Category Archives: Sustainability

Zingerman’s founder Paul Saginaw on his time with Obama, the importance of raising the minimum wage, and why business owners should invest in their employees instead of their lobbyists

By Mark | April 13, 2014

Early last winter, when the National Restaurant Association issued a formal statement about how raising the minimum wage would kill their industry, Paul Saginaw, one of the co-founders of Ann Arbor’s iconic Zingerman’s Deli, felt compelled to respond, and argue in favor of raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25. “We would be irresponsible employers […]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Civil Liberties, Corporate Crime, Food, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged abortion, affordable housing, Ben's Chili Bowl, Busboys and Poets, Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, campaign spending, Cheetos, civil unrest, communities of hate, community chest, compassion, Costco, Crain’s Detroit Business, Debbie Dingell, debt, Democratic Steering Committee, Detroit News, dishwashing, emergency relief, Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, food service, Gary Peters, hairy underbellies, health insurance, hugs, hypocrisy, Joseph Stiglitz, lobbyists, Lori Saginaw, Lynn Yates, Mark Schauer, Matt Greff, medical debt, minimum wage, Mitch Albom, money as free speech, National Restaurant Association, non-tip restaurants, Obama, Obamacare, open book finance, Paul Saginaw, Planned Parenthood, profit sharing, Raise Michigan, Rene Greff, reuben, Rick Strutz, ROC, Secret Service, Secretary of Labor, student debt, Supreme Court, Thomas Perez, thrivable wage, tipping, Tom Harkin, Zingerman's | 49 Comments

Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interview: Johnny Lupinacci

By Mark | August 25, 2013

A few weeks ago, shortly after earning earning his PhD from Eastern Michigan University, local Ypsilanti activist John Lupinacci packed up all his belongings and headed west to begin his new life as a academic. Fortunately, though, I was able to track him down and force him to submit to an exit interview… Here are […]

Also posted in Detroit, Special Projects, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged activism, adjunct faculty, Alfredo Martini, anarchy, anti-consumerism, beer, Beezy's, black bloc, blue-collar scholar, Bona Sera, Bona Sera Cafe, Boots Riley, Brite Idea Tattoo, Cafe Ollie, Capitalism, coffee, Coffee Bean, community, community schools, Cross Street, curriculum, Derrick Jensen, Dreamland Theater, Eastern Michigan University, education reform, EMU, exit interviews, grimy, Growing Hope, Hamtramck, Huron River, Ian MacKaye, Idaho, Jeffree St. John, Johnny Lupinacci, living systems, Moscow, Moscow Food Co-op, mutual aid, North Huron, Occupy Ypsilanti, One Word Cafe, organizing, paranoia, Paul Horvath, Plymouth, political organizing, Pub 13, Pullman, rebellion, Riverside Arts Center, Riverside Park, Sean Fitzgerald, Smarty Catz, Social Foundations of Education, social justice, Target, teaching, Thomas Blondi Salon, Ugly Mug, urban chickens, urban farming, Washington State, Washington State University, Washington Street, wine, Woodruff's, working class, yoga, Ypsi Food Co-op, Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interviews, Zapatismo | 11 Comments

The possibility of a farmers market on Ypsilanti’s Water Street

By Mark | November 26, 2012

Over the course of the past week or so, I’ve posted twice about the 38-acre vacant lot at the heart of downtown Ypsilanti commonly referred to as Water Street. In the first post, which was written in response to news that Family Dollar had expressed interest in building on the site, I outlined my objection […]

Also posted in Ideas, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged Amanda Edmonds, business incubators, business models, CDC, city planning, Community Development Corporation, dollar stores, Eastern Leaders, economic development, Family Dollar, farmers market, food entrepreneurship, food hub, food stamps, funding, Growing Hope, healthy food access, International Public Markets Conference, Jean Henry, John Knott, kitchen incubator, Michigan Farmers’ Market Association, national chains, North Charleston Noisette, season extension, Smith furniture building, sustainable urbanism, visioning, Water Street, Water Street Redevelopment Project | 30 Comments

Grand Rapids shows us how economic development is done right… home-grown food entrepreneurship over dollar stores

By Mark | November 18, 2012

A few months ago, when I was in Grand Rapids, attending the annual BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) conference, I had the occasion to hear a speech given by the city’s Mayor, George Heartwell. I can’t find my notes at the moment, but I seem to recall that, buried somewhere in the long […]

Also posted in Economics, entrepreneurism, Environment, Michigan, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged Amway, Ave Maria, BALLE, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, David Frey, economic development, false equivalence, farmers market, food entrepreneurship, food hubs, Grand Action, Grand Rapids, hope, infrastructure, local food, local food production, national chains, Tom Monaghan, Water Street, Water Street Redevelopment Project | 42 Comments

Our weekend in Chicago (and the end of the Earth) in two pictures

By Mark | October 7, 2012

Not realizing that this was the weekend of the Chicago Marathon, Linette and I decided to pack up the family and head to the Windy City for the weekend. The top photo was taken inside the Evolving Planet exhibition at the Field Museum. The second photo is of a vehicle promoting a new menu item […]