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July 25, 2026Can you guess what’s pictured above? Click the image to find out! |
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| | I only answered my phone because the call was coming from a 734 area code and the readout was the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office. I’d been waiting for a response to some Freedom of Information Act requests, so I figured someone was calling about that. When the caller asked for me by name, I believed he was legitimate.
He said he was calling to find out why I hadn’t appeared for jury duty on Monday. As someone who would love to do jury duty, I was disappointed to hear this and insisted I must have missed something in the mail. He spoke fast and used specifics, repeated the words “the honorable judge” a lot, warned of mistrials and forgery, told me this could turn into a civil or criminal matter.
Somehow, he kept me believing him. He said I needed to come to WCSO’s headquarters on Golfside (he specified the location) and submit to a signature test to prove I hadn’t signed for the summons. I started heading to my car, all the while thinking that maybe I could still get on that jury.
I finally woke all the way up when the caller warned me not to tell anyone what was happening lest I disclose details of the sensitive legal case I knew nothing about. So by the time he told me I couldn’t come to the sheriff’s office until I paid $9,500 in the fines or they’d arrest me, the jig was up.
“Sir,” I told him, “I’m not paying $9,500. And, also, you should know I’m a journalist and …”
Click. He hung up.
There have been a few journalist testimonials lately about falling for or almost falling for phone scams, so here’s mine. Despite everything I know about the legal system, I remained on the line, noshing on the bait far longer than is reasonable. The conditions were ripe; I was busy, distracted, and more than a little bit foolish.
It can happen to anyone. And to be clear, the sheriff’s office says they would “never contact you demanding payment.” Here’s a 2024 social media post from WCSO warning against precisely the scam I almost fell for.
Your news is here. Warde Manuel is, in fact, on his way out; just one of four sitting AAPS trustees is running for re-election; the federal government said it had identified a major source of cyclosporiasis in lettuce but very curiously reversed that finding; Ann Arbor nuns are going viral on TikTok; and oh have you heard, Morgan Wallen is playing a large venue here this weekend.
Speaking of, this is last week’s most-clicked link.
– Steve Friess, editor
P.S. It’s time for Beverages with Brooke! Join our editor in chief at The Den in Wolverine Pickleball on Tuesday, (July 28) at 4:30 p.m. This is your chance to share your opinions, shape the Observer’s future coverage, and fill out a survey about what you’d like to see in the magazine. Bonus: free stickers for everyone who stops by! |
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| | | This row of signs at Bicentennial Park, unveiled this month, commemorates 224 local Olympians and Paalympians. The display was designed by two-time Olympic rower and MSU professor Kelly Salchow MacArthur. Courtesy: MacArthur |
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| | | | | | Warde, off: U-M athletic director Warde Manuel will leave his job at the end of 2026 after a $12 million external review of the department found “failures to quickly and effectively act on allegations of wrongdoing” such as those that led to the Sherrone Moore scandal and firing. Manuel, fifty-eight, became AD in 2016 and presided over national basketball and football titles as well as a litany of scandals that have brought NCAA and Big Ten penalties. U-M released an “outline” of the findings of the investigation, asserting that problems were not “widespread throughout the department” but acknowledging “that weaknesses in accountability, organizational structure, oversight, and reporting created conditions in which misconduct was not always addressed consistently, promptly, or in accordance with University expectations.”
U-M says that’s all they plan to make public. In a statement, Manuel said, “I am happy President Grasso asked me to stay on to work with him to implement the recommendations for continuous improvement.” Several commentators took U-M to task, with bestselling author John U. Bacon asking on X: “If AD Warde Manuel is NOT a central part of the problem President Grasso cited from the $12M report, why push him out? If he IS a central part of the problem, why keep him as an advisor to enact the needed reforms?” The Free Press’s Tony Garcia was also critical: “Michigan will say it learned from this latest chapter, but actions speak louder than words. In the immediate aftermath of this most recent debacle, the reaction simply points to more of the same.” Meanwhile, the Athletic’s Austin Meek looks forward and Crain’s Detroit’s Sherri Welch takes note of the astonishing level of turnover in top U-M leadership roles.
