By now, you may have heard, there is big news this week about… us.

Pending approval by the Ann Arbor District Library board, AADL will acquire the Ann Arbor Observer from co-owners Patricia Garcia and John Hilton. Garcia has been publisher and Hilton has been editor for nearly four decades, and they have been trying for several years to find the right buyer to allow them to retire with confidence that the publication will persist with the ethos and integrity that has made it successful since 1976. As part of the terms of the agreement, AADL would not exert any editorial control and Observer employees would work for and be paid by a separate corporate entity, not the AADL.

Before they found that unusual buyer, Patricia and John needed to find people to take their places who understood the mission of the magazine – to observe (hence the name!) the community in a way that’s informative and illuminating but not opinionated or confrontational.

Garcia chose Danielle Jones, previously AAO’s media director and a veteran of the publication who started in 2001, left to explore other possibilities, and returned to us in 2021. She brings institutional memory and is guided by Garcia’s example of keeping the company profitable and respected across the community while defending the independence of its writers and editors.

John’s pick is Brooke Black. Black introduced herself via email in 2022 looking for freelance work; John was impressed by her blog and then became even more impressed by her even-keeled intelligence and journalistic excellence as deputy editor.

Brooke will introduce herself in next week’s a2view intro and, alongside Danielle, hosted a Reddit Ask Me Anything earlier today at which they answered a wide variety of questions about themselves and the magazine’s future. The event is over but the give-and-take remains here to read.

I’ve only known Brooke a short while, but every time I talk to her about her life, I’m even more fascinated. She’s a New England–raised vagabond who has served with the Peace Corps in Malawi and worked at the McMurdo Research Station in Antarctica for four seasons. She also rode her bike 5,085 miles from Raleigh to Seattle to urge university admissions counselors to recruit Malawian students, then wrote a book, Lucky, about that adventure. If that’s not a totally Ann Arbor thing to do, I don’t know what is. 

So! Lots of changes around here, each made with care to ensure that nothing changes too much. Two other AAO mainstays – creative director Caron Valentine-Marsh (twenty-six years) and marketing and revenue director Courtney Sidor (fourteen years) – remain to support Brooke and Danielle in ensuring the mission remains intact.

John and Patricia are due their well-earned retirements, but I’ll miss them. I’ve contributed to more than 200 magazines, newspapers, and websites in my career, and John is easily among the top five editors who have worked on my copy. And the world would be a better place if every news outlet had an owner with Patricia’s grace, savvy, selflessness, and genuine respect for journalism. You can read much more about John and Patricia’s reflections on their tenures and their successors here.

Speaking of news, it’s here as usual. That Big House concert set records, a gunfight and chase prompted a scary “lock-in” at three AAPS schools (including my kids’), and the state legislature, unlike Congress, seems to have figured out how not to shut down the government.

This was last week’s most-clicked new link.

– Steve Friess

Correction: Last week, we incorrectly indicated that Michigan schools had a 28 percent attendance rate in the 2024–25 school year. That was the percentage of students who were considered “chronically absent” because they missed 10 percent or more of the school year. 

Free school meals continue after legislature extends budget deadline: That’ll be the case at least until Oct. 7 as lawmakers gave themselves an eight-day extension to finalize the real budget for the coming fiscal year, the Michigan Advance writes. Even before the deal was reached, however, AAPS leaders told families at its Title I schools — Abbot, Allen, Bryant, Carpenter, Haisley, Lakewood, Mitchell, Pattengill, and Pittsfield elementary schools as well as Scarlett Middle School and the alternative high school Pathways — that all students would continue to get free breakfast and lunch regardless of what Lansing did. Students at other schools who do not qualify for federally subsidized free or reduced-priced lunch will have to pay for it if there’s no state budget that pays for it, AAPS superintendent Jazz Parks has said.

Zach Bryan show draws record crowd of 112,408: The country megastar, with pop star John Mayer as an opening act, turned out the largest crowd ever to attend a ticketed concert in North America, the Michigan Daily reports. (A George Strait show last year in College Station, Texas, held the previous record.) AAPD said on Facebook that the first-ever concert at the Big House went off smoothly, and MLive reports just two arrests and eighteen ejections. Bryan’s Ann Arbor show was the last stop on his “The Quittin Time Tour.”

