Ann Arbor

Debate over Argo Dam nears a head

Ann Arbor is soon to find out whether Argo Dam will hold.The Ann Arbor City Council will hold a work session on the controversial subject on Tuesday, where city staff will lay out options for dealing with the dam. Basically, it boils down to whether to fix it up or tear it down."We're hoping Council will give us direction on how to proceed," says Jayne Miller, community services area administrator with the city of Ann Arbor.That means City Council could make a decision, or not. If it doesn't, it would probably be put off until later this fall. The City Council has long planned to put this issue to bed before the end of the year.The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is forcing the city's hand on the issue, sending a letter with specific deadlines for addressing the state agency's concerns with Argo Dam. The dam is at a critical juncture right now. Many environmentalists are pushing for the 89-year-old dam's removal, a move that would create 30 acres of new parkland, 20 acres of new flood plain and some Class 1 rapids (beginners level) along the Huron. It would also drain the primary rowing pond in the city, which is utilized by local high school, college and recreation crew teams. Those groups are pushing for its preservation.Argo Dam was originally built by Detroit Edison to generate hydroelectricity, but was decommissioned in 1960s. It also created the 92-acre Argo Pond, now a favorite spot for hundreds of small-boating enthusiasts, such as rowers and canoers who often refer to it as the city's largest blue park.The dam is due for about $500,000-$600,000 in repairs on top of annual maintenance expenditures worth tens of thousands of dollars. The cost of dam removal is pegged at $1.3 million. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recommended removing the dam in the 1990s. The city's Park Advisory Commission voted 5-4 to keep Argo Dam earlier this year while the city's Environmental Commission voted 8-4 for removal shortly after.The final decision will be made by the City Council and is expected sometime in the near future. The next meeting will be held at 5:45 p.m. in City Hall. For information on the dam, click here.Source: Jayne Miller, community services area administrator with the city of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Local fresh: Ann Arbor nonprofit helps Michigan farmers grow

New study shows strong support for WALLY rail line

Support continues to climb for the proposed Washtenaw-Livingston Line (WALLY) for commuter trains. The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority says that in a polling of 100 residents of Washtenaw County, 75 percent are in favor of the line, while 80 percent of 101 residents of Livingston County are in favor of it. Bellevue, Washington-based Illium Associates conducted the study.It also found that 61 percent  of respondents from Livingston County would be interested in using WALLY for their daily commute. Other statistics show 79 percent of Livingston County and 92 percent of Washtenaw County respondents, respectively, believe that public transit services are important to the local economy.   The study is not a scientific one. Instead, it focused on collecting the opinions of residents 18 years and older from phone interviews. The respondents live along the proposed route, which includes the townships of Ann Arbor, Northfield, Green Oak, Hamburg, Genoa, Marion and Howell, along with the cities of Ann Arbor, Brighton and Howell."It's the equivalent of having 10 focus groups in each county," says Mary Stasiak, spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.The authority is gearing up for a more comprehensive study to be conducted early this fall. Stasiak says this will give a more accurate picture of where the proposal stands.WALLY calls for creating a commuter rail line between Ann Arbor and Howell along the constantly congested stretch of U-23. Stops would include the north side of Ann Arbor, Green Oak Township, Hamburg Township, Genoa Township, and downtown Howell. Although proponents of the project have been fighting for it for years, they have not been able to nail down the several million dollars needed to upgrade the tracks and fund the service initially.Source: Mary Stasiak, spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor Transportation AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

EVENT OF THE WEEK: Are You Manly Enough For Maddox?

There are people with X and Y chromosomes, and then there are MEN. Maddox knows the difference. Want to know how you (or the man you love) measures up? Come see the master of masculinity read from his hilarious The Alphabet Of Manliness. Chuck Norris haters need not attend.

