Happy Fourth of July!

Richard Kinsey is welcoming some visitors from across the pond to celebrate the Fourth of July this year. Although the two countries may have had their differences in the past, Kinsey is looking forward to appreciating their similarities this holiday weekend.

AnnArbor.com file photo

As irony would have it, I am pleased to announce that my British relatives arrived in town on Tuesday and will be spending the Fourth of July celebrating with us — complete with fireworks. Apparently they do not hold a grudge over that little rebellion thing in 1776. It is great that our two countries have had ups and downs and we still can remain supportive of each other. I also must give their country the honor and credit of establishing the modern policing model used in the U.S. today.

In 1829 Sir Robert Peel established the London Metropolitan Police Department and ushered in the modern era of policing. Peel believed the police should deter and prevent crime and disorder. He believed in order to be successful, a police department needed the support of the public they served. When prevention and deterrence were not enough, the police should investigate crime and arrest criminals.

His police department was a paramilitary organization — which is how most modern professional police departments operate today — because in times of emergencies decisions must be made quickly, orders issued and those orders immediately executed. In an emergency there is no time for committee, debate, analysis, market sampling, poll or vote.

The paramilitary model presumes command officers, who are promoted for their wisdom and good judgment, direct less experienced frontline officers. Those command officers are responsible — good or bad — for the performance of the officers they command. The uniform also is important to the paramilitary model because it helps citizens to immediately distinguish who an officer is and where help can immediately be found.

I just learned from a BBC article the reason police wear blue may date back to Peel’s department, whose uniforms were blue so they would not be mistaken for the British Army Soldier’s red uniform. Peel wanted the citizens his department served to realize that although his officers were uniformed, disciplined and professional, they were not the military and thus the country was not under military rule.

In honor of Peel’s contribution to modern policing, the officers of the London Metropolitan Police Department are to this day known as “bobbies.”

About 20 years ago one of my colleagues hosted a bobby in his home. I had the honor and privilege of canoeing him down the Huron River in my trusty Old Town Discovery 169, which continues to serve me, although not as much as I would like.

The bobby had a chance to ride along on patrol with some Ann Arbor Police Department officers and we spoke of his experiences over several adult beverages after we got off the river. I simply was amazed to hear it surprised him how much respect criminals give to American police officers.

Having been on the receiving end of taunts, insults, rocks, bottles, spit, fists, feet, knees, edges — you name it — I was astounded. The bobby went on to relate that the criminals in England respond to verbal direction with insults and taunts that usually escalate into physical violence. The bobby even said it was not uncommon for one of his own to get in several physical fights a day with eventual arrestees.

For a country known for its civility and proper manners, this confused me. I was taught by my dad that U.S. soldiers stationed in England — where he was assigned in WWII before and after being severely wounded just outside of St. Lo, France—were warned to obey the bobbies or suffer the consequences of a billy club to the noggin or a huge fist to the kisser, followed by arrest and court-martial later. My father told me bobbies were required to be over 6’ tall, tough as nails and did not appreciate or tolerate misbehaving “Yanks.”

Physical fights with American officers occur less than the public might think. At times an officer can go for months without encountering a physical fight with a suspect to get them arrested. At other times fights go in streaks. I recall worrying about getting into three rather significant fights in two weeks and thinking my command might think I was getting a bit “badge heavy.”

Well this very slender 6-foot-3-inch bobby told me he believed it was the firearms American — and most of the world other than the England — officers carry that commanded respect.

Perhaps he was right, but I countered that American police officers only are authorized to use deadly force in very narrow circumstances. Most American police officers thankfully never have to shoot anyone, but we work in a nation founded on citizens' right to bear arms and there are plenty of guns on the street. Therefore firearms are absolutely an essential piece of equipment for American police officers.

The bobby countered that regardless of the reason, a firearm was still on each officer’s hip in this country and he felt that contributed to the respect given officers. Perhaps it was psychological or some other reason, but American citizens respected their police more than the British respected their constables or bobbies.

That barroom discussion was 20 years ago and it seems bobbies still would rather not be armed. According to the BBC, in a 2006 study that polled British constables, 82 percent of those polled would not want to be armed. The same article mentioned in 1991 that the British police began to at least have firearm equipped response units capable of assisting bobbies faced with weapons or dangerous circumstances. It was an interesting article however because the bobbies take pride in remaining unarmed to protect their citizens.

It was interesting to me how similar, but in some areas how different, our cultures are.

It will be fun for me to be a tourist in my own hometown. Sometimes we learn more about the places we live while taking it ini from a visitor's point of view. I welcome and thank my British cousins for visiting and giving me that opportunity and fresh perspective.

Lock it up, don’t leave it unattended, be aware and watch out for your neighbors.

Ann Guttman (left) watches as daughter Emy Guttman scoops caramel corn for a customer at the Sugar Shack. Ann has been selling concessions at Top of the Park for 28 years.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

Steve Guttman, the boyfriend who later became her husband, took over as manager of Top of the Park 12 years ago, leaving Ann to run the family’s treat stand.

Today, as she and the next generation of Guttmans set up the Sugar Shack just off to the right of the Top of the Park stage, they are joined by seven other food vendors and a hot dog cart.

“It’s certainly changed since we started, and we’ve changed what we sell as different people opened up shop,” she said.

“Before Stucchi’s came we had ice cream but we gave that to then. We’ve always had popcorn and cotton candy and snow cones, but when there wasn’t a hotdog person we’d do hotdogs and before Tios was here we did nachos.”

The Sugar Shack can afford to adapt its menu every year because it’s the only festival food vendor not attached to another shop or restaurant in town.

Ann Arbor Summer Festival associate director and general manager Amy Nesbitt said the festival purposefully looks for other vendors who will provide different offerings for patrons and discourages direct competition.

“We have a four-page contract with every vendor spelling out as clearly as we can what the expectations are, and one of the things we do is menu review,” she said.

Nesbitt said that turnover at the food section of the festival is rare and she tries to get input from the community and the festival’s volunteer board before approaching restaurants to potentially sell at the festival.

“We try to make sure to give priority to local independently owned businesses, and I try to talk to businesses who have been around for at least a year,” she said.

“Newer business are often very eager to be a part of the festival but they can be really challenged by what is a 21-night operational expense both in terms of product fulfillment as well as staffing. It’s hard for them to understand how it will affect them.” On top of staffing and extra food expenses, vendors pay a flat $4,250 fee to operate at the festival. Food carts that do not require a hut or water hookup pay $1,500.

In addition to the visibility that comes with being associated with the Summer Festival, vendors often get a boost in revenue during summer months when students are out of town and many residents go out of town.

Hut-K Chaats co-owner Sumi Bhojani prepares a dish for a customer at Top of the Park on a Tuesday evening.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

“This is our second year at Top of the Park and it hasn’t been quite as good as last year at this point. The first week was great but then weather has been difficult. When it rains and you get shut down for the day, that’s zero business.”

