As perilous as some of our weather has been lately, it beats the pants off of the four days my daughter and I just spent in South Florida visiting my mom where the temperatures were in the mid-90s with 80%+ humidity. No wonder airfares are so cheap this time of year! Got out just before a hurricane, to boot!

I’m so happy to be home, much as I enjoy watching my mom with Claire. I love this part of the year around here with so many new beginnings, including our son’s first day of Preschool Pals at Real Life Farm Nursery School this Tuesday. Unfortunately, the news is full of opening-week school drama between the power problems at AAPS and the curious Internet outage at U-M.

Let’s hope things calm down as we head into a long, evidently unseasonably warm Labor Day weekend. (Don’t forget all government offices and schools are closed and there will be no trash pickup on Monday.)

As I debate whether to rappel down an EMU dorm for charity, I wish you all a grounded, peaceful week ahead.

– Steve Friess, editor

Internet restored to U-M campuses after mysterious outage: The fall semester began without Wi-Fi or internet connectivity after systems were shut down in response to unspecified cybersecurity concerns, the University Record writes. U-M’s information technology services feed on X announced the end of the outage while also warning that further, minor disruptions may occur. While U-M has not indicated the cause of the problem, Bridge Michigan reports that more than 50 ransomware attacks have hit colleges and universities this year.

Five schools shut down by power failures on first day of classes: Lingering outages from last week’s weather havoc gave an extra day of summer vacation to students at Forsyth Middle School, Huron High School, and Lakewood, Thurston, and Wines elementary schools, according to the AAPS Facebook page. All schools were opened on Tuesday, but a power failure also forced the closure of King Elementary School on Wednesday.

Storm damage temporarily closes the Arb: The intense winds last week felled dozens of trees and left broken limbs and other debris strewn across hiking trails, according to updates on the nature area’s website. Nichols Arboretum has since reopened, but visitors are urged to “refrain from climbing over obstacles or fallen trees.”

Washtenaw family has lost power twenty-four times in fourteen months: The Justices live two miles south of Dexter in an area they dub DTE Energy’s “Bermuda Triangle” because their Lima Twp. area goes dark so frequently, with or without inclement weather, MLive reports. The frequency has increased dramatically since they moved in eighteen years ago, from the occasional storm-related blackout to a constant problem that prompted them to buy a whole-house generator.

Swift support flagged before lawsuit over assault of autistic boy: While trustee Jeff Gaynor called a bombshell report in the Detroit Free Press “a catalyst” for the August vote to terminate the longtime superintendent, “trustees were forming their views [about replacing Jeanice Swift] for other reasons,” James Leonard writes in the September issue of the Observer. The failure to immediately investigate reports that a bus aide hit a student in December 2021, which hit the headlines in July when the child’s mother filed a lawsuit, merely sealed ten-year veteran Swift’s fate. Trustee Jacinda Townsend Gides says the bus assault was “one of the more shocking instances of a phenomenon I’ve heard on the board for six months” – one of “sweeping things under the rug” amid “a culture of bullying people into silence in this district.”

Eberwhite parents outraged by handling of violent incidents: One mother told the school board last week that her now-second-grader son was repeatedly attacked by a classmate but she didn’t know until he came home with a black eye, MLive reports. Another mom said she took her child out of the school after two years because they had witnessed students and teachers being assaulted by students. AAPS officials say they shared a plan to commit more resources to addressing behavioral issues this year.

Huron High football coach quits after six months: Mark Brimmer resigned days after a season-opening 40-13 loss to Lapeer at the Big House last week, MLive writes. He told the outlet he will be quitting coaching, too, for personal reasons. He was hired by Huron in March.

Pilot tells NTSB he wanted to land doomed plane: Daniel Filer, who owned the Soviet-made MiG-23 that crashed at the Yankee Air Museum’s Thunder Over Michigan air show on August 13, told investigators his backseat co-pilot pulled the ejection handle before he was ready to give up on saving the fighter jet, WXYZ reports. The co-pilot says the two discussed the situation and agreed there wasn’t time or opportunity to land on a runway, according to the federal department’s preliminary investigation. A final report won’t be done for at least a year. The two pilots parachuted safely and nobody on the ground was injured when it crashed in an apartment complex parking lot.

