Around the same time I saw the alert from health officials about the first confirmed case of the measles in four years in Washtenaw County, I happened to be researching a story that led me to browse old newspapers from Tacoma, Wash. The 1979 headline, “Measles: health chief, schools split,” caught my eye. The top health officer there, Walter Herron, hoped to tamp down a raging, worst-in-the-nation outbreak by demanding schools not allow unimmunized students to attend. Two districts ignored him, insisting he didn’t have that authority; two months later, the state gave him the power. Dr. Herron used it, hundreds of kids got their shots, and an epidemic was contained.

Obviously, nothing quite like that is happening here, and our schools already require a measles inoculation with certain exceptions. But reading about those battles of a half-century ago, I wonder if Dr. Herron would have prevailed today. If our Covid-era discourse has taught us anything, it’s that nothing that once seemed like common sense and good science is sacrosanct anymore.

Beyond the measles case, the news is a typical mix of , , and ‍♂️. Mail thefts are up ( ), drug fatalities are down ( ), a venerable Ypsi strip club is reopening ( ‍♂️), pressure is building for U-M to fire Juwan Howard ( ), and the councilmembers are talking about repurposing golf courses for various progressive reasons ( ).

As I look ahead to next week’s Pi Day, I’m taking recommendations for the best pie in town. No rhubarb, though. I’ve never understood rhubarb pie.

– Steve Friess, editor

First Washtenaw case of measles detected since 2019: The Washtenaw County Health Department warned the public to get tested and vaccinated against the highly contagious airborne illness if they were at the emergency room and triage areas at Trinity Health Ann Arbor last Friday from 10:30 a.m. through 1:30 p.m. The case is one of three statewide so far this year in what public health officials fear is the start of a resurgence. Symptoms usually begin seven to fourteen days after exposure, but can take as long as three weeks to appear; they may include a high fever, cough, runny nose, white spots inside the mouth, and a red, raised, blotchy skin rash. The Washtenaw case involved an adult who had recently traveled abroad. Anyone who might’ve been exposed can contact their doctor, pharmacy, or WCHD at (734) 544-6700.

More ODs, but fewer drug fatalities: EMS responded to 521 overdoses in 2023, up from 458 the year before, but deaths were down, from a record 109 people in 2022 to eighty-two last year, James Leonard reports in this month’s Observer. Experts credit wider access to Narcan, a nasal spray approved for over-the-counter purchase last year that can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose if it’s administered in time. It’s sold at pharmacies, distributed free by community organizations, and “we’ve seen an increase in the number of locations in our county that are putting in Narcan vending machines,” county epidemiologist Kaitlin Schwarz said.

A2, Ypsi reap money from state pot excise tax: Of the record $87 million being distributed to municipalities based on the number of licensed cannabis retail stores and microbusinesses, $2.7 million is coming to Washtenaw County largely thanks to its two most populous cities, according to the state. Wayne County is getting $3.5 million, more than half of which came from the thirty-three businesses in Detroit after the city finally began issuing recreational marijuana licenses last year. Ann Arbor has twenty-six and Ypsi has thirteen. Northfield Twp., Pittsfield Twp., and the city of Saline received some of the revenue as well.

City seeks public input for new comprehensive plan: Workshops will be held at the downtown library on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for residents to learn about and share ideas for future land use and transportation initiatives, the city says. Ann Arbor is working on its goals for the coming quarter-century on matters such as affordability, sustainability, and equity. To see times for the sessions and RSVP, click here.

Debate tees up over future of municipal golf courses: Council reversed itself this week to approve a $800,000, five-year lease for gas-powered golf carts for the Leslie Park and Huron Hills courses, but not before a discussion about whether the links are an appropriate use of land and resources, MLive reports (paywall). First Ward council member Lisa Disch “asked if the city could consider the future uses of the golf course properties in its comprehensive plan process,” reporter Ryan Stanton writes. “Community Services Administrator Derek Delacourt said he would relay the suggestion to the city’s planning team.” 

