Through slow hitting, wild pitching and snowflakes, the streak endured.

The Michigan softball team extended its winning streak to 19 games with a 5-3 win over Iowa Saturday at Alumni Field. The streak includes 14 straight Big Ten wins this year, and is the longest active streak in the nation.

More Coverage: Boxscore

After mostly cruising through the Big Ten up to this point, Michigan had to overcome an early two-run deficit with a four-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“The mark of a great team is to find ways to win, and to win games when you don’t play your best, because that was not our best game,” Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. “It was not good softball in a lot of areas, but we found a way to pull it out.”

The Wolverines and Hawkeyes will play a doubleheader Sunday at noon and 3 p.m., after cold weather conditions forced a postponement of Friday’s scheduled Game 1 of the series.

Michigan came into the sixth inning with only six outs left in the game and one hit on the board. But after freshman Sierra Romero led off the inning with a walk, Caitlin Blanchard singled and senior Ashley Lane drew a nine-pitch walk to load the bases.

From there, a game-tying single by Sierra Lawrence and a two-run single by freshman pinch-hitter Kelsey Susalla had the Wolverines back to where they’re used to being.

“No matter how tough the first few innings are, we’re not going to give up any at-bats,” Blanchard said. “We were just going to keep pushing, keep attacking, keep fighting.”

Michigan had been averaging more than 12 runs per game in their first 13 Big Ten games, and had scored five or more runs in each one.

But Hawkeyes starter Kayla Massey gave up only one baserunner on an error in the first three innings on a tough day at the plate early for Michigan.

Michigan starter Sara Driesenga wasn’t as sharp. The sophomore struck out seven batters in 3 1/3 innings, but was pulled after issuing four walks and throwing two wild pitches.

Lefty Haylie Wagner came in with one out in the fourth, and after allowing the inherited runner on second base to score on a single held Iowa scoreless through the rest of the game.

“That’s what we needed her to do,” Hutchins said. “That’s her job, if she’s not starting the game, we need her to close the game and vice-versa. Those two complement each other well.”

The only Wolverines hit in the first five innings was a home run by Romero, who led off the fourth inning by hitting a ball just over the fence near the right field foul pole.

Romero’s home run is her 18th of the year, tying her for the Big Ten lead. She is now just three shy of tying Michigan’s single-season record with nine regular-season games left on the schedule.

“She’s lived up to her billing,” Hutchins said. “She’s a fantastic player, and she’s just a fantastic kid. I love her swag.”

The home run gave Michigan a one-run deficit that held up through a close play in the next inning. With runners on second and third, Iowa tried a suicide squeeze but was thrown out at the plate. Catcher Lauren Sweet then cut down Iowa’s Michelle Zoeller as she tried to take second base for a 3-2-8 double play to end the inning.

The call at the plate incensed Iowa coach Marla Looper, but allowed the Wolverines to escape the inning down by just one.

“It was a big play, I can tell you that, a big play,” Hutchens said. “We were fortunate to get out of there.”

Michigan is going for its sixth consecutive Big Ten title, and holds a 2.5-game lead over Nebraska, its opponent next weekend in Lincoln. The Wolverines have eight Big Ten games remaining on the schedule before the conference tournament May 9-12, which is being revived this year after a four-year hiatus.

But the Wolverines insist they aren’t looking ahead, or thinking about the 19 wins in their rearview mirror.

“I honestly didn’t even know the number until right now,” Blanchard said. “That’s not really something we’re focused on. We’re thinking about a Big Ten championship at this point, and obviously our goal is a national championship. We’re focusing on the next game we have, not on the 19 we’ve played.”

Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.

Natural food company Eden Foods will appear in U.S. District court on May 10 to challenge the the Obama administration over the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that companies provide contraceptive medications as part of their standard health care plans.

In the lawsuit, the company sited first amendment rights and president and co-founder Michael Potter's Roman Catholic beliefs to explain its objection to the new health care mandate.

Eden, founded in Ann Arbor in the late 1960s, failed to obtain an immediate temporary restraining order in its lawsuit that was filed near the end of March. The suit has led to a strong social media backlash in comment boards of news websites and on the company's Facebook page.

According to its website, Eden Foods is the oldest natural and organic food company in North America.

Ben Freed | AnnArbor.com

Potter spoke with AnnArbor.com to explain why he decided this lawsuit was the right course of action for Eden Foods and how customers have responded.

AnnArbor.com: What was the feedback you received from employees while you were determining whether to proceed with the lawsuit?

Michael Potter: I heard strong reactions to it back and forth throughout the time I was talking with people. It’s not the type of issue that leaves people sitting on the fence.

AnnArbor.com: What have you heard since the suit was filed?

Potter: I’ve heard a lot from the staff about the feedback and reaction from the general public once they heard about it. That happened pretty quickly.

AnnArbor.com: Have the comments from the public been more positive or negative?

Potter: We’ve heard a lot of both, supportive and against us. The majority of the feedback has been against us but I think that component of the population is a little more aggressive in responding. We’ve had thoughtful comments, hateful comments, intelligent comments, and ludicrous comments.

The threads out there on social media have been particularly bad… It’s been a lightning rod for a lot of vitriol and a lot of unpleasantness and I must say I’m disappointed in it.

AnnArbor.com: Are you concerned about what the economic impact might be to the company from the public reaction?

Potter: I certainly am concerned about that. There have been a lot of threats and declarations of boycotts on the Internet so that’s certainly alarming. The negativity surrounding us doing this… we all come to work to project Eden Foods in a good light and to have ended up precipitating this negative thing is disheartening.

At the same time, the economic impact remains to be seen. We’ve had some people saying they’ll buy more and a lot of people saying they won’t buy anything. It remains to be seen how it all plays out. For every negative feedback there could be 110 more people thinking negative thoughts, for every positive there could be 200 thinking positively or just 10. We really have no insight yet at this point, it’s too early to tell.

I can say that I am concerned about the impact it will have.

AnnArbor.com: Did you consider the potential economic blowback as part of your decision making process in filing the suit?

We did consider it, but we felt that most importantly we had to do the right thing. It was suggested to me that we be careful about offending part of our customer base and my reaction to that was and continues to be that once you start abandoning your principals it can be a pretty slippery slope from there.

AnnArbor.com: And why was this the right thing to do?

Potter: We had to object to the blatant government overreach that we saw happening. The government is just walking on the rights of companies and individuals who are trying to exercise their lives consistent with their conscious.

The affront to the exercise of religious practices is quite obvious, there’s obviously some conflict there. We felt that the safe thing to do would have been to be an ostrich and stick our head in the sand, but we decided not to do that.

… An obvious question that this overreach of government gives rise to is what’s next? OK, now birth control, then the counseling that encourages abortion and sterilization, and contraceptives, I have to pay for this? What’s next? I have to buy your raincoat? Your spare tires? Your weed killers?

