| August 14, 2026Can you guess what’s pictured above? Click the image to find out! |
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| | As this hits your inbox, I’m most likely dropping my kids off for their last day of camp – and what a special, transformative summer it has been. I don’t remember how I discovered KidSport, an innovative program run by U-M’s School of Kinesiology on the EMU campus, but it is yet another example of why I feel incredibly fortunate to be raising an autistic child in and around Ann Arbor.
KidSport has two components – KidSport Adaptive and KidSport Inclusive. Adaptive is intended for kids with neurodivergence and other disabilities who require extra attention and support. Inclusive is for a mix of typical and atypical kids. They all do all the usual camp things – games, sports, movies, whatever – but the adaptive program is the special sauce because it’s just very difficult to find camps that are willing to give children like our autistic six-year-old, Nevada, these experiences. Nevada went every day for the past nine weeks; Claire, our neurotypical four-year-old, did the inclusive camp for four weeks and attended other programs the rest of the summer.
The most remarkable thing about KidSport Inclusive, though: They taught Nevada to swim. Every morning, he’s had a half-hour of swim instruction in EMU’s Olympic-sized pool. I noticed on our own swims that he seemed to have better form and had overcome his aversion to jumping in, but I actually teared up when, two weeks ago, the camp folks told me he stopped needing the floatie backpack.
I’ve tried for years to show Nevada how to swim and to find instructors who know how to handle a kid like him. It’s especially important because drowning is a top cause of death for children with autism; this happened only this week in Livingston County.
So, well done, Ann Arbor. Just as I feel grateful every time I can pop over to a world-class children’s hospital in C.S. Mott, our proximity to everything that U-M has to offer gave us the summer we’ve had. We’ll be back next year.
Your news is here. U-M made its plan for the $1.2 billion research center in Ypsilanti Twp. official despite community outrage, the local cyclosporiasis outbreak is subsiding, Ann Arbor voters this fall will consider the first step to replacing DTE, the details of developer Heidi Poscher’s death are curious, and the Michigan Daily is revisits its coverage of Abdul El-Sayed’s time as an undergrad.
This is last week’s most-clicked link.
– Steve Friess, editor |
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| | | Wednesday at noon at Parker Mill Park. Credit: Steve Friess |
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| | | | | | U-M makes the Textile Rd. site official for supercomputing facility: Shrugging off months of vociferous community opposition, the university issued a statement Tuesday stating the 144-acre site in Ypsilanti Twp. is “the best location capable of meeting the project’s technical and operational requirements.” That project is a $1.25 billion joint venture with Los Alamos National Laboratory; U-M says its other potential site at Willow Run “proved impractical due to the comprehensive brownfield redevelopment requirements and complex real estate issues.” Congresswoman Debbie Dingell called the announcement “deeply disturbing.” “You cannot claim to value community input and then ignore the community when you do not like what it has to say,” she wrote in a statement. “I will continue demanding transparency, accountability, and answers.” Ypsilanti Twp. leaders say they’ll continue to fight – and they have an unusual ally in Regent Paul Brown, a Democrat running for reelection this fall. Brown is calling on U-M to pause the project and, like Dingell, faults it for failing to listen to the community’s opposition. “I cannot stand by and support this project being shoved down their throats, in a way that looks like environmental racism,” he wrote on social media. Meanwhile, president Domenico Grasso defended the process in a Crain’s Detroit op-ed by insisting U-M will heed the call to “protect natural resources, limit neighborhood impacts, and reflect meaningful public engagement.” To that end, U-M will host a town hall at the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest on September 9; a time has yet to be announced. |
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| | Voters to weigh in on dumping DTE: A ballot measure to amend the city charter to create a municipal electric utility put forth by the nonprofit Ann Arbor for Public Power officially qualified for the November 3 ballot, a first step toward having the city take over power generation. The news came days after Yousef Rabhi, who campaigned in favor of ousting DTE, soundly defeated incumbent mayor Christopher Taylor, who opposes such a move. Taylor and DTE officials argue it would be exceedingly costly to make this switch. Rabhi tells a2view he’ll spend the next few months campaigning to pass the ballot question: “This is one step in a very long process, and I support it because DTE is a fossil fuel company that is not reliable, that is charging us exorbitantly high rates. We can do better when it comes to green energy, we can do better when it comes to reliability, and we can do better when it comes to affordability.” The effort received a boost on Wednesday when the Huron Valley Area Labor Federation threw its support behind the measure. |
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| | Ann Arborite: For this month’s profile, Bree Stilwell writes about the poet Scott Beal (above), who traces his involvement in the craft from his teen years of hating it to his current roles as a lecturer with U-M’s Sweetland Center for Writing, director of Lloyd Scholars for Writing and the Arts, cohost of the Skazat! monthly online poetry series, and coeditor of the literary journal Public School Poetry. Beal’s newest collection, Stegosaurus Moon, was published in June by Dzanc Books.
