Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

* * CRIME ALERT * *

Posted by MarkDilley on 5. May 2005

Victim robbed after making cash withdrawal from the ATM.

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Slate: "Welcome to Miller Time, Loser"

Posted by Ari Paul on 3. May 2005

Is the American beer industry in danger?

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Vote Today: School Board Elections

Posted by Scott Trudeau on 3. May 2005

I Voted sticker
Sorry for the late notice on this, but today are the school board elections in most parts of the state. Find your polling location at Publius.org.

Previous AU Coverage:

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Latest Greden Letter

Posted by Scott Trudeau on 3. May 2005

Council-member Greden has sent the latest in a series of (excruciatingly detailed) letters to third ward residents regarding the city budget. This latest installment includes details on city revenue sources, “administrative reductions” (i.e., “what got cut”) and “cuts that were avoided” in the proposed budget, which will likely be up for a vote on May 16th.

Comment [27] • Read More »

Support Busking Tonight at City Council

Posted by Ari Paul on 2. May 2005

Local musicians Shaun Williams and Susan Fawcett are calling for supporters of street musicians (buskers) to come to tonight’s [May 2nd] city council meeting at 7pm, where they will speak (and perform?) on this issue:


As you may know, I’ll be addressing the Ann Arbor City Council at tonight’s [May 2nd] 7pm meeting in hopes of amending the City Charter to allow buskers to collect monetary donations.

This practice is currently considered panhandling, which I feel discourages public performance and thwarts creative spontaneity.

Comment [29] • Read More »

Police conduct massive drug sweep of Chelsea schools

Posted by Murph on 2. May 2005

The Chelsea Standard reports that the Chelsea Police, Washtenaw County Sheriff, and Michigan State Police conducted simultaneous surprise sweeps of three Chelsea schools for drugs, using a total of seven drug-sniffing dogs and costing the Chelsea Police two days worth of overtime pay. (It’s unclear whether this was the total cost of the operation.) Chelsea Police Chief Scott Sumner hopes to conduct such searches several times a year, claiming that kids can get, “acid and methamphetamine at the lunchroom easier than they can get a Mountain Dew from a pop machine.”

The sweep uncovered a BB gun and no drugs.

Comment [3]

An Extraordinary Appeal from Argentina

Posted by MarkDilley on 28. April 2005

From an email I received today:

The workers in the Zanon ceramic factory in Argentina were faced with a challenge which is familiar to so many workers these days. Their factory was closing down. They were about to lose their jobs. They took matters into their own hands, occupied the factory and began running it as a co-operative. Their heroic struggle was the subject of a recent film, The Take – (IMDb).

But recently, the workers have come under increasing attack, with death threats now a part of their daily experience. The wife of one worker was kidnapped and had her face and chest slashed. And now the courts are considering ways to take the factory (and the jobs) away from the workers.

Please send your message of protest and solidarity today.

What an interesting solution to the problem, keeping the factory open! But that is not allowed under the “rules” of life! You get your loved ones face cut. Intense.

Public Hearing on City Master Plan, May 3

Posted by Juliew on 27. April 2005

The Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on the City Master Plan, Tuesday, May 3 at 7:00 pm in the Council Chamber, second floor of City Hall.

The Commission is looking for comments about elements of the City Master Plan as part of its annual review. The current elements are: Transportation Plan Update, Bicycle Plan, Parks and Recreation Open Space Plan, South Area Plan, Central Area Plan, Ann Arbor Downtown Plan, Northeast Area Plan, and the West Area Plan.

More information on the City Master Plan can be found on the Planning Website. The full set of adopted plan elements is available for review at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library. Copies can also be reviewed or purchased in the Planning Department (6th floor, City Hall).

Individuals may speak for three minutes during this public hearing. You may also submit written comments before the hearing to planning@ci.ann-arbor.mi.us.

Comment [4]

Human Rights Film Festival

Posted by Scott Trudeau on 27. April 2005

Human Rights Watch logo
On May 14th and 15th the Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project and Michigan Theater are hosting the Ann Arbor Human Rights Film Festival. The festival is a fund raiser for both organizations. Juvies, Persons of Interest, and Saints and Sinners, all films from the Human Rights Watch Travelling Film Festival, will be shown.

> For details, Michigan Independent Media Center: Ann Arbor Human Rights Film Festival

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"Justice Scalia, do you sodomize your wife?"

Posted by Scott Trudeau on 27. April 2005


We mentioned earlier the protests of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia at U-M. At NYU Law a student chose another form of critical engagement:

Randomly selected to attend the limited-seating and closed-to-the-press event, NYU law school student Eric Berndt asked Scalia to explain his dissent in Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 Supreme Court case that overturned Bowers v. Hardwick and struck down the nation’s sodomy laws. Not satisfied with Scalia’s answer, Berndt asked the Justice, “Do you sodomize your wife?”

> The Nation: Debriefing Scalia

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