The good news is, I’m not imagining it. Several of you wrote in to commiserate about the cell dead zone east of US-23 on Washtenaw Ave. The bad news is, nobody could explain it. Ah, well.

Something else I can’t explain: It’s the final week of the baseball season and both of my long-suffering teams, the New York Mets and the Detroit Tigers, are playing meaningful games with serious chances at playoff berths after terrible records earlier in the season. That’s pretty wild.

Also wild is that two of the most progressive politicians in the state are feuding over events at U-M, a court is weighing whether radioactive dirt from the 1940s can come this way, and absentee ballots are already in the mail. Where does the time go?

– Steve Friess, editor

Planned school construction rankles two neighborhoods: A new, bigger Lawton Elementary will be built with funds from a $1 billion bond issue, but nearby residents are upset that it will be just 70 feet from their property lines and displace some greenspace bordering Lawton Park, MLive reports (paywall). Similarly, leaders of the Thurston Nature Community Center expressed alarm in a Facebook post about the plan to replace Thurston Elementary because of the new building’s proximity to the center. The project “would lead to the removal of many trees, the oak savanna, and rain/butterfly gardens,” the center writes. “This would significantly disrupt wildlife habitats, especially turtle and bird migrations, and lead to light pollution, increased noise, flooding risks, and overall habitat loss.” A community meeting on the Thurston plan is set for 5:30 p.m. today at the school.

AAPS agrees to address alleged anti-Islamic incident at Tappan: The Michigan chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations praised the move, which requires the school district to report back to the federal Office of Civil Rights after conducting a “climate assessment.” The district also must provide counseling to a Muslim student who says a counselor at the middle school refused to let him go get a drink of water in November 2023 because she “didn’t negotiate with terrorists.” The counselor says she uses that term in jest to refer to many students, not just Muslims.

Top Dems feud over U-M protest arrests: Attorney general Dana Nessel accused Detroit-area congresswoman Rashida Tlaib on X of anti-Semitism after Tlaib told the Detroit Metro Times that Nessel’s charges against nine pro-Palestinian demonstrators reflected “possible biases.” Metro Times reporter Steve Neavling waded in after the tiff went national on CNN, Politico, and elsewhere to insist that he did not believe Tlaib was commenting on Nessel’s Jewish faith. Nine demonstrators were charged with crimes for resisting the police who dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment in May, and two pro-Israeli demonstrators were charged with disturbing the peace and attempted ethnic intimidation for their actions at an April 25 counterprotest. The Michigan Advance reports that a coalition of pro-Palestinian student groups picketed at the federal courthouse in downtown Ann Arbor last week to call for Nessel to drop the charges.

Ono says “no indication” weekend assaults were anti-Semitic: A Jewish student was punched Friday night in a fight that broke out outside the home of members of a historically Jewish fraternity, and bottles were thrown at the same home the next night, the university president wrote in his public letter. “Both incidents are being thoroughly investigated,” Ono writes, but “at this time, there is no indication that either incident was motivated by anti-Semitism.” The incidents came a week after another Jewish student reported being assaulted after being asked if he was Jewish. “I understand the emotions many of us are feeling and we will remain vigilant and ensure that we focus on completing the investigation,” he writes. U-M Hillel CEO Davey Rosen tells the Detroit Free Press that the organization is creating self-defense classes and organizing a “buddy walking system” for students who attend Shabbat services.

Cops deactivated bodycams at encampment patrols: The Michigan Daily, which obtained dispatch records and footage from bodycams through a Freedom of Information Act request, reports that AAPD officers in at least one instance can be heard realizing their cameras were on and then shutting them off. The Daily couldn’t say whether this was the case when police raided and dismantled the encampment because police are permitted to withhold that footage from public record requests while it is considered evidence relevant to criminal charges. An AAPD spokesperson said police are permitted to turn off their cameras at various times.

VP hopeful Tim Walz to attend Wolverines football game Saturday: The Minnesota governor will take in Minnesota’s face-off with Michigan at the Big House, the campaign announced today. Walz, a former high school football coach, is scheduled to host a voter registration drive at Willow Run Airport in the morning before attending the noon game. He’s latest in a steady stream of prominent people coming through Ann Arbor this month to support the Democratic presidential ticket, including Jane Fonda, actor Adam Scott of “Severence,” and Walz’s wife, Gwen.

