Jeff Daniels has an answer or two in this Q&A but does he have a Tony Award awaiting him? Excerpt: Sure, Jeff Daniels is curious about whether he’ll win the prize for which he has been nominated at tonight’s Tony Awards. But for the Chelsea-based actor, currently on Broadway in “God of Carnage,” the real […]
Entrepreneurs are starting to get a helping hand in Chelsea with business counseling and resource assistance.Excerpt:The Chelsea area has long been a place where aspiring artists, industrious farmers and small businesses prosper, but a group of somewhat unlikely partners might help improve the success rates among these groups or those thinking of starting a business. The Chelsea District Library, The Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce, The Food System Economic Partnership (FESP), The Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) - Region 12, and Washtenaw Community College (WCC) have all come together to offer business counseling, business research services and resource assistance - all for free at the Chelsea District Library."The library is already the place people go for information," says Bill Harmer, head adult services librarian. "It's such a natural fit to extend our service more directly to the small business community." Read the rest of the story here.
Is there a piece of acting hardware that Jeff Daniels hasn’t won yet? Apparently so. But maybe things are about to change.Excerpt:Add a new headliner to Jeff Daniels' already lengthy and impressive resume.The Chelsea native received his first Tony nomination earlier this month for his performance on Broadway in Yasmina Reza's "God of Carnage." In fact, all four leads of the popular and critically acclaimed play received Tony nominations. Daniels and Jame Gandolfini (Sopranos) will contend for the Best Actor in a play award while leading ladies Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden vie for Best Actress.In all, "God of Carnage" was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Play."I was stunned," Daniels said. "You have no control over this kind of thing. To be honest, we thought there was no way they would nominate all four of us, so I pretty much reconciled myself to celebrate someone else. Maybe be a presenter. The morning of the announcements, I tuned in. One after another, our names were called. Then for Director. Then for Best Play. Turns out, it's unprecedented in Broadway history. First time ever, four actors for the same play have all been nominated in the Best Actor and Actress categories."Read the rest of the story here.
Bill Harmer sees Chelsea's Library as something more than a warehouse for books, music and movies. He sees it as a rock venue and comedy club and career center. More importantly, he sees it as an opportunity to connect with his community in new and innovative ways. No wonder Chelsea was named the Best Small Library in America.
Detroit is known as the Paris of the Midwest, but could Washtenaw County become the Hollywood of the 'Great Flyover'?Excerpt:Michigan's subsidy for filmmakers has been a great success, as evidenced by California's passage earlier this year of its own $500 million tax incentive to retain productions that have been fleeing the Golden State for places like the Great Lakes State.A 42 percent refund for in-state spending is a difficult lure to resist, but Innocence Production Inc.'s George Constas says it's only a start.Constas is a location scout for the Ann Arbor based production company. He is largely why places like Dexter, Chelsea, Jackson, Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti were included in the roster of locations around mid and eastern Michigan.Read the rest of the story here and the YpsiNews' April Fools story about the porn industry setting up shop in Ypsilanti here.
The people who run the city of Chelsea are smart enough to know they don't have all the answers, which is why they're looking for some ideas on how to redevelop the Longworth building in downtown.The city plans to hold a public information meeting on the small commercial structure on Main Street just south of Jackson Street on April 29. City officials are inviting local residents, stakeholders and developers to learn about the building and offer ideas on what to do with it."You never know when you might get a great idea from the community," says John Hanifan, city manager for Chelsea.The city bought the building for $395,000 earlier this year so it can control its redevelopment. It plans to put together a request for proposals to turn the vacant structure into the home of a business that will accentuate downtown. That could mean renovating large sections of the original building or razing it to make way for something better."There are about four or five options," Hanifan says.The 11,800-square-foot industrial building served as the home to Longworth Plating Service. The structure is divided into three main sections of varying ages. The oldest section of the building dates back to the mid-1800s. Source: John Hanifan, city manager for ChelseaWriter: Jon Zemke
Chelsea has all the ducks it needs to expand its City Hall. City officials just need to line them up in a row to make the project happen.Chelsea officials spent this winter acquiring two parcels for the City Hall expansion. They are now working on plans for the project and expect to start putting shovels in the ground before the cold weather returns."Hopefully the project will start within the next couple months," says John Hanifan, city manager for Chelsea.The city spent about $1.5 million to buy City Hall from the Chelsea State Bank and obtain land for its new downtown police station. The bank will shrink its drive-thru lanes from five to two, making room for a new 10,000-square-foot police headquarters at a cost of $2.25 million.Source: John Hanifan, city manager for ChelseaWriter: Jon Zemke
Are you a follower or do you have a following? Who's tweeting who? Social Media is this year's buzz word and Twitter is its newest doo-dad. Our story would end here (if we stuck to the 140 character limit) but Twitter has only just begun in the Ann Arbor area.
In 1999 Chelsea got a new high school and an empty kitchen. The high school has been heavily used, graduating class after class of student. The kitchen in the old high school, now called the Washington Street Center, has been used sparingly.That looks to change this year if Victoria Bennett has anything to say about it. At least the kitchen part. She wants to turn the industrial-sized kitchen that used to feed hundreds of teens every day into a kitchen incubator for aspiring culinary businesses. Bennett, a Chelsea resident, is an academic associate at Washtenaw Community College and has worked with entrepreneurs at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. She points out that there isn't much of anything in regards to business incubation on the west side of the county and thinks a kitchen incubator will serve a pressing need locally."This is a blatant need that is not being filled," Bennett says.Although the kitchen is only used occasional to prepare meals for senior citizens, she sees lots of aspiring cooks taking advantage of the space as long as there is someone there to follow through on the vision. Bennett knows that person is her and she thinks it won't be hard because a number of people have shown interest."I hope to have it up and going by the end of the year," Bennett says.For information on the fledgling kitchen incubator click here or send an email to Bennett at vbennett@wccnet.edu.Source: Victoria Bennett, academic associate with Washtenaw Community CollegeWriter: Jon Zemke
No posers, please. Ann Arbor holds tight to its illustrious yoga history, but it's no longer a one-guru town. Vinyasa. Iyengar. Russa Yog. With nearly 16 million Americans now practicing some form of yoga, The Deuce has established quite a following, with over 40 studios to choose from.
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