U-M basketball strength coach at odds with Howard quits: Jon Sanderson had been with the Wolverines for fifteen years before he resigned last week. While Sanderson’s exit agreement includes a non-disclosure clause that will prevent him from publicly discussing a notorious Dec. 7 confrontation with head coach Juwan Howard, Michigan Daily columnist Paul Nasr used the departure to urge the school to fire Howard. As the team is wrapping up one of its worst-ever seasons, Nasr says Howard’s squad “can’t handle losing and can’t sustain winning.”

Concordia to remain open for 2024-25 year, may go independent: The private Lutheran university in Ann Arbor, currently administered by Concordia Wisconsin in Mequon, is cutting costs by laying off staff and considering selling property to close a recently disclosed budget gap, WXYZ reports. Among ideas floated in a video message to students from Rev. John M. Berg, chair of the Board of Regents, is “an intense and focused exploration of the possibility of the Ann Arbor campus seeking to become an autonomous Concordia University.”

Nine-year-old competes on MasterChef Junior: For the second time this year, a local kid is appearing on a popular TV cooking competition. Lilo Tsai, whose family owns Godiako Japanese restaurant and Tsai Grocery, is appearing on the newest season of Gordon Ramsey’s MasterChef Junior on Fox. In the first episode, which aired Monday, Lilo came close to elimination for a dish she called steak flying noodles with yakisoba and stir-fry vegetables, which received praise for its creativity but which Ramsey says looked better than it tasted. In January, twelve-year-old Leland Jackson of Ann Arbor debuted in the Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship; he was eliminated in the fourth episode.

Mail theft forces USPS to beef up security: It’s gotten so rampant that someone pilfered an advertiser’s check from the Observer’s box and tried unsuccessfully to cash it in another state, former a2view editor Trilby MacDonald writes this month. Theft complaints in Ann Arbor are way up since 2019, part of a national trend that prompted the U.S. Postal Service to replace some 12,000 mailboxes nationwide with new ones that have smaller openings and can’t take packages. Even those have been breached, though, with two outside the Green Rd. post office forced open last June. USPS now recommends mailing checks inside a post office.

One dead in Pittsfield Twp. crash: A woman died following a collision at Packard and Carpenter roads on Monday, CBS Detroit reports. The accident occurred when a thirty-five-year-old Ann Arbor man attempted to turn left onto southbound Carpenter and was struck by a car driven by a twenty-two-year-old Ypsi man. Both drivers were hospitalized. The woman was in the car that was turning.

Man dies by suicide at plant nursery: A forty-nine-year-old shot himself at Lodi Farms on Tuesday, MLive reports (paywall). There were people in the shop but nobody else was injured, police said. Anyone considering self-harm is urged to call or text 988 for help through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 

Cash register stolen from downtown restaurant: The break-in at Tomukun Korean BBQ early Monday involved a thief forcing open the back door, MLive reports. No suspects have been identified and the amount of cash in the register was not disclosed. Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Ann Arbor Police Department’s tip line at (734) 794-6939 or send an e-mail.

Teen accused of shooting water beads from car: Four pedestrians near the U-M campus were hit on Saturday night by the projectiles from a SplatRBall blaster that shoots beads that expand in water, MLive reports. Three women said the were struck multiple times near Hill St. and Washtenaw Ave., and a man said he was hit more than twenty times in the crosswalk of South University and Church St. Police arrested a seventeen-year-old Ann Arbor boy on charges of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent and five counts of assault or assault and battery. 

Deja Vu Showgirls reopens in Ypsi: The long-running strip club will be back in business tomorrow night after four years of struggles including closures because of the pandemic, a fire, and various disputes with the city, Detroit Metro Times writes. The adult bookstore and video-viewing area is gone, as is the awning advertisement promising, “1000’s Of Beautiful Girls And 3 Ugly Ones.”

Flooded Ypsi library getting $1.2M in repairs and upgrades: The downtown branch of the Ypsilanti District Library has been closed since it suffered catastrophic flooding last summer, but fixes are underway with a reopening targeted for June, according to an update posted online by library director Lisa Hoenig. The repair work, covered by insurance, will cost $823,000, but the library is also spending about $419,000 on three new study rooms, a laptop counter with street views, “some spiffy new furnishings and a completely redesigned youth area,” Hoenig writes. The Classically-styled 1914 building was originally the city’s post office.

