Country musician Aaron Tippin is expected to bring his guitar when he visits the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor Sunday morning ahead of his sold-out concert at Eastern Michigan University.

Strumming a few tunes for veterans, Tippin will help the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System kick off a week-long series of events to celebrate the National Salute to Veterans Week.

At different times on Monday, special guests visiting the hospital will include U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and the University of Michigan baseball team.

On Wednesday, the U-M track and field team plans to visit. And on Friday, Coach Mike Hart and the Eastern Michigan University football team will visit.

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley will visit patients at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System at 2 p.m. Monday as part of the 35th annual National Salute to Veterans Week.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com file photo

"We really try to make it a special week," said Katy Nustad, executive assistant to the director of the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Between its main hospital at 2215 Fuller Road in Ann Arbor and three other community-based outpatient clinics — in Flint, Toledo and Jackson — the system saw nearly 57,000 veteran patients in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

Visits totaled 504,542, up 11 percent.

Nustad said the number of veterans coming through the doors grew another 7 percent in the first quarter of this fiscal year, so the growth hasn't stopped.

"We're really doing a lot of outreach, so perhaps that's helping," said Derek Atkinson, public affairs officer for the VA. "We do a lot of events when units get back from deployment. We actually go out to where they're at and get them signed up for benefits."

The National Salute to Veterans celebration happens every year during the week of Valentine's Day and every VA medical center throughout the country participates.

"It's an opportunity to invite folks into our medical centers to spend some time with our veterans and learn a little bit about what we do and the health care we provide," Atkinson said.

"And we also try to promote volunteerism within the VA at the same time," he added. "It's a big week for outreach and just for letting folks know what we do."

Atkinson said the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System has a nearly 1,000 volunteers that perform all kinds of tasks ranging from taking veterans to their appointments to serving on committees.

"We're inviting folks into the facility to come and visit the veterans, but there's also a lot of veterans who don't know about us and don't know we're here for them," Atkinson said, encouraging veterans to call 734-769-7100 to get enrolled in VA health care benefits.

Due to the growing number of veterans coming in for care and rising staffing levels to meet those demands, VA officials said in 2011 they were planning a new parking garage next to the hospital on Fuller Road. The hospital had 2,163 employees at the time, counting full-time and part-time.

"It is still in the works," Nustad said of the parking garage on Friday. "I do know that it is in process. Our veterans need to park on site. We need to make it as easy for them as we can."

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.

Huron's Taylor Johnson, right, gets trapped by the Pioneer defense Friday.

Joseph Tobianski | AnnArbor.com

If you haven’t voted yet in our AnnArbor.com Game of the Week poll, youre running out of time.

Games Feb. 19-22 mark the last week of the girls basketball regular season and the second-to-last week of the boys basketball regular season. And our new poll for games during that week features five new games to choose from.

The slate includes three SEC Red games: Huron at Skyline, Temperance Bedford at Pioneer and Skyline at Pioneer. As of Saturday, all four are still in the race for the SEC Red title.

We’ve also got an SEC White boys matchup with Lincoln at Dexter -- Lincoln won the first matchup on a buzzer beater -- and an SEC White girls matchup in Chelsea at Lincoln.

Note that we have four boys games and one girls games in this poll largely because Friday, Feb. 22 is SEC girls crossover night, and the matchups for those games won’t be finalized until after Tuesday night’s games are done.

The poll will remain open until noon Saturday.

Believe it or not, Daylight Saving Time is only a month away and despite Saturday's perfect conditions for pond hockey, spring will be here before we know it.

Sophie Wegryn age 6 and her mom Ann get some air as they sled in Rolling Hills County Park in Ypsilanti Township.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

To help you get your downhill thrills, we've compiled the following map of some long-time favorite sledding destinations around the county.

Did we leave your preferred hill out from the map? Tell us in the comments below and we'll add it in.

Related: Can you build the best snowman in Ann Arbor? Share your photo today.

View Best Sledding Hills Around Ann Arbor in a larger map

The King's Singers

Indeed, they're perhaps the most versatile of all of the a capella vocal groups, with a repertoire that ranges from church music and classical compositions to jazz standards to meticulously-crafted vocal arrangements of pop songs—which cover the ground from the Beatles to Adele and most points in between.

As a result, they're also one of the world's most celebrated vocal ensembles, with a discography that includes more than 150 recordings, and a performance schedule of about 120 shows per year, all over the world.

When they group comes to Ann Arbor on Thursday, they'll mostly be singing sacred songs, performed at St. Francis of Asisi Catholic Chuch. The concert is being presented by the University Musical Society.

The first section of the program, "Pater Noster," which is about 50 minutes long, will consist of songs from their latest recording of the same name, which is subtitled "A Choral Reflection on the Lord's Prayer." The pieces were drawn from a period of a few hundred years, and were composed by a range of historic composers, from Heinrich Schutz, Francis Poulenc and Igor Stravinsky to William Byrd, Henry Purcell and Leonard Bernstein.

The "Pater Noster" album and concert pay homage to what is obviously one of the most important texts in the Christian liturgy, and one that inspired all of these composers to musically interpret its text in various languages.

Besides Bruerton, the group includes bass Jonathan Howard, baritone Christopher Gabbitas, tenor Paul Phoenex, and countertenors David Hurley and Timothy Wayne-Wright.

The "Pater Noster" program is especially close to the hearts of the group members, because, historically, members of The King's Singers have been singers whose musical educations date back to their childhoods, singing in church choirs.

"Over the decades, most of the singers in this group have been church choristers since they were very young," says Bruerton by phone from his current home in Oxford, England. "Coming from a church-music background, we grew up with many of these pieces, so we feel a very strong connection to this music.

The "Pater Noster" album was the first one that Bruerton recorded with the group, "so it also has extra special meaning for me. I'm sure all of the guys can remember their first album with the group.

"It really is a lovely program," enthuses Bruerton. "And the music is glorious. Most of these composers were devout Christians who were creating these songs to praise God, so there's a great deal of passion in the music. And it really takes you on this wonderful journey through the centuries, and through different languages and styles of writing.

"They're very beautiful works, and many of them were initially written to be performed by larger choirs, so to hear them sung by just six voices gives many of them a chamber-music feel, and makes the music even more intimate." Adding to the intimacy is the fact that the Ann Arbor performance is in a church and not a concert hall.

But even though The King's Singers members have historically received their initial vocal training in the church—and many of them have gone on to earn music degrees at prestigious Brit universities—they revel in weaving those pop, jazz and folk styles into the mix.

"Some of us have been music teachers, so we taught other styles of music, and some of us have also been professional singers in other contexts before joining the group, and we all love different kinds of music," says Bruerton, who was previously a high-school music teacher and a member of a percussion ensemble, in addition to being a professional singer.

