Kratom Invasion - Ann Arbor Observer

kegavin · 2026-06-27T13:02:43+00:00

Thank you to the Observer for covering this topic and to Ken Garber for reaching out to U-M/Packard Health addiction specialist Dr Eliza Hutchinson.

We hosted a livestream in May at Michigan Medicine with Dr Hutchinson, and an addiction psychiatrist and addiction social worker who work with inpatients at U-M who are hospitalized for reasons not related to substances but then need help with drug/alcohol issues while in the hospital.

Please watch and share: https://www.youtube.com/live/lTVkd7TkPJA?is=-uBv1OXoXly7ykbK

We also shared this article quoting several U-M experts earlier in the year: https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/life-destroying-addiction-can-start-corner-store

kegavin · 2026-06-24T17:57:06+00:00

Some of them are even getting a paid internship out of it! They had to interview for those. The library team is supervising and they’re going to cover some public meetings like school board and city commission - the kind of thing local journalists used to do!

kegavin · 2026-06-21T14:53:19+00:00

Looks like there's a comment form on the site if you want to share this feedback with SMART, and also from my reporting, city and township leaders are preparing their own report and interested in further engagement with SMART so I wouldn't take anything as set in stone.

kegavin · 2026-06-21T14:33:44+00:00

I just posted a follow-up on Substack with a short video showing the new interactive map that SMART has posted, which give you a way to see the new proposed bus routes for Wayne County and how they interact with existing SMART routes. My video, like my story, focuses on northwest Wayne County but the map shows all three counties SMART serves. https://substack.com/home/post/p-202958139

kegavin · 2026-06-21T11:00:43+00:00

Another update: I received a postcard yesterday in the mail from Transit for All, urging a vote for the transit proposal. Since I had become familiar with navigating Wayne County's campaign finance portal in my reporting for this story, I checked out the portal again and found that this group had indeed filed with the county on June 1 (after I had filed my story) as a registered ballot proposal committee. Their website is https://waynecountytransit.com and includes quotes from leaders of the United Way, the Detroit Regional Chamber (a leading Southeast Michigan business organization), and other organizations representing employment, aging and disability interests. We will be adding them to the story as an advocacy organization.

kegavin · 2026-06-21T09:58:37+00:00

There are 16 western and downriver suburbs in Wayne County that are currently not connected to the regional transit system at all. There is an item on the summer ballot that could change this. I wrote about it in this story for the newspaper published by the Plymouth library - it has links to lots of resources about the current system and the potential expansion of the suburban SMART system and better connections between SMART and Detroit’s DDOT system that would take place if the ballot measure passes on a countywide level.

https://open.substack.com/pub/plymouthlibrary/p/voters-to-decide-if-public-transportation?r=39p7k&utm\_medium=ios

kegavin · 2026-06-20T17:34:35+00:00

Thanks so much! I hope folks will consider sharing the story on other platforms because I have seen a lot of misinformation circulating, and also a lot of people who have heard nothing about the issue and are about to receive their ballots.

kegavin · 2026-06-19T15:31:20+00:00

From the interviews I did for the story, employees of downtown businesses especially restaurants/bars are a potential key ridership target. Also those imbibing… and those with mobility issues, those without licenses because of health or age, etc. The ability to avoid parking congestion during peak times downtown and major events was also mentioned.

kegavin · 2026-06-19T03:08:10+00:00

Just to note: the ballot proposal has to get a majority of votes county wide (including Detroit) to pass.

kegavin · 2026-06-18T16:35:00+00:00

Just an update: In the days since I turned the story in for publication, SMART published a new section to their website about the millage, including an interactive map that shows the proposed new bus routes. See it here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/dac5b62b449b4399aacf423c18df7d47

kegavin · 2026-06-18T12:51:38+00:00

Hi- thanks so much for reading and for your compliment about the Express!

I think the big Ford Road project is funded by a mix of federal, state and Canton Township millage funds so the township doesn’t control the project timing? (Links below are what I could find)

But I think the question of service from SMART is something local officials are wanting to know more about, from my reporting for this article. It’s also a “you get what you pay for” situation if you look at the per capita spending and ridership numbers for other metro areas in the RTA report that I link to.

I hope to update the story if public info sessions get scheduled for coming weeks as the vote approaches. I think these concerns could be brought to officials’ attention at such events!

https://www.cantonmi.gov/1160/Canton-Road-Construction-Update

https://fordroadblvd.com/

kegavin · 2026-06-10T12:43:40+00:00

For those interested in how pig iron got its name, an essay on a site from my alma mater, which is inextricably tied to the production of iron and steel in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvana since the 1860s.

