Six Floors Up

Work continues in the plaza area in front of Ann Arbor's city hall where a German artist's sculpture is expected to be installed in the next month. The $750,000 piece is expected to start close to Huron Street and follow the west edge of a new rain garden toward the main entrance of city hall. The focal point of the piece is a standing bronze sculpture with blue glass pearls that light up in computerized variations as stormwater from the building circulates over the sculpture's surface. Nearly four years since the launch of Ann Arbor's Percent For Art Program, more than $2.2 million in city funds have been channeled toward public art. City officials are now questioning the program's effectiveness. Read the story.

No, Don't Take My Picture

Sushi Party

Charlie Slick and the Thunda Claps played at the Mark's Carts courtyard Friday night. There are no words that can adequately describe Charlie's awesomeness so I'll leave it up to the photos and videos to tell the story.

The Gallery

Elaine Selo, owner of the Selo/Shevel Gallery on Main Street, has operated in downtown Ann Arbor for nearly 30 years. She said proposed increases in parking rates and meter enforcement hours would deal another blow to downtown businesses that are competing with shopping centers with free parking. "I can't imagine any good retailer or restaurant owner who would be in favor of that," she said, reacting to the proposal on Wednesday. "I understand why they're doing it. But as somebody who really values the viability of the downtown and recognizes how fragile it really can be, I'm very opposed to it." Read the story.

Fairies Know How To Party

Busted

A man was arrested outside a medical marijuana dispensary on Packard Road in Ann Arbor last week. It sort of felt like a Norman Rockwell moment, so I posterized it for nostalgic impact.

Up In Smoke

Michigan State Police drug investigators raided two medical marijuana dispensaries in Ann Arbor today, but said the raids had nothing to do with a state appeals court ruling Wednesday that prohibits dispensaries from selling marijuana. Police officers dressed in black and wearing masks executed a search warrant at Chuck Ream's dispensary on Packard Road at about noon, seizing computers, boxes, plastic bags and other items. Three people were taken into custody. Read the story.

West Side Story

Nearly a year after the expected completion of renovations to Ann Arbor's West Park, city officials are still grappling with the failure of the park's newly installed stormwater system. An entrance off Seventh Street is fenced off as the city continues its investigation of the problems. Large chunks of concrete are ripped up and at least one manhole cover is displaced. Nearby residents say they aren't happy about the situation and they suspect recent flooding in their neighborhood may be linked to the problems in the park. They say they've struggled to get answers from the city about what's going on, though. Read the story.

The Color Green

Theo Katzman and Chris Bathgate

Zinnia And Moss Rose

Through The Looking Glass

Hail To The Chief

Ollice "Chuck" Hubbard was appointed fire chief by the Ann Arbor City Council in June. He's assumed control of a department that's been shrinking in size in recent years and faces threats of more cuts. "It's always a challenge when you start reducing, so we're going to make the best with what we've got," he said. "This is going to be a trial and error situation. Anytime you start cutting any resource or anything like that, there's going to be negatives and positives. So we're going to look into different ways to structure ourselves so it's safe for the firefighters and we can also provide a good service for the citizens. It's going to be a challenge." Read the story.

Bed Head

Scenes From Election Night

It appears the makeup of the Ann Arbor City Council will remain unchanged for the next year after all three incumbents came out on top in Tuesday's Democratic primary election. Below are scenes from Arbor Brewing Co., where three of the candidates gathered post-election, and a shot of Council Member Christopher Taylor and former Council Member Leigh Greden gathering results on the fourth floor of the Justice Center building. Read the story.