Like many parents with kids in school, I’m anxious about whether the Michigan legislature will pass a budget by Oct. 1. If not, AAPS says it will stop providing free meals to kids who don’t qualify for the federal program. I had no idea until my son started at Mitchell last year that the state did this for all children, but the existence of this program is the envy of all my parent friends in other states. Even more surprising is that what AAPS provides is healthy and balanced, a far cry from anything offered in my day.

That’s why I cornered a close friend who is heavily involved in the budget negotiations. When I asked if I’d be packing lunches on Oct. 1, they replied: “Yes, probably, but only for a day or two.” They think the free school meal program is a hill to die on for Gov. Whitmer, who is negotiating with Republicans in other areas including transportation funding but refusing to give this up. We’ll see if that’s true very soon.

On the topic of children, I urge you to mark your calendars for the First Steps Fall Festival at Westerman Preschool from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Sept. 27. There will be games, a bike wash, a bike decoration station, face painting, snacks provided by Palio, and more. First Steps is Ann Arbor Rec & Ed’s early childhood division, and I’m on its PTO. From infancy, our kids have enrolled in their music, dance, crafts, and play classes and camps, so I’m an evangelist. The festival is free, but raises money through donations for scholarships so everyone can take part in these fabulous programs.

Your news is here. Ann Arbor officials are coming to the defense of Fed Reserve governor Lisa Cook, the murder of Charlie Kirk is having local repercussions, one plan for a rural server farm appears to be dead, and a new school year reignites the debate over how to manage kids and their devices in class.

This was last week’s most-clicked link. And if you want more about that, check out our TikTok.

– Steve Friess, editor

P.S. Remember last week when you met Bree Stilwell, our new advice columnist? Scroll down to read her first reply – and email [email protected] if you want to ask her something!

City official says Lisa Cook’s mortgage is legal: Assessor Jerry Markey tells Reuters that he sees nothing improper about the loan that the embattled Federal Reserve governor took on her longtime west side house, or about the fact that she now rents it out rather than using it as her primary residence. Cook sought permission from Ann Arbor authorities to lease the home on a short-term basis, and Markey says that “living elsewhere temporarily does not necessarily make an owner ineligible for a principal residence exemption.” The news outlet also reports that, despite the Trump administration’s claim that she declared homes in both Ann Arbor and Atlanta as her primary residences, a loan estimate for the Atlanta mortgage indicated Cook would use the condo there as a vacation home. President Trump is trying to fire her, but an appeals court this week ruled he does not have that authority over the independent agency. The administration is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Dingell attends Charlie Kirk vigil, U-M prof prompts uproar: The Ann Arbor congresswoman was among a few Democratic lawmakers who turned out at a memorial event on Capitol Hill to mourn the assassination of the popular right-wing influencer in Utah, the New York Times reports. Dingell also cosigned a statement with Michigan Republican congressman Tim Walberg urging civility and calling on Americans to “do their part to stop the escalation of violence.” Meanwhile, the Detroit News reports (paywall) that U-M professor Charles H.F. Davis III is facing blowback for a tweet on X saying of the murder: “Even if you believe violence isn’t the answer, it is a solution, especially to the violent conditions and violent rhetoric spewed by empowered people that create them.” Davis, who teaches at the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, made his X and Instagram accounts private amid outcry that included a Mount Pleasant state senator demanding a response from U-M. A school spokesperson demurred, telling the newspaper that “the university does not take positions on matters not directly connected to university governance. Faculty members are free to speak and debate issues of the day.”

Families scramble for gender-affirming care: With Michigan Medicine and Corewell Health both halting programs for trans youth, clinics like the Corner Health Center in Ypsi are being slammed with calls from patients, MLive reports. Parents and guardians of children taking puberty blockers and hormone therapy are fearful that such care could be criminalized amid the Trump administration’s anti-trans campaign, providers say. Farmington Hills nonprofit Stand With Trans, provides online help for those seeking trans-friendly medical providers and other services.

