Posts by thesara
Hieftje and friends sweep Ann Arbor primary
By thesara, written on Aug. 6, 2008
Along with scoring 70 percent of the vote in yesterday’s Democratic primaries, Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje saw four city council seats filled to his liking.
Sandi Smith, who opposed write-in candidate Patricia Lesko, is in Hieftje’s corner. Her website displays this glowing endorsement from Hieftje:
“I’ve known Sandi for many years. She has great experience. She will be a tireless advocate for the First Ward.”
Smith’s ward covers West Quad, Towers Plaza, the Law Quad, Martha Cook, Betsey Barbour, Helen Newberry, University Towers and Bursley.
In Ward 2, former Michigan senator Tony Derezinski, also endorsed by Hieftje, beat Ann Arbor resident Stewart Nelson for the region that includes many privately managed student homes and all of the dorms on the Hill.
During his campaign, Nelson was vocal in his opposition to the current council climate, calling the budgetary process “horrible” and comparing the retrieval of public information to “pulling teeth.”
Christopher Taylor, a 2006 Democratic party precinct delegate, will be the new representative for Ward 3, which covers East Quad and the neighborhoods between Washtenaw and Packard.
Stephen Kunselman, the Ward 3 incumbent and a critic of Hieftje, expressed regret and pessimism to the Ann Arbor News concerning future transparency on Council.
Kunselman, who attributed his loss to a $10,000 lag in campaign funds, said he expects the new Council to make many of its decisions behind closed doors.
Ward 4 incumbent Marggie Teall was unopposed and will rejoin Marcia Higgins in overseeing the region including neighborhoods around the Athletic campus, Elbel Field and West of Packard.
Ann Arbor attorney Carsten Hohnke won over Ward 5 with a platform including support for the hotly debated, $47-million police-courts facility and another endorsement from Hieftje.
Vivienne Armentrout, Hohnke’s opponent, spoke out against Council business “being conducted in secret” and the plans for the police-courts facility, which are, in her words, “a disaster.”
The Main street area and the Northwestern corner of the city are covered by Ward 5.
During a primary celebration in Ann Arbor last night, Hohnke recognized the similarities of the winners’ platforms and predicted that the new Council will be progressive.
Unless Libertarian mayoral candidate and LSA junior Eric Plourde manages to break the current mayor’s stride in the November elections, things are looking up for Hieftje.
Presidential hopefuls zero in on Michigan
By thesara, written on Aug. 3, 2008
Polling experts and representatives from Michigan Republican parties have declared state voters a “critical” constituency to McCain and Obama’s presidential campaigns, the Lansing State Journal reported.
While Democrats have taken Michigan every year since 1988, McCain Michigan spokeswoman Leah Yoon claimed that Michigan is within “striking distance” of her candidate, and one recent poll backs her claim, albeit weakly.
A Public Policy Polling of North Carolina survey of 883 likely Michigan voters found that Obama leads McCain in Michigan 46-43, much narrower than his 48-39 lead from a month earlier.
The poll has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points, and some experts say that surveys taken late in the presidential race are too jumpy to be reliable.
Either way, the candidates will tour Michigan this week to win your hearts. Obama visits Lansing on Monday, and McCain will visit Macomb County on Tuesday.
Barack inspires Germans at Berlin rally
By thesara, written on Jul. 29, 2008
By Chris Meszaros
Daily Staff Writer
BERLIN, Germany — You could say there was anticipation.
And the 200,000 people that gathered in front of Berlin’s Victory Column clearly showed there was interest.
But like most Americans, what enticed most Europeans to come to Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s speech was his promise for change.
Not just a change in the Oval Office and in foreign policy in Iraq, but also for greater respect for Europe.
“We’re looking for a president that will find a diplomatic way of solving problems,” Jakob Lang of Greifswald Germany, a small town in the northern part of the country, said. “We’re sick of being shoved around.”
Obama’s speech promised greater cooperation between the two continents and promised to help “tear down new walls” that separate Europeans and Americans.
