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Literacy Challenges Follow Students to College

Literacy Challenges Follow Students to College

Sep 24, 2026 | , , |

U-M history professor Derek Peterson has noticed a difference in his students’ reading habits in the past several years. “Getting them to sit down and read a whole book is a real challenge,” he says. “Some of them do—and Michigan students are smart, generally—but very often they want to rely on AI summaries, instead of actually doing the reading for themselves.” 

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A Life in Theater in Southeast Michigan

A Life in Theater in Southeast Michigan

Sep 24, 2026 | , |

For John Bernos, the dream of a career on the stage started here in Ann Arbor. At Pioneer High, sports were his passion—until he discovered the Pioneer Theatre Guild. His focus intensified when he won FutureStars, a singing competition between students from Ann Arbor’s public high schools.

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Doors Open at the Big House of Dorms

Doors Open at the Big House of Dorms

Sep 24, 2026 | , |

By the time you read this, 2,300 U-M students will have settled in at Wolverine Village, U-M’s first new dorm in over half a century. U-M spokesperson Brian Taylor says the $649 million housing complex represents a 25 percent increase in university-owned housing capacity. In 2026, he adds, nearly 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students will live on campus—“the most ever.” How will this addition to the housing supply affect the affordability of Ann Arbor’s broader housing market? 

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Defying Density

Defying Density

Sep 24, 2026 | , |

The eight-acre parcel in Ann Arbor Twp., just south of Glazier Hill Nature Area, was once a farm and remains home to hundreds of trees. Its owners, a family in Massachusetts, have an agreement to sell it to the Centennial affiliate. The plan is for Ann Arbor to annex the land and zone it R4B, a multiple-family dwelling district allowing a density of up to fifteen residences per acre.

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AAPS Teachers Vote Underwhelmingly to Ratify Contract

AAPS Teachers Vote Underwhelmingly to Ratify Contract

Sep 24, 2026 | , |

In the end, everyone needed to move on. The district couldn’t move forward with more concrete “right-sizing” plans until it knew the cost of wages and benefits for its teachers. And many teachers clamored for whatever increases were on offer because, with their prior contract expired on December 31, their compensation had been stagnant even as the war in Iran sent gas prices soaring.

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The List Is a Launchpad

The List Is a Launchpad

Sep 24, 2026 | , |

The List, a local giveaway and discovery email list, features a different Washtenaw County small business every week, alongside an interview, a giveaway, and a weekend events roundup. Since launching on February 3, 2025, they’ve profiled more than seventy businesses and racked up 332 email subscribers and 1,888 followers across Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. The service is free for featured businesses and subscribers.

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Trading Card Rewards

Trading Card Rewards

Aug 26, 2026 | , |

“It is really exciting to be able to talk with people who originally pulled these cards from packs, and hear about which convenience store they purchased them from and what the gum tasted like.”

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Day of Reckoning Nears for AAPS

Day of Reckoning Nears for AAPS

Aug 26, 2026 | , |

Throughout the debate over Ann Arbor Public Schools’ money troubles, there have been rumors about the prospect of shutting down schools. But this summer, board members began treating it as a foregone conclusion. The real questions seem to be: How many? And which ones?

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Words With Friends

Words With Friends

Aug 26, 2026 | , , , |

Results from the 2025 Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) show that 60 percent of Washtenaw County’s third-graders categorized as economically disadvantaged—including those who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, whose families receive food aid, and foster children, among other categories—scored in the lowest level for English Language Arts, compared with 26 percent of all students. Narrowing such disparities requires interventions with individual students that schools may not be equipped to handle on their own.

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Voters’ Message Is Clear—as Mud

Voters’ Message Is Clear—as Mud

Aug 26, 2026 | , |

Taylor was soundly defeated by county commissioner Yousef Rabhi in the Democratic primary even as two council incumbents, Cynthia Harrison and Jenn Cornell, and two other Taylor-endorsed council candidates, Sandy Aldrich and Aidan Sova, cruised to victory. This being a city dominated by Democrats, the primary was tantamount to winning the office; thirty-eight-year-old Rabhi is, barring some wild turn of events, now the mayor-elect.

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Everyone Is Invited

Everyone Is Invited

Aug 10, 2026 | , |

Pioneer Theatre Guild’s reimagined Hamlet embodies exactly the type of theater program Quinn Strassel wants for students: “Theater is better when everyone is invited to the table.” And in Ann Arbor Public Schools, high school students have an open invitation.

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The Collective Process of Creation

The Collective Process of Creation

Aug 10, 2026 | |

When I walk up to the hot pink facade of Cluster Museum on Main, I often get a little jolt of excited anticipation—I never know what artist I might meet, what new creative work I might experience, what spark of conversation might ignite me.

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Beer and a Show

Beer and a Show

Aug 10, 2026 | |

Hear.Say Brewing + Theater is a lot of things: a craft brewery, a taproom, and a performance space for comedy of both the stand-up and improvisational varieties. Nestled into a cozy west-side commercial strip on W. Liberty, between Stadium and Maple, it’s also a welcoming neighborhood hub.

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