Teachers, districts weigh school smartphone restrictions: With the state legislature unwilling to move forward on proposals to limit student access in class, Chelsea Schools adopted a district-wide policy this fall, Brooke Black writes in this month’s Observer. Last year, Skyline and Huron high schools piloted restrictions, and individual educators are creating their own rules, including history teacher Sarah Roldán-Dodson, who this fall brings the hanging shoe organizer she used to collect devices at Pioneer with her to her new post at Community High. While many parents and teachers support device limits, social worker Kaleigh Cornelison of Michigan Medicine’s Adolescent Health Initiative notes that having phones can be an important way to maintain a sense of safety in an era of school shootings and other dangers.

School-distance requirements reduced for two pot shops: Council unanimously approved a change in the rules for marijuana dispensaries around Doughty Montessori School at 416 S. Ashley St. and WISD’s Progress Park School at 3980 Research Park Dr., MLive reports. The city requires cannabis retailers to be at least 1,000 feet from schools, but a recent expansion of the state’s definition of a K-12 school created conflicts for existing shops. The exceptions allow Kings High to move into the former JARS Cannabis location on S. Main St., and the Jungle House on S. Ashley and Crave Cannabis on Research Park to continue to operate. Pot shops can now be within 250 feet of Doughty Montessori and within 750 feet of Progress Park.

Council supports Treeline trail amid complaints about proposed bridge: Walking and biking advocates at Monday’s council meeting objected that a big, swoopy span over N. Main St. is unneeded and “crazy expensive,” MLive reports. Council didn’t take a position on the bridge, but did reaffirm its support for the trail concept. The nonprofit Treeline Conservancy would have to raise the money to construct the bridge; in 2021, the cost was estimated at $18 million.

Scary I-94 stretch to get stickier pavement: A MDOT spokesperson tells MLive that they’ll be installing a high-friction surface treatment to the stretch of east- and westbound I-94 near Jackson Ave. within the next month because many accidents there are “related to wet crashes.” The announcement comes weeks after two large semi-truck accidents in two days shut down the highway, although it was not raining when those collisions occurred. According to state police data, there have been 130 crashes on the eastbound side and 168 on the westbound side around the Jackson Ave. overpass since 2020. 

Saline Twp. rejects rezoning for data center: By a 4-1 vote, the board shot down a plan by Dallas-based Related Digital to build a 2.2 million-square-foot server farm on 575 acres of farmland off W. Michigan Ave., Planet Detroit reports. Dozens of residents turned out to object to the environmental and traffic impact of the project. A Related Digital spokesperson told the Sun Times News the company will now regroup. The data center was one of three proposed around rural Washtenaw County, all of which have garnered vocal opposition from neighbors.

Applications open Oct. 1 for affordable Dunbar Tower: The six-story apartment building at Catherine and Fourth Ave. is still under construction, but prospective tenants are invited to public meetings at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Riverside Art Center in Ypsi or at 6 p.m. on Sept. 25 at the Pittsfield library to learn about the application process, the city says. Dunbar, a partnership between Avalon Housing and the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, will offer sixty-two “artists & creatives preference” apartments for as low as $650 a month, as well as thirty-two units for unhoused people. The city will field applications from 10 a.m. Oct. 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 7 via this website.

A family tree with deep Tree Town roots: Ninety-two-year-old Doug Barnett writes a charming essay in this month’s Observer tracing his mother’s lineage to his grandfather’s birth to a farm family near Manchester in 1885 and his grandmother’s at a home on Greene St. in Ann Arbor to Polish immigrants who’d arrived just three years earlier. Barnett, born in the same house in 1933, tells of his mother and uncles charging 25 cents to park cars at the newly opened Michigan Stadium during football games. “Talk about inflation,” he harrumphs. Fans now pay as much as $80.

Saline weighs purchase of 1876 mansion: The city council voted unanimously to start the process of buying the Davenport-Curtiss House, according to the Saline Post. It’s unclear how Saline would use the structure, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and was built by Citizens Bank of Saline president William Davenport, but councilmember Dear Girbach says it “holds incredible potential as a multiple-purpose community asset, whether it’s a park, museum, or even a site for appropriately scaled commercial or cultural events that could attract visitors from across the region.” Grace Shackman wrote in the Community Observer in 2000 that Davenport furnished the imposing Second Empire house “with pieces purchased at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, an international trade fair held the year it was built. Outside he built a matching carriage house and stable, and he landscaped the grounds with rare trees.”