Most vendors prepare menus specifically geared to the festival and serve food that can be assembled, rather than cooked, in the small huts where they operate. Pizza House, which is back at the festival this year after over a decade hiatus, takes a slightly different approach.

“You can buy slices that we have right at the booth, but then most of the rest of regular menu is also available,” manager Sue Baker said.

“Customers can order and then we have it delivered right to the booth. It usually takes about half an hour depending on what’s ordered.”

On a sunny Tuesday evening, patrons walked up and down the row of booths using all of their senses to find the right dish for dinner.

“Well, it’s hard to say no to barbecue and coleslaw on a hot night,” Missy Plegue said while enjoying a sandwich from Satchel’s BBQ Restaurant’s stand.

“And besides, the smell beat everyone else, except maybe the popcorn stand. And popcorn is not dinner.”

It may not be dinner, but popcorn and other treats have kept the Sugar Shack in business as the Summer Festival has changed around it. The outdoor part of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival moved from the Power Center parking structure to the Ingalls Mall in front of Rackham Auditorium in 2007.

Guttman said she couldn’t imagine a reason that her family would not be back next year to sell their treats.

“We’ve just always loved the festival being a part of it, it’s really fun,” she said.

"... And it’s great because it allows me to have the kids here. They’ve always worked here and had a good job for the month and their friends often have a job, too. It’s good having them here with me.”

The Sugar Shack, Stucci’s, Hut-K Chaat, Pizza House and Satchel’s BBQ are joined every night by the Oasis Grill, Sweetwaters Cafe, Noodles and Company and a hot dog cart at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s Top of the Park.

Festival goers can also purchase soft drinks from a number of festival-run booths and beer and wine are offered in the beer garden. Nesbitt said the food vendors are not allowed to sell drinks (with the exception of Sweetwaters) because proceeds from the beverage sales help cover a significant percentage of the festival’s operating expenses.

Top of the Park’s last days are Thursday - Sunday this week. The festival opens nightly at 4 p.m.

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

The preamble to the Declaration of Independence says so very much in so few words. "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

We remember these words with pride as Independence Day quickly approaches. Yet, as we have been reminded nearly everyday since July 4th, 1776, freedom is not free or easy to maintain.

There have been countless wars fought -on our shores and off - in ours and others' quest to remain free.

When our Declaration was written in 1776, slaves were not free and had no "unalienable" rights -- it took a bloody Civil War and another century of struggle and loss of life before African Americans shared in the bounty of what was so "self-evident" to white men in 1776.

Surely, the Suffragists' struggle for voting rights were firmly rooted in the words of the Declaration-- but those did not come easily either. Not until 1920 did women receive the right to vote in the United States with the passage of the 19th Amendment- long after other world nations had already made this law. The U.S. was one of the last to pass this law for women. While the US Supreme Court just gave gay rights a big boost, the struggle continues for people who are gay and people with disabilities.

The principles of freedom and liberty burn bright today as we strive to be a "more perfect union" as noted in the preamble to the United States Constitution, declared as "unalienable" rights by Thomas Jefferson and his co-authors in 1776.

As a nation, we are a work in progress, striving to live up to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.

President Clinton reminded us in his Inaugural address "that there is nothing so wrong with America that cannot be fixed by what is right about America."

All of us need to reflect on the words of President John F. Kennedy, when he asked in his Inaugural address, "Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country."

Let's all take a moment leading up to July 4th to read or reread the Declaration of Independence (Declaration of Independence - http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html)

Savor the simplicity, courage, and shear brilliance of our founding fathers. Remember that while these words of wisdom inspire pride and hope, it is through vision, leadership, and action that these words come alive each day.

As the great anthropologist, Margaret Mead reminded us, "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

So, as we enjoy the long holiday weekend, the parades, cookouts, family and friends, let's reflect on the people who helped make us free, those working to keep us free and those dreaming of one day being free.

Independence, freedom and democracy are participatory, full contact sports. July 4th is a good day for Americans to recommit ourselves to finding ways to remain active participants in this grand experiment called democracy.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. told us, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

And President Reagan reminded us, "No arsenal ... is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women."

Happy Independence Day!

Tom Watkins served the citizens of Michigan as state mental health director and state superintendent of schools. He is a US/China business and educational consultant. He can be reached at tdwatkins88@gmail.com.

One night only: Fellini’s final film - first time in the USA

Master Italian director Federico Fellini‘s final film, “The Voice of the Moon,” was never released in the U.S., so don’t miss this rare opportunity to see it on the big screen from a rare 35mm print imported from Italy. Oscar-winner Roberto Benigni stars as the idiot-savant hero Ivo, a former mental patient who wanders through a world of strange dreams-and often stranger realities. “The Voice of the Moon” plays on Thursday, July 11 at 7 p.m. at the Michigan Theater.

Opening downtown

Premiering to rave reviews at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, “The Kings of Summer” is a unique coming-of-age comedy about 3 teenage friends—Joe (Nick Robinson), Patrick (Gabriel Basso) and the eccentric and unpredictable Biaggio (Moises Arias)—who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land. Free from their parents’ rules, their idyllic summer quickly becomes a test of friendship as each boy learns to appreciate the fact that family—whether it is the one you’re born into or the one you create—is something you can’t run away from. Bill Goodykoontz of the Arizona Republic says, “Sometimes, a movie just has a magic about it, something that makes you look past implausibility and plot holes and whatever other shortcomings it may have and leaves you feeling good just for having seen it.” “The Kings of Summer” opens Friday at the Michigan Theater.

Opening at the cineplex

"Despicable Me 2"

"The Lone Ranger," based on the famed 1933 radio show, which was created by Detroit radio station WXYZ, brings the famed masked hero to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption. “The Lone Ranger” opened Wednesday, July 3.

Special screenings downtown

Filmed intermittently over the course of a five-year period, David Lynch's “Eraserhead” stars Jack Nance as Henry Spencer, a man living in an unnamed industrial wasteland. Upon learning that a past romance has resulted in an impending pregnancy, Henry agrees to wed mother-to-be Mary (Charlotte Stewart) and moves her into his tiny, squalid flat. Their baby is born hideously mutated, a strange, reptilian creature whose piercing cries never cease. Mary soon flees in horror and disgust, leaving Henry to fall prey to the seduction of the girl across the hall (Judith Anna Roberts). Nathen Lee of the Village Voice says, “What a masterpiece of texture, a feat of artisanal attention, an ingenious assemblage of damp, dust, rock, wood, hair, flesh, metal, ooze.” “Eraserhead” plays Thursday, July 11 at 10 p.m. as part of the Summer Classics After Dark Series.

