Some people get a bit bent out of shape over the needless clock shifts of Daylight Saving Time. I have a different calendar nitpick: I hate when Thanksgiving comes really late. By law, it is the fourth Thursday in November even though years like this shrink the “official” Christmas season to less than a month. It’s bad for commerce, too, as Franklin Roosevelt knew in 1939 when he moved it back a week to allow for a longer shopping season.

I only say this because an earlier Thanksgiving might make it easier for people struggling to move forward emotionally after the election. By now, I should be immersed in planning the big meal and looking forward to my weekend shopping spree. Instead, there’s this interloping week to stew about what America just decided.

Eleven years ago, I posited in Time Magazine that we should make Thanksgiving the Thursday before the last Sunday of November. As I wrote then, would not Susan Stamberg’s mother-in-law’s cranberry relish on any other date taste as sweet and sour? There’s precedent, too, for convoluted holiday designations; Election Day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday.

Alas, a lot of things are not in our control, but in my control right now is rendering the week’s news for you. We have a pair of alarming road rage incidents, big changes coming to an iconic Kerrytown-area building, and U-M’s plan to honor the eighty-eight-year-old woman whose computer talents helped NASA land on the moon.

– Steve Friess, editor

Top U-M student leaders impeached: Representatives in the Central Student Government voted 30-7 to push for the removal of president Alifa Chowdhury and vice president Elias Atkinson on grounds of dereliction of duty, incitement to violence, and cybertheft of CSG resources, the Michigan Daily reports. The duo, who ran as the Shut It Down party and vowed to halt CSG activities until U-M divested from companies that benefit from Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, have “refused to do those duties that have been constitutionally required of them,” said representative Margaret Peterson, who introduced the motion to impeach. “After repeated calls for their resignation from over forty current and former members of CSG and repeated refusals to do so, this Assembly is left with no choice but to impeach.” Both are accused of endangering the body by calling on supporters to “pack” a CSG meeting. Chowdhury is also accused of commandeering the body’s Instagram account and then making posts critical of student representatives. The Central Student Judiciary will weigh the charges and decide whether to remove Chowdhury and Atkinson from office.

Market Place to be converted to condos: Plans submitted to the city envision turning the office and retail building at 303 Detroit St. into as many as fifteen residential units while retaining some commercial spaces on the lower level, MLive reports. Constructed in 1856 as an agricultural implements factory, the building was rebuilt and expanded in 1988 by pickle heir Mike Vlasic. The family’s real estate arm, MAVD, is already working with veteran local condo developer Tom Fitzsimmons on a fifteen-unit project across Detroit St. They’ll team up again to add one or two floors, balconies, and indoor parking with elevator access. 

Seven-story hotel planned next to mall: Drury Development requested parking-related zoning variances to redevelop the site formerly occupied by LA Fitness on Briarwood Circle, according to city records. Its plan to demolish the existing structure and replace it with a 107,000-square-foot hotel with 180 rooms was announced in September at a public meeting to gather resident feedback. Drury, based in Missouri, owns more than 150 hotels in twenty-six states.

Trump support rose 17 percent in A2: As Democrats cast about for answers to why the former and future president beat vice president Kamala Harris, MLive notes that Trump received 2,557 more votes in Washtenaw County in 2024 than in 2020, according to unofficial results. Part of that gain included picking up 1,289 votes in the city of Ann Arbor. Harris received 172 fewer votes than Joe Biden in 2020 countywide but did increase her party’s Ann Arbor total by 214 votes. Overall turnout in the county was 65.6 percent, up by 5,437 voters from 2020, but paled compared to neighboring and significantly more conservative Livingston County: it had the state’s second-highest turnout at 78.9 percent turnout, the Livingston Daily reported.

Voters split tickets in U-M regents election: Incumbent Denise Ilitch, a Democrat, won a third term and Republican investment banker Carl Meyers of Dearborn won his first term, the University Record writes. Meyers, who ousted incumbent Republican Ron Weiser at the Michigan GOP’s convention last summer, took 25.75 percent of the vote in a six-way race to Ilitch’s 24.95 percent. Also in U-M-related election news, law professor Kimberly A. Thomas, a Democratic nominee, won election to the Michigan Supreme Court.

Waitlist opens for SEU following election: Residents interested in becoming subscribers to the city-run sustainable energy utility can click here to put their name in. Voters overwhelmingly supported the creation of a parallel, publicly owned power company in which power from solar and geothermal sources can be pooled in microgrids. Most residents would continue to get power from DTE with their own sustainable energy to supplement it. The city says the system could start to come on line in as little as eighteen months.

Council gives administrator $30K retroactive raise: Milton Dohoney’s base salary is now $280,000 after a closed-door session to evaluate his job performance, according to city records. He also received an $8,400 bonus. At the meeting, councilmember Travis Radina cited James Leonard’s 2022 Observer profile, “Everybody Loves Milton.” Dohoney was initially hired as interim administrator in 2021 with a base salary of $223,600.

