BY DOMINICK SOKOTOFF AND SHANNON STOCKING
November 15, 2021

HAPPY FIRST SNOW! We hope you had a good weekend, and it looks like it may get a bit warmer this week. On Saturday, Michigan football battled Penn State, winning 21-17 on the road.

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Violet Twetten, 8 years old, receives her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Washtenaw County Health Department in Ypsilanti on Friday. Jeremy Weine/Daily. Buy this photo.

PEN TO PAPER: Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, sent a letter Friday urging EPA Administrator Michael Regan to designate the Gelman dioxane plume as a federal Superfund site. Dingell referenced Scio Township’s announcement last week, as covered by MLive, that two residential drinking water wells were discovered to be contaminated with the carcinogen, indicating that the plume has spread further north. 

OUT OF STEAM: A2 STEAM held a remote-learning day on Friday due to continuing Ann Arbor Public Schools staff shortages, according to MLive. This follows a last-minute Oct. 22 remote learning day for select schools and a district-wide closure on Nov. 1, both of which have drawn criticism from parents.

On Wednesday, the Ann Arbor Board of Education approved $4.9 million of one-time payments to help retain full-time, salaried staff members, according to MLive. AAPS will be holding a virtual job fair on Wednesday.

RAISE THE ROOF: Conversations have begun about renovations of the iconic ‘M Go Blue’ Barn, according to All About Ann Arbor. The Parker family, who have owned the 121-year-old barn since 1992, have proposed a complete transformation of the barn to turn it into a beer garden, restaurant and community space. A Kickstarter has been created in order to raise money for rezoning and a feasibility study. 

MOVING WALL: A replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial temporarily arrived in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, just in time for Veterans Day, according to MLive. The memorial is about half the size of the permanent memorial in Washington, D.C., and it has been traveling around the country for more than 36 years.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS: The African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County is now open for weekend tours after opening its doors in late October, according to MLive. The museum was founded in 1993 as a “museum without walls,” but now it has a physical space on Pontiac Trail.

This past week, Ypsilanti-based Hyperion Coffee opened a location on Liberty Street near Main Street in Downtown Ann Arbor.

“With the return of football, landlords and short term rental owners capitalize on parking and rental businesses” … The Michigan Daily

“Anderson survivor Jonathan Vaughn to run for University of Michigan regent in 2022” … The Michigan Daily

“Schlissel on Anderson survivor protesters: ‘I do appreciate Mr. Vaughn’” … The Michigan Daily

“UMich student voting numbers rise 17.7% between 2016 and 2020, report finds” … The Michigan Daily

“39% of Ann Arbor’s local neighborhood streets in poor or failing condition” … MLive

“Study will look at Ann Arbor police data for evidence of bias during traffic stops” … MLive

“Violent crime at Liberty Plaza has Ann Arbor SPARK considering private security” … MLive

“Complaints against former Ann Arbor football coach included denying players water and questioning trainers” … MLive

“Schools will grow their own special education teachers in this Washtenaw County program” … MLive

“Ann Arbor service workers see a ‘revolution,’ not a labor shortage” … Concentrate

“Service to country, community earn Ann Arbor man Michigan Veteran of the Year award” … MLive

“Opinions mixed on Ann Arbor’s plan for downtown-style development by Briarwood Mall” … MLive

Washtenaw County reported 192 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours and 1,272 cases in the past two weeks. 75.1% of Washtenaw County residents aged 16 and over and 7.1% of residents aged 5 to 11 have received at least one vaccine dose. 

Student cases of COVID-19 at the University of Michigan have risen significantly over the past week. The majority of the increased spread is attributable to social gatherings without masks, according to the dashboard. Student cases make up 17% of the total cases in Washtenaw County. While case counts are higher, 96% of those infected were either asymptomatic or had only mild symptoms.

News tips? Comments? Questions?
A2 Outlook editors Dominick Sokotoff and Shannon Stocking can be reached at sokotoff@umich.edu and sstockin@umich.edu, respectively.

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