In “Dirty Dancing,” the year is 1963 and innocent 17-year-old Baby (Jennifer Grey) vacations with her parents at a Catskills resort. One evening, she is drawn to the staff quarters by stirring music. There she meets Johnny, the hotel dance instructor, who is as experienced as Baby is naive. Baby soon becomes Johnny's pupil in dance and love. When Johnny’s dance partner, Penny (Cynthia Rhodes), finds herself pregnant after a fling with one of the waiters, Baby volunteers to learn her steps and take her place; however, Baby’s father, Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach), will have none of it, convinced that Johnny is a low life and that his daughter is too young to understand her own feelings. Pauline Kael of the New Yorker said, “The dancing here brings out the sensual dreaminess of the songs. ‘Dirty Dancing’—what a great title!—is such a bubbleheaded, retro vision of growing up in the sixties (or any other time) that you go out of the theater giggling happily.” “Dirty Dancing” plays Sunday, July 7 at 1:30 p.m. and Tuesday, July 9 at 7 p.m. as part of the Summer Classic Film Series.

See you at the movies!

Russ Collins is executive director of the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. Tune in to the audio version of “Cinema Chat” on WEMU radio (89.1-FM) each Thursday at 7:40 a.m. and 5:40 p.m., or listen to it online at WEMU's web site.

Celebrating the nation's Independence Day calls for excessive amounts of food, fireworks, and lots of stars and flags. After reading this guide full of helpful tips, you'll successfully be able to blow your friends away — with awesome pictures, that is.

Make sure to keep the camera steady if you want the best picture possible.

File photo | AnnArbor.com

1. If you are like most Americans, your day of festivities likely will involve a bit of boozing. So for your sake, those around you, and the quality of photos, dial back the beer pong, bro. Step numero uno is don't drink too much — blowing off even one of your fingers with fireworks will make it difficult to operate a camera.

2. If you don't intend to lug around a heavy dSLR the entire day for fear of breaking it or sheer inconvenience, no problem! A camera phone or the standard point-and-shoot have come a long way. If you haven't messed with the settings on your iPhone 5, we suggest you do so.

Turning on the HDR — or high dynamic range — setting can drastically alter your photo quality. You'll notice bluer skies and potentially more detail in many low-lit situations. For those a little bit more adventurous, kick it old school and purchase a Kodak disposable, Holga, or a Polaroid, that's right, just follow the hipster's lead.

3. Stability is crucial. If you aim to get some cool shots by the fire at night or some of those neat and bright fireworks, you'll need to keep the camera-shakes under control (hopefully you didn't skip step one). Regardless of SLR or point-and-shoot, a tripod can be very useful for this. If you don't have a tripod, try wedging the camera or phone against a sturdy object. I like using a rock or wall.

Also, make sure motordrive is on (also referred to as continuous mode, or CH, on SLRs). A shutter release cord would be extremely handy-dandy in this situation, as it allows you to keep your hands off the camera and eliminate camera-shake entirely. Some camera phones have a setting to capture multiple frames at a time. Give it a whirl.

4. Now it comes to the main event: capturing that fire in the sky. While there is an art to this technique, the basics are graspable. First, grab your tripod, and second, choose your position. Whether you are in Manchester or Northern Michigan, finding an area with no obstructions or bright lights is essential. It would be wise to set up from a high vantage point — this could be anything from an apartment patio or the roof of a parking garage. In this situation, using a wide-angle lens also would help the quality.

Next, find your exposure using a slow shutter-speed. This will help to create long streaks of lights. Anywhere from one to three seconds is a good place to begin. Shoot wide open (lowest number=f/2.8 or f/4.5) with your aperture while limiting your ISO. You can focus on a building, skyline, or horizon in the distance. Once you find the exposure and focus, stay diligent. If you've got real skill, the best picture will be the first one. The constant blasts of fireworks leave behind a decent smoke trail, which can then be illuminated in the sky and whoops, there goes your clean picture. Once you hear that first "pop," hold down the shutter.

5. Finally, it's time for painting with light. Be warned: don't try this next trick at home — at least not indoors. This is a real fun skill that will make you the coolest guy on the block. You'll need a handful of sparklers, the tripod from Step 3, and a childlike imagination (adult supervision required). Set up in a dark area with plenty of space. Also being mindful of nearby flammable objects. The driveway is an ideal location.

After setting up the tripod. slow things down to A 10-, 15-, or 30-second shutter speed. Crazy, right? Light up the sparklers, click the shutter, and start drawing. You and the kids can make doodles, write your name, or even draw Trogdor, but I must going to reiterate — BE SAFE — you may be literally playing with fire! If you're finding the shutter speed is too long or short, try "bulb," where holding down the shutter will determine the duration of the picture.

Now that you've had a crash-course in firework photography, go out there and flex your skills! And be sure to send any cool shots you get to news@annarbor.com.

Authorities warn jumping from bridges into the Huron River is not safe or legal. Here, an Ypsilanti resident jumps into the water near Barton Nature Area in this 2012 file photo.

Jeffrey Smith | AnnArbor.com file photo

Bridge jumping and swimming in the Huron River are considered summertime rituals by some in the Ann Arbor area.

It’s not uncommon on a hot and sunny day to see young folks leaping from railroad trestles at places like Argo Pond and Bandemer Park in Ann Arbor and at river crossings throughout the county, officials said.

But in the aftermath of the drowning death Sunday of a 21-year-old Pittsfield Township man, officials are warning that river swimming and especially bridge jumping can be dangerous — and even illegal.

“It’s the thrill of the activity that draws people to it,” said Corporal Robert Pasternak who supervises the Marine Division of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office. “People want to test themselves and their own limits.”

What many people don’t realize is that jumping off bridges is is illegal.

“Bridge jumping is discouraged on every level,” Pasternak said. “Some people feel it’s a rite of passage for the younger generation. Anyone who suggests that is ill advised. It could quite possibly lead to a fatality as demonstrated by recent (events).”

Pasternak was referring to the death of Donovan Gerard Hyter, who drowned early Sunday morning while bridge jumping from a trestle over the Huron in Superior Township just north of Ypsilanti.

Hyter and a couple of friends jumped into the river east of Superior Road around 4:52 a.m. Sunday, and his body was recovered by sheriff’s officials about 5:15 p.m. Monday. Officials continue to investigate the drowning. Family members remembered the 2010 Huron High School graduate as an authentic and loving man in a recent AnnArbor.com story.

Illegal thrills

There are many legal implications to sneaking out on to a bridge and simply jumping off. Just being on a railroad bridge is against a state law, said Ann Arbor city attorney Bob West.

“It says you can’t walk on railroad tracks,” he said. “Walking on the tracks puts you in violation,”

Violating the Railroad Code of 1993 is a misdemeanor punishable by 30 days in jail and/or $100 fine.

It could also be trespassing, whether it’s on railroad property or, in the case of the M-14 bridge that goes over the river, the Michigan Department of Transportation. Pasternak said his officers had issued “a couple dozen” trespassing citations last summer related to bridge jumping. He said even if railroad tracks run through public land like a park, the rails, the gravel and ties are private property.

Beyond trespassing, jumping off a public bridge is in itself a misdemeanor, Pasternak said.

Police agencies agree the laws are not the easiest to enforce.

Lt. Renee Bush of the Ann Arbor Police Department said officers have responded to a few calls at Bandemer Park this summer, but the young people are usually gone by the time police arrive.

