My boy wouldn’t nap yesterday, so we popped into the car for ice cream and to play in either Gallup or Burns Park. Then I got distracted, took some wrong turns, and wound up in Kerrytown. The third-Wednesday food truck rally was on at the Farmers Market, so I took a gamble that there’d be an ice cream vendor there.

Of course there was! And, also, there was a four-piece jazz ensemble that captivated my three-year-old. We a found a $6 cup of vanilla soft-serve with rainbow sprinkles, sure, but it took second fiddle to his instinctive need to dance to the saxophones, the keyboard, and the hand-plucked double bass. Check out his moves.

Ahh, summer in Ann Arbor. It’s fast slipping away. Soon it will be leaf piles and snowball fights. Enjoy it while you can.

There’s plenty of uncertainty in our news right now. The students are definitely heading back in class, but will they have teaching assistants? A superintendent? A football coach? And it’s a good week when the headline on a plane crash is that everyone is fine, but there’s still no escaping stories of guns and gun violence.

As I search YouTube for more peppy instrumental performances to entertain my kids, I wish all of you a jazzy week ahead.

– Steve Friess, editor

No fatalities, surprisingly minimal damage in Thunder Over Michigan crash: The frightful sights and sounds as a MiG-23 aircraft suffered in-flight explosions and hit the ground on Sunday afternoon in a Van Buren Twp. apartment complex parking lot suggested a major calamity when streamed by CBS Detroit.  The NTSB investigation into why the retired Russian jet lost power will take months, but inspector John Brannen told reporters: “In this case, we have a fairly large plane, and the fact that both of the pilots survived and there were no ground injuries is a very good outcome.” 

Board members issue statements addressing superintendent ouster: President Rima Mohammad and trustee Jeff Gaynor took to Facebook with lengthy posts responding to accusations of violating open meetings laws and abrupt, rash decision-making when they voted to begin proceedings to remove ten-year veteran Jeanice Swift. Mohammad refrained from specifics about Swift’s job performance, but Gaynor wrote that the superintendent had scolded him for visiting schools, instituted a “draconian evaluation system for teachers,” and made staff and parents fearful of raising concerns about special education deficiencies. Meanwhile, several AAPS-related unions wrote an open letter calling for the board to rescind its efforts to remove Swift, MLive reports.

GEO, UM trade counterproposals: The graduate students union voted last week to reject an Aug. 2 offer but send a counterproposal that a U-M official called a “significant compromise ― and the union’s first real movement on compensation ― since negotiations began nine months ago,” the Detroit Free Press reports. A GEO negotiator says the salary offer, a 20 percent raise over three years, is acceptable but there are still outstanding issues surrounding health benefits and pay parity for graduate student instructors at the three U-M campuses. The two sides held another bargaining session on Wednesday and  a GEO social media post showed strikers picketing outside while it took place.

Harbaugh-NCAA discipline deal falls apart: The expected four-game suspension is on ice after a league committee refused to accept the negotiated agreement to resolve allegations that the head football coach misled investigators probing possible violations of recruiting rules during the pandemic, Yahoo! Sports reports. The matter may remain unresolved until after the 2023 season, which starts Sept. 3 with the U-M ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press’s preseason poll for the first time since 1991.

Dexter barn fire kills 130 animals: At least forty lambs and eighty turkeys were among those that perished in the Aug. 10 inferno at the N Kids Farm near W. North Territorial Rd. and Memory Ln. in Webster Twp., according to the Dexter Area Fire Department and the farm’s Facebook page. One person suffered minor injuries trying to save some of the sheep. The fire department is investigating the cause.

Man injured in shooting in Planet Fitness parking lot: A thirty-six-year-old from Livingston County was shot in the leg during a fight outside the gym on W. Stadium with a thirty-three-year-old from Northville on Tuesday afternoon, according to an AAPD post on Facebook. Police say the men did not know one another and that the younger man was taken into custody without incident.

Report finds startling 74 percent rise in local firearm deaths: The Washtenaw County Health Department issued a study showing the number of gun-related fatalities from 2017 to 2021 was up sharply from 2012 to 2016, with men accounting for 89 percent of those deaths. Those figures include a 44 percent rise in people who used guns to die by suicide and a 200 percent increase in firearm homicides.

