I usually write these missives with a furry companion in my lap. If I have a coughing fit, as I often do for some hereditary reason, Blue The Dog would perk up and lick my chin to help me stop. And I thought of all this just now when I started hacking again because Wednesday morning, Blue died. He was at the vet for a teeth cleaning, reacted badly to some medication, went into cardiac arrest, and could not be revived. He was only seven. We still have Maize and Victor, but Blue was the one who loved being our daughter’s sofa pillow and who best tolerated our autistic son’s unintentional rough hugs. He’ll be missed. You can see him here.

Much of the news this week was troubling, too. Budget cuts and layoffs at the school district are coming, and everybody’s understandably upset about that. We’ve had the county’s first homicide of the year, a downtown shooting involving a Good Samaritan, and a courtroom scuffle. The U-M is welcoming a new basketball coach and police chief, but you know it’s a tricky week when perhaps the most fun story involves something known as a “corpse flower.” I’m sure it’s super cool but it could do for some rebranding from the folks who gave us the “Chilean sea bass.”

I did want to draw your attention to this opportunity lest it get buried in the news: Two Ypsi kids are in a food competition run by NASA and need to raise money to go to Houston for the next phase. They’re selling maple cinnamon apple pies for $20 but you have to order by Monday. They (the kids and the pies, actually) sound out of this world!

Here’s hoping the forecasted wet weather doesn’t cancel all the Easter-egg hunts my kids are looking forward to. And may all who celebrate Easter in its full meaning have a joyous and uplifting experience.

– Steve Friess, editor

Questions persist as AAPS addresses $25M shortfall: Bridge Michigan offers an excellent look at how the shutoff of the federal Covid relief spigot this year is causing financial panic at school districts, with Ann Arbor’s massive budget gap as a marquee example. Yet even in that piece, it’s unclear exactly how the district came to this fiscal cliff without realizing it. Board trustee and treasurer Jeff Gaynor offered a part of an explanation on his social media pages last week, suggesting that the budget anticipated a $14 million payment from the state for pensions that the state didn’t actually owe. “If that $14 million was not included in the proposed budget, the fund balance would not have looked as promising as it did,” he wrote. “I can’t explain how this error wasn’t caught.” Meanwhile, the district is asking the public to respond to an online survey on budget priorities that includes an invitation to share “ideas to generate additional revenue.” They’ll also gather in-person input at a meeting at Pioneer High at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 8.

Michigan hires Dusty May to revive moribund men’s basketball: The forty-seven-year-old was head coach at Florida Atlantic University for six years, taking the team to the NCAA Final Four last year, ESPN reports. FAU lost in the first round this year to Northwestern, and his hire by U-M was announced the next day. May, who served as an assistant coach at EMU in 2005-06, replaces Juwan Howard, a former U-M star whose team racked up a worst-ever 8-24 record this season. On social media, May thanked the FAU community for its support, but called Michigan’s offer “a dream come true for myself, my wife Anna, and our boys Jack, Charlie and Eli.” 

Council opposes US-23 widening: The vote to support a proposal from TheRide to increase public transit and add park-and-ride options rather than add lanes to the highway was unanimous, according to city records. MDOT is considering the expansion to alleviate traffic backups, but opponents say the answer should be to reduce reliance on cars.

Condo complexes seek exemptions to gas leaf blower ban: Pittsfield Village and Newport West told council last week that their large-scale operations make using all-electric machinery impractical, MLive reports (paywall). In December, council approved a ban on gas-powered leafblowers that would phase in from June to September starting this year and then all year starting in 2028. Several council members disagreed with the representatives for the complexes and their landscape companies, noting that dozens of cities have similar bans. “Change is hard, but I ran on an environmental platform and I think our climate crisis requires us to not only do things differently, but maybe think about things differently,” councilmember Jenn Cornell said.

Last attended parking lot safe for now but rates rise: The 140-space city-owned Kline’s lot on S. Ashley is the last one that still has a human in the booth taking cash or credit, James Leonard writes in this month’s Observer. The lot, site of a considered-then-scrapped plan for a Sports Illustrated-themed resort, will eventually be automated, Downtown Development Authority director Maura Thomson says, but will keep its human touch for the foreseeable future. Thomson says usage has largely recovered in the evening but remains depressed during working hours, so revenue is down about 25 percent. To make up the difference, by 2026, the Kline’s lot price will rise from $1.80 to $2.60 per hour, parking meters will go from $2.20 to $2.60 per hour, and structure parking will go from $1.20 to $1.80.

New Ann Arbor YMCA CEO quits before he starts: Three days after sending out an email to members touting the selection of Josh Chapman, the Y’s chief volunteer officer Courtney Piotrowski sent another note to say Chapman had resigned. Interim CEO Becca Schnetzer will continue to manage the organization. Chapman told MLive he decided to remain CEO at the Blue Water Area YMCA in Port Huron.

Scio Twp. changes zoning on defunct cineplex site: Developer Etkin Management, seeking to replace the vacant Goodrich Quality 16, can now consider apartments, office space, indoor recreation, restaurants, or retail thanks to the board’s vote last week, according to township documents. The cineplex sits on fifteen acres along Jackson Rd. but has been zoned only for a movie theater. Other suggested uses, including turning the theater into climate-controlled self-storage, were shot down by planning officials.

