AADL Talks To: Patricia Garcia and John Hilton, Ann Arbor Observer Co-Owners

Tue, 10/08/2024 - 4:20pm

In this episode AADL Talks To John Hilton and Patricia Garcia. John and Patricia co-own the Ann Arbor Observer, where Patricia is Publisher and John is Editor. John and Patricia talk about how they were selected for ownership, how the community has changed in their almost 40 years of covering it, and how they weathered the changes in the media industry and the pandemic.

AADL Talks To: John Hieftje, 60th Mayor of Ann Arbor, 2000-2014

Thu, 09/19/2024 - 9:00pm

John Hieftje is Ann Arbor’s 60th and longest-serving mayor, elected first in 2000, then re-elected for six consecutive terms. John grew up in Ann Arbor and discusses how the student protests of the late 1960s and early 1970s influenced his community activism and helped shape his political career. He also talks about some of the challenges he faced in office, from the Great Recession of the mid-2000s to his work on the Ann Arbor Greenbelt, polluter laws, and bicycle infrastructure. He also talks about some of the city's ongoing efforts to address climate change and affordable housing.

AACHM Oral History: Sharon Gillespie

Wed, 09/22/2021 - 10:53am

Sharon Gillespie was born in 1945 and raised by her grandmother in Oklahoma before moving to Ann Arbor with her mother at age nine. She remembers redlining in Ann Arbor and the breakup of the historically Black neighborhood she grew up in. She helped raise two younger sisters while her mother attended ophthalmology school at the University of Michigan. Gillespie excelled in her career as a typesetter at local businesses. After retiring, she has been active in volunteering at homeless shelters and hospice programs. She was married to Raymond Gillespie for 21 years. 

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