U-M enrollment hits new record at 53,488: It’s a 1 percent increase from 2024 and includes a three percent rise in undergraduates, the University Record writes. Two-thirds of undergrads hail from southeast Michigan, but students also come from every U.S. state and sixty-two countries. “Despite challenges and delays for the international student population, the university saw a three percent increase in incoming international undergraduate students from 755 last year to 781 this year,” according to the Record. U-M also saw a record number of applicants, 115,957, including an 11 percent increase, to 109,112, in first-year applicants.

Ann Arbor SEU lands $250K grant: Sustainable Energy Utility executive director Shoshannah Lenski says she plans to use the money to prepare an operational plan and financial strategy for the new city-owned renewable power entity, according to a press release. The award comes from the Municipal Investment Fund which was created by the Coalition for Green Capital and ICLEI USA to boost local efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Local NPR affiliates brace as federal cuts hit: With the Corporation for Public Broadcasting set to shut down at year’s end, the ability to “deliver live programming reliably” is in jeopardy, Michigan Public executive director Wendy Turner tells Davi Napoleon in this month’s Observer. The Trump administration also clawed back $1 billion that Congress appropriated for public broadcasting, costing Michigan Public $560,000 and WEMU $1.5 million. In both cases, donors have increased giving to help fill the gap, but that is “not an ongoing business plan,” says WEMU general manager Molly Motherwell. Turner expects that Michigan Public will be able to keep paying for popular NPR programs, but they will get more expensive and some may be canceled if smaller stations around the nation have to close down or cut back.

Westland teen killed, three charged: An eighteen-year-old, identified by his girlfriend in a GoFundMe post as Lamar Thomas, was shot to death Friday outside a barber shop in a strip mall at Packard and Platt roads, Fox 2 Detroit reports. Police say witnesses heard dozens of shots fired; three suspects fled in a car and were arrested after crashing into a tree. Jahmal Jones, nineteen, was arraigned over the weekend on multiple felonies including open murder and Kaleel Burton, eighteen, was arraigned on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon, according to an AAPD post on Facebook. The third suspect, sixteen-year-old Omar Ernest Smith, was charged earlier this week as an adult with open murder, the Detroit News reports (paywall). Police call the attack a “targeted shooting.” The incident prompted a lockout at Mitchell and Pittsfield elementary schools and Scarlett Middle School; school officials told parents the students were unaware of the nearby violence.

“Jew Belong” billboard vandalized: The sign at Plymouth Rd. and Barton Dr., which read “Being Jewish shouldn’t require campus security,” was tagged with the word “Gaza,” MLive reports. It’s one of four signs erected in August around the Ann Arbor area by JewBelong and Christian Broadcasting Network to raise awareness about antisemitism on campus. Anyone with information about the vandalism can contact AAPD at (734) 794–6920 or via email at [email protected].

C.S. Mott employee trapped in elevator for seven hours: The car got stuck about thirty feet below the eighth floor of the children’s hospital on Sunday, forcing a rope rescue of the trapped occupant because a safety mechanism locked it in place and prevented it from moving, according to an AAFD post on Facebook post. “After securing and locking out the elevator’s energy systems, firefighters were lowered to the elevator car, placed the occupant in a harness, and safely raised them to the eighth floor using a mechanical rope system,” AAFD wrote.

Character balloon drifts over county: A Dexter-based Cameron Balloons CEO Andy Baird tells the Sun Times News that the floating 110-foot likeness of Zozobra spotted by social media users was being tested before being sent to New Mexico for this weekend’s Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Zozobra is a marionette whose fifty-foot effigy is burned at the Fiesta de Santa Fe in Santa Fe in September.

NHL veteran, ex-Wolverine joins U-M hockey staff: Max Pacioretty, who retired after seventeen years in the professional league, will be a special assistant to ice hockey head coach Brandon Naurato, MGoBlue writes. He played the 2007–08 season at Michigan before leaving for the NHL after the Montreal Canadiens drafted him in the first round. The left wing made his Canadien debut in 2009 by scoring a goal on his first shot and spent most of his career with the team. Naurato hopes his players will “learn a ton from the way he sees the game, how he prepares and how he carries himself. It’s exciting to have that kind of experience around every day.”

A2-based RealTruck to open first brick-and-mortar store: The aftermarket auto product and accessory brand and online retailer for Jeep, Bronco, and off-road vehicle fans announced it will open a physical retail shop in Rochester Hills next month. “We’re elevating the truck experience by bringing the RealTruck brand to life with a store experience that will fuel Michigander’s incredible passion for trucks,” says chief growth officer Tony Ambroza. “We hope it becomes a regular destination for enthusiasts and a first-of-its-kind inspiration for newcomers who’ve never considered aftermarket products for their vehicles.” The store will feature showroom display vehicles built by WCC students during a six-week course titled “Custom Cars & Concepts.” 

