Last week, amid an inexplicable four-hour power failure, I dared to complain that in Superior Twp. we only have blackouts in fair weather. This clearly offended both DTE and the weather gods. Dark clouds gathered, a wicked wind whooshed through, and we spent the next 24+ hours in the dark. The groceries spoiled, the kids struggled to fall asleep without their calming Alexa playlists, and I sat in the car for an hour charging my phone so I could get back to furiously refreshing the outage map.

Moral of the story: Never goad the utility. They’ve got the power.

That ends the humor (?) segment of our missive because the news this week is pretty grim. Our air quality is dangerous, there was a lot of gun violence, and it’s looking like some tiny house denizens are going to have to find a new place to perch. Browse below but don’t blame me if it bums you out; I’m just the messenger.

As I brace for a long weekend of trying to keep our three fireworks-hating dogs calm, I wish you all a star-spangled week ahead.

–Steve Friess, editor

Thick haze blankets region: At various points this week, Ann Arbor had the worst air quality in the state, sitting in a “very unhealthy” classification as a result of tiny ash particles being spewed across the northern U.S. from forest fires in Canada, according to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy’s monitoring site. The agency issued a statewide air quality advisory through at least Friday, with advice to not be outdoors unless necessary and to keep windows closed overnight. Also per advice, mask-wearing is a thing again on the streets of Ann Arbor. EGLE was downbeat about the forecast, too, writing on Twitter that the Canadian fires will need to burn out “and that will take a while.”

Two killed in Ypsilanti Twp. shooting: A sixteen-year-old and twenty-year-old died from bullet wounds sustained Monday in a neighborhood just north of E. Michigan Ave. east of Ecorse Rd., the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department posted on Facebook. The fourteen-year-old and nineteen-year-old brothers of the sixteen-year-old were also shot and reportedly were in serious condition Tuesday. No arrests have been made and police say they don’t know the motive behind the incident. Anyone with information should call (734) 973-7711 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 773-2587.

Fifty-six-year-old gunned down: Jason Strickland was found dead in a unit at Arbordale Apartments off Pauline Blvd. east of W. Stadium on June 22, according to an AAPD Facebook post. Police are treating the incident as a homicide. The complex is owned by the nonprofit affordable housing developer Avalon Housing, which told MLive (paywall) that Strickland had lived there for seven months. Anyone with information should call (734) 794-6920 or send an email. 

Twenty-five shots fired at car in parking lot attack: Surveillance footage posted on the AAPD Facebook page shows five people getting out of a gray sedan and at least three of them shooting at a black car as it passes in the 2300 block of Arrowwood Tr. Nobody was struck in the June 22 incident, but several bullets hit the car, which crashed into a tree before its occupants fled on foot. Police later determined the people in the black car ranged in age from fifteen to sixteen. The shooters got back in the gray sedan and drove away. Gunfire also struck nearby homes in the townhouse complex. Anyone with information should call (734) 794-6920 or send an email.

Twenty-four-year-old Ypsi man pleas no contest on child molestation charges: Levi Jabari Gardner is scheduled to be sentenced in July for several felonies involving sexual assaults on and exposure to a ten-year-old girl, MLive reports. He was initially arrested in 2019 and has remained in jail since that time. 

One-time U-M quarterback dies: Ryan Mallett, thirty-five, died in a drowning accident at a beach in Destin, Florida, on Tuesday, Sports Illustrated reports. Mallett played as a Wolverine in 2007 before transferring to Arkansas and later spending six years in the NFL. Most recently, he served as head football coach at a high school in Arkansas.

Motorcyclist to get $99,000 from city for pothole accident: Council approved the payout to Christine Harris, who injured her ankle in May 2019 on Pontiac Tr. when her bike toppled, MLive reports. It’s the largest of three settlements by the city for pothole-related accidents in the past year. Earlier this month, the city approved $4 million in repairs to Pontiac and nearby streets.

Hidden camera startles patrons of A2 spa: A Dearborn Heights couple told police they found the tiny camera inside a wooden statue facing a jacuzzi at Oasis Hot Tub Gardens on S. State St., according to a thread in AAPD’s Twitter feed. The device did not appear capable of recording or transmitting video, according to a spa spokesperson. Oasis has spas in A2, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo.

Council moves to expand high-rise zone: Planning staff recommended against approving an eleven-story, 733-bed tower near on Forest near S. University Ave. because the site currently allows only a thirty-foot height limit, but the Michigan Daily reports that council voted unanimously to approve a planned unit development to permit it. Mayor Christopher Taylor argued the high-rise is necessary to alleviate demand for housing among U-M students, and the decision confirms that city leaders are amenable to allowing high-rises outside the current downtown zone. The Observer’s John Hilton and Trilby MacDonald anticipated this shift in the March issue. 