AnnArbor.com: So for you is this more a question of religion or small-government ideology?

Potter: It’s hard to separate the two, but it’s more of the principal. Is this a right action or wrong action? It seems quite clear on the face of it that it’s wrong action by government. If they say something is necessary and they provide the funding, that’s one thing, but if they say you have to do this and you have to pay for it that’s something that’s completely different and that’s in violation of the law.

…We are not trying to get contraceptives out of Rite Aid for goodness sake. This is about trying to stop government overreach and telling them that they cannot tell people how to act.

…We provide our employees with good quality Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance with dental care and vision, and a 50 percent match on 401k. These are good benefits. I’ve been accused of being greedy. We’re not greedy, and we try to manage our employee benefits in a manner that is sustainable over the long term.

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

Pioneer High School could be the future site of two towering wind turbines in Ann Arbor, according to city records obtained by AnnArbor.com under the Freedom of Information Act.

The city's proposed $1.4 million wind energy project in partnership with Ann Arbor Public Schools has been debated since it entered the public spotlight a few months ago.

But that debate largely has taken place without the general public knowing exactly where the turbines might go, or exactly how much energy they might produce.

One of two wind turbines proposed in Ann Arbor would be the same as this Gaia 11-kW turbine in Cross Village.

Courtesy of Lake Effect Energy Corp.

AnnArbor.com obtained 16 pages of previously unreleased documents on Thursday, including the project budget the city submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy, and wind study data for two proposed sites at Pioneer High.

The studies were done by New York-based Wind Products Inc.

According to the wind study data, the potential net energy savings from both turbines combined over 20 years is a little less than $130,000.

• Download the reports

The city is planning to partner with AAPS and Wind Products Inc. to potentially install two turbines — both atop 120-foot monopoles — on school property.

The total budget for the project is shown at $1.44 million, which includes $556,571 for equipment, $830,797 in contractual costs, and lesser amounts for worker wages, benefits and travel.

The Ann Arbor City Council voted 10-0 in January to accept and appropriate up to $951,500 in federal grant money from the U.S. Department of Energy for the project.

The federal grant requires a $484,390 local match, but city officials have found a way around making a cash contribution. The city intends to partner with AAPS and Wind Products Inc. to provide the site and financing required for the match, so the city's contribution would be $18,590 in staff time.

It's expected the developer would construct the turbines and provide the public schools with a 20-year power purchase agreement that would help AAPS save on electricity costs.

Brian Steglitz, a senior utilities engineer for the city, has stated for months an exact location for the turbines hasn't been determined. Steglitz couldn't be reached to comment on the records showing two locations at Pioneer High were proposed months ago.

When asked at January's council meeting where the turbines might go, Steglitz told council members the school system specifically asked not to make the possible sites publicly available just yet.

Ann Arbor Public Schools Communications Director Liz Margolis said the district’s primary interest is the steady revenue stream the turbine project will bring in and the hands-on educational opportunities it can provide in the areas of science and technology.

The city is expected to lease the property for the wind turbine project from AAPS for a cost totaling about $2,000 per year, Margolis said.

“It’s a small amount, but we’ll take anything small we can get these day,” she said.

The records show the first wind turbine — an 11-kW Gaia turbine — proposed in a location just north of Pioneer High's outdoor track and east of the tennis courts.

Wind Analytics

The records show the first wind turbine — an 11-kW Gaia turbine — proposed in a location just north of Pioneer High's outdoor track and east of the tennis courts. A measure of the wind energy resource for the site determined an average wind speed of 9.5 mph.

With a 44-foot rotor diameter, the annual guaranteed production from the turbine is listed at 17,485 kWh per year.

Depending on the lease option chosen, the net energy savings over 20 years is shown ranging from $16,786 to $28,550.

The records show the second wind turbine — a 54.8-kW Endurance turbine — proposed in a location just south of the first one, along the western side of the outdoor track. A measure of the wind energy resource for the site determined an average wind speed of 9.3 mph.

With a 63-foot rotor diameter, the annual guaranteed production from the turbine is listed at 66,545 kWh per year.

Depending on the lease option chosen, the net energy savings over 20 years is shown ranging from $60,359 to $100,786.

The records show the second wind turbine — a 54.8-kW Endurance turbine — proposed in a location just south of the first one, along the western side of the outdoor track.

Wind Analytics

In 2011, the average Michigan household consumed 8,196 kWh of energy, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That means the annual guaranteed production of the two turbines — 84,030 kWh — might be enough to offset the energy use and carbon emissions of 10 households.

Records show maintenance and repairs of both turbines would be the responsibility of Wind Products Inc., which would warranty all equipment and workmanship for the term of the lease.

The wind energy project requires relatively little involvement from AAPS, Margolis said, and it gets to participate in a local environmental initiative that benefits students and teachers.

“It’s a great opportunity to learn about wind and the powers of wind,” Margolis said.

Steglitz said last week the project still is in its infancy and the city is trying to develop agreements with the stakeholders involved before entering the next phase of work.

Once the agreements are in place and approved by the City Council, the project budget shows a $236,110 site analysis and an environmental impact study would follow.

Following that would be an outreach and education phase expected to cost $320,443, and then $140,999 for wind generator selection and procurement, and $724,033 for installation.

Margolis said she is not sure how far along the city’s wind energy project is at the moment, but she expects the district and the city will send out a notification to residents in the Pioneer area and allow them the opportunity to weigh in on the project.

Joe Woods, managing director of an Ohio-based wind energy company that has studied wind speeds in Washtenaw County, argued last week the $1.4 million project is a waste of taxpayer money.

The purpose of the project is to demonstrate the viability of wind energy technology and use it as an educational tool for the community and the schools. Project officials have said people seem to be misunderstanding the project — it isn't about setting up a commercially viable wind farm.

"I don't think that we are, as a city, indicating that we think Ann Arbor has this great wind resource and we want to tap into it," Steglitz told the City Council in January.

"What this is really about is educating the community about renewable sources of energy. And to have a wind turbine in the city, which is sort of a monument to renewable energy, sort of speaks a little bit to the community's goals and interests."

K-12 education reporter Danielle Arndt contributed to this report.

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.

A dialogue on the Ann Arbor Public Schools budget situation for fiscal year 2013-14 drew about 60 people to Scarlett Middle School Saturday to share thoughts and ask questions about upcoming challenges the district faces.

Ann Arbor school board Treasurer Glenn Nelson takes notes as people talk at Saturday morning's budget forum at Scarlett Middle School.

Danielle Arndt | AnnArbor.com

AAPS Superintendent Patricia Green tendered her resignation after 1 a.m. on April 11. She plans to retire this summer, ending a 43-year career in public education.

Green's stepping down shocked many in the school community, including board members, considering she signed a five-year contract in March of 2011. The board now must grapple with how to conduct a national superintendent search that will yield a new leader by September in the midst of dealing with an $8.67 million budget shortfall and shrinking fund balance.

