After a shaky spring, the picture is brightening for our area. The Art Fair is back on, Wolverines football announced its schedule, and many more in-person events are popping up on the calendar.

While violence, disease, and climate change continue to impact us, there is a growing unwillingness to sit idly by. Public pressure is leading to policy shifts in government, business, and educational institutions, even in our small corner of the world. 

Trilby MacDonald, editor 

As of this morning, there were twenty-two new cases, three hospitalizations, and no deaths in the past twenty-four hours. Last week’s positivity rate was 2.9 percent. 

As of Monday, 59 percent of county residents twelve to sixty-four years old, and 88 percent of residents sixty-five and older, have had at least one Covid vaccine dose.

Lower infection and hospitalization rates allow Michigan Medicine to lift some visitor restrictions. Adult hospital and emergency room patients are allowed one visitor per day, and one visitor sixteen years or older can accompany an adult patient to an appointment. Michigan Medicine

The Art Fair is back on! Low local Covid numbers coupled with the state lifting capacity limits for outdoor events beginning June 1 prompted the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original, the State Street Art Fair, and the Guild of Artists and Artisans’ Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair to move ahead with Ann Arbor’s most popular annual event. The fair will be shortened to three days, July 15-17. 

It’s official: Wolverine football will kick off at noon on Sept. 4 against Western Michigan. All but two home games now have start times and broadcast partners. Ticket packs go on sale June 21. 

U-M’s softball run ends. Just two weeks after taking home the Big Ten championship, the Wolverine women needed to win one more game against the University of Washington to make it to the NCAA Super Regional.  The Huskies won both games in Sunday’s double-header, 2-0 and 10-5. Michigan Daily

Exiled from Ann Arbor. Despite the weakened economy, real estate prices are skyrocketing, forcing many prospective buyers to look farther afield. “It boggles my mind” says one would-be homeowner who has seen prices in the Stockbridge and Waterloo areas double in the past year. The Observer’s Julie Halpert has our story. 

U-M will establish new sexual misconduct policies. The Working Group for Cultural Change is charged with creating “an environment of mutual respect and accountability that is free of retaliation, where everyone can feel safe to report misconduct and feel supported throughout the process.” The initiative is a response to last year’s report on the misconduct of former provost Martin Philbert. University Record 

Student files class action lawsuit against U-M over handling of reports of sexual assault and harassment. The student claims that existing policies are not protecting students and seeks multiple reforms including a court-appointed independent monitor. Click on Detroit 

Hundreds march through Ann Arbor in solidarity with Palestine. Protestors, many waving Palestinian flags, gathered in front of City Hall on Saturday in support of Palestine during the recent conflict with Israel. Before the protesters marched through downtown, several community members and politician, U-M physician, and faculty member Abdul el-Sayed spoke to the protestors. Michigan Daily

A2ZERO, the city of Ann Arbor’s initiative to curb carbon emissions, celebrates its first anniversary with a festival June 1-6. Events include a Zoom meditation session, unveiling a new mural in Huron Park, and a sustainability-themed scavenger hunt. Twelve local restaurants are participating in the Green Fare, featuring locally grown and plant-based menu items along with information on sustainable practices. www.a2gov.org

Ann Arbor District Library will reopen all five locations at noon on July 12. Library staff are currently reconfiguring the library spaces for browsing. The libraries will be open noon-8 p.m. seven days a week with a plan to return to pre-pandemic hours by September. AADL

ProQuest LLC will be acquired by technology firm Clarivate PLC for $5.3 billion. The Ann Arbor-based digital library information management company was founded in 1938 as University Microfilms, and started out publishing doctoral dissertations. Clarivate, founded in 2016, is an international information services and analytics company based in the UK. MLive

MI Juice Garden will open June 1. Ann Arbor’s latest juice bar squeezes into 3980 Platt Rd with an array of fresh juices made by crushing vegetables and fruits in a hydraulic press using two tons of pressure. Facebook

A pop up espresso bar and boutique opens on S. Main. 3-D virtual design company Saganworks teamed up with clients the Blue Llama Jazz Club and JOOB Activewear to create the pop up in the space next door to Shalimar, which is owned by parent company Multiverse Investments. Featuring artwork and ancient artifacts reflecting the inspiration for Saganworks’ spacial design work, it’s “a marketplace that ties in our clients, partners and a history lesson about how we arrived here,” says creative director Brad Torreano. Multiverse may eventually open a restaurant in the location. 

By Ella Bourland

27 Thursday: Paint a tree silhouette on a colorful backdrop at an outdoors hands-on demo led by local artist Asha Jordan. Tickets include all necessary tools and one drink—your choice between various alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. Rain or shine. Masks required when not eating or drinking. 5:30 p.m., tickets $50 in advance at YORK Food + Drink or at the door. 1928 Packard Rd., 662-0798.

28 Friday: Stream Tim Neeve’s new documentary, Brave Blue World, about recent global innovations to help make humans’ current water consumption sustainable. Also, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday June 2, attend a Q&A with local water experts (preregistration required), including U-M engineering professor Glen Daigger, Great Lakes Water Authority energy, research, & innovation director John W. Norton, and City Water Treatment Services Brian Steglitz. Available for free streaming starting at noon on May 28 through 9:59 p.m. on June 3, online at Michigan Theater Science on Screen. 

29 Saturday: Hear a solo, in-person program by local cellist Thor Sigurdson that includes Bernstein’s “Somewhere” from West Side Story, Paganini’s Variations on One String on a Theme by Rossini, Piatti’s Caprice no. 7, and selected movements from Bach’s six cello suites. Masks required. Windows open for cross ventilation, so dress accordingly. 4:30 p.m. (doors open at 4:20 p.m.), free at Northside Community Church, 929 Barton Dr. 649–7948. 

30 Sunday: Take part in Bløm Meadworks’s annual bike ride, cycling either 50k, 100k, or 100-miles on open road gravel and mixed terrain. This is not a timed race; go as fast or as slow as you’d like. Post-ride food available from Pilar’s Tamales. Start times: 7:11 a.m. (100-mile), 9:11 a.m. (100k), 10:11 a.m. (50k). Meet at 100 S. 4th Ave. Free, but preregistration required by Friday May 28 at 7:11 a.m.

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

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