Every morning, as I drive up Fernwood Ave. to bring our son to Mitchell Elementary School, our three-year-old daughter loses her mind. “Daddy, look!” she squeals at any house with even a pumpkin on the stoop – and some of these houses have much, much more. Her obsession with “Halloween houses” is so infectious and delightful that I find myself driving her around aimlessly looking for more.

So I need your help. Julie Halpert’s piece in the Observer has me eager to check out the fabulously decorated homes in Burns Park, hopefully before U-M frat boys ruin it. But are there other neighborhoods known for what can only be described as over-the-top public pop art? Email me! To be honest, until we had kids I don’t think I even realized this was a thing.

The news is here for you. We’ve got a pair of very troubling sexual abuse stories, another possible strike bearing down on Michigan Medicine, and a plane crash in which a pilot got out with only some bumps and bruises.

– Steve Friess, editor

Prop C and D mailer assailed as “fishy,” “deceptive”: An oversized campaign postcard appearing in mailboxes across the city this week purports to support the passage of two city charter amendments by claiming that voting for them would help Republicans win local power. Several recipients emailed the Ann Arbor Observer to express alarm over the mailer that boasts photos of former president Donald Trump and reads in large red letters, “Proposals C and D Will Help Elect Republicans to Ann Arbor City Council!” Recipients called it “fishy” and “deceptive,” suggesting it’s an attempt to turn Democratic voters against the measures by claiming the GOP favors them. The entity that sent the mailer, Make Michigan Great PAC, shares its Lansing address with the pro-Democratic construction union LiUNA – which was also the prime suspect in a July 2022 “false flag” mailer reported by MLive.

$5.25M election center set for counting A2 votes: The building in the Forest Cove complex on Miller Rd., which doubles as studio space for Community Television Network, will store absentee and early-voting ballots and the high-speed tabulators that will count them on Nov. 5 as well as hosting bipartisan inspectors who monitor the count, Antonio Cooper writes in this month’s Observer. The new space came amid the dramatic increase in voting before Election Day that accompanied the Covid pandemic and changes to the state constitution in 2022. 

University pushes back hard against NYT piece on DEI efforts: The Times Magazine devoted more than 9,300 words last weekend to a probe that finds U-M’s efforts at diversity, equity, and inclusion have failed in myriad ways. In it, U-M students, administrators, faculty, and alumni are highly critical, with some saying it has curbed freedom of expression while others say it has failed to improve conditions on campus for minority groups. In a lengthy LinkedIn post, chief diversity officer Tabbye Chavous attacks the author, Pulitzer winner Nick Confessore, for a piece she says is “filled with misinformation, disinformation and, sadly, sexism” and insists he ignored facts provided by the school. “It reminded me of the novice student writing a class paper who starts with a preconceived thesis on a topic,” she wrote. 

Bobcat Bonnie’s workers get severance, call off picketing: Eleven former employees from the now-closed Ypsilanti location sounded a triumphant note in an Instagram post in which they ended their feud with the chain over pay and work conditions. Chain owner Matt Buskard confirmed the development in a Facebook post in which he promised to “listen to all of our employees” and to implement “quite a few changes across the board at Bobcat Bonnie’s restaurants effective immediately.” There are seven other locations in Michigan and one in Toledo.

Another union votes to authorize strike against Michigan Medicine: United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals/AFT 6739 represents about 4,500 rehab, behavioral health, and lab professionals, medical assistants, hospital services workers, and advanced diagnostic and procedures technologists. The members overwhelmingly voted to give leadership the ability to call a strike, ClickOnDetroit reports. “Allied health professionals continue to be overlooked and disrespected, and we will not stand for this behavior any longer,” union president Penni Toney said. There is no strike date set.

Opposition could impede dump expansion: Arbor Hills Landfill, which has operated for nearly sixty years in Salem Twp., is nearing the end of its capacity and seeking more space, MLive reports (paywall). Landfill general manager David Seegert told the township board last month that they have five years’ capacity left and had acquired land across the street, kicking off a three-year process of review by a Washtenaw County committee. “Our specific concerns are about the odors and traffic wrecking our roads,” says Dave Drinan, a Northville resident involved with The Conservancy Initiative, a group opposing the landfill.

