March 21, 2024

Can you guess what is pictured in the photo above? Click the image for the answer and more.

At the apex of the college basketball season, we’re grateful to have the Wolverines women to keep tabs of this weekend. As March Madness begins today, the absent U-M’s men are a mess on every front; it is shocking how quickly and completely the squad has devolved from its impressive pre-Covid runs. On the men’s side, that leaves me rooting for the team they named after my son, Nevada. Go Wolf Pack!

What a wild week in the news, huh? The school board decided that its late-breaking budget crisis merited short-circuiting its search for a new superintendent. There are some big political moves afoot as the 2024 election filing deadlines approach. Our county is losing population and has another confirmed case of measles. And there was yet another very scary (and weird) road rage incident.

On the upside, a local charity that got a $2 million gift from the nation’s most interesting philanthropist of the moment, an Ypsi woman won the lottery, and Ann Arbor’s place in LGBTQ+ history will be enshrined. So it’s not all bleak.

As I drop in a shameless pitch on behalf of a friend’s daughter to buy some of her Girl Scout cookies, I wish you all a sweet and crunchy week ahead.

–Steve Friess, editor

Peace Neighborhood Center was one of more than 300 causes to receive a share of $640 million announced this week by Yield Giving, the philanthropy launched by Scott, a billionaire and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The funds will help the Ann Arbor nonprofit in its Ypsi expansion. Credit: Steve Friess.

The News

$25M in the hole, split AAPS board offers superintendent post to Jazz Parks: Ditching its own timeline for choosing a replacement for Jeanice Swift and dismissing the other semi-finalists interviewed on Saturday, the trustees last night asked their interim superintendent to take the job permanently, Michigan Public reports. Board president Torchio Feaster said a recently emerging budget crisis in which the district must cut $25 million from its budget necessitated a faster resolution to the search for a new leader. The tight vote, 4-3, reflected the objections of trustees who said cutting short the process could invite public skepticism, a concern borne out when even opponent Jeff Gaynor was pummeled on Facebook for “the ultimate betrayal of the community.”

Schools layoffs coming: The district has lost more than 1,100 students this decade while adding staff, creating a fiscal shortfall outlined in a letter from interim superintendent Parks to the board, ClickOnDetroit writes. Gaynor, the board’s treasurer, tells CBS Detroit notifications of potential layoffs of administrators will begin going out this month and of some teachers by the end of April. Other cost-cutting measures outlined by Parks include a hiring freeze and attempts to renegotiate vendor contracts.

Second case of measles found, more possible infection sites identified: The health department says the new diagnosis involves an unvaccinated adult who acquired the virus from exposure to the person diagnosed on March 3. The disease, which had not been seen in the county in four years, is highly contagious, and officials are urging people to get tested if they were present at a growing list of sites of possible exposure: the U-M Hospital’s emergency room from either 10:40 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 10 or 7:30 to 10 a.m. on March 11; on the second floor of the Alice Lloyd Dormitory from 6:45 to 9 a.m. or at CVS at 5449 Jackson Rd. from 3:20 to 5:40 p.m. on March 11; at NextCare Urgent Care, 3280 Washtenaw Ave., from 10:40 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. on March 12; at CVS from 4:45 to 7 p.m. on March 14; or in the lobby and waiting area at Trinity Health IHA WestArbor, 4350 Jackson Rd., between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 15.

Consultants tell city to demand $82M from MDOT for road takeover: A seventy-seven-page report tells council, which is weighing assuming full responsibility for Jackson Ave., Huron St., Washtenaw Ave., and Main St., that’s what it would cost to rehab or resurface the thoroughfares. The city believes the state, which now controls those roads, is focusing too much on vehicle traffic and getting in the way of changes for pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Council approves “anonymous hiring” policy to diversify: Recruiters assessing applicants for city jobs will no longer have the applicants’ names, race, or gender when weighing their qualifications, according to city documents. The new policy, which passed unanimously, aims to make its hiring process more fair to non-male, non-white applicants; a 2022 report from MLive (paywall) found the city’s 800+ employees were overwhelmingly male and disproportionately white. Everyone involved in hiring decisions will also be trained in “DEI-centered practices to promote inclusive, equitable, and bias-aware recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce.”  

