Another Jewish new year is here, and with that hope for renewal, peace, and good health. On Monday, I flew in and out of Philadelphia for an emergency visit with my brother-in-law, who has liver cancer and has ended his treatments. Then, on Tuesday, for the first day of Rosh Hashanah, my daughter and I joined other Temple Beth Emeth congregants at a damp Furstenburg Nature Area to throw bits of bread into the river in a symbolic casting off of our sins.

That juxtaposition of looming death and exuberant young life, and of taking stock of the past while trying to do better for the future, is what holidays like these are all about. I’m not a religious person, but I appreciate the rituals for the opportunities they provide for grief, contemplation, and celebration. L’Shanah Tovah, everyone.

Your news is here. AAPS high schools have dreadful chronic absenteeism rates, U-M failed to stop the shroom festival, and we have an unusual number of items involving road crashes.

This was last week’s most-clicked link.

—Steve Friess, editor

Chronic absenteeism plagues area high schools: In a news release, Michigan’s Center for Educational Performance and Information touted the fact that attendance is up statewide for the third straight year, to 28 percent. Still, as Chalkbeat reports, it remains significantly lower than pre-Covid; the 2024-25 chronic absenteeism rate – defined as students who missed at least 10 percent of school days – in the 2018–19 school year was 20 percent. Locally, the data show Huron High with a 69 percent rate of chronic absenteeism, the highest of AAPS’s traditional schools. Pioneer High had a 64 percent rate, Skyline High was at 61 percent, and Community High hit 57 percent. Countywide, Washtenaw International Middle Academy in Ypsilanti Community Schools had the lowest rate at 8 percent, while Milan High had the highest at 92 percent. Overall, AAPS saw a 36 percent rate; Dexter Community Schools was the lowest at 12 percent and Ypsilanti Community Schools was highest at 47 percent. 

U-M faces complaint over course with alleged anti-Semitic readings: The Lawfare Project, a New York-based conservative activist group, claims the syllabus for the American Culture class “Media Activism” includes pro-Palestinian materials that it says forces students to “consume and discuss materials accusing Israel of genocide and delegitimizing Jewish self-determination,” MLive reports. The complaint asserts that these two readings violate the civil rights of Jewish students under a 2019 executive order signed by President Trump. “At least one student dropped the course rather than remain subjected to such political indoctrination,” the complaint says. Professor Umayyah Cable, who teaches the class, is also named in the complaint. 

Has the student high-rise boom peaked?: That’s what Antonio Cooper and John Hilton explore in their piece in the September issue of the Observer after noticing that Vic Village South took to social media to advertise for tenants as the academic year approached. The brand-new and gigantic Legacy claimed to be fully occupied even as ads offered deep discounts and gift cards. None of that bodes well for the half-dozen more high rises either in the planning process or under construction – especially since U-M expects to open its own new dorm on the former Elbel Field next year.

Shroom festival held after legal battle: A state court ruled last Thursday that U-M cannot reject the permit for Entheofest to the Student Association of Psychedelic Studies, so the event went off on Sunday on the Diag as planned, the Michigan Daily reports. State senator Jeff Irwin of Ann Arbor was among those who addressed the gathering, which focused on urging lawmakers to decriminalize the use of psychedelics. It was the fifth time the event occurred at U-M but the first time the university attempted to block it.

Council to weigh ban on mandatory rental fees: Mayor pro tem Travis Radina plans to introduce a measure next month to require landlords to include any required fees in the rent, WEMU reports. “It allows people to go out into the rental marketplace, shop apples to apples when they are looking for an apartment, rather than thinking they got a really good deal and then finding out when they arrive and have already turned down some other options that there are going to be hundreds of dollars in these hidden fees,” he says. In January, council unanimously approved Radina’s proposal to ban pre-tenancy fees and cap application fees at $50.

Planning commission recommends The George expansion: Council will soon take up whether to support the panel’s approval of plans for a new forty-six-unit addition to the Packard Rd. apartment building, WEMU reports. The new structure will eliminate some parking, but the developers say there will still be some 400 spaces for what would become a 250-unit complex. 

Developer sues Saline Twp. over data center denial: Related Digital and property owners who want to sell their land to the company claim the board’s rejection violates the state constitution, Planet Detroit reports. The township board voted 4-1 against rezoning 575 acres of agricultural land to make way for the 250-acre server farm; the development had drawn fierce opposition from residents and environmentalists. 

