Welcome to June! The pools and splash pads are open, the streets are torn asunder, the town is calm in the absence of the thousands of college students off for their own adventures. We’re really looking forward to this summer, the first of our short parenting lives with no pandemic and two fully ambulatory and fun children.

That doesn’t mean the news stops. If you make it past our grim opening block of mayhem, we’ve got some feel-good stuff, too, including the high school kids who built a house and a wacky encounter between an accomplished local poet and the world’s most famous AI app, ChatGPT.

As I try to figure out how my daughter has outgrown the bathing suits I only bought in April, I wish you all a sunny week ahead.

–Steve Friess, editor 

Suspect sought in cluster of North Campus sexual assaults, indecent exposures: Four women, including three U-M students, reported to university and Ann Arbor police that they had encounters with a white man in his 20s of medium build with red facial hair within the same hour on Tuesday. The man allegedly groped two of the women and exposed himself to two others, according to a statement from U-M police and a Facebook post from AAPD. Anyone with information should call (734) 763-1131 or email detective John Buehler.

Two duplexes, four vehicles destroyed in Memorial Day fire: Nobody was seriously injured in the evening blaze in the 800 block of N. Maple, according to a Facebook post by the Ann Arbor Fire Department, but three cats were hospitalized and another remains missing, Officials say a resident was burning cardboard in a fire pit between the two buildings and the flames ignited the buildings’ vinyl siding.  In response to a Facebook poster asking whether anyone would be charged for the incident, the AAFD replied: “As of now, this seems to be poor judgment versus criminal negligence.” Friends of a displaced family have launched a GoFundMe campaign to help defray the cost of vet care for two of the injured cats; by Wednesday evening, it had already exceeded its $6,000 goal.

Seventy-seven-year-old scares off intruder with gunshot: The resident in the 1800 block of Arbordale St. said he found a strange man in his kitchen and fired his weapon at him, according to police. The intruder, described as a white male, approximately 5’10”, late 20s, thin build, and wearing a gray sweatshirt, was not hit but did jump out the kitchen window and run off. Anyone with information about the incident should call (734) 794-6920 or email the tipline.

Breakup, business dispute behind January murder-suicide: Records obtained by MLive  (paywall) show Andrea Grant, fifty, of Plymouth, was shot eight times in her car outside the Thrive Training Facility gym in Pittsfield Twp. Her ex-boyfriend, fifty-nine-year-old Michael Elinski, was found dead by suicide the following day. Elinski was upset because Grant, who had taken over ownership of his family’s waterproofing business, fired him five weeks before they died. Anyone struggling with mental illness and considering self-harm should call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

Roadwork closes two sections of State St. for three weeks: The first of three phases of a summer-long reconstruction kicks off today with detours between Granger and Dewey and between Hill and South University, according to the city. Pedestrians can still use the sidewalks, although there will be some detours there as well. A similar effort awaits Hill St. next summer, part of the same $9.8 million project.

Men on tracks prompt emergency Amtrak halt: The train stopped on a bridge crossing the Huron River north of M-14 to avoid hitting four people who then told a train crew member they’d seen a body in the water, according to an AAPD Facebook post. The men fled while emergency crews searched but did not find anyone in the river. “Anyone on a railroad bridge or is found to be jumping off bridges into the river **WILL** face prosecution,” police warned.

MDOT sends divers into Huron River for study ahead of U.S. 23 bridge replacement: Teams in scuba gear sloshed around in the water this week near the bridge piers as part of a months-long assessment of the freshwater mussel population, MLive reports (paywall). Native species of mussels, including possibly the federally endangered snuffbox, will be relocated if and when the road project gets underway.

Parking usage remains down post-pandemic: When the current fiscal year ends this month, the Downtown Development Authority’s parking revenue is expected to still be only 73 percent of pre-Covid levels, Cynthia Furlong Reynolds reports in this month’s Observer. The result is a delay in some noncritical maintenance and repairs that are coming due soon, officials say. One data point that tells the story: Just three of the DDA’s lots have a waiting list for monthly parking permits, down from nine in 2015.

New lighting comes to Liberty Plaza: As of last week, the downtown park has four new poles to illuminate the area at night in an effort to make it safer and more inviting for nighttime visitors, MLive reports (paywall). The lighting is being paid for from a pot of $100,000 in federal stimulus money dedicated to improving the plaza. City administrator Martin Dohoney says they also plan to repair and reinstall a historical marker.

U-M to plunge $55M into Quantum Research Institute: The cross-disciplinary effort focuses on accelerating discoveries in a field that promises to lead to “computers that operate a million times faster” among other advances, the University Record writes. Michigan will hire eight additional researchers and appoint twenty faculty fellows to the QRI.

University reaches contract with Skilled Trades Union: The university may be stuck in a stalemate with the striking Graduate Employees Organization, but negotiators were able to reach a deal for a four-year contract with some 500 electricians, plumbers, and carpenters that work on the three campuses, the University Record writes. Meanwhile, the GEO this week increased the goal for its crowdfunding campaign to support striking workers to $700,000, up from the $400,000 they initially sought. It has yet to hit the original target.

Late buses added to D2A2 schedule for summer: From today until September 3, the last departure from A2’s Blake Transit Center leaves at 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10:45 p.m. on weekends, and the final bus to leave Detroit goes at 11:55 p.m. every night. The D2A2 offers nonstop rides to and from Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit for $8 each way or $6 when tickets are bought in advance. Click here for more information.

