2009 – Page 45 of 98

One of Ann Arbor’s top chefs to compete on cable show

By Newsroom

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July 15, 2009

One of Ann Arbor’s own is about to compete to become America’s Top Chef.Excerpt:Chef Eve Aronoff — chef-owner of eve restaurant in Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown district — will compete this fall on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Las Vegas,” the sixth season of the top-rated cable series, the network announced today.Aronoff, 40, was classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, but her contemporary cooking style is known for its bold, exotic flavors and eclectic international influences that range from Cuba and Africa to Vietnam. Her intimate restaurant, opened in 2003, features a seasonally changing menu, an outstanding wine list and a casually sophisticated ambience.She has cooked at the prestigious James Beard Foundation headquarters in New York City and is the author of her own cookbook. Read the rest of the story here.

U-M professor says Michigan could be the film headquarters of the Midwest

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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July 15, 2009

Could Michigan become the next Toronto or Vancouver of the film industry? One University of Michigan professor thinks it’s going to happen.Excerpt:Jim Burnstein, University of Michigan professor and Hollywood screenwriter, was one of the main architects of Michigan's tax incentives for the film industry that has brought more than $125 million in film production spending since April 2008.Burstein said with investments in training and infrastructure - and the patience to let the incentives work - Michigan could become the film and television headquarters of the Midwest.And the potential for television series to start shooting in Michigan could bring more steady employment than the intermittent schedules of feature films provide, he added.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor SPARK to President Obama: ‘Michigan has a bright future’

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Entrepreneurship

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July 15, 2009

People are saying Michigan has a bright future, and President Obama is listening. But will he accept SPARK's invitation to visit A2?Excerpt:Ann Arbor SPARK, the region's leading regional economic development organization, hopes to convince President Barack Obama that Ann Arbor is a prime example of what Michigan can become.SPARK CEO Michael Finney urged Obama, who is visiting southeast Michigan on July 14, to tour Ann Arbor's "diversified" economy in an open letter released last week."Michigan has a bright future and the seeds have been sown and are starting to bear fruit," Finney wrote. "With the right planning and investment, the Michigan of the future can look a whole lot like the Ann Arbor of today."Read the rest of the story here.

Wireless Ypsi turns a profit, county program hopes for stimulus funding

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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July 15, 2009

The duo behind Wireless Ypsi continues to increase its reach across the region... and fatten their wallets.Excerpt:An Ypsilanti-based tech startup is offering a new twist on the paradigm for deployment of wireless Internet in populated areas even as Washtenaw County's own initiative hopes for federal stimulus money.The success of Wireless Ypsi - which offers free wireless Internet access to Ypsilanti's entire downtown area - has led to inquiries from other Michigan municipalities, real estate companies and groups outside the state, co-founder Steve Pierce said."The idea is to be able to create a cloud of Internet access where visitors can just open up their laptop and immediately" get online, Pierce said.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor man carries on dancing tribute to Michael Jackson with heavy heart

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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July 15, 2009

Ann Arbor’s Michael Jackson dances a little more softly these days.Excerpt:Brian Woolridge danced Saturday, as he has during so many weekend summer afternoons in downtown Ann Arbor.There he was, a familiar figure doing his dazzling impression of Michael Jackson in the backlit alley on Liberty Street, just west of the Michigan Theater.But Saturday was different. The quick, electrifying moves were the same, as was the music, blaring from a boom box set beside a shoe box for donations.But Jackson was dead, and Woolridge carried a heavy heart into the routines he's cherished since he began dancing in the alley 14 years ago.Woolridge, 37, a 1990 graduate of Huron High School who lives across from Arborland, recalls dancing to Jackson's tunes at a very young age. In 1995, he began performing in the shaded, covered alley, a perfect setting for the strutting and flourishes that typify many of Jackson's songs.Read the rest of the story here.

