This Friday, May 9, 2008, the Washtenaw United Way will provide an opportunity for parents to have toys and other child related plastics tested for lead at the Whittaker Road Ypsilanti Library from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. The Ecology Center will have its XRF Lead Analyzer there and they will do on the spot tests to check for high lead levels. Other educational activities will be available from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at our Pittsfield branch. Read more about chemicals in toys from the Ecology Center and check out the top toys from HealthyToys.org.

Great news! The premiere edition of The 826 Gazette published by students of 826michigan is attractive and impressive. I just picked up a copy at the downtown library youth desk, and I particularly liked the articles ”Restaurant patrons to help fight cystic fibrosis,” by Maureen McCord, and “Michigan’s Green Schools initiative aims to make schools more environmentally friendly,” by Andrew Yoo. The newspaper was written and reported by local tweens age 10-14. Erik Gable of The Daily Telegram in Adrian helped with the journalism, many volunteers assisted, and printing was donated by The Ann Arbor News. Yay! Already I’m looking forward to the next issue this summer!

Michigan law now requires voters to present valid photo identification on Election Day in order to vote! Before you head to the polls Tuesday, May 6th check the Michigan Voter Information Center to find out where you vote and check the Washtenaw County Elections Page for a list of candidates and proposals on the ballot.

It's FREE! Really, mom. Washtenaw County's Summer Camp for Kids has camps in Football, Track, Golf, Wrestling, Basketball, Cheerleading and Tennis for kids ages 8 to 15. The camps are offered this summer from June 16 through July 31. Just print off the Registration Flyer and send it back to Washtenaw County Trial Court - Juvenile Division 2270 Platt Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. Need more info? Call (734) 222-6900.

More than 60 environmental indicators for Ann Arbor are tracked in the City's State of Environment report. The report is packed with data on topics like air quality, landfills, creeks, sidewalks and renewable energy. This interactive site lets you see the relationship between the goals we, as a community, have set and where we stand in achieving those goals. Don't forget that you can begin positively impacting Tree Town's environment today by walking, biking or busing to work during Curb Your Car Month.

The Duderstadt Gallery once again has plenty to keep you busy this week: a fascinating exhibit on the design of objects, calling to mind Henry Petroski, who loves to write about things most people take for granted. Petroski has actually written entire books on pencils, the evolution of the bookshelf (note: there’s more to it than you’d think), and the toothpick (!). The gallery also features The Art of Healing, opening this Friday, May 2 from 5-8pm. Cosponsored by the Feminist Art Project, the Women’s Caucus for Art-Michigan, and the Therapy Center of Ann Arbor, The Art of Healing examines the thorny issues and experiences related to women’s health, showcasing fine examples of work by local artists.

Also on the calendar: Moonlight Delight, the annual spring incarnation of Midnight Madness in downtown Ann Arbor. Stores open late, sales galore: must I go on? See you there!

What are you waiting for? Tap, hip-hop, ballet, or tango, it's all good. It also happens to be National Dance Week. If you're learning how-to, Steppin' Out Latin Dancing has everything for the beginner to the advanced.

Your all-time-best dance scene in a movie?? Mine is that scene from White Nights with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines. It's about a Soviet dancer, who has defected to the West, but finds himself having to escape a second time. Two greats on the stage together.

The Dance Ensemble of Michigan is one of many acts at Breakin' Curfew, a show which is in it's fifth year and is happening May 3rd, 8pm at the Power Center. It showcases talented and creative teens from Ann Arbor and southeastern Michigan. Performances range from hip hop, jazz piano, a rock band or two, and classical guitar. This show is a collaboration between the Neutral Zone and the University Musical Society.

Local governments throughout Washtenaw County, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and FEMA will host a Flood Risk Information Open House for residents on Wednesday, April 30, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. at the Ypsilanti Township Board Room. County residents will have an opportunity to review a recently completed preliminary Flood Insurance Study (FIS) and its accompanying preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs). Take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about flood risk and hazard mitigation.