U-M reportedly chasing Belleville High QB with eight-figure offer: Bryce Underwood, 247sports.com’s pick as the top recruit in the Class of 2025, has committed to LSU, but the Wolverines are hoping he can be swayed to stay local with the promise of as much as $10 million in name, image, and likeness deals, CBS Sports reports. The defending national champions have struggled this season in large part because of difficulty landing on a quarterback who can lead the team. Meanwhile, Underwood is now being coached in part by controversial ex-Wolverine analyst Connor Stalions, ClickOnDetroit reports. Stallions was at the center of an elaborate sign-stealing scheme that resulted in his firing, the suspension of then-coach Jim Harbaugh, and an ongoing NCAA investigation. He was hired by Belleville High for their current playoff run after spending the regular season as head coach at Mumford High in Detroit. Stallions told ClickOnDetroit he was not hired to help U-M land Underwood.

Architect divides lot, sets Burns Park tongues wagging: Warren Samberg split the parcel at 1015 Olivia Ave., which has a 5-bedroom, 5-bath house built in 1908, so he could redevelop the newly created lot, Micheline Maynard writes in this month’s Observer. In a worrisome precedent, a historic home nearby at 904 Lincoln Ave. was torn down last year and replaced with student rental apartments. Samberg has listed the existing mansion for $1.9 million, and expects to design whatever is built next door on the subdivided parcel. “I’m allowed to do multifamily,” he says, “but I have good taste.”

Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., C-SPAN co-founder John D. Evans to get honorary degrees: They are among four to be celebrated for their achievements at U-M’s Winter Commencement on Dec. 15, the University Record writes. The others will be Rebecca Blumenstein, president of editorial at NBC News and the event’s main speaker, and software engineer Margaret H. Hamilton, who is eighty-eight and known for developing on-board flight software for NASA’s Apollo program. Evans and Blumenstein are U-M alums.

Residents asked to compost pumpkins: Rather than put the gourds in the landfill, the county wants people to bring them to one of several free dropoff sites this month. The pumpkins must be free of paint, glitter, wire, candles, preservatives, or other decorations. Sites for dropoff from dawn to dusk include Vestergaard Farms, 4408 S. Wagner Rd., in Ann Arbor; Goldfinch Farm, 9770 Macon Rd., in Saline; and nkidsfarm, 5420 Farrell Rd., in Dexter.

Police contend with two unrelated road rage incidents: In the first, at 1 a.m. on Nov. 6 at Main and Madison streets, a driver reported being physically attacked after making an offensive gesture to another driver that was stopped at a flashing yellow light, according to a U-M Department of Public Safety press release. The offended driver pulled the victim out of their seat, punched them, and threatened them with a possible gun. Then, on Thursday afternoon, a driver threatened a bicyclist with a handgun after nearly hitting him near Glen Ave. and Catherine St., CBS Detroit reports. Anyone with information about either incident can call Ann Arbor police at (734) 794-6939 or email tips@a2gov.org.

Sixty guns destroyed at buyback event: Folks who gave up their weapons received Kroger or Meijer gift certificates of up to $200 at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, CBS Detroit reports. Some attendees at the event, a partnership with Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence, said the guns belonged to other family members and that they didn’t have use for them.

Indoor farmers market opens Saturday after security delay: It was supposed to debut last weekend at 16 S. Washington St. in Ypsi, but Growing Hope executive director Julius Buzzard tells MLive they held off to go over security plans after a shooting two blocks away on Nov. 6. Several people opened fire at the Ypsilanti Transit Center, and one suffered minor injuries. The market will be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Dec. 21.

County lands federal grant for domestic violence prosecutor: The board of commissioners formally accepted the $497,630 from the Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women to cover the new position’s salary for three years, MLive reports (paywall). With this hire, the special victims unit will add another lawyer to a current four-attorney team that who struggles to keep up with its workload. At the moment, they have about 150 pending cases and 125 requests for charges. 

Salt truck crashes, spills on I-94: The vehicle was heading west near Baker Rd. on Tuesday morning when the driver suffered a medical emergency and veered off the road, WWJ reports. The sixty-three-year-old driver was taken to the hospital; his condition has not been reported.

Several big road jobs wrapping, minor ones start: They include W. Liberty St. between Scio Ridge and S. Maple roads (closed one month for gas main installation); Miller Ave. between N. First and N. Ashley streets (closed ten weeks for utility work for the condo building 212 Miller); Greenview Dr. between Scio Church and W. Stadium Blvd. (closed six months for major road reconstruction); and Stony Creek Rd. in Ypsi between Textile and Whittaker roads (closed three months for bridge replacement), the city and county say. On the new closures side, Catherine St. between Glen Ave. and N. Ingalls St. reopens Monday after pavement repairs; E. Washington St. between S. Division and S. State streets is closed until Wednesday to dismantle a crane used for construction at The Legacy at Ann Arbor apartment complex; and Textile Rd. between US-12 and Platt Rd. is closed until Nov. 27 for intersection reconstruction. 

