It’s another relatively light news week, so I wondered if maybe this was true last July as well and I just didn’t remember. Turns out, this time last year we were heavy on heavy news because we were in the midst of a spree of twelve homicides over nine weeks. It got to the point where a2view readers pleaded with us to stop delivering all those violent reports but we couldn’t help it.

I don’t want to jinx anything, but 2024 has been much lighter on such stories overall. No idea why we’re enjoying this more peaceful period, but I’ll happily take it. That leaves more time to cheer on all the Ann Arbor-related athletes heading to the Olympics, marvel at such U-M innovations as this air-curtain gizmo, and encourage you to vote on the name of a family of beavers.

No, really. Go vote. I like the Gnawsons.

– Steve Friess, editor
with help from Miles Anderson.

Two swept down Huron River after Saturday deluge: A kayaker and a child in an innertube were rescued by Ann Arbor fire crews, CBS Detroit reports. Both entered the river at Argo Park. The ten-year-old boy was stranded along the shore close to Nickels Dr; the kayaker was rescued near Dixboro Dam. Neither were injured. The river was swollen and fast after the remnants of Hurricane Beryl dumped more than four inches of rain in Washtenaw County over the weekend.

Student body president vetoes budget: Alifa Chowdhury was elected on a campaign to halt all spending by the Central Student Government until U-M divests from companies tied to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The Michigan Daily writes that last week that she followed through on that threat after the assembly approved spending. Regent Sarah Hubbard told the Observer in May the board could and would override the CSG to make sure money gets to the groups. 

SouthTown high-rise to boast power microgrid: Council this week supported zoning changes to pave the way for an eight-story, 216-apartment project at 1601 S. State St., MLive reports. Developer 4M say they’ll get electricity from renewable sources, including methane distributed through DTE’s gas lines, eliminating the need to connect to the utility’s electrical grid. The building will also draw on geothermal wells and rooftop solar.

Critics say planned LED street lights are too bright: Council postponed a decision on a $1.25 million proposal to change more than 4,000 streetlights from high-pressure sodium bulbs after hearing from “dark sky” activists, MLive reports (paywall). The LEDs would put out fifty-eight watts of light, which opponents said would be a nuisance for homeowners. They’re calling for installing them only on arterial streets, limiting power to twenty-nine watts in neighborhoods. 

Michigan prosecutors, including Washtenaw’s, criticize state funding: Eli Savit joined colleagues in saying that $17 million in grants to help boost pay and staffing for attorneys won’t go very far, Bridge Michigan reports. Washtenaw will get about $1 million of that, Savit says, but sixty-eight counties won’t get a dime and the figure is well short of the $230 million requested by the Prosecutors Association of Michigan. He plans to hire two attorneys to focus on the county’s backlog of domestic violence cases.

Court lets gravel mine start dredging: The Vella Pit had been sued by Ann Arbor Twp. over allegations of depriving residents of water, destroying waterways, and violating township rules, MLive reports. A court order will permit Mid Michigan Materials to start dredging for forty-five days in a process that does not involve dewatering in an effort to see how it affects the local groundwater.

U-M program preps public defenders: Law professor Eve Brensike Primus tells Davi Napoleon in this month’s Observer that she created the Public Defenders Training Institute in 2017 to help students understand the scope and complexity of this undersung but vital piece of the American judicial system. So far, more than eighty students have graduated from the Institute. Sixteen of the first eighteen grads are still doing indigent defense, a retention rate of nearly 90 percent.

More A2-tied Olympians head to Paris: U-M swimmer Stephanie Balduccini will be in the water on the relay team for her native Brazil after swimming with appendicitis during the trials, ClickOnDetroit reports. Michigan gymnasts Paul Juda and Frederick Richard are France-bound for Team USA while teammate Lais Najjar will compete for Syria and former Wolverine Kevin Penev will be there for Bulgaria, MGoBlue writes. And Syla Swords, an incoming freshman guard for the U-M women’s basketball team, will be, at eighteen, the youngest-ever member of Canada’s team, she announced on Instagram.

131,000 looks and smiles: Last summer, Adam Hess and Jeremy Mulder began an experiment in which they tape large sheets of paper on either side of “Graffiti Alley” by the Michigan Theater. One says “eye contact” and the other “smiles.” Then they add a mark when passersby do one or the other. They call it an art project, but it’s more than that, Jan Schlain writes in this month’s Observer. It’s an effort, the men say, to encourage happiness and interconnectedness in an era of people consumed by their devices.

Dearborn man arrested in death of Brazilian tourist: Fifty-seven-year-old Fareed Hajjar is being held on $2 million bond in connection with the death of Suzan Barbosa-Ferreira, a forty-two-year-old mother of two whose mutilated and naked body was found along the side of a rural road in Northfield Twp., Fox2Detroit writes. Police say her phone was tracked to Hajjar’s house and that he lied to investigators about knowing her. Hajjar is currently charged with mutilating and hiding her body.

AAPD will return beat cops to city streets: Officers will make rounds on bike and foot starting next month as part of new chief Andre Anderson’s effort to improve connections between police and the public, the department announced on Facebook. Anderson hopes officers will be seen as “problem-solving partners” within the community. 

Wolf-dog drama may force Creature Conservancy to close: The animal sanctuary wants to build a 1,000-foot long enclosure for Harry, who conservancy director Steve Marsh says “looks just like a wolf [but] acts like a golden retriever.” Lodi Twp. says that violates zoning regulations, WXYZ reports. The group says legal fees are mounting and may force the sanctuary to move or shut down.

Single-game football tickets go on sale: The reigning national champion Wolverines quickly sold out the Sept. 7 game against Texas after tickets became available July 13, MLive writes. Many of the biggest match-ups of the year for the Wolverines are already limited, too. Ticket prices range from $50 to secondary-market prices of more than $450.

