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As of Wednesday morning, there were five confirmed cases, one hospitalization, and no deaths in the previous twenty-four hours. Last week’s positivity rate was 0.7 percent.
Trinity Health announces that it will require all colleagues, clinical staff, contractors, and those conducting business in its health care facilities be vaccinated against Covid-19. The requirement applies to roughly 24,000 Trinity Health Michigan colleagues working across five Saint Joseph Mercy Health System hospitals, three Mercy Health hospitals, and two employed medical groups— IHA and Mercy Health Physician Partners. Seventy-five percent of Trinity Health employees have already received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The U-M also is mandating vaccines for student athletes and athletic staff. Previously, the school had required vaccines only for students living in university housing, but added athletics because high-contact sports increase the likelihood of transmission. Click on Detroit
Ann Arbor Public Schools releases fall virtual learning plan. AAPS will offer grades K-5 a choice of in-person classes, virtual asynchronous classes, or virtual synchronous classes through the A2 Virtual Village. The decision responds to some parents’ concerns about in-person learning before Covid-19 vaccines are approved for children, and to accommodate all types of students and their learning needs. Click on Detroit
City council advances an ordinance extending the time tenants have to renew their leases. The ordinance would lengthen the number of days landlords must wait before asking tenants to renew from seventy days after the lease begins to 210. A final vote will take place on July 20. MLive (subscriber exclusive)
A dry cleaner on Ashley will be leveled to clean up toxic waste. The carcinogenic chemical tetrachloroethylene, or PCE, was first discovered underneath Armen Cleaners thirty-six years ago, and in 2016, the EPA found that toxic vapor emanating from the plume was affecting the rental property next door. The state-funded cleanup is expected to take place this fall. MLive (subscriber exclusive)
The Michigan GOP will pay $200,000 to settle an election finance complaint linked to U-M regent Ron Weiser. In February, then-MI GOP chair Laura Cox alleged that in 2018, Weiser, the founder of Ann Arbor-based real estate giant McKinley, arranged a “sleazy payoff” to Shelby Township clerk Stan Grot to get him to drop out of the race for secretary of state. Weiser—who’d previously said he’d donated the money Grot received—said he would reimburse the party for what he called a “disproportionate conciliation payment.” Detroit Free Press. Meanwhile, the Michigan Daily published a bizarre email Weiser sent in October 2019; he apparently intended it for a romantic partner, but instead sent it to his fellow regents.
The U.S. Supreme Court sides with Ann Arbor’s Thomas More Law Center and overturns a California rule requiring nonprofits to disclose their top donors. The state argued it needed the information to help prevent fraud; the More Center, cofounded by Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan as a conservative counterweight to the ACLU, said it would expose donors to harassment. ABC News
Matthaei Botanical Gardens reopens building for scheduled visits. The two-hour visits are free, but each visitor must preregister. The conservatory was closed when the giant corpse lily bloomed last month. The fly-pollinated flower exudes a perfume that smells like rotting flesh when it opens for one day, every other year, but a time-lapse video of the bloom can be seen here.
Boy Scouts raise 60,000 meals for Food Gatherers. The annual “Tim Esch Scouting for Food Birthday Party” doubles as a birthday party in memory of Tim Esch, a Boy Scout Troop 4 member who was killed in an auto accident sixteen years ago. According to a press release, scouts go door-to-door asking for nonperishable food donations, and bring the food to the Esch residence to be picked up by Food Gatherers. The family celebrates Tim and the troop with a party.
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