Tag Archives: economic development

The Ann Arbor News Does Not Speak For Ypsilanti, a rant from the sickbed of Mark Maynard

By Mark | September 21, 2015

I’m in bed with a cold. My eyes are burning, I’m coughing up copious mounts of phlegm, and I’m grumpy as hell. And I know from experience that, when I’m in a condition such as this, I should probably refrain from blogging. But I’ve had a few swigs of extra-strength cough syrup, and I’ve convinced […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Economics, Rants, Ypsilanti | Also tagged AAACVB, Alicia Ping, Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Ann Arbor News, Conan Smith, hamburgers, Sidetrack, Tap Room, the sad state of journalism, YACVB, Ypsi Real, Ypsilanti Area Convention and Visitors Bureau | 93 Comments

Foiling anti-Ypsi plots hatched in Ann Arbor, singing and talking animal dissection with Annie Palmer, and discussing the whereabouts of our most evil trees… on episode twelve of The Saturday Six Pack

By Mark | April 13, 2015

This week’s episode of the Saturday Six Pack was an odd one. It started normal enough, with an in-depth discussion about the plot hatched in Ann Arbor to defund Ypsi’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, but then it kind of began a steady descent into madness, until, by the end of the show, we were pulling […]

Posted in Art and Culture, Marketing, The Saturday Six Pack, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged 1975, 7-Eleven, AAACVB, AADL, Alexis Ford, Alicia Ping, Andru Bemis, Andy LaBarre, Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce, Ann Arbor District Library, Ann Arbor SPARK, Annie Palmer, Armada, Bert Lahr, Brigid Mooney, Canton Belanger, Casey Dixon, Chandelier, Chris Sandon, Cross Grove, Dave Menzo, Debbie Locke-Daniel, dissection, electronic music, evil trees, Family Dollar, fern sperm, ferns, Gary Owen, Jenna Parks, Matt Siegfried, Music and Arts Guild, Native Americans, Party Busters, People's History of Ypsilanti, Pete Larson, potato chips, Ronnie Peterson, Ruth Ann Jamnick, Scooter, Sia, Slurpees, trickle down economics, Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, Washtenaw Development Council, YACVB, Ypsi history, Ypsilanti Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Ypsilanti Chamber of Commerce | 19 Comments

“We’re seeing real consequences of growing inequity play out locally,” says Mary Jo Callan, director of the Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development

By Mark | April 5, 2015

Late last year, the Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) moved from Ann Arbor to downtown Ypsilanti. Following is a brief conversation I just had with Mary Jo Callan, the director of OCED, on why they decided to make the move, and what she and her organization are presently doing to help […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Local Business, Michigan, Uncategorized | Also tagged affordable housing, Center for Labor and Community Studies, economic segregation, Eyrie, Growing Together or Drifting Apart? Economic Well-Being in Washtenaw County’s new Knowledge Economy, homelessness, income inequality, inequality, job training, Mary Jo Callan, non-motorized transportation, OCED, poverty, public policy, regional cooperation, Retail, Shape Ypsi, The Rocket, Washtenaw County Office of Community and Economic Development, Washtenaw County's Affordable Housing Needs Assessment, Water Street | 14 Comments

Why Ypsilanti’s identity, independent of Ann Arbor, is important…. and why we should fight to keep our Convention and Visitors Bureau

By Mark | March 12, 2015

It was made public today that members of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners are considering the possibility of forcing a merger between the Ypsilanti Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (YACVB) and its counterpart in Ann Arbor. This, as I understand it from my sources, is something that the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Marketing, Rants, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged AAACVB, AAATA, Alicia Ping, Andy LaBarre, Angela Barbash, Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce, Ann Arbor SPARK, brand identity, branding, consolidation, consolidation of services, dollar stores, excise tax, Family Dollar, hotel tax, hotels, identity, Joseph Sefcovic, Linette, mergers, Reconsider, Richard Murphy, Ronnie Peterson, Ruth Ann Jamnick, Saline, Sean Duval, SPARK East, the greater Ann Arbor region, venture LOCAL, Washtenaw County, Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, Washtenaw County Hotel and Motel Association, Washtenaw Development Council, YACVB, YDDA, Ypsilanti Area Convention and Visitors Bureau | 73 Comments

Bringing life, recreation and business back to the Huron River

By Mark | November 7, 2014

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 […]