I took over this gig as your news sherpa one year ago this week which hardly seems possible. Where does the time go? In addition to getting to know the city and county so much better, I’ve also learned a lot about the beauty of moths, picked up some terrific restaurant recommendations, and stirred some controversy. All in a year’s work!
 
This week’s rundown is a little shorter than usual but answers a number of lingering questions. Who replaces Jim Harbaugh? (A really good guy.) What becomes of the ambitious but controversial Sports Illustrated hotel idea? (Not much.) Did they find a suspect in that gruesome hit-and-run? (Yes, and the whole thing is incredibly sad on every level.)
 
As I express thanks to you readers for a good ride so far, I wish everyone a week full of gratitude and grace.
 
– Steve Friess, editor

Plan for Sports Illustrated-themed downtown condo-resort shelved: After a raucous community meeting Monday in which four city councilmembers joined several residents in opposing the sixteen-story project, SI Resorts CEO Chris Schroeder told the Detroit Free Press they’re no longer pursuing the city-owned Kline’s parking lot at Ashley and William. The project had support from Destination Ann Arbor leaders who viewed the 70,000-square-foot convention center as a needed venue. Schroeder, an Ann Arbor resident, says his firm will look into alternative sites away from downtown.
 
U-M hires Sherrone Moore to replace Jim Harbaugh: The thirty-seven-year-old offensive coordinator was the odds-on favorite to take over as head coach, having won four games as substitute head coach during his predecessor’s suspensions last fall, ClickOnDetroit writes. Moore, the team’s first Black head coach, signed a five-year contract that starts at $5.5 million per year, according to a memo posted on social media by MLive’s Aaron McMann. Moore will have his own big vacancy to fill as defensive coordinator Jesse Minter follows Harbaugh to the L.A. Chargers, Yahoo! Sports reports.
 
Wolverine Lake woman charged in fatal Superior Twp. hit-and-run: Courtney J. Waldick, twenty-four, is accused of hitting fifty-three-year-old Shelly Mason and leaving her to die in a ditch on Jan. 21 along Prospect Rd., MLive reports. Police found the vehicle involved, a white Jeep Grand Cherokee that left debris at the scene, two days before Waldick was arrested. She is charged with failure to stop at an accident causing death, a felony that carries a maximum fifteen-year sentence.
 
U-M senior dies in Aspen ski accident: Eileen Sheahan, twenty-two, of Evanston, Ill., hit a tree on Jan. 27, according to her obituary. Sheahan was due to graduate with an economics degree in May. “She was a rock to so many, and a bright light wherever she was,” the obituary said. Sheahan is survived by her parents, two sisters, and a brother.
 
Affordable housing complex moving ahead in Kerrytown area: The six-story, sixty-three-unit apartment building is expected to break ground in the spring following a unanimous council vote approving the partnership between the city’s Housing Commission and nonprofit Avalon Housing, MLive writes. It is slated for what is now a public parking lot at Fourth Ave. and Catherine St.
 
Solar panels in front yards OK’d: Council unanimously approved the change, undoing a seven-year ban to allow photovoltaic arrays as long as they’re set back 10 feet from the property line, MLive writes. However, arrays visible from the street are still prohibited in historic districts.
 
County’s first electric vehicle fire provides valuable lessons: A Tesla and a Volvo plug-in hybrid burned on Jan. 3 in a garage in Scio Twp.’s Loch Alpine subdivision, Cynthia Furlong Reynolds writes in this month’s Observer. The vehicles did not cause the fire – it started in an extension cord used to charge them – but EV fires pose additional dangers to first responders: electric shocks, burns from extremely high temperatures, toxic fumes and runoff, and the possibility that the battery could seem to be extinguished only to reignite later. Six days after the fire, Scio Township fire chief Andrew Houde submitted a request to buy a state-of-the-art water tanker, this one equipped with a hook and winch that can be used to tow burning EVs.

Automotive Research Center lands $100M grant: The funding extends the U-M-led center’s agreement with the U.S. Army to work on autonomous vehicle technologies, the University Record writes. The five-year deal represents a sharp increase in the federal government’s financial investment with ARC which, since 1994, “has served as a source of technology and first-in-class modeling and simulation for the Army’s fleet of vehicles — the largest such fleet in the world.” ARC is a collaboration of fourteen universities and institutes.

Faculty Senate calls on U-M to divest over Israel-Hamas war: In a 38-17 vote, the body demanded the university sell off “financial holdings in companies that invest in Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza,” the Record writes. U-M’s CFO responded that the school’s policy is to “shield the endowment from political pressures” and make investment decisions based on financial factors. In a separate 50-5 vote, the Senate also approved a statement that “deprecates” the administration for constraining free expression when it canceled plans for student votes on war-related resolutions.

Feds open probe into alleged Islamic slur at Tappan Middle School: The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights alerted the school district of the investigation after a Palestinian Muslim eighth-grader says a counselor referred to him as a terrorist, the Michigan Daily reports. The move was praised by the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which filed the complaint on behalf of the student.
 
