In the end, I guess, it was inevitable that Jim Harbaugh would be on his way back to the NFL. He came back to Ann Arbor to restore the primacy of Michigan as a football powerhouse and won the ultimate crown. He gets to leave on that high and without facing the consequences of the investigations that forced him to sit out six games this season. Ironically, those six wins without him are the thing that give fans hope that maybe he built a coaching staff that can be as effective as he was without all of the drama.

We’ll see. First, though, we have the Detroit Lions to root for this weekend. What a feast after such a famine! Exciting times if you’re a football fan around here. My native teams – the Mets, Islanders, Jets, and Knicks – have given me little to cheer about since 1986, so it’s a treat to be in the thick of this bonanza.

Beyond that big story, this week’s news offers some bicentennial happenings, another local government weighing in on the Israel-Hamas war, strife in the Ypsi police department, and the official rezoning of a swath of Plymouth Rd. to make way for more high-density housing.

As I stock up on tater tots and wings for Sunday’s big game, I wish you all a tasty week ahead.

–Steve Friess, editor

Harbaugh to leave U-M, join L.A. Chargers as head coach: After weeks of speculation, the Wolverines’ head coach officially turned down a nine-digit offer from Michigan to go west to run another team he once played for, the Michigan Daily reports. He finishes a nine-year tenure in A2 with an 86-25 record that includes three straight wins over Ohio State, three straight Big Ten championships, and, of course, a national title. In an announcement on the Chargers’ website, owner Dean Spanos said Harbaugh had “led hundreds of men to success everywhere he’s been.” While details of Harbaugh’s new contract are unavailable, the Detroit Free Press reports that the Chargers will pay $1.5 million to U-M to release him from the rest of a five-year contract that was due to expire in 2028. Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, who subbed for Harbaugh in four games this undefeated season, is the frontrunner to replace him, according to ESPN.

Council rezones 127 acres along Plymouth Rd. for big buildings: The unanimous decision to adopt the TC1 designation is an effort to “gradually replace strip malls and parking lots and address a housing shortage, while making the corridor less auto-centric and more pedestrian-friendly,” MLive reports. Future buildings will be much closer to the street and in some places could rise as high as 30 stories. The new zoning had previously been applied to some 200 acres each in the Maple Rd-W. Stadium Blvd. area and the State St.-Eisenhower Pkwy. area.

Chime in on Washtenaw Ave. redesign: MDOT is down to three options for the three-mile stretch from US-23 east to Summit St. in Ypsi and will take comments at open houses from noon to 2 p.m. or 4 to 8 p.m. next Thursday at WCC’s Morris Lawrence Building. Click here to see images and explanations, then offer your thoughts by emailing MDOT’s Monica Monsma or calling her at (517) 335-4381.

Political Action Committee (Taylor’s Version): Ann Arbor For Everyone will allow the mayor to provide funding for his allies on city council as well as other progressive candidates, Christopher Taylor tells James Leonard in this month’s Observer. The PAC raised $20,000 from twenty-one donors since it launched in late October thanks in large part to $5,000 donations from real estate investor Mark Hutton, U-M musical theater grad-turned-TV producer Mike Mosallam, and developer Heidi Poscher, whose projects include Venue restaurant and coworking space on South Industrial and the planned $100 million Southtown apartment complex nearby. The PAC’s first contribution was to councilmember Jen Eyer, who’s up for re-election this year in the hotly-contested Fourth Ward.

County commission joins A2, AAPS in calling for Mideast ceasefire: The board’s statement expresses “unwavering support for all Arab, Israeli, Palestinian, Jewish, Muslim, and all other members of the community who are impacted” by the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas while urging an “immediate lasting bilateral ceasefire.” The move came after the city council and the Ann Arbor school board approved a similar message. 

Family of U-M neurosurgeon stuck in Gaza: Yamaan Saadeh tells ClickOnDetroit that he struggles to stay in touch with his father, stepmother, and half-sisters who fled their home after the war started in October and are now staying along with fifty other people in a single-family home with one bathroom. His family tells Saadeh, who was raised in Ann Arbor, that they are starving and parched because both food and drinking water are scarce.