We'll get the rain, it won't run (away.) It's time for the Huron Rivers Watershed Council's annual Spring Rain Barrel Sale. Buy your rain barrel online from HRWC and pick it up on Sunday, May 4, 2008, between 1 -4 p.m. at Huron High School. You'll get a credit on your storm water bills, water for your gardens and help reduce the overflow into the storm sewers.

The Coalition for Action on Remediation of Dioxane (CARD) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will hold a public meeting on Monday, April 28, 7:00 p.m., at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District Center to update citizens on the status of the dioxane contamination cleanup. The groundwater contamination has expanded in Washtenaw County to an area over three miles long and one mile wide. The remediation of this site is likely to take an additional 20 years or more based on Pall Corporation and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality estimates.

The Saline Area Players will be presenting “Cheaper by the Dozen” on April 18, 19, 25 & 26 at 7:30 p.m. and April 20 & 26 at 2:00 at the Liberty School Theater, 7265 N. Ann Arbor St., Saline, Michigan. The play is dramatized by Christopher Sergel based on the book of the same name by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students through high school and seniors 65+. Tickets may be purchased in advance by calling 677-3727 or at the door. Special advance group rates are “cheaper by the dozen” – buy a dozen (tickets) and save a dozen (bucks)! Visit the website for more information. Meanwhile, you can also check out the 2003 DVD movie or the earlier 1950 version.

Ann Arbor welcomes the 14th Dalai Lama this week for a two-day educational program, Saturday and Sunday, April 19 and 20, sponsored by Jewel Heart, Garrison Institute, and The Tibet Fund. The Dalai Lama is the subject of several works in the Library, including the recent book The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, currently on order; the award-winning film Kundun, by Martin Scorsese; and the DVD 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama. He's also written many books. For an excellent overview, try The Essential Dalai Lama: His Important Teachings. The Dalai Lama will deliver the Peter M. Wege Lecture on Sustainability at 2:00 p.m. Sunday in Crisler arena in conjunction with Ann Arbor Earth Day celebrations. A live broadcast will be carried on Michigan Channel 22 on Comcast cable in the greater Ann Arbor area and a live streaming video will be available at: http://umtv-live.rs.itd.umich.edu/pres/dalailama.asx.

Winter is really over now -- it's time to get going on your Commuter Challenge strategizing. Get your team going to by visiting GetDowntown, register and develop a plan to use every sustainable transportation method for getting to work in May. You may just win one of the fabulous prizes! But wait -- there's more -- plenty of Curb Your Car Month events for everyone including a Free Transit Day and a Downtown Main Street Walk.

Washtenaw County will be host to Michigan Money Smart Week Events April 19 - 23. Start with the Money Smart Workshop Saturday, April 19, at the UAW Local 849 Hall, 454 Chidester, in Ypsilanti. You'll learn how to improve your budgeting skills, get out of debt and begin to save. The Money Smart Brown Bag Lunches will further your financial literacy. Space is limited at all events so register now at 734.222-3943 or jonest@ewashtenaw.org.

For those not aware, the Detroit Tigers have been the center of attention in the baseball world since last December when a series of huge trades left the Tigers stacked in offence. Of course, that focus shifted recently to the fact that they became the team that couldn’t (literally) buy a win, having gone 0-7. But yesterday they won! And decisively, too. Tonight, as we all prepare for Detroit’s Nate Robertson vs. Boston’s Tim “Knuckles” Wakefield, curl up with your favorite baseball book, whether it be about the game’s history, a work of fiction, satire, or hardcore analysis of the game.

I’m looking forward to reading the greatest poem ever written, the 1888 classic “Casey At The Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung In The Year 1888,” if for no other reason because it shows how one hundred and twenty years later, the game remains remarkably unchanged. I also think I’ll reread my favourite chapters of Baseball Between The Numbers: Why Everything You Know About The Game Is Wrong by the stat geeks at Baseball Prospectus. It has a wonderful chapter which actually uses Nate Robertson (and Jeremy Bonderman) as an example why a pitcher’s Win-Loss record largely has no bearing on his pitching ability (I seem to remember last year, Nate Robertson left a game winning against D-Rays 4-0 after 6 2/3, only to have Jason Grilli surrender a grand slam in relief. That’s called Nate’s entire career.)