In-person early voting is underway! I say that first because when the polls opened last weekend, there was no fanfare at all. Neither the government nor the candidates made much effort to tell the media or the citizenry it was happening. This week, many media outlets began doing stories, but I’m still confused why there wasn’t a push before the first weekend.

I happen to know that a2view readers love to vote because every time I tell you to do so for something innocuous – Name the beavers! Pick the sticker design! Support the janitor! – you click. So here’s the skinny: Click here, fill out the top part about yourself, and receive customized information on where and when to vote, either early or on Election Day. You can even see a preview of your ballot.

Oh! And I have another time-sensitive public service announcement! If you want to keep tabs on the forty-five U-M-connected athletes at the Paris Olympics, MGoBlue has made it super easy with this nifty page. Scroll down a ways to the Schedule of Events and then navigate to the date you’re interested in; up pops all the events the U-M athletes are in as well as the time and how to watch. Well done, U-M.

Your news is below, as usual, including very good late-breaking news about Huron High alum and Russian prisoner Paul Whelan. Otherwise, it continues to be a relatively quiet mid-summer locally, but I’ve had some fun media opportunities. Check me out talking about why Gretchen Whitmer really doesn’t want to be vice president on Scripps News this week. 

– Steve Friess, editor
with help from Miles Anderson

Paul Whelan, others coming home in Russia prisoner swap: Whelan, who graduated from Huron High and lived in Novi, was arrested in Moscow in 2018 and has been serving a sixteen-year sentence on espionage charges. The BBC reports that the ex-Marine, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva will be freed today in a complex deal in which twenty-four prisoners held in Russia, the U.S., Germany, and three other Western countries are released to their home countries.

U-M athletes win bronze in swimming, gymnastics, rugby: Senior Siobhan Haughey placed third for Hong Kong in the 200-meter freestyle race on Monday as well as yesterday’s 100-meter freestyle. Alum Alena Olsen was on the USA women’s rugby team that medaled on Monday after beating Australia. And Fred Richard and Paul Juda, both current Wolverines, scored bronze as the United States took third in the men’s gymnastics team finals on Monday. They fell short yesterday, however, as Team USA’s entries for the men’s individual all-around final; Richard got off to a rocky start by falling off the pommel horse, and neither athlete was ever in serious contention.

Ex-Wolverine track coach has three runners at the Summer Olympics: Pushed to retire in 2010 at sixty-seven by newly hired athletic director Dave Brandon, Ron Warhurst tells Jan Schlain in this month’s Observer about starting a running program for ATI Physical Therapy, signing on as assistant coach at Skyline High, and managing the training of Ann Arbor running phenom Hobbes Kessler. Kessler, in Paris to run the 1,500-meter and 800-meter races for Team USA, is now one of half a dozen pro runners who train with Warhurst’s Very Nice Track Club. Two other Warhurst proteges are there, too – Bryce Hoppel will run the 800 for the U.S. and Ben Flanagan the 5,000 for Canada. Kessler runs the 1,500-meter tomorrow; the men’s 800-meter is set for Wednesday. Schlain recounts Warhurst’s distinguished life which includes earning two Purple Hearts in Vietnam and being named Big Ten coach of the year four times.

Former Arb director raises alarm over Campus Connector path: Bob Grese, also a professor emeritus of Environment and Sustainability at U-M, sent a nine-page letter to U-M president Santa Ono objecting to the proposed path for an automated transit system planned to link North Campus to Central Campus. “Were this to happen, I feel this would permanently damage this cherished part of our university’s and city parks’ heritage, affecting the experience of the approximate 350,000 visitors to the Arboretum, many of whom are looking for a quiet, restorative place to counterbalance the stress of life at the university and in the Ann Arbor community,” he writes. Others, including Rita Mitchell of the Ann Arbor Environmental Commission, joined Grese in sending their objections to policymakers. 

Two Dems face off for state rep: Two-termer Felicia Brabec is stepping down to run in 2026 for state senate, prompting both Ann Arbor Public Schools trustee Rima Mohammad and top Brabec aide Morgan Foreman to make a bid, James Leonard writes in this month’s Observer. District 33 encompasses southern A2, the city of Saline, and all or portions of Pittsfield, Saline, Lodi, York, Bridgewater, and Scio townships. Foreman says she has “firsthand experience of being by [Brabec’s] side every day and seeing exactly what she does,” whereas Mohammad touts “my real-world experiences as a health care worker that sees firsthand the problems that’s happening in health care as an educator.” The winner will face Republican Jason Rogers of Saline in the general election.

Kestenbaum faces primary challenge: The longtime county clerk seeking a sixth term faces veteran Eberwhite Elementary teacher Shelly Brock, who threw her hat in the ring because she feared AAPS budget problems would result in her being laid off, James Leonard writes in this month’s Observer. Kestenbaum trumpets his experience adjusting to many changes in election practices in his two decades in the job. The winner faces either Adam de Angeli, executive director of the Washtenaw County Republican Party, or Samantha Strayer, a member relations representative at DFCU Financial in November.