Ypsi woman killed in Superior Twp. hit-and-run: Police are looking for the driver of a white 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee they believe struck fifty-three-year-old Shelly Mason and left her for dead along Prospect Rd. A Facebook post from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office says Mason’s body was found on Sunday morning but the collision happened “sometime overnight.” Mason, according to MLive, was a Port Huron native survived by five children and six grandchildren. Vehicle parts found at the scene pointed investigators to that make and model of vehicle, which was located on Wednesday. Anyone with information can call (734) 973-7711 or email detective Brian Webb. Mason’s family is offering a $3,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case, ClickOnDetroit reports.

Email threat closes school for two days: Greenhills School head Peter Fayroian received the note on Tuesday and canceled class on Wednesday and Thursday, MLive writes. The threat “did not appear to be credible,” he said, but the private school closed out of caution.

Eighteen Ypsi cops resigned in 2022 and 2023: Eight of those left the department after its new chief, Kirk Moore, was appointed in April, MLive reports. Moore said he’s about “ten or eleven officers short” and lack of personnel was a catalyst for the decision in August to turn investigations into homicide and other high-profile cases over to the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office. The chief said that it’s typical for officers to gain experience in Ypsilanti then leave for easier, better-paid jobs. Seven new officers will start this month.

New city manager, councilmember chosen in Ypsi: Council appointed Andrew Hellenga for the top administrative job and Patrick McLean to fill a vacant board seat after Ward 2 council member Jennifer Symanns quit in December, WEMU reports. Hellenga, formerly the city clerk, had been the acting city manager since Frances McMullan resigned in August. McLean, a longtime Ypsi resident and former WCC trustee, is chief of staff for the Franklin County Coroner’s Office in Ohio and typically spends his workweek in the Buckeye State.

Superior Twp. trustee charged with embezzlement: Nancy Caviston, who has served on the board since 1996, is accused of stealing from employees of her Plymouth-based insurance agency, according to a press release from the Michigan attorney general’s office. Caviston, seventy-six, is accused of pocketing payroll deductions intended for the employees’ IRA retirement plans. She was released on a $5,000 bond.

Ypsi superintendent wins major honor: Alena Zachery-Ross, who has led YCS since 2018, received the Dr. Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award from the American Association of School Administrators, Concentrate reports. The annual recognition is awarded to “education leaders committed to the advancement and mentorship of women and people of color, and/or addressing social justice issues in schools.” 

600 patient rehab specialists at Michigan Medicine join union: They include physical therapists, occupational therapists and audiologists, MLive reports. The United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals, founded last February, now represents 3,700 employees and is the third-largest union within the health system. 

FestiFools returns in April after skipping 2023: The nonprofit that managed downtown’s quirky giant puppet parade folded last year, leaving the long-running art project in limbo until founder Mark Tucker stepped back in, Shelley Daily writes in this month’s Observer. Tucker, a U-M visual arts instructor who launched FestiFools with students from his Art in Public Spaces class in 2007, says he wasn’t ready to let the event “be just a memory.” There’s a virtual information session at 2 p.m. Saturday for anyone interested in building brightly colored papier-mache puppets for this year’s theme, FestiFables. 

Kickoff bicentennial event celebrates past, present: From best-selling author John U. Bacon’s jokes about Ann Arbor’s founders to poet Aaron Dworkin’s recitation of his new work, “Arbor Quilt,” to the unveiling of a special tile created by Nawal Motawi, the first celebration of the town’s 200th anniversary was full of highlights, the Daily writes. Attendees at the Michigan Theater on Friday also raised money for the city’s Legacy Projects by paying $50 a ticket and participating in a silent auction. A list of the year’s events is here.

Ann Arbor adds a Ukrainian sister city: Lubny, an ancient burg in the central northwest, has about 44,000 residents and, fittingly, a history of automotive factories. The proclamation approved by council this week says that the cities plan to “share expertise in the areas of waste management, emergency management, and development strategy.” Ann Arbor has several other sister-city relationships, the most active being Tubingen, Germany, and Hikone, Japan. The idea of developing ties with a Ukrainian city came from the U.S. ambassador to the war-torn nation, Michigan native Bridget Brink.

