MORE exciting events tonight for Neighborhood Week! And there might even be more cookies 👀 #a2council

Last night Ann Arbor’s Transportation Commission saw a presentation from Toole about the multilane reconfiguration study. I really like their methodology. “Rightsizing” these roads will dramatically improve safety. It was an excellent presentation and I look forward to the results! #A2council

The nonunion Associated Builders & Contractors came for Ann Arbor during Lansing's debate over best value procurement. My response. #a2council

Charlie Kirk I never thought much of the guy, though to be honest I never thought much about the guy at all.

Putting overly-restrictive height and unit count limits on Low-rise Residential in Ann Arbor means much of our new apartments will be constrained to our car sewers. #A2Council

seriously #a2council folks listen to this. It's broadly relevant to recent events, not just transportation issues. "Courage is contagious" in particular.

🫡 #A2Council

September 11 thoughts as we approach a quarter century. 24 years ago my generation watched it happen live on TVs in our high school classrooms. We won’t forget, just like we won’t forget the aftermath. 20 years of war. 70 9/11s of death. For what?

"This isn't who we are" says country that removed all evidence to the contrary from its history books

The MSNBC commentator saying that most political violence has historically come from the left just once again showed how we suffer from failing to learn history. Lynching, pogroms, race riots, the political violence that ended Reconstruction, and against the Civil Rights Movement. Come on.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) on the shooting of Charlie Kirk: "Political violence, unfortunately, has ramped up in this country ... I think there are people who are fomenting it in this country. I think the president's rhetoric often foments it."

Someone should post this to the Ann Arbor Reddit. I’ve seen so many posts claiming that Dunbar Towers will be bad actually bc people who are homeless are all criminals and drug users who are unhoused because they are bad people. #a2council

Walking past Lawton Elementary this morning, I watched two cars roll through a stop sign, and another one stop in the crosswalk. Are we ever going to actually take action, or are we just going to pretend we care about safety of pedestrians and school children? #a2council

I don’t find this very convincing, either as a unique problem with Bluesky or as an electoral liability for democrats.

It would be great to have this at some crosswalks around Ann Arbor. #A2Council youtube.com/shorts/j4liR...

Adding “high priest of blueskyism” to my LinkedIn

I am glad we have been doing this in Ann Arbor. The streets we converted back to two-way are much better for walking and cycling, and less confusing for drivers. I see way more foot traffic too. That said, I think one way streets can work when they only have one lane of car traffic. #A2Council

Glad to see the Sunset Sidewalks project back in the CIP. It always feels good to make a positive comment in support of something. It’s a shame some folks in Ann Arbor only show up to say “no”. #A2Council

40% of Republicans think the COVID vaccine killed more people than the COVID virus. One in four believe that QAnon is real. No matter how far they radicalize, we are told over and over again that the people being rude to them are the problem.

What is the status with getting something for CCA in Michigan, #A2Council? @jeffmirwin.bsky.social @forwardwithforeman.bsky.social

#A2Council has talked the talk. Let’s walk the walk (and bike the bike, and bus the bus) too.

On one hand, reducing car use reduces urban pollution. But on the other, everyone likes it and cities become more livable

I know that many Ann Arbor City Council members, including several former CMs who I often disagree with on local issues, were ardent supporters of Sen. Warren’s presidential campaign. She is, once again, on the right side policy-wise. Abundant housing is the answer. #A2Council

No shit! “Black drivers still disproportionately stopped by police in Ann Arbor despite ordinance” www.mlive.com/news/ann-arb... Like really, no shit, Sherlock! As CM Harrison put it: the ordinance “changed policy, but it did not change policing.” #a2council

This ‘blue states closed schools too long’ narrative is becoming increasingly entrenched in the Polite Center but it’s arguable at best. Republican states had far more deaths during COVID and their students have roughly comparable learning loss.

#a2council housing shortages lead to rising prices. Abundant housing is how we protect people (and their neighborhoods) from gentrification. Not by constraining supply, and not by eliminating transportation safety improvements.

