A victim reported a laptop and bag of belongings was stolen from his car sometime on Friday in Ypsilanti, according to the Ypsilanti Police Department.
It was reported the unknown suspect entered the car somewhere on the 500 block of Rice Street in Ypsilanti. Then time of day the theft occurred is unknown.
The investigation of this case is ongoing and no suspect has been identified.
The man accused of stabbing his wife to death in their Pittsfield Township home will return to court next month after his pretrial hearing was adjourned last week.
Jean-Pierre Trias
Courtesy of the WCSO
Jean-Pierre Trias, 44, is charged with one count of open murder for allegedly stabbing 53-year-old Katherine Porter to death in January. He was scheduled to be in court on April 16 for a pretrial hearing, but court records show the hearing was adjourned to 1:30 p.m. May 7 after a stipulation was filed on April 15.
Officials testified at a preliminary exam in March revealed Trias stabbed Porter with two different knives and left her body in a bathroom at their home in the 4700 block of Hickory Pointe Boulevard. There were bruises, superficial cuts and three or four injuries appearing to be bite marks on Porter’s body, according to a Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s Office official.
It’s not clear how many times Porter was stabbed but the cause of death was ruled to be multiple stab wounds.
Pierre is a former employee of Eastern Michigan University, where he worked from September 2003 until Dec. 31 in the mathematics department. He taught off and on, depending on the semester, according to EMU officials. He also held a part-time position as a coordinator of math tutoring and testing services and was a graduate assistant.
Porter worked for 13 years at Advantage Computing Systems as a senior systems analyst. The two were married since August 1995.
Trias is being held in the Washtenaw County Jail without bond while the case proceeds toward trial. He faces a lifetime in prison, if convicted.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Washtenaw Community College will be offering an intensive two-week program for the summer of 2013 for pre-college students to promote the science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, fields thanks to a $25,000 grant from the DTE Energy Foundation.
Students study inside a Washtenaw Community College media lab. This summer, WCC will be offering the STEM program for pre-college students interested in learning more about science, technology, engineering and math.
AnnArbor.com file photo
The purpose of the STEM program is to engage students in STEM fields, help them meet minimum requirements for entering college-level courses, and introduce them to skills that will be helpful in college.
"Because everyone has different interests and needs, the pre-college STEM initiative is tailored to be relevant for each student," said Rose B. Bellanca, WCC president, in a statement. She said students will be pointed to the sessions that fit their needs. "They will also receive helpful information on how to manage test anxiety, access financial aid, and take advantage of support services at the college."
The DTE grant will help fund faculty, tutors and program guides, who will expose students to various STEM fields, potential careers and hands-on activities.
Nagash Clarke, who teaches chemistry at WCC and has helped develop the STEM program, wants students to realize they might be able to tackle subjects that seem out of reach.
"There are so many bright students in our community," he stated. "We want them to expand their view of what's possible and think to themselves, 'Why not take physics? Why not major in chemistry? Why not find the cure for cancer?'"
The program runs , from 9 a.m.-3 p.m on weekdays from July 15 to 26 at a cost of $50. There is room for 24 students and lunch is provided. For more information, go to the program's website or contact Clarke at 734-973-3319 or nclarke@wccnet.edu.
David Vernon Falkner
Courtesy of WCSO
The 61-year-old Ann Arbor psychologist charged with four counts of criminal sexual conduct is scheduled to appear in court Monday.
David Vernon Falkner is set to come before Judge Darlene O'Brien in the Washtenaw County Trial Court for a pretrial hearing, according to the court's docket.
Records indicate Falkner waived his preliminary examination in district court on March 21.
Falkner is accused of having an "inappropriate relationship" with one of his patients. Police say the victim is a woman older than 18 but have not released any additional information about the case.
Each CSC count is punishable by two years of imprisonment or a fine up to $500.
Falkner remains free on a personal recognizance bond.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
We cannot run away from our responsibility as citizens of our democracy and we shall continue to run for various worthy causes that represent our American spirit.
In the early hours after the attack on the Boston Marathon, I thought about the fear factor on the participants and supporting public.
Participants smile at each other during the first lap of a run in honor of the Boston Marathon on Saturday, April 20.
AnnArbor.com I Daniel Brenner
Then, when I received an email from a former college roommate still living in Romania expressing a sincere concern about our runners’ well-being, I reached to my friends who were part of the marathon and I felt some relief knowing that they were not directly harmed. My prayers stayed and will remain with all the families who heavily suffered and had their lives shattered forever by this despicable attack.
We are subjected to various natural disasters and unfortunate accidents, such as the recent explosion at the fertilizer factory in Texas and yes, we are affected by the loss of life and we pray for everybody suffering because of it. But intentional harm on innocent human beings gathered to cherish life should be strongly denounced by anyone and specifically by the U.S. religious leaders who shall have the additional burden to crash in infancy the radicalization of their belief — wherever it may sprout from.
As an immigrant who greatly benefitted from what America has to offer, I cannot and will not stand still and accept such pain inflicted on my fellow Americans without reflecting on these events. Why and how can we —those who are offered the opportunities of America — turn against the hand that provided protection to us against totalitarian regimes and allowed us to enjoy a better economic outlook in life? America did not force us to embrace her ideals and does not stop us going back from where we came from.