Pasternak said because many of the bridge jumping locations are secluded and not accessible by road, officers have a hard time catching people on a day-to-day patrolling basis.

“Of the 100 bridge jumpers, we might only know of one or two,” he said.

Dangerous waters

Bridge jumping isn’t the only thing officials warn against, however: Even swimming in the river throughout the county is discouraged.

“I would strongly suggest to not swim in the Huron River because the currents are so unpredictable,” said Ypsilanti police Sgt. Thomas Eberts.

Two summers ago, 29-year-old Tirail Antquan Martin drowned near Ypsilanti’s Riverside Park when he got swept up in the current after chasing a child’s lost shoe in the river.

Pasternak said swimming in the river is discouraged because of unpredictable currents, temperatures and depths, adding that the “the conditions of the river are ever-changing.”

The undertow and lack of visibility in the river water is sometimes enough to affect even the most experienced swimmer.

“Imagine swimming in pea soup or chocolate milk,” Pasternak said about how visibility could be a concern if a swimmer was pulled under.

Authorities also urge caution at some of the popular inland lake beaches in the county. Authorities say people should never swim alone and to stay at least 100 feet away from piers and jetties, where permanent rip currents often exist.

Drowning prevention

Hyter’s death is the first drowning of the summer. No drowning deaths were reported last summer, Pasternak said.

“I’m pretty proud of that,” he added.

Joyce Williams of Huron Valley Ambulance said paramedics were called to two locations last summer for possible drowning incidents.

In May, a 10-year-old boy who was part of a class trip nearly drowned but was saved at Independence Lake in Webster Township. Then on June 21, ambulances were dispatched to the 8000 block of Carpenter Road in York Township for a 3-year-old found face down in a swimming pool. The child was taken to University of Michigan Hospital in unstable condition, but ultimately survived.

Pasternak mostly urges people to use common sense when swimming.

“You hope people have common sense," he said. "Sometimes common sense is overruled by Mother Nature.”

John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

More than 2,300 miles and close to 60 years later, the graduation ring June E. Powers lost when she was a young nurse working in San Francisco will find its way back to her finger.

It’s a story where serendipity, technology and tenacity intersect to create a happy ending.

June E. Powers poses for a photo with her 7-year-old pet dog Camilla in her Ann Arbor home on Wednesday. Powers is awaiting the return of her found nursing school graduation ring, which she lost more than 55 years ago.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

It was one of the few careers open to women at the time, Powers said, and she worked hard to become a nurse. After completing two years of the program, the 14 women in her class received their nursing pins. Upon graduation a year later, Powers was given a gold graduation ring, affixed with a Red Cross, the name of the training hospital, the graduation year and Powers’ initials, scrolled in an ornate font. “We were all pretty proud of those rings,” Powers said.

The world was at her doorstep: Powers and two of her friends flipped through professional magazines to decide where they wanted to work. “In those days, it was easy to get a job,” Powers said. “You just had to show up with your papers and you’d get a job.”

They considered Los Angles and San Francisco, and filed the needed forms for their Green Cards. San Francisco won out, and the small group of newly minted nurses took jobs at the Southern Pacific Railroad Hospital, a Classic Revival gem of a building located in the North of the Panhandle neighborhood near Golden Gate Park.

It was an exciting time for Powers and her friends that included numerous visits to Fleishhacker Pool, a mammoth saltwater pool close to the ocean that could hold 10,000 swimmers.

June E. Powers holds a duplicate ring she had made after losing her nursing school graduation ring.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Eventually, Powers forgot about losing the first ring.

Apparently, the ring sat at the bottom on the pool near a drainpipe for close to 15 years before Anita and Clifford Kamaka, head lifeguard, found it. By 1971, the pool had fallen on hard times and there was no money for repairs. It was closed and the Kamakas found the ring in the cleanup.

While Clilfford Kamaka died in 1978, the ring stayed inside his dresser drawer for years. Last year, Anita Kamaka was cleaning out the drawer when she came upon the ring again.

She set out to return it to its original owner.

Using the Internet, she located Orillia Soldier Memorial Hospital, and gave it to a friend who traveled to Canada to mail it.

Two weeks ago, it landed on the desk of Terry Dyni, director of community relations at the hospital. “It came out of the blue,” he said.

While there were only 14 women in the graduating class, it wasn’t easy pinning down the owner: The carved initials were ornate and difficult to read, Dyni said.

The local newspaper ran a story about how the hospital, which no longer runs a nursing school, was looking for its owner. The daughter of one of the women Powers went to San Francisco with saw the article, Powers said, and recognized the ring and the initials: JEP. She put the hospital in contact with Powers’ sister, who lives in Toronto, who connected them with Powers.

The ring is being shipped UPS and is expected to arrive July 5, ending its 57-year journey.

Janet Miller is a freelance reporter. Contact the AnnArbor.com news desk at news@annarbor.com.

Two baby peregrine falcons hatched atop University of Michigan Hospital have rejoined their parents after a few weeks in rehab.

The chicks —Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson— on June 9 accidentally flew down from their nest at the top of the hospital and were unable to get back up because they lacked wing strength. . The Michigan Department of National Resources rehabilitated the birds, helping them condition their wings, and then reunited them with their family.

Michigan DNR Specialist Christine Becher said it's not unusual for chicks nesting in urban areas to mistakenly "helicopter" down from their nests while exercising their wings.

"It occasionally happens. The birds are practicing flapping with their wings which they do to strengthen those muscles and occasionally... they become airborne," she said.

"When this happens, they become grounded. Because of being in an urban area where they can get hit by cars or hurt in different ways, we give them some rehab," she said.

The specialists help the birds strengthen their flight muscles until they are at the point where they are "ready to fly appropriately and safely," Becher said.

The chicks hatched, along with sisters Maize and Blue, at the end of April. Maize died on June 11 from injuries sustained after falling from her nest. Blue never fell from the nest and is healthy.

By August or September, the chicks will fly off and establish a new home. Becher says the survival rate for peregrine falcons during their first year is between 60 and 80 percent. They won't return to the hospital nest to mate.

The chicks join a growing family of peregrine falcons hatched in Ann Arbor. Last year four chicks hatched atop the hospital and were named Bo, Fritz, Lloyd and Yost. Three of those fledglings also dropped from the hospital roof and were placed in rehab until they gained wing strength.

In spring 2010 the falcons successfully hatched a trio of chicks. Another nesting box has been installed on North Quad.

Peregrine falcons are endangered in Michigan. U-M's campus has been home to two grown peregrines since 2006. In urban areas, Falcons tend to nest on tall buildings or bridges because of their similarity to high cliffs and ledges.

Becher said there are 16 known groupings of peregrine falcons that the DNR monitors, four of which are new nests that were established within the last year.

Watch a U-M-produced video of the reunion:

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

The Village of Manchester hosts one of the few remaining public fireworks displays in the area, and Wednesday night the tradition returned, sponsored by the Manchester Men's Club.

Residents gathered in the village's Carr Park to watch the display and celebrate the Fourth of July with family and friends.