Comfort Suites off I-94 on track for OK: The Ypsilanti Township planning commission approved plans for the four-story, seventy-eight room hotel at 800 S. Hewitt Rd., vacant land next to a Wendy’s and Tim Hortons near the Michigan Ave. interchange, MLive reports (paywall). The property is being developed by Hillsdale-based Wolverine Eagle Hospitality, Inc., which hopes to have it open by April 2025.

Ellsworth Rd. repairs coming in July: The $1 million project, approved by council last week, goes to road work between State St. and Platt Rd. that includes resurfacing, drainage upgrades, and the widening of bike lanes in both directions. Eastbound traffic will be rerouted throughout the construction, which is expected to continue through August. 

Study finds White motorists stopped and searched less often: A report from a team of EMU researchers found Black male drivers were pulled over nearly 2.5 times more often than would be expected based on their proportion of the population, WEMU reports. The study analyzed three years’ worth of data on traffic stops from AAPD and was overseen by EMU professor Kevin Karpiak, director of the Southeast Michigan Criminal Justice Policy Research Project.  The city is expected next week to pass an ordinance restricting police from pulling people over for minor vehicle violations.

A2 businesses without power for days: Sunday’s storm and 60 mph winds knocked out power for some 11,000 DTE Energy customers, with several areas of downtown still in the dark as of Tuesday. Those impacted included Frank’s Restaurant, the Michigan Theater, the Original Cottage Inn, and Vinology, per their social media pages and notices on their doors. The downtown library was also closed Monday and Tuesday.

State senator Jeff Irwin co-sponsors measures to create community solar projects: The pair of bills, introduced with Republican senator Ed McBroom of Vulcan, would allow private citizens to build communal photovoltaic systems of up to 5 megawatts and receive credits on their power bills for whatever is generated, Michigan Advance reports. 

U-M, NIH to spend $79M to diversify biomedical, health sciences faculty: The Michigan Program for Advancing Cultural Transformation is a five-year effort to add thirty tenure-track assistant professors across eleven schools from underrepresented backgrounds, the University Record writes. The NIH is kicking in $15.8 million to go with U-M’s $63.7 million.

Geomenon acquires Boston Genetics: The A2-based genomic research firm’s purchase is part of its effort to “be the first company to curate the entire human genome,” DBusiness reports. Genomenon, a U-M spinoff, is doubling its size by adding seventy-five geneticists to its research team in the acquisition.

United Way of Washtenaw County absorbed by Southeastern Michigan chapter: The nonprofit is merging the two entities into one that covers Washtenaw, Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, according to a press release. Pam Smith, the CEO and president for the Washtenaw chapter, will serve as a “senior consultant and advisor throughout the transition.” The shift was first suggested by the Washtenaw chapter in early 2022 in an effort to make both operations more efficient, and the new entity will maintain offices in both Ann Arbor and Detroit.

Ex-Saline mayor appointed to Dexter Township board: Gretchen Driskell, who ran unsuccessfully to unseat Republican congressman Tim Wahlberg three times, received unanimous support to complete the term of now-township supervisor Karen Sikkenga, MLive reports. The former two-term Democratic state representative was Saline’s first female mayor when she was elected in 1998. The Observer’s Julie Halpert wrote in 2018 about Driskell’s second campaign for Congress.

Tiny houses a no-go in rural Washtenaw: The Webster Twp. Planning Commission refused to allow the owners of Firesign Family Farm to host small off-the-grid dwellings, MLive reports (paywall). Firesign has had a few tiny homes on the land since 2009, but more recently complaints from neighbors led to zoning, building and sanitation violation notices. The owners of the farm, about 11 miles northwest of A2, argued the tiny houses are eco-friendly, affordable options for some residents.

​​Florida hires away U-M men’s tennis head coach: Adam Steinberg had helmed the team for nine years, leading it to back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in the NCAA Tournament over the past two seasons, the Daily reports. Steinberg, the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2021 and the 2022 Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Midwest coach of the year, amassed a 172-64 record.

Dexter Jeopardy! winner ends streak, criticizes show: Ben Goldstein, forty-two, netted $51,298 in six appearances and qualified for the Tournament of Champions. Two days after the airing of his sixth show, when his streak ended, he took to Twitter to question the show’s policy of not paying for contestant travel and expenses. “Personally, I think covering travel/lodging would make the show more accessible to a wider range of contestants. Not everyone can afford a trip to LA with no guarantee of payback,” he wrote in comments picked up by the New York Post among other outlets.

