Ann Arbor

U-M comes out winner in Google Book Search settlement

By Newsroom

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November 5, 2008

One of the big winners in the proposed settlement for the Google Book Search lawsuit isn’t even named in it – the University of Michigan. U-M, along with University of California and Stanford University, has played an integral part in Google's effort to digitize the world's books. Tome after tome from U-M's graduate library has been scanned into Google databases for the last few years under a bit of secrecy and scrutiny. "It will now be possible, even easy, for anyone to access these great collections from anywhere in the United States," said University of Michigan's Paul Courant, university librarian and Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor of Public Policy. "This is an extraordinary accomplishment." That's one of the main tenants of the argument to digitize these books. The Authors Guild claims it infringes on the rights of authors and publishers, similar to the what file sharing has done to music. If approved proposed settlement will expand access to books in the Google Book Search project. It will also help cement U-M's place as a pioneer in this landmark initiative. Source: University of Michigan Writer: Jon Zemke

Solidica takes in more VC, set to create 12 new jobs

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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November 5, 2008

More money is coming to Ann Arbor's Solidica, which will bring more jobs to the local start-up as well. The firm has hired five new people since May and plans to hire another dozen more after a $1.9 million investment. Of that money, $900,000 came from Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund and another $1 million came from private investors. North Coast Technology Investors originally backed the company, helping make it is what is today.The company started in 1999 but really started to take off in the last couple of years, hiring nearly 20 of its 35 people. The firm creates supplies for both wireless and wired systems. Quite often they include built-in wireless sensors, which allow for immediate feedback. For instance, if a military vehicle crashes, a central command post will know almost immediately because of Solidica's technology. With that in mind, the company plans to pursue military contracts with its latest products.Source: Michigan Economic Development CorporationWriter: Jon Zemke

Johnson & Johnson was lead suitor of HealthMedia for months

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 5, 2008

The newest owner of HealthMedia, Johnson & Johnson, has been trying to make a play for the Ann Arbor start-up for a while now. Excerpt: Johnson & Johnson was among the companies pursuing HealthMedia Inc. even before the Ann Arbor business quietly put itself on the market in January, president Ted Dacko said Tuesday. HealthMedia got as many as two calls a week last year from investors and potential buyers interested in the online health coaching firm - including Johnson & Johnson, Dacko said. But he, founder Victor Strecher and HealthMedia's board of directors weren't interested in selling then. But the calls became so persistent that they hired an investment banking company to explore a possible sale earlier this year. By July, Johnson & Johnson - a customer since 2003 - was HealthMedia's lead suitor. And interest from Johnson & Johnson appears tied to the company's desire to create a new health wellness and prevention business. Read the rest of the story here.

LimeWire talks to Ghostly International

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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November 5, 2008

LimeWire interviews Jeff Owens, the label manager for Ann Arbors favorite electronic music label Ghostly International.Excerpt:It's the season of scary, and we recently had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Owens, the label manager for Ghostly International and Spectral Sound. Founded by Sam Valenti IV in 1999 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ghostly is one of America's most innovative and influential independent record labels. Continue reading to find out why...Read the entire article here.

Tamara Real: Our creative economy is an important regional asset

By Newsroom

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General

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November 5, 2008

Creatives are key to the future of Washtenaw County, and Michigan. The finer points of which are argued here.Excerpt:Earlier this year, the Arts Alliance launched a census to count the artists living and working in Washtenaw County. It was a bit of a quixotic effort - artists are a notoriously difficult population to pin down. But the project has finally been completed, and it's produced more and better results than could have been anticipated. And, like all good research, it's posed many new questions that beg for more study.The good news is that at last a number has been established that can be used as a baseline in future counts of Washtenaw County's arts population. Some 2,530 individuals responded to the Arts Alliance's census (which ran from April 1 through May 17, 2008) and have been designated as Washtenaw County artists. These individuals provided valuable information about the media in which they work, the amount of time they devote to their craft, and their sources of income, among other topics. Read the rest of the story here.

Downtown Gets Fit

By Leia Menlove

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Community Development

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November 5, 2008

Smaller spaces, fewer people, more personalized attention and a soft-core urban setting. Downtown Ann Arbor is nurturing a growing number of small, specialized wellness studios that help define the city's developing core.

