This past weekend’s episode of the Saturday Six Pack, roughly speaking, was divided into three equally juicy, and satisfying, parts. First, we talked with Omari Rush about Ann Arbor’s upcoming multi-day contemporary art event POP-X. Rush and I, among other things, discussed the stress that comes along with trying to launch a high-profile public art […]
Tag Archives: homelessness
The contemporary pop-up art environments of Pop-X, combating poverty with intensive social services, and Alex Haley’s mission to tell the world about Ypsi’s dating scene… on episode 30 of the Saturday Six Pack
Ann Arbor declares itself to be “Compassionate”
A few months ago, when we were discussing plans in Ann Arbor to hire a small army of so-called “ambassadors” who would be charged with both warmly welcoming visitors and shooing so-called “street people” away from downtown, some of us questioned just how compassionate our neighbors to the west were. Well, apparently it’s no longer […]
Getting to the bottom of Washtenaw County’s proposed mental health cuts, gorging on scotch ice cream, and helping a romance writer imagine filthy scenarios with Henry Ford …on episode 23 of the Saturday Six Pack
Much like the Lagavulin 16 Year Single Malt Scotch ice cream we ended the episode gorging ourselves on, this edition of the Saturday Six Pack was complex and layered… One minute it was fun and light, and the next it was deadly serious. In just two hours time, we somehow managed to have interesting conversations […]
“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
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 […]
The fight intensifies over Ann Arbor’s proposed “ambassador” program
“Does Ann Arbor’s downtown belong to the people of Ann Arbor, or to the City’s most influential and vocal business owners?” It’s a question that’s been asked quite a bit this past week, in the wake of news surfacing about an Ann Arbor DDA plan to further the “mallification” of downtown by hiring a small […]