Tonight I was meeting some neighbors for dinner at Sidetrack. I rushed home from work so I could get home in time to let my dogs play with my neighbor's dog, Cali. But, alas, Cali was not home. Cali's owner was home, however, and was quite worried. Cali had somehow escaped from my neighbor's gated front porch in the early morning. Naturally I was concerned because it isnt the norm for a dog that has run away to stay gone for so long or at least it never has been for most of the dogs I have owned. I took Tasha and little Maggie for a bit of a spin around the 'hood hoping to find Cali but we did not.
I had to meet people at Sidetrack so I put my dogs back in the house and headed over to meet my neighbors at Sidetrack. But as I was walking by the Food Coop, guess who was tied up out front. CALI! A staff person from the coop was standing outside and I asked about Cali and let her know that she was my neighbor's dog. Right then Cali jumped up on me which is something I have working with her on but apparently not very well because she keeps jumping on me when she is excited. I gave her a stern "NO JUMP" as is my habit and noticed a woman standing nearby giving me a very dirty look. Then she said, "If you didn't want the dog to jump on you, you shouldnt stand by her"
I replied, "She just isn't especially well behaved all of the time"
The woman wigged out. Her name is "Hope" which I have to admit is something I find highly ironic. Apparently in her world, suggesting that a dog might not be the model of good behavior is akin to serious abuse. At any rate, I started doing the whole thing of offering to take the dog home and whatnot. Hope just wasnt having any of it. Others tried to convince her that a. No one told me the dog was lost, I just knew. and b. Cali obviously knows me therefore I am probably telling the truth about knowing where the dog belongs.
She just started some crazy ranting about how I wasn't fit to own the dog because she wasn't fixed or because she got loose and a whole lot of other reasons. I kept explaining that the dog wasn't mine. I probably shouldn't have but I gave her a little lecture about how sometimes one might not approve of how someone else is raising their dogs (or children) but that doesn't mean one can just take the dog (or kids) away themselves.
I went to get a leash to take Cali home and Hope, seeing that I meant to take the dog home decided to try to leave. I just couldnt let that happen because I was worried that if she left, knowing only her first name, no one would ever see this dog again. I know that my neighbor would have been heartbroken but the truth is that I really like this dog too and have been really enjoying having her over every evening to play in my yard. The only way I could think of to stop her in that moment was to grab onto Cali's collar. She tugged and I tugged and sadly, we hurt Cali and caused her neck to bleed. I deeply regret that since my intention wasn't to hurt her. I guess when the adrenalin is high, it is easier than one might think to be rougher than one intended. Still, I couldn't let her take Cali so I don't regret stopping her from leaving.
Eventually some very wonderful women intervened. They helped calm everyone down and called the police. I also was very impressed with the way the Ypsilanti Police dept handled the situation. My neighbor got her dog back and I wasn't arrested for punching Hope in the face. Mostly because I didn't punch anyone in the face. That was because of those two awesome women and because of the police officers timely arrival.
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Showing posts with label Ypsilanti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ypsilanti. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Friday, March 13, 2009
City of Ypsilanti Does the Right Thing
I am very happy that the City of Ypsilanti has decided to do right by its citizens and waive the fines from the recent snow ordinance enforcement fiasco. My faith in the city has been restored as has my trust in city employees.
Here is a link to the story in the Ypsi Citizen
Ypsilanti Citizen: City Waives Snow Removal Fees
Here is a link to the story in the Ypsi Citizen
Ypsilanti Citizen: City Waives Snow Removal Fees
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
But What About the Hookers???
This weekend, I was hanging out with my sister bitching about this whole shovel mess in Ypsilanti. My sister reminded me of a story that she feels captures the essence of Ypsilanti...
A while back, I went to a neighborhood association meeting where representatives from the Police Dept were available to listen to citizen's concerns. For TWO hours, it was nothing but bitching about barking dogs, uncut grass, and people speeding on Prospect. Finally, after everyone was finished with that, one man stood up and asked, "But what about the hookers? Is anyone going to do anything about the hookers"
That made me laugh for days. And it has helped me put this issue into perspective a little bit. I want a walkable city as much as the next person and obviously I think it is important that the city government be accountable to Ypsilanti citizens. But our city has problems that are way worse than snow on sidewalks. Just sayin.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Ypsilanti Shovelgate - The Saga Continues...
About a week ago, I received an invoice from the City of Ypsilanti for $103 for snow removal which they said occurred on 1/31. My initial reaction was to just pay the invoice because I couldnt remember if there was possibly any snow or ice on my walk that day. I was angry, though, because I was never issued a warning or notice of any kind. I also was angry because although I was being charged for snow removal, I never noticed that any work had been done. I was pretty angry, too, because this is not the first time I have had a bad experience with the city regarding ordinance enforcement (Click HERE to read about that experience)
Later, I came across Mark Maynard's post on the subject (which can be viewed HERE along with a subsequent post which can be viewed HERE). I came to learn that several other citizens received similar invoices and not a single one of them had received a notice or warning of any kind. Also, unlike me, many of them were certain that their walks were clear.
During the course of the discussion on that blog, there were a lot of people claiming that they received no notice. In fact, not a single person came forward and said that they had received a notice. Also, many people claimed that they had shoveled and as it happens, when they appealed, the city was unable to provide them with the photos the contractor is required to take of the walks needed shoveling. Also during that discussion, I was directed to a web site where I could see which properties received invoices. I was curious because the vacant property next to me has never had the snow shoveled even once this winter. They did not receive an invoice.
I decided to go to the City Council meeting tonight to voice my concerns. The first of which was that it appears that people were not given notices. The second of which was that there were consistent reports from many people that the work was not done. And the third issue was that the enforcement was selective such that the worst offenders, such as the vacant property next to me was not cleared or invoiced.
I was hoping that the city council would recognize that there was a problem here that was greater than just the people who have appealed this action or who have publicly complained. I suspect that if none of the loudest of city residents received a notice or warning, it is likely that many of the quieter residents did not either. I was hoping that the council would apologize to the residents of the city on behalf of the city employees who CLEARLY made a mistake here with the implementation of this ordinance. I was hoping to hear some plans about ensuring that ordinances are carried out properly.
I was disappointed. The attitude was basically, if you have a problem, appeal. And I heard that as far as notifications go, if a city employee says they left a notice, that is all the proof anyone needs. I also heard council members commend the staff on the job they did. Now, I wasnt expecting anyone to publicly censure a city employee for this but to *commend* them when there clearly is strong evidence that notices of abatement were not given is beyond the pale. At this point, I am just hoping that I misheard and they were being commended on taking the effort to enforce the ordinance in the first place (which they do deserve) rather than on the implementation which they do not. No one said anything about the selective enforcement even though I was not the only one to bring that up. Nor was there any discussion about how the city could make sure that the contractor did the job they were supposed to do. There was *some* discussion about improving the notification process and I appreciate that. But it isnt enough and it especially isnt enough in the absence of an apology or even much of an acknowledgment that the city was wrong
At any rate. I am going to appeal this. And then I will file it away with the other instances where I have been disappointed in how the city handles things. I can say this though. I am proud of all of my fellow citizens who came out to the meeting and spoke up, not just for themselves (as most of them have already had their invoices waived) but for everyone. One of the things this city still has in its favor is that folks in Ypsilanti are alright!
Later, I came across Mark Maynard's post on the subject (which can be viewed HERE along with a subsequent post which can be viewed HERE). I came to learn that several other citizens received similar invoices and not a single one of them had received a notice or warning of any kind. Also, unlike me, many of them were certain that their walks were clear.