U-M startup finds wearable “air curtain” helmet kills viruses and blocks aerosols: Taza-Aya’s new technology offers protection to workers in industries where respiratory diseases are a major concern, Michigan Engineering News writes. The roughly ten-pound device creates an air barrier that keeps almost all airborne pathogens in farm and laboratory settings away from the wearer.

New road closures as construction season progresses: Huron River Dr. between N. Maple Rd. and N. Main St. shut down this morning until Aug. 2 to replace a culvert, the city says. On Monday, E. Washington St. shuts down between S. Division and S. State streets until Aug. 2 because a mobile crane will be working on building construction there. Also Monday, westbound lanes of Hill St. close from Church to S. State St. until Aug. 16 for a new phase of the street’s summer-long reconstruction.

Saline spends $2.3M to address PFAS soil contamination: The city was in the process of a $62 million upgrade for its wastewater treatment facility when low levels of “forever chemicals” were found in the soil, MLive reports. Remediation is adding to that price tag. The low level of PFAs discovered is not believed to be hazardous to the workers and upwards of 70 percent has already been removed.

Vote to name the botanical gardens beavers by Sunday: The critters made news last year by building a dam on Fleming Creek. Now Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum are inviting residents to weigh in on what to call them from a list of that includes the Gnawsons and the Wolverstreams. Voting closes on Sunday night, and the winner will be announced on social media on Monday.

Asian bakery reopens today following two-month closure: Q Bakehouse & Market on Jackson Ave. shut down in late May after owner Rachel Liu Martindale found out she hadn’t obtained a retail license along with her certificate for the bakery. Yesterday, in an online post, she announced she had resolved that and is ready to get back to the business of selling Asian pastries. “To be honest, I was on verge of giving up multiple times,” she wrote.

Sprawling used-media shop opens with 120,000 items: Diggers, located in the 4,000-square-foot basement of Kerrytown Market & Shops, is so named because patrons must dig through a somewhat randomly arrayed inventory to make discoveries, Broc Curry tells Dave Algase in this month’s Observer. All items are $1.50 a piece. “This is a great way for [customers] to be able to find entertainment at a crazy cheap price,” says Curry, a longtime entrepreneur who has owned record stores and bars.

Stone & Spoon to close: Owner Jen Eastridge says in a Facebook post that Sept. 1 is the final day for the Ypsi gift shop she opened in November 2020. Eastridge cited the continuing financial stress created by the pandemic which, she says, persists in the form of debt and changes in shopping behavior. “The reality is that the world had a complete paradigm shift and that the ripple effect is something we will continue to feel and see in the coming years with our health, our businesses and our communities,” she wrote. Eastridge moved her other business, Unicorn Feed & Supply, to online-only last year.

Rising Skyline senior raises $21,000 for kids in A2, India: Seventeen-year-old Arjun Alva founded a volunteer organization called Bettering Ann Arbor in his freshman year and has spent his high school career both collecting donations and helping out the community, MLive writes (paywall). The money raised during his high school career mostly goes toward food and supplies, Alva said. Among other good works, he and others in Bettering Ann Arbor tutor some 300 students in subjects ranging from calculus to the humanities to writing. He also has traveled five times to Pondicherry in southeast India to visit a school there and bring classroom supplies.

Humane Society of Huron Valley offering $50 adoptions this month: HSHV is one hundreds of animal rescue organizations around the country participating in the annual Empty the Shelters event sponsored by the Bissell Pet Foundation, ClickOnDetroit writes. The discount applies to dogs and cats over six months old; click here to see adoptable pets.

Sign up to “love a park” next month: The city’s volunteer program to clean up and help with gardening in public spaces offers several opportunities in August, starting with the Aug. 2 effort at Gallup Park’s Butterfly Garden from 10 a.m. to noon and the Aug. 3 event from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Tuebingen Park. After that, there are events at Redwood Park on Aug. 8, Huron Highlands on Aug. 15, Windermere Park on Aug. 23, and Winewood Thaler Park on Aug. 29. Click on the links for more information about signing up or email here.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Join the insanity and dip into the Ann Arbor Art Fair, if only to see Dick Siegel (6 p.m.), a veteran local singer-songwriter whose songs offer all sorts of immediate musical and lyrical pleasures, at Ingalls Mall between E. Washington and North University. Then check out some of the 1,000 artists from Michigan and around the nation displaying their wares and take in glass blowing demos, circus acts, and chalk art demos by well-known street artist David Zinn. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Thurs. & Fri.) & 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Sat.), downtown Ann Arbor. Free admission. (800) 888–9487.

Saturday: Watch Ann Arbor Rowing Club’s Michigan Club Invitational Regatta, where teams from across the Midwest skim with amazing speed along the river in 1K races of boats of varying sizes, from solo to eight-person. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and refreshments. Note: no parking in the Bandemer Park lot near the dock. 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., best viewing across the river from Argo Canoe Livery or in Bandemer Park. Free.

Sunday: Catch the first of five days of Washtenaw County 4-H Youth Show, an extravaganza of farm animal shows and auctions, plus crafts, exhibits, and assorted contests, from animal decorating to a goat milk-out. Highlights include the popular “Llama Leaping Contest” (Wednesday, 2 p.m.) and the “Ag Olympics” (July 26, 2:30 p.m.) in which 4-H youth compete in Olympic-style games involving water, mud, and agricultural products. For daily schedule, see bit.ly/4hwashtenaw2024. July 21 to 26, 8 a.m. to evening, Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds, 5055 Ann Arbor–Saline Rd. Free. (734) 222–3877.

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

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