A very happy birthday to anyone with this rarest of birthdates! Dinah Shore, Jimmy Dorsey, and Tony Robbins are also leap year babies, but you probably knew that before I googled it if you are one, too. Do we have any Feb. 29ers out there? Anything fun to share about that? Email me!

The news of the week is here for your perusal, including the surprisingly interesting outcomes of the presidential primaries, a pretty scary road rage incident that fortunately didn’t injure anyone, and a decision by U-M to make providing SAT or ACT scores optional on undergraduate applications. Turns out, my alma mater of Northwestern made that change a few years ago, so I guess it’s the way of the world.

I plan to spend the weekend painting a room in my house, so I’ll wish you a colorful and productive week ahead as well.

–Steve Friess, editor

A2 Housing Commission weighs seven pitches for former Y lot: The property next to the Blake Transit Center at 350 S. Fifth Ave. is expected to host an eighteen-story highrise with roughly 300 apartments including about 100 affordable units, MLive reports. Last week, the commission, which bought the land from the city for $6.2 million last summer, released the list of developers and proposals vying to be their co-developer on the project. They vary widely in the numbers of affordable and market-rate units as well as the timing of construction.

Council votes to beef up protections for renters: Members voted unanimously to stop landlords from pressuring tenants for early lease renewals by restricting them from offering new leases until six months after the current one starts, according to city records. The aim is to stop owners from scaring tenants with threats of bigger rent increases if they wait to decide whether to stay. Council is due to vote on the measure again on March 4 for final passage.

Gas golf carts nixed by minority of council: The parks department wanted to spend $800,000 leasing gas-powered vehicles for five years, a proposal supported by the mayor and six councilmembers, MLive reports. That was one shy of the eight votes they needed to amend the budget for the expenditure, which four council members opposed on grounds the use of gas-powered vehicles did not conform with the city’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

Ann Arbor scores state’s highest early voting totals: The 2,732 people who cast ballots at one of six voting sites during the nine-day period ending Sunday outnumbered even those voting in Detroit despite the bigger population, according to data from the Secretary of State’s office. Pittsfield and Scio townships were also among the top 20. Overall turnout for the presidential primary was 24 percent countywide, down from 39 percent in 2020 when the Democratic primary was hotly contested between Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and many others. Joe Biden, who took 77 percent this week in Washtenaw County and 81 percent statewide, lost 17 percent of the county’s vote to “uncommitted” as a statewide campaign urged Democrats upset over his Israel-Gaza policy to use that voting line to show the White House their anger. Statewide, 13.3 percent voted uncommitted. Also notable: former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley took 44 percent of the Republican vote in Washtenaw to Trump’s 50, her highest and his lowest percentage of any county. Trump beat Haley by more than forty points statewide.

Former U-M football player dies at thirty-three: Craig Roh played linebacker and defensive end for the Wolverines from 2009 to 2012 and set a school record by starting fifty-one times in a row. His wife, Chelsea, announced on social media that he died Monday after an eighteen-month battle with colon cancer. Roh played in the NFL for one season for the Carolina Panthers and later the Canadian Football League before retiring in 2021. A GoFundMe campaign to pay off medical debt and support Chelsea and their two-year-old son, Max, raised more than $101,000 in its first twelve hours.

U-M applicants no longer must supply SAT, ACT scores: The school is implementing a test-optional admissions policy beginning with students applying to enroll in the winter 2025 semester that begins in January, the University Record writes. In June 2020, amid the pandemic, the university moved to a “test-flexible” policy that allowed students to submit any test scores they wanted, including providing PSAT, International Baccalaureate, or Advanced Placement scores instead of SAT or ACT scores. Now applicants won’t have to offer any scores at all. Other schools with similar policies include Brown, Northwestern, Emory, and MSU, though Yale and Dartmouth recently reversed course to again require tests.

Dixboro Village Green to become a public park: Superior Twp. plans to buy the town square and its 136-year-old one-room schoolhouse from Dixboro United Methodist Church for $46,000 and turn it into public space, MLive reports. The property and structure have acted as an unofficial park for years, but this ensures they will be preserved in perpetuity. The township, which has already maintained the grounds and has spent $120,000 in recent years on improvements to the schoolhouse, plans to install restrooms and improve parking in advance of Dixboro’s bicentennial celebration in August.

Belleville man charged in I-94 road rage shooting: Twenty-five-year–old Tariq Russell Lee was arraigned on several felony and misdemeanor charges including assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and discharging a weapon from a vehicle following a Feb. 22 incident that began near Saline, MLive reports. Police say Lee tailgated the vehicle of a forty-two-year-old Manchester man that passed him, then drove alongside him waving a gun. The Manchester man sped off to evade Lee, but Lee chased him and shot his vehicle twice. Lee then crashed his car and was captured by police when he tried to flee by foot. The interstate was shut down from US-23 to Rawsonville Rd. for several hours due to the incident. At his arraignment, Lee told magistrate Elisha Fink he was “deeply sorry.”

Women sought in dine-and-dash incident that injured employee: The employee of Pizza House on Church St. ran after a group of patrons who left the restaurant at around 2 a.m. without paying a $158 tab, but they allegedly drove over the employee’s foot as they sped off, MLive writes. The employee declined medical attention, and police are reviewing surveillance footage as they look for the three women believed to be in their 50s.

