Greetings from San Diego, where it is a chilly and quite damp 55 right now while it’s, uh, 77 (!) back home. Serves me right for abandoning the husband with two toddlers for a “business trip” that also includes a baseball game and whale watching. (I swear, there’s actual work being done. But still.)

The weather here did get me in the right mindset to digest the Tree Town news. It includes the launch of a police data dashboard with surprising numbers likely to stir controversy, an important  decision by Debbie Dingell, and more sturm und drang about grad-student pay and DTE’s ice-storm response.

Also this week, we learn what a box tree moth is and why we hate them. My question: Other than the storytelling show of the same name, does anyone actually like any moths? Any mothophiles out there? Drop me a line.

As I reach for the one, already-dirty sweatshirt I smugly brought for my fabulous California sojourn, I hope all of you enjoy the warm weather that apparently will disappear by the time I’m back.

– Steve Friess, editor

U-M, grad students union trade barbs as strike continues: The two sides met this week after circuit court judge Carol Kuhnke on Monday rejected the university’s request for an injunction to stop the work action, according to the University Record. The Graduate Employees’ Organization celebrated but remained irate at the administration’s decision to continue to hold classes, issuing a brutal takedown on Twitter of a letter sent by provost Laurie McCauley outlining steps to keep the school going as the semester’s end nears. The GEO, represents some 2,300 members, demands a 60 percent raise in the minimum base pay paid for, in part, by defunding the campus police. U-M has offered an 11 percent increase.

County puts $3M into homeless relief: The money will go to rental assistance and extended emergency sheltering over the next two years and comes weeks after activists raised alarms that 83 unhoused families staying in hotels could be evicted because a support program was about to expire, the Sun Times News reports. The board extended that program indefinitely. 

Students weigh campus security in picking schools: In the wake of the mass shooting at Michigan State University in February, high school seniors and their parents are considering safety and police presence in choosing where they go in the fall, ClickOnDetroit reports. Eastern Michigan, Wayne State, Oakland, Central Michigan and Western Michigan universities all discussed their security changes with ClickOnDetroit for their report, as did MSU. U-M declined to do so.

Debbie Dingell passes on Senate run: The congresswoman ended buzz about whether she would seek to replace retiring senator Debbie Stabenow next year, further clearing the Democratic field for congresswoman Elisa Slotkin, The Hill reports. Dingell made the announcement at the conclusion of her State of the District speech this week before the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber. Later, she tweeted: “I love my job. I love my district. And most importantly, I love my constituents.”

Council calls on Lansing to act after DTE’s winter storm performance: A city resolution demands the legislature and the Michigan Public Service Commission force the power company to provide larger statement credits and other compensation for outages and provide quarterly progress reports on system reliability and responses to public complaints. The city also wants lawmakers to put more money into alternative energy systems.

The woman in the eye of the storm: Shoshannah Lenski oversees a 400-person staff and $300 million budget as DTE’s director of gas operations. But amid the epic ice storm in February, Eve Silberman reports in this month’s Observer, the Ann Arbor resident became a one-woman social media help desk. Though her own home was without power for days, Lenski fielded calls and texts from some 120 frustrated customers that weekend, helping escalate some repair requests and offering explanations to many of what was taking so long. “Ultimately, people just want to be heard,” she says.

City panel demands immediate end to new gas hookups: The energy commission called on council to prohibit installing gas lines in new or renovated buildings, MLive reports (paywall). This comes months after the planning commission endorsed the same idea, which council has yet to take up. Proponents say the city won’t reach its A2Zero emissions goals if new buildings continue to rely on gas heat and hot water systems, but developers warn that could raise costs and push new construction outside the city.

