May 12, 2012 | Community |
My mother grew up in a converted barn on Butternut Street in what used to be called East Ann Arbor. She had five sisters and a brother, Lewie, who hit his head and drowned in Malletts Creek when he was ten years old.Mom was an...
Read MoreMay 12, 2012 | Community |
It’s lunchtime at Huron High School, and a couple dozen students have gathered in teacher Ken Long’s room for chess club. Sophomore Atulya (pronounced ah-thul-ya) Shetty, sixteen, sets up his board to play...
Read MoreMay 8, 2012 | Community |
“The problem now is with our software upgrades,” says Ann Arbor Public Schools spokeswoman Liz Margolis. “These computers don’t support the new software.”The AAPS has 8,000 or so computers, mostly...
Read MoreMay 4, 2012 | Community |
“I recognize that tooth!” writes Linda Sattler of April’s feature. “It’s near our house.” “It was quite clever as they were sculpting” it, adds Cherry Westerman, while Linda...
Read MoreMay 4, 2012 | Community |
Q: What is the screaming yellow unfinished building visible from westbound I-94 between the State St. and Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. exits, and what is its status? I’m curious, but not curious enough to get off the freeway...
Read MoreMay 3, 2012 | Community |
Richard Mendel, ad hoc coordinator of Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers, was on the phone a lot in March, giving advice to local beekeepers dealing with a lot of confused bees. Most of the region’s bees emerged from their...
Read MoreMay 1, 2012 | Community |
Ten years ago, when Zingerman’s first started giving away a half-dozen “birthday bagels,” only about twenty-five people picked them up. By last year, word of the freebie had spread, and close to 2,000 people...
Read MoreApr 28, 2012 | Community |
Rural poverty is every bit as bad as urban poverty. It’s just harder to see.”People can disguise their problems, but not forever,” says Nancy Paul, director of Faith in Action, a human-services group operating...
Read MoreApr 26, 2012 | Community |
Michigan’s 4-0 defeat of Michigan State April 6 at Ray Fisher Stadium promised to be yet another grand game in a rivalry that I’ve enjoyed for more than thirty years.Yet what made it unforgettable weren’t the...
Read MoreApr 23, 2012 | Community |
Though fewer Christians abstain from eating meat during Lent now than in the past, many still choose to give up indulgences like pastries, or chocolate, or alcohol during the season of penitence leading up to Easter. “I...
Read MoreApr 21, 2012 | Community |
In March, Susan Bryan cooked up thirty-four batches of play dough, dyed them blue and green, and packed them in old yogurt containers. No, she’s not a preschool teacher; she’s the county’s rain garden...
Read MoreApr 15, 2012 | Community |
Fans of “Project Runway” are familiar with the phrase “one minute you’re in, the next minute you’re out,” as a panel of celebrities determines who goes home and who stays for another round....
Read MoreApr 7, 2012 | Community |
When the Hash Bash returns to the U-M Diag on April 7, it will be without longtime master of ceremonies Adam Brook. Brook, who once ran a hydroponics store in the Kerrytown district (see photo), currently resides at the Parnell...
Read MoreApr 4, 2012 | Community |
Q. Is anything being done about the dilapidated gas station at Miller and Maple? And what’s going on with the empty store across the street? It’s been unoccupied for years.A. Speedway has submitted site plans to...
Read MoreApr 4, 2012 | Community |
“I Spy that building at 715 S. Forest Ave.,” writes Vivian Loh. The “photo is of Forest Plaza,” notes Dave Bicknell. “This Spanish Renaissance detail graces the entryway of the charming 1920’s...
Read MoreApr 3, 2012 | Community |
“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...
Read MoreApr 2, 2012 | Community |
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 MoreMar 15, 2012 | Community |
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 MoreMar 14, 2012 | Community |
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...
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