Maple Rd. bridge reopens: The span between Huron River Dr. and Country Club Rd. in Ann Arbor Twp. shut down in June after the Washtenaw County Road Commission found a broken steel cable and determined it required emergency repair. The bridge is now safe, but the maximum weight permitted has been reduced to five tons, WCRC says. That means it’s OK for SUVs and light pick-up trucks but nothing bigger.

Another semi crash on I-94 near Jackson Ave. closes roadway: This time, an eastbound gravel hauler hit a guardrail and rolled into a ditch on Monday, MSP writes on X. The driver, a fifty-five-year-old Muskegon man, was extricated and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Eastbound I-94 was closed for about five hours, the third time this month one or both sides of the interstate were closed in that vicinity because of accidents involving semi-trucks. MDOT is in the process of adding a high-friction surface to that stretch to combat accidents related to slick roads, but none of the recent accidents occurred during rain.

Motorcyclists die in unrelated crashes: A twenty-eight-year-old man died after colliding with a car that was making a turn near Rosedale Rd. in Ypsilanti Twp. last Thursday, MLive reports. In a separate crash just after midnight Sunday, a twenty-year-old was killed when he hit a deer while driving west on Jackson Ave. near Worden Ave., according to an AAPD post on Facebook.

Four-vehicle US-23 accident leaves one dead: A southbound semi crossed the median near Pontiac Tr. and hit three northbound cars on Friday, according to a Michigan State Police post on X. A forty-nine-year-old woman died at the scene. Other motorists and vehicle occupants suffered minor injuries.

Dos Hermanos building hit by car for fourth time in three years: The Ypsi business suffered significant property damage after a black SUV rammed into the building and caught fire early Sunday, WXYZ reports. A suspect seen fleeing the scene on foot was arrested, police say. The incident will slow the progress of adding a paletería, La Michoacana Ice Cream, adjacent to Dos Hermanos Market & Grill, the owners say. Last month, another driver hopped the curb to hit the front corner of the building; there were also incidents in August 2024 and 2023 when other cars struck parts of the property. 

Realtor acquitted in sexual assault case: A jury found thirty-eight-year-old Raymond Smith of Ypsilanti Twp. not guilty of charges stemming from claims by a neighbor that he raped her, MLive reports. In the weeklong trial, the woman testified that she told Smith that she was not interested in a romantic relationship, but his lawyers successfully argued that the woman had a long history of making sexual overtures to him. 

Suspect arrested in U-M stabbing: Thirty-three-year-old Lagarien Thomas was taken into custody around 11:30 p.m. last Thursday after a nearly six-hour manhunt, ClickOnDetroit reports. Thomas allegedly stabbed an unidentified victim while trying to gain entry to a Michigan Medicine construction site near Catherine St. and Zina Pitcher Pl., police say. Thus far, authorities have not identified the victim or indicated the extent of their injuries.

Seventy inmates receive college degrees: The ceremony at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility was the state prison system’s largest thus far, Concentrate reports. In all, more than 250 inmates have earned degrees under a program that has enrolled 1,300 students over the past decade. Last week’s inmate graduates received associates or bachelor’s degrees from Jackson College or EMU.

826michigan relocates to Ypsi, sending the robot store online: The quirky hidden-gem Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair was a facade for the literacy nonprofit, 826michigan executive director Megan Shuchman tells Brooke Black in September’s Observer. Rising rent downtown was a factor in the move to EMU’s School of Education, but Shuchman says the main motive was to be closer to the students they seek to help. The store, meanwhile, lives on online.

Leaf collection starts Oct. 6: Through Dec. 12, A2 residents can set out twenty paper yard bags of up to fifty pounds each per collection day, which is double the usual amount, the city says. The compost facility at 4170 Platt Rd. also will accept free, unlimited leaf drop-offs between 7 a.m and 4 p.m.; visitors must show proof they live in the city. Also, the city offers free wood chips until November or while supplies last at Veterans Memorial Park, Bicentennial Park, and the Gallup Park boat launch.

Briarwood welcomes convenience store, Spirit Halloween: The mall now has Munchies, offering snacks, drinks, and sundries at “gas-station prices,” owner Yosef Ahmed tells Dave Algase in the September issue of the Observer. Also opening is the seasonal pop-up Spirit Halloween, which had appeared in years past in the Arborland berth where Sketchers now operates but this year takes over for former Forever 21. Also new: teen apparel shop Hollister and noodle stand Ramen Ya.

