Apparently run entirely by local cretin Glenn Thompson, Fiends of the Market is a front group for opposing anything the now former Market Commission tried to highlight and correct. Glenn, the chief Fiend, showed up at nearly every Market Commission meeting, and railed against any action the Commission took which went against his own inflated ego. Thompson has apparently made a career out of showing up at various Ann Arbor City Commissions and Council meetings, practically harassing public officials, and mostly spewing vile rhetoric. Personally, I like to call him The Glenn Thompson Show. Whenever I have tried to engage him in intelligent conversation, he gets that "gone postal" look in his eyes, really creepy.
Thompson's latest actions threaten local organic farmers. He is insisting that in order to advertise as "organically grown", or "organic" at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market, one must be "certified" by the USDA. He wants this inserted into the rules governing the market. This bogus certification is a piece of paper which proves NOTHING. More on Organics and bogus USDA certifications in another post.
Glenn has a blog with the high-fallutin' title of "The Arbor Market", claiming its a site run by the so-called "Friends of the Market", but don't be fooled, its all Glenn's show. On the site, Glenn plays editor, and censors any post which questions his all-knowing authority. Fuzzbollah thinks, "What an asswipe."
Its idiots like Glenn Thompson that scare good people away from public service.
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6 comments:
Talk around town is no one takes him seriously. He's a butt of many jokes. Does the market need or want him to represent himself as a "friend of the market"? Absolutely not. Where's the market $$$ to hire someone to produce a professional website for vendors?
Certain vendors, like Scott Robertello, apparently want Thompson to represent him and his skewed allegations. Thompson has posted videos in support of this one grower, who broke a cardinal rule at the market - the one that determines seniority - and that the commission that was recently disbanded by the City Council and the Parks and Rec Dept, tried to fix. I guess this recent Market Commission got too close to the truth, so they decided to ax it.
We'll get to the bottom of Robertello, the improper transfer of seniority rights from Kapnick Orchards, and the dirt from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and Michigan Department of Agriculture on Robertello in a future separate post.
This is a question, not a comment. I am from Ann Arbor, currently living in Portland, OR. I have met Glen, don't know him very well. The last we knew about the farmer's market, it was embroiled in a controversy about re-doing the market with a new set-up, and obviously that went nowhere. I would like to know more facts about what's going on with this "peddler" controversy, etc. From reading the blogs, I am starting to believe your side, that people are violating city code, that the manager isn't doing her job, etc. I guess what would help me is perhaps, a lyrics sheet of your song, and explanation of who the players are. (It might be good for your site in general, too.)
Thanks for your question Emily. I will speak to DeepGreen and ask if they are willing to post the lyrics to Sloppy Cover Up Job. You're right, an explanation of the players would help, along with outlining the issues.
Guess who was at the head of the last controversy regarding the expansion of the Public Market? Glenn Thompson, and the "usual suspects" - vendors at the market who typically have opposed ANY changes to the market that could potentially upset their monopoly over spaces. They showed up at nearly every public hearing on the subject, and nearly squelched any plan to add to the market some sorely needed spaces, and the ability for the city to use the space for events other than just the Farmers Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, or a parking lot on other days. The Glenn Thompson show, along with the Growers Association - an interest group composed of a minority of vendors - almost succeeded in getting city council to not allow any changes to be made to the market at all, and in a time when there was more money in city budgets. Now the city is in financial straits, and any "new" projects are going to have a tough time getting going.
Glenn and the Growers Association helped piss away about $90,000 worth of the Market Operating Fund by bad-mouthing the proposal the city-hired contractor made to renovate the market. They didn't like the design. They didn't act on what was best for the city, or its citizens. When this group of idiots did this, thats when the previous Market Commission tried its best to change the rules, so that no interest group would have such sway, and longstanding inequities could be dealt with.
Renovations/additions to the market are currently in a holding pattern, but are planned to proceed. A firm has been contracted to see the renovations through. The Downtown Development Authority has also devoted some funds to add solar panels onto market roofs, so the market will be generating its own electricity soon.
As to the Market Manager allegedly not doing her job: she is paid out of the market's Operating Fund, but does the market get its money's worth - does the Market Manager devote 40 hours per week strictly to the market? Hmmmm...
To Whom It May Concern:
This is to certify that Mrs. Doris Willis owns the chickens that produce the eggs that she sells. For a fee, we at Heck Bros. Farms house, feed, water, and otherwise take care of her chickens.
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Doris Willis Gerald Heck, partner
State of Michigan County of Monroe
Subscribed and sworn to before me on this 26th Day of March, 1999.
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hello, am curious if this blog is still in operation? the reason for asking is that another site, arbor update, had a thread that related to the market. However,recently the thread was closed. Most of the thread related to the buying and selling that is occurring at the market. As a means for vendors and customers to continue to converse about the current state, is there any possiblility that you can start a conversation about this in your blog? Thanks
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