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Morning, Ann Arbor! Happy Election week! We have a Michelin-honored chef cooking on Main tonight, free hot dogs at Briarwood on Thursday, and some exceptional upcoming shows by U-M Music, Dance & Theatre. Let’s ride!

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Reader Count: 4,884 townies
Percent of Ann Arbor Reading: 3.99%

🗳️ What's on Tomorrow's Ballot

Ann Arbor's primary is Tuesday, August 4. At the top: 12-year incumbent Mayor Christopher Taylor faces challenger Yousef Rabhi in a race widely seen as a referendum on the city's downtown high-rises and rezoning. Half of council's ten seats are up too, plus a renewal of the Ann Arbor Public Schools Sinking Fund Millage (a 10-year, 2.4-mill levy for building repairs, security, tech, and buses). Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. See your full ballot at Michigan.gov/vote, or the Michigan Daily for a ward-by-ward guide.

🍻Casey's Tavern Is Opening a Second Spot

Depot Street's neighborhood tavern is going east. Casey's Tavern East opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 2000 Commonwealth Blvd, the space Carson's American Bistro left behind in January. The room is bigger than the original, so the menu grows with it: pizza joins the burgers, deli sandwiches and fish and chips. The original at 304 Depot St, open since 1986 and still across from the train station, is not changing a thing. Caseys

🍽️A Michelin-Honored Chef Is Cooking Here Tonight

Echelon is handing over the kitchen. Tonight, Monday, Aug. 3, chef Telly Justice cooks a multicourse omnivore menu built on Michigan ingredients. Justice won Michelin Young Chef NY, was named a Food & Wine Best New Chef, and owns HAGS in New York's East Village, which Bon Appetit named one of its Best New Restaurants of 2023. She has two James Beard nominations and 15 years in kitchens from Wildair and Contra to Kimball House in Atlanta. Last minute tickets

🏘️ The Housing Millage Just Hit Its Five-Year Mark

The city published its Five-Year Affordable Housing Millage Report last week. Five years in, 537 apartments have been added or are under construction, with more than 900 additional homes moving through financing, approval, design or feasibility work. Named projects include Dunbar Tower, The Grove at Veridian, Hickory Way and 350 S. Fifth Ave. City of Ann Arbor

SPONSORED BY U-M SCHOOL OF MUSIC, THEATRE & DANCE:

🎶Catch a World-Class Soprano on Campus This Season

Enjoy an extraordinary performance while supporting the next generation of professional performers at the beginning of their careers! SMTD's ticketed performance season includes nine fully staged productions, one studio production, and five major concerts, including the SeAH Korean Art Song Gala, featuring a performance by world-renowned Korean soprano Sumi Jo.

These performances, on par with professional productions, showcase the talents of our exceptional students and renowned faculty. Best of all, the revenue generated by ticket sales directly supports future educational performance opportunities for all of our students. UMICH SMTD

👮🏻‍♂️Free Food and a Fire Truck at Briarwood on Thursday

Bring the kids. National Night Out runs 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, at Briarwood Mall near Harvest Market. The Ann Arbor Police Department is putting on a Touch-A-Truck setup, police motorcycles and bicycles, live music, free games and giveaways, and free food. Ann Arbor Police Department

🏔️ A Saline Teen Just Summited Europe's Highest Peak

Talk about grit. Anna Tukin, a 15-year-old from Saline, became the youngest American female to summit Mount Elbrus, the 18,510-foot peak that's the tallest in Europe. She planted a University of Michigan flag (signed by family, friends, and teachers) at the top on July 24 after a six-day trek through heavy winds and a vertical ice wall. Sun Times

✈️A Global Travel Conference Picked Ann Arbor

Book it for next spring. The Women in Travel Summit comes to the University of Michigan campus May 21 to 23, 2027. It is organized by Wanderful, an international community of women travel entrepreneurs. Destination Ann Arbor President and CEO Sarah Miller says the group will work through the county's food, outdoor recreation, agritourism and arts. WEMU

🌉Michigan Got Its First Walk Across the Gordie Howe

A Michigan milestone worth noting. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made the first ceremonial crossing of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, the span linking Detroit and Windsor. It is the kind of thing that will be in the state's photographs for the next hundred years. Fox 2 Detroit

🍿 The Michigan Theater Is Showing SpongeBob for Free

Block off Sunday, Aug. 16. The Michigan Theater is screening "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" at 11 a.m., the 2004 Stephen Hillenburg original about the happy-go-lucky oddball sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea. It's free, but you have to preregister at marquee-arts.org/calendar.

On the Market

2126 Winewood Ave —  $358,500 3 bed | 2 bath | 1,258 sqft - A 1976 west-sider on a tree-lined street off Liberty and Burwood, freshly painted with both baths updated and a finished lower level with a half bath and laundry.

1410 Creal Cres — $845,000 4 bed | 3 bath | 1,976 sqft - A heavily reworked Wines-neighborhood house where the money clearly went into the details: heated floors, custom built-ins, designer lighting, a walk-in closet built to order, and a room given over to a home gym.

403 W Madison St — $1,020,000 6 bed | 3 bath | 2,207 sqft - A 1913 Victorian on an Old West Side corner lot. Stained glass, soaring ceilings, a living-room fireplace, three renovated full baths, and laundry on the second floor.Steps from Washtenaw Dairy, Wurster Park, Jefferson Market and Bach Elementary.

Adoptable Humane Society Pets

Ernie - 2 years | Medium Neutered Male | Pit Bull Terrier Mix A quick study who will trade you excellent manners for a good treat, and who is asking for real training and exercise to match. Meet Ernie

Dudley - 9 years | Medium Neutered Male | Domestic Shorthair Mix At nine he is exactly what he appears to be, which is the honest argument for adopting senior; he is front-declawed so he needs to stay an indoor cat, and he needs a dog-free home without young children. Meet Dudley

Fondue - 1 year | Medium Spayed Female | Pit Bull Terrier Mix She gets nervous on introductions and is looking for one patient person to build her confidence around, the kind of dog who picks a favorite human and then sticks close; she should also meet any dog siblings first. Meet Fondue 

That's all for now! Have a great week in Tree Town!

— Ryan, James, and the Michigander Team

P.S. - We crossed 1,500 followers on Instagram this week, not bad considering we started at zero just a few months ago. We post daily: small business highlights, weekend roundups, and more. Come join the fun → @michigandernews.

P.P.S. - Tiny Lions, the cat cafe on Jackson, runs yoga classes inside the adoption lounge, which means you will be holding a downward dog while a kitten walks under you, and yes that is the entire point. Details  

P.P.P.S (Sponsored) - U-M's School of Music, Theatre & Dance just put single tickets on sale for its 2026–27 season, opera, concerts, dance, and more, right here in town. Students can grab discounted seats with a promo code, and Flex Packages are available for regulars. Browse the lineup → tickets.smtd.umich.edu.

P.P.P.P.S. - The Ypsilanti Food Festival is back for year two on Saturday, Aug. 15, from noon to 7 p.m. at the University Bank Commerce Center (301 W. Michigan Ave.), with bites from 30+ local vendors and food trucks, live music, and family-friendly fun. Free for all ages. Learn more

P.P.P.P.P.S.- Dixboro House is hosting its second annual Garden Dinner on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m., a relaxed summer evening in The Valley. Expect a garden cocktail hour with live folk music, then a family-style, three-course feast built around the season's harvest, with table wine and non-alcoholic pairings. $130 per person → reserve.

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