I’ve learned a lot this week about hibiscus trees – they are impressively hardy and it should take more than a brief shock of frost to kill them – thanks to many of you. What’s more, reader Jess Antanaitis pointed me to a wonderful resource – MSU’s “Ask Extension” – where Michiganders can get advice from experts and volunteers by filling out a simple online form. Thanks, everyone!

I’m sensing a common thread here. Last week, at the last minute, I tossed in an item about a doe breaking into the Law School and, by a large margin, you made it the most popular click. Anything related to nature and wildlife, really, is a hit. So, with that in mind, I urge you to check out the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum video on Facebook capturing the beavers building a dam on Fowler Creek in the Arb. And if the Arb gang is reading, please post more of that. My son and I took the walk and saw the dam last weekend, and it’s glorious.

Along the same lines, I point your attention not to all the messy scandal stories surrounding the U-M football team but to the revelation that Jim Harbaugh is the owner of a flock of pet chickens. I’m not sure the Humane Society would be pleased how that came to pass; he bought some chicks for his kids at Easter and they soon got bored with them. But given all of the coach’s free time this season, it’s nice that he has a hobby.

Otherwise, there’s the usual robust lineup here of development news, tragedy, and legislative activity to keep you up to date.

As I sit down with my magazines and cookbooks to plot out my first Thanksgiving menu since before Covid (and parenthood), I wish you all good smells and easy grocery checkout experiences in the week ahead.

– Steve Friess, editor 

Hearing on Harbaugh suspension is tomorrow and he’ll be there: The Wolverines beat Penn State without the head coach on the sidelines, but with two more games remaining – including Ohio State at home on Nov. 25 – the university continues to press a lawsuit to force the Big Ten to reinstate him. The initial judge assigned to the matter, Tim Connors, recused himself because he is a lecturer at U-M Law, plopping the matter in the lap of U-M alum Carol Kuhnke. The league slapped Harbaugh with a three-game suspension last week as punishment for an alleged sign-stealing scheme that he insists he didn’t sanction and didn’t know about. 

The drama has united fans: Tom Brady piped up on social media in support of Harbaugh, “Michigan v. Everybody” merch is raising money for the student-athletes, and New York Magazine columnist and U-M alum Jonathan Chait wrote about the injustice of the suspension. At a U-M basketball game in Madison Square Garden this week, fans chanted, “Free Jim Harbaugh,” ClickOnDetroit reports. Harbaugh may have overplayed the hand by saying that Michigan is “America’s team,” dampening some of the empathy earned from the hasty suspension. 

Dexter woman dies in Scio Twp. crash: The fifty-five-year-old’s name has yet to be released following the Monday morning accident in which her car collided with that of a Shelby Twp. man on Dexter-Ann Arbor Rd. near Zeeb Rd., MLive reports. Both drivers were ejected, and the thirty-nine-year-old man was in critical condition, Washtenaw police said. A seventy-year-old Ann Arbor man whose car was struck by the other two was pinned inside and had to be extracted by Scio Twp. firefighters. He’s in stable condition. 

Woman accused of trying to shoot sheriff’s deputy through door: Endia Shaevon-Renne Francois, twenty-seven, is charged with one count of assault with intent to murder after she called police to her home in Scio Twp. on Saturday to report harassment by an ex-boyfriend, MLive reports. When the deputy arrived, she fired her gun into the door, police say. Nobody was injured and she was taken into custody.

Man arrested after shots fired outside Red Roof Plus+: Forty-nine-year-old Kirt Van Voorst is charged with carrying a concealed weapon, discharge of a firearm in or at a building, felony firearm, resisting/obstructing a police officer, possession of a firearm by a felon, and assault with a dangerous weapon, according to a post by AAPD on Facebook. Police say he shot his gun in the air in the hotel parking lot and that they recovered two weapons during their investigation.

West Park residents jittery about crime even before Jude Walton’s murder: Homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health issues that have beset the neighborhood came to a head in April with the slaying of the affordable-housing advocate, Jordan Scenna writes in this month’s Observer. Nina and Jess Francis-Levin, Walton’s next-door neighbors, say they see drug deals in their driveway but can’t get permission to build a fence to stop people from cutting through their backyard. It’s long served as a thruway between the Delonis Center homeless shelter, West Park, and the Miller Manor low-income apartments.

County launches crime data website: The Data and Information Dashboard presents numbers of incidents broken down by crime type as well as the race, gender, and age of victims and suspects. On Facebook, sheriff Jerry Clayton touted it as part of an “ongoing commitment to our value of openness and engagement with the communities we faithfully serve.” The Ann Arbor Police Department launched a similar site in April.

