A few days ago, I posted something here about the City having shut down our local used bookstore, Cross Street Books. While acknowledging that there were certainly issues with the peculiar, little store, which has always been both painfully crowded and comically unsafe, I lamented the fact that, without them, our Ypsilanti would be without a bookstore. While a few in the community, like local librarian Ben Miller, came forward to suggest that we band together to help the owner bring his shop back up to code, others offered different solutions, the most interesting of which came from former Ypsilanti City Planner Richard Murphy, who suggested that we instead come together to open a cooperative bookstore.
“I appreciate the can-do spirit of Benjamin Miller here, but, like others, my own experience also makes me pessimistic that the aid would be accepted or effective, sadly,” said Murphy. “If you wanted to start a cooperative bookstore, though, and buy Cross Street Books’ stock (and maybe move it down the street to the much more habitable and currently vacant Cross Street Station space), I’d buy a member share.”
Then, making things a little more interesting, local landlord Stewart Beal joined the conversation, offering a long-term lease at what he described as favorable terms, should a group come together to make such a thing happen. “I would offer 206 W. Michigan in downtown Ypsilanti to such an endeavor for low long term rent,” said Beal. “It is 1,700sf on the 1st floor and 1,700sf in the basement. Just think of how many books you could fit in there!”
The first floor space, which, back in the 90’s, was home to Ypsilanti’s legendary Green Room, has been vacant for several years now, and it makes sense that Beal would want to get someone moved in. Of course Beal’s idea of “low long-term rent” may not be low enough to make such an endeavor a possibility. I think, however, that it’s probably at least worth looking into, assuming people like the idea. And, toward that end, it looks like there may already be a little traction. Just today, community activist and local coop advocate Lisa Bashert came forward to say that, if this were to happen, she’d not only buy a share, but work there. So, as of right now, we’ve already sold four shares, and have one person to work in the store. (Stewart, Murph and Lisa all said that they would buy membership shares, as would I.)
So, where does this leave us? Do folks think that public meeting might be in order? Given a big project that I’m working on at the moment, I’m not in a position to take an active role, but I’d be happy to volunteer a few hours, and help promote the concept, if people think that there’s potential… So, if you have thoughts, please leave a comment or two. I’d be especially interested to hear from folks who might have firsthand knowledge of successful bookstore cooperatives, like Seminary in Chicago, The Big Idea in Pittsburgh, and Rainbow in Madison. I’m curious as to how they’re structured, and what we might be able to learn from them… And, of course, I’d like to know whether you might shop at local book cooperative, or, better yet, contribute your time and energy toward making it happen.
I don’t dislike the military. I think we, as a nation, spend far too much on it, and I think that we’d ultimately be better served by investing a great deal of that money on education, alternative energy research and any number of other things instead, but, in general, I don’t have an issue with the military. I’m proud of my grandfathers’ service during WWII, and I acknowledge the fact that, had my father not served during the Vietnam War, and learned a trade, I might never have gone to college, or, for that matter, left rural Kentucky. With that said, though, I’m in agreement with Kurt Vonnegut on the subject of Veterans’ Day. Here, for those of you who have never read his brilliant novel Breakfast of Champions, is a clip.
…I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, and when Dwayne Hoover was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.
Armistice Day has become Veterans’ Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans’ Day is not.
So I will throw Veterans’ Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don’t want to throw away any sacred things…
I know times change, and references to WWI no longer carry the same significance they may have in the past, but it seems to me that the world could use a holiday dedicated to the absence of war. Which, again, isn’t to say that our men in women in uniform aren’t deserving of respect. They are. The sacrifices they make are enormous. But, with that said, might it not be more meaningful to acknowledge their service with a celebration of peace, rather than a Veterans’ Day sale at the local strip mall and a discounted meal at Hooters?
[The above post first appeared on this site last year, but, as very few people liked it or commented, I thought that I’d try again.]
