Author

Al Jones

Al Jones

Al Jones is a freelance writer who has worked for many years as a reporter, editor, and columnist. He is the Project Editor for On the Ground Kalamazoo.

Al Jones's Latest Articles

Apartment and commercial development hopes to open by fall in Kalamazoo’s Stuart Neighborhood

Residents of the Stuart Neighborhood have said they want more business within walking distance and it is coming with the Westgate Commons development going up at 615 W. Kalamazoo Ave. 

City of Kalamazoo looks to put the brakes on mobile nuisance parties

Do you have an idea on how to deal with the parties in cars tearing through Kalamazoo neighborhoods? The city wants to hear from you.

So what happens now for the homeless? Continuum of Care seeks community-wide and long-term solutions

To make a lasting difference for those without homes in Kalamazoo County will take a communitywide effort, say those who work every day to end homelessness.

Well-traveled artist and inventor calls Kalamazoo’s Stuart Neighborhood home — once again

Stuart neighborhood resident Colleen Woolpert's artistic interest has always been tied to understanding the differences in how people perceive things. And the manner of artistic expression -- TwinScope Viewer, a hand-held device that she invented is used to see stereograph images in public exhibits at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., and beyond.

Outdoor family fun is at hand, care of the City of Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation

The City of Kalamazoo's Winter Family Scavenger Hunt is intended to provide ongoing fun opportunities to get outside and get around town in a way that keeps people who are already family members socially distanced from others, and healthy.

New funding meets ongoing enthusiasm as the Eastside Sunrise Plaza takes shape

The $2.9 million Eastside Square project is focused primarily on the redevelopment of nine unused structures in the 1600 block of East Main. “The Land Bank is honored to be invited in to help support these community-defined and led efforts for this block,” says Kelly Clarke, of the Kalamazoo County Land Bank Authority.

Young couple is putting energy into historic home renovations in the Stuart Neighborhood

In the Stuart Neighborhood, there are lots of houses that were built in the 1870s when the neighborhood was growing as an attractive community for businessmen and professionals. David and Emma Engerer are a young couple renovating them and renting them out.

Kalamazoo’s Stuart Neighborhood: Where every house has its own story and there’s a lot to love

Within walking distance to downtown Kalamazoo and with houses that attract those who love history with their domicile, Stuart Neighborhood attracts people who know what they want.

The COVID vaccines: Kalamazoo’s medical community answers all your questions

When it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine, "I recommend it to all my loved ones. So I recommend it to you," says Dr. Martinson Arnan said of the first and second shots produced by Pfizer.

Dr. Benjamin C. Wilson, keynote speaker for the Northside Ministerial Alliance's 35th annual celebration of the late civil rights leader.
MLK Day conversation: History can be rewritten, historian tells Kalamazoo ministers

"What happens when centuries of lies become accepted truths?" asks  Dr. Benjamin C. Wilson, keynote speaker for the Northside Ministerial Alliance's 35th annual celebration of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Wilson suggests that the accomplishments of African-Americans and the travails they suffered are left out.

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