"For example, I love reggae, and the Beatles, and jazz standards, and soul music, and all of the members of the group have very eclectic musical tastes—we just love music," enthuses Bruerton. "We enjoy the breadth of styles, which keeps things fresh, and which has also given us a repertoire of about 3000 songs or musical pieces to draw from. Someone could conceivably come and hear the King's Singers 50 times over the years and hear a different program each time."

The group is also known for injecting wry and / or droll humor into their performances. For example, when they travel to a non-English-speaking country, they introduce the songs in the language of their host country, even though they may not be fluent in that language. "So sometimes our pronunciations may not be so great, and our attempts can be comical, and the audience likes that we made the effort," he says.

They also perform songs that have comedic texts, like one group of songs based on English "nonsense limericks" that were translated into Italian. Another piece, Bruerton notes, is a Greek translation of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," in which the vocal parts morph into the various animal sounds: "That one always gets some laughs."

Kevin Ransom is a freelance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com.

Jennifer Willox has been receiving singing Valentines from the Huron Valley Harmonizers for several years. Her husband Iain sings with the group.

"I always look forward to a very handsome quartet coming out to my work," Willox said. "I usually grab a few extra folks to go upstairs with me. I sit in a large chair while being serenaded and I try to keep eye contact with each of my suitors."

HVH has been offering Valentine's Day performances for about 15 years, said William Stutts, Jr., the group's assistant director.

"Out of the days of the barber shop calendar, this is one of my favorites," he said. "You get reactions and you get people who’ve possibly never heard barbershop before. It’s really kind of awesome."

The Huron Valley Harmonizers in 2012.

AnnArbor.com file photo

Each year, people arrange for HVH to send barbershop quartets to serenade their loved ones, often at work or at restaurants over dinner. The quartet sings two songs and delivers a rose with a card.

Stutts said the performances tend to be pretty emotional.

“Sometimes people have a very visceral response," Stutts said. "...We get a spectrum of emotion that happens. Of course, usually the places that we sing at, there are other women who are around and they tend to get teary eyed."

HVH asks for $50 for each performance and all proceeds help fund the group. Customers can also pay $25 for a quartet to sing two songs over the phone, or send a video of the serenade to customers with Apple iMessaging.

Last year, they had 17 in-person gigs, Stutts said. This year, they're hoping for 30.

The service is offered between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Valentine's Day and customers are asked to designate a 4-hour window of time during which the Valentine can be delivered. If a more specific window is necessary, they can adjust rates to accommodate needs.

HVH will send quartets anywhere within 50 miles of downtown Ann Arbor. However, Stutts said the group can outsource valentines to other a cappella groups via the nationally organized Singing Valentines website.

The repertoire of songs to choose from includes "Let Me Call You Sweetheart,""Heart of My Heart," and "Love Me Tender". Additionally, one of the quartets in HVH offers "You Are So Beautiful" and "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You." If a couple is engaged, they also may request, "Sweet and Lovely."

The Valentines are arranged through HVH's website.

Ryan Aridi and Graham Northrup of Dexter's B team wait for a question during round 5 of the Great Lakes National Ocean Sciences Bowl held at the University of Michigan on Saturday.

Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com

Dexter High School Senior Andrew Schwartz is fascinated by coral reefs.

"Coral reefs have the potential to significantly contribute to the pharmaceutical and food industries around the world," said Schwartz. "They have the greatest density of biolife on the planet."

Schwartz is a member of Dexter High School's Ocean Bowl team that competed Saturday at the Great Lakes Bowl located at the Dana Building off Church Street on the University of Michigan campus.

It's one of the 25 regional competitions across the U.S. where high school students are testing their knowledge in math and science related to ocean and Great Lakes biology, chemistry, physics, history and economics.

"I'm good in geography and with marine policy," said Schwartz, who credits his mom with convincing him to join Dexter's team a few years ago. Now it's Dexter science teacher and Ocean Bowl team co-advisor Cheryl Wells who gets the credit for keeping Schwartz interested in the club.

"I am very fortunate to have been able to coach this club for the past 16 years," said Wells, who co-advises the club with science teacher Beau Kimmey and has won a number of regional bowls and competed in several finals.

"We have guest moderators and use computers, selected reading and resources suggested by the National Ocean Sciences Bowl."

Dexter's team meets several days a week after school in the fall, and in the last few months has been meeting every day after school.

There are 16 teams competing at the Great Lakes Bowl including two other schools from Washtenaw County: Huron High School and Greenhills High School. Each team has four members and one alternate, some schools have a B team, and all teams compete in quiz-bowl style rounds that include challenge questions.

"I like the sciences and this is a way of putting them all together," said David Barbehenn, a senior and member of Greenhills' team.

"This gives you the experience of being on a team, teaches you skills and knowledge, and that science can be fun," said Allison Hogikyan, also a senior on the Greenhills team.

Huron High School team members faced off against the Roseville team in one round this morning. The two teams competed to be the first to buzz in with the correct answer, under the guidance of a judge, a moderator, a time keeper and a score keeper. Teams also answered written questions that were submitted to Ocean Bowl central where graduate students and other volunteers graded answers on a 20-point scale.

"The bowl is quite different than in previous years in that the national theme is the Great Lakes," said Kevin Keeler, regional co-coordinator and graduate student at the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment.

Keeler says that the goal of the competition is to increase the knowledge and awareness of oceanography and marine policy for students who might not normally be exposed to the topics, and that many NOSB coaches believe that participating in the clubs and bowls encourage some students to pursue related careers.

"I am happy to report that many of Dexter's graduates continue their love and appreciation of Oceanography by taking related courses in college, working in marine bio labs, interning with summer camps specializing in outdoor science education and continuing with their graduate work in marine science," said Wells.

Top finishers Saturday were Greenhills A team. Dexter's B team came in second and Dexter's A team came in third.

They will receive cash prizes and trophies, and the winning team receives a paid trip to compete in the NOSB finals, which takes place this year from April 18-21 in Milwaukee. National prizes have included visits to research laboratories, cruises on aquatic research vessels, and computer hardware and software for the winning team's school.

Feb. 21 will mark my 30th anniversary as a radio host, with those first 23 years at WDET-FM in Detroit and the subsequent seven right here on ann arbor’s 107one (WQKL-FM).

While I love and respect the past, I have to admit I focus far too much on what’s new, musically speaking. I sometimes feel like a shark in that respect, always on the lookout for fresh auditory food, if you’ll forgive that tortuous analogy. But I’ll admit I’ve been getting pretty nostalgic as I look back at my first year as a DJ, when all we had in 1983 were turntables for playing tunes and (believe it or not) 8-track cartridges for playing pre-recorded promotional and underwriting announcements.