Fourth of July brings parade, fireworks, government offices closures: The annual Jaycees parade starts Sunday at 10 a.m. in the Briarwood Mall parking lot, a shift from its traditional downtown route necessitated by widespread road construction. The group is using the new setting to host a festival from 8 a.m. to noon that also includes food trucks and activities. Ypsi’s parade is on the Fourth and starts at 11 a.m. and passes through Depot Town. The 63rd annual fireworks show at Whitmore Lake is Sunday at dusk. Libraries, federal, state and local government offices and local museums will close on July 4. 

Paesano changing hands: The beloved Italian restaurant and wine bar was owned for nearly forty years by Bridget and Mike Roddy, who said in a Facebook post that they plan to spend more time with their grandchildren. The Roddys sold Paesano and its building on Washtenaw Ave. to Richard Buhr and his family, which they described in their post as “lifelong members of the Ann Arbor community.”

Briarwood announces five new stores: Totally Tea, which offers drinks and boba teas, opened this month, according to a press release. Also coming soon to Briarwood are Texas De Brazil, a fusion steakhouse; the M Den Annex, a third permutation of the U-M merch shop at the mall; Wiggle Waggle Barkery, a pet supplies shop; and Scrubs and More Boutique, which sells medical uniforms.

New Herbology Cannabis Co. shop opens in Ypsi: The Michigan chain’s fourth location, at 915 W. Michigan Ave., began selling its recreational marijuana products last week. The shop also offers delivery within a twenty-mile radius through its mobile app. 

Coalition focuses on alleviating child-care shortage: An alliance organized by Ann Arbor SPARK that includes providers, parents, local foundations and businesses, and representatives from Washtenaw and Livingston county governments is working on a regional action plan, according to a press release. There are three times as many children under 13 as there are licensed child care spots available, the group says.

Chelsea dad launches effort to honor late son: The Sean Brian Ashline Foundation is a nonprofit that seeks to raise money to provide financial support to students who need an alternative to traditional college, including scholarships for post-secondary education, trade programs, and certificate programs. His father, Fred, is organizing what is intended to become an annual fundraiser at Chemung Hills Golf Club in Howell on August 25, which would have been Ashline’s birthday. For more information, click here. Ashline died in April 2022 at the age of twenty following a long struggle with mental illness.

Non-profits working to ease food insecurity in Ypsi: The end of Covid-era government assistance and the rising prices of groceries have more families struggling, but a panoply of groups are trying to help, Concentrate reports. Swoop’s Food Pantry at EMU landed a $130,000 gift from alumni group GameAbove in May to expand its offerings to students. Also, Hope Clinic reports an average of fifty-nine people coming for nightly free dinners in May, up from forty-four in January.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Bring a lawn chair or blanket to the John E. Lawrence Summer Jazz Concert Series at Ford Lake Park. Veteran local guitarist Lawrence opens this week with Jazz Funk Soul, a funk-inflected smooth jazz trio led by Grammy-winning veteran keyboardist Jeff Lorber. With saxophonist Everette Harp and guitarist Paul Jackson, Jr. Runs every Fri. through Sept. 1. 7 p.m., Ford Lake Park, 9075 S. Huron River Dr., Ypsi. Free (parking, $5/per vehicle). Call (734) 635-5446 or email for more information.

Saturday: Join Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy’s family-oriented “Full Moon Campfire” in one of the region’s largest conservancy-owned nature preserves. Bring refreshments and lawn chairs; locally cut firewood appreciated. No pets. Come early to walk the trails if you like. 8 to 11 p.m., LeFurge Woods, 2452 N. Prospect Rd. #2198 (½ mile north of Geddes), Superior Twp. Free, donations welcome. Call (734) 484–6565 or email for more information.

Sunday: Play in Pinball Pete’s Pinball Tournament. Contestants of all ages and skill levels are invited to play eight games of pinball for International Flipper Association points and other prizes. 5 p.m. (registration opens at 4:45 p.m.; ask for Ryan at the glass desk), Pinball Pete’s, 1214 South University. No entry fee; $1 per game. (734) 213–2502. 

Monday: Join a moderate-paced twenty-mile journey to Dexter and back at an Ann Arbor Velo Club Group Ride. Cyclists must wear a helmet and bring water and supplies to fix a flat tire. 6 p.m. (non-members must arrive 10 minutes early to sign a club waiver), Forsythe Middle School, 1655 Newport. Free. 

Tuesday: Attend a 19th-century-style Independence Day Celebration at Cobblestone Farm, with a reading of the Declaration of Independence, period music, lawn games, and lemonade. Also, tours of the restored 1844 Ticknor-Campbell farmhouse and cabin. Noon to 4 p.m., Cobblestone Farm, 2781 Packard (next to Buhr Park). Free, but donations appreciated. (734) 794–7120. 

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

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