During the course of the discussion on that blog, there were a lot of people claiming that they received no notice. In fact, not a single person came forward and said that they had received a notice. Also, many people claimed that they had shoveled and as it happens, when they appealed, the city was unable to provide them with the photos the contractor is required to take of the walks needed shoveling. Also during that discussion, I was directed to a web site where I could see which properties received invoices. I was curious because the vacant property next to me has never had the snow shoveled even once this winter. They did not receive an invoice.
I decided to go to the City Council meeting tonight to voice my concerns. The first of which was that it appears that people were not given notices. The second of which was that there were consistent reports from many people that the work was not done. And the third issue was that the enforcement was selective such that the worst offenders, such as the vacant property next to me was not cleared or invoiced.
I was hoping that the city council would recognize that there was a problem here that was greater than just the people who have appealed this action or who have publicly complained. I suspect that if none of the loudest of city residents received a notice or warning, it is likely that many of the quieter residents did not either. I was hoping that the council would apologize to the residents of the city on behalf of the city employees who CLEARLY made a mistake here with the implementation of this ordinance. I was hoping to hear some plans about ensuring that ordinances are carried out properly.
I was disappointed. The attitude was basically, if you have a problem, appeal. And I heard that as far as notifications go, if a city employee says they left a notice, that is all the proof anyone needs. I also heard council members commend the staff on the job they did. Now, I wasnt expecting anyone to publicly censure a city employee for this but to *commend* them when there clearly is strong evidence that notices of abatement were not given is beyond the pale. At this point, I am just hoping that I misheard and they were being commended on taking the effort to enforce the ordinance in the first place (which they do deserve) rather than on the implementation which they do not. No one said anything about the selective enforcement even though I was not the only one to bring that up. Nor was there any discussion about how the city could make sure that the contractor did the job they were supposed to do. There was *some* discussion about improving the notification process and I appreciate that. But it isnt enough and it especially isnt enough in the absence of an apology or even much of an acknowledgment that the city was wrong
At any rate. I am going to appeal this. And then I will file it away with the other instances where I have been disappointed in how the city handles things. I can say this though. I am proud of all of my fellow citizens who came out to the meeting and spoke up, not just for themselves (as most of them have already had their invoices waived) but for everyone. One of the things this city still has in its favor is that folks in Ypsilanti are alright!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Ann Arbor Coffee Shop Blogging
It is really cold and windy here in Michigan today so I didnt want to go far for lunch. I figured it would be fun to take my laptop over to the coffee shop across the street.
Coffee shops are such interesting places and coffee shops in Ann Arbor are especially interesting....
It's mostly women here at the moment. I dont know if there are actually more women in the coffee shop but the there is only one guy in the back room here. Maybe women prefer this back room because it has an intimacy to it and is a good place to sit around unnoticed. I have had lots of people tell me that this particular coffee shop is known as a "pick up place" so maybe people sit back here in order not to be noticed. I like to sit back here so I dont get distracted by people coming into and leaving the coffee shop.
The conversations are what you might expect. Lots of liberal politics. Some gossip. Some business conversation. That sort of thing. One of the reasons I like the back room is that it actually is difficult to eavesdrop because the conversations blend together. I interviewed for my current job here and didnt worry about people listening in.
I come to this place often enough that they know my name but I usually just get coffee in the morning before work and dont hang out so it is kind of neat to sit here and see whats going on. There is such a different atmosphere here than there is at coffee shops in Ypsilanti. The people in Ypsilanti feel more real to me somehow. I always feel like I am "hanging out with the cool kids" when in the coffee shops in Ann Arbor. Isnt that funny? I think it is just that so many people are clearly very affluent while in Ypsilanti, people look different. I know that if places were like houses, Ann Arbor would be some kind of model home used to show off some designer's work while Ypsilanti has a more "lived in" feel to it. If you went to Ann Arbor's house, the dishes would all be done and the only clutter would be a stack of Russian novels on the bedside table. But in Ypsilanti, you might find things a little less put together and showy and more homey and comfortable. Like you could put your feet up on Ypsilanti's coffee table but you might feel you had to take your shoes off when entering Ann Arbor's house. :)
Coffee shops are such interesting places and coffee shops in Ann Arbor are especially interesting....
It's mostly women here at the moment. I dont know if there are actually more women in the coffee shop but the there is only one guy in the back room here. Maybe women prefer this back room because it has an intimacy to it and is a good place to sit around unnoticed. I have had lots of people tell me that this particular coffee shop is known as a "pick up place" so maybe people sit back here in order not to be noticed. I like to sit back here so I dont get distracted by people coming into and leaving the coffee shop.
The conversations are what you might expect. Lots of liberal politics. Some gossip. Some business conversation. That sort of thing. One of the reasons I like the back room is that it actually is difficult to eavesdrop because the conversations blend together. I interviewed for my current job here and didnt worry about people listening in.
I come to this place often enough that they know my name but I usually just get coffee in the morning before work and dont hang out so it is kind of neat to sit here and see whats going on. There is such a different atmosphere here than there is at coffee shops in Ypsilanti. The people in Ypsilanti feel more real to me somehow. I always feel like I am "hanging out with the cool kids" when in the coffee shops in Ann Arbor. Isnt that funny? I think it is just that so many people are clearly very affluent while in Ypsilanti, people look different. I know that if places were like houses, Ann Arbor would be some kind of model home used to show off some designer's work while Ypsilanti has a more "lived in" feel to it. If you went to Ann Arbor's house, the dishes would all be done and the only clutter would be a stack of Russian novels on the bedside table. But in Ypsilanti, you might find things a little less put together and showy and more homey and comfortable. Like you could put your feet up on Ypsilanti's coffee table but you might feel you had to take your shoes off when entering Ann Arbor's house. :)
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Fire?
While I was out walking the dogs this evening, I noticed a whole mess of fire trucks on Prospect. There is this one house there that I walk by all the time. Every time I walk by it, I always think that it has a fabulous porch and sometimes I wonder if I could build up a little wall around my porch too but then I remember that I dont have enough money to do it and the historic district people would probably be against it anyways.
I think I walked by at the tail end of whatever excitement there was. I didnt see any fire, just a bunch of fireman crawling around the house. They had a ladder too and looked like they were paying close attention to the chimney. I am guessing that the people who lived at that house probably got lucky.
It is shame that we have to cut back on our fire protection. I really hope that something changes and cities like Ypsilanti can have money for such niceties again.
I think I walked by at the tail end of whatever excitement there was. I didnt see any fire, just a bunch of fireman crawling around the house. They had a ladder too and looked like they were paying close attention to the chimney. I am guessing that the people who lived at that house probably got lucky.
It is shame that we have to cut back on our fire protection. I really hope that something changes and cities like Ypsilanti can have money for such niceties again.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Something's going on...
So, I went down to Riverside park today for a walk. It was difficult because the park has very little lighting these days which is kind of sad. I mean, it was only around 10 years ago when I first got Brooke that I would go there and find almost all of the lights lit. Over the years, they have been knocked down one by one with fewer lights until this year, they just havent turned them on at all.
But. There were some people from a construction company and it looks like some round cement things that seem likely to be foundations for new lights are being put in. Has the city found money for park lights after all? It would be awesome if they did.
But. There were some people from a construction company and it looks like some round cement things that seem likely to be foundations for new lights are being put in. Has the city found money for park lights after all? It would be awesome if they did.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Today
I cant think of any brilliant posts to write so I am just going to talk about my day...