It was hard not to notice the parallels between speeches given in Berlin by former presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Obama drew several parallels to a new wall that divides the politics of America with those of Europe.
Many Germans at the rally recognized this problem and said they sought greater cooperation with America’s new administration.
“The relationship between our two countries is important,” Lang said. “Germany is looking for a new tone and for an improvement of the political climate between Germany and America.”
Obama’s speech covered topics ranging from foreign policy to climate change, but held an underlying theme was unity throughout the world. The senator said that this theme made Berlin the perfect location to symbolize that goal—the city is historically tied with being the divider between East and West, between old and new.
With a crowd of over 200,000 fans, Obama’s speech was clearly a hit among Europeans who are looking for a new political beginning and to repair relations among the two continents which has been strained under President Bush.
“Most Europeans like Obama because he is someone that we can work together with,” Andreas Müller of Berlin said. “America and Europe must work together on issues like Iraq, climate change and the economy if we want things to improve.”
In his speech Obama hinted at seeking greater international cooperation and bringing the war to a speedy conclusion.
That implication struck a chord with many Germans at the rally.
“The biggest concern for the future is the war in Iraq,” Sarah Strobel from Saxony said. “It is important that America leaves Iraq as quickly as possible.”
Crime of enthusiasm cut embarassingly short
By thesara, written on Jul. 28, 2008
The joke’s on you, Spencer Taylor.
Dressed in a purple suit and face paint resembling the Joker’s character from the newest Batman film, the 20-year old man of Three Rivers, Michigan thought he had found a way to score Batman swag from the lobby of his local movie theatre last Sunday morning.
Taylor may have thought the infamy of the character’s costume would grant him the anonymity and immunity that it did for Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. Unfortunately for him and a small, bemused audience, he failed to emulate the celebrated maniac and was taken away by police.
In a hurry, Manager of the Three Rivers 6 cinema Brian Willoughby tells the story:
“He tried to steal a wall banner and tore a poster case off the wall,” he said. “I wrestled him to the ground and called the police on him.”
After making him wash his face, Three Rivers police slapped Taylor with charges for felony larceny and malicious destruction of property. Check out the full story, and before and after face-paint pictures, from the Kalamazoo Gazette.
Ann Arbor city tensions; the live mini-feed
By thesara, written on Jul. 22, 2008
“The thing is, John at first said he was against it, and then he changed his mind,” says Tom Wall, referring to Ann Arbor mayor John Hieftje’s alleged waffling on the new $47-million police-court facility proposal. “That doesn’t settle right in my stomach.”
Hieftje doesn’t miss a beat. “Well, I hope Tom gets some antacid or something,” he replies with a charismatic smile. “It took me over a year to change my mind.”
We’re off. Tonight at 7 p.m. a debate between Hieftje and his opponent, Ann Arbor resident Tom Wall, begins a live broadcast of Ann Arbor politicians sounding off–and facing off–over platforms for the August 5th city elections.
Hieftje, who has won the past five consecutive 2-year terms as Ann Arbor’s mayor, is comfortable and personable at the podium. Wall, a former special education teacher who runs a driver’s education business, got 9,000 votes when he ran as an independent two years ago. He speaks less smoothly, but remains confident.
Included on Hieftje and Wall’s plates tonight were transportation, parking, local green space and the said county courthouse contreversy.
Wall closes his statement talking about his plans to fix “any frustrations” the city has had in the past eight years. “I’m not in the mayor’s office, I don’t have access to the books (about the budget),” he said. “A mayor that I produce is the kind of person who gets out, shakes hands and talks to people,” he said.
Hieftje remarks that Wall could have studied and learned about books that are available in his weekly office hours. “I’m available if they want to come in and talk to me,” he said, adding that anyone who wants to be mayor should learn about the budget.
A lively, patriotic march plays through the closing credits. Up next: city councilmember Stephen Kunselman.
