This week, we finally disconnected our home phone. When the lady from AT&T asked why, I told her we never use it anymore. “Yeah,” she replied, “that’s what everyone says.” In fact, we looked at one another in bafflement on the occasions when it rang; it was so seldom we often forgot it was there. I wonder if my grandkids will be as amused and charmed by the phone, which is heading for the Memory Trunk, as I am of the eighty-year-old manual Royal typewriter I spirited away from my grandmother’s house after her death. I’m doubtful.

I’m not doubtful about your interest in the news this week, and there’s a lot of it. The university is showing signs that more property expansion is in the offing, the e-bike and e-scooter program could be in trouble with its parent company filing for bankruptcy, and the fire department was exceptionally busy last year. But the pluckiest story of the week is the one about the chickens. No squawking; just scroll down to see for yourself. Or, if you prefer, there’s a wild tale about an alligator on US-23. Dealer’s choice!

As I weigh whether it’s time to dump cable TV, too, I wish you a lovely week ahead regardless of what ancient technology you cling to.

– Steve Friess, editor

House leveled by gas explosion: The blast early Monday at the home at the corner of S. Seventh and Princeton St. was caused by two twenty-pound propane tanks being used to heat the home, according to a Facebook post by the Ann Arbor Fire Department. The sole occupant, Tom Piedmont, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. “Given the force of the blast, the fact that there was only the one injury to the public and relatively minor damage to surrounding buildings is truly remarkable,” the post noted. A neighbor has so far raised nearly $10,000 via a GoFundMe campaign to help Piedmont pay his medical and relocation costs.

NYT dives deep into Israel-Palestine schism at U-M: The paper of record focused on one leading pro-Palestinian and one prominent pro-Israel student activist in examining the ongoing tensions on campus over the Middle East war (paywall). What makes Michigan unusual, according to the story, is that it hosts both one of largest Jewish student populations in America and a large Muslim student population, too, a fact that in the past helped foster cross-cultural outreach but is now heightening tensions.

Juwan Howard’s future in question as awful season wraps: Job security for the men’s basketball head coach is up in the air as the Wolverines sit in last place in the Big Ten with a 3-12 record. The Detroit Free Press saw fit to remind readers what it would cost U-M to buy out Howard’s contract – $3 million if he’s fired before June 30 – while a Detroit News columnist (paywall) offers his advice on how Howard might keep his job. The chatter online only grew last weekend when MSU defeated U-M in Ann Arbor for a season sweep. Howard, part of U-M’s legendary Fab Five team of the 1990s, is in his fifth season as head coach.

Milan mom’s crusade yields $110M disability settlement, better pay: Cindy Waskul, who cares for her forty-year-old son Derek, took Washtenaw County Community Mental Health and the state to court after the state cut subsidies for aides to care for disabled loved ones, the ‘Gander writes. Eight years of litigation concluded in December with a settlement that requires the state to provide caregivers from programs like Michigan’s Habilitation and Supports Waiver $31 per hour, up more than 50 percent from the current $20.50 rate.

EMU settles rape cases for $6.85M: The school agreed to pay the sum to resolve a lawsuit in which two dozen current and former female students allege they were sexually assaulted near campus between 2015 and 2019 but that EMU covered them up, the Detroit News reports. EMU continues to deny a coverup, but says it has improved its handling of Title IX complaints. 

U-M grows Central Campus footprint: The University Record writes that the $3.8 million purchase of two houses across Monroe St. from the Law School will “further the university’s options for future development on campus.” It also creates a toehold in a privately owned block surrounded by U-M property; it’s currently occupied by rental houses and Casa Dominick’s restaurant.  

A2 e-scooter provider files for bankruptcy: Spin, the company behind the distinctive orange scooters and e-bikes around town, was sold last fall to competitor Bird, Antonio Cooper writes in this month’s Observer. In December, Bird itself filed for Chapter 11 liquidation. City transportation manager Raymond Hess hopes to see the service continue, but the business model looks fatally flawed: valued at $2.5 billion five years ago, Bird’s market cap is now below $1 million.

City celebrates milestone in electrifying car fleet: One-quarter of A2’s “light duty” vehicles are now electric, a figure that will be up to 35 percent by summer of 2025, according to a press release. The Chevy Bolt hatchbacks driven by the city’s ubiquitous parking enforcers are the most visible, but the fleet also includes pickup trucks, minivans, vans and SUVs.