Board Treasurer Glenn Nelson estimated Saturday, that on June 30, the end of the current fiscal year, the district will have about $9 million in its savings account, the majority of which is needed to make payroll for AAPS employees during the summer months.

When the board passed its nearly $188.5 million budget in June 2012, trustees approved using $6.04 million from the district's then-$18.73 million fund balance, bringing the total to $12.69 million. It's possible AAPS officials will have to dip into that fund balance again in the coming months to account for about a $2.5 million current-year budget deficit.

In addition to Nelson and Mexicotte, Trustee Simone Lightfoot also facilitated Saturday's dialogue. She attended for Trustee Susan Baskett, who was originally scheduled.

Despite Mexicotte designating the first 20 minutes of the event as an opportunity for debating the superintendent search, people continued to bring it up throughout the budget forum. The majority of attendees were AAPS staff members or parents, many of whom were graduates of Ann Arbor themselves or educators in other districts.

Those who spoke about the superintendent search stressed the importance of looking local first — hiring a "townie" — and asked the board to give preference to internal candidates so they would feel encouraged, and not intimidated, to apply.

Some audience members suggested a separate application period for internal candidates before the position is posted nationwide.

"We have incredibly talented people working in Ann Arbor… I can think of six to 10 individuals who would do a fabulous job running our district. Whether they would want to or not, I don't know," said Slauson Middle School teacher Jon Strite.

Others talked about the qualities and characteristics they would like to see in the next superintendent.

Pioneer High School teacher Jeff Kass said he would like the district to hire a superintendent who doesn't hide in his or her office and can get along with teachers.

"I spoke with Dr. Green once and in about four minutes I knew she was a terrible choice for this community," he said.

But Kass added, what's more important than which qualities the superintendent possesses is having teachers involved in the process. He requested the board invite teachers to serve on the selection committee.

Susan McKee, a media specialist at Huron High School, said one things she would like the board to look into is better control of textbook loss at the secondary buildings. She recently compiled a four-year report of textbooks that had left Huron with students who transferred to other AAPS schools, such as Pioneer, Skyline or Roberto Clemente. She said in four years, $16,000 in textbooks was lost from her school.

"And this is just at Huron. I would imagine there would probably be similar numbers from Pioneer students who have left," McKee said.

Board President Deb Mexicotte, center, responds to a question during a community forum about the budget Saturday at Scarlett Middle School.

Danielle Arndt | AnnArbor.com

In his opening remarks, Nelson stressed the need to bring in additional revenue to the district and to increase donations and private giving through the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation. He also said advocating for legislative change and pushing state legislators to restore funding to public education is important.

Strite recommended the district consider a millage for Community Education and Recreation.

Such a millage would give the Rec and Ed department more money and the district could move extracurricular items — such as music, band, theater and athletics — to the Rec and Ed budget, which would free up dollars in the general fund to be used on operating expenses, Strite said.

But Nelson said a countywide enhancement millage is the most effective way to get money into the Ann Arbor Public Schools system. He said it has more flexibility in terms of how the money can be spent and more AAPS students would benefit from the enhancement millage than if the tax dollars were given to Rec and Ed, which also serves non-district residents.

Attendee Letitia Kunselman, who is a teacher in another district, said to be successful in a countywide enhancement millage the next time around, school districts need to be asking teachers where they see wasteful spending in their own buildings. She said she knows a number of teachers who did not support the millage in 2009 because they did not feel like their districts were using money wisely to begin with.

A number of parents stressed how even though they and their children value participation in sports, theater, band and the like, they would rather see these items cut than have class sizes increase again. These same parents would rather keep block scheduling and seventh-hour options at the high school as well, if it came down to extracurriculars versus class sizes and educational opportunities.

One woman said eliminating the seventh-hour would put more children back in the classrooms during the typical school day, leading to larger class sizes. Kass said he has 36 students in his classes.

Strite suggested eliminating as many of the district's half-days for professional development as possible. He said half-days are expensive and can be inconvenient for families when multiple half-days occur in a row, such as a Thursday-Friday or a Monday-Tuesday for staff training.

"Move Tuesday's half-day to Monday and help our families out. Let them take a long weekend and go somewhere… It doesn't make sense in terms of having to clean and heat the building," Strite said.

The professional development days, however, are a contractual piece, determined by collective bargaining, Mexicotte said. "But it's a piece we certainly want to look at."

Strite said the district also could save on substitute costs and principal costs by scheduling more meetings in the afternoon, after the school day ends, rather than mid-day. He said teachers who are required to attend mid-level counsel meetings have to get subs and if more meetings were in the afternoon, maybe AAPS wouldn't need as many principal positions per building because one principal wouldn't have to cover for the other regularly.

The AAPS administration will present its formal budget recommendations to the Board of Education at Wednesday's regular meeting. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library. The administration then will host two community information sessions on the budget in May: from 7 to 8:30 p.m. May 2 and May 7 at Huron and Pioneer high schools, respectively.

• View other important dates in the budget process.

Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.

Student startup companies showed off their products at the first VEX Venture Expo in the Michigan Union.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

The catalyst for the new student-run marketplace was a pitch entered into a competition it had no chance of winning.

“I put out the idea as part of the ‘1,000 Pitches’ competition, but I was a director of the program so I couldn’t really win,” Cathy Huang said.

“But [Central Student Government president] Manish [Parikh] really, really liked the idea. He’s been really supportive of entrepreneurship during his leadership and he told me ‘Cathy, if you can get a team to mobilize and do this, I will help fund it.’”

Huang, who is on the executive board of entrepreneurship-minded student group MPowered, has a team of about 15 people who have helped bring VEX to reality. The group has transformed the former office of STA Travel Agency into a hub of startup activity.

“We have 13 startups in here already and we have representation from TechArb, Tech Transfer, the Zell Lurie Institute in the business school and the Center for Entrepreneurship in the engineering school,” Huang said.

Cathy Huang checks out a software startup at VEX on Sunday. She said she hopes eventually the space will have permanent computers or iPads to display less tangible startup products.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

“We’re trying out a grab-and-go concept here in VEX,” co-founder and U-M senior Alex Perlman said.

“It’s a great way for us to test out what people want from pre-prepared food in a small setting. Also, if you have packaged food it seems much more reputable than just someone serving it out of a cart. We’d love to eventually be in a number of locations around the city.”

Many of the startup companies only will be selling their products during the Sunday “showcase” hours, but the Beet Box will be open daily in the space from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Huang said the space is intended to be for later-stage startups who are prepared to sell their products and the original idea was for people to set up “store-fronts.”

“We realized quickly that it was a little too much to ask for these entrepreneurs to be selling every day because they are, after all, students,” she said.

“So we shifted the model to having Sunday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. as a selling day. For the rest of the week VEX will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. as a workplace. So entrepreneurs or just any other students can come in and work.”