County loses population: The latest Census estimate is that the number of residents fell by 968 last year, and 6,722 since April 2020, Bridge Michigan reports. That’s a 1.8 percent drop; Wayne County, which shed 2.4 percent of its population, was the biggest loser. The state’s overall population grew slightly, thanks largely to gains in western Michigan’s Ottawa and Kent counties, but still is down by nearly 43,000 since the last census. 

Ann Arbor Tenants Union is back: Dormant since 2004, the reconstituted organization held its first meeting on March 3, the Michigan Daily writes. The AATU, formed in 1969 and once mainly funded by the U-M Student Assembly, has been revived by tenant rights activists frustrated by spiraling rent increases and wait-list fees. They aim to press local and state officials for a tenants’ bill of rights. 

Linh Song won’t run for re-election, endorses Jon Mallek: The first-term Ward 2 city councilmember announced the move at this week’s board meeting and then posted about it on Facebook, saying she will “focus my time with my incredibly supportive family and with the philanthropic sector.” Song and her husband, Dug, created the Song Foundation in 2019 after the $2.3 billion sale of Dug’s Ann Arbor-based startup, Duo Security. Mallek, policy director for the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, announced his bid for the seat on Tuesday, The Democrat has the endorsement of nine of the ten sitting council members and five area state representatives, including his husband, Jason Morgan.

State Rep. Brabec retiring, plans 2026 run for state Senate: After two terms, the former Washtenaw County commissioner says she won’t seek reelection this fall, MLive reports (paywall). Instead, Brabec says she will seek the seat to be vacated by term-limited state senator Jeff Irwin. The news wasn’t a huge surprise; AAPS trustee Rima Mohammad has already filed to run for Brabec’s seat and Morgan Foreman, a top Brabec staffer, is also expected to run. 

Net-zero, mixed-income neighborhood rising on Platt: Veridian at County Farm, an ambitious eco-friendly development, is finally rising after a delay because of the pandemic and despite soaring materials costs, James Leonard writes in this month’s Observer. The first residents could be moving into five three-story condo apartments as soon as May; the plan also includes townhouses, detached houses, and a fifty-unit affordable housing building developed by Avalon Housing. They’ll also be a farmhouse building that developer Matt Grocoff, co-founder of Thrive Collective, says will have “the world’s first net-zero-energy grocery store.”

Hilton buys Graduate Hotels: The chain agreed to pay $210 million for the rights to the university-town brand that includes sites in Ann Arbor and East Lansing, D Business reports. There are more than thirty-five operating or planned Graduate Hotel locations in the U.S. and the United Kingdom..

More campus-area road closures ahead for crane placement: E. University between South University and Hill St. will be shut down tomorrow at 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Sunday so John Darr Mechanical can put the machinery in place for a project at U-M’s School of Social Work, according to the city. The eastbound lanes of South University between Tappan Ave. and E. University also will be closed. Getting around campus remains extremely challenging, with portions of Hill, State, and Packard all blocked until June. 

A2 nonprofit lands $2M from McKenzie Scott: Peace Neighborhood Center was one of more than 300 causes to receive a share of $640 million announced this week by Yield Giving, the philanthropy launched by Scott, a billionaire and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Michigan Advance writes. Peace provides programs for children, families, and individuals with social and economic challenges; long based on Ann Arbor’s west side, it’s now creating a social services hub in Ypsilanti.

A high-speed rollover crash along Plymouth Rd. caught on video last weekend was so destructive, a wheel of the electric Porsche shattered the windshield of an unoccupied car nearby. Three occupants were injured, one critically. Courtesy: Ann Arbor Fire Department.

U-M fires Juwan Howard amid basketball team shambles: The former star player for the Wolverines ends his five-year tenure as head coach after one of the squad’s worst seasons ever. As Sports Illustrated and others speculate on who might replace him – columnists for both Detroit papers suggested revered former coach John Beilein – the team is rapidly shedding its few stars. Dug McDaniels, Youssef Khayat, George Washington III, and Tarris Reed Jr., all announced they are entering the transfer portal, making themselves available to other schools.

