Friday, October 27, 2017

YpsiGLOW tonight

Gentle readers, tonight is YpsiGLOW, a wonderful event from the makers of FoolMoon and FestiFools. The event is sort of a hybrid between Halloween and FoolMoon, basically folks are encouraged to wear glowing costumes. It should be super fun. Here's a video from last year's event:

YpsiGLOW is tonight from 6:30 until 9:30 on North Washington Street in Ypsilanti.

Friday, October 20, 2017

Taking a Knee at the City Council Meeting

Apparently we aren't the only ones who care about A2 City Council meetings; the N.Y. Times has an article about City Council members taking a knee at this week's City Council meeting.

Monday, October 16, 2017

Ypsilanti City Council Preview

Tomorrow night at 7 pm the Ypsilanti City Council will be meeting in Ypsilanti City Hall. Here's the agenda if you'd like to take a look at it. There are two items on the agenda relating to the proposed International Village project. First, Economic Development Director, Beth Ernat, is giving a presentation on the trip to China she, the mayor, the mayor pro-tem, and the police chief went on. There is also a resolution to approve funding for independent legal services to investigate the aforementioned China trip. I anticipate much of the public commentary at the beginning of the meeting will be about International Village and the China trip.

There is also a first reading of an ordinance to establish a Citizens Police Advisory Commission. The commission would serve as liaison with the YPD, review, and report findings of police complaint investigations. There are also two recommendations from Sustainability Commission on establishing definitions of sustainable development as well as sustainable design guidelines.

#a2council preview

A yearling buck in Ann Arbor Township
Tonight at 7pm is the second Ann Arbor City Council Meeting for October. The agenda does not look too dense. There's one public hearing on site plans for a DTE substation at 2551 South State Street. The site, which is situated between State Street and the AAPS Balas buildings, is currently a DTE substation. I don't anticipate many comments from the public during this public hearing.

The agenda item that is likely to draw the most public comments is CA-16, "Resolution to Approve Amendment No. 1 to Contract with White Buffalo, Inc. for Combined Surgical Sterilization and Sharpshooting Management Services for the City’s Deer Population." I *think* the reason that this is just on the consent agenda is because the item comes from the amendment from last year's approval of the contract for services with White Buffalo. Perhaps someone who understands City Council process better than I do can clarify that point.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Odious human, Charles Murray, to speak at U of M this evening

Noted bigot, Charles Murray, is speaking at U of M this evening. If you're looking to brush up on what precisely makes Murray so terrible, I highly recommend Nathan J. Robinson's article, Why Is Charles Murray Odious? Here's an excerpt:
From his earliest days, Charles Murray was—to put it charitably—a shockingly oblivious human being when it came to matters of race. As a teenager in the 1950s, he and some high school friends staged a cross burning on top of a hill. Murray claims he was stunned when the residents of his Iowa town instantly thought the flaming cross was somehow racist. “It never crossed our minds that this had any larger significance,” he insisted. Forty years later, with the publication of The Bell Curve, Murray would once again profess himself surprised that people could view him as a racist. “I’m befuddled by it… I don’t know what to make of it,” Murray said when even old acquaintances began calling his book dishonest and bigoted. Murray wondered why he was being “punished” for producing perfectly valid social science research on a matter of public import.

Two U of M Professors named 2017 MacArthur Fellows

Two University of Michigan Professors, Derek Peterson and Jason De León, were just named to the 2017 class of MacArthur Fellows. Peterson studies eastern Africa's intellectual cultures in the History Department. While De León directs the Undocumented Migration Project which is a long term study of clandestine border crossings combing techniques from sociology, anthropology, and forensic science.

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Last day to register for November election

Gentle reader, as you know, we take all elections very seriously here at Damn Arbor. We encourage you to vote in the upcoming November election. If your registration is not up to date (e.g. you have moved since the last election) today is the last day to update your registration for November's election. There are two countywide proposals on the November ballot (Special Education Millage and Public Safety Millage) as well as contested city council races in Wards 2, 4 and 5 in Ann Arbor. You wouldn't want to miss your last opportunity to participate in the final odd-year city council election, would you?

You can update your voter registration at your city clerk's office or at a Michigan Secretary of State Branch Office.