Oh, and related news, Sherrone Moore’s mansion is for sale fo $1.7 million. Check it out. |
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| | Majority of AAPS board will be new in January: With the filing period closed for nonpartisan November elections, who’s not on the list is as notable as who is. Four sitting trustees – Susan Baskett, Susan Schmidt, Torchio Feaster, and Steve Norton – are ending their tenures this year on the seven-person board, promising a dramatic change in who is governing the county’s largest, possibly most financially troubled district. Only first-termer Rima Mohammed is running again; if she wins, she’ll be the only trustee in their second term. Baskett, who was first elected in 2003 and has served five terms, and Schmidt, who is in her first term, were subject over the weekend to a “vote of no confidence” by members of the Ann Arbor Education Association for making “productive collaboration increasingly difficult,” AAEA president Fred Klein told WEMU. In all, there are nine candidates running for four seats in a general election and three candidates running in a special election to complete the final two years of resigned trustee Don Wilkerson. Wilkerson is one of those candidates, along with John Benson and Pioneer High class principal Kevin Hudson. Besides Mohammad, the other eight in the general election are Becca Hogan, Jennifer Oldham, Carolyn Siebers, Lyndon Dibble, Aaron Puno, Brandon Smith, Andy Spencer, and Kelley Ellis. |
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| | Parasite cases up 78 percent in one week: The spread of cyclosporiasis accelerated in Michigan over the past week, with 3,312 new cases since last Thursday for a running total as of yesterday of 7,664. Washtenaw County remains a hotbed, accounting for 773 cases, or more than 10 percent of the state total and a 63 percent spike from last week. We’re second only to Wayne County’s 1,201 in raw cases, but our per-capita rate of illness is more than double. Eaton County has the highest per-capita rate, with one case for every nineteen residents. Nonetheless, Health and Human Services secretary RFK Jr. insisted on Tuesday that the outbreak is “under control.”
Last week, the FDA and CDC seemed to have identified a culprit in lettuce being imported from Mexico by Taylor Farms, but then over the weekend the agencies astonished public health experts by claiming the tests had produced “false positives.” That led to speculation that the reversal was associated with Taylor Farms’ $1 million donation to a Trump-aligned super PAC and a visit by company executives to the White House days before the change in FDA conclusions. |
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| Herb Winful plays “Lift Every Voice and Sing” on a 1926 Steinway grand piano. Credit: Mark Bialek |
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A grand old time around the piano: Davi Napoleon writes about a group of inveterate ivory ticklers known as We Love a Piano (pictured above) who have met monthly for more than twenty years in the homes of members with grand pianos – and the space to accommodate the gang. Usually about a dozen people show up to play and listen; sometimes there are as many as twenty. Pianists may bring guests, like a cellist, violinist, or vocalist, to perform with them. Some people bring classical pieces, others play jazz. “Every time, we hear music we have never heard before,” says retired physician Ron Bogdasarian, who has been involved since the start.
Downtown Ypsi businesses waiting for impact from new medical center: The $35 million Michigan Medicine facility, which opened a year ago, has definitely increased access to healthcare for underserved communities, but Trilby MacDonald reports that the influx of visitors to the W. Michigan Ave. building hasn’t resulted in much more traffic for nearby businesses. Owners like Sierra Lambert of Bridge Community Café and Black Stone Bookstore’s Carlos Franklin report modest gains.
Ann Arborite Patricia M. Garcia: The co-owner and former publisher of the Ann Arbor Observer tells Shelley Daily the origin story, which started in 1983 when she began as a part-time ad sales rep. Three years later, she and editor John Hilton bought the magazine and led it for four prosperous and very newsworthy decades of local lore. |
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| | | The Ward 4 council race between Dave Zeglen and Aidan Sova took an ugly turn yesterday when Zeglen’s campaign manager accused outgoing councilmember and Sova supporter Dharma Akmon of racism and she called him a misogynist.
For a more mature discussion of issues, check out WEMU’s Caroline MacGregor’s excellent one-on-one interviews with mayor Christopher Taylor and challenger Yousef Rabhi.
Reminder: Early voting starts tomorrow (July 25).
With a decision expected “within weeks” regarding the site of the U-M–Los Alamos $1.5 billion computing center, Ypsilanti Twp. is still a hard no. Unclear: Whether that matters.
And speaking of local government impotence, Saline Twp. reversed course and gave Oracle the full tax break for its hyperscale data center after attorneys told them they’d lose in court.
Meanwhile, Augusta Twp. voters decide on August 4 whether to reverse a zoning change that permitted a proposed $1 billion data center.