March Madness arrives for women’s basketball: The Wolverines take on Kansas at 2 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the team’s sixth appearance in seven years, MGoBlue writes. The women’s team went to the Elite Eight in 2022 and has made it to the Sweet Sixteen three straight years. Also Saturday, U-M men’s ice hockey takes on MSU at 8 p.m. for the Big Ten championship in East Lansing. 

U-M football schedule worries AAFD officials: Early season games, which in the past have usually been against noncompetitive, low-profile teams at noon, this year will feature marquee teams like USC and Texas and are likely to be played later in the day or at night to maximize TV ratings. Fire chief Mike Kennedy is concerned that could mean more calls for emergency services, WXYZ reports. This also will be the first season in which alcohol will be sold at Michigan Stadium. Kennedy is lobbying council to buy the department an additional ambulance to respond to the anticipated uptick. 

Football assistant resigns following DUI arrest: Thirty-three-year-old Greg Scruggs, who arrived this month to take a position as the Wolverines’ defensive line coach, was pulled over early Saturday, the Detroit Free Press reports. Head coach Sherrone Moore announced Scruggs’ resignation in an email on Thursday.

Man in critical condition after gruesome single-car crash: Firefighters had to extricate the twenty-year-old from an electric Porsche Taycan that was smashed up in a strip mall parking lot on Plymouth Rd. near Broadway, according to an AAPD social media post. Startling video obtained by Fox 2 shows the vehicle slamming into a curb, flying in the air and then flipping before coming to rest in the parking lot. Two 19-year-old women in the vehicle suffered minor injuries. Police say speed and alcohol “appear to be factors.” The vehicle was so damaged that one of its tires broke loose and smashed the windshield of a nearby Ford.

Woman charged in road rage incident involving dog: Fifty-nine-year-old Chloe Whitsett of Ann Arbor is accused of ramming her car into another vehicle near Packard and Platt and then threatening to have her pitbull attack the other motorist, MLive writes. Police say Whitsett believed the twenty-one-year-old Ypsi man had cut her off, so she berated him at a red light before rear-ending him. She is charged with two counts of assault and battery, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, and two counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer during her arrest. Whitsett told a judge at her arraignment the charges are unfounded.

Teen crashes stolen car in Ypsi: A fifteen-year-old from Detroit is accused of taking the vehicle from MacArthur Blvd. in Superior Twp., MLive reports (paywall). Later that day, a sheriff’s deputy spotted the car and attempted to pull it over; three passengers fled on foot and the driver sped away before crashing near Clark Rd. and Ford Blvd. The driver and two teens who fled were arrested.

DDA to spend $1.4M to deter jumpers at parking decks: The agency told council last week it would upgrade top-floor fencing to prevent people seeking to harm themselves from being able to leap from downtown public garages, MLive writes. A thirty-four-year-old woman died by suicide after a fall from the top of the Maynard lot on Jan. 11, according to the medical examiner. The new fencing will have spikes that curve inward to make it harder to climb.

Power outage keeps Earthen Jar closed: The vegetarian Indian restaurant has not reopened since a small electrical fire on Monday in an upstairs apartment caused left the building without electricity, the restaurant’s owner Gurcharan Sethi tells a2view. There were no injuries in the fire, which was put out quickly when firefighters arrived.

Coworking makes a rebound: After a pandemic hibernation, Ann Arborites are again trading home offices for shared workspaces, Eve Silberman reports in this month’s Observer. Bamboo Ann Arbor, for example, expects to open in April in the longtime Kiwanis building downtown. New coworking businesses are vying for customers by offering a range of amenities including group spaces, conference rooms, soundproof “phone booths,” workout rooms. and saunas.

Ypsi woman wins $100K in Powerball: Forty-one-year-old Audrey Fines says the sum “means financial freedom for me and my family,” ClickOnDetroit reports. To win, she matched four white-ball numbers out of five and got the Powerball number in the March 6 drawing.