USPS upgrades W. Stadium post office in Ann Arbor

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Community Development

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July 15, 2009

Patrons of the U.S. Post Office on West Stadium in Ann Arbor are probably starting to notice things are changing.The U.S. Postal Service is updating the building's lobby and customer service area in an effort to make it more efficient and customer friendly. Chief among the repairs are downsizing the number of windows from seven to five. The idea is to create more space at the windows that are consistently used."This is something that has been in the plans for a while," says Ed Moore, manager of communications for the Detroit District of the U.S. Postal Service.Work on the $230,000 project is expected to wrap up by the end of August. The branch of the city's west side, built in the mid 20th Century, is one of the Post Service's main offices in Ann Arbor.Source: Ed Moore, manager of communications for the Detroit District of the U.S. Postal ServiceWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor gets 93% of Michigan’s federal land preservation grants

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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July 15, 2009

When it comes to funding to preserve natural areas, Washtenaw County takes the lion's share of the lion's share of what comes to Michigan.This year Michigan claimed $2.9 million from federal government programs like Natural Resources Conservation Service Farm and Ranchland Protection to help preserve rural land. About $2.7 million went to Ann Arbor-area programs like the Greenbelt.This isn't unusual. For the last four or five years, Washtenaw County programs have taken a majority of Michigan's federal land preservation funding. Oftentimes it's take is in 90-plus percentile. "Part of it is we have funded local preservation programs like the greenbelt and the township programs so we can provide matches," says Ginny Trocchio, a spokeswoman for Ann Arbor’s Greenbelt program. "The other part is we have really good farm land here."Most of this year's money went toward the preservation of the Smyth and Merkel farms in Webster Township. That's another 247 acres adjacent to each other on Zeeb Road that have been added to the Ann Arbor Greenbelt, which now owns the development rights to more than 1,000 acres around the city.Source: Ginny Trocchio, a spokeswoman for Ann Arbor’s Greenbelt programWriter: Jon Zemke

Ypsilanti’s Hope Clinic gets $400,000 challenge grant

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Community Development

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July 15, 2009

There's hope left for the Hope Clinic in Ypsilanti. Plenty of hope actually. The medical clinic just brought in a $400,000 challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation and is within $1 million of reaching its fundraising goal to pay for its current expansion.The 27-year-old organization has been consolidating and expanding its space at its headquarters, 518 Harriet St. The $3.15 million project is renovating the clinic's orginal 3,500 square feet and adding another 23,500 square feet. Construction is well underway."We are hoping to open in the spring of 2010," says Peggy Cole, campaign coordinator for Hope Clinic. "We're bursting at the seams."The Hope Clinic has grown sporadically, occupying a number of different spaces across the city as it has grown. Today is offers medical clinic, dental clinic and offers social services and help for the homeless at four different locations. The expansion project would consolidate all of them into one space. Source: Peggy Cole, campaign coordinator for Hope ClinicWriter: Jon Zemke

Ypsilanti’s Parkridge Center project takes new turn

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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July 15, 2009

Plans to redevelop the Parkridge Community Center in Ypsilanti are taking another turn. Gone are ideas of renovating and expanding the facility on the city's south side by partnering with local universities. Coming are plans to raze and rebuild the building with the help of the Boys & Girls Club in Ypsilanti.Spearheading the effort is John Barfield, chairman emeritus of the Bartech Group who grew up utilizing the Parkridge Community Center. The facility has served as the epicenter of African-American life on Ypsilanti's south side for generations.He wants to tear down the existing 65-year-old building and rebuild a 31,000-square-foot structure in its place. The new $6 million Parkridge Community Center would also serve as the home of the Boys & Girls Club in Ypsilanti."Parkridge has a magnificent park and a building that is better than theirs," Barfield says. The plans are still tentative, but provide a fresh breath of life for the 66-year-old facility. The aging building has fallen into disrepair as the city fights to manage its finances.Barfield originally planned to redevelop the building into both a space for the community as a satellite office for local universities. Those plans didn’t materialize, allowing for the Boys & Girls Club of Ypsilanti to fill the voide.Source: John Barfield, founder and chairman emeritus of the Bartech GroupWriter: Jon Zemke

Community Garden Tour puts the spotlight on local plots

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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July 15, 2009

Washtenaw County's budding community garden movement will be on display later this month as part of the Big Community Harvest Garden Tour.Dozens of community gardens have sprung up across the county in recent years as local residents have become acquainted with the joys of local produce and better land use. A number of organizations have sprung up to help spur this along, including Growing Hope, Project Grow Community Gardens and Food Gathers, among others.The dozens of plots that these groups maintain, manage or advise range from gardens at local schools to raised beds at group homes to gardens planted and maintained by local churches. The tour will showcase seven such gardens each day between July 22 and August 1. "These gardens go from teeny tiny to really big," says Amanda Maria Edmonds, executive director of Growing Hope.For information, call Growing Hope (734) 786-8401 or send an email to info@growinghope.net.Source: Amanda Maria Edmonds, executive director of Growing HopeWriter: Jon Zemke