The first-ever concert planned for Michigan Stadium sold out its 112,000 tickets in less than three hours. The show, headlined by country superstar Zach Bryan, is shaping up to be the largest ticketed concert in North American history. I can only imagine how much Pioneer High and the folks who rent out their front yards as parking spaces will rake in. It’s a really, really big deal.

Don’t worry if you read about this when it was announced last week and thought, “Who?” Bryan is such a recent sensation that he only received best new artist honors at the Country Music Awards and Billboard Awards in 2023.

To my mind, the only surprise is that it took this long for U-M, usually so on point with ways to cash in on everything related to its athletics department, to do this. I’m looking forward to reading more in the months to come about how the event came together.

For right now, I have your news. U-M is buying more real estate, Ann Arbor Twp. may build a new water tower, a dog custody dispute makes a murder even more tragic, and someone took a fire truck for a joy ride. Who among us hasn’t wanted to? 

– Steve Friess, editor

Local Marine vet fired by VA in national spotlight: After the Associated Press interviewed thirty-five-year-old Andrew Lennox, who served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, he went on to appear on CNN, Task & Purpose, Stars and Stripes, and elsewhere. Lennox is one of more than 1,000 VA employees nationwide dismissed last week as part of job cuts across the federal workforce. He was a probationary employee and part of a new supervisor training program at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Ann Arbor. “In order to help veterans, you just fired a veteran,” Lennox told the Detroit News. The News reports at least seven Ann Arbor VA employees lost their jobs.

Ono says U-M is studying impact of DOJ’s anti-DEI missive: The university president writes in a public memo that the school received a letter from the Department of Justice’s Office for Civil Rights that asserts that any use of race in admissions, programs, or scholarships is illegal under a 2023 Supreme Court decision. “I am working with university leaders … to understand the full impact and implications of the guidance,” Ono writes. Schools have just two weeks to comply or risk losing federal funding.

Regents to decide on buying Harris Hall: Staff recommends paying $4.1 million for the historic red-brick building at State and Huron, according to the agenda for today’s meeting. Built in 1887 by St. Andrew’s Episcopal Parish and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s been used as offices since 1980. The regents will also act on a recommendation to buy 403 E.Church St., a home built around 1900 that is now a student rental. The agenda says Harris Hall “will support the university’s need for additional space for its operations” and the Church address “will further the university’s options for development in this strategic area on campus.”

U-M wants land in Ann Arbor Twp. for water tower: Regents also are expected to approve a lease for two acres at the Ann Arbor Technology Park east of US-23 for a new tower, according to the meeting agenda. “With growth in both the Township and the City, adding a water tower is critically important to meet the upcoming and future needs of those who live and work in the Township, including the University’s East Medical Center campus and future growth in the Ann Arbor Technology Park,” according to documents supporting the sixty-year lease.

A trio of downtown hotels move ahead: Eight years after it was first proposed, the 188-room Vanguard Ann Arbor is expected to open in spring, Antonio Cooper writes in this month’s Observer. It’s been a long haul for Miami-based developer Finvarb and their Michigan partners; Covid delayed the start of construction on the hotel on Glen Ave. between Ann and Catherine streets until 2022. “We are training our staff and getting everything [ready], from cooking meals to cleaning rooms,” developer Robert Finvarb says. It will be part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. Another Marriott brand, with 139 rooms, is coming along, too; First Martin Corporation’s Marriott AC Hotel broke ground last spring and hopes to open by fall. Meanwhile, MLive reports that developers of a Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott that won approval from the city in 2021 at First and Huron streets are asking for approval for changes to the plan. 

A2 hires first economic development director: Joe Giant, community development administrator in Fort Wayne, IN, will start in mid-March, the city announced this week. A former city planner in Fort Wayne and Minneapolis, Giant is seen as an expert in crafting public-private initiatives for mixed-use developments. The city hopes the new position will expedite housing construction at all income levels.

City hires real estate broker for $700K to sell two downtown lots: Council voted unanimously to contract Southfield-based CBRE for eighteen months to find buyers and developers for the polluted former city yard at 415 W. Washington St. and the old Kline’s parking lot at Ashley and William, MLive reports (paywall). There’s been talk of public or private development of the parcels for decades, but nothing has ever come to fruition. City administrator Milton Dohoney told council the $700,000 price is reasonable for the firm’s expertise and vast network of contacts. 

