July 10, 2026

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I was hesitant to attend Ann Arbor’s Fourth of July parade if only because I expected parking to be a hassle and the crowds to be oppressive. Still, we chose to give it a try because a friend’s daughter marched with her Girl Scouts troop – and my fears were entirely unfounded. Parking at the Fletcher garage was easy, plentiful, and free, and we had no trouble finding a spot to watch on the shady side of State near Rally House.

This being an election year, there were lots of candidates handing out lots of candy to kids in an effort to win their grownups’ votes. And the post-parade water festival on Maynard featuring AAFD firefighters making rain with hydrant-attached hoses was fabulous.

All that said, having attended Ypsi’s parade for several years, I found this one to be a bit staid. You know you’re trying not to offend anyone when, unlike in Ypsi in years past, there are neither drag queens nor Republicans! What happened to the very quirky Ann Arbor we know and love?

Also: Where were the school bands? I ask because I recently posted on YouTube digitized family home movies that include wonderful footage of the 1976 parade in my town on Long Island. It strikes me that a Fourth of July parade without adorable tuba players and poorly coordinated baton twirlers just doesn’t seem very patriotic to me! (Aside: I wondered if the lack of bands was related to AAPS teachers not doing extra work under their expired contract, but I’m told the lack of bands is the norm.)

Your news is here. That nasty parasite is spreading like wildfire; Washtenaw County’s birth rate continues to lag; Barton Hills wants to keep the riffraff out or something; and we have yet another Yemeni coffeehouse.

This is last week’s most-clicked link.

– Steve Friess, editor

Correction: The U-M nurses’ union did not authorized a strike. They had scheduled a vote for strike authorization for next week — but that was canceled after the union and Michigan Medicine announced a tentative contract agreement on Thursday.

View of the Week

Maynard at noon, Fourth of July. Credit: Steve Friess

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2 Big Things

1

Washtenaw hard-hit by parasite: As of Thursday, the county accounted for 164 of the 1,251 confirmed cases statewide of cyclosporiasis since June 1. Six people in Washtenaw have been hospitalized, a health department spokesperson told a2view. There are typically just fifty cases across Michigan each year of the nasty antibiotic-treatable gastrointestinal bug that causes intense diarrhea and is believed to be spread on raw produce. The CDC says there have been outbreaks in seventeen states. Symptoms occur two to fourteen days after exposure. Read more about how to protect yourself by washing and/or cooking produce.

2

Ann Arbor’s baby bust: Washtenaw County had the second-lowest fertility rate in the state last year, continuing an ongoing trend of low birth rates that has potentially significant ramifications for local school districts and the tax base, among other issues. The number of babies born in this county in 2025 – 3,127 – was actually up from 2,958 in 2024, which was the lowest in the last decade, but also down dramatically from 3,709 in 2014, per state data.

From the Observer

Shared housing program revived: The Washtenaw Housing Alliance has repurposed a pandemic-halted initiative that helps residents lease spare rooms in their homes while subsidizing the rent for the renter, Lucy Langerveld writes. The program aims to address two issues at once – the high cost of housing and the isolation seniors and empty-nesters can endure.

Barton Hills tightens public access: Alex de Wild reports on criticism of a pilot program to keep nonresidents from cycling or jogging on the tony enclave’s private roads. Security personnel are on-site to “assess whether a professional, visible presence can reinforce safety expectations, reduce unauthorized road use, and help residents feel more comfortable using our roads during peak activity times,” according to the village newsletter. An independent traffic study commissioned by Barton Hills Village found that 96 percent of speeding that occurs in Barton Hills is by “insiders” — residents, guests, staff, service providers, or members of the country club.

Poet Tree Town: In “Wish Path,” music educator and poet Rebecca G. Biber offers a meditation on her undergraduate life in Ann Arbor and her changing experiences with sexism.

