Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Voting questions...

Posted by MarkDilley on 19. October 2004

Michigan Democrats, the NAACP and voter-rights groups want Republican Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land to rescind her instructions that local election officials not count provisional ballots for voters who show up at the wrong precinct. They say it should be enough that voters vote in the jurisdiction—city, township or village—where they live.

Milliken endorses Kerry

Posted by Brian Kerr on 18. October 2004

William Milliken, Republican governor of Michigan in the 1970’s, endorses John Kerry in today’s Traverse City Record-Eagle:

My Republican Party is the party of Gerald R. Ford, Michigan’s only president, who reached across partisan lines to become a unifying force during a time of great turmoil in our nation’s history. This president has pursued policies pandering to the extreme right wing across a wide variety of issues and has exacerbated the polarization and the strident, uncivil tone of much of what passes for political discourse in this country today.

Women’s rights, civil liberties, the separation of church and state, the funding of family planning efforts world-wide – all have suffered grievously under this president and his administration.

The truth is that President George W. Bush does not speak for me or for many other moderate Republicans on a very broad cross section of issues.

Haab's Turns Back the Clock to 1934 Prices

Posted by MarkDilley on 18. October 2004

via Live Journal

Haab’s Restaurant, 18 W. Michigan Ave. Ypsilanti, will turn the clock back Monday for its 70th anniversary celebration, offering 1934 prices on select menu items. Lunch and dinner patrons can dine for $.50 or less 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Details: Visit Haab’s Web site HaabsRestaurant.com or call (734) 483-8200. (Source: MLive.com

Sierra Club Proposes Greenway Through Ann Arbor

Posted by Murph on 18. October 2004

The Huron Valley chapter of the Sierra Club has proposed a greenway running along the Allen Creek floodplain from Bandemer Park (where US-23 crosses the Huron River) past downtown to Michigan Stadium. An article by chapter co-chair Doug Cowherd on the group’s website and in their newletter suggests that the Allen Creek floodplain should be kept clear of buildings and parking lots in order to control flooding, and that a pedestrian and bicycle greenway, linking larger parks along the route, would be a good use for the area.

Cowherd’s article states,

If you look around downtown Ann Arbor for public open space, you’ll find Liberty Plaza, where the only green is in planter boxes surrounded by a sea of concrete. The University of Michigan diag efficiently redistributes a horde of students at the top of every hour, but discourages relaxation by its scarcity of seating. Both places serve their purposes. But neither is the kind of urban green space that provides beauty and respite from the bustle of downtown life. . . . The Ann Arbor Greenway would consist of a biking and walking path through a series of small “pocket parks� as well as a few larger urban parks; a lovely tree-lined “linear park� system. People would stroll a 3 mile long path that meanders past picnic areas, ponds, sculptures, and play areas. This Greenway would link neighborhoods and the central part of the city with over 300 acres of natural areas along the Huron River, the ball fields and amphitheatre of West Park, and the vast U-M athletic campus.

The plan includes turning three city-owned properties – mainly parking lots – into larger parks along the greenway. One of these is First and William lot that the DDA is currently planning to construct a parking structure atop in order to accomodate further downtown development.

An Ann Arbor News article quotes developer Ed Shaffran as saying the First and William structure is “vital” to increasing downtown density. Shaffran says he thinks a less ambitious version of the greenway will eventually happen as a compromise. The News quotes Cowherd in response as being afraid that alleged supporters will try to twist the greenbelt to their own ends:

“I’m concerned people who say they support the greenway concept are actually trying to turn it into a concrete path between the tall buildings they want to put everywhere downtown,” Cowherd said. “This will make their projects more attractive, but it won’t create the linear Central Park that would be a tremendous benefit to Ann Arbor residents.”

A group called Friends of the Ann Arbor Greenway has put up a website to chart progress towards this vision, which mentions an upcoming project meeting on Wednesday (no location stated) and promises to publish a study showing that Ann Arbor doesn’t need a new parking structure.

Links:

Comment [19]

Ypsi Library Filtering Advocates Attempt to Pack Board

Posted by Murph on 17. October 2004

The Ypsilanti District Library Board refused to install internet filters on library computers this summer, so filter advocates are attempting to win a majority on the Board by electing three pro-filter candidates to the three open board seats.

From the Ann Arbor News:

Lining up on the side of filter proponents are candidates Rick Roe, John Soukup, Marcia Phillips and Herman Love.

Candidate Shirley Bolden favors a compromise, installing filters only on computers used by young library users.

Hale, Morgan-Deckard and Andrea Schollaert say the filters are not needed because the current library Internet policy is sufficient to protect children. “We will continue to monitor the issue to be sure that this is going to be safe for all children,” Hale said.

Monitoring of internet use by staff is considered a valid control measure by the State of Michigan, and filter opponents claim filters would cost money the library doesn’t have.

Links:

Million Worker March - today

Posted by MarkDilley on 17. October 2004

I have many friends from SE MI that are there, hope it stays peaceful.

Check out the Million Worker March

DISSENT IN TIME OF WAR.

Posted by MarkDilley on 17. October 2004

Films and discussion from the Republican National Convention protests and more, featuring video activist DeeDee Halleck and Michael J. Steinberg, Legal Director of the ACLU of Michigan.

Join rad.art, Critical Moment, and the National Lawyers Guild for an evening of film screenings and discussion. We’ll be showing footage from the protests surrounding the Republican National Convention in New York, as well as “Erasing Memory,” a segment from Deep Dish TV’s anti-war series “Shocking and Awful.”

