Features

An Amtrak train passes through Depot Town

Transportation

Ypsi Amtrak station plan moves forward despite challenges

Eric GallippoWednesday, September 14, 2016

Plans for an Amtrak stop in Ypsilanti have been submitted to city council, but an effort to bring passenger rail service back to Depot Town still faces an uphill climb.

Technology and Innovation

Ann Arbor startup reveals AI financial assistant

Eric GallippoWednesday, September 14, 2016

Questions like "When do I get paid next?" and "Can I afford this?" plague most of us daily, but the Finie AI assistant puts the answers at mobile users' fingertips.

Diversity

Social services agency begins Syrian refugee resettlement in Ann Arbor

Eric GallippoWednesday, September 14, 2016

With the assistance of one new employee, Samaritas is assisting refugees in their transition to new homes in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

Dawn Farms Grace Yoder and C. Milton Dixon at the Ypsilanti Farmers Market

Sustainability

Thriving on the edge: Agricultural innovation in Ypsilanti

Jason BuchananWednesday, September 7, 2016

Although Ypsilanti is historically a manufacturing town, a wealth of agricultural innovation has been taking root in the area for years.

The Michigan Venture Capital Association's map of entrepreneurial resources in Michigan.

Entrepreneurship

Report: Ann Arbor leads Michigan in entrepreneurial resources

Eric GallippoWednesday, September 7, 2016

A new comprehensive guide to funding and other opportunities for entrepreneurs in Michigan shows a treasure trove in Ann Arbor.

Warmilu staff demonstrates their warming blankets in Kenya.

Technology and Innovation

Warmilu's blanket technology goes to Kenya, scales up

Eric GallippoWednesday, September 7, 2016

This year the Ann Arbor startup has deployed in Kenya, pursued clinical trials in Detroit, and established a new headquarters.

Roustabout Theatre Troupe performs Joseph Zettlelmaier's "Ichabod" at The Morning Owl Coffee Corp. in Milan

Arts and Culture

Why the Ann Arbor area's newest theater companies aren't in Ann Arbor

Jenn McKeeWednesday, August 31, 2016

In the wake of the closing of Ann Arbor's 34-year-old Performance Network Theatre, smaller companies in Dexter, Milan, and Pinckney are finding success.

Loading a bike on a bus at the Ypsilanti Transit Center

Entrepreneurship

AAATA fires up FootballRide service, relaunches website

Eric GallippoWednesday, August 31, 2016

Special bus service to the Big House will return this Saturday and the transit provider's website will also sport a fresh look this week.

The Ann Arbor Greenbelt's newest conservation easement.

Sustainability

Ann Arbor Greenbelt Program celebrates 50th project, other milestones

Eric GallippoWednesday, August 31, 2016

The program closed on its 50th project in Webster Township, just after the 10th anniversary of its first project.

The site of the new Stamps Gallery at McKinley Towne Centre.

Arts and Culture

U-M's Stamps School announces new downtown gallery

Eric GallippoWednesday, August 31, 2016

The 8,000-square-foot gallery in McKinley Towne Centre will replace the Work and Slusser galleries.

Downtown at the University of Michigan's Mobility Transformation Center's Mcity

Economic Development

A closer look at U-M's new driverless vehicle startup tenants

Eric GallippoWednesday, August 31, 2016

Three newly arrived West Coast startups will tackle a variety of industry issues with help from University of Michigan students.

Economic Development

The Backstory: Early Ann Arbor's multiple newspapers

Patti SmithWednesday, August 24, 2016

Newspaper options are increasingly limited these days. But Ann Arbor's early history contains a long list of strongly partisan publications.

Economic Development

Look out, Siri: This Ann Arbor startup is revolutionizing artificial intelligence

Patrick DunnWednesday, August 24, 2016

We've all had those moments of frustration yelling at the finicky AI assistants on our phones. A forward-thinking group of Ann Arbor computer whizzes is out to change that.

Economic Development

Food Gatherers scores $200,000 grant for food prep program

Eric GallippoWednesday, August 24, 2016

A $200,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan will help make redistributed food more usable.

Economic Development

HouseSetter technology monitors your home while you're away

Eric GallippoWednesday, August 24, 2016

Ann Arbor's Logic Solutions partnered with Michigan-based HouseSetter on Sherlock, a device that keeps tabs on a home's electricity use and more while owners are out of town.

Economic Development

Akervall Technologies makes Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies

Eric GallippoWednesday, August 24, 2016

The Saline-based mouthguard manufacturer ranked No. 1,130 on the magazine's list. How did they do it?

Building Communities

The rise of Ann Arbor's New West Side

Natalie BurgWednesday, August 17, 2016

With an influx of new businesses and some area stalwarts reinvesting in their longtime home turf, the area just west of Ann Arbor's Old West Side is becoming a destination neighborhood in its own right.

Economic Development

Beezy's Cafe plans new catering kitchen and banquet space

Eric GallippoWednesday, August 17, 2016

The popular Ypsilanti breakfast and lunch spot is expanding this fall, with a new production kitchen for catering and a banquet space for private events to open in a building across North Washington Street from the existing cafe.

A map of the proposed Ann Arbor-Traverse City rail line.

Transportation

Study to consider feasibility of Ann Arbor-Traverse City passenger rail

Eric GallippoWednesday, August 17, 2016

What would it take to get passenger rail service between Ann Arbor and Traverse City up and running, and how much use would it get? Those are a couple of the big questions a Traverse City advocacy group hopes to answer after a recently announced feasibility study is completed.