When they're not pitching ideas or products to fellow students, entrepreneurs can use the VEX space to relax, study or work on their startup companies.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

While Ann Arbor’s Tech Brewery and the University of Michigan’s TechArb are examples of this concept, Huang said VEX will be different because there are no barriers to entry.

The space opened for the first time April 14 on the tail end of U-M’s first Month of Entrepreneurship. The month, a project of the student government’s entrepreneurship commission, really was more of a seven-week period that featured nearly 40 events put on by 18 different student organizations.

“Our belief is that entrepreneurship is not just for the 10 percent or 20 percent of the student body that’s in the engineering school or the business school,” Parikh said.

“The spirit of innovation can be used by the entire student body. The goal of this month was to touch every student through some event or an email or by them reading an article about it. We have caused a mindset change and that’s really exciting.”

Big dreams often walk hand in hand with entrepreneurship and most student startup founders dream of becoming the next “big thing.” Before they make it on a national or global scale, VEX gives these budding startups the opportunity to focus on customer discovery at a hyper-local scale.

“It’s not really entrepreneurship unless you’re able to connect with customers, and this gives students a built-in place to do that,” CSG vice president Omar Hashwi said.

“This is a perfect way for students to really get their businesses and products out there in a way that’s never been done before on campus.”

Everyone involved said VEX is in an experimental stage for now, but could become a permanent fixture in the university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem as early as next fall.

VEX is open as a workspace from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily and as a showcase and marketplace from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. The space is located in the bottom floor of the Michigan Union.

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

Sam Copi, manager of Copi Properties said the houses at 541 and 543 S. Division St., pictured here, have tenants through 2014.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

Construction for the new residence hall was approved at Thursday’s regents meeting.

According to university spokesman Rick Fitzgerald, U-M offered to buy the two properties owned by David Copi at 541 and 543 S. Division St., in December, around the same time the property leased by Blimpy Burger was purchased by the university.

“It was determined at that point that the parties were so far apart that an agreement simply could not be reached right then,” he said.

The Board of Regents voted Thursday to direct officers and staff of the university to acquire the two parcels for “just compensation,” noting they should exercise the right of eminent domain if necessary.

The two properties that could be purchased by the university are both under the management of Copi Properties. According to Sam Copi, David Copi’s son and manager of Copi Properties, 541 S. Division St. is a six-bedroom house under lease through May 2014. The property at 543 S. Division St. contains a six-bedroom and a three-bedroom unit, both under lease through September 2014.

If Copi decides not to sell the properties after an official offer is made, U-M can file condemnation actions on the properties, likely in Washtenaw County Circuit Court.

“The owners of the property will then receive an official summons and complaint for condemnation for the property,” eminent domain attorney H. Adam Cohen said.

Fitzgerald said as of Friday, the university had not filed a condemnation action. If an action is filed, Copi could attempt to prove there is either a lack of public use or public necessity for the proposed project.

“If either one of those is disproved, that would be sufficient to defeat taking the property,” Cohen, an attorney with the Birmingham-based Steinhardt, Pesick and Cohen, said.

In order to determine public use, a court would look at whether use of the property would be for the benefit or use of the public. In the case of the university, Cohen said the “public” also can be defined as the students.

Cohen said it is important that the university be the one building and operating the future dormitory. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that it is unconstitutional for a public entity to claim property through eminent domain and then sell it to a private company or entity.

The second half of the equation, public necessity, refers to how necessary these particular parcels are to the project.

“Necessity is more along the lines of ‘does the government or entity really need this property as opposed to another property down the street?’ or ‘do they really need all of my property as opposed to just part of it?’” Cohen said.

He added that the fact that the building replacing the houses will be a residence hall puts the university on solid footing.

“A residence hall is a classic university use,” he said. “This university is a public university, which enjoys the power of eminent domain. And, I would suggest, even though I am an advocate for owners rights, that a dormitory or residence hall is a typical university function and typical public use.”

If Copi declines to contest whether the property is eligible for eminent domain, the court’s attention would turn to what “just compensation” is for the property. The University paid South Division Street Properties, LLC, a company registered to former athletic director William Martin, $3.17 million for four properties in the area.

According to Ann Arbor city tax records, the four property’s assessed value was $845,200, giving them an approximate market value of $1.69 million. The two properties owned by Copi have a combined assessed value of $366,200 giving them an approximate market value of $732,400.

Sam Copi said he and his father declined to comment on the situation. Mike Martin, William Martin’s son, also declined comment and said his father is unreachable for the time being.

Fitzgerald said the university does not have a timeline for the acquisition of the property, but the vote by the regents was necessary before any eminent domain proceedings could occur.

“Those are the remaining pieces of the puzzle for an important location for redevelopment for central campus,” he said.

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

I won’t even pretend to be objective about Patty Larkin, the Cape Cod-based singer-songwriter in concert Thursday at The Ark. I’ll just say that I think she’s one of the best musicians in the known universe, her skills as a guitar player, songwriter and vocalist right up there with the likes of Joni Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn, Jonatha Brooke and John Gorka.

Back in my days as a music host at WDET-FM in Detroit, Patty stopped by the station in the fall of 1997 to perform “Wolf at the Door,” the signature song from her then-new “Perishable Fruit” album. She proceeded to blow the roof off the joint by playing and singing a note-perfect, barn-burning version of the intricate track, one filled with fiendishly difficult acoustic guitar riffs and rapid-fire lyrics. One of those stunning moments I still remember as if it happened yesterday.

Fast-forwarding to 2010, Patty was the perfect choice to host that year’s Ann Arbor Folk Festival, keeping the two-night event flowing smoothly with her wit, music, and expert timing. I recently caught up to this accomplished artist at a busy time in her life, filled with changes, challenges and—as always—music.

Patty Larkin

Patty Larkin: Yeah, it’s just finished as of yesterday. I did the album with Mike Denneen, who’s worked a lot with Aimee Mann, whom I really love. He’s a Boston-based producer, record company owner and has a great studio where I mixed my last four projects.

This time I didn’t want to play everything again like I did on (the 2008 album) “Watch the Sky.” I really had fun with Mike; he’s really easygoing and has creative energy. There’s a new drummer and bass player and a cellist on the record.

It’s music from the last four years, and in that time life has run its course. I have a beautiful family with two little girls with my partner Bette (Warner), but I lost both my parents during that time. It was really an emotional time and some of the songs were so heavy I couldn’t sing them initially. There are three different sections on the album. I thought of it as three suites of music: one is the winter suite—that struggle, the heaviness of it, and one is a dream suite of some beautiful, whimsical songs. I wrote them before I hosted the Ann Arbor Folk Festival.

And then there’s the Peaked Hill suite, and those are songs I wrote at these dune shacks that are here on the outer shores of Cape Cod. There are these little structures built by beach-goers and artists and writers. There’s nothing out there but a well and a kerosene lamp; it’s a back to nature place.

