|
The county’s Covid-19 snapshot reports 1,358 cases in the two weeks ending yesterday, up by just over 100 from last week’s 1,228. The county returned to a “low” CDC risk level, from “medium” last week. The weekly test positivity rate is 14.7 percent according to MI Safe Start, up from 13 percent last week, and there are 242.9 cases per 100,000 residents.
Washtenaw County residents can now order free Covid testing kits through Project Access Covid Tests, ClickOnDetroit reports. People can order online, and in one to two weeks a kit containing five tests will be delivered.
Santa Ono has been named president of U-M, the Detroit Free Press reported in advance of the Board of Regents meeting where it was announced yesterday. Ono is currently president of the University of British Columbia. In 2015 he was named the most notable college president in the US by Inside Higher Ed, and is known for an active social media presence and forming connections with students. He will take over from interim president Mary Sue Coleman on Oct. 13.
Ann Arbor police chief Michael Cox has been named Boston’s next police commissioner, TV station WCVB reports. A longtime Boston officer once badly beaten by his own colleagues, he got off to a rocky start when he was placed on administrative leave for allegedly trying to influence an internal investigation, but went on to win wide respect. Though he once told the Observer that he hoped this would be his last job in policing, the chance to trade a shrinking force of fewer than 120 officers for one with more than 2,000 was evidently irresistible: after only three years in Ann Arbor, Cox is expected to assume his new role on Aug. 15.
Heroin overdoses are on the rise, James Leonard reports for the July Observer. During the pandemic, the number of heroin deaths decreased, but last year overdoses killed seventy-one people. With most victims under forty, Washtenaw County Health Department spokesperson Susan Ringler-Cerniglia says, “it’s likely that those opiate deaths are a leading cause of death in our younger group.”
Ann Arbor Public Schools bought properties near Arborland and a building at Domino’s Farms, MLive reports (subscriber exclusive). The undeveloped land on Huron River Dr. will provide space for another school, while the building will be a second preschool site.
The site of a 264-unit housing project has been cleared, despite a lawsuit from neighbors, MLive reports (subscriber exclusive). Northfield Township approved the development of single-family houses and townhouses on the corner of North Territorial and Whitmore Lake roads last year, where workers are now installing water and sewer infrastructure. The lawsuit against the developers seeks to declare a portion the property rightfully owned by the neighbors under the adverse possession doctrine.
Former U-M football coach Gary Moeller died Monday, ClickOnDetroit reports. He spent twenty-three years with the football program, leading the Wolverines to three Big Ten titles and five bowl appearances. “Gary Moeller was a great family man, great friend, great coach, and a man of integrity and high character,” former head coach Lloyd Carr said in a statement. “I admired him, I respected him, and I loved him.” Mitch Albom shared his own memories of Moeller at freep.com.
Washtenaw Community College extended president Rose Bellanca’s contract through 2025, ClickOnDetroit reports. Last week, Bellanca unveiled a $13.5 million renovation of WCC’s Morris Lawrence Building.
Volunteers will paint a Black Lives Matter mural at Wheeler Park this Saturday, ClickOnDetroit reports. The mural is the second organized by Survivors Speak in Ann Arbor, the first being in Gallup Park. Anyone interested in joining the project can sign up here.
Independence Lake Beach reopened Saturday after being determined safe. The beach temporarily closed last week due to high levels of E. Coli bacteria. Levels are now below actionable levels, and weekly monitoring will continue.
The peculiar modernist office building at 2929 Plymouth Rd. is slated for demolition. Designed in 1970 by Midland architect Alden Dow, its single main floor and penthouse are elevated above a parking lot, prompting comparisons to a “giant toadstool. The penthouse was once the luxurious private office of information technology pioneer and philanthropist Gene Power; now, the site will become a new branch for the U-M Credit Union.
Ypsilanti’s Neighborhood Theatre Group returned last Saturday, MLive reports. After a two year hiatus, the group presented Annie Ypsi and the Case of the Biggest Wheel at the Ypsilanti District Library. Two more shows will follow this fall and next spring.
The Rolling Sculpture Car Show returns tomorrow. Featuring more than 200 classic and antique cars, the show includes music by Hot Rod DJ Surfer Joe on the corner of Main and Liberty and family events on E. Liberty hosted by the AADL.
The Ann Arbor Art Fair returns next Thursday, and a new documentary tells the story of its traveling artists, Jan Schalin reports in the July Observer. Artist Dylan Strzynski and filmmaker Padrick Ritch’s The Life We Make, currently showing at film festivals, depicts the ragtag life of the artists who make a living touring their work throughout the country.
|