A former mayor of Santa Monica says it best: gentrification is too much money chasing too little housing

If someone claims to be scared of the subway but isn’t scared of being in a car on the highway—which is exponentially more dangerous + deadly—they are not a serious person

Thanks to @brianphillips.bsky.social for the most important article you'll read today, maybe this lifetime. You will take my em dashes from my bloody dead hands.

#A2Council make sure you fill out the Ann Arbor Transportation Survey! Note that the map input thingies are a little clumsy.

The NIMBY three step: “I participated in the public process and did not get my way” becomes “I was left out of the decision making process” and then turns into “I deserve the power to overturn the result of the public process and impose my will on the majority by lawsuit.”

Public commenter is wondering whether we have a plan for water distribution considering increasing density. Yes, we do: engage.a2gov.org/water-distri... #A2Council

This IGMFU attitude shouldn’t surprise me, but it still does when it is so blatant. It’s frustrating to see it taken seriously in our community. #A2Council

Ann Arbor is a glorious place I love very much but it has the very specific problem of being full of the smartest dipshits alive who view "someone wants to build more housing" as a thoroughfare to hell.

Tonight's newsletter is out and it is 🔥 if we may say so ourselves. * Why one A2 parent welcomes multi-unit housing * Just how expensive is it to live in Washtenaw County? * New group connects climate & density c2a2.info * And a CALL FOR SPEAKERS! newsletter.moreneighborsa2.org/p/call-for-s...

Highly recommend #a2council and #annarbor check out the Climate-Concerned Ann Arborites website for fact-based info, stories from neighbors, and the chance to contribute your own story c2a2.info

Today in the emotional hangover of our big win, I find myself reflecting on how advocating for good stuff feels good, AND is popular with the electorate. A different future is possible! Don't let reactionary centrism make us fear change or be too timid to do the hard thing. #a2council

Last night, as planning commission dithered on how to guide zoning to mollify the Burns Park elite, across town folks were counting votes on the way to yet another pro-housing landslide. We are begging #a2council: quit talking to your wealthy neighbors, grow a spine, and STEP ON THE GAS!

How many Summer Game points for a lump of pavement torn from the surface of the parking lot #A2Council?

FYI, for those in Ward 1, Precinct 2, your polling place is still Community High School. You just need to enter on the Division Street side! (Don't be put off by all of the Construction Zone/Closed signs on the 4th Street side!) #a2council

Today in Ann Arbor we have the chance to support our beloved library by voting YES on proposals A&B. A bigger site will get us a better library and more housing, and finally put a desolate parking lot to good use. #a2council

I voted early at the Westgate library branch on Saturday, but if you haven’t voted yet #annarbor make sure you get out there and vote today! #a2council #a2votes

Do you live in the city of #AnnArbor? Are you a US citizen? We need you to vote today! If you're not registered, you can still stop by city hall and register! If you are registered, your local polling place has the library on the ballot!

#A2Council One thing I inherently know but am always a little taken aback by is how NIMBY talking points are the same all over the country. ✅ If you can't afford to live here, live elsewhere ✅ Out-of-state developers ✅ I have nothing against apartments, but... ✅ The "city" is being unfair to us

#A2Council Props to the this council member for standing up and saying it's good when multiple families can live in a place where previously only 1 family could at a lower, instead of capitulating to the wealthy speaker

I’d love to see an open air museum in Ann Arbor #A2Council. Move the best of the best historic homes and buildings there. Restore and preserve them, curate exhibits, and open them to the public. Seems like a much better way to remember the past while facing the future than historic districts.

Exclusive: a Michigan Campaign Finance Act complaint has been filed against Ann Arbor's Library Green Conservancy. The complaint alleges LGC's advocacy against Props A & B violates state law limiting how 501(c)(3)s can engage in politics. Read more here: www.damnarbor.com/2025/07/excl... #a2Council

Exactly this #A2Council. Also, this makes unit caps redundant by restricting the dimensions of a building. Housing and building codes already restrict maximum residents based on habitable space. Leave it up to homeowners and builders to choose how to divide that space up into individual homes.

ceding ground on unit count is what bothered me the most about the #a2council resolution last week. Height limits were annoying but workable, but this takes a ton of *less expensive* housing off the table in more than half the city.