AnnArbor.com staff photographer Courtney Sacco captured these images.

But Gaiman’s legion of fans - 1.8 million of whom hang upon his every Tweet - now have more reason to feel wary: Gaiman—who is scheduled to read from “Ocean,” answer audience questions, and sign books at the Michigan Theater on Sunday, July 7—claims that his current book-signing tour will be his last.

“They’re exhausting, on a level that’s hard to believe,” Gaiman wrote on his website’s blog in December 2012. “I love meeting people, but the sixth hour of signing, for people who have been standing in a line for seven hours, is no fun for anybody. … So I’m going to try and make this tour the glorious last U.S. book signing tour, and then stop doing book signing tours for good.”

Gaiman, who’s of Eastern European Jewish descent, was born and grew up in England. As a child, Gaiman was a voracious reader, reading and re-reading the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Edgar Allen Poe, Lewis Carroll, and Ursula K. LeGuin, among others.

About 20 years ago, Gaiman moved to America with his former wife, Mary McGrath, with whom he had 3 children. They lived in the Minneapolis area.

Now, however, Gaiman lives in Cambridge, Mass., with his wife of 2 years, musician Amanda Palmer.

“When I was 31 or 32 and had just moved to America and things were just starting off for me, I met Stephen King and he said, 'You've got to enjoy this,'” Gaiman told The Independent during a recent interview. “But I didn't enjoy it. There's a word or emotion that's somewhere between worried and harassed and anxious and that was me. It wasn't until I met Amanda that I felt that yes, I was able to enjoy it all."

Gaiman began his professional writing life as a journalist, and his first published books were a Duran Duran biography and a Douglas Adams biography.

But he has since enjoyed great critical and popular success for his works of fiction, writing for different media (television, film, etc.) as well as different ages (from picture books to adult novels).

Gaiman has repeatedly declared that his newest novel, “The Ocean at the End of the Lane”—though it focuses on the spooky experiences of a 7-year-old boy—is his first adult-aimed novel in 8 years.

"Really, I kept a sort of open mind until I got to the very end, and then looked at what I'd done,” Gaiman recently told NPR. “ ... It was meant to be just about looking out at the world through the kind of eyes that I had when I was 7, from the kind of landscape that I lived in when I was 7. And then it just didn't quite stop. I kept writing it, and it wasn't until I got to the end that I realized I'd actually written a novel. ... I thought - it's really not a kids' story - and one of the biggest reasons it's not a kids' story is, I feel that good kids' stories are all about hope. In the case of 'Ocean at the End of the Lane,' it's a book about helplessness. It's a book about family, it's a book about being 7 in a world of people who are bigger than you, and more dangerous, and stepping into territory that you don't entirely understand."

In the novel, a South African boarder in the boy’s house turns up dead in the family’s car, leading the boy to get involved with the seemingly ancient, ageless Hempstock women - 11 year old Lettie, her mother, and her grandmother - who live on the farm at the end of the lane. The South African’s death somehow kicks off a spooky, supernatural struggle between the Hempstocks and some darkly magical forces, which the 7 year old - now a man in mourning - re-lives by visiting the place where he grew up.

“I started writing [‘The Ocean’] for Amanda because I missed her, but then it kept growing,” Gaiman said during a recent on-stage interview, as reported on by the Tor.com blog. “I told my publishers there was a novella on the way, but then I did a word count at the end, and realized I just wrote a novel by accident! ... It wasn’t plotted. Things kept taking me by surprise. It’s not making things up, it’s getting into what did actually happen.”

Here's Gaiman's 2012 commencement address at an arts college in Philadelphia - a speech that's now available in a book titled, "Make Good Art."

Jenn McKee is an entertainment reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.

Two home invasions were reported in Ypsilanti on Wednesday, according to the Ypsilanti Police Department.

The first report came at about 11 a.m., when a victim reported that during the weekend an unknown suspect entered her room on the 900 block of Railroad Street, damaged her property and took jewelry. It is unknown how much damage was done.

In the second incident, the victim reported the backdoor of his home on the 400 block of Ballard Street, in Ypsilanti, was forced open and a video game system was stolen from inside. The police responded to the report around midnight.

The two incidents are under further investigation and it is unclear if they are related.

View Home Invasions in a larger map

Chelsea Hoedl is an intern reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at choedl@mlive.com.

Ypsilanti during the Fourth of July parade.

Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com

• More: Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti hit the streets to celebrate the Fourth of July
• Related: Downtown 4th of July parade celebrates both America and Ann Arbor

The 84th annual Ypsilanti Independence Parade, sponsored by the American Legion and the Ypsilanti Area Jaycees, began promptly at 11 a.m. led by the Forty and Eight, a train from World War I.

“I’ve been coming for 20 years,” said Bob Field, member of the American Legion and Ypsilanti resident . “As long as I’ve lived here I’ve made it out. The Forty and Eight is my favorite part, although I also enjoy seeing the politicians out in the community.”

Field isn’t the only one who enjoys watching politicians march in the parade. When 7-year-old Fiona Dority is asked to list her favorite parts of the parade, the list goes: the car that goes backward and forward, the Shriners and "of course the candy," but she and her friends also look forward to seeing Ypsilanti’s mayor, Paul Schreiber.

“We come for the candy, but also Paul’s here,” Dority said. “He’s the mayor of Ypsilanti and he lives near us.”

Dority’s mom nodded and said her children look forward to seeing the politicians every year and have been coming to the parade since they were born.

Since the inception of the Ypsilanti Independence Parade, politicians have been joining the festivities, the Forty and Eight has rolled down the streets and groups like the Daughters of the American Revolution have come out to show their patriotism.

“I’ve been in the parade for the past 10 years now,” said Roberta Kemp, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. “But the organization has been involved since the beginning as far as I know. We like to show what we stand for and it’s fun seeing the children participating and getting excited about this country.”

One of the event organizers and the Community Vice President of the Ypsilanti Area Jaycees Toni Auker said it was her first year planning the event.

“I think it’s something that’s really important to the community and I’ve enjoyed helping to put it together this year,” Auker said. “We have a lot of really great groups, including the newly combined district’s marching band and cheer team. I think it says a lot that they were able to pull together so quickly and wanted to be a part of the festivities.”

The Ypsilanti Community Schools marching band only had time for three rehearsals before the parade, according to Linda Leonard, a parent of one of the band members .

“This is really good for district unity and the kids love to be a part of the band,” Leonard said. “It’s about community unity as well. It’s important that they come together and support their community.”

The Lincoln High School Band also marched in the parade.

“It’s a long-standing tradition,” band director Leslie Schwegler said. “It’s good for us to support our community and it’s something the students really enjoy.”

Auker said she looks forward to working on the annual parade in the future.

“I hope this is something that sticks with the community for years to come,” Auker said. “It’s great to see all these people participating and enjoying this day.”

Chelsea Hoedl is an intern reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at choedl@mlive.com.