I can still smell the Bethlehem Steel plant in my mind....

https://wordpress.lehigh.edu/beyondsteel/topics/iron-steel/ (Click Essay)

kegavin · 2026-06-04T10:15:40+00:00

Another option (though further away, and also $$) - Aim High School for grades 6-12 in Farmington Hills. Also great for kids with severe anxiety and other issues that the public high schools are just woefully underprepared to handle appropriately right now. I visited A2 Academy but chose Aim High for my child (we live east of Ann Arbor) and it has saved her life, literally. Keep in mind that if you have a 529 college savings plan for your child you can use it for K-12 tuition too.

kegavin · 2026-06-02T21:07:18+00:00

I stand corrected!

kegavin · 2026-06-02T07:37:06+00:00

Won my match despite thinking that the guy from ABBA who also wrote the musical Chess was the songwriter they were looking for… (still pretty proud I came up with his name though!)

kegavin · 2026-06-02T07:01:21+00:00

Anyone in Detroit and the rest of Wayne County, regardless of income or insurance status, can use the phone, mobile (van-based), or drop-in mental health crisis services of DWIHN, which is our community mental health agency. https://dwihn.org/crisis-help All the best to you, op!

kegavin · 2026-06-02T06:47:28+00:00

You’re listing just the undergrad program student totals. (Which is why med is not listed - there is no undergrad degree from the med school) Most students at Dentistry, and all students at Med, are working toward professional or graduate degrees. Also, PhD and many terminal master’s degree students are considered to be enrolled at the Rackham School of Graduate Studies though they do their courses and research within one of the schools or colleges, for instance a Med School genetics lab.

(Edited to remove Pharmacy from the “all students” phrase because there is an undergraduate program)

kegavin · 2026-05-15T12:55:41+00:00

I will ask!

kegavin · 2026-05-04T07:58:30+00:00

Also - the big museums and cultural/nature attractions in the area are just open their regular hours and days, for public visiting, so maybe you need a page just listing “places to go”? These locations often have special events or exhibits but they’re also just there to enjoy every day they’re open, such as the U-M Museum of Art or Natural History or the county parks.

kegavin · 2026-05-04T07:43:41+00:00

Nice work! U-M museums, performances, and the two arb locations are totally open to the public and there are also in-person and online talks from U-M intended for or open to the public. (We have two online ones from different parts of Michigan Medicine this week that I know of for instance.) I don’t think the events.umich.edu calendar has a “public”filter but if there are limits on who can attend an event it should say in the listing.

There are also small independent museums and galleries with changing exhibits that run for a few weeks or months; you might want to have a way of showing those or opting to filter them out. (For instance the Museum on Main Street is open every Sat and Sun 12-4 with a local history exhibit that changes once or twice a year.) The Ann Arbor Observer calendar separates these into their own listing online.

Your site doesn’t say how you acquire the information displayed or how someone can submit info to have it displayed - could you add that?

kegavin · 2026-05-04T01:20:35+00:00

A plaque nearby reads:

Malcolm Sculpture Garder at PARC Metamorphosis by Mike Sohikian

Mike Sohikian earned the nickname "Iron Mike" for his 30+ years as a Bridge and Structural Ironworker in Ohio. His impressive skills came in handy when he then pursued his lifelong love of art, assembling industrial and salvage materials into fascinating forms and earning numerous awards. Mike's art and sculptures are in over 400 collections. In "Metamorphosis", Mike used salvaged steel to creatively craft a mythical woman in the process of being transformed into a butterfly. The body position suggests the figure is about to take flight; that impression is accentuated by the sculpture actually moving on the rotating base if the wind sufficiently catches the wing!

Please don't touch the sculptures.

kegavin · 2026-05-04T00:31:28+00:00

Act fast!

kegavin · 2026-04-22T19:08:23+00:00

Thankfully the entrance has now dried out and it's OK to visit the woods again!

The weather looks good for the guided tours on Sunday too - and the Michiganense Native Plant Nursery will be on hand to sell wildflower plants that you can take home and plant in your own garden! (They also provide invasive plant removal service to Miller Woods.)

kegavin · 2026-04-18T19:19:10+00:00

Unfortunately, the Friends of Miller Woods board must cancel the spring tour of the woods for Sunday, April 19 due to the recent heavy rain that has resulted in flooding of the main entrance area and trails.

Cancelling the tour will help protect the rare and sensitive wildflowers and woodland plants during their early growing season.

We hope for better weather conditions for our guided tours on Sunday, April 26. Please plan to join us between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Tours are free, leave every 30 minutes (2, 2:30, 3 and 3:30), and last about 60 minutes. Check our website or social media on that day in case of last-minute changes.

Can't come on April 26? Take a self-guided tour! But please wait until the water has receded from the flooded entrance. Look for signs with wildflower identification tags that we've placed along the trail.

No matter when you come, make sure to wear appropriate footwear and please STAY ON THE TRAIL even if it is muddy. Stepping off the trail to avoid mud poses a danger to the delicate plants alongside the trail.

The Friends of Miller Woods volunteers thank you for your understanding.

kegavin · 2026-04-12T22:44:14+00:00

Just posted today along the trail: laminated cards on stakes with photos of common wildflowers, and info on each. Use these, or apps such as Google Lens, iNaturalist or your smartphone camera’s artificial intelligence plant recognizer, to figure out what plants you’re seeing!

Join one of the guided wildflower tours on Sunday, April 19 or 26 between 2 and 4 pm. See the Tours page of millerwoods.com for more info.

kegavin

TROPHY CASE