COLUMN ONE - latimes.com
Interesting perspective on parking in cities. I witnessed first hand how charging for parking transformed Pasadena, CA.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Schools find football programs spur buzz, campus growth - USATODAY.com
For the last few years the rumors have been building that my alma mater, the University of Detroit Mercy (Just U of D when I was there), will be bringing back North American style Football! Although I'm not really a football fan (Futbol? Yes!), I'm convinced this would be great for the school.
Schools find football programs spur buzz, campus growth - USATODAY.com
Schools find football programs spur buzz, campus growth - USATODAY.com
Detroit Free Press Mower Gang
THE MOWER GANG CLEANS UP DETROIT
Velodrome is 1st success for group of volunteers
By BRIAN KAUFMAN
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Walking through a maze of shrubbery, trees, tires, paint cans and logs the size of wheelbarrows, it was hard to imagine that people raced bicycles there.
“I cannot believe that this has been abandoned in time,” said Tom Nardone, founder of the Mower Gang. The small group of volunteers was standing on the Dorais Velodrome in northeast Detroit on Friday. The motto on their shirts said it all, “Winning Detroit’s Other Turf War.”
Nardone, looking for volunteer work that was fun, started the Mower Gang to revive unkempt public land in Detroit. This was the group’s first project.
The goal at the velodrome was simple: clean up the track at Outer Drive and Mound.
But the task seemed daunting. Twenty-some years of abandonment had created a patchwork of flora that covered most of the concrete. With donated power tools, the team set to work under a relentless sun.
Slowly but surely, the banked oval began to resemble its former self.
More volunteers showed up, many meeting for the first time. Bicycles began to appear at the track’s edge and scattered under infield trees.
By late afternoon, the velodrome was silent as the Mower Gang reaped its reward.
“I’m super impressed with what they’ve done in just a day,” said Jon Hughes, owner of Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop. His grandfather helped build the velodrome in 1969 and it was the first track that he rode as a child.
He remembers when it bore national and world champions. Now, with a smile on his face, Hughes was riding the oval once again.
The track was ridable for the first time in years. Large cracks made it more suitable for mountain bikes than fine-tuned racing bikes, but this day was about celebrating a forgotten Detroit relic and encouraging public use. “It’s really not about getting some 45-year-old guy a better place to ride his bike,” said Nardone, reflecting on the Mower Gang’s mission.
“It’s more about getting 10-, 12-, 13year-old kids a better place to spend an afternoon.”
The group’s next project: Aug. 28 at Riverside Park, at the foot of West Grand Boulevard.
See a video of the project
Tom Nardone, 40, of Birmingham, takes a photo of Mike Hulway, 21, of Grosse Pointe as he rides around the velodrome.
Photos by BRIAN KAUFMAN/Detroit Free Press
Mower Gang volunteer Mike Hulway, 21, of Grosse Pointe cuts weeds on the Dorais Velodrome in Detroit on Friday. The velodrome was built in 1969, but has been abandoned. The gang revives public land in Detroit that is no longer mowed or maintained by the city.
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Copyright © 2010 Detroit Free Press Inc.
Use of this site indicates your agreement to the
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, updated 9/21/05.
Velodrome is 1st success for group of volunteers
By BRIAN KAUFMAN
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Walking through a maze of shrubbery, trees, tires, paint cans and logs the size of wheelbarrows, it was hard to imagine that people raced bicycles there.
“I cannot believe that this has been abandoned in time,” said Tom Nardone, founder of the Mower Gang. The small group of volunteers was standing on the Dorais Velodrome in northeast Detroit on Friday. The motto on their shirts said it all, “Winning Detroit’s Other Turf War.”
Nardone, looking for volunteer work that was fun, started the Mower Gang to revive unkempt public land in Detroit. This was the group’s first project.
The goal at the velodrome was simple: clean up the track at Outer Drive and Mound.
But the task seemed daunting. Twenty-some years of abandonment had created a patchwork of flora that covered most of the concrete. With donated power tools, the team set to work under a relentless sun.
Slowly but surely, the banked oval began to resemble its former self.
More volunteers showed up, many meeting for the first time. Bicycles began to appear at the track’s edge and scattered under infield trees.
By late afternoon, the velodrome was silent as the Mower Gang reaped its reward.
“I’m super impressed with what they’ve done in just a day,” said Jon Hughes, owner of Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop. His grandfather helped build the velodrome in 1969 and it was the first track that he rode as a child.
He remembers when it bore national and world champions. Now, with a smile on his face, Hughes was riding the oval once again.
The track was ridable for the first time in years. Large cracks made it more suitable for mountain bikes than fine-tuned racing bikes, but this day was about celebrating a forgotten Detroit relic and encouraging public use. “It’s really not about getting some 45-year-old guy a better place to ride his bike,” said Nardone, reflecting on the Mower Gang’s mission.
“It’s more about getting 10-, 12-, 13year-old kids a better place to spend an afternoon.”
The group’s next project: Aug. 28 at Riverside Park, at the foot of West Grand Boulevard.
See a video of the project
Tom Nardone, 40, of Birmingham, takes a photo of Mike Hulway, 21, of Grosse Pointe as he rides around the velodrome.
Photos by BRIAN KAUFMAN/Detroit Free Press
Mower Gang volunteer Mike Hulway, 21, of Grosse Pointe cuts weeds on the Dorais Velodrome in Detroit on Friday. The velodrome was built in 1969, but has been abandoned. The gang revives public land in Detroit that is no longer mowed or maintained by the city.
Powered by TECNAVIA
Copyright © 2010 Detroit Free Press Inc.
Use of this site indicates your agreement to the
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, updated 9/21/05.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Wayne State University history
Detroit Free Press
August 8, 2010
This week in Michigan history
5 colleges unite — and later form WSU
Five colleges in Detroit united on Aug. 8, 1933, to form the Colleges of the City of Detroit, which later evolved into Wayne State University. The Detroit Board of Education controlled the colleges of Liberal Arts, Education, Engineering, Medicine and Pharmacy and the Graduate School.
Some of them had different iterations; for example, the College of Education was founded in 1881 as the Detroit Normal Training School. The year after the organization of the Colleges of the City of Detroit, the collection of schools was renamed Wayne University.
In 1956, it became Wayne State University.
Today, WSU is one of the biggest public universities in the U.S.
Famous alumni include federal Judge Damon Keith, astronaut Jerry Linenger, actress Lily Tomlin and radio personality Casey Kasem.
-- ZLATI MEYER
August 8, 2010
This week in Michigan history
5 colleges unite — and later form WSU
Five colleges in Detroit united on Aug. 8, 1933, to form the Colleges of the City of Detroit, which later evolved into Wayne State University. The Detroit Board of Education controlled the colleges of Liberal Arts, Education, Engineering, Medicine and Pharmacy and the Graduate School.
Some of them had different iterations; for example, the College of Education was founded in 1881 as the Detroit Normal Training School. The year after the organization of the Colleges of the City of Detroit, the collection of schools was renamed Wayne University.
In 1956, it became Wayne State University.
Today, WSU is one of the biggest public universities in the U.S.
Famous alumni include federal Judge Damon Keith, astronaut Jerry Linenger, actress Lily Tomlin and radio personality Casey Kasem.
-- ZLATI MEYER
Saturday, August 7, 2010
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