Absentee ballots start going out this week: There are 178 different ballots in Washtenaw County, and they’re ready to go, director of elections Rena Basch tells WEMU. People already on the absentee ballot list should see ballots in their mailboxes by early October, but there’s still time for people to request them, too. Voters can request one at Michigan.gov/vote – and follow their absentee ballot from request to receipt there, too.

U-M Health president tapped to run Michigan Medicine: David C. Miller, a urological oncologist, will become the health system’s CEO as well as U-M’s vice president for medical affairs next July when Marschall S. Runge retires, the University Record writes. In addition to heading Michigan Medicine’s clinical division, Miller is vice dean of clinical affairs for the medical school, but while Runge is also the medical school dean, he will not take on that role. Instead, the school will conduct a separate search. 

Weiser foundation gives $25M for breast cancer care: The gift establishes the Weiser Family Center for Breast Cancer at U-M Health’s Rogel Cancer Center, the Record writes. It’s the latest large donation from regent Ron Weiser and his family and aims to “provide expanded care throughout patients’ breast cancer journeys by building new programs, testing innovative ideas and transforming the patient experience for breast cancer patients.” The family has committed more than $200 million to U-M to date.

City weighs right-to-sit law: Several council members support a measure coming to a vote on Oct. 7 that would require employers to allow workers to sit if doing so does not interfere with their job duties, CBS Detroit reports. Ten states have such laws, and people with disabilities already may be covered by federal law. Councilwoman Ayesha Ghazi Edwin says she was inspired to sponsor the proposal after her hairdresser, who had been experiencing back pain, was told by her employer she could not sit down during an appointment. “My hairdresser explained that she would only be able to sit if she got a note from her doctor, but at the time, she didn’t have health insurance,” said Ghazi Edwin. “So, that started this research and exploration into the right to sit.”

Deputies shoot Superior Twp. stabbing suspect: A fifty-three-year-old woman was apparently being attacked by a knife-wielding passenger when her car crashed near Geddes Rd. and Woodlands Dr. on Saturday, Fox 2 Detroit reports. According to the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, responding deputies shot a twenty-two-year-old Ypsilanti man who was attempting to attack other people on the scene. Both the driver and passenger were hospitalized.

$60K stolen from Pittsfield Twp. ATM: Three people used chains and a stolen vehicle to break open a Chase Bank cash machine on E. Ellsworth Rd. early on Sept. 15, MLive reports (paywall). They chained the ATM to the vehicle and drove away to force the machine open, Pittsfield Twp. police say.

Texas man killed in single-car crash: The fifty-six-year-old drove off the road and struck several trees on Sunday at the Ford Rd. exit off westbound M-14, CBS Detroit reports. The Michigan State Police say he was heading back to Austin, Texas, after a family visit in Michigan. Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be factors in the crash.

AAFD warns of lithium-ion batteries after house fire: An electric leaf blower being charged in a garage is believed to have caused of a blaze in Ann Arbor last week, the department writes in a Facebook post. Several animals were evacuated by neighbors and a cat was located unharmed by firefighters. “We strongly recommend not charging batteries when not at home and take the batteries off the charger once full,” the AAFD writes. “Also, do not charge batteries in an exit path.”

Judge temporarily halts transfer of Manhattan Project waste to Van Buren Twp. landfill: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plan to bury low-level radioactive soil left over from the WWII effort to develop the atomic bomb at Wayne Disposal was opposed by several nearby communities, the Associated Press reports. Wayne County judge Kevin Cox set a hearing for today to consider their lawsuit seeking to block the transfer from Lewiston, NY. Ypsilanti Twp. was about to file a similar suit when the judge’s restraining order came down, MLive reports (paywall).

Morgan Foreman on track to replace boss in Lansing: The Democrat handily won the Aug. 6 primary for District 33 state representative, a seat being vacated by Felicia Brabec, James Leonard writes in this month’s Observer. Foreman, who beat AAPS trustee Rima Mohammad by a 2-to-1 margin, has worked until recently as Brabec’s constituent service director. The district includes southern Ann Arbor, the city of Saline, and all or portions of Pittsfield, Saline, Lodi, York, Bridgewater, and Scio townships. Jason Rogers of Saline topped five other candidates for the GOP nomination, but the district leans heavily Democratic. 

Meat processor lands $4.2M federal grant: Ann Arbor-based Damian’s Craft Meats is one of fifteen independents in twelve states to receive funding from the USDA intended to support local producers, according to Michigan Farm News. Damian’s is building a new 23,250-square-foot facility intended to serve local livestock producers, according to USDA’s funding notice. Husband-and-wife owners Damian River and Rosemary Linares previously told Mlive that there are no federally inspected processing facilities within fifty miles of Ann Arbor.