Policing dashboard shows dramatic racial imbalance in arrests: While the AAPD is receiving praise for this week’s launch of a site that offers real-time breakdowns of local police activity, the most striking revelation is that Black people accounted for 38 percent of all arrests since 2019 despite being 7 percent of the population. So far this year, the site indicates, Black arrestees actually outnumbered White arrestees, 46 percent to 44 percent. Another intriguing trend: men make up 76 percent of those arrested, with the top charge against them being assault and battery. The most frequent charge against women: transport of alcohol in open containers.

Arrest made in shooting near vigil: Twenty-five-year-old Gregory Donte Rawls faces two counts of assault with intent to murder and two counts of felony firearm stemming from an exchange of gunfire Friday night on Ben’s Drive off S. Maple Rd., according to police. Rawls is accused of shooting a twenty-three-year-old in the foot a few blocks from where both men had attended a memorial vigil for a man who died in a car crash.  A stray bullet flew into the kitchen of a home where a family was eating dinner, but no one was injured.

Serial arsonist, thief sentenced to year in jail, two years’ probation: Daniel Robert Dugan, forty, apologized to the court for the spree he went on from February to April 2022 that included setting several fires and breaking into various houses, MLive reports. The sentence came after Dugan pleaded no contest to four felonies in exchange for having several other charges dropped. Judge Kuhnke empathized with his battle with mental illness and noted he had no previous criminal record. Members of a family whose home was robbed and set ablaze by Dugan said they felt the sentence was too lenient.

Ypsi man found dead following motorcycle crash into house: Thirty-seven-year-old Donald Osborne, who left his home Saturday for a ride, apparently lost control while driving near Textile Rd., MLive reports. The residents were not there when the accident occurred and found Osborne and his motorcycle when they returned the next day.

Suicides up slightly in 2021: A report by Washtenaw County indicates forty-seven people died by suicide that year, up from forty-five in 2020 but down from fifty in 2019. The county’s suicide rate was lower than the state and national averages, the report says. People considering self-harm or enduring suicidal ideation can get help by calling or texting 988 or clicking here to open a text chat with the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

A2 to issue $45M in bonds for water-system work: Council approved the financing plan to help pay the expected $62 million price of replace aging pipes over the next two years, MLive reports (paywall). The work will affect dozens of streets throughout the city, and a full list can be found here.

County approves $3.1M for two new segments of Border-to-Border Trail: The spending pays for about 1.6 miles of paved trails in Lyndon Township as well as filling in gaps between Chelsea and Dexter, MLive reports. Some 38 miles of the planned 55-mile circuit aimed at creating non-motorized public paths across Washtenaw is now complete. Huron River Drive is closed until next week between Zeeb and Wagner Rds. for on-going trail construction. 

Hiking trail still a “muddy mess”: The city reposted signs closing a path through Kuebler Langford Nature Area after hikers who ventured in prematurely discovered that “a wrong step can leave one submerged beyond their ankles in mud,” MLive reports. Crews contracted by DTE are upgrading power lines in the area, and their vehicles are churning up the landscape. The trail will reopen once the work is complete and the path is restored. 

Broadway St. closes Monday for three months: Add another detour to the list of challenges getting around Ann Arbor. Broadway from Jones Dr. to Plymouth Rd. will be shut down until Aug. 21 for water main upgrades, sidewalk improvements, and pavement resurfacing, the city says. Traffic will be rerouted via Plymouth during the construction. Local traffic will be permitted.

City living wage rising on April 30: The 7.3 percent increase applies to city-hired contractors and comes largely as a result of the surge in inflation, MLive reports (paywall). Workers with employer-provided health insurance can expect their minimum pay to rise to $16.52 per hour, while those without it must get at least $17.73. The increases do not apply to city employees.

Ypsi yard-waste pickup delayed indefinitely: Two of the city’s three collection trucks broke down during the post-ice-storm cleanup and are in the shop awaiting repair, MLive reports. A public notice reassures residents that they will not be cited for “properly placed yard waste items” while the service is on hold. In the meantime, residents can get passes to bring organic refuse to Ypsilanti Township’s compost facility by  visiting the Department of Public Services at 14 W. Forest Ave. 