What is troubling me the most is that, in spite of unmistaken facts, someone, even being a family member of those responsible for this attack, can disregard them and issue appalling accusations that this is an FBI frame-up .
As a cancer patient and the race director of our Ann Arbor’s Gallup Gallop, I invite all my community fellows to stand tall, work together and show support for causes that we care for. Let’s run together for life and the common good, wherever our trails may take us to.
As a naturalized citizen, I will never waver on my credo:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Hate kills - let’s run away from it!
Victor Dobrin
Ypsilanti
11-year-old Brian Hough from Ann Arbor is a recent winner of the Pokemon Spring Regional Championship and will be competing in the national and world championships this summer.
Courtesy of Valerie Hough
The sixth-grader at Forsythe Middle School is the 2013 Pokemon Spring Regional Champion, and will be competing in the national championships and the world championships this summer.
Brian first became interested in Pokemon in kindergarten and started competing in 2010 as an 8-year-old.
"It's similar to playing chess, but having the shape of the board change and introducing new pieces," explained Brian's mom, Valerie Hough. "The games come out in Japan months before they come out in the U.S., so we got the Japanese version and he played it with all the text in Japanese, with a little help from the Internet." "Playing is a combination of knowledge, executing your strategy and anticipating what your opponent will do," said Valerie Hough. "There is also some luck involved."
Each player chooses a team of six Pokemon — out of hundreds of eligible Pokemon characters before the competition.
"The game is very interesting and is a little bit like poker with elements of luck and bluffing and a lot of mathematics," said Chris Hough, Brian's dad.
Both Valerie and Chris Hough play the Pokemon game, and Chris also has helped design Brian's teams.
"I'm a little bit of a natural because I can remember almost everything about another player's team after a match," said Brian, who says math is his best subject in school. "I play a lot when it gets close to a tournament but not at all in between tournaments."
Brian spends a lot of time practicing the piano and saxophone and participates in martial arts, basketball and swimming.
Last year, Brian finished second in the U.S. and second in the world championships. Because of his success this year in three different regional championships, Pokemon is paying for Brian and a parent (both are going) to compete in the national championships in Indianapolis from July 5-7 and the world championships in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"I already qualify for the world championships so I can have fun at the nationals," said Brian. "I've been to the world championships three times and like going to the cool places they pick to have them."
Brian will be battling for the title of Pokemon World Champion this summer from August 9-11.
The State Highway Patrol says a Michigan man was killed and a second injured when the small plane they were flying crashed at a northwest Ohio airport after veering to avoid another aircraft.
The Ohio patrol says the crash occurred about 8:30 Saturday morning at Bryan Aero Park near Bryan, about 55 miles west of Toledo.
Troopers say pilot Leslie Dean, of Ann Arbor, Mich., died Saturday afternoon at a Toledo hospital. The condition of his passenger, 51-year-old Kent Hyne (HYN), also of Ann Arbor, wasn't immediately known.
The patrol says Dean was trying to land the 2010 model, self-assembled single-engine aircraft on a grass runway when another aircraft attempted to land from the opposite direction. Troopers say Dean's plane lost power and crashed in a field north of the runway.
Ann Arbor residents doing spring cleaning this weekend took advantage of several planned collections of prescription drugs and old electronics in the Ann Arbor area Saturday.
Pioneer High School, at 601 W. Stadium Blvd., in Ann Arbor, hosted one of the stations for people to drop materials off at on Saturday.
The e-waste event is free to the public and there is no limit to the amount of old or outdated electronics people can bring.
AnnArbor.com staff photographer Courtney Sacco was there to capture images.
Huron scored 15 points, tying Port Huron Northern for the team title at Saturday's Ann Arbor Invitational held at Saline. The event that featured many of the top Division 1 teams from around the state.
Saline's Mary Hannah won the No. 1 singles title with a 3-0 record.
Daniel Brenner is a photographer for AnnArbor.com
Michigan came back from a goal down in the fourth quarter to top No. 15 Indiana, 6-5, Saturday afternoon at Canham Natatorium in a CWPA tournament semifinal game.
The Wolverines advance to play Princeton Sunday in the tournament final, 4:30 p.m. Michigan is going for its sixth conference title and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Daniel Brenner is a photographer for AnnArbor.com
Photo provided by SITI Company
In SITI Company’s “Trojan Women (After Euripides),” now being presented by the University Musical Society, a Greek envoy (Leon Ingulsrud) expresses contempt for a Trojan priest (Barney O’Hanlon) who’s castrated himself in the name of his goddess, noting that this would seem to prove what he’d heard: that Trojans are “weak like women.”
But “weak” and “powerless” are far from the same thing; and if Jocelyn Clarke’s adaptation of this 2,400 year old tragedy demonstrates nothing else, it shows the way that women, since ancient times, have always had to draw from unfathomable stores of strength in order to carry on and re-build in the face of mankind’s constant stream of wars.
So although the play’s four “powerless” royal Trojan women, following the fall of Troy, await news of which Greek warrior has claimed them for a slave or a wife, not one of them could be called “weak.”
Chief among them is Hecuba (Ellen Lauren), Troy’s now-kingless queen; her mad, virgin priestess daughter Kassandra (Akiko Aizawa); her daughter-in-law Amdromache (Makela Spielman), who mourns her fallen husband Hector while clinging to his infant son; and Helen (Katherine Crockett), the vain beauty at the center of Troy’s grueling 10 year war.