Eco-friendly container vendor upset by new compost rules: Ann Arbor is standing by its plan to disallow a range of items that are, in fact, biodegradable in its new rules for what it will accept to compost, MLive reports. Among those are the plant-based bioplastic containers sold by Bgreen Today because they are not certified by the Compost Manufacturing Alliance. One reason the city doesn’t allow such containers is that “it’s difficult for people to distinguish them from petroleum-based plastics, which leads to traditional plastics ending up in the compost stream and compostable materials in the recycling stream.”

Developer to pay $262,000 to remove four parking spaces: Council required this payment to the Downtown Development Authority as compensation for the loss of revenue expected when Chicago-based Core Spaces replaces the U-M Credit Union at 333 E. William with a sixteen-story, 202-unit tower, MLive reports. The spaces are along Library Lane, and the fire department requested the elimination of an additional space to provide a fire lane outside the future building.

West side getting 4,300 feet of new sewage pipes: The project, which will cost the city $11.7 million, replaces conduits that have been in service for a century from Dexter Ave. to Arbana Dr., according to city records. Work is due to start this month and could take until November to complete. 

Northfield Twp. farmstead given historic designation: Groves Farm, settled in 1831, is one of nineteen new Michigan sites added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2023, according to a Facebook post by the Northfield Township Historical Society. The designation covers nine structures along Sutton Rd., including a dairy barn and a corn crib. The property also contains a wrought-iron fence and an heirloom New England sundial, according to the application submitted by architectural preservationist Cheri Szcodronski.

History emerges amid repurposing of a 165-year-old farmhouse: The small, dilapidated home needed to be removed from a 76-acre parcel in Manchester Twp. that is being donated to the Legacy Land Conservancy, but instead of demolishing it, MLive writes, the owners invited in salvagers to dismantle it. Their finds, including “generations of hidden wallpaper” and an 1873 newspaper article about a fire in the house, are documented in a nine-page paper by the Manchester Area Historical Society.

Fire department calls set another record: Between the March ice storm, the brutal thunderstorm in July, and increasingly dense housing downtown, a fire department report shows it responded to a record 11,196 calls for service last year. Up 11 percent from the previous record set just the year before, the count includes seventy-five structure fires, 4,474 medical emergencies, 172 cooking fires, and 1,589 false alarms. September was the busiest month with 1,012 calls, thanks to the start of U-M’s semester and several home football games at the Big House.

Ypsi man sent back to prison over weapons: U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg found Yousef Mohammad Ramadan violated conditions of his supervised release by buying BB guns, interacting with known felons, and downloading a Islamic State guide to making guns with a 3D printer, the Detroit News reports (paywall).  The thirty-five-year-old father of four was weeks away from the end of his court supervision period, but the new infractions landed him two more months in federal prison and thirty-four more months of court oversight. In 2017, Ramadan began serving three years in jail after being removed from a Royal Jordanian flight at Metro Airport when pepper spray, knives, a stun gun, black masks, two-way radios, a gas mask, a tactical vest, and photos of a homemade pipe bomb were found in his luggage. 

Cops vote no confidence in Ypsi police chief: After just ten months on the job, Kirk Moore is under the gun amid staffing shortages and morale issues, MLive reports. The motion, which a police officers union member said passed by a single vote, cites more than a dozen staff departures since Moore, six of them “as a direct result” of captain Timothy Anderson’s return from a three-year administrative leave. Moore, previously a police captain in Henderson, Nev., continues to have strong support from city manager Andrew Hellenga and mayor Nicole Brown.

Report finds few racial disparities in prosecutor’s office:  An examination of some 35,000 cases from 2017 to 2022 confirmed that Black county residents are far more likely to be arrested and charged with crimes than White residents. Still, the 116-page report, a collaboration of the ACLU of Michigan, the prosecutor’s office, U-M’s Law School, and U-M’s Poverty Solutions program, found few differences in how those cases were treated by prosecutors – most significantly that “[d]efendants of color were charged with crimes having maximum sentences 2.15 months longer than white defendants in similar circumstances.” In a statement, ACLU executive director Loren Khogali called the results “deeply disturbing.” 

Concordia faces staff cuts amid financial woes: The president of the private Lutheran university, which has campuses in Ann Arbor and in Mequon, Wisc., informed the student body via e-mail that he also expects to need to sell property and equipment to attain solvency, Higher Ed Dive reports. Details of the cuts are expected to be released next month.