Brothers Elliott, 8, and Milo Varnum, 5, of Ann Arbor, show off their holiday style as they are sprayed with a mist of water during of the 23rd Annual Ann Arbor Jaycees Fourth of July Parade on Thursday, July 4, 2013 on South State Street in downtown Ann Arbor.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

• More: Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti hit the streets to celebrate the Fourth of July
• Related: Ypsilanti keeps up traditions with Michigan's longest-running 4th of July parade

Note: This post contains Vine videos. You can pause the videos by clicking on them and the volume can be turned on and off by clicking on the "speaker" icon in the upper left corner.

It’s a parade both like and unlike any other — exactly the way Ann Arbor residents want it to be.

The people were dressed in Red, White and Blue clothing (guilty), flags were waved by young and old alike and patriotic bunting was liberally draped across the floats at the 23rd annual Ann Arbor Jaycees Fourth of July Parade . But as much as the celebration was about America, it also was a uniquely Ann Arbor event.

“The event is really for Ann Arborites and it shows throughout the parade.”

Rutila has been in Ann Arbor since 1970, but it isn’t just the old “townies” who appreciate the local flare of the parade.

“It’s obviously a parade celebrating our independence, but it also gives people to see their neighbors and the organizations they’re involved in,” Antonio Placanica, who just moved to Ann Arbor last year, said as a stage combat troupe passed by twirling fire and fighting with swords.

“There is such an amazing variety of organizations here that it’s just great to come out and see them all and learn about everything that happens right here in Ann Arbor.”

For children like 4-year-old Arthur Sherwood, the success of the parade is predicated less on the amount of patriotic fervor it inspires and more on the amount of candy they are able to collect.

Big floats and flashy displays are replaced by the “Halloween in July” atmosphere in which nearly every participant has at least a few Tootsie Rolls to pass out.

Ann Arbor residents certainly make sure to turn out for the holiday celebration as well. Big crowds lined the streets for the parade, with the largest concentrations at the corner of South State and Liberty streets, as well as along Main Street at the end of the parade route. At some points the rows were seven or eight people deep along the sidewalks.

Parade chair Mary Jo Knitter said the Jaycees who put on the parade have been working since January to make sure it all runs smoothly.

“It’s really worth it because it’s obvious that the people really appreciate the work that goes into it,” she said.

“The excitement that both the participants and the spectators bring is great. Everyone is just so happy to be here.”

In true Ann Arbor fashion, right in front of the Fife and Drum Corps that closes the parade walked a man with an over-sized paper mache Bo Schembechler head.

“He’s kind of our Santa Clause at the end of the parade,” Knitter said. “He wraps it all up for us.”

Ann Arbor. Bo Schembechler. America. Happy 4th of July.

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

People float along the Huron River late Wednesday afternoon. The water-level of the river recently has risen due to heavy rainfall so far this year.

Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com

The rainfall has pushed the Huron River to higher-than-normal volumes this summer, according to stream gauge data.

“(The river is) high, but I wouldn’t say it’s extremely high,” said Laura Rubin, executive director of the Huron River Watershed Council. “The rains have been solid and have produced heavy flow in the river.”

Average daily stream flow in the river is about 300 cubic feet per second in June and July.

Storms in mid-June saw daily flow rates spike upwards of 1,000 cubic feet per second — but nothing that topped the June 27 storm in which the river's flow rate surged to more than 2,000 cubic feet per second.

The Huron River on Wednesday afternoon.

Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com

The surface of the river saw a rise of about 2.5 feet at the Wall Street observation point during the June 27 storm, which caused massive flooding throughout Ann Arbor.

The June 27 storm saw about 2.54 inches of rainfall in Ann Arbor in less than an hour.

As of July 3, the Huron River's daily flow rate had fallen from the 2,000 cubic feet per second spike to about 700 cubic feet per second -- the lowest the volume has been since the June 27 storm.

The City of Ann Arbor's canoe liveries monitor the stream's flow closely. When it reaches 600 cubic feet per second, the liveries begin to restrict canoeing and kayaking based on skill level and age.

The drought that plagued the Ann Arbor area last summer will mean that groundwater aquifers are in need of water to recharge, Rubin said.

“We’re going to start to see more of these kinds of storms: High in intensity with short bursts of rain,” Rubin said. “With the changing climate, the trends out of the NOAA are that we’ll have shorter, more intense rain events and longer, more intense droughts.”

A total of 6.78 inches of rain fell in June — almost double the typical amount of precipitation, according to figures provided by Dennis Kahlbaum, a U-M weather observer, indicated. The month ranks as the sixth-wettest June on record for Ann Arbor.

The average temperature in June was 68.9 degrees, which is about normal.

Between January and June of this year, there has been 23.10 inches of rainfall, making this year's first six-month period the fourth-wettest on record.

The wettest year on record was 2011, when 24.94 inches of precipitation fell in the corresponding six-month time period. The driest year on record was 1958, when 6.97 inches of precipitation fell in the first six months of the year.

Huron River gauge data from June 2013 to present:

Flow rates for the Huron River, recorded at Wall Street in Ann Arbor. The yellow markings indicate the median.

Courtesy USGS

Huron River gauge data from January 2013 to present:

Flow rates for the Huron River, recorded at Wall Street in Ann Arbor. The yellow markings indicate the median.

Courtesy of USGS

Huron River gauge data from July 2009 to present:

Flow rates for the Huron River, recorded at Wall Street in Ann Arbor. The yellow markings indicate the median.

Courtesy of USGS

• Find stream gauge data for Washtenaw County area waterways here

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

Related:

• Ypsilanti keeps up traditions with Michigan's longest-running 4th of July parade
• Downtown 4th of July parade celebrates both America and Ann Arbor

Crowds of people dressed in red, white and blue gathered in the streets of downtown Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti's historic Depot Town to celebrate America's birthday Thursday morning at both cities' annual parades.

In Ypsilanti, home to Michigan's longest-running parade, more than 50 groups marched through Depot Town to mark the patriotic occasion, led by the Forty and Eight, a train from World War I.

The event was sponsored by the American Legion and the Ypsilanti Area Jaycees, and featured floats, local politicians and candy for the children lining the streets.

While music played and cameras flashed in Ypsilanti, another city was celebrating Independence Day as well.

Ann Arbor residents made a good showing at their own parade, which put it's own "Ann Arbor-spin" on the holiday to really gear it toward residents, according to some in attendance.

“I really like that it’s an event for the people in the city, and not something big and promotional designed to draw people in from all over the country,” longtime Ann Arbor resident Marge Rutila told AnnArbor.com the morning of the parade. “The event is really for Ann Arborites and it shows throughout the parade.”

Along with the usual candy, floats and music, in true Ann Arbor spirit, the parade was capped off with an over-sized paper mache Bo Schembechler as the icing on the local cake.

AnnArbor.com staff photographers Melanie Maxwell and Courtney Sacco captured these images. AnnArbor.com reporter Ben Freed contributed to this report.

• Previous Story: 1,000 gallons of gas spill when tanker falls; HazMat team responds.