But the show begins with Poseiden (Brent Werzner), who provides backstory about how and why his favored city, Troy, fell. The scene/speech is important, because it sets the tone for the whole production. On a mostly bare stage, with some overturned chairs and a large, central circle made up of what appears to be dark pebbles, composer/violinist Christian Frederickson is visible in the (exposed) wings as Werzner takes deliberate, slow steps to his mark. Wearing a simple, aqua-colored tank and pants, Werzner stands center stage and delivers his tale, revealing a golden apple that lies at the center of the actor’s strong, graceful arm movements (which gives the audience's eyes something to follow while being filled in on all the details).
All this prepares the audience for the stylized nature of the production, which is nothing short of a wonder, thanks primarily to lead actress Lauren. Upon her first entrance, she lies prostrate with grief upon the pebbles, burying her hands, and the visceral power of this gesture, and all that follow it, is palpable. When Hecuba forces herself to sing, and howls in unbearable agony, and argues for Helen’s death, she reveals a woman who’s lost everything, and is struggling mightily to find a reason for hope or a future. It’s an unforgettable performance that, on opening night, choked me up. (This surprised me because, A, I’m not a big crier generally; and B, every time I’ve watched a production of an ancient play like “Trojan Women,” I’ve felt very disconnected emotionally - so SITI and Clarke are clearly on to something in translating this work for a contemporary audience.)
That having been said, I’ll admit that I had a recent refresher course in the Trojan War by way of reading Madeline Miller’s novel, “The Song of Achilles,” and this helped me catch a lot of “Trojan Women”’s backstory more easily; and because I have really young children myself, the portions of the play that focused on Andromache and the fate of her infant son hit me hard. So some might struggle to keep track of all the names flying around, and some might also not be as deeply affected by the play’s anchoring storyline (during which Clarke, unlike Euripides, provides the women with a single scrap of personal agency). Indeed, the fellow down the row from me seemed to be fighting to stay awake.
Plus, the intermissionless, 100 minute play is what one might call “wordy." But because of director Anne Bogart's thoughtful, spare, darkly atmospheric vision, and Clarke’s strong sense of what drives the play, the show carried me along fairly effortlessly.
The production isn’t set in a particular time or place, so Melissa Trn’s costumes project a timeless classicism and stay within the stark palette of black, white, or neutrals (with the exception of Poseiden). Brian H. Scott’s often-eerie lighting is key to establishing the show’s world, especially in moments like when Kassandra receives visions of the future. And Frederickson’s music haunts the action, underlining certain passages while never veering into heavy-handedness.
Bogart, in her liner notes and elsewhere, says that “Trojan Women” has endured as a favorite worldwide, despite many scholars’ claim that the play is flawed because “nothing happens.” But after seeing SITI’s profound production, and watching the play’s events unfold, I can’t help but wonder if the play’s tight focus on women subtly fuels the academics' critique: that women’s pain is reflexively viewed as “duller” and “less compelling” than men’s battlefield woes. Because in truth, there are several suspenseful scenes in “Trojan Women,” and dramatic questions do, in fact, keep it pushing forward.
“No one will sing of us in times to come,” mourns a character at play’s end. But SITI is singing in full voice of this ancient, war-ravaged city, as well as of these strong women - and blessings upon the artists' heads for doing it so well.
The play will be performed again at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 28. For background, see the preview article. For ticket information, see ums.org.
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.
The Stooges 2013: From left, James Williamson, Iggy Pop, Scott Asheton.
photo by David Raccuglia | courtesy of Fat Possum Records
There’s a lot of rage against the dying of the light on Iggy Pop and company’s fifth studio effort, the first since the passing of founding Stooge guitarist Ron Asheton in 2009. James Williamson, who gave up music for decades after playing on the band’s sensational 1973 album “Raw Power,” returned to the Stooges after Asheton’s death and has a major role on "RTD." He produced the album, co-wrote all its songs with Iggy and is the sole guitarist throughout the too-short, 10-song effort. Other main contributors include founding member Scott Asheton, Ron’s brother, rock-solid as always on the drum kit; saxophonist Steve Mackay, whose history with the group dates back to their 1970 sophomore release “Fun House”; and Mike Watt, who admirably fills the shoes of founding Stooge bassist Dave Alexander, who died in 1975.
Initial standouts on “Ready to Die” include “Sex & Money,” led by a wall of Williamson’s guitars and Mackay’s greasy, funky horn riffs; and the raucous “Job,” replete with its kiss-off lyric, “I don't wanna talk to my coworkers/I think they're a bunch of dumb c***-jerkers.” Iggy (James Osterberg) Pop may have just turned 66, but he remains as impulsive and outspoken as ever, bless his soul.
Unimpressive is “Unfriendly World,” a leaden misfire with out-of-place Latin percussion, and the breast-obsessed “DD’s” is rather puerile—even for Iggy—but Ann Arbor’s hometown heroes quickly regain their footing and close out the album with two superb songs: “Beat That Guy and “The Departed.”
Both have unusually serious lyrics (“Running out of time,” ‘You lay down the law or lay down to die,” “This nightlife is just a death trip”) and truly unusual instrumentation for the Stooges, including violin, pump organ and electric lap steel guitar.