White Ypsi officer sues city, alleges racial bias: Lt. Brent Yuchasz filed a twelve-page complaint late last week asserting he was passed over for police chief and demoted because of his race, MLive reports. Yuchasz was second in command under the previous chief and served as interim chief, but claims that when he tried to apply for the top job, Ypsi’s the then-city manager told him they wanted a Black person for the job. She denies having said that. The department is now led by chief Kirk Moore, who is Black.

County’s birdwatching group drops “Audubon” from name: Members will vote in coming months on a new official name, the Michigan Daily reports. The Washtenaw branch is following the leads of Chicago, Detroit, and Madison, Wis., which are distancing themselves from 19th century ornithology pioneer John James Audubon as more is learned about his racist views and ties to slavery, CNN writes. The national organization is retaining the name, insisting it has long since transcended the individual. On its website, the Washtenaw branch has put a red line through “Audubon” in its logo.

Tensions remain high as students demonstrate over Israel-Hamas war: Palestinian supporters staged a “Die-In” in on the Diag last week and read aloud the names of children who have died in air strikes on Gaza, the Detroit News reports (paywall). Meanwhile, Jewish students erected a display near Kerrytown on Saturday to commemorate the more than 240 hostages being held by Hamas, Michigan Radio reports. On Friday,  the Detroit Free Press interviewed Gaza-raised Ann Arborite Mahmoud Habeel about his grief and trauma over the deaths and injuries of dozens of relatives in the fighting (paywall).

U-M student wins Rhodes scholarship: Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos, a 2022 LSA grad, is one of thirty-two Americans picked to pursue graduate degrees at the University of Oxford in England, the University Record writes. He’s only the thirty-first U-M student to win the honor since its inception in 1902. The son of migrant workers, Orozco Castellanos will pursue master’s degrees in both refugee studies and Latin American studies. 

City moves to scrap failed affordable housing incentives: Adopted in 2019 to make developers include more subsidized units in downtown high-rises, the rules instead choked off the flow of new projects. Now, MLive reports, council is moving ahead with  zoning changes that will let developers build up to downtown’s height limits without incentives–while continuing premiums that would let them build even higher.

House committee OKs measure to undo state ban on plastic bans: HB 4359, which would repeal a law passed by the Republican-run legislature in 2016 to prevent Washtenaw County from imposing fees on plastic bags in stores, now heads to the floor next year, ABC 12 reports. One of Ann Arbor’s top priorities in Lansing, the bill passed out of the Natural Resources Committee on a party-line vote and was castigated by GOP minority leader Matt Hall as part of the “Democrats’ absurd climate war.” Its lead sponsor, Ann Arbor rep Felicia Brabec, was on the county commission when it passed the restrictions that the state law was aimed to prevent.

U-M grows but EMU suffers: The 52,065 students at Michigan this fall set a new record and pushed it ahead of MSU as the state’s largest for the first time, James Leonard writes in this month’s Observer. That includes 7,466 first-year Wolverines picked from 87,766 applicants. Over in Ypsi, the story’s a bit different; EMU has yet to release its fall enrollment numbers, but saw its head count plummet 41 percent between 2011 and 2022. Since 2018, the school has reduced staff by 16 percent as a result.

Saline considering paid parking downtown: The idea was raised in a work session for city leaders as a way to raise money for maintenance and encourage people to park for shorter periods of time, MLive reports (paywall). A rate of $1 an hour, plus a 60 cent transaction fee when payment is submitted, could raise as much as $75,000 in net city revenue in its first year, city treasurer Elle Cole said.

New roundabout coming to Whittaker Rd.: The county is planning to redesign the intersection with Willis Rd. south of Ypsi next summer in anticipation of increased traffic coming to the area, MLive reports. It’ll be a mile south of another roundabout put in this year at Bemis Rd. and is expected to cost $1.4 million.

$1.2M Ypsilanti Twp. bridge repair announced: The Washtenaw County Road Commission plans to replace Stony Creek Rd. Bridge over Paint Creek between Textile and Whittaker roads next year. A database of Michigan bridges kept by MDOT says the fifty-seven-year-old span is in “poor” condition. 

Saline OKs plan for twenty new homes: Livonia Builders is expected to build the single-family houses on a four-acre parcel at 207 Monroe St., according to city documents. As the Saline Post reported earlier this year, the developer bought the parcel for $380,000 and is planning three-bedroom, 1,500-square-foot homes priced at $299,000. Council’s vote last week approves a zoning change to allow the plan’s smaller residential lots. 

A2 council chambers mural is heavenly: The painting by Michigan artist Tess Marhofer, which features plumes of white clouds and deep blue skies, was done from Oct. 20 to 23, she tells a2view via email. Marhofer, a Fife Lake-based medical illustrator, writes on her website that it’s intended as “a reminder that even amidst the chaos of life, there’s a tranquil world above, waiting to ignite our imagination and provide a sanctuary for dreamers and thinkers alike.” The project was a collaboration between the Ann Arbor Art Center and the city.