Bentley director focused on more inclusive archive: Forty-eight-year-old Alexis Antracoli took over the North Campus library last year after stints at Drexel, Rutgers, and Princeton universities with a goal of diversifying the collections, Eve Silberman reports in this month’s Observer. At Drexel, she worked with a group called Archives for Black Lives and at Princeton, she led the library’s first diversity and inclusion group. Like academic libraries around the country, the Bentley has embraced what’s called “reparative” descriptions of its collections. While original source material is untouched, employees update language to be more accurate and current – for example, replacing “American Indian” or “Indian” with “Native American” or “Indigenous.” They’re also “working with a consultant to help us identify records about tribal communities,” Antracoli says, “especially those that are particularly culturally sensitive.”

Rally House takes over MDen locations: The sports retailer announced in a press release that it bought the rights to the stores on State St. and Main St., as well as a game day pop-up business in a lot across from Big House. MDen, the once high-flying official apparel partner for U-M Athletics, is now bankrupt and selling off its assets to cover its roughly $50 million debt. According to court filings, Rally House won with a bid of $7.75 million over Lids Holdings Inc., the Detroit News reports.

Molly’s Cupcakes aims to be a young-adult hangout: Named for chain founder John Nicolaides’s late third grade teacher, the school-themed shop at 617 E. Liberty has board games, books, a lunchbox collection, and swings serving as counter seating, Dave Algase writes in this month’s Observer. Molly’s won the first season of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars in 2009 and was named by USA Today in 2021 to a list of America’s ten best cupcakes.

Green Planet pot shop reopens as Meds Cafe: The dispensary, which closed last year after thirteen years in business, was bought by a group that includes Hash Bash event coordinator Jamie Lowell, Algase reports. The store on Tappan is one of seven Meds Cafes, all in Michigan.

Jewish Family Services fundraising walk is Sunday: The Walk A Mile In My Shoes event kicks off at 10 a.m. at Burns Park Elementary with a goal of raising $100,000 for the nonprofit. To participate or donate, click here. The walk supports JFS’s refugee resettlement program, among other functions.

Nonprofit spearheading $350,000 West Willow Park renovation: Bambo Oluwadare and his father, Akin, are using their Odindi Youth Action Village group to help the New West Willow Neighborhood Association improve the park on Tyler Rd. in Ypsilanti Twp., Concentrate reports. The project, which will include improved handicap accessibility, new swings, and spaces for both younger and older children, broke ground on Sept. 8 and is anticipated to wrap up this winter, weather permitting.

Wine event supports ALS research: Active Against ALS’s second annual Uncork A Cure soiree is from 6 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 10 at York Food and Drink on Packard St. Tickets are $120 each and can be bought online or at the door. Admission includes food from York, desserts from Zingerman’s, four two-ounce tastes of wine or two beers and a souvenir wine glass. Last year’s event raised more than $25,000; as of Thursday, the organization already had raised nearly $15,000 of its $30,000 goal.

By Jennifer Taylor

Friday: See the pioneering Belgian theater company Ontroerend Goed explore free will and electoral politics in “Fight Night,” a theatrical political contest. Each performance takes a different trajectory, depending on audience choices via handheld electronic voting devices. 7:30 p.m. (Thurs. to Sat.) and 2 p.m. (Sat. and Sun.), Power Center. Tickets $48 in advance ($12 to $20, students) at ums.org and by phone, as well as (if available) at the door. (734) 764–2538. 

Saturday: Catch back-to-back games featuring A2RD travel and local teams versus Queen City Roller Derby of Buffalo, NY, at an Ann Arbor Roller Derby Doubleheader. Food trucks, concessions, and merchandise available. 5:30 p.m. (doors open at 4:30 p.m.), Buhr Park Ice Rink, 2751 Packard. Tickets $18 at the door or online at a2rollerderby.com. Kids age 12 and under are free with paying adult (limit three kids per adult).

Sunday: Taste and celebrate homemade pies at Slow Food Huron Valley’s “14th Annual Pie Lovers Unite!” The afternoon includes pie walks (a spin on the traditional carnival “cake walk”), a pie-baking contest, a “Pie-Ku” poetry recital, music, and more. Bring a camp chair or picnic blanket and your own plate and utensils. 3 to 5 p.m., Raindance Organic Farm, 2015 E. North Territorial, Whitmore Lake. Pre-registration required. $12 ($35 for a family of four to six who are not bringing a pie) at a2tix.com/events.

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

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