An early incarnation of “The Departed” was sung by a very emotional Iggy Pop at the Ron Asheton tribute concert held at the Michigan Theater in April of 2011. Reflective ballads unlike anything in the Stooges catalogue, these closing tracks are powerfully moving statements about life and loss.
Overall an excellent addition to the Stooges catalog, “Ready to Die” raises this question: Are the Stooges ready to play in Michigan again soon? The band’s itinerary currently includes some European dates this summer along with one U.S. gig in California, although Iggy tells Rolling Stone magazine to look for New York and Chicago dates this fall.
Listen to the Stooges' "Burn" from Soundcloud:
Martin Bandyke is the 6-10am morning host at Ann Arbor’s 107one, WQKL-FM. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and at martinbandyke.com.
Volunteers worked working on a Habitat for Humanity house for Hosanna Vivas and her daughter, Andrea, Saturday, April 27.
Courtney Sacco I AnnArbor.com
The county’s 12 congregations — plus Saint Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital — have raised funds to sponsor and renovate a home with Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley. The non-profit organization provides homeownership opportunities and assistance for low-income families in Washtenaw County.
The group raised the pledged $30,000 to sponsor the property and has been sending construction volunteers since early April to renovate the home at 2143 Merrill St., Ypsilanti, in what they have dubbed, the “Catholic House.”
“Every church is spiritually behind it and many are financially behind it, because we all believe in the importance of good, clean, safe housing for people,” said Rev. Brendan Walsh, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Dexter and vicar for the region.
Here's a list of Washtenaw County Catholic Churches
St. Joseph raised the funds during a “fifth Sunday” collection in January, as part of the church’s tradition of donating money collected during additional masses held in months with more than four Sundays to charity. But many other churches, including Ann Arbor’s St. Francis of Assisi and St. Thomas the Apostle and Chelsea’s St. Mary Parish, participated as part of a special project for Lent.
The "Catholic House" built by Habitat for Humanity volunteers for Hosanna Vivas and her daughter, Andrea.
Courtney Sacco I AnnArbor.com
St. Francis, a leader in the project, contributed about one-third of the total funds as part of its Lenten “Sustain a House Sack.” The annual project asks parishioners to cut back on their energy use during Lent and contribute the financial savings to a partner organization to support those in need.
Scott Wright, the parish social ministry director at St. Francis, said Lent was a period of preparation for Easter, the Christian holy day marking the believed resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“This is a practice of trying to simplify our lives in order that we can share what we have with others who are less fortunate, because we recognize when we pray, fast and give alms, that life is not fair and that when we participate, we basically share what God has given everyone,” he said.
The “Catholic House” eventually will be home to Hosanna Vivas and her 12-year-old daughter, Andrea. The Venezuelan native, who now lives in an apartment in Ann Arbor, fled her home country in 2006 after being kidnapped and robbed in her home country, and now lives in the United States as a permanent resident.
Vivas is a single mother who works as a Spanish-English medical interpreter at the University of Michigan and takes classes at Washtenaw Community College in preparation for nursing school. She said while she works and pays her bills, she never had enough cash to purchase a home. When a friend informed her of the support with Habitat for Humanity, Vivas applied and said she quickly was approved.
“For me to get my house was like a dream,” she said. “I saw a lot of houses, and I never thought that it could be possible because of my economic situation.”
Families who qualify to receive a Habitat home have income levels between 30-60 percent of the Washtenaw County area median income, varying by family size, according to the Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley website. Families must then contribute 200 “sweat equity” hours of building work per adult toward their house in addition to an interest-free mortgage payment that does not exceed more than 30 percent of the family’s income.
Karen Shellie, manager of corporate relationships for Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley, said houses usually are valued at around $100,000 after renovation, though purchased for much less. In the case of the “Catholic House,” Habitat acquired the home from Ypsilanti Township after it had been abandoned for nearly two years.
Volunteers have been renovating the house every Friday and Saturday since April 6 and will continue until early June. A dedication to welcome Vivas and her daughter into the home is expected later that month.
Vivas said she is extremely grateful to Habitat for Humanity, God and all the people who have contributed to her home.
“I’m feeling really happy, my daughter is feeling happy because she’s going to have her own room, she’s going to be able to bring her friends home and we are going to have our own place,” she said. “This is more than wonderful.”
Ann Arbor's McKinley Inc. wants to build affordable housing on a vacant site behind the McKinley Executive Centre.
Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com
That’s the question at the center of the city of Ann Arbor’s first major planning study of the South State Street area in 22 years. Launched in 2011, the South State Street Corridor Plan is nearing completion and it will likely result in a new chapter added to the city’s master plan.
The 2.15-mile stretch of South State is diverse: It has more than one million square feet of retail space, about 900,000 square feet of office space, 580,000 square feet of industrial and light manufacturing uses, and a small number of residential properties.
The area houses some of the county’s largest employers — including Truven Health Analytics, Proquest and Edwards Brothers Malloy — and the region’s largest shopping center, Briarwood Mall, is located at the corner of Interstate 94 and South State.
A deteriorating sidewalk along South State Street.
City of Ann Arbor
Many of the buildings were constructed decades ago and nearly every parcel along the corridor is developed. Newer development has occurred on the south side near Ellsworth, including the Costco warehouse store in Pittsfield Township and a Tim Hortons coffee shop.