High schoolers build 3,800-square-foot, $657K house: Thirty-two juniors and seniors from five A2 schools spent the academic year putting together the Scio Twp. home in the Ann Arbor Student Building Industry Program, MLive reports. The house is expected to hit the market in mid-June after being featured in the Parade of Homes; proceeds will fund next year’s student build. An instructor says he believes the home is the largest high school build in the nation.

Ypsi state rep wants cat declawing ban: First-term representative Jimmie Wilson Jr. filed a bill last month to make the controversial surgery a violation of the state’s health code, WEMU reports. If it passes, Michigan would be the third state, after New York and Maryland, to ban it.

A2’s Hobbs Kessler breaks another sprinting record: The 20-year-old one-time Skyline High star became the fastest American to run 1,500 meters on U.S. soil, doing so in 3:32.61 at the Los Angeles Grand Prix on Saturday, MLive reports. He placed third, behind two runners from Kenya. Though his parents are both running coaches, Trilby MacDonald reported in the Observer two years ago, Kessler had been spending more time rock-climbing before rededicating himself to running during the pandemic.

Two firefighters who delivered baby attend his high school graduation: Jermir Bennett, now seventeen, met the men for the first time last week in a heartwarming reunion, MLive reports. Ypsi firefighters Greg Brierley and Joe Knasiak were dispatched to a home to assist Bennett’s mother, Jennifer Ware, when she was in labor in 2005 and couldn’t get to a hospital. The family invited them to Bennett’s graduation from Washtenaw International High School.

ChatGPT flunks assignment from local poet: Shutta Crum took the much-touted artificial intelligence app for a spin by asking it to write a non-rhyming poem in her own style, Cynthia Furlong Reynolds writes in this month’s Observer. Crum, who is widely published in journals and has written two books of poetry, gave the app three tries but the result, she says, was “pretty awful.”

Detroit ice-cream maker coming to S. Main: The Milk and Froth food truck parked on the street’s 300 block on Sunday, selling $5 cups of artisanal flavors such as sea salt butter and disco lemonade. The location was no coincidence: according to the truck’s cheerful staff, they’ll be taking up permanent residence in the former Prickly Pear spot this summer. 

Rabbit Hole at Root opens below Circ bar: The cavernous underground bar has reopened two nights a week as a music venue with an Alice in Wonderland–inspired concept complete with amaros, absinthe, and mushroom- and herb-infused craft cocktails, Dave Algase reports in the June Observer. Co-owner Roger Ahn says their goal is “to allow for people to have Detroit-style, Detroit-quality DJs without having to drive all the way to Detroit.” 

Charity thrift shop expands in Saline: The Nu2u Again Resale Shop, which provides job opportunities for people with disabilities and uses proceeds to support them, now also occupies the storefront next door, MLive reports. The additional space is dedicated to women’s clothes and accessories. The four-year-old store was founded by Lisa Rentschler, whose son is on the autism spectrum and struggled to find meaningful work. The shop now has forty employees, more than a dozen of whom have disabilities.

$240K grant buys iPads for kids at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital: The money from Child’s Play Charity and the Bungie Foundation’s Little Lights program is enough for more than 150 tablets loaded with more than fifty carefully curated, age-appropriate apps and games to entertain and engage patients, ClickOnDetroit reports. Children and teens at the hospital will also be able to use the devices to remain in contact with classmates and teachers.

Scholarship fund launched to honor EMU alum slain in Texas massacre: Aishwarya Thatikonda, twenty-six, who got her master’s degree in construction management in December 2020, was among the eight people killed in a shooting at a mall near Dallas on May 6. The fund is accepting donations, which will be matched by an anonymous donor up to $25,000. For more information, click here.

Library supporters give $25K, announce partnership with Michigan Medicine: Friends of AADL is giving the money to support the system’s 2023 Summer Game and other free programs, the nonprofit announced on its Facebook page. The group also is donating 600 books to outpatient pediatric clinics within the U-M health system. 

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Catch Nashville-based Chloe Kimes, the Americana singer-songwriter and guitarist who fronts a spirited alt-country band with original tunes that navigate a delicate balance between poignance and charm. 8 p.m., Acoustic Routes, Stony Lake Brewing, 447 E. Michigan Ave., Saline. $15 in advance here & at the door. (734) 316–7919.

Saturday: Join the 26th Annual Ann Arbor African American Downtown Festival, a celebration held in the city’s historic Black business district. The Hands-On Museum and U-M Children’s Center provide kids activities. Main stage entertainment includes Detroit-based R&B singer Lay’na Michelle, saxophonist Aaron McAfee, and funk & soul band Shake Steady. Headliner Danny Clay performs a tribute to Luther Vandross. Local Black businesses sell food, art, beauty products, and collectibles. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., N. Fourth Ave. & E. Ann St. Free.

Sunday: Run or watch the 49th Annual Dexter–Ann Arbor Run, the area’s biggest running event that draws thousands of runners for a half-marathon, 10K and 5K runs, and a fitness walk. All races conclude on Main St. between Miller and Ann. The 10K run (7:15 a.m.) begins in downtown Ann Arbor at 220 N. Main St. The 5K run & fitness walk (8:30 a.m.) begin at Newport and Riverwood Dr. The half-marathon (8:30 a.m.) starts at Creekside Intermediate School in Dexter. Preceded Saturday by a Kids Run at Creekside, 2615 Baker Rd. Entry fees for individuals: $35 (5K), $45 (10K), & $85 (half-marathon) in advance only here before 5 p.m. on Saturday Prices increase after enrollment reaches a predetermined limit. For more information, email info@dxa2.com or call (419) 356–4881. 

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

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