Dunkin’ opens downtown, a second coming to campus: Drawn by the promise of four free coffees a month for fourteen months, some 200 people lined up as early as 2 a.m. hoping to be among the first 100 customers at the new outpost of the venerable donut chain, the Daily reports. The shop replaces Cloverleaf Restaurant, which closed in December 2021. Another Dunkin’ is due to open at the corner of State and E. William this spring.

Chelsea Farmer’s Supply gets new owners: Tobie Brown and Joe Schlenke took over from longtime owners HK Leonard and Greg Raye this month, MLive writes. The store on Jackson St., which turns 100 in 2026, is a career change for the couple from Grass Lake; they shopped there often during the pandemic when they began raising chickens and decided to take it on as an enterprise.

Weekly food-box business boosts local farmers: The Hungry Locavore, which offers $80 packages of produce and prepared foods that include products from nearby growers, is entrepreneur Ryan Poe’s effort to “create a sustainable model for hyperlocal food systems,” he tells Cynthia Furlong Reynolds in this month’s Observer. Followers are alerted via e-mail on Sundays as to what’s in the week’s boxes, and they place orders via the website. Customers pick up their boxes either at Moon Winks Café in Dixboro or Dozer Café & Roaster in Scio Twp.

Blood donors this month could win Super Bowl tickets: The nation’s blood supply is at a twenty-year low, so the American Red Cross is stepping up its rewards for giving, Bridge Michigan writes. People who donate by the end of January are put in a drawing for a pair of seats at next month’s Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas along with a three-night hotel stay and a $1,000 gift card for expenses. The incentives drop considerably for donors in February, who may be eligible for a $20 Amazon gift card. To make an appointment, click here. 

Tickets on sale for Feb. 8 MIOCA fundraiser: The Michigan Ovarian Cancer Alliance is hosting a “MarTEAL Gras” party at Conor O’Neill’s in Ann Arbor featuring live New Orleans jazz, appetizers, a cash bar and themed cocktails. Teal is the color worn by supporters to raise awareness of the disease. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased here. 

Polar plunge, 5K raise money for Special Olympics: The annual event, slated for Feb. 10, aims to net $50,000 from spectators as well as folks willing to raise at least $100 in order to submerge in a pool of very cold water. This year’s plunge will take place at the HOMES Brewery Campus at 112 Jackson Plaza at 1 p.m. following the Frozen 5K, which kicks off at 10:30 p.m. at the Gallup Park playground. For more information and to either sign up or donate, click here.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Check out the 47th Annual Ann Arbor Folk Festival at Hill Auditorium that opens tonight with headliner Old Crow Medicine Show, a Nashville-based quintet fronted by fiddler and lead vocalist Ketch Secor, known for punk bravura and old-time acoustic string band music. Saturday’s top billing is country songbird Emmylou Harris. Purple Rose Theatre founder Jeff Daniels emcees both nights. 7 p.m., Hill Auditorium. Tickets $48 to $250 in advance at the Michigan Union Ticket Office, theark.org and at the door. 

Saturday: Join experienced researchers for one of two sessions of the Huron River Watershed Council’s Annual Winter Stonefly Search, a hunt for elusive river insects active only in winter. Because they are sensitive to changes in water quality, their health reflects that of the river. Children must be with an adult. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., meet at 117 N. First St., ste. 100. Free, preregistration required here. (734) 769–5123. 

Sunday: See the Comic Opera Guild’s “Evangeline; or, The Belle of Acadia,” an 1874 comic parody of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem about a peasant girl separated from her lover. 8 p.m. (Fri. and Sat.) and 2 p.m. (Sun.), Riverside Arts Center, 76 N. Huron St., Ypsi. Tickets $20 (seniors and students, $15) at a2tix.com. (734) 973–3264. 

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

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