2010 October

Reinventing Rick Snyder

When Rick Snyder announced he was running for governor in July 2009, he was almost unknown outside Ann Arbor. Though he holds three U-M degrees and was well respected in business and technology circles, even here he could pass...

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Shawn Mullins

Atlanta songwriter Shawn Mullins had a top-ten pop hit about a dozen years ago with “Lullaby,” a mostly spoken portrait of a jaded, stressed young woman in Los Angeles. Mullins’ new album, Light You Up, has a...

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The Worst Punk Week Ever

City officials say the ninth annual Punk Week was the worst ever.”It was bad last year, and it was worse this year,” says city administrator Roger Fraser. “We’ve got a problem with a group of unruly...

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A Traveler’s Tale

When Melissa Lyon, twenty, left 14th District Court on September 1 she literally let down her hair–she took off a blond, pony-tailed extension to reveal that half of her scalp was shaved. Her attorney, Michele Kelly, had...

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Family Business

There’s no job like owning and running your own small business–except maybe keeping it all in the family.”Everything is always your responsibility,” says Duncan Cole, owner of Sam’s Clothing Store...

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The Year of the Bedbug

This past summer, the New York Times ran fifteen stories about bedbugs. The tiny parasites, which feed on human blood, have launched a panic by turning up everywhere from a Manhattan Victoria’s Secret store to the Brooklyn...

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From BTB to Venezuala

Justin Herrick and Adam Lowenstein closed their BTB Burrito on Packard to “focus on what’s most central to our business–the campus area. We just couldn’t get enough volume going to sustain it,”...

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Level Best

Most restaurant-goers have that moment: the table, whether quaint wood or practical Formica, wobbles, and they (or if they’re dining upscale, the waiter) have to bend down to level things with a sugar packet or folded...

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The Knapp Gap

In a recent chat with a longtime Ann Arborite, the conversation wandered to the subject of favorite restaurants, then narrowed to reflections on now-defunct eateries whose passing left a gap in a city known for gastronomic...

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Incredible Journeys

My manicure with Lezen Nguyen takes thirty-five minutes. He gently rotates each finger, plying the tools of his trade to ensure each of my nails is shaped just right. “Pretty color,” he always says as he deftly...

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Yusef Komunyakaa

Yusef Komunyakaa won the Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for Neon Vernacular, a collection of “new and selected poems” that included the work that had established his reputation as a master of several themes. Perhaps he was...

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Ann Arborite Artist Lynda Cole

When Lynda Cole hit Manhattan after graduating from Michigan State in 1970, she dreamt of making it as a clothing designer. She got a few jobs but was glad to return to Michigan after two years. “New York is no place for a...

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Tally-ho, Roger Monk!

“I was selling ten burgers for every beef Wellington,” says Erik Kay. “I can take a hint.”Kay–that’s the name he uses, though his business card says K. and his legal name is...

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Finding a Niche in Local Food

“People want to know their food better these days,” Bill Taylor says.”About six months ago, a tipping point seemed to occur,” says Taylor, co-founder of local food distribution company Eat Local Eat...

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Acoustic Brews

Buying beer at the Ark can be a cumbersome process. First you must buy an Ark membership, then wait in what can be a long line to select, order, and collect your beer from a volunteer barkeep. So it’s only natural that...

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La Fiesta Mexicana

Many Ann Arborites say the best Mexican restaurant in town is one town east, at La Fiesta Mexicana in Ypsilanti. If you haven’t been there, don’t conjure up images of towering piles of the cheesiest, meatiest...

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Wright by the Night

The Palmer House has found new life as a guest house.The house at 227 Orchard Hills has no TV, small bedrooms, and a galley kitchen–and it’s booked all month at $300-$500 per night. The appeal: a chance to experience...

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Meijer Adventure

The stars twinkled overhead with a cruel innocence, mocking my band of adventurers.We were stranded.Our shopping trip now a distant memory, my friends and I were stuck in the store’s parking lot, waiting for a bus back to...

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TeaHaus expands

Lisa McDonald expanded TeaHaus, her Fourth Avenue tea store, into the old Cake Nouveau space in September. The extra room, plus Cake Nouveau’s kitchen, has allowed her to bring the classic English tea service to Ann...

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