I woke up and was glad that the sky was beginning to get light. I am NOT in favor of ending Daylight Saving time a week later. Seriously, I need to be up by 7:15am if I want to pack a lunch and take the bus to work from Ypsilanti. Last week, I kept waking up after 8am which meant that I had to drive to work and pay to park and even then, I was 10 minutes late a couple of times. Besides, having darkness in the mornings doesnt make me save energy because I turn on lights and then forget to turn them off when I leave. It is much much better for me to just wake up when it is light.
My work is going well. I enjoy it. I get to go swimming on my lunch hours. And today there was an announcement that we might be getting a pool table! It will mean getting rid of the ping pong table but everyone agreed that a pool table would be better for formulating and discussing ideas. I still dont get tired looking out of the windows but unfortunately now that the sun is to the south, there are certain times of day when it shines right into my eyes and then I have to shut the blinds. Still, sun in my eyes is better than no sun.
I went to Costco after work. How boring. The sad thing is that I pretty much only had enough money to pay for dog/cat food and treats for the dogs. Or maybe that is a good thing because Costco is an easy place to blow a lot of money.
Then I had dinner at my parents and picked up my dogs who were on vacation at the lake. Now I am home and I am going to watch a DVD and then I am going to see if I can find some election results before going to bed.
The thing is...I know that my life is somewhat boring now and I am kind of happy about it. It's all good boring. Which is way better than bad interesting, if you know what I mean.
I woke up and was glad that the sky was beginning to get light. I am NOT in favor of ending Daylight Saving time a week later. Seriously, I need to be up by 7:15am if I want to pack a lunch and take the bus to work from Ypsilanti. Last week, I kept waking up after 8am which meant that I had to drive to work and pay to park and even then, I was 10 minutes late a couple of times. Besides, having darkness in the mornings doesnt make me save energy because I turn on lights and then forget to turn them off when I leave. It is much much better for me to just wake up when it is light.
My work is going well. I enjoy it. I get to go swimming on my lunch hours. And today there was an announcement that we might be getting a pool table! It will mean getting rid of the ping pong table but everyone agreed that a pool table would be better for formulating and discussing ideas. I still dont get tired looking out of the windows but unfortunately now that the sun is to the south, there are certain times of day when it shines right into my eyes and then I have to shut the blinds. Still, sun in my eyes is better than no sun.
I went to Costco after work. How boring. The sad thing is that I pretty much only had enough money to pay for dog/cat food and treats for the dogs. Or maybe that is a good thing because Costco is an easy place to blow a lot of money.
Then I had dinner at my parents and picked up my dogs who were on vacation at the lake. Now I am home and I am going to watch a DVD and then I am going to see if I can find some election results before going to bed.
The thing is...I know that my life is somewhat boring now and I am kind of happy about it. It's all good boring. Which is way better than bad interesting, if you know what I mean.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Stop City Income Tax - Vote On Tuesday, November 6
The town I live in, Ypsilanti, has an income tax issue on the ballot this Tuesday. It is for a proposed temporary income tax of 1% for city residents and 0.5% for non-residents who work in the city. There is some property tax roll back in the scheme which gives a break to people like me who own property in the city.
Oddly, I find myself in opposition of this tax. Most people who know me know that is not the usual position I take on these sorts of issues. I usually am very much in favor of tax increases especially when I think that the tax money will be spend wisely. I know that the last time I can remember any kind of tax increase in Ypsilanti being voted on (the road one around six or seven years ago), I voted yes for it. I just cannot, in good conscience vote for this income tax.
Firstly, I dont like it because I think that with the property tax roll back, it places more burden on renters than on homeowners. Since renters tend to be poorer, it puts too much burden on hard working lower income people who are the very group of people I believe should have tax burden lifted from them.
This poorer group is also represented by people who work in our city. Yeah, ok, the people over at EMU probably have pretty decent jobs at decent pay (especially the professors), but over on my street there is a factory. A factory which, judging by the cars its workers drive and by how many dont seem to have cars at all, clearly is not paying too much. And there are lots of other low-wage jobs in this city and those people probably cant afford the tax either. I mean, even if their tax burden is only a hundred dollars a year, it is important to remember that for a poor family, a hundred dollars is a LOT of money. It is a utility bill. It is a winter coat. It is a whole wardrobe from Value World. A week's groceries. Whatever. I just know when I see the workers at that factory that they can ill afford such a tax.
Another reason I am against this tax is that I think the main reason the City of Ypsilanti needs this tax is because the tax structure in our state is broken. I believe that this tax will not fix that but instead may hide some of the symptoms of it which will mean that things are less likely to change. Maybe the state needs to see cities like Ypsilanti struggling? Something has to change though. It sucks that I have to pay so much more tax than my neighbors in Ypsilanti Township. It sucks that I have to pay so much more tax than my parents, who live in Green Oak Twp in a house easily worth four times as much as mine. I dont mean that I have a higher rate either, I mean that I pay more tax...more than a thousand dollars more!
This income tax is also something that is very visible and something that will have an effect on the housing market here and not a positive one. I know that reduced fire and police protection and all of the other cuts that will happen without the income tax will also have a negative effect on house and rental prices but I think that because an income tax is so in-your-face visible and reduced fire and police are not things that one notices every day, the tax will have the more negative effect.
So, please vote NO on the City Income Tax.
Oddly, I find myself in opposition of this tax. Most people who know me know that is not the usual position I take on these sorts of issues. I usually am very much in favor of tax increases especially when I think that the tax money will be spend wisely. I know that the last time I can remember any kind of tax increase in Ypsilanti being voted on (the road one around six or seven years ago), I voted yes for it. I just cannot, in good conscience vote for this income tax.
Firstly, I dont like it because I think that with the property tax roll back, it places more burden on renters than on homeowners. Since renters tend to be poorer, it puts too much burden on hard working lower income people who are the very group of people I believe should have tax burden lifted from them.
This poorer group is also represented by people who work in our city. Yeah, ok, the people over at EMU probably have pretty decent jobs at decent pay (especially the professors), but over on my street there is a factory. A factory which, judging by the cars its workers drive and by how many dont seem to have cars at all, clearly is not paying too much. And there are lots of other low-wage jobs in this city and those people probably cant afford the tax either. I mean, even if their tax burden is only a hundred dollars a year, it is important to remember that for a poor family, a hundred dollars is a LOT of money. It is a utility bill. It is a winter coat. It is a whole wardrobe from Value World. A week's groceries. Whatever. I just know when I see the workers at that factory that they can ill afford such a tax.
Another reason I am against this tax is that I think the main reason the City of Ypsilanti needs this tax is because the tax structure in our state is broken. I believe that this tax will not fix that but instead may hide some of the symptoms of it which will mean that things are less likely to change. Maybe the state needs to see cities like Ypsilanti struggling? Something has to change though. It sucks that I have to pay so much more tax than my neighbors in Ypsilanti Township. It sucks that I have to pay so much more tax than my parents, who live in Green Oak Twp in a house easily worth four times as much as mine. I dont mean that I have a higher rate either, I mean that I pay more tax...more than a thousand dollars more!
This income tax is also something that is very visible and something that will have an effect on the housing market here and not a positive one. I know that reduced fire and police protection and all of the other cuts that will happen without the income tax will also have a negative effect on house and rental prices but I think that because an income tax is so in-your-face visible and reduced fire and police are not things that one notices every day, the tax will have the more negative effect.
So, please vote NO on the City Income Tax.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Sherman Alexie
Sometimes it's called passing out and sometimes it's just pretending to be asleep.
