Well, we had an eclipse. That was nice and unusual. Also nice and unusual? That corpse flower in Dexter bloomed and emitted its stink, and ClickOnDetroit has a terrific time-lapse video. CBS Detroit says it set the record for the tallest blooming corpse flower in Michigan at 63.5 inches. For some reason, I find this much more interesting than the eclipse.

A lot of this week’s news sets us up for important developments in the months ahead, from the fate of the school district’s budget crisis to another possible campus strike to the big question of what a U-M student government led by a vocal pro-Palestinian activist may mean. But hey, Dexter plans a bicentennial carnival and there’s a Ross prof who commutes to Ann Arbor from her home in New York every week, so there’s that!

As I gear up to watch the U-M hockey team playing in the Frozen Four tonight at 8:30 p.m., I wish you a winning week ahead.

– Steve Friess, editor

Correction: We recently referred to AAPS trustee Jeff Gaynor as the board’s treasurer in a2view. He is the secretary. The board’s treasurer is Susan Ward Schmidt. We regret the error.

AAPS board meets tonight to approve possible pink slips: At the 7 p.m. meeting, which can be joined virtually on Zoom or this webstream, the trustees are expected to approve a measure to notify all bargaining groups that layoffs may be coming following the news that the district has a $25 million gap to fill. This comes days after superintendent Jazz Parks clarified that the administration must come up with two plans to address its fiscal problems – one for the state by April 15 that outlines corrective actions to rebuild its fund balance, the other a comprehensive plan listing “specific reductions and cost-saving measures.” Tonight’s meeting is one of several events prompted by the surprise news of the much larger-than-expected deficit. A virtual town hall (which will be streamed here) is set for 6:30 p.m. Monday; in-person town halls for families and local residents are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Huron High and Thursday at Skyline High; and two meetings for AAPS staff are planned for Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer High.

Lecturers’ union threatens strike as contract talks continue: The Lecturers’ Employee Organization has been negotiating with U-M since October for better wages, better working conditions, increased money for professional development, and course load reductions, the Michigan Daily writes. The group of more than 150 educators began circulating a strike pledge petition after a disappointing March 29 bargaining session, the first step toward taking a strike authorization vote, WEMU reports.

Student court upholds election of anti-Israel slate vowing to halt all org funding: The Shut It Down party won the presidency and twenty-two of forty-five assembly seats in U-M’s Central Student Government, but opposing parties had alleged campaign violations, the Daily reports. On Sunday, the court issued an opinion dismissing the allegations and affirming the results. The key plank of the winning party’s platform was to halt all funding from the CSG to student organizations until U-M divests from companies it says are profiting off of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. The regents have said they will not divest. 

191-unit Geddes Vista subdivision advances: The Pittsfield Twp. planning commission approved the plan for the eighty-acre development at Platt and Morgan roads nearly three years after a denial triggered a lawsuit, MLive reports. The lawsuit was resolved last year through a settlement that allows Ivanhoe Companies of West Bloomfield to move ahead with 132 single-family homes and fifty-nine attached townhomes in exchange for dedicating more than half the acreage to open space, among other compromises. 

City votes to expand greenbelt: Council made the change to use millage money to protect farmland in Ypsi Twp. and natural areas upstream of Ann Arbor, according to city records. The effort, funded by a thirty-year tax approved by voters in 2003, has preserved more than 7,600 acres in Washtenaw County. 

Ypsi leaders fret over “weed city” reputation: Council is expected next week to finalize a measure that imposes new zoning restrictions to limit future dispensary developments beyond the existing thirteen, MLive reports. The city has one of the highest number of pot shops per capita in Michigan, and existing businesses say a cap needs to be imposed to protect current dispensaries from market oversaturation.

EPA finalizes PFAS drinking water standard: The first-ever maximum contaminant level for the notoriously indestructible manufacturing byproducts are now in effect, the Biden administration announced in a press release. Democratic congresswoman Debbie Dingell touted the move, noting it was “something I’ve worked toward since my first day in Congress.” Ann Arbor is among the cities receiving funds from a class-action legal settlement with 3M and DuPont over PFAS contamination in drinking water sources; according to the city website, Ann Arbor’s treated water already meets the new standard. 

LSA dean returns to faculty: English professor Anne Curzan leaves that leadership post in July when she goes on sabbatical to promote a book and then return to teaching, Jan Schlain writes in this month’s Observer. Curzan, who became dean in 2019 and who has taught at U-M since 1998, is out with Says Who?: A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words and will continue her linguistics segment on Michigan Public.

