True Crime meets autobiography in The Butterfly Garden, a striking and capturing book about a boy's experiences living as the son of one of America's Most Wanted. Chip St. Clair was always told not to open the trunk in his father's bed room, but one day he did and his life was never the same again. What he found in the trunk was false documents as well as possible trophies from children his father had murdered in the past... several baby teeth, phony birth certificates, forged credit card and student loan paperwork and family photographs with cryptic messages written on the back. Chip's entire life--his name, even his date of birth--had been a lie, and the man he called 'Dad' was an impostor, an escaped child killer who had been on the run for over two decades. The stunning revelation would send one of America's Most Wanted to justice and another on a quest for his true identity.

"With chilling detail and a riveting, lyrical narrative, The Butterfly Garden reveals St. Clair's struggle to piece together his haunted past before it consumes him and shares his inspiring metamorphosis from victim to victim's advocate. The Butterfly Garden is a timeless triumph, a reminder that hope can be the most powerful of all emotions, freeing us to soar despite the past and the odds against us."

Proposal A may confuse and confound us in new ways this year as local governments wrestle with changes in assessed and taxable value. The City of Ann Arbor has a press release that explains the process and provides helpful examples for homeowners. The City Assessor's web page has an FAQ and Online Assessment and Property Tax Database where you can look up info on your property.

OpenCongress.org is an extremely powerful resource for individuals following congressional activities. It consolidates information on Senators, Representatives, and Legislation in an easily browseable format. You can simply click on your Congressperson for a list of their votes and legislation that they have introduced, and then click on the full text of any particular bill to learn more about it. They also offer RSS feeds at nearly every level of the site, so you can sign up to receive notices of what your Representative is up to, or to track changes in an existing bill. News articles and blog entries are also collected from the web on individual topics. Check out the Barack Obama page to view examples off all of the features described above. The March 9 edition of On The Media features an interview with Micah Sifry, OpenCongress.org's technology director.

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm's State of the State Address laid our her vision for Michigan in her 2nd and final term of office. Granholm cited the Emergency Financial Advisory Panel Report as a starting point for legislation and initiatives to solve Michigan's budget crisis. The Executive Budget will be released on Thursday, Feb. 8th.

The City of Ann Arbor is holding public meetings to discuss proposed revisions to the Historic Preservation ordinance, Chapter 103. The meetings will be held on Thursday, Nov. 16th at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers and Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. at Bach Elementary School. The meetings will explain the proposed changes, how they will affect our community and provide an opportunity for residents to comment on the draft ordinance.