E-bikes arrive on U-M campus: Following the city’s lead, the university will let e-moblity provider Spin place as many as 100 of its rental e-bikes on campus, according to a press release. The bikes are pre-programmed to reduce speeds at specific locations such as in the Diag; unlike the city bikes, users must park them at designated bike racks when done. Riders can sign up for both town and gown programs via the Spin app. 

Few renters can afford to buy in Washtenaw County, study shows: According to the website HireAHelper, 77 percent of renters believe buying a home in the Tree Town area is beyond their means, the highest percentage in the state. The site says the median home price in the county is $356,934, whereas the median renter income is $55,508. The study concludes that a family requires a $86,156 yearly income to afford a home locally.

Mixed-use complex pitched for Dhu Varren Rd. and Pontiac Tr.: The plan calls 150 one- and two-bedroom apartments in a four-story building with ground-floor retail, according to a public notice advertising an April 27 meeting via Zoom to gather public input. The area is seeing a boom in residential construction but this would be the first new commercial space.

Pittsfield Twp gives final OK to 184-unit development: The long-gestating Inglewood Park West  project includes 106 townhomes, 78 duplexes, and some 100,000 square feet of light industrial or office space, MLive reports (paywall). Residents near the 70-acre site between Textile Rd. and Lavender Ln. raised safety concerns because the new neighborhood will border train tracks.

Hotels rebound as pandemic recedes: Covid devastated the hospitality business, but Courtyard Marriott on Boardwalk general manager Matthew Bennett says “weekends have really kind of come back with a vengeance. … People are leaving their houses, regardless of what the price is.”  Construction is finally underway on Florida developer Robert Finvarb’s long-delayed Vanguard Hotel on Glen Ave., Antonio Cooper reports for this month’s Observer. Downtown, Iowa-based Hawkeye Hotels is building a Fairfield Inn on W. Huron, and A2-based First Martin Corporation is planning a Marriott AC Hotel on E. Huron across from City Hall.

County warns public to use “extreme caution” after rain: Even calm-looking streams and rivers may have roiling currents and violent rapids beneath the surface, the sheriff’s marine safety division cautions in a press release. They urge everyone engaging in water activities to wear life jackets and let someone know about their plans.

Box tree moth quarantine declared in Washtenaw, three other counties: The brown-trimmed white critters are a threat to ornamental boxwoods, so the state is prohibiting the movement of living or dead boxwoods from the quarantined area, WILX reports. That includes all of Lenawee and Washtenaw, Monroe County west of US-23 and north of River Raisin, and Jackson County south of 1-94 and east of US-127. Boxwoods are considered “economically significant for Michigan’s green industry,” an official says, and this effort aims at preventing the box tree moth’s spread across the state.

Ypsilanti Township eyes paved loop around Ford Lake: There already are some trails along the lake, MLive reports, but there are gaps in areas such as along Huron River Dr. and Bridge St. The effort, in its embryonic stage with the launch of a $64,000 design study, would cost millions of dollars and involve challenging negotiations over right-of-way.  

Lab named for pioneering physicist: Homer Neal, seminal in the development of subatomic physics, died in 2018 after decades on the Michigan faculty. On Friday, the Diag-facing addition to the Randall Laboratory on Church St. will be named in his honor. In addition to his scholarly work, a press release notes, Neal was the first Black person to chair the U-M physics department and served as the university’s VP of research and interim president after Jim Duderstadt stepped down in 1996.

Two U-M profs land 2023 Guggenheim fellowships: Monica Dus, an associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, plans to use the sabbatical to complete a book on neutrigenomics, the study of interaction between diet and genetics, according to the University Record. Petra Kuppers, an LSA professor of performance studies and disability culture, plans to write a book about two performance series she has created. 