As the city solicited public feedback on how the area could be improved, a common concern arose: the corridor is ugly.
“Obviously, from a utility standpoint (the corridor) functions adequately, but it’s still far from being a good gateway into the city,” said Andrew Selinger, an investment analyst with Ann Arbor-based Oxford Company, which owns or manages about 400,000 square feet of office space around the State Street area.
“As an Ann Arbor real estate company, we’re thrilled that (the city) is sort of reconsidering what needs to be done down there and how to make it better,” he added.
Selinger said there are easy fixes that can be made to approve the appearance of the corridor: fix the roads, sidewalks and medians; plant trees; improve or add more bus stops; install signage or art.
“It’s not likely that area is going to transform into a vibrant neighborhood overnight, but what we need to do is take what we have and 20 percent of the effort will get us 80 percent of where we want to be,” he said.
This type of input from the public is helping drive the recommendations in the South State Street Corridor Plan. A 41-page draft copy of the plan was unveiled at an Ann Arbor Planning Commission meeting in January, and residents can submit online feedback until April 30. (Download a copy of the plan)
Pittsfield Township Supervisor Mandy Grewal said planning staff was involved in discussions with the city of Ann Arbor about how to improve the corridor. She said the township envisions greater density and mixed uses to go in that node, which is defined in the township’s master plan.
Ann Arbor Planning Commission is scheduled to review the plan at a working session on May 7, and a public hearing for final adoption is scheduled for May 21.
The segments of State Street studied in the plan.
City of Ann Arbor
“There was extensive public outreach that took place last year, which included direct interviews with many dozens of stakeholders,” said City Planner Jeff Kahan.
“One of the themes that we heard from the public process was an interest in improving the aesthetic, but another was an interest in creating places that are more vital so it’s not just a transportation corridor or a place where people to go work one of the things we’re exploring is ways that we can encourage folks to get out of their cars,” he continued.
Some other recommendations in the plan include:
Although nearly every parcel in the corridor is developed, there are still a number of real estate opportunities.
The Edwards Brothers Malloy property at 2500 S. State St. has vacant land in front of its facility that could be redeveloped in the future.
Lizzy Alfs | AnnArbor.com
“The Edwards Brothers land should be high density multi-family,” said Oxford Company President Jeff Hauptman via email.
Since Edwards Brothers merged with Scio Township-based Malloy Inc. in 2012, the resulting Edwards Brothers Malloy has considered its options for building consolidations or relocations, said CEO John J. Edwards. But both facilities are being used at capacity, and the logistics involved in moving presses is “daunting,” he said.
Edwards said he hasn’t been seriously approached about selling the entire property or the vacant land in front of the State Street building.
“We just have been here a long time. In my life, I’ve seen the town just kind of march past us,” he said. “This kind of facility could be anywhere, but we haven’t really thought much about it.”
Meanwhile, Ann Arbor-based McKinley Inc. is considering building an affordable housing project behind the McKinley Executive Centre at 2245 S. State.
McKinley CEO Albert Berriz said a vacant 4.47-acre parcel — which is behind the office building and nestled near railroad tracks and an Ann Arbor Public Schools administrative property that houses buses — would be a prime location for an affordable housing development.
“We think it’s a perfect location for it,” he said. “It’s close to downtown, it has excellent transportation support right around the corner in walking distance you have the (Kroger and Produce Station) grocery stores and the (CVS pharmacy) right around the corner as well. I think there are certainly a lot of good, walkable services in the immediate vicinity.”
McKinley is in the beginning stages of proposing the project, but the company intends to apply for a Low Income Housing Tax Credit. The program encourages the development and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing by awarding tax credits to developers of qualified projects.
“I think it’s feasible that we would attract, in addition to our equity, the tax credit equity quite easily,” Berriz said.
“It takes a sophisticated person that has money, that has staying power, that is willing to take the time (to get approvals for affordable housing),” he continued.
Dave Hamilton of Swisher Commercial said the high-profile King Engineering property on South State Street is under sales contract.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Dave Hamilton of Swisher told AnnArbor.com this week that the property is under sales contract with a developer, but he said it could take at least six months before it’s officially sold. Hamilton declined to reveal any details of the deal due to confidentiality agreements.
Further south at 3776 S. State, the former Passport Restaurant and Lounge building is being marketed for lease after the restaurant closed permanently in November.
Developers have also proposed a retail project on a 1-acre property at 3945 S. State St. just north of Ellsworth. It would consist of two buildings, totaling 8,531 square feet with a single-lane drive-thru to serve one building. Bob Andrus of Michigan Commercial Realty is marketing the buildings for lease.
For the property surrounding Briarwood Mall, the South State Street Corridor Plan suggests pedestrian and transit access should be incorporated into any future redevelopment of the parcels. It also says surface parking could be converted to structured parking to allow development on portions of the existing parking lot.
“More intense uses will help use land more efficiently and can promote greater vitality at the mall,” the plan says.
Briarwood Mall unveiled a renovation plan in March, but mall officials declined to reveal plans for the shopping center’s expansive parking lot.
"We continue to explore opportunities," Briarwood Mall manager Ida Hendrix said.
An aerial photo of Briarwood Mall shows the redevelopment opportunities on the parking lot surrounding the shopping center.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.