A 40-year-old woman was shot and killed by Ann Arbor police last night on the 2000 block of Winewood Avenue, at the home of her boyfriend, where she’d been living for the past several months. The woman, who has yet to be named by the police, was killed just around midnight, shortly after police officers arrived on the scene, having been called there by her boyfriend, Victor Stephens. “Me and her, we had an argument,” Stephens explained to the Ann Arbor News. “Glass was being broke, so I called the police to escort her out.” Stephens, who had been dating the woman for the past nine months, went on to tell reporters that she had a history of mental illness, and that the two had been drinking. He also told them that there was no reason for her to have been killed, even though she was holding a knife at the point when officers entered the home. Calling her killing “unnecessary,” Stephens went on to ask, “Where were the tasers at? She wasn’t going to kill anybody with a knife.”
As I wasn’t there, and have no first-hand knowledge of the case, I hesitate to speculate as to what might have happened. Based on the account of Stephens, though, it sounds like things escalated very quickly, and that she was killed within moments of the police having arrived, without much attempt on the part of police to end things peacefully. “The police said ‘police,’ so I stopped,” Stephens told reporters. “She walked towards them… They said ‘freeze,’ and the next thing I know I heard (gunshots).” Given that I don’t think Stephens actually saw the shooting, and since police officers in Ann Arbor aren’t presently required to wear video monitors, I suspect we’ll be told that we have to take the word of the officers involved. Given the recent high profile cases involving the use of lethal force by police officers, like the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, though, I’m not so certain that people in Ann Arbor are going to just accept that official narrative, even if it’s accurate and the officers were in immediate danger. In fact, people are already beginning to come out and call what happened last night murder.
The following comes from a U-M student group calling itself the Student Union of Michigan, who, as I understand it, will be meeting tomorrow evening at 7:00, at Canterbury House (721 East Huron Street, Ann Arbor).
…(A)ttention has recently turned to some excellent nongovernmental attempts to compile this data, including the Fatal Encounters database, the recently created Gun Violence Archive and a new database created by Deadspin.
But one recent effort stood out for its apparent comprehensiveness: The Killed By Police Facebook page, which aggregates links to news articles on police-related killings and keeps a running tally on the number of victims. The creator of the page does not seek to determine whether police killings are justifiable; each post “merely documents the occurrence of a death.” He told FiveThirtyEight that he was an instructor on nonviolent physical-intervention techniques and that he prefers to remain anonymous.
Killed by Police had listed more than 1,450 deaths caused by law-enforcement officers since its launch, on May 1, 2013, through Sunday. That works out to about three per day, or 1,100 a year…
I’d encourage you, if you’re interested, to read the entire article and follow the methodology employed by the folks at FiveThirtyEight.com when trying to come up with a solid number for those of us who are killed each year by police officers in the line of duty. Their final number, if you’re interested, is considerably higher than the estimate of 400, which has been reported by the FBI. It’s “about 1,000 deaths per year” say the folks a Five ThirtyEight. And, now, sadly, one of those deaths is local.
As for how people in Ann Arbor will respond, I’m not sure. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens once the official report comes out labeling it a justifiable homicide, which it clearly will, given that she, according to Stephens, had a knife in her hand when she turned to approach the officers. In the meantime, though, I want to share two comments made by friends of mine who were engaged in an online discussion about the case this evening. The first comes from a woman who was responding to someone who said that you shouldn’t call the police unless you want something like this to happen… because, if you’re feeling threatened, they’ll feel threatened, and, if that’s the case, they’ll shoot to kill.
“I don’t think it’s fair by any stretch of the imagination to say that, if you feel less threatened than the police MIGHT, you should “know better” than to call the police to prevent being liable for them shooting someone who is acting erratically. It is not difficult to disarm a person with a knife, with minimal force, by hand, and any sane rational person would call the police to intervene just to prevent that action from becoming construed as assault.