After about 14 hours from the time the call came in, the 1,000-gallon petroleum spill from a Sloan Petroleum Transport tanker that took place early Wednesday evening, has been cleaned up.

Ypsilanti Township Fire Department Captain Larry James told AnnArbor.com in a previous report crews were dispatched at 5:18 p.m. to 3105 E. Michigan Ave., in Ypsilanti Township. The Washtenaw County Hazardous Materials Team also responded to the call.

Two tankers not attached to a tractor were propped up next to each other in the back of a parking lot when the right tanker collapsed. The right tanker knocked down the left one and caused a puncture to the right tanker.

The puncture caused 1,000 of the 9,000 gallons of gasoline the tanker contained. The left tanker was unharmed.

There were no injuries and no roads were closed for cleanup. There also were no wetlands, streams, buildings, vehicles or other tankers affected by the spill.

All of the remaining fuel has been off-loaded and, according to officials with the Ypsilanti Township Fire Department, the cleanup is complete and went smoothly.

Chelsea Hoedl is an intern reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at choedl@mlive.com.

And Byrne has been an art-pop icon since the late 1970s, starting with his stint as the jittery, tightly wound frontman for Talking Heads—a groundbreaking band, and one of the most important groups that emerged during that late-‘70s-to-late-‘80s era—and continuing on with his acclaimed solo work and collaborations with the heavyweight likes of Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, Caetano Veloso and Richard Thompson.

Indeed, Byrne has been one of the most innovative and critically lauded pop-music figures of the last 35 years.

Meanwhile, St. Vincent, the indie-rock guitarist-singer-composer, had only been recording and performing for six years, and had just released her solo debut album, “Marry Me,” in 2007.

But their collaboration has yielded much fruit. First was the inventive and widely praised 2012 album “Love This Giant,” and then an exciting, equally-well-received tour.

And now comes a new EP and a second tour that stops at the Michigan Theater on Monday. The new EP, “Brass Tactics,” was released in May as a download only—and a free one, at that. As for its contents, let’s let Byrne explain:

“We did the new material, but also a lot of recognizable songs, arranged for that group. The sound is incredible, and it’s a bit of a visual spectacle as well. We were pretty excited at how it turned out,” Byrne continued.

“One of our business folks had the idea that we might offer a taste of what we’re up to—so we put together an EP to give folks a taste of what to expect. It has one song that didn’t make it on the record (a waltz featuring some lovely glass harmonica), a couple of energized remixes of some of the album tunes and two live tracks of the sort of more familiar material we do in the set.”

So, he said: “Beware a DB/STV band bicycle gang storming your town’s best local haunts. Summer is here. Let’s dust off our choreography shoes and get back in there.”

The aforementioned waltz-like outtake from “Love this Giant” that appears on “Brass Tactics” is the meticulously arranged “Cissus.” The two remixes from that album are “I Should Watch TV (M.Stone Remix)” and “Lightning (Kent Rockefeller Remix)," which are both pumped up with driving, dance-rock beats.

Two of the “familiar” songs Byrne refers to are live, brass-driven re-workings of the Talking Heads’ “Road to Nowhere” (the original was on the Heads’ “Little Creatures” album in 1985), and St. Vincent’s “Marrow” (from her 2009 “Actor” album.)

And on the current tour, they’ve been doing brassy re-arrangements of other classic Heads songs like “Burning Down the House” and “Wild Wild Life,” as well as re-workings of a few St. Vincent songs.

The brass-band arrangements were at the core of the “Love This Giant” album and their 2012 shows, and remain the key component of the performances on the current tour. As Byrne and Clark were writing and preparing the songs that became “Love This Giant,” Clark suggested that, instead of using a standard rock n roll line-up, they should write songs for a brass-band ensemble—and the songs, and album, took off from there.

And on some of the songs, the brass-band blasts reflect the urban clamor of the streets of New York City, where Byrne and Clark both live.

The lyrics were a collaborative effort by Byrne and Clark, and many of the songs featured surreal, enigmatic depictions of nature, with titles like “Ice Age,” “Forrest Awakes,” “Lightning,” and “Weekend in the Dust.” One was about an urban dystopia, another about an imminent natural disaster—but in most cases, those songs then took a left turn and went off in unexpected directions.

Byrne and Clark also shared vocal duties. And after all these years, Byrne hasn’t lost anything off of the top end of his vocal range. And he still employs the deadpan vocal drollery that created such tongue-in-cheek tension on those classic Heads songs. And onstage, he’s often just as physically animated and amusingly theatrical as he was in his days with the Heads.

“We took (the brass-band arrangements) as a starting point, we passed musical ideas, lyrical ideas, back and forth,” says Byrne in an interview on their website. “It took a while, a year or so—we both had other things to do, tours and records and all that—but after a year we had about four songs. We thought, let’s see how these come out and see if we want to move forward…Then somewhere along the line we decided, let’s do some more.”

Their ideas, says Clark in the same interview, “came in various forms. Sometimes they would be very skeletal—David would send me a melody and chords, and I would try to write words to it or rearrange it for horns. Sometimes I would send him arrangements that didn’t have melodies and he would write melodies over it and send it back. This is an honest-to-God collaboration; there really is no delineating what the roles were.”

In order to record the basic tracks, with a dozen or more brass players—who needed to be in the same room, performing together, as opposed to overdubbing—Byrne and St. Vincent chose the cavernous studio of Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Recalls Byrne: “It was kind of like, how great a variety of sounds and textures and colors and grooves can you get with that set of instruments? Can they do an orchestral ballad, can they do a funk groove, all the kind of stuff?”

Turns out that they could do all that and more, and as the sessions continued, all parties involved realized they were creating something unique—something that initially confused some Byrne fans. But, given how eclectic, musically curious and artfully eccentric he has always been, whether in the Heads, as a solo artist or as a collaborator—one project that comes to mind is his hot, horn-fueled, 1989 Latin-music album, “Rei Momo”—they really shouldn’t have been confused.

“I was a fan (of Clark’s music),” explains Byrne in the website interview. “So it started off like that. But you still don’t know if it’s going to work, so there’s a little bit of getting to know one another, and seeing how something like that can work. Especially when it’s something like this where it’s a little more complicated than, ‘I have a song, can you write words to it,’ or, ‘I have a song, will you sing it?’ This is more of a real collaboration.”

Kevin Ransom, a freelance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com, first wrote about David Byrne and the Talking Heads in 1982. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com.

The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority believes an enjoyable pedestrian experience is one of downtown's principal attractions and a necessary element in its social and economic life.

Building on that thinking, the DDA is launching an initiative to develop a Downtown Streetscape Framework Plan, taking a look at what works and what doesn't work on different streets.

"When we've done streetscape improvements in the past, we've looked at a single street or a few blocks of a street," said DDA Treasurer Roger Hewitt.