Many unknowns surround the search for the University of Michigan's next president — from the list of contenders to the process that will guide regents as they look— but one thing is for sure: the hunt will be tightly monitored and top secret.
When Mary Sue Coleman was chosen for the top post in 2002, it was a complete surprise to most everyone on campus— including members of a search advisory committee. Many were convinced Joe White, a former dean of the business school who was serving as interim president at the time, would nab the top spot.
Mary Sue Coleman is retiring in 2014.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
Coleman, then president of the University of Iowa, hadn't been looking for a new job. But a search firm hired by the eight-member Board of Regents contacted her and asked if she would be interested in the position, according to a May 2002 Ann Arbor News article. She was, but only if her interest was kept a secret. She didn't want Iowa knowing she was considering a new job.
"It poisons the relationship in their home institution," said U-M social work professor Lawrence Root, who served on the 16-member search committee that advised the regents during their 2002 presidential search committee.
The search that produced Coleman, who announced April 18 that she will retire when her contract expires July 31, 2014 was the most secretive in U-M history. The previous search, which resulted in the hiring of law school dean Lee Bollinger in 1996, was much more open.
A 1999 decision by the Michigan Supreme Court made it legal for public universities to conduct closed searches when seeking a president. The only public meeting required is the meeting in which regents announce their choice.
"It's very important that the search process is allowed to occur outside the glare of the greater public," said Earl Lewis, former dean of U-M's Rackham Graduate School and the chairman of the 2002 search advisory committee. Lewis left U-M in 2004 to become the provost of Emory University and is now the president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
In 1996, four of the five finalists, including Bollinger, were publicly announced and input was sought in public meetings. The fifth finalist dropped out to avoid having his or her name become public, according to Ann Arbor News articles from the time.
Earl Lewis, left, chairman of the presidential search committee, talks with Mary Sue Coleman after she was selected as the president of the University of Michigan on May 29, 2002.
Ann Arbor News file photo
"There are stories of candidates whose names were leaked during the process, which compromised their ability to work at their current job," Lewis said. "You also want to be able to engage the candidate in the fullest conversation possible."
At the same time, the closed process can concern university stakeholders, who understandably want input on the final choice.
The university will likely hold focus groups to better understand the characteristics faculty, staff and students are looking for in a leader. Those groups will avoid talk about specific candidates. In 2002 the search advisory committee, which included 10 faculty members, one student, an alumnus and four other stakeholders and was appointed by regents, met with 25 to 30 campus groups to get their feedback. But not even the advisory committee knew the regents' final choice until the public announcement.
"The fact that this was a confidential search made it possible for me to participate," Coleman told The Ann Arbor News shortly after being hired in 2002.
Board of Regents Chairman Larry Deitch has served on U-M's governing board for more than two decades and was also chairman during the 2002 presidential search. He said the nascent search is still taking form and the board hasn't decided if it will follow the same search process it did in 2002. He declined further comment for this article.
Current regents Andrea Fischer Newman and Katherine White, both of Ann Arbor, also served on the board during the 2002 search, but either refused comment for this article or did not respond to inquiries. Newman told AnnArbor.com in March that the board hadn't decided whether it would convene an advisory committee like it did in 2002.
University of Michigan Regent Andrea Fischer Newman at the April 18 regents meeting.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
"We have not determined that for this time, but that was the way it was done last time," she said.
An advisory board, because of its consultive nature, is not subject to Michigan's Open Meetings Act or Freedom of Information Act, said Lisa Rycus Mikalonis, a media lawyer working out of Southfield.
The regents worked with Chicago firm A.T. Kearney during the 2002 search. Shelly Storbeck, an A.T. Kearney representative who worked with U-M in the search, declined to comment for this article. Storbeck has since started her own search firm. The board hasn't announced whether it will employ a search firm to find Coleman's replacement. The 2002 search cost U-M $335,000, according to a July 2002 Ann Arbor News article.
Presidential searches take on a variety of forms, depending on the institution. Regents can choose to convene an advisory committee or employ a search firm, or forgo both.
Schools such as Yale University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology chose a leader quickly the last time they named a new president because the governing boards reportedly had replacements in mind. Other schools, like the University of Minnesota, are mandated by state law to hold public searches. Most elite schools, however, hold closed searches.
"Hiring a president is the most critical job of the board and we will seek an exceptional candidate who will lead the university into its third century," Newman said during a public board meeting on April 18. "There are many details to finalize and we anticipate a formal search will begin this summer."
In 2002, the 16 advisory committee members took oaths not to talk, but the secrecy of the search was not limited to eliminating leaks.
Everything from meetings to meals was carefully planned to avoid public attention. All interviews were conducted outside of Ann Arbor. Committee members were careful to arrive and leave meetings at different times and were cautious with receipts or anything else that might leave clues.
"It was very artfully managed," said Root. "[Candidates] can't run into each other at the airport."
University of Michigan Regent Larry Deitch.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
Recent searches for top university positions like the provost, general counsel and library dean indicate that the university remains closed-lipped when filling top academic positions.
"I've made some noises about that recently," said business school professor Scott Masten, who wants tenure-track faculty that don't also hold administrative positions to be involved in the search for Coleman's replacement.
