In the News

How to turn city-owned properties into downtown residences

AnnArbor.com Wednesday, February 13, 2013

In a terrific opinion piece, former dean of architecture and urban planning at U-M Doug Kelbaugh lays out an ambitious but achievable plan for greater residential density in Ann Arbor's downtown. Check it out!

Excerpt:

"There are other benefits of downtown living, such as the fiscal bounce to the city, which can more easily provide municipal services, as well as maintain a more compact infrastructure. There's a less automobile dependence and higher transit ridership, which cuts AA's energy/carbon footprint and reduces traffic. And there's a vibrant sidewalk life, for all ages and tastes, supporting and feeding off of downtown culture and commerce while building a cosmopolitan community.

So, for starters, the city should prioritize residential development over office space on these four lots. We have plenty of workers downtown — too many come the 5 o'clock rush hour! - but not enough permanent residents. We need as broad a demographic mix as possible — rich, poor and in-between, with a healthy ethnic, racial, age and size mix of households — and, like central cities the world over, some families with children. Downtown can be a 24/7 neighborhood as well as a central business district."

Read the rest here.

Parents mag says Mott Children's Hospital among best in the nation

AnnArbor.com Wednesday, February 06, 2013

What does $754 million and a 1.1 million-square-foot facility get you? A number eight ranking on Parents magazine's top 10 children's hospitals in the country.

Excerpt:

"Hospitals were ranked by the editors of Parents based on the following: Rates of survival for childhood cancer, pediatric heart disease, experience in performing complex procedures, depth of research programs, safeguards to prevent medical errors, staging ratios, community outreach and services that address the emotional needs of families and patients. "

Read the rest here.

Ann Arbor Film Fest screens in U.K.

Creative Boom Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Edge Hill University in Lancashire, U.K. will be holding a special screening of selections from Ann Arbor's 50th Film Festival. It's part of the festival's world tour program.

Excerpt:

"America's longest-running independent film festival celebrated its milestone anniversary in March 2012, presenting 233 films, videos and live performances over six days, including more than 30 premieres of new work. It will arrive at the University’s Arts Centre on Wednesday 6th February for a one-off free viewing as part of the 50th birthday celebrations."

Read the rest here.

Is car sharing the way of the future?

The Christian Science Monitor Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Ann Arbor is just one of many cities embracing such car-sharing programs as Zipcar. With more than 750K members, car-sharing programs are becominga vianle alternative, particularly for a younger generation with different transportation priorities than their parents.

Excerpt:

"In the case of car sharing, a few factors have contributed to its rise. "Re-urbanization is a big trend," says Mark Norman, president and chief operating officer of Zipcar, based in Cambridge, Mass. "Lots of people are staying in cities, raising their kids there. Empty nesters are returning to walkable communities."

"We're dancing around the issue of young buyers," says Bruce Belzowski, an assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute in Ann Arbor. Young adults have "different priorities than having a new vehicle," he says.

Millennials aren't buying cars in the volumes their counterparts once did. Adults ages 24 to 31 bought just 27 percent of vehicles sold in the United States in 2010, down from a peak of 38 percent in 1985."

Read the rest here.

Startup Weekend boasts 55 pitches, 12 potential businesses

Michigan Daily Wednesday, February 06, 2013

You've heard of the 48-hour movie competition? Similar idea, bigger impact. Over three days students pitch start-up ideas, winnow them down to the best dozen, put together teams, develop their plan then persent their ideas for a winning business. It's a 54 hours endure test for budding entrepreneurs.

Excerpt:

"On Friday evening, all Startup Weekend participants were given the opportunity to pitch business proposals for potential start-ups. By late evening, 55 pitches were brought forward and participants voted on their favorites. Then, teams were built around the 12 winning pitches. Though pitches this year tended to be mainly for technology products, other pitches included a non-profit venture to help feed impoverished children.

Business sophomore Lorenzo Salacata, an organizer of the competition, noted that though the majority of participants were students with non-engineering or computer science backgrounds, approximately 40 percent of Startup Weekend participants had coding experience."

Read the rest here.

Ann Arbor is tops in churning out patents

The Brooking Institute Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Okay, it's a per capita ranking (patents/thousand jobs) but still tenth in the nation is pretty impressive. For overall patent output over five year (590) we were 37th. That averages out to more than 2 per day. Detroit ranked tenth in overall patents with 2,720 but 35th per capita.

Check out the stats by metro area and company here.

App firm started by U-M students reinvents note-taking

BusinessInsider.com Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The article claims that Fetchnotes is based in Cambridge but it was founded in Ann Arbor by U-M students. It went out to Boston to participate in a business accelerator program.

Excerpt:

"...what if there was a way to improve on this simple idea by integrating one of our favorite social media platforms, Twitter?

Meet Fetchnotes.

Fetchnotes is more than just a place to store ideas. Users generate their own organization method through hashtags and followers."

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.