Q: Was it cathartic to write these new songs? Did it feel better to write and sing about all these major life events?

P.L.: Definitely. It was cathartic to me, but the question was whether other people could relate to them. I had to weed through about 30 snippets of songs I had recorded during those years and determine what I wanted to use.

It was really hard to start this record. You go right back to that heavy place. Then you move into the beautiful pieces and that to me is moving as well. People would ask me if I had written any songs about my kids and I would say, “No, not really; I’m just trying to survive the process, working with a lack of sleep.” But I did write “Because of This,” a love song to my kids, where you can hear in my voice that I’m about to lose it halfway through.

I think I’m feeling lighter because I’m moving on. Now it’s someone else’s. To give these songs to someone else outside the house and have a co-producer like Mike was helpful and much more fun in a way. We have about three working titles for the album, one of which is “Still Green.” It’ll come out mid-to-late summer.

Q: Were your parents supportive of your career?

P.L.: They both were. My mom was my biggest fan; my dad loved music. Both of their mothers were musicians; one played for silent films in Chicago and the other was a choir director and organist. There was a lot of music around the house. What was hard for them was (understanding) my career. It took them a little while to figure out what kind of music I was doing. Once they got a handle on it and saw the scene and met Willy Porter and Bruce Cockburn and other people I was touring with and saw how audiences enjoyed this music they were really super supportive. They were always up for going to Madison or Chicago to see me play.

Q: You’ve long been associated with the Boston music scene, but you’re from the Midwest originally, right?

P.L.: Yes, my parents met in Chicago but I was born in Des Moines. My older sister Kathleen’s husband was from the Boston area and was going to Harvard Business School and they were having their first baby. I thought that I would move out there and check out Boston and maybe study some guitar at the Berklee College of Music, and I ended up staying. There was so much going on and I ended up getting involved with the traditional music scene and studying jazz and playing and writing folk music. I moved here in the mid-70s. I went to Berklee briefly and now I’m doing an artist in residency there.

Q: Are you really? Tell us more about that.

P.L.: I’ve been doing songwriting and guitar clinics for a long time there. I go up once a month for two full days and do a seminar with ten songwriters. Then this last week I went in for two twelve-hour recording sessions where we took two of the writers and recorded their songs. It’s really fresh. They talk to me about their favorite songwriters and I realize all of my reference points are from the 2000’s or more likely from the '90s—they were babies then. It’s good to get their energy; they’re super-psyched, they’re super-scared and they’re graduating and saying, ‘Now what do we do?’ They want to know, ‘How did you do it? How did you put this (career) together for yourself?’

Patty Larkin performs at the Ark Thursday, April 25, at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets and information available at www.theark.org.

Martin Bandyke is the 6-10am weekday morning host at Ann Arbor’s 107one, WQKL-FM. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and at www.martinbandyke.com.

Michigan gymnasts hold up the national team trophy at the end of the NCAA college men's gymnastics championship in State College, Pa., Saturday, April 20, 2013.

The Associated Press

Michigan finished with 443.200 points, and Oklahoma had 440.100 after leading by five-tenths after five events. The Wolverines' final event was floor exercise and they scored 75.250, while the Sooners earned 72.750 on the high bar.

The championship was Michigan's fifth, and the third for head coach Kurt Golder. It was Mikuak's second national championship in the all-around. He won as a freshman and was runner-up as a junior.

"You work so hard every year and it doesn't always come to fruition," Golder said. "When it does, it's very special."

Michigan's Sam Mikulak reacts to earning the all-around title in the NCAA college men's gymnastics championship in State College, Pa., Saturday, April 20, 2013.

Associated Press

"We were trying to get as good as we could during the year and see how far we could go," Williams said. "There's no way I could have projected this team would have finished second."

Stanford was third at 436.150, followed by host Penn State at 436.100, Iowa at 426.450 and Illinois at 422.550.

Mikulak finished at 91.150 for his second all-around title in three years. He was second last season. Teammate Adrian de los Angeles was second at 88.350.

"We wanted that 1-2 finish and that's what we got," Mikulak said.

The NCAA title in his junior season capped off quite a year for Mikulak, a member of the U.S. senior national team who competed in the London Olympics.

"There's a lot more pride with this team of brothers I've been working so hard every day with in the gym," Mikulak said. "As much as the Olympics was an amazing experience, this is something that I hadn't accomplished and this is the final accolade I was striving to get for my college career."

Golder chose to start on the pommel horse, typically one of the competition's most difficult events.

"If you do have trouble, you have five events to dig yourself out of a hole you just dug," Golder said. "But we didn't have trouble. That's what we did at Big Tens and we won and that's what we did in prelims. So there wasn't much of a need to change."

Individual champions will be determined in the six events Sunday. The men's gymnastics team is the second Michigan team to win a national championship in less than a month with the men's swimming team winning a championship on March 30.

The Ann Arbor Fire Department responded to a call Saturday on the 1600 block of Brookfield Drive in Ann Arbor after an occupant reported black smoke coming from inside an apartment.

Fire crews arrived at the multi-family apartment building around 7:32 p.m. and quickly extinguished a fire that began in the laundry area of a second-floor apartment.

All occupants of the building were outside when AAFD arrived on scene and there were no injuries reported. Huron Valley Ambulance and Red Cross also assisted.

There was smoke and water damage done to the apartment the fire originated, as well as water damage to the apartment below it. The cost of damages is unknown at this time.

The fire is being investigated by fire inspectors.

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Update at 12:04 p.m.: Dispatchers with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office have confirmed the left lane on southbound U.S. 23 near eastbound M-14 has re-opened. There was no further information available on the incident that caused the lane closure.

The left lane of southbound US-23 near eastbound M-14 is closed off as of 10:40 a.m. Sunday due to a crash.

Dispatchers with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office said a driver hit the railing of the highway, but more details of the crash are unknown at this time.

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A "breakdown of communication" between the Washtenaw County Road Commission, Dexter Township officials and a contracting company means two new disaster warning sirens installed in December must be relocated.

Dexter Township entered into a $370,000 contract with Front Line Plus Inc., of Monticello, Minn., for the installation of 16 new disaster warning sirens, prompted by the tornado that swept through the area in March 2012.

A new disaster warning signal installed on Waterloo Road in Dexter Township that Washtenaw County Road Commission officials say must be moved because it's too close to the road.

Courtesy of Washtenaw County Road Commission

However, four of the sirens that were installed in Dexter Township are within a right-of-way area and closer to the road than they should be, per the Road Commission. Front Line Plus requested the Road Commission waive its requirements that the poles be a minimum of 28 feet from the center line of a road.

"As I am sure the Road Commission knows, installing 60-foot poles with sirens and solar power in a foliage-rich area combined with countless underground utilities, made this project a challenge," Green wrote in a Jan. 20 letter to the Road Commission.

