Heading into the last election, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to local races. I, of course, did my research on the local candidates and ballot initiatives that I’d be voting on, but, for the most part, I focused on national races, trying, as best I could, to help the Democrats take back the […]
Tag Archives: Mary Jo Callan
Ann Arbor votes for an unfunded downtown park over density and affordable housing
The desperate need for affordable housing in Ann Arbor, the story of the black history mural that brought the community together, and nudity on the radio… on episode 32 of the Saturday Six Pack
Every episode of the Saturday Six Pack, toward the end, devolves into chaos. It’s been that way since we first started the show. We begin each episode with the best of intentions, but, somewhere along the line, things start to careen off in a direction that would wouldn’t have thought possible just a few hours […]
The pressing need for affordable housing in Ann Arbor, the team behind Ypsi’s new HP Jacobs mural, and boy reporter Tom Perkins… on this weekend’s episode of the Saturday Six Pack
In 2014, Washtenaw County contracted with Virginia-based consultant Rob Krupicka to study housing affordability across the County, and, in January of this year, he presented his findings in a report, which he delivered to officials in Ann Arbor. In his report, Krupicka warned of the instability that would invariably result if, as Ann Arbor continued […]
Teen violence in Ypsilanti brings “savage inequality” into focus
It must be because I’ve been out of town for the past few weeks, but it didn’t even occur to me, when I posted last night about this new epidemic of youth violence we’re experiencing in Ypsilanti, to look at it through the lens of our relationship with Ann Arbor. While I noted in my […]
“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 […]