Saline sells 6.5 acres to developer: The city unloaded the vacant property along E. Michigan Ave. for $615,000 to Cambridge Real Estate, which is looking to build 9,500 square feet of retail space and a twenty-seven-unit townhome complex, MLive reports (paywall). The property features grass and wetlands between the Oaks shopping plaza and Zippy Auto Wash.

MDOT seeks public input on Washtenaw Ave. plan: The department has scheduled open houses from noon to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 8 p.m. on Monday in Room 352 of EMU’s Student Center, 900 Oakwood St. MDOT has been weighing a redesign of the three-mile stretch from the Ann Arbor city limits at US-23 to the Ypsilanti city limits, with the most recent proposal including dedicated bus lanes and a reduction to three travel lanes. It would also provide for shared-use pathways for cyclists and pedestrians and more bus stop infrastructure. The public can browse the mock-ups in person at EMU or virtually here. Comments can be submitted through this online form.

Apartment complex renamed for fair housing activist: Avalon Housing’s Arbordale Apartments will be rechristened in honor of the late Bunyan Bryant, a U-M professor whose denial of a unit at the complex in the early 1960s by the landlord at the time became a political flashpoint, the Sun Times News writes. Bryant, who died in March, worked with the Congress of Racial Equality to take the issue to the Michigan Supreme Court, helping pave the way for bans on housing discrimination across the state. Avalon, a nonprofit that provides supportive housing for people who’ve experienced homelessness, took ownership of the apartments in 1998.

EMU suspends professor amid sex abuse arrest: Vijay Mannari, director of the Coatings Research Institute and interim director of the School of Engineering, was caught in a sting set up by former “To Catch A Predator” host Chris Hansen and the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team for a show Hansen now hosts for the streaming platform TruBlu, the Eastern Echo reports. Mannari is seen in an episode posted last week allegedly attempting to arrange a sexual encounter in an undisclosed Wayne County location with a person he believed was a fifteen-year-old girl but, in fact, was a police officer. In a statement, EMU confirmed the arrest – he was led out in handcuffs but has yet to be formally charged – and said Mannari is “barred from campus, denied access to university email, and prohibited from any further contact with the university or our students.” Mannari had taught at EMU since 2003. 

Church youth director accused of criminal sexual conduct: Twenty-nine-year-old Zachary Radcliff of the Oakwood Church in Saline faces multiple counts of aggravated child sexually abusive activity and using the Internet to communicate with another to commit a crime, Newsweek reports. The incidents are alleged to have occurred over the course of a decade; MSP is encouraging victims to come forward by calling Trooper Ryan at (517) 899-6174. Radcliff, the son of the church’s senior pastor, performed at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2019. The pastor, Frank Radcliff, told MLive he is “as freaked out as everyone else has been” about his son’s alleged conduct.

Detroit man charged in death of infant son in Ypsilanti Twp.: Twenty-two-year-old Darrell Tyree Hicks faces felony murder and second-degree murder charges in the death of the boy, MLive reports. The baby was hospitalized on Sept. 1 in a case reported as child abuse and died a few days later, police say. The child’s name and the nature of his injuries were not released. 

Small plane crashes in field: The pilot, a seventy-five-year-old man from Ypsilanti, was the only occupant and suffered minor injuries in the incident along Bemis Rd. in Augusta Twp., according to a social media post by Michigan State Police. MSP writes that he was “attempting to land his plane at the [Willow Run] airport and appeared to overshoot the runway causing the plane to crash in a field that backed up to a row of houses.” 

Police warn of Bitcoin scam: No government agency will ever ask a resident to pay for a fine or ticket with cryptocurrency or a gift card, the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office warned in a social media post. “If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be a law enforcement officer saying you owe money, missed a court date or jury duty, etc. do not provide any personal information, do not pay for anything over the phone,” the post says. “Hang up and call us directly” at (734) 994-2911. They warn that “scammers can be very convincing, and some can ‘spoof’ known and obvious Sheriff’s Office telephone numbers such as our Metro Dispatch Emergency Line.”

Burns Park residents battle Halloween decoration theft: Last year, pledges from a nearby fraternity took off with everything from pumpkins to inflatable spiders, Julie Halpert writes in this month’s Observer. Such theft is an annual problem, homeowners say, and not even security cameras have prevented the nighttime raids. They’re disappointed with the police response; “Nothing is done,” Rachel Ufer says. A department spokesman says they’ve increased patrols in the area, and have met with the U-M’s office of fraternity and sorority life to get the word out that thefts will be prosecuted. 

