Life in New Swabia
In 1834, German journalist Karl Neidhard visited farms in western Washtenaw County. He described two starkly different cultures existing side by side.On one side were the “Americans,” mainly people of English...
Read More2009 July
U-M Law Clinic Wins Release
Two Ecorse men wrongfully convicted in a 2001 shooting finally were set free from prison today when the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office dropped the charges against them.DeShawn Reed and his uncle, Marvin Reed, gained...
Read MoreNew Twists on Triathlons
Eva Solomon and Karen McKeachie were bored with standard triathlons. So now they run a company, EST Events, dedicated to adding some spice to the three-part swim-bike-run races.The two veteran athletes are hosting...
Read MoreHoney & Clover
Honey & Clover (Masahiro Takada, 2006) is a romantic comedy about two unrequited-love triangles among students in a Japanese school of art. In the central love triangle, Takemoto (Sho Sakurai), the “least arty”...
Read MoreMoonwinks Cafe
You’ve got to hand it to Dixboro. It’s managed to hold on to its identity since 1824 despite being denied the trappings of officialdom—city hall, zip code, mayor. Captain Dix’s little borough is still a...
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Closely Watched Trains
Mayor Hieftje was brimming with optimism when he unveiled his ambitious plan for a train to Howell in the summer of 2006.”No passenger train had run the route in decades,” he recalls. “I wanted to demonstrate...
Read MoreDavid Lindley
David Lindley has been one of popular music’s durable session musicians, associated for a long time with ambitious rock songwriters like Jackson Browne and the late Warren Zevon. Along the way he began acquiring stringed...
Read MoreAcorn schwag
Near the corner of Main and Washington, two bicycle-riding “viral marketers” were handing out hats promoting AnnArbor.com. The freebies failed to impress a passerby, who saw the schwag and snorted, “They took...
Read MoreA fresh start on North Main
The “Pita Bite coming soon” sign that appeared in the window of 207 North Main shortly after the latest tenant went out of business made a pretty bold claim: “The Best Food in Town.” In early June,...
Read MoreSharing the Trail
If you take a hike on the Potawatomi Trail in the Pinckney State Recreation Area, you’ll see majestic trees, lovely wildflowers, twittering birds, skittish squirrels—and waves of mountain bikers approaching head-on. Such...
Read MoreQuick Bites: Taste Our Goods
Taste Our Goods, a new lunch counter inside Bob Sparrow’s butcher and grocery store in Kerrytown, is a collaboration between Sparrow and two recent U-M graduates, Suzanne Lipton and Nora Feldhusen (center and left in...
Read MoreNovelist Harry Dolan
A month before the stylish new mystery novel Bad Things Happen was published, there was Internet chatter about the first sentence: “The shovel has to meet certain requirements.” I feel the appropriate tingle there....
Read MoreA pair of hydroponic stores
Early in June two indoor gardening supply stores opened within days of each other.Joe Collins, who owns a similar business in Toledo, swears his decision to open Hot Hydro has nothing to do with Michigan’s legalizing...
Read MoreTrail of Memory
Thanks to a nature-minded family, a new walking trail circles what was once a millpond north of Geddes Road. “Dad died a year ago,” says Jeff Post, walking through the construction zone at Parker Mill County Park...
Read MoreThe Brewers Guild Festival
The Michigan Brewers Guild annual Summer Beer Festival is held just down the street from my house, in Depot Town’s Riverside Park. The place is packed with students, Ypsi Hippies, and well-groomed Ann Arbor poser types who...
Read MoreThey Deliver
“About the only distinctive feature of the Federal Building on East Liberty is the projected geometry of the brick elevation on Fourth Ave.,” writes Alice Ralph, identifying June’s I Spy subject. “The...
Read MoreCrime Map: May 2009
Click here to view this month’s Crime Map.Sexual assaults and burglaries both rose in May compared to May 2008, while vehicle thefts and robberies declined.#PAGEBREAK#May 2009 Crime totals (including attempts)Burglaries...
Read MoreFull of Heart
A red quilted heart hangs in the bay window of the home on South East Street in downtown Chelsea. Another decorative heart is near the front door. Behind the door is the headquarters of Nancy Harris’s unique gleaner...
Read MoreTwo-Wheeled Socializing
When Joel Hakken and his wife, Wendy, went bicycling together, she used to complain that he rode too fast. So he figured a tandem bike would solve the problem. The two sets of pedals are synchronized, so both riders have to...
Read MoreArt on a Stick
This is off the record. You can’t tell anyone. I mean it: nobody. If this gets out, I’ll lose all credibility—as an art critic, a journalist, and a woman of intelligence, sophistication, and taste. Especially...
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