This was the year that tenants were supposed to be settling into the Broadway Village at Lower Town.But instead of the shiny new condos, retail, and office space promised by the developer, Broadway Village is 6.4 acres of...
Read MoreThe return of seven-year-old Artyom Savelyev to Russia rocked the international adoption community. Torry Ann Hansen, a single woman from Tennessee, adopted the boy last September from an orphanage in the Russian Far East,...
Read MoreAt the Tri-County Sportsmen’s League, shots ring out over the pouring rain. There is a man in an oilcloth duster and matching Stetson, and the gun smoke hangs low in the cool spring weather. The gunslinger fantasy is...
Read MoreWhen Tracy and Kevin Lambert opened Fancy Stitch, their custom T-shirt and embroidery store on Main Street, they never thought they’d be relocating to new quarters out by the A&W on Dexter-Chelsea Road six months...
Read MoreBill Harris–a regular customer at Chelsea’s Cranesbill Books before it closed last December–has teamed up with former Cranesbill manager Jeremy Montange to open Just Imagine, a toy and book store, in the same...
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Antonio Agee–Tony to his friends, Shades to the art world–is sitting by the window at Cafe Zola. His trademark Arnette sunglasses tipped up on his head, his iPhone and iPad on the table in front of him, he’s...
Read MoreThey say cats have nine lives. Maybe that explains why The Calico Cat Book and Gift Shoppe in downtown Saline never really died despite its December 2008 “Retirement Store Closing Sale.” At that time, everything in...
Read More“The Indians called this the Burnt River District,” says Aunita Erskine as she tromps across the Shanghai Prairie. According to local legend–which, Erskine cheerfully stresses, is just a legend–it’s...
Read More“The Village Marketplace + Lofts is certain to become the area’s most desirable and prestigious community. Truly the best of what urban living has to offer, with that small town charm.”–Marketing...
Read MoreThe Sunshine Fruit Market on Packard closed suddenly in May, but it wasn’t soon enough for the neighbors and landlord. Akram and Hana Rashid, who own the Aladdin Market next door, never really got to know their neighbors....
Read MoreWhile Michigan politicians issue alarmed statements about the invasion of the Great Lakes by Asian carp, two U-M professors say the peril is overplayed. Mesmerizing YouTube videos showing the fish (which can weigh up to 100...
Read MoreIt started innocently enough. Ten years ago at the Chelsea Farm Supply, Lucy Silverio’s youngest daughter, Antonia, was enchanted with the baby animals there, so Silverio bought her some chicks. But this spring, Silverio...
Read MoreWith its red brick walls and arches, U-M’s new soccer stadium evokes Michigan Stadium–though at about one-fiftieth the scale.There’s irony in the comparison–because for the last two seasons,...
Read MorePaul Stone and Patrick Krolick never planned on selling pizzas–they wanted to open a sub shop–but Andrew Jenkins talked them into selling both. Jenkins owned DJ’s Pizza on Packard near Platt, a business that...
Read MoreIn April of 2008, after making friends, dances, and songs in Ann Arbor for twenty-seven years, I moved away. For my husband, Al, born and raised here, it was, perhaps, an even more significant relocation. We’d planned it...
Read MoreSaline Mayor Gretchen Driskell jokes that she has a new slogan for her downtown: “We welcome loitering.” With the economy showing some signs of improvement, Saline, Chelsea, and Dexter’s struggling downtowns...
Read MoreA couple of years ago, I was picking up pomegranate syrup at Jerusalem Market on Plymouth Road when I noticed a sign above the halal meat counter that listed cuts of lamb and goat. I had eaten goat before, mostly in Mexico and...
Read More“I’m wearing myself out,” says Mark Hodesh, owner of Downtown Home & Garden. Hodesh has been getting more exercise lately escorting customers–mostly moms and kids–upstairs to see the beehive he...
Read MoreBob Guenzel worked for Washtenaw County for thirty-seven years, the last fifteen as its administrator. He’s a peppery, hands-on guy who, even his critics acknowledged, got things done–whether building the Delonis...
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