The police are supposed to be trained to de-escalate tense situations, domestic violence, crimes in progress, & whatnot, therefore their tolerance for what constitutes a threat to themselves should be much higher than the average civilian. If the mere presence of a person brandishing a knife as a weapon (not attacking them, just holding it in a threatening manner) makes a police officer feel that they are in imminent danger, I’m inclined to believe that they’re not fit for their job.”
And the second comment comes from a friend who lives in Ann Arbor’s frat district.
“Just a few weeks ago there was an ugly confrontation going on in our neighborhood between what appeared to be a drunk college student (or homeless guy), and an older couple standing on the porch of their home early in the morning. The older man from the couple was very aggressive, yelling at the drunk guy to get out of his yard and never come back. At one point, he threatened to ‘blow the guy away.’ It was not clear what was going on, but the threat of gun violence made me consider calling the police. I then remembered all the situations I have witness and read about involving the police over the past ten years, and decided not to call. Not calling the police seemed like the safest option. I am sad to read that my fears may have been justified – even in Ann Arbor.”
Whether this incident will motivate people to stand up and demand a change, I don’t know. Given what I’m hearing, though, I think people are ready to have that debate, and discuss the possibility, for instance, that we outfit our police officers with video cameras… A recent trial in Rialto, California, as you may recall, resulted in an 88% drop in complaints against officers who are wearing cameras, and a 60% drop in use of force. I can see how officers may not like it, and I’m typically against the idea of increased surveillance, but I don’t see how, in this instance, you can really argue that it’s not worth pursuing. Police who are monitored find ways to be just as effective without the use of force. And that’s something that we should all be fighting for. And, regardless of what happened in yesterday, Ann Arbor should be leading the way in this.
update: As a reader just reminded me, not too long ago in Kalamazoo a “possibly intoxicated” white man was reported to police holding a rifle in the middle of a street and making threats of violence. In that instance, though, the police didn’t kill him. Sensitive to his rights under Michigan’s open carry law, they calmly talked with him until he laid down his weapon. While I understand that the two instances were not at all similar, you can see how some might draw the conclusion that white men and black women are treated differently with regard to lethal force.
If this truly is the end, I’ll miss Cross Street Books. I know it was a claustrophobic mess, but it was a claustrophobic mess of wonder and delight. It was kind of a magical place, where you never knew what you might find, and I can’t imagine Ypsilanti without it. (It’s kind of like a little microcosm of Ypsilanti itself.)
I can see how, from the point of view of a building inspector, it might make sense to close down a store were, at any moment, a customer could be crushed to death under the weight of five thousand books and several dozen generations of dust mites, but, all things considered, I think that it’s worth the gamble. What is life, after all, without a little risk in the pursuit of knowledge?
Reading shouldn’t be antiseptic. There should be an element of danger. And of mystery.
Maybe it’s just that I live a dull life, but I looked forward to my visits to Cross Street Books. I felt accomplished every time I made it out alive, having run the gauntlet from the front of the store, to the back, winding around the floor to ceiling stacks of books, and back out again… It made me feel alive, as though I’d really done something.
If this truly is the end of Cross Street Books, I hope something even more terrifyingly beautiful takes its place, as I don’t want to live in a community where there isn’t a used bookstore that invites you to take your life in your own hands, and rewards you with books that you couldn’t have imagined your wildest dreams… Wile I love clean, well laid out bookstores like Literati, there will always be a special place in my heart for the magical little manmade warrens of text that evolved over the decades at 523 West Cross Street. They, to me, really embody the unsanitized thrill and potential of the written word. And I’ll always remember them fondly.
I had the good fortune not too long ago to have coffee with Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC) Executive Director Laura Rubin. While we didn’t have great deal of time to discuss the condition of the Huron River, as we’d met to discuss something else, Laura did mention that their RiverUp! campaign was making great strides, and suggested that I reach out to HRWC Deputy Director Elizabeth Riggs, who is responsible for the initiative. Well, it took me a while, but I finally found the time to do just that. And what follows is my conversation with Elizabeth Riggs. I hope you find it as awesome and encouraging as I did.