Roy Townsend, director of the Road Commission, granted the company a waiver for one of the sirens by written letter and waived the requirements for another of the siren locations at an April 17 meeting of the Road Commission.

Two of the sirens must be moved because they're far too close to the road, Townsend said, noting they're about eight feet from the edge of the roadway:

• Siren number 10 on Donner Road south of Colby Road
• Siren number 13 on Waterloo Road east of Werkner Road

“At the end of the day, the company put them in the wrong location,” Townsend said.

Townsend said the company started installing the sirens prior to getting the proper permits for the work.

Dexter Township officials were under the impression that the permits had been issued for the work, but that the contractor didn’t have them in hand when they started installing the sirens, said township clerk Harley Rider.

“There was a breakdown of communication,” Rider said.

Green of Front Line Plus declined to comment, and deferred to Rider on the issue.

The location of the sirens were marked by the company and a representative of the township's Public Safety Advisory Committee, which initially was reviewed by the Road Commission, Rider said.

The contractor installed the siren on Waterloo Road in a different location than it was marked, Rider said.

"The contractor put it closer to the road than we had it marked," Rider said.

Miscommunication about the location of private property and the right-of-way area at the Donner Road site caused the contractor to install the pole in a place that was marked but ended up being incorrect, Rider said.

Front Line Plus likely will pay for the relocation of the Waterloo Road siren, Rider said. Rider expects Front Line Plus to ask the township to pay for part or all of the relocation of the Donner Road siren.

"I would have the tendency to agree," Rider said. "The information that everyone had at the time wasn't complete. ... It was a breakdown of communication between all parties."

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

For 35 years, Michigan law has protected health care providers who refuse to perform an abortion on moral or religious grounds.

Hospitals and clinics can't be sued. Doctors and nurses can't lose their jobs for objecting to terminating a pregnancy.

A bill allowing refusal of health services on a moral basis could pass as early as next week.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

Legislation that could be voted on as early as this week in the Republican-led Legislature would extend the same legal protections for any medical service such as providing contraception or medical marijuana, or taking someone off life support. Employers and health insurers — not just medical providers — also could opt out of paying for services as a matter of conscience.

Supporters say the legislation protects religious freedom and is needed particularly in the wake of the federal health care law mandating employer-provided birth control in their health plans. Opponents counter that the bill is an overreach that wrongly lets health workers and organizations impose their beliefs on patients, putting their treatment at risk.

"We feel like it's the right balance between patient care and the rights of individuals who work in that field to have a clear conscience," said Sen. John Moolenaar, a Midland Republican and sponsor of the bill pending on the Senate floor.

While he acknowledged the state cannot override the federal health law, Moolenaar said Michigan needs a framework to proactively safeguard health providers from possible mandates from state government or their employers.

The legislation would require health facilities, doctors and pharmacists to adopt a policy for situations in which an employee objects to a service as a matter of conscience. Employers would be prohibited from asking prospective employees about their objection to a health service unless it is a "regular or substantial" portion of the duties for the job.

To critics, the bill is too broad — inviting the potential for abuse — and unnecessary.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said it is on the front lines of protecting people's right to practice their religion and it gets few complaints from health workers about not being accommodated for their religious views.

"It's very broad in that it basically allows any person or organization or corporation to assert an objection to just about anything based on moral or principles or religious tenets," said Shelli Weisberg, the ACLU's legislative director.

Versions of the conscience-objection legislation extending to more than just abortion date back to at least 2001, but it has never reached a governor's desk. The GOP-dominated Senate passed a bill in December's lame-duck session, giving hope to backers that it can win approval if momentum builds earlier in this two-year session.

Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, has taken no official position on the measure, though he typically is not enthusiastic about social issues and prefers to focus on budget and economic policies. He vetoed abortion-related insurance restrictions late last year while signing requirements that abortion clinics be licensed.

Lining up against the latest measure are hospitals and insurers that say it is a solution in search of a problem. The state's main group of physicians says it has concerns and is working with Moolenaar to make sure patients' access to health care could not be hindered.

The Michigan Health and Hospital Association told senators the legislation "elevates the status of employees above the needs of patients."

Defenders counter that a moral objection could not be asserted in an emergency. In non-emergencies, providers objecting to a procedure would have to tell patients about their conditions and other options for treatment.

"Patients can be sure their needs are met," said Tom Hickson, vice president for public policy and advocacy at the Michigan Catholic Conference, a backer of the legislation. "The bill unequivocally states patient discrimination is not allowed."

Opponents, however, worry about the potential problems for rural residents who have fewer places to go for treatment. They remain concerned about potential discrimination against gays and others, and say health facilities funded in part by taxpayer-supported programs such as Medicare and Medicaid should not be able to refuse to treat people.

Legislators have heard from Jenni Polfus, a Catholic nurse in the Upper Peninsula who said she had to leave a job at a local health department rather than be trained in the family planning program. Mike Koelzer, a Grand Rapids pharmacist, also is advocating for the bill. Koelzer said he stopped selling all forms of contraception at his store and thinks others in the medical field should have legal protections for following their religious beliefs.

The legislation also would apply to universities and colleges.

Conservatives are troubled by the case of an Eastern Michigan University student who said she was removed from a graduate-level counseling program in 2009 for refusing to counsel gay clients. A separate bill protecting counseling and psychology students from discipline if they refuse to see clients for religious reasons won passage from House Republicans last year before dying in the Senate.

The splash pad at the new Blue Heron Bay water park at Independence Lake County Park in Webster Township. It will be open the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend for the first time.

Amy Biolchini | AnnArbor.com

Work has been ongoing for two years to build the $4 million Blue Heron Bay splash park about mid-way from the park entrance to the beach on Independence Lake in Webster Township.

Yellow concrete denotes the toddler area, while the green concrete denotes the family area in the new Blue Heron Bay water park.

Amy Biolchini | AnnArbor.com

Memorial Day weekend also will mark the opening of the Rolling Hills Water Park at 7660 Stony Creek Road in Ypsilanti Township, which has been under construction since it closed last Labor Day. About $4.5 million in improvements are about 75 percent complete.

At Blue Heron Bay, a new splash pad with three separate areas for toddlers, families and tweens has been built at the site, as well as a two-story water slide with two flumes: One that’s enclosed and one that’s open.

The splash park is universally accessible. Both new water slides at Blue Heron Bay and Rolling Hills will have a minimum height requirement of 42 inches - which is different than most area water parks that have a height requirement of 48 inches.

A new two-story water slide at Blue Heron Bay water park.

Amy Biolchini | AnnArbor.com

Because there is no standing water at the splash park, each of the attendants at the park are not required to be trained as lifeguards, said Brian Machemer, superintendent at Independence Lake County Park.

The attendants at the splash park will all be trained in first aid and CPR, Machemer said, and there will be at least one lifeguard on duty.