Sometime ago, I had a literature class where we read a collection of short stories written by Sherman Alexie called The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. There was one day where a friend called me to tell me that a mutual acquaintance of ours had committed suicide the night before by jumping in front of a train. That very evening I settled onto my couch to do some required reading for my class. I live next to the train tracks and trains come through several times a day and, as it happens, a couple of trains went by while I was reading.
The story was one of the most powerful stories I've ever read. The things going on my real life while I read it just made it more so. The story was A Train is an Order of Occurrence Designed to Lead to Some Result which you can read HERE
Since that time. Sherman Alexie has been one of my favorite authors. I admire him. I am jealous of his gift. I find his work entertaining. He makes me think. I guess you could say that I am a big fan.
Last night, I found out that Sherman Alexie is going to be speaking at Eastern Michigan University on Monday, November 5. Better still, as far as I can tell, the event is free!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Car Thieves in Ypsilanti
Last night I had dinner with some neighbors and there was some talk about crime and safety in the neighborhood -- mostly in relation to reducing city services like the police force. As it happens, I am not against reducing some services but I am not so sure about reducing police and fire services.
And just in case I needed a reminder about why, the car I've borrowed from my Dad was broken into last night. At first I thought I had forgotten to lock it but the police officers who took the report pointed out where the thieves had forced open the drivers side door lock. They also pried apart the ignition which activated the anti-theft system so now, the car wont start. The cops said that they probably tried to steal it because it is a Chrysler and apparently Chryslers are easy cars to steal...usually. Not all of them have anti-theft systems I guess. The tow truck driver said the same thing.
Ok, the anti-theft system did what it was supposed to do and the car wasnt stolen. But I had to have it towed to the Chrysler dealership and I had to take today off of work (unpaid) which I can ill afford. Again, I guess I should be grateful that this happened today rather than next week when I'll be in my first week at my new job.
I have to admit though, that I am getting tired of this. I usually dont lock my car and it gets broken into on average about once a month. But no one has ever actually tried to steal my car before. They just take loose change and returnable bottles usually. This is a somewhat recent thing too. It was a few years after I first moved in here that my car was broken into. It bugs the crap out of me though. It bugs me that there are people in the world who have so little respect for the property of others. It bugs me that we have an economy were some people get desperate. This summer has been pretty bad for me crime wise too. I had my hand chair stolen from my porch, I had a guy sleeping on my lawn in his underpants and a sleeping bag stolen from my neighbor..and now this.
I cant help wondering if all of this petty theft has something to do with the whole situation at the jail. The jail is always full so often the police arrest people and then just let them go right away. The people who live far away from Ypsilanti generally are the ones who have voted not to spend money to expand the jail. Why should they? They dont have the same crime problems. They have been able to move away from such social issues.
Right now, I cant say that I totally blame them. Well, I blame them for not voting to expand the jail but I dont really blame them for choosing to remove themselves geographically from the crime that necessitates a jail and an expensive police force. If you live far from the poor people, you are much less likely to be a victim of a crime. So you can get away with less police and that saves you money on your taxes. It is normal and rational for a person to make such a decision.
As much as I complain about the tax rate in Ypsilanti, we dont pay the same taxes that people who live in the City of Detroit pay. They *really* pay through the nose tax wise and I dont mind mentioning that their city income tax combined with the highest property tax rate in the state combined with lousy services has not really encouraged people to move there. One has to wonder, is Ypsilanti headed in the same direction?
Our tax system is broken. Seriously. You see, when people are looking around for a place to live, they can choose a place like Ypsilanti or Detroit. But there is infrastructure in place in those places that has to be paid for. There are old employee pensions, roads, parks, etc. OR people can choose to live someplace close to the city where they can avoid paying for city services while still benefiting from proximity to the city. Then, as the people who can afford to move out, move out, they leave behind the people who really cant afford to leave. They leave behind the social problems and poverty that lead to higher crime levels which leaves fewer tax payers to pay for those things. That higher taxation further discourages the people who can best afford to pay for things from moving into cities. And so on... Combine all of that with other market forces and voila! You have SE Michigan and all of the sprawl that is so characteristic of this area.
So? What is to be done. I know some people take the view that the answer is to gentrify the area, to drive up rents and property values so much that the poor people are forced to move. I wonder how much of this type of thinking was behind the failed Water Street project? It certainly seems to be a technique that has worked for Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor is much more high brow than it was when I first moved there 22 years ago. But, I think Water Street is a good example of how the gentrification approach is nearly impossible.
A better approach would be to fix the property tax structure so that tax payers in areas with a lot of social problems dont end up paying for *all* of those problems while people who live in places removed from them dont pay anything at all. Of course, that solution might be just as impossible at least judging from the jail situation. I still say that the Ypsilanti police should start releasing people who would have gone to the jail if there had been room in places like Saline or Milan or even Ypsilanti Twp. That might motivate those motherfuckers to vote for a bigger jail!
And just in case I needed a reminder about why, the car I've borrowed from my Dad was broken into last night. At first I thought I had forgotten to lock it but the police officers who took the report pointed out where the thieves had forced open the drivers side door lock. They also pried apart the ignition which activated the anti-theft system so now, the car wont start. The cops said that they probably tried to steal it because it is a Chrysler and apparently Chryslers are easy cars to steal...usually. Not all of them have anti-theft systems I guess. The tow truck driver said the same thing.
Ok, the anti-theft system did what it was supposed to do and the car wasnt stolen. But I had to have it towed to the Chrysler dealership and I had to take today off of work (unpaid) which I can ill afford. Again, I guess I should be grateful that this happened today rather than next week when I'll be in my first week at my new job.
I have to admit though, that I am getting tired of this. I usually dont lock my car and it gets broken into on average about once a month. But no one has ever actually tried to steal my car before. They just take loose change and returnable bottles usually. This is a somewhat recent thing too. It was a few years after I first moved in here that my car was broken into. It bugs the crap out of me though. It bugs me that there are people in the world who have so little respect for the property of others. It bugs me that we have an economy were some people get desperate. This summer has been pretty bad for me crime wise too. I had my hand chair stolen from my porch, I had a guy sleeping on my lawn in his underpants and a sleeping bag stolen from my neighbor..and now this.
I cant help wondering if all of this petty theft has something to do with the whole situation at the jail. The jail is always full so often the police arrest people and then just let them go right away. The people who live far away from Ypsilanti generally are the ones who have voted not to spend money to expand the jail. Why should they? They dont have the same crime problems. They have been able to move away from such social issues.
Right now, I cant say that I totally blame them. Well, I blame them for not voting to expand the jail but I dont really blame them for choosing to remove themselves geographically from the crime that necessitates a jail and an expensive police force. If you live far from the poor people, you are much less likely to be a victim of a crime. So you can get away with less police and that saves you money on your taxes. It is normal and rational for a person to make such a decision.
As much as I complain about the tax rate in Ypsilanti, we dont pay the same taxes that people who live in the City of Detroit pay. They *really* pay through the nose tax wise and I dont mind mentioning that their city income tax combined with the highest property tax rate in the state combined with lousy services has not really encouraged people to move there. One has to wonder, is Ypsilanti headed in the same direction?
Our tax system is broken. Seriously. You see, when people are looking around for a place to live, they can choose a place like Ypsilanti or Detroit. But there is infrastructure in place in those places that has to be paid for. There are old employee pensions, roads, parks, etc. OR people can choose to live someplace close to the city where they can avoid paying for city services while still benefiting from proximity to the city. Then, as the people who can afford to move out, move out, they leave behind the people who really cant afford to leave. They leave behind the social problems and poverty that lead to higher crime levels which leaves fewer tax payers to pay for those things. That higher taxation further discourages the people who can best afford to pay for things from moving into cities. And so on... Combine all of that with other market forces and voila! You have SE Michigan and all of the sprawl that is so characteristic of this area.