Scio Twp. fire millage returns to ballot in November: Voters will again consider whether to increase taxes to pay for more firefighters and a new fire station, MLive writes. After last year’s two-part request for 4.5 mills was rejected decisively, officials returned with a 2.7 mill, sixteen-year measure that they say is needed to address safety concerns amid the township’s rapid growth.

Road closure – and reopening – update: Monroe St. between State St. and Tappan Ave. is closed until Aug. 9 for gas main work, the city says. Earhart Rd. between Geddes Rd. and Pine Brae St. will close on Monday until Aug. 26 to install a gas pipeline. Closures are expected to end tomorrow night for Huron River Dr. between N. Maple Road and N. Main streets, E. Washington between S. Division and S. State streets, and Platt Rd. between Waterfowl Blvd. and US-12.

Michigan Medicine unions picket for new contract: The Service Employees International Union and United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals sought to gin up community support amid contract negotiations, Fox2Detroit reports. The picket was not a strike and all scheduled employees worked as usual, but the unions wanted to make their demands for improved pay and working conditions known.

U-M Solar Car Team wins the national championship: The eight-day American Solar Challenge finished up in Casper, WY, on Saturday with the Wolverines reclaiming the top prize they had won six consecutive times until placing second in 2018, Michigan Engineering writes. The competition is held every other year, but the U-M team had not participated since 2018 because of the pandemic. The 2024 group faced many challenges including engine damage and a rollover that made the 2,120-mile race more difficult, but won thanks to quick thinking and help from other teams.

Is “Farts” art? An unknown tagger has spent the past year spray painting the word in red on the walls of Graffiti Alley, drawing both amused looks and condemnation that it’s disrespectful and disruptive to other street artists, MLive reports. There’s even a Reddit thread called Fart Wars.

Motorcyclist perishes in crash: Forty-six-year-old Christopher Allen Gillem of Milan was killed on Friday at W. Stadium Blvd. and Winewood Ave., MLive reports (paywall). Gillem collided with an SUV as it turned left onto Winewood. Speed was believed to be a factor in the accident.

Eight injured in four-vehicle pile-up: The collisions began on Tuesday when a northbound Corvette driven by a seventeen-year-old hit a truck leaving a private driveway on S. State St. near I-94, ClickOnDetroit reports. The Corvette spun into the southbound lane and was hit by a Jeep and an SUV. A twenty-year-old passenger of the Corvette was hospitalized in critical condition. The drivers of the Corvette, truck, and SUV were treated for minor injuries, as were the four people in the Jeep. Police say speed was likely a factor.

Youth soccer coach arrested on federal child porn charges: Twenty-six-year-old Jacob Kromberg is accused by the FBI of photographing boys at sporting events, contacting them via social media, and offering them money for sexual acts, WXYZ Detroit reports. Kromberg, who previously coached freshman boys’ soccer coach at Pioneer High, was director of operations for the U-M women’s soccer team. U-M fired Kromberg amid the charges. 

Police ID men who showed ape photo to Black family’s doorbell cam: In a Facebook post, the Ann Arbor Police Department announced that it knew who knocked and rang the bell, called out the homeowner’s name, and then pointed the phone photo of an ape to the camera. The family was at home in the northside Foxfire subdivision when the incident occurred on July 16. The suspects’ names have yet to be made public and the AAPD has not made any further statements about the incident or possible charges.

NBC podcast spotlights Ypsi-linked cold case: Dateline’s “Missing In America” program delved into the unsolved 1998 disappearance of Marcus Rutledge, a twenty-three-year-old Tennessee State University student. Rutledge’s parents lived in Ypsi, where he visited a couple weeks before he vanished. He was last seen dropping his two-year-old daughter off at daycare in Nashville; his abandoned car was found a month later. 

Florida-based Art Fair vendor charged with selling fake Native American crafts: Jose Farinango Muenala was indicted by a federal grand jury in Wisconsin last month with scheming to defraud, wire fraud, and misrepresentation of sales of products, MLive writes. The charges came following a probe by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior Indian Arts and Craft Board found Manuela had no tribal affiliation. Muenala had a booth at the Ann Arbor Art Fair, but organizers say they had no knowledge of the indictment.

Die-in protesters call for street safety improvements: Pedestrian and cyclists laid down outside Ann Arbor City Hall last week to draw attention to 2023 pedestrian crash data that showed last year was the deadliest since 2014, the Michigan Daily reports. The demonstrators called for further changes to enhance safety and bring the city more in line with council’s Vision Zero goal to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries by next year. 