"It is absolutely secret until the day it's announced. It's understandable why they do that," he said. "But that means it is much more important that the search committee... represent as many interests on campus as possible. The regular faculty are one of those groups."
Kim Kearfott, head of faculty government at U-M, has also emphasized the importance of faculty involvement during a search. The faculty senate is drafting a list of desired qualities in the next president. Kearfott said she has not been contacted for suggestions as to who should serve on an advisory search committee.
"I've been working now at public and private institutions. It is the responsibility of the board ... to hire the president," Lewis said. " It's actually not the responsibility of the faculty ... staff or alumni."
During the 2002 search the advisory committee began with more than 200 names. Since then, U-M's national profile has risen.
"It's a good job to step into," Root said.
Names tossed around on campus include: Teresa Sullivan, former U-M provost and current president of the University of Virginia who maintained strong support among U-M regents when she was temporarily ousted by the school's governing board; Marvin Krislov, president of Oberlin College and the former general counsel who led U-M's legal team as it supported affirmative action before the U.S. Supreme Court in early 2002; former U-M provost Nancy Cantor, who is set to retire as Syracuse University's president in 2014; and Martha Pollack, a former School of Information dean who will begin as U-M's provost in May.
Yet the list of possible finalists is large and it's unclear who regents consider top contenders. Although many U-M presidents have had some tie to the Ann Arbor school prior to assuming the presidency, the board may go with an outsider again like it did with Coleman. The board may also seek racial diversity in its applicant pool, as all U-M presidents have been white.
"There will be an ample number of canidates in the final process," said Lewis. "The University of Michigan has never had a challenge in finding individuals."
Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.
I am writing this letter because I feel compelled to say what is in my heart and on my mind in hopes that the last six months of sleepless nights will end and not continue.
I have been a nurse at St. Joe's Mercy Health System for the last 36-plus years. The last 25 years were spent as a nurse who worked at the breast center, located in the Women’s Health Center.
After being terminated from a job, mixed feelings are bound to come up.
AnnArbor.com photo
Unfortunately, I have been terminated due to an extended medical leave of absence. As of March 20, I am no longer employed there. My life is now filled with fear, anxiety and uncertainty daily because I am too young to retire. I had planned to work another seven to eight years at the breast center before I retired.
My husband lost his job as a painter (with no benefits) and now we may lose everything we have worked for our entire lives. We will have no benefits or income as of March 30. I know this is not uncommon nowadays, and my heart goes out to everyone out there who is faced with the same things my husband and I are. The thought of losing everything we have, especially our house, scares me to death.
I have terrible feelings about St. Joe's now, while in the past I was so proud to say I worked there.
On a positive note, there’s a few things I need to say. First of all a big, heartfelt thank you to all the staff at the Michigan Orthopedic Surgery Center at St. Joe's who showed me such love and care in March when I had surgery for a torn rotator cuff.
From the minute I arrived, I met wonderful staff members, from the front desk till when I was wheeled out after surgery. I could not have been treated any better. They all truly cared about me and what I was going through in my life right now.
I don’t remember all your names, but you know who you are and should be proud of the work you do. Again, I thank you with all my heart. Secondly, I need to mention all my co-workers, past and present, from the breast center — my other family. I miss you guys so much. The excellent care I saw you all give each and every day definitely will pave all your ways to heaven.
Dealing with breast cancer everyday just tears your heart out, and I know that because of you, our patients never felt they were alone in dealing with the horrible diagnosis of breast cancer. The many hugs I saw given out every day were for the most part the first steps taken in fighting and hopefully beating the cancer that affects young and old alike. Thanks to each and every one of you who will always mean the world to me.
Lastly, I want to thank all the patients — my girls — who I have met during the last 25 years. You have all taught me so much about life and also about myself. I love you all very much and will never forget any of you. Char O’Bara
South Lyon
The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s season finale at the Michigan Theater Saturday evening began with announcements of good things to come for the orchestra and its maestro, Music Director Arie Lipsky. You can read all about it in the sidebar accompanying this review.
But there were good things ahead in the 85 minutes that followed these announcements. Or rather, one good thing: the massive Mahler “Tragic” Symphony, No. 6 in A Minor.
This extraordinary music is an exhausting and exhilarating journey for orchestra, conductor and audience, an endurance test physically and emotionally. And on this occasion, the orchestra, brass and woodwind rich, did far more than endure. Under Lipsky’s baton and with new faces in some principal chairs (including the former concertmaster, Stephen Shipps, substituting brilliantly for Aaron Berofsky), the orchestra delivered a riveting performance of this dramatic, intense, complicated work.
It was hardly surprising that at the end Lipsky singled out a huge roster of players, from every section, for extra applause before having the whole orchestra rise for a final bow. The brass and woodwinds were remarkable, and so were the strings and percussion, for that matter.
Mahler’s subject in the Sixth is nothing less than a struggle (his struggle, and by extension, ours) with fate. Anticipation of its blows - which finally fall in the last movement - permeates the symphony from its first ominous marching moments.
Lipsky took time, as he has done in previous performances, to highlight some of the symphony’s key elements, with the orchestra playing illustrative excerpts before the full performance. It’s a great idea, a boon to the listener keen on following the score. In this case, it was an extra boon since the program and program notes listed and described the two inner movements in the order Mahler first ordained but later reversed - a reversal Lipsky honored in this performance. Still, the playing spoke so clearly that even without Lipsky’s explanations, I’d wager Mahler’s message would have come across.