The Urbanwood Project turns wood waste into valuable resources

earth911.com Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Between the emerald ash borer, landfill-bound wood waste, and mill rejects, a whole lot of timber egst overlooked or discarded. Enter Recycle Ann Arbor, which teamed with the nonprofit Southeast Michigan Resource Conservation and Development Council and the Genesee Conservation District to develop a one-of-kind organization to turn wood waste into a usable resource.

Excerpt:

"The project grew out of a happy accident in 2005 when Recycle Ann Arbor was looking to put some new flooring in one of their conference rooms and sought out a sustainable option. They had heard some local sawmills were creating products from ash trees, and the Southeast Michigan RC&D Council put them in touch with those producers, Simons explained. Eventually, people began asking about the new flooring, which led Recycle Ann Arbor to sell a small amount of the urban wood in their reuse center. Out of those small beginnings, Urbanwood has grown into a project that involves half a dozen sawmills and two retail outlets, one at Recycle Ann Arbor's ReUse Center and the other at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Flint, Mich."

Read the rest here.

Detroit-based private-equity firm relies on U-M for hires

Model D Wednesday, January 30, 2013

All discussions about Michigan's developing new economy include talent - where to get it, how to retain it, and what the next generation of professionals need. Huron Capital Partners (Michigan's largest private-equity firm) sees the University Of Michigan as an important pipeline for employees.

Excerpt:

"The 20-person firm now takes up most of the 27th floor of the Guardian Building. It's new hires are mostly investment professionals. A large quantity of them earned their MBAs locally.

"The University of Michigan is educating more of our team than any other school," says Michael Beauregard, senior partner at Huron Capital Partners."

Read the rest here.

Backyard Brains' DIY neuroscience kits make waves on CNN

CNN Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Ann Arbor's Backyard Brains is making waves with its Spiker Box, an affordable neuroscience kit. Founder Greg Gage's interview and article appear on CNN.

Excerpt:

"...While most everyone is fascinated by the brain, very few get the chance to peer into the world of neurons. Because, until now, there wasn’t a way for amateurs to get involved.

In neuroscience, for example, equipment to read out the brain activity can cost over $10,000. But this is beginning to change. With the DIY revolution, people can now have similar high-tech gear in their own homes and garages for under $100.

When I was a grad student studying neuroscience my labmate, Tim Marzullo, proposed an interesting idea: Can we record from the brain for less than 100 dollars, just using everyday electronics? We set off on a self-imposed engineering challenge to see if we could replicate our expensive lab equipment with something affordable by consumers.

We ended up with the SpikerBox: a small kit (which you can build yourself, if you like) that can listen to the living brain cells from insects."

More here.

Cleaner, safer clothes could be on the way

University of Michigan Wednesday, January 23, 2013

It'd be nice to be able to cut way back on laundry. Researchers at U-M are developing liquid-repellent coatings for clothing and other products.

Excerpt:

"A nanoscale coating that's at least 95 percent air repels the broadest range of liquids of any material in its class, causing them to bounce off the treated surface, according to the University of Michigan engineering researchers who developed it.

In addition to super stain-resistant clothes, the coating could lead to breathable garments to protect soldiers and scientists from chemicals, and advanced waterproof paints that dramatically reduce drag on ships."

More here.

Bucking retirement trends, boomers are choosing Ann Arbor

CNBC Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Retirees are looking for college towns where they can keep their minds busy, instead of the golf course, and Ann Arbor is one of them. CNBC reports on the trend.

Excerpt:

"You really didn't expect Baby Boomers to flock to those staid retirement communities in Florida and Arizona, did you?...

Thus, other affordable college towns such as Ann Arbor, Mich. (University of Michigan); South Bend, Ind. (Notre Dame); Gainesville, Fla. (University of Florida); and State College, Pa. (Penn State) offer exactly what Boomers are looking for these days: cheap homes, a reasonable cost of living, livability and lots of culture and sports."

More here.

DRAFT magazine tips a pint at Ashley's

DRAFT magazine Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Ashley's has one of the Midwest's finest selection of pours, the tastemakers at DRAFT say.

Excerpt:

"It's easy to find excellent beer in Michigan (Short's, Jolly Pumpkin, Arcadia Ales), but to find it in one wood-dressed place where you'll rub elbows with grad students and true students of beer, you've gotta go to Ashley's. Some love it for the proximity to campus nightlife, but the savvier set reveres it for the 70-plus taps that often get first dibs on Michigan's finest."

More here.

NEA Magazine features Chelsea's Purple Rose Theatre

NEA Arts Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The magazine for the National Endowment Of The Arts not only decided to write a profile of Chelsea's Purple Rose Theatre they created an audio slide show.

Excerpt:

"Chelsea, Michigan, is a small town with a thriving arts scene. That's thanks in no small part to the Purple Rose Theatre Company (PRTC), founded by actor, and Chelsea native, Jeff Daniels. Starting out in a garage with a skeletal staff, PRTC has flourished into a first-rate theater company, developing local talent, nurturing Midwestern voices, and providing a cultural hub in this corner of Michigan. Artistic Director Guy Sanville, who has been with the company almost from its inception, explains how PRTC was a game-changer for Chelsea."

Listen to the slide show here.