State OKs LGBTQ+ historical marker: The Michigan Historical Commission approved a plaque about Ann Arbor’s role in the queer civil rights struggle in a March 5 letter. The city was the first in the nation to elect an openly gay person, Kathy Kozachenko, to any public office. As part of its bicentennial celebration, the city also plans to put a statue of Kozachenko outside city hall.

Marketplace

Black Pearl taking over former Starbucks space: The seafood restaurant is expanding into the vacant space next door by fall or early winter, MLive reports. The former coffee shop will add 820 square feet at the prominent corner of Main and Liberty. Owner Jake Doyal says they’ll be installing a U-shaped bar and adding sushi to the menu.

Lai Lai reopens after fire: The Chinese restaurant in Arbor Square Plaza suffered $100,000 in losses to a January 2023 fire, but owner Feng Ye says the result is a freshly remodeled dining room, Dave Algase reports in this month’s Observer. The fire started in a hood system, Ye says. Insurance covered less than 70 percent of the rebuilding costs, so he’s especially grateful to the 134 donors who contributed  $6,815 in a GoFundMe campaign.

Mix Fitness Studios moving to larger location: The Ypsi gym is leaving Cross St. for a larger space on Harriet St. with free parking and easier access to I-94, according to a Facebook post. Triple the size of the old one, the new facility will add showers with private changing rooms and other new amenities. Mix’s  Depot Town location will remain open.

Helpers

Chefs compete in Garrett’s Space fundraiser: Chefs from Mainstreet Ventures Restaurant Group, which owns nineteen eateries in Michigan and Ohio, will make dishes for ticket-buyers on Tuesday night at Carson’s American Bistro, with diners voting to determine the “Top Knife” award. Tickets cost $125, with some of the revenue going towards the nonprofit that is working to open a center in Superior Twp. for young adults facing mental health struggles. For tickets and more information, click here

Win a backpack picking up trash on Saturday: Volunteers are invited to the Fjällräven shop on S. Main St. at 10:30 a.m. to help with a downtown cleanup effort as part of the U-M Zero Waste Challenge. Helpers are asked to bring their own bags for picking up garbage and litter as they walk from the store to the Michigan League courtyard from 11 a.m. to noon. Participants will be entered in a drawing for a trekking backpack worth $325. To RSVP, click here.

U-M raises $5.3M on Giving Blueday: The annual fundraising push on March 13 yielded gifts from 11,500 donors to support a panoply of university programs from research to athletics, the University Record writes. The unit receiving the most gifts was LSA, while the student organization that received the most gifts was electric race-car team MRacing Formula SAE. The Giving Blueday website crashed during the campaign, so U-M extended the period for donations to noon the next day.

Things to Do

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: See Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s 2017 expressionistic one-act chamber opera, “Elizabeth Cree,” performed by U-M voice students and the student University Philharmonia Orchestra. The plot interweaves the trial of the titular heroine for poisoning her husband, a series of brutal murders committed by a Jack the Ripper–style killer, and the world of an English music hall. 7:30 p.m. (Thurs.), 8 p.m. (Fri. and Sat.), and 2 p.m. (Sun.), Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre. Tickets $24 and $30 (students, $13) in advance at the Michigan League Box Office, tickets.smtd.umich.edu, and at the door. (734) 615–3204. 

Saturday: Attend the 50th Annual Dance for Mother Earth Ann Arbor Powwow”, the annual gathering of Native Americans from throughout the Great Lakes area, with drumming, social dancing, and dance contests and demonstrations. Grand entries on Sat. at noon and 7 p.m. and on Sun. at noon. Display and sale of traditional crafts and food. 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Sat.) and 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Sun.), Skyline High School, 2552 N. Maple. $10 (students and seniors, $5) per day; $15 (students and seniors, $10) weekend pass; kids age 5 and under and U-M students, free. Tickets at the door only. (734) 408–1581. powwow.umich.edu/event-information

Sunday: Browse the Ann Arbor City Club’s 66th Annual Flea Market for a huge assortment of antiques, collectibles, jewelry, art, books, housewares, linens, tools, and more. On Sun. only, all items half off. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Sat.) & noon to 4 p.m. (Sun.), 1830 Washtenaw. Free admission. (734) 662–3279. 

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

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