Recess Cafe hosts working parents, playing kids: The new business on S. Ashley offers a playscape and other attractions to entertain children while adults tend to jobs or kick back with a drink, co-owner Thressa Nichols tells Dave Algase in this month’s Observer. Nichols and her husband, Zac Hodgkin, wanted a kid-friendly hybrid hangout for their own children, and decided to create it themselves. Adults can enter for free, but play passes for children start at $10 per hour.

Grand Traverse Pie Co. for sale: Franchisees Beth and Dave Ziegler are asking $750,000 for their store on N. Zeeb and plan to retire once they find a buyer, MLive reports (paywall). The Ann Arbor location is among eleven in Michigan and Indiana for the Traverse City-based chain and, according to Dave Ziegler, the top-selling store.

Your Media Exchange reopens in Kerrytown: The buy-sell-trade shop on S. Main closed in May due to poor sales, but it is now replacing Diggers, another business owned by Broc Curry, Algase writes in this month’s Observer. Foot traffic to Diggers, in the basement at Kerrytown, has been robust but profits elusive because shoppers pay just $1.50 for each item from disorganized bins full of various media. Curry closed Diggers in August but hopes to open other locations in the future; he expects to reopen the space as YMX by the end of September.

Swim event benefits Rogel Cancer Center: Attendees can enjoy an aquatic workout led by U-M swim team athletes at the Donald B. Canham Natatorium as well as relay races and music at the event, which starts at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 28. Participants must register online through Swim Across America and are encouraged to raise at least $100 to receive a cap and T-shirt. Proceeds benefit cancer research at U-M.

Used bicycles sought: Free Bikes 4 Kidz Detroit is collecting them from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 27 at eleven sites around metro Detroit including locally at TruGreen, 4875 Carpenter Rd., according to a press release. The nonprofit says it has given away 14,614 bikes to local kids since launching the program in 2018. Anyone interested in volunteering to help can email [email protected] for more information.

Garden tools available through lending program: The Washtenaw County Conservation District and Growing Hope Urban Farm offer the public the free use of more than eighty hand tools and tractor implements through online reservations from the Washtenaw Tool Bank Collective, the Saline Post reports. Tools are available for tree planting, garden bed preparation, invasive species removal, seeding, and soil testing. For more information, visit the site, email here, or call (734) 302-8713.

By Bree Stilwell

On October 8, my husband and I are celebrating our third wedding anniversary. We love biking, hiking, kayaking — pretty much anything outdoors — followed by a good meal and a cold beer. Got any advice for an unforgettable Ann Arbor date night? 

“You’re going to need more than just an evening,” advises guest expert and Parks & Rec Natural Area Preservation supervisor Becky Hand. “I’d recommend setting aside a full day and packing a lunch!”

Read Hand’s proposed itinerary here: True Love Trifecta.

Next week’s question: I’ve wanted to be a radio DJ for as long as I can remember. How do I get my own show on WCBN? 

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

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Hear renowned Brazilian composer-pianist André Mehmari perform the Great Brazilian Songbook, a solo program of tunes from choro and samba, the instrumental music of Egberto Gismonti and Hermeto Pascoal, and more. 7:30 p.m., Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave. Tickets $30 to $40 (students, $20 to $30) in advance online and (if available) at the door. (734) 769–2999.  

Saturday: Laugh with stand-up Al Jackson, a Cleveland-born former middle school teacher whose self-deprecating narratives draw from his experiences as a touring comic, married man, and father. Alcohol served. 7:15 p.m. (Fri. and Sat.) and 9:45 p.m. (Sat.), Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, 212 S. Fourth Ave. $22 online and (if available) at the door. (734) 996–9080. 

Sunday: Learn about dragons in East Asian art, culture, and dance at the UMMA Family Day “Dragons Everywhere All at Once.” Featuring dance performances (3:30, 4, and 4:30 p.m.) by U-M dance professor Fangfei Miao and percussionist James Koo, participatory zine making, and art making with artist Zhen Guo. All ages welcome. 3:30–5 p.m., UMMA, 525 S. State. Free. (734) 764–6497.

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

Tell a friend about a2view

For Sponsorship and Advertising information 
Email:  [email protected]

Did this email get forwarded to you? 
Sign up to receive a2view direct to your inbox.