Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Supreme Court upholds seizing of Cali. medical marijuana

Posted by Murph on 7. June 2005

The US Supreme Court yesterday upheld the constitutionality of using the Controlled Substances Act to seize medical marijuana, even if it were grown and used locally. The case, Gonzalez v. Raich was an appeal from a circuit court ruling that had held the CSA had no validity if the marijuana was not part of “interstate commerce”.

The ruling does not strike down any of the state laws in existance legalizing medical marijuana – the CSA was in question, not the state laws – and California and other states have declared their intent to continue not prosecuting medical marijuana users. Win the War, the group raffling a pound of pot as part of a legalization campaign in Michigan, has not yet responded to a request for comment on what effect this would have on their efforts.

Interesting quotes from the Court’s opinions behind the cut.

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Regional Open Space Visioning Workshop tonight

Posted by Murph on 6. June 2005

Late notice:

On Monday, June 6, 2005, Washtenaw Metro Alliance is holding a Parks & Open Space Public Visioning Workshop at 7 p.m. at Washtenaw Community College’s Morris Lawrence Building (4800 E. Huron River Drive, Ann Arbor). Please let your constituents know about this event and the critical need for their input on this Vision for “A Coordinated and Connected Parks & Open Space System.”

Regards,
Jason Kaplan

Planning Services Supervisor
Washtenaw County
Department of Planning & Environment

Comment [4]

U-M students perform in Moscow

Posted by Matt Hollerbach on 6. June 2005

Many apologies for my lack of posts. I have been preparing for a trip to – and am now in – Russia. As a part of a Residential College course, a combined group of students, faculty, and community members created an original work based on Tennessee Williams’ adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull.”

The performances are taking place at Moscow’s famous Hermitage Theatre as a part of the Chekhov International Theatre Festival. If any AU readers happen to be in Moscow this week, catch the performances at 7:00pm on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Hermitage Theatre (small stage). E-mail me at mwh(at)umich.edu with any questions.

New West Side hits mainstream press, mainstream neighborhood associations

Posted by Murph on 6. June 2005

Dale comments, “Check today’s Michigan Daily for a news story on the NWS, an editorial endorsing our formation, and a viewpoint by me. Also, it includes a shout out to Arbor Update and belated recognition for the blogging community.”

The feature story includes a welcome to NWS from Chris Crockett of the Old Fourth Ward association.

> Daily, 6 June: Students form own residential association
> Daily, 6 June Editorial: A new hope: Student neighborhood group, emergent from local blogging scene, is singularly promising
> Daily, 6 June Viewpoint by Dale Winling: A vision for a new student activism
> New West Side webpage and NWS blog

Comment [5]

10th Annual African-American Downtown Festival

Posted by MarkDilley on 5. June 2005

A friend and I stumbled across the 10th Annual African-American Downtown Festival today. It was a nice time.

I did make these nice finds…posted them on Flickr

Comment [2]

20 people arrested at Indianapolis State Capitol protesting plan for I69 NAFTA superhighway. Police attack protesters with tazors.

Posted by MarkDilley on 5. June 2005

Today at about 2pm, a crowd of 50 people representing several groups joined Roadblock EF! and converged on the Indianapolis state capitol building to protest plans to construct a superhighway from Mexico to Canada, cutting through Michigan. Both of the current routes being considered cut through wetlands, forests and family farms. The highway would be built using taxpayers’ money, thus forcing citizens to financially support the profit of neoliberal companies as they destroy wild areas and family farms. Residents along the proposed routes have been fighting the plan for years, but developers are going ahead with plans to begin construction.

Today’s protest was an educational event meant to kick off a summer of actions and community organizing around the Roadless Summer project, an ongoing campaign to end the proposed I69.
After a short time demonstrating, police surrounded and attacked the protesters. One young woman was tazored, another was pepper-sprayed and suffered an asthma attack. Many were roughly wrestled to the ground, handcuffed to each other behind their backs and left in the sun for hours without being processed or informed of their charges. Local Massasauga Earth First!ers are among those arrested. As of this moment, it is not clear what charges will be brought or why the protesters were arrested without being asked to disperse first.

Local sources are saying that the protesters who were attacked and arrested today may be facing serious charges, as the demonstration took place on state property and the campaign has made its intentions known to block the I69, and other road construction projects this summer. Please show support for these activists by calling the jail (317)231-6263, the Indy Star (317)444-6000 and the local state police station (317)327-3811 to demand their release. Please also complain about their brutal treatment. Massasauga Earth First! is a southeast Michigan based chapter of Earth First! doing support work on this campaign. For a local contact, please call 313.838.8488. More information about the campaign is available at the website roadless_summer.org

Massasauga Earth First!

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The second Detroit Pistons post

Posted by MarkDilley on 4. June 2005

All this birthday hoopla actually caused me to read some old comments, specifically this one complaining of the lack of mentioning the pistons, here you go:

The referees. I think NBA refs have too much control over the game. I think they have no visible checks on their authority – not even a commentator can go too far in criticizing them. And it is clear that certain refs have much too thin a skin for their job, and that they go after players. Javits is particularly hard—I believe it was Javits that had to be separated from van exel at one point. And if Rasheed is anything besides a Tar Heel, he is skeptical and highly critical of authority. The way Rasheed feels about NBA refs is most likely similar to the way he – and most of us (by “us” I mean black men under 40) feel about police.

via Vision Circle (specifically from a U of M alumni)

(except, that reader had missed this comment)

Comment [5]

Newspaper Publishes Editorials as Blog Posts

Posted by MarkDilley on 4. June 2005

I have thought this to be an interesting idea for a while:

This is pretty cool. The Reading, PA Eagle now publishes its editorials in blog format, complete with commenting ablilty. Today’s entry is on the nuclear option compromise.

via TalkLeft via How Appealing

Second hand purchases this weekend:

Posted by MarkDilley on 3. June 2005

Graduate students selling their goods

and the big yard sale at the Normal Park Yard Sale

(some say it is in hell)

and last but not least The Village Co-op Yard Sale Tomorrow

Comment [1]

Police Chief Oates a Spy?

Posted by Ari Paul on 3. June 2005

The Ann Arbor Bill of Rights Defense Committee has released a report suspecting Police Chief Oates of crimes against the constitution:

Before coming to Ann Arbor in August 2001, Daniel Oates, an attorney, was the commander of the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) Intelligence Division. In that position, Deputy Chief Oates, while not a named defendant, was an important figure in three First Amendment lawsuits litigated by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Housing Works—an HIV-AIDS service provider and advocacy group that was critical of New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s AIDS policies. Three separate opinions of federal District Judge Harold Baer, Jr. reveal that Oates and other officials repeatedly violated the First Amendment rights of Housing Works and its supporters under the rubric of security concerns.

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