Raising Cane’s opens on South U: The Louisiana-based chain’s 935th location began serving its Cajun-inspired chicken fingers on Sept. 16 at the intersection with East U in Vic Village South, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. It was also still hiring, VP of Company Restaurants Dustin Shearer said. “If people are looking for a four- or five-hour shift, we got it. If people are looking for a six- to eight-hour shift, we got it. In the morning, late at night, whatever works with their college schedule,” he says.

Turkish Village Cafe closes after one month: The restaurant closed Sept. 22 because, general manager Dawood Ali tells MLive, customers were not interested in trying the cuisine. The space at 120 E. Liberty St. will be taken over by the brunch spot Solana, new owner Basher Alasad says. Alasad plans to renovate the basement into a lounge he can rent out for meetings.

Saigon Social House has soft opening: The Vietnamese restaurant, along with a forthcoming Vietnamese coffeehouse Block & Brew Cafe, take over space on Liberty vacated by Red Lotus and Taste Kitchen, Algase wrote in the August issue of the Observer. Saigon Social House began serving brunch yesterday. The cafe will accept payment in Bitcoin, MLive reports.

Soiree celebrates Washtenaw Area Council for Children’s fiftieth anniversary: The child abuse prevention nonprofit holds its Gathering For Good fundraiser Friday at 6 p.m. at Weber’s Boutique Hotel and Restaurant. Sponsorships start at $250 per person. The organization, founded in 1975, provides educational programs to avert neglect and abuse, including programs about safely handling babies and keeping children from online harm.

MSU alums to volunteer with Avalon Housing: Ann Arbor–area Spartans plan to spend Tuesday from noon to 3 p.m. beautifying the affordable housing nonprofit’s twenty-four-unit Hilltop View in Dexter. To sign out to help out, click here. Volunteers will help with seasonal cleanup, planting, and weeding.

Arbor Hospice lands $4,000 grant: The end-of-life care provider writes on Instagram that it will use the funds to bolster its We Honor Veterans and Music Therapy programs. The money comes from the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. 

By Bree Stilwell

“Please help! I moved to Ann Arbor last spring from California, so this will be my first Michigan winter. Seems everyone’s already panicking about the weather. Is there anything I can look forward to?”

If there’s anything that divides us as Ann Arborites—or heck, as Michiganders—it’s our feelings about the weather. Though you’ve hit a flashpoint, dear reader, you’ve also asked the right gal. I happen to be an enthusiast, unapologetic and here to testify: Michigan winters are magical.

First off, welcome to Tree Town! You’ve obviously experienced the non-stop festivus of the summer months around here—so packed with options, it’s never a matter of what but of which. As a 30+ year resident, though, I couldn’t shake the theorem: surely there’s just as much to do in winter as in summer. It’s math, right?

To test it, I phoned a friend: Chad Wiebesick, Director of Media Relations for Destination Ann Arbor. Chad’s also a certified travel agent, so I knew he’d have the goods.

Read more

Next week’s question: My ten-year-old daughter is learning to play clarinet, and she’s obsessed with marching bands. How early is too early to start training to be in the Michigan Marching Band?

Need advice about something Ann Arbor-ish? Email [email protected].

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Tell your own scary story (real, invented, or in between) at Neighborhood Theatre Group’s “Ghost Story Hour.” Costumes and listeners welcome. Light refreshments and candy provided. To tell a story, reserve a spot. 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., The Back Office Studio, 13 N. Washington St., Ypsi. Free. [email protected].

Saturday: See local professional contemporary dance troupe Terpsichore Collective perform “Place/Time,” works by veteran local choreographers Aimee McDonald and Peter Sparling. 7:30–9 p.m. (Fri. and Sat.), Riverside Arts Center, 76 N. Huron St., Ypsi. $22 (age 17 and under, $12) in advance online or (if available) at the door.

Sunday: Bring your treasures – rocks, shells, fossils, arrowheads, shards of pottery, bones, insects, seeds, leaves, etc. – to U-M Museum of Natural History’s “ID Day 25” for identification by experts. No appraisals of monetary value. Also, interactive activities to celebrate ID Day’s twenty-fifth anniversary. 11 a.m.–4 p.m., MNH, 1105 North University. Free. (734) 764–0478.

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

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