Weekend festivals take over A2: The revival of FestiFools downtown, previewed by Shelley Daily in the January issue of the Observer, went off without a hitch on Sunday, and you can see lots of colorful photos via the Michigan Daily. Likewise, the HashBash was a Saturday high for many as tokers and their supporters honored the legacy of founder and legendary cannabis activist John Sinclair, who died earlier this month, the Detroit News reports.

Bomb threats rattle EMU, Ypsilanti Twp. hotel: An emailed threat on Sunday prompted the morning evacuation of the Marriott at Eagle Crest as it was hosting the Motor City Furry Con, organizers of the event said on social media. No explosives were found and the hotel reopened three hours later, but it was the second bomb threat to disrupt the event in two years. On Tuesday, another emailed threat prompted the evacuation of several buildings at EMU as well as the Marriott. Police sweeps found no suspicious devices and the evacuations were called off after two hours. Police have arrested a suspect in California related to the first Marriott incident, the Detroit News reports.

Motorcyclist dies in crash: A twenty-seven-year-old Ann Arbor man’s bike collided with a pickup truck towing a trailer on Friday while riding west on Packard St., the News reports. A second motorcycle also collided with the pickup truck, but that biker had non-life-threatening injuries. The pickup driver, who was making a left turn off Packard onto Fernwood Ave., was uninjured. Police have not released a specific cause for the crash.

Suspect charged in good Samaritan shooting: Thirty-three-year-old Joshua Dye faces counts of assault with intent to murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and multiple other firearm offenses after a twenty-three-year-old man was shot trying to break up an altercation between Dye and a woman, WXYZ reports. The victim was making online food order deliveries when he saw the two fighting in the parking lot of the Main Street Party Store on Main at W. Ann St. Police chief Andre Anderson says he visited the victim in the hospital to ask why he got involved. “You know he told me that it was the right thing to do,” Anderson said.

A2 man arrested in bus, store knife incidents: Police now believe that the same assailant threatened a man with a knife at the Target store on State St. on April 1 and slashed a woman on an AAATA bus on Fuller Rd. on April 3, MLive reports. Noah Matthew Williams, twenty-one, was charged on April 4 with multiple felonies stemming from the incidents and jailed on $1.5 million bond. Police are investigating whether Williams was involved in a third incident on March 27 near N. Ingalls and Ann streets.

Guilty plea could mean fifteen years for sexual assailant: Twenty-three-year-old Edward Leon Newland pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon, second-degree home invasion, and third-degree criminal sexual conduct in exchange for other charges being dropped, MLive reports. In August, he was arrested after a woman he knew alleged he came to her door in Pittsfield Twp., presented a knife and demanded money, then forced his way into the residence and attempted to sexually assault her. Judge Arienne Slay is scheduled to sentence him on May 9.

Men’s gymnastics vaults to fourth straight Big Ten title: The Wolverines bested four other schools in Champaign, Illinois, last weekend, MGoBlue writes. Sophomore Fred Richard captured his second-straight Big Ten all-around title, and while sophomore Landen Blixt won the individual title for floor exercise and grad student Crew Bold won the individual title for parallel bars. Also, for the third year in a row, head coach Yuan Xiao was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. The team now goes to Columbus, Ohio, on April 19 for an event to qualify for the NCAA championships.

U-M researcher sets sights on Paris Olympics: Isabel Wakefield, a Brit who won England’s national championship in the 100-meter hurdles last year, is training with Michigan’s track team in advance of qualifying trials for that event, MLive reports. The twenty-four-year-old is pursuing her doctorate in movement science while doing research in the Exercise and Health Behavior in Oncology Laboratory. 

AgeWays, governments working to help family caregivers: As the population of elderly Americans needing constant in-home care explodes, the work is increasingly falling on spouses, adult children, or other relatives who are overwhelmed and often can’t afford it, Brooke Black writes in this month’s Observer. Regional nonprofits like AgeWays are stepping into the breach with advice on navigating local, state, and federal resources for caregivers as well as offering $575 vouchers to help them to hire occasional help for respite breaks. Meanwhile, both Congress and the state Legislature are weighing separate tax credits for family caregivers. “Thirty-eight percent of voters are caregivers, currently,” says Lisa Dedden Cooper, manager of advocacy for AARP Michigan. “And when you ask if anybody has ever been in the past or expects to be in the future, it’s almost double.”