PBS to spotlight Veridian at County Farm: Producer-director Larry Confino, whose son is a U-M undergrad, tells MLive the new complex off Platt Rd. will be featured in an episode of the next season of “50 States of Sustainability” documentary series about renewable energy and sustainability responses to climate change. “What is being done here is so special and the world just needs to know what they’re doing,” he says. Current and future residents of Veridian and others attended a special preview screening of the program last week; the new season airs this spring.

Up to 50 percent off as Fraleigh’s Landscape Nursery winds down: The longstanding Dexter-based family business is selling off its inventory at deep discounts as its closing day, Nov. 2, approaches, according to a Facebook post listing what’s still available. Douglas and Amy Fraleigh, who have operated the sixty-five-year-old nursery for more than thirty years, announced their retirement last month.

Lincoln High grad opens cupcake stand at Briarwood: Plates of Joyy is the brainchild of Leslie Tejada, who found her professional passion working at a vegan food station in the U-M’s South Quad dining hall, she tells Dave Algase in this month’s Observer. Now she’s bootstrapping a cottage kitchen side hustle into a walk-up storefront in the mall’s food pavilion. The business name started of her Instagram page – with an extra “y” because “joy” was already taken.

Siam Square hopes to reopen: The Thai restaurant closed when Victory Inn and Suites, where it operated, was shut down due to multiple city health and safety code violations, Algase writes in this month’s Observer. “We scrambled to try and figure out what was going on, and the landlord basically just ignored us,” Michael Persa tells the Observer. His wife, Sirintip Pramnoi, has owned Siam Square since 2019. “And now we know why he wanted rent three days early.” Persa, a partner at Slurping Turtle, says they’d seen the property decline in recent years, had been looking to move, and are close to securing a new location where they can reopen.

Lower Burns Park offers autism-friendly trick-or-treating: Homeowners in the area between Granger Ave. and Henry St. from Packard and State streets invite anyone who wants to bring neurodivergent or highly allergic children to come by from 5 to 8 p.m. on Halloween, co-organizer Marcy Epstein writes a2view. Houses with blue or teal pumpkins outside will provide visitors non-food items and toys as well as typical sugary treats while avoiding the kinds of decorations that might startle kids sensitive to such stimuli.

One year after merger, United Way thrives: Darienne Hudson, president and CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan, tells WEMU’s David Fair that the move to absorb the Washtenaw County organization into the regional entity has “gone extremely well. … Part of our commitment with this merger was to ensure that there was $1 million going out to Washtenaw County. And so, we delivered on that promise this year. We intend to do the same thing next year.” 

U-M v. Ohio State Blood Battle underway: In the annual competition, students and fans of the rival schools vie to see who can donate the most blood for the American Red Cross in the month leading up to The Game. Click here to find an eligible location to donate. Last year, U-M lost by 263 pints. 

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: See the U-M Residential College Players act out “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” in front of a screening of the film. The cult classic send-up of campy horror films is about a fresh-scrubbed young couple who find themselves unexpected guests at Frankenstein Mansion, whose residents include a transsexual transvestite alien in the midst of a diabolical experiment. 8 p.m. (Fri. and Sat.), RC Keene Theater, 701 East University. Free. (734) 647–4354. 

Saturday: Get scared at Wiard’s Orchards’ “Night Terrors,” which consists of five attractions bristling with scores of costumed monsters. Refreshments available. Kids age 14 & under must be accompanied by an adult. 7:15 to 11:30 p.m. (Fri. and Sat.) and 7:15–10:30 p.m. (Sun.), 5565 Merritt Rd., Ypsilanti. Tickets $34 to $63 in advance only at hauntedhousemichigan.com. (734) 390–9212. 

Sunday: Dress up for U-M School of Music’s Halloween Concert, a rowdy annual tradition featuring the University Symphony Orchestra and the University Philharmonia Orchestra hamming it up in costume while performing such ghoulish works as Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre or Mussorgsky’s A Night on Bald Mountain. Audience attendance in costumes is encouraged. 4 p.m., Hill Auditorium. Tickets $11 to $25 in advance at the Michigan League or via tickets.smtd.umich.edu, and (if available) at the door. (734) 764–2538. 

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

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