Here’s my take on the scuffle after Michigan upset Ohio State in The Game on Saturday: ‍♂️.

I mean, it wouldn’t be much of a rivalry without this sort of nonsense, would it? What else would sports historians use to pad their documentaries about the generations-long feud? Game footage only gets you so far. Testosterone-fueled post-game drama is one way to prove the fire is still alive.

In any event, happy December. Mine started by heading to the Diag to help the New York Times cover a protest on Tuesday against possible changes to U-M’s approach to DEI. That story link is below, and as you read this odds are I’ll be at today’s regents meeting to see what happens next.

We have plenty of other news here, too, including the unexpected passing of county treasurer Catherine McClary. I never got to meet her, but I thought it was very kind of her to take time early this year to send a handwritten condolence card after reading here that our dog, Blue, had died. I bet lots of people have stories like that.

– Steve Friess, editor

Rallies defend DEI: Diversity, equity, and inclusion has become such a political hot potato that even U-M’s Democratic-dominated board is rethinking how to deploy the millions spent on it, the New York Times reports. In a pre-emptive move, hundreds of faculty, staff, and students gathered on the Diag on Tuesday to support it. “I don’t think a single person in this audience thinks that the D.E.I. initiatives at this university are perfect, but I know that every single person here knows that without those initiatives, this university would be a worse place yet,” junior Pragya Choudhary told the crowd. Regent Mark Bernstein told the Times that he hopes to see “our efforts in D.E.I. focus on redirecting funding directly to students and away from a bloated administrative bureaucracy.” The Black Student Union rallied again today at the president’s house, then stood vigil outside the Ruthven Administration Building, where the regents are considering changes to the DEI program.

U-M drops diversity statements, expands Go Blue Guarantee: In the Times article, regent Sarah Hubbard challenged requirements that job applicants write “diversity statements” avowing support for DEI concepts. Earlier today, provost Laura McCauley announced that following a faculty review, the university “will no longer solicit diversity statements as part of faculty hiring, promotion, or tenure.” At the regents meeting, president Santa Ono announced that the income threshhold for the Go Blue Guarantee will increase from $75,000 a year to $125,000 in 2025, extending the free tuition program to an additional 2,200 in-state undergrads. 

U-M, OSU fined $100K each for melee: After Michigan upset the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes in Columbus for their fourth straight win in the storied rivalry, some Wolverines hoping to rub it in by “planting” the Block M flag in the middle of Ohio Stadium were confronted by unhappy Ohio State players. The ensuing tussle, which can be viewed here via ESPN, escalated to fisticuffs, and security deployed pepper spray to defuse the situation. Then the Big Ten made it costly, issuing the fines the next day along with a statement: “Not only did the actions of both teams violate fundamental elements of sportsmanship such as respect and civility, the nature of the incident also jeopardized the safety of participants and bystanders.”

Inside the pursuit of quarterback Bryce Underwood: The Wall Street Journal (paywall) digs out some terrific detail about tech billionaire Larry Ellison’s role in persuading the Belleville High phenom and No. 1-rated Class of 2025 prospect to flip from LSU to U-M. Ellison’s involvementwas mysterious because he had no known ties to Michigan. The connection turned out to be his alumna wife – even though he’d never made it publicly known he’d remarried after his fourth divorce in 2012. Another intriguing morsel was that U-M alum and seven-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady spoke to Underwood and his family multiple times as part of the effort. “That was another incentive—to be able to have the opportunity to talk to one of the greatest of all time on the daily, whenever you feel like giving him a call,” said Underwood’s father, Jay. Underwood committed to U-M last week after being offered a name, image, and likeness package reportedly worth more than $10 million.

Prop C and D proponents blame failure on “deliberate, calculated deceit”: Ann Arbor voters soundly rejected proposals to eliminate primaries and turn municipal offices nonpartisan, but organizers of those efforts tell the Observer’s James Leonard that that they think residents were misled by “a well-executed, careful, extremely well-funded campaign” of disinformation perpetrated by mayor Christopher Taylor and others. Taylor responded that voters recognized that “the proposals were inherently and fatally flawed,” and that “blaming ‘disinformation’ for a 70–30 loss is election denialism, an insult to voters’ intelligence.”

