What would you choose?

We are working on our first Ann Arbor Community Guide and I have the difficult task of choosing a photo for the cover from among all of reporter/photographer Lisa Allmendinger's beautiful shots, as well as a couple from freelance photographer Ximena Erickson. I've e-mailed about a dozen to our production department and asked our graphic artist to choose. But it's not too late. Weigh in and tell me which shot(s) you would choose and maybe your pick will be the one. Here are the ones I sent.

A Fun Friday in A2

Friday was full of fun in Ann Arbor. Reporter Lisa Allmendinger and I started our afternoon at Cafe Felix for a delicious lunch. I told her it was known for its fruity martinis, but that was a no-no for us since it was a working lunch. I had a grilled salmon sandwich and she went with a cheeseburger. As we enjoyed our lunch and passed out a few copies of the A2 Journal, our very first edition, Main Street started filling up with some gorgeous cars, from Porches to vintage vehicles from the early 1900s to 1970s, as part of the Rolling Sculpture Car Show.

We interviewed Dexter resident Dean DeGalan as he polished his 2000 Dodge Viper and enjoyed a long talk with retired Ann Arbor police officer George Patak, who had a vintage Detroit police vehicle, a station wagon that used to serve as an ambulance, as well. Check out our videos on MIcentral, as well as our Facebook page.

Then it was off to the An Arbor Jaycees' Carnival. We had a blast talking with Dan Saimes, management director of the Jaycees, who we also have on video, and met lots of people who just love Ann Arbor. Misty Elliott and her son, Seven, and daughter, Veronika, were at the carnival and said they enjoy the cultural diversity that the city offers.

After speaking to Michelle Strobel, owner of Moo to You petting farm, which was set up for the first time as part of the carnival, it was back to the office for me.

I enjoyed my escape from The Saline Reporter building. It was a wonderful afternoon in Ann Arbor for someone who is used to spending her evenings in downtown A2 at the many fine restaurants. Afternoon is just as much fun, minus the cocktails.

Do you recognize the name Allmendinger?

A2 Journal reporter Lisa Allmendinger, a 1980 University of Michigan graduate, will be a familiar name to many of our readers as she is a former stringer for The Ann Arbor News, which ceases publication July 23. We hired her on to cover a community where her roots run deep, beginning with the Ann Arbor Organ and Piano Co., started in the 1870s by David F. Allmendinger. Her father, Edwin, who graduated from the University of Michigan in 1947, played for the Wolverines under Fritz Crisler. Allmendinger Park on Pauline Street is named after her family. Read more about her family history in our first edition July 9 and check out these two videos (better-quality videos are on MiCentral) I produced today of her speaking from Allmendinger Park and the former Ann Arbor Organ and Piano Co. on First Street.


Better-quality videos are on MiCentral.

Women's Exchange of Washtenaw

Wednesday's rain didn't dampen the spirits of a local group of women business leaders. Women's Exchange of Washtenaw enjoyed an evening of networking under a private tent at Top of the Park during the Ann Arbor Summer Festival. This was A2 Journal reporter Lisa Allmendinger's first official business for our new publication as she took photos of people at the event. Everyone we spoke to seemed receptive to a new newspaper coming to town and grateful for the local coverage. Here are some of Lisa's photos from the event.

Heritage Newspapers launches new publication

Heritage Newspapers will soon launch A2 Journal, a free weekly newspaper focusing on Ann Arbor, and this is our first official blog post. I thought I would post something in advance of publication to keep readers informed about what we're up to since we already have a lot of followers on Twitter asking questions and wishing us the best.

The new publication will be a home-delivered community newspaper covering what makes Ann Arbor unique, and will be distributed to 20,000 households in the Ann Arbor School District area beginning July 9. We plan to cover Ann Arbor government, businesses, schools, high school sports, youth sports, the arts and entertainment, and we welcome submissions from nonprofits, service clubs, community organizations and readers. This new venture will feature the interesting, quirky and traditional –– the people, places, traditions and events that define Ann Arbor.

I think it's a very exciting time for Heritage Newspapers. As newspapers are being shut down or scaling back publication schedules across the country –– including some in the Journal Register Co. chain, parent company of Heritage Newspapers –– we are launching one, and that's a testament to our belief in the viability of the Ann Arbor market. Like our sister publications at Heritage Newspapers, this new venture will be community-focused, which is what we do best. Many of our publications, including those covering Chelsea, Dexter, Saline, Milan and Manchester, have won state and national awards for news reporting, lifestyles writing, photography, newspaper design, column writing, commentary pages, enterprise stories, sports and general excellence.

In addition to myself as editor, A2 Journal’s staff will include Terry Jacoby as assistant editor, Don Richter as sports editor, Lisa Allmendinger as staff reporter and Mike Larson as sports reporter.

I will continue to oversee the seven Heritage newspapers covering the communities surrounding Ann Arbor, while Terry will serve as assistant editor and Don as sports editor.

A Pittsfield Township resident, I began my journalism career in 1992 at The Dexter Leader, and have held several leadership roles within the company during the last 17 years, including editor of The Chelsea Standard, The Dexter Leader, The Saline Reporter and The Milan News-Leader. I also served as interim editor of The Manchester Enterprise. I helped lead the Chelsea and Dexter newspapers to their first Newspaper of the Year awards from the Michigan Press Association.

Terry, a resident of Commerce Township, most recently served as the editor of The Dexter Leader and Chelsea Standard and he will continue to help lead those papers. His 20-plus years experience in journalism includes stops at Heritage Newspapers’ The Ile Camera in Grosse Ile, The Sacramento Bee, Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester, N.Y., and The Detroit News.

Don has served as sports editor of The Chelsea Standard and The Dexter Leader since fall 2000 and Mike is a former sports editor at The County Press, a three-day-a-week newspaper in Lapeer.

Lisa is a familiar face around Washtenaw County. She has almost 30 years in the newspaper business as both a reporter and editor, and for the past several years has worked as a stringer for The Ann Arbor News, which plans to cease publication next month.

In addition to this blog, A2 Journal has established a presence on the social networking sites Twitter (http://twitter.com/A2Journal) and Facebook in advance of its first edition.

Readers will soon find the newspaper, photos and videos online at www.A2journal.com, which will have links to local videos and this staff blog, Inside the Newsroom @ A2 Journal.

The new paper is part of the Journal Register Co., which owns 20 daily newspapers and 159 non-daily publications. The company operates about 200 individual and specialty Web sites that are affiliated with the JRC’s daily newspapers, non-daily publications and its network of employment Web sites.