U-M adds electric-vehicle chargers, starts charging for them: The six existing EV stations have been free to use for permit holders and the public after enforcement hours, but next month they will cost $1 per hour, the University Record writes. Over the next four years the university plans to create 400 more EV charging spaces, with  100 available for use by the end of 2024. Once a car is fully charged, owners will have a thirty-minute grace period to move it before the rate goes up to $3 per hour.

Chasing volts: John Hilton caught up with a Chevy Bolt owner from Dexter for this month’s Observer who shared her charging tips. She’d ventured out to a public charging station to use up a credit, but says that they’re expensive and often unreliable – and also hard for people with mobility issues to use. She almost always charges the Bolt at home, where she says the cost works out to the equivalent of about $1 per gallon of gas.

The students are coming, the students are coming:  Move-in starts Wednesday in advance of classes starting Aug. 28, so be aware of changes being made to accommodate the onslaught, the University Record writes. One-way traffic will be implemented around dorms on Thompson, E. Madison, E. Washington, E. Ann, and Observatory streets from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and most parking meters in the immediate vicinity of residence halls will be bagged and reserved for students and families who display the proper move-In permit. The changes will continue through Aug. 27.

Council puts millage to work for affordable housing:  Nearly three years after Ann Arbor voters approved the twenty-year property tax to acquire, build, and renovate properties for residents facing housing insecurity, the city has bought an existing complex on W. Liberty and is moving ahead on plans to build between 500 and 1,500 units on city-owned parking lots and service yards, Julie Halpert writes in this month’s Observer. The loss of parking is controversial, but supporters say the city lots are vital because it’s impossible to compete with the private sector when it comes to acquiring property.

Nurses call for metal detectors at Mott:  A visitor brought a gun to the pediatric intensive care unit on the tenth floor of U-M’s children’s hospital earlier this year, prompting renewed discussion of adding security at the entrances, the Detroit News reports (paywall). The visitor did not threaten anyone and was carrying a legally registered and licensed concealed weapon, but its presence startled health care providers at a facility that by law prohibits firearms. Regent Denise Ilitch told nurses’ union leaders at a July board meeting, “We will find the money in the budget” for the request.

Private wells going dry near gravel mine: Ann Arbor Township is among the opponents of a request by Mid-Michigan Materials to extract another three million gallons of water a day from the Fleming Creek Watershed even as neighbors complain of having to dig deeper to access water, Michigan Radio reports. The company says it needs the permit for “technical reasons” but doesn’t actually need all that water. The state is expected to rule on the request in mid-September.

Sexual harassment allegations lodged against Superior Twp. supervisor: Trustees voted 5-1 to hire an outside lawyer to investigate claims that Ken Schwartz created a hostile work environment by sending an email in 2021 that joked about a male employee who “wears woman’s clothing on the weekends,” MLive reports (paywall). Schwartz, hired in 2013, says the remark was made in jest and that nobody complained at the time. It came to the attention of township clerk Lynette Findley recently and she presented it to the trustees in July. She told the board “these lewd sexually offensive comments” had “definitely affected my mental health and the ability to work in the same environment with [Schwartz].” 

Saline OK’s some accessory apartments: The council altered zoning regulations to permit people to build dwelling space with separate entrances, bathrooms, and kitchens in basements and garages for family members or renters, MLive reports (paywall). But only single-family homes in certain areas will be allowed to add these self-contained living spaces.

U-M receives $643M in donations in last fiscal year: The amount reflects the haul from some 97,000 donors between July 2022 and June 2023, the University Record writes. That sum includes two $50 million naming gifts  for what are now the Marsal Family School of Education and the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Health Care Pavilion, currently under construction on Zina Pitcher Pl.

NASA to establish $9.7M Space Weather Center of Excellence: U-M researchers will develop methods of predicting when solar flares and other interplanetary activities could cause radiation spikes and other hazards to astronauts traveling to the Moon and Mars, the University Record writes. Lulu Zhao, a research scientist in the Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, will lead the effort to create tools to provide forecasts of dangerous solar activity.

U-M team designs easy-to-use tourniquet: The new $30 Turn-i-kit has a wider strap to make it less painful for the patient and a large handle that is easily turned, even by untrained first responders and those with hand-use problems, are elderly, or who have injured themselves, ClickOnDetroit reports. U-M’s Weil Institute for Critical Care Research and Innovation is partnering with a company called Precision Trauma to bring the device to market. 

