On his visit to Michigan this week, Barack Obama advocated spending billions on the "green economy,” a subject also covered in a new book Green: Our Place in the New Energy Revolution by Jane Hoffman and Michael Hoffman. Jane Hoffman is a policy wonk on consumer issues and domestic policy who has advised all the major 2008 Democratic Presidental candidates on energy issues.

The AADL is pleased to offer you a completely new way to search for music.

With our new CD genres you can now browse the CDs at all locations just as easily as at the music store. Whether you're into Country, Jazz, Chamber Music, or Rap, we've got you covered. For those of you who prefer to do your browsing virtually, and to see a list of all the new genres, check out our CD Browsing interface. You can seek out old favorites, discover new ones, and place holds on them all from the comfort of your own computer.

Jeff Talarigo, author of the acclaimed novel, The Pearl Diver, has given us another haunting story, The Ginseng Hunter. An unnamed narrator follows his family's tradition of finding and harvesting one ginseng root a day in the mountains of China near the border of North Korea. On a monthly trip to the nearest city to visit a bordello, he meets a young woman who is a refugee from this oppressive regime. Interwoven with his developing relationship with her is the story of a North Korean mother who is separated from her daughter and who travels miles, always in fear of being discovered, in the hopes of finding her. The author evokes the harsh climate and rugged beauty of this country as well as the suffering and compassion of people just struggling to survive.

Compost cart that is. The City of Ann Arbor is now selling three sizes of curbside compost carts: 96, 64 and 35-gallons, all for the low, low price of $25. But wait, there's more! If you already bought a 96 gallon curbside cart you can trade it in for a smaller one. Now that's a deal. Don't forget you can purchase curbside carts online or by phone at 734.994.2807. Operators are standing by ...

You know you've got a favorite park in Ann Arbor. Now's your chance to show the park you care, you really, really care. Wear your scruffies and come to the Adopt-A-Park Kickoff this Saturday, May 17, 9 a.m. to noon. Help plant, mulch, clean and weed and your fav park will be eternally grateful and beautifully green. For more info visit the Adopt-A-Park website.

Althea Gibson couldn't stay out of trouble. Her family said so, her teachers said so, even a policeman said so. Her life changed when Buddy Walker saw through her wild ways and set her on a path to become the first African American to win Wimbledon. Read about her exciting story in Nothing But Trouble (The story of Althea Gibson) by Sue Stauffacher.

I must confess to cheating a bit in my blog this week—one of these events is not in our community, not even close! But it’s in somebody’s community, and it’s so cool that I wanted to share it with you all.

At the prestigious Brooklyn Museum in NY, the curators are hanging up their hats in favor of an innovative and unusual approach: they’re foisting their curatorial responsibilities on you, the public at large. Their exhibit, Click, has been designed as an experiment exploring the “wisdom of crowds,” columnist James Surowiecki’s notion that a large group of people will make a better decision than a trained expert. Click the link and give it a try!

Closer to home, this Sunday marks the 4th annual Circle of Art Auction at the Saline Picture Frame Company. A benefit for Food Gatherers, Circle of Art features hundreds of small works of art up for auction. The bidding begins online and continues at the event, which runs from 12-5 on Sunday. It’s a fantastic event—a worthy cause, inclusive, anything but elitist—all art is welcome and the bidding starts at $10. Check it out!

Did you ever wonder if life exists outside of our planet or our universe? Would you like to get caught up on space stuff in general? If so, I recommend you check out Jeffery Bennett's book Beyond UFOs. The author explains interesting things such as the true scale of the solar system and the center of mass between Jupiter and the Sun. If you like to sound smart at parties, this is the book for you.

Mr. and Mrs. Prince: How an Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Family Moved Out of Slavery and Into Legend by Gretchen Gerzina tells the story of first known African American poet, Lucy Terry and her husband Abijah Prince. What they accomplished in the 18th century was remarkable for former slaves. They were able to obtain the "American Dream" of having a family and owning property where they lived. Life was not easy and the Princes fought bigoted neighbors and found themselves in court many times asserting their rights in this pre-Civil War history of a Black family.

The Housing and Human Services Advisory Board will hold a Public Meeting on Tuesday, May 13, 6 - 8:30 p.m. to discuss recommendations on the replacement of the 100-affordable housing units at the former YMCA. The meeting will be held at the Washtenaw County Building, 200 N. Main, Lower Level Conference Room. Following a 15-minute presentation, the public is invited to comment. CTN will replay the meeting throughout the week.

This summer's Ypsilanti Crossroads Music Festival will be kicking off again on June 6th! Be sure to check out the event and appreciate our neighboring city. It will take place at the intersection of Washington and Pearl Streets every Friday night this summer from 7-10 pm. In the meantime, check out our collection on Ypsilanti history, including Ypsilanti in the 20th Century, Ypsilanti: A History in Pictures, and Our Heritage: Down by the Depot in Ypsilanti.

Time is running out. The Earth of the 22nd century is on its way to global self-destruction. Fortunately, faster-than-light (ftl) space travel is available to help teams find a new home. One such place is Quaraqua, a planet of mystery. It turns out, an ancient civilization previously inhabited the planet. Now Richard Wald, an interstellar archaeologist, and Priscilla Hutchins, his pilot, must collect as much data on the site before the planet is terraformed. So goes The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt. The story continues in DeepSix, Chindi, and Omega.