So in the spirit of Marcel Proust’s "Remembrance of Things Past," here are 30 significant events I witnessed, took part in, listened to—or all of the above—in that magical year of 1983. You better believe I was playing music on the radio by all the artists I was seeing in concert back then, just as I do now.

As the song “Transmission” by Joy Division implores: “Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance to the radio.”

1. 2/21: Ralph Valdez and I became permanent hosts of the Dimension program on WDET-FM. The program was founded and originally hosted by musician Charles Moore, a jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player who appeared on the MC5’s third album “High Time.”

2. 2/27: Gang of Four play in Windsor, Ontario.

3. 3/4: Boy George’s Culture Club play at Detroit’s St. Andrew’s Hall.

4. 3/20: Boston’s Mission of Burma play at Detroit’s City Club.

5. 3/25: The Birthday Party, featuring singer-songwriter Nick Cave, play at Traxx in Detroit. The show reminded me of a multi-vehicle car accident. Loud, scary, even horrifying at times, but I couldn’t look away.

6. 3/29: Lene Lovich (of “Lucky Number” fame) plays at Bookie’s in Detroit.

7. 4/10: The English Beat, with opening act R.E.M. (!) play at the Grand Circus Theatre (now the Detroit Opera House).

8. 4/13: David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” album comes out in stores.

9. 4/15: The Stranglers play at St. Andrew’s Hall in support of their new album “Feline.”

10. 4/11: The Fall, led by the irascible vocalist Mark E. Smith, play at Traxx.

11. 4/24: Martha and the Muffins play at St. Andrew’s.

12. 5/2: New Order’s “Power, Corruption & Lies” album is released.

13. 5/7: Simple Minds play at St. Andrew’s.

14. 5/9: Ralph and I raise a whopping $1,080 during our first fundraising show at WDET.

15. 5/13: Lydia Lunch at the Red Carpet in Detroit.

Martin Bandyke with Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music.

17. 6/6: Talking Heads release “Speaking in Tongues.”

18. 7/2: Ralph and I interview New Order behind St. Andrew’s Hall before their first-ever concert in Detroit.

19. 7/22: Eurythmics play at the Ritz.

20. 7/29: The Police at Joe Louis Arena.

21. 7/31: Peter Gabriel plays at Pine Knob.

22. 8/5: The Gun Club plays at Paycheck’s.

23. 8/11: Talking Heads play at Pine Knob.

24. 8/23: Elvis Costello and the Attractions play at Pine Knob.

25. 8/25: The Stickmen play at Joe’s Star Lounge.

26. 10/14 Magazine’s Howard Devoto plays at St. Andrew’s Hall.

27. 11/7: The Rolling Stones’ “Undercover” album is released.

28. 11/17: Jim Carroll performs at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

29. 11/14: Hunters & Collectors play at Todd’s in Detroit.

30. 12/3: Pere Ubu’s David Thomas plays at St. Andrew’s Hall.

And speaking of New Order, I'll interview the band's bassist Peter Hook on my 30th anniversary program. That'll be February 21 from 6-10am on ann arbor's 107one. Thanks for listening all these years!

• Related:

Jari Brown became a high school football head coach for the first time this week, and he knows he’s taking over a program that isn’t exactly in need of a rebuild.

Jari Brown

Ann Arbor News file photo

Brown was hired at Pioneer High School Wednesday, where he inherits a program that is coming off back-to-back Southeastern Conference Red Division titles and back-to-back playoff appearances. The Pioneers were 16-7 in the last two seasons.

“It’s a program with such rich tradition, for me right now it’s a transition to where I’m moving in and you’re not really starting over, you’re building off of what they already have there,” Brown said. “They have some great things in there already.”

And along with that rich tradition comes expectations.

“I knew the expectations are high, but we’re definitely up for that challenge,” Brown said.

Brown has the opportunity to take over a winning program due to the departure of Paul Test, who resigned in early December. Both Test and former Huron coach Cory Gildersleeve resigned after an on-field brawl between the two schools, meaning Brown will be one of two new head coaches in Ann Arbor next fall.

Since playing at Eastern Michigan from 1999-2002, Brown has spent every season as an assistant in Washtenaw County. After one season at Lincoln, he spent five at Huron, the last two as defensive coordinator.

Before leading the Huron defense, Brown led the junior varsity team in 2006, where he said he first got the urge to become a head coach.

“After that year I felt the impact that I had, it was a great experience,” Brown said. “We had a winning season and we had a great time. Just to see all that kind of stuff transpire, at that point I realized I wanted to be a head coach.”

The last four seasons, Brown has coached at Chelsea, working primarily with the defensive line and also doing film work.

During that time, he said, his coaching style evolved while learning at Washtenaw County’s most consistent program, one that has high expectations every year.

“I have higher expectations, and my goal as a head coach is to push everybody to the next level,” Brown said. “I’m really just trying to take everything we have in place and take it to the next level.”

Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com.

The team portion of the MHSAA wrestling postseason began Wednesday with team district competition.

The individual portion of districts took place on Saturday and 33 wrestlers from across Washtenaw County placed in the top four of their respective weight classes, qualifying them for next weekend's regional competition. The top four finishers at individual regionals move on the the individual state championships at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Feb. 28-March 2.

Manchester led the way with 12 out of its 14 wrestlers placing at the Division 3 district at Napoleon High School.

Among the 33 regional qualifiers were six champions: Jordan Markey (Lincoln, 130), Nate O'Sullivan (Saline, 135), Michael Hovater (Chelsea, 189), Zeke Breauninger (Dexter, 112) and Steve Bleise (Chelsea, 135).

Here's how everyone else fared:

Division 1 at Saline

Saline's Nate O'Sullivan, left, and Pioneer's Robert Freter, right, square off at 135 pounds during team district competition on Wednesday, Feb. 6. Both qualified for individual regional competition on Saturday.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com file photo

Second
Alex Cornelius, Saline (152)
Jahi Hilliard, Pioneer (215)

Third
Taylor Ticknow, Saline (112)
Quandre Thomas, Pioneer (140)

Fourth
Billy Cobb Gulley, Pioneer (103)
Keegan Pape, Pioneer (125)
Robert Freter, Pioneer (135)

Division 2 at Mason

Champion
Michael Hovater, Chelsea (189)
Zeke Breauninger, Dexter (112)
Steve Bleise, Chelsea (135)

Second
Zaid Abdellatif, Ypsilanti (285)
Kyle Abdellatif, Ypsilanti (125)
Avery Osentoski, Chelsea (145)

Third
Alex Reich, Dexter (140)

Fourth
Larry Gotcher, Dexter (103)
Tyler Even, Dexter (125)
Nate Miller, Chelsea (125)

Division 2 at Carleton Airport

Third
Ben Fick, Milan (171)

Fourth
Alex Scully, Milan (160)

Division 3 at Napoleon

Champion
Eric Coval, Manchester (145)

Second
Brendan Abrigo, Manchester (103)
Michael Golding, Manchester (160)
Brian Robert, Manchester (285)

Third
Charlie Steffens, Manchester (112)
Brock Vlcek, Manchester (119)
Nick Dettling, Manchester (125)
Corey Johnson, Manchester (130)
Ben Heuser, Manchester (135)
Trevor Humphrey, Manchester (145)
James Schriber, Manchester (160)
Tye Thompson, Manchester (171)

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.

