Arlo and I were walking around the elevated path that runs along the edge of Frog Island Park this evening, looking down toward the river, and talking about fish, when we noticed a young woman sleeping in a hammock that she’d tied up between two trees, just a few feet off the water. It looked [...]
By Mark | December 28, 2012 A few days ago, I posted an interview I did with an author by the name of Ted McClelland, who has written extensively about the emmigration of young professionals from Michigan to Chicago. To sum up our conversation in one sentence, McClelland believes that we have little hope of keeping bright, young people here in [...]
Posted in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Shadow Art Fair, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Black Jake, Black Jake and the Carnies, Capitalism, Chicago, Cool Cities, Corner brewery, Depot Town, diversification, East Cross Street, education reform, emigration, exit interviews, graffiti, Growing Hope, Hipsilanti, mandolin, Ohio, property theft, radon, Rick Snyder, right-to-work, Spur Studios, Stuart Beal, taxes, Ted McClelland, things from Ohio that are tolerable, Thompson Block, Toledo, Water Street Redevelopment Project, Woodruff's, Ypsi Food Co-op, Ypsi/Arbor Exit Interviews, Ypsilanti Public Schools, Ypsilanti real estate, Zach Pollock | By Mark | September 26, 2012 As I think most of you know, a team of University of Michigan architects and their graduate students were approached some time ago and asked to envision what a new Water Street recreation center might look. Having completed their design concepts, they will be presenting their work to the citizens of Ypsilanti at SPARK East [...]
Posted in Architecture, Sustainability, Ypsilanti | Also tagged architecture, Border to Border Trail, brown field, Cathy Duchon, city planning, community building, community facilities, Craig Borum, Eastside Recreation Center, economic development, emerald necklace, flooding, Huron River greenway, Jen Maigret, MAde studio, Maria Arquero, Michigan Avenue, Olmstead Brothers, our fragile downtown business ecosystem, PLY Architecture, public space, recreation center, Riverside Park, Robert Marans, sustainable urbanism, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, trees, University of Michigan, urban form, urban planning, walkable downtown, Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation, Washtenaw County Parks Commission, water management, Water Street, Waterworks Park, YMCA | A few nights ago, as a part of Eastern Michigan University’s weeklong “Activism and Education” festivities, noted author and environmental activist Derrick Jensen addressed students and members of the Ypsilanti community at Pease Auditorium. What follow are my very rough notes. As I spent half my time mopping sweat from my red, wrinkled brow, I’m [...]
Posted in Civil Liberties, Environment, Uncategorized | Also tagged 1942, activism, anti-science, Bhopal, BP, Capitalism, castration, Cheyenne Dog Soldiers, clean water, conservation, David Attenborough, decolonization, Deep Green Resistance, Derrick Jensen, domestic violence, Eastern Michigan University, eco justice, Education, education reform, EMU, energy conservation, fracking, France, Global Warming, global warming denial, Guantánamo Bay, Gulf of Mexico, higher education, IRA, James Inhofe, Joseph Campbell, Nazi, Nazi Doctors, Obama, oil spills, permaculture, picket pin, potential for violence, racism, radio-contoled cigar cutters, rape, revolution, Robert Jay Lifton, tea party, teaching, Thomas Lindsay, Tony Hayward, trends in American education, Union Carbide, University of Munich, violence, violence vs non-violence, water quality, we need a revolution, White Rose Society | A few weeks ago, as a part of our ongoing Ypsilanti Immigration Interview project, I spoke with a young woman named Gillian Ream, who had just recently moved to Ypsilanti from Ann Arbor with her software-developer boyfriend. Well, today’s interview is with said boyfriend, Adam Gainsley. Please join me in welcoming him to Ypsilanti. MARK: [...]
Posted in Ann Arbor, Politics, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Adam Gainsley, apps. programming, Arbor Brewing Company, Bandemer Park, Barton Park, Beer Thirty, Beezy's, bike friendly, Bike Ypsi, bikes, Bird Hills, Border to Border Trail, Brown Park, Burns Park, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chick Inn, community, community activism, defining community, disk golf, entrepreneurship, Frog Island, Frog Island Music Festival, Gillian Ream, hackathons, hi-tech startups, Hill Auditorium, Holmes Road, interviews, local income tax, Mary Beth Doyle Park, meet-ups, milkshakes, NMAC, Non-Motorized Advisory Committee, Non-Motorized Transportation Plan, programmers, programming, Pub 13, Ridge Road, Save Ypsi Yes, Scott's Coffee Break, Sidetrack, social media, software, Tech Brewery, University of Michigan, walkability, walkable downtown, Washtenaw Biking and Walking Coalition, Water Street, Water Street debt reduction millage, working from home, Ypsi immigration interview, Zydeco | 
