In the News

Car-sharing comes to Ypsilanti

AnnArbor.com Wednesday, June 19, 2013

U-M lead the way. Followed by A2 then EMU. NOw, Yspi is climbing aboard the car sharing bandwagon, with two rent-by-the-hour cars in their downtown.

Excerpt:

"The program will begin with two cars being available for rental, but could expand to include more.

"If it's successful, we will look into adding more cars once we have some more usage data," Wessler said.

The cars will be placed in the Washington Street parking lot near the Ypsilanti Transit Center. The city does not foresee any security issues, but will deal with any on a case-by-case basis."

Read the rest here.

Solar power in limelight at TedX EMU event

Solar Ypsi Wednesday, May 15, 2013

In a quest to put 1,000 solar roofs over Ypsilanti heads, solar extraordinaire Dave Strenski spoke out at the recent TedX EMU event.

Catch the video here.

Follow the Thompson Block on Twitter

Twitter Wednesday, May 08, 2013

The Thompson Block commercial and loft space in Ypsilanti's Depot Town now has a Twitter handle. Get the latest word here.

EMU one of America's most affordable colleges

Eastern Michigan University Wednesday, April 24, 2013

With the middle class finding itself increasingly priced out of college for the kids, EMU is one of a few in the country that have clamped down on tuition costs.

Excerpt:

"In 2010, Eastern Michigan University led the way as one of the nation's most cost conscious colleges when it froze tuition, room and board and fees with its 0%, 0%, 0% campaign...

This tuition restraint and other factors have recently earned Eastern a ranking of 54th out of 350 colleges for its affordability among the larger public colleges by AffordableCollegesOnline.org. There were 15 metrics used in the ranking, including tuition, admission rates, enrollment total, average grant dollars per student and average scholarship per student."

More here.

Willow Run's B-24 bomber factory gets PBS doc

AnnArbor.com Wednesday, March 13, 2013

A documentary about the Ypsilanti Willow Run airport's reknown B-24 bomber plant will hit the airwaves... well, ride the cable signal... Sunday on PBS.

Excerpt:

"According to the Michigan Aerospace Foundation, the documentary recounts the building of the massive assembly plant, and the production process of more than 8,000 B-24 heavy bombers. The bombers were built at the plant from 1942 to 1945."

The program will air at 4 p.m. Sunday on Channel 56.

Read the rest here.

DIA brings art to Ann Arbor and Ypsi

Saline Patch Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Funding public art may not be a part of Ann Arbor's priorities but at least it'll act as a canvass for art from the Detroit Institute Of Art for three months this Spring.

Excerpt:

"Now in its fourth year, Inside|Out brings reproductions of masterpieces from the DIA’s collection to the streets of metro Detroit," a DIA press release said. "Inside|Out aims to connect with audiences outside the museum walls in places where they live, work and play."

Ann Arbor will host the following Inside|Out spring installations from April to June (see below for a complete list of participating communities).

Ypsilanti will host yet-to-be-determined artworks from July to August."

Read the rest here.

A2 directed, written and produced movie stars Hunger Games hunk

YouTube Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Homegrown but Hollywood fueled, "Love and Honor" was co-written by U-M professor Jim Burnstein, directed by U-M grad Danny Mooney, produced U-M grad Eddie Rubin, and shot in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. But it stars The Hunger Games hunk Liam Hemsworth.

You can see the Vietnam era movie on VOD starting February 14 and in theaters on March 22.

Check out the trailer.

Ann Arbor's "human capital" is tops for small metros

The Atlantic Cities Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Business leaders call them "human capital," economists call them educated people. Either way you slice the tomato, both consider it a key factor in regional growth and development. Richard Florida takes a look at what human capital in suburban vs urban settings looks like.

Excerpt:

"Perhaps not surprisingly, college towns predominate when we add smaller metros (with populations of less than one million) to the list. With nearly 70 percent of adults holding bachelor degrees, Ann Arbor comes in first, followed by State College, Pennsylvania (69.2 percent), Iowa City (55.9 percent), Bloomington, Indiana (54.8 percent), Corvallis, Oregon (53.1 percent), Boulder, Colorado (50.9 percent), Columbia, Missouri (50.4 percent), Madison, Wisconsin (48.1 percent), Lawrence, Kansas (47.6 percent) and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois (47.4 percent)."

