Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Hieftje's TSP/Greenway Town Hall Meeting, 27 June

Posted by Murph on 22. June 2005

Mayor Hieftje will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting on Monday, 27 June, at 7pm in the City Council Chambers to discuss the Three-Site Plan and greenway visions. The event is meant to be more conversational and less formal than last week’s Public Hearing, with opportunities to ask questions and discuss rather than simply speak for three minutes and step aside.

Edit, 26 June: Short notice, but Sonia Schmerl of the Friends and Leah Gunn of the DDA Board will be on WEMU, 89.1FM, tomorrow morning, 8-9am, discussing the Three-Site Plan and the Greenway.

Comment [40]

Forsythe parents protest Principal move

Posted by Murph on 22. June 2005

The following was received by e-mail:

School is out but the fight continues to stop the decision made by Dr. George Fornero, Superintendent of the Ann Arbor Public Schools, to reassign popular Principal Mike Madison to a temporary, short-term position at Ann Arbor Open School.

The Ann Arbor Board of Education is meeting tonight, June 21, at 7 p.m. at the Ann Arbor District Library. Important public commentary will be heard on the decision by Dr. Fornero, Supporters of Mike Madison plan to meet on the first floor of the Ann Arbor District Library at 6:45 tonight and then proceed to the meeting together. The meeting is on the 4th floor of the AADL.

More behind the cut…

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2nd and 4th Ward Council races add Republicans

Posted by Murph on 21. June 2005

Republicans, an endangered species in Ann Arbor’s City Council with Mike Reid declining to seek re-election, have filed candidacy in two Council Wards: the same Wards that will see Democratic primaries. (We, the fortunate few, will let the rest of you come watch us vote, and further allow you to bask in the glow of people who actually have the chance to select our City’s leaders.)

Thomas Borque has filed as a Republican in the 2nd Ward, where Eugene Kang and Stephen Rapundalo face each other in the Democratic primary, and Jim Hood has filed in the 4th Ward, where Eric Lipson is challenging incumbant Marcia Higgins in the Democratic primary.

Greens, Libertarians, and Independants still have time to file, though the Greens have stated an intent to focus on an instant-runoff voting ballot item rather than field candidates.

Comment [11]

Daily Posts U Salaries

Posted by Scott Trudeau on 21. June 2005

As Rob notes, the Daily has posted the University 2004-2005 salary spreadsheet containing salary information for all University regular employees.

Kudos to them, signs of intellegent life at 420 Maynard are popping up left and right. Of course, its after I posted the same data for previous years.

I also note the Daily article linking to the spreadsheet includes a comment calling for a union.

Comment [6]

Perfect Storm in the Daily

Posted by Scott Trudeau on 20. June 2005

A version of Rob’s Perfect Storm post ran as a Viewpoint in today’s Daily:

No matter how perfectly aligned the conditions, the storm won’t strike without unprecedented energy fueling it. If they set their minds to it, students have both the political base and intellectual resources to be a potent political force that could fundamentally reshape the city’s political landscape. An atmosphere of complacency and pessimism about what is possible for the city hangs around city hall. Let’s imagine a city where tenants’ rights are a top priority; the planning commission and council aggressively pursue an agenda of dense, sustainable development; and new and radical ideas to provide affordable housing—such as subsidized housing and rent control—are earnestly explored. If they set their minds to it, students like Dale Winling and Eugene Kang—and their supporters—could begin to make this vision a reality.

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Craigslist Ann Arbor

Posted by Rob Goodspeed on 20. June 2005

Craigslist Ann Arbor? Believe it. Some of us remember when the online classifieds and bulletin board made its debut in Detroit. (Via Ed)

Comment [1]

What Detroit can learn from Denver

Posted by Scott Trudeau on 19. June 2005

Keith Schneider, deputy director of the Michigan Land Use Institute recently published an article, explaining the lessons the metropolitan Detroit area should learn from Denver’s recent, rapidly expanding public transportation projects.

The success of Denver’s new growth strategy—investing billions in its modern FasTracks public transit system—is a lesson in governance, economics, social values, and politics that southeast Michigan and most of the state’s other metropolitan regions must learn if they are to ever catch up in the global race for competitiveness. It requires a kind of dual regional psychology that understands the urgency of Michigan’s economic condition, but uses statesmanship and patience to improve it.

[...]

Meanwhile, back in southeast Michigan, few elected leaders talk publicly about transit’s ability to build a new economy. Tellingly, two of Michigan’s most influential leaders, Republican Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson and Republican House Speaker Craig DeRoche of Novi, insist that the foundation for economic success in their state—which is among the slowest growing, has the highest unemployment, and drives more talented young people away than almost any other—is more of the same. They’ve both publicly and prominently said they want more highways and more sprawl.


Comment [17]

LA Times Experiment - Wikitorials

Posted by MarkDilley on 19. June 2005

The LA Times just introduced an experiment into their site. A wiki used to edit certain editorials of theirs.

The weblog-o-sphere is talking about this and the first wikitorial – Dreams About War and Retribution has been active the last 48 hours with hundeds of posts (many reverting spam).

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Juneteenth

Posted by MarkDilley on 19. June 2005

I have heard about this before, but wanted to let folks know about it, if you hadn’t heard.

Juneteenth is an African-American celebration on June 19, the day in 1865 that news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached slaves in Galveston, Texas – two years after it was issued. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States.

>via Wikipedia

Comment [2]

Kang in AA News

Posted by Scott Trudeau on 18. June 2005

The Ann Arbor news is running an article on undergraduate Eugene Kang’s bid for city council:

Eugene Kang, 21, said Thursday he has collected well more than the 100 petition signatures required to run for council in the 2nd Ward and will file with the City Clerk’s Office by Monday’s 4 p.m. deadline. His entry into the race would guarantee a second Democratic primary for a council seat this August, a rarity in recent council elections. A contested primary is also expected in the city’s 4th Ward.

I also wrote up my own initial impression of Kang after a meeting with him recently:

Comment [5]

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