Block party grows into a mini-music fest: Three neighbors on Pomona Rd. threw the first one in the summer of 2022 to reconnect as the pandemic subsided, and four years later it’s become an annual tradition featuring an impressive lineup of musical acts and a fundraiser for Community Action Network, Timothy Monger writes. Pomonapalooza, which is intended only for the residents of the neighborhood, drummed up $2,500 for CAN in 2025 via QR codes, donation jars, and lemonade stands. “We’re just trying to plant the seed that people can make substantial contributions by pooling together resources like this,” says one of the event’s organizers.
Tough Break Hotel: Exhibit A2, which opened downtown in 2022 in the former Montgomery Ward building as an “unstaffed hotel,” closed on December 31 after a brutal wave of horrible reviews, Ally Choi writes. Trip Advisor and Yelp users griped about noise complaints, spotty Wi-Fi, elevator issues, false promises, dismissed complaints, bait-and-switch bookings, and sketchy payment and confirmation methods – one guest was even asked to text a picture of their credit card. |
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| | | One of the five buildings that make up U-M’s new dorm complex probably won’t be ready when class starts in a few weeks. Because starting college isn’t stressful enough.
Council refused city staff’s request to require permits for parties that attract more than 100 people. MLive reported that “After nearly an hour of debate and consideration of a revised version changing the event size to 250 people, it was rejected by City Council in a 6–5 vote.” Staff wanted the tougher language to be able to crack down on frat parties.
Council also handed out $100,000 development grants to Avalon Housing and the Ann Arbor Community Land Trust to support affordable housing projects.
Substacker and former A2 city attorney Bruce Laidlaw has uncovered compelling and troubling new details – and has a lot of questions – about the death of SouthTown developer Heidi Poscher.
MLive offers an excellent rundown – with lots of photos – of this year’s recipients of the Historic Preservation Awards.
Want to know more about Abdul El-Sayed? The Michigan Daily scraped its archive for some memorable and charming coverage of the newly minted Democratic nominee for Senate during his college days.
Amid a report that the number of homeless people has more than doubled since 2022, the county commission raised its support of the organizations that address the issue from $1 million to $2.5 million ahead of the winter.
Commissioners, however, rejected a requested ballot measure to raise money for 911 services.
Ann Arbor SPARK is launching a Southeast Michigan small business support hub program with a $1.25 million state grant.
The right-wing media is having a field day with the new LSA pilot program, coming in fall 2027, of offering pass-fail grading in new students’ first semesters.
The state says salad is back on the menu!
An EMU prof won a podcasting award.
Almost everyone in the county now has broadband Internet access.
Get ready for last call at Last Word and Live.
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| | | New Apple store now open at Briarwood Mall: Customers tell the Michigan Daily they love the more spacious store, which now neighbors California Pizza Kitchen. It opened July 31, according to a press release. The original retail outlet, which opened in 2007, was deemed too small and difficult to access.
Jeff Daniels’ restaurant-venue opens in Chelsea: The Emmy- and Tony-winning actor’s much-ballyhooed Stage Bistro debuted this week with a performance by his son’s Ben Daniels Band in the 136-seat listening room, according to its website. The restaurant seats about 100 and is led by former Echelon Kitchen chef Nate Wegryn. Jeff Daniels is scheduled to perform four shows from August 26–29. Daniels also owns Chelsea’s Purple Rose Theatre, which is a block away.
Bumper crop of restaurants for sale: They include Afternoon Delight, Shalimar, Bløm Mead + Cider, House of Chimney Cakes Café, Grand Traverse Pie Company, Kang’s Korean Restaurant, and Mr. Spots, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. The circumstances vary, as Algase explains – some owners want to retire or to pursue other interests, others feel overextended or beset by changing circumstances – but none have confirmed plans to close. |
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| | | Leslie Science & Nature Center to host fundraising soiree: The September 10 event, called Flutter, supports scholarships and discounted admissions at the center and the Hands-On Museum. Tickets start at $225 a person and include attendance at the seated dinner, a silent auction, and “wildlife experiences.” More information can be found here.
Pianist offers weekly free concerts: Mark Braun has been performing on his “piano-on-a-bicycle” at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market since the pandemic, Concentrate writes. Braun, aka Mr. B, appears around 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays at the corner of Detroit and Catherine, with more information available on Braun’s Facebook. He also runs a nonprofit, Mr. B’s Joybox Express, to benefit music education programs. The Observer profiled Braun in 2009 as a unique, vagabond boogie-woogie musician riding around the state with his 352-pound piano.
Red Cross declares national blood supply crisis: Summer is often a “challenging time for blood collections,” and the nonprofit put out the call for help when the O-positive supply dipped to less than a day’s worth, ClickonDetroit reports. To find a nearby place to give, click here. |
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| | | Friday: Artists have been painting outdoors around Dexter since Aug. 10; today, the Annual Paint Dexter Plein Air Festival begins a 2-day exhibit and sale of their works, along with art workshops, competitions, and live music.
Saturday: Omaha-based observational comic Zach Peterson delivers his nerdy, off-kilter thoughts on everything from vampires to the dangers of $35 hotel rooms at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase.
Sunday: Hear.Say Brewing + Theater’s Tales from the Cryptid: An Improvised Urban Legend is a fully unscripted one-act play about the appearance of a new cryptid that shakes up a small town.
See the Observer’s online calendar for many more local events. |
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