Preservationists relocate 150-year-old one-room schoolhouse: Bob Mottice and his family have been working for more than two years to reassemble the brick structure in Sharon Twp. that spent decades as a granary after its time as a school, the Manchester Mirror reports. The Mottices already had a reconstructed 1840s cabin and other historic structures, all built or rebuilt using methods and tools available to their original time period. In addition to the chalkboards, Bob Mottice was able to salvage most of the original wainscoting, recreating the pieces that were too damaged to use.

Misty Mountain Cannabis to take over Mission Ann Arbor: Mission’s parent company, 4Front Ventures, sold the S. Main store after struggling with labor and regulatory strife, Dave Algase writes in the February issue of the Observer. The new owners, a partnership between Misty Mountain Acquisitions and Chicago-based PharmaCann, hopes to reopen the retail pot shop within a few months as one of four Misty Mountain dispensaries across the state. 

Two Pita Way shops opening soon: The Clarkston-based chain with locations in Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee is set to begin serving its Mediterranean fare at locations in Scio Twp. and downtown sometime this spring, MLive reports. The downtown location, 500 E. William St., was previously occupied by Neo Papalis Pizza, while the Scio spot is an outlot of Meijer at Jackson and S. Zeeb roads. 

Event planning business takes over space vacated by Unicorn Feed and Supply: Yours Truly Events and Novelties owner Elise Post moved her online business into the brick-and-mortar space in W. Michigan Ave. in Ypsi last month, Concentrate reports. Post, an Ypsi native now living in Canton, also sells a variety of holiday-related knick knacks in addition to custom apparel. She was shopping at Unicorn’s inventory and furniture clearance sale in early January when she got the idea. 

Shamrocks and Shenanigans 5K run is Sunday: The annual St. Patrick’s Day-themed charity event that expects to raise more than $30,000 for C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital’s Save a Heart campaign winds through downtown between 9:15 and 11:30 a.m., prompting road closures. A 1K walk starts at 9:45 a.m., with the 5K launching at 10:15 a.m. from outside Conor O’Neill’s Pub on S. Main. For information, to register, or volunteer, click here.

C.S. Mott lands $7.5M gift to advance care for rare conditions: The donation comes from the Wayne and Joan Webber Foundation in honor of the couple’s eleven-year-old grandniece Reese Partlow, who lives with I-cell disease, Michigan Medicine announced in a press release. Reese’s rare genetic condition, for which there is no cure and which is usually fatal in early childhood, develops after birth and halts growth during the second year of life. The Webbers’ donation will help advance technology-enabled care and provide support services for kids and their families.

Habitat for Humanity’s annual Women Build project launches tomorrow: Work on the Huron Valley chapter’s newest home, at 966 N. Prospect Rd. in Ypsi, gets underway on International Women’s Day, according to a press release. The Women Build project invites volunteer teams of eight to ten women to raise at least $1,000 and then pick an upcoming Thursday, Friday, or Saturday to work on the home. For more information, click here. Last year, 110 women in fourteen teams raised more than $70,000 and put in more than 740 volunteer hours to help Habitat build a home.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: See Russian-German pianist Igor Levit, who the New York Times calls “one of the essential artists of his generation,” perform Franz Liszt’s piano arrangement of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, Ronald Stevenson’s piano arrangement of the Adagio from Mahler’s unfinished 10th symphony, and more. 7:30 p.m., Hill Auditorium. Tickets $15 to $73 (students, $12 to $20) at the door if available, in advance online, or by phone at (734) 764–2538.

Saturday: Take a guided walk to learn the secrets of maple sugar at Waterloo Natural History Association’s “Old-Time Maple Sugar Festival,” where you can see various methods of collecting sap, demos of boiling sap down to make syrup, and a display of antique syrup-making equipment. Maple products available for purchase. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eddy Discovery Center, 17030 Bush Rd., Chelsea. Free. $14 ($19 at the gate) recreation passport required for auto entry. (734) 475–3170. 

Sunday: Learn how to help at the Second Annual A2 Climate Teach-In, a series of workshops centered on ways to act and participate in advocacy to fight climate change. Begins with a keynote address by local Democratic congresswoman Debbie Dingell. 1:30 to 5:15 p.m., Genesis of Ann Arbor, 2309 Packard. Free. Preregistration required here.

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

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