovative ways to balance expenditures. During the next several weeks, we need to identify ways to cut 15% over two years, without materially reducing services.

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WCC offering discounted bus pass for Winter semester

Posted by Nancy Shore on 5. December 2008

A dedicated bus rider and WCC student recently sent me an email she received from Washtenaw Community College announcing a new discounted bus pass for WCC students available starting in January, 2009.

From the text of the email:

Catch The Ride
Avoid parking hassles, save money, and help the environment. Buy a special WCC Pass for students created by the College and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. The pass costs $10 and lasts all of Winter Semester— from Jan. 2 to May 4, 2009. With it, you can ride a bus anywhere, any time.

To qualify for a pass, you must be taking at least three credits in the Winter 2009 semester. You can buy a pass starting Dec. 15 at the Cashier’s Office, which is on the second floor of the Student Center Building. You’ll need your WCC ID number (the number that begins with the @ sign).

To ride the bus, you must show the pass and your WCC photo ID. If you don’t have a WCC photo ID, you can get one at Campus Safety and Security on the second floor of the Student Center Building. Take your WCC ID number and a photo ID, such as a driver’s license.

The AATA and WCC have been working on a deal like this for some time. There has even been discussion of creating an express bus route to WCC Given that a 30 day AATA bus pass costs $37.50, this is truly a great deal for WCC students.

According to studies by the Institute for Transportation Engineers and others, transit subsidies can reduce the number of people driving alone by anywhere between 1% to 20% depending on other factors.

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Midnight Madness Downtown: December 5

Posted by Juliew on 5. December 2008

This Friday night (December 5) is “Midnight Madness” downtown. Put on your warm clothes (or buy some), skip out on going to the gym and walk your way around downtown. Shopping downtown is more fun than going to the mall and a lot more picturesque. Stores will be open late and almost all are having sales. The medical students from the Galens Society will be collecting money for services for children at Mott Hospital so make sure to get your tag.

Start on Ashley Street (don’t forget to mail your letter to Santa), then head to Main Street, wander up toward Kerrytown along Fourth Avenue (no whining, you can do it, it really isn’t far at all from Main Street). Walk back down along Liberty Street toward State Street. If you are cold, stop in to Sams on Liberty and buy some mittens, a hat, long underwear, or some warm socks. On your way, stop at LeDog for dinner. State Street is worth it and you don’t want to forget Bivouac, Van Bovens, Moes, and the Arcade shops!

Now granted, this might be a lot for one night, but don’t despair, most of these stores are having sales all weekend in addition to the Friday night festivities. For instance, Downtown Home and Garden is having a sale on Christmas trees on Friday and their big Christmas Party on Saturday and Van Boven’s sale is going all weekend.

See you downtown!

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The rise of private-public transportation in a2

Posted by Nancy Shore on 22. November 2008

It used to be that transportation fit neatly into two basic categories: public transportation and private transportation. Think of buses vs. bikes or trains vs. cars.

We’ll here in Ann Arbor, and elsewhere in the world, a new trend is emerging.

Meet the new era of private-public transportation (PPT).

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Ann Arbor News shrinking

Posted by Bruce Fields on 16. November 2008

Mary Morgan at the Chronicle reported last week that “Buyouts Hit The Ann Arbor News“:

This morning, management at The News and all seven other newspapers owned by the Newhouse family in Michigan announced a massive round of buyouts and plans to consolidate some operations in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.

No longer breaking news (and probably not a great surprise), but worth a discussion thread.

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eWashtenaw Election Results '08

Posted by Murph on 4. November 2008

For those not too riveted to the national races to care, (and not hanging out in person at the Clerk’s office) local results can, of course, be found at http://electionresults.ewashtenaw.org/nov2008/indexreport.html

At this moment, the site is reporting 0.64% of precincts reporting (yes, that’s less than 1%), but you can add it to the list of sites to reload obsessively.

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