Patrons will be welcomed to Blue Heron Bay by a new building housing restrooms, changing areas and a snack stand. There are outdoor showers, but no indoor showers because the splash park does not include a pool.

Adjacent to the snack stand is an outdoor grill area where staff will prepare grilled chicken sandwiches and hamburgers for sale. The snack area also will be accessible from outside the splash park.

The splash park itself is divided into three areas for use using colored concrete and interactive water toys targeted at specific age groups.

For toddlers, water features are at the ground level and include small bubbling fountains and turtles and frogs that spit water. There are a number of large fabric awnings that will provide shade.

In the family zone, there are larger water features - including the central focal point of the whole park, a tall spinning wheel that will slowly fill with water before dumping it on those below. About 250 lounge chairs will be on the patio surrounding the splash pad area, as well as a number of picnic tables.

A separate zone for tweens on the opposite side of the splash park from the toddler area has many interactive water features, including water cannons and a giant spider that creates a web of water when certain sensors are activated.

A giant spider in the tween area of the new Blue Heron Bay water park that will spray a web of water when people step on all the sensors on the ground at the same time.

Amy Biolchini | AnnArbor.com

The new facility will replace the former splash park, which was located next to the beach at the northern part of the property.

It had been operational for about 12 summer seasons and was mechanically failing, Dehring said.

The old splash park has been torn out and will be replaced by grass to create more of a natural area near the beach, Dehring said.

In previous summers, the park has been congested as users had to drive all the way to the northern half of the property to get to the beach and the splash park.

Orienting the new splash park in the middle of the Independence Lake County Park property was important to re-locate the hub of the activity to a central location, said Bob Tetens, director of the Washtenaw County Parks Commission.

The area was previously under-utilized, as it hosted a rentable pavilion - the Gamble Group Center - and parking lot for disc golf, Tetens said. The Gamble Group Center remains and has been renovated, as the new facility has been built around it.

Admission fees for Blue Heron Bay have been set by the Washtenaw County Parks Commission:

• For Washtenaw County residents: $4 per day; $3 after 5 p.m. on weekdays
• Non-residents: $5 per day; $4 after 5 p.m. on weekdays
• Toddlers age 2 years old and younger: Free

The parks commission also has increased the fees by $1 at Rolling Hills Water Park. Rates there have not increased since 2003, and the commission felt it was justified given the millions in upgrades to the park underway.

A bathhouse, concession area and new entrance under construction at Rolling Hills Water Park in Ypsilanti Township. Work will be complete by the time the park opens Memorial Day weekend.

Courtesy of Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation

Additionally, the bathhouse and entryway have been removed and re-built in a different location to the entrance that is directly behind the wave pool.

The perimeter of the park has also been extended to allow for more grassy areas for people to sunbathe. Tetens said the parks commission is considering allowing patrons to Rolling Hills to bring their own lawn chairs this summer.

To give feedback on parks and trails operated by the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation department, visit its online survey.

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

One of Ann Arbor’s best-remembered events from recent history has been preserved for the ages.

Crowds of people lined Main Street, Stadium Boulevard and Washtenaw Avenue on a Sunday in June 1987 to witness the impossible: The relocation of two behemoth late 19th century Queen Anne houses from downtown Ann Arbor nearly five miles east. It became a public spectacle as the two Victorian beauties with turrets and gingerbread trim inched like mammoth turtles down cordoned off streets.

Two late 19th century Queen Anne houses were moved from downtown Ann Arbor nearly five miles east in June 1987.

Courtesy of Dr. Lev Linkner via Priceless Photo Preservation

Linker paid to have power lines moved.

Courtesy of Dr. Lev Linkner via Priceless Photo Preservation

“It gets me every time, watching these two mammoth houses going over the Stadium Bridge knowing now that the bridge was not safe,” said Rob Hoffman, co-owner of Priceless Photo Preservation, which archives, organizes and digitizes photos, slides and home movies. Priceless Photo recently moved to its first brick-and-mortar location inside the Goodyear Building at 122 S. Main.

When Dr. Edward “Lev” Linkner decided to rescue two historic downtown Ann Arbor houses and move them east of town, people thought he was crazy. While the two Queen Annes that sat on South Main Street for more than a century were free - they were going to be razed to make way for development - the work and cost it took to move them five miles was tremendous.

That didn’t stop the Ann Arbor physician.

He hired an architect, secured countless permits, paid to have power lines moved and trees trimmed, hired police for crowd control, purchased $1 million liability insurance from Lloyd’s of London, bought a parcel of land on Huron Parkway. On one sunny-turned stormy Sunday, Linkner watched from the seat of his bicycle as the houses moved down Main Street, east onto East Stadium Boulevard past the busy intersection of Packard and onto the new foundation at 2345 S. Huron Parkway.

While Linkner had never been inside the houses, they carried special meaning. He had lived nearby and found himself passing the houses in the wee hours of the night. “My first child was a crappy sleeper and I’d walk by those two houses and thought they were so beautiful,” Linkner said.

In 1986, when a patient who worked in one of the houses told him they were scheduled for demolition, Linkner decided to save them. “I was naïve. I didn’t know what I would do with them,” he said. “I didn’t have any land.” Fellow physician Dennis Chernin joined the effort and the two decided to move the houses and create The Parkway Center, which today hosts about 30 medical practitioners.

The two homes today serve as The Parkway Center, which hosts about 30 medical practitioners, in its location on Huron Parkway.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

In addition to movies of his family, Linkner wanted to preserve the 30-minute movie of the house move. As a bonus, Hoffman edited a six-minute version of the move and posted it online. “It was a huge event in Ann Arbor, Hoffman said. “There was never anything like it. If you lived in Ann Arbor then, you probably remember it.”

In addition to some good luck of a smooth move, there was some magic at work. Once the houses were set on their new foundations late in the day of June 21, 1987, a rainbow appeared, Linkner said. “On the 25th anniversary of the move, a double rainbow appeared,” Linkner said. “I hadn’t seen one in 25 years. It makes you wonder.”

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

Four men beat and robbed a 23-year-old man as he ran near Ford Lake in Ypsilanti Township Friday afternoon, a Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office official said Monday morning.

Fox said the man was punched and knocked to the ground by one of the four men. After he fell, the rest of the group punched and kicked him and one man went through his pockets, Fox said.

The four men then got into a black Ford Taurus with tinted windows and drove away from the area.

Two of the men were described as black, in their early 20s, with shoulder-length hair in braids and wearing black Carhartt coats. The third man was described as black, in his mid-20s to early 30s, bald and wearing a black Carhartt coat. The fourth man was described a black, between 18 and 25 years old and wearing a yellow sweater.

Anyone with information on this incident or the suspects is encouraged to call the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office anonymous tip line at 734-973-7711 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP (773-2587).