Saline adds 7.4 acres for growth: Lodi Twp. agreed to allow the city to absorb land that may be developed into housing in an arrangement wherein the township will receive a share of the property taxes, according to a city document. The property at 865 N. Ann Arbor St. is already surrounded on three sides by Saline, and the property owner petitioned to have it annexed.

Rogel Cancer Center to undergo $10M renovation: The Michigan Medicine facility has not had mechanical or plumbing upgrades since it opened in 1997, MLive reports. The scope of work approved by the regents also includes renovating the main entrance and lobby, and is due to be  completed by 2026.

Humane Society of Huron Valley rehomes ten chickens: The shelter managed to adopt out all of the hens within one day after a Facebook post announcing their availability. The post was a local sensation, garnering more than 1,000 shares and 450 comments, including one from Stefanie Van Steenis who says she was forced to surrender the cluckers by Webster Twp. in the northwest corner of Washtenaw County.

Ypsi woman says she saw an alligator crossing US-23: It’s not impossible, an expert tells Free Press columnist Neal Rubin, but would be quite surprising. Nonetheless, forty-two-year-old social worker Jennifer Schwartz is sticking to her tale of spotting “a short-armed, long-tailed, sharp-toothed gator” while driving south in US-23 near Whitmore Lake on Feb. 13. She even called 911, but the operator was skeptical. Rubin, however, found her description credible based on his own first-hand experience with crocs; he once owned a caiman that “was a valued, if hostile, family member until its demise.”

Bakery and vegetarian cafe opens at North Territorial and Pontiac Tr.: Enchanted Oven is the brainchild of Amber Wardia, who outgrew a small storefront in Saline, she tells Dave Algase in this month’s Observer. She’s been filling custom orders from the basement of a nearby church while readying her new shop with the help of a $5,000 grant from Comcast.

Bubble tea and more in Ypsilanti Twp.: Catie and Terrence Williams opened Bobalee Co. on Friday on Anna J. Stepp Rd. with the goal of spreading Catie’s passion for the Asian drink, MLive reports. A first-generation Hmong and Lao American, she hopes the business will give customers a new cultural experience. 

Detroit Cookie Co. closes downtown location: The chain still has locations in Ferndale and Saint Clair Shores, but shut the Ann Arbor one after Valentine’s Day, according to an Instagram story posted by the company. Lauren Roumayah started the company in 2015 and opened the Ann Arbor spot in 2021. 

Soiree, online silent auction to benefit kids with heart challenges: Ticket sales closed earlier today for Saturday’s annual superhero-themed Save a Heart Gala fundraiser for the Congenital Heart Center at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, but the online silent auction remains open until 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Dozens of items are available ranging from restaurant gift cards to golf getaways to a football signed by former U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Volunteers sought for Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum: The U-M facilities seek help weeding, trimming, pruning, hauling brush, and sometimes planting throughout the 2024 season. To express interest in a volunteer shift – typically on weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon – fill out this online form. There will be training sessions in April.

Rashida Tlaib headlines fundraiser for U-M’s Lebanese Student Association: The Detroit-area congresswoman helped the organization collect donations for Palestinian refugees in south Lebanon last weekend, the Michigan Daily reports. Event chair Karim Kadouh says they’ll donate $20,000 to World Medical Relief and the Sadr Foundation.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Catch the Ark’s 37th Annual Storytelling Festival, which opens tonight with the second annual Liar’s Contest. Six contestants each 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. Tickets $15 on Friday, $30 on Saturday, and $15 (kids, $10) on Sunday in advance at the Michigan Union Ticket Office or the Ark  website and at the door. (734) 761–1818. 

Saturday: Dance your winter blues away at Jazzistry’s 21st Annual Rent Party, “Celebrating Detroit: More than Motown.” This local octet led by saxophonist and clarinetist Vincent York is joined by the Sun Messengers, a popular and versatile ten-piece Detroit ensemble. Hors d’oeuvres, cash bar, silent auction to raise money for Jazzistry’s K–12 educational programs. 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., EMU Student Center Grand Ballroom, 900 Oakwood, Ypsi. Tickets $65 in advance here (table for ten, $550), $70 at the door. (734) 761–6024.

Sunday: Join players of all ages and skill levels at Pinball Pete’s Pinball Tournament as you play eight games of pinball for International Flipper Association points and other prizes. 5 p.m. (registration opens at 4:45 p.m.; ask for Ryan at the glass desk), Pinball Pete’s, 1214 South University. No entry fee; $1 per game. (734) 213–2502. 

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

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