Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Frankenstein Exhibit at EMU

Posted by Brian Kerr on 2. June 2004

This interesting exhibit will be at EMU’s Halle Library through June 22:

“Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature is a new traveling exhibition that encourages audiences to examine the intent of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, and to discuss Shelley’s and their own views about personal and societal responsibility as it relates to science and other areas of life.”

More information is available at the exhibit’s web site, including a full schedule of free film screenings and discussions.

Bring On The Lakers

Posted by swoll on 2. June 2004

The Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers tonight 69 – 65 in their home court of Auburn Hills, Michigan, bringing them one step closer to the championship. The Pistons will play the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals beginning this Sunday. Congratulations to Detroit!

In related news, Michigan resident and Pistons owner Bill Davidson now has even more reason to celebrate as another team that he owns, the Tampa Bay Lightning, is currently playing in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Calgary Flames.

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New Overtime Rules Come to 'U'

Posted by Scott Trudeau on 1. June 2004

Due to the recent changes in federal overtime regulations the University of Michigan is reclassifying employees across campus from “exempt” to “non-exempt” status—meaning many University employees will now qualify for time-and-a-half overtime pay. The Human Resources web site has some information regarding this change, but doesn’t report the number affected and reasons for the change. For a sense of scale, about 25 Law School employees out of about 330 are affected.

While there has been much criticism of the new federal overtime regulations, the change appears to be a good deal for reclassified University employees. They now will be paid bimonthly instead of monthly, will receive better overtime compensation and will maintain their current vacation accrual of two days/month. New employees hired into the reclassified jobs, however, will start with a one day/month accrual. Also, departments previously comfortable with the “flexibility” of “exempt” employees may choose to pressure newly “non-exempt” employees to “do more with less” to prevent overtime accrual.

A law school staffer told me that all employees of pay grade 9 and under were assessed by “a law firm in Atlanta” for compliance with the new regulations. She said employees in grade 10 and 11 will be assessed in the future and that no currently “non-exempt” employees have been reclassified as “exempt.” She said the the University line is that these changes are not related to the ongoing Classification System Project that the University Record reports will affect over 18,000 employees beginning next year.

Madstone Theater Closes

Posted by Rob Goodspeed on 1. June 2004

Madstone Theater, the movie theater at Briarwood mall, has abruptly closed and fired their employees. The company has posted this terse message on their website: “We regret to inform you that Madstone Theaters Ann Arbor closed effective June 1, 2004. We sincerely thank all of our Madstone patrons and members for their support and loyalty.”

A former employee and Live Journal user has posted the following: “As of 3pm today, Madstone Ann Arbor is no more. ... They shut us down, and we have no jobs. ... I can’t even put into words how upset I am, how betrayed I feel, and how very fucked my life is without a job in the middle of Ann Arbor, in the middle of summer. I mean, we moved into a more expensive apartment so we could be closer to work. ... Plus my favorite manager just bought a house and had a kid. I feel even worse for him than i do for me.”

(Thanks to George for the tip)

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California Court Rules Partial Birth Abortion Ban "UNCONSTITUTIONAL"

Posted by jlnathan on 1. June 2004

June 1st: Overturning the Bill that President Bush signed into law November 5th, 2004 (surrounded by a bunch of white men, remember the pictures?), U.S. District Court Judge Phylis Hamilton wrote that, “The act poses an undue burden on a woman’s right to choose an abortion.”

Courts have already overturned a similar partial birth abortion ban in Nebraska; cases are pending in several other states. This is a victory for now, but hardly the time to stagnate…Partial Birth Abortion (also known as Late-Term Abortion) could well come up before a new Supreme Court before too long.

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World War Two Memorial on the Washington Mall: Source of Controversy "Officially" Unveiled

Posted by on 1. June 2004

This weekend, amid fears of terrorism, Americans crowded onto the Washington Mall to witness the official commemmoration of the National World War Two Memorial. Speakers included President Bush, Memorial Chairperson Bob Dole, journalist Tom Brokaw, and actor Tom Hanks. Veterans of “the civilized war” came to the DC area with friends and family, along with mementos from loved ones who did not survive to see the memorial’s completion.

The memorial has been a source of immense controversy throughout the seventeen years that it has been in development. Many Washingtonians feard that it would muddy up the beautiful view and reflecting pool between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Monument.

I went to see the Memorial yesterday, on Memorial Day. It was absolutely crowded with veterans and their families. Many were moved to tears. I think that while aesthetically, it may not be as striking as the Vietnam or even Korean War memorials, the WW2 Memorial’s grandiose size and scale seem aligned with the sacrifices of the “Greatest Generation.”

Allied Media Conference

Posted by dilleym on 1. June 2004

If you believe communities should control their media…

If you believe everyone should have the tools to create and distribute their own books, movies, music, newspapers, and more…

If you believe communication is a human right…

June 18-20, 2004. Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH

Grand Rapids Pranksters

Posted by on 31. May 2004

“A letter in the Grand Rapids Press alleges that defenders of the Holland Tulip Time pirates ‘did not think out the consequences of this disruption,’ the most dire of these being the possibility of a pirate walking in front of a paradegoer’s camera just as ‘a fun picture’ of the photographer’s child is being taken.”

> via ann arbor is overrated

KRS-One to Perform at Blind Pig Thursday

Posted by Ari Paul on 27. May 2004

Hip-hop artist and social activist KRS-One will perform at the Blind Pig (on 1st between Liberty and Washington) with One Man Army and Deckmaster D on Thursday night. Door is at 9:30pm. $15 dollar cover, 18 and up.

KRS-One, known for rapping against the War and Drugs and CIA interventions both in his solo act and working with artists like Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine, also leads a life away from simple performing for performance’s sake.

Writes VH-1, “KRS-One has spoken out against rap’s misogynistic vocabulary and stressed an anti-violence stance after the 1987 death of his BDP bud, Scott LaRock. He’s worked with an eclectic group of musicians, indulging his enthusiasm for dancehall with Sly & Robbie and flirting with folk rock on R.E.M.’s “Radio Song.” He even took rap to the lecture halls of Harvard and Yale, while giving master-classes on Biblical and African history on albums like 1989’s Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip-Hop.”

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Detroit's African American History Museum in Trouble

Posted by Dumi Lewis on 27. May 2004

The Charles H. Wright Museum, the nation’s premier African American History Museum, in Detroit is experiencing major financial problems. The Museum has provided the Nation with great programming and information has now received national attention for its financial woes. The museum has responded by trying to secure more memberships, but still this will have to be coupled with something more sustainable. If you don’t care, do. If you don’t know, get some info. If you know, tell someone else.

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