U-M gymnast wins top national honor: Senior Sierra Brooks received the AAI award, considered the Heisman Trophy of women’s collegiate gymnastics, at a ceremony in Fort Worth this week, MGoBlue reports. Brooks is the second consecutive Wolverine to win it, after Natalie Wojcik in 2022. She’s also the first U-M gymnast to be named a three-time Regional Gymnast of the Year.

Tesla opens silently, per policy: Elon Musk’s pioneering electric vehicle brand welcomed the public, but not the media, into its Scio Township retail showroom last month, Dave Algase reports in this month’s Observer. The showroom takes the place of the former Bel-Mark Lanes. Teslas are sold online, not through dealerships, so the showroom amounts to an opportunity for prospective buyers to see and test-drive cars.

GoFundMe launched to rebuild Lai Lai: The owners of the longtime Chinese restaurant at Carpenter and Platt are seeking $50,000 to cover lost income and gaps in what insurance will pay out for reconstruction following a devastating January 16 kitchen fire, Algase reports. As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe campaign had raised $6,020 from 116 donors.

Illustrator opens supply shop in Ypsi: Ypsi Art Supply & Atelier sells a wide range of colored pencils, charcoal, pens, ink, markers, acrylic paints, watercolors and some printmaking supplies, MLive reports. Owner Megan Foldenauer is a medical illustrator for the U-M’s neurosurgery department, so the shop is only open 5 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, but it can be reached anytime online. 

Show to raise money for Michigan Ability Partners:  Americana singer-songwriter Steve Taylor will perform country-rock covers and some originals on Friday at 6 p.m. at Weber’s Inn to benefit the non-profit, which “creates pathways to stability for veterans and people with disabilities.” Tickets cost $100,which includes a drink ticket and snacks, and there’s also a silent auction and raffle. Click here to buy tickets.

Hope Clinic receives $50,000 grant for dental services: The Ypsi-based nonprofit provides free health care to uninsured area residents, MLive reports, but dental coverage can be especially difficult to obtain: Medicare does not provide it, and the clinic has a waitlist of more than 150 patients seeking care.  The grant from longtime supporter Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will expand Hope’s dental services by 40 percent.

Ypsi Senior Center offers workshop on caring for people with dementia: Jill Gafner Livingston, a certified caregiver trainer from St. Clair Shores, is slated to speak at 3 p.m. on April 19. Preregister by emailing [email protected] or calling (833) 233-2200. Transportation and respite care may be available – ask when registering.

By Jennifer Taylor

April 14 Friday: Hear a performance by Senegalese kora master Kadialy Kouyate and Chinese pipa master Gao Hong. The two recently joined forces to make an album of music featuring the kora, a 21-string harp, and the pipa, a plucked string instrument. Washtenaw Community College World Arts & Education Series. Noon to 1:30 p.m., WCC Morris Lawrence Bldg. Towsley Auditorium, 4800 E. Huron River Dr. Free. 

April 15 Saturday: Take a “Timberdoodle Tumble” hike to look for the American woodcock (aka timberdoodle), known for its zig-zagging courtship flights, led by Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission naturalist Kelsey Dehring. Wear waterproof boots. 7:45 to 9 p.m., Leonard Preserve, 375 N. Union St., Manchester. Free, preregistration required by emailing [email protected] or calling (734) 971–6337. 

April 16 Sunday: Hear virtuosic 30-member Los Angeles music collective Wild Up perform Femenine, a 1974 work by avante-garde American composer Julius Eastman. A “classical music misfit,” Eastman achieved some success in the New York music world, but died destitute in 1990. NPR calls Femenine a “singularly jubilant [and] mesmerizing 67-minute groove that unfolds one beautiful moment after another.” The entire work is based around a two-note vibraphone theme that emerges from a field of bells. University Musical Society. 4 p.m. Rackham Auditorium. $24 (students $12–$20). Preregistration required here or (734) 764–2538. 

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

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