Interview with Skate Witches director Danny Plotnick

Few Super 8 films have captured local hearts and minds like Danny Plotnick's 1986 classic, Skate Witches. The 2 minute short was shot on the Diag in a single day while Danny was a student at U of M. It features a gang of female skateboarders, the Skate Witches, who terrorize male skateboarders. Also the Skate Witches have rats. Despite the films brevity, it really captures the zeitgeist for the mid 80s alt scene. I reached out to Danny, who is now the Director of Film Studies at the University of San Francisco, recently and he agreed to answer a few questions about Skate Witches for me. Below is our email interview.

Damn Arbor: Could you tell me a little about what inspired Skate Witches, or what lead to its filming?

Danny Plotnick: Dana, the witch in the Misfits t-shirt, had talked about wanting to get her old skateboard from her family home and bring it with her back to Ann Arbor. Obviously, Ann Arbor spreads out, and she thought a skateboard would be a great way to get around town a lot quicker. However, she felt she would get hassled by all the boy skateboarders in town. I don’t know if any women were skateboarding in Ann Arbor at that point. If they were, they were few and far between. Dana mentioned this when we were all hanging out. Karen, the queen witch, mentioned she used to skate when she lived in Grand Rapids. I joked that they should form a gang called The Skate Witches. Jenny, the witch that keeps pushing guys off their skateboards, said she didn’t skate, but she’d be happy to join the gang. Dana and Karen never really did get their boards. I liked the notion of them forming a gang in real life, but when it seemed like that wasn’t going to happen, I was convinced that, regardless, we needed to make a movie. So I wrote the movie, they got their skateboards, and the rest is history.

DA: How did you find the actors? Do you still stay in touch with the Witches? Did they really all own rats?

YpsiGLOW this Friday

YpsiGLOW is this Friday. Check out the above video from last year. Marchers with luminaries will gather at two places: the Water Tower and Depot Town. Then at 6:30 they will march to Downtown Ypsi and gather on Washington Street. Here's a map of the route:

The party on Washington goes from 7-10 pm. Hopefully we will see you there.

Ann Arbor City Council Preview for Oct. 15, 2018, or Duck yes: City poised to legalize backyard waterfowl

An image of a duck from the Damn Arbor Photo Archive.

Gentle readers, the days when you had to dress your majestic backyard ducks as common chicken may be drawing to a close. That's right, the City Council is poised to legalize backyard ducks. Looking at the agenda for tonight, the first reading of the Duck Ordinance (C-1) may be one of the lest controversial items on the agenda.

The #a2council agenda starts off with a stacked consent agenda docket with 24 items. Of note, there are 4 sanitary sewer easements on the Consent Agenda tonight. Two of tonight's public hearings (PH-1 and PH-2) are on the annexation of Township Islands. This issue has been contentious at recent #a2council meetings. When the city annexes a township parcel there can be an increase in taxes of $1k to $3k per year and fees of up to $100k for sewer and water connectivity. You can read more about the township annexation program here.

There are a couple of other especially spicy items on tonight's agenda. First, PH-4/B-2, the Mayor's Police Oversight Ordinance, has not been received well by members of the Police Oversight Commission Taskforce and by those who seek robust civilian oversight of the police.

The other spicy item on the agenda is DC-4, is a resolution to approve a Deed with Core Spaces for the Library Lot. Whoa. This will pit the faction of the city council that are in support of the development agains those that would rather see the Library Lot undeveloped.

Gentle reader, what are you most looking forward to at tonight's #a2council meeting? We are well into campaign season so there may be some political fireworks. Make sure you tune in tonight at 7 to watch CTN's live stream and follow the blow-by-blow action on #a2council hashtag on Twitter.

Today is the last day to Register for November Election

Gentle reader, this coming election is very important. I cannot emphasize how important it is for you to vote. Today is the last day to register to vote, or update your registration for the November election. You can check your voter registration here. In celebration of this monuments day, our friends at 7 Cylinders Studio in conjunction with Washtenaw County have released the 4th video in their how to vote series. Check it out, then make sure your registration is up to date.