9:43 p.m–Kunselman (D-Ward 3) says he wants to increase the supply of smaller housing units. That means that students are being consolidated near campus. Stay tuned for any zoning changes in your neighborhood.
City council and mayoral candidates will be profiled in The Michigan Daily the week of August 4th.
Regents approve medical campus expansions
By thesara, written on Jul. 21, 2008
The University Board of Regents at the July 17 meeting approved almost $52 million in plans to expand facilities for the University’s medical campus.
A new Information Technology facility will replace the existing IT location in the Taubman library. “I guess they need a bigger one,” laughed Bruce Spiher from public relations at the University Hospital.
But seriously, the “massive” project–which proposed last December–will be the first devoted solely to IT and should contribute to a rapidly evolving medical campus.
“The use of information technology is expanding beyond the space we have to support it,” Spiher said.
The 47,000-square-foot, tornado-resistant building will host 11,000 square feet of data center, 7,500 square feet of support space and 28,500 square feet of infrastructure.
Groundbreaking is set for August 2008, and occupancy will begin in December 2009.
Scraping up the smaller portion of the $52 million are two properties on Wall Street off of Fuller Street that were recommended for purchase to fulfill “conceptual” plans from June 2005 for medical campus parking, classroom, research or adminastrative purposes, said the Ann Arbor News.
One property, 8100-square-foot vacant lot on 1059 Wall Street, was recommended for purchase at $162,000. Developers negotiated pricing for the second, a small apartment building on 953 Wall Street, at $790,000.
University representatives could not be reached for comment about the development, but you can view these and other long-term development plans on the University Health System’s Master Plan website.
Ferris State University rumors gain headway…in war of ridiculousness
By thesara, written on Jul. 14, 2008
Ask a random Ferris State University student why their sororities don’t have houses, and you may be nonplussed by their response.
“The rumor is, and it’s always been, that there are no (sorority houses) because there’s a city ordinance from the 1800s that says if there’s more than four unrelated women living in a house, then it’s a brothel,” said FSU alum Austin Oubre, a newly hired intern at Big Rapids city hall.
“I suppose somebody should probably start telling people, but no,” he laughed. “Everybody’s convinced that it’s totally legitimate fact.”
Mary Bacon, the public affairs representative for the panhellenic association at FSU, said that “nothing could be further from the truth.” She guessed that the sensational sexism of the brothel rumor is what has allowed it to hold water for the past several years. Mark Gifford, the director of neighborhood services in Big Rapids, said he gets a handful of calls per year from reporters who want to verify the rumor.
Bacon was more than happy to steer this one in the right direction: by the time panhellenic sororities came to campus in the 1960s, she said, zoning regulations and insufficient space had rendered sorority houses more of a headache than they were worth.
“There’s just very few large homes that have a lot of property that could be converted, or what one might consider a fraternity or sorority house,” she said.
Not to mention “all the rules that go with sorority housing–no booze, no boys. Not everybody likes that,” she said.
Panhellenic rules make it mandatory for all sororities to agree on issues like the construction of houses. But Bacon said that sisters on campus are content.
“You don’t join the house, you join the organization,” she said. “Was it ever true? I don’t know–who cares? There are a lot more important things we can talk about, that sororities can do for the community.”
Local resourcefulness hits new low
By thesara, written on Jul. 9, 2008
Ann Arbor criminals may be catching on to a dated trend in metal theft.
A square cast-iron streethole cover is missing from Division Street near Ann Street. Next to it, a heavier and more difficult-to-steal storm drain lays in wait, defenseless.
Police Seargeant Ed Stuck said that street hole cover thefts aren’t a problem in Ann Arbor.
“You’d have to be pretty strong and have some horsepower to steal a manhole cover,” he said. “It could be missing for any reason.”
Stuck said that heavy rains can sometimes back up, flood and carry away street hole covers. Though he wasn’t sure what happened to this one, he said he would send a patrol car to try and find out.
“If there’s an open hole, it probably should be rectified,” he said.
Part of me fears that local copper thieves are growing more creative, taking us down the path of some areas where civilians are in danger of falling into manholes during afternoon strolls.