U-M names groundbreaking new police chief: Crystal James, who in 1992 became only the second Black female officer in the school’s police department, is now also its first Black leader, the University Record writes. James, previously deputy chief on the Dearborn campus, has served as interim chief since last year. She began her law enforcement career as a Detroit cop.

Vending machines at U-M offer Naloxone, Plan B: Five machines across the university’s three campuses also offer condoms, Covid tests, and other medications, the Michigan Daily reports. Plan B, also known as the morning-after pill, cost $10, a discount from the typical retail price. Officials say they will add the new over-the-counter oral contraceptive pill when it’s available. In Ann Arbor, the machines are in the Michigan Union, the School of Public Health, and the Taubman Health Sciences Library.

Author Brad Meltzer to address U-M commencement: The 1992 graduate returns to campus for the May 4 event at Michigan Stadium as an acclaimed best-selling writer whose “I Am” series includes thirty-three biographies of historic people written for children, the University Record writes. Pulitzer-winning journalist Robin Givhan of the Washington Post, also a U-M alum, will address the Rackham Graduate commencement on May 3. Both writers are receiving honorary Doctor of Laws degrees. In addition, Alexa Canady, the nation’s first Black female board-certified neurosurgeon, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree and philanthropists Judith and Stanley Frankel are receiving Doctor of Laws degrees at the May 4 ceremony. 

Man convicted of killing fiancee, burning body: Twenty-three-year-old Asante Wright faces a possible life sentence after judge Carol Kuhnke found him guilty of second-degree murder and using a firearm during a felony in the death of twenty-one-year-old Patricia Fowler, MLive reports (paywall). Wright, who waived his right to a jury trial, could face life in prison. Fowler’s body was found in the trunk of a burned-out car in Detroit in December 2022. Two other men were charged with felonies in the case, but the case against one was dropped and the other pleaded no contest to one charge in exchange for testifying against Wright. The trial was disrupted last week by a scuffle that broke out among spectators; a twenty-year-old man seated with the Fowler family was charged with disorderly conduct.

Gunshot victim found dead in car: Twenty-two-year-old Alonzo Hollie of Belleville was discovered by Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputies in a vehicle on W. Michigan Ave. in Ypsi on Tuesday night, WXYZ reports. Police say there was evidence of a struggle. Anyone with information can call the sheriff’s office at (734) 973-7711.

Good Samaritan shot while trying to break up fight: The twenty-three-year-old Ypsi man is in critical condition after interceding in a dispute near the corner of N. Main and E. Ann streets in Ann Arbor, MLive reports. The victim told police he drove himself to a parking lot on E. Huron before calling 911. No suspects have been arrested.

Car thief suspect arrested after trying to swim away: As police responded to calls about someone trying to break into vehicles in an apartment complex on Stone School Rd., thirty-six-year-old Miguel Angel Aparicio-Navas fled into a pond, ClickonDetroit reports. He was pulled out and taken to jail. Aparicio-Navas also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in connection with a sexual assault in Ann Arbor in September. 

Earthen Jar reopens today after fire shutdown: The vegetarian Indian restaurant was closed since March 18 when a fire in a vacant upstairs apartment left the building without power. On Facebook, the owner said they would be back today and thanked fans for “your well wishes and your patience.” Fire officials say the blaze started when rags used with oil-based paints and stains ignited, ClickOnDetroit reports. 

Men’s NCAA hockey tournament starts tomorrow: No. 3-seeded Michigan takes on No. 2- seeded North Dakota at 8:30 p.m. in Maryland Heights, Missouri, in the first round, according to MGoBlue. The Wolverines lost the Big Ten championship final to Michigan State in overtime last weekend.

Women’s basketball bounced in first round of March Madness: Coach Kim Barnes Arico’s squad let a ten-point fourth quarter lead evaporate and then lost in overtime on Saturday to the Kansas Jayhawks, the Detroit Free Press writes. The loss ends a streak: the team had won its first-round game for five straight years.

Arbor Prep girls basketball team wins state title: The Ypsi charter high school’s Gators beat Niles Brandywine in the Division 3 final last weekend in East Lansing for their second state championship in three years, ClickOnDetroit reports.

From Van Gogh prints to games, AADL’s 2023 list reflects eclectic offerings: The library’s annual rankings of the most-borrowed items shows the enduring interest in far more than books, Eve Silberman writes in this month’s Observer. Reflecting the expanding role of libraries in society, in-demand offerings include sewing machines, art prints, games, puzzles, and more. Among the intriguing list-toppers are prints of the classic Starry Night painting and Giant Connect 4 game.

Rare “corpse flower” to bloom: Kevin Hauser of Webster Twp. has been caring for the endangered Amorphophallus titanum for six years at his home and expects it to open up in the next few weeks, MLive reports. The huge plant is known as corpse flower because its blossoms emit a vile odor described by NPR as “akin to rotting meat and stinky laundry” to attract carcass-eating insect pollinators. The article offers great detail about the unusual and complicated efforts Hauser has put into nurturing the plant, and Hauser is offering to provide email updates and possibly allow some members of the public to come see it when it blooms if they write to him here.

