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The City Clerk's Office will be closed on Wednesday, March 16 as it is relocated back to City Hall following the completion of 2nd floor renovations to the Larcom Building. Other changes in the location of city government meetings will continue indefinitely.

David Broder, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, has died

David Broder, TV pundit, author, and columnist for 45 years for the Washington Post died today.

Broder covered Washington politics for almost six decades and won his Pulitzer for his coverage of Watergate. Known for his integrity, fairness, and intolerance for politicians who danced around the truth, Broder appeared on NBC's Meet the Press more than any other journalist.

One of Broder's books, Democracy Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of Money (2000), still very much resonates in light of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.

Broder, who was 81, died in Arlington, VA, from complications from diabetes.

drop-off station

Recycle Ann Arbor's Drop-Off Station has new hours of operation. The new days and hours are as follows:
-Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. ~ 6:30 p.m.
-Saturdays, 9: a.m. ~ 6 p.m.

A deficit budget has caused the cutback in hours -- see the press release for full details. The same range of services will be offered but in a more limited timeframe.

Congratulations to Randy Newman for winning the 2011 Academy Award for Best Original Song! You can hear the winning song, “We Belong Together”, on the CD Toy Story Favorites. Disney has not released a CD of the soundtrack for the movie Toy Story 3, although it is being sold as an MP3 Download. Randy Newman may not be "good television" but he sure can write a song!

Camp Shout Out

With all the talk about the King’s Speech, it’s very exciting that the first Michigan camp for school-age youth who stutter is opening this summer. Camp Shout Out will be fun and liberating for kids aged 8-16 and an excellent opportunity for clinical training for Speech Language Pathologists, all taking place in a beautiful location.

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Each year the City of Ann Arbor presents a budget to cover services provided to the citizens of Ann Arbor. This year the City wants all of us to be active participants in shaping the budget and they've developed a great web site, the Ann Arbor City Budget Guide to explain the process and the many components of the budget.

Most importantly, they want your feedback. Once you've reviewed the site, send email to the Finance Department at klancaster@a2gov.org offering your suggestions and comments.

"We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate." — Thomas Jefferson

winter

In anticipation of the winter storm, the City of Ann Arbor has announced there will be no residential trash or recycling pickups on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011. The residential trash and recycling pickups will be delayed one day, with the normal Wednesday routes collected on Thursday, the Thursday routes picked up on Friday, and the normal Friday routes picked up on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011.

Ann Arbor residents and commuters are strongly advised to use alternatives to on-street parking from Tuesday afternoon until Friday afternoon in order to allow the snow plows maximum access to clear the streets. Full details of street maintenance procedures and updates are available on the City's web site.

Every day, Huron Valley Ambulance provides Emergency Medical Services for people in need in our community. If you are interested in learning about how this service works, then check out the HVA Citizens Academy, a free eight week program that meets on Wednesday evenings (6 - 9 p.m.) from Feb. 18th - Apr 6th. The program is filled on a first come, first served basis for residents of Washtenaw County who are 18 years of age or older. Registration is required, and forms can be found at www.hva.org, or you can contact their Community Relations coordinator by email or by phone.

This is an interactive learning program where you will explore HVA operations, view demonstrations of skills performed in the field, receive first aid and CPR certifications, and listen to guest speakers from fire departments, police departments, and special operations.

If you can't make this program, you might want to check out the AADL's CPR and first aid collection, including both books and videos, on your next trip to the library.

ala reading list

The Reading List annually recognizes the best books in eight genres: adrenaline (including suspense, thriller and adventure), fantasy, historical fiction, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction and women’s fiction. This year’s list includes novels that will please die-hard fans, as well as introduce new readers to the pleasures of genre fiction - and what pleases me most is to see many debut novels among the winners and on the shortlists.

Adrenaline
The Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer

Fantasy
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay

Historical Fiction
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

Horror
The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin

Mystery
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

Romance
A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh

Science Fiction
The Dervish House by IIan McDonald

Women’s Fiction
Solomon’s Oak by Jo-Ann Mapson

mitaxforms

The Tax Express Stations are up and running at all AADL branches. The stations link you directly to the IRS and Michigan Treasury web sites where you'll find forms, instructions, publications and resources to assist you in filing your 2010 taxes. Tax forms can be printed free of charge from these station. We’ll be happy to assist you in locating and printing tax forms at all our public services desks too.