Mission Accomplished
“I didn’t think I’d be leaving so soon,” says police chief Barnett Jones.”I love this community,” says Jones from his third-floor office in the new Justice Center. “This is my town. I...
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Susan Karp
Hosting a party on a recent Friday evening, Susan Karp and her guest of honor wear matching pink leis around their necks as they greet guests at the door. Bubbly drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and fancy pastries line the tables,...
Read MoreThe cost of free hot dogs
On Labor Day in 2010, Bill Riney climbed to the top of the Washtenaw County Administration Building to protest joblessness and got billed a whopping $19,000 to pay for the police officers called in (on overtime) to get him down....
Read MoreCabbie Kari Rice
By 10:30 a.m. on a winter Thursday, Blue Cab driver Kari Rice has been on the road four hours and driven 130 miles. Last night’s sprinkling of snow has meant more calls than usual, especially in the campus area.Rice pulls...
Read MoreTaxing questions
“We’re heading into tax season, so we’re getting a lot of questions on where people can find forms and other kinds of tax information,” says Laura Pershin Raynor, one of the librarians who staff the...
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Ann Arbor, Brazil
In late January, I was in Rio de Janeiro. Walking along the New York-style streets of the Leblon neighborhood (condo towers, boutiques, heavily booked restaurants, wine stores), a few blocks from the vast beach full of...
Read MoreAny Quonset huts in the area?
Q. Are there any remaining WWII-era Quonset huts in the area?A. Named for the Rhode Island locale where they were first made, Quonset huts look like a half cylinder laid on its side. More than 150,000 of the prefab...
Read MoreSuburban Students?
“This will destroy the entire neighborhood!”So warns one of sixty or so pissed-off neighbors who packed Grace Bible Church’s meeting hall on a cold Thursday night in January. Four years before, nearby residents...
Read MoreVisit Alaska!
Last month’s Fake Ad, on page 71 of the February issue, invited readers disappointed with Michigan’s mild winter to visit Alaska to experience an old-school one. We received 166 entries correctly identifying the ad,...
Read More“I Never Thought it Would Happen”
A lot more people are working in Washtenaw County today than there were two years ago. But many others are still feeling the recession’s pinch.After cresting at a painful 10.1 percent in October 2009, the nation’s...
Read MoreRoadkill Patrol
“We really do cruise the streets every day–but not specifically to look for dead animals,” says Scott Purr.Purr owns the Critter Control franchise in Green Oak Township, which has a contract with the city of...
Read MorePete and Michelle Baker
On Valentine’s Day 1998, U-M art students Pete Baker and Michelle Mijal had their first date, dinner at the Original Cottage Inn. Apart from one brief breakup, they’ve been a couple ever since. They finally made it...
Read MoreDetour to Cooperstown
“Nobody comes to the University of Michigan to play baseball.” That’s how Bo Schembechler used to tease Barry Larkin. In January Larkin became the first Wolverine since the Tigers’ Charlie Gehringer,...
Read MoreSkunks in Love
In addition to odiferous and nocturnal, who knew skunks were romantic?Yet skunk mating season “starts on Valentine’s Day,” according to Scott Purr, owner of the local Critter Control franchise. “Skunks...
Read MoreLGBTQQA Pressure Cooker
For most young people, navigating the uncharted waters of high school isn’t easy. But for members of Spectrum, the queer-straight alliance at Saline High School, the task is doubly hard. Not only do they have to contend...
Read MoreSex on campus
Considering all the media coverage about college students “hooking up”–having sex without a relationship–their lack of basic knowledge surprises Terri Conley, U-M assistant professor of psychology and...
Read MoreCooking Show at Sigma Nu Alpha
We received 155 entries correctly identifying the January Fake Ad for someone to host a cooking show at the Sigma Nu Alpha fraternity (page 38).”I liked this one a lot,” wrote Dan Jarrell. “It had the...
Read MoreHit the Road, Jack
I attended college twice. The first time was at the University of Michigan. The second time was also at the University of Michigan–when my son Jack went there.I got better value the second time, I think. I was in Ann Arbor...
Read MoreCunningham’s on Main
Q. I am looking for information and photos of Cunningham Drug on Main Street. When was it opened, and how long was it there?Also, did that location house another business before the Parthenon restaurant?A. Here’s a great...
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