ann arbor is overrated.

Today’s New York Times features an essay by an Ann Arbor man who liked to judge his girlfriends by their enthusiasm for swimming in a freezing cold, “now highly valued lake up north [in Michigan]” that he does not name (perhaps concerned that the spot will be overrun by those seeking to evaluate a potential mate’s cold endurance.) “I have photos of these exes, arms folded across their bathing suits, arms goose-pimpled, brows furrowed, glaring back at the camera; at me,” he writes, adding that the relationships often ended “once I’d rolled my eyes at their hesitation.”

“[P]erhaps that’s the true antonym for summer: not winter, but hesitation,” he continues. In that case, we think it’s about time for some more hesitation weather.

Well, we finally returned from our month-long stay in Chicago this week. It was suggested to us that, being the kind of curmudgeon who will find something to complain about anywhere, we might start a “Hyde Park Is Overrated” companion site, so we’ve been compiling a list of everything there is to hate about our temporary residence, which, as the home of the University of Chicago, is rated highly (too highly?) for its intellectual atmosphere and graceful architecture. But there are plenty of reasons that Hyde Park might be considered underrated as well. So here we present the Hyde Park Is Overrated/Underrated point/counterpoint.

Stephen Rapundalo, winner of the Second Ward primary by a narrow margin, now seeks to gain student candidate Eugene Kang’s considerable support, appealing to Democratic unity. Dale’s excellent election analysis, on the other hand, considers Rapundalo’s victory, given his recent Republican affiliation, an indication that “Democratic loyalty is not particularly strong in Ann Arbor.” We can’t quite agree with either of them, because both seem to think that Democratic loyalty at the local level is a good thing. Many of us don’t support the local Sierra Club — the accomplishments of their national organization aren’t enough to redeem the NIMBY pseudo-environmentalism of the Ann Arbor branch. In the same way, the national Republican party doesn’t always have a whole lot to do with local party politics. It’s not quite like 1960’s Chicago, where any liberal challenger to Daley would have to run as a Republican despite having nothing in common with Nixon and Goldwater, but we’ve seen little to indicate that being a Republican in A2 is necessarily a strike against a candidate. What is a possible strike against Rapundalo is his last-minute attack on Kang for living part-time in a fraternity outside the Second Ward, which, along with his involvement in a homeowners’ association, has troubling implications for his policy-making with regard to students and renters.

(Note: the title is from a Grover Cleveland campaign song and should be sung to the tune of “O Christmas Tree.”)

By the way, vote Eugene Kang today. Unless you belong to the Soccer Party.

The powerful-for-Ann-Arbor (think Wonkette’s “famous for DC” celebrity sightings) residents at the top floors of the 11-story 101 N. Main building have banded together to stop a 10-story building from blighting their neighborhood. The chief NIMA (Not In My Airspace), University Bancorp President Stephen Ranzini, complains that the Michigan “M” at the stadium was once visible from the first floor of his condo; now with buildings like Ashley Mews extending into an airspace that should be the exclusive domain of local corporate and media bigwigs, he has to walk upstairs to see it.

“Collectively, the residents of this building are powerful in Ann Arbor and now is the time for us to exert ourselves to protect our investment,'’ Ranzini wrote in [an e-mail to building residents], of which The News obtained a copy.

In the e-mail, Ranzini estimated the limited view could cost them each of them $250,000 in reduced property values. Ranzini estimated the condos are worth up to $900,000 each, based on sales of other condos in the city. Real estate listings have one 101 North Main unit selling for about $700,000.