In the first movement, the orchestra conveyed, from the very start, the sense of dark forces on the move, advancing in Mahler’s inexorable march. But with the second theme, the “Alma” theme that describes his wife, the troops disperse, and it’s the sweetness of what is threatened that takes center stage. But as the playing made clear, if we had storm clouds to start, the sunny lining is merely the clouds inverted. There’s irony aplenty in the writing, deftly transmitted in the playing: those clouds haven’t really disappeared at all; behind benevolence lurks something sinister.
And then comes that Andante moderato, tender, glowing, played here with such warm, rosy sound by winds, brass and strings that if the sound were a peach you could feel the fuzz on the skin.
In the darkish Scherzo that follows, the playing was most notable for its colors. Alma Mahler said that her husband was translating the “unrhythmic games” of the two Mahler children; the orchestra got the sense of play - and the mercurial “Where the Wild Things Are” sonic atmosphere.
No matter that the last movement ends in defeat: its building was a triumph for the orchestra. The first blow of fate - delivered with a long-handed wooden mallet so gargantuan it could fell a bear, let alone a man - landed with a sickening dull thud amidst a crisis of crescendo; and yet, there is recovery - and another crescendo and another thud. There was such poise in the playing: you heard time ticking in the drum, and you heard time slowing, hope dimming, something snapping - will to go on? - at the point when you might have had the third blow but don’t, and then, life ebbing as all the big sound evaporated before the orchestra sounded one last, somber, devastating pizzicato note. What a way to end a symphony. What a way to end a season.
Arie Lipsky
courtesy of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra
Saturday evening, the last A2SO 2012-2013 mainstage concert opened with the announcement of Lipsky’s appointment as principal guest conductor with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted there on a regular basis since 1997.
Lipsky considers the Haifa Symphony his first “hometown” orchestra, but admirers of Lipsky’s craft need not fret that he’s leaving Ann Arbor any time soon. On the contrary, incoming A2SO Board President J. Robert Gates also announced that as of this summer, Lipsky and his wife Rachel and daughter Inbal will make Ann Arbor their home.
Since his appointment here as music director, Lipsky has continued to commute here from Buffalo, N.Y., where he had been principal cello with the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra and later its resident conductor.
In addition to his current position with the A2SO (his current contract has four more years), he is also music director of the Ashland (Ohio) Symphony and chair of the chamber music program at the Chautauqua Institution School of Music. He will continue in those posts in addition to conducting two concerts a year (one operatic, one symphonic) in Haifa. He will also maintain his full schedule of concerts with the A2SO, having arranged his dates in Haifa (December and May) to avoid any conflicts.
In fact, said A2SO Executive Director Mary Steffek Blaske in a phone call Friday, symphony fans can plan on seeing a lot more of Lipsky, and not just around town at Whole Foods or the Farmers Market. “I think it means that he’s going to be in our schools even more, in our classrooms and in our senior centers,” Blaske said. “On behalf of the board and the orchestra, we couldn’t be more pleased.”
Lipsky’s tenure here has included a strong education and outreach component. He began a Family Concert Series, started the Side-by-Side program with local schools and doubled the number of Youth Concerts. The orchestra’s education programs now serve more than 50,000 youngsters in five counties.
Lipsky is thrilled, he said in an A2SO press release, to be making his move to Ann Arbor.
“In the space of a dozen years,” he said, “Ann Arbor has given me a sense of belonging and has inspired me. I feel like a part of the family, and the members of the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and community have made it so. I love Ann Arbor’s people, culture, and of course, the music. I look forward to visiting more schools and community centers. My family and I look forward to making Ann Arbor our new hometown.”
At the same time,” he said, “it is an honor and a privilege to conduct the Haifa Symphony Orchestra, where my first love of music was cultivated. I have been a member of the orchestra, performed as a soloist many times, and have conducted operas and symphonic concerts. It is special to come full circle and become its principal guest conductor.”
A woman reported a man attempted to sexually assault her as she walked through the arch near the Diag on the University of Michigan’s campus Sunday morning.
Courtesy of U-M Police
U-M Police spokeswoman Diane Brown said the woman was walking from South University Avenue through the arch about 3 a.m. Sunday when a man approached her from behind. Brown said the man pushed the woman and told her to be quiet, while starting to remove her pants.
When other pedestrians arrived in the area, the man fled the area on foot.
Police described the man as black, about 35 years old, thin build, dark complexion, wearing a black baseball cap, blue sweatshirt, jeans and carrying a backpack.
The incident resulted in U-M Police sending out a crime alert at 10:15 a.m. Sunday. It was the seventh crime alert of 2013.
Anyone with information is asked to call U-M Police at (734) 763-1131.
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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.
Originally slated to be hosted in Indianapolis, the 2013 Mid-American Rowing Association Championships was moved last-minute due to flooding to Ford Lake in Ypsilanti on Saturday morning.
Starting the day early, the first event began at 8:30 a.m. and went all day, holding the last event at 5:30 p.m.
The races included rowers in four-person and eight-person teams for men's and women's novice and varsity, and men's and women's pairs and singles.
AnnArbor.com staff photographer Courtney Sacco was at the championship to capture these images.