Since the second Trump administration began, 109 people with ties to Washtenaw County have been detained by ICE, according to data crunched by MLive.
It’s Morgan Wallen weekend, for all who celebrate. Let’s hope we don’t see a headline like this from the Big House.
Ypsi Pride has been rescheduled for August 30 due to last weekend’s poor air quality caused by the Canadian wildfires.
Watch crews pull up 4,000-pound rock.
Huron Valley Women’s Correctional Facility inmate Ashley Hoath’s autopsy results are in. Hoath died by suicide. She’s one of four inmates to die since mid-May and the second to have a cause of death disclosed.
After years of debate over what it would look like, council approved an unarmed non-police response program for situations that don’t appear to require actual cops with actual guns.
Council this week also bolstered tenants’ rights, placed a six-month moratorium on new short-term rentals, and OK’d a tax break plan for a twelve-story, 343-unit affordable apartment building slated for W. Liberty west of Stadium.
Washtenaw County prosecutor Eli Savit, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, has yet to win the support of the Oakland County prosecutor he defeated three months ago.
CNN is agog over Ann Arbor’s podcasting nuns.
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New sewing studio emphasizes social fabric: Marengo owner Kate English (above) tells Dave Algase in this month’s Observer that she opened the spacious spot on Felch to offer the public a place to make friends as well as clothes. The new business, which opened in May and uses checkout counters and shelving units from the now-defunct Downtown Home & Garden, hosts a weekly social sewing night on Thursdays because, according to English, “People are hungry for the community of it all.”
Avalon Café & Kitchen “transitioning”: The restaurant, which moved from Liberty to Main last year, has shut its doors, according to a social media post. Diners, however, will be able to order “many of your favorite Avalon brunch dishes” on weekends at Pretzel Bell next door. Both are operated by Mission Restaurant Group. It is unclear from the posting what the entity is “transitioning” to.
Hummus Republic offers fast-casual Mediterranean: Canton Twp. couple Ravi and Sima Thakker say their berth on E. Liberty in the old Makeshift Gallery space should draw good foot traffic, Algase reports this month. Sima says the concept is appealing because college students “don’t have time to cook their meals and prep meals and things like that, and they need a healthy base, protein, and all this to get energy.” Hummus Republic is a national chain with about fifty locations. |
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| | | Free teen driver program available this weekend: B.R.A.K.E.S (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe) provides three-hour training sessions for teens and parents aimed at teaching new drivers how to safely handle a series of difficult road situations. The program is free, but requires a refundable $99 deposit to reserve a spot in one of the five sessions planned for Saturday and Sunday at the American Center for Mobility in Ypsi. The organization will be back for more sessions on September 12 and 13, according to the website.
5K to raise funds for sarcoma research on Sunday: The events at Hudson Mills Metropark in Dexter include a family-friendly noncompetitive 5K walk or run and a kids’ fifty-yard dash to support research at Michigan Medicine’s Rogel Cancer Center. There will also be face painting, a photo booth, a butterfly release ceremony, snacks, and a raffle. Admission is $20 for adults, $15 for kids under eighteen, plus a $10 vehicle entry fee. Preregistration is required here. The effort has already exceeded its initial $75,000 goal; according to the event site, they’ve raised nearly $109,000.
YMCA opens community center in Ypsi: The Ann Arbor institution closed its Ypsilanti preschool collaborative in March and has transformed it into the Neighborhood Collaborative, Concentrate writes. Still located in the former Chapelle Elementary building at 111 S. Wallace, it now boasts a community lounge, a workshop space, and a group exercise studio with new equipment. Y memberships are not required to participate in the center’s programs; community members can purchase a $50 punch card that entitles them to eleven exercise classes or four beginner Spanish classes. |
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Friday: The Washtenaw County 4-H Youth Show includes an archery contest (1 p.m.), the Animal Decorator Contest (1:30 p.m.), and the Ag Olympics (2:30 p.m.) at Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds.
Saturday: Join Washtenaw’s Own Wildlands ecologists on a 10 a.m. walk around Pittsfield Preserve to learn about local plants and plant communities. Registration recommended here.
Sunday: Take in Athena, Gracie Gardner’s play about two competitive teenage girl fencers training together, called by the New York Times “hugely appealing and stealthily moving,” at Theatre Nova.
See the Observer’s online calendar for many more local events. |
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