Friday, October 22, 7PM
Pendleton Room, Michigan Union
Free event, light refreshments provided

DeeDee Halleck is a media activist and co-founder of Paper Tiger Television and the Deep Dish Satellite Network, the first grass roots community television network.

She is Professor Emerita in the Department of Communication at the University of California at San Diego. Her first film, Children Make Movies(1961), was about a film-making project at the Lillian Wald Settlement in Lower Manhattan. Her film, Mural on Our Street was nominated for Academy Award in 1965. She has led media workshops with elementary school children, reform school youth and migrant farmers.

As professor in the Department of Communications at the University of California, San Diego, Halleck taught courses in Latin American Cinema, the history of telecomunications, telecommunications policy, production of television and the history of community media in the United States.

Her work has been featured in installations at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Austrian Triennial of Photography, the Wexner Center, the Gallery at the SanFrancisco Art Institute, the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, the Bellevue Art Museum and the Berkeley Art Museum. She co-coordinated a twelve part series on the prison industrial complex in the United States entitled, Bars and Stripes. She is a member of the MacBride Roundtable on International Communication, a member of the board of directors of the Instructional Telecommunications Foundation and a Board Member of Our Media, an international organization to promote citizens.

Michael J. Steinberg has served as the Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan since 1997 and is responsible for overseeing all of the litigation taken on by the ACLU throughout the state. Steinberg earned a B.A. with honors from Wesleyan University in 1983 and is a 1989 cum laude graduate of Wayne State University Law School. Upon graduation, he clerked for then Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Kelly (now a Michigan Supreme Court Justice). He then established his own private practice in Ann Arbor where he specialized in civil rights litigation and civil and criminal appeals. Among his many cases, Steinberg challenged the Ann Arbor Police Department’s practice of coercing African American men into giving blood for DNA testing during the Ann Arbor serial rapist investigation.

Since joining the staff of the ACLU, Steinberg has worked on many high impact, high profile cases on a wide range of civil liberties issues including: freedom of speech and expression, racial profiling, post 9-11 issues, religious freedom, drug testing of welfare recipients and high school athletes, Internet censorship, reproductive rights, affirmative action, voting rights and prisoner rights. Steinberg is a former high school teacher, a former President of the Ann Arbor Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and a founding board member of Michigan Peace Action
(formerly Michigan SANE/Freeze).

Ypsi Charity to be Closed by Zoning Code

Posted by Murph on 16. October 2004

Fairy Godparents, an Ypsi Township nonprofit dedicated to collecting basic household items and distributing them to needy recipients, is being threatened by the Township’s zoning ordinance. The organization relies on public sales for operating funds, and the zoning code forbids retail activity both in their building and on the grounds.

From the Ann Arbor News:

The current zoning allows for warehouses and light industrial but not retail activities. The organization is located in a corridor occupied by a small shopping plaza, storage facilities and warehouses.
. . .
When Burkhardt was told he couldn’t use the building, he started selling the goods in front of the building. Township building officials told him businesses are allowed to hold three outside sales a year; however, he has continued to hold sales bi-monthly outside the building since June. They helped him find a place near Industrial Drive in the township, but Burkhardt said he could not afford the rent.

Fairy Godparents distributes goods to people with referrals from non-profit agencies in Washtenaw, Livingston, and Wayne Counties, filling 580 requests in 2003.

James Gartin, economic and development director at the township, said officials support the organization but it must comply with township ordinances. “We cannot turn a blind eye,” he said.

Without the public sales, the organization will be forced to close.

Comment [3]

North Main Condominiums partner withdraws

Posted by Murph on 16. October 2004

Toll Brothers, the Pennsylvania-based development company, has pulled its support from the contentious North Main Condominiums proposal. The project was tabled at a recent Ann Arbor Planning Commission meeting after neighbors voiced heavy opposition and the developers asked for time to prepare a revised proposal.

From today’s Ann Arbor News:

“There were too many uncertainties, too many hurdles,” said Bloomfield Township developer Mel VanderBrug, who with fellow developer Don Colone, had co-partnered with Toll Brothers on the project . . . A written statement from VanderBrug says he recently asked the city Planning Commission to table the proposal so they could redesign the project and that he and Colone are talking with other possible partners. In a telephone interview, VanderBrug said they might also downsize the project.

Jean Carlberg, member of the City Council and Planning Commission, expressed hope that another developer can come forward with a plan for the site that will be more acceptable to the neighborhood.

EDIBLE REX: A FILM FESTIVAL FOR THE STARVING ARTIST

Posted by MarkDilley on 15. October 2004

————————- CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS————————————-

“What the mass media offer is not popular art, but entertainment which is intended to be consumed like food, forgotten and replaced by a new dish.” – W H Auden
.
..
...
WE ARE LOOKING FOR: Smart, independent, hungry filmmakers to participate in this brechtian pageant of food and film.

WHAT WE WANT: Provocative, beautiful, and radical films / videos. Anything goes: any subject matter (not just food), any medium, any length. Just make it essential to life, like soup, like bread. Only stipulation: entries should be on mini-dv or vhs. The screening committee will select the crème de la crème for the showing.

WHAT YOU GET: You get fed, you get good music, you get to experience one of Ann Arbor’s most unique underground art collectives. Prizes awarded to best of show.

DEADLINE: OCT 29
SCREENING: NOV 5

DROP OFF THE FILMS AT: FVSA office – 2512 FRIEZE 9am to 5pm (program in film and video studies) or 4345 Michigan Union m/w/th/f 3-5pm.

EMAIL FOR MORE INFORMATION
see attached for FAQ and Submission Form

“FOOD COMES FIRST, THEN MORALS” – Bertolt Brecht

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