Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

May is Curb your Car Month

Posted by Juliew on 1. May 2006

During the month of May, getDowntown Ann Arbor is challenging you to curb your car and drive less. Curb Your Car Month offers over 20 fun and educational events that are sure to inspire and motivate you to drive less during the month of May and, hopefully, throughout the entire year. While the events are focused on raising awareness about transit, walking, biking and sharing a ride, there’s no shortage of ways to get around town. Be creative and have fun with your daily commute and errands. Rollerblade to work. Bike to the gym. You just might be surprised at how much you enjoy leaving your car at home.

Already walking the walk? May is the time to share your enthusiasm & get your friends, neighbors, & colleagues pumped up too! Sign-up your workplace for the Commuter Challenge. Rally your co-workers to participate in Bike to Work Day!

As the t-shirt says: Save Money, Protect the Environment, Get Fit. Oh, and you can win prizes too. www.getdowntown.org

Comment [37]

Toledo: American Blackout

Posted by MarkDilley on 29. April 2006

Tomorrow, April 30th: 4:00 pm in Toledo, Ohio – Rep. Marcy Kaptur Hosts a Special Screening of American Blackout

Free and open to the public! Call 419 270-4945 for more info.

Stephens-Roberts Hall 640 Indiana Ave, Toledo, OH (Google Map)

Totally Awesome Fest 2

Posted by Brandon on 28. April 2006

After a successful event last year, the grassroots Totally Awesome Fest has moved to Ypsilanti. This year features almost 50 acts in four days at two venues. Complete schedule and directions here:

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May 2 Election

Posted by Juliew on 25. April 2006

Update, 3 May: With 99% of precincts reporting, the countywide communications millage appears to be passing with 62% of the vote, 12,126 to 7,352. Murphy, Newman, Greene win AADL Board. See eWashtenaw cumulative report and canvass report. The millage lost only a handful of precincts. -Murph, 7:50am /Update

Next Tuesday, May 2, is the spring election. For Ann Arbor, this means School and Library Board elections and a countywide millage.

Countywide Millage
Although there has been very little discussion of this millage, it has a potentially very large impact on emergency services in Washtenaw County. For extensive details of what the millage will provide and why this was the route taken, see this .pdf from ewashtenaw.org.

School Board Election
In a surprisingly non-confrontational School Board Election, the candidates are all incumbents running unopposed. League of Women Voters Candidate Forum is live tonight (Tuesday, April 25) from 7:00pm to 7:45pm on CTN. Replay schedule is here.

Library Board Election
Pick three of the five candidates. League of Women Voters Candidate Forum is live tonight (Tuesday, April 25) from 8:00pm to 9:00pm on CTN. Replay schedule is here.

Comment [76]

Jane Jacobs, 1916-2006

Posted by Dale Winling on 25. April 2006

Urbanist and economic author Jane Jacobs died in Toronto this morning at the age of 89.

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The Edgar Awards

Posted by Ari Paul on 25. April 2006

The Michigan Daily’s ‘05-’06 Edgar Awards are out.

Back when J. Edgar Hoover, that infallible defender of our constitutional rights, was playing dictator and spying on Americans as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Daily’s editorial page handed out Edgar awards annually to individuals and institutions best embodying his many admirable characteristics. Editors revived the tradition in recent years.

Ann Arbor Film Festival Slapped

Posted by Juliew on 25. April 2006

On April 18th, the Michigan House Subcommittee for the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL) made its FY 2006-2007 budget recommendation. Selected “highlights,” including a special Ann Arbor Film Festival Amendment are below.

The Subcommittee’s Recommendation
Increase State funding for Arts and Cultural Grants by $265,900. (A $50,000 reduction from the Governor’s recommendation).

Arts Grants Prohibitions
1) The department shall not award grants for projects or activities that include displays of human waste on religious symbols, displays of sex acts, or depictions of flag desecration.
2) Added a new subdivision to also prohibit funding for projects or activities that are not directly funded, but are in conjunction with an event or exhibition that include displays of human waste on religious symbols, displays of sex acts, or depictions of flag desecration.
3) Added a subsection that allows the department to withhold any remaining undistributed grant payments for a recipient who doesn’t comply with the above prohibitions. The recipient also may be disqualified from future grants for up to 5 years.

Representative Taub (R-Bloomfield Hills) Amendment
The Department will not award funding to the Ann Arbor Film Festival, or its successor, for a period of two fiscal years beginning October 1, 2006.

Comment [58]

More Bad Press for AAPS

Posted by Dale Winling on 23. April 2006

Controversy continues to dog AAPS. In the latest edition of the Ann Arbor Public Schools Pile-on, the Ann Arbor News runs a story about claims of inefficiency in the bond management office.

Critics question whether the district really needs that many people to manage the projects. They also point out the new high school is $3.3 million over budget and up to one year behind schedule.

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Today: Kunstler in Ann Arbor

Posted by Brandon on 21. April 2006

James Howard Kunstler, popular writer on issues such as peak oil and suburbia, will be speaking twice in Ann Arbor today: Noon in Room 1227 of the Art and Architecture Building on UM’s North Campus, and 7 p.m. at Shaman Drum Bookstore.

Edit: Ypsilanti’s Mark Maynard has posted a quick and colorful interview with JHK. -Murph.

Comment [10]

Tonight: Chris Bathgate CD Release Party

Posted by Brandon on 21. April 2006

Chris Bathgate, formerly of The Ambitious Brothers and dearly-missed supergroup The Descent of the Holy Ghost Church, one of the most hauntingly talented “singer-songwriters” in this town, celebrates the release of 3 CDs tonight. Read further for the details:

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