E. Washington St. closed for two weeks starting Tuesday: The segment between S. Division and S. State streets will be shut down from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Sept. 22 for the installation of utility infrastructure for a high-rise being built behind Michigan Theater, according to the city’s site. For a map of the detour plans, click here.

After raising $1M+ in 2022, Kiwanis goes pro: The record-breaking year for the 100-year-old nonprofit spurred the hiring of its first-ever executive director, Michigan-born Mary Buck, Cynthia Furlong Reynolds writes in the August issue of the Observer. The charity’s growing and complex lineup of good works including delivering nearly 7,000 Meals on Wheels, participating in Mott Children’s Hospital programs, and more. “Our scope and outreach have become too ambitious to rely on volunteer help alone,” club president Steven Hiller says.

Man drowns while kayaking with grandson: The sixty-nine-year-old Ann Arbor resident did not resurface after their boat capsized on Horseshoe Lake on Tuesday morning, Northfield Twp. police said in a Facebook post. The boy was rescued, and the Washtenaw County Rescue Dive Team recovered the grandfather’s body hours later.

Ypsi man dies in I-94 rollover: The  twenty-three-year-old was among five people in a car heading east in Van Buren Twp. on Sunday when the driver lost control and flipped the car, Fox 2 Detroit reports. Witnesses told police someone was standing up in the car through the sunroof just before the accident. A twenty-year-old woman and a twenty-three-year-old man were hospitalized in critical condition and another twenty-year-old woman was in stable condition. Police say none of the car’s occupants were wearing seat belts.

Detroit man accused of biting bar employee in the groin amid struggle: Nineteen-year-old Gino Hearn allegedly became violent when he was refused entry at Necto Nightclub in downtown Ann Arbor on Saturday, according to an AAPD post on Facebook. Hearn is accused of punching one bar employee and biting two others, including a twenty-year-old who was treated at U-M Hospital for injuries to his testicles. He was arraigned Monday on six charges related to assault and resisting arrest.

Rash of break-ins around campus result in arrest: The fifty-eight-year-old man was collared in connection with a domestic assault early Thursday, but he matched the description of an intruder tied to seven incidents on Tuesday and Wednesday in which someone entered or tried to enter unlocked first-floor windows, the AAPD writes on Facebook. The reports came from the 500, 600, and 800 blocks of Catherine St., the 100 block of N. State, the 1000 block of Prospect St., the 700 block of Dewey Ave., and the 900 block of Sybil St. The Sybil St. break-in occurred about two hours before police were called to Wheeler Park for the assault.

Police release video of vandals tagging Jewish Resource Center: Police believe two young adults, possibly one male and one female, left racist and homophobic graffiti on the sidewalk on August 22, CBS Detroit reports. The rabbi who oversees U-M’s JRC said he’s disheartened that nobody intervened. “That was a huge shock how people just allow other people to deface a building and an organization in the middle of the day,” rabbi Fully Eisenberger said. Anyone with information should call (734) 794-6939 or send the police an email. 

City still looking for new top cop: City administrator Milton Dohoney told council not to hire any of the four finalists who interviewed earlier this month, MLive reports (paywall). Dohoney says the city will continue its search. Interim chief Aimee Metzer has been overseeing the department since July 2022 when former chief Mike Cox left to become police commissioner in Boston.

U-M to explore unarmed, non-police response: In response to the Graduate Employees Organization’s demands during their now-concluded five-month strike, university president Santa Ono said he supports the creation of an alternative unit to respond to some incidents now handled by police, ClickOnDetroit reports. This comes as Ann Arbor issued a request for proposals to create a similar entity, with proposals due by Sept. 21 and council action expected by the end of 2023. Such entities have been a cause celebre for progressive groups looking to reduce interactions with armed police.

Superior Twp. sued in sewer work dispute: Farmington Hills-based LaSalle Construction Services filed in circuit court this month claiming it is owed for a canceled contract related to a replacement sewer pump station, MLive reports (paywall). The company says the site conditions were different than the project bid documents, causing additional costs and delays. Superior Twp. terminated the contract in April 2023, citing “numerous conflicts,” but the company says it is still owed $2.2 million.

Harbaugh wants players to be paid: As another football season kicks off this weekend at the Big House, Michigan’s head coach tells journalists he favors profit-sharing arrangements for student-athletes, ESPN reports. Harbaugh argued at a press conference that because many players are people of color and from underprivileged backgrounds, sharing money from TV deals and other revenue sources is a way of fulfilling the equity piece of the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Meanwhile, during Harbaugh’s three-game suspension to start the season, four assistant coaches will share head-coach duties, ESPN also reports.

