Folding Under Pressure

Michael Appel, associate director of nonprofit Avalon Housing, appeared before the Ann Arbor City Council Monday night with several supporters holding 4,738 origami cranes. He explained the colorful cranes represented the number of men, women and children who faced homelessness last year and turned to agencies in Washtenaw County for help. The Ann Arbor City Council was expected to vote to allocate $1.16 million from the city's general fund to several community nonprofit agencies, which would have been about a $116,000 decrease from last year's levels. But after several members of the public spoke during a hearing on the city budget, council members held off on making a decision until two weeks from now. Read the story here.