Women’s basketball coach signs new contract: Kim Barnes Arico, the winningest head coach in the program’s history, is expected to remain at the helm through the 2027-28 season with an automatic extension added every June, MGoBlue writes. KBA, as she is known, has taken the team to the NCAA tournament six times since arriving at U-M in 2012, including an Elite Eight appearance last year. The terms and incentives in the new contract were not made public, but USA Today reported last year that she previously made $853,000.

The Harbaughs have pet chickens: Lost among the bigger headlines from the coach’s Monday press conference was a nugget scooped up by MLive that he bought chicks for his kids for Easter in 2020 and now he’s grown fond of them. Though the coach made a strange remark in 2018 about how players shouldn’t eat chicken because they are “nervous birds,” he now has more respect for them. Beyond the fresh eggs he harvests daily, he appreciates that they’re “happy to see me. There’s times when I’m doing good things for other people, and they’re not as happy to see me as my chickens are.”

Collaboration creates cocktail bar with Vietnamese-inspired small plates: Peridot is a joint venture of head chef Brady Kelley, Pacific Rim owner Duc Tang, and Ann Arbor’s Watershed Hospitality Group, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. The restaurant’s W. Liberty Ave. location in the former Grange Kitchen & Bar is central to their hopes for success;  Watershed also owns Alley Bar on the block.

Upcoming North Side bar-cafe seeks to create “neighborhood hub”: Lowertown co-owner Peter Baker, also owner of design studio FinalFinal, tells Concentrate he and partners Hubert Raglan and Joe Bollinger want to help the area build up. When it opens next month, he says, he wants to invite the 13,000 people who live within a half-mile to walk over for a latte or a beer – though he predicts they “will be the first ones to say that we don’t know what we’re doing as far as running a bar [or] running a coffee shop.”

KindleFest returns to Farmers Market on Dec. 1: The outdoor holiday market will boast more than forty vendors selling gifts, food, and drinks at the market from 5 to 10 p.m., with live music from 7 to 9:45 p.m. by the Pioneer High School choir, Ann Arbor Concert Band and the Eastern Michigan University Low Brass Band.

Blood drive tied to The Game starts Sunday: The 41st Blood Battle, a yearly competition between the U-M and Ohio State to bring in the most donations for the American Red Cross, kicks off on Sunday with Be A Hero at the Big House. That’s U-M’s largest single-day blood drive and includes entertainment, activities, giveaways and special guests. The Blood Battle itself continues through Wednesday with blood drives at twenty-nine locations around Ann Arbor. Donors can click here for times, locations, and to sign up.

Online silent auction supports Ypsi Symphony Orchestra: The bidding begins on Monday via the organization’s website and will feature music lessons, gift cards, tickets and gift baskets. The auction ends on Dec. 10, the day of the YSO Holiday Concert featuring the Lincoln High School choirs. 

Ozone House seeks pantry items, holiday gifts: The Ypsi-based shelter for unhoused teens is pointing donors to its Amazon wishlist to buy presents chosen by the young people they serve. The organization also needs to restock its pantry with full-size shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, full-size bottles of lotion, paper products, textured hair care products, soap, and body wash. To help, send an email or drop off donations at Ozone House, 1600 N. Huron River Dr.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: See British-Iranian playwright Javaad Alipoor lead his company in his genre-mashing theater piece, “Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World.” It takes the unsolved brutal 1992 murder of exiled Iranian pop singer Fereydoun Ferrokhzad as a jumping-off point for a deep meditation on power, translation between cultures, and the way the Internet shapes our attention. The Guardian (UK) calls it “theatrically thrilling” and “a dazzling argument for complexity.” Recommended for age 14 and up. Daily through Saturday. 7:30 p.m. (Thurs. to Sat.) and 2 p.m. (Sat.), Arthur Miller Theatre, 1226 Murfin Ave. Tickets $35 (students, $12 to $20) here. (734) 764–2538. 

Saturday: Get inspired at the Ann Arbor Orchid Festival, a gorgeous show and sale of thousands of tropical and hardy orchids, orchid-growing supplies, and related items. Also, talks and demos by orchid growers. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., U-M Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd. Free; metered parking. (734) 647–7600. 

Sunday: Hear U-M jazz piano professor Ellen Rowe lead her trio in the latest of her popular lecture-concerts. “A Tribute to the Duke”  features pieces composed or made famous by the great bandleader-jazz pianist Duke Ellington, including “Take the A Train”, “In a Mellow Tone,” and “Squatty Roo.”  With bassist Paul Keller and drummer Pete Siers. 2 p.m., Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave. Masks encouraged. Tickets $29 to $50 (students, $19) in advance here and at the door. (734) 769–2999. 

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

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