Editor's note: This is the first installment of "Downtown Opportunities," a two-part guest column by University of Michigan professor Doug Kelbaugh, former dean of architecture and urban planning. In this first installment, Kelbaugh offers points to consider as Ann Arbor officials ponder future redevelopment opportunities for four city-owned parking lots downtown. In the second part, Kelbaugh will discuss the potential, as he sees it, for two new public plaza spaces downtown.

Connecting William Street is the DDA study of four city-owned parking lots that are ripe for development. It's very timely as Ann Arbor rides its high quality of life and the information economy to new heights — including downtown building heights.

Most of the city can be "your fathers" Ann Arbor, i.e., leafy and low density. Preserving its beloved character requires keeping its economy flourishing, which means attracting the next generation of knowledge workers, who are more urban.

Fortunately the downtown is coming naturally into the urban century. It may seem counter-intuitive, but the more people who live downtown, the better. It benefits the economy, the environment, climate change, municipal services and infrastructure, not to mention social and public health.

Doug Kelbaugh

Remarkably, in Ann Arbor you can approach a perfect Walk Score of 100, which means everything you want or need is within a short stroll. (Type in your address at walkscore.com, and covet our 98 “Walker’s Paradise” score as residents of the Armory downtown.)

You're in quick walking and biking distance of world-class venues and destinations. And most households can manage with one car, saving of money, hassle and parking space. You can get more done in a day; there's less "overhead" in compact urban lifestyles.

There are other benefits of downtown living, such as the fiscal bounce to the city, which can more easily provide municipal services, as well as maintain a more compact infrastructure. There's a less automobile dependence and higher transit ridership, which cuts AA's energy/carbon footprint and reduces traffic. And there's a vibrant sidewalk life, for all ages and tastes, supporting and feeding off of downtown culture and commerce while building a cosmopolitan community.

So, for starters, the city should prioritize residential development over office space on these four lots. We have plenty of workers downtown — too many come the 5 o'clock rush hour! - but not enough permanent residents. We need as broad a demographic mix as possible — rich, poor and in-between, with a healthy ethnic, racial, age and size mix of households — and, like central cities the world over, some families with children. Downtown can be a 24/7 neighborhood as well as a central business district.

This student project shows three hypothetical towers on the city-owned Kline Lot at Ashley and William, with a plaza separating the market-rate residential tower fronting William Street from the moderate-income residential tower to the north. The third tower is proposed as the most affordable housing.

Courtesy of Doug Kelbaugh

Don't rule out a hotel, as the market may want one, which would help activate the plaza day and night with public and private events like banquets and weddings. And require LEED-certified buildings with solar and green roofs and walls, as well as high-quality architecture.

Our downtown already has lively streets, none better than our prized Main Street. What we lack is true urban plazas — outdoor living rooms for both spontaneous and programmed activities that break and enrich the linear rhythm of our sidewalks. Two small ones would be enough for a downtown of our size. If they're too spacious or too open to the street, they can be too windswept, noisy and empty much of the time. They need a sense of enclosure, with user-friendly buildings on at least three sides that open onto the space, with people and wares spilling into the public realm.

These buildings should not overshadow the space, which want to be sunny as much of the day and year as possible to entice activity, whether art shows in summer or ice sculptures in winter. There are two wonderful possibilities for this kind of plaza in downtown.

As Dennis Serras puts it, operating a successful restaurant for 37 years in Ann Arbor is no easy task.

From menu changes to infrastructure improvements, Serras said it takes a close eye — and big investments — to continue attracting customers.

The Real Seafood Company restaurant is getting a facelift this year after 37 years in Ann Arbor.

File photo

That’s why the Real Seafood Company at 341 S. Main St. will undergo major renovations this year.

“If you want a place to last 37 years, you better stay up with it,” he said. “We don’t just take out (of our restaurants), we put back into them to maintain that success.”

Serras, a partner in Mainstreet Ventures, opened Real Seafood in 1975. The company now operates 16 restaurants in various states, including Ann Arbor’s Gratzi, Carson’s, Palio, The Chop House and La Dolce Vita.

Serras said Mainstreet Ventures typically remodels restaurants every five years, with major renovations every 10 years. The 7,200-square-foot Real Seafood restaurant last received a major remodel about a decade ago, he said.

“We’ve probably remodeled five or six restaurants in the last eight months,” he said.

The phased renovation approach at Real Seafood started last year when the bathrooms were completely replaced. Now, some of the building’s infrastructure — like the air conditioning units — are being replaced. Next on the agenda: replacing the entire bar.

Renovations at Real Seafood include replacing the carpet and fabrics and installing a new bar.

File photo

“We’re going to tear the bar out and put in a new bar and service bar,” Serras said. “The bar is old and there’s some decay.”

Next year, Serras intends to spruce up the dining room, recarpet and replace fabrics. In total, he said the cost would be “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

The restaurant will remain open during the renovations and Serras said there shouldn’t be too much disruption to customers.

Part of the restaurant remodels also includes studying the menu and determining what changes need to be made.

“Every year we sit down with the management and the chef and all that and go over their ideas,” he said. “We constantly try to keep the menus up on trends, and certain trends come and go.”

Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.

Truven Health Analytics is headquartered at the 777 Building, one of Ann Arbor's largest office spaces.

Dan Brenner | AnnArbor.com

The company, whose name is a combination of the words "truth" and "proven," helps organizations including employers, hospitals and the government analyze health care data and look for opportunities for performance improvement.

Jon Newpol has been working in health analytics in Ann Arbor for 18 years. He is currently executive vice president of Truven.

Courtesy Truven Health Analytics

“So we’re right in the bullseye there.”

Truven was created when New York-based private equity firm Veritas Capital acquired the former Thompson Reuters Healthcare Business housed in the 777 Building on Eisenhower Parkway. Before Thompson Reuters, the health analysts at the location had worked for a local company known as MedStat.

