| June 26, 2026Can you guess what’s pictured above? Click the image to find out! |
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| | Last week, I wondered whether my four-year-old dressing as a bloodied zombie and ambling about muttering “Braaaaaaiiiins” for her Halloween camp was problematic.
For the most part, readers said no. “Many modern parents are irrationally, and detrimentally, over-protective,” Elaine Weibel wrote. “It seems you’ve got it right.” Kathy Nalley agreed with a qualifier: “With careful explanation and question, no subject that a child asks about is ever off-limits. Parents these days are also up against the whole real v. not real, truth v. lies issues – and how it’s almost impossible to tell.”
Jess Antanaitis articulated where the discomfort comes from and, truth be told, gave me some (non-human-flesh) food for thought. “My problem with zombies and ghouls and such was the association with violence and hurting people,” she wrote. “Yes, it’s all fantasy and make-believe, but there’s research showing that children immersing themselves in violent cartoons, video games etc. does affect their attitudes and behaviors. I may have been one of ‘those’ moms but my kids had fun growing up despite not being allowed to view or depict gratuitous violence. I totally get it that dressing as something flesh-eating and bloody does not by itself make a little person embrace violence, but there’s a message in it and I wanted to impart a different message to my sons, one that values and embraces kindness and compassion and does not elevate or celebrate violence and destruction.”
Still, my favorite response came from Katie Borema, who had particular insight: “My son (3 years old) was in camp with Claire this week. He loved her zombie costume, and spoke about it quite a bit that afternoon. He told me ‘She even cut her shirt!’ We love zombies in this house.”
I never know who is reading! Heck, just one person wrote to tell me that the Juneteenth parade in Ypsi that we had planned to attend had been canceled, and that person was … Debbie Dingell. From her iPad. (Hi Debbie!)
Your news is here. Dusty May is leaving U-M after two years, the feds are “investigating” AAPS for being welcoming to trans athletes, a former guard at the women’s prison is off to prison for sexual assault, and our Apple store is getting bigger.
This is last week’s most-clicked link.
– Steve Friess, editor |
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| | | Top of the Park covergirl. Credit: Steve Friess |
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| | | | | | Dusty May bounces away: Months after delivering U-M a national championship, the second-year basketball head coach stunned Wolverine Nation by accepting an offer to be head coach of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. Assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. will slip in to helm U-M on an interim basis, with May virtually anointing him in April by saying that Boynton, who was head coach at Oklahoma State before May hired him, is “just as good as I am. He’s just as prepared. He’s been invaluable for me.” May issued this statement after the news broke. U-M players will get a special fifteen-day transfer window that starts a week after Boynton’s official appointment to weigh their options because of May’s departure. “Because of his familiarity with the roster, Boynton is likely better suited for the task of holding Michigan’s roster together than an outside hire would have been,” CBS Sports writes. Meanwhile, many fans did not take May’s decision well – with some blaming athletic director Warde Manuel for not nailing May down to a lucrative long-term contract. Manuel, for his part, issued a statement saying the university is “deeply grateful” for May’s wildly successful tenure.
It didn’t take long for May to make his mark; on Tuesday night, in his new capacity, he snapped up one of his Michigan stars, Morez Johnson Jr., in the first round of the NBA draft. He was visibly frustrated that the Oklahoma Thunder grabbed another U-M star, Aday Mara, before the Mavericks could. A third Wolverine from May’s championship team, Yaxel Lendeborg, was drafted by the Golden State Warriors. |
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Feds name AAPS among targets in trans-athlete probe: The Department of Education is looking into whether the school district violated the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title IX by having a policy allowing trans athletes to use the locker rooms of their gender identity. Ann Arbor is one of three Michigan districts in the crosshairs, along with Monroe Public Schools and Chippewa Valley School District. |
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| | The Ann Arborite profile: Michelle Yang writes this month about Shawn Severance (above, with Lincoln), a parks naturalist for the Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission, and her infectious love for and knowledge about the outdoors. Severance brings her passion for teaching into programs year-round for all ages including this summer’s Friday Night Geology Hike, Gold Hour Nature Hike, Log Cabin Day, and more. When she was a graduate student at U-M, Severance often walked the trails at Parker Mill County Park. “I would think, somebody really needs to take care of the natural areas here,” she says. “And now, I have the privilege of doing just that.”
Kratom invasion: A dangerous, lab-made version of the popular natural pain remedy and pick-me-up is hitting the health care and recovery communities hard, Ken Garber writes. “We are commonly seeing individuals who struggled with opioids years ago, worked tremendously hard to stabilize their lives in recovery, only to find themselves accidentally addicted to kratom or [the lab-made version] 7-OH,” says Eliza Hutchinson, a U-M family and addiction medicine physician and director of the Packard Health addiction medicine program. “They need higher and higher doses just to feel well and avoid withdrawal symptoms. They lose their jobs, their health, and connection with their families.” Some of her patients spend $30,000 a year or more on these products. “They often tell me, ‘Doc, this feels just like heroin.’” In Lansing, Garber explains, the debate is over the right way to regulate kratom: with a ban, a partial ban, consumer protections, or just maintaining the status quo.