So? What is to be done. I know some people take the view that the answer is to gentrify the area, to drive up rents and property values so much that the poor people are forced to move. I wonder how much of this type of thinking was behind the failed Water Street project? It certainly seems to be a technique that has worked for Ann Arbor. Ann Arbor is much more high brow than it was when I first moved there 22 years ago. But, I think Water Street is a good example of how the gentrification approach is nearly impossible.
A better approach would be to fix the property tax structure so that tax payers in areas with a lot of social problems dont end up paying for *all* of those problems while people who live in places removed from them dont pay anything at all. Of course, that solution might be just as impossible at least judging from the jail situation. I still say that the Ypsilanti police should start releasing people who would have gone to the jail if there had been room in places like Saline or Milan or even Ypsilanti Twp. That might motivate those motherfuckers to vote for a bigger jail!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
I'm So Hot, I Have Men Camped Out On My Front Lawn
I am really tired today. I woke up at around 4:30 this morning and I happened to look out of my front window. There was a guy camped out on my front lawn with a sleeping bag! At first I thought he was a dog so I went and put some clothes on so I could go out to see if it had tags but when I looked out of the window again, I noticed he was standing up and wearing his hooded sleeping bag like a cape and dressed only in his underpants. I really couldn’t tell much about him except that he was no dog. He was just a silhouette in the glow of the street light.
He kind of reminded me of a guy I used to know named Bruce who always wore a hooded cape and had I not recently learned of Bruce’s death, I might have actually thought it was him. Not only because of the cape but because it simply wouldn’t surprise me to find Bruce sleeping on some random lawn in Ypsilanti. In a way I wish it had been Bruce because that would mean that the rumors I had heard of his death had been false. Also, I know that he wouldn’t ever hurt anyone.
I thought of just ignoring the guy and letting him try to get some small amount of sleep. But I couldn’t. I mean, I just couldn’t go back to sleep myself knowing that guy was out there. It was creepy. I kept thinking of that naked man who broke into my house a few years back. What if *this* guy decided to try something similar while I was asleep? There were my neighbors to consider too. What if he decided to try something similar over at their houses while they were asleep? It just didn’t seem prudent to ignore him.
I didn’t want to deal with him on my own though either. So I called the police. As usual, I was very impressed with the response I got from the Ypsilanti Police Department. I called their non-emergency number and they were still at my house within five minutes. They told me that hanging out dressed in underpants and wearing a sleeping bag like a cape is not a crime but they were sympathetic that I was scared about the guy being on my lawn. And they got him to leave although he left his sleeping bag. I moved that this morning because it looked like it could be an expensive one and since today is trash day, I worried that it might get picked up. At any rate, I continue to have a strong appreciation for the Ypsilanti Police Department. They’ve always responded quickly even for minor things.
I cant get this guy off of my mind though. Why was he camped out on my front lawn? I mean other than the obvious explanation that I am so beautiful that it isn’t surprising at all for me to have men camped on my front lawn ;). But seriously, I wonder what his story is. Is he one of the mentally ill guys from one of the local group homes? Is he one of those people in town who get caught up in all of the drugs and prostitution that goes on over on Michigan Ave? Was he kicked out of his house in the middle of the night to wander the neighborhood wearing only his underpants? I guess there is no way to know. I hope that he is ok. I hope that the police could help him.
Update: I found out later that the sleeping bag belonged to my neighbor where it had been stolen from her truck. I am especially glad that I moved the sleeping bag now that I know it didnt even belong to him but actually belonged to my neighbor.
He kind of reminded me of a guy I used to know named Bruce who always wore a hooded cape and had I not recently learned of Bruce’s death, I might have actually thought it was him. Not only because of the cape but because it simply wouldn’t surprise me to find Bruce sleeping on some random lawn in Ypsilanti. In a way I wish it had been Bruce because that would mean that the rumors I had heard of his death had been false. Also, I know that he wouldn’t ever hurt anyone.
I thought of just ignoring the guy and letting him try to get some small amount of sleep. But I couldn’t. I mean, I just couldn’t go back to sleep myself knowing that guy was out there. It was creepy. I kept thinking of that naked man who broke into my house a few years back. What if *this* guy decided to try something similar while I was asleep? There were my neighbors to consider too. What if he decided to try something similar over at their houses while they were asleep? It just didn’t seem prudent to ignore him.
I didn’t want to deal with him on my own though either. So I called the police. As usual, I was very impressed with the response I got from the Ypsilanti Police Department. I called their non-emergency number and they were still at my house within five minutes. They told me that hanging out dressed in underpants and wearing a sleeping bag like a cape is not a crime but they were sympathetic that I was scared about the guy being on my lawn. And they got him to leave although he left his sleeping bag. I moved that this morning because it looked like it could be an expensive one and since today is trash day, I worried that it might get picked up. At any rate, I continue to have a strong appreciation for the Ypsilanti Police Department. They’ve always responded quickly even for minor things.
I cant get this guy off of my mind though. Why was he camped out on my front lawn? I mean other than the obvious explanation that I am so beautiful that it isn’t surprising at all for me to have men camped on my front lawn ;). But seriously, I wonder what his story is. Is he one of the mentally ill guys from one of the local group homes? Is he one of those people in town who get caught up in all of the drugs and prostitution that goes on over on Michigan Ave? Was he kicked out of his house in the middle of the night to wander the neighborhood wearing only his underpants? I guess there is no way to know. I hope that he is ok. I hope that the police could help him.
Update: I found out later that the sleeping bag belonged to my neighbor where it had been stolen from her truck. I am especially glad that I moved the sleeping bag now that I know it didnt even belong to him but actually belonged to my neighbor.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Rambling
So I took the day off of work on Tuesday so I could go to a doctor's appointment and run some errands. I encountered a big traffic jam on my way there which was really surprising because my doctor's office is so close. There was a water main break right at Michigan Ave and Grove St. Which made me worry about the water I had before leaving. It must have been OK because here it is two day later and I still walk the Earth. I felt very sick yesterday though but suspect that was the result of my tetanus shot.
I have decided to go to Nova Scotia. I like it there and even though I love Michigan summers so much that I want to avoid missing any time here, Nova Scotia is a nice place to be too. I'll still get to go swimming every day.
I have decided to go to Nova Scotia. I like it there and even though I love Michigan summers so much that I want to avoid missing any time here, Nova Scotia is a nice place to be too. I'll still get to go swimming every day.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Let me Give You a Hand!
ugh. Someone stole my hand chair from my front porch. That always creeps me out a little bit. I mean. I know strangers do come up onto the porch from time to time. Sometimes they knock and try to sell me stuff and sometimes they come to leave fliers from local restaurants. Still, when something goes missing...it is a reminder that *anyone* can come onto the porch.
This chair used to belong to my friend Gary and I have to say that although I have owned it for a while now and although I have occasionally parked my butt into the chair's surprisingly comfortable cupped palm, most of my best memories about the chair were from when the chair belonged to Gary. Still, I always really liked the chair and it used to give me a smile every day when I got home from work. Oh well, it had some sentimental value but I am trying to have less stuff and I suppose one way to look at this is that it is the universe's way of liberating me from some small portion of my stuff.
I always wonder about the sort of person who would walk onto someone's porch to steal a hand chair. Did they steal it because it seriously is a cool chair? Or was it someone who thinks they can resell a used hand chair? It is funny too because I know a lot of people who have stolen stuff before. Some people have cheated on their taxes. Some people have stolen cable or illegally downloaded music or whatever. Still, it seems that actually stealing a physical object from someone's porch is not something most folks would do. Oh well, it was probably a Gary groupie. Someone heard that Gary's ass used to OWN that chair and they couldnt live without it.
