Water 101 | City of Ann Arbor 2018 Sustainable Ann Arbor Forum

Fri, 05/25/2018 - 3:21pm

This forum is about the lifecycle of water in Ann Arbor. There is a video about extreme storms in Ann Arbor, presentations from some experts in the field, even a trivia game!

Sustainable Ann Arbor is an annual series presented by the City of Ann Arbor and hosted by the Ann Arbor District Library. The series includes four events held monthly through April, each with a focus on a different element of sustainability from Ann Arbor’s Sustainability Framework. This event is cosponsored by the City of Ann Arbor and details of the series will be posted online on The City of Ann Arbor's Sustainability site. For information and videos from current and past Sustainable Ann Arbor Forums, please visit the City’s Sustainability website.

#47 Ann Arbor Stories: The Billboard Bandits

Wed, 04/11/2018 - 6:10pm

The shrill, biting, staccato whine of a chainsaw pierces the cold, night air. Thud. Another billboard falls to the ground along a highway in southern Michigan.

An estimated 167 billboards in all—cut, chopped, and chainsawed—along highways throughout Michigan, mostly in the vicinity of Ann Arbor. The papers called this group The Billboard Bandits. But they weren't the only ones terrorizing good old fashioned marketers in town.

Civic Life in Ann Arbor | City of Ann Arbor 2018 Sustainable Ann Arbor Forum

Tue, 03/20/2018 - 11:34am

This panel examines the health of our civic life in Ann Arbor. Mary Morgan, Founder of CivCity, moderates a panel about what it means to be an engaged citizen in a sustainable community, the importance of effecting change by focusing on the local level, and envisioning what civic life can mean in the age of social media.

• Moderator Mary Morgan, Executive Director of CivCity
• Neel Hajra, President and CEO of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation
• Ashley Blake, Community Building Team Lead at Avalon Housing

Socially Responsible Businesses – How Tea, Ice Cream, and Vegetables Do Good

Tue, 03/06/2018 - 4:05pm

Local business owners talk about how socially conscious business practices – from environmental sustainability to hiring practices to community partnerships – are part of their business identity and their bottom line.

The panel includes Rob Hess from Go! Ice Cream, Phillis Engelbert from The Lunch Room and Detroit Street Filling Station, and Aubrey Lopatin from Arbor Teas. This discussion is be moderated by Rishi Moudgil, Executive Director of GreenLight Fund Detroit and Founder of the Center for Social Impact at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. 

More about the panelists:

#46 Ann Arbor Stories: The Battle of Ann Arbor

Thu, 03/01/2018 - 5:34am

Four nights of rioting, dozens of injuries to cops and citizens, and more than 70 arrests—it was an event The Detroit Free Press dubbed “The Battle of Ann Arbor”. What sparked this violence and how did the insane scene play out in the summer of 1969?

Music by FAWNN & ZShipps

Sustainable Ann Arbor - Electric Vehicles

Tue, 02/13/2018 - 3:39pm

A panel of electric vehicle (EV) experts discusses electric vehicles in Ann Arbor and how EVs are a growing part of our transportation future—including autonomous vehicles.

Charles Griffith - Director of the Climate and Energy Program, Ecology Center

Bruce Westlake - President, Michigan Electric Auto Association

#45 Ann Arbor Stories: Highway Snipers

Wed, 02/07/2018 - 5:30am

There wasn't a lot of traffic on M-14 on that last day of August 1981. It was 3am. Semi trucks bound for points in Michigan and throughout the Midwest, cars carrying people headed to work, cars taking people home after long nights. It was at this time on this day on this stretch of highway that more than 200 bullets rained down on speeding cars, trucks and semis, causing mass panic and chaos. This is the story of the 1981 highway snipers.

Music by Michna and Ben Benjamin, courtesy of GhoLicense.

Hot from the Oven: Zingerman’s Bakehouse Cookbook!

Mon, 01/29/2018 - 8:58am

Amy Emberling and Frank Carollo, Managing Partners of Zingerman’s Bakehouse, discuss the Zingerman's Bakehouse cookbook, their first-ever cookbook, which features all the recipes of the Bakehouse’s most popular items. Also included are recipes that are unique to Michigan, along with Frank and Amy’s personal favorites. They’ve also added essays and brief stories for context, to give readers a sense of how the Zingerman’s community works together to produce great food. 

This event is in partnership with the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor (CHAA), an organization of scholars, cooks, food writers, nutritionists, collectors, students, and others interested in the study of culinary history and gastronomy. Their mission is to promote the study of culinary history through regular programs open to members and guests, through the quarterly newsletter Repast, and through exchanges of information with other such organizations.

Author M. Joanne Nesbit Discusses Her Book "Legendary Locals of Ann Arbor, Michigan"

Sun, 12/03/2017 - 3:21pm

Graced by the Huron River with an abundance of parks, Ann Arbor offers residents and visitors entertainment, sports, shopping, dining, and of course, the University of Michigan.

Legendary Locals of Ann Arbor, Michigan celebrates its citizens. Many are creative artists, inspiring educators, dedicated public servants, and determined business owners. With the exception of Lewis the cat, who reigned at Downtown Home and Garden, this book is filled with stories about people who have made and are making Ann Arbor one of the best places to live in the United States.

Co-author Joanne Nesbit discusses some of the great stories they discovered while putting together the book and how local legends were selected. With a career spanning journalism and as a public information officer at Indiana University and the University of Michigan, Nesbit has always been fascinated by local history, stories, and people. She is the author of three other books, and is the founder of Knitwits at the University of Michigan.

An Evening of Mystery Authors: Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore Celebrates 25 Years

Thu, 11/16/2017 - 3:08pm

Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore celebrated their 25th anniversary with a special AADL event featuring mystery authors William Kent Krueger (and his new mystery Sulfur Springs) and Julia Keller (with her latest, Fast Falls The Night).

William Kent Krueger has received many awards, including the Minnesota Book Award, the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, the Dilys Award, and the Friends of American Writers Prize. His last seven novels were all New York Times bestsellers. He writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. Sulfur Springs is number sixteen in the Cork O’Connor series.

Julia Keller won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for a three-part narrative series about the aftermath of a deadly tornado and the randomness of fate. Her books include Mr. Gatling’s Terrible Marvel: The Gun That Changed Everything and the Misunderstood Genius Who Invented It, Richard Jordan Gatling: Back Home and the Bell Elkins mystery series, set in Acker’s Gap, West Virginia. The newest in the series, Fast Falls The Night is based on a real-life event and takes place in a single 24-hour period, unfurling against the backdrop of a shattering personal revelation that will change Bell Elkins' life forever.