At the time of the sale, Thompson Reuters' CEO Thomas Glocer said the devision was "growing and profitable" but "lack[ed] the integration with and global scale of our other untis." Veritas purchased the devision for $1.25 billion.

After the sales and name changes, Newpol said the core functionality of the company has remained the same.

"We were very much a self-reliant unit," he said.

"We relied on Thompson Reuters for corporate infrastructure, their data center, and management information systems tools, but the people and all of the work we do with our customers was already in the unit. Separating out I don’t want to say was real easy, but generally was not too hard."

Newpol said that since June the company has grown from about 715 employees to the current 730, but that the small increase belies the amount of change that has been occurring.

“We actually did a significant amount of local hiring in 2012,” he said.

“There’s a lot of work that we do that is project based. Some of that was coming to an end so it’s natural for staff changeover to happen when you get into that… Our more recently hiring has been more long-term than project based.”

The health analytics firm headquartered in Ann Arbor employs about 2,000 people internationally with major offices in Chicago, Denver, and Durham, North Carolina. Newpol said hiring decisions are often made regardless of geography.

“I can’t say exactly how many we will hire here in Ann Arbor because location is not our top concern,” he said.

“We have a significant number of positions open though and this is a big important location for us and it gets fair preference organizationally if we can bring people here.”

Newpol said the company is looking to hire new employees with a range of expertise, including data management, software engineering and health care analytics.

Truven's website lists 41 job openings in Ann Arbor that range from administrative assistant to vice president of clinical analytics.

“The things we’re capitalizing on now is that there is more of a long-term change in the system,” he said.

“The benefits exchanges as well as other systematic changes are coming, and we’re evolving to meet those customer needs.”

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Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. You can sign up here to receive Business Review updates every week. Reach out to Ben at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2

Walid Dimo, owner of Dimo's Deli and Donuts on West Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor, plans to make nearly 9,000 paczki.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

“I call them cholesterol tablets,” said Dimo, owner of the business on West Stadium Boulevard. “But they are so freaking good.”

Customers from Ann Arbor and the surrounding area will cast caloric caution to the wind Tuesday as they sink their teeth into thousands of the heavy pillows of fried dough overstuffed with prune, custard, raspberry and other fillings.

Dimo is one of a handful of local bakers who will pump out thousands of paczki, which can pack more than 400 calories each, while still more food emporiums will import them from out of town. Either way, customers eager for this Fat Tuesday treat will queue up all all day and spend between $1 and $3 on this annual indulgence before the beginning of Lent.

Washtenaw County residents are expected to snatch up thousands of paczki on Tuesday.

From MLive.com

For some local bakeries, it’s the busiest day of the year.

Dimo has been making paczki for 40 years when he worked at his parent’s doughnut shop. This year, Dimo expects to make close to 9,000 paczki. “I’ll sell every one I make,” he said.

He’ll bring in five extra staff members and will begin making them at 8 a.m. Monday. His shop will be packed, he said. “It is controlled chaos. It will be loud. People will be freaking out, worried that they won’t get any. People will walk out with three or four dozen at a time.”

Paczki sales in southeast Michigan took off in the 1970s when radio personality J.P. McCarthy mentioned them on his show, Dimo said.

Tuesday is also expected to be the busiest day of the year for the Dexter Bakery, said owner Karen Dudek. The 98-year-old bakery will make between 3,600 and 4,800 paczki in round-the-clock baking that begins early Monday. “A lot of former employees come in to help. They love paczki,” she said. The bakery sells nine flavors, from prune (the most traditional and least popular) to raspberry and custard (the most popular).

Copernicus European Delicatessen on South Main Street has ordered 7,000 paczki from a baker in Windsor, said co-owner Elizabeth Magiera. Unlike grocery store paczki that sit on the shelf for a week, they’re fresh and arrive still warm, she said. The deli opens at 6 a.m. on Paczki Day to catch the crowd headed to work.

This will be the third year Zingerman’s Bakehouse has thrown its paczki hat into the ring, making four flavors, including rose hip and ricotta cheese. Zingerman's limit, without adding more equipment, is 2,400 paczki, said Sara Richardson, marketing manager. Last year they sold out by 10 a.m.

The Bakehouse, which delivers some of its stash to the Roadhouse and Zingerman’s Deli, bowed to pressure three years ago. “Every year, we would get calls asking if we made paczki. An employee at the time was passionate about doughnuts. And one of the owners is passionate about doughnuts.” Still, the bakery only makes them once a year.

While it's likely no surprise that the bakehouse would be making and selling paczki, some might find it unusual for a tiny sandwich and hot dog shop to be offering the sweet treats.

It’s tradition, said Kerry Thompson, whose sons own Wise Guys, an Italian beef sandwich and Chicago hot dog shop on Packard Road. When he and his wife, who is Polish Catholic, owned a restaurant 30 years ago, they sold paczki. They used to order them from a Hamtramck bakery until Paczki Day became such a big business that the bakery began making them two weeks ahead and freezing them, Thompson said.

These days, Wise Guys orders them from a local baker — his name is a secret because he doesn’t want to be swamped with more orders — and expects to sell 2,000. Wise Guys will bring on six of seven drivers who will spend the day delivering them, Thompson said.

But they’ll only sell them on Tuesday, Thompson said. “It’s Paczki Day, not Paczki Week or Paczki Month. You don’t eat them Wednesday. You pig out on Tuesday then, at the stroke of midnight, you stop.”

Janet Miller is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com. Contact the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.

Related articles:

• Mayor to ask: Will University of Michigan compensate Ann Arbor for lost property taxes?
• University of Michigan expansion: Buying land in Ann Arbor raises questions about tax base

The University of Michigan has acquired 29 properties in Ann Arbor throughout the past 13 years, according to school records.

Twenty-seven of the properties are within the downtown area and another is the 174-acre North Campus Research Complex, which U-M bought from Pfizer in 2009 for $108 million.

Here's a look at U-M property acquisition in the city over that time:

View University of Michigan property acquisition since 1999 in a larger map

Source for this map: University of Michigan

An aerial image looking north on central campus in Ann Arbor taken on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013.

Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com

Mayor John Hieftje is looking for a "long-term solution" to a long-held problem of the city losing annual revenue each time the University of Michigan buys a property in Ann Arbor.

U-M's tax exempt status is written into Michigan's constitution, so the school is not required to pay property taxes on any of the property it owns.

When U-M purchases property —as it did recently when it purchased the Blimpy Burger property and neighboring parcel for $1.5 million— that land comes off the city's tax rolls, causing a drop in city tax revenue.

Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

"We do need to have a serious conversation about the future of university purchases of land and what that's going to mean about the city long-term," Hieftje said in an interview.