Honestly though, I have often wondered why things like lawn and porch furniture dont get stolen more often. I think about that every time I sit down with the Smith and Hawken catalog. I mean, I love the teak benches and I know they last forever and I know that one of those benches would look lovely on my porch. But even if I could afford one, and I most certainly cannot, wouldnt a thousand dollar bench on a front porch just be a little bit too tempting?
I did call the cops about this though. I told them they didnt need to send anyone over but they did anyways. They sent a very nice woman who took down all of the information. Man, it has got to be boring being a cop sometimes. I mean, I can not imagine that The Great Hand Job is a caper worth writing home about.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Ypsilanti Pizza Update
I just want to give a little update on a previous post I wrote about pizza in Ypsilanti.
- One of the number one searches that brings people to my site is happy's pizza Ypsilanti. Seriously, there are days when I get 20 hits for them. All I can say is that they *really* should get a website.
- I went out with a friend on Saturday to Aubrees and since it wasn’t happy hour when the calzones are half off, we decided to have a nice deep dish pizza on Aubree’s new whole wheat crust. All I can say is that it was fabulous. And by fabulous, I mean DISCO ball kind of fabulous. The kind of fabulous where one might expect Dean Martin or Sammy Davis Jr to just exclaim, "Yeah, baby, this is fabulous"
Oh sure, there will still be a place in my heart for white flour crust pizza but this whole wheat pizza has a lot of merit on taste alone. It may or may not actually be healthier for a person but I assume it probably is. But even if it isn’t, give it a try. It really tastes good. It tastes a lot better than my homemade whole wheat crust pizza attempts (but anyone who knows anything about my cooking skills knows that isn’t really saying much). I think I’ll be getting pizza from Aubree’s a lot more often.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Michigan's Dying Cities
Michigan’s Cities have been slowly dying for my entire life. As it happens, I was born in Michigan’s largest city in 1968 – just after the famous riots and right at the beginning of the “white flight” out of the city to the suburbs. The area is now one of the most segregated metropolitan areas in the country. The actual City of Detroit is half in ruins.
One thing I have noticed over the years though is how politics at the state level seem to have done everything possible to hurt established urban areas. Policy after policy passes, carried by the political weight of the very conservative part of the state. (Which for those of you not from Michigan is usually called “Every place other than South East Michigan”). Most of those policies seem to end up hurting the people who live in urban areas.
The most obvious way that state politics has hurt urban areas is the property tax structure. The City of Royal Oak has a very explanation of how that property tax structure hurts cities -- LINK. Cities struggle to provide services because city services have a serious impact on citizen’s quality of life. Just think about what life in a city might be like without someone collecting the garbage. Unfortunately the property tax structure will not allow the cities to raise taxes to provide essential services.
Here is what I know about it though. I know that areas where there is growth are sometimes able to dodge the effects of the property tax structure by building new taxable properties. People move out of established areas which can shrink the tax base even more. It doesn’t help that the people moving out of cities are the people who are most able to afford to move. People who are most able to pay taxes. Those people move out and away from as many social problems as they can.
And while those people are moving out, the State of Michigan pays for infrastructure that allows people to live outside of urban centers (e.g. roads, schools, etc) while at the same time reducing funding for social services that primarily benefit the poor people left in the cities. Projects like public transportation never have a chance here because such projects tend to benefit people in the cities. But every other social welfare program has been cut too.
This happens on a state level but it also happens on a county level. In my own county, funding for a new jail was voted down mostly by people who live out county and don’t have the same levels of crime found in the cities. Then, when the county started bussing inmates to other county jails, they worked to stop that too. The end result was that the jail filled up and when the police in my town would arrest people, they were forced to just let them go. Not surprisingly, crime rates went up. But since the crime rates went up in the City of Ypsilanti, the people who wouldnt pay for the jail didnt seem to mind too much. You see, those people have moved away from such social problems.
That leaves the people in the cities to pay the most taxes. The City of Detroit has one of the highest (if not THE highest) property tax rates in the state. The city where I live, Ypsilanti also has high property taxes. I pay more property taxes on my $100,000 house than people who live in houses that cost five times as much out in the country, especially if they have lived there for a long time. I pay more than double the property taxes than my parents who live in a spacious lake front property in S. Lyon (and yes, they are part of the problem but did stick it out in the City of Detroit for years longer than most people of their economic station).
Unfortunately, I don’t see an end in sight. I imagine that politics in the State of Michigan will still involve richer and mostly white people doing all they can to kick the poor, especially if they are poor people of color. And maybe such politics arent limited to Michigan. But that is where I live. And that is what I see.
One thing I have noticed over the years though is how politics at the state level seem to have done everything possible to hurt established urban areas. Policy after policy passes, carried by the political weight of the very conservative part of the state. (Which for those of you not from Michigan is usually called “Every place other than South East Michigan”). Most of those policies seem to end up hurting the people who live in urban areas.
The most obvious way that state politics has hurt urban areas is the property tax structure. The City of Royal Oak has a very explanation of how that property tax structure hurts cities -- LINK. Cities struggle to provide services because city services have a serious impact on citizen’s quality of life. Just think about what life in a city might be like without someone collecting the garbage. Unfortunately the property tax structure will not allow the cities to raise taxes to provide essential services.
Here is what I know about it though. I know that areas where there is growth are sometimes able to dodge the effects of the property tax structure by building new taxable properties. People move out of established areas which can shrink the tax base even more. It doesn’t help that the people moving out of cities are the people who are most able to afford to move. People who are most able to pay taxes. Those people move out and away from as many social problems as they can.
And while those people are moving out, the State of Michigan pays for infrastructure that allows people to live outside of urban centers (e.g. roads, schools, etc) while at the same time reducing funding for social services that primarily benefit the poor people left in the cities. Projects like public transportation never have a chance here because such projects tend to benefit people in the cities. But every other social welfare program has been cut too.
This happens on a state level but it also happens on a county level. In my own county, funding for a new jail was voted down mostly by people who live out county and don’t have the same levels of crime found in the cities. Then, when the county started bussing inmates to other county jails, they worked to stop that too. The end result was that the jail filled up and when the police in my town would arrest people, they were forced to just let them go. Not surprisingly, crime rates went up. But since the crime rates went up in the City of Ypsilanti, the people who wouldnt pay for the jail didnt seem to mind too much. You see, those people have moved away from such social problems.
That leaves the people in the cities to pay the most taxes. The City of Detroit has one of the highest (if not THE highest) property tax rates in the state. The city where I live, Ypsilanti also has high property taxes. I pay more property taxes on my $100,000 house than people who live in houses that cost five times as much out in the country, especially if they have lived there for a long time. I pay more than double the property taxes than my parents who live in a spacious lake front property in S. Lyon (and yes, they are part of the problem but did stick it out in the City of Detroit for years longer than most people of their economic station).
Unfortunately, I don’t see an end in sight. I imagine that politics in the State of Michigan will still involve richer and mostly white people doing all they can to kick the poor, especially if they are poor people of color. And maybe such politics arent limited to Michigan. But that is where I live. And that is what I see.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Speed
Ugh. I am rather annoyed right now. This morning someone, who was almost certainly driving too fast, knocked the driver's side mirror off of my car. Naturally, they didnt stop or leave a note or anything like that. I heard it happen but because I have all that stupid plastic on my bedroom window with the blinds closed in between the plastic and the window, I wasnt able to quickly look to see who it was. Not that I probably could have anyways since it sounded like they were going pretty fast. It upsets me though because I know that for someone to drive close enough to my car to knock off the driver's side mirror, they had to be mere inches away from hitting the more expensive to replace parts on the car like the back part and the side part. I just hope that my mirror scratched the HECK out of their car but since the mirror was made of mostly plastic, that is probably too much to hope for. Maybe they will at least feel guilty all day about it.
