2009 – Page 15 of 98

Ann Arbor’s hybrid buses continue to lead the way to sustainability

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October 28, 2009

Ann Arbor is at the top of the list when it comes to adopting fuel-efficient hybrid technology for public transit.Excerpt:If you wonder whether hybrid-electric vehicles will ever catch on, simply ask one of the millions of people who ride in them every day.Hybrid-electric buses, that is.Transit systems from New York to Taipei, and from Ames, Iowa, to Ann Arbor, Mich., are adding hybrid buses at a rapid clip. New York, by far, has the nation’s biggest fleet of hybrid buses, which run on electricity and diesel fuel, with nearly 1,000 in all five boroughs, most in Manhattan.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor lab finds anti-biotic-resistant bacteria in Canadian water

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In The News

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October 28, 2009

An Ann Arbor researcher is playing a key role in keeping the water clean in Toronto.Excerpt:Bacteria resistant to some antibiotics have been found in Toronto tap water, a University of Michigan scientist says.The water remains safe to drink, he said, but the finding raises the possibility that disease-causing bacteria will pick up the resistance genes.In the United States, researchers have found bacteria that have evolved to become resistant to some antibiotics in some municipal water supplies.At his lab in Ann Arbor, Mich., microbiologist Prof. Chuanwu Xi showed a stack of petri dishes, some filled with yellow dots of bacteria that should have been killed off by antibiotics. The source of the bacteria was drinking water from several communities in Ohio and Michigan.Read the rest of the story here.

Memories of Ann Arbor’s Pinball Pete’s

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Arts and Culture

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October 28, 2009

The former home of a longtime staple for Ann Arbor-area youth, Pinball Pete's, went up in flames last weekend and the AnnArbor.com takes a look back at it's colorful history.Excerpt:I came to Ann Arbor for the first time in 1976 and played a few games of pinball at Mickey Rat's, and then spent a lot of quarters during college playing pinball around town from 1985 to 1995. Here's a partial timeline of pinball in Ann Arbor with some personal memories mixed in. It's missing a lot of details; please fill in what I'm missing below in the comments, and I'll work the edits in to complete the story.A vacant pinball parlor on South University, once the home of Campus Pinball and later Pinball Pete's, burned last Saturday. The neighbors had said that loitering and vagrancy were a problem at the building which had been boarded up for some number of years. The building, owned by the Tice Family Partnership, had once been on the market, but in 2004 there were no takers for the asking price of $1.2 million.Read the rest of the story here.

Michigan Marching Band reveals a glimpse of its practice ritual

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Arts and Culture

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October 28, 2009

The University of Michigan's football team isn't the only group of students practicing all week for Saturday.Excerpt:You see them every Football Saturday. The Big House erupts when they take the field. They perform as a flawless unit in which all individuals are constantly aware of where they are on the field, what their next move is and everything that's happening around them. They practice daily even in the harshest weather and undergo extensive training. They are some of the University’s most talented students. And no, they’re not on the football team.The Michigan Marching Band has been a crucial part of the University’s fabric since 1896, and for many football fans, the band is just as important to the Big House experience as the game. The band is collected, cohesive and professional when we see it on the field. But we all know that the complex halftime shows don't just happen with the wave of the drum major’s baton. What goes into producing a new show each week? And how is the band so damn good? It all rests on the effort and dedication of its members.Anyone who lives south of Hill Street has probably heard the Marching Band brazenly practicing every day. And anyone near Elbel Field at 4:45 p.m. on a weekday will hear the sound of drums pounding in unison while brassy scales grow louder and louder over thumping rhythms. Practice begins each day with a half hour of music rehearsal. The band members usually receive their show music several days before gameday so they have sufficient time to memorize their parts. Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor area draws from software sector for growth

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Economic Development

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October 28, 2009

When it comes to job growth, few areas look as promising as Ann Arbor for software development.Excerpt:Growth, resiliency and diversification in Ann Arbor’s software community positions the sector to emerge from Michigan’s economic crisis as a Midwest leader.The information technology industry's remarkable stability during the recession illuminates its role as a barely recognized yet crucial driver of economic growth in the Ann Arbor economy."Ann Arbor is a software hotspot," said David Bloom, IT consultant and principal of Chelsea-based tech consultancy Factotem.Read the rest of the story here.

AATA considers countywide expansion of service

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Community Development

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October 21, 2009

Could the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority become a county-wide service? It's a question that's being asked of at least 1,100 Washtenaw County residents this fall.AATA has commissioned CJI Research to conduct a $40,000 random sample telephone survey to assess the popularity of expanding AATA's services on a county-wide level. The results are expected to be delivered by mid November."We have been asked by many community leaders to expand our services county wide," says Mary Stasiak, manager of community relations for the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.Right now AATA primarily serves the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti areas, although it has expanded commuter service to Chelsea and Plymouth as part of a pilot program with the University of Michigan. Expanding AATA to a county-wide service could stretch bus routes out as far as Saline and Manchester among other population centers.Source: Mary Stasiak, manager of community relations for the Ann Arbor Transportation AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor Greenbelt approaches 2,000 acres with new deals