Since 1999, U-M has purchased 29 properties throughout Ann Arbor, including the 174-acre former Pfizer property, which the university has turned into its North Campus Research Complex. When that property was purchased in 2009, 4.8 percent of the city's property tax base essentially disappeared.

"There needs to be a long-term solution. Otherwise it's inevitable that more and more real estate going off the the tax rolls is going to have a negative effect on the city's ability to fund services," Hieftje said.

The school this year has a $6.08 billion budget for its Ann Arbor campus. Hieftje is hoping a sliver of that money could go to the city. He plans to present a proposal to the city council soon, though specifics of the proposal are still being considered, he said.

One option, Hieftje said, would be to craft a proposal that would ask U-M to contribute a lump sum when it purchases property within the city.

Because U-M is tax-exempt, the city can't force U-M to pay a lump sum. It can, however, formally request that the university consider offering payment.

"I could see this building up to a resolution for council asking for a conversation about the issue," Hieftje said.

University of Michigan community relations director Jim Kosteva

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

In a few cities, tax-exempt universities will offer municipalities annual financial assistance in lieu of property taxes. Such programs are called PILOT (payments in lieu of taxes) programs. The payments are usually significantly less than the entity would pay in property taxes if it weren't exempt, but are nonetheless able to alleviate financial stress for municipalities.

For example, Brown University, which owns a physical plant worth more than $1 billion, offers Providence, R.I., a $4 million annual voluntary payment and has committed to give the city another $31.5 million over the course of 11 years. Harvard and Boston University give Boston multimillion dollar payments each year.

It appears that Michigan's other two large research universities, Michigan State University and Wayne State University, do not offer municipalities any form of payment in lieu of taxes.

Over the past two decades, city officials have discussed the possibility of U-M participating in a pilot program. Those conversations have been fruitless, involved parties say.

"It never goes anywhere," said Jane Lumm, an Independent council member.

"My sense is they don't see that as part of their role," Lumm said of the university.

Added Hieftje: "I don't think there's any way that the university will ever participate in a PILOT program. It's written into the constitution that they don't have to pay taxes."

However, offering a one-time payment upon purchasing land could be a less onerous burden than offering an annual payment.

U-M community relations director Jim Kosteva said the university has never seriously considered compensating the city for property tax losses incurred when the school purchases property.

Kosteva said the university has never been formally approached by the council, through a resolution, for compensation, although there have been informal discussions.

"Those topics do come up from time-to-time, but there is a difference between casual conversation and a more formal expression of the mayor or council," Kosteva said.

When asked if the university would be open to somehow paying the city in lieu of taxes, Kosteva replied: "Let's address a resolution or proposal if it is ever formally presented, as opposed to offering any speculation at this time."

City council member Margie Teall, D- 4th Ward, said she'd "welcome seeing" a proposal from Hieftje, although she's unsure whether it would gain traction at the university.

When the city sought financial assistance from U-M in paying for the Stadium bridges renovation, the university declined saying it couldn't use tuition dollars on compensating the city.

The solution instead of a payment: The university did allow the city to build easements on its property.

Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.

An aerial image looking north on central campus in Ann Arbor taken on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013.

Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com

University of Michigan expansion in Ann Arbor means two things: the university is prospering and the city will lose valuable tax revenue for every piece of real estate acquired to support the growth.

The school has acquired 29 properties in Ann Arbor throughout the past 13 years, according to U-M records.

U-M officials say the university's expanding footprint helps businesses and allows it to employ more people and strengthen Ann Arbor's economy - but city officials say it's hard to ignore the impact on the city when acres of land go off the tax rolls.

As a public university, U-M is exempt from paying property taxes.

On the one hand, the $108 million purchase was assurance the property would not sit vacant for years as Pfizer sought a buyer. As thousands lost their jobs, U-M promised the site would facilitate the creation of hundreds of new positions. Yet the purchase meant 4.8 percent of the city's tax base was taken away. Pfizer paid the city $4.1 million in taxes in 2008.

"The truth is we want people there, but is the boost to the businesses across the street significant enough to offset that [loss in revenue]?" city council member Sabra Briere, D-1st Ward, asked recently.

With ebbs and flows, similar debates have played out for decades as the university purchases property in Ann Arbor.

The university owns 2.39 of the city's 28.55 square miles as of October 2012, according to city assessor Dave Petrak. That's about 8.4 percent of the city's land area.

University of Michigan is expanding its Institute of Social Research building, located at 426 Thompson St, in Ann Arbor, using property it has acquired since 1999.

Courtney Sacco I AnnArbor.com

The figures are more dramatic when considering downtown Ann Arbor. The university owns 22 percent of the downtown acreage, or 42 acres out of the 191 acres that aren't considered public right of way, according to the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.

Of the 29 properties U-M has purchased in Ann Arbor since 1999, 27 are downtown.

"It's inevitable that if the university continues to purchase property, that is going to have an effect on the city," said Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje. "If you keep buying a few properties every year, they add up."

Strategic growth

Downtown acquisitions are strategic: Since 1999, most have been clustered near Wall Street; the area that transitions the Old Fourth Ward to health system property near Glen and Ann; along South Division Street between Packard and East William streets; and near the law school.

"We very seldom purchase property," U-M Chief Financial Officer Timothy Slottow said in an interview after the school's Board of Regents approved the $1.5 million purchase of the Blimpy Burger property and adjacent parcel at 551 S. Division St. in December.

"When we do purchase property, it is for a very specific mission-driven purpose or it is very strategically located," Slottow continued. "It's always nice when you're the size that we are if you have some opportunity to build a building on your core site, and we are basically land-constrained on central campus."

An aerial image looking down over a section of S. Division between E. Jefferson and E. Madison taken on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013. U-M purchased the Blimpy Burger property and neighboring parcel, located at 549 S. Division St., for $1.5 million in December.

Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com

The school has also embarked in billions of dollars worth of construction in the past decade, building a 1.1 million square-foot children's hospital, the 10-story North Quad residence hall and learning complex, a state-of-the-art business school and multiple parking garages, among dozens of other projects.

In a state filing, the university reported owning buildings totaling 33.56 million square feet within the city in 2011, according to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Slottow has reported that, as of June 2012, the Ann Arbor campus comprises 34 million square feet of building area.

In 2004, U-M reported owning buildings totaling 26.85 million square feet.

In Ann Arbor Township, U-M reported owning buildings totaling about 611,000 square feet in 2011, up from the 441,900 reported in 2004. Throughout greater Ann Arbor, U-M owns 3,244 acres of land.

The school's Ann Arbor properties are worth $5.1 billion, according to U-M spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald.

The city of Ann Arbor's tax base is less than that. In fiscal 2011-12, the city had a taxable value of $4.68 billion, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury, and collected $76.5 million in property taxes.