A map of the proposed Food Truck Exclusion Zone

A map of Ann Arbor's proposed Food Truck Exclusion Zone by @SassArbor. In this map, the Food Truck Exclusion Zone is indicated by the color white. 

Gentle readers, local hero @SassArbor has done what the government is scared to do. Blogging under the nom de guerre, A2 Civic Tech, @SassArbor has produced a map showing the Food Truck Exclusion Zone that would be created by the Food Truck Ordinance. The vast swaths of Ann Arbor that make up the Food Truck Exclusion Zone are shown in white on the map above. This is what the government doesn't want you to see.

Sass's analysis is through, and their methodology is very well documented. My only fear is that the map may not accurately depict the size of the Food Truck Exclusion Zone. Section 8 in the proposed ordnance reads:

There shall be a minimum 200-foot separation from any residential use or residentially zoned district. ...

I interpret this to mean that food trucks would be forbidden not just within 200 feet of residential properties, but also PUDs or Commercially-zoned areas that have residential units. So if anything, Sass's efforts underestimate the size of the Exclusion Zone.

You should really check out A2 Civic Tech and read the whole analysis and see all the maps. As a little teaser, here's a map that really captures the 200 foot residential buffer on the Food Truck Exclusion Zone. The map shows South State Street and South Industrial. The top most horizontal road is Henry St.

One week left to register to vote in November Election

Gentle reader, there will be so many important things on the November ballot that I don't have time to list them. Here are some highlights, though: local elections, legalizing cannabis, and ending gerrymandering. You need to vote. You have just to make sure you're registered. Fortunately our friends at 7 Cylinders have partnered with Washtenaw County to produce videos on how to get yourself registered.

Fall River Day this Sunday in Ypsilanti

The Ypsilanti Parks and Recreation Commission's annual Fall River Day is this Sunday in Riverside Park and Frog Island Park. Full disclosure, I am on the Ypsilanti Parks and Recreation Commission, so this might just be shameless self-promotion. If you've never been, Fall River Day is awesome. Ann Arbor Parks and Rec will be bringing kayaks and you will be able to rent and launch them at Frog Island Park. If you don't have your own kayak or canoe, this will be one of the few chances you will have to paddle on this stretch of the Huron River. There will also be birds of prey, nature walks, games for kids, cider, and donuts. It looks like it'll be a beautiful fall day too, so you really have no excuse to miss it. Bonus: if you do come, make sure to stop by the kayak rental station where I will be helping launch boats.

They are coming for your food trucks

Ricewood BBQ on opening day, 2016. Photo by Ed Vielmetti.

Gentle reader, the City is on a real tear. First they passed their bogus, and likely illegal, Flag and Seal ordinance. Then, they stole all the Bird Scooters. Now they are coming after the food trucks. Local food truck patron, Ed Vielmetti, came across this proposed ordinance regulating food trucks that will make its way to the Ordinance Review Committee of the Planning Commission on 9/25. In its current form, this ordinance would essentially eliminate food trucks in most of the city.

Here are some highlights:

(1) The mobile food vending service shall not be located in any required setback, any sight distance triangle, or required buffer. Mobile food vendors may be allowed in any office (O) commercial and industrial districts and the parking district. Mobile food vendors shall be prohibited in any residential district and the D1 and D2 districts.

...

(8) There shall be a minimum 200-foot separation from any residential use or residentially zoned district. This measurement shall be taken from the property line to property line at the closest point.

So basically the ordinance would only allow food trucks (and food carts) in areas zoned Office, Commercial, Industrial or Parking, but only in places that are more than 200ft from a residential area. This means goodbye to our beloved Ricewood in its current location. More importantly, it would ban food trucks in most Office, Commercial, Industrial, and Parking zoned parcels. Gentle reader, I have not heard a lot of complaints about food trucks, have you? I asked a concerned citizen about this potential ordinance and they shared this with me "I’ve never once heard someone say they’re glad there are no food trucks downtown, and literally hundreds of pleas for them to be there." Here's my question, where is this push to restrict food trucks coming from?