Dog adoptions down at shelter: Humane Society of Huron Valley president Tanya Hilgendorf tells WEMU that a 10 percent drop last year reflects “a pretty sad and troubling trend that we’re seeing really across the country.” Financial hardships are prompting dog owners to abandon their pets at a higher rate, but more people seeking pets are buying designer breeds – which she calls “just expensive mutts.” The result is crowding at the shelter. “We as shelters need a pretty simple formula,” Hilgendorf explains. “We need more animals leaving than we have coming in. And right now, we have the opposite. We have that imbalance of more coming in than are leaving.”

Trinity Health Ann Arbor lands $10M for Reichart plan: The anonymous gift will establish a new neurosciences institute on its hospital campus, according to a press release. The money will go to renovate the sixth floor of the Reichert Building to house neurology subspecialists, geriatric medicine, neuropsychology, neurodiagnostic testing, and infusion services. The hospital also plans to expand outpatient dementia and Alzheimer’s care.

Woman dies in rollover crash: A twenty-nine-year-old from Van Buren Twp. was heading west on Jackson Ave. early Saturday when she struck a tree on the median, Ann Arbor police wrote on Facebook. She had continued straight when the road curved near Gralake Ave. Another fatal crash occurred in the same area in June, when an eighteen-year-old passenger from Taylor died and a driver and another passenger were injured.

Spate of sledding accidents at Veterans Park spurs alarm: A nine-year-old suffered a fractured skull and a sixteen-year-old fractured her spine over the weekend, MLive reports. The city’s parks and recreations services manager says they are “looking into any precautions that we can add to the hill to help reduce the chance of additional incidents from happening.” A caution sign, noting recent hospitalizations, appeared overnight Monday. 

Families of murder victims say Ypsi police failing them: Relatives tell WXYZ that homicides are going uninvestigated as turmoil envelops the department amid a mass exodus of officers unhappy with decisions made by outgoing chief Kirk Moore. The loss of personnel led to YPD turning over violent crime cases to the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office last summer.The mother of Jason Mayleben, shot and killed in a parked car nearly three years ago, says she’s been told that nobody is working the case.

Custody of dog disputed in wake of stabbing death: Isabelle, a nine-year-old golden retriever, was living with Ed Berger and Susan Hammerton in Pittsfield Twp. when a home intruder stabbed all three in September, MLive reports. Hammerton, eighty-one, died, and her daughter, Elana James, took the dog home with her to Texas last month. James’ attorney asserts that Isabelle belongs to her as a named beneficiary in Hammerton’s will, although the will does not specify who would own Isabelle. Berger says he and Hammerton jointly bought the dog from a breeder, and he may sue James to get her back.

Suspect arrested in fire truck theft: Scio Twp. fire chief Andrew Houde says someone got into the vehicle while it was out on an assignment and drove off on Friday afternoon, CBS Detroit reports. The truck was driven into Ann Arbor on Jackson Ave. and pulled over by AAPD near Lakeview Dr. The driver was arrested.

Housing panel votes to dissolve: Council will have the final say on whether to disband the Ann Arbor Housing and Human Services Advisory Board, but its members recommended doing so earlier this month, WEMU reports. The board was established in 2007 to make recommendations on meeting the needs of low-income residents, but city officials now feel its scope is achievable through other public boards.

Retired U-M economics prof recalls Holocaust trauma: Ninety-four-year-old Irene Hasenberg Butter tells Cynthia Furlong Reynolds in this month’s Observer about her family’s Berlin bank being confiscated, moving to Amsterdam, and eventually becoming a prisoner at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp; they were on their way to freedom through a prisoner exchange when her father died. She didn’t speak about her experience for many years, but when her daughter asked her to appear at her school, she realized the importance of keeping the history alive. Next month, the Netherlands’ Council of State will honor Butter with the Anne Frank Award for Human Dignity and Tolerance during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Butter knew Anne Frank in Amsterdam and tried to help her at Bergen-Belsen days before her death.

School board member celebrates new dyslexia measures she pushed: Susan Ward Schmidt, also a former special education teacher, tells James Leonard in this month’s Observer about the years she spent working with Ann Arbor state senator Jeff Irwin to craft the laws passed in September to require screenings and teacher education regarding the reading disorder. Despite opposition from testing companies that feared losing business, the bills passed overwhelmingly and will take effect in the 2027–28 school year.