Is it sustainable?

"I've grown up in Ann Arbor and I've seen the changes over the years - and while they are small, incremental purchases, just in my lifetime they add up pretty substantially. My concern is not so much with the short-term," said council member Stephen Kunselman, D- Ward 3, who wants the university to focus on "building up" instead of building out.

"What does that mean for the future of Ann Arbor if the university keeps growing? What is it going to be 150 years from now? It's going to be the city of the University of Michigan."

John Hieftje says University of Michigan is reducing Ann Arbor's tax base when it buys property in the city.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

Roughly 40 percent of the city's land is non-taxable, and the two largest tax-exempt entities are city parks and U-M, said Hieftje. The city has no estimate for the revenue it loses due to U-M's tax exempt status, but the amount is well into the eight-figure range.

Hieftje says the "constant drip" of taxable properties becoming non-taxable will continue to whittle away at the city's revenue base, possibly creating future hardships for the city.

"It's really obvious that the university brings great things to our city: jobs, the arts..." he said. "But it's also obvious that the university doesn't pay taxes, and that's just the way it is at public universities. If they continue to purchase properties the tax base will be reduced."

'One is good for the other'

University officials contend the school's growth, and subsequent effect on the city's finances, is minimized by the economic stability U-M brings to Ann Arbor by providing employment and admitting thousands of students, which in turn boosts local housing, restaurants and businesses.

"As the university grows, so do the businesses, so does the housing market, so does Ann Arbor. One is good for the other," U-M regent Andrea Fischer Newman said in an interview after a December Board of Regents meeting.

"Arguably, if there wasn't a university here, the community might not be here that the university supports."

From 2002 to 2012 the university added 9,200 jobs in Ann Arbor. U-M has roughly 41,700 full-time employees in Ann Arbor.

Though the lion's share of property taxes are shouldered by single-family homeowners, many of those homeowners are employed by the university.

"The presence of the university really does buffer our economy in rough times," offered city council member Sally Peterson, D-2nd Ward.

Using figures from the Michigan Department of Treasury, U-M community relations director Jim Kosteva compared the fluctuations in Ann Arbor's taxable value during and after the economic downturn with the taxable values of properties of comparable communities in the state.

From 2008 to 2012 eight cities —including Dearborn, Farmington Hills, Livonia, Sterling Heights, Troy, Warren, Lansing and Grand Rapids— on average lost 23 percent of their taxable value. Ann Arbor, on the other hand, lost 4.4 percent of its taxable value.

Meanwhile, before the recession, from 2001 to 2008 those eight communities had a 25 percent growth rate in their taxable value. During that period Ann Arbor experienced a 43 percent growth rate.

Jim Kosteva

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

"There's a relationship there," said Kosteva. "When an employer in the area does have that kind of job growth it's going to have the positive effect that it's had in terms of local property values."

He added: "The university consistently demonstrates its value as a significant asset to the community."

When compared with four other college towns in Michigan, Ann Arbor fared well. While it lost 4.4 percent of its taxable value from 2008 to 2012, Kalamazoo and East Lansing lost between 12 and 15 percent of their taxable value. Ms. Pleasant and Marquette both gained value, 2.3 percent and 11.2 percent respectively.

In a few cities, tax-exempt universities will offer municipalities annual payments in lieu of property taxes. For example, Brown University, which owns a physical plant worth more than $1 billion, offers Providence, R.I., a $4 million annual voluntary payment and has committed to give the city another $31.5 million over the course of 11 years. Harvard and Boston University voluntarily give Boston multimillion dollar payments each year.

Over the past two decades, city officials have considered formally asking U-M to offer voluntary compensation in lieu of property taxes. Those discussions have been fruitless, involved parties say.

'Support each other better'

Briere says that once the university began consistently expanding about 25 years ago, beginning when James Duderstadt was president of the school from 1988 to 1996, tensions between the school and the city increased.

"The biggest issue is the university responds to a completely different set of laws than the rest of us, and because the university doesn't have to follow the city of Ann Arbor's resolutions, they only have to deal with Ann Arbor when they are using a right-of-way," Briere said.

"We can try to hold the most ridiculous things up as leverage, like how big an awning is, but it's terrible leverage. It's not something that makes anybody feel proud."

The University of Michigan plans to build a parking garage in this parking lot, pictured here on February 8, across the street form the Kellogg Eye Center on Wall Street.

Courtney Sacco I AnnArbor.com

Though acknowledging tensions, Hieftje said the current town-gown relationship in Ann Arbor is at an all-time high.

"Historically speaking, the city and university relationship is probably more cordial right now than it's ever been," he said, explaining that the staff of the entities work well together. He also noted collaboration between the city and university on economic development and cited Ann Arbor SPARK as an example.

"This is a whole new level of cooperation that exists today, [developed] in the last ten years or so, that wasn't ever here before." Hieftje said. "The university has really stepped up to the plate on tech transfer and working to keep businesses here."

Petersen said there exists "a lack of a cooperative relationship between the city and the university at the highest levels. Hieftje agreed said such tensions "are a given" and have existed throughout the university and city's history.

"There’s probably some resentment among those in the city toward the university because they don’t have to pay taxes and they don't have to abide by our local ordinances," Peterson said.

Such resentment rises to the surface when residents feel helpless to stay changes to their neighborhoods due to university development.

A group of residents that live along Wall Street, for example, are frustrated by the imminent construction of a parking garage near their homes. Since 1999 the university has purchased seven properties along the Wall Street corridor in Lower Town and added an addition to the Kellogg Eye Center located on the street. University master plans indicate the eventual construction of two garages on that corridor.

Residents who live along Plymouth Road, near the intersection of Huron Parkway, were recently angered when the university installed a 2.4-acre solar panel array without first notifying the nearby community or holding a public meeting.

"We are very, very fortunate to have them here," city council member Jane Lumm, an independent representing the city's 2nd Ward, said of the university.

"There's no doubt about it and I won't dispute that one iota. But by the same token, there are so many ways we could support each other better."

Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.

Cleary's Pub is open again in Chelsea after undergoing a quick but noticeable renovation this week.

The 22-year-old downtown pub has been rejuvenated and is sporting a whole new look from the floor to the bar.

A new granite bar was installed this week at Cleary's Pub in Chelsea.

Lisa Carolin | For AnnArbor.com

According to co-owner Meg Boomer, "We gutted out the building and redid the front face."

The pub closed on Sunday, February 3, when workers began the challenging task of replacing carpeting, wood floors, building some new walls and putting in a new bar, just to name a few of the changes that the owners set out to do in less than a week's time.

The purpose: "We've been here over 20 years and it was time to freshen it up," said Boomer.