Employee sues regents charging wrongful termination: Former animal husbandry tech Erika Ventura was fired from her position at Michigan Medicine’s Unit for Laboratory Medicine in May 2023, the Michigan Daily reports. Ventura asserts she was wrongfully terminated after discussing LGBTQ+ issues while at work. “I have never worked in a place more racist, transphobic, homophobic, than the University of Michigan,” she told the Daily. “My hope is to make sure everyone sees that so they can fix it, because this is how we’re going to fix it.”

Marquee Arts leader to retire: Russ Collins joined the parent organization of the Michigan Theater in 1982 after graduating from U-M, WEMU reports. He oversaw the restoration of the Michigan, the acquisition and restoration of the State Theatre, and the renaming of the joint entity in April. Now he says he’ll step down as executive director in December. Collins’ wife, Deb Polich, is also retiring. They worked together at the Michigan before Polich left to run ArtTrain, then help found the Arts Alliance, now Creative Washtenaw, where she’s president and CEO.

Apple TV+ show based on writer’s time at Greenhills: “Me” was inspired by Barry Levy’s childhood in the late 1980s at the private school in Ann Arbor, MLive writes (paywall). Levy says he felt isolated here after moving from the Boston area but was able to find a haven with teachers and mentors. In the show, a new-to-town twelve-year-old struggling socially discovers he has a superpower.

Rite Aids going out of business: The drugstore chain is shutting all its local stores, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. The Rite Aid on Packard and Platt will close on Aug. 18, the one in Westgate Shopping Center will close Aug. 25, and the Plymouth Road Mall location closes Sep. 15. The stores are having closing sales and are transferring all prescriptions to other pharmacies. 

Sam’s Southern Eatery replaces Christy’s: The Shreveport, LA-based chain that serves up po’boys and deep-fried pickles opened its first Michigan location – and fifty-first nationally – on Washtenaw in Ypsi Twp. Christy’s vacated the prominent location this spring.

Soon-to-close Big Lots offers 20 percent sale: The store at Washtenaw and Golfside in one of four Michigan locations that the struggling Columbus, OH-based discount chain is closing, WZZM-13 reports. Big Lots, which lost $205 million in the first quarter of 2024, will shut down “underperforming stores” in Ohio, California, and Indiana as well. The chain will still have more than forty locations in Michigan, including one in Westland. 

AAPD Basketball Food Drive set for Wednesday: The event at Bicentennial Park, originally scheduled for Tuesday but moved to 6 p.m. Wednesday because of the primary election, features officers playing basketball and offering pizza, according to an AAPD Facebook post. It’s free but attendees are asked to bring an item of nonperishable food or a grocery store gift card as a donation to the Bryant Community Center. 

GoFundMe efforts launched for teen victims of July 20 car crash: The family of Lesley Chavez has raised about $10,000 of their $30,000 goal to pay medical bills as the fifteen-year-old faces multiple surgeries for her fractured pelvis, arm, and leg and spinal damage. Her boyfriend, seventeen-year-old Alex Valenzuela-Lara of Saline, died in the crash; his family has raised more than $17,000 to pay for his burial. The couple were in a car driven by an eighteen-year-old friend who led police on a high-speed chase before crashing into a fire hydrant and nine parked cars at Fischer Honda on E. Michigan Ave. 

Ypsi “Peacenic” aims to reduce violence: The Aug. 10 event offers an exotic petting zoo, laser tag, and flag football with the goal of facilitating better interactions between law enforcement and the community, MLive writes. Held from 3 to 7 p.m. in the Ypsilanti Community Schools parking lot at 2095 Packard, it’s a part of the Safe Streets Initiative. For information or to register, email the Rev. Joseph O. Jackson or click here.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Join Leslie Science & Nature Center staff on a “New Moon Night Hike,” conduct science experiments on the trail, and visit some nocturnal animals. Campfire and stories to follow. Dress for the weather. 8 to 9:30 p.m., LSNC, 1831 Traver. $5 (kids age 2 and under, free). Preregistration required here. (734) 995–5439. 

Saturday: Hear live music at the Webster Twp. Historical Society’s Bluegrass Jamboree. Bands include Wilson Thicket, the Cedar Creek Bluegrass Band, Companion Band, and the Next Paige. Also, kids activities, blacksmithing demos, food concessions, and a chance to tour historic buildings. Noon to 5 p.m., Historic Webster Village, 5583 Webster Church Rd., Dexter. $25 at the gate or $20 in advance (age 12 and under, free; ages 13 to 18, $10) here.

Sunday: See Theatre Nova artistic director Carla Milarch’s dark sci-fi comic drama “Doctor Moloch,” about a robot doctor who must take empathy lessons to improve his bedside manner. Runs through Sunday, 8 p.m. (Fri. and Sat.) and 2 p.m. (Sun.), Theatre Nova, 410 W. Huron St. Tickets $28 (kids under 17, $10) in advance here or, if available, at the door. (734) 635–8450. 

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

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