Oat milk becomes MDining’s default: At campus food services, the plant-based dairy substitute is what you’re served unless you ask specifically for cow’s milk, the Michigan Daily writes. MDining shifted from Prairie Farms dairy milk to Chobani Barista Edition oat milk in the fall semester because the production of oat milk results in 16 and 41 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than cow’s milk, says Gregory Keoleian, co-director of the Center for Sustainable Systems at the School for Environment and Sustainability.

Ten Thousand Villages closing March 30: After twenty years, the downtown store offering handcrafted items from artisans around the world will offer a series of farewell discounts, according to a posting on the shop’s Facebook page. Sales will continue online. “Thank you for being a part of our journey and for sharing in our commitment to building a more equitable world,” the organizers write. “Together, we’ve shown that ethical shopping is not just possible—it’s transformative.”

From CVS to the Lego aftermarket: Bricks & Minifigs, which opened in December in Scio Twp., is Evan Boran and Salima Matariyeh’s second franchises in Michigan, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. While working as division managers for CVS, the couple discovered a niche when selling their sons’ surplus Legos online and are opening brick-and-mortar stores under the Utah-based brand. Pre-built, pre-owned sets are the top-selling category, but hobbyists will also find new sets as well as individual miniature figures and a myriad of bricks and other pieces to feed their creative appetites. One popular offering is a half-gallon tub of bulk bricks for $25, refillable for $15 on future visits. Boran has since left CVS to manage the business.

Local Joann shops to close: The stores at 2897 Oak Valley Dr. and 3737 Carpenter Rd. are among the thirty-three Michigan locations, and 500 nationwide, scheduled to shut down in coming months, USA Today reports. The crafts and fabrics chain filed for bankruptcy protection in January, the second time in a year. The Canton location on Ford Rd. is also on the list for closure. The company says clearance sales began last weekend. There’s no date announced for the actual closures. 

Ann Arbor Thrift Shop to give away $475,000 this year: In this month’s Observer, Cynthia Furlong Reynolds checks in with the thrift shop founded during the Great Depression to find it continuing to thrive in its 3500 Washtenaw Ave. storefront. A key ingredient in its longevity is the all-volunteer workforce, AATS president Colleen Spencer says. The group gave money to eighteen nonprofits in 2023, including the Shelter Association, Avalon Housing, Catholic Social Services, SOS Community Services, Food Gatherers, and the St. Andrew’s Breakfast Program. 

Winterfest raises $273,000 for four causes: The annual broomball tournament put on Saturday at the Sigma Nu fraternity house and organized by the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association brought in a record haul, the Michigan Daily writes. Beneficiaries are Fisher House Foundation, Autism Alliance of Michigan, Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan, and Garrett’s Space. Additional donations can be made via the Winterfest website until Sunday. 

Ele’s Place Ann Arbor hosts Cars and Cocoa fundraiser Monday: The nonprofit dedicated to helping children and teens work with and through grief will raise money at a private reception at the Plymouth warehouse where Vanguard Motor Sales stores its collection of classic and muscle cars. Tickets to the event, which runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., can be purchased here; the price is $25 for an individual or $60 for a family pass. 

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Catch the Ark’s Third Annual Liar’s Contest, which opens the 38th Annual Storytelling Festival tonight. Six contestants tell a well-crafted, entertaining ten-minute story designed to seduce listeners into crediting it as an accounting of fact. 8 p.m., the Ark, 316 S. Main. $20. This year’s festival includes traditional storytelling shows for adults ($30 on Sat.) and families ($15, $10 kids, on Sun.), in advance at the Michigan Union Ticket Office and theark.org, and (if available) at the door.

Saturday: Hear the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra in a program highlighted by Tchaikovsky’s lyrical Violin Concerto, originally deemed “unplayable” and still an apogee in the concert violin repertoire. Guest soloist is acclaimed violinist Stefan Jackiw. Director Earl Lee conducts. Preconcert talk at 7 p.m. Show at 8 p.m., Michigan Theater. Tickets $13 to $79 in advance at a2so.com and the A2SO office (35 Research Dr., ste. 100), and (if available) at the door. 

Sunday: See tapped maple trees and sap being made into syrup at Hudson Mills Metropark’s “Journey to the Sugarbush.” The outdoor program is appropriate for all ages and includes a short off-trail walk as well as a chance to order a pancake breakfast and purchase local maple products. Program canceled in the event of inclement weather. 11 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m., every Sat. and Sun., through March 9, Hudson Mills Activity Center, 8801 North Territorial Rd., Dexter. $5 (kids, $3; kids age 2 and under, free). Preregistration required here by 4 p.m. the day before the program. 

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

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