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Archiver > MIWASHTE > 2002-04 > 1017697187


From: Janet Brigham Rands <>
Subject: RE: [MIWASHTE] Fwd: Re: Cost & Accessibility ... a postive response :-)
Date: Mon, 01 Apr 2002 13:39:47 -0800
In-Reply-To: <20020401211457.16950.qmail@web12908.mail.yahoo.com>


Groovy! This is the same commissioner who wrote me when I cc'd him on my
email in which I complained about costs and suggested microfilming. Sounds
like he's been moving on the issue; when he wrote me, he hadn't yet spoken
to Haines about accessibility. I note that he is wanting to know if you get
any response from anyone other than him, which is the same thing he asked me
to report back to him. So far, only he has responded to me.

I had no idea Kestenbaum was the creator of the Political Graveyard -- it's
a great site. Without that site, I'd never have known that the man who (1)
insisted on the exhumation of my great-aunt's body three months after she
was murdered in 1886, and (2) took credit for a bill that my grandfather
introduced in the Idaho territorial legislature, eventually died in
obscurity in Puerto Rico.

I looked Kestenbaum up, out of curiosity, and found this about him (which
explains his openness to this issue!):

>>Commissioner Kestenbaum was appointed to the Washtenaw County Board of
Commissioners in June, 2000. He is Documentation Coordinator for the Health
and Retirement Study in the Institute for Social Research, at the University
of Michigan, and teaches a graduate course in historic preservation law at
Eastern Michigan University. He is also a licensed attorney, and the
creator of the "Political Graveyard" web site (politicalgraveyard.com).

>>In 1983-88, he served as county commissioner in Ingham County, as well as
a member of the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, the Capital Area
Transportation Authority, and the Capital Area Substance Abuse Commission.

>>More recently, he has served as member and chair of the Ann Arbor Historic
District Commission, as board member and vice president for the Ann Arbor
Historical Foundation, and as board member of Arbornet, Inc.<<
(from http://www.co.washtenaw.mi.us/boc/BOCDST4.html)

Optimistically,

Janet B.

Janet Brigham, Ph.D.
SRI International
333 Ravenswood Ave.
Menlo Park, CA 94043 USA
650-969-6567 phone
650-969-3472 fax



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mary Henderson [mailto:]
> Sent: Monday, April 01, 2002 1:15 PM
> To:
> Subject: [MIWASHTE] Fwd: Re: Cost & Accessibility ... a postive response
> :-)
>
>
> --- Lawrence Kestenbaum <> wrote:
> > Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 15:59:37 -0500 (EST)
> > From: Lawrence Kestenbaum <>
> > To: Mary Henderson <>
> > Subject: Re: Cost & Accessibility of Washtenaw Co.
> > Public Records
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, 1 Apr 2002, Mary Henderson wrote:
> >
> > > I have the following concerns about obtaining
> > birth,
> > > death and marriage records in Washtenaw County:
> >
> > Dear Ms. Henderson:
> >
> > As a Washtenaw county commissioner with a great
> > interest in historical and
> > genealogical research, and as the creator of a web
> > site (The Political
> > Graveyard) which is used by many genealogists, I am
> > very interested in
> > this issue.
> >
> > I, too, am not happy with the high fees and lack of
> > access to death
> > records, which has impeded my own research. I have
> > raised this issue in
> > person with Clerk-Register Haines, and I am very
> > optimistic that (perhaps
> > with some help from the county genealogical society)
> > we can work out a way
> > to make these records accessible.
> >
> > I would appreciate hearing about any replies you
> > receive, or have
> > received, from the Clerk's office. My term as
> > commissioner expires in
> > December (I am not seeking re-election due to
> > redistricting), and I want
> > to make sure this gets resolved before then.
> >
> > I look forward to working with you on this.
> >
> > Best wishes!
> >
> > ---
> > Lawrence Kestenbaum,
> > Washtenaw County Commissioner, 4th District
> > The Political Graveyard,
> > http://politicalgraveyard.com
> > Mailing address: P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106
> >
>
>
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