Turkeys in Traffic
Ask most Michiganders about the hazards of driving in a state full of wildlife and you’re likely to hear about run-ins with deer. But on a recent Saturday afternoon, a different kind of traffic hazard asserted itself.
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Archives
Fake Ad Update | May 2024
First, the facts: We received 156 entries correctly identifying the Fake Ad for Boundaries Books on page 68 of the April issue.
Read MoreQuestion Corner | May 2024
Q. Why aren’t the wood planks used in the Argo boardwalk and elsewhere in our parks ever painted? Wouldn’t that help them last longer? And what about using composite materials? A. “We used treated pine boards in our boardwalks,”...
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Over the Cliff
At a special meeting in early April, the school board voted 4–3 to have superintendent Jazz Parks warn most of the district’s unions of impending layoffs. They did so, president Torchio Feaster says, because they needed “to send a realistic plan to the state” for how to address a $25 million shortfall.
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Big Hearts
When public health prof Vic Strecher was asked to emcee the Big Hearts for Seniors fundraiser in 2018, “I didn’t know all that much about it,” he admits.
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Medical Thriller
Marschall Runge didn’t realize how many physicians wanted to write fiction until he signed up for a “Writing for Doctors” workshop—and found 300 others in attendance.
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A Tiger Daughter Returns
These days, Charlene Kaye only gets back to Ann Arbor on tour, but she launched her music career playing open mics as a U-M English major in the late aughts.
Read MoreComposing Nature’s Melodies
To write his new orchestral piece, Evan Chambers took a walk in the woods.
Read MoreNot-So-Big Boxes
The eastside HomeGoods is moving from its longtime spot in Carpenter Plaza to Arborland Center, where it will occupy half of the space that Bed Bath & Beyond vacated early last year. The other half of the space will be a smaller “prototype” Marshalls, which will move from its own larger space at Arborland some time this summer.
Read MoreFrom Chuck E. Cheese to Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree has struggled to assimilate former rival Family Dollar, which it purchased in 2015. Reporting a $1.71 billion loss in the most recent quarter, the company announced plans to close nearly 1,000 stores. But the “optimization” isn’t all one-way: The Virginia-based chain recently opened its third Ann Arbor store.
Read MoreWicked Mary’s Close-Mouthed Reboot
After closing in January, Wicked Mary’s Chicken has re-emerged following Brian Strauss’s sale of the business.
Read MoreA Black-Owned Cannabis Store Is Back
Washtenaw County’s only fully Black- and woman-owned cannabis dispensary has reopened its Packard St. storefront, which closed since last summer after difficulties resulting in ongoing litigation with a previous management company.
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Water Warriors
As a lap swimmer for more than thirty-five years, I hardly noticed the water aerobics classes at my pool. This was, of course, before I reluctantly joined them.
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Juli McLoone
Sometimes the homeliest daily chores and most taken-for-granted possessions can reveal cultural trends, personal stories, and anthropological discoveries—if you study them like Juli McLoone does.
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Greenbelt and Bluebelt
In March, Michigan’s Agricultural Preservation Fund Board awarded $2 million to eight farmland preservation programs across the state to purchase development rights that protect land for agricultural use. Five of the eight are in Washtenaw County.
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Red Flag Law
Coincidentally, Jeremy Jones called the next day wanting his guns back.
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