MARK: For those in the audience who may not know the history, what was the impetus behind the RiverUp! campaign?
ELIZABETH: A few years ago, the “Dean” of the House of Representatives, John Dingell, was celebrating the creation of the Detroit International Wildlife Refuge with leaders from business and environmental organizations, when he challenged them to leave a legacy on the Huron River. They accepted his challenge in earnest and worked to create RiverUp!.
MARK: So RiverUp! is bigger than just the HRWC…
ELIZABETH: Yes, RiverUp! is a private-public partnership, which presents a unique opportunity to leverage the strengths and resources of numerous groups, including HRWC.
MARK: What were the objectives of the campaign at the outset? And how, if at all, have they evolved since the initial launch?
ELIZABETH: We call RiverUp! a ‘renaissance’ for the river. The objectives of the campaign reflect this idea of re-birth by focusing resources and energy on 1) improving river health, 2) improving river recreation access and experience, and 3) transforming the river corridor into a destination with vibrant Trail Towns linked by the Huron River Water Trail and greenways. We refer to these three objectives as… CleanUp!, FixUp!, and BuildUp!.
Of the three objectives, BuildUp! has evolved the most as we’ve pursued the Trail Towns concept for the five largest communities on the river — Milford, Dexter, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Flat Rock. Trail Towns turns out to be a terrific process for building local public-private teams that envision what their town offers for trail users, then develop strategies that are implemented to incorporate river- and trail-based recreation into community development and promotion. Each community drives their own process, but RiverUp! provides a Trails Towns coordinator to assist their efforts.
MARK: It’s always seemed odd to me that we haven’t done more as a community to activate the riverfront. While we certainly have great public parks along the Huron, it’s never made sense to me that we haven’t seen more in the way of riverfront development. Why is it, in your opinion, that we haven’t seen that happen? Is it felt that the Huron isn’t big enough to support that kind of development? Is it a matter of zoning? Is it owners that feel development would negatively impact the natural beauty of the river?
ELIZABETH: I’ve wondered that myself, especially since the river is in rather good shape and is popular for recreation of all kinds. In most of the riverfront communities, activities along the river were heavy, polluting industries, railroads, and energy substations. It’s taken a while to clean up these sites and the water quality. And then it takes time to convince people and businesses that the river is clean and beautiful.
Where the river is further from town, like in Ann Arbor, I’d suggest that there are two main reasons that the riverfront hasn’t been activated more. First, the river doesn’t flow through downtown as it does in the other Huron River communities, like Milford and Ypsilanti, so restaurants, shops, and public spaces are located about a 20-minute walk from the river. And, second, only recently has the conversation been elevated about making the river a new “Main Street” through the Blue Economy lens by groups such as the Michigan Economic Council’s Prima Civitas and by RiverUp!… Ann Arbor has been Tree Town, not so much River Town. But I see that changing, especially with potential for a new and better connection between the water and the community at the Broadway property (DTE Energy’s clean-up site), and the North Main corridor recommendations that came out of the task force last year.
MARK: For those who may not be familiar, what’s the current state of the Broadway site, and how are we likely to see it develop over the next several years?
ELIZABETH: DTE Energy is pursuing a plan for mixed-use development on the buildable part of the property closer to Broadway and the train station. There’s still considerable clean-up required, but the intent is to include a park and/or a walking and biking trail along the river.
MARK: You mentioned why it is that you think riverside development hasn’t happened in Ann Arbor. Have you given any thought as to why it hasn’t happened in Ypsilanti?