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Hit These Links

Ann Arbor won a Flushy. Put that in a tourism ad.
Paige Shiver is suing U-M for more records related to the Sherrone Moore scandal, guaranteeing the matter isn’t going away anytime soon.
Dusty May has lured away two U-M assistant coaches to follow him to Dallas.
Gretchen Whitmer and Elissa Slotkin endorsed incumbent Ann Arbor mayor Christopher Taylor in his primary battle with county commissioner Yousef Rabhi. Rabhi this week landed the Michigan Working Families Party endorsement.
Democratic Ann Arbor congressperson Debbie Dingell expressed regret on Fox News about how her party handled the many other allegations of impropriety leveled against Graham Platner of Maine before the now-former Democratic U.S. Senate nominee’s campaign was ended by this week’s rape accusation.
A fourth inmate at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, sixty-two-year-old Dalephenia Jones, died last week, fourteen days after being taken to Trinity Health Hospital while suffering a heart attack. The causes of deaths of the three other inmates who have died since mid-May still have not been released.
The Saline Twp. board delayed a vote on whether to give Oracle a tax break associated with the construction of the controversial hyperscale data center. That’ll give the public more time to sharpen the pitchforks.
City council called on staff to write an ordinance modeled on one from New York City that can shut down the weekly anti-Israel protests that have taken place outside the Beth Israel synagogue on Washtenaw since 2003.
The anti-abortion crowd is mad that the county gave $500,000 in emergency funds to Planned Parenthood.
124 mph.
Avalon Housing got 2,000 applications for a forthcoming lottery to fill fourteen new $825-a-month apartments.
The city’s state of emergency following April’s tornado ended this week.
Derrick Jackson, who lost to sheriff Alyshia Dyer in the Democratic primary in 2024, was appointed interim county administrator. Given the amount of drama between Dyer and the county, that sets up some interesting dynamics, no?
The U-M president (below) is getting paid a lot more these days – but the money may be coming out of the salaries of the chancellors at Dearborn and Flint.

Domenico Grasso. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Marketplace

New Yemeni café is a family affair: Accountant Amjed Oudeif, his father, and his brother are franchisees of the Shibam Coffee Co. location on the ground floor of the Brady on S. Main, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. The Ypsilanti Twp. family owns one of the Dearborn-based parent company’s nineteen stores; ten more are in the works. Shibam, named for the ancient walled city known for its mud brick high-rises, is “one of the best that is out there,” Oudeif says, noting the company provides Yemeni-grown organic coffee, along with teas and pastry offerings.

Australian-style sushi spot opens in Ypsi: Penny Roll Sushi is the brainchild of owner Dan Mendleson, who spent eleven years Down Under and believes locals will appreciate Oz’s protein-packed grab-and-go rolls, the Eastern Echo writes. Mendleson chose Ypsi because Ann Arbor’s high rents would have made it difficult to keep the fare affordable.

Sandbox VR debuts A2 location: The nearly 5,500-square-foot venue on E. Washington is the latest for the growing chain of virtual reality attractions with eighty-five venues on five continents, according to a news release. Groups of up to six can book “immersive experiences” that place them “directly inside cinematic virtual worlds” where they can “move freely, collaborate, and compete in action-packed adventures designed exclusively for social play.” Sandbox VR is offering a 30 percent discount through July 15 as part of its opening-month push.

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Helpers

Volunteers sought for tennis lessons for autistic kids: You don’t have to have any tennis experience to help, according to an email from ACEing Autism. The local branch of the national nonprofit needs helpers for the program, which is 10–11 a.m. for five consecutive Sundays starting this weekend (July 12) at the Chippewa Club in Ypsi. Volunteers, who must be fourteen or older, will get on-site training. For more information, click here.

Humane Society offers BOGO on kittens: In an effort to reduce the shelter’s burgeoning feline population, HSHV last week began waiving the fees for a second kitten when one is adopted. Summer is considered peak “kitten season,” a part of the year when unspayed and neutered stray cats reproduce at higher rates and overwhelm local shelters. Check out all the adorable kitties needing homes at HSHV.

Food truck rally benefits Ypsi Meals on Wheels on Saturday: Tickets are still on sale for the Meals in Motion fundraiser which takes place on July 11 from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. at 1110 W. Cross. The event features live music and kids’ activities.

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Things To Do

Friday: All are invited to count bats as they emerge from the conservancy’s big red barn at Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy’s Annual Bat Count.

Saturday: At the AADL’s Summer Game Spectacular at Vets Park, performances by local aerial & circus artists, food trucks, and outdoor games bring library Summer Game obsessives together.

Sunday: Tales from the Cryptid: An Improvised Urban Legend, an unscripted one-act play about the appearance of a cryptid that shakes up a small town, is at Hear.Say Brewing + Theater.

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