U-M poised to buy seven parcels for $19.6M: The agenda for today’s regents meeting calls for the approval of purchases of a house at 116 E. Hoover Ave. for $900,000; houses at 144 and 146 E. Hoover Ave. and Hoover Street Auto Repair at 142 E. Hoover for $5.7 million; a house at 425 Church St. and apartment building at 503 Church St., for $5.8 million; and a house at 1214 Washtenaw Ct. for $7.2 million. In each case, the proposal cites the land as “strategically located” near either the Ruthven Building or Michigan Stadium. MLive noted (paywall) that the 2050 campus plan envisions an “elevated guideway transit system” with facilities near Ruthven and an outdoor “fan zone” by the stadium.

Thurston families push alternative new school plan: Lia Rose, whose two children went to the elementary school, announced the formation of the group Let Thurston Play in a NextDoor post (account required) in which she castigated the Ann Arbor School District for plans to build a new school that would “destroy huge swaths of green spaces and force children to attend school 35 ft from active construction sites for 4 years.” In a thirteen-minute YouTube video, Thurston parent Pete Andruskiewicz, an engineer, lays out a proposal for building the new school in stages that would preserve the greenspace and be less disruptive to ongoing school operations.

Council grounds plan to extend runway: Pittsfield Twp., where the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport lies, sued MDOT and the city to block lengthening the runway on grounds it would increase carbon emissions and noise, MLive reports. On Monday, facing resident opposition as well, council voted 8-3 to reject a $618,700 contract for engineering services to design the proposed extension. Airport officials say extending the runway, which is 3,500 feet, would improve safety, pointing to eleven overruns since 1998. Councilmembers cited environmental concerns about increased jet traffic.

Developer wants to add a story, broaden high-rise: Landmark Properties already is approved to replace the shopping center at 1208 S. University that houses Pinball Pete’s with a seventeen-story, 186-unit mixed-use tower, but now the city says they’ve asked to make it eighteen floors and combine a parcel at 610 S. Forest Ave. The new proposal would have 259 rental apartments and 5,189-square-feet of ground-level retail space. An informational meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the downtown library.

City weighs ban on renter “junk fees”: Councilmembers Travis Radina and Cynthia Harrison say they plan to bring a proposed ordinance up for a vote after the city’s attorneys review it, MLive writes (paywall). The draft of the bill filed last month would bar landlords from charging potential tenants to be on waiting lists and other “pre-tenancy fees,” and would cap application fees at $50 that would be refundable if a lease is not offered.

Longtime county treasurer Catherine McClary dies: Her death Tuesday at age seventy-two was unexpected, according to a statement from county administrator Gregory Dill, and came weeks before she was set to retire from the post she held for nearly thirty years. In 1974, at twenty-two, McClary became the youngest commissioner elected in Washtenaw County and went on to serve fourteen years in that position. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and county commissioner Annie Somerville were among those paying tribute with public statements. No cause of death has been released.

A2 state rep slaps back at GOP colleague seeking to ban same-sex marriage: Oxford-based Josh Schriver, known for provocative and controversial views, posted on X that he wants to make marriage equality “illegal again,” insisting that this view is “not remotely controversial, nor extreme.” Michigan Democratic Party vice chair and Ann Arbor representative Jason Morgan, who is married to newly elected city councilmember Jon Mallek, replied: “This is definitely both controversial and extreme, along with anti-family. I grew up believing I’d never be able to get married and I’m not going back.”

Ypsi City Council ditches Pledge of Allegiance: It will no longer be recited to open public meetings, WEMU reports. Councilmember Desirae Simmons introduced the resolution, saying she doesn’t “feel comfortable pledging allegiance to a flag.” Mayor Nicole Brown says she expects the pledge will be replaced with something else such as a moment of silence.

AAPD steps up patrols on three thoroughfares: As part of its Vision Zero effort to “eliminate fatalities and serious injuries resulting from traffic crashes,” the city is designating “corridors” for increased traffic enforcement, according to a press release. They are Washtenaw Ave. between Geddes Ave. and Huron Pkwy., Packard St. between Fifth Ave. and Turnberry Dr., and Jackson Rd. between Burwood and Gralake avenues. “Our goal isn’t to increase tickets given out by officers, but rather to change driving behavior,” AAPD officer Kasey Whitford said.

