I want to highlight an interview I had with Dan Kildee, the creator of the Genesse County Land Bank, a few weeks ago. He has some unique - and sometimes controversial - thoughts on how "shrinking cities" can make them healthier places. He also explains how the Land Bank is changing the landscape in and around Flint, Michigan - by obtaining and managing residential and commercial properties, creating green spaces and growing urban agriculture, and developing the physical design of the area in order to lift the city out of economic muck.

Link to "Shrinking in the Name of Renewal: An Interview with Dan Kildee" letssavemichigan.com October 30th, 2009 

For Halloween, I paid a visit to the "Mummy Museum," which many know as the U of Michigan's Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. It seemed rather fitting. The Kelsey's new wing is allowing the museum to reveal many more treasures from its massive collection of ancient and medieval artifacts.

Find out how the "Kelsey Museum's expansion moves more treasures out of storage" on www.annarbor.com

Also for www.annarbor.com, my piece on Graceann Warn investigates the artist's sensory and emotional response to art. As a synesthete, she associates numbers with colors, colors with emotions - an interesting detail about her artistic process. She also tells about her use and love of encaustic painting, a technique that combines wax and pigment. 

Read more about "Trusting the senses: the art of Graceann Warn" on www.annarbor.com 

photo credit Angela J. Cesere for www.annarbor.com