A month in home sales: Alex Kourvo writes about the unusual ranch on Hilldale designed by former U-M architecture dean Robert Metcalf, delves into the style prevalent in turn-of-the-twenty-first-century homes, and ponders how “appearances can be deceiving” in comparing two apartments that sold in April. Check out her write-up and our interactive map. |
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| | | U-M regent Jordan Acker apologized for the lewd remarks he had previously denied writing about two women after an investigation confirmed he really did it. He received praise from fellow regents for his contrition but couldn’t he have just saved the university the cost of the probe by admitting it and apologizing months ago?
State rep Jason Morgan is following through on his threat to try to clip the real-estate-buying power of U-M after those controversial purchases of land for a hyperscale data center and the former Concordia campus.
This week’s mayoral debate got testy. See for yourself.
A sixty-six-year-old Ann Arbor woman who was trapped in Iran because of the war is back home, but understandably traumatized.
U-M is weighing slapping ads on player jerseys and the field itself at the Big House. I’d ask if anything is sacred in college sports anymore but the answer’s too obvious.
The city has put the demolition of the West Park bandshell, where Jerry Garcia once performed, out for bid. Mayoral candidate Yousef Rabhi is sad/mad about it.
A guard at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility will serve up to fifteen years for sexual assault on inmates following his guilty plea.
Also at the women’s prison, the warden went on temporary personal leave following three inmate deaths in one month.
What’s microtunneling? Read all about it.
There’s a new, free splash pad in town and it’s fantastic.
U-M students shifted to the right in the 2024 election more than any other part of Ann Arbor, an election-data analysis by the Michigan Daily finds. The paper suggests it’ll be a short-lived shift.
An AI billionaire says that incriminating “hot mic” clip of Governor Whitmer at the Saline Twp. data center groundbreaking was … AI! Consider the wicked web weaved, everyone.
Michigan State Police say they keep finding new alleged sexual assault victims of a Washtenaw County pastor. He was originally charged with eleven felony counts, but that’s now over sixty.
A sheriff’s deputy hit by a car during a traffic stop four years ago is back on the beat. It’s a remarkable and inspiring never-say-never story.
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| | | Apple moving to larger Briarwood berth: The region’s Mac and iPhone emporium is among the company’s smallest retail outlets, but it will soon expand, Apple Insider writes. The outlet cites a paywalled column by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who reported the move could come as soon as next month. And speaking of Briarwood, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer that crystal retailer Swarovski is back after an eight-year absence.
Aperitivo welcomes pre-dinner crowd: The new cocktail and wine lounge at the corner of S. Ashley and W. Washington is an indoor/outdoor social venue, “a little mix of local and Italian,” general manager Miranda Domenguez tells Algase in this month’s Observer. Aperitivo, named for the Italian pre-dinner tradition, will feature low-alcohol cocktails, amaro, mostly Italian wines, and charcuterie board offerings with local, seasonal elements. “This is kind of your stop either before you go to dinner or when you’re done with dinner,” she says.
Spencer makes USA Today’s best restaurants list: The national newspaper put the Ann Arbor wine shop and fine-dining establishment in league with just thirty-eight others for its annual roundup. “When the temperature is right, enjoy lunch at the patio bar, where the best of the restaurant and the wine shop converge for a standout meal paired with quality libations,” Detroit Free Press critic Lyndsay C. Green writes. “Ten years in, Spencer offers something magical in the heart of Ann Arbor any time of day.” |
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| | | Dinner tickets available for Monday’s Shelter Association fundraiser: Pathways to Home, the nonprofit’s major summer event, is June 29 at Barton Hills Country Club. The golfing component of the event is sold out, but those interested can buy $200 tickets to the evening reception, meal, and silent auction. Alternatively, folks can register to bid on the silent auction online. The dinner begins at 6:15 p.m.; the silent auction bidding runs from 2–9 p.m.
Carpenter Elementary volunteer honored: Sixty-seven-year-old Rubye Ogburn was named Michigan Community Action’s Volunteer of the Year for putting in 14,000 volunteer hours over fourteen years, according to a county press release. Ogburn, whose service comes through the Foster Grandparent Program, spends twenty-four hours a week at Carpenter during the school year; in the summer, she helps out at Grizzly Learning Camp in Ypsilanti.
Church hosts business-attire giveaway: The brainchild of Huron High alum Cameron J. Baldwin, the event aims to provide suits, dress shirts, and women’s jewelry to aspiring professionals. This is Baldwin’s third year organizing the giveaway; this year it’ll take place from 3–5 p.m. on July 11 at Mt. Olive Church of God in Christ in Ypsilanti. |
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| | | Friday: Ann Arbor Jaycees’ Annual Summer Carnival includes carnival rides, games of skill and chance, cotton candy, and other classics. Runs through Sunday.
Saturday: The inaugural Yes, Ann Improv Festival ends today with the Chicago-based Improvised Shakespeare Company and “Yes, Also All Stars,” which has a cast known from TV shows like Superstore and Key & Peele.
Sunday: Top of the Park’s final day features chalk drawing with David Zinn, offbeat talks hosted by Found Magazine’s Davy Rothbart, and music by rockabilly band George Bedard & the Kingpins, all followed by a screening of Frank Capra’s classic 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life.
See the Observer’s online calendar for many more local events. |
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