County panel to decide how to spend $16M opioid settlement: The Opioid Steering Committee, established by the county commission last week, has thirteen appointed members, according to county documents. They include county prosecutor Eli Savit, Community Mental Health Partnership of Southeast Michigan substance use services director Nicole Adelman, and county medical examiner Allecia Wilson. They expect to make recommendations as to how to use the money, which the county will receive over eighteen years, by the fall.

Superior Twp. supervisor cleared of harassment allegations: An outside probe found no evidence of the claims by township clerk Lynette Findley that Ken Schwartz had created a hostile work environment for women and minorities, MLive reports. The flap began when Findley learned of a two-year-old email exchange in which Schwartz cracked jokes about crossdressing. Schwartz, a former county commissioner and township trustee, has been supervisor since 2013.

U-M sending compost collections to Wixom: The school is trucking it thirty-four miles to Spurt Industries because Ann Arbor recently limited what it would accept, MLive reports. Among the items no longer OK to the city are plant-based bioplastics such as food containers made of corn, which are ubiquitous at U-M food service facilities. 

Sophomore guard reinstated to U-M basketball after road suspension: Dug McDaniels, one of the struggling team’s stars, missed six games – all of which the team lost – since January, the Michigan Daily reports. The school never specified why McDaniels was not permitted to travel with the team other than that it involved his academic performance. Coach Juwan Howard said the player “is making good progress and has done what we’ve asked him to do.” The end of the suspension means McDaniels will play against Rutgers tonight in New Jersey, against Ohio State in the regular season finale, and the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis next month. The team is 3-14 in the Big Ten, prompting ongoing speculation about Howard’s future as coach.

A different kind of shoe store pairing: This month’s Ann Arborite profile in the magazine focuses on William and Diane Pemberton, co-workers at Mast Shoes who found love and marriage on the job. Writer Shelley Daily takes us through their heartwarming and serendipitous story of finding new companionship that now includes the five cats that share their 1826 home in Tecumseh which is believed to be the oldest continuously lived-in house in the state.

Blank Slate reopens this week: The beloved downtown ice cream shop reopens for normal service for the season at 2 p.m. Friday, according to posts on Instagram. It has been open on limited days and hours for carry-out purchases of pints throughout the winter. A menu of available flavors is on the shop’s website.

Saline’s McPherson Local to close: McPherson Local owner Jen McPherson posted an announcement on Facebook that the shop in Saline will shut down on March 30. “The sad reality of it is that we are still digging ourselves out of a hole from Covid,” she wrote. “I don’t think people realize that small businesses especially are still recovering from Covid. I think that a lot of times, people think that since the doors are open and the lights are on that they’re doing great.” The store opened in 2017 and sells products from more than 180 artisans and farmers across the state.

Penny Seats Theatre Company to perform exclusively at Cahoots: The thirteen-year-old local troupe, which has long appeared in parks and pubs around the region, will have a residency at the downtown co-working space at 206 E. Huron St., ClickonDetroit reports. Penny Seats will perform Beehive: The 60’s Musical from Aug. 8 to 24, Usher from Oct. 10 to 26, and The Men of Sherwood, Nov. 22 to Dec. 8.

Rotary Club raising money for Food Gatherers with matching pledge: The civic-oriented nonprofit’s campaign, which starts Monday and runs through March 15, aims to provide the regional food pantry with money equal to 100,000 meals, according to an email press release. The Harold and Kay Peplau Family Fund has pledged to match donations of $25 or more dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000. To donate, click here.

Broomball tournament raises $227,196 for charity at U-M: The annual Winterfest event, organized by the Sigma Nu fraternity along with the U-M Interfraternity Council and the school’s chapter of the Panhellenic Association, benefits the Autism Alliance of Michigan, the Fisher House Foundation, and the Women’s Center of Southeastern Michigan. The tournament involved six-player teams from various fraternities and sororities who face off in a hockey-like game using brooms and rubber balls. 

Volunteers sought to sponsor, support refugees: The commitment includes helping to find housing for new arrivals to the U.S. from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Ukraine as they resettle here, according to the state’s Office of Global Michigan. For more information on how to get involved, click here, or to make a donation to support refugees, click here. 

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday:  Take a twirl at Ann Arbor Parks & Rec.’s “Frosty Fridays,” public ice skating at Buhr Park Rink, with a program of themed music. Costumes encouraged. Tonight’s theme is “2010’s Night.” 7:15 to 8:45 p.m., Buhr Park Ice Rink, 2751 Packard. $6 (youths ages 17 and under and seniors ages 60 and over, $5). Skate rentals, $3. (734) 794–6234.

Saturday: Have a laugh at the Tree Town Comedy Festival  featuring nationally touring stand-up comics as well as newcomers. Tonight, two shows by NYC-based comedian Phil Hanley (7:15 and 9:45 p.m.; doors open at 6:30 and 9:15 p.m.) and L.A.-based observational comic Irene Tu (8:30 p.m.; doors open at 8 p.m.), named one of Vulture’s “Comedians You Should and Will Know.” Blind Pig, 208 S. First St. $25 per show. 

Sunday: See the Encore Musical Theatre Company in “Into the Woods,” the 1987 Steven Sondheim-James Lapine musical that uses Brothers Grimm fairy tales to explore life’s big questions. 7:30 p.m. (Friday and Saturday), 2 p.m. (Saturday and Sunday), Encore Maas Main Stage, 7714 Ann Arbor St., Dexter. Tickets $41.50 to $57.50 (youth under 18, $31.50) in advance (with $3.50 fee) or, if available, at the door. (734) 268–6200. 

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

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