| September 18, 2026Can you guess what’s pictured above? Click the image to find out! |
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| | As a journalist and a sentient person, I usually assume that major universities, the federal government, and huge corporations have the money to hire the best professionals to craft and communicate their messages effectively to the public. The entire devolution of the issue of data centers has shown us that that assumption is terribly wrong.
A few months ago in this space, I was baffled over how poorly OpenAI, Oracle, and Related Digital had handled the rollout of their $16 billion hyperscale data center in Saline Twp. In particular, I found it inane and condescending for them to think that renaming the project “The Barn” would improve its image – even now, months later, there’s still no photo of the precious namesake structure or information about it on their website, proving that the whole thing is most likely an East Coast brand specialist’s fantasy of what Midwesterners would find charming.
But the worst attempt at public relations so far was the September 9 town hall hosted by U-M and Los Alamos National Laboratory regarding their decision to build a $1.25 billion computing research center on 144 acres along Textile in Ypsilanti Twp. What is the point of these rage-filled sessions? U-M said in August it would build the thing there despite the virulent cascade of objections from nearby residents and a phalanx of elected officials. And now they’re going to pretend to care what anyone else thinks?
I imagine U-M would say they’re giving people a venue to feel heard. They aren’t. In fact, quite the opposite – the public spectacle only illustrates to people feeling powerless that, in fact, they are powerless. There’s nothing brave about facing a furious, aggrieved public if there’s no possibility of anything substantive changing, although I do pity some of the folks on the dais who took the abuse. They’re doing so on behalf of the people who failed from the start to communicate clearly, effectively, and arguably honestly with the public.
A few weeks ago, the editorial board of Crain’s Detroit Business warned that all this opposition and governmental effort to slow the project’s progress is “a good way to squander an opportunity that states and cities would normally play hardball to lure.” But even that pro-business voice urged U-M to “come to the table with something concrete: some sort of community benefits commitment like the one that let the Saline data center go forward.”
That might be nice, but it’s a bit too late. On September 10, U-M’s PR arm posted this “letter to the Ypsilanti Township community” from LANL insisting this really is a great but woefully misunderstood project. Do they really think we’re at the stage of public letters making some sort of difference?
The time to make that case has long passed. Offering some big gift to the municipality should have been part of the plan, not a way to clean up a PR disaster. Holding public meetings should have been done long, long ago – and effectively explaining what they’re trying to do shouldn’t be this hard if it’s so benign and wonderful.
U-M and LANL are putting on another one of these useless shows on October 1. I wish they’d just cancel it. It’s painful to watch and accomplishes absolutely nothing.
Your news is here. AAPS is still in the hot seat with the feds over its policy on transgender students, U-M won a football game with absolutely no controversy whatsoever, a new report offers troubling data on racial disparities in SAT scores at local high schools, and a frat was shut down as a consequence of a student’s death.
This is last week’s most-clicked link.
– Steve Friess, editor |
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| | | Six members of the U.S. Army Parachute Team dropped in on the Big House on Saturday. One, Sgt. Sloan Kanat, is a native Michigander, shot this super-cool helmet cam video from which this screengrab was taken. Courtesy: U.S. Army |
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| | | | | | AAPS has state-worst SAT racial gap: White students scored about 308 points higher on average than Black students at Ann Arbor’s three conventional high schools, “nearly twice the average statewide disparity,” according to a Detroit News report analyzing recently released data. The analysis had some good news, though: Black students at AAPS still score thirty-eight points higher than the statewide average for Black students, and AAPS scores overall are “nearly two grade levels above the national average.” Also, Pioneer High had the state’s tenth-highest SAT average with 1152. But each of the district’s three conventional high schools – Pioneer, Skyline, and Huron – had average scores for white students within the 1100 and 1200 range versus between 800 and 900 for their Black classmates. On social media, one educator noted that this isn’t a new issue but one that is “to be expected with the vast wealth ranges that accompany AAPS student’s families. One year I had a lab group that included a billionaire’s child and a child who was living in their car.” |
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| | Feds not satisfied with AAPS trans policy change: In a letter sent Tuesday to the district, assistant attorney general Harmeet Dhillon demanded the district “immediately cease its ongoing, substantial noncompliance” with Trump administration interpretations of federal law regarding disclosures to parents. Dhillon notes that two trustees, Torchio Feaster and Susan Schmidt, admitted in public comments that the changes being made at the August 26 meeting were “intended to preserve the prior policy’s effect.” The letter gave the district another fourteen days to create a policy that conforms with the administration’s view of the law regarding parental access to their children’s education records. Transgender activists and several school board candidates were stunned when the board made the changes, however insubstantial, on short notice without much opportunity for public input, but trustees said district lawyers warned not doing so quickly could jeopardize some $15 million in federal funding. AAPS spokesperson Andrew Cluley told the Michigan Daily that the district is “reviewing the correspondence carefully with legal counsel” and that it “remains committed to protecting the privacy, safety, and well-being of every student, while complying with federal law.” |
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| | | New A2-Detroit initiative aims to combat brain drain: U-M and the Detroit Regional Chamber have launched the Ann Arbor–Detroit Innovation Corridor to harness the research prowess of Ann Arbor and the manufacturing power of Detroit, Laura Lyjak writes. Taking a cue from Silicon Valley, Boston, and Austin, Texas, the effort creates six “innovation districts” including the under-construction 200,000-square-foot U-M Center for Innovation in Detroit, and U-M’s North Campus, two Henry Ford Health/MSU research centers, Wayne State’s TechTown Detroit, and Michigan Central, the former train station redeveloped by the Ford Motor Company.