A-Rod drops his daughter off at U-M: The retired baseball great took to Instagram this weekend to trumpet the arrival of his daughter, Natasha, in Ann Arbor, making the new Wolverine another in a long line of celebrity children to matriculate. While folks like Madonna and President Obama tried to be as inconspicuous as possible when performing this parental rite of passage, Rodriguez posted more than once on social media and took shots of himself with his daughter in Graffiti Alley and the dorm laundry room.

Peruvian spot to replace Broken Egg: The acclaimed Ferndale restaurant Culantro Peruvian Eatery is set to open a second location at 221 N. Main, according to a sign in the window at the location. Earlier this month, Culantro’s Facebook page boasted having been recognized as Metro Detroit’s best Latin American restaurant by ClickOnDetroit readers and viewers. An opening date has not been announced.

Dunkin Donuts to open in former Cloverleaf spot: The national chain’s first downtown location is expected to welcome customers in November, MLive reports (paywall). It replaces the Cloverleaf, a longtime favorite that shut down in December 2021, at 201 E. Liberty St. The franchisee tells the outlet the company hopes to open a State St. location next year as well.

Vape City relocates to South University after fire: The retailer, offering e-cigarettes, cigars, hookahs, and accessories, was one of two businesses destroyed in a January 20 fire at its Maynard St. location, Dave Algase reports in this month’s Observer. The other business, the Indian restaurant Madras Masala, continues to seek out a new site, the owners tell Algase.

Pet adoptions are free through Sunday: The Humane Society of Huron Valley shelter is full, so the group  is offering cats over five months old and dogs over six months old to the public at no charge this week. All animals are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. To browse the available pets, click here. Adopters also receive a free bag of treats, preventative medicine for dogs, and toys for cats.

Rappel down EMU’s Hill Tower for Friends In Deed: To partake in the “Over The Edge” fundraiser on September 23, participants must agree to raise $1,000 for the Ypsi-based non–profit that provides direct assistance to people in need. Those interested have up to a month after the event to finish raising their donations, and anyone interested in supporting a team can click here to choose one. Hill Tower is an eleven-story EMU residence hall. 

Registration open for Purple Run: The annual 5K benefit for the domestic violence shelter Safehouse Center takes place October 21 and goes around North Campus. Registrants who pay the $35 fee per adult before Oct. 6 are guaranteed a race T-shirt and completion souvenir. The event is hosted by the U-M Police Department, AAPD, and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office. To register, click here.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Catch stand-up comic Zak Toscani’s reflections on “trickle-down therapy,” touring the South when you look like Jesus, and more. The L.A.-based performer appears 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Bløm Meadworks, 100 S. Fourth Ave. Tickets $10 here, and, if available, at the door and include a 12 oz. pour of mead, cider, or non-alcoholic beverage. (734) 548–9729.

Saturday:  Hear a string quartet from the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market from 9:30 to 11 a.m. The A2SO also presents chamber music in September at the Westside Farmers Market in Dexter, Ypsilanti Farmers Market, and Chelsea Farmers Market. See the full schedule here. (734) 994–4801. Free.

Sunday: Ride the World Cup wave all the way to see the U-M women’s soccer team vs. Cincinnati. 1 p.m. at the U-M Soccer Stadium, 2250 S. State. The team’s other home games in September are against WMU, St. Joseph’s, Minnesota, Iowa, Rutgers, and Penn State. Find tickets $6 and $8 (groups of 10 or more, $3 each) and full schedule here. (734) 764–0247.

Monday (Labor Day): Take a 5K walk entitled the “Bridges of Ypsilanti,” across 10 of the 14 spans as part of the city’s year-long bicentennial celebration. Led by amateur naturalist and historian Stefan Szumko. Rain or shine. Children must be accompanied by parents. 10 a.m., meet at the Ypsilanti Freighthouse, 100 Market Pl., Ypsilanti. Free (donations accepted). No registration required.

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

Tell a friend about a2view

For Sponsorship and Advertising information 
Email:  a2view@aaobserver.com

Did this email get forwarded to you? 
Sign up to receive a2view direct to your inbox.