AI devices deployed to assess bike safety: The Downtown Development Authority and tech firm tech firm Velo AI recruited volunteers to wear a Velo-made “Copilot” light and camera while cycling around Ann Arbor to analyze the behavior of surrounding vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists, MLive writes (paywall). The study compared “vehicle overtakes” – when cars passed cyclists – along portions of Miller., Catherine., N. Division. W. Washington, and Packard that don’t have protected bike lanes with the downtown’s protected bikeway loop. They recorded many more “stressful” passes – where vehicles came within less than five feet of the cyclists – on unprotected lanes. “The data shows that we need to connect the downtown bikeway with the rest of the city to ensure all people can access the amenities, services, and jobs downtown if they need to or choose to ride a bike,” DDA capital projects and planning manager Amber Miller concluded.

City puts $500K into supplemental snow plowing: Council approved a contract this week with Saline Twp.-based KBK Landscaping Inc. to help clear neighborhood streets faster after storms, according to city records. “The current goal is to have all local roads plowed and hills, curves and intersections salted within 24 hours after snow stops falling,” public works manager Paul Matthews wrote in the proposal.

Prosecutors add twenty-two new charges against church youth director: Twenty-nine-year-old Zachary Radcliff of the Oakwood Church in Saline now faces a total of thirty-three felony counts including first-degree criminal sexual conduct, criminal sexual conduct with a person under thirteen, child abuse, and using the internet to commit a crime, CBS Detroit reports. The incidents are alleged to have occurred over the course of a decade. Radcliff is the son of the church’s senior pastor.

Man accused of approaching Tappan students for “immoral purposes”: Twenty-four-year-old Edward Newland of Ypsilanti was arraigned last week after middle-school students told police he asked them to get into his car on two occasions last month, according to an AAPD Facebook post. In April, Newland pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon, second-degree home invasion, and third-degree criminal sexual conduct connected to a home invasion and attempted sexual assault in Pittsfield Twp. in 2023, according to MLive. The suspect, who was on probation at the time of his most recent arrest, is currently being held at Washtenaw County Jail.

Teens arrested in Briarwood armed robbery: A sixteen-year-old boy and a seventeen-year-old boy were arrested after an employee at Champs Sports store told police they brandished a gun and took items without paying for them on Nov. 25, ClickOnDetroit reports. Officers recovered two guns, an extended magazine, and the items stolen from the store.

Ozone House loses a third of its budget: The nonprofit, which provides shelter and other services for unhoused youths, lost the $250,000 grant that funded its Miller House transitional residence in Ann Arbor, MLive reports (paywall). Director Kellie Rutledge blamed a new timeline that doubled competition for the funds. Ozone House, with support from the Ypsi City Council, is asking the state for a one-time grant to make up the difference.

Mott receives $10M to renovate two units: The money from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation will be used to revamp the Brandon Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Reese Partlow Pediatric Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit as well as the add beds to the latter, according to a Michigan Medicine press release. The work is expected to be finished by the end of 2026.

Michigan Medicine to discontinue UM Health Plan: The university “will continue to offer other comprehensive health insurance plans to benefits-eligible faculty, staff and retirees” but will drop its own programs at the end of 2025, the University Record writes. The Michigan Care HMO and Michigan Care Advantage PPO currently cover about 64,000 patients.

Paul Whelan struggles to rebuild his life after Russian captivity: The fifty-four-year-old Ann Arbor native, held for more than five years on trumped-up spy charges, is now living with his parents in Manchester and facing difficulties getting work, credit, identification, public assistance, and insurance, the Detroit News reports (paywall). “The noise we’re trying to work through is extremely frustrating because you think that when you get off the plane, there is going to be support,” he said. He was released in August as part of a multinational prisoner swap and has traveled to Washington D.C. to thank officials who helped him get home, but he’s angry that BorgWarner, his employer when he was arrested, eliminated his job a year into his captivity and never advocated for his freedom.

Fall victim finds man who saved her: Three years after leaping from the balcony of her third-floor apartment on Geddes Rd. to escape an attacker, Kaavya Ramachandhran connected by phone with Stephen Moss, a neighbor who found her and stayed with her until the ambulance arrived, MLive reports (paywall). The now-twenty-three-year-old, who suffered broken ribs and a fractured spine and continues a gruelling rehabilitation in Ohio, tried for years to figure out who the stranger was. Last month, she posted on Reddit hoping to find him – and succeeded. Moss, now twenty-four, was a U-M undergrad and EMT at the time; he is now an epidemiologist in Massachusetts.