Jim Toy Center announces new home: The LGBTQ+ organization is moving into a 1,200-square-foot space at 560 S. Main St., it said in a Facebook post. It vacated its longtime home in Braun Court in January 2021 at the height of the Covid pandemic. The group plans to open at the new location in 2025.

A gymnastics coach’s path from China to A2 to Paris: Yuan Xiao, the U-M men’s coach, traveled to France to accompany two of his Wolverine stars, Frederick Richard and Paul Juda, as they won Team USA’s first medal in sixteen years, Micheline Maynard writes in November’s Ann Arborite profile. The USA won bronze. Xiao, sixty-one and born in Beijing, “has unbelievable respect in the gymnastics world,” NBC gymnastics commentator Justin Spring tells Maynard. “It’s amazing to have two Olympic athletes” from a single school on a medal-winning team.

Chai takes center stage at new downtown cafe: The South Asian spiced tea is a secondary consideration at most coffee shops, but father and son Noman and Bilal Husain decided to change that with their first CupsnChai location in Canton Twp., Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. Now they’ve opened an Ann Arbor site, on S. Fourth Ave. between fellow newcomers House of Chimney Cakes Café and The Getup in a revitalized mixed-use building. Along with more than a dozen chai-based drinks, they’ll be introducing the classic Italian coffee brand Lavazza, a (nonalcoholic) mango tango mojito and other cold drinks, and a food menu that fuses the flavors of south Asia with American and European influences – some based on Noman’s mother’s handwritten recipes.

Second Miny’s Mexican opens on Broadway: The restaurant held its grand opening last weekend as it expands beyond its original Ypsilanti Twp. location, according to a Facebook post. Miny’s namesake, Minerva Gonzalez, runs the business with her three sons.

Saline gets Detroit-style pizzeria: DropTop Pizza is the brainchild of co-owners Joseph Maino and Jason Branham, Algase reports in the Observer’s 2024-2025 Community Guide. Maino’s background at Zingerman’s, working in the Bakehouse and Roadhouse, led to a scholarship to study with the late Shawn Randazzo, whose prowess elevated Detroit-style pizza to national prominence. He’s been a regular at Branham’s Maiz Mexican Cantina in Ypsi’s Depot Town, leading to their new venture in part of the former Smokehouse 52 BBQ space on W. Michigan Ave.

A Brighter Way to hold fundraiser: The non-profit focused on helping formerly incarcerated people re-enter society hosts a buffet dinner and storytelling event at the Ypsi Freighthouse on Nov. 22. Tickets for the 6 p.m. gathering are $100 and can be purchased here. The emcee is executive director Adam Grant.

Peace Neighborhood Center raises $122K: The anti-poverty non-profit held its Thanks for Giving fundraiser on Nov. 7 at Venue Restaurant and Bar and says it will use the money to buy a new bus, new passenger vans, and a new minivan for its HUB Community Center in Ypsilanti Twp. Peace raised an additional $80,000 from donors who could not attend the dinner, the group said in an e-mail.

Tickets available for comedy show to combat homelessness: Comic Tommy Ryman headlines the 7:30 p.m. show on Nov. 21 at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase to support the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County. Ryman is known for his appearances on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing;” his 2022 album, “Party Troll,” hit No. 1 on the iTunes comedy charts; Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here. 

Ice skaters support latrines in Dominican Republic: Some residents of the island nation must trek 6 kilometers to access a sanitary bathroom, so U-M’s Blue Missions challenges attendees of the Skating for the Source event to skate that far. It starts at 9:30 p.m. at Yost Arena, and admission costs $8. Sign up here. The group aims to raise money to build sixteen latrines.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Peer through observatory and rooftop telescopes (weather permitting) and view planetarium shows at an Angell Hall Observatory Open House. Also, short astronomy presentations by U-M Student Astronomical Society club members. 8 to 10 p.m., Angell Hall Planetarium, rm. 3118. Free. (734) 764–3440. 

Saturday: See acclaimed singer-actress Bernadette Peters, considered by many to be the foremost interpreter of the music of Stephen Sondheim, at the Michigan Theater. On this U.S. and U.K. concert tour, Peters begins with selections from her parents’ record collection and the work of Rodgers & Hammerstein and moves on to Sondheim songs from shows she has starred in. The Musical Theatre Review calls it “[a] stunning show that demands to be remembered.” 8 p.m., Michigan Theater. Tickets $57 to $252 in advance online here and (if available) at the door. (734) 668–8397. 

Sunday: See U-M opera and music students perform “Hänsel und Gretel,” Engelbert Humperdinck’s classic opera, an enchantingly ingenious adaptation of the Grimm fairy tale. Humperdinck created it as an entertainment for his own family, basing the score on popular songs and rhythms. A hit after its 1893 premiere in Germany, it quickly became a holiday tradition around the world. Sung in German, English supertitles. 7:30 p.m. (Thurs.), 8 p.m. (Fri. and Sat), and 2 p.m. (Sun.), Power Center. Tickets $29 to $35 (students, $16) in advance at smtd.umich.edu and at the door. (734) 615–3204.

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

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