Read the rest here.

One year of the Wurst

MarkMaynard.com Wednesday, January 09, 2013

A year ago The Wurst Bar opened in Ypsilanti. It quickly became a success, surprisingly less for its brews and more for its food. Mark Maynard decided to interview owner Jesse Kranyak about business, the community and competition.

Excerpt:

"I do not think that there is any competition in Ypsilanti – the market is still under developed and under appreciated in my opinion. A lot of the businesses in the area do share a lot of the same customers, but every additional business that offers something unique also adds to the quality of the entire neighborhood. This is not an area that has hit any saturation point, and, if another restaurant opened and we lost business, I would start heavily critiquing how I was approaching customers rather than think they were being taken away. We still continually get customers that drive in to check us out from Birmingham, Royal Oak and Beverly Hills because of something they saw online. I think that’s great for other places as well. I live and work here in Ypsilanti and I would be pretty hard pressed to continue doing so if there were not other places to eat and socialize such as Sidetrack, Beezy’s or Red Rock."

Read the rest here.

CityFARM urban farm business model gets noticed

Corp Magazine Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Urban farming is emerging as a viable business model for companies like CityFARM.

Excerpt:

Its first year brought 40 new clients, allowing the company to employee two full-time workers and three part-timers. Besides its consulting and farming divisions, the business has an online store where it sells handmade products such as cedar raised beds, composters, container gardens and trellises.

Read the rest here.

Ypsilanti ok's DTE plan to build $4M solar array on landfill

AnnArbor.com Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Revenue for Ypsilanti, clean energy for DTE customers, a productive use of landfill space. This smells of win-win.

Excerpt:

"The proposed Ypsilanti project would cover about 4.5 acres of the 7-acre property near Spring Street and

just north of the westbound Interstate 94 Huron Street exit.

The city would lease the property to the company for $9,778 per acre, or $44,000 a year. A one-time construction payment of $20,000 must be made within 30 days of the execution of the lease.

The city receives $35,000 per year for the lease of the existing, large digital billboard that is currently on the property. City officials said the billboard would not be affected by the solar project. Both leases together would generate about $75,000 per year for the city."

Read the rest here.

Bus from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti faster, more frequent

AnnArbor.com Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Ridership is growing on local buses and new route planning is helping to make the system better for all. The bus from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti along Packard will be 8 minutes faster now that it's traveling a straight path.

Excerpt:

"On the branch from downtown Ypsilanti, the number of trips will continue to be two per hour, but the trip time will be reduced by 18 percent by providing a more direct route along Packard. On the other branch, the number of trips will increase from two to four per hour."

Read the rest here.

Double decker rail cars tested for Ann Arbor commuter line

Sentinal-Standard Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Inch by inch the development of a commuter rail system between Ann Arbor and Detroit... well, actually Jackson and Detroit, becomes a reality.

Excerpt:

"Officials say they hope to hear next week whether the cars passed the test to enter into service. If so, the public could have a chance to take demonstration trips next year.

Tuesday's test used an Amtrak engine to take the cars on a run that began in Pontiac and included stops at Birmingham, Royal Oak, Detroit's New Center area, Dearborn, Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Dexter, Chelsea and Jackson."

Read the rest here.

Ann Arbor is ready for its close up

Detroit Free Press Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The Five-Year Engagement, The Ides of March, Cedar Rapids, Whip It and Flipped are on the map. The Michigan Film Office has put together a movie tour map of Ann Arbor film locations. Get yours at the Convention and Visitor's Center.

Excerpt:

"Just in time for the winter season, the Michigan Film Office has come out with a new Ann Arbor Film Locations Tour Map that could help entertain visitors to the region -- or just give University of Michigan alums an excuse to return to campus."

Read the rest here.

Arbor Brewing gets more praise for going green

FuelFix.com Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Having one solar-powered, green-minded brewpub in your community is pretty awesome. Having two is twice the awesome.

Excerpt:

"The Corner Brewery’s $250,000 “Green Brewery Project” includes solar-thermal, photovoltaic, and geo-thermal technologies along with new windows, awnings and energy-efficient chiller equipment. It is expected to provide almost all of the brewery’s hot water needs and up to 15 percent of its electricity, while knocking $20,000 each year off energy bills."

Read the rest here.

Ypsilanti : In the News