For now, just be careful not to sprain your ankle.
Two crimes Sunday on Fourth Avenue
By thesara, written on Jul. 7, 2008
Keep in mind these Downtown Ann Arbor “don’ts”: walking alone at midnight or jaywalking with a ‘tude.
Two unrelated attacks occurred Sunday on Fourth Avenue, the first on a woman unaffilated with the University who was walking home from Beer Depot on a cigarette run.
Two men approached her from behind, covered her mouth, stole her purse and ran away, said the Ann Arbor News.
Though at first the suspects were described in detail–a thin man, about 5′3, between the ages of 18 and 25 wearing dark clothing and a 6-foot-tall man of the same age with a red baseball cap and T-Shirt–the details have grown fuzzy, said Ann Arbor Police Sergeant Brad Hill.
“She is not sure that she can I.D. them, apparently her story changed a couple times,” he said, adding that the suspect was not confident prosecuting because it was too dark to distinguish the features of her attackers. “We’re still looking at it, of course.”
Slightly less innocent is the Ypsilanti man who cut across Fourth Avenue and succumed to the provocation of two men passing in a red pickup truck. The drivers stopped and told the pedestrian to stay out of the street.
“He said he could do what he wanted,” said Hill of the jaywalker’s refusal to show remorse. “He can’t remember his exact words, but did acknowledge that he may have used racial slurs.”
The suspect said the two men then exited the pickup, knocked him down, punched him, got back into their truck and drove away.
“They assaulted him for that or whatever reason,” Hill said. “(We’re) still investigating that one.”
Officers dispatched to the scene around 8:30 p.m. said that the man had scratches and bruises but refused medical treatment.
Plans for Ann Arbor commuter rail to progress despite quadrupled price
By thesara, written on Jul. 1, 2008
When it’s completed, the Howell-Ann Arbor commuter rail should cost a passenger around $150 a month, said Ann Arbor transportation program manager Eli Cooper. This seems like a good deal for a daily commuter, considering the 60-mile trek and current gas prices (side note: Ann Arbor and Traverse City hold the highest gas prices in the state at 4.22 a gallon, according to Michigan AAA).
R.L. Banks & Associates Inc. of Arlington, Va. recently dropped an seemingly worse deal into the laps of city officials who have been planning the rail line since 2006: a study projecting a $25.2-million hike in project’s startup price.
Cooper said that R.L. Banks study included a review of past plans for the project, revisions and the aforementioned price projection. During past meetings about the rail line–which is part of a larger 2006 transportation plan called “Model for Mobility”–planners discussed and prepared for the possibility of larger figures than the original $7.2 million, he said.
Jacking up the price are gates for 47 road crossings and a new maximum speed of 60 mph rather than the previous 40 mph, measures that R.L. Banks cited as “crucial to success” and efficiency of the rail line.
The Howell line, as well as the prospective Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter line (set to be finished in 2010) will be unprecedented developments for Michigan, which has no commuter rail lines besides Amtrak.
In a phone interview, Cooper said he was “very pleased” with the R.L. Banks report, and that city planners are not discouraged by the price of the revisions. Rather, he seemed optimistic enough about the project to put forth a pun-laden statement, perhaps accidentally:
“Simply stated, we were looking for a professional to come in and tell us from their perspective and their national experience whether we were on the right track, and I think what they’ve said is we’re moving in the right direction, but not fast enough.”
According to the Ann Arbor News, ridership is projected at 1,300, down from the previous 1,688. City officials say the decrease does not make the project unfeasible.
As another part of Model for Mobility, which aims to reduce single vehicular transportation, Ann Arbor Mayor Hieftje and the Dowtown Development Authority have been seriously considering a trolley car system for the city. Cooper said a contractor will come to Ann Arbor by the end of the summer to assess the city’s need for a local connector service.
To read about the Model for Mobility, go to http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/systems_planning/Transportation/Pages/PublicTransit.aspx