Art In The Alley

A recent winner of Ann Arbor's Golden Paint Brush Award, local artist Mary Thiefels of TreeTown Murals is known for her public mural work, including this one depicting the faces of veterans on the side of Alley Bar on Liberty Street downtown. The Public Art Commission decided on Wednesday to move forward on working with Thiefels on another mural project at Allmendinger Park, this one being funded by the city's public art program. She has a unique idea to involve the community in the project. Read the story.



You can't see it well in the photo, but the quote at the bottom right of the mural reads: "We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience." —Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Chronicling The Chronicler

Never let it be said that Dave Askins of the Ann Arbor Chronicle does anything but work hard, including perching atop objects to get the right shot. This was the scene at about 10 a.m. today at the groundbreaking for Ann Arbor City Apartments.

Skate Or Die ... No, Really

This is the city ordinance on the streets of Ann Arbor. Good thing they're finally building a skate park. Read about it here.

It Takes A Village

Farmington Hills-based developer Village Green broke ground today on the long-awaited Ann Arbor City Apartments project at the corner of First and Washington. The new apartments will sit across the street from popular nighttime establishments like the Blind Pig, Circus and Millennium, with a one-block walk to Main Street. Village Green is calling its 155-unit development the first market rent luxury apartment community in downtown Ann Arbor in more than 25 years, and it comes complete with a number of luxury amenities intended to cater to young professionals, including a sky club, business center, fitness area, and, of course, "sexy bathrooms." Mayor John Hieftje, shown speaking below, called it the kind of project that growing tech companies like Menlo Innovations, Google and Barracuda Networks are going to appreciate as they look to attract talent. Read the story.

Horse Of A Different Color

Sometimes you don't realize you've struck photographic gold until you go back and look more closely at your outtakes and realize you've caught two politicians sitting in the crowd at a basketball game, and one of them — who earned a master's degree from Michigan State University — is wearing the rival school's colors and cheering them on. That would be Dan Smith, Washtenaw County commissioner, seen here in Michigan maize and blue, sitting next to state Rep. Mark Ouimet.

Kind Of Blue

The University of Michigan basketball team took on Penn State on Dec. 29 and came away with a 71-53 win as sophomore Tim Hardaway Jr. (#10) scored a season-high 26 points . It was their sixth win in a row and the Wolverines went on to beat Minnesota in their next game on New Year's Day. They also beat MSU in a close game this past week. The Wolverines now have a 15-4 record for the season and are 12-0 at home at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor. See if you can spot "that guy" in the crowd.

Back On Top

In response to reports that General Motors has regained the position of No. 1 automaker in the world in global sales, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow issued the following statement this week: "Some wrote off Michigan workers and auto companies and said we should let the American automobile and millions of jobs vanish. Clearly, those people were wrong. Michigan auto companies have transformed, once again creating jobs at home and leading the way around the world. Congratulations to all those who have worked so hard to help GM regain its position and help all our automakers become even more competitive for the 21st Century." In other good news, it was announced on Friday that federal safety regulators closed a government safety probe into GM's extended-range electric Chevrolet Volt, saying it does not believe Volts or other electric vehicles pose a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles.

Capitol Blue

Michigan Through The Ages

A few images from outside the state Capitol before Wednesday's State of the State address.

Inside The Capitol

See if you can spot Michigan Sen. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, on the floor below.

Pre-Gaming At The Capitol

State Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, left, stops to chat in the lower level of the state Capitol building before the State of the State address. To his left is his guest, Ann Arbor City Administrator Steve Powers, who is sharing a laugh with former Ann Arbor City Council Member Leigh Greden, who now is a lobbyist for Eastern Michigan University. The woman to Greden's left is state Rep. Lisa Brown, D-West Bloomfield. Bonus points if you can name the other two people.

State Of Emergency

The Rev. David Bullock, president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and Highland Park NAACP, stood alongside the Rev. Charles E. Williams II, pastor of the historic King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, today during an Occupy for Democracy rally at a park down the street from Gov. Rick Snyder's home just outside of Ann Arbor. "We will not tolerate emergency dictators," Bullock shouted through a megaphone to a crowd of several hundred cheering supporters who came out to protest the state's emergency manager law. The rally culminated with a half-mile march down Geddes Road to Snyder's neighborhood. Read the story.