Real Seafood weighs move out of downtown: Mainstreet Ventures CEO Kevin Gudejko told council earlier this month he may relocate the business after a half-century because rents and taxes are getting too high and customers are troubled by “aggressive panhandling,” MLive reports. The company also owns Palio and the Chop House on Main St. “I just don’t feel that we have a clear direction or understanding of what the city’s trying to accomplish,” he said. The company is debating whether to spend millions renovating the existing space or move out. Part of the issue was that landlord Curtis Commercial LLC, reorganized ownership of the building in 2021, sparking a property tax spike from $54,000 to more than $132,000.

Dimo’s Deli & Donuts for sale again: The venerable carb stop on W. Stadium is on the market for $600,000, according to a listing at Collier’s Ann Arbor. Owner Walid Dimo, who the Observer’s Alex Bradley called “a bombastic, larger-than-life figure” in this year’s City Guide, had listed the business for $1 million in 2022 but did not sell. Dimo’s opened in 1973 as Amy Joy’s Doughnuts.

Raffle raises money for Gaza Soup Kitchen: Entrants have until Oct. 12 to buy tickets to win a wide range of prizes, including gift cards to Ann Arbor–area eateries, photographer packages, and spa treatments. All proceeds go to GSK, a nonprofit that provides hot meals at multiple sites across the war-torn Palestinian region. Tickets start at one for $15 and go up twenty-five for $200. Prizes will be mailed to winners.

JFS aims for $300K from benefit walk on Sunday: Jewish Family Services, buffeted this year by dramatic cuts in federal funding for food pantries and immigrant resettlement services, kicks off its annual Walk A Mile In My Shoes fundraiser from 2 p.m. in Burns Park. Attendees can register here to walk as individuals or with existing teams. As of Wednesday, JFS has raised $139,134 toward its goal. Anyone who raises $500 or more will be entered to win a $200 DoorDash gift card.

U-M swimmer launches GoFundMe for 2028 Olympic push: Inbar Danziger, a national record holder from Israel, has taken to the crowdfunding platform to raise funds for training, travel, and academic expenses as he works towards competing in the Summer Games in Los Angeles. The twenty-one-year-old sophomore finished twenty-third at the 2025 World Aquatic Championships in Singapore in the 200 meter backstroke, and says his time “would have qualified for the Olympic semi-final in Paris” in 2024. Writes Danziger in his GoFundMe plea: “My scholarship does not fully cover tuition, rent, or living expenses. Balancing these worries with the demands of training at a world class level is extremely difficult.”

By Bree Stilwell

“I’ve wanted to be a radio DJ for as long as I can remember. How do I get my own show on WCBN?” 

I may have literally gasped when this question landed on the WSS desk. I TOO have had the same dream, so kindly pardon the clear self-interest in my reply.

If you’re anything like me, 88.3 FM is preset, the website is tabbed, and the app is downloaded. You may have also stalked the site’s mellow call to action: “Interested in becoming a DJ? Training will take place at the station (basement of the SAB) on Sundays 7 p.m.–8:30 p.m.! Contact [email protected] with questions.” So simple. So completely terrifying in its brevity.

Can this really be all it takes?? Of course I wanted more, so I reached out to WCBN training director Quinne Dowe and outreach director Mia Lambert. If these women hadn’t been so welcoming, I might have flubbed my way past the information we need—they’re just that cool.

Read more

Next week’s question: Please help! I moved to Ann Arbor last spring from California, so this will be my first Michigan winter. Seems everyone’s already panicking, what can I look forward to?

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

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: Hear the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the UMS Choral Union perform “Verdi’s Requiem,” the Italian master’s spectacular, dramatic musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass. With a thrilling symphonic score and virtuosic solos, the work is known for what Classical Source critic Peter Reed calls an “astounding emotional range.” 7:30 p.m., Hill Auditorium. $30 to $128. (734) 764–2438,

Saturday: Learn about and help collect macroinvertebrates – including insect larvae and crayfish – at the Huron River Watershed Council’s “Fall River Roundup” to measure the river’s health. Kids welcome if accompanied by an adult. Two start times. Rain or shine. 9 and 10:30 a.m., various places as assigned. Free. Preregistration required online. (734) 769–5123, [email protected].

Sunday: Take advantage of a rare Michigan appearance by the sui generis Vermont-based Bread & Puppet Theater, one of the oldest nonprofit political theater companies in the country, to see its latest art circus, “Domestic Resurrection Revolution in Progress Circus.” The show features imaginatively costumed stilt dancers, wild papier mâché beasts, and a brass band, all commenting on the current political climate. 6 p.m., Riverside Park, 2 E. Cross, Ypsi. $20 suggested donation.

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.