McKinley to renovate old National City space on Liberty

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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November 5, 2008

The Liberty retail expansion for the McKinley Towne Centre has been downsized, but is still moving forward.McKinley will continue with its plans to renovate the old National City Bank storefront if the City Council approves the sale of some common space Thursday. McKinley originally planned to raze that structure and two more next to the towne centre and build a new 2-story retail space between it and the Michigan Theater.Those plans were shelved, but the existing retail space looks like it will not only stay but be updated to complement the recently refurbished towne centre.McKinley transformed what was formerly an unattractive building into an attractive, colorful office complex, nowheadquarters to Google's Adwords division. The once fortress-like building has become an inviting place for pedestrians by opening up its ground floor retail to businesses like Bar Louie, Salsarita's and AT&T while building over the surface parking lot.The expansion will continue that success, extending the traditional brick facade that houses Salsa Rita's and AT&T all of the way to the Michigan Theater. The old storefronts and the alleyway will be eliminated for the ground floor new retail and second floor office space.Source: City of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Video Pixel Velocity

By Keith Jefferies

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Arts & Culture

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November 5, 2008

Pixel Velocity is watching. Or rather they're letting you watch. This Ann Arbor-based company creates high-speed digital image processing products for the surveillance and medical imaging markets. See them seeing you.

Zingerman’s goes on hiring spree, jobs often lead to FT positions

By Newsroom

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Health

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November 5, 2008

The temporary hire for Zingerman's today could very well turn into a top manager for world-famous eatery tomorrow. Or at least a few days after.The Ann Arbor-based deli is in the midst of a hiring binge for its mail-order program. More than 300 people will be hired for the holiday season. About 200 of those spots are filled so far. The jobs range from cooks to warehouse workers and pay anywhere from $8.50 per hour to $11 per hour. The catch is they only last through the holiday season. Not exactly new economy jobs, we know. But it is a barometer of the kind of business Zingermans does during the holiday season.And there is an opportunity for many of those temporary workers to end up with year-round full-time jobs with the company. At the very least, the really good workers are the first ones invited back to help with heavy-order holidays, such as Father's Day."If there are any full-time positions open, we offer them to the superstars of the seasonal jobs," says Toni Morell, managing partner with Zingerman's Mail Order.Some of the success stories are inspiring. The person who heads up Zingerman's human resources started as a seasonal employee working in the call center. The current manager of Zingerman's call center started as seasonal worker, too."Now she's one of the top managers we have," Morell says.For information on Zingerman's seasonal jobs, go to its location on 610 Phoenix Dr. in Ann Arbor between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.Source: Toni Morell, managing partner with Zingerman's Mail OrderWriter: Jon Zemke

Downtown Ann Arbor City Apartments project up for approval

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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November 5, 2008

More tall buildings are lining up to be built in downtown Ann Arbor. A handful have already been approved and ready to rise with the latest green light going to the controversial 601 Forest. Next in line is Ann Arbor City Apartments, which will go for City Council approval Thursday night.That project has grown a little bit since it was first proposed. The 9-story building has gone from 146 units to 156. It's even added a few more parking spots, raising that number to 244. The idea is that adding the spaces and units made the building more efficient and profitable."It's a great opportunity for us because there are no projects in Ann Arbor like the one we are proposing," says Andrea Roebker, director of public relations for Village Green Companies.The Farmington Hills-based hopes to break ground on the development next spring and finish it within 18 months."It's a tough economy but we're still moving forward," Roebker says.The project would replace a 1940s era parking garage on First and Washington streets across from the Blind Pig and Cavern Club. That parking structure was removed three years ago. Gone will be a crumbling concrete structure, proposed to replace it is a modern-looking building. The bottom four levels of the building (two are underground) are set to be a parking garage decked out with ornamental metal grills. The upper stories are set to be rental apartments which will be marketed toward professionals.That's something new for a downtown where new construction has either been reserved for student rentals or for-sale condos. The one- and two-bedroom apartments will average about 700 square feet. Ten percent of those apartments will be dedicated to affordable housing. The units will not have individual balconies or terraces, but there will be a community rooftop deck for all of the units. The apartments have access to as many as 73 spaces during the day and 146 spaces during the night. The rest of the spots will be open to the public. The parking garage will be run by the city. Village Green also plans to use extensive green building techniques and technologies in the Ann Arbor City Apartments building. Among those are using recyclable materials, installing a green roof and making the building energy efficient. The company also plans to keep the building as rental apartments for the foreseeable future. The company owns similar downtown apartment buildings in Minneapolis and Chicago. Source: Andrea Roebker, director of public relations for Village Green CompaniesWriter: Jon Zemke