Trading in cards and their stories: Throwback Sports Cards owner Joe Tee tells Elijah Sparkman that the pleasure of the hobby is in talking to “people who originally pulled these cards from packs, and hear about which convenience store they purchased them from and what the gum tasted like.” Everyone has a favorite acquisition; Stadium Cards & Comics owner Mark Fenwick talked about the “very, very, very rare” 1977 Reggie Jackson card – featuring the famous Yankee in a Baltimore Orioles jersey – that he recently got ahold of.
A month in home sales: Alex Kourvo writes about about a 19th century farmhouse that tripled in price in two years following a major gutting and remodeling; a luminous mid-century modern home designed and built by a U-M architecture professor that went for a mere $400,000 perhaps because of asbestos; and two 700-square-foot homes that sold for significantly different prices. |
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| | | Wolverines fans enjoyed a completely uncontroversial upset last weekend, bouncing U-M back into the Top 20.
A U-M student is suing over whether he gets in-state tuition.
$902 million.
Chelsea’s city council allowed Elle Cole to resign as city manager rather than be fired for cause. Messy.
Volunteers spent the summer finding and relocating some 3,000 mussels in advance of the removal of Ypsi’s Peninsular Paper Dam. The Manchester Mirror’s account makes it sound like a lot of fun, actually.
The Times of India offers a cool profile of an Ann Arbor entrepreneur who launched Cargility, an Ann Arbor company developing “a portable mobility aid that helps people enter and exit vehicles safely.”
Republicans are making hay over Democratic attorney general nominee Eli Savit making some money from work for a Virgin Islands–based law firm in 2025 while also serving as Washtenaw County prosecutor.
In more evidence of a political schism, J Street at U-M has ended its ties to Michigan Hillel over different views regarding Israel. Oy vey.
Watch out for bats with rabies, the Washtenaw County Health Department warns.
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Raising a glass on Sunday at York Food + Drink’s celebration of life for the late restauranteur Tommy York, whose death at sixty earlier this month shook the community. Credit: Doug Coombe |
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| Casey’s at the bat again: The beloved Kerrytown pub has opened Casey’s Tavern East at 2000 Commonwealth on the city’s northeast side in the space vacated by Carson’s American Bistro, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. Casey’s Tavern East is significantly bigger than its Depot St. counterpart, with seating for nearly 300 and a much-expanded menu. “It’s rare in this town to get somewhere where you can park as well, so that’s a great positive,” says Kevin Gudejko, president and CEO of Mainstreet Ventures Restaurant Group, which operates both Casey’s locations for the Martin family.
Smashburgers, avocado bowls on offer for night owls: That’s the fare at Late Plate, the new concept from Sohib Ebrahim, replacing his Rotisserie King on W. Liberty. It’s currently open until midnight, but Ebrahim tells Algase in this month’s Observer that eventually he wants to be open until 4 a.m. The rotisserie chicken business, he explains, was “just making me enough to pay the bills, so I was like, I need to transition it and do something different.”
AT&T store closes: The 6,023-square-foot phone store, long a staple at Huron Village between Barnes & Noble and Panera, shut down this month, according to a sign on its door. The sign directs customers to visit the AT&T authorized retailers at 2275 W. Stadium or 3157 Ann Arbor–Saline Rd. in Ann Arbor, 3787 Carpenter in Ypsi, or 47188 Michigan Ave. in Canton. Huron Village owner Brixmor lists the space for rent. |
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| | | Ann Arbor 9/11 Heroes Run is Sunday: The annual 5K kicks off at 10 a.m. at Nichols Arboretum to raise money for the Travis Manion Foundation, a nonprofit focused on addressing mental health challenges facing veterans. Participants can register online for $49.76 online. Also, volunteers are still needed for a variety of tasks.
EMU football tailgate benefits Ypsilanti Meals on Wheels: The fundraiser, which takes place across from Rynearson Stadium from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Eagles’ September 26 home game against Lindenwood University, features food by Zingerman’s and games for all ages with prizes. Tickets cost $40 for adults, $18 for kids, or $100 for a family pack that includes two adults and two kids, and includes a seat near the fifty-yard line to watch the game. Click here for more information.
U-M dental school provides free denture treatment: The Senior Implant Overdenture Restorative (SenIOR) program is available to 100 Michigan residents over sixty who lack bone structure to keep wearing traditional dentures, Concentrate writes. Some patients said the program saved them as much as $25,000 for a procedure that is rarely or minimally covered by insurance. “What we are trying to do is to expand this coverage to seniors, to patients older than sixty-five years who don’t have any teeth,” says program director Dr. Hsiao Hsin Sung. “We think that this type of implant should be covered by the insurance because it’s a medical necessity.” |
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| | | Friday: Drink beer and take part in competitions like steinholding and pretzel eating at HOMES Campus’s “New Munich Day Oktoberfest.” Lederhosen and dirndl attire encouraged.
Saturday: iCode Ann Arbor makes a humanoid robot dance and move at the grand opening of its Ann Arbor campus. Also, hands-on technology activities and tours of classrooms that will house a pilot program for high school students.
Sunday: Take a free kayak trip, see a live animal exhibit, make arts & crafts, play games, and more at Ypsi Fall River Day.
See the Observer’s online calendar for many more local events. |
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