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Community Development

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October 21, 2009

Ann Arbor's Greenbelt is aiming to hit another milestone by the end of this year – 2,000 acres.The Greenbelt program has a number of deals that are at a various stages of completion. Currently there are 1,321 acres of farm land, woods and wetlands that are protected. Another 704 acres are in the works to come under the Greenbelt's umbrella in 2009."If not by the end of the year then by next spring," says Ginny Trocchio, a spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor's Greenbelt program.Four properties have been approved by the Ann Arbor City Council and are expected to be closed either this fall or before the end of the year. Those deals include Webster United Church of Christ ($613,000 for 94 acres), Nixon Farm in Webster Township (265 acres for $2 million), Braun Farm in Ann Arbor Township (286 acres for $4 million) and the adjacent 51-acre Gould property. When it's all said and done, more than 1,000 acres in Webster Township will be protected.Also in the works is the Fredrick Farm in Lodi Township. The purchase of 102-acre parcel hasn't been approved by the Ann Arbor City Council because the effort to obtain a federal grant didn't pan out. The Greenbelt is now looking for other sources of revenue, like Legacy Conservation.Ann Arbor's Greenbelt Program provides funding to preserve and protect open space, natural habitats and farms in the Ann Arbor area by purchasing development rights. The city acquires these rights from willing sellers who apply to participate in the program. Ann Arbor voters approved a 0.5-mill millage over 30 years to establish the Greenbelt Program in 2003. Since then the program has acquired the rights to hundreds of acres or rural land.Source: Ginny Trocchio, a spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor GreenbeltWriter: Jon Zemke

Chelsea residents continue rally to Save the Livery

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Community Development

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October 21, 2009

The future of the Longworth building in downtown Chelsea is up in the air these days. The building had been slated for demolition by Chelsea Downtown Development Authority, but was given a temporary reprieve after a group of local residents called "Save the Livery," a nod to the oldest part of the building, organized. That reprieve has expired, leaving local preservationists in the dark about the building's future."We have been trying to be a part of the conversation," says Jan Bernath, one of the organizers behind the Save the Livery coalition.The group presented a petition with 700 signatures to save the livery. Joe Merkel, a local resident and developer, also stepped forward to offer his services to save the building. However, it remains unknown to Bernath and her colleagues about what happens next to the building.The 2-story building sits on Main Street just south of Jackson Street. The now closed Longworth Plating Service occupied the 11,800-square-foot industrial building most recently. The structure is divided into three main sections of varying ages, and oldest is the livery that served as a 10-cent barn in the early 20th Century.City officials hired a structural engineer who painted a grim picture, stating that the building was failing structurally and located on a brownfield space. The report prompted a grassroots group to stand up and set the record straight. Among the members are architects, historic preservation experts, structural engineers and MDEQ employees who disputed the city's findings and advocated for saving this piece of Chelsea's history.Source: Jan Bernath, one of the organizers behind the Save the Livery coalitionWriter: Jon Zemke

Ypsilanti Lincoln Schools capture big energy savings

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Development News

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October 21, 2009

Ypsilanti's Lincoln Consolidated School District is seeing some big returns through energy efficiency. The school district hired Energy Education (a consulting firm founded by a former teacher) at $22,000 a year for a seven-year contract. Lincoln Schools have saved $978,000 in the last 37 months, earning it an Environmental Excellence Award from the consulting firm. The school district didn't have to install solar panels or wind turbines to achieve these savings. It all came down to changing staff and student behavior."It's more of a conservation by change of habit," says Lynn Cleary, superintendent of Lincoln Consolidated Schools. "People would leave their computers on all night or have one bottle of pop in a refrigerator."Energy Education went through Lincoln School's seven buildings (five elementary schools, one middle school and one high school) looking for low-hanging-energy-saving fruit. It also focused on educating the school districts 4,800 students and 600 employees. "It's a concerted effort," Cleary says. "We call him the Guru of Energy because he is diligent about making sure things are shut down. It's great because it's habit now."Source: Lynn Cleary, superintendent of Lincoln Consolidated SchoolsWriter: Jon Zemke

A3C installs solar panels on downtown Ann Arbor office

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Community Development

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October 21, 2009

Just when you thought A3C Collaborative Architecture's downtown Ann Arbor headquarters couldn't get any greener, it did.The Gold LEED certified structure on 210 Huron Avenue is putting the finishing touches on its installation of three new solar panels on it roof. Each solar panel will serve as an example of just what type of environmentally friendly options are available to A3C's customers. "It demonstrates some of the great renewable energy systems out there," says Dan Jacobs, founding principal and director of sustainable design for A3C Collaborative Architecture.The small-firm has been working on the historic building since it moved in 1997. The biggest work culminated last year when A3C finished a major renovation that included the installation of a green roof, geothermal heating-and-cooling system and a gaggle of other environmentally friendly features that would make any treehugger green with envy.The addition of solar panels is the latest extension of that renovation. The solar panels include a thin-film system from Uni-Solar, a crystalline system from Kyocera (the traditional solar panel) and a Solyndra system, which looks like a radiator. "It's one of the more innovative systems out there," Jacobs says.Between 70-80 percent of the building's energy comes from renewable sources. A3C is looking at adding urban wind turbines next year.Source: Dan Jacobs, founding principal and director of sustainable design for A3C Collaborative ArchitectureWriter: Jon Zemke