Debate on Proposal A—the “Library Lot"

Fri, 10/26/2018 - 12:56pm

The League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area hosted a panel discussion on Proposal A, the "Library Lot." 

Representatives from groups that support or oppose Proposal A presented their views and answered audience questions. Speakers include:

A2Energy Power Hour

Wed, 09/12/2018 - 6:15pm

This fun and informative event explains how your house can be made more energy efficient and whether solar power might be an option. 

Presenters include:

-MI Saves: to explain their contractor network and financing options.
-Washtenaw County Staff: to describe their free programs for low-income home owners

Donald Hall Reads "Eating the Pig," 1978

Sun, 06/24/2018 - 1:12pm

Listen to 2006 Poet Laureate of the United States, Donald Hall, read his poem "Eating the Pig" in 1978. 

Audio file courtesy of the Woodberry Poetry Room, Harvard University.

You can read "Eating the Pig" here or visit Eating the Pig: A Dinner Party in Poetry, Photography & Painting for more information about the Ann Arbor dinner party that inspired the poem.
 

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.