Ypsi teens win $10K scholarships in NASA cooking contest: Madison Ball and Brooklyne Rupert finished in the top ten nationwide out of about 300 entries in the space agency’s HUNCH Culinary Challenge in which high schoolers create recipes for dishes fit for microgravity, MLive reports (paywall). The duo, Lincoln Consolidated High School students who spend half of their days at Ypsi’s Regional Career Technical Center Culinary Arts and Bakery Science Team, submitted their steps for an “astronaut-friendly” version of Gyeran Bap, a Korean rice, egg, and vegetable dish. Ball and Rupert both won $10,000 scholarships to Sullivan University in Kentucky, a school focused on culinary arts and hospitality. They expect to travel to Johnson Space Center in Houston in April to make their food for astronaut judges, but are $2,000 short of their fundraising goal for the trip and are selling maple cinnamon apple pies with a cardamom crumble for $20 to raise money. Orders can be placed here by April 1.

Playa Bowls brings healthy fare, tropical feel: The franchise opened earlier this month in Ulrich’s Bookstore’s final storefront at South University and Church with produce-rich bowls and nondairy smoothies and juices, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. The business is co-owned by Bill Kretsch, who has the Playa franchise in Plymouth, and U-M alum and family law attorney Matt Caplan of West Bloomfield, who has three other locations of the New Jersey-based chain in metro Detroit.

New cafe opens in former Cultivate space: Vertex Coffee Roasters began serving its lattes and teas last weekend and is now open seven days a week, according to its Instagram page. Cultivate Coffee and Taphouse vacated the expansive Ypsi location two years ago after suffering losses due to the Covid pandemic. Vertex, which roasts its beans in Milan, won’t serve alcohol as Cultivate did. 

Warby Parker offering free eclipse glasses next week: The eyewear shop is giving away special shades for safely looking at the upcoming total solar eclipse starting Monday until they run out, according to the company’s website. Assuming clear skies, the eclipse will be partially visible from 2 p.m. to around 4:20 p.m. on April 8, according to NASA. 

Lions clubs collect used eyeglasses, hearing aids for patients abroad: The Ann Arbor and Ypsi clubs maintain boxes where people can donate the specs and ear devices they no longer need, Anita LeBlanc writes in this month’s Observer. Helen Keller called on the Lions to become “knights of the blind in a crusade against darkness” in 1925, and it’s been a cause for the service club ever since. After the glasses and hearing aids are cleaned and repackaged, they’re sent to other countries where Lions volunteers fit them to people who can’t afford new ones. A list of dropoff locations can be found here.

WCC gets $1M more for Reading Scholars: The gift, which philanthropists Agnes and Stephen Reading added to a prior $1 million donation, enables the program to provide twenty full-ride nursing scholarships each year in perpetuity, according to a WCC press release. The first $1 million was donated in 2022, as Neil Shah wrote in the Observer at the time. The need-based scholarships follow recipients when they transfer to EMU to complete their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees.

Michigan members of Congress help raise $87,000 at breakfast fundraiser: The haul, which pays for need-based scholarships for students from the D.C. area, was a record for the annual event put on by the U-M Alumni Club of Washington D.C., according to the University Record. ”Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, gave the keynote address, highlighting the importance of U-M’s role in challenging students to better understand each other, and to foster an environment of mutual respect … He encouraged all in the room to think about how civility can change the political discourse for the better and strengthen our democracy.” Ann Arbor rep Debbie Dingell was among eigfht other members of Congress from Michigan on hand.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Join research scientists in interactive activities at the U-M Museum of Natural History’s Spring Break Scientist Spotlight featuring the work of undergraduate researchers in a range of fields from anthropology and psychology to chemistry. All age ten and up invited. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., MNH, 1105 North University. Free. (734) 764–0478.

Saturday: See Purple Rose Theatre Company’s “The Antichrist Cometh.” Rhiannon Ragland directs the premiere of Livonia playwright David MacGregor’s comedy about a happily married man who discovers he might be the Antichrist. Contains adult subject matter and language. Every Wed. to Sun. through May 5 (except Easter Sunday). 3 p.m. (Wed., Thurs., and Sat.), 8 p.m. (Thurs. to Sat.), and 2 p.m. (Sun.), Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park St., Chelsea. Tickets $30 to $48 in advance at purplerosetheatre.org and by phone, and (if available) at the door. (734) 433–7673. 

Sunday: See the winners of the 62nd Annual Ann Arbor Film Festival, the oldest avant-garde film festival in North America, at two screenings: “Awards 1” at 5 p.m., which includes the announcement of the winners and screening of half the winning films, and “Awards 2” at 7 p.m. $14 (members and seniors, $9; students, $8) per screening at the door only. Michigan Theater.

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

Tell a friend about a2view

For Sponsorship and Advertising information 
Email:  a2view@aaobserver.com

Did this email get forwarded to you? 
Sign up to receive a2view direct to your inbox.