Last week I was at Mayor Chilton's office in Carrboro talking about how to make the most of the Inter-City Visit to Ann Arbor (which my fingers keep misspelling "Ann Arrboro"). He suggested checking out some local blogs and we started Googling away. I only found one (Arbor Update) that seemed like OP, but there are definitely some interesting sites, although several haven't been updated since this summer.
- Arbor Update - A multi-author community blog, established in 2004
- Polygon, the Dancing Bear - Notes from Washtenaw County Clerk Larry Kestenbaum (stale)
- Ann Arbor is Overrated (moved away)
- getDowntown - About commuting in Ann Arbor, a project of the Chamber of Commerce
- Teeter Talk - Capturing local conversations with "Homeless Dave"
- Car-Free Ann Arbor (stale)
- Past the College Grounds (stale)
- ArBlogger (stale)
- Ann Arbor Chronicle - Not a blog, but a new hyper-local news site
Also DTH reporter Andrew Dunn is blogging the trip, and several of us will be Twittering about it, if you're into that kind of thing. Follow Andrew, , Monica Evans, and me (as OP). (Reminder: all OP tweets are at the bottom of every page here).
Please post links if you recommend any other Ann Arbor or Michigan blogs.
Here's the schedule for the trip:
Sunday, September 14
9:25am – 1:35 Southwest to Detroit
12:38pm – 2:36 Northwest to Detroit
2:30pm – 4:00 Hotel Check-in
4:10pm – 4:50 Orientation at Campus Inn
5:00pm – 6:25 Bus Tour of Ann Arbor
6:30pm – 8:30 Joint Reception at Hands on MuseumMonday, September 15
8:00am – 8:30 Breakfast at Michigan Union
8:30am – 10:15 Creating a Strong Community at Michigan Union
10:30am – 12:15 Environmental Stewardship at Michigan Union
12:15pm– 1:15 Networking Lunch at Michigan Union
1:15pm – 3:15 Responsible Economic Development at Michigan Union
3:30pm – 5:00 Site Tours: Food Gatherers/ En-House/ Incubator/ Public Safety & Major Community Events
6:30pm – 10:00 Dinner & Optional Activity at Zingermans RoadhouseTuesday, September 16
7:30am – 8:00 Breakfast at Campus Inn
8:00am – 9:00 Role of a University Community at Campus Inn
9:00am – 10:15 Reporting, Wrap-up and concluding remarks
11:00am – 11:45 Shuttle to Airport with boxed lunch (Northwest)
11:15am – 12:15 Lunch at Campus Inn (Southwest)
12:45pm – 1:30 Shuttle to Airport (Southwest)
1:51pm – 3:37 Northwest to Raleigh
3:25pm – 7:00 Southwest to Raleigh
Whew. And now I must finish packing and go to sleep as I am one of the unlucky souls on that 9:25 flight tomorrow morning.
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The early birds have landed
The first group is here in Ann Arbor and the rest will join us shortly. Unfortunately it is rainy, but not as cold as many of us had expected. On the way in from the airport, our driver gave us a mini-tour of State Street which is a major artery and runs right along at least 2 of the 4 U of M campuses here. The four are: athletics, central, medical, and north campus - which houses architecture and other creative programs.
Next we will have orientation, a bus tour, and then a reception with our local "counterparts." I wonder if they invited any bloggers?
How much?
I wouldn't be here without donations
As I said before (http://www.orangepolitics.org/2008/08/why-im-going-to-ann-arbor) I got a scholarship worth $800 from the organizers of the event. Some of the scholarship funds were donated by UNC, some by Jim Heavner/VilCom, and some by the Chamber (I think). As you can see below, I also raised $204 from the readers of this blog. I paid about $230 out of my own pocket, plus two vacation days from work.
Most of the other participants seem to be covered by the employer or institution they are representing.
Tweets
In case you're not following the OP "tweets" (found at http://twitter.com/orangepolitics and the bottom of this page) here are some of my short updates from earlier today:
Murder causes brand damage
"When we have these kind of events, it's damaging to our brand," said Chapel Hill Town Council member Matt Czajkowski. [on hearing of the killing of Joshua McCabe Bailey]
No further comment necessary.