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Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

Ann Arbor resident's recycling efforts throughout 2012 have made not only an environmental impact, but an economic one as well, according to a study by ReCommunity.

Ann Arbor resident's recycled 12,268 tons of material in 2012.

File photo | AnnArbor.com

In honor of Earth Day, ReCommunity, Ann Arbor's recycling partner, announced Monday that during 2012 the city's residents recycled a total of 12,268 tons of materials.

Along with miscellaneous items, the more than 12 thousand tons of recycled material included 1,426,950 aluminum cans, 22,035,077 plastic bottles and 6,459,361 glass bottles. It also had 1,665,218,297 sheets of paper — the equivalent of 140,423 trees, according to the organization.

A release from ReCommunity stated that amount of materials can create up to 25 jobs within the community and prevent 35,602 metric tons of of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gases from being released in the area.

The organization believes that sustainability should not be limited strictly to environmental causes, but should be all-encompassing, including economic and social benefits as well.

In addition to Ann Arbor's results, the data also provided the total for all of Michigan, which weighed in at 236,674 tons total. The closest areas behind Michigan were Arizona, with 182,518 tons recorded, and the Hudson Valley region with 65,923.

• Download more information here.

A man looking for his girlfriend ended up beating up her roommate when he learned the woman he wanted to see wasn’t home, Ann Arbor police said Monday.

The man then became irate and grabbed the woman, throwing her to the ground, Bush said. The man punched her in the face and grabbed her hair. The assault continued until the woman began screaming and the man ran back to his own apartment, Bush said.

The man was gone by the time police arrived. The woman reported minor injuries to police.

Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to call the Ann Arbor police anonymous tip line at 734-794-6939 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP (773-2587).

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Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

North Campus is expected to get its second solar panel array installed this construction season, and the University of Michigan will present and discuss the plans at a meeting from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Pierpont Commons, on the corner of Murfin and Bonisteel, in the Boulevard Room.

The panels will be installed on the north side of Fuller, midway between Bonisteel Boulevard and Beal Avenue, near the existing stormwater detention demonstration project.

There are 1,800 solar panels spanning 2.4 acres near the intersection of Plymouth Road and Huron Parkway on U-M's North Campus that were completed early this year. They were installed in fall 2012 and produce 430 kilowatts, generating enough energy to power 100 houses.

Reactions from residents have been mixed regarding the aesthetic of the solar panels.

The solar panels are part of what U-M President Mary Sue Coleman said is an ongoing sustainability initiative to reduce waste and energy. It's part of a $14 million initiative to enhance sustainability on the Ann Arbor campus.

Penelope Crawford

But not that far.

It wasn’t too long ago that the superb Ann Arbor keyboardist and pianist Penelope Crawford would tote her historic pianos on tour, hither and yon.

“I’m less eager to drag my pianos around the country now,” Crawford said in a recent phone call.

But that doesn’t preclude a wee trip from her Ann Arbor home to the Kerrytown Concert House. So Friday evening, you’ll find her—and her 1835 Viennese Conrad Graf piano—at KCH for a concert to benefit Great Lakes Performing Artist Associates, a non-profit agency founded here in Ann Arbor in 1978 to develop the musical culture of the Great Lakes region and further the careers of regional artists. Crawford was on the GLPAA roster from the beginning, first with chamber music ensembles and then as a soloist.

She stayed with GLPAA until five years ago, when the appeal of lugging instruments around to multiple venues paled. Still, the piano she’s taking to KCH Friday for this concert—funds from which go to GLPAA’s “Caravan” program of concerts in schools in the region—is not the smallest of the five historic instruments she owns.

But its pedigree and age make it the perfect instrument for the program she’ll play: Beethoven and Schumann. On the bill are two Beethoven piano sonatas, Op. 78 and Op. 101, and Schumann’s beloved “Kinderszenen” and “Arabesque.”

In addition to playing these works, Crawford will talk about her instrument and its characteristics.

Crawford’s Graf piano is a 6 1/2 octave instrument, but the size of its keyboard is just one of the factors that distinguishes it from the modern piano, with its seven-plus octaves (88 keys). Her instrument was one of the many pianos made by Graf, who made pianos for the two composers on Crawford’s program, Beethoven and Schumann, among others.

“Beethoven had a Graf, just an earlier model,” Crawford said. “And Schumann’s piano was four years later than this one.” But the differences between Crawford’s Graf and Beethoven’s and Schumann’s are nothing compared to how it differs from your modern Steinway, for example.

“The most significant difference,” she said, “is the tone of the modern piano, which is made to sustain a long time and is also made to be homogenized—to sound the same throughout the whole range,” from top to bottom.

That’s not the case with instruments like the wood-framed Graf, where the different colors of different ranges of the piano are meant to be exploited by composer and player.

And because the sound does not sustain like that of a modern instrument, “you can do things more related to speech and rhetoric on these instruments,” Crawford said. “All the rhetorical details, the punctuation and asides, are easier to do on these instruments.”

Crawford is no stranger to the modern piano, though. Her grandfather bought her a Steinway grand when she was 7, so she grew up playing the instrument that graces the stage of most of the world’s great concert halls.

In the 1970s, though, when she got interested in early keyboard instruments, including the harpsichord, she sold her Steinway. Her children were in elementary school at the time, and she thought, oh, they’ll be so sad to see it go.

Instead, “They started turning cartwheels and saying, ‘Isn’t it grand to have all this space?’”

Since then, other instruments have come to occupy its place, each representing a different period and national style. The Graf joined her collection in the mid-‘90s, courtesy of a restorer who bought it from the daughter of a school teacher in Sweden. The school teacher had bought it to prevent someone else from turning it into a table. The restorer brought the piano to the early music exhibiton in Boston.

“When I sat down to play it, it brought me to tears, it was such a beautiful piano,” Crawford said.

“It has changed my life,” she added. “I’ve taken such a different direction since I got it, with chamber music and recordings.”

And with concerts like Friday’s, Crawford gives listeners a chance to experience the music as it might have sounded to audiences of Beethoven’s and Schumann’s time. “

“The instrument makes the music make a lot more sense,” she said.

The Sklar Brothers, Jason and Randy, are pretty much what everybody assumes about twins. You rarely see one without the other and they often finish each other's sentences. Seeing them onstage can make you think you have double vision (except that one wears glasses). But just think of it as two for the price of one when they appear on the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase stage.

The brothers attended the University of Michigan and were members of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity before deciding to pack it up and move to New York to try to make it in comedy. Eventually, MTV chose them to write and star in their own show, "Apt. 2F." The rest is history.

Their stand up act is one of a kind. Their delivery is sometimes a tag-team effort of finishing each others sentences, sometimes a dialog and sometimes they talk over each in a way that somehow punches up their jokes.

Friday & Saturday, April 26 & 27, 2013. 8 & 10:30 p.m. $15 in advance; $17 at the door. The AACS is downstairs at 314 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor. 734-996-9080.