ELIZABETH: Thanks to those early planners for Ypsilanti, the city has a terrific riverfront. No doubt, you know that the Olmsted Brothers’ firm, affiliated with Frederick Law Olmsted, was commissioned to design the parks system along the river. They thoughtfully laid out the parks in a pattern reminiscent of jewels hanging from a necklace. On the higher ground, then, are the commercial and residential areas of Depot Town, Downtown, and such. Ypsilanti is in the process of changing its orientation to the river with the Border-to-Border Trail linkages, the future community recreation center on Water Street, Huron River Water Trail investments at the dam portage and access points, and so on. I’d love to see more places be oriented toward the river, like a restaurant facing the river that’s accessible by canoe or kayak.
MARK: Clearly it’s in the best interest of the Huron Watershed Council to have people actively engaging with the river at a substantive level. The more people appreciate the Huron, the more they’re likely to be good stewards of it, right? So that means increasing these opportunities for meaningful interaction. More fishing. More riverside entertainment. More thoughtful, Huron-facing development. More businesses that bring people to the river… One of the companies already doing that is Ypsilanti’s Schultz Outfitters. What is about our Depot Town fly fishing shop that resonates with you? And what does their success tell you about the potential of the Huron River?
ELIZABETH: Schultzy’s fly shop and guide business in Depot Town is just a perfect example of the type of river-related ventures that spark a river renaissance for the Huron and its communities. A healthy river is critical for a healthy bottom line. Not only does the shop bring visitors and dollars into Ypsilanti, and get people in the water, it also expands the community of river stewards caring for the river and protecting the resource. Our work in Ypsilanti, and other riverfront communities, is helping to identify existing river-related businesses that can increase their interaction with the river and bring in more customers, as well as entrepreneurial opportunities where gaps in service are identified. In Milford, the new River’s Edge Brewery is interested in making their riverfront property more attractive and more accessible to paddlers. In Flat Rock, a canoe and kayak outfitter business is expanding to provide livery services for the first time on the Downriver trip from the city to Lake Erie.
MARK: How would you characterize the current health of the Huron River? Is it clean? Is there any sign that native species, at long last, are beginning to making inroads against the invasives?
ELIZABETH: The Huron River is the cleanest urban river in the Lower Peninsula thanks to extensive natural protected areas in its watershed, and to efforts of municipalities to reduce pollutants under federal Clean Water Act requirements. RiverUp!’s goal of a vibrant, robust, and restored river is based on the fact that the river is fishable, swimmable, and drinkable, and THAT is worth celebrating. But urban rivers have challenges. The Huron’s health is threatened by stormwater pollution, regulated river flows, and extreme weather events brought about by climate change. Mitigating and reducing populations of aquatic invasive species, plant and animal, is another challenge.
MARK: You mention swimming. I know that people jump out of their canoes in deeper parts of the river and such, but I’m not aware of any areas where swimming is explicitly allowed, let alone encouraged. Are there such areas? And, if not, might we expect to see such areas in the future?
ELIZABETH: Swimming (or “total body contact recreation” as the Clean Water Act calls it) is one of several rights to waters of the state enjoyed by the public. All lakes, rivers, ponds, and wetlands are designated and protected for all of the following uses: agriculture; navigation; industrial water supply; warmwater fishery; other indigenous aquatic life and wildlife; partial body contact recreation (i.e. fishing, water sports); and fish consumption. The river and its lakes and impoundments are designated and protected for total body contact recreation (i.e. swimming) from May 1 to October 1. Still, it’s a good idea to check ahead of time whether a specific area has posted warnings or restrictions; for example, Geddes Pond, behind the Dixboro Dam, posts warnings about the bacteria E. coli when weather and water conditions require it.
MARK: What can we do to make things better for our native species? Are there, for instance, examples of other rivers in the U.S. that have been able to eliminate invasive species? And, if so, how’d they do it?