Dexter outsources bicentennial carnival: Rather than spending its own money, the city is engaging WadeShows of Livonia to put on a three-day event from June 20 to 22, according to city documents. A memo from staff explained that renting a Ferris wheel alone could cost $40,000, so this is a cost-effective approach. WadeShows will pay the city $50 per each concession stand up to $1,000 and make its money off ticket sales. Dexter was settled as a village in 1824.

NYC-A2 “supercommuter” tells her tale: Susan Miller, a U-M Ross business school professor, described to Business Insider her unusual lifestyle flying in and out of Michigan to teach every week while maintaining her home in the Big Apple. Rather than be weighed down by the constant travel, Miller says, “My supercommuter schedule both energizes and fuels me, and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. … There’s something about Michigan — the Midwest. I can’t explain it. The vibe is just different, and I like it.”

New Ypsi community arts space to host May 3 grand opening: Ypsi Bloom Studio & Gallery, the brainchild of local artists Amanda Moore and Alexandria Daniels, is opening at 128 W. Michigan Ave., Detroit Metro Times reports. The duo hosted an inaugural exhibition and fundraiser earlier this month and also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with expenses. “The vision is to have a communal space for open studio hours available Tuesday-Friday & Sunday, with a membership,” they wrote on GoFundMe. 

AADL book shop moving to Scio Twp. by summer: The Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library Book Shop has outgrown its perch at the downtown branch and will move the part of a warehouse at 265 Parkland, Davi Napoleon writes in this month’s Observer. The building was bought by AADL to house archives and acquisitions and to host large events but the front section is being converted for retail. The shop will be open only on Saturdays to start but will have fresh stock every week. 

Yemeni cafe opens in Ypsi: Sana’a Coffee House on Ellsworth Rd. has been serving a range of drinks spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, and coffee husks since March, MLive reports. The business is owned by brothers Abrahim and Ameen Abdallah and their partner Shaif Alduais in the space vacated by Vanilla Bean Cafe. 

FedUp Ministries to provide meals, space to congregate: The nonprofit takes over 16 S. Washington St. in Ypsi in May, the former farmers market headquarters, where it plans to open Sundays through Thursdays to offer food, bathrooms, showers, and a place to be, MLive reports. The expansion of the ministry’s services comes as the Ypsilanti Freighthouse closes its daytime warming center for the summer. Between that and the closure of the downtown library, which is being rebuilt following a major flood, people experiencing homelessness may not have as many places to go this summer, FedUp’s Anna Taylor-McCants says.

Ypsi Meals on Wheels celebrates golden anniversary with fundraising party: Tickets are $100 and are on sale here for “Meals on Heels” at EMU’s Student Center Ballroom on April 26. The soiree will include two silent auctions, one showcasing experiences and products from local businesses, the other featuring artwork by local seniors. All proceeds support YMOW’s work to support Ypsilanti’s homebound seniors with food and more.

Art auction raises $9,000 for Ann Arbor Skatepark: The money came from sales of skateboard artwork and skatepark merchandise during a March 28 event at Zingerman’s Greyline, MLive writes (paywall). The funds support the All Girls Skate and Peace Skate at the city facility in Veterans Memorial Park. Supporters can also donate to @a2skatepark via Venmo.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: See U-M drama students in “The Cherry Orchard,” Anton Chekhov’s wry 1903 tragicomedy about an aristocratic Russian family who resist selling their beloved but obsolete cherry orchard in order to save their estate from bankruptcy. 8 p.m. (Fri. and Sat.), and 2 p.m. (Sun.), Arthur Miller Theatre, 1226 Murfin, North Campus. Tickets $30 (students, $13) in advance at tickets.smtd.umich.edu or at the door. (734) 764–0583.

Saturday: Join the University Lowbrow Astronomers for a look at the sky through instruments. Participants are encouraged to bring their own telescopes. Canceled if sky is overcast at sunset or if the weather is extremely inclement. If in doubt, call after 4 p.m. day of event. Sunset to 12:30 a.m., Peach Mountain Observatory, N. Territorial Rd. (about 1¼ miles west of Hudson Mills Metropark), Dexter. Free. (734) 975–3248. 

Sunday: Hear Whitney Plantation (L.A.) director Ashley Rogers discuss Clint Smith’s How the Word Is Passed, this year’s Washtenaw Reads Keynote Event. The book examines the legacy of American slavery as revealed by the Whitney Plantation and other museums and historical sites. 3 to 4 p.m., AADL Downtown. Free. (734) 327-4200. 

See the Observer’s online calendar for many more local events. 

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