Community

When the Rev. Yolanda Whiten was appointed to head the Ann Arbor Community Center in May 2007, it was unclear if the historically black nonprofit would survive. A couple months after Whiten started, the center’s previous...

A hard rain fell as city inspectors Tony Savoni and Milt Andrews arrived at 715 Miller on Thursday, August 20. A pair of cops came with them, because Savoni and Andrews weren’t there just to inspect the battered Victorian...

When I moved to Ann Arbor, I set out to find the perfect gym. Since most gyms, recreation buildings, fitness studios, and athletic centers offer a free trial period to anyone willing to take a tour with a sales representative, I...

“And then at last your myth will harden, become a statue in the garden.”–Ejner Jensen,from Advice to a Unicorn”This beautiful unicorn illustrates a…poem written by my former colleague, Professor...

We received 100 entries to our little contest in October. Of those, ninety-nine correctly identified the Fake Ad for the Biergarten on p. 89. It’s been awhile since middle school math class, but that sounds like 99 percent...

Q. What is the status of the West Towne condos at the northwest corner of Maple and Liberty?A. The plans approved by City Council in July 2005 called for eighty-seven units in eight buildings. Construction began the following...

When Michigan beat then-undefeated Duke last December at Crisler Arena, excited fans spilled onto the court. U-M men’s basketball, after lurching around for more than ten years in a largely self-induced coma, had rejoined...

I killed zucchini. And it was my backup plant. It’s so easy to grow that it’s literally a joke: someone who buys a zuke in the summer has no friends. As a first-time community gardener with Project Grow, not to...

“I want to blow up people’s perceptions of libraries.”Chelsea District Library director Bill Harmer–and others like him–are doing just that. At what once were quiet, staid, small-town libraries, a...

Obscured by the greeting cards, candy, and convenience items at Wenk’s Prescription Shop is a little known but carefully selected collection of wine. The space is tight. Bottles are displayed upright in deep shelves,...

It’s not easy to find the office of ClassCreator.com on Packard. “We’ve been too busy to put up a sign,” explains founder and CEO Brad Switzer. A 1986 Pioneer High grad, Switzer was asked to do a pro-bono...

On the evening of November 19, 1931, a Cadillac pulled up to the two-level gas station on Washtenaw (today home to Bearclaw Coffee). According to the Michigan Daily, the driver and passengers had obscured their faces with...

“Mom is the creative one,” says Leif Elias. “I’m more business minded.” Elias, twenty-nine, and her mother Nancy Elias, fifty-seven, are co-owners of Orchid Lane, the clothing and jewelry business...