Observer scribe – and a2view editor! – works the polls on Election Day: Yours truly pulled a fifteen-hour shift for $18 an hour minding the electronic poll book in Dixboro on Nov. 5, an adventure that reassured him of the integrity of the process. In a My Town essay for this month’s Observer, I wrote: “Poll workers represent the very best of America. It may be the only place in the political system where Republicans, Democrats, and independents still set aside partisanship for something more important—to keep the system functioning safely and honestly.”

New LGBTQ bar opens: Co-owner Saharsh Hajela, a twenty-eight-year-old software engineer, wants Uplift to be a refuge for marginalized people, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. Ann Arbor has been without a queer watering hole since the Aut Bar closed in 2020. Uplift is a bright, open remake of the former Millennium Club on the ground floor of the First St. building that also houses the Circ Bar upstairs and Rabbit Hole; a rounded extension of its bar facilitates conversation over Cosmos and seltzers near a queer history wall. ”When you come to a queer neighborhood bar to celebrate, you can be unapologetically yourself,” Hajela said.

ALDI debuts in Ypsilanti Twp.: The discount grocery chain’s third location in the county opened its doors Wednesday at 1420 S. Huron Rd, the company’s website says. To celebrate, the store is giving away a $500 gift card in a drawing to customers who enter by Sunday by scanning a code on a sign in the shop.

Artists collective takes over Williams Sonoma space at Briarwood: Inspire Marketplace “was never set up for profit,” owner Nikko Davidson tells Dave Algase in this month’s Observer. “The business model is set up for shared expenses. I take all the risk for it.” About seventy-five vendors, mostly artists, display their wares on a commission basis, in addition to paying a share of the rent. From handbags to apparel to jewelry repurposed from vintage silverware, almost everything is handmade. Many have Detroit or Michigan themes.

U-M med students brave the cold to collect donations for kids: The ninety-eighth Galens Tag Days, which run today through Saturday, sends future doctors wearing signboards and red ponchos to stand on chilly corners around Ann Arbor to raise money for Ele’s Place, Girls Group and other children’s causes, WXYZ reports. Organizers say last year’s Tag Days raised more than $80,000.

Inmates grow 15K pounds of produce for Food Gatherers: The Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Pittsfield Twp. is one of seventeen across the state where prisoners tend gardens as part of a vocational program in horticulture, according to a press release. In all, the MDOC residents grew more than 100,000 pounds of fresh food that was donated to various local causes.

AAPD collecting toys for Mott kids: Harper’s Toy Drive is an annual effort to collect gifts for children who are spending the holidays in the hospital. To participate, drop off new, unwrapped toys by Dec. 12 at the Ann Arbor police office at 301 E. Huron St.; the U-M police office at 1239 Kipke Dr.; the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office at 2201 Hogback Rd.; the Northfield Twp. Police office at 8350 Main St in Whitmore Lake, or the second floor of Mudpuddles at 407 N. 5th Ave. Monetary donations can be made via Venmo to @Shellie-Mathis. 

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Celebrate the season at “Kindlefest,” “Midnight Madness,” and Merry Market,” a collection of street fairs across downtown Ann Arbor that include live music, artist markets, merchant sales, food trucks, mulled wine, free cocoa, and more. Kids activities include balloon animals, crafts, and a sing-along with Santa (5 to 7 p.m., Farmers Market). 5 to 10 p.m., various locations along Main St., State St., S. Fourth Ave., and the Kerrytown District. Free admission. 

Saturday: See local actors in the world premiere of “Last Summer,” an original one-act drama written by Ann Arbor graphic novelist Jim Ottaviani in collaboration with the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre. It is based on a conversation after a U-M symposium in 1939, in which Nobel-prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi sought to persuade fellow laureate Werner Heisenberg not to return to Germany, where he would be enlisted in the Nazi effort to build an atomic bomb. Runtime approximately twenty minutes. Dec. 7 and 11. 2 p.m. (Sat.) and 6:30 p.m. (Wed.), Ann Arbor District Library Downtown. Free.

Sunday: Take a trip back in time to Cobblestone Farm Association’s “Country Christmas,” a re-creation of a mid-19th-century Christmas, with period decorations, cooking on the woodstove, roasting chestnuts, loom-weaving demos, kids activities, hands-on wreath making, and live traditional Irish music. Sale of fine art and handmade crafts. Docent-guided tours of the restored 1844 Ticknor-Campbell farmhouse and grounds. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Cobblestone Farm, 2781 Packard (next to Buhr Park). Free (donations appreciated).

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

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