ELIZABETH: It’s important to know how to identify and prevent invasive species from spreading. Invasive species are not native to the region and flourish without a natural predator or other means of natural balance. These invasive species spread quickly and exhaust resources used by native species, crowding them out. Most commonly found species in the watershed are the plants purple loosestrife, phragmites, and Eurasian milfoil, and the animals zebra mussel and Asiatic clam. In a region like Southeast Michigan, with its many lakes and streams, there are lots of opportunities for aquatic invasives to spread. Proper lake and stream management as well as maintenance of boating equipment can help. HRWC has good resources on its website to help people identify invasive plants and animals and actions to stop their spread.
MARK: I’m curious to know your thoughts on carp. It seems to me, at least in Ypsi, that they far outnumber other species, and I’m wondering what, if anything, can be done about that. Have things been attempted to better diversify the local ecosystem?
ELIZABETH: We’re just starting a multi-year project to restore the fisheries in a section of the river in Ypsilanti that will diversify the habitat and, as a result, diversify the species. River monitoring data collected by our staff and citizen scientists showed that the habitat was homogenous and few fish species were able to use the section. Our ecologist Paul Steen is working with ECT, Inc. to develop the plan for the restoration, and reaching out to engage the community as the project advances.
[above: Superior dam portage launch: The portage of the Superior Dam by St. Joseph Mercy is one of the Water Trail spots improved through RiverUp!.]
MARK: Assuming you had the funding and public support, what would you like to see done relative to the Huron River Watershed? Would you like, for instance, to see the remaining dams removed? Would you like to see the University of Michigan, perhaps, turn over some of their riverfront property for the development of a riverwalk district? Would you like to see property owners along the Huron allow the construction of riverside trails? What’s on your wishlist?
ELIZABETH: The RiverUp! plan lays out priorities for the Huron River corridor in three areas. We’ve identified projects to improve the river’s health, such as remediating legacy pollution sites and restoring natural shorelines, to improve access and quality of river recreation, and to transform the river corridor via trail linkages and the Trail Towns program. RiverUp! has a goal of raising $1 million to advance the plan and leverage $28 million being invested by riverfront landowners and managers in river and recreation improvements.
MARK: So, you have $28 million in pledges from landowners along the Huron to improve various aspects of the watershed… Can you give us an example or two what these landowner-initiated and funded project might look like?
ELIZABETH: In Ann Arbor, the Parks & Recreation Department unveiled upgrades at the Gallup Livery in May that include a universal access launch for canoes and kayaks, expanded docks to meet the growing demand for livery services, and improved access for livery vans using pervious pavers to infiltrate stormwater runoff. Ann Arbor’s liveries are the busiest in Michigan. RiverUp! funds complemented the City’s recreation investments with a new launch in Island Park that better accommodates the large groups that rest there on the very popular Argo to Gallup paddle trip. The new gravel launch replaced the eroded and undersized de facto launch that was located slightly upriver. Way-finding signage was added, as well, that gives water trail users (and, if needed) emergency rescue crews location information.
MARK: So, these items that you’re noting were paid for by this $28 million?
ELIZABETH: A portion of the $28 million.
MARK: As for the $1 million that you’re hoping to raise, what will those funds be used for, and how close are you to making your target?
ELIZABETH: The response to the campaign has been tremendous! We’re nearly there. It’s a full-court press to secure the remaining 10-15 percent. Anyone who is interested in contributing to RiverUp! can contact me or Margaret Smith, HRWC’s Development Director. Donations also can be made online (tax-deductible) at RiverUp Huron dot org or HRWC dot org.
Funds support planning, design, and implementation of river access projects; regional river corridor visioning and priority setting; restoration projects for fish habitat and river flows; redevelopment of contaminated and underutilized riverfront properties; development and production of marketing, outreach, and educational materials; and developing our five largest river towns as Trail Towns in order to leverage river assets for local economic and public access benefits. The RiverUp! plan gives more details on the work of the partnership.
note: The above video, which features Ypsi’s Schultz Outfitters, was just recently produced by the Huron River Watershed Council as part of the RiverUp! campaign… And, if you’d like to know more about the history of the river, check out my recent interview with historian Matthew Siegfried.
, is a clip.