The thing is that people drive really fast down my street. Part of my morning routine is to lie in bed and listen to NPR and the people scraping the bottoms of their cars on the street as they go over the railroad tracks. It happens a lot -- enough so that there are huge gouges in the road on either side of the railroad tracks.
It isnt even necessarily people who live on my street either although to be honest I wouldnt be surprised if I found "M. Andretti" on a mailbox down the street. No, a good number of these speed demons seem to be gunning around the light at Michigan and Prospect by turning left onto N. Grove and then right onto Locust and then left again at Prospect.
I think the main reason for all of this is that the street is just so wide. Wide streets encourage speeding. I also imagine that the N. Grove/Locust shortcut doesnt bother enough people to have any money spent trying to do something about it. The city certainly has more pressing problems on its hands (like public housing projects catching on fire and the cops shooting people in residential neighborhoods and not having any money)
I am not worried about my pets because the dog has been trained not to go into the street and the cat doesnt like leaving the yard. But I am worried about all the kids who regularly hang out in the street. There is a boys/girls club RIGHT THERE and the kids often walk home from there and they often walk in the street, especially if they are teenagers because well, everyone knows...teenagers are TOO COOL for the street. Anyways in warmer months those teenagers sometimes walk in the street wearing dark clothes. One of these days, one of the speed demons is going to squish one of those kids!
I also worry about my car. I think I am going to have to spend some time/money this summer on fencing or a new gate so that I can create a place in my back yard for parking. My neighbor parks her car in the back and I think she has the right idea.
The thing is that people drive really fast down my street. Part of my morning routine is to lie in bed and listen to NPR and the people scraping the bottoms of their cars on the street as they go over the railroad tracks. It happens a lot -- enough so that there are huge gouges in the road on either side of the railroad tracks.
It isnt even necessarily people who live on my street either although to be honest I wouldnt be surprised if I found "M. Andretti" on a mailbox down the street. No, a good number of these speed demons seem to be gunning around the light at Michigan and Prospect by turning left onto N. Grove and then right onto Locust and then left again at Prospect.
I think the main reason for all of this is that the street is just so wide. Wide streets encourage speeding. I also imagine that the N. Grove/Locust shortcut doesnt bother enough people to have any money spent trying to do something about it. The city certainly has more pressing problems on its hands (like public housing projects catching on fire and the cops shooting people in residential neighborhoods and not having any money)
I am not worried about my pets because the dog has been trained not to go into the street and the cat doesnt like leaving the yard. But I am worried about all the kids who regularly hang out in the street. There is a boys/girls club RIGHT THERE and the kids often walk home from there and they often walk in the street, especially if they are teenagers because well, everyone knows...teenagers are TOO COOL for the street. Anyways in warmer months those teenagers sometimes walk in the street wearing dark clothes. One of these days, one of the speed demons is going to squish one of those kids!
I also worry about my car. I think I am going to have to spend some time/money this summer on fencing or a new gate so that I can create a place in my back yard for parking. My neighbor parks her car in the back and I think she has the right idea.
Friday, January 12, 2007
It looks like I'll be using Public Transportation
I have had a somewhat busy week. I am taking a couple of classes at EMU. One of them is a biology class that I know is going to keep me pretty busy for a while. I cant say that the subject thrills me but once it is over, it will be over. I will never have to take another biology class ever again.
Anyhow, because I am taking this class, I found out about a few pretty cool things:
All in all, this means that I can either spend 20 minutes/half hour walking to the YTC (I walk slowly) and then take a 5 minute bus to my class or I can spend 5 minutes driving to the Ypsilanti Transit Center where I can park for free followed by a five minute bus ride to class. Not bad really even in cold weather. I noticed that the bus is very full.
Anyhow, because I am taking this class, I found out about a few pretty cool things:
- There is an AATA bus that goes from the Ypsilanti Transit Center to many different points on the EMU campus.
- The bus runs frequently enough to actually be useful. It runs every 20 minutes.
- The bus is free. All fares are paid by EMU (and they don’t check student IDs or anything so it really is a nice asset for the community)
- The parking lot by the Ypsilanti Transit Center is free these days.
All in all, this means that I can either spend 20 minutes/half hour walking to the YTC (I walk slowly) and then take a 5 minute bus to my class or I can spend 5 minutes driving to the Ypsilanti Transit Center where I can park for free followed by a five minute bus ride to class. Not bad really even in cold weather. I noticed that the bus is very full.
Monday, October 16, 2006
An Ypsilanti Pizza Review
Cici's Pizza
I skipped lunch today. That is my excuse. You see, I was *really* hungry when I drove by that new Cici's Pizza Buffet place. I decided that pizza sounded good for dinner and somehow the rumbling in my tummy turned my brain off. Otherwise, it might have occurred to me that the pizza in a place located in the same strip mall as WalMart, that advertises an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet for under $5, might not have the best pizza in town.
While I was waiting for the pizza I ordered, I took the opportunity to take a look at their buffet. It seemed pretty straight forward. There were three kinds of tossed salads differentiated as far as I could tell mostly by the type of dressing they put on the lettuce (italian, ranch, or ceasar). There were some uninspiring looking breadsticks and some decent looking desserts. There were around a dozen different kinds of pizza and also pasta with a choice of marinara or alfredo sauces.
I decided to get a medium pizza "to go" since I wasnt in the mood to eat in. I ordered just a plain old pepperoni pizza because I believe that pepperoni pizzas are the pizzas to judge all other pizzas by. If a place can make a decent pepperon pizza, it is a good bet that all of their other pizzas will pass muster too. I have to say that after eating a slice of the pizza I ordered, I immediately realized how Cici's might be able to turn a profit on their all-you-can-eat buffet because I realized that one slice was about all I could eat of this pizza. The dogs liked it though but they eat cat poop at every opportunity so I wouldnt take it to mean much that they liked it. Although I havent eaten Domino's Pizza in years, I think that this pizza might be even worse or at the very least along the same vein. It isnt entirely uneatable and might appeal to someone who just wants something bland that tastes like cheese and tomato sauce on cardboard. I will give Cici's one thumbs up though. They do seem to use a pepperoni that has *some* flavor to it. Not enough to make it worth anyone's while to actually go there though.
Domino's Pizza
I have decided to include Domino's Pizza in my review mostly because I think it is one of the world's great ironies that one of the world's largest sellers of bad pizza could get its start in a town like Ypsilanti Michigan where there is good pizza everywhere. Before going to Cici's, I would have said that Domino's makes the WORST pizza in town but now I think they might have a run for their money.
Aubree's
The truth is that I have only had a proper pizza from Aubree's a couple of times. I seldom seem to order pizza there anymore though because I usually seem to end up there during happy hour when their Calzones are half price. But Calzones are really just folded up pizza so I feel qualified to write a review of Aubree's pizza.