Opinion: Show up tonight to support strong police oversight in Ann Arbor

Tonight at 7:00 at Ann Arbor City Hall there is a joint meeting of the Police Oversight Task Force and City Council Work Session. At the meeting, the Task Force will be presenting a ordinance that would create a strong, independent Police Oversight Commission. Some highlights of the Task Force ordinance:

Functional independence: Current and former law enforcement will not be eligible for membership on the Commission (though they can be invited to act as consultants when needed) and the Commission will be able to hire independent counsel.

Adequate funding: The Task Force requested that at an amount equal to 1.17% of the AAPD’s annual budget (or approximately $327,000) be set aside for oversight.

Representative of the community: As written, the draft includes a participatory nomination process through the Human Rights Commission which focuses on racial, economic, and experiential diversity to ensure that people most impacted by policing and people with the skills to address policing are represented.

Power: As written in the draft ordinance, the proposed Commission will be empowered to issue subpoenas and participate in arbitration when needed to compel the police and the City to provide information to the Commission.

Access to data: The proposal gives the Commission broad access to data about policing in Ann Arbor, data that can be used to shape policy changes and develop programs for the police, the city, and community members to address disparities in use of force and enforcement, and develop alternative forms of resolving conflicts.

City administrator Howard Lazarus is also presenting an competing ordinance that would create a weak, non-independent Police Oversight Commission. Here are some highlights from his proposed ordinance:

Not independent: former law enforcement officers can be members, and police and the City Administrator will be more involved in the process

Not well-funded: less than $25,000 to start

Not empowered: it has no power to act on its own

Not representative: members will be chosen by the Mayor (vs. the Human Rights Commission)

If you want strong, independent oversight of the Ann Arbor Police Department, please come to City Hall tonight and show your support. Amber Hughson, a community member who has been following the Police Oversight Task Force encourages folks to show up to tonight's meeting: "Showing up tonight at the City Council work session, and the public meetings that follow, is key to supporting oversight of the police. City Council needs to see that community members want community oversight of the police that is functionally independent, especially oversight that ensures people can file confidential complaints about the harm they've experienced." I reached out to Julie Quiroz who is an organizer with Transforming Justice Washtenaw for a comment about tonight's meeting and here's what she shared with me:

"In its entire 194 year history Ann Arbor has never had community oversight of police. Since the 1970s Ann Arbor's black community has been working for community police oversight. In 2014, when AAPD shot and killed Aura Rosser, a long history of community outrage erupted again, which moved leaders like Dwight Wilson on the Human Rights Commission to take real steps toward an actual policy. Thanks to this long history of organizing, and the more recent work of so many groups and individuals, we now have a strong proposal from the community-led Task Force.

Right now we can really stand up for something. By supporting the Task Force recommendations Ann Arbor has the opportunity to do something that matters in real people's lives, that puts racial justice values into practice, and that serves as a model for the country. What do we want our city to do? What do we want our city to be? It's time for us to make sure the Mayor and City Council know."

At tonight's meeting there will be parent volunteers on hand to provide free childcare. Also, the Huron Valley Democratic Socialists of America are providing transportation for those who need it. If you need transportation, drop HVDSA a line at: huronvalleydsa@gmail.com. So if you support strong police oversight, come out tonight and show your support.

Where have the Birds gone?

A flock of 11 Bird Scooters at the City's DPW lot

It looks like we have a real Silent Spring situation on our hands. Yesterday afternoon, local Twitter user, @jhritz noticed a large flock of Bird Scooters on the far South Side of Ann Arbor in the city's public works lot. Immediately there was speculation: were city workers commuting using these electric scooters?

@jhritz took it upon himself to investigate. Using the map from the Bird Scooter App, he was able to locate the 11 scooters. They were locked in the back of a city trailer:

Murph was correct. I took a drive over to the flock. It’s a trailer next to garage 16. pic.twitter.com/XRRLBm3QsU

— jhritz (@jhritz) September 12, 2018

It seems like the city has been scooping up Bird Scooters. I imagine the ones that are not placed well after usage. Big shoutout to @jhritz for solving the mystery of the missing Bird Scooters.