William Street is one of the streets in downtown Ann Arbor that DDA officials believe isn't realizing its full potential. In conjunction with private development, replacing blocks of parking, DDA officials are hopeful streetscape improvements will make it a more walkable and active corridor.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

The DDA's governing board took action this week to establish a $200,000 project budget for the effort to develop the new streetscape plan over the next two fiscal years.

The money, which is coming from downtown property tax revenues that go to the DDA, is intended to pay for consultants, contingency costs and other related items.

The plan is expected to address "quality of place" in streetscape design, ongoing maintenance issues and matters relating to private development.

Essentially, Hewitt said, the streetscape plan will take a broader look at the downtown and identify what sort of look and feel is desirable on different streets.

Hewitt said that doesn't mean looking at what materials might be used or where every lamp post, sign or bench might go — but what sort of streets they should be.

"Should there be parking on those streets or not parking?" he said. "Should the sidewalks be wider or narrower? Where should loading zones go? Where should taxi stands go?"

He added, "So we would identify four or five perhaps different types of streets in the downtown, and identify which streets would be in which category."

The DDA has reinvested millions of dollars in downtown property tax revenues over the years in transforming downtown streetscapes, including new concrete and brick sidewalks, pedestrian-scale lights, benches, and dozens of new trees and sidewalk trash cans.

Streetscape improvements have been made on Liberty, Washington, Main, Fourth Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Division, State, Maynard, Church Forest, East University, and other streets.

Customers dine outside at Red Hawk Grill on State Street in downtown Ann Arbor where business owner Roger Hewitt recently put in new sidewalk seating. Hewitt believes it might be possible in the future to remove on-street parking from State Street, have two lanes of traffic with bicycle lanes, and widen the sidewalks to better accommodate outdoor seating like this.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

Though there's been talk of another possible streetscape project on South University Avenue, Hewitt said that's not something the DDA is planning to plunge into right away.

Sandi Smith, who took over as chairwoman of the DDA board this week, said she hopes the larger streetscape planning doesn't keep the DDA from moving forward with streetscape improvements on South Main Street in conjunction with the 618 South Main development.

DDA board member John Splitt said it's his understanding the South Main streetscape work would be done next summer and it's unlikely anything is going to stand in the way of that.

A fair amount of the work on the streetscape plan would be done in-house by DDA and city staff, Hewitt said, though some money would go toward consulting fees.

"We'd certainly be working very closely with city staff, who are also I think very interested in this idea, as well as AATA and the University of Michigan," he said. "This will give us a blueprint, and probably some priorities, on where we should go with streetscapes in the future, and what the general guidelines of particular improvements on a particular street should look like."

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.

Bridal specialist Najla Khaldi holds a designer gown in the newly renovated Mimi's Bridal Boutique.

Angela Smith | For AnnArbor.com

"Say Yes to the Dress," "I Found the Gown," "Something Borrowed, Something New," "Girl Meets Gown" — it’s no wonder that today’s brides put so much focus on their dress, as there are so many TV shows that focus on finding the perfect gown for a bride’s special day.

TheKnot.com recommends only 8 percent to 10 percent of a wedding budget to be spent on attire. But with an average budget of $25,656, that small percentage can mean high spending for the special attire.

Ann Arbor’s bridal shops are responding to the demands. The Gown Shop in downtown Ann Arbor expanded this spring, and Mimi’s Bridal Boutique just completed a spring renovation to attract more selective bridal shoppers.

The boutique, at 3666 Washtenaw Ave. in Ann Arbor, might be missed by passers-by. It’s located in a small strip that is set back from other retail shops on the south side of Washtenaw.

The 2,500-square-foot boutique occupies two levels, the second floor for bridesmaid and social dresses, the first floor devoted to brides. The recent renovations include hardwood floors, track lighting and an updated the bathroom.

The shop has also taken on a splashy lavender hue that the bridal specialists say is flattering for many brides.

Mimi's Bridal has updated its look.

Angela Smith | For AnnArbor.com

“With the changing times and trends, it was clear to us we needed a fresher, clean look that reflects Mimi's Bridal and who we stand for. We cater to the modern bride who wants a romantic and timeless look that exudes sophistication and elegance,” said marketing director Jennifer Yacu.

Mimi's Bridal is owned by designer Yvette Mikho. Before immigrating to the United States in 1990, Mikho was an established jewelry designer in Baghdad, Iraq. Once she settled in Ann Arbor, Mikho moved from jewelry design to fashion design when she opened a tailoring shop.

After gaining experience in bridal gown tailoring, Mikho opened her own bridal boutique in 2001. Mikho currently resides in Dubai, but her staff of bridal specialists take appointments and walk-ins. The shop specializes in couture wedding gowns that range in budget from $1,000 to $6,000.

Mimi's Bridal Boutique is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Angela Smith is a freelance reporter. Contact the AnnArbor.com business desk at business@annarbor.com.

Three pothole-filled portions of North Territorial Road will be repaved this year after Salem Township officials struck a deal with the Washtenaw County Road Commission.

The Road Commission’s Board of Trustees approved a contract with the township in a 3-0 vote Tuesday that secures a payment schedule for the project.

A portion of North Territorial Road in Salem Township that will be repaved as a result of a new agreement between the Road Commission and township officials.

Amy Biolchini | AnnArbor.com

The Road Commission agreed to front the money for the approximate $1 million project on about three miles of North Territorial and portions of Gottfredson and Seven Mile roads.

The township's board agreed to pay the Road Commission back for the project with $350,000 this year, $350,000 next year and up to $350,000 in the final year.

Paying for the construction out of its reserves is only a measure the Road Commission was able to do because it had a dedicated source of revenue to cover the cost, said Roy Townsend, managing director.

“Our board agreed that we’d like to front the money as long as they pay us back,” Townsend said.

However, should the state government expand funding for local roads this year, the Road Commission has agreed that it will give the township back whatever money they’ve contributed to the project cost.

The township budgets $300,000 per year for its roads, Whittaker said.

“To me, it’s not really affecting our budget too much,” Whittaker said. “It’s taking care of a major problem we have right now.”

Whittaker said the township is able to afford the payments to the Road Commission because of the income it gets from tipping fees and the sale of methane gas at the Veolia Environmental Services landfill.

The township does not levy its own property tax and doesn’t offer many public services, Whittaker said.

The township has agreed to pay for the repaving of three portions of North Territorial Road, as well as a 0.6 mile portion of Gottfredson Road from M-14 to North Territorial.

Gottfredson Road from M-14 south to Plymouth Road also is slated to be resurfaced this summer. A contractor has already been selected for that project.

About one mile of Seven Mile Road between Chubb and Currie roads also will be repaved, but the county will pay for all of it.

The entire resurfacing project will be put out to bid soon and Townsend said he expects construction to begin at the end of the summer or in early fall.

Outside of Salem Township, there are about two miles of North Territorial Road in Northfield Township and two miles of the road in Webster Township that are still in bad shape that don’t have funding allocated to them for construction, Townsend said.

A number of residents who live along North Territorial Road spoke before the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners in May to ask them to find a solution for the continued deterioration of the pavement.

View Salem Township road improvements in a larger map

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