Generally I think that Aubree's Pizzas are pretty darn good. They might even be the best pizza in town. The crust has a nice texture and flavor. The sauce has character. The toppings are of a quality one would expect from a good pizza. All in all, a winner. I would even say Aubree's happy hour half price calzones are the best pizza value in all of Ypsilanti except that I usually find myself having a couple happy hour mojitos or martinis or whatever the drink of the day happens to be so I end up spending more money than I would otherwise and sometimes have to walk home afterwards. Oh well, the atmosphere is good there and I usually go with friends so it is all good. In fact, I can honestly say that Aubree's is one of my favorite places to meet up with folks.
Mr Pizza
This is a local chain but you know what, it is pretty darn good pizza. It isnt very expensive either. The have all the usual things that make a good pizza. Good toppings and good sauce. It is their crust that I like the best though. It is all nice and crispy on the outside but really soft on the inside. It is strong enough to hold the toppings without tasting like cardboard. I probably eat their pizza the most because it is so cheap and so close by that I can easily take advantage of their pick-up specials.
Mr Pizza has a menu that includes a lot of non-pizza items and also has a catagory that I like to think of as "things we can make out of pizza dough." My very favorite guilty pleasure from that section of their menu are the cinnamon sticks which are pizza dough with cinnamon sugar and vanilla icing. It is sugar shock in the extreme so I dont get it very often but if you are jonesing for some sugar, it is one pretty good way to get it. I like those things more than I like donuts.
Happy's Pizza
This is a pretty new place over near the corner of Michigan Ave and Ecorse Rd. I tried it a few months ago right after they opened. I dont have much to say about them . Their pizza was decent but not as good or as cheap as Mr Pizza's which is it's main competition. Like Mr Pizza, they have a huge non-pizza menu. Basically, my opinion of them is that you wont go wrong there but why bother when Mr Pizza and Aubree's are only blocks away?
Tower Inn
This used to be my favorite pizza in town when I lived on College Pl. just a couple of blocks away. I loved it. And for some reason, I havent eaten there even once in the last six years since I moved ALL THE WAY ACROSS TOWN to where I live now. I feel bad about that since ALL THE WAY ACROSS TOWN is probably less than a mile.
Tower Inn has that whole EMU campus thing going on. There are always lots of students in there and that gives it a nice atmosphere, imho. It is also the only place I can think of in town where one can get a greek pizza with gyro meat as an item *and* get an order of OPA! cheese too. Plus they are right by Ypsilanti's famous water town (hence the name, I imagine). So I guess I want to give them an honorable mention even though "I havent eaten there in six years" might not be the glowing review they deserve.
That is it folks although there are lots more pizza places in Ypsilanti. If there is one thing that is nice about Ypsilanti, it is that there are no shortages of places to get good pizza. So where are your favorite places to get pizza?
I skipped lunch today. That is my excuse. You see, I was *really* hungry when I drove by that new Cici's Pizza Buffet place. I decided that pizza sounded good for dinner and somehow the rumbling in my tummy turned my brain off. Otherwise, it might have occurred to me that the pizza in a place located in the same strip mall as WalMart, that advertises an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet for under $5, might not have the best pizza in town.
While I was waiting for the pizza I ordered, I took the opportunity to take a look at their buffet. It seemed pretty straight forward. There were three kinds of tossed salads differentiated as far as I could tell mostly by the type of dressing they put on the lettuce (italian, ranch, or ceasar). There were some uninspiring looking breadsticks and some decent looking desserts. There were around a dozen different kinds of pizza and also pasta with a choice of marinara or alfredo sauces.
I decided to get a medium pizza "to go" since I wasnt in the mood to eat in. I ordered just a plain old pepperoni pizza because I believe that pepperoni pizzas are the pizzas to judge all other pizzas by. If a place can make a decent pepperon pizza, it is a good bet that all of their other pizzas will pass muster too. I have to say that after eating a slice of the pizza I ordered, I immediately realized how Cici's might be able to turn a profit on their all-you-can-eat buffet because I realized that one slice was about all I could eat of this pizza. The dogs liked it though but they eat cat poop at every opportunity so I wouldnt take it to mean much that they liked it. Although I havent eaten Domino's Pizza in years, I think that this pizza might be even worse or at the very least along the same vein. It isnt entirely uneatable and might appeal to someone who just wants something bland that tastes like cheese and tomato sauce on cardboard. I will give Cici's one thumbs up though. They do seem to use a pepperoni that has *some* flavor to it. Not enough to make it worth anyone's while to actually go there though.
Domino's Pizza
I have decided to include Domino's Pizza in my review mostly because I think it is one of the world's great ironies that one of the world's largest sellers of bad pizza could get its start in a town like Ypsilanti Michigan where there is good pizza everywhere. Before going to Cici's, I would have said that Domino's makes the WORST pizza in town but now I think they might have a run for their money.
Aubree's
The truth is that I have only had a proper pizza from Aubree's a couple of times. I seldom seem to order pizza there anymore though because I usually seem to end up there during happy hour when their Calzones are half price. But Calzones are really just folded up pizza so I feel qualified to write a review of Aubree's pizza.
Generally I think that Aubree's Pizzas are pretty darn good. They might even be the best pizza in town. The crust has a nice texture and flavor. The sauce has character. The toppings are of a quality one would expect from a good pizza. All in all, a winner. I would even say Aubree's happy hour half price calzones are the best pizza value in all of Ypsilanti except that I usually find myself having a couple happy hour mojitos or martinis or whatever the drink of the day happens to be so I end up spending more money than I would otherwise and sometimes have to walk home afterwards. Oh well, the atmosphere is good there and I usually go with friends so it is all good. In fact, I can honestly say that Aubree's is one of my favorite places to meet up with folks.
Mr Pizza
This is a local chain but you know what, it is pretty darn good pizza. It isnt very expensive either. The have all the usual things that make a good pizza. Good toppings and good sauce. It is their crust that I like the best though. It is all nice and crispy on the outside but really soft on the inside. It is strong enough to hold the toppings without tasting like cardboard. I probably eat their pizza the most because it is so cheap and so close by that I can easily take advantage of their pick-up specials.
Mr Pizza has a menu that includes a lot of non-pizza items and also has a catagory that I like to think of as "things we can make out of pizza dough." My very favorite guilty pleasure from that section of their menu are the cinnamon sticks which are pizza dough with cinnamon sugar and vanilla icing. It is sugar shock in the extreme so I dont get it very often but if you are jonesing for some sugar, it is one pretty good way to get it. I like those things more than I like donuts.
Happy's Pizza
This is a pretty new place over near the corner of Michigan Ave and Ecorse Rd. I tried it a few months ago right after they opened. I dont have much to say about them . Their pizza was decent but not as good or as cheap as Mr Pizza's which is it's main competition. Like Mr Pizza, they have a huge non-pizza menu. Basically, my opinion of them is that you wont go wrong there but why bother when Mr Pizza and Aubree's are only blocks away?
Tower Inn
This used to be my favorite pizza in town when I lived on College Pl. just a couple of blocks away. I loved it. And for some reason, I havent eaten there even once in the last six years since I moved ALL THE WAY ACROSS TOWN to where I live now. I feel bad about that since ALL THE WAY ACROSS TOWN is probably less than a mile.
Tower Inn has that whole EMU campus thing going on. There are always lots of students in there and that gives it a nice atmosphere, imho. It is also the only place I can think of in town where one can get a greek pizza with gyro meat as an item *and* get an order of OPA! cheese too. Plus they are right by Ypsilanti's famous water town (hence the name, I imagine). So I guess I want to give them an honorable mention even though "I havent eaten there in six years" might not be the glowing review they deserve.
That is it folks although there are lots more pizza places in Ypsilanti. If there is one thing that is nice about Ypsilanti, it is that there are no shortages of places to get good pizza. So where are your favorite places to get pizza?
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