Traffic in bikeway breaks record: More than 10,500 trips were logged in the stretch on Division St. south of Catherine St., a short segment that is used as a bellwether for whether the designated lanes are succeeding, MLive reports (paywall). The data prompted celebration at a recent council meeting, but the increasing popularity is also creating concerns about cyclist safety in intersections after a mid-July collision involving a rider and a van.

College sweethearts reunite fifty years later, open T-shirt shop:  Elmo Morales and Marcia Stegath Dorr, both single in their seventies after “long marriages and great families,” got back together in 2018 and this spring opened Elmo’s T-Shirts in historic Nickels Arcade, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. Morales is a longtime gym teacher who opened a custom T-shirt shop on S. Main in 1988 on the side. He closed it in 2016 and moved his silk-screening equipment to the Observer’s building across from the Maple Rd. Kroger; he also has a small shop on  E. Liberty, now open by appointment only.

Detroit Pizza Pub sets Sept. 1 opening date:  After several postponements, owner Nick Habbert tells a2view they are ready to roll out the dough and serve up the slices at 207 N. Main in space previously occupied by his Havana Cigar and Cocktail Lounge. Habbert says folks should keep an eye on their Facebook and Instagram feeds for details of a grand-opening “One Year Free Pizza” giveaway.

New Sweetwaters now serving south side: The homegrown coffeehouse chain added its latest location, in the lobby of  777 E. Eisenhower Pkwy., earlier this month,  ClickOnDetroit reports. Franchisee Brian Kung also operates Sweetwaters sites on Plymouth Rd in Ann Arbor and N. Canton Center Rd. in Canton.

Food Gatherers offers Aug. 26 fitness class, mimosas to donors: The food bank hopes to collect 250 pounds of food that day by providing a free workout to those who bring donations to Venue by 4M before 9 a.m., ClickOnDetroit reports. The free class takes place from 9 to 10 a.m., although Food Gatherers will continue to collect items in the parking lot at 1919 S. Industrial Hwy. until 2 p.m.; Venue will give a free mimosa to donors regardless of whether they make it to the class.

Detroit Zoo gives 100 plush animals to C.S. Mott patients: The kids can chose between polar bears, tigers, giraffes, and other animals as part of a new Care Companions program, according to a press release. The Detroit Zoological Society says it plans to hand out the cuddly critters on a quarterly basis.

Community Action Network nets $435,784 in federal funds: The money will pay for fourteen full-time and twenty-five summer AmeriCorps VISTA members to work in a range of capacities furthering CAN’s programs to serve under-resourced neighborhoods across the county, according to a press release from Ann Arbor congresswoman Debbie Dingell.  CAN says the additional staff will help develop “new STEAM-infused educational curricula” among other tasks.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Take in the “11th Annual Paint Dexter Plein Air Festival,” an exhibit and sale of works created by artists who have been painting outdoors throughout Dexter since Monday. Also, art workshops for kids and adults. Spectators welcome at an artists’ “Quick Draw Competition” (9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.). Also, an art sale (2 to 9 p.m.), awards ceremony (5 p.m.), a meet-the-artists beer & wine reception (4 to 9 p.m.), and live music (6:30 to 9 p.m.). 9 a.m.–8 p.m., Monument Park, Dexter. Free admission. (734) 358–1744.

Saturday: Take one of two walks through Hudson Mills Metropark, part of their “After Dark Series: Bats & Owls.” Each walk is a half-mile to one mile, along slightly hilly, mixed gravel trails. Park interpreters lead an expedition to look for bats (8:30 to 9:30 p.m.) and then help participants look and call for owls (9:30 to 10:30 p.m.). Age eight and up. Bring your own flashlight. Hudson Mills Metropark Activity Center, 8801 N. Territorial Rd., Dexter. $5 per person. Preregistration required for bats and for owls by 4 p.m. Friday. $10 vehicle entrance fee. (734) 426–8211. 

Sunday: Take a tour of six historic houses and two churches on Ypsi’s Huron St. as part of the Ypsilanti Heritage Foundation’s Bicentennial Historic Home Tour. Also, a pipe organ concert (noon to 1 p.m.) at the First Presbyterian Church, 300 N. Washington. Parking available at the church. VIP ticket includes hors d’oeuvres and cocktails (3 p.m.) in the garden of the Newton House bed & breakfast, prepared by chef-owner Allison Anastasio. Proceeds support Towner House renovations. Noon to 5 p.m., Towner House, 303 N. Huron St., $30 (VIP ticket, $50) in advance here or, if available, at the door.

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

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