State follows AAPS on drinking water safety: All Michigan schools and child care centers must install filtered drinking water stations and regularly test for lead and particulates under law, approaches pioneered by the Ann Arbor Public Schools after heightened awareness brought on from the Flint water crisis, James Leonard writes in this month’s Observer. AAPS spent $1.5 million installing nearly 1,500 filtered water stations and instituting routine quality testing, a bargain versus the billions it might have cost to replace all potential lead sources in the schools’ pipes.
 
Dog dies in icy Huron River: First responders were unable to resuscitate the animal after it fell through the ice at Gallup Park on Friday, according to an AAFD post on Facebook. This was the second incident of a dog going out on ice and falling into the water in the past two years, the department said, warning, “NO ICE IS SAFE ICE ever on the Huron River.”
 
Senators want post office renamed for Robert Hayden: If the measure from Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow passes, the facility at 2075 W. Stadium Blvd. would honor the nation’s first Black poet laureate and the first Black member of U-M’s English Department, according to a press release. Last February, the city OK’d historic status for Hayden’s one-time home on Gardner Ave. in Lower Burns Park.
 
AAPL kicks off Black History Month with film premiere: “There Goes The Neighborhood,” a documentary about the closing of the majority-Black Jones school in 1965 in an effort to desegregate, will be shown Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Michigan Theatre as part of the city’s bicentennial observance. It’s one of several free events including talks and movie screenings coming to various libraries for Black History Month. A schedule of all related activities can be found here.

Former engineer finds happiness in an Asian-inspired bakery: Q Bakehouse & Market represents a radical career change for thirty-year-old owner Rachel Liu Martindale, who realized she didn’t enjoy engineering, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. Liu Martindale found her passion and success in baking, and now she’s opened a storefront formerly occupied by the sustainable floral design studio Sunburst Blooms.
 
Briarwood to get a grocery store: As part of the ambitious mixed-use redevelopment of the soon-to-be-demolished Sears, the mall owners have chosen employee-owned Harvest Market for a 57,000-square-foot berth in the east wing, according to a press release. The Ann Arbor location, due to open in fall of 2025, would be the third outpost for Harvest, which currently has locations in downstate Illinois.
 
South U cafe expands to Ypsi:  Vertex Coffee Roasters announced on social media that they are taking over the space on N. River St. last home to Cultivate Coffee and Tap House. Unlike Cultivate, Vertex will not serve alcohol.

City seeks volunteers for controlled burn training: Each spring from Feb. 16 to May 31, the city’s Natural Area Preservation burns areas of parks and nature areas to keep invasive species in check, enrich the soil, and remove dead material. NAP enlists the help of volunteers who must register by Feb. 15 and attend a Feb. 16 training session at Cobblestone Farm. There’s an informational meeting at 7 p.m. on Feb. 13 at 3875 E. Huron River Dr., or anyone interested can watch a one–hour YouTube video about the controlled burn program. For more information, click here or call (734) 794-6627.
 
Blood donation competition runs through Feb. 23: The Big Heart Blood Battle is a contest between U-M, Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State, and the University of Wisconsin to see which can collect the most blood amid a twenty-year low. Here is a calendar with sites and hours for locations across the U-M campus including the Michigan Union and University of Michigan Hospital. Donors should use “goblue” when scheduling and will receive a t-shirt and a Washtenaw Dairy coupon.
 
Dominos donates $25K to Ypsi for snow removal: The pizza chain is making the gifts to twenty cities across the U.S., and city officials say they’ll use it for equipment upgrades, MLive reports. Dominos started in the 1960s as a pizza shop on Cross St. and now has more than 20,000 stores worldwide.

By Jennifer Taylor
 
Friday: Hear Washington D.C. vocalist Christie Dashiell and U-M jazz piano professor Andy Milne explore jazz and pop classics at the Kerrytown Concert House. Dashiell was chosen as Outstanding Jazz Vocal Soloist by DownBeat and the Guardian calls Milne “a superb pianist of Herbie Hancock–like fluency.” 7:30 p.m., KCH, 415 N. Fourth Ave. Tickets $29 to $50 (students, $19) in advance online and at the door. Reservations recommended. (734) 769–2999.
 
Saturday: Take part in the annual Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission “Hunt for the Yeti”, a search for the elusive Eddie the Yeti with clues, riddles, and prizes. Followed by hot cocoa & a snack. Noon to 1 p.m., 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., and 1 to 2 p.m., Rolling Hills County Park, 7660 Stony Creek Rd. $5, plus $6 (nonresidents, $10) vehicle entry fee. Preregistration required here.
 
Sunday: Listen to storyteller Bil Lepp, five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars Contest, tell tales at The Ark. Lepp spins humorous tall tales about everyday life that often contain morsels of truth while presenting universal themes in clever and witty ways. 7:30 p.m., The Ark, 316 S. Main. Tickets $25 in advance at the Michigan Union Ticket Office and here or buy at the door. (734) 761–1818.

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

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