Backyard Brains aims to bring cerebral education to schools

The brain might seem like one big mystery to some folks, but it's pretty simple to Greg Gage and Tim Marzullo.The neuroscientists and co-founders of Backyard Brains are taking advantage of this, creating cheap kits than can show grade-school students how the brain works in real time. "We call ourselves Johnny Appleseeds," Gage says. "Instead of seeds, we're planting knowledge about neurons."The duo teach how the brain works in local schools, and about a year ago decided there had to be an easier (and cheaper) way to do this while reaching more people. So they decided to take on a $100 laptop-style project focusing on creating a kit to show how the brain's neurons work with simple parts purchased at a local Radio Shack. "Can you record neurons for less than $100?" Gage posits. "We spent last summer trying to figure this out and now we're able to do it."That led to the "Spiker Box," a $100 kit that students can put together to measure the brain waves of insects commonly found in one's backyard. Gage points out that an insect's brain is remarkably similar to that of a human. Right now the company, based in the TechArb in downtown Ann Arbor, is self-funding a small manufacturing run of its prototype. The two-person-plus-interns firm plans to double in size within the next year, as it expects to reach mass manufacturing of its products. It's also looking at developing an iPhone application.Source: Greg Gage, co-founder of Backyard BrainsWriter: Jon Zemke

Density Talks: Ann Arbor Should Listen

As the debate over density rages in Ann Arbor, perhaps the city should consider looking to other similar university communities that have navigated the political twists and turns of urban renewal and found success on the other side.

U-M students capitalize on iPhone apps with Phonagle

Add Phonagle's name to the steadily growing list of Ann Arbor-based start-ups looking to cash in on the iPhone.The University of Michigan spin-off is a partnership between three U-M School of Information graduate students and one of the school's graduates. They are working with the School of Information and U-M's Center for Entrepreneurship to develop apps (jargon for applications) and games for the iPhone.The Phonagle foursome (Sergio Mendez, Jeremy Canfield, Eric Garcia, and Benjamin Malley) have also received a little funding to push their four-month-old start-up forward. Its first offering will be Outword, a combination geo-location and Scrabble game for the iPhone due out later this year. Future versions for other smart phones could also be in the cards."We'd love to expand to different platforms in the future," Mendez says.Right now the fledgling company is focusing on establishing Outword and a few other apps. That means not only creating the program, but creating awareness of it. Unless a firm has five figures' worth of cash to throw at it, that means viral marketing and taking advantage of social media outlets locally and spreading out from there."It's difficult to make a case for your applications," Mendez says.Source: Sergio Mendez, co-founder and project manager for PhonagleWriter: Jon Zemke

AA EDM turns belly up biz into new Ann Arbor start-up

John MacGregor and his partners spent most of their career working for the man. That is, until they decided to jump into the entrepreneurial world and become their own bosses by starting AA EDM last July.The Ann Arbor-based firm bought the assets of a bankrupt company that made electronics technology for machines used in diesel engine manufacturing. MacGregor and his partners (George Barbulescu and Nicky Borcea) are now making a go of it after spending several decades each in the industry."We made other people money," MacGregor says. "We decided we were going to do it for ourselves. Even though the company went under, it still had a viable product."It also came with some inventory, demonstration machines, and a built-in customer base. The company builds machines and tools for diesel engines manufacturing, but it is such a niche market that the trio aren't worried about the work being shipped overseas.Instead, they work away from offices on Jackson Road with their three employees. They hope to add 3-5 more within six months and they continue to slowly but steadily build their own company."It's not a fast-growing business, but it's a profitable one," MacGregor says.Source: John MacGregor, president of AA EDMWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s MedHub looking for staff for new contracts

MedHub has been on a contract signing spree this summer and is gearing up for a hiring spree this fall.The Ann Arbor-based start-up currently employs five people and has up to four positions open right now. Most of those positions are for software developers and can be applied for here."We definitely want to prime for more big deals and we have more in the pipeline," says Peter Orr, president of MedHub. The 7-year-old firm, a University of Michigan spin-off, uses web-enabled enterprise residency management solutions to improve communication, collaboration and residency information management in teaching hospitals. Simply said, it provides a system that tracks medical school students during their residencies. It makes hospitals get all of the Medicare reimbursements they are entitled to, which means more than $85 million for U-M Hospital.MedHub recently signed the University of Iowa, University of Washington, and Seattle Children's Hospital to lucrative deals, and is on the verge of signing another big hospital from a Big Ten school. That's on top of signing contracts with the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, among others, earlier this year. Source: Peter Orr, president of MedHubWriter: Jon Zemke