Additional changes include moving the front door, installing new lighting, adding new booths and buying new chairs.

"We're still putting the finishing touches on it," said Joan Cleary, one of the pub's co-owners, who was referring to putting up some wood on a back wall and hanging pictures. "We wanted to spruce things up."

She did not give a cost estimate for the work.

Customers on Saturday were being treated to all the aesthetic changes along with entertainment in the evening from musician Tommy Foster. The pub's menu - which includes burgers and sandwiches - remains the same, along with the restaurant's signature selection of draft beers.

Cleary's, which is located at 113 S. Main St. in downtown Chelsea, was established in 1991 and is still owned by its founders, siblings Patrick Cleary, Joan Cleary and Boomer.

Fabulous Thunderbirds publicity photo

Harmonica great Kim Wilson and some of his friends got together at the Michigan Theater on Saturday to remember two giants of the blues, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.

And the jam session that ensued did the two pioneers proud. Wilson and his Fabulous Thunderbirds—as well as blues veterans Tinsley Ellis, James Cotton, Jody Williams and Bob Margolin—treated fans to nearly three hours of the blues, as well as a handful of memories of Waters and Wolf, neither of whom was a stranger fo Ann Arbor.

“Ann Arvor is always a favorite in blues history, because of the wonderful festival you had here, “ said Margolin, a guitarist, who appeared with Waters at the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival during the early 1970s. “We remember all the great blues musicians who played here at the Ann Arbor festival and found such a soulful audience.”

Indeed, the best part about Saturday’s Blues at the Crossroads 2: Muddy and the Wolf concert was the opportunity to see and hear blues men with bona-fide ties to Waters and Wolf still plying their musical trade at such a high level.

Cotton, the harmonica virtuoso, who played with Watters throughout the 1950s, can still blow the reeds out of a harp. His spotlight set found Cotton, at 77, still in full command of his instrument, as he let the Thunderbirds through the paces.

Williams, whose guitar can be heard on signature tracks by Wolf, as well as Bo Diddley and other Chess Records artists, started out a little rusty, but soon found his groove during a handful of numbers.

But it was Margolin, still active with his own bands and now an elder statesman of the blues in his own right, who provided the evening’s real sparks. Offering a clinic on Waters’ signature slide-guitar sound during the first set, he then let the sparks fly during the second set as he, Wilson and Cotton got down and dirty on the Waters chestnut “Sad Letter Blues.”

As Cotton moaned into his harp and Margolin stretched notes out with his steel, you could almost feel Waters’ presence on the stage.

In the end, both Waters and Wolf were well represented, with various combinations of the artists rolling through such standards as “Rollin’ and Tumblin,” “Spoonful,” “I Got My Mojo Workin,””Mannish Boy” and “How Many More Years.”

It was a blues lover’s paradise, and Wilson was a generous MC, giving plenty of spotlight to his guest stars, while seldom missing an opportunity to showcase his own remarkable harp skills.

And the latest iteration of his long-running Fabulous Thunderbirds proved a fine backing band, leaving plenty of space for the stars, and ably adapting to Wilson’s impromptu musical direction.

A special treat was a guest appearance by Ann Arbor’s very own George Bedard, whose big, round solos on his hollow-bodied Gibson provided a nice counterpoint to an otherwise occasionally shrill all-Fender guitar attack.

Students from multiple Washtenaw County school districts will perform Monday at the 10th annual National African American Parent Involvement Day at Night Showcase of Student Talent.

NAAPID at Night showcases students of all ages from multiple school districts.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com file photo

The event is at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, at Lincoln High School District Performing Arts Center, 7425 Willis Road, in Augusta Township. The event is free and open to the public.

NAAPID chair Shoshana DeMaria said this year's show will feature students from kindergarten through 12th grade from Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Willow Run, Lincoln, Milan, and Saline school districts.

For Blake Hensley, a magician and senior at Saline High School, this is the third year he's performed at the event.

"I love doing magic," he said. "...This year, I’m doing a trick where I pull a string out of my eye."

The event will be catered by South West Washtenaw Consortium Culinary Arts Students of Saline, Dexter and Lincoln High Schools, under the supervision of instructor Sam Musto.

"The students are involved with everything that NAAPID does," DeMaria said. "They do the culinary arts. They do the exhibits. They even MC the shows."

Food will be served at 5:30 p.m. The program will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Demaria said students and parents of all backgrounds are encouraged to participate.

"It is for everyone, for all students," she said. "But in particular, it is for African American students. The focus is on them, because African American kids in particular fall between the gap in education."

The event will feature a poster contest. The contest is separated into high school, middle school, upper and lower elementary, and kindergarten. The prizes for first place poster in each age group are $200, $150, $100, and $50, respectively.

"We ask the parents to ensure that goes toward their education," DeMaria said.

DeMaria said NAAPID at Night has been a very successful program, with attendance consistently exceeding 500 people. Despite that, the program has seen a decline in funding.

Previously, it received donations from participating school districts, but many of those donations have ceased, because districts no longer have the money to spare.

DeMaria said organizers had enough money in reserves to finance this year's event, but they will need to find funding to continue the event next year.

"We are applying for grants, and hopefully we will get some money in," she said. "It’s a needed program. It’s for children. So I’m anticipating we will get something for next year. I’m not sure from where, but we will apply and we’re hoping that it comes through."

Kody Klein is an intern for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at kklein@mlive.com

Business leaders from Massachusetts will offer lessons they’ve learned from the implementation of health care reforms to Michigan employers Monday during a forum at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Thomas Buchmueller

Courtesy of U-M

As Michigan businesses prepare to encounter changes in health care requirements for their employees throughout this year and next year under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, U-M’s Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation (CHRT) decided to call in business leaders from Massachusetts for their advice.

Health care reform took place in Massachusetts in 2006 -- several years before President Barack Obama passed the Affordable Care Act, which first took effect in 2010.

“We and business leaders can learn a lot from what can happen in Massachusetts,” said Marianne Udow-Phillips, director of the CHRT. “Our goal is to help decision makers using facts.”

The panel will consist of Rob Fowler, president and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan; Helen Levy, research associate professor at U-M’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy; Rick Lord, president and CEP of Associated Industries of Massachusetts; and Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

The moderator of the panel will be Thomas Buchmueller, a professor at U-M’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business. In October, health insurance exchanges will begin enrolling small businesses and individuals and in January, a large wave of Medicaid enrollments will go through.

“Businesses will soon decide what they want to do,” Udow-Phillips said.

In Michigan, the government decided to partner with the federal government in the creation of a health insurance exchange.

The event is sponsored by Community Catalysts of Boston and a number of U-M entities including the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation and U-M’s School of Public Health.

Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.